L-I-F-E

Scaling mountains of laundry.

 

Catching little culprits red-handed.

 

Disposing of nature related items that make their way inside.

 

Hangin' with the fam.

 

4 years old!

 

So I blinked...and this little guy turned 4 years old today.

I've always known I was excessively sentimental (I like that phrase better than just plain "sappy").

But I feel so sad the night before one of the kids' birthdays. I remember going into Drue's room last September 27th...just to kiss her one more time while she was 4.

And I did the same thing the night before Tate's birthday. I went in to kiss my sweet 3 year old. My last 3 year old I'll ever have.

 

I just couldn't help thinking: Was I the best Mom I could be to this little guy while he was 3? Because I'll never ever get that age back. Did I mold and shape his little personality as much as I could that year? Was I as patient with him as I should have been? Or was I too impatient with his 3 year old tantrums and neverending curiosity? Did I snuggle him as much as I could have? Did I tell him too many times "Mommy can't play right now because I have to finish (dishes, laundry, vacuumming...)"?

 

The days do slip by quickly but it's just so overwhelming for me to mark another entire year gone by. I can't freeze time...he did turn 4...and I must now put all my heart into enjoying, experiencing, and Mothering him at this age.

 

Tate is such a joy. He is still the happiest little boy I know. And I love that the simplest things can light up his whole face and make him giggle uncontrollably. Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you more than words can ever express.

Happy Mother's Day

"It was when I had my first child that I understood how much my mother loved me."
-From "For Mother-A Bouquet of Sentiment"

 

"I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me 'Mommy'".
-Author Unknown

 

"A mother holds her children's hands for awhile...their hearts forever."
-Author Unknown

 

Baby Bull

The other morning Tate requested the "Baby Bull" song.

Huh?

I turned to one of his little interpreters...Drue...but even she couldn't figure it out.

Later that morning we had a Veggie Tales CD in and when Tate heard this song he squealed excitedly.

"That's it Mommy! The Baby Bull song!".

Thank you...I Think

On my days off I drop Reese off at school in my pajamas. I have no desire to arise early, get myself ready, and get her up and ready before 8am. There really is no need. I whisk her up the road in the van and she pops out.

I do try and make myself a little more presentable before I pick her up, however. At least I'm wearing clothes, definitely a smattering of make up, and don't have bed head. We usually walk to pick her up and I visit with the other moms.

Yesterday Tate and I were heading to Leavenworth right after we dropped the girls at school, so I got up early, showered, did my hair and make up and we were on our way.

Reese looked puzzled and said, "Mommy? Do you work today?".

"No", I replied.

This puzzled her even more. "Well, then why are you pretty?".

False Alarm

There is a grassy hill outside Drue's preschool that the kids like to run around on when it's nice outside. It usually has a scattering of little ones all over it when school lets out for the day.

In the past, it's been a bit challenging to let my kids know when it's time to go. Because they can't hear me calling them above all the commotion, wind, etc. So I would either have to scream their name like a crazy person or run over and physically retrieve them from the hill itself. They would always come once I had their attention...but getting their attention wasn't always fun.

A few weeks ago Drue asked if she and Tate could run on the hill when I picked her up. So I said, "Yes, you can but you need to look over at me every so often and when I wave my arm like this (I made a motion for them to come back) you guys have to come!".

"Ok, we will," she assured me.

Off they ran. And she did look over at me every few minutes or so.

I got to talking with one of the stay at home dads of a little girl in Drue's class. He was telling me that they were in the middle of getting their master bath remodeled and went on to explain what all that entailed.

It sounded like his layout was similar to ours so I started telling him how ours was set up and I would love to take out some of our closet and put in a jacuzzi tub.

A few minutes into our conversation I happened to look down and Drue and Tate were standing in front of me waiting patiently.

"Oh, are you guys ready to go?" I asked a little bit surprised.

"Well, you waved us over here." Drue said matter-of-factly.

At first I was confused, but then it dawned on me that if I'm standing up talking to someone I tend to use my hands a lot. And I'm sure in the course of me explaining how our master bed/bath was laid out, my hand gestures looked like I was waving Drue and Tate in!

Innocence

We walk by them, drive by them, see them in magazines, and on television. And probably don't even think twice. But Reesie did....

Underwear ads.

Not even suggestive lingerie. We're talking run of the mill Fruit of the Loom or any given brand of *ahem* bras and the "p" word. Nope, still don't like saying it.

We were walking through Target today and Reese said, "Oh my gosh! That lady is in her bra and panties! I don't understand how someone could let another person take their picture when they are just in their bra and panties? Mommy, why are those up there anyway?".

"Well...um...er...to advertise those specific items," I stammered.

"Then why don't they just take a picture of the underwear then? By itself? Without someone having to be wearing them? I am never doing that!".

Whew.