1.06.2008

Cleaning the Bathroom

A person might say that cleaning the bathroom is not my favorite of cleaning duties (probably because it was one of my weekly chores growing up)... well tonight might possibly have topped all of my bathroom cleaning experiences so far!

It all began around 3am this morning when my brother-in-law called me and was on his way to my house. Sweet baby Henrichs had decided to make his entrance into this world and Russell was on his way to drop off my niece, Tess. I woke Drew and got him to help me set up the pack-and-play in our room. We moved Karsyn upstairs so Tess could sleep in the crib (hoping that would feel more like home and make her a little more comfortable). Tess was WIDE awake when they arrived. Seems that she was taking notes on the L&D floor at the hospital when they dropped off her mommy. Tess and I cuddled in the rocking chair for a while and then she went to sleep. The next morning, we all woke up and headed to church. Again, everything went smoothly... and so the day continued... lunch, nap time, visiting Mommy & new baby brother at the hospital, care group, and dinner. Then came bath time... Seth took his bath first and was rinsing off about the time I added both girls to the bubbly water. He thought it looked like fun, so he hung out a little longer to watch them splash and giggle and have some fun (note: Seth definitely didn't want part in their fun. He stayed huddled on one end of the bathtub just watching. Andrew was also laughing at all of the wild splashing going on while he stood in the background - waiting for me to hand off one of the girls to him.) About the time I made Seth get out and dry off, I noticed something.... beneath the small layer of bubbles was what appeared to be a leaf... but from where? "What is THAT!" I said with an air of disgust in my tone. Drew peered over my shoulder and started laughing uncontrollably... that is until I told him to do something about it.

Seth was SAFE! He was out of the tub and drying off. Both of the girls still seemed to be in danger of the object obscured by the floating bubbles. We moved the girls to the other end of the tub (where Seth had narrowly escaped) and watched in horror as the bubbles faded with the draining water. It was POOP! And not a little bit either... a BUNCH! What to do? The girls? Clean? How? Panic stricken, I yelled for Drew to get the girls and keep them out of it. I will spare you the gross details of the cleaning process, other than the smell almost made me sick. Between tears of laughter and sickness, Andrew and I somehow seemed to get the tub clean and ready for yet another bath... this time with no treacherous bubbles to block the view!

Karsyn and Tess had a good time splashing again (a lucky day for them they thought... two baths in one night... YIPEE!) Finally, both girls were clean and smelling good again. The world seemed all right. Drew had Tess on the changing table and I had K on the floor (enjoying the sweet smell of baby lotion as I lathered her up). Bedtime was within sight, when Tess started coughing. The small cough began to grow and didn't stop. Andrew picked up Tess and headed for the bathroom to get a washcloth. I happily continued to breath in the sweet smell of baby lotion (trying to get the poo smell out of my nose). Suddenly, Andrew yelled, "HELP!" My casual reply of, "Just a sec. K needs a diaper." didn't set well with him. I left K diaperless in her bedroom and went down the hall... only to find Andrew standing by the sink, still holding Tess, with a look of utter disbelieve on his face. The smell hit me when I walked in the door and I jumped back to get a better look. Andrew kept saying, "It's on me. It's on me. It's on me," but I didn't look at him. The "cottage cheese" sprayed literally ALL OVER my bathroom was enough! I mean seriously... have you ever really gotten a good whiff of curdled milk? As if the sight of the "cottage cheese vomit" wasn't enough, the smell would literally knock you down! After about the fourth double-take, I held my nose (because taking a deep breath before tackling the job would have been like death) and began giving orders. Andrew gave Tess her THIRD bath of the night while I began the brutal job of cleaning up. (Poor Seth was in his room, afraid to come out. What is it? Should I come in there? Is everything okay? -- In which my response was, "Just keep Karsyn out!")

So, as I cleaned, Andrew finished getting the kids ready for bed. Milk for Karsyn (none for Tess). A bedtime story for all and finally sweet dreams. Hey, it's really not that bad. I was going to clean the bathrooms tomorrow anyway (as my mother-in-law is coming to see the new grandbaby). So, scratch that off of the to-do list for tomorrow - WOOT!

Oh and on a VERY happy note. I have a beautiful (or handsome) new baby nephew! Zachariah Jefferson (going by Zach) was born this morning. He is a doll (or at least Karsyn thought so & she just couldn't get enough of him). Congratulations Russell, Apryl, and Tess!


The girls having some fun (during bath #1)...



Bedtime story for all...


And saving the best for last... Sweet baby Zach meets his big sister (I'm not really sure she understands that he gets to go home with her - should be interesting *wink*)...


12.05.2007

Christmas Cards

We received our first Christmas card in the mail yesterday! (Thanks RIP! I love your cute country Xmas!) Can you believe Christmas is only 20 days away. Seth is really enjoying counting down the days. I have a really cute countdown decoration, but decided to let Seth help create something on the computer instead. We played around with my favorite clipart, DJ Inkers, and made a one page countdown that hangs on the frig. He crosses out a day each night before bed and we are working on patterns as he crosses off days (AB pattern of red, green). Can you tell that I'm missing my classroom today :( I think in my heart I always long for my students and how much fun we had. Will I ever have another Dakota, Brayden, or Karlee? Okay, snapping back to reality now... Hmmm... Oh yes, I was going to write about Christmas Cards. We took some pictures over the Thanksgiving break and I am anxiously waiting my cards to arrive so I can mail them out. What is it about Christmas Cards that I love - I'm not sure, but I love mailing them and I love receiving them. It's a simple gift of thoughtfulness maybe. Here are some of the pics that we took & I had such a hard time deciding which one to use on our card...







I just love the pink and blue matching Santa PJ's. I bought them last year off the clearance rack (Yeah for sales!) knowing that this might be the only year that Seth and K match since Seth is growing so fast. Check out his long legs!


12.04.2007

Thanksmas

Thanksgiving means something different to me than most people. It means we go to THANKSMAS! Huh? What? Yes, I hear your questions of what is she talking about? Is that a typo? No it's not. For the past 30 years, my extended Blakeney family meets for something we fondly refer to as Thanksmas... a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is the only time each year that I see my extended Blakeney family. For the past several years, we have met at a state park in southeast Oklahoma. We rent 10 A-frame cabins, a bath house (with no heat), and a "mess" hall (kitchen & dining area). This camp site is used for summer camps during part of the year, but it's all Blakeney at the end of November. Each year, one of the Big 6 (my Papa Joe and his 5 siblings) rotate who will host. The host divides up the menu and mails out a food list and weekend schedule. We haul food, bedding, air mattresses, towels, games, and gifts. We have a couple of devotionals during our time together. Focusing on our Lord and Savior and making time to thank Him for his many blessings is always an important part of our time together. Of course we eat plenty (breakfast is my favorite: Granny makes homemade buttermilk biscuits with chocolate gravy) and there are way too many desserts, but we also love playing games and laughing lots! We open gifts and Santa makes an appearance! This year, we had 69 people for Thanksgiving lunch - a low year for us as far as numbers go. It's an awesome reunion of family and fun and I am renewed and uplifted every year by Thanksmas!

This is the Joe Blakeney bunch (my grandparents, aunts, uncles, & first cousins). We had the biggest group at Thanksmas this year.


Karsyn & her great-Granny Clo sing during a devo...


Santa makes a guest appearance and even takes time out of his busy schedule to take pictures! Karsyn was not all that excited to see him :( but the memory is too cute!





Kids open gifts...

Daddy, Seth, and Karsyn play outside in the leaves.

My first cousins (sadly, I am the oldest) that happen to be the best Taboo & Guesstures players in the world! Really... lots of loud laughs to be had! I can't wait for New Years when I see them again!




Wildcat Reader

I know it has been over a month since I blogged... where has time gone & what has happened. As I looked back over some pics to see what we did, I found these sweet little reading pics of Karsyn. I was going to take a picture of her in her "Proud to be a Wildcat" onesie to send in to ACU Today, but Karsyn had other plans. She was having such a good time looking at books that I just couldn't stop her to pose for a silly picture (we'll do it again later). She's ten months old in these pictures and I am so glad to see that she is learning to love books and reading so early on!






11.01.2007

Halloween '07

The long awaited day of being tricked or treated finally came. Seth was excited to dress up and run around with friends. After school, we made roll-out cookies - always an experience! I waited too long to start them and had to recruit help from Seth and Drew to get them finished in time. We loaded 4 trays of cookies in my trunk, hopped in the car, and off we went (heading for our good friends, the Dennington's house - they throw a great Halloween bash!). After about the third NASCAR turn through our neighborhood, Drew reminded me that the cookies were in the back... oops! As we feared, the little lip of the cookie tray acted more like a ramp than a barrier and ghost cookies had hopped trays and were mingling with their little pumpkin cookie friends on the neighboring tray. Okay, so a little icing was smudged, but for the most part, they made the trip safely and they still tasted great! After the stress of finishing cookies on the fly... I was enjoying visiting with friends that were gathered, when Seth approached me with a worried face... "Mommy, I think I left my mask at home." I checked our costume bag (as we were going to get dressed there) and sure enough, no mask! So, after one more NASCAR run to the house and back, everything seemed to be going well. After a super dinner, the kids dressed up, put on their blinking pins, glow bracelets, and with bags in hand, headed out the door. Group picture time! Yeah right! Getting a picture of a dozen kids ready to run around and get sugared up is not the best time to take a group picture. We tried anyway, and then we were off. The kids had a great time and the Dennington's neighbors are the best at hosting Trick-R-Treat fun for the kids!




Mighty Darth Vadar! (His light saber glows red/blue, but it doesn't show up in the pic for some reason.)

Vadar Seth with fair maiden Katie & Knight Reuben. . .

cousin Emily, Arial (Aaris), Darth Vadar (Seth). . . Jessica & I keep saying that all these pics will make a great wedding slide show someday :)


Karsyn amazes the crowd of cameras as she stands in the middle of the room and walks to mommy. She amazed Mommy too!



Karsyn goes for the good stuff. . . candy!


K tries to carry the pumpkin pail and suckers. . .