Little Man

I always said (before I had kids) that I wouldn't put my little boy in a sweater vest. I had to do it. Parker needed some more church clothes, so I quickly grabbed a sweater vest outfit to try.

I just thought he looked so cute in it. I couldn't help it. It's not the first thing I said I'd never do and then did anyway, of course! That's life. Unexpected changes.

11/18/07

Trashy Tricycle

Yesterday as I was driving home from a lunch outing with the kids, I spotted a cute metal red and white tricycle in a trash pile. I stopped and asked the woman in the front yard if it was her trash pile, and she said it was and that I could have anything I wanted. I took the tricycle, of course. There is nothing wrong with it. Now, Parker has his own tricycle, and he doesn't have to ride the pink and purple Princessy ones. His legs are just a tiny bit too short for him to ride it well. The kids had a ton of fun riding around on the new driveway when we got home.

Rescued from the trash.

Chicken Nugget

Game On, Smoking Truck, Butterscotch, and the Captain's Bed

So, Billy and I did get to go to the OU game Saturday, and we had so much fun. There were a few really good plays, including DeMarco's totally-super-cool-to-be-there-watching 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. My throat was sore after the game. We paid $10 to park in a private driveway not too far from the stadium, so we didn't have to park 3 miles away. The seats were better than we thought they were going to be, so we were happy. Partway through the game, we noticed emergency staff going down with a backboard to help someone in the stands. They did CPR for a long time in the stands, and they continued compressions as they moved the backboard out of the stadium. It was hard to focus on the game for a while after that.

We were able to take care of the errands we needed to before the game, and then we ate at Red Lobster after we left the game. Natalie stayed with Billy's mom, and the other two monkeys spent the day and night at my mom and dad's. Natalie had to go to the ER that night for an inner ear infection. The doctor said that she might have asthma also.

After we ate, we were thinking about just getting a hotel room for the night, since we were tired and didn't really feel like driving home, and we had already made the plans with the grandparents for the kids to spend the night. So, we went into Wal-Mart to get a few things that we would want if we did stay in OKC for the night. In Wal-Mart, we saw the cutest pony I wanted to get for the kids for Christmas. It stands more than 3 feet tall, and her name is Butterscotch. She whinnies and blinks and eats a carrot and swishes her tail. The kids can sit on her. I fell in love with her (especially since we had just left the OU game, and I love the Sooner Schooner ponies that come out onto the field for every OU touchdown). Billy said we couldn't get Butterscotch for the kids for Christmas because we don't need her and she would just take up more room and the box wouldn't fit in the Cadillac. (We were driving it since it was just the two of us.) I was kind of pouty all the way home. ***Billy bought Butterscotch at Target Monday when we were back in OKC. The girls will flip out Christmas morning when they see Butterscotch by the tree from Santa. Oh, and I'm not pouty anymore. Spoiled?***

We also purchased Parker's big-boy bed before the game. Because I already knew what I wanted, it only took about 5 minutes to walk in, tell them what I wanted, look at what they had, and buy it. We had to go back Monday to pick it up in Billy's truck. That trip turned into a big adventure.

We took Parker and Olivia with us to pick up the bed, and Natalie stayed with my mom and dad since she is sick. We had the trailer hooked onto the truck, because we planned to pick up the french door for the new family room, plus the bed and mattresses. When we were on the interstate almost to Target in Norman, we noticed a huge cloud of smoke coming from the truck. After we got off the interstate, we could see that cars had to pull over because they couldn't see through the smoke. Billy made it into the parking lot of a supermarket across from Target. Transmission fluid was pouring out. He took care of arrangements quickly. He called for a rental truck, so we could hitch onto it and go ahead with our plans for the day without having to ask my parents or someone else to go all the way up there to pick us up with a truck for the trailer and also enough room for the kids and their seats. He also called the transmission shop back home (because it's under warranty) and got things set up there. Then, he called a wrecker (which ended up costing almost $300). Anyway, we were able to do everything we needed to do in OKC with the rental truck.

We put Parker's bed together when we got home, and it was the early hours of the morning before he got to bed. He is so proud of his big-boy bed. He loves to read books in there.

Our trip Monday ended up being about a $2000 day, not including the cost to fix the transmission, which we don't have to pay because it is under warranty. Just the combination of the kid's Christmas pony, another birthday present for Parker, his new bedding, his bed, the french door, the truck rental, and the towing cost added up (and another trip to Red Lobster with Olivia and Parker - - didn't get enough shrimp Saturday night).

So, I don't blog as often as I should, but I fit in quite a bit when I do, right? I'm even adding in pics and a video to keep the family blog reader's happy.

Parker is so proud of his big-boy bed. (I haven't painted his new step stool yet, and the room wasn't put together right, so ignore that part.)

Stranded in Daddy's hunting truck. Waiting for the rental truck to arrive.


Parker helping move dirt for the new driveway with his "tractor".

Chicken Nugget and the Driveway

Our new driveway was finished today. It makes a huge difference in the appearance of the front of the house and the usability for the kids. It makes such a nice surface for their bikes and chalk drawings. Parker was so excited to be able to watch the process, since he is enthralled by construction equipment. He calls all heavy equipment "tractor". He gets upset when I don't drive slowly enough on our way in and out of Natalie's school area, where new construction is being done next to her school. He tells me, "Stop, Mama, tractor! Don't go!"

We have a new outside cat that someone probably dropped off in our area a couple of weeks ago. Olivia named her Chicken Nugget. I tried to get her to shorten it to Nugget, but that was not acceptable. So, the first day the driveway guys started pouring cement, Chicken Nugget ran all the way across 30 feet of concrete, and I had to bring her into the house and give her a bath. She stayed in the house the rest of the day, until the first half of the driveway was cured enough for her to spend the night outside. Today, she spent the whole day inside again. It's nice to have a cuddly cat around again. Since we got rid of Miss Sparky, I have missed cuddling with a sweet cat. When we got rid of Macy last month, it was so hard, but it needed to be done. It really is nice not having a cat inside the house anymore. I like having Chicken Nugget outside. Parker really loves her, and he is Chicken Nugget's favorite person, I think. They have a lot of fun together.

Tomorrow is Parker's 2nd birthday, but we will not celebrate until the evening before Thanksgiving, when more family will be here to help celebrate. Billy and I are celebrating tomorrow by going to the OU game and taking care of some errands in OKC before the game. Hopefully, we'll come home with Parker's new big-boy bed.

A few weeks ago, I asked Natalie to lay out the city-scene rug for Parker when he had a bunch of cars and trucks in a pile he was playing with, and she said, "Sure, I'd be delighted to." It cracked me up.

Trick or Treat

The kids had a good time for Halloween this year. We went to see some people we know, and of course we did the rounds with the grandparents and uncle here, etc. We also went to the two car lots that were doing a haunted drive-thru thing, and Nat and Olivia were creeped out. Billy told the guy with the chainsaw and mask that he could have me, so the guy opened my door and grabbed me and freaked me out with the chainsaw. Then, another creepy one scared me when we were leaving, and I was watching the creepy guy at Nat's window and trying to keep her calm. I turned around and the guy at my window made me scream really loudly. Billy was cracking up for a long time after that.

I had to lay in Nat's bed with her for a long time before she was okay to be left alone that night. I had to talk about princesses and how cool the castle would be if we were princesses and could do whatever we wanted, and I had to sing the princess song.

Last week at Nat's dance class, it was bring-a-friend-in-costume day. So, Olivia got to go to ballet with her big sister, and she had a blast. She was so happy the whole time. The girls all looked so cute in their Halloween costumes.

Oh, as you can see from the photos, Natalie was a 50's soda shop girl, Olivia was a little Pebbles cave girl, and Parker was baby bear. The little bear costume is one that I once wore, and a bunch of my nieces and nephews wore it also. It's "vintage"...lol. I got a faux strawberry milkshake and faux chocolate sundae for Nat to carry on her tray as part of her costume.

The kids got tons of candy the day they went to the Governor's event, on top of the candy from trick or treat night.