First of First

The Little Guy woke up early this morning. I thought he might, since he seemed so excited for school to start yesterday. But, when he woke up he was crying. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." He told me. We've just gotten over a stomach bug here, and for a second I thought we were starting a second round. Then I took a good look at him. He was a full-blown nervous wreck! I helped him get ready, eat breakfast, and brush his teeth. By the time he was ready to grab his shoes and backpack I could tell the nerves had settled down and excitement was mounting. By the time we got to the bus stop he was almost giddy, and when he realized he had a buddy to ride the bus with it didn't even matter that I was there. He let me take a few pictures, and he remembered to give me a hug before jumping on the bus. Tomorrow he'll be making the trek (to the end of our street) by himself.

One day soon our dirt patch will have grass, and our sidewalk will be clean . . .

If you would have asked me mid-summer if I was ready for him to go to 1st grade I would have shouted "YES!" But, somehow as the end of summer vacation grew closer I started dreading sending my little buddy off to school. I've realized I'm going to be one of "those moms" who never thinks anything is good enough for her son. Hopefully I can learn to calm down a little bit, but I really wish I could just keep him here with me for a little bit longer. He is ready to "grow up", ready to eat lunch in the cafeteria, and ready to use the coveted hall-pass to use the school's bathroom. (Don't ask me about that one. He was super excited to find out there wasn't a bathroom in his class and that he'd have to walk down the hall if he had to go.) He is a cool kid. I don't know how much I had to do with that, but I'm excited to see what this new year brings. Still . . . I miss him already.

Nine Years: One day at a time

Jon and I have now been married 9 years! Last night we were trying to remember the different things we've done for our anniversary. We could both remember the first three, then it was all a guess! Sad? No. We realized that when you're first married it's important to really celebrate the little accomplishments. Now we just celebrate the fact that we haven't killed each other yet! Not really, but it just seems like spending some time together is fun enough. Don't get me wrong though. We're totally taking killer vacations for anniversaries as soon as we can. In the mean time here are some of the "little accomplishments" that I'm so happy to have shared with my man.

~ We survived 10 months of renting from his brother. (Jon's idea of course.) I figure if we survived those first 10 months of our marriage then the rest should be a breeze.

~ School. Seven years of schooling for Jon. This isn't a "little accomplishment" it's more of a freakin' huge accomplishment. between the two of us we now hold three undergraduate degrees and two masters. That's a lot of class time!

~ Two of our smallest (in size only) accomplishments were 7 lb. 4 oz and 7 lb. 12 oz. respectively. Our two favorite people on this planet and the best buddies anyone could ask for.

~Before celebrating the kids I guess we should be celebrating that fact that Jon survived two pregnancies with the crankiest pregnant woman in the world. He should count that as a pretty big accomplishment. I was completely terrible, anti-depressants, therapy, the whole deal. And he took it like a champ! I'm pretty sure it's not that two kids are his limit, but two pregnancies are!

~Driving in the car for 11 hours to take ornery kids to Disneyland (twice). The whole time telling ourselves, "They'll have fun when we get there. They'll have fun when we get there..." Which, of course, they did.

~How 'bout the time I surprised him by buying a motorcycle for him? Yah, that was pretty awesome. No wonder he wants to be married to me!

~ Finishing a sprinkler system. Hallelujah! And next time, we are SOOO hiring someone else to do it for us!

Pretty much I married the perfect man for me. He is a sarcastic, hard-working, best guy in the world type of guy. And I LOOOOOOVE HIM!!! I wanted to get a picture of us yesterday. We never take pictures on anniversaries, plus I actually looked moderately cute last night. I brought my camera and everything. Then...I forgot I had it! So enjoy a little blast from the past.

Our engagement picture May 2000
We look like babies! Which we were really. And WHAT is up with my eyebrows?? Someone really should have told me to shape those suckers!

Time For a Road Trip?

Last night was a normal bed time...or so I thought. After the pip-squeak's bath I brought her into her room to get dressed for bed. As usual, I pulled the PJs from the top of the stack. They just happened to have Mickey Mouse on them. I slipped them over her head, and all hell broke loose!! She started crying hysterically. I asked her what was wrong, but she was just too upset to tell me. She went to the closet and got her shoes.
"Let's go, Mom," she cried.
I took her shoes away, which only got her crying louder.
"Where do you want to go?" I asked.
"I want to go to Disneyland! Let's go to Diiisssnnnneeeeeyyyyy Laaaannnnnnnd..."
I told her we weren't going to Disneyland; that it was too far away; and that it was bed time. It was no use though. She was inconsolable. She cried and cried. I promised her that when we did go to Disneyland I would take her. She got really excited and ran to her dresser to get ready to go. Oops. I had to tell her again that we weren't going to Disneyland, and the whole thing started over. I really can't imagine that all this started from one little Mickey Mouse T-shirt! She cried for over 30 minutes before she fell asleep. Apparently she really needs a vacation!

May 2008
I know she had fun when we went to Disneyland last year, but seriously. . . Can she remember any of it? Apparently it left an impression!