Reminder

Last day before the start of the fall year. My goal today, after church and the blessing for a good year for Kathryn (which we faked our way into even though it was supposed to just be for K-12 because Kathryn saw the balloons they were giving out and wanted one), was to ready ourselves and the house. Harold went to Waco to see his mother and I vacuumed, blew off the back, washed, dried and folded all the clothes, got Kathryn's and my clothes out for tomorrow, went with her to Mosaic Madness to grout our art projects from yesterday, and finished shopping on the last tax-free day. I got Kathryn to take her shower, brush her teeth, and was walked back into her room that had been straightened and found that she'd pulled things out again. I was asking her to help me and she wasn't paying attention when I said, "Kathryn, listen to me, I'm getting tired!" She said, "Mom, look at me! I'm just a kid, this is what I'm supposed to do!" I couldn't argue with that one...

Clothes Horse

We have a new clothes horse in our family, and she rivals her dad. We went to find her a pair of jeans today and she found these pants and matching cap instead. She decided she needed them worse than the jeans. She came home and went straight to her closet to find her orange Polo shirt that was the exact shade as the small line of orange in the pants, then found flip flops that somewhat matched as well. She is really styling!

Endings and Beginnings

It's hard to believe that fall is nearly here already, and the summer is winding down. When this summer started, I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with not having a full time job and having to entertain a four-year-old 24/7, but I've really loved it. It's probably like childbirth; I've forgotten the bad parts already.

We've stayed really busy, and there have been so many changes. I'm now a realtor working at Keller Williams. I've not done much with that until school starts for Kathryn, but that will be Monday. She's grown so much over the summer, both physically and emotionally. We've had a wonderful summer, going to the waterpark, Six Flags, going to the zoo and movies, shopping together (she's really gotten into that), swimming, dancing, visiting with Kristi and Brenna, developing new friendships with Analise Rose and the cousins, and enjoying snow cones. I'm so glad I've gotten to be here for the little things that create such big memories.

I'm still doing work for the Dallas District and for Eastfield College but still have time to make my own schedule and put Kathryn, Harold, and my family first. Next week starts a new beginning for a job for me, the start of school for Kathryn, and the start of a new semester for Harold. I hope we continue to have time for each other and for our extended families and friends.

This week I took Kathryn to get pictures made at Charla Holme's studio in Corsicana. The theme is Tutu's and Toddlers. She looked precious, and I can't wait to see the proofs. Afraid that this one might cost us. She was such a natural, though. I took Kathryn and Analise with me for Meals on Wheels last week and yesterday, Brittany and both her kids went with us. She's thinking of volunteering, as well. I guess I should tell her that once you start, you get sucked into more and more!

Today is the start of the tax free weekend. We're going to practice Kathryn's new skill of shopping just a bit.

Mommy Time

Kathryn has very recently developed an interest in her baby dolls. She pulled them out last night and brought them into the living room. Today, she decided they'd slept long enough and they needed to get up. I asked her if she was going to feed them, and she said, yes,

let her go get her bra and she'd feed them in the living room. This came as a bit of a surprise to Harold because he didn't know she had a bra. Harold said he thought that might be a little too graphic for him. He asked her if Kristi had taught her how to feed them and she said yes, she'd watched Kristi feed Brenna and knew how. She says she guesses they like that sugar milk. Now she's taking them for a ride in their stoller. And to think I almost put the dolls up because she didn't play with them. I snapped this picture right before she started "feeding" them.

Bedtimes and Broomsticks

Seems that both Kristi and I are trying to get our little ones better adjusted to bedtime routines. Kristi is trying to get Brenna sleeping through the night, and I'm trying to get Kathryn to sleep period. :) We text every morning with the daily update. She has a much more soothing routine than I do, though. She gently turns Brenna back over time and again. While she gets frustrated, she doesn't show it as much. Not so for me. A couple of nights ago, I determined that Kathryn was going to bed early and would stay in bed. She protested that she was hungry, and I told her she couldn't be. By 9pm, I decided to hold the line and kept taking her back to bed when she got up. She would cry loud and long in protest and then get back up and sneak into the living room. After the 10th time, I gave in and gave her a half slice of bread and some milk. She was asleep within five minutes. The next morning, she got up and came into the bathroom where I was to give me a hug. As she started out of the room, she turned back to me and said, "You forgot to tell me you were sorry about last night." I told her I was, and she said, "That's okay, I'm still your best friend." I took off my witch hat, put away my broom, and thought to myself, "I really showed her didn't I?"

Family/Friend Time

Great time with Kristi, Jalane, and Brenna here this weekend. Amber and her kids, Mark and Brittany and their kids, and Lee were here today. Kathryn, Caden, and Adalee had a great time playing. Amber told a great story about how Caden does all the battery changes at their house now, even going to the garage to get the screwdriver and telling her when they need new batteries. Kathryn and Caden were K's room playing, and I went in to check on them. Kathryn had a toy out with all the batteries out and was putting them back in. I said, "Oh, Caden must have shown you how to do that. Then I put the lid back on it and saw that it had a screw closure. She said, "I'll use a penny to close it." Amber came in about that time and laughed. I told her that I bet Caden showed her that, too. Then K said, "Why don't I have a screwdriver, and why can't Adalee got out to the garage?" The kids ran wild and somehow managed not to wake up Brenna. After everyone left and Kathryn was in bed, Kristi came in the study and was talking a minute and accidentally dropped a candle. Kathryn came in and said, "Can you hold it down a little? I'm trying to sleep."
We got up on Sunday and got the girls dressed in their matching outfits and got a few shots outside. We also got some great video of Brenna laughing out loud with Kristi bouncing on a ball (it was pretty funny, come to think of it).
When they left, Kathryn started crying, and I knew just how she felt. I was missing them, too, but I remembered how I felt everytime Jeanette and her family came to visit when I was a kid and it was time to leave. I cried like my heart was going to break, and so did Jeanette. I was really sad for all of us, but Kathryn got over it in about 30 minutes. She's good to go now with a movie and a snack.

Getting Ready for Fall

It's been a while since the last post, but we've been pretty busy. I got my real estate license, and I've been talking to a couple of brokers to decide where I might want to work. I won't get heavy into it until Kathryn goes back to school, but I need to get partnered up, anyway. Fall and the start of school will be here before we know it. We got Kathryn's school supplies ordered a couple of weeks ago (what a great idea to have a service for that now); her school uniforms will be available on Wednesday, and I've got a couple of meetings set for work at Eastfield the last week of August. School starts for all of us on the 24th. We went to the zoo a couple of weeks ago, and Kathryn had dance camp last week. Harold, Kathryn and I have gone to Six Flags three times this summer and still haven't gotten to see the glow in the dark parade. I think that if we need a rain, all we have to do is plan a trip to Six Flags. Kristi and Brenna are coming this weekend, and I think that Jalane is coming with them.