Kelton's Day at Work

Oh my. The child had an amazing day and went to bed sobbing about how much he misses all his new friends at work and why oh why can't he go back tomorrow and work again? I know he was just way over tired from his day but still - his tears were very, very real and my heart broke a little for him. He really did have a spectacular day and I've had to promise him that we can go visit everyone again once school is out for the summer. He tried to get me to commit to paying for 4 hours of parking on the day we go. I didn't promise, of course, but it sure was cute. :)

Dakota made him a binder in which to keep all his work and it included a checklist of all this things he accomplished. Pretty impressive, if you ask me. He helped log into her computer, made coffee (now there is a skill I could put to use!), checked email, created a contract with mom as to how his day would go and what he was responsible for, faxed the contract to an authorized sign off, received signed off contract back (Dakota is a Contracts Coordinator so contracts are her job), filed the contract, met with Dakota's supervisor, called someone using the speaker phone, checked on a contracts status (a real one), rode the Aerial Tram, had a coffee break, drew pictures, worked on his binder, went with mom to pick up lunch and had lunch with co-workers.

Are you tired yet? Imagine how exhausted he is tonight! :) He was at Dakota's office from 6:30am to 2:30pm. That's quite a day for a little guy.

Here are pictures of his day:

Arriving at work.

Making a picture that he would later photocopy.

Adding his checklist to his binder.

Working on a project given to him by Dakota's supervisor.

Walking to the tram.

Talking with me on the phone while walking to the tram.

Waiting for the tram.

On the tram.

Having a coffee break with Chris (who signed off on his contract and who has watched Kelton grow up).

Kaylen and I drove up to have lunch with everyone and then brought Kelton home but first, after lunch, Kaylen let it be known that she too wanted to ride the tram. So, off we went. Now mind you, height and I don't mix well so this was huge for me. Kelton helped me my holding my hand and telling me when the tram would swing and what else I could expect. Quite the role reversal!

Watching the tram we rode down the hill leaving the station to go back up. We caught the next one.

There it goes!

Is it any wonder he wants to go back again tomorrow? :)

Little Worker Boy

At this point, Kelton is about 3 hours into his work day with Dakota. I have had a couple updates and a couple cell phone pictures. Below is a photo of Kelton standing outside Dakota's cube and one of him using the copy machine to copy, of all things, his hands. Apparently it was a co-workers idea. :)

Isn't he just the cutest thing? He looks so proud and so, so serious!

Off To Work He Goes

Tomorrow is "Take Your Child to Work Day" and Kelton will be up and out at the crack of dawn with Dakota and let me tell you - that boy is so excited he could barely stand himself all day and had a lot of trouble getting to sleep tonight.

For her part, Dakota spent some time today getting ready to show her son what her job is all about.

They have quite the schedule lined up with meetings, learning to fax and copy, a tram ride, coffee break time, etc. It all culminates in a lunch that Dakota has arranged. Kaylen and I will be joining them for the lunch portion and then the kids and I will head home leaving Dakota to finish out the day and then head to school. I think it ought to be a day to always be remembered for both of them. And yes, she promises to take photos so I can share them. :)

Kelton's name badge (yes, I blurred out some info.)

The name plates in their work space.

Kelton's work area which is right next to Dakota's.

Horoscope

I usually don't read my horoscope and even when I do I keep in mind that there are a dozen more out there that say the complete opposite. And yet, I couldn't resist reading mine this morning and somehow - it just makes me happy.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec 21)
An enchanting presence in your life makes you know you are wanted, not needed. It's a nice position to be in. The pressure is off and anything you give is a bonus.


Wanted. Not needed. Enchanting presence. Pressure is off.

Those are my favorite parts. :)

Rounding Up My Village to Add to Theirs

I followed a link from a blog I read to one called It's Taking A Village and I wanted to share it with you. Their beautiful baby boy was born April 18th and quickly developed problems prompting a rush ER trip, admittance to the NICU, surgery and tests. On Monday, they almost lost their son.

I do not know these people but I know this: they are parents in need of help and support. Please go over and add to their village of support while they navigate their way through the days and weeks ahead.

Thanks.

Baby Love

Wouldn't she make a sweet big sister? No - it's definitely not in the cards but Kaylen really is quite smitten with babies. This is Tennyson and he is the 8 week old son of my friend, Shawna. Kaylen could not wait to hold the baby. On the drive over to Shawna's house all Kaylen could talk about was "Can I hold the baby, please?" "Mom, can Kelton hold the baby after I do?" Chatter chatter chatter about holding the baby. When it was finally time for her to hold him (he had been sleeping most of the time) she was completely over the moon. It was so cute to watch her with him. And then - about 3 minutes into it, she was done. "Here Mom. Take it now. I done."

So, so cute!!

Joining the 21st Century

I have an MP3 player! I know most of you are probably thinking "Yeah? So what? I've had one for years." but this is the very first one that has ever been in our house. We have just never had a need nor a desire for one. (Thank you, Dakota, for suggesting we get one for me!!)

What was I thinking???

I had no idea how much fun it would be to listen to my music while I cleaned. I didn't have to listen to the strains of Max and Ruby or ICarly or whatever show the kids were watching. I could listen to music *I* like! Even in the car I have no say over what we listen to. You without children (or those smart enough never to have let your child know child-friendly music can be listened to in the car) scoff but seriously, whenever I turn on the radio I hear "Barney!! I want Barney music!" from the backseat. If I ignore the demands, try to worm my way out of listening to the Barney CD one. more. time. or worse, flat out say "No honey. Mommy is going to listen to the radio right now." the ear piercing screaming begins. Eventually, I will give in because I can't hear my music anyway.

Most days the radio/CD stays silent because I just can't bring myself to listen to kid tunes more often than necessary.

But now I have an MP3 player (and it's so tiny!) and life is good! No, I can't listen to it in the car (I'm safety minded like that - go figure) but I can listen to it while I fold laundry, sweep, mop, vacuum or do dishes. Yay!!!

I tried to take a photo of my actual unit but I just couldn't get the lighting right tonight. Frustrating!!! But yes, I actually did get the pink one just like shown above. Cute, isn't it?

PS..Keep reading. I was a posting freak today!

Belated Birthday Photos

With all the chaos of sick children I neglected to share birthday photos from Kelton's birthday so without further delay....here they are!




That evening, we put together his Better Batter set (which he wanted oh so much but which turns out isn't as much fun as he had hoped. Bummer. :( ) and the kids had some baseball fun in the yard.






This year, for the first time ever, he was able to choose a special activity that he wanted to do - he choose golfing! So, off to our local miniature golf course we went.



I think it's safe to say that, minus being sick in the days prior and his sister being sick int he days immediately following, that Kelton had a great birthday! For my part, I still can't believe my son is six. It's just so strange to say, you know? I have a six year old. Wow. Never again will he count his age on just one hand - how in the world did the first five years go so fast??

Happy (belated) Birthday, Kelton! You are one in a million!

New Patio Furniture

Did I ever share with you that we bought a new patio furniture set this year? Well - we did and it's great! Our last one didn't have cushioned seats and I am here to tell you it is definitely a plus! It is so nice to just sink into the soft comfort of those chairs and since we spend a lot of time outside in the summer, these chairs will be worth their weight in gold!

It's not an extremely fancy set but it fits our needs perfectly (plus there is more room at the table for the four of us. Our last set had a round table (we bought it the year Kaylen was born so we weren't really thinking ahead to needing more elbow room.). Sure, teak patio furniture would be a step up but for now, we are really enjoying our new set. Now all we need is for the wind, rain, hail and snow to stop for more than a day so that we can enjoy it! :)


(this is a stock photo from the Wal**Mart site. It is the set we have though.)

Healthy - Finally!

On Friday morning I began to have hope that I wouldn't need to take out a life insurance policy on anyone as it appeared that we were finally turning the corner from Puke-Poop City to Healthy-ville. By Friday afternoon, I was sure of it! Thank heavens!!!

Saturday morning Kaylen woke up and said "Hey Mom - I feel really, really, really good today! I not sick anymore - hurray!!" Hurray indeed, my daughter. Hurray!

This morning, Monday, she woke up and said "I feel ever more better today! Let's go someplace." So I guess it's official - we are over this sickness and the world, once again, is open to us.

Good News/Bad News

It's never cut and dry, is it? Kid sickies are so completely random. No more throwing up from Kaylen but lots of *ahem* other end issues.

*sigh*

To be honest though, I can handle diarrhea much better than barfing. At least she is potty trained and can get herself there in time. Barfing is much more unpredictable as to where it will land.

Still. We are housebound for yet another day. I think I might be going bonkers. It would be really, really nice if the weather was decent so we could at least get out in the yard to play and breathe in some non-stagnant air.

She feels good - except for the part where she isn't. I may have Dakota stop by and pick up some liquid Imodium to have on hand. I remember the doctor said to give it to Kelton when he was three and we had some sort of nasty rotovirus going through the house (especially delightful when you have a six month old). I'd have to call and find out age/weight data for dosing but still....I think we all deserve a break and it might be just the ticket to break the cycle. It's been going on for days and days and days now.

Was It Really My Cooking?

Well......she is definitely NOT better. She fell asleep on my lap around 2pm today and woke up at 4. After being up for a bit she complained of her tummy hurting (a common complaint since this all started Friday night). A while later she said she was hungry and asked for a scrambled egg. 20 minutes after eating it, she climbed on my lap, snuggled in and........barfed all over me.

So..I guess we're onto phase 2 of her being sick. Lovely.

But on a sort of funny note - after getting everything cleaned up she said she was hungry again and I told her that I didn't want her to eat just yet because her tummy had just gotten sick after she ate the eggs. She said "Hey mom - I think it was your cooking that made me sick!"

Oh sure - every one's a critic of my cooking. *sigh*


(PS..once life returns to it's usual state, I have birthday party pictures to share. And S, if you are reading this I wanted to let you know that Martian Matter was a huge, huge hit! I have to admit that it's even fun for the mom. :) He passed up cake and ice cream so that he could assemble and play with it immediately. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!)

Updated "Favorite Reads" List and My Still Sick Girl

Alrighty then....I've updated the blogs I visit section. If you are not listed, and you want to be, let me know. I've left some out on purpose because I'm not sure if you want me to share you with my corner of the world (some of you have private/not listed under your profile blogs (like most of my MC friends) and some of you I just don't know how you feel about randomly being listed. But then - some of you I listed without asking because well...I just did. :)

Update on Kaylen is she is still not doing well. Very quiet and low energy today. She has me concerned so if she isn't better, or gets worse, I'll call and take her to the doctor tomorrow. She says she is just really tired but even people at kindergarten pick up today commented on how she was just not herself and didn't look well. The past two days, even though she has still been sick, no one said a thing. I'm surprised she isn't doing well today - I had expected this to be the day she turned the corner and started feeling better. Think good thoughts for her, will you please?

Just when you think......

...you are out of the woods with the illness missing the second child, you couldn't be more wrong.

Entering the second week of nasty poop hell. *insert sound of train whistle* All Aboard!

Actually it hit yesterday after a couple days with a "clearly not feeling well but couldn't pinpoint what exactly was going on" child. Oh the joys.

But on another totally none-related note; I need to update my favorite links on the side bar. If you would like your blog to be included. drop me a note (via email or comment - your choice) and I will happily add you. To the rest of you (like Fern!) you will be included whether you like it or not because you make me laugh while allowing me to feel less alone and a whole lot less crazy in the game of parenthood.

So? Want me to link to you? :)

Birthday Wishes

Dakota's birthday is coming up. Quickly. And I have yet to figure out the perfect gift. I have a couple ideas on things but they aren't as grand as say..... a Rolex watch. Last night we were talking and I think we may have agreed on my not spending money on a few little things and instead put the money I would have spent towards a weekend at the beach. I love that idea but it still feels wrong not to get *something* for her to open on her big day.

Now if we were heading to the beach on her actual birthday then that would be one thing but it won't be for a few weeks after (finals and all....) and I just can't imagine not having a gift for her to open.

So...the hunt is on. Wish me luck!

The Great Bug Hunt

My kids love to bug hunt. I personally find it on the "eeeew-y" side of things but the kids (and Dakota) find great thrills in finding and identifying bugs. Being the mother I am...which is one who encourages her children's desires and talents...I bought each of them (the kids, not Dakota. She has to share with the kids.) a bug finder magnifying glass.

They love it! It will ask questions about the bug they have found and then will try to ID it for them. They have also discovered the delight of trying to trick the bug finder by showing it something not real, say a doll bottle, and then set about giving it no answers to "Does it have wings?" and "Does it have legs?". Kaylen will actually try to give it hints in her little voice (I'm not sure why she thinks it can hear her but she does) "Nooooo....dis isn't a bug at all. Guess again!"

I wonder how much longer I can put them off when they ask me to go turn over pieces of wood or flower pots so they can find creepy crawly things.

Eeeeeew.

Routers, Anyone?

I was out and about on the great World Wide Web looking for information on routers. Mostly, I wanted to know why they sometimes go bad and why other times they just feel like making life difficult. The last router we had suddenly decided it didn't feel like letting us access sites we'd gone to a zillion times before. After hours and hours of troubleshooting, the tech guy suggested unplugging it from the system to see if that made a difference (I blogged about this last summer....talk about a frustrating day!). It did so we went router-less for about 6 months.

Then we finally bought a new one...which worked great until we bought the new computer in December. Suddenly we were having issues with just about everything but clueless me didn't connect that it was because I failed to install the driver and whatnot for router to work on the new computer (and had no idea where I had put the disk to do such a thing). Thankfully, my computer smart brother came to visit in February (yes, we put up with it for that long) and immediately discovered the problem and had it fixed in no time.

With all his knowledge on routers, I wouldn't be surprised if he owned a used cisco router! (Check out those puppies - they are GINORMOUS!)

Through all this rambling I guess I am saying.....

hmmmm....I have no idea. I guess I'm just saying. :) Maybe this is just me over-sharing my stupidity when it comes to technology. :)

In Six Short Years.....

...my baby has gone from this:





To this:



My darling Kelton...you are the light of my life and you never, ever fail to make me laugh. Your smile is one the most amazing things I have ever been blessed to see and when you wrap your little arms around me I feel such a sense of joy and peace. You are part of my soul and no matter where your life takes you, you will always be linked to me in a way that is indescribable. I will never ever forget the moment you were born or the way Mama looked as she held you in her arms for the first time. I watched her give you your first bath and I listened to her whisper words of love as she cradled you in her arms that first night. You were much dreamed of, so wanted and are loved beyond measure.

You are the world to your mom and I and we can't imagine this planet without you on it and, while we can't believe you are six (!), we are so proud of the person you are growing to be.

We love you with every fiber in our bodies.

Happy Birthday, Kelton - our beautiful, amazing and wonderful son!

Knock on Wood

Well now....that was fun. Apparently it was a 24 hour bug Kelton had because by 10 this morning he was doing well and I was wondering why I had kept him home. I knew why, of course. A child should be illness free for 24 hours before being sprung back on the world but wow. He was feeling pretty good. Still tired out easily but overall.....really good.

So now I hold my breath and hope like heck Kaylen and/or I don't get it. I'm more worried for Kaylen than I am for myself. She assured me tonight that she was ok but she didn't eat very well at dinner so I'm on hyper alert. Just let us all get through tonight without anyone getting sick. Please.

I have so much to do tomorrow. I have to clean the house from top to bottom for Kelton's birthday party. Saturday is supposed to be a beautiful day, which I'm thrilled about, but it does mean that the amazing sunshine will highlight every place that harbors dust. I confess...I only dust when I have people coming over. Otherwise, I just don't see the point. Tonight I actually cleaned out the ashes in the fireplace from our Christmas vacation fires. Nothing like putting that off for as long as possible but hey - it's done. Kudos for me. :) I even replaced the air filter for the heat pump. See? I'm not a total slacker. :)

Oh right - you all wanted to know what I made for Dakota for her anniversary gift. I would upload it here but I'm afraid it will take way too long. I made her a DVD of the 14 years we've been together which meant I spent day and days going through photo albums and scanning in photos of our life together. We didn't go digital until 2005 so that was TON of work. Then I put it all together in a slide show, added music and burned it to a DVD. It turned out really well (except for those two typos I made which I will be going back to correct and then burn a corrected DVD). It's about 20 minutes long and I know it is something we will love having throughout the years. Favorite photos all in one place, gotta love that.

Dakota has made a couple DVD's for me over the years and they are so incredibly special to me so I just had a feeling she would love her gift. And I was right. :)


For her part, she hunted high and low and found me a clock for mounting on the back of the house. I don't wear a watch and, as a result, I spend a lot of time asking "What time is it?" when we are in the yard. I've been wanting a clock for years but never found the right one. Dakota found it! It's so great and I can't wait to get it installed. Isn't it cool looking? To be honest, as cool as the picture is, it's even better in real life. :) Thanks, honey!

Hmmm...I think that's it for tonight. If you are so inclined, please keep good thoughts for healthy children and a good nights sleep for all of us - thanks!

We Interrupt This Day.....

...to bring you a puking child. And as an added bonus, we'll throw in some diarrhea.

LOVELY.

I know you are all jealous beyond all reason.

Let's hope he is better in the morning and that we have no further incidents tonight. The poor kid has his birthday party scheduled for Saturday and it would be nice if this was a fast moving illness so we can still have it.

Once I am no longer swimming in *ahem* bodily fluids, I will tell you all about the anniversary gift I made Dakota.

It's All in the Delivery

Overheard from the living room:

Kelton screams loudly and in a mean tone yells: "Kaylen! Move your big butt out of the way! I can't see!!"

Mommy, from the kitchen says, "Let's be more respectful to each other, please."

Kelton: "Sorry, Mom." He takes a breath and.....(you all see it coming, don't you?) says in a nicer tone but still quite loudly; "Kaylen PLEASE move your big butt out of the way NOW! I can't see!"

Well...he *did* say please. *sigh*

Happy Anniversary to us!

It's hard to believe that it has been 13 years (!) since this amazing day took place. Happy Anniversary, Dakota! Here's to us! *clink clink*

Topic Idea?

Ok -what should I talk about? I'm bored with myself. :)

Ideas?

(And just so it doesn't get lost in the days postings....if you haven't already read the posting I did about Great Strides about helping to raise funds for my blog-friend's daughter's fight against cystic fibrosis, please go here. Thank you!)

Ticket for One to Outter Space

Cara, my brother's girlfriend, makes these really cool duvet covers for the beds in their house and every time I visit I am just amazed and what she creates. The concept isn't difficult but she really pulls off an amazing and professional job on them. I keep telling myself I need to learn to make button holes because really, it's the only thing holding me back and it would be so much fun to make them for all of us - such a simple way to change the feel of a room!

Cara made one for Kaylen's bed this past Christmas - it's pink flannel with snowmen on it and it's just the softest thing! But taking her skill to a completely new level, she made a space ship cover for Kelton for his birthday. Kelton LOVES it. LOVES it. He was so delighted with it when he opened up the gift that he started rolling around in it immediately. Once we got home he couldn't wait for us to remove his stars and moons comforter and put on his new bedding.

After he admired it for a while he said "Where do you think they bought this?" so I explained that Cara had handmade it for me (I thought he had understood that before but clearly not). That was too much for him - he was in complete disbelief that she had designed and created the cover specifically for him. There is no other one like it in the world!

Here is what it looks like (never mind Kaylen - she refused to move out of the way and every time I took a picture she would jump in the way. Silly monkey girl!):

(and yes, she made the matching pillow case, too)

(close up of the rocket)

Rocket boy sound asleep in his space bed.

Isn't it great??

Please give...so it won't hurt.

I have become blog-friends with an amazing mom. I refer to her as Froggy Mama but her name is Elise and she has a breath-takingly beautiful daughter named Adelaide. Adelaide, at the tender age of a few months old, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and fights for her life with every single breath.

The time has once again rolled around for Great Strides, the fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I know that our economy sucks and we are all struggling to make ends meet but if you could see your way clear to donate any amount at all than maybe we could see a cure in time to help Adelaide live her life to it's fullest. A cure is coming - we just need to make sure the funds are there to hasten its arrival.

So please. Give.

----- From Elise -----
I'm the mother of an amazing kid named Adelaide. And this is the beginning of her life's story...

I refuse to tell Adelaide that her life will end, right when it should be beginning. Please simply pass this along to your friends, to moms and dads, to your church email list, your book club, golf team, your work friends, to anyone who might be willing to give Addie the long and healthy life she deserves.

If you’d like to make a donation please visit our Great Strides website

Thank you

Elise and Scott Free
egussie1977@aol.com
www.froggy-mama.blogspot.com

Home Depot with the Kids

The first Saturday of each month The Home Depot hosts a kids workshop - for free. All you have to do is take the kids there sometime between 9:30-1:00 and put together the kit of the month. It's easy enough that the most challenged among us can do and the kids get to walk away with a project that THEY made. My two are so, so proud of their project.

We did once before - when Kelton was three - and we always meant to continue it but then Dakota started school and life on Saturdays changed. Yesterday a friend mentioned that her husband was taking their kids today and I thought "I bet I could do that. I think they are both old enough now that we could do that and be successful." and lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. Yay us! :)

Today the project was a planter box and I am beyond proud to say my kids are naturals. I did precious little to help either one of them and yes, that included the hammering of nails (though while holding the pieces of wood together for Kaylen I thought I was going to lose a finger as she swung that hammer towards my hand. :)).

They may not ever be a futures broker but I think they could both do well as contractors. LOL!!


Ah shoot - pictures speak louder than words so here you go:

It's DONE!

Send up the balloons - it's DONE! Dakota's anniversary gift, after approximately 10 hours (in total) of sitting at the computer over the past week, is finally complete.

And with three days to spare.

Yay me!

Thank goodness the kids and I had a stay at home day today (rare, to be sure) which allowed me to sit in this chair from 10AM until now, 2:58pm, with only several (hundred) interruptions. PHEW! I am so glad it's done and I think she is going to love it.

Nothing Blog Worthy

*sigh* I've got nothing. I feel obligated to write *something* though since I didn't blog last night. Last night I spent my two hours between the kids going to bed and my needing to get off the computer working on a surprise for someone (*cough* Dakota *cough*). I'd tell you about it but that would ruin the surprise that I've been working so hard to complete. I can't even say for sure that I will have it completed in time but I'm trying. It is turning out to be much more complex and time consuming that I had originally thought. Still - if I finish it...I mean WHEN...it's going to be rockin' good. I hope.

*long long pause here*

Yeah. I've got nothing. Nada. Zilch. Less than.

How's this for dramatic trivia? I've had a song in my head all day that I guess pretty much sums up my state of mind today. Remember the show "What About Brian?" that was on last year? For long time blog readers, you may remember that I love, love, love the theme song by Low Stars titled "Calling All Friends". Yep - that's the song in my head today......

Calling all friends and people I met on the way down
Calling all friends and people I don't even know
I'm calling on high, I gotta believe there's a way now
I'm too tired to pretend, I don't wanna be alone
I'm calling all friends.

Some days are like that - even in Australia. (Can you name the book I just quoted? :) )

My April Fools