the sweetest thing

Logan’s been going through a bit of an eating strike.  He snacks like a pro…it’s the actual meals where he has a hard time.  We have a family rule that everybody must eat one bite of everything on their plate before being excused.  Logan is famous for saying “I don’t like this!” having never tried it before.  Drives me crazy!

So last night was especially bad because I put…oh horror of horrors…squash and zucchini in our chicken spaghetti sauce.  Both boys were carrying on and moaning and groaning about it.  Connor is pretty good about trying things.  I don’t know if he would admit it, but I think he actually liked the zucchini.  But Logan is a different story.  He carried on and on, complaining an whining up a storm.  Derek, in what I think he thought was a moment of parenting genius, informed the boys that when he was a kid, if he didn’t like dinner, his mom would say that she was not a short order cook, and if they didn’t like what they were served, they were welcome to make themselves a peanut butter sandwich.

So what did Logan do?  He jumped at the opportunity and made himself a sandwich.

He was quite pleased with himself.  I’ll have you know that Mr. I’m Not Hungry ate every last bite of that sandwich.

And he’ s so cute…little Mr. Independent…it was hard not to smile about the whole thing.

I’m quite certain that when Derek told the “when I was a kid” story, he didn’t actually think either of the kids would jump up and make themselves dinner.  That just goes to show that we’ve always got to be on our toes with this one!

(And, just for the record, I still made him eat a bite of zuchinni and bite of chicken.  Mean mama.)

Camryn’s a big girl now, playing outside and all.  She loves it the most when someone plays out there with her.  Logan sometimes worries that Cami doesn’t love him as much as she loves Connor.  It’s totally unfounded…she adores both her brothers, and as you can see,  she has plenty of love for Logan.

I wish you could hear her laughing when he peeked over the side.  It was the cutest thing ever!

Cami wishes there was room for two.  I know this, because about 30 seconds after I took this picture, she was throwing a temper tantrum to get in the car.

Logan didn’t get out of the car, but he did reach out and give her the sweetest little hug.  It made her happy.

And it made me happy, too.  I know there will be years ahead where the boys fight with Camryn, but for now I will just enjoy the sweetness.

So Logan and Camryn had their first day of school this morning.  As you can see, they were absolutely thrilled.

And, I just want to show y’all the evidence of the Houston humidity.  This is what happens to my camera when I first go outside.  Nice.

Despite the glum face, Logan had a really great day.  I love that he has his same teachers from last year.  This is Logan’s third year at the school, so he’s really comfortable there and had tons of fun today.

Camryn did well, too.  She cried when I dropped her off, which I totally expected, but it was short lived.  According to her teachers, she had a really good day, and the only other time she cried was during a diaper change.  That didn’t surprise me at all…she hates having her diaper changed!

As for me…it was weird having no kids at home!  I went to breakfast with a few friends, went to Sams (where at one point I totally panicked for a split second wondering where Cami was), and then I went home.  That was when it was weird…it was just so quiet!  I did a bit of cleaning, but I also read a magazine, watched some tv, started a sewing project, and caught up on blogs and stuff.  It was nice!  I was so ready to see my babies when 2:00 rolled around, and it was the perfect little break I needed.  Especially since Derek has been gone this week.

It feels so good to be getting back into our fall routine, although it’s definitely been an adjustment.  As a kid, I always liked the start of the school year, and even as a grown up, that has not changed at all.  It makes me want to go school supply shopping and stock up on notebooks and pens and make lists and get a nice, fresh start.  I love it.

It started out innocently enough.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been meaning to make a hair appointment, but as any mother knows, something like getting a haircut is a luxury that is often hard to come by.  Friday morning I decided that I would just bite the bullet and take Logan and Camryn with me.  So I called a new place, a place where several women from my church go, and I made an appointment for later that morning.  Since all I wanted was a simple trim and for the front to not be so much longer than the back, I just figured I didn’t need to be picky about who did it.  Raphael was the winner since he had appointments open at 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 1:00, 1:30…hmmm…maybe that should have been a red flag…

My lovely children and I arrive promptly, and I tell Raphael what I would like.  After my hair is washed, Raph starts cutting.  He starts at the back, and I settle down in my chair, smiling at my good fortune.  A spontaneous, same day appointment, and children who are behaving good as gold?  It’s too good to be true!

Raphael move around to the side of my hair and I start to get the feeling that something isn’t quite right.  Instead of pulling my hair up and cutting it in sections from the top, he pulls all of my hair flat against my neck and trims the bottom.  And he does it again…and again…and again…moves around to the other side and continues to cut only the bottom of my hair.  At this point I figure he’s just getting started and the shaping will come next.  Nope, not so much.  He goes all the way around my head, bluntly cuts a few whispy bangs, and hands me my bill.  I’m a little bewildered at his technique, but I decide to wait until I get home to pass judgement.

I get home, dry it, and flat iron it.  You know you’ve gotten a bad haircut when you have to pull out your own shears to cut the hairs that are 2 inches longer than all the rest.  My hair looked like a square mushroom.  I don’t know how to describe it except that it was uneven, blunt, and I am absolutely certain that Derek could have done my hair as well as Raphael did.  I tried to get a picture of it, but it really doesn’t do it justice.  Maybe you can tell how uneven and unshaped the ends are, and it certainly lacks that “I just got a professional haircut” oomph.

So I did something I’ve never done before.  I called the salon back and asked for a do-over.  “Sure dear,” the receptionist said.  “When you come back, just tell Raphael exactly what you want and he’ll do it for you.” Uh, thanks, but no thanks.  The problem is I DID tell him what I want, and he didn’t seem to understand the need for cutting my hair in sections, or even cutting all my hair for that matter.

So I filed the whole Raphael experience away in the “lesson learned” category and called another place.  It’s got a good reputation, and even though it would be another new person, it really couldn’t be worse.  Plus I couldn’t even get an appointment until late Saturday afternoon, which is a step up from Raphael.

At hair appointment number 2, Peggy informs me that in order to really get the mess cleaned up, she may have to take a little length off.  Okay, I’m fine with that.  Just make me cute again.  She cuts and cuts and cuts some more.  I’m thinking it’s awfully short, but again, I’ll wait until it’s all said and done to pass judgement.  She drys and flat irons and sprays and fluffs and spins my chair around to reveal this:

Don’t let that big smile fool you.  I was freaking out on the inside.  I do think I’m going to like it, and it’s only hair…it will grow…but I was just not prepared for such a drastic change.  It’s a good thing that today was Sunday, so I got up and fixed it for church.  All the sweet ladies made me feel better about it.

So that, my friends, is the story of how I accidentally cut my hair off.  Derek will argue that it was not an accident, and maybe it wasn’t in the truest sense of the word.  Whatever.  It’s an accident in my book.

5:20: Camryn wakes up hungry.

6:00: Back to sleep.

7:00: Connor wakes up, on his own this morning.

7:10: Breakfast for C (cinnamon toast crunch and vanilla yogurt)  Make Connor’s lunch, a Pizza Lunchable and a fruit cup. Get myself dressed.

7:20: Camryn wakes up.  She and Connor spend some time together on the couch, and per his request, she follows him room to room while he gets ready for school.

7:30: Logan wakes up.  Goes right into my bedroom to watch Franklin.

7:50: Take Connor to school.

8:10: Breakfast for me.  Maple and brown sugar oatmeal and coffee with mocha peppermint creamer.

8:15: Logan picks out his candy for the day.  Each boy gets 2 pieces of candy per day.  They can eat them whenever they want, but once the 2 pieces are gone there is no more.  Logan eats his for breakfast this morning.

8:30: Feed Camryn.

Rest of the morning: Camryn naps, Logan grazes all morning on cereal, fruit snacks, and oranges, I fold a bit of laundry, start another load, check email and blogs, call tree stump grinding companies for quotes, clean the kitchen, shower.

11:00 Camryn wakes up. Eats.

11:30: We leave for Sam’s. Logan and I eat some pizza, browse around, and do our shopping. We are now stocked up on batteries, wipes, fruit snacks, fruit cups, and a bunch of other stuff.

12:45: Home. Camryn goes down for a nap. Logan watches Little Bill, plays with his toys, plays a few Nick Jr. computer games, plays with play-doh and runs around the house telling me to call him Sonic. As in Sonic the Hedgehog. I watch Dawson’s Creek and play on my computer.

2:00: Cami wakes up. Eats. (I see a pattern here…) After I feed her, I vacuum and pick up the house a bit.

3:15: Walk to the bus stop to pick up Connor. He was green today. Woo hoo!

Late Afternoon: C and L play outside. Eventually they come in and want to watch Tale Spin, their latest movie from Netflix. Camryn fusses all afternoon. Teething? Tired? I don’t know. But she was pretty much fussy all afternoon.

4:45: Derek gets home. We head out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was school fundraiser night for Connor’s school.

Camryn is only happy at the restaurant if she is being held, so Derek and I take turns holding the fussy (and at this point, exhausted) princess. She falls asleep sitting up in Derek’s arms, but wakes up as soon as we put her back in the carseat.

6:15: Home. Cami fell asleep 5 minutes away from home and takes a 20 minute power nap. Boys get ready for bed. Finish watching an episode of Tale Spin.

7:30: Boys head to bed. Camryn eats. And then fusses for another hour. This is very unlike her. The boys are up and down tonight. Connor needs a string to tie sossy (his blanket) in a knot. Logan needs more and more and more hugs and kisses. I watch America’s Next Top Model in between taking care of the kids.

8:00: I think the boys are quiet.

8:45: Camryn finally falls asleep after I swaddle her as tightly as I can. Derek and I watch Friday Night Lights.

9:30: Computer time, Derek watches Heroes. I enjoy a nice glass of wine…it’s been a long day and an even longer evening.

Pictures:

On Sunday afternoon, the boys came up to the hospital to meet their baby sister. Their reactions were so them. Logan came in with a big grin on his face. With no hesitation at all, he climbed up on the bed and immediately wanted to touch every part of Camryn and hold her, and he had a million questions about her. The funniest part was when he asked to see her butt. First of all, butt is not a word we like for the boys to say, but anyway, he asked to see her butt. So Derek unwrapped her a little and showed her little diaper. But that wasn’t good enough for Logan. “No, daddy. I want to see her butt. Take her diaper off and turn her upside down. I want to touch her butt.” Um, what is that about?? It cracked us up!

Connor walked into the room and you could see on his face that he wasn’t too sure about this. In any new situation, Connor stands back and takes it all in. He just wants to look and process it all. He didn’t want want to hold her or touch her, he just wanted to look. But you could see how proud he was to be the biggest brother-it was really, really sweet.

Last night, Connor wanted to hold Camryn for the first time. He was so sweet, just staring at her little face, taking it all in. At bedtime last night, both boys wanted Cam to lay in bed with them. I love that the three of them are already starting their little sibling bond. There really is nothing like the relationship between brothers and sisters, and I cannot wait to see it with Connor, Logan, and Camryn.

Logan is eating cereal straight from the box.

It all started because I needed to sit for a few minutes. After a long morning of laundry, a few hours at NASA, a quick stop at WalMart, an hour spent making new astronaut and space shirts for the kids, and more laundry, I needed a break.

The kids had popsicles this morning for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. Hey, they are the whole fruit kind…it’s just like eating fruit, right? They were so cute sitting side by side in chairs that I had to bust out my camera. Some of the pictures were just screaming for captions. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. I blame my children for my lack of fixing dinner. If they hadn’t been so cute with their breakfast this morning, this never would have happened.

(For the record, I think my kids like when dinner is a free for all.)

I love this kid so much.

Those two pictures totally capture him-face full of mischief, running full speed ahead, just so full of life. He is such a fun kid and always keeps us on our toes!

In this picture, you can see the remnants of his latest crash on the left side of his forhead, and if you look closely, in the corner of his left eye. He is so full speed ahead that he hurts himself on a pretty regular basis.  It’s pretty much a given that every Monday when I drop him off at school, he will have some sort of bruise from his weekend of hardcore playing.  It’s become a bit of a joke with his teachers.  This latest one happened when he sprinted into his room, took a flying leap onto a toy box only to learn the hard way that a.) the lid doesn’t fit securely anymore, and b.) in the windowsill vs. forehead battle, the windowsill wins.

Yup, he’s crazy.  But I wouldn’t trade an ounce of his craziness for anything…well, maybe I would for just a smidgen of fear.  But his wild and crazy side is part of what makes him my Logan bug.  I love him so much, and I am so thankful for the joy he brings to our family!

Today, Logan is three! Hard to believe my baby is three already. He is so much fun…but I must confess (because I like to keep it real on the ol’ blog…) I am a little nervous about what the three’s have in store for us. Three was our toughest year with Connor. Terrible two’s are just not the case in our family!

But I’m not going to blog about my insecurities as a mom or my pregnancy-induced lack of patience. Logan is three today, and I love this kid so much. He is such a fun, energetic lovable part of our family. His favorite things include (in no particular order):

*applesauce
*chocolate milk
*chicken nuggets
*superman
*making silly faces
*holding up his 5 fingers and asking for “dis many” of anything.
*strawberries
*his bff Noah
*his big brother
*going to school
*watching the blast off of Apollo 13
*The Backyardigans
*dressing himself. Don’t even think about helping him
*Going potty repeatedly to get a jellybean
*drinking from a big boy cup
*running, jumping, and climbing on anything and everything

We started off his birthday with a trip to the donut store where he chose a donut with blue icing and sprinkles. Next was presents, which is always fun. Then we went on an Easter egg hunt and played at the park. He took a 3.5 hour nap, and we spent the late afternoon/evening in the front yard where I painted cabinets, Derek washed the cars, and Connor and Logan ran around like superheros, dyed Easter eggs, and made a “tent” in the back of the CRV where they ate their dinner. I think Logan really enjoyed all of his birthday fun!

No post is complete without a few pictures…

Throwing a few gang signs while trying to get those three tricky fingers in place.

Victory!

Ready to open a few presents.

These rocket blasters were a huge hit. I love this picture of them!

Easter egg hunting and dying pics will have to wait. I wanted to get this posted on his actual birthday, and it’s my bedtime.

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy!

On the way home from the park, the boys had this great conversation in the backseat.

Let me preface this by mentioning that one of the boys’ favorite phrases is “that’s mine forever.” They will often get into heated arguments about whether something is or isn’t theirs forever. Sometimes I use those arguments to remind them that that things they have are blessings, and when we go to heaven someday they won’t take them. And the only thing that is truly forever is God’s love and heaven. Sometimes I just listen to them argue and let them work it out. And sometimes I get all irritated and tell them that they are having the most ridiculous argument ever. I probably do number 3 the most. Anyway, I digress.

The conversation went a little something like this:

Logan-”dis rock is mine porever.”
Connor-”No it’s not.”
L-”YES IT IS!”
C-”Moooommmmm….Logan thinks that rock is his forever.”
(Mom ignores hub bub in the backseat. It’s been a long morning.)
C-”Logan, that rock is not going to live forever.”
L-YES IT IS!”
C-”No. It’s not. Let me tell you something. We are going to die.”
L-”No we’re not.”
C-”Yes we are. We all die.”
Pause in conversation
C-”We’re not going to die when we’re kids. We die when we’re grown ups. Actually, when we are past grown ups, like maybe when we are 90 or 100.”
L-”oh.”
C-”But let me tell you the really fun part. When we die, we go to heaven.”
L-”NO WE DON’T!” (Logan is in an argumentative mood.)
C-”No, Logan. Listen to me. Let me tell you something cool. When we die, we get to go to heaven and be with God forever.”
L-”NO WE DON’T”
C-”Log, yes we do. That’s the best part.”
L-”NO”
C-realizes this conversation might be futile at this moment. he let’s out a long, semi-frustrated sigh.“Okay, Logan. Let’s just talk about this later.
L-”Otay.”

I love their conversations. Connor, the wise older brother. Logan, the ornery little one. Love them.