important things to know

 This boy turned three on Sunday.  Dad gave him these Hulk gloves and Mom gave him a shark poster and dinosaur.  Plus a chocolate cake.

 Lux now goes to church.  This was her first Sunday wearing an outfit from Aunt Alana.  She liked the music but didn't like the temperature of the building.

 I threw away Larry's boots. 

While I've never been one to say no to my kids' outfit choices (as seen below...You want to wear a pirate hat to Smith's? Fine. Superman cape? Go for it. Green frog boots in August?  Great.) I had to put my foot down as these were falling apart.  Literally.  Larry would walk and they flapped around.  Seemed bad for the ankles.  But I was sad to see them go because they are SO LARRY. 

And finally my 30 day goal of no treats came to a halt today (day 19) unexpectedly as I sliced the last pieces of cake for the boys tonight.  Let me first say that I resisted Tod's Mother's Day gift of TWO POUNDS of See's chocolates.  I even avoided cake on Larry's birthday and all day yesterday.  However, tonight I gave Larry a piece, gave Lennon a piece, then eyed the rest of the cake just sitting on the counter...and the rest is a blur.  Maybe I blacked out, maybe it never happened but I ended up with no cake left and hiccups.  Which just shows that this is a real problem. 

Starting again tomorrow.  The good news: Cake is gone.

girls' night

I want to find the person who created Father and Sons' campouts and shake their hand.  Thank them.  That person was a mom, no doubt.

Because the above note is what I get when I say, "No yogurt until you finish your dinner."  A bit harsh if you ask me.

Other good news - this cute girl is five weeks old today. 

Last year's campout here.

Time to party sleep.

note to heaven

Hey Dad. 

So.....do you still follow my blog?  You were such a loyal reader before you died.  In case you're still there, we miss you.  Two years ago today you left us and nothing has been the same since. 

We are doing well. Lennon still talks about you all the time.  The other day I asked what he remembered about you.  His answer:

"I remember we ate on the deck a lot and he always wanted to do whatever I wanted to do...and he always listened to everything I said.  Don't you think that means he loved me a lot?  Since he was always listening?"

Whenever Larry sees a picture of you he points and yells, "PAPA!" like you never left.  He is learning his letters and beats us at UNO nine times out of ten.  You would love hanging out with him.  Tod would want me to add that his lats are getting stronger every day.

And Lux.  She is perfect.  She would've had you under a spell.  Just seconds before she was born I suddenly started thinking of you.  It made me wonder if you were there.  If you were telling her goodbye as we met her for the first time.  I'm not sure how things work up there but I'd like to believe you two know each other well.

This morning on my run jog walk I thought of you.  Pandora played all your favorite songs.  It felt like you were telling me hi and letting me know you're there.  I passed all my regulars who walk the same route.  Most of them twenty or thirty years older than you were.  I always wonder why do some people get old and some die young?  Why do some people get sick and others stay healthy?  Thanks for showing that either way it doesn't matter.  Do your best.  Don't complain.  Have some faith.  Be happy with what you've been given.  Life is good.

Missing you today, Holly

one month and big news

Guess who is already one month old?

 ...and guess what I did to celebrate?  Took THREE KIDS TO TARGET ALL BY MYSELF.

I felt like Wonder Woman.  

walkie talkies

For my birthday, Tod gave me three 750 minute calling cards.  To Canada.

Because he says the phone bill is "too high" every month and that I "talk to Megan too much" and that maybe she "shouldn't have moved to a different country" blahblahblah.  I say, what's an extra $100?  You can practically find that in your couch.

So we haven't talked since my birthday because I can't find the calling cards.

Then Sara told me about this app called "HeyTell" and it basically works like a walkie talkie...I push a button and send Megan a voice message then my phone alerts me when she's sent one back.  We've been conversing via walkie talkie for a week now.

Me, Megan, our matching outfits, and the man who decided to give up at mile 22.

Me to her: Tod wants to know if Canada has a Dancing with the Stars.

Her to Me: Hmmmm I don't think so...although we DO have Real Housewives of Vancouver.

Me to Her: No one cares about that show. Why can't Canadians come up with their own pop culture?  Oh wait I know...because Canadians want to be Americans.

and so on.

I think my next walkie talkie message will be:

Hey Megan, come back.

larry love

Being a parent is scary.  You have so much to lose. 

Which is easy to forget when you're driving to swimming lessons with three kids in your car.  The baby finally falls asleep as your almost three year old decides to start screaming...baby wakes up.  It's easy to get mad.  It's easy to lose patience.  It's so easy to forget who you're dealing with.

The loves of your life.

It's easy to get to those swimming lessons only to get caught up in conversations with friends.  Easy to apply the sunscreen to everyone's backs then check on the baby.  Ask how people are doing.  Thank someone for dinner.  Easy to forget to watch closely.  To never take your eyes off of them.

Today could've been so different.  Today when I didn't see Larry jump into the pool we could've ended up at the hospital or worse.  Today if Kristie hadn't screamed my name I wouldn't have run and jumped in after him.

What if we'd lost him?

I wouldn't have heard him digging as I made dinner tonight.  I wouldn't have been able to snuggle with him before bed or wash his hair during bathtime.  My heart would've had a permanent hole. 

I will read more books.  I will not skip pages.  I will not freak out over silly stuff and I will hug and kiss more often.  I will let the dishes wait so we can jump on the trampoline.  And yes...go ahead and keep digging holes in my yard.  Just stay safe and healthy and alive.

light

The first thing I want to say is that we never planned to name all our kids with L names.  It just happened.  If Lux had been a boy, she would've been Marcus.  Non-L name.  No theme. 

In fact, we decided on Lux's name eight years ago. We were living in Dallas and I was reading what became one of my favorite books. Lux was the main character. I mentioned the name to Tod and he announced his first daughter would be Lux.  We looked it up.  Lux is Latin for light.

 When I found out I was pregnant with her I assumed she was a boy.  However, my due date was the same as Alana's birthday so a part of me thought maybe it was a sign.  That was when I decided if it was a girl, she'd be Lux Alana.  Too perfect.

 Two weeks before she came we were at Babies R Us.  Tod asked if we should get a new carseat?  I declined and said the old one was perfectly fine.  Who cares.  Babies don't know the difference.  We can scrub it out.  It works. 

However, it all changed when she arrived. The first time we placed her in that dingy carseat I was appalled.  She needed a new seat now.  Yesterday.  I wasn't taking her one more place in this old thing.  She needed her own.  Brand new. 

 She has her new carseat and I feel better.

Today I turn 31. I feel like I already had my birthday because she is here.  She has brought us light.