Socks

And then there was Maisie...

The Snow Falls

As I watch the snow falling outside our cracked windows, I can't help but imagine what the snowfall will look like from the windows of our new house.  Something tells me it will look a whole lot more beautiful than it does from where I'm sitting today. 

 

I know when we look back at this time, the details will have faded and our routines will have changed.  I realize this is a small chapter in the whole book and although it hasn't been the easiest one to get through, I certainly don't want to forget...

 

The breakfast conversations and endless stack of dirty laundry piled up by the basement door.

 

Ross eating Fruit Loops with a fork because we have a spoon shortage.

 

Maisie drinking coffee before school because she has a uti and I'm desperate for her to drink anything.

 

 

Molly convincing me to sew her a Hello Kitty Pillow because she puked on her other one.

 

A year from now my kids will be 10, 7 and 5. 

 

 

And the view will be so much different.

Late February Weekend

Thursday morning I awoke to a lack of cold water in the shower.  Not because we didn't have it... but because the knob fell off. 

This is only a glimpse, but isn't this a scary shower?! 

It's been my spa for nearly a year now. 

Meanwhile, we're another man down.  Maisie succumbed to the stomach bug while riding in Grandmas car Saturday afternoon.   

Luckily for us, we have more blessings than most.  For instance... who has a Papa willing to Wii Dance to 'Let It Go'?

 

 

 

And a boy who makes us appreciate how short a childhood is...

 

And this little critter... yep, she and I are completely in love.  For the child we didn't plan, I can't imagine life without her. 

She completes us.

 

Lucky Us.

Green Glitter

Wednesday started with one barfing kid and another jealous he got to miss school and she didn't.  She tried desperately to be sick herself, but after 3 tries with the thermometer and a self-gag, it just wasn't in the cards.  I convinced her she needed to be at school today because she'd probably be puking by tonight. 

That got her hopes up.

 

Oh, the excitement of puking in elementary school. I was able to spent the majority of the day pitching organizing craft supplies. 

 

Which explains the green glitter scattered throughout my house Wednesday evening.  Just as I was dumping yet another bag of vomit into the outdoor trash (There are countless frozen vomit chunks out there), I walked into an entire container of green glitter sprinkled over my kitchen floor and dining room rug, mixed with glue.  I could feel the anger rise and I'm sure my expression of disapproval showed it all.  I turned my 4 year olds proud-face into one of shame. 

But there was green glitter...everywhere!  And puke and ramen and stickers and cookie crumbs and Barbie shoes all over the house.   And then an image flashed into my mind.  Tuesday would have been my Grandma Green's 86th birthday.  Green.  Wednesday was Ash Wednesday.  'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return'. Ecclesiastes 3:20. 

 

 

So what's a little glitter on my already nasty rug?  Why is spilt green glitter worth breaking the heart of my little girl?  Who am I trying to impress?  Answer.  It's not and Nobody.  It took me less than 3 seconds to tell my Moo I was sorry and it was okay.  I dried her tears and told her how much I love sparkles on my rugs.  It makes it more beautiful.  She smiled and within minutes was onto something else. 

 

 

I suddenly knew one day she would finish her childhood with us, move onto the next stage of her beautiful life and be gone...

 

 

I've decided I love green glitter. 

House, Holsters, Barbies, Czech and Belly Buttons

Updates:

 

 House progress: The HVAC is pretty much done, plumbing and electric started and bills keep arriving.  Appliances are ordered and will arrive April 29th.  Flooring and foam insulation are ridiculously expensive and were leaning toward vinyl siding. 

 

See, we have a pipe. 

 

We also have a toilet hole.

 

 Monday was Presidents Day.  Therefore, a no school day.  Ross had an idea to sew a gun holster.  Therefore, in honor of Presidents Day, I made my 9 year old a gun holster. Papa Boyd's old jeans were repurposed for the occasion.  I don't typically enjoy sewing, but found this project quite rewarding. 

 

Oh, if only I was still in 4-H.  It'd be a Trash-to-Treasure 'Considered for Champion', for sure.

 

 

When Moo isn't playing Barbies Drive To The Beach in the convertible and turn into mermaids, she's playing Temple Run on the Ipad.  Speaking of Barbies, this girl is obsessed.  She actually got her first black Barbie on Sunday off the Shopko clearance rack.  I had a guilty moment after dropping Maisie off at a birthday party and Molly in tears because she wasn't invited.  I still tear up thinking about it.  Maisie is more interested 'being' Barbie and has an addiction to heavy coats of red lipstick.  Ross can't stand it.

 

I've discovered I'm a lazy Barbie player.  No matter how hard I try, I just can't get into it.  I guessing it's my age.  But it could be because Heather's not playing with me.  I may never know when or why I became bad at playing Barbies.

 

Back in January, while staying at the St Charles Resort,  Ross was completely stressed out.  His reading group was doing a report on different countries.  He chose Czechslovakia.  And boy did he regret it.  For one, it's impossible to spell correctly without looking.  Secondly, it doesn't even exist anymore.  He was falling behind on research and the due date was looming.  He convinced Mike and I to help him find answers online before school one morning.  He smuggled those answers into his classroom without anyone knowing. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

 

And then there's this little animal.  He likes being far away from Goose and prefers to have his belly rubbed.  Maisie claimed she found his belly button this week.  I'm going with it.

 

 

 

Until next time...

Orange Construction Paper and 'That' Mom

The assignment was simple.  Ross was to make a Valentines Day box for school.  Pinterest just happened to have an awesome basketball court Valentines Day box.  It didn't look terribly complicated and Ross was on board.  Luckily, I found a box at Fareway so he wouldn't have to use the Tampax box I saved for the occasion

. 

Valentines Day Box-making day arrived, and I Ross made his box.  Unfortunately we were out of orange construction paper and I wasn't about to spend a dime on the Valentines Boxes this year.  So, we'd have a white court, an over-the-door basketball hoop and a post made from wooden utensils.  It was held together with duct tape.

 

Molly took my picture making the box.  We need to work on her aim since the box didn't make it in the frame.

 

The completed project.

 

The morning of the Valentines party, Mike discovered the box like this...

 

 

Luckily I had floral wire in the attic (weird) and plenty more duct tape for this dilemma. 

 

Turns out I should have ran to Ben Franklins for orange construction paper.  Guess who had the exact same basketball court Valentines Day Box we originally saw on Pinterest?  Yep, Chapstick Girl.  How ironic!?

 

In other news, I was told I can no longer drop Molly off at her classroom door.  Apparently it wasn't fair to other parents who don't come into the building without checking in at the office.  I guess I felt I was helping since it was one less kid the teachers had to help with snowpants, boots and gloves.  Plus Molly's so young, and so shy and truly needed me to walk her into her classroom everyday.  But instead, (as Aunt Heather gently told me) I was that mom.  Maybe I have babied her, maybe I have smothered her to an extent, but she is my baby so I'm blaming it on biology and maternal instinct.

 

My baby also knows all about texting and messaging.  Should have been my first sign.

 

So I quit walking Molly to her classroom.  Instead, I pay Ross a dime each day he escorts her into the building.  I know, I know.  Baby steps.

 

After school, she asks me if Ross can walk her again the next day...because it's so much more fun. 

And that tells me everything I need to know. 

I was, without a doubt, that mom.

 

Valentines Day Cards

I know it's pathetic, but I had several hoops to jump through this Valentines Day.  For one, Ross has a major crush on a girl in his class (incase you missed last weeks post). 

 

That little tidbit makes this Valentines Day extra tricky.  Of course he has to be very careful about what Valentine card he puts in Her Valentines Day box.  If it's too mushy she'll be creeped out.  If it's to boyish she'll think he's insensitive, if it's pink, purple or has hearts on it, he'll look like a girl, if it has Superheros or Disney characters he'll look like a baby.  He hasn't outright told me this, but I was once in Elementary School, so I know these things.

 

He and I stalked Pinterest for non-threatening, yet somewhat coolish cards to hand out.  Unfortunately, I don't have a decent printer or a Cricut machine which eliminated the majority of Pinterest ideas.  However, Ross decided it'd be best to make the messages the same on all cards.  He also decided a 'neutral color' would be appropriate and not too girly.

 

So, being the mom of the boy who hates crafts, I whipped out 25 of these bad boys (below).

 

The next project... a 3rd Grade Valentines Day Box.  I'm at a loss.  I'm praying they don't exchange Valentines Cards in Middle School.  I can't keep this up.  Right now the only box I can find for him is an empty Tampon box. 

Yep, I guess I'm that mom.

Duct Duct Goose

House Update:

 

Basement duct work is built and insulated.  Furnace is installed.  Duct work will be built up into the attic space this week.

 

 

 

 

I also spied clues of electrical work in the near future...

 

 

And plumbing...

 

 

This is how I feel about that!

.

3rd Grade

Last week Ross' crush found out he liked her.  His best friend spilled the beans in class.  So his crush asked him, "Ross, do you like me?" 

 

Oh Gahl!  I'm so glad I'm not in 3rd grade.  I'm mortified for him.

 

Ross' response, "Yes."

 

Ahhh, now I feel weird.

 

As he tells me all the gory details of the conversation, I keep a neutral face and tell him it's no big deal.  She's only the prettiest, nicest and smartest girl in his class.  Of course he likes her.  It'd be strange if he didn't. 

 

For the sake of convenience, I'll call the girl, Jaya.  Only for convenience though :)  Jaya has started waving at me after school each day as she passes my mini van in the pick-up line.  I am the one who cheered her on during the 3rd grade mile race to pass the 2 boys in front of her.  She passed them in the final lap and has been my buddy ever since.  That was last fall though, so not sure what's up with the recent waving spree.

 

Wednesday, Ross came home to tell me he now sits next to Jaya and they have the same chapstick.  I'm secretly dying inside.  He invites me into his room to help pick out his clothes for school tomorrow.   

 

As we weigh the options (3 UA shirt colors and 2 pant choices (the red stripe ones are out because they would clash with the blue UA shoes) I privately thank God for the moment.  In a flash, my boy will be talking to me about proposing to his wife.  He'll  show me the ring and tell me how much he loves her.  With tears in my eyes, I'll tell him how proud I am of him and what an incredible choice he's made.  I'll also be secretly thanking all the girls he's crushed on (including Jaya), knowing they've each played a part in developing him into amazing husband he will be. 

 

And for that, my cup runneth over.

Snowy Afternoon

The Elsa dress promise was not to be forgotten.  Sunday was the day, rain, snow or shine.  Maisie forced me to watch the U-tube tutorial one more time before assembling my shopping list for Ben Franklins fabric store.  They opened at noon, and I swear we were all watching the clock as the excitement built.  Maisie spent the morning touching up her nails, caking on make-up and making sure her Elsa braid was just right.  Finally the clock struck noon.

 

I trudged out to my van, scraped windows with snow overtop my boots.  I put the van in drive and yet the tires only spun.  I was stuck.  I used my hands to dig snow out from under each tire and tried again... really revvin' it this time.  Got 'er out while my van slid sideways into snowbank before straightening out in the street.  Woo hoo!  As I approached Ben Franklins, my heart sank.  They didn't open today.  The sidewalks weren't shoveled and there wasn't a car in sight.  Because of the weather, nothing on the square was open.  All I could picture was Maisie's broken heart and heavy eye shadow. 

 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I told Maisie the bad news, but also shared a solution.  I'd cut up some old dresses to use as material and make an Elsa dress out of what we already had in the dress-up box.  She was on board and I was up for the challenge.  Somehow, I had the exact amount of Velcro and elastic I would need in my craft supply 'caboodle'.  The amount of blue fabric available turned out be just enough and I even found a little bow that I unstitched to create straps.  Lets just say G'funk was definitely on my shoulder during this little sewing project.

 

Seeing herself for the first time in her Elsa Dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moo was content with a dance costume and markers.