I know, I suck at blogging… Lol

Well, clearly I am terrible at this! 😦 Almost 7 months have passed since my last post, and much has happened, but I’ll try to summarize. 😉

Jose graduated from Kindergarten (such a cute day they had for us proud relatives!) and lost a couple of teeth.  He also worked hard at the Accelerated Reader program he was accepted into early, and made great strides.  His capabilities in that area blow us away!

We went on a month-long road trip all over the country (Iowa, Michigan, Texas, back home) and SURVIVED!  Squishy couldn’t wait to get home by the end, and even asked if he could just go home by himself, ha ha. Jose, on the other hand, asked if we could go around the country a second time.

We had a great time on our trip.  Stayed in tons of hotels, but saw no bedbugs (thank God!)  Jose got to shoot a rifle.  Squishy and Jose both went to the Iowa Children’s Museum, and there were no broken limbs this time.  The whole family participated in a Murder Mystery dinner – totally awesome.  We thought Squishy had gotten into the Blue Hawaiians, but it turned out to be a Dum Dum.  **whew**  Celebrated Grandma Rosie’s 90th birthday, took in a Kernels game and fireworks on the 4th of July, and spent tons of time with everyone.

In Michigan we celebrated a bunch of birthdays – Jose turned 6 in June, Squishy turned 3 in July, and at least three other MI relatives had birthdays, too, so there was a ton of partying going on!  We rode 4-wheelers, went fishing from the canoe in the lake, make water features, went to a water park, and just generally made a bunch of good memories.

In Texas, we got the privilege of meeting a wonderful soul from Ethiopia who is soon to be part of our larger family.  He adored Squishy’s hair and was a complete blessing to be around.  Can’t wait to see him again!  We also were thrilled to have a family member get baptized in the ocean while we were there.  Really cool! 😀

We got the boys hamsters for their big birthday present once we were back in town – they named them Chocolate Cherry (Choco), and Solomon.  We also had their pictures done when we came home, because Uncle Dude bought them AWESOME Naval outfits.

Both boys started school shortly after returning home, and Mike went back to teaching for his 30th(?) year.  Mainly computers this year, which he’s not thrilled about, but knows the Lord has a reason for everything.  Squishy is in the 3’s class at the same preschool Jose went to, and Jose is in first grade with his best friend.  Squishy has LOVED school since day 1 – no tears from him!  Jose has had a little trouble with figuring out how to be a friend to someone who is raised with different values than you, so we’ve had many talks about that.  He seems to be doing well, though, and is showing more signs of not being afraid to be who he is w/o fear of what others will think/say.

At the beginning of October, I took on a long-term sub position in Squishy’s school (the Pre-K class) so that is exciting, scary, awesome, and daunting all at the same time.  It’s so nice though, because I don’t have to figure out where to put Squishy for daycare while I work, because he’s right there with me.  This job really fell right in my lap after a big shake-up at the Y involving my dad being laid off, and it is clearly a blessing straight from God.  I am still at the Y right now, too, but it seems as though the people I know there are dropping like flies!  But until God tells me, “Move!” I’ll stay right where I am.  And the boys love that we are still there because it means they can stay involved in activities/sports like soccer, swimming, etc. Jose got to participate in a swim meet before the “winter” season set in (meets become very limited at that point), and he got 1, 2, 3, and 5 place ribbons as well as a 3rd place all-around medal in his age/gender division.  So proud! 😎 Squishy played soccer with Aunt Eggy and had a blast!

The boys also started AWANA this year.  We looked into it after the men’s BSF group failed to find leaders for the children’s program (a gross irresponsibility to our youth, in my opinion, but no one’s asking.)  It has been a big hit with both of them.  They’ve been memorizing Bible verses left and right, asking theological questions, and asking to tell me stories they’ve learned.  Super glad to have this additional influence besides school and church.  And speaking of church, we’re in a period of transition right now, but we’re listening to God for the next move and trusting that He will lead as He’s always done.

Squishy had school pictures done that turned out SO adorable we just had to get them, too, despite having ones done this summer.  See??

This past weekend, Jose and I did the “Color Me Rad” 5K with his best friend and another friend from class – total blast, even if I didn’t manage to set the color into the shirts properly before washing them. 😐

And I think that just about brings me up to date on all/most of the important stuff.  There’s lots of other little things that have happened that I should have been writing about all along, but I don’t *think* I missed anything vital, ha ha!  Here’s hoping my next post won’t wait till next June… 😳

I’m BAAAAAAAACK!!!

Okay, so I won’t even bother to try and apologize for how long I’ve been away.  Totally my bad.  Sometimes I’m great at this blog thing, sometimes I stink.  More often the latter than the former, lol.  At any rate, let me catch you up on what you’ve missed!

October 2011

• I discovered Pinterest (I’ll see if I can figure out how to post a link to my page…)
• I organized our whole kitchen and we stopped using paper towels except for disgusting messes – the boys enjoy using facecloths for everything!
• Jose found Squishy’s old swim trunks (size 0-3 months) and put them on – picture to follow
  
• I pinned way too many things on Pinterest, lol
• The boys learned a hard lesson about reality. Reality dictates that when you are told you must behave in order to go to your friend’s birthday party in the afternoon, that doesn’t mean use your plates as frisbees and break one of them (Squishy), eat the food mom specifically set aside for her lunch and then lie and claim your brother did it (Jose), open your father’s computer and mess around on it while mom’s in the bathroom (Squishy), scream at your brother repeatedly at the top of your lungs (Jose), or continue to take your brother’s toys over and over and over after being told to knock it off (Squishy.)  They didn’t get to go to the birthday party.
• I got my Facebook timeline, which I personally LOVE
• The boys’ grandpa on Daddy’s side passed away (Oct 11, 2011) after having serious health issues for what seems like forever, and Jose was extremely upset that he didn’t get a chance to see him again before he died – cried for a long time 😥
  
• Jose had some night-time accidents out of the blue, but then stopped again (praise God!)
• Squishy and I made awesome Halloween crafts at the YMCA
• Squishy and I had a playdate with/babysat two adorable kiddos
• My friend’s father went missing and was just found yesterday after six months of intense prayer and searching – his family is obviously saddened at the loss, but rejoicing that they know where his is and where he is spending eternity
• Jose got sick and had to miss his first day of school, but got well and went back the next day to do his school’s Harvest Walk during which he walked 4.63 miles in 2 hours – he also won a giftcard for having the most sponsors of all the Kindergartners
  
• Squishy and I found a Starbucks gift card hiding in an old envelope and went out to get a treat
• The boys lost a half a roll of stamps – it was found 5 1/2 months later
• We all went to Flagstaff and enjoyed some time with Badi and Pop-pop – carved awesome pumpkins while we were there.  Jose had to go back to Phoenix for school, of course, and unfortunately, we ended up with no pictures of him on Halloween because the cameras were in Flagstaff and he wasn’t!  He was a doctor again, though, so we can just copy the ones from last year, lol. 😉
  

November 2011

• Jose learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!!  He went from training wheels to pushing off, riding all up and down the street, and stopping all in one day!
• Jose lost a 2nd tooth (November 8) – right next to the other one.  No more loose ones since then, though
  
  
• Aunt Laurla graduated with her nursing degree – woo hoo!!!
• Jose learned how to be even more of a smart-ass.  Case in point: “Daddy: Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Jose: No. Daddy: You don’t?? Jose: No. Daddy: Well, what DO you want? Jose: A poke in the eye with a sharp stick.”  Ha ha ha ha!!! 😀
• Jose was blessed with a gift (to be kept till Christmas) from an anonymous donor – the one thing he had specifically been talking about wanting, the Littlest Pet Shop Rescue Tails Center  ❤
• Jose and I made apple pie
  
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with EVERYONE!  Not all at the same time, but we saw my family and Daddy’s family, including the boys’ older half-siblings and their families
• We celebrated Daddy’s birthday (Mommy and Daddy got to try out the new AMC dine-in theater and Studio Movie Grill – so cool!)
• I pinned way too many more things to Pinterest
• Squishy and I went to the mall with friends and he played Monkey Preschool Lunchbox for a good 20 minutes at least while they got help at the Apple store
  

December 2011

• We all tried out the fire pit at Badi and Pop-pop’s house
• Squishy got sick and had to have breathing treatments – fortunately, we already have the machine and everything we need at home!
• Got pictures with Santa and his (giant) Elf at the YMCA
• Pinned a butt-load more things to Pinterest
• Discovered Erin Condren
• Aunt Eggy graduated from college!!!!  Woo hoo!  Jose got an awesome hat while there
  
• Jose’s Kindergarten class had a Cowboy Christmas Party at McCormick Railroad Park, for which Badi bought him INCREDIBLE cowboy boots – Aunt Laurla got to go with him!
  
• Squishy fell off the toilet and bashed his head on the toilet paper holder – it wasn’t bad, but he bled like a stuck pig and I was scared out of my mind
• Jose and I made an awesome Christmas gift for his teacher
• The biscuits exploded in our fridge
• We celebrated an AMAZING Christmas
• Jose perfected his spiral football pass to Uncle Jimmy (henceforth referred to as “Dude”, thanks to Squishy) whild he was in town
• We (the adults) went to the Insight Bowl game and witnessed the trouncing of the Iowa Hawkeyes – the boys got to be babysat by Aunt Laurla, which they loved!

January 2012

• Squishy and I went and visited Ms. Jess – always a great time when we do that!!!  Love her  ❤
• Jose got to have a playdate with his twin friends from preschool!
• Pastor Frank left our church 😦
• Jose went on a hike with Daddy, Badi, and Aunt Eggy
  
• I inexplicably deleted everything off my external hard-drive and am still working on recovering files to this day – including all of my photos from around February 2011 through January 2012.  GO ME!!!

February 2012

• Squishy got his 2nd official haircut – I hated it and probably won’t be taking him again till he has to go to Kindergarten
• Jose and Squishy had a mud day – Squishy was covered from head to toe; I had to insist that Jose get dirty.  Those two!!  LOL!
• Badi and I organized our entire book collection (well, not quite – we still need shelves for all of the early reader/picture books)
  
• Jose had a Valentine’s celebration at school that I went in to help with; we also celebrated at home, of course
• I got a new camera!
• The boys played a lot of baseball and soccer, went on hikes, and went to the park – mostly with Badi and Aunt Eggy
• Jose and Daddy went on a hike with Pastor Frank, because Jose really misses him and is hoping to stay his friend
• Jose got fancied up for his “Elegant Event” at school
  
• The boys did a LOT of bike riding – even going a couple miles at a time with Daddy (well, Squishy sat in the seat on the back of Daddy’s bike for that, lol)
• We discovered that Jose is an amazing artist
  
• Jose went and saw Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace in theaters with me – I saw it with my dad for my birthday 13 years ago
• Squishy got to have his very first Dunkin Donut
  

March 2012

• Squishy and I went and spent the day with Ms. Jess and we got to see horses, too!
  
• The boys started soccer with Aunt Eggy as their coach – they love it but have a little bit of a hard time staying focused
• Jose watched Labyrinth for the first time. He was completely engrossed and looked equal parts horrified and amused, lol!
• Jose took part in his first art contest – it ended this past week and he didn’t win, but he did get tickets to see Van Gogh Live! at the Science Center
• Daddy and I celebrated our 8th anniversary and Jose bought me flowers because he wanted me to know how much he loved me, lol
• Dude and his girlfriend came and visited Phoenix and we had a great time with them – especially getting to know Ms. Caitie!
  
• The boys fell in love with Party Rock Anthem thanks to Kia’s Hamster commercial
• Jose had his first “official” kiss – well, she actually kissed him, and it was at the prompting of the class troublemaker, but still… 😉
• Jose got to go to Pump It Up to celebrate a friend’s birthday and had a BLAST!
• Aunt Eggy and I took the boys to see The Lorax – even Squishy did pretty good despite asking if the movie was done 5 minutes into it
• Jose sent Flat Stanley to Dude in North Carolina
  
• Badi and I had to tell Jose the story of Adam Walsh. He just will not stay by me in stores lately – insists on disappearing and he about gave me a heart attack in Bookmans. I was a little worried it would give him nightmares (it didn’t seem to), but honestly? When the other option is him being kidnapped, I’ll take a few nightmares any day. 😐
• We got an iPad.  Enough said.
• Jose went to another friend’s birthday party – this one at a park and hosted by High 5 Sports (it was supposed to have been the day after his other one, but was postponed due to rain.) Since Momma and Daddy were leaving for Flagstaff that day, he got to be picked up after school by his friend’s mom.  He felt so grown up.
• We spent Spring Break in Flagstaff in a BIG condo – Badi and Pop-pop joined us for a few days. We went to the park, played sports, hiked, saw Indian ruins – all kinds of fun!!  Jose’s favorite part was getting to use our hot tub, lol.
• Jose discovered Tim Hawkins.  He is in love.  Ha ha!

April 2012:

• The boys started swim lessons – Squishy in the pool with Aunt Eggy, Jose in the pool independently, of course
• Squishy got sick and have to have breathing treatments again, but he got better really quick!
• Daddy and I finished the boys’ re-purposed crib chalkboard desk just in time for Easter!
  
• We celebrated Easter in style – egg and basket search at home; Sunday School, Eggstravaganza, and service at church; another egg search (real eggs, this time!) at Badi and Pop-pop’s house; dinner with everyone at our house
  

And now you’re all caught up!!!  And so am I.  WHEW!!! 😛

Dinner Date w/o Dinner!

Kids say, and do, the darndest things, don’t they?  As we were coming home from working in Daddy’s classroom today, Jose asked us, “Can we have Laurla come over and watch ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ with us?  Oh, and can we ask Eggy and Badi and Pop-pop, too?  But not Uncle Jimmy, because he’s in North Carolina, so he can’t come.”

Laurla was the first to respond, with a text that said, “aww. i think we can arrange that.” And then in response to Jose stating that he wants to sit next to her on the couch, “haha what a cutie. it would make my heart smile to sit next to him.” 🙂

Badi and Pop-pop were next – a telephone call to say that they would love to come over, too, but that we didn’t need to worry about feeding them dinner because they’d just eat before they came over.

Eggy was last to respond; she wasn’t sure at first if she could make it due to early work hours the next day, but when she heard there was the possibility of free food, she was all for it. 😀

So, the little mastermind was very pleased and began planning away immediately.  At first, he was disappointed that ONLY Eggy would be eating.  He said, “But I wanted it to be a dinner date!” (Where he got that phrase from, I have NO idea.) 😀 He shared with us his idea that our house would be a restaurant where we would set up a table in the middle of the room with balloons, and he would take our orders from the menu.  But then he said, “It’s okay.  We can just do that next time everyone comes over, okay?”  What a sweetheart!

Moving on from the dinner-less dinner date idea, he began to focus on the movie-and-popcorn date instead.  Knowing that he wanted to sit next to Laurla on the couch, he began to devise a scheme for how all of us could sit together and be next to the people we love.  Well, at least how 4 of us could do that.  I guess everyone else is supposed to fend for themselves… 😉 At any rate, here’s his master plan:

“Laurla and I will sit next to each other, and you [momma] will sit next to me also.  You will sit on one side and Laurla will sit on the other, and half of me will sit next to each of you.  The girls on the outside and the boys on the inside.  Except then where will daddy sit?  Okay, how about this.  Daddy will sit next to you, momma, since you don’t get to sit next to him in church anymore.  And then I will sit next to daddy so the boys are in the middle, and Laurla will sit next to me.  And I will hold hands with Laurla and daddy, and daddy will hold your hand, momma.  And then the free hands will hold each other and we’ll be stuck together forever like glue.  Except for if you have to go to the bathroom.  Then we’ll pour water to melt the glue so we don’t have to all go to the bathroom together.  That would be EMBARRASSING.” 😆

Growing Up :(

As I was working with the 2-year-olds today at BSF (http://bsfinternational.org/), while Jose was down the hall in his own 4-year-old class, I got to pondering how much and how quickly my boys have grown up.  Jose has gone to BSF with me since he was 2 and now he is finishing up his final year before going to school full-time.  Since he began, BSF started a program for younger children (down to 6 weeks, I believe) which I was planning to put Squishy in, but my dad (Pop-pop) lamented the fact that he wouldn’t get the same one-on-one time with Squishy as he had with Jose, so we put off enrolling him.  But now, alas, the time has almost come to sign him up for next the fall, and that means he is going to be 2 soon.  How did this happen??

Jose is going to be 5 and in kindergarten before I even have time to catch my breath.  For him, at least, this doesn’t seem so odd.  He’s been an old soul since the moment he was born.  Hubby and I have always had the hardest time remembering just how young he is.  We expect too much of him, too soon, too often.  And yet, now that he is “grown up” and suddenly perfectly able to fulfill almost all the tasks and responsibilities we request of him (including tying his shoes, which he learned after 2 tries – one with mom’s way, one with dad’s; he chose dad’s – back on February 12!) I find myself wishing he was just a little tyke again.  I knew as I was doing it that I would regret the high expectations we held for him, but I knew if we didn’t hold those expectations of him, he just wouldn’t be who he was meant to be.  He is just mature beyond his years and far too intelligent for his own good, sometimes.  😉  But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And then there is Squishy.  Squishy, my little one whom everyone still refers to as “the baby.”  I think he is called that more often than he is called his name!  That’s just who he is though.  He’s a little cuddly bug, typically non-speaking (at least not in phrases), and destructive boy through and through!  In fact, at the Y Monday morning, I realized with horror, “My gosh!  He’s one of those kids!”  He leaves nothing alone, can’t walk by something without touching it, puts everything in his mouth – EVERYTHING – repeatedly does the same thing over and over, etc.  But he is seriously so stinking adorable that even strangers just smile and coo at him despite his behavior.  It’s a good thing God made kids so cute!  But despite his “baby” persona, he definitely has a brain in his head that is whirling and spinning at top-speed all the time.  He is constantly learning and absorbing what is around him.  He amazes me with his intelligence sometimes, because I forget that despite how he portrays himself, he really isn’t a baby anymore.  He can build block towers 11+ blocks high, BY HIMSELF.  He knows when he has gone potty in his diaper and hates having number 2 in there.  He is so frustrated because he can’t figure out how to make things work when he’s sitting on the toilet.  He literally cries sometimes when he realizes that he’s gone in his diaper again and says, “Toyet? Toyet?”

Where did the time go?  How did I get to have an almost-5 and almost-2-year-old?  When and why did they grow up?  I don’t recall giving them permission to do so.  In fact, I specifically remember asking Jose at 2 months to quit growing so I could keep him that way for awhile.  See how well that worked out?  And so I have one leaving BSF this spring to enter Kindergarten, and another entering BSF this fall for his 3-year run.  Next thing you know, I’ll be writing about enrolling Squishy and getting his uniforms for school…