I Need A (Super) Hero

Sam is a little bit obsessed with super heroes right now.  For his birthday, my sister got him some little super hero friends.  She really hit a home run with those.  I'm pretty sure he has had some combination of them in his hands nonstop since we took them out of the box. 

 

 

 

 

He's wearing his Captain America pj's in these pictures.  In addition to Captain America, he has Avengers pj's, Superman and Spiderman.  Every night after his bath, Sam stands in front of his dresser and carefully decides which pajamas to wear.  We were running an errand in Kohl's last week, and we walked past the little boys' stuff.  Sam about lost his head when he saw some Batman pj's.  At least we'll be safe when we sleep.  No nefarious villains in these parts!

 

 

He loves all of his super hero friends, but he seems to favor Hulk and Spiderman.  He even tried to "Hulk out" when we were playing outside last week.  It was pretty funny watching him trying to rip his shirt off then watching his bony, little-boy frame running around and smashing things. 

 

 

Shawn has enacted a "no friends in the bed" rule.  Those suckers HURT if you roll over on them!

 

 

I think what's the funniest to me, though, is when a super hero has captured one of the bad guys, then we switch to Scooby mode, and Spiderman has to "see who it really is."  If you have no idea what that means, please watch any episode of Scooby Doo and get back to me...

 

The imagination of a little boy is a beautiful thing to observe.

Garden Update

Time for a garden update!  My carrots are coming along...I might actually get to eat some this year!

I planted lettuce for the first time this year.  I planted 18 spots, but only about 5 are actually producing anything.  I haven't harvested any just yet, but we're almost there.  I'm going to need a lot more than what we've got, though.  This year I just did 2 squares...I'll do at least 4 next year, if not more.

I have a few tiny squash.  Squash and zucchini are funny.  One day you go out to check your plants and you have one or two tiny little squash.  Then you get a big storm and two days later you're up to your eyeballs in squash and zucchini.  We had a couple of days of rain this week, so I'm expecting to be eating LOTS of squash next week.

My cherry tomato plant is covered.  Sam and Sydney are going to be thrilled.  No big tomatoes yet, but I've got a lot of blooms.

My beans are getting there.  They were a little big slow-going at first.  I'm not sure if the tomatoes in front of them shaded them a bit too much or what, but they're starting to take off now.  This is another thing that I'm going to need to plant more of.  I did two squares this year...next year maybe 4 or more?

I'm a little unhappy with my herbs this year.  I did them in pots for the first time, and they're just not doing great.  My rosemary is turning brown.  I thought maybe I was overwatering it, but I'm not sure.

I nearly lost the parsley.  It all turned yellow and droopy.  I cut all of the bad leaves, and this is all that's left.  I'm pretty sure by this time last year, the parsley was really big and full.

The basil, on the left, is struggling a bit too.  And I transplanted a bit of the mint from my garden.  It struggled a bit at first, but it's starting to take off again.

I also planted strawberries this year.  I've had several little green berries, but something keeps eating them before they get ripe.  I don't think it's the kids, but I can never be sure.  I think I'll use that space for more lettuce next year.  My peppers petered out.  I'm not too upset about them.  None of us really like green peppers raw.  I mainly wanted to plant them so I could chop them up and freeze them.  Not the end of the world.

I'm thinking I need ANOTHER bed next year...

Sam's 4th Birthday

Every year we try to do something a little bit special with the kids on their birthday.  This year, we decided that Sam was old enough to decide what we did...with a little bit of direction from us.  We gave him some ideas and let him plan our day.  His big plan?  He wanted to "ride the steps and play with the trains and go back to that place where we jump and slide."  Shawn and I were a little confused about the whole "riding the steps thing"...until we remembered that when we went to the Aquarium we stopped in a Barnes and Noble next door for a quick potty break before getting on the road.  The restrooms were on the 2nd floor close to the children's area, so while I was changing Sydney's diaper, Shawn and Sam hung out by the train table.  Apparently, it made an impression.

 

Anyway, we weren't driving back to Cincinnati to play with the trains, but we remembered that Joseph Beth has an escalator, so we decided to go there.  Sam LOVES the train tables at the bookstore.  Every time we stop and let him play, Shawn and I ask ourselves why we don't do that more often.  It's fun, free entertainment, and he always gets wrapped up in pretending and playing.

 

 

 

 

The next day, we had his party at the same bounce house where we've had it the last couple of years.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  We could hardly get Sam to concentrate on eating cake and opening presents because he was so preoccupied with getting to jump.  Luckily, we were the first party of the day, and the owner was nice enough to let us go ahead into the jumping area.

 

 

 

Three guesses what kind of cake Sam requested---Scooby Doo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Side note---this girl totally cracks me up.

 

 

Sam first played air hockey at a friend's birthday party a couple of months ago, and he loves it.  He's pretty good, too!

Of course, Sydney thinks she has to do everything that her brother does.

We found the Harry Potter display at the bookstore, and Sam had to wear the hat around for a while.  He loved shooting hoops with Dad at his party.  And we got to feed the ducks and geese outside the bookstore.

 

We let Sam choose a special birthday treat from the bookstore.  Once again, he surprised us.  I was sure he would choose a train since that was what he had been playing with.  Or maybe even a book.  But no---he wanted a pair of Quidditch goggles from the Harry Potter stuff.  Then, he insisted on wearing them to lunch.

I love the picture on the bottom.  It might be my favorite of the day.  Daddy and Sam playing air hockey and their whole cheering section lined up along the side.

Mothers' Day

I won't lie----Mothers' Day is bittersweet for me.  I approach it every year with a mixture of joy--because every day, for the rest of my life, no matter what I do right or wrong, I get the privilege of being a mom--and trepidation, because I won't be sharing it with my own mom. 

 

I would've liked to have been a mom in the presence of my mom.  I would have loved to see her with my babies.  I know she would have delighted in them. 

 

I read this a few days ago, and in many ways, it sums up everything I feel about today.

 

Except I won't be standing over a grave.

 

I visited Mom's grave one time.  One.  I think I stayed two minutes before I felt smothered. 

 

Some people find peace in visiting the graves of their loved ones, but I do not.  She is not there.  To me, her grave is simply a reminder of that fact.  Instead, I will celebrate her memories.  I will look through the photo album she made for me.  I will share stories about her with my children.  (And my son will memorize every detail of them, because that's just what he does.) 

 

I might shed a tear or two, but it will not be while staring at a gravestone.  It will be while I watch my children play.  It will be while singing in church.  It will be as I reflect about how many cross country races and piano recitals and swimming lessons and band concerts she attended as she supported us and cheered us on.  I will remember the cupcakes she made for us to take to school.  The spelling tests she helped us study for.  The snacks she provided for a neighborhood full of hot, sweaty, smelly kids after an afternoon of wiffle ball.  The mornings that she French braided my hair when we were already late because a ponytail just wouldn't have worked.  The costumes that she made.  The science projects that she helped put together (I have no idea how many tomato plants we tortured and killed during my middle school years).  The  nights she stayed up until goodness-knows-when doing her own homework because she had helped us with our homework first.  The hair-brained schemes of mine that she supported because they were important to me.

 

Yes, it is well.

 

Most days, it is.  And on the days, like today, that it kinda isn't, my lips will repeat until my heart believes it.

 

It is well, because He made it so.  It is well, because the grave isn't the end.  It is well, because in the absence of my mother and my children's grandmother, we have been blessed with a handful of women who have jumped in and bent over backwards to fill that void as much as possible.  Because they love us.  Because they loved her.  It is well, because I've seen the end of the story, and spoiler alert:  We win.  We get to see her again.

 

It is well.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

Reason #417 why you should always leave your bathroom locked when you have a toddler.

Molly loves it when Sydney helps herself to snacks.

 

 

I recently read the book "1000 Gifts" and started keeping my own gratitude journal.  Being intentional about seeing new things to be thankful for each day and writing them down has really opened my eyes to my blessings.  I can tell a big difference in my attitude on the days I don't write in it.

 

 

I love it when he shares with her without being asked.

 

 

If I did a picture gratitude journal, I would probably put a lot of pictures of sunrises and sunsets in it. 

Best buddies.

 

Dear Sam,

This year, you turned 4 years old.

Four.

I'm amazed at how grown up you have become not only in the last year, but especially in the last couple of months.  You reason with us now.  And it actually makes sense.  You will complete a list of tasks without direct supervision.  Sometimes.  You have opinions on everything.  Actually, that's not new.

I have really enjoyed watching you turn into a little boy.  You love to play outside.  You love to run and wrestle and climb and yell and jump off of things.  And mud puddles?  Totally made for splashing.  You're starting to notice other kids more.  When we are at the park, instead of just swinging and sliding by yourself, now you are watching the other (often older) kids and trying to join their groups.  I love seeing your somewhat shy but easy-going, friendly nature come out. 

You have several phrases that aren't quite right that I want to remember.  For example, when you want something you say, "Let I-me have a turn."  When you want to show us something I hear, "You better take a yook at 'dis."  (I hear that one at least a dozen times a day.)  And now that the weather is warming up you ask Daddy, "Can I mower with you?"

I think some of your favorite toys are your "friends."  Any time we leave the house, you have to take some friends with you.   A little while ago, I had to enact a "2 friend rule" because you were about to need a duffel bag to carry all of your stuff.  It's so funny to see you standing over the bin that we keep them in, trying to decide which ones to take.  You're also really into super-heroes right now.  Recently, Daddy bought you some Captain America pajamas.  That night, I overheard you whispering to the cat, "Look Ollie.  I'm Captain America!" 

You have some funny little routines, too.  You like to help me wake Sydney up in the mornings.  I have always sung a little good morning song to you when I wake you up, and it's so sweet to hear you burst into her room singing the song, then ask her, "Did you have a good rest?"  A little while ago, we started having tea parties with our worst British accents while you were in the bathtub.  Now we simply cannot take a bath without drinking some tea.  And we always seem to spill some.  Oh dear!  It always results in fits of giggles.  And shortly after we got a minivan, you decided that you were the official door opener and closer.  Heaven help us if I rush the process.

Every night before you go to bed you give me a hug and a kiss, a zerbert on each cheek, then I give you one, and you whisper, "I....love....you!" while pointing at your eye, then your heart, then me.  I'm not even really sure how this became our routine.  It just did.  But now you can't go to bed without that.  And if anything gets out of order, the whole process has to start from the very beginning. 

You have a memory like a steel trap.  Seriously, you. do. not. forget. ANYTHING.  A couple of weeks ago, we were running some errands and we were stopped at a stoplight.  You told me, "Mom, there are 3 paths.  If we go that way we go to Mommy's work.  That way is the park.  And that way is where we go eat bite-bites."  You were totally right.   One night, you and Sydney could not agree on whose turn it was with one of your friends, so I put them away.  You were devastated.  You asked for them back several times, and I just told you that you could try again in the morning.  The next morning, you woke up and crawled up in my lap, and in a very sad voice asked me, "Mom, may I pleeeeeeease have my friends back now?"  It was literally the first thing you said. 

You are really starting to learn at a phenomenal rate.  You are going to love school this fall.  You have a little alphabet game that you play on the iPad.  You love to tell me, "A is for apple.  C is for cat.  D is for daddy..."  One of these days, I'm going to walk in to find you reading a novel.  And you really impress me with how well you remember your Sunday School lessons.  And while I'm pretty sure you think Moses and Jesus are the same person, I still love to hear your version of the story that you learned every Sunday.  On Easter Sunday, when I picked you up from Sunday school, I asked you what you learned about, and you told me a big rock.  For some reason, the big rock is what stuck with you. 

Daddy has been teaching you how to meet people.  He has told you how important it is to shake someone's hand and look into their eyes.  You make me so proud when you walk up to someone and grab their hand while shouting at them, "Nice to meet you!"  And if that person isn't paying attention, you will assault them to get their hand and shake it. 

My Sam, I love how you ask if you can "snug" with me.  I love that you love to help me in the kitchen.  I love hearing you laugh with sister.  And I love that you are my little boy. 

Mommy

Yo Ho!

Sam loves to play pirate.  A few days ago, he decided he needed a treasure map.  Anyone who has ever seen my drawings knows this is a laughable request to ask of me.  But he was pretty insistent, so I decided to see what I could come up with.

 

 

I'm lucky that the expectations of a 3-year-old are not that great.  He thought it was the coolest thing ever.



 

 

Then I really amped up the cool factor and made him a spy glass out of an empty toilet paper roll.  An afternoon of entertainment...done.

Getting Ready To Grow

I have a hard time doing something the same way twice.  I like to tweak.  And while I was pretty pleased with my garden last year, it definitely needed some tweaking.  I've been hearing and seeing a lot about square foot gardening, so I thought I'd give it a try this year.  I liked the idea of having my plants in a defined area of a bed, and I thought the square foot plan would keep me from crowding my plants.  I found some pretty simple-looking instructions (simple because I knew I wouldn't be the one following them) for building a raised bed.  Then I snuggled up to my husband one evening, batted my eyelashes at him, and asked him if he wanted to sweat a little. 

Somehow, I'm not sure this is exactly what he had in mind...

Last weekend, he built me one bed, just like I asked.  I had already sorta mapped out what I would grow and determined that one bed would be enough.  Then I caught spring-optimism and decided that one bed was not nearly enough so I talked him into building one more bed. 

We decided to modify the beds a little and added some inexpensive lattice to the back to give our climbing plants something to grab hold of.  We'll see if it works...

 

 

This year, I'm growing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (never done those before), squash, Zed, lettuce (something else that's new but everyone tells me it's pretty easy), bell peppers, beans, carrots (hoping for the non-arachnid variety this time), and watermelon.  And also something called lemon cucumbers (my cousin got me some seeds....can't wait to see what those are like).  And my herbs.  There is NOTHING better than smelling fresh basil.  And this winter, I made a habit of simmering a sprig of rosemary with some lemon and vanilla in some water on the stove.  It smells AMAZING, and it helps with the dry winter air.  Win-win.

 

I think he did a GREAT job!

 

Also, my grandmother advised me to wait until after Easter to put anything in the ground.  But it was so beautiful last weekend, and I had these brand-spankin' new beds just begging to be dug in, so I put a few tomato plants in the ground.  Then the temperature dropped 40 degrees in 12 hours (welcome to Kentucky), and I ended up draping a sheet over my brand-spankin' new bed.

 

Moral:  listen to your elders.

Signs of Spring

Have you seen them?  The signs of spring?  They're popping up everywhere.

 

The muddy kids...

 

 

...little boys climbing on things...

 

 

...and little girls, too.

 

 

Riding stick horses.

 

 

Little girls and pigtails...

 

...little boys and mud puddles.

 

Cute boots for mom.

 

And blowing bubbles...

 

 

...a bit violently, it would seem.

 

 

Wagon rides in the yard.

 

Welcome back, Spring!  We've missed you.

Dear Sam,

Your speech is becoming that of a little boy.  At some point over the last couple of months, your sister's name evolved from Nene to Didjee.  I didn't even notice when it happened, but you almost never say Nene anymore.  While I enjoy understanding you more and being able to converse with you, it makes me a little sad to hear you lose some of your little Sam-isms.  You used to refer to yourself as Nam.  It was so endearing.  But it has become Tsam.  You're so close.  You're learning how our language works.  Sometimes you say something that isn't quite right, and you stop and correct yourself.  You have such a strong desire to be right. 

You're becoming a bit of a picky eater.  I supposed that's normal for a 3 year old, but it's so unlike what we've become accustomed to with you.  Since your first taste of baby food, you've been an courageous eater.  We have never refused to give you any food because we don't like it or we didn't think you would like it.  But lately, you seem to only want hot dogs or macaroni and cheese.  And fruit.  I assuage my fears for your nutrition by reminding myself that you will always choose fruit. 

You're probably going to start preschool in the fall.  I know it's silly of me to dread it, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't...just a little.  You're ready.  You are fascinated with the school bus; every time we see one, you remind me that you want to ride one someday.  You know all of your letters, and you're starting to actually make sense of them.  You crave for information to fill that sponge-like brain of yours. 

You forget nothing.  N-O-T-H-I-N-G.  A couple of months ago, we went to see Frozen at the movies.  Several weeks later, we were playing and I had the radio on the Disney Pandora station.  One of the songs from the movie came one...not even the main theme song...and without missing a beat, you told me, "We went to see this at the movies.  Her name was Elsa.  She ran away."  I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. 

You're becoming such a helper.  You love for me to give you jobs.  You are really good at taking dirty clothes to the hamper, putting your shoes in your closet, and hitting the button to close the door on the van.  But I have to be careful...if something is your job today, I have to be prepared for it to be your job tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.  Most of the time, that's pretty helpful.  But we ran into a little problem after you "helped" me wash dishes in the sink while I was cooking a while back.  For days after that, I would find you in the kitchen standing on your stool in front of a sink full of water. 

You are one of the most thoughtful children I know.  You are quick to give your sister a toy if she is crying.  I can often see the inner turmoil playing out on your face because sharing is hard...but 9 times out of 10 you do the honorable thing and give her a turn.  You continually surprise me with the names you mention during your bedtime prayers.  You just seem to have a heart for those who are hurting. 

Sam, I love how you almost always compliment something about my appearance.  (Mom, I love you pibby neck-yes.)  I love how your wrinkle your eyebrows together when you're concentrating on something.  I love that you can't go to bed without taking at least 15 toys with you.  And you lie in bed and play with them, sometimes for what seems like FOR. EVER. but I know you're really serious about going to sleep when you tuck Pooh up under your chin and give a big sigh.  I love how you will nearly break your neck to get in front of me because you just have to be the one to greet your sister in the morning.  ("Good Morman, Didjee!")

Out of all the little boys, in the whole big wide world, here-there-and-everywhere, I'm so glad YOU are mine,
Mommy