Fish Crisis

We recently aquired a new member of the household. Jonathan was given a fish by our youth minister, Chris. Basically, this fish was eating all of the other fish in Chris' aquarium and it had been put into solitude on his desk at work. But it was getting a little crowded up there with 2 other Beta fish bowls and the 15 gal aquarium, so we were asked to take it. We had actually considered getting a fish for Christmas b/c Jonathan loves them.

So, the Kendrick suckers have a new pet. Immediately Jonathan wanted to name it Mimi (after my grandmother), and after a few attempts at "say good night to Mimi" backfired we decided to rename it Mimi-fish.

Well- Mimi-fish has a 2 gal tank that we try and clean every 2 weeks. Yesterday was Clean the Tank day, so I decided to get it done during nap time. I was so proud of myself, I was done with the whole process in about 15 min. (We have been warned that this fish is an escape artist, so we try to be careful when removing it from the tank) After about an hour, Mimi fish wasn't looking really well. After 3 hours it (he/she) was really looking bad (lethargic and not swimming around). I began to get a little worried and called Chris for input. Turns out I was slowly poisoning the fish b/c I didn't put the de-clorinator in there!

What happened in the next hour completely did me in for the rest of the night. Have you ever tried to revive a fish with bottled water, clean the "poisoned" tank again, take care of a very excited 2 year old (way past his bedtime), handle a goofy dog who thinks that his sole mission in life is to sit on you, and try and do fish research on the computer at the same time? I have- it doesn't work very well! While I was pouring bottled (expensive) water into a bowl, Jonathan was dumping the bottle lids in there. He also proceeded to put his hand in to check on the fish, give several toys to the fish, and give me the aquarium (glass) lid which was soaking wet by this time! It was a crazy few hours. I went to bed (much later) praying for a dumb fish! (which by the way- the Lord allowed to live another day- it seems fine now) Why do these things always happen when Jeff is working overnight at the station???? oh well- blessed motherhood!

Christmas picture

I finally finished Christmas shopping this afternoon!!!! I have a wonderful husband who watched my son while I finished rushing around- you get so much more done when you can go by yourself and don't have to worry about car seats, strollers, and cheerio bribes. Anyway- we did our Christmas picture last week. I had really been planning on doing it before Thanksgiving, but oh well.
The plan was to take a picture with the nativity scene. Jonathan was to play with it, Jeff and I were going to be looking on, and Jack (our dog) was supposed to be lounging nearby. That was what was SUPPOSED to happen. What really happened was the 3 of us, sans dog, took a picture in the same pose we had last year! We even had someone ask if we just used last year's photo!!! We tried for an hour one day, 15 minutes another, and finally had to ask a friend out to dinner and then have them come over to take it. And I only have one child! (unless you count the dog- he usually takes good pictures, but got booted this year b/c he wouldn't look at the camera)

Anyway- thought you needed a laugh, so I added a few of our outtakes. If you didn't get a card from us this year- sorry, we have a pretty big family and a small photo budget. Enjoy the pictures and have a Merry Christmas.

What a cutie!

Most people who know me know that I really don't like Halloween. I am too timid to enjoy being scared and don't like the thought of evil being celebrated (sorry to those who love it). On the other hand, I LOVE dressing up in costumes. You see the dilema that arises every Oct. 31. Anyway- we did dress Jonathan up and go out to eat. Well- let's say that we drew on his nose, and showed him the dog suit that he was supposed to wear to the restaurant. He preferred for his daddy to wear it.

We decided to eat without it, but put it on him to "trick or treat" at our neighbor's house. He is a single man who wasn't really expecting us, so Jonathan got a slice of American cheese. (By the way- my kid loves cheese) He only wore his full costume long enough to get the cheese. We finally got him to wear it long enough for a picture when we visited another friend. He didn't even get cheese there! Poor kid. Thankfully, he had gotten plenty of candy from his preschool party. He even got some from the Chinese restaurant where we had dinner- without his costume.

By the way- if the costume looks familar, it was Mason's 2 years ago- thank you Aunt Amber!

Really now- make up your mind!

We were driving to Walmart this morning and saw a van pull up next to us covered in bumper stickers. The one that caught our eye was of Chief Seattle. The quote is something about that we belong to the earth, it doesn't belong to us (which is against Genesis best I can figure). The chief always catches my eye b/c it looks like Jesus - I don't know- its wierd. So we read on (it was a long light), she also had one that said that she prays for peace, and another that her church is nature. So, you would naturally assume that this is a tree-hugging nut job.

The odd thing is that the back window had a 104.7 fish (local Christian radio station) logo and the other corner had a "RedNeck Woman" sign (a reference to a popular country song).

Now- it makes you wonder- is the side of her car from California and the back window from the south? Or did her teenage daughter get to decorate the side windows and she had to take the back? Maybe she is from a rare breed of Baptist tree-hugging rednecks. I'm not really sure.

Just something to ponder until I get Jonathan's most recent pictures loaded on here.

Pizza toss

You may not think this is funny, but I laughed so hard that I had tears.

Today, after church, a couple of friends and I went out to Mellow Mushroom for lunch. There were about 16 people in all, and I sat across from a new guy named Eric. I have only met Eric once before, but he is a fairly nice guy. He is also single and doesn't have children. Somehow, he ended up across from me- lucky guy! We all decided to order 4 large pizzas so that everyone could have a few pieces of whatever. Jonathan inhaled his first piece of cheese and was ready for another before I could really even start mine. So, I just asked around the table for whatever wasn't going the fastest, assuming that I could pick off whatever he didn't need to eat. I ended up with a jalepeno, olive, and mushroom piece - yeah, gross. I picked off the jalepenos and gave them to Eric (who asked for them). I cut up the rest and tossed it on Jonathan's plate. It was then that I decided to taste it, really just b/c a tiny piece was still on my plate. What happened next is still a mystery to me. It was so spicy, it lit up my mouth! I grabbed the pieces off of my son's plate, tossed them onto mine, and slid the rest of the uncut pizza onto Eric's plate! Why I chose to rid myself of the offensive piece, I don't know. I wasn't thinking.
The look on this poor guy's face was priceless! He just kind of looked at me, and then back at his plate. Thankfully, he decided not to press the issue and ate the used piece. It wasn't until I had gotten my son set with a new piece of cheese that I realized what had happened. Even though I was embarrased, Eric thought it was funny. He said that although he really didn't mind the jalepeno pizza, but didn't understand why I felt the need to put it on his plate. I still don't know.
Oh well- I just chalk it up to the insanity that goes along with motherhood. I hope Eric comes back to our church.

Bath Time

Last night I decided to take a bath! I only get a bath about once or twice a year- I mean, I bathe daily, but in the shower. I mean a real bath, with bubbles, a book, and a candle. I started it around 11:30. Jeff was working all night, and Jonathan had been down for several hours. I could get undressed in peace. Sad, but that is usually the only time that a mother can peacefully use the bathroom.
I was so excited- my bubbles were plentiful, my book was great, and the water was piping hot. I slid in and enjoyed the luxury. Now- I don't have a nice tub, just a regular sized one. You know, the ones where parts of your body aren't always in the water. I really need a tub about one foot longer- do they make those? Anyway- I had just slid into the bubbles and gotten settled, when I heard it... the sound all mothers hate after nine pm. Jonathan was awake!!! - and crying. I waited a while hoping that he would go back to sleep- he didn't. I had to get out, bubbles and all, and go hold him for a few minutes. (turns out that he had a mosquito in the room all night- poor kid looks like a dalmation)
But- all I could see last night was that this child was spying on me and knew that I was enjoying myself without him. How do they do that?????

Walmart Woes

Why is Walmart against me? I'm usually a big fan, but not today!!! I took my friend's 3 year old child and Jonathan to the store this morning. I only needed to get a few things so I put them in the buggy set up for 2 children. What a mess! The seats are lower than the buggy, so the children look at your belly button the whole time (or each other). Then they are fixed so that they face each other, and strapped in. It reminded me of a Six Flags ride, but a lot less fun. You can't expect them to behave while being confined within 1 foot of each other. Jonathan spent the time playing with (and pulling) her long blond hair and she pushed his toes from one spot to another. Of course, both wanted to complain the whole time! I can't really blame them, it was a dumb spot to be stuck in (they couldn't even see, Brooklee kept standing up in order to help me put things in the buggy). Not only that, but pushing it is like driving a kitchen table (in length)! I'm not really sure how many people I almost ran into. Anyone else have this problem while shopping - already a stressful activity anyway???? God bless you mothers with more than one child- my hat is off to you!

My baby started Mother's Morning Out today! We took him in his new preschool t-shirt with his name tag and lunch sack. (I guess I need to get him a little lunch box) I walked him in b/c I didn't think that carpool was the best idea for the first day. They took him from me in the foyer and took him to his class- I'll pick him up from his teacher. He went crying but when I checked on him a few minutes later he was sitting in the floor eating snack (at 9:45!) and listening to a story. There was another child laying on the floor getting his back scratched. I'm pretty sure that Jonathan will snag his snack while he lays there if he isn't careful. He really likes snacks! Thankfully, it is only one day a week.

I've started babysitting a friend's little girl once or twice a week. She was over last Thursday and we took them both (including Jack) to the park for a few hours. What a fun time. Jeff played with them on the playground, while I fixed lunch. They were pretty good and we all took a good nap afterwards.

Jonathan and I washed the car yesterday. What a hoot! We got as wet as the car- but not as clean. Jonathan cleaned everything: the car, himself, the dog bowl, his trike, and the sidewalk. He enjoyed watering everything the best. He especially liked it when he would get the hose and spray Mommy and watch her jump. He is going to be a pretty good little helper, eventually. We both had to get a shower afterwards because he helped me wash the tires- whew- what a mess! Having fun in the summertime!

Well, we had our first pool party today in the new plastic baby pool. Jonathan had one little girl over and we all spent more time on the back porch eating than in the hot sun and pool. Poor Jeff had to cut grass all afternoon and missed it. We had a great time, I love summertime.

One of the advantages of being outside all week is that Jonathan is beginning to recognize when he urinates. After all, those swimmies are too expensive to use in our little baby pool, he swims with nothing but the bathing suit on. He has done really well, in fact, has gotten out to "do his business" several times - although it may be pure luck! The boy drinks all the time. He hasn't felt the need to do the other in the pool yet, I hope to be at the grocery store or somewhere when he does- yuk!

This type of "freedom" comes with a price though- we were having our picnic lunch (with his little friend and mother) this afternoon and he looked up at me and smiling, said "pee-pee". Sure enough- he was peeing on my rocking chair next to his friend! Gross- Needless to say, he didn't get to finish his sandwich and had his own cushion for the rest of the visit! Gotta love boys!

Well, this is my first attempt at a blog. While I'm not one to typically follow the crowd, I do like to show off my boy, Jonathan. So, here goes....

The other day, we got a chance to actually see the Oscar Mayer weinermobile! They were trying to find kids to sing the song for a commercial. While I believe that Jonathan can sing at 18 months, most people would disagree, so I didn't make him try out! I did get up the nerve to ask if I could let him stand next to it and take his picture. He didn't really care one way or the other, but did enjoy standing next to the microphone- my little superstar.

We have finally gotten Jonathan a pool, one of the little blue hard plastic ones. It was on sale and I couldn't resist. I can't wait to try it out- but it is raining today, so it'll have to wait. I decided I needed one when we got back from a friend's house the other day. We went to play in her baby pool and I got sunburned! You can tell how much I lay out! Oh well- at least Jonathan had a good time. He loved splashing his little friend, who by the way, hates to be splashed. We sat outside all morning, even had a picnic! That is what you do when you are down to one income and you have been thru the Dave Ramsey financial seminar- find free things to do during the day!

Tomorrow we are off to the free movie at The Mall of Georgia- or at least going to meet our friends afterwards for a quick meal at the food court, using coupons of course!