The Knot Kit

Adam had to practice tying different kinds of knots for his surgery class so he rented and brought home a surgery knot-tying kit. Adalin watched him for just a minute or two and decided that she could do it better... See that sweet "knot" she tied?

She is always doing everything we do, it is cute. I love her "matter of fact" face that she has above. It's like she is saying, "Yeah, this is how it is really done."

The Birds & the Bees: A 3 Year-old's Perspective

We are eating breakfast this morning and Adalin had eaten most of her Cheerios...

Adalin: Look at my big tummy mom. It's really full. Yeah, it's really big.
Me: Oh yeah?

Adalin: Yeah. My tummy gets really big when I eat and that's how you get a baby in there. Then the baby eats all the food.

That will do for now. I agreed with her.

Patience and Love

I feel like I need to pay a little attention to Adalin on this blog, and in real life. Don't think that I ignore the poor child, however, her attitude has really been getting to me the last few days and I am finding the last thing I want to do is pay special attention to her when, in fact, that is exactly what she is in desperate need of. She has been particularly hard to manage the last few days and I feel often like I am at the end of my rope, so stressed and almost angry-feeling. I try so hard to be a good mother and be patient and level headed all the time. This is one of the hardest things I have ever tried to master. Harder than complex analysis, multi-variable calculus or number theory even.

So I am wondering who made up the phrase, "Terrible 2's." Whoever it was was a weirdo and obviously has never lived with a 3 year old. What is sad is that I am finding Adalin doing things that are naughty, like yelling, and I realize that these are the exact same things that I struggle with myself and do in front of her. I am always yelling at Yukon when he chews up my rugs, rips open a full bag of expensive Dutch Cocoa on my rug, poops upstairs, jumps up on me when I walk in the door... ( I could go on and on.) So it makes complete sense why Adalin is beginning to yell at the dogs and Kira when they do something not on Adalin's agenda, its because she sees me yell. It's ironic that what frustrates me the most about Adalin's behavior are the things that she has learned from me that I struggle with myself. Ah!

Adalin is a very sweet child. She has a heart of gold. She is incredibly smart. The other day we were driving into town after a little day trip and we passed our street on the main drag because we had one more place to stop by. Adalin notifies me immediately, "Mommy! We passed our street!" How the heck did she know that?

I really think that her 3 year old-ness is a result of me not spending enough planned/organized/activity-filled time with her. We get so caught up in going here and there, doing this and that on the computer or on the phone that I just expect her to entertain herself for a lot of the day. I think that she is just demanding more attention and is in need of more structure. It has been a long winter and she is as anxious as I to get going, get out and start doing things with her mommy.

So I guess I want to say that I am sorry Adalin for pushing you aside too much. This is hard for me to say that where so many other people will read it, but my hopes are for some advice on how to balance the needs of my kids while keeping up with all the other things that life demands. It is a daily effort to balance really nurturing my kids while doing everything else. My kids are the happiest when I just lay on the floor upstairs with toys surrounding me and play with them, sometimes just watching them play. They are content. But I can't do the ALL day... Maybe all they need is a little more.

The Fun Run

The 30th Annual Osteopathic Fun Run was a great success this year. I was one of the co-chairs of the race and I would have to say that planning an event such as this was one of the most rewarding things I have done in a long time!


It was interesting to plan and plan and plan for months and have the day finally come. Once the gun was shot, the race began and I had almost an empty feeling inside, like, "Wow! That was it?"

I was mostly in charge of the sponsorship aspect of the event. I made hundreds of phone calls for months to local business owners and managers. I think I can say that I am a professional nag when it comes to getting donations from people. I am pretty proud to say that I reeled in 58 sponsors of which 25 donated $100 or more worth of goods or services!

135 people ran the race, which was amazing considering [brace yourself] IT SNOWED! I still can't believe that it was snowing on my race day! It made me very angry. That was the only thing about the day that didn't go well. Thank goodness it was something that was out of my control! Only 80 runners participated last year, 170 or so the year before that, so considering the weather, 135 was excellent! I don't know the exact figure yet, but we were able to donate well over $2000 to the American Cancer Society.

I announced these figures at our local Relay for Life last weekend. Afterwards, I listened to the event chairs speak about cancer and how many lives this terrible disease affects. It is so sad to think that just about everyone has a family member, friend or acquaintance who has suffered from cancer. All of my thoughts turned to Kyle, my best friend's brother, so young with so much life ahead of him and how cancer crippled so many of his hopes and dreams and took him away from those who loved him. I will be honest, being a co-chair of the Fun Run this year and having the opportunity to decide what organization we would donate to, all my thoughts turned to Kyle and the ACS.

Planning the Fun Run was more about hours on the phone, banners, ice, oranges, pretzels, people, snow and a stopwatch. It was about fighting back, staying alive... It was about Kyle and all those who have suffered along with him. All the hours were well worth it.

Daddy's Girl

Kira LOVES Adam. Like, I take her away from Adam and she cries 80% of the time. I caught them brushing their teeth together one morning and I thought it was so cute! (Oh, and that is my toothbrush she is using.. :) )

Get Out of Town

I think I have risen from the dead and am ready to rock and roll. It was a long winter, that's all I have to say. I have been going a little crazy just hanging around the 'ville here and have felt the need to skip town twice already this week. OK, for some people that live here, this is normal. For me however, I have been to the nearest mall less then 5 times in the last 2 years, have only been to St. Louis three times (only once on pleasure) and the rest of my days have been spent put-putting around Kirksville where Walmart has been the main attraction. Sad, but oh, so true. Anyway, I can officially say that spring is here. The trees bloomed yesterday, my tulips shot up, the grass looks like it is on steroids and the dandelions are popping up everywhere so much that not Kirksvillians passing through may wonder what the infestation is all about in this town. It makes me happy that the earth is back to life, even happier that I seem to be as well. This is my first Tulip that bloom es this spring.

Ah Ha!

Kira, bless her heart, has been so fussy the last week and a half. She was sick two weeks ago and since then, she won't even be put down without freaking out. So it finally dawns on me to feel the kid's gums and ta-da... 4 molars have cut through, yes, all at the same time! Ouch. No wonder she is irritable! That makes 12 teeth for this little girl.

Pooper Scoopers

Adalin and her little friend Jocelyn decided to go pick up dog poop in our backyard... um, thanks! They thought that the best tools available to them were my outdoor broom and dustpan. Nice. Thanks girlies!

They were so proud of themselves!

Baby Goat

There is something about farm animals that I love. Maybe its the hay, maybe just the reminder that there is actually something down-to-earth in this world still. Being around cows, goats, chickens, whatever, really makes me happy. They have such simple lives and simple things please them. Maybe I should be a goat. Our bishop's goat just had a kid so we went and saw the little 4-day-old tike. Gandolf, its name, was the cutest thing in the world.

Our video blog has some footage of this event...

It's About Time

Adam and I have been shopping around for a bigger vehicle for months... we found one! We are keeping our '97 Toyota Camry, since we will have to have 2 cars for Adam's rotations starting in August. We got a 2002 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4x4. It has 90,000 miles on it and is absolutely gorgeous!