A Teenager

13 years ago today I was blessed with a sweet little baby boy. He was 8 days late, hated sleeping in his bed, cried about every tooth that he cut and refused most foods until he was 4. Some where along the way he grew up. Now he is a teenager. He has a wonderful personality that shines. He sleeps in his own room, pulls his own teeth and eats nearly everything I cook. :).  

I know that this is long, but I wanted to share the video I made for Alec for his 13th Birthday. You won't regret taking the time to watch it (I hope anyway). I adore this kid and can't believe how much I love him :)

Happy Birthday A-Dog!

Just Shopping With Mom

Have you ever read a Mercer Mayer book? I just love these books! There is one called "Just Shopping with Mom" about 'Mom' and her 3 'critters' going to the grocery store.

It's totally unrealistic because at one point 'Mom' takes the baby into the bathroom to get a fresh diaper (I guess...it doesn't say, I'm just assuming). She leaves the other 2 to their own devices. They are probably 5 years and 3 years maybe. I don't know. It doesn't say, again, I'm just assuming. 

There is NO WAY in TARNATION I could take 1 little person into the bathroom and leave the other 2 to their own devices. Seriously. I have to drag every last one of them in there. And now you are agreeing that toting around the mini-potty in my mini-van is pure genius! Close your eyes for just a moment and imagine what it is like to take a 5.5 yr old and 2 almost 3 yr olds into a bathroom. AAAHHHHAHHH!! See - scared you didn't it?

I won't EVEN talk to you about what they say in the bathroom.

So, yes, in the story, Little Sister gets in trouble. DUH, but what was Mom thinking??!?! That's just not smart parenting.

But it gets better.

She then puts all her groceries in the car and proceeds to go shopping for a new dress for Sister. Honestly. Where on earth does she live??? Obviously not where I do. There is never a time that I could leave my groceries in the car to continue shopping. They would melt by the time I got back to them. And they aren't wearing jackets - so it can't be winter.

I'm just sayin'. Not realistic.

Anyway, A-Dog got to go Shopping With Mom.  Just MOM. No siblings. That alone is a true treat! His birthday is in 10 days and around here, we have to take advantage of our birthdays by squeezing as much out of them as we can (or, at least I do...). Plus, this is the big 1-3 (13) so we are making it special.

I have been struggling lately to purchase the right items of clothing for him. He has gotten more selective and I am no longer able to pick the perfect things. Sad I know. But, (ok, sit down for this) he has never really gone shopping for clothes. Here and there maybe, but never like we did on Sunday.

He got to pick out his own clothes, try things on, decide on what he wanted, regardless of whether or not it was on sale. (I know, I'm still amazed his mom let him do this!!! I think he knew what he was doing when he picked my favorite food place for lunch!).  AND, he even begrudginly admitted that he had fun. Of course, he needs to be trained on "how to put the clothes back on the hanger", not just throw it all out to me. But I loved every second of it!

But he got some nice stuff and I approve of his taste. The boy does have expensive taste in shoes though. But once we got to that point, I talked him down off that ledge and pointed him in the direction of some more affordable ones.

I can't believe my 'baby boy' will be 13 soon. He is honestly one of the greatest people you will meet. I love hanging out with him, chatting with him and spending time with him. He makes me laugh. And I do love to laugh!

Last but definitely -

NOT least - A-Dog! Seriously - do you think he needs a hair cut? Good luck convincing him! We don't argue about hair. There are so many other things I can come up with to argue about, hair is not one of them.

A-Dog is not your typical almost teenager though. Yet. I'm sure we will be getting a nice dose of it soon enough, but for right now, we are going to sit back and enjoy this kid!

The boy has always loved baseball. LOVED IT. By 2 years old he was hitting pitches that were tossed to him, not just hitting off a tee. He could spend hours playing invisible baseball (where you throw air and subsequently catch air - and believe or not, it was possible to not be good at this game. Really.) It was an obsession and by the time he was 3 or so, figured out that Sportscenter was the best show on TV.

But now we spend the better part of our lives watching him play real baseball with an actual ball. He is loved by all his teammates and his coaches. He brings a positive attitude to this game that can often be frustrating. He pretty much plays year round with a few breaks here and there.

For as intelligent as A-Dog is (because he is in National Junior Honor Society, a gifted program at school and has never had anything but A's on report cards...see why I don't argue about hair???) the boy lacks common sense. I've always said it can't be taught, so trust me when I say, I stand by that statement.

I mean look what happened to him:

He nearly got eaten by a stuffed tiger at the Wildlife Museum.

And THEN....

he was taken out by an alligator...or is it a crocodile? I don't know- it all happened so fast! Thank goodness there was no blood! What a mess that could have been!

But truly, common sense is one of those attributes that he must have traded for good hair, or his awesome sense of humor. I think for now, it was worth it - but boy, it might prove valuable at some point in his life!

For now, we will just have to spell it all out for him and just not rely on him to get us out of a burning building or anything. We do have 3 other kids that could do that. As long as we all find our 'buddy', we should all make it out : )!

A-Dog, we enjoy you each and every day! Thanks for being awesome! I love your sense of (dry) humor and I love that you think I can be funny sometimes!  I love making you laugh and helping you find humor in life!  May you find success in all you do (remember our talk about what success is?). We love you! and...GO METS! GO THUNDERCATS!!!

Ages and Stages!

It seems like life is changing really quickly around here! Kids. They just grow up so fast. A-Dog turning 12. The twins turning 2. Agent P going to Kindergarten soon... Just so many changes. Every day Mini P surprises me with a new sentence. The girl is 2 and she talks all day long, but it's ok. Because one day she will be 12 and not have much to say. Agent P is now reading to me - small books, but he's reading at 4.5 yrs old. Monkey is Monkey - over reacting when someone even sneaks a peek at one of his treasured trucks.

And at 12, A-Dog is a budding tween so close to being a teenager. The dreaded teenager :- )! He is a humorous tween. His sense of humor is amazing and he comes up with some hilarious retorts. Most of all, he gets me. He understands my dry humor and plays along. Most of the time. Sometimes his lack of 'commom sense' takes over. But more often than not, he is quite funny!

I want you all to know and understand, A-Dog does not complain. Ever. Or at least rarely.  He has shared a room with Agent P for the last 2.5 years. A-Dog slept up in his loft and Agent P underneath in his toddler bed. It was tight, but it worked. There were many nights when Agent P was noisy and annoying. But never a complaint, never a plea for space, never. For that I am grateful. I think he understood I was swapping and moving and rearranging as quickly as I could given what I had to work with.

Yes we could move to a bigger house, but we are happy here. So here we stay and out he goes.

I have now lost my office. My home office where I paid my bills, I work on my Little League work, use my computer, hide from my kids...and now that is all gone.

Gone because I gave it away.

I gave it to A-Dog.

Honestly, I'm happy that I did! Happy I was able to give something to someone who really asks so little. And he does - ask for very little. So, this is what I gave to him. A room where he can go and listen to music, watch TV, do his homework, hibernate....so many things. I'm sure he is genuinely happy. Thankful for the space and a place for just him. I get how important that can be for a 12 year old.

I will live with the stacks of things in my room. I will find them new homes. I will declutter it and minimize it.  All for the A-Dog!!! For him, I am willing to sacrafice :- )

12 Years Ago Today

My world got rocked by A-Dog. LOL!

The picture quality is awful because 12 years ago there were no easily acquired digital cameras, and if you did have one (Dad) it was ridiculous. Remember having to wait 3-5 minutes seconds for the picture to snap? Ya, that was fun. Good times. Back then you could have your *film* camera put onto a floppy. Not even a CD yet, just a floppy. I nearly had to borrow a floppy drive to convert them a few months ago. Luckily, my computer is composed of random components and it actually had one. Pure luck I tell ya!

But there he is. All *pixeled* up and everything :- ) He was about 1 month old here.

To me, most babies look the same anyway, so what are a few pixels off anyway???

Here he is today. Never mind. I just looked on the camera and those were blurry too. Geez, maybe its user error!  Ok, here he is recently...

OOPS! Did I accidentally insert their silly picture? Oh, my bad!!!  Here we go...

Ok. There. That's better!

Our A-Dog is honestly such a true blessing to us. I can tell you with all certainty that he is the easiest child to discipline in this house. I'm not saying he's perfect - but as a young child he did not like loud noises. Raising my voice 1 slight octave was enough to stop him in his tracks. Obviously by me saying this, the other 3 are NOT like that :- ). Obviously. 

Now that raising my voice is used to simply be heard around here, so that doesn't work. BUT, I have other methods now. Can you say "yard work"? The boy HATES it. I don't know why, but daddy's other kids will spend all day outside with him. Not A-Dog, he would just  rather be outside throwing the ball - any ball - or swimming. ANYTHING other than doing yard work. So, it's an effective threat tool!

He has an obsession for sports, baseball in particular. He loves the game and loves to play it. He has made All-Stars 2 years in a row and is hoping for his 3rd next year. He is loved by all of his coaches because of his awesome attitude and willingness to learn and play.  He also hates criticism of any kind, even if it is simple. That is of course, because he already knows everything :- )

He is a fabulous brother and adores his brothers and sister. They think he is the brightest star in their day. Mini P likes to sit on his stomach (when he's lying on the floor at night) and brush her teeth with her feet in his face. She knows it bugs him, and it makes her (and him) laugh. Monkey likes to body slam him when he's in that same position. (Maybe he should sit up???). Agent P could play hide and seek all day long if A-Dog could tolerate it. There on only so many places you can hide before everyone knows all the spots!!!

We absolutely love spending time with A-Dog! He is so funny and witty - and well, frankly, he gets my humor. Our kids must get humor, sarcasm and understand they will be teased if they plan to survive in this house and with our family! Plus it builds character.  But really, he hasn't quite gotten to that hate my parents part of life yet, so we still enjoy each other!

A-Dog, if you are reading this, which I know you are - we love you. We love you no matter what. We are proud of what you have become and the pride you take in being that person. Always remember that.  Happy Birthday and enjoy the next 365 days until you are a teenager :- )

Goin' Under.....

We put a pool in our backyard this year - put UP a pool I should say, but it sounds so...cheap. Well, I guess we are cheap, or practical, but mostly just cheap. Anyway, we put UP a pool this year in our backyard.

A-Dog and a friend making the most of the day!

I have to say, it is a bit of work since I don't have *pool guy* per say (my pool guy is a very busy guy and *pool guy* just adds to his many job titles and frequently shifts those duties to the bottom...). We are the ones in charge of maintaining the level of chemicals, water, salt (because we invested in the salt water generator instead of the regular chlorine method), bugs...etc. And then once a week we have to pool vacuum the bottom. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I actually enjoy the pool vacuum. I'm a freak that way. I like vacuuming the house too. Again, I know, I'm a freak. Plus, no one can be in the pool with me while I clean it...an obvious perk!

This pool is used probably 5 days a week if not more. Since I can walk out my back door and hop in (after removing some floating bugs) - it has been well worth it! I don't have to pack up 4 kids and their significant amount of needed items just to find out someone isn't interested in swimming that day. My kids like the water a certain temperature and off a degree or two can make or break the deal.

ANYWAY.

Agent P is was not a swimmer. He happily spent his time on the ladder, on the side or in the warmth of someone holding him in the pool. That is until...A-DOG! A-Dog taught him how to swim last week.

After school and homework they go out to the pool together. Each day, Agent P showed more and more progress. He started putting his face in. He started getting his hair wet. He started going under and holding his breath. He started swimming while holding the ladder. UNTIL this happened:

(I know it's hard to see (not really), but can you see the proud look on A-Dog's face?)

Agent P is by no means an Olympic swimmer, but finally finally FINALLY he moved past sitting on the ladder! Next step is coming up for air :-). He talks about swimming now ALL the time and can't wait to get in the pool each day.

Except today.

Today the water was 78 degrees. Like I said, temperature can break the deal. 82 is tolerable if the sun is out. 78 was a might chilly!