Alex's "Graduation"

Well, sort of, since he is going back to preschool next year, just a different one. But his school called it Appreciation Day. I had some flash forward moments though, sitting in the gym at the community center, seeing all the "congrats grad" signs up, waiting for the kids to march in. I almost expected to see an 18 year old Alex walking in in a cap and gown, LOL. But, thank goodness I have many more years before that happens. And considering how choked up I got at this little ceremony, I am going to need 14 years to learn how to hold myself together for his high school graduation. :-) But anyway, it was all very cute. The kids marched in, sang a few songs (one about frogs, another about planting flowers, and a few others) and then their names were called and they got a little certificate and a goody bag with some little toys. Afterwards there was a whole spread of food and the kids got to runa round and play. Overall it was very sweet, and a good time was had by all.

Now, over the summer Alex is taking a swimming class and a week long, half day karate camp.

Oh, and the pics here are in backwards order, the bottom ones are actually the first chronologically. :-)

Three happy kids eating cupcakes!

Alex getting his certificate from his teacher

The whole class lined up before they sang their songs

Alex walking into the gym, don't ya love the hands in the pockets. :-P

Spot the Toddler

Now that Mackenzie is sleeping in a toddler bed she has the ability to get up and wander her room during nap/bed time. Well, this results in her destroying her room everytime I put her down to sleep. The really cute thing is that she also will pull her blanket off the bed and curl up on it on the floor to sleep, versus climbing back into her bed. On monday I went into her room and found her still asleep, in the middle of her mess.

Finally pictures!!

Ok, so finally I managed to get a new camera, a Sony Powershot. So, I had to try it out today. It has been ridiculously hot this weekend, so we have tried to spend short bursts of time outside. But, Timm did managed to get the pool taken down (we are just tired of the upkeep, so away it goes, making room for a new deck. :-) ) and underneath was a big sand pit that the boys immedietly dove into with shovels and dump trucks. Between that and Alex's new little fishing pole the boys have had a great weekend. Also, my mom came up for a few days, which has been wonderful, and the kids are always thrilled to have Gaga around. :-)

Life's Blessings, at 4am.

WARNING! Philosophical blubbery coming up...LOL

So, here I sit, at about 4:30am. My wonderful husband is in the shower, I just finished packing his lunch and making his coffee and I sit down and take a look at my Women's Health magazine for a few moments when I read an article about a woman who chose to have a baby on her own, she was in her late 30s and had no serious relationship going and decided she wanted to be a mom. And I must say it really made me think. I am so amazingly blessed. Over the last week the boys have been crazy, the words "no" "I don't want to" and "mine" have all been shouted across the house at least hundreds of times, fighting has been the course of the day. Needless to say by bedtime all my fight is worn out just in time for the bedtime battle of "I wanna sleep in your bed!" More than once I have thought about the going price of children on the gypsy market (LOL). But, then I read this article and the first emotion that went through me was pitty. I know the woman in the article was not looking for pitty, she was a happy single mom of a 3 year old. But how sad would it be to have to make the decision on whether or not to have children completely on your own, so have to do it in a sterile doctors office with people you barely know. I am blessed that I met the love of my life, my true soulmate at 19 years old! I wasn't looking for him, my life was going somewheres else entirely. My days were filled with college, friends, and family. But looked for or not, there he came and ever since that first e-mail 6 years ago my life has never been the same. My heart was transformed. And out of that amazing love story 3 children came, all beautiful gifts in their own ways to mold me into "mommy". And everyday I have with them is a blessing of the highest order. To be entrusted with their care by the Divine, to see them grow and learn everyday, and to be able to share them with an amazing man who has proved to be an excellent father and devoted husband creates feelings in me that can not be described by words.

In the end though you know what, the greatest lesson of all is that though they will test every limit you have and then find new ones to test. Though you will have your good days, and your bad days, and your "oh God can I start this day over!" days. Though the times will come when that appreciation turns to frustration. In the end I still have 3 amazing children, a loving husband, and a small family who I love more than life itself, who I would gladly lay my life on the line for. And it is that powerful love that is greatest gift that could ever be recieved or given.

Alex and Mackenzie check-ups

This morning both Alex and Mackenzie had their check-ups at the pediatrician. For Alex it was his 4 year check-up and Mackenzie her 18 month check-up. Thank to Gods my mom came with me! With all the tests and stuff they had Alex doing, I don't think I could have done it by myself and watched the other 2. In the end it all went very well. Alex is 31lbs and 39 inches tall, and Kenzie is about 23lbs (I don't remember the length, but she is in the 75th percentile for length). And both are developmentally right on track. They both had to get vaccines, Alex just had to get one shot and he was a real trooper! He was definitly scared, but didn't fight it at all. Mackenzie had to get 2 shots, and well she acted like an 18 month old getting 2 shots, but in the end she was fine. So, in the end I have 2 very healthy "normal" children, LOL.

Universal Preschool-Update

Today I took Alex to have some followup testing done by the pre-kindergarten teacher at his elementary school. And I must say, while he did a good job, he acted very wierd. Things I know he knows he refused to do for her, like identifying his letters and pointing out body parts. But, in the end it may have been a good thing because she said he definitly qualifies for the program next year! So, next school year he will be going to pre-k tues-fri, 8:15am-11:30am at his elementary school. I really liked the teacher too, she was young, and really seemed to interact well with Alex. She said they offer a bus to pick him up in the morning if I am interested, but I just don't think I am ready to put my baby on a bus, so I told her I have no problem driving him, LOL. And he gets the option to buy or bring his breakfast with him to eat at school, though if he eats at home he can just play while the other kids eat. In the end I think this is going to be great for him, and it gives me some security knowing that he is now going to be followed by the county, so if any learning issues come up they can be quickly dealt with.

On another note, Mackenzie is now out of her crib. For the last month or so she has been trying to climb out of it, and in the process gets her knees stuck between the slats, sometimes giving herself some pretty good bruses. So, on sunday the crib came down and she is now on her mattress on the floor until she gets used to it, then we will put a toddler bed in. So far, she has done wonderfully, no crying or fussing at all. Sometime we will hear her up playing after we put her to bed, but later when we go to check on her she is always asleep in her bed. It felt so wierd though, that crib has been up, constantly since I was 27 weeks pregnant with Alex (when we got it), it was wierd taking it apart and putting it away. But I am proud of her, she is growing up too fast. Plus, she is now really walking most of the time. Where did all my babies go!! LOL. :-)

Also, as a last aside, my faithful digital camera of 4 years kicked the bucket this last week, so hence why no pictures of the kids. But hopefully the beginning of May I will be getting a new one, if anyone has any recommendations for a good one that doesn't cost the GNP of a small country please let me know. :-)

My Brother, The Rockstar

Ok, So this has nothing to do with my kids, but I had to post this picture. It is a picture of my brother and his band he was in when he was in high school back in the early 90's. My brother is one of my best friends in the world, and in my opinion is one of the most awesome people ever (mostly because we can completely dork out together over our common interests like U2, Star Trek, physics theory, and other random fantasy and scifi things). My brother is the one on the left playing bass.

So, this one is for you Dude! I love you and am so proud of you and all that you are working towards. :-) Long live Lord Rhombus!!