Swimming & Having a Brother Who is Braver Than You

Yesterday we spent the ENTIRE afternoon swimming w/ "Madamine" & Matthew @ Jan's pool.  

Today I took the kids swimming to the Arnold Indoor Rec Pool.  

The kids had so much fun both days (I relished in the non UV rays today, but the kids don't care if they're in 100 degrees or 80).

Yesterday, when I was in the pool, the skids were having a hard time jumping form the sides...until I got out to get a drink.  Then they were jumping in w/o seond thought to Amanda.  Then off the diving board to Jan.

Today, Gabe made it up the step of the play structure & down the slide into an amount of water taller than him a trillion times before he convinced Flynn to go up w/ him.  She took his hand, & with her hands covering her eyes, he led her up the steps through the 'scary' sprays of water.  They even somehow synchronized their slides down (on the double slide), so that they could keep their hands held all the way down.

They repeated this for over 30 mins until it was time to go.  But it was the best 30 mins of the year.  And if that means complete harmonious play for them, then I will immediately start the reconstruction of the basement into a water park.

They Keep Cracking Us Up

Before I tell this story, here's background info...

Uncle Yoren = Uncle Loren; Uncle Loren = My brother

Uncle Yoren is a hunter, with a lot of deer heads to show for his hobby.

Okay, let me proceed.

I was getting the kids together to take to my Dad's who was watching them for me while I went to an interview.

In an attempt to get Gabe to get his hat, I reminded him, "Papa will like it!"

His response, "Uncle Yoren yike it too.  Uncle Yoren yikes REINDEER."

And as if that didn't have me rolling in the floor enough, Flynn (who hears all, sees all) interjected with,

(imagine a voice here, an octave higher than her usual range)

"He SHOOTS them!"

Things I Miss

• smelling my hair (now it's too short)
• looking down at my kids feet & seeing baby feet
  
• nursing my babies
  
• sleeping in on weekends
  
• camping
  
• having a flat tummy
  
• baby socks
  
• not thinking twice about eating white carbs
  
• bubble gum ice cream
  
• restaurants having "small" drinks (now it's medium & up)

Ratted Out by my 2nd Born

I've made it abundantly clear that lately we are busy busy busy.

And so with that busyness comes the inability to do everything, including Gabe's speech homework.

And so, I may or may not have had to have him do it IN THE VAN between summer camp & therapy.  Not my usual forte for reviewing & practicing new material...at all.

Oh well so I think.... at least it will be done & his therapist will be none the wiser...for all he knows, we put Gabe's speech & all involved, as our top priority.

That is, until Mr. Jacob asked for Gabe's homework, took it out of his folder, & began looking at it.

My boy, who usually lacks for words, was quick to report,

"Me did it in my car."

Bubs Goes to Day Camp

Our baby boy is making as big of steps as his sis.  This week he is signed up for Day Camp @ the Y.

One of his challenges right off the bat was an "Icky boy who is mean."  I agree Bubs, icky people are everyone's challenge.

I remember the icky boy at mustard seed.  He came home referring to him only as the icky boy.  And I convinced him to learn the boy's name...which turned into us praying for the boy... which turned into us spelling Icky Boy's name with fridge magnets & many conversations about Icky Boy.

It's hard tho, to be 3.  And to smash crumbs into the carpet & have your card turned.  And hard to follow the rules only to see Icky Boy break them.

Bubs...Life's Lessons.  There are Icky Boys everywhere.

If You Think that Kitten on Shrek 2 Was Cute,

Then I dare you to look at these faces & not melt into a puddle...

At about 7 pm

every night, I start getting exhausted. To the point that my 'brain feels dizzy' & I think that at any moment I could pass out.

But when you're a mom, you don't just get to go to bed when you're tired.  7 begins the whole night time process which means several several more hours until I get to go to sleep.

I get things ready for the next day.  Backpacks, lunches packed, papers looked at, signed, homework done, etc.

Get outfits laid out.  Make plans for who goes where, when, & how.

Get everyone medicated, bathed, snacked & down to sleep.

Then I start my work, church work, website work, housework (in that order).

And the mountains of laundry.  The piled up counters.  Mail, bills, coupons....

All I want to do is go to sleep.  Get much rest.  And wake up ready to tackle a NON-busy day of playing w/ my cute kids... and watching them love life.

Wouldn't that be nice? 

Eeny Meeny

Flynn just finished Day # 2 of SUMMER INSTITUTE (aka summer school) @ the school we have tentatively planned for her to attend kindergarten.

We go into everything with apprehension considering all that's on the line each time she's not in our care.

This step was a little easier since Hot Hubs is also teaching summer school in the same building.  He talked to the teacher ahead of time & at the pre-summer summer school meeting, each teacher was epi-trained.

That didn't stop Daddy from checking in on Flynn during her lunch time again today.  He found her sitting next to a cute girl ("with glasses momma... the glasses have lots & lots of colors on'em") who happened to be eating a ham-cheese sandwich.

Jeff was a tad worried.  He leaned over & whispered to her,

"You sure you want to sit here?  Would you rather sit at a table by yourself?"

Flynn wasn't sure.  She gave each option thought, "Well, yah... well..."

Remember, that new friend... and all those colors in her cute glasses, I mean, that's quite the decision.

So, like any reasonable 5-year old, she went with a completely well thought out decision making process,

"Can I do eeny meeny miney mo?"

We Did Some Scratching but it didn't Itch

Happy Seven Years Hot Hubs...

7 years ago today

Last night

(still in love!)

My Life is Crazy

but not too crazy to update our happenings...



Like the first food fight, ever, at our house. Started by Gabe. Ended by Gabe. Eggs & noodles.



Or how Gabe is obsessed with body parts...of all kinds. Everything from esophagus to, you guessed it, the body part most boys like to talk about.



And Flynn, who I was almost certain would don glasses by kindergarten, is saved by a hair. Her crossed-eyeness & far-sightedness falls within the normal range. Letting her K teacher know & watching to make sure it doesn't get worse, was all it requires.

But, I never want her to have to get her eyes dilated. Ever. Again. PS Super dark eyes are harder to dilate than lighter ones. 5 years + 2 SETS of dilation drops = whiny kid for the rest of the day.



Flynn starts summer school soon. Daddy will be teaching in the same building (which is why she's going). She's so excited.



How does time go by so fast? On the way to niece Hannah's graduation, I thought about how she was just weeks old at my graduation. At that time, I could never have pictured her on that same walk, about to take on adult life. But it got here. In a jiffy. Too fast.

It makes me want to keep taking those pictures in my mind, and freeze time.



Preschool graduations, dance recitals, trips to the zoo, summer school, Mommy working 3 part time jobs, birthday parties, church stuff, park playdates, graduations/parties, you name it... it's on our schedule.

Life's too busy.

Me Got a Question For You

My little jokester has been working hard on spinning his knock-knocks & one-liners.  Sometimes he remembers them correctly, sometimes he makes them up as he goes along.

I'd like to say they're always funny, but that would be a stretch.

My favorite thing about all of it is his approach,

"Hey Momma, me got a question for you..."

And when I hear that, I can't resist.

Okay, You Look At this & Try Not to Cry

See?  I told you, IMPOSSIBLE.

And so, that's exactly what I did Tuesday.  Cried...and cried...and cried.  And I didn't care who saw me.

I used to be a closet cryer.  Actually, I didn't even cry in the closet.  I just rarely cried anywhere.  

And now?  Now that I'm a Momma?  I cry at everything....Hallmark ads....Johnson & Johnson commercials, you name it.

So imagine my floodgates opening up when my girl who used to make the cutest little "O" with her mouth when she was a baby, who bit her baby brother's toe when she was 1 & he was zero, who has managed to make me fall in love with everything about her (including her penchant for pink),

walked up to the microphone donning a paper grad cap and said,

"Thank You."

And when her BFF's name was called (one of the first) to receive her diploma, I went ahead & started sobbing.  Not just silent, subtle tears, but loud ugly sobs that made even Hot Hub's head do a jerk.

I might as well start stockpiling kleenex for kindergarten.  Less than 90 days to find the perfect waterproof mascara.

Wish me luck.

Possibly One of the Cutest Things She's Ever Said

We're happily diving into a tub of summer clothes, mostly stocked by HAND ME DOWNS by our favorite hand me down'ers.

I came across a shirt (I think from our pastors), which is kelly green with bright yellow writing (that alone could make me love it).  It has JOE on the front, MAMMA on the back.  Haha.

Like I do w/ all her clothing, I put it on her, and explained what it said.  I laughed as I said it.

About 5 minutes later, she approached me, 

"Momma?  Was this YOUR shirt when you were little?"

"Um, no..."

"Then why does it have your name on the back??"

Questions

My kids are asking me questions all the time... that I find myself unequipped to answer.

Here are some of them:

• What kind of 'animals' are the Fraggle Rock characters
• Why did God make 'icky' animals
• How many days 'til my birthday
• Can I ride the giraffe at the zoo
• Why can't we have more babies

That's just a small sampling. Sometimes I muster up a response...sometimes I say, "I don't know."
Sometimes...I say...
"Ask Daddy."

Not Bragging On My Kids

This time I'm bragging on me.

I've lost 30 lbs in 6 months. Which now that I see that in print, it doesn't seem that impressive... like who can't lose 5 lbs a month.
But, does it sound better if I say that 25 of those 30 lbs have been since February?

One clothing size down.

And the biggest benefit, is bending over to tie my shoes & it not hurting. Or running after the kids & not having to stop & take my pulse.

Okay, 20 lbs to go.

His Dad's a Science Teacher...

so why should expect differently?

Like when he & his sis get in a scuffle (regular occurrence) & he comes to me, crying...

"Momma... Fwynn hit me... she hit me... in the esophagus...."

I've Heard of 'Break a Leg', but this is ridiculous...

Monday, on account of me being busy with the tv spot, Papa was roped into dropping Flynn off (as well as picking her up) at dance.

It sounds as if she wasn't getting into her seat & strapping herself in right away. So Papa did his uncanny approach of coercing her into her seat,
"Flynn if you fall out of the truck on the way to dance, you won't be able to dance if we run over your leg."

This was no threat to Flynn,
"It's okay, I can dance on one leg."

Were You Outside on TV Momma?

As if my few tv appearances haven't been confusing enough to my kiddos, today's segment included a clip of me OUTSIDE (pre-taped) garage sale'ing.
I came home & Gabe was as confused as could be.
We may have gotten it straightened out. Not sure.

Want to see the vid? GO HERE.

And don't worry, I don't typically make it a habit to give my friends & family garage sale 'stuff'. :)

I Used to Hate School Pictures (chapter 2)

The really sweet thing?... he was most proud of his shirt in this picture. The super thing is that I didn't even buy the shirt. It was handed down to us (not sure by whom, but thank you!).

And by the way, I don't think he's a handsome little devil because he looks just like his daddy. It's just 'cause he is.

Happy Mother's Day!

My old college buddy Monica gave me the nicest Mother's Day gift a girl could ask for (that is, besides a nose-piercing, of course), she nominated me for MOTHER OF THE YEAR!
And guess what?, I won!

Check it out HERE!

Happy Momma's Day to my Momma! And to Hot Hub's Mom! And to all the other Mommas in my life!