Tuesday, June 29, 2010

3 More Days...

Hello? Anyone still read this doggone thing? I don't blame you. I would have given up on me too.

We are FINALLY going to finish up our school year this week. Come Friday we'll be done...until the middle of August. Short summer. Again. But, can't bemoan that sad fact now. Looking too forward to some downtime. Any downtime. No matter how short. It is well deserved. And each second shall be savored and cherished by all.

It's been a gruelling school year. I know that (former) President George Dubya Bush was always saying "No Child Left Behind!" But, (I gotta be honest here) at times.....it was damn tempting. LOL!

Looking forward to catching up with everyone!

Ima X. Ahstead
:)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! May your day be as special as you are!

And to my wonderful husband Ricardo :

Each day you show amazing patience, love and guidance. But enough about how you are with me....:) You are such an excellent Dad! You are never to busy to listen, teach or just hang out and have fun with your boys. The boys and I are blessed to have you and be loved by you.

We love you!!! Happy Father's Day!!!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Birthday Festivities

For the wee one's birthday, we started off by having homemade pancakes and opening gifts. Then, headed out for the local amusement park. (These season passes are really coming in handy!)



We spent several hours riding numerous rides. After noshing on the local fare for lunch, Brown Eyes announced that, "He might be ready to go home now." (so sweet.)



So, we loaded up the truck and headed home. At which point, the wee one asked if we could stop by the grocery store and get some Birthday balloons. (Who knew?!) A clear over site on our part indeed. (I felt terrible!) So we stopped and Brown Eyes got to pick his own balloons. He got a superman balloon that plays the theme song when you tap it. (A huge hit!)



We spent the afternoon poolside cooling off. And wound up the day doing Mexican food, Birthday dessert and spending the evening just hanging out together.



The 8 year old started yawning by 9. Was asleep by 10 and the rest of us were soon to follow. A great day was had by all!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Happy Birthday Brown Eyes!!!


8 years ago today, our wonderful family of 3 grew by 2 more feet. 2 teeny tiny little feet; but, what a difference they made. These 2 beautiful feet made our lives complete. These 2 little, willful, feet also opted for a path less traveled....


Due to a long, complicated pregnancy, my doctor decided to induce labor 3 weeks early. After 18 hours....It bears repeating, 18 hours of aforementioned induced, drug free, labor, (ooooh, I shoulda opted for pain meds! But I digress...) we discovered that little brown eyes was a gymnast. A gifted, gymnast who added an unscripted backflip into his Olympic womb routine. This flip caused him to now be a footling breech baby. And thus, made his dismount impossible. The Olympic judges...um, doctors, were totally impressed. Mommy- totally freaked out. An unfortunate added coincidence, there was little amniotic fluid left. We didn't have the time needed to see if he would flip back once again. An emergency C-section was the new plan of the day. Thus, began life with our youngest. Life unscripted.





The past unscripted 8 years have been an amazing journey. Brown Eyes you've taught us to live life as a celebration. Celebrating all life's accomplishments big and small. Celebrating spontaneity. Being a child again. Laughing at jokes with punchlines that may not always make sense. Singing songs of our own composition. Making our own rhythms. Using our hands as drumsticks and almost any object as our drumset. You've taught us how to break into uninhibited dance at a moment's notice. To laugh out loud for the sheer joy of it. To be heedless of what others may think.


Today we celebrate you Brown Eyes! You made our hearts grow another 100 times larger. You add inexpressible joy to our lives, just by being you. You make us all better people and the world a better place, simply by being in it. You are truly a gift!

So Happy, Happy Birthday Brown Eyes!! We love you more than words can say; but, hope you feel how much each and every day!
Love and Gratitude,
Mom, Dad, and Blue Eyes

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Birthday Festivities, Food, and More Food...

Birthday's are very important. Especially to children. So, we started a tradition when we had children that we still honor to this day. On each of our children's birthdays, we schedule a vacation day and do whatever it is that their little heart's desire. (Within reason, of course. :) The whole day is devoted to them-even down to the menu. We just think it is a neat way to make them feel special and loved. So far....no complaints from the peanut gallery.



On Blue Eyes special day he wanted to spend it at the local theme park. As we have season passes, this was not a problem. As for the weather, it was a little uncooperative; so, our visit was shorter than desired. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Let's back things up shall we. How does a 14 year old start his birthday you ask? Well, Iwent in to wake him at 8:30....only to find that he had been laying in bed awake with excitement for his day to begin since 6:00 am. :)



He popped outta bed and headed down for his birthday breakfast. As requested, Krispy Kreme donuts awaited him. He had 2 chocolate glazed and a glass of skim milk.

The local theme park opened at 10:30, so we left our house at 9:30 to make the drive. We arrived at 10:15, and got a front row parking spot. Saaaahweet!!!


Birthday boy wanted to start his day of thrills on a roller coaster. Followed by a bobsled ride. While the "big boys" were riding these, brown eyes and I went on a smaller roller coaster. A good time was had by all. In fact, little guy rode his roller coaster twice-back to back. We were the only ones on it-we felt way cool. :)



After about an hour of riding, little guy was hungry- so we ordered him an order of chicken fingers and fries. He devoured 1/2 and declared himself full. At which time, Blue Eyes said he wanted to save room for lunch....but he would gladly finish off what remained. He ate the remaining 3 large chicken strips and a handful of fries and drank an entire Powerade.


The weather cooperated the remainder of the morning and many a ride was rode. But, by early afternoon, the storms hit. We tried to wait it out; but, all the rides remained shut down- so we headed off to lunch.


We went to Blue Eyes local diner of choice. He ordered a TRIPLE meat burger, fries and a shake. (Not to mention eating the remainder of the unwanted meat patty from his little brother's burger as well.) As you can see, and I have rapidly discovered as well- teenage boys have a powerful hunger! I'm reminded of Joey Tribione (Friends) "Meat- GOOOOD!"



After lunch, we came back to the house. We opened gifts and commenced to enjoying aforementioned gifts.


For dinner, Birthday boy wanted Mexican food. He had a large order of Meat Nachos with Jalapenos, tacos, and and an Ice tea.

He followed it up with a serving of Birthday chocolate chip cookie and a large glass of milk. At which point he pushed himself back from the table and declared himself full at last! LOL!

Blue Eyes 14th Birthday had a few hitches in it as far as the weather was concerned; but otherwise, I'd say it was a smashing success. Here's to being 14!!! And to the amazing metabolism that goes with being a teenager!



Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Blue Eyes!!!

14 years ago today, life changed in ways I can't even begin to describe. Changed in ways one can't even comprehend. To say for the better....well, that is a gross understatement. Life was viewed through a whole new set of eyes. Lovely, beautiful, perfect eyes. 14 years ago today, 2 hearts were lost. And they instantly grew back 100 times larger than they were before. 14 years ago today, Ricardo and I held our future. Our life. Our whole world. For the first time. 14 years ago today, we were incredibly blessed. We became parents to this beautiful soul:





Happy, Happy Birthday Blue Eyes!!!May your day be as wonderful as you are. You make the world a much better place, simply by being in it!!! We all love you more than words can say. But, hope you feel how much each and every day!!!



Love and Gratitude,

Mom, Dad & Brown Eyes

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

This:
is all that is left to be completed from our box-0-knowledge. I 'd show you what is left of our minds....but, I don't have a photo of mush. Guess if I was being really creative, I would have posted a pic of oatmeal. Or toast. But, you'll just have to settle for the mental image. Sorry.
We hope to be completed with this years work by the end of June. It is hard to say who is looking the most forward to some down time. We are all deserving of it, that's for sure. This year has been kicking our butts. Glad I only have 2 children, 'cause home schooling three could lead to insanity. As it is...."I'm right on the edge!" LOL!
Now on to happier subjects....
We have a new neighbor:
I couldn't be happier! A robin couple have decided out of all the homes to chose from, that this little tree in our yard would be perfect for them. (See resident at left on fence.)

I love Robins! They are my second favorite bird.( only to doves.) They remind me of Kansas. Because you can't look up into the sky in Kansas without seeing a Robin it seems. So, this helps me feel close when I am far away. But I digress. Anyhow,... they have provided us with hours of enjoyment when we are out poolside. Because ALL day long they do this. Stop on the fence (see above) to check in with us.

Then swoop down off the fence ...



And into their tree home. Back and forth, forth and back, all day, everyday, til dark falls. Then it is beddy-bye time. ( Cause...Rules are rules! ;)




Here's both of them together. Cute huh? I'm guessing we will be having little ones hopping about trying to earn their wings soon. I can't wait!
You can be sure that I am being most diligent in my duties to protect them, their home, and their upcoming offspring. I've always got a watchful eye out. So rest easy Kansas, you're transplants are doing just fine! ;)
Now if you'll excuse me, we gotta get back to oatmeal and toast. I mean schoolwork. Ugh!