Kitty

Kitty

She is insane with love for this stuffed thing.



A few months ago, whilst shopping with my friend and our precious little ones, I was desperately seeking a bargaining chip that would buy me 10 minutes of peace and quiet while I tried on jeans. We wandered through the kids section and I found the cheapest small toy I could find. She picked a small white kitty. I got two so the girls would each have one and occupy themselves for just a FEW extra minutes. Did you note the line above where it said WHITE? Now, please know my child has more small stuffed things than I can count. Mostly monkeys, but there are a few others thrown in and other than a blanket, she has never really OBSESSIVELY attached herself to anything. Well Kitty seems to have stuck. For weeks she has carried kitty everywhere, they gym, the football field, the garage, the pond, and needless to say Kitty got ICKY! I asked to wash kitty and you would have thought I was going to commit murder.  I even offered to let Kitty take a bath WITH her. Kitty was turning.... grey and slowly black and was developing an odor about it.





In step WONDER AUNT! Aunt Eva has a washing machine with a clear top. So on a recent trip to Aunt Eva's house she asked if it would be ok for Kitty to take a bath and Shelby could watch her the WHOLE time! Shelby agreed that Kitty would be ok and feel better if she could see her mommy.  HALLELUJAH!!!

ONE CLEAN AND DEODORIZED KITTY!!!! Now we know we just need to travel 2 hours to the Kitty salon every time it needs a bath. THANKS AUNT EVA!



Yea..... at least it smells better! Ready to spin?





I can hear her saying "It's ok Kitty, mommy is right here"



Isn't she amazing and SMART!



The Diva and The Manly Man

Some days I envy those parents that have either ALL boys or ALL girls cause around here it looks like GI Joe is holding Barbie hostage.

Cole is into EVERYTHING boy! He is into anything that shoots from Nerf guns to bow and arrows and pistols. He plays football, puts leggos together in minutes and will play x-box till his fingers fall off if I would let him.

Shelby is ALL girl, she frequently asks if she can grow up to be a Diva. I'm not sure that's something you can grow into, but if it is, mommy wants that too! She sings, dances, wants to wear make-up and is all about tea parties, barbie and pedicures.



I feel the need to lock and barricade our doors now.

 So when they say women are from Mars and Men are from Venus, all I can think is that at some point, they grew up with the same parents in the same house and they survived.

My Organizing Obsession

Before

Now that I am home more - lots more. I am becoming a little more neurotic about being organized. In truth, I am OK with my own personal disorganization, cause I know where my stuff is, I just don't like Troy or the kids being disorganized. SO in an effort to "help" them, I am cleaning out closets, going through the stacks of paperwork and reorganizing. Yes, I could be doing laundry, which is piling up because I am completely focused on something else, but it's so much more fun to play 100 questions with what to do with papers that Troy can't see while he is at work. So he gets to sit at work and try to imagine what I am looking at in the kitchen and then decide if I should pitch it, keep it, file it or do something with it. Oh, I could be cooking dinner, but this new game is so much more fun! At least for me it is! Thanks Troy for playing along!


After

YEA ME.  

Daddy's Girl

When Shelby turns dating age, which should be around 30, we should clearly warn any boys that come near her that she has a somewhat unreasonable expectation of men. Between her papaw, her bubba, and her daddy and uncle Eric, there has never been a man who hasn't catered to her every need and whim. From daddy giving pedicures to bubba being her personal Mr. Fix it. She has some high expectations. Papaw cooks her eggs and bacons and serves as her personal chef. Uncle Eric is there to serve an constant entertainment. I am thankful to have true men surrounding her. I am glad that in a day where REAL fathers are few and far between, she has amazing examples of men who not only LOVE to be dad's, but are good husbands and men. I am proud that the examples of men in her life are as comfortable out hunting and working on tractors as they are cooking blackberry cobbler and doing laundry. I'm glad her expectations are high and if no boy ever hits them, well, that will be ok with daddy!

Daddy had been painting all day, he'll love that I posted his fine non shaven look!

Dancing in the living room is the best thing ever!

Projects/Weekend Plans

School 5 days a week, football 3-4 days a week, gym 3-4 days a week (if I am motivated), it's not like we are lacking for things to do. I did however find a few extra projects to throw in, just in case Troy was finding himself bored. Furniture and curtains are going on craigs list and the remodel is set to begin. Troy has decided our flooring needs to be renovated, so he is in search of hardwood for the floors and I am hoping for tile in the kitchen/entry. We also managed to squeeze in a night of camping for the boys while the girls enjoyed a night in watching movies!

My hubby with his eyes closed painting away. Thanks hon for always taking these projects on, even when I know you could be doing anything else!

This would be the wallpaper prior. Yes, it felt really good ripping it down!

New blue paint a and curtain.

The MEN after a long night out in the wilderness. Ok, it was our friend's back yard, but close enough!

Dinner on an open fire, YUM-O

The girls idea of camping!

Safety and Fun

Being the parent of two beautiful children, there is always that fear in the back of my mind that someone, somewhere is out there lurking that would do them harm. Mix that with my prior occupation and working with cops for many years and I clearly know more horror stories than most. So this weekend, taking both of the kids to the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association Family Shoot, it was really fun to see Shelby take an interest in shooting a gun. Cole has been shooting rifles, pistols, throwing hatchets and knives for awhile now and he is REALLY good. He is extremely accurate at very long distances and I am very proud of how safe and careful he is with a gun. He always takes his time and is very careful around others. This was Shelby's first experience and I really thought the noise might bother her, or the gun powder, but it didn't seem to! She was excited to sit with her daddy and shoot just like her brother. Both kids walked away with prizes, Cole's were mostly 1st and 2nd place awards.  I think I will suggest to all of Shelby's first dates that they go to the firing range. That way they at least know she's a good shot before they embark on a real date. I call that dating safety!

Football Season

It's been hot. Stupid hot. Like 95 degrees heat index of over 100, thighs melt together as soon as you walk out the door kind of hot and my son is out playing football in full pads and a helmet and loving every minute of it.

My daughter, and dog who are clearly more like me spend the days inside and barely stick our noses out the door before deciding that indoor activities are much more our style. Shelby has been hanging with Nana during football practices due to the heat. 

Shelby and I have been doing preschool at home and she seems to be enjoying the activities at "school" it doesn't hurt that as she and Joy are the only two kids in class that we change gears often! Joy is enjoying movie, nap and story time! She actually moves to see the TV when Sesame Street is on. Here are some photos of Cole on the field, can't you just smell the sweat and Axe body spray dripping. Yuck!

The Last and the First

We just had to squeeeeze in the last few activities before summer vacation was "officially' over. I had hoped to go to the park, zoo or something fun outside, but it was heat index of over 100. That meant indoor activities. Cole's choice was to play Monopoly, Shelby wanted to cook and play Rock Band.  I wanted to see Toy Story 3, so we caught the movie at 6:30 and ended summer vacation on a high note watching Andy in Toy Story drive away to college. Pretty fitting.  Staying home this summer has been one of the best times of my life. Other than when Shelby was non-verbal, I have never had the opportunity to stay home with my kids and just enjoy them on a daily basis. I am so lucky that I have had this opportunity. Thank you to my wonderful husband for letting me do this. By far, I am probably the worst stay at home mom ever, my house is messier than when I worked, there are projects half finished everywhere, my kids eat candy, chocolate and all kinds of things that I would never think a day care or babysitter would feed them, but wow we have had fun. I have so enjoyed lying around in our pajamas in the morning while daddy goes off to work. I have enjoyed taking the time to listen to my kids talk to each other, ok ok, they argue more than they talk, but sometimes, if you listen closely, you hear the rumblings of what I hope will be brother sister talks for long to come. It's been a good summer. I look forward to what the school year will bring.

That backpack did not go to school that heavy!

Cole, please listen to her, she ran all the way out to meet you at the bus!!!

The last few days of freedom......

School starts in three days. The locker has been located, school registration is over, all supplies have been purchased. New shoes are already dirty. We have been hoping to squeeze in a few more days of fun before the end, but there has been so much extra drama around the house, that life hasn't exactly gone as planned. We took the kiddos to the State Fair today and yesterday, Shelby hosted a tea party for her bestest friend. The wonderful thing about having a girl is tea parties! You just can't have that kind of fun with boys. SOOOO, next week, back to school, football, and routine. I hope. I so need routine......
I need to establish normal.

The Children's Museum

Football practice starts soon,  school starts soon, so we figured we better get in the last few days of fun before we get back to the schedules! It's fun to watch them play together when they are not trying to annoy each other.
If you haven't been to the Indianapolis Children's Museum in awhile, I would suggest planning a trip! We have been to other children's museums, they just don't compare!