This kid has WILL POWER

Yes, Drew is a strong willed child. This morning, I made him a delicious bowl of hot steamy baby oatmeal with 1/2 a jar of apples/blueberries stirred in. Usually that with some real diced banana is a feast for a king (well, to HIM anyway). This morning, he was I was making waffles for Josh so HE wanted one. Yes, I let him have one. He'd never had one for breakfast. He ate an entire waffle... I could tell, however, that it didn't give him the energy he needed as he was tired soon thereafter. Nap time. Lunchtime was another battle of the wills... I wanted him to eat a grilled cheese sandwich. I even made it with NO butter so the bread would be toasted but not soggy and the cheese melted JUST right... would he eat it? Heck no! I warmed up a corny dog... would he eat that? Heck no... I tried to give him some of the pasta shapes from Josh's Jimmy Neutron chicken/noodle soup would he eat that? Heck no. He went without. He tried to suck down an entire glass of juice but when I realized he was doing THAT instead of eating -- he got water. He was pissed.

Then, changed and ready to go to Josh's basketball game. We were almost late -- made it just in time. Drew took forever getting dressed -- wouldn't let me put his socks on ... kicking me so his pants couldn't be pulled up... it was just about maddening!

Then the game was on... they did a great job. Josh's team only had 5 players present which is how many plays at a time so he got a lot of action which is GOOD! He needed it.. AND he scored his first basket! :) I got it in video!

Andy finished putting together his ESPN game center and he was playing that until I called his dad in Iowa and made him talk to him... put drew down and came down to plan my scrapping time this evening! :) Andy's at the gym... i'm going to go take a nap... I think Spring Creek BBQ sounds good tonight! :)

The search is on - Tender Moments - Great Day

Yes...an entry that's a triple threat! It's about Drew... Josh... AND Me -- Oh MY!

The search is on for a preschool for Drew. Man alive is finding a preschool hard! Do you want a faith-based lesson plan... montessori... do you like the curriculum... do the teachers seem nice... do all the kids have snotty noses... is there a place for them to play indoors if the weather is not nice (yes, it DOES get hot here in Texas in the summer). There are so many questions to answer! UGH! Some are way expensive... some are 5 days per week... some are 2 days per week... some are 3 days per week... how many kids per teacher... will Drew be eating real food by the time it is supposed to happen? (No.. he's not THERE YET!) I know that God will lead me to the right path for this little guy of his that I'm taking care of. Honestly, it's not the money, it's the type of environment... curriculum and staff all in one. I know that I'll get that "good feeling" when I find the right place. I'm almost sure I already have but we'll still have to wait and see.

Josh... He and I were channel surfing tonight and I stopped on a channel where they were having a one-hour pledge drive for St. Jude's Children's hospital. There was a story about a little boy... cute as can be undergoing chemo. It showed his father talking about how each day really is a gift. How he knows that his son is terminal...that the brain tumor will come back although his chemo sessions were over but that he had fought the good fight... how he sees his son not worried about it because he just is enjoying life and wearing a big smile... so he said that he was going to enjoy life and wear a big smile just for his son... until the day he took his last breath... that last breath came a short six months later when he died in his dad's arms. Josh just broke down. The reality of death hit him that it is such a sad thing for those left behind. I tried to comfort him as best I could and explained to him that while it is sad that he's with Jesus and he's not sick anymore. How he didn't have to be poked with needles... no chemo treatments to make him sick... how he was healed completely now and while it is sad that he's not here with his family... they'll be together some day. It's so sad to know that in life he will have to experience grief. As a parent, we spend our lives trying to protect them... and then to have something totoally out of our hands that we can't just "fix"... I just can't imagine.

Today was a good day. I'm trying to get my life in order to have a fun little "home school" area for my little Drew and also for Josh to use on the days we do bible study at home. :) Gotta find a good curriculum to follow since he'll be in a public school next year so that I can still keep this as a main focus in his heart.

I'm off to bed! :)

Drew's first visit at the house with Evan

Andy's good friend Greg and his wife Heather have an adorable little munchkin named Evan. Andy watched Drew one day while I was helping with a class party at Josh's school and they went over to play at their house. Today was our turn to host -- Heather is a homebody like me so she's trying to get out of the house more. Drew and Evan had a great time. Drew got an Aquadoodle pad for Christmas... he loves to suck and chew on the pen. Evan came out of the playcloset downstairs with the pen in his mouth and Drew walked up to him and said something (I'm sure it was like.. hey buddy... that's my pen... what do you think you're doing?) and took it from him and walked away with it in HIS mouth. I totally know kids don't know how to share at this age... heck, Josh still isn't good at it and he's nearly SEVEN! :) SOOOooooo.... you try your best but I'm jsut going to let him work it out on his own. He's 18 months... he can handle confrontation .. right? LOL

Rain on our De-Christmas-if-ing day -- Hallelujah!!

It rained it rained! Normally, you don't want that on a weekend but it's been SO dry and there have been SO many wildfires destroying acreage around here that this is just something NO ONE could complain about. Ok...well there are those that COULD find something to complain about ANYTHING (I won't name names) but not today!

Yes, we FINALLY got all the Christmas goodies down and packed up in our house. Wow that seems like so much more work that it was putting it up! Andy threw his back out the first week or so of January and then I had a stomach bug last week and wasn't about to exert energy so this was the optimal day to get it done. It's just so amazing how must STUFF I have! I love Christmas stuff though. I collect Santa and hope to eventually have ONE tree in my home completely dedicated to nothing BUT Santa ornaments!

It evokes a sadness however that just comes over you when you see your naked mantle... it was adorned with a sparkling lit garland, ornaments and shiny silver stocking holders... now it's just plain and boring with a few books and candleholders. The entry way table used to boast a hand-made ceramic nativity scene that my grandmother made for me and now it's just got crystal picture frames. The bannister leading up stairs had pine garland corkscrewing up the staircase entwined with white lights and now it's just a barren wooden handrail. I so look forward every year to going into the attic after Thanksgiving and going through my boxes of "stuff". There are so many cherished memories in those boxes.... my little stuffed snowbear holding a personalized paper heart with Josh's name on it. It was a little gift from his first Christmas... or all the little Classic Winnie the Pooh ornaments that I put on his first tree. Our beautiful needlepoint stockings we hang by the chimney ever year... with care. Then there are those handmade ornaments that I get from Josh every year. Those are truly my favorite... the painted puzzle piece wreath... bead candycane, tongue depressor snowman... i love them all and can't wait to add to my collection every year! :) These are the things that make my season special so to put them away is like saying goodbye to so many special things. But next year it's like I've struck gold with each box I unpack. :) I guess I've always got my own little treasure tucked away in the attic. :)

Pregnancy is so cute...

on everyone else! I went to Andy's cousin-in-law's baby shower with his mom today. Jeff Berry (singer of the Jeff Berry Band, a religious singing group) and his wife, Anna, are expecting their first child and we hit the George Bush Tpke to go visit the shin-dig in Garland. Anna wore this tight fitting outfit that I don't know if I could have worn if it were me but it was SO CUTE! Pregnant women are so cute! (As long as it's not me!) I'd still like to lose the babyweight from DREW! UGH When I got back from the shower, Josh's best friend, Matt Cagle was in town from Illinois where they moved last year so he came over to spend the night.

I can't remember the last time I saw Joshua SO excited! He literally was THRILLED to see Matt AND to have his first REAL sleepover. (We attempted on with another friend, Sterling, but he missed his mom too much -- poor kid). I remember those days. They camped out in the tent in the family room, ate smores, popcorn, I took them to Chuck E Cheese. It was a great time for them both! :) Josh can't wait to see them again. The only sad part was watching Josh really become emotional when Matt was leaving. He went out to hug him twice...walking back just crying his little eyes out. It's hard watching your children hurt at life's unkind realities. But, this IS the electronic age and cell phones and internet make communication much easier. I hope they'll stay in touch for the long haul.... I know me and Matt's mother will! :)

Wasting away to nothing....

OK...so he's NOT wasting away to nothing but Drew has gone from the 97 percentile to the 23rd and it was cause for concern at his 18th month check-up today. So he weighed 23 pounds but part of that was because he'd gone the prior two days eating nothing but bananas and milk. I'd gone on the "I'm sick of you eating nothing but babyfood mush and crackers so you're going to eat what I want you to eat" diet. This, in turn, led him to be welcomed into TAA (toddler anorexic anonymous) -- otherwise known as "I won't touch a vegetable, fruit, meat or anything other than mush and crackers so HA" diet. So, tests are scheduled for next Thursday, the 15th. :( Major bummer.

Drew's a Medal Winner

Ok, so he's not a medal winner but he got his first medal for graduating from his Little Gym class. They called his name...and he went up on the mats and she placed his medal over his head and let it dangle and he looked SO ..... UPSET! lol He hates "Things" to be ON him. At the GCSML meetings, they put a little band on the wrist for ID / Security purposes... he had a SCREAMING fit because it was on there and they had to cut it off! He really just freaks out... Photos from the medal ceremony were too funny!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/BrightEyedTxn/IMG_9372a.jpg

To the Crop.... Crop till you Drop... A Cropping We Will Go

Today I atteded the GCS Mom's League monthly meeting and heard a great speaker talk about home decor. It's inspirational -- overwhelming, but inspirational! Drew did okay in the childcare (big plus!) We went home.. he napped.. usual shin dig...

then I started packing... why? Am I moving out... Of course not... tonight is the first of my monthly crops! I set up shop at Miss Maude's Market in Keller. It's dimly lit and quarters are a bit cramped BUT it's SO quaint and cute and fun. I really liked it. I got all my swap materials completed so I'm done with swaps for good now. I've done way too many in the last of the year and the first of this year so now that February is just around the corner, no more swaps for me. I just realized that I joined them because they sounded so fun but I never use the stuff I get. So, why am I incurring the expense and stress to make stuff for everyone else? It's just dumb. SO...no more. I wind up sending 90% of the stuff I do get to my sister to see if she could use them and if not, she can always give it to some of the scrappers out there.

So, I plan to do more scrapping now that I've at least got one evening dedicated every month just to ME with no kids... :) AAaahhh... scrapping! It's a great life!

They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha ha!!!

Well, I thought I was going ot have to have myself committed today. I have a teething 17 month old that is literally capable from going from zero to hysterics in a matter of milliseconds. IT's been an adventure. I think Josh was the silent sufferer. I never knew he had a molar -- no fits of screaming, no psychotic tantrums, no night and day, no Jeckel and Hyde -- just one day, there it was. This child seems to think you're the anti-Christ if he doesn't get his way IMMEDIATELY. It's UNbelievable. Un-FREAKIN believable. Now I know why some animals eat their young.

We went to Little Gym this morning... Drew had a good time, Josh didn't seem to understand that it was Drew's time with mommy in the spotlight having all the fun -- not his. He didn't take to that idea very well. I tried to explain to him that now he can understand and appreciate how Drew feels at his soccer practice and soccer games, t-ball practice and t-ball games, basketball practice and basketball games. And that whining for a 45 minute gym class was just not going to cut it with me. :) Besides, I have been running really low on patience, sympathy or empathy with this teething trip we're on.

Drew's taken pretty kindly to naps today so that's a good thing... so horrible to think that it's not a nap... he's recharging the wail value. UGH.

Josh had basketball practice tonight. Did much better. I have such a sweet natured, unaggressive child. He needs to get in their face. Every person he was guarding scored a goal. He's afraid to hurt their feelings... and he won't keep his freakin fingers out of his mouth. I told him I was going to dip them in pepper juice... should I REALLY resort to that?! It's maddening! He's chewing on his fingers like a mental patient! Maybe it's me who should be committed! They're coming to take me away ... ha ha...

Dinner tonight was on Dad -- thanks for the Chili's gift certificates.. it saved me because I was in NO MOOD to cook DIDDLY squat after this day! Drew's in bed... after falling off the big chair backwards... this kid WILL wind up in the ER before he's 2 with a broken something.... UGH.... Josh is in his bunk not realizing how early tomorrow will really be with it being his first day back to school and then there's me.. in here playing catchup on life!

Gotta get those swaps mailed out but I'm so zapped... I just am literally drained of life by 7:30 pm.