That's One Way to Learn the ABC's

One morning when I was getting Makayla ready for school, I asked her how she wanted me to do her hair.

Do an "X" with braids.

Wow! Really? I'll do my best.

The kids at school loved her cool hair. So the next morning she asked me to do her hair in an "A."

What followed was 3 months of crazy hair experimenting, trying to braid/twist/etc the 26 letters of the alphabet into her hair. Some definitely turned out better than others. Well, just see for yourself.

The kids in Makayla's class were so funny. When I went in to help on Thursdays, if I hadn't done a letter in Makayla's hair that day, the kindergartners would come up to me and complain, "Why didn't you do a letter in Makayla's hair today?" or my favorite was "Why haven't you done "T" for my name yet?" "I was gone when you did my letter. Can you do it again?"

Although it was fun creating the alphabet in Makayla's hair, I'm not sure I would do it again. Good thing I took pictures the first time around.

Insomnia

It's 4:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. That seems to be happening to me a lot lately. I'm so exhausted, but I can't turn my mind off long enough to get some decent sleep. I'm either up until 2 am, or if I get to bed by midnight, I am usually wide awake before dawn.

I have so many thoughts racing through my head. I have so much that I want to blog about, but whenever I sit down to type, my mind goes blank. (It took me 7 minutes to write those 2 sentences. Ridiculous!)

This reminds me of when I was a junior in high school. I had really bad insomnia. I literally went for days without sleep. And I had the worst writer's block. And I cried a lot. There has been much crying at my house lately.

Ugh! Why can't I sleep!?

Camera Shy? What's That?

This is Kimberly's latest trick--batting her eyes. It is so adorable, but she does not do it on demand. Which is why I was so lucky to get it on video at all.

If you listen, you can hear Ellie in the background saying, "Mom! Take a picture of me!" So I did. Actually, I took 10. How can I resist this cute, silly face?

Immediately, Makayla started begging for her picture to be taken as well.

What's wrong with these kids? I NEVER wanted my picture taken when I was younger.

About the Surgery

I had a cholecystectomy on April 7. That is to say, I had my gall bladder removed. I just think it's more fun to say the big long medical word. Makes me feel smarter somehow.

The night before, I mentioned how nervous I was. The morning of the surgery was even worse. I don't ever remember being so nervous for a surgery before. Maybe it's because the last time I had a surgery, I was young and dumb. I didn't know to be scared.

No worries, though. I told the anesthesiologist about my pre-surgery jitters, and he totally hooked me up! I'm telling you, those drugs (whatever they were) were awesome! I'm thinking about calling that guy to hook me up with some more the next time I have to speak in church. They were almost as good as an epidural during labor and delivery. Almost.

Anyway, everything went well. I had some pretty nasty bruising and swelling for about a week. And then there was that whole thing about not being able to breath. But my tests came back normal--no blood clot in my lung. It just took 2 days of deep breathing exercises and a little more walking.

I feel so great! In fact, the last time I felt this healthy and energized was before I got pregnant with Kimberly--two years ago. The only minor thing is that I can't eat fatty foods. Fat=serious discomfort. I really miss pizza and french fries, but I'm not complaining about the 12 pounds I've lost thanks to this new, healthier diet.

T-Ball

Makayla started t-ball a few weeks ago. I'm afraid the poor girl has inherited my total lack of coordination, athleticism, and ability to comprehend anything sports-related. Which is really too bad because she loves baseball. She's been looking forward to this since I signed her up in March.

Kasey and I took her to buy a mitt. or glove. (Wait. Is it called a mitt or a glove? Or are both correct? I'm so confused!) We got to the sporting goods aisle of Walmart and showed her the options. Right away she started jumping up and down, begging for the pink one. Please, please, please! Can I get the pink one? Pink is my very favoritest color in the whole Earth!!

So we bought her the pink one.

It has been so fun watching her at practices. She hasn't quite grasped the concept of moving her feet to field a ground ball. Rather, she puts her mitt(glove) on the ground and then watches the ball roll right by her, shocked that it didn't roll TO her. That darn ball!

Watching her throw the ball is a special treat for me, as well. The coaches have been teaching all the kids how to step and then throw the ball, using their weight and momentum to propel the ball forward. After chasing down the ball that has rolled past her, Makayla runs back to her spot and tries to throw the ball back to her coach. But I think the running kind of confuses her mind a little. Because instead of a step and throw, she does more of a skippity, shuffle-run "I'm-not-sure-how-to-do-this-so-I-hope-the-ball-makes-it-to-you" thunk. . thunk. . . . thunk. . . . . . (ball rolls almost all the way to the coaches feet before it stops.) Oh my Heck!! I LOVE IT!!

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Makayla's first game was on Wednesday. She was so excited. She had her uniform (complete with baseball pants, jersey, and hat) on and was ready to go.

We rushed out the door after a few quick pictures. She got to the field and warmed up with her team. The Twins were first on the field. A few kids batted and then I see Makayla lean over to her coach and say something. He nodded and Makayla started running toward me. Halfway across the field she yelled, at the top of her lungs, "Mom, I have to go potty!" A few of the parents sitting by me chuckled. "Yes, that is my daughter."

By the time we got back from her little potty break, it was Makayla's team's turn to bat. I got this awesome video of Makayla's first at bat. Kasey and I laughed about it several times.

I think my favorite part is when the coach turns her head to look at the ball.

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Although Makayla is absolutely loving t-ball, I have to admit that I'm not crazy about the schedule. Three to four days a week she has either practices or games. I know that doesn't sound like much. Really, it's not. But I am such a homebody. I'd be perfectly happy to stay at home, never leaving to even check the mail for 5-6 days at a time.

So for me, having my kids involved in things is a huge sacrifice. But I think the looks on their faces when they get to do something they love is absolutely worth whatever I think it may cost me. I mean look at the grin on this kid!

Tap. Tap. Tap. Is This Thing On?

Hello?. . . . Does anyone still read this blog?

I've taken quite a break from blogging. Okay, it's only been a few weeks, but for me that is a long break. But now that I'm healed and have my energy back, I've got lots to write about. So stay tuned for some updates.