sunny days update

Hello. I'm ba-ack! We'll see how long I manage to keep up this time. . .

We have been very busy in Paradise. Thanks to the beautiful weather, we've been spending evenings and weekends outside. . .doing anything BUT housework. Thus, my house looks as if it's been hit from a cyclone from the inside out but my yard is pretty.

We spent last weekend at Nana and Papa's riding horses. Since the horses hadn't been ridden all winter (and are young and less predictable), we took them to the nearby arena. I'm happy to say I didn't get to see just how soft the arena dirt was. Kyler and I rode with my brother for hours on Saturday and Sunday! [humming Back in the Saddle]

Kyler is quite a horseman these days. He spends the time on his horse day dreaming of one rodeo after another, but I'm just glad he's riding. We're even talking about going on some all-day trail rides this year.

Kady decided this year that she wants to be a cowgirl. She has ridden twice so far this year and is loving it. I'm so happy! She rode Kyler's horse in the arena on Saturday and did awesome!!! She does have a lot to learn, such as the lingo. I rode beside her on my horse, and my dad led her around on Kyler's horse. She looked over and said, "Mama, I like your seat," while pointing to my saddle. I said, "Thank you, Kady, but it's called a saddle." She said, "Mama, you're supposed to say 'I like your seat, too, Kady.'"

One more Kady-ism: When Nana was carrying her over to the horse, Kady looked down and yelled, "DON'T STEP ON THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS, NANA!" Thankfully, all of the dandelions were saved.

Goodbye Shreveport

Kev's work in Louisiana appears to be over. Here are some things I'll miss about Shreveport.

1. Shreveport is a city full of friendly people from a variety of backgrounds. Unfortunately, it appears to have an identity crisis. It's not really big enough to be a big city, but it's much bigger than a big town. I guess it's a small city. It's in the corner of Louisiana, with some Cajun-ness, but also a lot of Southern and Texan personality thrown in. I guess that's why it's doubled as so many cities in movies.
2. needing to use my Southern dialect versus my Redneck/Hick dialect in order to be understood, which I'm proficient at thanks to a father from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. . .
3. seeing Washaterias. My father always called laundry mats washaterias, but I've never seen them called that elsewhere. . .
4. The food: steaks at Saltgrass (amazing!!), burgers at Whattaburger (yummy!), breakfast with *free* entertainment at Waffle House (including the guy with the money safety-pinned to his apron. . .), and various seafood munchies thrown in. [sigh]
5. The hair cut lady at the mall. Her name is Kamey, and she cut my hair, Kev's hair, and Kyler's hair, and did a phenomenal job each time.
6. listening to books on tape. I never do this at home, but it's such an easy way to entertain on the road.
7. shopping. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed buying things for me and the kids when we were in Louisiana.
8. The sales people at Cavendar's Western Wear. . . story forthcoming, I promise.

What I won't miss about Shreveport. . .

1. The sales people at Cavendar's Western Wear. . .see above.
2. the lack of family entertainment. We're not casino people, and there's not a lot for kids to do in Shreveport.
3. educating my son on the ways of the world, which are significantly absent or at least well hidden in Paradise. . .
4. The drive.
5. especially if driven with 2 tired, cranky kids. . .
6. Enough Said.

Soon enough, we'll be on to our next adventure. Who knows where Kev will be working next, so be on the lookout for our wild bunch in a city near you. (OH, the horror! Can you imagine seeing our bunch in your neighborhood blue giant store? I can assure you that we're every bit as loud and crazy in person. . .)

nothin' much. and you?

Life is busy, and these are my random updates.

I am still trying to get down to my cruise weight. I'm pleased to announce, 10 more pounds, and I am CRUISE bound!! I tried a new workout last night. It's called Zumba. (Search it on youtube, if you're unfamiliar. Be assured that I looked nothing like that.) It's great if you have rhythm or coordination or hips that move. Unfortunately, I don't. I spent one hour and ten minutes attempting to not knock anyone down. I succeeded but just barely.

I will be attending a conference next week. I will be spending Wednesday through Sunday in New Orleans! This will only be my second flight (seriously), so pray that I arrive safely, please. Also, pray that Kyler and Kady behave, stay safe, and stay healthy while I am gone. There's nothing so nerve-wracking as being a mother and being away from your babies.

My long-awaited niece arrived last Wednesday. Miss M is here, and I still haven't managed to see her! I am certainly going to try to see that girl this weekend. In fact, other than cleaning house and packing for my trip, that's all that's on my to-do list. How about yours? Oh, and you can bet I'll be at least listening to the Razorbacks.

Go, Hogs, go!! Beat Troy!

scary times

I've been a little absent from this blog for awhile now. It's not intentional. I've said before that this is my therapy. This is my place to unwind, decompress, let it all out. Unfortunately, life is crazier than it has ever been. My office now has 4 people doing more work than when we were 9 people. Hmm, and they say productivity has improved in these tough economic times. How brilliant they are!

Anyway, I dreamed last night that I was laid off. I walked in one day and they were telling us to go home. The scary part is it happened to others this week. Thus, I think I should concentrate on work 24/7 just to be on the safe side (and don't even think about taking a look into my house right now!!).

My point: Thank you, thank you, thank you to anyone sticking around to read my sporadic posts that have become increasingly disjointed and odd. I shall post whenever possible, but I understand if you decide to stop following/reading.

I'm sharing

Privacy and disclosure is something I think we all struggle with when sharing information. There are some things I am an open book on. For instance, my quasi-failures as a mom are always blogging material. I know that I do my best as a mom. I may not be the best. I may not even be good at the whole parenting thing, but I'm willing to share my foibles with the understanding that I'm trying and learning. . .constantly.


There are some things that I'm willing to share some info on, but I'm not sure you're getting the whole picture. I've mentioned I am a horrible housekeeper. I'm not sure you understand the depths to which I sink in this area, but I'm not willing to, you know, show pictures of my inadequacy.

Other things, I tend to keep to myself. We all have headaches. This blog is not my moan and groan session. It's not meant to be my "poor, little, pitiful me" platform. Therefore, I often keep bad stuff off here. (Trust me, I do.) Until today.

Here's the brief rundown. My mom has been getting over pneumonia. She's still sick, but apparently, she is getting better. (I'm ready for her to be well, and she's not there yet.) Friday night, my dad fell. He didn't go to the emergency room until Sunday night, when they diagnosed broken ribs and a punctured lung (less than 25%) and sent him home. He returns to the doctor today, so please pray he is doing well and getting better.

Kyler has been helping take care of my father. He returned to the babysitter today. When asked if he was tired of "babysitting" Papa, Kyler said, "Yes, he's always wanting a glass of water or the phone or something!" Ah, the responsibility threshold of an 8 year old!

We can read!

A wondrous thing happened this weekend. We went to church on Sunday--which is a wondrous thing, in and of itself, but that is not what this blog post is about. We were driving along and Kady asked Kev to read a book to her. Since he was driving and not as adept at multitasking as Mom (I jest--mostly), he felt it would be safer for Kyler to read the book. Kyler read the book aloud to his sister while we were driving down the road. A pretty ordinary thing perhaps. An everyday occurrence, some might say. A wondrous, magical thing if you thought it would never happen.

If you've been around here awhile, you might remember THIS post. In it, I detailed finding out that my son basically could not read. . .at least not well enough. I am so happy and proud to say that he is reading 4th grade books the summer before he enters 3rd grade. He made tremendous progress this year (with the help of The-Best-Teacher-in-the-Whole-Wide-World) and now (sometimes) enjoys reading! This is our answer to prayer. God is good.

Rednecks R Us Returns and Offers Tidbits

Remember my impulsive decision to RUN a 5K?! Well, tomorrow is the day. I pray I survive. I am disappointed. Weird, nagging shin splints forced me backwards for awhile, so I am not where I want to be. I will NOT be able to run the whole race; I'll have to run/walk it. I'm trying to stay positive, so last night, Kady and I had fun mother-daughter time, where we treated ourselves to pedicures (and manicures, in her case). You know, a toddler can be very persuasive. She kept telling me she would make my toes pretty. She said I would "lub" it.

She's right. I do. I absolutely "lub" my fuchsia pink toes. She had to go over the toes a few times to get the spots she missed. That's right. Toes. Not toenails. (I'm not sure the picture from my phone does it justice. . .)

In other news, you know you are a redneck who lives in Arkansas, when your toddler tells you she has a tick in her ear. . .and then pulls out a white piece of wax. Eeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! See you Monday!

(Does anyone else think fuchsia is spelled incorrectly? It looks SO wrong, but spell check can't be wrong--can it?)

gimme a minute. . .or a day. . .

Hello, all. We're back from a wonderful mini-vacation of camping and floating on the Buffalo River for our anniversary. Thank you to everyone who wished us a happy anniversary! It may take me a day or two, but I have pictures and stories to share. (I was never very good at Show and Tell. . .They always expected you to tell only one thing and keep it short. . .) Anyway, I can tell you that a shower has never felt more wonderful or a bed more comfortable, but I'd do it all again if I could. Unfortunately, work beckons. . .[sigh]

and there I go

I am absolutely, positively swamped. As in, I cannot stay afloat, and my eyeballs are sinking. Therefore, I only have time for a brief update. Yes, we're still alive and kicking in Arkansas. I'm sorry to disappoint and upset you all that I haven't been blogging much. : ) (What do you mean "you hadn't noticed"?!)

Kyler can hardly wait for school to be out. He's doing amazing this year and looking forward to spending the night with his teacher's son very soon. He's also looking forward to spending lots of guy time with Papa this summer.

Kady and Sissy had an unfortunate altercation involving one very highly coveted worm yesterday. It seems Kady is a worm thief and Sissy was not impressed. Luckily, Kyler was able to find a worm for each of them, and the crisis was over. (I told you the babysitter had a worm farm at her house!)

Last weekend, I had the kind of weekend that only childless couples take for granted. Kyler and most of the other boy cousins spent the night with Moo Moo. Kady spent the weekend with Nana and Papa. I spent the weekend with Kev. . .and his other woman. (Relax! His other woman has a wet nose, four legs, and part of a tail. Her name is Maddie, and I'll post pictures one of these days. . .) We went bowling and out to eat. I did his laundry and. . .well, that was it. It was heaven!! (For the record, my husband is the WORST bowler ever! He has a difficult time, as he says, "keeping his ball out of the ditch." It was hilarious. . .and then he kicked our tails at pool.)

We have a family reunion this weekend, where we look forward to seeing the not-so-crazy bunch of my family! I promise to try and post more often. . .even if you don't read, it's good for my sanity!!

Chaos (Alternately Titled: Why I haven't been around much)

Life is chaotic. At times, however, the chaos can appear to take over. It can appear to overwhelm. It seems to snowball. One thing happens, and suddenly every inconceivable thing occurs. That seems to be my life lately. I'm trying very hard to trust God and not stress over things.

Here's a rundown of what I'm dealing with (in as much as I'm permitted to discuss some of these things).

Kady appears to be fairly healthy thus far. Her new medicine appears to be working, but it is very time consuming. (Not that I'm complaining! I'll take a time consuming healthy kid over an unhealthy kid any day of the week!!)

My dad is still in extreme pain. (Almost two weeks ago, he hurt his hip.) No one knows what's going on. . .He can't stand or walk. He is sleeping somewhat, which means my mom is also sleeping somewhat. We're hoping for more information (or any information, really) tomorrow.

My boss' little girl is very ill. She is in the Pediatric ICU, and we are hoping she is healthy very soon!

One of my best friends' grandmother is ill. She has cancer and the prognosis is not good.

Spring break is coming up next week, and I had hoped to take a couple of days off and take the kids to see Kevin. We really need the time away. We're all exhausted and cranky. (Unfortunately, Kev and I are experiencing a difficult time. . .)

On the positive side, Kady is wearing p a n t i e s (I didn't want some creepo finding my blog THAT way. . .). I have survived 3 weeks of [gulp] exercise. Not an ounce has left my body, but I'm proud of myself for sticking with it thus far. In fact, I think I could outrun a 90-year-old assailant now. . .as long as I could kick his walker out of the way first. . .

Anyone else going through difficult times? How are you coping?

Well, now that I've bummed everyone out, let me say that I hope you'll all stick around until my blogging mojo is fully restocked. . .Till next time!

crafting giveaway

The crafts, well, they are as complete as they shall get. I will be mailing them today (or Monday--depending on when I can make it to the post office). Look for them in your mail. (Julie, I still need your info. E-mail rlkendr at yahoo dot com.)

Remember, it's the thought that counts. Lower those standards, people! : )

Have a great weekend! I shall return Monday with tales of staying in a camper trailer (29 feet in length) with a toddler who has worse mood swings than all the women I know, a very active 8-year-old with an ear infection, and one very cranky husband. Woo hoo! (No, you can't go. Maybe next time.)

On the plus side, it looks like I get to begin shopping for a new washing machine. YAY! Mine is actively dieing.

See you Monday.

the recession hits home in a big way

Times are tough.

I'm drinking this. . .

instead of this. . .

Need I say more?

(Oh yeah. My husband is still unemployed. That hurts, too.)

The Prodigal Son Returns (and other ramblings including a Vomit Update) : )

Thank you for all your prayers! Duke has returned. He has been cohabiting with the neighbor's pit bull, poodle, and new puppy. How can we compete with that? He returns home to eat, and then prefers to go play with the neighbors. . .

Kyler had a stomach bug on Wednesday. Kady got it late Wednesday/early Thursday. It turns out it is easiest to just hold the 2-year-old over the toilet AND hold her arms down (or else she's trying to put her hands in the icky toilet. . .). Just sayin'.

Thankfully, we're well again, I think. . .I was amazed at how selfish I could be when my kids were sick. . .My mom was never like that! I remember her taking off work, scrubbing whatever, and fixing us whatever we wanted to eat/drink. I really had to battle the inconvenience feelings. It really was not the "right day" for Kyler to get sick! I had other things I needed to be doing. . .I. . . As if my son wanted to be sick! I wish I could be a better mom. I wish I could be so much less selfish than I obviously was this week. . .Anyone else ever have those feelings?

Favorite memory of being sick when I was little: 1) my dad brought me a Hershey's bar (because I was sick. If I hadn't been sick, it would have been Snickers. . .) 2) my mom stayed home with us and let us watch anything we wanted on tv and fed us chicken noodle soup, 7-up, and popsicles.

Weekend update

I'm feeling so SNL after typing that title! Speaking of which, I have a very unscientific way of aging a person. Ask them who their favorites were on Saturday Night Live. Try it. (Tie: Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, by the way!)

Moving on: We're headed to see Kevin shortly. I think I'll be making weekend posts for a change--yea, me! I've got some cute stuff coming up from Kyler's Veteran's Day program at school. Let me just say my son didn't get his rhythm from me. . .or his dad. . .because we have NONE. Zilch. Nada. It has to be one of those "milkman traits" he has.

Also, I've made my Christmas cards this year. (Just go back and read that sentence, will ya? Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!) I'll be doing some shopping for the finishing touches on those this weekend, as well. (I bought local for all the other parts, and that is my theme for this Christmas: "Buy local when you can." (Which can be tough in a small town!)

I linked to Stop and Smell the Chocolates--don't you love the name!? Check out her recipe for chocolate chip cheesecake!

Two of my bloggy friends (Amy--ByHisGrace and Elizabeth--findingHimbigger) left for Branson this weekend. . .Do you think they're having a secret bloggy convention that they didn't tell us about? Nah. . .they'd never do that. . .would they?

That's all I can think of for now. I've got 2 hours before I draw a name in the giveaway. I'll let you know the winners as soon as I post on Kev's computer.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND!

Updates on our Life (w/pics!)

So, what have we been up to, you ask. Oh, just hanging around mostly. (sorry it's sideways--so's our life most days!)Yes, as a matter of fact ditching the baba is going well. . . er, totally dependent on your definition of "well," of course.

We've survived all our birthday parties for one more year. . .

Inappropriate presents were given by family members. . .(yes, that's a knife, and yes, that's a can of Spaghetti O's)

Kyler's reading skills continue to improve. His teacher (and his parents) are very proud of him! He's a great kid.

Well, that's it with us. . .We're off now.

How about y'all?