busy, busy

With all the activity going on around the house, the little guy has been looking for things to keep himself occupied. (some of these activities are more dangerous than others...)

Trying on hats has become a new obsession. He stole this one from Grandpa...

He felt very comfortable with the crown...he certainly acts like the little prince...

With Brett Favre gone from the Packers, Sam sees the opportunity to start at quarterback...

He only wore this one under the direct supervision of grown-ups...

If I've told him once, I've told him hundred times...no gangsta' look...ugh.


Oh dear, he's run out of hats to try on...now look at him. This worries me...he looks like he's well...about to...deliver a...


...teddy bear? in a breech position no less!

Clearly this tired the little guy!

What will tomorrow hold?

the problem unit...

Here it is...the portable storage unit that caused all kinds of consternation with the city engineers.

Compared to alot of things that can cause problems in a residential area, this thing is a dream. It didn't smell, make noise, play loud music, scare neighborhood children, litter or bark. It was also temporary.

My biggest disappointment with it was that it didn't load itself.

But, alas, it's gone now...as it left, we heard the champagne bottles pop open at city hall.

Nothing ever really happens...

Sometimes Kate watches a video series called *Kipper the Dog*...he's a cute little dog with a British accent. One of Kipper*s lines is "Nothing really ever happens..." Well, sometimes it feels like that, but the reality is we have been busy here. So busy that I have been low on creativity and energy.

Lately we have had this done:

When Sam saw the heavy equipment, he just about went apoplectic. It was better than any video a boy could imagine. The only thing that would have been better for him would have been to drive it.

Our front stoop had serious structural issues, thus we needed this to fix the problem. Let me warn you, it you need one of these, it will co$t you. Alot. More than you think.

Then when the machine is done. You're left with this: It was so ugly that I had to doctor the picture.

The city frowns on leaving the house looking like this, so we had to pay more $$$$ to get a new stoop.

You know once you rip out the stoop, the landscape starts looking pretty crummy. If you pull out the landscape (with your 4 wheel drive vehicle), you're left with no stoop and no landscape. Wait, that can be fixed with more $$$$$.

Come to think of it...when you get a new stoop and walk into the house, the eye is immediately drawn to the worn out carpeting on the stairs. What? I can't live with shabby carpeting in the entryway. Yes, we fixed that, too. The good news is that it only cost $$$.

With all the newness happening, things started looking pretty cluttered, so we rented a mobile storage unit and had it delivered to the house, so we could load extra stuff into it. We pulled the permit, welcomed the delivery driver and had it dropped along the side of the road (which was acceptable per the permit).

It was but 15 minutes when one of the city inspectors aggressively knocked on the door. "Excuse me, but you have a mobile storage unit...it's impeding traffic in the northbound lane and you DON'T have a permit," he announced to me.

Hmm, he's thinking he's got fresh meat, I thought.

"Sir, I know it's in the street. We had it put there. We have a very narrow driveway. I have a permit," I replied.

"You do?" he said with a hint of suprise in his voice.

"Yes, I do. And YOUR office gave it to us...and YOUR office knows it's in the street."

"Oh, sorry ma'am."

So, I called the engineers office and suggested that their employees check to see if residents pull permits before trying to make a kill.

***
Fast forward to 8 o'clock that evening.

Door knocking heard again, Runner Boy answers this time.

This time it's a city police officer.

"Excuse me sir, but there's a mobile storage unit in front of your house," she points out.

Runner Boy replies, "Yes, I do. I have a permit, the city knows it's there."

"Well, we're worried it may cause an accident...but...you really have a permit?" she asks.

"Yes, we've already spoken with the city again today...they are aware of the location of the mobile unit and should be sending flashing barricades out."

Said police officer then expedites the barricades out and we crossed our fingers.

The unit got loaded with only 2 more calls to the city and we finally got rid of it.

Stay tuned more projects to come...

Summer fun...

Yesterday we had a great day with our cousins. Since summer is winding down (sigh), we met Grandma, Auntie Q and our cousins for a day of animals, a picnic and play at the zoo. The kids rode the zoo train, ate popcorn, and jumped, chased and ran all over the place. Oh, and they took in some of the animals, too.

Our zoo also has a great play area for the kids. Half is for the little kids 4 & under, and the other half is for 5 and over. Kate is utterly bored by the little kids area, so she followed her cousins over the bigger jungle jim. She had a great time until she got in "over her head."

There is a ladder/obstacle area that her older cousins were traversing. Kate couldn't stand it and had to get into the act. Pretty soon we heard Cousin T yell, "Hey, Kate is stuck on the Death Machine!".

This was followed by Kate's classic cry when she's stuck. We sent out the rescue party and she was extricated from the "Death Machine."

My favorite memory of the day was this one...

smoke signals...

while sitting in the gas station parking lot after church, kate sees a man and asks, "what's he doing Momma?

M: He's smoking a cigarette and that's a very bad thing to do to yourself."

K: Hmm, I want one.

Momma's message to Kate: don't even think it, kiddo.

2 for 2...

uh oh...kate said tonight, "mommy my mouth hurts..."

i dose with a little tylenol & cross my fingers...

the little peanut wakes up crying a few hours later and says, "my mouth really hurts!"

i grab my diagnostic flashlight & took a look to find this gnarly little virus had set up shop on her tongue and palate. apparently the crummy little virus wasn't satisfied with making our little dude miserable, so now they both need lots of TLC.

it could be a long sunday here...

You Go Girl!

Shalane Flanagan sets a new American record in the 10,000 meters at the Olympics.


Earns a bronze medal--the first American medal in this event in years--a proud moment for US running!

photos courtesy of letsrun.com

ouch!

It started so innocently. We had a lovely Sunday morning in church followed by a pleasant afternoon. Bliss...

Then, it appeared out of nowhere...Sam feels warm and has a low grade fever. Runner Boy isn't too worried, but my "mommy medical mania" starts up and I start to form a differential diagnosis.

Dose tylenol, put kid to bed.

Monday a.m.: fever back, no other symptoms, more tylenol. Runner Boy still not worried. Mommy ruminates on potential causes.

Monday afternoon: fever increases as tylenol wears off--Mommy admits that people who work on adult bones have no idea what causes kiddie fevers, but continues to pool her ignorance with herself.

Monday dinner: Sam seems fine until he eats his first bite of melon and explodes into tears...a perplexing turn of events...fever seems to break.

Tuesday: Prolific drooling starts...appetite disappears...mommy decides to take a look with the flashlight into the drooling, cavernous throat.

Well, low and behold I see this.

I don't have to be a pediatric infectious disease savant to know this is NOT normal...blisters and ulcers were spread all over his tongue, palate and cheeks.

hand, foot, mouth disease=herpangina=coxsakie virus=days of misery, inconsolable crying and evil behavior.

Desperate times demand desperate calls to the kiddie doctor. Bless the doctor...

Sammy is now drinking the kiddie codeine kool aid and Mommy and Runner Boy are hanging by a thread.

a slip of the tongue...

Sam was just a goof ball tonight...he danced along with the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, practiced his typing and culminated his evening by laying on his back on the couch thrashing his legs...annoying his sister.

He finally kicked "sissy" and made her cry (his antics were keeping her from seeing the ceremonies).

I turned around and said "Sammit! stop that!!

I guess that's my hybrid way of getting his attention...

say what?

Recent Kate quotes:

Kate: Mom?

Mom: What?

K: When I get big can I ride 'da bus?

M: Sure. (...I think to myself...it's so over-rated Kate...)

*****

K: Mom?

M: Yeah?

K: When I get big can I sleep nudey...without my jammies?

M: Huh? (she went to bed with her jammies ON!)

*****

M: What would you like for supper tonight?

K: How 'bout chocolate ice cream and Kate-on-a-stick?

We ordered Chinese food instead...

Mini Midwestern Reunion of the Sichuan Sisters...

We all have special moments in our lives that are etched in our memory. One of our special memories is the day we met our beloved Kate. We waited with 3 other families in a simple government building in Sichuan, China in December of 2005. We each held our arms out and had our daughters handed to us. What a special moment for us to share with our girls and one another. Kate, Sam & I were able to have a mini reunion with one of her China sisters recently and it was fantastic.

I so appreciate that we have tried to keep our girls in touch with one another...Kate loves checking out her friends' blogs and talks about the girls frequently. My dream would be that all 4 girls would continue and build their special connection.

It didn't take Kate long to feel comfortable hanging around with Gwen...Kate loves the playground, but Gwen encouraged her to "take it to the next level" while they were together. Kate's eyes have been opened to a whole new world of testing gravity.

Kate was thrilled to find out that Gwen had crocs, too. The shoe divas had to get a photo in their swinging thrones...

What this railing isn't a balance beam? Please, let's not get too caught up the safety issues here, you're looking at 2 future gymnasts.

Gwen is currently living in China with her family...apparently they let kids learn to drive sooner there...Gwen is taking Kate for a spin on a motorcycle. Yeah, I know they should have their helmets on, but Gwen's Mom assured me that she was a very safe driver. (It takes a lot of skill to negotiate the streets of Chinese cities...)

Kate loved that railing...

oh, yeah, Sam was there, too. He was busy flashing his smile and dimples trying to dazzle the other toddler girls...

He forgot about the chicks when he saw the motorcycle. He could feel the powa' and he was off! Yes, I know he also should have had a helmet on, but do you have any idea how hard it is to fit that size head with a helmet? He wears a size "large planet"...available through special order only.

He's just so darn cute...(I can say that because he doesn't look like me)...

It was so much fun to see Gwen & her Mom. I so appreciate that she made the time to see us during her hectic trip. Kate adored Gwen's Mom in China...she would run to Lynne and happily give her a big hug. In the short time we had with Lynne in China, I saw the ease she had around children, the fact that she got down on their level on the floor and how the girls responded to her. I observed her and tried to pick up some of the wisdom during those scary first days as a Momma. (Kate still thinks Lynne is pretty wonderful.)

Our biggest regret about our mini reunion was we were missing members of the group. Our special friends K & her Mommy really tried to get up to the north, but this time it just didn't work out. (It would be so easy if we would all just cash in on the lottery.) We all have hopes to get our girls together in the future. I can already hear their giggles, shrieks of laughter, camera shutters clicking as we savor the moments, and the sounds of busy feet running everywhere. Gives us something to look forward to!!!