Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you got to rest and feel appreciated by your little ones! My husband gave me my favorite gift which is basically to run the kids for the day. I can be around as much (or as little) as I want. I got hot coffee and a magazine delivered to my bed with a beautiful orchid to start the day. Then the kids made me breakfast and we went to church. The afternoon was wonderful! We played in the sprinkler at a neighbor's house and BBQ'd in their yard. Currently my overtired Benny is screaming in his room and my husband shooed me out to deal with it. I love cards and gifts, it really is my "love language", but there is nothing like having the option to be hands off with the kids for the day. :) My favorite quotes: Tate: You are a beautiful girl mama, I like your dress! Gracie: I will sing you a song-I love you so much mama, I don't want Tate to bring his blue blankie in the car to church...you have to play the tamborine...not like that mama..don't tap your coffee cup...I love Ernie, do you know Bert? Everybody should...you are a pretty mama... Has a nice ring to it, right?

Happy Birthday!

First...

One year later...

and another...

then another...

And here I sit. My babies are four today. I am finding myself much more sentimental and emotional than I anticipated. I really didn't want to be a working mom today. I wanted to take them to the zoo, hold hands, and listen to their silly stories. I've been negotiating with Tate all week about not growing any older/bigger. He likes to taunt me by saying 'next year I will be five, then six, then seven, then eight, then nine, then 10!!!!' just to watch my face melt. "Then I will be big and drive a car! and make dinner! and mow the lawn! I will do all that big boy stuff!" I told him I would miss my little boy too much so we settled on more birthdays but he has to still cuddle me when he is older and he "will stay this short". Ha ha, he is such a sweet, silly little guy. Gracie is much less excited about all the growing up stuff, she just wants to go to school and be in charge of her brothers per usual.
I met them at the sitter's right after school and brought cupcakes and juice. We had a mini party with their daycare friends. We came home and daddy was preparing a breakfast for dinner feast as they requested. I got chocolate milk to elevate the meal even more. We sang and talk about when they were born again. They LOVE to hear about who was there and what we thought, etc. "I was a baby-then what happened?" We talk about how tiny they were and how they cried at night and shared a crib. Then I get weepy. ;)
Our sweet neighbors came down and wished them happy birthday in sidewalk chalk. I love living so close to my friend and her kids (the same age). They have literally been friends their whole lives (Ok, so far...)
Next we opened presents! Tate was super excited with the Minnie Mouse helicopter he got from Benny. He saw it when we visited the Easter bunny last month and has been asking us to get it for his b-day ever since. Benny also got Gracie a Jessie (Toy Story) shirt. We got them each a Toy Story doll and matching Leapsters. We figure those will come in handy when we drive to California this summer! Gracie has caught Sean's flu so she was happy, but subdued. She actually said she didn't want ice cream! That's when you know a kid is sick! She had a little because we put candles on sundaes and sang Happy Birthday. By this time Benny has just started saying "happy birthday everyone!!" Probably feels that way to him. ;)
Finally we watched 'one more show' and read a couple books before going to bed. I think everyone was exhausted and happy. This weekend is the big superhero party and I'm sure that will feel much more exciting to them, but I think these quiet family celebrations are my favorites. I get to cuddle and keep them all to myself while we talk about how much they are growing. Such bittersweetness! (Is that a word?) These are the golden moments of parenting I think. The privilege that all the long nights and whiny days earn you. I feel so blessed to be their mama! Just praying now that we are healthy this weekend so everyone can enjoy the party. More to come!

Soccer

It's official. I'm a soccer mom. The mini van and the reusable bags were the first step. Now that Tate has joined the Blue Hornets, I'm legit. The first 'game' was pretty overwhelming for him. He's on a team of 4-5 year olds (he'll be 4 in 2 weeks) with his buddy Jackson. All the kids running at him and the ball made him cry a few times and want to take several breaks. Mainly, he wanted to be sure I wasn't letting Benny and Gracie eat all the snacks we brought. This week was the best though. He scored 2 goals! Sean shed a few proud daddy tears and Gracie and Benny loved cheering for him. Gracie also kept cheering for a boy named Cole we don't know because she 'loves him', but that's a different story. Now we don't really keep score at these things sicne the kids are so little, but I think all of the parents are aware of how it's going. We signed him up for this league in part because of the sportsmanship focus and working on teamwork skills. But the competitive mama in me that had been lying dormant was REALLY excited for him. ;) Here's a few pics!

On a side note, Coach was 10 min late to practice this weekend and when she arrived, she apologized saying she had a bloody nose. Gracie replied, "That's okay, I had a bloody poop." Thanks for that, Grace.

The Book of Jonas: Book Review

Time for another book review! I love this blogher program! I get to read new books for free and get a little coffee money for writing up what I thought! Pretty awesome deal considering I am by no means a professional.

The short version of this is: READ IT.

The somewhat longer version is that I really enjoyed reading it. The story follows a young man from a middle-eastern village that has been destroyed by the United States. He takes you back and forth through time from the night it happened, to a painful adolescence in an american high school, to his young adult life. His life falls apart the longer he tries to forget the trauma he's been though and bit by bit he reveals his story to a therapist. He has an intense experience with a US soldier and struggles with how to put this all behind him. He doesn't know much to share with others, especially the soldier's grieving mother. Reading this book is like reading his diary and provides such a powerful perspective of the refugee in America- a perspective I am certainly not privy to. This novel is a pretty quick read, and was hard to put down. It was a real 'meat and potatoes' book, if I can call it that. Rich themes and ethical questions worth thinking about. It's always a good sign when you realize you can't wait to finish it and are equally sad to see it ending.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Saturday Morning Hair

Easter in Pictures

Happy Easter!

Having a great day so far! Now I feel like a 50's house wife cleaning in my polka dot dress until family comes over. I hope you have a Blessed Easter!