We got a new digital camera and found an easy way to share our pictures, so if you would like to check it out I have added the web address below. We will be adding more pics each week. You need a password so if you want to look at them email me as my dear hubby is afraid our children will be kidnapped if I post the password on my blog, which nobody reads, except for my dear friend Traci. So Traci, email me and I will give you the password. Have a great day!

www.shortfamilypics.shutterfly.com

Booby Covers???

We just got back from seeing the play "Oklahoma" tonight for Jarrett's company party. It was a good time except for the food. It was made by the Cattlemans association and I mean no disrespect, but they need some new cattle or something. Nathan and I ended up eating popcorn and ice cream instead of the steak dinner. Two sno cones, a bowl of ice cream and a box of popcorn later Nathan was officially on a sugar high. Even though he fell out of his chair 3 times because of his sugar coma he was into the play especially when the guns were fired. I know I have been to discoveryland several times in my life but I honestly don't remember watching the play any of those times. The play was actually pretty good.

Madelyn is out of town with my parents and her cousin so she didn't get to come with us. They are having a great time but I miss her.

Jarrett and I realize with her gone our house is quiet and a little lifeless but I must add much cleaner. Boys don't chatter as much as little girls. Nathan is more low key and doesn't quite know what to do without her here.

By the way, I got a new toy this week, it is the mercedes of washing machines and dryers. They are front loaders that use less detergent and wash and dry without using as much water or electricity as the older models. Our dryer was attacking our clothes and burning them and our washer was staining them. I finally had had it with them and started crying when my washer bleached out a brand new sweater of mine when it was on gentle cycle with two other items. It was totally uncalled for!! So my dear, sweet husband helped me pick out a really nice new set. He even sprung for the pedastals, which by the way make all the difference.

The first day I had it I had all the sheets in our house done by 10 am and I started at 8am. Before it would have taken me all day to do 3 sets of sheets. When we were saying our bed time prayers the other night, Madelyn said "Thank you God for the new washer and dryer you gave Mommy, they are totally awesome." How sweet is that.

Have a great weekend!

PS Today at Target, we were walking through the bra section and Nathan blurts out "Mom, are you getting any of those Booby Covers?"

Yes, I admit it I am a Type A Person and that's ok!

For those of you who don't know, which is very few of you because I am obnoxious and can't quit talking about it, our family is going on a 10 day Disney cruise to the Mediterranean! Yes, you heard me right, the Mediterranean!!!!

ONLY 39 days to go!!! I am soooo excited. Can you tell? Jarrett's mom and dad surprised us at Christmas with "the trip of a lifetime" to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. It also happens to be our 10th anniversary this summer so Jarrett is getting off easy as far as planning a romantic getaway. We are going to some amazing ports that are full of rich history and beauty. We are so blessed! There will be 10 of us travelling together, here is the cast of characters:

Jarrett-32

Kathleen-33

Nathan-6

Madelyn-4

Grammie-fifty something

Grampy- fifty something

Uncle Blake-30 something

Aunt Jennifer- 30 something

Nick- 13

Ally- 7

Ok, I am going to make a confession: I suffer from "CPD: Compulsive Planning Disorder" Ever since we found out about the trip I have been in researching mode. Half the fun for me is the planning, it just feds my excitement. Now, don't get me wrong, I can occasionally be spontanoues and not overplan but this trip is different. It is seriously a once in a lifetime kind of trip. (Plus I have to pack for 4 people for 13 days, that requires some thoughtful planning) I never thought I would go to Europe in my life and I honestly don't know much about the places we will be visiting. So I am trying to learn the basics so I don't look a total idiot and can enjoy the places we are going.

For the last couple of months every night after the kids would go to bed I would cuddle up on the couch, connect to the Internet and start reading. I researched cruise websites to find out out what kind of excursions people had enjoyed in the past and what are the must sees at each port. I started reading other peoples blogs and even got to start "chatting" or "dissing" with other cruise members that are going on the same cruise as us. I will already have a group of friends on board when we get there. We are having a meet and greet the first day on the ship. Jarrett said there is no way he is going!! He has had more fun poking fun at me about this. But you know what, I know that deep down he loves me for my obsessiveness.

The big decision, for me at least, was deciding on excursions. There are so many to choose from and of course, none offer everything you want to do... so you have some serious choices to make.
The other complicating factor is that Disney Cruise Line opened excursion reservations on line at 3 AM! Yes, you read that right... So I had to set the alarm and get up in the middle of the night to try and book the excursions I wanted. I also hoped for Palo dining reservations, (Palo is an adult only restaurant that is supposed to have amazing food.) but that became secondary. The computer lines were down at 3am. I wasn't a happy camper..but what can you do?

They finally came online that afternoon.
In deciding on our excursions, we laid out the itinerary so we could see where we'd be the day before and the day after each port. Didn't want to book back to back 8-9 hour excursions.. whew.... I had already booked private tours in Rome and Naples so I didn't have to worry about those ports.
The very first excursion I attempted to book was for Villefranche -- Convertible Car Tour of the Cote d'Azur. This was the one tour Jarrett was most interested in. Yes you and your companion get to drive around the French Riveria in your own convertible! It was VERY disappointing to see this was completely booked when I got online. I guess all the concierge guests (who get to reserve prior to the Castaway Club members) gobbled them all up. Since that time, I have heard from some on later cruises that this excursion seems to be unavailable even when things "open up". Hmm.. We are not booking anything for this port in hopes that something will open up when we get there.

Here are the ports of call we will be visiting:

Barcelona, Spain

Palermo, Sicily

Naples, Italy (Pompeii)

Olbia, Sardinia

Civitavecchia, Italy (Rome)

La Spezia, Italy (Florence, Pisa)

Marseille, France

Villefranche, France (Monte Carlo, Cannes, Nice

If you know anything about any of these places please let me know. I am working on a booklet that I will have professionally bound by my support staff (AKA Jarretta) that will include all the information needed for each port, itineraries, packing lists, airline info, emergency phone #'s, etc. It will be a smaller size so that it can fit in a backpack easily. I am doing this for each family that we are travelling with. Don't make too much fun of me because I may just send you one too. I know you want one!

Ciao! (that's Italian for Goodbye}

PS Drop me a line and let me know you stopped by.

My not so exciting life

I have been up all night sick with what I am diagnosing myself with as a sinus infection. Jarrett finally kicked me out of the bed because my horrible snotty noises. I drove myself to the 24hr Walgreens at 5am to buy a sinus cleanse as well as an eyebrow brush, I was desparate. If you have never tried one I would highly suggest this if you are congested and have bad facial pain. The eyebrow brush is to tame my unruly brows. Oh, that reminds me, I got my eyebrows waxed this week. I am trying to avoid going to the dr and getting an antibotic. I used to get these sinus infections all the time when I was teaching school but I now only get them once or twice a year. I blame this one on mowing the lawn for Jarrett this week. He has been busy at work so I thought I would help him out, I think I will reconsider being nice next time.
I have CNN on right now and they said Florida is getting hammered with a tropical storm. My parents are there visiting my g-ma, my sister and her hubby and daughter are at disney world and my sister in law and her family are there for a church retreat. Umm, not a good week to be in Florida. I am glad I am stuck in Oklahoma, congested, achey, feverish, and feeling downright miserable. Just kidding.

Not much has been going on with us which honestly, is really nice. I got my house cleaned this week and our kindergarten homeschool stuff organized. We are officially done with Kindergarten. I can't believe it!!We are going to do summer school so we can study about the places we are visiting on our mediterean cruise and keep up with handwriting and reading. However, it is going to be a very relaxed schedule. If we feel like doing it we will if we don't feel like it we won't. The kids start swim lessons next week. We are hoping the weather gets better around here so we can go to my parents house and swim and go to the lake. Ok, that is all that is going on in our not-so exciting life. Do you like the rambling? I am drugged up on sudafed and tylenol pm. Traci, this is for you!!!

Lessons from a bike ride

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in a while but I do have a good excuse. My good friend, Traci, and her kiddos have been in town all week. We got to hang out a ton and they even got to spend the night with us a couple of nights. The kids had a great time playing together as always. Jarrett was in Tennesse for business so it was really nice having company while he was away. On Friday we took them to see Shrek the third and they loved it. Today, my mom, sister Kim, Ella, Madelyn and I went to OKC for my big sis's baby shower. It was a fun girls day and great celebrating my new nephew. Kris is due in a month and is getting really excited. I can't believe she is having a baby!!! She will be the big "40" this year.

Our big excitement of the week is that both Nathan and Madelyn are learning to ride their bikes without training wheels. Nathan really does well he just hasn't figured out the stopping thing. He is so proud of himself. Jarrett and I take turns holding on to them and running along side them. Madelyn cracks us up. She will not look forward, only side to side, so bless her heart she cannot keep her balance. As she falls she has the biggest smile on her face and is laughing hysterically. Ok, I am going to admit it, this milestone is really making me emotional. What is new?? Kathy getting emotional?
As I was running, holding onto the back of Nathan's bike he was yelling, "Mommy let go!" I responded, "But I am not ready too, sweetie." I instantly thought that this was a metaphor for where we are in his life right now. I can tell he is really trying to become more independent and he doesn't need me as much as he once did. I also know there will be many other times in his future where he wants me to let go, and I am going to have to even if I am not ready to.

So here are some lessons we have learned from learning to ride a bike:
1. When we fall, we get back up and try again.
2. It is ok to let go, even when we aren't ready to.
3. When you smile and laugh it makes everyone around you want to smile and laugh with you.
4. We cheer each other along!
5. We hug each other when we fall.
6. We have to wait our turn! (This one is hard for Madelyn, she stated, "Mom, I don't like to be patient!")
7. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET!!

I am on fire!!!

My friend Leah and I went to the home school convention this weekend and it was fantastic. It was great getting together with other like minded families. I was encouraged, challenged and stretched. The past year I have felt like I was homeschooling because we didn't have a better option for Nathan. Now, I have come to realize that this is what God has called our family to do for this time. I have learned from my past to never, ever put time constraints on God. I will obey until he tells me not to home school. I am really going to try to not walk on the fence about this homeschooling issue any longer. This past year I have been so wishy washy about it, always second guessing myself and wondering if I was hearing God right. I never thought in a million years I would be a homeschooling mom. But here I am!!

I am excited to see what God has in store for us this next school year. We will start first grade in June, just because we can... Nathan is loving it right now and is really interested in the things we are studying so why stop. Homeschooling to me is so much more than just educating it is about training my children's heart, it is about God, it is about His plans for my sweet babies lives. I really have loved spending this quality time with my kids. I have ordered all our first grade curriculum and I can't wait to get it. Part of it will focus on ancient Rome, and since we are going to Rome in July as a family we are going to jump forward to that. Okay, I will quit rambling now.

I am done

I am done, just plain done. I am done with a whiny, demanding, grumpy child who is uncomfortable about 90% of the day. I am done getting up every hour during the middle of the night to get ice packs, sprite, new jammies b/c the ice leaked, pain medicine that gets spit out on me because she doesn't like the taste. I am done staying in this house alllll day and not being able to go anywhere. I am done not being able to go to the gym and working out. (Is that really coming out of my mouth?) I would get up and go early but I am too tired from being up all night. I am done with my precious little girl feeling miserable and not getting any better. I am done with her wanting to eat all the time but everything hurts when it goes down so we have to make 5 soft things for every meal. Then she ends up just drinking sprite. Ok, I think I am done being grumpy and gripy. I just had to get that off my chest.....I am better now!!

I really love her with all my heart and would do anything for her. Thanks for not holding my gripe session against me.

What a day!

Well, today Madelyn is silent, she has barely said two words. Those of you who know her probably don't believe me. I promise you I am telling the truth. I can't get over the quiet at my house, she usually wakes up talking a mile a minute and doesn't quit until she is sound asleep. So it just seems weird here.

What a difference a day makes. I really thought that after how well she was doing yesterday that this recovery was going to be a breeze. Well, she woke up with a 102 fever and very lethargic. She has continued to throw up all day. She can't even keep a drop of water down. We took Nathan to his enrichment class which is only a mile away and we had to pull over twice for Maddie to throw up. It is just the saddest thing. She won't eat or drink. I called the ENT this afternoon and they called in some phenegran gel to help but so far there is no change. I am really getting worried that she is dehydrated. We are giving her another hour then calling back our dr., luckily he is on call tonight. I am praying the phenegran will kick in here shortly so we don't have to bother him. These are the times you wish you could just trade places with your kids and take all their pain away.

Okay, so in the midst of puke the tornado alarms start sounding at our house. Let me just paint a lovely picture for you about how our household reacted to this. First my phone started ringing off the hook (our sweet loved ones wanted to make sure we were taking cover), the dog starts running around the house in circles because she is nervous, Nathan starts screaming in excitement that our house is going to blow away in the tornado, I am running around trying to gather up all the items that we need (you know shoes, cell phone, blankets, flashlights, bottled water,you can never be too prepared) all the while trying to remain calm. Madelyn just lays. She can't get up to move to our hiding spot in the kids bathroom. So I go back and grab her and get her and Nathan settled into the tub with pillows and blankets. I go to turn on the weather in my room when I hear a noise in the bathroom. I rush back in there to find Madelyn standing outside of the tub covered in puke and Nathan still sitting in the tub, surrounded by puke, playing his leapster. I was only gone a second.

"Nathan, why are you still in the tub?"
"Cause, I am playing my game"
"Nathan, look what is in front of you."
"Oh, gross Puke!"
"Nathan, get out of the tub."
"When I am done..."
"Suit yourself, when your done playing, why don't you clean up your sister's puke that you are sitting in."

That was my day...

Madelyn's Surgery

This morning at 5:30am we made our way to the hospital where Madelyn had her tonsils and adenoids out. She was a real trooper. She didn't even cry when they took her back to the OR. That silly syrup is amazing stuff. The Dr. said that her tonsils were huge and filled with a nasty yellowy cottage cheese substance which is usually only found in teenagers tonsils. (Gross, sorry for the gory details.) He said we have saved her from a lifetime of sore throats. When we got back to recovery she was having a coughing fit and having a little trouble getting her oxygen sats to stay up. A breathing treatment helped that and after an hour we got to go to the post op room.

Once we got there the Lora tab they had given her kicked in and she started acting crazy. She was screaming the best she could with a sore throat because she wanted the IV out of her arm. The nurse tried to convince her that she needed it but eventually

Madelyn's screaming won the nurse over and she took the IV out. The poor, sweet child would not settle down and rest at all. She didn't want the hospital gown on, the bandaid was too tight, the curtain wansn't closed all the way, the bed was too high, then too low. They think the Loratab has the opposite effect on her. It was supposed to make her tired and sleep alllllllllllllllllllllllllllll day. Not our luck. My child is wide awake, she even tried doing a cart wheel. Have you ever seen a drunk child doing a cart wheel. It is pretty hilarious. She has already eaten 4 Popsicles, pudding, jello, a yogurt and is requesting a kooly from QT. Seriously, we may have the only child who gains weight after a tonsillectomy. She has only thrown up twice and boy am I thankful as I am a sympathetic vomitter. Hopefully a nap is in our future. Oh, Jarrett and Gracie are already asleep.

Nathan is playing with his grammy and grampy today at the lake. I mean, actually he is being homeschooled by his grandparents. He is learning to plant a garden, working algebraic equations, and did I mention they are doing chemistry too. Boy do I love homeschooling!

Never, Ever Brag!

The other day I was telling someone how healthy my children have been all winter, and oh what a glorious winter it has been. No stomach bugs, only one antibiotic for Nathan, not even a cold in our household to speak of. For those of you who have known us for any amount of time know what a miracle this is. Most winters we are confined to our "sick house"

Nathan has really been acting good this week, so much so that his enrichment teachers asked me what we were doing differently (translation, did you start the adhd meds yet?)
I tell them his attention has improved because of all this great therapy that we are doing at home and because there is no longer a trace of red dye #40 in his diet. (I am totally kidding here.) I was actually just basking in the glow of a good report for once.

Well, my bubble burst today when Nathan started losing his voice and dark purple circles appeared under his eyes. Then came the dreaded words, "Mommy, my throat hurts really bad." Oh, my poor, sweet first born. When Nathan gets sick, I swear I revert back to the mother of a NICU baby. I just can't help it. I pick up the phone and immediately call the dr. because I am just certain that my sweet boy will need to be hospitalized. He gets us right in and tests him for strep, it was negative. I am happy to report that he does not need to be hospitalized for his allergies and upper respiratory infection. We were sent home with a script for Zyrtec. The dr. even commented that Nathan seemed unlike himself today, meaning he was being totally laid back and well behaved. I jokingly said, "I know isn't he precious like this." I don't think he thought that was very funny. Refer to my previous post that this is new peditrician for us, not good Kathleen, not good. He just doesn't get my sense of humor yet.
Hey, if I can't laugh about the trials we have gone through and are going through then I would be one miserable person.
So now both my babies aren't sleeping good and both have sore throats and mammacakes is never, ever going to brag about how healthy her children are. Instead, I will just Thank God for their good health and not brag to other people.

By the way, I am totally bummed because tomorrow is the last day of an incredible Bible Study that I am in at my church. We have been doing the study, "To Live is Christ" It is a study of Paul by Beth Moore. It is one of her older studies and it has taught me so much and changed my heart. I just love the fact that we live in a free country where we can openly study the word of God. I also have the most amazing small group of ladies that I get to study and pray with. I am going to miss them, they are all at different ages and stages of life but they are the most wise and praying women I have ever been around. Their love for the Lord is amazing. Ok, I will stop being sappy now, I just had to share what is on my heart. Love to all!

10 Reasons not to get a Nintendo Wii

For those of you considering the purchase of a new video game system keep these in mind.

1. You will become a Wii Widow.
2. Your children will beg to play it from the moment they wake up.
3. You will need to increase your budget for the AA battery allowance.
4. Your husband will challenge you to games in which he knows he will win in order to get you to do "you know what" that night.
5. You have to rearrange your furniture to allow for the space it takes to play the game.
6. Your kids will have so much fun playing "tank" that they won't realize they need to use the restroom and use your carpet as a urinal.
7. Grandparents won't stop playing golf to come to the dinner table for Easter supper.
8. When you have friends over with kids they fight all night over whose turn it is to play.
9. Offending people when making the mii's on the wii. Too fat, too tall, too skinny, too bald, bad afro, etc you get the picture
10. Breaking your tv or window with the flying remote.

Actually, I am half kidding. We have had a blast with it and have loved sharing it with our friends and family. It is fun group activity that everyone enjoys and to top it off you burn calories while playing. So come on down to the homestead and play a game with us, ya hear!

Madelyn's Shot Adventure

Sweet little Madelyn, I can't believe my baby is 4? Well, today she had to endure her 4 year old shots. I have been preparing her for weeks now and her appointment has been rescheduled several times because of a shortage of the vaccines so I don't think she really believed me when I told her today was the day. You see, she is the type of child who needs a lot of prep time and coaching before she does anything new or something she is unsure of. All of our preparation and roll playing however did not help in any way, shape or form. It started with her not wanting to get out of the car. I tell you what, that child is strong! After I bribed her with a piece of Juicy Fruit we made it into the building. (Don't judge me Dr. Bevins, they are only her baby teeth and she already has cavities, what is one more piece of gum)

In the waiting room Madelyn hid in the corner and firmly planted her bottom on the floor and was not going to get up. After I used a little creative parenting I got her to go to the exam room and that is when the all out meltdown occurred. I don't know why the nurse had to mention that she was going to give her 4 shots, I had only prepared her for 1 shot. She started screaming that she only wanted one! (Did I mention that this is a new pediatrician, I really am trying to make a good impression but failing miserably at this point) I could not get her to calm down so the nurse called in for reinforcements. Two nurses double teamed it and got the job done. As the shots were going in Madelyn was screaming so loud that I was afraid she was going to choke on her juicy fruit. I could see straight to the back of her mouth and lucky for her, her tonsils are so big that it held the gum in her mouth. Getting those out will be next weeks adventure. She will have them removed on the 23rd. When all the torture was over she stopped crying and said "Get me out of this place!" Afterwards we went for a victory lunch at McDonalds! At first she couldn't walk into the restaurant but when she saw the play land she was miraculously healed. Praise the Lord!

What's with a name??

I thought I would jump on the blogging bandwagon! How fun is this?? Let me explain the mama cakes thing, you see Jarrett started calling Madelyn, Baby Cakes several years ago and then my name changed to mama cakes and it has stuck. What is it with names anyway? My real name is Kathleen but I have always been called Kathy. Once I got married I told Jarrett I wanted to be called Kathleen because it sounded more grown up, he told me he could never call me that because when we said our vows he married "Kathy". Ok, so I have a question, why is it ok for him to now call me "Mama Cakes" . He didn't marry "Mama Cakes" Hey, let's start calling him Jarretta! If he can change my name I can change his. Right? So for the rest of you, you have my permission to call me Kathleen and I promise I will answer to it and try to act more grown up.