Every Tuesday I keep Kristen’s youngest daughter Beth, my precious neice. Today we needed to have some extra fun because Bethy was really missing her mama. So we decided on a Day at the Salon with Deets. “Deets” is what Bethy affectionately calls me. It started 9 years ago with Rebekah calling me Dee-Dee because she couldn’t call me Katie.

Miss Ramsey received some very special treatment today at the Salon. The pampering treatment began with sparkling fruit punch out of a very special glass. Next we soaked Beth’s hands in warm soapy water followed by a satin hands treatment (compliments of Mary-Kay). Beth chose a beautiful shade of shimmery pink nail polish (Glazed sand frost, to be exact) and we painted her nails. Then we did a pedicure in the same shade. And finally we ended the salon treatment with a make-over. Shades chosen by Beth of blue and purple with pink blush and lip gloss completed the look.

Beth satisfies my intense need for nurturing with a feminie touch!!!

Beth would like to add that her favorite part of the make-over was the manicure and she really likes the lip gloss which she keeps applying liberally. Enjoy the pics of my beautiful neice, Miss Ramsey!

John of course loves when his best buddy Beth comes to play. As I was trying to take pics- John must have poopd becasue Beth seems to be holding her nose in one of the pictures…that made me laugh out loud!

I guess i’ll stop blogging and go change his diaper.

Well, buckle up, this is gonna be a long ride. I plan on writing stream of consciouness and I’m not looking back so who knows what will come out from these fast typing fingers. Today was just one of those days. Yes, mothers all around the world know what I mean when I say…It was just one of those days. My morning began at 2:30 am, and then 3:15 am and then 5 :30am and then the final buzzer went off at 6:50 am. Ben did the triple morning wake up. Wow, I wish I hadn’t taken a benedryl last night and that my precious husband wouldn’t have taken more than his fair share of the coffee this morning. For the past week John has miraculously slept until 8:30 am. As I sat down in the recliner with my 1/2 a cup of coffee and with Benny contentedly in the in exersaucer, i thought to myself, ” well at least I’ll have a few moments to let this caffeine override my exhaustion before our little spinning machine wakes up”…. “A,B,C,D…H,W…” Is what I hear at that very moment like a loud speaker from heaven blaring from John Kelty’s room. I take a deep breath, say a quick prayer and sacrificially change the channel from my beloved Today show to hopefully catch up on the Texas Polygamy case (my current obsession) to John’s beloved “The Wiggles.”

And so the day began…we were off to a good start. Chris quickly ran upstairs to get John before he left for school as I started to nurse Ben. I hear a sweet “Goodmorning Anna, have fun with Jesus” as John came down the stairs and saw Anna’s picture. I think to myself, “such precious things come out of that little mouth”. The next thing I hear is, “Mommy, John needs a snack and Benny eats (drum roll please……) boobie snacks, 2 of them.” Yes, you heard me right, boobie snacks. I have never heard that from John before and we certainly don’t refer to nursing in that way. So I silently rewind and add to my previous thought, “Precious and precocious things come out of that little mouth.”

The sweetness quickly turned into hysteria and 2 year old tantrum throwing when I suggested we take a special “brother’s picture” for Maw Maw for Mother’s Day. I even promised a bowl filled with chocolate chips, ( I swore I’d never bride when I became a mother). Rivers of tears and flailing erupted since he couldn’t have the chocolate chips before the picture was taken and since he actually had to sit next to Ben which meant Ben’s hunky, unsteady body kept toppling onto John. John was convinced that Benny was kirplunking him on purpose….and he tried to kirplunk him back…and so a series of timeouts prevailed.

I decided to turn the morning around by having a fun mommy son morning activity, cookie making to give as a gift to a friend. I should have known better than to suggest such an activity on, “Just one of those days.” John and I had very different ideas about the right way to incorporate the chocolate chips and oatmeal into the dough. I suggested stirring as the correct method. John demanded the scoop and stuff method…from the bowl into his mouth. Of course I had to take the bowl away which sent John running into he living room to throw himself dramatically onto the sofa where he pounded the cushions with his fists and soaked the fabric with his tears. Needless to say, I finished the cookie project alone. I left John in the living room to calm down as I went to put Ben down for his first morning nap. As I was tending to Ben’s needs, I realized it was quiet downstairs. I thought to myself, “finally he is caming down, probably entertaining himself with the “little people” I pulled out for his pretend, independent pleasure.” I took my time with Ben and came back downstairs to find the “little people” abandoned, with a knowing look on there plastic faces seeming to indicate that John was up to no good. I took there hint and headed for the kitchen where I caught John red handed standing on a chair he pulled over to the kitchen counter fisting a good majority of the dozen cookies that were cooling on the cookie rack. I said, “John Christopher Kelty!” he said innocently (but not so innocently), “Mommy John likes cookies.”" Gooey chocolate was painted all over his face and markers all over his neck. Oh, did I fail to mention the earlier coloring activiy that went ary? I forcefully (I mean gently) removed his body from the chair and plopped him onto the living room sofa….another dramatic crying session insued.

Then came the sad moment. As I was walking and pumping at the same time and dealing with 2 year oldness while listening to a frantic 6 month old cry in hunger, my hard earned 24 hours of scarce breastmilk, I mean gold, somehow came flying out of the bottle in slow motion and flooded the living room floor. I was on the edge. I know it wasn’t John’s fault but in that moment it certainly felt like it was…somehow.

Then of course this would be the day when the infant constipation pipe we have been waiting to unclog would come erupting forth in what we like to call the “blowout” or “neck poop”. I kept my neice today which always means extra fun for John and a fight at naptime. He kicked and screamed as I carried his overly stimulted and overly tired body up the stairs. He practically passed out on my shoulder when I plugged his plump little mouth with the passy and handed him his sticky (I’ll wash it later) blankey. Of course the naps were far from coinciding today and my stomach hurt and I planned for another pot of coffee that never got made and John woke up early from his nap.

Chris called to say that baseball practice, which I was crossing my fingers would be canceled, was definitely not canceled. But I determined that I could do it- I could take my “crazy today kids” to Wal-Mart. But of course, when you are having, “Just one of those days,” your baby who rarely makes an unhappy peep, cries the whole way through the store and your 2 year old most certainly screams, “my turn for toys” repeatedly over and over and loudly so that everyone in the store can hear (and judge you as one of those mothers) as he tries to hoist himself from the cart. So of course I proceeded to bribe for a second time today and I headed straight for the MacDonalds that sits conveinently right inside the electric double doors magnetically pulling you in with thier signature fried fat aroma. At first I felt bad about this bribe, I thought, “I’m a bad mother resorting to food to keep my kids quiet.” So I came up with a cute rhyming song with the words “if your sweet you’ll get a treat, insn’t that neat…” and then I resolved that I wasn’t a bad mother at all. In fact, I ws incredibly creative, providing my child with fun, melodic, opportunities for sweet treats. I opted for the new jumbo cinnamon and sugar pretzal since John had already had who knows how many cookies this morning. “Be careful, the pretzel is very hot,” said the MacDonalds cashier. John understood her caution very clearly and started to cry, “Oh no mommy, my treat very too hot!” No problem, there’s a snack kiosk not ten feet away. I quickly paid for the sizzling pretzel that was later thrown away and headed for the snack station as I thought to myself, “What in the heck am I doing and I am so glad Chris is not here to witness this pitiful parenting moment.” I grabbed a bag a cheesey enchilada “for a limited time only” cheetos which left John with gunky, orange fingers and of course he used Ben’s fuzzy new hair as a napkin….. And so on and so forth.

When Chris came home tonight there was a brief moment when he hugged me and I thought I would burst into tears and say “let’s go get a pizza.” Instead, I took a deep breath and I said outloud, “tomorrow’s a new day”and I proceeded to make the healthy dinner I knew I needed to make in order to right a day filled chocoalte chips and cheetos. As the evening progressed, John and Ben got cuter and cuter and I grabbed my camera to capture these little boogers that I love so much. I started counting my blessings. Sunday is Mothers Day, a day when mother’s get to thank God for entrusting them with his little people to love, nurture, tame and mold. Three years ago I sat and wept all day and remember thinking I would give anything for a screaming baby to love. I want to remember that desperation as I reach another Mother’s day when my arms and my heart are so full.

The following pictures capture some of our evening rituals….playing with daddy, dancing, bath-time, story time and getting ready for bed.

Cuddling with daddy.

John taking a picture with Ben while still watching The Wiggles.

Waving my arms in the air just like an emu (compliments of the Wiggles) and waving my U of L flag- a daily acivity!!!

Chewing a giraffe…Ben is working on some teeth!

Getting Ben ready for bed…

bath time…
sucking my toes….fast asleep.

story time…

fit time…John wanted to wear his elmo underwear conveinently right as we wer turning out the lights for bed. He didn’t like our idea of waiting to wear them until tomorrow.
kissing daddy and saying prayers.

This blog is entitled “April at Home,” because it truly has been just that. Actually, maybe the more appropriate title is “April in Bed.” Today is the first day in a month I haven’t felt like passing out. I’m crossing my fingers but I think mono has passed. I think I would still be in the bed had it not been for a few key players who helped me to get the rest I needed. Chris is my hero. He took a “leave of absence” from baseball to take care of me and the kids. He has been Mr. Mom for the past three weeks and I am so grateful for him. My mother came every day for a week to take care of the kids and to let me sleep. Mom and Kristen both helped me so I could keep my glorious cleaning job. My friend Jill organized a week of meals from my bible study which were out of this world. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends that I do. Thank you for all of your gifts of love and prayers for us during this exhausting month. And thank you to John and Ben for all the snuggling and naps they took with me.

Speaking of John and Ben…..here’s what they’re up to. John just finished his second semester of Musicgarten. He sings constantly. He particularly loves to sing “That’s Elmo’s world” over and over. He also loves to pray. Whenever we pray he says, “Now John’s turn…” He starts off pretty good, but often ends with his ABC’s. He loves to line things up and to cluster things together. He seriously does this all day long with whatever he sees.

( clustering animals)
Of course, cuddling is still a favorite, the kid has major skin hunger

Ben, smiles all the time.

He’s incredibly content. The newest development with Ben is that he has really taken notice of John. He watches him dance and jump around the room, and laughs hard at him, which John gets a kick out of.

Here are some more highlights:
John has discovered that he loves to cuddle with Ben, who he affectionately calls “cutie boy.

Ben has also discovered food this month. After 6 weeks of trying all the different foods in 3 day intervals, we have figured out that Ben loves food and that he has no food allergies unless you consider gagging on green beans an allergic reaction.

Ben has discovered his toes….If he’s lying down, he’s pretty much in this position.

We just put Ben in the exersaucer this week which he loves!

And like always…our boys love their cousins.

Another huge highlight for me this month was getting to meet the long awaited Clyde Robert Jones, the precious baby boy of my lifelong friend Kristin and her husband Tim. He is adorable and is a gift like none other. Though the time I got to spend with Krissy was short, it was cherished.

Well, that’s about it. Thanks for reading this month’s edition and for taking an interest. I hope this finds each of you well- The Kelty’s miss you all!!!

Much Love,

Kate

We arrived in Louisville anxious for the big wedding, but ready to relax and have fun with the Keltys before the big day. John had so much fun getting reacquainted with his uncles and his grandparents. Chris and John went to see a U of L baseball game with Goopaw one afternoon. Goopaw really cares about John’s health and so he made sure to get him ice cream and nachos for lunch. Thank you Dale! Food seems to be a theme of our vacations. I was on a diet at the beginning of the week which came to a crashing hault by the end of the week. It all fell apart the night my mother in law made chicken and dumplins. I never thought I was a big fan…but I am now! Thank you Sharon for all the good meals! John had his first professional haircut in preparation for being a ring bearer. He had it done at “Cookie Cutters”, a salon just for kids. When Chris called to make the appointment he was ticked that the cost was $14.95. When we left Cookie Cutters we were discussing how we should bring the franchise to Harrisonburg. The haircut was worth every penny. It took the video, the balloon, the toys, the snacks, the indoor playground, the skilled haircutter, and both me and Chris to keep John from jumping out of his pink jeep chair. His hair never would have gotten cut in a regular salon. Thank you Cookie Cutters!

For the past 18 months my brother-in law Derek and his fiance Kelly have been planning thier wedding. As I write this they are finally relaxing with tropical drinks in the sun in the Siesta Keys. The wedding is sure to make headlines as the 2008 wedding of the year! The weekend started with a Rehearsal Dinner that overlooked the U of L football field. If you don’t know Kelly and Derek, this may seem like a weird spot for a rehearsal dinner. I have learned that being a Kelty really means being a Cardinals fan. It took me a couple of years, but I am now a fan myself. Derek was lucky enough to find a girl that was as crazy about the Cards as he was. He proposed outside the stadium, so it was fitting to get the wedding weekend started there. Thanks to my in-laws for a fabulous evening!

Kelly was an exceptionally beautiful bride. One of my favorite moments of the day was when John (one of 2 ring bearers) was screaming for freedom from my arms just seconds before his wedding debut, when we rounded the corner where the bridal party was lined up to go down the aisle. Frantically trying to calm him, I whispered in his ear, “John, look at Aunt Kelly”. As he turned to look at her, the screaming instantly stopped and his mouth hung open in awe as he saw her beauty, a big smile fell over his face. He did a precious job of jogging down the aisle to find his daddy, we were proud!

My dad performed the ceremony and that made me proud too. My mom played the role of babysitter to John and Ben during the wedding. I don’t know how I could have survived the weekend without her help! Ben of course was his usual sweet and calm self. He slept in his stroller during most of the evening. When he was awake he was being passed around to family and friends. Every time Chris and looked up someone new was cuddling him!
The wedding was proceded by quite a celebration. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Goranson for

giving us, the guests, a party to be remembered. The flowers, the food, the dancing, not to mention the TV which was surrounded by all the U of L fans (groom and bride included) made the evening spectacular. John danced for 3 hours straight and had the time of his life! For me

the best part about the weekend was that I now have a new sister whom I love. Congratulations Derek and Kelly.