Pumpkin Patch 2010

The boys were on "fall break" from school on Monday and Tuesday, so we made the most of it and planned a playdate with friends at the pumpkin patch on Monday. It was a beautiful day and aside from a swarm of mosquitoes that accosted us on the hayride, it was a pleasant day!

Thomas refused to sit in the sun and both boys were, as usual, unable to both look at me and smile at the same time (despite all sorts of bribery), so that's what we get.

We had better luck individually...




They had a blast on the "hayride," even though Thomas did inquistively ask me later why it was called a "hayride" since there was no hay. :)


Thomas was happy to sit with two of his best buddies (one from school and one from our former neighborhood):


Finally at the end of the ride, Parker was brave enough to leave my side and sit by his brother:

And of course the boys enjoyed the other joys offered at the pumpkin patch...the bounce house and slide, the big slides and the mound of sand. They didn't last long on the huge jumping "pillow" there...and I was a bit glad about that. Here they were on the bouncy slide:




The boys were moving so fast on this thing that I couldn't quite get the camera to keep up. So that was the best I could do with that!

And then before we left, we stopped for a quick picture on the big red chair (that is starting to look a bit more worn then when we first took a picture of Thomas there three years ago!


Here was Thomas in 2007 (I was probably about 10 weeks pregnant with Parker then!):


Just before we left, it was time for another one of their favorites...sitting on the tractors.










And just for fun, here's one of the other attempts to get a good picture with the pumpkins. This cracks me up. I had promised them lollipops if they would smile and look at me. Thomas was doing it (though often with this crazed, forced permagrin) but Parker would not look at me. I love this one because it's like Thomas is saying, "I'm smiling, I'm smiling...now is Parker looking at Mommy YET?!!"


We had a great time despite the lack of great pictures to prove it. Three of Thomas' best buddies came (each with a sibling friend for Parker (including one who is in his class)), and so it was a great day all around!

Coach to Cure MD

It's that time of year again! It's time for the easiest way to make a donation that is so very much needed. And if you are looking at my journal, you must have some interest in my boys...and I can think of no better way to honor the fact that they seem to be healthy then by making this small donation that can help boys who are not.

This weekend you will notice college football coaches will wear armbands with the Coach to Cure logo seen above. The coaches are showing their support for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy -- an non-profit organization that works tirelessly to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne affects 1 in 3,500 young boys and is the most common fatal genetic disorder in childhood. Yes, I said "fatal." That is why a cure must be found.

I dare you to take two minutes to watch this video. I don't know if it can be done without tears...especially for those of us with young boys...but I'm hoping it spurs you to action. What if I couldn't tell Thomas and Parker that he could do whatever he wants to do? I don't want to imagine it. All children should feel free to dream and sets their sights as high as they like.



My good friend's six-year old son, Jake, was diagnosed three years ago. Here he is (in the green) with his younger brother Ben and their new dog:


For more on Jake, feel free to visit his Caring Bridge site.

I know I don't post on here much anymore and I hope I haven't chased away all my regulars, but I'm hoping that someone will see this and feel called to do something. Most of us have cell phones and there are two super easy ways to make a simple $5 donation. You can text the word CURE to 90999 and it will be added to your cell phone bill (you will be asked to confirm the text in a separate text).

Or you can simply enteryour cell phone number to this "widget" and it will go on your bill. It's so easy and it can make a big difference in the lives of so many!



So please. It is five dollars! Money is tight for us, just like for everyone, but I hope this is five dollars you can give. And if you have a son (or a daughter) who will be able to run a marathon one day if he wants...or play kick ball in middle school...or run with his friends in high school...if you know someone who will do these things...then please, show your thanks and give $5 to help someone who cannot.

Many, many thanks to you for your kindness.

My big boy and the silly boys

Who is this kid and when did he start looking so old?!?!


Now that you've looked at that picture, you might be wondering, "Why is Thomas in a crib?"  And "Why are there two other children in there with him?"

Today Thomas invited his neighborhood friend over to play.  As a quick sidenote, this is the one reason I don't want to move this weekend.  We are ready to be in a location that is more convenient to our life, but that little boy is a great friend of Thomas', and his mother is a great friend of mine (and there is another little boy who is about seven months younger than Parker).  We've just recently started having more playdates.  He lives on the street behind us, so his mom walks  behind the houses behind us and either J runs by the pond over to our house, or T runs over to theirs.  Since I grew up with so many friends around me, it's the one thing I really want for my children.  Hopefully we'll make new friends in our new neighborhood...and I also look forward to maintaining our friendship with our "old" neighborhood friends!

ANYWAY, so J came over today and the three boys were playing while I was trying to get some packing accomplished for our big move on Saturday.  Things were getting a bit quiet, and I heard them "reading" books aloud to each other.  Then I peaked in Parker's room, where there were, and saw all three of them in the crib.  They had thrown a bunch of books in there and climbed right in.


Funny little boys!

First day of school for Parker!

Today was Parker's first official day of "school"!


He will be going two mornings a week and as I mentioned in a previous post, he has the same teacher(s) that Thomas had for his 2s class. I'm very happy about that.

Parker was a bit nervous about school this morning, but his big brother kept trying to assure him that he was going to have fun.


He was, however, excited about using his bookbag. I think he was so happy because now he has one like his big brother!




As I said, he was a bit skeptical about school and told me more than once that he didn't want to go. But he didn't start crying as soon as he saw his teachers (as he did at the school's open house on Saturday!). I walked him in and we checked everything out together. I tried introducing him to a few of his new friends, and when he started getting a little fussy, I decided it was time to go. He cried and wailed, but I quickly left.

When I returned, he was full of joy to see me. That moment is something I must capture on video because it makes me so happy to see him so thrilled to see me. I know it won't be long before he doesn't want to leave school, just like Thomas! His teacher told me that he had a great day. Apparently every time he started to get a bit upset, the teachers reminded him that I would give him a lollipop if he was good and didn't cry (and it worked!).

We'll see how things continue, but I think his first day was a success!

First day of school!

Today Thomas started the first day of his 4s class. He's at the same school where he has been for the past two years, and he was quite excited about starting his four-day 4s class.

Parker, on the other hand, is apparently pretending he is only one, so he doesn't have to go to school (tomorrow). :)

This picture looks about right...Thomas can't contain his excitement and Parker...well, not so much.


Thomas loves school. I think he likes the "playing" part better than the learning part, but hopefully he will learn this year that school is really more for education, not recreation (and he'll be okay with that). Don't get me wrong, he loves learning new things, but what he really loves is playtime. He is, after all, four years old.

This year there are nearly 20 children in his class. I was a bit alarmed at the large class size, but his teacher seems great and I've heard nothing but glowing reviews.

As for his friends, he was a bit sad to know that one of his best friends would not be in his class this year. Last year he and two other boys were the Three Musketeers of their class. They didn't do anything without the other two. Even though one of the boys is not in his class, the first thing Thomas told me about class was that he saw H (the third of the musketeers) on the playground. He was so happy about that.

I hope that Thomas enjoys school this year and learns all he needs to know to prepare him for kindergarten. I also hope and pray that his love for school will wear off on his brother. This summer, Thomas went to camp for three separate weeks (at his school). Parker went one week for two mornings and another week for three mornings. The last of the five days he cried the entire morning. I'm not overly hopeful about his first day tomorrow, but I hope he surprises me. His teacher was Thomas' 2s teacher.

Of course I think back to Thomas' first day of his 2s class. He cried and screamed with many other children. And today, he ran into his class and I had to go over to him and ask him to tell me goodbye. The boy loves school.

Oh, and interesting fact... In his 2s class, he was one of two Thomases (Thomas M and our T). Then last year he was again one of two Thomases (Thomas W - his best bud). Well, this year, all three Thomases are in this same class!

Love is...

Your children. Being married has taught me so much about love, but nothing can teach you more than becoming a parent. I would do anything for my children. Anything.

Case in point, yesterday was my birthday. Trey had his Air Force (reserves) weekend, so I decided to spend my birthday taking my boys to the water park (which is something they love, but I find utterly exhausting).

And as if that wasn't enough, on the way home Parker, out of nowhere, became physically ill. It was not fun for anyone. This continued for most of the afternoon (my poor car took the worst of it, I believe), but by dinner he was begging for food that I wouldn't give him (that broke my heart).

I finally went to sleep around 11:45 and at midnight I was awakened by Parker's cries. He had been awakened by the thunder. I tried to talk him into going back to sleep, but it was not working. I couldn't take him in our bed since he had been sick. So I offered him the next best thing I could do. So I slept on the floor next to his crib all night long.

I don't think I'd sleep on the floor for anyone but those whom I love most. It truly must be love. :)

Oh, and he's feeling better and I am looking forward to sleeping the night away in the comfort of my bed.

Baby steps

Well, in the middle of selling our house and trying desperately (and not with much luck) to find someplace to live SOON, I am finding no energy or time to blog. But tonight I did take the first step toward blogging again. I downloaded pictures off the camera. Baby steps, people.

In doing so, I found my new favorite picture of Parker:



Not to be left out, of the ones I downloaded, here's the best of Thomas:

They both are very into the water this summer...in all forms.

In good news, we have a contract on our house and it looks like things will go through (knock on wood!). But what that means is that we have to find a place to live in the next few weeks and the pickings are quite slim, and getting slimmer by the second it seems. We are planning to rent for awhile until we are ready to buy and find the perfect house.

In the next few weeks we should be moving and the boys will be starting school. It is going to be crazy, but hopefully at some point, I'll find some time to reflect back on the summer and share it on this blog!