Priorities *Updated

Today I will clean this desk. It has turned into a catch all for every member of this family. Even the baby will put toys and sippy cups on it. Should I be embarrassed by this picture?

But first, I must get out of this house. I haven't left in days. Except for our daily walks around the neighborhood. I need to go somewhere. So the mall it is for a few hours. And by need to go somewhere, I don't mean the grocery store.

*UPDATED
We went to the mall, got the most adorable pictures taken. I won't get them back for a couple weeks, but think Carter in his football jersey with a football helmet! We shopped, only now I realize I didn't buy myself anything. Well, unless you count lunch. And a yummy Starbucks of course.

As planned I cleaned off the desk. It's amazing how cleaning something makes me feel so good. Or maybe it was the shopping now that I think about it....

Wordless Wednesday - My Mother's Day Flower

Before

After

Good Times With Friends

Sunday afternoon I got to escape for a few hours in the afternoon to see a movie with a friend and her Mom. It was a cute movie, but it was great to get out. I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theater that wasn't for kids. Not that I don't like taking the boys, because I do, but I forgot how nice it is to sit with adults, and watch something without someone narrating the movie for you in your ear. So thank you ladies for a wonderful afternoon. I'm going to have to do that more often.

On the way to my escape I dropped Hunter off at his friends house down the street, where he had a WONDERFUL time. They have a HUGE, gorgeous yard with 2 apple trees. Hunter was in heaven. He's even asked me a few times since we moved if we could have an apple tree like at our old house. His friends Mom let the boys pick apples, as many as they wanted. Hunter came home with 27! He said he ate 2 there as well. They might not be pretty, but boy are they crunchy and DELICIOUS!!

We're Just Going With The Flow

So I guess Hunter is staying in his class. I never got that call on Friday saying he was one of the kids pulled. Although I jumped every time the phone rang. I had decided I really didn't care either way. He really likes his teacher, but I found out Thursday that the new teacher is young and just graduated a few years ago, not some crabby old lady that has been teaching for too many years. He came home Friday and said they got to meet the new teacher and he wouldn't mind moving. I told him he probably wasn't since I never got a phone call. Well that's fine by him too. He's so easy to please.

Saturday morning was supposed to be his first soccer game. In the morning it was down pouring, and that mixed with all the rain we've had made for a VERY wet soccer field. So they canceled the games. When Hunter got up I told him his coach called and since it was raining cats and dogs out they canceled all the games.

Hunter - It's raining, and there's cats and dogs?

I hope every mother gets a "Hunter".

My Money Saving Tip

Who needs a gate when the baby is scared of the vacuum!?!

Day #2

Last year it was so hard for me to let Monte stand out at the bus stop alone even though I could see him. This year it's better since Hunter is there too. I don't know what I'll do once there is a house on the corner and I can't see them anymore from my deck.

Monte declared after the first day that Mr. Guy Teacher is his favorite teacher. EVER. He is SOOOO cool Mom. Mr. Guy Teacher is 2 years younger than me, and played football with the boys at recess. He also loves racing and Monte wore a race car shirt yesterday. And yes, Monte did that on purpose. What a little brown nose he is!!

Hunter loved his teacher and was happy to find he is the only Hunter in his class this year. Last year there was another and he's happy not to have a letter after his name anymore. But he did come home with a note saying that because there is SO many first graders they are adding another class so there aren't 30 kids in each class. I agree that's too many, but we met his teacher, we like her, there are kids in his class he is friends with. No one wants to change now. We are just praying it all works out for the best.

Already?

Today was the first day back to school. The summer has just flown by, like always, and so here we go again. What you don't realize when you have small children, is just how much faster they grow once the school days start.

Monte is in 4th grade this year. Holy Moly! Only 2 years til middle school. He has a guy teacher, man teacher? this year. The only one in our elementary school, and boy is Monte excited. I've seen him around school and met him this morning. He seems very nice and told me I was welcome in his classroom at anytime for any reason. I like that. Ever walked into your child's classroom and felt like you don't belong? Monte's second grade year was like that. Not that it stopped me from going every chance I got.

Hunter is in 1st grade. And boy am I having a hard time with this one. Even though Carter is my "baby", Hunter was the baby for 5 1/2 years and I still really think of him that way. This is the first time he's gone all day, and it just seems so long. He was very nervous this morning which is not like Hunter at all. But once we got there and he found out a really good friend was in his class I think he felt better. Me and this friends mom stood there for a long time. Finally I told her we should either go or pull up a chair.

I know they will be fine. They will come home full of wonderful stories to tell, both talking over the other as we walk home from the bus stop. And I will get used to them being gone all day. Like it or not.

Hold The Phone

Our house is new construction and we were the 4th house to go in, so there are a lot of empty lots still. Over the summer, and with the help of a lot of rain, the weeds had grown so tall you couldn't see over the top of a car. You couldn't see if someone was coming from the other direction. And the thing that really worried me, you couldn't see if there were boys on bicycles. Not to mention the workers, and some neighbors who don't have kids of their own, aren't looking out for children and drive like crazy people around here.

So, I called the builder and told him I was really concerned about the safety of my boys. And not only them playing, but with school starting they were going to have to walk to the bus stop. The weeds were so tall I couldn't see them from my 2nd story deck, and I knew a car wasn't going to see them either. He assured me that by the time school started he would have it taken care of.

Imagine my excitement when Saturday morning there was our builder on a tractor mowing the weeds. Me and all the boys sat on the deck and watched until he got too far over and we couldn't see.

That excitement didn't last long. An hour or so later my next door neighbor came and asked if we had phone. Her husband heard the mower hit something and now there is no phone. And hmm, now that you mention it, there is no builder is sight either.

It took until today to get someone out to fix it. 6 hours later it was confirmed.

phone guy - I'm sorry it took so long to fix, but someone mowed over the phone box, cut all the wires, and drug them across the field. You ladies wouldn't happen to know who did the mowing would you?

Me and neighbor - Oh, um, your going to have to have to call Mr. Builder.

My husband said it's a good thing then that he wasn't out there. He would have given the guy a name and number.

And truthfully it didn't bother me at all not having a phone. I have a cell phone. But no internet for over 48 hours? Now that's a different story.

Vacations Rock

Last week my hubby took the week off work and we had a vacation at home. It was FANTASTIC. Not only did the boys LOVE having him here all week, but SO.DID.I. We tried to do something fun everyday. The water park, the movies, twice, mini golf and go-carts, a small amusement park, and one day Dad took them to the shooting range. We were going to go to the Zoo one day, but 90 degree temps changed all our minds.

And of course we spent a lot of time just hanging out at our pool. It really doesn't get any better than that. But the big news of the week is I left Carter for 10 1/2 hours from 1:30pm to midnight when we took the boys to the amusement park. . I have never left him that long, and have only left him one other time with someone other then my hubby.

It was a hard decision to make. Not only have I never left him like that, but he is still nursing several times a day. But an hour before we were to leave I started thinking taking him wasn't such a great idea. It was 90 degrees outside, I knew he would be miserable. But to stay home and let my hubby take them didn't sit too well with me either. Hunter is still only 6 and really wanted me to be there to ride with him. Something I couldn't do whether I stayed home or took Carter. I was totally torn between two children who needed me. So in a moment of weakness I let hubby call his mom and sister.

My SIL came right over and before I had a chance to change my mind, we were off. The WHOLE way there I was regretting my decision. How could I leave my baby? What if he cried the whole time? What if he NEEDED me? But I called. A LOT. And Carter has always LOVED my SIL. She is 16 and has always been great with all 3 of my boys. Even when Monte was born and she was only 6 years old.

When we got there I knew I'd made the right decision. Not only was it HOT, but Hunter refused to ride anything with anyone but me. And we had a BLAST. At 8:00 my in-laws came over to finish the babysitting so my SIL could go to the movies with friends, (she is 16 and all) plus they wanted to see Carter too.

He did fine. He was happy. He played. He ate. He drank water from his sippy cup. And he went to bed at 10:00. ON HIS OWN. IN HIS CRIB!! WHAAAT??? And he slept there ALL night!

I thought he didn't need me. Until morning when he started nursing every hour to make up for lost time. My boobs thanked him for it too!

Wordless Wednesday - Weeeee!!!

Think Before You Speak

Sometimes I wonder what I must look like as a mom of 3 boys. It's my life, a life that I love, but from the comments I get sometimes you'd think 3 boys is a punishment. Oh your KIDDING. I don't know how you DO it. And I'm good at not letting the things people say bother me because unless you have all boys, you can't understand just how wonderful it is.

Last night we went out to dinner to a small Mexican restaurant. Our meal was over and Carter was DONE. He wanted down, so I told Monte I'd take him outside while he got the bill and paid. We were almost to our car when the hostess came running out after us. We had left something on the table. An older couple was also walking to their car and the husband said to Monte, "are you sure you didn't forget a kid in there?" Okay, now was he joking, or truly annoyed because we brought our fussy baby to dinner? Monte must have thought he was joking because he joked right back. "no, we have them all but 2 are for sale." We laughed, hee hee, even the boys, but then the wife says, "well do you have any girls? We'd take a girl." What? We didn't even respond. Just got in our car and drove away.

The Green Eyed Monster Has Come For A Visit

Carter has hit THAT age. You know the one. The everything is MINE age. Of course he wants everything he sees, and isn't above yelling and screeching to get his point across. But he can usually be easily persuaded to just "let it go" and move on to something else.

The other day a friend of mine was babysitting her 15 month old niece and brought her over for a little bit. Carter just didn't know what to do with this other little person in his house, touching his toys. So he cried. A LOT. And at first I thought, well he doesn't know her, and here she is taking his toys out of his hand, I'd cry too. But then I noticed he was screaming if his brothers touched something. Yep. THAT age is here.

But the biggest is me. I'm his mommy, and no one, I repeat NO ONE is allowed to sit within touching distance of me. Monte is almost 10 and our cuddle times are getting fewer and fewer, but Hunter is 6 and still likes to snuggle. Wants to lay and watch TV, or get those morning hugs. Carter is having NONE of that. Complete not only with screaming, but smacking as well.

Oh yes, the toddler is coming out.

Wordless Wednesday - Cowabunga!!