Calling ALL Germs!!!

Attention, attention! Calling all germs! If you are a nasty germ at Children's Medical Group, our son would just LOVE to meet you. Okay, I guess I'll back up here. Today, I made a very amateur mommy mistake, one that I am quite sure I'll be paying for later. I took my very healthy children to the doctor's office for routine check-ups. This would not normally be a problem, but the flu has been ravaging our town (and everyone else's from what I understand) for several weeks. For those of you who know me, you know that I am **somewhat** of a germaphobe. I keep my bottle of hand sanitizer with me all the time, especially in the winter, and I usually have Wet One antibacterial wipes with me too. I thought I was going to lose it in the doctor's office today. Every time I turned around, K was sticking his fingers in his mouth, in his eyes, or up his nose. If there was any chance of us getting out of there without some dread disease, he blew that chance when we went to the bathroom to get a urine sample from L. As I held the cup under her, (sorry for the mental picture, but that's mommyhood) trying very gently to say "HURRY PLEASE!!", he decided the most productive use of his time would be to put his mouth all over the side of the bathroom sink. I was so proud of this creative use of time. When I checked out I told the sweet receptionist that we would be seeing them again in 7-10 days. I can only imagine the little germs breeding in his little body. Oh, and I cancelled his check-up appointment for tomorrow (as if he hasn't been exposed already to EVERY germ in this city!!)

The Girl-catchers

I love picking L up from school and hearing all about her day. Yesterday, she got in the car all sweaty and I asked I they had gotten to play outside (duh, of course they had, but I wanted her to tell me about it). She told me that she and two of her friends had to run from "The Girl Catchers". When I inquired further about this, she told me that there were a group of boys on the playground chasing and catching some of the little girls and that the girls had to work so hard to fight them off. How funny! Today, she was helping me cook supper and I inquired if the "Girl Catchers" had been back in action today. She said no and then said, "Hard times only come around every now and then." I asked her what she meant and she said (in her most dramatic voice), "It was terrible being chased by those Girl Catchers. I don't think I'll have to go through anything that terrible again for a while." I hope not (and I'm sure her Daddy does too!!)

It Won't Be Like This For Long

I just heard a new song on the radio - Darius Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This for Long" - it's now the first song on our playlist (turn up your speakers and get out your Kleenex). Although I haven't quite gotten used to Hootie and the Blowfish's lead singer now singing country music, this is a great song. I guess it's the new version of "Butterfly Kisses". The song chronicles the life of a little girl and her daddy, and it could just as easily chronicle a mom/daughter or a father/son or a mother/son relationship. So sweet. The point of the song is just how fast they grow up. If you've read some of my previous posts, you know we just celebrated our daughter's sixth birthday and our son's third birthday. I cannot believe what a whirlwind it has all been. I feel like I am in a car going ninety miles per hour and all I can see out the windows is one big blur - I want to scream "STOP!!! SLOW DOWN!!!" but I know it won't do any good. Time is flying by, and the best we parents can do is hang on and enjoy every second of it. This song reminds me of bringing our own baby girl home and being up all night, many nights - it won't be like this for long. Or dropping our son off at Mom's Morning Out, where he cried the entire time, two days every week, for six weeks - it won't be like this for long. Or the fight L and I had yesterday because apparently I bought the wrong kind of crayons (yes, that's right, the wrong kind of crayons) - it won't be like this for long. Pretty soon that baby girl and baby boy will be all grown up and gone - it won't be like this for long...

Sorry to be such a downer today - the weather outside is yucky, I just heard this super-sappy song, you get the picture. What a precious gift God has given us in our children - try to enjoy every day!!

In Honor of President's Day

This week at school, L's class is learning about Valentine's Day and President's Day. Along with their study of President's Day, they have studied some of our country's early presidents. Here is the picture she drew of Abraham Lincoln:




Last night, we were saying prayers before bedtime. In my prayer, I said "Please be with our city leaders, our state leaders, and our country's leaders. Please help our President to follow Your will as He leads our country." L interjected with, "Momma, he's not alive anymore." Since they are studying early presidents, I guess she thought they were all deceased. I told her no, that we do have a President. She said, "I think a President is someone who wears black all the time, a very uncolorful man. And he probably has long curly gray hair." I can only assume that this picture of a president she has conjured up in her head is from the pictures she has seen of Abraham Lincoln (wearing all black, as in her picture) and George Washington (the long curly gray hair). No sweetie, all Presidents don't look like our founding fathers, but we should pray that our country would return to the godly principles upon which it was founded...

Oh, To See the World Through a Child's Eyes

Those of you with children (young or old) know all the ways a child can remind you how life from their perspective is just a little different. K reminded me of that tonight. We were eating at Chick-Fil-A, and he asked for ice cream. We took his kid's meal toy to the counter to exchange it for ice cream. I hardly noticed the man who was in front of us in line. But K noticed him right away and said (rather loudly), "Wook, it's Santa Cwas". I had to giggle a little to myself. In his eyes, this man with a red shirt, long white hair and a long white beard was, in fact, Santa Claus. And as he walked out the door, K yelled after him, "Bye, Santa Cwas!!" I don't know if the man ever heard him or not, but he didn't ask K for his Wish List.

I Feel Like a Thief!!

Today, my friend Courtney and I went shoppping at the outlet mall in Vicksburg. Really, we were both going "just to see what they had", and maybe find some deals on spring clothes for our boys (our girls are the same age and our boys are the same age). I don't know what it is about the two of us going to Vicksburg, but every time we do we end up finding the most outrageous bargains. The last time we went, the salesperson in the Carter's outlet gave us a discount just because it was storming outside and we had braved the weather to shop. The salesperson in OshKosh added up our coupons incorrectly, and we tried to tell her it was wrong (I'm not kidding, we really did try to tell her). She ended up letting us have $50 worth of clothes for somewhere in the neighborhood of $10. We couldn't argue her out of it, though we did try. We left feeling like common theives.

Today, we went to the Gymboree outlet (Gymboree is my weakness!) When we walked in, the saleslady told us there were a couple of racks in the front of the store marked down to $1.99. Of course, we quickly began perusing the racks and picking up a few things - winter items that were marked down. Then, while holding an email from the corporate office, she began going around the store and marking TONS of stuff down to $1.99!! It was all girls' stuff, sizes 4-10 mostly. She kept holding up things and saying, "This is $1.99 too." I honestly asked her if she had been drinking. I ended up with a 2 dresses, a skirt and sweater set, 2 pair of jeans, 3 long-sleeve tops, 2 sweaters, a raincoat, a windbreaker, a heavier coat, 3 polo-style shirts for K, and 4jackets for friends (I love to give gifts, and at $1.99 who can resist?)....for just over $50! While I was checking out, I commented that I didn't think this was legal and Courtney said she felt like she was stealing. The saleslady said they were having a big promotion this weekend to boost sales. So, if you live close to Vicksburg and have a little girl anywhere from 4 to 10 years old (baby stuff is not on sale, and very few boys' clothes are on sale), I would go to Gymboree this weekend. For $50, you could outfit your little girl for next fall.

25 Random Things About Me

Well, Missy tagged me to post 25 things about myself that you may not know. This is a daunting task; I'm not sure I can come up with 25 factoids, but here goes:

1 - I wear one contact, in my left eye. I had no idea I couldn't see until I was 15 and went to take my learner's permit test. I failed the eye exam miserably.
2 - More "left eye" problems - any time the barometric pressure changes rapidly, I get an enormous headache behind my left eye.
3 - I LOVE Six Flags (or any amusement park for that matter!) I turn into a kid the minute I walk through the gates.
4 - I honestly like to clean my house. Some days while K is at school, I come home and clean the house to a sparkle and then just sit and admire it for a little while. I'm sick, I know.
5 - I met my husband at a wedding - his 1st cousin married my 3rd cousin - when their first daughter was born, we figured out that she was my husband's 2nd cousin by blood and my 4th cousin by blood (on different sides of the family of course - don't start playing the "Dueling Banjos" song from "Deliverance" in your head - it's not like that).
6 - The first couple of years after I got my driver's license, I had several run-ins with stationary objects like gas pumps and parked cars. I have become a better driver, although I did rear-end a friend after dropping L off at school one day a few months ago. Oh yeah, and I was in my pajamas. Nice.
7 - After rear-ending someone in my pj's, I made a vow to never again leave the house like that. Now, I get dressed before taking L to school every morning. Make-up is still optional most days, but I do not leave the house in my pajamas.
8 - I must say something to redeem my driving record: I have never had a speeding ticket.
9 - Like my sister, I do not understand why I have to show my ID anytime I buy cough or sinus medication. Do I look like I have a meth lab?
10 - My middle name, "Melissa", was the middle name of my great-grandmother. I only found out I was named after my great-grandmother about 10 years ago. I guess my family assumed that I knew her middle name was "Melissa". :)
11 - My husband and I picked two names for our children to honor both sides of our family. Our daughter's middle name, "Ellen", is my mother's first name and my mother-in-law's middle name. Our son's middle name, "Douglas", was my brother's middle name and my husband's grandfather's first name. We thought it was so neat that we had a girl name and a boy name that came from both our families. We have one more girl name that honors both sides, "Melissa", but we don't think we'll need another name.
12 - I have one of the best groups of girlfriends anyone could wish for.
13 - I love cheesy 80's music - pop rock, punk rock, glam rock, monster ballads, you name it. Don't laugh - you know you sing along to "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" too. I'm just brave enough to admit it.
14 - I would be perfectly content to curl up on the couch with a good book and not move for 2 or 3 days.
15 - I find it almost impossible to leave my house in the morning at 7:15 without first making up the bed, unloading the dishwasher, straigtening up the house, and starting a load of clothes in the washer. Like I said before, I'm sick.
16 - When I went for my physical this year, my doctor told me my cholesterol is slightly high. I'm trying to work on this, but I am getting tired of Cheerios every morning.
17 - I am sooooo not athletic. In junior high, walking into the gym on a day when we were participating in competitive sports was my worst nightmare. I clearly remember one day in 7th grade when the girls' PE class joined the boys' PE class for volleyball. I was picked as a Team Captain (my gym teacher must have really hated me), which meant I got to pick my team. I picked all the terrible players, because I had so much in common with them. Then, I picked one guy who was somewhat athletic and super-competitive just because he was cute. He was less than impressed with our pitiful team. I wonder if he is still mad at me....
18 - Speaking of teachers that clearly didn't like some students, I will never forget the name of my 6th grade homeroom teacher. She despised me, though I can't remember ever doing anything to her or misbehaving in her class. I would look up from my desk sometimes to see her sitting at her desk staring holes through me. She spoke my name with a particular contempt in her voice that was only reserved for me. My only saving grace in her class was that it was homeroom and I was only in there 50minutes every day. She was the only teacher who ever really disliked me...
19 - I rarely watch TV. I can't even tell you what comes on which network on any night. The only show that I ever watch is "NCIS" - I used to like "CSI", but it got a little too scary sometimes. I like "NCIS" because it's still a crime show but the characters are funny.
20 - My baby will start Preschool in August, and I'm surprised about how sad that makes me. I cannot believe my children are growing up so fast.
21 - The most rewarding job I've ever had is being a wife to a wonderful husband and a mother to two amazing kids. Not only did God give me the free gift of salvation, but He has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined.
22 - I have very little sense of direction. The first time I went home from college (it's a straight shot on I-20, mind you), I got lost and ended up in Gluckstadt (I was trying to go to Meridian). Mapquest is my best friend.
23 - Like Missy said of herself, I am certainly no decorator. I often say that I know just enough to make a room look really bad. Don't ever ask me to help you pick out paint colors or anything of the sort. I can't even find the motivation to try most of the time. Maybe when my children are older and I have more free time, I'll get in touch with the "designer" that has to be somewhere deep inside me.
24 - My husband and I are 2 of the 10 people in the country that have not yet seen "Fireproof". I bought it Tuesday, and we plan to watch it this weekend.
25 - As a child, I went through a phase when I was completely obsessive-compulsive about washing my hands. Almost drove my poor mother crazy.

Okay, I guess that's it. I really didn't think I could come up with 25 things, but there they are. Now, the instructions were for me to tag 25 people. I'm not sure I even know 25 people, and I'm certain that I don't know 25 bloggers :) So, how about this? If you have read this and want to participate, go right ahead. Post a list of 25 Random Things about yourself on your blog.