Memorial Day weekend - The official start of summer

My mom, the boys and I, Kim and Lauren all went out for breakfast Memorial Day morning. After breakfast we went to the parade. I took this picture of Jay and Lauren at breakfast. I thought it was the cutest.

Mike's parents bought a R.V.!!! They borrowed one last summer and realized they liked it so they took the jump this year and bought one. The boys are already counting down to their first adventure on the R.V.

John and Linda in their new purchase.

We had such a fun filled, busy weekend that Nick was spent!

Jay playing baseball in the front yard. Can the kid get any skinnier?

The boys soaking up the sun at State Farm Park.

Starting the day on Saturday at the park! What a great start to a wonderful weekend.

Perspective

Today my dad, my sister and I attended my Grandma Bushman's funeral. It was a lovely service and tribute to her life. Because I knew I would have a difficult time manuerving dad in and out of the car, his nurse came along with us. This proved to be a very good decision. He was attentive to my dad and helped our family out tremendously in terms of my dad's needs. But he also reminded me of something I've always known but sometimes need to be reminded of, always appreciate what you have. This gentleman is 22 years old and has had a terrible life. What touched me today was he was so happy because he was finally able to afford a mobile home with air conditioning (air conditioning, something I so take for granted). Then he told that because he grew up poor he had never taken a vacation until recently, he was able to afford a small get away. In my head I was thinking he at least went out of state somewhere. He didn't. He traveled to Elmhurst, IL to a Holiday Inn and then went to Shedd Aquarium. He said he was so excited he took over 300 photos, only to have his camera stolen, with the memory card. He said he didn't even care about the camera, he just wanted the memories from his first vacation that he had captured. I dropped this gentleman off at his very modest mobile home and went home to my large house with my large kitchen and even bigger yard and I thought to myself, there is nothing I need and there is nothing my children need. My children have two parents that love each other and love them. There isn't a time they have to wonder where their next meal is coming from and they have clothing on their backs with several pairs of shoes to choose from, not to mention (getting back to that huge yard I have) they have plenty of space and fresh air so they can move their bodies. To me, these are the basics that all children need to thrive, anything beyond these basic necessities is a bonus. I felt embarassed at all I have and it reminded me of that old saying that "less is more."

The Watermelon

This morning Nick took a huge watermelon to daycare. As I was getting in the car with it, Nick asked if he could hold it during the drive. It seemed like a reasonable request to me so I placed it on his lap. Not two minutes into the drive Nick is complaining that his penis is cold! At first I ignored him but then his cries got a little more frantic. He said the watermelon was making his penis really cold and it was too heavy for him to move.
Now picture this scene: I ask Jay to remove the melon from his brother's lap which he does. But then Jay proceeds to act like he's poking holes in the melon and pretends that he's going to eat the melon which about gives Nick a stroke. I listen to this bickering and taunting practically the entire drive to daycare. Finally, when I could take no more, on a country road I pull the car over (a common occurrance in the Siebert van) and demand the watermelon. It was too heavy for Jay to just hand to me from the back seat so I'm straining, turning every which way (except physically getting out of the car, another common occurance for me) to try and reach the watermelon and end up hurting my back and neither Jay or Nick can understand why I was so cranky!
Tomorrow is a new day and we won't be starting our day with a cold penis and a very large watermelon.

Lauren goes to 2nd grade

On Friday I picked Lauren up and we surprised Jay at school for lunch! Lauren fit right in with all the 2nd graders. In the first picture Jay had to turn her head for the camera because she apparently really liked the school cafteria food. She sat down and started inhaling her pizza! The second picture is of Jay holding Lauren in line and Lauren talking to one of Jay's friends. She was too cute!

The funniest part was when we were getting ready to leave. I had Lauren by the hand and Jay was headed back to his class. She started yelling for Jay, "Kiss, Jay, Kiss."! Now Jay loves his cousin but he draws the line when it comes to kissing her at school in front of his friends. The principal heard Lauren and teased Jay and said, "Come Jay, won't you give your cousin a kiss?" At which point Jay darted away rather quickly and that was the end of that.

My birdhouses

Check out my birdhouses! We have birds living in the red one! My favorite one is the pink one. I think of my boys everytime I look out my kitchen window.

Boy entertainment

My boys provided me with some chuckles tonight. Actually let me rephrase that....Jay provided me with some chuckles but Nick provided me with more mortification.
Tonight while Nick was taking his bath, I was in his room putting clothes away when he told me he had his toothbrush in his butt. I literally dropped what I was doing and ran to the bathroom yelling......."Get the toothbrush out of your butt." Nick yelled back, "Too Late." Whether he had his toothbrush in an orifice it shouldn't have been, I'll never know but regardless I soaked his toothbrush in rubbing alcohol!
As I was putting Jay to bed tonight we were doing our usual routine of reading and prayers. Jay complained he has a hard time falling asleep so I offered to scratch his back. He readily agreed. I also offered to sing him a song, to help him settle down. The conversation went like this.
Me: "Want me to sing you a song?"
Jay: "No."
Me: "Are you sure, I could sing you Baa, Baa Black Sheep, you use to love that song?"
Jay (and his response was so simple): "I'm 8 now, mom."
And when did that happen anyway?

The Dynmatic Women in Life

Lately I've been reflecting on all the great women in my life and when I really think about it, each one of them have helped shape me and made me appreciate all their differences. Here is what makes them so special:
*My Mom: The greatest gift my mom has given me is to believe in myself. Growing up it never really occurred to me that I couldn't do something. She also gave me the the gift of balance. She demonstrated balance and what it meant to be a working mother. I never really appreciated all those hot, home cooked meals she had on out table every night after teaching all day. I could go on and on about my mom, she's one in a million
*My Sister: I don't think I know anyone who is more hospitable than Kim. She is the most welcoming person and always likes to have a good time. I like to think we balance each other out. She loosens me up a bit and when she gets too loose, I'm there to reign her back in.
*My friend, Mary: Mary is my friend who clearly God put in place for me. She was there for me during my transition into college and she was the one who set me up with Mike. Mary's sunny disposition and love of Jesus is apparent in every action and conversation you have with her.
*My friend, Jenny: Jenny is also another friend who was placed in my life by God. She has been my friend for 16 years and there has never been a harsh word between us. In fact, she is one of the most supportive friends and truly gets me. We are similiar in so many ways and she has taught me to not sweat the small stuff and get lots of pedicures.
*My Aunt Karen: Karen is my dad's youngest sister. I thought she was the bomb growing up (I still do, Karen!). We've always been close but we talk a lot more frequently now due to the issues with my dad. Her sense of humor inspires me. Honestly no matter what is going on in her life she can find the humor in it. She'll call me and say, "Well I just got off Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."
*My friend, Laura: You know how when you meet someone and you instantly click? That was my experience with Laura when I met her 6 years ago. She might disagree with me but she is one of the most patient mother's I've ever seen.
*My "Posse" of work friends, Karen, Jen, Lara, and Kristi: I sometimes just have to shake my head over the fact that I work with such an amazing group of women.

God has blessed me with an abundance of friends and an amazing family. The list is endless whenI think of all my friends and family who make me laugh on a daily basis and bring joy to my life on a daily basis.

2nd grade recap

The year was 1981 and I vividly remember my second grade teacher, Mrs. Sheer. She had a lot of energy and I loved her! Fast forward 29 years later and my son has just finished up his second grade year with another energetic, fresh out of college teacher and what a year it has been. I'm so proud of Jay and what he's accomplished this year. It has been a breath of fresh air to see him enjoy school and feel good about what he's achieved. It's also been an enjoyment for me to witness Jay and his class-mates have good old fashioned fun! Miss Snowden brought that out in all her students. She challenged them but also revealed a fun side to learning that I don't think Jay had recognized before.
Tonight we had a banquet at school and Miss Snowden gave each child an award. These awards were given out based on votes from the other students. Jay got the "Teacher's Pet" award. He laughed about it when Miss Snowden presented it to him but when we got home tonight he told me he thought the "Teacher's Pet" award was way off and that he should have received "The Messiest Student" award. I asked Jay why because he really isn't a messy child. His response was simple, "Hello Mom, no one loves mud more than me!" So true, Jay, so true!
And so it's hard for me to say it, let alone even write it..........another chapter ends and a new one will begin in third grade. Keep working as hard as you are now, Jay, and you will do just fine. I love you even if you are the teacher's pet. Ha!

My week in pictures

Monday started off with my 36th birthday. Mike got me this cookie bouquet which was quite delightful. I am sorry I haven't posted my weight in a few weeks but with Nick's birthday, Mother's Day and my birthday I just wanted to give myself a break. Stay tuned though, I will post it in the next week or so.

I took this picture of Nick with his "baby" giraffe. I thought it was the cutest picture. His last day of PreK was Friday so his summer break has officially begun.

On Friday my dad's nursing home hosted a carnival. Kim and I took the kids over so they could play and my dad could watch them. He seemed to enjoy watching his grandchildren play and being out in the nice weather.

Here is Jay finishing his "pie" from the pie throwing contest!

My grandparents came to town on Saturday to celebrate my birthday and Kim's (May 23). So once again I got to eat more cake. ugh!

Happy 32nd birthday to Kim and 36th birthday to me!

Happy Mother's Day

This is Jay's smile that says, "I'm so humoring you, mom, so hurry up and take the picture."

This Mother's Day was the best Mother's Day I can remember. It didn't get off to such a great start. This morning when I woke up I had to remind Jay it was Mother's Day and he said, "I don't really care!" Not only did I give him the look but so did Mike and Jay was quick to then say, "I don't really care that it's Mother's Day but I do care about you, mom." After that remark I told Mike I probably needed to lower my expectations for the day. As is usually the case with my boys but especially Jay, he did turn the ship around. The four of us went to church and the boys sang with the choir (which is always entertainment) and this afternoon I did a little shopping (by myself) and got my hair done! Mike topped the evening off by making quesadilla's.

The pictures are of the boys making me bird-houses. Pink is my favorite color. Nick choose to paint his birdhouse pink. He got pink paint all over his t-shirt. I could hardly take him seriously this evening with pink paint all over him.

All three of my boys made an effort today and I really appreciated it. Rarely do I feel like Queen Bee but today they made me feel like it.

Bathtime "relaxation"

It's Friday night and I'm tired. We went out for pizza and when we got home the boys headed out to the shop with Mike. I figured they were going to work on my Mother's Day present. I grabbed my "PEOPLE" magazine and bolted to the bathroom to take a bubble bath. I had just started reading about Brett Michaels and his brain hemorrage when I heard the pitter-patter of little feet and they were headed straight up the stairs to the bathroom door. I knew by the "pitter-patter" the footsteps were Nick and sure enough........
Nick: "Mommy, what are you doing?"
Me: "I'm taking a bath."
Nick: "Well let me in, I want to keep you company."
Me: "You can keep me company from outside the door and why aren't you in the shop with you dad and brother?"
Nick:"You need to let me in because I have to poop."
Me: "Go to the downstairs bathroom to poop."
Nick:"I have to go bad, let me in."
Against my better judgement I let Nick in. I get up on my knees in the tub, turn the door knob to let Nick in when Jay rounds the corner and gets a full frontal view of me in all my glory. Jay is horrified and of course has to call more attention to the entire scene. Meanwhile, the door is wide open, Nick is actually going pee instead of poop and Jay is now in the bathroom while my jammies, underwear and tampon are all out in full view on the floor of the bathroom. I was waiting for Jay to pick up my tampon and say, "What is this, mom?" Thankfully he was obilivious to the tampon! Needless to say I didn't get the relaxing bath I was hoping for. Oh well, there is always tomorrow night.

Guilt

I always try to use my blog as a way to document the funny things in my life so this blog may seem like a bit of a downer so I do apologize in advance. I am not in a bad mood and I certainly have many things to be thankful for but there are a few things that really make me feel guilty almost daily and tug at my heart.
My 60 year old father will be living the rest of his life in a nursing home and I'm finding I'm lucky to get to the nursing home for a visit every 5 days. After I put the boys on the bus the other day I had a thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if I didn't work and I had from 8:00 - 10:40 every morning to run errands, visit my dad or get something done at home? I would pick up a cup of coffee for me and a donut for my dad and visit him everyday. And that leads me into the second thing I feel guilty about, the constant daily rush. If I were to make a list of the few things I wish the boys don't remember about me or their childhood it would be how much we rushed around. Rushing around makes me impatient and short tempered.
I try not to dwell on these things because it is what it is. My dad is in a nursing home and I have to work. I can't control either of these options. All I can do is do the best I can everyday and I certainly give it my best effort. I just feel my best effort is consistently medicore.

I want a new brother

With my two boys one never knows what to expect in terms of how they will treat one another. Again, I'm not going to sugar coat it, I spend 90% of my time putting out fires between them but sometimes they are really nice to each other. I remember fighting with my sister and how much she got on my nerves (but I love ya now, Kim!) but there was a difference I have noticed between sisters who fight and brothers who fight and it starts with the letter "P" and No, it's not penis, it's PHYSICAL! Tonight, we took a walk to the beach and Jay picked his brother up, wrapped his arms around his waist and threw him into the water. Nick, who didn't mind getting wet, but wanted to do it his own way, started crying which always prompts Jay to call him a baby which makes Nick cry even more. See the domino effect I deal with day in and day out? At that point I end our time at the beach and we start walking home. Nick stopped crying and his hurt feelings turn into rage. He turned his tear streaked face to mine and tells me, "Mom, I want a new brother, Jay is mean." On the other hand, on Nick's birthday Jay was so disgustingly nice to his brother I thought at any moment someone would jump out and tell me I was on America's Funniest Home Videos. Jay and Nick have their moments and when they are nice to each other I try to praise them, especially Jay. Jay is usually quick to help his brother out and when I need something done for Nick at school (taking treats in, returning a library book, bringing in a large show and tell) Jay happily takes care of whatever request/need I have for Nick which I appreciate.
I hope one day Jay will appreciate Nick's extroverted nature and Nick will appreciate Jay's introverted nature. Differences between siblings is what makes the relationships so interesting. In some ways, I am Jay and Kim is Nick and no one can quite make me laugh like Kim!

Happy 4th Birthday Nick

Nick had a great birthday. The theme was penguins! He is nut-so over penguins! He was pretty spoiled and got very nice gifts. His favorite is his new fishing pole that he got from his dad.

I have to say I was a little miffed because anytime anyone would ask him who got this or that for him he would always say his daddy did! By the time someone asked him who made his birthday treats that he took to school and he gave Mike the credit I drew the line and said enough is enough! Ha.

Happy 4th Birthday, Nick. May you always make us laugh and see humor in everything, like you do now.