Jax is published

Jax found out that his poem, Night, will be published in this year's edition of the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. He is so very proud and excited and so am I!

This year his writing teacher encouraged Jax to try poetry as a way to express himself. She thought the concise medium would suit his thoughtful nature and be a great work around for his challenges with motor skills and dyslexia. She mentioned several times this year that she thought highly of Jax's poetry and asked if she could submit it for publication.

Stay tuned- I will reproduce the poem here (with Jax's permission of course) soon.

Gratitude

I keep reminding myself there is so much to be grateful for in this life. Here are three of them.

Jax and E

Sweet brothers on the swings in our backyard

Mommy and Gray on the swing in our backyard

Gray's 1st Haircut

Several people have commented on my cute little girl lately. So, I decided to cut Gray's hair. Last night before his bath I cut off his locks. I saved two little curls and put them in a zip-lock bag. It seemed sort of silly, but I was so sad to see them go. We are experiencing many last firsts- last first steps, last first tooth, last first word, and now the last first haircut. And while I will not miss the diapers or the constant emptying of the cabinets and bookshelves, I will miss the firsts.

Gray one week ago before his haircut.

Gray in his dino jammies with his new big boy haircut.

A Handsome Hero Indeed

In November of 2009, our family went to visit George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It was actually really interesting. The kids enjoyed it and still talk about it.

This year in Jax's 3rd grade class the kids have been asked to study a hero. Jax picked George Washington. Today he gets to dress as the first president and give the 2nd grade class clues about the hero. They will then guess who the hero is based on the clues and costume.

Jax has been planning the costume for weeks. I spent most of yesterday sewing. Here is the cumulative result of our efforts...

Handy Work

I came home to find E in big trouble. While upstairs alone while dad worked on straightening up the house, E had helped himself to the first aid kit. And he had used each and every one of the super-cool Transformer band-aids I bought for him the previous day. Each little finger was wrapped carefully in a band-aid. But to get it right, it had taken several attempts- and every one of the bandages. He had diligently kept at it until he was happy with the result. He had even taken my trashcan down from its perch and carefully placed the trash/evidence in the can. Apparently, when dad found E, dad was really angry. E told me that he was in big trouble and dad said no more cool band-aids for a long time.

This is how he felt about being in such big trouble and no more cool band-aids.But his is how the really felt about his handy work!
He left them on for four days and enjoyed every minute of it!

I have to admit, I secretly love that he did this. That he loved the band-aids so much that he felt compelled to use them all in one day. That he worked so hard at it. That he wrapped each finger and thumb. Little do they know that I have another package of Transformer band-aids in the medicine cabinet!!!

Jax's First Basketball Game

I had the pleasure of attending Jax's first basketball game on Saturday. He played hard and did a great job. He had two steals, defended his heart out, and hustled out there. Coach Tate was really proud. Here a few pictures.

A little inspiration from Coach Tate at the beginning of the game

Jax throwing the ball into play.

Running down the court.

Taking it down the court (that other hand isn't on the ball- just how it looks in the photo)

Not for Virgin Ears

E could teach a sailor a thing or two. Annoyed with the constant seepage from him nose, he followed a sneeze with a wizened "God damn it" the other day. It came as no surprise to us. Ok, taking the Lord's name in vain was a bit surprising, but nothing like the education he gave my in-laws over Christmas.

I walked into the room to hear E explaining, "there is a very bad word that we don't say and it is called the B-word." Uh-oh... please, please not here. E went on, "And my mom says we shouldn't say it and it goes 'fuck it.'"

"That's not the B-word," chimed Jax.

"Did he just say..." my mother-in-law looked to my father-in-law.

"And my mom says it's really bad and we don't say it." Continued E. All the while Frankie just sat there frozen like maybe if he didn't move it didn't happen.

"That is much worse than the B-word. That is the mother of all curse words." Jax said.

"I think he did." Said my mother-in-law.

That all took about 3 seconds. 3 seconds of living hell in which all I could think was please, please, please don't say "and my mommy says it all the time."

"Yes, E, that isn't a nice word and we don't say it. We have better words to express our emotions."

"Mom, that wasn't the B-word."

No, the B-word wouldn't have been nearly as bad.