On Making a Difference

 I felt some guilt about the holiday yesterday. You know, we did not volunteer in a soup kitchen or an after school program, & what-not. But what a day. Gorgeous 50 degree weather with blue skies. A January gem, to be sure.

Then, upon review, we did fight some injustice. We cleaned our house. Anyone that has kids gets that. Also, we navigated CostCo with said kids. Saying no to almost every impulse of our children. (us too) Choosing magic foods like tomatoes & organic beef. Stuff that I feel good looking down at when the person at the door checks your receipt. And, we made it reasonably close to the budget. We had loaded a huge bin full of unused games/toys in the van so that was dropped off at a 2nd hand store. (My hall closet is clean!)

Ours boys napped or read when we returned home. Even the 11 year old. They say pick your battles, well naps are one of mine. (Thanks, Mom.) After, we got to the really great part. Sucking every bit of that fresh air down into expectant lungs. A walk to TCBY to redeem reading coupons the boys had earned & then to the park. There was this weird group of people at the park that our boys navigated so well. Just makes a mom proud, you know?

So today I am feeling good. I really believe raising 4 strong boys is our part in bettering this world.

Oh, and thanks for sharing some of your memories with me. I am holding out that our boy's will be happy 1st memories but it seems more often than not, that is not the case.

Matt & I have heard that the brain resets at age 3. That would explain why most early memories are around that age. I hope Collin remembers being this carefree & curious first. It will probably be more like me telling him he can't have something at the store or Dad putting him in a time out. My first memory is being in trouble at preschool. What are yours?

 

eleven

Meaning is not in things but in between them.
-Norman Brown

And that is the tricky thing about birthdays at our house. We try to not blow the roof off for special occasions, rather, try to make the every day, the in between, extraordinary.

Parker is caught in the in between. Tween, is what they call them. Not a child, not a teen. We are trying to make it great but there is so much stacked against this stage of life. I feel strongly that we are running our young people into the ground with crazy schedules & adult demands. Then, it seems to me, when you are a grown man, you are free to be a boy. Video games & Frat house rules, no call to manhood.

In the midst of teaching this boy of ours how to treat a lady, how to budget, & who to seek for advice, he also loves Sports Illustrated for Kids, Ben & Jerry's, & pulling pranks. It is the in between & I am learning to love it. I love having "the Talk" & moments later laughing over whoever farted & won't fess up. I hope there is always this bizarre mix at our house, God forbid we ever start taking ourselves too seriously.

For the Die Hards

 

 

I was going to put music with it but there is already music on the blog. I would have chosen a snappy version of Joy to the World. That song speaks to our year, preparing room for big things ahead. Big boys with big dreams & only one little Mama's heart to contain all the wishes & hopes I have for each one of us. Wow, God is good.

Lost Post

Kaleb was part of a Veteran's Day program at his school this year.

He had a speaking part & he performed it perfectly. He even helped another student with her lines.

He & his buddy Cade held it together long enough for the parent's to file out, then commenced wrestling, per the usual.

Alarm Clocks

Collin: "MMMMOOOOOMMMMMIIEEEE!!!!!!!!"
Aden: "Um....Aubrey?"
Kaleb: "Mom! Aden ate the rest of the star cereal!"
Parker: "Hey."

Look what turned up

Yes, I have a large head & my hair was exceptionally flat on one side that day. But still! We are practically BFFs, can't you tell?

Mall rats

Our cousins agreed to let me take their girls out shopping last week. The eldest is McKenna & the younger is Macy. This was my first ever Build-A-Bear experience.

Macy is 4, so she's had this down for a while now.

That face! Love it.

Macy's favorites: pink, sparkles, & chocolate.
Umm... I think we were separated at birth.

May we present: Henrietta, she likes pink & sparkles too.

I would have snapped more of McKenna but that beautiful girl hates having her picture taken.
Also, having your picture snapped in Aeropostale while shopping for tees & tanks is way creepy.
Thanks girls! So nice to have some girl time & s
ee some of the mall besides the Pro Shop or the freaky knife store.

On the road again

More road trip funnies: Collin, at 4pm in full daylight mind you, screams, "Turn on the light! I can't see my arms!!!!!"

Then there was this gem. Kaleb had heard about Spin the Bottle in a book he was reading. I took the moment to say that it will probably come up at a party in the older boy's near future. Matt & I said it is a bad gamble to take because you have to kiss whoever it points to. Kaleb yells, "Yea! It could be the fat chick with hairy armpits!" I said, "Or a boy." Ha. Then someone chimed in with, "Or their mom."


Ewww.

Parker closed this delightful conversation with, "that'd be one lonely soul."

Can't wait to get back in the car with these boys!

Almost there

Remember our kitchen before?

Leaves a lot to be desired.

But all my men set to make it right. (What, you don't do home improvement in your "unnies?" Weird.)

The black wall is a chalkboard & we chose a soft gray blue for the kitchen walls. The bamboo flooring is in the rest of our house already, we love it.

Starting to come together!

Also, our laundry is in the basement, at long last. More to come on what we have made of our old laundry room. Eee! Feels like a brand new house around here.