Moments that matter

I'm standing at the stove stirring something... Connor (who, by the way will be turning 12 in a few short days) says something to me. I turn and he is standing next to me. I look "up" yes up to listen to what he is saying. As I'm trying to process the fact that I'm looking UP at him and what he's saying to me, he pauses and says "Mom, I'm taller than you". I said "I know I was just thinking the same thing." Of course he had no idea that my heart did a little flip flop in my chest. (My baby boy is taller than me) In all truth he was wearing shoes and I wasn't so he's probably not technically taller than me..but soooo close.

Later in the morning the boys were jumping on the trampoline and playing around in the backyard. I suddenly became aware that it was very quiet. I stepped out onto the back deck and looked down and there they were.......... just laying quietly chatting and watching the dogs. In that moment I had a feeling of thankfulness come over me. I am so thankful that they have and will always have one another. Even though they probably don't realize it right now.

I quietly slipped into the house and got the camera. I slipped back out and took a quick picture without disturbing them.. I'm so sneaky.

What my boys have to say about me..

I came across this idea for Q & A's from a couple of other blogs. You may want to check them out. One is The Emerson Family blog, another is A Nut in a Nutshell. I thought it would be scary, I mean fun. So I asked the boys a few questions. Here are their answers.

Connor, 11 yrs old
Alex, 8 yrs old


1. What is something mom always says to you?

C: Pick up your shoes.
A: Pick up your socks and shoes.
Me: I think I see a pattern forming here. See my blog about socks.

2. What makes mom happy?

C: Our family.
A: When we do the right things.
Me: That's pretty darn accurate



3. What makes mom sad?

C: some movies, well most movies.
A: Sad movies.
Me: Yes, I'm a big sap and I can find something to cry about in just about any movie I watch. It's embarrassing to me but my boys are used to it.. two of them know just when to hand me a kleenex and not say a word but my youngest will usually look straight at me and say "omg
Mom! Are you crying about that?!" Or when a certain part comes up he will look at me and say "Are you going to cry Mom?"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

C: I don't know. You're just funny.
A: When you tickle me.



5. What was your mom like as a child?
C: I know that you played with dolls. (true)
A: I don't know. (looking at me like what kind of question is that??)



6. How old is your mom?
C: 42. Easy question.

A: 42.
Me: Did I mention my kids are Dyslexic?

7. How tall is your mom?

C: 5' (he forgot the 3/4" on that, but I'll let it slide this time)
A: I dont know 5'? Mom, why are you asking me these questions??



8. What is her favorite thing to do?

C: Blog and scrapbook.
A: Go out to eat.



9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

C: Clean and blog.
A: Work
Me: I wonder where they got the illusion that I clean and work when they are not around..


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

C: Excellent Blogging :) (wasn't that sweet)
A: don't know.


11. What is your mom really good at?


C: blogging, scrapbooking and family football.
A: Reading.



12. What is your mom not very good at?

C: dancing (ouch) (remember Elaine dancing on Seinfeld, that's what popped into my mind)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xi4O1yi6b0

A: I don't know (good answer but also a cop out)


13. What does your mom do for a job?
C: Take care of us (smile)
A: Mom, just type something random ok!! (he's just not into this. if it's not about him he's just not interested, I wonder if I may have spoiled him just a little..nah.)



14.What is your mom's favorite food?


C: Rocky Road Ice Cream (that is one of them for sure)
A: Mexican. (right on)
Me: Gee, I wonder why I'm having gall bladder surgery next week?


15.What makes you proud of your mom?
C: Her excellent blogging and scrapbooking. (smiling, this is going much better than I expected)

A: Can we do this later??? ( well, maybe not. I do believe he's losing patience with me.)



16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
C: Betty Rubble (he said Mrs. Puff from Sponge Bob first but was nice enough to retract, although even I can see Mrs. Puff is closer.. dang. The truth hurts.)
A. Minnie Mouse.
Me: I would love to know which cartoon character you think I resemble??

From blog cartoons

From blog cartoons

From blog cartoons

17. What do you and your mom do together?
C: Football and internet stuff.


A: Puzzles



18. How are you and your mom the same?
C: We both like the computer.

A: We both like Mexican food.



19. How are you and your mom different?
C: I'm going to be tall..(lol) (thanks a lot)


A: I'm a boy.. (he said it like duhhh)



20. How do you know your mom loves you?
C: She hugs me. (every chance I get)

A: Because she's my Mom.



21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
C: He's nice. (simple but true)

A: He makes us eat fruit. :)

Me: and he has cute buns.. ( just thought I'd throw that in to see if he's reading my blog.. he will be horrified.. oh this is so fun.)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
C: Wichita to see her family. (very perceptive)

A: Archivers Scrapbooking store.

Me: I thought for sure Alex was going to say Brewery Bar or 3 Margaritas.. we seem to have a food theme going with him.

Well, this was fun for me even if Alex ran out of patience. I hope you enjoy it too. I would love to see some of yours. You could even mix it up with different people in your family.

Gratitude..

Going back a few days to my Do you feel what I feel? post I have been pondering why it is that so many people have that after Christmas let down. Well I don't have the answers yet but I do want to tell you about something.
My oldest son (I don't know why but by not mentioning his name I don't feel so guilty talking about him..haha) Anyway he is going to be 11 in just a few weeks and he is starting to show signs of going thru........puberty. He's been pretty moody and grumpy at times. I really didn't expect it this early but from what I'm reading it's the normal time..anyway I noticed he showed some depression around Christmas. When we were still opening presents he disappeared to the other room. I had to go "invite" him back in.. he just wasn't in the Christmas spirit. He usually loves all holidays, especially Christmas. A few mornings ago I went to wake him up and we were chatting (I love these moments) He told me he was disappointed in Christmas. My first instinct was to say "Are you kidding me???" You got sooo many presents..you should be thankful.. do you realize how much you have compared to some people??" Anyway I kept it all in for the most part because I could see he truly was sad about something, and I knew it didn't have anything to do with material things.

I took a deep breath and tried to just let him express himself, then I explained to him that I thought sometimes there is such a build up to Christmas that we lose sight of what really makes us happy. The traditions, family, friends.. etc.

So I thought about this for a few days and I have to admit I was a little discouraged and feeling like my kids do not appreciate all that they have. I was thinking about how to teach them.. I thought about a soup kitchen... doing things for others..etc. I'm still thinking about that but I came up with something so simple for now and it really worked! So I wanted to share it with you.

At dinner the other night I told everyone that I wanted to talk to them about something.. They all had that deer caught in headlights look on there face like "Oh no, what's Mom come up with now?" Anyway I told them it may sound a little corny but........... My oldest son said not without sarcasm "Is this something you saw on Oprah?" I said no. He then said "Dr. Phil?" I calmly said no, but thought seriously about sending him to his room without dinner...

So I told them I thought it was a good idea to focus more on things we have to be thankful for instead of the usual dinner conversation about who was mean at school and who did what to who. There is a place for that too but maybe less of it. So my idea was every night at dinner time we will all come up with 3 things we are thankful for and at least one has to be something to do with that day.

I was pleasantly surprised that after teasing me a little they all really enjoyed it. I was also impressed by what they came up with.. It really started some interesting conversation and we all left the table feeling uplifted. I was encouraged that my kids really DO appreciate all that they have and they do realize they are fortunate, they are just being kids when they complain.
It's amazing what a little gratitude can do!