time for the merriment to begin

It is December!

Yesterday, the boys and I put the tree up.  Noah was so excited and happy-until he wasn't anymore.  Then he just wanted to watch tv or play the Wii.  He had been begging to see his ornaments for 3 days.  I guess he wasn't begging to put them on the tree though, so I shouldn't have expected anything more.  What was I thinking?

This is Noah hanging one of his first ornaments. Before he was not wanting to anymore.

Rhett was a trouper and hung all of his.  He had a comment about everyone of his ornaments, which reminded me of myself.  I remember every single ornament-where I got it, from whom it was given, the when is getting a little fuzzy but some of them have dates, which is good.

After the tree, I dragged the boys outside for their Christmas card picture.  Again, Noah was not excited to be doing this particular thing, so I had to resort to telling him to imagine Rhett was wearing a purple dress.  Low blow, Rhett thought.

I did get at least one good picture, which I am not showing because that would ruin the surprise of opening the card, but here is a gem that shows I have driven Noah crazy with pleas to smile for the camera.

And this was my back-up plan. Rhett made it at school-isn't it great? I'll definitely frame it but if Noah wasn't going to cooperate (I know, he is almost 7, how hard can it be to make that child cooperate! But I am slowly finding out that you can't MAKE Noah do anything.) it was going to be our Christmas card.

****
Happy Birthday to Mallory, my niece.  I hope you have a great, wonderful day!  Also, Abbey, happy birthday to you as well! 

happy they are mine

When going around the table for Thanksgiving dinner to say what we were thankful for, Noah said, "My brother."

When Rhett and Seth were at the Texas Tech-Baylor game in Dallas, someone leaned toward Seth to say, "You must have taught him right."  A Baylor football player was hurt and Rhett had his "Guns Up."  Just like you are supposed to if you are a Tech fan.

Sigh.  My kids are the best.

thankfully, the time is here

Rhett says, "Gobble Gobble!"

He and his classmates were turkeys trying to convince everyone else not to eat them.  It was cute. 

Today, Noah and his classmates are making a Harvest stew, each bringing their favorite vegetable.  I am sure most of them brought corn.  But that is okay.

Tomorrow there is no school.  We are ready for Thanksgiving!  I love Thanksgiving.  I love the food, the desserts and the time spent with family.  And it also means that it is closer to next month which is full of birthdays and Christmas. Love it.

I hope everyone else has a wonderful holiday.  (And if you eat turkey, don't tell Rhett).*

Oh, and one more thing!  My mom has started a blog.  It is called "Ramblings" and the link is to the right.  Go check it out!  And Welcome to the blogging world Mom!



*Actually, Rhett really doesn't care if you eat turkey or not. He is looking forward to Turkey Day.  And pumpkin pie.  Noah wants turkey too.  As long as it is the drumstick.

did you know

• that if one spills Sprite onto a coffee table and doesn't wipe it up, it will absorb into the wood and turn it green. Good lesson learned by all, eh Rhett?
• that putting soft, flannel sheets on a bed will make it so comfy and warm that it will make it near impossible to get out of bed in the morning?
• that putting a chocolate glaze on caramel popcorn is a surefire way to have one eat the entire bag by one's self?  Those Boy Scouts do know what they are doing.
• that lifting nearly 2500 magazines into a paper recycling bin will make your back and arms very sore the next morning?  (We are half-way there to our goal of a Mile of Magazines!)

celebrating mom

To my mom:

Who never says no to playing a game when I ask, even though the rest of the family is less than enthusiastic

Who always makes an effort to make her home warm and inviting for guests, even if they are just her children

Who hangs her grandsons' art proudly in her hallway and would do it the same for all her grandchildren

Who has the best cookies, fruit salad and apple pie around and she shares her recipes

Who is always there when you need her, even if you are far away or seem like you are far away


I remember the summer that I lived in an apartment for the very first time.  It was also the summer I got married but I digress.  I had a job at a daycare and at night I took a few classes.  My roommate was Christy who also had a job and classes.  Anyway, one of the first weekends of the summer when Christy went to visit her parents, I caught a stomach bug.  (It was also one of the first weeks of my job, so I wasn't used to all those germs yet from the cute children I guess) It wasn't the worst stomach bug I ever had but I was by myself so it seemed pretty bad.  I called Mom.  Who immediately said she would drive down to take care of me.  And she did.  I remember by the time she got there I was feeling better but honestly, I think I felt better the moment she said she would come. 

Moms are special healers that way.

Thanks Mom for all you do.  Happy Birthday! I love you!

already with the Christmas lists?

Hello!  I know it has been a long time.  Last week was...ugg.  Didn't feel well.  But this week is a new week so hopefully I will post more often. 

Rhett and Noah have taken it upon themselves to write their Christmas Lists to Santa.

Rhett:  Mom, do you believe in Santa?
Me: Yes.
Rhett:  Me too.  Do you know some kids in my class say that he isn't real?
Me:  Well, he is as real as you want him to be.
Rhett:  Oh, he is real alright.

At this point in Rhett's childhood, shouldn't he be a little suspicious? He is in 3rd Grade.  I am just afraid that he is going to be crushed, just crushed when he finds out the truth.  So I try to throw in remarks like "he is real as you want him to be" to prepare him.  Subtly.  I don't know what I am doing.

Anyway, with no further ado, here is Rhett's list:

Dear Santa,
I've been trying to be very good this year. My wish list is this.
1 Ipod Nano (Blue)
2 Mind Flex
3.Fossil Fighters
4 Webkins Shark
5 year supply of bacon
5 biggest star wars Lego set ever
6 10 Texas Tech window stickers.
7 2 under-armor shirts
8 Madden 2010 (Wii)
9 Baron Batch's autograph
10 pink and orange Zumbuddy

Ones I'm sure I want  
1
2
3
6
7
9
10

Rhett marked out his "year supply of bacon" because as he put it:  "I don't think I really need that much bacon."  You think?

Here is Noah's list:

Dear Santa
1 Every webkinz ther is.
2 a real webkinz bunny.
3 ipod nano (green).
4 a bird with a Texas Tech sign on it.
5 a owl webinz.
6 a webkinz Dragin.
7 a webkinz geco.
8 a webkinz Husky.
9 a webkinz Pug.
10 Babe Ruths small metal

I think that Noah secretly doesn't believe in Santa and wants to catch us in a lie because how, oh how, are we going to get anything of Babe Ruth's or is there even such a thing as #4?  And I made him mark out #1 and the real in #2.  Because as we all know, real bunnies freak me out.

So there we are.  I wonder how many times this list will change before December 24?

Aimee. who loves her boys still.

I don't have much to say but feel I should blog about something.  It has been not such a busy week and besides, my sister who works at a paying job and is a mother of 2 kids blogs everyday (at least this month), so I feel sort of like a slacker.  So I will blog about...

Noah.
who does not like change.

The other day he came in upset and near tears because he and his friends were playing baseball and then they decided to play football instead.  Noah insisted that he hates football and just wanted to play baseball.

Yesterday, he came in upset and near tears trudging toward his room.  When asked what he was doing and what was wrong he said that he and his friends were playing football and now they want to play baseball so he had to get his bat even though he didn't want to.  Confused I asked him, "I thought you didn't like football?  And liked to play baseball?"  He answered that he was sick of baseball and was having fun playing football.

So my only conclusion to this was that it doesn't matter what he plays with his brother and friends, he will get upset if they change their minds in the middle of their game of whatever and want to do something else.  He doesn't like change.

Rhett.
who thinks he is getting way to big for his size 8 pants.

The other night I told the boys to go get a shower and Rhett stated that they got a shower last night.  I told him that no they didn't.  He said, "Yes, we did."  No, you didn't!  And on and on it went because I can't back down from an argument with someone who argues like my brother once did.  Anyway, I then remembered that I am the mom and asked him, "Do you really want to argue with me?"  to which he answered confidently, "Maybe." 

"Rhett!"  his dad angrily yelled from the other room. 

"Bad move, bud." I answered smugly.

picture update

Happy Halloween! Happy November! Happy Day, I have pictures for you!

I am working backwards here but here goes:

The boys dressed up for trick or treating. Noah was Mutt Williams, from the last Indiana Jones movie. He looked great, especially with his hair dyed. Of course, no one knew who he was.

"Oh, are you Elvis?"
"Cool! A biker!"
"Hey, are you that guy from Grease?"
Noah's response to that one: "I don't even know who you are talking about!"

But he loved it and next year he wants to be Indiana Jones.

Rhett was Snake Eyes from GI Joe or a ninja. Just like 4 out of 5 boys were ninjas this year. He decided next year he wants to be Frankenstein. It is scarier.

Last week was Red Ribbon Week and Thursday, they got to have crazy hair.  So we did the whole spraying color in the hair and they loved it.  It was raining that morning, so I made sure and told them not to get their hair wet or it would run down their face.  They were extra careful!

And this is Noah, after a whole week of being sick and staying home.  It was a Friday and Fall Break and one of his friends invited him to go to a Pumpkin Patch.  He was finally better, so we said Yes.

30 minutes before they got to our house to pick him up, he pulled up a chair to the window and waited. So patiently but yet so ready to be free.

It made Seth and I laugh.

But I know what he felt like.  That weekend, we were out of the house as much as possible.









Have a great Monday!

why I haven't blogged

THINK GREEN

This is what I've been up to.  A Think Green Initiative at our school is in full swing and because I am chair (why did I want to be chair again?), I have been up to the school almost as much as my kids.  I have also been at the computer going through names and emails because we are going to Email Correspondence instead of hard copies of notes.  About 75% of the families are on board which is great, but that means I am seeing names in my sleep.  Besides that, I am excited.  We are also doing a Mile of Magazine Drive through the month of November and December.  We need to collect 5600 magazines.  That is 8 per child.  I have about 40 here at the house, so my kids are more than covered.

What else? 

Two of my good friends and neighbors are moving away.  What makes it worse is that they have kids who are good buddies with my boys.  So we have been sad around here.  Very happy for them and their new opportunities but sad that we won't see them in the everyday setting anymore. 

We are winding down our sports for the fall.  Noah wanted to play basketball in the winter, but I promised we would find something fun to do if we didn't.  Does that make me a bad mom?  I don't think so.  I just think we need a break.  Going to 2 different practices and 2 games a week is tiring. 

So that is why I haven't been blogging.  I'm too busy thinking green.  And being sad.  And driving kids around. 

checking in

I am well!  My kids are well!  We are enjoying these last two weeks of October.  I'll have a make-up post with pictures, I promise, but right now I just wanted you to know that we aren't sick anymore.  Yay!

hello

Last week, when I found the quote above this post, I laughed. 

This week, I am not laughing anymore. 

Whatever "not feeling well" is, I had it.  I am feeling better today and Noah is on the mend as well.  He, too, had the piggy flu and now has an ear infection on top of it.  Thankfully, Seth took care of the boys when I was feeling my worst and a sweet friend brought us chicken noodle soup from Panera (the best ever).  But I have to say that quote is so true.  Kids don't care if you are sick.

I want to also take this time to give a big cyber hug to my friends Holly and Justin.  I hope you know we love you!

Although October hasn't been the best month for us, it is a month of celebration for my family. 

• My nephew's birthday is today.  He is 9!  Happy Birthday Nicolas!*
• My dad's birthday is tomorrow.  Happy Birthday to Dad!*
• My grandmother's 90th birthday is Saturday!*  My mom is having a party for her. 90.  Wow.  That is amazing.

Have a good day and here's hoping for a day out of the house.  At least for Noah and me.**

*Because of said "not feeling wellness," all birthday cards will be late. Sorry.
**It is Fall Break today and Friday for the boys.  As if we needed a break.  Because my kids have missed half a week of school each, they I am not feeling the excitement of a Fall Break.  I am sure we'll find something fun to do. 

wishes

The other night I was wishing, wishing that Noah hadn't gotten sick like his brother, exactly one week later, on a Saturday, and that led me to thinking about how I really like wishing.

As a child, I made many wishes.  I would wait for an apppropriate time of course--the first star of the night sky, blowing out the birthday candles but later realized that just wasn't enough.  So I found out that if an eyelash falls out and you find it, you can make a wish and then blow your eyelash into the wind.  Blowing dandelions was another good time to make a wish.  Then, I admit, I got a little carried away.  If I saw 11:11 on the clock, I would make a wish.  If our car drove over a bridge at the exact time a train went under it, it was wishing time.  If I was eating a bag of peanut M&Ms and came across an M&M without the peanut inside, I would make a wish.  As you can see, I did make it a little hard for me to find opportunities to wish.  I knew it couldn't be very easy; that I had to work for it.  (Imagine my disappointment when I looked at the clock at 11:12, or after begging inside my head for Mom to drive faster, we just missed the train or eating a whole bag of peanut M&Ms and they all had peanuts).

I wish that I could tell you that I stopped doing all of that when I grew up to be an adult.  I wish I could tell you I was a bit embarrassed that I didn't stop.  But those wishes weren't made on any of the criteria I have for wishing, so sorry, it just won't happen.  :)  Although now, I do most of my wishing at night when I can't sleep.

To me, wishes are hopes, little prayers and dreams.  Why would anyone want to stop that? I remember a year ago I read a book (and I think I talked about it on this blog) about a woman making three wishes that she hoped would come true in a year.  The thing about her wishes, though, was that she just didn't make them in the one-star night.  She thought about it, she wrote them down, she made a sculpture of what she wanted to see in her life and she even sought those things out. 

I thought about that as I was wishing the other night in my bed.  How do I go about making my wishes (or little prayers) become a reality?

• I wish I could be the kind of mom that has breakfast ready for the kids before they get out of bed.
• For that to happen, I am going to have to be the one to get out of bed earlier than I currently do. 
• I wish I could get those Waste Management people to call me back and talk to me about a recycling contract for the school.
• I am going to have to sound more authoritative, less like someone who is easily pushed around.
• I wish I could sound more authoritative on the phone.
• I am going to have to practice.  Look, I admit, Dad, that I am a mumbler.  I also am no good on the phone.  Or with confrontation.  Or having a take charge kind of attitude.  I am cursed with being too nice. :)  But maybe this will be good for me. 

Those are just small wishes I have.  There are others, deeper and more personal. But talking about these wishes has made me want to think about those others.  Maybe I should do what the author of that book did.  Maybe I will write it down or draw a picture--something to remind me what I am striving for in my life.

Do you still wish?  Do you have funny ways of wishing (or is it just me)?  What is something you wish for this week?  I hope that whatever you wish for, it becomes a reality for you.

inspired!

...It is Friday!  Woohoo!  I think I want to do a Be Inspired Friday post today. It has been forever since I have done one but I finally upgraded my editor on the ole blog and it has a bullet option!  Perfect for a list-maker like me.  Side note:  Being a list-maker doesn't make one organized.  Just so you know. 

• See, isn't this cool?
• And so much easier!
• Art Display and Storage Box:   Bloesem Kids blog always has such great crafts that I find myself going here first if I ever need a rainy-day craft for the boys.  This Art Display and Storage box is such a great idea that I think we'll do it next time my kids say, "I'm bored." "Let's do something together Mom!" (Yeah, I have strikethrough now.  Isn't it awesome!)
• Kim Haynes is an Oklahoma based photographer who took photos of my whole family three years ago because a friend of a friend recommneded her.  I love looking at those pictures everyday and love going to her website to look at all her work. She is so talented and I am thinking it is about time to get some new pictures.  (hint,hint Seth)
• I love this idea:  A Recycled Gift Bow!  You can make it from old magazine pages or even old map pages.  This is such a fun idea.  I hope I remember to do this for Christmas.
• On a sad note:  My favorite cooking magazine, Gourmet, is shutting down.  I really wish I had helped them out by taking a subscription.  Instead, I relied on their website for wonderful, delicious dishes that impressed all my neighbors.  I bought their magazine on occasion and plan on buying their last issue in November (or is it this month?) and found it so enjoyable to read.  I understand the reasons for it shutting down production but I will miss the inspiration--especially when the website shuts down as well.

Have a great weekend!

you'll like this post

...So, have you noticed anything? :) I decided I was bored with my blog layout and did something about it. It helps when you can't go anywhere because your child is home sick.

Which leads me to this--Rhett is back at school today! Feeling good and dreading the homework he'll have!

The rest of this post is sort of a photo recap from the last few weeks. It is a modge-podge, so get ready:

For my birthday, the boys blew up balloons for me that morning. An even greater gift: Rhett learned how to tie balloons, so I didn't have to do anything! Yay!

Last week, I received a lovely little gift from my sister Krista. To show you what it was, I tried taking a picture of myself wearing it, but I kept closing my eyes because the flash! Picture after picture, I took, only to see in my viewfinder myself with eyes closed. So by this picture, I was laughing hard at myself:

After all of that, I realized, you couldn't even see the necklace that well, so this one I just took one of the necklace. It is probably the only picture I didn't blink:

Isn't the necklace adorable! It is a scrabble tile!! Krista bought it from etsy.com, a site I love because it has all kinds of handmade wonders. Thanks sis! I love it! I wear it whenever I have to take care of things for the Green Team PTA. Oh and good news on the Green Team front: The school is going paperless as far as school correspondence is concerned! All news that the principal or the PTA has for families will go out in an email instead of sending home 700 copies each week! So exciting!

Fast forward to last Friday: Seth surprised me with flowers! It was so sweet and unexpected. They were a little mound of colorful flowers like daisies and such. Two days later, I noticed another type of flower:
The tulips totally shot up and look like they are trying to escape! They were not like that when Seth brought them home. It gave us a great laugh. I have enjoyed the burst of color, especially since the weather has been grey and gloomy and we've been inside all week.
This next picture, I took on the way to Friona almost two weekends ago. I love taking pictures of the sky and this was just wonderful. It was of a heavy rain storm that we eventually drove through (or at least one like it). I love how you can see where it is raining and where it is not. It was more fun seeing it from afar than driving through a storm like this. I couldn't see a thing! Rhett was a little worried. He asked later, "Mom, how could you drive through that?" Good question.
I hope you have a great day. I am just so happy my kids are healthy that I know I will.

ramblings from the seat beside the sick bed

...Since Rhett is sick with the flu (yes, THE flu that everyone is talking about), we have been pretty much stuck inside for 4 days. Which isn't a bad thing because I've gotten all the laundry done and I haven't spent much money. So there is that.

Rhett doesn't like soup so I have been eating it for him. I ate Chicken Tortilla soup for 3 meals in a row and today for lunch, I had Chicken Noodle soup. Rhett has been drinking sprite, gatorade and eating Honey Nut Chex, without the milk. Seriously, that is all he will eat.

All Rhett wants to do is watch tv, so I've let him. I mean, what else is there to do when you feel bad? Right now I am making him try to take a nap because yesterday he didn't take one until he passed out at 5:30 and then didn't wake up again until the morning. I hear him moving around though, so that must mean he is starting to feel better because he is not wanting to go to sleep.

He does still have a slight fever which means he won't be going to school tomorrow. I dread that day. He will feel better by then (fingers crosses) and therefore will be bored the entire day. I'll have to think of something fun to do. But still relatively calm because he is supposed to rest.

I talked to my mom yesterday and she recalled the 6 weeks she was stuck inside the house while her four kids had the chicken pox, one at a time. 6 weeks. And this was before the Wii. Or the DS.

But that is what moms do. (Or dads). And that is all I've got to say today.

family gathering

...This past weekend, I went to Friona with the boys for a family reunion. You see, my grandfather has 5 brothers and sisters. They may be getting older now, but still find the time to get together.

I am amazed at how even though we are all older and the grandkids are having kids now, I feel the same as when I was a little girl and we would go to my great-grandparents house for get-togethers. The older women still gather in the kitchen, bustling around, all trying to set food up and later, clean dishes. The older men still gather in the living room, either to watch a game or talk about their golf game and how terrible they played that day. The younger couples and their parents sit close to the youngest children, watching them play and horse around and making sure they don't get hurt. It is different now because now I am no longer one of those children playing. My kids were some of the oldest children there. But I loved it. I loved getting to see my cousins and their families again (or meet their kids for the first time).

Here is a few reflections of my weekend:

*Full Circle

Friday night, the boys and I went with my brother, his son and my parents to the homecoming football game. Casey and I hadn't been back to watch a game since we graduated so it was a little strange and it made me feel old because I hardly knew anyone anymore. But it was fun to watch the boys, especially Rhett, watch their second cousin play football. They thought he was the bomb. So on Saturday night, it was such a thrill when Brenner (the football player himself!) played football with all the little cousins. Rhett was in heaven! Brenner earned a gold star that day. What is so neat about this whole story is that when Brenner was small, he loved going to the football games to watch Casey play! He was such a fan of Casey that only years later, did he realize Casey had a twin sister. Ha! Ha! Now Brenner has 3 fans, one of which is Casey's son. Very cool indeed.

*At least we can laugh about it

After the football game, we went to my grandparents house for a few minutes to see my cousin, Michelle and her kids. Michelle has three adorable children, two girls (one Rhett's age, one Noah's age) and a boy. Michelle and I were talking about school and of course, the subject turned to the flu as often is the case nowadays. Casey walked over and asked what we were talking about. After hearing that we were talking about the swine flu, Casey looks over at her third grade daughter, Baylen, and says, "What were those pigs thinking? Giving us the flu!" And she says back, quick as a whip, "I know! And I thought pigs were smart!" Hilarious!

*Four class reunions, lots of tractors, two queens, and a marching band

Saturday morning was Friona's Maize Days parade. The kids loved it because of all the candy that was thrown to them. Trailers full of people celebrating their class reunions passed by, some older than others, but all happy to be there. Miss Friona passed by and so did the homecoming queen, but they didn't throw candy, so the kids were not interested. Little Miss Friona did throw candy so she got a better response. It is all about the candy. One guy passed by throwing what it looked like the contents of his truck. Turns out it was notepads advertising his business. Next year, throw candy!

After the parade, we walked around the park where I bought my children whips. Indiana Jones whips. I know. What was I thinking? Hey, Rhett has only whipped himself once so far. :>

*Holly, the hero

Earlier last week, I emailed my friend, Holly, because I thought she might be going to the parade. She was so I asked a favor: get my kids Texas Tech jerseys! They are impossible to find in OKC, can you imagine that? Well, she came through and already, Rhett has worn his 3 times since Saturday. So thank you Holly. We are forever grateful!

save me

...Noah and Rhett were in charge of putting a pile of things away that were in the hallway and belonged to them. It wasn't a big pile. Maybe 10 small things. One of these things was a parrot sun catcher that I had received in the mail from some "save the birds" company. (I get things like this a lot: Save the wolves. Save the birds. Save the trees. Yeah, save some trees and quit sending me mail! Anywho.) I didn't want the sun catcher and told the boys it was theirs.

My mistake.

Not a minute later, I hear yells coming from their end of the house. I hear a cry, an "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!", and a "Leave me alone!" along with the door slamming. I knew it was about the parrot sun catcher. Why? Because it was something new to them and there was only one.

After assessing the situation, (Noah punched Rhett because he thought Rhett was going to throw something at him. Rhett didn't throw something at him until he did but he missed so it doesn't count, right? After apologizing to each other, although Noah had already apologized three times but only because he didn't want to get in trouble so he reluctantly did it again), I took back the sun catcher that had caused the trouble.

When will I learn?

check this out

...If you like games and music and even more, if you like to make your own music, then you must give this a try. It is kind of addicting.

Raindrop Melody Maker

The game if from Lullatone (http://www.lullatone.com/). They like to make stuff. It says so on their blog.

a birthday list

...Today is my birthday. I have to be honest-I am not quite as excited that I am one year older as I had been in the past. But that is okay. To celebrate my day, here is a list from this past year:



Things I love that I swore that I never (which sort of makes me a hypocrite)
-Diet Coke.
-Texting. I love texting now that I have a keyboard on my phone! I can text my sister in NC! I can text Seth at work! I can text my neighbor across the street! It is so great.

One Thing I have heard from my son which I had hoped I would never
-Mom, M_____ (a 3 year old neighbor) took her shirt off which is okay because at least she doesn't have her, you know, yet. Funny, I didn't know you had to grow those. I thought they just appeared. -Noah, yesterday, after spending time at a friend's house

Places I have gone and would go to again
-New York
-Washington D.C.

Places I have gone and swore that I would never again but did
-Oklahoma State Fair (Picture this, three heavy-set boys with Mohawks, wearing OU sleeveless jerseys with matching athletic shorts walking around with two women, one pregnant, one older, both of which are wearing tie-dyed dresses. Awesome)

Favorite thing to do with my kids
-Play the Wii. Now, we have Beatles Rockband which is so much fun! Thanks sweetie!

Favorite thing to do when my kids are asleep
-Play the Wii. What? Beatles Rockband!!

Books I read that I didn't think I liked but ended up loving
-The Twilight Saga

Books I read again because I still love
-Harry Potter

Book I recently read that made me a little less naive about the world
-Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot

Favorite Musician
-Joshua Radin

Song that my sons like but I wish they didn't
-Poker Face by Lady Gaga

Current Events that my sons were interested in and wanted to know more about
-Obama becoming President
-Micheal Jackson's death
-40th Anniversary of NASA landing on the moon

Something Cool that happened this year
-Meeting Astronaut Alan Bean and having my kids shake his hand. He also told Rhett he liked his shirt. Sweet.

An I was there when it all went down moment (actually this happened a week before my birthday last year, but it still counts bc I didn't do this list last birthday)
-Walking by Lehman Brothers after attending a broadway show in NYC and seeing all the tv cameras pointed at the building. I had no clue on what happened but we all knew it wasn't good. And we were right.

Still the best thing I am doing with my life
-Being a mom to Rhett and Noah and Seth's wife (of 11 years!!!)

our Wednesday

...Wednesdays are our free day, meaning we don't have any activities that we have to do. I like that it is in the middle of the week. It gives the boys a nice break. The last post I mentioned something about building a lego ship. I actually have been building all of the boys' lego sets again. Mainly because Rhett wanted me too but also because it was bugging me that they weren't built.

Anyway, the boys have been building things with me. I told them that we could check out the new Lego Store that is at one of the malls on our free day. So yesterday, we picked up Seth after work and went.

It is a very cool store and the boys each picked a small set for themselves. Last night, they got to work:

It was a great day.

birthday girl

...So, my oldest sister has a birthday today. I really wanted to write something clever, but I knew thatKrista would do it. And she did. And also because I am trying to build a lego ship. Don't ask.

Anyway, Jana, if you are reading this, I wish you the best of best birthdays. I really wish the boys had a big sister because I know she would have built lego ships for them. Why do I know this? Because that is what big sisters do. So the moms don't have to.

:)

Happy Birthday!

can un-heart be a word? edited with a clarification and again with a note

...One things I heart about the approaching of Fall:

1. The weather is actually cool in the morning. Today, it hasn't gotten over 68 degrees yet. That is because it rained all day yesterday and is cloudy today, but still. 68 degrees. That is close to Ugg weather, I tell you. To clarify: I mean close to when I can wear my Ugg boots again. :)

One thing I un-heart:

1. Flies. For some reason, they are so...sticky at the end of summer. You know, they fly around so close to you in the house, they are everywhere you are, they don't ever land...Can you tell there is one near me right now?

Note: Ha. I wondered where I came up with a great word like "clarification" so quickly and then I remembered (and noticed) Krista's blog post for today: Clarification. Ah, yes. Thanks sis for helping build my blog vocabulary. This stay-at-home mom really needs it! :)

9-11

...I have been thinking a lot about my trip to New York with my sisters and mom that we took one year ago. I really wish we were back there this year as well. New York City was a fantastic place to visit. I think what made the trip so special, though, was the chance to really visit with Mom, Jana and Krista.

We flew out on September 11. Many people looked at us like we were crazy to fly out that day. But really, won't September 11 be the safest day to fly, I asked myself, probably trying to convince myself that it really would be okay.

And it was.

A few days later, we went Downtown to look at the World Trade Center site. It was a sombering reminder of how we should not take life or loved ones for granted. That we really should live each day to the fullest. Looking at the emptiness of where the buildings once stood only made that more true to me.

A few blocks away, there stood a flag memorial near the damaged sphere sculpture that survived the attack. It was beautiful and touching. I remember wishing, and it is still a wish today, that Americans still felt as much pride and unity as we did just after 9-11. How easily those feelings vanish and the discord and unhappiness returns.

I hope, today, we remember not only those who lost their lives, who gave their lives, those who survived and those who lost their loved ones but also that feeling of "we are all in this together."

be prepared and loyal and all of that

...Both boys are Cub Scouts this year. Noah, a tiger, looks darling in his orange and blue doesn't he? Hee Hee! Rhett looks so grown up and handsome. They really take Cub Scouts seriously.

....

Except when they don't. :)

some bunny

...This past weekend with the bunny wasn't too bad. Holly Spots is a beautiful bunny who still scared me silly. If she hopped past me when I tried to catch her (we let her out so she could exercise), I would squeal because I was afraid of bunny wrath. She did bite Rhett. Not hard, but it still happened.

In this photo, she is enjoying a couple of grapes. Noah is petting her softly (but not on her belly because as Rhett said many, many times, "She does not like that!") and she seems calm. But this was Saturday. By Monday she was almost manic-like in her behavior. Chewing her cage, hopping very fast toward someone, sniffing your feet and legs, grabbing food aggressively from your hands...I am very glad she is back at school.

let's talk about

...Noah: I was up at the school yesterday morning before school started. I said bye to the boys then I went to do something. Afterward, I was walking down the hall and spied my sweet son holding hands with a very cute girl that is in his class. I had to bite my tongue, literally, to keep from squealing, "That is so cute! You are holding hands with a girl!" I played it cool and just walked on by, saying hi to both. Noah looked surprised to see me but he played it cool as well. His hand stayed firmly planted in hers.

Rhett: Last night we were working on some Cub Scout requirements and we got to one that was about Faith. I asked him to name two famous individuals who had faith. He named George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, obviously. After I asked why he said, "George Washington had faith that his soldiers would win the war. And Lincoln had faith that his soldiers would win the war against slavery."

I told him what faith means to me. (That at the end of every day, it is so comforting to know that there is a power bigger than me, than this life, and that He will take care of things. He will take care of me). Rhett said, "Yeah. Sure. I get it."

I keep going. I ask him how he could have faith in his life. He looks at me blankly. I ask him if he could talk to God about his problems and believe that He would take care of them. Believe that God knows what He is doing. Rhett asks, "You can do that? I thought God was much too busy for my problems." I assured him that God wants to hear his problems. He answered, "Ok. I'll remember that for next time."

Who knew what we could both learn from Cub Scouts.

This Weekend: Seth's parents are coming which will be fun. We also will have another guest in our house. Her name is Holly Spots and she is a pregnant bunny. From Rhett's class. I am praying that the bunny does not decide to have little baby bunnies while she is here. I am a little nervous about that and other things.

My Mistrust of Rabbits: When I was younger, we had a pet rabbit. I won't call this rabbit a bunny because he was much too mean for that cute name. He scratched and bit and ran away all the time. I remember one time, the rabbit got out of the fenced in area that my dad had built for it and Casey thought we needed to go after it. We were in the fenced-in area and Casey knew if he helped me over the sharp, metal fence it would be so much quicker than us going in the house and out another door. Of course it would. So he tries to lift me up and gets me over half-way and then lets go of me. I end up falling over to the other side but not before the fence leaves huge scratches down my back. I know I cried. I don't know who ended up catching the rabbit but it wasn't me. That rabbit eventually ran away for good and no one missed it. Every since, I don't trust bunny rabbits. Sure they look cute. That is where they fool you.

My use of pesticides: I tried so hard. I had such dreams for my butterfly garden. Big, beautiful flowers and lots of color with many butterflies all over the place.

The reality is that the only insect who has really being enjoying my garden is the ant. So I finally broke down yesterday and put some insect killer down. I know I won't kill the butterflies because they haven't been around. Sigh. Maybe next year.

a short note

...Rhett and Noah are in Cub Scouts this year. I just spent an hour sewing patches and replacing buttons and I am wondering if they can get patches taken away because of their mother's lack of sewing skills. Maybe no one will look close enough.

a short break already

...After a week and a half of school, the boys already have 2 days off. Today, we are hanging out. We slept late, I made French toast for the boys, I rearranged Rhett's room (his room confounds me--when will look exactly right? I just don't know) and now I am listening to them screaming (in a good way?) at each other.

Tomorrow, we get up early so they can get the FluMist.

Because the flu's going around, you know.

(Ha! Ha! I laugh at that last line because Rhett said that to me when we were at a neighbor's house for dinner. I had a plate of chips and dip and he asked if he could have some and I offered my plate for him to use. I was done. He looked at me, then shook his head and said no thank you. "The flu is going around, you know." The rest of the night we said that after everything. It was funny.)

Too bad it's true.

{happy sigh}

...I would say that I have been fantastically busy, with all the things I now have time for when my sons are away all day at school. It is true, I have big ideas on what to do with my time.

However, none of that has happened this week.

This week, I have been consumed with love and vampires.

After reading each book exactly twice and then re-reading some of my favorite parts again (and losing countless hours of sleep because of the reading and re-reading) I can cautiously say that I think I am ready to return to my normal life again.

But before I begin to see everything I have neglected (laundry, dishes, house), I do want to say this:

If you want a really good love story, one that makes you remember all the butterflies you felt when you first fell in love, then read these books. They are totally sweet, romantic and squeal-worthy. There is also plenty of life-threatening action involved if you would rather have that. Purely fun.

That being said, I now have to go do some housework.

Oh, and thank you for all your well wishes about our anniversary. We had a great time that day and it was Seth who gave me the Twilight books, so thank you to him especially. I enjoyed the few days off. ;)

the greatest ride of my life

...11 years ago this past summer, I got on a roller coaster with my soon-to-be husband. We were at Six Flags in Houston with his family. To be honest, I hated roller coasters. But I loved Seth. So I rode this terrifying ride with him, wishing it would be over as fast as possible, but secretly having fun at the same time. I wondered how could that be?

When we got off, we passed this tv screen. I stopped and stared. It was showing a slide show of pictures of people that had just been on the roller coaster. "Oh no. This cannot be good," I thought. And I was right. A picture came up of us: Seth with his hands in the air and wide smile and me--with my eyes shut tight and my hands holding on to the handlebar as tight as possible. I could hear the laughter of people who saw this picture. I was horrified.

11 years later, I am no longer horrified. I actually have a very fond memory of that day (although, I still don't like me in the picture. Yes, Seth bought it. No, I will not show it to anyone, so don't ask). Because here's the thing:

Marriage is like a roller coaster. My favorite part of the movie, "Parenthood" is when Gil's grandmother starts talking to Gil after he is complaining about his life.

Grandma: You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster...Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!...I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

You get more out of it. So true.

Seth, thank you for getting me on the roller coaster. And thank you for riding with me for 11 years. I love you so much.

Happy Anniversary.

let's imagine its the first

...There are my boys. Rhett is in 3rd grade. Noah is in 1st. The rain and my general feeling of malaise yesterday made first day pictures on the front porch impossible, so here they are today. Noah was less excited today (It's too long! I want to stay with you!) but Rhett was still ready to go.

They ride the bus to school which means from 8:30 am to 4 pm, I am without children. This is a strange feeling to me. The house is quiet and I don't hear "Hey, Mom?" forty times an hour. That I won't miss. I will miss their faces though. And the hugs.

Don't worry, I won't be bored. I have plenty to keep me busy. And when four o'clock rolls around, I probably will think, "Where did the time go?" :)

***
Happy Birthday Pop! We all love you!

school is here

...The boys are at school and hopefully the sun will be shining tomorrow so I can get the yearly picture by the bricks. And I don't feel all that great right now so I am going to keep this short. Talk to you tomorrow and I'll have some back to school shots to show you.

i am not superstitious, but

...Isn't it funny how people always start out that way? "I am not really superstitious, but I have to wear the same pair of socks to every game." Or "I don't believe in superstitions but every time a black cat crosses my path I think I am cursed."

Anyway, I want to be totally honest with you. I am superstitious--a little. I totally get scared when I break a mirror and I won't walk under a ladder or open an umbrella in my house. I throw salt over my shoulder when it is spilled (but only when I am cooking). I "knock on wood" to keep bad things from happening and I definitely believe things (good or bad) happen in threes.

Which leads me to this:

Ever since I have been married (11 years coming up this Saturday!), I have had a bit of bad luck concerning glass. If I break a piece of glass (whether it is a bowl or a cup), you better believe I will break 2 more things within the coming days or couple of weeks. It happens every time. I didn't notice it at first. No, I first thought I was just being unbelievable clumsy that month. But then it happened again. And again. Three things would always be broken. No matter how careful I was.

This is why I am down to one set of glasses (we have had 3). This is why I have had to replace a coffee maker and why I have no microwave plate in my microwave. Some things broken hurt more than others.

This one hurt a lot.

I have had this glass bottle with a sun on it for about as long as Rhett has been alive. In his first year, Seth and I took him to Ruidoso to visit my grandparents. He was about 6 months I believe. This was the last time we went to Ruidoso for a vacation. This is huge because growing up, my family and I would go every year. This is where my grandparents lived during the summer months and where Seth and I took our honeymoon. I know I would complain about going there but the truth is, it was really fun. We rode horses, played putt-putt, hiked and went to the horse races. We hung out with my cousins and ate at Casa Blanca.

When Seth and I came it was during July 4th holiday. Grandma would take care of Rhett while we went to a movie or to play miniature golf. We took Rhett to see the most amazing fire work show ever. (Rhett slept through it). We went shopping in a few shops and that is where I found the cutest glass bottle with a cork in the top. It didn't cost much but I loved the sun smiling at me. I had no idea what it was going to be used for but I knew I had to have it. Seth bought it for me and ever since, it had been in our kitchen, first for decoration, then later for holding dish washing soap. I would buy whatever color soap that would match our kitchen decor. Really.

I always knew it was dangerous to have that beside me while washing dishes. I am a klutz. I knock things over constantly. This bottle has been knocked over several times.

The last time must have been its final straw.

It was the 2nd thing broken in a week. The first was a bowl that came in a set of 8. They are lovely glass bowls that Seth's mother gave me when we went to visit. I dropped it trying to get all of them out of the car. I was a little frustrated. Now a set of 8 is a set of 7 and that just isn't right.

When I broke the sun bottle, I could do nothing but stare at it for a moment. I was actually really sad. Not for the glass bottle. But for what it represented.

When I threw it away, I placed it in a bag of recyclables. There were glass jars in there. When I threw the bag down on the floor out of disgust, I broke one of those glass salsa jars.

There was my 3rd.

three cheers for Rhett and Noah

...The All-City Swim Meet was an experience for us. The venue was amazing and huge and the boys (one boy in particular, we won't name names but he is the one in glasses) were overwhelmed. Noah passed his time waiting (and a lot of waiting there was) by swimming in the nearby pools and Rhett clutched the bag with his towels until he raced for the first time. Different kids indeed.

Noah's first race was the backstroke. He had never swam this stroke in a meet before, so I wasn't sure how it would go but he did amazingly well!

He stayed pretty straight the whole time and was the second swimmer to reach the wall. Which means he got a Silver Medal!

He also swam the free-style, breast-stroke and relay. He did great in all of those too. I think he really enjoyed himself.

***

Rhett's first race was the butterfly. He was so nervous, we could tell. He was also pretty nervous swimming the free-style. But his nerves were gone when he swam the breast-stroke. He dove in perfectly and ended up 4th overall (there were 4 heats). He was a little disappointed he didn't get a medal but he did receive a 4th place ribbon and we had to keep reminding him how many swimmers he edged out. We were really happy for him.

Yes, it looks like that man in the picture is cleaning his ear. The seats weren't great for getting pictures.

I have said it before: We are so proud of the boys.

running out of summer

...When I titled the last post, "Last one, I promise," I didn't mean the last blog post ever. I am sure some of you were thinking that by now. It has been awhile. This month is going to be crazy I fear. Here is a little update, sans pictures, but I will post them tomorrow.

Friday was the first PTA meeting of the year. I am the chair for the Green Team committee and I wanted to start out with a bang, so I proposed we start saving paper by emailing our newsletters and notes to families instead of sending it home with the kids in paper form. The president of the PTA is excited about this and is going to talk to the principal. I can't say I came up with the idea on my own, but if we do this, it will be so exciting. Last year, I received two copies of every single note that the school sent home. Wouldn't it be great if I can just open my email and read things online? Love it!

Saturday, Rhett and Noah had their all-city swim meet. They did great. It was an all day affair and it wasn't very comfortable sitting on benches in stifling humidity for 6 hours, but Seth and I were so proud of the boys for sticking with swim team all summer and doing a great job at the meets. I hope they do it next year. Tomorrow, I will have pictures.

Sunday, Seth and I braved the crowds and took advantage of the tax-free weekend in Oklahoma. The boys were on a playdate and we went to Old Navy for $10 jeans. Awesome.

This week is the official last week and a half of summer vacation. We have to go to Information Day at the school, go on another playdate to meet a new friend that will be going to the school, we have 4 parties to go to and then it will be over and the first day of school before we know it.

So have a great week. I know we are going to enjoy every minute.

last one, I promise

...My vacation recap is becoming quite arduous on my part and I fear boring on your end. So today, I will be posting just a collage from the rest of our trip. The remaining time we spent touring the Capitol (one of Seth's favorite things), the kids played at the park near our hotel (Phoebe was done taking pictures, thank you very much), going to the Nationals Baseball game, seeing the Jefferson Memorial and the Arlington National Cemetary. The following pictures are of those things:
The boys and I are going to see grandparents tomorrow, so have a good rest of the week!

our vacation part 2: edited with a note

...Thursday:

We went to the Air and Space Museum this day because of someone I wanted to meet. I was so excited when I read online that he was supposed to be there signing his books and I told Seth we had to go that day. I was so excited because not only is Alan Bean the fourth man to walk on the moon, he also is an artist that uses his astronaut experiences for inspiration.

He also is very friendly and was so nice to the boys. Even told Rhett that he liked his shirt!

I spent about an hour and a half in line but I really didn't mind it. Seth even stayed in line for me for awhile but I was too excited to concentrate on other things. Seth took the boys to see other things while I waited.

I don't think we took many pictures in this museum. There were just too many people. We did see an Imax and a planetarium show. Both were pretty neat. Rhett didn't like the Imax very much. He was too dizzy.

After the museum, we let the boys get some ice cream and we headed to the Sculpture Garden to rest. The sculptures were nice, but what really captured the boys' attention was the birds and this pool. I should rephrase. What really captured the boys' attention was the dialog that Seth made up for the birds hanging out by the pool.

Seth had us all rolling with laughter. This was one of my favorite parts of vacation.

After the break, we went back to our hotel and ate at Ted's Montana Grill. We had bison burgers (Rhett had chicken) and I was impressed how eco-friendly they were. Paper straws, plasticware that disintegrated in 50 days, ect. The key lime pie wasn't great, but their cookies were awesome. (Yes, we had both).

Then later that night, my sister Krista and her family arrived. Since Washington DC is closer to North Carolina than Oklahoma is, I made sure to ask if we could maybe see them while we were in that area. She agreed and they headed up to DC for the weekend. It was so great to see them. Krista was right when she stated on her blog that the kids got along great. After Phoebe asked if Isabel was with us (their only girl cousin, alas, was not), she quickly got over her disappointment and had a good time with the boys.

Friday:

We went to the Natural History Museum, which was my favorite museum of the ones we went to. It was beautiful inside!

Here are the four cousins in front of the elephant: Noah, Rhett and Seth all stuck their heads in the t-rex:
Then, while Seth went to see the Hope Diamond, the rest of us went to the Butterflies: Rhett was so worried they wouldn't land on him but one did and didn't fly off for four minutes:We ate lunch at the museum and can I say to never, ever get the portabella mushroom sandwich. Not only will it put you back $8, but it also doesn't taste that great. Seth, who shared it with me will tell you it was awful and disgusting--I don't think it was that bad, but it certainly does not need to be on the menu.

That is where I will end it today. I have to go through the rest of the pictures before I can go any further.

Note: Christy commented on this post and asked what my thoughts on the condition of the mall was. Well, I was very shocked. I was expecting green grass and instead, there was hardly grass at all. It looked like an alley. The pool that is in front of the Lincoln Memorial did have a certain stagnant smell to it. But I forgot all about it. Christy reminded me that I was going to look this up. I did and I read this. And this. And I found the website for the National Coalition to Save Our Mall. I can see now that it is a major problem. I don't have any suggestions on how to fix the problem or any input to add except that it was in pretty bad shape. And that I hope someone somewhere has a great idea on how to fix it.

good intentions

...I fully intended to write another post on our vacation. But, Rhett sprained his ankle last night at baseball practice (I should mention, he wasn't actually practicing baseball when it happened. They were taking pictures and he was horsing around with the other boys on a wooden plank and he fell off one of the planks and twisted his ankle) and we had to go to the doctor today (just in case).



I also have been consumed by thoughts of cupcakes.



Let me explain:



On the way to Washington D.C., the flight was very full. And we happened to be the last people to board. (Darn internet and pre-printed boarding passes). Because a very nice man moved from his comfy aisle seat in the very front of the plane (where there is a little more leg room and not the threat of someone reclining their seat into your knees) to a middle, yes middle, seat somewhere aisles back, I did get a seat by Noah and near Rhett. Seth, however, was farther back and sat by someone who had the flu and his wife. Of course.



However, these people were very nice. The wife let Seth have the window seat and she sat by her sick husband and then she basically talked to him for a lot of the flight. In that time, she mentioned that her daughter and son-in-law opened up a business in Beverly Hills, CA. A cupcake business. Named Sprinkles.



Sprinkles!



I have read about Sprinkles in Instyle Magazine so I knew they must be good. ;)



Anyway, I was excited because I was already in the mood for cupcakes. I had written down a couple of cupcake bakeries in DC that I wanted to go to.



Unfortunately, we did not get to go to them. Time and red line metro delays were a big part of that reason.



Fast forward (I know, this is turning into a long story, sorry) to today. I decided to try to bake Red Velvet Cupcakes because a) in all my 31 years, I have never tried Red Velvet anything and b) I was looking up cupcake sites online and red velvet just looks wonderfully tasty.



So, after the doctor, I dragged my poor son who doesn't want to walk at all and Noah to the grocery store so I could get some needed bake items.



I found a recipe from an interesting blog that combines the cupcake recipe from Magnolia Bakery in NYC and the frosting recipe from Sprinkles.



And...I'll have to let you know how they taste. I am waiting for them to cool and then I am going to frost them. After a BLT sandwich (tomatoes are also on my mind a lot), we are going to indulge ourselves. I have a feeling we are going to like them.