Rain, Rain

It's been raining for the past 6 days and the weatherman says that it's suppose to continue to rain for the 4 days. I love the rain because it keeps away the 100+ degree weather so I say bring it on. However, I'm hoping that the flowers don't drown.

Ode to Spot

I was somewhat of a clairvoyant when I said that I hope our pet goldfish don’t go to the “Porcelain Heaven” too soon. Well, I have to say that we have a tragedy on our hands. Yes, one of the goldfish has left us for the big aquarium is the sky. Please reserve a moment of silence for Spot, the original goldfish. Although his life was short, it was full. He was rescued from the carnival by Michael. Michael took him home as a beloved pet, gave him a name, and brought him new two friends to share his fish tank. Spot has gone on to bigger and better things.

I went to feed the fish this morning and found Spot belly-up (literally) behind the plastic plant. We have not broken this news to Michael or Matthew yet. We will have to tell them when they get back from school. I foresee another trip to Petco. Wish me luck.

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Eat It!

There are certain things that Matthew does that just makes me wonder. One of those things is lemons. He loves lemons. To eat. When he was a baby, we would give him the lemon wedge from my water at the restaurant to keep him calm. I know, it's weird, but I love him anyway.

Matthew enjoying a little lemon on the porch.

Nothing like a lick of lemon while catching an episode of Backyardigans

What's In a Name?

What does Spot, Hotdog-Hotdog, and Turtwig have in common? They are all pet goldfish to Michael and Matthew. Yes, these are really their names. We tried to talk Michael out of Hotdog-Hotdog, but he had the name picked out even before we picked up the goldfish so there was not way he was giving that up.

And yes, we have added a couple more goldfish to our tank. I took the boys to the pet store to pick out a friend for Spot (the Carnival goldfish). My intention was to let Matthew pick out one goldfish, but they were like 27 cents each at Petco so we ended up getting 2 more friends for Spot.

This was the first time the boys ever set foot in a pet store. They were very excited to see the different kinds of fish available. Michael wanted to pick out a black catfish. Really, I don’t remember what kind of fish it was, but it looked like a mini catfish with whiskers and all. I thought it looked kind of cool until I saw that it was $5. I’m sorry I can’t pay 5 bucks for 2 ounces of fish that I can’t even fry up. I told him that the catfish will eat Spot, so we needed to go back to the “Common Goldfish” tank. After much discussion, both brothers decided on a white goldfish with an orange stripe on its head, and an orange goldfish with white spots. I’m hoping that the $.54 cents will last us more than a month before they go to “Porcelain Heaven.”

A Day of Soccer & Goldfish

We have a new pet. His name is spot. Not sure if its a he, but it is now. We went to Fair at the Square yesterday and Michael won a goldfish. He was so excited. Apparently, that was the best part of the day. I'm not sure if "won" is a good word for the goldfish. Yes, it's great to get a free pet, but spending the $40 for the tank, water conditioner, and food is not exactly free, is it? Also, I see a friend for Spot in the future. Yes, Michael named the goldfish Spot which is pretty clever, I think.

We had a very busy day. Soccer in the morning. Michael scored a goal. It was a great goal, according to the other parents who saw. I will have to take their word for it since I completely missed it. I was helping Matthew with his #1 business in the ladies room. He played a great game. He was aggressive, went for the ball, and had some really good blocks.

Riding on the helicopter

Flying high!
Choo-choo

All smiles

Pump It Up

Michael had his 6th birthday party at Pump It Up about a month ago (March 28). He had a blast with neighbors, school friends and soccer buddies. He shared the day with Sydney who turned 5 a couple of days before.

The cakes - Hannah Montana for Sydney & Clone Wars for Michael

The whole gang

Matthew being a clown

All smiles before the party

And the Tony Award Goes To...

Five stars for the performance by the Kindergarten classes of Ms. Newman, Ms. Robinson, and Ms. Webb! I was especially moved by the performance of Michael. His interpretation of a duck is nothing short of spectacular. I know it’s too early to talk Tony, but he may be THE man of the moment. He way he flapped his arms – I can’t believe a 6 year-old is capable of such empathy.

Seriously though, I had a great time watching him up there. He was so excited this morning. He woke up, came into my room, and informed me that he needed to eat his breakfast right away and be at school on time. I asked why we needed to be there so early. He gave me this “duh” look and said, “I have a performance today, so we need to be at school on time.”

In the car I asked him for a preview of what he will be doing on stage, but was told the “it’s a surprise.”

I am proud to say that we did get to school on time even after having to drop Matthew off at daycare. AND the morning went very smoothly. No whining, no tantrums, and no tears. Happy day!

Getting ready for the show

If It Quacks Like a Duck...

Tomorrow, Michael will be performing on stage at the Friday Morning Live event at his school. This will be the first time he is performing on stage and honestly, I didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. Of course, I was excited to see him be a little duck on a farm, and am planning on going into work a little late to be able to make his performance. The realization that this was a big deal hit me during dinner yesterday. We were sitting at the table waiting for our food and Michael says to us, “2 more days until I perform on stage.”

My baby is counting down the days until he performs on stage. He only counts down days when he’s really, really, really excited for something like his birthday party! Then it occurred to me that for a Kindergartner, it takes hard work to perfect the art of being a duck. You have to get the quacking just right. I know he has worked hard on this for a couple of weeks, and even if the performance is about 4 minutes long, I am so looking forward to seeing my little duck quack.

Another Beautiful Sunday

We had another beautiful Spring day yesterday. I hope we get a few more before we get the stifling summer heat. I took the boys to the "big park with the wooden playground," as described by Matthew.

A good time was had by all for the the most part. A messy incident occurred so we had to cut the fun short and hurry home. By messy, I mean the number two sort of mess. It was NOT pretty. If I asked you who it was, I bet you would guess Matthew, but it was actually my firstborn. He has asked me not to write about this incident so I will not mention his name, but we all know who he is.

Matthew enjoyed a little snack on a beautiful day.

The boys enjoying a nice walk along the trail.

Giddy-up, horsie!

Happy time before THE incident

But wait, if you order NOW....

Michael is obsessed with infomercials. Whenever an infomercial comes on, he stops what he's doing and just stares at the TV. Mouth opened in amazement, eyes the size of saucers. It's like a fly drawn to the light of a bug zapper. Not only are the infomercials hynotic for him, he wants to purchase whatever he sees. If I listen to him, I would now be the proud owner of the Snugglie, the Buxton bag, the spacesaver bags, and the list goes on. Every time I see or hear an infomercial, it will be followed by a "Mom, you should get this. It does fill-in-the-blank!"

So this morning, while I was lying in bed, he calls out from the living room, "Mom, you should get this! It cooks anything in 10 seconds."

When I did not respond, he calls out again for me to come watch how amazing this amazing product is. "Mom, you might want to see this!"

Then pitter-patter of feet rushing into my room. "Mom, it cooks anything in 10 SECONDS!" What is it? "I don't know, but it cooks anything in 10 SECONDS!" Well, how much is it? "It's FREE!" Baby, nothing is free. "If you buy one, you will get another one for FREE!"

Note to self: Keep the phone away from him.

Bluebonnets

I am so excited that Spring has arrived in North TX. One of my favorite things about Spring is seeing the beautiful wildflowers on the side of the road as I dredge through to work on my daily commute. It somehow reminds me that beautiful things can be found in unexpected places like right beside an ugly cement freeway.

Blankets of bluebonnets are now in full bloom. The big thing in Dallas (not sure if it’s the same in all of TX) is that people drive to a precarious fields carpeted with bluebonnets (typically by a busy highway), park alongside that busy highway, and take pictures of their children with the bluebonnets. In the past, I have always felt that it was a pretty stupid thing to do. Then recently, I thought, well maybe if I had a little girl, it would be cute to do. Currently, I’m thinking maybe I should take the boys out and do the bluebonnet picture thing because, really, they ARE quite spectacular. Does this make me a Dallasite?

Michael and his Kindergarten class on their first field trip to the Grace Methodist Pumpkin Patch in October 08. Daddy was one of the chaperones amongst the sea of SAHM. He was a trooper!

Bedtime Drama

Putting my kids to bed is always an experience. Mostly bad, hardly ever good. They fight bedtime almost every night, especially with Matthew. Michael usually goes to bed without too many issues. Our routine usually goes something like this with Matthew:

"Time for bed, boys."

"NOOOOOO!"

So I end up having to literally pick him up and take him upstairs to their room. Just so you know, Matthew is no light-weight. And then, the stalling begins.

"I need a little drink of water"

"I need another little drink"

"I need to tell you a secret"

"No, you need to come closer so I can ask you a secret"

"You forgot to give me another hug and a kiss"

So you get the point. Last night, I thought I had it easy. No fighting to go upstairs. One little drink was all he needed and they were both in bed.

Matthew was a little bit of a chatterbox and Michael had a drama-queen moment: "Mommy, Matthew is being too loud. I can't handle it!"

But all in all, it was pretty painless.

I go to check up on them before I went to bed, but they were not there. Hmm...were they on the floor? Nope.

They were both in Matthew's old crib. Hello?! They hate being called babies, but still want to sleep in a crib. Go figure.

Boosterthon Fun Run 2008

This was Michael's 1st Booster-thon to raise money for Pink Elementary School back on Nov. 6th. Here he is getting ready to run with his classmates. Michael sure looks like he just can't wait to get started! He ran 32 laps and raised a little under $200. Big thanks to his sponsors!

And what's a Fun Run without some sugared water and cookies after? Actually, Ms. Strain's bridal shower just happen to be the same day. Look how cute Michael and his little friends are!





Michael and Mommy. I just got my hair cut that day. Hair no longer looks like this.

Girls Are Not Good Runners

Yesterday after I picked the boys up from school/daycare, we drove over to good ole Mickey-D's and picked ourselves up a healthy dinner. I must say that it went quite smoothly thanks to "Monsters vs Aliens" on DVD. On the way back, the kids were engrossed in the movie, and I was deep in thought (not really). Then I hear Michael say, "Oh, this is the part where the girl is running. Girls are not good runners." So, I see this as a chance to explain to him that just because someone is a girl doesn't mean she is not a good runner. It's 2009. Girls can do anything as well as boys. He says "Well, boys are good talkers." Oh really? "Yes, they are good at talking crap." Yes, they are my Angel. Yes they are.

This picture is from our trip to Italy. In Disney Epcot...

So this blog went well. Last update was in 2005. Nice. Now my babies are now longer babies and we are no longer living in CA. We move to North Texas in 2006, 6 months after my little Matthew was born. Matthew is now almost 4. Where has the time gone? Michael just turned 6 last month and thinks he's almost 7. I told him to slow his roll because I don't want him to grow up so fast.

My goal for this blog is to really write about the experience of raising 2 boys, and my hope is for this blog to document the events of our lives for my children to have something to refer to. The first blog has been less than stellar, but I'm hoping I am more ambitious about this one, especially since the kids are no longer babies.

I don't expect to have many people to see this blog except for some close friends and family. It's not me to share my life with the blogsphere. I would put them all to sleep anyway. Not to say that we don't have exciting moments, but I've read other blogs out there, and I am no Antique Mommy.

So there you have it. My promise to keep this blog updated at least once a week. Hope I don't break my promise next week.