HELP...my BABY is ONE!!

What Would You Be?

By Dr. Seuss

If you'd never been born, well then what would you be?

You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree! You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!

You might be a bag of hard green tomatoes! Or worse than all that- why, you might be a WASN'T! A WASN'T has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.

A WASN'T just isn't. He just isn't present. But you-

you ARE YOU!

And now, isn't that pleasant? Today you are you! That is truer than true!

There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud,

"I am lucky to be what I am!

Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham! Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!

I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!

If I say so myself,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"

HOORAY FOR ONE!

Letter Writing...

Luke's teacher gave him his first homework assignment to work on while off-track for three weeks.

Practice writing your name. Use a 'BIG LETTER' first and use 'LITTLE LETTERS' for the rest of your name. Practice writing your last initial using a 'BIG LETTER.'

He's been practicing like CRAZY. In the steam on the shower door, with sidewalk chalk, on a dry-erase board, with mud in the mud hole he and his brothers created over the past several days.

While wiping off our kitchen table last night, I found his latest practice location,

The surface of our kitchen table. Inscribed with his lucky rock.

The U is a little too small and the K could use a bit of perfection.

I'm giving him this kitchen table for his wedding present.

I Kicked The Habit, Y'all!

I'm big, I'm bad, and I'm finally off of these:



That's right, folks.....from now on, it will be nothing but this for me:

(Oops, wrong picture....ahem...)
Let's try again

Nothing but this for me:

If you need help kicking the bottle blues too, please give me a ring. I'd be glad to help. I can be reached at 1-800-SIPPY-CUPS-RULE!

Love,

Wes

Meet Sarah...

Jack and I were playing 'kitchen' earlier this evening. I requested a cup of much-needed coffee and Jack happily made it for me. "Oh wait." He said. "I forgot your cweam." He shook in a generous amount of pretend 'cweam' and together we sat, drinking our coffee.

Then the coffee talk began.

Me-You make an awesome cup of coffee, Jack! Who taught you this?

Jack-Sarah did.

Me-Sarah? Who's Sarah?

Jack-My girlfriend. He stands up on his chair and raises his hand above his head. She's this big and when she's here, I'm this big too.

Me-I see. I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Where does she live?

Jack-Over there. Pointing out the window in no particular direction.

Me-When did she teach you how to make coffee?

Jack-She invited me to her house and she cooked me dinner. I watched her cook and I wearned how to make coffee. She makes good coffee.

Me-Wow, she sounds like a nice girl. What did she cook you for dinner?

Jack-Pizza and corn.

Me-I like pizza and corn.

Jack-Me too.

Me-Tell me more about Sarah. What does she look like? Is she here now?

Jack-We had a sweepover at my house and I kissed her head and told her I loved her, but she went home and swept on her own bed. She has brown hair and brown eyes and she's pwetty. A wot of people have brown hair and brown eyes, huh, mom?

Me-Yes, Jack, a lot of people do. So is she here?

Jack-No. She's at work.

We finished our coffee and headed to the kitchen for some 'real' food. We're sitting at the dinner table and Derek begins to ask Jack about his girlfriend, Sarah.

Derek-So tell me about Sarah, Jack.

Jack-Well, she's this tall. Standing on his dinner chair raising his hand above his head to show Sarah's height. And when she's here, I'm this tall, too.

Derek-Is she here right now?

Jack-No, but she's coming over. Can I be excused?

Mom & Dad(in unison)-Yes.

I start to clear the table and try to process what just transpired. It's our first real imaginary friend, and it's a girl. Just then, I hear the front door open and close. Running (and thinking Logan escaped....again) I find Jack standing there.

"Who went out the door?" I ask.

"No one. It was just Sarah. She's here now."

"Can I see her?" I ask.

"Just a minute, mom. We're talking."

As I make my way back to the kitchen, once again, I hear the door open and close. This time I approach it at a much slower speed.

"Who opened the door?"

"It was Sarah. She weft. She had to get back to work."

Only time will answer the dozens of remaining questions I have about the newest member of our family. How long has she been around? Is that who Jack has been 'talking' to whenever I hear him chattering in the next room?

Welcome to the family, Sarah. I hope our Gang Of Seven doesn't frighten you away any time soon.

PS-Thanks for sleeping in your own bed.

Where do I begin?

I was planning on blogging today about our lovely weekend and our family trip to the Cave Of The Winds. As a SAHM (stay at home mom), I am well-aware that I need to go with the flow. While I wake up each morning driven, ready and with a plan, things don't always go MY way. Take today, for example.....

The scene: We just got home from the car wash. It's a cheap activity/field trip that we don't even need to get out of the car for. Just roll your window down, hand the attendant $12.00 and drive on through. Yes, $12.00 is the most expensive wash, which also means it's the longest, thus taking the most time to get through. Are you catching on? Logan hates the car wash. It terrifies him. But, the look on his face as we drive through is very entertaining to the rest of the gang. I wouldn't want to spoil that, would I?

Jumping back on track.

So we're at home and I am painstakingly detailing the rims and tires of our suburban. You heard me.....DETAILING THE RIMS AND TIRES. I am a wonderful wife. I gave the boys each a scrub brush and a floor mat from the car to clean. Child labor laws went out the window and things were looking quite sparkly and clean.

Then it happened. Thing one and thing two began to fight. Next thing I knew, a water fight broke out and I had been doused with soapy water. What's even worse is the fact that my clean car had soapy water all along it's side. I immediately sent the guilty party into the garage to get a roll of paper towels to dry the car. I do not tolerate water spots and I'm not about to let $12.00 go down the drain. Inside the garage, a tug-of-war began....over a roll of paper towels and 'who found it first'.

Then something crashed to the floor. I glanced from the driveway (still detailing the tires) and made sure the crash did not involve a head, or any other form of injury. All was good. The guilty ones dried the car and we spent another 30 minutes cleaning.

We cleaned up our mess and headed into the garage. That's when I found this:

What's a mom to do?

Here's the lineup. Let me know who YOU think is guilty.

Business in the front, PARTY in the back!

I never imagined I would utter the words cute and mullet in the same sentence. Like oil and water, they just don't belong together. But I have to share with you a little secret...my baby has a MULLET and it is irresistibly CUTE.

At least to me it is.

I love to run my fingers through it's silkiness. I love how it flows halfway down his back when you wash it. I love, I love, I LOVE! But apparently, I am flying solo in this mullet love triangle. Derek has been pleading for weeks to give Wes his first haircut. I've ignored and refused his requests.

This weekend I took a family vote. Not just our little gang of 7, but a large pool of voters that included several members of our extended family.

The verdict was not in my favor.

Goodbye my sweet, silky baby mullet. I will miss you.

Look how excited he is! He has no idea what's about to come. Poor guy wasn't even granted a vote.

Not sure about the sound of the clippers. (Or the tears in mommy's eyes.)

The finished product. (I haven't seen the back of his neck since he was a newborn.)

It's a cute neck.

If you'd like, please tell me which style YOU prefer. Mullet baby or Jock baby? I'm anxiously awaiting your response.

This one made me cry.....

Yesterday was Thursday folder day. I LOVE Thursday folder day. If you've ever wondered what your child has been doing at school, Thursday folders embrace your answer.

This excitement makes the walk home from the bus stop on Thursdays seem like an eternity. As soon as we step foot inside our front door (and as soon as I've double-checked to make sure I haven't mistakenly left a child unattended in the garage....not like it's ever happened), I plop down onto the floor and begin the Thursday folder RAID.

As I sorted through Evan's, I came across an assignment he did the first week of school. A Bio-Poem, to be exact. Here's what it said:

My Bio-Poem

Evan

Athletic, nice, thoughtful and 48 inches tall.

4 brothers.

Lover of: Water, baseball and books.

Who feels: Heavy, tall and sleepy.

Who needs: Sister, new socks and new shorts.

Who gives: Learning to brothers, bedtime stories and time alone.

Who fears: Ugly spiders, toads and ugly plants.

Who would like to: Buy everything, to own everything and to be an Indian.

Your city: Highlands Ranch, Fox Fire Lane.

Last name: Olivas

(I just cried...again...as I typed that.)

To my son, Evan~

Yes, you ARE nice, thoughtful and 48 inches tall.

I LOVE that you love books.

I hope that you only feel heavy and tall because you are growing so quickly before my eyes. The sleepy part we need to discuss. An earlier bedtime, perhaps?

I wasn't aware that you needed new socks, but I just inventoried your sock drawer and you are correct. Sorry about the oversight, dude. I'll get right on that. I WAS aware that you desired a sister. This part made mommy's heart ache. It has been a life-long dream of mine to adopt a baby girl from China. I'm not sure if I've ever told you, but when my brother was born and I found out he wasn't a baby girl from China, I protested. I have grown to love him, but it wasn't always easy. If mommy and daddy could find a way to bring a precious baby girl into our loving home, we would do it tomorrow. Never say never.

You are, indeed, a VERY giving boy. Not a day goes by where I am not thankful and proud of the person you are growing to be. Your brothers have learned most of what they know from you and I know that they appreciate each and every bedtime story you give.

Your fear of spiders was a gift from me. Sorry to have handed that one down. As for the toads and ugly plants, I will do my best to protect you from them.

As far as buying and owning everything, as your parents, we are doing our best to give you everything your heart could ever desire...and more. However, these things are not items money can buy. LOVE, SUPPORT, COURAGE, RESPECT, WISDOM, EXPERIENCE, HEALTH....the list goes on. Do you want to know the best part? You can own as many as you want.....for free.

Since you were 2, you have always wanted to be an Indian. (This one didn't surprise me) While I can't promise you'll ever become one, I could take you to the library to check out some books about them. Deal?

You amaze me.

(in tears again)

Love,

Mom

PS-I'm sorry I had to send you to bed last night with no dessert. It's tough being a parent and trying to do the right thing. You've earned a double-scoop tonight.