How Seth saved almost $100

One of our favorite shows is The Office. Since it airs on Thursday nights and we often have worship band practice, we aren't exactly up-to-date on the show. We do watch it on hulu, though, and in sindication, too. One of my favorite Michael Scott quotes: "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information." Yeah, if you don't watch The Office, he's an idiot.

Anyway, as ridiculous as his theory is...you really can learn a lot from the internet. It's an amazing tool that I use on a daily basis. Now that we have internet on our phones, too, we can answer just about any question immediately. Seth was doing a search on his phone one night trying to figure out if he could fix the digital radio display in his car instead of spending almost $100 for a brand new one. He found a site when a step-by-step plan and decided to give it a try. He must have been in an extra special good mood because he let me take pictures of the process and even gave me a smile. Yeah, he really loves me.

I wish I had a "before" picture of the screen all messed up but I don't. Just use your imagination. First, he had to take the radio out then he had to take the back panel off.

 Then he ironed a ribbon that ran behind the digital screen

 How cool is that?

 Extreme close-up so you can see the ribbon

 Being a good sport. I love him for humoring me.

Ta da! It worked! Like I said, you don't get the full effect because you didn't see how many little pixels were missing before but we were pretty amazed.

Because we are goofy and love "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," we sang "Joy to the World" much like Chevy Chase and I provided a drumroll before he started the car.

We were both surprised and delighted with the outcome!

Strawberry Shortcake

I have such fond memories of opening up this old Holly Hobby lunchbox and being knocked down by all of the different fruity smells. The lunch box was originally Alison's because you can still faintly see ALISON HUNT written on it in my mom's handwriting. I don't know when it became "mine" and who put all the stickers on it but the second I saw it, I knew what was in it. I think I said something to Ken about it a while back and he said "oh, yeah, I knew what would be in it, too." For years, I carried around my complete collection of Strawberry Shortcake & Friends (with pets) in this lunch box. By the way, Alison, if you want it, it's yours. Lyla wants me to take all the stickers off of it so if you want it back with the stickers-speak now.

I am sad to say, the fruity smells have been replaced with an "attic-like" fragrance from being closed up for 30 years. (Gulp.) Well, almost 30 years. I looked them up and found that the set I have are 2nd Edition and came out in 1981. I also learned that if they were NEW, I could sell each set on ebay for anywhere from $20-40 a piece! They are NOT anywhere close to new. They are very used loved. Most still have their shoes and hats but not their combs (which they apparently came with). I would not want to sell them anyway...unless they were worth enough to put Lyla through college. Which they are not. Lyla is loving them! Who knows--if their clothes don't rot and all their hair doesn't fall out, maybe Lyla's little girl will get to play with them, too.  

 Among the Strawberry characters, there was a little Miss Piggy driving a car.

She has been a big hit, too.

Incidentally, Lyla is wearing some of my pajamas in these pictures, too.

So fun seeing her in things I actually remember wearing.

 There were also 2 Smurfettes!

 Top Row (L-R): Strawberry Shortcake & Custard, the cat; Lemon Meringue & Frappe, the frog; Blueberry Muffin & Cheesecake, the bear

Bottom Row (L-R): Raspberry Tart & Rhubarb, the monkey; Apricot & Hopsalot, the bunny, Cherry Cuddler & Gooseberry; Lime Chiffon & Parfait, the parrot

 Thanks to the Smurf movie (in theaters now) Lyla has collected some Smurf McDonald's toys but really wanted "the girl." She knows little about the Smurfs so she didn't know her name.

Farmer (2011), Smurfette making a list (worth $9.98 on ebay if she still had her pencil), another Smurfette, Papa (2011)

 Speaking of McDonald's, here are my toys side-by-side with the toys Lyla has gotten in some Happy Meals. Funny how the characters have changed.

On the modern show, Strawberry Shortcake runs a cafe, Lemon Meringue runs a salon and Raspberry Tart is a fashion designer.

One of the first things Lyla did was switch all of their shoes around.



French Braids

Something that all moms of daughters should learn is how to french braid. You would think that as a girl who wore her hair long most of her young life, I would know how but I don't. I can braid a ponytail and really impressed Lyla when I braided her My Little Pony's mane. Teresa showed me up big time a couple of weeks ago, though. We hung out at her house before Lyla and I went to story time and Teresa showed me what you learn when you are the mother of two daughters (now grown).

 Admiring her braids

 I think they really suit her

 Looking just like Daddy

and then like Mommy

The other morning before school, she asked for braids.

I told her I would have to practice some more.

Heaven is for Real

Earlier this summer, our church book club read and discussed "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo.

If you haven't read--you need to. It will completely change how you view heaven and what we might expect when we get there. For me, it was so reassuring to read this little boy's words and the way he describes his experience. I have a copy and would love to share it with you. Actually, it's on loan to a friend but it's a quick read and I am sure I will have it back soon enough.

This brings me to a conversation I had with Lyla at dinner one night. I wrote it down immediately so I wouldn't forget it. Good thing I did that because when I found the scrap envelope I had written it on, I was like "oh, yeah. I forgot about that. " Here it is. I know you'll love it.

L: "My pizza is a rectangle...because it has two short sides and two long sides."

(pause)

"How'd I get so smart?"

Mom: "Me?"

L: "You got it!"

Mom: "and Dad?"

L: "yep...and..."

Mom: (I pointed up)

L: "God? and Jesus?"

Mom: "That's right."

L: "God made the birds, right?"

Mom: "Sure did."

L: "But that baby bird is dead."

(earlier that day, she found a baby bird dead under a tree and was bothered by it)

Mom: "That's right...but where is that baby bird?"

L: "In heaven."

(pause)

"I wish I could go to heaven."

Mom: "You will one day."

L: "I will?! How?"

Mom: "If you believe in God and Jesus and that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, one day you will go to heaven."

L: "I do believe in Him, Mommy!"

~June 15, 2011~

Amen to that!

We have had several more conversations about heaven since then. She talks about her Grandma Kesler all the time. The cool part about that is that Lyla wasn't even 2 when Grandmother died and she was never one to be too big on nicknames like "Grandma." Somehow I believe she likes hearing Lyla saying it, though. 

Lyla talks about wanting to go to heaven right now so she can be with Grandma Kesler. I think about how the Bible talks about looking forward to heaven and I think I really shouldn't discourage her. But I am human and I am her mother and I do NOT want her to go to heaven right now. I told her that if she went to heaven right now, I would miss her so much. Her answer: "then you can go with me!" Of course I can.

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.  ~Mark 10: 13-17

"Grandma" Kesler singing lullabies to Lyla

September 2007

One day we'll see Grandmother and Lyla will get to meet all of her other great-grandparents, too. 

I'm sure of it. 

Lord willing, not any time soon.

It Took Six Months...

...for Grady (hater of all little kids) to leave the safety of Ashley & Kevin's room and let Lyla pet him. I suspect he knew she would be leaving soon and thought he might as well throw her a bone on her way out the door. 

The truth is, Grady & Quincy (not pictured) were the only ones happy to see this "season" end. I knew leaving would be difficult, so I gathered up all of our things and put them in my car before Ashley came home that day. We were sad. We dragged it out. I mean, Ashley and I always chatted at the end of the day...but this was a conversation we didn't want to end. 

Taking care of Luke has been one of those privileges that I will always treasure. He's so easy-going and so loving. It's also given me a glimpse of the kind of big sister Lyla will be one day. The first day of dance camp, we had Luke with us. Someone asked Lyla if Luke was her brother and she answered "yes" without missing a beat. I quickly corrected her but my heart warmed at the thought of how much she loves him and how she sees him as her brother. I blogged back in February about how much Lyla loved being a babysitter but I admit I was sure that her excitement would wear off but. It didn't. She loved entertaining him and he loved her, too. She could make him laugh like no one else. He especially loved for her to quack like a duck. He would belly laugh at her and she would eat. it. up. I tried quacking like a duck and he would just stare at me as if to say, "is that supposed to be funny?" and then look back at Lyla expectantly.

I've kinda gotten ahead of myself. You might be saying "what happened? why aren't you keeping Luke anymore?" You see, I drove about 35-40 minutes to Luke's house two days a week to keep him. With Lyla starting preschool just a mile from home and only going half a day, it just doesn't make sense for me to drive all that way, come back to get Lyla then drive all the way back. It just doesn't work out anymore. Ashley tried convincing me to put Lyla in preschool near her house but I want Lyla to go close to home with kids she will go all the way through school with. You should also really check out Ashley's blog to read her "lesson plans" for Lyla. You'll crack up.

I am so thankful to have been such a big part of Luke's early life. He won't remember these months the way Lyla and I will but I will remind him his whole life. I will be "that aunt" who teases him about the time I didn't get the poop off him quickly enough and he stuck his hand in his diaper...and the time I had to wash my clothes because he spit up all over me. It's only been a couple of weeks but I miss him already. I bet he'll look like he's grown when I see him again...hopefully soon. 

Thanks for trusting me with your precious son, Ashley & Kevin. You are great parents. He's a blessed little boy.

First Day (Continued)

The teacher sent a form letter saying "Lyla had a great day of school!"

They have 4 main rules which Lyla and I went over at breakfast and on the way this morning.

1) Follow directions.

2) Feet & hands to yourself.

3) Small voices inside.

4) Be a good friend.

My friend, Ashley, said, "I think those are good rules for everybody."

Lyla has a blue bobcat paw with a day of the week on each paw.

If she follows the rules, she will get a sticker on her paw for the day. 

If she breaks a rule, the number of the rule she broke will be on the paw.

She got a sticker! She was very excited about it.

If she gets a sticker for each day, M-Th, she gets to go in the treasure box.

Okay, this was from this morning but it didn't get posted for some reason.

I babysat sweet Jake for about an hour for Julie.

He met Lyla at the bus with me.

Wish I had known the bus monitor was going to block my view.

She was complaining that her backpack was too heavy.

She handed it to me and took off her bus tag.

Her bus driver's name is Mr. Terry.

Julie says he's really nice and gives the kids gum on Thursdays if they've been good.

I was pushing Jake so I made her carry her own backpack.

I wanted to get a picture of her bus tag and this was as far as she got it on.

If you look closely, you will see blue paint on her dress.

The teachers warned us about putting them in clothes we care about because they get messy.

They weren't kidding.

It's soaking in Oxyclean as I type. We'll see.

So, Day 1 down. So far, so good!

First Day of Preschool!

I decided to go all out for her first day and made Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast. 

I got the idea for the sign from my friend, Kristen, who took a picture of her kids holding up what grade they were starting this year.

She wanted to hold the sign way up high.

Then she said "let's take a picture of you and me, Mom."

(My finger covered the flash a little. Oops.)

I think this will be a perfect "First Day of School" spot for pictures every year.

 I mean, this is where it all started, right?

This was taken the day before Lyla was born as we headed to the hospital.

July 9, 2007

And one with the backpack on.

 So proud of her Rapunzel backpack, a gift from Teresa.

Got this dress over the weekend then realized this hairbow Granny got her was a perfect match!

I wasn't the only mom following her kid down the hall like the paparazzi.

Not that I would have cared if I was.

She was a girl on a mission and wouldn't look at me.

She started taking her backpack off while she walked in the door.

She found her cubby with her name and picture & put her backpack away.

The class will eat breakfast together in the cafeteria first thing each morning.

It's supposed to teach them manners.

Her lunch is the purple one there on the right--yogurt, a zucchini muffin & orange juice.

A friend of Seth's from high school works in the cafeteria and sent the following text to me around 8:15:

"No worries mom. She's eating happy and talking to others. Handling it like a pro!"

Lyla will ride the bus home and you know the "paparazzi" will be waiting at the end of the driveway to get that first picture off the bus. Look for that later today.

Getting Ready for Preschool

Lyla starts preschool TOMORROW. Crazy, right? We are lucky enough to live in a school district that actually offers preschool in the elementary schools. This week she just goes Tuesday and Thursday but starting next week she will go Monday through Thursday 7:45-10:45 am and will be in Mrs. Stein's class. Her teacher's real name is Fleckinstein. I appreciate that she simplified it for preschoolers. Before Lyla can go to school, we had to provide the following documents:

1) Certified Birth Certificate

Seth's response: "Obama didn't have to show one. Tell them we will give them one in a couple of years."

He's so funny.
I ordered a couple of official copies from the state only to find out they just needed a photocopy.
Well, now we have them if we need them.

2) Physical/Updated Immunizations

She weighs 35 pounds (50th percentile) and is 43.25 inches tall (97th percentile).

Basically this means 50% of kids her age weigh more or less than she and she is taller than 97% of the kids her age. Didn't really need an official calculation to tell me this. Look at her.

They "tried" to get her to take a hearing test. The operative word is TRIED. She fought the giant headphones and once they were on, she just sat there. 

Picture her with giant headphones and card with a bunch of pictures on it.

Nurse: "Lyla, can you hear it?"

Lyla: "No."

Umm...I'm no scientist but if she can hear the nurse WITH giant headphones on, I'm pretty sure she can hear what's going right into her ears. Just sayin'.

So, what did they mark on her official physical under the hearing section?

Uncooperative

Yep, that's the first impression you want the teacher to get.

Another fun event at the doctor's office was when they pricked her finger to test her sugar.

They couldn't get her to bleed enough (incidentally, this happens to me, too) so the nurse was squeezing her finger like crazy. It feels as good as it sounds.

Shortly after leaving to test the blood sample (but long enough for Lyla to calm down from the trauma), the nurse returned and says to me "I'm really sorry." 

Lyla: "Why is she sorry, Mom?"

Sigh.

Yep, she had to get another sample. Thankfully, it came out a lot easier for whatever reason. Lyla didn't go down without a fight, though.

So, when it came time to give her the immunizations (3 shots), the nurse brought another nurse in to "help" (aka hold Lyla down). 

After her doctor's appointment, we went straight to McDonald's for lunch and a 49-cent cone. Ice cream really does have magical healing powers--whether you are 4 or 32. Am I right?

We then went directly to the Courthouse to pay some taxes. Lyla was showing off all of her band-aids--5 total between the 3 shots and 2 finger pricks. Another guy paying taxes was very sympathetic and asked me if she could have a cookie. 

Lyla responded: "I just had ice cream but I could save a cookie for later." (Smart girl.)

I had no idea where this stranger was going to get a cookie and was a little skeptical. Those behind the desk seemed to know him, though, so I agreed. He then had us follow him to Subway...at which point I noticed his Subway shirt. Yeah, he was the owner. The cookies were in the oven so he told one of the employees to "give his new friend, Lyla, 2 cookies for waiting because she had had a rough day."

Lyla immediately said: "I can give one to my mom! She didn't have any ice cream."

Is she the sweetest thing or what?

3) Dental Exam

Lyla has gone with me to my last two dental appointments so she could warm up to the idea. Once they even let her push the button to take my x-rays. She loved that.

It was finally her turn this summer and she did great!

She sat in my lap for the actual cleaning but then climbed up in the chair all by herself when Dr. Brian (Vieth) came in the room.

Checking out Miss Lynn's spinny brush.

In case you were wondering, she chose chocolate-flavored toothpaste.
Anyone else thinking "I love chocolate but am not interested in brushing with it."? Anyone?

Brushing with fluoride after her cleaning. 

I just about croaked when I realized they charged $32 for the fluoride.

I called and questioned it and they refunded us around $23. It was a mistake. Thank goodness.

So brave.

Here he is counting her teeth--all 20 of them.

She is telling him how old she is.

His daughter was going to turn 4 the next day.
p.s. Those are bloomers showing--not undies. Just FYI.

Getting to go in the treasure box for 2 prizes!

Why don't we get to go in a treasure box? 

I don't want toys, though--gift cards or cash would be nice.

Showing off her clean teeth.

Guess what Dr. Brian said--there's a good chance she will have a gap between her 2 front teeth.

Apparently, her labial frenulum (yeah, I googled the name) which is the skin that connects your lip to your gum comes down farther than it should which can cause a gap. 

Lucky for us (and her future orthodontist), it should be able to be corrected with braces. 

You can imagine my relief..not to mention the anticipation of paying thousands of dollars on her teeth someday. Okay, seriously--I had braces and am thankful for my mostly straight smile. I hope I can make her wear her retainer longer than I wore mine, though.

She wanted a picture with me...

...and her pink bunny.

4) Vision Exam

I had heard from several moms that the place to go for your child's vision exam was Walmart. Lyla's friend, Danny, had his exam there earlier in the summer and Maria could not say enough good things about the doctor there. She was right. Dr. Mattson was the best!

Miss Heather took pictures of my eyes first.
Then Lyla took her turn.
That was the only way to get her to do it.

He said her vision is as it should be. She was very cooperative and chatty with the doctor and wanted to get 2 prizes--one for her and one for me. She settled for one, a flower ring, and gave it to me. So sweet.

~~Screening & Home Visit~~

The purpose of the preschool screening- "to check your child's five early childhood areas: motor, language, concepts, self-help and social development." Um...add hearing to that list and you have SIX early childhood areas. Only, we weren't told they would test her hearing. Which explains why she came back from her first "test" in tears. The teacher said she would NOT put the headphones. I wanted to say "yeah, I could have told you that...had I known you were taking her for hearing test!" Thankfully, this did NOT set the tone for the day and Lyla did great on the rest of the tests. She knew all of her colors but gray, all of her shapes, all of her letters and some letter sounds, could hop on one foot, skip, etc. However, she could not catch a beanbag (oh no!), could not twiddle her thumbs (what will she do without this vital lifeskill?!) and she only counted to 4. This last one shocked me. I became "that mom" insisting, "She can count to 12!" The teacher assured me that was normal under the circumstances.

The purpose of the home visit- "an opportunity for your child to meet his/her teacher in his/her own environment." I don't doubt that this is true...but you can't tell him it isn't also a way for the teacher to get to know "the child's environment." Right? Which is why I worked really hard on what Ray (Everybody Loves Raymond) calls "the fake house." Don't judge me.
Her teacher, Mrs. Stein, along with her assistant, Miss Pam, came to our house one morning and Lyla was 100% herself. She showed off all of her toys, wanted to give Mrs. Stein a picture she had colored (but forgot to), DID give her a Chick-fil-A toy cow and even put her flower girl dress & ballet shoes on so she could perform for them. She did not want them to leave because she wanted them to stay and play with her. When Mrs. Stein pointed out that they would play together a lot when she started school, Lyla wasn't buying it: "but not at my house." Nice try, Mrs. Stein. She's one step ahead of ya. I was beaming with pride when Lyla was asked to sign her name on the list of class rules and she did. Perfectly.


So tomorrow morning, I will wake her at 6:30 am, get her dressed and ready, feed her some cereal and take her to Camp Dick Robinson Elementary where she will be a Bobcat for the next 6 years of her life. I have no doubt that she will make lots of friends. I mean, she's my daughter--she can't help it. As a close friend recently said, "you can't throw a stone without making a new friend." Yeah, Lyla's the same way. I will be praying for her to be a good listener and a good friend. I will be praying that her preschool experience is a positive one. I will praying for God's protection over her. That she gets on the right bus to come home and loves the bus as much as she thinks she will. And what will I do with my three hours of free time? Undecided, at the moment. I am fairly certain it will be something that will no doubt fall under the category of "whatever I want."