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I remember it clearly. It was a late Thursday afternoon in April--April 14, 2011 to be exact. We were driving to baseball practice and Thomas pipes up from the back of the car, "I think I'm gonna start calling you Mom instead of Mommy."
I guess I knew this day was coming, he is approaching the double-digits, after all. I was a little bummed out but I told him that would be fine with me, especially since I'm still 'Mommy' to Nathan.
But then Nathan decides to join in on the conversation with "I'm gonna start calling you Mom, too!" Great.
So later that night when my husband came home from work I broke the news to him that he's now married to a MOM. He took it well...even when I broke the news to him that the name-change extended to him as well and he's now DAD instead of Daddy:)
I think I post the same pictures each year--Nathan holding his ears, Thomas jumping over the colorful smoke balls, and both of them stomping on whipper snappers and chasing parachutes. And, of course, a big exploding firework. Still fun and entertaining after all these years.
Oh, and the food. The FOOD! Grilled chicken and ribs, baked beans, potato salad, french bread, deviled eggs and key lime pie. Still delicious after all these years.
When school ended in June I was doing the 30 Day Photo Challenge busily posting pictures of myself (yikes), flowers and my old toys that are hidden away in a closet at my parent's house. So that's why I'm just now getting around to posting these pics of my boys on their first day of school and their last. I'd say they are growing into a couple of fine young men.
On a related but more somber note, stores are beginning to set up aisles for back to school supplies. Glue sticks, dry erase markers, hand sanitizers, boxes of tissue...and none of them are the size, color and quantity that is on your list. It's enough to give a mom nightmares.
Whenever my yoga teacher tells me to relax and "soften my face" I always think of babies. A mental picture of their smiling faces helps me release tension and put a smile on my face. Inevitably, my mind always goes to this baby in particular...
...I can't believe Nathan is 7!
If only I could get him to smile at the camera like that again!
I'm pulling on long johns, knee socks and sweatshirts. I'm searching bedroom closets for scarves, gloves and toboggans.
I'm zipping up "Saturday jeans" and heavy coats and I'm tying shoelaces.
And then I'm getting pelted with snowballs! But I'm also getting snow ice cream, hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie while snuggling with 2 very handsome boys. I love snow days!
These 2 little cuties showed up at my grandma's house several weeks ago and I fell in love. I wasn't the only one, either. My oldest son is a sucker for itty bitty puppies, too. I always wondered if he would turn out like my husband who likes dogs in a very logical, practical kind of way OR like me who likes to spoil dogs with birthday parties, homemade treats and heated dog beds.
I think I got my answer when he turned to me while petting one of the pups and said, "Mommy, I just want to crack her open and kiss her little heart."
For the past 5 Saturdays we've been pulling on jerseys, making sure the shin guards are in place, double-knotting shoelaces and heading to the soccer field. Now we are in the home stretch and the end of the season is just 2 games away. It's been a fun season even though Big Pup has found a way to get hurt in every game. I think these kids need more than shin guards, though, this is a rough sport! He's a defender and I think that's the perfect position for him--he's not aggressive or fast enough to be a midfielder/forward. Yet. He's learned a lot about the sport this season and he's getting better with each game.
And more than that, it does my heart good to see this small group of boys from different schools and ethnicities come together as a team, laughing and carrying on during practice and then working and celebrating together during games.
It makes schlepping around camp chairs and water bottles worth it.
I was reading one of the uber Daddy bloggers one day when he mentioned that when his daughter was born, he and his wife made the decision to never kiss her on her lips.
Huh? Wha?
I know that as parents we are faced with numerous issues--breastfeeding, co-sleeping, spanking, daycare--but I had no idea kissing your kids on the mouth was an issue. I'm not judging. I'm sure his daughter will grow up to be a well-adjusted adult while my boys are headed straight to therapy. After all, I sneak into their rooms at night and clip their toenails while they're sleeping. But I just can't imagine not kissing my 2 knuckleheads on the lips. It's not something I'm going to do forever, of course, and at 6- and 8-years old I realize my kissing days are numbered BUT until then I'm going to keep on kissin'.
I know the last day of school was 3 weeks ago but I'm just now posting my first day/last day pics. I'm so not on the ball this time around. As a matter of fact, I missed taking a picture of the boys on the morning of their last day so I made them pretend that they were going to school the next afternoon. They were not thrilled. But I was! I love comparing the pictures and seeing how much they've grown in just one school year. Big pup moved from velcro to shoelaces and Little pup, 2 years younger, is almost the same size as his big brother. Wow. These boys. They're growing up.
And thankfully the tooth fairy had an answer--magic fairy dust!
Look what we got this weekend...
That's Little Pup. He's 5. And he's very good in the kitchen. On his "How To Cook a Turkey" paper at school he definitely showed off his cooking knowledge. He may have been off on the time but he knows that time is important and there's seasoning involved and that it's cooked in an oven and not on the stovetop. Give me another 15 years with this kid and he'll be a pro in the kitchen--not a bad quality for a man to have.
As for Big Pup, my 7 year old,...
...well, a sense of humor is important, too. Right?
...Sweepin' the clouds away!
It's Sesame Street's 40th anniversary today. I love Sesame Street. Grover was my favorite. Remember the Pointer Sisters 1-12 song with the pinball machine? Classic. And what about the mahna mahna song? That one's gonna be stuck in my head all day. Oh, and remember the time Gonzo tried to sell his soul to Alice Cooper in exchange for fame and fortune? Wait...that was The Muppet Show. Another favorite.
Big pup has been carrying Elmo around with him for most of his 7 years. He has tons of stuffed animals--a monkey, a couple of teddy bears, all of the inhabitants of Hundred Acre Wood--but his favorite has always been Elmo. I can remember when they used to be the same size! Elmo still sleeps with Big pup at night, travels on vacations with us, and rides to school with us every morning. I even tucked him into my purse just in case my son needed him when he got his flu shots a couple of weeks ago (and he did).
But Elmo hasn't always been "Elmo." He first appeared as Little Monster in 1979 and his character wasn't really developed until 1984, the year Kevin Clash took over as puppeteer, er, muppeteer.
Happy Anniversary, Sesame Street!
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