Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a great day. I knew that because the weather was going to be over 100 & my daughter had been talking to her dad almost every day, planning something for me. She managed to tell two of her friends what they were planning right in front of me, so I already knew that he was coming over early to help her make me breakfast in bed.
The night before we were at a friends house. I kept saying I needed to get home but the mom & I were watching a movie & catching up while her daughter & Schane' played very well together. By the time we got done watching a movie it was 11pm & I still needed to clean the kitchen so her dad could help make b-fast. For those of you who don't know, he is a very anal man & doesn't like anything out of place. So if there is dishes in the sink & pots & pans on the counter he would be very displeased. I thought of not cleaning the kitchen but since he was doing this for Schane' I thought I had better make it easier on him. Schane's idea of mommy's day was going to Cabella's. It wouldn't have been my first choice but we went anyway. Schane' loves going because she likes to look at all the animals. We were there for awhile & we all did manage to have fun.

As were walking out of the store Schane' wanted to see the boats. She managed to find one with the ladder down so she climbed on inside. After she got done checking it out I told her to sit behind the wheel so I could get a picture. It would have been really nice to actually have one in the water at the time but since that wasn't about to happen we went on our way.

Mother's Day will always be memorable because of this picture. Schane' finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. It's been a long & brutal 9 yrs of fighting her to ride her bike & now I can't get her off. We started about a month ago with one training wheel & then she got a flat tire. While her dad was fixing it I told him to go ahead & take the training wheel off. I knew she was ready, even if she didn't. We had quite a few wobbly moments of course but today she is doing great & has a lot more confidence in herself.

Tim bought me a new George Foreman Grill, the one where the plates come out & can go in the dishwasher. I tend to be lazy with my other grill so I knew this would come in handy.

Schane' & I made a craft together for Mother's Day. She liked the project but was upset that it wouldn't be a surprise. Even though I told her that I don't need gifts or surprises she was still upset. I made a deal with her then. I told her that next year she & I would pick out between 3-5 crafts that she would like to make & then she can do it with her dad at his house. She really liked this idea, now if Tim will agree to it next year. He & crafts usually aren't used in the same sentence.

No Vegies

Those famous words are the first ones Schane' said when we were almost home after getting her two teeth pulled. Let me correct that, those are the first words she mumbled & we actually understood her after getting her teeth pulled.

We were supposed to have her teeth pulled last week but as luck would have it she had a temp of 101 when her dad came to pick her up. It was just a fluke that it happened at all. She never got sick & she didn't feel sick, she was just hot to touch. I gave her some medicine & her temp went slowly down. She even asked if she had to go to school the next day. I of course said yes and then told her to not tell her teacher that she had a temp because they would make her come back home.

Schane' had it a little rough, she was very nervous & didn't want to calm down. She kept crying & getting her nose all stuffy & then couldn't breathe in the laughing gas. With a lot of coaxing & telling her to buck up she finally got it over with.

We came home & she fell asleep on my bed for about 2 hrs. I kept asking her dad if I should wake her up & he told me no. She worked herself up so badly that she needed the rest. She finally ate a little pudding & is watching some tv now.

My child makes a lot out of nothing. I know in some ways she's still little but then there's other things that I think she should be a big girl about & learn how to just take things as they are and get them over with. I know most of it is my fault & I baby her too much but when it's just the two of you what else is there to do? I'm sure I'll pay for it dearly when she turns a teenager or in my case maybe even sooner.

2nd Place

I wouldn't have believed it but Schane' wrote a poem for something at school. I never did understand if the whole school wrote poems or just the 3rd grade or what. Now that I'm writing this I'm thinking that I didn't ask her many detailed questions. That's not good. I usually want to know everything but with school almost out I am asking less questions & she's giving less answers. But I have been asking for her to bring home this poem all week that she said she got 2nd place over. I was quite excited to read it considering she never told me she wrote a poem to begin with & got it entered in a contest.

First thing yesterday when I picked Schane' up & I asked her if she had her poem & she said yes. When we got home she brought it out & read it to me. I was really proud of the things that she said. As a parent you try to install so many things into your kids that you really don't know if they are using until somebody brings it to your attention or you witness first hand. So when I heard this poem I was really proud of what she had to say & also was wondering how come I don't see these things first hand from my child? As adults we know how to act & behave but do we always do the right thing? How many little league games or soccer games have you been to that the parents go crazy & get out of control? What kind of role model is that for your kids?

I talk to Schane' a lot about how God wants us to act & behave. I believe that we need to do this at a very early age or the kids are going to have no respect for anybody as they get older. No matter what we have our faults & we are going to act unsportmanlike but what Schane' had to say is a reminder for all of us on how to behave. Here's her poem:

"Getting Along at a Baseball Game"

When you lose, get along.

When you win, have some fun.

When it's a tie, support each other on.

It's not about winning, it's about the game.

If you want to win, do your best.

When the game is done and you did not win, tell each other good job.

If you got a trophy and the other team didn't, just tell them sorry you did not win.

If you do not know the other person on the other team, tell them a good job.

It's not much but I think it's great that she came up with all that on her own. Schane' hasn't been in many sports so to write down how God wants us to act is a great achievement in my eyes for my child. It helps to know that even when I think I am doing everything wrong she is understanding how we are to respect other people & support them no matter what.

Over a decade...

It has to have been over 10 yrs that I have had a serious haircut. Everybody knows me for my unruly, curly hair. Well, as of last Thursday it is gone and so is Schane's. She was not about to get a haircut first without me going first so I had to be the gopher.

At first Bonnie, the stylist, said are you sure you want to go that short? You never know how it's going to turn out because curly hair kinks up so badly. My friend Deb convinced her that she needed to cut it short. I told her if it turns out bad then I won't be back & I would just have to wear a hat to work every day. She liked my honesty & said ok.

After Schane' saw it all being chopped off & I wasn't crying hysterically she decided that she wanted to go short too. The only thing that I really don't like is that we really look like twins. Deb said we already looked like twins but I think it's worse now. I want Schane' to have her own individuality I said & Deb assured me that I didn't have anything to worry about.

Schane' got 8 inches cut off & we sent it off to Locks of Love. They can't use it for the hairpieces because it's not enough hair but it will be used for other purposes. Bonnie said that my hair was badly damaged & would not be able to send even 6 inches in. That means that all my beautiful, unruly curls went in the garbage can.

I like Schane's hair much better than mine though it is VERY easy to take care of. Schane' can now comb her own hair withouth me attacking it & making her mad. This makes her VERY happy.

Schane' has been riding her bike in the evenings while I have been walking & I can say that it is a lot cooler having short hair. I haven't had to put my hair up at all which by now would be up every day because we are going on 11 days with over a 100 degree weather.

Not today...

Yesterday, Schane' was supposed to have two teeth pulled. I left work at 2:15 so I would have some time before her appt. to talk to her about what was going to happen. I was going to meet Tim at my house because he picked her up from school & we were going to drive to the specialist together. I neglected to tell Schane' the night before that she was getting these teeth pulled because she would have been so drama about it that she wouldn't have slept well. I decided not to tell her at breakfast either.

When I did get home I asked Tim if he talked to her about it & he said he didn't. Of course not, leave it to the mother. When I told Schane' about it she did what I expected her to, she cried. She then came over to me & gave me a hug. During this hug I felt this radiating heat come from her head. I immediately said aloud that she had a fever & proceeded to find the thermometer. Her temp was 101. Great, no teeth pulled for you today. She was quite happy about this. Tim called the specialist & rescheduled for next Monday. The reason we were going to a specialist is because her dentist said that when she had a cavity last year she didn't do so well & thought that going to a specialist would be easier on her.

Her temp broke quite easily & felt fine for the remainder of the day. In fact, you would never have known that she had a temp at all considering how she was acting. I took her temp this morning & it was at 99. I gave her some more medicine & sent her to school.

I do have to explain to you on why I would send my child to school whether she was sick or not. Schane' only has 7 days left of school. She has not missed a day of school or been late this whole year. That is a huge accomplishment. Now, if she was puking all night I would have considered keeping her home. But then again I probably would have sent her for the morning & then picked her up early afternoon. The kids have to be at school at least until lunch time in order for it to count for a whole day.

When I was talking to a friend last night she asked me who was this accomplishment for, me or her? I thought that was a great question & I laughed pretty hard. I guess my answer would be for me. I'm the one who got her up every morning & walked her to school every day. But if she makes it til next Thursday I think she will feel pretty proud of herself. If it never happens again she can at least say that it happened at least once in her lifetime & her psychotic mom made it happen.

Just another post...

Here it is almost Wednesday & we are fully back in the grind with school & work. Schane' has had 2 bad days at school so we are obviously not off to a good start. It doesn't help when I get a sarcastic remark from an adult either that really undermines my authority. I think it's great that he is in her life but sometimes it would be easier if he wasn't so she wouldn't hear these comments that basically says I don't care what you do at school but your mom does. Yes. the story of my life continues. Battling & explaining the differences to Schane' about her mom & dad. I could really go on about this but I already feel my heart racing on the subject & I don't want to say anything that I will regret later.

We celebrated Christmas Sunday afternoon with her dad. It was actually really nice. I could tell that Tim really missed Schane' so it was great that they were able to spend some time together. He spoiled her like usual. I already mentioned to everybody what he was getting her so I won't get in to that either because that makes my blood boil too.

New topic...I see that Julie my sis n law posted pics of Julia's house after the flood so I thought that I would post a couple pics before the renovation.

For those of you that don't know what happened Julie & Gary's house flooded the night of Jan 1st. Julia comes in & wakes me up at 1:30 saying that the house is flooding & that I need to take all my stuff upstairs so it doesn't get wet. As you can imagine at that hr I am delirious & not all together hearing her. I grab a couple of things to take into the hallway, I watch my nephew Trevor carry Schane' up the stairs without waking her, & I go back in to the bedroom to grab more stuff & I walk in to a puddle of water. Ok so it's not a dream. The house really is flooding!

After that it all becomes a blurrrrr. We had all the kids awake & everyone is frantically going up & down the stairs as fast as we all could go. We had piles on the kitchen table, piles on chairs, things that were in tubs went out in to the garage, & so forth. Happy Stickin New Year to all! And you want to the funniest & weirdest part of the whole thing? It was snowing!! Can you believe it? I kept asking God what good can come from flooding the house & snowing at the same time but I don't think we got that answer yet. We may never know what he was thinking at that moment but I know that we were all tired & in a state of shock that we were all once again piled together in the upstairs together fighting to go to sleep & listening to Trevor snore at the same time. All this time Schane' sleeps, even though she says that she didn't, & Bestema kept coming out feeling sorry for all of us & wishing she could help but couldn't so she went back to bed.

I left Arizona to be with family & I feel like I couldn't have been closer to my family than the two weeks that I spent with all of them. Despite all the ups & down, the 8" of snow, half of the family sick, etc., I loved it all & I thank my parents for sending us home. Thank you for the greatest white Christmas that I can remember!

Christmas Caroling

I asked Schane' yesterday morning if she wanted to go caroling with people from church & she said no. I then told her that one of our friends was going & he was bringing his kids so she said yes. I told her that if it was raining then we wouldn't go. When we got home from work & school she said that she didn't want to go. To bad, we're going I said. I was looking forward to getting in the spirit of the holiday season & seeing a bunch of friends from church.

The weather was great when we started out. It was actually kind of warm, a lot different from last year. We were frozen by the time we got back to the church for hot chocolate & goodies. Approximately 20 mins later it started to rain. There was no downpour but it was enough that our hats got soaked, shoes were wet, & the little ones wanted to walk in puddles. I thought it was great. It really felt like Christmas. I only wish the people in the neighborhood felt the same way.

After awhile Schane' & other kids were getting really disappointed because no one would come out of there house to hear us sing. A few actually used their brains & opened up their garage to listen to us. I just told Schane' that we need to pray for them.

After we came back to the church we socialized, got warm, & ate some great cookies. I'm really glad that we went & made the effort to sing around the neighborhood even if people were not in the mood to hear us.

Before we started out we played a bingo game. I know most of you have played this in some manner. 20 boxes & you go around and ask people questions trying to get a bingo. Anyway, one question on the paper asked who was naughty this year. I had her go over to one of our friends, Mr. Christofferson (Mark) & ask him something. She just happened to ask him this question & he got down to her level & whispered something in her ear. The pic that I got was right after he whispered something & it looked like it was a great response.

This next pic is my friend Jenny & her son Sam. She has a daughter Emily that is Schane's age but she wasn't around at the moment. Jenny helped in my Sunday School class last year & is just as bubbly as I am.

This was taken right after we got back to the church. You can't tell how wet we are but we sure were a tad bit cold. That hot chocolate tasted sooo good when we got inside.