New blog!

Time to retire this one
Head on over to www.justfinishstrong.blogspot.com to find me!

Oh. My. Goodness

It has been soooooo long.

My apologies. How the heck was summer?? Full of swimming, vacation, and heat
Things to note:

• Zak learned to officially swim, including the diving board and slide. So proud.
• Paige is trying to run the family. She's quite bossy, and actually says the things I would say to correct her brother and sister. While I'd love to just sit back and watch her run things, I try to remind her, she's just the sister.
• Rene' - oh Rene'. Nap time today produced blue marker all over her body, hands and mouth, oh, and her brothers bed.
• Andy's started a new part time job in the evenings at UPS to get him out of the house.

Schools starting and my house is bustling! Promise I'll be back more often!!

Okie

You know you live in Oklahoma when your kids play "tornado" and can be seen running to the couch screaming "take cover, take cover" and throwing blankets on themselves. Only to go running away screaming again "thats not safe enough, we have to find somewhere else, hurry, hurry".

Writers Block

I've got it.

Bedtime

Bedtime at our house is very routine. Sometimes there's a bath. Sometimes there's crying. But every night, there's some singing by mom, and prayers by dad. I don't know about you, but bedtime is when my kids open up. When Zak asks his most pending heartfelt questions about life, tells me about something important that happened during his day, and seems way too old for his age. He insists on me singing "Dream a Little Dream" every single night. I try really hard to get it out of it, but the reminder that someday, he is not going to want me to sing it, makes me do it. The girls aren't quite there yet, but the singing is of utmost important to them. We have our standby songs. Rene's right now is "twinkle, twinkle". And last night, she told Paige and I not to sing, and that she would sing it by herself. As I sat on her bed, listening to that little 3 year old voice, I told myself to remember it. Remember her shiny, freshly washed hair, the little red bump on her lip, her running her fingers through the holes in her favorite purple blanket, and most of all, that little voice singing her little heart out to the tune of twinkle, twinkle little star.

That's what its all about people, that's what its all about.

Things you might find in your tennis shoe

• a plastic chicken wing
• a large clear ball with a shark floating in it.
• a leapster cartridge
• a green bracelet
• a sheep magnet
• the lid to your son's tooth tin

And then, when you get to work, and are in the locker room putting on your tennis shoe and you feel something in the toe, you pull out a pink fluffy bootie.

Rene' totally made my day today.

Not your everyday conversation

Its 8:30 - mom's in the bath tub, Paige is taking care of her business in the bathroom too.

Paige: Mom, who makes panties?
Me: Huh?
Paige: who makes panties?
Me: people who work at the panty factory
Paige: But how do they do it?
Me: they take some fabric, cut it out, and sew it.
Paige: That is so cool

silence

Paige: Can I go there someday and watch them make them?
Me: Um...sure. Someday.

Hope she doesn't hold me to that one.