Finger update...

We went to see the hand surgeon this morning, he says the best thing to do would be to amputate her finger and get rid of the brother so this does not happen to other fingers.

Kidding!!! He said no surgery, at least for now. Her finger broke and then the bone rotated slightly leaving her finger a little weird. For now we are going to wait for another month and see how it does. She needs to start "exercising" her finger everyday to try to regain movement. She is still swollen, we are hoping that will go down soon. The doc said that the swelling may never go away 100%, and that her finger would probobly be a bit bigger than it was before. Down the road if she doesn't regain movement or if it grows too crooked then it is always an option to go in and rebrake it and set it right. He also said that he would recommend no contact sport for the next 4 weeks but it is up to us to decided. I don't think that Sena will be playing goalie, at least for a while. So even though dad was right (sorta) I am still glad that we know what is going on with it and what we can do to help it heel. ( $1,000 later)

Tuesdays dilemmas....

It has been pretty rare in the past that I have to choose which childs activities to miss out on. I hate missing Kristians soccer games, I am on edge wanting to know what is going on the whole time. Tonight and quite a few Tuesdays to come Kristian has soccer games and the girls both have dance class. The girls need to be at dance class to get ready for the upcoming recital. I don't like driving to places where I am not comfortable, especially during rush hour, so I am left to do dance while Chad takes Kristian to his game. To be honest, even if I would want to drive by myself there is no way that I could talk Chad into sitting at dance class while I went to soccer! He would probably just tell the girls that they couldn't go to dance. (next week I'll try out my theory and see if I am right!) The girls both did awesome at dance tonight, and I did enjoy watching them. Tomorrow we go in to get Senas finger checked out, so stay tuned...

Afraid of bugs?

We got out for a bit today and played in the sunshine, it was not what I would call warm but tolerable. Rilynn was jumping away on the trampoline when all of a sudden she started screaming like crazy. I run over and she is pointing at a ladybug on the tramp! She is all of a sudden terrified of bugs. At toddler class today some of the other moms had brought up the subject of their tots being afraid of bugs right now also. One mom said that her 3 year old is waking up at night having nightmares about bugs. I was happy to find out that I am not alone in this buggy dilemma! At least Ri is not having nightmares about them, yet anyways! ( And yes, I made the little outfit she was wearing today!)

Baby Go Retro

This is Rilynn modeling a Baby Go Retro outfit last summer. Sheila (baby go retro) uses these pictures to list this custom outfit on ebay. It is so fun to see my little Ri in one of her listings! To find it on ebay, you can search babygoretro or item #320244664599.

I couldn't find a matching top for the jumper and pants set that I made so I had to make one. Here is my little model today, being very silly. Is this her color, or what?

9/24/1998 Kristian~5, Sena~2

My Sena beena...

Tomorrow will make it four weeks since Sena injured her finger. She was playing kickball in the street with the neighbor kids when she tried to catch a ball that was kicked by Kristian. (she blames him, of course) She "jammed" her pointer finger on her right hand, and yes, she is right handed. She has had limited movement of that finger since then and lots of pain. After the two week mark when it was still very sore and swollen Chad and I had discussed weather or not we should bring her into the doctors and get it checked. Chad has broken most of his fingers and said there is nothing that they can do for her. With the type of insurance that we have, we pay the first $5,000 per person. So even though the school nurse who examined her, the pediatric on-call nurse, and the orthopedic surgeons office all said that I should have her seen, I listened to my husband. On Monday night after soccer practice, Sena runs in the house crying and goes in her room and slams the door. I of course chase after her to find out what is going on ( besides being an 11 yr old hormonal girl) and find out that she hurt her finger again. It was still not healed, but I would say it was somewhat better until then. Since then she has not stopped complaining about it. Chad keeps saying that shes just milking it and wants attention. Mothers intuition, I know my kid better than that. So today I call Chad at work and tell him I am taking her in. He says "fine, maybe then when she knows its ok she will quit babying it." Men...
So... Of course her finger is broken, but the weird thing is that it does not look like a 4 week old break. It looks like a fresh break. Did it just break on Monday? Did it re-brake? Who knows, but the problem is that her finger is crooked. The doc said she needs to see a hand specialist, they will likely want to put pins in it. Do you think that will put us up to the $5,000 mark? I would think so. Chad said, "so what if her finger is crooked". I would like if she would be able to bend it in the future! Tomorrow they will call and tell me when our appointment is. Not really a happy ending either way. Poor kid! She just wants her finger to heal without worrying about mom and dad arguing about it, and worrying about how much it will cost to fix it. I have a feeling we are going to be needing a new goalie for Senas soccer team this year!

The outsider

Rilynn's little chick

On Tuesday mornings Rilynn and I take an ECFE class that is for 2 and 3 year olds. ECFE stands for Early Childhood Family Education. We have circle time where we sing cutesie toddler songs, play parachute and read stories. Each week there is a theme in the room that the stories and crafts are centered around. Todays theme was "on the farm". Rilynn made a barn and stamped different farm animals in and around it, and also made a little chick. That part of class was good. For the second part of class the parents (just moms today) go across the hall to the parenting room. Last week was the first time that Rilynn "let" me go into that room and it was just for a few short minutes. Today she did great and let me go the whole time!

What I learned in parenting class today: I would rather stay in the kids room and play farm animals with my two year old!

The entire class discussion was about where all the moms (and even the teacher!) were going to go out drinking on Friday night. I dont get it, is it me? There is not even a teencie weencie part of me that is interested in doing that with them. I would so much rather spend Friday night with my husband and kids than go "out" with a bunch of ladies from toddler class. Maybe if they were doing something productive like scrapbooking or crafting , but bar hopping? Sometimes I feel as if I am the only one in the world that thinks like me. Am I the crazy one?

Tulips

I was out digging in the garden today uncovering the tiny things that are starting to grow. I have talked to Rilynn all winter about how when the snow melts the tulips will grow. It is so fun to now show her that those little green things poking out of the ground will soon be beautiful flowers. With change from grandma and grandpas pockets she got herself a little metal shovel to dig for worms with. Today I dug up a worm for her, she was not impressed. Didn't want anything to do with it! She did have fun just digging in the dirt though, which is good for my girl who does not like to get dirty. Chad has told me that because of our "financial situation" my flower pots that normally get filled with colorful annuals will remain empty this year. He said it wont bother him any because he wont be home much to enjoy them anyways. He has no idea how sad that makes me. I am going to have to hide all my pots behind the shed as to not remind me how empty they are! The pictures are of Rilynn and the tulips last spring!

My latest designs

I just love how the flowers turned out! Do you see the ladybug button?

The colors in this one are just beautiful! I cant seem to find the right color shirt to go under.

A day in the life...

7:00 am- Quietly sneak out of bed so that Rilynn doesn't awake. Make sure Sena gets in the shower. Check my e-mails. Chad takes Kristian to school.

7:30 am - Rilynn is calling "mommy". I had hoped she would sleep till 8:00, no such luck.

8:15 am- Send Sena off to the bus stop.

8:30 am- Feed Ri breakfast

9:00-10:00 am- Finish sewing the dress/jumper that I started yesterday while Rilynn watches her morning shows. During this time I stopped maybe 10 times to dress barbie dolls. "mommy, put this on her", and "she wants to wear the pink dress now".

10:30-11:30 am- Walk to and play at the park. The squeals that come from a 2 yr old swinging for the first time in the spring... priceless. Wish I could bottle them up. So sweet. Park trip abruptly ends with "mommy, I need to go potty, now!". (1 mile away from home)

11:30 am- put on new Dora panties, we didn't quite make it in time. (that is rare) Ri plays in the backyard sunshine while I get the Bunny's cage ready for him to go back outside. Bun-Bun is now in the backyard again.

12:00 pm- Lunch. Strawberries, yogurt, pita sandwiches. Little bear playing in the background.

12:30 pm- Back outside we hear Cody (our dog) start barking and crying, he is stuck under our ground level deck. Call Chad, he is no help. I say "can you come home and help me?" He says no, I hang up on him. I am worried about the yelping dog. Silence. I think he is dead. All of a sudden he comes running out. Damn dog!

1:oo pm- Put Rilynn down for a nap, catch up on some recorded tv while getting her to sleep.

1:15 pm- Come out of the room to find Chad at home. He was not to happy with me. He went back to work.

1:30 pm- Check e-mails and sent e-mail to a new blogger friend.

2:20 pm- Kristian calls and wants a ride home from school. I say sorry but Ri is still sleeping, have a nice walk.

2:30 pm- About 2 min before Kristian walks through the door Ri wakes up. Figures.

3:00 pm- Peel and chop potatoes for potato salad. Ri comes in and says, "what are you makin mommy?" I tell her and she says, " ick, I don't like potato salad." Great.

4:00 pm- Sena comes home. The kids all play outside together while I make dinner and a chocolate cake for dessert.

5:30 pm- Call Chad to find out where he is. I tell him to hurry, we need to feed Sena and get her to church.

6:00 pm- I bring Sena to church and come home, the 4 of us eat together. Burgers on the grill, potato salad and chocolate cake. Loads of calories. Yummy. Ri had FOUR servings of potato salad. So much for not liking it!

7:15 pm- Pick Sena up from church and drive her to a friends house to try on a warm up jacket for soccer. We were not sure what size she needed. Write a check for way too much.

7:30-8:15 pm- Play b-ball in the driveway with Chad and Kristian. Ri says, "hey guys, how bout if we play this game-chalk-that would be fun!" Sena comes out and joins us and gets a ball in the face within 5 min., she goes in balling.

8:30 pm- Give Ri a bath, she is filthy from playing outside all day. She says she wants to go to bed. I lay with her until 9:00. No luck, she is still awake. Big kids go to bed. (that includes Chad)

9:49 pm- I am exhausted yet wide awake. I blog.

A blustery day

Here in Minn-e-so-cold we have waited for a 70 degree sunny day for many months and now that it is here it is sooo windy that you can hardly stand to be outside! Rilynn and I walked to "school" today (ECFE class) not realizing how windy it was! The kids did go outside for a while and jump on the trampoline and swing but it wasn't long before Ri was hollering, "its too windy out here!" Maybe tomorrow will be better!

Conversations...

Friday in the car on the way to Walmart...

Ri- "mama, where is everyone?"
Me- "who, Ri?"
Ri- "all of us"
Me- "who's all of us?'
Ri- "Chad, Sena, Kristian, ALL OF US!"
Me- "oh, Daddy took Kristian and Sena to school when you were still sleeping this morning"
Ri- "then where is daddy?"
Me- "at work"
Ri- (disappointed) "oh, man"

Friday night finishing up dinner...

Dad- "ok, I have to go to soccer practice" (hes the coach for Senas team)
Ri- (face lights up) "oh, pweaze I come too daddy? I will get my soccer clothes on!" (she looks over at me, I say nothing)"daddy, mommy says yes!"

Chad and I devise a plan so that she can go, she gets her soccer outfit and soccer shoes on so excitedly!

At practice she runs and plays with the big girls for a while...

Ri- "daddy"
Dad- "what, Ri,Ri?"
Ri- (with a very sad face) "I don't have my own soccer team"
(shes 2 1/2!!!)

On the way home from soccer practice...

Kristian-(feeling sorry for himself) "Little Ri is going to be the best soccer player out of all of us, that sucks!"
Ri- "that sucks?" ( not knowing what that inappropriate for a 2 yr old word means)
Kristian- "no Ri, I mean, that's awesome! Your a great soccer player!" (high fives)

Who knew?

I have always wanted to sew. I have had a cheap sewing machine from Sears most of my married life. Chad has always said "what a waste of money that was". Every time that I had tried to sew it was a complete flop. My machine has spent most of its life in the box in storage. In the last year I have wanted to sew more than ever after discover some amazing kids clothing designers on ebay. One of my all time favs is http://www.babygoretro.com/. Last year I had a gal on ebay make Ri some soccer pants that are sooo cute, I so wished that I could make them myself. If you know me you know that I have always had a thing for kids fashion. My kids are ALWAYS dressed better than me. It was maybe a month ago that I was having the conversation with my family about the fact that I cant sew. Its like driving a stick shift, I just cant do it. Chad said to me, confidently " I know you can do it. " So that is that. After watching my mom sew a few things I am proud to say that I CAN SEW!!! My house is an absolute disaster with sewing stuff everywhere. I dont have a craft room so the kitchen table is where it all happens, Every time that I make something new I am like a kid on Christmas morning so excited! I still have alot to learn and my work is far from perfect but I am having so much fun! I recently bought the pattern from the gal who made the soccer pants and have made my some pants myself! The other day we were talking about getting a new (used) car and I said that it has to be an automatic and Kristian said "if you can learn how to sew you can learn to drive a stick." Not so sure about that one, yet...

Kristians soccer coach

Just a little background on Kristians soccer coach. He is a respectable man that is not ashamed to let you know that he is a man of God. He is very strict yet kind to the boys. I have heard him say things such as ,"I am not here to make you professional soccer players I am here to make you good men." He is always saying, "good job son". I hope this season brings great things for Kristian. We are blessed to have such a great role model for him they are hard to find these days!

Alexander ("Alex") Bunbury (born June 18, 1967 in Plaisance, Guyana) is a former Canadian elite professional soccer player. A striker Bunbury became Portuguese club CS Marítimo's all-time goal scoring with 59 goals in 165 games. He also the Canadian national team's third leading all-time scorer with 17 goals and its fourth leading all-time cap winner with 64.
Bunbury began his professional playing career with the Hamilton Steelers (1987-90), Toronto Blizzard and Montreal Supra of the (former) Canadian Soccer League. Briefly a reserve at English club West Ham United where he made three first team appearances, Bunbury moved to Marítimo in 1993 where he established himself over his six seasons as one of the most well known foreign goal scorers of the SuperLiga during the 1990s. In 1999 Bunbury requested a move to play closer to his hometown of Montreal and was sold to the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. Ankle injuries forced his retirement after just two seasons with K.C. for whom he scored four goals in 24 games. Bunbury was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in April 2006.
Since retirement Bunbury with his three childrens has made Prior Lake, Minnesota their home where he has been a youth soccer coach and trainer. He currently coaches for Bangu FC in Minnesota. His son Teal Bunbury is also a footballer.

Iowa soccer tournament

We had a great weekend away. We pulled the kids out of school early on Friday and headed to West Des Moines Iowa for the first soccer tornament of the year. Kristians team played 2 games on Sat and 2 games on Sun. Scores were 3-1, 0-0, 3-0, 0-1. They won 2 tied 1 and lost 1. Overall, not too bad! It was fun to see all the boys hard work and training come into action! Sena was a great help with Ri on the side lines so that mom could watch at least some of the game! We had a wonderful "team dinner" on Saturday, and it was nice to get to know some of the parents of Kristians new team. Off to a great season!