I Ain't Missing You At All

My boys have always been very independent from me. It may just be their natures. It may have come from me working outside the home from the time they were babies. We've been blessed to have incredible childcare for the two of them in the form of Miss Ashley and Miss Jessica, who have nannied for the boys forever. J&N have felt secure at home and yet have also ventured out into the world with people other than their parents. They can be shy when meeting new people but, for the most part, they tend to be comfortable in new situations and love new challenges. (Remind me sometime to write up the high-dive story...ugh.)

When they have gone to stay with grandparents for the weekend, J&N have never had problems with missing me or Byron while staying overnight. That independence even extends to where they don't even want to talk to us on the phone. Even when I beg. Fine.

Until this time. My mom and stepdad just took the boys back to Memphis for the week to spend a vacation at Grandma's house. They've got their cousin Baby Erik to play with (who is now 4 and surely not a baby any more, even though we'll probably call him that until he's 24) and lots of fun activities planned for the week. They will have every whim and wish fulfilled immediately, I have no doubt.

So why now, of all times, did they both break down and cry on the way to Grandma's house because they missed me? Ugh. I never knew how good I had it before. They both act like crazy ungrateful fit-throwing boys all day for me - and then drive to Grandma's house and are so upset. It just breaks my heart. Nathan even told me on the phone that he just loves me so much and he wishes he could be with me. Do you think I cried too? Oh yes I did.

Both Byron and my good friend Brooks, whose family was on the trip with us and witnessed the fit-throwing meltdowns all day yesterday (along with plenty of smiles too), said the boys were just tired and I was tired and we'd all be fine tomorrow. We had spent the entire day at The City Museum (the MOST WONDERFUL PLACE ON EARTH, seriously, go there now). When I said that the boys never missed us before, Brooks asked if I always sent my children to their grandparents' house completely exhausted, high on sugar and ready to endure a 4-hour car ride. Hmmmm...I guess that's true.

Today is a new day, and hopefully with a full night of sleep and some banana pancakes from Grandpa, they'll be feeling brave and independent again. At least I will cross my fingers...Memphis is an eight hour drive each way.

The Trouble with Phonetics

The boys are reading really, really, REALLY well. As in - they read entire books all by themselves. They read everything by themselves. And I do mean everything. It's a new found power they have discovered, just another step toward the day when they head out the door to live their own lives. (Sigh.)

Byron took them to Sonic for ice cream a few nights ago. As they were sitting in the drive-through, Jack asked, "Dad, what's a 'happy whore'?"

Byron choked. "Uh, what's a what?"

Jack replied, "What's a 'happy whore'? There - on that sign."

Byron read the sign. "That says 'happy hour'."

But it's good they can read....

Erin's Birthday Party - Feb 2009

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It's Summer

Well, maybe not officially, but with temperatures hitting 98 this week, it sure feels like it.

This is the last summer the boys have at home before officially starting their school journey. I'm a little sad at nearing the end of our time with our nanny but I know the boys are ready for school and to grow up. It's like knowing you have to wave goodbye to Mary Poppins - we love our Miss Jessica that much!

So they are going to spend the summer with her having fun. They've been doing the pool already and playing in the backyard. Erin is spending the day with them today, so that adds a little more excitement to a day at home.

In other news, Byron is in Key West this week for his guys-only scuba diving trip. I'm only a tiny bit jealous. The boys have been cooperative for the most part but are missing their dad.

If you haven't been to my new Shutterfly share site, you must go now. Shutterfly has created a great portal for sharing photos. I'm really happy with it. You can check it out here.

Revelation

The other morning the boys asked me how long it was until their birthday. I answered and then heard silence. And then Nathan said, "Jack! When we are 6, we'll be almost 7!!"

(I put in the exclamation points because that's how they talk these days. With exclamation points.)

(That is, unless I tell them I can't hear them, at which point, unexplicably, they talk even more quietly. Go figure.)

Last Year

I uploaded some new videos from a year ago this month. It's been good to go back and look at our old videos - I tend to take the videos and then never look at them again. The boys were 4 1/2 in these videos. They've grown almost 8 inches since then!

First one is not the most exciting but it's when they got their new bikes. The new bikes were quite a bit bigger than their old ones and we had forgotten to bring their helmets (don't freak out!), so I made them keep their training wheels on to make sure they didn't end up with a head injury like their father (who is now deaf in one ear as a result)...



And this one is just playing with Gpa and Uncles Kyle and Ryan. Ryan shows Nathan up in his soccer moves - he's so good playing against a 4-year old!



And this last one is the first time we all played the Wii...

Nuptials

Nathan: When I'm ready to get married, I'm going to ask all of my girlfriends to line up in a sideways line and then I will say eeny-meeny-miney-moe and that's the one I'll get married to.

March Update

It's been almost a month since I've updated the blog. We've been doing okay - we've had a bout of being sick with strep and ear infections, which hasn't been fun. Other than that, we are ready for warmer weather.

Felt Monsters
Originally uploaded by *lissa*

I was possessed by the idea of making a project with the boys one afternoon, so I loaded up a tote and took our art supplies over to our neighbors house to get all the kids to do felt monsters. The kids traced their monster shape out on one color, then we helped them cut it out with another color behind it. The kids then decorated the front side. Then we just sewed around the edges (me on the sewing machine, Brooks by hand - poor girl!), stuffed them, then finished sewing up the edge. So cute!!


We've had some fun with a book we got for the boys for Christmas: The Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do. One of the experiments the boys really enjoyed was making colorful foam spill out of jars.




And of course, we're still playing Rock Band: