Caution: Imaginations in Use

This is what's going on at our house right now... There's never a dull moment in this house. Nope. Especially for Lincoln, having an older sister to influence him and all... He's going to love this picture when he's older. Hee, hee.

Can You Guess...

Where

we

went

yesterday?

{No,

it

wasn't

the

dentist!}

If I Had a Dime...

... for every time that I've said this to my husband over the past few years.

"If it's not one child, it's always another. No fail."

You've said it too, right? If one child gets well, the next will be sick soon. If one child is happy and content finally, the next will need water, food, questions answered, tears wiped, and boo-boos kissed. If one child is finally sleeping all night, another will need tending to many times the next night. I think it's some sort of law like Murphy's Law, but I haven't come up with a name for it yet...

We moved Brigham to his big boy bed right away when we moved into this house a couple of weeks ago. {It just seemed logical to not have to put the crib back up for a few months and then disassemble that to assemble the new bed.} He's done amazing with the transition, sleeping well for naps and over night. The last week, though, he's been waking around 3-4 times a night for water or just an MIA binky. {or three!} I've been tired again in the morning, dragging for hours or even the whole day after waking many times at night again. He's finally slept through the night for months {thank you, Lord!}, but getting smart again with Mommy coming to his aid for little wails and grunts. I told Mark two nights ago before bed that I was getting behind on sleep again and dragging in the morning.

That night, sweet Brigham didn't make a peep! {If I don't count the one time before I went to bed that he was up...} But, alas, Bella of all children was up FIVE times that night! I can usually count on her to sleep like a rock for 11 hours or so. Thirsty, tummy hurt with childrens' Tums & thirsty again, potty {big surprise after the first two wakings...}, bloody nose and sheet stripping, and something else that I can't remember, since I'm pretty sure I was sleep-walking through that episode at that point. Hmmm, funny... Not so. At least there was some comic relief during the tummy hurting waking. After fetching Bella water and returning to her room, she candidly told me {don't tell her I told you!} that she had "a pooter as loud as Daddy's i-phone". Okay!? "Well, that should help your tummy feel better." The things children come up with in the middle of the night... *chuckle*

Fast forward to last night... Bella slept like a pro again, but Brigham wanted his turn again in grand fashion. I don't think I fell asleep until well after 2 or 3 A.M. I'm wondering now if his four canine teeth coming through had something to do with it. {Genius me didn't think of that last night!} Or maybe he was just being a little stinker... I'll never know.

Either way, it's all part of parenting. {This mysterious law that is...} Either way, I always like to think of it as some part of God's sense of humor to keep us parents on our toes. That makes me feel a bit better to think of nights like that in that sense. Now, if I could just come up with a name for this phenom to make me feel even better...

We've Arrived

I can't sleep, and for good reason. It's our fourth night in our new home, and I'm listening to our first Texas rain through the still quiet of our sleepy neighborhood. It's beautiful and so peaceful. It is only 9:45, but this is "late" for me to be awake lately. We've all been in bed so early, as there's really no reason to stay awake in an empty house. There's no television, no internet (until today), and not even a book to curl up with on a chair. We've set up camp in our master bedroom, with an air mattress flanked by two sleeping bags and a pack 'n play. It's cozy, and quickly became my favorite room of the house. {Not just because it has a master bath attached, warm carpet underfoot, and could easily fit three of our last bedrooms inside of it...}

Tomorrow our belongings get delivered. I'm a little excited and anxious both. Life has been so simple the last few days without all of the "stuff" surrounding us. I know there will be a trillion things that I don't want in our new home that didn't make the purge in Ohio. Time just ran out... It will be nice having furniture to sit on and eat on, instead of the staircase and its large landing as our resting place and dinner table. The kids could use some of their old toys back instead of the few that made the trip with us. I look forward to fluffing the kids' bedrooms with them, but will sorely miss all five of us in the same "family bed" at night.



Sickness (the good ol' fashioned flu) found its way into our home the last few days, so we've been knocked down a bit. {Again, I'm so thankful for the cozy, large bedroom where many of us at a time could rest and mend...} I'm praying that it's struck the last of us, but prepared for the worst for delivery day. Thank goodness Mommy went down last night overnight, and not during the day. Praise the Lord for a husband that completely took over not only the one million little things on his plate, but also the kids all night and morning, even when he wasn't 100%. I can't even remember the last time I was in bed still at 9:30 A.M. I admit, I liked it just a little bit even if it was to gain a few extra hours of strength after a night of my body being taken over by unpleasantries. Poor Lincoln got it the worst. His little body was surrendered to 10-minute-on-the-button bathroom runs for almost twelve hours. Bless his heart, he's feeling better finally.



I'm so thankful for all of the prayers and positive thoughts for our last home to sell, but keep them coming... After seven showings the week Mark was out of town one week before leaving, we've had just one cancelled showing the last two weeks. I was reminded that busy week that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle...



Though it seems that the road's been bumpy these last couple of weeks, it really doesn't feel that way to us. Things haven't gone completely as planned, but then again, I've heard the saying that "we make plans, and then God laughs". We love our new home already and look forward to all of the bumps this phase has to offer. I've been getting a lot of wishes for pictures, but until our camera is unpacked (whoops) or the i-phone cooperates with the computer, I can only leave you with this picture of our little side courtyard. I'll try to keep in touch more that we're "settled" now. I miss you all, family and friends.



Love, Kate

Ramblings and Happenings From a Dead-Beat Blogger

~ Countdown 18 days until our move. Valentine's Day is the day we drive out of town. I think I should be more unsettled by that number than I am. Thank goodness we'll have movers from the military and trust in the Lord! :)

~ Countdown 3 days until Mark drives his new-to-him car out of town to find us a house to make our home after moving. {I need to submit our final list of houses for him to see to the realtor tomorrow... Eek!}

~Mark is working his last 3 hours at work now. Wow. Surreal.

~ We're getting over another round of colds already this year. Does warm southern weather mean less sickness, I hope!? Please, anybody?

~ Brigham's cold turned into another double ear infection with an appearance by a bizarre "rash" that he gets when he has anything more than a cold. The doctor wants us to see an infectious disease specialist for the crazy looking spots that he gets. We might as well see a pediatric cardiologist for a small murmur that was detected at his "well-baby" check-up on Monday too. Oh, and don't forget those ear infections that have us starting to worry that he'll need something done with them in the future. BUT, his strep test was negative! :)

~Our 30-plus-foot long front gutter was ripped down by huge chunks of ice that crashed down late the night before a showing last weekend. The showing that we spent stressed hours cleaning and straightening and staging and driving only to have the potential buyers not even get out of the car, because the house was too close to the road for her baby. Our babies have fared just fine here under our watchful eyes...

~Another showing on Friday.... Will this be the last one before our home is vacant for showings?? I wonder what God's plan is for this house? Maybe this will be "the one"... It seems like it's been longer than four months.

~ I'm "sleeping like a baby" now that Brigham is sleeping 7:30 P.M. - 6:30 A.M. straight! ;)

~ Why am I still sleepy then sometimes?? It's the weather, I think... Again, here we come southern weather!!

~ We found a loving home for our dog, Bentley. We're good with this. I could be pet-free for a while, I think. And speaking of pets... The chickens now live across the tree line at the neighbors. We still need to take the kids to say goodbye, though.

~Our home has been buzzing with many, many visitors, both friends and family. We love all of the company and bittersweet last meetings at this home, but are excited to see you at the next! :)

~ I miss my bloggy friends. I really do. I need to make my way back to your thoughts and hopefully you to mine... Ah, feels good to be back for now, though....

Fall Pictures... Finally!

I've been meaning to post these pics for a couple of weeks now, and am just getting around to it! Now, I'd love to see the brilliant colors on the trees again and not just the lonely, twisted branches...

This was Brigham's first encounter with fall-time leaves. He wasn't so sure of the giant pile. Can you tell by the look on his face and his inability to let go of the fence!? :)

Not even sure of it with Daddy protecting him...

"So much for this! I'm revving up my bike to blow this joint... Eat my pink and purple dust, leaves!"

(Or as Daddy always says to us, "Let's make like a tree and leave." *chuckle, chuckle* Sorry, I just had to...)

Next on the other end of the spectrum is Bella, the tree hugger. She always appreciates the leaves, in all their crunchy, colorful glory.

Does it look like she's in heaven, or what!? That's our Bella...

Now somewhere in the middle falls Lincoln. He's our hard-core task-oriented child. While not really enjoying the leaves for their ability to provide a soft landing, he does enjoy many activities with them such as:

Mowing over them...

Burying Daddy with them...

And the classic, raking them...

Can you believe that something as simple as an afternoon of playing in the leaves can reveal so much about children's personalities? It even shows a thing or two about Mommy... That yes, I do indeed let my kids hang out in their pjs all day! :)

Bit in the Rear, Part 2

...So fast-forward 5 1/2 hours later after feverishly cleaning like a mad-woman (and man... Thank you very much, Honey.); feeding the kids fast food for lunch; and sending Mark to Target {smooch, smooch} for paper towels, Clorox wipes, 409 spray, and fresh flowers & green apples for staging.

{And yes, dirty laundry was put into trash bags and hidden, clean laundry stuffed back into the dryer, and although not done this time, I have put dirty dishes in the warming drawer or dishwasher with clean dishes!!! So glad I'm not the only one!}

It was finally 2:30 and time to leave for the hour. (Mark had already left shortly before and was going to meet us later. So, this next part is all me and my brilliant handlings...) I threw the two big, still pajama-clad kids in their carseats and ran upstairs to grab the baby who had just woken from his afternoon nap. Poopy. No really... Poopy diaper. Ugh! I don't have time for a poopy diaper! What if they come a few minutes early and walk in to my half-naked, poop-covered son on the floor!? What if? What I'm to say next, I'm not proud of, but I'm putting it all out there. Yes, I put him in his carseat poop and all, threw in a diaper and wipes, and screeched out of the driveway with 9 minutes to spare. (There, I said it...) First stop... The park a mile down the road for a diaper change! Ahem. "No, kids, I'm sorry we can't play. You still have your pajamas on and no shoes!" Ahem. Ahem.

Then, as always, we stalk our own home for part of the hour, driving by half-a-dozen times. Did they show? What kind of car do they drive? Can you see them in the windows? Are they sitting at the kitchen table writing a big, fat check? Please tell me that we're not the only ones that do this. Please.

Driving by the 1st time at roughly 2:49... Nobody there yet.

Driving by for the 2nd time at roughly 2:59... Nobody there yet. {Oh, no I didn't...}

Driving by for the 3rd time at roughly 3:14... Nobody there yet. {Oh, yes I did...}

Did anybody catch on yet? In "Bit in the Rear, Part 1" when I received the phone call from the realtor's office, they wanted to set up the showing for 3:45-4:45. Notice the times above again. Yes-sirree. I half-killed myself to leave home a full hour early, poopy baby and all. By this time, I had stopped back home to double-check the time that I had jotted down on scrap paper that morning. 3:45. Great! At least now I can get the kids some quick hobo-looking outfits and shoes to take them to the park. Leaving a message for Mark then, I confessed that yes, he was right. He had asked me earlier in the day about nap time, since the showing was at 3:45. "Nooo, it's at 2:45. No naps!" He was right twice in one day. Twice.

After all was said and done, the party did come through the house, since we found the lights off and candles blown out when we returned. (No, we didn't drive by 9 times again to check! We were at the park with ice cream, thankyouverymuch.) We just got the feedback emailed this morning from our realtor about this showing... The buyer wasn't sure of our layout. So what if the master bedroom is the size of a "child's shoebox" with the "master bath" two floors down in the basement? {insert "Tommy Boy" air quotes...} So what? Deal with it and make an offer! It's the least they could do for what they put me through...

It Finally Bit Me in the Rear...

I had just plopped down at the computer with my cup of hazelnut-flavored coffee after putting the baby down for his nap yesterday morning. The two older kids were happily watching a cartoon for a few minutes, home from school with the I-don't-know-if-it's-H1N1-or-not-sickness.

Ahhh...

RING!! RING!!
(Okay, our phone really doesn't "ring", but I don't know how to convey the spaceship-like beeping, clicking noise ours makes.)

"Hello, Kate? We have somebody who wants to see your house! Today at 3:45? Is that okay?"

"Ugh, great! Ugh, yeah, 3:45 would be fine." *click*

EEEEEKKKK! NOOOOO! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THE HOUSE IS THE MESSIEST IT'S BEEN IN LIKE... EVER!

{Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out.}
{Pray... "God, I'm really gonna need you today!!"}

I quickly ran upstairs to wake Mark. Nervously giggling, I told him about the phone conversation. You see I said "nervously giggling", because no more than 24 hours before this, Mark had told me that the house couldn't be in its current condition. What if somebody calls and wants to see the house today? Why, oh why did he have to be right!? "No. There's no way the house is going to be ready," he quips. Too late!! I reassured him that I always get it done in time. (Even if it half kills me every.single.time.)

Okay, so I'm not joking either when I say that the house was messy, really messy. Toys all over, dishes in the sink, dust, gunk, approximately 39.2 loads of laundry both clean and dirty all over the three stories of the house, a suitcase still semi-packed from a week ago, bedrooms a mess.... Yes, it's true, I sometimes slack. We had also enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather outside walking and raking leaves, so it was easy to just pretend for a few days that the inside of the house didn't need attention. No more pretending! We've always had at least a day's notice if not a few days for house showings, so I really didn't think a last-minute call could happen to us. And now I know...


To be continued...
{I'm sure I've already lost half of you by now, so here's my feeble attempt to keep the rest of you engaged...}

The Why...

So when I said that the "why" of our moving story was coming soon, I really didn't mean soon as in "two-weeks soon". Sorry. Again, the poor blog is neglected. It's still here, though, and hopefully you are too! :)

Lets' see, where do I start with this chapter of the story? I'll just start with the man behind the move, my super-cool-super-hot husband!

(Sorry that I like to embarrass you on our blog, Honey! ;)

Ahem, back to the topic at hand about the "why"... We're moving to a certain {everything's bigger in...} southern state to allow us to further both Mark's career and our family's goals and plans for the future. Mark's been accepted into anesthesia school! Yes, that's right. Within the next few years he'll be trained in the proper way to not only knock patients out for routine and advanced surgical procedures but to also bring relief from that icky minor pain associated with birthing new lives. (You can thank him later...) There's also the few trillion other technical-medical-type things he'll learn that I could never comprehend, let alone have enough brain storage left next to the files for knowing which sippy cups don't leak or how to best break up a squabble over who gets the last yogurt tube. {Like I say, though, this is super-hero-quality stuff too...} Enough about me, though!

Here's the other important piece to the puzzle... Mark didn't get into just any anesthesia school. He made his way into the ultra-elite Army's Graduate Program in Anesthesia. This means that he'll be trained as both an anesthetist and an Officer in the United States Army. Pretty cool stuff, huh!?

Of course Mark will be the one serving in the Army, but most of you know that this will quickly morph us into a military family. While there are a little bit of nervous jitters for the unknown that comes along with this, we are ultimately very excited and honored to embark on this new chapter in our lives. We pray that this door that has been opened for us by our Ultimate Commander in Chief will shower our family with countless adventures and opportunities for growth and service to our country and Him.

I guess that takes care of the "why" now, doesn't it!? Lately, it's hard living in the now waiting for our new adventure to start, but we know that it will be here before we know it. I'm sure we'll spend many cold midwest winter days day-dreaming about what the future holds for our family!

Ramblings of a Temporary Insomniac

This has got to be the worst joke there is for a sleep-deprived mama... Here it is 11:28 P.M., and I'm sitting at the computer about to write a post about complete and utter nonsense. {No, really. So don't say I didn't warn you...} I was in bed tonight at 9:45 after a particularly foggy, grouchy day and yep, you guessed it, getting nowhere close to dreamland as I lay wide awake. Being downstairs at the computer for the first time of the night made my eyes tired after a half hour, but alas, not da brain.

tick, tick

{up once with Brigham}

tick, tick

{I should get up and fold laundry}

tick, tick

{nah}

tick, tick

{what should I blog about next?}

tick, tick...

So once my mind wonders to thoughts of my blog in bed, I know I'm not falling asleep anytime soon. Is that true for anybody else? Yeah, thought so. Anyways, what follows is the honest-to-goodness, 100% true train of thought that I had about my blog in bed just minutes ago. I felt compelled to share. {Which is why I'm sitting in front of the computer for the second time tonight post-bedtime...}

Hmm... what should I blog about next?

I do have to get around to finishing my tantalizing story of why we're uprooting our lives.

But you know, Kate, you should really change the "Daily Rambling" again.

Rambling... Ha, that's a funny word. Never thought of that before...

Rambling, rambling, rambling, rambling rambling...

It reminds me of that word... Oh, what is it?!? ...the chunks of fried pig skin that Mark my foodie husband always drools over when watching Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain. Uhhhh! What's.that.word!?

Mark would know if I asked him.

I suppose he'd be upset if I rolled over and woke him up to ask him that now, though.

Hmm... Nope, better not.

Shoot. I'll have to go look it up on the computer now.

Wait a second! Why in the wiggity-world am I thinking of fried pig skin now!?

Oh yeah... Rambling, rambling, rambling, rambling...

So there you have it. The post full of complete and utter nonsense that floods my brain as I lie (or is it lay??) awake at night. And now, off to bed for the third time tonight. But not before I leave you with this golden nugget of information... {No pun intended...}

Cracklings! ;)