Saturday at the Mall

This afternoon the boys and I went to the "mall with the castle play area," at Noah's request. We rode on the double-decker carousel, the boys played their little hearts out at the aforementioned castle play area during which time I sat on the bench and wrote a paper for my Psych class while I watched them (because if you don't have time to study at a library, doing it at a crowded mall play area with dozens of children running around you is the next best thing), we ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, and the boys did the bungee jump/trampoline thing.

Here are the boys on the carousel. Noah wanted to ride on the ostrich after I told him that ostriches are so strong they can kill a lion with one kick. (That's true, by the way; I read it in the elevator at work the other day. As a side note, it cracks me up that elevators have little tvs in them now. Are our attention spans really so short that we can't ride 28 floors in an elevator - or even 100 floors for that matter - without being entertained? I mean, really. On the other hand, the elevator tv did expand my knowledge of ostrich violence which I was then able to impart onto my child. So perhaps I shouldn't knock it.)

Anyway, back to pictures...

Noah riding the ostrich (the one I took of Sam turned out too blurry, which is really saying something since for some reason all of these are a little bit blurry):

Bungee-jump/trampoline thing (Noah had a BLAST doing this; Sam was really excited about it too; he scrambled up onto the trampoline when his turn came but by the time they got him strapped in, he got scared and opted out so lucky Noah got to take his turn and go twice):

Mulch-Face

Today at daycare Sam fell off the see-saw and landed face-first in the mulch. He wasn't hurt but both he and Noah had something to say about it.

Sam: "My face got dirty. Let's go home and brush my teeth and then it will be all clean!" Sam also blamed his stuffed monkey George for the whole thing. Apparently it was George who told him to stand on the see-saw. When we got in the car Sam informed me that I needed to give George a time-out.

Noah: "After Sam fell he came into my classroom and I put a kiss on his hair."

Back to School

In August I started working for an oil company in the financial reporting department. What I do is kind of a mix between accounting and financial analyst type stuff and I like it a whole lot more than auditing, which is what I was doing before. I also really like my co-workers so it’s nice to actually enjoy going to work. Plus, it’s a very family-friendly company. Three of the four people I work with directly (including both of the people I report to) have small kids and are extremely understanding and flexible about all the issues that arise with having kids. However, while I really like it for now, I don’t really see myself wanting to make a life’s career out of it. I wouldn’t say I’m passionate about it and if I’m going to have a career, I’d like it to be in something I love. (I know what you’re thinking: How is it possible for one NOT to feel passionately about the accounting field? It’s so exciting! But, there it is folks).

Anyway, all of this is a long winded way of saying that I have decided to go to nursing school. Eventually, I’d like to be either a nurse practitioner or a certified nurse-midwife. Both require a master’s degree in nursing and of course, first I’ll need the bachelor’s in nursing. With a degree in accounting, I have pretty much no science courses behind me so I also have to do prerequisites. When I first started looking into it I felt a little overwhelmed but it actually isn’t so bad. Here’s the plan:

Several schools in the area have programs for people who have an unrelated bachelor’s degree but want to make a career change into nursing. After you satisfy the prereqs, the program is only 12 months and you come out with a bachelor’s in nursing. It’s a really intense program, but that’s totally worth it to be finished in a year. Between working full-time and being a mommy, I’m only able to take a couple of prereq classes per semester but even at that I should be finished with my prereqs in a year and a half. The program I want to get into goes from May to May so I should be ready to go in May 2011 and be graduated in May 2012. I’m really excited because I think nursing will allow me to have a really great schedule for a single working mom. Plus, I think I’ll love it.

So… I’ve started taking my prereqs at a community college here. This semester I’m taking Anatomy & Physiology and Psychology. As a side note, last night in my Psych class we took tests that assessed our personalities and then determined which careers would be a good fit. According to the results of the test, the career that is the best fit for my personality type is… nursing! So I think I'm on the right track.

Glamourous Life

Tonight I got to clean little boy poop out of the bathtub. Lucky me! Needless to say, now I need to buy all new bath toys. And a bath mat. And a pitcher. Poop didn't really get on all of that but it was in the same water and that's enough for me. An item needs to be fairly valuable before I'll consider it worth the hassle of de-pooping and disinfecting. So I cleaned the actual bathtub. And my kids (they made the cut). Everything else went straight to the dumpster.

Little Diplomat

Today I am wearing a pair of mustard-yellow, Mary Jane wedges with ruffles on the toe. I think they are very cute. Sam was sitting on my lap while I was putting them on this morning. I noticed him looking at them so I said, "Do you like Mommy's shoes, Sam?"

"They're different," my 3-year-old said.

So diplomatic.

First Day of Kindergarten

Here is my big kindergartener. What's scary is that I totally remember being in kindergarten myself and it doesn't even really seem like that long ago. Crazy!

Noah picked out his back-to-school outfit

My and my little big boy

Noah sitting at his table

Noah's cute classroom

Noah's Birthday Party

Here are pictures from Noah's 5th birthday party last month. Happy Birthday to Noah!!

Lullaby Update

Tonight, at Noah's request, I sang the lullaby to Jafar. You know, the evil villain on Aladdin. I think the line between "good mom" (thanks, commenters) and "pushover" is getting a little thin.

Letter to Noah

Dear Noah,

This is a picture of you, taken exactly 5 years ago, when you were 1 month old.

Last month we celebrated your 5th birthday. I can't believe it's been 5 whole years since the day I took this picture. I remember it like it was yesterday, laying your blanket over your rocking chair and getting you all propped up next to your monkey. I can remember exactly the way it felt to hold you in my arms as an infant (it's probably so engrained in my memory because I held you almost contantly - you were a pretty high-maintenance baby!). Tonight you went to sleep hugging that same monkey, although now of course you are much bigger than him. Over the last 5 years, he has become a bit tattered but you still love him like you have ever since the day you were born.

You have grown so much in the last five years. You even started elementary school a couple of weeks ago. Here you are on your first day:

You were apprehensive about it at first - you kept telling me that you didn't want to turn 5 because you didn't want to go to kindergarten. But you loved it the very first day, much to my extreme relief. It's so fun to talk to you about your day at school and to hear about the things you are learning. Tonight we sat at the dining room table and did your homework together. I can't believe you are old enough to do homework (get used to it, kid).

You are such a funny little guy. You like to tell jokes that you make up yourself. Generally speaking, they make no sense at all but they always make me laugh! For awhile they all ended with the punchline "because it wanted to POP itself!" but you're starting to diversify now.

Noah, I love you so much. I love your cute sense of humor and your tender heart and your funny grumpy faces and the way you dramatize stories and do all the different voices. I have loved being your mom for these last 5 years and I can't wait to see what the next 5 bring with you.

Love,

Mama

Lullabies All Around

Every night when I'm putting the boys to sleep I sing them each a lullaby that goes like this:

La la la Noah/Sam, go to sleep
La la la Noah/Sam, time to dream
La la la Noah/Sam, go to bed
La la la Noah/Sam, lay down your head

Lately the boys like for me to also sing this lullaby to some or all the stuffed animals, etc that they sleep with. Depending on the night, this can take quite awhile.

Tonight, I sang the lullaby to Noah and to his favorite stuffed animal, Monkey.

Sam was a bit more demanding. First I sang the lullaby to Sam, then to "Charlie," Sam's alter-ego-du-jour. Then, at Sam's insistance, I sang the lullaby one by one to Froggie, George (his Curious George stuffed monkey), Buster (his stuffed puppy), Lightning McQueen (his favorite toy car), and finally to Corner (a specific corner of Sam's blankie which for some reason he favors over the other three).

I finally cut him off when he wanted me to go back and sing to everyone again.

Parenting Lesson of the Day

A few minutes ago, completely out of the blue, Noah looked at me and said with a chuckle, "Your butt is just big, isn't it?"

One should never rely on one's children to boost one's self-esteem.

Hide and Seek with Sam

This is a picture of Sam in his hiding place when we were playing Hide 'n Seek the other day. If his chosen location was not obvious enough, I kept hearing muffled giggles from underneath the sheet when I would say, "Where's Sam? Is he in the closet? Is he under the bed?" while pretending to search for him. When I got my camera out and he heard it turn on, he exclaimed "CHEESE!!" from his very elusive hiding spot.

This boy is very fun to play Hide 'n Seek with.

Nut's Birthday Party

We had Sam's birthday party a couple of weekends ago (the Saturday after his birthday). I thought I'd better post the pictures before Noah's birthday party next week, which will basically be identical. There are definite advantage to having your kids both born in the summer and close enough in age that they are obsessed with the same thing at the same time (birthday party themes for both: Cars).

Weekend in Galveston

We spent this past weekend in Galveston and had such a great time. I love, love, love the beach. I love the sand and the water and the sound of the waves and the salty air and the breeze and the smell of suntan lotion and the kick-back atmosphere. So I was really excited when my friend Jamee told me she had rented a condo on the beach with her kids and invited the boys and I to join them (thanks again Jamee!). We drove down on Saturday and spend the afternoon at the beach. It was a perfect day for it. It was hot of course (this is Texas in July) but there was a nice breaze going on. We had fun playing in the sand and splashing in the waves. I'd actually only been to the beach once in Texas and even then it was at night. It's crazy to me how far out you can go in the Gulf and still only be waist-deep. It's really nice with kids because it's not quite as scary as being at the ocean. Noah especially loved playing the water and letting the waves crash on him. He informed me that before we go to the beach next time he would like to buy a surf board. Sam preferred to stay on dry land, but he'd laugh like crazy when I'd hold him up just out of the waves' reach. Here are some pictures:

Sam digging in the sand

Noah playing in the Gulf

Building sand castles

Noah and Sam with Corinne, Callie and Cayden

After we exhausted ourselves at the beach, (and by "ourselves" I mainly mean me and Jamee) we went back to the condo to clean up (always a fun thing after the beach) and relax and have dinner. Then Jamee took her kids and my Sam to the pool while Noah and I drove to the store to get some things for Sam's birthday. The next day we headed back to the beach in the morning, and then opened presents and had cupcakes for Sam.

Noah and Sam on the balcony at the condo

More beach:

Me and my boys

Jamee and her kiddos
Opening presents:



Cupcake lover

We finished our stay in Galveston with some pool-time at the condo. The pool there was so nice. It had a lazy river and a baby-creek so it was a big hit with my boys (and with me).

And this pretty much sums up how we all felt on the way home:

Letter to Sam

Dear Sam,

Exactly 3 years ago this very minute, I was in hard labor, 40 1/2 weeks pregnant with you. I didn't even know you were a boy at the time. At 10:35pm, I was holding you for the very first time, feeling like I'd known you all my life.

Today we celebrated your 3rd birthday. Happy Birthday little guy!! We spent the weekend at the beach in Galveston and had such a great time together, jumping in the waves and building sand castles. We opened presents and had cupcakes and practiced with you so that you'll answer "three!" instead of "two" when we ask how old you are. (You're very good at it now).

You are such a fun little boy. Your laugh is so infectious and your dimples are still as adorable as they were the day you were born. You are starting to get so good at conversation and it's so fun to talk with you. You say the most darling things. Today when you were opening your birthday presents you would get so excited with each one and you'd hold it up and say/squeal, "Legos (or whatever is was)?!? I can't believe it!!"

Although overall you are still my little easy-going guy, you can be quite fiesty too, and you have such an independent streak. I can't even tell you how many times I've heard, "No! I can do it my-SELF!" But it's okay because you still like me to hold you too. You're still my little cuddle-bug (except in the middle of the night when for some reason you like to sleep sideways with your feet pressed into my back...).

Anyway, Sammy I love you so much. I am so grateful that you were born three years ago. I love being your mommy. Happy Birthday, little peanut.

Love,
Mama