Our First Weekend

Yesterday was the beginning of our first full weekend together as a family.  We took the opportunity to head to Kansas City to watch K-State play at Arrowhead Stadium.  We arrived ahead of time to tailgate with friends.  We have no pictures of that.  It was hot and we had two crabby and hungry kids. 

Inside the stadium we spent a small amount of time in our actual seats and most of the time here:

Our actual seats were out in the sun and crowded.  With two little kids needing to move and one who is fair skinned we felt it was better to move.  The new seats were much better.

We were in the shade, there weren't many people around and the kids had room to move. 

I didn't see much any of the game.  I took the kids on a long walk around the concourse during the second quarter and by the third quarter it was far too close to nap time for both of them.  We left early and listened to the rest of the game on the ride home.

On the way home we made a quick stop to pick up baby wipes and trash bags.  Somehow Ryan Aric ended up with a large bucket of Lincoln logs.

We had a quick dinner together.

We goofed off at the table together.

We played some more with the new Lincoln logs.

Finally we called it a night.  It was a long day for all of us and we were exhausted by the end of it.  Today won't be nearly as full, but I'm sure we'll enjoy it together as a family.

Spa Treatments

I'm not much for spa treatments, but maybe Kellyn is on to something with her spaghetti face and hair mask.

She frequently looks like this and her skin and hair always seem to be baby soft and smooth.  Any volunteers to try out her methods?

Aric-isms

No, go this way said while pointing behind us. He does this almost every time we are in the car. It doesn't matter where we're going, he wants to go back to where we were.

Guys, come upstairs me said before bath time. Aric had gone upstairs first, Kellyn and I were making a slower ascension since Kellyn was climbing up on her own. This was followed by Aric help Mommy as he was pulling on my shirt trying to "help" me up the stairs.

Oh boy! accompanied by an arm pump. This is only used when Aric is extremely excited such as finding out I made him a peanut butter sandwich for dinner. I think this must've come from Meet the Robinsons.  I've been wanting to watch it again to confirm my suspicions.

Mommy, you okay? Huwt? Awic kiss. Aric will say this in regards to any bump, mole or imperfection on my skin. He also will say this if he runs into you or he thinks you might be injured in the slightest way.

Mommy, Awic clock icky. Showing me the clock he jut colored with a pen. Yes, he is now coloring on things he's not supposed to.

Bwess you. After a sneeze.

'Scuse me. After a burp. Hey, we're trying to raise a polite kid.

Oh no, Mommy wook! Usually said frantically as he is trying to get me to come look at whatever Kellyn is doing/getting into.

I not poopy, juss wet. No, you're poopy Aric. Ewww, gwoss! This conversation happens during diaper changes. It's usually reversed depending on whichever mess is being cleaned up.

Daddy at wowk. Mommy car owside. This cute "conversation" happened at Aric's bedroom window the other night. Aric was on tiptoe showing his two trucks the view down to our parking pad talking to them about what he did/didn't see.

I hold you. This is said anytime he wants to be picked up and carried around. He'll stand under you with arms outstretched.

Blackmail

Aric had better be nice to us, especially before he brings future dates over.  Otherwise this photo will appear.  Maybe even in poster size, framed above the fire place.

On a side note I think the cowboy boots were a hit.

Catching up with the Kids

I realized that I've never given an update on Aric's broken arm.  Obviously as evident in recent pictures he is not wearing a cast, sling, splint or wrap.  The Dr called it a "green stick" fracture.  Part of his upper humerus fractured, I don't want to say snapped but the Dr explained it as similar to what happens when you try to break a stick that's too green.  Part of it will break and part of it will stay connected and unharmed.  It's not close to his growth plate and the best way to allow it to heal is to let it be.  Aric still cradles his arm protectively against his body the majority of the time.  An increase in falling is an unfortunate side effect of this.  We're treating it by giving him an extra dose of kisses for all of his "owies".  Other than noticing how he holds his arm, I don't think anyone would even realize that it's broken.  He's a pretty tough kid.  In another three weeks I'll take him back to the Dr for more x-rays to confirm that everything is healed.  Hopefully that will be the end of it.

Ryan brought back some souvenirs from Texas.  Aric wanted to wear his out to the mall today.  He was pretty cute and a little ridiculous wearing boots with cargo shorts.  If you can't wear what you want at 2 then when will you ever be able to?

Another week and Kellyn will be 11 months old.

She is still a baby and yet she's not.  Thursday afternoon when I picked the kids up from daycare, Kellyn was up by herself playing at a toy kitchen with a little coffee pot.  It hit me really hard just how big she was and how she wasn't so much of a baby anymore.  My baby will be one next month!!  Where has the time gone?  She's not walking yet, but she has taken steps on her own only to fall down right away.  She can climb up our stairs (that's a story for another day), and she insists on feeding herself.  Although she's still drinking breast milk she's completely weaned and drinking it cold out of a sippy cup, and she wants to be in the middle of the action.  Her little personality is definitely shining through.

Honesty

I've wanted to write this for awhile but have held back.  I didn't feel I could be completely free with my words until today.  Why today?  Because my husband came home after being gone for training for four weeks. Over the past four weeks I've found myself in the bottom of a deep, dark pit and have started to climb out and see the light.

I tend to deal with things by not dealing with them.  Not the best way of handling life, I know.  If it's too hard to manage I put walls up and block it off from everything else in my life.  By necessity and circumstance I did that when I should have grieved for my brother.  Three weeks ago I found myself not just in the bread aisle, but lying down, uncontrollably sobbing and feeling all alone.  I tried so hard to get someone to hear my feeble cries for help and no one seemed to be listening.

Ryan finally heard me late one night.  I was on the phone with him and he really listened.  I know I scared him.  At the time I was in a deep depression and barely functioning.  Don't get me wrong, I was going to work, doing my job, caring for the kids but I wasn't capable of much else beyond that.  I can tell you they ate a lot of mac and cheese and sandwiches and watched a lot of Disney movies because I couldn't give them more of me.  You can't give something that you don't have.  It was scary for me and for Ryan.  He wanted to come home and settled for calling my parents in the middle of the night for their help. 

I had a long talk with him and a long talk with my parents.  We decided that I had several issues and needed to make some definite changes in my life.  I work full time, was functioning as a single parent of two little ones and drowning in grief over the loss of my brother.  Something had to change.  They gave me a plan of action.

The next day I went to a trusted supervisor at work to discuss if I had any options in cutting back my hours or changing my schedule.  I talked to him for a long time about work, church, God and family.  He ended the conversation by telling me he would look into it and saying he really thought I should quit. 

On the next day I met the pastor of the church where we had been going to, the church we haven't been to in so long because I work every Sunday.  I sat in his office and cried.  We talked about grieving and many other things.  I left with a plan to phone a friend, a friend who wouldn't mind helping me walk through the grief and begin to heal, a section of Scripture and a new bible study to attend.

The following week my mom came to help me out.  She was such a support and blessing to have around.  I continued to go to work while she was visiting, and she stayed home with the kids and made them so happy.  She helped me cook, care for the house and kids, gave me a break and some much needed time to think.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive family.  I know they'd drop what they were doing in a heartbeat to come help me out if I needed it.  And they did.

In the past three weeks, I have read through select Psalms daily with Ryan over long-distance.  Ryan and I have worked on our communication and are convinced that this dark period in our lives will only strengthen our marriage.  I've attended bible study and met new people.  I've met with my friend and told her about my brother's last week.  I wasn't sure I could face it, but we laughed and cried and I shared (and was reminded of) some really special things that happened during that time.  I know I have a long way to go, but I feel better and know that we're headed in the right direction.  It's amazing how God can bring you to your knees and pull you back up again.  He has truly blessed us with supportive family and friends who have helped us through this dark time.

My work, while they won't cut my hours back, has finally worked with me.  As of Sept 12 my days off will change from Tues-Wed to Sat-Sun.  We're a little excited.  We'll be able to have days off together as a family and to attend church again.  Ryan also told me that I don't have to work past Jan 1.  It helps knowing there's an end in sight and a plan to follow.

Skin Affliction

No, my child does not have a skin affliction.  He colored his leg, face, neck and the bottom of his foot with a brown marker.  Thank goodness for washable, non-toxic Crayolas.

Spray Paint

I like spray paint.  While I'm not a graffiti artist and I don't use it for anything other than it's intended purpose, I enjoy how it can fit my design whims and doesn't cost much.  I've been wanting to change the color scheme of my kitchen from green to yellow, red and black.  I am not, however, going to make my husband help me repaint a kitchen that we hope to leave behind sometime in the next six months.  Instead I decided to spray paint a few things to help pacify my need for change.  Yesterday I had a blast deciding what to paint.

I love that I saved myself money by not buying $30 worth of new kitchen accessories.  I spent $5 on a can of paint that went a long way.

I painted the wire basket by the sink and the grungy, old, wood spice rack.

My star was an unfinished metal and was starting to look bad and even rusting in some spots.

I painted the star in the dirt and gravel.  I wonder how long that will remain before the weather washes it away.

If you look closely this is the before picture with wood and chrome showing.  I have a couple of more wire baskets to paint, but I'll wait for a bit.  I need a new can of paint and some dry weather outside.

Oh, The Things...

  

...you find yourself doing as a parent.  I would never dream of wearing a tunnel in public, but wouldn't think twice about wearing it to chase a happy, screaming little boy around the house.  I want my kids to grow up knowing that their parents aren't afraid to play with them and make them happy.

(Excuse the blurry photos, but these are all I have to document the event.)