Funny boy and presidents

I know I have mentioned Miles' obsession/fascination with presidents before. A few nights ago, Miles awakened me around 3:00AM crying because he had a nightmare. I told him to crawl in my bed and tell me about it. So...here is this five year old sobbing boy telling me "Martin Van Buren-he was the 8th president-fell out of his wheelchair and George Washington helped him up". And that is all of his nightmare. I replied, "that doesn't seem like such a scary dream" and he continued to sob "it was so scary when he was falling". So..I decided to approach the nightmare with how nice it was for George Washington to help him up.
Needless to say, I was awake the rest of the night due to my recurring insomnia issues.
The next day I find Miles reenacting the nightmarish scene with his new favorite toys:



Yep, these are George Washington and Martin Van Buren figurines. Cool-huh? We have the set of Presidents from Washington to Eisenhower. Mamie Eisenhower was the only female to make the cut. If I were Martha Washington or Mary Todd Lincoln, I'd be a bit mad.

Isn't this set of presidents every 5 year old's dream toy? I'm thinking I'll be voting for my son on the democratic ballot for president in about 35 years.

Funny Girl

A few week ago at church I was talking with a group of friends and one of them mentioned her nephew goes to the same school as my children. It turns out that the nephew, Owen, is in Marleigh's third grade class at school. Apparently this week one of my church friends ran into Owen and his dad.

My church friend asked Owen if he knew Marleigh and he said "yeah". Owen's dad said "Yes, she's the little blonde girl who had her head on your shoulder during the movie?" Owen replied "yeah". Owen's dad said "the one from Australia?". Owen replied "yeah". My friend said with a laugh "no. no. Marleigh's family is from south Arkansas." Owen's dad said "no this Marleigh is from Australia".

At this point in the re-telling of the story, I summoned Marleigh to our dinner table and asked her "Have you been speaking in an accent at school?" And she replied "why yes, yes I have (in her best Australian accent)".

Funny, funny girl with a convincing accent...maybe I should steer her toward acting?

Weekend and boundaries

My weekend started off on Friday with dropping the kids off at the country club for two hours for a pizza party. I had two whole kid-free hours. And I had too many choices of how I wanted to spend my free time. I ended up going for a run. Just kidding. I've always wanted to be able to say that. Actually I went for about a 2 mile walk. Stella the pup was my walking companion:

After my neighborhood walk, I decided to take a shower. It was oh so relaxing to be able to take a shower without having to scream "i'll be out in just a minute" every few minutes when my kids knock on the bathroom door. After the shower, I decided to tackle some of my usual Saturday morning chores. Numero uno= the laundry. How could 3 people have this much laundry in 5 days? That's just not right.

I ended my 2 hour luxurious vacation with reading the newspaper. I am a wild and crazy gal.

On Saturday, my mom and I took the kids to the Razorback basketball game. It was the most exciting game I have ever been to. The kids had a great time- they love getting all "hogged up" for the games:

Marleigh was on the big screen during a time out. She was so exctied about it that you would have thought she had won an Oscar. It was a fun time!

On Sunday, we went to church as usual. I have been taking a "Boundaries" class at church on Sunday mornings. It has been interesting to delve into setting boundaries for myself. It is ok to say no. Wish I had realized that last year when I was homeroom mom, brownie troop leader, and wow wednesday k-2 kid leader. And did I mention I work full time and am a single mom? Yes, it would have been nice to have been able to say no without the accompanying feelings of guilt. Maybe next time.

After church, I decided to move some furniture around in my house. Miles now has a "big boy" dresser in his room. He is excited that he has his own mirror so if he wakes up in the middle of the night he can see if he has a bug on his face. Whatever. Like he sleeps in his own room. Maybe I should set some boundaries.

It was a busy, busy weekend considering the Hog game was the only planned activity. Weekends sure do zoom by!

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to say no and establish boundaries when needed.

Migraines and Bill Clinton

I have been suffering from a 2 day migraine. Ugh. I stayed in bed all day yesterday. I usually don't slow down enough to watch much tv but yesterday I watched a lot. I prefer to read or play on my phone but my left eye was hurting too badly so I stared at the tube instead. I watched "The Social Network", "Four Christmases", "Dr. Oz", and four hours of "Texas Multi-Moms". I was totally sucked in to the multi moms show. Has it hooked you in, as well?  Anyway, I took pain pills and kept a hot pad on my head and kept my left eye closed for most of the day. Does anyone have any suggestions for a migraine sufferer? My migraines are triggered by changes in barometric pressure and this crazy un-winter weather we have had has wreaked havoc on my brain.

On a lighter note, I was cleaning out some cabinets this past weekend and came across the picture:

Yes, that is a very young and boyish Bill Clinton standing next to a very young and boyish me. I think I was going for the Dorothy Hamill hair style. And I am styling with my white izod and white calvin kleins. Circa 1980, I believe. I know you are jealous.

Today I am grateful for the capability to laugh at myself.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

I have often said that I am thankful that I was not born into Laura Ingalls Wilder era. I am in no ways a diva- but I do love my air conditioning in the summer and my heat in the winter. Last night I went to bed all toasty and warm. This morning when I awakened I did not want to get out from under the covers because the air was so frigid. I finally managed to pull myself out of bed and went to turn the heat up. Meanwhile, it is 19 degrees outside with a wind chill of 11. I turned the heat up...and up...and up...and nothing at all happened! There was no air blowing out of the vents. At this point is when a single mom can begin the meltdown. I had to get two kids out of bed and ready for school and had to be at work 30 minutes earlier than usual for a meeting. In the arctic. It was impossibly cold getting ready for the day but we managed. These are the days that I seem to need to "search for the grateful" a bit harder than other days. Today I was grateful for my car seat heaters. And I am grateful that my dad is in the process of fixing the heater. And I am grateful that I do not live in the Laura Ingalls Wilder era. To honor Laura, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes of hers: "It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and living close to nature"....I think she may have added car seat heaters to that quote if they had been around back then!

Yummy leftovers

Today I am grateful for yummy leftovers. I usually just have a lean cuisine or canned soup for lunch when I am at work so when I am able to bring leftovers I am a tad excited. It's the little things that can make ya happy ya know. Anyway, today I brought this:

This may not look delicious but believe me it is. Especially when it is a Weight Watcher friendly item weighing in at only 6 points. Woohoo! Cheesy Chicken Enchilada, I'm in love! Is it lunchtime yet?

Exciting Class

I am so excited to begin a new bible study class tonight. The book for my class is:

I just finished a bible class on "Matthew" by this same author. It was a wonderfully written book. It was easy for me to understand and it added much clarification to my interpretation of the book of Matthew.

I am so grateful for my church. We have found the perfect church for us. I  absolutely love it and our church family. I am grateful that I live in a nation that has the freedom of religion!

Most Grateful

Since I have titled this blog "searching for the grateful", I think I should focus daily on things I am grateful for in my life. I am most grateful for the kiddos in this pic.


A few things about my eight year old, Marleigh Quinn:

• She loves playing sports: tennis, softball, soccer. She starts her first season of basketball today and I am excited to watch her athletic skills grow. (my athletic skills never grew..actually I never had any athletic skills to begin with).
• She starts taking piano lessons tomorrow and I am excited to see how she enjoys it. She loves music and is in two choirs. For Christmas, she got a karaoke machine and will spend hours rocking out to music from "Grease".
• She is also in Cheerleading this year at her school. They haven't cheered at any games of any sort, but they practice chants and cheers weekly. She loves this activity.
• She really would also like to take dance- but I have had to say no based on our busy schedule.
• She loves our church and keeps me motivated to go every Sunday and Wednesday.
• She is a great big sister who needs the occasional reminder to be nice to her younger brother- but for the most part, they get along wonderfully!

A few things about my five year old, Miles Kenyon:

• He plays soccer but hasn't shown a huge interest in sports. Although he is beginning to love our Razorbacks!
• He does not require much sleep and loves to wake up by 5:30-6 every single morning.
• He reads above a 2nd grade level.
• He is obsessed with presidents and can name every president in order. He also knows their middle names, vice presidents, and political party (including the Whigs and Federalists). It blows my mind.
• He says he will be president some day.
• He is the smartest and funniest five year old boy I have ever met.

Anyhoo, these two are the reasons I get up every morning!






And on days like today, I am also grateful for things such as these:

Fun rain boots can really make a day seem brighter, I think. It' s not raining yet, but I hope it does so I don't feel goofy for wearing these boots to work!





Virgin Blogger

Wow. I am not sure where to begin. This is my very first blog. I am now a blogger.That cracks me up for some reason. I have been reading blogs for a few months and have become utterly fascinated with the blogs I read. I think this is a great forum. And a wonderful way to preserve memories for my children.
Guess I should introduce myself in case anyone ever makes it to this blog. I'm not sure how to get the blog "out there" so this may just prove to be a diary to myself. And that is ok too.
My name is Stacy. I am a 41 year old divorced mom. I have 2 darling kiddos. Marleigh is 8 and Miles is 5. The kids keep me busy and on my toes. I am a speech-language pathologist in a public school. Hmmmm, those seem to be the defining topics in my life at this point. Before becoming a mom, travel was my passion. I've visited 12 European countries as well as Mexico and Canada. Also, before becoming a mom, I read a lot. And I mean a lot...a book every day or two. Now I am lucky if I get to read half of a magazine a day.
Anyway, I've titled my blog "searching for the grateful" because that is something that I am trying to do daily. This single mom life is not the path that I would have chosen...but I have two healthy, happy children and I try to remind myself of that every single day.
Now...I need to figure out how to upload pics to this blog. Hmmmm...it can't be too hard.