Bummer

So, two weeks ago Kirk walks out of our room looking all worried and says"I won something on ebay. I just put a bid and I won." So I am thinking some game or electronic thing we don't need. Instead he says"I won four pre-season Dallas Cowboy tickets for the $20. I'm thinking OK that's not so bad. We decided Karissa, Kirk, my dad and I would go. We have all been looking forward to it. My mom was going to come down and watch the kids. So, last night Kirk says"have you seen the tickets?" "What???" Kirk never loses anything and usually knows where everything I lose is. So you guessed it...the tickets are lost. We searched our house, the cars, Kirk's office. I bet they got thrown away. Anyway, no game for us.

Mommy moments: Kylie is following JT on her tricycle and I hear her yell at him"Dude?...I'm a girl...you can't call me dude." Then this morning she says"I'm going to marry him." We may have a fight over JT because last time I heard Cara was going to marry him and they were going to have water and carrot cake at their wedding. Karissa walked in our room yesterday morning and said "Dad can you turn my expander?" Talk about a turn around from last week when we practically had to hold her down to do it.

Caleb has an ear infection and is teething and has a virus. Hopefully, the antibiotic will kick in soon. He is a pretty miserable little guy. He still has a smile for his little big sister Kylie, though.

Power Out

Thanks for all the advice on Karissa's room. Unfortunately, Alyssa, I love your idea, but all our trim and doors are a light khaki. So, if we wanted to do wainscoating(sp?) we would have to paint the doors and molding, too. Then, that one room would be white and all the rest khaki.

So, yesterday it rained. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The temp dropped like 20 degrees. It was wonderful UNTIL the power went out. It only rained about an hour and then we have no power. Across the street had power, but not us. New houses shouldn't be built connected to old grids. Anyway, it was out until 2:30 this morning. Talk about a long day and night. We played outside then had candle light baths. Then, we went to Taco Casa for dinner, all the while hoping the electricity would come back on. Txu kept changing the guesstimated time it would be fixed. So, we put the kids to bed and realized it was just going to be too hot and stuffy in the house. We moved all the kids to Celests's house (our neighbor across the street). Caleb woke up and thought it was play time. Then Kylie got up and couldn't sleep. Finally, aound 10:30 I put Caleb back to bed at our house, took a cool candlelight shower and tried to go to sleep. Didn't happen. So, I get Caleb and go back across the street. He stays asleep this time BUT Karissa and Cara get woke up by the second round of storms coming through. So, we are finally all settled in Celest's living room around 1am. I hear Caleb around 2:30 and happen to notice the lights from our house are blaring across the street. So, since I haven't been asleep yet I wake Kirk and say let's go sleep in our own bed. Then we carried all the kids home (in the rain) and fell into bed. Kirk decided he needed a shower. So around 3:30ish we finally were all settled. The alarm went off at 7 and Karissa just couldn't wake up. So, I decide to be nice and let her sleep in and take her to school late. As soon as I say she can sleep in, she says (wide awake) I'm hungry...I want some breakfast. So by 7:45 all my kids are awake and hungry. I tell Karissa she can't stay home if she isn't going to sleep so I take her to school. I think it is going to be a long day.

Just an update on Karissa's expander. It is doing great. The first 2-3 days everytime we had to turn the screw she had a fit and we thought we were killing her. We called the orthodontist and they said hang in there it gets easier. By the 4th day she doesn't even know we are turning it. Thank goodness. Do you know how hard it is to inflict pain on your child on purpose??? I was in tears and Kirk was sick to his stomach. Thank goodness that part is over. Have a great week.

Spaghetti Anyone?

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Living Room Pics

Help

Ok all you decoraters out there. Karissa's birthday is coming up and we (she and I) decided we would redo her room. She chose this comforter and prefers the side on the left. Her room is already pink but there is too much pink. I need to tone down the pink but am unsure of what colors to use. The side of the comforter she likes has only pink and a redish color on it. The wallies I bought to go with it have pink, purple, light lime green*, turquoise, orange, yellow.(*denotes my choice of second color in the room). So my questions are what color and how do I put the two colors up(ex.1/2 wall one color, 2 walls one colorand 2 the other). There is also a border available if I choose. For a picture of Karissa's room now, go to archives January 27th. THe dots have to go and we are hoping to get a new bed with drawers and a bookshelf headboard.

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who have been waiting on pins and needles...Karissa had her appointment yesterday. She did cooperate, with much encouragement, and is now the proud owner of an expander. Last night, Kirk had to twist the screw for the first time and we were both ready to quit. But how can we when she has already gone through so much? This mornings twist wasn't much better and she had to do it before school. Only 25 more twists!!!(two times a day) I took her lunch with a milk shake because her mouth is sore and she is having to learn to eat and talk with something on the roof of her mouth. She was feeling fine. She even refused the tylenol. At least, we don't have to go back to the orthodontist until November.

Caleb's Haircut

before and after

First Day of School

So, last week I was so jealous of all of you who got to post first day of school pics. Today is the day for us (finally). Karissa has Ms. Winters and Nathan and Raven are in her class. She was so excited this morning. She came and woke me up and she was dressed and her bed was made!!! Other big news...Caleb got his first tooth and his first haircut. I cut his hair and he looks so old. It is a little shorter than I think I want on top but the rest is great. Who knew boys were so easy. Karissa has one more ortho appointment, tomorrow. Last week didn't go so great the first try but she was perfect the next day. I also just wanted to say God is a great provider. We have been a little concerned about some upcoming expenses(Cara's school, Karissa's teeth, Green Bay, jeep, huge electric and water bills) fitting into our budget. Then last night there was a knock at our door. It was Robin, a policewoman, who lives in our neighborhood. She was wondering if I could pick her son up after school and keep him til 4pm. Her son is in 2nd grade just like Karissa. So, of course, I said no problem. So between picking up Tyler and watching Mackie(the neighbors little girl) two days a week, God has supplemented our income. Yeah!!!! I was going to post pics of my living room but they are pretty dark. I just finished painting it last week.

Odds and Ends

Just a quick note...Karissa had her first ortho appointment and she did pretty well. There were some tears and some I'm not going to do its but overall she didn't get hysterical. I was very proud of her. They took xrays, pictures of her teeth and face and made molds of her top and bottom teeth and put the spacers on the top. It is really a lot for one appointment. We go back Tuesday for the next step. I am so thankful Kirk's parents were able to come down and watch the other kiddos. They even took Kylie home with them for two days. Then, Cara went to spend the night with Aunt Linda. It was really quiet around here with only Caleb and Karissa. It was nice to spend some quality time with them. Karissa got a really cool new computer game. It is kind of like sims but she gets to be a vet and build up her practice. She hasn't wanted to get off the computer. Caleb reverted in his sleeping through the night. For about 3 nights he woke up at 10 and seemed awake for a LOOOOOOOONG time. He woke up at 10 tonight but went right back to sleep so hopefully we are back on track. I painted my living room this week. I just finished tonigt. I will post some pictures tomorrow. I guess that's all for now.

Caleb Sleeps (and so does mommy)

I am getting really old. I just pulled up the screen to create a new entry and then had to sit here for 3-4 minutes to remember what I was going to blog about.

I thought I would give an update on Caleb's sleeping. He sleeps ALL night in his bed and has even started going to sleep without screaming. He goes in his bed at nap time and falls asleep. I was worried when he got sick last week, but he did great. It is amazing!!! I am so sad he is almost 1. I love all the milestones but he is my last baby.

We tried to pull Karissa's two loose teeth tonight but it didn't work. Those little suckers are stuck. Kirk tried and then I tried but they are so tiny and Karissa gets really freaked. The orthodontists said they are ready to come out. I think we have decided to go ahead with phase one for Karissa's teeth. One of my biggest fears is the scene she is going to make at the orthodontists office. She really throws a fit. We have tried bribing, talking and punishment. Fear overcomes all her senses. Pray for us the next three Tuesdays. She is very scared and worried about what she will look like. I think she is excited for school to start. She wants to go to WF the first week of school and visit Mrs. Parker. She doesn't start until the 21st.

Cara has become a little fish. She is diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve things. She looks like she is drowning on top of the water but swims great under water. She is also very moody and reclusive (so not like her). Can puberty hit at 4?? I am hoping to put her in school on Tuesdays and then take her to Thursday bible study Wee School. If it works out I will only have two kids for 5 hours on Tuesdays...whatever will I do??

Kylie is finally starting to gain weight. She is Caleb's constant playmate. She has become a little clown lately and has the greatest laugh. She has also found her stubborn streak. She told me yesterday "I'm not doin it!" Then when I told her she was she threw her barbies one at a time and proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs. Yeah (can't I have one compliant one?) She is also coming right along in the water. She sticks her face in and swims oin top of the water(she has a floatie suit that won't let go under).

I started scrapbooking today. I think it is the first time since we moved. I had so much fun but the kids were a real distraction. I need to find some away crops or weekend retreats. My books are all so behind. I can't even remember how old the kids are in some of their pictures (there's that memory thing, again). I guess that is all for now. Kirk is good. Work has been stressful, mainly due to office drama. He is so excited about the Greenbay trip. Just read his blog!!!

Caleb Walks

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So I finally captured Caleb walking on video, today.(sorry, there isn't any sound.) He kind of relapsed when he was sick but he is back at it now. I took Karissa to a orthodontic evaluation, yesterday. Yikes!!! Who knew being a parent would be so hard. They want to start right away. They want to put an expander on the roof of her mouth to slowly expand the width of her mouth. Is it painfull???Yes. Can other kids see it?? Yes. It looks like a torture device and we have to adjust the screw in it daily until it is as wide as the dentist wants it. How do we know if she needs it right now? She is terrified of the dentist as it is and now they want to put hardware in her mouth. Oh and that is only the beginning(to the tune of $3300, then they want to put a space holder on the bottom and in about 18 mo we will talk about Phase 2 and the real braces. We went online to look up the expander and google pulled up a blog of a guy who just got one. He said it was (hell) and if he knew how bad it was going to be he never would have gotten it. This is from an adult and they want to put one on our 7 year old. What to do???