Five!

Claire's fifth birthday was last week. I will try to write more about it later, but here is a photo from her party on Saturday as she waited at the table for the cake to be brought in - she couldn't hold still she was so excited.

Happy birthday, Claire! I love you!

Make sure that you go visit Tracey to see what everyone else is sharing for Best Shot Monday.

Best Shot Monday - Memorial Day

Today we remember all of the men and women who served our country and have died, but most particularly, around our house, we are thinking of our grandfathers. Here is a picture of Brian and the kids with Papa Jim taken in December 2007. This is the first year that we are remembering Papa Jim on Memorial Day, rather than Veteran's Day. He accomplished so much in his years of service for our country, and was very proud of it - deservedly so. We miss him, and we're grateful for his service, and that of Grandpa Collins, and Grandpa Mills - all of whom proudly served our country.

There are so many men and women who we honor today. Take a moment to remember them, before heading on to see the magic everyone else is sharing at Best Shot Monday.

Stay tuned...

For 10 on Tuesday - the Wednesday edition. I am exhausted, and it is not going to happen tonight. I will leave you with this cute picture, as a consolation prize.

Ten on Tuesday - remember that thing?

1. It's been a long time. At the end of the day I am tired, and though I frequently think of blog posts as I work or drive, I rarely take the time to type them once I'm sitting on the couch.

2. I'm making it a mission to take better care of myself - tonight I soaked my feet, then exfoliated them with a sugar scrub, and put on nice foot lotion and heavy socks.

3. I've also started doing a cross-training exercise program every Monday at school. It makes Monday long days, but I get a great workout, and I need it.

4. I had a very relaxing Mother's Day with my three favorite people. They were very sweet to me.

5. My husband must have read my mind about my plan to take care of myself because I got a spa gift certificate for Mother's Day.

6. Last Saturday we made our first (of many) trips to the farmer's market. Even though there's not a lot of produce out, what was there was great, and the kids were thrilled that the homemade donuts were back.

7. Brian was sad that the olive and pickle guy was not back.

8. My fresh crepe at the farmer's market was delicious (feta, spinach, and mushrooms - yum). My favorite part of Saturday mornings.

9. Right now I'm watching the Biggest Loser finale, and chatting online with my sister. An enjoyable way to finish the day. We're also simul-blogging our 10 on Tuesday. (I just made that word up, btw.)

10. Our gardens are starting to change over to summer flowers, and I'm enjoying looking around each week at what is new. The bleeding hearts (shown above) are shedding their flowers, while the peonies are getting more buds every time I look. The clematis has started to bloom, and one lilac is done, while the other hasn't begun yet. I've found one of the nice things about gardening is how much everything changes week by week (or sometimes day by day).

Poor sick boy

This afternoon at almost 4 I turned my cell phone on to find I had a message. Ben's daycare had called to tell me he had a fever of 101.5 and didn't feel well, and was I going to come pick him up. They did not call my work number, or Brian, but I jogged over to get him, and then had him sit on a mat in the gym and watch me exercise. He sat so very still and watched us run, do sit-ups and push-ups, run some more, jump rope, sit down and stand up over and over again (squats). He must have thought it was all very bizarre. I got several comments about how well behaved he was - I knew it was because he was sick (and maybe because he was up at 4:45 this morning - ugh).

Tonight at dinner, he leaned against my arm, looked at his plate of food, and said pitifully, "I'm so berry hungry" and yet he didn't pick anything up to eat it unless I handed it to him. He had roughly half a piece of garlic bread, and half a cup of water.

My boy is sick, and I wish I could make it all better right away.

Things to remember

Some of my favorite current phrases and words that the kids use:

ickscover - Claire's version of discover
icksgusting - Claire's version of disgusting (a theme?)
It will feel me better - Ben speak for it will make me feel better

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We have been inundated with rain lately. This morning Ben saw all the worms on the driveway, and begged me to let him pick them all up and take them to school. Because I am mean and horrible I refused - instead we threw them into the garden. He sulked for the first 4-5 minutes of the car ride, but then wanted to know what a sign said, so the silent treatment was over.

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On the way home today the kids were in the backseat. They decided to tell each other jokes. Claire said, "ask me if I'm a crab?" Ben: "Are you a crab?" Claire: "Yes! Wok wok wok wok wok!" They laugh like little loonies. Then it was Ben's turn. He tried the same crab joke, but Claire said he needed to make up his own. Ben: "A hat was silly and fell into the gas station and they closed the tank." Claire: "That wasn't funny. Yours needs to be funny like mine."

Best Shot Monday - how can I choose

A few shots from the beach - it's been a week and a half now - how is that possible? These are certainly special memories. See what other memories people are sharing by visiting Tracey over at Mother May I for Best Shot Monday.

Vacation

I have been extremely neglectful around here lately. Things have been hectic, and my stress level has been high, so blog posting has not been at the top of my list. Yet life goes on.

Yesterday we dropped Lucky off at the house he would be staying at while we were away, only to find out about an hour later that he had run off. Here's a snippet of conversation from the back seat as we drove back to try to find him:

Claire: We need to hurry, we can't waste any time! I don't want him to be gone, because he has such soft ears. I love his soft ears. And I love beagles. If Lucky is gone we would have to get a new dog, and I think the pet store wouldn't have any more beagles.
Ben: *shrugs* I guess Papaya (ed: our Siamese kitten) will have to be our beagle now.

later:
Claire: We can't give up.
Ben: Imagination Movers never give up!

Today he was found, and is now back safely at Brian's grandmother's house. We'll pick him up on Monday. Hopefully he won't have any more adventures between now and then.

In the mean time, we'll enjoy this.

Picture taken at dinner. Not a bad place to relax, eh?

Soup to the rescue - M'm, M'm, Good

We may have reached a milestone last night.

For dinner the kids were having Campbell's princess noodle soup, and grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches. Ben ate all of the noodles out of his soup, then picked out a tiny bit of carrot that was in there, and said he didn't want it, so we told him to put it on his plate. Then he picked up his bowl and drank all of the broth. Brian made some kind of comment about how good the soup was, and how he even ate all of those carrots. Ben looked a bit surprised. Then we pointed to the one on his plate, and, since apparently he believed that he'd just eaten carrots, he picked it up and put it in his mouth and ate it! This is the first time we've gotten him to eat any sort of vegetable in probably over a year without hiding it in something else.

When he asked for another bowl of soup I made sure to give him plenty of the teeny carrot pieces, and he ate every single one! We talked about how good the carrots were and he said, "Yes. And soft." So for now we'll stick with super cooked soft carrots, but at least it's something.

Best Shot Monday - ponies and dinosaurs

This photo is from several months ago, on a weekend morning. I could hear both kids playing together and giggling, so I peeked in to see what was going on, and this is what I found. The perfect blend of the two of them.

Check out more pictures by visiting Tracey over at Mother May I.

Grace in Small Things

1. My sweet boy - even in the middle of the night, when I'm utterly exhausted, he still makes me laugh. "Mama, can I sleep with you?" "No, you need to go back to bed." "Just a teensy-tiny bit?" For the record, I did not give in, so as soon as he woke up the next morning, he said, "But I didn't wanna go back to my bed."

2. Pleasant conversation with neighbors after our neighborhood association meeting.

3. It is incredibly unlikely that there will be any changes to school start times despite the SLEEP coalition trying their hardest. Hooray! I'm glad that I finally truly cared about something political, and I put time and effort into making my voice heard, and it worked! (Obviously it was all my influence.)

4. My husband cooking dinner. Yummy, and I could snuggle on the couch with my kids while he got it all ready.

5. KGB jokes on The Office.

You, too, can find Grace in Small Things.

Grace in Small Things

1. Having my kids play happily and independently so I can veg out for a little while when we first get home from work/school.

2. Yummy Mexican food for dinner. That I didn't have to cook. Or clean up.

3. Happy kids eating a decent dinner and popsicles for dessert.

4. Snow days and two hour delays.

5. Seeing all the hyacinth tips coming up that we planted down by the mailbox last fall. I can't wait to see them!

You too can find Grace in Small Things.

Grace in Small Things

1. An adorable birthday card that Ben made for me at school today.

2. The sweetest cupcake made out of flowers sent by my sister (and Pete).

3. Being able to find amusement in the irrationality of a very tired three year old (Ben: Mommy, (pointing) why is this your forehead? Me: I don't know, that's just what it's called. Ben (whining): But I don't WANT it to be called a forehead.)

4. Lots of happy greetings today from wonderful friends.

5. Coworkers who were kind enough to bring in a (yummy! oreo!) cake for me, and enough leftover to share with the kids after dinner.

You too can find Grace in Small Things.

Grace in Small Things - part 3

1. Receiving beautiful flowers at work from my husband last Friday. It made me feel so special and loved.

2. An unexpected playdate/chat with a neighbor (even in the bitter cold).

3. Kids playing happily together - even when it only lasts 5 minutes before the fighting starts. OK, sometimes ten.

4. Crossing things off of my to-do list.

5. "Mama, can I snuggle with you?"

You too can find Grace in Small Things.

Grace in Small Things

1. Relaxing to watch Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice with a glass of wine.

2. Having a (mostly) clean house.

3. Having reservations at a yummy restaurant for Valentine's Day.

4. Peanut M&Ms.

5. Playful kittens (but not at 5:20 AM).

You too can find Grace in Small Things.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I missed Best Shot Monday - again. That pesky work thing keeps getting in my way. But it has a new home now, so feel free to stop by and say hi to Tracey. The photo above is the one I would have posted.

2. My back hurts. I was doing some rearranging in the basement this afternoon. Perhaps I should have waited until Brian was home, but I wanted to surprise him.

3. On the plus side it looks great, and I think we'll like the new arrangement.

4. The weekend keeps going by too quickly. And yet when it's over, and people ask me what we did, I can't think of much to share.

5. I did do a lot of laundry. That's always fun.

6. Still have two loads to fold. Blah.

7. This morning in the car Ben and Claire were talking about Spiderman. Claire said, "he can do all of the stuff a spider does except eat bugs." Then Ben talked about how he catches bad guys in his web, too which Claire replied, "and sucks their blood." Umm, no. Are they reading vampire stories in preschool now?

8. I really enjoyed the Twilight series, but I think Claire's still too young for that.

9. Ben has his interview tomorrow at Claire's preschool.

10. He asked to be in the green room because green is his favorite color. Also, that class has a pet gecko named Harold. I think it would be a good place for him.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Grace in Small Things

There is so much in life to be grateful for, and we so rarely say those things out loud. I'm going to take my cue from Susan over at Friday Playdate, and try to make this a regular thing around here.

1. Ben wandering around with a pair of Mr. Potatohead glasses precariously perched on his face. "Mom, I can't see you without my glasses. See? I can't see you!" *whips teeny tiny plastic glasses off of his face*

2. Claire cajoling her brother into giving her some of the artwork he made at school. "Pleeeeeeeeease? I'll invite you to my birthday! Oh thank you! This is so lovely!"

3. Working with a new group of students at school who actually want to work and are doing really well, and being sought out by a student at school who know he needs help so he doesn't fall behind in the second week of the quarter.

4. After Ben bit the head off of a dinosaur shaped chicken nugget he made it walk around his plate saying, "help! I can't see anything. Can you see me? I think I need a new head!"

5. The memories I have of my kids with Papa Jim. We will forever regret not being able to forge new memories, but the ones we already have, and the photos, will always be treasured.


You, too can find Grace in Small Things.

Three

Dear Ben,

Yesterday you turned 3. As usual, you first woke up around 5:30 AM. You are nothing if not predictable in that respect. In many other ways, you keep us guessing every day. You are full of character, that's for sure. The last few months your favorite insult, and you imbue it with as much scorn as your little voice could possibly hold, has been "baby girl". If Claire, me, or even the cats do something to bother you, you will give a big harrumph, and then exclaim, "baby girl." I think you like it most because it bothers your big sister so very much.

You are still very stubborn. Bribery and threats rarely work with you. This week I would often tell you that we had to go straight home from school because we had to get things ready for your party. You would tell me, "actually, I don't want a birthday party." No, you don't, you'd rather get whatever it was you wanted right then. But only a few minutes later you would change your mind again, "actually, I do want a party."

I love how much joy and enthusiasm you have. When I pick you up from school and you first see me you get the biggest smile, and you run to give me a hug. That makes my day. You are still such a loving little boy. Though you would correct me, "I a big boy now, I wear underwear!" You will sometimes come up to me as I sit on the sofa, and say, "Mommy? Can I snuggle with you?" How could anyone say no to that?

I love listening to you play with your sister. Tonight the two of you were playing with one of the new toolkits you got for your birthday. You were pretending to screw something in, while Claire manned the cell phone, and talked to your client, "Yep, we're just checking on things. Making sure it's tight. There's a leak? Ok. Uh-huh. Bye." You continued to work industriously. I'm so glad that you two can be such good friends to each other. That is when you're not driving each other crazy, because we definitely see that, too. You seem to have a talent for saying and doing exactly what will annoy Claire the most. I keep telling her that that is a little brother's job, but that doesn't really make her feel any better.

You love music so much. You will frequently put on concerts for us with the guitar that you got for Christmas. You almost always request to watch Imagination Movers on TV, or a Rocknoceros podcast on my computer. Sometimes you won't respond to me unless I call you Imagination Mover Dave or Coach Cotton. At your school's holiday concert whenever we could hear anyone in your class singing it was you. You may not be pitch perfect, but you are certainly enthusiastic.

Ben, you amaze me everyday with what a big boy you are becoming. You are growing up so quickly, and I love the new changes, but I will also miss the stages that you are growing out of. I worry that sometimes I don't pay attention and the "last times" slip by without me noticing. I didn't realize the last night that I put you to bed in your crib, or the last morning I got you out. I want to go back in time, and make sure that those memories are imprinted in my mind forever. I love you so very much. Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Ten on Tuesday - the Inaugural edition

1. Yesterday we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.
2. For King's day of service, I've decided to participate in the Knit your Bit campaign.
3. King is probably best known for the "I have a dream" speech. I think today, that part of his "dream" is becoming a reality.
4. Today is about change.
5. I am grateful that my kids will grow up in a world where they won't understand why electing a president that is African-American is a big deal.
6. Unknowingly, but what a nice coincidence, Ben and Claire chose to wear patriotic colors today.
7. Me? Do blue jeans count?
8. At least my Starbucks cup has a patriotic cardboard sleeve.
9. No matter who you voted for, it is impossible to deny that today is a historic day for our country.
10. Yes we can!

Best Shot Monday - cousins

Every year sometime in the week before Christmas my husband's mother's family all gathers for a holiday party. I caught Ben and his cousin, Ryan, in a particularly "cheesy" mood while the older generation tried to watch football behind them.

Visit Tracey at Mother May I for more pictures from Best Shot Monday.