Happy Birthday Papa

Dearest Papa -

Happy Birthday. or Burff-day as they say around here.

We each picked out a card so we could decorate it just for you.

We got you a few books but you probably already figured that.

We hope you have a fantastic day.

You mean THE WORLD to us.

We get sad when we wake up and find out you had to leave for work.

We get sad at night when we don't 'read Bible' because we don't think Mama can read it.

We love spending time with you. Reading. Mowing the Grass. Taking trash to the Dump. Going to eat breakfast at Waffle House or Smiths.

We look up to you.

We love to get Papa squeezes.

~ Your girls

Five Favs - Funny Tweets from #edel14

So I'll actually do a post of substance about Edel. BUT in the mean time let's talk about the Tweets on the Jumbotron. Because some of them were stinking hilarious -some courtesy of the dads (aka the Edel Widowers). Props to all the dads and the grandparents who made it possible for all the mamas to get to Edel. Clearly we would not have been there without you… 

#5

#4

#3

#2

#1

Answer Me This - Volvos, The Letter Y and Christmas

Back to the ole blog because Edel is over… 

1. What’s your favorite thing on YouTube?

Can I pick two? Of course…

I've liked this one from way back when E would come to the store with me and want to watch Elmo on YouTube. 

And this one came about last Christmas which was awesome because I was SUPER post partum hormonal and needed a happy reason to cry. 

2. Who taught you to drive?

My Father Dearest did… I learned on a 1994 (correct me if I'm wrong) Chrysler Van. It was not a manuel and Lee did make one single attempt to teach me to drive stick and that did not last long (and I'm kinda okay with that). That van would have been my first car had the brakes not been SUPER sketchy but then this was my car:

until I crashed it
in a parking lot
that was empty 
at 11 in the morning

yeah… maybe Kendra will have to specifically ask if a question regarding car accidents to get the details on that one. 

3. What’s your favorite thing to cook?

Banana chocolate chip bread. Frequently we have nearly rotten bananas and then if gives me something chocolate in the house and since it has bananas in it, I feel slightly less bad about eating  several large pieces in one sitting. 

4. Are you a hugger or a non-hugger? Why? 

Non. So non. I have no idea. I promise I can cry at the drop of a dime but hugging is not my thing (except when Lee (and the kids) are involved and I can barely get a squeeze once a day). 

Oh and E thinks it is hilarious when at the end of the squeeze Lee and I 'kiss lips' (because only married people get to do that, right?) and if we don't for whatever reason we get quizzed 'how come y'all didn't kiss lips?'. 

5. Where do you pray best?

In the chapel, in our house, right before we rush out to school and work. Awhile back I instituted family prayer time before school. At first it was semi-sporadic but then on days we did not go pray I felt flustered and not centered. Now we pray before leaving for school at all costs - even if it causes us to be a few minutes late. 

Normally there is not gold chocolate coins strewn about and piles from St. Nicholas… Just once a year. Or to our hotel room. Or back in 2011.

6.  When is the last time you saw/spoke to your grandparents?

#catholicguilt #thanksKendra

Kidding. Kidding. 

Soooo… we took E to visit my maternal grandparents back in 2011. That was a good trip and my grandma gave E a toy that I used to play with and now it is at my parent's house. Kinda cool. But we have not been back. I would go if it weren't 8 degrees when we went. Seriously we left for church that Sunday morning and it was so so so cold my Southern bones did not cope well. 

We have taken the girls to my paternal grandparents spot at Arlington National Cemetery. We've been a few times and I think we'll actually use the parking pass next time instead of hoofing it on the Metro because it is a LONG walk and inevitably it rains. 

Sunday Night Links...

Not trying to stir the pot just sharing a few things that have been on my mind recently. PLEASE let's not hate in the com box. We can respectfully disagree or just ignore me as usual...

Well I guess it is NFP awareness week. I think I read that somewhere. So I suppose this is appropriate:

I wish I had the link to the blog… I'm SORRY the blogger I screen grabbed it from and cannot link back!!! I think this is hilariously awesome and true

Except…

I we don't use NFP. We signed up and went to the first class and didn't go back. Maybe because trying to sit through a class with 6 week old is tortuous? No. The whole idea of being THAT 'in touch' with something so mystical (in the Godly sense) did not really sit well with us amongst a number of other reasons. That's not to say we would be opposed to using in a dire situation as Humanae Vitae stipulates. It is just not for us. Not right now.

To each his own I'm not here to pass judgement or bash NFP.

This article happens to be fantastic.

So many statements I agree with in that. If I was going to make a sign I think mine would say:

"because we have committed our lives and our marriage to the Lord and the bedroom in undeniably part of it"

Moving on…

If you need a great tissue requiring story… check it out. Seriously, seriously. Even if you don't believe in saints and you just need a pick-me-up hopeful story. Read it and weep. Literally.

I've never had a sick child in the NICU so I really have no idea. Over the past week or two it seems like a number of babies I have heard about are sick or are in need of some prayer so don't forget to pray for them and their mamas and papas and families who are carrying a heavy burden.

Answer Me This - I am not an artist

1. What’s something you've won and how did you win it?

Hmmm… In high school the soccer team I played on won the state tournament a few times - I do have some fantastic memories of my last year on that team. 

My freshman year of college I ran my first road race - a marathon - (yes I am insane) and got third place in my age group. Technically speaking I got last place in my age group because there were only three in the 18 and under division so sometimes I conveniently leave that part out of the story. 

My senior year of college I won the NC Press Student Photographer of the year. 

2. Do you save old greeting cards and letters, or throw them all away? Why?

Goodness yes and it is a problem. I have FINALLY started throwing away the kids art that comes home from school. But back to the cards. I don't know I just like keeping them even though they clutter up my life a little bit.

We keep our Christmas cards that people send us and we use those in the mornings when we pray so if you need some extra prayers, send us your Christmas card and you'll get cycled through our little prayer warriors : ) 

3. When you’re at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

The kids have a shoes off rule in play. Just like we did growing up. I didn't wear anything around the house until we got hardwood floors and now I wear flip flops so the tiny little specks of sand and dirt and dust don't get stuck to my feet. 

4. Who’s the most famous person you have ever met? 

Hmmm… Off hand I cannot remember anyone in particular.  

5. What has been your best work of art?

Do these count? 

6.  What’s your strongest sense?

Smell? Ehhh.. I don't know. 

VBS - Twinkies, Hot Glue Guns and Little Blessings

So we are now in the season of life in which there is VBS for our kiddos. R thinks that she should be allowed to go but then when she falls asleep before 8 (normally it's more like 8:30 when big sister is there for antics and singing parties and scream-fest) I know why 2 yr olds don't go to VBS.

E was hestitent to want to go to VBS in the first place because it is not like she has a ton of friends going or she really knows any one who goes to our local Roman Catholic parish. So Papa decided to volunteer but then they had volunteer overload so he was not needed. I'm grateful for that parish for a number of reasons and I should connect with more families there… I digress

I was not really sure how she would fair. But E totally rocked it. She came back jabbering about her 'work' she needed to do (coloring) and she filled out her prayer stars. She 'had' to fix her bag because the foam stickers just wouldn't stay on.

{Insert hot glue gun here}

E got her regular glue and the glue gun and I tried to convince her that the regular glue would not go well with the glue gun… "But she WANTED to do the glue" soooo…

R and I supervised the glue gunning. E loaded up the back with a healthy dose of hot glue and I stuck on the stickers for her - she was not keen on the idea of the hot stickers so I really just had to make sure she did not get the tip close to her face/hair.

Otherwise, I really have no idea what they are doing in class because E 'doesn't know' what they did or who is in her class or who her teachers are. Well I mean she comes home with coloring pages and little crafts so I get the idea but Hello! details please : )

I usually get a full-detailed description of dessert (which she has imposed no dessert on herself after dinner so she can eat dessert at VBS). First it was twinkies, then cupcakes I think and last night was cinnamon sticks with whipped cream. At 8:30.

I thought there were 50 flavors or Dum-Dums
Lee thought 10… turns out there are 20
Self investigation rather than googling is way more fun!

Sunday night E was bouncing off the walls until a good 10 pm and then she finally crashed. Maybe it is a combo of our kids are usually in bed between 7-7:30 plus a bit of, dessert at our house usually consists of a dum-dum or small Tootsie Roll (from the Treeeeeeeeet Box - just ask R) regardless I'm just going to "Let it Go" (because we are still singing Frozen around here) and let E soak up her time at VBS : )

We've had this conversation for the past two nights:

Me - How was VBS?
E - Good
Me - What did you do?
E - I don't know
Me - Who's in your class?
E - I dunno
Me - What's your teacher's name?
E - I don't know... Fr. Meares did not give us a little blessing today
Me - Why not? {knowing Monday is his day off}
E - Because he only gives little blessings on Sundays

Oh and every morning E asks if she gets to go back to VBS tonight and she plans out who is going to take her and who is going to pick her up so I think next week she is going to be super bummed… because I have heard

"Mama can I go back to VBS EVERY night?"

7 Quick Ones...

Whatta week

--- 1 ---

So this is how our week started off…

Looking good

Errr… we might have an issue

Houston we have a problem. 

If you missed our Monday illness… check it. 

--- 2 ---

Tuesday we held down the fort at the house. We did surprisingly well for not having a normal in home routine. We made it outside before the humidity got totally outta control. The girls colored and did dress up and fought and made a huge mess. THEN I had major leverage to get the house put back together. 

Frozen. 

Lee got the girls Frozen for the excellent behavior at the dr.'s office (please see above). Said excellence did not maintain itself (are you shocked) into Tuesday SOOOO… when I asked that everything get cleaned up before lunch so they could watch Frozen…. We melted down. 

Then we watched 10 minutes before rest and the remainder after rest. And then what do any normal girls do after watching Frozen? 

Have an ice-skating party of course

The movie might be growing on me… just a tad bit. We may have just finished watching it. Because I vetoed Cinderella. Because R wanted to watch Frozen and E did not. So I was the deciding vote.

--- 3 ---

I made this cake…

With helper of course!

It was excellent. Note the chives were not applied to the cake

--- 4 ---

Dress up… 

Here's how a recent conversation went down regarding me trying to gauge thoughts on Disney

Me - What would you think about going to Cinderella's house?
E - NO! I would not
Me - Why? Cinderella's there.
E - The witches are there
Me - No it is just Cinderella and her friends
E - But the stepsisters live there…

It is so funny how real the movies are to little ones

--- 5 ---

Missing the pool much?

E's been having pool time with her animals during rest. Here imagination is just fascinating.

--- 6 ---

Did I mention we are on a princess parade kick 

Flags… Blankets… Accessories… 

--- 7 ---

I finished the stitching of Papa's stocking...

Now I must backstitch… Kinda ready to be done with this one

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

                               

Our 6-Day Weekend

E - I heard R cough... It's definitely a fever…

Alternatively, The Day in Which The Girls Ate Cherry Popsicles for Lunch and I Ate Cake

So after a fantastic 4th of July weekend the Kibbes kinda did a little Humpty Dumpty act and fell off our wall… Except (thus far) it's only been R.

We had a great time at the pool and with Grammy and Grandpa Joe. Saturday was low key. Sunday was church-filled in the AM and neighbor-filled in the PM for dinner (I'm still hoping we did not contaminate them)

I knew something was up when I went to check on R last night and she was not sweating. Seriously the girl sweats in her sleep. I mean not a ton, but a noticeable sweat ring around her hairline is pretty standard. Last night she was warm and not sweaty. Trusty thermometer. Low grade fever.

Also in my mind a little boy in her class had Strep at the end of last week (I'm a calculated risk taker so we are no strangers to school-bourne illness; I get it. It happens. Es mi vida. And I'm okay with it) so I'd been counting the days for the 2-5 day incubation period. Sunday was the fourth day. Awesome.

Now I've been reading (and almost finished) Catholic Homeschooling: Homeward Bound and one of the points that the authors bring up is that (SOME TIMES) (SOME) parents can see their kids' sickness or snow days from school as a burden because it conflicts with their work schedules. Hmmm… {cough, cough, nudge… them} Yeah that was me. Once or twice or maybe (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,) eight or nine times this winter. So I made a point to not get myself overly stressed about work so that I could focus my attention on the sick bebe. For it being waist deep in pool season and my boss on the other side of the world, I'd say I didn't do too bad. I have the most understanding bosses EVER just ask Nani and Lee.

4:30 my alarm goes off (yes that is the 4 to the 30) which I usually snooze through. I get up to check on R and the kid is standing up in her crib, half asleep, pretty hot. So I scoop her up. Take el temp and we rock in the chair with some OJ.

It's gonna be a long one. Because 1 down 2 to go…

R requests to be put back in her crib? yeah I know she's totally sick. Which is awesome because I know I can get some work stuff out of the way before the girls get up and I get on the phone to the peds office and cancel our dentist appts for Tuesday.

I get M up around 7-ish. Not much movement out of the girls room which smells like sickness to me because E and R start to twist and shout around 6:15 or 6:35 on good mornings.

7:30 still no antics out of the big girls. Not surprised for R but super weirded out by E. Papa calls to check for an update and I tell him I cannot give him one. Well just after 8 the big girls drag themselves out of bed. E is definitely not dragging so I am hopeful. R is a pitiful hot mess… Literally.

Where's my morning entertainment??? 

Nothing major to report in the AM other than coloring until our allotted 10 Elmo break. I am a caver when it comes to kids being sick. I cannot stand it when they sit in front of the tube but sickness times calls for TV measures (not all day long through). It happens to be perfect because we have a 11:15 appt at the dr office. I get M down for a morning rest later than I had hoped because my boss called me RIGHT as I was about to put her down BUT not-stressing. Remaining calm.

E picked out the outfits after a quick consult with R

I promise they picked their own clothes out… Believe no one EVER. But it is TRUE!!!!!

You woke me up?!?!? This better be good.

We load up and head out. Pulling to the parking lot 2 minutes past our appt time. Seeing that it is the last appointment of the morning so I am not horribly worried. I mean I probably won't seen until noon anyway so what does five minutes matter?

My favorite parking spot at the dr office. Extra wide. Handicap on one side. Curb on the other

Did mention I have a favorite spot? In case you needed one more piece of evidence.

We take our seats and the waiting game begins at 11:25. I have this thing where I don't like the girls to be running around like banchee children so they must sit in their chairs. Am I weird? I did not load up on books or iPad or anything like that. Gasp. Well 12:05 rolls around and we are the only ones left. Pretty standard for our dr to be super busy so not surprised. R is a zombie and has been sitting quietly the whole time. E was fidgeting but overall good. M has been content in her carseat. 12:15 I go to the window and see what's up.

"Oh they are just running behind"

I can tell we are on the cusp of it getting bad so bust out the goldfish and OJ since you know it's lunch time.

12:35-ish I'm getting SUPER annoyed now. I mean come on. I have a sick kid and two other kids who are being well behaved PLEASE JUST LET ME SEE ANOTHER DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!

Yeah then we get called back.

I beg the nurse to let me see another doctor because I'm not waiting for ANOTHER HOUR!!!!!!!!!

"They're all at lunch"

To the make-ya-think-you're-claustrophobic room. Add to that I have an 8 month old who is seemingly healthy and I don't want cross-contamination and a 4 yr old who is wound up with energy and a 2 yr old who just wants to be in her crib. I'm outta distraction for the big girls.

But then the nurse brings Popsicles. Yeah I heard the Alleluia too.

so not buying your story about this 'chair'

popsicle and not sick #winning

Let's do this NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

M is getting SUPER annoyed about her status as the child-of-the-carseat so I get her out and convince R she is in the special really big chair and E just needs to hold it together for another few minutes but every other sentence is:

Where's Doctor Grant???????????

True story.

#canigettascriptforammoxociliansoicangetouttahere

Doctor comes apologizes for the wait. Yeah I know. It's not your fault it is the BLEEPING scheduling so you need to reevaluate that stat. But I did not say anything because I think I would have cried. BUT an email is in the works and he will read it and $10 says he'll respond because he did this.

ANYHOW… just waiting to get the paper for the pink gooey goodness and… the Strep test is negative.

"Yeah it's probably a virus"

Whomp. whomp. whomp….

All that waiting and elevated blood pressure and waking up from nap and not eating lunch for that.

R falls asleep on the way home. E and M chow down on some food at 1:30 which is even late for us. I vent to my SIL and Nani and drown my frustration is cake. Yep I'm your textbook emotional eater but the cake was worth it.

Cooled off. Collected myself got a game plan for present situation. Got a game plan for future situations. Thankful for my healthy kids. Said a prayer for the lady in the waiting room who had it rough with her one kid. I think I have problems but then I realize… I REALLY DON'T

R finally got up from the nap with a super high temp so it was more meds and I tricked her into actually drinking something and gave her a juice box. I tell you, I was desperada. She was so pitiful. E was upstair with Papa coloring and M as asleep and I was wrapping up work stuff so I sat her at the table to "help Mama" while she ate a popsicle. Desperation abounds.

R - It not rrrrraining
Me - No it's not raining
R - It not raining
Me - Nope it is not raining
R - It NOT rrrraining
Me- Why?
R - Be-tuz
Me - {It is 96 and 80% humidity}

Clearly we are thinking logically here. All she wants to do is get down but the popsicle is not done so I convince her to look at book bags. One of her favorite things to do on the computer

R - I bookbag
Me - You need a book bag school
R - I class
Me - Who's class?
R - Meeeeee

Now she's got her eye set on the purple one.

Dinner was a bust for R and she still could not finish that popsicle either. E was her usual silly self. M was last on the totem pole and content with having some floor time while I got the girls in their sock-her  juer-sees for bed - R is obsessed with wearing her soccer jersey. Then M got mad and had to go to the jumper which got her even more mad because I had to read to the girls and pray and get them in bed. It was the take care of two with one stone issue. M was expressing her discontent and in walks Jibbe just as we got done praying. Whew. M deserved some Jibbe time after the day she had. R went almost straight to sleep and E was bouncing around in and out of her room per the usual. I was able to clean up the kitchen since M was getting some much needed attention. Papa had to make a diaper and milk run to Sams because R was on her VERY last diaper. You can diaper a kid up a size but you definitely cannot diaper them down.

Then once things were finally settling down the phone rings. It is a bit late. It is Lee.

Me - Hello
Lee - I'm just leaving
Me - Did your car start? Is the car okay?
Lee - Yeah it's fine. Sams was packed
Me - Oh okay. Well I thought I going to have to come and get you

#oldishcarproblems

Anyhow. That's the day in a nutshell if you even made it this far. I had Lee get the girls Frozen at Sams because of the stellar behavior at the doctor and for those who know me I'm a tough critic. Even I was impressed.

Another sick day tomorrow. Another day off work. Another day I get to spend with the girls : )