How My Husband (& Lionel Richie) Contributed to My Happiness Today

A few weeks ago, we got a sitter and went out to dinner. Afterwards, we still had some energy (it was only 7:30), so we went to the movie theater to see if there was anything interesting playing. There wasn't, but the theater is adjacent to a very nice mall. Several years ago, I would've laughed in your face if you had told me that I might someday get a sitter and go to the mall. That's just one more item to put on my ever growing list of "Things I Thought I'd Never Do Before I Had Kids."

We shopped for shoes, got some Godiva chocolate, picked up a free gift at Aveda, and then coincidentally passed by an upscale maternity shop. We went in with the intention of checking the sales rack, but then we saw three really "Kimmy" items (not on sale) that Brian thought I couldn't live without. While I sat outside on the bench crying because of the indulgence of it all, Brian spent more than his car is worth on 3 items of clothing for a person who will only be able to wear them for a couple more months, citing "you need to feel pretty" as a reasonable justification of his behavior.

Three weeks passed, and I had only worn one item. I'm not sure why ... maybe I have a little of my son's tendency to "save things." (He does this, for example, when there is something that he deems better than something else -- say you give him an assortment of foods to eat ... he'll eat everything he doesn't like first and save the best for last). In John's case, this makes sense and seems like a good use of executive function in early childhood. In my current case, this is stupid, as one is only pregnant for a limited amount of time, and I'm already in my 3rd trimester.

But then today I decided to wear my new ankle-length, softer-than-silk black skirt (along with a baby pink tank top from Target and a Gap jean jacket circa 1995). As I was putting on the skirt, I noticed that it had a tag pinned to the outside (safety-pinned tags are an indicator of good quality in my experience). The tag read, "NICOLE -- exclusively by Nicole Richie for A Pea in the Pod." And I thought, "Wow, all this time I have been thinking what a lovely, thoughtful, generous husband I have, and I hadn't even thought to send a mental (or written) shout-out to Lionel Richie. For, if he hadn't adopted Nicole, and she hadn't become the ice-skater/musician/ actress turned chic celeb fashion designer that she is today, then Brian would've never had the opportunity to buy me this FAB black skirt, and I would've gone to work today in a moo-moo, feeling nothing but worry that I might never shed these extra 30 pounds and/or contract the swine flu.

Instead ...

I feel pretty,
Oh so pretty,
I feel pretty,
And witty,
And GAY!
(And I pity any preggos who don't feel this way.)

There's not too many people who can say they feel GAY these days and still mean it in the old-fashioned sense of the word.

So thanks BRIAN (& Lionel!), for making my day special. If I'm lucky, then maybe later today the phone will ring, and it'll be someone just calling to say they love me.

Dolphins vs. Lizards

In a somewhat mis-matched face-off, the Blue Dolphins met the Lime Lizards. John, the oldest team member, scored 4 goals with several assists. Annie, the team powerhouse, scored 4 even with John stealing the ball from her. They made the neighborhood proud!

The Lime Lizards struggled throughout, and even though no one else kept up with the score, it was 15-1 our way by my count. Not that it matters, but their one point was actually scored by a confused Blue Dolphin.

See below for a link to all the photos and videos ... here are a few of my personal faves.

Click here for all the pics and videos.

Pregnant Purge

First, I just had to post this picture of such a classic JEB outfit: skateboard shirt, shorts, Spidey socks, and Vans. Isn't he enormous? Ack! He's so big and sweet these days that I cannot get enough. And prior to now, I've usually HAD. ENOUGH! by at least 7:30 p.m. Nowadays, I sneak in there and hover over him, stealing kisses and inhaling his boyness.

And because he is so delightful, and because I am pregnant, I worry that I might have a difficult 2nd child. There have been lots of times in John Emmett's life that I thought he was a bit challenging. But what if I just had no clue how truly difficult a kid can be? What if this one sleeps even less as a newborn, has more trouble nursing, hates the carseat even more, has asthma (or worse!), can't sing every word of "Beat It" exactly in rhythm, or ... or ... or ... !!?!?!?!?

Stop.

It's the hormones. It'll be OK. Somehow I'm sure my reserves of motherlove will immediately become activated after delivery and I'll like the little alien which is now kicking me in the ribs.

But for right now I'm wondering and worrying about a million things per second. I won't bore you with the details, but I will say that it's a mixture of ridiculous and REALLY ridiculous. So combine that with a little hormonal crying throughout the day and you've got ME, just a week into my third trimester.

When I was pregnant with John, I was stressed because we were jobless and homeless. Now I'm stressed because the home we own is always filthy and cluttered, and our jobs are demanding. Things will settle down -- I have a feeling I'm not the only teacher who despises August -- but for now, I'm feeling lots of crazy highs and lows.

In other news, Brian is ... brace yourselves ... participating in a panel discussion on classroom management for new TFA corps members. This is a man who didn't even go to the meetings when he WAS a corps member. I'm so proud of him.

That's about it for now.

OUS,

k

Our Weekend

Well, Brian did not make it to his cousin Paula's wedding (blame the storms on the east coast), but we did have a great time here in Nashville. The Paces came to visit and they brought the truck, which opened up all kinds of furniture moving and boating possibilities that are usually much more difficult. Also, it's great having free babysitting of course.

Here are some shots of the weekend:
On the way to the lake, you need to get a McD's biscuit and load up on Omega 6s.

Once there, you need to learn how to paddle a kayak.

Then you can find a fishing hole and drop a line.

After you get home, you'll probably need to sit in the new Bumbo seat and do the neb because your allergies will have flared up.

Thanks Paces for coming to babysit and lend the truck and pick out fabric and pay for meals and move furniture and do laundry!

Click here for a great video of him paddling: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goosebumps/3849441187/

Click this link for a video of his new favorite pasttime at home: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goosebumps/3850261472/ (The Spiderman Rope Swing)

Happy Monday!

-k

The children worked at the craft table while I made dinner.

Grandaddy's FIRST b/d party ever!

We spent some of last week in Newton, where we had a b/d party for Grandaddy -- his first ever! Here are a few snapshots:

Feeding Dock

Doug's new tractor

Macy and the not-so kitten (is this one Marbles or Slick?)

G-Pop's big party

Sacked out after the science museum

Me (practicing with Miller Gordon Marks, Heather's new baby boy) -- taken by JEB

JEB self portrait (he's into photography these days)

When we got home, he built this house with leftover plywood and an entire bottle of Elmer's glue. Two of the pieces are actually stilts that Brian made him, but now they're being used as the bowling alley here in his "house."

Me -- 27 weeks and almost as many pounds gained. Ugh.

The Disappearance of Vestigial Organs

It was nerve-racking but fine. I didn't have to take any dangerous Category C drugs to calm me down, which is what I was worried about. And the patient is recovering nicely, as long as there's Tylenol in abundance. He's eating well and is drinking pretty much whatever he wants (for a change). So far, his favorites have been home-made lemonade, warm chocolate, and Sprite.

And Mama has been living on a steady diet of 'mater samwiches, milk with acacia powder mixed in, and iron pills. Finally today I have realized the beauty of 2nd trimester relief. Too bad I'm almost into the 3rd.

But back to the star ...

Besides the surgery news, I wanted to write about some other health issues of late. Good news!

I haven't written about what a sweet angel he has been since we finally were able to get him off of those awful inhaled steroids. I can't believe that I haven't written about this because I feel like it was a huge turning point in our lives: the discovery of chiropractic. If you find yourself telling me about some ailment you have in the near future, you can go ahead and bet that I'm gonna say, "Why don't you try chiropractic?" It has gotten my kid off of steroids, cured my chronic laryngitis, and caused my insurance company to continually send me worker's comp claim forms.

Side Story: After months, I have finally convinced Brian to go to the chiro as well ... he started last week and had an appointment just a couple hours before John and me, so we went in separate carss. Brian feels about chiropractors what I feel about dentists, so this was a big feat. And of course y'all all know that Brian is very low-key and doesn't like attention ... especially not attention from a chiropractor. But when I walked into the office, I noticed that on the bulletin board was a huge sign that said, "WELCOME BRIAN! And thanks Kim & John!" They do that for all new patients. Luckily, Brian never noticed the sign in his haze of worry about getting his neck cracked.

Again, back to the star ...

The 4.5 year old off-roid John-John is such a joy. I mean, we really LIKE him now. We have always loved him, but bless his heart, those meds made him a little difficult. But now he is this delightful little big boy with a huge curiosity and heart (and so much less anger), and it almost makes me wanna quit my job and stay home for his last year before kindergarten.

As we were getting in bed tonight, he said, "Oh no! I forgot to apologize to Dad about something I did earlier. May I please get up and go say 'sorry'?"

Note to self: Close your mouth; flies are getting in there.

YES! Go say that to dad, and while you're at it, grab an ice cream cone even though it's 9:30 p.m. and 1.5 hours past your bedtime and you've already had 3 ice creams today. Put some chocolate sauce on it too and wash it all down with Coke.

That's what you say when your kid says such lovely, caring things like that after months of wondering if those drugs had created behavior patterns which might never be reversed. Y'all: I would let my chiropractor deliver my baby if she'd agree to it. It has changed my life.

And now to a week in pictures:

Here he is playing with the skateboard ramp that Brian built with popsicle sticks, cardboard, and orange poster paper. Yeah. While he was working on that, I successfully made a dinner of boxed macaroni & cheese with 'mater samwiches. I hadn't yet discovered iron pills at that point in the week.

Conveniently, Nanny & Grampy sent a Skateboard Guy who is the perfect size for the ramp.

This one above shows him in a video game trance. Macy & G'Diddy sent a Fisher Price game that has been a lifesaver during our recovery period.

And finally, My Guys:

Lately everyone has been saying how much John looks like his dad. I'm secretly jealous of this, which is why we're having another baby. More on that later.

For the latest video, click here.

OUS,

k