Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Let the ebay withdrawal begin....

Well, because of my upcoming trip, I have to take a break from ebay. Booo! I have several things to sell, but want to do 7 day auctions. I won't be here in 7 days...so I can't start those auctions. They have to wait...until after I come home...and probably until after we celebrate Kale's birthday (both on the real day and on the family day).

And then there is Halloween and the need to get pics taken in a pumpkin patch...so I am pretty sure it will be Nov 1 before I start ebaying again as a seller.

I bought Kale an outfit on ebay today that I had become obsessed with--its from a Gymboree line last winter or spring. It is a long sleeve onesie with a small orange dinosaur and the words "Feed Me" underneath the dino...and it comes with matching blue/orange striped pants. So cute...and will completely match my fella's orange hair. Its not red...its orange!

That will be my last purchase for a while as well. Unless of course, I find a super cheap (yet authentic) vanilla smelling Oris watch for Ep. That would require a purchase regardless of what country my computer happens to be visiting. Don't get your hopes up honey...those vanilla smelling watches are expensive!!!

Ok...back to my grind. I STILL have not gone to get my passport out of the safety box yet...ugh.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Quickie...

This will be a quickie...just to capture Kale's most recent "trick".

He knows what NO means. He knows how to shake his head no. We weren't sure if he knew that shaking his head no and the word no convey the same message. Now we know...he does know!

There are a few things that he would LOVE to touch or play with, but that are just not things he should touch or play with. Things such as the computer on/off button (which glows blue), Mr Feet's blue water bottle (rabbit's water bottle, which is attached to his cage), and a few other random things.

So, today he proved multiple times that he knows what the word no means and that shaking your head no will communicate that message. He would meander up to something like the water bottle...reach to touch it and either just tap the top of it or come as close to humanly possible to touching it...and then stop himself and shake his head no. Now, not a word was said to him during all this. He was apparently having his own internal conversation about it! HA! He has also been observed doing the same thing with the glowing blue button on the computer.

He is so amazingly smart. We are in such trouble! It also seems that he has a good dose of self control in most situations...which is great because that balances out his lack of patience and ability to control his temper!

The other thing with him right now is that you can't even pause when walking by a door...the slightest of pauses seems to send him the message that you MIGHT be thinking of going outside. And oh the fit that follows if you don't take him outside. Nana has learned not to pause by the garage door...front door...or deck door. And, for the record, you can take him outside and be out there for quite a while...and he can even be getting chilly to touch because the night air has cooled...and he will STILL throw a major fit when he has to come inside. Oh yes..our boy loves the outdoors!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Where is the pause button?

Ok, Help! I need a pause button. I have decided that a pause button is the only way this is going to work for me. So, tell me, where is the pause button on my child...is it in his belly button?

To say I am a little overwhelmed with the thought of leaving Kale is an understatement. I have to leave him for 12 entire whole days. My mom assured me he would be fine, to which I replied that I know he will be fine. My mom assured me that he won't forget me, to which I replied I know he won't forget me. Actually, I am really not worried about him because I know he will be in good, capable, and loving hands while I am gone. I am worried about ME! Agggcchkkk. 12 days without his loving...12 days without hearing him slap, slap, slap down the hall as he crawls....12 days without playing peak-a-boo. I better stop before my tears catch up with me. So, yeah, I need a pause button. I mean, he can continue to eat, sleep, pee, poop, and such....but he just can't do anything cute or new or amazing...ok, that is selfish of me...I know. BUT I DON'T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING!!!!

I have 11 days to figure this out....and pack and everything else (like go get my passport out of the safety deposit box)....but all I can think about is missing him. Ep has sooooo taken a back seat! Sorry babe! Ep never understood why I would end up crying when I would call home to talk to him. Usually, I limited myself to three calls when I was overseas....one to say I got there, one in the middle of the trip, and one to say I am coming home...see you soon! I kind of rationed myself with those phone calls. I got my dose of Ep's voice and hearing him say that he loved me. And email helps too, but only when you actually have internet access. I am thinking there may be a few more phone calls this time. I have to download Skype on our home computer and buy us new speakers and see if our computer has a built in speaker. THEN I have to teach my husband and mom how to use Skype. (meanwhile, my father in law will want to know what the he** is Skype?) LOL! I won't go into explaining it....but its only a valuable tool if you are going to need to talk to someone overseas...you can google it if you want....

Anyway, Ep used to tell me..."Marcia, you are in Europe...enjoy it!". THEN I took him to Europe with me. AND I took him to France...not Albania, Armenia, or Kosovo....yet France was enough for him to finally understand. Ep eats at McDonalds about five times a year...and only then its out of convenience. When in France, Ep learned about creature comforts and missing things that you didn't even know you could miss. Ep started craving McDonalds because it was the closest thing to anything American we could find in France. We ate McDonalds one day in Paris. Then we had to go to this little town in the middle of nowhere France. Ep was at the hotel and hungry--he could have ate at the hotel, but oh no...he walked 3/4 of a mile ONE WAY in the POURING RAIN to order two big macs, fries, and a Super Size Diet Coke....and then walked 3/4 mile back in the POURING RAIN. Ask him about it...he will STILL tell you how good it tasted and that it was sooooo worth it. That was 2 1/1 years ago. After that...he completely understood when I would tell him I missed him and wanted to come home. So, my theory is...if I missed him and my creature comforts that bad before...what will it be like NOW? I will be missing both Ep and Kale....and I have grown accumstomed to not seeing Ep for a week or two at at time (not saying I deal with it well, but I do cope with it)....but I have only been away from Kale for 3 days since he was born....11 months ago. AGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!

Ok, I gotta stop now on that.

Moving on...I just want to give props to my husband. You have done something this week that just amazes me and I am really proud of you for your words and actions. Thank you for being willing to "stretch" and be used in the ways God needs to use you.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Sports and Oreo

We had a fabulous weekend...here is the proof...
Checking out the sports section....


Checking out more of the Sports section...
Gee...wonder who got the SEC stomping???


Mommy shared an Oreo with me!


Working on my second Oreo, with remnants of the first one still on my chest, hands, and face! I ended up with it from my forehead to my belly...and then I got a bath.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Back in the Rock....and more Duck Duck Goose

Mom and Kale made it back to Little Rock around lunch so I left work for a bit to join them for some Duck Duck Goose fun. Mom got to shop/look. She wanted to hang out in toys, and I tried to curb that. We could open a toy store at my house...and there are so many toys that he never played with....no more toys, except specific ones that are bigger and parent approved. :) As my mom reads this, rest assured she is rolling her eyes at me. While checking out, she spied the propaganda for the half price Saturday portion of the sale....which she has known about...and so she asked if we could come back Saturday. Before I could yell, NO....the saleslady said "sure you can". Mom said "oh, I know I can, but it depends on whether SHE will let me--she is the boss". So, I might let her go, who knows....giggle...but I promise that if she brings home any more toys, there will be big problems in Memaville....

We spent a little more money...or um, mom spent money. Then we got the toddler bed loaded in her suburban. This nice kid carried the bed all the way to her truck. We were going to pull the suburban up to the door, but he just followed us all the way there...carrying an oak toddler bed on his head...I was impressed. Not sure why he did that...surely impressing me wasn't the reason...I mean, he was 15-16 years old for goodness sakes! Maybe he was just being NICE? Regardless, I gave him a tip and we were done with loading the bed. Yea!

While we were there, I looked for the pump I was selling....it has apparently sold. Yea! I bought it last spring at the same sale....used it at sporadically at work...and then placed it for sale for the same price I paid. Yea! However, I must note...those who run the sale will get 30% of that price. So, for the mere 30% cost, I used the pump (and thus didn't have to carry my other one back and forth to work) for about 5 months. :) Works for me! I went ahead and sold it because I plan to get the "I don't know the name of it but you can multitask while you pump" version for the next time I need a pump and then I can just bring my other pump (the new one purchased after Kale was born) to work since I don't plan to walk around work while pumping! THAT would be a little, er, um...scary/insane/unprofessional. Well, thats the plan anyway...when baby #2 comes along (it won't be anytime soon!), somebody remind me of this plan and this post...and we will see what comes of best laid plans.

Tonight is dinner out so that we can also pick up Ep's new work Tahoe....

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Whew...

Ahhhh...the anticipation is over and although my feet ache this morning...I had a great time at Duck Duck Goose last night. Thanks to Robin for letting me borrow her wagon--its was very much needed for my "haul". I got there at 5:40pm and went to the back of the horrendously long line. At 6pm the doors would open for the consignors...and you should have seen the line. You would have thought it was already opening to the general public. Robin used mom's pass since mom wasn't going to make it back in time (in fact, she is only on her way down here now). She joined me in line and was a little amazed and shell shocked by the crowds. I gave her a brief overview of the layout inside...knowing that we would separate once inside.

My first stop was the toddler beds, per mom's request for one. I thought I had found one, only to find out that someone else already had it on hold and very much indicated that she planned to buy it. Bummer. I wasn't impressed with the rest of them (well, there was another one, but it was a lot more expensive...) so I went on to clothes. And that is where I stayed for the next 3 hours. Racks and racks and racks of clothes. Oh fun! Since everyone prices their own stuff, you often see the exact same outfits for a variety of prices....so its not only about finding the outfit/shirt/jacket/pants you think is cute...but its also about finding it for the best price for the best condition! Me and my wagon were only given one harsh EXCUSE ME all night long. Hey, if you could have seen the madness going on in there, you would know that was a pretty good thing to only get told that one time in a mean voice. I don't know what time it was, but I think it was before 8pm...Robin found me and told me she was done.

At 8:30, Ep called. I freaked out when he told me it was already so late. They said we could shop from 6-9, so I just knew that they were going to start telling us to wrap it up soon...aghh.

After clothing was the shoes...let me sidetrack here to say that:
  1. So far, Kale doesn't seem fond of shoes. Hmmm, wonder where he gets that from says his mommas as she sits at her desk in flip flops.
  2. Kale's feet are big...wide...fat...just altogether big in a way that buying shoes for him without his foot being present is pretty much going to be a waste of time.

So, I wasn't in shoes long...but just as I was giving up on shoes, I spied a pair of crocklings. They are a couple sizes big for him. They are Crocs...but they have elastic neoprene to help them stay on little feet, yet give plenty of room to grow! Oh yea! They sell for around $30 new and I haven't seen them in any of the LR stores...so then you would also need to add shipping. I got them for $10 and they are pretty much new. YEA!

Then I was off to bedding, blankets, toys and more...I checked the blankets for anything from the Gymboree lines (I LOVE thier blankets...really soft, really big!). No luck. Oh well. I moved on looking for a high chair for my mom's house. I never found any full size ones, but found one that was supposed to be attached to a chair. It was one that I wasn't familiar with, so I didn't get it. I am thinking she will just have to hand over her money to the retail giants for that purchase.

Back to clothes...for one more dash through...did anyone put back something I...err, Kale needs to have? And then I was off to find a place to sort through my loot and play the "what do I like the best game". That took a while. At this point, its after 9pm...well after 9pm...and nobody has made any kind of announcement that we need to wrap it up. Hmmm, ok, one more stroll over to the toddler beds and toys. Whoohooo...look, the toddler bed is still there...no hold sticker...the price tag is back on it...yippee. So, mom got a toddler bed. Its still there...I have to figure out how to get it home today. I can do it myself. If I have to figure out how to strap it to the top of my 4Runner, I will. I know, I have a husband who has a truck...and it would make sense for him to help me...but I already asked him for help and that didn't go well. I will just leave it at that...because if I go any further on that topic then I might just explode. I will say this.... I am capaple, I am strong, I can figure it out...I can do it myself...and if someone offers to help me along the way, great. Thank you God for making me that way...so I don't need a man to help me and can get by on my own with the abilities you have given me and with the people You send my way who DO want to help me when I need it. I will NOT want for things just because a man won't help me. Yep, I better shut up now.

I did end up buying Kale a small riding toy. He already has one at home, but its still a little big for him. I got this one because it has a wider base and I am hoping that maybe he can at least sit on hit now and play...it has a steering wheel that doesn't actually steer, lights, music...and somehow it turns into a scooter when he gets bigger. Its made by Fisher Price. It was $5...one fun moment on it for him will be worth that price!!!

At 10:10, I left Duck Duck Goose....my (Robin's) wagon full and the realization that I never ate dinner. Now, I am at the state fairgrounds...its after 10pm...there isn't a place within 5 miles that is safe to stop for food...GREAT! It was only after I was in my car and driving down the road (where it would not be safe to stop) that I remembered that I have lots of water in my cargo hold...and I was sooooo thirsty. Ugh. So, I headed to the Sonic by our house...and waited 15 minutes for a little snack pack of chicken bites and a cherry limeade. Not sure if they had to kill the chicken or go pick the cherries...but good grief. There were only two other cars there...so much for FAST food. So at 10:50, I roll into the driveway. I left my loot in the truck. Me, my purse, my food, and my drink went inside. The rest could wait. By 11:30pm I was in bed and dead to the world....not sure I moved all night. When I got home last night, I knew my feet were going to hurt today...standing on a concrete floor for 4 hours...yep, thats going to hurt.

So, its the morning after...and I am good. I unloaded my loot--its in the garage, still in the wagon...and am trying to figure out how to get the toddler bed home. My feet literally tingled when I got out of bed...and they hurt now, but its ok. I got my loot. I am hoping that I break even with what I bought vs what I sell...but its ok if I don't..and its ok if I make more than I spent too!

Ok...gotta go...

Monday to Wednesday

Its Wednesday! I have made it to Wednesday! Yippee!

Monday--The optometrist confirmed my suspicion...eye infection. Antibiotic drops and no contacts for a week...and then we will see how my eye is doing. Oh fun. The right lens in my glasses is not "current" with my prescription, so that is making life interesting. By about 3:30 every afternoon, my eyes are ready to give out from the extra work they are doing from me wearing my glasses. Oh, why do I do this to myself??? I don't trust myself to drive at night, and I had to drive last night...so I put in contacts for a bit and did just fine. I fought the temptation to just leave them in...and I threw them away since they are now contaminated.

I also found time to drop off two sets of Duck Duck Goose stuff. I was proud to get that accomplished! Now...somebody buy our stuff!!!

Monday--was also date night. Kale and Mema went to my aunt's house and apprently had a great time. Kale was so worn out that he fell asleep on the way home, but then woke himself back up and screamed the rest of the trip home...our only guess was that he woke up, it was dark, and he wasn't quite sure where he was. After an early dinner, Ep and I had gone home...and laughed at ourselves for going to bed before 8pm. Yes, really. No, there was not anything adult oriented or hanky panky going on....we were just tired. Then, the screamer came home...he was wailing...and kept at it while getting his pj's on...and then it still took about 5 minutes before he finally stopped as we stuck a bottle in his mouth...he then cuddled up with daddy and zonked out. He slept with us...nothing like little feet digging into your back/side/belly! I know that someday when its his head in my back or he gives me an elbow to the belly...I will long for the days of tiny toes digging into me! LOL!

Then came Tuesday...another eye check...all is progressing well (and give us another co-pay please...huh? oh, and come back on Friday...not sure that will happen). Lunch was outside because it was so nice...and with my husband...so that was even nicer. After work was "Alive After 5" at church. It was a good time and I really enjoyed it. I plan to do it every month. After that was dinner with Robin...the amazing mother of twin boys. She never ceases to amaze me. This was the first time in a really long time that we had enjoyed the chance to just go out together...no husbands and no kids. Whew. I don't think our waiter thought we were ever going to leave. He finally realized that we were there for a bit and just kept refilling our drinks (coke and dr pepper...whew, what big drinkers we are!). We enjoyed some really good conversation and had a good time.

Now, I am to Wednesday. Two alarms went off this morning. The first was a reminder to give Kale his medicine...only Kale is in Alma...so I turned it off. Then the second alarm is the "reminder" alarm for "have you given Kale his medicine"? Yes, I know...but when you have a kid with a condition like his...skipping a dose is worrisome. We snoozed a little longer and then reluctantly got out of bed. The house was too quiet. Ep left for work and I finished up a few things before leaving. I walked into Kale's room to do something and spied his blankets in his bed...and nearly burst out crying. Hello, where did THAT come from? I just started wanting to hug him so bad. Funny how seeing his blankets in his bed (which he NEVER sleeps in by the way) caused that reaction. I am so completely sold on that kid...he owns me and knows it. Heck, he owns all of us..and KNOWS it. Which is exactly why we have a certified fit thrower amongst us. He knows the roll call as well. In fact, he recently decided to just combine all our names and it came out nanamamadada. Oh goodness....

Tonight is the night...I get to shop Duck Duck Goose for three glorious hours. There will be two shopping periods for volunteers before that....but then I get to go at the goods before the rest of the general public. All the consignors get to do this...tonight for three hours...did I mention that there are 1600+ consignors? LOL...nope, it probably won't be packed. I plan to arrive early!

Oh...as I write this...my dad is having a procedure done....he is getting "scoped"...so please pray that it goes well...some kind of conclusion is made...and that my dad recovers quickly and is back on his (steady) feet by tonight. I think he was pretty nervous about the anesthesia becuase that means he is NOT in control...and he doesn't do well with those type of situations...at least we know where I get THAT from...anyway...please pray for him and for my mom as she tries to take care of Kale and a wobbly husband.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Sick...Hurricane/Tornados...Weekend

Whew, its been an adventure around our house this weekend.

Kale had a runny nose on Sunday night...and Monday. Mema was sick by Monday night. I got it by Wednesday night. Kale seemed much better, until yesterday when the faucet that is normally his dry nose turned itself back on. It got even more fun last night and today as the faucet started unleashing colors...so he will probably get to visit the doctor tomorrow. Ep hasn't felt the greatest, but seems to have so far dodged the major portion of the illness around here (except for dealing with a cranky wife and son).

I stayed home on Thursday and Friday--partly because I felt like trash and partly because I felt like I had already exposed my co-workers enough...I am the only one on my team with a small child, and I do my best not to expose them to rampant child viruses when I can. On Friday, Mom, Kale and I ventured out to get some groceries before the madness set in. See, we had a hurricane/tropical storm/tornado outbreak coming. I didn't want to NEED to go anywhere this weekend, especially not with all the gas price gouging going on around Little Rock. Hello, gas shot up 40 cents in one afternoon (Friday) and I didn't feel like buying into the panic. I have half a tank of gas...that will get me to Wednesday, which is long enough to make a decision about whether to buy gas on Monday or wait until Tuesday/Wednesday.

Saturday was a little disturbing for me. It was VERY humid outside. We were in the northeast quadrant of a hurricane/tropical storm path. Great. Ep spent the morning taking care of Kale while my mom and I tacked the toy warehouse downstairs (otherwise known as Sue went crazy buying toys on Ebay).

When Ep realized we were done downstairs, he seized his opportunity and literally ran out of the house...the boat, fishing gear, and water was calling. I thought he was crazy and didn't want him to go. I knew the weather was going to explode. I thought he knew that as well. I thought wrong about the last part. He checked the weather...no storms anywhere near us...and off he went. His last words to me was for me to keep an eye on the weather and let him know if it was about to start storming...and that he loved me. He had been gone less than an hour when the weather radio started blaring...tornado watch. Ok, so I call him to tell him. Maybe 90 minutes later, without a sound of thunder in earshot....the weather radio blares again...as well as our tornado sirens....yes, a tornado warning....thankfully, it went west of us (and Ep). I started calling Ep...and get no answer....three times. GREAT! The storms came out of nowhere, are moving 50+ mph and my husband is out on the water. I know that by the time he hears thunder, the storms will be on top of him...and he isn't answering his phone (to his credit, there are many places he fishes where his phone just doesn't ring). These storms blew up so fast that even my mom came in from the garage (where we had transferred her toy store) with the most bewildered look on her face and asking if that was the tornado sirens. I wasn't even in the mood to be funny about it. When Ep finally answered his phone and called me back...I was about to go nuts. I was worried about him...and losing my grip. My mom started packing the diaper bag with the "its an emergency gear". Seriously, after last spring, we have a system and she is GREAT at it! We may only have the clothing on our back if our house blows away, but Kale will have two changes of clothes, pj's, food for two meals....and more. She also includes the radio and sometimes remembers the flash light. Ep called me again on his way home and in true male form, he thought it was a good time to ask me about the score of an earlier football game. Oh, it went wayyyyyy downhill from there on my part. It wasn't pretty. I lost it. Ugh. Then the second batch of tornado storms went east of us. Whew.

Then my night got even more fun when my left eye starting bugging me. A look in the mirror convinced me to take out my contacts and start praying that my eye wasn't infected. Too late. This morning it was very obvious that my left eye was infected. So, I get to find a new optometrist tomorrow (my last one treated women like second rate citizens and it was a miracle that I left his office without educating him a bit). Hopefully, I can be on the road to a quick recovery by tomorrow afternoon...and somehow cope with not wearing my contacts (and thus wearing my glasses) for at least a week or two.

This week is busy around here. I have to get a plane ticket to Slovakia...drop off my consignment stuff...and drop off mom's as well. Kale needs to see the doctor if he hasn't improved by morning. Ep has a tournament tomorrow night. Mom is leaving on Tuesday and taking Kale to her house so she can help my dad after his "scope procedure" on Wednesday...and plans to stay in Alma just long enough until my dad has his wits about him. Then, she will book it back down here to hopefully take advantage of the pre-sale for the consignment event. As consignors, we get to go through everything for 3 hours the night before the sale opens to the public. There are 1600+ consignors...so it won't be a small crowd! Backing up to Tuesday night, I plan to attend a thing at church and then maybe have dinner with a friend. Wednesday, at 6pm will be at the doors for the Duck Duck Goose pre-sale.

I don't know what Thursday and Friday hold...I haven't gotten that far....

Ok, back to tagging items and Ebay...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Macie Jane Herman

We interupt our normal broadcast at Fletcherville to bring you exciting news...


Welcome to the world Macie Jane Herman!!!!
She arrived at 2:48am weighing 6lbs 11oz.
She is the little sister of Ivie and daughter of Amy and Dale.
Initial reports are that everyone is doing great!
It may be a while, but you can eventually meet Macie at http://www.hermannation.blogspot.com/
(for those of you wondering, Macie's mom was my amazing and brave
roommate at Westminster College in the 94-95 school year)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

New pictures...yep, original title huh?

This is the result of too much Baby Einstein and a cookie.....







Stand back ladies....these handsome fellas are all mine!!!








Oh goodness, we are going to be in so much trouble...

Could he be any more serious?







He works hard for the Cheerios, hard for the Cheerios....

This is one of my all time favorites of him....

Sun-kissed (look at those beautiful eyes!)

Saturday, September 6, 2008

A different weekend...warning, its long!

Here is how our weekend was looking....Ep would fish a tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Kale and I would maybe visit some friends who were tailgating at the Razorback game. We would watch the game from home on pay-per-view.



Here is the how the weekend took shape starting on Friday....


  1. Ep's tourament got cancelled. He gets his entry fee back and is now officially qualified to fish the regional tournament at Kentucky Lake (based upon final standings of the circuit).

  2. We went to talk to our preferred jeweler and fell in love with a new ring...which turned in to rings. We told him we needed to think about it all and figure out a plan. I have never been one to be too frilly and overwhelmed by jewelry. However, I found a new kind of drunk in that jewelry store. Its called diamond drunk. I looked at the rings on my hand, and looked at Ep and said "I deserve this. I went through FIVE epidural sticks!" I don't even know where that came from...I never say stuff like that! See, diamond drunk!

  3. We made plans to just have a fun family weekend....and relax!

So, Saturday morning brought on breakfast by Ep...pancakes. Kale gobbled his up! We got dressed and rolled out of the house for the day. First stop...the elementary school by the interstate...to change a stinky diaper! Yep, we made it all of 3.5 miles before changing a diaper and also his shorts (replaced by a pair of spare pants). Ok, now...whew, one whiney boy later...a good 25 minute nap was taken by Kale on the way to the jewelry store.

At the jewelry store, Ep was able to see the flaws in my original ring. I haven't said much more about it here, because I wasn't sure what avenue we were going to take. But, now that we have made a choice, I am spilling it. Office Depot has said that they weren't liable for what happened in THIER store, in THEIR shopping cart, when I was buying THEIR product. All I did was go in to purchase a printer. I put the printer in the cart. I moved the box and tried to lift it back out of the cart. My hand got hung when my ring snagged on the exposed bolt. My ring broke. End of story.

As for the original jeweler--Stein Diamonds (in California). Their first and only response to me (and I called them immediately after my ring broke) was that I could send it to them and they would see if they could fix it. If they couldn't, then I would just have to buy a new ring. Yep, ok, whatever. Let me send you my ring so you can tell me you can't fix it and I need to buy a new one. Duh. In the following days, I was told by two local jewelers that it could be repaired, but due to the shoddy craftsmanship of the casting (platinum with other unknown alloys), that my ring would continue to break again. So, we realized a new casting was necessary, no matter what. Not cheap! Ugh. However, my diamonds (as itty bitty as they may be--what the guy at Office Depot said about them) hold value!

We thought it over a bit. We slept on it. At most, Stein Diamonds would just set my diamonds in a new casting--at our expense. I really don't trust their work now, so that didn't seem like a good option. Office Depot...long drawn out event and would have to hire a lawyer. Oh yea! At best, they would buy me a new casting. At worse, they would do nothing and we would be out a lot of time and additional money. Since the local jeweler wanted to give us a good price on my diamonds to go toward offsetting the price of the rings we liked, that seemed the most logical.

So, on Saturday morning, we decided to take a yucky situation and make it into something good. I was heartbroken to give up my original ring...the one that Ep slipped on my finger when he finally said "I do" after seven years. But the thing is...I still have his love and I know he loves me more now than he did then. I still have his commitment, which is growing even stronger by the day. So...with that in mind...I gave up my original ring and slipped on not one, not two, but three new rings. Yes, three. To prove that there is a girly feminine streak in me...let me just say...THEY ARE GORGEOUS RINGS! I am a grinning fool. Our families know how much I was grinning when Ep and I got married...my grin is almost that big now! We are going to pinch our pennies and make some sacrifices, but we are both pleased with the decision. As we headed out the door of the jewelry store, the jeweler gave me a hug and said "if you EVER have any problem with those rings, bring them too me and we will get them fixed..." and the thing is...he does that for all his customers. By far, second to none, he has the best customer service that we have experienced in a long time!!!!

So, off we went...diamonds sparkling...to tailgate! It was Kale's first time to tailgate and he had a blast. He wasn't so sure about all the people. He enjoyed being around them, but just wasn't sure about them holding him. Ahhh, our boy is a little clingy...we can live with that! We were tailgating with Ellen and Rena....who throw a fabulous tailgate party by the way! We also discovered that we have denied our son the experience of having his toes in the grass. Our yard is treated...so I have been wary of letting him play much in the grass until he can understand not to eat it! He acted like the grass was going to eat his toes! It was hilarious. Kale enjoyed lunch and a nap...all in the sea of Razorback Red! Kale even got a little sunkissed on his cheeks...so cute! Around 5pm, we headed home to watch the game on PPV....which was much cheaper and EASIER than actually trying to take Kale to the game! We were happy the Hogs pulled out a victory! Then, we turned off the tv and tried to get some sleep.

Try to get sleep was the key phrase. We tried. Kale discovered we had put him in his bed. Oh, such sinners were we! He came to our bed in his daddy's arms...sobbing. He got to stay with us the rest of the night. Kale was not awake at 3am, but we were. And so was the critter who apparently took residence in our attic. Oh, fun. We tried to scare it, but that didn't work. Finally, it decided to call it a night...just in time for Kale to wake up and want a bottle.

Sunday morning dawned way too soon...and we rolled out of the house for church and lunch. Both were great. Kale napped on the way home and was ready to roll (play) while mommy and daddy were hoping for a nap. Kale seemed to think we were crazy for even dreaming that we could take a nap. So, I started cleaning and Ep started on his "list"--which included looking around the attic. I am still not sure if we have any way of keeping our friend outside!

Finally, Kale was ready for a nap. Ep was in high gear...so he kept on grinding away. I laid down with Kale. We snoozed...and snoozed...for over two hours! YEA!!! I woke up to a lawn mower running right under our window. (at least the lawn mower is fixed now!) Kale slept a little longer. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Kale ate dinner and fell asleep with his bottle in the middle of the living room floor. I carried him to bed. In a bit, he will wake up and realize he has been put in his crib...and we will get to hear all about it! Ep went to bed about an hour ago, but was only able to catch about 30 minutes of sleep before I woke him up to ask "what the heck the thing crawling up our hallway was....seriously, is THAT a centipede in our hallway? Where did it come from?" and that all came out in one long breath...all Ep could manager was to look at me with one and a half eyes open and tell me to get the sweeper thing and put it outside. Um no. I put it in a glass...and put another glass upside down inside that. Then I put it in a ziploc....at which point Ep kind of snorted at me and headed down the hall back to bed. I put the ziploc outside...so if that stupid thing managed to escape two glasses and a ziploc...well, it deserves to live.

We are calling our bug man in the morning...critters in the attic on one night, followed by a centipede the next...we better get put at the top of the list!!!!

Ok...thats it...that was our weekend. I will post some pictures soon. Brrr, its freezing in this house...time to go to bed!!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

All Clear

We seem to be able to sound the all clear on Kale's stomach bug. YEA! He even slept fairly well last night...even though his mom didn't. But thats another story.

Kale is still very put out that he actually has to crawl to get from place to place. He lets the ENTIRE world know when he is on the move. He doesn't seem to pleased that he actually has to work to get himself from one place to another...oh, the woes of being a crawler!

His Nananana (Mema) reported today that he discovered the his reflection in the glass doors of our living room...only he didn't realize it was his own reflection. He kept trying to reach and grab the baby's hand...only to find his hand gently (I hope) hitting the glass. Poor kid...he was trying to make a friend...(giggle)

This weekend ought to be interesting...Ep is fishing a tournament and it will just be me and Kale at home. Mema has been with us for almost 3 solid weeks, in which time he has become very much attached to the idea that he should ALWAYS be in the same room with her and that she should ALWAYS be playing with him. Given that he only says Mama when he is tired, mad, or both....I am sure that I will here a lot of Nanananana Nanananna and Dada Dada Dada.

Speaking of Dada...Kale calls for him every morning now. Most mornings, Ep is still at the house when Kale wakes up. So, they spend a few minutes together. Seems Kale has grown attached to that time with Dada because he asks for him every morning...and even after we tell Dada bye-bye (Kale has apparently forgotten how to say that), he will continue to ask for Dada.

The other day, Mema told Kale that Dada was home because she heard his truck drive up....and Kale immediately looked at the door for his Dada.

Kale isn't scared of Goose anymore. In fact, he thinks Goose is hilarious. All Goose has to do is walk by or even flop down on the deck and Kale will giggle. I am hoping that Kale brings forth some gentleness in Goose. We will see....