Countdown

What a fast weekend! I am so grateful to Grammy and Grandpa and Daddy for coming for the long weekend and helping out. Sunday morning I sent them all to the zoo so I could get organized and focused. It worked. They had a blast! I don't know why Ethan's covering his face. "It makes a TV mommy." All the animals were out to play and say good-bye to the boys. They showed off all their favorites to Grammy and Grandpa.

And while they were gone... I packed. And packed and packed and packed. And I got a ton done.

I kind of feel like I climbed a mountain. They came back and we just kept working. Today was running around finishing details and going out to lunch. I also had to put together a bio for my new school's information night tonight - kind of fun!

There's really not much more I can do - exciting place to be in! Especially since we're getting close now. Good thing because Ethan was a mess tonight. So now? Report card comments. 28 of them, to be exact!

My Boy, the Conductor!

Ethan had his music program on Thursday night. Grammy and Grandpa left CO at 3 am in order to get there on time. We were sooooo excited. Ethan wore his "handsome" shirt and wanted spiky hair for the occasion.

Lucas was just excited to see Grammy and "Gompa!" He actually did pretty well during the performance, though did a bit of musical laps, switching every 3 or so minutes.

A few highlights - They started by stating their full names. Ethan said his name was Ethan Torrez. The teacher said, no, that was another girl's name. Ethan replied that it was both their names. She made him do it right. We all laughed.

Then came the Sousa March.

Ethan got to be conductor - leading all the kids with their instruments. Despite being a bit goofy, he did a great job. I LOVED IT.

At the end he said, "Thank you for coming to MY program."
They sang a bunch of songs and ended with a nice goodbye song. Then the whole group said, "Thank you for coming to our program. Bow and Up!" Oh I loved it so much!

Snacks and goofing around afterwards - too fun! So proud of my big boy! For those of you viewing this at the actual website, here's a video of the conducting...

And now... we must pack, clean, etc. So much to do and one piddly week to do it! Forgive me if my blogging is sparse. It's a race over here!

Falling into Place...

We'd been telling bedtime stories for awhile, trading back and forth.... It was my turn...

"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Ethan. He loved his mommy and when she said it was time to go to bed, he jumped up and went to bed with no fussing or whining. She was soooo proud of him. And they lived happily ever after."

"OK Mommy, my turn. Once up a time, far far away forest, there lived a mama. And she never wanted to go into McDonald's, just drive through. Because she was always tired. But one day they went inside the McDonald's and they lived happily ever after."

Scary, I know! Big news today - I accepted a teaching job in Bremerton! I am so excited - though it makes it that much more real that I'm leaving my school here. Again, bittersweet. But, I was leaving anyway, so this is GREAT news! And now the search goes on for daycare, etc. So exciting! 11 more sleeps, it's going so fast - so I better go get some things done!

That's so sweet!

Thanks for a crazy wonderful 7 years babe! Happy Anniversary! I miss you so much!

Ethan just told me he was speaking to the flowers: "I love you flowers."

And then to me "I told the flowers that. I'm so sweet!"

Everything is "so sweet" today. His teacher gave him a book with a really nice inscription - "so sweet." 3 of his classmates started bawlning when she told them Ethan is moving soon - "so sweet." The flowers? - "so sweet."

I found this picture from this weekend - can you see how bossy lucas is? What a nut! I hope you're ready Uma and Upa! Your house is about to get a whole lot more "spirit"!

Popsiples

I should know to be more specific....

"Mommy, can I have a popsiple?"

"If you're really good, you can have a popsicle before bed."

...

"Mommy, I'm being really good. I shared my foods. And I'm petting Lucas' feet."

Funny boy. My parents are gone, and we're back down to three. But, our house is looking awesome - amazing what can get done in a couple of days! Soooo grateful. Lucas still has the fever. Will it ever end? Tomorrow is grades, grades, and more grades. I think it's going to be a movie day, sadly. I still can't take Lucas in public (due to the fever, not the obnoxiousness that is Lucas in public). So, we're housebound, and there's no better time than the present to get caught up on school work.

14 more sleeps in this house. Painful yet exciting.

Boxes

Uma and Upa are here! And good thing... Lucas has still been sick - though down to about 99-100. He's sleeping horribly and pretty clingy, so we're really glad I have some help! We've been boxing and boxing and cleaning and cleaning... Uma did the whole kitchen!

Upa's been working in the yard again - with lots of help.

And some snuggling and playing. Things are crazy! I can't believe that two weeks from tomorrow we're out of this place! Things are really falling into place, but I wish I could take all of my bittersweet emotions and just put them in one of those boxes for awhile! I can't take this!

102

The little guy is sick. Really sick. He's had a fever around 102 all day long (goes down about a degree on ibu). We think it's Roseola, as a kiddo in his class had it. Fortunately, Ethan and I shouldn't get it. Unfortunately, it has to run it's course. Fortunately, Uma is on her way already and will be able to help so I don't have to take so much sick time. Unfortunately that means she won't get quite as much house stuff done. Fortunately my dad gets here on Friday and Brian's parents are coming next weekend.
I knew something was up this morning when Lucas crawled into bed with me and just laid there for 15 minutes. Then, while I showered, he laid down on the bathroom floor the entire time. Lucas doesn't sit still that long. Ever.
So we had some nice snuggles this morning. Until I gave him some Ibu. Then he was a mad man - all leading up to the pile of peeled, smashed bananas you see above. Gross. I got absolutely nothing done today - I guess I should have expected that. I'll be home in the morning too, until my mom gets here to take over. I can't wait! We're so lucky she's coming.
In other news, I think we're seeing Ethan's confused emotional side again. He got into quite a bit of trouble for being aggressive today. That's the nice way of saying it. We've talked lots. However, what was most effective was that we stopped for a McD's ice cream cone for Lucas and Ethan didn't get one. So now, of course, all I hear is, "I am so so so SO sorry mom! Now can I have an ice cream cone?" (The answer is no, don't worry.)
All in all, I'm really glad it's a Zumba night. I need to shake all this off!

Side Effects

"When you have a baby, you have to go to the doctor, right mom?"

"Yep."

"When you have a baby in your tummy, right?"

"Yep."

"I was in your tummy, right? And Lucas?"

"Yep."

"It was fun in there."

"You remember it? What was it like?"

"It was cool. I throwed up a lot."

"Why were you throwing up?"

"I was getting too big for your tummy."

"Yes, you were."

"I have a baby in my tummy?"

"Nope. Only girls get babies in their tummies."

"Oh, not daddy? Huh."

This weekend was a weird one. It was our last "alone" weekend before the madness of moving. Other than Zumba (where i got the most fabulous hip scarf the boys are modelling), we had no plans at all. Good thing because I was feeling awful Friday night and Saturday. Went in to be told it was just allergies, for both Ethan and myself, and prescribed a nasal antihistamine for me and Dimetapp for Ethan. Not a good combination. My medicine makes me so groggy that I am not so patient and kind, and Ethan's makes him hyperactive. It was ugly.
He sang a lot of songs. At the top of his lungs. And right before each one he'd say, "Thank you for coming to my program.. bow and up!" "Ok, here's the song I love. I love kitties. I love everything. I love basketballs....." It went on for hours. Meanwhile Lucas was emptying the silverware into the toaster oven (unplugged, yes...).

Somehow we managed a lot of dancing though. Ethan takes the videos I bought very seriously. We have to do it just right, just like they do on the screen. He told me I was the princess and he was the prince. Lucas just giggled as he shook around.

We also managed to work on letters. Ethan loves the alphabet train he got from the Simmonds family for his birthday. He put it together and then we played a game where I asked, "What letter says /m/," and the like. It was really effective and showed me that he knows a lot more than he can write.

And I found a way to get him to practice writing the letters. He really likes to write on my hands and feet. Yes, weird, but hey, it got him to write an "L" which I hadn't seen him do yet. Note to self - need to go scrub off all the writing.
And then tonight, we played in my room for a long time, listening to music and spinning around. I gave in to the floaty feelings of the medicine and was silly with my boys. I'm choosing to let that fuzzy feeling keep me from seeing the mess all around the house. It's officially rented now, so no more getting it ready to show, Hallelujah! And so, the mountain of dishes and laundry will wait until tomorrow... (or maybe Thursday when my mom gets here ....)

And We're Off!

What an insane week... I seriously don't even have the energy to write. Our state testing is done. I do believe we have a renter for the house... Things are moving and shaking. In the meantime, I'm going to go take a nice long bath... If I have the energy to get in...
Oh yeah, and tonight was my students' cluster track meet - fun! The boys were full of it, and really enjoyed driving me nuts, but my 5th graders did great! I was so proud!
Is it Friday yet?

A Different Sort of Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!
"Mom, I love you. Mom, is that nice words, I love you?"

"Yes, those are really nice words."

"Good. So can I go swimming today?"

"Let's see if you can keep being nice."

"Fine. Hey when is Dad's day, for the boys?"

"Mother's Day is in May, Father's Day is in June."

"So the boys are in June, that's my day?"

"Well, no, because you are a kid."

"So when's children's Mother's Day?

We started off our weekend with some good friends and some fun animals at the zoo. We took the boat to Africa.
And looked at the monkey exhibit on the water-- which was empty and ready to lock some children in....
We had such a great time - the preschoolers loooooved the carousel.
Lucas loved shoving the stroller around while we waited. (No, i didnt' deprive him of the carousel - he just really doesn't like them... i'm not a mean parent!)
Actually, they all fought over the stroller seats the whole time - musical chairs pretty much.
The elephants got them....
They went for a ride in the jeep...

And you'd think with those ears that he'd listen better! We came back, napped, and then our friends came over and cooked us a delicious dinner and we all battled bowling on the Wii. Fantastic!

This morning was a little rough. Mother's Day started at 5:30 when the boys padded into my room, chirping away at me. It was ugly. I was sooo tired and so were they. They made me awesome cards at daycare and we shared a nice breakfast. I finally got them out the door and we took care of a few errands. I kept trying to explain to Ethan that it was Mother's Day and he was supposed to be nice to me. He wasn't convinced.

After long, and much needed naps, we headed to the Rec Center for some swimming with our friends again. Ethan was nervous at first, but warmed right up to the water. Lucas was pretty terrified, but by the end of it was loving splashing everybody.

And then, we headed to the house of one of the ladies who run the daycare for a BBQ. Delicious food and such nice people. Lucas did crash through the screen door and spend countless minutes opening and closing the sliding glass door, but all in all they were well behaved. Cute even!

It was a really great way to spend my 4th Mother's Day. I love being a mom. I love who I have become from having my boys. I may not have been spoiled today and may have spent quite a few minutes putting boys into timeouts, but I also was showered with kisses and hugs, and squeals and smiles. I love my boys!

It's official!

We had the house all ready for pictures today - closets stuffed and closed, everything moved around... we came home to this - made my heart jump a bit. But my favorite part? Ethan went through the house moving everything back to where it normally is - hampers out, closet doors open, etc. "All better mom. Don't worry."

Feeling Anxious

We move 1 MONTH from today.

I suppose that should have an exclamation point.

Acrobatics

I realize I should have stopped them....
But the laughing was contagious....

And these days after Daddy leaves are really rough....

So it was good to have some laughter.... I didn't stop them. I did give Lucas my hand so I could "scaffold" his jumping. That just made the giggles explode. And when I threw Lucas on top of Ethan - there was a giggle-quake all over this house.

I need giggles. So there.

2 Things...

I only have the energy to tell you 2 things and then I am going to bed. At 7. Because I am spent. So please excuse the incomplete sentences. Can only do so much right now.
1) We took the front off the crib and turned it into a toddler bed. Right around this age (actually a few months earlier), Ethan got really obnoxious about going to bed. The way we cured it was moving him into the toddler bed. Last night went great. The boys had spent the afternoon bouncing in it and Lucas went to sleep with only getting out of bed once and falling out of bed once. *We have a toddler rail but can't figure out how to make it work with our bed... so Lucas is learning to stay in bed the same way Ethan did.... Tonight has been a bit rougher (so i say at 630)... Lucas kept climbing out of his bed and into Ethan's. Ethan was getting really irritated, so he's in my room until Lucas goes to sleep. Lucas had one screaming fit after that, but seems to have settled down.
Yes, it might have made our life a whole lot harder.... but the screaming for 30 minutes every night at bedtime is a lot for this mama to take... so hopefully this helps.

2) We worked. From 730 this morning until about 300 this afternoon, we worked. We boxed, cleaned out, cleaned under, sorted, moved furniture, scrubbed, etc... The boys were suprisingly helpful By not being in our way. I now have about 20 trash bags to put out on Thursday. I'd already filled the big trashcan when Brian cleaned out the garage on Saturday. See? We worked!We ended our weekend with Daddy at Winger's. The boys were not altogether cooperative, but we survived. We dropped Daddy off and all pouted a little in the car. Came home and ate some cake. And then the bedtime festivities began.
As irritating as it is to go in there to put Lucas back in bed, I wish you could see the huge smile he has. It would kind of defeat the purpose to take a picture in the midst of my "no-no Lucas", so I can't show you, but I promise it's adorable.
Now it's time for bed. I am too tired to even be grammatically correct. Me and my tired feet say so! (Yep mom, that was a quarter in the grammar jar- just for you!) I'm kind of glad we have a meetings day tomorrow- hope my students remember. I didn't remember to tell them!

Did I Mention?

We are soooo happy to have Daddy here for the weekend!

Dragon Days of Summer (Winter)

One of my students got Ethan the perfect outfit for his party! He was feeling pretty stellar this morning!

It was freezing cold (like 40 degrees), but the kids didn't care. Lots of Ethan's friends met us out at Settler's Park and had a blast! The kids decorated their wings...

Ella really liked the glitter paint - and looked so cute in her wings!

Somehow Beth got the glitter in her hair......

All the kiddos really loved the playground and spent the most time just chasing each other around over there. It was hard to catch them in motion.

Liam was all smiles running all around.

Ethan loved being sung to....

And didn't even mind that we couldn't light the candles - the wind was too fierce...

We ate tons of cake, pizza, and chips to try and keep warm.

Lucas really liked the chips - and was the only one cooperative enough to wear his dragon wings the whole time! Who would've thunk it?

What a fun day with people we love! I may never eat again (except the cake is just sitting there calling my name) but it was a success. I have even stopped shivering!