birthday bash

Last weekend my Little B turned eight. Read that: E I G H T. I'm not certain how I missed the last eight years because I swear I haven't taken my eyes off of him for half a second, but he is definitely all of eight years old. (And his glasses make him amazing cute which frightens me just a bit.) This sweet boy of mine is . . . just who God ordered. I'm so glad my Lord doesn't make mistakes. I love my Little B in ways that I never fathomed.

So, a week before his birthday we took him and three buddies to play lazer tag. What a fun way to celebrate! Actually, only dads were present, but I hear it was awesome. Definitely worth a repeat, I believe.

Then, on his real birthday we just had my family over. My mom had to work that evening, so she and my dad visited in the afternoon and had some cake with us, then after they left, my brother came over - he hadn't been sure he could make it - and he had dinner with us. (Life is short, eat dessert first!)

But the real birthday bash came around lunch time, just before my parents arrived - Little B was riding his bike and literally bashed his elbow by running into the parked car we had not yet moved out of his way....oops. He was amazing, though, not crying or screaming or complaining while I cleaned the wound. It was quite large and bloody and gross and required a bit of gauze and tape for a couple of days. No stitches, thank goodness. Now, he has a war story to tell and battle scars to prove it. (I think the car won, though...it didn't get hurt.)

peek-a

At the end of dinner, Baby J and I were the only ones left at the table as he seemed willing to still eat a bit more green beans and chicken. I wasn't going to rush him, and he was chomping away happily - so long as he was allowed to have a fork or spoon, par for the course with him. Suddenly he shot me a sly grin and covered his face, pausing for effect.

"Peek-a!"

Accomplishment wreathed his face as he peered from behind his hands. And then again. And again. I could hardly contain my own delight so adorable was his look and so deep his pleasure at instigating this game and saying the word without help.

We've played "peek-a" many times this morning and Baby J even hid in the cabinet, sat on an oatmeal container, and pulled the door shut, opening it to play his new favorite game.

Oh the joy!

honesty

I feel like I'm pulling a huge, heavy load of treasure through rocky, uncertain terrain. I know we'll get there, and I know it's so incredibly worth it, and so often I can see the valuables glistening in there, but sometimes it's just...hard.

I have to remind myself that overall we've made noticeable progress, frustrating though it is. But I always feel we slide backward through the winter. Three steps forward, two steps backward. It makes a journey feel so long.

dreaming

I drive Little B to and from school each day.
There is a small, hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that I pass on that drive.
Both directions.
That's twice a day. Actually, four times since I go back home the same direction after dropping him off or picking him up.

So, I inevitably crave cheese dip with jalapenos - twice a day. (I figure if I pass it again in only a few minutes, the initial craving has not ended yet...it just gets stronger.)
It's even better with a Dr. Pepper.
And good company.

Good thing I only have my kids in the car and don't ever stop!

something new

Sunday afternoon I asked Little B to tell me what time it was. He walked over to the kitchen door and paused. Then opened the baby gate and stepped into the kitchen.

He kept hesitating, so I came to the doorway and said, "Right there, on the stove or microwave."

"I know," he replied. "I can't see it."

I was surprised. I'm not sure why I was surprised since an eye doctor had thought he'd need glasses over a year ago, but I had him step closer until he could see it. He was roughly 6-8 feet from the little digital numbers when he could read it. I took him yesterday for his eye exam. Poor kid. He had to miss almost then entire day of school . . . haha!

After the exam confirmed he needed glasses, we headed to Lens Crafters. (I have used them several times, and I've always been happy. But let me tell you now just how great they are. I have a discount plan for eye care. But they have a Kid's Plan. It is better than my plan; they offer 50% off kid's frames and lenses until they are 13 years old.) And, of course, we came home with them on his face. He's so cute.

And I have to say, he is ecstatic. His two best buddies in class have glasses already. As he experimented with what he could and could not see yesterday, he decided he has "super human vision" now. If he could carry such an attitude through life, he'll do well.

The down side of this showed itself this morning, however. Upon coming into the living room, he look up and commented that the fan sure was dirty. And he could even see the dust particles. . . !

it's monday again

I think I'm starting to feel Monday in my bones...and it lasts most of the week with little reprieve. I've been in for a long haul recently. And I promise I'm not complaining. It is what it is. I'm just barely hanging on by a thread, though.

So, a funny story about this morning:
I was attempting to do dishes around the 13 month old walker who loves to pull out pots and pans all over the floor...as well as plastic cups and surplus non perishables from another allowable cupboard. I needed to take out the trash - still do, in fact. And when I turned around, there he was digging into the garbage with a handful of spaghetti that he was LOVING. After cleaning him up and moving him out, I discovered he also had found a Dr. Pepper can and was attempting to drink from it. Yeah, moved that away really fast.

Honestly, it was pretty hysterical. And he was so proud. . . .

the party

Nope. No pictures. Though I did finally download THREE MONTHS of pictures so that I could take a few of the party. Yeah, I'm grand that way.

So, I survived. It helps that only one couple with their three kids and another mom with two kids showed up. Plus my parents. Little B had two friends and Miss C had two friends. One of Miss C's friends was a boy who played with the big boys. Miss C therefore had one little girl to play with. But, that suited her just fine. We had a huge 4-layer cake of which I cut massive slices for those little bodies. Ha. Cake cutting has always been an issue for me. I don't like being responsible for it.

I was a madwoman cleaning and cake-decorating between Friday night and Saturday morning. Things were as good as they were going to get. My husband mopped, I vacuumed. My husband did dishes and folded clothes, I put away the enormous amount of toys littered across the floor.

And, I will NOT have my son's party at my house. While I am not the messiest person I've met, and while my house was in worse shape than usual before this party (meaning it shouldn't have been quite so traumatic to fix it up), I am just not up for that again. Nope. I will now proceed to wrack my brain for something 8 year old boys would love to do.

~Pay for a cool place that allows up to 15 kids (meaning everyone invited can bring siblings and still not meet the 15 people b/c I just won't have THAT many kids to deal with; I won't!) and offers a party room for 1.5 hours.

~Take Little B and 2 or 3 friends to miniature golf at a fun place, then have to figure out where is okay to feed them cake since such places do not offer party rooms that I'm aware of.

~(Chuck E. Cheese is out thanks to dairy issues, which I am JUST fine with!)

~Take our kids and 2 or 3 of his friends to an Aquarium for a few hours...still leaving us with a cake issue. How can you have a party and no cake???

~. . . . . . ?

Yup. I'm tapped out. And one of our guests is severely debilitated due to a brain tumor, so roller skating won't be an option (it would a great choice otherwise, since Little B loves to skate, they have less expensive party packages, and I can bring in my own cake! We'd just skip the pizza.)

All that said, I have 6 weeks and Little B is ALL ABOUT figuring it out. Me too. I want it done and out of the way. He's bummed his birthday falls on a Saturday, though, since he wanted to have his party "early" - ha! I can't justify it. I just can't. I don't think.

Got kids who need me, errands to run and naps I'd rather take. I'm not even spell checking so I can JUST GET THIS POSTED.

Ta ta!