Behold the crumbs

Yep, that's what it's come down to. Crumbs.

For years, Rob was in a holding pattern of faint hope, denial, and then gradually, slow acceptance of the fact that well, he just wasn't gonna hold on to that hair. He used to meticulously groom each individual curl and place it just so. For those of you who didn't know the Rob of yesteryear, he had very tight curls, which helps explain the boys' curly hair. If I was looking towards the top of his head, he'd say, "What are you looking at? Are you looking at my hair?" Those days are now long gone, although I must say, I only recently talked him out of using both shampoo and conditioner. He does still use gel. But don't tell him I told you. He said it's just part of his routine.

Anyway, where I'm going with this, is that I cut all the boys' hair in this house, and I recently gave Rob a cut. Which, nowadays, means no guard on the clippers, so it's a very short cut. Rob asked Luke if he wanted Mommy to cut his hair like Daddy's, and Luke replied, "No Daddy, you just have crumbs". So, the life cycle of tight, tiny curls, to crumbs has been completed.

Sorry Daddy.

My project

As a "tribute" to my grandparents, I am going to try a big garden this year. My grandparents were amazing human beings and I miss them dearly. They grew unbelievably huge, prosperous gardens year after year. To walk in that sandy warm soil barefoot each summer when we visited was pure heaven, and harvesting with Grandma was the best. I was always amazed at her ability to bend over at the waist, blood rushing to her head, and pick things for what seemed like hours on end. After we'd collect the beans, or peas, or whatever we were picking that day, we'd bring the ice cream pails back to Grandpa, who'd be sitting under the covered porch in that old metal chair, and he'd work on shelling the peas or snapping the beans. Grandma was an incredible cook, gardener, and quilter among other things, and never forgot to notice the beauty of her surroundings each day. Grandpa was truly larger than life. His presence filled a room more fully than anyone I've ever known. Almost three years later, I still can't believe he's gone—anytime I hear the Brewers playing on the radio, I am sure he is sitting outside in his Cadillac on a warm day listening to the game. People came from far and wide to visit and hear him tell his stories, or sit and play a game of cards or cribbage with him. I miss their smell, the feel of Grandma's soft face and the cadence of Grandpa's wooden leg as he walked across the floor, their voices, but most of all their presence. Grandparents can be a powerful influence on their grandchilden—don't ever underestimate the legacy you may leave for others without even knowing it. I loved them fiercely. If only they were still here to give me the gardening advice I so need now that I have a home that has room and sunshine for a garden.

So, though I asked many questions then and thought I'd hang on to all that knowledge until I finally had the "right place" to grow my own garden, I still feel like I know nothing and this will be a huge learning curve. I have grown tomatoes and a few herbs before, but nothing like the full blown garden I am going to attempt this year. And, between abundant wildlife and limited knowledge, much may fail, but I will still enjoy trying. So, I have started the first steps, which are googling like mad, and trying to start some things from seed. Below, you'll see cantaloupe, two kinds of tomatoes, and bell peppers, or at least that's what I see in my overblown imagination.

I have ten pots in my hopes for seedlings. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

I love

I love:

The first flowers of spring. I think we moved in too late in the season last year to know these little gems were hiding out in the back:

I love:

Kids singing in the shower. Something about hearing kids sing or talk out loud while they play alone makes them sound so happy and content.

I love:
Spreadsheets and comparison analysis. Yup, I'm a bona fide nerd. Things like Consumer Reports, where they constantly compare products side by side for price, taste, quality, etc. are right up my alley. I keep a spreadsheet on everything. I have a spreadsheet for Christmas shopping/budget, when everyone last had which medical appointment, books and movies I want to read/see, money we've invested in the house and when the project was done, you name it. So, to fulfill my urges, I recently did a Wal Mart vs. Target comparison. I don't know about you, but Wal Mart has a way of making you feel like it's cheaper. However, while shopping at Wal Mart, you might also feel like you'd rather be anywhere but in a Wal Mart. Am I right?

Well, rest assured ladies and gents, you can feel good shopping at Target, while your pocketbook feels good as well. My most recent analysis of a $100 trip to each store, buying 20+ items I regularly buy, such as dishsoap, bread, deodorant, butter, shampoo, etc., reveals that it was over 2% cheaper to buy all of those items at Target. Yahoo!

This actually has nothing to do with the fact that my husband works for Target. (Well, that's a bonus, but that's not why I did it). I was just genuinely curious and I like to save money. And, I must say, I was happy with the results.

Happy shopping! Go Target!

Friday fun

We went to our school's fundraiser last night, which consisted of things like bounce houses, cake walks, and raffles, all in the hopes of being the biggest breadwinner of the year for the school.

Here's a picture of Luke on the giant slide. If you could only see the joy on his face going down this, it is priceless:

And Jack loved all of it, including waving to all of his friends. Come to think of it, I don't remember ever attending an event like this and knowing so many people. It was great. It was easy to forget we've only lived here 9 months when we were stopping to socialize every 10 feet. The joys of a small town!

I was signed up for clean up crew afterwards, and Jack stayed with me to help. I was so proud of him. Lot of kids would have laid their head on the table and claimed they were toooooo tiredddddd, but Jack is really such a helper and loved to help me sweep all of the floors. He was glowing afterwards and couldn't stop exclaiming about how much fun he'd had. And honestly, the raving reviews were more about helping with the cleanup I think than with the event. He really is a pleaser at heart and I love to see him in his element.

And now, back home, to find Rob, in his element. Aah, March Madness. This man looooovvvvveessss his March Madness.

Perspectives of 4 year olds

We had Luke's friend, and our neighbor, Abry over to play for a while this morning. This was one of their conversations while they ate their crackers and peanut butter:

L: Sigh. "I love you Abry."

A: "He always says that. Sometimes he says he wants to marry me. But he can't marry me."

Me: "Why not?"

A: "Because I'm trying to get someone else to marry me!"

Me: "Oh, you are! Like who?"

A: "Like Brooks or Logan!"

Me: "Well, that won't work, because those are your brothers."

A: Sigh.

But seriously, am I the only one who thinks these two make the cutest darn couple around?

The sweetest time of the day

I took these pictures of the boys sleeping the other night. Sometimes, just looking at them sleeping is enough to remind you just how little and sweet they really are.

This is Luke with his Mick. Mick is our friend Liz's dog, who is a huge, and generally scary looking Rotweiler mix, though he is tenderhearted. She sent this dog to Luke, and he claims every night that Mickey protects him.
This is Jack, who no longer sleeps with any "guys", but has slept on his back like this ever since he was a baby, and often with his mouth open. He's already a snorer which makes him a hard person to sleep around when traveling.

It's often at night check time that whatever frustrations or grievances you might have towards the kids from that day are able to melt away and you can just feel thankful again that God blessed you with these children. As He says in the Bible, children are a reward, and it's our challenge to remember to look at them as such.

What a weekend

We are still recovering from a really busy but fun weekend. We kicked it off Friday night with a Fish Fry at the Legion. We were definitely the young folk at the dinner, and I swear, if one more friendly old man came by and told my kids to just go ahead and pick out whatever dessert they wanted despite our repeated insistence that they had to eat some dinner first, I was going to take him down. I think they just get really excited to see little ones.

Saturday we went to Jacks "Dirty Car Race" with the Scouts. Also known as Derby Car Race unless you are Luke. We were novices to this whole thing, and unfortunately, it showed in our finish. As in, the car didn't finish. Didn't even make the finish line. That's Jack's blue car third from the left. Apparently, when they tell you the weight can be up to 5 ounces, you should actually try to get it as close to the 5 ounces as possible without going over. Otherwise, if your car weighs in at, say, 2.4 ounces, and is racing all of those 4.999999 ounce cars, it really doesn't have a chance. Though we tried to stress the importance of just "finishing the race", and "gee, we really learned a great lesson to apply next year!", the disappointment is clear (sort of) if you read Jack's email to his grandparents today.

Hi Grandma and Pappy at the Derby My car was the worst. i closesd My eies i was not happy. i was kinda happy from Jack.

Sorry buddy. Live and learn.

Saturday night, we hosted a St. Patrick's Day party. Now, you must know, I am the biggest Irish wannabe that there is. My grandpa said he was 25% Irish, so once that trickles down to me, I don't think I can claim much of the heritage, but I wish I was. I just love the Irish and their culture. We were lucky enough to visit Ireland almost two years ago and it was an amazing trip. So, right now, the closest we can get is to have a party and play Irish music.

My friend Claudine asked me a good question when I mentioned we were having a party. So, seeing as how you just moved to Iowa last summer, where you had no friends or family, who are you going to invite to a party?

The answer is, anyone with whom I've had a five minute conversation. How else? And, I must say, it seemed to work! We had 25 people come, the biggest party we've had in a very long time. We got a keg of Smithwicks and almost finished it. It was really fun, and it sure helps you feel a lot less alone in a new place when you can fill your home with laughter and new friends. So after seeing the two pictures I managed to take below around 3 a.m., you will just have to take my word for it that there really were people here. Real, breathing, people. I swear.

I love this little bugger

Luke and I had a really good day together. Against all odds, really, since I've been feeling really tired lately (damn that Florida trip! I'm still not caught up on my sleep! HA!), and had a lot of cleaning/preparing to do for our St. Pattie's Day party tomorrow, so generally, those types of things are a recipe for disaster for quality time with your kids. He was helpful, stayed on task cleaning up all on his own, sweet, and easy. Awesome. And maybe, just maybe, this was a gift from God, acknowledging that when your day is started with a little time with Him and some prayer, your day might just go better. Who knows? Whatever the reason, I'll take it. He warmed my heart today and I love it.

Luke-ism's in the last 24 hours:

"I love dogs! They're so soft and warm. They're made of cotton, right Mom?"

"But can dads come to MOPS? Why can't dads come to MOPS?

Because it's just for kids and moms, so we can talk about mom stuff.

"Like lipstick?"
Yes, like lipstick.

"So swimming trunks are made of a paterin (pattern), softness, and shorts, and then they become swimming trunks, right Mom?"

and, last but not least, in case I was starting to think I was a she-woman or something,

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that your muscles aren't very big."

And so ends a day in the life of my charming, unique, free-spirited little boy.

A weekend with the in-laws

Ok, I know what you are thinking. Admit it. For many people, a weekend with the in-laws might not sound all that appealing. However, I am one of the lucky ones. One of those people who actually, really like their in-laws. So when I hear they are coming, I get excited too.

We went to a veteran's museum, ate on the good china, in the dining room-GASP!, got a babysitter and went out to dinner, drinks at a new place I wanted to check out, and a casino, where Gram and Gramps lost but Rob made back the money I'd spent shopping with my mother-in-law earlier in the day. We ate a lot, drank a lot, sat around the fire watching T.V., and actually fit in a little exercise to boot. All in all, it was a relaxing, fun weekend. Thanks for making the 9 hour drive Grandma and Pappy! We love you!

Crazy days

I am predating this entry to last Thursday, because that was a crazy day. I wanted to write sooner but, well, see title of post. You get the drift.

We started the day by going to the area M.O.P.S. meeting. For those long before or beyond this stage in life, this stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. Not sure what the S is for. Anyhoo, it's a group who gathers to share motherhood stories and sometimes hear inspirational speakers, and generally, just to drink coffee and take a short break from said preschoolers. Because there is little time between this meeting and preschool on Thursdays, we enjoyed a "car picnic" in the preschool parking lot, which involves sitting in the back of the van and sharing a peanut butter sandwich with Luke. He actually really digs these winter car picnics. Of course, I had to remember the snack for preschool which I was in charge of. Then, after dropping him off, I was off to a 1:00 lunch date with a friend. Back to retrieve Luke, then rush home to be sure to beat the bus for Jack. We then rushed to our private swimming lessons which we started today, 1/2 hour for each boy. They weren't really excited about this, but I am trying to explain that it's a great life lesson to know how to swim for their safety. The instructor asked if Jack had not been looking forward to it, since during the lesson, he said to her, "Hey, this is actually fun!"

After swimming, we rushed into the locker room to change, which sounded a lot like,

"Let's go let's go LET'S GO!! We have to go to Scouts now! If you don't hurry we won't have time to pick up McDonalds! I know having no underwear feels weird with your jeans but I forgot them! Geez! I'm not perfect! Let's GOOOOOOOO!"

Pick up McDonalds, head to Cub Scouts, where I was the assistant for the meeting and led a discussion about stranger safety. In the midst of swimming lessons and Scouts, Rob's parents had arrived in town and were sitting in a parking lot awaiting further instruction.

The sad thing is, many people actually live this way on a regular basis. This day had me in full sweats with a racing heart for a good part of the day so I know it would not be good for my health and well being to make this a habit. Nor would it be good for the kids. So, I am thankful that this was an anomoly and generally, I can say, we really aren't too busy.

And that's the way I like it.

Mom, I got a question

I am predating a few entries that I meant to post earlier this week. Just roll with it, it's been one of those weeks...

Today I actually heard birds chirping. Real birds! The temps were in the mid 30's and it felt almost springlike, and I gotta tell ya, people were downright jovial today. The temps were certainly the talk of the town. Just a few more weeks till the official "first" day of spring! Woo hoo!

I'd like to chronicle just a few of the questions that are shot at an everyday mom like myself on a regular basis. Here's a handful that hit me today:

Luke:

• What is water made of? Uhh...
• What is ice made of? (OOH OOH, pick me! I know this one!)
• What is lettuce made of? Uhh...
• What is a bush made of? Uhh....
• What is a biscuit made of? (I know this one too!)
• What is orange made of? (Not an orange, but the color. Hmm.....)
• Are you a bird watcher or a golfer? Definitely a bird watcher...
• How do you make Mike & Ike's? I'm not sure....
• How does a baby get in your belly? Yikes.... Rob! Come here please!

Jack:

• But what is the biggest number? INFINITY! C'mon Mom, that's not even a number!
• How can a kid have $69? Because you are doing a great job saving for that DS son!
• How old are you when you die? Oh, it's different for everyone, usually when you are 70 or 80. (Enter panic here... But Mom, grandma and Pappy are almost 70!) Oh yes, but they are VERY strong and healthy!
• But what does it feel like when you die? Oh, very peaceful, you see a bright light!
• Why did God even make crocodiles? Why would he make something that eats people? I really don't know!

WHEW!

Is it really any wonder that Mom's are exhausted at the end of the day?

Story of the weekend

'Nuff said.