Might I Suggest

Last week I was making some cookies. My cookie scoop had gone kaput & I was somewhat distraught. I enjoy having near-perfectly round cookies. So, I ran by Wal-Mart (when my heart really cried for William Sonoma) to see if they might accidentally have a cookie scoop. Might I suggest this little beauty:

The Oneida cookie scoop. Most usually, I love anything by Oneida. I think they make a good product. This beauty was around $7.00 and has a lifetime warranty! Both my sister in-law & I have used it already. We both loved using it. So- if you're in the market for a new, cheap kitchen goody- go for this! (Notice I have more blogging? Can you tell school's not in session??)

I hate stuff like THIS

So, I have a real problem with people making money off of Jesus. Bumper stickers that say Honk if you Love Jesus make me want to rear end the person. I just think it's disrespectful to our Savior. Several things of this nature I witnessed today. But- this was the cherry on top.
I think that is so tacky. I think it's disrespectful to our Savior. I think relationships with Jesus are meant to me sacred, not commercialized so someone can make money off of Him. I saw it (sticker) in a parking lot & HAD to stop & take a picture of it for a friend who no longer lives in the Bible Belt. I know she misses seeing this sort of thing!

Funny things from Thursday

Yesterday Quinlynne had an allergy skin testing done. She was pitching a fit, she thought it was going to really hurt. I finally bribed her with Mozzarella Sticks from Sonic. She loves those. I had to take this picture so she could actually see what was going on back there.Turns out, she does not have any allergies. I know!! Weird, huh? The child does have some sinus issues, and she will most likely develop allergies as she gets older. She has vasomotor rhinitis. I'd never heard of it. The CT scan did show that she has some chronic sinus infection that has most likely been up in there for a while. She also has this inflamed area on her septum which severely impedes the flow of oxygen. We're supposed to use a nasal spray to try to reduce the inflammation.

Last night as my sister in-law & I were in the living room talking, we banned Quinlynne & Abby to Quin's room. They decided they were going to clean the room. Whatever- as long as they were out of our hair. It wasn't until I heard something being sprayed in the room that I was concerned. I asked Quinlynne what she was spraying. "It's that stuff in the bathroom that we spray after we poop." She meant Lysol. I had to contain myself.

Adorable sayings

I wanted to write down some things Quinlynne has said recently so I didn't forget them.

We went to have a CT scan of Quinlynne's sinuses on Tuesday. I was trying to prepare her for how it would work. She, of course, was concerned with whether she was going to be poked with any needles. Anticipating that she would not need any contrast for a scan I told her NO. I told her how she would lie on a table and the table would slide back & forth into a big machine, but only her head. I had referred to it as either a CT scan or a CAT scan. She was asking questions, like if it was going to be like the x-ray she had when she broke her arm. She says "Momma, am I going to have to remove my clothing?" Now I ask you, what 5 year old says things like 'remove my clothing'? So, we get to the children's hospital and check in. As we're sitting there waiting, Quinlynne says "Momma, is my kitty x-ray going to hurt?" Inside, I was dying. I thought it was hilarious. As it ends up, we had to walk over to the radiology department in the main hospital (There was no tech to come over to the Children's hospital to perform the scan.) for her scan. So, I made Quinlynne tell the people there what she was there for. The lady at the window thought it was so cute, but didn't let on that she thought it was hilarious. She went to get the other ladies in the office & had Quinlynne tell them the name of her procedure. It then evolved to a Kitty Scan. Too cute, I tell you.

Last night I made stir fry. It's nothing too fancy. I just throw in onions, bell peppers, garlic, polish sausage, and then some portobello mushrooms. I had cut the mushrooms into chunks. I then served it with some pasta (rigatoni) I had boiled with chicken flavor bullion. As I dished it up and gave it to Quinlynne, she said "Momma, I don't want the dead meat." I thought that was what she said. I looked at her bowl to see what in the heck she was talking about. She was pointing to the mushrooms & again said "Momma, I don't want the dead meat. Ya know- this dead chicken right here." I have no clue where she has seen chicken look like that. But- apparently she has.

Is This Artist MY Kid- or What?

Check out the outfit....all the way down to the feet. If you know me at all, you know how I feel about feet & toenails. Is this my kid, or what? She took the time to do Barbie's toes!!!

PRE-K graduation Round 2

I'm sure I've told you before- but since Quinlynne is a late August birthday, I went ahead and had her do a second year of Pre-K. So, she will be starting Kindergarten this August, right before she turns 6. She has been going to the same school she has always gone to, but thankfully they have 2 Pre-K classes. Quinlynne had Mr. Cody for a teacher last year and this year she's had Ms. Pam. She recently had her graduation, and she was so excited for it this year.

On a separate note, I've been trying to teach Quinlynne the art of and importance of correspondence. I really do believe it is a lost art. I can't tell you the number of gifts I've given in the last 2 years and have not received a Thank You note. Seriously- graduation gifts, wedding gifts, baby gifts, teacher appreciate gifts...it ticks me off. How hard can it be? Sure, sure- I may have let a gift slip by without a thank you note...but I can probably count them on less than one hand. (Toot, toot!) All that to get to this: there is a teacher at Quinlynne's school who is expecting a baby. I was unaware that this teacher was pregnant. Quinlynne informed me of this and said "I'd really like to get a 'Congratulations' card to her, momma. OK?" I thought it was adorable & it made this momma proud that Quinlynne is paying attention. Also- Ms. Pam's husband had a hip replacement and when Quinlynne told me this, she asked if there was a card for that. Oh- my baby is catching on!

Hair

We've been trying to grow Quinlynne's hair longer than normal. She & I both usually like to keep her hair a with about chin length. With curls like hers, when the hair starts getting long the ends look terrible, dry & it tangles like crazy. (Combing out tangles also does not help the ends look any better!) We've been trying a few more things to help it not look so dry & for her curls to stick together more. About once weekly I've been taking Organic Coconut Oil and finger-combing it through her hair. I also massage her scalp very well during this process. I then put a shower cap on her head, and she leaves it on for a few hours. Sometimes she sleeps with it on at times. Then when it is time to shower, we don't use shampoo. What??? No shampoo??? Are you freakin' nuts?? Are you disgusting & dirty or what?? We actually are doing a thing called co'pooing. We use conditioner to cleanse her hair. You wouldn't believe how nice, soft & healthy her hair is looking.
My cousin actually did her hair this day. But look- she's having to show off her soccer trophy!
I've also been trying to do more with her hair. I'm not the most creative with hair. I'm doing good to get mine done. I've been consulting some different websites to get ideas. Here are a few things we've been doing. Considering I do not know how to French braid (I really need to learn)- we're getting better. I've done this particular look this way, diagonally across her head, upside down, and in pigtails. She likes it! BTW- we have a hair appointment to get her hair cut tomorrow. She can't wait to get it cut- she wants to get it done...mainly because (I think) she likes her hairdresser, whose name is Peaches!

Soccer, anyone?

Quinlynne has just completed her first season of soccer. She loved it. She really started catching on and got some hustle to her about halfway through the season. We were really blessed to have a team of 6 girls and all the girls got along, as did the parents. Doesn't that just make things so much easier? I think Quinlynne ended up scoring 4 goals over the duration of the season, and she is awfully proud of those. The last practice of the season was at Braum's & the coach bought the girls all some ice cream. (He then ordered himself a meal to wolf down before he had to go to a meeting and Quinlynne tried to just reach over and get herself a fry from his tray.) Each of the girls got a trophy, and Quinlynne is so proud of it. She keeps saying "It's my very first trophy!" As her mother- I hope she earns many more trophies- since she was so excited for this first one. I love to see the excitement at a tangible monument of her accomplishment. Way to go, Momma's Precious!!

A little bit o' Weather

I've grown up in Tornado Alley. I do not love Tornado Season. We do not head to the bathroom when the Tornado Warning hits- otherwise we'd be in the bathroom for days. We don't even head to the bathroom when the storm siren sounds. Instead, like every good Okie, when the siren sounds we go outside & look for the impending wall cloud or funnel coming towards us. We do not panic until we see the funnel starting above us or coming towards us. However, we do take precautions.

Last night we had quite a little storm system come through. The area we live in is between cities. So, when the news focuses in on the Oneta area, we know we're in trouble. The tornado that hit Haskell last night ended up coming just south of us, thank goodness. We did get a sudden downpour of rain and wind blowing different ways. Quinlynne has to prepare the bathroom "just in case". We put our sneakers on in case something were to happen- we'd have protection for our feet instead of our dear flip flops. Then we found a use for Quinlynne's helmet. Thank goodness!

Oh my goodness, really??

I have been on a kick lately of visiting antique stores. It's my version of "going green". I'm reusing!! I thought to myself "Gee Shandolynne, you're really getting old when you go to these antique stores and you think 'I remember using that!!'" Then I said something about remembering the Otasco stores. The older gentleman working at the store said "You're THAT OLD??" I told him indeed I was, and I'd take it as a good sign that I looked good if he found it hard do believe I remembered Otascos. So- this is the Piece de Resistance: This morning Quinlynne was watching cartoons on Disney. In between the modern cartoons they show short classic cartoons. I told Quinlynne that those cartoons I used to watch when I was a little girl. (It was one with Daffy Duck.)
Quinlynne: On Disney Channel, momma??
Me: No. We didn't have Disney Channel, Quinlynne.
Quinlynne: Why not?
Me: We didn't have cable when I was little.
Long pause.
Quinlynne: Did you have electricity when you were little?
Long pause.
Me: Yes, Quinlynne!!! (snidely) We had electricity!!! We just didn't have cable yet.

Wonderful start to my Mother's Day! The child has a thing or two to learn about history.
For Mother's Day we had a fun picnic at one of the parks here in town. It was great to be able to spend time with my mom, Connie, Mandy, Aaron & my nieces, my cousin Penny & her husband John, and Uncle Charlie. We did use the new quilt, again! It was a beautiful day!! And to top it off?? I get to have my niece Cadyn this week! Quinlynne has already asked if she can pretend she's her little sister.