Where is it?

I was snuggling with Nolan tonight and asked him if he knew how much I loved him.
"How much?" he said.
"To the moon and back." I replied.
"That's not far....."
"Yes it is. It's really far away."
"Where is it? Which one is it in?"
"Which what?"
"Like, Minnesota? Mississippi? Tennessee?"
"Oh, honey, the moon isn't in a state, it's in the sky."
"Behind the clouds?"
"Yes, behind the clouds."
"Oh....."

Happy Mother’s Day

I am so blessed to be the mother of these four beautiful boys. All so different and bringing so many things to my life, especially joy and love. I cannot even imagine my life without these wonderful little guys and one big guy. Thanks for giving me the four best Mother’s day gifts ever Matt.

We started the day off with church and breakfast. Here’s mom and her three kids (biological that is because I know she considers Matt, Kristin, and Diane her kids also!).

For the last few years now it’s been a tradition to go get our flowers together and come back and pot them at our house. We make a big mess and have a great time. I hope it’s something we keep doing for awhile. The boys love getting right in there and getting dirty.

After all the hard work we ordered pizza and relaxed for a little while.

What a great day.

Happy Mother’s day mom! I am the woman and mom I am today because of you. I hope that I will some day be 1/2 the mom that you were and are. I am so fortunate to have the relationship with you that I do as a daughter and friend. Thank you for always being there for me, for all that you do for Matt and I, and for the boys. You truly bring joy to our family and make all of us feel special and loved. I love you! We all do.

I also want to wish Matt’s mom, Barb, a terrific Mother’s day. Thank you for all that you do for us also Barb. I am so fortunate to have you as a mother- in -law and can’t thank you enough for your wonderful son. ;) We love you.

Happy Mother’s day to all you special moms out there. Hope you had a wonderful day.

Before I was a mom

I’m getting all of these neat forwards lately.  Can you tell I enjoy being a mom, like so many of you do?  Here’s to all you great moms out there.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom

Brrr....

Seriously, sleet? In May? I knew it was too good to be true that the weather has been so incredible!

It was freezing this morning for Connor's soccer game, but we managed to get through it.


Our good friends the Packards came over to grill out and play this afternoon. They also have four kids and all of our kids are no more than 6 months apart from each other. They just had a boy in March. It's so fun. The adults were able to visit while the kids were in total chaos!


The rest of the afternoon and evening we just hung out, cleaned house a little, and played games. Oh yeah, and of course watched the Twins - a very common occurrence in our household!

Lucas is already starting to feel better after a few dosages of the medicine. Thank goodness.


Who do you think he got this idea from?;) And it's not me.

Ear Infection and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

The last couple of days Lucas has been fighting eating - nursing and bottle, which is so unlike him. He LOVES to eat. Plus he's been fussy, and seriously this kid is never fussy. I just knew something was wrong. This morning he woke up at about 3am crying and wouldn't eat again. I would rock him until he fell asleep again with his pacifier and try to put him down, but he would wake up screaming again. I wasn't ready for a sub at all, plus just got back to work, AND had Connor's Mother's day program. Matt was busy at work also. Luckily mom was available to come and hang out with him. He didn't have a temp, but I didn't really feel comfortable taking him to daycare when he was so unhappy and uncomfortable. Mom came over so I could go to work and I called to get him into the doctor right away. Luckily it worked out around most of my prep time and lunch. I had to have a sub come in for about an hour total (including what I already had planned for Connor's Mother's day program at school).
Come to find out he has a double ear infection, so she put him on a low dose of Amoxycillin and gave us some numbing drops to put in his ears so that he would eat. It was a crazy morning running back and forth between the doctor, the drugstore, home to drop Lucas back off with mom, give him his medicine and drops (which worked because he finally ate), and get to Connor's program, and then back to school to teach the end of the day.


Connor's Mother's day program was adorable and so nice. He has come home every day this week with something for me that they made in class. A coupon book, stretchable hug, poems, Kiss, etc...The kids performed a play to Chicka Chicka boom Boom. Connor was pretty excited to be Black Eyed Pea. He knew the whole story by heart. I received lots a wonderful treasures like a card, flowers, handmade corsage, biography about me, and necklace box. We got to read some books together, read his journal, and have some treats. I could only stay for a short while because then I had to head back to school, but I'm so glad I was able to make it. Every other mom was able to make it also.
Apparently I'm as beautiful as the sunset (you can keep up that sweet talk for as long as you'd like Connor!, my favorite thing to wear is Jewelry, and I love to drink Sprite.

Thank you Connorman! Love you.

Tuesday night mom and dad came over to watch the boys while Matt and I played softball. When the other boys went to sleep, Lucas got some one on one Grandpa and Grandma time.

Connor had his spring concert last night. He loves to sing. It's funny. He takes these things SOO seriously. He stands up straight, looks at the teacher the whole time, and hardly smiles unless he happens to get a glance at us and sees us smiling at him. In fact I think the music teacher put him in between two boys that have a hard time standing still and staying on task. Connor nudged a couple of elbows and gave a few whispers up there. Pretty funny. He's been practicing the song Upside Down by Jack Johnson lately because they sang it grades K-5. Good job Connor! Even the little munchkins sat through it watching their big brother.

Happy Birthday Natey

Today is Natey’s birthday!

Oh, how I loved having you as a little brother (and still do, but now it’s just younger, not little). You were such a good sport with all the dressing you up that I did and making you do homework when we played school. I was such a proud sister coming home to watch you play all your sports when I was in college and after. Remember when you gave me a teddy bear to take to college with me and you had the same one that you kept with you? I love that we have always been able to talk freely and openly about everything. I hope you know you can come to me if you ever need anything (even though we are grown adults) and I know I can do the same.

Natey, you are a great brother and uncle. We are so happy that you are so happy and have everything going for you right now. What fun and exciting things you have coming in your life.

Thank you for all that you do for our boys. We love you and hope you have a terrific day!

Birthdays

After church today we went out to eat to celebrate Grandpa's (March), Matt's(April), and Natey's(tomorrow) birthdays. We have started to combine the adult birthdays together, but want to still get together to celebrate them.

We went to the Old Country Buffet. I haven't been there in forever and forgot how good the food was. Connor could not believe that you could eat whatever you wanted, and as much as you wanted. He was in heaven. Afterwards we went to Natey and Diane's house for awhile. We watched the end of the Twins game and played a few games of Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader on the Wii. Everyone was pretty tired from a long and busy weekend.

From the Heart Walk

This morning Kristin, Kelsey, Diane, and I walked the From the Heart 5K/Half-Marathon. This annual event is held in honor of a family experiencing the physical, emotional, and personal journey of cancer. Mom, Kristin, and I did this last year. Unfortunately mom was unable to join us this year, but we were glad to have Diane join us. We hope to do it every year if we can. Our goal is to run the 5K next year right ladies?! It was a windy, but beautiful day.

I had to miss another one of Connor's soccer games. I will try my hardest to make every single one that's left. Natey and Diane stuck around for the day and hung out and brought their dog, Chloe. The boys had a good time with her. Grandpa and Grandma came over for a little while also.

Kelsey came over to play this evening while Matt and K went out for the night. We had a fun time with her. She loves playing with Jacob's drums. She helped give Lucas a bath. The boys wanted to have a sleepover in the living room, so we got out the sleeping bags and pillows and Kelsey had her own spot too. We put in a movie, as Kelsey reminded us every so often that we were watching a "moooovie". She was so excited about it. They all crashed for the night. How lucky for these cousins to be able to around each other so much.