rhett and noah update

...The boys are recovering from a week of no school finally. Yes, I know it is Friday and they've been to school all week, but they sure were cranky the beginning of this week!
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We had no sports practice or games this week on account of being rained out. So that means extra games next week. Rhett is really ready to start his t-ball games. I don't think Noah cares one way or the other about his soccer games. Ahh, being a 4-year-old. So carefree...
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Rhett had his first real phone call the other day (which means someone other than the grandparents called him, and him alone, to talk to him. That is nice too, but usually they want to talk to Seth or me too). His best friend from school called him. It was so cute! They talked for about 45 minutes-I finally had to tell him to say good-bye. And the things they would talk about were just hilarious. Here is a snipnet of what I heard:

R: So, what do you think of potty talk?
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R: But, do you talk potty talk?
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R: Yeah, when my cousin talks potty talk, I usually do then too.


R: Next year, what school are you going to?
R: Mom, what school am I going to?
I told him. His friend will not be going to the new school being built in our neighborhood. Actually, he is not even in Rhett's current school's district. He and his brother go there because it has a very good Autism program and his older brother is autistic. Anyway...
R: (back to his friend). I'm going to a new school.
R: Oh. What's auctisism?......Oh.

I mean, they had some conversations now! Rhett knows his friend's phone number by heart. I was impressed. Of course, he thought his arm would never be the same again after he got off the phone. I guess he didn't know to switch ears and his arm got stiff! :)
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I'm going to break in here and tell you about a really good cause: Ali Edwards, a professional scrapbooker and very inspiring person, has a son who is autistic. She has a badge from Six Degrees, which is for raising funds for Autism Speaks Inc. If you know of someone with autism or just know of it, you probably know that 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with it. I encourage you to look at Six Degrees and see what Kevin Bacon has been up to lately with his charitable efforts and then go to Ali Edward's blog and check out her badge for Autism Speaks. And then think about donating for a good cause.

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I have a little parent-teacher conference with Noah's teachers today. It is standard, he's not in trouble! I told Noah about it and he goes, "I'm doing good Mom. I'm doing real good." Not worried at all, is he?

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And the picture above is one I'm very proud of. They are doing so well in Tae Kwon Do. They listen to the coach, they are ready to learn new things and they catch on pretty fast. It is great to see them so focused!

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Have a great weekend!

just a little bit

...People seem to care a lot about saving the environment, more lately than ever. I happen to be one of them who care but I'm also very lazy. BUT...in my Real Simple this month, it gave 26 easy ways to help save the planet. They are small things so it won't change your life. I'm passing some on to you:

1. Use a water-filter pitcher (or filtered water from fridge). Bottled water is expensive to transport and although it is easy just to buy and transport (that is my reason) I could always put water in my own reusable water bottle.. Plus the fact that Americans use 3.3 million plastic water bottles every hour but only on in 5 are recycled.

2. Switch to a dishwashing powder that's biodegradable and plant-based. Use one that has no bleach and phospates that threaten river and marine life and also doesn't leave chemical residue on your dishes.

3. Go to www.ftc.govto remove yourself from junk mail lists. (Click on "For Consumers," then "Telemarketing," then "Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and E-mail: Where to Go to 'Just Say No.'") If everyone in the USA reduced the junk mail received every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year. Wow.

4. Don't idle. It used less gas to restart your car than it does to idle for any length of time. I am guilty of this in the pick-up lane at school, but I am going to start turning off the car.

5. Buy recycled paper products. (Napkins, paper towels, and tissues.) If every household purchased one package of recycled napkins, we would save 1 million trees!

(All this info comes from Real Simple magazine: April 2007 issue)

Now I know that doing just a little bit will help better our environment and save trees. And that will help me sleep a little bit better at night because I won't be thinking what kind of world I am leaving my kids and grandkids.

Do you have any suggestions?

Spring is here

...rain is falling, the grass is greening up and the trees are budding. Beautiful! Here is a layout I did last year for a scraplift challenge but I thought it was appropriate for Scrapbook Tuesday.

I absolutely love this photo of the boys. They were just in awe of this little bunny that the photographer laid before them.

Can you see how much my boys have grown in a year? Wow.

you gotta have friends

...Friends are great, aren't they? And in this day and age, there are so many different ways to gain friendships. I am so blessed to have so many friends in my life--from my childhood (I have several that are still going strong and I absolutely love that), through Seth's work, through church, through blogs and scrapbooking and even by meeting parents at my boys' schools.

This past weekend, my childhood friend, Holly, came to visit and I just loved having her here! She connected with my kids (Noah went right to her, hugging her neck and Rhett talked her ear off the whole time) and it was awesome to see her get to know that part of my life better. Thanks for coming, for everything, my friend!

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Friends are also hard to get along with at times. Rhett and Noah have this neighbor friend, whom they both adore. The other day, though, he came over to play and ended up hurting Noah and telling Rhett he was never coming over to play again. Rhett was crushed. (Rhett is a lot like me in this way--he wants everyone to like him) The whole afternoon he was so sad that this kid did not like him. I tried to tell him that he was probably mad at me for telling him to go home after kicking Noah. But I don't think I convinced him. "You'll see," I said, "he'll want to play with you again."

And he did. The very next day. Boys. You know a girl would have waited at least a week to get over being mad! :)

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I know some friendships are never meant to be. They may have bitter endings which leave you feeling heartbroken. Some are never-ending and become so important and dear to you. Some friendships are shallow, some one-ended, some happen quickly, while others take years to beome something. All I know is to be a true friend you have to support, be honest and loving and caring and be yourself.

So, to all my friends, I hope you have a wonderful week. You mean so much to me and I am grateful to have you in my life. Happy Monday!

poof

...and spring break is gone. The boys have one more day of laziness and then its back to school on Monday. I feel like I have been on spring break too because I have not cooked once! So it is to the grocery store for me today. Holly is coming today too! So excited to see her!

We traveled to Seminole, OK to the Children's Musuem yesterday. It is about an hour and a half away. And I was wondering too, why OKC does not have a Children's Musuem, but they don't. The one we went to was great. The kids had a great time (we went with friends). So it was worth the drive.

Have a great weekend!

it's nice to be home again

...an yes, I still consider the town I grew up in home. And I will until I live somewhere for longer than 17 years. So far, that hasn't happened! :) Anyway, it is nice to go home for a few days. It is nice to have your mom do things for you. It is nice to do nothing every once in awhile.

The boys and I have been enjoying the break. The weather has been nice so they've been outside a lot. I have caught up on current events reading past Newsweeks. We visited with Casey and Cameron yesterday. So, yeah, good break.

I've taken no pictures though and haven't scrapped any either so this week Scrapbook Tuesday will be on Friday. Hopefully.

I hope everyone else is having a great week!

just some things to note

...The wind chimes are gone. You know the ones my neighbors hung on their tree outside, which happened to be pretty close to our bedroom window. I complained about them constantly to Seth and I know I mentioned them here once. The funny thing is---I don't know how long they have been gone. I just looked out my window this morning to see if it was a drive Rhett to the school bus stop day (cold) and thought, "At least it is not windy. Because I can't hear the wind chimes." Then a thought struck me--"I didn't hear them yesterday when it was windy!" I looked out and gone.

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Did I tell you that I am horrible with directions and I have a terrible sense of direction? I have gotten my mother and me lost at least twice while driving around in OKC since moving here and I totally got the boys and me turned around in a friend's neighborhood. The worst one was last week. Noah's soccer practice is way across town. It takes a good 25 minutes to get there. Last week, I printed off directions. Well either I looked up the wrong address or read them wrong, but I ended up 25 minutes out of the way. So, after some coaching from Seth (and frustrated tears from me), we got to Noah's practice about 20 minutes late. Yes, I drove around for 45 minutes. Sad.

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The boys have started looking at the book, There's a Monster at the End of The Book again. Rhett loved reading this book when he was around 2 or 3. He had the thing memorized! Well they found it the other day and just laughed and laughed while I read it. What is so funny, is that they are both so literal (Rhett especially), that they feel they have to explain why Grover was so afraid and that they really weren't afraid, ect.---every time. I guess they want to make sure I understand the book. The book is actually mine. The cover is torn and the pages are pretty thin. I loved it too. I just don't remember having to explain that I wasn't really scared of any monsters. Ha!

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The boys and I are spending a few days with the grandparents for Spring Break. We haven't been out of town since Christmas because of the snow and ice. So it will be nice to get away.

Have a great weekend!

warning: not for the squeamish

...We pretty much had a normal day. We played outside a lot because of the nice weather. We went to Tae Kwon Do as usual. Then Seth came home a little early and played with the boys outside a little more. It was getting late and I almost...almost...decided to just put the boys to bed without a bath. (Seth had given them a shower the night before). But then I thought, "No, they smell like the outside so they need one." So, in hopped Noah into the bathtub. I almost...almost...let him wash himself. I have been doing that more since he is 4. But I decided to help him this time. That is when I noticed something on his chest. I pulled it off and shrieked because it was a TICK! Ack!

The good news is that it wasn't hard to pull it off so Seth said that it might not have even bit Noah. But I am still going to call the doctor today. And keep a good eye on that sight for a while.

You should have seen me. I totally freaked out. I was vacuuming Noah's room, his shoes, his backpack, I washed his clothes in hot water, we were checking every inch of both boys' bodies (and our own!), and after the boys' baths, Seth and I both got showers. We were feeling rather itchy and icky, you know?

So now on our agenda is to spray the yard, get OFF for the boys and body check the boys after playing outside. We also helped our dogs out with the flea and tick guard.

If you are wondering why I posted this, it is to warn you--the bugs are back. They have had a nice winter rest but now they want to play. And bite. My sons.

Scrapbook Tuesday

...I scrapbooked like crazy on Friday and Saturday. Here is an altered "Live" that I used with some new paper and embellishments that I received from a scrapbook of the month club.

And here is a layout with one of the cutest pictures of Rhett and Noah I have taken in awhile. I used Heidi Swapp's clock transparency.

And if you click on the link that says "Your Scrapbook Stash Design Team Gallery," you can see two layouts that I created using new Tinkering Ink paper. It was really fun to use. Totally different than what I was used to, but I had a great time.

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As promised, here is a photo of Noah in his soccer jersey. I tried to take some photos at the game, but my camera was acting up, so I didn't get any.

It was really bright outside and so he had a hard time looking at the camera! It was a beautiful day to play and it was lucky it was on Saturday because the next day it poured!

Anyway, today the boys go to Tae Kwon Do and they get to wear their uniforms for the first time. I'll def. be getting pictures of that. They are doing so great. Totally concentrating on what the coach tells them to do. I am very proud of them!

Have a great Tuesday!

soccer star

...I'll post a photo tomorrow, but I just wanted to say that Noah did so well on Saturday! He played 3 quarters and up until the last one, he hustled after that ball and had some great kicks. The fourth quarter he got really tired but at least he tried! Go Noah!

We had a full day on Saturday. Rhett had t-ball practice in the morning, then we went to Noah's game in the afternoon. After that, ice cream at Braum's (double dip ice cream cones all around!), and then we went to the zoo. They opened a new Oklahoma Trails exhibit and it was awesome. The boys walked the whole time too (usually they are begging us to carry them!). I only picked up Noah when we were walking to the car. He was slugging behind. So it was a great day and we were SO tired afterward.

Yesterday, Christy and her husband, Casey came to visit and spend the night. They are doing great and the boys had the most fun with them. They'll be awesome parents!

And now I have to cut this short because I have to go get Rhett from school!

growing up is hard (edited)

...especially if you are a mom. I was in a serious sad mood last night. We took Noah to his first soccer practice and he did so well (which is exciting) but I couldn't help but think of this:

My baby is growing up. He is losing his chubby cheeks that I loved so dearly. He is no longer the little boy that just watched his big brother play soccer, he is the one playing soccer. How did this happen? When did I blink?

But, you should have seen him. He knew where to kick the ball. He was good at controlling it. The game is going to be fun to watch. So I am so happy for him.

And, classic Noah, he made everyone laugh because at the end of practice their coach was trying to get the kids to come up with a team name. There are girls and boys on his team so of course, we had some "Ponies" , "Teddy Bears" which made the coach cringe. She was trying to get them to have a touch name--"Broncos" or "Grizzlies". So she looked at Noah and asked him, "What name do you think the team should have?"

Noah's answer: "Squids."

eta: Unfortunately, the team is not the Squids. They are the Sharks. Noah was happy because they both are found in the ocean. :)

a BIG congratulations

...to my mom-in-law, the boys' Nana, Sandy. She is Teacher of the Year for Friona, TX!!!

Sandy, we are so proud of you! We are sorry we could not have been there to share this with you but I hope you know we were thinking of you. So excited for you!!! I hope you are enjoying this moment, because you deserve it! You work so hard for those kids and I know they mean a lot to you. I am so glad you got recognized for your hard work and determination.

Rhett and Noah give you special {{hugs}}. And Rhett says, "Cool." And Noah is still asleep so I don't know what he says but I am sure he would be impressed too. :)

We love you!

no layouts

...but since it is Scrapbook Tuesday here, I am going to share with you my goals for scrapbooking this week. I need to finish a layout for Your Scrapbook Stash, I need to finish my February page for my calendar and I need to take more pictures of the boys.

I have already re-organized my scraproom and right now it is clean and that makes it hard for me to start working. Because once I start, it gets messy again.

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Yesterday was so beautiful here. The boys and I were outside most of the afternoon. I am working on the front flowerbed, basically tearing out everything and starting again. Yesterday I tore it out. I am going to wait a couple of weeks to put in anything else, just in case winter decides to come around one last time.

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I am excited because my best friend Christy and her husband, Casey are coming to visit us on Sunday. I haven't seen her since this summer and so it will be good to catch up with her. I am also excited because she is expecting a child, due in August! Please keep her and baby in your prayers. I know she will appreciate it.

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And we are going to have another visitor in a couple of weeks---my very good friend Holly!!! I am so happy she is coming up for the weekend. She met my sons briefly this summer, so now she will really get to know them. I hope that will be a good thing! :)

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Ok, I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!!!

the boy who never grew up

...came to a high school in Edmond yesterday. The drama department put on the play "Peter Pan" using the Broadway costumes and sets and all I can say is, "Wow." I have never seen a high school play like that before. I don't know if something is in the water here, but there are very talented young people here in this part of Oklahoma. The talent ranges from singing to dancing to modeling to acting to becoming Miss America to becoming a gold medalist Olympian in gymnastics (Shannon Miller). And the teenagers who were in this play were no exception. The lead was fantastic and is graduating a year early to follow her dream and go to New York to see if she can make it on Broadway. I think there are 2 or 3 others that could do the same if they chose to. So, yeah, I was pretty impressed. I dragged the boys and Seth to see it too. It was 2 1/2 hours long but the boys sat through all of it. The only thing Noah didn't like was that Peter Pan was a girl. He looked at me and said, "Mom. Peter Pan is a boy. Why does he sound like a girl?" I told him what that the part of Peter was played by a girl but it was okay because she was doing a great job. He didn't seem convinced. :) Other than that, they really liked it.

Rhett's turn

...It seems like I have had a lot of stories about Noah lately so I thought I would share some things about Rhett. First, a layout with pictures of the first time Rhett wore his boots:

The lyrics to the right are from a Merle Haggard song. I know about Merle Haggard because of Seth. He loves to listen to old country. My dad might have listened to Merle too, but all I remember Dad listening to is Johnny Cash.

A side note: I downloaded two Johnny Cash songs to my Zune and the boys and I were listening to "I Walk the Line" and Rhett looked very confused during the whole song. Finally, he said, "I just don't get it." Hee! Hee! This is funny because I probably thought the same thing when I had to listen to him back when I was a kid. (Does that sentence make me sound really old or what?)

Anyway, Rhett has a thing about his boots. Whenever he wears them, he must wear them with a button-down shirt, buttoned all the way up, his cheap straw hat and his shirt tucked with his green canvas belt. Yes it makes me giggle everytime. On Monday, his friend told him that he would invite Rhett to eat with him. (They make all sorts of plans without asking the moms). I told him that his mom needed to call first. Well, he just knew he would be going. Later that day, he came in my room dressed up in his cowboy attire (with his cargo pants by the way) and it was so cute. He tries so hard to look his best!

Today, he did yoga with me. It was so fun because he had me laughing with all his shrieks and squeals and moos (during the cow pose, he actually mooed) and I thought to myself, "Why have I not done this with him before now?" It was a lot more fun with him than it is by myself!

Oh and he starts t-ball practice on Saturday! Ack! I really didn't think it was going to be that soon! Oh well.

So anyway, that is a little about Rhett. Just to be fair. :)

Have a great weekend!

blowin' in the wind

...It is March 1! March to me means lots and lots of wind. And that is usually when we have soccer and baseball practice and games so that means sitting outside in the windy wind. Not too much fun if you ask me. But I am excited that Noah starts soccer this year. I can't believe he is old enough. I mean two years ago, when Rhett was 4, he started soccer. And Noah hated going to practices (because he had to stand outside in the blowing dust probably) and he hated going to games because what 2 year old wants to sit and watch soccer? And now he is the one playing. Wow. I think 4-year-old soccer is hilarious because there is one big blob of kids running...they don't really know where, they don't really know why...they just know that have to run. Oh and there is this ball that their coaches and parents keep telling them to get, to take away from the other team and their whole lives they have been taught not to take toys away and all of the sudden we are yelling at them to Take it away!? it has to be confusing.

Seth took Noah to get his brand new soccer shoes the other day and you should have seen him--he was so proud!

You notice that they are silver. Very cool. His first game is next Saturday so I will let you know how it goes. It should be interesting. Seth and I don't know how Noah will act. He doesn't like to lose, he doesn't like when things don't go his way and he doesn't like when things are taken away from him. I know, what kid does like that, but with Noah he just gets so...mad. So we will see.

Rhett has to wait awhile until t-ball starts. I think it is toward the end of March. I have heard that baseball is very competitive here (even in t-ball) so I am hoping that he is on a team that likes to have fun and practices hard, but it is okay if they lose. And isn't on a team that is their sole purpose is to win. Another wait and see answer. And the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. Because its March and really windy outside. :)