Officially old?

Ethan just texted me from the other room with "Merry Christmas. Goodnight."

Yes, I said ETHAN JUST TEXTED ME.

My oldest son now owns a cell phone, given to him for Christmas by his dad.

Does this make me old, officially?

I Love You So...

One of the gifts I gave to Brenden this year is a book called "I Love You So..." by Marianne Richmond.

I'm a big fat dork, and I started crying when I read it to Brenden tonight.

Here it is.

"I love you.

How much?

SO much.

How much is 'so'?

WAY, WAY MORE than you know...

I love you as BRILLIANT as each sparkling star,

and as WAY OUT as space, I love you THAT far.

I love you as GIGANTIC as a great lion's roar,

and as DEEP as the ocean, I love you MUCH more.

'That IS a lot,' you say, 'but HOW did it start?

WHERE did love come from to be in your heart?'

YOU put it there, really, when you and I met.

And I knew for certain WITHOUT you I'd fret.

From MY HEAD to my TOES, I was feeling inside

a devotion for you SO DEEP and SO WIDE.

And now it's ENORMOUS and wonderfully real

and hard to describe HOW MUCH I feel!

I love you as AWESOME as a thundery sky, and as SOARING as mountains,

I love you THAT high.

I love you as SILLY as a puppy dog's kiss,

and as QUIET as midnight, I love you like THIS.

'Do you love me EVERY day?' you ask with doubting awe,

'or does love go UP 'N DOWN like a teetering see-saw?'

I love you as STEADY as the earth rounds the sun,

though SOME days of life are the FARTHEST from fun.

'Like when you feel MAD?' you ask with distress,

'cause I've BROKEN the rules or made a BIG mess?

Or, when I'm UNKIND, and your feelings are BLUE,

do you love me ALTHOUGH I do what I do?'

I love you being NICE, and when you're CRANKY, too.

I love you without liking the NAUGHTY things you do.

My 'love you' DOESN'T change like the temper of the days.

It's a CERTAIN kind of thing in many DIFFERENT ways.

You're my SWEETIE, my dear, my SMILE and laughter.

You're my PLAYMATE for always, and my JOY ever after.

Hanging out WITH YOU is where I want to be...

eating ice cream sundaes or watching the TV.

UNDER your umbrella, behind you on a bike.

BY you and BESIDE you is what I REALLY like.

'Do you love me just AS MUCH when I'm FAR away from home?

Is your loving still THE SAME in distant lands I roam?'

I love you NEAR or FAR. I love you HIGH or LOW.

My love is there with you WHEREVER you may go.

'Even when I'm SICK...and I can't get out of bed?

Do you love me better HEALTHY than with fever in my head?'

I love you sick or able.

You're ALWAYS you to me, the ONE I LOVE forevermore.

Undeniably.

I CAN'T IMAGINE life before YOU came along...

me there singing senseless, no MEANING to my song.

Call it MEANT TO BE or simply blessed fate, you fill my heart WITH LOVE...

and for THAT I celebrate.

'I love you.

How much?

SO much.

How much is 'so'?

WAY, WAY MORE than you know..."

When I first read it, I thought of how much I love Ethan and Brenden and how my love for them never ends, despite all the tough tumbles and stumbles we go through together.

But this unconditional love she talks about also sounds like the love I have for my sister, for my best friends, for my mom and dad, the love my best friend Brooke feels for her husband Ryan and her puppies, and the love that God has for all of us.

Nathaniel, Benjamin and Avery

The kids and I were talking a couple days ago and the subject of names came up. I told Ethan that I wanted to name him Nathaniel and I told Brenden that I wanted to name him Benjamin. To my dismay, their dad nixed both names, so we ended up with Ethan and Brenden. Sometimes I still think that I should have pushed harder for the name Ben. Anyway, Ethan told me that he doesn't like the name Nathaniel (or the name Ethan for that matter...he wants his name to be Jordan), but Brenden did like the name Ben. :)

I also told the boys that if either one of them would have been a girl, they would have been named Avery. They thought that was weird. hehe.
Maybe someday I'll have a girl and name her Avery...

No, just kidding, GOTCHYA! ;)

Thankful

My sister and I have officially "hosted" Thanksgiving for the past 7 or 8 years. Back then, our mom passed down a special family tradition. Each year we cook the basics, but we always find new and exciting recipes to try. Some things are staples, of course, like mom's pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes (yum!) and I do believe the clam dip is becoming one as well. Other than that, we experiment. We always have at least two appetizers, then soup follows, then the main course, and finally dessert. We make EVERYTHING from scratch...even the caramel (ok ok this year we didn't make the ice cream or the whipped cream). But there is no skimping here. And we don't try to make our food low fat or with less calories - no way. On Thanksgiving we're all about fresh, fattening and full of flavor. This year's menu looked like:

Appetizers
Crab Cakes with Red Chili Mayonnaise
Clam Dip with Sourdough

Soup
Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Mushrooms and Chives (I couldn't find any pumpkins however, so this ended up being squash soup - not your everyday squash but some that looked sorta like pumpkins so I figured what the heck)

Salad
Romaine with Cranberries, Oranges and Goat Cheese

Main Course
Porcini-Rubbed Turkey with Shitake-Madeira Gravy
Artichoke, Sausage and Parmesan Cheese Stuffing
Chive and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Haricots Verts with Herb Butter
Maple Glazed Carrots
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce

Dessert
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

This year, the food was truly a group effort. Kellie, Richie (my bro) and I along with our sous chef Ethan really knocked it out. We listened to music and cooked pretty much all day Wednesday and then most of Thursday. Kellie and Richie made the crab cakes. I wasn't happy with that selection as an appetizer because we made them a few years back and they weren't that good. This year though, this recipe, these cooks, these crab cakes were AMAZING. They were so damn good. Really, everything was delicious!

So of course I was extremely thankful for the fabulous fare, but on top of it, I was and am so extremely thankful for the beautiful family and wonderful friends I am blessed with. Ethan said it best when he read a Thanksgiving prayer:

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.
We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

A couple pics to follow - my flash drive is currently MIA.

Speeches and Enunciating

Tonight Ethan practiced his "valedictorian" speech for his "graduation" from the "Apple Valley One Room School House" tomorrow. For three weeks, everyone in the fourth grade has pretended to be part of the Apple Valley Schoolhouse in the 1850s. It has been really neat. Ethan's alias is Robbie Smith. His teacher is now Miss White. They wear old style clothing and carry their books in pillowcases. The three weeks is coming to an end so the other night, he had to write (OK, I helped him a little) a valedictorian speech. Yesterday he found out that his was one of six out of the entire fourth grade that would be part of the graduation ceremony. So yes, folks, Ethan will give the first speech of his life tomorrow morning. Drumroll please....:

"Good morning fellow classmates, staff and parents. Thank you for attending our graduation. The teachers and students have worked very hard. We have learned much about reading, spelling, writing and mathematics.

Much has happened this year. I remember the time when I brought an apple to my teacher Miss White. When she took a bite of it, a worm popped out! Boy did she scream to the heavens! She ran out of our one room school house faster than a speeding horse! I also remember how we all came together to mourn the passing of Farmer Brown's beloved cow, Bessy. We are more than a schoolhouse, we are a community.

As graduates entering our community, I believe we can work together to bring peace back to our country. President Pierce did us wrong by signing the Kansas Nebraska Act. Now, we are graduates. We can do our part to make a difference.

Thank you for coming."

Video camera's ready!

So while Ethan did his work, Brenden did his. Of course it took me saying "focus focus focus" to both boys, but that's how it always is. Anyway, Brenden had to write the words he missed on the day's spelling test three times each and in a sentence. When we got to the word "would" I explained to him that the word isn't the "wood" that's is like the wood of a tree. Instead, I said, it's like "Would you like to go to the movies?" So not to cheat, he came up with his own sentence: "Would you like to go to the park? (hehe) When he was writing out the sentence, he came up to me and said how do you spell "jya?" I replied HUH? What are you talking about Brenden?! and he said YOU KNOW, JYA!! WHAAAAAT? says me! Finally, he says YOU KNOW, LIKE WOULDJYA LIKE TO GO TO THE PARK? HAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I guess I should start enunciating.

Ok, good night. :)

Mission Inn Run: New Family Tradition?

On November 9th, the boys and I, along with my niece Sarah, participated in the 31st Annual Mission Inn Run. It was awesome. I had a blast and the boys did awesome. It was fun to be a part of something with my family that so many other families were participating in. There was a great sense of community. Everyone had a smile on their face. Well, except for the really tired runners - haha.

I did the 10k. My family gathered on one of the corners and cheered for me each time I passed. Ethan ran down the street to watch for me and then ran up with me when I finally came by. Both the boys waved and yelled "MAMA! GO MAMA!" every time I saw them. During the last mile, I was running up toward my family and Brenden yelled out while Ethan ran up near me. The lady next to me said "Aw, that must be really inspirational." She was right. It was such a good feeling to have all the people that I love, the people who genuinely care about me, there to watch me reach my goal of running my first 10k, without stopping, in less than an hour. It was wonderful. And I finished without even feeling tired. I was only happy. So happy.

The kid's races were fun too. They were SO proud of themselves and I was SO proud of them too. Brenden and Sarah completed a 1/2k while Ethan did the 1k. As soon as the kids took off during the 1k (fast I might add!), a bunch of the parents (including myself) took off down the side street to meet them at the pass. It was so funny! I tried to run to get ahead of Ethan to take a good picture of him but he was too quick! Aunt Jay got one though!!!


Brenden and Sarah were quick too! Ok, well Sarah wasn't so quick but she is a lovely little tea party type of girl and she did FABULOUSLY considering that. Her mom Jocelyn ran with her the entire time convincing her not to give up!

I had done something similar a couple of days before, yelling at ALL the kids not to give up when they came down to the track for a "trial run". Since they had never run in a race before, I wanted them to experience the run so that they would get a feel for how far they had to go. They did well, but wanted to walk some, and I kept yelling across the field "DON'T GIVE UP!!!"

After the kids' races, they got their medals, we looked at the list of names and times, and then headed for a family lunch at our mexican restaurant. :)

I do believe (and genuinely hope) that this will become a new family tradition for us. Even Kel said that maybe she'll do the 1 mile run next year - hehe. It was terrific!

The Jungle Book

This past Sunday, the boys, my niece Sarah and my mom went to a children's theatre production of The Jungle Book. It was great!

At first, Ethan didn't want to go, but I think he was pleasantly surprised.
For him (just as it was for me when I used to go with my Grandma Evelyn to the Fontana Players when I was a kid), they play was magical. His eyes were so bright and big, and I was so happy to see it!

Sarah loved it too! She was bouncing and singing in her chair during the musical numbers. It was stinkin' adorable.

Brenden liked it too, but he asked if he could play with my Blackberry twice...so it wasn't as magical for him. LOL

After the play, Ethan wanted to go back to get a look at the actors up close and as normal people. And when we got home, even though it was late, the first thing he did was look up the theatre group online. I think I might have a little actor on my hands!!

October 31, 2008: A Zoo and A Whole Pirate Family!

For the past month, Brenden's teacher Mrs. Moerke has been sending home information about Mrs. Moerke's Zoo...a place where all the first graders become animals, and they talk about themselves. Parents receive admission to the zoo through donation of school supplies, and get to buy bags of food for the animals for 25 cents.

For the past week Brenden had been working diligently memorizing facts about the panda, and lines for his class performance. For the past several days, while the kids did this,

, I worked diligently on a panda outfit for Brenden to wear! Now, I don't know how to use a sewing machine very well so I did it by hand.

It turned out pretty cute, and Brenden looked adorable in it!!!

He did a great job speaking and telling facts about the panda. He also enjoyed talking to his friend Kyle while the whole class was singing! (...that Bren!) And everyone thought the giant bamboo stalks that Grandpa Steve collected for the pandas were awesome!

The panda exhibit at the zoo was a definite success!

Later, we got dressed up and drove down to a nearby Halloween event with Jay, Sarah and Ryan. They had music and all of the stores were passing out candy. It was WAY better than trick or treating in our dud neighborhood!

Ethan went has the "head legendary" pirate, and Brenden and I were his followers. Sarah was a cheerleader and Ryan was Piglet. So fitting! :)

While we were having frozen yogurt, some people walked by and said "Look, a whole pirate family!" Aww it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

On Main street they had a band playing. Ethan and Brenden showed us some of their break dancing skills! Here's Ethan in action:

What a fun day!

Brenden got to be a panda and a pirate.

Ethan was the legendary leader, and an awesome dancer.

And I was a very proud pirate mama, indeed.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

All three of us have our costumes now....we are three PIRATES!! Darn cute ones!!!!!!!!!!

The boys put their costumes on just now and they look so flippin adorable.

We are so excited!!

:)

My baby is SIX!!!

That's right, my littlest baby boy turned SIX on Saturday! I can't believe that it was six years ago the evening of October 17, 2002, 2 weeks before Bren's due date, that I was sitting on the couch with giant swollen feet up, complaining that I didn't want to go to work the next day...then off to bed that night with my giant human sized pillow next to me (wow I loved that thing)...then BAM, awoken in the wee hours with a huge gush of fluid. Haha I remember wrapping towels around myself before getting in the car....But ok, ok I know, no one wants to read birthing stories...that's for the maternity blog....he arrived October 18, 2002 at 10:45am...and now back to Brenden and his party.

Brenden is the kind of kid you wanna hang out with because he is fun. Since he was born, he has been curious, sweet, kind, rambunctious, and beautiful...

I took video at his birthday party. I interviewed him and asked him how it felt to be six. He told me it felt good. I asked him if he felt older. He said he did. I asked him if he had any last words to tell the camera before I turned it off and he started talking about my bra...that kid is crazy!

So, I made cool ice cream cupcakes for his class on Friday and again for his party on Saturday. They were so cute.

We went to John's Incredible Pizza Company and had such a blast!! The people that came to celebrate with Brenden were: Me, Ethan, Grandma Joy, Grandpa Steve, Aunt Kellie, Greg, Uncle Richie, Aunt Jay, Sarah, Ryan, Angela, Andrew, Caleb, Madelyn, Jordana, Isabella, Daddy, Arena, Micah, Bryce and Natalee! So many people love Brenden! Here are some pics:

...to be posted as soon as I get them since I lost the camera! :(....

OK, luckily, Jordana had her camera and let me take some pics...here are the highlights. ;)

Classic

We still haven't found the perfect costumes for the boys, but we're close!! hehe

Out of the mouth of...Bren

Last night, Ethan fell asleep a little earlier than bedtime. So, I tucked just Brennie in at 9. Every night I remind the boys to say their prayers and sometimes I get them started or pray with them. As I was walking out of their room last night, I heard Brenden start to pray. What I heard went like this "Thank you God for my pillow and my toys and my bed and for boxes and for windshields and our car..." He is the cutest thing. I don't think I've ever thanked God for my windshield.

Speaking of Brenden's words...before I started blogging I wrote down somewhere else a funny phone conversation I had with him one time. It was about 3 or 4 months ago. I called the boys from work one day to say hi. Brenden answered the phone. Our conversation was:

Brenden: Hello?
Me: Hi Brennie (in hushed tone)
Brenden: Hi Mama! Why are you talking so low?
Me: Oh, because I'm at work baby.
Brenden: Ohhhhh! Is everyone sleeping?
Me: Hehehe no baby!
Brenden: OOHHH! They are just trying to concentrate!!
Me: Yeees baby that's right! You are so smart!
Brenden: I know! And I just thunk of that myself!

hehe...I have the cutest kids ever.
:)

Adventures with Bob!

At school on Friday, Ethan's name was picked as the lucky one who got to take the class bear, Bob, home for a week, recording all of his adventures in a notebook. If it was adventure Bob wanted, it was adventure he was gonna get!! There were many fun and exciting choices for Saturday but we ended up with good ol' bowling....then miniature golfing....then all kinds of carnival rides....then mexican food....and yet more carnival rides. It was a perfect day for it too; not too hot, and not too cold!

Bowling started at 9:30 in the morning. $1 games! Woohoo! I beat the boys (and Bob) on the first game with a 113. GO ME! But Ethan and Brenden did wonderfully. Ethan kicked my butt the second time around! Both of them got strikes and everything. We even shared a big giant diet coke that Brenden ordered for us. Thanks Brenden!

After bowling, we decided on miniature golfing. After a quick pitstop for a Mean Bean (yum!) and a couple green apple sodas, we were off! We lost a total of 4 balls during our 18 holes. Awesome! Final score: Mama rocks, Ethan's super, and Brenden is amazing! And of course mini golfing wouldn't be complete without some duck feeding.

First ride after miniature golfing: Merry Go Round. Bob enjoyed it immensely.

Now, I am not sure when Ethan turned from scaredy cat to roller coaster junkie, but it happened sometime between ages 5 and 9...and boy does he love the thrills!! He couldn't get enough of the roller coaster, swings and some sort of flying contraption. Every time he flew by me on that thing (during his second session) he screamed "MAMA IT'S JUST LIKE HARRY POTTER!!" (Yes, my big 9 year old still calls me "mama" and that makes me smile.) He must have screamed it seven times. It was the cutest thing. He didn't know if I could hear him so he just kept screaming it. It was so funny to me that I was laughing during his last four laps, out loud, to myself. I think the dad next to me thought I was a little strange because he was eyeing me as I was laughing and telling myself that Ethan doesn't know I can hear him. :)

As for Brenden, I watched with sympathy as he flew by on the swings, holding on for dear life, with a terrified look on his face. After about 5 turns, that same dad looked at me and said "Is that your son?" Yes, that is my poor, scared, son and I am his helpless mother. As the ride came to a slow, I wanted to run to Brennie and hug him, but before I could, he was strolling away from the ride. Being the laid back, carefree soul that he is, he simply said "I didn't like that one." My baby, I never liked that one either!

So Saturday, for bears and humans alike, was a pretty great day!!

Sunday was nice too. Bob went to church with us. I could tell he liked it. After that, he accompanied Kel, Bren and I to Kel's boyfriend's hockey game! So much fun! Ethan was a party pooper and wanted to stay with Grandma. HUH? Ok, fine! We had a blast anyway! Afterward Brenden declared "I want to do that!!" so that is on the agenda!

After hockey, Brennie and I got some more frozen yogurt on our way home (I think we are beginning to like frozen yogurt a little too much!) and we walked around shops and sat on benches.

Bob waited in the car. :)

My Son, the Thief.

My dad watched the boys after work for me today.

When I arrived, the boys told me that they were in trouble but no one would tell me why.

So later, my dad started like this "I'll tell you what happened if you promise not to do anything about it because I already did." And then he said "Well now that I started telling you I am having second thoughts."

I was so worried! Spit it out Dad! The anxiety was killing me! So he tells me that he had to go to the auto parts store and he took the boys along. When they got there, they went inside and Brenden proceeded to the candy section. He asked my dad if he could have some candy. My dad said no. Knowing Brenden, he probably asked 5 or 10 more times. My dad still said no.(Go Dad!) So when they left, they walked back to the car and Brenden asked if he could sit in the back seat instead of the front seat. (As an aside, I explained to my dad that Brenden isn't allowed to sit in the front seat at all EVER anymore!) My dad, realizing that no kid would rather sit in the back than the front watched Brenden carefully and noticed that he had STOLEN candy from the store!!!! OH MY!!!!! [As a kid I never took anything from anywhere so this was surprising!] So, my dad made Brenden go back in the store and tell the cashier that he had STOLEN the candy and that he was SORRY. The cashier proceeded to try to teach him a lesson by asking him if she should call the police. (Poor Brennie!) Apparently, Brenden just stood there and listened to her and replied with "I'm sorry." I asked my dad if he explained how WRONG stealing is to which he responded, "If Brenden didn't know that it is wrong to STEAL, he wouldn't have tried to hide it from me." So I guess the lesson was in taking the candy back in the store and telling the cashier that he was sorry for STEALING it.
To make me feel better, my mom told me that she and her sister filled their pockets with candy once when their grandma said "no" and my mom is the sweetest, most moral, most upstanding person I know so hey, there is hope for Bren yet! :)

Legos: Too Rich For My Blood!

Good thing the kids didn't actually want the Legos after they saw the Tech Deck skateboard ramp.


Today Brenden finished his second round of 5 happy notes!! Each time he accumulates 5 he gets a treat. He has been doing so well...I told him I am "over the moon" proud of him. I am also sooo proud of Ethan who brought home his progress report with shooting stars all over it. Not literally, but his teacher noted his EXCELLENT classroom behavior and AWESOME test scores! So, we took a trip to Target and personally, I really really wanted Legos. I wanted us to build something cool together. But surprisingly, they didn't want Legos. They wanted a ramp for their Tech Decks (and 4 more Tech Decks). So, what they wanted is what they gotted. :)

I ventured to the Lego isle though and I was shocked at how expensive they are! It was $40 bucks for a plain box of 'em! And some of the "special" boxes were like twice that!



Oh well, they are happy.

BTW, Ethan cut his finger today with the new pocket knife my dad bought him. He asked me to put that in this blog. ;)

Yahtzee!

Woohoo! I got a yahtzee tonight...go me! I actually had some spare time so I played Yahtzee with my son Ethan (I got out of Monopoly this time phew!). Brennie didn't want to play...he sort of marches to the beat of his own drum and he didn't feel like playing so he didn't. I have never known a kid to decline a fun family game of yahtzee but he suits himself! So anyway, I beat Ethan (Yes!)...but only because I am so incredibly lucky and I actually got the yahtzee. Sadly, he only came close. :) Here are a couple pics:

4 Fours Vs. 5 Fours!

Our Mexican Restaurant

This blog is great because I think someday it will help the boys remember the little things that we do (and it will help me remember too). Life's not all about the big fun trips we take...although those are totally great. Life is about the little things. Tonight, for example, we did a little shopping (maybe someday I'll blog about my addiction to lip gloss and Mac eyeshadow on The Other Side!), and I was going to take them to Cherry On Top again for a treat but they chose to have Tech Decks instead (little tiny finger skateboards). On the way home, I had to stop for salsa at our Mexican restaurant and we were starving so decided to stay for dinner. I have been going to this restaurant since I was a little girl. It is located in a strip mall next to an insurance place I think. The inside is defined by the use of lattice (painted green) and the dark green booths that are sunken in from too much sitting. The food is full of cheese and greasy goodness. It is hearty and homey and comforting. I think more than flavor or finesse, it is just the cheesy comfort that is irresistible. So we sat there and ate and it was fun. They are at an age now where going to dinner with them...without another adult...is actually fun. :) When I first got divorced, Ethan was 5 and Brenden was 2. At that time, going out to dinner without another adult wasn't exactly a great time. It was more like get in, eat, get out. But now, we can try to decide why the moon looks bigger tonight than it usually does and how Ethan likes being sick because he gets his own salsa. :)

Plant Dead; Fish Still Kickin

When Ethan was born nine and a half years ago, my Grandma Doris had a plant sent to the hospital. It was the Ethan Plant. It grew and grew and was beautiful, and I was very concerned about its well being since it was, in fact, the Ethan Plant. One day about a year ago, our puppy Harley knocked the Ethan Plant over and the main stalk broke in half. I was so sad! But, alas, there was a baby plant that had started growing next to the big one. I cherished it and was so thankful that the Ethan Plant would live on. Unfortunately, this baby Ethan Plant did not survive my last move. I think it is officially dead now and I am officially sad. :(

On a brighter note, the fish with no name has a new home. He no longer resides in the cereal container, but in his very own fish bowl with a plastic plant and everything. I told the man at the pet store that I wanted to buy another fish to keep my fish company and he suggested that I not do that...since they would just kill each other anyway! To this, my mom, who was with me at the time, replied "Well at least they'd be having fun!" Ah mom.

Cherry On Top

First let me say, I forgot to rotate that pic before I added it and now I can't figure out how to rotate it or delete it! Oh well.

My littlest baby boy collected FIVE happy notes at school. He actually received FIVE IN A ROW!! I promised him that I would take him to do something fun when he got to five. Some background: Brenden is rambuctious. He likes to climb. His mind and body are always on the move. On the third day of school this year I received a typed note from his teacher that told me about Brenden's not so good behavior. So, I made him a necklace (the boy loves jewlery hehe) made of yarn with laminated rules attached to it like "Respect Everyone" and "Make Smart Choices." We talk about the rules almost daily and he has been putting forth a lot of extra effort to get those happy notes. So....tonight I took him and Ethan to Cherry On Top which is a frozen yogurt shop with lots of choices and lots of toppings...all self serve. It was a lot of fun!!! As a side note, I already have many different concoctions made up in my mind...Peanut Butter yogurt with bananas and brownies, Cheescake yogurt with all kinds of fruit, and then there will have to be one trip where I just put tons of cereal on my frozen yogurt. :)

"And Beyond" Beautiful

Ok so this is the first night I have ever blogged...I mean, I have kept a handwritten journal for a while now, but online is is new for me...and
exciting! My handwritten journal has many entries about my kids and things they do and say so I imagine my blog will as well. Might as well get started with that!.... My son Brenden is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen! And on top of that, he has a great personality. He is a bit odd and a lot crazy, but he is adorable and he is my Brennie. Tonight while tucking him in, I gave him a kiss and he said to me "You're beautiful." With my heart melting, I replied "You're beautiful too" to which he responded "Yeah, and you're and beyond beautiful." For you parents who have seen Buzz Lightyear, you know what he was saying..."To infinity and beyond". He proceeded to try to explain himself, and I told him that I understood what he meant and that I loved him to infinity and beyond...

Fish and Fruit Loops

I moved recently...and took my one surviving fish with me. Not the disgusting fish tank he had been living in, just the fish in an old glass vase. So there he has been sitting, with little food and no room to move for five days. The guilt has been torturing me. Poor little fishy. He has no name. He has no real home. He has no friends. He has no food. So I have contemplated where to dump him. I can't dump him!! I wondered about releasing him into the wild and offered it as a suggestion to my kids. The oldest, Ethan who is giant and 9 years old immediately informed my 5 year old Brenden that if I do that, he will most definitely be eaten by a bigger fish. So Brenden insists that we keep his fish...and so there he sits. Tonight I decided that I had let the fish wade in his own waste for long enough but had nowhere to put him. After some quick thinking on my part, he ended up in an old tupperware-like cereal container with new water and everything! I leaned in to take a closer look at how happy he must have been and the scent of fruit loops filled my nose as I watched him peck his reflection in the side of the container. I shouldn't be allowed to own pets.