Kesterisms

Ninja in the B-I-B-L-E

2011-11-01T14:55:00.002-05:00

A few days ago we attended a Fall Festival at the MarineCorps Air Station Chapel. As part of thefestivities they were giving out foam craft packets for children to do athome. Somehow we ended up with two.

Colton was napping and Hannah asked if we could do the craftshe had received. I agreed and we satdown at her table and opened the package. We found a foam baby Moses, basket, water and reeds that need to beassembled. As we worked on it we talkedabout the story of baby Moses. How therewas a King that ordered all the boy babies be destroyed and how Moses’ motherdidn’t want that to happen so she put him in the basket and sent him down theriver where a princess found him.

Once we completed the craft I told her that I needed to workon some homework so I moved to the couch with my laptop and began working. Pretty soon she comes in with another Mosesproject and asks if she can do it. I agree and she gets to work. She then tells me that she is going to makethis one be baby Jesus instead of baby Moses. “Great”, I say, and then tell her maybe she could make the basket looklike a manger.

We both go back to work on our separate projects and prettysoon I hear her singing.

“There is a ninja in the B-I-B-L-E,”

“There is a ninja in the B-I-B-L-E.”

It took a few times around before I clued in to what she wassaying. I then asked, “What are yousinging?”

She replies, “There is a ninja in the B-I-B-L-E. That’s thebible you know.”

“Yes, I know that the B-I-B-L-E is the bible. But there is a ninja in the bible?”

“Yes” she says so mater of factly.

I rack my brain for a bible story that could possiblyinvolve a ninja.

I then hear her say, “That’s what you just told me.”

Puzzled, I ask her to clarify.

“Well, you told me to make this one look like a ninja.”

Stifling my laughter I say, “No, I said maybe you could makethe basket look like a manger. Since youwanted it to be baby Jesus.”

“Oh! Well, I made this one look like a Ninja anyway.”

So I guess as Hannah said, there is a ninja in theB-I-B-L-E.

Dear New Mom,

2011-10-08T08:47:00.000-05:00

Congratulations on your bundle of joy. Your life as you’ve known it has just changed. What ever you are feeling it’s normal. If you fell in love with your baby the second you laid eyes on it…that’s normal. If you questioned how this little person that has lived inside of you could seem like such a stranger…it’s normal. None of it is normal by the grand scheme of the word but trust me it’s all normal in motherhood. For the next few months your body will be a stranger. If you are breastfeeding your body won’t even belong to you for the next year or so but it’s worth it. You won’t get much sleep but you will amaze people with how much you accomplish on no sleep. One day you will actually get 6 hours of consecutive sleep and feel like a million bucks. Then you will blink and your little precious is a year old and mobile. That is a whole new kind of fun. Enjoy this moment and the next one and when you are so tired you feel like you can’t function remember that this is only a moment in time and in the next moment it will all be different.

Opposing Forces Collide

2011-09-24T21:37:00.002-05:00

I watched her come undone

I couldn’t stop it

I listened carefully as it all became jumbled

I couldn’t understand it

I was angry

She was missing

I fought for her

We screamed

We hurled secrets at each other in front of the family

It was ugly

I threw her keys in the pitch-black back yard so she couldn’t leave

She was mad

It wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t the last

My heart ached for her when she was not well

I needed her then

She is bipolar

Just like the Earth…One up one down

Some ups

Some downs

She has gained control of it

Through a lot of work

Occasionally she tilts on her own axis but only to rebalance again

She is not broken

We have survived many things

This is no different

I have her now

She is not perfect but she is beautiful

She is mine

God gave her to me

Bitey, The Elephant

2011-09-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

When our sweet little boy started getting teeth he, like many children, also began figuring out how to use those teeth. He would test them on everything, toys, books, furniture, dog tail and occasionally, us, his loving family. In and effort to not raise a cannibal I assigned a corduroy elephant as the toy to bite. Anytime he started to bite we would grab the little elephant and say things like, “Don’t bite Momma, it hurts! Bite the elephant,” while sticking the elephant’s trunk in his mouth to practice his teeth gnashing on. Soon his big sister caught on and named the elephant Bitey after a character in one of her books.

Apparently the use of Bitey the elephant has made quite and impact. The other evening we were all relaxing in the family room. My husband was stretched out in the LazyBoy and our daughter had thrown a blanket over his feet making a hideout beneath them. The cat had gone under there to hide and pretty soon I saw Colton join her. I didn’t think much of it at the time but pretty soon Colton took off across the room toward his toy box muttering No, No, No, as he went. He grabbed the Elephant and turned around and headed back to the hideout saying Bitey, Bitey, Bitey and handed the elephant to the cat.

Now, I have no proof but I’m pretty sure that while they were playing the cat bit him. Colton knows that if you feel like biting you need Bitey the elephant!

Memories of Aunt Kathleen's

2011-09-24T21:32:00.000-05:00

White hexagon tiles brought to life with our crayons

as we colored the bathroom floor

Creativity

Orange and yellow plastic playhouse covered in mud

after making mud pies all day

Freedom

Taking turns eating cherries from the bag

on the rope swing

Yum

The warmth of the summer sun on our bodies as we played

outside all day

Cousins

Quiet

2011-09-09T22:32:00.000-05:00

The house is still. Too quiet. Not long ago the air was filled with the pounding feet of naked babies running through the house and delighted shrieks as Momma chased them into the awaiting arms of Daddy who plunked them into the tub. Laughter and splashes, water everywhere.

Extraction is just as difficult as submersion.

Legs flailing.

Slippery bodies wrapped in hooded towels.

Tiny toothbrushes clean tiny teeth.

Wiggly legs and arms expertly inserted into P.J.’s, less they escape and the chase is on.

Wobbies and Ba (pacifier to some), sippy cups and favorite toys as we cuddle up to read bedtime stories.

Music on

Sweet kisses

Heavy eyelids close

Goodnight, sweet dreams

My darlings.

The Iron

2011-09-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

My son is at the stage where he latches on to something and that is only thing he wants. Usually it's things like a ball, a whisk or a huge wooden spoon, but today it was the iron. It wasn’t hot. I had used it early in the morning to iron sisters uniform and had it out on the counter to cool off, when he spotted it.

When he awoke from his nap I wen tot get him and took him into the kitchen to get some milk when he spied it and it was love at first sight. Oh the iron wasn’t the first appliance he set his sights on, usually it’s the crockpot or the toaster but today was different. The iron was out. He made his request known by leaning out of my arms toward the counter. I set him down so as not to drop him and quickly ran through all the reasons a 21 month old child should NOT play with he iron. As I thought he grew louder and more insistent. I caved! What would it hurt? I would just have to take extra care when using the iron. Besides his love interest don’t last too long especially when they are too heavy to tote around. I gave it to him. Delight he hauled it to the couch where he proceeded to iron the cushions. Soon it was time to get sister from school. We live across the street from the Elementary school so I just plop him in the stroller and walk to get her. Today he insisted on taking his friend! There he sat happy as a clam, holding tight to the iron. We paraded it to all the parents, teachers and students at pick-up. Yes, I let my baby play with the iron. Mother of the year here I come!

I Am From....

2011-09-03T13:51:00.001-05:00

I am from my Momma’s homemade chocolate chip cookies

Green beans from a can (swallowed whole while holding my nose)

The smell of Pin-Sol filling the house on Saturday mornings

Neon green gum strung from the window to taillight of Daddy’s black truck

Click click click of sockets ratcheting

Country music playing low on the radio, with the cool concrete of the garage under my bare toes.

Riding the floor jack, up, up, up, d o w n, up, up, up, d o w n….

Dirty feet and the smell of DEET

Quiet early morning horseback rides with Grandpa

Hold on tight three-wheeler rides down country roads

Fireflies, fireworks, family picnics

Millions of stars peering down from the black night as we lie on our backs in the middle of the trampoline listening to the lullaby of the locusts and the coyote howls

Soles of her feet against the soles of mine in the cool crisp sheets of Grandmas feather bed

Constant “I love you’s”

Place settings and manners

Rules and things done just so

Grandmother’s chocolate pie

Ice cream dripping from our chins

Sharing garlic cheese toast with Granddad before school

The light that danced in his eyes each time he saw us

His Miss America’s

I am from God

love everlasting

and a crazy wonderful family

Marveling at my children

2010-08-20T21:28:00.000-05:00

I'm amazed at how fast 8 months can go by.
I'm amazed at how much you can forget so quickly.
I'm amazed at how fast they learn and how impressionable they are.
I'm amazed because they are both so very amazing!

My baby boy is giving big wet open mouth pressed to your cheek with baby drool dripping down your face kisses. He seems too young for this, but I guess if you have been kissed on by every person you have come in contact with for 8 full months of your little life then you too would be handing them out as soon as possible. He makes me smile. His sister loves to make him smile. As he lies in his bed each morning chattering away to himself. Sister will soon find me to see if she can go in to talk to her brother. I hope they always have this. I know they will fight and argue and generally drive each other crazy but I hope they will always have the love and admiration for each other that they do now. That may be a bit naive but hope it just the same.
My big girl is beautiful and head strong and full of life. She is full wonder and compassion and energy. She is fantastic! Not too long ago Poppy had come to visit for a day or so. I had run to pick up dinner while he stayed with the children. I return home after about 1/2 hour to find Poppy and Colton standing in front of the TV (this means Colton got fussy. Poppy's tried and true method for easing fussiness is to distract babies with big screen TV's...it works). As I enter the house Sister meets me in the kitchen exclaiming, "Momma, It's all OK I'm making him a bottle!"
"So you think he's hungry?"
"Yes, and I'm making him a bottle, come see it's almost ready."
She leads me to her bathroom where she has taken a plastic bowl, filled it with warm water, retrieved a bag of milk from the freezer (using her step stool) and began thawing it. She had a bottle on the counter ready to pour the milk into.
She informs me that it only has one cold spot left and then it will be ready.
Feeling the bag she has placed in my hand there is in fact only one frozen piece left. She refills the bowl with warm water and moves the bag around until it's gone.
She filled the bottle and off she went to find her brother!
(Never mind the fact he never did get the bottle thing down) Sister did what she could to take care of her baby brother while Momma was away. She ROCKS!

Dogtags, Dogtags, and more Dogtags

2010-05-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

When Hannah was about a year old she discovered Brian’s dog tags, and LOVED to play with them. I’m not sure whether Hannah was more excited to see Daddy at the end of the day or to get her hands on his dogtags. One day Brian just handed them to her and she toddeled off swinging her prized possession. After that day we never saw them again. We scoured the house high and low! Linda came down to visit not too long after and she and I decided we were going to find them once and for all! We systimaticaly searched the house room by room, looking in drawers, under furniture, in the most random of places (because of who had them last there was no telling where they would be). Every room, every closet, every where…and nothing. They were nowhere to be found!

Last August when we moved, we searched again as things were packed and moved and the house was cleared of everything and still…nothing. Brian was convinced that Hannah had flushed them down the toilet.

Once we arrived in Beaufort Brian had to get new dogtags. I ordered a set for him online but they just weren’t the same they didn’t even say USMC on them and for some reason that made me crazy. Determined not to send my husband on a deployment with dogtags that were less than perfect I insisted that we have another set made. Brian, seeing that I was becoming a bit nurotic about this, agreed to getting yet another set of dogtags. This Friday I went to a shop here in the area and ordered another set of dogtags. Today we picked them up…they turned out okay; they still weren’t the same but atleast they had all the info on them. Guess they would do.

Today was a hard day as we struggled not to focus on the fact that tomorrow he leaves. Hannah was out playing and Colton and I were sitting on the bed talking to Brian as he packed. I hear Hannah hollering at me. I look out the window and she is peering in the mailbox, Momma, the mail is HHHEEEEEERRRRRREEEE!!! (She can’t reach inside yet). I put Colton down and walk out to get the mail, Hannah had disappeared around back. Nothing too exciting, car tag, survey, two ads and a padded envelope for Brian.

Brian opened the envelope, pulls out a sheet of paper but continues to peer into the envelope. “You’re not going to believe what is in here.” The Dogtags!! The letter was from the people who purchased our house. They had found them under the stove while having some work done on the gas line. CRAZY! CRAZY! CRAZY! What are the odds of us getting this package the day before he leaves?

Thank you Lord, thank you for easing my nurotic mind. Yes, I know you will take care of him and bring him home to us.

South Carolina Snowfall

2010-03-31T15:50:00.000-05:00

On February 12th after the entire nation had experienced snow (except for us) we finally had our turn! Not much but it was snow none the less and in Low Country of SC that's almost unheard of.
The Bear had been dying to make a snowman since all of our friends and family had snow at Christmas!
I noticed the snow falling about 8:30 in the evening. Daddy had just finishing getting the Bear settled down and in bed when i bounded through the bedroom door insisting she pull on sweatpants and a sweater over her nightgown and grab her coat and gloves! Dodging the daggers flying at me from my husband’s eyes I raced off to bundle myself up and go make a snowman!!
She stayed up late but we had a blast collecting all the snow on the grass to make our two foot snowman...isn't he cute.

One Soggy Day

2010-03-31T13:59:00.003-05:00

Today while killing time between picking up Little Miss from school and going to our play-date, we stopped to watch the geese in the pond. I decided to use that time to feed the baby. Miss climbed into the front seat and rolled down the window so she could holler at the bald eagles (aka sea gulls...not sure where this confusion comes from. She's seen a bald eagle.) We then spot an Egret in the water....Momma, why isn't that egret moving? Is he dead?
No, he's just holding still
Holding Still!? WHY!!? (This is a concept obviously lost on a three year old)
Hannah continues her dialog with the sea gulls...Hey, what's your name? Why is he standing so still? You sure he's not dead? Is he real!?

In the mean time baby boy needs a diaper change so I pull him out of his car seat, set him on my lap and begin to change him. Suddenly my leg is getting wet! AGH! and the steering wheel and the floor board. I stop the flow, turn to get another wipe and am getting wet again. Really!?! About that time I hear Momma, I have to go potty NOW! Miss scurries into the very back of the car to get her port-a-potty ready (life saver for potty training kiddos and beyond) She hands it up to me so that I can get the bag inserted all the while balancing a wet half diapered baby on my legs. Port-a-potty is set, I hand it back to Missy who continues on with her business and her ongoing commentary of life that began months ago. In the midst of her constant chatter I hear, "I got a really big poopy." Assuming that all is well in the back I begin cleaning up little mister. Suddenly I hear, Uh-OH! (not good with pottying toddler in the back of car). Then, "Momma I can't find my poopy" she says ever so calmly.
WHAT!?! Isn't it in the bag!?!?!
Oh yeah...there it is.
Whew that was close. We almost had pee in the front seat and poppy in the back. Really, is my whole car a port-a-potty?
Feeling safe again I search for new clothes for baby only to find a newborn size onesie. Oh No, that's not going to work. Seeing as my not even two month old son has practically doubled in weight since his newborn day. I don't think I can squeeze him in to it. I fumble around in the diaper bag until I produce another onesie size: 3 months. Will have to do...luckily he's squishy! Upon donning said onesie he looks like a lump of play-dough that has been squeezed through a bag with five holes...sorry baby, wish I could say it won't happen again but I know better.
One child dry and clothed while the other finishes up.....
At this point Miss realizes there is a puddle at her feet where she claims to have missed, "but only a little". Now her pants are wet....humm...brain whirling...oh yeah we have her backpack there are extra pants in there! Wahoo! Feeling good. Managed to get daughter cleaned up and clothed! Wiped up the back of the car with rest of the diaper wipes luckily it was only a little (pants had soaked most of that up!)
Off to our play-date!
Whew no wonder I'm tired at the end of the day!!

Please note that the a fore mentioned incident occurred in late January early February and I'm just NOW getting this e-mail out.

The joke of the day...via 3 year old

2009-09-13T19:55:00.002-05:00

Daddy and the Bear were walking Rosie dog the other night when she turns to Daddy and says...
"Daddy if Rosie met another dog they would be friends and they would play ring around the Rosie...that's funny!"
Daddy was astounded by his 3 year olds abilty to tell her first joke.

More fun at Hilton Head

2009-09-09T14:37:00.002-05:00

Fun with a crazy water chasing dog.

Beach Fun!

2009-09-09T14:24:00.005-05:00

Fun at the beach! Little Miss had a Blast on the beach throwing sand back into the ocean.

Dancing Bear

2009-09-09T14:06:00.002-05:00

Bear loves to dance around the house so when I heard that one of the girls in her class had started dance class I looked into it because I thought she might like to take class too.
I asked Bear if she wanted to go to dance class and she said, No.
Thinking that she didn't know what dance class was I scheduled a time for us to go watch a class. When the time came it was like pulling teeth to get her to go. Finally after the promise of ice cream after dance class I got her in the car. We went and watched she was intrigued and watched all the girls dance but refused to join when asked by the teacher.
After class I asked her if she liked dance class she said, No.
When Grannie asked how dance class was she said, "It was fun but I didn't want to dance."
Convinced that she will change her mind I purchase leotard, tights and a dance skirt I also schedule a time to have her fitted for the required dance shoes.
On fitting day I pick her up from school and told her we were going to see Miss Deanna and get her foot measured for new shoes!
Bear - "I already have shoes."
Me - "Yes, but these are special shoes for dancing."
B - "I already have dance shoes."
M -" Yes, but let's just go see. Miss Deanna is waiting on us."
So we go and I think she will benefit from seeing Miss Deanna without everyone else and decide that dancing might be fun...
After trying on the shoes Miss Deanna asks her if she would come on Tuesday to dance with her and the other girls. Bears simple response is...No. (Not your typical three year old NO! but just No...not going to do that.
One last attempt. My thought is we'll play with all the new clothes and dance all weekend then we'll observe the Tuesday class and if she participates we'll sign up but if she doesn't we'll pass for now.
Friday try to get her to put on ballerina outfit...No
Saturday try again...No
Sunday...No
Monday...No
Tuesday morning...No
Me - Ready for dance class? Let's go show Daddy!
Bear - No...I don't want to dance.
Should I have listened the first time? Yes! Lesson learned...maybe.

Whirl Wind Update This is long

2009-09-09T13:09:00.002-05:00

Just to catch up...
August 19th - found out that baby sister is actually a baby brother just as I suspected. Little Miss went with us to the Dr. office to see the ultrasound. We had been talking about what was going to happen for a couple of days but just before we left I asked her what we were going to do at the Dr. office? She told me we were going to the Dr. to crack open Momma's belly and bring home the baby. Needless to say we had to talk about it some more but in the end she was pretty excited to see the baby on TV...even if it was a baby brother :0)
August 20th- The packers descended upon our house and began packing us up for our big move. The Bear the dog and I holed up in Daddy's office with all the do not pack items and watched TV most of the day. Luckily a P&F's Mom came and rescued Little Miss for a few hours to have lunch and play. Two packers worked from 9:00am until 6:30pm packing all of our stuff. Thankfully an AECPTA friend brought us home made tacos and all the fixings for dinner. Friends are wonderful!
August 21st - Movers showed up at 8:00am Turkey Girl was supposed to go with friends again but she said she wanted to stay home. Thankfully she decided to go play when O&A's Mom showed up to get her. I think the packers were thankful too, even thought they lost a "helper".
That night the girls threw us a going away dinner which was a lot of fun. The children had a BLAST running around the private room at the restaurant. Hard to say good bye.
August 22nd - planned to work on the finally cleaning of the house. My P&F's Mom came over to help about the time we got started I got a call saying they wanted to show the house from Noon to 2:00pm AARGH! So we cleaned fast and made it. We then headed to Chick-fil-a. Mamie was supposed to get in around 1:50 but her flight was delayed. We picked up Brian and took hime to get some lunch then headed home so I could take a shower FINALLY! The phone rang again and apparently the showing was late so now they needed the house until 3 ARGHH! Eventually we did get to go home and I got a shower. Mamie was picked up from the airport and I went to meet my girls for dinner we had a fun meal at Nelda's then hit Borders where we wandered and avoided the inevitable. After a quick and tearful goodbye I headed home.
August 23rd - loaded the car and headed for Beaufort (see previous post)
August 24th - more driving, baby gorilla antics and more wild child before bed
August 25th - three hours to go on our journey and then we got to see our new home. Our stuff still wasn't due to arrive until Thursday we stayed in a hotel for a few more days.
August 26th - Drove to Bluffton to shop at the outlet stores and get some cleaning supplies at Target. This turned into an all day adventure. I also went to meet the teacher at Little Miss's new school while she played with Mamie.
August 27th - Our stuff arrived at 8:15 they began unloading and Mamie worked hard to keep Miss priss occupied and out of the way. There are three little boys that live right in our neighborhood when I saw them riding their bikes I said oh look there are some little turkeys for you to play with. Miss still refers to them as the little turkeys...I am going to have to explain this to their parents at some point! We spent the afternoon unpacking the kitchen. I swear that is the hardest room!
August 28th - Hannah's meet the teacher morning. She had fun made two crafts and discovered a love for glitter! We then headed home and continued to unpack the kitchen. Kitchen finished for the most part and fell into bed
August 29th - drive to Savannah for the Grandma swap. Put Mamie on a plane and picked up Grannie! What would I do with out such wonderful family!
August 30th - Worked hard to get all the boxes in the house unpacked and stuff put away.
August 31st - Bear's first day of school! Pics to come... More unpacking
Sept 1 - More unpacking finished all but 3-4 boxes in house. House looks good.
Sept 2nd - Bear to school, Dr. appt for me with the nurse, then to pick up Bear, called back to Dr. for actual doctor appt. Daddy, two uncles and Poppy arrive but have no keys, have to meet Grannie at hospital where she and Bear are waiting on me. Bear won't leave Daddy's side so they switch cars. Head home and beat them to the house so have no way of getting in.
Sept 3 - Uncles leave early and the rest of us work hard on house...looks ok but looked better before the boys showed up. :0)
Sept 4 - Grannie and Poppy leave. Hannah has school and Daddy has to go into work....I'm on my own for three hours
Sept 5 - Daddy off work until Wednesday morning.
The next 4 days are spent working and playing and just enjoying being together.

Two women a three year old and five baby gorillas..

2009-09-09T12:57:00.001-05:00

August 27
Two women a three year old and five baby gorillas set out on an adventure to South Carolina. Sounds like the beginning of a joke huh? That's been my life for the past few days...
We left Arlington, Texas at 11:30 Sunday morning. Car was packed tight with all of our things, clothes, toys, child entertainment items, movies for the DVD player and snacks. All went well, the child put on her headset and began watching a movie...I'm sure she didn't notice we were even in the car with her! We made three potty stops then stopped for the night just beyond the Mississippi state line.It was at this point that things got interesting. Apparently the docile child in the car seat had merely been storing up energy throughout the drive. Upon unbuckling said child we released said energy onto the world. I've never actually seen someones eyeballs vibrate! But I have now!! I believe she was physically unable to walk she zoomed from place to place and bounced as she was standing still. So here I am exhausted from driving and being in the car and then there is this little turkey flying around all over. Luckily Mamie signed up for this adventure too. She knowingly captured the wild child, stuffed her into a swimming suit and took her to the hotel pool where she insisted that she kick kick kick around the entire pool! Whew! On to bed time...I envisioned reading a book while my child cuddled up next to one of us and went to sleep but no. She chose to sleep with me. And while I expertly ignored her chatter and went to sleep I was awakened several times as the sleeping child tested all four cardinal directions for achieving the best rest. With her head facing the foot of the bed I began to worry about being kicked in the face so I turned her around and just in the nick of time because she then began swimming in her sleep. What a blissful nights rest!

Catching up

2009-07-25T21:24:00.004-05:00

Since it is now July 24th and my last post was about events occurring a month ago I'm going to give you a brief synopsis of what happened.

July 1- heard the baby's heartbeat - Bear thinks it is so much fun to listen to it on my phone (where I recorded it). She loves her "baby sister".

July 4 -we celebrated Bear's 3rd Birthday with a kitty cat party at the Mall carousel. We had a BLAST! Thank you to my friend who planned the entire event and found all of the kitty cat goodies. All I did was make a cake, few yarn party balls and show up. Love that!

July 4th evening- again thank you to wonderful friends who came to help us load up the u-haul that was headed to T-town with all of our belongings not destine to move with us. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

July 5th - load up the car hit the road to T-town (Binky got lost on the way to Grannies....bummer)

First night with out a Binky and we all survived it was surprisingly anticlimactic. We had been telling her that when she turned three she wouldn't need her Binky any more. We kept referencing that on party day we would give up the Binky. She finally told me she didn't want to have a party and would just keep her Binky...What kid does this?? Denouncing a birthday for a Binky!! Geesh!

July 6th- Bear's actual birthday! Party at Grannie and Poppy's with all of the family. Little Miss is convinced that she is now 4. Mamie tries to convince her otherwise and is told as only a three year old can, that she was three at her Mall party so she is 4 now! Kid is logical if nothing else. Took us all week to convince her she was still 3 years old.

Relaxed at Grannie and Poppy's all week. I was a total slug but it was a wonderful week of playing in the pool and sunshine.

I'm not actually sure what has happened between the time we got home and now but it's been crazy busy. Our house is clean and decluttered (believe it or not) and ready to show. Now, if we could just find people that want to see it!

Bear's funny for tonight: "Momma, I'm gonna ride on a giraffe. I'm gonna ride on a giraffe with my baby sister."

"Really?"

"Yep, next time we go to the zoo, I'm gonna ride on a giraffe and be way up high."

Where does she get this stuff??

I'll back track a bit...

2009-07-16T21:03:00.007-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I posted. ARGH! I'll try to do better. This may be a very long post.

June ended with a bang and a whirl-wind trip to South Carolina with Poppy. Now, I believe most of my trips are whirl-wind, but I'll tell you nobody does whirl-wind like Poppy! We flew to SC to see what the base housing looks like in order to get an idea of what furniture we can take and what we needed to store. We (the Bear, Poppy, and I) flew from FTW to Savannah on the 24th. Our flight left at 7:30, which meant a 5-5:30 start time for me. I thought I was a morning person but apparently I'm not. I got up with enough time to shower and get dressed then get the Bear ready. However, while showering I completely forgot to shave my legs (I do this every morning!). Not only that but I stood at the sink actually discussing with myself whether or not I really forgot to shave. I honestly could not remember, I had now memory of any of it. EEK Scary! We made it to the airport and Bear was very excited to go see her "brand new house". While waiting for our flight to board Bear and Poppy went off to find something to eat. They come back with coffee for Poppy and Peanut M&M's for Little Miss (a breakfast only a grandparent would let you get away with!) Luckily I stashed an apple in my carry on. :0)

Plane trip was uneventful Miss played and stayed busy while I wished for a few more minutes of sleep. We landed in Savannah and headed directly to Poppy's job site in Bluffton, SC. Actually we made a brief stop at our hotel to drop off luggage then headed for the job site. The Bear and I left him there to do his inspections and we hit up the outlet mall. I forgot that Gymboree had an outlet there. We had 45 min. Somehow we managed to get 4 outfits for Lil miss and ice cream for everyone before we had to pick Poppy up and head to our appointment on base. It's 2:00 p.m. and my two year old daughter has been up since 6:00 a.m. with no nap! The drive from Bluffton to Beaufort is about 25 minutes. I am convinced she will fall asleep but no she is awake and chatting the entire time. Suddenly about 5 minutes from base all is silent she is sleeping.........

We arrive on base and are shown to the "model home". I reluctantly wake my child as she has been waiting for this all day. She is ecstatic about her "brand new house". We walk in and immediately loose her to the bedrooms done up like children's rooms. One bright pink and the other with bunk beds! She was in Heaven! Convinced that it is actually HER new house she decides that the baby gorillas (Have I mentioned them?) There are three imaginary gorillas that go with us everywhere and tend to be quite unruly (more on that later). So the bunk beds are for her baby "sister" (who will sleep on top) and the baby gorillas (on bottom). The pink room was immediately claimed as hers. In fact it was so her room that she decided to climb in the bed and finish her nap!

She IS a mess!

Poppy and I took several pictures and finally convince the Bear that we had to go back to our hotel (which she calls Mexico because of our trip to Mexico in January. Apparently all hotels are Mexico because that was the first hotel she had ever been in.) We head to the hotel in hopes of resting which is a miserable failure so we went to eat. After a significant restaurant melt down and a quick dinner we headed back to the hotel for bed. I was exhausted and I know Little Miss was too. However, that little Turkey would NOT go to sleep. It was well past 11:00 p.m. when she finally held still long enough to fall asleep.

With another early flight we had to be up and ready by 5:00 a.m. because we had to drive from Bluffton to Savannah and return a rental car all before our 7:00 a.m. flight. When I woke up the Bear from her peaceful slumber I told her we had to to get on an airplane. Her only response was, "Again?". This flight was even less eventful as the first because upon boarding Little Miss and I promptly fell asleep.

Our arrival at DFW was met by Grannie who had lovingly agreed to come help me with my garage sale that coming weekend. Although I believe she is still questioning her decision on that one.

For Safety Sake

2009-06-20T22:46:00.003-05:00

I've decided to make this blog public and therefore feel it necessary to not use our names in posts. We'll see how this goes.

I wonder...

2009-06-20T21:42:00.008-05:00

Where Bear comes up with these ideas. The other night we were driving to dinner and she was reminding Daddy of the fact that her baby "sister" was in my belly (in case he had forgotten) when all of a sudden she stops turns to me and says, "Momma, your belly's gonna crack!" Confused I asked her why was that going to happen. "Because the baby is in there!" She really is too funny.

On Friday she and I babysat a 4 month old for the day. That morning a friend of ours had taken bear to Jumping House for her weekly class and when they returned the baby was already at the house. The baby was very tired and having trouble getting to sleep. He was needless to say crying his little heart out when they walked in. Her eyes were huge as she quietly came into the house and spotted me with the upset baby. I bent down to give her a hug and she said, "Momma is my baby sister so so sad?" I assured her that it was in fact not her baby sister but baby B that we were watching for the day. Guess she thought he was the one we were going to keep! She enjoyed her time with him until he got mad again around her nap time. Then she told me that it was time for him to go home because he was too loud. Isn't she in for some fun.

Today we took Daddy to Cabella's because he has been wanting to go there since we moved here. It's a bit of a drive so Bear and I set aside time to take him today. He happily wandered the store for a few hours and believe it or not the only thing we left with was a fishing rod for Miss! She has been fishing all over the house and even in her wading pool ever since we got home.

Bear's baby sister...

2009-06-18T08:27:00.003-05:00

No, we don' t actually know it is going to be a "sister" but Bear insists that her baby sister is in my belly. The other day Bear and I were at the bank and the teller asked her if she had any brothers or sisters. She turned to me, put her hand on my stomach and said, "My baby sister is in there." She kills me. Yesterday she and I were eating lunch and Bear tries to give me a grape. I told her I was finishing my lunch and didn't want a grape. She insisted! I still refused. She then looked me straight in the eye holding her grape and said, "Momma, my baby sister wants this grape and you need to give it to her. You have to put it in your belly!"
Now who can argue with that??

Things are busy around here as we prepare for the move to SC in late August and try desperately to get the house ready to put on the market in July! Agghhh!
I'll try to keep this better updated amid all the chaos.

Ferris the Fish

2009-05-27T22:18:00.003-05:00

Bear's beloved fish died today. He was a strange fish, often laying on the plant in his tank (on his side) sleeping. We spent most days walking past and tapping the tank to make sure he was alive. Everyday he proved that he was in fact sleeping. But alas today he did not move. Because of his previous behavior it was rather difficult to convince Bear that he was actually dead. When she finally accepted his fate she and Daddy went out and laid him to rest in a nice plot in the backyard. It was a sweet ceremony and he will be dearly missed.

It's a big girl bed!

2009-05-24T22:07:00.003-05:00

My darling girl will be three in July and we are just now moving her to a "big girl" bed. Our closest friends have had their kiddos in their beds for 6 months or so but not Bear. She loved her crib, she never even thought about climbing out. She was very capable of climbing in and I expected on many an occasion to see her little curls peek around the corner as she tiptoed from her room at night but alas that never happened. So today she officially moved to her big girl bed.

We had to go pick up the mattress this morning and the whole way there she kept asking, "Momma, where is my big girl crib?"

"No, honey it's a bed not a crib you don't need a crib anymore."

"Oh,...but then where am I going to sleep?"

"In your new bed."

"Oh...Okay."

After we set it up she wanted to go down for her nap early so I got her ready and we went though our normal routine which she cut short by saying, "I'm ready to get in bed now."

She then proceeded to get out of bed and play with the door and everything else before I threatened to take away one of the 50 stuffed animals and baby dolls that sleep in her bed with her. Rather than sacrifice a bed fellow she took a nap for two hours! Wahooo!

Night time went just as well. This is awesome!

I know I'm so in for it tomorrow!!

Changes on the Kester Front

2009-05-23T23:08:00.003-05:00

We'll big changes are about to befall the Kester house hold. First, Bear is going to be a big sister after the beginning of the year. Second is the Marine Corps is relocating us to South Carolina! Yes, we are being sent back to Beaufort. As of this moment Daddy has to report to work on September 15th! That means we have to locate housing in SC, pack, get a house ready to sell in Texas, prepare a toddler for the first move she will remember (or at least be conscious of) all the while battling periodic waves of nausea all in a matter of a few months. Wish us luck!