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.

Magic Shoes by Jax (an encore presentation for some)

Hi, I’m Jackson. I’m the second most athletic in my class behind Julio Mati. There is a big race at 45th Street. I really want to win. I need some new shoes. I went to the shoe store. I asked the guy if they had any running shoes. He said yes. He took me there. I saw these awesome shoes. I bought them. I went home and went to bed. Tomorrow is the race. I woke up and said, “It’s morning.” “Ready, Set, Go!” said the ref. I went 4 miles in 5 minutes. Yes, these shoes must be magic! In your face, Julio. The End.

About the Author

Jax is the oldest of three brothers, likes superheroes, spicy Italian subs, and desperately wants a dog. He hopes to learn to snowboard this year.

My co-pilot

This is one of my favorite rituals of the day. Each morning Gray sits in the car with me and pretends to drive. He loves it. This morning he said, "Go" and told his dad, "Bye!"

Look at me driving!

I take my driving very seriously!

Uh-Oh! Dad's about to take me out of the car!

Lucky 13

Yesterday was our 13th wedding anniversary. Traditionally one would give lace for this anniversary, though the modern gift is textiles. We gave each other a road trip across the whole of Missouri, Kansas and half of Colorado. While it is not the romantic get-away every girl dreams of, as I looked around the car it occurred to me that it was not a bad way to mark the occasion- cocooned in the car with the people I love most in the world.

Yes, I look crazy. You might, too, half way through Kansas.

Yep, that's Kansas stretched out before us as far as the eye can see (and then some).

The boys looked for ways to entertain themselves.

And finally fell asleep at the end of a long trip

Christmas

What a fun and busy time we are having.

Making cookies for Santa with Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw on Christmas Eve.

The boys opened our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas.

Milk and cookies on the mantle for Santa, and the kids were tucked in bed. BUT...

Mom and Dad feared Santa might have to pass right over when Jax and Gray couldn't get to sleep. E rolled right over and slept like a champ, but the excitement of Christmas Eve was too much for Jax. It is hard to say what had Gray out of sort. Everyone was finally asleep at 4:30 a.m. and Santa left the boys just what they asked for...

A Batcave for E,

a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist dummy for Jax, and and Giant blocks for Gray.

Gray made us all smile by enjoying the gift wrapping and boxes more than any of the gifts!

Whew! The grown ups are ready for a nap!

2 a.m. in my bed

E: "Mom? Mom! Dad said I could sleep in here."

Me: "Ok"

E: "I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be back. Dad said I could sleep in here." He pads off to my private bathroom, the one that is supposed to be free from boy tinkle. When he is finished, he won't turn the light off because it is too scary, but pulls the door almost closed. Back in bed.

E: "I love you, Mom."

Me: "Love you, too, buddy. Let's get some sleep."

E: "I got a GI Joe today."

Me: "I can't wait to see it in the morning."

E: "Yeah, he's super cool. Did you work late?"

Me: "Yep. Let's get some sleep now."

E: "Dad said I could sleep here."

Me: "I know. Don't worry about it. I'm happy to see you. We'll talk in the morning."

And this morning at 4 a.m. we resumed our conversation, and then again at 7. Lots to catch up on.

Growing Pains

Jax wakes up at night whimpering because his joints hurt from growing so quickly. I've made buckwheat hot packs out of blue flannel with hockey players whirling around the fabric to try to soothe away the ache. Sometimes it works.

Lately I'm having growing pains. Not the kind that will make me any taller (darn shame, too). It is the sort of time I know I will look back on as a cross roads in my life. A stark before and after. Thankfully, no tragedy has marked this time. Just an insistent shifting of the ground below me, a questioning of everything I know, of myself. I'm not entirely sure where this is going or why I need to be along for the ride right now. Because, the thing is, I feel grown.

Funny, so does Jax.

Everything's Better with Waffles

The morning is my favorite time of day. The day holds such promise.

This morning I rolled over in bed (my bed that is) to see both Jax and Ethan sleeping peacefully and checked the time- 7:58. That is 2 minutes before we should be getting in the car to head out to school and work. I woke everyone, Jax had a meltdown about being late and informed us he was too sick to go to school. E took the opportunity to torture his brother by touching him, yes that can be torture when you are in the middle of a meltdown. I skipped the shower even though I needed one and knew I wouldn't be back home until 10 p.m. E tortured Jax some more.

Frankie made the kids a sit down breakfast because E insists on it. And Frankie thought to capture Gray eating waffles because it was too cute to pass up.

We finally piled in the car at 8:45 (15 min. after school had begun) only to find the main thoroughfare to school closed. We sat in the detour for almost an hour- school is 5-7 min from our house. During that time, Jax ticked off the events he missed- group time, geography... E rolled his window down and called to passersby- do you know where we are?

After dropping off the kids, I went straight to my 10 o'clock appointment without going to the office first.

But when a day starts with a little boy loving waffles this much, how can it be bad? (Though I have to laugh- you'd think from this blog that Gray does nothing but eat! Ok, he does eat a lot.)

Not in my bed!

THAT'S IT! After a week straight of E in my bed, I am evicting him tonight. He has violated the sanctuary.

Jax tipped me off to it. "Something smells" sniff, sniff "like pee." That's right. E peed in my bed. He apparently didn't even notice. It wasn't on my side, so neither did I. And without a sense of smell, I didn't know until Jax caught it. He assures me it is an awful smell.

If you know me at all, you know I cannot stand bodily fluids. I was horrified. E has had two accidents since being potty trained. Accidents happen, but not in my bed! That kid is going to have to sleep on his own tinkle proof mattress tonight. Which of course means no one will sleep tonight.

Missing Kyra

It was a year ago today that we discovered we would say goodbye to Kyra. She passed on December 8, 2008 and I have missed her every day since. That day I sent out the following e-mail:

Our sweet Kyra Belle left us today. She experienced a very rapid decline in health brought on by hypertension, a tumor, and Cushings disease. She went very peacefully while I held her and scratched her behind the ear. We will miss her incessant barking, her herding, and her sweat demeanor. We were blessed to have 12 wonderful years with her as our beloved pet, our first child, and our "Kyra sister." She has been a constant and loyal friend to me and will be dearly missed.

That about sums it up. I sure do miss my friend.

Kyra and the boys in December 2008.

Kyra December 2008.

Kyra and E in 2006.

Sweet Dreams

I need a good night's sleep. Jax has always invaded our bed, since the moment was brought him home and he nursed 24/7. That kid loves our bed. E used to be our best sleeper. He'd say good night, get bear, his poppys blank (my favorite down throw that he appropriated when he was about 18 months) and snuggle in for the night in his own bed. He slept a solid 12 hours and woke up happy. Then in the last few month he figured out that nothing prevents him from getting out of bed. Worse, he discovered that sometimes, after he is in bed, Jax sneaks into Mommy and Daddy's bed. Then the competition began. Now, at least one, but often both of them are climbing into bed with us in the middle of the night if we are lucky. More often in the last week, we are fighting with them to get into their own beds at bedtime- I know. It is crazy. We never expected to be negotiating who sleeps where with children. But after they get out of bed for the 30th time in an hour and have been crying the whole time, it wears you down.

Before I had kids, I was one of those smug adults who spoke knowingly of what I would never, ever allow my children to do. I would never allow them out of their chair in a restaurant, never let them sleep with me, never let them watch TV, never allow any sort of violent toy, no sugar, no sassy talk. Some of these rules have held fast, others have gone by the way side, most have reached some sort of realistic compromise that allows us to not be overbearing maniacs all of the time.

Oh, but the bed, the bed, the bed. Here is the thing. I cannot think of any more comforting thing in the whole world than climbing up into your parents' bed and snuggling down into the covers. Isn't it the seat of comfort, love and safety? And I know that we don't always have words for what ails us, we just need the touch and warmth of another person- someone to hold us close and soothe our hearts and souls. I also know that the day is coming when they will no longer want or be willing to crawl into our bed. This is a finite time- cherish it.

But, my God, am I tired.

Graham Crackers

I have my plate and my graham cracker.

It's the last one.

I think I'll walk around with it.

Into Mommy and Daddy's room.


Ethan has one...

If I stuff this one in my mouth, I can take that one.

Here I come!

Brother, let me have it!

The graham cracker, that is.


Yummy!