Feeling helpless

This morning as I walked the Princess over to where her class lines up in the morning, I noticed one of the girls in her class.

Why did I notice her? She (CB) was the last one in line. And she was gasping for air. She was crying! I knelt down in front of her.

Me: "Oh CB. Are you okay? Did you fall down?"

CB: [gasping] "I can't...I can't...stop crying."

Tears were slowly moving down her little cheeks. Her shoulders shook as she gasped for air. It broke my heart.

Me: "It's okay honey."

I took her hands in mine. I looked into her little green eyes. Such a sad face. I wiped her tears from her cheeks. The Princess stood next to me looking at her friend with concern.

Me: "CB? Where is your sister?"

CB turns and points to her sister, who is in the very next line-up of kids.

Me: "Prin. Why don't you hold CB's hand. She's having a sad moment."

I walk over to CB's sister.

Me: "Hi. Your sister says she can't stop crying."

CB's sister walks over to CB and hands her some sunglasses. To cover her sad little eyes. The she gives her little sister a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She said something in her ear but I don't know what. Then she walked back to her line.

I walked over to the kindergarten teacher and told her that CB was sad and was crying.

As I walked to my car, I turned and looked back. CB had the sunglasses on. The Princess was holding her hand. They both walked into the school together.

That's all I could do. I felt so helpless. I don't know what could make CB so sad.

Still on the market

The in-laws house is still on the market. It's a nice enough house. It's on a corner lot. On a cul-de-sac. No homes behind them - a street runs behind their house. It's got 3 bedrooms. 1 3/4 baths. An office. A living/dining combo in front. Then the kitchen/breakfast nook/family room in the back.

A couple things might be messing up a quick sale. The listing for the house says it's a 4 bedroom 1 3/4 bath home. Their realtor is stating that the office is a bedroom. WRONG! There is no closet in there. So it's not a bedroom. Also, check out the photos below.

It's basically a panoramic view of their kitchen/nook/family room.

Can you say stuck in the 80s? Yes. They are PEACH vertical plastic blinds. With grey blue/peach toppers. I told the Hubs to tell his folks to change the window coverings. Get some of those inexpensive woven things. You know. Like they show on "Sell This House"? And did you notice how the barstool chairs, the breakfast table chair and the sofas have the same colors as the toppers?

I know that those peach blinds block a lot of light. And in the two extra bedrooms my MIL has some heavy curtains. I have no idea if they open up all the windows and turn on all the lights when they show the house.

It's a clean enough house. My MIL is a serious neat freak. It's something she holds up like it's sacred. But the house is so bland. Nothing stands out. With so many houses on the market like theirs in that area...they have to do something to make theirs stand out.

This past weekend? They had open house #5. That's right! FIVE open houses and not one offer. E-gads!

Hosting Thanksgiving

With my BIL working halftime in his new city. With my ILs trying to sell their house. With my SIL in a place too tiny. And since no one has stepped up...

WE ARE HOSTING THANKSGIVING!

I haven't received an email confirming the Hubs immediate family's attendance, but I'm sure they'll drive the 90 minutes down. Just to not have to go through the hassle of cleaning, cooking, and cleaning again.

If everyone decides to come, I may have 15 people to feed. FIFTEEN!

I have to buy a turkey. I'm contemplating a ham too. Lots of rolls. Potatoes. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Corn on the cob (I think we'll be grilling those outside). Green beans with those crunchies on top. Stuffing. Fresh cranberries. Pumpkin pie. Apple pie. Ice cream. Lots of hot strong coffee and hot tea. Some wine (any recommendations on this one?) for the adults. Did I forget anything?

Now where are you headed for Thankgiving? Do you know yet? It's only a few weeks away!

I still have to break out my holiday decorations and put those up. Yes. I'm going to have the inside of my house decorated for Thanksgiving. It's the beginning of the season! Gotta do it!

Parents of toddlers & young kids

This morning after dropping off the kidlings, I realized how quiet it was in the car. Oftentimes, the BEST sound when we're all in there. But today, as I sat at a stoplight I turned around. I looked towards the back. Two empty kid seats.

Of course, the Bear's forward facing convertible carseat was securely fastened in the 3rd row. But the Princess' booster seat? Not so much. She has one of those Alpha Omegas that we purchased specifically so that she could continue to use it as a booster. So it's BIG. You all know what they look like, right?

When the Princess is in the booster it's fine. But when she's not, the booster sits there unattached. Kind of unsafe. You know how they tell us to keep loose items in the back in the event of an accident? How things that aren't secure in the car can cause injuries? Yeah. THAT is what I'm talking about.

WHAT do you all do when your toddlers or young kids are not in their booster seats?

1. Do you store the booster seat in the back of your vehicle?
2. Do you let the booster seat sit there unbuckled?
3. Do you buckle the booster seat?

ARGH! Did it tell us in the instructions what to do? If so, I certainly didn't see any kind of statement like that. Or did I just not notice it? Hmmm...

Come on people...what do you do?

Time alone

The Hubs and I had a 'date' yesterday afternoon. My SIL drove down to watch the kidlings.

We spent about 6 hours together. Alone. Without the kids in tow. It went by in a blink of an eye. It was amazing!

We ate a nice lunch at Chili's. Leisurely. Watching the college football games in the bar area. Talking. Eating. Eating warm food. At the same time.

We went to a mall we'd never been to. I spent some of my hard earned paycheck. I actually bought a couple pair of yoga pants -- without looking at the price tag! HA! Hey, we were in Old Navy...how expensive could they be? Then I proceeded to buy the Bear a couple pair of sweats, a couple long-sleeve shirts (it's starting to get cold out here) and some socks. So more stuff for him than me. We dropped by the Barnes & Noble too. I got the kids two books about Thanksgiving. I want them to learn the reason we have the holiday (the Pilgrims & the Indians) and how we should be during the holiday (thankful for all that we have). It was great being able to buy stuff.

Then we watched a movie. Violent. But good. Wasn't what I was expecting. But overall a good afternoon distraction.

Then it was time to head home. We didn't get to stop by the shoe store. We didn't get to stop by the home improvement store. Nor did we have a chance to stop by Tar-jay! We thought we'd have time to but alas....six hours slipped away.

Just got PAID

Got my first check via FedEx today. WOOHOO!

My first check in over 5 years. Amazing!

I'm going to have so much cash in my checking account (when the check clears). This is going to be the most amount of money in my checking account since I quit working. It's like 8 times the amount I'd normally get in my account per month.

But most of it is spoken for. Car. Daycare. Credit Card. I'll still have a little play money at the end though.

What will I buy? What will I buy? Probably something for the kids. For the house. For the Hubs. Like normal!

Starting with the holiday spirit

We're at the beginning of November. And I've started my holiday cheer.

No. I haven't broken out the decorations. I've just started to spread the holiday spirit.

How you ask?

Consider this scenario: You're running off to work. You're in a hurry. You didn't have time for a leisurely breakfast at home. You go through a drive-thru. You drive up to pay. And your order has been paid for. YES! I did that for someone this morning. As I sat at the window, the order taker was giving the person behind me their total. I broke out the lose change in my car and I had enough. $2.27. I had a ton of quarters in my car from the carwash. No a lot of money. But I thought it would be a nice gesture. Cheer up the lady's day.

So pay it forward people! Get in the holiday cheer. No big stuff needed. Let someone use your grocery card when they've forgotten theirs. Hold that door open for the person 5 steps behind you. Give a friendly wave to that person you see every morning walking their dog. Or do as I did. Pay for someone's order & surprise them.

Now...what're you going to do?

Fun was had by all

This was a good Halloween for us. The Bear was finally old enough to walk around on his own. The Princess was seasoned at this so she could show the Bear what to do. We were in our new neighborhood. And it was a warm night!

Our Halloween actually started last Friday though. The Bear's daycare had a party. Kind of to get the kids used to their costumes. AND to get them used to the idea of getting candy in their bags. The staff grilled hot dogs. They had music playing in the big room. The teachers manned their classes for the 'trick-or-treating' every half hour. It was cute.

The Hubs finally got to see the daycare. I showed him where everything was located (the classroom, the sign-in sheet, the refrigerators for lunch, etc). He got to meet the Bear's teachers too. And a few of the Bear's friends.

The Bear didn't know what his costume was. He was upstairs when I was getting the outfits out. I was getting the Princess into her "Hula Girl" outfit when he walked downstairs. He ran over and saw the package his costume was in. He FLIPPED out! He was so excited!

He just loves BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! You should have seen him after he got the costume on. He'd 'press' one of the buttons on his chest. Run across the room. Spread his arms out like a plane. Say "...and BEYOND!" while he jumped. And then he'd land. Over and over again. Nothing like toddler repetition!

Here's a photo of the two before we left to go out Monday night.

The Princess was so excited. She kept on asking when we were going out.

"Is it TIME yet?"

We finally left the house when someone rang OUR doorbell. That was our GO signal.

We turned off the lights at our house and we went around our neighborhood. We ran into most of the neighbors with kids. We ended up going around with another Mom with her two kids. She has a daughter that's the Princess' age. Then she's got a little one who's just 18 months. So she had the stroller. And it was awkward for her to put the little one in and out of the stroller. When she went around with us, I pushed the stroller while she carried her little one between the houses. Her older daughter ran ahead with my two.

We ended up staying out maybe an hour. Wasn't too long. But the Bear was plodding as he walked. He was bone tired. The Princess was happy with her stash too so she wasn't disappointed to go home.

Next year? It's going to be more awesome. The entire neighborhood should be finished so there will be more kids. More houses to visit.

It was fun. Now we have to get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Whew!