the end is near

i am almost done watching my "weekday baby" - only two and a half more days next week! (not that i'm counting or anything). her dad is a teacher so he will be with her for the summer and i have given them my resignation for the next school year. it will be nice to have a year of just being alone with my little one everyday. i was alone with the kindergartner everyday for the first 3 years of her life! i recently realized that i have been changing diapers almost everyday for 5 years and 11 months now!! i need a break from kids! maybe the hubby and i will plan for an overnight getaway because i am stressed out from kid crap! refereeing fights, picking up the same things over and over, repeating myself over and over, "i'm hungry", "i'm thirsty", "can so-and-so come over to play", "where is such-and-such", etc. and the sad thing is, the summer hasn't even started yet! i'm also stressed out because i have so much to do before the end of the school year, i've started a massive list of projects that have to be done this summer and i think my thyroid and hemochromatosis problems are acting up. that's it, i'm definitely planning a mini-vacation!

missing my kitty-dog

it's been a month since my kitty-dog had to be put to sleep. i can't let kitty go without reminiscing about her life a little - after all, she was my first baby!

in the 12 and a half years that she has been a member of this family, we have gone through so much with her! as a puppy, she was CRAZY!! she tore up rugs, stole food off of the counter and even ate a book (that i borrowed from my boss) on how to train your dog! :-) she had to stay in a crate in my apartment during the day while i was at work - i did come home for lunch everyday. at night, she had so much energy and would run laps (at warp speed) through my apartment. i moved from my apartment and rented a house because i knew she needed a yard. not even a month after we moved there, she got parvo from the dogs next door and it nearly killed her! how ironic that the reason i got a house was for her to have a yard and the yard would be the thing that almost killed her! i spent thousands to get her through that (i.v.'s, medication, extended hospital stay, etc.) but i wasn't going to let her die. on the upside, the was so much calmer when she came back from her "near-death experience". about a year later, brent and i went out of town and a friend fed and took care of my dogs (i also had a black lab/rottweiler named "scooter"). while that friend was watching them, the dogs got out and scooter didn't go far before he was found, but kitty was missing for over a week! someone that saw our signs called and said they had seen her miles from my house on a very busy road. my friend told me that he had "a better chance of dating pamela anderson than i had of getting my dog back"!! side note: he and pamela are very happy together right now. :-) finally, a family called and when i got kitty back she was perfect! i had birthday parties for her (with doggie ice cream) and she had her own stocking at christmas. in the last few years, she had a tumor on her eye and we had it removed but it came back so we had to have her entire eye removed! how fitting that we named our dog kitty because they say cats have nine lives and she definitely did!

the girls talk about missing her and that they still love her almost every day. my little one said "i wish kitty was here but i still love her". my floors get so dirty now - i'm used to not having to pick up food when it falls on the floor. in her younger days, the food barely had time to bounce one time before kitty ran over and ate it! when i go to bed at night, i still look for her on the floor by my side of the bed so i don't step on her. the only good thing i can say about kitty not being here anymore is that we don't have to pick up clumps of dog hair, but i'd gladly do that again to have her back!

happy birthday, little one!

my little one is not so little anymore - today she is 3 years old! it's pretty much a typical monday around here - hubby's at work, the kindergartner is at school and i'm watching my weekday baby but i am still trying to make it a special day for my little one. the local news showed her picture and wished her a happy birthday this morning, after dropping the kindergartner off at school we went to chick-fil-a (her absolute favorite) and got some chicken and fries for lunch. we would have gone there at lunchtime but that is right in the middle of weekday baby's naptime. i'm hoping to take her to the park later but right now it is raining and yucky. tonight we are going to my parents house for a fish fry and birthday cake - yum! happy birthday, sweet little one (and even if you are getting older, you will still be my baby forever)!

p.s. to "happy mother's day" post

i'm seriously about to cry right now! i just got to thinking about how my little one is no longer a baby! by the time the kindergartner turned 3, i had already had 2 miscarriages and had given birth to my little one! i think my little one's third birthday is almost hitting me harder than my 30th birthday hit me (and that was not good)!!

happy mother's day

i'm feeling really nostalgic this weekend - i (ie: my friend caitlyn) figured out how to finalize the dvd's on my camcorder (that i've had for 6 months) so i have been watching all of the old home movies of both of my girls. on top of that, it is also my little one's 3rd birthday tomorrow. i'm so sad because she is my last baby and she is already going to be three!! i told her i would pay her to stay two!! she started her first gymnastics class on friday, then had her party yesterday and her real birthday is tomorrow! i had a great day on friday, it was just me and my little one and we had lunch and went shopping and when we went in one of the stores, that trace adkins song was playing ("you're gonna miss this") and it was so surreal! like i was someone else taking in this moment to remember for the rest of my life! on top of all of that, it is also mother's day! i had a great day - lots of hugs and cards, breakfast in bed, gift cards to my favorite stores, visits with my parents and my mother in law and dinner at red lobster! when the hubby and i were still asleep this morning and my little one was sleeping late, the kindergartner made breakfast for me completely by herself (orange juice, strawberries and a banana) on a tray that she carried in to me - and the best part was, she didn't spill anything!! :-) it was so sweet! i just want to freeze both of my girls right now and let them stay this age (at least for a while longer)!!

will there be a ferocious beast at my house next saturday?

my little one is oh, so funny! she makes me laugh everyday! her third birthday party is next saturday and we are having a “maggie and the ferocious beast” themed party. for anyone that is not familiar with maggie, it is a very cute cartoon on noggin. unfortunately for me, there is no “maggie and the ferocious beast” themed party supplies so i am having to make everything myself - the invitations (primary colors with a picture of maggie and the beast inviting everyone to the party), the cupcakes (pumpkin, because it's beasts favorite), and the cups (yellow with red spots - just like beast)! well, my little one doesn’t exactly understand what it means to have a theme for a party - she thought it meant that maggie and beast will be at her party! we were talking about the food for the party and this was our conversation:

little one: “when beast gets here I’m going to tell him about that”
me: “you know that maggie and beast are not actually going to be at our house for the party, right?”
little one: (with a puzzled look) “why not?”
me: “because they can’t come out of the tv”

then, the day after that discussion i told her that the grandmas have been asking what kind of presents she wants. so i ask her "what do you want for your birthday?". her reply ... "chicken strips"!! i told her "no, what kind of toy or present". she says "a truck". my little tomboy!

i absolutely love the innocence of a child! unfortunately they lose it all too soon (especially in this day and age), but I‘m going to enjoy it for as long as i can! i better because this is my last baby and she is about to be three already!

why do they call them "slumber parties"?

i understand the "party" part, but "slumber" implies that there will be sleep involved and no one actually gets any sleep - not the kids and not the parents! last night my hubby was out of town on a fishing trip so i decided to have a sleepover with some friends. i have been friends with my friend teresa since i moved here in the 7th grade (22 years ago)! (please don't do the math!) teresa's oldest daughter is in school with my kindergarten and they are best friends. teresa also has another daughter that is one year older than my baby. so the four girls and teresa and i all went to eat at taco casa and then came home and did crafts and ate junk food and drank "kid wine" (sparkling grape juice). we made a palette on the floor for them and put a movie on and let them go to sleep watching it. teresa and i stayed up talking until almost 2 in the morning and then were woken up by little ones a little after 7 in the morning!! we made breakfast this morning (muffins for the kids and breakfast tacos for the moms) and let the girls play outside together. it has been so many years since teresa and i had spent the night together and now to do it again with our kids was really fun but needless to say we all needed naps today!