ever wonder how pirates sleep?

could you hear my heart breaking?

first, you need to know this about my big boy...
he does not like messes:
sticky fingers,
messy mouth,
a drop of honey on his shirt,
doesn't like ANY of it.
needs to be wiped off RIGHT away.
you also need to know that in the one and a half years he has been potty trained, he has had one accident,
and it crushed him like a crunchy fall leaf.

today: i pick him up from preschool.
it is a 4 minute drive from our house.
he says, "i have to go potty"
I say, "almost home bud"
we chat about lunch
"mommy, i really have to go"
followed by tears
through tears he admits to "going right now"
he was out of control crying
my heart broke

he is not the kid who needs reminded to go, who needs to be told, he doesn't tell us, he just goes
no high maintanence

i tried consoling him with words, but he would not be consoled
we got home and cleaning him up helped
but still makes me so sad, because it made him so sad.

a reminder of being a mommy or a daddy:
we feel joy in their joys
we feel sorrow in their sorrows

fun family weekend

yes, i know the weekend is not over yet, but tomorrow is yard work and cleaning house, so really, the fun part of the weekend is over...

but fun it was...

Friday was movie night...Spiderwick was the movie of choice accompanied by pizza and popcorn! Not sure which the kids enjoyed more, the movie or the jiffy pop on the stove top.

Saturday evening we did one of our favorite things, which we do once a month: we go to this wonderful, delicious and family owned Japanese restaurant, Sukiyaki, and then we walk across the parking lot to 'Mr. T's Delicate Donuts', (no lie, that's the name and they are so, so good!). The kids LOVE this and they eat every bite of food, and of course their donut! olivia's fave, besides the ginormous chocolate donut, is the miso soup!

Tonight, in between massive bites of his pink icing cake donut, mason exclaims,

"I'm killin this thing!"

And as soon as he was finished, belly full and sticking out, he says,

"Our work here is done!"

he cracks us up...and he knows it! (uncle jeff comes to mind here..was the same way!)

Kelly sums up our japanese/donut excursion by saying: "nothing like some raw fish and a long john to get you through the day!"

well said honey! until next month...

who are the people in your neighborhood?

don't know why, but that song has been swirling in my skull for two days now...haven't heard it, seen it, just showed up.

so, tell me, who are the people in my blog neighborhood? who is reading this? please come out and tell me who you are! who are the people meeting me each day?

jump start my heart

just wondering...am i the only one who jumps and sometimes lets out a yell when you pop open a tube of refrigerator biscuits?

'cause tonight, i yelled. there, i said it. not embarrassed, just wondering...am i the only one?

surely not...come on people...

kids say the darnedest things...

anyone who knows mason personally knows our little 4 year old has quite the dialogue going with all of his toys 24/7. The latest:

Triceratops to another dino: "don't touch my horn like that!"

back in the saddle

Today was a big day. It was the first day of first grade...make that the first day of the next 16 years of school for our big girl! She was giddy this morning and it lasted throughout the day, as I got to peek in on her with her being at my school now! Woohoo! She was pretty stoked about daddy taking her to her class this morning too!

...but before class, there was a little art to tend to on my boards...recognize the spongy sea creature?

Since school is back in session, that means our little mason is spending his days with the preschoolers! He has adjusted VERY well to napping at school and informs me every day when I pick him up that there is no need for a nap at home, he already took one! And today, they made little houses in arts and crafts and the teacher asked each of them who they lived with in their house...all of them responding family of course...not mason! He says he lives with pirates! SO up on the wall is his adorable house which says "I live in Oakdale with pirates" Some days I feel that way buddy!

1 day down, 181 to go baby!

do you think anyone would notice?

I have a plan...I am bringing naptime to the 6th grade! Just a power nap! I am sure I could find the research to support this! Almost everyday this summer, I was a willing participant when my cuddle bug toddler would say at naptime, "mommy, lay down with me" How can I say no!? So I would, and 30 minutes later, wake, fully refreshed for the rest of the day!

So today
my first day back to work...
came home...
crashed...
snoring...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I love my naps...goodbye naps. See you next summer!

My only excuse...

...is enjoying the end of our summer! I go back to work tomorrow and school starts Wednesday, so we have been enjoying every minute of summer that we have...that is sort of why I have not posted. That, and I have about 10 posts going in my head and wasn't sure where to start.

Since I return to work work tomrrow, I had a day largely to myself yesterday! (Thanks honey!) I started the day off with a pedicure, always nice, except if you are the one doing the work! Then I cashed in on a birthday gift from Kelly, an hour massage! No words to describe that! (Thanks again honey!) Then I met the kids and Kelly for lunch at a local burger joint and I was off again. A little retail therapy! Perhaps one of the best things about back to school: back to school clothes shopping! Woo hoo! I have vivid memories of doing this as a kid, except back then, we went mid July and put everything on lay-a-way! Which I could have used yesterday! Oh well! I had fun and was recharged when I got back home!

As much as I hate to see summer come to an end, as I do so much enjoy my days off, I am now perfectly understanding of why my mother always said, at a certain point in the summer, that she was happy for us to return to school! Lordy, it seems like the last two weeks, Olivia and Mason have found new, creative, and all around annoying ways to get under eachother's skin! So, yes, I am saying it! Thank goodness school starts soon! Perhaps their being apart during the day will create a new oneness when they are together. Yeah right!

Well, I promise not to go so long without posting next!

I leave you with this: last night Kelly and I played Scrabble, which is not an easy thing to convince him to do! This is what the board looked like 3/4 of the way into the game! We could NOT build onto the other side and we got to a point where we were not enjoying the game! Kelly insists it was all because of the first word, made by me...ovum. I agree, creative, but crappy to build off!