FOUR

Today is Isaac's fourth birthday and in just a few hours we'll be hanging out with some friends at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to celebrate. Later on tonight we'll be celebrating with my parents at our house with pizza and cupcakes.

There is never too much celebrating when you are four years old.

In the back of my mind though I'll also be thinking about all those that perished or were affected by Hurricane Katrina four years ago. The say dame I brought a precious new life into the world. Bittersweet no? I reflected on some things about Isaac a few weeks ago, feel free to re-read every single word because you better believe I still have those feelings today. I cannot believe he's four years old already.

Happy Birthday Isaac, Mama loves you!

Yes, I'm that Mom

When the boys went to sleep last night they were hungry. You see, earlier in the evening at dinner, neither boy wanted to finish eating. There they were both sitting in front of pretty full plates, each claiming they were stuffed. Tired of fighting with them about eating I made a deal with them and sent them outside to play. They were very well aware that they'd get nothing else to eat until breakfast. And I meant it - NOTHING. Well you can guess where this is going.... When they came in a little while later to get showered and ready for bed, they were hungry. They wanted something to eat. So I did what I said I was going to do, I stood my ground and refused to give them anything to eat. As I was giving Isaac his hugs and kisses and tucking him into bed he was still crying about being hungry and I reminded him again about the deal we had made. And then I heard his stomach growl. I felt so horrible for putting him to bed hungry but I didn't cave and get him anything. I think they now know that I was serious about what I said. I'm mean yes, but man, I'm so tired of wasted food. :: :: Isaac had his first day of 'pre-school' on Monday and guess what? I didn't even take a photo of him. Because our daily routine hasn't changed at all, it seems just like any other day. I take him and drop him off at his current pre-school, and during the day someone from the district pre-school (which is in the same building) comes and gets him and takes him to his class for a few hours. When class is over, they bring him back and then he gets picked up in the afternoon once we get off work. While I do feel bad about this, I suppose I will have to wait and save the fanfare until he starts kindergarten next fall. :: :: Keven Jr. finished his first week of FIRST GRADE without any issues. His teacher did note in his planner though that he was 'chatty' but chalked it up to just being excited. He seems to enjoy it although you'd never be able to guess because he won't talk about it! When I ask him what he did during the day he gives me candid, short answers with no detail at all. Which is fine. Considering we haven't had any meltdowns or refusals to get up (on time!) and go to school at all is great. But then again we are only in week two.... By the end of the week Keven Jr. was obviously super tired and a tad bit cranky, which I expected to happen. Something though that I did not expect? Homework every single night with the exception of the weekend. Tell me, is that normal? :: :: Isaac's birthday snuck up on me this year. As in just today Keven and I threw together some ideas which quickly resulted in official plans for his birthday. Which is SATURDAY. Yes, this Saturday. Good thing our friends are flexible and spontaneous like we are and so far, I think it's going to be a great time. I just hope Isaac isn't too mad, he wanted to go 'ice skating' for his birthday and well, the zoo just isn't the place to do that. At least not in August. :: :: This morning after the kids were dressed, somewhere in between watching Scooby Doo and brushing their teeth, I was trying to track down Isaac's pajama's. I located the top of the set but for the life of me could not find the shorts. I asked Isaac several times what he did with them, but he kept saying he didn't know. I checked the hamper. Under the bed. In the bed. On the chair where he usually puts them...NOTHING. After some more poking and prodding Isaac finally spoke up and admitted that he still had them on. Underneath his shorts he was wearing to school. The silly boy put his shorts on over top of his pajama shorts. You see what I have to put up with?! More to come.....

And so with that, the summer ends

Today was Keven Jr's first day of first grade. Hard to believe that the summer is over, and that I am a parent to a first grader now. It's all going to fly by (even quicker) from here on out, isn't it? We went to Back to School Night last night to drop off his school supplies and meet his teacher. He very timidly introduced himself before he took off to wander around the classroom. He found his desk and put all of his supplies away and discovered that a few of his classmates were friends of his from Kindergarten. He seemed eager to start school again. He seemed excited. We then headed off to the cafeteria to have some ice cream before heading home. It was an early night. Because we were pretty relaxed during the summer with bedtime we've slowly tried to re-introduce early bedtimes again over the last week or so in anticipation of school. Both kids were sound asleep almost as quick as they laid their head on their pillow and getting up this morning was no issue either. I was shocked. We headed to school, parked and made our way to the meeting area to find his teacher. We hung out for a few minutes and soon the other kids started to arrive. And then the warning bell rang. I tried to give him a kiss good-bye as I was leaving to take Isaac to his pre-school class but he turned his head to avoid me. I embarrassed him he said tonight at dinner. He had homework to do tonight. A simple 'about me' type worksheet where he had to write three things about himself, and include a photo. Since when was homework assigned out on the first day of school? When I asked him about his day and what he did in class he replied with "we talked a lot and did stuff". His answer was typical and totally expected. I'm excited for the year that's ahead of us and curious about what he'll learn and excel at. When I peered into his classroom to see what they were doing after I dropped Isaac off he was sitting on his assigned number attentive and ready to go. I cannot tell you enough how excited I am for him.

Holy crap you guys, I am a Mom to a first grader!

Giving it ANOTHER shot

Hey everyone! It's a new month and another chance to enter the Greeblepix Contest over at Greeblemonkey so I'm going to give it yet another shot. I entered and made it into the finalist round last month but unfortunately didn't win (but thank you all who voted!). So who knows, maybe this month is my month? Here goes nothing! This is my submission for this month:

Wish me luck!

TIDBITS

Isaac has slept in his bed, in his own room, by himself now for five consecutive days. This also means that for five consecutive days? He's had candy for breakfast. With chocolate milk. I think we have finally taken care of the sleep situation, he seems completely comfortable in his own room now, and is even super proud of himself in the morning when he does make his way into my room. Now if we could only keep him and his brother from falling out of bed..... Keven Jr. lost a tooth last night. It's been loose for a while now, maybe a month or two, but the other day when he was talking to me, the tooth was jutted out further than the rest of his baby teeth. I took a peek into his mouth and noticed that his adult tooth was coming through already so I told him it needed to come out soon. He has a dentist appointment on Monday, I told him that the dentist would probably yank it out (which would HURT) if he didn't do so beforehand. Last night at dinner he was whining and crying about how his tooth hurt. He didn't want to eat his dinner because his tooth was hurting so I offered to pull it out for him. And he totally let me! About an hour later when it finally did come out, he giggled his fool head off and then raced outside with his tooth in a Ziploc to show all of his friends. At bedtime he put the baggie under his pillow and checked it first thing this morning when he woke up. He was happy to see that the tooth fairy did come, and couldn't wait to show his mouth off to his friends when he got to school. What's the going rate for the Tooth Fairy these days anyway? Speaking of school, we start Tuesday. I can't believe the summer is over. But I can't complain, we had a fun-filled summer. I'm excited for Keven Jr. and for what's to come now that he'll be in 1st grade and I'm as equally excited for Isaac to start speech therapy later on this month. It's hard for me at times to wrap my head around the fact that they are growing up so quickly. And I can't do anything about it.

To the 5 Boroughs

I mentioned in my last post that we had another run in with the wild donkeys (burros rather) but don't worry, no burros managed to stick there heads into our car this time. But boy was it a close call.

If you look closely at that photo, it's blurry. It's blurry because as I was snapping the photo and laughing my butt off, my brother slammed the car into drive and pulled away from the shoulder of the road as quickly as he could. My mother was frantically trying to roll up the car window to avoid a very close up and personal encounter with the creature.

Automatic windows only go UP so fast. Those silly burros. They have yet to disappoint me with the silly antics. I'm still laughing my tush off at the expression of the burro on the left. Part of the reason why we headed west into the mountains on Sunday was to track down these stubborn but sort of cute wild animals. My brother and his wife have a wild horse, and while they really wanted to see wild horses in Colorado on their visit, I told them about the burros (because I have NO CLUE about wild horses in Colorado) and they wanted me to take them to see them. Animal lovers you don't say?

I was really nervous that we weren't going to find them.

But we did.

They were way off in a field but that didn't stop us.

We parked the car and took off into the field towards the donkeys. Excuse me, I mean burros. It didn't take a few of them too long to get curious enough and before we knew it a few of them were heading towards us. They kept coming and coming and then there they were. Standing right in front of us. Rather close for that matter.

They were curious about us. We were curious about them. And I have to say for being wild animals, they were as gentle as could be. Both my brother and sister-in-law petted them. And when they started to get too close, my brother would nudge them in the head and they'd back off. Some paid us no mind while others, well they'd just stand there with this look on their face. One even got bored and fell asleep.

We slowly worked our way back to the car where my mother and father were waiting and the burros followed us the entire way. Probably didn't help any that my sister-in-law offered them some Ritz crackers that she brought with her from the car.

They sure do like Ritz crackers.

They ate the whole roll. We made a mad dash for the car when the cracker roll was empty and then took off leaving the poor burros left on the side of the road to graze on prairie grass.

Oh those silly wild burros.

You make me laugh.

I heard my sister-in-law tell my brother today that she wanted one.

And since she mentioned it, I think I want one too.

Yesterday and Today

I don't think I mentioned this before but my brother and his wife are in town visiting. Unfortunately they leave tomorrow, which seems too soon, but we've had a nice time with them. I think they have enjoyed themselves as well. Why is it that time always flies when you have company in town? Keven Jr. went to his first sleep-over this past weekend. We dropped him off on Saturday afternoon at his friends house then headed over to my parents house for dinner. Isaac surprised us that night by sleeping through the night in his room - ALONE - and to reward him I let him have candy for breakfast. Yesterday we (me, my parents, my brother and his wife) headed west into the mountains to Eleven Mile Canyon. Keven stayed back in the Springs and hung out with Isaac, and headed over to pick up Keven Jr. from his friends house later that afternoon. The weather for our trip was perfect. The start to my day however? Not so much. We stopped at one point to get some gas. I headed into the convenience mart to get coffee and then we hit the road for our final destination. Shortly after we got back on the road, I got a phone call and for some reason I put my scalding hot coffee in between my legs to free up my hands. And yes, I know you are shaking you head at me, wondering why in the world I'd do such a thing because I'm sure you know what I'm about to tell you. I spilled hot coffee all over my lap. And let me just say this: IT WAS HOT. And I burned myself in my nether regions. It stung. I muttered bad things. I writhed and wiggled in my seat. I even unbuttoned my pants at one point to try and ease the sting. And man did I laugh. And my sister in law laughed. And my MOTHER even laughed. As a matter of fact she laughed her fool head off. And I can't blame her because it was funny. The stupidity was funny. The burn part, yeah not really. But I'm okay. I think I'm going to live. And as an extra added bonus? I didn't get any on the car seat at all. GO ME. To make matters worse, later on that afternoon while I was getting out of the car, my pinkie toe reached out to cling on to the door for some reason and let's just say this - I think I broke my pinkie toe. But I'm okay. And yes, I think I'm going to live. I totally know where Isaac gets it from. SERIOUSLY. Oh, and you remember the wild donkeys? Actually they are burrows. I (we) had another run in with them and made friends with them. They like Ritz crackers. Our day trip was followed up by a nice dinner out with everyone (Keven and the boys met up with us to eat) and then we all went our separate ways and called it a night. The boys were completely wiped out by the time we got home and Isaac was so proud of himself because he slept alone in his room the night before that he asked Keven to put his brothers bed back in his own room. For the first time EVER both boys slept in their own beds, in their own rooms FOR THE ENTIRE NIGHT. I however? Slept like crap. GO FIGURE. Today hasn't been much better. I had a particularly crappy day at work however things started to look up at 5PM when I started to head home. All the sunshine and rainbows quickly turned to sour however shortly after we had dinner. The kids were outside riding their bikes and out of nowhere a huge clap of thunder struck and I went outside to round up the kids. Not even five minutes after I got them into the house it started to hail. It started off small (pea sized) and gradually got larger and you guys, I was amazed. It was the biggest hail I've ever seen in my life. All four of us stood outside on the back deck under the overhang to watch it come down. And I laughed my head off at how the hail was bouncing like those 5 cent bouncy balls all over the grass, off the roof....off my finger for like 10 minutes straight. Once it stopped we collected some up and put it in a Ziploc bag. Oh yes we did - it's in my freezer as we speak. And of course I took photos of it. SEE: Pretty big I'd say? And just so you can see actually HOW BIG these little balls of ice were, here is one of those pieces compared to a quarter: Uh huh - TOLD YOU. Then Isaac got stung by a bee THREE TIMES. The end. Oh I won't leave you hanging like that. Isaac was out in the back yard playing with the hail, and throwing it at things and gathering up more by the handfuls when he suddenly started screaming bloody murder. I thought Keven Jr. pelted him with a piece of hail (SORRY KID for blaming you) but as Isaac's screaming didn't subside, I knew something else was wrong. I spotted a yellow jacket on his shirt right near his armpit and immediately sort of freaked. I swatted at the yellow jacket to get it off of him (my attempts were successful and then the bee got squashed to death) and tried to calm Isaac down as best I could and rushed him inside to ice down the sting and give him some Benedryl. He's never been stung before and with all of my crazy allergies I was worried that he'd go into anaphylactic shock so I got him to calm down (when he cries he gets all splotchy and puffy - LIKE ME) and started to look for symptoms of an allergic reaction. It wasn't until we pulled his shirt off that we realized the bee got him three times. We looked for the stinger (never found it) and put some calamine lotion on the three welts and then gave him some M&M's to make him feel better. And then we met up with my Mom and Dad, and my brother and his wife for ice cream. The end. For real this time.

Weekly Winners 8/2 through 8/8

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Photo Hunter: Low

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May 25, 2009

When my siblings were young? My father was serving in the United States Army. He was doing his job serving time performing duties that I imagine kept him away for long periods of time. Doing tours that had him off on foreign soil fighting wars for our country. For our freedom. The family that I would join many years later moved around from place to place to place during that time. They went where the military took them, and they knew nothing different because that's just how things were. :: :: :: :: I remember talking to my brother one time shortly after I moved to Colorado, I can't even remember now what we were talking about but I do vividly remember him telling me how weird it was to hear me talk about our father. Because life for my siblings growing up was very different then my life growing up. My father was present. By the time I was born, my father had retired from the military and was working outside the home full time. The only difference was that he'd come home every night. We'd eat dinner together. He would come to my school events and would take me and the neighborhood kids to Carvel's for ice cream in the back of his pick up truck. He was a part of my childhood. He was a part of my youth. I'm sure my siblings have memories of my father being around as they were growing up too, but it was different for them. And since I came along a lot later then they all did, there are a lot of things that I wasn't even a part of. I've just heard stories. I've seen the photographs that document those moments. But I wasn't a part of it. :: :: :: :: On Memorial Day this year we were in California visiting my brother and his family. On that particular day we drove into Sacramento and went to the State Capitol. Out on the lawn of the backside of the capitol building is a monument dedicated in memory of the Californians who died, or remain missing, that fought in the Vietnam War. We spent some time paying tribute that day along with others, wandering in and out of the circular memorial, looking at the flowers and the letters that people who visited before us left in honor of those hero's. I spent some time reading the multitude of names etched into the stone that went on for miles and miles it seemed. I wondered what each and every person that was there that day; what their stories were. Was it a family member that they lost? A friend, grandfather, uncle, brother, nephew, father? My Dad doesn't talk about his time spent in the military very often, but when he does? YOU LISTEN. It's those rare snippets in time that you so desperately want to know about, but feel guilty even being interested in because you know how painful it still is for him to talk about. Even after all these years. At least that's how I imagine it is for him. But for some reason that day he did talk about it. And we listened, clinging on to each and every word that he had to say about what he did in Vietnam. Where he spent his time, what roads he helped build, and so on. Tam Quan. Ho Chi Mihn Trail. :: :: :: :: I was born in October of 1975. And while the time frame that my father spent over in Vietnam escapes me at the moment, the war was declared over in April of that very year I was born. After we returned home from our trip I went back through the set of photos that I took that day in California and a wave of emotion hit me like it never had before. The realization that I am even here on this earth at all shook me to the core. My father is here still with us unlike so many others that simply are not. I'm so lucky. So damn lucky. :: :: :: :: I have so much respect for anyone and everyone that's either served or is serving in the United States military. Words could never express just how so. It makes me proud to know that my father fought hard for everything I have today and even though I wonder sometimes about his experience in the military, if he were to never mutter another word about it ever again? That would totally be okay. He's still here. And that's good enough.

Me, myself and Mr. I

In just a few short weeks you'll be four years old. FOUR. Already. How does that happen anyway? And dare I even think about how next year around this time you'll be starting kindergarten? I think I need a moment to let that sink in. Actually? Let's pretend I didn't even mention it. I can't stand to even think about it yet. You are simply growing up way to fast. You are tall for your age. Most people that see you are shocked to learn that you are still only three. That is if they even notice your height since most can't seem to get past your gorgeous, long, curly hair. I've lost count, the number of times a stranger has commented on how lovely your hair is. And to think you are going to eventually hate it.

Granted, I'm more attached to it then you are but still. I can't bring myself to cut it short. You keep saying you want a mohawk of all things. But in my mind that's just you trying to be like your big brother. And now that I think about it, I think you enjoy having longer hair. I've caught you several times over the last few weeks brushing your hair. You've even asked me to brush it for you. And when I stop? You ask me to brush it just a little bit more. It's moments like those that make me cling to the idea that you are still in fact, my baby. YOU? Growing up? NO WAY. Your knees are skinned all to hell, covered in band-aids that are days (maybe even weeks) old that you refuse to let me take off. I attribute your clumsiness to the fact that you can't keep up with your fast growing body. You are all legs and arms. But you still love it when I scoop you up and hold you just the same. You love to be tickled and have the most infectious laugh I've heard in a long time. You are always by my side stepping on my toes, wanting something to eat (GUM is your favorite foodstuff at the moment) or protesting what's cooking for dinner because you'd rather 'go out to eat'. You are always on the go. You love loud music, dancing and singing really loud. You are so much like me it's not even funny. People tell me all the time that you look a lot like me, but if you look closely you have your dad's features.

Well, except for the nose, the lips, the eyes and your fresh new freckles.

You have no fear and are always testing the limits on how high you can jump, how fast you can peddle your tiny little bike or how much food you can cram in your mouth so you can just outside and play already. You can't sit still long enough to watch TV, but you love to be outside. You love to play in dirt. You love being mischievous because you know how to get away it. That sweet little innocent face. How could anyone resist? You are doing remarkably well at 'school' and absolutely enjoy 'bring your bike to school day' and 'swimming day'. Your teachers love you and tell me all the time how well behaved you are. Except for that one day last week when you lifted up that little girl's dress. I am excited for you to start speech therapy once school is back in session, even though at this point I don't think you really need it anymore. I love how naive and honest you are, even if it stings a little to hear your realizations. Yes, you told me that I was fat. But then made me feel all better because you reassured me that 'you loved me anyway'. You talk in your sleep and still manage to sneak your way into my bed at night. It's not as often as it used to be but still, I would have thought by now you'd be okay with sleeping in your own room. But I guess not. And honestly? I haven't done much to keep you from doing it.

You are so sweet when you cuddle up to me and hug my neck tight. You are something else kid. And I wouldn't change anything for the world.

Ready. Set. GO!

It was just a few days ago that you even considered giving it a try. And that was only because we had the opportunity and some time to pass. And when I tried to help, you'd push my hand away and scoff at me. You were determined to do it on your own. Patience. Perseverance. Dedication. You had a goal in mind and you were bound and determined to accomplish it. And that's exactly what you did. You tried and tried and tried. Never once did you give up. He spent the greater part of Saturday afternoon and a bit of that evening practicing. And not to mention most of the day Sunday giving it a try as well. Monday evening he came inside the house extremely excited. He wanted me to come outside so he could show me something. Something he promised to be impressive. He was beaming with pride. And lo and behold, he had done it. He jumped on his bike, gave me a smile and pushed himself forward with his feet and took off. Just like that. He was riding his bike!

I'm still in shock that Keven Jr. is riding his bike around with all the neighborhood kids like a pro, especially considering he took that spill on his bike not but a month ago and broke his wrist.

He's so proud of himself. And he's heard 10 times over how proud I am of him.

So, so very proud.

Where the Crawfish come from nobody knows....

On Saturday we headed up to Denver for the day to hang out with some friends of ours. Keven went golfing for the afternoon with my girlfriends husband, and we headed out to a bird sanctuary with the kids to do some fishing. For craw fish. Now I wasn't really sure what to expect, I've never fished for craw fish before. So when my friend pulled hot dogs out of a plastic bag, I was confused. Are we grilling for lunch? We tied some fishing line around a little chunk of hot dog, and tossed the line over into the shallow water from the floating bridge we had stopped on . And we waited. And while we waited I kept a close eye on Isaac because I was convinced that at some point during the day, he was going to fall into the water.

And I didn't want that to happen because I didn't bring a spare set of clothes.

It only took a few minutes. We could see them coming from all directions, making their way to the hot dogs. The craw fish could smell the hot dogs! We even got a few nibbles by some decent sized fish.

The kids got all excited, watching and waiting anxiously for the craw fish to grab on tight so they could slowly pull it to the surface just in the knick of time to scoop it up in the net before it let go and dropped into the water with a splash. It takes skill to catch craw fish. Even more importantly, it took team work. We kept them captive in a bucket for a bit and eventually released them back into the murky waters when we decided to call it quits for the day. All in all I think we caught about 30 craw fish. And one tadpole. It was nice to see the boys having fun. It was nice enjoying the afternoon in such good company.

It's days like that that make me realize what summer is all about.

And it makes me realize that I don't want it to ever end.

Click Click Click Click

If you've been reading me for any length of time you probably already know this but photography? It's my hobby. Actually, it's my dream. When I'm taking photographs, I'm in my own little world taking in anything and everything that I can, in my own way. Through my lens. Through my photos. It's the best way to experience the world. It really is. Quite a few months ago I found my next door neighbor (who's a professional photographer) on Facebook. Shortly after we became Facebook friends, he invited me to join a 'Photo of the Day' group that he had started. All of a sudden I became a part of this group of experienced photographers and was feeling pretty timid about sharing my work with them. But then they started complimenting my photos. And giving me tips and suggestions on how to improve. And sometimes they had nothing to say at all. The support from this group of people has been quite overwhelming. I've been working on my portfolio and then I plan on visiting local merchants to see if they'd be interested in showcasing my work - just for visibility. Then hopefully I'll participate in a few gallery shows / craft fairs and eventually? I want to start my own business. I have no intentions of turning this blog into a photo blog, but I've decided that I'm going to post a photo a day. If you follow me on Facebook, well just enjoy the photo again.