One of a Kind

How do I describe this boy right now.  Active.  Cute.  Funny.  So smart. 

All of the above.  He is just one of those kids you want to be around.  Where Ava and Sam have always been a little reserved in most situations, Jack is not.  He comes in and makes his presence known.  He is waving and telling everyone, "hi."

He is talking so much now, and you forget how cute that early speech is.  He says some words all day - tractor, cup, mommy, football.

He loves Ava!  Sam is his buddy and they play (and fight) a lot more than he does with Ava.  But he loves her!

He has got a little bit (or a lot) of a temper.  Our kids didn't have much of a chance with that Sicilian and Lebanese blood in there.  They also talk with their hands A LOT.

Did I mention cute?  Always smiling, laughing, making faces.  So many people stop me when I am out to tell me how cute he is.

This is a pretty good capture of Jack's personality.  He has this new smile - or maybe that is his pirate face?  And he will (and does quite frequently) pick up any kind of bug outside.  He especially loves a spider.  This is some kind of punishment for me to have all three of my kids like bugs.  I don't know what I have done to deserve this.  And if you zoom in (or look real closely) you will see a nice little granddaddy long leg in his hand.  Lovely.

Sick Days

One of the hardest things about having kids - sick days.  I have always said I would have so many kids if they didn't get sick.  But they do.

So.. this past week Sam and Jack have been under the weather.  They both get pretty bad allergies which in turn leads to a bad cough.  If Sam's cough doesn't get treated quickly, it can lead to pneumonia - which we thought we were dealing with on Saturday.

After a trip to the after care clinic, many battles with the inhaler, and several sleepless nights for both of us, I think we have made it through the worst of it.

I promise to be back with better posts this week. 

Here is to healthy kids!

Favorite Things: Bryan/College Station

So..  obviously I didn't do a great job keeping up last week.  We headed out of town on Friday for a very fast trip to James' hometown of  Bryan, Texas.  We attended a memorial for James' grandmother on Saturday and had a nice visit with family.  We also took a little tour of Kyle Field so Sam could see where the Aggies play, and we  caught a glimpse of the Heisman - so cool!

So I thought in honor of our trip I would share a couple of my favorite things about James' hometown:

Freebirds.  Probably the original make your own burrito joint (I really have no idea).  It is like our Moe's but way, way better!

 

Chicken Oil Company - pretty popular in College Station.  We try to visit here or Koppe Bridge every visit.  They have great (and very greasy) burgers.

 

 

It is really fun to go watch a Texas A&M game in College Station.  I think they have a lot of great traditions, some which I find honestly a bit confusing - there is a lot of singing and swaying and kissing.    Anyway, the best thing about the game (in my opinion) is the band.  It gives me chill bumps every single time.  

 

 

And for a little fashion in honor of the Aggies - maroon is in this year and it is everywhere.  I keep seeing these maroon skinny jeans, and I think I love them.

 

And plaid is in too.  I have my eyes on this shirt from Forever 21 to wear under a grey t-shirt on layered with boots.  Or I could wear it exactly like the picture with my high waisted short shorts and my crop top.  I think the kids would love that!

 

 

Happy Monday!

Hog Heaven (Not Exactly)!

James and I had a weekend with no kids!!  It has been a long time coming.

We met some of James' friends (and fellow Aggies) down in Fayetteville on Friday afternoon.  We started off the weekend with a little Pat Green.  So much fun!

The next day we got an early start to get to the stadium for the game that night.  Our friends wanted to see the stadium and hang out before the game started.  Well, the theme of the day was rain and more rain.  We parked at the stadium to tailgate and maybe even hang out downtown. 

We got about halfway through the parking lot and the sky opened up, and the rain did not stop for hours.  Oh well, best laid plans!

We hung out under several overhangs - doesn't that sound exciting?  We were great hosts!  And we finally made it into the stadium 3 hours before the game started.  At least our seats were covered. 

It was a bad hair day for sure.  As for the football, we (the Arkansas fans in the crowd) were not realistically expecting a win.  At least those of us with some sense.  I was just hoping for something a little less embarrassing than last year.  And even though the outcome wasn't one we wanted, I thought the Razorbacks played a great game, and I have high hopes for them.

I was definitely proud to be a Razorback fan that night. 

(I already mentioned bad hair day, right?)

Happy Places

The other night I was in Sam's room talking with him before night time.  He was telling me he couldn't sleep because his brain was working too hard.  For the record, I am so exhausted lately I have completely forgotten what that feels like.  Literally the second my head hits the pillow I am out. 

Anyway, I was trying to help him.  I asked him to think of something nice  that made him really happy - that might help his brain.  I was giving him ideas.  Can you think of superheroes? No.  What about cars?  No.  Um, Transformers? No.  I gave up and asked him to tell me what he could think of.  He said, "you."

I am tearing up a little writing about it.  It was such a sincere moment.  It was one of the kindest things that anyone has said to me but also one of the most humbling.  I hope that I give him good things to think about as he goes to sleep, and I am sure most days I do.  But there are those days that I am tired and I rush through dinner,  bath, stories, etc. because I want a minute to myself.  There are those times when I lose my cool and say something that I don't mean to the people I love most in the world.  We all have those days and moments, but those words form my Sam put things in perspective for me.

I am so glad to be his happy place - he is mine too.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

I always think I need to write down some of the funny things that Sam and Ava say.  And I never do.  I never want to forget their innocent little minds and the things that come out of their mouths.

Ava has said some funny things lately, and I thought I would share.

A couple weeks ago Ava started a new dance school.  When I picked her up the first day I wanted to hear all about class.  Ava was SO excited!  She said, "Mom I have the most exciting news.  There are big boys in dance.  Really big boys.  I read about that in a book one time, but I never thought that would happen to me." 

Last week I picked Ava up from school and we were talking about what she had for lunch that day.  She said (in an exasperated voice), "Mom, we had Domino's pizza for lunch.  But it is very confusing.  There are not actually dominoes on the pizza.  It is pepperoni.  I think they call pepperoni dominoes."

And finally a couple weeks ago I was dropping Ava off at school.  She comes up to the front of the truck so I can give her hugs and kisses before she gets out.  This particular day I was giving a tight squeeze and Ava said, "Mom you are hurting my nuts."  What??  She said, "(sigh) Mom, you are hurting my nuts.  That is another word for booty.  Daniel told me."  And then I got the look like I don't know anything.  Then the principal opened the door and Ava was gone for the day!

Horsin' Around

We had Sam's 5th birthday party at a local ranch here in Conway.  I have never had a birthday party anywhere than our house, so I was pretty excited about this one! 

We invited Sam's closest friends and our family, and we just spent the afternoon riding horses and eating cupcakes.

 

 

Sam came with me to decorate our space.  It was the two of us and such a sweet, precious time.  He was SO excited!

 



After our chores were through, Sam spent the rest of our time perched on this gate watching the horses.

 

 

Time to ride.  We did not invite a whole lot of kids, so each one got to ride as much as he or she wanted.  This, of course, was the highlight of the party.

 After riding, the owner took us back to the stalls to visit with the other horses.  The kids are standing on some contraption used to massage the horses.  It made them vibrate, and they were all giggling pretty hard after this one.

 

 

Sam and his buddies--



 

It was the perfect party for our little cowboy.