Category: Kids

Well, today is a packing and driving day.  Yesturday we spent most of the day in Abbeville at Doll’s, Tippy’s, or at the city square playing hide-n-seek, tag, or follow-the-leader.  It was a fun day.  We had shrimp po-boys for lunch and duck for dinner.  The kid’s thought were told it was chicken.  Cousin Di gave the kid’s their Christmas and birthday gifts, from LAST year.  She lost our new address or somesuch.  It is nice to have family like her.  She is such a sweet spirit.  She also gave us their gifts for this year.  I know Trey will be very excited about one of the gifts.  It involves the words LEGO and Star Wars.  Think he will enjoy that one.

Today we leave Acadia and head on toward home.  We plan on making one stop on the way home at Santaland!  Okay, I am not too thrilled with it, but the kids will enjoy it.  It is north of Tyler and not really out of the way. They have over two million lights.  I am looking forward to the hot chocholate.  We went to the arboretum in Eureka Springs, AK last year.  The light show there was pretty and wonderful.  Santaland reminds me of a tourist trap.  I am looking forward to it for the kids sake.  They should enjoy it, and that is what it is all about.

None of this really matters though.  The Aggies won yesturday, that is what is important! 

Sit right back and you’l hear a tale, a tale of a faitful trip

That started in this temperate carport, aboard this SUV

The driver was a mom of two, the daddy played with fate

two children set off, for a three hour wait, a three hour wait.

We traffic started getting rough, the SUV changed lanes

If not for the courage of the fearless driver, the Pilot would be wrecked, the Pilot would be wrecked.

The SUV landed in the lot of Stonebriar Mall with Mommy, Daddy too, Trey and Crisana here at the mall!

Well, that is the story of the morning. We wanted to get pics with Santa before the trip, but that did not quite work. We are now packing for the trip and plan to leave ASAP. If we do get in late tonight, I will have still blogged for the day. Updates later as time permits.

Yummmm.  Doesn’t THAT sound appetizing??  Well, that is how my morning started.  Crisana woke up with a VERY crusty nose, which has been happening off and on for about 2 weeks.  I’ve been wondering if she was developing allergies, or just fighting off a persistent cold.  But this morning was THE WORST.  Everything was fine until breakfast, when she uttered those words that just send shivers up my spine…”Mommy, my ear hurts.”  Praise the Lord she uttered those words on a Friday.  Normally, it’s on a Sunday afternoon, around 4:59, or on some night, at around 3:00 A.M.  But glory be, this time it was on a day when the doctor’s office is OPEN…AND it was DURING OFFICE HOURS!!  Hallelujah!

But my bliss was short lived as the ear-infection-that-ate-New-York quickly infiltrated both ears, producing excruciating pain, and reducing my precious little girl to a crying, complaining, grouchy, whimpering, pathetic little creature.  By the time we got to the doctor’s office, the crying gave way to screaming, yelling, and such discomfort that nothing would help.  “Hold me, Mommy” turned to “DON’T TOUCH ME!!”  “Read me a story, Mommy” morphed into “I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!!”  I now know what she will be like in labor, and to her future husband, you have my pity.  Don’t worry, she rebounds quickly, it’s all worth it.

According to the pediatrician, it’s a pretty severe ear infection, both ears.  She’s alternating between Motrin/Ibuprofen and Tylenol with Codeine every three hours, and getting ear drops twice a day as well as antibiotics.  Bless her heart, she’s been a trooper all day, but this morning was no fun for either of us.

So no ketchup today.  I’ve dealt with enough mucous today to ruin any appetite.

(Oh, and one positive note from today’s doctor visit:  When they weighed her, she had not only NOT gained any weight, she actually dropped below where she was last time!  So, that’s good news!  Made me feel like what we’re doing is working – and redeemed me from feeling like a failure as a mother.  And I believe we are making positive changes as a family, because the scale at my house – that mean old scale I’ve given up on – actually said I’ve lost 10 pounds.  So, YAY.)

I post again…FINALLY…after long last!

(And there was much rejoicing…)

Well, to quote a very wise man, “Lemme essplain…no…there is too musch. Lemme sum up.”

Over the course of the next several days, you will be treated to “ketchup” – a little dab here, a little blob (or should I say blog?) there, hopefully none on your white shirt. Think of these posts as those little packets you get from McDonald’s. 🙂 Rather than catching you up on our life over the last 3 weeks in one long post which I know you won’t read, I’ll ketchup one delicious bit at a time.

Today’s little bit of ketchup will revolve around Tiger Cubs. When last we left our Loyal Scout, he was in the throes of Poptober. (No kidding, that’s what they really call it.) Did he escape the buttery wrath of the Popcorn Kernel? Did the gods of Poptober blow a favorable wind of hot air to increase his sales? Will he pop his way onto a battleship aircraft carrier overnighter? Oh, the drama….

I am happy to report that yes, Trey did meet his Popcorn sales goal of $500. In fact, he POPPED it!! (Last popcorn joke, I promise) He sold over $600 in fact, to earn a trip to the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi in January. For his very first time to experience door-to-door sales, he did an excellent job! We were so proud of him. We took 3 Sundays to go around the neighborhood – my, how it has grown! – and met a lot of new neighbors. We also took it to church one Wednesday to sell to church friends. He wore his Tiger Cub uniform, which makes him look absolutely irresistible. It’s all just part of our marketing ploy, heh heh. Now we await the next task for our fearless Tiger Cub. Will he be able to deliver all this popcorn? Will the blessing of the Poptober gods be enough to sustain him as he travels, wagon in tow, throughout the land of Sloan Creek, spreading buttery smells and giving goodwill to all? Tune in next time to…(cue sappy organ music) Almost All Our Children (Well, Really Only One).

Trey missed a Den outing while we were away on our trip (a visit to a Fire Station), but we brought his book and were able to complete some of the electives for his Tiger Track beads. We figure having a neighbor who is a volunteer Fire Fighter with the Fairview FD might give us an inside edge into getting a visit scheduled to the local FD sometime soon.

While we were gone, we did complete the final requirements for him to earn his Bobcat badge (a requirement for all Cub Scouts). He was presented with his badge at a Pack ceremony on the 24th, and can now work on earning his Tiger Cub badge.

This past weekend was CUBe, a major Scout event for the Arrowhead District. It was held at Myers Park in McKinney, the same location as the Pack overnighter Matt wrote about a few weeks ago. Each pack involved hosted a booth or event, with scouts at all levels (through Webelos) earning belt loops and electives. Trey participated in all the events except woodworking, because they ran out of kits before we got there. He learned to shoot a BB gun at a target – well, he learned to shoot a BB gun. Not necessarily at a target. Or if there was a target, it was somewhere else, changing each time he shot. He learned to shoot a bow and arrow, and though he didn’t hit the target there either, he did much better on that one. He made a “magic” wallet, a neckerchief, and a mask; learned about knot-tying and first aid; attempted a water rescue throw; competed in a “rain gutter regatta” and rocket launch – quite successfully in both, thanks to Architect Dad’s great designs – and created a bagel birdfeeder. It was a long and busy day, but lots of fun, and Trey earned two belt loops and completed enough electives to earn his first Tiger Track bead.

So on we traverse this Cub Scout way, giving goodwill, following Akela, and doing our best. Tune in next time as we follow our Scout through his Popvember escapades…

Well, it is about 5:20am and I have been up since about 3:45ish. I may have given up on sleep, so I thought I may as well catch up on the blog…..

Last weekend Trey and I went camping with Pack 303. We had a great time and I even got better sleep than right now too! We packed up and left Saturday at about 2:30 or so. It was just a one night trip. The campsite was close, maybe even too close. I did not know exactly where it was, and was feeling a little stressed. My directions were similar to “where we camped last year”. I did find it and started seting up camp.

My big mistake was not spending 10 aditional minutes at the house getting my fishing gear ready. I really should have done that, but again was feeling stressed for time. My second mistake was not stopping at Stuff-Mart to get Trey some fishing gear. We really have not had the chance to fish much, so I have never gotten him a rod. Yeah, I am a bad dad. We did borrow some tackle, so we did fish, but I should have stopped on the way. Continue reading Insomnia Part 1 – Cubscouts

Today was Pun’kin Patch Day with my little Pun’kin!  Mom and I hadn’t seen each other since before she went to Romania, so we HAD to get together, and what better place than the Pun’kin Patch!  It was about as great a fall day as you’re likely to get here in Texas, dry, sunny, cloudless with a hint of a cool breeze every now and again, temp’s starting off in the low 60’s, warming to the 80’s… You get the idea.  We headed out to Celina, TX for the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm’s annual Pumpkin Patch (www.bigorangepumpkinfarm.org).  We learned about this when Trey was in playgroup, and have gone every year since then. 

The pumpkins were slim pickin’ this year – don’t know if that was because it was after a weekend, or early in the season, or due to the drought, but we still managed to find 4 perfect pumpkins.  We met up with Angie and Michael Jon there, and had a great time together.  Crisana and Michael Jon enjoyed walking through the pumpkin patch, feeding cows and goats and sheep, playing cowboys, going on a hayride (and once again finding Farmer Rick rolled up in a bale of hay – when will the poor guy ever learn??), and having a picnic lunch.  We had so much fun, got dirty, laughed, talked, took lots of pictures, and just enjoyed a carefree day of togetherness.

4 perfect pumpkins at the pumpkin patch – $18.

a perfect day with the pun’kins in my life – priceless.

 

Yes, that is what happens when you get older.  Or so I’ve been told.  It hasn’t actually happened to me.   It’s somewhat depressing to see those carefree days of youth pass by, and witness the inevitable results of aging on a person’s body.  And it is so difficult to watch it happen to someone you really care about… Continue reading Losing Teeth and Failing Eyesight