Family Updates

I know I haven't blogged in a long time but I have a few excuses for that. First, our computer got a nasty virus and we had to take it in to get fixed and was without it for nearly a week. Second, we just haven't been doing that many interesting things that are blog-worthy. So I'm just going to do a boring, picutre-less update on what has been going on around here lately.

I am happy to say that this is the last week that I will have to be a single mother. Scott's 2 week stints up north for training have been tough on all of us. The boys ask for him every morning and when they talk to him on the phone they always tell him he has to come home. I try to keep us extra busy so they don't notice his absence so much, but there's always downtime and there's always the inevitable tear or two when I explain that Daddy isn't coming home tonight. On the bright side of this situation though, is that I get to spend a lot of time with my boys. I really appreciate having a break once in a while, but it's nice to have this special bonding time with them as well. Then we'll put Pumpkin to be a little earlier than Mister and he gets to stay up and just hang out with me by himself. He seems to enjoy having Pumpkin-free time with me. :)  I'm glad this is all for the short-term, though. I don't think I'm cut out to be a single mom permanently. And the boys are in for a big treat this weekend. Scott will come home on Friday and whisk the boys off for our church's annual Fathers-and-Sons overnight campout. They will be so thrilled to see Scott again and especially to go camping together. It'll be interesting to see how Pumpkin does sleeping in a sleeping bag though..... Glad Scott's doing that by himself the first time around.

The boys are doing really well. Mister is getting to be so grown up. It's really fun to watch but makes me feel sad at the same time. He's still really loving, always giving hugs and kisses and wanting to hold my hand or sit on my lap. I'm just trying to soak it all in and engrave it in my memory because I know that pretty soon he'll be too "cool" for that and instead of being happy to see me and giving me sweet hugs and kisses he'll tell me not to embarrass him. He loves to play outside, it doesn't matter if it's raining or hailing, he just loves to be outdoors. He loves to help in the garden (which we haven't planted yet, but he's really eager to get started), ride his bike, play at the park and play fetch with the dogs.

Mister's getting to a fun age where I can count on him to be well-behaved in public. It's so nice to be able to run errands or go to a restaurant and only really worry about Pumpkin instead of having them both be crazy at the same time. I know it's hard to be an older sibling for him sometimes though. He's really well-behaved but Pumpkin tries to do the same things he does (but in a much less well-behaved manner) and we're already telling him that he needs to set a good example for Pumpkin. I remember getting that line when I was younger and I hated it. But it's true, younger siblings copycat everything their older siblings do, but even if the older one is being good, the little one isn't. As an example, we went to eat at a restaurant last week and Mister finished first. He wanted to come stand on the outside of the booth, right next to me. Well then Pumpkin of course wanted to get outside the booth too. But did he stand quietly next to me like his brother was? Nope, of course not. Of course, he's only 2, so I don't expect the same level of behavior, but he was off like a little terror down the aisle. So we had to ask Mister to get back in the booth so Pumpkin wouldn't think it was ok to be out too. Even though Mister was being a good boy, Pumpkin took it to another level when trying to have the freedom Mister had.

Pumpkin is a smart little thing. He really loves to learn and soaks up the things we teach him like a sponge. He LOVES letters, numbers and shapes. He loves colors too, but never gets them right. :) And it's funny how he knows all his letter sounds, but still mispronounces so many words. One funny one is my friend Jami's name. He calls her "Mamie". I'll sound it out with him slowly "Jayyy miiii" and he'll repeat it perfectly. Then I'll ask him what her name is and he says "Mamie" again. Or I'll say "J-J-Jami" and he'll repeat "J-J-Mamie". It's really funny. He can't wait to go to school like Mister. Every time we take Mister to preschool he gets so excited, then so sad when he can't stay too. Every time. One thing that I absolutely adore about Pumpkin is how good he is at sharing his things. If Mister comes up and tries to take something from him he gets all riled up and won't give it up. But if Mister turns around two seconds later and asks him if he'll share it with him (the same thing he just refused to give up) 9 times out of 10 he'll hand it over happily. It's so sweet to see. I always tell Mister that he should learn from Pumpkin's example here. Mister is not as naturally inclined to share his things with Pumpkin. Maybe it's an older sibling thing.....I didn't like sharing much either when I was younger (oh who am I kidding, I still don't love it) but my little brother Kiel was always so generous with his things with me. I remember my mom telling me that he was always thinking of me when they'd go to the store without me and wanting to bring me home some sort of treat or present and I'd do well to learn from his example. It's good for an older sibling to be humbled by their younger sibling sometimes. :) But I digress.....

I'm doing really well myself. Just trying to be the best mommy I can be to my two gorgeous boys and giving them all the love, attention (and yes, discipline) they deserve. I'm really looking forward to warm weather and all our fun upcoming trips we have coming up this summer. We better enjoy these because once Scott starts his agency (he's opening a State Farm agency here in town on October 1st) we won't be taking any family vacations for a LONG time. Hopefully all the hard work he puts in during the first few years will pay off and we'll be able to do more things after that. There will be a lot of sacrifices involved but I know it'll be worth it in the end.

And that's pretty much it. We're not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we're happy and we are trying to create a fun and memorable childhood for our boys even on a shoestring budget. And living in the Pacific Northwest makes that task easier since there are so many natural wonders to explore, most of them for free. Now if only the rain would stop.....it's May already.....

I heard a quote recently that I loved and am trying to live by:

"Happiness doesn't come from getting what you don't have. It comes from recognizing and appreciating what you already have."