Now I can get over it.

I just registered Max for Kindergarten.  I can now begin to get over the fact that he missed the cut off by two weeks this year,( because Arkansas is stupid and it's cut off date is August 1st.)  So now my biff is the fact that Max doesn't get to go to the local elementary school that is 2 minuets away cause we live on the wrong side of the street.  No, we get to drive 15 min into Bentonville, 30+ min in bad traffic.  Since we have to drive into town already we are going to try to get into the year round school.  Here's hoping.

Beefy

Tee Hee Hee Spike was quite the ladies man at church yesterday.  Dressed in a super cuddly red sleeper, Spike was passed around to quite a few ladies who just wanted to give him a good squish.  While he doesn't quite match Max's build at seven months, he is getting pretty thick.  When he was born, Spike looked so much smaller then the other two with he little chicken legs.  All wrapped up, Jeff and I joked that he didn't look like a burrito but a skinner cheesy roll-up, (dude have you seen how much taco bell charges for those now?!?)  Well he now has surpassed the burrito stage and just looks like a Beefy Cheesy Burrito.  All I can think of when I see him is Beefy.  He still doesn't sit up, he hates sitting in the borrowed bumbo.  He loves to roll.  If you set him down in one spot, it doesn't take long for him to make it across the room.  He goes til he hits some furniture or a wall.  He also seems very close to crawling.  I think he might do this before he sits up.  He loves being held and he loves stuffed animals.  Spike may be my first talker.  This kid has more to say then Mae.  I often call my parents up and just put him on the phone cause he will coo and jibber jabber for quite awhile.

Still Good

So we are going on a month of good behavior from Mae now.  I don't know what happened, but she is no longer angry at us all the time.  Well I should say angry at me all the time.  She was usually good for Jeff during the dark days.  As you will all remember from my numerous post on her behavior, after she turned one Mae just got mad.  She was always whining at me, especially in the car, and it seemed like she wanted nothing to do with me.  Well whatever happened last month is still in effect.  She is being incredibly sweet and loving.  I get giggles, cuddles, and lots of loving.  She still feels the need to touch everything and get into all drawers, cabinets, and baskets.  But these messes seem acceptable now because I can now see them as a symptom of her curious nature and not coming from her desire to make me miserable.  I honestly don't know if the terrible two's are behind us or if she is just taking a rest from disliking me, but I am happy and will take it as long as it lasts. 

Stuff about Mae.
 She still doesn't say much.  I have no idea why my kids don't talk.  One thing she does say is "No Nigh nigh."  When we ask her if it is time for bed.  It is adorable.  Maybe it is just a power thing cause when Mae does talk, Jeff and I are so beyond thrilled that we usually giver her whatever she wants, jumping and cheering at the success.

  Mae does most of her standing and walking on her tip toes.  I have no idea why, but she loves to be on her tip toes.  It is pretty cute.

  Mae pays a lot more attention to Spike now.  When she hears him crying she will often try to find a binky or bunny to cheer him up with. 

  Shower time is her favorite.  She loves to drink the water in the shower and splash with Max in the bath.  Whether or not to wash her daily is a tough choice for me cause she loves it and usually get pretty dirty, but her skin has gotten so sensitive and the air is so dry.  I try to keep it to every other day, but she does get so dirty sometimes. 

  This is mostly due to her hair.  It feels like it has stopped growing.  It is a good three inches from staying out of her face, and the more I want it to grow the less it does.  Can hair just stop growing?

She still adores shoes.  She spends most of her day taking her shoes on and off.

  After having Max, (Mr, I must be around people at all times,) I was surprised to see Mae just wonder off to her room to play.  It is refreshing but also a bit unnerving.  I left her alone the other day and she climbed onto her changing table then fell off and had a bloody nose.  And yet she still hasn't climbed out of her crib yet. 

Why?

Why did you bring your sick kids to church?  Did you want me to get RSV?

Oh great.

I accidental deleted my background. I absolutely loathe looking for a new one, and so was going to keep my last one forever. I really liked it. It was pretty but not too flashy and not too scrapbooky. I can't find it. I don't particularly care for this one, but am tired of trying to find a better one, so it will stay until the next time I really want to waste time on the Internet.

Since we're on the subject

The dock/marina section of town

of my parents, I think this would be a good time to list my grievances discuss the villages.  When we were living in Logan, Utah, my mom got a job at ZCMI running their Christmas shop.  She discovered how insanely fun it can be to set up and play with those little Christmas villages.  The Department 56 villages are sold in fine specialty stores and online, in other words they are stupidly expensive.  There are multiple villages to choose from.  My mom choose the old timey Dickens Village for her house.  Over time she has bought pieces, received them as gifts and coached my dad into answering, "People and Trees,"  whenever he is asked what he wants for his birthday, father's day, and Christmas.  (Because she says the key to a good looking village is you can never have enough people or trees.)  She became a bit obsessed with designating us each our own village.  I was given the Original Snow Village which is a glossy 1950's theme city, and Krista- the "Christmas in the City" line, a New York style village.  Suzanne smartly claimed Dickens and then said she'd just inherit some day.  (Or at least she thought at the time that it was smart.)  Little did she know how huge my mother's collection would get.  We have had lots of fun over the years teasing my mom about the village.  One Christmas Suzanne and her then husband Eric had fun moving the fox from the fox hunt around just to mess with my mom. 

My dad has built several tables over the years to display this village and in the last few years they have added the extra dimension of a model train.  It takes a entire day to set up her village so it goes up sometime in October and stay well through the new year.  (I do not think it has been taken down yet this year.)  My own village hasn't been up this year or last because I was afraid of Mae breaking it.  It probably won't get put out til 2015 at the least.  I am excited to bust it out since last year we bought a cute little building called "Miss Mae's Rooming House."

King Me!

Well it is that time of year again...Yup, the Ashley Home Furniture Store owner gathering in Las Vegas.  (That was your first guess, admit it.)  Once again the last person on earth who wants to be in Vegas in January, my dad, is there.  (Sometimes the world is so unfair to everyone.)  But at least he gets to take my mom along this year, so they will not be apart on their anniversary.  I asked him today what the traditional gift for 35 years is,( since as you will remember from last year's post, that the traditional 34th gift is a flat screen t.v.)  He informed me that 35th is the corral/cow year.  I asked if this was just for farmers or if it applied to everyone?  He said everyone.  As I know my father to be a wise, learned, and all around godly man, I will just assume that when Jeff and I finally make it to 35 that we will truly appreciate/ see the need for a cow and some place to put it. 
I do love my parents.  Sure the moving around as a kid thing really sucked, but all things considered I think I turned out just fine.  Now the cause of those moves was following the job.  My dad has had a few career changes, and when I was little this meant moving and was a bad thing.  But something happened towards the end of my time with them and beyond; the changes started to really pay off!  For me anyway.  When I was a teenager and in college my dad worked for Hastings, which is a book/music/ video store.  How great is that for a teenager/ college student?  Cheap or free books, music, and videos. 
When Jeff and I bought our first house my dad worked for Lowes and got us a fridge and washer/dryer!  Not to mention the occasional fix it stuff.  Then when we were ready to get some grown up furniture, my dad began his current job with Ashley.  Oh snap!  Yup, my dad rocks. I suppose it also helps that my parents are beyond generous to their children.  (In fact, I would have to admit that I am totally spoiled.)  When they came out to visit this last summer they brought us the greatest present yet-
A KING SIZE BED!
I am a firm believer that the divorce rate in America would drop significantly if everyone were required to have a king size bed.  I even have a friend who advocates separate bedrooms.  (Now I don't think that would work for us, but I can see the appeal.)  Sooooo roomy.  It is so fantastic.  I am a true believer that you should get a good bed, cause you do spend most of your life in it.  I love my bed.  It is the best gift a girl could have, at least until she gets her cow.