Mary

If you read my blog you probably know my good friend, Mary. Mary was my college roommate and I love her dearly. About a year ago she sent an email out to her friends asking us to use three words to describe her. My curiousity was peeked but I didn't hesitate in my response. I told her I would use the words, genuine, god fearing and I couldn't quite put this into one word but she has this presence about her, people LOVE her, she is nice to everyone. She treats everyone with kindness. I've gotten into a taxi with her before in Chicago and she's got this gorgeous smile. She'll get into the taxi, greet the taxi cab driver with her stunning smile, ask him how he is doing and tell him where we're going. No matter what kind of a person it is or what kind of mood they are in, Mary always gets them to smile and share some part of their day with us. It's amazing. Mary has never been married and through the years many of her friends have gotten married and had babies (myself included). Mary was always excited for each and every one of us. She knew God had a plan for her and she demonstrated the art of patience. Fast forward to early winter 2010, I remember vividly getting a call from Mary. I was driving the boys to school and I could hear it in her voice, she had found "the one." I kept up with her as winter turned into spring and finally in August I told Mike we had to get to Chicago and meet this John! I had a hunch this was the guy God had meant for Mary. On a warm summer night in August the four of us went out for dinner. I was in the bathroom with Mary and tears filled both of our eyes, it was so obvious, this was the man she was going to marry. This past Friday I visited Mary again. As I walked in the door she announced to me her and John were indeed getting married. Through our tears I listened as she excitedly shared with me that John had proposed in August and they kept the secret to themselves, just the two of them until they announced it to their friends and family over Thanksgiving. They are flying to Maui in a few weeks and getting married. No one is going, it's something special for them. She excitedly told me that with the money they are saving from not having a "big wedding" they are flying first class - How cool is that? So if you read my blog, please pray for their marriage and a safe trip to and from Maui!! Congrats Mary, lots of love to you and John.

My weekend consisted of.......

Celebrating my niece's 3rd birthday. I especially like this picture because she is scared of almost everything, fire included. She so wanted to blow out her candle but was a little hesitant due to the small flame. She came through right about the time when Nick said he would blow it out for her. Ha!

Baking cookies with Nick and Lauren. They loved it! Jay decided he was too old, except when they were decorated. At that point he decided he wasn't too old to eat them!

Thanksgiving with my grandparents and their 7 (the 8th one wasn't there) great grandchildren. Notice how all the children are sitting and smiling and notice my two. As usual my boys are acting like the crazy boys they are!

My weekend also consisted of eating way too much and spending way too much. I wouldn't dare get on the scale tomorrow but I had to no choice but to balance my checkbook tonight and I realized I cut myself a little short. Yikes! I had so much fun on-line shopping this weekend that I will be hurting until pay-day - Needless to say my lunch box and I will need to get reaquainted which will also help me in the weight department too.

Mike spent his weekend fixing things. On Saturday afternoon, after he put the tree up, that he had to fix, I asked him why he was so cranky. He testily said, "All I've done this weekend is fix all the stuff you guys have broken." I wanted to argue with him about that but then I realized it was true. I calmly patted his back and told him to keep up the good work!

I'm thankful for............

Two boys who make me laugh everday. The picture above is of Jay in my pink robe!! He was cold one morning and recently grew out of his own robe so he was desperate. Ha.

Here's Nick, doesn't he look like a Johnny Cash in the making? We did have a very nice Thanksgiving. My mom's extended family came. It's hard to believe that all my cousins have kids now! And in March Kim will have my grandparent's 8th great grandchild, how exciting!!! I'll post more pictures from Thanksgiving later.

Jay's Angler Fish

Jay has a project due tomorrow wherein he had to write a detailed report on an angler fish and produce a model of the same. I was really proud of him. He wrote his report at school and I could tell he had researched it and put a lot of time into it. He brought the report home so I could type it up with him. Today he worked on making the model of the fish and it turned out great - Don't you agree? Mike helped guide him along but Jay did the work - It does help that Mike has a work-shop!

Nick's dreams

There are so many things with Nick right now that I wish I could just capture and keep forever. I've asked him several times if he could be age 4 for about 2-3 years, instead of just a year! He always shakes his head YES! But I know that isn't going to happen - come April 30, he'll be 5 and he'll be headed to kindergarten next fall. It hardly seems possible.
Nick has been struggling with bad dreams lately. There are so many times I wish I had blogged when Jay was little because I vaguely remember him having bad dreams at age 4 or 5. Last night when I put Nick to bed he cried a little (which isn't like him) because he was scared to fall asleep in fear of having another bad dream. Nick sleeps with a dozen or so animals so I put all his animals around him and assured him his animals would keep him safe. About 30 minutes later I went in to check on him and he was almost asleep but he opened his eyes and said in his little 4 year old voice, "Mom, I'm trying to have good thoughts. I'm thinking of the giraffes at the Peoria Zoo." What a sweet and innocent statement. If we adults could only get to our "giraffe happy spot" when we are stressed, what a world of difference it would make! Love you, Nick.

I got your back

Jay and Nick are typical brothers - They fight and because they are boys they physically fight. I remember fighting with and picking on my sister BAD (sorry Kim, I love you) when we were kids but we didn't physically attack each other. Boys are a whole new ball game when it comes to sibling rivalry. Jay loves to pick and pick at Nick until he explodes like a volcano! He turns bright red, grunts (like the kind of grunt women give in the last stages of labor, it's lovely hearing it from a 4 year old) and he curls his hands into fists and charges at his brother. Sadly, as angry as he gets, Jay usually defeats Nick within seconds. I've said in my blogs that there is no one meaner to Nick than Jay except when someone else does something to Nick! It's that old saying that you can talk "smack" about your family as much as you want but nobody better do it.
Recently, there was an incident where another child intentionally threw a football directly at Nick and it got him right in the face - Nick cried. This kid's biggest mistake was he didn't realize Nick's much older brother had witnessed the event and he struck back. He took the football and WHAM - Let's just say the kid got a taste of his own medicine. No more tears were shed, the kid was just shocked that Jay had seen what he had done and that was the end of that! So even though Jay LOVES to terrorize his brother, he always has his back - which is the only way brothers should be.

Oh, the things kids say

This morning as I was helping Nick get his shoes on, out of the blue he announces to me, "Mom, I do not say the words poop, penis, turd or butt crack at school." I patted him on the head and told him to keep aiming high! What else can you say to that?
The past 8 days have been crazy (hence why I have not kept up on my blog). First off, I've been sick and finally went to the doctor only to find out I have bronchitis. Then, remember Jay's eczema last week? I'm happy to report that is 10 times better. Nick has been sounding just like, me, however. He's hoarse and has a wet, lingering cough. I took him to the doctor and sure enough, bronchitis so we are two peas in a pod. But as we were waiting in the waiting room a heavier set woman came in and checked in at the front desk. Nick loudly says to me, "Look Mom, that lady is having a baby!" I wanted to die. The moment I had always dreaded just happened, not that I was surprised it was Nick. To be fair to Nick, he's only 4 and he truly thought this woman was having a baby. And so it goes until next time.

Jay's Box Car

Third grade has brought many changes but one big change is chapter books. My mom bought Jay his first chapter book this summer (Shiloh) and ever since then, there's been no turning back. I've really enjoyed reading subjects that don't pertain to trucks, tractors or nascars. Currently, I am reading Jay the first book in "The Boxcar Children" series and he loves it! I love it when I finish a chapter and he begs me to keep reading. Switching gears though, tonight I got a 31 party delivery so I had a rather large box left over. Jay took the box to his room and said he was going to use it for his gerbils. After I put Jay to bed, I later went in to check on him, without my glasses or contacts mind you, and discovered he was sleeping in a box on his bed! For those of you who haven't had the "pleasure" iof seeing Jay sleep, it's something to see. He still sleeps in the fetal position and is about the most flexible kid I've ever seen. He's like those clowns in the circus who can fit themselves into those small suitcases. That is how he looked in that darn box. When I discovered Jay all folded into the box, he cheerfully announced, "Mom, it's my own boxcar!" I had to point out to him that although I admired his creativity and imagination, he is not an orphan (like the boxcar children) and doesn't need to sleep in a box.
On an unrelated matter, Jay got diagnosed with eczema today. His skin is a mess. I spent $75 on oral meds and ointments for him. And what a growth spurt he's had. When he was last at the doctor's in June he weighed 64 lbs. Today, he weighed 72.5 lbs! Wow! Mike stressed that he'd weigh too much by next football season which means he wouldn't be able to carry the ball - this is just something I never thought I'd see Mike stressed about, considering he didn't know the difference between a football and a baseball until his son started playing football!

Demands

There is no doubt that as a parent there are a lot of demands placed on you. There are a lot of times, however, when I wonder if I possibly could have two of the most demanding children this side of the Mississippi! Tonight my children seemed to crank their demands up a notch and most of their demands were placed on their dad. It all started when Mike picked the boys up this afternoon. As is always the case, the first demand of the afternoon is homework, snacks, etc....Mike then had to get dinner started and mow the grass. When I got home from work the taco meat was simmering on the stove and he was mowing the lawn, Way to go, Mike! I set out fruit cups for the boys to go with their tacos, Nick demanded an asian pear instead. I gave the boys milk for dinner - when Jay finished his he demanded 7up. Don't get me wrong, when I use the word demand, the boys aren't disrespectful or rude when they ask for these things, they just need something or change their minds (especially Nick) constantly! After dinner was over, Mike discovered our breakfast bar chair had a scratch on it and a bad one at that. Then Jay has some skin disease that has gotten so bad I think it will require a trip to the doctor. Mike spent a good 20 minutes applying neosporin on him and clipping his finger nails to prevent him from itching. After all that, per Jay's demand, a.k.a. request, I made the boys strawberry smoothies. Mid-way through Nick's smoothie he started complaining that his straw didn't work. So it was back to finding a new straw for Nick. The boys are in bed now and Mike is researching the internet for a part for Jay's 4 wheeler which is broke down, again! My whole point to this is there is just a never ending to-do list of demands when it comes to parenting but when I put Nick to bed and he insists on sleeping with all his animals or when Jay asks me to read "just one more chapter, mom," in his favorite book I tend to forget my never ending t0-do list and I'm reminded of the reasons why the rewards of parentings outweigh the demands.

The Chili Supper

I was recruited to help with this year's Boy Scout Chili Supper. I was happy to do it but let me tell you, I have a whole new appreciation for the people who run/organize this event every year. This year was a little different because the woman who normally ran the event turned it over to a friend of mine and myself so it was just the two of us this year. We got the day started by running to Sam's to buy all the food. Then we went back to the school, set up 5 roasters in the teacher's lounge and started dumping can after can of diced tomatoes, beans, chili powder, etc. into these 5 roasters. We were running about 1.5 hours behind. I called Mike to touch base with him mid-day through the day and said we were very busy and it was a huge under-taking and he had the gall to say, "What's the big deal, it's a chili supper?" REALLY!! Yeah, a chili supper for hundreds of people.
The day progressed and we somehow got everything done and prepared by 5 p.m.. We were a little nervous about the chili itself as it was a little spicy but we still got lots of compliments on it. By the time I crawled into bed at 9:30 (after being on my feet preparing chili for 13.5 hours) I was exhausted! It was all worth it though. A lot of money was raised and it was a good experience for me to actually see the event un-fold from start to finish.

Family photos

Recently we got family photos in the backyard. However, I have spent quite a lot of time trying to download the pictures on my blog and I keep getting an error. I think my computer is "sick" or something. This was the only picture I was successful or rather had the patience to download.

Can I possibly get any hotter?

Don't let the title of my blog deceive you. I'm being totally sarcastic!! You see, over the weekend I got sick - one horrendous cold. I stayed home sick from work on Monday. I went back to work today but let me tell you I am blowing, sneezing and hacking. My co-workers are having a hay-day spraying Lysol and using clorox wipes on whatever I touch. But picture this, last night when I went to bed, I first put on my pink fleece jammies, then I proceeded to wipe Vicks under my nose to help me breath, then last week I found out my corneas are scratched so I have to use this goop on my eyes every night before I go to bed. I applied my goop to my eyes which made me look like a deranged racoon and I smelled like a Vicks factory and I got into bed and according to Mike proceeded to snore so loud he claims he never got a minutes rest. I mean, really, can I get any hotter than I was last night? Highly doubtful.