Kamryn's First Solo Trip to the Mall

I haven't had internet for over a week and before that I was on vacation and before that I was hanging out with mom and Bunk in the hospital and before that....well you get the picture.

Anyways, one day a few weeks ago Kam asked if she could go to the mall with the two girls down the street.  I wracked my brain trying to think of what kind of trouble could she get herself into.  As you know, girls are so different from boys.  When it was the boys asking to do something with friends my brain jumped to more boy things....like catching things on fire or something involving fireworks like Spuds here.  But as she is the first girl we have, I innocently gave her $20 and told her to have fun.

Oh stupid me!

A few hours later, my innocent little 11 year old Kamryn came strutting through the front door carrying a cute little pink bag from Victoria Secret.    I literally felt the earth hesitate in its rotation.  This image is permanently burned into my brain.

Me: Kamryn, what on earth did you buy from Victoria Secret?!?

Kam: A bottle of body spray, it was on clearance for $2.

Ok, I can live with that.

Me: What else did you get?

Kam: Lip gloss and lunch.

Me: Are you wearing makeup?

Kam (with an eyeroll): Just a little big.

Me: Did you brush your hair this morning?

Kam: No

( my 11 year old is still in there)

Me: You know wearing makeup kind of losses something when you are sporting a big rats nest in your hair?

Kam: Mmmooommm!!

So she took her new treasures to her room and I plopped down at the kitchen table trying really hard to think of what other stores I forgot were at the mall that she may have browsed through.

I can tell you that I am not ready for this.  I don't have the energy to survive another teen, especially of the female variety, and this is only the beginning!

What is a full nights sleep? I forget...

A full nights sleep around here has become pretty nonexistent.  I totally forget what that is.  First, I have found that my aging bladder is not my friend.  I am guaranteed a minimum of 2 trips to the bathroom each night just for that.  But I also share this house with an insomniac.  Bryttaney does NOT sleep!  So while the rest of us are sleeping she is wandering the house doing odd things.  Like randomly flushing toilets, doing laundry (no, she doesn't know how to do it, but knows how to put stuff in, start it, get bored 1/2 way through a cycle and toss the sopping wet, still full of suds, items into the dryer), play with the dogs or cats, etc.  But on a positive note, she no longer leaves the house at 2 in the morning and no longer tries to put the cat into the refrigerator or the mailbox.

I don't know why, but I tend to take the brunt of it on myself.  Must be a mom thing.  I sleep in this 1/2 sleep area of my brain and sense when she is doing something and jump up to try and deter her before she wakes up anyone else.

An example:

Our satellite is connected to her TV, so whatever is on our TV is also playing on hers.

Recently I heard her door open so I roll over in bed as she enters the room.  She is listening to her MP3 player at its loudest volume setting, as she "whispers":

"Can I change the channel?" 

I inch my arm out from under the blanket and sign "yes" to her.

So naturally she turns the light on (duh...she can't see my signing hands in the dark, yet you will catch me doing it at least once a week) and "whispers":

"What?" 

So I put my I finger to my lips to quiet her, point at dad sleeping on the other side of the bed, and sign "yes" again.

She turns out the light, turns the TV on, switches the channel and then loudly "whispers":

"I forgot to take my medicine.  Two pills, at bedtime, by mouth."

So I tell her to take it now.  I roll over and see that is is 3:30 in the morning, to close to her next dose so I tell her to forget it, don't take it now.  To which she "whispers"

"See I told you!" 

Other things that she like to share with me at 3am:

• Every level she beats on any Nintendo DS or Wii game she is playing
• That the dog is drinking out of the toilet
• That said toilet is overflowing
• Today's date
• Yesterday date
• Wants to know what we are having for dinner
• That the dog or cat has puked somewhere
• That she has lost the rubber piece that goes on the ear buds of her headphones (have I mentioned she has a severe hearing loss?).  This usually results in my crawling around her room on my hands and knees looking for said rubber piece at all hours of the night...
• Things she has lost in her room and has rediscovered while looking for something else
• Etc, etc, etc....

I don't know how Robin sleeps through this, but he does...

McD's and Toilets, Oh my...

So today I was looking through some of my pictures from a few years ago and came across these.  In 2006 we decided to remodel the downstairs bathroom by completely gutting it and starting over.  We took out everything but the bathtub.  So these pictures are from the end of one of the days...

Lets start with the obvious and hysterical...yes that is Kamryn in the family room kneeling on the toilet and using the tank as her table for her McD's, because who doesn't like to dip nuggets without a good base?

Here is another view of the same thing, but even better because it shows how we are using the toilet as a table and watching cartoons at the same time while sitting in the family room.  And check out Matt sitting in an old preschool chair!  Do you think Kamryn washed her hands before eating or does it really matter at this point?

And you have totally got to love this one because they are all laughing at the cartoons on the tv and do you notice that Miss Kamryn is now licking the dipping sauce off her fingers, while sitting on the toilet in the family room.

Just when you think you might be up for parent of the year pictures like these surface lol.  Well, its 4 years later and Kamryn is still thriving so I guess it was ok :o) 

Dog Names

If you've known us very long I'm sure you have heard me tell this story a million times once or twice, but something that happened this week made me think of it again.

About 5 years ago we got a new puppy that is a  border collie/black lab mix.  We told Brytt that she could name the new puppy whatever she wanted.  While she was processing that, we went to the store to buy a few puppy essentials, including a new collar.  We grabbed a pretty pink one and tossed it in the cart.  It was at that moment that Brytt told us the new dogs name.... "Medium".  Why?  Because that's what the collar said....medium (whose idea was it to teach her to read?).  And no amount of trying to explain that medium was the size and not the name was going to work on her.  We suggested a number of new names over the next few days and she would instantly go find the collar package and show it to us...right there where the dogs name was....medium.  We finally gave up and started calling the poor dog Medium.  And we get ALOT of interesting looks from other people when we go to the dog park.  So when we got Maya, our Husky/Akita mix a few years later, we had the collar bought and packaging in the trash before we even brought the new puppy home, no way was I going to have a dog named "Large" too.  :O)

So now I bet you are wondering what happened this week to remind me of the dog collar package. 

Well, we have had Maya in the vet a few times over the past week and a half and she has come home on a few different medications.  The name on the bottle says...."Maya/Canine", so Brytt asked me if that was Maya's last name...Canine.  So I explained the whole dogs are canines and cats are felines as best I could.  I was so proud of myself, I really thought she got it.  Apparently it was something she had obsessed about during the night, because the next morning she looked at me and said..."Is Winston's last name Canine too?"  Winston would be our deceased Beagle.  So much for my fabulous canine/feline talk....

Great Sand Dunes

This is a video of Robin at the Sand Dunes being...well... Robin.  Of course he tells everyone that I pushed him lol, but we all know better :O).  Yesterday we went to the Great Sand Dunes (obviously) and hiked up the dunes (lol...more like crawled and clawed our way to the first ridge then called it good!).  We took a sled with us but it didn't work so great, bummer, because poor Robin drug that stupid sled all over the place for us and it didn't work.


I was amazed at the number of people that were there, it was packed.  After our 'hike' we changed into our swimsuits and played in the creek.  It was really windy out and sand blew everywhere, that kinda sucked and really burns on the bare skin.  We are sporting some interesting sunburns today.  I love looking in the mirror the next morning and seeing all the places I missed with the sunscreen lol!  We drove home through Buena Vista, we were going to stop at the Hot Springs there, but it costs like $17 for adults and $10 for kids, talk about a rip off!  So we got ice cream, played at the park and came home.


We unloaded the truck and took showers when we got home.  It amazes me that Robin, Kam and I had a Sand Dune each in our suits, shoes, hair and ears and Brytt didn't have a speck of sand on her lol.  She has skills :O)


Here are a few pics of our day:

These last 3 are of the fire that is burning north of the dunes.

Remote Keyless Entry

Its summer and I'm loving it. I think the absolutely best part is being around the girls so much, especially Bryttaney. Her mind works non-stop and the things she says are a hoot. Half of them you have to be here for and the half of those, you have to really know Bryttaney to get.


Last week we were heading out to see the neurologist for her checkup. My hands were full and she had the remote keyless entry in her hands. She pushes the button one time and it unlocks my door so I get in. She is standing outside her door yelling at me to let her in because her door is locked...keep in mind that she is holding the keys in her hands. So I unlock her door and she climbs in griping at me because I didn't let her in.


So I give her a quick lesson on the remote. If you hit it one time only the driver door opens. If you hit it 2 times then all the doors open. Ok...we get it now.


So after her appointment we go to Robins work to see if he can go to lunch with us. We get out to the car and he has the button. He hits it 2 times and he and I get in the vehicle. Bryttaney, with her awesome timing, had tried to open her door at the same time he hit the button, so of course it didn't unlock. So again, she is left standing outside of a locked door yelling "Dad, you bunghead (a word she made up I believe) you have to push the button 2 times!!!" So he got an earful all the way to McDonalds on how you have to push the button 2 times to unlock the door! I don't think I'm going to take on the challenge of trying to explain what went wrong this time :O)

Its me again...

I really stink at keeping this current, don't I? All is well here...we just finished Spring Break and are really looking forward to summer...I am ready to sleep in and do nothing for a few weeks lol. And maybe I can keep up with my blog better that way!

I did get a little bit of digi scrapping done tonight. Here are the girls...I had to make them stop fighting for a second so I could snap this lol!

The template I used was Pencil Lines 126 by Michelle Filo for Pencil Lines and the paper and elements were from the Pink October Free Kit by Two Peas Digital Designers.

Wow...its been a whole year!

I can't believe that its been a whole year since I have posted here. Amazing how quickly life seems to pass sometimes! Of course, I am probably the only person who ever comes here so I am sure no one has noticed lol. There have been so many changes around here that its not even funny. Matt left in July, he is now officially a sailor in the Navy. We just got back from a long weekend in Chicago visiting him. School has started and I am already ready for summer break...or at the very least a snow day!

Mr. T-Bird

As a part of the big homecoming week excitement the high school as a competition called "Mr. T-Bird", which is basically the male version of Miss America lol. Matt decided to strut his stuff and compete against 14 other guys for the title of Mr. T-Bird.

The evening began with the "Boxer" event:

(yes...that is my son up on stage in his Sponge Bob Boxers lol...)

This was followed by "Talent" where Matt and his friend Shawn did a dance skit/routine to "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Trace Adkins:

Followed by "Formal Wear" where they strut their stuff in a tux:

Ending with the dance competition where they danced as a group:

He didn't win but we still got a kick out of the whole thing lol.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went a field trip with Kamryns Girl Scout troop to the Happy Apple Farm in Penrose. We went on a hay ride out to the pumpkin fields, picked our pumpkins, then got a ride back to the farm house...

Matt...

As if school and work didn't keep him busy enough...Matt decided to take on 2 sports this fall. He played soccer, where he ended up playing goalkeeper alot, and also participated on the Cross Country team...



....and yes, he did dye his hair black...

Kamryns 9th Birthday

This year for Kamryns Birthday we all kind of made out. We got a limo (thanks Jeff!!) and met a bunch of Kams friends at the school with it. We drove them around town a bit, stopped to play at a park for about 15-20 minutes, then drove around a little more. We had 11 kids in all. When we were finished we took them back to our house for pizza and cake. Then the adults (minus Robin because someone had to stay with the kids lol) went for a little spin in the limo. All in all I think it was a fabulous day!!

Birthday girl...





Me and Bunk...


Chuck and Pat...


And finally, anyone want to take a guess at how many DECADES these 2 have been divorced??...

Maya

We have a new baby in the family! For years, all Bryttaney has talked about wanting has been a snow dog. In July, some coworkers of Robins found out that their Husky was pregnant (the daddy is an Akita) and we started considering the possibility of a new puppy. On July 28th she had 9 puppies! When they were 4 weeks old we took the girls over for a look. Of course Kamryn picked a totally different puppy from the one that Robin, Brytt, Matt and I wanted. So I made a deal with Kamryn, told her that if we took this one she could name her ;) We picked her up a little over 2 weeks ago. She is now 9 weeks old and I think she has doubled in size...she is going to be a big girl!

These pics were taken a week ago:





This one was taken yesterday...she was enjoying a belly rub from Grandma Lin :o)

One Proud Mama...

Brytt came home from school at the end of the 1st week saying that she was going to join girls track. She turned in all her paperwork and started practice. Everyday that first week she came home and told me she was done...she was not going back. Then the next morning she would wake up telling us she needed her water bottle she was going to track lol. We are so amazed and so proud of her. I never in my wildest dreams ever thought she would do something like this. Remember...this is the little girl that doctors said would never walk or talk and maybe we should consider turning off life support! The first few weeks I would sit and watch practice and just cry. The first meet was so cool. She looked so grown up in her purple 'pride suit' as she calls it. That first meet she on her jumps she would jump so soon that she barely made into the sand. Now that we have been doing it for awhile she has really improved. She is so proud of herself (as she should be). These pictures are from the first meet. The 2nd two are her with one of the interpreters. She was just so, so very happy and I love those pictures because you can just see the excitement all over her face!

Winston

Poor Winston hasn't been feeling well lately. He has had this cough that makes him sound like a goose. Last week I finally told Robin that we need to take him in the vet, after all, we have had him longer then both the girls! He is over 15 years old so we went in prepared for the worst. He has lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes) which didn't surprise us at all. Because his lymph nodes are swollen it is pushing on his trachea which is causing the cough. The vet said that since, amazingly, he has no problems getting around, walking up and down stairs or getting on the couch, is still eating fine and has control of his bladder, etc that his quality of life still seems fine (for his age). So she put him on steroids to shrink the nodes and swelling. The cough has gone away with the steroids, so that is good. I know that the day that we have to put him down is fast approaching, we are just thankful it wasn't this week!

Here is a picture of Winston sleeping on the couch the other day and a pic of him with the kids they day before his appointment (just in case he didn't come home with us).

Labor Day

We are officially back into the swing of things around here. Everyone going 100 different directions lol. School is going well for all of us. My birthday was the 25th and Robin, Matt, Brytt, Kam and I went to Red Lobster for dinner with Chuck and Pat, then cake at their house. After that we went to my moms for more cake lol. We went camping this past weekend in our usual spot up off Wagontongue. It was just us and my dad. We took a bunch of sparklers and tried this technique with the camera that I got off of http://2peasinapicture.blogspot.com/.
I was very pleased even though I had a few issues with my camera.


Matt


Kamryn


Tracy


My dad (maybe that is a J for Jenny lol)


Matt writing his name...how cool is that??

Where did summer go?

So Brooks tag made me realize it has been awhile since I blogged. Lets see...summer for me officially ends on Monday. I have to report to work at 7:30. The kids all go back on Thursday. Kamryn is more then ready, Brytt has accepted it, not sure where Matt stands lol.

Last week we bought a Wii and what a stinkin blast that thing is lol. I think I pulled a muscle in my thigh yesterday either playing golf or bowling :o) I swear if we had gotten that in June I may have lost some weight this summer.

We had a blast at the lake this past weekend. It was hot, hot, hot and of course the only night we were there we had thunder storms, wind and rain. But during the day it was hot and we played in the water alot. Bryttaney actually road on a tube behind the boat going full speed. I have great video of it! We all came home sun burnt and dirty.

Notice all the blankets drying on the line from the storm the night before...

Brytt in her tube with her grandpa.

Monday I woke up with a sore throat and by Tuesday it was worse so I went to the doc to find out I have strep...yippee! Nothing like spending my last week of summer vacation sick!

I took these pictures of my silly cat a few weeks ago. She was trying so hard to get comfy in this little whicker basket that holds our remote controls.