seven simple pleasures (part 6)...ready, jump!

seven simple pleasures (part 5)

A conversation with Zander......

"Mommy, why don't you go to work at Daddy's work."

"I work here at home. My job is to take care of you and Kaya."

"I like that work."

" So you like to have mommy here with you every day?"

"I love it."

I then squeeze him to me and kiss his teeny nose and say..

"Zander, how did you get so wonderful?"

"Because I'm just like you mommy, and I love you."

I love conversations with my 3-year old.

seven simple pleasures (part 4)

This week I have loved teaching. Teaching my kids, that is. We have had so many fun lessons. You can check out some if you wish on my other blog.

I especially loved practicing Z's with Zander. I would draw them on his dry-erase board and then he would trace them. He then wrote one all by himself! I don't know who was more proud, him or me.

seven simple pleasures (part 3)

I love pictures.....as you have probably gathered if you've looked at my blog at all.

My house is covered with frames and photos. It is perhaps a bit obnoxious but I love surrounding myself with the faces I love.

For the past 2 1/2 years however, my living room has just displayed a hodgepodge of framed photos. There was no unifying color or theme......just pictures that I liked. The crooked, mismatched frames were beginning to make me a little crazy.




So, today, on the first day I have felt halfway decent for a while, I completed this little project. I put an assortment of photos in this black collage frame and some other black frames around it.

I am pleased with myself and I'm pleased with the photography display. A simple pleasure indeed.

seven simple pleasures (part 2)

One of my greatest joys in life is to read. I love reading....one of my favorite t-shirts announces, "Life is short, read fast."

Unfortunately because life is so fast-paced, I often don't get to read as much as I would like. That is one plus to feeling bad constantly......I have read a lot lately. And instead of wallowing in self-pity that I'm stuck in bed a lot of the time, I want to celebrate all the wonderful books I have read recently or am anticipating to read.

Here are a few titles I've read in the past month:

The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen, The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer, A Painted House by John Grisham, and The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall. My favorite among these was The Unwanted. It was a painful memoir about an Ameri-Asian in Vietnam. I had a hard time putting it down and didn't want it to end. I also enjoyed The Russian Concubine, but it took me a few weeks to read that one. A Painted House was also a good read.......I'm not sure how I missed that Grisham book, I thought I had read them all. My neighborhood book club read The Ten-Year Nap. It is a book about 4 women who left their careers to become stay-at-home moms. I thought it was an interesting character study but the plot was lacking. It will provide for some interesting dialogue at the next book club though!

And eagerly waiting in a pile on my nightstand are the following:

Waking Brigid by Francis Clark
A Sister's Secret by Wanda E. Brunsetter
Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr
The Alexandria Link by Steve Barry
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

It is a perfect night for reading. There is a light rain outside, the kids are both snug in bed, and Matt is out late playing racquetball. I plan on putting on my jams (oh wait, that's right, they're already on....it is past six o clock) and starting one of my books.

If you have any book suggestions for me to read as I spend most of the next month and a half in my room.....please share!

seven simple pleasures (part 1)

My brain has once again been on break. I have wanted to blog but I think my mind is too overwhelmed by my health and upcoming surgery. So I decided to take control of this writers-block and do something different this week.

This week, each day I'm going to post a simple pleasure that has graced my life lately. It is so important for me to take the time and realize what great treats I receive each day.

My first simple pleasure is my little helper. Zander loves to help me clean (unless that cleaning means picking up toys......but that is a different story all together).

Here he is a couple of nights ago cleaning the windows and door in my kitchen. His grin full of pride when he finished was absolutely precious. The other treat is the all-natural cleaner from Trader Joes. It smells great and works wonderfully---even after Z sprayed a third of the bottle on the window. No streaks!

the games have begun

Yes, that wonderful season, football season, is upon us once again. Now I know many of you are doing cheers and whoops of glee out there because of it. I guess you didn't hear the sarcasm dripping from my words.

It isn't that I absolutely HATE football. I actually enjoy live games. I've even been know to cheer a few times for a team that I like. I also don the sports apparel of Matt's favorite teams on game day. But the fact that entire days are consumed with the sport, every weekend, annoys me.

It may be because my husband is obsessed with it. I hear other wives say "Yes, my husband is too." Then I shake my head and say, "No, I mean obsessed." As in, one time a few years ago, Matt was watching a game on tv, talking about it on his cell phone, and tracking it on the computer all at the same time. And he had all of his brackets and fantasy football papers spread out in front of him.

This is something I've just learned to accept. I guess I should be thankful for these LONG weekends of nothing but sports. It helped me feed my craftiness obsession. There have been many Sundays where Matt enjoyed the games while I painted pumpkins.

And although I have loathed this season for many years, I now have a new reason to appreciate it. My three favorite people do look awfully stinking cute in their matching sports gear. (see slide show below)

So now I'll take pictures of them each weekend as they watch their games. Then I'll go cross-stitch or quilt in peace.

mothers and daughters

There is a special bond between mothers and daughters. A bond indescribable to the males we love so much in our lives. It is like mothers and daughters are forever linked by invisible friendship necklaces that have broken hearts matching together that read "mom" and "daughter".

I feel fortunate that I can be on both ends of this special relationship.

Especially this weekend, when I'm feeling not so great. I felt so bad and guilty that most of this weekend (while we hosted Matt's dad and stepmom from Texas) I only stayed in bed, dealing with my pain with my heating pad and pain medication. But during this time of suffering, I had one of the greatest moments that I'm sure I'll always remember.

While resting upstairs, Matt asked Kaya if she wanted to go play or go see mommy for a little while. She wanted to see mommy. She crawled up into bed with me and told me she was going to "lay down by mommy till mommy's belly feels better." She then started rubbing on my belly and patting my hair. I was teary-eyed and so proud of my sweet, sensitive little girl. She then wanted to roll a matchbox car on my belly to make it feel better.

It was such a sweet feeling to see my daughter, who is yet not two, want to take such good care of her mommy.

I also had to once again swallow my pride, yesterday, and admit to my mom that I did need some help. Within an hour of talking to her on the phone, she was packed and on the five-hour trip to stay with us. I'm so glad I have her and she realizes when I need her the most.

Between my mother and daughter, I already feel better. They are taking good care of me.

go cowboys!!!

future cheerleader

my life lesson of the week

1. DO NOT buy blue-tinted yogurt.
2. If you do buy the blue-tinted yogurt, do not give it to your almost 2-year old daughter.
3. If you do give it to your daughter, make sure you have plenty of stain-stick and oxy-clean spray.

mystery date

A few days ago, Matt told me, "Make sure you take it easy on Wednesday because after we go to Red Lobster with your parents I have something planned for you."

So, I was very curious about what my mystery date was. Even after arriving at Red Monster (that is what the kids call it) I still had no clue what was in store for the evening.




Imagine my surprise when I found out my date wasn't even Matt. It was my dad.


We went and had a blast watching my very favorite singer, Rod Stewart. Who I'm happily calling my other date.





This was the second Rod concert Dad and I have gone to together. He is such a performer and I always love his energetic shows. I could go many more times, with Dad of course, and be happy!

I think it is so special because we both LOVE Rod Stewart music. Dad got me started early listening to his greatest hits. I'm so fortunate that we have that special bond and such great music to share. One of my fondest memories of childhood is dancing with Dad in the kitchen while we listened to all of the "oldies" music.

Thanks Matt for providing such a great early birthday gift. Thanks Rod for the incredible concert. And Thanks Dad for always making our concerts together so special.

sharp dresser

Now that Zander likes to pick out his clothes, our getting-dressed time has gotten very interesting. He has a few favorites. He likes to wear numbers on his shirts and will only wear shorts that go to his feet (aka pants). Although he usually matches, sometimes the fabrics and clothes don't really go together. Oh well.....

But sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised. Last week he picked out this outfit. I thought, "Wow, he actually does look pretty cool and fashion-forward." And he thought he looked excellent, of course.

I don't love you for your ovaries

On Thursday I made probably one of the biggest decisions of my life. After months of unbearable pain, years of medicines, several surgeries and a blood transfusion, and the day-to-day burden of endometriosis.....I will soon have a total hysterectomy. I have researched and explored other options. I have taken herbal supplements for a year try to help me. I have looked into accupuncture and saliva testing for holistic treatments. But I am done.....I'm done being an experiment. I'm done with the pain and bleeding. I'm done and ready to move on. My doctor, Matt, and I agreed that this was the only was to stop the pain and begin a quality, pain-free life.

So, how am I dealing with this? The last few days my mind has been whirling with feelings of relief and sadness. Relief that one day soon I won't have to take a pain pill and sit on a heating pad just to post on my blog. And sadness, that I know I will never experience childbirth or having another baby.

Part of me feels so selfish that I even worry about other kids. Look at my children......how could I be more blessed? Especially after being told by doctors that I would never have children and having a mindset since I was nine that my dream to be a mother would never happen.
Maybe that is why I've always been drawn to children since an early age. I always loved being a babysitter, a camp counselor, a bible-school teacher, day-care worker, and eventually an elementary school teacher.
I look at my two sweet, wonderful, silly kids and know my life has been enriched.

But I still get weepy......and I'm sure I will on occasion.

I'm so thankful I have friends and family to lean on during this time. EVERYONE that I have talked to have been the pictures of support. I was really nervous to talk about the hysterectomy at first because I know it is such a major, irreversible decision. But my friends and family have been wonderful. I could tell that they were all sad for me because it is such an emotional decision, but happy that I would soon have a normal life. Matt told me, "I don't think you even know what it is like to have a pain-free life. You probably have no clue what normal people feel like. It is pretty awesome." When I told another friend that my cramps feel like I'm in labor 24-7 she said, "No wonder you're the only person I know who thought childbirth wasn't all that painful."
But I think my favorite comment from a friend was this (and I'm sure I'm not quoting it back verbatim, but close enough),

"Korisa, the reason I have admired, respected, and loved you for all this time was not for your ability to bear children. I don't love you for your ovaries."

So dear friends and readers, keep me in your thoughts. I'll let everyone know when the actual surgery is when I find out. It is supposed to be scheduled next week. I told my doctor that I had to have my daughter's 2nd birthday ( you know I love a party, priorities, of course) so more than likely the major surgery will be late September or early October. I'll try to share positive posts until that time but may have a weepy moment or two....

After several anonymous comments (not the ones from the anonymous people I know).....I have decided to add the following to this post....

I have dealt with this problem for years.....although I am not yet 32, I have dealt with it for 21 years. Yes this means this all began since I was nine.

So I have put considerable thought into my decision and have gone to many doctors, had many opinions, and many surgeries, natural treatments, etc during this time.

I know as a blogger I'm putting myself out there but I was not expecting an all out lecture from the hysterectomy police. The first comment, I shrugged off. But after 3 more I thought this is ridiculous. Shouldn't we, as women, support each other's decisions about her body.

I was posting this to let my readers that care about me and my family and friends know what is going on in my life. If you don't know me, you probably have not seen me tear up due to the pain, watched my ups and downs with this problem (and yes it IS Endometriosis. I have had 2 laparoscopic surgeries to confirm this), or knew that I had to have blood transfusion at age 10 because I almost died from the severe bleeding. This is not an easy decision that I just decided on a whim to do.

Those of you that know me or have been reading my blog and commenting on the happy parts of my life for the past year, by all means leave your comments. For all of you that have no clue who I am, where I'm from, or the pain and bleeding I'm dealing with, back off. You WILL NOT change my mind.

Thanks again to my friends, family and readers who have supported me.......xoxoxo

I just want to be flashy and fancy

This weekend we went car-shopping, well actually car-dreaming since it will probably be a LONG time before I actually get a new one. You would think car-dreaming would make me anxious, excited, ready for a new one. Well, not so much.

And the reason is color......yes, color. I think Matt used to be furious that the only way I judged a car was by color. Now he is just used to it and has started to accept my ways.

We looked at the new civic above and I like most things about it. It is a small sedan, has four doors, decent trunk space, great gas mileage, and looks pretty sharp.......if you could get past the color.

It comes in grey, dark grey, and darker gray. Does it come in a bright red? Oh no, but you can settle for a maroonish red. Does it come in electric blue? No, but wait, you can get a dark or baby blue. How exciting....zzzzzz

Why do car makers think a person that drives a four-door car can't be flashy? I did find a car that does have four doors that is incredible and very flashy.......but my friends, the Nelson, already drive it. And that may be a tad weird if I got the same exact car. I love it's redness, it's flash. But as Matt says, do I really need V8 power to drive my four-minute drive to Publix twice a week.

I just hate the stereotype that drivers of four-door cars are boring. Am I really boring because I need four doors to wrestle my two kids in and out of carseats? Am I really boring because my most exciting drives are to Trader Joes and back?
Which brings me to stay-at-home attire.....
Why can't I be fancy as a mom? Why is it so wrong to wear bright red lipstick to go grocery shopping?


I used to wear my bright lipsticks daily with pride. My students knew me by my lipstick-wearing ways. When I was in college my greatest joy of being on the speech/debate team was wearing snazzy suits while carrying my briefcase to the competitions. I may not have made finals in each round with my speaking, but I did with my fashion.

Now, on most days, I'm wearing a faded polo shirt with my hair clipped up driving my beige-colored car. And my brightest daily lipstick is a shimmery brown.
Hmmmm........is that how the stereotype started?

So maybe today I will be flashy and fancy. Maybe today, I'll wear my most fun zebra-print dress with my brightest red lipstick to go to the BounceHouse with a neighbor and the kids.

Of course, we'll be strapping our kids in their carseats in a maroon mini-van before we go.

kite-flying

“The optimist pleasantly ponders how high his kite will fly; the pessimist woefully wonders how soon his kite will fall.”
William Arthur Ward

I just want to pinch myself

There are times, in the midst of the fussing like typical siblings & trashing the house, that my kids are so sweet I just want to pinch myself.

As a parent I do want my kids to be smart & successful but my greatest wish for them is to be kind and compassionate to others. So when they have their sweet moments I feel like a dream is coming true.

I just want to pinch myself when I see how much they love their Uncle Michael and Aunt Teri. After their last visit, Kaya kept asking about Uncle Michael and looking for he and Tee-Tee. I think it so sweet how much the kids miss them.



I just want to pinch myself when Zander makes sweet comments to me out of the blue. The other day I said, "Thanks for helping me clean the garage, Zander." He answered, "I help you mama because I love you."

I just want to pinch myself when they actually get along and don't argue. Like this day when they were having snack together. They kept hugging and calling each other, "Buddy."



I just want to pinch myself when Kaya wants to kiss my belly when I'm having a bad cramp day and am in pain.

I just want to pinch myself when Zander is so thoughtful about something that happened weeks before. The other night before he went to bed he told Matt, "Daddy are you calling Pappaw Texas tonight? Will you tell him thanks for my blue jersey?" This was almost 3 weeks after he got the gift.

I'm glad I'm living in this dream.....and on occasion my kiddos are the sweetest things I've ever seen. I'll try to remember this dreamlike state the next time they fight like cats and dogs.

to teach again?

The past weekend I went to see a friend and help her set up her classroom in this adorable little school. School starts today for her and she had so much to do to get ready. A teacher's work never ends.....

I loved the jobs she assigned me. I felt like a teacher again. It was fun to put bulletin boards together for her, write in my best cursive writing, and cut out laminated decorations. There are few things more satisfying and relaxing than cutting laminated items. Weird, I know, but ask any teacher and I bet he or she will agree. Must be something in the "teacher" gene.





But while I had great fun working in the classroom, I was also so grateful that I didn't have to do this. I just wanted to cry for my friend and the beginning of year stress I knew she was going through. During the 6 years I taught I always had that panic feeling before school started. Unless you've been in the teaching field I don't think one can even begin to comprehend all of the work that has to be done. And you still have to face your students and parents with a calm, smiling, professional smile.

I'm often asked if I will ever go back to teaching. Although I loved teaching and think that was what I was destined to do (for that period of my life, anyway) I'm not sure I could go back. I already have a full-time job as a mom. I honestly don't think I could do both well. Someone (either my kids or students) would get the short end of the stick, which wouldn't be fair.

I know several of you out there do manage both and do and incredible job of it. My mom was one. How she did it all, I'll never know (although Matt & I have serious suspicions that she may have some sort of super-human powers, even now). And to all of my friends who started back to school recently, best of luck. Hang in there and don't let the stress kill you!

Right before I started writing this post I found a wonderful site, Donors Choose in Real Simple Family. It enables teachers to choose what supplies or items they need by applying on this site. Go ahead and support a teacher......he or she will greatly appreciate it.

take me out to the ballgame

For a couple of months now, Zander has shown a real interest in baseball. He loves to watch it on tv and has been begging to go to a game.

We joined our friends, The Nelsons, to go see the Chattanooga Lookouts for Zander's first game. I'm so glad we did....he and Kaya both seemed interested in the game and loved all the sights around them. They both showed great sportsmanship too and cheered.....which was really cute.

Zander is still talking about Looie, the mascot. He got to meet him and Slider, the other mascot for the team, and they both signed his shirt. All day he has been asking "When will we see my friend Looie again?" At the end of the game we got him a Lookout Bat and Ball. He has loved playing with it......and actually hits it pretty hard and far!




The girls enjoy the game!

Camden and Sue

Go Looie, Go!

Kaya and Katie in front of the Looie statue

The big event.......we all meet Looie