Snakes, Sleepyhead, and Stroll Thru the Park

The other night, Jason was walking towards our study. The window next to our front door had the blinds open and he went to close them. He noticed something that looked like a branch sitting on our porch. The more he looked at it he realized that it was a snake....a rather long snake. He took some pictures so that he could study the pattern and figure out what kind it is. Come to find out, it was a rat snake and according to him, not poisonous. In my book, they are all poisonous and I'm rather freaked out by this.

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Yesterday, the boys spent a lot of time outside playing and swimming in the pool. The combination of climbing, sliding, swimming and heat from the sun really knocked them out. Jason brought them in and gave them a bath and turned some cartoons on for them to watch. The large box from our new pool/slide is still in our living room because the kids have had a ball playing in it. I remember playing "house" and "club" in our new washer and dryer boxes as a kid so I encourage this kind of play. Hudson decided to get inside of it and watch cartoons. In a matter of a few minutes, this sleepyhead was out. He played hard!

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Today we took the kids to the park to play and feed the ducks. It was pretty humid but at least it was overcast so we didn't have the full sun beating on our backs.

No trip is complete without Hudson finding a plug!

Bliss

bliss:

–noun
1. supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment

Yesterday I spent much of the day cleaning the house (we are having company this weekend) and the boys pretty much had to entertain themselves. As most of you can relate, the mood in our home can change minute by minute. One minute they are playing beautifully together and the next is chaos. They did pretty good most of yesterday and I'm thankful for that. In fact, while dusting in the dining room, I heard little whispers and giggles coming from Cooper's room. I walked towards it and peeked into his room to see what they were doing. They were both in Cooper's chair and Hudson was reading a book to him. They were laughing at the pictures and enjoying each other. It's moments like this, although rare, that make my heart melt. This my friends, is bliss.

Unfortunately once Cooper saw me (and especially with the camera) he got antsy and decided to get down.
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Like I mentioned, I was really in the cleaning mood yesterday. I've always admitted that I loathe cleaning although I do enjoy a clean house. The spirit really moved me yesterday because I cleaned out both linen closets in our bathrooms. They were both unorganized, filled with bottles and half empty potions from long ago. I tossed out several bags full of junk and I'm so pleased with myself!

This was taken before the organizing began........

........taken after. It's still not perfect but I can easily get to all the towels now and I got rid of so many things we were not using.

Here is the linen closet in our bathroom.

Look at all that junk!

Seriously, this is bad. You would not believe the expired medications I found. One of Jason's prescriptions expired in '98. Oh my!

Bliss.

What do you know? There's actually carpet down there! Now, have I inspired you to tackle a closet or two?

Back Yard Fun

With the price of gas continuing to rise, I've made the decision that I need to make our backyard as fun as possible. So fun that my boys won't be begging me to drive them all over the place this summer. Yes, we will take our occasional trip to the zoo or park or even to visit some friends but for the most part, I want them to enjoy just hanging out at home. (although it will probably cause our electric and water bills to double!)

Today we got out the new pool/slide for the boys and they had SO MUCH FUN!!

Can you see Hudson behind him with the water gun, spraying him right in the back? Little stinker!

It took him a few times to get the hang of climbing up

Cooper fell in the water and when he came back up he had this huge comb over. It was hilarious!

Looking forward to fun times this summer!

Birthday Dinner

Last night we had a birthday dinner at Papasitos for my mom and Jason's sister. Afterwards we went back to Mimi's house for some cake and banana pudding. It was great getting to see everyone and the boys had a great time........and we stayed out WAY past their bedtime!

Happy Birthday, mom!

Mimi, Great Grandma Ruby, Hudson, Jason, and Cooper

Enjoying some cake

Happy Birthday Grammy and Aunt Pearl

Through His Eyes

Today was Hudson's final and last day of preschool. Ever. I don't know that it has really sunk in for him that he won't return. Luckily it was pretty crazy when I went to get him (they had Beach Day and noon dismissal) so I didn't have a chance to really get emotional about it. My monkey boy had me running down halls as usual so no time to get weepy. On the last day of school, the teachers give each child a Me Book. It is a memoir of their entire year and includes pictures, quotes, Bible verses, and cute information about each child. I always love to see what Hudson says on the pages about Jason and me. Here are some answers to the questions about his parents:

About My Dad:

1. My daddy's name is "Jason"

2. My daddy is "100" years old

3. My daddy has "black" hair and "black" eyes

4. My daddy's job is "to go to work"

5. My daddy's favorite thing to eat is "beans"

6. My daddy's favorite television show is "shrek"

7. My favorite thing to play with daddy is "the things that make the Christmas lights work"

8. My favorite book daddy reads to me is "Cookie's Week"

9. My favorite song daddy sings to me is "Juby Ron" - I have no idea what this is!

10. My favorite thing about daddy is "he already lost his teeth"

11. I love my daddy more than "anything"

About My Mom:

1. My mommy's name is "Jennifer"

2. My mommy is "20" years old- bless you dear child!

3. My mommy has "brown" eyes and "brown" hair

4. My mommy's job is "to dry her hair" - oh how I wish it was that simple!

5. My mommy's favorite thing to eat it "green beans"

6. My mommy's favorite television show is "Jack and the Beanstalk" - can't you tell I DVR all my shows and he has NO idea what I watch!!

7. My favorite thing to play with mommy is "Hungry, Hungry Hippos"

8. My favorite book mommy reads to me is "the one that has pictures like my ABC book"

9. My favorite thing that mommy cooks is "sandwiches"- hey now!

10. My favorite song mommy sings to me is "Peek-a-Boo song" - not sure?

11. My favorite thing about mommy is "that she's my mommy"

12. I love my mommy more than "Grammy" - sorry mom!

Very Special Me- All About Hudson

1. My name is "Hudson"

2. My favorite game is "the Christmas game in my attic with 3 snowmen" - I promise that Christmas isn't that great around here!

3. My favorite cartoon is "Tom & Jerry"

4. My favorite movie is "Alvin and the Chipmunks"

5. My favorite song is "the Pear Tree song from Christmas" - aren't I glad I printed off the words and took them with me!

6. My favorite book is "my baby book of ABC's" - I made this ABC scrapbook for his 3rd birthday and he loves to look at all the pictures of our family.

7. My favorite bible story is "the planting seed story"

8. My favorite color is "red"

9. My favorite food is "lunchable"- probably because he rarely gets one and sees everyone else at school with them.

10. My favorite animal is "a lion"

11. My friends are "Walker"

12. When I grow up, I want to be a "daddy" - I look forward to that!

So, there you have it.......life through Hudson's eyes

Happy Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day we headed to church to spend time with our families. I know I've said it before but we are so lucky that our moms/stepdads go to the same church. We don't feel pulled to attend one church over the other to see them both- we get to go to one place to do that. I know it's rare and we understand how blessed we are for that situation.

With my favorite boys before church.................and with my favorite girls after. (no, we did not plan to all wear black and white- it just happened that way!)

It's been a tradition for the last few years that my mom, sister, and I get together after church for some good girl time. We head to the mall to do some shopping, go to a movie and then out to eat. This year we saw Made of Honor which was really cute. (How can you go wrong watching McDreamy for 2 hours?) We all did some shopping for our upcoming trip this summer and just had a good time hanging out. Although I love my role as a mom, it was quite nice to have a break from it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms I know!!

Casa and Quirks

Last night, Hudson and I went to Casa to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is one of my all time favorite movies so I think I was more excited than he was. Yesterday afternoon, I decided to show parts of the movie to the boys since Hudson has never seen it. I kind of wanted him to understand what we were going to see. I forwarded the beginning parts and basically started where the children enter the factory. Hudson was in awe over Mr. Wonka's machines and kept asking me how they worked. It was a good chance for me to talk about the children (as they each got eliminated) and about how being a stinker can get you into trouble. He was quite concerned when Violet ate the gum and turned into the blueberry. (one of my favorite lines is, "I've got a blueberry for a daughter!) He wanted to know how they would get all that juice out of her. Overall, he enjoyed the movie but I feel it's something he'll enjoy more once he's a bit older and can understand more. Last night, the play was a modernized version of the movie. It was cute but my favorite is still the original. Even during the play, Hudson was so worried about Violet and wanted to know how they would fix her.

We both enjoyed our date night and had some great conversations!

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Most of you that know Hudson or have been following this blog, know that he's a bit quirky. I thought it would be fun to share a couple things my kids do and then ask you to share some of yours too. First off, Hudson is notorious for hanging random things on our walls and light switches. It's not uncommon to see a kitchen gadget or some invention he's created just hanging on a wall. For example, the other day I noticed our cork screw just hanging on a nail (that's normally used for seasonal wall decorations)

We also have a night light that Hudson will use to hang things from.Cooper loves when your pant or shirt has a fold in it. He will smile and rub his hands across it over and over. Not sure what that's all about.

These are his favorite.........they have folds PLUS a thick seam in the middle for him to run over.

He also is pretty anal when it comes to his blocks. He will build large towers with his blocks but he will only stack similar shapes. So, if we are using all square shaped blocks he will not be happy if I slip a cylinder shaped one on top. They all must be the same.

So, what quirky things do your kids do?

Preschool Graduation- Class of 2008

Tonight we had Hudson's preschool graduation. Crazy! This year has flown by and it's hard to believe that in a few short months, I'll be taking my baby to kindergarten.

For the last couple of weeks Hudson has come home from school talking about how he has been practicing for the program. Today after school he even did a few moves for me and was looking forward to it. Once we got to the church, he said "I'm going to sing great, mom" but something inside me knew better. Hudson has a track record for getting on stage and freezing. His internal defense mechanism sends him into "crazy face kid" or "stick your tongue out boy" instead of singing along with the songs. Tonight was really no different. Once he spotted me and the family he got nervous and began to look around. I can't say that I blame him. I despise having all eyes on me. He comes by that naturally. Now put him in a room with a few people and he is trying desperately to make you laugh. He loves to work the crowd and show off. Put him in front of an auditorium full of parents and cameras and it's a no-go. So, I got a good laugh tonight and that was just what I needed- the perfect thing to keep me from getting choked up at the thought of my oldest son starting a new phase in life.

Dropping him off in his classroom (I think he's trying to win the award for showing the most teeth!)

With his teachers- Mrs. H and Mrs. K- They have truly been an answer to prayers. These women have been wonderful to Hudson this year and our family is so thankful that he ended up in their class this year.

This picture basically sums up the evening.

Nothing like a great big yawn during a song.

Accepting his diploma.....they told a little info about Hudson and said that when asked, he said he wanted to be a daddy when he grows up.

With Grammy......

........and Mimi.

Mom and dad are so proud of you!!

With his sweet friend, Emma. When referring to her, he says "she's my girl!" and it's so cute. I told Julia that we needed a picture in case one day they end up dating at ACU.

We really have been blessed the past 2 years and are so thankful for all the sweet friends and teachers at COF.