I'm back!

My birthday dinner
Gavin, our photographer took this
Sunday we had a great afternoon at the Prince's eating hamburgers and swimming. Ez LOVES being thrown around like this

Wearing Nana's shoes
Bathtime last night
They like me to put their towels on like Jason wears his after his shower
At the Aquarium on my birthday - feeding the birds
Gavin insisted on wearing this sweater the whole time we were there even though it was pretty hot out...
At dinner

So, yeah...its been awhile...not sure I have any excuses except life is busy and we are enjoying summer. Jason has started at a new division this week going back to 12 hour shifts which is good because he will work less days a month. Gavin had a week of VBS last week and absolutely LOVED it!!! I walked in early on the last day and got to witness him "line dancing" to the theme song and I got a lump in my throat...it was so precious to me to see my little boy dancing and singing that "GOD IS REAL!" The old cliche resounds a note of truth...time flies. And now my baby is almost 4!! I can hardly believe that.

Ezekiel is doing well too. Yesterday he heard me talking about swimming and he said:"mamamamamamamamama (until I responded to him)"

"yes Ezekiel?"

"ME WA-WA!" (patting his chest) Yeah...he understands a lot of what is going on!

Two posts in One afternoon??

Crazy!

I dusted it off, cleaned it, hooked it back up and began the routine again...turn on Blue's Clues and try and distract Ezekiel as I administer his breathing treatment. Thats right. The nebulizer is back in service.
He was a little snotty tonight at dinner, and then on the ride home he started wheezing. Thats how fast it hits. He threw quite a fit while I tried to hold him down and get the most of medicine...not as easy as it was a few months ago. OH well. He was tired. Maybe tomorrow morning will be better.

Good night.

Spoiled

I know I've mentioned the co-op I'm involved in...and I know I've mentioned my friend Becky, but I want to go into a bit of detail on those topics for a moment. Not only was I able to dupe Becky into thinking it was fair for us to trade babysitting (her 1 kid for my 2 kids..), but the last few weeks Becky has taken her part of co-oping to a whole new level. What I really mean to say is she has been amazing with helping me with my kids lately. This past Saturday she took the kids in the morning after also providing them and me with waffles and had them ALL DAY (along with Reagan and her 2 nieces ages 3, and almost 5) and then provided dinner for us all when I got there that night. On top of that, I told her I'd be there around 3:30 or so and didn't even wake up until 5:30pm!!!
I worked last night and Becky called me on my way to work and told me that a) she had taken care of babysitting for Ez for this morning (since she is working in the VBS the nieces and G are involved in this week) and b) I wasn't going to pick the kids up - I could meet them at Nick's parent's house at 5:30 and we will all have pizza...I was planning on having to be up with Ez this morning and her thoughtfulness and generosity of time has been overwhelming to me.
Becky has demonstrated to me selflessness and generosity. She never has a bad attitude about taking my kids and does fun things with them - like swimming! And did I mention she's also pregnant!??? I am so blessed to have Becky a part of my life - this is just one more way she has loved me. Thank you Beck!

Quick little update...

We had a great fun week with Jason being off Sunday-Thursday! We had a great time hanging out as a family and on my birthday Jason and the kids made me feel special and truly celebrated. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, had a great lunch on the boardwalk there, I got my highlights done and ate one of my favorite dinners--coconut shrimp! Jason got me some great gifts and Gavin picked out a pair of shoes for me :-) I had probably 20 people call me to wish me happy birthday. Thank you to each of you who called me. It was so cool to know that THAT many people were thinking of me. I really appreciated it!

(backtracking...)On Tuesday night, I got the treat of hanging out with some of my girlfriends while the guys hung out at our house with Jason and the kids. We went to the Spectrum and got our nails done, then had a great dinner at PF Changs. The girls brought me flowers and sang happy birthday to me at dinner. It was a great time with girls I don't get to see enough! We laughed and told funny stories as we enjoyed multiple dishes of Crispy Honey Shrimp! Below is a link to a video by a girl named Anjelah Johnson. Its about a nail salon and I laugh every time I watch it. She is so right on...I had the same experience getting my toes done Tuesday. Watch it and you'll laugh too if you've ever gotten your nails done!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8126430922330991484&pr=goog-sl

Tomorrow we look forward to seeing Darren, Pam, Jesse, Luci, Nana and Papa Dan! Have a wonderful Sabbath.

Presents, Swimming and Bike Excursions...

There is one tradition my family has done since I can remember and it will probably assume the place of favorite in my mind. It is a treasured time that I'm sure I have shared about before...but will share about again, since it has been a year. Last night, my family got together to celebrate my birthday and even D and B were in town, so that was a special treat. Of course I loved being spoiled with presents, eating a delicious meal followed by my current favorite dessert - pumpkin cheesecake...but the "icing on the cake" was the time to "go around." Everyone shares with the "birthday girl/boy" things they admire, appreciate, and love about that person. I always leave that time feeling cherished, appreciated, loved, special, and really just FANTASTIC! Its so cool to hear how people have noticed things in your life as they affirm you in every aspect.

Present opening helpers
Ez is screaming here
New clothes from Jason and Ang
A few days ago we had a swim day in the backyard. It was so fun for the kids - Jason is like a big kid in there
Ez gets cold and has to warm up in his towel before another dip
Love Daddy!
His hair is getting long, but I can't cut it! Its so white and cute...curly...
Gavin in good spirits after taking a few falls on his bike. I walked with Ez and Gavin rode his bike all the way to Blockbuster and back (almost 2 miles!)

When I grow up...

A recent conversation:
Gavin: Mom, when I grow up, I want to be as tall as Jesus.
Me: Wow, Gavin. Cool. (what do you say to that??)
Gavin: What do you want to be when you grow up, Mom? You could be a soccer player, a LAPD, a fireman, a nurse, or you could be Jesus.
Me:That's a lot of options...but I'm already grown up.
Gavin: No your not, Mom! You're only 7 years old!

Our days have been busy with swimming, playing with friends, messing up the house and cleaning it back up again.
The 4th consisted of some sad faces in the morning when the kids realized Jason wouldn't be at the Parade with us, but was soon resolved as the excitement took over. Seems like the parade in HB is full of armed forces, WWII vets, Pearl Harbor survivors and bands....not sure how I feel about this but anyways....Gavin was terrified at first and wouldn't sit within 20 feet of the procession. I was able to coax him into my lap and he got more comfortable with the characters marching by as long as nobody got too close to him. Ez enjoyed the whole thing. After the parade we swam with friends, napped and went to my parents house for a fun dinner and fireworks in a Wal-Mart parking lot (where are we, Mississippi??). Against my BURN NURSE judgement, I let Gavin hold sparklers...and of course it was fine. No finger burns...nothing exploded on his face but I was nervous. I thought he would be too scared, but he loved it! And the night was ended with some delicious pazookies at my parents house! Kids went to sleep at 11pm on the way home so of course they would sleep in, right??
wrong.
7:18am...MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF (ez screaming for "oof" --his word for food). My dreams of sleeping in shattered once again.

More confessions

The laundry subject seems to be a great one - we can all identify with the drudgery of it, can't we? Well, I have more cleaning confessions...I always give myself a hard time when thinking through these things, but I think its probably normal that I can't keep the house that my OCD neighbor can...
*I mopped the floors yesterday for the first time in at least a month
*I have not dusted the upper kitchen cabinets and shelves in...several months
*I have not dusted the rest of the kitchen or the living room in...maybe 3 weeks?
*Under Gavin's bed is a explosion of toys and odds and ends I keep telling myself I need to get to...
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them at this time. I am not a slob, but I'm not the best cleaner either. Part of that, of course, is because when I try and pick something up, it seems like the boys follow right behind me and get something else messy in that area. I don't usually feel like dusting or cleaning bathrooms at naptime or after the kids are in bed. I want to relax and nap myself, or just do something I enjoy. Like read or watch a movie. I usually have to have a mental conversation where I tell myself its ok my house is not spotless - I have 2 small children that I'm mom to - that's my most important job. But I also don't want to be embarrassed by how I keep my house. I think there is a happy medium. Not quite sure I've found it yet, though. Anyone have any good ideas for me??