Kendrick Koop

Construction on our newest addition has begun. No- we aren't pregnant or adding on extra space for a game room, we are adding a chicken coop! Jeff has been wanting chickens for a while now and has done a ton of research on them. I haven't done any research, except to eat the ones that we buy at Kroger (already dead, plucked, and placed on little white trays). While I have been sort of hesitant to encourage his dreams, I am trying not to be too discouraging either. In fact, really it makes me laugh to think that I am about to become the wife of a chicken farmer.

The plan is to have only 3 hens. We will collect the eggs when the chickens get old enough to lay. They are already awaiting us at Rick Garmon's house (who also raises chickens) and are only a few weeks old. They won't be ready to lay until the springtime. I'm a little nervous about trying to keep 3 dumb birds alive all winter long, but Jeff says that they will keep each other warm. We are building a small 10 foot long coop that they will never leave alive (supposedly). We still live in Gwinnett county and our neighbors may not care for chicken poop in their yards, plus we have several neighborhood dogs that roam free.

Although I am still a little skeptical, I have enjoyed helping put the coop together. And Jonathan is having a blast "helping Daddy". It will be fun to see if we can pull this off.

Although I don't really like eggs, we use them when we MAKE our bread. Several months ago we bought a grinder that grinds wheat into flour. It is supposed to be very healthy and the bread (muffins, waffles, rolls, pizza crust) that we make out of it is superior tasting to anything that we have eaten before. If you are interested, go to Breadbeckers.com, or email me for more information. I still laugh about it and tell Jeff that I feel like an Amish wife at times, but it has proven to be a good investment. Hopefully the chickens will be also.

On another note, Jonathan started back to Mothers' Morning out last week. He goes two days a week from 9-1. He really seems to enjoy it, thankfully. We did get his picture taken before he left.

Wonderful Mother award

Yesterday, I was talking with my sister on the phone and Jonathan discovered my purse. He often plays with my purse when we are out somewhere, so I saw no harm in it. He was quiet, I could talk, and really..how much trouble could he get into? I noticed that he kept putting something up to his eyes, but I couldn't really see what it was. The more that I watched, the more that I began thinking that it may be lipstick. So, I walked down to where he was, (still on the phone) and looked for lipstick on my carpet. There wasn't, so I went back to the couch. It wasn't until he walked up to look out the window that I noticed his eyes. He had applied lip liner to his eye lids! He actually did a fairly good job for a 2 year old. He was VERY upset when I took it away b/c he was "putting it on my eyes!!!!" I tried to explain that while it looked very nice, that was makeup for Mommies, not little boys. Needless to say, I had to cut my conversation short and clean up his eyes. (but not before I took a picture)


Later on, after church (we have Wed night Youth), I was getting him cleaned up for bed. I noticed that he didn't get his outfit dirty, so I put it on the shelf to wear again. He wanted to put it in the hamper b/c he said it was dirty. I asked him how were they dirty, and he said that someone threw dirt on them. Since he was the only child in nursery last night, I was pretty sure that no one really threw dirt on him, but I asked anyway- "who threw dirt on you?" His answer: "Jesus did". (Jesus gets blamed for a lot around here by Jonathan- kind of like life huh?)

We have recently acquired a new pet. It really is the best kind of pet to have. It doesn't eat, poop, or howl. It was free and apparently sleeps with our real dog, Jack. According to Jonathan, his imaginary pet is named "Fritzie", is a white dog, and doesn't bark like Jack. We checked out Fritzie's living quarters the other day (Jack's crate) and found Jack's tennis ball (it is a square, really cool dog toy) taking up half the crate. Poor Jack must see Fritzie also, because when Jeff got up the next morning, "Fritzie and ball" were in the same place and Jack was curled up around it!

That is all from around here. I have also included a few pictures from Rebecca's graduation from UGA- yea Rebecca!!.

My baby is growing up!

We have had a very busy day. I had a meeting at 10 am (I thought it was at 9:00- we were a little early), then another lunch meeting. We came home for naptime and then ate a quick dinner (chicken nuggets & mac/cheese), because I had to be back at the church at 7:00 for praise team practice. My stomach likes to act up at the worst times, esp. when I have to be somewhere. It was not feeling good this evening, so I told Jonathan that my tummy was hurting. He looked at me and said, "You not feewing dood?". I said, "No." He then told me "Jesus make you better". Wow- talk about a reality check. So we stopped and prayed for me.

He was the only child at Praise Team tonight, so there wasn't a babysitter. He stayed with me in the sanctuary. Near the end, he decided to sing with me in my microphone. After talking to almost everyone on stage ("hey ____"), he began to sing. He insisted on holding the mic and once the music began, he swayed and looked out at the audience like a pro. (Course- the child was singing/dancing with me in the womb- our church is fairly contemporary.) It was precious, and I was reminded again of that fleeting thing called childhood. (is this the stage where you begin to want another one??? not really sure)

Don't think, "How sweet" too fast, he threw a fit on the way home when something didn't go his way......ah the fickle 2 year old!

sorry- no pictures, will post more later.

Mommy learns a lesson

Whew- what a day it has already been and it is only 3 pm! I decided that I would take Jonathan to his first real movie at the movie theater. Mostly, because Regal Cinema puts on these free movies during the summer for those of us dumb enough to brave the crowds. I met a friend (with her 4 year old and 2 month old) and went in. The movie was "March of the Penguins" so it was non-violent (except for the one part where a seal snags a penguin) and watching the mommy and daddy penguins "go to work" was interesting. Jonathan did well for his first time and was pretty content to eat his cheerios (and whatever his friend handed him), whisper really loud, look at the people behind him, and see how many times he could get from his seat to my lap and back without Brooklee taking his spot. In fact, several times, she would tell him to be quiet (although she was whispering as loud as he was) and he would tell her "No- I'm talking to MY Mommy!!!". When it was over, Jonathan jumped up and down and announced to the whole theater that it was time to eat!

We headed downstairs to await another friend who was joining us to use her free Chick-Fil-A coupons (I love VBS!) and eat lunch with us. In the process, we got to ride the elevator, and try and explain why no one could ride the carousel yet. (Ever tried to explain that to a 2 year old???)

Lunch went well- Jonathan ate all his lunch and used up most of my chapstick on his upper lip while the adults were talking. But hey- he was quiet and contained- even offered some to the strangers passing behind our table.

After lunch, I decided to check out a few sales. Now I never wanted to become one of THOSE parents, but peer pressure and $2.00 flip flops made me.... I allowed my child to PLAY CHASE in the Children's Place store! It hurts even to write that. I didn't really see a problem with it. We were about the only ones in there, they were fairly quiet, and it was a place made for children - right? Well- I quickly learned a powerful lesson when I heard my baby fall and rip his knee open. I hate that my kid got hurt because his mommy made a stupid decision! Needless to say, I didn't get the flip flops, he screamed all the way back to the food court bathroom, and I felt like a heel.

He is fine- we put a bandaid on it. But does Motherhood get easier? Do you ever find that thin line between allowing your child to play and protecting him? (I mean, if it is somewhere made to play- not a mall dept store?) YIKES!!!!

Gotta Love Summertime!!

I know summer has just begun, but we are already having a great time here in Hog Mountain. I pulled out the pool the other day and let Jonathan help fill it up. It was crazy! He did really well filling it up actually, because soon afterwards we put on his bathing suit. We pretty much had a pool party. Our next door neighbors got in (10 and 14 years old), 1 old white dog (we call him Whitey) visited, my dog tried to take a drink (too short) and the neighbor dog stepped in. As you can see in the above pic, everyone has a good time on pool days around here. (Even I love this pool b/c I can sit down completely in it and not have to bend my knees) If this keeps up, I may have to put a fence around it!

Emptying it is another story. Because it is hard plastic, you can't just let the air out in order to empty the water. You have to bail the water with a bucket. I let Jonathan help me the next evening b/c it was starting to grow pond scum. It started out nice. I showed him how to pour the water out into the flower bed (conserving water). It quickly became every man for himself when he threw some on me. Needless to say, we both had to shower afterwards because we had a water fight. You haven't lived until you've been bested in a water fight with a 2 year old! Luckily, I run faster than he does.

Oh yeah- we have new yellow rain boots in case it ever rains again.
I love Summer!

Vulcan

We have been in Birmingham visiting my grandparents for a few days. Today, we went and visited Vulcan park. For those not from B'ham (most of you), Vulcan is the Roman god of metal who "protects" B'ham. Basically, he is a statue that has been on top of Red Mountain since the early 1900's(you can see him from the freeway). They took him down a few years ago and repaired him. The new park is all fixed up and you can go thru the little museum ($6/person) and learn about Vulcan. (yes- we actually spent $$$). It was very interesting, and we got several good pictures. We even bought a bumper sticker (which Jeff put on our car!!!!!!) After that, you can choose to go up the Vulcan pedestal and look out over the city. Since we had already paid the admission price we decided to walk up the several flights of stairs to the top. At the staircase enterance was an old lady whose one job in the world is to collect tickets. Poor thing, she must not have a lot of business because the look she gave us when we told her that we would rather walk than take the elevator was priceless. Guess not too many people want to actually walk anymore, but I mean, we had paid for the whole experience! (poor Jeff had to carry Jonathan most of the way, otherwise we would still be climbing) We did ride the elevator down.

At the foot of the park, in the parking lot, there was a set of coke machines that were neat b/c they had Vulcan on them. Jeff wanted us to take a picture there and I did a little booty-dance (facing the machines, shaking my booty) just to be goofy. Well- WATCH WHAT YOU SHOW YOUR CHILDREN! Because the next thing that I knew, Jonathan was doing a "booty-dance" for everyone. Thankfully, not many people were around, but it was so funny, I couldn't really get him to stop (because I was laughing). The pic looks like he is peeing, but he's dancing.

Am I getting old???

I recently aquired a "my space" account. (I'll try and add it to my links) The problem is, I don 't really know what to do with it. I don't have "texting" down yet- I come from the old school where we write everything out. Jeff and I didn't want to pay extra to text message others, so we don't have that feature on our phones (recently upgraded to a camera phone though). Is there a class I should take in order to keep up with my youth on Myspace? Do they offer "Myspace for dummies" anywhere? I keep looking at other people's sites hoping to gain some knowledge, but so far, everyone seems so far ahead of me.....I feel like I'm in gym class again.....never did real well in there.....not competitive, athletic, strong, or enjoy public showers......

I think that is why I love this site so much. I feel like I am talking with other people my age. I am trying to recruit others to begin blogging, I guess they aren't as cool as we are though.

Pictures are from Easter- thought they may make you smile. (We didn't take an official Easter picture b/c it was too cold to wear our Easter outfits- plus Jeff was sick, so stayed home.)

Camping with a 2 year old

We took our first camping trip as parents this week. The original plan was to spend 3 nights, but we couldn't hack it- needed sleep. I don't know if you have ever been camping with a preschooler, but everyone should. Although I have always loved to camp with my husband, I have never been with small children (since I was one..long ago). But, we decided that our boy needed to know how to "rough it". So, we headed up to Unicoi for Jonathan's first trip. We needed to be near home in case it was a disaster plus, my grandparents were staying at the cabin, so we could kill 2 birds with one stone!

After setting up and playing in the tent awhile, we decided to go for a short hike. We were planning on eating dinner at the Unicoi Lodge with my family later. Our "short hike" turned into a 2 hour journey. We got our exercise because my usually very active toddler decided that he wanted to be held almost the entire trip. We got to see geese, bugs, fish, and one really cool floating bridge that moved when you walked on it. When we finally got back to the camp site, we were in such a hurry to get ready for dinner that we didn't notice the sudden darkening clouds or the cooler breeze. Needless to say, when we returned from dinner the inside of our tent had major puddles!

Although Jeff and I had spent big bucks on our sleeping bags, Jonathan's was just an old sleeping bag that we usually took to the laser show. Because it was cotton, it soaked up all the water on his side. Jeff spent the next few hours standing in front of a blazing fire trying to dry it out enough to put Jonathan on. Jeff's side of the tent was also a pool- I was in the middle, so my stuff was fine. We used a cloth diaper (we are never without several) to sop up as much as possible.

While Jeff was roasting our sleeping bags, I decided to attempt a shower. Jonathan's shower shoes were too big, the stall was tiny, and the water spray was so hard it sprayed under the curtain. He was terrified of it, so I had to hold him the entire time. I did get him calmed enough to put him in the changing area (about the size of half a stall) naked while I quickly showered. Thankfully, we were the only ones in the whole bathroom. While I was brushing our teeth, I remembered that I didn't bring a hair dryer. We had to dry under the hand dryer (which was motion activated)!

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. Unless you count the loud cries for Daddy when Jonathan woke up in the very dark and cold tent (not that Daddy actually got up with Jonathan- we ALL know who did that). I was very glad to get back to my cozy home on Friday afternoon. Isn't modern technology awesome!!! I'm thankful for the chance to rough it for a few days though- makes you appreciate what you have.

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!