Sweet Caroline

9 years ago today my identity changed. I never imagined how quickly something so tiny would make such a huge impression . . . how in literally seconds, my heart swelled with love until it almost burst.

I love to tell Caroline that even if we had 100 kids (and oh my we will NOT), she is the one who made me a mommy. And now here we are, 9 years later, and I am struggling to believe that this sweet little smiley baby is growing up right in front of me

A little bigger, but still just as sweet and smiley

Dear Jenny Caroline, Care -Bear, Princess Mother, Sissy . . .

Sweet, sweet girl. You capture hearts in a moment. You definitely had your daddy's and mine with in seconds of being born. (Well, truthfully, were hooked as soon as we found out about you!) And as soon as your Nana and Papa and Mimi and Grandpa and Granny held you in the hospital, they were snookered too!

You are the most sensitive girl I know. You pick up on emotions and feelings that others are having and you respond to them. In the nursery, you always went over to the kids that were crying and tried to help them feel better. I love that you are a loyal daughter, sister, and friend. I know that other people's feelings are well cared for by you and that you are a trustworthy companion.

You are also so responsible. Sometimes I forget how old you really are and when you act your age,  I am not sure what to do. You can have conversations with adults and be trusted to do things around the house that are beyond your years. I will never forget how well you took care of me (and everything else) when I had the flu!!

And, Caroline, YOU ARE FUN! You have a great laugh and a quick sense of humor. You make things more fun than they already are with your enthusiasm. Even when you are sick, I am amazed by how much you smile and look for things to enjoy. That positive spirit and attitude will take you far!

Most of all, I love your heart. You have a heart that is inhabited by Jesus and He shines through you! I am excited to see you reading your Bible and memorizing verses. Your daddy and I are looking forward to seeing you baptized and watching you grow in your relationship with the Lord. We are so thankful to Him for giving you to us! What a privilege it is to be Jenny Caroline Bass's parents.

We love you, sweet girl! We are proud to be your Mommy and Daddy! HAPPY, HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY!!!

Thyroid on the brain

Well, I apologize. Josh says I was out of line to even REFER to girly things, so I will never mention them again. Period.

Hee hee.

Anyway. I am feeling a bit sluggish today. The kind of sluggish where you wonder if you should drive because at any moment your eyes might win and close. At first, I chalked it up to our rip roarin spring break, but then I remembered we haven't done anything tiring. But as I fought to stay awake playing Bo in Mario Kart, I realized I recognized this kind of tired and tried to remember the last time I took my thyroid medicine. And I can't.

When my thyroid gets low, there are 4 main indicators for me . . . 1) I get a little pooch in my belly (I will not comment on whether or not this is the case), 2) I am cold no matter what the weather (I drove to Sonic today with my heater on and my seat heated and noticed the temperature outside read 73), 3) I am extremely tired. Like CANNOT keep my eyes open tired (hence my fear to drive and the reason it took me 3 days to watch a movie that was 108 minutes long), and 4) I get really, really forgetful (and then forget that I haven't taken my meds and then get more forgetful and can't remember to take them or refill them and well, you get the picture). I have switched purses a lot lately, and apparently, my cytomel hasn't always made the jump.

Now some of you are going to wonder (and even a few ask) why I don't get a pill box so I can be reminded and see each day if I have taken my thyroid medicine or not. And to that I would say, "Because I am 34, not 74."

Logically, your next suggestion would be to put them somewhere that is more permanent instead of my purse. And I have reasons. Good ones. Like, because when I do remember to take them (and I prefer to take them midday because it works best for me if I do), my purse is almost always with me. And I don't leave things out because Thing 1 and Thing 2 are clever. Bo opened my medication one day and took 17 before I could get to him. (I take 4 a day and weigh considerably more than him and when I accidently took 5 one day I was very jittery.)

Yes. We panicked and called poison control. Where I had to spell the medication. And then tell them what kind of drug it was. At which point they told me that they had never heard of it before, nor was it in any of their systems. Thank you poison control. So we called my endocrinologist and told him what happened and he said it would take more than that to really hurt him, but that he would get really, really hyper and then crash. I think his exact words were, "Probably run in circles and then fall down." And sure enough, the child ran from one side of our bed to the other and talked really, really fast for several hours before taking a VERY GOOD nap!

So that option is out and putting them up high is out because Bo likes to push chairs and ottomans and stools over so he can reach what he is after, no matter how high it is.  And then things like this happen:

That is navy blue fingernail polish that was up REALLY high that is on Sascha's face. It was all over his legs, but he was very proud to have painted it on her face. I was 8 feet away with the door opened when it happened. The quiet tipped me off.

So I guess Bo is the main reason we have to hide the drugs. We don't want him getting addicted to synthetic T3. And maybe I should be irritated with him, but it's hard because look how stinkin' cute he is!

Keeping it too real?

Just thought you might appreciate that I almost blogged about some girly things (not shopping or shoe related if you get my drift) and then it occurred to me that it might be tmi.

Of course if Josh is my only male reader then he already knows anyway but no need to make him uncomfortable twice.

So . . . never doubt how real I am willing to be, sometimes I am just being polite.

Staycation Twenty Eleven

It's spring break around here and we have plans to get crazy! We are cleaning out drawers and closets. We plan to get donuts at least two mornings this week. Jump Zone is on tap for Wednesday and on Friday we will be celebrating Caroline's 9th birthday.

I know. I know. Those of you who are skiing or beaching this week are thinking, "WHAT THE HECK?! Why did I go away when Rachel could have planned a wonderful spring break for us?!"

Well. Now you know. And there's always next year or summer vacation.

Seriously, though, today my mom and aunt and I went to Mineral Springs, Arkansas and closed on the sale of Granny's house. Then we walked through it one more time. It was weird to know that for the first time EVER, someone else owned that house. We talked about memories in the rooms and laughed and cried and eventually locked up for the last time. It's funny that in situations like your emotions can swing so quickly.

We had a few business items to take care of too. When my grandparents built that house in the 1950's, they put a deposit down to turn on the water. Last week the new owners notified the water company that they would be needing the service now. When the water lady looked up my grandparents account to turn it off, she saw the deposit and called my mom to tell her not to forget to come by and pick up the refund when we got there. Can you guess how much it was for? $10. We have gotten so many laughs from that.

At the end of all of this, no matter how sad I am that the house is gone, I can cling to the fact that the memories there are ours forever. The millions of card games and yahtzee, the loaves of cinnamon toast, the nights waiting for Santa, the hours playing office, the laughter, the stories, the love . . . all mine to keep no matter who owns the deed to 316 McClendon.  And I am so thankful for that.

Oh so random

I think that you can just expect random posts on Fridays. Because I am kind of done by Friday. (Truth . . . sometimes I am kind of done by Tuesday or Wednesday.) Maybe I will even officially declare Friday's posts to be Random. If I was clever I could have some catchy title for it. You will have to be happy with Random. (Unless there is better news to report or share.)

Ok. Here goes.

#1- I went out for the second day in a row to run errands with Thing 1 and Thing 2 in work out clothes and a hat . . . unshowered, unmakeuped, but I am 95% sure I brushed my teeth. And do you know the thought that went through my head? It wasn't that I should have gotten up earlier and showered. Nor did I chide myself for becoming that person. I wasn't even worried about seeing someone I know. Nope. I wished I had a spray tan because unshowered and unmakeuped looks so much better tan. Thank goodness I didn't give that up for Lent. (Mandy . . . I will call you soon!)

#2- I had to go to Sam's today to get 1 thing. Let that sit for a minute. First the irony of going to a wholesale club for ONE thing and then the inconvenience of going there for ONE thing. But it was necessary and it was the best and cheapest place to get it. We pulled into our parking place at 9:50 and waited in the car for 10 minutes so they could open. I loaded up the little people in the cart and went and joined the other non-plus members waiting to be let in. (If you are super special and pay more for your membership, you can go in and shop with the other special members from 7-10 before us non-plus members lower the class in the joint.)  ANYWAY. There is always that one person, you know. The person who thinks that the people waiting are waiting because it's fun to stand in front of Sam's with a 2 year old and 4 year old and put off the shopping for a while. So that lady tries to go in early, where she is rejected by the 70-something year old bouncer who tells her we can't come in 'til 10. I KID YOU NOT THAT AS SOON AS SHE GOT BACK TO THE SIDEWALK, HE OPENED THE DOORS FOR THE NONPLUS MEMBERS. Less than a minute later. A stickler for time like that wouldn't last a second in this house where I have been known to adjust the kitchen clocks to make bedtime come sooner.

#3- Bo bought himself a DVD today at Target. He is currently into Scooby Doo, Batman, and (of course) Buzz Lightyear. He almost jumped out of the cart today when he saw this in the $5 video section:

And really, who can blame him? When Curtis Stone (The Take Home Chef) joined the Biggest Loser I almost couldn't stand it.

#4- I keep looking at my sink and noticing that the dishes are still there. I kind of hoped that they would clean themselves while I typed this, but it looks like they are waiting for me. Typical.

#5- It's that time of year at the Bass house and Sascha is requiring a nebulizer treatment a few times a day for her asthma. This year, she is handling them much better and will even "roar" occasionally since the mask is a pink dinosaur. It makes me said for her though, because she is our go getter and it slows her down a smidge. The good news is, fingers crossed, she hasn't coughed 'til she pukes this season--first time ever, so I am thankful for the little things!

#6- Spring Break Staycation kicking off today. Woohoo. With gas prices at $8/gallon, we will be staying on Beckenham as much as possible, but feel free to come ride your bike or play some ball with us because the weather is supposed to be gorgeous! (And no, it's not really $8, but it feels like it might as well be!)

#7- Some guy drove down and parked in our dead end this morning. We are the last house on the street and most of our neighbors work (but if you are a bad guy, you should know that the policeman 5 houses up is always home during the day) and I get nervous when people park 10 feet from my house. We were heading for Target but I didn't want to let him see that we were leaving, so I pulled the suburban up to the top of the driveway and stared at him and his car until he left. He sat on the back bumper of his car and smoked something and then drove off (but not before I got his tags). Maybe that's all he came for or maybe he was going to dump something in the woods, but seriously?! Just in case it's not obvious . . . people live here folks!! This is not somewhere to dump your lawn trash, have a high school smoke party, or meet over your lunch hour to make out. And, yes, all of those things have happened. 

#8- For the same reason I have to eat the same color m-n-m on each side of my mouth I am having fun ending on a non multiple of 5.

#9- Sorry this is so long.

#10- I told you it would be random. 

If only I could freeze him . . .

I love my Bobo. LOVE HIM! I love how he is the 1st of our kids who comes to my side of the bed (furthest from the door) and climbs in to cuddle almost every morning. I love that when he sees me it is always as if it the first time in ages. He will run towards me with a huge smile and hug me all the while yelling, "MOMMY!! YOU BACK!!" I love that he answers, "Mommy!" to the question, "Who's your best friend?" I love and hate how much of a big boy he is becoming. I love how he confuses y's and L's . . . "I yuv Mrs. Yauren" and "My hair is lellow".  I love how he RUNS everywhere he goes. I love how he is obsessed (and I mean OBSESSED) with seeing his name written, the number 4, and the color of people's eyes. I love how unexpected he is--I can never predict what he will do, how he will react, or what new, hilarious thing he will do or say.

Like Tuesday when he walked into my room like this . . . 

(That is his spare car seat . . . he buckled himself in and walked around the house wearing it like a backpack!)

Life

I kind of knew it was bound to happen . . . like when your car has gotten dirty and disgusting so you clean it really really really well and swear no one will ever eat or drink or bring those color sheets from church in it ever again only to realize one day on the way to some activity that you only have enough time to shove some fast food towards the back seat before the next activity and the next thing you know you are picking moldy french fries out from under the seats wondering how you got back there.

At least that's what my friends tell me. We never eat in our spotless car because we are always consuming a healthy, balanced, homemade meal around our table while discussing deep topics in between moments of laughter and encouragement.

I digress, though, because what I started to say was I have been having so much fun writing this blog that I never thought the week would come where life would eat so much of my time that I would skip this many days in a row. Alas, however, once I finally sat down each night, The Bachelor, After the Final Rose, and The Biggest Loser were not going to watch themselves, and so this blog found itself neglected.

There were other things going on . . . Sascha's wheezing and Caroline's croupy, I got my second and final filling, Caroline had her 3rd ortho appointment and got her semi-permanent retainer put in.

And I just realized that it's only Wednesday. So I guess I only skipped one day. Which should just prove to you how long this week has felt because I could have sworn it was at least Thursday and I had abandoned all 16 of you (yay! a new member brought us back up to 16!!) for several days.


Well never mind. Maybe you didn't even miss me. I just want to say, though, that I really do appreciate all your sweet comments about the blog. This is such fun for me--an outlet where I can preserve some memories for my sweet little 4 and maybe make you feel better about yourself (hahaha).


So, I will try to be back tomorrow, though I may convince myself it is next week. 


Which really goes to show that the Diet Dr. Pepper had NOTHING to do with my spacey, blonde antics. And when I first started typing that I thought it was a good thing, but now I realize I have nothing and no one to blame them on but myself. 


Oh well. I will probably forget to feel bad about it anyway.