While Daddy's Away The Boys Will . . . Miss Him!

It has been a busy week and we are glad to see Friday has finally arrived! We had the book fair this week, which was a lot of fun.  They had so many different books to pick from -- it was great.  I love that a child can get a book for only a few dollars.  You only have $3.00?  Well, we have these books over here that you can choose from.  It's great.  I learned that my children apparently have so many books at home that they can't remember what they have and what they don't have.  Alex very excitedly pulled the book he bought at the fair out of his back pack to show me.  It looked familiar and Logan loudly announced, "We already have that book."  Alex looked upset -- and it was only a $4 book so I told him that was fine because now they each had one.  It is a super hero book and if Alex had 5 of them I don't think he would care. 

We also finished the fundraiser -- which I am happy to bid farewell!  Alex sold over $100 worth of items and was very proud of himself.  I told him he would get two prizes and he said, "that's fine, but do I get to go to the ice cream party and play in the bouncy houses?"  Ha.  "Yes, you do," I answered.  "YES!"  was the reply.  Who needs prizes when there is ice cream and bouncy houses!

I took Logan to the park yesterday to play for a bit and as he played the wind blew through the trees and gold leaves fluttered down to the ground.  Logan looked up and watched them fall and then shouted for everyone in the park to hear, "Mom!  Look, the leaves are falling! It's fall!"  It was so cute.  I, too, am ready for fall! 

The school picnic was tonight but it was so windy, Logan kept saying his throat was hurting, and everyone was talking about rain -- so we stayed home.  I am now very pleased with my decision because it did rain.  The boys played video games for a little while and I did laundry.  We had dinner together and watched The Backyardigans and then after they had baths they played with Legos -- they are actually still playing with Legos.  In a bit we'll do the bedtime routine of brushing teeth, washing faces, getting one last drink, making one last trip to the bathroom, reading books, and tucking the boys into their beds. It's a routine that usually involves Jacob, but he is out of town this evening for work.  I figure he'll be home around 10:30 or 11:00.  The boys didn't understand why we ate dinner without Jacob or why their daddy wasn't there to read with them, play with them, and help them put their pajamas on. It is weird not having him here, but the boys and I had fun and I tried to keep them busy.  We tried to make the Krusty Krab, but those Legos can be frustrating (especially when you don't know where the instructions for the Krusty Krab are).  

I need to get the boys ready for bed -- hopefully the sound of the rain will help them go to sleep easier.  Tomorrow is Fun Friday and Crazy Hair Day -- you better believe there will be pictures . . .

It seems as if the farther into the school year we get the busier our days become.  The next two weeks are full of dental appointments, book fairs, school picnics, UCO campus festivals, and ice cream parties.  We still have the different therapies for Alex and the many therapists who are involved.  We have activities we are doing at home with him for speech as well as Handwriting Without Tears which was recommended by his occupational therapist a couple of weeks ago.  Alex is a hard working boy and I understand when he has days where he is very emotional or just plain tired!  We have also been working on tying shoes every day.  We have a book we use and Alex is very interested in learning.  I'll blog more about that later.  I just wanted to post some new pictures of the boys (of course).

Alex with one of Jaocb's Mastodon CDs.  We were getting ready to ride in "Daddy's Car" and Alex picked the music.  He's making his best tough guy face here -- he's still cute, though.  LOL

I make a big breakfast every Saturday morning and Logan is always so chatty that everyone finishes and gets up and leaves and he is left there finishing his breakfast alone.  Here, we decided Tigger could have breakfast with him and he wouldn't be alone.  He liked that idea!

Jacob and Alex watching a ball game.  They watch both baseball and football together -- I can't remember which they were watching here, but it was one of those two.  Ha. They go outside and play those two sports, as well as soccer, all the time -- the boys love it!

Logan working on his homework.  He did a great job!

Alex vacuuming the living room for me -- he's a great helper!

Logan watching cartoons with "Big Bear" -- it used to be Jacob's and was given to the boys.  Logan LOVES him!

Alex playing at a park while at a birthday party!

Logan helping me make mini pizzas for dinner one evening. 

Alex playing the X-Box in our bedroom.  He gets to play when he works hard during speech therapy and earns his time to play. 

Alex beat his daddy at an old computer game.  He was very proud.  Jacob took this picture of him standing beside the computer while the screen reads, "The Winner Is: Alex!"

There will be more exciting stories to tell in a week or so with all the activities coming up.  Ha.  Until then, I need to go help Logan with his homework . . .

  



So This Is What They Call A Rainy Day!!!


It is definitely a rainy day.  It has rained all day long and isn't supposed to stop until sometime tomorrow.  This is all well and good, I guess.  The temperature has dropped, but who can go out and enjoy it with the sky spitting on you and laughing.  On our way home from picking up Alex at school this afternoon we saw high school students walking home in the rain. A truck splashed water all over one teenage girl.  She looked shocked, stopped walking, and then looked as if she was going to cry.  She shook her head and kept walking.  I felt bad for her -- and then I wondered why she didn't have a rain coat -- or even an umbrella.  I know some teenagers think they're uncool, but if you have to walk home in the rain you would think you would want something to keep you dry -- or at least a little less wet. We made it home and pulled into the garage. The boys hopped out of the car, ran inside and Alex immediately asked if he could watch a movie. Since it is rainy and gross outside, it seems perfect for a movie!

Alex came home from school with a folder full of work he did today. It was all done correctly and we are so proud of him.  One worksheet asked that the students circle the "I" in the sentence and underline the "am."  They had to fill in either "I" or "am" in a sentence as well and Alex did it all correctly. I was telling Alex how proud of him I was when Logan said, "R-E-D That spells red."  I said, "Yes, it does!  Where did you learn that?"  He shrugged his shoulders and said, "At my school."  I was one proud mommy at that point.  I was certain my boys were just the smartest boys in the world.  It's funny how proud you feel at every little thing your child does correctly or everything they achieve.  I was very proud of both of them.

Now, on this rainy day I am about to make some home made chicken noodle soup for dinner.  The weather seems perfect for it. I do not mind rainy days like this when I don't have to get out in it.  I can stay home, drink coffee or hot cocoa, and read a good book and enjoy it.  I do mind them somewhat when I have to make three trips to the school in the rain and have to run to the library, the bank, or any other place. Its just easier to do things when it's not raining. :)

So, here is hoping that some time tomorrow the sun makes an appearance and we can step outside with out being pegged by rain drops.

Until that happens, enjoy these pictures!  Ha

This is a picture of the sky last night.  It was so pretty!

And I had to include a picture of the boys!

Thankful

This is the boys' second full week of school.  It's going pretty well so far, other than Alex's crazy schedule forcing us all to run around like insane people trying to get from point A (school) to point B (some form of therapy).  The school year has also opened my eyes to a few things -- and because of these things I am more thankful than ever for my family and what we have.

Every morning Logan and I walk with Alex to the back of the school where the gym is located.  Alex's class sits in a row (as does every other class in the school sans Pre-K) and looks at books they bring from home until their teacher comes and walks them to their classroom.  We always stop in the entryway area and tell Alex goodbye then we watch him walk and join his class.  He sits down, waves, and blows me kisses -- which I return and then Logan and I walk back to the front of the school where his class is sitting. This is our routine every single morning.  A couple of times children I don't know (older than Alex) have come up to me as I'm hugging Alex and said, "Can I have a hug, too?"  So far I have had two little girls do this. It caught me off guard at first, but now my heart goes out to them. The older of the two told me yesterday that her mother is still asleep when she leaves for school and she doesn't get to tell her mother goodbye -- or get a hug from her before she leaves for school.  She turned to Alex and said, "Hugs are important, don't you think?"  Alex looked shy and Logan loudly agreed, "Yeah!" The little girl looked at Alex and said, "I like your mom.  You're lucky--she's really nice."  She smiled, thanked me, and walked to join her class.  I hugged Alex once more and watched as he walked across the gym floor -- his backpack almost as big as he is, carrying his lunch bag and I realized how lucky I am.  Alex made it to his class, turned and sat down, and looked at me and smiled, then blew me a kiss. With Logan hugging my leg I blew Alex a kiss and we slowly turned to leave.  By this point the halls were full of parents, teachers, and children. I felt Logan's little hand in mine as we walked down the hall.  His huge backpack scraped against the wall from time to time as we walked. Occasionally, he would look up at me and smile.  We turned a corner and could see Logan's class sitting against the wall.  One of his classmates was being dropped off by his grandmother.  Logan said, "He lives with his grandma.  He said he likes living with his grandma better because she is nicer to him, but they don't have money to buy snacks and things." I said, "Who told you this?"  Logan shrugged his shoulders and said, "His grandma talks to the teacher a lot and we can hear them sometimes."  Logan told me he didn't understand what they were talking about but the boy is good at playing tag and sliding on the slide. The school bell rang so I hugged Logan and told him to have a good day.  We went through the usual routine of him sadly telling me he'll miss me and I excitedly telling him he will have a lot of fun and I'll pick him up later.  I watched him join his class.  Several little voices filled the hall greeting him with high pitched, "Logan!" or "Hi, Logan! Sit by me!"  The teacher said, "Good morning, Logan," and rubbed his hair and smiled as he walked by.  Logan sat down between two children with a big smile on his face and waved at me.

On the drive home I realized that I have a lot to be thankful for.  Things aren't always perfect, sometimes money is tighter than we'd like it to be, the kids get sick, something breaks, days are stressful, the list goes on and on, but our children always have food to eat, and they are loved and happy.  I don't have to wonder if my children know that their father and I love them -- it's evident that they know.  I am thankful that I get to take them to school and still get hugs, kisses, and smiles.  I'm thankful that I get to drive Alex to all of his appointments and help them with their homework.  I'm thankful that even in the worst of things we still have it better than some people in the world.  I'm thankful for a husband who works very, very, VERY hard to give us all that we need -- and even things we don't need but think we do. :)  I'm thankful for a beautiful 5-year-old boy who is the hardest worker I know and who has taught me so much about overcoming obstacles.  I'm thankful for a cute, sweet, 4-year-old who always makes me laugh and still thinks I'm awesome!

Here are a few more pictures of these awesome people in my life!!

Logan, King of the Burgers!

Alex and his buddy, Zachary, playing the "old" X-Box

Logan and Jacob playing the Atari!

Logan (Iron Man), Zachary (Iron Man 2), Alex (Storm Trooper)

Alex at the park -- he loves this swing.  He says you can lay on it and see the clouds move

The boys playing on the playground at the park

Jacob and Alex playing baseball at the park -- Alex is practicing his batting!

Alex ready to bat with the Little Tikes bat

Logan sitting on the bench waiting for his turn to bat

Logan building forts out of blocks for his action figures