School's Out for Summer

It's the last week of school again. I feel like I just did this last week. Field day, awards, parties.....our week is quite full.

When I was a kid I loved the last week because it meant soon I'd be sleeping late and swimming all day.

When I was a teacher I loved the last week because I was ready for rest, yet I cried every year because I hated sending my kids, my part-time babies, on to someone else. It never seemed right.

As a mom, I love the last week because I can ditch the drop-off duty for a couple months, but I think I cry more than my child because I now hate leaving the teacher.



Here is Jacob with his teacher. I love her. She has been such a blessing to Jacob. I don't think I could've begged asked for a teacher more suited to him and his needs.

She truly loves Jacob. She gets him. Kids bother him, she takes care of it. If it's his fault, she calls him on it. She listens to him, takes him seriously, helps when she has to, and teaches him how to help himself because she knows she won't be there next year to do it.

We have had many two-hour conferences where I have cried in frustration, cried in celebration, cried in confusion of what my child's future may be. Every time she was ready with tissues, books, positive words, and the shoulder of one whose walked it before me.

Mrs. Kilian was more than a teacher to my son. She was his restorer of good faith, his confidence in the good in people,and the other woman he trusted to take care of him while he was away from home.

Last summer I prayed every night that third grade would be better for Jacob. I was so conflicted about sending him back to a place he'd been terr*rized for two years. Should I keep him home? Find another school? Take us all into a hole and hide? I asked for a sign to let me know he was in the right place. I wasn't getting a sign. Every day I waited for the answers to my prayers and every day I was sure I was never getting one. The day before school started, Jacob and I both cried all the way to that school. I wanted to turn and run with him but I knew I couldn't. If I was to teach him to face my fears, I had to do it too, so up the stairs we slowly trod like we were walking the green mile to our certain doom.

Twenty minutes later I realized my prayers had been answered.

There was my sign.

Her classroom philosophy, she explained, was to emphasize each child's differences and celebrate what each person can bring to their little class family. Every year was a new beginning and each student had the opportunity to grow and learn and change. She also told Jacob if someone wanted to bully him, they'd have to go through her first.

I slept good that night.

Jacob smiled going to school the next day for the first time in a long time.

Jacob didn't instantly become Mr. Popular and Mrs. Kilian didn't exalt him to fully mature nine year old, but she did teach him how to stand up for himself and how not to get in those situations in the first place. She drew from his strengths and tried to downplay his not-so-strengths. She loves him and he loves her.

There will be tears tomorrow. The teacher is leaving her part-time baby again.

Third grade was a good year. It'll be hard to top.

A Fancy Dress Won't Make a Perfect Picture

I fell in love with this dress last fall and stalked my store until it became sixty percent off. I might have been able to wait for another ten, but as it is I had to get one size larger and Elizabeth just now is able to wear it. I trotted her to church one morning and she got lots of compliments on it and when we returned home I wanted to get a beautiful picture of her in it.

Here they are:

Look at Mommy!



Put your hand down...



Open your eyes....



No, stay there!




Oh, you are so mistreated...



Kiss her Ez!



Finally!

Stuff

I stole this from Ruby Red Slippers.....

1. If you could change anything about your physical appearance, what would it be?

You know, I'm pretty happy with my physical appearance. One day, hopefully this year, I'll have Lasik surgery so I can ditch the glasses but I don't want it to improve my appearance, I want it so I can go to the pool without my contacts and get up in the middle of the night and not have to find my glasses to make it to the bathroom.

2. Is there a habit in others that you find annoying?

Is rude a habit?

3. What is your favorite recipe using ground beef?

Hmmmm....I have so many....I have a taco soup recipe I really like and also a beef strudel that's pretty good. Maybe I'll get ambitious and post them one day.

4. What was your favorite book as a kid?

Little House
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel
Heck, all the Virginia Lee Burton books

5. Did you work as a teenager and if so, where?

I worked as a cashier at our town pool. I made a dollar an hour, but I really didn't do much. Stole a lot of chips and drank all the soda I could drink and let all the boys I loved in for free. I probably owe them money.

6. Did you work while in college and if so, where?

I babysat for a wonderful family and while in graduate school I worked days at a preschool and took classes at night. I just found the lady I babysat for on Facebook and really enjoyed seeing how those sweet kids turned out. Of course, the fact that they are now 25 and 18 hurt a bit.

7. When you go to sleep do you like total darkness or semi?

It must be so dark I cannot see anything around me but it hasn't been that way since we moved here. We still have no curtains and the blinds, while nice, do not keep out the light from the street lamp. Needless to say, I haven't slept well for the past two years.

8.When you go to sleep do you need quiet or is some noise OK?

I've slept with the ceiling fan for years now. It MUST be on, even when it's below freezing.

9. When doing laundry, fabric softener or not?

Depends on what I'm washing. Sometimes I use it just to make my house smell good. I like Original Downy and the Blue Sparkle Snuggle and only those, the rest are too perfumy for me.

10. Open toed or closed toed shoes?

I wear sandals all year round. Nice perk about living in Texas.

11. Would you rather be blind or deaf?

How bout neither?

12. Dangle or stud earrings?

I have six holes in my ears and haven't changed the diamond studs from them since 1994.

13. What do you put on pancakes?

peanut butter and syrup

14. On a long trip would you rather drive or fly?

I REFUSE TO FLY! Those things crash you know. Have you seen Lost?

15. Do you prefer classic old movies or new?

All the 80s John Hughes flicks and any SNL skit movie.

I Don't Think American Idol is in his Future

Oh man, there are people out there. LOTS of people. They didn't say there were going to be PEOPLE out there. Who thought this was a good idea?



Maybe if I just turn this way a little bit. See, no one here but my buddy, Whassup Buddy? Let me tell you something funny.



Aw, this isn't funny. I can't believe my teacher moved me. In front of ALL. THOSE. PEOPLE.



Seriously. How much longer do I need to stand here. People are LOOKING AT ME! Don't you dare think I am going to SING! Maybe if I scoot a little closer.....



YES! No one can see me now. I'll just hide here until it's over.



It will be over soon, right?

I'ts My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

Last week, I put in an application to teach preschool at Jacob and Adam's school.

This morning, I asked for it back.

Way back last August when this day wasn't much of a blip on my radar screen, I signed up to organize the end of year preschool party because, well, no one else did. "How hard can that be?", I said to the teacher who said, "Oh, not hard at all!", and I believed her.

So for the past three weeks I have come up with ideas all on my own, purchased supplies all on my own, emailed parents with information on said ideas and supplies with disclaimer to PLEASE let me know if you have a better idea or something else you'd like to do because I am nothing but flexible.

Everybody thought what I had was fine. At least the two emails I got back said that.

You want to know what we did right?

I bought fifteen canvas bags at 2 bucks a pop plus enough fabric paint and foam stickers and bling-bling to cover each and every one. I also sent another email to each family asking that they send a small toy to fill a Welcome Summer bag. I directed them all to the Target Dollar Spot and told them not to spend over a dollar a kid. I also put together two plants for the two teachers and let them know I was making a gift card tree for them both and if they desired, they could add to it.

Everybody thought that was fine. At least the two emails I got back said that.

I sent an email to the the five mothers who volunteered to help letting them know what food and drink I would need. They all signed up for something. We were set.

So today was the party. That party that no one seemed to have a problem with, except, seems people had a problem with it.

The bags were dumb. The colors were ugly. Who the heck thought paint was a good idea? OMG, my kid stepped in ALL. THAT. PAINT. on that bag drying on the floor, someone is going to have to pay for my kid's shoes. We're going to Ella's brother's party because this party is so lame. Who the heck thought paint was a good idea?

The small toys I requested, only five parents brought them.

The gift cards....only six.

One mother did bring in a bunch of cupcakes even though I didn't ask for cupcakes and I guess I acted a little surprised because according to her child who announced to every one there, Adam's mommy is mean to my mommy. Excuse me for trying to decorate, dole out food, and keep paint off your precious child's skin and not shower you with undying love for those greasy cupcakes.

Dear Preschool Parents,

F*ck your damn cupcakes. If you don't give the school your real email address, then you won't get the party information, that just isn't my fault. That goes for all of you who swore you didn't get the email yet seemed to know exactly what time to be there and when the pizza would show up. If you don't like paint, don't let your kid squeeze it all out all over the place without your supervision. Stupid me, thinking you might help him at all. I'm sorry there were not enough oranges to go around, I told the orange lady to bring enough for fifteen, apparently she couldn't read. I'm sorry your kid wanted supreme pizza, I could only afford cheese because, FYI, I dished out close to $150 for that shitty party that next time YOU can organize.

Kiss it,

Adam's Mean Mommy who WON'T be working there next year.

P.S. Maybe teach your kid to watch where he's walking. I am not paying for his shoes.

Vent

I took the little kids to Chuck E. Cheese this morning. I know everyone hates it, but I don't really mind it. Of course, we go as soon as they open, stay an hour, and flee before the rest of the world decides to join us. Today, we were the only customers there the entire time. It was nice. I could plug coins into the casino slot machines and not worry if my kids were out the door or eating off a stranger's table.

Except.

The casino slot machines weren't giving tickets. Oh, the tokens would fall and I'd land completely within the Spongebob block but instead of the fifty tickets I'd earned, only one would pop out. I changed machines figuring I'd found a busted one, but everyone of them did that. When I brought it to the attention of the serviceman/token counter/black-light-number checker because OH. MY. GAWD my world will quit turning if I don't have a paper ticket in which I can trade in for, oh I don't know, crap, he told me he'd get to it. I know for a fact there are no buttons to push in the back that fixes those things, I've chased Elizabeth back there plenty of times, but apparently, that's where you go to fix those things because I never saw that dude again.

So I scrapped the gambling because, really, gambling in a kid's joint sucks especially when the machines are tight.

I found Adam and Elizabeth on the rides in the bitty-kiddy section and joined them. I watched for a bit and realized that Bob the Builder was only singing about a quarter of the song he used to sing and the Teletubbies it only went as far as Tinky-Winky and shut right off. I remember her riding that back at Adam's party in January and going round and round while they sang about all FOUR of those crazy creatures and today she made two revolutions before the thing just stopped. In fact, the more I noticed the more I realized, the rides are a lot shorter, the tickets are a lot sparser, and the crap costs more.

Boo.

Fifteen dollars worth of tokens were gone in no time. I guess if I'd done what the company was expecting me to do, I'd charged another cup full, but instead, we cashed in 80 tickets on a tootsie roll and a small tube of lip gloss.

At least that got us out of there before anyone else showed up.

So then I went to the Tar-Jay right next door. I wanted to use the coupon book they'd mailed me on some household items I needed. As usual, I got not only my cat litter and laundry detergent but also a Little Mermaid swim suit, a bunch of pool toys, and the cutest little pair of shoes for Elizabeth that she so totally did not need. So after the cashier rang up my purchases I handed her my seven coupons and watched while each and every one of them rang up 0.00 and then listened in confusion as the employee explained to me that it was just the way Target coupons do. When I brought to her attention that the total wasn't changing she tried to show me where it was, but no, it wasn't. And then she didn't know what to do so she called someone over to push a few buttons and then supposedly it took my coupons off but after further inspection, it only took a portion of each one. My $1.50 coupon turned out to be 57 cents and my dollar ones were 50 cents.

Boo. So that's how Target plays now huh?

Interesting, because it's the exact same way HEB has been playing as well. For years I could show up there and EVERYTHING would ring right and they'd take all my coupons and send me on my way. Now they make their own coupons for free things if you buy other things which I do LOVE but I've recently noticed that when I should be getting free sliced cheese at $1.99, my coupon will only take $1.50 off so, really, I'm not getting free cheese, I'm getting 49 cent cheese, which is still okay, but NOT the free cheese they advertise. This has happened every week for the past eight so I'm not thinking it's a random mistake.

I haven't been to Kroger in 2 months. I'm afraid to set foot in there.

You shouldn't have to bring pencil and paper and calculators and research your way through your weekly chores, but that's what it's become. I know all these companies are feeling the money crunch, but the dishonesty on their loyal customers is disgusting.

Vent over. Thank you. I will now return to my regularly scheduled Treasure Isle programming. Geez, don't get me started on those rock paths. Energy robbery.

FOUR posts in one week. I am back ya'll.

Week Two, Post Three

I found this in my draft file and it brought a chuckle. Who knew? I don't even remember writing it. The original date was 2/19/07.

OK, to answer the question that is on everyone's mind, because I get it at least once daily:

Am I hoping for a girl this time?

Well, gee, maybe. To be honest, this pregnancy is slipping by and there are moments of the day that, aside from the fact that I can't see my feet, I forget I am pregnant at all. I don't spend time dwelling on things because, basically, I don't have the time. This would explain the fact that my child will likely be nameless when it is born.

I really, really wanted a girl when I was pregnant with Jacob. So much so that I could think of nothing else. There was no way in hell I was giving birth to a boy, no matter how much my dad and husband wanted one, it would. not. happen. But, deep down I knew he was a boy. I dreamt about having a baby boy from the early weeks and couldn't shake them for anything. I told my husband the night before the "big" ultrasound that I would totally flip out if they told me it was a boy and to be prepared. Well, I didn't flip out exactly, but the blood rushed to my feet and I felt dizzy. I was not prepared. Good bye Grace, Hello Jacob. Yes, I was thrilled he was healthy and seeing his little face on that screen was wonderful, but he had the wrong parts, man, how was I going to deal with that? I eventually grew to like the idea and loved surrounding myself in baby blue (because you know I hate pink) and when my water broke eight weeks early I was just praying I gave birth to a living baby, it didn't matter at all what parts he possessed. Once I saw that kid, it didn't matter that he wasn't a girl. He was my child, a little person I brought into the world, and that was cool.

Now with Adam, well, I knew he was a boy before I got pregnant with him (cue the Twilight Zone tune). We struggled for months to have him and at one point we just gave up. We figured we were blessed to have one child when so many others continue to struggle and we were happy with that decision. Right after that I started having dreams of this little boy and, let me creep you out some more, he was usually with my dead roommate who would tell me in a round about way that she was watching my boy. Can I freak you some more? Adam reacts to her photos when he sees them, the same way he does with my sister or my mom. But, to get back on track, once we found out we were pregnant with Adam I had no doubt in my mind that he was a boy, so I never really gave much thought to having a girl. I just knew.

So we had our two kids. Our family was complete....so we thought. This child is truly a surprise in every way. I couldn't even begin to tell you what I think this baby will be. I had one dream months and months ago and even that was pretty vague. I guess my best educated guess is that it's a boy, just based on our track record, but I don't have any warm, fuzzy feeling about it. It is what it is, let's just hope it has a name.

So after six years of boydom, I have gotten good at it. I like Matchbox cars and I know every single Thomas story every written. I like overalls and muddy tennis shoes and buying truck pajamas. I like that I don't have to sit down and fix someone's hair in the morning. I like that they don't like pink.

Now, for the million dollar question: Do I want a girl? I don't know. I know I don't feel that fierce need for one like I did the first time. I do know I would love to know what our little girl would look like, but do I feel like I would miss out without her? Still, I don't know. I know my husband would love to walk his daughter down the aisle one day, but how are we guaranteed that she would even marry, or shoot, like men? I know I have a fantastic relationship with my mom and would like to duplicate that with my own child, but again, how is that a guarantee? Why can't I have a close relationship with my sons? I don't think gender needs to an issue there. Anyway, before I really get long winded, a girl would be great, but so would another boy. I have Abigail to help me with my girly girl fix so, maybe without her I would feel the greater desire for a girl, I don't know. I just know I want to survive my c-section with a healthy baby for the long haul. Case closed.

25 More Things About Me....

Sick of it yet?

26. I am hopelessly addicted to wintergreen lifesavers. I go through a four pound bag a week. I chew them up like chips. My husband may divorce me over the little wrappers that end up all over our house.

27. I clean the whole house on Monday. It doesn't stay that way long though.

28. I still miss Guiding Light so much. I've started taking the kids out for walks between 2-3 because it is so strange to be inside without it on. I NEED someone to write a book or something to tell me what happens next.

29. I am a new Jodi Picoult fan. I have read Nineteen Minutes, Her Sister's Keeper, and Second Glance. I am currently working on her new one, House Rules. Slow start, but now I'm hooked. If you like her too, tell me what to read next.

30. I love, love, love my new neighborhood. I hope we live here forever.

31. If I get to pick the pizza toppings, I choose sliced garlic and onion.

32. I get a migraine headache every Tuesday. No idea why. I hate this because it leads me to....

33. LOST! I love LOST! I really wish, though, they'd kept it on Wednesdays because there are many times I have to tivo it because I have to go to bed due to the pounding migraine.

34. I also do my grocery shopping on Tuesday. Maybe this is why I have the migraines???

35. I really need blue gems on Treasure Isle. I'm on level 48 and addicted to it and I can't go any further until I get some blue gems.

36. I also like My Town and Country Life. I've had to schedule computer time and make myself stick to it or else I'll get sucked in all day and ignore my children.

37. I used to be a good swimmer, even passed the lifeguard testing when I was 14. The next summer I went to the pool with some new WV friends and one of the girls started horsing around and held me under the water for a very long time. She was stronger than me and I couldn't get loose from her. I honestly thought I would die there. After that I forgot how to swim. No joke. I'm not afraid of the water, I'll go under and stuff, but I can't swim the strokes or do the breaths or anything like that anymore. My husband says I'm just being stupid, but I tell ya, I can't swim anymore.

38. I love infants. I would have another baby if the thought of wrangling four kids wasn't so daunting. And if I weren't so dern old.

39. Which, btw, I am 41 years old. I feel about 23.

40. I cry every time I see the Toy Story 3 trailer at the beginning of our Princess and the Frog DVD. It just seems so wrong for Andy to be going to college.

41. I actually like Kate Gosselin. I read her books and I feel she's gotten a bad rap. You can disagree with me, most people do, but I don't care. Her husband, on the other hand. ASS.

42. I also like the Duggars. I keep hoping one of those girls will break out and go to college and just go crazy, but at the same time I want my kids to behave that well.

43. I am growing my hair long to donate it to Locks of Love.

44. I started watching All My Children recently. I kind of like it, I just need the back story. I don't get some of it.

45. I cried when Steve left Blue's Clues, but Joe turned out to be my favorite. I miss Joe AND Blue. The new Nick Jr. shows are awful.

46. My blood type is A+ but they kept typing me as A- when I had Elizabeth. I was supposed to go to a hematologist and have that checked out the week after she was born. Oops. Hope I don't get into an accident and need blood.

47. I can play the piano very well. I'd like to teach the kids to play, but we have no room or money for one.

48. I can also play the flute. I do have a flute but no one is interested in learning it.

49. I was going to major in piano at college but I knew instantly when I went to check out the school that I was never going to fit in with the artsy crowd so I switched majors. My dad was THRILLED! I switched to accounting. That lasted as long as it took me to realize how many math and econ courses I'd have to take. I then changed to elementary education and never looked back.

50. In the time it's taken me to write this I've eaten at least fifty wintergreen lifesavers.

Is it Mother's Day?

I wouldn't know since we don't celebrate it in our house.

Or any other "Hallmark Holidays" for that matter.

And, oh yes, Christmas and birthdays are also Hallmark Holidays, at least according to my husband.

I don't need a special day to know my children love me. Even if they don't always express it, I know they appreciate what I do for them. The outstretched arms, the sticky kisses, the cries for Mommy in the middle of the night are enough for me. Really. I know they are not capable of putting together a nice breakfast or a fancy gift. But you know what? My husband is.

Eh, I know I could write a soliloquy of how my life is so fullfilled no gift could ever outweigh the joy I feel having birthed from my fruitful womb these little shining stars. Yada, yada, yada......Love. My. Kids. So. Very. Grateful.

But you know what, why do other women get to have a special day to lift them up while I have scrubbed two or our toilets, wiped two poopy butts, and cleaned up the kitchen all while my husband is having his usual Sunday morning off?

Hmmmm.....

Why does my mother-in-law get eighty dollars worth of hand-delivered flowers while I'm told to skip the grocery trip this week because things are tight?

Derick's birthday always falls on our around Mother's Day. He says he doesn't need anything but every year I do something because what if this is the year he comes through on Mother's Day? What if I didn't have anything for him? So on Tuesday, my husband will open a brand new Blu-Ray player. Today, I will still take a shower with my two youngest children looking on. I will clean and tidy the house. I will prepare our lunch and our dinner. I will bathe the children. I will put them to bed.

And while I feel completely underappreciated as my husband's maid and nanny, I am completely sated with the love of my children.

And my mother.

I don't remember my dad ever celebrating this day with her. The only gifts she received were the hand made masterpieces toted lovingly home from school. She most likely cooked and cleaned for us on this day and never complained because that's just how she is. My mom. She rocks.

And aside from this post, I won't complain either. I'll smile as I'm mopping the floors and laugh when someone spills something on it five minutes later. I'll watch Gabba and play princesses and listen to never-ending stories about the current Lego creation. I will appreciate my children the way I know my mother appreciated us.

And that. Might be the biggest gift of all.

And it only took me 41 years to figure it out.

Happy Mothers Day to all ya'll!

100 More Things About Me

Twenty-five at a time.

That makes three posts this week. Boo-yah!

Does anyone say boo-yah anymore??

1. I do not wear a bra. I refuse to wear a bra. They are uncomfortable and ugly and I am too old to care what anybody thinks anymore.

2. I have a pair of shoes in my closet that I absolutely adore but I have never worn them because I like them too much to get them dirty.

3. I agreed to name my daughter Elizabeth because I heard the song "Beth" on the radio the morning of my c-section. I took it as a sign.

4. If there is Sunny Delight in my house, I will drink the entire jug within twelve hours. I don't know what it is about that stuff but I just can't stop drinking it if it's here. I think it's really orange crack.

5. I am probably the only person in America who liked New Coke.

6. Pepsi is my soda of choice. Coke makes my teeth hurt.

7. My kids have colors to me. I can't explain it. I guess it's their "aura". Jacob is orange, Adam is brown, and Elizabeth is lime green.

8. Land of the Lost was my favorite show as a child.

9. I had breakfast with Mary Poppins at Disney World because she's my favorite character. I was 23.

10. My fourth grade friend stabbed me in the thigh with a pencil. The graphite is still there.

11. I love blue cheese, green olives, and horseradish.

12. Our family had a dog for many years. It died March 4, 1993. My grandfather had a stroke March 4, 1998, and my son was born March 4, 2001 and my cousin's daughter died in a car accident March 4 of last year. I find this strangely coincidental.

13. I still wear my maternity clothes. Not because I have to but because they are comfortable.

14. I could eat butter with a spoon and I did as a child. I try to give it up but there is nothing greater than a ton of real butter on a slice of crusty bread.

15. I bite my fingernails. I cannot stop.

16. I knew Elizabeth would be a girl because I dreamt of her one night early in my pregnancy, although her name was Emma in the dream. I wanted to name her Emma but it doesn't sound good with our last name.

17. C3P0 is my favorite Star Wars character. I am telling you this because my son with his short attention span asks this of me ten times a day. I only have a favorite character now to shut him up.

18. I am a big Smiths fan. I still listen to them every day. Still. Does anyone even know who The Smiths are anymore?

19. I lived in this very town, right down the street from Jacob's school, when I was 2-4 years old.

20. I always overtip, even when the service is bad because my friend's were waitresses and they frequently got stiffed.

21. I bought my first tube of mascara about a month ago. I tried it once in the eighth grade and it flaked under my contacts so I never used it again. I figured since I don't wear the contacts much anymore I'd try it again. That and I had an awesome coupon. Why didn't anyone ever tell me before how great that stuff is?

22. I have seventy four tubes of lipstick. It's a sickness.

23. I used to live in zip code 23456 and thought that was extremely awesome. It hurt to give it up.

24. My old neighbors tried to get a restraining order against me for telling one of their kids I was going to tell his mama on him for hitting my four year old. Because, you know, I was threatening him. Yes. The neighbors were drunk.

25. I worked at Subway once. For five months during the semester I quit college to veg out at home with my stoopid old boyfriend. After my first 16 hour shift, I drove all the way back to Morgantown and enrolled for the next semester and once that started I rarely went home again. My dad got me that job. He knew what he was doing. Don't eat the Cold Cut Combos.

The first 100 are here. Remember when we all did these?

Embracing the Pink

When I became pregnant the first time, oh so many years ago, I loved to browse the baby stores and coo over the tiny little things. Bitty shoes, wee socks, shirts that barely covered my hand. Ah....so sweet. And pink.

I came to realize shortly after our tell-all ultrasound that most of the stores cater to babies of the female persuasion. I cried that day making my way to the back of the store to the small wall of blue things. I felt like I was being sent for my consolation prize of overalls, baseball caps, and animal onesies. I finally chose a green creeper with matching socks covered in trains. Foreshadowing? It was the one thing in that store I had to have.

After Jacob was born I grew to like the blue side. Cars and monkeys and bulldozers and plaid drew me in. The best part? The sale racks were stuffed with boy clothes. I don't think I have ever paid full price for any since that very first creeper.

The day before Elizabeth was born, Derick and I went out to run some last minute errands. On our way home, I asked him to stop at my favorite children's store. I picked out some sweet blue monkey things and then I ventured over to the left side, a place I'd never been before. So. Much. Pink. And Purple. It was all so sweet, but neither have ever been one of my favorite colors. I half-heartedly chose one of them until I found a rack of an entire blue girl line that I adored. Good, beautiful, familiar blue. I bought them all and then handed my husband the receipt with the instructions to return them all before I got home with our third baby boy.

Who knew he'd have to wash them and bring them to us.

Those are still my favorite dresses.

There was no need to shop for Elizabeth early in her life because there were so many gifts, so many hand-me-downs. When I finally had to go out and get her something to wear it was so strange, yet thrilling. So much to choose from! So many colors! Pink!? Eh? Okay, it's not so bad.

Welcome to Elizabeth's closet:







I think I've learned to like the pink. Just a little.

In fact, I think I may have a problem.

It is more of a quest, but you CAN find girl clothes on sale. You have to look a little harder and be a little quicker, but trust me, they're there and the hunt is so much fun!

Hello. My name is Andria. And I'm girl-clothes-aholic. Please help me.

Have You Missed Me?

Just nod and pretend you did.

It makes me sad when I log onto my blog and see I've written maybe one post each month this year. I have considered hanging it out to dry, but my daughter's birth is on here! The preschool years are here! All that old neighborhood drama is here! I can't just let it fade away like soap operas and Banana Snapple.

So I'm taking Mommy Daisy up on her May challenge.

Want to join us?

We're going to blog three times a week this month. Maybe now you'll finally find out how Jacob's acting debut turned out and my kids might get a decent birthday post.

This totally counts as the first one though, right?

She is Three

How is it possible that my baby is three?



Not one night has passed that I haven't looked at her sleeping face and thanked God that she is mine.

She completes our family while also teaching us that pink is a statement, you can never have enough baby dolls, and a sticky kiss will cure everything.

That's my daughter. Who'd have ever thought her?

My Middle Child is a Genius

Last weekend, April 3 to be precise (you know, because ONE DAY I will want to find write it in his baby book), my littlest boy asked us to remove the training wheels from his ultra-cool Hot Wheels bike.

I was so not expecting that.

Jacob just learned to ride on two wheels last year. Shhh. Don't tell anyone.

Seriously, though, we spent nearly four years attempting to teach Jacob to ride his bike. First the bike was too tall, and then the ground was too hard, and then, OMG, what if a car comes??? In the end, all it took was one girl who told him she would only ride bikes with him if he took the wheels off. Bingo.

We have not even considered removing the trainers for Adam because he is LITTLE. A wee baby. He needs those things. What kind of parent would I be if I let my toddler just hop on a big kid bike?

Shut up. He's a toddler. Do not tell me he's going to kindergarten in four months because then I might have to hurt you. Toddler. Big toddler.

I tried to use the whole, we're so busy preparing for Easter/gearing up for that WVU game/drinking beer in the driveway, but he was persistent so his dad got his wrench and gave him a short lecture about how learning to ride a bicycle may take some time and you may not get it the first time, and yada-yada-yada, what? Wait up!.........





Five minutes.

Five minutes was all it took for him to learn to ride a two-wheeler.

So quick, in fact, we didn't even have time to get him a helmet.

Which, yes, I realize he needs a helmet. No hateful comments please, you know, if anyone still reads this thing.

Although, if you'll notice, Elizabeth improvised her own helmet.

So Close....

Two out of three ain't bad I guess.

Cool

Jacob turned NINE last Thursday.



That was March 4 in case anyone was wondering, you know, since I am very untimely these days with the birthday posts and, well, any other posts for that matter.

I blame Facebook. Damn Facebook. You killed my blog.

Anyway....

How did he get to be NINE?

I swear he was just FIVE.

This year to avoid the RSVP chaos, we decided to scrap the birthday party in favor of inviting one friend to go bowling and eat pizza and ride the rides at Kemah.

Until my sweet boy, so used to being the one left out, did not want to leave anyone out and instead requested a sleepover with all the kids in his class. It was difficult explaining to him why we couldn't invite the girls, so eventually I just told him we only had room for five (FIVE? What was I thinking?) and told him the one girl he chose was busy that night.

So last Friday afternoon I picked up from school four little boys plus my own, fed them junk food, rented video games, and let them loose at the park and creek and began our very first slumber party.

Can you call them slumber parties with boys?

I have to be honest and tell you, I did not sleep much the few days leading up to this. Oh, I knew they'd stay up late and they'd eat too much junk food, that didn't bother me, it was the not knowing that did it. Not knowing if how the boys would react to Jacob for so many hours. Not knowing if the kids would clique up and exclude him in some way. Not knowing if his excitement would override the extra afternoon pill and frighten the kids into calling for a ride home.

I was scared.

But I didn't have to be.

The boys played Legos and Wii and went fishing at the pond. They ate Cheetos and Oreos and laughed the whole time. No one fought over who had to sit by Jacob. No one complained about being on his team when they played ball. No one left him hiding when they played hide and seek. No one ran off and left him in the dust when they raced to the creek.

I have the best picture in my mind, not having my camera at that moment, I will try to share. It is of all four boys after clinking *cheers* with their soda cans sitting on the driveway with their arms around each other talking about their secret club.

His first secret club.

On his ninth birthday, my child fit in.

And as surprising as it was to me, it wasn't to him. These are school buds. They get him. Understand him. Like him.

I can't believe I ever had doubts.



His face says it all. The sleepover was a huge success.



The next day, after everyone left, he remembered one of the boys had given him a card that he stuffed in his backpack and opened it. It had twenty dollars in it, but that wasn't the best part. The boy signed his name in his nicest handwriting and after that he wrote....

P.S. You're Cool!!!!

THAT. Was the best part.

For both of us.

Libby

One of the reasons I let my husband have his way relented and named my daughter Elizabeth was because of all the nickname possiblities. I knew she wouldn't have to be Elizabeth forever and I was sure one day one the other options would stick. I was always a little jealous of girls who were called one thing but had this whole other secret name reserved only for first day of school teachers and trouble time. That seemed like the thing to have to my second grade self. How dare my parents just name me and go with it!?

Anyway, I like Elizabeth as a name but I wasn't completely sure I wanted it as my daughter's name. I still, deep down, am a little regretful that Rachel is not her first name, but, well, so be it.

The thing is, well, I didn't really know how to go about giving a nickname. I don't come from nickname people. I mean, do you decide from day one what the nickname will be? Do you try out several and see which one fits? I even called my friend who goes by her middle name and asked her how that came about, still desperately holding out hopes for the Rachel to take over. What I found out was, well, you can do just about anything you want to do, which really didn't help me much at all.

So.

Elizabeth was Elizabeth, but then sometimes also she was:

Beth
Bethy
Ella
Ellie
Betsy
Bitty
Libbet, after I read Stephen King's Duma Key and it stuck for a while,
for a very short time Betty because my friend insisted we needed to bring the Betty back,
And my personal favorite which I believe suits her the best:

Libby

She most definitely was never, ever a Liz or a Lizzie because I forbade it's use where she was concerned. I knew a Lizzie in high school and she was called Lizzie the Lezzy, meaning le*bian, and while I don't see anything wrong with that, I remember how much that girl hated it and I have hated the name ever since. Don't hate me if you're a Liz. It's just one of those things.

So recently I've been calling her Libby. Of all the names it was the one I liked the most (although I never would've guessed that three years ago). It just seemed to fit her. She was a Libby, so much so that when people asked her name, I started going straight for the Lib. It felt strange, but then it was also kind of exciting because, finally, a nickname! I even signed a few Christmas cards that way. I was a rebel.

The other day, though, my Libby and I were playing in the driveway making chalk people and I wrote her lovely nickname and spelled it out for her singing her a little song I made up about Libby, Libby, Libby that I DID NOT snag from a 70s commercial. She stopped and placed her pink and purple chalked arms on her hips and yelled back at me:

"I am NOT Libby! I am ELIZABETH!"

Say what?

After all that I she doesn't get a nickname?

I have to say I'm a little bummed.

She's a Libby to me.

So I still call her Libby. Sometimes.

Until today when she asked to be called "Princess Elizabeth"

*sigh*

Shocking Photos

I've been trying all week to write Adam's birthday post and between another school vacation and some strange desire to sort baby clothes that turned into a three day odyssey, it's not quite happening. I promise, though. Soon.

Until then, though, check these out:






Aren't they awesome?

Such a shock to get some good shots for a change.

Aimee took them! We've been blog friends for years and had never met until MLK day when she took time from her holiday to get some pics of my beautiful kids.

And, man, they do look beautiful, huh?

If you're in the Houston area, check her out. You won't be sorry. I am so pleased with these and can't wait until spring when the bluebonnets bloom so she can take some more. My kids were so at ease with her too. Jacob continues to ask when she's coming back. Hopefully it'll be soon because I can't wait to meet her lovely children and see more of her growing portfolio.

The Mother's Always the Last to Know

This fall I enrolled Jacob in a free music program through the church where he goes to school. I thought it might be fun for him to learn some instruments, but, well, he missed a lot because it's held on Sunday afternoons and we'd either be out of town, on the way back home from out of town, or I just plain forgot to drive him there.

So as part of those resolutions I almost never keep, I decided that Jacob would make it to his music program every single Sunday and he would get something out of it if it killed us both.

Yes. I forgot to take him on MLK weekend. What? It was a holiday. Shouldn't they have cancelled it?

Last week the program director called. It wasn't the first time he's called. We've talked before about Jacob's behavior so I had a lame excuse about his meds wearing off all ready when the guy explained that Jacob had been chosen for a lead part in a musical they would be performing for a conference about the new Vacation Bible School theme.

What?

First of all...I had no idea he auditioned for a part. When I asked how music went that day he said fine and, yeah, I left it at that.

Secondly....HE HAS A LEAD PART?

Huh.

Knowing that Jacob has had behavior issues there, I gave the director an out by telling him I wouldn't tell him he got the part, but he was insistent that Jacob have the part. Apparently five people auditioned eighty children and all five put Jacob at the top of their list.

Huh.

I guess my kid can sing.

And act.

Who knew?

He doesn't sing here. I can't get him to even play act in a board game we have.

He can really make a Lego creation though and if you need someone to teach your kid how to get through almost any Wii game, he's your kid, but ACT?

Jacob decided to take the part. He's added three more hours onto his Sunday music class and will be practicing every Friday night until the first performance at the end of February. So far he hasn't complained too much about it.

This Sunday he's to have his lines from the first three scenes memorized.

He memorized them on Monday and he's working on the others.

Huh.

All this time I've worried that my kid didn't have a sports thing.

Maybe he was never meant to have a sports thing.

Maybe this is his thing.

Huh.

Who knew?

RSVP. Try it, You'll Like It.

Adam turned five last week. FIVE. Who remembers when Jacob turned five and Adam was still a teeny baby?

FIVE? That's so hard for me to swallow. FIVE. Big kids turn five. How did my baby become a big kid so quickly? *sigh*

I should really write a fifth birthday post about Adam especially since I found his fourth birthday post completely blank in my draft file, but eh, I'll talk about his party.

His Ch*ck E Ch**se birthday party.





Adam has wanted a Ch*ck E Ch**se party since he knew what birthday parties were. Since Jacob got a fancy party at five, we decided Adam could choose a fancy party at five too, so we've pretty much had this party planned since the day AFTER he turned four last year.

Anyway. When preschool classes resumed after Christmas I sent Adam in with fifteen little Batm*n party invitations to place in every one of his classmate's little cubbies where his teacher so lovingly placed in each little folder before placing that in each little backpack. In addition to the date, time, and place of the party I also requested an RSVP by a certain date complete with two contact numbers and an email address for those people who feel awkward talking to a stranger over the phone. Never mind that we've all met at least three previous times, but you know, whatever.

When the invitation deadline came, I'd received one regret.

Seriously? I spent about half the day panicking wondering what would happen to my sweet baby if NO ONE showed up to celebrate his big day and then I remembered I've done this before. What has happened common courtesy and manners? Aren't we in the south here? Aah....don't get me started on the thank you card.

I waited a couple more days and got two acceptances and then contacted the mouse house and lowered my number to the minimum amount, eight, even though I only had six for sure. It was stressful, the wondering, but I had to let it go. I knew we'd have a good party no matter how many kids showed up so I just decided to be done with it.

Then on the day of the party a babysitter found me in the pick-up line half hour before and told me she'd be bringing two kids which, GREAT!, now I have my eight.

So, we get to Ch*ck E Ch**se and meet with our party hostess who sets everything up, plates, cups, tokens, pizza, for EIGHT children. Then suddenly we had TWELVE children. Twelve guests and eight token cups. Obviously the party hostess has dealt with this before because she was quick to bring out more plates and cups and utensils, but it did take her a while to get the tokens ready. The babysitter and her two charges was the last to show up and immediately demanded tokens to which I told her the hostess would be over soon with them. She wasn't happy about waiting so I gave her a handful of the 100 I bought myself and told her I'd see about the hold up. Apparently I wasn't quick enough. When I returned with the extra tokens, I found her grabbing the rest of my tokens right out of my bag. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I shouldn't have left my bag sitting there unattended but, well, we were the only people in that place so you figure you can trust your own party guests. I guess you can't.

If it weren't my kid's birthday party I would've made more of a scene than the, oh-no-someone-took-our-tokens-sorry-you-used-your-tokens-little-boy-there-aren't-anymore routine while asking my husband quite loudly in front of the thief if we could afford to buy more. Amazing, but none of that phased her.

FYI: Iif you have eight kids, you get two pizzas. If you have twelve kids, you get five pizzas. That would've been nice to know before I ordered the two extra pizzas back when we only had eight kids.

And guess who forgot her coupons??

So the party ended up costing me fifty dollars in pizza we ate three meals a day for the next three days. It was worth it, though, to finally make my five year old baby's birthday dream come true.



Next: Adam at Five

And then Later: Birthday Party Etiquette...How to Answer an RSVP, Write a Thank You Note, and If it's in someone's bag, it doesn't belong to you.