Gosh, I haven't upated this blog in forever. Lots has happened. The biggest event was the birth of our third son, Brody Thomas on September 13th 2010. We are so stinkin' smitten with that little boy. He is so sweet, so beautiful and an absolute joy. A wonderful way to complete our family.




With the birth of a child comes upheaval for Mom. I am so grateful he is in our family. I can't stress that enough. However there is something about the whole pregnancy / post partum thing that really throws me through a loop. I have been searching my soul, wondering what's next? Lots of things running through my brain. Should I go back to work? Go back to school? More triathlons? Climb a mountain? Reunite with my Savior? Write more? Plan more small outings that give me something to look forward to? All of the above?

Over the past year I have really drifted away from my relationship with the Lord. Oh how I miss my Jesus. Asking the Lord back into my heart has been a wonderful first step to understanding my greater purpose. Back to church regularly, praying, bible study is the right start.

I have been dreaming about going back to work. Purely for selfish reasons. I miss having my own identity outside of the home. I miss having other things to think about other than when to do laundry, clean the bathroom, cub scouts, soccer, baseball, etc etc. Dont get me wrong, I am SO SO grateful I CAN stay home. I just feel restless. Maybe bored and lonely with the tedium of childrearing. I am trying to prayerfully understand these feelings.

The boys are doing great. Luke is in first grade. He is smart and such a deep thinker. Last week his teacher asked the kids to do a report on their hero. Without any prompting from us, Luke chose God as his hero. He says 'Mom God is the only one who should be my hero'. I was floored. He had to present his report in front of the class. Apparently it started a buzz. I am so proud of him I could burst. His teacher adores him. She believes he will being testing for he GATE program next year. Luke started cub scouts in October. He is so enthusiastic about his cub scout duties. He sold popcorn with zeal. When receiving his bobcat badge he snatched microphone out of the cubmasters hands and recited the pack law.

Wyatt is doing really well too. He loves preschool. I am impressed with how all of a sudden he seems to be excelling with his letters. Over the summer he learned how to swim. He f inally decided to ride a bike. After about a month of training wheels he requested that we take them off. Away he went!! Crazy. When that kid decides he wants to do something, he goes for it. It's great. I can't believe I will be signing him up for kindergarten in a couple weeks.

Brody is four months old. He is a great baby. I always heard that there was such thing as an easy baby... :) He sleeps well, is easy to calm and quick to smile. He is 14.5 lbs and 26 inches long. He has these incredibly big feet. I forgot what it was like having a baby around. We are truly enjoying every minute of his infancy. So sweet.

All in all, life is good!!!

Closet Space

If you asked our son how Kindergarten is going, he will shout GREAT! Well, um except for one thing. At Kindergarten the kids have to share a cubby. Luke shares with Lillian P. The other day, Luke comes home from school annoyed. After probing him a bit, he says to me 'Mom, Lillian P.'s backpack and lunch box are gigantic! There is NO room for MY stuff! He groans and says 'Girrrrrrllllllls...... they take up ALL the space'!

Hiding my snicker I couldn't help but think, get used to it kiddo. Women are notorious for hogging all the closet space. =)

Kindergarten

I can't believe our eldest child started kindergarten this week. Disbelief at how quickly the years have flown by mixed with disgust over the school districts ridiculously early start to the school year. What ever happened to starting after Labor Day? What's the rush? I feel robbed of three weeks of summer vacation. On another very self centered note, I am annoyed that we are now tied to a schedule. Every day we have to be up and out by a certain time. No more lazy mornings or optional school days. This is kindergarten!! The big leagues man! With homework and P.E. and everything! ACK. I am so not ready for all this!

Luke seems happy at Kindergarten but has not been sleeping well at night. I never new a five year old could develop insomnia. I am guessing it's related to his new routine. This morning he told his Sunday School teacher that during the night God told him to get out of bed and go read his bible. So he did. Hmmm.. Not sure what to make of that.

Snow Cone Makers

A few years ago Jeff insisted we purchase a Mickey Mouse snow cone maker. I rolled my eyes thinking it was an overpriced toy. My opinion of the snow cone maker changed when it proved to have healing powers. =) During those awful times when our home is hit with a nasty stomach bug (like NOW) the snow cones are fabulous way to keep everyone hydrated. Our kids will not go anywhere near Pedialyte even in popsicle form. However, they are all over the snow cones laced with another electrolyte drink! Something about the gradual melting of the ice that cures the cotton mouth without bloating sick tummy.

Mommy was first up to bat, now poor Wyatt. Wyatt who is still fighting a cold we all acquired two weeks ago. He is on antibiotics for a double ear infection, still has a cough and congestion, now this. Poor kiddo.

If I were to create a basket of favorite things for a new mom, snow cone maker, boogie wipes, otoscope, Motrin and a cool mist humidifier would be in there!

Donkey Business

Yesterday I came across an article called Donkey Business. The story discusses the condition of zoo's in Gaza. Obviously, being a war zone, many zoo's are in terrible shape. While I find that very sad, I found myself intrigued and humored by one resourceful zoo. They could not acquire a real zebra so they PAINTED a donkey.

Can you imagine what must have been involved to paint a donkey? What sort of materials does one use to paint zebra stripes on another animal? House paint? Dye? Then there's the application process. How does one convince a donkey to cooperate? Lots of carrots and sweet words or a heavy dose of some sort of donkey Valium? Then there the issue of roots. Every women who is friends with Ms. Clariol understands that in order to maintain 'the look', regular root touch ups are necessary. More carrots perhaps? I wonder how long it took to create such artwork? This donkey's pride must have really taken a hit. =) Are all the other donkey's laughing at this poor animal? Quick, someone call PETA. Oh wait, were talking about Gaza. They have bigger fish to fry.

The article touched on the smuggling process, a necessary evil to gain said animals for these zoo's. Apparently the smuggling tunnels can only accommodate items as large as cow. The article ends with Donkey zoo (don't remember its true name) stating how they would love to have an elephant but of course it would have to be a small one because the smuggler could never get it through. Are they serious?

This story is a gold mine for commentary.

Shirt Recycling

Right now I am loving the layered, long sleeve boys t-shirts I purchased last fall. Ya know, the shirts that look like a short sleeve t-shirt pulled over another long sleeve shrit.

My boys become attached to their clothing. Wyatt has been asking me for two weeks if he could wear his favorite cement mixer shirt. I have been denying this request because it has long sleeves and it's been 100+ degrees. The shirt choice seemed a tad inappropriate. This morning it dawned on me to cut the long sleeve attachment off, creating a perfectly acceptable t-shirt without having to sew. Now Luke and Wyatt have been bringing me all their long sleeve shirts! Duh, I should have done this sooner.

I guess when fall rolls around, I will be choosing shirts that can be converted later on!

Happy Heart

Out of the blue, Wyatt says, ‘Mommy I make your heart happy’. Oh yes, Wyatt you make my heart very very happy. Then he says ‘Mommy, I give you double hugs and double kisses’. He wraps his chubby little arms around my neck and gives me two squeezes followed by two fishy kisses. I gaze lovingly at his megawatt smile, shiny blonde hair as he bounces off, laughing that contagious little laugh. Ten minutes later…..

Wyatt saunters over and asks me some sort of absurd question, ‘Mommy can I jump off the roof’? ‘Uh, no way Wyatt’. Gnashing my teeth together I wait all of a nanosecond and then…. BAWAAAAAAAA!!! Seriously how does a person try to describe the wail of a pissed off three year old? Of course I am the meanest Mommy E-V-E-R and ruin ALL the fun!

I hate tantrums. Really, they are by far the worst part of parenting thus far. Give me disgusting bodily fluids down my new top over a tantrum any day.