My Grass Half Full Guy...

One day, when we were walking into the Y
In the frigid cold
While the rest of the world was blossoming
And I was cursing our tundra land still well covered in snow
Ben ran ahead and turned around with a huge smile on his face,
and exclaimed, "Mom, Look!  Grass!!"
and he was standing in the one strip in all of minnesota that actually had unearthed some real ground.

and that pretty much describes my boy - 

always looking on the bright side of life

very quiet, but very positive.

I know that he was sent to earth specifically for me...

to help me see the bright side of life

when I tend to get down in the dumps

Sure do love this guy!

 (no, this is not trick photography,  

and no, the girl next to him is not a midget... she is actually a 'normal' sized kindergartner... 

he really is that tall.)

And to celebrate his recent birthday, he got not one... 

but TWO ultra cool-super-fancy super hero cakes.

(this is a light saber, for those of you who are still trying to determine what the second one is.
He requested a star wars cake...
and I thought - darth vador... not happening
storm trooper... not happening
light saber - straight lines... I can do that :).

Happy Birthday Ben!!

(now please stop growing up so fast!!)

Bye Bye Ben...

is what we told this big guy...

(yes, the cape is still in tact under the coat... I'm choosing my battles, folks, choosing my battles...)

... when this turned the corner...

And though he couldn't wipe the smile off his face

and didn't get a bit scared, even when sitting on the bus...

... I felt a huge lump rise out of nowhere and engulf my energetic wave as I watched this...

... so I wandered back home, 

and did what any self-respecting, laid back, go with the flow,  non-helicopter parent would do...

... I jumped in my car and stalked the bus all the way to the school...

... just to make sure my precious cargo arrived in tact and un-scathed.

... Wow, this whole 'letting go' part of motherhood is hard.

Conversations...

around our house never cease to amuse me,

touch me,

at times frustrate me,

and at times make me laugh right out loud as I realize the innocence of youth all wrapped into the utter desire to serve and love this human that they call mommy.

Here is an excerpt from this week:

We had taken our van into the shop (yet again...), and got the call that it was ready...

Me, "Okay, boys let's go, it's time to pick up the car."

Ben, (eyes huge)... "pick up the car?!"...

Then starts walking toward the garage, pulling up his sleeves, "that's going to be hard!"

..."do we have to pick it all the way off the ground?"

And just like that, I am suddenly laughing out loud at his literal interpretation

... and humbled at his exact obedience and desire to pitch in and do all he could in the "Picking up of the car" activity.

I love my kids!

5 years ago today...

Jerry had just finished a grueling 36 hour on call shift, come home and collapsed on the couch, only to have me walk in from church 10 minutes later, hunched over, breathing heavy, and telling him we needed to get back to the hospital (a 30 minute drive away).

5 hours and a little pushin later, Benjamin joined our little family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Feb 21!!!

Love you!

and the quote of the week goes to...

Mr. 4 yo Ben, who came into the kitchen when dinner was cooking (BBQ spare ribs, nonetheless... ) and said, "mom, what smells in here?? Did baby have a poopy diaper??!"

... runner up came shortly thereafter by Seth, who when at the dinner table was informed that we were having ribs for dinner, said (in horror), "ribs from a HUMAN??!"

... which brought about the third place winner from dad who replied (without skipping a beat) "yep, this one's caleb's, this ones tommy's, this one's Cejay's..."

... needless to say, it wasn't one of our most cherished dinners...

(note to self: strike ribs from the (already too short and repetitious) menu for a Loooonnnnggg time...)

The Glass Half FULL...

Okay, okay, many of you are laughing at the title, because you know full well that I could probably find something to complain about in any situation, regardless of how perfect it is (winter: too cold, spring: too muddy, summer: too muggy, fall: too many leaves to rake... need I go on??!)...

... But there ARE, indeed, moments where I can also look on the 'fuller half' of life...

Exhibit #1

Notice Benjamin's nice facial 'burns'.  In person, they actually go all the way from his hairline to the lips.  Now, most people would see this as a negative.  He got these 'marks' when he was out making his spring debut on his scooter, got a little wobbly, and had a close encounter with the pavement.  Instead of thinking, "oh great, now we are into the scraped-skin season...," I actually got happy and thought, "Wow, the first skin burn of the spring - definitely a sign that the snow is on its way out for good!!"

Exhibit #2...

... so we were driving in the car a while back...

From the back, Seth says, "Mommy, yesterday I had to turn my card over" (the first step in their discipline action)

Me, "Did you hit anyone?"

Seth, "No!"

Me, "Did you bite anyone?"

Seth, "No!"

Me, "What did you do to turn your card over?"

Seth, "I was talking too much"

... now, if you know my sons in public situations, you know that they do the perfect mime interpretations.  Seth especially is extremely quite when he is around people he doesn't know very well, trying more to sink into the wall than engage in any of the activities.

... so the fact that he was not only talking in school, but talking too much in school brought so much happiness to my heart.  Ah yes, my son, the 'talk-too-mucher"... Love it!! 

Houston... we have connection!

... After days of cleaning up more pee than I even care to count, today we had our first real "Mom, I have pee"... run to the potty... and pee right off the bat.  No false alarm.  No 'forgetting' to tell mom, no standing for 20 minutes at the potty singing every known verse (and some unknown verses) to "Old McDonald" had a farm.  Just the beauty of body awareness starting to spin.  It's a simple thing.  It's a beautiful thing.  It's simply a beautiful thing!

One small Pee for Ben...

One GIANT relief for mommy-kind.

Funny how one little stream can cause so much joy in the life of a mother!!  I realize that we are no where near the home stretch, but hey, we actually made connection today - HUGE step forward!  We can do this... we can do this... we can do this!!!

So, How big do diapers come, anyway??!

I really do think I may have the first child in history who actually might make it to kindergarten still in diapers...

So, today was P-Day.  Our Grand Finale launch into the diapers BE GONE phase. (if you've read earlier posts, you will know that the potty training has been an ever on-going more misses than hits saga around here...)   We did the pep talk.  We did the fun spiderman undies.  We did the potty practice.  All of the pieces were in place.  The only thing missing was  an actual 'deposit' into the great white potty.  We can do this!!

.... I don't know how he did it.  He managed to pee, in the undies, in between my 30 second intervals of "do you need to go potty?"  "Do you want to do a potty try?"  "Are you still dry?"  

     So, we regrouped, take two.  We can do this.  Just a minor set back. (After all, we've made it through days of 7+ misses, this is nothing!)  We have lots of undies, in multiple super-hero/animal layouts.  For try #2 we opt for the sharks.  So far so good.  We make it through showing number one of the "letter movie."  We even make it through lunch.              We're still pumped, this is going to work!  I come down stairs to change the laundry and check email.  Down walks Ben, big smile... and big wet spot. 

        Minor set back.  We can still do this...! (?)  We will still do this!!  Remember, positive talk - potty training WILL happen today!  Diapers are Done!  Big boy undies are here to stay!  We change, we regroup.  We... only put on the undies this time and skip the pants (he LOVES his clothes, so I pull out this last resort of, "You can put your pants on as soon as you go potty in the toilet" - cruel? Maybe a little, but I am starting to grasp at anything by now).

      We settle down for showing #2 of the "letters movie" (Hey, he's learning his ABC's and even the sounds - I get some points for that, at least!).  I hit the tired wall (you know, that one that kicks in somewhere around mid-afternoon after a series of child-rearing days followed by child-nightmare-consoling nights...).  I doze off for a wee bit, only to be shocked awake by the pungent smell of...

      No, no, no it CAN'T be that.  Please, anything but THAT...  

      "Ben, do you have poops?"  I ask in my trying to be nice and control my last shred of sanity voice.

     "Yep, and pee, too!"  is his ever-jovial answer as he is sitting, playing pirates on the white (newly professionally cleaned) carpet with evidence of said poop EVERYWHERE.

... How big did you say diapers come?!