What I would really like to tell you. . .

Today when I picked Cole up from school, Mrs. Kendall met me at the gate. She was walking Cole down and she had her arm around him. At first, I was alarmed - was he hurt? But she smiled and told me what a precious gift that I had been given. She told Cole that she loved him and could not wait to see him tomorrow. Cole - turning red - ran off to the car and started to buckle up. Mrs. Kendall told me how special Cole was and what a joy he was in her class room. I agree that he is a very speical gift from God and I am so proud of him and all that he has done this year. He is one smart boy! Thank you God for giving us Cole and thank you for how much he has taught all of us.

Yes - both kids and one husband are still sick. Cole and David have finished their antibiotic and are still not well. Katie started running fever today and the doctor's office just called in another antibiotic for her. David is convinced that we should see a someone about all the snot in our house. I am just sick of hearing everyone cough (especially at 2:00am) and dispensing medication. Where is summer? Bring it on. I'm ready!

Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to see a movie. The show started at 1:00 and the doors to the theater were locked and a crowd had gathered outside the door. There was a three year old little boy with his grandparents waiting beside our family. Katie and this little boy were talking and looking at his dinosaur shirt. Cole and David decided to walk to the front of the theater and look at the posters of the new movies coming out. Katie then decides to show this new boy her trick. She walks up to him and his grandfather with one finger sticking out. She says to the boy, "Pull my finger." The boy reaches out, and before I could react, Katie makes a noise with her mouth. The grandfather looks away as the boy laughs - I am ready for the cement to open and swallow me whole. The boy then says let me do it - and he sticks out one finger for Katie and repeats the entire process. David is never around to see his education in action. Yes - this was one of my proudest moments. I just ...

Found dog: blue collar, 35 lbs, tattoo on back leg (05CN17109), brown and black terrier mix. You would think that someone would be looking for their dog. This is after all an inside dog. The dog arrived six days ago. Yes, he is cute - but he sheds - a lot! Saturday, David and I decided to let the dog in to sleep. We set up a make shift bed in our pantry. The dog did really well and on Sunday we let him run around inside. On Monday, I started making calls to find out where this dog belonged. After about ten phone calls I had an owner. This dog is from the Charlotte Humane Society. His owners are Jeff and Trisha Moore of Matthews, NC. Funny how they have moved and did not leave their forwarding number. On Tuesday, I took Rufus to the vet for shots and a much needed bath. On Wednesday, Rufus found himself outside. After I really cleaned the floors and furniture I realized just how much Rufus sheds. I began to make more calls and continue my search work on just where the Moore's have r...

Happy birthday Pa! This is the man that has taught us all another language - Sante Claus and Suieside. This is the man that has an unbelievable talent to tune out entire conversations. This is the man that smiles all the time and truly loves life! Happy Birthday Pa! Your one of a kind and we all love you.

We have another dog that has taken up residence at our home. This dog is short and round with short brown hair and is wearing a blue collar. He is someone's dog and is an inside dog - but once again I will not have a dog in the house. He does not have a single tag that says where he belongs but he does have a tattoo number on the inside of his back leg. Unfortunately, all the vets are closed this afternoon for me to find out who his owners are. Just three days ago, we were a family without a pet and now we have two dogs that are becoming ours. Yes sister-in-law, you have your wish. We now have pets. Neither of the animals are offically ours but it is as close to the real thing.

Our neighbor has more dogs than any person should have. My kids do not have a pet - much to the dismay of my sister-in-law. Just recently, our neighbor aquired a new small dog from an abusive situation. The dog - dare I say - is cute. This dog was very shy and would not let anyone come close to it. That made it a challange - and I do not like to lose. I am happy to say that the dog will now not only let me rub it but will sit in my lap. Yesterday, Katie and I were outside playing with the dog and we left to go into the house. Before I could turn around, the dog was in our HOUSE! I screamed - Katie smiled and said, "It's like we have a dog!" Yes - we have a dog. I'm not sure how it happened and the neighbors do not know that we have taken their dog and renamed it. So far, she has been sleeping on our front porch - there is no way I can let her come into the house. Our neighbors house is for sale - I wonder if they will let us keep the dog? This is the first step - but ...

This morning the first thing Cole asked was, "Do I get to go to school today?" After three days of being held up at home, he was ready for a get out of the house pass. In fact, when I dropped him off at the front of the school he almost sprinted to the door. The kid always has loved school, this morning it was even more special. It smelled like freedom for him. He no longer was held captive by a mom that enforced the every four hour rule for medication and there are people there that are way more fun than mom. Yep, he is free today. Way to go Cole!

Yes - both kids are now sick. Both are taking antibiotics. Both are coughing. Both are up at night. Both are tired of being in the house. Both are tired of me saying, "Come on, lets take this yummy medicine." Both no longer buy into the concept that the medicine might be yummy. I think that I may start answering the phone Infirmary. When we were at the doctor's office today, Cole told Dr. Watson that his mom must have gotten up 1000 times last night to be with him and his sister. Dr. Watson smiled and agreed that today would be a good day for a nap for everyone. Somehow, that nap has not happened. My throat hurts and I'm tired - yet I still continue. That's what moms do. They try their hardest to make the entire universe happy - sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't. It's time for the infirmary to continue the Uno competition. I'm loosing, but it really does not matter. I just really enjoy the game with the kids. After all, Cole has beat me four ti...

Katie is now sick. At midnight, she came into my room doing a very good impression of Darth Vadar breathing. We sat in the bathroom attempting to steam away her croup and then finally gave up and just did a breathing treatment. This morning she still sound just awful but she is running around like a mad woman. Sickness with Katie is never easy for anyone. Every medication that is designed to relax a kid does the oposite for her. Recently, in the paper there was an article on a family with sixteen kids. I wonder how she handles sick kids. There has to be someone sick all the time in her house. Her last full night of sleep had to be in 1983. So here is to round 2. Darth Vadar, Katie, needs her medication - so do I.

This year has really been better than last year for our kids being sick. So why is it that just hearing Cole cough sends a cold chill down my spine? It's most likely memories of last year that are still very strong. I remember breathing treatments around the clock, at least four different medications along with two inhallers to keep up with, and NO sleep. The military uses sleep deprivation as a form of torture for bad people - I understand why. I just keep thinking that his cough will somehow go away without me ever really getting too worked up. Somehow I don't think so. It seems that most kids have just colds - you always hear their mothers say, "Oh, he just has a cold." My kids, on the other hand, never have JUST COLDS! Their sickness involves multiple trips to the doctors office (where I am convinced they pick up even worse bugs to their already weakened immune systems), multiple medications, and lots of lost sleep on their parts. Yep, we have a cough. Please let ...

Sometimes my kids can say the funnest words. This morning it was so foggy outside that it was difficult to see. Katie says, "I can't believe how froggy it is this morning." Cole agreed that it was very froggy. Katie sometimes says allergy for alert when playing battle with her brother. Cole says that he takes durteck (Zurteck) for allergies. They were singing, "The weather outside is nightfull, the sun is so delightful, since we have no place to go, Let it snow." Well, at least they say I love you just right.

Where is the snow? Better yet, where is the cold. We spent the entire afternoon yesterday out side. Me in short sleeves - Cole without a jacket. The kids ran for at least an hour without stopping. I really would like to have some snow this year. The kids and I decided to turn our kitchen into a winter wonder land. We have been cutting out snow flakes and making a snow man for our kitchen windows. If it can't snow outside and at least be cold - we will have snow in our kitchen! So, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow - in our kitchen.

Today at school pick up, Mrs. Kendall met me at the gate. She whispered to me to look at Cole. It seems that Cole was running for his life with a blue eyed, blond in hot pursuit. I asked if that was Abby (Abby was the girl that kept putting pictures that she had created in Cole's book bag without him knowing). Mrs. Kendall said, "No, that was over last week." It seems the new girl is named Chole and she arrived last week. Mrs. Kendall said that as soon as Chole arrived she found Cole. Chole, it seems, picked Cole out of a class of 20 boys. Mrs. Kendall smiled and said that Chole had excellent taste. In all honesty, I hope he keeps running for a long time. On the ride home from school, I asked Cole who he played with today - Landon, Skip, Jaxon. All boys. Never once did Chole's name come up. He did say that the girls were very agravating today. He said that he was chased all day. My comment was, "KEEP RUNNING!!" I really not ready for this. . ...

Today is a typical Sunday at our house - church, MaMas, and just being around the house. Tonight we start a special Bible study at church for all age groups. Katie will be in her normal preschool choir while Cole gets to go to a 12 week long class. David and I actually will get to be together in a class. I am excited about it!

Cole, David, my dad, and four other men are taking on the squirrles this morning. Some how the odds are in the favor of the men. It's COLD outside and yet they still loaded up with guns in hand to take out the squirrels. Just one more thing that I don't understand about men. Katie and I are warm, have food, and can stay in PJs until we decide that we really should dress. The boys, on the other hand, are cold, have very little food and are dressed in many layers of clothes - all for a squirrel. The wonders of the male mind never cease to amaze me.

How can you make one word so long - it only has one syllable. But when my kids yell Mooooom you would have thought that it had at least three. They yell this for any number of reasons, Katie has soap in her eyes, Cole needs something now, Katie wants more food, or Cole can't believe his mother could ever sing or dance. I never knew that one word could cause so much love, dread, smiles, or tears. It's the one word that I use first to define myself - Mom. So keep up the yelling. I will always respond to Mooooom.

Mulkey Engineering and Consulting has a new Vice President on staff - I just happen to be married to him! The Board of Directors voted unamimously on his appoitment. What a smart group of people. So tonight, I guess we can call this Daddy's House. We will let him win in Uno and basketball. We will all sit down for dinner together and have steak. All jokes aside, we love you and are so very proud of you. Way to go daddy-o!

Today was filled with the common - grocery shopping, trash halling, kitchen cleaning, bananna bread baking, kid drop off and pick up, and the constant feeding of Katie, which leads to grocery shopping, kitchen cleaning, bread baking, trash halling. . . You get the picture. I never knew one kid could eat so much ALL day long. She does not reconginize chocolate as junk food - she has decided that it could be her sole food group. With her love for chocolate so great, she is learing the word NO! Today I told her that she could have a sweet after lunch (this was at 8:30am). She decided at 9:00am that she could not wait any longer for lunch. After many distractions from me she finally had lunch at 11:30. She had two bites of soup and then declared herself full. Lets move onto the sweets! Needless to say she did not like my response. She is becoming smart in her search for the goods - she has learned what chocolate has nuts (she does not like) and which ones do not. She has learne...

All this week my kids have watched Madagascar. I have the music stuck in my head - I like to move it, move it. I find myself singing this song ALL day long. Even the kids are singing it. Katie can quote entire lines of the movie while Cole acts out the parts. The many talents of the Lee kids. Tonight we dressed up and took the kids out for one final meal before school goes back tomorrow. We ate at Sogos. The kids love watching their food being prepared and placed onto their plates. If they only knew that they really have that every night - I just don't flip shrimp tails or rice into their mouth from a hot surface and tells jokes with English being my second language. Oh well - I guess it really is a treat. I need to move it, move it.