My little boy, Andrew, read a book to me tonight! Really read--not just recited the story from memory. I figured he would be able to read it based on the book's simple phonics and "sight words" that he already knows. Still, I was so amazed as I listened to him sound out some of the words and freely read others. I can't believe how grown up he is getting.
I love reading so much and still remember the day I figured out that I could put letter sounds together to read words. It may sound strange, but I've always looked forward to the day my kids would find the joy of reading on their own.
I'm one proud momma!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sometimes It's the Little Things
The boys are in bed, Matt is practicing his guitar, the dishes are washed, laundry still needs to be put away (but it always needs to be put away!), and I finally get to sit down and blog. I've been wanting to blog for several days but just haven't had the time or the energy.
Also, I felt like there wasn't much to share. But, as the boys ran outside to watch the street sweeper this afternoon, I realized that life is not a trip to
It is in these types of days that we find all the little treasures that make life what it is.
Here are just a few of the most recent treasures I've discovered... this is what life is:
Seeing so much of your husband when you look at your son.
Enjoying the oranges from your very own tree.
Witnessing a four-boy pile-up on the slide.
And another...
Falling asleep when ever, where ever.
Taking a break from playing to be in awe of the street sweeper.
Being allowed free admission to your 5-year-old's Bedroom Museum.
If you look closely, you can see the dinosaur section, the Egyptian section, the shell section and the insect section... what you don't see are the rocks in his bed, the pine cones on the floor (ouch!), and the Pirate Treasure in the closet.
So, this is life. Sometimes it's exciting. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it just is. God gave me this life and the people in it. I love it and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
One of My Favorite Places
Last Saturday my husband surprised me by announcing that we all ought to go up to the mountains. I was surprised because it's not usually in Matt's nature to be spontaneous like that. He is also not the outdoorsy type. So, I was very happy-- I thrive on spontaneity and I love the outdoors.
We agreed to take the boys to Palomar Mountain. When I was little, we used to spend every other weekend up there camping, hiking, and fishing. I love the place for its beauty and for the memories it stirs up in my mind.
We had so much fun! We walked around the pond where I used to catch and release blue gills. We even started out on the hike we used to do when I was little. We couldn't go as far as I would have liked because there are too many streams running through the trail this time of year.
Aside from the large burned out areas from the last wild fire, it's amazing how little the area has changed. It was almost surreal to ponder how I was bringing my children to the same place where I used to explore, find bugs, pick cattails, and climb rocks when I was their age.
The boys had tons of fun. And so did I! I think Andrew and I might even be able to convince Matt to go camping up there this summer. I'll keep you posted on that... that would be a real shocker!
We found this little place in Valley Center...
very cute inside and YUMMY French Fries!
very cute inside and YUMMY French Fries!
The bridge to Doane's Pond...
Some of the burned-out area...
see the clouds below?
see the clouds below?
Monday, March 3, 2008
If You Give a Mom a Day Off
This blog is written in the style of If You a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If you Take a Mouse to School, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff. We love these stories and I often realize how very much my life runs like the story-line of the characters.
This is really how my day went today...enjoy!
If you give a mom a day off, chances are she'll look around the house and realize it's been neglected far too long. So she'll decide to clean up. She'll make a list of things to do. After a few revisions to the list, she'll decide to start with the laundry.
So she will go into her boys' rooms to remove the sheets from their beds. While she is in her older boy's room, she'll notice that Hurricane Andrew blew through during the night. Since her boy is sick, she will start to pick up the mess.
As she picks up the mess, she might realize that the room would look much better with the dresser against "that" wall, the bookcase on the other side of the window, and the bed centered in the room. So, she will start to slide all the Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hotwheels, and Science Stuff out of the room and into the hallway. All the noise and commotion will bring the boys running into the room to see what's happening.
The boys will decide Mommy is more interesting to watch than the tree shredder a few door down so they'll stand in her way and offer suggestions. As they watch, she will attempt to move the ten-story Lego house out of the bedroom and into the hallway. Halfway through the process, the Lego house will come crashing down into tiny little pieces. This will make the older boy cry so she will remind him that she is the one who built it and promises to put it back together later. To make him stop crying, she will promise to make it even better than it was before.
Once the floor is cleared of all debris, she will start pulling the drawers out of the dresser in order to move it. When she moves the dresser, she will notice there are gems, mummies, dinosaurs, marbles and pirate money on the floor where the dresser used to be. So she will start to clean up the mess.
As she sorts the gems, mummies, etc., she might notice that many of the gems are really pieces of blacktop and nondescript rocks from the sandbox at school. So she will slyly separate those "gems" from the other stuff so she can throw them away when the boys aren't looking.
After the dresser is moved, she will be able to move the bed. After pulling the bed away from the wall, she will notice that there are even more treasures to clean up and "sort". Once that is taken care of, she will be able to move the bookcase.
Just before she moves the bookcase, she might notice that she will need to remove a shelf that is screwed into the wall where she wants the bookcase to go. So she will get one of her husband's screwdrivers and attempt to take out the screws holding the shelf in place.
She will discover that the people who lived in the house before used industrial-strength screws to attach things to walls. So she will try even harder. She will successfully remove two of the four screws but realizes the final two are not going to budge. So she will pull and the screws will come out of the wall, along with the drywall attached to them.
So she will go out to the garage to get the spackling compound. She will patch up the holes in the drywall and notice some other spots left by the screw-happy, previous owners. She will spackle those areas, also. She wonders if she ought to touch up the areas with paint and wisely decides to wait for another day.
She will move the bookcase to its new location and look around. She will notice that the arrangement looks good but it is still just as messy. So she will start cleaning up the mess. After the room is dusted, vacuumed, and organized she will take a break.
When she sits down and waits for her emails to load, she will take a look around. As she looks around, she will noticed that the rest of the house is still a mess. And chances are, if she notices the house is still a mess, she'll want another "day off".
This is really how my day went today...enjoy!
If You Give a Mom a Day Off
If you give a mom a day off, chances are she'll look around the house and realize it's been neglected far too long. So she'll decide to clean up. She'll make a list of things to do. After a few revisions to the list, she'll decide to start with the laundry.
So she will go into her boys' rooms to remove the sheets from their beds. While she is in her older boy's room, she'll notice that Hurricane Andrew blew through during the night. Since her boy is sick, she will start to pick up the mess.
As she picks up the mess, she might realize that the room would look much better with the dresser against "that" wall, the bookcase on the other side of the window, and the bed centered in the room. So, she will start to slide all the Legos, Lincoln Logs, Hotwheels, and Science Stuff out of the room and into the hallway. All the noise and commotion will bring the boys running into the room to see what's happening.
The boys will decide Mommy is more interesting to watch than the tree shredder a few door down so they'll stand in her way and offer suggestions. As they watch, she will attempt to move the ten-story Lego house out of the bedroom and into the hallway. Halfway through the process, the Lego house will come crashing down into tiny little pieces. This will make the older boy cry so she will remind him that she is the one who built it and promises to put it back together later. To make him stop crying, she will promise to make it even better than it was before.
Once the floor is cleared of all debris, she will start pulling the drawers out of the dresser in order to move it. When she moves the dresser, she will notice there are gems, mummies, dinosaurs, marbles and pirate money on the floor where the dresser used to be. So she will start to clean up the mess.
As she sorts the gems, mummies, etc., she might notice that many of the gems are really pieces of blacktop and nondescript rocks from the sandbox at school. So she will slyly separate those "gems" from the other stuff so she can throw them away when the boys aren't looking.
After the dresser is moved, she will be able to move the bed. After pulling the bed away from the wall, she will notice that there are even more treasures to clean up and "sort". Once that is taken care of, she will be able to move the bookcase.
Just before she moves the bookcase, she might notice that she will need to remove a shelf that is screwed into the wall where she wants the bookcase to go. So she will get one of her husband's screwdrivers and attempt to take out the screws holding the shelf in place.
She will discover that the people who lived in the house before used industrial-strength screws to attach things to walls. So she will try even harder. She will successfully remove two of the four screws but realizes the final two are not going to budge. So she will pull and the screws will come out of the wall, along with the drywall attached to them.
So she will go out to the garage to get the spackling compound. She will patch up the holes in the drywall and notice some other spots left by the screw-happy, previous owners. She will spackle those areas, also. She wonders if she ought to touch up the areas with paint and wisely decides to wait for another day.
She will move the bookcase to its new location and look around. She will notice that the arrangement looks good but it is still just as messy. So she will start cleaning up the mess. After the room is dusted, vacuumed, and organized she will take a break.
When she sits down and waits for her emails to load, she will take a look around. As she looks around, she will noticed that the rest of the house is still a mess. And chances are, if she notices the house is still a mess, she'll want another "day off".
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