Looking back on 2008....

What a year it was. It was full of ups and downs BUT the good thing is, we made it through and are much better for it.

Looking back, we are blessed with our health, and especially our kids health. And in this tough economy, we are both blessed with stable employment (thank goodness for education!).

I am especially thankful for my boys, all three of them! DH is a wonderful, kind, generous guy, I was truly blessed when I found him (although I call him my third kid, he really can be mature, he just has fun with life, which is good for the boys!). He will cook, clean, do laundry (even though he thinks washing, drying and throwing it in a pile on the floor is completing the task!), takes care of the outside work, watches the boys without hesitation so I can go shopping without kids, he will shop for groceries, he can maintain the cars and is an all around Mr. Fixit, I don't think there is anything he can't do or fix.

My two kids, WOW. They, on a daily basis, amaze me. I get lots of cuddles, kisses, and "I LOVE YOU, MAMA." They can play very well together and I love watching the bond they have. While shopping, they love to hold hands. This is Max's way of keeping his brother safe!

Max is very protective of me, he doesn't want me to disappoint me, he has a very kind heart and good spirit. He lets his brother punch and kick on him and just says, "stop." He loves to clean and be a helper. He is an awesome reader, he took to that really quick. He wants to please everyone. I can still remember the day he was born, the dr had to pat his rear a couple times before it made him mad enough to cry! That's pretty much been his temperament since.

Todd, well, love the little ALL BOY aspect of him. He is afraid of nothing. He is very protective of me and gets very upset if he sees anyone giving me hugs. As he says, "Mama, you are the love of me!" He is definitely more of a cuddler than Max, he loves to "cuddle hugs" on the couch and takes a while to tire of just being there with me. He has a very good heart and is thoughtful of his friends. Being all boy, he tends to forget to listen A LOT! He loves to wrestle with his brother and dad, LOVES to run, and play in the sand. When Todd was born, he came out SCREAMING, he was mad, MAD I tell you! He didn't want out that place he was comfortable in. His temperament has been the same as well, he isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks and angers very easily.

So as we go into 2009, I pray that the health of all of us continue, we grow more as a family, and the boys continue growing that bond between them.

Shopping with a 7 Year Old

I have said this before, and I forgot it obviously, so maybe if I repeat it, I will remember it - DO NOT SHOP WITH A SEVEN YEAR OLD, really, ever, don't. I was heading out to pick up dh's Christmas present and a few odd and ends and wanted to take the 4 year old, he is a better shopper, but he emphatically told me he was shopping with daddy. Ok, so I bribed the seven year old to go with me, we would go to Build A Bear if he came with me. Fine, he guessed he would go.

We were headed to the mall to only go to four stores, all within the same area. We didn't have to wonder from one end to the other. We start at JC Penny's, from there went downstairs to Christopher & Banks, Disney Store (boy is daddy going to be happy with the Christmas pj's this year, but that's a whole other post!), Build A Bear and then out of the mall to WalMart. Before we had made it out of JC Penny's the whole "I am tired, how long, how many things are we getting" started. We trek on and four bags later and two build a bears, we are leaving the mall when we walked by the box lady. I stopped because who can wrap a pair of jeans without a box, well, it's certainly not me. This is where I just about lost the last nerve I had woke up with. This is how it went "MOM, how long are we going to be here. I am tired, my back hurts, my legs will break if I walk another inch, I swear mom they will, my back OH MY BACK, I am dehydrated, I want to go home, I can't walk to the van, how long is this slow lady going to take, MOM MY BACK HURTS, my arms are cold, it's hot in here, I want to go home. I know dad is already home and Todd is playing the game. Great, my back hurts, I want to be done with this mall."

The poor girl, I think, she felt sorry for me. I was going to ask her if I could leave him there to help hand out boxes but I don't think she could be very patient with him and somebody would be in jail for taping his mouth shut! Anyway, we make it to the van and I assured him that what he was doing was being plain lazy. We didn't really do that much walking and maybe he needed to do more exercising if he was exhausted after that short jaunt. He then says, "I already exercised enough, I walked around that mall, that was more than enough." I told him I had to do shopping all the time, did he hear me complain? I do this several times a week and if I didn't, there would be no presents under the tree for him.

When the poor boy found out we were going to WalMart next, I nipped the poor pitiful shopper in the bud. I informed him that he would go in with me, he would be HAPPY and be the best shopper ever OR he would not play his video game AT ALL, he would be working out so he could build some endurance to be able to do a little shopping at a time. May I just say, I had the best shopper EVER with me?!! We must have went from one end of the store to the other at least four times and he never got tired or complained! Mind over matter, mom will ALWAYS win!

First time for stitches

Well, for Todd at least! He is such a rough and tough boy, I am truly surprised this is the first time for stitches. He was at school and was in line waiting to go somewhere, and he tripped and hit something (he knows, I know he does, he just isn't sharing!). I was in the manager's office downloading pictures from the Christmas Program when I heard her say, "His mom is in here, we will be right there." I turned, looking for another parent, and sure enough, I was alone! She said Todd had cut his chin.

We go in there, and sure enough, a pretty good split in the chin. We go to have it looked at by a nurse to see if it needed stitches and yes, he needed to have it looked at by a doctor. Todd was more concerned about missing his party than what was going on with his chin! Daddy took him to the doctor and would only say, "Wow, I got weak in the knees." I knew I should have gone with him but I truly had too much work to get done (I was on hold with the dr's office and working on the deposits so I could leave immediately if needed) and all dad's need to experience those things, right?

They both faired ok, Todd came back with a slushy for being so brave and showed off his battle damage to all his friends! He is doing really good but insists he has to sleep with brother because he is afraid of the monsters the doctor stitched in his chin!