The Perfect Storm

Hooray, the hardwood floors are down and look super. Unfortunately for those of you chomping at the bit to see them (I can't imagine any pictures being more interesting than those of floors), we have taken up temporary residence with my in-laws on Dye Ford Road. We have to live out suitcases until Saturday when the floor finishing process is complete. I titled this post "The Perfect Storm" because it's been a tumultous few days. Karson came down with a secondary sinus infection on Friday and is being treated with antibiotics. She's also having the worst time with eye allergies. Her poor little peepers are swollen and red. Isaac has had a terrible cough and runny nose. AND, our sweet baby Miles is, again, suffering with his breathing. Matt took him and Isaac in to see the doctor yesterday. Doc Chris said that Isaac was okay (phew). Miles, on the other hand, has double ear infections and is on antibiotics. He's also taking an inhaler of Albuterol twice every four hours and Qvar twice a day forever I guess. I've included a photo of the lovely aerosol inhaler contraption that might as well be on the movie "Saw" as far as Miles is concerned. He CANNOT stand it, but it's better than the nebulizer for 10 minutes. Six breaths for each aersol puff, not to bad for our mini Brett Michaels.

We solicit all the prayers we can get. Mine and Matt's sanity is dependent on it.

Tag, you're IT!

I've been tagged!

Here's how this one works...
1. The rules are posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and ask them to read your blog.


What I was doing 10 years ago:
Hhhhmmmmm, I can barely remember 10 minutes ago, but I believe I was probably planning for my wedding, graduation and move to Georgia which would be taking place the next summer of 1999. I've got nothing. I'm assuming that's what I was doing on top of preparing for final exams. I think I may have gone to Costa Rica that summer or just returned from there on Spring Break. Do any of you HFC's remember? I remember taking a 13 hour trip with Weston and Larie Vernon to visit Abilene Christian and finding my wedding dress there--not sure when that happened? 10 years ago is seriously a blur. Why wasn't I blogging then???

Five things on my to do list for today:
1. Call Dr. Chris to discuss Miles's current issues. He's wheezing again.
2. Check out new individual health plans.
3. Walk for an hour--it's my physical energy source
4. Pack our bags b/c we'll have to move out for a couple of days while the floors are being finished.
5. Visit my friend Jill Justice who just gave birth to a son, Henry David, on Saturday.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I would certainly do my share of splurging--new iBook, new (er) vehicles, pay off the house or move, travel, build a new church building where Matt would not become chronically ill because of the mold, mildew and dust. I would help speed up the process of repairing the bridge on Carter Sims Road (can I hear an Amen on that?). All kidding aside, I would hope to tithe most of the money and trust the church leadership to put it to good use. I'm certainly content with everything I have now. God has blessed my life. I haven't gone to bed hungry, cold or sick without care as long as I can remember.
"Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all." Proverbs 22:2

Three of my bad habits:
1. I don't like to run out of anything without a back-up.
2. Getting aggrevated at SLOW or totally unattentive drivers. Not sure why getting behind the wheel means I must get to the place I'm going at light speed???
3. I make a run through the house prior to leaving picking up toys, straightening and making sure everything is in it's proper place. I'm obsessed with order.

Five places I have lived:
1. 1014 Ridgecrest Way (BG)
2. 4th floor of 0McCormack Hall with my roomie Summer (BG)
3. 5406 Worthington Triangle Street, Apt. E-1 (Lake Park, GA)--a nightmare to write on the return address.
4. 1206 AND 1204 East 15th Street (BG)
5. 110 Plainfield Court (Plano)

Five jobs I have had:
1. Island Sno (breaking up ice, dodging syrup-hungry bumblebees and making the perfect snow cone requires MUCH skill).
2. Kentucky Korner retail shop which is unfortunately no longer in business. I remember a customer becoming irrate because we didn't carry U of L paraphenelia. Uh, hello, it's a UK owned store.
3. Courier Journal summer internship. One morning at work there was quite a stir because there was a suicidal jumper on the building next door. Good stuff going on in Louisville.
4. Country Peddler which was a decent job, but I was the only employee without grandchildren. I didn't even have children at that point. It wasn't a good fit for me.
5. MDO at Greenwood Park the summer I was pregnant with Karson. Me, Melissa D., Elizabeth A. and Millie C. were all pregnant at the same time. I'm sure those kids thought we were hormonal nightmares by July.

Five People I Want to Know More About:
1. Kim K. (my sweet cousin in South Carolina). BTW Kim, I looked through my maternity clothes and could not find those gray Gap slacks. If you can't find them, don't worry about it. No biggie (love that word).
2. Shannon (my new-to-blogging sister). I know a lot about you but thought you might want to participate in your first blogging tag =).
3. Melanie
4. Kim H.
5. Heather R.

HUH???

Did you feel the 5.2-er? In all honesty, I was completely unphased by the rattling of our home on Thursday night. I actually thought one of the kids was up rolling a ride-on or car through the house. Our house is incredibly loud. I thought it might blow away with the recent wind storms we've experienced. It doesn't fair well in rough weather. BUT, it's even louder without carpet. Plus, the subfloor is creaky and splintery. Maybe we'll rip the hardwood back up when our kids are teenagers. Creaky floors would certainly be a deterent in the whole sneaking out phase. All the commotion (and the what could've happened) reinforced a thought that keeps "creaking" or creeping into my mind this week...

I've been reading a devotional book that my mother-in-law Debbie gave to me. I'm not a big book reader. I totally planned on reading a book while we were in Destin called "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency". I think I read a total of two chapters. The book was good, but my scattered mothery brain does better with short and sweet articles, passages, etc. That's why I enjoy devotional books. They are short, sweet and to the point. This quote by Max Lucado hit me like a brick wall this week:

If what we are doing in this face-paced society, is taking us away from prayer time for our children, we're doing to much.

I have to admit that I do not pray for my children as faithfully as I should. I ask for your prayers on my behalf and certainly hope to improve in this area. I have a plaque in my house that reads the following: Bless our house as we come and go...Bless our home as the children grow...Bless our families when we gather...Bless our home with love and laughter.

My prayer is that God will bless each of my blogging buddies and all the people I have contact with. Shine Jesus Shine, feel our hearts with your grace and glory! We all desperately needs his mighty protection for the storms in life.

I found a cool site on 40 ways to pray for your child. http://www.christianitytoday.com/cpt/2002/003/3.34.html

Tazzy Tiffany

I find myself suddenly involved in a couple of different projects. I'm not sure if it's the springtime air, freshly mowed grass, pollen allergies/headaches that feeds my neurosis for numerous undertakings. I become the tasmanian devil spring cleaning, tossing, sorting and organizing. I find comfort in it. Does anyone else have this disorder? Here are a few of my many happenings in order of importance:

#1 My word searches are VERY important to me. It was hand-held Yahtzee for a while. Okay, so this isn't a home improvement project but definitely an addictive project which keeps me from doing the physical projects at hand.
On to the more serious stuff =)......

#2 (small task)
Updating my terracotta pots which we inherited with our home. They were cracked and corroding. I purchased some Satin Finish spray paint and voila. I decided to add a couple of accents at the top with the gray paint I used to coat our shudders with last spring. We had some green shudders that made our house look yellow. We also changed out our brass light fixtures on the front porch. No kidding, our house looked totally different.
I'm looking forward to filling these pots with some beautiful impatiens soon.


#3 (medium task) keeping my van in good working condition. My van has had some MAJOR issues lately. I guess it's fed-up with the lack of attention it's received since we had Miles. I try my best to service it and wash it, but it decided to take a few months off to recuperate. I really HOPE that its repairs will help mend the "issues" of transporting three kids around and listening to endless hours of the Wiggles and Veggie Tales. The van was dying because of lack of oxygen to the engine and the heat went out. I've driven a Quest, Yukon and Bravada over the course of the last few months. All great vehicles but nothing compares to the JOY of having your own car back.

We (me, Karson and Isaac) washed the van this afternoon. Isaac makes it a full-body event.


#4 (large task) putting hardwood floors in our great room and hallway. I think a law should be passed banning white carpet. Although it looks great in some homes and I understand the "clean" look it yields and how it "opens" up a room, my family can destroy it in a matter of days. The last two homes we've owned have had white carpet. I guess we attract it. No amount of cleaning can solve our white carpet problem, SO we've opted for hardwood. Our mission will begin this Friday. Actually, our mission began Sunday night when I began pulling up carpet, pad, and tack board. I want this mess GONE by tomorrow when our trash is picked up.

The hardwood was delivered last Wednesday. It became an instant attraction at our house. Since it is unfinished, we didn't want the kids climbing all over it. Our brillant solution: putting a fleece blanket over it. Believe it or not, it helped.

During this process, I've also been working on our trim throughout the house. We will be getting quarter round at the baseboards of the floor which will be freshly painted. I want all our trim to look that nice. Translation: painting all the trim, an oil-based, stinky nightmare. BUT, I do love the finished look.

# 5 (a future project, maybe) A friend of mine is starting to paint wooden frames and various items for the home. I'm considering having my old bedroom suit done. I want to update Karson's bedroom before school starts. I want her transition to Kindergarten to be as positive as possible. I feel like a new bedroom may aide in the process? My full set is nice but could use a more modern look. It's currently being stored in our garage and attic and providing no useful means whatsoever.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hey, hey, hey, hey #10...we got our eye on you....and what

we like most of all...is the way you bust that ball!

Hey, hey, hey, hey #10...somebody's calling your

name...and it goes tick tock can't stop you Karson!

I miss softball cheers. I'm not sure if they exist anymore???

Karson is playing softball for the Pink Panther's this spring. Matt attended the team meeting a few weeks back. The girls were a bit confused on the whole name voting process. Matt said they raised their hands each time a different name was called out. Karson came home and told me, "our team name is the Pink Panther's but sometimes we will be the Lady Bugs." Last year she played for the Cheetah Girls. I'm glad that she enjoys softball. It's great exercise, a chance to make friends, and fun to play in the dirt. GO PANTHERS!

#10's boyfriend came to watch her play last year!

Looking cute on first base.

Isaac loved her hot pink helmet.

My TOP 10

Top TEN Parental Events in April thusfar:

(1) Watched a Spiderman grow in the middle of our kitchen table for NO LESS than 10 days. He must reach the full length in order to experience the complete euphoria.

(2) Come up with creative ways to channel our children's energy like painting the lawnmower ramps in the shed.

Sidewalk chalk is always a hit too. Isaac covered every square inch of our driveway this afternoon.

(3) Given our asthmatic Miles breathing treatments which HE CANNOT STAND. Solution: Baby Einstein. What on earth did mothers do before Baby Einstein and portable DVD players for the car???

(4) Planted the wild flower seeds we received in class last Wednesday night. Karson thought they would sprout up instantly. I strategically planted them where we once had our trash bin. It's an ugly spot next to our backdoor. I'm really hoping these flowers will sprout up beautifully there.

(5) Took the kids fishing on numerous occasions. Thank you Vernon's for your hospitality!

(6) AND, let the kids eat things they shouldn't =). Any suggestions on what to do with leftover Easter candy?

(7) Miles has started using a spoon. Hey, they have to learn sometime. It's a messy ordeal.

(8) ATE at the Wal-Mart McDonald's. Weird, but we were hungry. Of course, once we got our food and settled down, Isaac informed me that he needed to potty. LOVELY!

(9) Matt parading the kids through the 'hood. Why yes, that IS indeed a jump rope connecting the wagon to the lawnmower. This picture is priceless!

(10) THE OFFICE returns to NBC THIS THURSDAY. Every parent needs a good dose of Michael Scott in their lives.

Michael's words of wisdom to us parents:

"I don’t get why parents are always complaining about how tough it is to raise kids. You joke around with them, you give them pizza, you give them candy, you let them live their lives. They’re adults for God’s sake."

VOTE FOR MILES

Miles will soon be known throughout the neighborhood as the "Lawnmower Politician". Matt rides him through the streets. Miles smiles and waves to everyone. He wakes up from his afternoon nap mumbling jibberish along with the word "monmower, monmower". Monmower comes up about every fifth word for him in his limited vocabulary. There is NOTHING that thrills him more than riding on the lawnmower. He can sit on it in the shed, the yard, anywhere as long as he's on it. I took the keys out of it the other day when he was sitting on it. He threw the biggest fit so I gave him the keys, and he immediately put them back in the ignition. Yesterday, after Matt took him on the campaign trail, they came back to the house and he hung out on the mower for a while. When he got tired of it and got off, Matt put the mower back in the shed and locked it up. Once Miles noticed, he made a beeline to our rock hide-a-key (which contains the shed key). He got the key out and started running towards the shed. I love his passion for mowing. I wonder if he'll feel the same way when he's a teenager ???

*Yes, that was me on WUHU this morning stating that my favorite kids TV show is, in fact, SpongeBob. I was sitting in traffic on my way to preschool and decided to call in. I'll be happy to sign an autograph for my 2 minutes of fame this morning. Just let me know =).*