Feeling Reflective

I've had these thoughts bouncing around in my head for a couple of weeks now and I'm finally at the point where I can't figure out what to do with them but get them out, so bear with me. This post isn't about Caleb or our family - it's about me and my heart.

Self-esteem doesn't come easily for me. I battle "am I good enough" and "did I do that right" and "I can't believe I said that" and the ever-present "should (or shouldn't) haves." My mind runs in circles from what I know in my heart and what my head seems to endlessly whisper. What I know is this: God made me who I am and He has bigger plans for me than I could ever imagine. I am well aware that I am not in charge - no matter how hard that is for me to accept.

In the do-it-all world that I find myself in, there is so much pressure to think the right things, say the right things, look the right way, be polished without seeming like it took any effort at all, be socially and professionally successful without giving up a moment of family and (I keep hearing this over and over) be true to yourself. Is all of that possible? Is it even realistic? In my constant desire to appease others and myself, I use too much energy trying.

The pressure of my religious background is sometimes overwhelming. I never feel like I can live up to the expectations. There are just some Sundays when we want to stay in our pajamas as a family and worship God individually for allowing us to be together for a few quiet hours. And then the guilt sets in. The should-haves creep into my mind. As I approach 32 years on this earth, I am learning that religion means something different to me. It doesn't mean pews and hymnals - though those things evoke deep feelings for me. It doesn't mean Sunday School, my name embossed on a leather Bible or an altar call. It means something much more personal to me these days and I'm learning to accept that despite my history and despite what others might think.

This summer, I have experienced the "mommy wars" firsthand. Actually, I've experienced them internally. I've made some new friends who stay at home with their children and I often envy them. Though I know that we are not in a financial position for me to stay at home with Caleb, my heart wishes for that opportunity. I'm sure the grass would be greener on either side of that fence, but I would be remiss not to recognize my desire to be with my child as he experiences the daily adventures of toddlerhood. He is growing so fast and before I know it, he'll be so independent. While I look forward to those days, I (like most mothers) hold his little pudgy hands tightly sometimes - just to try to hold on to what we have for right now.

And so the battle continues for a thirty-something suburban wife and mother who seeks God in the details while trying to be professional, personal and committed to the better good. I will never be the girl with the perfect figure or just the right outfit. I'll never be the one who can wear a white shirt without staining the front. I may never figure out the perfect balance between wife, mother, employee and self. I'll probably always indulge too much and laugh too loud. It's likely that I'll be the one to say something awkward or do something that lingers in my mind too long. But that's who I am. I have a husband who is patient and loving and somehow sees through my flaws. I have a child who lights my world with his smiles, melts my heart with his affection and challenges me every day. My family loves me, cheers for me when I succeed and cries for me when I stumble. I have been graced with friends who make me laugh and know that I am dependable when they are in the mood for a laugh or a cry. I feel like I'm on a good spiritual path, my life balance is improving and my heart is in the right place. Sometimes I make mistakes, but I usually learn from them. Though they sometimes linger in my "shouldn't have" file for too long, I have survived them all. Now I have to learn to stop doubting myself and be still.

Tulsa, Branson and the rest of July

Our trip to Tulsa a couple of weeks ago was just as fun as I expected it to be. Les and the kids and I piled into the car on Wednesday morning and headed for Cindy's house. When we got there, we filled up everyone's tummies and headed out for the zoo. It was insanely hot, but all 4 kids were troopers. Their moms were a little weary by the end of the day, but we sure enjoyed being together. We always do. Cindy stopped in the middle of the zoo trip and said, "We never imagined this when we became friends so long ago." She's right - but sometimes what we don't imagine is the best part of all.

The next day was my "day off." I took care of a couple of doctor appointments and some other errands (like paying for my car tags!). While I was out, I stopped at 2 different child care facilities to try to find a new place for Caleb. I can honestly say that I was on the verge of freaking out. My principal got back to me when she got back to work and said that we could work something out but that I would need to be there on the days that I have 7:30 meetings. Well...if I could work something out on those days, then I'd probably be able to work something out every day, so I was back to square one. I was faced with starting school in less than a month and had nothing secured for Caleb. Both places that I went on Thursday were great. One was quite a bit out of our price range, but I was willing to do whatever I needed to do - even if temporarily to get a place for him. The other one was within our financial means and very close to my new school. The only problem was the waiting list. The person that I talked to told me that I would have to wait a few days to find out if there would be room for Caleb. As usual, God granted me a peace about it that helped me to understand that everything would be okay. I called back on Monday and found out that they were willing to work with us to get Caleb into a class. They only had room for him in the 2 1/2 -3 year room, but I think he'll be fine. He'll be 2 1/2 in a couple of months. The only reservation is the potty training issue - but my hope is that being with the older kids will be an incentive for him. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but I'm going with it. So - Caleb will be at Central Methodist Church every day next year. He'll be in the MONKEY room...so appropriate.

After I did all of my running around, I met Stacy at SSD for some serious scrapbooking. We even went to her house after they closed and worked some more.

While I was at Stacy's, Rudy took Caleb to the Naturals baseball game. Caleb has developed a fascination with baseball these days. He likes to watch it on TV, but his favorite thing in the world is to play with the inflatable tee ball set that he got for his birthday. He whacks the tee, which makes the ball fall to the ground, then he throws his bat and takes off running in circles around the yard. We hear, "Play baseball game?" at least 25 times a day! Rudy told him that they were going to the baseball game on Thursday and he was ecstatic. When they stopped for dinner first, Caleb went into hysterics because that wasn't his plan. Once they got to the park, he was in Heaven. Rudy said he talked about baseball the whole time: Hit ball? Throw ball? Run, baseball! He loves to yell, "Go baseball game!" During the game, there was a big collision at home plate and Caleb got scared. Rudy said that everyone around them knew who Caleb was by the end of the game. Apparently, he asked to go to the bathroom after every other inning. Daddy didn't get to see much of the game, but he loved taking his little boy to the ballpark. On the way home, Caleb was quiet for a while before he said, "Daddy, I like baseball game."

On Saturday night (7/19), Ms. Kelly came to stay with Caleb while Rudy and I went to Les and Nick's New Orleans party. I think it was good for us to have some time out without the munchkin. Caleb was excited to see Ms. Kelly, but had a hard time with us leaving. Being together all summer has made for a touch of separation anxiety.

On Monday (7/21), we had our postponed playdate with Cayden and Jenn Quinalty. The boys had a great time playing at the pool. It was so hot that Jenn and I even got in the water with them.

Rudy has been struggling a lot lately with back and neck pain. He spent a lot of time the past couple of weeks in bed with some pretty strong painkillers. Now, though, the pain seems to have subsided. We're really praying that it doesn't come back!

On Tuesday (7/22), Rudy took Caleb to Ft. Smith to see Jan and Chris. Chris was home from school in Boston and it was Jan's birthday, so they spent the night. It worked out great because I spent the whole day cleaning and preparing to host bunco at our house that night. The boys had a great time in Ft. Smith and it was a blessing because Jan was able to take care of Caleb while Rudy's back was still hurting. It was so strange being here Tuesday night without my boys. After everyone left from bunco, the house was so quiet - too quiet, though I never thought I'd say that.

We packed up and left for our final getaway of the summer on Thursday. Jan treated us all to a long weekend at a condo in Branson. We drove up there Thursday afternoon and met Jan and Chris. Rudy made BBQ to take with us and we enjoyed that when we got there. After dinner, we went to the pool, where Caleb played in the water until he could hardly keep his eyes open. We went to Silver Dollar City on Friday. It was 1000 degrees hot on the blacktop, but we managed with the help of a lot of lemonade! Caleb loved his first amusement park trip. He wanted to ride everything! Unfortunately, there were only a couple of things he could ride, but he took full advantage of those. All of the adults took turns riding with him on the bug ride that went "up in the sky" and on the frog ride that went "ribbit." We also rode the train. Of course, with it being SDC, the train ride involves a fake train robbery by some hillbillies. Caleb did not like that the train stopped for that little show. He kept saying, "no no train!" to the actors. Chris, Rudy and I managed to sneak in a few big kid rides too since Jan was there to watch Caleb while we rode the coasters!

On Saturday, we had the added treat of going over to meet some of our friends from our STL neighborhood at their condo. The Browns just happened to be in town at the same time as us, so they invited us over to swim at their (very nice) pool. We stayed for 2 hours, catching up with our old friends, marveling at how much the kids have grown and enjoying the summer day. On Saturday afternoon, Rudy and Jan went shopping while Caleb and I took a nap. After naptime, we went out to dinner and then took Caleb to a place on the strip called Kids Kountry. Jan remembered it from when Chris was a little kid. I was slightly nervous about putting Caleb on the rickety old rides by himself, but he loved it! He rode the swings, the bunny rabbits, the mini ferris wheel and the tea cups. A storm came up just as it was time for us to go home, so we headed back to the condo. We enjoyed playing our marble game (Chris and I won 2 out of 3 games!) for the rest of the evening.

This morning, we packed up and headed for home. I've been fighting some stomach crud all day and Rudy and Caleb have been recuperating from the weekend. Rudy took Caleb over to Grandma Voises' house this evening to give me some quiet and rest. I took full advantage of it and managed to get our pictures posted from the trip. Hopefully, I'll be feeling better tomorrow. It's my last mom's day off for the summer. Rudy starts back to work on Tuesday, so Caleb and I are on our own for the remaining week and a half of our break. I can't believe it's almost over.

The Sweetest Words

For a long time, Caleb has been telling us that he loves us. His sweet little "Wud oo" is enough to make me melt. However, we've only heard it when he was prompted to say it. Yesterday, my whole being melted into a puddle when my little blonde-haired, blue-eyed, sweet-cheeked child spontaneously came up to me and gave me a hug, then said, "I wud oo, Mama." No words have ever sounded so sweet.

Mid-July Already!?!

Can it really be July 15th? It seems like we just got out of school! Now we're officially on the downhill slide to going back to work. Band starts for Rudy on the 29th and I have to be at a meeting on August 7th, then full time starting on the 11th. All good things must come to an end, but until they do - we're enjoying every day that we have!

Like I said in my last post, Caleb and I went to Memmie and Poppie's on Wednesday (7/9). We drove down in the rain and Caleb never went to sleep. We never left the house once we got there. Caleb played and entertained us all. We didn't need to go anywhere! We packed up and left left for Hot Springs on Thursday morning after enjoying our visit completely.

Caleb didn't sleep on the way to Hot Springs, either. I did manage to get him to nap as soon as we got to Mom's though. He slept, I showered and we were ready for action when Mom got home. Caleb was so excited to see LaLa! He woke up and said, "Where LaLa go?" We went to KJ's for an early dinner and then went over to visit with Pepapa and Anna Joyce. Caleb helped Pepapa feed the ducks and fish a loaf of bread. When we asked him what he gave them, he said, "Toast." While we were there, he showed off all of his "tricks." He did his happy/sad/mean/surprised faces, helped me sing the "baseball game song" (Take Me Out to the Ballgame), helped me sing the "football game song" (Razorback fight song - he does the RAH RAHs), danced and answered a variety of questions with cute answers. We went home and put the little showman to bed.

Mom very graciously let me sleep in on Friday and took care of Caleb most of the morning. We hung out at the house and then ran a couple of errands. Caleb pulled his funniest trick yet on Friday when he was supposed to be napping. I put him down for his nap in his pack & play, which happened to be pushed up against the side of the bed. Somehow, Caleb managed to climb onto the bed and threw all of the contents of his suitcase into his pack & play. That wasn't quite enough, so he cleaned out the cabinet that Mom keeps all of his toys in. All of the toys went into the pack & play also. He did all of this so quietly. I heard a sound every now and then, but thought it was the construction going on next door. It wasn't until I heard the doorknob rattling that I knew he was out of his bed. I went to the door, not quite knowing what to expect when I opened it. There he was, standing beside his bed with a huge grin on his face. He looked at me and said, "I wake up." I couldn't even hide my laughter. It was absolutely hilarious. Mom had gone out to take care of some things and I just left it all like it was. I knew she wouldn't believe it if she didn't see it. So - Caleb managed to skip another nap. He did sleep a little bit in the car during our errands.

Mr. L. got home from his conference on Friday night. He grilled burgers for us and got a rundown of all of Caleb's latest advancements. Those two are quite a pair! As soon as Pops shows up, Caleb becomes his shadow.

On Saturday, Mr. L. had some work to do on the boat dock. Caleb kept up with him every step of the way. He loved sitting on the boat while Pops worked on the lift motor. It did completely wear him out, though. He took a good long nap after lunch. When he woke up, we headed straight for the boat. As usual, Caleb loved riding on the boat. We went over to Harolyn and Brad's where Caleb and Pops played in the pool while we all caught up. After our boat ride home, Mr L went to get pizza.

Caleb and I headed for home on Sunday. I didn't think he was going to sleep at all until he fell asleep at about Mountainburg. He managed to get about a 45 minute nap. We were both glad to see Rudy when we got home and he was glad see us too! We went to dinner at Las Fajitas and came home to crash in the bed!

On Monday, Caleb and I went to Gymboree and then came home for lunch and nap. Rudy woke up with a "crick" in his neck that kept getting worse and worse. He ended up in such severe pain that he took a pain pill and went to bed. While both of them were sleeping, I ran an errand and by the time I got back, Rudy was literally yelling in his sleep. Bless his heart, he was in so much pain! He went to bed pretty early and woke up feeling a little better today.

We were supposed to have a play date with Caleb's friend Cayden and my friend (Cayden's mom) Jennifer on Monday. Jenn called at about 3:00 and said that Cayden woke up from his nap feeling awful and they wouldn't be able to come. I called our neighbor Shalini and she brought Jakey over to play instead. The two boys splashed around each other in the pool and played on the swingset for a while. We came in for dinner and played some more until bedtime. I guess all of that fun got to Caleb, because he woke up during the night and kept my sleep pretty limited all night long.

Rudy took Caleb with him this morning to take run some errands and get breakfast. I slept in to make up for my missed sleep and got up just as they got home.

I'm not sure what I'm going to end up doing about Caleb's daycare for fall. I thought we had it all figured out and we even registered him for His House at the Nazarene church nearby. Then I found out that they don't open until 7:15 and I have to be at work at 7:30! I'm in a bit of a panic. I got the name of a lady who keeps kids in her home and we went to meet her today. Let's just say that I'm still in a panic. Caleb will NOT be going to Ms. Karen's house. First of all, the front door was wide open when we got there and there wasn't anyone in sight. We went to the backyard where the kids were playing. It was filthy. There were lots of toys and lots of kids, but everything was overgrown and completely dirty. I (for some reason) overlooked that and asked all of the questions that I needed to ask. Once we finally went inside and looked around, I was feeling very uneasy about it. The house wasn't child-proofed at all. My mind was made up when the lady indicated that she would prefer that Caleb wear pull-ups than underwear because she has new carpet. Nope. As I was getting ready to leave and Rudy was putting Caleb in the car, she said that she wasn't sure why I was so worried. After all, she's been keeping kids for 30 years and she had never met anyone who asked so many questions. What she doesn't seem to understand is that she may have been keeping kids for 30 years, but I've only been a mother for just over 2 years. It is hard enough for me to leave my child with a stranger during the day. I am most certainly going to ask all the questions I want. I might even ask them twice and that's my right as her potential consumer. When I got in the car, Rudy and I immediately agreed that there was no way we would feel comfortable leaving Caleb there. What really burned me up was that when we got home, there was a message on my answering machine from her. She said that she just didn't feel like it would be a good fit. She assured me that I was adorable and that Caleb was adorable, but that she just didn't think that she could provide what we needed. It was all I could do not to call her up and tell her that she could not be more right. She most definitely could not provide what we needed. So - now we're back in a bind. I'm waiting to hear from my principal as to whether or not we can work out some way for me to keep Caleb in the church setting where he's registered. If not, I'm back in the hunt for childcare.

On a happier note - Caleb and I are going to Tulsa tomorrow with Leslie and her kids. We're meeting Cindy and Haven and going to the zoo! It will be so much fun!!!

Vacation and some other stuff

I should've known that when Caleb started out the week by taking off his diaper at naptime and wetting all over his bed - we were in for quite a week. He repeated the same thing on Wednesday! In general, we kept our normal daily routine for the week. Our evenings were a little different, though. I had a Children's Museum meeting on Tuesday night and we all took Grandma out to dinner on Wednesday night. On Thursday, I got a pretty significant haircut. Friday night, we went over to Grandma's for her birthday dinner with her, Jan, Kathy, Dan and Heather.

On Saturday, we went to pick up my new car! It's a beautiful cranberry-colored GMC Acadia. I absolutely love it!!!! After that, Jan watched Caleb while Rudy and I went to a friend's wedding.

Sunday was a full day of laundry and packing for vacation. We left on Monday after I took Caleb to Gymboree. It was great to travel in the new car. We had plenty of room and the built-in DVD system was such a relief. We got to Jerry and Sherry's house in Florissant just in time for dinner. After that, we visited and got caught up on everyone's lives. Since Caleb didn't sleep at all on the way there, he all but passed out when he hit the pillow!

Tuesday morning, we got up and took Caleb to the zoo. This was the first time he was actually able to enjoy the zoo. He knows the names of a lot of the animals and loved seeing them. We went to the petting zoo, watched part of the sea lion show, rode the train and rode the carousel while we were there. The best part was seeing the brand new baby giraffe. Even Caleb got excited. He looked at her and said, "Ooh, a BABY giraffe!" It was pretty cute. We thought Caleb would love the new animatronic dinosaur exhibit at the zoo, so we shelled out $9 for tickets. He is very much into dinosaurs these days and I just knew he'd would be amazed at the exhibit. He covered his eyes as soon as he saw the first one and didn't uncover them until we were all the way through the exhibit! He was scared to pieces!

After the zoo, we went back to the house for a little while to rest and get ready for dinner. We met about 25 of our friends at our old hangout, El Nopal. It was so great to see everyone. We didn't get to visit like we wanted to, but it was just good to be in the same room with all of them. I told Rudy that it was actually a little overwhelming to me that so many people cared enough to come see us after us being gone for a year. He agreed.

On Wednesday, we met Michael for lunch b/c he couldn't come to the dinner on Tuesday night. It was so great to catch up with him. After lunch, we went to Babies R Us, since we don't have one of those here. We went back to the house for Caleb's nap and to rest a little before Rudy, Caleb, Rebecca and I picked up Jerry at work and met Sherry at Cunetto's for dinner. After a typically fantastic meal, they took Caleb home with them so that Rudy and I could go out by ourselves. What a treat!

The rest of the family came in on Thursday around lunchtime. We enjoyed seeing them and the kids immediately started playing together. Sherry prepared a wonderful lunch/dinner for us as always. Shortly after our meal, most of us got ready to go to the Cardinals game. Sherry, Sandy and Rebecca stayed home with Caleb. Rudy, Jerry, Tom, Jimmy, Larry, Ana, Mary, Alexander, Anthony and I went to the game. We had a good time, despite the rain delay and the Cardinals' loss.

On Friday, we stayed at home until it was time for us to go down to the Arch for the fireworks. We found a spot where the kids could go down to the pond and feed the ducks. It was very different this year at the Arch. Because the river is up so high, the concert was moved way off of the Arch grounds and there was no music, no vendors and no port-a-potties. I wasn't too upset about the vendors, but the lack of potties was a problem! Hopefully, things will be back to normal next year. The fireworks were spectacular as always. Caleb, on the other hand, didn't see a single one. All afternoon, he asked about the fireworks, talked about the fireworks and kept looking for the fireworks. As soon as the first one popped in the sky, he covered his eyes and didn't remove them until he thought they were all done. There was a fake finale and it was quiet for just a few moments. Caleb moved his hands away from his eyes and I asked him, "Did you like the fireworks?" He grinned and said, "Yeah!"...and then they started again and his hands flew back onto his eyes. When they stopped for the last time, he wouldn't stop talking about the fireworks. He asked, "Where fireworks go?" and said, "Sha Sha watched fireworks." We all just went along with it. No one had the heart to tell him that he missed the whole show because his hands were covering his eyes. Now, he's still talking about the fireworks that Sha Sha watched and occasionally telling us that they went BOOM BOOM! I think it's pretty funny.

I wasn't feeling too hot all day on the 4th, but managed to make it through the fireworks and the insane traffic afterwards. I held off getting really sick until we got home. It was a LONG night for me and I wasn't feeling much better the next morning either. However - it was time to make the trek home, so I sucked it up and got in the car. We managed to make it home safe and sound. Caleb was glad to get home to his toys and his bed and Rudy and I were glad to be back in our home. We enjoyed our trip tremendously and we are very grateful to Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca for their hospitality and for allowing us to live with them for a few days - but there is just something about getting home that can't be beat.

On Sunday (7/6), Rudy started his week-long stint at Jr. High band camp at the U of A. He's loving it and is planning on going back next year. I can't imagine loving being with Jr. High kids, but he's really enjoying the experience. Caleb and I spent Sunday being lazy. I still wasn't feeling well, so I napped when he napped and managed to get in a shower towards the end of the day. He was pretty tired too, so he did a lot of laying around and asked to "watch tee-wee" several times. I think that was God's way of helping me out. I'm not sure what I would've done if Caleb had been in one of his moods on Sunday! Monday wasn't much different. We were lazy in the morning and then napped after lunch. I did get a shower and go to the post office and to pick up Dewey from the kennel. Caleb was so excited about going to "get mail" and going to "see Dewey's doctor." I think he was just glad to get out of the house! Rudy brought home pizza for dinner and then I forced myself to go to the grocery store. Our cupboards were bare!

Today (7/8) was a pretty cool day for me. It was my first official day back on the SLP team at Rogers. They had an inservice day to earn the hours to be off one day in the fall. They graciously invited me to join them. It was so wonderful to see all of the girls that are still there and to meet some of the new ones who have joined the team. I know this job won't be perfect (none of them ever are), but I am looking so forward to the camaraderie that this group shares.

Stacy graciously agreed to watch Caleb for me today while I was at the meeting and Rudy was at camp. She said that he was a good boy for her and even enjoyed going to Chick-Fil-A with them. Caleb loves his Chickie Fries!

Caleb and I are leaving tomorrow morning for Sherwood and then on to Hot Springs. We're looking forward to the time with family.

Potty Training Update: Lots of people have e-mailed to ask how the potty training is going. Well...it was going great until we went on vacation. Because we were on the go so much while we were gone, we had to resort to using pull-ups a lot more than we usually do. Caleb honestly has no idea that there's any difference between a pull-up and a diaper, so he just uses them freely. That set us back what seems like lightyears. I have been really discouraged the past couple of days with the number of accidents that he's having. He always tells me that he went - right after he goes. He's pretty fond of saying things like, "Sha Sha pee pee on the chair" and "Sha Sha pee pee on the floor." So - he knows he's going - he just doesn't seem to know before he goes! Or...maybe he doesn't care. I don't know. I can't figure it out. He loves to go in the potty and loves everything about the potty. He just won't make that transition to telling me the he has to go BEFORE he wets all over himself and everything under him. I'm going to do my absolute best to keep him in the usual routine while we're in Sherwood and Hot Springs. It's a good thing Mom and Mr. L. have concrete floors. :)

Soggy Nap

I put Caleb down for his nap yesterday at 1:00 in nothing but a diaper. About 45 minutes later, I could still hear him jabbering in his room. What I heard was, "Mama! Bed! Pee pee bed! Poo poo bed! Mama!" I thought that maybe he had pooped in his diaper, which has kept him from taking a nap in the past. I went in there thinking that I was going to change his diaper and put him back in bed. When I got in there, I realized what all the yelling was about. Caleb was standing on his pillow, holding his diaper in his hand. He then showed me his bed, which was soaked. The child had taken off his diaper, wet all over his sheet and then decided to yell for me. I still haven't figured out why he yelled about poop, but maybe he just knew that would get my attention. Oh, my goodness. There's never a dull moment with a 2 year old.

Oh...by the way...he never did go to sleep. It was a long, whiny evening that culminated in a good strong dose of children's Benadryl.

This Week at the Villines House

So much has happened at the Villines house this week! Let me begin at the beginning...


Sunday was Father's Day. That being said, I have to take a minute to pay a little respect to Rudy. I could not possibly ask for a better father for Caleb. Rudy is completely involved in every detail of Caleb's life. One of my favorite things to do is sit back and watch the two of them play and interact together. Sometimes it's overwhelming that God must love me so much that he gave me these two amazing people to share my life with.


While I'm on the subject of Father's Day, let me also say that we as a family are blessed with amazing men in our lives. Mr. L., Poppie, Pepapa and Grandpa Morris are the giants in Caleb's life who will create memories for him that cannot be replaced. This year, we also lost one of our grandfathers. Grandpa Voise died on Easter Sunday. I am so glad that Caleb had a chance to be with him. We have photographs of the two of them together that will be cherished forever. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the impact of my father, Rudy's father and Rudy's stepfather, all of whom have gone before us to be with God. We are who we are because they helped shape our lives.


Even though Sunday was Father's Day, Rudy didn't get to take it easy. I absolutely had to go do some shopping on Sunday because I had nothing to wear to a June job interview! We did, however, take him out to dinner Sunday night and he enjoyed the previous two days playing 36 holes of golf!


On Monday morning, I had an interview in Rogers. It was a little strange, though, because I worked there before and I have a very casual relationship with Linda, the SLP supervisor. It ended up being one of the more enjoyable interviews I've ever had. After the interview, Linda and I went over to the school so that I could meet the principal and get the lay of the land. Linda told me that she would be recommending me for the job and I would be hearing from the HR director about the final interview, etc. I came home exhausted, but excited.


While I was gone to my interview, Rudy took Caleb to Gymboree. He said that it went well, but that it definitely was not his cup of tea. I'll do my best not to ask him to go again. :) Monday afternoon, we went to look at a new daycare for Caleb in the event that I did get the job in Rogers. We toured a new daycare at the First Nazarene Church called "His House." The facility is very nice and has a lot of great safety features. It is literally a mile and half from our house. We're planning on enrolling him there for the fall. After that, we went to Home Depot to buy a ceiling fan and glider for our back porch.


Tuesday was Rudy's day off. Unfortunately, it wasn't my finest moment in parenting. I didn't sleep well the night before and woke up exhausted and cranky. My patience wasn't stellar and the morning was pretty much a wash for Caleb and me. We watched a lot of TV and pretty much tried to stay out of each other's way. Rudy came home early and ended up spending his day off doing odd jobs around the house. He hung the ceiling fan on the porch and mowed the yard. He really needs to learn to take better advantage of his Tuesdays!


I was supposed to play Bunco on Tuesday night, but ended up cancelling because we found out that we were going to have houseguests. Chad and Ronni Fellers and their kids came up and spent the night because they had an adoption hearing the following morning in Fayetteville. They didn't get to our house until well after 9:00 and we ended up sitting up visiting for a while before we all turned in.


I got up on Wednesday morning and hit the ground running. I had my follow-up interview with the Rogers HR director at 9:00. Caleb and Rudy went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast while I went to my interview. By 9:15, my interview was over and I was officially re-employed by the Rogers Public Schools. I'm really excited about my new job, even though it's different from what I've been doing for the past 6 years. Switching from early childhood to elementary school is going to be quite a paradigm shift, but I'll manage. I know for a fact that I'll have lots of support from Linda and the other SLP's in the district. I'm just excited to be back in Rogers where I started!


After my interview, I ran some errands and then came home to clean all of my personal information off of the laptop that I had been given for my job in Bentonville. Once that was done, I went to turn in my letter of resignation. I truly appreciated the opportunity that Bentonville gave me to come back to Arkansas last year. It just wasn't a good fit for me for several reasons. There's no need to go into those here. Just suffice it to say that this is going to be a good change.


Last night, Rudy grilled salmon for our dinner and we all enjoyed celebrating my new job! After dinner, we went to our first Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball game. We had a wonderful time! Shortly after we got there, we pointed out "Strike" the mascot to Caleb. He was very intrigued by that and kept asking us, "Where Strike go?" over and over. Finally, I could see that Strike was in the concourse, so I took Caleb to meet Strike. He wasn't so sure about it after that. I did manage to get a picture, but the look on Caleb's face tells the whole story!

After that, he didn't ask about Strike too much. In the middle of the game, we moved to some seats that were right behind a railing and had a little more room for Caleb to move around. He loved it. He stuck his little face between the rails and yelled, "Go Baseball!" over and over. Everyone around us was cracking up. Then, he decided he would dance to the music on the loudspeaker and pretty much put on a show. He talked about baseball all the way home. He even got up this morning and wanted to wear his baseball hat. He also insisted that Rudy wear one too.

Today was my day off. Unlike Rudy, I took full advantage of it. I met Leslie at Signed Sealed Delivered and cropped all afternoon. I came home to a dinner of Rudy's famous hamburgers and then we all went outside for a while before Caleb's bathtime. While I was cropping, Rudy and Caleb went to see Grandma Voise for a while and then came back here for naptime and a trip to the pool.

So, you see, it has been a busy week for us. And, in the midst of it all, we are still potty training. Rudy and I have both been amazed at how quickly Caleb has caught on. He didn't have any accidents at all again today. If we can just get him to tell us when he needs to go, rather than waiting for us to tell him it's time to go - we'll be in business.

Tomorrow brings another day of summertime. I need to go get my personal materials from the office at Bentonville. We're going to enroll Caleb at the daycare and we may even go say goodbye to the people at Pine Crest. We don't really have any plans other than that. I love that about summer.

Good News!

I was offered (and accepted) a job with Rogers School District today! I will be the speech-language pathologist at Westside Elementary School starting in August!

A Dry Spell

No accidents today!!!! Caleb kept the same pair of underpants on all day without any accidents at all!

C'mon, Mama!

Quick post b/c I'm dead-dog tired tonight, but I just have to get this down before I forget it:

This morning, Caleb had the biggest advancement in his potty training yet! I was cleaning up our breakfast dishes and he was watching TV and playing in the living room. I heard him say, "Potty!" and just as I started to grab the paper towels and Lysol, he said, "C'mon, Mama! Sha Sha go potty!" It took me a second to process it, but I realized that he was actually telling me that he needed to go potty - not that he already had. I dropped everything and we ran to the bathroom, where he proceeded to actually use the potty. We hugged and high-fived and then went on with our activities. He was so proud of himself and I was pretty proud of him too! Unfortunately, I let another opportunity pass by later in the morning. He had JUST left the bathroom and played for about 5 minutes when he said, "Sha Sha potty." I honestly thought he was just trying to get my attention because I was doing something else instead of playing with him. Sure enough, though - he had an accident in the floor. I apologized to him for not listening and cleaned up the mess. I don't think it caused a setback, though. He told me he had to potty a couple more times throughout the day and he even told me he needed to poop. I count this as a major achievement!

On a more serious note, Caleb has had a slight fever all day today. I've been giving him ibuprofen for it, but it hasn't stayed down on its own. He seems to feel okay, but fevers always cause worry. Hopefully, it's doing its job and fighting off whatever is trying to make Caleb sick.

Potty Training and Other Fun Stuff

Monday morning, Caleb and I went to Gymboree and then came home. I put a pull-up on Caleb for Gymboree so that we wouldn't have any major clean-ups to do. When we got home, he ate his lunch and went down for his nap. The afternoon was a constant string of "Do you have to potty?" and every 30 minutes when the timer went off, "Potty time!" I would like to have a dollar for everytime I've said the word POTTY in the past 6 days! The exhaustion paid off when Caleb actually used the bathroom (both #1 and #2!).

On Tuesday, Rudy went to Fayetteville to teach trumpet lessons and then went to Alma to play in a golf tournament. I got up early and took Caleb to Pine Crest for his first full day in the 2-year-old class. I packed 5 changes of clothes and 8 pairs of underwear. I also put a pull-up in his bag for the ride home. I dropped him off and told the staff to call me if he ran out of clothes. I came home and took full advantage of the quiet, empty house - I went to sleep! At 11:00, the phone rang. It was the owner of the daycare telling me that Caleb was out of clean clothes. Seriously...3 hours! I told her to please put a pull-up on him until naptime, then put on a diaper and I'd be there to pick him up right after nap. When I got there at 2:00, he was in the bathroom with the teacher and about 6 other kids. The teacher was helping Caleb wash his hands and he was wearing underwear! She said that she thought maybe she'd give it one more shot. This made me wonder what exactly had happened in the morning, but I didn't ask. I honestly didn't care. I just picked up all of Caleb's stuff, thanked the teacher for her time and (assumed) patience and headed for the door. I stopped at the front to talk to one of the directors and within 5 minutes, Caleb had wet on the floor. I tried not to cry as I went to get paper towels from the bathroom and asked for disinfectant spray. I got everything cleaned up, got a dry pull-up on Caleb and took him - in just his t-shirt and pull-up to the car. We had a very trying afternoon of constant unsuccessful trips to the bathroom, followed 5 minutes later by, "uh-oh, Sha Sha pottied!" which would send me running to grab paper towels and Lysol. By the end of the day, I was doubting myself. Should we wait until next summer when he's 3? Am I doing something wrong? Is he really not ready? Caleb, sensing my frustration and probably feeling some of his own, started hitting me everytime I mentioned the potty. He screamed and threw his underwear when I tried to put them on him. It was miserable. When Rudy got home, I told him about the day and asked for his input on what we should do. We decided that we had two choices:

1. Send him to daycare 2 days/week and hold off potty training until next summer.
2. Keep him home full time this summer to potty train, knowing that it would take a 50/50 effort from both of us.

We decided that we would keep him home. I felt/feel very confident in this decision and I haven't regretted it for a minute. Tuesday night, Caleb and I had a very calming and very connecting bedtime routine. It was almost as if we were forgiving each other and promising a new start the next day. It worked.

On Wednesday, Rudy got up with Caleb and started the potty-training cycle all over again. It was a rough couple of hours - with 2 major accidents. (We've now learned that Caleb potties A LOT in the morning hours and much less in the afternoon/evening. We have to watch him much closer and be much more diligent in the mornings.) I got up and got ready to go to Little Sprouts time at the Botanical Garden and then got Caleb ready. We enjoyed our morning out with our friends Heidi, Ian and Emma Landers. We came straight home from the garden and ate our lunch.

While Caleb was eating his pizza for lunch and I was eating a turkey sandwich, he looked at me and said, "How's your pizza? I'm fine." I laughed so hard I almost spit out my lunch. It was just so comical. I guess I never realized that I almost always ask him how his food is when he's eating. We've also been working on answering people when they ask him how he's doing. I guess he just decided to put the two together and came up with his own little conversation.

After naptime, we played at home for just a little while, then we went over the Grandma Voise's for dinner. Caleb loves walking around outside at her house because there are so many trees, plants, rocks and other fun stuff for him to investigate. He was amazingly well-behaved at Grandma's and even ate a great dinner. I was super-excited when I asked him about going to the potty and he said, "poo poo." We ran upstairs to the bathroom and I held his hands so he wouldn't fall in on the big potty. He actually used the bathroom - he really did have to poop! He was so proud of himself and I almost threw a party because I was just as proud of him! This was a big advancement!

Thursday morning I had a doctor's appointment at 8:00, so I was up and at 'em pretty early. Unfortunately, Caleb has not managed to take after me in the sleeping in department. He's awake at 6:00 every morning! I went to my doctor's appointment and ran several errands before coming home to have lunch with my boys. While I was gone, Rudy and Caleb played outside and had a wonderful morning! After lunch, I left for my afternoon out. Stacy and I met at Signed, Sealed & Delivered to scrapbook. It was very relaxing and a much-needed break from potty-training! I came home in time for Rudy to get his shower and hit the road for his golf weekend with Chad. Caleb and I had a good evening. We went for a walk and watered the plants, then shared a popsicle before bedtime.

I did get some potential good news on Tuesday, but I can't share it yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell more on Monday afternoon. No - I'm not pregnant.

Caleb and I got up this morning and watched some TV and had breakfast together. We went to a bonus Gymboree class and then to lunch before coming home for his naptime. While we were at Gymboree, I faced a situation that I've never been on this side of before. There was another child in the group who I immediately identified as having some sort of special need. Unfortunately, the child was very aggressive toward Caleb. He honestly ignored all of the other children. For some reason, Caleb was his target. It was evident to me that he wanted to play with Caleb, but he didn't know how to interact other than by being aggressive. The first time, they were sharing a two-person rocking horse and the child's mother stopped him just before he hit Caleb. The second time, he came over out of the blue and grabbed Caleb's face with his hands. Caleb reacted much better than I thought he would. I tried to smooth it over by telling the mom that Caleb goes to daycare, so he's pretty tough when it comes to that kind of stuff. I could tell that she was really embarrassed and felt very overwhelmed by the situation. I didn't want to make it worse for her. I just tried to keep Caleb away from the child. I couldn't prevent the last time, though. Caleb was crawling through a tunnel, so I couldn't get to him when the other child came at him from the other end of the tunnel. This time, he grabbed a handful of Caleb's hair. To get him to let go, the child's mother had to pull her son out of the tunnel. Unfortunately, he didn't let go of Caleb's hair, so it hurt Caleb pretty badly. I was comforting Caleb when the lady picked up her son and took him home. I know it wasn't my fault, but I felt terrible for not doing something different from what I did. I'm not sure what I should've done, but it was so painful to watch that lady struggle with her child's behavior towards Caleb. The special educator in me wanted to help her, but I didn't have any way of knowing if she recognized that he likely had special needs, so there wasn't really anything I could say. It was a very uncomfortable situation for everyone. After they left, Caleb calmed down pretty quickly and thoroughly enjoyed his time at Gymboree. He talked up a storm and some of the other moms even asked me how old he is because he was so verbal and interactive.

After naptime, Caleb and I played for a little while inside because it was raining so hard outside. We were supposed to have a backyard playdate with our neighbor, Shalini and her son, Jakey. The rain cancelled that, though. Instead, Leslie came over with Jackson and Grace. The 3 kids played while Les and I talked. She also brought back some of the baby gear that we loaned her. It's hard to believe that Grace is almost 1 and doesn't need that stuff anymore! We decided to take the kids to dinner, so we all went to Chili's. After dinner, Caleb and I came home and enjoyed some quiet time before bed.

We don't really have any plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure something will unfold! Hopefully, our potty training will continue to go as well as it has been. Caleb only had 2 accidents today, which is a good thing because my washing machine was about to go on strike! I've done so much laundry since we started this process!!!! Rudy had a good point this week, though. He said that as exhausting as this has been so far, we certainly have had some good laughs about it! Very true.

And They're Off...Diapers, That Is!

We have O-fficially started potty training. We've been doing some pre-training for about 2 weeks now, but we're in it full-fledged now. I bought Caleb's potty seat 2 weeks ago at Target. He thought the best part was the lid and would only sit ON the lid, so I took the lid off and hid it. (I am nothing if not a creative problem-solver.) We also bought 2 books - both of which make flushing sounds. We also have an Elmo potty video and a poster in the bathroom for stickers. I realize that none of this will actually potty train Caleb, but I feel better having some tools in place to make me feel like I'm doing something right. I'll get back to the potty training in a bit, but let me get up-to-date first.

Last Thursday morning, Caleb and I went to Gymboree (the Gym, not the store) for the first time. He loved it! He played until he was exhausted! After Gymboree, we came home for lunch and then naptime. I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon, so Rudy stayed home with Caleb while I went. When I got home, we went out to dinner. On the way to dinner, Caleb was happily playing with cars in the back and Rudy and I were talking. Caleb suddenly said, "Pepapa." We laughed about how sometimes words just pop into his head and he says them. In a roundabout way we ended up talking about whether or not we are random thinkers/talkers like Caleb. Rudy said that I'm only random when I'm on drugs (referring to some medicine I had taken the night before that made me a little loopy). Caleb piped up from the backseat and said, "Mama on drugs." I about died. My jaw hit the floor and then all I could do was laugh. It was hilarious! Later that night, we were trying to get Caleb to say his name because he's still unexplainably calling himself Sha-Sha. Rudy would say, "C-C-Caleb." Caleb would say, "C-C-Sha-Sha." Finally Caleb got fed up with it and answered, "No! Sha-Sha!" Apparently, he knows that his name is Caleb - he just wants to call himself Sha-Sha.

On Friday, Caleb had his 2 year well visit at the pediatrician's office. After answering about a thousand questions about his developmental skills, we finally saw the doctor. He said that Caleb's weight is really too high for his height, but that he doesn't think it's really a problem, because he's not fat - he's just a solid kid. Caleb's height (33.5") is in the 20th percentile, his weight (32.08 lbs) is in the 87th percentile and his head circumference (50.5 cm) is in the 89th percentile. The doctor just said to make sure we're not giving him too many sweets and to keep him active. He also said that Caleb is just the right age and has all of the skills necessary to start potty training. He told Caleb several times while we were there that he needs to put his pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty.

Caleb's 2-year-old self is wearing me completely out. He has now stopped listening when I tell him to stop running. He has actually run away from me a couple of times (once at the park and once in the front yard as I was trying to get him into the car) and when I tell him to stop, he starts laughing and runs harder. I know it's purely his independence and that he knows exactly what he's doing and I shouldn't let it get to me, but I can't have him running off from me and I certainly can't have him keep running when I tell him to stop. If anyone has a miraculous suggestion for teaching a 2-year-old to listen, I'd love to hear it. Even though I really strive to use more positive reinforcement than negative, we're certainly doing a lot of time out these days! The crazy part about it is that Caleb LOVES to be praised. He eats it up and beams from ear to ear when I praise him and tell him he's a good listener or that he made a good choice. And - sometimes it actually works and he repeats the good choice instead of continuing to make the bad choice. I just have to keep telling myself - He's just two. From head to toe and back again - he's two.

Rudy left for Fordyce to help Mr. L. and the guys at deer camp with some work that they were doing this weekend. Mom came up to visit Caleb and I. She got here Friday afternoon. We did absolutely nothing Friday night. Caleb played and we had leftovers for dinner. On Saturday, Mom graciously got up with Caleb and took care of him while I slept in. When I got up at 9:00, it was too late for us to have time to do much and get back by lunch time, so we decided to stay home until Caleb got up from his nap. He took a good nap and then we hit the road. We spent WAY TOO MUCH time in Gordman's, but got a lot of really great buys. After we shopped, we went to dinner at Outback. Caleb was so tired of being cooped up! He threw a terrible fit when I put him in his highchair. I snatched him up and headed outside so that we didn't ruin everyone in the restaurant's meal. Once he was calm, we went back in and had a nice dinner. After dinner, we had a couple more things to pick up from a couple of stores, so we did those quickly and headed for home. Mom bought some bar stools for us and I spent the better part of the night putting those together. Mom got up and headed for home this morning and Caleb and I went grocery shopping. When we got home, we played for a while and then he took his nap. Rudy got home while Caleb was sleeping.

When Caleb woke up from his nap, the potty training officially began. It was not pretty. We took him into the bathroom and he sat on his potty seat like always. Nothing happened, but he sat for 2 minutes and got his sticker. Then we presented him with his first pair of big boy underpants. You would have thought we were asking him to wear pants made of hot steel. He screamed and threw the Elmo underwear across the bathroom. He was so mad! Finally, Rudy pulled his shorts down and said, "Look, Daddy is wearing big boy underpants. Now you can wear them too." We gave him the option of Elmo or Lightning McQueen. Caleb considered all of this and finally allowed me to put the Lightning McQueen ones on him. He was a little freaked out, but was easily distracted by going outside. I had read in numerous places that letting him run around naked or in just his underwear would allow him to be more aware of the sensation of going to the bathroom. Because we were going outside and I didn't want his boy parts or his bottom getting sunburned - we opted for the underwear. He went outside and played in a t-shirt, a pair of Lightning McQueen underwear and his bright green Crocs. It was hilarious to watch him push his bubble mower around the backyard like that! We set a timer for 30 minutes and when it went off, we went in for a potty break. He has to sit for 2 minutes and then he can get up, wash his hands, get his sticker and go back to playing. After the first potty break, we came back outside to eat popsicles. While he was sitting down eating his popsicle, he wet his pants. Rudy took him inside and changed him, then brought him back out. After a couple more potty breaks, Caleb was playing and suddenly started crying. Turns out he had wet himself again and it scared him b/c he was standing up and his legs got wet. I took him inside, changed him, sanitized his Crocs and we played inside for a little while. I tried to keep him on the tile floor as much as possible, but we have plenty of solution for our carpet cleaner - just in case. One more accident happened outside (no crying this time) while we were getting ready to water our plants. After changing him, Rudy put some shorts on him and they went for a walk. When they got back, it was bathtime. I suggested that even though it hadn't been long since he wet himself, maybe we should try a potty break before getting in the tub. Caleb sat down and was doing fine, so I turned on the bathtub to get his bath ready. Rudy was standing in the doorway of the bathroom and said, "He just did it." I looked to see for myself, but nothing was happening. Then Rudy said, "He's doing it again!" Sure enough - Caleb tee-teed in the potty! Hooray!!!! We cheered like he had won the lottery. He was so excited that we were cheering for him. He gave us high fives and fist bumps and laughed like he was a superstar. When I emptied the potty seat bowl into the big potty, Caleb flushed the toilet and said, "Bye bye tee-tee." I think (hope!) we're on the right track! Our plan is to have him just wear underwear when we're at home and when he's at daycare (they've already agreed to it!), to wear pull-ups when we're in the car or in public places and to wear diapers at night and naptime. I know this seems like a huge ordeal for something that would happen naturallyif we let, but we're really excited to see even a little success this quickly. Since we're all home this summer, we are hoping fervently that we'll be able to have him mostly potty trained by mid-August, when I go back to work. Caleb has the verbal skills to tell us when he has to go potty - we just have to help him learn what that feels like and what to do when the feeling hits!

Vacation Day One - Little Sprouts

Caleb and I went to Little Sprouts time this morning. We LOVED the garden, even thought it was already getting hot at 10 AM. (I will wear my hair pulled up next time - and take a bottle of water.) Caleb liked all of the water fountains and really enjoyed the children's garden, even though it's pretty simple. His favorite part of the whole thing is the chicken coop. He could've sat there all day, putting hay in the chicken coop and saying, "Hi, Doodle Doo." The actual Little Sprouts time was a bit of a disappointment, but I think it was just because Caleb wasn't interested in the story. He's two. He did like getting to touch the flowers and smell them. He wanted to throw the landscaping rocks, which was a problem. I got some great pictures. We're going to try it again next week b/c the lady at the front desk told me that they are doing music next week instead of a story. I think we'll be more successful with music. There are also 2 evening events - the Fairy Walk and the Firefly Festival that I'd like to go to. I bought the membership b/c I plan to go at least 3 times (including today) and Caleb is free.

Summer is Finally Here

The last time I wrote, we were recovering from Caleb’s 2nd birthday. It’s a month later…we’re still recovering. J Actually, we’re just getting used to having a 2-year-old around. It seems like Caleb got some sort of memo that he was supposed to start behaving differently when he turned two and he followed it to the letter. We’re seeing a lot more independence and a lot more tantrums. We’re using our time-out timer a lot more often and saying “no” a lot more than we really want to. Don’t get me wrong – Caleb is still a sweetheart. He loves his Mama and Daddy to the ends of the earth and back, but he’s just coming into his own and finding his voice. He knows what he wants and knows that he’s willing to fight to get it. Unfortunately, that has meant some hitting and kicking, but (fortunately) no biting. We know we dodged a bullet with that one. Caleb comes home from daycare about once or twice a week with a bite mark on his arm or shoulder. We are well aware that this age group is prime for biting…and being bitten.

May was a fun and busy month for us. Rudy and I spent most of the month wrapping things up at work and getting ready for the end of the school year.

Mr. L. gave us quite a scare on Monday, the 19th. He had gone in for some tests on his heart earlier and requested further testing due to his family history. When he went in on the 19th for the angiogram, the doctor found major blockage in his arteries. He ended up having 3 stents put in immediately and has to go back for more in about a year. The doctor said that it was a good thing that he came in because he was well on his way to a massive heart attack. We are just grateful for preventative medicine.

Rudy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 22nd. Kelly came to babysit and we went to dinner at Crabby’s. He sent me roses at work and gave me a beautiful card at home. I gave him a piece of paper saying that we had a cabin reserved at Big Cedar Lodge. It’s just hard to believe that next year is our 10th anniversary!

We went to Hot Springs on Friday (23rd). It was a long drive for Caleb, but he made it most of the way without difficulty – thanks to the portable DVD player! (I would like to personally shake the hand of the person who invented that thing!) When we got to Mom and Mr. L’s, Caleb’s first order of business was to see the “big boat.” It amazes me what he remembers. Once he was satisfied that the big boat was out there, he was okay to play inside for just a little while before going to bed. When I got up on Saturday, I couldn’t find anyone in the house or outside. Then I noticed that the boat was gone. Mom and Mr. L. had taken Caleb on a boat ride early in the morning. On Saturday, Rudy mowed their lawn because Mr. L. was still on restrictions. Mom and I went shopping while Caleb napped and then we all went out for a boat ride. Caleb absolutely loved the boat! He said over and over (and over and over….) “BIG BOAT.” He loved watching the boats and feeling the breeze. I thought he would be fussy because his life jacket was so hot and confining, but he didn’t seem to mind. I think he would’ve worn a lead vest if it meant he got to go on the BIG BOAT.

On Sunday, Rudy fished off of the dock a little bit and we all had a pretty relaxing day. We ended up going for another boat ride that afternoon and then came home to a ribs and chicken dinner. Monday morning, we left for home, hoping that Caleb would take a nap in the car. No such luck. He was awake (and grumpy) all the way home. We got a call from the Wilhelms inviting us to a Memorial Day cookout at their house. Rudy and I decided that we’d take a chance on it, but we both agreed that as soon as Caleb got grumpy, we would head for home. Wouldn’t you know – as soon as dinner was served, he had a meltdown. We ate very fast and then excused ourselves. When we got home, it was bath and bedtime and then we all just collapsed from exhaustion.

On Tuesday (5/27), I had Bunco and on Wednesday (5/28), I had a dinner with the people I work with. Thursday (5/28) was Rudy’s end-of-the-year concert. Jan came up on Friday (5/30) and Rudy grilled scallops for us. Rudy and I left for Big Cedar Lodge on Saturday afternoon and had a wonderful time. Our cabin was perfect and we enjoyed the lodge grounds a lot. We kept saying that we wished it wasn’t so expensive so that we could bring Caleb back for a weekend. He would LOVE it. BTW – I would like for it to be known that I managed to beat Rudy at both putt-putt golf and trivial pursuit!

We came home on Sunday while Caleb was napping. That evening, we went to the pool for a little while and then got ready for our last week of school. I worked on Monday (6/2) and ½ day on Tuesday (6/3). Rudy works until 6/4 and then we’re all off for the summer. Thursday night, Rudy and I are going to see Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood at Razorback stadium. We have some doctor’s appointments on Thursday and Friday, including Caleb’s 2 year check up. Rudy is going to deer camp for a work weekend with Mr. L. this weekend. Caleb and I are staying home and doing some fun Mama and Caleb stuff. It’s FINALLY summer…

Click below to see Caleb and Daddy having fun at the pool:

2 year pictures

We got these taken yesterday. I love the way they turned out!

Playset and Lots of Talking

For Caleb's birthday, we went together with Mom and Mr. L. to buy Caleb a backyard playset. We also put all of the money that he got for his birthday into the purchase. The shipment of 2 giant boxes arrived the week after Caleb turned 2. Rudy and I spent over an hour sorting and counting screws, bolts, washers and other assorted hardware to make sure it was all there and easily accessible. Last Sunday, we sorted out all of the lumber and labeled it to make sure we knew what was what and to make sure that all of the parts were accounted for and we could find them. There were 2 boards that needed to be replaced, so Rudy called and got those shipped out to us. We started putting the pieces together bit by bit and by Thursday, we had a slide, a glider and a rockwall/ladder. On Friday night, we hit it hard and started working to get the playset functional by this afternoon. We spent all day yesterday working on it and all morning today. When Caleb went down for his nap at noon, we had the fort built and everything else assembled. It just needed to be pieced together. When he woke up from his nap, he had a fully functional playset, complete with 2 swings, a glider, a slide, a picnic table, a dirtbox (supposed to be a sandbox, but we're not going to put sand in it), a rockwall and a fort! He loves it! He can even climb the ladder by himself. He spent the entire afternoon and evening playing outside today. Grandma Voise came over for dinner tonight and we all enjoyed watching Caleb play.

Caleb has become so independent lately and it's fun to just sit back and watch what he does. We're starting to hear more and more "I do it" and "Sha-Sha's turn." (He's still calling himself Sha-Sha and we have NO IDEA why.) He also likes to tell us "Mama's turn" or "Daddy's turn." My personal favorite is, "Good job, Mama!" I get praised for the strangest things - and sometimes for nothing at all. I could get used to that. :) On Friday, when I picked him up from daycare, I had trouble getting the car to start. Just as I was getting frustrated with it, Caleb piped up from the backseat with, "Uh-oh, car stuck." Then, when it finally started, he said, "There ya' go!" I cracked up laughing as I pulled out of the driveway.

Just when you think a 2-year-old is going to be the death of you...they do something to light up your life.

Tornado

We went to dinner at Rudy's grandmother's house last Saturday night. It was a gorgeous evening. We were sitting outside before dinner, enjoying the cool temperatures and the breeze. All of a sudden, the tornado siren went off. I scooped up Caleb and made a run for the walk-in closet. Everyone else followed us inside and stopped at the TV to see what the fuss was all about. Come to find out there was a tornado in Benton County. It wasn't really close to Grandma's house, but we stayed in the closet to be on the safe side. Rudy was in the bedroom, watching the TV and giving me updates. I got a little anxious when he said the storm was about a mile or two from our house. Once the threat passed, a little hail fell and that was all that we saw of the storm. Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky. Come to find out, Caleb's daycare was hit by a tornado. It was a pretty small tornado, but did some significant damage to the daycare and the area around it. We got a call on Sunday that Pine Crest would be closed until at least noon on Tuesday. Rudy decided to take off work on Monday to stay with Caleb. They had a great day ~ playing, going to Fayetteville to hear the band in one of Rudy's classes and they even came to have lunch with me. On Tuesday, Caleb stayed with my friend Heidi who lives nearby. She's a stay-at-home mom of one of the kids that I see for therapy. She was so awesome to agree to keep Caleb. I dropped him off at her house at 8:00 on Tuesday. When I picked him up at almost 4:00, they were playing in the driveway and enjoying the beautiful weather. Heidi said that Caleb was super-easy to take care of. I was glad to hear that. I was afraid he would show the true 2-year-old side that we're seeing more and more of.

Caleb went back to daycare on Wednesday. The school still has some damage, but the toddler wind has been determined to be safe. Whew!

I Thought He Was Kidding

Rudy went turkey hunting on the morning of April 27th. It was his only chance to go all year because we've had so much rain and so much other stuff going on. He left earlier than I care to imagine. He goes way out in the middle of the middle of nowhere - no, that's not a typo - it's really that far out there. The last time he went he made a photocopy of his topographical map and highlighted the area where he would be...just in case.

He called me at about 10:30 and said he was on his way home. I automatically assumed he had killed a turkey because why else would be coming home that early? He said that he hadn't killed a turkey but that he had been in the woods long enough. He then began to tell me about sitting in the woods with a gun strong enough to kill a turkey and seeing a BEAR. Yep. A bear.

No, this is not the exact bear that Rudy saw. Just a bear - exactly like the kind of black bear one might find in the mountains of Arkansas.

Back to the story...

So, Rudy is hunting and sees a bear. He then tries to calmly return to his truck without losing sight of the bear. As he is doing so, he hears a huge splash and looks toward the nearby pond, where he sees a BIGGER BEAR. Apparently bear number one was the offspring of bear number two. Now - I'm no hunter, but I know that you don't come between Mama Bear and Baby Bear and get away with it easily.

Rudy was fortunate. He managed to get back to his truck safely and had just enough phone battery to call me to say he was coming home. It took a while for it to settle in that my husband had just seen a real bear that was not in a zoo. Once that sunk in, I was more than a little freaked out, but just glad that he made it home safely.

On a slightly freakier note - just before Rudy called me to say he was coming home, Caleb was playing with some animal toys and looked up at me and said, "Grrrr, Daddy." Spooky!

Caleb's 2nd Birthday

Caleb turned 2 on Friday, May 2nd. We celebrated his birthday with cupcakes in his class at daycare. My supervisor at work was nice enough to let me leave a little early so that I could be there for the fun. The cupcakes were a hit - but I owe a HUGE apology to all of the parents in the classroom. I made the mistake of getting cupcakes with blue and green icing. Oops. The teachers put t-shirts on them to keep them from getting completely covered in icing, but their hands and faces were stained blue! (The green ones weren't as bad.) I felt awful! Even after soap and water washing, those kids were little Smurfs! The worst part was the next day when I changed Caleb's BM diaper! It was neon green!!! I honestly had to call Mom in the room to witness it. Gross!

After the cupcake party, Caleb and I came home and relaxed for a little while. Mom got here about 4:15 and we visited for a little bit before going to get dinner. Spaghetti is one of Caleb's favorite foods, so we went to the Olive Garden for dinner. Rudy was playing at a concert in Fayetteville, so he didn't get home until after Caleb was asleep.

On Saturday, we woke up in party mode. Mom and I grabbed lunch at McAlister's, got my haircut, and picked up balloons, cake and ice cream. We made it back in time to get Caleb ready for his party and head for the neighborhood clubhouse. We tied the balloons on the fence, put out the cake and plates and waited for our guests to arrive. We had a great turnout for the party. Here's who came: Mom, Jan, Grandma Voise, Michael (Jan's friend) and a co-worker, Donald, Stacy, Aurick and Alivia Schmidt, Leslie, Jackson and Grace Lyons (and Les' friend, Ginny), and our neighbors Shalini, Davey and Jacob. It was a fun party and Caleb got lots of fun presents. He didn't cry once - which I was happy about!

Saturday night we were exhausted. Rudy went out and got a pizza and we stayed in to play with Caleb's new toys.

My Baby's Not a Baby Anymore

It's just impossible for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Caleb was born 2 years ago tomorrow. I have thought all day today about how miserable I was 2 years ago today! But - I finished my last grad school class exactly 2 years ago today and what a relief that was!


We went out for our 3rd annual May 1st BBQ dinner tonight. I know it's a strange tradition, but I like it.


I'm leaving work a little early tomorrow to join Caleb and his class for their afternoon snack. I'm taking cupcakes for his birthday. Mom is leaving work at noon so she'll be here shortly after we come home. Rudy has a concert tomorrow night, so he won't be home until late.


Saturday is the big party! We're just having friends and family meet at the neighborhood park for cake and ice cream, but I think it will be so much fun! Caleb loves to play on the playground and I know he'll love all of the attention. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so hopefully we won't get rained out.