Kaylee checkup

Kaylee had her 3 year checkup earlier this week. Everything is good. She's getting taller and skinnier. I've actually seen her rib cage for the first time in the last 3-6 months, lol! She's 31 lbs and 37.75 inches. Kaylee also proved that she was blessed with my blood pressure. She was running around like crazy and it was only 93/46. Gotta love those genes! Silly girl had a flu shot and was more upset that her band-aid was a band-aid and not a sticker cause it was shiny. She was all smiles two seconds after.

Both of my kids are amazing me in how much they love to draw and color. I don't remember ever loving either one of those activities. Probably because I was never very good at it. Turns out I'm pretty decent at painting though! I've done two paintings in the past year at those drink wine and paint places, both for bachelorette parties :-)

Haha, just noticed that I'm sitting in the exact same spot in both pictures. And realizing that the photo booth pics I've taken at the last two weddings I went to, I am also in that front left spot. Apparently that's my go-to picture spot.

Things have been hectic this week trying to get ready for a garage sale and a Thirty-One bag party. Shameless plug: www.mythirtyone.com/Jhood If you wanna shop, look for my name under "My Parties". 

Brendan is still struggling with staying on green all week at school (for conduct they have colors purple-best, green-good, yellow-not-so-good, orange-bad, red-worst). But then he got his first report card and his conduct was marked E for excellent. Either his teacher had a pregnancy brain moment or he must have some real heathens in his class, lol. His schoolwork seems to be right on par though, so at least there's that :-) And by the way... when did they take away grades for cutting and pasting in Kindergarten? I'm mad only because I never got a check for that... always a minus :-(

Kaylee is loving MDO as always. She talks about going to see Ms. Kim and Ms. Anna a lot. We're working on potty training still. Hoping we'll be out of diapers before the Disney trip. That would be awesome. Kaylee doesn't take naps (except at MDO) now :-( Bedtime has been horrendous pretty much since she learned how to walk. I never get to leave her room without her crying, it doesn't matter how much time I spend in there. She just thinks bedtime is playtime with mommy. Could be due to nights when she woke up in the middle of the night and I just give up and sleep on the couch while she plays. So now that she is at the age where she doesn't "need" naps, we decided it was time to give them up. Last night actually wasn't as bad as it has been. Not great, but not awful. 

Daddy has started collecting old video games cause he and his friend John got nostalgic. It's fun to see all the old games though. And amazing to see how good he is at all of them. He has what he calls the "game gene". It's quite a sight to behold. So if anyone has any old games, consoles, etc. we'd love to take them off your hands for ya :-)

That's about it for us Beans. Hope everyone is doing well!

Bad guys

So I've been thinking about the TV shows we love and what our kids love to watch and how they reflect what's going on in our world today. The recurring theme in that part of our lives is bad guys. Brendan almost always sides with bad guys when he watches shows or watches us play video games. I can't tell you how many times he's told me "don't shoot the bad guys!". And some of our favorite shows have bad guys as the stars (Dexter and Breaking Bad). So what's up with that?!

First we'll talk about Brendan...

This one has stumped me for a while now but when I think about the super heroes he loves and his love of Star Wars, who can help but love the bad guys in those? They're awesome! I don't think I've known any boy who didn't love Darth Vader at one point in their lives. He can control you with his mind and fight with a lightsaber. So cool! Same with all of the super heroes (at least in their cartoon/comic forms). The bad guys look cool and do/say silly things. In fact the bad guys that existed in our cartoons growing up have been changed to be bumbling idiots instead of evil guys that you're genuinely afraid of. Best example? Pete the Cat from the Mickey Mouse cartoons. Does anyone remember that episode (usually shown around Halloween) where Pluto goes to doggy hell and stands before a jury of cats with Pete as the judge? He was downright scary back then! Now he's just mean and goofy (no pun intended, lol). So, my conclusion with all of this is that I think because bad guys are less scary now, it makes the old bad guys not as scary and therefore likable. 

Now for us...

First, Dexter... If you're not familiar with the show, he's a serial killer but he works for the Miami Metro Police as a blood spatter analyst. He's obsessed with blood and so he kills with knives. But before you go thinking he's all evil, he lives by a code that only "allows" him to kill people who deserve to be killed. People who've done unspeakable things and gotten away with it by our judicial system standards. And so yes, what he does is bad, but he's channeled it to where I wouldn't call him evil. Why do we make these "exceptions" for something that by biblical standards isn't okay at all? The culture we live in these days is a scary place with laws bending to almost the breaking point at every turn. And so the thought that there could be someone out there who is helping protect you in a way you could never even think about much less try, is actually comforting. At least in my mind. The fact is our judicial system "works" but that doesn't always mean it's right. It is fair to have a jury of your peers but humans are fallible and therefore not always the best judges. Don't take this to mean I think we need to bring computers into the mix or anything, just acknowledging that a system that was put in place by people of faith is no longer working well. And I'm not saying that people that do not believe in a higher being can't have morals.

Then Breaking Bad... A chemistry teacher finds out he has cancer and has no way to pay for treatment, much less find a way to provide for his family if he dies. He goes on a ride-along with his DEA brother-in-law and sees a former student running away from a Meth lab. Long story short... he decides he can cook a pure Meth that will bring in a ton of money and help him meet his goals. As the series continues his morals slip until he the drug business is all-consuming and he loves the power that comes with it. So... why the heck would someone like me love a show about a substance I've never seen in real life and would never know how to get if in some bizarre universe I wanted it?! Because a man of middle class stature who is a teacher for Pete's sake should be able to afford the health care he needed and turned to desperate measures to save himself and his family. It's also a fascinating realm of existence that I have no knowledge about. And in a time when this country is trying to legalize marijuana so that maybe crime, drug abuse, and turning to heavier drugs will decrease, it's good to see the dark side of things. 

To sum things up... One of my favorite book series of all time is Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. They open your eyes to spiritual warfare. They've also caused me to no longer be able to watch scary movies, lol. Especially ones like The Exorcism of Emily Rose. They made demons too real and so that movie in particular scared the heck out of me! All of that to say I think it's important to be aware of the dark. If we live with our heads in the sand pretending our faithful lives are all that matter, I don't think we will be prepared for the demons of this world. We won't be prepared to witness to the lost and bring them into the light. 

Ok... promise next post will be back to light-hearted kid talk :-)

Better

Ok, that looks better :-) And it looks good on the mobile version. Something about that background picture reminds me of the outdoor scenes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So my nerdiness is satisfied.

New blog look

Decided to change the look of the blog. I really love this one but am frustrated with the broken sword at the top. Not sure how to fix that. So if anyone can tell me how, please do!

Dentists, School, Potty training... Normal life!

So when I was pregnant with Brendan, I read that they wanted you to take your kids to the dentist for the first time at age 3 unless you noticed a dark spot on their teeth or anything else abnormal. When 3 rolled around for Brendan, he was barely communicating and crying at every haircut and doctor appointment because he hated people touching around his mouth and ears. 4 came around and I'm not sure why I didn't take him then, but it just didn't happen. So this summer we finally take him and the first dentist we visit pulls out this scary looking contraption instead of the normal looking bite wings for close up x-rays.

Would you want that thing in your mouth?! NO! And neither would ANY child. By the way, they put a little thing to bite on in the non-pointy end, and that part is what goes in your mouth. Apparently the rest helps them line up the x-ray machine. (For the record, this office was really nice and I probably will go there for my own dental care.) So then we, obviously, have to go to a pediatric dentist the next week. He starts fussing and crying for the x-ray tech even though this time it's a normal little bite wing. They tried to let him put it in his own mouth, get me to do it, nothing worked. So they gave up (strike 1 in my book). Then the dentist FINALLY comes in to look at his mouth (strike 2). He had calmed down from the x-rays and was getting worked up again because of the long wait. Even though I was trying to bribe him with a toy from the blue store (Walmart) if he was brave for the dentist. She gave up VERY quickly and then proceeded to tell me she wanted me to take him to Texas Children's where they could use general anesthesia to knock him out (strike 3). I was almost in tears before I left the office from frustration and sticker shock at what this would cost. They have a whole page on their website dedicated to outlining different ways to make kids feel comfortable ranging from funny gas to general anesthesia. So WHY would they not offer me other options before jumping to the WORST possible choice?! Ugh. We're taking at least a month off from this and if anyone knows of any good dentist books for kids, I would be welcome to suggestions. There are, unfortunately, a limited number of options for pediatric dentists on our insurance and with 3 cavities to fix, we can't afford to go anywhere that isn't on our insurance. 

School... First we'll start with Kaylee. We got her class assignment in the mail from Mother's Day Out and they decided to go ahead and demote her, lol. Let me explain why this is totally cool and I was wondering if I was going to have to do this myself! When she started, she was only 10 months old and, at the time, they only accepted kids who were a year old. They made an exception because they LOVED Brendan (seriously, I think tears were shed when they realized he wouldn't be there this year!). So... technically she should've done the 1 year old class twice or something. When registration came up for last year, I went ahead and registered her for the 2 year old class cause no one told me different. And this year, the 3 year old class. Now, and I know I am biased, she's really smart, so she's been doing great! I think the first half of the first year was probably a little much for her, but ever since then she's been fine. So, she'll be in the 2 year old class again this year, and that's cool. But she'll probably be WAY advanced now :-) It is strange to think that Kaylee will have 5 years of Mother's Day Out and Brendan only had 4. 

On to Brendan. School supplies. Ugh. They want ridiculous and unrealistic things on those stupid lists. My favorite would have to be 12 - 6" plates and 12 - 9" plates. Where on Earth can you get those quantities?! No where! So I shared my Great Value (Walmart) brand plates with a friend so I don't feel so silly about buying them in much larger quantities. Here's the other odd thing... every year Walmart has the lists in a little kiosk for you to take and do your shopping with. Does Walmart have everything on the list? Of course not. No construction paper of any kind for one thing, and only one size of manila paper. And the funny thing about that? There is one company that seems to have the monopoly on construction paper, manila paper, and story tablets so you think it'd be real easy for Walmart to get all of those items in their stores. I finally finished my list at Staples which included having to order a very specific story tablet made by one brand and having it delivered to the store so I didn't have to pay shipping on a less than $2 item! Seriously, I am so over this. And next year... I'm just going to order it all on Staples site and have it delivered to the store.Cause it's cheaper than the local store that sells prepackaged school supplies. Stupid price gougers. The other school-related thing with Brendan that I'm not looking forward to is the uniform. Not that it's awfully strict, I just know we'll be fighting about it because he's really attached to his t-shirts and his light-up shoes. I'm also not looking forward to having to wake up at 6 or 6:30 to get everyone up, fed, dressed, and out the door to be at the school by 8! My kids aren't very good alarm clocks anymore and since I work from home 99.9% of the time, I've gotten REALLY lazy. It'll be good for all of us to get on a real schedule again. For one thing, I'll have more hours in the day, lol.

Potty training, take 2. So potty training Kaylee is, of course, different than potty training Brendan. With Brendan, we let him run around naked for a few days and he was done. Kaylee prefers to be naked. She did ok for part of a day with underwear but then the next day, soiled two pairs very quickly. But if you let her run around naked? No accidents, even when she's completely distracted with TV and iPod. This might take a while with her. I've heard from several moms recently about how their girls were trained and then reverted back. Gotta figure out how to avoid that!

I think that's all for now. Really hoping I'll get our family pictures soon... since we're all 6 months older now :-/ Long story... but I can't complain too much cause it was free. 

Hello blog!

Yeah, we're still here. Things have been crazy busy around here in the past few months. Brendan started t-ball this month which has been SO much fun. He's loving it. We took team and individual pictures on Saturday. Unfortunately our coach was out of town and only 6 kids (of the 10?) showed up. They had fun and I think the pictures will be cute. Asking them to take pictures at 8 a.m. when they have a game at 9 a.m. is a little odd if you ask me. Kaylee loves going to his practices and games only cause it means goldfish and iPod time. I've created another technology monster. Oh well. It helps at times. A LOT. Although, last night we went out to dinner with my dad and had to take the iPod away from Brendan so he would acknowledge his presence. So it begins... And I understand why we didn't own a video game system until my brother bought one with his own money. 

I measured Brendan and Kaylee recently (note: a rough measurement) and Brendan is 43 inches and weighs 41 lbs. Kaylee is 35 inches and 30 lbs. Brendan's 5 year appointment is next month, so we'll get accurate measurements then. Brendan also has his first dental appointment next month. I know, mother of the year right here. But truly, I was waiting till he stopped freaking out at haircuts so much before I let a dentist near his mouth. And of course, right after I made the appointment, he now has a sore on his lip from biting it and he cries during almost every meal. Should be an interesting appointment. 

Brendan brought home a question and answer worksheet for me and Brent for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Have to share cause they're adorable.

My mom's name is: Jennifer

She is special because: She is real.

I like it when my Mom: makes me food.

My Mom can do many things! I think she's best at: giving me hugs!

My Mom has a pretty smile! I like to make her smile by: eating breakfast.

My Mom is as pretty as a: flowers.

My Mom is smart! She even knows: how to drive a car.

I'd like to tell my Mom: I love you!

My dad's name is: Brent.

He is: 12 years old.

He is as big as: stronger.

He has: brown hair and brown eyes.

His favorite food is: pickles.

His favorite color is: green.

He likes to go to: the blue store.

For fun he likes to: play.

My favorite thing to do with my dad is: to do funny things.

I love my dad because: we go to the hospital.

In case you don't know... Brendan refers to Walmart and Target as the blue and red stores. Lol. And I think he made the hospital comment about daddy because daddy took him to get stitches when he cut his head. As always, kids say the darndest things!

Brendan starts VBS tomorrow. Can't wait! And I turn 31 tomorrow :-) Older and continuing to get wiser with every year. Love it!

Yikes

It has been too long since I posted! So last I was here we were just starting the school year. Brendan and Kaylee have both had a GREAT year. And I found out that their teachers are sisters. So no wonder! We love both teachers and the kids have been learning so much. Brendan is definitely ready for kindergarten. I'm a little concerned about some behavior things, but hopefully that'll work itself out soon. 1) the phrase I say constantly is "get your hands out of your pants". Oh the joys of having a boy. 2) following the bad kid. I am about ready to smack this punk kid in Brendan's class. He's the only other boy in the class so of course they're friends. But he gets Brendan in trouble frequently. Makes me so sad. There was one day that they decided to switch shoes, socks, and shirts on the playground. I have NO idea why Brendan would agree to that. But by the time I came to pick him up he was bawling. It was probably the first time Ms. Rhonda used a stern voice with him and it broke his heart. While the other kid was acting like nothing had happened. Ugh. Another time we were dropping Brendan off and there were snowflake decorations hanging from the ceiling. The other kid starts jumping and hitting them so Brendan does too. I told Brendan to stop while the other kid's dad is just standing in the hallway not paying attention. So of course he ends up knocking one down so I tell him to stop and hang it back up... his dad was still completely oblivious. Seriously my greatest source of frustration with school, can ya tell?

Brendan and I have had a rough year, but I think things are starting to get better. I've realized that I spend way too much time on Kaylee and not enough time on him. It happens, she's at a needy age. After tax season I'm gonna try to make a point to take him out just me and him every once in a while. And hopefully when we get him in T-ball or some other sport, him and Daddy will bond more and that'll help. Which, by the way, sports are expensive! Lol. But when we're not paying MDO tuition for him, it'll be ok. We register for kindergarten in less than a month! I don't know which is harder to believe, that he's almost 5 or that I'm old enough to have a kindergartner :-)

Kaylee is still such a ham. She loves talking and repeats pretty much anything brother says. She loves to dance too! And she is, so far, as girly as they come. We're in trouble. She found the Piggy Paint nail polish set I got at WalMart and had to have her nails painted right then. With all three colors, lol. Potty training has been hysterical with Kaylee. When I started training Brendan, I took a day with just me and him to teach him and it has always been all business with him. I got rid of Brendan's training potty cause it was a piece of crap so I was gonna buy a different one for Kaylee but my mom had two, so I just got hers one day. Kaylee was instantly curious about it so I bought some Pull-ups just in case. She had been coming to me to tell me when to change her diaper, so I figured she was pretty close to ready. So she's not doing this perfectly by any means, but she LOVES her potty and will sit there being silly for forever. She's usually sitting on it and scooting it around the bathroom like it's a car. So silly! When I put her in a Pull-up for the first time, that was it. She refused to let me put a diaper on her for bedtime. So... no more diapers for us. Just Pull-ups. I'm just really glad she's interested and we'll make a bigger effort after tax season and this summer for sure. She speaks with such a high tone in her voice that I'm constantly asking her to repeat herself. Poor kid. But I am really glad she's talking a lot, it really does help me out a bunch. Just remind me of that when she's talking back :-/

Starting to think about Brendan's 5th birthday party! I've been thinking about doing a train theme but he also likes the Avenger characters and dinosaurs and pirates... So I don't know. I'll figure it out soon hopefully.