Last night we sold my green '98 Jeep Cherokee. It was the first car I bought entirely on my own and I became physically ill for 3 days after I made the purchase. I think I got taken a bit on the initial price, but given that it lasted me 12 years and drove me 176,000 miles, clearly it was a bargain. The Jeep drove me home from Colorado in 2000, and it was a big deal (my friends told me) when I let Steve start driving it (I even got him his own key!) in 2001. In 2003, it drove us to and from all of our pre-wedding appointments. 2004 had it driving us back and forth to paint our new house. In 2005 it took a backseat as I quit my job and stayed home with Kailin, but it was ever faithful all the same. We continued to increase its growing collection of State Park stickers in 2006, 2007, and 2008. I think it got a 2009 sticker before the windshield bit the dust. It hasn't seen much action since we got the minivan in 2010, but I still loved to hop in sometimes and take it for a spin. It pained me to sell it, but we have too many cars right now and that one fits our family least. Steve had big plans of making it a hunting/fishing vehicle someday, but with 3 kids and a regular sized driveway, keeping it around "just in case" wasn't going to work. I hope someone buys it at an auction and gets a few more years use out of it. I hope they enjoy driving it as much as I have.
Now that I'm done waxing poetic about a car (I never thought I'd do that!!), on our way home from selling it, Kailin declared "My arm is asleep. And I know that because it's fizzy." I couldn't let that one get away. And when we thought about it, having a limb asleep does feel a little fizzy. That's my girl. Tell it like it is!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
One step closer to our third dumpling!
I took the kids to the zoo today and we all had a great time. It was very freeing not to have a diaper bag or a stroller and the kids were really excited to share their observations with me and that made it even more special.
We didn't get home until after 5 and I gave myself 5 minutes to sit and check email before working on dinner. To my surprise, we had an email from our agency saying that they'd received our Letter of Acceptance/Letter Seeking Confirmation today! The official unofficial countdown to travel can begin! We should be traveling in about 12-16 weeks and although that seems long on paper, I know in reality with the end of summer and the start of school, it will fly by! (Remind me I said that when I'm mired down in the wait in a few weeks!) We have had Carter's referral for 34 weeks if my calculations are correct (and it's late, so they may not be!). So really, 12-16 weeks is just a fraction of that! We'll soon be packing our bags! First I have to wade through the last of the sea of paperwork, but I'm already on it and rarin' to do the last of what I can to get us through this process as quickly as possible. It looks like we should surely have our boy in time for his birthday! I can't wait!
We didn't get home until after 5 and I gave myself 5 minutes to sit and check email before working on dinner. To my surprise, we had an email from our agency saying that they'd received our Letter of Acceptance/Letter Seeking Confirmation today! The official unofficial countdown to travel can begin! We should be traveling in about 12-16 weeks and although that seems long on paper, I know in reality with the end of summer and the start of school, it will fly by! (Remind me I said that when I'm mired down in the wait in a few weeks!) We have had Carter's referral for 34 weeks if my calculations are correct (and it's late, so they may not be!). So really, 12-16 weeks is just a fraction of that! We'll soon be packing our bags! First I have to wade through the last of the sea of paperwork, but I'm already on it and rarin' to do the last of what I can to get us through this process as quickly as possible. It looks like we should surely have our boy in time for his birthday! I can't wait!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Iffy, Stivvy, and Goldie Sunshine
Friday the kids and I ran some errands. Rather than making it into a mad dash that ends up with the kids totally bored and me completely frustrated and ready to vow never to take them in public again, we took our time and made it fun. We ambled through the stores and I had the kids help me find the things we needed - even if it took twice as long. We shared a couple of soft pretzels and an Icee at Target and then at PetSmart I let Kailin pick out a couple of new fish for her tank and Colby finally got his very own fish - a Betta who is now named "Iffy".
First he named it "Colorstahn". Then Kailin named one of her fish Stivvy. She named one of her fish (long deceased) Stivvy quite awhile ago. Naming things is NOT her strong suit which is why she has a stuffed white dog named "Whitey". Yes, it's painful. She told me today that if we had a horse, she'd want a brown one and she's name it..... "Brown". Not "Brownie". "Brown." Anyway, she named her fish "Stivvy" and Colby is allllll about what Kailin's doing lately. So he wanted to name his fish "Stiffy" and I just couldn't do it. I told him no and he suggested "Iffy" and I grabbed it. Now he can't remember it. "What's his name again? Is his name still 'Iffy'?" "Yep." "Okay! I love him!" And he does.
Kailin's other new fish (they're both yellow male guppies) is named "Goldie Sunshine". She couldn't decide between Goldie or Sunshine so there you have the (slightly less than)dramatic tale of Iffy, Stivvy, and Goldie Sunshine.
First he named it "Colorstahn". Then Kailin named one of her fish Stivvy. She named one of her fish (long deceased) Stivvy quite awhile ago. Naming things is NOT her strong suit which is why she has a stuffed white dog named "Whitey". Yes, it's painful. She told me today that if we had a horse, she'd want a brown one and she's name it..... "Brown". Not "Brownie". "Brown." Anyway, she named her fish "Stivvy" and Colby is allllll about what Kailin's doing lately. So he wanted to name his fish "Stiffy" and I just couldn't do it. I told him no and he suggested "Iffy" and I grabbed it. Now he can't remember it. "What's his name again? Is his name still 'Iffy'?" "Yep." "Okay! I love him!" And he does.
Kailin's other new fish (they're both yellow male guppies) is named "Goldie Sunshine". She couldn't decide between Goldie or Sunshine so there you have the (slightly less than)dramatic tale of Iffy, Stivvy, and Goldie Sunshine.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
on the news
Last weekend, Kailin was featured on a "Look Who's 6" clip on a local news station. We didn't tell her in advance. We just turned the news on under the guise of checking the weather. When the clip came on, she was first up. I said, "hey look, Kailin!" She looked and said, "That's funny.... Colby's not usually on the news!" And she is?! It was pretty funny.
The link to the clip is
http://www.fox6now.com/news/wakeup/lookwhos6/
You have to scroll down to the August 6 clip if you want to take a peek.
The link to the clip is
http://www.fox6now.com/news/wakeup/lookwhos6/
You have to scroll down to the August 6 clip if you want to take a peek.
Star Wars appointment
Colby needed a bandaid last week. We have Star Wars right now. As I applied it to the gaping, bleeding wound that almost needed 750 stitches (it was a minor scrape), he kept saying "Star Wars appointment!" with some serious enthusiasm. I tried hard to hear him. Certainly he wasn't saying "Star Wars appointment", was he? Finally I asked him.
"Are you saying Star Wars....APPOINTMENT?"
"Yep!"
"Do you know what 'appointment' means?"
"Nope!"
"It means a time when you have something to do. Like when we go to the Dr. We have to go at a certain time and only at that time. That's an appointment."
"Oh. Okay. Star Wars appointment!!"
I gave up.
Visions of C3PO and R2D2 showing up at a doctor's office and checking in were a little amusing, but I was perplexed all the same.
Yesterday, the kids were watching a little Scooby Doo for afternoon quiet time (read - the kids were watching a little Scooby Doo so that I could regain one ounce of my sanity before I was tempted to run out the front door and lock it behind me and leave them to fend for themselves - survivor wins...). Mystery Incorporated. Mystery Incorporated!!! About the time the lightbulb went off in my head I heard, "Mystery appointment!" Mystery solved. I hope I don't have any mystery appointments....ever. I'm not up for that kind of excitement!
"Are you saying Star Wars....APPOINTMENT?"
"Yep!"
"Do you know what 'appointment' means?"
"Nope!"
"It means a time when you have something to do. Like when we go to the Dr. We have to go at a certain time and only at that time. That's an appointment."
"Oh. Okay. Star Wars appointment!!"
I gave up.
Visions of C3PO and R2D2 showing up at a doctor's office and checking in were a little amusing, but I was perplexed all the same.
Yesterday, the kids were watching a little Scooby Doo for afternoon quiet time (read - the kids were watching a little Scooby Doo so that I could regain one ounce of my sanity before I was tempted to run out the front door and lock it behind me and leave them to fend for themselves - survivor wins...). Mystery Incorporated. Mystery Incorporated!!! About the time the lightbulb went off in my head I heard, "Mystery appointment!" Mystery solved. I hope I don't have any mystery appointments....ever. I'm not up for that kind of excitement!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
magical
We've been seeing some movies this summer. Our local theater chain is running a summer series of kids movies three days a week in the mornings. We've hit three so far and are planning one more next week. They're pretty much full of moms and kids. While it could be a nightmare experience, I've found it to be the opposite.
The kids (mine at least) are still wowed by the whole movie experience. With the advent of modern convenience, there's very little wow factor left in their little lives. Sad, but true. Steve and I were just talking the other night about the wow factor. We saw a commercial advertising "Beauty and the Beast" on ABC Family one evening. I lamented that it was too bad that the kids needed early bed or we could have popped some popcorn and watched it as a family. Then I realized that we own the movie and could pop some popcorn and watch the movie as a family pretty much anytime we want. It's nice and it's convenient, but it's also sad. When I was a kid, it was an EVENT if a movie you loved was going to come on tv. We did pop popcorn. My mom made us a "nest" on the floor. We all hunkered in for the big event. It was something special. Now it's pretty much not. Going to the movies, though, still holds charm and wonder for my kids and I love that the $2 per person admission allows me to give that to them several weeks in a row during summer and again in the dead of winter for Frosty Flicks.
Beyond the wow factor, it's something truly special to be in a theater with almost all kids. A child's belly laugh is joy that refuses to be contained. It's infectious and it will bring you back from the brink of despair. A theater full of children's belly laughs - peals of laughter ringing from the top row to way down in front - is absolutely magical. It's indescribable. And it happened a lot today. There's a lot of slapstick comedy in "Mr. Popper's Penguins" and kids can never resist slapstick comedy. There was a lot of laughter today in the theater and it filled me up. It was worth the price of admission to hear it.
The frosting on the proverbial cake was watching all the children pretending to be penguins as we left the theater. My kids were doing it and then others were doing it. Little penguins were mixing with other little penguins in a special camaraderie. Heck, even I did a little penguin walking when the kids asked me to. It was magic.
I am a little concerned about the magic of next week's feature - Kung Fu Panda II. Hmmm....
The kids (mine at least) are still wowed by the whole movie experience. With the advent of modern convenience, there's very little wow factor left in their little lives. Sad, but true. Steve and I were just talking the other night about the wow factor. We saw a commercial advertising "Beauty and the Beast" on ABC Family one evening. I lamented that it was too bad that the kids needed early bed or we could have popped some popcorn and watched it as a family. Then I realized that we own the movie and could pop some popcorn and watch the movie as a family pretty much anytime we want. It's nice and it's convenient, but it's also sad. When I was a kid, it was an EVENT if a movie you loved was going to come on tv. We did pop popcorn. My mom made us a "nest" on the floor. We all hunkered in for the big event. It was something special. Now it's pretty much not. Going to the movies, though, still holds charm and wonder for my kids and I love that the $2 per person admission allows me to give that to them several weeks in a row during summer and again in the dead of winter for Frosty Flicks.
Beyond the wow factor, it's something truly special to be in a theater with almost all kids. A child's belly laugh is joy that refuses to be contained. It's infectious and it will bring you back from the brink of despair. A theater full of children's belly laughs - peals of laughter ringing from the top row to way down in front - is absolutely magical. It's indescribable. And it happened a lot today. There's a lot of slapstick comedy in "Mr. Popper's Penguins" and kids can never resist slapstick comedy. There was a lot of laughter today in the theater and it filled me up. It was worth the price of admission to hear it.
The frosting on the proverbial cake was watching all the children pretending to be penguins as we left the theater. My kids were doing it and then others were doing it. Little penguins were mixing with other little penguins in a special camaraderie. Heck, even I did a little penguin walking when the kids asked me to. It was magic.
I am a little concerned about the magic of next week's feature - Kung Fu Panda II. Hmmm....
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