Month: August 2006

Do you hear that?

That, my friends, is the sound of silence.

Two and a half hours ago, I turned Connor loose. It’s his first day of preschool. It the first time he’s ever been away from me during the day. I know he is going to have so much fun, and I know I am really going to enjoy hanging out with just Logan, and even having some free time while he naps.

But I have a confession to make. As I pulled out of the church driveway, my eyes welled up. For just a moment I thought my heart would burst. It’s the beginning of a whole new chapter in Connor’s life. I can’t even imagine what a mess I will be when he goes to kindergarten!

I have another confession. I always thought the overly-emotional mom was so silly. I worked in a preschool for many years, and I would think to myself, “just get over it. Cut the cord already! It’s not that big of a deal.” It turns out I am totally that mom! I’m the mom with the camera, snapping last minute pictures. I’m the mom telling her child over and over again how much she loves him and how proud she is. I’m that mom who wants one more kiss and one more hug. I’m that mom who desperately wants her baby to look back one more time, because in a way it is her child saying “I still need you, mommy.”

Yup. I’m that mom. And you know what? That is okay.

“Mommy, what makes the ground stay?”
“What?
“What makes the ground stay?”
“Hmmm…that’s a good question. Derek?”
“Well, son, it’s because of gravity. It’s the force that pulls everything down.”

Connor thinks long and hard about this answer. I can tell he’s not buying it.

“Actually, it’s wood,” Connor says. Derek and I stifle a laugh.
“Wood?”
“Yes. Wood is under the ground and that makes it stay. And then there is dirt and worms and lizards and ants and cockroaches and stinger bugs.”

How can you argue with that?
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We watched a movie last night called “Everything is Illuminated” Go rent this movie! It made me laugh, made me cry, made me a bit angry, surprised me at some parts, and was just an all around great movie. It stars Elijah Wood, and I personally think that you can’t go wrong with any movie he is in. And this includes “The Man Without a Face” and “Forever Young.” (Remember those movies? They will forever remind me of spring break in Florida at my Grandma’s house.)
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My little brother left for China yesterday for his great adventure. It’s not like I saw him all the time anyway, but I miss him. But I know that God is going to do amazing things through him. His life and the life of those around him will forever be changed. Prayers for his work, and he and his financee are mucho appreciated. It’s going to be an amazing 10 months for him!

So living in Houston definitely has it’s downside. I’m going to talk about a big one today.

Bugs.

I hate bugs. I hate cockroaches the most. I throw up in my mouth every time I see one. I’ve seen 4 in our house since we moved here-one time I even had to take care of it myself since Derek wasn’t here. Gag me.

Ants. We keep getting ants in our kitchen no matter how diligently I sweep. I guess all the rain is driving them inside. And the bad thing about Houston ants is they bite.

Mosquitos. ‘Nuff said. They have been espeically terrible this year. As if having to deal with the heat and humidity isn’t enough, we also have to deal with bugs that bite and possibly carry dieseases every time we step outside.

I have a new bug on my list today. I’m not even sure exactly what it is. It’s some species of fly.

It started out innocently enough. We were at the park the other day, and I noticed a few black flies. No biggie. Then I felt something tickle my knee. I assume it’s a mosquito, and I have my hand poised and ready to kill. I glance down and see that it’s not a mosquito. It’s a fly. No, wait. It’s two flies. One on top of the other. Ewww! Totally having sex on my leg! Smash. They were goners. But they left behind some nasty guts on my leg. Or maybe it was spunk. (I almost did a scrapbook page titled spunk. I decided to look it up first, and came to find out that it also means something else besides spirited…look it up…unless you are a 12 year old boy and in that case you probably know what it means, at least according to Derek.)

Anywho. I killed the mating flies and they left guts on me. Gag me again.

So tonight on the way to church, I saw 6 pairs of these mating flies! I guess it’s the day for them. I wonder how they know which day to mate? It’s really a little bit fascinating. As long as they keep their business off my leg!

Next week, Connor will start preschool 2 days a week. This is his first time to ever to go school, and he is so excited about it. Almost every day he will ask if today is the day. He carries his lunch box with him everywhere, and even takes it to bed. I am so happy that he is excited about school. Because I am excited about it, too!

Anyway, last week Connor got a letter in the mail from his teacher. In the letter, it said that he could bring a stuffed animal to school so he could have a special friend by his side all day.

“But mom, I don’t really have a special stuffed animal.”
“Hmmm…well, maybe you could just bring sossy.”
“Or maybe I could just bring my hat and my soft scarf.”

This is what my son wants to wear the first day of school. Cracks me up! He even slept in his fuzzy gear the other night.

He is quite the character, that’s for sure!

But I am totally not pregnant.

It’s my sister-in-law’s fault. They recently revamped Justin’s room, organized all the toys, etc. I was so inspired that I have done the same thing. I went to Wal-Mart today, picked up a few rubbermaid containers and a small shelf for Logan’s room and went to town. I have taken down the changing table, moved a bunch of toys out of Connor’s room and into Logan’s, rearranged, put every last lego/matchbox car/train/block, etc. into it’s own container. I have removed all of the boys’ clothes that are too small from their closets. The newborn blankets and junk are packed in a box. The clothes are all in the process of being organized by size, after a thorough look to see if it’s too stained or too ugly for any future children. I feel great! So much accomplished today.

And now I am going to scrap.

But first, here are a few pictures from our weekend home last week. Whenever all 7 little ones are together, we attempt to take a picture of all of them. We were actually fairly successful! It’s amazing what a few peanut m&m’s will do for kids.

The babies. The ones who are still sweet. Well, the other’s are sweet, too, but Max, Kayla, and Logan are especially sweet.

I told the kids to hug each other. Connor must have thought I said “put your cousin in a choker hold and look like a real psycho.”

Abby is so proud that she is following directions. Justin is trying to intervene. And Max is just done.

Yes, we realize that Connor has a freakishly large tongue. He is very proud of it.

Madison is a picture super-star.

We almost got them all looking at the camera.

Warning! I am about to blog about poop. If you are easily offended, you might want to skip this post!

So this past weekend we visited my family. My little brother got engaged (post with pics about that coming soon…) Until my pictures of the weekend are ready to post, I will leave you with this delightful story.

So we are enjoying a nice family dinner on Saturday night. Connor was having way too much fun with Mamaw and Pawpaw’s toys, so he had already been excused from the table. He runs by us, exclaiming “I gotta go potty!” He likes to make a public service annoucement, like many kids I’m sure. I few minutes later, he was yelling for help. I get to the bathroom, he looks at me innocently and says,

“I was standing up to pee and I had a little pootie bootie and some poop accidently came out.”

I look on the floor, and sure enough, there is was. A little splatter. He had tried to clean it up himself, and in typical kid fashion had managed to smear it pretty good, rather than get the floor clean. I could not stop laughing! I am sure my mom didn’t think it was that funny-it had shot out with rocket force and there was a tiny bit on her brand new wallpaper! It really wasn’t that big of a mess, which is probably why Derek, my brother and I thought this was the funniest thing that had ever happened. But then again, we are gross like that.

So, thanks Connor, for making Saturday night dinner a little more interesting. And I advise you, my son, to sit to pee next time you think you might have a pootie bootie!

If I am ever blessed with a little girl, I will never ever bestow on her a haircut like this! Hello, I am not a boy! And can my mom at least comb my hair before picture day?!

My mom swears this was a professional haircut. If that’s true, the stylist definitely needs to find another career. My teeth were also a nice touch. My buck tooth smile was especially flattering when I was missing my two inscisors.

At least we know that Logan comes byhis snaggle teeth honestly. 🙂

And while I am posting am embarassing childhood picture, how about the oh-so-glamourous Glamourshot, circa 1992.

Those stars add just right right amount of sparkle and shimmer to compliment my pink lipstick and boufant hair.

ME!

No excuse except laziness. And mad scrappines. I have seriously been scrapping so much the past week or two. I keep thinking I should post some of my pages here, but then the other computer where they are saved is off, and I’m just too lazy to get up.

So here are a few random tidbits from the past week or so. and maybe if I ask D really nicely, he will turn on the other computer.

I have been on a cookie making and eating spree the past 2 weeks. I cannot get enough sugar cookie dough. This is not so good for the weight watchers. I have lost about 10 pounds so far, but I lost no pounds this week for the first time since starting. I have been justifying all my cookie eating with my running. Marathon training is going…I’m up to 6 miles, and so far I still really like running. This is a good thing.

Connor and Logan say and do cute things every day. I can’t even think of anything right now. Logan is at such a fun age right now, and I feel like Connor is past the worst of the god awful threes, which don’t even compare to the supposed “terrible twos”. C starts school in 3 weeks. He is so excited and so am I!

We went to Kohl’s today, and I bought a new shirt based solely on the brand name. I have never done that before. No, it was Gucci or Prada or…umm…I can’t even think of another brand name…It was a brand called Derek Heart! Isn’t that funny? If I wasn’t so lazy I would insert a picture of my new shirt. Oh wait-maybe I can find one online! Be right back…

I found it!

Pretty cute, huh! I also got a really cute pink tank top with some sparkly rhinstones around the neck.

We also went to the Carter’s store, and for $30 I got the boys 3 shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, a pair of sandals, and some pj’s. It was a great sale.

{I think this is the most boring blog post ever.}

I’ll end with this-some of my favorite scrapbook pages of the week. My other favories are entered into a contest-you can check them out if you want! I am in the 3rd round (top 25) or a really cool contest. Here’s the link to my pages.

I’m off to make some cookies….I am out of control, I tell ya!