The Lady of the House is Another Year Older (by G)

Today is M's 34th Birthday even though she doesn't look it. I think I have a harder time waiting for it than she does. She usually doesn't like surprises unless it's presents, so I try to keep her guessing even though I have a hard time keeping it to myself. This year I told the boys that she wants two things for her birthday. The first is peace and the second is quiet. We'll do our best.

Her talents are:

- Hardworking
-Responsible
-Funny
-Great cook
-Smart
-Good friend
-Travel agent
-Pretty
-Organized
-Involved
-Kind, compassionate, and service oriented
-Teacher
-Religious

She likes:

-Reading
-Cooking and eating
-Going to the gym
-Hanging out with friends
-Traveling
-Crafts
-Music
-Shopping
-Me and the boys
-Adoption
-News
-Holidays

She dislikes:

-Messes
-Drama
-Broken bones
-Annoyance
-Germs
-Boogers
-Mass chaos

If You Ever Surprise Me Again, Do This

...That's what Buddy told me in line on one of the waterslides at the Great Wolf Lodge when we were there a few weekends ago.

We found out about a huge discount, so we and our good friends jumped on the opportunity to go.  We surprised the kids on Sambo's birthday.  They had no idea where we were going until we pulled into the parking lot.  And it did not disappoint!  I had heard so many people tell me how great it was, but honestly, I actually think the experience exceeded my expectations.  The best part was that the hotel, restaurants, and water park are made for kids, so we never had to tell the kids "calm down," "be quiet," "stop jumping/climbing/making a mess."  The kids could be kids for a change!

 Sambo and his best friend, Connor

Buddy loves to swim, so he was in heaven, the entire time.  He has no fear, so he was really disappointed that he wasn't tall enough for the biggest slide.  He definitely didn't inherit his fearlessness from me!  Sambo also had a lot of fun and was pretty fearless too.  We swam for a few hours the first day we were there, and most of the day the second day.

The hotel had plenty of other activities for the kids.  They had a story time in the evening.  All the kids came in their pajamas and then giant ceiling fans blew bubbles around the hotel lobby, to make it look like it was snowing!

That evening was also Sambo's birthday, so we had a small party in our room and the kids hung out and watched some cartoons. 

The only thing that would have made it better was if Shauna, Jesse, and their kids were there!  (Next time!?)  Can't wait to do it again!

Trimming the Tree

We got a gorgeous tree this year.  Buddy and G braved the tree farm in heavy rains and Buddy picked it out.  They did a most excellent job choosing!  The boys, particularly Buddy, love decorating for holidays.  Buddy is very particular about how things get decorated, and I hate the act of decorating, so I let them take control of the tree.  They put things where they want, and while there are some sparse places (especially at the top), it looks great!  I love fresh trees and I love my kids, and I love listening to Christmas music, and I love all the handmade and other meaningful ornaments, so it was quite a joyful time watching them work. 

In case you are curious, G got sweaty bringing our tree in, so he took his shirt off to cool off.  Next thing you know, the boys had their shirts off too. (I kept mine on.)

As a sidenote, a few weeks ago, when we were still decorating for Halloween, Buddy asked me if when he moves out if he can take the Halloween and Christmas decorations with him.  I still feel sick to my stomach that he is already thinking about moving out (however, I was about his age when I started making plans, so it makes sense).  But still, it illustrates how much he loves decorating for the holidays. 

Status Updates

If I had facebook, my status update for today would be:

Tired (really tired) of getting up and doing the school routine.  Yay!  School's out for 17 days!

--OR--

What did moms do before Clorox wipes were invented?  Especially with boys who pee on the floor/wall every day, smear poop on the toilet seat, and splatter bloody noses all over the bathroom at 5am?  Clorox, I love you!

--OR--

Dopamine levels are right where they should be.  Got my laptop back today from being repaired.

Believing in Santa

Sam actually was excited this year to sit on Santa's lap too.  Three is the magical age when Santa becomes your friend!

We've thought for a few years now that Buddy would learn the truth about Santa young.  He's always seemed suspicious and has always asked a lot of questions about the jolly guy.  The best was a few years ago when he saw the items in his stocking and said, "Looks like Santa Claus shops at the Dollar Tree and Fred Meyer!"  He was 3 years old at the time.

So it surprises us that at age of 7 he believes more than ever.  Although just tonight he asked if Santa is really real... We've determined that all his questions have been to reassure himself that Santa is real and to paint a more elaborate story in his mind of the magic of Christmas.  With all this magic he's created, we think it'll be a good long time before he believes anything different.  We love it that way!

 The boys waiting for the rest of the kids to sit on Santa's lap so they could get their presents.

Case in point:  Last week was G's work Christmas party.  Every year Santa makes an appearance -- and brings gifts.  And this year Buddy was on pins and needles, asking every 30 seconds how many more minutes until he arrived.  Buddy was at a craft station adding glitter to a paper snowflake when he first heard the tinkling of Santa's bell as he came down the hall to the party.  As soon as he heard the bell, Buddy dropped his glitter and literally RAN to Santa.  He ended up the second child (of probably 50) in line to sit on Santa's lap. It was so classic Buddy and I was so glad to be standing right there to witness his innocence and his enthusiasm.

Hopefully he never stops believing.  

My Other Big Boy is 36!

Little G is officially in his "late 30's."  Speaking of growing up so fast!  It seems crazy to think we've been friends for 14 years.  He honestly has hardly changed: besides a few pounds, gray hairs, two degrees, and two kids.  He's almost exactly like he was when I first met him.  Let's see... I wonder if he'll still be listening to pop and/or punk music at 50?!  I wonder if he'll still be madly in love with ribs and snowboarding, loud concerts, and collecting friends?  Here's to lots more birthdays together!  Happy Birthday to my favorite person!

To keep with tradition this year:

Here are his talents:

• Hardworker
• Loyal
• Great sense of humor
• Amazing and involved father
• Responsible
• Easy to get along with.  I've decided that if you can't get along with him, it's your problem.  (I have to remind myself of that at times...)
• Quick to forgive
• Making brownies (I proved last night this is NOT one of my talents.)
• Making clients happy
• Playing with the kids
• Back scratches
• Patience

His Likes:

• Skiing and snowboarding
• Downloading and listening to music
• Going to concerts
• Going out to dinner
• Ribs
• Hamburgers
• Sleeping in
• Going on vacation
• Our boys
• Me
• Reading
• Movies
• Shopping

His Dislikes:

• Hanging Christmas lights (but he does it anyway)
• Getting up early
• Meetings
• Squash
• Cooking (although he's pretty good at it)
• Dishes (but he does them almost every night)
• Poop

Growing Old Gracefully

A couple weeks ago Buddy was sitting next to me on the couch.  He looked over at me, pointed to my hair, and said, "Did you know they make hair dye for those?"
(True, I'm getting some grays.  But I told him I've been too busy planning birthday parties and Christmas to make a hair appointment.) 

Earlier this week Buddy informed me my tummy is getting fatter.
(It's true.)

And then a few days later he told me I look like a teenager, but I'm getting old.
(That's true too.)

Love Days Like This

Last week Nicki, Christy and I made applesauce for the first time.  I absolutely love canning and I love apples, so it sounded like a recipe for a great afternoon.  We spent the entire day canning 100 pounds of aurora apples.  I grossly underestimated how fabulous the applesauce would taste.  It turned out so great!  And the best part?  A full day of fun conversation with wonderful friends.  We can hardly wait until next summer so we can fire up the gas burners and can something else!

This (Little*) Big Boy Turned THREE!

*We are no longer allowed to call him a "little" boy.

I hate it when my boys turn three.  Three is so grown up!  By age three, they think they can do anything "ALL MYSELF!"  Despite turning three, I have still been calling Sambo my baby, and pretending he's a baby, but he hates it.  And that makes the whole growing up thing even worse...

However, Sambo is just about as perfect as they come.  He's been easy from day one and athough in the past few weeks he's been testing limits and thinking he's old enough to do whatever he wants, he's still the easiest three-year old I've ever had, if you know what I mean.

He still follows Buddy around constantly but is starting to become more independent, which is both good and sad.  He idolizes his brother and probably always will. 

Here are his talents:

• Being cute.  He is just so incredibly cute, sometimes we can't stand it.  He is just cute through and through.
• Riding a scooter.  He can ride his razor scooter like nobody's business.  And if the weather was still warm, I'm convinced he would have learned to ride his bike without training wheels.  He is very coordinated and has excellent balance.  He was re-tested when he graduated from 'early intervention' and he scored 100% on gross and fine motor skills.  Meaning 0% of 3-year olds have his mad motor skills.  (To compare, he scored 4% on speech articulation, meaning 96% of 3-year olds pronounce words better than he does.)
• Coloring.  He loves to color and draw.  His only problem is his pathetic teacher/mother is CLUELESS about arts and crafts.  It's a horrible shame, actually.  
• Being a good boy.  He doesn't throw tantrums and generally listens and obeys really well.  He follows directions and wants to please everyone.
• Being happy.  He is super easy to please and finds joy in the simple things in life.
• Cuddling.
• Loving deeply.  He loves, and I mean LOVES his family and friends. 

His Likes:

• Legos
• Candy
• His Brother
• Connor
• Dogs and cats.  (He requested a "cat" birthday party, which I thought was pretty funny.)
• Playing outside
• Riding his bike and scooter
• Coloring
• Watching movies with Buddy
• Playing games
• Helping
• Doing whatever his brother is doing
• Eating snacks
• His new speech class
• Sports
• Cars and trucks
• Pizza

His Dislikes:

• Being treated like a baby
• Applesauce
• Taking naps
• Being fed, dressed, or put in his carseat