We Made It!

WHEW....what a trip!

We have arrived at my mom's...finally. We are all better, just waiting to see if Adam catches it now, but glad to be at "home" if it happens. We currently are without an air conditioner and sweating profusely. It figures that last week it was in the sixties here but it's in the nineties this week and the repairmen can't come until Monday so we are in for an interesting few days.

The southern WV trip was a bust, as you read from my previous post. It wasn't a wasted trip, though. I was able to meet my best high school friend for dinner and finally meet her four month old son. We also got a three hour nap in the COOL motel room which was AWESOME!

I still have no idea what happened to my blog yesterday, I am guessing the hotel's free wireless was the culprit as it seems to be working fine today. I posted about three posts yesterday trying to get one to come up, so I must have deleted some of your comments and for that I am sorry. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from now on. They have dial up here and it is ssslllooowwww. I forgot how much I hated that. I will post some pictures later on when I can get a better connection. I am going to try to catch up reading my blogs as well. I feel lost.

Murphy's Law

How to have an exciting trip:

* Catch raging stomach bug two hours away from home. Stop to puke on interstate. Fear for your life as commuters honk at you.
* Arrive at motel destination after midnight, unpack and put to kids to bed, only to be told AFTERWARDS that they do not accept pets and we must vacate premises immediately.
* Drive 65 minutes in opposite direction to finally find motel that will take cat.
* Travel in car to meet father in law and hear backseat wretching. Scrap plans to see in-laws, spend day holed up in stinky motel room with vomiting child.

Take Me Home, Country Roads....

Well, I have cleaned, packed, and loaded the car. The dog is waiting patiently in the back and I cannot get him to budge. The animal police will probably come after me. I continue to search for the cat, who scattered as soon as I pulled the cage out. I am ready to go. The neighbors appear to be having a graduation kegger tonight that I am sure will last all weekend. I am glad I don't have to witness the carnage. Now we just wait for the Daddy to come home and we will be on our way. I won't have computer access again until at least next Friday, unless we find a motel with high speed on the way. I have agreed to stay two nights in southern WV with the in-laws, so please pray for me. Here are some photos of yesterday's fun fest to tide you over until my return to bloggerland. Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend, folks!

Time Sure Flies....

I am stealing this from Shane.


Twenty Years Ago I was attending my junior prom with my then boyfriend, Jeff. It didn't go quite as I had planned, turns out the week before he "had relations" with a skanky freshman girl and I was heartbroken. I thought I would love Jeff forever. We went our separate ways after that night only to meet up again in college three years later where we became the best of friends. I know ya'll are jealous of that purple dress....



Ten Years Ago I was just returning from the Bahamas with my then boyfriend (looks familiar doesn't he?). I was living in Virginia Beach at the time teaching an LD class but had just received a transfer to my dream job: Third Grade. I had also recently purchased a nice home and bought a new car. If there was a nine years ago, it would say I gave all that up and moved to WV to live in a small apartment and become a substitute teacher...but it got better....



Five Years Ago I was home with a ten week old premature baby and the post-partum depression was just starting to sink in. I blamed myself for Jacob's early birth and the incessant all day crying had frayed my last nerve. I loved my son so much. I was happy and unhappy at the same time and it was the worst feeling.....but that got better, too.....



Three Years Ago

I met my neice, Abigail, for the first time. Jacob was smack dab in the middle of the terrible twos and I was pulling my hair out daily. I also, apparently thought a perm was a really good idea.






One Year Ago I was the mom to TWO boys, who would've thunk? I was basking in the glow of motherhood and loving it this time around. Adam's birth and babyhood was a complete turnaround from Jacob's. Maybe it was having the extra four year old help around or those vitamins Tom Cruise gave me, but there was a world of difference. My little baby became a big brother and he was SO good at it! It was also this weekend that Laura went to live in St. Louis to wait for her transplant. We didn't go to Florida to "celebrate" because we had just returned from WV and didn't want to make the ten hour drive. We had no idea what was coming.


So Far This Year....I have watched my big baby turn five and finish preschool. I have watched my little baby learn to walk, climb, and sign.


Yesterday....I played in the backyard with my boys

Today...I am tying up loose ends, cleaning the house, paying bills, packing in preparation for our long trip.

Tomorrow I Will...be travelling to Memphis to spend the long weekend with friends. On the way we will meet my 83 year old uncle in Arkansas for lunch and I cannot wait to give him a big hug and watch him love on my boys.

In the Next Year...I will see my big baby start kindergarten.

In the Next Minute....I will fix my kids some breakfast and sit down to watch Charlie and Lola. Nothing like a little procrastination to start your day.

Friday Find

It's Friday Find time. Be sure to let Mary Ann know if you played.


Has anyone else seen this show? When I moved back to West Virginia, so many moons ago, Derick got me hooked on this show. It came on late at night, when I used to WANT to stay up late at night, on Comedy Central. I looked forward to it each week and then one day it was gone, on to cancellation oblivion. I was sad, at first, but after a while I moved on to other fine television entertainment and forgot about my good show.

I was in Target last week (LOVE TARGET) and as I was cruising the electronics aisles in search of the NEW Thomas video, I happened to look down and "find" this on a bottom shelf! Sweet Hallelujah! I was absolutely giddy! Dr. Katz, viewed at my leisure, what could be better? Oh Dr. Katz, how I have missed you.

The Last Week

It's been a weird week for me. It has been a string of lasts for Jacob and it saddens me. His last day of preschool was Tuesday. It really does seem like yesterday was his first day. I remember how excited he was, and the excitement never ended for him. He absolutely LOVED going and would count the days each week until the school days rolled around. Yeah, we had some issues there (mainly me), but he grew so much there. He just seems so small in this picture taken on the first day and so big in the last day photo. I cried almost the entire day. It was all so happy, yet so sad at the same time. How can it be that my BABY is an official kindergartener now?

We went to library story time for the last time yesterday. We have been going every Wednesday morning for the past three years. Jacob knows all the library ladies and they adore him. I thought I would bawl my eyes out hearing those ladies tell him how much they loved him and would miss him next year. I can remember when we first started going I would have to translate a lot of what he said to the ladies and it suddenly dawned on me that he lost the one speech quirk he still had, saying Ys for Ls as in Yemon (lemon) and I don't even know when that happened. I used to scrapbook and keep the baby book up to date by practically the minute, and now whole months go by and I have no firsts to log into them. I feel like I haven't appreciated the preschool years as much as I should have. They are over and I didn't do many of the things I had planned on doing with him the past five years, like go to the children's museum more, or take a swim class, and all the art projects I was going to do.....the patterns and materials still sit in a heap on my desk where they have been since the day before Adam was born. This last year was supposed to be LOADS AND LOADS of fun for us, instead he has taken a liking to Noggin while I attempt to keep the house clean and the days just pass us by. I really do think I am ready to take that next step, kindergarten, with Jacob, check back with me in August, but I do miss his babyness and cannot believe it passed me by in the blink of an eye.
***He just came in, hugged my neck, said "I Love You, Mom" (and I noticed the L sound), and asked me nicely to fill his pool up and eat popsicles outside. I guess I should oblige and enjoy my time.

In case you were under a rock last night......

It's over!!!!

American Idol is over, WHAT will I do on Tuesday and Wednesday nights? I am pleased to report, as if you hadn't already heard, that Taylor beat Katherine for the title and for that I am happy, I know it was my two votes that pushed him over the edge so the forty minutes I spent trying to get through wasn't in vain. I don't think Katherine is suffering much, I am sure she has a pretty hefty record deal sewed up and that brand new mustang is nice, but at least I don't have to see her on the morning/late night shows for the next month. Some recaps:

* Mandisa proved she truly belonged in the final four as she sang circles around Katherine and the other girls.
* Chris sang with the band Live and now I am glad he did not win because he does so much better with a band. Hope he takes Fuel up on their offer.
* Ace was there and that was good. It was so nice to see a good looking guy again.
* Can I love Elliott anymore? They just show his mama for a millisecond and I am in tears. When she introduced him as "my Elliott Yamin" I wanted to jump through the screen and hug her. I hope he cuts an album because I am buying a copy for me and all my closest friends (watch out, ya'll!). I want him to make lots of money so he can lavish his mom in luxury, ala Clay Aiken, which speaking of:
* Clay Aiken showed up. It took me a good two minutes to figure out it was him. If you are trying to make people think you are not gay, honey, that look is not the way to go about it.
* The whole American Idol awards thing was just stupid. Another way to kill time so we cannot switch over and watch the Lost finale.
* Just when I thought Kellie couldn't get any stupider she agreed to some lame skit with Wolfgang Puck (which was weird in itself) where she couldn't even sound out the word shanghai or escargot. Did she not realize they were making fun of her? I don't like her much, but I truly felt sorry for her last night; reminded me of junior high kids picking on a slower child. I hope she was paid well for it.
* PRINCE sang! On American Idol. WHY? Does he have an album or tour he needs to promote? I was quite surprised to see him there, although YEAH! I love Prince, it inspired me to load my CD changer with all my Prince CDs, but is he that hard up for exposure? It just didn't seem like his thing to me.
* SOUL PATROL!


Anybody watch the Lost finale last night?

Tagged....

by Jennifer......

What is your favorite word? To say or to hear? I cannot say sh** enough. I don't mean too, but it works in almost every context and flies out of my mouth before I can do anything about it. I would love to give up my swearing habit, but it's like smoking to me, I can't go cold turkey and that one is better than the other one, you know which one I am talking about. Both boys call me Mama and I like to hear that.
What is your least favorite word? marshmallow....One of the weird boys at school started saying it constantly in a strange, possessed voice and Jacob thought that was cool so he started it too. I want to throw something at him when he starts that. He has been doing it since Easter. It sucks. marshmallow, marshmallow, marshmallow AGGGH!
What turns you on spiritually, creatively, emotionally? Spritually...hearing my son repeat bible verses from memory. He knows more than I do at this point. Creatively.....Jacob's drawings and the stories that go with them. So much imagination in such a little boy. Emotionally.....I am overwhelmed with how much I love my sons. I knew I would love them, but I never knew my heart would explode with it.
What turns you off? I really cannot stand when people wonder when we are going to complete our family by having girl. Do people not understand the basics of science? You get what you get people..it ain't Burger King!
What's your favorite curse word? See number 1
What sound or noise do you love to hear? I have to go with the majority and say my kids laughing. Nothing beats the first time your baby laughs. But I also love the sound of a cat purring and birds chirping, as long as neither of those is before 7 am.
What sound or noise do you hate? The constant racket in our cul-de-sac...it never ends. I haven't had a good night's sleep in over six years.
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? I would love to be a good photographer.
What profession would you not like to do? I would hate to be a garbage man...the hours are bad, you're out in the weather all the time, and you get no respect.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say at the pearly gates? I pray daily to just let me be a good mom that day. I would hope God would say I did the best I could and my kids thrived because of that and also "Your pets are here waiting for you"


I tag anyone who sees this to play too.

Treasure Tuesday

Has it been a week already? Be sure to pop by Faith's to check out other Tuesday Treasures.

This might not look like much to you, but it is about the only thing I have left of my paternal grandparents, aside from some old letters, pictures, and memories.

My Mamaw and Papaw lived in a little town called Mountain Pine, Arkansas. We didn't see them much, maybe once a year, because we always lived so far away from them. They were good people and loved my sister and me. I remember Mamaw trying to teach me to crochet once, she would laugh if she could see me now trying to knit I am sure. Papaw was a big man, but his hugs could melt you. He was the happiest person I have ever known. They passed away in 1998, three months apart. They were 92 years old. My Papaw was in excellent health, we thought, until March 4 that year (which ironically is Jacob's birthday) when he had a small stroke and after that they found he had cancer pretty much everywhere and died in July. They moved in with my parents and Mamaw never was able to go home, although she cried daily about how much she missed it.

I don't have much of an opportunity to go to Arkansas much anymore, but two summers ago we travelled up for a reunion on the other side of the family and took a detour to my grandparent's old house. My cousins somehow "inherited" it and at one time were trying to "restore" it, but judging from all the empty beer cans scattered around the porch, I guess it got too hard for them. Anyway, it was tough to see that old house empty and falling down but my Mamaw's flowers were still blooming and the squirrels still came around, missing her I bet. I had to go up and peek in the windows, I wanted to remember listening to my Mamaw sing Johnny Cash tunes while she was cooking in the kitchen and my Papaw whittling by the window, but that was hard to do. The cousins had pretty much trashed the inside as if they were looking for something, but I found this "plaque" hanging by the door. It hung by the door and I can remember being little and looking up at it, held by my daddy when we would arrive to visit. It now hangs on my back porch reminding me how much my Mamaw missed her home, helping me to appreciate the one I have.

It's Just Another Manic Monday.....

I like Monday, really I do. I like getting back into our routine after a fun weekend of it being turned upside down, but this is the last Monday we will have here for a while and it makes me kind of sad. The kids and I are going up to West Virginia this weekend and will be staying a few weeks with the grandparents. The Daddy has a project at work all of June that will keep him burning the midnight oil and Jacob starts school in August, so I figured if we wanted to spend some time up there NOW is the time! PLUS, it gets me out of the neighborhood for most of the summer so you can't beat that!

BUT, I am a real creature of habit. I don't do change well. I like knowing what I am doing each day of the week and going up there and meshing into my mom's routine, with two children and a cat, may be hard to do. I will miss doing things my way BUT I am excited. We haven't been up north in over a year and I miss my friends. It will be nice to call them on the phone and be able to meet them on a whim just to hang out again.

Don't think you are getting rid of me so easily, though. I have a brand new laptop coming with me so I will be able to give you the WV view from time to time.


I just wanted to share the picture of my two boys on the slide together. Adam can climb onto the jungle gym, so hanging out in the hammock while they play is no longer an option. Jacob loves having him up there with him, though, even if I do freak that he will fall backward and break his tiny neck.

We have a pool party this morning. Jacob received an invitation to an end-of-the-year party hosted by one of his friends and we will be attending that this morning. YEP, the boys and me and all my closest preschool mama friends together for THREE hours. Quick....what kinds of alcohol have no smell and can give you a quick buzz, yet leave you able to drive home? I am soooo not looking forward to this. I considered skipping it, but Jacob reallllly wants to go so I decided to suck it up JUST THIS ONCE. But while we are here, let me ask your opinion on something: Attached to the invitation (a fancy one I might add) was a slip of paper giving directions AND a little note stating to be sure to bring a towel, sunscreen, and money because we are all going to pitch in and order a pizza and BYOB your drink. is that normal? Have I been shelling out dough on all my kid's parties when I should have been collecting at the door? Maybe I am the snob here, go ahead you can say it, but that just doesn't seem right to me. NOW if we were all friends and decided to get together sans invitations, I would be all for that, but to me it's like inviting someone to your wedding, yet asking them to bring some flowers, or maybe the unity candle. AH, but I digress. we are still going to the party, we are going to chip in for pizza, and I am going to have fun, DAMMIT, chasing little guy away from the water and watching big guy play with his friends. Even if it kills me.

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WARNING: There will be swearing. If that offends you, please read no further.

OK....it just about killed me. WHY did I even consider doing that? I am a glutton for punishment, I will never learn. It was the clique, their kids, me, my kids. They sat around a table in the shade while my BABY and I sat out in the blazing sun across the pool. I tried to be polite and wheel us on in there around the table, I mean, what DO you do in that situation? You appear rude and aloof if you sit away, yet you aren't invited over, do you just go for it or wait? PLEASE fill me in on this piece of etiquette because I am at a loss. We trekked over and made a little spot for us, but I turned around to get something for Jacob and when I came back someone had taken my chair so Adam and I went back to our sun spot for the duration. The kids had a good time, at first, but at the end three of the boys were just MEAN to Jacob. He would be in his ring, and they would push him to the deep end and leave him there and laugh at him while he tried hard not to cry. The point in which I left early was when two of the boys were bouncing balls off Jacob's head while he bobbed out there in the deep while I was trying to steer him to safety. I told those boys, loudly, to please refrain from the ball throwing and they laughed at me and then those kid's big, fat mamas told them, "just go on and play, boys, have a good time". So they continued to wing balls at my kid and everyone thought that was ok. In fact, one big, fat mama took pictures. What the fuck? Oh, man my blood boiled. You can mess with me, but DON'T mess with my kid! So I got in that woman's face and said:

YOU BITCH! HOW DARE YOU ALLOW YOUR KID TO TREAT MY SON LIKE THAT! GET UP OFF YOUR CHANEL ASS, QUIT GOSSIPING ABOUT HOW RICH YOU ARE AND GET OUT THERE AND DISCIPLINE YOUR KID BEFORE I DO IT FOR YOU!

Well, no I didn't. I wanted to say that, but I hate confrontation and I really don't want to teach my son to fight, so we packed up and left. OH, and the pizza. I didn't get one damn slice of the pizza. I put a piece on a plate and went off to keep Adam from tumbling head first into the water and when I returned someone had thrown that AND the three drinks I brought for us away. GEE, thanks bitches. You can be sure they woofed down their fair share AND I know that at least two of them didn't pay a dime. Am I the only person who goes through this? Please tell me that the rest of my life will not be like this. Only one more day....I hope I can make it.

Sunday Six

I got this from Jennifer, who got it from Kelly. Jacob answered the questions grudgingly....

1. When you see Mom or Dad on the computer, what are they doing? They are trying to help people. Yes, son, I help all those people in the blogosphere by posting beautiful pictures of you.
2. How does a telephone work? When it rings you pick it up. Unless it's the inlaws....
3. When you play a game at an arcade, what happens to the coin you use to start the game? It goes into a slot to make it work. AANNNDDD?
4. How does milk stay cold? in the freezer. He might be able to elaborate more on that if he actually drank milk
5. What makes the car move? You turn it on with the key and then the air pushes it. Is he saying I am full of hot air?
6. How does a radio work? When you press the button it starts.

Top Ten Reasons I Hate My Neighborhood

1. Cul-de-sacs provide opportunity for teenagers to make out and drink in your yard, while leaving their empties for you to pick up.
2. The barking dog, whose owners ignore him, keeps everyone awake, except said neighbors who refuse to silence it.
3. Apparently there is a clause in the homeowner's packet that states our driveway is a public parking area, we just weren't notified of that.
4. Our yard is also the neighborhood park, yet my kids aren't allowed to play.
5. We are also the neighborhood florist/greenhouse. We plant, kids pick.
6. If you like basketball, you can find a game here...after midnight on weeknights.
7. Our driveway is the local skateboard ramp...with dents in the garage door for added effect. You can also play daredevil here....go out and try to enjoy your own driveway with your own kids and hear wrath of prepubescent white trash let you know what they CAN do in your yard.
8. Why go to a concert when you can hear the latest hits here in your own backyard, after midnight of course
9. The keg party down the street at the home of the college guy whose parents bought a house for him and seven of his fraternity buddies makes me feel old and I can't drive my blooming SUV to my home for all the cars parked on both sides of the street.
10. I am tired of shooing the pitbulls from next door out of my fenced in yard.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs....

I am sure you have read, somewhere, the new hype about teaching your baby to sign before he can speak. This was a relatively new concept when Jacob was a baby, but now we have weekly classes here in town and you can find books on the subject in every store. I atttempted a few signs with Jacob, but he never picked it up and honestly, I think I gave up too soon with him. I began showing Adam signs when he was four months old, with no reaction from him at all. My family thought I was a complete kook and more than once did I catch my husband rolling his eyes behind my back when I would sign "milk" while he nursed or "more" while feeding him. When Adam was 11 months old he signed "milk" to me and started using that pretty consistently. I started learning more signs and began tivoing the show Signing Time, turning that on while I cook dinner. In the past two weeks, Adam has been signing up a storm. He now signs: please, thank you, more, milk, eat, daddy, mommy, airplane, dog, cat, bird, bath, baby, bottle, water, drink, and car. Here he is signing bird while meeting a goose at the park. I LOVE that he can do this AND his brother is picking the signs up as well. My husband no longer rolls his eyes at me and signs with them too. So, now we have jumped on the signing bandwagon, I wish I had kept it up with Jacob. Thank you Signing Time lady for teaching my baby to communicate...I can't wait to see what his next "word" will be.

Friday Finds

It's Friday, that means time for Friday Finds by Mary Ann. Be sure to let her know if you played.

I had totally intended to post about a piece of Lenox I found at an antique store for a garage sale price BUT I couldn't get a picture that you could actually see so I "found" something else.


I found this picture of Laura and Jacob under our couch in a box with a bunch of photos I need to scrapbook....eventually. I love finding these pictures. They usually tend to pop up whenever I have had a bad day and am needing some solace. It really is like she is reaching out from beyond to me and it makes me happy. This picture was taken that week in July when she drew the picture for me. Anytime we were with my sister's family, Jacob stuck close to Laura. She was, and still is, his favorite cousin. He tells me frequently that he sees Laura and she talks to him in his dreams. This picture is the best one I have. It is exactly as she was, the jewelry on the fingers, the hair behind her ears, and that forever smile on her face. I am still sad at the thought that she will remain like that forever, but I do hope that she is in a happy place...talking to my big dude in his dreams.

It's a circus around here...

Well, the table is a big hit with the wee folk in the house. It's so much bigger than the last table, I actually pushed it up against the wall creating a sun spot for Phoebe and she doesn't budge from it. Even through all the "love" she is getting from these boys, who rarely see her emerge from her darkened hole, she sticks around. I can't keep Adam off of it and Jacob already has puzzles and board games stretched out all over it AND with that we still have room to eat on it. Derick doesn't know of all that conspires at the table while he is earning our living all day. I must delete these pictures before he finds the evidence.

I baked a cake yesterday.....from scratch. I am typically the cake mix kind of cook, but I found a good recipe and decided to go for it. I took it out of the oven and out of the pan to cool on the counter and went upstairs to do some laundry and, yes, cruise my blogs. Adam was asleep on the couch and Jacob, well I guess he was drawing in front of the tv. Jacob kept asking for some of that cake and I wouldn't let him have any, so when he called up and said "I think someone took a bite out of the cake, can I have some now?" I just thought he was working it, thinking I would give in and give him some. So, I went downstairs and sure enough, someone had taken a bite out of that cake........three fourths of it was missing and crumbs were scattered as far as the eye could see and sitting on the rug with a guilty look was Ezra, my dog...NO, Derick's dog! Damn dog!! He already has the cushiest dog life in the state of Texas and he wants my cake too! For lack of a better euphemism...he is in the doghouse today! It is actually quite hysterical, he will suck up to me, give me those puppy dog eyes, but I won't be swayed. No sleeping on the couch today dog!!!

It's rigged I tell ya!

BOO!

I have to endure Katherine another week! I hope Elliott has a big future ahead of him. I have a soft spot for a boy who loves his mama that much.

Is it Hump Day already?

It's down to the wire on American Idol. Three contestants remain with one hitting the highway tonight. My TV Guide came in the mail yesterday with a big picture of Katherine obscuring the guys while practically bending over backwards to show off her tatas when I finally realized who she reminded me of.....Britney Spears, and really do we need another? My take on last nights show, if you care:

Elliott: You gotta feel for him, what with the hearing loss and bad teeth AND he has a great voice, but he is all about that Harry Connick and Michael Buble thing, which he does well, but I don't think that type of album will be marketable. I am to the point where I believe the votes don't count anyway after Chris, the good one, was sent packing, so I think ole Clive Davis will cut him tonight and that's a shame because I wonder if someone would pick him up, he probably needs to win more than the others. Whatever that song was that Paula picked for him, he did really well.
Katherine: Simon picked "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for her and I love it when he gets things right. She kicked it on that song, I even began to like her some, but the other two songs sucked, so no, I don't like her and hope she goes home tonight.
Taylor: He gave the only good, consistant performances of the night. Without Chris there to entertain the masses, it really was a boring show, but Taylor helped it out. Randy picked a Joe Cocker tune for him and he did an awesome job. He sang "Dancing in the Dark" and my little dude climbed out of the chair and danced with a bottle hanging out of his mouth for the duration. For that alone he should win.


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Our new table arrived yesterday! It's nice to have all that extra room and it actually flows with the rest of the furniture, unlike Old Table who stuck out like a sore thumb. Derick actually found a spot for it in our toy room (yes, we have a toy room, it's that bad) so OT has a new lease on life. My husband is so anal about the table. We MUST keep a table cloth on it.
I MUST go out this afternoon to buy placemats. The kids MUST not sit in the chairs (we kept two of the old chairs for them). The kids MUST not look at the table. I am sure it is only a matter of time before we are actually eating off the floor so as not to spill something on the precious table. I would have posted a picture of our table, but you can't see it for the table cloths and protective bubble, so here is the catalog pic. Nice, huh?

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We have forty bazillion things to do today. One of them is travel the 30 minute drive to the bank to take out 20 bucks because cook book toting mama CALLED me yesterday collecting money to buy gift cards for the teachers. I really, really didn't want to give them money, BUT they are all having the kids sign a card who contribute and basically, Jacob would have been the only one left out and I don't want that, plus I love his teachers, why should they suffer? The conversation was hysterical, though, very reminiscent of Mean Girls, I almost expected a third line to be open. I did get the fake compliment though, "You have such sweet boys" and "why don't we get together sometime" yet when I went to pick up my boy, she walked right past me with nary a shrug. As much as I hate it, I am going to miss it, provides for a good laugh most days.

Treasure Tuesday

It's time, again, for Treasure Tuesday brought to you by Faith. Be sure to let her know if you play today.

As you can tell these are baby booties. BLUE baby booties. They sit on Adam's dresser these days, but they originally belonged to Jacob. A lady I worked with while I was pregnant with him gave them to me. They are the first blue things I ever received for him after finding out he possessed the wrong parts. You see we were having a girl. Her name was Grace Elizabeth and we couldn't wait to meet her. We were so sure we were having a girl we almost declined the gender announcement at our 24 week ultrasound. Imagine our complete surprise when the technician pointed out as soon as she turned the machine on "It's a boy!" I remember how I ceased to hear anything for a few moments and my heart dropped to my feet. She had to be wrong..BUT there "it" was, even a technological fool such as myself could not have mistaken what that was. I am embarrassed now to even admit this, but I was devastated, not at first because I was in awe of seeing a moving, put together person inside of me and thrilled that he was healthy, but after a few days, I started to stress. I had a sister, my cousins were girls, all my friends had girls, WHAT was I going to do??? At that time I was one of eight pregnant ladies at my school. One by one they would come in and announce they were having girls and my heart would sink further. WHY was I having a boy when I so wanted a girl?

I don't think I ever let on at school that I was disappointed not having a girl, but one day, a teacher I did morning hall duty with presented me with these beautiful booties, out of the blue (no pun intended) wrapped in blue tissue paper. See, this teacher had daughters and years before knitted these booties in hopes she would have a boy to put them on. That day never came, so she gave them to me. I think, from her own experience, that she knew I needed a boost about my boy and you know, they did help me. I slowly started loving baby blue (and I still do) and I never had as much fun as having that group baby shower where I was the only one with balls and frogs and overalls. As the weeks went on, which weren't many because Jacob arrived eight weeks after that ultrasound, I warmed up to the idea of having a boy. I felt special that I was the only one in the family with one and excited that I could buy matchbox cars and Thomas engines (little did I know). I carried these booties to the hospital with me, not knowing how our premature birth would turn out. In all honesty, driving there that night I pictured burying my son in them, but he came out kicking and screaming and we kept those booties on him every night in that NICU, at least tried to....we knew he was doing well when he learned to kick them off. Once he came home, the booties were history, no keeping them on him, so they sat propped on his dresser, that has now become Adam's dresser. I love to see them there reminding me that Jacob's size 11 feet really were once too small to fit in them and they remind me of how different my life would have been if I didn't have that little bit of baby blue in them. Sadly, I cannot remember the teacher's name who gave them to me, my mom was right, I needed to write all that stuff down, but I am grateful to her for these booties. They were just what I needed.

What my son thinks of me

** Two posts in one day....and I still haven't told you about Batman yet!**


This came from Jennifer. Her's was cute, so I thought I would give it a shot. I was surprised that my budding artist would stop long enough this morning so I could "interview" him. Here is Jacob's take on Moms:

What is a Mommy? It's a thing that takes care of you. Mom's are good to you and take care of you. (apparently I am a thing, I guess I need to go over nouns with him).

What do Mommies do? They feed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they love trains.
(Yeah, I guess I do love trains, who would've thunk)

What do you like best about your Mommy? I like it when you buy stuff for me and we have fun. (I guess I can't complain about that...I introduced him to shopping and shoot, I love when people buy things for me too)

What do you not like about your Mommy? I don't like when you put me in time out (of course, if you wouldn't misbehave you wouldn't be there, but he never will get that)

What are things Mommies can't do? Mommies can't back out of the garage or go to Jamba Juice (I broke the side mirror off our car once and when I was pregnant and craving Jamba Juice I got cut off in traffic, slammed on my brakes and the strawberry fusion smoothies flew all over the car...there is still a faint berry smell and the mats have a slight pink tint to them. Dad has forbidden Jamba Juice.)

Happy Mother's Day

Well, I had planned to write an extremely poignant Mother's Day post about my path to motherhood and how the sight of that four pound baby changed me forever, but Mother's Day, like my birthday, turned out to be a sham of a day so I am down on Hallmark holidays...boo, hiss. Can you tell I have a raging migraine headache in the photo? Could I even raise the brush to comb my hair? I swear I wasn't out on a pre-Mother's Day bender the night before. After wrestling the two boys at church, we came home to a feast of ramen noodles and ham sandwiches because you can't get into a restaurant after church here on a regular Sunday, much less Mother's Day and, really, do I need to wait an hour and a half to sit and wolf down my meal while trying to keep my kids entertained? Our plan was to have lunch and head to the park, our usual Sunday entertainment, but the skies opened up and the rain poured and for the first time since we have lived here the electricity went out....before I had called my mother, and sister, and basically any other mother I needed to call. What about that land line or your cell phone you ask? Well, my super intelligent husband gave the old land line to the Katrina effort back in September, because yeah, they were living in the Astrodome, but that land line phone might come in handy one day and we didn't need one because in the event of a power outage we have cell phones, which is all fine IF THEY ARE CHARGED. Little cosmic joke, gotta charge them with electricity. I bet you are also wondering why I didn't dial up on my laptop to drop them an email....I tried, but turns out husband spent Saturday night making sure the thing worked and drained the battery. SOOOOO, my mom is worrying to tears about me because I call daily and the fact that I haven't called on a holiday is scaring the crap out of her and my headache continues to worsen into the night for all the scented candles we have burning. UGH...honeysuckle, watermelon, and espresso.....oh, it was bad. Our power didn't come back on until 2 am, stereo blasting, washing machine kicking, and security system honking just as my headache was finally starting to subside (after only six vicodin). The icing on the cake: I missed Grey's Anatomy!

BUT, I can't complain about the morning; it wasn't too bad. Jacob drew a map to my cards and gifts, which was actually pretty understandable (is that a word?). I knew all that Dora the Explorer would pay off. The kids got me some itunes gift cards (sweet!) and the dad actually planted a big planter full of beautiful annuals, which for him is a big gesture. He does not buy flowers or plants because they die and why spend money on something that is just going to die?

And for my poignant post about motherhood, maybe next year, but I will leave you with the end of my day, after the electricity woke us all up and my babes had climbed into bed with me, my oldest wanted to snuggle and my baby rubbed my hair and Jacob whispers to me "I love you mom, Happy Mother's Day" THEN, it was a good day.