Dealer

Yes, apparently I am a dealer now.  A tea dealer, that is. 

Most anyone who has been to our home has been offered our favorite Ibis Moon mango tea.  We always keep a large batch on hand - an embarrassingly large batch in fact:

This is the same tea served at Tin Star, La Madeleine, Paradise Bakery and Mi Chulas - so you may have tried it.  Yes, we keep track of the fine restaurants that carry this product.  We used to frequent Tin Star primarily for our tea fix, and finally Gene thought to look at the name of it and write it down.  Our friend google directed us to Royal Cup Coffee.  The catch?  You must purchase 24 large bags full of loose leaves at about $50 total for the order.  This didn't stop us - enter Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker and a coffee filter to hold the loose leaves...plus a ding to our monthly grocery budget a couple of times a year. 

Over time, various friends have asked about the tea and want to get "in" on our bulk purchase.  I have sold half of my last two purchases to my friends Mary and Sally.  I've been a good dealer and sold at cost.... at least until they are addicted like us.... Bwahahahahahaha.....

Summer Art

Summer has meant more downtime for Katelynn, and hence more time at her beloved art stand.  I love seeing what she creates these days.  Here are some of my favorites, with titles as explained by Miss KK herself:

"Dinosaurs"

"Mommy, Baby and Cherry Tree"

"Fish Tank"

"Dragonfly"

"Rocketship"

"Sunflower"

??????

"Rainbow Tree"

"Harry the Hopeful Horse"

Ravaged

We spent several days in San Antonio over Independence Day.  Katelynn seemed to be struggling with a nasty cold, but playing in the cool swimming pools seemed to keep her in good spirits so we weren't too worried about it.  The day we made the five hour drive home, Gene and I made plans for our two upcoming "date days" we had scheduled.  We felt very smart that we had planned ahead of time for a vacation-from-the-vacation!  We had many things planned - movies, some good meals sans kiddos, exercise, and errands.

As the day progressed Katelynn seemed more and more listless.  We pulled into the garage around 5:30 and unloaded our obscene amount of bags.  I dug out the thermometer and was shocked when it read - 104 degrees!  I called my pediatrician and was lucky to get a 6:30 appointment due to a cancellation.  KK and I turned around and left the house again. 

What followed was an extremely scary "mommy moment" when I was told my little girl had viral pneumonia, and that we would have been calling the ambulance in the night if we had not come in.  I hid my tears from my little one and the mommy guilt set in -  how didn't I know she was so sick?!  We headed home with a mess of drugs and a nebulizer.

To make a looong story short(er), Gene and I woke up with similar crud the next day.  We tried to evacuate the baby to Nanna's house and he got it the next day.  Among the four of us, there have been six doctor trips so far with at least one more to go!  Dates were cancelled, the house became a disaster, the to-do list grew. 

In the middle of all this I found myself, foggy-headed, organizing one of my drawers.  I then asked myself:  "Self, what in the heck are you doing?!  This is madness"  Then it dawned on me - I was grasping for control... control over anything!  I thought I had my little world under my control and this was a big reality check!  Through this experience, God has taught me to appreciate every day of good health with which we are blessed.

Left from Right

Our little girl struggles with "trying" sometimes - she doesn't like to do things unless she can do them perfectly the first time.  As a mommy I do worry about her in this regard; I would like her to be a bit more of a free spirit sometimes that samples and dabbles in life. Maybe this is because I am not much of a free spirit and sometimes think I would be able to relax and enjoy life a little more if I were!

One of the many things she complains about doing, because of this personality trait, is putting on her shoes.  It distresses her that she gets the feet mixed up. When it is time to leave the house she spends a lot of time whining about wanting mommy and daddy to put the shoes on for her.

Recently I realized this has not been occurring - she has been doing shoes by herself - and getting the shoes on the correct feet!  Something must have just "clicked" in her brain.  It's funny how milestones work that way most of the time.  We can encourage and teach them, but eventually things just have to come together on their own for our kiddos. 

Next up...tying shoes!

13 Years

On June 5th, Gene and I celebrated our 13th anniversary. Yes, so this post is over a month behind...that is life these days! I cannot believe it has been 13 years - time has flown.  What blows me away even more is that in 13 more years, which will presumably fly even faster with two little ones, Katelynn will be nearly 18 and entering her senior year of high school.  Tyler will be almost 14 and entering his last year of middle school.  Noooooooo!  A sobering thought...

We have spent many an anniversary evening at Lockheart Gables. Some wonderful friends, David and Marilyn Lewis, own this fabulous B&B that is tailored to provide romantic getaways for married couples.  It is near the cultural district in Fort Worth so there are plenty of great things to do and wonderful places to eat.  Since Nanna and PopPop don't live too far from Ft Worth it is also very ideal to go drop the kiddos with them (thankyouthankyouthankyou), then head off for our overnight getaway.  We once again stayed in the "Love Nest".  Apparently it used to be a big "sleeping porch" back in the day when it was built in the late 1800's - very cool!  Upon check-in, the Lewis's provide personalized gingerbread cookies and tea or lemonade.  Gourmet breakfast is served in your room.  I had an incredible omelet and Gene had apple pecan pancakes.  We both had fresh fruit, juice, and a heart shaped homemade cinnamon bun.  Yummmm.  It was a much needed break from the little ones with time to focus on each other. 

I love you Gene!  Here's to 13 more, and 13 after that, and 13 after that and....

Developments

Well, I certainly have fallen off the blogging mark when it comes to recording Tyler's milestones, especially in comparison to his sister. Lately by the time we get them to bed I usually just want to vegetate in front of the TV and take a break from parenthood for a few minutes.  So, first teeth, sitting up, pulling up, crawling... all have gone undocumented.  Today I put the big iron gate up to keep him away from the stairs and wondered where the heck the last ten months have gone!

TyTy has some very sweet personality traits that I did want to remember to document though.  Lately, all I have to do is put a blanket on my shoulder at nap time or night time, and that is his cue to snuggle in while I sing to him - as long as he is tired enough.  It is the best thing ever.  I could sit there for an hour like that if he would let me.  It really helps to fill the empty mommy tank.  He also has started to develop his own little sense of humor.  Tonight it took him over 30 minutes to get through a bottle because he decided he wanted to "share" with mommy.  Every time I pretended to slurp some milk he erupted in giggles.  Then he would take a couple of sips and do it again.  Repeat x50! 

KK's developments lately primarily revolve around artistic endeavors and vocabulary.   Her coloring abilities are quite amazing for her age - lots of patience and attention to detail - and she draws some beautiful and creative pictures too.  Last week she painted four separate pictures:  a tornado, a cave, planets, and hands... all from her own imagination with no suggestions from mom.  It would be great if I had one to post right now... I have a big pile to scan but again there is - as mentioned at the beginning of this blog post -  that pesky time/energy issue in life lately.  She also loves to use and mis-use large words and I really need to try to make a list.  It would make for a really entertaining and memorable post.  Recently she told me her bangs were preventative and I therefore couldn't cut them.  She also likes to talk a lot about responsibilities and how being a mommy, big sister, etc is a "big responsibility."  She talks pretty much non-stop most days so my brain does get a little fried and I am sure I miss some great nuggets sometimes.  Many sentences start with one of the following: "Mommy, I need to tell you something...."  "Mommy are you listening?" "Mommy...mommy.....mommy......mommy......mommy"

And now mommy must go to bed.

Norman Mackenzie

Last Saturday, Katelynn was thrilled to get her first pet - a bright blue Betta fish that she named Norman Mackenzie.  Norman from one of her favorite books; Mackenzie because "it's such a beautiful name."  Her friends Bobby and Lindsay had both acquired similar fish a couple weeks prior.  Once mommy and daddy saw that they only required a $20 "Betta kit" and no fancy filtration systems, we were pretty easy to cajole into the purchase.

Norman Mackenzie died this morning, just 4 days after KK so proudly brought him home.

Last night I noticed that he wasn't looking so hot.  He was in a strange position within his plastic plant and did not swim to the top to get his food.  I convinced myself that fish sleep...  Then this morning I became more concerned as he was sitting all the way at the bottom of the tank.  Two hours later he was upside down.

Now the question became what to do?  My little girl has a pretty sensitive heart. As a mommy, I really wanted to just avoid this whole reality-of-death situation and forever protect her innocence.  I decided to leave Norman in his tank; she hadn't been paying too much attention to him and perhaps I could execute a switcheroo tomorrow when my babysitter is here.  However, tonight KK decided to check in on Norman.  A sweet little voice asked:  "Mommy, is he sick?"   Mommy's heart sank.  I told her the truth.

She seemed to be in shock, absorbing the whole situation and making sad little statements like "He was such a kind fish" and "He just swam around happily and was nice to me."  Eventually one big tear rolled down her cheek and lots of assurances followed that we would get a new fish just like him tomorrow.  After books/prayers/songs with both mommy and daddy, she was left with her own thoughts in her room.  Later she appeared in the kitchen, acting strangely.  When I pressed her a bit about what was wrong, she burst into tears and said "It's just that my fish died, mommy!"

Poor sweet girl.  Poor Norman.  RIP Norman. And may God protect my little girl's tender heart.... and please, please keep Norman Mackenzie II alive a little longer.