Wordless Wednesday: Pudding Finger Painting

Melancholy

Drew started preschool at semester this year. I don't really remember why I thought it was a good idea that he start early, but it seemed to make sense at the time. He was going to school the everyday to take Lily and he was such a talker, it seemed like he was ready to go. He only went two days a week and it gave me some one on one time with Julianna. I think it was a good choice over all, he loved school and he's really blossomed this year.

He had a really amazing teacher this year, Miss Jan. She was extremely creative and loved to do arts and crafts projects with the kids. She was so loving and sweet to Drew. She has a homey classroom that allows kids to explore and be creative. They had weekly themes in the classroom to center the lessons around. One week was pirates and the kids got to dress up like pirates and search the school for the treasure. Drew was lucky to have such a great introduction to his education.

So, about half way through the semester, letters came out to the parents that it was time to say if your child would be attending the Early Ed Center next year and which teacher you would like them to have. When I first started Drew in school, I was 100% planning on switching him to Miss Shanna next year. (Remember Miss Shanna?)When the letters came out, I was less sure. What a problem to have! Two amazing teachers to choose from. Miss Shanna is not only an amazing teacher, but she has become my friend. She has been a support to me as I learn to be the best mom that I can be. And Miss Jan was just so sweet and kind. Drew was really loving school and I just was at a loss as to what to do. In the end, I chose to send Drew to Miss Shanna. He has known her for a long time, she is an awesome teacher and she is my friend. The decision wasn't an easy one, but I know that Drew will be just fine.

I am melancholy today, I think, because in order for Drew to have one awesome teacher next year, he had to give up an awesome teacher. And also, the ending of a school year is a reminder that my children are growing up fast. Lily will be attending her very last day of preschool tomorrow. I am no longer the mother of babies. I have a child, a preschooler and a toddler. Becoming a parent is like pressing the fast-forward button in life. It's too bad they don't have a pause, rewind or a slow motion setting as well.

These pictures are from yesterday at the end of the school year program. I wish I would have gotten a picture of Drew with Miss Jan but Lily was taking so many pictures during the program that I had no battery left.

Dinner time conversation

Lily sometimes mixes up her words. Tonight we had goulash for dinner. She was asking for seconds and said, "May I have more squish? I mean, squash?"

Uhhhh, you mean, goulash?

Wordless Wednesday: Pigtails!

Lily's Fun Love Ears Pierced List

Lily met a huge goal this weekend. She had been working toward it for about three weeks. In order to meet this goal, she had to follow her morning routine, without trouble and in a timely fashion fifteen times. This was no easy feat. It took lots of hard work and dedication on her part; and lots of reminders on my part. Her reward for meeting the fifteen sticker goal was to get her ears pierced. A huge deal. Like a really, really big deal.

She made it. This Sunday she earned her fifteenth sticker and a trip to Claire's to get her ears done. She was really nervous, but proud and excited at the same time. I was feeling quite proud of her, as well. I know what a hard time it is for her to stay on task and meet these little goals to achieve the big one. I can't stress enough how hard she worked!! She's a super star!

I am also, a bit secretly, proud of myself, too. This is our first success with a sticker chart. For reasons I don't have to explain, I have never been organized enough to pick a behavior, set a goal and pay attention enough to have success. This is a big win around here. This has been a way for me to stop being negative and focusing on the negative morning behavior. It has turned into cheering her on, stressing the goal and celebrating the success. It is no longer an angry thing when she doesn't meet her goal; it turns into an, "I'm sorry we struggled this morning! Those stickers are hard to earn! I know you can try again tomorrow." And, with our newest sticker chart I have added the option of earning the lost sticker during the afternoon. It turns into, "I know you had a rough morning, but if we can turn things around this afternoon, maybe you can earn that sticker back." Magically setting us up for a positive afternoon. Amazing! :)

Anyway, back to the celebration at hand. She and I went to Claire's Sunday afternoon to pierce those baby ears. It becomes glaringly obvious that she's growing up when she's setting goals and achieving them with such a grown up reward! She picked the "rainbow daisy" earring studs. She took a few minutes to muster up the courage to let the girl actually do the piercing. She asked for two more minutes, then one more minute and then just one second, please. I tried to encourage her, without too much pressure, that it would be better to just get it over with. Then she could stop worrying about it. There were no tears, just pleading eyes. But, we got it done and she couldn't be prouder of herself.

We've already moved on to her next goal: Lily's Sparkley Flash Stomp Rock n' Roll Stomp Sparkley Shoes List (fancy, non-tie, flashing shoes with rhinestones and fanciness) These shoes are the big time, and cost quite a bit, so she's having to earn 25 stickers...but I know she can do it! And what a day that will be! :)

Stay to the curb!!

We went on a bike ride this afternoon. I don't know how long it will be before I am brave enough to do that again with all three children. Lily was driving her own bike while I pulled the other two in a trailer behind my bike.

It. Was. Torture.

This is what I said on the ride:

Lily stay on your bike.

Stay out of the water. (She rides into the middle of the biggest puddle and gets high centered there. She dips her shoe in the water.)

Lily keep your feet out of the water. I told you it's very important to follow directions on a bike ride. It's not safe if you don't. (she dips her other foot in the water.)

We are going to turn around and go home if you can't follow directions. This is your last chance.

Stay to the curb.

Stay close to the curb.

Stay out of the middle of the road. There are cars!! STAY TO THE CURB!

Lily, slow down; there is a car coming. Stay to the curb.

Keep pedaling. You have to stay on your bike.

STOP!! You have to stop.

Slow down.

No, Lily stay on your bike. You can't collect things out of the gutter. Stay on your bike.

Watch where you're going. You have to keep your eyes on the road.

Steer you bike. Try not to turn into the curb. Eyes on the road!

Stay close to the curb.

Lily: P-A-R-K...What does that spell?....*rides bike into the curb and falls off*

Lily you have to watch where you're going. Stay looking ahead.

*Gets off bike* "I'm tired. I can't ride anymore. I'm going to walk."

Stay to the edge! You can't walk in the middle..there are CARS!!!

Drew? Are you having fun? Is Julianna okay?

What are you doing? "I'm just doing tricks." Bike rides are not for tricks. We work on tricks at home. Just keep pedaling with your hands on the handle bars.

Watch where you're going! See the stop sign? You have to stop there. Okay, it's clear. GO!! Don't stop!! Go!! *gets nervous and stops pedaling in the middle of the intersection* Come on, Lily. There is a car coming. We have to keep going.

STAY TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!

What are you doing? "I am going REEEEAAAALLLLLLYYYY sloooooowww...." *goes so slow she knocks her bike over*

Be careful. Hop on. We are almost home....we just have to get home.

Okay, we're going to turn into this alley. Lily: What alley? There's an alley? Where? When do I turn?

Right here!! HERE is the alley. TURN!!! Stay out of the water......

Who gets molars before getting two front teeth?

THIS GIRL!!

One day this week she cried all day long. No, really. All day! She didn't take a very good nap and she just wasn't herself.

I guess she had a good reason. She now has 2 giant molars poking through in the back of her mouth. So, I ask, where the heck are her two front teeth?!

PS The credit on this photo goes to Lily. Pretty good, I thought.

Toasting a Saturday night

We went to the sandpit today to roast hot dogs for dinner and marshmallows for dessert. We had a lot of fun! I decided to let Lily and Drew eat as many marshmallows as they asked for. Drew stopped at about 3 and Lily 5 or 6. I guess I was making up for the fat free hot dogs that I fed them for dinner. Tom's right, if you're going to have a hot dog...just have a hot dog. There is nothing healthy about them- so don't try! I learned my lesson- No more fat free dogs. Got it! Tom really disgusted me regarding the "healthy" hot dogs when he said he wondered exactly what type of chemical process the dogs had to go through to extract the fat. Eck!


I just like the look on Drew's face in this picture. He was steering the Gator for me. Later he came running into the cabin and asked me for the keys. Because, he said, "I am going for a ride by myself!"

Tom had some brush to burn at the lake and I had the idea to actually roast our dinner in the fire. I think we'll make it something we do more often. Good, cheap, family fun!!

Julianna was way more interested in climbing around on the Gator and tractor than having anything to do with a marshmallow. She thought she was hot stuff climbing on the Gator seat all by herself.

May 14

Drew one year ago today.




Drew exactly two years ago today.

Sundae with a cherry on top

I hate the blogs or parenting stories that paint a perfect picture. It makes me crazy when moms talk about how their days are like sundaes, with cherries on top, wrapped in sugar. I am not saying that my days are terrible- or wonderful. Sometimes life is just life. You don't need to convince me or anyone else that you are the most happy mommy in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Just be happy. Enjoy your day. And shut up!

Wow. Did I just say that out loud? I don't mean to be harsh. I don't even mean to be resentful of the happy little mommies. I just hope that I am not the type that blogs about being so happy that I am some how making other mommies feel like they are less. Like they didn't get the memo on how to truly be a happy and well rounded, a perfectly fulfilled mom. Those kinds of moms don't actually exist. You can be totally satisfied with life. Perfectly content in motherhood. I'm just telling you guys that you're not missing anything if you're not completely consumed with roses when your kid poops on the toilet. (although, I will have one hell of a party when Drew finally does THAT on a regular basis!)

I had a rough morning this morning. Can you tell?

The day has not been all bad. That's the nice thing about family. You get lots of time to build your relationship. You are not judged on one morning. In fact, you're not even judged at all by your young children. The judgement doesn't come until they are at least teenagers...and still, at that time, they will not have a clue what they are talking about. I am trying to find comfort in the moments I had today that didn't involve any time outs or tears. I am trying to focus on the sweet five year old that is unknowingly torturing the toad in the backyard...instead of the frustrating five year old that drew with marker ALL OVER HER WINDOW FRAME.

Lily torturing toads last year.

Ridiculous

There really is something to that theory about weather making people nuts. We had quite a day today. Emotions ran high and tears flowed freely.



Lily had some sort of emotional breakdown at snack time today. Drew looked at her and said, "Lily you're being ie-dic-ah-luss!"



It made Lily and I laugh and turned the tantrum into a fit of giggles. Thanks Drew. :)

Walking on sunshine...

The girl is finally moving in a mostly upright position. For those of you keeping track, she didn't walk until she was 16 months. Although still within the normal range, makes a momma worry just the same.

Now if I could just keep shoes on her feet!

Memories

In reality, we don't really remember days of our life. It's really just moments. My children are of the age that a few of their memories and experiences may turn into long term memories for them. I was completely aware of that during Drew's ordeal with the lure last week. I knew that I might not be central to the memory, but bits and pieces of that experience, he will never forget. I wondered to myself which moments it would be...the moment that the lure hit? Tom cutting the line? the drive to the hospital? going back to surgery? the bits of comfort I whispered in his ear? I don't know and I won't know for many years. I wonder which of those moments really stood out to him in his three year old brain, from his perspective.

But it does have me thinking. It has me thinking about the daily grind of raising children. It also has me thinking about what I remember as a child. My mom was a stay at home mom and she was there for so much of my childhood. She was there for so many of my earliest memories. The weird thing about it is that I don't actually remember her there with me. I scoured my memory while I was trying to go to sleep last night. I was trying to think of my earliest memories and who was there. I was trying to remember Mom there with me...but, strangely, she was there, but not central to the memory.

My earliest memories revolve around my eyes. I had three surgeries by the time I was six years old. I think that some of those memories melt together...how can I really know that that was the surgery from when I was four and not the one from when I was two? I can't. But, I do know that my mom was in the room for every one of my earliest memories...but I don't see her there. I remember waking from a surgery and the anesthesia had made me really sick. My mom was beside my bed, I know she was...but I can't see her!! I see the wires and the hospital bed, the machines and a nurse coming at me with a cup and straw encouraging me to drink. She was there. Why can't I see her?

As I thought about my childhood, I can remember so many flashes and moments. My dad dancing like an Egyptian in the doorway of my sister and I's bedroom as we tried to drag out our bedtime. Sitting on my great-grandma's lap under and afghan that she'd made. Crossing the street walking toward the YMCA, holding my dad's hand and carry my bubble in the other. I remember causing a ruckus in the basement of my Gram's house. And riding in the station wagon, lined up 3 in a row, passing the miles with my brother and sister on the way to our Mamaw and Papaw's house. My mom was there for most of it...why can't I see her?

What I remember about my mom is the feel of her hands when I was sick. How she rubbed my feet when I was recovering from surgery. I remember how her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches tasted. I remember listening to the click of her rings has she would soap up her hands to wash me in the bathtub. She was the constant, the security the feeling of being loved. I don't see her in all my flashes of memories because she was so present, that I don't have to remember her there. I have a strong, secure feeling that she always was.

I often am reading novels. I love the novels that tell the stories of a person's life. In every one of my novels the author always talks about the childhood of the person or the perception of their mother as a child and as a grown up. This always gets me wondering about what my children will remember of me. Will I give them enough care and comfort that I will be forgotten in their memories, too? Will the feeling of love and care carry them into a healthy adulthood? I hope so.

Drew will remember something about that day. He will probably not remember what I whispered in his ear. But, he might remember the feeling of being wrapped in my arms; or he might just remember the smell of the gas that they put him under with. Either way, I hope he remembers that I was there.

It should be noted that on this day, May 10, 2010, Drew started calling Lily "Lily" instead of "Lay-yah".

I didn't know I'd be this sad about it. I keep trying to get him to say it like he used to one last time...but it's like he's already forgotten how.

Author

Lily has written her first book. It is all about germs and cavities. We went to the dentist recently and she brought the story along to show her dentist. We didn't get a chance, but I thought I would share some excerpts here.


"All kinds of stuff have germs. Shoes have germs. Balls have germs. Clothes have germs. Boogers are full of germs. Hair has germs."


"Cavities love birthdays. They get lots of germ presents. Germs like giving presents better. I'm really, really, really sorry germs."


"Clouds you have germs, too! All the stuff of germs and blood cells. Those are nature stuff- trees, grass and other stuff and dirt and dogs. All kinds of weeds. Some stuff doesn't and some stuff do."


"Princesses do not like cavities. Nobody likes cavities. Brush our teeth!! Stop getting cavities! Germs you cannot see they are so tiny. Only if you have a microscope. Plants make their food from the sun."

"You have to go to the dentist if you get a cavity. You also can pick out a new toy. They can get broken like my new bracelet and new ring got broken. Germs keep eating and that's weird."

"To keep from getting sick wash your hands and don't put stuff in your mouth. Don't touch anyone else when you are sick. You can get very sick. Stomach bugs bury themselves. Blood cells fight stuff and stomach bugs."

Scientific explanations work for Lily. What I mean by that is, if you give Lily the black and white, factual, scientific reason why she must do something, she'll have no trouble doing what you ask. We told her one time (several months ago) that if she didn't brush her teeth regularly that she might get a cavity...and this story was spawned. Recently, our dog got hookworm and the vet told us that we shouldn't go outside without shoes on because the worms could get in the soil and will transfer to humans. Lily loves to run around with no shoes on but Tom explained the hook worm to her and showed her pictures of one...and I have not had to remind my forgetful child one time to put her shoes on!

Happy Mother's Day!

I normally change the poopy diapers around here. As I've mentioned before (here), Tom HATES poop. Can't deal with it at all. However, today is Mother's Day. In our house that means I get a break from the poop. This is what happens when Tom has to change a bad one:

Never mind the mess. We've spent the morning at home and that means a big mess in the living room.

I hope you all have a very happy Mother's Day!!

A good day

We had a good day at the Riverfest yesterday. Thankfully, we had Aunt Niki along. She was a big help, because all three of us would have a kid, and no one had to wait for their turn to chose an activity.

Lily took a drawing class. Drew hung out on the grass with Niki

Lily loved the giant "balloons".

So did Julianna.

A super fancy face painting experience for Lily.




Everyone got to meet Clifford the big red dog. I didn't get a picture of Drew because he was too scared to go up to him without me.

We found a place for Drew to bounce...

Wiped them out.

When we got home we had ice cream cones for dessert. This is Julianna's first!!

Wordless Wednesday: ***Graphic Images***

Here is the shot of Drew before they were able to remove the lure.

Wordless Wednesday:A Day Early

Drew and Tate at my Dad's birthday party.


Julianna cheesing at my sister's office.

Our fishing adventure

So we had a minor traumatic event in our family this weekend. This blog has become a document of my children's lives, so I feel like I should tell the story here. It has taken me a couple days to get to the point that I was ready to write about it. This weekend's events have made me ever so grateful for the fairly quiet, healthy and injury free lives that we are leading in our little family.

We were spending the afternoon and evening at the lake on Sunday. The weather was perfect and the air was still- just right for going fishing. Tom, Scott (a family friend), Lily and Drew eventually ended up on the boat out on the lake to see if they would get lucky and catch a big one. They did, too. Tom caught, from what I'm told, a very large fish. (Drew's learned quickly to spread his arms wide to show that the fish was Huge). Tom brought the fish out of the water to show the kids and let them touch it and then they tossed it back. What happened next was purely and totally a complete accident. An accident that will go down in history as one of the top stories that we will be telling for the rest of our lives. Lily stepped back after they threw the fish back and Drew sat down beside Tom. Then Tom went to cast his pole back out into the lake, he caught something and it wasn't a fish. Apparently Scott saw it happen. He said that Drew stood up just as Tom cast the pole and hooked Drew in the forehead and his eyebrow. It was in there deep and it was a big lure.

As this was all happening, my mom, Ann, Julianna and I were on the beach chatting and playing in the sand. We heard a blood curdling scream from across the lake. We sort of joked and tried to identify just what kind of scream that was. Was it the "I'm angry" cry, or the "I'm scared" cry or the "I'm hurt" cry. I was guessing that Drew was screaming because he was angry about something and I wish that I had been right. I knew it wasn't good when we heard the boat start up...and I knew it was worse when they came flying back to the dock. I was headed in the direction of the boat and then I saw Scott wave me to come faster...so I started running. I heard Lily scream, "Drew got HOOKED!!" And I'm thinking in my mind, "well get the damn hook out of the poor kid!" And I say aloud to Tom as I meet he and Drew at the end of the dock, "Did you get the hook out?!" (All annoyed like, I might add). That's when Tom turned so that I could see Drew's face. The poor baby had a giant lure hanging out of his head just above his eye. I lost it for a moment. It looked terrible. Like really, really bad. I shrieked. I gasped. And then I said some terms that I'd rather not repeat right now. Needless to say, I grabbed him and ran him to the car. Tom jumped in the driver's seat and we booked it to the Emergency Room.

When we arrived at the ER I took him in and didn't say a word. I just turned so admissions could see the lure. She gasped, and said, "Last Name!?" They got us directly back into a room and we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. When we finally saw the doctor we'd had a steady stream of onlookers in and out of the room. Drew was the big story of the night..."did you see the kid with the giant lure in his head?!" Even the security guy was in and out of our room. Anyway, the doctor finally came in and was contemplating what to do. He ended up deciding to call the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor in to remove the hooks surgically. He said with the hook so close to his eye and the fact that he was so young, he thought it better to have an ENT doctor do the removal. I appreciate that the doctor referred the case to someone with experience doing facial surgeries and for making the safer call.

Surgery meant that Drew would have to be put under for the procedure. By the time we had gotten to this point he had been such a trooper. He'd been calm, cool and collected. At one point Tom's pretty sure he was almost asleep in my lap. He was just as calm when they told him that they'd be giving him a special medicine to help him sleep while they got the hooks out. He was awesome. They wouldn't let me go back with him while he fell asleep, so I had to hand him to the anesthesiologist at the operating room door. That was nearly physically painful for me. He didn't cry, but he did have a look on his face that I will never forget. He was brave though. They said that he was the best little patient that they'd ever had. He didn't scream or cry, he just followed their directions. The surgery lasted less than thirty minutes and we were able to go to him as soon as he woke up. He was just fine and ready for a plate of macaroni and cheese. The doctor showed us that he had 4 puncture wounds and a small lesian where they think a hook was ripped out (sorry for the graphic details). He had just two stiches.

After all of this all I keep thinking about is how grateful I am for our little family. I am so blessed to have healthy children. I cannot imagine the stress on a person to have a child that is seriously or terminally ill. I cannot imagine seeing my child suffer over a period of time, over and over. It just has to be terrible in every sense of the word. We are home and fine now, in fact he is almost totally healed! He has mentioned the lure several times asking if he can go fishing with it next time we go to the lake. He's also said to me that he's "still sad about the lure". I don't know what he means by that, but I'm trying to be available to talk about it any time he wants.

I do have before and after pictures. I'm only going to show the after picture on here. If you're interested in the before surgery picture then you'll have to email me. I don't want to scare anyone!! Thanks so much for reading if you made it all the way to the end!

Score!

I just wanted to document that Drew scored a goal at his soccer game today.

His coach was a no-show at the game so I stepped in and "coached" for the Purple Team. It was the usual 3 year old game, with our one prodigy player scoring goal after goal. However, today since I was on the field, Drew seemed to feel more comfortable running after the ball rather than checking on his fans. At one point during the game, the whole purple team was crowded around their goal staring at the ball sitting right outside of the actual goal. I took that opportunity to encourage Drew to kick the ball IN the goal! I kind of gave him a push and said, "Kick the ball, Drew!" It went right in (about 15 inches)! Hooray!! (I'd like to note that the other two children staring at the ball had already scored more than one goal during this game, so it was okay that I singled Drew out to kick it in. I was not playing favorites just merely giving everyone a chance to score!)

Today was the last game and I think Drew had a good time. We'll see if he asks to play again next year. But, I'm happy with how much he enjoyed himself, despite not having a clue what was actually going on. Today on the way to the game Lily was explaining to him that he could kick it away from other children rather than just running around. She tried to stress that he could kick it away from the other team and try to make it in his goal. He just kept arguing with her that, no, he wasn't going to take it from someone. It seems that sweet Drew is trying to be polite out there on the soccer field. I can't argue with that! :)