The weekend: The Ups and Downs (alternatively titled: I smashed Josh's new car and it was summer)

I am exhausted.   We had quite the weekend.  It was the (very) rare summer weekend where we had NOTHING planned all weekend, save for a little shindig Friday evening at Rachel's house (for me).  We went way out of our comfort zone and tried for....spontaneity.   And we ended up doing a lot of (last-minute-planned) stuff and having a super weekend.  Except for the downs.

UP:
We started officially potty-training last Thursday.  I know for my children, we need to wait until they are emotionally and physically ready to potty train.  Max made that decision last Thursday and has been a rockstar since.  He has only had a couple accidents this weekend.  Super proud.  And surprisingly sad at the thought of being rid of diapers.




DOWN:
I've been in physical therapy and seeing an Orthopedic Surgeon for my left wrist for a couple months now.  It's been actually very discouraging for me.  I can't use my wrist in simple ways and I'm especially bummed about not being able to do yoga, because of the pain.  So Friday morning, Max poops in his underwear.  I carefully remove the undies from his legs but the poop makes it onto the floor instead of the toilet (graphic, sorry, that's what happens when you're in the throes of potty training).  I clean up the floor, grab the sheets off my bed to put them in the laundry and head down the stairs.  I take one step onto a blasted book sitting on a stair and fall down the rest of the staircase, injuring my left hand (the one for which I'm in PT).  My entire arm, from my wrist to past my bicep, was tingly/numb.  Why did it have to be the left wrist?! 




UP:
We had plans to go to the splash park on Friday but it was too cold (overcast and very windy).  Instead, the Ketchers came to our house and we had fun playing outside and eating lunch.

Oh, we also walked over to my brother's house that morning to visit him and Bailey.  Perfect way to start the day.





DOWN:
We put the kids to bed at 7:30PM on Friday and then I was heading over to my friend Rachel's house for a little facial party (it sounds wonderful and it was).  On my way out, I picked up the last remnants of our evening fun in the front yard- the scooter, lawn chairs, water cups- and I most certainly noticed Josh's brand new car (which had only been in our possession for 7 days) in the driveway.  Got into my car in the garage and went into autopilot.  Started backing up and then heard the most-awful sound of vehicle hitting vehicle.  I had driven into the brand new car, damaging both of them.  I held it together (and had fun) at Rachel's and then broke down sobbing when I got home.  I could not believe I dented and scratched a beautiful vehicle with less than 200 miles on it.  It made for a restless night of sleep and a grumpy Saturday morning.

UP:
The kids and I met the Rings at a nearby park later Saturday morning.  The weather was incredible, the kids had fun together, and I enjoyed Josh and Rachel's company.



UP:
Last minute, we decided to get together with the Fords that afternoon, evening.  We met up late afternoon at the splash park and then went to our house and grilled dinner.  At the splash park, Max made sure to water all of the plants, bless his heart.


The boys took a bath and Claire took a shower and then Laurie and I took them on a past-your-bedtime, pajama-clad walk around the neighborhood.


DOWN:
Max got kicked out of Sunday school during church this morning.  He made it 45 out of the 70 minute service before we got the text "you should pick up Max".  Little dude's gotta get the joke that this church thing is sticking around.

UP:
Pastor Bill preached on Acts 27 this morning.  It's about a major storm and then a shipwreck as Paul was sailing for Rome.  On the third day of the storm, they threw the ship's tackle overboard.  One of the thoughts Pastor Bill left us with was this:  What do I need to throw overboard?  What mind-set do I need to launch over the side of my life-boat?  I immediately thought about the damage I had done to Josh's car and how it still was making me sick to my stomach.  Then it hit me.  In a strange way, it was actually sort of freeing to have damage on a pristine, brand-new vehicle.  In a way, it felt like God's way of saying-- this is all just stuff!  It's JUST a car!  Don't be so attached to the things of the world.  Don't be so concerned with your earthly possessions.  And for the first time since Friday evening, I felt a weight lifted.  And I prayed that I would be ever focused on eternal matters and not earthly-- this is the mindset I wanted to throw overboard.


UP:
We went to the Mall briefly after church.  Max went peepee on the PUBLIC potty TWICE while we were there!  It took Claire months after potty training before she would go in a public restroom.  He even held it for 15 minutes after telling me he had to go, while I checked out at Yankee and found a bathroom.  And at that point it was 11:00AM and he hadn't gone since the evening before!  He got a special treat (below) for being so great with the potty thing.



UP (and some DOWN):

While our men went golfing, Ami and I took the kids to the splash park (yes, the same one, it's fabulous).  The good thing is that Max insists on going on the potty now.  The bad thing is that he insists on going on the potty even when it's the nasty one at the splash park and I thus spend more time in said nasty bathroom than actually splashing.  Between him and Claire, I think I made the trek across the park to the bathroom at least 6 times.  I would never have convinced him one additional time to do a "woodsy potty"...nope, not me!  Nevertheless, we had a fun time and enjoyed a picnic dinner with the dads once they joined us after golf.  We left there at 6:30PM and went straight to baths and straight to bed.


I'm thankful I get to do life with this Mama.

Father's Day and Summer Evening, in pictures

I don't have much time to type right now. The kids are sleeping and I have a list of things to do before they wake up and we head to Great Aunt Sue's lake house for the afternoon.  But I just edited some pictures so thought I'd do picture-full/(almost)word-less post.















Early yesterday evening we took the kids to Punch pizza for their first time.  Josh just loves that place and we've never gone as family.  The kids were well-behaved and we had an enjoyable meal.  We got home and played on our swingset for a long time.  Put the kids to bed and then Josh and I watched The Impossible.  Pretty much a perfect, ordinary night.

Splash Park and SingleMomHood

My close friend Laurie recently resigned from a very successful career as a District Manager for an apparel store to stay home with her two young boys.  I am super happy for her and happy for me because it means we can periodically hang out on my Fridays off!  Yesterday she met us at our favorite splash park.  The weather was perfect and one of the first sunny/warm days this summer.







Baby Cameron.








Max was in his happy place.





We took a break to enjoy a picnic lunch.  Seriously, these are the days that I dream of the entire year.  Sun, happy and well-behaved kids, good friends-- pretty much perfect.



Josh arrived home safely today from India.  I was a single-mom for the past 9 days (5 of which I was with the kids the entire morning, noon and night.  Going to work the other four days felt like a break!) and just as I suspected, I have renewed respect for single parents.  All in all, the kids behaved wonderfully.  There was that one Sunday that I thought I was going to either lose my mind or my soul. But the other eight days were great.  Yes, I did have to take a few tylenol almost every night after bath and bedtime, but that's probably a coincidence, right?   Honestly, it actually felt refreshing to have no focus other than the children.  We did lots of fun things- went to the cabin, played at the park, picked up froyo and ate it on our driveway, walked to Uncle Chris and Aunt Becky's house and played outside, went to the splash park, grilled dinner at Aunt Bethanie and Uncle Barry's (with Auntie Heather too), spent a lot of time playing outside our house and walking the neighborhood, and got haircuts all around.  These children are so precious to me!

Yesterday I was preparing dinner and Max walked up to me in the kitchen.  He brought me a cup of coffee from his kitchen (his favorite thing to do), looked up at me with his big eyes and said in the sweetest little voice, "Mommy, I'm going to EAT you.  And BITE your head....and FROW it in the WEFRIGERATOR!!"

Needless to say, I slept with one eye open last night.

Claire at 4 years

Claire turned four on April 25th so I'm a bit behind with her update.



Claire weighs 28.2 pounds ("less than 3rd percent", a.k.a. "not on the chart. at all").  She gained only 0.8 pounds in the past 6 months.  She is 37.5 inches tall (10th percentile).  Claire wears mostly size 3T in pants/shorts/some skirts. She wears a size 2T in other skirts and size 4T in shirts.  And she wears size 7/8 shoe.  Basically, she's a mini me.   And I love the below picture of her.



Oh, it's so hard to describe how wonderful and inspirational and frustrating challenging this little girl is. I have loved watching her personality and character develop.  Claire surprises me with how aware, considerate, and concerned she is of others.  I think it would be 'normal' for Claire to be self-centered and in her own little world at barely 4 years old.  However, she is not only aware but remarkably interested in the people and situations around her.  If she sees a child get hurt at gymnastics or the park, etc, she will stop in her tracks and be completely focused on the child until she feels comfortable that they are okay.  At dinner, she always asks Josh and I, "How was your day?" She wants to know who we saw, what we did, what we ate for lunch.  She says, "Okay!  Mom and Dad, please talk about your days!" and then she listens intently.  She's simply interested in other people.  I find this interesting for being barely 4.



Claire is also drama.  So.much.drama.  Little things can remain little things or unnecessarily become big things and you never know which way it's going to go.  She's unpredictable.



Other unique things about Claire:

• She is obsessed with purple and pink and loves wearing accessories (belts, scarves, necklaces, bracelets, bows, you name it).  She found a little cubby in the John Deere motorized car at the cabin and exclaimed, "This would be a PERFECT spot for my make-up!"
• She also doesn't mind getting dirty, will pick up bugs (but doesn't like worms), loves to run and explore and climb outside. 
• Her favorite thing to do right now is create cards for friends/family using wrapping paper, stickers, markers/crayons and other craft supplies.  Perhaps this is a combination of her love for "projects" and people. 
• She enjoys watching people perform on TV.  Sometimes this winter/spring, we let her watch parts of American Idol, the Voice and Dancing with the Stars.  She was mesmerized. 
• Claire has become a really good eater. She'll eat any meat as long as it's not spicy.  She does well with vegetables- she eats cherry tomatoes like they're candy and she also enjoys carrots, green beans, peas and the kids have a spinach salad every day at daycare.  Both Claire and Max would live on fruit and cereal.  She's starting to not want to eat cheese- it's awful!
• She enjoys wrestling with Max, Daddy and I 
• Claire used to stay in her bed and call for me to come get her when she woke up in the morning.  For the past six months or so, she's woken up on her own and gotten dressed without making a peep.  I usually wake up when she's in my room admiring her outfit in our full-length mirror.   
• She adores her cousins and friends.  She can make Mara and Maverick laugh at daycare like no other.  Claire and Brody are the best of friends.  She also adores her brother. She'll say, "We love our Max boy".  
• Claire does NOT like beards.  Whenever you talk about a person, her first question is always "Does he/she have a beard?" (she doesn't discriminate).  
• Unlike Max, Claire loves going to church.  She prays for people often.  Earlier this week we were eating dinner at Chipotle.  We watched two firetrucks and an ambulance race by.  She stopped eating and just stared thoughtfully before asking to pray for whoever needed help.  So proud of my girl.
• Sometimes I wish she would stand her ground more.  At gymnastics she lets three more aggressive children constantly cut in front of her in line.  She watches them step in front of her and sometimes even push her aside and she calmly backs away and falls in line behind them.  The Mama Bear in me wants to shout an encouraging word for her to stick up for herself.  And I also want to ask the parents of those children next to me why they are allowing their children to behave this way (if that was my child you better believe I would be correcting them).  But I bite my tongue and let her fight her own fight in the way she wants.  

There's so, so much more I could say.  I could say how she regularly makes my heart nearly burst.  I could write how I humbly learn from her, like when she gently says to me, "Mommy, I like when you talk softly" after I have gotten firm with one of them.  She is such a special girl.

"Though she be but little, she is fierce." - Shakespeare

Cabin weekend #2 in lots of pictures

We arrived home from the cabin today after a difficult drive with crabby kids, heavy, persistent rain, and a tired Mama.  This is the fourth annual early summer trip we have taken to the cabin with my Grandpa Rudy and Aunt Marcia from Florida.  The time is always so wonderful.









Grandpa is made of pure sugar.  Both because he is truly the sweetest man to have ever walked the planet and because sugar is mostly what he consumes.  How he is a very healthy almost 89 year old with this diet of 98% sugar is beyond me.



I love how Grandpa and Bailey are looking at each other.  Grandpa is pretty much obsessed with "the little angel".


Claire has improved dramatically with her John Deere driving skills.  She can whip around the property, around and through obstacles, with ease.  It's pretty funny (and impressive).  Max, on the other hand, well, let's just say that it's a good thing the backyard is large because I turn the steering wheel just enough so he can continue going around and around in circles because he has no concept of steering thus far.









The positive side to being up and at 'em at 5:28AM is catching the tail-end of the beautiful sunrise. The negative side was being up and at 'em at 5:28AM.




 Grandpa is still a card shark at almost 89 years old.


Bailey loves watching Claire and Max.  Here, she was sitting in the Mini and moving her head around so she could always keep her eyes on them.




Max is completely happy with just a shovel, dump truck, and bed of rocks.







Next Cabin trip:  4th of July weekend!