Is always a weird day for me- the whole month of December I think about my entire family; but today I think about my sister, Melian. This year Mikayla has really become aware of the reality that Mommy has a sister that she hasn't met yet. She has been wrapping her head around it for a few months now. For the past few weeks she has asked me to show pictures and tell stories.... It's been a great opportunity to share with her - things about Melian as well as the Plan of Salvation and explaining that, yes, she WILL see my sister and get to meet her and be friends with her! Mikayla's excited. I am too.
Knowing about Melian helps Mikayla appreciate Rowan more. (Some days she needs all the help she can get!)
I've watched my coworker struggle the past few months. She is young, not even twenty. Both of her parents in the last year have been diagnosed with cancer. Her mother has won her battle, for now, but her father has not. She called me today to ask if I could take over some of her work so that she can spend more time with him. His lung cancer has spread and he now has five tumors in his brain that are growing rapidly. I cannot imagine loss like this. The family is already planning for his death. My heart aches for her and her family. In the realm of the professional world I feel like I can't explain enough. I'm bound by some unwritten code to only answer questions people ask me. (Don't worry I've done my best to share!) Watching her struggle has made me incredibly grateful for the knowledge I have. I wish I could give her that. Knowing that we can see people again after we die does not take away the pain of loss but it does make it bearable. Again, I wish I could give her the comfort and peace I have been given.
So, back to today. Weird day. Good day. Makes me really appreciate my family day.
26 December 2011
16 June 2011
Oh My Gosh... It's a NEW POST
Well blogging world, we haven't talked in a long while.... I've been working 60 hour weeks and I was kind of tired at the end of the day and not really around nor energetic enough to make comments and/or observations about my happy little life.
But here I am!
I can't say no to people, so I naturally said, "Sure I can help you full time until you find a replacement for the shampoo tech that ran off with a man she met on the Internet...." Nine weeks later the replacement has arrived, I've been upgraded to assistant and grew tired enough that I quit one of my jobs (bye bye smokey salon!) and now work the two day a week schedule I originally wished for. I'm happy to be a stay at home mommy five out of seven days a week with weekends free to be with the kids while Randy is in classes. No more babysitters!
Better and more interesting news... Be prepared for a little toddler humor...
We decided to potty train Rowan. I sat down and realized if I got him out of diapers I could then have an extra thirty dollars a month to fund my soda habit.
Not really. Well the thought did cross my mind but at Mikayla's insistence I am hitting the soft drinks less and less. I'm grimacing a little as I type that.
Really it was just time or so I thought. You see, we knew we would have Randy home for two months to help out on this venture and what better time than summer to let your two year old run around naked. Every little boy's dream right? NOPE. Apparently Row likes to be covered up. We have a modest toddler on our hands. And we had to break him in slowly. I guess underwear feels really different after a soft padded diaper? Either way. The first week Randy was home we started. Five days later there had still not been any activity in the specially purchased toilet that sported the tire seat, engine roaring handle and urine shield (useless thing really.) Alas one evening I realized Rowan was about to do his business in the bath tub... I snatched him up and popped him on that nice padded tire seat. Seconds later I had Row stand up, he looked around to see what I was excited about and immediately popped out with,
"Look, it's a hot dog! Mommy, it's a hot dog!"
Gross. But whatever. Apparently he made the connection and that was all it took for that round. Next we had to tackle peeing. This took a few more days but he finally made the connections and we are on the road to being diaper free. We just have to get rid of the night diaper. I'm not generally an advocate for night diapers, but I just do not want to clean up stinky sheets all the time. At least he can do a nap without a diaper. That's good right?
He's been accident free for severaly days with the exception of not tucking things in and spreading his love a little to freely if you will... I love Lysol wipes. I need a purse sized set to go in my giant albeit very adorable luggage sized handbag that has grown so huge it is embarrassing. And half the time I still don't have what I need at that critical moment when someone looks at me expectantly thinking that I of all people should posess whatever it is they need.. (it's usually my kiddos looking at me like that. Poor things!)
Mikayla is a reading bug. She's read seventy books so far this summer, and her goal is one hundred. My guess is that she will hit that before June is over. We still have her read them out loud in case we need to correct any pronunciations but she seems to have it down! Rowan couldn't care less about books. I think if we get him a baseball book we might be able to reel him in.
More on baseball later!
And Randy is almost done with his summer semester of school. WooHOO!
But here I am!
I can't say no to people, so I naturally said, "Sure I can help you full time until you find a replacement for the shampoo tech that ran off with a man she met on the Internet...." Nine weeks later the replacement has arrived, I've been upgraded to assistant and grew tired enough that I quit one of my jobs (bye bye smokey salon!) and now work the two day a week schedule I originally wished for. I'm happy to be a stay at home mommy five out of seven days a week with weekends free to be with the kids while Randy is in classes. No more babysitters!
Better and more interesting news... Be prepared for a little toddler humor...
We decided to potty train Rowan. I sat down and realized if I got him out of diapers I could then have an extra thirty dollars a month to fund my soda habit.
Not really. Well the thought did cross my mind but at Mikayla's insistence I am hitting the soft drinks less and less. I'm grimacing a little as I type that.
Really it was just time or so I thought. You see, we knew we would have Randy home for two months to help out on this venture and what better time than summer to let your two year old run around naked. Every little boy's dream right? NOPE. Apparently Row likes to be covered up. We have a modest toddler on our hands. And we had to break him in slowly. I guess underwear feels really different after a soft padded diaper? Either way. The first week Randy was home we started. Five days later there had still not been any activity in the specially purchased toilet that sported the tire seat, engine roaring handle and urine shield (useless thing really.) Alas one evening I realized Rowan was about to do his business in the bath tub... I snatched him up and popped him on that nice padded tire seat. Seconds later I had Row stand up, he looked around to see what I was excited about and immediately popped out with,
"Look, it's a hot dog! Mommy, it's a hot dog!"
Gross. But whatever. Apparently he made the connection and that was all it took for that round. Next we had to tackle peeing. This took a few more days but he finally made the connections and we are on the road to being diaper free. We just have to get rid of the night diaper. I'm not generally an advocate for night diapers, but I just do not want to clean up stinky sheets all the time. At least he can do a nap without a diaper. That's good right?
He's been accident free for severaly days with the exception of not tucking things in and spreading his love a little to freely if you will... I love Lysol wipes. I need a purse sized set to go in my giant albeit very adorable luggage sized handbag that has grown so huge it is embarrassing. And half the time I still don't have what I need at that critical moment when someone looks at me expectantly thinking that I of all people should posess whatever it is they need.. (it's usually my kiddos looking at me like that. Poor things!)
Mikayla is a reading bug. She's read seventy books so far this summer, and her goal is one hundred. My guess is that she will hit that before June is over. We still have her read them out loud in case we need to correct any pronunciations but she seems to have it down! Rowan couldn't care less about books. I think if we get him a baseball book we might be able to reel him in.
More on baseball later!
And Randy is almost done with his summer semester of school. WooHOO!
01 April 2011
Boogies
We have allergies. Yesterday I was in a friend's house (she has three cats) and my allergies flared up and my throat itched. Rowan looked much worse though...Snail trails abound.
Snot gods? Are you there? Please leave us alone. Please?
(I don't really believe in snot gods)
I was offered a full time job at my favorite salon.... It's a beautiful, sedate salon with normal people that DON"T smoke in the building (or at all) located on Music Row. I'd worked there on Fridays for a bit as a fill in. This is truly a once in lifetime opportunity. I know that sounds corny, but salons like this are not everywhere. Now that I've explored a few and worked at a few I can say that with confidence. I could go on and on about this place!
Alas, I do love my Rowan and can't picture putting him in day care. I think he would love it, I would hate it, and Mikayla would feel that life was finally fair because Rowan didn't get Mommy all to himself all day. And I don't want two jobs. Just one. Just a few hours a week. 20 hours is my max... 10 is my happy place. 5 with more money would be my zen.
My current salon, well, it's struggled a bit. We are under new management and it has definitely improved. It still smells smoky often, and I'm kind of bored sometimes.... BUT it is SOOO very close to home and I learn something new every day. And I do love my clients... (I actually have my own super tiny clientele! WoooHOOOOOO!)Super super tiny clientele if we are being honest. And I like my coworkers. It's a good thing to like those I work with. And I should only be there for one more calendar year, or (my term of preference) 3 more semesters- maybe 4. That seems so much shorter. And this job gives me almost monthly trainings in cuts/color/ waxing etc... LOVE that!
If I could work one or two days a week in the dream salon I would love that.. Let's pray for that to be an option- Then I would have all Sunday's off! Make MORE money than my two days at the other salon! And I can still learn and have every EVERY weekend OFF!
SAD NOTE: One of my favorite people in the world is leaving! She's moving and I am distraught.. I love her, my kids love her, and I'll miss watching our daughters being dramatic together..
Bonny I LOVE YOU!!! (and your mommy- thanks for leaving her behind for us)
Snot gods? Are you there? Please leave us alone. Please?
(I don't really believe in snot gods)
I was offered a full time job at my favorite salon.... It's a beautiful, sedate salon with normal people that DON"T smoke in the building (or at all) located on Music Row. I'd worked there on Fridays for a bit as a fill in. This is truly a once in lifetime opportunity. I know that sounds corny, but salons like this are not everywhere. Now that I've explored a few and worked at a few I can say that with confidence. I could go on and on about this place!
Alas, I do love my Rowan and can't picture putting him in day care. I think he would love it, I would hate it, and Mikayla would feel that life was finally fair because Rowan didn't get Mommy all to himself all day. And I don't want two jobs. Just one. Just a few hours a week. 20 hours is my max... 10 is my happy place. 5 with more money would be my zen.
My current salon, well, it's struggled a bit. We are under new management and it has definitely improved. It still smells smoky often, and I'm kind of bored sometimes.... BUT it is SOOO very close to home and I learn something new every day. And I do love my clients... (I actually have my own super tiny clientele! WoooHOOOOOO!)Super super tiny clientele if we are being honest. And I like my coworkers. It's a good thing to like those I work with. And I should only be there for one more calendar year, or (my term of preference) 3 more semesters- maybe 4. That seems so much shorter. And this job gives me almost monthly trainings in cuts/color/ waxing etc... LOVE that!
If I could work one or two days a week in the dream salon I would love that.. Let's pray for that to be an option- Then I would have all Sunday's off! Make MORE money than my two days at the other salon! And I can still learn and have every EVERY weekend OFF!
SAD NOTE: One of my favorite people in the world is leaving! She's moving and I am distraught.. I love her, my kids love her, and I'll miss watching our daughters being dramatic together..
Bonny I LOVE YOU!!! (and your mommy- thanks for leaving her behind for us)
23 February 2011
Breathing
So. I'm back for a moment (borrowing Janae's computer again!)
On Friday I received a call from Mikayla's teacher. Her teacher left a message for me sounding serious and ending with "We need to talk." I don't think I can begin to explain how many awful scenarios went through my mind.... Having eaten lunch with Mik the previous day and hearing the somewhat degenerate table conversation ("Justin Beiber is gay, no really he is" Ummmm maybe a point to some but really? What five year old talks like this? When did 'gay' enter their vocabularies and in such a derogatory way?) and wondering if Mikayla was participating? Or did she have a panic at school? I had some seriously disturbing scenarios run through my mind... I won't go there today. Just know I have an overactive imagination. Anne Shirley, were she real, just might be really proud of me.
I left work early and met with her teacher. The first words out of her mouth, "She can read." Well yes, yes she can. I didn't realize Mik didn't read at school. At all. Apparently she went into school Friday morning and started to read everything. The walls, handwritten notes with cursive (she says pretty writing is harder to read) stories, books, bulletin boards. Everything.
Whew!
So much better than what my mind had worked up.
Now, I do have to say this... while reading was not an overnight development it has been a very recent one. So I can see why she hasn't read at school. I do understand why the teacher was shocked. Mik went from 0-60 in one day. For the record, I really do like her teacher. A lot. Mikayla seems to be one that only wants to do something she is perfect at. I think once she realized she was the only student in the class that could read she felt like it was ok to finally do it out loud at school because she was the best.... Ahhhh, my little perfectionist. If only I could warn her now about perfectionism and it's inherent lifelong difficulties which she kind of already experiences (nerves, anxiety,blah blah blah.) That was a nice, grammatically overloaded sentence. I love parenthesis, commas, all of it!
Earlier in the week Mik had come home with her first reading book for homework. It was a simple sight word book, three words to a sentence. Perfect. We snuggled up on the couch and dove right in. Within seconds I was sad. She read it all by herself. My dreams of teaching her how to read were over. Apparently all that phonetic work and flashcards had already paid off. Mik figured it out on her own. I wasn't needed (I was definitely hanging my head.)
But. I realized there were pictures and the pictures made the words obvious. Yes. That was it... But. She could read it with the pictures covered. And out of order. And backwards. So the reality only hit me days sooner than her teacher. I did read with her regularly, but it was usually me reading.
Anyhow. There you have it. My daughter is where she is supposed to be academically, were she in Kindergarten, which she isn't. She will be next year. So now we get to figure out how to keep her from getting bored. But that's ok. I don't think Kindergarten would have been the greatest this year. We are still working on helping her be more confident (she kind of crumbles occasionally.)
And I got some interesting insights into the world of Rutherford County magnet schools when I met with her teacher today. And Mikayla placed was placed in an enrichment program, and a new reading set up with the librarian and her teacher, and that's all good. I can now breathe.
We are still wondering what to do with Rowan. I need to have something to report to the pediatrician about what we've been doing with him academically. I never even knew pediatricians asked about this stuff, but they do I guess.... At this point I can only claim things I shouldn't claim (extra tv, taco bell for dinner etc.)
The end.
Oh yeah. I went to Miami for a masterclass for hair. Worth every penny. Please come to me. I would like to style your hair especially if it's long. I need to practice updos)
On Friday I received a call from Mikayla's teacher. Her teacher left a message for me sounding serious and ending with "We need to talk." I don't think I can begin to explain how many awful scenarios went through my mind.... Having eaten lunch with Mik the previous day and hearing the somewhat degenerate table conversation ("Justin Beiber is gay, no really he is" Ummmm maybe a point to some but really? What five year old talks like this? When did 'gay' enter their vocabularies and in such a derogatory way?) and wondering if Mikayla was participating? Or did she have a panic at school? I had some seriously disturbing scenarios run through my mind... I won't go there today. Just know I have an overactive imagination. Anne Shirley, were she real, just might be really proud of me.
I left work early and met with her teacher. The first words out of her mouth, "She can read." Well yes, yes she can. I didn't realize Mik didn't read at school. At all. Apparently she went into school Friday morning and started to read everything. The walls, handwritten notes with cursive (she says pretty writing is harder to read) stories, books, bulletin boards. Everything.
Whew!
So much better than what my mind had worked up.
Now, I do have to say this... while reading was not an overnight development it has been a very recent one. So I can see why she hasn't read at school. I do understand why the teacher was shocked. Mik went from 0-60 in one day. For the record, I really do like her teacher. A lot. Mikayla seems to be one that only wants to do something she is perfect at. I think once she realized she was the only student in the class that could read she felt like it was ok to finally do it out loud at school because she was the best.... Ahhhh, my little perfectionist. If only I could warn her now about perfectionism and it's inherent lifelong difficulties which she kind of already experiences (nerves, anxiety,blah blah blah.) That was a nice, grammatically overloaded sentence. I love parenthesis, commas, all of it!
Earlier in the week Mik had come home with her first reading book for homework. It was a simple sight word book, three words to a sentence. Perfect. We snuggled up on the couch and dove right in. Within seconds I was sad. She read it all by herself. My dreams of teaching her how to read were over. Apparently all that phonetic work and flashcards had already paid off. Mik figured it out on her own. I wasn't needed (I was definitely hanging my head.)
But. I realized there were pictures and the pictures made the words obvious. Yes. That was it... But. She could read it with the pictures covered. And out of order. And backwards. So the reality only hit me days sooner than her teacher. I did read with her regularly, but it was usually me reading.
Anyhow. There you have it. My daughter is where she is supposed to be academically, were she in Kindergarten, which she isn't. She will be next year. So now we get to figure out how to keep her from getting bored. But that's ok. I don't think Kindergarten would have been the greatest this year. We are still working on helping her be more confident (she kind of crumbles occasionally.)
And I got some interesting insights into the world of Rutherford County magnet schools when I met with her teacher today. And Mikayla placed was placed in an enrichment program, and a new reading set up with the librarian and her teacher, and that's all good. I can now breathe.
We are still wondering what to do with Rowan. I need to have something to report to the pediatrician about what we've been doing with him academically. I never even knew pediatricians asked about this stuff, but they do I guess.... At this point I can only claim things I shouldn't claim (extra tv, taco bell for dinner etc.)
The end.
Oh yeah. I went to Miami for a masterclass for hair. Worth every penny. Please come to me. I would like to style your hair especially if it's long. I need to practice updos)
12 January 2011
Tennessee Winter Photos
The following is the front of our minivan
This is a racing stripe I put on my sister's car
We decided the Yaris needed some glasses.
Is this the winter-version of "Wash Me" for dirty cars?
The snowman was later placed on the back of my sister's car. I was hoping she would hop in, look in the rear-view and see a menacing snowman. Thank you Calvin and Hobbes!
Last, but not least, the birthday boy...who sometimes likes snow.
This is a racing stripe I put on my sister's car
We decided the Yaris needed some glasses.
Is this the winter-version of "Wash Me" for dirty cars?
The snowman was later placed on the back of my sister's car. I was hoping she would hop in, look in the rear-view and see a menacing snowman. Thank you Calvin and Hobbes!
Last, but not least, the birthday boy...who sometimes likes snow.
11 January 2011
PSssst...
We know we haven't blogged in forever... We don't have a home computer anymore.. Well we do, but the gifted computer had no monitor. So we saved and bought one. Then discovered it is not wireless compatible and we have no ethernet cord, so we are saving up for the wireless adapter... Just so you know that we have a real excuse this time ;-)
(I'm on Jamae's computer.. shhhhh... )
Mikayla lost her first tooth.
Rowan turned TWO.
Randy has had three SNOW days.
I have paid bills and took a beautiful pair of cognac leather boots back. Not this year my friends. Maybe next. Sniffling a bit. Well, not really. They were nice though.
Anyone know anyone in Miami Beach? I have a conference there in Feb and I don't want to pay for a hotel, or a flight really, or a car. But none of that can be helped really eh?
Signing Off!
PS Randy is making our first official family chore chart. And a bill chart... We are going to be more organized this year. Someday I will be able to tell you what is going on around me. Maybe.
(I'm on Jamae's computer.. shhhhh... )
Mikayla lost her first tooth.
Rowan turned TWO.
Randy has had three SNOW days.
I have paid bills and took a beautiful pair of cognac leather boots back. Not this year my friends. Maybe next. Sniffling a bit. Well, not really. They were nice though.
Anyone know anyone in Miami Beach? I have a conference there in Feb and I don't want to pay for a hotel, or a flight really, or a car. But none of that can be helped really eh?
Signing Off!
PS Randy is making our first official family chore chart. And a bill chart... We are going to be more organized this year. Someday I will be able to tell you what is going on around me. Maybe.
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