Not Me Monday!

Ok, this is the most fun, ever! I learned about this from Travis Prachar's blog and she learned it from some other blog (I left a link to it on the left.) Basically, "Not Me Monday" works like this - you write a list of things that you would NEVER do (wink, wink, wink). This is very theraputic and fun. I have to admit that this week's list isn't very good, but I'm starting to get the hang of it, so here it goes...

* I would NEVER pick out a door prize based on which one would make the most money on eBay. That would be tacky and cheap!
* I would NEVER have ticks on my children, for the school to remove! No way, not me! Ryan would never have 6 ticks removed by the school nurse.
* My children would NEVER drink from the toilet when their perfectly full and fresh sippy cup is on the counter. That would be disgusting!
* I would never pretend to be sick so I could get in a nap on Sunday!
* I would never send the wrong child to his room when it was actually the other one's fault, again. Actually, my children are perfect and never wrestle, hit or scream.
* I would never forget to get the babysitter because I was reading other people's blogs.
* I would never send my nephew a birthday present a month late.
* I would never feed my children hot dogs day after day.
* I would never try to sell my children's ride on tractor in a garage sale just to make big bucks. They hated this thing - but within the last week, it has become their favorite toy - good thing it didn't sell!
* I would never have this philosphy for babysitters: "As long as they are alive, the rest I can fix."
* I would never give my 7 year old an apple so he would stop talking about riding the bus.

So this list isn't great, but it's a start. Stay tuned for next week's not me activities!

What's new...

My basket cases...

I haven't blogged all week, probably because nothing exciting is happening. Although, when people ask "What's new?" I can talk about our $2000 submersible well pump. That is new!! A week ago Saturday we had no water. First we brought the electrician - $150 to tell us our well was burned out. He said, and I quote, "It's no big deal." So we call around and finally get someone out to the house. I come back from some errands and Mark says, "Guess how much?" I figure no big deal means $500. Nope... $1500. The fiasco continued from there, but to protect the guilty, I will not go into details! Just know that it was an additional $350 - ask Mark if you want to know why!

On Friday, I got up at 4 am to go to the Y and run with my running partner, Meg. I went to brush my teeth and the water didn't work! Ugh!!! After much prayer - instead of worry - the well people came out and fixed us up. For free. Thank you God! I get home from work, and I flush the toilet. Ok, the water is BROWN! I freak out and check other faucets... Brown and foamy! Yikes - I call the well guy and as I am talking to him, the water clears up. Again, thank you God! Anyway, I'm ending the story here to ask if you see what time I get up!

Yes, I am turning into a running girl. Meg and I do run/walk intervals and I love it!! I am not so crazy about the time, but it's truly the only time I can work out consistently. By the afternoon, I'm pooped and it's too hot... I am the point in my weight loss where people notice and it's encouraging. But I'm not done yet! One of these days I will post a picture of me because I definitely look different - it might be the short haircut though!

Indiana Trip

I don't have many pictures on my blog and so that's the main reason for today's post... These are just a few pictures from my trip to Indiana in August. The first picture is Zach with Drew and Parker. The second is Ryan just cheesing at the park. Then there is Zach, my brother and the firetruck Zach wanted to see until we actually got out of the car, then it was all screams! Finally, Ryan loved the dogs at Jen Borse -oops - Borland's house.

I also want to add music, but that job is bigger than I have for now. Stay tuned - I'm under construction!

Goober hat part 2

So we have been wearing the "protective helmet" for about 2 or 3 weeks and Ryan still has some bumps. Go figure... And this morning, right before the bus came, Ryan, wearing his hat, fell and hit his eyebrow on the toy box. Blood everywhere. One very panicked dad. A bus coming any minute now. A screaming child. A freaked out brother. Yes, a very bad scene...

So Mark calls me at work and tells me what's happening and says, "Should I just slap a band aid on it and send him to school." NO!!!!!!!

He throws Zach on the bus and from the bus driver's description, I think he literally threw him on the bus. Then he tells the driver, "Here take this one, I have to rush his brother off to the ER!" She was like, "Um, ok..."

Ryan ended up with 3 stitches on his eyebrow. Gotta love that "protective helmet"! Although all sarcasm aside, I am sure it has saved us from quite a few bumps, but it has still allowed some through!

Zach spent the rest of the day off kilter because he was worried about his brother and couldn't verbalize that. So he was "weepy and frustrated" as his teacher said. On top of all that drama, Dana is out of town for a week. So the poor kid is worried and doesn't even have his Dana to soothe him. Bummer all around!

We shall keep on and one day live in a house without falling children and goober hats. Until then, I'll keep smiling and praying for protection!

I've lost Ryan!

Yipee! I have officially lost Ryan in two ways... I am down to my pre-Ryan-pregnancy weight. I know I wasn't exactly thin when I got pregnant with him, but at least after 4 years I am back there and not where I was in May. (Does that make sense?) The second way I've lost Ryan is that I am down 35 lbs and that is how much he weighs. I can't believe I was carrying all that weight and now it is gone! Now, I just have to lose Zach in two ways... I'll let you know when I lose Zach! I wouldn't be able to do this without the bible study www.settingcaptivesfree.com the Lord's Table. It's an intense Bible study, but it's effective - I've lost Ryan and gained a much closer relationship with God! How cool is that?!

The goober hat has been on Ryan "full-time" for several weeks now and he still manages to bang up his head! Talk about frustrating...

Here's my cute Zach story of the day - or week. Zach LOVES girls of all ages (that's the background). He went to the dentist on Friday and a whole gaggle of girls came to get him - like 4 hygenists and one female dentist... He was in heaven! He had sealant put on his molars and then needed a baby tooth extracted. After about 10 minutes of all this, he started to get impatient. Whenever he could talk, he said, "I want to see Dana!" The girls all thought this was cute and that Dana was his girlfriend. No, it's his teacher. I was in the waiting room thinking, "Hey! What about me?? I'm your MOTHER!! And you want Dana??" While I will admit that Dana is a saint and an incredible teacher, I'm his MOM! When he wins the world series or is on tv, will he say, "Hi Mom!" Nope, not my kid, he'll say, "Hi Dana!"

Love,
Kristin

The Goober Hat

I was lamenting to my brother and a few friends that since I've started blogging, nothing funny has been happening! My boys haven't been coo-coo and so I don't have anything fun to blog.


Yeah for Zach... He gave me something to talk about - even though it isn't that funny. The boys wake up WAY too early - anywhere between 5 am and 6 am. Fortuntately, when I go to the gym in the mornings I get up around 4:15, so 5 am is sleeping in for me! Usually Ryan wakes up first and then gets his brother up. If we don't lock their doors (from the inside so they can get out but the other can't get in) then they will both be up creating havoc in the mornings. This havoc can range from taking everything out of their drawers, to wrestling, to banging toys... Yesterday morning it was socks all over the floor.


Anyway, this morning, Zach was up first (he slept in - he woke up around 5:45 am) and since Ryan's door was locked, he had to find some other entertainment. I heard him, but didn't actually get out of bed. (I was up "late" - 9:30pm!!) So I finally got out of bed and went looking for Zach. He was in the bathroom, standing on the sink, putting band aids all over the mirror! He was so proud of himself and started naming all the characters on the bandaids. I should have grabbed the camera, but I didn't want to encourage him!


Now that I've just typed all that - it's not really that funny. Thanks Missy for telling me I should blog it!! Oh, here's a Missy story... She called me this morning to "thank" me for teaching her son a phrase he probably shouldn't use. Here's this story:


Ryan is now wearing his protective helmet all the time. I hate this hat, but it keeps his head safe from bumps. We hope that the current bumps flatten out... Anyway, Missy and her kids, Gavin (almost 3) and Page were over on Saturday. We were all getting ready to load up in the van and go find puddles to splash in. Zach insisted on wearing socks with his sandals. This upset Mark and my reply was, "So what, his brother is wearing his 'goober hat'. " Well Gavin heard this and has since started calling Ryan's hat a "Goober Hat".


The next day at church, Ryan and Gavin played together and Ryan was wearing his hat. At dinner, he tells Missy, "I played with Ryan and he wore his goober hat." She called me this morning to tell me that she is worried that Gavin will see some other kid wearing a protective helmet and call it a goober hat. Most likely the parents of that child will not have the same warped sense of humor that I do!


My response to Missy, "I'm sorry. I'm not used to having kids that talk!" I think I'm forgiven... Because Gavin is coming over this afternoon!

Ryan and Gavin. See the Goober Hat? See why I hate it? But it does keep his noggin safe...

Don't you think we need a little girl? Mark is feeding Paige. He looks a little uncomfortable, so I think he might need more practice...

Here's the whole clan... Zach is trying to get behind Mark, Ryan confused reading books with eating books and Missy is just content to watch the action while Paige is eating.