If you are still reading after all my whining and complaining, I do have one question about the whole facebook experience.  What does it mean to “poke” someone?  I seriously busted out laughing when I saw it.  Then I was half way afraid I would accidentally click on it and poke somone without even knowing what the heck it was.  Talk about keeping your mouse on the far right side of your screen.  Anybody been poked lately?  Give me the low down.

The latest and greatest from PinknCamo!

Zach has wanted one for a while.  He wants to look at them every time we go to Hobby Lobby.  Just the fact that he has to go to a ”craft store” is torture for him.  He finally found out they had model airplanes and rock tumblers, and since then it has been bearable.  Every time we go he asks if he can have one and I always remind him he could spend his money.  I even mention that they have 40% off coupons in the paper.  He doesn’t want one that bad.

So, while shopping the Just Between Friends consignment sale last week, I found one for $7.50 and snatched it up.  What a bargain right?!  When we got home and opened it, it even had all the  powders and rocks.  It looked brand new.  After reading the instructions, I was pretty sure it had never been used.

Do you know WHY it hadn’t?  Because when the parents got to the part about “set the tumbler in a room that is not used frequently because it will make a loud noise” and “tumbler will remain in constant tumbling motion for fill- in- the- blank (anything varying from 2 to 5 days PER CYCLE)” they packaged it right back up.  Are you kidding me?  We added up time it would take to produce a smooth, shiny rock and at the MINIMUM it would be 15 days.  That’s half a month of constant noise making, electricity eating rock tumbling.   If we had a garage, it might have been a little easier to think about. 

I didn’t have the heart to tell Zach no right off the get go.  Afterall, he was saying things like, ”I’ll keep it under my bed and nobody will hear it” or “Can we try it just one time pleeeeeaaaase?  Then we’ll never do it again.”  So, we loaded the thing up and put it in the laundry room.  With towels over it.  It actually didn’t sound too bad, just like your washing machine and dishwasher were going at the same time.  I kept telling myself it was really a lot like “white noise” right?  I would hardly notice it. 

We left it going all night and by morning I really had forgotten about it.  Until Zach mentioned he couldn’t get the tumbler started again.  “You STOPPED the tumbling?” I asked him.  “Uh huh”, he says in a this is not sounding like a good thing voice.  After a few minutes of figuring out we would have to start the whole thing over, we all decided it was not worth all this drama and effort.  Except Lilly.  She was really mad at us.

But you know what?  I happen to know of a few gift shops in the area where I can take them to get a whole bag full of those nice shiny rocks.  Probably for less money that it would take to run that thing for a month.  So, long story (I know you never wanted to read this much about a rock tumbler) short, it’s going back into the JBF sale so the next unsuspecting parent can grab up this great bargain!

This is what Lilly said when they gave her a BLUE sling.  After she broke her collar bone.

Last Thursday while I was at P.T., Lilly was sitting on the table with me and fell off.  Resulting in a broken clavical.  I felt horrible because I tried to continue with my therapy, telling her to take deep breaths.  I was sure she was going to be fine.  I swear she is the toughest little girl I know and she usually doesn’t worry about being hurt for too long.  So, after her continued crying for 15 mintues, I knew there was something wrong.

We left there and went to the dr.  Of course when we showed up, I was the one crying.  I know they thought I had lost my mind. They did an x-ray (a whole another drama in itself) and we had our answer.

She has been such a tough little girl.  We are the ones having to remind her to slow down and take it easy.  She cries on occassion when she forgets and does something that hurts, but overall she is doing good.  And now that her sling has some pink on it, she’s even better.

Zach and Lilly have LOVED the snowy weather and are praying for more.  I, on the other hand, have had my fill.  I’m ready for sunshine.  Ready to plant flowers.  Ready to be able to go outside for more than 10 minutes at a time.  Definately ready for our dirt road to actually be dirt again.

While we were building our jolly snowman, Lilly kept eating snow and making snow angels.  She was so dissapointed when she found out we couldn’t make snow ice cream again.  Zach kept himself busy knocking the ice sickles off the roof.  We were home for four days straight.  Good times!

In case you are waiting on your Christmas card with our adoreable pictures on them, it’s not gonna happen.  Once again, momma hasn’t sent them!  So, we are planning on more of a New Years, Valentine, Fourth of July time frame.   We really aren’t sure, but we’ve got our party horns, conversation heart props and stars and stripes ensembles ready, just in case she get’s the urge to take our pics and order the cards.  We promise someday soon, you will see what sweet little kids we still are.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Zach and Lilly

I turned on the cartoons, hoping that he wouldn’t notice me rounding up some change.  I snuck into our room and pulled open Mike’s top drawer where he keeps his change.  I quietly grabbed a hand full and put it in my robe pocket.  After taking a few steps, I again quietly retrieved the money and just held it in my hands.  I had never felt so relieved as when I put it  safely under his pillow.  No notes or fairy dust this time, but it would have to do. 

As soon as Lilly woke up, they raced into his room to check it out.  Zach was so suprised about the amount of coins under his pillow, he could hardly believe she left that much.  “Do you think there’s about five dollars here?  I mean, this is ALOT of money mom!”  I started eyeing the coins, noticing that there were alot of pennies and not so much silver.  Oh boy.  “Let’s count it, let’s count it!” they were both saying.  Slowly but surely he totaled it up to a whopping “84 cents!”.  He sat there confused for a minute as if he were thinking “but it looked like alot.”  Thank goodness my sweet boy really is sweet, because he said “Well, it’s ALMOST a dollar!”  Super mom I am not (obviously!), but I was sure I could round up enough change to complete a dollar.

At dinner that night, Mike asked him what the tooth fairy had left.  Zach said “She left me 84cents but mom gave me enough to make a whole dollar!”  I thought Mike was going to choke because he was trying not to laugh.  I informed him later that next time he was on fairy duty!

When Lilly turned two she showed an interest in using the potty.  We loaded up and went to Wal-Mart in search of the perfect one, settling  on the “Jackpot Potty”.  Afterall, her pediatrician said “If she’s showing an interest, make it available.”  Well let’s just say that the whole potty training mission bombed after all of about a week.  She had seen the potty (a new toy! in the bathroom!), even used the new potty and that was it.   After about six months of no use, except to sit on it fully clothed and tell me she is NOT going to the potty but just sitting there for a minute, we decided to put it up.

Last week she asked about her potty.  When I explained we put it up until she was ready to start using it, she said she was ready.  I had a hunch that she wasn’t but didn’t want to miss the golden opportunity if it could actually be true.  She used it right away.  A little bit later, she used it again.  She even asked for a pull up.  I was in shock!  I kept telling her ”I am so proud of you!  You are such a big girl!”  When we picked up her Bubba from school, she came home and showed him how she could use the potty.  He of course told her “I’m so proud of you Lilly, good girl!”  She said “I’m so proud of me too!  We are all SO proud!”

Just as I was about to call her Daddy and tell him the good news she ran up to me and said “You can put my potty up.  I want a diaper now.”

Your first kill is a rat!  In case you wondered just how redneck it can get out here in the boonies, now you know.  I don’t feel this picture needs much explanation.  And, since I wasn’t home at the time, I’ll never know exactly how it all went down.  Thank you God.  The fact that my son is holding it and my daughter is wearing gloves, I’m better off not knowing.

Lilly loves to swing.  I swear she would stay on those things forever if she could find enough people to keep her going.  There is a catch though.  If she gets to going too fast, she gets “the look”.  The first time it happened it actually scared me because it looked like she was going to pass out and throw up at the same time.  You would think that with a look like that she wouldn’t want to go again.  But just as soon as you slow down, she’s ready for more!  (And, if you’re wondering how we actually captured this look, it’s her Daddy’s fault.)