Mean Scott

 

When Scott's at preschool, he wears his poker face.  In fact, he turns it on as soon as the carpool line starts moving and wears it until the van door closes at the end of his school day.  He hopped into the van one day last week and said, "There was one thing bad that happened today. Cameron was infront of me in line, and he turned around and said, 'You're a diaper' to me."

I've heard a lot of stories about Cameron this year.  Usually Scott tells me what Cameron has done to earn his way to the time-out chair.

I asked Scott what he did when Cameron said this to him, and he said, "I made a little mean face at him.  Not too big of a mean face...just a little one."

I asked him what this looked like and this was the face he showed me...

 Oh to be a fly on the wall...

One Thing Leads to Another

In order to save time this morning, I decided to give Kate a cereal bar and avoid the oatmeal mess.  

My plan backfired.  

Happy 15th Months to our silly little girl!

Thoughts from our 3 year old

Natalie was sitting on the couch in her coveted Dora underwear pretending to read the Bible.  I walked in the room and she had some deep thoughts. 
Natalie:  Will we go to heaven in a long time?
Me:  Yes, but really Jesus could come back at anytime.
Natalie:  Oh no!  I don't want to go to heaven in my underwear!
Me:  That would be okay.  It wouldn't matter.
Natalie:  Oh good!  I will show Jesus my underwear.

(Beware: She's happy to show them off to anyone.  Perhaps we should switch her back to the boring heart and stars kind.)

Later in the day, Scott and Natalie were being goofy.  

Natalie:  Mommy, does Jesus know what we're saying?
Me:  Yes, he hears EVERYTHING.
Natalie:  Oh...that's not good!

Call Me Crazy

Three posts in three days...what's gotten into me?!  

Over the past couple of years, I have had some "success" with selling things on Craigslist.  I'd buy the kids a riding toy at a garage sale for $10, let them play with it for a few weeks until it got pushed aside, and then turn around and sell it for $30.  I was having fun with it, and considered it kind of like a game.  One day this fall, I was selling some Duplos on Craigslist...doing kind of the same thing.  (Bought for cheap at a garage sale, sold for $40 on Craigslist, was happy with myself.)  However, during this sale, I learned that the person was driving from Ohio to get these.  Odd for some silly old duplos, I thought.  Later, I researched them to find that they were worth about $300 on ebay.  This motivated me to figure out this ebay game, so that I could transition to the next level of selling.  :)  

With the help of a couple of wonderful ladies from church, I began selling some items just to see how things went.  I was surprised at how much people were willing to pay for my junk!:)  I've been doing it for the past three months now, and my little fund is growing.  My goal is to raise enough money to offset the cost of sending Scott to another year at the Christian school.  So far, so good, and sooo fun! 

Check out some of the crazy things people are buying...

Dillo Dust Seasoning- $34.33 + shipping.  (This is a freebie that is thrown into Jon's packages sometimes when he makes an order from Larue Tactical.  We've thrown away this in the past since we were getting too much of it and didn't really use it.  When I heard that this was selling on ebay, I gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised.  I rummaged through the pantry and found 3 unopened containers of it.  Cha-ching!

Outdated Playskool Figures- $26.00 + 5.80 for shipping  (I bought Natalie a dollhouse off of Craigslist for Christmas for cheap.  It came with A TON of figures and accessories.  Natalie didn't like these "men" and told me to sell them.  She didn't have to tell me twice!  I listed them, and was once again shocked at how much they were worth to some person.

Miniature Bob the Builder Machines- Slightly larger than a quarter in size- $36.99 + shipping- I bought two sets at a garage sale this summer in a little Ziplock baggie.  These cost me $1.00, and the lady who bought them paid over $40 for them.  WOW!   Have any Bob the Builder things at your house?! 

Bravo Company hat- Bidding just begun on this item, so you still have time to get in on the action!  However, we're already up to $10.00 + shipping (We took a STACK of unused LaRue & BCM hats to Goodwill last year.  Once again, these are a freebie that Jon gets with his orders. Who knew people would pay good money for them?)  

I could go on, but I'll spare you.  :)  Like I've said, I'm just surprised at what people will pay for things.  Last week, I was pleased with what I got from selling a couple pairs of scrub pants.  Think if I sell all of my scrubs I could just help to support our family through ebay instead of ever returning to nursing?!:)  Hmmm...

We do kind of have a new joke going in our house.  The kids know that I take pictures of things that I am trying to sell.  So a few times lately, when they've heard the camera turn on, they (Natalie) have come running saying, "MOMMY!  DON'T SELL IT!" (Before they even see what junk I'm selling.)  I keep threatening to put them on ebay, especially when scenes like this keep unfolding.  Oh, I know, I know.  Priceless, right?  

Is it spring yet?!

GBC

For the past several months, the kids have created something that Scott calls "God's Best Church."  He takes it seriously and talks about "God's Best Church" quite often.  He has held some "services" but mainly the kids practice for a potential service.  When he heard that church would be cancelled last Sunday morning, Scott immediately got to work planning a GBC service.  He located everyone's name tags (I told you he takes it seriously) and selected songs.  He made 3 crosses to be hung and assigned jobs to the family members.  He even came up with the idea to pass the plate during the service to earn some money to buy a train.  Nada, son.  :)  

Unfortunately, GBC still has some issues to be worked out.  Some wanted the music loud while some wanted it to play quietly in the background.  Some wanted the lights dimmed while some wanted the lights to shine brightly.  Some wanted drums while some wanted keyboard only.  Some wanted to use the microphone the entire time while...well, wait...everyone wanted to use the microphone the entire time.  So...after much quarreling and division in the church, the service got cut short.  We may have to revisit once they've had a few more practices.  It must not be easy to run a church. 

A (Long) Tooth Story

Shortly after we moved into our current house, Scott slipped on our wood flooring and hit his front teeth.  They turned a bit dark over time, but this has disappeared as he's grown.  When Natalie was 2, she followed in her brother's footsteps, fell on the hard floor, and hit her front teeth.  Hers turned a bit darker, but seemed okay up until last week.  

On Friday night, I took the kids to get their picture taken.  (See pic above.)  Once I put the kids to bed, I was looking online at the images from the photo session.  Natalie's smile looked off to me.  I zoomed in on the picture and saw that her lip was puffy.  I'm not sure how I missed this while she was awake.  Sure enough, the next morning she woke in quite a bit of pain from an abscess above one of her dead front teeth.  Saturday was the day of the predicted major snow storm, and we called the dentist just as the snow started to fall.  He called in an antibiotic and told us he would see us when his office reopened...whenever that would be.  Thankfully, we were able to get it filled and get her started on the medicine before the storm.  It helped us make it until Wednesday, when they finally opened again for business.

At our dentist, the kids are usually given 1 or 2 tokens after their cleanings as a reward.  It's not a good sign when they give your child 4 tokens before they even begin doing any work.  Natalie was uncharacteristically nervous and quiet.  We couldn't really prepare her well since we didn't know what to expect.  All I knew was that I've had some dental work that was comparable in pain to natural childbirth, and I prayed that Natalie would not have to go through that.  

After an x-ray, we were told that the infection was large, and that her best bet would be a pulpotomy- which is basically a root canal on a baby tooth.  They would give her a shot in the gums to numb the area, drill a hole in the back of the tooth, remove the pulp and affected nerves, fill it with medicine, and then seal it back up.  (The dentist had reasons for doing this over just pulling the tooth prematurely.)  So, three year old Natalie sat there with wide eyes while they worked away.  She was so brave, and the staff (and her parents) were amazed!  She looked sort of traumatized afterwards but was happy to spend her well earned tokens in the junk machine.  

We made it to the van, and then the big tears came.  She cried most of the way home.  :(  It is TERRIBLE to see your child in pain.  TERRIBLE.  She took her last dose of medicine today and seems to have made a good recovery.  Her tooth will most likely turn an even darker shade now, but thankfully it will come out in a few years.

Yes, this is a long post about a dental procedure, but it was a big deal for us recently.  We praise God for Natalie's ability to get through this.  She may never willfully walk back into that dentist office again, but we are glad that at least this is behind us. 

Now I cringe every time Kate slips on the hard floor.  Currently, Kate is the only family member whose front teeth have not been damaged by a fall/injury.  Her odds are not good, but we're hoping for the best!:) 

A Picture That Makes Me Smile:)