Of Things to be Thankful...

So much to be thankful for, so little time to write about it.

Of course, my guys, all 3 of them. We've been a bit insulated lately, with everything that is going on, but we have enjoyed our time together. We have been healthy (relatively speaking of course) and happy. We dont know what tomorrow may bring but right now, in our little world, things are just perfect. So today we will not worry about things we cannot control and just simply give thanks for our many blessings.

Hope everyone is able to do the same. Now off to fix some sweet potato casserole.

Ruth's Chris Special Sweet Potato Casserole

CRUST

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred)

1/3 stick butter -- melted

SWEET POTATO MIXTURE

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs -- well beaten

1 stick butter -- ( 1/2 cup) melted

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.

Just some pics from Halloween of my little police officer and Transformer.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow this big boy turns 5!

More info on that to come later.

First Day of School, First Day of School

We love the movie Nemo and I love when Nemo wakes his Dad by saying "First Day of School, First Day of School". Nicholas, on the other hand, was not quite as thrilled. Hmmmmm.

But he rebounded nicely and was so very excited once we got going. Not sure what is with the smirk in this photo, but I thought it was funny. As least more funny than the eye rolls he has started giving me. Is he 7 or 17?


So Nicholas started school on Monday and Greyson had his first day on Tuesday. This is funny to me, but on Monday, Greyson and I walked Nicholas to his class (more on that excitement later). The whole way to Nick's class Greyson clung to my hand, which he would also do last year. Then on Tuesday, I was a bit worried that he would cling to me, although he is normally pretty well adjusted. So we got out of the car and Nicholas offered to hold his hand. Greyson was having none of it. When we were inside the building I grabbed his hand and he said "No, just follow me but dont hold my hand". And he led the way to his class. Before you think he is a walking GPS, it was Nick's class last year and Greyson and I checked it out the day before.

Happy to be a big boy.

Greyson in his classroom. He was not at all upset that I was leaving, only so excited to join the ranks of the "big boys". I love that kid.

So I cant remember if I posted an update on Nick's school situation or not, so sorry for the possible redux. Nicholas was IN LOVE with his teacher from last year, Mrs. Braswell. He simultaneously looked forward to summer break and dreaded not seeing her everyday. He had already made up his mind to walk Greyson to class every morning just to see her.

Fortunately for Nicholas, Mrs. Braswell is now a 1st Grade teacher and Nicholas is her newest student. We have known about it all summer but did not tell him. So when he went to class, I told him the whole way that he had a teacher that was new to teaching 1st grade and maybe he would love her as much as he loved Mrs. Braswell. When we walked into her room I said "Look there's your new teacher" and he said "I dont see her but there's Mrs. Braswell" and he was so excited. So then I told him that Mrs. Braswell was now teaching 1st grade and she was his new teacher. He ran to hug her and said "thank you" to Mrs. Braswell. I am not sure but I think he is under the impression that Mrs. Braswell moved up just to be his teacher again. He also reminded me that he would be in school longer now that he was in 1st grade. Then he let me know he was very happy about that because he could spend more time with Mrs. Braswell. He surely does love his teacher.

So the first couple of days of school have been very eventful and very smooth. I am still trying to come to terms with losing my daily sidekick but still have a few more days to enjoy him. Grey goes to school on Tuesday and Friday of next week for a half day before starting full time and full days on the 15th. We are managing to put a lot of fun and snuggles into our last few days. Not too many tears on my part, but I have a feeling that after the first full day I will be a wreck. I already miss him so much.

Will update more after the boys' birthday parties and Grey's actual birthday. It is going to be a busy and hectic couple of weeks.

Seven Years Ago

I started this post on Wednesday but ran out of time before I could post.

I cannot believe my first born, my tiny little fella is now a bit 7 year old. I feel like writing something really mushy about how my baby has grown but nahhhhh, I am just too excited for him. He is over the moon about being 7 years old and I am beyond thrilled about it.

Here he is, just a few minutes old and already the center of our world.

And here he is hitting the big 7!!!! Ok, not the most flattering photo but I had trouble getting him to be still for even a second and this was the best I could do.

We had a small party for him at the restaurant, with just our family (minus Aunt Cheryl-we missed you but he loves his Hot Wheels Elimination Racetrack). Nicholas was so darned funny about his "small party" as he called it. He gave me a list over the phone of things he wanted me to purchase for it and then made me read the list back to him. After tweaking the list and going over it a couple of times, he must have then lost all confidence in me, as he told me to just pick him and he would go with me. Ugh, I have no idea where he gets this.

He is having a large birthday party on the 13th with his friends, we needed to wait until school started to make sure we didn't exclude anyone. Gonna be a hectic couple of weeks with Nick's party on the 13th and Grey's on the 20th. But my boys are gonna have a ton of fun!

I'll update next week with pictures of their first day of school. Can't believe it is here already. And I am really having a hard time believing my baby is starting Kindergarten.

Sooooooo Long

I cannot believe it has been sooooo long since my last post/update. Just chalk it up to a busy summer. Not making excuses, ok yeah I am, but between the restaurant, the boys, their activities and life in general, I cannot seem to find the time to sit down and form a coherent though, much less enough to fill a blog post.

Life is good, the boys are great, and summer has been even better than the spring. But sadly it is coming to an end. Yes, that's right, school is just around the corner. Like next week, can you believe it? Both boys will be in school. Once again I have mixed feelings about this. My baby will be in Kindergarten, wth? How did this happen? But he is soooo excited and I am so very excited for him.

We have already purchased all school supplies, the boys and I made a big day of it. We had a lunch date, some play time, a trip to the store to get our supplies, then finished it up with ice cream from Maggie Moo's. Ahhhhh, what could be better?

That's about it for the update tonight. I will try to update with some pictures after school starts and some Birthday pics.

I'll close with few pics of the boys this summer.

Home Improvement Project? Yes, they are painting with oil based paint and yes, that is one of my dining room walls.

The Boys of Summer. Nick and Grey with their cousins, Evan and Dylan.Exploring the fort at our local park.

Greyson slid down this poll about 30 times and now wants one at home.

4th of July. Lakeside waterslide, family, watermelon, fireworks. Its a hard life.

I am a little concern with his fashion choices. In case you cant make it out, he is wearing his batting helmet, his tie dyed Spiderman shirt, denim shorts and spiderman snow boots.

Soccer Ready

Ahhhhh...spring soccer season has come and gone. And despite the mostly crappy weather (we only had two games with temps above 50), we had a great season. This was Greyson's last year in the Kickeroo league (ages 3-4) but Nicholas has another couple of years on the 8 and under league. Greyson was by far the oldest and most advanced player on his team. Not bragging, ok maybe a little, but he was at least 5 months older than the next oldest player on his team and pretty much a year older than the rest. At this age, it really makes a difference and Greyson scored at least 3 goals a game and usually a few more than that. Nicholas, on the other hand, was by far the youngest and the smallest on his team. He held his own but mostly, because of his size, played the half back position (I think) which is defense. For this I am very thankful, because whenever he played offense, I watched with my heart in my throat. He is so tiny out there, although he has a big heart, weighing no more than 43 lbs compared to all these 60 + lb kids. For this reason alone, I would be glad the season is over with no broken bones or serious injuries (we did have a few soccer balls to the face and a couple of clipping accidents).


Now we are moving on to the summer sports of T Ball, swimming and golf, but mostly we will participate in the very serious sports of playing and giggling. Just the thought of 2 months of nothing but fun makes me smile. And to quote the great philosopher Buddy the Elf "smiling's my favorite".

I'll leave you with a few photos of from soccer. Please forgive me for the lack of photos of Nicholas actually playing (I do have a few but not too many) mostly I was praying on the side lines and unable to snap any shots. I'll try to update regularly about our lazy summer days.

I think this may have been from the fall, regardless you can see the huge size difference and why I said a few "Hail Mary's" before every game.

Nick getting his trophy. He was very excited to add this to his growing collection.

Greyson getting his trophy. He was also excited to add this to his collection.

Nicholas relaxing on the sidelines and cheering his brother on. This was during Greyson's game and no, they did not play on the same team, they play 2 leagues apart, they just had the same color uni's.

Goooooooooooaaaaaalllll!

The Graduate(s)

Wow, I am having a hard time with this. My big boy graduated from Kindergarten and my baby graduated from preschool. WTH? I don't get how they got so big, so fast. While I love every minute of their growing and learning, I still feel a bit sad and wistful for the babies they were. Nicholas is so smart, much too smart for an almost 7 year old and he has now entered the "cool boy" stage. This is where he starts to wonder if some of the things he does is "cool" or babyish. And he is always do busy. Whether it is with sports, or school or just play, he always has to be doing something. I love how his mind works, he is always planning or building. He is never as happy as when he is plotting his next move or constructing something. So much fun to watch and listen, but would it kill him to snuggle on the couch with me for more than a couple of minutes? Greyson is...ahhhh....he is Greyson, his very own person and so very different from his brother. He is still preschool cuddly, loving when he wants to be and likes nothing better than to curl up in my lap while I read a book to him or watch a movie with him. But I know these days are numbered so I am taking my snuggles as often and as long as I can get them.

Greyson received his diploma. He was very proud of his cap. That is Grey in the green plaid shorts and white vest.

Greyson with Miss Jessica. He is sad to leave her but really looking forward to having Mrs. Braswell as his teacher (shhhh, don't tell anyone)

Nicholas before his graduation. He is so handsome.


Well, here she is...Mrs. Braswell (aka the other woman). Nicholas is so sad to leave her, he is completely crazy about her and cannot imagine how he could ever love a teacher as much. I am sure he will manage somehow. He did mention that he will need to walk Greyson to class every morning so he can give Mrs. Braswell a hug. That boy.

I'll update again soon with some really cute pics from their last soccer games and trophy presentation.

Hamster-ical

There is rarely a dull moment around here. This past week, on Tuesday afternoon to be exact, we welcomed the newest member of our family, Thor the Hamster. Nicholas has been asking for a pet for quite a while now, but Bryant and I had long ago decided that we would be petless until the boys were old enough to contribute to the care of any pets. We now feel like Nicholas at least, is old enough to care for one and we let him choose what type of pet. I was kinda hoping for a fish and Bryant spent a good deal of time extolling the virtues of becoming the parent of a house plant. I am not kidding, he tried his best to convince Nicholas that a plant was the way to go, sigh. I honestly figured he would choose a dog but instead he picked a hamster. Yes, a rodent. So on Tuesday, we went to get a pet and this is where the detour begins...

I am not proud to admit that I had pretty much rather have any pet other than a hamster, excepting mice and snakes. I am however, ashamed to admit that I resorted to bribery and pleading all the way from pulling into the pet store parking lot right up until we checked out. I even offered a pony for Nicholas to reconsier the whole hamster in the family thing. Nicholas could not be budged. So we loaded up on hamster necessities, a really cool habitat, and a bunch of hamster toys and snacks. Nicholas was so excited, carried his little hamster out in a cardboard box. I was rather creeped out watching the box squirm and both boys had trouble remembering not to swing the box, so we decided to put our new pet safely in the floor behind the third row of seats in my car for the ride home. We spent almost the entire 20 minute ride home trying out names. With help from Greyson, Nicholas settled on Thor.

We got home, the boys hurried to the back of the car to open the door and take Thor into his new home... only to discover an empty box with a big ol' whole chewed through the side of it. yes, while we were happily naming our new pet, he was quickly gnawing his way to freedom...In. My. Car. We looked and looked for him but had to stop after about an hour or so because we were due at the ball field for a Tuesday night T Ball game. After the game, we spent another hour or so trying to find him, but could only assume that he must have gotten out of the car while we were looking for him with all the doors open. Nicholas was very upset and I have to admit that I suffered some serious guilt and slept like crap that night (also keeping my awake was the thought of a hamster loose in my car). But back to the guilt, I felt terrible because my son was sad that his first pet did not even make it home from the store. And worse than that, Bryant and I had done all we could to ruin the experience for him by trying to talk him out of the hamster. Seriously, could we be worse parents? Nicholas woke up in the middle of the night, really upset over Thor and I promised to find him the next day or get him a new Thor.

The next morning, both Bryant and I looked for Thor before the crack of dawn. Seriously, both of us felt so bad and were so worried we had scarred him for life that we woke up before the sun and were digging around in my car. No luck. After listing the help of our employess and some of our friends all day, we could not find the rat...errr...hamster, so I left the restaurant early and bought a new hamster. Bryant was all for lying and telling Nicholas that we found Thor, but I felt honesty was the best route. So I gave Nick his new hamster and told him how we thought Thor had escaped from my car (really we figured he was still in there and one day the smell would lead us to him). Nicholas was fine, he fell in love with his new hamster and named him Thor 2. Clearly I have let him watch one too many sequals.

This story has gotten really long, longer than I anticipated, so I will try to just hit the highlights now. Thursday morning, Nick and I get in the car for school, he sees Thor 1 running around the car. He is all happy, I am totally freaked. I had to drive with a loose hamster in my car and I was making some odd noise between crying, moaning and humming the whole time. Nicholas was trying to soothe me from the back seat and I am ashamed to admit that I kept praying that Thor 1 was still in the back with my kid, rather than up front with me. Yes, I admit it, if the only thing standing between me and Thor 1 was Nicholas, I would have pushed him forward. Sad, I know.

So for 4 days I rode around in a constant state of panic with a hamster loose in my car. Bryant decided to set a trap, a humane trap for Thor 1. It was straight out of Scooby Doo, seriously Fred would have been so proud. I wont go into detail, but it consisted of levels, hamster treats, and a trash can. Two days later, it worked. Saturday morning, I opened the back door to get Grey's soccer ball and there was Thor 1, all nice and comfy, staring up at me from the bottom of a trash can. of course, I very quickly shut the door and called Bryant.

Now we have two hamsters, two cages (one is male and the other is possible female), tons of little rodent toys, a big bag of hamster food, a bigger bag of bedding and two very happy little boys. And one seriously creeped out Mommy.

I do not have any pictures but plan to take some tomorrow to add to this post. Cant wait to see some super sized beedy red eyes up close, ewwwwww.

Major League Cuties

I cannot think of a single thing that I do not love about these two guys! Ok, well maybe the way their feet smell after Keen removal, but that may be it. Sorry for lack of updates, the spring sports season is well under way and between that and the restaurant, I don't have time to come up for air very often, and no time at all for blogging. All is well here, both boys are playing soccer and T-Ball right now. Different soccer teams but we were lucky enough to get them both on the same T Ball team. Nicholas is not totally thrilled with playing T Ball, he was hoping to move up to Coach Pitch, but no way could we handle 4 teams this season, 3 is almost too much. Our schedule is so hectic, with 3 soccer practices, 2 soccer games, and now 3 T Ball games each week. It goes something like this: Monday-Nick's soccer practice, Tuesday-T Ball game, Wednesday-Nick's soccer practice, Thursday-Greyson's soccer practice, Friday-T Ball game, Saturday morning-2 soccer games and 1 T Ball game. This coming Saturday we have G's soccer game at 8:30, Nick's soccer game at 9:30. and the T Ball game is at 11:00. We are going to have to shed soccer gear and replace with T Ball gear in the car, no time to go home and change. Like I said, hectic, but oh so fun!

here are a few T Ball picks. I just realized that I haven't taken very many soccer pics this year, so I will do that and post soon.

Waiting for Superman

Probably not politically correct to use that title but we are. Waiting for Superman that is...and batman and a few more Spiderman things.

Finally we moved Greyson from the twin bed into a full sized bed. We have put it off and put if off for several reasons. One, I liked the idea of my baby sleeping in the same bed his Daddy slept in when he was not much older than Grey. Two, it could be pushed up against the wall so I didn't have to worry about Greyson rolling out of it. Three, I spent a ton of money and time on the perfect train decor for his room. But I originally picked it out and decorated it for Nicholas, and when I moved Nicholas up to a Queen sized bed, this became Greyson's room. Although he did and does like trains well enough, he does not get as excited about transportation as Nicholas does. His passion is Super Heroes!

So in keeping with that theme, we have moved him into a full sized bed and turned his room into the Super Hero cave. He is so proud of it. It is not quite finished, we are waiting on the arrival of a Superman shield and a Batman mural, both should arrive this coming week, and his Spiderman duvet and shams should be in sometime during the first week or so of April. I will try my best over the next few weeks to find some really cool, but somewhat tasteful, Superhero stuff to add to his room. Some of it is so cheesy, especially the Batman stuff. the Batman mural we are doing is more of a Dark Knight type suit, as opposed to the original ugly blue and gray. So even though it is not finished, he loves it and every person that walks in the front door is treated to a tour of his room by the sweetest superhero tour guide in the world.

And after laying on a healthy dose of Mommy guilt about being left out, Nicholas was able to score some new sheets for his bed.

This Little Light of Mine

the light of my life (well half of it anyway)

Sorry if it makes you motion sick, I was driving while he was singing and could only focus it in the mirror, so I could keep my eyes on the road in front of me. He sang this song the entire way from school to the restaurant. He cant carry a tune in a bucket, but I love that sweet little voice.

Batman and Sparkly Robin

Greyson and I spent the morning playing in the Bat Cave (one of his Imaginext toys) and waiting for the GE repairman. I thought we were having lots of fun until Greyson told me I was not playing right and then he took his toys and went home. Well, into another room anyway. At first, I got to be Batman to his Joker. But they were both on the same "team" according to Grey.

This is when we were making a getaway after a highly profitable bank robbery of money and suckers. We then went back to our secret lair, aka the Bat Cave, located behind Chuck E Cheese. Greyson loves to talk about Chuck E Cheese, even though he has never been there and as long as I am living, he will never go there.

"I'm King of the World" or at least the Bat Cave.

Alas, Greyson thought I was having too much fun with Batman, so he took him from me and gave me Robin, but he still let me be on his "team". Only he could not find Robin, so he gave me this dude with the shaved head and goatee. You cant tell from this picture, but "Robin's" suit is a very sparkly bluish silver. I don't know for sure, but I think "Robin" here may be playing on a different team entirely.
The reason I spent over an hour playing Batman and Sparkly Robin.

Couldn't you just eat him up?

Only for my precious Greyson would I sit in the floor for hours on end and let both Batman and the Joker kick the sh*t out of my Sparkly non Robin dude.

Exciting Day

Sorry for the lack of updates, but we have been busy lately. Nicholas has had a loose tooth, his first, since November. Finally, over the past week, it has been loose enough to come out. Actually, he has been nagging his Daddy to pull it for over 2 weeks, but today Bryant decided it was loose enough to pull without causing any drama. For those of you familiar with Nicholas, you know that this is no small chore. We deal with major hysteria over a small splinter. I was having a hard time believing that he would actually allow his Daddy to pull a tooth. I figured it would go something like this "Daddy, I want this tooth to come out, but I don't want you to touch it or me or get within 3 feet of it or even look at it or I will totally freak and run around the house screaming that you are going to kill me and that I will never forgive you for this". But that is not how it went at all. We were at the restaurant after closing and Nicholas was once again nagging for him to pull it, so he sat down with him, worked on it for about 3 minutes and out it came. No drama, no tears, not even an "I am mad at the both of you" like we got the last time he had a splinter and we tried to get it out. Just a tiny bit of blood and it didn't phase him. Again, unusual because the last time he had a nose bleed, he screamed bloody (no pun intended) murder for a full 10 minutes after it stopped.

So my big boy is getting bigger and while I will miss those perfect little baby teeth, I couldn't be happier for him. Congrats sweet Nicholas, Mommy and Daddy are as proud as you are. Love you to the moon and back and back again.

Snow, Snow, go away, come again next December

Sad, but only 13 days into January and I am so over the snow. It was a huge mood setter during early December, really got me in the mood to Christmas shop and sing carols. It was magical on Christmas Day, only the second white Christmas of my entire life. The boys were enchanted. It was pretty cool to get some good sledding snow (although we did not really sled) in early January and it melted pretty fast. But now? Give me a break already. It has snowed every stinking day this week. Seriously. Every. Day. And if you are unfamiliar with how the school system works in Tennessee, this means that regardless of additional accumulation, there is no school.

We live in a great county but sadly it has hills. Big hills. Big hills surrounded by trees. Big hills surrounded by trees that block the sunlight. Big hills surrounded by trees that block the sunlight and prevent the snow and ice from melting when the temp never gets out of the 20's. Big freaking frozen hills that are no where near my house or the boys school, yet they still prevent them from going and making me a crazy person. I hate hills and I hate snow, well at least until next December. Then it will be a mood setter and magical again.

Ok, I did not actually take this picture, it is just some random picture off the internet. It is what I would assume these hilly roads would look like were I in love with the snow enough to actually desire to get out in it and snap some pics. It is what I would assume those roads would look like in order to close the schools for 4 stinkin' DAYS!

Thinking maybe the bears have the right idea.

Man Overboard in the Happy New Year

So far the new year is off to a relatively good start. Greyson is a bit under the weather but that is par for the course with Grey at this time of year. I think it is just a case of congestion, which is of course right behind his nose where those huge adenoids are located. We go through this about 4-5 times a year, the poor guy, between his allergies and his adenoids. I think, now that he is 4 years old, we are going to have to have them removed, but we will make that decision this spring. Hence the word "relatively" in my opening sentence.

So we had our break from school and sadly, it was not long enough. I don't want to sound like one of those Mom's that take attachment parenting to the extreme and cannot bear to go to the bathroom without experiencing agonies of separation anxiety but, darn it all, I did really enjoy both boys home all day (well most of the time anyway). I also enjoyed not having to get up at the crack of way too early am to get all 4 of us ready for school (and B for work). Sadly, they did not get the memo about being able to sleep late and we were still up no later than 7:30 every morning and more often before 7:00am. But at least there was no mad dash for the door.

We finally were able to have our "Christmas Eve" over at Cranmama's house on Jan 2nd. We all had a wonderful time and the boys were able to spend the night (and stay up until 2:00 in the morning playing Wii), along with two of their cousins.

So now it is back to school, back to work, back to PTO (anyone want to donate some items or gift cards for our silent auction?), and back to sports (registration for T Ball and soccer is this weekend). Mix that in with some new and exciting things happening in our lives (more on that in another post) and it makes for a very busy schedule.

But not today. Today we are snowed in, well we were this morning, the boys are still in their PJ's and we have been building things. Building with Lincoln Logs (we now have 3 large sets so we can make a town), Playmobil, and Lego's. Here are some pictures of the boat we made with our Lego's. Thanks Cranmama, Greyson loves this set.

Little hands working together.

I love this picture, they are such good and loving brothers and to me this just symbolizes their relationship. There is rarely a "mine" spoken in our house and the boys actually love to share with each other. Lets just hope that Greyson doesn't "share" this cold with the rest of us.

According to Nicholas, this is Captain Smith from the Titanic (one of his obsessions) and he is going down with the ship.

This poor guy only looks happy because he is comepletely unaware that he is about to become the "man over board" in less than 10 seconds.

Our finished ship. Why do they make these Lego's so darn small? I think I have eye strain. We all 3 worked on it, however the boys had a little trouble staying focused during the building process. They were very impatient and we had several Titanic scenes enacted during the building process. I am just thankful the ship did not actually hit the ice burg until after we were finished.

So now we are full swing into the New Year, trying to keep our resolutions and already having difficulty. Embarking on new adventures (again, I will update on this in a later post) and trying to do much more than stay afloat. I have no intention of sharing my resolutions on line other than to say one resolution of mine was to take things in stride and enjoy the moment. Most of you know that I am pretty much OCD and I worry about things, excessively. So far I have been able to stick with my resolution of enjoying the moment and not worrying about the next so much. I was so sad at the end of last year, looking back and realizing that I was spending so much more time worrying about what is coming next that I forgot to enjoy what I was doing. When the boys were sick, I didn't do much more than hang out with them, I let many of my OCD habits go and just spent time with them. I realized how much they were changing, growing by the minute and I don't ever want to look back and think "gee, I wish I had paid attention to that" or "I wish I had spent more time enjoying that". That is my biggest resolution and one I fully intend on keeping.

So Happy New Year and I look forward to sharing many of those minutes in 2011 with you guys.