Love, love, love...

this song.  I'm so glad Megan and Tocco introduced us to Ben Howard this past summer.

Happy Sunday!

Ladies Man...

Peter is very fond of the ladies.  As in, he's in love with several right now.  His momma of course :) and now Ms. Summer, her daughter Ava, Ms. Cortney, and his latest crush is on Olivia in his classroom.  On Wednesday at pick-up time, Ms. Hickman told me Peter even pulled a chair out for Olivia at snack time so she could sit right next to him and then pushed Olivia's chair back in after she sat down.  Apparently Olivia complained of being smushed, so Ms. Hickman helped her out a bit.  I find that funny considering I'm quite certain Chris has never pulled a chair out or in for me, so I'm not sure where he's picked up that machismo charm??

When I ask Pete about his school day, it pretty much revolves around his two teachers, Ms. Runk and Ms. Hickman, and his girl, Olivia…

"What'd you do at school today, Pete?"
"Played with 'Livia."
"Who did you sit next to at snack time?"
"Not Finley.  'Livia."
"What did you do on the playground?"
"Talked with Ms. Hick-a-man on the swings."
OhhmaGod… Ohhkay.

This morning I recorded Gigilo Pete talking a bit about his latest drawing but the focus turned back to who he loves…

What a nut!

Throwing bones...

Peter gets somewhat of a bad "rap" on this blog lately it seems.  Not that it's undeserving, but I should probably offer credit where credit is due.

When Peter is outside, he's completely entertained and independent.  He wants to run the neighborhood the way the big kids do.  He wants to play hide-and-seek, football, baseball, ride his bike and scooter up and down the hills-- basically, if the big kids are doing it, Peter is in the mix.

But if we're IN-side, well, his little body is as close to mine as possible.  That sounds cute.  Until you actually do it for an entire day.  Or two and a half years.  He is literally my shadow.  If I walk out of the room for even a minute, I can immediately expect to hear "Mom!!?  Moooommmm? MooooOOOOOmmmm?  MOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!" until I return.

Think I'm kidding?  Come over.

So it has been an absolute God-send that Peter has taken to coloring.  The big boys have never cared for coloring and have always found a way to end as soon as they've begun-- but not Peter.  Peter is thoughtful, persistent, and determined to fill in an entire blank page.  I LOVE IT.

Without further ado, I present…. THE ORANGE PERIOD….

Look how he's almost completely
filled in the right side!  He has
entire stories that correspond to the drawings.

For those 15 minutes he colors every day, I am free as a bird (to go to the bathroom, take the trash out, empty the dishwasher, and all other glamourous things I do during the day.  What's funny is that those are the quick chores I really try to do when he's occupied as they take SO much longer with little helpful hands).

I'm as freeeee as a birrrrrd now….

Marbles Children's Museum...

This morning I woke up with new-found gusto and excitement to tackle this thing called motherhood.

Okay… that's a load of bullshit.  Basically I woke up feeling like vomit was a little less imminent AND I wanted to kill an entire day's worth of time.  So I packed up the kids, gave them each their own goodie bag for the drive, took along a bag of books, and we took off to Raleigh to go to…

Marbles Children's Museum!  This place does not disappoint.  For only $4 per person, it literally entertained the boys all day long…

"Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them." --Lady Bird Johnson

I absolutely love that quote.
And his sweet little face!

The museum has more activities and play centers than any place I've seen.  Henry loved the art center, of course…

Peter and James colored while Henry finished his water color…

All of the boys loved building their own cars and racing them!

The boys enjoyed splashing around in the water tables…

This pirate ship was totally cool!

The boys said the "Moneypalooza" room was their favorite of all.  It had tons of balls they could "shoot" out of different canons and this big piggy bank would fill with the balls and then release them all at once (similar to a water park)...

This photo angle means only one thing…
he made ME go up the maze and down the twisty slide.
(Ugggh…) 

My favorite area was the "Active Play Area."  It was awesome!

Pete liked balancing on a pretend surf board…

James loved lifting weights...

All three boys loved this ice hockey rink and played for about an hour straight…

Pete found the "dance area" and enjoyed dressing up as cheerleader…

Thatta boy ;)

These "cages" allowed kids to walk out and overlook the general play area on the floor below…

After the big Bollywood dancers left (which all three boys were infatuated with), they brought out jump ropes and hoolahoops for the kids to use...

Pete tried out a balance bike with general success…

The rings were a huge favorite of all the kids and had a constant wait line…

This chair required some arm strength… the kids had to manually pull themselves up and down!

Pete and I took a drive around town…

The boys constructed a shoot for the balls to go through...

James and Henry had fun playing "big" chess…

Peter enjoyed driving lots of different vehicles...

 Silly fun...

Honestly, these are just a few of the play centers.  The boys moved so quickly, it was hard to capture everything.  We had such a good day together and I'm so very glad we went…

In other news, check out Peter riding down the hill on one of the big kids' scooters.  Believe it or not, he's been riding down the BIG hill (up past Cortney and Summer's house) and going ALL THE WAY DOWN by himself.  Even though I tell him repeatedly NOT to go down the big hill, he gets such a positive reaction from all of the big kids (even they don't dare do it on a scooter!) that he's so excited, he does it again.

That baby is gonna give me a heart attack!!!

A bit defeated...

Ever have one of those days when you just want to throw the towel in?  Yeah… today may have been one of those days for me.  I woke up in the middle of last night with that awful, terrible, urge-to-throw up feeling just a few minutes before I ran to the bathroom to actually throw up.  No good.  Especially since Henry had found a spot very close to me in my bed and didn't seem willing to part with it just because I was sick and wanting to spread out.  And I immediately remembered that James's buddy, Waylon, was having a sleep over.  And then my mind raced to Peter… with Chris gone.  And I knew, I just knew, that once Peter woke up… IT WAS ALL OVER.  That kid never ever ever stops talking.  He's like a radio on high volume all day long.  Incessant 2 year old talking + stomach virus = PAIN.  He wins.  He always wins.

Proverbial towel officially IN proverbial bucket.

Which is why I pretty much let them get away with whatever they wanted today.

Halloween candy for breakfast?  Have the bucket.  Literally.  The entire bucket.  Fine by me!

Waffle and sticky, sugary, gross-smelling syrup for a mid-morning snack?  Okay!

Chicken nuggets 15 minutes later?  As long as I don't have to make or smell them!

Juice boxes?  (aka MORE SUGAR?) Sure thing!

JUST PLEASE, please, let me lie in this bed alone and still for 15 minutes.

Thank God I found 2 old Zofran tablets (anti-nauseau medicine) from when I was pregnant with Peter. They didn't cure me but they helped me breathe and move on with our day.

By mid-evening, this is what our house looked like….

I mentally calculated possible damage (3 throw pillows, a TV, leather furniture, blankets, possible stitches, broken dog legs) and said, "Yup.  I assume all associated risks and allow you to… carry on.  Just please don't ask me to make you any more food or talk with Peter."

Two side notes…
1.)  This footage explains why Chris rolls his eyes every time I tell him we need new throw pillows.
and 2.)  Did you see how clever I was by "setting the bedtime stage" with all the curtains drawn and lights flickering at only 6pm?  That's called SKILL.  And practice.  This ain't my first rodeo with trying to get the boys to bed early.  Heh heh heh.  Worked like a charm.  They were asleep by 8pm!

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Today is my father's birthday.  He would've been 62.

I have a running dialogue in my head.  I think most people do.  Sayings you refer to during different times, to help you through hard situations.  Many of my dad's sayings roll through my mind, as I've shared on this blog, and this is another one I think of often...

Dadism:  Yeah, well, my daddy's ugly and my momma's got a hair lip.

Meaning... Everyone's got excuses.  You're no better or different, so shut up, pull yourself up, and finish.

I can't tell you how many times I think of it and chuckle to myself.  When I'm running and want to quit.  When Chris is gone for a month training and I'm tired-- physically, but also tired mentally and emotionally from being a single mom to three boys.  When I'm making dinner for the 6,000th time for people who will undoubtedly cry, tell me they hate it, and refuse to eat it.  When I think of Chris deploying again.  For nine months.  Or longer.  When the alarm clock goes off and I feel a sense of guilt after a feeling of "Groundhog's Day!" washes over me.  When I miss my dad and the idea that he's really gone is really real.  But I think of him, and his ridiculous comment, and I'm reminded that I can do it.  I will do it.  And really, I should just shut up, pull myself up, and finish.

I was reading a fitness article recently and came across a line I just love.  It read:

"Quitting heroin is hard.  Beating cancer is hard.  Drinking your coffee black is.not.hard."

Now I can't say I'm there yet (all that black coffee business is nonsense) but I love the message and it now floats along in my head along with many of my dad's favorite sayings.

I was listening all of those years, Dad.  It stuck.  And so you live on in my thoughts and actions every single day.  I hope your day in heaven is filled with music and laughter and a glass of wine.  I wish there was a way to be with you again… even if it was only for a few minutes.  There are no words to describe how very much I miss you.

Today, I celebrate you, Dad, and your life, and everything that made you, you.  Thanks for making me, me.

Loved too much...

not to share.

Veteran's Day...

A big shout-out to all of the veterans who have sacrificed so much over the years, but especially mine...

Chris got home from Iraq just in time for our wedding!

Ft. Bragg…the 1st time around.

Chris and best buddy, Craig.

The day Chris left for Iraq the second time.

Look how little James is.  I think he was 9-10 days old.

Headed back to Afghanistan,
just a few days after Dad's funeral.

Waiting for Daddy to fly in from Afghanistan!

Patriotic baby!  (In jammies since it was 4am!)

I love his sweet little face,
scanning the crowd for his Daddy.

Together again!
(Pete's not so sure.)

As we look toward the upcoming deployment, my heart aches for our boys.  They love their Daddy so very much.  I can't imagine how 9-12 months will go by "quickly," but I hope it does.