Were We Missed???

Sorry we didn't post anything for a few days. It was not because we were having non-stop fun the last 3 days. Brent was out of school Friday, so he jumped into a painting project that I was able to help with and it has gone on for days. The joys of home ownership, right?!

This is my last day of being the "older woman" in our house. For 1 month and 3 days out of the year Brent gets to say that he is married to an older woman and he likes to remind me of it by singing "Older Women Make Beautiful Lovers" on my birthday. Alas, tomorrow Brent will join the ranks of a 31 year old. The added year will probably add to his wisdom, thus making his blog additions even more humorous.

Gracie and I carved her pumpkin this afternoon. She had never seen the inside of a pumpkin, and she found it thoroughly disgusting and stinky. I had her stick her hand inside to help scrape the seeds and she said, "Mommy, you can get the weeds out yourself." It really is a gross job, so I didn't blame her a bit. The carving was fun, but she wanted me to carve cheeks and a forehead into her pumpkin, and I really couldn't think of a way to achieve either. Some of you skilled carvers are probably laughing that I didn't attempt it, but for this year her pumpkin is doing good to have 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth. Maybe next year I will try for cheeks or a forehead.

Happy Halloween!

Lessons From Gracie

Last night Gracie told me that when she was at lunch that day one of the other girls was eating and talking with her mouth full. Gracie said, "I told her that my Clifford book said that you shouldn't talk with your mouth full." I asked her if it was a little girl or a big girl. Gracie said, "It was a big girl. She's one of my teachers." I about died when she told me that she had given one of her teachers a lesson on proper eating etiquette. I was scared to ask, but I asked Gracie, "What did your teacher say when you told her that she shouldn't be talking with her mouth full?" Gracie said, "She told me that she knew she shouldn't be talking with her mouth full, but she was." I asked Gracie if her teacher apologized for being rude and Gracie said, "I think so, but I don't know." So if anyone out there is planning on eating a meal with us anytime soon, watch out. We have the etiquette police in our home, and she's not intimidated by anyone. You could be the next one corrected by a three year old!

Gracie's Miracle (With a Little Help From God)

Today I got to pick Gracie up from preschool because Brent had Parent Teacher Conferences. It was so fun to see her happy at school since I usually leave her there in tears. We walked outside and another mom who was picking up her son said, "Did you see the rainbow?" We turned around and there was a beautiful rainbow that filled the sky. Gracie said, "Hmm. Well I've never seen a rainbow before. That's my first one." She loved it, so we stood there and watched it for a while. It started to fade at the bottom, so Gracie put up her hands like a magician and performed a multitude of contortions and said, "There. Now there are 2 rainbows, and they won't go away." It was pretty cute, so we laughed. On the way home we kept watching the rainbow and as we turned a corner there it was...the single rainbow was now a double rainbow. Gracie was sure her magic worked. Not only that, but the rainbows colors were strong and brilliant again. I think God helped a little 3 year old perform a miracle of sorts tonight.

I've lost that lovin feelin

Since nobody even made a guess to the penguin reference, I have taken it as a direct statement about Doobie Lovin. I had thought about increasing the amount to 4 hours of Doobie Lovin, but then decided to retain some type of dignity about my Doobie Lovin. I don't know what I am talking about. Doobie Lovin is "slow and crappy like the Moberly Pizza Hut Pizza." (Brent Franke, Matt Gilchrist) Actually I think the quote was reversed, and was stated, "Moberly Pizza Hut is slow and crappy like Doobie's Lovin." Nevertheless, the meaning is not diminished.

I'm sorry to admit tonight that I'm lacking the medicinal inspirations necessary to produce a proper post for my loyal readers.

If I could talk about real life situations from school, I would have a plethora of stimulates to expound upon my sarcastic dispositions. However, a wise Indian once said, "Don't get into a piss fight with a skunk." I'm not sure what that has to do with this situation, but I thought I would share it with everyone.

I hope that smiles and laughs abound as you read my post. I hope that fond memories of loved ones fills your soul with joy. I hope that I make it to the bathroom before I go in my pants.

The Polite Way To Say "Be Quiet"

Brent took his turn at putting Gracie to bed the other night. She has a hard time going to sleep and staying asleep, so we have gotten in the routine of laying with her for a while. Sometimes we sing, sometimes we tell her a story or sometimes we will just scratch her back to relax her. On Brent's last turn, he was laying with Gracie and telling her how much he loved her, and how special she was, and it must have gone on too long because Gracie looked at him and said, "Daddy, I think it's time we close our eyes now." It shocked him, but he thought it was pretty hilarious at the same time. So now you know the polite way to say "be quiet" from a 3 year old.

Back By Popular Demand

I have to say that I rather enjoyed the WE WANT BRENT chant comment from my loyal reader Mike. Mike wherever you are out there remember you are wasting too much time reading my worthless crap.

Speaking of crap, I feel like crap. Tonight is not courtesy of cold medicine but pain medicine. I hurt my back playing basketball Sunday night, and so I have taken about 1200 mg of Ibuprofen and a little blue pill one of my Mexican students gave me. He asked me why I was hurting and I told him what happened. He said "Com here my frien. Does you want to feel better or forget yous have a back?" (Funny, I can't type in a Mexican accent) None of that is true by the way except the amount of Ibuprofen I have taken today. There are no penguins in Mexico.

Speaking of Penguins, in order to keep the suspense alive about the reference to the penguin in my last post, I am offering a prize of 2 hours of Doobie Lovin (as my college friends used to refer to it) to anyone who knows what movie the penguin came from that I am talking about. Hint: It is not Batman 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ... 299. For a better description of Doobie Lovin, contact Brent Franke, Matt Gilchrist, Matt Wilson, or Chad Smith. I am not for sure why all the recipients of Doobie Lovin from college have male names since I am as far away from gay as humanly possible.

Speaking of far away, I like to hear that some people are planning parties and not inviting the Doolins anymore. That is real nice. Write and tell us about how fun the party was the next day after the party is over. Next time we're up, we can just give each other paper cuts and rub lemon juice in them.

Speaking of lemon juice, tonight for supper we had chili. I asked Emily how long til supper was going to be ready, and she said, "I am getting ready to cut the cheese." I said, "Oh, that is definitely going on the blog tonight." She cut the cheese about 6 times.

Speaking of 6 times, that is about how much longer this post is than it needed to be.

Queen Bester

Today is Sunday, so we went to church as usual. Gracie is slowly becoming accustomed to our new church and every week she is more confident about leaving us to go to class. Today she was especially excited to tell us what she learned about Queen Bester in class. She had made a beautiful crown so that she could act out the story of Queen Esther, but no matter how many times we said Esther, Gracie corrected us and said Bester. So, for today, Queen Bester it is.
There was another surprise today when Gracie told me that her imaginary babies don't think she should go to school anymore. She said, "My babies think I should stay with you on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday." Who knew that she had already learned her days of the week??? I guess she needs to stay in school, because she had to have learned them there.

What the Baby Is Really Doing Inside Mommy

I didn't have anything much to write about today, but then I was just talking to Gracie and she spoke the words of this blog tonight. I said, "Gracie, your sister is kicking me." Gracie said, "But Mommy, the baby didn't mean to. There Mommy...she stopped now." I said, "No she didn't. The baby is still kicking me really hard." Gracie said, "Well I'll tell her to stop." At this point Gracie came over and talked to my stomach. She said, "Baby, you stop kicking Mommy's tummy. Oh, your sorry? OK." Gracie looked up at me and said, "Mommy, do you know why she's kicking your tummy? It's because she's trying to kick her ball and she doesn't have any room." No wonder I'm growing so much. There is a baby and a ball inside of me!!! That explains the drastic weight gains.

Baking Cupcakes

Gracie and I spent a fun day together, and decided late in the afternoon to make cupcakes. We got out a cake mix to make them from scratch (ha, ha Angie), and Gracie started reading the back to me. She knows to look at the pictures at the top and tell me how many eggs it shows and if the mix needs water, oil, milk, etc. So, she's telling me that first you need a cup of water, some oil and 3 eggs. Then still reading the box she said, "Oh, and Mommy, it says after you mix it that a little girl has to lick the spoon." She was so sincere. It was adorable, of course.
After Brent's wildly popular blog entry last night, I have probably bored you all to tears. We got a lot of e-mails about his incoherent ramblings, so I'm glad it gave everyone a chuckle. I'll invite him back on the blog when he's sick again so we can all laugh at his thought process.

Wear Sunscreen

Emily said that it was my turn to post a message to the blog, so here it is.

Remember kids watching t.v. is good for you.
Always put your best foot forward. If you don't know which foot is the best, maybe you could have your feet run a race. But just remember it doesn't matter who wins or loses but only if your socks match. If they don't match you should point it out to everyone in Sunday School. Eating Ketchup is good for you also. Getting jacked up on Mt. Dew is not good for you. If I put this little dirge to a funky beat, and hired some deep-voiced actor to read it for me, I would probably have a hit record. Right now I have a cold, and much of this delirious rambling is probably due largely to a lack of oxygen to the brain, henceforth producing this ridiculous string of random thoughts. If you are still reading this after this point, I am not for sure if I should congratulate you, or come to your house and kick you in the back of the head. Speaking of kicks to the back of the head, Chuck Norris is the greatest action hero to ever live. When Chuck Norris does push ups, he doesn't push himself up, he pushes the world down. Someone told me that Chuck Norris jokes are so last year. I had to punch that person for using the phrase "so last year". Some of you are probably thinking that Brent has become very violent since becoming a principal. But that is not true. I have just become very sarcastic since being asked to write on this blog. Now if you are still reading this, I just feel sorry for you, because in all of this incoherent rambling I never came close to saying anything worth while. I receive no points, and may God have mercy on my soul. The penguin is calling me, so I must go now. You really should have stopped reading after the word Emily. I apologize for the part of your life you just wasted reading my entry tonight. Hopefully I have botched this to the point that I won't ever be allowed on the blog again. If you don't remember anything else that I have said, remember to wear sun screen.

Wedgie Woes

Today after school, Brent brought Gracie to the pharmacy to see me before they went home. I asked her how her day was, and she said, "I didn't get into trouble." I proceeded to tell Gracie how great that was. She wrinkled up her nose and said, "Well, I did get in just a little bit of trouble. I was having trouble with my underpants and I pulled them up and got a wedgie and then I got in trouble getting it out." The whole pharmacy staff got a pretty good kick out of her wedgie woe. I thought she must have been scolded for pulling up her dress to remove her wedgie, but tonight at bath time I asked her to tell me about getting into trouble at school. Gracie said, "But I didn't get into trouble. I just had a little trouble because my underpants kept falling down with my tights, and then I would get a wedgie when I pulled them up." Poor thing. We'll have to get rid of those tights!

Wedding Video

Gracie spent the day with Grandpa Self today, and he got out our wedding video and watched it with Gracie. He said that she enjoyed it very much and had a lot to say about it. Tonight she told me that I looked like a princess (what a sweetie), and then everyone ate lots of cake and got in their cars and drove home. She remembered the important parts! The funny thing was that dad said Gracie cried as she watched the video. Maybe she was just missing her daddy and mommy, or maybe she's wiser than her years and realized girls cry at weddings!

Fire Safety Week

This week was Fire Safety Week, so Gracie's preschool had a visit from the local fire department. When Brent picked her up she had a lot to say about the visit. She told him, "If there is a fire you should feel a door before you go through it. If it is hot, you are supposed to sit and yell for help and a fireman saves you." We were proud that she learned so much, because sadly, we had never taught her what to do in case of a fire. They sent home coloring books, so we can read them together and reinforce what she learned.

PaPa Doolin Came To Macon

Today was the first time Brent's dad got to come to our house in Macon. His health hasn't been the best since we have moved, but today he stopped in on his way home from having his digger worked on in Moberly. It was wonderful to have him here. Gracie did her usual "show off" routine. She told me that she wanted to put on her pretty things, which meant she wanted to show off her ballerina moves. I dolled her up in her tutu, necklace, glass slippers, hair adornment and much more and she came strolling out for Papa to see. And then he said the magic words. "Gosh, Gracie. You look just like a little princess." That made her day. She could receive no greater compliment than to be compared to a princess. Gracie is in a Disney princess stage. Our little girl who used to love Dora more than life itself now talks about princes and princesses falling in love and living happily ever after. She'll be dating next time we turn around.

Another Day In Hannibal

Gracie and I went back to Hannibal today for my rescheduled doctor appointment. I am 5 months along for those who have lost track. Dr. Bennett finished up my exam by asking if I had any concerns at this point. I immediately said no, but then I said, "Well, there is one concern I have." He got very serious and asked what it was. I said, "Gracie would like to name the baby Fuzzy." Dr. Bennett kept his serious look and told Gracie, "I don't see any problem with that. Fuzzy Doolin. Hmm. Yes, no problem there." Gracie just looked at me with this expression that said, "I told you it was a good name!" With much sarcasm I thanked him for his assistance with my concern. :-)
On a serious note, Dr. Bennett said the baby is growing at a normal rate and that everything looks and sounds great. That's always good news. Next month I get to do the yucky glucose test. Ick. If I remember right, it doesn't taste real great!

Weekend Happenings

We didn't write for a few days because we were out of town. Saturday Brent and I dropped Gracie off in Moberly with Grandpa and Nana and we went to the MU vs Nebraska game in Columbia. For those that don't know, it was televised and didn't start until 8:15 p.m. Needless to say, we were tired the next day, but the main thing was that MU came out the winner! Sunday we went to a local pumpkin patch for some pumpkins and gourds and also went on a wagon ride. Gracie hated the wagon ride, so it was a waste of money. She wouldn't have made a good Amish child!
Today I had a scheduled doctors appointment in Hannibal, but got there and Dr. Bennett had just left to check on a woman in labor. After waiting for 1 hour and 30 minutes the receptionist said he was delivering the baby, but it would be best to reschedule since it would still be quite a while. I guess we get to go back to Hannibal tomorrow. If they try to weigh me again I'm going to smack someone, because they already did that today and I was depressed.
OK, a quick Gracie story for those that don't mind indulging me. My dad is a bit honery, and it really comes out when he is with Gracie. After much teasing on Saturday she finally told him, "Grandpa, you have 2 choices. You can be good or you can be naughty." Hmm, I wonder where she has heard that????

How to Stop a Baby From Kicking in the Womb

Tonight Gracie and I were watching Cinderella and the baby started kicking pretty hard. I put Gracie's hand on my tummy and told her to feel the baby kicking me. She quickly replied, "Don't worry, Mommy. I have some 'stop kicking' medicine you can take to make the baby stop kicking you. Here, have some." I pretended to swallow the pill and she said, "That's better, isn't it?" The innocence of a 3 year old still amazes me.
One more Gracie story. Sorry!!! Grandpa Self came today and played with Gracie while I did some stuff around the house. He went to the Homecoming parade with us and then had to go home. When they were saying goodbye Gracie told him, "You can come back any time you want to play with me." What a sweet invitation.

Under the Weather

We have a tired little girl this evening and didn't realize until about an hour ago that she was running a temperature. Gracie told me that she was "very, very sick." Upon questioning, her wrist, nose, stomach and toes all hurt. When Brent offered her some medicine she said, "Oh, I think I am feeling better now." How quickly we can recover when medicine is involved.

Atlanta had their last softball game tonight, so Brent is done supervising games until basketball starts. The sad part is that basketball starts next week! No rest for the weary.

In case anyone is wondering, Gracie is still determined to name the baby Fuzzy. She told her Grandpa and Nana that a friend from school said she would have to get a cat and name it Fuzzy because she couldn't name her sister Fuzzy. Gracie didn't agree. The saga continues...

Gracie's School Day

Gracie has been going to Preschool on Wednesday and Thursday each week while I work at the pharmacy. On Wednesday's she has to wear a dress to school because it is chapel day. They go next door to the church and sing and do some activities. She loves the whole dressing up scenario, but cries everytime I drop her off because she hasn't been to school in 5 days and has forgotten how much fun it is. Today was a bad drop-off with many tears. Brent has the fun job. He gets to pick her up after school and get the happy face and hugs because she has had an awesome day. Today he told her they could go to the park and she said, "Yea! We haven't been there for a thousand weeks!" Everything is related to a thousand weeks right now. It's her new catch phrase. Feel free to use it in your conversations!

Daddy's Home

Brent got home today after his Principal's conference in Columbia. Gracie was more than happy to give him her full attention after his absence. That was fine with me. The baby is kicking and moving a lot right now. Gracie hasn't felt it yet, but Brent did Saturday night. It's always amazing! We got a good rain shower today, so Gracie got out her rain boots and did some puddle stompin'. We still can't figure out how to add pictures to this blog, but I promise we will keep working on it. Once we get the hang of it...watch out. It will be Gracie overload!

Gracie Named the Baby

Today I asked Gracie if she liked several different girl names for the baby. She quickly vetoed all of my favorites. There was a pause, and then she said, "I know what we can call the baby. Fuzzy. It's a nice girls name." I laughed out loud and she said, "Now that's enough talking and laughing. If you keep laughing you won't get a sucker!" That's a serious threat coming from Gracie. She's a sucker fiend! I doubt that "Fuzzy" will be on the baby's birth certificate, but it could be a future nickname.