Mother of Boys

Dylan Student of the Month

Don’t get me wrong, Student of the Month program is a great one, it’s really high maintenance! I wonder if I can request that my kiddo get it in the beginning of the year? Hmmm.

First, they require that you create a poster. For some reason my boys have high expectations and I’m not really a montage kind of girl. I like things clean and simple. This time I had Dylan help me and he picked out the stickers and where they should go.

Next, they use it to get you to the PTA meeting so your kiddo can be recognized and given a gift certificate.

Lastly, the event is concluded with a luncheon. This is actually my favorite part. They decorate the table red, white, and blue with several fun hats to make it special for the kids.

Due to the good luck I always have, these kinds of events usually fall on my play dates. It is no problem, the more the merrier right!

Drake has gotten so used to coming up to the school the past couple weeks his behavior has greatly improved. Especially when Rhett is around. They ate and played with their Disney Cars the entire time. Dylan and I actually got a chance to chat and snuggle a bit.

Congratulations Dylan for being such a great kid! I’m really proud of you. {{hugs}}

Small Talker

A Day in the Life

Life is completely crazy busy these days. I’m at the point where I have no idea how the months are passing by so quickly. So I thought it would be fun to take one day and document my activities. I need something to prove that I’m actually being productive. {{wink}}

This is what I did on Monday:

4:30 am – Woke up to giggles and screams of delight. I walked upstairs to find Drake in Dylan’s bed! I guess Drake woke up and wanted Dylan to read him some books. Dylan was kindly obliging this order and even reading using different voices.

5:30 am – Woke up to give the boys their medication

8:15 am – Apparently I slept like a log while Jason took the boys to school.

8:20 am – Post for Tip Junkie

9:00 am – Pilates (no time for the treadmill today)

9:50 am – Took Drake to Emily’s house for a play date and chatted with Wendy.

10:15 am – Shower and got ready for the day

11:00 am – Tried to tackle the mountain of e-mail.

12:20 pm – Lunch with Chanda, Rochelle, and Leslie. Leslie and I were interviewed for a piece on LDS bloggers and so I arranged for us to meet in real life. Since Rochelle and Chanda have been long time readers of Leslie’s, I thought “the more the merrier” and invited them as well.

It was such a wonderful lunch. We chatted and ate like we’d all been friends for years. Leslie is so kind and lovely and fit right in. I love meeting women who share my same passion for inspiring other women. Leslie’s blog, A Room Somewhere, is about fashion and home decor and features eye candy twice daily. It’s beautiful!

2:30 pm – Late to pick up Drake. Sorry Wendy! I was completely engulfed in the girl time that I completely lost track of time.

2:35 pm – Signed the boys up for Vacation Bible School and Drake on the wait list for a Friday pre-school. We toured the classroom and finally convinced Drake “school is cool”. We are first on the list, so my fingers are crossed that he’ll get in and I’ll have 3 days free next fall. {{evil laugh}}

3:15 pm – Boys came home, hugs, snacks, and affirmations.

3:30 pm – Back to replying to e-mail, making plans, researching calling for church, finishing up “to-do’s” that always comes via e-mail.

5:20 pm – Went to school for PTA meeting where they force you to go so your kiddo can receive their Student of the Month award. Got to the school to find out that Drake didn’t have shoes on.

5:21 pm – Went back home to get Drake’s shoes and then back to the school to get a good seat for the PTA meeting.

6:30 pm Left PTA meeting to book it to Swim Team try outs which started at 6:00.

* We walked up to the pool as Drake is taking off his shirt, I turn back put on his shirt, for him to take it off again and quickly sitting down and taking off his shoes.

* I’m trying to navigate through the crowd to figure out where we’re supposed to be, realize Drake is about to jump in, run over and grab him before he sinks to the bottom of the pool.

* Put Drake’s shoes and shirt back on him.

* Get the boys in their lane to swim one lap.

* Get their placement, wave to friends, and then head on up to the clubhouse to fill out the 3 pages of paperwork with information I already filled out online.

* Dylan started to cry as we were leaving saying he didn’t want to be on the swim team. I told him that I know it’s hard to try new things, he did such a great job, he’s not expected to already know how to compete, yada yada yada. {{buck up kid}}

7:00 pm – For FHE – Sonic. Family time and reward for the crazy day with $1 sundae from Sonic. Dylan started to cry again because he wanted a slush instead when he said “M&M candy sundae”. When I jump in with my Love & Logic, “no problem I’ll eat it!” He decides that he wants it anyway. {{Dude. Take what you get and don’t throw a fit.}}

Lesson: On the way home I related to the boys my swim team experience and how I lost every single race. In fact, I was so bad that they gave me my own lane where I could swim at any pace I wanted and didn’t have to feel rushed. {{true story}} The point is to learn how to push yourself, learn how to have fun when loosing, and that I would like them both to be on the swim team in High School so they need to gain experience.

I finished my ice cream induced lecture, I mean lesson, by reminding them that it’s my job to make sure that they are balanced, responsible, and capable young men. It’s my job to expose them to situations where they’ll grow, they’ll learn from their mistakes, and ultimately become amazing Daddy’s and Husbands. You can’t have it all if you don’t work hard and try your best.

7:15 pm – Hair cuts, one of the ways I am cutting back on expenses and saving a little moolah.

7:30 pm – Baths for the boys and bedtime for Drake.

7:45 pm – Give Melatonin to the boys to help them sleep. Clean the house. Geeze it’s a mess. Davis unloads the dishwasher and Dylan cleans the media room. Both of which I hate to do so they get to do it. {{another evil laugh}}

8:30 pm – “It’s my favorite time of the day!” Bedtime! I prayed for Dylan this time and asked that the Lord help Dylan feel better about competing in the swim team, that he will be given physical strength to swim the full length of the lane, and mental strength to not be afraid to fail or loose, and that he will follow the direction of his coaches.

Afterwards I asked him if he felt better and he said, “a little”. However, he had such a huge grin on his face I knew otherwise. I reminded him as I do every night, what a special young man he is and that I’m the luckiest mom in the world.

8:40 pm – Finished up the dishes and headed on over to Christina’s to watch the Bachelorette. We’ve been watching the Bachelor together for a couple seasons now and it’s a highlight of my week. When I was recovering from back surgery she came over every week and kept me company.

Christina is an amazing and creative decorator. On her large wall in her living room she made this clock using numbers and picture frames. You’ll have to enlarge the image to really see how beautiful it is!

11:00 pm – Tip Junkie post and scheduled it to post in the morning.

12:00 am – Bed time. Even though it’s so late, I always have a hard time sleeping after I blog. My mind starts thinking about all the possibilities, all the fun projects I want to do, and the stresses and needs of my family.

12:20 ish – Exhaustion finally takes over and I’m fast asleep. A hurricane could blow through and I’d sleep through it. 😉

Small Talker

Girls Weekend

My dear friend Melissa moved from Utah to Houston at the end of last year but due to my back surgery and scheduling conflicts, we finally got to see each other over the weekend.

Lisa and Melissa drove up and we had the best time via pedi’s, Mexican food, and retail therapy!

Sam Moon finally opened up a week or so ago and it wouldn’t be a girls weekend without trendy purses and cheap accessories.

Next up, the Funky Monkey boutique where we all found several treasures.

We went to see Angels and Demons. However, Lisa was cold. No she’s not stealing that shirt but it totally looks like it! She bought it but put it on our way out. I really liked the movie, it doesn’t follow the story line of the book. Just a heads up.

{{I have no idea what that circle is on my shirt. No, I’m not br3ast feeding! Not a typo, I don’t want my post to come up in Google searches.}}

After the movie we headed back to the mall for more shopping. In Nordstrom I found these amazing pink flower sandals for $89. Way cute but so out of my price range.

Later that evening we made our way to Payless and I found pink flower sandals in the girls department for $8! {{squeal in delight}}

Apparently I can wear girls shoes – size 6. That little piece of info is going to save me a bundle on shoes from here on out! Teehee.

We played Sequence, ate, hung out, and laughed. A much needed diversion from the stresses of day to day life. Thanks girls for such a fun weekend!

Mother of Boys

Splash Day

Thanks to the pig flu splash day was rescheduled. The school district did a great job in freaking my kids out by cancelling everything.

Now that the epidemic has been diverted, the life of an 8 year old can go on with water games also known as Splash Day.

I think the kids had a little bit of fun. I’m not quite sure though. {{reeking with sarcasm}}

Having kiddos 2 years apart, it’s always double duty and after giving Dylan his due attention, Drake and I headed on over to Davis’ classroom for lunch.

Drake was more concerned about stealing Davis’ Doritos than anything else.

One of his favorite people is in Davis’ class and I finally got him to go over into the circle of girls and have lunch with her. {{evil laugh}} With a bag full of cheesy goodness and 8 girls giggling and playing with him; I was able to have a nice lunch and conversation with Davis.

Near the end, one of Davis’ male classmates came over to him and whispered in his ear, “Does Drake want to marry Emily?” (sister of Davis’ classmate) I started cracking up!! Leave it to a bunch of 4th graders to find great pleasure in the crush of a 3 year old. Geeze, they have one track minds.

Mother of Boys

Broken Trust

Davis & Dylan have been mini-Spielberg’s lately catching everything on video tape using our old video camera. Well, this evening Davis brought it to me because he had dropped it and it was falling apart. Luckily Dad was here and he was able to put it back together and get it to work again.

I grounded him from using it for the rest of the day and offered up other choices they could do with their new found time.

A little while later Davis came to me and told me that he was going to try to fix it himself and not tell me that he had dropped it. However, he remembered the story in the friend (Broken Trust) we read together about the little girl who broke the doll but ended up telling her neighbor about it. He said, that she felt better after telling the truth in the story and he now feels better as well. “It worked”, Davis said with a shy grin.

I gave him a big hug, thanked him for not only listening to our stories but also using the lessons learned. It was a bonding moment for Davis and me. I’m never quite sure if he’s ever listening to me or if it’s sinking in. I guess it is and I’m doing my job after all. Who knew?

Mother of Boys

Dinner and a Movie

So my sister still has NOT sold her house. She has anywhere from 2-5 showings a week but no offers. My boys have been seriously disappointed that Aunt Lisa still is not living with us. However, her man (Billy) has been living with us for several months now and the boys boys have grown very attached.

There are several perks to having Billy around. He takes out the trash, he plays hide ‘n seek with the boys, he does man yoga with the boys (pictures to come), occasionally goes grocery shopping, and is around when Jason’s out of town.

Well yesterday Billy ordered too many Subway sandwiches for the luncheon he hosted and the boys and I were treated to a free dinner!

Whoohoo! It was great because I had no idea what I was going to fix for dinner. The boys even ate 2 sandwiches to earn 2 cookies. Ah, the little joys in life.

You will never believe what they wanted to do after dinner and our reading time. I really can’t believe it myself, but they wanted to watch The Phantom of the Opera!

{{You just spit out your Diet Coke didn’t you!!}}

I was flabbergasted! I hadn’t seen it until the Movie came out in like 2005. Don’t be surprised, we’re not a musical or cultural family. To this day Jason doesn’t know who Snow White is. I’m not kidding. But if there’s a super hero in it, you know we’ve seen it many times! {{giggle}}

Apparently, their music teacher has been talking about it all week. Dylan has this monster book and the Phantom of the Opera is in it, so they grabbed the book, read everything about him, debated on what was actually true or not (according to their music teacher), and then sat down to watch the movie.

When I had back surgery my man hooked me up with an embarrassingly large flat screen as well as instantly downloadable movies from Netflix. Since they aren’t 13 yet they can not watch PG13 movies. A fact they try to negotiate constantly. {{tired}}

However, Netflix did have the black & white (w/o dialogue) version to instantly download from 1925. I told the boys that they wouldn’t like it but they could watch it if they wanted to. At first, they were very confused why they couldn’t hear the people talking. So Drake and I acted out the dialogue for them; “Oh No! (in high pitched dramatic voice) That man came out of the cave and then disappeared.”

The boys were not digging my substandard acting skills but like all things crazy fun and a little weird, it caught on and we had a fun time with it. They ended up watching the movie for an hour before it was time for “lights out”. {{a.k.a. quiet time to please mommy}}

Genuine

It’s My Blog and I’ll Say What I Want To

Do you ever get to the point where you have so much to say, that you can’t say anything at all? The past several months my head has been spinning with ideas, blog posts, things to share, feelings, upsets, and drama. But what do I do with it?

Nothing.

Why? Chalk it up to fatigue, time, interest, lack of eloquence, attention span, it could even be all of these things.

Somewhere along the road I’ve lost my voice, my right-fighting (the good kind not the destructive type), my passion, and fight to be heard. I’ve become…

Complaisant.

Alas, it is true and as you can tell I have lost my voice on my personal blog. The difference is, that I know exactly the reason this has happened.

I can no longer tell my story the way I want to. I know you hard-core-long-time-bloggers are disagreeing with me and you can leave your comments and tell me how you deal with it. But now that everyone I know reads my blog, it’s no longer fun.

Lisa (my sister) and I talk about this all the time, the most fun we had blogging was in the beginning when only strangers read our blogs. We could poke fun at our ourselves, our families, tell stories as they really happened (not edit or omit names and drama), and didn’t have to worry about hurting other’s feelings if they weren’t invited to an outing.

For some reason, having to make little omissions or not being able to share the entire story takes the authenticity out of my blog and makes me not want to post at all.

I was talking to Wendy the other day, telling her the latest drama. She said that I had the best stories and had to write them in a book one day! That made me so sad, because that is what my blog is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be about those unbelievable things that happen in life, how you over come them, deal with them (right or wrong) and how you really live.


“You Can’t Handle The Truth!”

I’ve decided that right or wrong, good or bad, that’s what my blog is going to be about from here on out- real life. I’m tired of editing, omitting, and trying to keep everyone happy or feelings in tact.

From now on, if you don’t want it blogged about – don’t do it. Better yet, if you don’t want to hear about – then don’t read my blog.

My personal blog isn’t for traffic, branding, or publicity. It’s just for me to record, vent, and develop supportive and healthy relationships with other bloggers who share the same passions, heartaches, and creative outlets that I do.

Sure I could go private, but then I’m not able to meet new bloggers and really develop the online relationships I’m looking for. I have very different interests than my friends in real life. Of course I ADORE them and wouldn’t trade them for the word! However, I draw a lot of strength from my blogging sista’s. I have relied on them in ways my friends in real life wouldn’t understand.

You can take this as a warning or what it really is an invitation to be a part of my life and my story. The good, bad, and ugly truth.

I’m not a snarky or mean spirited person and would never outwardly try to hurt someones feelings, especially someone I love. However, I do want the freedom to express myself, laugh at, and enjoy my own life and the experiences I have while in it.

Naturally, it’s going to take me some time to get back into the habit of blogging daily, being authentic, and finding my rhythm again. But it’s something that I’m really looking forward to. Life is flying by at light speed and I’m missing opportunities to express how I’m feeling and recording the unbelievable that’s happening all the time.

I hope people in real life understand, will be supportive, and know that yes I will have my camera. {{wink}}

XOXO

Laurie

Mother of Boys

The Eagles Score!

Soccer season is now officially over. Dylan played great defence this season. This week our coach told us that the coach of the other team was complaining to him that they couldn’t get the ball passed Dylan.

Who knew that our sweetest little guy would have the most determination out of the field. We are really proud of him!

The end of the season party was so much fun! What’s so funny is that 4 families on our coed team have all boys! Out of the 4 families we all have three boys and we’re all officially done. It feels good at times not to be alone in this crazy all-boy world.

Blogger

We Heart Art

Together with Domestically Challenged and I’m Living Proof that God Has a Sense of Humor, the Three Bay B Chicks will be hosting a week long Art Appreciation Week called “We Heart Art.”The purpose? To promote art and being creative with both your kids and as individuals.

These three blogs are sponsoring an event called “We Heart Art” this week only, which gives you the chance to not only showcase your artwork or creative projects, but also your kid’s handiwork.

So get your posts ready! For all the details on how to link up your post via Mister Linky check out Three Bay B Chicks. Naturally, as with any carnival, there will be tons of fabulous prizes!

I was also interviewed for the series. You already know WAY too much about me, but if you’re interested you can check it out on Three Bay B Chicks blog.