Birthday Week

I'm calendarly challenged. My "baby" boy's birthday was back in May. My "baby" girl's birthday was two days ago. Last night we had a birthday party for my boy. I know. Not great planning, but that's just how it worked out.

Jacob's birthday happened the fall the day after we moved into our new house, so it wasn't real good timing for a birthday party. And this year is the boys' year for parties, so we put it on hold. So far on hold that Audrey's birthday snuck up on us too. It wasn't her year to have a party, but we did let her choose a dinner location. I'm sure it's not hard to believe she chose Chuck E. Cheese.

Nothing like dinner with a creepy puppet, right? 

At least she got to meet the real Charles Edward Cheese.

(That's what I call him; we're pretty tight, you see.)

 

Turns out our friends ending up joining us. And they brought gifts too...something that is definitely NOT supposed to happen at a not-party. It really looked like a real party to me. Shhh....don't tell anyone!

 

But at home, Audrey did get a not-party birthday cake, so I guess that made up for the real party not-party. I don't think she was complaining about the not-party cake, though.

 

Jacob had his real party party two days later. He invited a couple of friends over for the night. They rough housed like boys are supposed to do, enjoyed an Angry Birds pizza courtesy of his dad,

 

wolfed down an Angry Birds cake (and, yes, I realize my cake decorating techniques have seen better days),

(and notice the redneck "birthday candle")

 

rough housed some more, watched a movie, rough housed some more, and then built a gigantic tent in the boys' room.

 

I think his party was worth waiting for.

 

It was a busy two-for-one birthday week, but I think the two birthday kids had a good time. As for me, it's time to refresh and try to more competently plan future birthdays.



Good to Wow: Good Night Edition, SOOC

"Ma-Mee! Ma-Mee!"

"I'm right here, Baby," I said reassuringly.

"No. Ma-Mee!" She looked up at me, tears welling up in her big, blue eyes. My heart was gripped by that helpless feeling any mother hates to encounter.

I picked her up and tried to cuddle her, but she just kept crying, "Ma-Mee!" Finally, it occurred to me that as of late, Alex had been quite attached to the cloth diapers I used as burp cloths for her baby brother. I put her down momentarily and went to fetch one. As she saw me enter the room with it, her tears dried up, her eyes lit up, and a smile of delight spread across her face.

"Ma-Mee!" she cried happily, taking it from me.

And that is how the Security Blanket first entered our home. Three of 4 of the kids have had one. Jacob is the only one who never became attached, though because of his shy nature seemed like the one who would be best suited to cuddling a blankie for comfort.

What's funny is that none of the kids' security blankets were ever called "blankies". At least at first. Alex of course called hers "Ma-Mee", which I've never figured out unless she found her blankie to be some sort of substitution for "Mommy". She was the easiest to provide blankies for because it seemed in those days we had a never-ending supply of cloth diapers (which we used only as burp cloths, not diapers); keeping enough laundered to serve as both burp cloth and security blankets was another story, especially with a colicky baby.

It was a little more difficult to ensure Michael had his "bappy" always on hand. He took to a blue and white flannel blanket that was given to him as a baby gift. At one point we had two. When one was lost, we cut the remaining one in half so we would always have one for the house and one for the car.

Thankfully, Audrey only needs hers in bed. And, yes, I know she is 5 1/2; it is probably high time for her to give up her blankie, but she's just so cute with it. Although she now calls it her blankie, at first she dubbed it her "My". I don't know where that came from, and as I recall, we went through a similar situation as with Alex in discovering a "My" was her blankie.

Audrey's My is actually a blanket Alex received as a baby gift, and unfortunately, though I have searched and searched, I cannot find a duplicate. Because there is only one, her My has become well, well...loved. Almost daily, I cut stray strings from her blankie, and consequently, there is less and less My everyday.



Perhaps because her My is disappearing, Audrey has also become quite attached to Bear. Bear was her first gift in the hospital from her adoring daddy and siblings. Bear is very loved as well, but at least he has all of his limbs.



I know soon my last little baby will move on from blankies and stuffed bears to make-up and boyfriends. I treasure each evening when I tuck her in, feel her sweet little arms around my neck, hear her tell me she loves me, and then kiss her as she clutches her My and Bear to her chest.

Toto, I don't think we're in Georgia anymore!

On account of the crud that invaded our house this week, we had to cancel our plans for the science museum today (Note to self: Do NOT pre-pay for anymore field trips!). Since I had no school planned, the kids lucked out and got a day off.

We had fun anyway. We played Guesstures, a new game I picked up a couple weeks ago.



Although we had fun with the charades, Jacob and Alex, the two who feel 100%, were DYING to go back outside to work on their snow fort.





I would not let them until after lunch for two reasons: First of all, it was still 18 degrees outside; and secondly, I didn't want any nosy neighbors knocking on the door. "Are schools still out because of the snow?"

After lunch it had warmed up to a balmy 21 degrees, so I let the wild things out. And then I ventured out. It's the first time I've been out since it snowed a record 2+ feet. It was a new experience. I sank up to my thighs in the powdery stuff, rendering my new snow boots quite useless since the snow snuck in to the top.







I got a grand tour of the kids' really cool snow fort and then trudged back through it because I had had quite enough of my snow-filled boots.

You Capture - Kindred

They are brothers.
They play well.
They also fight well,
but what brothers don't?
They laugh at each other's jokes,
they chase each other,
they argue,
they punch each other.
They're best of friends.
They are kindred spirits,
especially when it comes to generating mischief
like the idea that lead to
sledding down the stairs
on a beanbag sled.



For more kindred captures, visit I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Homeschool Typing Class

Plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, DING! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. Remember manual typewriters? And remember Typing Class where a whole chorus of plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, DING! Zzzzzzzzzzzts would echo through the classroom? And remember how there would be one or two of your classmates who were fortunate enough to have an electric typewriter? You'd be all settled at your desk, typewriter out, paper loaded, and you'd look up to see one of them standing there with their fancy case. "Could we trade seats? I need to be by the outlet," one would ask. What. Ever. you'd think as you picked up your behemoth machine and moved to another desk. Away from the window, the one thing that would keep you sane during the endless keying of ssssss, llllll, slslslsl, lslsls. Home Row. Fingers on Home Row. And you'd watch with envy as the kid-with-the-electric-typewriter's fingers skimmed lightly over the keys, which jumped in response to the touch. And a simple button push returned the carriage to home, whereas you had to hold on one side with one hand while pushing the carriage over with the other to prevent sliding the entire machine across the desk and on to the floor.

Yes, those were the good ol' days. And now? Well, now, it is keyboarding, not typing. And there is less appreciation for the keyboard than for the typewriter. You know how I know that? Because these days, kids use U for you and ur for your and IMHO for in my humble opinion. Seriously, you would think we would have thought of shortcuts like that back in our typewriter days when we nursed our sore fingers for days after typing a 5-page paper.

And of course our typewriters did not autofill the word we were typing or autocorrect misspellings. No, we had to actually think for ourselves. But it must be a better world, though, right? I do know one thing: Learning to type was one of the most useful skills I ever learned. So I am determined that my children will learn to type and learn to type right.

Years ago, I bought a typing book, I mean a real typing book. Like the one I learned from, only I failed to get the one that can be propped up by its own cover. However, it is the same...you start at Home Row and you spend tedious amounts of time typing things that don't make sense like aaaaaa ;;;;;;; a;a;a;a; ;a;a;a;a. I smiled when I looked through it because it brought be back to my high school days.

But of course it is the 21st century now, so I cannot expect my children to learn from such an archaic training manual. So I also got them some typing software. It fits right into the 21st century with its flashy graphics and interactive elements. The children travel through different adventures as they type themselves from one island to the next using real words. And it grades their accuracy and speed. Really, it does it all.

Two of my kids have finished the whole program. Alex is a pretty good typist or keyboardist or whatever now. And Jacob has also finished. However, when I noticed him still hunting and pecking as he typed an email to a friend, I asked him why his fingers weren't on Home Row. "It's faster this way," he replied.

Obviously, he doesn't see the big picture. He's only 8. What should I expect? If he would just stick to the program and practice it that way, he would get better. But, no, he'd rather hunt and peck his way through school papers and business reports. That will not do. So I gleefully got out my tried and true typing book. He is not all that happy about typing things like, asas asas asas ddd ddd asd asd, but sometimes doing it the old fashioned way just gets it done.

One last thing: Did you know that the sentence The quick, brown fox jumps over the lazy dog contains every letter in the alphabet? Great for practicing your typing skills. I still remember that one from Typing Class.

A Letter Never Sent

Dear Jacob,

My sweet, precious, no-longer-so-little boy! I certainly did not forget your birthday. I was so happy we could be at Disney for the days right before your birthday! What better way to celebrate than under the magical Disney sky? We sure had a lot of fun on that trip!

Of course, your actual birthday was a very busy day with Bright Futures graduation and school. Well...school for your siblings anyway; you of course were excused from all academics! And it started out in a celebratory way with the traditional birthday banner strung across your doorway.

We were able to extend your birthday by saving your party for a couple of weeks. But we enjoyed it regardless of its tardiness. It was lots of fun having so many friends join us at Lazer City, wasn't it? Of course, my neck was hurting so badly at that point I wasn't able to put as much time and effort into your cake as I would have liked, but it was still a cute Club Penguin cake.

I loved watching you interact with your friends at your party. I loved seeing your enthusiasm for the laser tag games and your excitement over the gifts. You are quiet around your friends, but I can see your eyes sparkle, and I love that! You are such a sweet boy and so much fun. You don't always say a lot, but when you do, you are funny and witty. You choose your words carefully, and that is a wonderful trait to have!

You are a competitive little man. I've enjoyed seeing you participate in sports over the last year, and you're getting good at volleyball too! I look forward to seeing you get involved in basketball and soccer this year. You are so much confident now in hanging out with others, and sports are a great opportunity for you to meet lots of other kids your age.

I'm excited to see what this year holds for you in school, in sports...in life.

Happy belated birthday!

I love you,

Mom

I'm dating again...

Shhh!! Don't tell Mark, but I went on a date tonight with two men. At the same time. One ordered chocolate milk and put ketchup on everything. A lot of ketchup. And he passed the waiting time zooming a cow over a centerpiece carnation which he dubbed "the moon." The other man has a quieter personality and didn't say a whole lot but did at one point engage me in a conversation about his Silly Bandz.

The two men took me to Chick-fil-A* which had been especially set up for the occasion. The tables were prettied up with doilies, pink napkins, and balloons, and the register lines were replaced with waiters. At one point during our meal, the waiter asked my two dates to follow him. They excused themselves from the table and returned a few moments later, each bearing a beautiful red rose to present to me. A photographer captured the evening and gave me a photo souvenir.

There were conversation starters on the table, but my two men and me? We quickly got beyond our favorite colors and TV shows and focused on the important stuff like Legos and our favorite rides at Disney World.

I couldn't have chosen a better setting, more delightful conversation, or two better men with whom I would like to spend an evening!



*This special Mother/Son event further solidifies the fact that Chick-fil-A is my favorite establishment in the world. They are the only ones who consistently offer friendly, quality service to their customers. They think outside the box to go above and beyond what is expected of a fast-food establishment. I won't ever forget the evening I showed up at the drive-thru a few years ago. I had switched diaper bags and had forgotten to put my wallet in the new bag. I realized this when I pulled up to pay. "Just hold the food for me," I said. "I'll run home and get my wallet." "Oh, no! Don't worry about it. Meal's on us!" Seriously. You can't beat that!

The Stubbornest Boy

Once upon a time there were two brothers. Most of the time they got along famously. They played, they built, they schemed. But one night they didn't get along so well.

On this particular night, their mom was not feeling very well. She made dinner anyway, but after she put it on the table, she retired to her room for some Peace and Quiet. Since their mother was absent, the two brothers who usually got along famously figured there was no need for any manners, and they promptly began to call each other names.

When word got to the mom by way of the two brothers' little sister of the insults the two brothers who usually got along famously were hurling at each other, she called them into her room.

After a short lecture on The Importance of Speaking Highly of One Another, the mother instructed the two brothers to say something they loved about the other.

There was silence. So the mother, in all of her wisdom, rephrased the instruction making it very clear to the two brothers that they were to say one thing they liked about the other brother.

Still there was silence. The mother let the silence pass for a few moments before resuming her viewing of the nightly news. After a few moments, she stopped the news and once again prodded both brothers to consider stating one likable attibute of the other one. It was then the older brother, anxious to resume his play, stated that he liked the younger brother because sometimes he plays Legos with him.

"And what about you?" prompted the mother of the younger brother.

There was still silence. So the mom sent the older brother off to play, for he had been obedient and fulfilled the mother's request.

The younger brother remained silent.

The mom, weary and ill, sat back and resumed her observance of the day's events, occasionally stopping to ask the younger brother if he was ready yet.

He remained silent.

A couple of times, the mother called the older brother into her room and said to the younger brother, "Have you anything to say yet?"

The younger brother remained silent.

The mother even threw out a few threats, possibilities of missing out on the next day's bowling outing with the homeschool group, threats of that nature.

The boy remained silent.

At one point, feeling quite creative dangling at wit's end, the mother opened a Word document and typed in a fun font:

Dear [older brother],

I like you because

"There," she said to the younger brother. "All you have to do is type in one word, we'll print it out, and you can give it to your older brother." In all of her wisdom the mother knew that sometimes it is easier to offer written words rather than verbal ones.

The boy did not move. He just sat on her bed and remained silent.

The mother left to clean up the kitchen after The Dinner That Had Started This Whole Thing, instructing the younger brother to come get her in the kitchen if he was ready to tell the older brother what he liked about him.

She cleaned the kitchen and returned to her room.

Where the boy still sat silently.

By this time, one hour had passed.

So the mother watched Jeopardy, every so often asking the boy if he was ready to talk. The boy's older sister came in and promised him a lofty position in an imaginary game if he would just talk to his older brother.

The boy remained silent.

Finally, with visions of the boy spending the rest of his life in her bed with nary a word, the mother said, "You have two choices. You may tell your older brother with whom you usually get along famously one thing you like about him, or you can sleep alone in the playroom tonight."

The boy remained silent.

Until the mother announced, "OK, everyone, it's time to get your pajamas on and get ready for bed."

At which point the boy mumbled to his older brother, "I like you because you're funny."

Braggin' Rights (and You Capture - Summer)

It must be tough on a little guy to have your best bud gone for a week. 'Course he'd never admit that he misses his brother, but I have my suspicions. When we got home Monday after my trip to camp and Jacob and Audrey's visit with their uncle, Jacob sat on the couch and did...nothing. Just sat there. He appeared to be a little lost without his sidekick.

Although he didn't seem upset that the older two got to go to camp while he remained behind, I'm sure Alex's incessant talking for the last two weeks about last year's camp escapades has made him feel a bit left out. So I felt it my duty this week to give him some experiences that would afford him some bragging rights when his siblings return.

Not that we've headed to Disney World or anything, but we have had a fun day today. We began at a park with his friend Jack. The heat was pretty oppressive, however, so we soon headed to Jack's house for the second part of our day: pizza, pool, and poultry. Not poultry for eatin', but new baby chicks that were awfully fun to look at and hold (if you could catch one AND get by the quick beak of a protective mama chicken!). Some other friends joined us at Jack's house, and the kids had a grand time in the pool.

On the way home, I felt it necessary on such a hot day to pick up some popsicles. I heard no disagreement from my charges, and they got to enjoy them when we got home--even though they spoiled their dinner. Tomorrow we head to the mall to enjoy some glow-in-the-dark mini-golf. All of the kids have been begging to do this, so I know there will definitely be some bragging going on when everyone returns home.

Looking Back - My Baby Boy's Story

Seven years ago today--and from about this very moment--I was awakened by stronger-than-Braxton-Hicks contractions. And, for drama's sake--and to make sure the father of the child knew just how much I was suffering--I may (or may not have) groaned and moaned a little...at least enough to wake him up. I do know for a fact that I said to him, "I think I'm going to have a baby today." We weren't due for another 10 days, but I just had this feeling. Woman's intuition, I guess.

The contractions subsided a little bit, so I dismissed my earlier comments as we headed to the doctor's office for the "weight-check" ultrasound. After having delivered a 9 1/2 pounder already, the doc just wanted to know. I was a little curious too, seeing as how these big babies were coming out of me.

Thankfully, we had scheduled my parents to watch the other two children so we could both be present for the ultrasound (well, I guess I didn't have a choice) because during the ultrasound my contractions intensified so much the doc said, "Well, I guess it's time. Why don't you go on over." I remember I cried worrying about the two at home. I hadn't said good-bye to them with the thought in mind that I'd be gone for a day or two. May have been the hormones too.

After a little help from some pitocin...after a little relief from an epidural, an 8 pound, 10 ounce Jacob greeted the world a little after 8 pm. What I remember most about those last few pushes was that the epidural had worn off so I was feeling everything, including two little feet who were kicking his way out.

Those two little feet may be bigger now, but they haven't stopped kicking. My baby boy...shy around others but a wild man here at home--and growing everyday in confidence so that he even shows some of that "wild man" side of him outside our home. He's a rough and tumble boy who can take a punch and dish it out too. But he's also a sweet, thoughful, affectionate little man who has but to offer one of his shy glances and your heart will melt away. And although he may not be the one who envies the spotlight, the things he says are so funny he often finds himself there anyway.

I'm so proud of him. As I look forward to another year in which we are blessed with our little man, I pray for wisdom and guidance as we learn just the right balance of being there for him and knowing when to step back to give him the room he needs to continue to grow in confidence.

And the inner tiger is unleashed...

I've always had a sneaking suspicion that Jacob has the potential to be the star athlete in the family; however, because of his lack of confidence, I've never observed an opportunity to prove this theory.

I've already mentioned that we gave the boy a forceful gentle nudge out of his comfort zone and on to the soccer field. He's had a chance to wear in his cleats with a few practices and a game. Again, though, his shyness and lack of confidence have really caused him to hold back. In his last game there were many moments where he gave the ball a tentative kick and then stood back to allow his opponents take over.

Today was different, though. I wish I could say It was the last minute of the 4th quarter...but the kids play six six-minute periods, and by the 4th minute of the second period I've already lost track. So I'll just say that at some point in the game, Jacob received the ball from his teammate, took a shot...and SCORED! The boost of confidence he got from his goal unleashed the tiger inside my little boy, and after that, he was a maniac. It didn't matter if Coach put him in a forward or fullback position, he was all over the field. He was dribbling through and around his opponents and attacking the ball with a vengeance. It was so much fun to watch.


Of course, there is some tiger in Michael as well, and he had a few great shots on goal.

He has a natural instinct for soccer which he doesn't possess on the basketball court. He's aggressive and pretty skilled with his feet. Although he's better as a forward he prefers being on defense--preferably in the goal. Which we find interesting because he clearly has too much energy to just be sitting in the goal; we came to this conclusion as we watched him climb the goal posts and perform his own little calisthenic routine as he waited for the ball to come his way. I will admit he is quite an effective goalie and stopped some good would-be goals.

So with my two little tigers out on the field, I guess you could say I'm a pretty proud mama cat. It's so much fun to see them take over the field. And at the risk of badly mixing my metaphors, I couldn't be more pleased to see my littlest tiger cub pounce right out of his shell.

From the sidelines:

TravelDaddy's Law of Illness

Never fails. My husband can bless me with his presence for two weeks straight, and nary a germ dares to light on any of the little people in this house. But the minute he gets on an airplane, the noses start running, the puking begins, or out comes the liquid Immodium.

Everyone was in high spirits this morning as we waved good-bye to Daddy from the window. There may have even been a boy or two using the couch as a trampoline. Right after lunch, however, Jacob came to me complaining of a headache. I gave him some Motrin and snuggled down with him in my bed. It wasn't long until everything--and I mean EVERYTHING--came up, Lunchables and all.

The vomit settled it. All other activities canceled: errands, library run, Alex and Michael's first basketball practice. When I broke the news to Michael, he said, "Well, just tell my coach it's OK if I miss practice. I played basketball last year." I think maybe we need to emphasize the Practice makes perfect adage around here. He thinks he's about to be drafted by the NBA because he played last year...remember the Michael Dimension?

Anyway, we got cleaned up, and Jacob fell asleep. He slept until dinnertime. When he woke up, I asked him if he felt like eating anything. Maybe some pasta? Some toast? Soup? He shook his head at all of my suggestions. "Well, what would you like?" I asked him.

"I want breakfast."

Poor guy. He thought he had slept the whole night through! He ended up not eating anything and fell back asleep. He woke up briefly for more Motrin and is now sound asleep again on his Daddy's side of the bed.

Here's hoping his internal clock is not expecting sunrise at 3AM!

Skirmish at Cair Pieravel

We watched Prince Caspian this afternoon, which sparked this skirmish in the foyer of our little castle:

Follow-Up Letter

Dear Toothfairy Boss,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve as your interim Toothfairy while you search for my replacement. Last night I completed Jacob Project II. While I nearly missed the deadline, I did complete the workorder just in time, and it turned out to be a successful project. Because of my success, I wonder if you might consider re-hiring me. I do so enjoy working with my clients!

I believe my previous work habits, which included great attention to detail, are returning, and I am more up for the job now. In fact, because of my attention to detail, I would like to point out a concern I have regarding all of my latest projects. Perhaps it is not my place to say, but I have some concern about our company finances as there have been so many back-to-back projects lately. In addition, just to give you a heads-up, there is a pending project for Michael. I estimate completion on this next Michael Project will be required some time this week.

I would be honored if you would allow me to take on the next Michael Project when it comes up for completion. I promise I will do a good job on it, and then perhaps we could consider my letter of resignation null and void.

Sincerely,

Interim Toothfairy

P.S. - In reviewing Jacob's workorder, I came across this photo. Don't I have the most adorable clients?