Caption Me

Hehe

Was at the pediatrician's office the other day...(yes, I happened to have my camera with me because I needed a picture of Courtney with our wonderful pediatrician--memento for the baby book)...anyway, saw this advertisement in the hallway and got a chuckle out of it! Yes, those bears on the beach...they need this "gift that will last a lifetime." Hehe. Does anybody else find this advertisement funny, or is it just me?

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks Wade's and my 13th wedding anniversary. 13 years ago today we were married at Faith Community Church in Hudson. In that 13 years we've lived in 3 different apartments, then 3 different houses, 3 different states, and had 4 children. There have been lots of ups and downs. But I can say with gratitude that God has been good. He has been faithful through every mountain and valley.

Wade Matthew, just wanted to take a moment to thank you today...for your commitment to our marriage, for working hard to provide for our family, for the sacrifices you make, for all the millions of things you fix around here, for the home remodeling you do (ie. finishing a whole basement practically single-handed, and most recently, tiling the kitchen floor), for making me laugh with your noodle-dance-Nathan-imitation, for letting me get out by myself while you cover mom-duty, for telling me often that you love me. The list goes on...but I'll stop there and finish by telling you that I love you and am thankful for you. Love, Kara Jo

Emily, You Rock!

Happy 7th Birthday Emily! You are a gem to have in our family. I love your sweet, gentle self. I love the way to get excited about little things, and the way you are so kind and helpful with your baby sister. I love your knack for art, and your hugs that abound. I love the birthday themes you've chosen over the years...bugs, duckies, Cinderella, Bitty Babies, Scooby Doo, and this year...ROCKS! Among the festivities were rock painting, "dirt cake" with gummy worms (your idea) and a scavenger hunt for Pop Rocks. Grandpa K also gave you his rock collection from when he was a kid.

We love it when you feel special, Em...because you are!

Who?

Fortunately we've been blessed with lots of great hand-me-downs for Nathan. I hardly ever need to buy him clothes. Frequently when I get him dressed in the morning, he will ask "Mom, who'd I get dis from?" Typical answers include: "Cousin Amy," "Tami's sister," Julianne's little boy," or "Jodi's neighbor." So the other day Nathan wanted to know where his cute striped jammies came from. "Actually those came from Old Navy," I replied.

"Who's Old Navy?" Nathan wanted to know. He had never heard of her before.

Poop Happens

So we went to the zoo last weekend. My sister, Bria, myself, and the kids. It took forever to get everybody ready and out of the house. By the time we got there it was already time for lunch. Finally we got everyone fed, pottied, and washed up. Got Baby in the Baby Bjorn and we were set to hit the tropics trail. First stop, the turtles, just 10 feet away from the bench we'd been camped on. The kids were oohing and aahing when suddenly I heard a loud, wet "SPLAT." I looked down to see a huge puddle of poop on the ground, as well as spattered on my new running shoes. I immediately looked up to see what kind of animal just crapped on me from the branches above...nothing obvious, and what bird poops that much at once...

Next I hear a rumble in the Bronx...and realize that MY CHILD is the culprit. To my horror, I then see the yellow pooh oozing and squishing EVERYWHERE...down my shirt, down my shorts, all over Courtney's shirt and pants, all over the Baby Bjorn, and--as I'd mentioned, all over the floor and my new shoes. Bria, who gags at the sight of poop, helped me hoist Courtney out of the Bjorn, and there she dangled in all her poopy glory. Time froze. I said I thought I might cry; I had no idea where to begin. We were right in the aisle, too. Mothers were shooing their children to the sides to avoid the neon goo. It honestly looked like puke.

At that moment, Nathan turned away from the turtles and headed toward us. We both warned him of the poop puddle. But Nathan, seeing a great opportunity for puddle fun, STOMPED right in it, now splattering it EVERYWHERE, including on Emily's bare legs and feet. It was all I could do to restrain myself at this point.

Eventually we hauled all of us, poo and all, to the bathroom for a good long wipe down and rinse out. Finally, about 2 hours after we'd originally planned to start the zoo tour, we were on our way. I still had poop stains running in a streaming stripe all down the front of me, but oh well.

It wasn't until later that I realized I never even explained myself when I ran into an old high school classmate that I hadn't seen in 15 plus years. Again, oh well. She's got kids. She's got to understand, right?

I can look back now and find it funny. But honestly, it was not funny at the time. But hey, poop happens. We ended up having a great time, the highlight of which was feeding the giraffes! I'm going to miss our zoo membership when it expires at the end of this month.

So...humor me. Share some of your own best poop stories, please.