Gratitude

Miss K's journal entry at school this week:

"I am thankful for Guitar Hero."

ps. Thank you Auntie Jenna for leaving your Wii here. (Miss K loves to bowl and "be" Hannah Montana!) Also, did I mention Miss K won't actually play Guitar Hero, but she will sing along! "I wanna rock and roll all night......and party every day". Yes, she has sung this at school and no, her teacher hasn't asked what we do all night! I'm sure there are days when she goes to school and seems as if she has been a rocking and a rolling all night

She's having a party......

and ya'll are invited! A pity party that is.

At the dinner table this evening:

I just want to be alone. I don't want any of you to talk to me. (Pause for effect.)

I just wish my birthday was everyday. I wish my birthday was everyday. What would it be like if my birthday was everyday? (Pause for effect.)

As she places her bracelet's and necklace on the table, I'm done with fashion. I just can't be beautiful anymore. (Pause for effect.)

Of course there were plenty of hmmm and hah's in between!

(This was all because we would not let her sit on the dog crate and eat her dinner all "by her own".)

Sea Princess of the Week

Miss K was the Student spotlighted this last week in school. We were asked to make a poster to include all things Kaitlyn and bring it in on Tuesday. Mom went to school on Wednesday and read Miss K's favorite book, Pinkalicious, and Friday Dad took in cupcakes (store bought of course) to share with the class.

Just Because...

We love you! Thanks for making us laugh and keeping us on our toes.

Words

I work in Miss K's classroom everyone Wednesday for an hour. During this time, I'm ableto work with all of the kids as they work through my center. I also get to observe Miss K in a different environment. This particular time, Miss K was not in my group, but I could hear the conversation between the group. Next thing I know, I hear my sweet girl saying, "Yeah, you do have a stinky butt!"

Now, there are certain words which are not allowed in our home. I like to say they have been removed from the our family dictionary. These include, but are not limited to, stupid, shut-up and butt. I hate the word bu**, so hearing it from Miss K , in school no less, was a little shocking. Then she realized what she said, turned to look at me at mouthed "I'm sorry". I'm grateful she realized what she said, but we still had a little chat on the way home!

Got Thirst?

During our most recent grocery shopping trip, Miss K noticed a new type of hot cocoa with bunny shaped marshmallows. She asked if we could buy some and I told her no. I explained we had some at home and it was probably too hot outside to enjoy some cocoa.

As we walked passed this older couple in the store, she asked me if we could go home and have some beer, since she'd abandoned the hot cocoa idea. (What?!! Beer?!!) I asked her what she was talking about, she said "You know mommy, beer, it's my favorite!" Oh sorry, I must have forgot? "You know mommy, you and I drink beer together all of the time!" (This is news to me, maybe it is her "other mommy" she always talks about. And yes, by then the older couple was giving me "The look".) We had the talk about why we don't drink beer and then she said, "Mommy I think I forgot a word, I meant root beer!"

Call from the Principal

Mrs: "Hello"
Caller: "Is this Kaitlyn's mom?"
Mrs: Yes
Caller: "This is Ms. H the Principal at Kaitlyn's school."
Mrs: (Thinking - hmmm, what did she do?!!! Is this due to her social butterfly-ness, bossiness, etc??? or retaliation against the boy who pushed her during PE last week?)
Principal: "I was calling to let you know Kaitlyn has been selected as our Kindergarten Student of the Month."
Mrs: "Oh, how exciting!" (Few!!!)

Miss K was awarded with a book, Student of the Month bracelet, a fruit by the foot (she was most excited about this), her name on the marquee outside the school and a certificate. The certificate signed by her Teacher and the Principal says, "Kaitlyn is so happy at school. She is always listening to me and I know she is learning. I know I can count on her to always give me the correct answers."

Pics to be added later!

Little Arborist

Miss K was so excited for me to come outside and see the tree she so painstakingly planted. As we were walking outside she let me know she wanted us to leave it planted right where she put it and that she would take care of it and water it. So responsible (she can't clean her room because???)! It about broke my heart when I had to tell her the "tree" she planted was a broken branch from our neighbors big tree. She said, "it's okay Mommy, it will still grow. I'll water it and take care of it every day."
ps. The tree didn't last very long....our puppies decided to use it as a tug o' war toy.

1st "Real" Day of School

This is not the usual early morning smile we receive Miss K. Let's just say she is not a morning person and she gets that from Mom. Her first "real" day of school she woke up without any trouble. She was very excited to wear her new clothes and shoes and get going. "Hurry Mommy, I don't want to be late!"

She requested pancakes for breakfast. A little surprising, as she loves cold cereal, and isn't really into other types of breakfast food. Mom happily obliged and had to take a picture.








As we were walking her into the school across the playground, I went to grab her hand. "Mom, I'm a big girl now, I don't NEED you to hold my hand!" (Mom was a little crushed!) She was excited to get to school and see other kid's from our ward at the playground!

Mom held back the tears until the bell rang and she ran off to line up against the wall of her classroom. Fortunately for Miss K, mom was able to grab the camera from dad and hold back those tears.

1st Day of School

Miss K's first day of school was Monday, August 25. Her fist day was an Open House to meet her Kindergarten teacher and explore her new classroom. She was excited to learn the theme for the year is "Deep Sea Adventures" - she loves the ocean and all its creatures!

1st Lost Tooth

Miss K lost her first tooth on July 24! She woke up July 23 with a very wiggly tooth (see here). She would let me wiggle it, but not take it out. The next day she would wiggle it with her tongue, but not let Mommy or Daddy touch it. Later in the afternoon, she decided it was time to take it out. Mommy started to help, but she wasn't having it, "I'll just do it myself." She wiggled it a little and pulled it right out. She was a little disturbed by the blood, but was over it pretty quickly.

The next morning she was excited to see the Tooth Fairy left her a cute note and $1.00!

Exhaustion

We are way overdue for a post and have lots to share, but it will have to wait for another day!

Today, Miss K and I were delivering the last of the Primary Olympic reminders. In order to get a little more exercise in, I decided to walk. Miss K was adamant about NOT bringing the jogging stroller. We left the house on foot to deliver 15 or so reminders. We are about halfway through the walk and Miss K informs me she is too tired to go on. "Please call Daddy and have him pick us up." As she had been complaining for about a block and her face was pretty red, I decided to call the Mister. As I hung up the phone, Miss K chimes in, "Thank you for obeying me!"

Where oh where has she heard this?! I simply said, "You're welcome." She then reminded me they had been discussing obedience in Primary. Thank you Sister Primary Teacher.

Speaking of teeth...

Miss K needs the following:

2 Root Canals and Silver Caps
3 Sealants
2 Frenectomy's (lingual and labial)

=Outpatient Hospitalization, IV and lots of $$$$

Princess Wars

Miss K. "Mommy, does my lightsaber match my shoes?"

Tooth Alert!!!!

Miss. K has been begging for all (or at least one) of her teeth to fall out for the last two months! I checked three weeks ago and they were all intact. Not so anymore.....we have one really, really, really loose bottom front tooth! If we can just wait until Mr. gets home from his business trip tomorrow (and Mrs. has time to finish her pillow), we will be in business!!!

Loves!

Here mommy, I wrote you a song!

(Click on the pic, so you can see it better.)

Them Bones

Kaitlyn (pointing to her ankle): Mommy what's this?

Mommy (thinking, we know this): Your ankle.

Kaitlyn: Oh, it looks like a gumball!

Oh What do you do in the Summertime?

Swimming Lessons

Water/Dog

(need I say more)

Visit Temple Square

Stuff

Dear Daddy,

I've decided on a new term for my stuff. Please refrain from calling it the following...cr**, gear or hud. I would prefer you call it "treasure".

Love you,

Miss K

Girls!

Out of the blue comment from Miss K while out shopping with Mommy and Auntie Jenna last week, "I'm just on my period! Alright!!!"

Patience is a Virture...

...and one I usually don't have a challenge with. Now some other people I know struggle with this.

Last night we stopped at Taco Bell. Yes, it was a rough day. We were patiently waiting in the drive-thru for 20 minutes. I mentioned it was taking a long time to help the car in front of us. My sweet Kaitlyn said, "Well maybe they have a big family who is really hungry and so it is taking a long time." I was amazed! "Thanks for being patient Kait!!" and reminding me to be patient. No sooner has those words left my mouth did she say....

"Why is this taking so long? Are we going to be here all night? I don't want to sleep here? Mom, I'm really hungry!" All this for pintos and cheese - actually "two beans" as they are known at our house.

Next time, I don't think I'll say a word about her patience, we'll just expound on that big family!

Football

Three more months till football starts....anyone else counting down???!!! (I didn't realize we were until today!)

Miss K to Daddy: You play for the Steelers, right?

Daddy to Miss K: No, I wish I did, but they are my favorite team!

Mommy to Miss K: If he did, we'd already be retired!

(I'll keep dreaming!)

Thank You...

.....Miss Kait for being such an awesome helper with Jayson tonight! Daddy and I enjoyed watching you play with our little neighbor. We were reminded what a great big sister you will be if, or should I say when (as you remind us), you are blessed with siblings.

Family

We had a picnic in our front yard for FHE last night. Kaitlyn gave a great lesson (thanks Sis. Young!) on keeping the Sabbath day holy. Kaitlyn also requested we all share one joke (knock, knock is her favorite). During the giggling and silliness of the jokes, she looked at Trace and I and said, "It is so great to have a Mom and Dad!"

She melts my heart on a regular basis, but I'm always amazed at the profound statements she doesn't know she is making. In this crazy world we live in....it IS so great to have a Mom and a Dad!

Following the Compass

We've been using the Gospel Art kit in our family scripture reading to make the association and understanding of the story a little more real and personal for Kaitlyn. Last night we were reading about the Liahona. We discussed the purpose of the Liahona and the efficiency (how and why it worked and why it wouldn't work). To help apply the lesson to her, I asked Kaitlyn what types of "Liahona's" do we have in our lives? She mentioned scriptures, following the prophet, listening to our teachers. Trace and I mentioned listening to our Mom's and Dad's. Kaitlyn's response....

"That is so hard for a little girl to do!"

Kaitism...

"When I'm good, I'm good. When I'm bad, I'm bad!"

(Kait's philosophy on life as we were doing her hair for church!)

Seven Down....Eternity to Go

"An eternal marriage is eternal. Eternal implies continuing growth and improvement. It means that man and wife will honestly try to perfect themselves. It means that the marriage relationship is not to be frivolously discarded at the first sign of disagreement or when times get hard. It signifies that love will grow stronger with time and that it extends beyond the grave. It means that each partner will be blessed with the company of the other partner forever and that problems and differences might as well be resolved because they are not going to go away. Eternal signifies repentance, forgiveness, long-suffering, patience, hope, charity, love, and humility. All of these things are involved in anything that is eternal, and surely we must learn and practice them if we intend to claim an eternal marriage." (I found this quote somewhere and the source wasn't quoted.)

Has it really been seven years?! As you said the other night, it doesn't seem like seven years to me, but I'm sure it feels like 100 to you! Maybe some days!!! There have been lots of facets of life in the past seven years - a beautiful little girl, job challenges and changes, tears, laughter, moves, our first house and some tragic moments too. Thanks for being by my side. I love you today more than I did seven years ago! Happy Anniversary! I'm looking forward to forever.

To Mutt or Not to Mutt

I drove by Home Depot on Saturday and saw the cutest puppies. We are thinking about getting another dog in the near future (yes, we are crazy) and are starting to "shop around". I picked up Trace and Kaitlyn at home and headed back that direction. I insisted on stopping to look at the pups. (We had to stop in HD to buy the bee spray anyway!) They were loading up the puppies, but left a little girl our for our enjoyment. These puppies were huge!!! I mean HUGE!!!! Their paws were almost as big as our Puff's head! Trace asked what they were. We were informed they are "blastiff", blood hound and mastiff. That right there was our queue to exit stage right. According to the very nice lady, the dad weighs 180 lbs and the mom weights 100 lbs! She informed us these are hybrid dogs.

My question is, what happened to the good ole' days of just mutts? I can only remember ever having one pure bred dog growing up. The rest were just run of the mill mutts. Don't get me wrong, we had awesome dogs. They just didn't have to be pure to be awesome.

After our date night (more on that later) and as we were lying in bed we started talking about these special "hybrid". We heard of labradoodle - lab and poodle, labradinger - lab and springer spaniel, cockapoo - cocker spaniel and poodle, borderjack - border collie and jack russell terrier, etc. So we decided to make up some of our own, using our doxie of course! Here you go:

doxer - doxen and boxer
dorev- doxen and retriever
doxtiff - doxen and mastiff

and Trace's input (drum roll please)

coxen - cocker and doxen

Obviously, I mean no offense to the dog breeders and lovers of these hybrid dogs. But, I would think they need to admit some of these name are quite hilarious. Especially after a long day, laying in bed, talking nonsense, leading to you and your spouse collapsing in giggle fits!

In other words...

Kait
Kaikin
Bitz
Bitzer
Bug
Grumpet (yes-for all of those no nap days long ago!)
Munchkin
Mo-Mo
Chunks
Mama Baby
Monkety-MoMo
Princess
Crabit - (see Grumpet)
Love Bug
Love (I "accidentally" called Trace this once and the tears welled up. "I thought I was your love!")

Just Kaitlyn!

Respectin' da Rulz

While we were eating dinner tonight, our doxie Belle was outside protecting her "hood" with her very boisterous bark! It seems the kids next door were playing outside. I let Belle in and Kaitlyn insisted on knowing what she was barking at. "Just the kids playing outside". "Oh no Mommy! The kids are playing outside on Sunday?!!" "Yes Kait." "Mommy, I don't play outside on Sunday, cuz I respect the rules!"

Score! She does listen to us. Thank you, respect and rules!!!

Bathtime

Tonight after dinner, I started a bath for Kaitlyn and went downstairs to finish up dishes before washing her hair. (Yes, I know this can be dangerous.) Trace went in to check on her and as he opened the door she said, "Get out of here!". He asked her why and she said, "because, you can't see my business!" First.......when did this start and second.......when did she start having "business"?!!!

Bathdar

bath * dar [noun]
*a means or sense of awareness or perception of any activity in or around the bath (tub or shower)

Kaitlyn has bathdar. She's had it since the day she was born. I can't remember the last time I shaved my legs without an audience or fellow bather. Today was no different. I would have figured at 5 she would be passed this stage. I was almost done with my shower, all I had left to do was shave. Kaitlyn walks in just as I'm getting ready to shave and insists on "putting her foots in". After her feet were in, she needed to get the rest of her clean...."because I stink Mommy!".

Convo with Kait

Me: Kaitlyn get your boots on so we can take the recycling to the "place".

Kaitlyn: What place?

Me: The recycling center.

Kaitlyn: Can't we do it later?

Me: We need to do it first thing, because we have lots of things to do today and you have dance this afternoon.

Kaitlyn: But I'm too old to drive!!!

Me: It's okay. I'm driving.

Me (thinking): We'll have to remember this when she is 16 and wants to drive. She was too old to drive at 5!

"Sorrow shifts its shape but does not go away"

It has been almost four months since Amber left her earthly home. There isn't a day that goes by I don't think of her. It seems most prevalent in our day to day activities. Kaitlyn misses coloring with her Auntie and her Auntie braiding her hair (which mom doesn't think she'll ever master!). I miss randomly calling her and her great laugh. The following link will take you to a great article in our local paper. Although the circumstances of my sister's death and the death of the author's friends were different the feeling is the same.

So I've Started....

I have given in! We are now blogging the fun, mundane and crazy Schroerlucke life! At this point in life we seem to spend more time on the computer than actually writing in a journal. So....I can't think of a better use of computer time than keeping a family blog.