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Brownie Troop Leader
September 13, 2009 16:58
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Tags: kayla girl scouts

The last two weeks have been all Girl Scouts, all the time. I signed up to be Kayla’s Brownies troop leader when I learned that her troop didn’t have a leader yet. As I do with everything else, I jumped in with both feet. We’ve already had our first parent meeting, and we’re having our first monthly meeting this coming Thursday.

It’s a big troop – 15 girls – which is a little bit intimidating. But I have a lot of volunteers to help and the parents are great, so I’m not really that worried. I have a lot of ideas for things we can do, so now I just need to make it happen.

Besides planning for meetings, there’s been all of the “business” of Girl Scouting to deal with – getting parents and girls registered, getting permission to establish our checking account, training, reviewing materials, getting our meeting location secured, etc. Everyone tells me that once you get past this initial burs...
Drawing Skills Develop
August 13, 2009 19:43
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Tags: kayla

About three and a half years ago I posted three drawings that Kayla (then almost four years old) had done. I showed her the post today as I was entering them into this new blog system, and encouraged her to make new drawings of the same subjects, to show her progress as an artist. Here they are, side by side:






Spines
December 01, 2006 02:14
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Tags: kayla kid quotes

Kayla (after getting a big hug from her Mom): You squeeze my spines!
Anatomy
September 08, 2006 04:56
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Tags: kid quotes adam kayla

Adam: Kayla, how can you tell if a dolphin is a Daddy dolphin or a Mommy dolphin?
Kayla: Well, Daddies are a little bit short.
Overheard
September 05, 2006 04:12
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Tags: kid quotes thomas kayla

Kayla: OK, Thomas, I’m going to get da tewwaphone!
Thomas: OK, but be cayehful! You want to get no hurt!
Quote of the Day
August 24, 2006 05:15
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Tags: kid quotes kayla

“When I grow up, I’m gonna be a real artist. Or maybe a Mama who shops for Pop-Tarts.” – Kayla
Update on Everyone
August 07, 2006 05:19
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Tags: farming diet and exercise web development quilting scrapbooking mike lindsey thomas kayla adam homeschooling

Life continues to busily march on and on. Today was the last weigh-in before my birthday. I had hoped to get my weight down to 220 before my birthday on Thursday. I fell 5 pounds short of that, but I’m still down 24 pounds, which I figure is still nothing to sneeze at. And I’ll get there… hopefully before the end of the month. My exercise lately has consisted mostly of working on the chicken coop, since we’re losing more and more of them to predators who are finding the holes in the coop’s roof and sagging doors. I’m building new doors for both entrances into the coop, as well as new half-doors that let the chickens out to their pen. Next will be to fix the fence in the big scratch pen and build a new gate, then tramp down all of the brush that’s accumulated this year while that area was vacant.

None of this is helped by my back twinging today. Dammit.

I’m still learning more C# and ASP
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Lookalike?
July 26, 2006 21:56
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Tags: kayla lindsey

“She looks just like her Mama.”

People say this all the time about Kayla, so when my friend Nancy – whom I’ve known since we were four – sent me a picture of the two of us as little girls, I had to wonder – do we really look that much alike? You be the judge. Oh, I think I’m about a year older than Kayla in these pictures.




(Kayla’s on the right on the couch, I’m on the left of the other picture.)
Earmuffs
May 11, 2006 15:21
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Tags: kayla thomas



This is what happens if you fall asleep and you have an older sister. Kayla says she was putting earmuffs on him so he wouldn’t wake up.
Pine Cones
May 01, 2006 15:35
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Tags: kayla movies parenting

Yesterday, I took Kayla to see The Wild, and afterward to the park to play. Lindsey had fallen asleep, and I was lucky enough to get a spot where I could watch Kayla playing ten feet from where I was parked. She was the only little girl on the playground at first, and she bored of the play equipment and started collecting pine cones. She had a nice handful of them when a couple of older boys (maybe 7 or 8) showed up and started playing. She noticed them, and started toward them, telling me, “I’m going to go give some pine cones to those kids.”

Something went through me. I saw my little girl, all innocence and syrup and heart-right-on-the-surface, heading over to this group of boys that were bigger and stronger and (to my mind, at least) more jaded than my baby. I imagined how badly this might go – she might offer the boys her carefully-chosen pine cones in her sweet little almost-lispy voice, and they might meanly reject her. These more worldly b...
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Kayla's Drawings
April 21, 2006 17:58
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Tags: kayla

I share my artwork here all the time, so I thought I’d share some of Kayla’s.


This is a sheep standing next to a horse.


A chicken.


Kayla and her “three big friends”, holding umbrellas in the rain. Kayla is the figure to the left, and she has 2 umbrellas. The three friends apparently have to share an umbrella. The M is actually “the water”, and the rock-looking thing between Kayla and her friends is a blanket.

I especially like how everybody (even the chicken) has a huge grin on their faces. She’s a happy little girl.
Quote of the Day
April 06, 2006 18:06
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Tags: kayla kid quotes

“I think my name is Kayla because I’m cute.” – Kayla

No, love, your name is Kayla because you’re vain. ;)
Quote of the Day
April 04, 2006 18:06
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Tags: kayla kid quotes

“Mommy, there’s some drips of water coming out of your eye.” – Kayla
Healthy Baby
March 06, 2006 20:18
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Tags: lindsey adam mike kayla thomas food movies parenting pregnancy

I neglected to mention that Linny-Bug had her first well-baby checkup on Thursday. Aside from her brothers and sister acting like heathen devil children in the waiting room, all was well. She weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds, 8 ounces, her length is up an inch to 22.5", and she’s healthy as a horse. The doctor pronounced her “perfect.” The nursing staff had somehow misplaced her hearing test, so we took her over to have that redone. Lindsey loudly objected, however, so they finally gave up – they’re essentially going to fake a new card. After that, it was over to the lab for her follow-up PKU. I hate that part of having a new baby, so Mike takes the baby in and I wait out in the hallway with the boobies. Doesn’t mean I don’t have to hear it, but at least I don’t have to be RIGHT THERE, barely restraining my impulse to murder the technician.

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A Couple of Days Out
January 14, 2006 00:41
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Tags: scrapbooking food shopping lindsey pregnancy mike kayla thomas adam lindsey

Thursday I took Mary up to her first class at Picture Pages. The original plan had been to have her class at another store, but they canceled on her at the last minute because she was the only enrollee. Grrrr. Anyway, along the way we stopped for dinner at The Golden Corral and for a tiny bit of shopping at Wal-Mart.

It’s always a lot of fun to hang out with Mary. She’s funny and smart, and we share absolutely NO similarity in our choice of eye candy, so we’re always watching different people. Still, I can tell we’re getting close to “go” time with this baby, because ten minutes of walking in Wal-Mart about wore my ass out. Were those aisles always so LONG??

Mary seemed to enjoy her class, even if some of the people involved (including the teacher) were a little too serious about scrapbooking for her taste. She finished with a really cute layout, though...
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Good Morning!
January 09, 2006 01:15
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Tags: kayla kid quotes

Terry: How did you sleep last night?
Kayla: (puzzled look on her face) I just closed my eyes and laid down to do that!
Independent Girl
January 01, 2006 01:20
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Tags: adam kayla mike kid quotes

We have a rule here that you aren’t allowed to go into anyone else’s bedroom without their permission. Adam is forever trying to get into Kayla’s room to play with her stuff. This conversation just took place:

Adam: Kayla, can I go play in your room?
Kayla: Yes, you can.
Mike: No, Adam, you can’t just go into your sister’s room and play while she’s doing her reading.
Kayla: But I said he can! You shouldn’t change my mind for me, Daddy.

Oh. My. Gawd. I thought I was going to inhale my tongue, trying not to laugh out loud. She’s growing up. Just what the world needs: another generation of independent-thinking Gunderloys.
Utero Personalities
January 01, 2006 01:18
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Tags: pregnancy lindsey adam kayla thomas mike

I have been blessed with this pregnancy (major knocking on solid wood) – we’ve had no complications to speak of, Lindsey is still fine as wine with lots of room to wiggle around in, a nice healthy heartrate, and plenty of amniotic fluid. My weight gain has been surprisingly low (at my OB appointment on Thursday it was up 3 pounds for the last 2 weeks), blood pressure is well in hand (132/72, at last count), no edema or cramping or spotting. I’m still usually pretty comfortable in this body, even though it’s kind of a duplex situation right now. Of course, the worst is before me in that regard. Still, I have been a very, very lucky pregnant woman this go-round. Thank the good Lord.

The fact that this is probably our last baby has made me a little more philosophical than usual. I continue to marvel at the fact that each of my babies is so very different, even while inside. Adam moved some, but was reasonably placid while in utero. He’s still ...
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Life Update
November 28, 2005 16:57
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Tags: food adam kayla movies pregnancy lindsey shopping

Well, the Mall Crawl’s almost at a close – two more days until it’s all done, then the REAL fun (yes, that’s sarcasm) begins. It’ll be as if I’ve crawled under a rock and no one will ever find me again. The truth will be that I’m copying and pasting my poor fingers to the bone. I hate the two weeks immediately following EVERY Mall Crawl, so it’s not like this will be at all unusual.

We had a great Thanksgiving with our friends. It was nice to have a big Thanksgiving dinner, without suffering through two weeks of leftovers. We had a wonderful visit, with lots of time for games and chatting and just hanging out. They left the day after Thanksgiving, and are sorely missed!

Last night, I took Adam and Kayla out to see Zathura. They both pronounced it “a little bit scary”, but both also enjoyed it. Adam complained later in the day of a sore tummy, prob...
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Visiting With Friends
November 15, 2005 17:02
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Tags: adam kayla thomas mike food shopping scrapbooking pregnancy music

We’ve had some friends visiting with us for the last few days – Terry and her children, David and Mary. We’ve had lots of fun, playing lots of card games, and Boggle, and Candyland, and computer games. Adam, Kayla, and Thomas have really enjoyed having all of the extra adults and near-adults around to get attention from. I don’t really remember the last time I saw Mike laugh so much (or cook so much!). I took the teenagers out last night to visit the mall and a couple of other places. The “mommy” in me sort of choked when I sent them off to the mall on their own, with plans to meet up later, but it’s rather refreshing to be around kids and not having to constantly be asking them if they need to “go potty.”

And Mary has gotten into scrapbooking! She finished putting together a whole pre-cut album kit, and is now working on pages of her own design in a new 12×12 book. It’s really a lot of fun to see her sens...
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Shoot Me
November 08, 2005 17:14
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Tags: kayla

I just spent a couple of hours sorting, throwing out, and putting away toys in the living room, including moving some things that are Kayla’s into her room. I was just about done, taking the last load of things into Kayla’s room and sorting them into their appropriate spots, when I saw it. She has already drawn on her wall, in pen. A face, and two hands. About a foot high, about three feet wide, right above the heater. Not even the scrapbooker in me wants to grab for the camera, so please don’t ask me for a picture. I am heartsick.
Room Completed
November 06, 2005 17:17
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Tags: kayla thomas lindsey pregnancy quilting

I am almost orgasmically pleased to report that, with the exception of the curtains, Care-a-Lot is FINISHED! Kayla has slept in there two nights in a row now, with no incident. She and the boys love playing in there, and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. Here are some pictures of what it looked like with no furniture in it. I’ll probably take and post more once the curtains are up. The carpet is a deep wine color, that Kayla picked out herself. She wanted pink, but they didn’t have that, so instead she chose this. She calls it “red.”

This project, along with the current Mall Crawl and other stuff, has kept me busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. My teeth are feeling a lot better, and I’m able to eat almost anything I want (though I still avoid my beloved pretzels). Thomas has a runny nose and has been generally fussy and clingy. I hope it...
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Halloween
October 31, 2005 22:11
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Tags: adam kayla mike thomas

Happy Halloween, from our family to yours!



Care Bears
October 18, 2005 22:27
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Tags: kayla mike scrapbooking

I haven’t said much here, because there hasn’t been much to say. Work, painting, sleep. Work, painting, sleep. I’m going this weekend to get the carpet for Kayla’s room whether the painting’s done or not, so I’m trying to get as much of it finished as possible. I just know that if I don’t get the carpet down soon I won’t be able to get it down at all until after the baby comes.

Thursday’s going to be the day from hell, because we’ll be cleaning all morning at preschool (and I’m in charge of the cleanfest – go figure!), followed by doctor’s appointments for both me and Mike, followed by our usual chores. I’m looking forward to the visit (though I do have a couple of things to discuss with my doctor for a change), but BOY, HOWDY are we gonna be pooped when that day’s over!

I’ve done probably about 70% of the paint...
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Painting Progress
October 05, 2005 22:39
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Tags: kayla pregnancy lindsey

Things are moving right along! I’ve done the priming and basecoat painting in Kayla’s room. The walls are now Sunny Day Yellow and the ceiling is Clear Blue Sky. Kayla is thrilled, and is now demanding white clouds. Tomorrow, while we’re in town for preschool and other errands, we’ll make a stop at the craft store and get some acrylic paints. I had a stash of these from years ago, but they’ve gotten all yucky and clotted, and at the price of acrylic paint, it’s not worth it.

So next is the mural. That’s going to be a pretty painstaking job, but I hope it isn’t as backbreaking as edging the ceiling was. Ouch! My goal is to finish the room within the next two weeks, so that I can then concentrate on the Mall Crawl, holidays, and baby-growing.

Speaking of Tummybug, he/she is still doing just fine. Wiggling and squirming all over the place, and there is no more magical feeling. A week or so ago, I started being ab...
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Room Progress
September 21, 2005 20:21
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Tags: kayla pregnancy

OK, so it’s probably going to take more than 2 days to do the basecoat painting. OF COURSE. If I were a NORMAL human being, with a NORMAL body, I could easily do this job in 2 days. But NOOOOOOO. I’m NOT a normal person. I’m a PREGNANT person, with LOOSE JOINTS, and a BAD BACK, and DIZZY SPELLS. And after only one coat of primer on the four walls – nothing yet in the closet or the ceiling – I’m already having back pains and have to stop for the day.

This is so frustrating!!!! I want this job OVER AND DONE WITH. I know exactly ...
Care-a-Lot, Book Review
September 17, 2005 20:28
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Tags: books pregnancy kayla

Nope, this isn’t a book review of a Care-a-Lot book. :) I did post a book review, though, if that’s your “thing.” On a related note, henceforward the baby I am carrying will be known as “Tummybug.” :)

I’ve been trying to focus more time and attention on redecorating Kayla’s room. She decided she wanted the room to look like Care-A-Lot, where all the Care Bears live. So first step was to take down all of the awful, fake wood paneling. That job is done, and beneath it is a patchwork of some kind of composite wood stuff, with some pieces of drywall (installed with the wrong side facing out) interspersed over the areas where structural changes were made.

To do this job right, I would take down all that crap, install new insulation and drywall, then do the mudding, painting, and mural. But I’m already 18 1/2 weeks pregnant, and haven’t the time or energy for that. So for now, I’m just patching the...
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Archive Restoration
August 26, 2005 16:03
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Tags: web development scrapbooking kayla

I’ve spent the last couple of days (in between work and whatnot) restoring the archives for 2005 from the old site. While I’ve got 2005 done, 2004 and the latter half of 2003 still await me. But that’s ok; it’ll all get done in time. The only month I’m REALLY worried about is October of last year. (Update: November was no big picnic, either.) I was a blogging fiend in the run-up to the election! As ever, if you see something broken, please let me know.

Right now, the site is very “brown wrapper” plain. I might change that in the future, if I find time, but content will be the priority. Sue me; I’m not a graphics artist. Anywho, other changes you’ll notice is that I don’t yet have comments installed here (they’re coming, eventually). Also, old links to specific posts won’t work with the new site, so instead I’ve linked them to that month’s page, with a reference ...
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Second Trimester
August 21, 2005 16:10
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Tags: pregnancy lindsey kayla

Last night, while I was failing miserably at trying to fall asleep, I finally felt it – the quickening. There is really nothing so magical as those first little fluttering movements, those tiny, frantic kicks made by this tiny little person. I can only really feel it when I’m lying almost on my stomach (balanced on a hip and a knee), but it was unmistakable. I woke Mike up so he could be in on this development.

Then today, as I sit here working, I feel that telltale tug on my lower abdomen that means that my uterus – slowly but relentlessly – is shoving everything aside to make room for the growth of our newest little gift.

This is my fourth pregnancy in five years. You’d think I’d be a jaded “old hat", and I must admit to being less engrossed in this pregnancy than the first, but the wonder of my body’s ability to make a whole person never ceases to amaze me. I’m stunned that it knows how to do this, how to accommodate a person and n...
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Streetwalker
August 18, 2005 16:12
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Tags: kayla adam mike kid quotes

Kayla was playing dress-up this evening. She got as far as two mis-matched glittery shoes, a purse with a too-long string slung around her neck, and a glittery skirt around her waist.

Me: Daddy, look! Kayla’s playing dress up! She looks a little like a streetwalker.
Kayla: Yeah! I look like a streetwalker!
Adam: I want to dress up like a streetwalker, too!
Kayla: You can’t, cuz there aren’t any more streetwalker clothes.
Mike: Thanks, Mom.
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