Clearing the Rough

Jonah, your Dad took you to a football game on Friday night.  He says you loved it.  He says you got to play around with a bunch of kids on the field after the game.  He says he enjoyed every minute of it with you.  He was so proud that you got to experience that.  He was so proud of you.

I'm eventually going to install a hidden camera on your head to catch photos from such events that I am unable to attend.  Your Dad is lacking in that department.

He makes up for it in other ways though.

Which leads me to all the excitement from the rest of the weekend.  You know...Luke is gonna get really, really big.  He needs a place to roam and play. This weekend, you and your sister began to help us clear the rough and prepare for a fence.  At first, I felt really bad about this.  So much work on Fall Break?

But you didn't seem to mind.  In fact, you didn't want to stop.  It was a huge adventure.



You guys got along so well.



Gosh, who knew?  All this time, all I had to do was give you two a task...a mission...a common goal.  I'll be dang.  Who knew?

My love told you that you were in charge of Jesse.  When I joined you, you were quick to relay the news to me.  I believe you liked the responsibility.  Jesse just liked that you were paying her some attention.  Amazing.

"You guys are doing so great!  Dance for me!"



Ok, but no singing he says.



"I like to move it move it."



"Move it!"



I forgot kids.  This is hard work.  We got all these fallen trees from previous tornados and such to clean up.



Ok, so that's ok.  Have fun too.



"How many licks does it take to get to the center of this log?"  Fun predictions here.

Jonah, I had lots of ideas of what I wanted to do with you this week.  You have no idea.  I am coming to realize that just staying home and hanging out and helping us out wasn't a bad fall break for you.  Thank you for getting excited about that.  Thank you for treating your sister so well today.  Thank you for bringing so much joy to your Daddy's Friday night.  Thank you for reading to me tonight.  Thank you for using toothpaste tonight too.  Thank you in advance for not peeing on my toilet tomorrow.  (I know you can ring it buddy.)

Now, back to school tomorrow.  Sorry kiddo.  I love you.  You're still my best boy.

Fall Break

This is my boy since school started.

He's only in second grade.  When and why did it get so hard?  I'm pretty sure when I was in second grade that I just came home and ate a moon pie and played in the yard.

We will have moon pies, but we will have more work to do.  Daggumit.  But, we will not focus on a grade and we will not let the system tell us we are "gifted" or "slow" or "not this" or "a lot of that."  We are individuals, and we are all special and have strengths in certain areas.  It boils down to what gives us passion.  Anyway...

It's Fall Break and we haven't done any of this all week, and it's been so good.  I don't miss it.  I plan on completing the weekend with as much fun as possible.  It's my passion.

I'll share this with you soon.

Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger and Sorry Rocket Man

I feel really guilty.  My love really wanted a cheeseburger from our local Cheeseburger Bobby's this weekend, and we never made it there.  Then, he had to go out of town.  After he left, I was running errands with the kids all day today.  They were hungry.  They really wanted McDonald's.  I just couldn't force myself to go trough that drive thru line.  There will always be a time when I just have to have McDonald's fries, but today was not one of those times.

I'm sorry my love, but hello Cheeseburger Bobby's.  Oh, it's so good.  We also got that custard you have been wanting to try.  Oh, it's so good too.  I'm so, terribly sorry.

The kids were thinking of you and wanted to send you a funny picture.  So, here they are.

They miss you.  I do too.

Jesse sat at the tall bar table and didn't fall down!  I'm so proud of her.

And here's your boy. The kids are driving him crazy.  I think you were right when you said he hides under the ottoman to get some peace and quiet.  Poor buddy.  Just look at him.  That's pretty bad.

It also didn't help that he didn't get to go to Cheeseburger Bobby's.  He really needs you to come home.  He thinks you are the only person that gets him.

I'm totally going to find you and Luke sneaking off to Cheeseburger Bobby's next week!

That's OK.  I guess we deserve it.

Come home Rocket Man.  We love you.

The Truth about Cats and Dogs...and My Daughter

When we went to New York last fall, we went to FAO Schwarz and the Toys R Us in Times Square.  They are the best toy stores in the world....a dream for a little girl.  They have every Barbie and Princess you could possibly imagine.  They have dolls you would dream your whole entire childhood life about.  I was so excited for Jesse.  I couldn't wait to see what she chose to take home.

Everything caught her eye.  She started grabbing just about everything in the beginning.  But then, she saw something different.  There was a display.  You could hear him from a distance.  It sounded like barking.  What is that?

We went closer.

And there he was.  He was getting so much attention.  He is battery operated and barks and low and behold...

moves to all four legs and eventually does a flip all on his own.  He's a cute little thing.  She had to have him.

She has said this about every stuffed or toy dog we have ever seen.

She has loved him.  I took these pictures last weekend.  She took him with us last Sunday morning to practice baseball with Jonah.

It's remarkable actually.

And then came Luke.  He was a dream come true for all of us.  He was everything we could ask for.  He's protective and loyal and smart and loving.  He does not do flips...yet.

He has funny ears.  They were floppy at first, but now he is getting better at holding them up.  We do a cheer when we see him point them both towards the sky.

So far, he's been absolutely perfect.

He even gets along really well with our neighbor's pet.

Meet Lucky.

Luke and Lucky have touched noses, and I hope to eventually show you the proof.  I'm amazed at how well they get along.  Jesse loves Lucky too.

So, I think I have covered my bases.

Jesse loves dogs.

We got a dog.

Jesse loves cats too.

There's just this one thing...

After a series of back pricks last week and 12 shots on Monday, we have realized this.

Our sweet (sometimes sweet anyway) Jesse girl is...allergic to dogs, cats, mice, dust, red oak and ragweed.  You heard that right.  Allergic.  Don't faint Grandmommy.

The most surprising being dogs.

I don't know the answers.  It's not severe at all.  It's a concern.  We will take steps to minimize the effects.

I just can't let him go right now.  She loves him.  I have no plans to let him go...right now.  We'll see how it goes.

It's sort of like ice cream for me.  I'm not supposed to eat it.  But...what's life with no ice cream?  I just deal with it and go through Dairy Queen from time to time anyway.  I just think it is worth it.  Oh goodness.  I have a serious, serious weakness for Butterfinger Blizzards.  But anyway, I have a point, I think.

The doc said not to panic.  Not to do anything drastic.  That sounds like good advice that I plan on taking.  (That's about the only smart thing the doc said.)

Oh Jesse girl.  I'm sorry about this.  I hope it is something you grow out of.  You know what is so funny?  After your shots, I went to work and Daddy took you to Target for a prize.  You got two puppies in a purse.  You have just about every pet in a purse that Target sells.

We will have to freeze them to kill the dust mites in them.  That's what the doc said.  She actually told me to freeze your stuffed animals.

I'm going to have to buy footy, flannel pajamas for you and your icy, furry friends.

Good grief.  I love you my sweet allergic, dog loving angel.

Fall Ball

Here we go again.  It's been a full week of scrimmage games and practices.  Jonah's team is the Bulls this season.  They are preparing for the opening game next week.  It's going to be great.

It's hard seeing all the action when Jesse begs for the playground.  So, I make the decision to leave my boy in his coaches' hands and go let her do her thing.

After all, she's pretty dang supportive of him...hanging out at all his games like she does.



It's the least I could do.



Watching her is a great reward after a long day at work.



She sure is making it hard for me not to cry.



So is he.  He's grown so much since that first T-ball game.



It's going to be OK.  It's going to be a great season.

Funny how a crazy week alone with the kids doesn't seem to matter anymore.

Crazy how much I love them.

Crazy how after all these years, I still can't wait to see my love come home tomorrow.

Life is crazy, and it's good.