Shoe Shopping is Serious Business

A little over a week ago I discovered that Malachi was now in dire need of new shoes.  The sides were pulled away from the frame of the shoe.  Since James had a huge project this past week/weekend and wasn't home much, we had to wait until this morning to go shoe shopping.  Malachi had been super excited about getting new shoes (uh, yeah! you should be!!!) We went to Kohl's to see what bargains we could find.  There were only 1 1/2 aisles of boy's shoes.  We went up and down the aisles over and over.  Nothing really caught his eye except the "Z" shoes which I guess he had his heart set on.

The marketing was great on these shoes because they have superheros on the box and he just thought it was the most awesome thing.  Unfortunately, they didn't have his size and even on sale, it was more than what I wanted to spend on tennis shoes.  Also, Sketchers are not the best for all the running that he does during the day, everyday.  The shoes were super heavy and I knew that he would not be happy with how it would affect chasing the other kids on the playground.

I found what I thought was a great pair of shoes for him.  They were New Balance, great for running, and looked nice.  I told him that I wore New Balance in high school when I ran track and cross-country and I thought they made me a faster runner. He wasn't sold on them.  I found his size and he tried them on.  I asked how they felt.  He said the top of the shoe was good, but uncomfortable (???).  I loosened the laces, but he wasn't convinced.  I showed him that the way the laces were on the new shoes are exactly like the laces in the old shoes.  He then said that they felt fine.  But then he noticed the back of the shoe had a little lope (to help pull the shoe on) and he didn't like the loop.  I showed him that if he pulled his pant leg down then you couldn't see it.  After he came up with a few more reasons why we shouldn't get them and me responding to his negatives with a positive, he said the shoes were ok and we could get them. (at this point we had been there for an hour!)  I could tell that he wasn't really excited about the shoes, but the price was right, they had his size, and I thought they were an excellent choice for his active lifestyle.  I decided to make a deal with him; we would buy these shoes, but would go to Shoe Carnival to see if they had the right size in the Sketchers.  He agreed and we shook hands on it.

At Shoe Carnival, they had a bigger selection of possible shoes for him, but didn't have his size in a lot of the shoes he was attracted to.  Also, the prices were higher than what we found at Kohl's.  They, too, didn't have the right size in the "Z" shoes and I had him try on another pair of Sketchers so he could see how the "Z" shoes would feel and tried to explain to him that it would weigh him down.  After half an hour there, we reluctantly left the shoe store empty-handed.  I could tell he was sad about not coming away with the shoes he really wanted, but I really thought that he would learn to love the New Balance.

We got home and I told James about the drama surrounding these shoes.  He was able to talk up the new shoes and showed Malachi that on the shoe it said it's for running.  James suggested that Malachi run inside the house to see how much faster he could run with them.  Malachi did and after a few laps decided that he wanted to run with them outside.  Of course we weren't going to say no so he ran all around the sidewalk for quite some time.  When he came back inside, he told me that he wasn't happy about the shoes at first, but now he likes them.  Whew!

Now comes the question:  If a 6 year old is so dramatic about tennis shoes at this age, what in the world is he going to be like when he's older?!?   And if Malachi is like this, what is Samara going to be like?  I don't want to begin to think about that!  

New Spring Look

Samara's all ready for spring.  She put this outfit together all by herself (I mean are you at all surprised?!?)  The outfit consists of a "Bam-Bam and Pebbles shirt, pink shorts, Princess Jammie shirt, and, of course, her Jayhawk slipper boots.  And nothing pulls it all together better than a Santa hat.  Flaunt that look Miss Samara!

Late Night Research

While learning how to live more frugally, I have discovered home-made recipes for household items like laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, all-purpose cleaner to name a few.  I had NO idea that people made their own!  So last night my "shopping buddy" (if you don't have one, you should get one) ventured out in search of pricing how much it would cost to buy the needed materials so we could make a big batch together and split it in half along with the cost.  That way if we didn't like how it worked we wouldn't be out as much money. 

For those of you who know my "shopping buddy", you know that we rarely ever shop during normal hours.  We shop late at night.  And last night was no different.  We meandered around Target until closing time (11pm), but scored some awesome sale/clearance items. We didn't find all the necessary items for our recipes so we stopped by Dillon's MarketPlace which is fortunately opened 24 hours for our shopping convenience.  We found the rest of the needed items except for essential oils.  The store had a big "organic" section so we really thought they would carry this, but after wandering around for quite some time, we weren't successful.  So at midnight we decided it was probably time to call it a night.

I am going to find buckets and spray bottles to put our "creation" in and then I'll be ready to give this thing a whirl!  Oh and by the way, there will be lots of coffee consumption today, but it's Friday so I can hang on for one more day to hopefully sleep in past 6-something-am!!!

Valentine's Celebrations and a Sick Girlie

Tuesday was Valentine's Day.  Our family was blessed with multiple days to celebrate this "lovey-dovey" day.  Late last week James' mom mailed homemade, heart-shaped sugar cookies along with a Valentine's card for each of us.  Malachi was super excited to be able to actually read the card himself and we all enjoyed the yummy treat.  Friday afternoon Malachi got out of school early and I had us packed up to head to KC for a quick visit so the kiddos could meet their new cousin, Sylvia. And of course, visit the rest of the family.  Right when we got into town, we headed to Nebraska Furniture Mart because my mom was working then.  She proudly introduced us to her co-workers and then treated the kiddos to See's Candy where they each picked out some gourmet suckers for V-day.  I was pretty happy they didn't go nuts inside the store =)

We then made our way to my sister's house.  Malachi was anxious to be able to hold the new baby; he simply adores babies.  He was playing "peek-a-boo" and trying to talk "baby talk" to her.  Then the time came that he was seated on the couch with pillows under his arm and precious Sylvia was placed in his arms.  His smile was priceless (I was too busy making sure I was right there to grab her if needed so I didn't get a pic =( )  The cousins enjoyed playing together and then we went to spend the night at my parents' house.  Early Saturday afternoon we met up with one of my cousins and her boys to have a play date at McDonald's.  It was so nice to catch up a bit while the kiddos ran around.  Afterward, we headed back home.

Monday night Malachi finished up all of his Valentine cards for his classmates.  He wrote all of their names and signed his name to each.  Fortunately, I had him start on this project a few days before because the task of writing so much might have been a little daunting for the guy. 

Valentine's Day ended up being quite busy, but fun.  After dropping Malachi off at school, Isaiah, Samara and I went to MOPS where the mommies decorated sugar cookies for their families and made little coupon books.  It was wonderful to relax and chit-chat with other gals.  The kiddos made heart Valentine's so they were quite thrilled to show me.  For lunch, I made heart-shaped PB&J and then for snack we had some Valentine cookies along with a juice box (a treat at our house!) Since Malachi insists on James and I taking turns going to his special school functions, it was James' turn to go to the Valentine's party.  The class ate cupcakes and passed out their Valentine gifts/cards.  A girl's grandma made such a special gift for all of the kids.  It was a "Tooth-fairy pillow".  It was a blue heart pillow and in the middle was a smaller heart pocket with red trim around it that will hold the tooth. Malachi insists on keeping it by his real pillow for when the anticipated day comes when he loses his first tooth.  When I asked how his party was, the first thing he said was, "I didn't eat a lot of candy."  LOL...that was going to be my second question!  Instead, he brought home a gallon jug full of candy.  Maybe that will last until Halloween ;-)  Our dear elderly neighbor across the street brought over a Valentine's goodie bag that also included treats for George.  We are very well stocked on sweets! 

Yesterday it was obvious that Samara was not her usual bubbly self.  She kept the same PJ's on all day (yes, no dresses were worn).  All day she lounged around and didn't talk much.  She had some diarrhea and complained her tummy hurt.  Late in the afternoon, I let her soak in the tub (she normally takes showers now) and then I painted her nails.  Afterward, she wanted to watch a movie in my bed so we cuddled and around 5:30pm she fell asleep (you know she's sick then!)  I tried to wake her to eat, but she couldn't stay awake.  Finally at 7:30 she came downstairs and wanted to eat some cereal.  I let her stay up a little later than normal since she took such a late nap. Fortunately, she slept really well last night.

Today, she has already changed out of her PJ's into the Mr. Incredible's suit and is playing with her dollies so she must be on the mend.  YAY!!!

Snow Fun

Overnight we received our first substantial amount of snow.  When Samara came down the stairs this morning, she beamed and said, "It's my birthday!" (because everything revolves around you when you're 3 years old)  We waited until James came home for lunch to venture out to play.  There were snow balls thrown at each other and George.  As I'm typing, George has crashed beside me.  Poor tired pooch.

RUN, Samara!!!

Being a Target Doesn't Phase George

He Got Me!

Poor George (again)

"This is Frosty the Snowman"

Duck Isaiah!

Pretty Ballerina

New Play-Date Mates

A few months ago our family went through a transition.  We started attending a different church that is in our town.  Before, we were going to a church in the town where all of my friends live.  The old church met our needs and we were enjoying the friendships we made there.  God was stirring in us, though, to try out the church here.  James knew a few of the guys who went and then a family dear to us started attending.  In October, James and I decided that we would begin the process of trying it out.  Almost immediately we knew that this was where our family was supposed to be.  I was ok with it; I still had my Monday night Bible study girls along with my MOPS gals.  Since the church is huge on discipleship of the guys, I felt that James may enjoy interacting with some local guys while growing in Christ.

Two weeks ago at church, a spunky lady probably a few years younger than me introduced herself to me and said she saw my hair the week before and told herself that she had to meet the girl with the great hair (I was kind of shell-shocked because I've never really been complimented on my hair by a stranger!)  I was happy to meet her.  Then this week she came up to me and invited me and the kiddos for a play-date with some fellow mommies.  I was stoked.  Since all of my friends live in a town 20 minutes from here, I've only had a few local play-dates at the McDonald's PlayPlace and the water park.  It was a nice thought of just jotting across town to have some mommie/kiddo time.  Now don't get me wrong, I will drive any distance for a play date so my friends in A-town do not despair, I will still drive to "play" ANYTIME!!!  ;-)  

Today was the day.  I made some "no-bake" cookies last night and Isaiah, Samara and I piled into Bonnie at 11am and headed over for the play-date.  It's such a small world because one of the mommies is related to our neighbor across the street from us. (sing with me now...it's a small world after all...)  Anyway, it was a group of 3 other mommies and 7 precious kiddos.  Isaiah was the oldest, but he handled himself very well.  Samara dressed up as a princess so she was definitely in her element.  I totally enjoyed getting to hear some of these gals' stories, where they are at with their faith, and their life as a mommy.  We sipped on delicious coffee from our local coffee shop, had an amazing smörgåsbord for lunch, and then nibbled on the cookies as a snack.  At 2:30pm, we made our way back home to let George out and then pick Malachi up from school.  It was definitely a lovely Thursday.

Hopefully, I didn't scare them off and I'll get invited sometime for another play-date =)

We May Never Have a Child-Free Home

It's adorable.  Instead of Isaiah saying, "when I grow up" or "when I'm an adult", he says, "when I'm a daddy."  He's talked about how when he marries, he will still call me a lot.  But a few days ago, he started saying that he isn't going to get married.  He is just going to live with us forever so he wouldn't have to call us.  I'll have to remind him of this when he thinks we are the worst parents ever and can't wait to move out ;-)

Samara's Birthday List

The month of January is jam-packed full of birthdays including the boys' and mine.  Since Samara doesn't want to be left out, she has started telling us what she wants for her birthday (it isn't until Sept!)  She doesn't want much except:

  " Mr. Incredibles Daddy
    Mr. Incredibles Mommy
    Mr. Incredibles Boy
    Mr. Incredibles Girl
    Mr. Incredibles boots
    Mr. Incredibles mask
    Sleeping 'Booty' (Beauty) dress
    Sleeping 'Booty' shoes
    Sleeping 'Booty' cape
    Pocahontas dress
    John Smith (from Pocahontas)"

I have a feeling this list is just going to get longer and longer and . . .

Randomness

She picked out her outfit to wear to pick Malachi up from school.  Yes, she did get out of the car like this!

Her throne....chill-laxin'

I Do Care

A few nights ago Malachi came into our bedroom long after he should have been asleep.  With a heavy heart, he told me there was a girl at school who will say bad words  (granted, I didn't ask what words they were because we are very strict about what they can say so the bad word may have been "stupid" or it could have been way worse.)  But what concerned him the most was that she told Malachi that her dad doesn't care if she says the bad words; he just doesn't care.  We talked about how sad that was and Malachi said that he was happy that James and I care.

This conversation has been nagging me ever since. Does this little girl have someone in her life who really does care about her?  Does her dad realize that his daughter has this view of him?  Why do some parents not take their role seriously?  Do they think it's an option to be involved in their child's life? It's an option to raise these precious ones correctly?  These are little humans who are desperately impressionable. What a reality check that at the age of 5 or 6, a child can tell whether or not a parent cares enough about them to teach them morals, values and discipline. And moreover, they are happy to have their parents care enough to teach them right from wrong.

Yes, it is exhausting disciplining kiddos; it is simply exhausting raising them.  You have to die to yourself and think of what's best for them.  But it's such a natural transition, though, too.  When Malachi was first born, all I could think about was his needs, what I could do for him.  Eventually, I had to remember that I had needs, too, that needed taken care of.  But my first thought was about him.  How do some parents not think about their kiddos' needs above their own? 

With all of these thoughts, I then remembered going to Walmart last week just to grab a loaf of bread.  I encountered a mother with 2 small girls down the aisle.  I couldn't tell what the little curly-haired blond girl was saying, but suddenly the mom yelled at her to "shut up" and stop talking so *curse word* much.  The little girl was crushed and told her mom that she wasn't being nice.  I wanted to scoop that little girl up and hug her and tell her that Jesus loves her.  She needed someone to love on her.  Now, I am not the perfect "Walmart" mommy, but this just encouraged me to be that much more understanding and loving of a mommy. What did that teach that precious girl? 

So for the record Malachi, Isaiah and Samara.  I DO CARE.  I do care that you are raised knowing Jesus loves you.  I do care that you are hugged and loved on daily.  I do care that you learn right from wrong.  I do care that you are praised for your good choices and disciplined for your bad choices.  I do care that you eat healthy, have clean clothes on your back and have a good home to come home to.  I do care so incredibly much and I hope that you never have to question the depths of how much I care.   I do care because I love you.  It's that simple.        

Happy Groundhog Day

I think our Groundhog is way cuter than the one that makes national news.