Too Cute Not To Share

Ok, the kids have been obsessed with football ever since the big UT/Alabama game. I can't imagine why, since neither Frank nor I are big football buffs. In fact, we really don't give a fart about college ball or professional ball or basketball or ping-pong ball, for that matter, we're just not big on spectatorship, so it always amazes and befuddles me when my kids actually want to watch a game. Well, no, I guess it doesn't amaze me so much from Nicholas, because he hangs out with my dad and brother a lot, and they like football, but I've never really understood the appeal. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Anyhow, so we recently bought the boys a couple of foam footballs from the cheapie section at Target, and now all the kids are obsessed with football! So, they've been playing a game of backyard football, of sorts, all morning (well, they've been using the kitchen and their bedroom) and it's just really cute! Nicholas and Leila, for the amount of time that they were on the same team, decided that their team was the Bobcats (go, Uncle Ren!). They're switching teams after every play, and just a few minutes ago I heard Isabel say to Nicholas, "Can I be your quarterbacker?" They're even keeping score, although it varies quite a bit due to the team-hopping. It seems, however, that since Nicholas is in charge of organizing this game, he gets to score the most points!

How cute is that?!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Princess!

Yesterday, though I can scarcely believe it, my little Leila turned SIX!

You're so grown up now, Leila, which is often a problem because you're so independent that you don't see any reason why you should have to ask permission to do things, or do things you've been asked to do. It's simultaneously endearing and infuriating, but it's also one of the reasons that I love you so, so much! You've got your own mind, and you have no doubt in that mind that you can do whatever it is you want to do, and as you grow up you're going to plow down anyone who gets in your way - which is a quality I greatly admire in you! If you could just please stop trying to plow ME down...all I want is for you to brush your teeth and go to bed and use good manners...please!

You're such a beautiful little girl, Leila, and so big! When you were a baby and toddler, you were so tiny and didn't grow or gain weight as quickly as other kids your age, and I spent countless hours worrying and plotting all sorts of schemes to get you to gain weight, and nothing worked.

And then, when you turned five, all of a sudden you were completely caught up to your peers! You've always been a step (or a few) ahead of the rest, developmentally, and now you're just as big as they are, too.

You're my little princess, my little grown-up, but most importantly, you're just my little girl and I love you!

Happy, happy, happiest of all birthdays to you, my precious Leila!

Where To Begin??

Where do I begin?

Hmm, well, before I begin, let me just forewarn you all that I'm in a hell of a bad mood, so if I sound a little pissy, well, that's why.

So!

I guess I'll start where I left off, which was right around the start of the Christmas holidays. I didn't end up taking Leila to the Wildflower center, because it was just too much at the end of the day, BUT I did decide which flower to focus on for her science project - daisies! Of course, daisies, since she just started Daisy Girl Scouts! Aren't I a genius?!

Anyhow, moving on, the holiday break from school has been great because I was just DYING, getting up so early to get the kids off to school every day, and then not even getting any rest before it was time to go pick them up! Not that I'm exactly thrilled to start it all up again, but at least this time I won't have the stress of never knowing whether or not I'll be guilt-tripped into babysitting when I kinda don't want to but feel obligated to do so...*ahem*...anyway!

Like I said, it was great not having to get up early every day, but my holidays were pretty stressful, which more or less canceled out most of the rest I should have been getting.

Let me explain; if I remember correctly, it was back in...May?...when I had it out with my mother-in-law over...well, never mind, I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't appreciate me publishing it on my blog, because he doesn't quite understand that I'm no Dooce, so I won't go into all the gory details (sorry! But, hey, message me on Facebook and I'll be more than happy to spill it - privately!), but the feud continues thus far, which made it really hard to have any kind of holiday plans with my husband, as a family, because his mother and I are not on friendly terms, and I refuse to go to her house. So, I figured my husband would ditch me in favor of the usual Christmas eve deal at his mom's, and I made plans to spend Christmas eve with my bestest friend. Well, it turned out that I was wrong! In fact, Frank and I ended up getting a little snippy with each other because apparently he had planned not to spend more than an hour or so at his mom's house on Christmas eve, so that he could come home and spend the holiday with me! I should have been touched, but instead I was kind of irritated because he didn't tell me this until the last minute, and then he expected me to cancel my plans to hang out with my bestest girlfriend. So, we modified our plans to include Frank, and very nearly didn't end up spending Christmas eve together at all, which would have been a disaster for me because Frank ended up not leaving his mom's Christmas eve festivities until around 2am. So much for spending Christmas eve with me...!

And it's not that I expected him to ditch his family gathering to sit at home and sulk with me, because I'm not that kind of bitchy wife who hates her in-laws and expects her husband to choose between his family and me. But I have to admit, not so deep down inside, I really, really would like it if he would make plans with me first and his mom second LIKE ANY OTHER NORMAL ADULT MAN WHO'S A HUSBAND AND A FATHER!

Ok, I'm over that rant. Oh, yeah, except, I'm NOT, because he turned around and did it to me again for New Years eve (should all these 'eves' be capitalized?). So, I'm not above admitting that I've been feeling pretty funky lately, what with the disappointing holidays and the fact that Frank and I are in the worst place, financially, that we've ever been in, and oh, yeah, I was not going to talk about our financial problems here because I just don't want to talk about it. In fact, I'm not going to say anything more than that, because the truth is that I don't want to talk about it. I just don't. I can't. But I did want to throw that out there, because I wanted to let you know why I haven't felt much like blogging lately, so you weren't out there thinking I just dropped off the face of the Earth.

And you know what else? I did not take a single holiday picture this year. Not one. No Santa pictures, no tree or opening presents pictures, no family dinner pictures. None. For one thing, the kids never cooperate and the pictures never come out the way I had hoped and I always end up feeling frustrated and disappointed over them, and for another thing, I just didn't have it in me this year. I wasn't anticipating enjoying the holidays, so I didn't particularly feel like documenting all that lack of joy.

Not that I didn't enjoy the holidays as far as the kids go, because I did. I DID enjoy watching the kids unwrap their presents and having fun with their toys and clothes (yes, my kids like clothes, the weirdos), and we were very blessed to have family (and strangers) who care enough about us and our kids to supplement what little Frank and I were able to give our kids for Christmas, so that the kids, at least, didn't need to know just how meager our holidays could have been. But as for pictures, well, I just wasn't feeling it this year. I'm sure you understand.

SO! How were YOUR holidays?

An Experiment In Experiments

Actually, it's more of an experiment in projects, as in science fair projects. The experiment being to see how well I can orchestrate three kids doing projects for the science fair!

The kids' school is holding a science fair and they're all going to participate! I'm excited, and I think they are, too, even though they have no idea what this is all about. They've already got their topics selected and approved by their teachers, and this week they need to do some initial research because they need to hand that in by Friday the 18th (? don't have a calendar in front of me).

Their topics are:

Nicholas - Weather

Frankie - Red Eye Tree Frogs

Leila - Flowers

So! Now I've got to get them reading and browsing the internet (with assistance and supervision, of course!) for relevant information. At this age, they're not expected to do an experiment or invention; they're really only expected to prepare a demonstration or presentation on the topic they're investigating. They've also got to present their topic in Q&A format, so I've got to get them thinking of a question about their topic that they can answer in the form of a presentation of their topic. For example, Frankie's question can be something along the lines of, "How do you care for red eye tree frogs as pets?". Then they can organize their research however they like onto a poster board or tri-fold presentation board.

Cool, huh?!?!

So, Saturday evening I'm going to take Leila (well, the whole family) to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for a little inspiration. It's a great night to go, because Saturday and Sunday they're doing luminations from 6pm - 9pm, and the cost of admission is only a donation of 2 non-perishable items for their food drive! If I remember correctly, they're also having live music and some other...attractions. (Check out the link, I forget what all they have going on, but it should be good.)

I guess we'll be busier than usual over this holiday break! Speaking of busy, this weekend is my mom's annual cookie decorating party, and it sounds like it should be a good one! According to my mom's blog, "everyone's coming", so that's exciting! I hope by "everyone", she means my sister and her brood, and all the cousins we have around town! This year I helped my mom bake some of the cookies - I think she let me off easy, because she supplied me with a few rolls of Pilsbury sugar cookie dough. Hmm, or maybe she doesn't have much confidence in my culinary abilities...? No, I'm kidding, I'm pretty sure she uses the rolls for the plain round ones. Anyhow, the cookies are not the point - the point is the decorating process, and thank goodness it's happening at her house and not mine!

Ok, well, with that said, I believe I am done! Have a great weekend!

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!!

MY MOM'S GOT A BLOG! MY MOM'S GOT A BLOG!

HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!

Go check out the recap of my grandfather's 90th birthday celebration:

http://thinkinwonderinboutlifeandotherstuff.blogspot.com/

It's a brand-spankin' new blog, so it's still in the first couple of posts, but my mom's a hip-happenin' lady so the joint'll be swingin' in no time!

(love you, Mom!)

In other news...hmm...where to begin...?? I guess I'll start most recently and work my way backward:

Nicholas just broke his nose on Friday, saw his doctor on Monday, who sent us over to the ENT on Tuesday, and had a minor surgery to correct it earlier today.

That's the shorty story. If you FB, check out the unabridged version there. It's been relatively minor, but that didn't prevent it from turning the start of the Thanksgiving holiday into more of a circus than I bargained for!

Actually, I guess that's about the most exciting news I have. I've been delayed in updating you about Nicholas' work with the reading specialist at school four days a week, plus after school tutoring twice a week. He's been improving so much, it's amazing!

Oh, I DO have something else exciting to report: Leila and Girl Scouts! First of all, at our last Daisy meeting, she threw the mother of all temper tantrums and pretty much ruined the tail end of the meeting. One of the other mothers made a nice snippy little comment to me about it - how nice for you that your only child is such an angel! Mine would be, too, if she was my only one and I was in my forties! Ok, ok, that was mean, but really! No one person has true and absolute control of another person, so if you have a kid who doesn't misbehave, know that you're only partially responsible for that!

Anyhow, back to the point - which is that Leila's troop is going to sell cookies!! Woo-hoo!! So come January, I expect each and every one of you to set aside a few bucks (however much they cost now) and buy at least one box of cookies from her because she's cute (when she's not screaming) and you love her!...please?

No, really, Leila's very excited about selling cookies, and I doubt I'll actually have to drum up much business on her behalf, because, whatever else she may be, she's pretty darn tenacious and independent, and I'm pretty sure she'll march right up and ask everyone she meets to buy some cookies!

(but do email or call me if you want to buy from her)

Also, Happy Thanksgiving A Day Early! I have wonderful plans, and I hope you all do, too! And if you don't, come on over to my place in the evening and eat, drink and be merry with me and my best girl friend!

(ok, that's all. really.)

Strange Dream, Part 2

Now, before you start getting all confused, wondering how you managed to miss Part 1 of this mysterious dream; you didn't. I never posted a Part 1, because, until last night, I had completely forgotten that I had even dreamed Part 1. But last night, I dreamed Part 2, and when I woke up, I thought, "Wow, it's been forever since I had that dream! How could my brain fathom a sequel to a dream I had forgotten I'd had?!"

But indeed it did. Here's how it went;

A long time ago, I had this dream. I can't remember how long ago it was, only that it was some elusive time frame that I can only classify as "a long time ago". Anyhow, in this dream (scratch that, I CAN recall that the dream took place in my current apartment, meaning that it either had to have taken place no earlier than June, or that I had one of those spine-tingling ESP dreams...again), I was at home when I got a call from an adoption agency, wanting me to receive a child being put up for adoption, and care for him until the adoptive parents arrived to pick him up. So, I did. The mother arrived at my door, carrying a child of about 1 year. She appeared to be in her early-mid twenties, and, as far as I could tell, actively involved in raising and caring for her child. The little boy was holding onto her as normally as any one-year-old being carried on his mother's hip would hold on. She gave me a few of his personal effects, blanket, binky, I forget what else (either a bottle or a sippy cup, I believe), and gave me the run-down on when he had last slept and eaten, what he was able to eat, when he liked to have his pacifier, etc.

The next thing I knew, I was alone in the house with this beautiful boy, who was distressed at being in a strange place with a strange person, without his mother. As far as I can remember, she didn't behave any differently than if she had merely been taking him to the babysitter. I tried to comfort him, but he didn't seem discernibly comforted. Understandable. I gave him some milk in his...sippy cup? bottle?, I don't remember, which he drank, but was still upset. I tried putting him to sleep, but he got right back up as soon as I thought he was asleep. Soon after, Frank came home, and I told him the whole story. He felt incredibly sad for the baby. Again, soon after, the adoptive parents showed up, and that was pretty much the end of Part 1.

As for Part 2, which I dreamed last night, Part 2 begins in the Walgreens near my house, where I happen to meet a woman with an adorable baby boy. We strike up a conversation, and after a while, we realize that she is the adoptive mom to the little boy that I cared for...however long ago. It obviously hasn't been incredibly long, since the baby looks more or less the same, only slightly older. We're both very happy to see each other again, and even discover that we each have older children attending the same school! So, we make plans to attend a school function together the next day - she even offers to pick me up so we can carpool! At which point, we part ways, and I realize that I have to go pick up the kids from my mom's house so that they can come with us to the festival (or whatever it is) the next day.

When I woke up, I knew this was perfect blog material - I mean, when does something like that ever happen?! Have any of YOU ever had a crazy dream experience like that? Please tell me if you have - I don't wanna be the only crazy one out there!

In Honor of Veterans Day

Well, I don't have a speech prepared! I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Veterans Day, and to remind all to say a quick prayer for our country's veterans today, and to give a word of thanks to any you may meet along the course of your day (or week, or any time, really)! Got a parent or grandparent who's a veteran? Give 'em a call and thank them for their service to our country! (No, really, give 'em a call - I'll wait!)

Here's my favorite Veteran, my Papa Gus, who served in World War II, and whose namesake is my son, Nicholas Gustavo Pablo:

...ok, now that you're back (you DID call, didn't you?):

Did any of you know that the original observance of Veterans Day began as a tribute to World War I veterans, called "Armistice Day"? Check out this link to learn how it evolved from that to the present day Veterans Day that honors all veterans of all wars, from all branches of the military.

On that note (assuming that you read the part about the intention of creating a national holiday being that citizens would go forth and commemorate veterans), the kids' school put on a brief, but touching Veterans Day program this morning. Leila's class participated in a performance of the song "God Bless The USA". It brought tears to my eyes! I wish I could have gotten close enough to have gotten a good video; this picture of my patriotic cutie will have to do: