I don't know if I'm ready for this

Tonight, I went to the new parent orientation for pre-school. Ben will be starting school on August 2 and couldn't be more excited about it. I was excited for him and knowing how much he will benefit from it. Sitting there tonight, listening to the director go over the parent handbook, it kind of hit me. This is just the beginning of the rest of our lives. He is heading out into the world. He will have moments where he is scared. He is probably going to get in trouble when he shows his stubborn side to his teacher. There might be days when he has no one to play with on the playground. He'll get frustrated when he doesn't understand the assignment. He'll learn what it's like to have his feelings hurt when other children say mean words. As his mother, these are the things I have tried my hardest to prevent. I have spent 3.5 years protecting him. How do I let go of this?

While I do worry about the things that could go wrong, I look more forward to how will I wipe the smile off my face when I pick him up each day and he tells me what a fun day he had. What he learned. Who he played with. What his teacher told him when he showed good behavior. How he can't wait until he comes back. Ben deserves the best life has to offer him and this is one of those things that will hopefully make a difference. That it will begin a life-long love for his education, a desire to always learn something new and the first of many friendships he will form throughout his life.

As Ben embarks on this new adventure, we can't wait to see where it takes him.

Swords and basketballs

Jack

Happy Birthday

Happy 90th Birthday Papa

We hope you have a great day and look forward to seeing you this weekend for your big celebration

Does it make me a bad wife...

that I was kind of happy yesterday when the Lakers lost?

Every year we go through the agonizing playoffs where Drew gets mad at the tv way too much. He is not pleasant to be around when they play poorly. Thanks to them losing yesterday, I was saved from up to 17 more painful games. Thank you Lakers for losing :)

Happy Mother's Day

I know that I look tired here. I was tired. I am tired. These boys wear me out. It's all worth it though when moments like these happen...

As Ben looked around at the four of us this evening, he says "this is perfect" with a big smile on his face. He then says "it was a perfect Mother's Day mom. I love you."

More rare occurrences

Ben was asleep by 7:30 tonight! Oh how I dream of this happening often. Ben is not an easy one to get to sleep at night. We had a very busy day and he didn't nap so he was very tired. He didn't even fight it when we put him into bed. I don't think it will be long until I'm asleep now.

Today was opening day at the community pool and despite cooler weather. we still stopped by for a bit. We got passes for the summer so we can go anytime we want. I have a feeling we will be there a lot since both boys loved it. Ben was a little hesitant of the water and it will take a few times going there before he warms up but he still had fun playing in the shallow part (it is a zero entry pool which means it starts off very shallow and gets deeper as you go further out, like the beach). Jack on the other hand has no fear. He was going head first into the water having a grand old time. When it was time to get out, he threw a classic tantrum. It was a big day for me too, my first time making a public appearance in a bathing suit in a long time.

This afternoon I went out by myself and saw a movie. It's not very often that I go anywhere without at least one of the boys. By not very often, I mean hardly ever. After doing so today, I decided I need to do it more. I very much enjoyed my alone time and being able to sit there for 2 hours and not be interrupted. After the movie was over, it was time to come back home to the chaos.

Keeping a clean house does not come naturally to me. I do enjoy having a clean house but it's always been hard for me to keep up. I would like to say that it's because I have two little ones but even before they came along, it still wasn't easy for me. A week and a half ago, for the very first time, I hired a house cleaner to come in for a deep cleaning. Two ladies came and in 2.5 hours, the house was very clean. Since then, it has been my goal to keep it clean. I have a chart that has chores for every day of the week. I make an effort to put things away right away. There are never any dishes left in the sink. Bathroom counters get wiped down every night. The floors are vacuumed often. Laundry gets folded and put away quickly. The clutter is gone. While it is a never ending job, I love my clean house. It is a great feeling each night to go to bed knowing I get to wake up to a clean house.

Something that is not a rare occurrence around here lately is Drew going away for work. He is leaving again on Monday and will be gone for a week :(

Ben and Nick

This evening we are watching Drew's co-worker's son, Nick. We've spent time with him before and Ben loves to play with him. He is a year and a half older than Ben and quite bigger than him but that doesn't stop them from playing together. All day, Ben was so excited for Nick to come over and the house has been very loud for the past 2.5 hours. It's fun to watch how Ben interacts with children. We've decided that he is going to be bossy but he is still good about sharing and making others feel good. 

I made cupcakes for them to decorate and eat which they very much enjoyed.

Can you tell how much fun they are having?

Where's Ben?

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When did this happen?

He is growing up so much

A rare occurrence

to get a picture of these two sitting still, together

My little munckins

The best person I know

I can honestly say that I am married to the best person I know. Someone who I continue to think highly of, laugh with, admire everything he does for his family and most importantly, someone who I love being with. I cherish our time we have together and when we aren't together, I look forward to the next time we are. I can't help but smile when he walks into the room. I can't help but love everything about him. The best person I know is a wonderful husband to me and and amazing father to our children. How did we get so lucky? I look forward to a lifetime of this. I pray that we can raise Ben and Jack to be like their dad. I'm thankful for so much in my life and thankful for Drew. I love him.

This is what I live with

BOYS!!!

Clear the roads

and make room for these two

while playing outside this evening, the neighbor kids shared their jeep with the boys. Not surprisingly, Ben fell in love with it and wanted to drive it everywhere.