And it's only Wednesday!

It seems like it has been such a long week. But it's only Wednesday. How can that be?

I've been single-parenting so far this week, quite unexpectedly. Hubby left for work on Monday morning and is still not home. Such is life married to a military pilot flying planes that are older than me. Something always needs to be fixed. I suppose a delay in coming home due to repairs is better than the alternative, but try explaining that to a three year old who wakes up in the middle of the night crying for her daddy!

The funniest part of the week was Megan attempting to do handstands in the water while wearing her floatie. She would throw herself forward in an attempt to get her hands down to the bottom, but the floatie was making that a bit difficult. All I could see was her little tushy up in the air and her feet kicking furiously. She looked like a duck. And then up she would come shouting "did you see that Mommy?". I was actually rolling on the sand laughing at her. She just kept doing it over and over and over until finally she flung herself forward with enough force to flip herself all the way over. Boy did that surprise her! Not to be outdone, that prompted Jake to try to do flips. Unfortunately I didn't have my real camera with me and only remembered that I can take pictures with my phone at the very last minute...so I didn't capture the duck imitation on film (on digital? on memory card? whatever). But I did get this cute (and blurry) picture of the kids actually being nice to each other.

Oh - and Jake had his Kindergarten assessment test on Tuesday and the teacher was "wowed" by how well he did. Her word, not mine. She was also quite impressed by his drawing skills. I think this is going to be a great year for him. He goes his first full day on Friday and then begins a regular schedule after Labor Day.

So - all 6 of you who are reading this, please cross your fingers that hubby will make it home tomorrow so that he can be here to see Jake off to school on the bus on Friday morning. And so I don't have to spend the holiday weekend in the psych ward.

Lessons from a 5 year old

I took the kids to the beach on the Coast Guard base this afternoon. As I sat in my chair under my umbrella, I watched Jake trying over and over to catch the minnows that kept swimming by him. He worked at it tirelessly, never doubting that he would catch them if he could only dip the bucket into the water just right. He believed that he could do it. Why would he believe otherwise? He kept at it for about 15 or 20 minutes until something else grabbed his attention. But he didn't give up....he had faith that he would catch those little buggers sooner or later.

It took me back to the back yard of my friend Meredith in Houston in the early 80s. She and I were certain that we could learn to fly if we practiced enough. We set up a step stool and jumped off it over and over and over, convinced that we were getting closer to actually flying each time we jumped. We tried various materials on our arms to help us fly. We tried different step stools. We tried different types of shoes. We must have jumped a hundred times. We truly believed that if we jumped up high enough, the wind would lift us up to the clouds.

Watching Jake's perseverance, unwavering confidence and positive attitude today put a huge smile on my face. Isn't it amazing that a five year old can remind you of such a fundamental life lesson by simply trying to catch a few fish? You may not actually ever scoop up those minnows, and you will probably never take flight by jumping off a stepstool, but it sure doesn't hurt to believe in yourself and to keep trying.

The ICK Factor!

Allow me to set the scene: a 30-something mother of two successfully potty trains both of her children before they become adults (at times it seemed as though the darling son would be wearing diapers to college). Said mother therefore thinks her days of cleaning poop are over.

WRONG!....because she didn't take Max the Cat into consideration.

Flashback to November 2007:
Jake and Eric are playing outside in the early evening when some type of four-legged, furry creature approaches them. Upon further inspection, they determine the creature is, in fact, a small cat. A very dirty, very flea-ridden, and very skinny cat. With really big ears. He had obviously been living outside for quite sometime and therefore did not appear to have the self-cleaning feature that most cats usually possess. So of course, we decided to adopt this mangy little thing. Max eventually learned to use the litter box with relatively little mess. The key word is "relatively"!

Back to present day.
I walk up the stairs to take a shower and an overwhelming stench of cat poop assaults my nostrils. Armed with a can of Lysol, I bravely enter the room from which the toxic smell is emanating. After I regained consciousness I discovered little brown cat footprints leading from the litter box to the door, out into the hallway, all the way through my bedroom, and into my bathroom. Yup - he stepped in his own poop and tracked it ALL OVER THE PLACE!

And Eric wonders why I am constantly kicking the cat out of our bed. Say it together...."ICK!!!"

I have only one question remaining: Is it bad to clean your cat with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes???

Love it!

Yes...another post about the Olympics. Can you tell how much I LOVE the Olympics? Last night's men's 4 x 100 freestyle relay is the exact reason why!

A thunderstorm rumbled through our area right around 11:00 and I was sure that our satellite TV was gonna go out right before the relay race that I had been waiting up to see. It didn't, thank goodness. The storm did, however, wake Jake up. I was actually glad that he was awake. It was 11:20 and I brought him downstairs to watch the race with me. I told him which lane to watch. I told him that if an American Flag popped up on the screen each time a swimmer touched the wall it meant our team was winning. After each length of the pool, he wondered where the American Flag was. I told him to just wait. Have faith. We will win. But then I wasn't so sure...

As our anchorman, Jason Lezak, dove in the water, I started to think that the USA team might have to settle for second place. Jake's eyes were glued to the TV. My heart rate was accelerating. Why isn't the American Flag on our screen? he asked. I don't think our team is gonna win, he said. It's not over yet, I told him. And then it happened. Lezak started closing the gap and the adrenaline took over. Mine...not just Jason Lezak's! Jake and I both sat up straight, leaning toward the TV. They might win, Jake....they might win...I think they're gonna win, I said. And then the American flag popped up and Jake's arms (and mine, too) went up in the air. I got chills. I've seen the replay no less than 20 times today and I still get nervous watching the last couple of seconds and I still get chills and a huge grin on my face when I see Lezak touch the wall first and see the reaction of his teammates. It was so great to watch and so great to share the excitement with Jake. After a race like that....how can you NOT love the Olympics???

In case you didn't see the race, see it here.

Can't Wait!

I feel the electricity in the air. I can feel everyone's excitement. I'm even starting to get the adrenaline rush myself. No - I'm not talking about Coast Guard Day (Happy 218th Birthday, Coast Guard) - I'm talking about the Olympics!

I love the Olympics. For 2 1/2 weeks, I am a HUGE sports fan...no matter what the sport is. I love the swimming and the gymnastics, and the track and field, and the soccer. Heck - I even like the archery. It's all about cheering for our country's athletes. I always feel so patriotic while watching America's best compete in their sports.

I'm especially excited for the Olympics this year because Jake is old enough to really get into it. I was telling him about it last night and he said "I want to watch all of those games right now, Mommy!"

So - starting this Friday I will be glued to the networks of NBC soaking in as much patriotism as I can and cheering on every one of America's athletes! Go USA!

Hugs and Kisses

Me: I need some Megan hugs, please.
Megan: Not today. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is hug day. Today is kiss day.
Me: OK, then can I have a kiss, please?
Megan: No, I don't have any more kisses. I gave them all to Nana.