A Good Impression

Camden had a friend over for a few hours today.  Her name is Addie and she's a sweet little neighbor girl.  The two of them will be heading off to kindergarten together in the fall.  And Camden, who isn't usually all that great in social situations - as in, he runs and hides from most "friends" - LOVES playing with Addie.  He asks to see her often.  So today, having Addie over was a real treat.

And they played together beautifully.  They played inside (with the bedroom door open - it's already a rule when girls are over) with toys.  They played outside with balls.  They played inside with silly hats.  They played outside with sticks.  The best part of the day - for me, at least - was watching Camden teach his little buddy how to bat.  He carefully showed her how to hold the bat, even positioning her hands and helping her line up her knuckles.  He showed her how to hit that ball off the tee, and even ran over to adjust the tee to a better height when she had some trouble.  It was seriously the sweetest thing.

Okay, now that I'm all gushy about my sweet boy... it's about time I get to the silliness that I'm really excited to share.  So, while Addie was here, and as they went back and forth between the backyard and the inside toys, Camden took off and put on his shoes - countless times - BY HIMSELF.  Remember that.  It's important.

Well, after Addie left to go home, it was time for us to leave to go to the grocery store.  (Ugg. I'd been putting that trip off for a while and we were not going to make it to Monday...)  So I asked my boys to please put their shoes on.  And Camden started whining.  He needed "help!" Now, this is a constant battle with Camden, who for some reason thinks that at almost-five-years-old he should still be getting help with his velcro shoes.  But I had watched him do it just fine all afternoon, and reminded him of that fact...

Camden didn't miss a beat: "That's because I didn't want she to know I can't do it!"

Well, he may not have great reasoning skills (or proper grammar), but at least he knows how to make a good impression with the ladies.

Pirates at the Table

Camden doesn't come to dinner very often.  But we do get quite a few guests who look a lot like him.  The other day we even got to have a pirate over!  A very cute pirate, if I do say so myself...

And yes, that is a hot dog on the table.  Our pirate guest thought the table was a better spot for his food than on the plate.  You know, pirates have a different set of manners than the rest of us.

Antidote

In case the cold, rainy weather has you down, here's a perfect antidote.  Not quite sure what he was doing, but I'm so glad he was doing it!  Thanks, Della, for making me grin!

The Graduate

We have a graduate in our house.

That's right!  The boy who sang "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" all morning and all afternoon - but didn't open his cute little mouth once during the program at school - graduated from preschool today.  It's been a wonderful experience for all of us, and I'm sure Camden is going to miss being fawned over by all those pretty teenaged teachers of his!

Apology

Dear Uncle John,

Please accept my sincerest apology.  On behalf of my son, who attacked you - fists flying - the night you so kindly took him camping.  Let's just say the boy sleeps like his father...

One Year Later

Remember when we did THIS and y'all wanted to turn us in to the EPA?  Well, I'm thrilled to finally reveal to you exactly why we did it:

Now we can play, garden (the veggies are planted and growing on the other side of the yard), and eat in our beautiful backyard.  Oh, and let's not forget... I now have a safe place to banish the boys!  Yippee!

The Kindergators

Want to see a whole lot of great big grins?

Go check out the audience at a Kindergarten

(or, as we like to call it, Kindergator) performance.

It just doesn't get any better than this!

True Love

Camden fell in love yesterday.

With a girl named Annie.

Now, he loved Annie's friends, too.  There were the goats (Mommy fell in love with Andrew). And Danielle the Sheep, who seemed very hot in her thick wool coat.  And the softest bunnies ever.  And the pig.  And let's not forget the donkey.  We liked to brush him.  He liked that, too.

But Camden loved Annie best.  She carried him around that field more times than I can count. And he was a very happy little boy.

Thank you Miss Ellie for bringing your friends to visit us at preschool.  What a treat!

For more horsey-lovin' click HERE.

Photo Shoot

Where do they come up with this stuff?

I mean, seriously.

All I wanted was a nice picture of my two cute boys.

And this is what I got.

I ask you, where do they come up with this stuff?

Oh.  Maybe that's where...

Like how I've got my dad's forehead going on?  Yeah, cute.

Mom's Day Gifts

I got a few notable gifts for Mother's Day this year...

My boys picked out and helped plant my annual "Mother's Day Garden."  Beautiful.  It makes me happy.

Camden wrote a note about me at school.  My favorite part was where he stated that I am 6 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds.  I can honestly say that I've never heard that one before!

Both boys slept in until 8:30 in the morning!  I do believe that's the latest we've slept since Jake was born almost six and a half years ago!  A very pleasant morning.

Dan called and let me ramble on and on about absolutely nothing.  He's nice to me like that. Oh, and then the boys started beating on each other and Dan got to hear the whole smack-down.  So he got something out of the call, too.

And last, but definitely not least... We had a bit of an explosion.  Oh, who am I kidding?  We had a HUGE explosion.  Of little teeny tiny filling beads.  Out of a basketball pillow that got attacked by a ceiling fan.  I'll let you figure that one out on your own.  So I'll be cleaning that one up for some time, I'm sure.

All in all, it was a great day!  Hope yours was fun too!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to some pretty wonderful moms!

There's Bob, who gives great cuddles!

There's Granny, who plays a mean game of water-baseball!

And there's Bubby, who makes a killer milkshake!

Thanks for taking such good care of us.  We love you so much!

"More Alarms at Night"

Okay, so I totally stole the title of this post from one of the greatest books ever written. If you've read it, you already know what book I'm referring to. If you haven't read it, you should. Oh my goodness, it is so good. Hey, I have an idea! Let's see how many of you know what book I'm talking about! Leave a comment to show us all just how cultured and enlightened you really are. (And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry. You're probably more cultured than those of us who do.)

And now I guess it's about time I get down to the business of this post. I want to share with you just what kind of a man I married. Are you ready? Here it is! I married a man who can make me crack up laughing in the middle of the night. Okay, to be honest, I married a man who can make me crack up laughing just about any time of the day (except maybe early in the morning, but that's my fault, not his). But in the middle of the night he can do it without even trying. In fact, he can do it without ever even knowing it happened. Pretty impressive, huh? You know how he accomplishes such an impressive feat? He's asleep!

Yes, that's right, my handsome husband is a very entertaining sleeper. And I'm starting to feel guilty about keeping him all to myself. So today I'm ready to share. But just on the blog. He's still all mine elsewhere. Thanks for understanding. So, without further ado, I bring you...

My Favorite Example of Why Dan is Funny at Night:

We had been married about two months (at the most) when I woke up in the middle of the night because my cute new husband was clearly upset about something. Here's how it went...

Me: “What's wrong?”

Dan: “There are TRIANGLES all over me!”

Me: “What?”

Dan: “There are TRIANGLES all over me!”

Me: “What?”

Dan: “TRIANGLES!”

Me: “What are you talking about?”

Dan: “You know, like on PLANTS!”

It was at this point that I started to figure out the truth. He was dead asleep.

Me: “Oh... okay...”

And it was at this point that he, in all his asleep-ness, started to figure out the other truth. I was laughing at him.

And so, because nobody likes to be laughed at, especially when there are triangles – you know, the kind that are on plants – all over them, Dan started to get a little upset at his sweet young wife (that's me). He got out of bed and stomped out of our tiny little bedroom and into our even tinier little living room. He plopped down on our tiny little loveseat (we didn't have a sofa), curled up and, I thought, settled back into a more restful sleep. I had, of course (because this was way too funny to miss), followed him out there, but upon seeing him settled, I headed back to bed. I'll admit I was giggling pretty hard.

So it really shouldn't have surprised me that my handsome husband got a little angry. As I climbed into bed I heard, “I am NOT asleep!”

I giggled a little harder. “Okay!”

The next morning, Dan was confused to wake up on the little couch. And he thought the triangles were as funny as I had. Though for him it was just a story. Me, I got to live it!

So there you have it, folks. I'm a lucky girl because I get to laugh at my husband in the middle of the night. Sometimes he takes over the dog's bed. (She's not a big fan of that one.) Sometimes the numbers on the clock just don't make any sense (to him – to me they're perfectly clear). And once or twice he's run us aground. Poor guy. Those ones really frightened him. But I still laughed. I mean come on, you've got to admit it's pretty entertaining to follow your husband around the house while he looks out each window wondering how he got the boat SO FAR aground. There are houses and cars out there, for goodness sake!

Okay, I'll move on. But you better believe I'm giggling again.

Oh, and I've done my fair share of silly things in the night. If I'm feeling really generous, maybe I'll share some of those soon. I guess it's only fair.

PS. Don't forget, if you know where my title comes from, let me know in the comments! Seriously folks, it is the best book!

Question

April 2006

Sensitive Jake & Mischievous Camden

In case you didn't know, I have two boys.  Okay, I realize that you did already know.  But you might not know just how different my two boys really are.  So I'll tell you.  They're very different. And in case you don't believe me, here's an example:

This morning I was at the end of my rope.  Some people I spend  a lot of time with (those people may or may not be my children...) were having a lot of trouble listening.  By the time we piled into the car to take Camden to preschool, I had had it.  And I started in on a lecture.  Now, I'm not a lecturer.  I honestly think this was the first - maybe second - time in my tenure as a mother that I've actually gone off in such a fashion.  So I'm not totally confident in my technique, but I think I was doing a pretty good job, considering.

And here is where it gets good...  Jake started crying.  Big crocodile tears.  He was really sad and sorry.  (And of course I started feeling pretty guilty.)  Camden, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice the lecture.  Or feel sad.  Or sorry.  Instead, he noticed the funny bird flying around outside, that he had forgotten his sunglasses (why he needed them on this rainy day I'll never know), and everything else EXCEPT for Mommy's lecture.  (And I didn't feel the least bit guilty, by the way.)

So my question is this: How can two little people, born to and raised by the same parents, treated the same, and who spend all their time together (and are best friends too!), be SO different?  And how does the mommy of both little people teach them BOTH to behave?

P.S. Everyone felt better by the time we got to the school.  That one-minute drive did us all a world of good.  

Freaking Out

Jake stayed home sick today.  No, don't worry.  The child is perfectly fine.  His best friend came down with some nasty virus last night, and I kind of freaked out.  You know, the whole swine flu thing.  So I spent a good deal of the night touching both boys' foreheads, just to make sure nobody was getting sick.  And then this morning, Jake coughed.  Yes, that's right, he coughed... a total of three times.  And even as I called the school to report his absence, I knew it was due to the pollen that covers every surface in Virginia right now.  But I kept him home anyway.  Hey, don't judge!  I already told you I kind of freaked out.

I'm back to normal, (mostly) calm Jen now.  And yes, I know I've got issues.  But my boys think that's great - they had a blast today!

Pretty & Sweet

I took a pretty picture of a sweet little girl.

I'm so glad I finally got to meet little Victoria!

P.S. I thought we were going to lose her.  I probably should have mowed first!

In Pictures

Since I'm sure you're wondering, I thought I'd share a bit of what we've been up to lately.  Let's just say it's been busy!

1. I got to go on a field trip to The Richmond Children's Museum with Jake and all the rest of the Kindergators.  So much fun!  And lots to investigate and explore.

2. Seattle buddies came to visit, so we dragged them to the Natural History Museum.  So much happiness and fun!  Belky's wonderful.  She even likes to hold giant grasshoppers.  In fact, all the girls (Belky, her two little beauties, and yours truly) all held big bugs.  The boys did not. Interesting...

3. We were chased by this killer squirrel.  Or maybe he was just really friendly.  I think there's a fine line between the two.  At least when it comes to squirrels.

4. The boys were reunited with Seattle buddies, too.  I'm now working on arranging Camden's marriage.  I'm feeling pretty confident since he's still talking about her two days after she left.  Of course, by the time they get married he's going to have to start saying her name.  Right now, he likes "she" better than "Elena."

5. Belky and I are the same height.  It's not the reason I like her, but it doesn't hurt either!

6. We celebrated SBL's Opening Day by standing around a football field on a very hot April day.  I was so proud of our team for following directions and being such good little baseballers!  We also had our first game and those Sidewinders made me the happiest coach ever!  Teamwork and sportsmanship out the wazoo!  A huge improvement since our first practice, let me just tell you!  Sorry no pictures, but that would be quite a challenge in my current situation... 

7. And finally, Camden took over my bed last night. I'm already feeling sorry for Elena.

You know it's picture day when...

... you walk into the bathroom where your children are supposed to be brushing their teeth, to find them instead brushing their hair - with toothpaste covered toothbrushes.

They wanted to look like rock stars.

Dinner Guest

We're so busy!  We're doing lots of fun things, even getting to see some fun people!  And right now I've already got at least two posts I should be writing.  But I only have a minute, so instead I'm gonna tell you that the other night we had a very special dinner guest...

Yep, Jason (the Red Power Ranger) came to dinner.  And as I took this picture he squirted.

Don't even bother asking.  I am NOT going to tell you what that means.

So, Jen, what did you do today?

Camden and I have adventures.

Well, since you asked... Let me just tell you!

This morning started out all nice and normal. Yeah, we're back to real life (aka school) after a fantastic Spring Break. So we got Jake off to school and Camden enjoyed his gymnastics class. It's a crazy-rainy day and I don't like going to Costco on crazy-rainy days, so we skipped that errand. I mean, who wants to load all that junk into the car – one box at a time – in the rain. Not me, that's who. So, instead of continuing on south after gymnastics, Cam and I headed back North. We decided on the way to stop and pick up some ice cream for our FHE treat tonight. Oh yummy!

And that was where my nice, normal (although way too rainy for my delicate tastes) morning came to an end. As Camden and I discussed just which flavor of ice cream we should get, I noticed that the bus we were following was awfully close to the double yellow line. “Hmmm... I thought. Glad I'm behind that guy.” And then I saw the speeding SUV. Coming the other direction. That was probably about the same time she saw the bus. And she swerved to avoid hitting that bus. But you know I already mentioned it was crazy-rainy, right? So she lost control. And Camden and I got to witness a pretty crazy accident. We almost got to be part of said accident when the SUV – now minus two wheels and quite a few other important-looking parts – came swerving at us. But we missed out on that part of the excitement. Bummer. Instead, once all the cars were stopped, I whipped out my trusty cell-phone (Dan will be so proud that I actually used it) to call for help and went to check on the drivers. So, long story short, both drivers were okay – though the SUV lady was stuck in her car and pretty shaken up – and Camden and I got to hang out in the rain for a LONG time. We talked to firefighters, paramedics, and police officers. The end.

We headed home. But since we still wanted that ice cream, we decided to go to the grocery store in all our cold, wet glory anyway. So we went, and we rushed, because have you ever been wet in a grocery store? Cold! And then, there we were in line, behind a nice pregnant lady. Who was in labor. Now I understand all those panicked looks I used to get when people thought I might pop in the grocery store or the gym. I love babies and all, and the process of bringing a child into the world is a beautiful (albeit kinda yucky) thing, but I really didn't want to be involved. And Camden? Yeah, not so interested in having that conversation today. You know what I mean? So you can imagine my relief when she headed home on her own power.  I'm excited for her, though!  I wonder how she's doing...

So, to recap. I watched an accident. I got wet. I watched a laboring mom buy a mop. I came home. That's what I did today. How about you?

Of Circuses and Coolness

My boys have, without a doubt, the coolest uncles and aunts.  It's true.  And I can prove it.

Yesterday, Uncle John and Aunt Maria took the boys to the circus!  No mommy.  I think that was the coolest part.  The boys agree.  The kids had a blast, and I really  think John and Maria did too.

At least I hope so...  They could provide me with some seriously cute nephews and nieces.  As long as my little hoodlums don't scare them off first!