Keepin It Real

Since I bragged about how great I did sending Avery to NC, I should also tell you about some of my not so finer moments lately....

like the fact that i sent him to NC without his beloved Woody doll.  i know for some people this is not that big of a deal, but for me the woman who is 31 years old and still may have certain popples at her bedside each night this is unforgivable.  if it makes you feel better i burst into tears on the way home from the airport when i realized.  and even more importantly Aunt Susan Jo had a buzz lightyear spaceship that stood in for Woody like a charm!

or the fact that hank slept and slept and slept while avery was gone.  i always judge those mom's that let one child dictate the other's life but apparently i need to pull the plank out and let hanky rule the roost a little more often. 

or the fact that when we drove to austin to see michael's brother and his wife two weekends ago hank cried at least half of the way there.  at first i tried to be sweet and keep him entertained, gave him toys, books, snacks, etc but in the end i gave up, buried my head and got plain old grouchy daring anyone to even look in my direction.  that's another plank i'll need to pull out, my cousin steven has been a long standing family joke for famously stating in the family mini-van "DON'T LOOK AT ME" in his best 5 year old indignation. 

or the fact that when there was already a babysitter at the house because i had a dentist appointment, i snuck away to the grocery store all by myself and loved every minute even though i should have been home playing with the punkins. 

or the fact that almost every night when i am cooking dinner everyone gets cranky and whiney, including me by the end of it.  i am sure there are some simple strategies and solutions.  but once the sippy cup cabinet and tupperware cabinet have lost their appeal i am out of luck.  one of these days i'll be a good mom and get everyone going on a good project instead of fussing at the little princes. 

oh well, thank goodness for grace and a fresh start tomorrow!

I Can't Believe I Did It!

Since I am not afraid to tell you when I am a terrible Mom, I am going to go ahead and brag.  When I let Avery go to North Carolina I was a really good mom!  For us, it was SO hard.  I didn't really think about it when my Aunt asked if Avery could go home with her this summer, way back last fall.  I thought I send him on Wednesday, go for the weekend and then bring him home.  But, there was supposed to be a family event that weekend and we had to book my ticket to go get him for Tuesday.  So my baby was half way across the country for almost a week!
Let me tell you he had the time of his life!  My Aunt, Uncle and cousins are amazing.  Avery got to go to the beach, pretend to camp (thank goodness it was too hot for a tent, I so don't want to have to replicate that), sit in the captain's chair on the air plane coming and going, have breakfasts that looked like butterflies, and who knows what else.  I can tell he felt so grown up and confident. 

 Avery "killin those waves mamma"

I am assuming that these two, my cousins Steven and JD, are responsible for the new phrase "killin those waves."

So, when you are tempted to say no I can't let my baby go, just do it.  You will miss them so very much, but they will love it.  Remember, those days where you feel like a super mom are when you put them first.  :)
Thankfully, Aunt Susan Jo sent tons of pictures to keep me informed and confident that I was making the right decision.  And even more importantly, thankfully I have a WONDERFUL family who want to be with my kids and will spend a whole week making them feel like so stinkin' loved!

Hank the ONLY child?!?!

 Hanging out just the 2 of us!

I love that all kids know how to put bags on their arms.  Too hilarious when it's my purse and not the block bag he usually carries.  And since I am already posting a purse picture, here is little Henrietta borrowing Aunt Linde's clip. 

Avery went home with my Aunt and Uncle to North Carolina for a WHOLE week.  Holy Cow!  But, there has been a not just silver, but platinum lining to missing him so much.  We have had so much fun time with Hank and only Hank.  We have seen him grow and change by leaps and bounds.  I think this was all in the making anyway, but it was fun to see him flourish with all the extra attention.  Hanky is now a walking fool, drunken sailor style-I LOVE this stage.  He is also babbling like crazy.  He is finally saying things.  They don't sound right, but he can for sure say bubba and something that sounds like LouLou Avery and Papa.  He also says something that sounds like all done and outside.  I have learned that my littler prince has a strong opinion about a certain 2 letter word.  He will FALL OUT over the simplest, benign Hanky no-no.  I am a mean mom, because it cracks me up.  He loves the laugh just as much though.  I love to play peek a boo because he will keep his head covered forever cracking up the whole time with anticipation.  I am so glad Avery is home, but I am also so glad for all the one on one time I got with my littler prince. 

I LOVE the 4th of July

It just MIGHT be my favorite holiday!

But seeing as how I really love them all, I don't think I could ever choose just one.

I think I love it for many reasons.  So how about a list!  The top 4 Things I love about the 4th of July!

1-It is so fun to embrace the theme in your clothes, and very easy when you have little boys.  Everything they wear is blue.  

 Our church wear for the 3rd!  Please note Hanky's FABULOUS shoes (yay for hand me downs)

 Some pretty great swimwear, too!  (We love hand me downs! I didn't even buy Avery's swimsuit, either.  I am just lucky to have friends who love the 4th as much as I do!)

We even had hand made (by Aunt Susan Jo) red white and blue firework shirts for the ladies this year.  We are all a little crusty after a day at the lake with only quick showers, but no fluffing.  Also please note that I am the only PASTY member of this group, SO not fair. 

#2- I LOVE that you get to spend all day at the lake.  I think it is safe to say that at least Avery will be joining me in this love.  He jumped off the dock, boat, JD, pretty much anything he could as many times as he could.  The kid had a blast and as always amazed me with his endless energy!

 I love his picture because both of the boys were thoroughly annoyed that I interrupted their fun for a picture. 

 Floating=Fun

 Hank and Papa doing donuts in the crab!

 Avery jumping off the dock!  It's pretty far this year since the water level is so low.  Luckily it is really deep right at the end for the boat!

#3 FIREWORKS!  I love them.  This year we didn't get to see them as much because there was a freak storm right at time.  But we got to see enough and hopefully next year the burn ban will be lifted and we can shoot of our own again.  

 Watching the show from some sweet Tyler friend's back yard.  Please note MAW's red white and blue.  He says only the deepest of love allows him to embrace a theme in such an obvious manner. 

#4 and MOST important FAMILY!  For as long as I can remember the 4th of July has been a gathering time for our family.  When we were little Papa would buy out the fireworks stand for our family fireworks show.  We swam our guts out, played our guts out, and ate tons of homemade ice cream.  I am so thankful that our whole family still makes the effort to get together every July.  It has worked out so well with Aunt Susan Jo and her clan in North Carolina and me always working the traditional family holidays, we just claim this and call it good.  

This is not everybody, but pretty close which for our non-picture taking family is pretty good.  If you look closely you can see Meme and Uncle Mark behind Daddy and I and JD sitting over my shoulder. 

I hope your 4th was great!  If it wasn't let me know and you can come to the lake next year, my family loves to share the 4th of July love!

5 Question Friday

1. If you had the opportunity to bungee jump, would you?
No way!!!! I am so afraid of heights and just generally a wimp. Sounds terrifying.
2. Would you rather go to the movie theater or to the drive-in?
I think a drive in sounds fun. We always say we are going to trek to one sometime. I am not really much of a movie person. I would rather interact with Michael or our friends than pay all that money to stare at a screen.
3. Do you have your groceries delivered?
No, but if money were no object I would. It is hard to go to the grocery store with my little helpers and I hate using time spent with Michael to go by myself.
4. Eyebrows: Do you wax, thread, pluck, or stay au naturel?
Wish I waxed but don't make the time or want to spend the money so I have caterpillars.
5. Would the people you went to high school with be surprised by your life today?
Nope not one bit and I am a-okay with that. It is a great life!

Preacher Avery and his brother

Avery's new favorite game is preacher.  I know that the cool kids these days say pastor, but trust me this is not shepherd leading pastor this is hell fire and brimstone preaching. 
It all started last week when we went to see Michael's grandparents for a little post-Father's day visit.  I have to say they have the great grandparent thing down. 

 Hank and grandad reading!

Avery and grandma racing cars!

Avery and Hank have figured out they can get grandma and grandad to do ANYthing.  So after some playing Avery decided to have "church" with grandma and grandad.  He lined them up on a pew made of kitchen chairs stood on a stool and told them "Jesus loves you" and "be nice" afterwards we derailed he told them to sing while he danced (probably not what grandma and grandad do at their church.)  I didn't know how to tell them that after watching So You Think You Can Dance he has me sing Jesus Loves Me while he break dances.  Afterwards he also took them to a restaurant where they ate enchiladas.  Guess what we like to eat after church most Sundays???

Church has become such a hit it is now a daily occurrence.  Poor Jeff and Linde got nice, sweet reading time last week when they came to visit.

This week it was a fierce sermon about being nice to Avery's daddy!  I also let them know about the fit Avery threw yesterday when I took his stool away because he was standing on it on my bed "preaching" to his brother in another fiery sermon that ended with some stool throwing.  As he cried his way to his room he said "that hurts my feelings now I can't preach to my brother."  I bet Hank was torn up about that.

Today Hank decided a nap wasn't in the cards for him and he told me the Bible says he doesn't need one!

I really hope our preacher has on pants this Sunday.  

What Doin?

I love when Avery walks up and says "What doin Mamma?"  He says it less and less often these days as he gets older and has better grammar, but it is one of those little boy phrases I will miss. 
I know I haven't blogged lately, so here's what we've been doin!
We've been splashin!
We kicked off summer with a splash day with friends from church!  It was so easy and so fun.

 I put out a few snacks, a sign and the fabulous outside water toys they boys collected for their birthdays. 

We've been lakin!

We celebrated Memorial Day at the LAKE!















We've been hangin!
We have had so much fun in our backyard just hanging out!  We love summertime playing and fun! 

I've been readin
I have also read several good books, check it out on my book blog or be my friend on goodreads!
I've been watchin
I have wasted what feels like years of my life watching the crappiest bachelor/bachelorette ever.  I can barely stand to have it on, I have to just barely watch it.  I can't imagine how bad it is for her to know what Bentley really said. 
I have been thrilled to spend time watching So You Think You Can Dance, love that show so glad it's back!
I've been eatin
I have had too many baked cheetos and not enough grilled veggies.
I have had lots of yummy fresh fruit! 
I have had too many Diet Dr Peppers and not enough H2O.
I've been observin
I have had big fun watching my Hanky Panky learn to WALK! 
I have had big fun watching Avery boy learn to swim (however, I am not sure any actual learning is taking place.)
I've been sick
I have summer-itis.  I always wish I was a stay at home mom in the summer, there are too many fun things to do to waste time at work. 
I have lake trip-itis.  Our annual trip to the lake with some church friends sans kids is days away, I am giddy!
I have North Carolina-itis.  Avery leaves for almost a week in North Carolina just after the 4th of July.  He will have so much fun, but we will miss him so much.  I get to go for a night to escort the little prince back to reality.  It will be a sad, sad flight. 
I have beach house-itis.  We get to go to some friends' beach house the end of July.  I am so excited to relax with new friends & old for a few days (again sans kids, does that make me a bad mom?)
I have Florida-itis.  We are driving to Florida in August.  It is going to be so much fun.  I can't wait for our first family beach trip with our favorite travel buddies!