Totally "Mom"-sense

Caleb brought the cutest handout home from his primary class today. (Jennifer, just a guess but I'm pretty sure that this was your idea.) Thank you.

"Here, mom. Let's play."

So I take a peak.

It was a ziplock baggie with M&M's in it. And attached was a piece of paper that said:

You're one special lady and I'm one special child!

Let's play a game with M&M's bright and wild!

Pick a candy, any color will do.

And answer the question through and through!

Then once you're done, toss in the air.

Can the other one catch? Or will it land in her hair?

Have fun and be silly- get to know each other well!

And to each other- I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, don't forget to tell!

Red- What is one of your favorite things to do with me?

Orange- Where would you want to go anywhere in the world with me and why?

Yellow- What do you see us doing together in 10 years?

Green- Name 3 reasons why you love me.

Blue- Ask me any question you like!

Brown- Hum a tune and see if I can guess it!

So fun!

xoxo

Loddy Doddy Look Who's Starting To Go Pee-Pee In The Potty...

Some experts suggest putting Fruit Loops in the toilet. Some experts suggest using a potty chair. Porter suggested to me that he sit backwards on the potty. Tip from a 2 1/2 year old. He thinks he can see his accomplishment better. He has better access to the flush (his favorite part of going potty). And for some reason his body and legs fit better at this angle. And not matter which kind of potty he is doing... they both drop perfectly.

In this case it's all about the destination and not the journey..

All The World's A Stage

"You have to know you can win. You have to think you can win. You have to feel you can win." {Sugar Ray Leonard}

Go get-em kiddo!

Brutal Fun

Marathon..... 30 days and counting.

Me getting ice treatments. Wish me luck. I'll need it!

Bye-Bye Five, Hello Six...

{two months delayed... not the party, but the post. :)}

The Birthday Boy:

The Birthday Boy Assistant:

In Ben 10 Heaven:

You may have a pinch to grow an inch, but no more. I wish you would stay little forever. You are such a fun boy and we love you, Caleb!

{Pockets}

have become a new phenomenon around our home. No, I'm not talking about those throw in the microwave Hot Pockets or the miniature dress up lose all of the accessories if you're not careful Polly Pockets.

I'm talking about your regular run of the mill pockets. The simple invention that allows you to hold your car keys, spare change... and well collect lint. When is the last time you used your pockets? Think hard. Can you remember?

I can. It was today.

And yesterday.

And the day before that.

In fact it has been every day this week.

It started on Monday during our day trip to the Woodland Park Zoo. Mommy introduced it, but has sense wished she hadn't. It sounded like such a brilliant idea at the time. And it went something like this.

Me being the standard infinite wise mother that I am prepared for our day trip to the zoo with sandwich style zip lock baggies each containing a snack. This is also the first day trip in which Damon and I agreed that our boys were probably old enough to do without the stroller. So I packed light. Since we have two boys, I would have normally packed separate snack baggies for each lovely son so as to discourage fighting. But this trip I beamed, we will be promoting sharing.

And after a little while of walking around my 2 1/2 year old asked for a snack. And when one asks for a snack there's this magical phenomenon thing that happens. It's called the "Me Too" syndrome. The six year old would like something too.

Notta problem. I'm prepared. "I've got some pretzels, fishies or fruit snacks. What would you guys like?"

My oldest says, "I'd like some pretzels please." "Me Too." says my youngest. (Right on cue.)

(and here comes sharing lesson number 101)...

Sharing Lesson number 101 was preached suburbly. :) (We've got one bag of pretzels. There's two of you. So you'll have to share with one another.. yadda yadda yadda. Okay?)

Lesson number 101 was received with four stars. No complaints. And no whining.

What!?

There was no complaining and no whining and you're only giving it four stars? Yeah, I know. I know! I should have been content and happy with four stars, but I wanted five.

You see the Woodland Park Zoo is a large zoo. And we decided to visit it during the off season which equals shorter operating hours. And ahem, we'd like our money's worth. And, this sharing thing was starting to slow the pack down... We were getting a little behind in our animal viewing schedule. It's because boys.. my boys can be slightly territorial especially when it comes to uh, food. Despite the plethora of pretzels to be had, neither son wanted to stray too far from the bag. And the turtle of the pack was holding the snack baggie. So mom in her infinite wisdom to her demise introduced the concept of pockets to speed us along in hopes to upgrade our journey to 5 stars.

Me: "Porter (our youngest) here honey... let's get some pretzels and put them in your pocket."

Porter: "My pock-ete"?

Me: "Yes, honey your pocket."

Porter: "Where's my pock-ete?"

Me: "Here bud. It's right here."

Porter smiling from ear to ear: "Oh, there's my pockete."

We visited the penguins, we saw a baby gorilla (so cute!), we saw tigers, lions, eagles, snow leapords, flamingos... and you know what ended up being the second coolest thing that Porter discovered on our trip to the zoo? (Top prize was a black push button which emitted a wolf howling .)

Not the animals. But, Pock-etes.

He asked to be dressed in them on Tuesday. He asked for them on Wednesday. And when I didn't have him in an outfit with a pocket, I had to put a hooded sweatshirt on over his shirt so that he could have a pock-ete.

I'll I want to do is put on sweat pants. La-la-la to pocket talk :)

Here's a few from our outing...

Tumble-Ina

Caleb loves swimming lessons.

Caleb loves gymnastics more.

But we haven't asked for a leotard yet..

Climbing The Pinnacle

has confirmed my suspicions... I've got no upper body strength. :) But fun none the less!

... and Damon works it like a pro!

New Family Pictures

How many clicks does it take to get one family picture with everyone smiling?

...Uh, alot. :)

Love,

Ritualistic

Every afternoon I get to snuggle with this guy for a story before nap time. I'm so lucky.

Porter is in charge of choosing the story. And out of the thousands of books that we have and despite whether or not I place this story in the very back of the stack.... Porter chooses this story every time. Um, I'm beginning to think it's a favorite. :)

Aren't snuggles and story time just the best..

Have a great day!

Marathon Training Week 8

I ran 15 miles today.

Smiling. :)

Thank you knees!

The Jury Is Out

or at least.... I've finished my two week jury duty assignment.

If you missed my initial post, you can read it here.

However, sadly enough there are other jury's and other courts and other court systems all over the United States still a going. First, thank you to everyone who watched my children during these last few weeks. It was an interesting experience, one that I'll never forget. I walked away from it with a few a-ha's-

The first. Although our judicial system is not perfect, I believe it to be thorough and fair.

Second. Everyone should take an opportunity to serve when they are called. I was surprised to find out that our county's Superior Court sends out 1600 summons each week and on average will only receive a yes from 300 people. I know it's an inconvenience. That it interrupts our lives. But I believe that it's our civic duty and if all the good people always tried to defer or get excused from it, who would be left to be the judges?

Third. That simple saying we all learned in elementary school... You should never judge a book by it's cover.... is really true. I met lots of new individuals during my stay at Superior Court some of which I didn't get to talk with for very long and thirteen others with which I spent a significant amount of time engaging in small talk, listening to stories and deliberating with. There are really a lot of good people in the world. I was fortunate and lucky enough to have met some of them.

Fourth. Real court is not like Law and Order.

Fifth. It is always better to make a righteous choice then to make a mistake and try to correct it. I know from personal experience. I'm sure that we all do. Feeling peace is a feeling that is worth more then anything money could buy. Our loving Heavenly Father knew that everyone would fall and make mistakes. I'm grateful that we have the opportunity to repent, to change and to make those corrections. There's nothing better then to be able to look yourself in the mirror and to feel good about what you're looking at. I saw several pained faces this week. I felt a small part of their hurt, their guilt and their shame and I also experienced an extraordinary amount of love for these individuals who I did not know. The love that our Heavenly Father has for each one of us is real and it's big. I can't even begin to imagine how our Savior felt as He knelt and He bled and endured on behalf of each and everyone of us. I am grateful for our Father in Heaven, a loving Heavenly Father who outstretches his hands again and again. To sit on the other side of a courtroom and to be free to leave at the end of the day felt significant to me. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you." John 14:27.

Sixth. I live in a sheltered world. My eyes were opened wider. Never let your children go into a public restroom by themselves even if you are standing right outside the door. There are so many things that occur and can occur inside of a public bathroom besides the obvious predator.

Friends... I am happy and ecstatic to watch your children should you ever be called to serve. Call me, please!

(... and you promise to tell all the deats when you are through, right? :)

Love (jury duty cheerleader),

So Grown Up

C: "Mom, wanna see a grown up E?"

Me: (intrigued) "Sure."

Caleb writes a capital E.

C: "Here's a lowercase e... see the difference?"

Great job buddy. Great job. :)

For The Birds

We have the privilege of owning a home that backs up to a busy road which is currently being widened to allow for more busyness. However, one of the perks of not having a neighbor directly behind us is that we get the opportunity to view vast open blue skies... and some power lines. So if you don't mind the traffic noise, continual dust and unobstructed utility views, it really is a great place to hunker down. :)

This morning Caleb was enjoying a bowl of cereal at our kitchen table. It's Sunday which means there's no cartoon viewing which means he's feeling extremely extra chatty. I love this about Caleb, however it's 6:45 am so I'm not there yet, buddy... I'm still in yawn mode. During a spoonful of crunch, Caleb looks through our back sliding glass door and notices a few birds perched on top of the power lines.

C: "Mom, those birds are watching me eat my cereal."

M: "Oh really?"

C: "Yes. They haven't taken their eyes off of me."

M: "Hmm.."

C: "Why do they keep looking at me?"

M: "Maybe they are hungry?"

C: "No mom. They don't eat cereal, they eat worms."

M: "Oh." "Maybe they are resting?"

C: "But they just woke up."

M: "Right."

C: "Maybe they are bored?"

M: "Well, perhaps you should do a little dance for them?"


Caleb digs this idea. He hops off the chair and begins to do a half bop with snappy fingers. But not too long after he starts one bird flies away.

C: "Mommmm.... they didn't like it. One of them flew away!"

M: "Really? Oh, I bet they loved it. I'm sure he's probably flying away to tell the rest of his birdie friends to come over and watch your show."

Caleb's eyes light up. He stands motionless staring out the sliding glass door.

Then right on cue... less than 20 seconds later a few more birds fly over and join the other two perched birds... making it now an audience of 5. Now, I realize that this is pure coincidence, but I think to myself... oh this could be fun.

C: "Look mom! Now, there's five birds."

M: "See Caleb, I told you. Your dancing is fabulous. They want to see more."

Caleb then proceeds to boogy like I've never seen Caleb boogy before. Full on arm movements, facial expressions and bust a move moves. Wow, I thought. I never get that kind of dance magic.

...Perhaps I outta perch myself on top of that utility wire?

Love,

A Staple Around Our House

Anybody: "Porter, did you go poo-poo?"

Just like clockwork and without any hesitation...this question gets answered 99.9% of the time like this (regardless of what's in the pants)....

Porter: (w/ a slight southern drawl) "Nah, just wet."