To New Moms ...

Two words:

Don't. Blink.

Happy birthday to you.

Harry Potter: Nerd Alert

I decided that my almost 5-year-old son was ready for the magic of Harry Potter. He'd seen parts of the movie before and has asked for it for Christmas. Being a book NERD, I told him we needed to start with the books.

I don't care what you do when you're on your own, but while you're in MY house, you will always start with the BOOKS.

New rule.

It's been a looong time since I've read the first book. So I just sort of assumed he'd be ready. I mean, I knew it might be a little over his head, but doable. Right?

Not so much. I mean, there's just a lot of background, you know? Talking about Mr. Dursley's job at the drill company. How he and his wife loathe "weirdos." Just fluff that's not usually in age-appropriate books for him.

Whenever I read books to him, I have him lie down and close his eyes so he can imagine it. I do this for three reasons -- I want him to use his mind to see what I'm reading, to make sure he really focuses AND to make sure he relaxes and hopefully drifts easily to dreamland.

The first chapter is 17 pages, y'all. At page 10 he started to really droop. Page 11, I suspected and page 12 confirmed that he had fallen fast asleep, tucked in with thoughts of a tabby cat and old Professor Dumbledore.

Here's where the nerd alert comes in -- I started to cry while reading the book. I know, I know.

But I was really invested in those books! And starting over, reading about the day James and Lily died and Harry became an orphan -- and reading about all these people who have no idea what's coming next.

And, yes, I realize it's a book. Fake.

But still.

Apparently there's still a part of me that's sad Dumbledore died. Because when he showed up, bah. It was over for me.

My kiddo might be a little young right now. We might have to put it back on the shelf. But I hope when he's ready, that it impacts him as much as it did (does) me. Good books move you when you're reading them.

Great books move you when you think about them, even 10+ years later.

Teaching My Kids to Sew = AWESOME.

I was almost 5 years old the first time I remember seeing my mom sew. She was excellent. We never had a sewing machine, but she would make the coolest Halloween witches, etc., by hand. 

On that day, the first I remember seeing her actually sew something, I was walking down the hall to her room and saw her on the bed with needle and thread in hand. I watched her for a few moments at the doorway, before she called me in. I was so excited to get to sit with my mom in her bed, under her covers next to her and watch her sew.

Then she asked if I wanted to learn.

I could have died there. I was ecstatic.

And now it's my turn.

My kiddos have been asking for me to show them how to sew for a while. While I don't think my daughter, at 3, is ready, she wants to do anything/everything her big brother does. He's almost 5 (WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?), so he's ready. At least, I hoped so.

I went out today to HobLob and purchased craft needles (blunt tip--I found them in the carpet weaving/cross stitch aisle), flexible foam sheets and cheap yarn.

On the way home from school, I told them both I'd be teaching them to sew tonight. They FLIPPED. I remembered the feeling.

When we got home, I sat them both down and showed them the parts of the needle, how to thread it, etc. 

I dotted each sheet with the path I wanted them to follow.

Then I let them go.

My son REALLY impressed me. The girlyQ? Not quite ready. But I knew that going in. Three is a little young. But almost 5?

Perfect.

Of Late

Sorry for the lack of posts ... it's been unusually stormy around here.

On Sunday, I got bit by a spider on my left temple, which has caused a whole round of problems, but I think it's finally looking up. Let me tell you -- spider bites on your face are not fun.

The hardest part, though, happened last Friday, when my husband's aunt passed away after a 4-year battle with breast cancer. We've had family in town and had her funeral Thursday.

For Lori

My son is really, really torn up. It was hard enough explaining cancer to a 4 year old, but then to tell him she died ...

He thought we were going to see her at the funeral and was crushed when it was just to say goodbye. He spent the rest of the evening glued to the TV at his great-grandmother's house watching the video of Lori run on loop. He fell asleep with her picture.

I'll be back with new posts, soon. Keep our family in your thoughts. She left her mom, husband, three girls, two sisters and a brother who all really miss her.

And one little boy who tells me every night he hopes she comes to see him in his dreams.

To My Son, part 2

Buddy,

Two nights ago, you fell asleep crying about how unfair it was that you weren't going to get to marry me. You said that you thought you'd be a grown up and I'd be a grown up and you'd get to marry me. You were heartbroken when you found out that you'd have to marry someone else. It simply wasn't an option for you.

See, you like to give mommy long kisses like you see daddy give me. Nothing too crazy, don't worry, but you just like to hold my face with your hands and give me kisses for about 5 seconds. It's sweet, because I know what you're trying to do is show me how much I mean to you. You said that you see daddy kiss me like that and you just think that's how you're supposed to kiss me. We were watching a video trailer of an upcoming movie, and the two main characters started kissing in an elevator. Again, nothing third base, just a long kiss.

You looked at me and said, "Awww. That's so sweet. That's how I kiss you, Mommy!"

Unsurprisingly, it's a little uncomfortable for me and your dad. I don't want you to be embarrassed if you tried to kiss me like that in public — my fear is that you'd get made fun of and then never want to give me a kiss again. So, we talked to you about how those kisses are for mommies and daddies and one day you'd find someone who you loved like that who you could kiss.

This broke your heart and led to the marriage discussion.

This morning, however, I could tell you'd been giving the idea of marriage quite a lot of thought.

"Mommy? When I grow up and find the girl I want to marry, will you take me to the place you and Daddy got married?"
"Of course, bud."
"And will you watch me do it?"
"You better believe I'm going to watch you get married."
"OK, good. Because I think I want to marry Emma."

Emma, as I've mentioned before, was your BFFFFFF from the time you were 3 to 3.5. I've tried so many times to find her so you guys could have a playdate. You still have her picture by your bed. You just love her. You've never had a friend who has meant as much to you as she did. I hope she thinks of you the same way.

But you and me, kid? We've got something special. Almost every night I tell you this, and sweetheart — it's true. I love you more than any little boy in the world. There is no momma who has ever loved her boy as much as I love you. You are the most loved little boy in the whole world.

And you love me. I know that, kiddo. I know you love me. If I'm doing my job right, you'll always know I love you, too. Forever and ever and ever and ever. And when ever's over, I'll still love you.

Love (eternally), me

Love Him

You Should See the Other Guy

I got a call today as I left work on my lunch break. It was from my son's school. I freaked out, knowing it had to be bad. His after-school teacher called to say that he'd fallen at school and had a gash on his face that would likely need stitches. I could hear him screaming in the background. They said he was in the office and they were trying to contain the bleeding. I was 30 minutes away.

Twenty minutes later, I was at his school. I flew. It was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be, but it was nowhere near what I hoped it would be.


My buddy. It wasn't anywhere nearly as bad as when he fell last year and banged up his face on the curb.

Ouch. That was a bad fall.

But it was still really hard. He didn't need stitches, even though my husband thinks the doctor was just trying to get out of holding down a 4 year old. Instead, the doctor gave him what my son called "fire glue" because it burned when the doctor put it on and my kiddo cried for me to blow on his face while he breathed through the pain.

But it's glued and taped up he's good. Clingy and comforted more than usual by his blankie. But good.

Whew.

At Least We're Safe ...

We had superheroes visit our house ...

He's super fast.

IRON GIRL.

The fan helps him fly.

"Why Don't You Ever Make ME Anything?"

For my son, who so impatiently politely asked why I only ever sew things for his sister.

I give you, the 20-minute fishy shirt.

I started with one of my old t-shirts:

And cut it up by using one of his shirts as a pattern. I kept the bottom hem to make it easy on myself. Then I just sewed it all together. It was actually really easy.

Until I realized I didn't know what to do for the neckline. Keep in mind, this was GOING to be for his first day of school.

But it's clearly not EXACTLY first-day worthy.

Ignore the steak sauce on his chin.

It makes an excellent sleep shirt, though :)

Ready for School

My kiddo is starting school this year. I am beyond excited for him.

In what can only be described as THE BEST CITY PLANNING POSSIBLE, we had a new outlet mall open last weekend, which coincided with school starting this week AND tax-free weekend. It was awesome.

At least, I'm sure it would have been, but I wasn't there.

We were here:

Hello. I miss you.

I don't do road trips. This one was only 4 hours away, but even that's a little far for my taste. However, the trip was fantastic. We all had a great time. I'm glad I took today off work to recuperate, since half my family is now sick.

Plus, I had shopping to do.

Not a bad job for $40. I am officially in love with the outlet mall. The only downside is that this lovely gem has come into my life when my husband is going back to school full time and our budget is so strict that Dave Ramsay is jealous he didn't come up with it.

Still, it was a great weekend, a great trip to the mall and a great haul away. And in three days, my little man will be rocking his new clothes as the hippest Pre-Ker at HP!

To My Son

Five years ago today, I was at work and standing up at my desk, with papers in my hand. I twisted around to hand them to the girl who sat next to me, when all of the sudden, I felt the MOST BIZARRE feeling in my stomach. Like someone tickling me on the inside. Or butterflies' wings fluttering in my stomach. It was so different and so unexpected that I sat down, dropped the papers and said, "WHOA." I sat there for about a minute, just reeling from this fluttering. And then I knew. It was you.

You were the most amazing thing I'd ever felt.

Five years later — today — was your last day of daycare before you start big-kid school. It's crazy how quickly it's gone by. You still amaze me. I love you so much and am so excited for you to take this next step. I'm not even sad that you're growing up — not today, anyway.

But in a week, love, I won't be surprised if I feel a few more butterflies as I watch you walk into school for the first time. I hope it's the most amazing thing you've ever done.

I hope everything you do is.

I love you,
Love, me