Durango Palmers: March 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Check list for the previous week.

Just wanted to give you a little peek into my life and how many things were accomplished last week. And understand that there will be sarcasm....

TO DO:
~ lose mind -- check
~ find it......a lot later -- check
~ cry -- check
~ laugh -- check
~ go on dream vacation -- yeah right
~ clean up throw up -- check
~ change diapers -- check and check and check and check...
~ blog -- check
~ feel helpless -- check
~ depend on God -- this can be checked and unchecked at any given moment...
~ snuggle my hubby -- check
~ drink coffee -- check
~ read and love on my kids --- check and check and check and check...
~ enjoy parenting -- check
~ hate parenting -- check
~ had ministry ideas all jumble up -- check
~ struggle with ministry in general -- check
~ love being in ministry -- check
~ clean my house -- ummmm, not so much
~ do laundry -- check
~ see family -- check (Meghan and Micah! whoo hoo)
~ decide that my dog is my best friend -- no comment
~ cook meals -- check
~ oil change, haircut, grocery shopping, pharmacy, Walmart {again}, play at park, eat donuts, see friends, talk on the phone -- check
~ sleep -- check
~ nap -- in my dreams
~ worship God -- check
~ have peace -- again, check and uncheck depending on the moment
~ date with Mark -- not yet but soon
~ wonder where this month went -- check

Friday, March 27, 2009

Girl's Day Out

This week has probably been the most challenging week for me as a parent. I have had the phrase "I never thought I would....(fill in the blank with whatever)" running in my head constantly. My daughter and I have had our issues, tears, and cuddles. It's hard being 3 and it's hard being a mom. We love each other, adore each other, and drive each other crazy :)

So today I thought my sweet daughter needed some time with just me. Just to get to know the nice mom, the mom who gives her all the attention, the mom who can be fun. We had a blast.

It started off a little shaky, but ended up wonderfully. I think she actually enjoyed being with me. I know I had a great time with her. We ran a bunch of errands together (beauty salon, Walmart, pharmacy, oil change...) but we snuck in the donut shop and enjoyed tasty treats together. It was fun. It was special. It was just what we needed.

Here are pics from our trip to the beauty salon.

She even had her hair washed in the sink like a big girl!
Here's the last shot of her long locks.

There it goes...

She was so excited with the result.

On the way to her reward...donuts and chocolate milk.

Enjoying her reward.

And my little sweet girl got her hair cut and she's my big sweet girl now. I can't believe how much a haircut can change a person! Here are the results. {with the nice camera...}

We all love the new look. Even Kale told her that she was beautiful. When they got up from their "naps" Kate asked Bubba if he thought her hair looked cool. He said "No....it looks beautiful." She was thrilled beyond belief. So sweet.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful....

...for a new day.

...for a God who works behind the scenes on my behalf.

...for our small group. Great friends and lots of fun.

...for my dentist who can squeeze me in at the last minute.

...for my husband and the flexibility he has to watch our kids while I run to town.

...for family who love us and want to come visit!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Mama's helper

A lot of times Jack will not let me put him down. So I get creative...

Prop him up and go.

I know those underwear are in here somewhere...

Now the pacifier is gone. Bummer dude.

It's funny unless it's your pacifier...

Mom, do ya gotta take my picture again?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Rolling Thunder Baby

Sunday night was our first ever night of bowling at the bowling alley at the casino in Ignacio. We decided Saturday to go for it since Mark's parents were in town. Neither Kale or Kate have ever been bowling. We told Kale Saturday night that we were going and he was on cloud 9 till we finally went. In fact he was irritated with us that we didn't go right after church.

So after rest time we made our way. I really don't think Mark and I could've done this by ourselves. Doug and Margie were a huge help. They passed Jack back and forth, Mark and I and Doug took turns helping Kale and Kate. This bowling alley was the coolest I've ever been to. You can program it to put bumpers up when a kid is bowling. It was awesome. So we set it up and went to town. Sadly enough, I didn't even break 100. Kale on the other hand got 100 on the nose. The only one I beat was Kate. I need some major practice :)

It was a great photo op though.

The littlest fan

Is she ready to bowl or what?

Ready and waiting dad!

Dad helping Kate. It took the ball forever to roll to the pins!

Very proud of herself though

Grandpa Doug.

Mark the pro. He beat us all.

Grandma Margie.

Granny bowl.

The fans.

One frame Kale was acting all cool and when he threw his ball it landed in the lane to the left of us where a nice family was bowling. Kale's ball went into the gutter totally wasting the other dad's first ball of the frame. I felt so horrible! Thankfully the man was very understanding and forgiving.

K & K started poopin' out after the 5th or 6th frame. They were tired, hungry, bored because they had to wait for 5 other people to bowl before they could go again. We got them to hang on then went to eat at the casino's buffet.

All in all it was a fun night. .

Monday, March 23, 2009

For real?

So today has been most interesting...sort of...in a sick yucky way...

My daughter got up this morning and told me her tummy was hurting her. I said it was probably because she hadn't had any breakfast yet. So I went to get her cereal. She insisted that she didn't want breakfast and continued to complain...about everything.

Before I get to the grossness, in my defense, my daughter has turned into another human. One I don't really recognize. She whines. A lot. She cries at the drop of a hat and complains about everything. She has good moments, honestly, but since she hasn't taken a nap in almost 3 weeks she's exhausted. For this we will pay a terrible price...

So anyway, we're having breakfast with Mark's parents before they leave this morning and all of a sudden Kate throws up everywhere. I run to get a towel, thinking that she's done and I don't want to move her and spread the yuck around and I need to clean it before it's tracked all over. But she keeps going. I honestly think 3 days of food came out. (okay maybe that's exaggerating a bit) Mark's dad attempts to move her {which is comical in itself because he's gagging the whole time - both Margie and I are saying, and thinking, we don't want to clean up your puke either, put her down and go away! - love you Doug}. Margie gets her to the bathroom and I clean stuff up. Okay one down.

I forgot to mention that this morning as I was in the laundry room doing laundry of course, I found a "present" that either the dog or the cat left. Nasty! Mark didn't turn the light on in that room or he would have seen it before he left for work this morning. Thanks for the gift, love.

Kate's cleaned up and feeling much much better. So she comes out of her room with undies and insists that she wear them. Now you may be thinking 'Great! She wants to potty train herself. How wonderful!' The reality is that I haven't had a moment to really focus on taking her so it's usually more work with not much success so far. I actually told Kate to leave her diaper on (I didn't want to have to worry about potty messes at the same time I'm wondering if she's gonna puke again - a girl can only handle so much). Nope. She wants to potty like a big girl.

Fine. I give in. I set my alarms to remind me to take her. The thing is, she's thrown up everything in her stomach so there's no liquid in her little body. Sitting on the toilet is useless unless something happens right? And getting that girl to actually sit on the toilet unless she wants to? I had to threaten to take off the undies and put her in a diaper to get her to even sit on the toilet. Doesn't seem like this is a pleasant experience for her. But she insists on the undies.

So she watches Sleeping Beauty while I'm cleaning up and doing more laundry now. Then lunch. She's starving of course. We eat lunch. She seems fine. Hungry. They play a little. Then she pukes. Again. Dang!

So I get out the cleaner and start cleaning up the two piles of lunch. Then from her room I hear "Mom....I peed." Honestly I couldn't help but laugh {in my mind of course, didn't want her to think I was actually enjoying this}. That much throw up and now pee - all before 1 o'clock? What in the heck will the rest of the day be like?!

Mark did promise to bring home dinner and give me a foot rub. That's a good start...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Fun at the park

Mark's parents were in town this weekend. They arrived Friday night and are staying through Monday.

Friday night we went to Mama's Boy, ate delicious calzones, broke a bread plate on the floor, visited Walgreens and had fun.

Saturday we decided to go for a picnic in the park. We took the kids' trike and scooter and went for a walk. It was beautiful day.

Does she have 'tude or what?

Such a sweet grin. Love the hat!

Kale had a blast in the spinning thing. Mark took the pictures.
I think they turned out awesome!

Kate on the thingy {have no clue what it's called}

Jack's first time in a swing!

The parade.

The dad and the boy...

Strollin' along

Enjoying the scenery.

Hanging out in the chair that looks at pretty much nothing.

Yes ladies, he's all mine!

Grandma and Kale hangin' out.

Grandpa took Jack on a stroll around the park several times.

Here's the result :) He's out.

Mark and Grandma spinning and spinning Kale...

Then they tried to get him to run.

He didn't make it very far. Poor guy.

Friday, March 20, 2009

This and That

I realize that I need to update ya'll on the goings on in our house. Lots of posts that have come from my brain but not enough that have come from my home. I need to spread them out or I'll lose precious followers (like family...).

So the first thing we'll start with is Kate and her "fire". Two weeks ago I posted about how the "Fire Fairy" came and took her "fires" and replaced them with a cool Ariel doll. This girl has seriously been through withdrawal. She doesn't ask for it though. She knows that the "fires" are gone. Instead she brings up a million other things. She can't sleep because....1) her tummy is keeping her awake 2) her feelings are hurting her 3) the door isn't cracked (which it never was until this) 4) her "humifier" (humidifier) isn't on 5) she doesn't have the right dolly or blanket in bed with her etc... See where I'm going with this? Something HAS to replace her "fire".

Playing outside in the beautiful weather pretending it's raining...

In 16 days she has taken 1 nap. One! This girl needs more than one nap every two weeks! Everyday she sits in her room and distracts herself from napping. All we can do is put her to bed early and deal. We do our best to encourage napping but at the end of the day you really can't duct tape her eyelids shut-as much as I'd like to... So we press on. We will make it! (you know I'm just over dramatizing this right?)

Kale's favorite past time now. Drawing.

Anyway, next there's Kale. For his birthday we restored his fish tank that he'd gotten for his first birthday. [it's been in the garage collecting yuck for awhile] He was thrilled to be able to take care of his own tank! He usually begs Mark most nights to feed the fish in the living room tank so we figured he'd love this little adventure and appreciate it so much more. Last weekend we took the family to the fish store so Kale could fill up his tank with fish he's picked out. Of course he wanted a shark so we had to explain that it wouldn't fit in his room... He wound up picking Neon Tetras because they're blue and red like Optimus Prime the leader of the Autobots (Transformers). He got 6 and I'm sorry to report that only 2 are still alive. Most likely due to being overfed and the light being dropped into the tank during a "rest time". Serious trauma! They don't all have names. How can you? They all look the exact same! But maybe he can name his sucker fish when we get him. I'm sure it'll be Jazz or Bumblebee or something like that (more transformers).

Here's the clean, pretty fish tank

One of the victims of being a fish of a five year old.

The fish coroner coming to dispose of the body.

Also, Kale has officially {at least in our world} given himself the first ever yogurt hickey on his lip. Wednesday at lunch he was drinking a yogurt smoothie thing that has about a 1 inch opening in the top to drink from. He was messing around and sucked his lip into it and stayed like that for a bit. When he finally released his lip he had successfully broken the little blood vessels in his upper lip giving him a semi-permanent blue/purple "mustache". He tried wiping it off and was upset that it wasn't working. I told him that he had broken blood vessels in his lip and he started freaking out that he was going to die because he needed his blood vessels. I reassured him that this was only temporary and that it would be okay in a couple days. Till then he has lots of explaining to do when we see people.

It's kind of hard to see his bruised mustache.
It has cleared up in the last day or so.
But there is a faint shadow.

And then there's little man Jack. He had a six month check up yesterday and he really is little man Jack. 10th percentile. We joke that we are little people in a big world. His parents aren't very tall so we're not surprised that he isn't (actually none of our kids are). He is now sleeping at night in the living room. We had to kick him out of our room - we just weren't getting enough sleep with his noises. We also wanted Kale to sleep better too. It's been working so far. Hopefully soon he'll be sleeping well enough that he can share his room with Kale and then he won't feel like the extra child :) We explained to the pediatrician about our struggles to know what is going on with him. Many times we are at a loss as to why he's crying so we try everything. Finally she just said that the 3rd child most likely is just learning manipulation and is good at it. We agree. He knows what gets our attention and since he doesn't have his own room and has been sharing with us, we jump to comfort very quickly so we can sleep again. Not good habits that's for sure. So with moving our little man we are hoping he will get better sleep too. Then he won't have to listen to us snoring:) Otherwise he's a very happy, healthy little man.

A few pictures of Kate hanging with her brothers.

I have now named him Grabby Graberson. When holding him I am much more aware of his desire to grab everything I have and put it in his mouth. Pens, books, remote controls, phones, paper, cooking utensils etc....My arms just aren't long enough for his all-out reach. It's fun seeing him grow and change and actually desire to be a part of everything that's going on in our family. Lots of life changes going on. Hope you enjoy the Palmer chaos!

I love this face!

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