Day 50

Act like you know what you're talking about and people will listen.

Day 45

Phew. Busy week. Trying to get a house ready to put on the market is a daunting task when your house is old and in need of constant TLC. We will press on in this adventure and try to stay energized.

In the meantime life goes on after the big birthday weekend. Cooper is studying "matter" at school and created a rap with some of his spelling words for the week.


Day 45 Life Lesson: Matter matters and so do you.

Birthday Extravaganza Weekend

Lots of fun, sugar, games and family time this weekend. My brother, Tim, celebrated his birthday on Saturday, Coop turned (gulp) 10 on Sunday and Cam turned 5 today. We, of course, celebrated with my sister-in-law on Friday. So, it is a big birthday week for us. Sometimes it goes super well and other times it's a little much. By this afternoon the boys were getting a little crazy but for the most part we had a really great weekend. Cooper's favorite gift was the wad of cash he got from my parents and the 3- ring binder we gave him. Yes, I said, "3-ring binder."  Cameron was thrilled to get Monopoly Crazy Cash and a Cars 2 track. We played games all day on Sunday including Battleship which I haven't played since I was a kid. It was refreshing to see that we have (so far) raised three sons who don't need toys with batteries to have a good time.

We had a preschool party with Cam at his school today. The brothers didn't have school so they joined us for games, arts and crafts, music and pancakes. Yes, pancakes. My parent's came to make chocolate chip silver dollar pancakes for the class. It was the second annual event and the pancakes did not disappoint. They made about 75 pancakes. Yum-O!

We are painting Cooper's room so he bunked with his brothers in their room all weekend. It made for some late nights but it was fun to hear the giggling brother bonding time. Maybe he should just stay there permanently. On second thought, no.

Day 42

We had the absolute pleasure of spending the day with our new family member, Brydon, and his mom. It is my sister-in-law's birthday today. 2 weeks ago she had her first child, a beautiful son. It was an honor to spend the day with her and Brydon. We trekked off to Janesville, MN, early this morning. Cam loved having me and everyone else all to himself. We had a fun lunch with grandma and grandpa and Auntie Karen at Applebees in Mankato. Cam took good care of Brydon all day. I hope we can do it again.

Day 42 Life Lesson: Babies make you smile...  unless you are the one up with them all night.

Day 41

Thursday. We made it over the hump. Phew...

Kyle's conference day. Eeks. To my surprise, he is doing quite well, both academically and behaviorally. Wow, good for him. I must admit I asked Mrs. G. if he might be cheating. Not so. Apparently, he is both smart and well-behaved. I think his teacher might have a lot to do with his success. They make a good team.

We flew from Goodview to Jefferson for pizza and a fun night of sorts. There were math and language arts activities shared by PIP students from WSU. PIP stands for Progress in something or something in Progress. It was actually really fun. I enjoy conversing with teachers-to-be from my alma mater.

Cam and I got a haircut today. It was an interesting little adventure.

I got some extra sunshine in my day. A mid-afternoon walk around the lake with Snaps. The fresh air and conversation were good for my spirit. Thanks Snaps! I appreciate you.


Day 41 Life Lesson: See the best... in all three sons.

Day 40

Wednesday. Hump Day. Can we get over the hump? I think so. Kyle and I have some clashes in the early morning hours before we go to the bus stop. Not every day but some days. Today he shut his alarm off and fell back to sleep. Oops. I didn't wake him up. Cooper was concerned about his brother getting to school so I told him to go wake him up but charge him a dollar. Cooper smiled. I think he liked that idea. Kyle and his weary self came into the kitchen to check the time. 15 minutes behind schedule. Yikes. I believe it's good to learn these lessons now when they don't really matter. I didn't even yell.

Okay, I did yell later about a missing coat. I knew where it was but Kyle didn't. This is a mom thing, right? I told him where it was but he insisted it wasn't there so I yelled really loud and made a mean face. It's not really a nice way to start the day - for anyone. On the way to the bus stop we didn't talk about it but I gave him a big side squeeze and told him I loved him. I'll try not to yell tomorrow.


Day 40 Life Lesson: Yelling hurts the ears and the heart.

Day 39

Cameron has a new friend. I was cleaning the basement over the weekend and the boys showed up and started rummaging. Cam found a bag of stuffed animals. He has named his newly discovered friend, "Boo Boo." Cam takes him everywhere. Yes, Boo Boo is buckled up for safety. 

The boys had some cash to spend so off we went to Target. In this picture they are deciding which roll of tape they want to buy. Yeah, that's right, TAPE. It's their favorite toy. Cam is carrying his favorite "murse", his man purse.


Day 39 Life Lesson: You can't pretend the day away.