New Chore for Miss Thang

I decided I'm tired of Quinlynne not doing anything. So, last week I kind of showed her how to make her bed. She started whining that she couldn't do it, but I had to tell her that she most definitely COULD, and she WOULD. I had to tell her how she could stand on her bed to pull up the sheets on the side near the wall. She did think that was pretty cool. So, here's a pic of the fruits of her labor. Please disregard the mess on the floor.

С днем рождения, Isaiah

Do you know what that means? Happy Birthday, Isaiah!

Quinlynne's betrothed, Isaiah, turned 4. His birthday party was yesterday. It was at the water pad, but we were told that the water most definitely NOT be on. That was okay, we'd just let the kids play on the regular park toys. I got a phone call from Isaiah's mom, Angie, telling me that Quinlynne should wear her swimsuit because the water WAS on.

Quinlynne was very excited to wear one of her new swimsuits. She did look adorable.

The kids had a blast playing in the water. It was quite humid and hot. Until it was time for cake & presents. Then a wind picked up and it just started storming something terrible. What a backdrop for the present opening pictures.

I had decided I would make Isaiah's birthday cake. It was supposed to be a train. I don't know if you can tell. It didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. You know (I've complained of this before), I have these grandiose ideas of how it would turn out, and it just didn't. I think it would have been better had it not been so humid, things would have frosted better, etc. The part that's important is that the kids totally devoured it. I think Angie's brother was able to wrap up ONE piece and take it home.

Stillwater's Jumpin' Lil Juke Joint

No trip to Oklahoma would be complete if a trip to Stillwater for Cheese fries from Eskimo Joe's did not occur. My friend Brenda has been seeking refuge/doing time back here in Broken Arrow since November. Unfortunately for us, she will be leaving for her home in Arizona this coming Monday. So, before she leaves we decided that we needed to take our kids (minus Baby Seth) for some cheese fries in Stillwater. Of course the camera had to come along with us for photo ops.

After we ate our burgers & fries, we went for a little drive & took the kids to Theta Pond on OSU's campus. There are ducks & geese, plenty of shade, and pretty spots for photos. There are some strange root looking things sticking up out of the pond.

We didn't have any bread for the kids to feed the birds, so they were trying to feed them rocks. I don't know how many times we had to tell them that birds don't eat rocks!

Brenda & I both took pictures of ourselves with our children. She and the boys are so photogenic...kinda makes me ill. I do not take pictures as well. Maybe it's the 4 chins I have?

Then, Hunter & Quinlynne decided they needed to take pictures together. Those two are such nuts! I can't speak for Hunter, but I know that Quinlynne will definitely miss her partner, Hunter, when he goes back to Arizona. I guess that just means we'll have to load up at some point and pay a visit. (Is that a threat??)

Are we running a wildlife refuge?

A few weeks ago I noticed a strange, loud noise from the back porch. I was not sure what exactly it was, but I wasn't going to go in search of the source. A few days later mom asked what I thought it was. She said a cricket, but I knew it wasn't a cricket. Then I thought it was perhaps a circadia. Nope, wasn't that either. You know what it was???? It was this little fellow right here.

First the opossums, then this frog? What's nextfor the Hoffman house? A Kangaroo? Please disregard the dirty windows.

Cowboy Up!

Her shirt says "Rodeo Princess"!

I have always wanted to the Rooster Days Rodeo. I had never been. It always just slipped my mind, until I could hear it going on each year across the highway from my house. This year- I said aloud to mom "We're going to go to the rodeo this year." So, last Friday we went to the rodeo. It was supposed to storm and the impending weather had my head just absolutely pounding. But, we loaded up and went. Quinlynne really liked looking at the horses.

We had to explain to her about the roping contests. We also had to explain about the barrel racing. During one barrel race, she even got down and was trying to climb the fence. Apparently the horse pooped, because this is the look she gave us.

She enjoyed the bull riding. She even took the camera and tried to take some pictures. She got a couple of decent ones.



As soon as the bull riding was over, the wind picked up and sprinkles began. By the time we made it to the vuck (van/truck= Chevy Uplander) it was beginning to pour. It took us quite a long time to get out of the parking area, but we just listened to music. We also enjoyed watching the cowboys. I made the mistake of commenting how hot the one in front of our vuck was. He then got in his dualie and Quinlynne said "Momma- I can't see him!!" So, I rolled down my window and he rolled down his and we started chatting. How funny is that??

The recital- lots of pics.

So, I told you about the recital. I notified you it was coming up. Here we go with details about it. Early Sunday morning we had to be at the PAC for the walk-through. Quinlynne thought she was big stuff with her ballet shoes in her pink furry purse.

As I mentioned last year- the girls literally walk onto the stage, do a few little dance steps, and walk off. Then, we're free to go home....for all of an hour before it's time to head out again.

I did put a little makeup on Quinlynne. She absolutely loved that. I even put mascara on her. It is unfair how long that girl's eyelashes are. I have to put on two coats and don't even get half of what I got from a light coat on hers! Lucky! I started out in row U of the PAC. Little by little, the people started leaving. Quinlynne's dance was next to the last number (which is entirely too long ask 3-4 year olds to wait & then concentrate on a dance, if you ask me). By Quinlynne's number, we (My brother & I first, then we were joined by Angie & her boys) ended up in the very front row center! I was able to get clear pictures of Quinlynne.

Grandi was even a stage mom. She deserves a huge polishing on her halo for that.

After the recital I had to go pick up Quinlynne from the backstage area. I had some flowers for her. Here are some pictures of her with the little girls whom she's been in dance class with for 2 years now. Aren't they adorable with their flowers?

Here she is with her Momma. But you know who she was most excited to see right away? Her Uncle Aaron. Right before the curtain went down we had yelled her name and she saw us. She was so excited to see us all. Quinlynne got some miniature carnations from me and silk carnations & a magic wand from her father. Yes, I'll hold while you all pick your jaws up off the ground. He came to the recital. I have no clue if he's actually TRYING to be a dad, or if he's up to something. Since I only got $14.15 in child support last month..... Anyhow, Father Dearest wanted to get hugs from Quinlynne, but she just wanted to see her Uncle Aaron!

Finally, here is Quinlynne with her teacher, Miss Leach. She thinks Miss Leach is great. And here is an adorable picture of Elijah, Isaiah, and Quinlynne.


By the way, that is the cake I made for her special day. It's a Lollipop. The name of her dance song was something about a Lollipop.... Oh- and we didn't even get sick with the "flesh" colored tights- you know how I feel about those!

Preschool performance

This is part of a song that Quinlynne's class performed for the Preschool Graduation on Monday night. She did quite well. She was quite upset and had quite the sourpuss look on her face when she walked in, and once she stood up in front of everyone. She was looking all over, and had this...this....look. I finally stood up and waved my arm. She spotted me, Uncle Charlie & Aunt Connie. She got a huge smile, then was ready to perform. She just needed to know someone was there to root her on!

tee tiny

Last Friday I was on a walk, and I saw a turtle trying to cross the road. So, I risked my life for the poor creature (j/k- there were no cars coming). I picked up the turtle and carried it to the nearby ditch, where there was a lot of grass and water. During the entire walk I had been noticing squashed turtles, worms, snakes, frogs, etc. I happened to look down and saw this tiny little green round circle. To my surprise, it was a baby turtle- still alive! I picked it up and continued along my walk. I got it home and HAD to take a picture of it. I used something for size comparison in the picture. Being the good friend I am, I called Brenda to see if she and her boys would like to play with the turtle. Of course they would!!! Poor Quinlynne didn't get to see the baby turtle, but she'll survive. I had NEVER seen such a tiny turtle. Take a gander at it!

AAAAWWW!

Can you guess who this is a picture of?? Anyone? Anyone???

Isn't that an absolutely adorable little girl? And her mother was so fashion savvy.....the mullet-ish hairdo (I think it was because her hair on top just hadn't grown a whole lot yet), the red knee socks with the dress.... It WAS 1977 when this picture was taken. I suppose knee socks were all the rage, look at reruns of The Brady Bunch. That adorable little girl in the picture is none other than Shandolynne Paige Hoffman, as a toddler.

TSA

Does anyone know what that stands for? Anyone?? It stands for Thumb Sucking Appliance. That is what I took Quinlynne to Frisco, TX to be fitted for this week. I have a friend who works for a Pediatric dentist there, and I got a good deal on it. As most of you know, I have been fighting Quinlynne and her finger sucking habit for ages. Her fingers are deformed because of this habit. (I'll try to get a picture of those later for you to look at.) I have tried so many different things to get her to stop. Every time I see those fingers in that mouth- $$$$ is all I see. It's starting to affect some of her speech sounds. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We had been to the dentist once before, but they didn't even really get to inspect her teeth. So, we went to Dr. Rubin and Quinlynne had some xrays taken (have bad news about that).

They made a mold of her mouth to have the TSA made. When they took her back to inspect her further and make her mold, I left. They are the experts and I wanted them to do what they do. I just snuck back for a few pics and didn't let her see me. When she came out she had big tears in her eyes and she told me she had been crying, that they stuck play dough in her mouth, and she had been crying for me, she wanted me. Talk about make my heart break! I am assuming they cleaned her teeth because she told me they flossed her teeth and her teeth look "Sooo bootiful". She even got a new pair of sunglasses to wear while they worked on her!

(Dental problems tend to be hereditary. I only have 23 teeth due to dental heredity. My mom is missing 7 teeth and my dad's sister is missing 6. I have no wisdom teeth, I am missing a 12 year molar, I have 4 ankelosed teeth that were removed, and I still have a baby tooth in the bottom center front. I have been praying that Quinlynne would have better luck than I. We won't know anything definitively until she is 6 and has the panoramic xray done....but we know for sure that she is missing the 2 bottom center front teeth. She has no adult teeth behind those baby teeth she has now. It could be worse, I keep telling myself. I wonder what else lies waiting??)

watching Cadyn

Last Saturday Quinlynne and I got to watch Cadyn. It was just for a few hours, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. I got to give her a bath, dress her, we went to Walmart, and play with her. Quinlynne definitely thought it was fun to play with her Baby Cadyn.

I had to tell her a few times that she wasn't old enough to do something with Cadyn. (I walked in and found her trying to lift Cadyn out of her carrier so we could give her a bath. No No No, Quinlynne!)

I had a very cute little onsie I had gotten for Cadyn, so she had to wear it when I had her! She didn't have any pants, so I found a pair of pants that had been Quinlynne's, and a cute headband!

Little Visitors

A few weeks ago, Mom went out on the front porch and started talking. I had no clue who on earth she was talking to. So, I went to inquire. There she was, talking to these two little baby possum. How crazy is that? We have had a possum partaking from Purty's food and water in the garage, not sure if that is the momma though. (Purty is the cat.) We tried to introduce Purty to the babies....maybe she would get rid of them. She was not interested in the least. I had to run and get the camera.

Upcoming

Just wanted to let you know that Quinlynne's recital is this coming Sunday, May 17th!!! We are pretty excited about it. I've seen the dance, and my daughter (in addition to the rest of her class) looks very cute. So- please come see her! It is Sunday, May 17th at the PAC in downtown Tulsa. The recital begins at 1:30. (Another group you might LOVE to watch is the Special Needs class. They will be performing either 2nd or 3rd on the program. Last year I loved watching them so much. I had tears in my eyes. Part of the reason I have Quinlynne taking classes at this studio is because it offers FREE dance lessons to children with special needs. That touches me so greatly.) So, please come join us! (Maybe this year Aaron can get pictures of the correct little brown girl!) Also, I have no clue who is in this picture. But, it is a picture of a dance recital and I liked the colorful costumes.

Flesh colored tights

We (Quinlynne and I) had to go get "flesh colored tights" for her dance recital. I thought having Quinlynne with me would be the best bet. After picking her up from school, we drove all the way over to 101st & Sheridan to a dance shop that a mom at Quinlynne's studio just raves about. We get there to discover they close at 6:00. It is 6:10. I don't get this. Why do stores set their hours as 10:00-6:00? How do they make any money? How do you expect to get a lot of patronage when your hours are when people are at work? So, we take a chance and go to our stand-by dance shop at 61st & Memorial. We pull up and there are no cars....but they are open!!! So I go in and tell the lady what I need. Of course they don't have any of the cheaper Danskin tights, so we have to go with Capezio. THEN, the lady at the store tried to tell me how to put the tights on her. I thought seriously lady?? I don't know how I made it to 33 years of age without your advice on how to put on tights. Not to mention 16 years of dance classes for myself and the tights required for that. Whatever, I left with a pair of "flesh colored tights" (which I detest, and I think they'll look just lovely on my 3 year old biracial daughter) which I will accordingly place on my daughter's cute little legs.

strange things

OK, I know I've heard my brother say this previously, but it just makes me think something is not connecting properly up in that head of his. He LIKES the smell of skunk. What in the heck?? Why would anyone like that? Has anyone else ever known anyone who likes the smell of skunk?

Also, if any of you have driven down 81st, there is a sign just east of Memorial, it is a wonderful sign. It says "Doing nothing is tough. You never know when you're done." I think that's a great sign! It's so true!

One down, Three to go

Well folks, I have now completed my first semester of Nursing School. Woo hoo! I completely botched my final in Foundations of Nursing (the main class), but I came out with a B....by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin. (Did I mention one must pass everything with at least a 76 in our nursing program? I probably had, but wanted to reiterate that to everyone.) I was within spitting distance of an A in my Pharmacology & Dosage class, and I got a C (I think) in my Issues & Perspectives class. (Don't even get me started about that class.) Anyhow- I have successfully survived my first semester of full-blown Nursing School. (Almost half of our class has dropped.) I have reading to do over the Summer to get a start on the second semester. No rest for the wicked. Thanks, all!

More pics of new Baby Cadyn

Mom came home from Kansas on Friday night, and brought with her her camera. Yeah! I had to load some new pictures of Baby Cadyn.

First of all, here is a picture of Aaron & I with his baby girl. (Mom is notorious for cutting off people's heads in pictures.)

Baby Cadyn on the day she came home from the hospital. Aaron giving Cadyn her first sponge bath at home.

Aaron finishing up with the sponge bath.

Cadyn sporting the outfit Aunt Shandy got for her, in hopes she would wear it home from the hospital.

Aaron & Cadyn taking a little nap.

5 reasons for Fingernail Polish Remover

Here are the top five reasons for Fingernail Polish Remover:



5. The PINKY finger



4. The RING finger



3. The Middle finger



2. The Pointer finger



and the No. 1 reason for Fingernail Polish Remover..........



The THUMB.



Thank you ladies and gentlemen.



(Quinlynne discovered some superglue last night. She came to me with the tube hanging from her pointer finger. I got it off of her and got her fingers separated before they stuck together. I immediately tried fingernail polish remover with a cotton ball. I had no luck. So, being irritated and letting my Hoffman temper prevail- told her tough luck- she was just gonna have to learn to deal with it. She was upset. She kept showing me that she couldn't bend her fingers. Then, the tears started. I tried to ignore her ramblings. But I paid attention with the snot was so thick running down her face...."I"m never gonna be able to eat again!!!!! I can't eat with glue on my hands!!!!" I tried my darndest to keep a straight face. She was most upset because she'd never be able to eat again. That's my kid. I finally got a glass bowl, poured a whole bottle of fingernail polish remover into it and had Quinlynne stick her hand in there, and a couple of fingers from the other hand. After about 45 minutes of soaking and rubbing, they were looking better. It was then her bath time. I let her play in there for longer than usual. Then, after lotion, Pull-Up, pajamas and hair combing- we went to the living room for Momma to peel the excess dried superglue from those darling fingers. I finished up by trimming the fingernails to get any excess glue out from under them. I am up for Mother of the Year. I will be accepting awards in the form of gift certificates. Thank you!)