Carson, Briana, Melanie, Rayanna - OH MY!

Wheww! This week is probably my most busy week of the year! I don't expect another one like this until late October/beginning November when I'm getting ready for Halloween and 3 birthdays!
My (bossy) big sis planned a vacation to North Carolina. She was heading to see our niece, Savannah, graduate high school. I happily agreed to keep my 2 year old nephew, Carson for the week. John and I owe her BIG for all she has done over the years to make our vacations and "moves" possible! Problem was, John was out of town the week before (while school was on a 1 week break before summer session started!!) and would be out the week of, ugh! Luckily a very close friend of ours that we have known and LOVED since she was 7, Briana (now 18!), agreed to ride to Texas with Heather and Carson. The trip would have been rough for Heather without some help with him. Briana was also a TON of help on all of our outings. We went to the sprinkler park, train, park, pool, Sonic, and Snow Cones - each several times! I handled it alone when we got home and she hit the Internet for hours! Briana is so easy. I don't have to entertain her at all and forget she is even in the house. She keeps busy and quiet on her phone, watching TV and playing on the Internet. She also helped watch Carson during his afternoon naps so I could take Mikey to speech therapy. Needless to say, I'm not sure how I would have done this without her! I'm so glad these 3 boys got to spend this time together. I really hope we get to do it at least one week a summer from now on. They really are BEST cousins! Hope Briana's available! Or maybe Heather will "host" next year! Ha ha ha ha!! THAT was funny...to me!
So Friday rolls around and my best friend, Aunt Melanie, and her 8 year old daughter, Rayana, are knocking on the door at 8:30 am! Mel left Tulsa at 4:30 am and didn't make ANY stops!!!! That's WILD for a preggo lady! She walked through the door and straight to the potty though! I'm glad she got here early because we had a ton of activities planned for the kids and a roast in the crock pot that would be ready for lunch. My boys LOVE Rayana! Also, Briana happens to be Melanie's niece. So, does that confuse you, or make it ALL "come together!?" Ha! Heather and I actually met Briana through Melanie, years ago. Mel & her sister, Tiff both have a history growing up similar to mine & Heather's. So, we all formed a quick bond and have felt like family ever since. Mel also has a son, Tony (12), who had basketball & church camp, so he stayed with his Granny. Mel is preggo with number 3, Londyn Grace, and we are anxiously awaiting her arrival in August! Her baby shower is coming up next weekend in Tulsa. I'm looking forward to going and hoping to make the trip to Tulsa ALONE! I feel like John just might make that possible after all my hard work the last 2 weeks. Ha! Mel & I have another close friend, Leah, that lives in San Antonio and is also coming to the baby shower. She came in on Friday night so she could ride back to Tulsa with Mel on Sunday. We had a HOUSE FULL but we had a BLAST! It took all of us women to keep up with the kids while we were out. John didn't arrive home until Saturday, so he missed most of the fun!
Heather arrives back sometime tomorrow. She will stay the afternoon and then head back to Tulsa. I guess life will slow back down (to a VERY fast pace) by Tuesday!

MEAN Geese/Ducks!!! Part -1

So, I wrote a bit about how the geese/ducks seemed a BIT aggressive the other day after swim lessons. Well, today.....CRAZY! I started taking video but it was VERY difficult because things went so crazy so fast that I couldn't get the camera in focus and take care of the boys at the same time. So, I apologize that this video is blurry but the audio is fine. In Part 1, you can see the goose actually "GOOSE" my girlfriend, Laura Roskin's, daughter, Isabella, on her behind! Poor sweet Bella! Also, Matthew insisted on wearing his flip flops to feed the ducks. I told him it was a bad idea because he has never wore flip flops before and isn't used to wearing flip flops. ALSO, because I didn't want him to slide down the embankment into the pond while feeding the geese. They proved to be THE wrong pair of shoes to wear while trying to "run for our lives!!" It didn't help that he insisted on wearing them on the wrong feet and refused to put the correct toes between the "separator thing!" THAT kid, ugh! He's going to put me in an early grave! A couple of funny things they said today were: Toe-Toe - "Mommy, my skin is awful itchy. I think I need a shower. Papa he says...you know what papa says, Mommy? Me- "What does he say Toe-Toe?" Toe- "He says I gotta get in that shower and wash AAAALLLLLLLL the itch off of me- right down that drain! Yup, that's what he says." Mikey ate an enormous dinner. He had pizza for dinner. Then we were out running errands afterwards and asked for cheesecake from Chick-fil-A. The kid is so skinny I can't tell him no. So, we went through the drive-thru and he asks for chicken too! He ate all 8 pieces and his cheesecake! So later, after his bath, he says to me: "Mommy, my tummy not feels so good." I said, "well, maybe you need to do potty." Mikey - "No, it just needs a rest." He looks down at it poking out so full. Mikey- "Mommy, is my baby in here? When am I going to have my baby?" The conversation went on and on. He mentioned something about how Jesus makes you in your mommy's tummy. He spoke about my girlfriend, Vanessa, who we saw today at playgroup, and how she has a baby in her tummy. Wanted to know why the baby isn't ready to come out yet. Said it was because Jesus was still giving it it's leg. He asked again when he would get his wife and baby. He wants to feed it milk and applesauce. He wants to sing it a lullaby and when he is busy I can help feed it. Oh, and he wants to know where it will sleep. I told him, "IT WON'T!!!" At least he and his brother hardly did!

MEAN Geese/Ducks!!! Part -2

MEAN Geese/Ducks!!!

Last day for swim lessons

Thursday was Mikey's last day of swim lessons. I think he was ready for them to be over. He had the same instructor as last year and did well again. After each lesson Mikey would ask me if I was proud of him. He would say, "I'm amazing, am I?" I think having the same instructor helped him since he is shy. On the first day he asked me, "Mommy, is her going to remember me?" "Mommy, does her like me?" Of course my answers to both questions were, "YES!" He had two sets of twin girls in his class and one other boy that was a bit older than him. Toe was SO happy swim lessons were over for Mikey. And because he was so difficult while we are there, I was happy too. Each day I had to think of something to reward him with if he would go without being TOO incredibly difficult. There is a park near-by that has a TON of duck and geese. He just LOVES feeding them. A couple of times feeding them was his treat if he could behave during the lessons. I could have taken him during the lessons but really wanted to watch Mikey. Plus, Mikey really "needs" me there to make him feel more comfortable. Toe has a favorite goose that is HUGE. There are several huge ones and they all look exactly alike to me. Somehow, the kid can tell them apart. I noticed that his favorite has babies that he always stays close to - maybe that's how he knows. Once, when Toe was trying to persuade me into going to feed the ducks DURING the lesson, he said, "M-m-m-m-m-mommy, m-m-m-m-my big buddy needs me. He's, he's, he's berry so hungry. Y-y-y-y-y-you know he has a BIG tummy and he needs me to feed him." These ducks/geese are enormous and VERY friendly- to the point that they seem aggressive. When we went to feed them they all rushed towards us (at least 30 or more)quaking and squawking at us with their skinny mouths wide open. It was VERY concerning but I tried to act like it wasn't. Toe just started tossing bread to them. Next thing I know, more were swimming across the pond toward us. Mikey got on top of a rock and fussed the entire time. Toe and I kept feeding them until it was all gone. I think we could have had 5 more loaves of bread and it wouldn't have satisfied them. The pond is full of hungry fish and turtles too. If the ducks that are in the water don't get the bread quickly enough, you'll see it disappear under the water. As we headed to the car they walked after us fussing the whole way. A car stopped as one duck was crossing. As the car went by the duck turned around and bit at it's tire! Ha! Toe thought that was just hilarious! Mikey was just hollering, "let's get out of here, Mommy!" Never a dull moment with these boys!

Brothers

5 silly "Toe-Toe" faces

Mikey

The train, AGAIN?!?!

It seems the boys' favorite thing to do these days is to go ride the train outside the Fort Worth Zoo. So, since school is still on break and John is STILL out of town, that's what we did on Wednesday. I think Mikey likes it because he gets popcorn and I allow him to split a "red pop" with me. THAT'S a rare treat, for both of us! "Toe-Toe" loves it just because he loves trains. On Wednesday, "Toe" begged me to give Mikey's train hat to the conductor! THAT didn't happen though! Matty likes to hold the tickets and then hand them to the conductor. He likes to scream, "ALL ABOARD," when it's time to take off. He also LOVES to blow his whistle when we go through a crossing. Mikey is getting so big, it OFTEN makes me tear up when it comes to my attention. When the train stops for a short concession break, I let him take two dollars to the snack shop window and ask for "2 popcorn's, please?!" He is SO shy! He begs me to do it and then gets SUPER nervous when the train comes to a stop. He nearly backs out each time. However, after he accomplishes the task, he walks back over to us so pleased with himself! I always tell him how great he is and what a helpful job that was to me. While John was out of town this week he helped me feed the dogs. I asked him to do it and he never fussed about the responsibility. I tell him he is my biggest boy while daddy is away and I need his help around the house, with brother and to protect us. He is SO happy to take on that role and takes it very seriously. Mikey is at a stage where he is so sweet and eager to please, hope it stays that way forever!! Ha!

Summer is HERE!

Well, this week the boys are out of school and John is out of town all week. Actually, Matty had a makeup day today due to bad weather this winter. So, at least it's a short week with the make-up day and Memorial day! Also, they start a summer program next week!
Today, Mikey and I dropped Matty at school, went by the Montessori we are enrolling Mikey in this fall to turn in the enrollment papers, had speech therapy and then headed to Six Flags. The Six Flags part was a surprise to Mikey though. John got Mikey and I summer season passes to Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. Today is one of the first days they are open during the weekdays. So, since it isn't as busy, I took Mikey to get our pics taken for our passes and ride a few rides before we needed to pick Matty up from school and then head to swim lessons. We were SO hot at the park. Mikey asked to ride a water ride that I wasn't too thrilled about. Of course I did it anyway! We rode it and got DRENCHED! Mikey just loved it and even stood on the bridge afterwards to catch more water from the boat after us. That kid is so easy going, fun and appreciative. He is always easy to take to those sort of places. I can't say the same for Matty! He's sweet....but SPICY! Seriously, he is so difficult sometimes, it gives me anxiety to take him places!
After all our activities we hurried home to get things ready because we were hosting an evening playgroup. We had a few minutes to spare so I had Mikey pose for a few pics that I'm posting. Also, posting one of him after the water ride today. I offered to take his wet undershirt off and put his top shirt back on. It was SO stinkin' hot that he asked to keep the wet one on. I have to say, that water ride was JUST what we needed to cool down.
So after we ate dinner with our buddies, we all headed to the neighborhood pool for an evening dip! I can't tell you how easy the boys were to put down after their bath! I think I flat wore them out......it's typically the other way around!

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Friday started off with John taking Mikey to breakfast and then his last day of preschool at Harvest Christian Academy. We are really going to miss the teachers in the preschool area! We feel like the elementary program isn't a good fit for Mikey. Hoping the Montessori school we chose for him will end up being the right decision. Lord knows we put a TON of thought into it!
Friday was also Matty's day home alone with Mommy. I can't tell you how much that boy looks forward to the individual attention! You would think he is in a family of 10 children or something! Anyway, he asked to go to the Ridgemar Mall play area and to have pizza upstairs in the food court. We spent the morning and early afternoon there and then headed to pick up Mikey from school at 2. I knew Mikey would be a little down about the last day of class so I took both boys to ride the train outside the Ft. Worth Zoo. It was SUPER hot outside - TX style humid heat! The train ride is about 40 minutes and as long as it keeps moving the breeze makes it very nice. There are a ton of fun things to see along the way.
Friday night John took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese while I went to dinner and a movie with my girlfriends. Our girlfriend, Vanessa, is a HUGE Sex and the City fan so we saw the new SATC movie that just came out. The night before we had girls night at my house and all rummaged through my closet to find an outfit to wear. I'm looking forward to going through their closets next! Anyway, as usual, the four of us had a BLAST together and enjoyed the movie even though the reviews stunk!
Saturday, Uncle Joe was in town and stopped by for a quick visit. The boys sure liked that. They always say to us, "Uncle Joe is TOUGH!" Afterwards we went to the neighborhood pool. We weren't there long before Matty was ready to leave. I honestly think he likes me taking him home while John stays with Mikey so he can have more alone time with Mommy. THAT BOY! He wanted pizza so that is what he had for lunch. We took some lunch up to John and Mikey at the pool so their tummy would allow them to stay as long as they wanted. The boys wanted to sleep with me and John on Saturday night. We typically don't allow that. Sometimes we let them fall asleep and move them to their own bed. This time, we let them have our bed and each slept in theirs.
Sunday started off with John changing the side that the door opens on my new dryer. I just got a new washer and dryer and forgot to ask the men to do that when they were here delivering it. John is SO handy! Then we rushed to get ready for church. Matty was in a mood and didn't want to go. We've traveled 3 weekends in a row and I think he just got out of the routine. Anyway, John told him if he was good that we could go to the train afterwards. So, he acted like a little man and we went to the train. Only, one ride wasn't enough. He made us get more tickets and go again. He tried for 3 but John realized it would never be enough so we had to disappoint him and head home. He kept telling John and I, "I- I-I-I live here Mommy." I said, "You do? Where do you sleep?" He said, "in the cage with the orange train." There is another train that is behind a fence "resting." He says the funniest things. That's one reason why I started this blog. I have to start writing those things down!
So, it's Sunday evening and John has done a few "honey-do's" around the house and let me take a short nap. He now has both boys at the pool. It's nice a quiet around here.......NICE & QUIET! Tomorrow Mikey has swim lessons. I will probably stay home with Matty. He REALLY does not like going. Anything that is for Mikey and not all attention on him......he isn't interested in and make it SO hard on me. Really, he gives me such anxiety over that sort of stuff. That's the reason he is in school while I take Mikey to Speech Therapy on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Guess that's it! Just want to mention how thankful I am to all the service men and women who have served our wonderful country. They make it possible for me to have such a wonderful life with my boys. I'm lucky to wake up and do all this over again tomorrow!