Fun but HOT Weekend

On Saturday, Kaelin and I went shopping at Macy's (Daddy was out of town, so the girls had to hit the mall).

Saturday afternoon, Kaelin went to her friend Landyn's birthday party. Landyn turned one. Kaelin had lots of fun playing in the pool, bouncy house, and the slip n slide.

They even had clowns . If you don't know this, Kaelin HATES clowns. She says they are just too scary. I really have to agree with her. Clowns are pretty creepy. So, for Kaelin's birthday party, we had a carnival, but she was very insistent that nothing had a clown on it. As soon as I saw the clowns yesterday, I thought "oh dear, this could get really interesting", but to my surprise, Kaelin did pretty good. The clowns were making balloon animals and this really caught Kaelin's attention. She loves balloons, so she watched from VERY FAR off. Then she came and got my hand and asked if I could go up to the clown with her. I did. She told the clown she wanted a flower out of balloons and they made if for her, then the other clown made her a hat and he went to put it on her head and you would have thought he was trying to burn her with fire. She flew up my arms and asked me "why is that clown trying to get me?". I was laughing, but she did not find it as amusing as I did.

She kept a close eye on the clowns for the rest of the party.

Another funny Kaelin story...

Today on the way to church, Aunt Debbie gave Kaelin some quarters to give in the offering. Aunt Debbie told her she could give the quarters to Jesus. Kaelin looked at her as though she had lost her mind. Kaelin said "Aunt Debbie, that can't happen, Jesus is way up in the clouds and I don't think he is going to come all the way down just to get my money." We then had to readjust our wording. Aunt Debbie told her she could give the money to the bank in her Sunday school class and they would use the money to buy things so little kids could learn about Jesus. She then said, "Okay, that would be a good idid." (An idid is Kaelin's word for idea)

Doctor and a movie

Today was Kaelin's 3 year checkup. Everything went great. She is a perfect little three year old (but I knew that).

She is 37 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds. She is in the 75th percentile in height and weight. She is going to be tall (she must get that from me... ha ha).

The doctor checked her blood pressure, listened to her heart, checked ears, nose, eyes, and mouth. She had Kaelin jump and talk to check motor skills. Everything was great.

Then I had to write a check for $138.00. (Don't forget... we have already made one trip to the doctor this week which cost $68 and medicine was another 50 something- no new shoes this week). WOW... why do I even have insurance? I found out today that my wonderful insurance covers the well baby checkups only up to 2 years old. What... I guess after two years old, they don't need check ups anymore.

But, after the doctor, Kaelin and I met my friend Lisa and her kids, Addison and Bryson at the movies. We saw the new Disney movie "Up". It was really cute, I loved it.

Let me get on my soap box one more time...
The price of movie tickets is ridiculous. $9.50 per ticket. But even more ridiculous than that is the price of popcorn and drinks. Cost of a coke and bag of popcorn is $11.50. That is highway robbery. So, if you add this up... 9.50 (1 ticket) + 11.50 for snacks= $21.00. You can buy new releases on DVD for about $19.99, then you can watch the movies as many times as you want. So what if they are not the newest thing in theaters, as long as I have not seen it, then it is new to me.

Sleep is for the weak

Once again, I am up at 1:30 AM.

I guess I am just so excited about today being the last day of school that I just can't sleep. You know how kids get excited about the first day of school and they can't sleep. I think teachers are the opposite. We get excited about the last day of school.

So what do you do at 1:30...

Watch whatever you might be able to find on TV... I am watching Cold Case.

Blog (which I am doing)

Then you go run.

Yes, you heard me, I am about to go run. I am just waiting until it is closer to a reasonable hour. I don't want anyone to call the police because they saw some crazy girl running past their house at 2:00 AM. So I am patiently holding off until 3:45 or 4:00. Unless (which this never happens), I get sleepy and fall back to sleep.

I will probably (hopefully) take a good nap this afternoon.

When I get off work (around noon), Kaelin and I are going to see the new Disney movie "Up" with my friend Lisa and her son Bryson. Hopefully I won't fall asleep in the movie theater. How embarassing would that be for Kaelin to have to wake up her Mommy.

***UPDATE***
3:45 AM--- still up, but I have had company. It seems like Kaelin knows when I am not asleep. I can't tell you how many times I have been up in the middle of the night and low and behold, Kaelin opens her door and says "Mommy, what are you doing?" She never does this when I am in bed asleep. She must have a GPS hooked to me.

So, she has been sleeping in big girl panties at night. She had her first accident. When she laid down last night, I had a feeling she would not make it all night because she insisted on drinking a big glass of milk before bed (she usually does not do this). So, about 3:00, she woke up and I had to change her sheets and pj's.

3:30 AM- she came out of her room again because she said she needed a sip of water. (She just wanted to stay up with me- but I made her go back to bed so at least one of us could stay awake for the movie).

3:49 AM- she came out of her room AGAIN because she needed a Kleenex for her runny nose. Now, I think she is just making excuses to get up.

Here is my theory....I think God knew I would be needed in the middle of the night (multiple times), so he woke me up. It did not bother me having to run up the stairs every few minutes to address another need. Now, if I was asleep and this was all going on, I would be highly upset. But, I was not upset or frustrated, it gave me something to do (before I go run).

Side note to God... next time, wake Todd up.

On the rocks, shaken, stirred, or something new?

This is too funny (or at least it was to me). Funny in one of those - I should really not laugh but I am going to any way- ways. So, what did I do?.... laughed... then told the story and laughed again.

We were on our way to Aunt Debbie's house to eat dinner. Todd had fixed a Dr. Pepper to drink. Kaelin was sitting on the console (since we only had to drive around the corner). She was sitting there picking her nose, rolling the boogers on her fingers and putting them in Todd's drink. I was not watching what she was doing, but Todd caught her. He said "What did you just put in my drink?" and she responded, very innocently, "A booger". That was probably the funniest part because she acted as though that was normal and did not understand why he was making such a big deal about it.

So BEWARE of your drinks around Kaelin, she might add a little something extra to it.

How far can your car go?

If you have ever wondered just how far you can drive with your gas light on, it is longer than you probably think.

I managed to make it two full days with my gas light on. When I finally made it to the gas station this morning, my car was so empty it would not even start again.

So, I now know just how far I can drive before having to get out and push the car.

Update on Kaelin's leg...
It is looking better, not great, but better. The swelling is finally beginning to go down. She goes back to the doctor on Friday for another look (and another $68). She hates the medicine, but with a little bribery, she takes it. We bribe her with Dairy Queen, suckers, etc. She now knows the routine, so when you tell her she has to take her medicine, she now wants to know what she will get. She catches on quick. Because I feel so sorry for her and the medicine tastes and smells horrible, I cave into her requests pretty easy.

Tomorrow is my last day of school and my last day at my current job. WooHoo!!!

Not me Monday

Here is my "Not Me Monday"... I am not at all exhausted


Kaelin did not go to a swimming birthday party Saturday night and she most definitely did not get bit by something (spider or wasp). Her leg definitely did not swell up and get all infected. I also did not have to leave school at 10:00 this morning to take her to the doctor. Those things don't happen on Monday's. Mondays are calm and relaxing days. The doctor did not tell us that her leg had a pretty nasty bacterial infection. He also did not charge us $68.00 for something I knew was the problem to begin with, I just needed the prescription for antibiotics. I also did not have to pay $52.46 to have the prescription filled. Those things would just be absurd. I also did not have to buy Kaelin some special band aids, a sucker, and something to drink just to convince her to take the yucky medicine.

On a more positive note, after the exciting morning at the doctor's office, Kaelin and I met some teacher friends at a fabulous Italian restaurant.

Then we went to a farewell party for another friend of mine. I told Kaelin we were going to a party. She said "A birthday party?" I told her no, it is a farewell party. She said "I just love ferris wheels." I tried to explain that it was farewell, not ferris wheel. It did not sink in. As soon as we got to the party, she went in and asked everyone where the ferris wheel was. I then had to explain to them what she was referring to. It was too funny.

Here is a super cute picture of Kaelin. My friend Judy made this dress for her along with the fuzzy flip flops. I gave it to Kaelin and she immediately began stripping her clothes off so she could put it on. She absolutely loved it.

How do you do justice to 3 years?

I have been a little slow on getting this posted because I wanted to make sure I could do justice to it. Between my Internet going down and my camera going bad, I have not been able to get everything on here until now.

Kaelin has spent the last three years with Mrs. Mary. She has absolutely loved being over there and I have loved her being over there. I have never felt so calm and relieved about leaving my baby with someone as I was with Mrs. Mary. Kaelin spent her last week with Mrs. Mary right before Memorial Day. Kaelin will be going to a new school next year, so she won't be staying with Mrs. Mary. My heart just breaks when I think about it. Kaelin was so loved when she was there. It is really hard to find someone that will love your child as though they are a family member.

How in the world can you sum up three years and really do justice to the time?

Great memories from the last three years...

Kaelin and Mrs. Mary make breakfast stops at Sonic or McDonald's on school mornings. Mrs. Mary has totally spoiled Kaelin when it comes to breakfast on school days. The few times I have been able to take off and take Kaelin to school, she always asks me "Where are we stopping for breakfast?" Mrs. Mary also taught Kaelin that Sonic corn dogs can also be a breakfast food.

Kaelin and Mrs. Mary share a Dr. Pepper in the afternoons. (I think she might have been giving Kaelin a sugar rush so she would be a crazy girl when she got home--- she was).

Mrs. Mary bought a swing for the front yard, so she and Kaelin could sit outside and enjoy swinging on the tree. We don't have one of these in our yard (we don't have any trees). Kaelin constantly asks why we don't have a swing.

Mrs. Mary bought a playhouse for Kaelin and I got to hear all kinds of fun stories of having tea parties, coloring, playing with the dog, etc. Kaelin loved the playhouse.

Mrs. Mary was always quick to pick up my slack. There were several times when I sent shoes that were too small for Kaelin or too big. Kaelin and Mrs. Mary would just make a quick trip to Wal-mart to solve the problem. Sometimes, I forgot to send her lunch or a drink or diapers, Mrs. Mary always fixed the problem for me. THANK YOU!!!!!

Mrs. Mary used to send me an e-mail everyday updating me on what Kaelin was doing or had done and what their plans were for the day. She would also send pictures of Kaelin. I loved it. Those pictures always arrived right when I was needing a quick pick me up. I am going to miss those e-mails. I looked forward to those everyday. (You can still send me e-mails...)

Mrs. Mary tried to make Kaelin fill totally at home. In fact, Kaelin considered Mrs. Mary's house one of her homes. Kaelin had her own chair, own bed, own toys, own movies, etc. Kaelin was perfectly comfortable and was never in need.

Kaelin's first ride on a carousel horse was with Mrs. Mary. (see picture below)

Mrs. Mary and Kaelin made many trips to the park. She absolutely loves the park.

Kaelin's only trip to the zoo was with Mrs. Mary and Mr. Ken. (She wants to go back...)

Kaelin's love for flowers and gardening was definitely inspired by Mrs. Mary. For as long as I can remember, Kaelin has been gardening with Mrs. Mary. Kaelin may have been gardening before she was walking.

Mrs. Mary has taught Kaelin how to love animals. Mrs. Mary has a soft spot for all animals (just dump your strays in her yard, everyone else does--- no not really, but she is good at finding homes for animals). Kaelin is constantly telling me stories about "Sally Slew" or as she is really name- Sally Sue.

Kaelin's first Halloween... She was Pebbles... We trick or treated Mrs. Mary and Mr. Ken.

Kaelin's first birthday party. Of course Mrs. Mary was there...

Kaelin's second Halloween. She was Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

Mrs. Mary has come to all three of Kaelin's birthday parties. This is the 2nd birthday party. (We hope to see you at number 4).

Kaelin's ride on the carousel horse. Her love for horses may have started here.

Kaelin loved gardening with Mrs. Mary.

This is last Halloween. Kaelin was a scary pink pirate with a bling bling eye-patch. We trick or treated Mrs. Mary and Mr. Ken. I am sure they were scared of being held hostage by the pirate.

We could never ever come close to replacing Mrs. Mary- nor would we want to. She has become part of our family. She has helped mold and shape Kaelin into who she is today and I am so grateful for that. She has been Kaelin's comfort spot away from home. We absolutely love her and hope she always remains such and important person in our life.

Please don't forget us.... we will never forget you.