Summer Break Begins

We are off to a great start! The boys' last day of school was on Wednesday. I now have a future 1st and 2nd grader at home for 8 straight weeks. I am determined to keep them busy, busy enough to avoid them pounding the crap out of each other and every other morsel of brotherly love that occurs when they spend too much time together. They actually get along very well at times, and I am blessed when they have those close brother/friendship moments.

I decided to take them to the Phoenix Zoo for our grand entrance into the summer. So, Thursday morning we all got up at 6 and were ready and at the zoo at 7 am when they opened... which is the only way to do it in this heat. It was so nice because it wasn't crowded yet and the animals were all out enjoying the weather. This was the first time we were at the zoo and saw every animal out! We saw a jaguar up close... Benny only a couple feet away in awe of how big the kitty's teeth were.

We toured over to the children's area where Benny met a turkey... who loved him. There they were: turkey to turkey. Benny ran back and forth outside of the cage while the turkey mimicked him, not losing sight of him.

We walked over to see more exhibits and animals where we came across the spider monkey. I decided that if S. Stink were an animal, this is the animal he would be. We laughed about it but the arms, legs and skinniness of this animal was like a bunch of Stink's in one cage playing around.

We found a fun water pad area after a train ride tour, where the boys were able to go down a water slide and play in the splash zone before we headed home.

Another ending treat was feeding the ducks. I brought a loaf of aging bread along to share with our feathered friends. Little did I know. We not only had ducks, but we also had birds, turtles, and fish. They were eating out of our hands too!!

We certainly filled up the rest of our day post zoo. We had a wonderful lunch, some summer buzz-haircuts for the boys, and basketball practice. Somewhere in there I squeezed in the gym and Chik fil A's family night. So by the time we got home we were all over-whooped.... in a very good way. It was surely a great summer day together!

Mommy Facts Aloud

It was another great Mother's Day for me this year!! I will write it again... I am blessed. Just being with my boys is a gift in itself. I got many of them this year though. I received not 1 but 5 home-made cards with deep heartfelt 5 and 7 year old phrases, all cute and miss-spelled of course. Benny boy made a locket out of a painted match-box and yarn, completed with his picture in it. I was surprised with roses in the morning from my three boys, we went to church with my family and had a wonderful lunch where we got to spend some time with my mother. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the pool relaxing and ended our day with my favorite... frozen yogurt. Benny had a "Muffins with Mom" event that only kindergartners get to host. Stink did it last year with me and made a lovely Mommy Facts page where honest answers were broad casted in the class... whether you liked it or not. So that's when the whole class got to hear that Mom "sleeps all day". Lovely. So I was thrilled to see what this year brought, so here it is:

This is Benny's mommy facts. Again, this year, the question of what mom does during the day was read aloud to class along with what I like to do for fun. So according to my Benny Boy I watch TV all day. Great! So sleeping and watching TV all day is what my boys think I do when they are at school... oh how nice that would be if it were true, if they only knew. So I am going to put my boys to work and use the Mothers Day coupons I received to take the trash out, wash the car, wash the dishes, put toys away, and get the mail. Then maybe I will get to watch some TV and sleep one of these days. :) Although I have to admit I didn't feel so embarrassed after hearing what another girl said about her mom. She put down that her favorite drink was soda, which what was on her paper. This honest kinder out loud says "But you like beer too mom!" Luckily it was loud in the room and only the surrounding ears heard.

Benny sang "Take me outta the bath tub" in take me out to the ball game tone with his class, so cute.

It was a wonderful day, not all that much different. I still scolded my kids for things and broke up brotherly fights. The difference that made it special is remembering how lucky I am to have great kids, and what a blessing it is to be a mother to them. Things are different for us now-adays and I don't have the time I used to with them being a single parent and the life that comes with that. But even though with that feeling of I can't give my kids what they need all the time, I still feel like a great mom... and I'm doing my very best.

Easter 2010

Yes, it's May and I am just getting around to blogging about our great Easter this year. I have been pleasantly "busy". :) So here it is, our Easter memories in May words:

Easter egg coloring was a complete out for Stink this year, but Benny was all in full hearted... and this year he got the whole Easter Egg coloring table to himself, he loved it, naturally!

The Easter Bunny was so thoughtful this year that the boys got a Derek Jeter action figure and toy American Baseball league caps in the Easter baskets along with the 1/2 ton of candy... we still have... now compiled into a treat bowl. This lingering bowl of candy (especially the chocolate parts) has caused me some serious guilty feelings at the gym.

Now comes my favorite part of Easter... church on Easter Sunday... magnificent as always. It's what it's all about!! Those ties on my boys may have come close though. They get more handsome every year. It's a rule... a tie on Easter Sunday's always, always.

After service we came home, I put a tender chicken dish in the oven for a slow bake and the boys and I went for our Easter Egg Hunt. We did it with the neighbors, house hopping style. It was so much fun to watch, and fun play for the kids. Stink scoped out the eggs at our house before to get some strategy down so of course he stole the majority of the eggs when it came time to hunt at the Carlson home.

We got home, had a wonderful dinner, the three of us... snuggled and prayed thanks for our day. Just another wonderful Sunday.

Hiking Season: Closed

The beauty, breeze and sun during the winter and spring seasons mixed in with great friends in this wonderful state of mine are just right for lots of things... but one in particular is hiking. I thoroughly enjoyed it this year as I discovered a super sweet spot fortunately close to my house. I went with some great girlfriends of mine where during our 5-6 mile hikes figured out is perfect for those good girly talks, and as a bonus adding some definition to our calves. I love my girlfriends, and I believe I have the best of them... good, solid, real relationships. Even with those great girls of mine that I didn't get to enjoy this with this time... just makes me excited for that opportunity this next season.

So, now to devour the wordage in the title of my blog posting, "closed". Yes, no more hikes for me/us this year. So a friend of mine and all of our boys went up for a short hike on a fun day of no school. S. Stink asks as he starts to become motionless in the back seat of the car drive headed to the mountain, "Mom, are there snakes out here?" In which I reply, " Yes of course, but they are hibernating honey." So then and there he makes it very clear he doesn't want to see one... at all, and becomes cautious but confident from moms reassurance. That starts our hike. We are headed in to our trail not even 5 minutes and ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch as us girls look over and 2 feet away from my friends foot was a coiled up rattlesnake "ch-ching" away ready to strike. So we scream in sync (as hard as we can) and I ran as fast as I think we both could. The boys turn around and look at their probably pale mothers with their wide eyes wondering what on this God made mountain was going on. Thankfully they were a smidgen ahead of us. That was certainly the end of that distance though... at least for Stink. He was glued to the hip of mom sorting through each bush on our path along the trail. That was another moment when I am thankful for my blackberry as I pulled up the list of what to do when bitten by a snake and the number for poison control... just in case. So that was enough, enough for me to say season closed.

It called for some yummy in the tummy thrifty ice cream for our scared little hikers... and by the pictures, I think they enjoyed it! I don't believe enough though to tag along with us Moms next time...

Vegas

Mom decided to take a time out for herself and enjoy some R&R, in Viva Las Vegas... if there is such a thing. There was. It was a peaceful trip. It was a fun trip and just what I needed. I went with a great friend and we got to enjoy such nice things in a different setting. We earned this.

It was off to a sleepless start, which is not the way to begin in Vegas. I had a "Girls Night In" with the closest of my girlfriends the night before I headed out for vacation in Sin City. I didn't go to bed until 2am, and I was unpacked at this time. My flight left around 7am-ish that morning, so after only a couple hours of sleep it was time to pack and head out. I felt like a sincere trooper. Thinking of the work week I put in prior to this plus all the arranging of childcare so I could make this happen and pull it all off, yes, I was a trooper. This trooper was ready for some quality relaxation.

The first day of Viva was spent at a cabana in a bikini poolside with yummy drinks and great music... and the best company. The evening was filled with a super nice dinner at Fix then the "O" show. This was where my lack of sleep caught up to me and I dozed off during the show. It was seriously amazing, but I was seriously tired. It was a much needed cat-nap before the night.

The food was delectable and I can say that everything that went in my mouth was deeee-licious. My girlfriend and I rewarded ourselves with a Chef's Tasting dinner at Emeril Lagasses's where we sampled lots of his creations, in addition to a good bottle of wine. It was something nice, something we deserved. For lunch I even found a place that had sweet potato fries, which made the perfect side to my much needed greasy burger after a long night in VLV.

The shops in Vegas are one-of-a-kind, so shopping and then of course a day at the spa was a must for us girls on this trip. I also spent my last day, a day I will never forget, with someone that I love getting to know. We had the best dinner followed by my favorite Vegas show so far, "Love", great conversation, and an incredible time to make a perfect night. Now... back to reality... which is crazy, but I love my reality. It's good to be home.

Spring Break Treasures

I have a couple of super sweet spring break findings in S. Stink's backpack today. I'm a little late at emptying out the school backpacks since the break is almost over, but hey... that's how I roll, and at least it got done. Here they are:

A letter about Mom and Dad

A picture of Mom and what describes her according to Stink

and Dad...

These made me smile, laugh, and think... I loved them.

Snuggle Bug

Here's an update on Mr. Snuggler from day 1... he is still the best cuddler in the world, which hasn't changed. What's changed are these new pajamas he has, and they are just right for Mommy and Benny snuggles! They are flannel, broken in flannel at that. It's a soft material but carries little balls of lint all over and captures the sweet smell of my baby boy. They even have his favorite basketball teams all over them. He gets sweaty in them. So he always keeps the buttons down in the front, which works out perfect for back tickling time and might I add looks too darn cute! He knows I love these pajamas he wears, we call them nuggle jams. He knows my arms and heart are ready when he puts them on... so when they are clean, he always wears them. He still gives top notch bear hugs, with his squeezes just right. They are extra special in these jammies. The smells, kisses, hugs, and mommy love talk is priceless with my angels... something I will always value, especially in nuggle jams!