My Tough Kookie

Soooo, I haven't blogged in a while: Seasons have changed--twice. Calender pages are blowing by in the wind. School is out--SUMMER VACATION! Uh-oh, school is in--"Gotta go back, back, back to school again!" Sunrise. Sunset. Sunrise. Sunset. Tumbleweeds. And yes, my blog-mentor taught me way better than this--"post at least every two weeks", yet here I am months down the road without a post. Sad. Pathetic really. So much has happened--if I tried to tell it all, you'd definitely think that I made it up. But, THIS is not a recap of the highs and lows of the last few months of my life--THIS is about the BOLDNESS of my daughter, Rebekah (now 1--YIKES)!

On Friday, I took Kaleb & Rebekah to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and play--its been over 90degrees for the past 57 days or something ridiculous like that, so outdoor play is out of the question right now. [Blogbar (trademark!): I'm not going to even think about how many germs own real estate in that play area; I'm not going to complain about how the bedazzled "mommy club" did not invite me into their conversation; and I'm definitely not going to disclose how obsessed I am with their new, YUMMY, spicy chicken sandwich. I'm just making a minor mention so that no one thinks that I wasn't paying attention.] We went into the play area (mental note--pack SOCKS when then kids are wearing sandals from now on) and let the games begin. Kaleb dragged newly-walking Rebekah all around the ground level area to show her the ropes since she'd never been there. They played together in that area, but when it came to the stair-tube (I don't know what else to call it, and but if you've seen any of these indoor play labyrinths, you know what I'm talking about) that went up to the other level, they only went up two steps. Now, when Kaleb was around 2, he went up and all around those types of things, but I've been noticing his reluctance to do any closed-top slides or anything like that over the past several months--not sure what that's about. Rebekah sized the stair-tube up, went up the first step and kept sliding back down--I wasn't surprised, I mean really what does she know about that? Oh, but, then she saw the curving tube slide on the other side of the play area--and decided that she could tackle it by climbing UP the darn thing. I didn't worry too much--I mean, how far could she really get? She's ONE for goodness sake. (I bet you're laughing at my naivte and saying something like, she's YOUR child, Kat. Am I right?) Well, she managaged to scoot about halfway up--but OTHER KIDS wanted to come down. Suffice it to say, there were a bunch of kids stuck in a pileup that were coming from the top because REBEKAH was in the middle of the curvy part of a TUBE SLIDE apparently humming "I Shall Not Be Moved" in her head. When she came down, she brought like FOUR much bigger kids with her. And was COMPLETELY non-plussed. Kaleb (who was NOT in the dreaded tube) looked in saw her then said, and I quote, "Ohhh, We-BEK-ahhhh!" and then laughed. Then she finished scooting and walked off to play with something else.

OHHH, but there's more!

After about 10 minutes passed, she wandered back over to the bottom of the tube slide and began a new ascent. Most of the kids were gone, and there weren't any at the top, so I didn't worry about her causing any new pileups. What I didn't count on was her ablility to climb ALL THE WAY UP--I mean, it's a slide, its slippery and she's ONE--but she DID. I had to convince Kaleb to go up after her--and he did, the SAME way as her (still wouldn't use the tube-stairs). Only then did he enjoy all of the things to do on the upper level. I couldn't see her, at ALL--he just kept saying, "Webekah's right here." (His tone said "She's right here, Mommy. DUH!) Apparently, some worried ladies out in the restaurant saw me looking up and having this conversation through the glass window, and sent a little girl in--"I'm going to go get your baby!". Yeah, by the time she climbed in there, Rebekah had come down the slide with Kaleb in tow. Both of them were cackling like hyenas. What do you think happened next? I know that you see it coming... YEP! She went RIGHT BACK up there again. Kaleb trailed her. They had some kind of fun up there for a while and slid down again. Meanwhile, I sat down on the couch. There's no reasoning with that girl, she's ONE. After the second time, I packed them up and took them home. Mental note, next time go before or after the lunch rush when there aren't so many people watching me let my teeny, tiny little girl walk UP a tube slide designed for at least twice her age unassisted.

Is it any wonder....
that they didn't invite me into their little mommy club?
that strangers constantly ask me how old she is and comment on how tough she is
at all of the playgrounds/play areas that we go to?

Ultimately, I know that I shouldn't be surprised. But, she's only been walking for a week--I figured it would be at least TWO WEEKS before she started this kind of thing. Kaleb often says, "Webekah, you need to maaan up!" (Honest, I don't know WHERE he got that from!). One day soon, she's going to say, "No, YOU man up, Kaleb!" And I promise, I won't be surprised, AT ALL!


*Note--This blog is from last year that I never posted--it was still worth sharing. Now she's TWO and she's an even TOUGHER cookie than she was when I wrote this.... long, long ago!

Just SAYIN' (#1 in a series of Brief Random Observations)

Welcome to my first BRO--Brief Random Observation. Here's why in a nutshell: we often see and experience--sometimes against our will--unexpected things. Some good. Some bad. Many provoke us to spend more time thinking about them than we'd like, and after spending said time on this one, I have something to SAY....

THE SETUP:
While recently stopped at a traffic light near my neighborhood Publix, I saw that a new shop was opening in the plaza: Brazilian Waxes by _______. (I can't remember who the "by" was because I was stuck on the Brazilian wax part.) I'm not sure if these shops are popping up in other parts of the country, so please let me know in the comment section if they are.

THE "SAY":
Do we REALLY need salons that specialize in Brazilian waxing?! ANYWHERE that does full body waxing already offers them, so I'm at a loss as to why we need to have shops that exclusively perform this service.

1. I don't want walk to through a parking lot, see someone walking out of the neighborhood Brazilian wax salon and conjure up a mental picture of what they've just had done.
2. I don't want to answer the "Mommy, what's a 'Brazilian wax'?" question.
3. I don't want anyone to give me a referral to their "fabulous" waxer (waxologist?).

Brazilian waxing is not like tanning or getting your nails done--I mean you are in COMPLETE control of who knows that you've had it done. If that's your means of accomplishing your personal grooming, it should be your business. I don't want to know about it and going into "Brazilian Wax by _______" tells me more than I want know.

I'm just sayin'.

Snow Day

This afternoon, Atlanta was paralyzed by a "huge" snow storm. The flurries started about 2PM, and they interrupted OPRAH to provide adequate coverage of the days weather events. Some districts closed schools yesterday based on the forecast--yes, you read correctly--they closed schools before a single flake had fallen. I spoke with my cousin around 1PM, and she had to leave work early because her son's day care was closing in "anticipation" of the expected snowfall. The forecast was for 3-4 inches of snow. And we are shut down as though there were 3 feet instead of 3 inches. Another friend of mine pointed out that going to the grocery store would be a little frustrating because milk and bread would be sold out, since people are stockpiling supplies. Those of us from the north find the attention being paid to 3 inches of snow ridiculous, but we gladly take the "snow day" anyway.

The bummer is that Reggie & I had plans to go to a Valentine's Day Dinner/Dance tonight, and it has been postponed until the end of the month due to the "severe" weather. We were disappointed, but at least it wasn't cancelled altogether.

When Kaleb woke up from his nap--he was SO excited about seeing the snow and was eager to go outside right away. Except he was wearing shorts. And a T-shirt. In his mind, he only needed to add a coat, hat and gloves. It took some convincing (read: near spanking) to get him "properly" layered, but eventually he and Reggie went outside to play. I stayed inside--playing outside in the snow is not exactly "me". A few minutes later, I looked out the window, realized that he's only going to be this age once and "suited up" to go out and play with them. We had so much fun! The snow was the PERFECT consistency for snowballs, but did not taste like Detroit snow--it was too clean.:) None of the neighbors were outside; it was so quiet and peaceful--except for our laughter. Good times.

Tonight, when Kaleb said his prayers, he thanked God for the snow, for letting us eat it, and for "making" a snowball fight. Even before he spoke those words, I had long forgotten the rescheduled dinner. We ended up having more fun--and creating a special memory.

Her Epicness?

I haven't blogged since I started this thing, which is one of the reasons that I was reluctant to become a blogger anyway... A few of of you have asked where my posts are, and to be honest, I've been asking myself the same question. While I could make a list of plausible reasons why it has taken so long--studying for the CPhT Exam, two children under 4 constantly demanding my attention, choosing to SLEEP (read: SHOWER) during my spare moments, etc. All of these are true, sometimes they were all going on at the same time, but bigger issue is that I had blogger's block (TRADEMARK!). Now, I could have posted LOTS of random thoughts, but I couldn't string them together in a coherent stream. So it would have ended up being like "blogger's tourettes" (TRADEMARK!). And I didn't want to subject any (potential) reader out there to that....nor did I want to have written documentation on just how random some things pop in and out of my head.

Here is a snapshot of the everything and nothing that went on since my last post...

1. I was on a 21-Day Fast. It wasn't my first, but it was different. Learnings: it's better to just juice if you're not going to eat the things that you want/crave. Pineapple & celery are a DELICIOUS combination. When you're fasting, goldfish smell GREAT and you really have to do a mental workout to keep yourself from eating them. Chicken fried bacon with gravy just DOESN'T appeal to me no matter how many days its been since I've eaten! (Sidebar--the man that "invented" it should just be stopped! That is NOT right!!) There is a LOT of emotional eating going on in my life and in the lives around me. Tough cycle to break. Finally, I missed cooking more than I missed eating. How weird is that?

2. I truly understand the phrase, "acting like a 3-year-old" and why we commonly hear three used and not another age. Interesting age, three...but I'll explore that one on another post.

3. I needed more boxes to put the same Christmas decorations away that I unpacked. I'm an expert box-packer and I didn't purchase anything new. If you can figure that one out, please let me know in the comments section because it makes NO sense to me. If you hang Christmas lights in your child's bedroom, they will NOT want to take them down--also, consider it a new tradition, because you will NOT be able to decorate again without hearing "Where are MY Christmas lights?".

4. So, I'm starting a business. I actually have two irons in the fire. I'm still working on framing, but I do need prayer and will share more very soon.

5. I am seriously considering taking the plunge into the world of homeschooling for a couple of years anyway. Which means I REALLY need the business thing to work out. Anyone out there already doing it and want to share some info? If so, please email me!

6. I spent a lot of time studying for the CPhT boards over the last several weeks and passed it this Monday. THANK THE LORD! It was hard in a way that is difficult to explain. The most that I can say is that while I was taking it, I thought, "I am praying that I pass this thing, because I have NO idea how to study for it later even after seeing it! This is madness!" I'm a CPhT! Job, please?

About the "epicness" thing...every now and then, people pass on instructions to post things in their FB status (bra colors for breast cancer awareness, quiz results, "causes", etc). I usually don't get the instructions until after most of my 'friends' have posted all of this weird crap that doesn't make ANY sense. Then hours later when I find out what the "status update" thing of the moment is, it all comes together and I feel like I'm a day late (and sometimes I AM a day late). By some miracle, I found out what the latest "thing" was before everyone that I know had done it. (If I'm actually late to the party again, PLEASE don't tell me...let me have my delusion.) It was to go to Urban Dictionary, look up your name and post the meaning that you find in your status. (If you are actually a facebooker and haven't already done this, get thee to www.urbandictionary.com and get busy!) One friend was surprised to find her name, and I was intrigued enough to do it. So, this is what I found when I looked up Kathryn:

The most amazing, kick ass, beautiful girl in the word. She does everything and more, a most kind and loving girl who will never betray you. She is full of endless passion, adorable, cute, energetic, funny, and above all, trust worthy. She never gives up, and always does her best. Everything about her is amazing. Beautiful to the extreme, she is a perfect being that even the gods are envious of.
Example: "Look, it's Kathryn, all bow down before her epicness!!!"

Her epicness?! OH MY! My first thought was WOW, I want to meet that chick! What a definition...what a GOAL... I certainly hope to achieve EPICNESS in every area of my life. If I could be defined in this way by my husband, kids and closest family & friends--it would be AWESOME. So watch out for my EPICNESS everybody! Maybe I'll blog about it while I'm on the journey...

Am I a blogger?

I'm not sure that I should be doing this, and I'm definitely not sure that you should be reading it. I had a firm position: "I will not blog, tweet, or post notes to my FB friends until I have something worthwhile to say". Heck, it took serious cajoling to even get me ON Facebook (thanks, Kara). The whole social networking "thing" has gone into overdrive and the abuse is staggering...and I didn't want to be part of the problem. Enter "Tava's Reflection"--it's a great blog written by a great friend. It's everything that's right about blogging. So after some cajoling from her (thanks for the vote of confidence and I'm holding you to your promise to read it) and an unofficial vote (I'm not sure that actual quorum was established, but I'm going with the results anyway) I find myself cautiously entering the blogosphere... And I hope that we all find that I DO have something worthwhile to say.

First of all, choosing a name for the blog was harder than picking names for my children. You'd think that there would be some formula or that I'd just come up with something witty and cool--but it wasn't that simple. My fall back plan was to use an obscure Prince song, but I was shocked to find that "Starfish & Coffee" AND "Elephants & Flowers" were both taken! (And now, it's going to take DAYS to get both of those songs out of my head!) Guess they weren't so obscure. Everyone on my executive committee liked the Scratching Post, except one (sorry) and I also liked "The Litter Box"--it's the one that made me laugh. Maybe down the road, I'll come up with something else--but I had to start some where, so welcome to my "Post"!

Next was "defining" the blog... What kind of blog? Is it going to be humorous, a devotional, informative, a social commentary? Ummmmmm, yes. It's like Seinfeld--a blog about "nothing" (another name that was taken!). By being undefined, being about nothing, it can actually be about EVERYTHING. It's the "Everything Blogel"! (You see, Suzy, we got it in!)

Finally, I had to figure out how often? And ultimately I really don't know. We're all on this adventure together. I do know that I won't waste your time with ridiculous posts like: "I went to the grocery store today and they had everything that I needed. It was a good day." because THAT would be a waste of both your time and mine. I can't promise that every post will rock your world. Some posts may be filled with short, easy to read statements, that may or may not rhyme--like ones a three-year-old could understand. (This of course, is because that's how I talk most of the day.) I will try to keep it short and simple... And often enough that you'll know that I'm still here.

I still don't know if I'm really a blogger, and I guess that we'll find that one out together. I hope that you become a devoted, cult-like follower. I hope that I make you laugh. And cry. And think. And DO. I hope that I one day say something that inspires you.

PSA 118:24