moment of reflection

while holding caleb on the potty today when he was trying to poopy he discovered something amazing...here were his words..."mom! i can see me in your eyes!" i had to think about it for a moment, but then realized that as he was staring into my eyes while concentrating on doing his business, he was literally seeing his reflection in my eyes. then of course he asked, "can you see you in my eyes?" such a simple discovery by a 3 year old, but it does make you stop and ponder for a moment...

proud of my lil pirates

the past couple of weeks have flown by and i'm left with A LOT of halloween candy, a potty-trained 3 year old, a "charming" kindergartener, and still the sweetest wheezing baby boy ever. so to rewind a little...caleb celebrated his 3rd birthday which meant that his statement of "i'll go pee pee in the potty when i'm 3" was gonna be put to the test. after a day and a half, he was potty trained. i'll have to admit, that first day i thought there was no way he was gonna do it, but he did and he was so proud of all of the treasures he got in the process. i'll stand by my belief that waiting til 3 years old and giving rewards every time they potty is the trick to a successful experience in the pee pee business.
we had tons of fun in the days leading up to halloween...going to the hospital's annual "hay day" to trick or treat, the library party, and visiting the museum's haunted house. by the time the boys actually went out on halloween night, i was a pro at putting on their pirate costumes. it was all so much fun and one of the many reasons why i love fall!
i had my first kindergarten parent teacher conference this week. i felt so incredibly proud of eli when i left kingsway christian school that day. the first words out of his teacher's mouth were, "i'm so proud of eli". she went on to say how well he does on all of his work, how he's a leader and the other kids really respect him for his behavior and how smart he is. she also mentioned at least 5 times how "charming" he was. she almost had me in tears by the way she talked about my big baby boy. once again, making me feel so blessed. just when you wonder how you're doing as a parent or how your child acts when you're not around, you hear these positive words of encouragement and you have to feel so very proud.
abram is already starting out the season with runny noses and lots of wheezes, but hopefully will stay out of the hospital this year. he's such a happy baby and so very smart. he can put away his dishes when i'm unloading the dishwasher and even tries to get into the locked cabinet to get out the detergent for me. it's hilarious. it's just amazing to me the things he does that he totally shouldn't be doing at his age. i keep telling him to stop growing, so he'll stay my baby boy, but he doesn't seem to be listening. oh well, i guess sweet baby boys turn into sweet little boys, at least most of the time :)

my confession...

i LOVE my bed! no, i mean i truly love my bed! i walk by it during the day as i'm doing things in and out of the room and i look at it longingly...sounds so insane, i know. but the softness, coziness, quiet of it, and relief it brings is totally priceless to me. it doesn't hurt that we have the most amazing mattress...one that you practically melt into. no matter how bad or crazy the day was, when i lay down in it, my body is immediately relaxed. it's probaby a good thing that jerry is asleep in it during the day most of the time because i might just have to get my fix by sneaking little relaxation moments on and off during the day. i can't even believe i'm writing this about a bed, but what can i say...it's the little things that keep us going.

pumpkin patch

have you ever been to a pumpkin patch in indiana when it was 90 degrees outside? sounds impossible with our cool fall weather, right? wrong! today we did our annual trip to beasley's to find the perfect pumpkins and came home feeling very stinky, to say the least. fall is by far my favorite time of the year and i look forward to the pumpkin patch, but i must say it was not very pleasant this year. the kids were so great despite they're bright red faces and sweat-beaded noses. jerry's shirt was soaked as he carried the pumpkins from the patch to the hayride and then from the hayride to the van. july heat in october just doesn't seem right and is almost miserable...oh well, we got 3 pumpkins for our 3 punkins and i guess that's what matters. my carmel apple was definitely a nice treat once i got back into the air conditioned house too :)

family

i just have to say...i LOVE my family. i'm not just talking about jerry and the boys. i'm talking about the larrison family, the teipen family, extended family, etc. we had the pleasure of going to the annual teipen cookout this weekend and i was reminded in so many ways of how thankful i should be for the family i married into. it's become sort of a reunion for jerry's family with all kinds of extended family and friends coming and is always such a joy for everyone. to sit and catch up with people who you literally see once a year is something i have come to truly treasure. this year i was not let down one bit as i got to visit with such sincere, kind, thoughtful, and just plain wonderful people. one of jerry's second cousins in particular is so genuine and makes you feel so warm inside just by being in her presence. she truly listens to you when you speak and you sense her care and concern as she wants to know every detail about your children and your life. i just feel so blessed. i love my in-laws so much, especially for how they take care of my children. and of course my parents are irreplacable in every way. jerry and i are both very close to our brothers and their families. not everyone can brag about their family, but i definitely have every right too. they make me happy...happy to be around, happy to know, happy to love, and happy to see, whether it's once a week or once a year.

football? no thanks.

it's been awhile since i've written here and a lot has happened over the last month...eli started playing flag football and boy has it been an experience. let's just say his coaches seem to think they're coaching the next superbowl team rather than a bunch of 5-6 year olds that don't have a clue. it's amazing to me that grown men who volunteer to coach little boys can have such high expectations for a flag football team. they're out there yelling at the kids to block left, block right, slot left, v back, etc. when these kids need simple instructions of what exactly they're supposed to do. football is overwhelming for anyone to understand, and a 5 year old does not have the ability to learn, remember, then carry out specific positions and plays. i have actually been biting my tongue not to call the head of the football league and complain about these coaches, but i feel like since they are volunteers, they deserve a little slack. when we got the papers the first night of practice it clearly stated that this league was about having "fun" and learning the basics of football. "fun" is definitely NOT the priority of these coaches. unfortunately the first experience your child has with a sport sort of sets the tone for how they view that sport from then on and i do believe that they have essentially ruined football for eli. last night i took him to his game and as soon as he saw his coaches he started crying. not a cry baby cry, but a genuine, crocodile tear cry and he said, "mom, i don't wanna play". after a long discussion, he basically said he's not having fun, the coaches are loud and yell a lot and he just doesn't want to play. jerry and i have always said that our kids will finish what they start, but after calling jerry (he had to work so he wasn't at the game), we decided that this was the exception. eli really did try...he went to multiple practices where it was 90 degrees and they practiced for an hour or more without even getting a water break. he got pushed around into his positions and yelled at a few times for supposedly not paying attention. he gave it a shot and he truly was not having fun. at 5 years old, i give him credit for trying and i don't call him a quitter for giving up before it was over. i wasn't enjoying watching the boys get treated that way and like i said, i'm so tempted to call someone and complain. i'm sad for eli that this experience was not pleasant for him and i almost feel guilty for suggesting he try football instead of play soccer like he wanted to. i guess you just don't know until you try. we'll know better the next time i guess. some days i wish sports weren't even offered at such a young age. we've had such great coaches though in soccer and baseball that i guess i just took them for granted. they really do make or break your season, so to speak. so to all the good coaches that remember they're just kids...thank you! and to all the bad coaches that demand way too much from these little boys...quit being jerks and save it for players that are getting paid to listen to your crap.

long pause...

life somehow has gotten the best of me lately, but i will be back soon...