Nov25

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I’ve been trying to think about how to write the post about what I’m most thankful for- the Hubs & the kids.  And I’m struggling.

It’s not that I’m not thankful- quite the opposite. I’m so thankful for The Hubs & the family we have created that I don’t even know where to start.  How do you try to describe something so big and all encompassing?  I really don’t know, so I’ll sure share a few of the little things I’m thankful for:

> The Hub starting my car for me at 5 am before I go workout so the car is warm.

> The Bean’s amazing curls.

> Scorch’s dinosaur obsession- you need to know anything dino-related, ask him!

> Our post-dinner, pre-bedtime time when we play hide-n-seek and the kids go to bed 30 mins late because we’re having so much fun.

> Watching the outfits Bean comes up with when she’s dressing herself (her pants are on backwards right now)

> Scorch’s funny, funny sense of humor. His latest joke? “Why did the chicken cross the playground?” “To get to the other slide!”  It never gets old.

Mostly I’m just so thankful that these are the people I get to spend my life with. That the Hubs & I created not only these two awesome people, but a home for them filled with a lot of love, hugs, kisses and laughter.

We hope your Thanksgiving is a wonderful one!

Nov23

Book Worm

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Tonight I had a date night with Scorch and I couldn’t be more thankful for it.

We both needed new books, so we drove the 25 minutes to small branch of my county’s library system that is truly a hidden gem.  Over the past week I have gotten the latest Alex Cross novel by James Patterson and the latest books by Jeffrey Deaver, Nelson DeMille and Jodi Picoult.  Books in general make me giddy. Brand spanking new books by some of my favorite authors? They make me euphoric!

Best of all, Scorch shares my love of reading.  He was thrilled to get a few new dinosaur books along with a Junie B Jones book he’d never read. We had a ball sitting in the empty library at 6:30 looking thru shelves of books to see what he may like.  When we got home, the Hubs was putting Beaner to bed so we got to dive right in while eating a late dinner together. After dinner, it was time for bed, which meant more time to read together after teeth were brushed and PJs were put on. Did you know that paleontologists think that only 7% of all dinosaur species have been discovered? Me neither- but that fact just about caused Scorch to pass out because he was worried there weren’t going to be any fossils left for him to find when he got older.

Scorch has pretty much learned all his letters, so now he’s learning how they fit together to make words. He told me today that it’s like magic and I couldn’t agree more!

Nov22

I’d choose them…

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Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.

You guys obviously know that I agree with that sentiment.  But I also think if you’re lucky the opposite is true- that family are the friends you’re blessed to be related to.

And I’m really lucky.

I was born into a great family- amazing parents and a brother and sister who are two of my most favorite people in the world.  My parents always- always– encouraged and supported us through school, sports, friendships, college, jobs, marriages and now raising our families.  I know that if I need anything, my parents will always have our backs.  As for my siblings- there is nothing like knowing there are two other people in this world that remember the same crazy family trips and traditions as me.  Add in numerous grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousin that I enjoy spending time with- people we choose to vacation with every year- and I couldn’t be luckier.

Then I was doubly lucky to marry into a great family. In-laws who’s company I greatly enjoy, people whom I respect. They raised a great man and all of them have become a happy add-on to my already great family.  My kids are beyond lucky to have 3 sets of loving grandparents, 4 sets of involved aunts & uncles and an ever growing number of cousins.

I realize this all sounds a little too suzy-sunshine, but I can’t help it. It’s true and I couldn’t be more thankful for every single member of my family. Even The Bearded One.

Nov20

The Little Things

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It’s Saturday night and my Bean has a cold. Which means she completely wiped me out by noon today. Thank god Scorch was a rock star all day because if the both of them were at their worst at the same time? I think my head would have popped clear of.

Because my brain is fried, I’m going to talk about the little things that I’m thankful for right now.

– The fact that working from home allows me to work in yoga pants & fuzzy slippers in front of the fireplace with a cat (or two) on my lap.

– Hershey’s syrup. I would not survive without a daily cup of hot chocolate.

– TV & my DVR. The Hubs works crazy hours and while there are certainly more productive ways to spend my time, at the end of a long day nothing makes me happier then curling up to watch Terriers / The Waking Dead/ Friday Night Lights / True Blood. With the aforementioned hot chocolate, of course.

– The local bounce house that will be completely empty at 10 am tomorrow morning so I can let my crazy kids have an hour to run/bounce/scream all their energy out in the hopes what will make the day the day a little bit better for us all.

– Harry Potter. Both the books & the movies.

– Books in general- I simply cannot imagine a world in which there are no books. I read 2-3 books (typically mental-floss fictions novels) a week. How boring my life would be without them.

– Facebook where the friends I so sweetly wrote about  a few days ago can remind me of the height of my embarrassing tween years- the year I wore a frankle to fix my teeth. A time so embarrassing I blocked it out- only to have it mentioned publicly for all to remember.

Happy Saturday, all!

 

Nov18

Love Thursday: BFFs

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It’s 1 week to Thanksgiving- which happens to be my favorite holiday. We don’t have a set ritual for Turkey Day. I loathe to cook, so we basically go any where we’re invited because any meal is going to be better than what I cook!  As long as we’re surrounded by family, friends and good food, my family is a happy one. Throw in a little football and really, who could ask for more?

Since there is only a week left, I thought I’d spend the next week sharing some of the things, big & small, that I’m thankful for in my life.  This week I’m starting with my friends.

They say if you can count your true friends on one hand- the kind of friends you can call at 3 am to bail you out of jail- you’re blessed.  And I am.  I have a core group of girlfriends that I’ve had since elementary school. 9 women who have known me and loved me through all my bad perms, pin-rolled jeans, tween drama, teen aged angst, boyfriends, college decision, many moves, getting married and having kids. These women know me inside and out and there is nothing- nothing- that I can’t talk to them about. We’ve celebrated each other triumphs, toasted at each others weddings,  hooted and hollered over pregnancy announcements, cried over miscarriages and then cried happy tears when the next generation of CF kids were born.  I’m lucky if I see some of them once a year- one I haven’t seen in almost 3- but when we talk or see each other it’s like no time at all has passed.

Kristen, Hillory, Lora, Marlana, Tanya, Jenn, Kristi, Erica and Beth- thank you for everything. I can’t imagine the past 23 years without you all.

These ladies have made it damn hard to make new friends as an adult because the bar has been set so high.  But some how I’ve managed to make two friends who have joined that elite call-at-3-am club (lucky them, right?). We are raising our kids together- navigating the craziness that is infancy, toddler years and now school aged kids.  Wonderful, compassionate women who I can call when I need a break or a laugh or a word of a advice who won’t judge or make fun.

Sue & Abbey- here’s to many more girls night outs, Halloween traditions and crazy kids play dates.

What are you thankful for today?

Nov17

Coming in for a landing

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Right around the time Scorch was born, I learned about the phrase “helicopter parent” and I vowed I’d never been that mom.

Yeah- never say never. Now that Scorch is in school I total get that urge.

Since school started, Scorch has had on- again/ off-again issues with one of the boys in his class.  This little boy is either excluding Scorch from things OR not letting anyone else play with him and Scorch when the two of them are together.  Either way, Scorch comes home upset at least weekly over this.  When he’s being excluded his feeling are obviously hurt and he’s confused why this kid, who he considers a friend, is being mean.  When this child is excluding other kids, Scorch doesn’t get it either because he just wants to play with everyone.

To a 30-something, it doesn’t sound like a big deal. But to a 4 year old, this is a huge deal.

I wrestled with whether to mention this to his teachers.  Scorch is in a big class of 26 kids and while his teachers are astoundingly amazing, they aren’t omnipotent. But I don’t want to be that mom– the one who gets up in arms every time her precious snowflake is upset, the one who doesn’t let her kid figure it out on his own.

I ultimately did speak with his teachers and they were great and have taken immediate steps to help both boys with this. I think, in this case, I made the right decision to speak up.  Now I’m wondering if it would be weird if I sent Scorch to school with a recording of Stuart Smalley repeating “I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!” over and over. That’s totally normal, right?

 

Nov15

How much is that doggie…

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I love playing a lot of different games with the kids. When we’re at the park, its  soccer or baseball or basketball.  At home, its typically hide & seek, tag, dinosaurs, memory and whatever other board game Scorch has a hankering for.

But Scorch’s latest obsession (which the Bean now shares) may kill me.

Puppies.

The kids want to play puppies all the time. They crawl around on all fours barking and yapping, demanding to be petted. They want to play fetch. They lick us to show affection.  Let me say that again- my kids are licking my ankles to get my attention.  My job is to sit (or stand) there and give the kids my undivided attention and the occasional scratch behind the ear.

After 10 minutes of this, I’d rather stick myself in the arm with a fork repeatedly.  At least when we play Dinosaurs, I get to be the Ankylosaurus and whack the kids with my tail!

Let’s all say a silent prayer this game plays out quickly!

Nov11

Pay Attention

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Scorch has three lovies.  He was a baby that needed to be swaddled until he was almost a year old- that child loved to be wrapped up! By the end there was only one swaddler that fit him- a blue Miracle Blanket.  When he finally outgrew the swaddle, our awesome nanny took the Miracle Blanket, cut it up into 6 pieces and made little blankies for Scorch. 3 of them remain and they are, without a doubt, his most prized possessions.  They are also the only things of Scorch’s that are off limit to the Bean (as her lovies are to him).

This morning, Beaner was evidently not getting enough attention from her big brother, so she swiped those blankies right away from Scorch while he was coloring.

Only he didn’t notice.

So she yells to him from across the room, “I have your blankies!”

No response. She moves a little closer to him.

“Scooorch- I have your blankies!”

He’s still coloring away.

“Scorch! Look at me!”

Nada.

She finally put all three of the blankies on her head, marches right up to him, hits him in the arm and says

“I. Have. Your. Blankies. Come get me now, please.”

 

Gotta love a girl who just won’t be ignored!

 

Nov9

A Glimpse

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One of my favorite people in the whole world & dearest friends (hi, Heather!) and her husband adopted a 10 year old this past June. K is now 11 and one of the fiercest, fashionable kids around.

I don’t know many (any?) tweens, but  Heather and I talk daily online, so I get a glimpse into life with one.

And I’m scared.

Every parent knows about the big things to be worried about- drugs, sex, bullying. But I never thought about the little things. Like can you trust your kids to purchase a healthy lunch at school instead of gorging on pizza and ice cream? What about punishment- how do you punish your tween? And how do you reward them for good behavior? Where do you draw the line on clothing- sure it’s modest, but it isn’t weather appropriate or doesn’t fit or match.  When does your kid get a cell phone?

Give me temper tantrums & pre-school politics any day!

Nov8

Knockin’ Heads

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The Hubs and I have slightly different parenting philosophies when it comes to the  kids rough housing.  I’m pretty laid back about it. As long as no one is in immanent danger of losing any teeth or they aren’t playing too rough out of anger, they can have at it.  Teaches ’em self defense as far as I’m concerned.

The Hubs freaks when the kids pull the couch cushions onto the ground and jumps on them.

I roll my eyes at him, because dude- the kids are 2 inches off the ground. What could happen??

Yeah. Thus far, the worst injury the kids have gotten at home is when the Bean tackled Scorch while they were jumping on those damn cushions and they both smacked their heads together and then on the ground. Thankfully they are both fine.

I honestly have no idea who this accident proves right (or wrong!).