Monday, June 29, 2009

Oh, how I miss my boys...

Of course, Ed got the great, giggling goodbyes at the airport...

And he got the kisses...

I had to beg them to stand still long enough to get a picture with me! Trust me when I say, it was harder for me than it was for them!


Have you ever sent your kids off for a while and they come back a bit different? They were only gone two weeks, but the boys came back as two different little boys. Don't ask me what it is exactly...Logan doesn't want to call Ed "Dad" anymore for some strange reason, and Tyler challenges me on everything. His choice starting phrase is, "Oh yeah? Well..." Irritating. Here is an example of our conversations:

Me: "Tyler, it's time for bed."
Tyler: "Oh yeah? Well, I'm not tired!"

Me: "Tyler, it's time to eat."
Tyler: "Oh yeah? Well, I'm not hungry."

Me: "Tyler, it's time to brush your teeth."
Tyler: "Oh yeah? Well, Logan hasn't brushed his teeth yet."

And here's my favorite:

Me: "Tyler, you could've gotten hit by a car!"
Tyler: "Oh yeah? Well, no one was there to walk me across the street!"

Ugh. Irritating. He has these big bags under his eyes. He always looks tired. I thought maybe it was allergies or something. Maybe he just needs to get back on a regular sleeping schedule. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon. I miss my sweet baby boy.

Now, on to Logan. He decided he didn't want to call Ed "Dad" anymore. Let me stress that we never told him to call Ed that. Logan made the decision on his own when he was making a Valentine's card for Ed. Tyler, of course, does whatever his brother does. I liked it. Ed was definitely pleased. Imagine his disappointment when the boys called on Father's Day and yelled into the phone, "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, ED!" Ed was crushed.

When Logan got home, he said he didn't feel like Ed was completely his dad because we weren't married. What the heck? Where did he get that from? We once again told him that it was his decision on what he wanted to call Ed, but I explained to him that there are tons of kids who have more than one dad. Calling Ed "dad" doesn't make his real daddy any less his daddy. He is so lucky to have someone like Ed in his life because I think it would be very lonely for a little boy to not have an adult male figure in his life. I know it doesn't seem like it, but he should consider himself lucky that he still has someone in his life to call dad.

Logan has transitioned back into Colorado life pretty well. He calls Ed "dad" now. We never addressed it again after that first night, so I'm really not sure what conclusion he came to. Actually, he has started affectionately calling Ed "Optimus Dad" and Tyler calls him "Autodad". Gotta love their Transformer enthusiam.

Tyler, on the other hand...well, we'll just see what happens with that little booger.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Logan's Birthday Party

Even though Logan doesn't officially turn 9 until the end of July, we went ahead and let him hav ehis birthday party so he could invite his school friends. It's hard when you have a summer birthday to get in touch with classmates, so we gave in. He had a great time at Pump It Up with his friends.
Logan in the birthday chair. I think this was what he was looking forward to!

Logan with his cake...there are 9 Bakugan on it. He was so happy!

Ed after he raced Drew on the obstacle course. Ed won.


Logan having fun on the slide.


Happy Birthday Logan!




Friday, June 5, 2009

Please don't vomit...please don't vomit!

Logan, Tyler, and Grandma Carol

Goofing off after graduation

Sure, I should have been crying. I should have been giddy with excitement. My little guy was graduating from kindergarten! Why was I instead praying to the Lord not to watch over my little guy as he enters first grade, but to not let him throw up all over the cute little girl in front of him? Let's rewind to yesterday morning:




7:55am-arrive at school


7:56am-Tyler runs into bathroom to throw up. Other boys in bathroom tattle on Tyler, saying he cut in line. Nice kids...


8:00am-bring Tyler crying out of the bathroom, deliver gifts to teachers, walking towards the front door


8:01am-notice Logan is on the phone in the office. Apparently he had a dress code violation. I guess windpants don't qualify for jeans day. This is what happens when mom doesn't do laundry.


8:03am-sign both children out of school because I'm not making a special trip home to wash jeans or to Old Navy to buy jeans. It's the next to last day of school. What could they possibly miss out on?


Later that afternoon:


2:00pm-Tyler eats 4 small chicken tenders from Burger King at the airport because he insists that he's fine and he's STARVING. Eh...what's a mom to do? Starve the kid? It didn't help when he started crying in the airport saying, "Why won't you get me something to eat? I SOOOOO hungry!" That'll get you votes for worst mom of the year for sure.


2:15pm-get Grandma at the Denver airport. Tyler is running around like a maniac.


2:50pm-arrive at Krispy Kreme in Lone Tree. We buy two dozen donuts. Tyler wants strawberry milk, but we talk him out of it.


3:00pm-back on the highway headed home. Tyler and Logan are happily eating their donuts in the backseat.


3:01pm-loud burp


3:02pm-Logan screams


3:02.10 sec-Tyler starts crying. Logan is gagging.


3:02. 20 sec-whip car over on side of the major highway going through Denver. Not the most responsible move as a mother, but one child had already puked, and the other way was threatening to.
3:03pm-refuse to remove vomit covered child from until vomit is cleaned off the seatbelt, lest it get sucked up into the magic slot seatbelts get sucked up into, allowing the vomit to transfer into that abyss. Cars speeding by at 85mph.
3:05pm-remove vomit covered child from car and hand to grandma, who is armed with baby wipes.
3:06pm-really take in the damage the car sustained from Tyler's vomit. Who knew so much could come from someone so little. Logan continues to gag. Grandma is cleaning Tyler, who wants to know where his donut went.
3:07pm-remove vomit carseat from car. Survey the damage. Realize Logan had thrown the headphones for the DVD player, Tyler's stuffed dog, Sonic the Hedgehog action figure, Bakugan carrying case, and my Coach purse all at Tyler's feet...direct in the line of fire. Awesome. Cars continue to blow past us. Tyler wants another donut.
3:15pm-used almost every babywipe in vomit cleanup. Tyler is as clean as possible. Grandma graciously cleaned up the carseat. Prepare to re-enter car.
3:16pm-look in trunk to find something to prevent another catastrophe...that I would have to cleanup...again. Locate a sheet in the trunk. Not sure why it's in there. Use the sheet to cover the smelly carseat and protect the carpet. Thinking I should have done this to begin with since the kid had already thrown up once...but refer back to my 5 year old standing on the side of I-70.
3:20pm-everyone back in car. Tyler's crying because he wants another donut. Pull out onto I-70.
3:21pm-engine light comes on in car.
Now do you see why I was praying my kid wouldn't puke all over the place at graduation? Sure, a good mom would have kept her kid home. But I am a GREAT mom. I realized this was a monumental moment in my child's life that he will look back on when he is older and be so glad he didn't miss it (that's what I keep telling myself at least). I put my fear of him throwing up on the backburner (okay maybe it was still on the front burner, but it was on simmer), brought my kid to school at the lastest moment and missed the kindergarten breakfast, as to not disrupt the fun with a sick kid. I wanted that kid to get his diploma. I am a GREAT mom. I kept my kid away from all the other kids. Changed him into his fancy clothes as the teacher was lining everyone up (good thing I brought another pair of undies...the damage was starting to drain out from his backside, if you know what I mean). I gave him a brief, albeit very specific, lecture regarding the urge to throw up or poo. It went something like this:
Me: "If you think you're going to throw up, walk off the stage."
Tyler: "The front of the stage?"
Me: "No, the back."
Tyler: "I don't know how to get out from the back."
Me: "Just get behind the curtain and I will come and get you."
Tyler: "But [the teacher] said we're not supposed to move."
Me: "It's okay if you're sick."
Tyler: "But I'm not sick."
Says the child who projectile vomited all over my car a mere 17 hours earlier.
Maybe he was better, but I wasn't taking the chance. That's why I'm the great mom, remember? I covered all my bases.
The ceremony was 15 minutes. They sang four songs, I think. (Remember, I was focused on any potential signal of a vomit face). They didn't even pass out their diplomas. We had to pick them up afterwards with a homework packet. Each child's name was called out, but...no handshake? No cute waves to mom and dad when they got their diplomas? No ooohs and ahhs over those tiny little people? No awards?
Maybe I was so focused on Tyler being sick that I wasn't able to truly enjoy this moment, and maybe that's why the ceremony seemed so, well...disappointing. Hey, I can only imagine how difficult it is to coordinate and choreograph 75 five and six-year-olds. I wasn't expecting a Broadway show. I love the three kindergarten teachers, and this wasn't their first rodeo. I'm sure there was a method to their madness...something I'm sure I will appreciate when I start teaching. But as a mom, it was a little bit disappointing. Sure, there were a lot of extenuating circumstances that altered my giddiness as a mommy, (the fact that we covered the seat in the truck in a rain poncho just to get to the school) but hopefully you know what I mean.
My baby boy graduated from kindergarten. Maybe the true extenuating circumstance was that this could potentially be the last time I see one of my own kids graduate from kindergarten.


Our family...I think Logan really wanted to be partying in his classroom with his friends instead of being at graduation.



Me and my little guys!



Me and the graduate...sans Mrs. Robinson.




The Graduate himself!




Of course he waved at us! Does this look like a sick kid?







Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Our Scouting Family!

Last night was Pack 228's Graduation. Logan finally became a Webelo, and Tyler became a Tiger Cub! Logan has really enjoyed Cub Scouts, and he is the first boy in his entire pack to earn ALL of the junior ranks-Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, and Bear. Cub Scouts is a year-round project, and Logan really enjoys it. The entire family will be taking on a much bigger role in the fall. I will be Tyler's den leader for the Tigers. Ed is the assistant Cubmaster for the pack. It will definitele be a busy year for all of us!

The new Webelos I Den

Logan receiving his Webelos neckerchief and slide

Tyler receiving his Tiger compass, signifying his entry into the pack

Logan receiving his belt loops

My two Cub Scouts!

Monday, June 1, 2009

A Day with the Little Boys...

Well, the clock is ticking to the time my little boys will hop on a plane with their Grandma Carol and go visit their family in Michigan for two whole weeks. What am I going to do without my little guys? I have never been away from them for more than 48 hours. I am pretty sure it is bothering me WAY more than it is bothering them, and I try to put on a happy face when they ask, "Is it time to go to Michigan yet?" But this will be a great chance for Greg's family to see how much they've grown and just how much they are like their daddy (and I don't mean it is always in a good way!) Plus, I will be in classes five days a week until July 10th, so this will give me ample time to get a lot of work done before they get back. Their cousins from Texas, Tanner and Cayson, will be coming to stay with us in July, so I will definitely get my "little boy fix" by the end of the month!


I wanted to spend a special day with my little guys before they head out to Michigan. I finally have a break frolm classes, but they are still in school, so it was hard to find a time (and good weather) to go out in. But we committed to a special Sunday, and we had a great day! We started out making the early church service. We were a little late, so Tyler's class was already full. He went to big church with me, and he was so great. When I told him he would have to go into the big church with me, an interesting conversation ensued:

Tyler: "Is it hard in big church?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Tyler: "Do they make you do hard work?"
Me: "No, it's fun! We sing and listen to the pastor talk."
Tyler: "Oh, okay. As long as I don't have to do any hard work. Kindergarten church is easy."

He was so good during the service. He was amazed by all the big screens around the sanctuary and was even more impressed by the people "in the big bathtub". They were having baptism, and we were sitting so close Tyler could see the people going under the water. When we got in the car, Tyler was telling Logan about big church:

Tyler: "Big church is fun. It's so easy."
Logan: "What did you do?"
Tyler: "We sang."
Logan: "What else?"
Tyler: "We saw the people get baptized. Now they get to go to Heaven."

Wow, I guess he really was listening!

After church, we went to La Casita, and then we went swimming. It was 78 degrees, but the wind was blowing, so it didn't feel so great once you got out of the water. After about an hour, Tyler came out shivering so badly that I had to wrap him in two towels. Logan had a blast going down the water slide. Of course, I forgot my camara in the car! After swimming, we went to see the new movie Up! in 3D. It was so cute. The boys love those silly glasses. Of course, what day wouldn't be complete without a trip to Toys R Us? I let the boys pick out some new Bakugan (which I still don't understand) to take to Michigan with them. Even I left with something...an IPOD arm holder and new earplugs. My earbuds always seem to disappear...after I let little boys borrow them for their handheld games!


The night ended with dinner at Zio's. Ed was home from Bandimere where he went for a Mopar car show and drag (which, in hindsight, I realized the boys would have loved to have seen Ed race) and met us for dinner. By 7:30pm, both boys were in bed sound asleep. It was a long, but very fun day! I am really going to miss these little guys when they're in Michigan.