Grateful

This has been a tough week for me.  A lot of sadness.  And unimaginable events.  And while today I feel sad and overwhelmed by life's circumstances, one thing remains the same,

I am so very grateful for this...

and this.

Six Little Words

Six little words...that certainly mean trouble, trouble, trouble for me.

"Mommy, come see what Jack did."

A lovely warning to hear from your three year old as you step out of the shower (yes, one of those three minute showers).  I throw on clothes and make it to the foyer where it becomes clear to me what my little stinker has been up to.  A huge, jagged piece of glass lays on the floor.  As I walk through the dining room into the kitchen, more pieces of glass.  And then I see the guilty party...my littlest standing barefoot in a pile of glass.  I can tell immediately that this a large, heavy vase...one of my wedding gifts that stays tucked away in the china cabinet in the dining room.  And this morning Jack thought he'd rummage through that cabinet, pull out the heaviest vase and see how many pieces he could shatter it into by dropping it on the tile floor.  Sam who was, of course, dressed in his bear suit, reassured me that he "Didn't do nothing, Mommy.  Jack did it all."  I found glass in five rooms of the house, but somehow my little sweetie managed to walk through it without receiving one cut.  That is the second time in his short life that he's walked through and handled broken glass without the slightest scratch.  Amazing.  But not amusing to his Mama.  Maybe he was planning ahead and was pulling out a vase for the flowers his older brother picks me on a daily basis.  Somehow I think not...

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty.

This sweet bear was merely an innocent bystander.

Just Another Reason...

...this little boy takes my breath away.  Those lashes.

Cooling Off

It seems we skipped spring around here and headed straight into summer.  We ate lunch outside at Nana and JP's after lunch and it was roasting.  We spent the afternoon outside and the boys seemed unaffected by the heat, although Jack did walk around saying "hot, hot" the majority of the day.  Sam pulled his baby pool out and we filled it up with very, very cold water.  The boys enjoyed swimming and splashing around in the pool that is just a little too small this year.  After a popcorn picnic and a re-busted knee (Jack), we headed indoors for the night.  This weather justifies a run to Target for sunscreen and a larger pool...as if I need a reason.

Good Old Fun

It seems our sprinkler system isn't just good for the grass...

Strawberries

Today the fab five headed out to the organic strawberry farm to pick a few buckets full.  We had a great time, ate a picnic lunch, had a few fights, played in the mud and ran wild through the rows.

Jack tried his hardest to ride the John Deere tricycle...

but soon decided flying a plane would be more fun.

Landry tested her pilot skills...

and then everyone tried to milk a cow.

We moved on to the main event...picking the strawberries.

Landry and Jack worked sweetly together...

until Jack discovered his bucket would make a great hat.

After picking buckets full of berries, everyone enjoyed ice cream in homemade waffle cones.

Later, we headed to Ally's house where Sam had fun in a mud puddle...

and the three big boys enjoyed our homemade water slide.

Another day when I feel very blessed to be home with these two boys, enjoying simple pleasures like picking strawberries and stomping in mud puddles.  Days full of messy faces, laughter, wet clothes, muddy shoes, smiles, hugs and sweet kisses...life is good.

Cross Dresser

Should I be worried that my youngest son has a thing for his Mama's shoes?  And that he loves dragging them out of my closet and trying them on?  Nearly every day.  And that as he prances around, he is smiling so big his eyes are shut tightly because he can't contain his excitement.  I shouldn't be worried since he was wearing camouflage and yelling "big truck" as he pranced around in my heels today.  That made it somewhat masculine, right?  

Buckethead

There's always more than one use for something, right?  My boys teach me this daily.  Everything can have multiple, often very creative, uses.  A sand bucket for example...it may be used to build sandcastles or to tote a new rock collection.  This week this average bucket has been Landry Lamb's water bucket.  Landry has been hanging out in our back yard this week, enjoying the nice weather and playtime with the boys.  She is also enjoying devouring my sod a little more than I appreciate.  Yesterday as we played in the backyard, I turned to see Jack using the bucket as a hat.  He proudly strutted around with that wet "hat" on his head.  Sam insisted on wearing it too and soon they were taking turns marching through the yard with the dirty, slobbery water bucket perched on their sweet little heads.  And while I was repulsed, they were happy and saw nothing wrong with sporting a "hat" that an animal had been sloshing saliva in for days.  Boys, boys, boys...they are the very reason hand sanitizer was invented.

Zoo Animals on the Loose

The folks at Target and Chick-fil-a got quite a shock today.   Apparently several wild animals entered the building and made themselves right at home.

There was a ferocious brown bear...

and an elephant with extra large ears...

and a skunk who threatened to "blow his stink out" at any moment.

They ran wild...which was only appropriate given their attire.

Sam started this costume outing when he begged this morning to wear his bear costume to Target.  Initially I hesitated, but then remembered that in the grand scheme of things my son sporting a Halloween costume in the middle of April really isn't that big of a deal.  The smile on his face was my reminder that as a mom I have to strive to not sweat the small stuff...and wanting to dress like a bear is "small stuff."  We stopped by Ally's first for me to grab a few things I'd left behind over the weekend and Sam insisted on going in to scare Cade and Cannon.  Those boys were thrilled to death to see Sam dressed up and they both ran to find their costumes and slip them on.  They asked if they could go to Target too and wear the costumes to which I of course said, "Sure, let's go!"

So off we went, me, Bec, Jack (who was costume less) and three wild animals.  Needless to say our party of six was the center of attention.  People did double takes, turned around to come back for a second look, laughed and made a huge deal over the boys. Sam growled at everyone in Target and many of the shoppers played along and acted scared of my big brown bear.  I told Ally it was as close as I'll ever come to being a celebrity.  I felt like I was escorting three of the most famous human beings on the planet around the baby aisles in Target.  Chick-fil-a was no different.  Again people stopped, stared, commented on the costumes and made us feel like rock stars.  If I had a dime for every time someone would look, keep going and then whip their head around for a second look at those wild animals, I could buy a whole new set of costumes for future trips.  We were even asked if we had just performed  in a play by several people.  "No,"  we'd respond.  "We just let them dress up today."  Everyone thought this was really exceptional and some even commended my parenting...which I greatly appreciated.

The boys really wanted to swing by Nana's school and pop in for a surprise.  So we did.  Cade ran right in, jumped in Nana's seat, threw on her glasses and pretended to go to work...still in full skunk attire.

Cannon was a little shy but was soon talking loudly, very loudly, about where elephants stinky.  And in case you didn't know, according to Cannon, elephants only stinky in Africa.

Sam continued to run wild making loud growling noises and then proceeded to "squat" and show Cannon how bears stinky. With sound effects.  Lovely.

My costume-less sweetheart, who is coming down with a nasty cold, fell down in the school hall and hit his head really hard.  He felt terrible, but was a trooper, like always.

The animals were a hit at the high school too and students actually came into the office and even out to our car to see the boys in their costumes.  I hope all this adoration doesn't go to their heads which could lead to demands to wear these outfits every time we venture out of the house.  And in reality, I wouldn't mind.  They're only young once and I hope to always encourage their individuality and imagination...even if it involves cleaning a sweaty, ketchup-covered Halloween costume at the end of the day.

More Than That

This morning while the boys were tinkering around outside, Sam and I had this conversation...

"Mommy, guess how much I love you?"

"How much, buddy?"

"This much," he said with his arms stretched as wide as they could go.

"Oh, Sam.  Thank you for that.  And do you know how much I love you?"

Without hesitation, "All the way to the moon and back, Mommy."

"That's right, buddy.  And do you know how much I love Jack?"

Pause...

"Yes.  All the way to town and back."

And off he ran.  And I smiled at his innocence and his matter-of fact statement and his ability to manage to be the "winner" in the "How Much Mommy Loves Us Contest."  But little does he know...

I love him far more than the 200,000 plus miles to the moon...

and I certainly love this sweet monkey far more than the six miles to town, much, much more.

Pure Jack

How do you not stop whatever you are doing, sit back and laugh your pants off when your 18 month old child walks into the kitchen saying, "hat...hat" as he proudly wears the bathroom trash can on his head?

Yes, that's just what you do.

You stop.  Take it all in.  Enjoy the moment.  And laugh your pants off.

Pure Jack.  He is constant laughter.  That's one of the million reasons I'm so in love with him.

Our Day in Pictures

Today...

we rode some riding toys at Cade and Cannon's house...

Sam picked flowers for Mommy like he does every single day...

Jack got his first skinned knee...

and then did a little swinging to forget the pain...

and thought it would be neat to try this trick...which didn't work out too well...

while Sam pretended to be a mean, stick-yielding pirate...

and Jack covered himself in sand...

then the big boys decided to dig in the sand too and thought it would be a great idea to fill the sandbox with water and dip their stuffed animals in it...it wasn't such a great idea either...

and we came home to find one of the baby cows eating grass in our front yard which Sam and Jack thought was really awesome...

Jack dressed up as a lion...

and Sam dressed up as a bear and gave free horseback rides to his naked little brother...

and then he discovered Mommy's tripod and snapped a few shots of his still-naked brother.

...all of this by 4:30.  Not pictured is our lunch at Joneses where Sam threw up his hot dog all over everything... or the two times that Jack has removed his diaper and crapped, once on the floor, once in the middle of my bed...or the seventeen fights I broke up...or the sight of my house which is in total disarray.  All this activity equals another busy and wonderful day around here. Wonderful but tiring.  Exhausting.   Two sweet little words are sustaining me through the rest of the evening...EARLY BEDTIME!