Tattoo Time

 

So, heres my new tattoo.

I must say, I like it quite a lot! The top symbol I acquired a few years back, at the ripe old age of 19, when I went to visit my dear friend Austin in New York City. I got off the plane and before we had even reached his apartment we had hatched a plan to go get tattoos. Nothing premeditated, I had no clue what I was getting I just wanted one. In hindsight.....kinda stupid. Austin ended up not getting anything at all, but he always was the smart one out of the two of us.

So for going on almost 8 years now I have had this random black mark on my back. Its actually the japanese kanji for "eternal" or "forever". I just picked it cause I thought it looked nice. But recently I started feeling like the tattoo needed to be completed, filled out somehow in to something with, you know, meaning. I started searching and I came upon the design for the bottom portion of the tattoo. It is the japanese kanji for "mother", and convienently enough had three flowers. One for each of my three fabulous children. I knew instantly it was perfect. I even emailed it to Dean for confirmation and he agreed. Perfect.

I then began pondering what colors I would use for the flowers, tossing about the idea of birthstones....but then the boys would match since they are both August Leo Birthdays. And the fact of the matter is, my boys are entirely too different to be the same color in my tattoo. I discussed it with Dean and said I thought Eden would be a good "Blue" and Jude would be a good "Green". but not like pale anything, I wanted really bold, dark, jewel tones. He thought that sounded good, but just to be certain I asked the boys themselves.

Me: Hey guys, Mommy wants to ask you something.
Them: Yeah?
Me: If you were a color, what color would you be?
Eden: (without a moments hesitation) Blue.
Jude:(with a small pause) I think I would be green, cause I am always on green at school.

Awesome.

Hannah's color I had to debate a bit, pink would be nice cause its a cherry blossom after all, but it just felt too girly-girl. Plus, Erin made me promise not to make Hannah's flower pink. And Erin doesn't usually ask me for much, unless its important. So it was then either purple or red, and I eventually chose an amethyst-y purple. I think it suits her quite nicely.

I got my tattoo done by a very nice guy named Chris, who told me all about his ex-wife and 4 kids he never sees which made me sad. But I couldn't be too sad because I was very focused on NOT crying while getting tattooed. I didn't want to look like a wimp after all. Most of it was actually painless, except right in the center. I did have to say "ouch!!" very sincerely a few times, but no tears were shed. Cause I'm tough like that.

And now I must swear off tattoos forever. Done and done. That way Erin doesn't have to lay awake at night worrying what I might do next. You're welcome, Erin. :)

Erin's Wedding

 

 

These pictures were taken last month, while Dean was home for R&R. This was my very best friend of all time, Erin's, wedding. And it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We danced, we drank, we celebrated togetherness. Her awesome photographers captured these beautiful moments, and I will cherish them forever.

Edited to Add: Please take note of the large BullDawg in the Football uniform in the background of the first picture. He was a special guest that evening from UGA, courtesy of Erin as a suprise for Chris. And let me tell ya, the man in the dog suit could dance circles around ALL of us!

Chocolate Attack

 

Mental Note: Shopping with PMS may be hazardous to your health.

These are no ordinary donuts my friends. These are chocolatey-chocolate donuts with chocolate on top. And I have eaten two already.

Anyone else want a donut? No? Ok....I guess I will just have to eat them all myself.

More Peas, Please!

 

 

If you take a look at Hannah's plate, you will see a sight not normally beheld by mothers of young children.

Peas. Lots of them.

Now, of course any one can put peas ON their child's plate. That in and of itself is not amazing whatsoever. What is truly amazing is that Hannah is in fact eating the peas. And enjoying them. Quite a lot in fact. Hannah likes her peas so much that when they are on her plate nothing else is touched or tasted. She has eyes only for those little green veggies. This is why you will notice there is a rather large pile o' peas on her plate. She had pieces of hotdog and some goldfish crackers, but I really just put those on there to make myself feel better because I know she is only going to eat the peas but I want her meal to look well rounded.

It is a curious thing to me. When I get the little pan out to boil them, she starts to get excited. I have to pick her up so she can watch me put the peas in the water, and then we have to stand there until they are ready. She says "P-Peas! Hot! MMMMmmm! P-Peas! MMMM!!!" Luckily for us, peas both cook and cool down pretty rapidly. I put a bit of salt and pepper with some butter on top, and she starts insisting "Chair! Down! MMMMM!" The second she is in her highchair and the plate is down, she goes at it with both hands, grabbing tiny fistfuls and shoving them in her mouth as if they were candy and not in fact...you know....peas.

Soccer Monsters

 

 

 

 

Yet another soccer season has come to a close. Its time to look back, and reflect on what we learned.

First, we learned that Hannah seems to have more interest in being out on the field than either of her brothers. Its not that they don't enjoy the game. Its just that the game isn't really their top priority, shall we say. The boys like being part of a team, they like wearing their cool uniforms, and they REALLY like the post-game snacks. The actual game, with the running and all of that kicking and whatnot, they could mostly do without it seems.

Jude did seem to get the general idea of cheering when his team scored and giving a hearty frowny-face foot stomp when they did not. At the beginning of the season he would attempt to kick the ball if it rolled directly in to his foot (I say attempt because even when the ball did roll directly in to his foot he was not necessarily successful in then kicking it in the desired direction). By the end of the season though he was quite often seen running towards the ball in a proactive attempt to make contact with it before it made contact with him. The focus of his gmae however remained water breaks and half-time orange wedges, but overall I was very impressed with his progress.

We also learned that Eden liked playing defense. It required less running,which meant less sweating, and there was the added bonus of getting big cheers for stopping an on-coming goal. This initially made me terribly nervous, knowing that if it got past him he could be singled out as the kid who caused the team to lose. Luckily for both of us, his teammates were not those kind of kids. And even more fortunately, he turned out to be a darn good little defender! I still encouraged him to play up front once in awhile, but he refused. He found his niche, and he was staying put. Plus, he liked to strike these "I'm a big scary goal defender" poses, with his arms and legs spread wide and a growly-grimace on his face. I am fairly certain this did not have the desired effect on the opposing team, but it did make me smile.

I spent good portion of every game scooping Hannah up just before she ran on to the field. She felt very strongly that she should be allowed out there to play with her brothers, and she made this known. Loudly. During half-time I would attempt to appease her by ketting her loose to run around the field, which made her gloriously happy for those ten minutes.

Perhaps we should take these lessons to heart before registration in the fall......both the boys have already expressed an interest in taking karate instead. Still some kicking involved, but much less running. And its indoors.

And Sammy makes.....four?

 

This is a photo taken by my sister in law, Mary, who was just here to visit. She came with me to Field Day for the boys' school. In case you hadn't noticed, one of the kids in the photo is not actually mine. I said to Mary "Here, do you mind taking a photo of me with all my kiddos?" She says "Sure!" And I say, "Ok, come on boys over here, Mary is going to take our picture!" We all get together, and I crouch down. And then I realize Sammy is crouching next to me. I laughed and said "Sammy, are you one of my kids?" and he said "No, but I wish!!"

Best. Compliment. EVER.

Sammy is a very cool kid. He is Eden's best friend, and he lives in our neighborhood one street down and then up a few houses. They ride the bus together, and this year they were in the same class which is how they came to be "best friends" instead of just "bus friends". In the past few months Sammy has come over to our house usually once or twice a week after school. He and Eden play really well together, and since they are in the same class they can do homework together. Sammy often eats dinner with us on these nights, which I love because no matter what I make he will eat it, and he will LOVE it, AND he will tell me its delicious! I swear the boys eat more when Sammy is over as well, its that whole competition thing. They don't want to be out done, but they don't have a prayer because Sammy can easily eat more then both of them put together.

One evening while at dinner Sammy randomly chimes in with "Eden's Mom, did you know Eden likes a girl in our class? Well, actually, we both like her." I did not know Eden had a crush, but I was also not suprised he hadn't told me. Eden is....an internal child. Jude will verbalize every thought and feeling that crosses his mind but Eden seems to delight in the fact that his thoughts are his own and no one can make him share them against his will, thankyouverymuch. So I said "No, Sammy, I did not know that. Whats her name?" At which point Eden turns bright red and begins waving his arms frantically in a very emphatic "STOP TALKING" motion in front of Sammy's face, since he can't speak to silence him because his mouth is full of chicken nuggets. But Sammy says "Jennifer! Just like my mom!" and starts laughing. Eden puts his head on the table. He is trying to look mad, but he is also laughing. I said "Eden! Tell me about Jennifer!" He sighs and says "Tell you what?" in that sort of Ugh-I-can't-believe-this-is-happening kind of way. And I said "Tell me what she looks like first of all." He says she has brown hair, usually in a ponytail, and braces. But he says it with this goofy, love-struck grin and blushing cheeks that I have never seen on my child before. He really DOES have a crush! It was a very big moment for me, as a Mom. Then Sammy says "I can't believe you didn't tell her already. I tell my Mom eeeeeeeverything." Maybe some of that open-mindedness will rub off on Eden. But I doubt it.

Speaking of crushes, Hannah seems to have an itty-bitty-baby crush on Sammy. When we go pick him up and he climbs in the car she exclaims "MAMMMMYYY!! MAMMMYYY! HOOORAY!!!" and the top of her lungs. When we get home she wants to follow the boys around. If he leaves the room she says "Mammy? Uh oh! Ohhhhhh no!" and we have to go looking for him. She wants to hug him and put her head on his shoulder. When he says "Hi Hannah Banana!" she shrieks and laughs and turns away. At Field Day she was so excited to follow Eden and Sammy around. I told Eden's teacher I thought Hannah might have a crush on Sammy. She said "Well, at least shes got good taste. Hes a great kid."

Oh, and I got to see Jennifer too. But Sammy had to point her out to me.

 

 

2nd Half (except its more like 2/3)

R&R is over. We had so much fun, I can't even write about it all. To sum up, we went to the beach, went on a fieldtrip with Jude's class, went to my best friend's wedding, and spent lots of time just hanging around the house being a family. Oh, and we got new carpet, which was a huge production. Overall though, it was just tons and tons of wonderful.

There is not really any way to tell someone what it feels like to have such an essential part of our family basically missing, then returned, then gone again. When he left at first there was this void, an empty space that I felt around me. The house had a silence where his voice should be. And then when he came home, it felt so loud, so full, so bright. Now the empty space returns, but it seems almost more defined in contrast with his recent presence. Sharp edges where he should be. The empty space feels heavy. Maybe that makes no sense, but its the only way I know how to say it.

There are way too many pictures to post, so I just picked two. One of all of us, and one of Hannah with her Daddy.

We have about 7 months left in the deployment, but we still like to think we are half way done. That makes it easier to deal with.

I think Patches is Gifted....(Or:So what can YOUR cat do?)

 

 

 

Our cat Patches has apparently taken up a new hobby.

Reading.

So this is what is really going on when we are out of the house! I had always wondered what the cats did in their spare time apart from sleeping and making obscene amounts of poo in the litter box. Now I know.

I hope that her little cat friends don't tease her and call her a "nerd". How will she cope with the pressures of being labeled "gifted" at such a young age?

On his way Home!!!

 

Dean is his way home for 2 weeks of R&R!!

*Lora does a Happy Dance*