I Can't Even Smile

I got a call from daycare today just after lunch.  Miss Wendy wanted me to come look at Jentry's mouth.  She had fallen off the scooter and smashed up her mouth pretty good.  Thankfully, this is the first major hurt my little girl has had to endure, but that made it all the more tragic.  I found her lying across Miss Wendy's lap with a princess ice pack over her mouth.  You could see that she was trying to be very brave, but the minute her little eyes met mine she began to bawl again.  I was instantly heartbroken.  I too tried to be brave and act like everything was just fine even though I wasn't so sure about the patch of skin dangling inside of her mouth or the fact that her lip was already the size of a grape!  My poor baby!  I managed to remain calm however and offered to take her home.  Of course, Jentry wanted to leave with me immediately. 

When we got home, I put her on her bed and tried to make her comfortable.  I put a towel down over her pillows to protect them from the blood.  Jentry wanted her Snuggie, but insisted that he sit next to her so that he wouldn't get all bloody too.  As I was starting a movie, Jentry began to tear up again and said, "I can't even smile, mom."  As any decent mother would do, I promised her a chocolate malt for supper.

I sure hope my baby heals quickly... without a trip to the dentist.  I want her smile back!

Poppies

Our new yard in Sutton has little to be desired, at this point.  The previous owner let things go, to say the least.  The positive side to this is that I have a new project and can pretty much start from scratch.  I have lots of big plans in my mind, however it is a much different story to actually find the right people in town to make my big plans a realization.  We did find a guy to take out four big trees and lots of little stragglers a few weeks ago and boy did that make a world of difference.  Nathan said he hardly recognized the house.  We also were able to find a guy to grind out the old stumps.  This process was quite interesting to watch and much to my surprise only took a matter of minutes.  The stumps are gone, whoot, but the yard now looks like a mine field.  Now to find someone to level everything back out.  At least we are making some visible progress!

Despite the negatives, there are a few select flowers that are very beautiful and I plan to keep them. However, they may need to be thinned out and/or moved from some pretty random places.  One of these select flowers is the poppy.  There are tons of them and they take over a big chunk of the front yard.  Nathan has tried several chemical methods to kill them off, but they keep coming back each spring.  A few weeks ago they were blooming and looked great for about three days.  If it were not for their nasty, ugly stems and leaves I would consider keeping them.  Jentry loved them and called them her flowers because they were a gorgeous shade of dark orange, which is still her favorite color.

Teeth, Cows , Dolls & Moms

Jentry had her very first dentist appointment last Thursday and oh was she excited!  Kelly's sister-in-law, Heidi, referred us to her employer, Pediatric Dental Specialists, in Hastings.  The experience was absolutely wonderful and Jentry did amazing.  They were able to get x-rays and pictures of all her teeth and clean them too.  Apparently this never happens on a first visit.  I was so proud of her.  She looked so tiny in the big chair, but she never once acted scared.  Because of her wonderful behavior at the dentist, Jentry got to choose McDonald's for lunch and pick out one toy at Walgreen's.  Out of all the toys she chose a pink golf bag set, which I am sure made Nathan happy. 

Next, mom got to purchase a present for herself....HEADPHONES!  Now Jentry can watch her movie in the back, and I can still listen to the radio.  As I looked in the back seat, I almost came to tears.  Who was this big girl?  Where did my baby go? 

 We made it to Orleans in no time and Jentry got to spend a little quality time with Papa while I went with Grandma to her club night.  I had a lovely evening with the Modd Mates.  There is never a dull moment with that group of ladies.  Grandma and I were out a little later than we had anticipated.  We arrived home around 10:00 PM, and I was slightly worried about what we might find.  The house was dark when we pulled into the drive. I opened the front door I heard a little voice running to me.

Little Voice: "Mommy, you're back!" 
Me: "Where's Papa?"  She shrugged her shoulders and kept hugging me tightly. "Is Papa asleep?" 
Little Voice: "Yeah"
Me: "How long has Papa been asleep?"
Little Voice: "A really long time, like 10 minutes!"
Me: "Where is Papa?"
Little Voice: "In my bed"
Me: "Should we go find him?"
Little Voice: "Yeah, but we have to be very quiet.  We don't want to wake him up."

Sure enough, we found Papa asleep in his underwear on Jentry's bed surrounded by stuffed animals with the light on.  It looked as if Jentry had been playing in the room for awhile.  Oh, Papa.  I wish I would have taken a picture...then again, it is probably best that I didn't.

On Friday, Grandma had to go to work but Jentry and I got to ride along with papa and feed cattle.  Jentry even got to drive the old Oliver tractor!

Jentry just loves riding in Papa's pick-up, because she gets to sit up front.

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning in the pasture.  I just love the contrast of the blue sky, green grass and black cows.  Simply beautiful!

Jentry also got to take her dolls for a stroll in Grandma's old doll stroller. 

Jentry loves playing with Grandma's neat doll toys.  She spent most of her time putting dolls in and out of the old crib, highchair and stroller.  She also got to meet my very first Cabbage Patch doll, Tanya Madge.  She was by far my favorite doll.  You can tell by her dirty, worn-out body.  I think Jentry kind of looks like Tanya.  Who knew that one day I would have a real, live, baby girl with short, blonde hair!

Saturday we took Grandma out for lunch in Holdrege and spent some quality girl time doing a little shopping.  I had a wonderful time and I hope she did too.  I am so very thankful that I have her as my mother and hope that I can model her amazing example with my own daughter.

Go Fish Snuggie

Jentry loves to play Go Fish and we have always played just the two of us.  However, last night, according to Jentry, Snuggie wanted to play too.  Of course, I couldn't be the mean mother and say no.  Or be the practical mother that I am and explain to her that her idea is down right ridiculous, so I dealt Snuggie his own set of cards and played along.  Jentry thought this was just fabulous.  She would giggle a little every time she would say, "Go Fish Snuggie!" 

I think this girl could really use a sibling... or maybe just a play date for now.

A Minnie Good Time

My sweet niece, Anna Jean, turned two on April 23rd.  She loves, loves Minnie Mouse so we celebrated Minnie style at her house last Sunday.  Nathan was working so Jentry and I decided to head to Lincoln on Saturday afternoon and do a little city shopping and spend some time with my family.  This also meant we would have to stay overnight at the Hamilton's house since we no longer have a house in Lincoln.  This was so very strange to me.  When we first got to town, I really didn't want to even drive in our old neighborhood much less drive by our old house.  Jentry, however, wanted to drive by so I swallowed the frog in my throat, put on a semi-happy face and took the turn down ole 58th street.  It was actually not as bad as I had imagined and probably good closure for me.  Jentry pointed out that the new owner wasn't home and that he must have gone somewhere.  This move really has not affected her at all.  She is handling the transition better than any of us. 

Mom, Jentry and I got some great shopping in Saturday afternoon and Chad grilled everyone awesome steaks on Saturday evening.  Saturday night Jentry and I had our first and LAST experience of sleeping on a couch together.  Mom and Dad got the guest bedroom, Jentry was supposed to sleep in Isaac's room and I was perfectly fine with sleeping on the couch...by myself.  As usual, Jentry had other plans.  She didn't want to sleep with Isaac; she wanted to sleep with me.  I agreed only because I thought she would sleep on the love seat right next to the couch.  After an hour of Jentry talking and me trying to sleep, I finally gave in and let her sleep at my feet if she agreed to not say another word! 

Sunday, Dad and I took the two older kiddos to Earl May and Yonkers.  I don't what I was thinking.  Dad, a four-year-old and a three-year-old shopping?  I was able to purchase what I needed, but that was about all.  After lunch, the kids took a nap while mom and I made a run to Target.  Now this was much more efficient and enjoyable!  Finally, at two o'clock, the Minnie Party began and it was so much fun.  I can't think of anything better than pink cupcakes, girly presents and wonderful time spent with family. 

Grandma and her girls

I have no words...