The Beau boy

I have a son named Beau.  He is 5 and possibly one of the coolest people on the planet.  Today for instance he is walking around the house carrying his Harry Potter doll in an empty tissue box because Harry needed some submarine training.

Beau is also the king of costumes.  He has a whole wardrobe department in his bedroom.  Some days he is Harry Potter, others he is a pirate, ninja, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Troy from High School Musical, Percy Jackson and once he was even Talia from Percy Jackson.  He is creative, inventive, and there are times I wish I could see the way his mind works. Did I mention the time he was a vampire and decided he needed a coffin?  I told him I couldn't make one and after a long period of silence from his room, I searched for him and found this.

He was 4 at the time and decided his toy box would make a perfect coffin.  You can't tell from the picture but he is wearing a vampire costume under the blanket.

He is always asking me how things in movies work.  Whenever I try explain how special effects are made by computers I worry I'm stealing magic from him.  Like just for a little while I want him to believe that broomsticks can actually fly and there is a water horse living in the Loch Ness.  But, he always wants to know how things work so I do my best to explain.  

He loves animals and science and fishing with my husband.  He loves to be outdoors.

We read Harry Potter books, encyclopedias, field guides about amphibians and reptiles, and dinosaur books where he is constantly correcting my pronunciation.   He like to figure things out.  Usually this means he has taken something apart and then I get the joy of learning how to put it back together.  

When he grows up he wants to work with my husband, or be a dad, or an archeologist, or a teacher, or invent magic wands and flying shows.

Beau has quarks.  Lots of them.  Sometimes, someone he doesn't know well talking to him can  send him inside of his coat in 'turtle mode'. Sometimes he is overwhelmed by loud noises or on the other hand he is the loudest person in the room.  I am sure that to people who don't understand him, people who don't know how his mind works, well I don't really care what they think.  So maybe we go to the store with a boy dressed as Harry Potter once in a while (complete with lightening bolt scar) or maybe he is carrying around a toy lizard that is his imaginary friend for the week (that maybe has a habitat at house that sleeps on Beau's bed).  These are all parts of the adventure that is being Beau's mom.

Beau has taught me so much.  How to choose my battles.  Patience.  Acceptance that things don't always go the way I plan - flexibility is a good thing! Never to lose the wonder we see everyday in life.  

I call him my sunshine boy.  

Valentine's Day

Well, it is Valentine's Day.  Again.

I am not much of a Valentine's Day person.  If you want to talk about holidays that have gotten totally sucked into commercialization, Valentine's Day is at the top of the list for me.  But, today, I saw something that made me smile.

While running into the grocery store to get last minute treats for the party at my son's preschool this morning (considering I also forgot to work on the Valentine's cards for my two oldest kids' parties until 12:45 last night, this isn't abnormal), I parked next to a state trooper.  My first thought was that someone must have shoplifted.  I have no idea why my mind went there, but it did.

I look over and see a young man, the trooper, holding a pen and staring pensively at a card with a red envelope.  By the time I got the kids out of the car, which involves dealing with two carseats, grabbing my purse, and putting shoes and socks back on my youngest (the kid thinks getting in the car means barefoot time - even in the middle of a brutal winter), this guy was still staring at the card.  I don't think he had written a word yet.  For some reason this totally made me smile.

I've gotten pretty cynical about Valentine's Day.  It has seemed like a holiday a lot of people feel obligated to participate in.  Too many people judge gifts they are given or receive without caring about the meaning behind them.   (If you would like some interesting reading Google the true meaning behind the holiday.  And the Google logo is really cute today.) But here was a guy who was spending extra time to write the perfect message for the person he loved.  I'm probably reading too much into this.  I mean, maybe he was asleep with his eyes open.  Maybe he was a bad speller.  But, I like to think he was trying to find the perfect words to express himself to someone loved.  Who cares what the gift is as long as there is heart in the message.  Or maybe that is just my way of thinking. 

    

Insomniac child

Dear lovely, brilliant, golden child who won't sleep,

Mama loves you so much.  Please go to sleep.  We've tried foot rubs, and back rubs and singing songs.  Rocking and cuddling but you still are awake.  Now, we are snuggled up in bed, the fan is on for white noise, the lights are out, and you still don't seem to want to wind down.  I love you so much.  I love that every few minutes you need to ask me a question, or make an observation, or rub your blankie on my cheek so that you can share it with me.  But, mama is tired.  So please go to sleep.  We both will be much happier for it in the morning.  

Love, 

Your mama

Stamps and nerds

I went to the post office today to buy some stamps.  I left without any doubt whatsoever that my nerdiness had reached epic proportions. 

Because of stamps.  

Here I am again

Well, I'm back.  After abandoning this blog for over a year, here I am again. Several things have changed for our family since the last time I shared anything.  My husband started a new job, we moved, new state, new house, new time zone.  Lots of changes for us.

I decided to start up with the blog again because I need to keep myself motivated.  I'm turning 30 soon.  Yikes.  Its funny how you can pretend for years that 30 isn't a big deal.  Well, now, its staring me in the face and the whole thing is a little depressing. 

I know I am so blessed.  I have a husband I love very much, 3 amazing kids, health and a home I love.  But 30 is such a milestone.  I feel like if I don't accomplish something now, its never going to happen. 

My goal is to finish a book this year.  It probably won't ever be published.  I might be the only person who ever reads it.  But, if I don't finish it this year it probably is never going to happen.

At this time, this blog only has 3 followers.  One of them being my mother, Hi mom! So I suppose it is a safe place to admit a secret without getting too much attention.  No one really knows this, but I've been writing for years.  I have a few half finished stories on my hard drive but things happen and life changes and I find myself in a different place than when I started them and there just isn't a connection anymore. 

So, here is the goal.  Keep up with the blog and finish the book.  I can do it.  One of the boards I follow on Pinterest had a great quote.  'If you write one page a day, at the end of the year you have a 365 page novel.' 

I just will keep thinking of Dori from Finding Nemo.

'Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.'

What did you expect? I have 3 kids.  My mantras are always from Disney movies these days.

Uncertainty

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."


Once school is out this year, I won't have any daycare children. I'm praying for guidance because I do not know what to do. I don't know if I should continue with daycare or look for a part time job outside of the home. This decision has been giving me so much stress. Today, I found the verse above from Isaiah. What a comforting thought.

The simple things.

     Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  A great day for florists, Hallmark, and chocolate companies.  I'm not a huge Valentine's Day person.  It isn't one of those holidays that I look forward to like Christmas, Easter or Independence Day.  It has always been a nice excuse to go out for dinner with Jonathon and have a date night, but, really not a big deal in my book.


     This year, was the first year I got my kids a Valentine's present.  I know lots of parents get their kiddos a little something every year, but I never had.  So, this year Savannah and Beau got a little coloring book pack and some M&Ms.  Just something little, but it was so fun to see how excited they get over something so simple. 


     Christmas can be an overwhelming holiday for the kids.  Honestly, it has gotten a little overwhelming for me too.  The whole day, we spend running from place to place and we all get SO much that it just gets to be too much.  For the past couple of years, my favorite part of Christmas has been the Christmas Eve program our little church puts on.  It is mostly just for the little kids to say a little poem, do a skit of the manger scene, and everyone sings a few Christmas carols.  I've really felt like the true spirit of Christmas is found in our little church on Christmas Eve.  It is such a simple, small thing.  But, honestly, it is one of my favorite moments of the year.  Much like the sunrise service we have on Easter morning.  When I was younger (with my 28th birthday looming, I'm really starting to think how MUCH younger), going to the early morning service was such a chore.  I was grouchy and probably so awful when I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. on a Sunday.  But last year, I remember sitting and listening to the congregation sing a song, and it hit me.  Mary and God gave their Son up to die for us.  Holding my two year old son, sitting next to my husband, who was holding our four year old daughter, and knowing that our newest daughter was growing inside of me, it really hit home.  It was a sacrifice I can't even imagine.


     Parenting has really changed my perspective.  Christmas isn't about receiving gifts anymore.  Easter is more than just a day to eat a big dinner with family and look for eggs.  I know that those aren't the true reasons for these holidays, but too often I forgot the true reasons. Lastly, Valentine's Day is day for all kinds of love.  It is a day to be so thankful for my husband, who brought dinner home last night so I wouldn't have to cook.  It is a day to recieve precious, homemade, construction paper and crayon cards and sticky M&M kisses from my babies. Thank goodness for these simple moments.