TGIF

It's Friday. There's bad weather inbound. I'm crabby. So, here are some things that make me not crabby:

They cook with me now. RJ thinks he's too cool, but it doesn't stop him from enjoying the spoils. 

He wanted to wear a pencil behind his ear so bad. He feels so big. 

She picked out her own shoes. Let's just hope her Dorothy slippers don't summon the Oz-style storm.

How does this not make you smile?

Her brother is a pretty darn good photographer.

This wasn't bananas. Some nights, you just have to make peace with the fact that healthy isn't happening. Some nights, it's okay to feed them chocolate ice cream for supper. You know, if that's what makes you less crabby and all. 

Happy Friday!

Two Weekends and a Fun Day

I found my missing memory card! And I added a few things to it, so it's time for the inevitable mommy catch-up post.  (It was in my glove box under a bag of suckers and a package of dried up baby wipes--never let it be said that I'm unprepared).

Anyway, we survived the last couple of weeks of school, complete with fun day:

If you give 11 boys a sponge relay, they will turn it into a sponge war. And it will be way more fun than a relay--even if it does get the parents in trouble with the teacher. We weren't exactly the best chaperones; they probably won't let me go on the class trip to D.C. when RJ is in the 5th grade. But it was totally worth it. 

Paint the walls with water? Water fight! They might not let me go on the class trip to the pumpkin patch next year. Chaperones need discipline. 

But fun? Yes. Yes, it was fun. The most fun. I hope these two have many, many more days that make them feel this happy. 

We touched some trucks! (Which is way better than what RJ is usually touching, or GiGi for that matter--we're learning about personal space.). RJ loved it, for the most part. GiGi tolerated it, very begrudgingly. It was loud. 

He wanted a picture in an Army truck to show his dad (who was out of town for the first time that RJ could remember). It was really loud. 

Dad wasn't just out of town; he was out of the country. There were storms--really bad ones. This is how we slept for a week. I'll tell you I hated it. I'll tell you it was miserable and sleepless. But really, I wanted them there beside me where I could smell their sleepy heads and tickle their toes. 

I have one rule about toys: No Power Wheels. 

I may have promised GiGi a red convertible for her 16th birthday (and all the Oreos she can eat, to be paid immediately) if she sleeps through the night, but I was superseded. She hasn't slept through the night yet (my apologies to all the new moms out there--of course they sleep through the night! Eventually. When they're 5.). 

It's excessive. It's unecessary. 

It's absolutely the most fun they've ever had (and this includes Disney World), and grandparents are the best, bestest in the whole wide world.  RJ even let his sister drive. Her legs are too short to reach the pedal--singular. So, big bro took charge; he took control of the gas, and she took the wheel. 

  

They washed. 

And scrubbed. 

They got along for a blissful hour. 

Every boy remembers his first car. 

And, someday GiGi will be Miss America (after they turn it back into a classy pageant and bring back the one piece swimsuits, of course); so, it's good for her to practice riding on the back of a convertible. 

GiGi's legs are almost long enough for her Hot Wheels. 

Almost. She's not happy about the short fall. She's even more unhappy that we won't let her free fall from the top of the driveway to the street. 

Here's the thing about digital photography: we can take a thousand pictures and delete the out takes leaving only the best of the best. But, sometimes, the best of the best isn't posed. It isn't a clean room or a perfectly posed hug. It's a view into the future of two best friends enjoying a drink together. (And yes, she's wearing his Crocs--she still has a thing for shoes). 

Sometimes, the perfect picture just tells a story. This is a story of a little boy who played hard and napped harder. 

I'm pretty proud of this. Mommy successfully took RJ to the store to pick out a tee ball helmet, and we picked a good one. 

GiGi thinks so too--good thing, because Little Miss will be wearing her big brother's hand-me-downs for a while. 

It is a tradition passed down for generations. The first frigid swim of the season. 

But we did it! We swam. We conquered. We went home to warm showers. 

And, the best part of the walk home? 

"Mom, I'm making up a song. It's gonna make you laugh so hard, God will hear you.  It's gonna be so funny you'll need a binky to stop it!" 

Little Blessings

Today is the last day of four-year old preschool, where our little Lutheran school blesses the children and sends them on their way for a healthy, hopeful, safe summer. This year, the blessing rang true and clear as we gave thanks for all of the blessings we've had in the past three days in our spared community. We are safe. Our school stands exactly as it did last Friday. Our children paraded in line wearing clean dresses and pressed pants. And for that, I am grateful.

Someday, she'll try to tell you she never wore Crocs with sweat socks. Don't believe her. Here's proof. 

Yes, I made him wear pink. Real men wear pink. And, a better mom would have put sunglasses on the kids too. Mommy's sorry. Oops. 

They blessed my baby and sent him on his way for a healthy, hopeful, safe summer. 

He was not impressed. 

I'm telling myself he just takes it very seriously. But then again, there are so many things about RJ (and his sister ) that aren't serious. 

From RJ at bedtime: "I'll see you in the morning. I promise I'll still do silly things." I thought this was funny at the time. Now, it seems prophetic and most certainly a blessing. He's doing silly things today, in fact. 

His sister is pretty silly too. A few weeks ago, she cried all night. Inconsolable. Upon waking in the morning, she fretted with her sleep sack, tugging the zipper and pulling at her feet. "Me see toes! Meeee seeee toes!" Of course. She hadn't been wearing it lately. It covered her toes, which alarmed her, and was certainly cause to keep the whole household awake.  Everything alarms her these days, but fortunately most alarms sound during daylight hours. 

For the record, some of her favorite phrases are currently: "Want app-ell!" "Me need mah shoes!"and  "Me need new dumpy!" (yes, she calls her diaper a dumpy--I certainly don't take credit for that). 

And of course, there are the times when RJ's not trying to be silly, but he kind of is. We went to UCO a few weeks ago for a Kendo class. There are bleachers in the gym, and I learned that if you've never taken your five-year old son to a junior high basketball game, it's likely that he'll sit at the bleachers like they're a lunch table: feet dangling, bottom on the foot row, seated facing forward like he's about to eat chicken nuggets. 

Then, there are days when he says things that should be silly, but they aren't. A few days ago, RJ told me, "God is everywhere.  He has octopus hands everywhere." With clear skies outside, our blessings day seems unfair. Selfish almost to presume that God's octopus hands would be 20 miles north of incomprehensible devastation, just to send our little ones on their way toward summer.  

I'm grateful for our little blessings and for our blessings day, please don't misunderstand.  It just seems a little selfish to hug my babies too close today, to stand in air conditioned comfort and fold laundry, to take the swagger wagon through traffic, to generally go on about my life. I'm grateful for all the little blessings today--most of all that my babies are headed toward a healthy, hopeful and safe summer. 

M&M Olympics

RJ loves gymnastics. He really loves it--to the point that I'm firmly committed to the belief that he will someday be an OSU cheerleader. It's the perfect fit for him. He'd get to jump around with a megaphone, all eyes on him, and the boy looks terrific in orange. But, the road to Stillwater is paved with years of hard work, and of course, the proper diet--M&M's!

The M&M Olympics, that is:

He'll grow into the shirt. When he gets to OSU. Maybe sophomore year. 

This one has a particular "Little Miss Sunshine" talent quality to it. He's really about to bear crawl, but I'd like to give a shout out to the world's best friend and photographer, Auntie Amy for being our very own paparazzi. 

He has mastered the zip line. Therefore, he must move to the big gym this summer. Someone please stop time. It's moving too fast. Could you please stop it for me? 

Ta-Da!

He perfected his spidey sense this year at school with his friends. Just look at how he climbs that web!

To the victor go the M&M's! And the applause too. He eats it up. 

Of course, things were a little different this year. We added a gymnast to the mix: 

GiGi is ready to perform. She'll grow into her shirt when she starts her engineering program (after becoming the next Nadia, of course). My children have very different interests.

For now, she's with her mommy. 

And this is how the smaller half of Mommy & Me jumps: "Jump!" "Jump!" (She hasn't quite figured out how to clear the ground; we're working on that.)

She's a very serious athlete. 

Until you put her in the ring swing. We had to tell her teacher to go low and slow. We pretended like that's how we always do it--because Poppy very nearly couldn't take it. Sorry, Poppy, your GiGi girl is a thrill seeker. We're going to have to keep her out of the V8. 

She trapezes with the best of them. 

And to the smallest of the victors--the one who got the crowd's "Awwwww"--M&M's!

And snuggles from Mom, because it was loud and scary. 

But seriously, can someone please stop the clock? 

Because this was right before last year's M&M Olympics. 

The victor got M&M's last year too. 

And, he looked like such a baby!

Until you see this from two years ago. Stop the clock please!

The victors, 2013.