The Wig!

I have to give it to K2 - she's only 4 years old but she can absolutely crack me up! She is extremely resilient and can find great fun in just about anything. She and I were helping my grandmother (her great, obviously) put some things away after a yard sale this weekend. I was carrying some chairs down to the garage and K2 was behind me with some smaller things. I turned around and K2 had apparently found my Nanny's wig from some 40 years ago - and she put it on! I died laughing - she looked like a "Little Evelyn". Of course, everyone got a great laugh out of it - and it even grew more funny when she had the wig on and started acting like Nanny. She'd wipe her head with a paper towel and say, "Jeepers, it's HOT outside!"



We couldn't let the afternoon end without trying the wig on the baby, too!!

The Day the Squirrel Went Bezerk....

Oh my, oh my!  Sunday started out as a normal day in the life of a Calvert.  We went to church and headed home quickly to change clothes for a quick trip to the Zoo (more on that in the next post).  K3 was asleep so we left her in the car in the basement as the rest of us ran upstairs to change clothes.  I'm in the kitchen and hear K1 say, very calmly, "Something's in the house...looks like a squirrel or something". 

 What ?!?  How do you have an animal in your house and act that calm - so, I dismissed it - but, Heath was not so quick to write her off.  Ya see, he responds, "I thought I saw something run across the floor when I opened the door".
 What ?!?  You saw an animal in the house, too?

Still, I dismiss the idea.  K1 tells Daddy where "S" (the squirrel) is hiding and, sure 'nough, there's a squirrel under my chair in the den.  Daddy opens the doors to the back deck, very slowly and very methodically.  He returns to the chair to attempt to coerce "S" out the door - but...."S" is gone (that's right - just gone).  Then, K1 says, very calmly "he ran out from under the chair and toward the steps".
 What ?!?  An animal is in my house and now you tell me it may be upstairs?

Okay, okay, let us not forget the baby is downstairs in the car, in the basement.  Heath checks on the baby and me and the girls change clothes and we go to the Zoo (yes, left "S" at home for an afternoon alone).

I'm in complete denial while we are at the Zoo and we enjoyed a great afternoon.  Then, on our way home, Daddy begins to think about the squirrel - "guess I'll have to set a trap".  
What ?!?  Ya think I'm going to sleep tonight with a squirrel in my house? No sirree Bob, not me!!

We get back home and proceed to change clothes to head back to church, and as I'm making a bottle in the kitchen I hear something - I look up and sure 'nough "S" is climbing up the blinds in our kitchen.  Whew!!  I'm relieved that we know where he is - but, how are we going to get him out?  "Heath, there's the squirrel - get it!"  It was hysterical from that point on - you'd had to have seen it to believe it (I'm sorry, I didn't have a video or still camera near by).  After Heath opens the door and puts random pieces of furniture up as a barricade he proceeds to grab a framed picture (still leaning against the wall and hasn't been hung up even though I've had it for over a year) and uses the picture to chase "S" toward the door.  Just when "S" is in site of the door, K2 yells - "Here little squirrely, go!, go! go!" - of course, "S" is frightened beyond imagination and runs back into the kitchen.  It was tense and hysterical all at the same time!!

Finally, "S" goes out the door and MaMa (me) could not have been more relieved - I literally thanked the Good Lord at church that night that the animal was out of my house!!

Elevators

So far, the highlights of my week have been on elevators - I know bizarre, but, nonetheless, the highlights of my week (come on, it's only Tuesday!).

Yesterday, I load up the girls and we take the baby to the pediatrician. I was extremely sleep deprived as there had been no such thing for me the night before. K3 was agitated and could not get comfortable, and woke with a 102 temp. It's always a fight among the older two as to who gets to push buttons on the elevators when we go to the doctor's office, or anywhere for that matter. Fortunately, we have to take two elevators at the doctor's office and the girls generally take turns pushing the buttons. But yesterday K1 opted to push the stroller and let K2 have BOTH of the elevators (major concession K1!).

We visit the MD and learn (no surprise) that K3 has yet another ear infection (3rd one in 6 weeks). We leave, and, again, the conversation turns to who is going to push the elevator buttons. K2 pushes the outside button and runs on the elevator to push the inside buttons before K1 (who inevitably will pull a "sneak" and push them on the other side before K2 understands what has happened). K2 says, "Which one, Mommy" and I reply "#1 honey, the #1". She exclaims "There is no #1!". I, without looking as I'm maneuvering the stroller on board, say "Just look for the star, #1 and a star". "But, momma, there is no #1 - it's gone!". As I reluctantly let out a sigh (all the while thinking that I can't wait, please oh please, until the time that she can accomplish a simple task without a "but, Momma!") I look on the number board and realize that the button next to #1 is gone - just gone. By this time the elevator door has closed (we're on the 6th floor). I put my thumb against where the button for #1 should be and assume that the pressure, absent a button, will still get us there - WRONG. We stop on floor 5, and more people get on - they, too, begin their search for the button for #1, ya see, everyone going down is entering the elevator with the hopes of exiting the building on the 1st floor. So as we stop on several floors and more people get on we all watch in wonder as each new member of the "elevator team" looks for the button by #1. Then - we strategize - hopefully, someone on the 1st floor will hit the up button, or, surely, this elevator will automatically go to the bottom floor and rest there until it is needed. Well, it did, but the bottom floor was the basement, better known as "A" on the elevator panel, not the 1st floor.

So, by now, there are about 10 people on this elevator (some of which had to be highly educated with 8+ years of graduate school) and no one could figure out how to get to the 1st floor. They could cut you open, repair the most vital organs in your body, and carefully sew you back up, but could not figure out how to make an elevator stop on the 1st floor. At one point, K1, who is 7 years old, begins to understand that something is amiss and that there are adults on this elevator who cannot make it stop -- she looks at me with a little panic in her eyes.  I look back with that motherly look of confidence, and whisper, "it will be alright". 

Finally the elevator stops on the 2nd floor and the girls and I get off in hopes of catching another elevator, and, viola, we did - and we finally made it to the 1st floor - only to engage in yet another Calvert discussion regarding who gets to push the buttons on the next set of elevators!  Oh, the joy of childhood, elevators, and missing buttons!!

Beach Favorites!

Thought I would post a couple of my favorite pictures from the Beach. K1 is still having withdrawals and asked this morning when we were going back - I told her next year and then she wanted to know how many days are in a year....

Summer Vacation 2009

Well, we survived our week at the beach without any car problems and relatively little screaming from the girls during the voyage on I-65! All in all, it was a great time, the weather was wonderful (wonderfully hot) and we all enjoyed spending time with family and friends away from the 'hustle - bustle" of everyday life. If I had to title this past week at the beach I would call it our "Week of Firsts" - there are so many great pictures to share but I thought I would stick with those that reflect some of the "Firsts" that we all shared during this vacation:

K1's First Sand Angel (she has historically despised the sand so this was a huge step forward for her):


K2's first time to actually drive a go-cart - you go K. Andretti!:


K3's first time in a swimming pool - she absolutely loved it - would cross her legs under the float and give you a hard time to get her out):


K3's first trip to the Peach Park (this has become a family tradition for us and we have a picture of each of the last seven years of our kids on the same horse as we return home from the beach):


Calvert's First Vacation as a Family of Five:

iTracy

The only thing you have to do around my house to get a new gadget is barely breath the mention of how you saw a commercial, heard an announcement or witnessed someone else with a new gadget. You may not even know the name of it, or what it does or doesn't do, but you are all of the sudden seriously interested in becoming the proud owner of the new gadget and will not be satisfied with life until you get it (even though you really don't know what it is and it may have caught your interest just because the actor in the commercial was cute, the local drugstore did a bad job processing your last role of film, or your co-worker showed off some cool new pictures on a gadget she carried in her purse).

Ya see, my husband is always looking for an "excuse" to buy me (keyword "me") a new gadget. A couple of Christmas' ago I mentioned that we were a little behind as a family in not owning a small "go anywhere" digital camera. Santa came down my chimney and left "Mom" (ie "me") a brand new McDaddy camera complete with Tripod, carrying case, zoom lens, photo paper... (ya get the idea). Then the next Christmas Santa left a new printer that is supposed to print the best quality pictures, it was technically Husband's gift from Santa because Santa left "me" the latest and greatest digital picture frame complete with interchangeable frames and a remote control. My birthday was in April and I mentioned that I saw on Foxnews these neat little computers that were small enough to go into a purse and were lightweight and they were making them in all new "hot colors" for women. Low and behold, husband comes home on my birthday with a balloon and new MacBook. Just so you know, a MacBook is NOT one of the cool little "netbooks" that I saw on the news - it's not the same color, not the same size, and not intended for the same purpose - but, Happy Birthday to "me", it's what I got! (and it's the reason your reading this blog). When I waited a few days and worked up the courage to make mention of the differences in the "netbook" I had mentioned and the "MacBook" I received, Hubby indicated that he bought "me" what I needed because I didn't know what I really needed (hello? did ya get that?).

Fast forward to last Friday - ya know, my cell phone is really old and will not keep a charge. I heard all last week on the news about the new iPhone3GS (like I really know what any of that means) that was being released on Friday. I, in passing, mentioned to Hubby that I needed a new cell phone (mine is 5 years old) and heard on the radio that a new iPhone was coming out and was wondering if he could get a discount through his work (simple question since he works for the company that has the exclusive network agreement on that particular type of phone)- guess what? Friday I come home and Hubby is sitting on the back deck working on a new iPhone he bought for "me" - he was even working on it so much that he had to take it to work on Saturday to figure a "few more things out"!

I don't want to sound ungrateful - all the gadgets are pretty cool, if I do say so myself - but the truth of the matter is you have to be very careful around my house if you even yawn and something comes out that sounds like a reference to a new "gadget".

So, iTracy is signing off for the night from her iMacBook, which stores photos of her iFamily, taken with her iCamera and will soon be sharing images from her iPhone!!

Happy Father's Day

Today I have two very special people in my life that should be honored.  My dad and my husband.

To my Dad:

Thank you for the person that you are - for the fun memories of riding go-carts, "working" at your shop, learning more than I'll ever need to know about cars and how they work, and encouraging me to love our Lord and the family with which I have been blessed.

My Daddy - I love you!

To Heath, the father of my children:

What an amazing Daddy you are to our three precious girls.  They are sitting with me and helping with this post and I've asked them the top 5 reasons they love their Daddy (in no particular order):

1.  "Because he always tickles me";

2.  "Because he is special to me, he is my Daddy";

3.  "Because he always takes me to Jack's before school";

4.  "He plays our favorite music real loud on his MP3";  and

5.  "He always make us waffles with chocolate chips!"

We love you!

The following video is for you!