Little's Life

Little's Life

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Snake in the Grass

Mister is quite possibly the worst vacation taker on the planet.  He has been on leave for 3 days and has gone to work 4 times, one of which was at 5:45 this morning FOR PT!!!!!!!!! (*pt means physical training, for you non-military folks)  Oh, yeah, that's right - my husband voluntarily went in for pt this morning during his vacation days.  LEAVE FAIL.  Ugh.  We'll see how he copes not being able to go into the office for 2 weeks while in Arkansas here in a few days.  He just might have a stroke.  Is there some clinical term for the extreme co-dependancy  once has with his office chair?  Not workaholic, this is much more severe than that.  Tanya, Liz, are ya'll reading this?  *Slams head into brick wall.

So a month or so ago, I posted about how it had been a year since Little's diagnosis and how living with that kind of knowledge about what is happening and is coming down the road for him has taken a toll on me and my health. I talked about needing a break and wishing I could afford a gym with good child care and how maybe that would help out with the chronic headaches I've had since October.  Well never did I imagine that I would receive a message in my Facebook inbox telling me that We3Ps were now active members of the Hopkinsville, Kentucky YMCA.  Yup, all 3 of us full on, all membership dues paid through September 2013, Village People singing, Y-ers.  All we had to do was go in, sign a few forms, and pose for our membership photos.



I gave the lady in charge of the child care workers the short and sweet version of Duchenne (no reason to break her heart, we won't be there when the tough starts happening) and Little's limitations for now (you know, don't pull him by the arms, he falls down a lot but you'll get used to it, he might climb up but the only way down is to fall, etc) and I watched her immediately go to her staff and brief the ones who were there.  :)  The toddler room has so many toys in it that Little didn't even wait for Mister and I to tell him what was going on, he just saw all the fun he could have and reached right up to the first child care attendant he saw and was OFF.  So no hesitation or split second of separation anxiety there whatsoever.  Sweet.  So we left him in there and went on our tour.  From the cardio room, you can see into the toddler room.  So that will help me out until I get used to leaving him in the care of others.  SO...........................I'm the one with the separation anxiety.  lol

The programs I'll be jumping on during my year at the Y:

  • child care while I'm in the gym or one of the free classes like spin or yoga *for free!
  • 6 weeks with a trainer to help you figure out a fitness plan *for free!
  • toddler music class
  • fitness class for special needs children to make sure they get their fair share of time with the toys and equipment once a week *for free!
  • swimming lessons next spring/summer
  • Mother's Day out on Thursdays - obvi I won't be using this every week, but it's nice to know I have the option
So I am pumped.  Oh my gosh, seriously so excited and grateful and still shaking my head in disbelief that this person did this for us.  In the first chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord says to him that He knew him before he was born.  The Lord knows all of us before we are born.  He also tells us in Hebrews that He will not forsake us nor abandon us.  So knowing these things, I believe that the Lord puts certain people and things in our paths to make sure that we are taken care of.  I don't know if ya'll have all been put in *my* path or *Little's* path, but not a day goes by that we don't pray prayers of gratitude for you.  I truly have been blessed with some of the most amazing people.  I know I say this in almost every post I write, but how can I not?  How can I let a day go by where I don't express my joy in having you all in my life?  If I tried to hold it in, I honestly might blow out my carotid artery.  

Now onto snakes.

Me


Little



He was a little less excited when it started squirming around his arm.


Yes, he's inside my car.  LOL!  He was already in his car seat when I spotted the little slitherer and we were running late, so instead of missing out on Little's first chance to hold a real live snake, I just brought it into the car.  I made him promise not to drop it or squeeze it to death (I know, I realize that's asking a lot of a 2 year old, but he did great!) then I called Mister over to watch him as I ran inside for my camera.

He was delighted with himself.  He loves snakes.  He and Mister call each other "You snake in the grass!" all the time so for him to get to hold a real live snake instead of the rubber one he carres around the house was a bigfatdeal.  

So have ya'll realized yet that I was the one who picked the snake up and brought it to him inside the car?  Mhmm, me.  The one who is deathly afraid of all spiders and insects big and small.  Me.  The one who once trapped a zipper inside a drinking glass and left it for Mister and Wido to dispose of when they got home from work.  Yet for some reason, snakes I am not afraid of.  Mister couldn't believe it either.

Ok, so I'm placing the tee shirt order next week, let me know if you want one!  And head over to facebook if you want in on the thirty-one party, it ends on Friday!  And don't forget to tune in Sunday to the MDA's Show of Strength on Fox!!!!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Punch You in the Face part 2


Someone shared this old post of mine on Facebook today: How to Refrain From Punching Someone in the Face, and it reminded me that I had rewritten my little green card.  I was in a mood the day I initially placed the order for those cards, and so there was a bit more ferocity in them than was necessary.  I have learned over the past 30 some odd years, that sometimes it is necessary to go back with a clear head and edit myself.  Sometimes that means an apology is in order, sometimes that means I hit delete instead of send, sometimes it means I head back to the store for a refund.  I still think the cards are a great idea, but don't need to be as harsh as they were.  So here is the tamer version.



Still gets my point across and still prevents me from punching you in the face - only now, I don't come across as a raging (insert adjective here) .  :)

This is Charlene.  Charlene is amazeballs.  Why?  Don't worry about that.  But if you are not her friend, you are missing out.  In fact, you ought to go into a corner or a closet and cry.  For days.  Because nanananabooboo she's my friend and not yours and she's superduperawesome.  All the cool kids think so.  I made a collage (again, because all the cool kids make collages and I, you see, am a cool kid.  My mom told me so.) to show you all the ways that Charlene is stellar.

1.  She looks GORGE in black and black and white.
2.  She wrestles alligators.
3.  She can fly!
4.  She taught Anna Kornikova everything she knows.  (ok that last part might not be true, but she can pose like she did)
5.  You'll just have to trust me.  Charlene is probably going to kill me for all this.  HAHAHA.  :)


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Corn Starch and Vaseline


Get yer heads out of the gutter, folks - it ain't that kinda blog.

Mister has been gone for a week.  Little and I have been sick for a few days.  We went from a house full of people to just me and Little.  So all that led to one mischievous tot.  Here's what he's been up to just in the past 72 hours.


The lake in his highchair was Monday night after dinner.  He finished his Shells and Cheese and decided that he'd empty his sippy onto his tray and create his own little splash pad.  I didn't really mind because it was just water.


Plus I didn't have to give him a bath, as he practically gave himself a shower.


Kind of looks like he was calling the Hogs. :)  WPS!


This little adventure with markers happened last night as I was in the bathroom getting his bath ready.  He knows he is not supposed to play with markers at all unless I am with him.   Thankfully most of the mess was on washable surfaces, like his stomach and a plastic swimming pool.






And this is what he has done so far this morning.


 The white powder is cornstarch.




And as I was busy for 14.6 seconds on a step stool in the laundry room putting the hand held vacuum back up and starting the laundry from the cornstarch mess, he was busy emptying a jar of Vasoline all over the ottoman, window ledge, and himself.

Yeah, so guess I'll be reupholstering that. 

See it glistening in his hair, hand, and chest?  That's also what is globbed all over his cheek.  I know why he did that - I've put Vick's on his chest for 2 days now bc he's congested and Vasoline on his nose and cheeks so they don't get chaffed from all the kleenex rubs, so I guess he thought he was helping.  


As you can see, he is always SO very remorseful for his messes.

Mister gets home at some point today (I think - I actually haven't heard from him since Sunday, so who knows), so that means Little's cold will clear up and his behavior will calm down and once again, Mister will have no idea what I go through when he's gone and no idea why I keep telling him that if I don't get some kind of a break soon I might end up in a straight jacket.  He'll think I staged every one of these pictures.  Of course he doesn't get it, he just spent the past week in a hotel and eating all his meals in nice restaurants with no screeching toddlers or dirty diapers or time spent trying to scrape vasoline out of a rocking chair.  I'm almost at my wit's end.  I've been up to my elbows in Puffs, Vicks, Hyland's, and DoTerra for 2 days.  With a congested 2 year old comes a week of practically no naps which means he is cranky and overtired during the day which also leads to fitful sleep at night where he wakes me up screaming and crying (thankfully, I don't have to get up as he is a pro at putting himself back down), and I've got my own congestion, headache and sore throat (thank you to whomever we picked this lovely virus up from) and we've both got cabin fever (because we don't go out and spread our germs around town when I know we've got them).   So get yer butt home, Mister!  It's only noon - I don't know how many more Tot Tornadoes I can clean up after today.  In fact, I'm afraid to finish this blog bc he's had plenty of time to destroy the entire house since I sat down and started typing this.

Don't forget to check out Monday's blog if you missed it! - a little thirty-one party

****I am going to lose my mind.  I just had to come back in here and add that he just dumped a bowl of cereal all over the floor ON PURPOSE by the washing maching bc I didn't put it in the right color bowl.  There are flakes and granola everywhere.

Monday, August 6, 2012

A Little thirty-one Party

To raise some money for MDA and Little's Medical Fund, I've got a few different fundraisers going on right now.  Don't worry, I won't be as in your face as I was in March for the Muscle walk, but expect me to be like that every Feb/March, as that is the event my mom and I have picked as our main Little's League event each year.  But this is August, so that means that Labor Day is just around the corner and as you all ought to know by now, with Labor Day comes the MDA Labor Day Telethon.  Now it is being called the MDA Show of Strength.

No more Jerry Lewis, no more 24 hour marathon telethon, just a quick 3 hour broadcast crammed full of previously recorded segments by your favorite celebrities (hello, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and B.o.B.).  I know the Little Rock telecast will be on Fox and Little and I will be there at the station so tune in, AR folks!  Everyone else, check your local listings.

So, fundraiser number one - or should I say, thirty-one:

Thirty-One Summer 2012 Catalog - Life Simplified

Do you love thirty-one?  Do you love Little?  Well sweet!  Then you'll love this fundraiser!  I'm such a carnie.      My awesome friend Tanya approached me about a virtual thirty-one party where she will be donating her profits to Little's League for MDA and Little's Medical Fund!  The party is online NOW and is up til at least August 17th, so go get your shop on!!!!  Here is the link to our facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/events/383990335000120/  and one directly to our party, where you purchase the products at Little's thirty-one Party.

Fundraiser number 2:
The Little's League tees.  Still taking orders.  Still $15.00  Still $5 for shipping if you live outside of central or NW AR or Ft Campbell. Still blue.  Still the same logo.  Still the same way to pay and contact me as before.  Here are the sizes available again: 2t 3t 4t 5t yxs ys ym yl yxl axs as am al axl axxl axxxl The deal I made with Tee Shirt Man is that he'll give me this great deal IF I order 100 shirts...........and I am NOWHERE near 100 orders.  So....... Here they are in grey, in case you forgot what they look like......even though I feature someone in them at the bottom of every post. :)


Fundraiser number 3:  Saving Our Sons & Daughters II.  You know, that book I have a chapter in.  It's still for sale.  Just click on the picture of the book on the right hand side of this blog.

Fundraiser number 4:  MDA's Show of Strength websight.  They have a direct donation link just like they did  with the Muscle Walk earlier this year.  The link to Little's League's page is Little's League for MDA

So I have some pretty kickA friends, bc without Tanya and Kari, fundraisers 1 and 2 wouldn't be happening.


Today's Little's League Member - Diane Johnson!  HOW COOL IS THIS PICTURE??????  Diane is on a mission trip with her church in Nicaragua!  Some of the children in the village gathered around her and all made a muscle for Andrew and the camera.  I mean some of them don't look real thrilled about it, but I'm sure they are just thinking "oh, crazy American!"  HA!  I love this!!!!  Diane goes to Cambodia soon, so hopefully as she travels and spreads the word of God, I'll get more pictures like this!  I seriously SO love this picture and that Diane (who has known me since I was 8 and is the mother of 2 of my dearest friends) did something so special as her picture for me and Andrew.