welcome to the zoo

october in a nutshell

2009-10-31T14:10:00.005-07:00

High school football

Marching band

Soccer drills

Birthday parties x 2

Turned 9

Turned 15

Time flew.

the post in which i explain details about the accident and share some photos

2009-10-27T14:04:00.010-07:00

Jim had been airlifted to UMC, which is quite far from our house. His ER nurse called me to let me know my husband had been in a motorcycle accident, had an open fracture on his right knee and a subdural hematoma that "wasn't that bad, really." Oh, and that when I got there, I was to call him by his trauma name, Utah IY.

Just call me Mrs. Utah.

45 minutes after I got the call, when I walked into the ER, I walked straight to his bed - I recognized his toes sticking out from under the blankets.

I honestly thought I'd be bringing him in a big ol' leg cast home, if not that day, then certainly by Monday. But his injuries were far worse than I imagined.

He had no idea where he was or why. He knew who I was, remembered our kids, called it "a crappy weekend," but would immediately start talking like he was at work. He asked me to "get Steve to straighten this thing out," as he pointed to his broken knee. He asked me to move the cloud to the electrical socket - I figured out he wanted me to close the curtain in the ER room. But still, everyone told me the head injury wasn't a huge concern, so I tried not to worry.

I met with one of the deputies who was on scene after the accident. He said Jim ran nearly head-on into a rock face on the side of Mt. Lemmon. No one saw it happen, he said, and did Jim have any recollection about the accident?

Seriously, officer, he's laying, bloodied, broken and semi-conscious on a gurney, and he thinks he's at work, fixing airplanes. He has no idea he was even in an accident.

No sir. He doesn't.

Later I learned of another injury - he suffered a blown-out orbital floor. Basically, he busted his lower right eye socket. He went into surgery that night to repair it and clean the knee out. The knee repair would have to wait because it was too swollen to work on that night.

He spent the next 4 days in ICU because that subdural hematoma ended up causing a lot more concern than was expected. It was the morning after the crash, when I was alone in the room with my husband when he began to seize. That seizure seemed to last forever. The nurses had to bag him to help him breathe through it. I thought I was watching my husband die.

After it was all over, one of the nurses puts his arm around my shoulders and says, "That was kind of scary, wasn't it?"

You think?! Yeah. A WHOLE LOT MORE than kind of, buddy.

Only it was actually more like me crying, shaking, and nodding.

Yeah. ICU was no fun at all.

He had to wait until Monday, 2 days after the accident, for his knee surgery. He had been in so much pain. My heart broke every time they had to move him or every time he'd wake from a deep sleep, his face all twisted, and he'd reach for his knee, screaming (but quietly as the trauma and airway tubes had affected his vocal cords), he was in so much pain. I prayed this surgery would get him well on the road to recovery.

He ended up with a plate and 8 huge screws to repair the tibial plateau fracture. He lost 1/3 of his kneecap in the accident. The surgeon told me she just filed down the rough edges of what was left of it for him. She also told me that the "open" part of the fracture was a degloving injury. You don't want to google that. Trust me.

Yikes.

But here's a side view of how she repaired the tibia fracture. This was taken about 7 weeks post-surgery.

Just call me Mrs. Bionic Man.

We learned of yet another injury. He dislocated 2 knuckles on his left hand and suffered some fairly extensive tendon damage.

Wednesday after the accident, he was moved to a post-surgical room. The brain injury was still manifesting itself in the strangest ways - and would continue to do so for another week-and-a-half or so. When asked where he was, he'd answer in Houston, at work, in El Paso, or my favorite, "in limbo." When asked what year it was, he answered 1988, 1999, 2000, and 1000 (?!). The doctors wanted us to discuss the accident and the broken leg with him; talk about recent happenings with him. Here's how that ususally went:

Jim: So are we gonna stay here, or are you ready to head home?

Me: Honey, you've been in a motorcycle accident. You have to stay here in the hospital.

J: Oh. Really?

M: Yeah. You've got a badly broken knee.

J: Really?

M: Yeah.

J: Huh. So are you ready to go then?

We had that conversation several times a day for several days.

So can I worry about his brain injury yet?

I had to pick up Jim's things from the Sherrif's Office. They still had his clothes, shoes, backpack, and helmet. I shook uncontrollably - I still couldn't get rid of the images my mind held about what had happened to him that day, and I knew that seeing these things would most likely solidify a lot of that. Add to that, one of the deputies told me that I'd understand how bad the accident was when I saw his helmet. When I got back out to the car, I couldn't help but open the box - I had to see the helmet that saved his life.

Admittedly, it was nowhere near as damaged as I was expecting.

Thank God he wore that helmet and not his dinky plastic one.

My next task was to see his bike. I didn't have to for any reason other than I just needed to see it for me, so I could get to healing after all of this, too.

The left side of the bike, even though it was the side the bike ended up on, was virtually untouched, save for a couple of scratches.

The right side, however,

was missing a faring, had a bent-to-broken foot peg, and some pretty extensive damage all the way around.

Yeah. Not so unscathed.

I was really glad my dad went with me to see the bike.

Thursday afternoon Jim was transferred to a rehab hospital. They put him in the wing where they keep TBI (traumatic brain injury) patients. His bed was rigged to alarm if he tried to get out of it. The doors to that wing of the hospital were locked - you could go in, but needed a nurse to unlock them if you wanted to leave.

It was kinda like Hotel California.

But I digress. The reason for all of that was because brain injury patients have a flight tendency. In the coming days, I'd learn my husband was no different. He even disassembled his knee brace on three occasions.

They told me it would be a good 3-4 months for Jim to make a full mental recovery.

How about now - can I be worried about that brain injury now?

The rehab hospital was a long and difficult process for both of us. He had extensive therapy - 3 hours a day of physical, speech/cognitive, and occupational therapy. Each hour would wipe him out to the point of total physical exhaustion. The TBI brought on bouts of paranoia and fear - he was so confused for so long. My heart just ached for my husband.

Then somewhere, somehow, it all started coming back. And suddenly, about 2 weeks after the accident, he was showing "significant improvements." Everything pointed to a miraculous recovery.

Unfortunately, this also meant that Jim was now acutely aware of the situation and his surroundings. The hospital became his prison. That final week was the worst, but we tried to make the best of it.

We got snuggly together a lot.

This was right after he had the stitches that held his eye closed after the orbital-repair surgery removed. Still lots of swelling...and lots of other facial stitches.

We acted like we were in 7th grade again.

No noses were actually picked that night.

We let the rehab hospital know what we really thought of it.

And then we got some wonderful news.

Jim was coming home.

On his birthday no less.

That called for kissy-faces.

The day after his birthday, he was supposed to go in for the hand surgery. However, he ended up in the ER again - this time for a blood clot in his good leg. He'd been complaining of unusual pain in that leg that the rehab folks dismissed as muscle pain. Yeah. Except that it was an enormous blood clot. He had to start a 3 month regimen of blood thinners, and we had to postpone that hand surgery until the latter part of November.

And now, almost 12 weeks out of the accident -

He attends physical therapy twice a week
Speech/cognitive therapy - coming to an end
He's walking!
And I'm still saying thankful prayers because my husband is alive.

how we spent our summer vacation

2009-10-21T15:21:00.009-07:00

The Awesome Uncle Brian taught my children the finer points of pyromania.

We found freaky faces in late-night 4th of July clouds.

Little Dude's artistic abilities flourished.

Our mesquite fell victim to the monsoon.

We had to say goodbye to one of the best friends we've ever known.

Courtney became a Band Geek, wore big sunglasses...

...and started high school.

And life as we knew it, changed with this one phone call

at 11:10 a.m.

on August 8...

...during which, a nurse told me that my husband was going to be in the hospital for quite some time ~

my father's eyes

2009-06-21T08:13:00.007-07:00

Like many girls, I pretty much idolized my dad (and still do!). After working a very long 10-12 hour day, he'd come home and actually want to play with me. One of my favorite things was when he'd put my Weebles on their little Weeble merry-go-round and spin it super-fast so they went flying off in every direction. There were the countless weekends we spent at the park just because I loved it so much. And there were the wonderful summer vacations, carefully planned with us kids in mind every step of the way. Come to find out, Dad (and Mom!) enjoyed every minute of it just as much as we did. Our joy brought them joy.

Brian and I tease that if Dad got mad at you, you must've messed up big-time because you were really in trouble. But it's absolutely true to say that Dad is just about the most patient person I've ever known. He tends to sit back and assess everything before he responds - quietly, compassionately, and fairly. I learned a long time ago that Dad's love for us is unconditional.

He reminds me a whole lot of my other Father.

My whole life I've watched him live his life. His everyday words, actions, everything he does, he does it all with our Father's eyes. I love that I inherited his green/grey/blue/hazel eyes, but it's His Eyes that I truly want.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you!

And a most important p.s:
Happy 41st anniversary, Mom and Dad! I'm so proud to be a part of a family who knows how to have fun together, who takes care of each other, who continues to be so close even though we aren't under the same roof anymore. We are really looking forward to being together to celebrate everything SOON! Love you guys!

so i bought them glow bracelets

2009-06-18T12:12:00.005-07:00

Later, at bedtime ~

D: Here, Mom, can you throw mine away for me?
M: Why?

D: 'Cause it won't glow in the morning.
M: But it will glow all night long. Why not leave it on your bookcase until morning?

D: 'Cause I'll be asleep. You can throw it away.
M: Well, if you're sure. Okay, hand it here and I'll toss it for you.

D: *dramatic sigh*
M: What now?

D: I just hate it when you have to throw away something you love so much.
M: *forehead slap*

it works for us

2009-06-14T16:57:00.007-07:00

There's definitely something to be said for the traditional

boy-meets-girl, til-death-do-we-part kind of marriage.

Kellie & Jim - April 17, 1999

My parents, Christy & Jay - June 21, 1968

Jim's parents, Sue & Jim - February 13, 1965

My Dad's parents, Billie & J.D. - married May 15, 1937

My Mom's parents, Kate & Louie - married October 1, 1940

Jim's Dad's parents, Audrey & Arden

Jim's Mom's parents, Merril & Esther

Magnetic Poet

2009-06-01T10:32:00.005-07:00

They used to tell us teachers at in-services that making students write poems about books they've written is a good way to determine how well they comprehended the material. Reason being - poems use a very limited number of words that must carry the weight of meaning, so if they choose some halfway decent words and phrases, surely they've understood the novel and don't need to take a test, right?

Whatever. I gave them really hard tests all the time.

But the novel-inspired poetry always made for a fun classroom activity after the test. ☺

So anyway, last week I did 2 things: I read the Twilight series and rediscovered my Magnetic Poetry set. Then I put off mopping and vacuuming once more and channeled my inner middle school teacher...

I find it hilarious and yes, kinda cool how magnetic poetry comes out sounding all tortured-artist-soul-like.

Creative juices flowing, I was on a roll. Mopping could totally wait.

Here's a little ode I like to call, quite simply, "drool."

Notice how I took magnetic poetic licence and put the title at the very end. Very tortured-artist-soul-like.

It was then that Marlee jumped up on the bench beside me. Every single time this cute little dog of mine jumps up on something, she - um, well, I just can't bring myself to say it. Maybe the Magnetic Poetry can...

I channeled my inner middle school student for that one.

snoopy dancin'

2009-05-16T19:57:00.005-07:00

Remember how Snoopy would get oh-so-excited and do the suppertime dance?

We've got the live-action version of it. Check out Marlee's fancy footwork:

She was about to show off her mad doggy skills when Jim walked in from the garage and startled her. Oh well, maybe next time. ☺

Her in me

2009-05-10T14:50:00.004-07:00

As a child I didn't see much of her in me. My blonde hair and hazel-green eyes looked nothing like her brown hair and eyes. Secretly, I was disappointed, especially when I saw my friends who looked so much like their moms. As I grew up, though, we got more and more comments about how much we looked alike. Secretly, I was thrilled.

Now, an adult with three kids of my own, I'm finding similarities that run deeper than our awesome cheekbones ☺, a pesky baby tooth, the funky chin, and big smile. Somewhere along the way I've begun to develop her appreciation of books, reading, and education, her strong sense of right and wrong, her fierce love and loyalty for family, and her enduring optimism and faith that's helped see me through so much. Sure, I love it when people tell me I have her smile, but I hope they see even more of her in me.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you!

long overdue

2009-05-04T08:57:00.005-07:00

Been a while since I updated around here (thanks to The Awesome Uncle Brian for pointing that out, by the way!). Not only is the end of our school year ~~nearing~~ here, we've had us a busy couple of months.

First we celebrated Delaney's baptism. Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures with my camera, but I know some people who can hook me up with them. Right, Mom? Dad? ;)

Then we celebrated a St. Patrick's Day birthday ~

With corned beef & cabbage...

...and Veggies ~

Little Dude wanted a Dave and the Giant Pickle party. Any idea how tough it is to find a Dave and the Giant Pickle cake? Yeah. It's pretty much impossible. Courtney came to the rescue with her wonderful chocolate cake. I decided to give fondant a try. After all, everyone says it's like Play-Doh for adults.

The verdict? Yes, yes it was like Play-Doh for adults. I'm so doing this again.

But what mattered most was that Little Dude loved it (even though the Giant Pickle didn't look mad enough).

-------------------------

Ser-li-lous-ly, Jay? You're already four? Seems like your Aunt Jill was just telling me to soak in all that newborn-ness, because newborns don't stay that way for long. I thought I'd never have a boy, but just look what God blessed me with! Little man, you are my buddy, my reason for playing Cars and getting to watch Veggie Tales again, my little shadow, our little gentleman of the house. Do you have any idea how much I love you helping Courtney with her glasses every morning, and how you make sure to give us all our good morning hugs without fail, and the way you love to play with Delaney, and how you love to help, the way you sing your songs, that you still find comfort in playing with my hair, and a million other things about you? Happy Birthday, Buddy. I love you just a teeeeeny-tiny bit...aww, I mean a whole lot!

shred

2009-04-22T13:52:00.007-07:00

The treadmill's getting boring. I'm not getting any younger, richer, or thinner. I figured it was time to call in the big guns.

You have to know who she is - Jillian Michaels, as in the meanest, toughest trainer on The Biggest Loser. I imagine she TALKS LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME! I figure she'd be a good trainer for me - I'm a little lazy, and easily intimidated.

I figure if she can't whip me at least halfway back into shape, no one can.

So I bought this:

I'm not expecting any 30-day miracle here. Let's be realistic. But this is a pretty cool addition to my current routines. There are 3 20-ish minute workouts - easy breezy, right? I'm not that out of shape. I can so handle it.

Starts off with Jillian and her "2 best girls." 2 minute warmup - dynamic stretches (a cinch), jumping jacks (oh, puh-lease), hip and knee rolls (somebody stop my eyes from rollin'!), and more jumping jacks (seriously?).

Next it moves into the first of 3 circuits of: 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute abs. By the time I get to the 2nd minute of cardio in the first circuit, I'm ready to take a break.

IF YOU NEED TO TAKE A BREAK, MAKE IT NO LONGER THAN 5 SECONDS! WE CAN'T DELIVER MIRACLES! YOU WANT TO GET IN SHAPE IN 30 DAYS, YOU'VE GOT TO GIVE ME 20 MINUTES OF INTENSITY!

I didn't ask for a miracle, Jillian.
How'd she - ? Never mind. I can do intensity.

BEGINNERS, IF YOU'RE DYING, JUST WATCH ANITA! SHE'LL CARRY YOU THROUGH!

Sheesh. There's no need to be so condescending, Jillian.
Oh, gosh, I'm dying. I need a breather -

DON'T PHONE IT IN!

I wasn't gonna phone it in, Jillian.
How does she flippin' know?!

KEEP GOING, WE'RE RIGHT HERE, DOING IT WITH YOU...JUST GIVE ME 20 MINUTES OF INTENSITY...

Oh shut up already!

I WANT YOUR LEGS TO BURN! I WANT YOU TO BE SCREAMING AND PANTING!

My legs are on fire, woman. I'm just gonna take a quick 5 -

DON'T PHONE IT IN! GIVE ME JUST A COUPLE MORE...

Oh, geez - sure, I can do a couple...1, 2, 3, 4...
this isn't "a couple"...
10, 11, 12...such a liar, Jillian.

GOOD JOB! MOVING ON - DON'T STOP MOVING! I WANT YOU MOVING THE ENTIRE TIME!

Oh my stinkin' heck - I can barely feel my feet, much less move anymore.
I'm just gonna push "stop" right quick and finish up tomorrow.

I KNOW YOU WANT TO TURN OFF THIS DVD RIGHT NOW!

Sheesh, Jillian. I wasn't gonna - I'm gonna finish - you don't know what I want.
How does she know?!

OKAY! THAT'S IT FOR STRENGTH TRAINING! THAT'S IT FOR WORKOUT #1! YOU'RE DOING GREAT!

It's almost over? I'm doing great? Really, Jillian? You think so? 'Cause I'm working so hard and I want this so bad!

JUST 2 MORE MINUTES OF CARDIO, AND WE'RE DONE!

But Jillian, I'm so tired! And the pain, oh the pain!

I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT, BUT THIS IS WHEN WE FINISH STRONG!

Yeah, strong...strong...STRONG!

OKAY, COOL DOWN TIME, AND YOU REALLY DESERVE IT!

Yeah, we really worked that one out, didn't we Jillian? Check it - I'm totally on the way to being one of your best girls. Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, girl!

The Verdict: It took me a good 3 days before I could walk, sit, brush my hair, lie down, blink or breathe without excruciating pain. But, The Shred is totally worth it - the workouts are getting easier, and after a 4 year hiatus, my muscle tone is making a comeback. Oh yeah, I recommend the heck out of it.

snark

2009-04-22T10:59:00.005-07:00

Poor Perez Hilton. He threw a total hissy when Miss California didn't answer his question the way he wanted her to. I think there's some more to it, though.

He's jealous 'cause Miss California is much more of a woman than he could hope to be.

What a Loser. Sheesh.

okay, I feel better now. ☺

spoiled

2009-04-08T11:15:00.002-07:00

The lightning-fast world we live in today has made us incredibly impatient spoiled brats. Remember when TV dinners took 30+ minutes to cook in the oven? Nowadays, I hate waiting for Lean Cuisines that take longer than 5 minutes.

Thanks to The Awesome Uncle Brian who alerted me to this skit. Hilarious.

I wonder if Swanson still sells that salisbury steak/mac-n-cheese/mashed potatoes/apple crisp dinner anymore?

blog-cation

2009-04-07T08:33:00.007-07:00

First things first: the April issue of Serious.Life is out!

The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (www.riggsfamilyblog.com). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

Go visit (& sign up for the free subscription!) - you'll like what you see there.

Okay, truth be told, it's not a blog-cation that's got me neglecting my blog.

We're back "home" in Texas again this week. Courtney is still seeing her orthodontist here, since she's so close to being done with the braces. Last month we learned she's got 2 too many teeth up top, so we're back in town for three dentist/orthodontist appointments this week. Yesterday she had those teeth pulled. It was a long day.

Add to that, homeschooling at Grandma and Grandad's takes longer than usual - it seems to be a bit more of a challenge because this place is so dadgum fun.

Add to that, the kids and I caught the creeping crud. Yuck. Ick. *cough*

And to top it all off, I'm totally addicted to some stupid English-teacher-geek-word-nerd game on Facebook.

But I'm gonna call it a blog-cation 'cause that makes me feel less guilty about not keeping up around here. :)

oh. my. gosh.

2009-04-01T17:40:00.006-07:00

So like I said a few days ago, I've had a string of bizarre pregnant dreams lately. I thought it had to do with my marathon Jon & Kate Plus 8 sessions.

And remember all that I said about how having baby #4 wouldn't be such a bad thing?

Well, I think I may have jinxed myself. Lookee here ~

tee-hee!

Hey Dad (even though I'm sure she's figured it out by now, but just in case she hasn't) would you mind picking Mom up off the floor and telling her I said "April Fools" and "I love you" and "I'm sorry"? Thanks. Love you!

can i get an amen?

2009-03-27T17:04:00.003-07:00

cause tummy tucks are expensive

2009-03-26T11:23:00.016-07:00

I used to have this pair of Gap jeans, size 6, that I wore all the time. They were a perfect blue, soft, well-worn, and did I mention they were a size 6?! Then I got pregnant with Delaney.

For almost eight months I had the most vivid dreams that I was wearing those jeans. Oh, those dreams were so real - I felt light as a feather, running and skipping and playing in the park with Courtney. Heck, I could even bend down to tie my own shoes in those skinny jean dreams. Then I'd wake up and go put my stretchy maternity pants on. *sigh*

So lately I've been having the most vivid pregnant dreams. And even though I'm, in my dream, happy to be pregnant, they are so painfully real I can just about feel the belly weight crushing my spine...that's when I force my eyes open and feel my un-pregnant belly, just to be sure. Then I jump out of bed and bend down to touch my toes, just to make really, really extra-sure.

Now don't get me wrong. I love kids. I love my three kids more than anything in the world. Adding a fourth to the mix wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. It's just that Hubs and I aren't getting any younger - or richer, for that matter. "Will we be able to afford college?" is right around the corner. Do we really want to compound that with running out of diapers in the middle of the night, burp cloths and breastfeeding? Not really.

So what's up with my recent boatload of pregnant dreams? It's certainly not baby fever. But I think I might have an idea...

We've recently fallen totally head-over-heels in love with a certain T.V. family.

Delaney and I record, protect and watch every episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 over and over again. We are absolutely captivated by this amazing family. Delaney longs to be a part of a big family like the Gosselins. She wants to have a twin, and she wants to have a bunch of younger siblings to take care of.

And you know, all things considered, I think it'd be yes, a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too. Hmmm...maybe, just maybe...

Um. Oh dear. Oh my. Yeah, I'm good with three.

(Besides, I'm not ready to give up on my size 6 jeans anytime soon.)

I have to say, Kate is my hero. :)

chocolate pudding?!

2009-03-24T10:00:00.007-07:00

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

Delaney loves laughter and brings it on quite often. It's only fitting that she's quite often the focus of these posts. This one happened when she was in kindergarten, not too long after a discussion of how her bathing suit covers up her "private parts." Parents, you know what I'm talking about, and yes, this does factor into this story. ☺

To unwind after a long school week, Courtney and I would sometimes spend Friday night watching movies on T.V. after Delaney and Jay were in bed. One night, the classic black-and-white King Kong was on, so we popped some popcorn and settled down on the couch to watch. The movie was nearing the end - King Kong had climbed the Empire State Building with Fay Wray - when sleepy Delaney comes out of her room to see what we were doing up so late.

Delaney was only 5 years-old, with such a sweet, sensitive spirit - I knew that she'd be worried sick for Fay Wray and downright heartbroken minutes later when they killed Kong. Sensitive spirits are conflicted like that.

So we let her sit with us, but we put our spin on the movie to make it easier for her (thanks to Dad for that little trick). We told her things like, "What's Uncle Brian (i.e. King Kong) doing on that building with that lady?! He'd better come down right now!" Then, they started shooting at King Kong. He put his hand up to his chest then looked at the blood on it. Needless to say, Laney was a bit disturbed.

Now this is a black and white movie from the thirties. Blood didn't look like blood. It actually looked a lot like chocolate pudding. So every time Kong reached for his chest and looked at the blood on his hand, Courtney and I joked, "Chocolate pudding?!" Laney laughed and joined in the chorus of "chocolate pudding" for the rest of the movie. She slept nightmare-free that night, and all was well.

Later, when we were having dinner with my mother-in-law, Grammy, Delaney excitedly told her all about the King Kong movie we'd watched a few nights before:

"And then he touched his private parts, looked at his hand, and said, 'Chocolate pudding?!'"

Needless to say, Grammy was a bit disturbed (and I had some explaining to do!).

and now it's time to talk about what i've learned this week

2009-03-10T09:56:00.012-07:00

I'm really enjoying the little dude's renewed interest in Veggie Tales as of late. ☻

Homeschool students & teachers are just as susceptible to burnout as traditional-school students & teachers.

Field trips definitely help to combat that burnout.

The Ostrich Ranch made for one terrific, very close-to-home field trip.

A morning spent feeding deer and miniature donkeys sure is a nice change from things like math problems, history lessons and cursive writing.

Four-day-old donkeys are fuzzy and adorable.

Feeding lorikeets by hand is a little harrowing at first...

especially when they land on your head,

but it's really cool once you get the hang of it.

No matter how much I wish it would stop, just for a little bit, time continues to fly. My baby's going to be 4 all-too-soon on St. Patrick's Day.
A little bloggy-makeover in honor of said birthday helps to relieve my bloggy-burnout.
My favorite 8 year-old is losing teeth faster than she can grow them.

My favorite 8 year-old is growing up fast, too.
So's my favorite 14 year-old.
*sigh*
And one more lesson learned this week -

We totally trusted the sign on that one.

Good reading's a click away - it's the March issue of serious.life magazine!

zzzzzzzzzzzz

2009-02-24T13:01:00.005-07:00

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

So the other night we had a 4 a.m. visitor. His nighttime visits are quite few and far between now, and I actually kinda miss them. I love it when the little dude snuggles up in between us and his little hands start reaching for my hair. Reminds me of when he was much smaller and found comfort in playing with strands of my then-longer hair, sometimes rubbing them against his cheek. He'd fall asleep in no time. I miss those times and try to hold on to what's left of them as much as possible. So now, when he pitter-patters into our room in the dark of night, I let him sneak a few hours sleep and snuggles with us.

However, it's getting a lot more crowded now. Three-and-a-half year-olds are much bigger than one year-olds. All three of us tossed and turned until it was time for the grown-ups to get up and going. Little Dude slept better than he had in a long time, after he finally got his pesky parents out of their bed.

Smart kid, that Little Dude.

rock star

2009-02-20T08:49:00.008-07:00

Continuing with my theme of I've Got Nothin', So I'm Shamelessly Borrowing Someone Else's Idea, here's a little something from GlamLife's blog.

Here are the rules:

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random. The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

We are: Hazelnut Disease.

2 - Go to "Random quotations" by clicking: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

Our album: The One Who Gets Burned.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days. no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

And the cover:

And, since I'm trying to put off the end of our week in Texas with the family and the looming long drive back home as long as possible, here's how Photoshop, 5 minutes, and I envision said album cover.

I'm thinking we're going to be the band that brings back - nay, REDEFINES grunge. Our meteroic rise to fame will confound yet impress the critics. Hazelnut Disease will become a household name when The One Who Gets Burned debuts at the top of the charts. We'll enjoy a whirlwind world tour. Regis & Kelly, David Letterman, JayConan O'Leno, even Oprah herself will ~~request~~ beg and plead for us to make an appearance. We cause Entertainment Uproar when we snub The View. After a year on the road, we'll quietly, amicably break up, go back to our lives as they were, and fade into obscurity only to resurface on the occasional rerun of Pop-Up Videos: Where Are They Now? leaving everyone to wonder what happened to that fantastically talented group of housewives who could play a mean Guitar Hero.

There's 10 minutes spent. Well worth it, I'd say.

Rock on, y'all

~Bean

i got nothin'

2009-02-17T13:12:00.004-07:00

Help. Unbelievably blogger-blocked. All I can think of is stuff like ~

Why does the President feel the need to fly all the way to Denver to sign that ridiculous piece of ... rescue/recovery/stimulus bill?
Why does this little corner of Texas that we're visiting this week get nothing more than the "comes in like a lion" part of spring? Where are the April showers?
Will the nasty wind-dust storms shut down the freeway between here and home - again?
Why do so many folks in this little corner of Texas think that forcing a business to close is a good thing?
Why can't I stop eating those flippin' Valentine's chocolates?
Why does everything I eat go to my butt?
Why did I eat so much during that last pregnancy?
Will I ever get back into a size 6?
Should I actually take the time to do the Facebook 25 random things?
Can you believe some Facebook folks are actually up to 45 things now?
Why do I keep reading these "random things" things when I know that eventually I'm gonna read something I did NOT want to know? blech.ick.yuck.
Should I have pb & j or ham & cheese?

Toldja. Help is clearly needed here. :)

cat + computer

2009-02-05T20:22:00.007-07:00

~Please offer up some prayers for this sweet little girl and her family.~

It's time for the Phriday Photo Phinish Phiesta!

Rebecca has been a member of our family for four years now.

She is, like many other cats, extremely well-rested, not to mention, well-fed.

That's probably the reason for her enormous cat flaps.

She likes to ~~hang out with us~~ get right in the middle of everything when we're trying to homeschool.

She especially loves being right smack dab in between our laptops where it's nice and warm.

Sometimes it looks like our computer has sprung a cat head.

I present to you, our catputer:

Thanks to Carrie for today's inspiration. :)

Go on over to her place for more phun!

i have proof

2009-02-05T10:00:00.007-07:00

So we did have some photographic-proof of what we call The Mickey Incident after all. The whole story is a couple of posts below, but I think the pictures just might speak for themselves.

Ha-ha, hee-hee! What a funny little kid!

Where ARE her parents?

And the sudden realization - oh my gosh, that's MY kid!

The family tells me the expression on my face at this point was hilarious.

Yeah. Hilarious for who?

Damage control: she was immediately brought back to our table,
and Mickey's suffering was brought to an end.

So to speak.

And Vee, this is as far as it's going...I'm still not sending in the video! ;)

wanna play along? go here:

fun-guy

2009-02-04T14:04:00.013-07:00

When you're 3 years-old it's not easy to sit still in a restaurant
when you're bored, tired, and a bit grumpy.

It's even harder to be a good boy when you know it's almost time to tell Grandma and Grandad goodbye after a nice weekend visit.

Thank goodness Grandad knows how important it is to lighten up and be silly.

Because life is much more fun that way.

Wordful Wednesday sure is fun today - go check it out!