A new love.

I recently discovered the joy of the "playaway" MP3 books at our library.

Pop in a AAA battery, plug in your earbuds, and listen away (makes the commute down to Cincinnati so much more enjoyable).

My favorite book so far has been "Water for Elephants".  I was determined to read the book before seeing the movie, but every copy was checked out, except for the playaway version.

This was, by far, one of the best narrated books I have ever listened to.  I was literally laughing out loud while driving down the highway, to the amusement of other drivers, I am sure.

And though I loved Robert Pattinson in the Twilight movies, I cannot wait to see how he portrays Jacob in this movie (ironic that his name is Jacob, isn't it?).

I have heard that there isn't as much chemistry between the two actors as there was in the book, but we all know the movie is never as good as the book, right?  I still want to see it, and compare the images in my head with those on the screen.

Do you enjoy listening to books on tape/CD/playaway?  Any favorites?  Another one of mine is "My Name is Memory"...very well narrated and an awesome love story.  I'm so ready to make my summer reading list, can you tell?

How many more days?

For those of you with kids in school, you know what this time of year means...

The countdown is on!

Which countdown?  Why, the one that tells you exactly how many more days are left til summer vacation!

Making up for extra snow days means we have twelve days left of school...June 3rd is the goal, for all of us.

Summer vacation equals lazy mornings.  No lunches to pack.  No running Isabel to school on band mornings.  No volunteering days to cram into my already crazy schedule.  Most important:  NO HOMEWORK!

It also means our annual "TOP 5 THINGS WISH LIST" for each family member activity.  I can't wait to see what they put on their lists this year.

I'm really hoping Mother Nature will get her act in gear and bring some summer weather in time for summer vacation.  Today, I have the heat back on to fight the chilly 45 degrees outside (brrr...).

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Photo op (three fun kids)

I don't know why, but I have always loved candid shots with my personal camera much more than formally posed studio shots with a photographer.  Maybe because their personalities show through more...maybe because they're more relaxed...(maybe because they're much cheaper?).

Anyway, before we took the kids to Portrait Innovations for a "grandkid photo shoot" for Mamaw Kay, I took them out in the backyard for a practice run.

Sweet brothers...

Loving siblings...

Calm and cool...

Happy and carefree...

Torturing the baby brother...

Three kids who are growing up way too fast...

Being a mom is the one thing I wanted most out of life.  I am blessed with three kids who have made that dream come true in such a wonderful way.  I hope they always know how much I love them!

Daredevil!

Gabe has been waiting "his whole life" for this:

To be tall enough to ride The Beast at King's Island.

The Beast is one of the world's longest wooden roller coasters, and my favorite ride ever.

Now that he is over 51 inches tall, the time has come...

Yesterday, he and I went on a "date" and made his dreams come true.  Although his eyes were closed for at least 50% of the ride, he did it (front seat and all!).

As we pulled back into the loading station, I gave him a high-five and asked him what he thought of The Beast...

Gabe:  "It was good, but I almost said a bad word!"

Me:  "What bad word?"

Gabe:  "The S-word."

Me (thinking sh*t):  "Tell me."

Gabe:  "Can I say it?  Okay...(whispering), it was son of a b*tch."

Me (laughing uncontrollably):  "Um, well, let's not say that again, okay?"

After braving the big ride, we headed over to kiddie land, where he was equally thrilled with riding the tiny roller coasters.  I love this age!

Although I always say NO to spending money on the games-that-no-one-ever-wins, today was a "yes day" for Gabe.  He won a ball toss game and was thrilled with his tiny prize.  And as a reward for his bravery, I even let him get a souvenir (shot glasses with the different roller coasters).

"This was a WONDERFUL day, Mom!"

Words that sing to my heart.  I had a wonderful day, too, Gabe.  In the middle of days and weeks and months that pass too quickly, these two hours spent with my youngest boy were a balm to my soul.

Today

Today, the sound of a ringing phone woke me up out of a deep sleep.

It was our local school, calling with a two-hour delay due to road closures.

The road closures were related to a fatal car-chase which ended with the death of a sheriff's deputy.  The suspect was still at large, just miles away from our home.

By the time the kids caught their buses, the suspect was apprehended, and the deputy killed was identified.

He was a 36 year old husband and father of three children, ages 4, 7 and 10.  What started as a routine traffic stop turned into tragedy within minutes.

During a press conference, the sheriff and other deputies could barely hold back their tears.  It was heart wrenching to watch.

This afternoon, another call from the schools came through, saying our kids were being held due to a second suspect at large, believed to be in the vicinity of our high school and junior high.  Elijah texted me in fear, wondering why all the police, why the delay (no information was given to the kids).

He just got home, safe but scared.  The second suspect is still loose, and I have been hearing sirens outside for the past two hours.

You read about this on the news often, but today the reality has come to my hometown, and I hate it.  Fear, despair, tragedy...all the result of a stupid decision and most likely related to drugs/alcohol.

Today, my heart aches for the wife and children and co-workers of this deputy who gave his life for the protection of his community.

Today, I will hold my own husband and kids tightly, and thank God for another day of being together.

Today, I will remember to be thankful for those who don't think twice about protecting families like mine from criminals who would harm us.

Early Mom's Day

I wanted to be a mom ever since I was eleven years old.


Thankfully, I waited until I was twenty-four.


I've been a mom for nearly thirteen years now.  And as much as I've taught my kids in that time, they have taught me even more.  I have learned the importance of patience and a sense of humor, along with learning that things like sleep and keeping a spotless house are overrated.


For this Mother's day post, I vacillated between sappy:

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."

~Rajneesh

And funny:

"Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going."

~ Phyllis Diller

And even political:

Whether you're a novice mom of a newborn, or an experienced mom with grown kids out of the house (what is that like?), or a mom like me, right in the middle...

Happy Mother's Day to you!

(And remember, that sense of humor will help when the only gift you get is a burnt waffle in bed and a hastily-made card scribbled lovingly by your offspring.)

Test blues

This week is standardized testing week for Elijah and Isabel.

They came home with notes reminding parents to feed their kids breakfast.

Really?

Being good test takers, they are not nervous at all (thank goodness).  I hate the pressure put on these kids at such a young age about these tests.  It's not the ACT or SAT, for heaven's sake.

I do have some sympathy for the kids, though, seeing as how today is my midterm for Nursing Theory and Research.  This class is taught by a professor who has her PhD in Research, and thinks we should, too.

Um, no thanks.

I have been on the Dean's list with a 4.0 so far.  This quarter will be the end of that.  And to be honest, I'm not stressing too much about it.  If I get a B in this class, it will be okay.  Not great, but okay.

I am still dreading this exam today.  I'd much rather build forts and spaceships out of the empty boxes downstairs with Gabe.  Instead, I'll be studying (insert big pouty face here).

Sigh.

June 7 can't come soon enough (that's the end of this horrible quarter).

Do your kids stress out over testing?  What was your least favorite class in school?