Happy (Very Belated) Birthday, Andrew!

I'm very delinquent in posting this post.  Andrew's birthday was last month and I didn't want it to go unmentioned.  I can't believe my firstborn is nine years old!  I feel like somehow the last few years have been in fast forward mode.  His birthday this year fell on the weekend right after school ended so he invited a few friends to go bowling and play laser tag then back to our house for some late night swimming and a sleepover.  Then on his actual birthday we spent some quality family time together and went to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants Cristina's.  

So now a little about Andrew these days.  He is measuring in at 4'10.  Our prediction is that he will top out around 6'7.  His shoe size is an adult 8 1/2.  It's like a puppy with big feet!  Personality wise he is definitely my debater.  He can argue about anything and everything, even if he is in total agreement with you!  His temperment is melancholy.  He's very analytical and is my deep thinker.  I see so much of myself in him and yet there's so much about him that I just don't understand.  Andrew has the most compassionate heart of any kid his age I know.  I think it plays in with his melancholy-ness, because he is able to identify with others' feelings and put himself in their shoes.  I often wonder how much of this is innate and how much is circumstance.  When my mom died, Andrew definitely took the brunt of my emotions.  I felt very strongly that it was okay for him to see me cry and to know that it was okay to be sad.  He was very close to my mom also, and I wanted him to know that grieving was healthy.  I don't regret it for one moment because I feel that that contributed to his empathetic spirit toward others.  As for his current interests, he loves all things "boy".  He is a Star Wars fanatic (still) and LOVES legos.  He would build legos all day long if he could!  He loves to read - especially non-fiction and loves science.  He is playing soccer again this fall.  He began playing goalie in the spring and absolutely loved it so hopefully that will continue into the fall.  Andrew's love language is quality time and gifts.  His ideal day would be to spend it with Paul and I going to lunch at his favorite restaurant and then heading to either Toys R Us or Barnes and Noble to buy him whatever he wanted - haha!

I am so proud of the young man he is becoming.  Happy Birthday, Andrew!!

The Things We Do For Love

Here's a transcript of some phone conversations between me and Paul on Friday morning:

Paul: Hello.
Me: Did the dog go to the bathroom last night when you let him out?
Paul: No, I couldn't even get him to go out.
Me: I'm a little worried because I don't think he has peed or pooped since yesterday morning.
Paul: I'm sure he's fine. Just keep an eye on him and I'll take him to the vet when I get home if I need to.

Second phone call about 20 minutes later..

Paul: Hello.
Me: How do I get dog poop out of the pool?

Our 12 year old, three-legged, mostly senile yellow lab has been having "potty issues" lately. When he decides he has to go, you have about a 30 second window to get him outside. That morning when he finally decided he needed to go he was in a bit of a hurry. As he was hurrying to his favorite "spot", he tripped over the pool scooper that Andrew had left on the sidewalk, and fell into the pool. Between having only three legs and his fear of water that he's had since he was a puppy (good lab, huh?) he panicked and pooped. I got him out before he even got all wet, but the "damage" was done. FYI - dog poop disintegrates when trying to scoop it out of water...

This came less than 24 hours after this scenerio. Andrew and Jacob were playing out in the backyard, when Andrew runs in:

Andrew: Mom, Scout just ate a bunch of leaves and grass and threw up on the sidewalk.
Me: Okay.

About a minute later:

Andrew: Mom, Scout is now laying on top of where he threw up.
Me: Sigh...

I then had to wash off mostly undigested monkey grass off his side, which did not want to come off without the help of my fingers. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK. The things we do for love...

Happy Anniversary, Paul!

Twelve years ago today, Paul and I said our "I do's" to each other. I could use the cliche and say "It seems like just yesterday..." but it doesn't. We've been through a lot in these twelve years. I think we've definitely experienced the "for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health". I think back to all the heartbreaking trials we've gone through the past few years and can't even begin to imagine how I would have survived without Paul being at my side. Many of these things have been experienced in private - most of the outside world knows nothing about. There is nothing that I can't share with him and he always supports, encourages, and most of all just loves me.

Since I missed blogging on his birthday and Father's Day, I'll share a little more about him. He is the best father to these four little men that we are raising. I can't even begin to describe how much they love their daddy! When he comes home from work, their world's stop momentarily so they can run to him and hug him. He loves to play and act silly with them and just plain "male bond" (much to my dismay sometimes). I can't imagine a better partner to parent with and look forward to many more years to come.

I love you, Paul. Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day!

Where is Marianna??

I know it's been a long time since my last blog but I have a good excuse. My hard drive crashed a few weeks ago. You know, the kind where you lose EVERYTHING! And no, I had NOT backed anything up recently. We sent my drive off to a data recovery company with the hopes that they can retrieve it, but so far they have had no luck. They are trying one more time this weekend. I'm also waiting for my new laptop (a Dell this time) that should hopefully be here tomorrow. NEVER buy a Toshiba computer - I've been tempted several times over the last few weeks (actually months) to change the "b" in Toshiba to a different letter for a more accurate description! In the meantime, I'm having to do everything from Paul's stinky mac. As soon as I have everything up and running on my new system I will be holding a cremation ceremony for the old one - via a baseball bat! I'll try to post more later today as Paul will be gone this evening for a while. I've got some cute pics of the boys to put on here as well.

The Unthinkable

My heart is so sad tonight. I found out earlier this evening that one of Andrew's classmates lost her mother today. What makes it so much worse is that her dad was the one to murder her. Here in Dallas, it was plastered all over the news because the dad then tried to jump off a highway bridge to commit suicide.

I had a PTA board meeting at school this morning. About half way through our principal was called out. As the meeting ended, we noticed several officers in the school. Apparently at that time, they did not know where the dad was and were afraid that he would show up at the school to get the girls.

Andrew had already gone to bed when I heard the full story, so now Paul and I are faced with the decision on what and how much to tell him. I want him to hear it from us rather than as a rumor from other kids at school, but I don't want to tell him more than he needs to know at his age. Not that any of this should be anywhere even remotely on the radar of an eight year old. I mean, how do you tell a child that one of his friend's father killed her mother and now in the course of a day she has virtually become an orphan. Please keep their three daughters in your prayers.

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Nicholas' 5th Birthday was last week. Wow! Where does the time go?? He celebrated with a party at Chuck E Cheese last weekend then Paul and I took him to lunch on his actual birthday. When I told him he could go wherever he wanted, he chose McDonalds (but with the stipulation that we eat in the play area!). He is such a sweetheart! Of all my kids, he is definitely the most laid back - which is ironic since he was the most difficult pregnancy and delivery. While at lunch, Paul and I reminincsed about what was going on at that exact time five years ago (Nicholas was born at 1:17pm). The main thing I remember was thinking the pain was unbearable and that he either needed to come out or I needed to die! My epidural did not work and he came out at lightning speed (17 minutes and one push)! But it was all so worth it. Nicholas came along at a time in my life that was the pit of darkness. I found out I was unexpectantly pregnant with him just three months after my mom died. God knew what he was doing when he gave me this ray of sunshine. Because of the physical effects of the grief I was going through, I had a really rough pregnancy. I had no immune system the first half of my pregnancy and ended up hospitalized a week before Christmas with dehydration and contractions. I finally past a milestone around 25 weeks and began to feel better. However, at 32 weeks I went into pre-term labor and was put on bedrest while in and out of the hospital the rest of my pregnancy. Finally, at 39 weeks I developed preeclampsia and had to be induced to avoid a stroke. I think one of the most memorable moments from that time was one night when I was 34 or 35 weeks. Former Dallas Cowboy Randy White was at our house picking up some business cards that Paul had done for him. They were in his office chatting and I knew Paul was in heaven as he is such a big fan. Meanwhile, I'm in the family room having big time contractions 5-6 minutes apart! I called my dad and asked him to come up and stay with the older two. As soon as Randy left, my dad shows up to Paul's surprise. I told him to hurry and get in the car because we were headed to the hospital again. Luckily, each time they were able to stop my contractions and stabilize me so that I could go home and remain on bedrest there.

Now for a little about Nicholas these days. He had a Star Wars party (which is his newest craze). When we went to pick out his cake, he chose a Scooby Doo cake. I tried to explain that all his decorations were Star Wars that he had picked out, but he insisted on the Scooby Doo. His newest thing is to give me a thumbs up and for me to do it back to him. He loves doing this especially during his soccer games. The problem is he often does it to me after he's just pushed another kid down or kicked the ball the wrong direction! His other thing is to tell me he "very, very, very, very,.... loves me. I then say it back to him and it turns into a game to see who can say the most "very's". We have always called him our Campbell soup kid, because he has the face of the Campbell soup boy. He is the epitome of childhood innocense. He almost always has a smile on his face and just wants to make us happy. More than anything he just wants to be near us. Everyone needs a Nicholas in their lives!!

Happy Birthday, my Nicho-licko-lous!!

Brotherly Love ???

Here's the transcript of a conversation me and Nicholas had on the way to soccer practice tonight:

Nicholas: Can you be anything you want to be in Heaven?
Me: What do you mean?
Nicholas: When I get to Heaven, I'm going to ask God to turn me into a chicken.
Me: Why?
Nicholas: Because if I'm a chicken then Jacob won't recognize me and he won't be able to hit me, but I can sneak up on him without him knowing and then I can hit him.