I'm Back
11 years ago
I'm way behind on posts, so here goes.
Christopher and Sophie are on the same soccer team. Along with their best friends Nicholas and Joshua. And Uncle Burt is the coach. It's awesome. Christopher and Nicholas are doing really well and you can see their competitive sides finally coming out on the field. They push each other during practice and race to see who can finish the drill first. Sophie and Joshua, well, they touch the ball every now and then, are silly most of the time and adorable all of the time. They all are. : )
Christopher had a bad week at school and so he had to go to his room when he got home. This was how I found him when I went to tell him he could come out. Pretty much explains why he was having a rough week.
Our church had a princess party to raise money for their youth choir. Sophie was in heaven! She could not wait to get inside and see all the princesses. They had every character you could think of. It was precious! They even had little crafts for the kids to make and you could go around and take your picture with them.
Christopher enjoyed eating decorating the cookies they brought to the kids with lemonade.
Sophie goofing off while playing cards one afternoon. She loves Mommy-Sophie days.
What is this you ask? You can't tell? Look at the white thing under that tree in the middle of the photo. That's Sophie throwing a completely out of the blue, ridiculous tantrum as we left Christopher's school. Totally happy on one side of the door and L-O-S-T it on the other. I had just finished reading that book I told you about a few posts ago and was standing my ground. But eventually I had to go get her (she was sorry I did) because I was afraid she was going to disturb all the kids at the school. One of those moments you wish more people were around so you could look at them and say, "Where is her mommy?"
Our church had a day at the ball park and we went with my in-laws. The kids were so excited because Christopher got to see trains drive past really slow and Sophie found lots of food she wanted to eat.
Kids with the mascot. I don't know what it is. Nobody does. Sophie wanted to wear her new t-shirt too, but I was insane and didn't bring a random pair of shorts for her to wear.
On one of our many trips to the bathroom we found a craft section the park had set up for the kids. Sophie had no clue what they were making, but we had to make it. The girl loves to craft! : ) It was a megaphone. She loved it even more when she found out it would help her yell louder.
.... or a hat/mask.
Nicholas came to spend the night one weekend and Sophie spent the night with Joshua. Christopher was really excited to show Nicholas all the crazy stuff that Calvin and Hobbes get into. It's so fun to see them and watch their interaction. I swear, if Brandon and Burt had been best friends when they were little kids, I'm pretty sure that they would act just like these two. : )
Christopher has been crazy about airplanes since our trip to Hawaii. He found a picture of a plane on the back of one of his Lego books and said he wanted to get it. I told him that he would have to pay for it by himself and work hard to earn the money. I honestly thought it would take a year for this to happen, if he still wanted to get it 2 weeks later. But one thing I'm learning about him is that when he sees something he wants/likes, he doesn't drop it. He wants to learn everything about it. He did chores, he begged for things to do to earn money and I'm so very proud to say that after about 4 months he had earned his money. He saved his b'day money, he cleaned, he picked up, he did everything he could and it was a very proud day when we walked into Toys R Us and bought that plane set. I love this kid and how he never gives up when he sets his mind to something. : )
... and we got to work as soon as we got home.
He takes it everywhere.
He also lost another tooth. It had been loose forever and then all of a sudden it was barely hanging on. He couldn't go to sleep that night because he was so worried it would fall out while he was sleeping and he would choke on it so I had to pull it.
Sophie making another one of her crazy faces. I love that kid!
I've got more to show now that school has finished up, but of course I can't get those photos to come up when I need them to so whenever I can get to them I will.
We have spent the last two weekends at the lake. I think we will be spending at least half of our summer there. The other half will be spent with my in-laws and our best friends, the Khans. We are ready. We have 1 1/2 weeks of school left and then we will be carefree!! Oh how I can't wait! I'm sure about 2 weeks in I will be begging for a place to take my kids and leave them so I won't have to listen to them fight all the time, but I do love having them around and no schedule to be followed. (Ok, I never go completely schedule free, but no homework and being asked "why are we going to bed when the sun is still out?" is going to be nice.)
A couple weeks ago my sister texted me and said, "What are you doing next weekend? I'm going to the lake and wondered if you wanted to come." I'm not sure I typed back "YES!!!!!!" fast enough. We both have such fond memories of summers and weekends spent at the lake with our family and love to go any chance we get. My parents were going to be out of town and she was keeping their dogs, but we didn't care if they were there or not, we just needed to get away. The kids all had plans Saturday morning, but as soon as they were done we were texting "I'm on my way now!! See you soon!!" and hit the road. Suits were put on and the rest of the day was spent in the water. The weather was perfect! A little chilly to be wet, but it didn't slow the kids down. We brought little food, figured PB&J and a box of cereal was plenty. We planned to go out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant for supper and when 4:35 rolled around we were loading up to go eat. That's one thing I love about other moms, they are just as ready to get supper going as I am! Y'all, it was the most well behaved our kids have EVER been at a restaurant! I think they were so hungry that they were more focused on eating chips and salsa and cheese dip than acting up. After putting the kids to bed around 8:00, we watched one tv show, just because we felt like we should, and then we were off to bed.
The next morning we played and actually, it seemed to drag on f.o..r...e....v.....e......r!! It was only 9:00 and we were looking at each other saying, "How is it NOT lunchtime yet?" We finally went outside and the played for a little while and then eventually it was time for lunch. Her kids went down for a nap and mine played in the water some more. That afternoon they had to head home for a party and we picked up a little, packed up our stuff and headed home. It was so nice to get away and have some relaxing time with my sister. We never get to away together like that and it was wonderful! We plan on hanging out there more this summer, especially when it's time for the Olympics! My family is BIG about watching Olympics. We've already told my mom that she can pretty much expect us to be moving in for most of those 2 weeks.
I don't know about you, but I have yet to figure out this whole parenting thing. And I'm 6 years in. I thought I was doing an ok job, but things just weren't turning out the way they needed to. My son going to kindergarten had a big part in helping me realize this. Our situation this year also being a big part of the issue, but I refuse to let that be an excuse. My kids aren't horrible nightmares and I didn't feel the need to call that Nanny show... yet, but they were not behaving or treating adults in a way that I could be proud and I knew that was falling back on me.
I voiced my concerns with my in-laws and my mom, telling them that I was tired of getting no respect, being ignored and feeling like a failure. I have tried every style of parenting out there and nothing was working. Well, my sweet mom loves to help out when you have a problem and the day after I talked to her about my concerns, she went and bought me this book: Have A New Kid By Friday. Now I know that some people are offended by people doing things like this, but I welcome it. When you get to a point of desperation and start waving that white flag, you welcome pretty much anything, right? No? Well, I do!
Y'all (I've started using this word again since moving back to Alabama. It makes me feel happy when I say it), this book has changed my life. I have to admit, when I saw how thick it was, my first thought was, "How am I going to read all these pages by 'Friday' and apply them?" Good news! The "instruction" portion is actually very short. The rest is answers to 100 questions that you may have.
I still have the last day to read, but people, I have been doing it all wrong. Biggest fail? I caved when I thought things weren't a big deal, but that was my problem. You NEVER cave. EVER. I'm not saying I've got it down pat, or that I'm a perfect mom now, but y'all, my kids are actually minding me better. Christopher has been so much more respectful that I've had to catch myself from falling several times. I'm just hoping that I remember each thing he mentions and keep it up.
I realized something else this week. Nobody has ever asked me for advice on raising kids. (That should have been my first clue.) Well, except once. It was, "How do you handle grocery shopping? After you load the groceries in your car and have to return the cart and you've got the baby... What do you do?" I told her to try to always park near the cart collector. And I learned that when I was a nanny.
I give this book 5 stars and 1 happy mommy! : )
Not sure why it worked this time, but that's they way it rolls sometimes. I don't care, I'm just glad the last two posts have photos now!
Christopher's birthday was several weeks ago, but Melissa and I
decided that since Nicholas and Christopher are in the same class, have
the same friends and their birthdays are only 5 weeks apart, we should
just have their party together. She suggested we have it at the arcade
at the mall and I have to say, easiest party EVER!!!! We weren't sure
what the crowd would be like (it was spring break for pretty much every
school in town), but I think since it was still a work day, and kids
couldn't get a ride to mall, it saved us. Thank you Melissa for coming
up with this brilliant idea!
The boys have either had a
Thomas the train or a Construction theme for the last several years so
we told them they couldn't have that anymore and decided to go with
Legos. They were pumped when they heard that. So, thank you Party City
for helping us out and having Lego themed items for us to use!
We
had a great turnout and the kids had a blast. There was one game that
was kind of like the big wheel on the Price is Right and the kids would
get 40 to 100 tickets each time they played. They went from game to
game, stopping every now and then for a quick snack. After about an hour
we had cake and then they were off to play again.
The favorite game.
Zachary, the adorable man of mystery.
"Happy Birthday Nicholas & Christopher"
So proud of this little man. We love him so much!!
Pretty little sister.
This picture has "What?" written all over it.
I don't know, but they aren't fighting.
Uncle Burt showing the boys how to play.
They are so serious!
Sophie and all her tickets!
And this is what she wanted to buy, nasty teeth and fun dip. Her fingers were green for 3 days.
Sorry for not being here any sooner, but we've been busy having fun. : ) Brandon and I had a great time in Vegas together. I've always wanted to see what the hype was all about, but also knew that I probably wouldn't love it either. Now I've seen it, I never have to go back, but we did have a lot of fun. I was just thrilled to have a couple days alone with Brandon and that was all I cared about anyway. It was also great to see some friends that I haven't seen in almost a year and to get to spend time with them. I wish I could say that we lived the high life and stayed at the sweetest pent house and partied like we were 21, but that only happens in the movies. Vegas was nothing like it seems on tv. Unless you are a celebrity. And in case you haven't noticed, THAT we are not! (Thankfully!)
I arrived Wednesday night and Brandon met me at the airport. We headed back to the hotel to drop my luggage off and then headed out to walk and find dinner. The one thing I wasn't expecting was how smokey everything smelled. They don't have any no smoking laws there like they do everywhere else. (This is why I was one of those college kids who avoided bars. I hate cigarette smoke, it can give me the worst headache and honestly, who wants to shower twice within a couple hours?)
On Thursday, I woke up and headed over with Brandon to where his conference was so I could grab a little breakfast and meet up with some friends. I can't even tell you how much good it did my heart to see these familiar faces. We had such an amazing group of friends in FL and it was hard to leave them (even though everyone has to at some point), so seeing people I thought I would never see again was total joy. I went and had brunch with two friends, and one of the cutest little 2 year olds you have ever seen. We ran into more friends while we were there (they are stationed in Turkey, so I really thought I'd never see them!) When we finished eating, we learned the guys had a big break and wanted to get lunch, so off to lunch we went! (Best part of vacation? Eating!) We went in one of the massive underground malls they have in Vegas and found lunch for the boys. When the guys headed back for more lectures, we ladies walked around some more. They took me to the biggest H&M store I've ever seen and then they have to leave. I walked around, grabbed a couple things, tried them on, then left. It was so loud I couldn't even think and really just wanted to go see Brandon again since he was done, so I headed back. And I barely got lost, so I was quite proud.
That night we went to get dinner before heading out to see Cirque de Soleil show called "O". Incredible doesn't begin to describe how amazing this show was. At one point I thought it was about to end and was about to get really upset, but then I realized it was only the halfway point. It is worth going to Vegas, just to see this (and Brandon, of course!). After the show, we decided to go find some dessert somewhere and went to Serendipity and split the most delicious chocolate cake sundae. Mmmmmm..... Still thinking about it.
Hey, I never said they would be good pictures, I just said there would BE pictures.
I take terrible pictures, so I always make a silly face to make up for it.
If figure if you are too lazy, or cool, to walk, THIS is the way to ride.
A red Ferrari.
It was crazy windy that night.
The deliciousness we found at Serendipity.
Andy going through security.
(Sophie gave this to Daddy so he could hug him when he missed her.)
Our friends, Marlise and Levi at the famous sign.
Brandon, Andy and I at the sign too.
We were glad we got to see it. We had no clue where it was and you can't go to Vegas without seeing it? Or at least we thought. If you take a shuttle from the airport you actually can go to Vegas without seeing it. : )
Here we are riding the bus to the Hoover Dam.
Andy and the big things that the water spins around in and makes the power.
Andy against a window over looking the dam.
Us on the balcony over the dam.
I know, it's a lot of dam photos (there were a lot of "dam" jokes on the tour), but I actually left most of them out. It was really impressive! The kids would have been bored, but we enjoyed it!
We slept in a little on Saturday and then went downstairs for breakfast. Brandon went to check out (took him an hour and a half-- if you ever go to Vegas, avoid being there on the weekend.) while I finished packing everything. By the time he was done we had to rush to catch a cab to get back to the airport for our flight home. Have I mentioned yet how nice it was to fly without any kids along? And I've only done it twice! We really missed them though and couldn't wait to see them.
We got home around 10:00 that night and the kids were passed out. Christopher woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and we called his name. He stood there in the dark staring at us through sleepy eyes and then realized it was us and not one of his grandparents and came running full speed and jumped in the bed. He said, "I miss you guys so much!!" and then curled up next to Brandon and fell asleep. It was priceless. : )
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