At the same birthday party last weekend, my preschooler also received a little stamper. It was a circle shaped stamp that was orange in color. Yesterday, while we were running errands in the car, he decided he needed to stamp his arms, hands, legs and forehead. If that's not enough, he needed to also stamp his baby brother who was in the carseat next to him as well...all over too. It was a kodak moment (but I didn't have my camera.) He was so proud of himself.

Magic Jelly Beans~

Scott was invited to his first kid birthday party of someone he knows as a friend (someone from his pre k class.) He received a little thing of jelly beans shaped like a fish. On the way home, he discussed throwing them in the yard. I asked him why he'd do that, and he explained. He wanted to throw them in the yard and after he went to sleep, they'd grow into a beanstalk and go up into the sky.

Smiling, I reassured him that he could do that and that it was ok. He did...Fortunately, he didn't go outside the next morning and check to see if there were a beanstalk! Whew!

I just love childhood.

It's interesting...there are some things I've never done and aren't sure why.

For instance, I have a friend whom I never visit. I met her when I was 13 and we've lived within 10 miles from each other all of this time. She and my brother dated once and we started talking. We've followed each other's lives for about 30 years via phone (and email in the last few years.) It works for us and we've had a great friendship this way. I saw her once when I was 13, again in a library the same year (didn't realize it was her until later) and then again at her father's funeral several months ago. Thanks for being my friend, Pam.

Also, I haven't eaten at my brother's home (until tonight.) He has lived across from me for many years (and eats at my home all the time.) I'm not sure why, but the fact that he just started cooking probably has something to do with it. I enjoyed the chicken and dumplings, Mike. Thank you.

Years ago, I mentioned something about skydiving. For my birthday, my husband bought me two tickets to go skydiving. I procrastinated and procrastinated as I am quite the acrophobic. I just couldn't bring myself to throw myself out of a plane. Eventually, after a year, the tickets expired and I never went. I now choose not to mention this to my husband as I hope he has forgotten that his thoughtful gift went unused and was wasted. I probably could have done it if I had worked on my fear throughout the year...but I'm not sure why I didn't.

Finally, I love wearing socks. Around the house, I always take off my shoes and walk around in socks, usually nice fluffy white ones. I wear them until they are no longer white and have holes...then I throw them away and buy more while doing the same thing, over and over. I even sleep in socks. I have no idea why.

Yesterday, my husband dropped something in the kitchen and said uh-oh! My preschooler immediately sang, "Der Kommissar is in town." That's what happens when he listens to '80s music with my husband, lol! Today, he was singing, "I love rock and roll...put another dime in the judebox, baby." His all time favorite is, "I hate myself for loving you..."

Last week, when we returned from evacuating, my preschooler started sleeping in his own room at night. He just went in there (probably because he wanted to watch his dvd on his portable dvd player, which we allow sometimes.) I'm not sure why, but we just ...went with it. He sleeps in his own room during his naptime. But for almost three years now, he has been sharing the bed with us. His departure was unexpected and we weren't weaned, so to speak. I miss him at night with us. It's nice to have more room in our bed, but sad nonetheless. He's growing up...

My youngest brother is getting married next month. I haven't been to a wedding of a sibling yet. This brother was previously married but for only a couple of years and his wife wanted out (she found someone else.) I figure that it ended because they didn't invite the family and, in particular, me. It was a quick wedding because he was being deployed. This time, our family (and extended family) received an invitation and I have already bought my ticket to fly out to San Diego (for me and my baby.) It would have been nice if it were convenient for all of us to go witness such a celebration, but it was not to be.

When I think of this upcoming wedding, I smile. I love seeing people plan and enter into these lifetime arrangements called weddings. They plan the details (flowers, food, photography and music) and look forward to honeymoons. My brother and his fiance are going through premarital counseling. I think that is a very wise decision as many things aren't discussed until they come up. I've had friends who went through the same thing and weren't disappointed. I like feeling happy that his whole life is ahead of him. The joy of being married, having children, becoming mature with his spouse, and growing old together. My husband and I haven't really fought over anything significant in many many years. Occasionally, we disagree over very minor things, but overall, we've grown very mature with each other and have learned great techniques to get along. Marriage isn't easy, it's a work in progress with both parties doing their best to make the other one happy. I hope my brother's marriage goes as smoothly as mine has.

When you live in an area where hurricanes are prevalent, you cross your fingers that they go somewhere else. We evacuated recently from Hurricane Gustov (our city was one that had a mandatory evacuation.)While I had many of my important documents still together from the last evacuation a few years ago, I made a list of the things I thought were important and needed to be packed. It's interesting how you have to choose those things based on how much room you have in your vehicle. While I love taking pictures, I didn't have room for my photo albums. But then, pictures don't seem as important when you consider having to leave to protect your family, real people. Lo and behold, my daughter showed up the morning on the day we evacuated. I woke up to find her asleep in her car outside in the yard. She made it back home and we took her along with us. We also took our preschooler's bicycle (his favorite possession), my husband's golf clubs, my other daughter's cellphone and ipod and my baby's pack-and-play. We needed a place for him to sleep as naps are very important to him. For me, I grabbed a box of genealogy information and baby books from my children as well as my siblings. As long as we were all together as a family, nothing else seemed very important. We were safe and far away from the impending storm.

Bathtub woes... Yesterday afternoon, my preschooler decided he was stinky and wanted a bath. It sounded good to me although he wasn't really stinky. He played and played in there, loving it! I was getting hungry and popped out for just a minute to get a handful of peanuts. You know that feeling when you get when you hear something that you picture happening but know it can't possibly be happening. Well, I hear sounds of water being dumped. It wasn't a normal bathtub sound. As I walk toward the bathroom, I am continuing to try to picture what was happening. Lo and behold, as I get there, this precious boy is pouring huge cups of water onto the floor over and over. The entire floor is covered in water at least an inch high. How could SO much water be thrown out in so little time! Ugh!!!! I grab him out of the bathtub and put him in the hall in his time out place with a towel as I try to soak up the water as quickly as possible. In hindsight, I amaze myself in how composed I was when I handled my little water-thrower. It took all the towels I had to soak it all up. I had to move everything around, dry off what was on the floor, pick up the soaked rugs.... I remembered the big smile he had on his face when I initially went in there, probably proud of his accomplishment. After all the water was picked up and everything was back in it's place, I allowed him to get out of his time-out. When asking him why he did it, he said it was because he was done! (I had just gone out of there to get my peanuts after asking if he were done, he had said he wasn't.) But then, what should I expect from a 3 year old. Next time, I'll bring my snack in there with me. I reassured him that he can throw water out when he's outside in his pool, not in the bathtub....ever again!!!

Finally, preschool. I had put my preschooler on the waiting list for this particular private school when he was a month old. My city's schools aren't that good and the one he'd be going to in our neighborhood is just plain scary. I knew that if I hadn't gotten him on the list early, it might not happen.

But then, as the months wore on and he was getting older, I started getting sad. Even last year, I was getting teary eyed with the thought that he'd be gone three days a week. Was I doing the right thing? Was it too early? He had an interview with the school last January and I was quite ambivalent then too. But because I was pregnant, I thought he might want the time away from home to play with kids his own age, and that made me feel better. We finally got the acceptance letter in March. He was in! Oh, I was really feeling anxiety then, still on the verge on 'undecided.' After all, I could change my mind and not send him.

After the birth of his little brother, and the change in our daily routine, I finally understood that it'd be a break for me, and him. It would be alright. He'd survive...and I would too. It'd be ok. This preschool is expensive, it's a big chunk out of our budget and each year he'd go there would get more expensive. It was a big decision to send him and I spent hours debating the issue in my mind.

Last Friday, two days ago, the day came.......it was his first day of preschool (for 3 year olds) and we both did extremely well. I talked about what would happen in our daily stories at naptime and nighttime. It was the opportunity to discuss what his days would be like and what he'd do there. He was excited when he bought his backpack (green dinosaur style) too. When I took him to his class, he looked for his chair and sat down, happy as a clam. I knew he'd be fine. Neither of us cried, or even thought about crying. I am an easier crier and have cried when my previous kids entered kindergarten. But, it was easier than I thought.

He had a great day. Loved the lunch I made for him and enjoyed the class snacktime.
I think I made the right decision...

I just love this face.


And the face of my little one too.


And, not to be left out, my younger daughter.

Tractor Man! Here's my preschooler - dressed to work! He's in his 'tractor boots,' backpack full of tools and his hardhat. He'd prefer to wear this everyday!

It's raining outside! We need the rain so badly...my house on piers moves when it's dry and doors start to buckle along with cracks starting to emerge on the wall. We placed a soaker hose under the house to prevent any major issues in the near future.

I love the sound of the rain...especially a good thunder storm. It sometimes brings me back to when I was a kid and I remember coloring in a new coloring book and the smell of new crayons. Such a simple memory...it's interesting how something so insignificant can remain for decades in my memory while something that happened last week is easily forgotten. It just means I'm getting a little older; hopefully, a little wiser too.

It's dark outside, I can hear the rain beating on the steps to the porch, and the sound of faint thunder in the distance. Life is good. What makes this even better is that the both kids are taking a nap and it's quiet inside too.

I have a friend (actually my brother's friend) who has come to our house with him on occasion. It turns out that she and I share the same interest in watching Law and Order: Criminal Intent and In Plain Sight. So, for the last month or so, she's come over to watch the shows with me... It's nice to have a tv watching partner of sorts.

Pics from the Fourth of July!

Collin


Both boys


And...just had to include this one!

Yesterday, I went to the mall with my family. Of course, with a toddler (I guess he's a preschooler now), he wanted to stop and ride the little vehicles in the middle of the mall. So, we let him...it was expected. However, it was totally unexpected that he would check out them so closely. LOL! He spent half the time checking out the oil leaking underneath (of course, there was no oil...he was pretending.) He even went as far as to tell the little girl going to ride the four-wheeler vehicle that she needed to be careful because there was oil leaking underneath it and he needed to fix it. So totally cute! You can tell he's been hanging around his dad (who has been trying to keep the old lawnmower working for a long time....)I wonder what he'll be when he grows up?

Aaaah! Peace. My infant is sleeping and my toddler is in his room for quiet time/nap. While I can think of dozens of things to do, I took a few minutes to check my email. I'm currently eating some trail mix and watching Bend it Like Beckham...again. I'm reeling from playing Cariboo (toddler game) during the baby's morning nap (we savor the time to play while the baby sleeps.) My goals for the rest of the day...continue putting prints in my photo album and bring groceries to my mother-in-law. If I can remember to pick up stamps along the way, I'll be a happy camper.

Yes, the sun naps. While sitting outside this morning with my toddler and newborn, I watched my toddler play in the sand with his dumptrucks. The sun was shining and then it was covered by clouds (making it a little more cool which was nice.) When the sun came back out, my toddler asked, "Sun, did you have a nice nap?" When I realized what he asked, I told him that the sun enjoyed the nap. He then remarked that the sun was really tired...and then it popped back out. I never thought about it that way before.

While putting my toddler to sleep last night, he whispered something. I couldn't understand it initially, but after a couple attempts, I finally got it. He was saying to me, "You're my best buddy." Aaaww!

My younger daughter recently attained her first job. She's working a lot and I'm very proud of her - who'd have thought she was a hard worker!!! Between work, dance and school, she's a busy teenager! I should be happy, right? No...because I have to pick her up from work and she gets off at midnight! :( That's ok...she should be getting her license next month.

New Addition to our Family: Collin. I now have four children; an older set of girls and a younger set of boys. It was a little scary for a while but we ended up doing well and being healthy. He was born on April 4th. We're very blessed. It's amazing how much I enjoy staying at home being a mom.

My boys...



My littlest...

Enjoyed a relaxing weekend in Galveston last weekend! Loved the ferry, fed the seagulls, walked on the beach and enjoyed swimming in a heated pool at a fantastic hotel while celebrating my daughter's birthday! It's good to get away!!!