vacation funnies

We're on a small vacation, to the Detroit area, and, believe it or not, we ended up at a park today. Not that Illinois doesn't have parks, but two kids that hadn't napped, stuck in a hotel room with one tired & hot mama, wasn't working. I wandered down the hall, got the rest of the group - one aunt, one cousin and her three kids (5, 3 and 1) and the other cousin's wife and two of their three kids (13 stayed behind, 7 and almost 3 went with). Off to the park we went.

We got lost trying to get there, but found it.

So, the two girls were swinging with my aunt - the girls are both three.

I was pushing the boys, both age 5, on the big kid swings. The girls were on the baby swings. There was also a girl, we discovered her 7th birthday is tomorrow, that was helping push the girls.

She offered to push The Bee, but she was yelling for me. My Aunt said, "thats okay, her mom will come help her."

The Girl asked, "Which one is her Mom?"

My aunt pointed me out to her, and then she asked, "Well, how come her hair is nappy (pointing to me) and hers (pointed to The Bee) isn't?"

My Aunt said that it took everything in her not to laugh. She didn't have an answer for her either.

And, what makes it even funnier, is that the girl that was asking only had 3/4 of her hair braided, and the rest hadn't been done yet, but had obviously been combed out, and was quite large too.

You've gotta love kids.

She's Three

This will be a quick one, with more to come later ... but my baby is three. Her birthday was officially this past Sunday. She finally made it ... after waiting for so long, she is three. She's wanted to be three since she was one and a half.

At our house, when you're three, you get to:

• Use scissors
• Use a butter knife at the table
• Take your first train ride (although she did this when she was younger, I don't think she remembers it)

You also get your first car.

You also figure out how to ride a bike with training wheels, which Mommy is so NOT ready for.

More to come on all of this ... but we're gearing up for another busy day!

Happy Birthday, my Peanut Brickle.

Seriously folks, serious anger

Keep your damn eyes open - be on the lookout for motorcycles!

Every year at this time, we get all the news reports and friendly reminders to "Share the Road".

Do it - share the road.

Here's my not so friendly reminder: In the past three weeks, one girl that I went to school with lost her father when he was killed in a motorcycle accident. Someone pulled out in front of him, and he didn't have room to stop.

Sunday, a boy that I watched grow up, now a young man, was killed when a car cut him off. Now I get to go and tell his Mother how sorry I am that she has to bury one of her sons.

Both were wearing helmets.

Hang up the damn phone, watch what you're doing and be freakin careful.

Jell-O wake up calls

We were all awake and laying in bed this morning, at about 6:30, when Q says:

"Mom, is this your butt right here? This big thing?"

"Yes, that's my butt"

Q proceeds to shake it for me, which is always a lovely feeling and a reminder of just how much kids and the aging process have affected the body

"Wow. It's jiggly. Like Jell-O."

"Thanks, Q. Thanks"

What were YOU greeted with this morning?

Desperate Housewives

The Disney version

interesting site

I was flipping through Time Magazine, and saw a full page ad for The Hilton Family be hospitable campaign. I'm not so sure how I feel about the Hilton daughters, but the blonde one has supposedly turned her new leaf while serving her sentence for whatever driving violation it was.

It's worth checking out ... be hospitable

With the world being what it is today, the idea of being nice for nice-ness sake is sometimes surprising. People tend to be caught up in their own world and not notice others. Let's hope the world is nicer than we think it is sometimes.

I need a hint

How do you all do it?

Aren't we supposed to be using all this technology available to us to chronicle the lives of our little ones forever and eternity? To share with far away friends and family?

Well, today we tie-dyed some shirts in the backyard. Now, I'll admit that this is the first time I've actually been responsible for the entire set up, from start to finish, but ack!

How am I supposed to be taking pictures of my kids, having a very good time, when I myself have gloves on, and am still supposed to be supervising the littlest one, who is still a bit wreckless and not the best direction follower?!?

And, then there are those of you that have sequential, start to finish, ready for the scrapbook pictures. I didn't get any. Not a one. I'll have pictures of them in their shirts, but not making them.

I suppose I could have woken The Husband up from his afternoon snooze and made him the picture taker ... but what does everybody do when The Other Adult isn't home.

These are the things I think about.

Any hints?

another sign that he's growing up

Up until today, every time we saw a certain piece of construction equipment, Q would point out the "extavader"

Today he pointed out an excavator.

And yellow is officially yellow, not lellow.

And Mrs. Rios isn't Mrs. Reeros anymore.

And today, "certainly is a nice day, Mom"

Yes, it was a nice day.

Speaking of birthdays - Q is Five!

Five. That number, depending on the context, can be a very little something, or a very big something. Well, around here, it is a very big something.

If it's five pennies, it's not too much. Five cars, that can be a lot.

It's been five years.

Five years ago, on May 8th, I was "due" with my first child.

On May 9th, I rode on the riding lawnmower hoping to get something started.

On May 10th, we went to the hospital because I thought it was early labor. It was, almost too early, but it was labor, so we stayed.

Almost 12 hours later, my son was born, via c-section, under general anesthesia, for face presentation. It was not pretty.

On May 11th, after a night that seemed to stretch on forever, I met my son for the first time. It was like coming home. I had waited for that moment for months, and then the night before, when we thought it was almost "THE TIME", I was so excited, and I just wanted labor to be over so I could push that baby out and meet him or her. I was ready to be a Mom.

The next Sunday was Mother's Day, my very first as a parent. What a great gift to myself.

In those first five days in the NICU, I learned so much about being a parent and the love, joy and heartache it can bring you. While he wasn't "sick", he needed to be watched to make sure the swelling in his face went down, that he didn't jaundice up from the bruising, his breathing was okay, the collapsed vocal cord was going to heal, he could nurse enough to maintain and gain weight.

I had waited to meet my baby, now I had to wait to bring him home.

Then we were sprung! I was in such a hurry to call my husband, that I mis-dialed a few times before I got it right.

He came back up and got us, and took us home. That night for dinner, we had chicken, and a salad and some grapes, and I napped on the couch with my son. I think that may have been the best Wednesday of my life.

And we've had five years of Wednesdays since then.

He has showed me so much, and brought so much to my life, in so many ways, big and small, heart breaking and hysterical ... I don't know if there is a way to thank your child for showing you the world, for giving you a new set of eyes to view things with.

Q is my blonde haired, blue eyed boy, tall and as skinny as a rail. My cuddler, my thinker, my planner. He is my serious one, but with a great sense of humor. He takes such joy in his every day, that you can't help but enjoy being with him. There are a million things to do and discover, and he is so eager to do it ...

My Rooney ... I am so thankful, every day, that I get to be your Mama, and that you made your way to me.

Happy Birthday Grace

Last weekend we celebrated my nieces sixth birthday, with a small party at her house.

She was born in the early morning hours of June 1st, and my brother in law and sister in law checked out of the hospital by 3 pm that same day, and I think I was holding Grace by 7:30. We did bring them some dinner, but in hindsight, it was probably a bit much, but I had yet to be a parent at that point in our lives. Up until my daughter was born, Grace was the newest baby I had ever held. For a variety of reasons, I didn't get to meet my son until he was over 15 hours old. And, thanks to Grace, my husband "got the itch" and he/we decided to go forward on the baby making front within a few weeks of making her acquaintance. Forty nine weeks later, Q was born.

Last Christmas, we decided to "make memories, not messes" with the kids ... so we told Grace we were going to take her ice skating, since, after all, she is going to be an ice skating princess when she grows up. She has also never ice skated in her life.

So, we took her ice skating last month, and she was actually pretty good at it. Very persistent, and told me, at around Lap 5, "Auntie Becky, I don't need any help". No more tagging along for me!

So, for this birthday, we decided to get her adjustable in line skates and the appropriate safety gear, so she could practice her skating. And, to go with it and keep it all contained and, in theory, out of the dogs way/mouth, I made her a totebag for her skates and gear.

Here is my first ever totebag, complete with a box bottom pleat!

I lined it in bright apple green, and used the same for handles.

The orange buttons are only for decoration, but I think I should have bought the next size up.

The rainbow colored ribbons were only to tie it shut until it was time to open gifts.

Have a good year, Grace ... enjoy being six, and don't grow up too fast!