Day Out with Thomas!

When "A Day Out with Thomas" rolled around last year, Brian had gone cold turkey on Thomas.  His name was never spoken, he was never played with- he was a memory of toys past.  But since this year he is full on into Thomas again, we decided to take him to see the cheeky little train in person.

As we were walking through the parking lot and he saw that huge Thomas from a distance, he pretty much lost it.  I don't think I have ever seen my son so excited before!  Yelling, running, shaking!  He just couldn't get there fast enough!

We all had a blast.  Brian was such a good boy the entire time.  There was a tent where there were lots of train tables to play with and LOTS of kids wanting to play with them.  However, there weren't very many actual  trains so Brian would patiently wait his turn.  A few times while he was playing with a train, another kid would come by and yank it out of his hand.  But my sweet boy never got upset.  He just started playing with something else and waited his turn again.  I love that boy!

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1.02.28

The Other Man in My Life

Everyone who reads my blog (all 2 of you, I'm sure) is probably wondering why I have been blogging everyday this week.  Well, I'm bored at work.  You can get a LOT of blogging done when you have absolutely nothing else to do for 8 hours.


So, I feel like it is time to introduce the blogging world to the other man in my life.

Meet Wes.

He is one of the biggest blessings that my son and I have received in the last 2 1/2 years.  God brought someone so special into our lives and so unexpectedly.  I thought I would share our story.

As I have written about before in my blog, in June of 2008 my marriage ended suddenly and without warning.  It was the most difficult time of my life.  Dealing with the emotions of loss and fear (and with a 9 month-old at the time) took a very long time.  I put up a lot of walls emotionally in order to protect the new life that God helped me build for Brian and me.  I never wanted to deal with the kind of pain that took me so long to overcome.  After the longest divorce ever (a year was long to me anyway when you are trying to heal) I actually felt a contentment that I hadn't had before.  God had provided me with a wonderful job that allowed me to maximize my time with my son since going from stay-at-home-mom to full-time working mom was a very hard transition to make.  He had also given me the greatest family who offered me their unconditional love and help along the way, as well as some amazing friends.  I felt blessed and happy after everything that had happened.

Then came the idea of dating.  I was never a big fan of dating in my younger years.  It was just a time of being super nervous and not really being yourself around someone you didn't really know that well.  And the thought of ever doing it again wasn't appealing to me.  Especially since I was now 28 and had a baby.  But people seem to think that "getting back out there and meeting people" helps.  And friends sometimes want to set you up too.  So I did that a little bit.  But deep down still felt like I was better on my own.  I was soooooo picky. And most importantly, I had a son that deserved the very best.

Then came Wes.  Wes and I went to jr. high and high school together but never had a single conversation.  Never had a class together.  Didn't even have any mutual friends.  But you know how facebook is.  You are friends with people on there simply because you graduated with them.  Which is how we were.  One day, while updating my status, I notice that Wes had posted something about Phil Collins music being his guilty pleasure.  I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE Phil Collins fan, so of course I had to comment about it!  And a few days later, Wes is kind enough to post on my wall that David Cook (the love of my life) is going to be on tv.  I probably should have fallen in love with him on the spot for that one since every other male I know makes fun of my for loving David.  But that's another story.  Anyway, the next day I get a message from Wes asking me to dinner.  And I.did.not.want.to.go.  Period.  I really wasn't interested in dating anymore after having such bad luck in the game thus far.  But after some convincing from my mom and one of my very best friends Becky, I decided that I'd go.  I mean, it was just dinner.

That dinner turned out to be the single best date of my life.  It was so comfortable, so easy to talk to each other.  We shared struggles that God had helped us through and shared what He was doing in our lives.  That was February 13th.  Our date only lasted 2 hours, but we have been a part of each other's lives ever since.

It didn't take long for God to show both of us that we were going to spend our lives together.  As many fears and issues as I had from the past, those just seemed to melt away the more we got to know each other.  We share so many goals in life and God has given us so many similar visions and desires.  And the best part?  He loves my son with a passion.  And Brian loves him just as much.  He supports me, encourages me, loves me despite my flaws.  He makes me feel beautiful and special and treats me like God intended.   And he makes me laugh harder than anyone ever has.  He is hilarious.  We genuinely love and respect each other and that was a new concept for both of us.

I asked Wes later on in our relationship what made him send me that message asking me to dinner when we didn't know each other at all really.  He said he just really felt like it was something he needed to do.  But deep down I think we both know that it was really God :)

I really didn't know if God would bring me someone.  I thought maybe it would just be me and Brian.  And I was okay with that, but deep down I wanted a family so much.  God wanted that for me too because He is going to bless me with such a beautiful one with Wes and Brian someday.

The Art of Manipulation

Had a funny story that I thought I'd share. Last night Brian was being, well, let's just say less than his usual precious self. Scratch that.  He was being super onery.  Like super, super onery.  He had gone to bed late the night before and was up at the crack of dawn so his behavior left a lot to be desired.  He was whining about wanting to watch Thomas and since he wasn't behaving, I turned on Oprah.  I don't think he's a fan, because his whining really escalated.

"Watch Thomas??????  WATCH THOMAS!!!!!!!!!" 

"No, you weren't being kind so Mommy's going to watch her show."

"BARNEY!!!!!!! (where did this come from?!) WATCH BARNEY!!!!!!"

"Nope.  Sorry."

At this point he takes off and throws himself onto the kitchen floor, where he skins his knee a little bit.  I do genuinely think it hurt because he actually cried a little.  Brian NEVER cries unless he is actually hurt.  He is a tough cookie.  And he is very clumsy so if he cried everytime he fell, he would have no tears left.  So I run over to him to look at his boo-boo.

"Buddy, are you okay??"

"BOO-BOO!!!" (While crying...well, actually now it's more of a little whining mixed with some fake crying)

"You want me to kiss it?"

"Kiss it!"

So I did.  To which he replied- are you ready for this-

"Tank you, mom.  But Barney make it better." (with a little puppy dog face)

And how did I respond? I turned on that stinkin' purple dinosaur. 

I was manipulated.  I am willing to admit that. But who taught him that???  Surely not me!  That must be something they get upon birth.  That, or he got it from his dad :)

The Great Halloween Costume Debacle

Another Halloween is fast approaching and I am yet again faced with the nearly impossible task of finding one for my son.  Now, I love my son dearly, but he makes this very difficult for me.   Let's recap the Halloweens of the past:

1st Halloween- "The Cow"

Now, you would think that a baby's first Halloween costume would be the easiest.  I mean, they are babies for goodness sake.  And Brian did okay with the hood on his head.  It was when I painted his nose that sent him over the edge.  Hence, his facial expression in this picture.

2nd Halloween- "The Bee"

I caught so much backlash from this costume that I don't think I will ever live it down.  Let me rephrase, I caught so much MALE backlash.  Practically ever man that heard about this slammed me for being an unfit mother.  If I had to hear "men aren't supposed to be bumble bees" one more time....Anyway, apparently Brian felt the same way.  And so began the hatred of hats/hoods.  And I was thankful bees don't need their faces painted because we all know what happened last year (see "The Cow" above)

3rd Halloween- "The Pirate" (aka "The Homeless Boy with Tattered Clothes)

Finally we have a smiling Halloween picture!  BUT as you will notice, he is not wearing his pirate hat.  So aside from the skeleton-looking undergarment and sword holder (or whatever you call it) you cannot tell what his costume is.  The ripped look of this costume led me to affectionately rename this costume "The Homeless Boy with Tattered Clothes".  Again, no facepaint (although I would have liked to add a little beard or mustache) and no hat.  

4th Halloween -??????

So, that leads me to this year's costume. Here are some cute ones I found, but reasons why they would probably not work for Brian.

Mickey Mouse

 

But without the ears, he would just look like a weirdo. NEXT!

Yoda

But without the hood, he would just look like he was wearing a monk's robe. NEXT!

The Cat in the Hat

Minus the hat = Unidentified animal with a bowtie.

So as you can see, I am at a loss.  Please. Help. Us.  

Brian's First Trip (and maybe last) to the Movies

As I was logging in to blog today, I realized I had never shared the story of Brian's first trip to the movies. And since it is WAY too entertaining NOT to share, I decided that it would be the topic of my blog today.

So a few months ago, I decided that maybe Brian was ready to go see his first movie at the theater.  I figured he is almost 3 (at the time) so he should be able to sit for over an hour.  He had really started liking movies like Cars, and Toy Story so I decided that I would take him to see Toy Story 3.  My mom agreed that he would probably really enjoy it, so we chose a time and decided to go.


You see, I think maybe Mommy goofed up before we even got to the movies.  All weekend I had been pumping him up by saying "Are we gonna go to the movies!?  And eat popcorn!?"  He would get so excited!  So he just kept saying, "Movies!!"  (which actually came out more like "Nommies" and I have no idea why because when talking about a DVD, he would say "Moobies".  Go figure.)  So I actually think he was sick of hearing about these movies and it taking forever for the time to actually come.


So we get to the theater and order our snacks.  Brian loves popcorn and I am sure he loved the movie popcorn even more because the only popcorn I feed him at home is the Smart Pop kind that tastes like cardboard (but hey, it's healthy, right??).  I am sure his little system went into butter overload with just one bite.  We settle down with Brian between my mom and me.  He was a little fidgety during the previews, which I will admit were a little boring.  So the movie starts and let me tell ya, I was probably more excited to see the movie than my son. 


Fast forward about an hour.  That's when things really get good.


I am very much into this movie and Brian starts REALLY getting antsy.  During the action scenes he is yelling "BUZZ!!!!!" when he thinks Buzz is in danger.  Thankfully, it wasn't a packed theater.  Then he decides it might kinda be fun to attempt to climb over the chair in front of us.  I finally make him sit on my lap which he really doesn't appreciate, but does anyway because he does not have a choice.  I had heard this movie was a tear jerker so I had been preparing myself for the ending, all the while thinking it would be ridiculous to cry over some animated toys in the first place.  It was getting to the very last scene when I decided I would let Brian go back to his own seat.


But I guess he needed a little snack because he proceeded to eat some popcorn.  Not from the bucket.  But off the nasty, gross, sticky, disgusting movie theater floor.


At this point, I have a huge knot in my throat and tears in my eyes.  I would like to say it was all because of the movie, but I really think part of it was because my son was eating popcorn off the dirty floor.


Needless to say, Brian will be staying home from the next  movie.  Although to give him a little credit, I thought he did great to sit as long as he did at 2 years old.  My mom gave him a F.  I gave him a C- for effort :)

First Day of "Pre" Pre-K

Yesterday marked my baby (well, not so much) boy's first day of "school." While I am relived that he isn't actually school aged yet, it is still hard nonetheless. Brian has been going to the Little Sprouts Learning Center at our church ever since he was about 6 months old. He started out in what is affectionately known as the "baby room" and now he is in the big-boy 3 year old class. I am going to be honest- I have been a little worried about this year for a couple of reasons.

1) Brian stopped going to Little Sprouts last year in September. I am about to admit something right now that is going to make me seem like a lunatic, but I pulled him out because of all the swine flu hysteria. Yes, I was one of those mothers who watched and read all about the bad stuff and wanted to wrap my child in a little bubble. So needless to say, Brian would be out of the whole going to school routine.

2) We are (as everyone knows) in the middle of potty training. He is doing exceptionally well- staying dry for almost 3 hours at a time, using the potty more frequently, not crying about it...So I was a little concerned as to how this was going to be affected by school. On one hand, I thought maybe seeing the other kids go would encourage him even more. But then again, my son is a routine, one way or the highway kinda guy.

So even though he was very happy when I dropped him off and didn't shed a tear (total opposite from last year) I was still very apprehensive. Well, lucky for me, those two things really weren't an issue!

But naptime sure was.

It was not good.

Not good at all.

I think the exact words were, "Got up and ran around throwing his blanket."

My heart sank. My well-behaved, always sweet, easy-going baby boy did not do the right thing at naptime. I was immediately sent into a depression that his teachers were going to label him "that kid" and that they would cringe when they saw him coming down the hall. After being told how overly-dramatic I was being (hoping for an Academy Award...fingers crossed!) I realized the truth.

It was his first day of school in almost a year.

There were 15 other little bodies in that room.

He is a 3 year old.

Better yet, he is a 3 year old BOY.

So after I had the evening to get ahold of myself, I realized that he IS going to be "that kid"- the one that radiates kindness and always thinks of others. The one who always has a smile on his face and a Lighting McQueen in his hand. I believe in my baby and I know that it's just going to take a little time before he gets the hang of this naptime thing.

Brian and McQueen's ride to school.

Holding Ninny's hand.

Sometimes life is funny

Something I saw on facebook this morning made me realize just how much life can change in just a short amount of time. And just how fast plans can change. I am a person who plans. Anyone who really knows me, knows this. I have always had a plan. And I have always made sure I followed it perfectly. For most of my younger years, my plan was to make straight A's and go to college to become an elementary school teacher. Well, I worked and worked until I was able to achieve that goal. The next major goal in my life was to meet a wonderful man, get married, and build a life together. Well, as much as I tried, that one didn't work out the way I had planned. And it was tough. You can dearly love someone and have the best of intentions, but it still not work out the way you wish it would. You can think that someone or something is the best plan for your life, but only God truly knows if it is best for you or not. It is our job to trust that He knows best. When I did marry, I wanted so much for it to be like I had always imagine and planned for marriage to be. But again, I was left brokenhearted and this time, alone with a baby. A baby that was even "planned". After 4 years of marriage and contemplating a family, we "planned" to start trying for a baby. That plan certainly came into reality, but just a short 9 months later, my marriage ended. Funny how some plans are fulfilled only to have others end.

My point in all this rambling is that I always felt like I was in good control of my life. I had a plan, and knew what to do to achieve it- or so I thought. The truth is, God's plan is the only right plan. On my own, I have been known to mess up the best laid plans by my own ignorance or motives. With God's plan, we still have to seek His help in not messing up what HE is doing by trying to take over ourselves. It is not easy and it is something that still baffles me. I have always wanted to follow "God's Plan" but most of the time I had no idea what His plan was. The thing I have learned from my years on this crazy planet is that following God's word IS His plan. If I place Him first in my life and follow His ways, then I WILL be following His plan for my life. This allows Him full control of my life to start fullfilling His perfect plan for my life. I have not always understood what has happened in my life, but one thing I have learned is that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." (Romans 8:28 NLT). I have to remember this when I get down because things aren't going MY way. It isn't my way that should be done...