Memories of a Previous Life

Tomorrow night our church is having a ladies' banquet and I am decorating one of the tables. Each table at the banquet is supposed to have a different theme. So a few weeks ago I went to Party City to scope out what kind of decorations were out there and decide on a theme. I ended up choosing a tropical theme because I thought I could have a lot of fun with it. Monday I realized that the banquet was coming up in just a few days, so I better get it together and buy my decorations! I loaded up the boys and a king-size bag of M&Ms to keep them in line while I was doing my shopping. Child-rearing is so simple if you use the "candy solves all problems" method. They were perfect little chocolate-covered angels while I chose and paid for my items! Many of you know that I enjoy floral arranging. I haven't done it in so long though! But I figured I could manage to put together a centerpiece of tropical flowers without too much trouble. Tropical flowers aren't too hard to find around here, if you know where to look. Luckily I used to work at Rice Epicurean (an upscale supermarket) in the floral department, and I remembered that they always had tropical flowers on hand. Rich folk must like keeping orchids and birds of paradise in their homes I guess. Anyway, upon arriving to the store, I was reminded of the time I spent working there and all the arrangements I made. It really took me back! The florist gave me advice on which flowers to buy to make a beautiful tropical arrangement. I couldn't remember if I had ever given advice to customers on similar issues or not. I'm sure I didn't know half as much as this lady did! I used branches from our Sago palm as filler. I think it turned out alright, and I hope it will look good with the rest of my decorations!

Take Time To...

Smell the flowers!

Pick the flowers! (Well, maybe just one.)

Say hello to a friend!

Summer Shoes!

I've been telling Coleman we would get him some summer shoes soon. That means flip flops! We went to The Children's Place intending to spend $5 on 2 pairs of flip flops, but ended up buying the boys about 16 articles of summer clothing. How fun! (A few hours later I filled up my gas tank for about the same cost. Depressing.) I will admit I love buying clothes, even if they aren't for me. Coleman was walking outside in his new flip flops today and said, "Some little boy might say, 'What's that little boy wearing on his feet?' And his mommy might say, 'They are flip flops.' " That boy cracks me up!


Another boy that cracks me up is Brian. Last night I asked if he'd trim one branch that was hanging down too low. Two hours later it looked like Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Taking Out All the Trees had been filmed in our front yard. I told him he was like a toddler who found the scissors and did a number on his hair! He thought that was pretty funny and wanted me to post a picture. He's going to cut and bundle all the branches and then climb on the roof of the garage and finish off that tree closest to the house later. Please pray for us.


Yesterday we joined a group of friends at an area splash park. These places are great. The kids get to play in the water, and Mommy doesn't even have to put on a swim suit or mess up her 'do! Coleman had a blast, but Spence sat in my lap the entire time. I'm sure he'll warm up to the water soon and start splashing away.

First Astros Game

Monday night Brian took Coleman to his first Astro's game. There's a train at Minute Maid Park that goes when the Astro's hit a home run. Coleman said it went 30 times! I told him that was a really high scoring game! Sounds like they had a fun daddy-son outing. Coleman and Spence are blessed to have such a wonderful daddy!

I'm having such a good time at my first Astro's game!

No Kermit, It IS Easy Being Green!

I used to think Earth Day and all this "going green" stuff was for tree-hugging hippies who, while wearing their Birkenstocks and tye-died tees, slashed the tires on gas-guzzling SUVs and waved their picket signs in protest of everything in cities across America. Now I have to admit, I am trying to become greener! I don't just feel that it is my responsibility to try to ensure my kids' futures, but as a Christian I am accountable to God for how I treat His creation. Of course how I treat people is most important, but I know He wants me to value all His creation. I wanted to find a verse to validate this, so I went to Biblegateway.com. This is the verse of the day, I'm sure since it is Earth Day.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Here are some ideas for being more environmentally friendly. Some of these I already do, and some I plan to start doing.

• Recycle plastic bottles, coke cans, newspapers, junk mail, and other paper products
• Turn off the lights when leaving a room
• Use fluorescent light bulbs
• Stop using plastic shopping bags (I bought reusable shopping bags from Kroger and plan to start using these in place of plastic grocery bags.)
• Use less water when brushing teeth
• Decide what you want from the fridge before opening the door
• Start composting
• Use cloth diapers (YEAH RIGHT!!! That's just not going to happen!)

If you have any good ideas to add, please leave a comment! I know there are lots of easy things to do to be environmentally friendly. Happy Earth Day!

Where Else Can You...

Crawl on a frog?


Pull an elephant's ear?


Watch a tiger take a dip?



Sit in an eagle's nest?


Stand 5 feet away from a half zebra/half giraffe?


Spy on a 1700 lb toddler's play time?


And stare in awe at God's marvelous imagination?


So glad we got that zoo membership!

Party Till a Monkey Gets Decapitated!

This afternoon I took Spence to a birthday party at a park. The theme was Curious George, complete with a Curious George pinata!

Enjoying a slice of pizza

The birthday boy taking a swing at the pinata

Spence liked watching the pinata action, but he wanted no part of it!

He did, however, pick up some candy once the pinata was cracked.

Must be traumatic for one and two year olds to see their favorite monkey character decapitated!

Post-Puke Park Play

Somewhere in a suburb of Houston tonight there is a woman describing to her husband the most horrible mother she ever met. The mother watched her son puke up his guts, then told him not to breathe on the other kids, and sent him on his way to play. Yeah, that was me. Sounds pretty bad if I describe it that way. Here's what really happened. When Coleman woke up from his nap, he complained of a sore throat. I asked if he wanted to stay home, or go to the park like I had promised we would do if he took a good rest. He wanted to go to the park. When we got there he acted a little funny, and before we made it across the field to the playground, he stopped and threw up the entire contents of his tummy. Spence had already run over and began playing, and in a minute the other mom came over to see if I needed anything. We started talking, and I explained that Coleman didn't feel warm, so maybe it was something he ate. He had some chocolate milk at ChicFilA, and I didn't even think of looking at the date on it. Hopefully that was the culprit. She added that her kids had had that reaction after drinking some bad milk before too. Coleman insisted that he wanted to go play, and we had driven about 10 minutes to get to this park, so I hated to pull two screaming kids back to the car and try to stuff them in against their will. Especially one that might decide to puke on me. I told him not to get near the other kids and just play with Spence. He jumped and climbed and slid and swung, all with a funny grimace on his face, but never puked again. The other mom and I had a good time chatting, and I don't think she was anxious about her kids catching some bug from my little puker. He was keeping his distance. She even let me hold her 14 month old while she went and got a plastic bag from her car for Coleman to use as a barf bag on the way home if needed. How sweet! The barf bag was not needed, but Coleman did throw up once again at home.

OK, Coleman is sick, this is my chance to shine! Point that camera at me and shoot away!

Here I come! Please don't let me fall.

This is the best smile I can muster.

More pictures of me? This must be a record!

Remember, if you need to puke, open the bag and aim.

My Name Is Gray With Yellow Polka Dots Shirt

As we were pulling into our parking space at the gym, Coleman noticed a woman and her little boy walking across the parking lot. He said, with a very determined voice, "I'm going to play with that white boy." I was a little surprised that he would be identifying someone by his race, so I asked him who he was going to play with. He replied, "That boy in the white shirt." Oh, that's better. The trend of identifying unknown kids by the color of their shirts continued this afternoon at the park. Coleman asked, "Where is Orange Boy?" This time I was not ignorant of his naming method and was able to reply, "He's over there." Probably looking for some more territory to mark. He had already pulled down his pants and peed on the area of the playground where we were. We're going to work on asking kids their names. We also had a little discussion about how it's a good thing not to go potty in your underwear, but at the same time, let Mommy know if we're out and you need to go. I'll find a spot for you to go, even if it's behind a bush. Maybe it's just me, but that seems a little better than under the slide.

This Looks Like a Job for Superman!

Wouldn't it be great if Mommies had super powers? I know I could have used them yesterday. I'm on the committee that is searching for our new Children's Minister and volunteered to call a reference to inquire about a candidate. We had a hard time getting in contact with each other, but finally had a chance to talk on the phone yesterday afternoon. Of course the moment I got on the phone things here started going crazy. Spence has discovered where the Keebler Fudge Stripes are kept in the pantry. He goes to the pantry, points, and cries until he gets one. He started doing this the moment the phone rang. Then Coleman, who was sitting at the computer watching Superman videos on Youtube, kept wanting different videos. He doesn't have the fine motor skills to navigate the mouse and click on the video he wants, so that task falls on me. And not just any video will do. He has to look through the long string of videos and point out the one he thinks he wants to watch. And then once it's started, he feels he has the right to change his mind and make me start a different one. Not one that's ten minutes long. One that's one minute and 52 seconds, so in one minute and 52 seconds, he's yelling for another one again. Under normal circumstances I would not stuff cookie after cookie into my 17 month old's face and give into my 3 year old's demands concerning Youtube videos, but I was just trying to keep them calm and quiet so I could record this lady's answers to my questions so I could present them to our committee. I wish I would have had an extra hand to record the whole scenario. I'm sure it would have been quite comical to watch myself running from the pantry with a Fudge Stripe to the computer to start up a new video, back to my notes to write down her response to my question. After it was all over and things here had settled down I was walking by the computer where Coleman was still watching a Superman video. I overheard Superman say, "This looks like a job for Superman." I was thinking, "Yeah, where were you when you were needed here?"

Naturally Wild, Just Like Our Boys!

Yesterday was one of those perfect days we dream of here in Southeast Texas. Blue skies, cool breeze, low humidity, mild temperatures. A perfect day to go to the zoo! So that's what we did. This was Spence's first trip and only Coleman's second. He hadn't been since he was 11 months old, so it was like a first visit for him also. We bought a family membership so we can go back as much as we want all year long. Here are some pictures from the day.

When we took Coleman to the zoo for the first time, he was not walking yet. I think Spence enjoyed his first trip more because he could hop up on the fence and see the animals, then jump down and run to the next thing!

Checking out the flamingos!

Monkey see, monkey do. Look at us climb on the fence like little monkeys!

There are brushes to use in the petting zoo. We had a strong suspicion that these animals had been heavily sedated. If not, they were trained to put up with a lot.

Can you spread your arms as wide as an eagle's wings?

What a fun day at the zoo!

Procrastination

Last week when I picked up Coleman from school there was a worksheet in his backpack that said "send back." His first homework! Of course it laid on the counter all week, and tonight after dinner I figured we better do it since he goes back to school tomorrow (he just goes one day a week). The directions were to count the objects, then circle the correct number. So we did the first one together. He counted two birds, then found the number two. He wasn't sure why he needed to circle the two, so I explained that it was so his teacher would know that he knew the right answer. Surprisingly, he just circled it and there was no further questioning. I had to get up and do something, and when I returned he had already correctly answered the next two! I was so proud of my little man. When he was done I made another worksheet for him and he completed it. He only had trouble identifying the number six. That's a stupid number anyway. Hopefully he won't be as big of a procrastinator as his Daddy and me! That reminds me... I should be planning my music lessons for tomorrow.

Coleman working on his homework. Hurry! It's due tomorrow!

This is our new coffee table. The old one met a gruesome end when Coleman decided to lift out the top piece of glass and shove it onto the floor, causing it to shatter. Though we were upset with him and he was sent to his room and punished for the offense, I was glad we could finally get a new coffee table. I got the old one in 1997 from a junky antique store in Longview for $30. Actually, I'm sure my mom paid for it. Thanks Mom! I never thought I'd have it for 11 years though! That thing withstood moving from Longview, to Morton, to Louisiana Tech, back to Morton, to Houston where it moved from apartment, to condo, to house, to house. It was one of those ugly pieces of furniture that just won't die. One that serves it's purpose, and you just can't justify buying a new one with two little ones driving their cars and banging around. So I secretly said a little "thank you" to Coleman the Destroyer. And no, this one does not have a glass top, just a handy little shelf to hide on.

A Career in Modeling?

Striking a pose in his Lightning McQueen underwear

After nap today the new undies were fresh out of the dryer and ready to be tried out. I wasn't too worried, because when I let him out of his room at 3:30 from his "rest time" (this term is used very loosely and is open to interpretation) his pull-up was filled up with poop. I figured I was safe from having to clean up a big mess today. I told him, "This is the last poop in your pants. Once you start wearing big boy underwear you can't do that anymore." I almost cried when I put the underwear on him. He looked so grown up! He made it from 3:30 to 8:00 (bathtime) with no accidents! He was pretty upset that he had to wear a pull-up to bed, but Mommy's just not up for getting out of bed in the middle of the night and stripping his bed and cleaning up a big mess.

He wore these flippers in the bath last night, but they are a tad too small. We couldn't locate the snorkel. Spence looks concerned to be a part of this family.

It's your call. Could we have the next male underwear model on our hands?

Wal-Mart Shopping List

• Gym clothes
• Superman underwear
• Carpet stain remover

Is it sad that I was so excited to go to Wal-Mart and buy gym clothes? No? Is it sad that I was excited just thinking about it yesterday? Probably. I've decided it doesn't take much to get me excited. Last week I saw a commercial that informed me that Whataburger has their bar-b-que cheddar burger back for a limited time only! I was so excited that I wanted to rush out and get one that instant, but I didn't. I decided I could wait until Wednesday when the boys were at school and I could eat my burger and drink my coke in peace. If you don't have Whataburgers where you live, I'm so sorry. They have the best cokes in the world. Their burgers are good too. I had to take a few years off from eating there once I moved away from home because this was my dad's favorite restaurant and we went there OFTEN. I'll just leave it at that. But I really appreciate a good Whataburger now. And according to my dad, not all Whataburgers are good. When they lived outside of Dallas, the Whataburger close to them was bad. The one in their home town now was bad, but is under new management and seems to be improving. Our Whataburger and the one at Bissonet and Highway 59 in Houston are the best in the area. Enough on Whataburgers, though. My typing was just interrupted by a 3 year old with a plan. This is what he said:

I'm going to make you a deal. If I be really quiet and not bother you if you want to take a nap, then you can't make me go upstairs. Is it a deal?

Hardly! That's the deal Daddy made yesterday when he was home with Coleman after church while I had a meeting. I need that brief time each day when the boys are tucked away in their rooms and I can get some things done, or get nothing at all done, by myself. Sorry pal.

On to the second item on my list: Superman underwear. No, potty training is not going any better than has been, but we thought maybe the excitement of getting big boy underwear would be a motivator. But it might not be, hence the third item on my shopping list. And of course Wal-Mart was out of Superman underwear. I thought Coleman would be upset, but he seemed pretty into the Lightning McQueen and Thomas the Train underwear. So we now have 6 pairs of underwear. Today's goal is not to dirty all 6 and drain the contents of the bottle of carpet stain remover. Are my goals too lofty???

Since I squealed on Brian about making a deal with our child so he could take a nap, I must tell you all something sweet that Brian did for me. Church is usually over about 11:45 and my meeting was to start at 2:00. We live about 25 minutes from church, so I wouldn't have much time at home before turning around and driving back for my meeting. We went to church in two cars, and Brian brought the boys home while I shopped until time for my meeting. I can't even tell you how much I needed a little me time. Thank you Brian! And you worked hard this week, so you deserved a nap also, even if you had to make a deal with a 3 year old to get it!

More Potty Woes

There are certain places you work hard to avoid. Fast food bathrooms are at the top of that list. If it's just me and I have to go, no problem, I can hold my breath for quite some time. But if the kids are in tow, then forget about it. It's like an outing within an outing to lug all the junk in and keep the touching of disgustingness to a minimum. Coleman has developed a condition where he steps one foot into a fast food restaurant and poops his pants. I initially thought it was just triggered by McDonald's, but today it happened at Burger King. I've tried warning him ahead of time that the fast food bathroom is stinky and that it is very difficult to change his pull-up standing by the sink. He's too big to put on the germ infested changing table that pulls out from the wall, and if we go into the stall I have to have one hand free to swat Spence away from the toilet. I think the public restroom is meant for more of a one-on-one defense than a zone. Oh well. Halleluia to whoever invented the travel size Purell hand sanitizer. And until they can both go in the toilet, I guess you'll find me changing poopies in the bathroom of McDonald's (and Burger King, and ChicFilA...).

Gotta love a good poop story. But if you don't, here's a conversation Coleman and I had on the way home from a playdate today. I had just spotted a green Mazda 626 like I had before we got the Civic.

Mommy: See that green car Coleman? Mommy used to have one just like it.
Coleman: See that silver car? I used to have one of those when I was a Daddy. I used to have 10 cars when I was a Daddy.
Mommy: Oh. Your Daddy is working on that. He's up to three!

Love ya Brian! But seriously, stop buying cars.

Three Generations of Piks

This past weekend Grandpa and Uncle Brent came to visit. Grandpa just celebrated a birthday, and his present from Grandma was a trip to come see us and tickets for him, Brian, and Brent to go to the Sweet 16 basketball tournament. We had so much fun with them here. Brian got to drive them around in his new car and I got a break from pushing the tire swing! Now Coleman is really wanting to go to Montana. We took Uncle Brent to the airport Monday and Coleman wanted to hop on a plane and fly to Montana right then! We'll probably be going in a few months. He'll just have to wait.

Yesterday Coleman wanted to play a game that he had played with Grandpa. I had to play Grandpa's part, so I sat in the middle of the floor and Coleman ran around me. I was supposed to stick out my arm and try to grab him when he came around. Apparently not as easy as Grandpa made it look! I kept getting told that I wasn't doing it like Grandpa and what I needed to do so it would be like when he played with Grandpa. So Grandpa, the boys had a great time playing with you! You'll have to teach me how to play the right way next time I see you!

It's hard to get three generations to smile at the same time.

Grandma sent some yummy candy. If I remember correctly it was red...

Sunday after church the guys had to run off to their little basketball tournament, while the boys and I enjoyed a picnic at the park with our Sunday School friends.

I'm up here like a big boy!

Coleman and Eric

Wyatt and Coleman

Keep reading! I have two posts today!