Sacrifice

I don't like fast food.  But today was the grand opening of the brand new McDonalds - the one we've been watching construction on for several months.  And my boys were so excited.  So what did we do for Family Home Evening (instead of carving pumpkins)?  You guessed it!  We walked to Micky-D's and ate junk.  Along with everybody else in town.

Was it yummy?  Nope.

Was the service good?  Nope.

Do I have a belly-ache? Yep.

But most importantly...

Was it worth it?  You bet!

(Seriously, do you see those happy faces?)

Honor thy father and thy mother...

Bob (that's my mom) told me to update my blog.  So I guess I'd better do it.

So what have we been up to in the past week and a half?  Well, after the puking stopped...

Jake lost another tooth.  I think he looks pretty goofy.

Camden lost scissor privileges.

I did three photo shoots.  Cute kids, beautiful teens, happy wedding!

We decorated for fall.  Tomorrow those pumpkins become jacks!

I got a new dress.  I love it.  I also love Cam's artistic photography skills.

Or maybe he was dropping the camera.

Oh, and there was soccer.  Lots of soccer.  And PTO.  Lots of PTO.  You get the idea.

Lesson Learned

It is NOT a good idea - no matter how tired you are - to leave the clean laundry in the basket instead of putting it away.  You never know who might puke all over it.

A Perfect Day

I sure do love spending time with these two funny little people.

Today was a good day.  Complete with perfect fall weather, a fun fall festival, pumpkins and pumpkin muffins, and snuggling under blankets to watch some good ol' Charlie Brown.  Oh, and two funny little boys.  Best part. 

Cows-N-Corn

Have I ever mentioned that I really miss my kiddos while they're at school all day?  Well, I do. But not today!

No, it's not because they were so naughty last night that getting rid of them this morning was a pleasure...  What could possibly give you that idea?

Really, I didn't miss them today (well, at least not Jake) because I was with Jake all day!  We went - with all the first gators - to a working dairy farm today.  And when I say working dairy farm, I mean working dairy farm.  None of this cutesy pet the cow, pet the goat, here's a pumpkin type of stuff (though all that was present - and enjoyed - as well).  No, we were there with the cows.  We learned about the cows and how a dairy farm operates, we made - and ate - butter from their milk (yummy!), and yes, we smelled 'em, too!

It really was a great day.  Now we've got to find a time to get back out there with Camden in tow.  Because he will love it!  But until then, we'll have to be content to drink lots of milk. Because now we've met the cows that supply our local Bloom.  And really, how cool is that?!

Enlightening

Anybody who doesn't think going to school is an enlightening experience should have been there with me today.  Because I have to say, I learned a lot!

I learned that Jake made his teacher nearly piddle in her pants the other day when it was his turn to tell the class a little about himself and his family.  Apparently he shared his "how I named my grandparents" story (it is cute, but he must have put a lot of expression into it to make it so funny).  Then he went on to talk about his dog, who "is supposed to hunt lions but she doesn't know how to because she's never been to the zoo."

Jake's teacher thinks he's a very bright boy. Yeah, that's one word for it.

I learned that Camden is, for lack of a better word, very observant.  As I was sitting with him at lunch today, he got very excited and pointed my attention to another kindergarten class. "Mommy, see that girl in the green shirt?"  "Yes.  Do you know her?"  "No.  She's pretty."  He then didn't take his eyes off the pretty little girl (he was right, she was pretty) until she left the room.

So now I know what my boys do at school.  Jake works on his comedy routine while Camden scopes out the girls.

Enlightening.

High-Low

This has been one of those days.  Full of highs and lows, and really not much in between...

HIGH: Camden is taking care of the kindergarten class pet this weekend.  Thank goodness said pet is a stuffed teddy bear because...

LOW: Honey Bear was MIA for a good part of the afternoon.  And since Honey Bear had been at the soccer field for the morning, let's just say the Mommy was starting to feel just a tad bit panicky.

HIGH: We found the bear!  He was behind the couch.  Silly bear.

LOW: Meltdowns due to some seriously tired boys.  And when I say "meltdowns" I mean meltdowns!

HIGH: The workout I got while dragging two melting boys through the neighborhood.  I'm gonna be sore tomorrow!

and...

HIGH:  JAKE SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL EVER IN HIS SOCCER GAME TODAY!!!  We're pretty excited.

So that's one more HIGH than LOW.  I guess that means it was a good day!

What I've Not Yet Shared.

It's October!  It's my very favorite month!  So in honor of this most wonderful time of year, I'll be making my favorite pumpkin chili for dinner.  And I'll finally be sharing a really great story...

Remember how I said soccer is taking over our lives?  Well, it's pretty much the truth.  We spend a lot of time out at the soccer fields.  And this story - like everything in my life right now - takes place at, you guessed it, the soccer field.  Dun dun dun...

Camden was playing a soccer game, tearing up the field, scoring left and right (really, it's true), when Jake appeared by my side in great distress.  Two girls were calling him names on the playground.  Being the compassionate mother that I am I told him - in between cheers for those Tigers - that he could stay by me and watch his brother play or he could go back to the playground and deal with it like a man (okay, I didn't exactly say the "like a man" part, but he got my drift).  He chose to be a man.

Unfortunately, he took my "be a man" advice a little too far.  No sooner had he run off and I turned back to the game than I noticed a commotion over at the playground.  It was Jake beating up on some boy!  My sweet little Jake!  Yeah, that was quite a shock.

I ran, I pried, and eventually I got the six-year-old off of the much bigger kid.  He was steaming mad.  Seriously, I saw the steam.

Apparently, he had gone back to the playground and confronted the girls about their name-calling.  One of the girls had a big brother.  A big brother who decided to step up and deal with the bratty little kid who was mad at his sister.  And I guess the big boy getting involved was just the straw that broke the camel's back.  It was all too much for Jake and he hauled off and went after that kid.  Never mind the size difference.  Never mind the fact that Jake's never hit anyone other than his brother (not very often, I promise!).  Never mind that he's always the one who comes out hurt when he does hit his brother.  I guess he's never been quite that mad.

We've discussed.  We've disciplined.  We've moved on.  And he says he won't fight again.

But here's my question.  Is it wrong that I am secretly impressed and proud of the fact that my six-year-old took down a ten-year-old?  Because he did.  And because, well, I am.