It's Summertime

And around here that means one thing... golf tournaments. We are hitting the courses fast and furious this summer. Cody has 4 tournaments this week alone. He will play in a total of 18 tournaments. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about the week ahead of me. And I don't have to do much other than sit in a golf cart for 5 hours each day!
Updates, golf scores, and pictures to come over the next few days!
~jen

Best Day Ever

Today was (in Caden's words) one of the best days ever. This morning we attended Caden's kindergarten graduation. Yes, there were tears, but that's ok. Watching your children grow brings tears of joy, pride, and even a little sadness.

This afternoon Caden and I went and saw Up. This is a wonderful movie that I highly recommend. Be warned, there may be a few tears. I had to fight them back a couple of times! I don't think I've ever cried during a cartoon! This is a great movie to go see. Of course, what Pixar/Disney movie isn't great!

Caden said on his way out of the movie theater, "this is the best day ever... it's the last day of school, I get to go to first grade next year, I get to go swimming tomorrow, I get to stay up as late as I want now, I got to go see a movie, and it's summer!" I have to agree. One of the best days ever.

~jen

Reflections...

This is the last week I will ever be a mom to a kindergartner. The "lasts" continue and they don't get any easier. I've said it over and over... I can't believe how quickly time passes. It passes too fast. In 3 months, I will be a mom to a first grader and to a sophomore. First grade and sophomore.

I never thought I would survive last August... that first day of school. Somehow, I survived. What a year we've all survived.

May the next school year bring as much joy, excitement, smiles, laughter, excellence, education, friendships, triumphs, challenges, and everything in between as this year has.

~jen

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you have a wonderful day today. I wish we were there to celebrate with you. We are thinking of you always.
With love,
Jennifer

Cadenism

A conversation this morning while getting Caden dressed...

Caden: "Mom, do you know how to pop your foot fingers?"
Me: "Foot fingers? You mean your toes?"
Caden: "Yep... toes. Cause I can pop them!"

Foot fingers... that's funny. :)
~jen

On Our Own

Mike left this afternoon for Dallas for a 2-day training session (this reassures me that his job is still somewhat secure). That leaves the boys and I on our own until Friday night. And of course I work both days. Sigh. I wish we had had some advance notice of his training because, honestly, I would have packed up and gone with him. I don't know what I would have done during the time that he is in meetings, but just to get away would have been so nice.

Today's been one of those days that I am ready to mark 'done'. I've not been feeling well for the past couple of days so I went to the doctor this morning. Nothing is seriously wrong, just stressed and sick. I got an antibiotic. Hopefully it will kick what I've got. This afternoon I had an interview for a school nurse position within our school district. I don't think the interview went well. I was nervous, I wasn't feeling well (I probably should have rescheduled it, but didn't want to go through that hassle as the end of school year is drawing near), and I just felt like I didn't present myself well. I don't know. I think on some level I am just preparing myself in case I don't get it. Instead of being excited and hopeful that I may get it and then going through a huge letdown if I don't seems worse than preparing myself now that it may not happen. Does that make sense? It's times like these I wish my parents were here because I could sure use a hug right now, even a shoulder to cry on. (Mom, Dad... not trying to make you feel guilty for being 2 states away... just missing you this evening).

I'd better go. I've got to finish some laundry before going to bed. I have to get up super early in the morning. Trying to get 2 boys to school and me to work all before 8 in the morning will be interesting.
~jen

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom -I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.


Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.


Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.


Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.


Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.


Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.


Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.
~Author Unknown





How I love being a mom to these 2 beautiful boys. They are my pride and joy. They are apart of me. They always will be. And as much as they suck the life out of me at times, they bring it back with their smiles, laughter, and love.




Happy Mother's Day to each of you who is a mom to somebody.

~jen

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Granny, Grandma, and Marcia! Thank you for being such wonderful women. Thank you for the support and guidance. Thank you for everything that you do for me and my family.
I love you all.
~jen

Playing with the Boys

Tuesday evening the boys talked me into going with them to the golf course. It wasn't quite my idea of a relaxing evening. All I really wanted to do is go get something to eat and then go home. But, whining and begging prevailed and I joined them for an evening out on the course. I have to say it was a beautiful evening and I was amazed at how much I actually missed watching them play! It had been a long time since I had seen Cody play. It made me sad to think about how much Cody has missed out on this spring. He didn't have the best game of his life that night, but I think he had a good time nonetheless. :)

The wonder of nature...

3 days ago, Caden and I made a discovery. I've been noticing a bird flying in and out of our front porch area. After seeing a bird rustling around in my front door flower decoration, we discovered this:

~jen