First Day of School 2010

A new year is officially here. I have resumed my Lunch Coordinator duties and K, L, and H have started school. I don't really know what to do with myself in the afternoons while H rests in after school care and the girls finish their day. Here are my three babies on their first day of school!

Not Done Yet

So, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth although it does seem that way. Here's a brief recap of what's happened in the days since February 13:

• H turned 3. I could do a whole post about how difficult May 1 is, the day before his birthday is always very hard for me. I always cry when I put him to bed. I guess it's a reminder of God's grace and provision that either of us are here right now. I usually don't think about the night he was born but on May 1, it all comes back to me.
• We finished yet another year of school. K finished 2nd grade which is somewhat unbelievable. What's more unbelievable is that L finished Kindergarten and is reading like crazy. Growing way too fast.
• I finished my first year of working outside the home. I was so ready to be done with that mess it wasn't even funny. I am going to do the same thing this fall and will even have a whole day to myself when H is in school. K3 here we come!
• K turned 8. She is now a young lady, not a little girl. So sweet, such a helper, and has a very giving spirit.
• L turned 6. She is as spunky as ever and is way too young to be into dangly earrings. Yet she is. She still has her L-isms that keep me cracking up. I wish I could remember all of the ones she has come up with over the last 5 months. Alas, I cannot, as I cannot remember yesterday all that well. How am I supposed to remember 5 months ago?
• I got to spend a fabulous girls' weekend with a dear friend on a trip to my hometown. I also spent some much-needed one-on-one time with my mother. We have never spent that much time together since I got married. It was a definite blessing.
• We spend our very first Easter with Nana. We've always stayed home for that holiday as trying to get on the road after a big Easter dinner is almost impossible. However, this year the Easter holiday was the beginning of our spring break so we spent a couple of extra days with the grandparents.
• The kids, all of them, spent two weeks at a day camp at our school, focusing on cooking and art. We came home with some really cool art projects which I hope to share at some point.
• We have conquered potty training. No more diapers at this house!

Now that you're all caught up, I hope to continue to post blogs more regularly. My goal is to post once a week but that's a lofty expectation at this point. I pray all of you have been well!

Because I Love Him...

Oldies but Goodies

The rocking chair that was my grandparents'. It has had several different colors of paint over the years, although I only ever remember it being white. I love the way the sunlight pours over it in the mornings.

The spool bed is my favorite piece. It was my great-grandmother's and was my bed for many, many years. It's a 3/4 bed, meaning it's larger than a twin but smaller than a full. This is the first time it's been bathed in blue for a little boy.

Both of these pieces now reside in H's room.

Big Boy Room

H now has his big boy room. We took down the crib on Saturday, H even helped, so obviously he was more than ready to be in the big bed. He's done great. The first night he woke up twice but since then has done really well. And he's so proud of himself. He gets up every morning and says, "I sleep in my big boy bed, Mommy!" The room looks really good, too. Much more room in which to play. Now it just needs some finishing touches like pictures on the wall.

I must admit I cried. I didn't think I would be that emotional but when push came to shove, I lost it. I realized that the crib has been in that room since we moved into the house, except for a brief period when we moved L into K's room and she was still in the crib. And I didn't just get teary, I really cried. Oh, I was pitiful. It's just moving from one phase to another. Watching the kids grow is wonderful but I think it's important to remember what they were like when they were little, to celebrate their present accomplishments, and look forward to the next stage. That's the joy of being a mama!

Growing Up Fast

Yesterday at nap time, H told me he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed. I asked him if he wanted to sleep in his crib or his big boy bed and he said, "I sleep in big boy bed." So I got his pillow and Barkers, his favorite stuffed dog, and he laid down and went to sleep. Just like that. He did the same at bed time last night although, in the middle of the night, he fell out of the big boy bed and S put him in the crib. But at nap time today he asked to be in the big boy bed yet again and we had a successful nap sans crib.

A few weeks ago, I thought about getting the crib out of H's room and setting it up to be a "regular" bedroom. I have a vision of what I want the room to look like and the crib doesn't fit into the plan any longer. But my plan was halted when I realized that H would be able to get out of bed whenever he wanted and could possibly give up nap time. Plus I really want him to stay in his crib as long as possible. We only took L out of the crib when we needed to set up the room for H's arrival.

So when he asked to sleep in the big bed, I wasn't prepared. I thought I would be able to handle it but it's the end of an era. Once that crib comes down, it won't go back up again. It's down for good. There's no more preparing for a baby; it's now take the crib down and store it until I decide what to do with it (really don't want to sell it or give it away). While I am perfectly fine with the size of the family (I don't feel the need to have another baby; our family is complete and I know that in my heart), I hate to see the boy growing up as fast as he is.

At the same time, there's the excitement of the next stage, of no more diapers, of starting preschool, of seeing H go through the stages the girls have already long since left behind. So today I am sad to see the end of the crib era but thankful that I have the babies I do and the time I have with them now.

I'll leave you with a conversation I had with H over the Thanksgiving holiday:

Me: H, may I see your airplane?

H: No.

Me: Why not?

H: Because no.

Me: Because no?

H: Exactly.

Generation Gap

Nana is visiting and gave me a much-needed break from the kids. S has been gone for most of the month of June and I needed a few moments to myself. So she told me to go get a pedicure while she bathed the kids and put them in bed.

While the kids were still in the tub, K yelled to Nana that L had said a bad word. A really bad word. Here's how the rest of the conversation went:

K: Nana, L said a really bad word. She said the S-H word.
Nana (trying to figure out where in the world L heard the S-H word): L, why did you say that?
L: I wanted H to be quiet.
Nana (breathing a bit of a sigh of relief): Oh, you said Shhhhhhh.
K: No she said the whole thing. The whole S-H-U-T-U-P.
Nana (attempting to stifle laughter so that L would know that saying the whole S-H-U-T-U-P is not a good thing [but saying it in her sweetest voice]): Well, I bet that if I let you play in the tub a little longer that you won't say that to H again.
L: Yes ma'am.

A Funny H Story

While I have pictures to post and lots of fun things to share, this story is short enough to share quickly. We've been super busy over the last several weeks and I will share our goings-on over this week. For now, here's the funny H story.

Sporty Mama was here with her family last weekend for a much-needed visit. We had a great time just being together, laughing, listening, venting, eating, and drinking.

SM's hubby had a pair of black Crocs that he wore most of the time he was here. However, when he went to put them on Sunday morning, they were nowhere to be found. We asked the kids if they had seen them (of course they hadn't), checked under every piece of furniture, searched high and low. No Crocs. We even checked under every bed and in the garage. No Crocs. We searched the backyard and the front yard. No Crocs.

Monday morning, as they were preparing to depart sans Crocs, SM and I did one more sweep of the entire grounds searching for the Crocs. We just couldn't imagine where they had gone. It was as if they had legs of their own and had crawled off seeking freedom.

Then I had a stroke of genius. You see, H loves to put shoes away, especially Daddy's shoes. So when I checked S's shoe rack in our closet, there they were: one pair of black Crocs.

If only he'd do that with his toys!

Again, Mine

Whirlwind

The last two weeks of school are exactly that: a whirlwind. We've been so busy that I've needed to go to bed earlier than normal just to keep up with the pace. With something special/out-of-the-ordinary-routine going on each day, we've had no time to just be. I'm truly looking forward to not driving to school every day!

We had the girls' ballet recital last weekend and they were beautiful. K did both ballet and tap and did such a good job. And L is definitely a performer. She knew the routine better than anyone (her ballet teacher even commented on how well she did). I'll post pictures when they get downloaded. That's not an easy feat these days as S's new home office is upstairs where the computer is. And when he's finally done for the day, I'm busy with dinner and bedtime routines and don't feel like going upstairs to download pictures. Go figure. (At this point we're just happy that he has a job and has work to do. Even though it's a lot, it's work he's getting paid for.)

So what else has been going on? Let's see. L told me that her little friend (of the male persuasion), H, thinks that she's "hot." (That was her word, not mine.) H, thanks to his father, now calls pigs "bacon." Any time he sees a picture of a pig he says, "bacon." Insert exaggerated roll of the eyes here. L got promoted to Kindergarten on Tuesday night and sang loud enough that I could hear her above everyone else in her class. This dream of hers to become a singing star might actually come true. H has decided that he wants to start going on the potty. He's only made it once to the potty but we're working on it. My prayer is that we'll be done with diapers this time next year. One can dream...

That's the story of the last two weeks. My goal for the weekend is to rest and to finally get my house in order. It's a mess!

Happy Mother's Day

Many years ago, when S and I first were dating, I just so happened to be graduating from Auburn. I was in DC and had to go to AU to graduate so I had a party just before I left to celebrate my achievements (really just the one). Several friends gave me Congrats cards but S's card was the most special for several reasons.

First, it was from him. Second, it was a very unexpected card: a Happy Bat Mitzvah card. See, it's really hard to find Graduation cards in December so he went with what he could find. Never mind that neither of us are Jewish. So he crossed out Bat Mitzvah and wrote "Graduation." The funny thing was that the words on the card were entirely appropriate for someone who was graduating. "You're growing up", "You're moving to the next stage" kinds of things.

Why am I telling you this in relation to Mother's Day? Well, yesterday when my sweet children and husband brought me breakfast in bed, I opened the card from the kids first. Guess what? It was a Happy Bat Mitzvah card! They picked it out with no help from S. I know why they picked it out, too. The picture on the front was a very cute cartoon girl with lots of girly colors surrounding it. It was not at all appropriate for Mother's Day but I still cherish it. I guess they're more like their father than I thought!

Easter and Beyond

I realize Easter was almost a month ago but I have just now downloaded the pics from my camera to my computer. We've had lots of fun over the last month and here is proof positive.

Nostalgia

Tomorrow is H's 2nd birthday. In some ways it seems like it's been forever and in some ways it's flown by. All you mamas out there will understand. There are days you think will never end and there are days you turn around and your baby is two. I'm not sure if it's more difficult because he's the baby or because of the circumstances surrounding his birth. It's difficult nonetheless.

S and I were talking about that fateful night a few days ago, about what we remember happening. While it seems to still be so fresh in my mind, there are many gaps that I just can't fill in. There are times when I can talk about it freely and openly, sharing the amazing story of the night H was born, the night God did so many miracles I lost count. And then there are times when the mere thought of it all brings me to tears and I must move on to something else lest I become a puddle of mush.

H is now a beautiful two-year-old boy, thriving, a miracle in my home. Sometimes I think about what my life would be like if we'd stopped after having just one baby. Life would be simpler, I'd be freer to do more, there wouldn't be nearly as much laundry, the house would be quieter. But I remember that the reverse is also true: life would be emptier, there wouldn't be as many cute dresses that make K and L look like princesses and precious button-down shirts that make H look like a little man, and the house would be almost hollow. Those sounds of laughter, of tears, of little voices wouldn't be there. And my life wouldn't be as full.

Last year, when I put H to bed the night before his first birthday, I cuddled him, rocked him in my arms and got teary as I said goodnight to my baby boy. I know I'll do the same tonight.

Here's to H, may you have a happy birthday and try not to grow up too fast.

Captured Through the Lens

H + Quiet= Trouble

Whilst writing that last post, this is what H was up to:

No it didn't snow on my kitchen table. I guess he thought we had too much sodium in our diets and we need to cut back. He's thoughtful that way.

Taking Pictures

I've decided that I need to be better about taking pictures of my children, of cool things I see around the house and, well, just about anything. I have a fantastic camera (Nikon D40x, not the highest end of the camera spectrum but still just as good) and it takes beautiful pictures. I wish I knew how to do more with it but that requires sitting down and actually reading the manual, something I don't really have time to do.

I'm not a collector of anything really but I found this camera at a flea market in Virginia about 7 years ago. According to a little research I did, I found that the Kodak Duaflex IV was manufactured by Kodak from 1947-1960. It takes 620 film (which isn't easy to come by) and is a fixed focus camera. That means that you'd better know what you're doing or your picture won't be clear. My grandfather had an old camera that I got when he died and this one, somehow, reminds me of him even though it's not the one he had.H's newest passion is books. What a great passion! He loves to bring me books and we read them and then look back through all the pictures. K loves to read and I think she's being a wonderful role model. At least she's teaching him something positive!

This has been a lazy morning, cold and quiet so I've enjoyed playing with H, savoring every minute of his toddler-hood. It won't last long.

Mine

Tom Becker

When I first married into S's family, I was introduced (by proxy) to a gentleman named Tom Becker. I have grown to love Tom Becker as he tends to show up at Christmas and birthdays bearing lovely gifts. He's a bit like Santa and the Tooth Fairy in that he makes his presence known by leaving the gifts for you without being seen. He's quite sneaky that way.

Well, Tom made an appearance at our house on Wednesday evening by way of Gran and Granddad. Apparently Tom found a wonderful gift for K while he was out shopping and just had to give it to her even though it wasn't her birthday or Christmas. Here's what Tom Becker brought:

See? Doesn't he bring good gifts? Now Tom didn't want to leave out L or H and he brought them cute t-shirts from a local restaurant, complete with a picture of a volleyball-playing toucan. Of course, L would have preferred the bike but Tom hasn't found one that suits her just yet.

Hair Disaster Pictures

I wish I had a picture of the room post-shearing but I don't. The hairdos will have to suffice.

L before:

L after:
H before:

H after:

Out of Town

I'm on a very unexpected trip to the city where S got his new job. They needed him here for a few days and I, at the very last minute, decided to come with him. I'm checking out houses, schools, and taking the time to relax and read.

I have pictures of the hair fiasco and L's hair turned out really cute. Even though we were trying to grow it out, the style fits her. H's hair is, well, buzzed and he looks so different but still has all his H personality. I will post them when I get home.

Have a blessed week!