Summer Lovin', Had Me A Blast......

Don't you just love the movie Grease? Everytime I hear someone say summer, I automatically think of John Travolta hitting that high note at the end of the song. Sad, but true. I actually get that same cringing feeling about summer that I do about that note..........

BUT...Isaac is thoroughly enjoying his summer. We have him enrolled in tumbling/gymnastics and swimming. He seems to really enjoy tumbling. Swimming starts in July and I think he will love it. So far this summer Daddy has been on doubles and mommy is on reduced hours. Isaac's schedule is a little mixed up and I think it's put him in a funk. I am sick and therefore NOT wanting to go outside in the 100 degree/90% humidity hell. He is not the type of child to want to be inside...at all. Siiiiighhhhhhhh.....

So here I am. It's 8 o'clock in morning and I'm sitting on the front porch. Pretty sure it's pouring down rain and still 95 degrees. Bllleeeehhhh. But Isaac's happy though. Further proof that he might be better off as an only child. Although we did have an indepth conversation about how babies are born. He seems to think that he needs and/or already has a sister. My dear sweet friend Charli is about two months pregnant and after explaining this to Isaac (there will be no big belly yet, Isaac, the baby is tiny...but it's growing!), I was met with a blank stare and a tiny voice asking, "How will her baby get out when it's big?". So I did what any good mother would do and I lied. Well, not lie, but omitted. I showed him my c-section scar and I told him the story of his birth. Somehow the child is not traumatized and my story seemed to be sufficient enough to ease his.....uneasiness. Ask Isaac someday how babies get out. He mumbles something about babies big heads, sewing mommies tummy, and gluing stuff back together. Not quite how I told the story, but it will do....

:)

Like, WHOA.

My sweet innocent THREE year old and I were in the driveway. I look in the rear view mirror only to see him deep in thought. Being the kind, loving mother that I am, I quickly turn around and see what is troubling my son. He looks me right in the eye and says......

"Mom, did you know that there is no fence around Mexico?! Crazy, huh. They don't even make him wear leashes."

Uhhhhhhhhh.....WHAT?! Don't know who taught him that, but the first thing I thought is that they better thank the Lord above that it was repeated somewhere that only I heard it. Then I realized that he must have thought Mexico was a dog's name.

Oooohhhh, to see the world through a child's eyes is amazing. And comical.

My Green Thumb Astounds Even Me.

WOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wish I could express in blog form how excited I am. You've read about my expertise on plant life here. Well, I'm a changed woman!!! A plant. has. bloomed. ON. MY. PROPERTY!!!!!!

See, this is the life I come from. Lush. Green. Amazing. A plethora of plant life.

And this is my single victory:

One small step for me, a huge leap for plantkind.

Desperate Times Call For.....Desperate Looking Dogs.

I pride myself on being somewhat thrifty. I don't buy clothes for any of us unless they are on sale. I shop the sale ads. Times are tough and as far as I'm concerned they are only going to get tougher. My hours at work have been cut and I'm working anywhere between 24-32 hours. It's not fun, but we are learning to have fun with my extra time. Brandon and I decided to not turn the air on until June 1st. There were some nasty hot days in there, but it wasn't too bad. We've had some other adjustments and >gasp< we've survived!!! But.....our dogs might not.

Brandon had the bright idea to buy dog clippers. I totally agree that with two dogs, bathing and grooming them ourselves would be soooo much cheaper. But....and it's a BIG but....WE HAVE A SHIH-TZU!!!! Those dogs are not meant to be owner-groomed unless that owner is a professional.

I set out to the garage to begin the grooming. Of course it was me. Brandon bought the clippers so I could do it. Patience is not one of his greatest virtues...

Chewy is a sweet cuddly dog. When you come at him with a giant vibrating razor, not so much. He went catatonic. I am a woman. I do not shave my head. I don't actually KNOW the best way to use a pair of clippers. I brushed the dog and thought I would just shave the darn thing. Nope. Sweet tiny Chewy has a coat that resembles an Alaskan Grizzly bear. I couldn't find his skin. Like, TWO hours went by and I just kept shaving him. The hair was never ending. Then I got to his legs. Yikes. That is all I am going to say.

The highlight of that morning was shaving my dog's butt. Yes, his butt. Have you ever seen 'The Great Outdoors'? One of the best John Candy movies ever made. Rent it. Rent it only so you can see the legendary bear. With the bald butt. Why you ask? Because that is what my dear Chewy looks like. I had some clipper issues and removed the guard. It was me vs. some tangles and my patience had run thin. Chewy now runs around with a nice 3/4" haircut and a bald ass. It's amazing. I have never laughed so hard...by myself in the garage.

There is no photo evidence of this morning for my dog's sake.

Curse You, Humidity!!!!!

We just got back from Arizona, and don't get me wrong...it's HOT, but there is a SMIDGE of truth to the whole "it's a dry heat" crap. This Kansas humidity is ridiculous. It's only 83 outside, but my hair is sticking to the back of my neck two minutes after I go outside.

Cousin Morgan's wedding was beyond beautiful and the location was amazing. Isaac was DARLING in his tux. I stepped out of my box and wore a red dress. For those of you who know me well, pick up your jaw. I know, it's a dress and LORD it's red. To be quite honest I felt like an leprechaun in a tutu. People may point and say 'how cute!' when they walk by, but all the poor leprechaun can think about is how ridiculous it must look. I know, I know, I'm crazy (but you now have an image of a leprechaun in a red dress in your head and I bet it's hilarious!). I'm glad I wore it and I hope to get a chance to wear it again. Brandon looked great. It's been 5 years since our wedding and 5 years since I saw him in a tux. It will probably be another 5 years until I see him in another. Very handsome though.

Now that we are back home, it's back to working on the house. Or NOT working on the house, which is what I've been doing lately. It's such a mess and Isaac is not so good on the cleaning up after himself thing. In fact, he's on the other end of the cleaning spectrum. He's a filth tornado. Oh well. Rather be happy and dirty than clean and grumpy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

One Small Voice

I sat in the bleachers last night, watching Isaac sing and dance, and then I realized what I was doing. I totally get it now. I used to get so irritated in high school when parents would scream from the bleachers...it never failed, I would always be sitting in front of a parent and their screams and cheers would echo in my head all night. That was me last night. At Webster School's Spring Sing, I was that parent. I screamed. I laughed. I cheered. I clapped. I whooped. And I didn't care who I bothered. My son could see me cheering and he was just as proud as I was. TEARS!!!

They sang many songs, all but one had me laughing my bobo off. 'One Small Voice' still has me in tears. Basically it goes something like 'I am one small voice but I am strong. I will sing my song....' It was one of those moments out of a movie for me. Very surreal. I know I am the one who is supposed to make Isaac feel as though he can do anything, but that little man make me feel as though I could do anything.

Okay, cheesy mom stuff aside. My son can ROCK. Every single one of his teacher aide's came up to me last night and told me that my son can rock like no other. They love watching him play air guitar and he obviously holds nothing back at school. I'm thrilled that his wonderful little personality comes through.

If you click on the picture, it will make it BIG. I mean BIG.

After his concert debut, we went out for chicken nuggets and ice cream to celebrate. It brought back a LOT of memories for me. My parents would ALWAYS take us kiddos out to celebrate after a concert. I played the flute (not just ANY flute, my grandmother's flute) in middle school, and I remember my mom and dad taking me out after every concert (usually a Wendy's Frosty...right, mom?). It was very cool to do the same with my son.

Jealous much?

Happy Cinco de Mayo! The East Family celebrated by having lunch at El Maguey's. I even got a little festive and told Isaac that his enchilada was 'delicioso' - I know, I know....I'm wild.

Isaac told me at lunch that he had a present to give me. They made Mother's Day presents and sent them home today (Isaac only goes to school on Monday's and Tuesday's). This is my very first Mother's Day present from Isaac and THIS mommy couldn't be more proud to show it off. It's BIG and BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL!!!!

The first picture is me wearing it at work. I want Isaac to look back and see that I DID wear it to work - I even walked into management's offices and showed it off. I think it looks fabulous with my zebra shirt...

Witty, witty child.

This week has been full of Isaac-isms.

"I feel bad for Snoopy, mom. I think he's really just misunderstood."
"I can't hear you, mommy. You're breaking up" (By the way...I was standing in front of him, telling him to clean his room)
"Those dishes are not for me. They are for my customers."
"I have told you two times already and I don't want to tell you again, mom."
"I already answered that mom and the answer has not changed."
"I'm not able to help, mom. I have a hole in my leg. I mean, my eye. Or my ankle."
"I kind of want a baby sister, but I don't want her to live at my house. And she can't ever play with my toys. And no drool. That's so gross."

I don't think I need to tell you that he's going to keep me on my toes for a very, very long time.

For The Isaac That May Care In 20 Years....

I started this blog as a way to keep family updated with all of Isaac's adventures, but it will be so much fun to look back through this website with Isaac in a few years. I just looked back at the first few posts and Isaac has grown so much. So, Isaac, here are a few of the things you love:

First and foremost, your imaginary friends. I couldn't catch one of them on camera...they're pretty quick. But this little cartoon made me laugh...we don't leave the house without at least one friend.

Strawberries, blueberries, oranges, bananas, pineapples...you name it, you love it.

All beef hot dogs. Your mommy is weird and won't eat regular hot dogs, so she's passing down her quirks to you. Sorry, kid. Eat up knowing you are only consuming one animal at a time...later you will thank me.

Isaac, you are so intelligent. From the time you turned 3, you could turn it on, go to the internet, and click on the link you wanted. Now, you can beat your daddy on internet games. GO COMPUTER NERDS!!! It's getting to the point now that you can fix something on the computer when it gives you an error.

Oh, lime sherbet, how we love you. Orange sherbet, you are loved too, but just not as much as lime.

You are a soccer genius. All of your hereditary clumsiness just disappears the second you get a soccer ball in front of you. I hope you keep it up and I get to cheer you on from the sidelines for many years to come.

So. Stinking. Cute. You run around catching the bad guys and I love watching you talk into your imaginary radio-watch. Seeing you save the world gives this mommy warm fuzzies.

Trucks, trucks, trucks. More trucks. OH wait...more trucks. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.

Shapes and colors in any way shape and form. I am so happy to see that you love art. You are already drawing very detailed people and can write your name. You favorite color is pink and it kills your father. I die laughing everytime you tell someone you want a pink dog. Then I try and think of ways to give you a pink dog.

Last, and DEFINITELY not least, trains. I count 15 just from where I'm sitting and I know there is 5x that many in your room. You know them all by name and care for them greatly. You know when one is missing and will force mommy and daddy out into the backyard to search for Percy at 10pm. And we do it.

SO many things give you joy, Isaac. You find beauty in everything and everyone is your friend. Nothing makes me happier than to see you being such a happy little boy. You gotta WHOLE lotta love, kiddo.

XOXOXO,

Your Momma.

Quote of the Day

You know, I pride myself on being able to have adult conversations with children. They have amazing minds and far too often, adults underestimate what they are capable of. Two words sentences and hand motions lessen a child's confidence and they just live up to the standards and expectations that adults have set for them. I like to see Isaac carry this on to social settings and watch the amazement on other people's faces when my son speaks to them confidently and articulately.

That being said, I am the mother of a 3-year-old little boy. It is inevitable that he will say the most inappropriate things at the worst possible time. For instance, his word last week was 'boobies'. Don't ask me, I know not where he learned it. The last few weeks it was 'friggin' and yes, he got that from me. Real classy, I know. I have since dropped that from my vocabulary. But, I do my best to let Isaac express himself in every other way, shape and form besides the word 'friggin'.

This week, he has been a grump. He has been scolding Mom and Dad and getting onto us for a variety of things. For example, I was telling Brandon about my day and apparently Isaac had enough of it. Out of my wee little babe's mouth I heard,

"Keep it to yourself, mom".

Other kids? Probably would have talked right over their parents and just interrupted. Not mine. He has to make you feel two inches tall first. Aaaahhh, I love the monster I have created.

The Zoooooooooo

Well, I'm lazy. Sorry, I promised these, like, a week ago. Isaac did NOT like the zoo. At all. I think he had a problem with seeing the animals but not touching them. He INSISTED on spending the entire day with his 'girlfriend' Taylor. He's crazy about her and had so much fun. (I should clarify that she's a 'girlfriend' because she's a girl and she's a friend...that's Isaac's explanation...) Thank goodness her daddy was a good sport and stuck with us most of the day. And Taylor is just a DOLL and since Isaac was being grumpy, I really enjoyed watching her have fun! I rode the bus up there with the kids and daddy followed us.

This little guy was adorable. I think the cat enjoyed watching the kids more than the kids enjoyed watching the cat!

In the gorilla cave:

Mommy's real smart. Let's look into the sun guys!

All in all, it was a good day. Isaac got bit by a goose - not as bad as it sounds. After the zoo, we had a full day in Wichita running around. We were all exhausted and couldn't wait to get to bed.

How NOT To Eat a Peanut.

We sit down for lunch yesterday, and my sweet tiny boy grabs a peanut and says, "I know how to eat one of these!". He promptly chomps down on the peanut, shell and all, and starts chewing. Mom and Dad are in shock until Mommy finally screams, "SPIT IT OUT!!!!".

Scared the hell out of him, but that could NOT have tasted good.

I know, I know. You want photo-proof. Of course I have it.

I mentioned on the last post that we had a Zoo Day. I'm not leaving you hanging on those pictures, I just thought I'd put more thought and effort into that post - so it might take a day to get those up.

After the zoo, we went out for a quick bite to eat and it was there, at Logan's Roadhouse, that my dear son ate the whole peanut. After teaching him how to shell a peanut, he decided those suckers were hard to open and he quit.

The field trip was yesterday and there were no preschool fights until the field trip ended. Brandon has to have the last word. On anything. But see, so does Isaac. I am literally sitting in a booth at Logan's, wedging myself between a 3 year old little boy and a 27 year old man. It's hysterical. I actually had to separate them and put them on different sides of the table. There was silence and lots of dirty looks from Isaac, until Brandon couldn't take it anymore and instigated something else. I have to tell Isaac to be the bigger person and keep quiet - and Brandon sits over on the other side of the booth, just beaming.

The boys eventually called a truce and made up. Until next time.

The Lobster.

Aww, isn't Isaac's pet lobster cute? Wait, you can't see it? OH....That's because it's an imaginary lobster. Yup. My child has 3 puppies, 3 cats, a lobster, a hamster, and a grandma. All imaginary.

We went on a field trip yesterday to the zoo with Isaac's class. His teacher, Miss Amy, asked me about his 'friends'. I am completely comfortable with his imaginary companions, as is his teacher. His friends go with him to school and his teachers love it.

Every week it's someone or something new - last week he added the Grandma, the hamster and the lobster. Next week, who knows....but I look forward to meeting them!

No Nap + Isaac + Mommy = This.

Every birthday since Isaac was a tiny bebe, I get a picture with us lovin' on each other. He never looks directly at ANY camera and rarely does he smile - it's usually a grimace. This birthday, however, he was a RIOT!!! I had so much fun yesterday and could not have asked for a better way to celebrate my 25th birthday.