Hackleman House

Garage Sale success!!

2011-04-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well, other than a cough I developed from being in the dust of my attic and the wind of the last several days I have successfully survived another garage sale with my friends. I would have to say it was a roaring success. I am not the organization behind the operation but I have good manual labor skills and some aptitude for selling our stuff. It was the most profitable one to date. So I hope there is a swing set in my backyard's future....We would love it!!

High Points of Spring!

2011-04-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

Yeah for spring!! We are so ready to be outside!! The Hackleman's love the outdoors, playing in the yard, Todd planting grass and other plants, playing ball, watching ball, you name it! Reed has had a blast driving his Gator that he got for Christmas, running with Truman, throwing the raquetball to Jack, learning to throw overhand to his Dad and Mom (most of the time, I get to be the "ump guy") We are still not sure what hand we have going on...he hits and golfs left handed (w/ right handed clubs) and picks and chooses which to throw with. It is about equal distance and accuracy with either so Todd is hoping for the dual handed pitcher like the guy from Creighton. Should be interesting to see what develops! We have also gotten to play several days at the park and have even flown a kite a day or two. Reed and I have also enjoyed some playdates with friends. Reed got to invite his friend from daycare, Dalton over a few weekends a go. The boys had been planning all kinds of stuff to do! They have really gotten into Super Mario Brothers, I think from Dalton's older sister's DS...anyway there is a lot of pretend play with Mario and Luigi. Reed loves to pretend that he is Luigi and even likes to dress like him in his "Jingles" aka Overalls! Took me a few attempts to figure that one out. He finally told me he wanted to wear the things that go over the arms and have the things that jingle on the buttons in the front...overalls! Reed still loves his animals and knowing all about them. Tigers are still the best but his favorite color is red now! There is hope for the Sooners! He is a smart little guy and loves to count and learn his letters. Can't believe he will go to pre-school in the fall! Here are a few pictures of some of our spring adventures!

Catching up!

2011-02-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

What a whirlwind of last few months. We have survived the holidays, a few illnessess, and lots of snow. We have had a few slow months at work which have been nice for catching up at home but tough on the pocketbook. Things are picking up again just in time for a massisve amount of new Medicare regulations and form changes!! ARRGGHH! - which is my most favorite saying as Reed repeats that and "not TO-DAY!" all the time. That was his favorite thing to say as we tackled potty training.

ME: "Reed do you need to potty?"
Reed: "Nope, not TOOO-DAAAY(w/ a little uplift in his voice!)Mom!"

Needless to say he decided to learn to use the toilet and not have to hold it in all day. However, there was a lot of lobbying for pull-ups. I told him that when the pull-ups ran out then we were not going to buy any more. He promptly told me: "Well, I just will talk to my dad and he will take me to Tawget to get more! Cuz, Tawget has wots of them Mom!"

We have survived this as well and although we are still in pull-ups at night I think we have the rest of the bathroom thing figured out! Yea!!!

I DO NOT have BUGS in my tummy!!

2010-12-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

We have the throw-ups at our house so stay away!! Or as Reed heard me telling someone on the phone...he has a stomach bug! This did not sit well with him the idea of BUGS in his stomach!!! He informed me quite adamantly that he did not have bugs in his tummy! He choked (his version of throw-up)them all up... they were gone! Then he kept going into the bathroom this afternoon and I kept asking if his tummy was upset...no he was looking for bugs!! Hopefully we will have more restful night and no one else will be BUGGY!!

We have the tree decorated...Will it stay that way???

2010-12-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

Well our decorating continued today as we decorated the tree this morning. My guys are plagued with this nasty respiratory virus(my diagnosis). So amidst the snot and coughing we decorated the tree since I deemed us too germy for church today. Reed doesn't quite have the coughing in the elbow down yet...he coughs all over everything and then tells me he is supposed to cough into his elbow! Close I guess but not so sanitary! He was also not so willing to accept the reasoning that God doesn't want us to spread germs so it is okay to stay home. (We did do some extra blessings during our night time prayers this evening, so I hope you are feeling the extra love!) I was able to distract the disappointment of missing Sunday School with decorating the tree which Reed is quite the expert! So much so that he is still tweaking it everytime he goes by it! We still don't have topper...Reed can't decide between an Angel or a Star...he has good reasons for both and due to the cold stuff we didn't do any shopping this weekend (other than the tree!) So, the dilema continues...Angel or Star...Angel or Star...? I'll let everyone know as soon as we make a decision so that you all can rest!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

2010-12-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Hackleman House. For those that don't know my husband, Todd LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Christmas!!! We have been hardcore decorating since Friday after Thanksgiving. Right after our Black Friday shopping!! We had a lot of fun...we didn't do any crazy hours, just 7:00 AM and stayed in Derby. It was a blast!

So today we went and got our tree!! Since Todd and I have been married we have had a GIGANTIC artificial tree that we bought the first year we were married. We must have been blinded by the love of newlyweds because this tree was HUGE!!! It was like the artificial Griswold tree! It took up the whole living room! So as the love for the tree faded...and reality set in..we opted for a real tree this year. I am smelling its wonderful fragrance right now and Reed had so much fun going to pick it out! The picking of the tree was interesting to say the least. Picking a tree is much like buying tennis shoes with Todd...very, very selective...so since Christmas is just 21 days away we FINALLY picked one. The question at the house tonight is who actually picked it out?!? I'm pretty sure I spotted this one! ;)

Busy Month

2010-11-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, where did November go! I guess it has been a busy month although I'm not really sure what we did. We had some birthday parties and lots of work and as much outdoor park time that we could get. Reed is growing like a weed. We have moved into 4T pants because of his long legs and we got new shoes that I hope will last until spring but the way that kid's feet grow...who knows. He is a busy little boy that loves animals and has an evergrowing Cwrismas Wist! He has lots of "needs v. wants" and lots of wheels turning in his head which results in "mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom..." "what Reed?" "um, um, um, Mom, mom..I don't know" - can we say broken record!!! He has very little desire to be potty trained despite all mine and the sitter's efforts. I believe that he is taking the Hackleman stance on this and he will do what he wants in his own time. (doesn't mean I'm quitting on him...The Thompson stubborness will not let his mother rest!)

Speaking of Thompsons...two years ago today we lost a great one. I miss my dear ole dad everyday, as I watch my little man grow and change I see so much in him that my pop would have loved. I know he isn't missing a minute of it, but I wish I could hear his clever antedotes and his laughter over things like Reed telling me "Mom, you talking toooo much!" or watching him golf in the backyard or learning to hit a pitched ball. With many memories on my mind this evening...I'll say good night to you all and to my dad...I love you and miss you everyday!

Harmony in the Hackleman House

2010-10-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

Harmony, I guess...I will say that many of you are concerned that after the football weekend of last that I may no longer be speaking to my husband...however I am and we even rode with some civility on the way home. I will say that it was a good thing the game got over at a late hour, because as my dear friend Terri B. (former college roommate) will tell you, I am likely to just go to bed, depressed and irritated after a loss! I have grown a little and lessened my intensity some since my college years but I did go to bed depressed and irritated at my beloved Sooners last Saturday night. Missouri played very well, and OU did not...however, we really did have a good time. Reed had a great time at his Nana and Papa's house and as a result of our trip to Columbia he came home with more Tiger gear that he loves. Go ahead and get it out of his system now, I say!

Getting Ready for GameDay

2010-10-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

Todd and I have embarked on one of the most challenging adventures in our marriage! College GAMEDAY in Columbia, MO for the OU/Missouri game! It is a big one and everyone who knows us knows how competitive we are! Todd and I very rarely disagree or even fight, but there is no telling what happens in an OU/Mizzou game! Pray we both come home and that we are speaking when it is over! Heres to an AWESOME day tomorrow! BOOMER SOONER!!!

Growing up!

2010-10-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Reed in 2009 and in 2010 - what a difference a year makes!!!

Fall Family Foto!

2010-10-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here is our annual Fall Family Foto!! Reed was upset that we weren't riding the train or something so this is the best we could do!

Carving the Pumpkin

2010-10-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Monday night "we" (aka Mom) carved our Jack-o-lantern into a happy face. This is the first one that we have carved since we have had Reed due to oh, I don't know...knives and Reed are not a good combination? Anyway...I thought he would like cleaning out the pumpkin guts...I hate this part, plus I think that pumpkin stinks to high heaven and get bad headaches from the smell of them so I was ready to let Reed have at it, mess and all! I learned quickly that Reed agrees with his mother and quickly abandoned me to go play football with his dad in the yard. Hear is a look at our efforts! Despite my attempt at a happy face with rectangle eyes, moon nose and a smiley face with teeth all the request of my 3 year old...I was told he was still too scary!!! What do you do? It might help if the pumpkin wasn't so creepy looking!!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we made it to the Applejack Pumpkin Patch for the third straight year! We had a great time playing in the hay, going down the giant slide, jumping on the giant pillow, and picking out a pumpkin...did I mention teeter-tottering with Dad! Reed was very successful in picking out the UGLIEST pumpkin in the whole place. It is horrid looking with lots of wrinkles and warts!!! I asked him if he wanted me to make a scary face on it and he said no, just a happy one!! Good think 'cuz the pumpkin is pretty scary on its own!

Birthday Party!

2010-10-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

We made it through Reed's 3rd birthday, fireworks and all. We had a great time and enjoyed our friends family and lots of Thomas! Here are a few pictures to see what we did! I made Reed's cake, it was a challenge and like the true pressure cooker I am I finished it 15 min. after the party started! Thanks SOOOOO much to my Mom for helping with Reed and helping Todd set up! I really want to attempt to make Reed's cake every year in whatever character he wants as I remember my mom doing that for us every year. It was one of my favorite things to think about what kind of cake I wanted...it was like picking out your Halloween costume!!! So lets' hope future cakes will not be so complicated!

The Hairbrella!

2010-10-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had a rainy day in which Reed insisted on carrying the "Hairbrella" into the house. I said to him, well it is really called an "UMBRELLA" to which he replied "nope, its a hairbrella, cuz it keeps your hair dry!" I believe I stand corrected!

Almost Three!

2010-09-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Reed is almost three! Friday, September 24th will be the big day! I can't believe my baby is such a big boy! He is so smart and funny and such a thinker! He is a constant challenge and I wouldn't want it any other way. We have so much fun every day and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful boy. He has grown and changed so much this year, he is really turning into a talker a lot like his Mama and has quite and imagination. He dreams up schemes of things he's going to try and thankfully is still running them by me to see if it is a good idea or to see how I'll react. For example, last week he was going to jump from the deck to the garage roof to the pool, to the neighbors fence, to the shed, to the pool ladder and then in the pool. "I fink that would be fun idea, Mama?" I convinced him to just jump in the pool, but I KNOW I can wait until he doesn't tell me and just attempts these fun ideas! YIKES!!! I'm proud of his bravery but scared to death at the same time, and wish for a little fear for him every now and then! He also has the best smile I've ever seen! It is contagious and just lights up his whole face! It is so ORNERY! He is also very loving, he still likes to snuggle and likes to sit with his Mama on the couch in the mornings until we are both awake to talk to each other. He usually lets me know when it is time by telling me "It's good morning now, Mama!" The one thing we agree on is that is NOT good morning when we both wake up...another trait from his Mama...we need a good 10-15 minutes to wrap our brains around being awake! So happy birthday to my beautiful boy! You are my best boy! I love you so much!

A wet night!

2010-09-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Todd and I made it through Monday Night Football last week and the monsoon at Arrowhead Stadium! We were troopers and stayed for the whole game! We looked like we'd showered in our clothes and dumped water from our shoes, but it was fun! We had the perfect day...An afternoon at the "K" Kaufmann Stadium and a Royals game. The re-done stadium is beautiful and has a lot to offer, we can't wait to take Reed, there is a lot to do for kids that can't sit through a game. There is a great hall of fame that made me miss my dad, he would have loved it! It has a lot of just neat baseball history...the evolution of the bats, balls, and gloves plus all the Royals greats and some rotating items on loan from Cooperstown. I could just hear the stories flowing!

My Little Thinker!

2010-08-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

As many of you may have read, Reed and I have been having discussions about God a lot lately. He is the "don't take the Lord's name in vain police!" We have also been learning to say the blessing at the table which involves me saying it and Reed nodding his head in Todd fashion with a big giant grin on his face to confirm I am saying each phrase correctly! He often echos "yes, He is Mommy!" or "yes, great Mommy" after the God is good, God is great part! He may be the next Billy Graham! We have been praying each night before bed in which if he can remember your name, your dogs name, your cats name or anything about you then you will get blessed. I have yet to decide if this is sweet and endearing or a ploy to stay awake as long as possible. I believe that it is the later. This Sunday Reed was adamant that we meet God. He wanted to see him. In his words, "I want to see what Him looks like, Mommy." the best we could do was Jesus, which then brought up the question of "where is Him's mommy and daddy?" Since I told him this was God's Son. Which I was saved by church letting out (we were in the vestibule due to lack of being able to sit still and talking EXTREMELY loudly in church)which was the indication it was time for Sunday school, and there are Thomas the Train engines in the Sunday School room for the 2 year olds! They trumped the God question this week, but needless to say I will be looking for some biblical stories that will answer some questions and maybe give some kind of visual of God. In the meantime I pray for simpler questions to which I know the answers or at least can make up something that will not scar him for life!

It's all most September!

2010-08-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

September is upon us and that means the Hackleman's are getting busy!! Football is coming!!!! YEAHH can't wait...the first OU game starts this weekend and I am ready this year. I had a little mental hiatus last year as it was the first season without my dad and that was very hard for me. Silly in some ways, but that was our thing, and it really hit me that he was gone last year when football started and I just had no joy in going. I made myself go to one game and it was very healing. I worked through a lot of guilt and grief that goes with losing someone you love not to mention the grief the Sooners brought me with losing Sam Bradford so early on... the last year has been a work in progress for me mentally but I am good and can gladly say I'm ready for some FB....so BOOMER SOONER, baby!

With September brings my favorite weekend of the year, Cropaganza. I get to stay up all night and scrapbook with my best girlfriends. We do this for a whole weekend with no husbands or children and it is the best! This year we have more time and I have big plans. I hope to get my Grandma Thompson's pictures from her youth in a Heritage album and then spend the remainder of the time on Reed. To make the week even better Todd and I got tickets to Monday Night Football in KC!!! So my perfect 5 days - 3 scrapbooking with the girls, 2 with my husband in KC with MNF at night and a Royals game in the afternoon and then off to pick up Reed at Camp Nana Hackleman's! What more could a girl want?

AUGUST

2010-08-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

The month of August has flown by. Coming back from camp I have worked on trying to balance work out by setting some limits and learning to say no, which I am not very good at, but I am trying. The mantra is, family first! Delegate and no the limits! So this month we haven't had that much going on, but just enjoying our family. August is Todd's down time so we did a lot of swimmin' in our pool and Reed has turned into a real fish! He has enjoyed jumping off the ladder doing "Kansasballs" or cannonballs! He is really talking up a storm and starting to have conversations about all kinds of things. He can count and is working on his ABCs. He loves trains and dogs. He wants to play with Truman and Jack everyday! He really has gotten into watching movies and his favorites are "Happy Chipmunks" "Dogs on the Street" and "Dogs on the Mountain"...aka "Alvin and the Chipmunks...the Squeakuel", "Homeward Bound II: Journey from San Fransico" and "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey". He is really funny and very independent. He recently has limited me to two kisses a day because he told me that if he get's three then his lips will get sore! Who knew?!?

JULY

2010-08-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

Next in the summer recap was our month of July: Todd was busy with summer sports and it seemed that Reed and I just moved from one event to the other. We enjoyed the 4th of July with our friends and co-workers the Hornbacks. Kori is also Reed's sitter and they have little boy that is Reed's age that is his best buddy! Reed LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the fireworks! A boy after my own heart!

The rest of the month was spent preparing for KAY camp. Reed went to Nana's for the week and was spoiled rotten as usual. KAY camp was the last full week of July and it was a great week with some really awesome kids. The theme was "There's No Place Like Kansas!" and I am proud so say the Hilltop Mary's were the esteemed winners of the Ear of the Year!! We had a fine presentation of the Wizard of Oz complete with the flying monkeys!!

JUNE

2010-08-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

JUNE:
The first weekend in June we spent at Derby Days and playing in the water in our backyard. We didn't have the pool up yet, but we had a slip-n-slide and waterguns! What more do you need. Mom and Audrey's boys came up and went with us as well as some of our good friends. It was a hot one but we managed to ride some rides and get wet after to cool off. All in all a really fun day!

Our next big event in June was our baseball player, Rickey Noland's wedding. Rickey was our first boy and he lived with us for two summers. For those of you who were around Rickey became like our own and we just love him to pieces. We were very excited to hear that he would be getting married this summer, unfortunately it was the same weekend as Todd's biggest softball tournament EVER!! So I talked Mom into road tripping with me and Reed to Natchez, MS for the wedding. We took a side trip on the way and visited my college roommate and her family in TX and on the way back. She has a daughter just a little older than Reed and we were grateful for toddler playtime to break up the trip. He did great riding though, and the wedding was beautiful...hot, but beautiful. I can honestly say I've never sweated so much in my life!!! Can't believe the boy got dehydrated in KANSAS! A big thank you to my Mom though, she kept me sane and kept Reed out of trouble...mostly...he did stick his finger in the groom's cake! He has been wanting to go back to Ippissippi for pawrty cake since we got home! In case you didn't know...every party must have cake! This is a Hackleman trait...the love of cake!

Summer recap!

2010-08-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

My where has the summer gone? Apparently we have been way to busy to keep up with the blogging! So here is my GIANT effort to catch up on the summer and all the Reedisms we have experienced.

We have been working and playing so hard that we can't believe the summer is over! I guess the weather doesn't know that as it is still 100+ today and sounds like it will stay hot for a while yet, but school is starting for those around us, and I guess Reed gets to start 2yr old Sunday School tomorrow so that is monumentous...especially since he started saying..."OH, GOD!" this week when something bad happens to him. I honestly am not sure where he heard this phrase as it is one that is not used in our house. Some other choice words on occasion but not this one. So we had a long talk that you are not supposed to say GOD like that and we can say God when we are praying, or in church or talking about Jesus's Daddy. So today, when he wanted to say that he told me he'd wait until church tomorrow....Oh, good I can hardly wait for our first day of Sunday school!

This one is for Monty!

2010-06-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we lost my Dad about a year and a half ago, and he is greatly missed everyday, but as anyone who has lost a loved one will tell you, there are little things in your day that will strike you with recogition of that person or flood you with a heart stopping memory. I have those moments frequently with Reed, probably because I know how much my dad loved his grandsons and how much he wanted Reed to give me back everything I gave to him times 10!

My most recent moment was over Memorial Day weekend when Reed and I were making one of our Grandma trips. As Reed is so proud of, we were going to see TWO Grandma Thompsons! Mine and his! So we are driving along and he is watching his movie and one of my friends calls so I answer and talk with her for a short time (Really, maybe 10 min!) and Reed says from the backseat. "Mommy, STOP talking! Talking TOO MUCH!!!" I just had to laugh because I could just see my dad's smirking grin!

One, two, three, almost five, FIVE!!!

2010-06-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Reed has been working on counting and does pretty well to 10+ with a little assistance now and then. He is still unsure of himself, so he prefers for someone else to count with him if he knows anyone is listening, but several times, I have heard him counting to himself in the last few weeks and it goes something like this..."One, two, free, almost five, FIVE!!!, six, seben, ade, almost ten, TEN!!! I guess four and nine are tough to remember... but he knows something goes there. Apparently I say we are "almost" to something a lot. Almost home, almost there, almost bedtime, almost bathtime, almost finished... That is his new favorite word and FIVE (you have to yell it with gusto!) is his favorite number. Our Reed is 2 1/2 going on FIVEE!!!

Reed and Prune

2010-05-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

I'd love to get a picture of Reed and his dog, Prune aka Truman. Reed can now say Truman, but still calls him Prune and has a very love/hate relationship with our adorable chocolate lab. It amazes me how much they are alike! The both act like they don't hear you when you are calling them, when you know good and well that they do. They both play too rough sometimes, but then feel very badly about it if anyone is hurt by it. They both are just as ornery as can be, and if Prune could talk he'd probably blame as much stuff on Reed as Reed blames on him.

They both will pick tug-a-war battles that Prune usually wins, but they both will come back for more until Reed quites out of frustration or due to tears from rough housing around. Friday night Reed was furious with Prune because they were playing tug-a-war with Reed's blanket (which is sacred!) and in true lab fashion Truman slobbered all over it! Upon realization that his blanket was wet, Reed brought it to me to get the "Prune juice" off! What a crack-up!

Weekend Update for May 1st - 2nd

2010-05-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

What beautiful weather we had this weekend! Sure beats the wind we had during the week. We could not get enough of outside! We were happy to have everyone home and not near as busy. So we didn't do much of anything but play outside! Dad grilled 'boorgers' and 'takes' on Saturday and Sunday. We ate nearly every meal outside, Reed wanted to eat breakfast out there this morning, but we opted for lunch and dinner instead. He woke up yesterday morning ready to "shower" plants (that's what he calls his watering can, the shower can, and the sprinklers are grass showers!

We also got to chase Truman, our chocolate lab around the neighborhood when he escaped this afternoon. He bulldozed through the garage/backyard door that I didn't latch completely and out the open garage door! As he ran into the street, Reed said, "Ooooohhhhh Prune in streeet, Prune in trouououble!" Guess who else has been in trouououble for that? Reed thought the chase was great! He giggled the whole way down the street and was a great Prune(Truman) spotter!

Weekend Update April 23-25

2010-05-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Todd has had a busy spring with lots of softball tournaments to run and organize so that leaves Reed and I to fend for ourselves, so on this tournament weekend we went to visit our Grandmas! Reed and I went to my mom's house Saturday afternoon and Reed stayed with her while I went down to visit my Grandma Thompson in Alva. For those that don't know I have taken on a challenge of organizing her photos and doing a heritage album(s) for her and for all of us. With the passing of my father, I've really reflected on what all Reed will miss by him not getting to hear his stories that I thought I better get all the family history that I can...plus I really love old pictures and heritage stuff! Grandma and I really had fun, at least I did!

Reed had fun with his Grandma too, we helped her plant her garden. Reed had his "buckick and spoon" to shovel the dirt into and go dump it somewhere that I'm sure grandma will find later! He helped to put the beans 'night-night' aka covering them with dirt and has been talking about it ever since.

He had so much fun, that the other day he asked if "my Ma come to my house to play in my room? pwwease, mom!" too bad Ma had school or I'm sure she would have been here!

Reed Update

2010-04-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

Although I need to post Easter pictures and all our exciting times from last weekend, I have decided to do it out of order instead of living behind!! I started this blog as a way to document stories and daily memories about my family and friends but mostly as a way to keep memories for Reed. So today, is the first day in a while that Reed and I spent all day together just the two of us with no agenda other than to have fun..!

Reed is 2 1/2 years old and is a wonder to me. He LOVES everyday! He has such beauty and wonder in his eyes with each new discovery and it is so fun to watch and now hear him discover himself through language and experiences. Reed is still very busy and independent. Much like his mother in a familiar environment he is an act first, react/think later kid...he is playful and funny. He loves to tease and to make you smile. He has the best giggle in the world! He can also be observant, and sometimes in a new situation wants to watch how it is done before he tries it, but rarely is he intimidated by an activity or event. He LOVES animals and they LOVE him. This he gets from his father and his grandpa. We spent today at the zoo and Reed could sit and watch each animal forever...he loved feeding the goats and sheep. He is a hands on learner and wants to touch and feel EVERYTHING! I noticed today how sweet and kind he could be. If I offered him a snack or a drink, he wanted his friends to have them too and first. He noticed when others fell down or were crying and asked if they were okay? He has the memory of an elephant and has replayed the entire zoo trip to me multiple times today since coming home and what animals were sleeping, playing or biting! He is speaking better and more clearly everyday. He still calls Truman our dog, Prune...and worries that Prune will bite/eat Daddy's bushes in the backyard...this is a valid concern. He became concerned this week that Todd had "Jack hair" on his toes and in his nose. Jack is our border collie that is black and shedding profusely right now so there is Jack hair everywhere, apparently Todd has hairy feet and a hairy nose!! Reed has also found a strong connection with all of his grandparents. He likes to call Nana and Papa on the phone and teases Nana that he is Papa's boy! He likes to go to 'Ma's house but always wants his cousins to be there too. He is a sweet and special boy and I can't wait to see what magnificent thing he discovers tomorrow!

Spring Weather!!!

2010-03-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Oh we are so thankful for SPRING!!! We have been having fun in the sun this week!! If you don't know us very well, we are an outdoor family and winter about did us all in!! We have been playing baseball outside and running and drawing chalk people and running and going to the park and running!

We even had our first grill out of the season!!! I love it when it is grill weather because Todd cooks!!

Reed had a tragic week however with the loss of Brown Blanky. Reed got to spend the weekend at 'Ma's house because I was on call and Todd needed a yard day pre-spring/summer sports weekends. So Reed went to 'Ma's on Saturday and got to go to the carnival at her school and the 'Ma's park. BUT we did not get home with Brown Blanky!!! If you have a child with a lovey or security blanket or object...you understand. I thought we were going to be driving back to Kiowa, but through the tears and after the tantrum of kicking the door out to the garage amist screams of "Maamaa, Reed -- Car --- Ma's --- Brown Blank --- NOWWW!!" Reed decided that he was big and after a convincing phone call that 'Ma did indeed have the blanket and it was safe. He decided that the Lightning McQueen blanket would work for a day or two. At his every chance he did tell me that the Lightning blanket was NOT brown blanky and was brown blanky still at 'Ma's!?!

Much to his delight, Brown Blanky came in the mail yesterday! Reed was beside himself with excitement!!! He was soo funny, he was really shaking trying to get the envelope open!

All is well in the Hackleman House, now that brown blanky can rest with Reed!

Rock Chalk Reed?!?

2010-03-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

No, don't worry Reed has not converted to a Jayhawk..sorry Lexy! But we did enjoy the sunshine a few days this last week and one day we made a "chalk" Reed on the driveway. Reed thought it was really neat and we have to go look at it everytime we go outside! Too bad that it is supposed to rain and snow this weekend and wash 'chalk Reed' away. Oh well, we will have to make another one.

Reed did learn to say "yucky Chickenhawks!" Don't know where that came from?!? ;)

weekend of March 5th - Seasame Street Live

2010-03-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

The weekend of March 5th we had Cresten with us (Audrey's youngest) He is 9 months younger than Reed so they have a big time. We had tickets to Seasame Street Live on Saturday morning, so Todd and I took the boys to see Elmo!! Do to a ticket error we ended up in the 3rd row, which was really the front row due to no one sitting in the first 2 rows because they were pre-sold and not used. There was some drama with people trying to move into those seats and some mothers behind us not having any of it! Todd thought that was the best part of the show! I thought the entire thing was great and the boys loved it! The ELMO balloon was Reed's favorite part!

where did the time go?

2010-03-18T22:04:00.001-07:00

I've just realized that it has been weeks since I last posted. I'm not even sure what all we have been doing! I guess we have been living...I do know that nights have been busy with the adjustment to the big boy bed and the time change. All in all I'll try to get some posts up tonight to get you all caught up on what we have been doing.

Sweet Boy!

2010-02-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well we are in night number 2 of the big boy bed...and it is a challenge needless to say...it is just so darn easy to get up and play! I am picking my battles and remaining calm and cool, but it was just before 10pm when he finally fell asleep!

In the battle of laying down, we were reading books and Reed was flopping around like a fish trying to get settled, or remain unsettled so he wouldn't fall asleep, anyway we bonked heads really hard! He got me right between the eyes on the bridge of the nose and it immediately made my eyes water! He got so upset, he said..."oh, oh, Mommy! Reed broke Mom's head!! Mommy cry, no! Reed fix head, Mom!" Then he grabbed my hair (like he was going to scalp me!) and kissed my forehead about 10 times! That brought tears to my eyes! What a sweet, sweet boy I have!

Now if he'll just sleep all night in that big boy bed!

Big Boy!

2010-02-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

Reed made it home from Nana and Papa Hackleman's today! He did so good! He of course got a perfect report from Nana and Papa...they think he is an absolute Angel...boy does he have them wrapped around his little finger. We are so glad to have them to spoil and love him! He had the best time. He also got to see his cousins Trey and Taylor and his Uncle Kirk. He talked about all of them all the way home. He absolutely loved every minute of his time there.

He came home so big! (Probably because you eat really good at Nana Hackleman's...I know he helped bake a cake yesterday and he told me he had i-cream w/ Papa.) My how fast they change in just a week. Todd and I were amazed at how much better he talks and how tall he looks!

He has been working on potty training as well. I'd say we are about 50% effective at the moment, which I think is great. He is did go twice for me today and once was at the A&W in Iola! Yeah Reed! I told him I was so proud of him because he was such a big boy. He said "Yes, Reed is BIG!!!"

ALSO, Reed is spending his first night in his BIG BOY bed! Yes, we took down the crib and converted to a toddler bed! Pray for us that he does not escape to the garage to ride his bike or hit baseballs in the middle of the night! He was pretty excited to see it when he got home, he climbed in and covered up, then jumped on it to test it out, then told me it was broken because the crib side was missing! He went to get Todd to fix it! It was a challenge getting in there tonight, but so far so good.

Lucky...But Not Wealthy!

2010-02-23T22:16:00.000-08:00

I am so tired!!! Back from Las Vegas with some very good girlfriends for a bachelorette party! I am so lucky to have so many powerful, wonderful women in my life, however...we are none the richer!! We are much better shoppers than gamblers! We did have a great time and were able to see Carlos Santana at the Hard Rock Cafe. He was FANTASTIC!!! It was so much fun.

Reed is at his Nana and Papa Hackleman's and having the time of his life! He is too busy to talk to his Mommy. I miss him, but will take the week to get some extra stuff done at the house that is a challenge to do when busy hands and feet are helping.

Todd enjoyed a weekend to himself despite having to work. Maybe I can get a date night out of him this week!?!

Cookie Pictures

2010-02-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Heart Cookie Video

2010-02-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a look at Reed cutting out "hearts". Lucky for Mommy, I'm the only one getting cookies! Dad and Grandma are out of luck!

Heart Cookies!

2010-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Reed and I made Valentine cookies tonight...sorta! It was so fun and messy!! Of course today was cleaning day so Todd was mortified that Reed and I destroyed the kitchen but we had a great time making "hearts"! Reed was so excited. We were talking about hearts and I asked him if he knew where his heart was? He held up his hands in the "I don't know" gesture! I pointed to his chest and told him it was inside and tried to get him to feel it beating with his hand. Instead he was devasted that he couldn't see it! So we had to make cookies and eat one so the heart would be inside!!! Good excuse, huh?

Pictures will follow later!

SoooTired...

2010-02-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well I am not as young as I used to be~! I spent this last weekend with my girlfriends scrapbooking! Sleep was little and I am too old to pull allnighters! I did get quite a bit done and got lots of good girl time. I honestly wasn't feeling the lack of sleep until today but I'll blame Reed for that. He didn't sleep well at all last night, not sure if isn't feeling well, cutting molars, or just needing some Mommy time! Apparently I vowed several times to him in the middle of the night when moving from couch to recliner to bed to recliner to couch that I was never sleeping with him again. Todd reported that it was rather comical and ridiculously untrue...but for those of you who have talked with a tramautically wakened Christy will know I am not nice...not even close to nice. I might have multiple personalities that only come out with sleep deprivation...and mine are mean! I typically don't remember much about it other than a recollection of the emotion. So poor sickly Reed had to deal with his WICKED mother in the night last night. He made it to bed tonight but with some continued drama so I think he doesn't feel 100%. With that being said...I better get to sleep before he wakes up the BEAST!

Reed's Two Year Old Pictures...a few months late

2010-01-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a slide show of Reed's two year old pictures. They were taken at Clix here in Derby and I thought they did a great job in a short efficient amount of time. I was pleased. Plus I got the copyright of the prints. These were taken a couple weeks before Christmas and a few months after his 2nd birthday. So, I'm slowly catching up. Spent some down time today organizing pictures on the computer and playing with Photoshop! How fun!

Dog Bank

2010-01-27T20:22:00.001-08:00

For Christmas this year Reed got a bank that is shaped like a dog. When Reed saw it for the first time he called it a "dog barn" we said no it is a "bank" so we showed him how to put some pennies in it that we had in the "loose" change dish.

And so it begins...any thing that is round and shiny is "a monies" and goes in the "dog bank". Reed will randomly find something, gasps and runs to his room. I was amazed to think that we had that much loose change around, I mean we could be millionaires and not know it!

So the other day I looked in his bank...there are buttons, one earring (looks like a coin shape),a Canadian quarter, some pesos, and some game pieces that are like small poker chips! There was also a lot of change in there... Reed caught me looking in his bank and was mortified that I was taking his "monies"!

Tonight I had on a necklace that my friend Libby gave me, and it is a gold disc shape...Reed tried to pull it off to put in his Dog Bank. I told him it wasn't money, bet he kept asking until bedtime to see if I'd change my mind!

I am glad he is a saver! I want to take him to the bank to put his monies' in there but I'm not sure he will let them keep it. He loves his monies!

Reedisms!

2010-01-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I am behind on with this blog is all the funny things Reed says. His language is developing every day and he says something new and funny. He is Mr. Independent. More often than not, I hear "Reed do it!" with much passion. He thinks he can scramble eggs (his favorite) - toast bread - stir chocolate milk - get "toot nacks" aka fruit snacks all by himself. He also thinks that anything flavored chocolate is "chocomilk".

Most recently Reed was watching a movie in our bedroom with his cars. Todd always has a glass of water by the bed, before I could stop him "Lightning, shower Mom, oh Dad wet bed, night night, no, no!" in other words Reed poured the glass of water on his car right where Todd would sleep!

Last week I was in a fender bender...I know another story all in itself. Needless to say my front bumper is mangled and it looks chewed up. Reed saw it..said 'Oh, Mom car broken, Prune did it (with an affirmative nod, like he'd seen that before)'. Prune is Truman our chocolate lab! Highly probable but not this time, buddy!

The Scrapbook Bug has Bitten!

2010-01-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm ready! I have all these scrapbook layouts buzzing around in my head. I am so ready to go to Cropaganza with my girlfriends that I can't hardly stand it. I am trying to get pictures ordered and all the stuff ready. Plus two weekends within a month with my girls...who can beat that!

Fun Weekend w/ Girlfriends!

2010-01-24T15:57:00.000-08:00

I am very blessed to have wonderful girlfriends in my life. Every girl needs them. This last weekend my dear friend Libby was in town with her two beautiful children. We were able to play at the park on Friday evening with the kids. It is so fun to watch all their different personalities grow and develop!

Saturday Libby and my other dear friends Lexy and Randa took all the kids including Reed and Randa's two to the bouncy houses in Wichita. I was on call and I must admit I am jealous that I did not get to go do this very fun thing! I will so be making a trip with Reed again soon! From all reports...it was a blast! Reed told me "Reed jump high to the moon, jump high in sky, Mom!"

Saturday evening after much babysitting drama...was spent at one of our old haunts with some Mommy beverages and lots of good girl time. Something I really needed.

And then it was Sunday...Reed and Mommy slept!

This is for Kelly!

2010-01-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am way behind on my blogging! And one of my resolutions will be to do better! Ha! Already behind. A patient told me the other day something that I told him I was going to steal. I asked him how he was doing that day...and he replied, "well, in the rat race of life I am at least a few laps behind and probably have been lapped by everyone else at least once!" That is exactly how I feel!

So, I will at my family's request...(Kelly and others - no, Kelly you weren't the only one that commented I was behind on the blog! :) ) I will do my best to update a little every night or every other to get caught up!

Today was a great day, we celebrated my Grandma Thompson's 89th birthday. She said, she guessed we'd keep having these parties until she kicks the bucket! Gotta love Grandma's humor! It was great to see everyone. I'll try to blog more about her tomorrow, because it is WAY past my bedtime and I would love to put down my thoughts with a clear head!

Basement Woes! :(

2009-12-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

The Hackleman's are trying to get in the Christmas spirit, but we are struggling this year because we can't get our basement repaired from the flood we had 8 weeks ago! It is dry but still in complete disaray! They SAY they will be here Monday to re-carpet and fix Todd's bathroom floor. So needless to say, I have a torn up basement, no way to get to my Christmas tree under the stairs, and no where to hide my presents! Going to try to re-organize this weekend and hopefull make some progress...because many of you may know, I do live with Mr. Christmas!!! So I better get my blog updated too!

When You're 2...There Is A Purpose?!?

2009-11-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight Reed was into everything as usual. Todd is working this evening so it has been just me and Reed. These nights are special because it is just Reed and Mommy so we play and we eat things for supper that Daddy wouldn't want...like breakfast. So we had chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs. Reed ate so good that he got to get a "suher" aka "sucker" before bathtime. I don't really mind him having them because he usually takes about 10 licks and then puts it down somewhere and leaves it and then I can through it away. Well, tonight I noticed where he laid it down and I went to run him some bathwater. While I was gone...I heard clattering in the kitchen. He was standing on a chair getting into the cabinet where I moved the Glad Press-n-seal (to avoid Reed from getting into it when it was in the drawer!)He had Press-n-seal strung out about 4 feet trying to tear it off. So I tore it off and was going to through it away when Reed runs and gets his sucker and grabs the end and starts wrapping it up. I let him have the rest and he wrapped all 4 feet very meticulously around the sucker and then said..."save ater, mom!" Obviously, I had done this for him a few times and we saved the sucker for later! What I now question is whether this was his intent all along or if this was an after thought to avoid getting in trouble?!? :)

Man of a Few More Words...

2009-11-16T19:15:00.001-08:00

Reed's vocabulary and personality are ever developing!! He has expanded his need to have certain items on his clothing to his diapers. He will only wear the ones with Mack from Cars on them (which is every other pull-up in the pack) I'm having to lobby to get any other car character on him without a major meltdown!

I have also decided to pursue the new look of the Sooners mascot...Boomer the Horse...Wagons aren't fun, but horses are! I will turn him into a Sooner yet, just you wait!

As for his vocabulary...I wanted to write down some of the phrases that he is constantly telling us about. He is now talking in more syllables and a few word phrases. He is obsessed with balloons still and is highly concerned about the red balloon popping in the book Goodnight Moon. And finally...I get to be "Mommy"! He has always called me "Mom" and I didn't think I'd ever get to be "Mommy" but after he came home from Nana's I've been Mommy ever since.

Here are some of his phrases:
"Boon popped!"
"Boon high up sky"
"Reed jump high!"
"Prune's bone" (Truman's bone...)
"No, no Jack..."
"Dat, byebye to house"
"Dat, nighnigh house"
"Dalt bite Reed"

Stay tuned for more phrases!!

Where were the boys?

2009-11-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well, with this fun girls weekend going on...the Hackleman boys had to find something to do...So Todd went to see the Tigers beat K-state and Reed went to Nana & Papa's to see the cows! He was very excited and so were they. He spent the whole weekend there and slept all night there without waking up for the first time! Yea Reed!! He talks non-stop about "Nan and Papa". Nana said he was Papa's boy all weekend and she was going to have to work on that! She is constantly amazed about how much he remembers about her house as he only gets to go there about once a month or so. Apparently though, he is a boy that likes for everything to have a place (except his toys at home!) He doesn't like Papa to were his farm boots in the house, he makes him leave them in the garage and hang his hat up on the hook every time. He also makes sure Nana has the rubberbands on the cabinet doors so that he can't get in them! If she leaves one undone...he tells her. She loves it!

Economic Stimulus

2009-11-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

The Thompson girls did there part this weekend to stimulate the economy. Audrey, Mom and I spent the weekend together in Wichita shopping. We got a lot done and had a lot of fun! We went on a staycation...here in Wichita. We stayed in Old Town and shopped til we all dropped...not just Audrey! It was great to spend some time togehter and missed the snow thank goodness...because that would have dampened the Christmas spirit we had going on! Although we all missed the men in our lives young and old, there is something good for the soul hangin' with the powerful women you love the most. Especially when they are your mom and sister!

Growing Vocabulary!

2009-11-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

Having a two year old is fascinating. Daily I am surprised by how much he learns and how much he is changing. He is starting to talk more and more and sometimes talkes in 3 and 4 word phrases. He loves animals! He saw a neighborhood cat in the yard last week and about chased it down the block before I could catch him...(Reed is getting faster and Mom is getting slower) He was not satisified about the whereabouts of the cat until I told him that the cat had gone to his house to eat his lunch. (It was lunch time and I was trying to get Reed to come in from playing to eat lunch at the time) Now everytime we go outside or we sit down to eat, Reed asks "dat? byebye, ouse? unch?" so, if he asks...Yes the Cat went ByeBye to his House to eat Lunch!

Trick or Treating!

2009-11-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

We had a great time trick or treating this year! We were invited to join our good friends the Rockley's in their neighborhood of College Hill. Some of you may have seen on TV the neighborhood in this part of Wichita goes all out! They block off the street and decorate their houses with themes! It was so fun. We loaded the little ones in the wagon and off we went. Reed just took it all in! About the the fourth house, he was standing on the steps in the middle of the fake fog and smoke and big spiders where going up and down the side of the yard, he looked up at me and said "WOW!" then just looked down and off we went! I don't think he said another word the whole night. He figured out pretty quickly that you just have to look cute and hold up your bucket and nice ladies will put candy in it...and if you are cute enough and keep holding it there before your mommy makes you move it they will give you more! Can't wait for Christmas! What fun it is to be two!

It Must Be Genetic!

2009-10-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

As hard as I have tried to turn my son in to a Sooner, the Tigers are winning out at this stage of his life! The other day he would not play ball without having his "Tige" hat on...Todd's hat...he couldn't even see the ball! His Daddy was so proud!

Pumpkin Paintin'

2009-10-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

We have not gotten our carving done yet, but we did color on them and stick them with "Mr. Pumpkin Head" pieces! That will entertain a little boy for a least 2-3 minutes! Here are some of our masterpieces!

Readin' Books

2009-10-20T22:24:00.001-07:00

Reed has FINALLY gotten interested in reading books, not only for me to read to him, but here is a video of him reading his FAVORITE...The Big Red Barn.

"Pump" Patch

2009-10-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today after a horribly stressful OU/TEXAS game, we went to the Pumpkin Patch to get our Pumpkins for Halloween! I guess this has become a short lived tradition as this is the same weekend we went last year. I remember OU lost to Texas last year before we went also. I thought it might cheer me up to go, so we tried it again this year! I hope the losing to Texas part does not become a tradition as well!

We had a great time and got 3 "pumps" as Reed calls them in his one syllable language. The only words that have more than one syllable are "Melmo" aka Elmo and 'Ga-ma' aka Grandma Thompson.

I think Reed's favorite thing at the pumpkin patch was the slide, which I took him down right after we got there and went so fast the first time I slid off the end and landed backside first in a big sandy puddle of water! What a great way to continue the day!

We then played in the hayfort, fed animals, played on the swings and smaller slide, took a barrel ride and then rode with the "tract" out to the "pumps" Reed tried to lift all the "pumps" and only managed to shot put a few before we got a handle on him. He had a great time and so did we...can't wait until Halloween comes!

"Mom Bite Reed"

2009-10-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Our latest adventure at the Hackleman House involved a Norwex party at our friend Robin's house on Monday evening. We went over early to play with Nolan and our favorite babysitter Hannah (I think this might be Reed's first crush! He loves Hannah!) Anyway, about 6:55PM - the party started at 7:00PM, Reed helps himself to Robin's refridgerator! So, I am trying to get him out of there and figure out what he is saying so I bend over to hear him and lift him. He is standing directly in front of me under my chin and he is asking for a Diet Coke...well, like any good mother I said "No, we don't need Diet Coke right now". Well...this caused an IMMEDIATE reaction of jumping and head thrusting backward...straight into my two front teeth! I felt my tooth go into the top of his head and as I turn away and try not to say bad words, I think that his head must really hurt! This reaction was somewhat delayed, as if he couldn't believe it was happening...but yes, he was hurt and bleeding rather profusely all over Robin's kitchen...oh, and screaming! After Randa and I got the blood stopped and Robin gave him a Diet Coke, life was shaky..but livable. We stayed for the rest of the party and finally made it home only for Reed to tell his Dad..."Mom bite Reed!"

The bite proved to be worth it, because he got to sleep with Mom and Dad that night secondary to a very sore head!

Birthday Party Survivors!

2009-09-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

We survived Reed turning 2!!! It was a really fun party. We had to have it in the garage because Todd aeriated the yard and it rained so it looked like we had "lots of dog poop" in our yard as my nephew so kindly put it!

The pinata was a hit! Reed loved the suckers as you can tell in the pictures. Reed loved his cake and he as asked for cake everyday since. He must be his father's son!

Reed really loved all his presents. The Little People Fun Park is great! It has a "vroom" (car) that goes down the roller coaster and Reed has put everything that rolls down the the track! He loves his monkey that Daddy got him and the medical set Grandma gave him. We have colored with the bathtub crayons everynight as well. Aunt Audrey, Reed can draw a mean "RRRRARRRAARR" (tiger)! Oh, and the view finder is fun, but still a little scary...he can figure out how it talks to him! Funny!

Or favorite might be "MelMO" Reed dances with it and claps...it is hilarious. He wanted to take all his presents to daycare this morning!

Birthday Balloons

2009-09-24T19:09:00.001-07:00

Todd and I are having Reed's birthday party for family and friends on Saturday so we saved big presents for the party. So today we did birthday cupcakes and treat bags to daycare and when we got home, Daddy brought BALLOONS!!!! Or, in Reedspeak..."booons!!!" He was so excited. He had to hold on with one hand and eat with the other. We had to take them in his room and tie them on the closet door so he could see them until he fell asleep! All you need when you are 2 is birthday "boons!"

Dot Dogs, Mom!

2009-09-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today was Reed's 2nd birthday! I can't believe that he is 2 years old already. Time flies when you are having fun and I am amazed everyday for his sure zest for life. He is a happy, ornery little boy! Not a baby any more, but a little boy. I was talking out loud tonight to him like I have always done his whole life, and I asked him what we should have for supper tonight, not really expecting an answer and he said "dot dogs, mom" However, I didn't quite understand so I said "what about the dogs?" He stomped and pointed at his tummy and said "dot dogs!" I don't think he meant that he was a HOT DOG, so I asked if that was what he wanted to eat. This produced BIG smiles and claps! So we had hot dogs and cake. It is only your birthday one time a year!

"Showerin"

2009-09-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Reed and I went to Lowe's the other day for Todd. We went by ourselves and Reed and Mommy had a talk about being good in there, for what ever reason he is a maniac in that store and I was unsure I'd be able to buy all the large items on Todd's list and contain the maniac!

However, Reed was exceptionally good, so he got to get a prize while we were there. He got his on watering can! He is very excited. However, he calls it a "shower" So now in addition to playing T-ball every night when we come home we also have to "shower" everything...but mostly plants and the spots that Todd has planted new grass in...just like Daddy! It is cute. I got some pictures on my phone, but I haven't been able to get them to upload yet. Hope to soon!

Sleepy time - night 3!

2009-09-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

So the saga continues, with better success so far. This Momma relented last night after MUCH climbing out of the crib and putting back in and sitting on the floor in Reed's room. So at 3:00AM I let him in bed with me so I would not injury anyone today!

Tonight we removed the springs completely off the crib and set the mattress on the floor inside the crib frame. The crib is containing him to this point. Only about 15 minutes of crying tonight and sleep...we will see how long it lasts. Since contained I opted for no sitting on the floor! I'm to old for that business! Lets hope we make it through the whole night. Bed time is getting better I do believe.

Sleep Trials...and Tribulations....

2009-09-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

I am sure many of you know all my stress with Reed and sleep his whole little life. This kid is a bad sleeper, and although I don't mind him sleeping with us that much, he was starting to just be an absolute BEAR to get to bed and to stay there no matter where he was. So after much discussion and some research Todd and I decided that we had to get him in his own bed and he had to stay. Reed doesn't know how to go to sleep by himself. He needs a lot of crutches, or has used a lot of crutches and now that he is older is really working the system, and this mommy is tired!

We are two nights into our new sleeping method, (which is really just common sense and a little tough love)and so far so good. Tonight was better than last night and I have high hopes that in two or three days we will be good to go.

Last night, he stayed in his crib if I was sitting in there. I tried not to touch him too much as me holding him is his biggest crutch. He was pretty steamed, but then he got so tired and pathetic that he stuck his little (well, not so little, we are talking about Reed)foot out of the slates in the crib for me to rub his foot. I just rubbed his big toe with my thumb and that was all he needed. Tonight there was minor foot rubbing but mostly sitting a little farther away and much less crying. But, boy does that kid try to stay awake! He might miss something you know!

Car Woes!

2009-09-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well for those of you who have been following ALL the car woes I have had through out my life, you know that when it comes to vehicles, if I don't have bad luck I don't have any. And admittedly some of my many woes could have been avoided, some are just pure STINKING BAD LUCK!

Last month I was driving down K-15 highway, going the speed limit and thinking I was on time to see my next patient(for once)! When out of the wild blue yonder and across two lanes of traffic I see a vehicle driving very fast into the oncoming traffic! In other words right at the cars in the lane next to me! I think, oh dear this person must have had a heart attack or stroke to lose control like that. Just then his car strikes a one way street sign and the post and all come catapulting across one lane of traffic and it is headed at me like a javelin! I managed to veer right onto a cross-street but to be limited by an oncoming train so I could go no farther to the right, only to be hit by the sign on my front bumper. I did however, manage to avoid rear-ending the car in front of me that slammed on the brakes and getting rear-ended by the car behind me. Did I mention we were all going about 50 mph? Who says that I can't defensively drive and that you don't use physics in real life! I was all about judging speed, angles, trajectory, and space to limit the collision as much as possible. Thankfully no one was hurt, not even the driver of the other car. I still don't know what he was doing, but my car will soon be getting repaired for the $2000.00 worth of damage the one-way street sign inflicted.

TODAY!!! Oh, boy...I got my LOCKED car broken in to at a patient's home at 11AM today. Now, stupid that I left my purse, cell phone and GPS in the car, but I am not a pack mule and I don't take everything I own into every home. I hid my purse and GPS. Phone was in the purse along with my wallet, my valuable plastic cards, and Todd's and my passports were still in there from vacation. My car had no visible damage and apparently there is technology that allows people to copy your remote entry signal to gain access to your car! That is what the WPD think happened. So, I am recovering from nausea and heart failure and a day on the phone protecting my identity and bank accounts.

Just like Grandma's

2009-09-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Reed is very busy these days and one of his tasks is to put everything (but toys) back where they go or where he thinks things should go. He is a kid that thinks everything has a place...I hope this doesn't change about him, but I realize that it may just be his age and a phase, however Todd is a lot like this and I am not, so we can hope, right.

Well, this week I bought some oranges at the grocery store and Reed keeps trying to get them out of the refrigerator and telling me something I can't understand. I thought he thought they were balls and wanted to play with them...so we have had several episodes over the oranges, well today, he managed to get them out without me catching him and moved his chair over to the table to stand on so that he could put them in the basket on the table that currently holds the mail. When I took them out, to put them back he got out the apples to do the same...then it dawned on me. Grandma Thompson has a fruit bowl on her table and we were there on Tuesday, and duh mom. That's where the fruit goes! When I asked him, he just gave me the Reed/Todd head nod, like "of course! you crazy lady!"

What can I say...I gotta smart kiddo!

End of Summer!

2009-09-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Another Reed antic this weekend was when Todd took the pool down. It was sad, as we finally digested this as the end of the summer, which we love...but with fall brings football season and many ensuing arguements in the Hackleman house.

But...to Reed and the pool. We have an above ground pool for those that don't know and we took it down this week and are waiting for it to quite raining to dry out so we can store it. While waiting for this, Todd had the pool ladders sitting out by the shed and we were out playing in the yard with the dogs. Everyone is running around laughing and Truman and Reed are playing chase...all dog and child noises are normal. I turn my back to say something to Todd and hear a squeal and a bark only to find Reed standing at the top of the pool ladder peaking over the fence and jumping up and down because he can see the dog that he can normally only hear barking! He is ALL the WAY on the other side of the yard from me and I am terrified that he will go over the fence before I can get to him...it was a very long walk, but I made it and under much protest, got him down unharmed...time to go color the new gray hairs that surfaced this weekend!

Lazy weekend!

2009-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

The Hackleman's took time this weekend to do NOTHING! Boy did we need it! Reed needed some Mommy time and Mommy needed some Reed time, so we got rid of our OU tickets and stayed home. We played outside on Saturday, went to the park, got REALLY dirty, came inside and Reed got into EVERYTHING and loved it...did I mention he might not live to see 2 years old? Either his mother will most willingly take him out of this world from pure frustration or he will do it himself from pure curiosity!

He is so inquisitive, or nosy...which ever you like that he wants to see what is going on everywhere all the time. So, I was making French toast on Saturday morning and he wanted to see, so I let him help me dunk the bread...that was really NEAT, he clapped with every piece. To do this, I let him stand on a chair...which now he thinks he can do anytime anywhere. He just moves the kitchen chair to what ever he wants!!!

Not So Relaxing Weekend...

2009-09-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Labor day weekend, has meant a weekend of work for the Hackleman house. I was on call for the first time this weekend at my new job, which I thought would be about 1 maybe two patients on Saturday that I could do in the morning and be finished, but it turns out my weekend has consisted of 2 admissions and 2 evaluations and 1 follow-up visit for tomorrow. I enjoy my patients and what I do, but after a continuing education weekend last weekend and then working all day yesterday, part of today and part of tomorrow I am already ready for next weekend and spending a some days with my boys! This week is going to be a BUSY one and then I am going to get tough about saying NO and taking on too many patients...No more than 6-7 in a day! I'm sticking too it, I am. I am.

We did have a good time at our friend Nolan's birthday party. Reed jumped in the bouncy thing, rode in the Arctic Cat jeep, fed the fish, ran all over their giant yard, whacked a pinata a few times with a bat! What more could a boy ask for? Oh, we ate ice cream and cake too!!

Reed and his new words!

2009-09-03T21:10:00.001-07:00

As you can imagine, Reed's world is new and exciting everyday. He is almost two and quite the independent little man! He would like to wear a "ball" shirt EVERYDAY just like Daddy. He points to Daddy's shirt that has a ball on it somewhere (usually) and says "dad, ball" then points to his shirt and says "me, ball" and looks at me like I should have been smart enough to figure that out on my own!

Tonight we were obsessed with "poo chorts" aka pool shorts or swimming trunks. He wanted to where them to daycare this AM and then tonight he wanted to get in the pool even though it was only 70 degrees outside. Couldn't get him in when it was 98, but now that it is cool we are all about he "poo chorts"!

Great Vacation

2009-09-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Todd and I had a great trip to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico! We celebrated our 5th anniversary a week late by going on an all-inclusive trip. We had a great time doing NOTHING!!! We were so boring...we laid at the pool or the beach all day everyday for 5 days. We slept through the night without an almost two year old waking up or wedging his head, feet, or both into one or both of us! Big thanks to Nana and Papa Hackleman for keeping Reed for the week. I don't know who had more fun, us, Nana and Papa or Reed. We were all glad to be home to see each other, but Todd and I are missing the beach and the tropics just a little bit...Check out our slide show for our scenery pictures.

little behind on the blogging!

2009-08-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

Geez! I guess we have been busy this month! I am a lot behind on the blogging. I'll try to do a run down of the last month in the days to come with pictures and all, but first I have to go to Mexico on my anniversary trip! Maybe I'll do some blogging in our down time while I'm sitting by the pool, drinking a fruity drink and catching some rays!!!

Weekend at Nana's!

2009-07-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Monday night and we are all exhausted after a fun filled weekend at Nana and Papa Hackleman's. We got home last night about 7:30 and to our pleasant surprise it was 20 degrees warmer in Kansas than it was in Missouri when we left 3 1/2 hours earlier! We were really lucky while we were there, because while it was humid, it was only 79 degrees most of the weekend. We got to play outside a lot and Daddy got to go do some fishing with Papa and the Hackleman Twins! Reed and Mommy got some much needed Nana time as Reed got acquainted with Nana's house again. Reed will be staying there during my week of camp so it was good to go and spend some fun time. Mommy was extremely thankful that all of Nana's prettys survived Reed and his throwing talents. Reed impressed everyone with his T-ball abilities. Papa thinks we may have a left-handed Albert Puhols on our hands! We can only hope! ;) He did not impress anyone with his sleeping abilities. He is the worst traveler ever!! That kid does not sleep in a foreign place...at all! Todd and I were exhausted by Sunday! Poor Daddy drove us home while Reed slept the entire way and Mommy slept 2 hours! We were all glad to be home in our own beds last night, just sorry we had to leave them this morning!

Updated Pictures!

2009-07-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

Our Boy is Getting Married!!!

2009-07-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

No, no, don't worry we did not set Reed up in any kind of arranged marriage! I am talking about our "first" boy, Rickey! Some of you know him as Slick, some of you know him as Rickey Bobby!, but he was our first Derby Twin baseball player. He lived with us for 2 summers and is as much a part of this Hackleman family as any of us. We love him dearly and want to congratulate him and his new bride-to-be, Lacey! We are so excited for them and have the date on the calendar. We will be heading to Mississippi next June! Yea Rickey!!!

A Little Behind...

2009-07-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

Jeez! I can't believe it has been 2 weeks since I wrote on here. I guess we have been busy!

Baseball is still going strong. Dan, our boy, is starting to see some more playing time and secondary to an injury of the other catcher he may get more than he planned. This is good as he was a red-shirt last year at UCSB and hasn't seen live pitching in a year so the repetition and at-bats are welcome. We have been to most of the Twins games, but if you have every been with an almost 2 year-old then you know that you don't "see" much of the game! I am exhausted when I come home from these and question my sanity for making the decision to go each and every time! I hear my mother coming out in me saying "Reed, you need to sit!". You know, I have heard this my whole life...you sit at ballgames, you don't run around. Well, we run around because I can't sit with REED! I feel like I played the game! On the bright side Reed has made some new friends. I am not the only crazy mother with a two year-old there. The coach's wife has one too, and she is 8 months pregnant! She wins the CRAZY award! The boys play really well together and have fun "playing baseball" on the side.

Work is getting busy for me and I am learning the art of saying NO. I know what you are all thinking. I should be good at this because I live with Reed and that is about all you say in a 24 hour period with him, but I am not so good at work...I am at home! :)

I have built my schedule up and actually am a little busier than I want to be, but that will cycle as I discharge and learn how to manage what I have and learn how to work with a new PTA...boy do I miss my dear friend and colleague Amy!

Todd is staying busy as well. He had a HUGE tournament for fastpitch girls softball the weekend before the fourth of July. 43 teams. That is his biggest ever. It went great, other than some extreme heat. We didn't see him for about 72 hours! Reed and I really miss him when he works weekends like that. We got some good family time in over the 4th though.

Baseball in Full Swing!

2009-06-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

We have been playing a lot of baseball at our house and have lost many balls via storm drains in the street, dogs eating them, or Reed eating them! But, we hope to continue to get to play more this weekend.

We enjoyed a T-ball game of my nephews last week. Reed loved it, but soon found all the discarded seeds, crackers, and cigarettes more interesting than the game! Yucky!!! Thank goodness Grandma was there to help out. We had a great time and Connor and Caydan did so good. They both had some really good hits!

Today we picked up our Derby Twins player at the airport. His name is Dan Camou and he is a catcher from UC-Santa Barbara. He was greeted by a downpour of rain and was disappointed we weren't having any tornadic weather! He is a really nice kid and we look forward to getting to know him. He is most likely a keeper...he plays ball with Reed and the dogs! Should fit in nicely.

By the way...did you see my boy hitting that ball! This week he is batting mostly left and throwing right...sometimes he hits right, but he is much better and fluid from the left side. Look at that extension!

Not much new in the Hackleman World!

2009-06-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

There is not much new in our world. We just keep on keeping on. We had a great weekend this last weekend. We spent Friday evening with our great friends at a fish fry. There was lots of food, fun, laughter, and kids! We had such a good time, we were out until the late hour of 10PM!! Todd and I laughed on the way home about how our lives have evolved...and we wouldn't want it any other way! We are so blessed.

We spent Saturday trying to get our pool ready for the summer!!! YIPPEE!! So as Todd and his friend Darren were laying it out we decided to have an impromptu BBQ. Lexy, the chicken was AWESOME!!! You should have stayed! Thanks to Lexy and our catch up talk..I also got the kitchen cleaned up! The BBQ was great fun as well, Kori (our babysitter and Darren's wife) came over with their kids. The kids played int he water while the pool was filling up, I didn't get pictures as I was fixing food, but it was picturesque watching Reed wave the hose around like a maniac! He was squirting everyone including himself, but couldn't quite figure out how the whole thing worked! It was a hoot!

Sunday we rested after church...which was a workout with Reed. Reed and I took a 2 hour nap on the couch and it was the sweetest thing ever! I love to snuggle and so does my baby, so I'll snuggle as much as he will let me. It was a great memory! We then "helped" Dad dig up some pampas grass, and played some T-ball. You should see Reed hit the ball! Fun stuff!

Monday Kori was sick, so Grandma came to the rescue since she was in town. Reed spent the day with Grandma Thompson, Aunt Audrey and the Pore boys! I got off work at 3:00 so I went over and played some baseball and some croquet before Reed and I headed home. Have I told anyone that I love my new job!

Derby Days and More

2009-05-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Derby Days, the town's summer celebration. Today, Reed and I along with my friend Susan and her daughters went to the Carnival and the Kidfest! It was so much fun!!! Reed wrangled some ducks in the petting zoo. He was speedy! He caught the poor slow fellow at the back of the pack. We petted a "moo" or a donkey, a "moo" or a horse, and a "baby moo" or a calf! At least he was right about one of the three! All the birds were "ducks" and I guess he was at least in the right category! He kicked and screamed when our turn in the pen was over! We then went to the kids' tent and played in the "rice" box (like a sand box but with rice) Reed and Addie would have stayed there all day if we'd have let them. Our next stop was the carnival rides. Reed loved the carousel and didn't want to get off! We finished off the day with dinner with Grandma Thompson and Caydan and Connor at Talliano's. We came home and played in the sprinkler bug thing I bought Reed at Target! It has crazzzy arm things that wave around when water goes through them. Reed was a little afraid of it, but Connor and Caydan got him to go through it with them and then Reed wanted "ma go"...so Ma ran through the sprinkler and so did Grandma, but Ma had on her swimming suit, but Grandma did not!

Good Timing...Less Stress

2009-05-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been at my new job for a full 7 days over a 2 week period, but so far it is great. There is some anxiety with learning a new culture, but it will be fine as soon as I learn the paperwork and all the rules. I did get to see 3 patients independently on Friday and everyone survived, me and them! It was a little rough, but I made it. The schedule is fabulous and it is a whole new kind of challenge. Not boring, like I thought it might be. The amount of stress that has been reduced from my life is amazing. I feel 20 pounds lighter! Makes life at my house much more pleasant.

Memorial Day Weekend - Thurs/Friday

2009-05-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

When I started this long weekend (I took Thurs-Mon. off) I fully intended to blog daily about our great family weekend. Obviously, we were having so much fun that I didn't get it done! What can I say other than we just have had the best 4 days.

THURSDAY: I was off to clean house, take Jack to the vet, run Reed-proof errands and do some computer orientation that had to be done for work so Reed went to daycare. So, that evening we started our family time by eating at Applebee's and then going to PetCo to get Jack and Truman new collars and Truman a harness so that we can start our family walks again.

FRIDAY: We loaded up in the AM and went to the zoo. Poor Reed feel asleep on the way there so he got a quick 15 minute power nap in before we got going. After everyone got all awake and loaded off we went on our trek. We went to the farm part first. I don't know why this is so fun, when we see this stuff everyday, but the petting zoo is pretty neat for the little ones I guess. At the farm we say Jzheep, Moos, and Ducks (any large feathered creature) If Reed can't say the name of the animal then you get a point and a "see, see, see" until you acknowledge that you have seen it. The penguins weren't playing much so they were hard to see, so we went for the reptile house. Reed loved the swimming turtles and being able to walk along the step to see in all the windows. He pointed and said "see" in everyone but I can honestly say I don't think there was anything in a few of them. We skipped the jungle/rainforest and North America other than the bears and headed for Africa and the new Tiger Trek. Reed loved all of these animals even thought the hippos, lions, and rhinos were "taking naps". I think he liked the tigers the best. He was pretty infatuated with the "monks" too but he was so tired by then that he could hardly stand up. We took the wagon and the backpack/leash so that he could walk some in a semi-controlled state. I do not have the child that will calmly hold your hand and walk where you would like him to. I swore I would never get one of those leash things, but then I had Motor-Man Reed. He RUNS everywhere! He is lightening quick too...minus the leash he would have been in the middle of the Asian Forest! I think he walked about 8 miles and loved every minute of it. Todd and I thought surely that he would crash on the way home, but oh no...another 10 minute power nap and he was back at it. Finished off the day with a trip to Lowe's to get flowers/plants and then came home to work in the yard while Reed played in the sprinkler. He wasn't so excited about the sprinkler, but thought it was great to have Daddy squirt him with the hose and to have Daddy pour water from the watering can on him like a shower! We tried one more time to take a nap,but no luck! I think Reed was so glad to have both Mommy and Daddy home and playing that he was afraid to miss something. He finally crashed for the night at around 9PM...boy was Mommy tired...happy but tired.

Here are some pictures from our day!

Cruisin'

2009-05-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Reed learning to drive at Grandma Thompson's. I don't think we quite have it down yet!

First Trip to the ER!

2009-05-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

I knew we would eventually make it to the ER, but I figured it would be because Reed jumped off of something or sliced something or someone open, not because of allergies! Apparently Reed is extremely allergic to either peanut butter or grape jelly. He had a PB&J for supper, which he has had before without any excitement, and about 2 minutes after he licked all the PB & J off the bread he started crying and scratching his neck. He was frantic!! I thought something was biting him, so I ripped off his shirt to see hives EVERYWHERE!!! I grabbed him and the phone and called our family PA at home (also a close friend) he advised me to go to the ER, so off we went. Todd wasn't home from work yet, but he came up after us. Reed screamed the whole way and scratched!!! They were great about getting us in and back, however a few of the nurses were kind of rude, but mostly they were all really nice considering I had a RED, SPLOTCHY, SCREAMING, toddler.

Luckily he never had any breathing issues, they quickly (as quickly as you can with a toddler) got an IV line and then got him some medication. We had to stay for 2 more hours for observation, which Reed slept through most of it. He woke up for the last 20 minutes we were there and tried his darnedest to make a get away. He tried walking out himself, he tried getting Mommy to carry him, Daddy to carry him, but no luck! When the nurse shut the door ...he went ballistic. Todd thinks he is a smart kid to not like the hospital. We are finally home this evening and Reed is resting. He has no more rash or hives but we are to watch him for the next several hours and into tomorrow. It was serious enough that we brought home a script for an epi-pen for kids and a strong recommendation to see an allergist! Fun, fun, fun. I now get to start the fight for a referral...wonderful HMO's! It will be a fight well worth it to keep Reed safe and out of the ER! It was a scary thing! I am grateful that all is well and that we are resting easier tonight. I pray that we will have a blessed night and all get some rest!

Fun Clothes to Work!

2009-05-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

I went and signed all the paperwork for my new job today over the lunch hour. All very boring stuff, except the dress code...Capris are okay to wear, walking shorts are okay to wear, jeans on Fridays, sandals in the office just not in the home! My of my what will I do! I am way excited to say the least. I hope I can enjoy some summer that is not all work this year!

My Baby's Gettin' Big!

2009-05-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Many of you have heard all about my sleep dramas or (lack of sleep) dramas with Reed. He hasn't been a good sleeper from Day 1. He was restless and colicky. He wanted to eat all night when nursing. Then we let him sleep with us out of survival for everyone to sleep, until I wasn't sleeping because the motion man was kicking me in the gut all night! I decided that 40 weeks of that from the inside was plenty, he didn't need to do it from the outside! So we got tough and cried it out, well, kinda tough...and it took several times. FINALLY, he has been consistently sleeping through the night in his own bed! I have still been rocking him to sleep after a story and a Baby Einstein video (only thing the kid will sit still for) but the last two nights he hasn't wanted to go to sleep with Mommy rocking, so I've put him in his bed and he would go to sleep like a big boy (only a little whining and whimpering) BUT, tonight...after our story, mid-video, he sat up with his blanket tucked up by his face in one hand, rubbed his eyes and said "Mo, (pointing to his room)" I asked if he wanted to go "night-night in his bed like a big boy?" He gave the ever so Todd like single head bob indicating an affirmative. So I picked him up, he laid his head on my shoulder, and I carried him to his room. Before, I laid him down he grabbed my neck and gave me a kiss! I about couldn't tell him good night for the tears in my throat! He curled up with his blanket and whimpered himself to sleep in about 30 seconds! What a big boy! Bittersweet to let the baby go, but Todd told me not to worry that he will probably be back tomorrow!

3 more days!

2009-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

I have 3 more days at my current job. In many ways, I am sad to be leaving, but in many more ways I am excited to start the next phase of my life. I am looking forward to less responsibility and more time with my family. That smile of Reed's is all I need to see everyday to know that this is the best decision I could have made.

Blowin' Bubbles!

2009-05-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight Reed and I had one of those special, make a memory moments! Reed loves to play outside, especially after we get home for the day! Today, he ran and got the bubble bucket and said 'mo (phew)' Phew is the blowing sound like when he blows on hot food. "mo" is as close as we get to "mommy" sometimes. It also means...Elmo, monkey, mow (like the grass), and mommy! So we sat down on the front steps and Mo phew bubbles! With each one, Reed would gasp like it was the best thing he had every seen, point and say "see, ball" or see, ba bable". He chased them, and tried to catch them! He was a little disgusted when they kept popping, but a new one would take its place and all was right in his world again. He has such wonder for the world! He was so stinkin' cute with those bubbles, I hated for it to end. I wanted to just bottle up that moment and keep it forever. This feeling is what I hope to have more of starting in about 3 days!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to not only my wonderful and amazing mom, but also to all the other ladies who have "mothered" me along the way. I know that you know who you are. I feel so blessed because not only have I had the influence of my mom but I have had the influence of several of her wonderful friends as well.

This post is about my mom, though. She is an amazing lady! We are a like in about as many ways as we are different. The thing I love most about my mom is that she is and always has been my mother but she has found the balance of also being my friend. I have always been able to tell her anything and everything. She often reacted like a mom to some of the things I told her, in a way I knew she didn't approve, but in a way that I still felt loved and felt I could tell her anything again. My mom always knows what to say, she always knows what I need to hear, even if it isn't what I want to hear...again she has a way to tell you so you know but aren't hurt. I admire my mother's strength and her quiet resilience. She's a sleeper, my mom. She is one tough cookie in a first grade teacher body! She seems quiet and reserved. She seems to not be one that would voice her say, but she will if it is necessary. It is a challenge to make her angry, but it can be done and it is something that you try not to do again. I hope I can be half the mother that my mother is. I fear that I don't have her patience, but it is something I work on everyday. I think that is the Thompson in me...I've learned a lot about my mom since becoming a mom myself and I received this poem in an email this week that I thought was fitting. I hope you enjoy it.

I love you Mom!! You Rock!!!

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her/him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!

2009-05-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Boy are we ready for some fun in the sun around our house. This yucky rainy weather is making it really difficult to play outside without getting muddy or wet! I know that it is really fun for little boys, but it is not really fun for Mommy! Cabin fever isn't either! Reed so loves the outdoors. His most favorite places in the world are outside, in the bathtub, and sleeping in between Mommy and Daddy in our bed.

He is doing better sleeping in his bed, and the rule is no coming to snuggle before 6 AM! I am a sucker for some snuggles so we let him do it just before we are getting up. If I won't let him go outside, then he loves to watch out the window. We let him stand on a kitchen chair to see out the front window with one of us sitting near him. Last night after watching Daddy work outside and the view was over, Reed turned around on the chair, looked at me with a dare devil grin, looked at the ground then back at me. He proceeded to bend his knees and put his arms up in the air and say "I ump!" This means "watch out mom, I'm going to jump!" What do we have in store for us?

Spring Pictures!

2009-04-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Date Night!

2009-04-25T20:40:00.001-07:00

My how life has changed for us in the last year and a half. I was supposed to take a continuing education course this weekend, which I bailed on since I am changing jobs. So, since Todd had a tournament this weekend we lined up Todd's parents to keep Reed for the weekend. Nana and Papa Hackleman don't get to see Reed enough as it is, let alone all by himself, so you can bet they weren't giving him up when I decided to bail on the course. This worked out well for me as I have about 5 file boxes of discharges to do. Needless to say, Todd and I worked all day and Reed played with Nana and Papa in Missouri! Boy, is it quiet at our house! Jack is a nervous wreck! She can't find her boy! I wasn't busy enough not to just miss the heck out of him, either. I know that he is having a GREAT time and getting spoiled rotten, though. That fact made it a little easier to enjoy a night out with my husband, thanks to the rain! It has been so long since we have taken a date night. We swear we are going to do it more everytime we have one too, but we never do it. That is one of the goals with this new job is to have more time together as a family so that we don't feel guilty getting a babysitter to have a date! The stress just seems to be lifting daily the closer this new job gets. I feel 1000 pounds lighter, even though I'm probably about 10 pounds heavier in reality! LOL! I think I'll sign off for the evening and enjoy the rest of the night with my wonderful husband!!!

Changes Are In The Wind!

2009-04-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last week was very tumultous for me and my family. After many weeks, maybe even months of discussion and deliberation with not only Todd, my nearest and dearest friends but also the good Lord above I came to a very tough decision. On Wednesday I had a discussion with my friend and employer, Lynn regarding my departure from NovaCare. My last day there will be May 14th. That's right I did it! I gave my 30 day notice.

Many of you know that I have been there for nearly 9 years, it has been my first and only physical therapy job. My heart and soul has been with my job and clinic in Derby, but after this last year with the loss of my dad and never really finding a good balance between being a wife, mother, PT, and clinic manager Todd and I decided something had to give. I begin praying about it daily and talking it to death to anyone who would listen. It has been during this process that I really have missed my dad. He was great with this kind of advice. I tried very hard to remember every conversation that I had ever had with him about something of this magnitude. I just kept hearing him say to trust my gut, and to trust God to lead me in the right direction. The night before my final meeting with Total Home Care, I prayed for a passage to give me some insight into what path may life was to take. I was lead to the last chapter of Proverbs and the Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character. In my bible there was a devotion about a woman feeling conflicted about loving her career and conflicted when life brought changes to her work and her family. It was very uplifting and put things into perspective for me. It is in God's hands to help me find the balance that I seek. It made realize that I need to be thankful for the talents that he has given me to wear all the hats that I do. It also calmed my guilt that my focus can shift from career to family and that I am not a lesser woman for it. I have always wanted to have it ALL! Career, husband, children, church, activities, etc. I realized that I do, and I always have. I still will, it just won't be how I pictured or planned it. My dad told me once that it isn't mine to plan...and as usual he was right.

I am very excited to start my new endeavor as a Home Health PT. It will allow me to practice PT, be with my family and still provide for them emotionally and financially. I am so excited for our life to slow down and for us to have an improved focus!

Thanks to all who have listened and prayed for me and for our family. I appreciate it greatly as we embark on these new and changing times.

Dinner with KAY Friends

2009-04-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night last week we (Reed and I) had dinner with some of my KAY friends. In attendance were Luke, Grace, Randa and Nolan, and Reed and myself. It was great to catch up with Luke after his basic training and hear about his new job. It was also wonderful to hear about Grace and her nearing end of her school journey. Oh, the young folks of KAY! It seems like only yesterday that Randa, Tim, Libby, and I were having dinner and getting together and sharing these times in our lives! It was fun to watch Nolan and Reed play in Cici's. Reed has such a little personality developing. He was imitating everything that Nolan was doing, it was so cute. Nolan as showing us how he could run, jump and then slide! Reed would toddle, reach, and plop! Then they would both clap and grin like they were the biggest, best thing ever...and don't you all know they are!

I am so grateful the wonderful friends and the wonderful memories I have of my youth, but I wouldn't trade this moment in my life for the world! Everyday I try to pick a moment to make a memory. So you can guess, my camera is out a lot, but there are a lot of moments that are feelings and thoughts that a camera could not capture, only the heart. I am sure that some of this sentimentality comes from losing my dad this year, but I truly believe as I know he did that things in life (and death) happen for a reason and I think maybe this is part of my lesson. Slow down, life is short, enjoy the moments that we have...I hope this sentimentality is not fleeting and I can focus on these thoughts for a long, long, time!

Easter Weekend Pictures!

2009-04-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know that I am a little late in the posting of this but it has been a week! You can hear about that in a later post. But I wanted to get some pictures up of Reed and Easter weekend. Somehow I missed a picture of him in his Easter clothes, but we got lots of the egg hunting and egg coloring if that is what you want to call it! Enjoy the pictures and video!!!

March Madness...A Little Late!

2009-04-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from several weeks ago when we were at my mom's and we stopped at the Burlington park to play! Reed found a "babbaball" and had a blast. He then deligently watched Mommy and Daddy's favorite teams in the NCAA tournament...I think he just used us for the popcorn! We had fun anyway! Enjoy the pictures!!

March Snow Storm

2009-04-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

We were snowed in last weekend, but I didn't get any of our snow playing pictures put up. So here they are and some video too...Enjoy!

Fun Filled Weekend!

2009-04-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a lot of fun, but very exhausting! It is 8:20 PM on Sunday night and I am contemplating going to bed. I have much admiration for mothers with 4 or more children, for mothers with multiples, and for mothers with children less than 1 year apart! We had the pleasure of having the Pore boys at our house this weekend. It was tons of fun for everyone, but boy are we tired. If you don't know the Pores...they are my sister's 3 boys. They are ages 4, 4, and 9 months. Then, you add Reed at 18 months to the mix and you are BUSY!!!! My mom came up to help since Todd was working all weekend and with those 4 motors it was great to have another adult around! We were thankful that it was 75 degrees out yesterday so we could play outside. It was windy, but we didn't care. We went to the playground at the school by my house that Connor now calls "Reed's school" (everyone in our family has a school, you know, because my parents and his mom teach. They are in pre-K so they have a school too.) We eventually had to come home to eat lunch but it is a big playground and I think Reed ran about 6 miles from one end to the other. After lunch we played football and chase in our backyard until everyone was just too tired! We had to come in and rest for a while. Then it was time for supper. The little boys were pretty worn out because they stayed up late the night with all the excitement of being together a playing. So I stayed home with the little guys and grandma took the big boys to the "other park". We have a city park about 4 blocks the other direction from the school playground that we played at in the morning. Caydan and Connor had taken turns pulling the wagon earlier in the day and they wanted to take the wagon to the "other park". So off they went and from the reports it was really fun!!! They found a bridge and a little river! They even found a different way to come home! It was very exciting! Among other things we ate banana splits and chocolate chip pancakes, and then Cresten took his first steps to his Daddy when they came to pick them up! Reed played so hard with all those boys that he crashed for a 2 hour nap, literally 2 minutes after they left. He was down for the count by 7:40pm tonight! We look forward to all getting together again, but maybe next time I'll take a half day off work to recover! :) LOL...Just kidding! I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Prayers for our dear friends and family

2009-04-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

We have two prayer requests that we would like to lift up. One is our nephew Lance. He was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes last May and has been having challenges managing it. He most recently underwent an MRI to look for other things that could be causing some unexplained symptoms such as nausea, vomitting, dizziness and blacking out that they don't think are related to his diabetes. He is in the ER tonight for the 5th time in 6 weeks. He has also lost 27 pounds in the last 6 weeks. He is not a big guy, so he doesn't have 27 pounds to lose. Please pray for him and his family for strength to endure this process.

Our other prayer request is for your dear friend Lexy. She recently underwent surgery to remove a borderline tumor in ovary and fallopian tube. She had to have a major surgery to remove the mass, the ovary, tube, and some other tissue. She is at Kansas City at the KUMed center. She is up and moving around but is in a lot of pain per report from her sister. Lexy was our nanny for three months and really became a part of our family. There are more tests to run on her tissue to rule out further treatment so we pray that her surgery was curative and that she will not have to endure more.

We love you Lance and Lexy. We hope that you will get better soon! We can't wait to see you both again!

Snow, PT Students, and Basketball

2009-03-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

What a week! I have been battling the computer to get my poor PT students midterm and final evaluation done despite computer errors. Speaking of computer errors...my office was without computers on Monday which meant no schedule or notes for patients. It was surprise treatment day! I am currently watching Mizzou try ot hold on to a win in the Sweet Sixteen. Sure hope OU can pull one out tomorrow as well.

We have also been trying to break Reed of getting up in the night and sleeping with Mommy and Daddy! I know the cardinal rule of parenting, don't let the kid sleep with you...but I am a rule breaker and when he was sick we could both sleep if he slept with me...we all know that Christy needs her sleep! Unfortunately, Reed takes after his Mommy in this area! So in the crying out phase (with a not so tough Mommy and a snoring Daddy) we are tired on this Thursday night!

I picked this week to attempt this for 2 reasons...one: my ribs are sore and two: I was planning on going to KC with my girlfriends Saturday and Sunday so I thought I'd get to sleep in...now we are talking snow that we may have to dig out of! :( I'm kind of bummed...but hey, Reed can finally where his snow boots if it does snow and the wind doesn't blow him over!

Cleaning Day!

2009-03-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the month! The cleaning lady comes!!! Yeah!!! I love to come home to a clean house after work. There is nothing better! We are also getting family photos taken at church. Our first one ever done professionally. It has taken me 18 months to talk Todd into and I don't think he would have done it, if it wasn't free for the church directory! Oh well, I'll take what I can get. Reed will probably have some major injury at daycare tomorrow and have a big gash or something on his head! I guess it would be an acurate record of our life!!