my kids

Last Friday I picked Emily up at daycare. When I met her in the hall she pulled on my hand and told me she had something to tell me, but she didn't want anyone else to hear. We got into the car and she told me one of the little boys in her class kissed her for Valentines Day. Yep, you read right, Emily got her first kiss. I promptly asked where he kissed her and who it was. She told me the little boys name and he had kissed her on the cheek. A few days later I went to register her for kindergarten. It's all going too fast. Before I know it she is going to be shaving her legs and wearing makeup. I want her to stay little. I love this age; she still hugs and kisses me, tells me everything, and is so innocent.

On the flip side, at this time Hayden is in a stage only a mother could love. But, when he has done something horrible he always follows it up with, "Mama, your my best friend...aren't you so proud?" How could I not be.

Emily's conversation topics

Emily has been sick since last Friday. Apparently she started with a virus, then progressed to full blown bronchitis and an ear infection. Emily and I have spent a lot of time together, just her and I over the last 5 days. Here are a few of her conversation starters...

"Mama, can you have a skin ache?"

"Mama, I feel like I have bugs buzzing around in my head, do you think bugs are in my brain?"

Mama, what is your favorite animal?" I don't know Emily, whats yours? "Well, a pig of course, and a dog, and a turtle, and a horse, and a ladybug, and a worm, and a cricket, and a snail. Oh yeah, I like Zebras too."

"Mama, I know what Meme (my grandma) needs" What Sis? "She needs one of those Hoverround chairs, and they only cost a penny"

"Mama, I think from now on I am going to only eat things I don't have to chew, like pudding and jello and ice-cream." What about soup? "No, because you have to chew the meat in soup, and you know I don't like meat...or potatoes. Except for sweet potatoes, you can fix them for me and I won't have to chew them."

"Mama, it's not fun to be sick, but I really like staying home with you" Me too Sis.

Grrr...

I want a new kitchen, desperately. Seven years ago when we bought this house we did nothing to the kitchen with the hopes of one day knocking out walls and adding more cabinets. Fast forward 7 years and the kitchen is still stuck in bad 1970's mode. A few of the highlights include lamo floor, lamo counter top, bad bad high gloss cabinets (and not many of them), marigold yellow "plastic" tile back splash, and scalloped wood trim to accent the kitchen window that doesn't open. To top it all off, it's completely walled off from the rest of the house. So, when I am cooking I can't see the kidos trashing the living area.

A few years ago we enclosed our back patio area to hopefully one day make it part of the kitchen/dining room. That's pretty much where I am now, hating my kitchen and dining area because it's so cramped and outdated. It's the eyesore of our house. I would love to have company for dinner, but I feel inadequate because of this area. Christmas really stressed it to me.

After complaining to Hank, he proposed a solution...I have to save the money to renovate the kitchen. Da Da Daaaa...I hate to save money. I am not good at it, I am a really bad spontaneous shopper. But, I hate the kitchen more than I love to shop. So, I am trying to curb my hunger for retail so I can get my kitchen this spring. Wish me luck.

New Year...Time to Catch Up

Welcome 2010...goodbye 2009. I haven't blogged for months; too busy, too caught up in facebook land, too whatever. I don't have a good excuse, I just fell out of love with blogging. But, after catching back up with my favorite pages (Sarah Sez), I decided to update my blog. It's mostly for my family who don't facebook. Anyway...a quick catch up

Our kidos are great, except for the flu and bronchitis. Damn daycare ;)

Hank works all the time. He has been back on regular hours at Coffeen for the past month, but is starting a new outage tomorrow. Sucko! I have a few choice words about the situation that I should keep to myself for fear of sounding petty. He has a job.

I finished my 4th semester at USI, only 3 semesters left of grad school. I am excited to be half way to the end of my "neverending" education, but fear I don't know what the heck I am going to do with it. I thought I had it figured out, only to be blindsided and now completely confused. All I can do is pray God will point me down a path. My biggest fear is I will become what I am working towards, only to realize I just want to be a dialysis nurse.

Our holiday was full of family time and good food. As always, I resolve to shed the 10 pounds I have packed onto my hips. I resolve to have more patience with my kids and Hank. I resolve to save more money and spend less time worrying about things I can't change.

I can only hope 2010 is as low key as 2009.