Thank You Breezi!

As I mentioned before my Fairy Blogmother Breezi (so glad you like the title!) had a blogaversary contest and I won. I have been anxiously awaiting my prize and I finally got it today!!! It is an adorable hand made candy bar bouquet and a card. Yes, Chip was right it does look a little Halloweenish but I love it! Breezi wants to sell them online and I think it is a great idea. It shipped all the way from Ohio to Washington State with little damage (just a few wrinkled spots on the top). There are 10 candy bars total.... at least there was when I got it :)

I was so impressed with Breezi's idea to have a contest thanking all the people who read her blog. And to MAKE the prize herself made it even more special. It has inspired me to give something back. She doesn't know it yet but she will have a present heading her way soon! I know that my blog doesn't have a huge following but regardless it has been such a cathartic experience. It has been my own personal therapy session. I have always loved writing and people tell me I always make them laugh so.... I put the two together. No matter how stressful a situation may seem if you can take a step back and look at it with new perspective it all seems funny. For example: The Fish Blood Incident... at the time I was disgusted and frankly pissed off! But when I took a step back and tried to look at it from and outsider's point of view it made me laugh. It is funny when it isn't happening to you. Before Breezi convinced me to start my own blog I was the kind of person who laughed at bloggers.... (SORRY!) I still don't see why anyone would want to read anything I have to say... but I enjoy it and that is all that matters.

So Thank You Breezi for my bouquet and for encouraging me to start blogging. As soon as I am done writing this I am going to start on a little Thank You gift of my own. Hopefully it will turn out as nice as yours!

Going Postal

For the life of me I don't get how some people can be so lazy. A mail man is PAID to put your mail to your mailbox and bring larger packages to your front door. It is their JOB! So why is it that our mail man can't manage to do just that? Both FedEx and UPS seem to be able to make the trek up to the apartment door but the mail man... OHHH No.... That is just too much work. Instead they leave a note in our mailbox and put the package in the Apartment Office. When I tried to call the local post office I was given an 800 number that put me on hold for 20 minutes before they could track down our post office's number. When I was FINALLY connected with the local office I asked them their reason for not bringing the packages to our doors. The response I got was: "There are just far too many stairs and it is a liability."

Really? What kind of people are they hiring? If you are so mentally challenged that stairs are a liability maybe you should get a desk job.... in a strip mall... Not to mention that the whole thing is just crap. Maybe if everyone in the apartments had large packages on the same day.... but since that is never going to happen the whole excuse is just ridiculous. The stairs are all fully covered so even rain or shine the stairs are dry. I don't know what I expected when I called them. It isn't like they are going to say, "Well, Mrs. Johnson the reason your mail man doesn't bring your packages to your door is because he is a lazy, fat, under achiever and we don't want to pay for any injuries." Do you have any idea how much a mail man makes? 50,000 a year... and most of the time they never have to get out of their vehicle. I made less money working flood and fire restoration packing personal belongings out of sooty nasty homes! Maybe I should get a job as a mail carrier. Apparently you get all the government perks with no effort at all!

Beware of flying toddlers...

It was really hot out today so I decided to take Kai down to the pool. He got a little upset about having to wear his life jacket but quickly forgot about it when he discovered jumping off the edge of the pool. He would stand there while a swam around a bit and then he would tell me that he wanted to jump. After about 3 minutes of "Are you ready to catch me?... You catch me!... Ready!" he would launch himself and laugh hysterically. We had been doing this for almost an hour when I started having a conversation with another mother about swimming lessons. Before I knew it Kai decided to skip past all of our previously set routines and just pile drive me. With out a word he jumped right on my head. The buckles on his life vest dug into my eye lid and right below my eye. The look on the other mother's face combined with the searing pain made me a little worried. I went into the bathroom to take a quick look. There was a little blood but nothing to be alarmed about. It had already stopped bleeding by the time I got back out to the pool. Needless to say I was done swimming for the day. Kai on the other hand didn't see what the big deal was and threw the mother of all fits when I started packing up and heading back to the apartment. I was going to add a picture of my battle wound but I thought I would wait to see how it looks tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have quite the shiner!

Surprises

Although life as a stay at home mom is never boring I still get as giddy as a school girl when it comes to surprises. Today has been full of them! The first one came when Kai was playing with the Little Einsteins Blast Off Learning Laptop Nana bought him. He was playing the bigger smaller game and got every one right. Then he turned to me and said, "I'm ready to learn letters now." I was surprised at how many letters he knows! I got so excited that I overloaded him on sugary treats as a reward. (In hindsight not such a good idea) He was on such a sugar high I swear he was levitating. The second surprise came when Bear starting herding Kai. On closer inspection Kai was trying to pry the safety electrical socket cover off the outlet with daddy's screwdriver! I was so proud of Bear that I gave him hot dog and let him lay on the couch.... again probably a bad idea. The third surprise came when I got an email from my Fairy Blogmother Breezi. In case any of you were wondering who got me into blogging... She had decided to have a Blogovsary contest and I had won! This made me so excited that I yelled YAY really loud and scared Kai and Bear. When I told Kai what had happened he said, "Awwww Breezi is so nice." Even though I was chosen at random it was still a very validating moment. It was like Christmas morning all over again. Breezi is so crafty and creative I'm sure whatever I won will be absolutely amazing. I'll have to come up with an equally generous way to thank her! I can't wait to see what other surprises today has in store for me.

Kai's Vacation Wrap Up

Nana couldn't help but write one last letter.

Saturday, July 25

The last day of my vacation with Papa and Nanna! I slept in till after 8a.m. When I got up, the farmer was already here with his tractor putting the hay into rows so that he could make it into big round bales. Papa fixed us pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Nanna said I could take my favorite cup home with me. I got alittle upset when she started to put my bed away, but was excited to see Mommy and Daddy and Bear. Nanna wouldn't let me play with my "pewter" until we got in the car, so I played with Taz. It was a nice day for a drive. I played games on my pewter for a while and then started to fall asleep. Nanna said we could put my pewter right next to me, but I told her NO. It stayed in my lap the whole time I slept. I woke up right before we got to the resturant to meet Mommy and Daddy. Grandma Turi and Grandpa Gene were already there. I showed Grandma Turi how good I am on my pewter. I think she was impressed! Then Mommy and Daddy got there. It was soooooo good to see them. After lunch we took pictures and I got to stand up in the back of Nanna's car. When we got ready to go, I was not happy because I wanted to go in Nanna's car. I was crying and telling Mommy I wanted to go in Nanna's car. Nanna started crying too. She told Papa she wouldn't cry, but when she saw me crying, she couldn't help it. Papa said "I thought you weren't going to cry." and Nanna said "Well, HE started it!" It was good to be home. I played with Daddy, and Bear, and my toys as soon as I got home. That was a fun vacation! Nanna took lots of pictures and she is going to send them to us so I can show everyone all the fun things we did.

Day 6

Today was the last day of Kai's big vacation adventure. Tomorrow we drive up to Coeur d' Alene to pick him up.

Friday, July 24

What a difference a day makes! I woke up with a small Ponderosa in my diaper, but after Nanna took care of that, it was a wonderful morning. Got just a bit queazy after my first sip of milk, but then had oatmeal and toast with huckleberry jam for breakfast and all stayed down. Papa discovered the Ponderosa diaper in the garbage and was making funny gagging noises when he took it out on the deck. Nanna laughed and laughed at him. I don't think Papa thought it was that funny. A farmer got here early this morning and started cutting the hay in the field right next to the yard. Papa asked him to cut the hay on the second acre too. It was fun to stand on the chair on the deck and watch him go around and around on the tractor. I took some pictures of him. We all hope they turn out. Nanna and I went in to town and visited Nanna's boss Addie for a while and then we went to Kalispell and went shopping. I got my very own computor like Mommy's and I got a work bench and tools like Daddy's. Nanna said they had a big sale and that's why I am so lucky. We went to McDonald's for lunch and then went to Costco and I got new winter PJs. I fell asleep in the car and Nanna let me finish my nap in my carseat in the driveway. Then we played on my new computor while Papa fixed dinner - bar b que pork and fried rice. Then I helped Papa water the garden, and threw the ball for Taz and helped clean out his pool, and filled it with water with the hose....and Oh - I had ice cream with bananas and chocolate syrup, and I took a bath, and now Nanna thinks I am going to bed, even though I'm pretty hyped up on the ice cream.

Day Five... And oh what a day it was!

My poor munchkin!!! And poor Nana. Thankfully she survived Kai's Linda Blair day...

Thursday, July 23

Well, I hit the wall this morning. I felt great when I got up, but really didn't want any breakfast. I found out later why. I had some milk and string cheese at about 10a.m. and then something incredibly discusting happened. My stomach started gurgling and then I'll be darned if that milk and string cheese didn't come shooting right out of my mouth and nose! I was choking and gagging and Nanna kept saying "It's OK" and when I could finally breath again, I asked Nanna what happened. She said I "threw up". Not sure what that means, but I'm not really in to it. So Nanna cleaned me up at the kitchen sink and then she cleaned up the stringcheesemilkthrowup......I heard her say it was worse than cleaning up topramenthrowup. I decided I didn't want anything else to eat or drink for awhile. Nanna and I sat and watched cartoons. When we took a break on the deck, Nanna noticed that I actually had string cheese in my nose! Who knew string cheese could go from your tummy - out your nose! I bet I could get on America's Got Talent with that one!! I felt alittle better and thought maybe a banana would fix me right up. BANANAS DO NOT FIX YOU RIGHT UP!!!You cannot believe how slimey bananas are that have been in your tummy - even for just a minute. I was kind of in shock with the stringcheesemilkthrowup. This bananathrowup freaked me out. I think Nanna was alittle freaked out too when she tried getting it up off the carpet. But all was well again. I decided the less movement I made, the better. Took a nap in the chair and woke up to dry heaves. (These are Nanna's words) I heard her telling Papa about it when he got home. I'm telling you right now - I'm not a huge fan of "dry heaves". That's it - no food or drink for me! I caved alittle later and had a grilled burger with cheese and some watered down juice. It stayed down!! (There were some touch and go moments though). Nanna kept asking me if I was OK. "Listen Nanna, if there isn't string cheese or bananas shooting out of my nose, I'm fantastic!" Nanna had been calling Mommy all day to give her updates and she decided Papa needed to go and get some medicine just in case. There was no way I was going to eat or drink anything else, but when Nanna mentioned POPSICLES....I thought - That's GOTTA help! So I had two.I took a bath, Nanna and I sat on the deck and talked about all the highlights of my amazing vacation so far, we came in the house, I felt that old familiar feeling, asked Nanna to pick me up, and shot popsiclejuice in two directions in the kitchen (and all over Nanna's shirt). Good news - I am not running a fever, and I don't know it, but Papa got me Pedialite Popsicles at the Pharmacy. I sure hope tomorrow is a bright sunny pukefree day!

Mommy "ESPN"

I usually call my mom around 2 or so and see how her day is going. But today I had the urge to call her at about 10:00 in the morning. She didn't answer her phone but I didn't think anything of it. At about 10:30 she called me and as soon as I answered she said, "Do you have ESPN?(ESP for those of you who don't speak smart-ass) I responded with, "I don't think so, why?". Turns out just minutes before I called her Kai had projectile vomited all over the couch and my mom. Then again all over the kitchen floor. He has only done this one other time in his life, when he had a 102 degree fever. So far his temperature is fine and his mood is improving. To tell you the truth I think Nana is enjoying the cuddle time. Minus the Linda Blair impression of course. Nana has canceled Kai's play date today and is playing nurse instead. It looks like Kai is going to follow in his mom's footsteps and get sick every time he stays with his grandparents for a week.

Day Four

I love this one.

Wednesday, July 22

Today was a busy day. I played with Maclean and had a mini melt down. Then we came home and played some more and I had a mini melt down. Then we went to lunch for Nanna's birthday and came back home and I had a mini melt down. Then we went to the park for a 55th wedding anniversary party and I had a really big melt down. Nanna looked at herself in the mirror this morning and said something about dark circles under her eyes. Tonight she looked in the mirror and was saying something about how grey her hair looked all of a sudden. I had to get after her earlier today. She wasn't listening to me, so I had to point at her and start counting. I only had to count to one before she got the message. I didn't want to leave the park today and I told her that and to make sure she knew, I told her I was "serious!" But I still had a good day. I took all my clothes off when I got home from the park and I played in the pool, watered the flowers and threw the ball for Taz for a really long time.One time I threw the ball in the tall grass and I had to go in and help Taz find it. There is stickers in that tall grass. I did alittle high pitched screaming trying to get out of there with no clothes on. By the way, in case you didn't know, every night before I go to bed, I tell my personal secretary - (Nanna) - that we have to write our letter. I'm not sure she would remember if I didn't tell her. I will remind her to write again tomorrow night.

Day Three

Another chapter in Kai's Amazing Vacation

Tuesday, July 21

I got up early today and Papa put me in Nanna's bed and I woke her up. I had toast with huckleberry jam, and eggs for breakfast. Aunt Rachel brought my cousins Maclean and Shafer over and we played for a long time. Papa had to go and do a guide trip on the river in the afternoon, so Nanna and I just played around the house. I fell asleep in the chair in the middle of eating my peach yogurt. Nanna woke me up after a while and I did my daily naked romp in the pool. Then we watered all the plants in the green house, and Nanna's flowers, and then Nanna turned the sprinkler on and me and Nanna ran through the sprinkler for a long time. Nanna got really wet, cause she had clothes on. Tonight Nanna and I had banana splits for dessert.Good night Mommie and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa!

Day Two

I am loving these updates my mom sends. It is making being away from my son so much easier.

Monday, July 20

Today was a busy day. We all got up really early and Rachel came over with Maclean and Shafer and we had 3 car seats in the car to go up and float the river. Maclean and I threw rocks in the river and we had our life jackets on and I fell over twice. We went down through the rapids and I was scared, but then Maclean came and sat next to me and it was fun. Papa is the best rower in the world. We stopped at Goose Poop Island and Papa fished and Maclean and I threw rocks. Then we stopped at a nice beach and we threw some more rocks and looked for spiders in the sand with a stick. We ate crackers and string cheese and drank lots of water. Maclean and I splashed the water with the oars. Papa tried to get us wet when we went through the rapids. It was a fun trip on the river. We all fell asleep on the way home. Then I pooped for the first time in 2 days. After that....I took all my clothes off and played in my new pool. Then we had dinner and I drank lots of milk. I took a bath and Nanna tried to drown me when she was washing my hair. I'm OK though. I am sitting on Nanna's lap and trying to distract her from writing on the computor. Nanna looks kind of tired today. She seems kind of ring dingy too. I hope she is more lively tomorrow!

Day One

My mom sent me an adorable email about how Kai is doing in Montana. I just had to post it.


Sunday, July 19 - 9p.m.

Today I slept till almost 9a.m. Papa made us pancakes, sausage and eggs for breakfast. We pounded alot of nails, went to town and got new river shoes, watered the tomato plants and the flowers, and filled up the new pool that Papa brought home from the store this morning. Then I got in the pool with my new river shoes on - and all my clothes. Then we took off all my clothes and I played in the pool naked - except I still had my river shoes on.Oh - and I layed in bed with Nanna and read a magazine and then I went and told Papa that Nanna pushed me off the bed. Then I came in and told Nanna she better be nice to me. Nanna see's a pattern here. Right now I am sitting on the couch with Papa and we are having banana splits. I don't know it yet, but as soon as the sun goes down, Nanna is going to put me in my pj's and I'm going to bed. I didn't have a nap again today, and tomorrow, really early in the morning we are going to go fishing with Rachel and my cousin Maclain and my other cousin Shafer. I tried on my new life jacket today, and it fits really good. I just came in and caught Nanna on the computor. She needs to wipe the chocolate off my chin and help me wear off the chocolate high that I have going on before bedtime. I told Nanna to say goodbye for now.

Munchkin Milestone or Mommy Meltdown?

BOTH!

So my little boy is going to go on his first trip without his mommy. Tomorrow we are driving up to Coeur d'Alene to meet with my mom and make the big switch. Kai is going to go stay with Nana and Papa in Whitefish for a whole 7 days! Now I am sure that Kai is going to be just fine. They are going to spoil him crazy. He gets to go rafting and Papa is going to buy him a sleeping bag. Nana has already picked up enough snacks to feed a village and a G.I. Joe for the 4 hour drive to Whitefish. She bought him a life jacket and clothes galore. Play dates have been set up with bunches of kids including going to his cousin McLean's house where he gets to play in the bouncy house and indoor playground shaped like a castle. (oh yeah that boy is S.P.O.I.L.E.D. but such a good kid! I don't know how they do it.) Needless to say Kai is never going to want to come home.

Me on the other hand.... Well lets just say that when we left him with Brandon's mom to go to McCall for 4 days, by the night of day two I was starting to go a little batty. By the morning of day three I was in full on withdrawal. I am a stay at home mom. And other than the occasional overnighter at his grandma's house I am with him 7 days a week 365 days a year. He is a mama's boy to the core and I love it! Lets face it he won't be this way forever. Before you know it he is going to want to be with daddy all the time. I will be replaced with football games in the yard and baseball at the park. I have accepted this and cherish every moment I get with him now.

Keeping in step with my last minute pack-itis and a little bit of reluctance and denial, I'm still not done getting him ready. Ok ok I'm not even close. Every time I try to pack up his things I end up cuddling with him on the couch instead. I'm hopelessly in love with my little munchkin and I don't want to let him go! Don't get me wrong I am looking forward to this trip. Brandon and I desperately need some husband/wife time. We don't get it very often. I am always in MOM mode. But the idea of not getting to tuck him in and hear him say, "I wuv you mama." is killing me. We have already decided that there will be no phone contact unless absolutely necessary. We don't want him to get confused or upset. He is only 3 so the concept of 342 miles between him and his mama will be lost.


Now comes the mushy part....




Despite all my separation anxiety I am so happy that Kai gets to spend some quality time with my mom. Even writing this I am getting teary. My mom is the most wonderful woman in the world. She is my best friend and confidant. She raised me to be strong and smart, and independent. She has taught me so much. We can spend hours on the phone one day and turn around and do it again the next. Without her I would be nothing. It would take a lifetime of praises to truly explain how much she means to me. I know Kai is in great hands.





And then there is Rick. Knowing that my mom has finally found her soul mate (no offense DAD) is the best feeling in the world. Rick aka Papa aka Peepa is amazing. His whole family is amazing. They have accepted us and taken us into their family without question. Rick's parents Darlene and Ray don't look at Kai and see their son's girlfriend's grandson. They see their great-grandson. There are no words for how great these people are. Rick gets so excited when Kai is around. All he can talk about is how he is going to teach him how to pee off the deck, and take him fishing. If you ask Kai what does Peepa say he gets a big grin on his face and yells Yaaa Hooo! Peepa yells this so loudly and randomly that mom and I both about jump out of our seats every time. Kai on the other hand thinks it is hilarious.

And don't get me started on my mom's boss Ade (short for Adeline I think...). This woman is so generous and kind that it makes my heart swell. Her grandson Tarrin is a big ball of cuteness. And when I say big I mean BIG! He is only two and is already as tall as Kai and beefy. But back to Ade. Whenever we are it town she insists that we come over. Last time she took us to lunch and proceeded to feed Kai most of her food including a humongous piece of coconut cream pie. When we are in town and she buys something for Tarrin she buys one for Kai too. I kid you not there is something magical about this town. Everyone is so kind and giving. No one thinks twice about adding you to their family. It is just automatic. If Brandon's company had a branch in Montana I would move to Whitefish in a heart beat! The two short years I lived there changed me forever. When I am there I feel like I am home.

It is because of all of these amazing people that I can put my mommy anxiety aside and send Kai off on his first big adventure with confidence and pride. He will be more loved and cared for than any other child on the planet. We are truly blessed to have such a big family.

1st Camping trip as a married woman...

I have been married for almost 3 years now and a mother for all of it. I am embarrassed to say that we went camping for the first time last weekend. We both come from camp-a-holic families but I shied away from the idea because of our son. I was worried that he was too little and that I would be a nervous wreck so we waited until he was 3. Needless to say I was overreacting. Kai did fantastic! No one fell in the water... except the dog (it was hilarious). Both children (bear is our second child) stayed close to the camp site and did a pretty fair job of listening. All in all it was a beautiful weekend.

There were a few snags but nothing too major. We were woken up every morning by a murder of crows cawing like no tomorrow, I didn't have a sleeping bag and froze my butt off the first night so we had to drive into the nearest town (pop. 23) to try to find one... no luck. We had to drive and hour round trip but finally found one. We woke up to beautiful weather... and crows.... on our final morning and were looking forward to fishing. Within minutes of casting out the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. We looked up and saw thick clouds rolling in. The mad dash to pack up began. It started sprinkling but nothing too bad. But the worst problem we ran into were the bugs. Oh Lord the bugs! During the day it was bees, wasps, horse flies, and a myriad of unknown creepy looking things, at night it was moth and mosquito heaven. Brandon got stung by a wasp which was a little scary since he used to swell up like a hot air balloon when he got stung. He didn't seem to have that problem this time thank God. I thought I was doing pretty well. I religiously lathered myself in bug repellent and seemed to get off with only 2 bug bites. I say seemed because when we got home they started popping up EVERYWHERE! Every time I applied the much needed Cortisone cream (which was every 10 minutes or so) I found a new bug bite. 20 in total... yes I said 20! All but three of them are on my legs.

If you have ever wondered what 20 mosquito bites feel like, though I doubt you have unless you are crazy, it is infuriatingly uncomfortable! It doesn't help that I react differently to bites than most people. To say that I am allergic to them sounds funny but I am. Usually the bite swells up to the size of a softball, is burning hot to the touch and makes me physically ill. It doesn't happen every time but more times than not. I didn't have that problem this time but they hurt like no other. As if the itching wasn't enough if I accidentally touch one or bump into something it feels like someone just stabbed me with a steak knife. They itch so bad that falling asleep is practically impossible. So add sleep deprived to my list of ailments at the moment. I am so uncomfortable that the idea of going camping again seems out of the question unless I wrap myself in mosquito netting or buy a bee keepers suit. I have tried every home remedy I could find for bites and none of them seem to help much. Though I must say making a paste of salt and water does take the itch away instantly. But as soon as you wipe it off they itch again.

All complaining aside the camp site was absolutely beautiful. I would do it again in a heart beat as long as I had and industrial sized bottle of bug spray and about 50 Citronella candles scattered around. I may just try the old wives tale of swallowing three whole cloves of garlic before you go camping. Yes you will smell like an Italian restaurant the whole weekend but mosquitoes hate the smell of garlic. Which seems appropriate since they are little evil vampires.