A cold frosty one

So, is it bad that I hide in certain parts of my house and eat things I don't want to share with my kids?

I found a leftover blizzard in my freezer. The kids were happily reading in the living room. I went to the kitchen sink, put my blizzard in it and happily ate the ENTIRE thing and no one knew!

I felt so sneaky!!

Okay. So I have a confession to make too. Jacob will be eight in March. Eight. For almost eight years our son had no idea what an ice cream truck was. I know. Sit down. Stop letting your jaw hang open. It's true. Here is why... If you know our boy, you know how much he loves music. When he was little, HE (not us!) informed us that he saw a music truck.

We couldn't argue. It was a truck. It played music.

I can't believe it, but he never has called it anything but a music truck for his entire life. The older he got the harder this was (and thus we were bound and determined to keep him thinking it was JUST a music truck! It was now a challenge we were up for! We wanted to see how long we could get away with it...I know...bad!! Bad!! LOL!) to not tell him!

The funny thing was that EVERY time he heard the music truck he BEAMED! He thought it was really awesome that someone would just drive around letting "beautiful" music play loudly for all to enjoy. He just LOVED it!

The other day, we heard the beautiful melody approaching our house. He simply looked at Rianna and said, "Anna. The ice cream truck is coming." I tried not to GAWK. I immediately stopped what I was doing and very calmly said, "What did you say, Honey?"

He repeated it. I then asked him why he would call it that. He looked at me and said, "Look at the side of the truck, Mom. It says 'ICE CREAM TRUCK.'"

"Oh…ya…I taught you to read,” I thought.

I totally thought Rianna would be the one that would figure it out first and tell her brother. ...but alas, no.

It was Veggie Tales, of all things! He found out about it on a Veggie Tales movie!!

Okay. Confession told. I will have to admit I was really hoping he would make it to his eighth birthday.

Go Jacob

I am very proud of my boy! He started reading The Magic Treehouse series in March. He was showing interest in reading chapter books so I bought him a couple for his birthday.

Um. He liked it. A lot.

He just finished reading the entire series (forty-one in all!). If you do the math, that's forty-one books in three months. He was constantly reading! :) I also found out that he is a better reader than I thought!

Yay Jacob! I am proud of you!

Onto the Boxcar Children series! :)

He also gets to test for his green belt in Tae Kwon Do in a couple of weeks.

My kid is awesome.

Kinda breezy

So, I had to DJ a little thing that my dance team was doing last night. It was fun. I have never DJ-ed right off my computer. I usually have a predetermined play list and plug it in. It was a pretty safe group to practice on though! :) It was much funner than I thought! :)

So, before I went, I told Jacob that I would not be able to walk away from my computer because of my "job" and that I would need his help with Rianna if she had to go potty.

So, that time came and Jacob grabbed her hand and took her to the bathroom. About five minutes later they both came back. I looked at him and he read my thoughts..."Everything okay?" He smiled and shook his head and gave me a thumbs up.

Cool. Move on. So Rianna comes striding in being her cute self. I couldn't resist. I scooped her up and twirled her around. She laughed hysterically and I brought her close and snuggled her.

Hmmmm.

She was wearing this adorable little dress. Her bottom felt unusually smooth... very smooth.

She just looked at me with her charming smile. She then said... "Mommy. I have no panties on."

"What!!!?"

"I left them in the bathroom." (Still wearing the charming smile)

Oy vey.

Has it been that long? O my heck!

This has been haunting me for a while. I started this great blog and stopped using it months ago. My first reason for starting the blog was to journal things about my kids. You know...the cute, unforgettable, weird, embarrassing, teachable, and neat things they do. Don't get me wrong, they still do all those things endlessly and every day!

So, I keep thinking that I really need to get back to writing. ...but I haven't been super motivated. I really couldn't understand why so I have been thinking about it a lot. It dawned on me that I wasn't even sure if people were reading this. Does that matter for crying out loud? LOL! NO! :)

Then I thought that I should write down my thoughts. You know the stuff that floats around in your head? Then I thought. Crud. Do I really want people to know that? Yikes! It's probably not a bad thing. It would be nice to get those thoughts a bit more organized...might be easier to see things clearer if I actually write it out and look at it, pray over it and ponder it. It gets so darn messy in my head.

Ok. That being said, I might start writing again. :) I say "might" only because I have good intentions! :) he he! I promise! I will try!

So, Toby is not working third shift anymore. That's good. At least not for this month. QT has put him on second shift. That's good, right? We get to see him more... a lot more. It's great. He gets up at 10AM-ish and usually doesn't have to work until 2 or 3. We get a few hours with him each day. He is also sleeping at night! Praise God!

Yet, I still feel like complaining. I know, it doesn't make sense to me either. Toby misses so much in the evenings. Weddings, recitals, dancing, dinners with freinds... Yes, it is better for my family, but I still find myself sad. I keep asking God for a NON complaining heart. :)

Something a little lighter.... :)

Ok! My kids are awesome (no duh...right! LOL)! The other day, Jake was in the back seat. He told me he had a "super, duper, ooper, shmooper big idea! (Sid the Science Kid)" He wanted to make an invention called "the Box of Muscles!" He then told me that whenever anyone needed to pick up something heavy they could just use some of the muscles out of the box. I told him that I needed one of those! Then Rianna piped in, "Me too, me too! PINK ones!" She is SUCH a girl! Hilarious!

Then on Sunday night, Jacob noticed a car accident on the way home. He wanted to pray for them and asked me to start. When it was his turn, he said all the things you would normally say when you see an accident. Then he said, "Dear God, I also pray that they will not have to get a new car. ...but if they do, let the new one have SPARKLES! (long pause) ...and be filled with TREASURES!"

I thought...can you pray that for me too?

:)

Sicky Poo

My poor Anna Boo has croup. Again. Both my babies got it often. She went to bed happy as a lark and woke up at 4:30 because she lost Bunny. This is normal and happens at least three to four times per week. I climb the stairs at some awful middle of the night hour so my toddler can once again snuggle with her sacred bunny. This time, as I climbed the stairs, I heard the familiar bark of a croupy baby.

After finding Bunny, getting the humidifier out of the basement and filling it up, I climbed the stairs to bundle her up and go sit out on the porch (only shortly after tucking in a very worried big brother...her coughing woke him up and he wanted to make sure she was okay). The cold air helps with breathing. As we were sitting on the cold step on the porch, Rianna was acting like her delightful self, commenting on the pretty lights, the dark, the sky, etc. She then noticed the stars. "Oh Mommy! Look at the stars!!" I glanced up to enjoy them with her. She looked at me, smiled and said, "Chin up, Mommy! Look at the stars!" So, my chin went up for a better look. At that point her hand shot out from under the bundled blankets to my exposed neck where she quickly tickled me while screeching, "TICKLE TICKLE!!! I tickle Mommy!!!" This brought a hearty laugh from me especially since it was the last thing I expected my sicky poo to do!

I found myself thinking, "This does not sound like a sick girl!!" ...but it's Rianna. She is almost always delightful...even when she is sick! :)

After putting her to bed, I turned the monitor up so I could make sure she was breathing. I thought I heard her say, "Brodder?" (Brother) I then heard nothing so I assumed she was just talking to herself. When I woke Jake this morning, he was exhausted. He told me he was worried about his sister and kept getting up after I put her back down so that he could check on her.

I told him that he was very sweet to check on her, but that I could take care of her. He really needs to get sleep. I told him that he was a great big brother. And he truly is...

Lazy Afternoons

I had a great day with my boy. Pa Pa took Anna-Boo around 9:30 because Jake had a Plateau (the reward event that he gets for completing a set amount of memory verses in AWANA Bible Club), and it wasn't over until 2. That's a bad combination for her since she is napping before then usually. So, Jacob and I headed over tot he church and had a great time.

Afterward, we went to the library and got stacks of books! Yay! We spent lots of time there since it was just the two of us. After making our selections, we headed home. We decided to snuggle down on the couch and start reading Jacob's fist "Little House" chapter book. We sat there for well over an hour reading. It was wonderful!!

I then took a quick cat nap while he had a light snack. When I woke up, he crawled under my blanket with me and we played "I spy" for a good 20 minutes. Then we ate cold pizza (yum!) and read some more. Daddy woke up shortly after that so we got to hang out with him until Rianna got home with Pa Pa.

After Pa Pa left the kiddos started to play, and then Jacob got really quiet. I walked in the kitchen to find him diligently working on something. I was immediately told that I was not allowed to look at his project. I obliged of course. A few minutes later he started busying himself with another project. He walked out to the living room where Toby and I were talking. He was smiling ear to ear.

"I have a surprise for both of you! ...but you have to follow the directions to find out what it is." We got up quickly and followed him. On the floor in the living room was a purple arrow that had been carefully cut out; it pointed down the hall. We stopped in front of our room because we found another arrow leading us inside. The purple arrows led us to Toby's side of the bed; this is where our adventure ended. At this point Jacob was having a hard time containing himself. On the floor was another piece of purple paper with another arrow pointing to it. It simply stated "I love you."

Sigh. I love my boy...

Tables and Comfort

Well. It's official. I still have darn cute kids.

We have this silly little "kiddy" table in my kitchen...perfect size for Rianna and Jacob. It drives me absolutely nutty having it in there because my kitchen is small and it blocks the cabinet and the door to the basement. But alas, every time I move it my kids notice and ask for it to be returned.

So I put it back.

Sigh.

They love it. They eat snacks there, they school, and so many other things. I have a huge map on my kitchen wall and the table sits in front of it. Jacob often stares at it and wonders about far away places. As much as I don’t like the silly table I can't get rid of it! Oh well. I think I should just plan on trying to like it instead! :)

So anyway, my kids are eating there before their bedtime snack, and Rianna wants me to sit next to her. There are only two chairs and both are being occupied at that moment, so I opt to sit on top of the table. This of course makes my daughter VERY pleased. She loves to be touched and know that someone she loves is near her. Her "happy feet" start bopping up and down as she says, "Thanks Mommy!!" I just laugh and say, "You're welcome, dear." She looks at me sideways and smiles in her "I have something witty to say" look. "Am I a deer, Mommy?" I smile back and say, "Yes, you are my dear!" She smiles, throws her head back and squealed, “NO! I am the hunter!"

Oy vey.

I often have to remind myself she is only two.

Then tonight Jake and I decide to clean his room. Yes, a very daunting task if you have seen my kid's room lately. We are both "DONE" trying to find things in it and have been talking about cleaning it for weeks. Besides, we need to find his goggles for swim class!! Well, we start tonight and it feels darn good. So, we clean everything but under the bed and in the closet. Of course...the two scariest parts, but at least you can walk in there now without yelping because you stepped on some tiny toy.

Afterward, I help Jacob make his bed and he crawls in it. We pray and give kisses goodnight. "Mom? Do you remember my li li (pronounced Lee Lee)?" I think, "DO I REMEMBER YOUR LI LI??" OF COURSE!!!" His li li was his blanket. It was one of those "throws" you give people for the wedding day that usually has patterned hearts all over it and they always have FRINGE! The fringe was the part that Jacob loved! He rubbed a hole in his blanket and it eventually tore. My mom-in-law (with permission from Jacob) fixed it and made it into two li lis. It was absolutely irresistible to Jacob. Most any blanket with fringe would do, but he especially liked this white one (or should I say two after Mom worked on it!). Well, one day he asked us to put it away because he knew he had to stop sucking his thumb and his li li made him suck his thumb.

Wow.

We were totally astonished. So, we made sure he understood what he was asking and he was okay with it. It's been in a box in the basement ever since.

Well, back to my original story... So, he asks me if I remember this blanket. I tell him that I indeed do. He then asks me for it. It kind of surprises me so I ask, “Why?” He just says he wants to sleep with it. He then says he doesn’t want to suck his thumb (and then immediately promises he wouldn’t! LOL), but that he misses the way it feels on his nose.

I tell him that I couldn’t get to his original li li but I knew where a substitute was located. He is happy with that idea. I give him the other blanket, and he immediately brings it to his nose and giggles. "This feels good, Mommy. Don't worry. My thumb will not go in my mouth."

Not what I expect. I forget what a creature of comfort he is.

Wonder where he gets it! :)

Today's the Day!

Rianna started swim lessons with Daddy this morning and Jacob is starting Tae Kwon Do.

We knew Rianna was a fish! She has always loved the water, so even though she is only 2 years, 3 months, I enrolled her in the 2 1/2 years to 4 years old class. The one for her age was more focused on getting used to the water. Getting used to the water is not her problem...getting her out of the water is something we struggle with every time she gets in! :) It was a parent-kid class so Toby took her and got in the water with her. Mom and Dad Atencio showed up too! They took pictures and cheered her on! After I figure out how to post pictures, I will make sure to do so! She was a smashing success!! Blowing bubbles, paddling and impressing everyone around her! :) Yay Anna-Boo!! When Toby was getting her dressed after the class, she kept asking him if she could get back in the water! LOL!

Jacob will start Tae Kwon Do this afternoon. We found this really awesome place! We have already met his instructor, Grand Master Kim. Master Kim has been teaching Tae Kwon Do for over 30 or 40 years. He is from Korea and moved to the states in 1975. He taught Army soldiers in Korea when he lived there. His dojo isn't far from our house. Almost every square inch of his office and waiting area is covered with pictures of his students and awards he has received over the years. It is very impressive. Not only is he the president of the Tae Kwon Do Federation, but he has been in the several major contests...including the ultimate one...the Olympics. Very impressive! Within the first few minutes of meeting him, he was talking and working with Jacob...making him laugh and gaining his respect (and ours!). His most important rules of being in his class are obeying your parents and doing well in school. He even has a list of things he wants his students to do at home, such as making your bed, helping in the kitchen, cleaning up after yourself, and treating siblings kindly. He sent home a checklist and said he will check on it monthly!

Rianna rarely will talk or touch people she doesn't know. She has to warm up to someone before they get to see her delightful self. After being in Master Kim’s presence for only a few minutes, she was smiling at him and giving him high fives! He is a Believer and it's very evident that he loves what he does.

He is impressive to say the least!

So, today is the first day of class. I will post again to give an update on how it went. The other cool thing about this class is Jacob can attend every single day except Sunday. I am hoping he can go about 4 times per week. We'll see how it goes though!

Tootle-loo for now!

------------------------

We just got back a while ago.

Wow.

I am so proud of my boy. He looked so big, so grown. It made me a bit weepy actually. Master Kim had only two others in this particular class; both adults. One was another black belt and the other a yellow. He had everyone do some exercising together, then some basic moves. Master Kim then had his other two students practice sparring with each other while he had alone time with Jacob.

He did very well. :) Master Kim is a 9th degree black belt...the highest degree you can get.

Sigh...I am so happy and so proud of him!! :)

Dancing and Drooling

So, on Sunday, I took my son dancing for the first time. Don't get me wrong...he's been TO dance with Toby and me a thousand times. This time I took him, by myself, to take him to actually dance. He didn't just hang around in the background; he came with me to dance. He was pretty excited...I was too actually. :) About a year ago, a dance acquaintance bought three pairs of kid dance shoes because they were on sale and gave them to me. Jacob has been trying them on ever since hoping they would fit him soon. They finally fit and he started itching to go with me! They are Bleyers and they are red and white. He danced the night away with me!! I made sure to wear my red dance shoes too so we could match. He loved it!

We had over 125 people at Harry's Studio so it was pretty packed. It was so cool to see how many people noticed my boy! So many came over to him and admired his shoes and made a big deal out of them! He always made sure they knew how "slippy" they were!

I got three dances with him. He did a great job. I have been working on some basics at home and he remembered everything! :) I told him that if someone asked him to dance, he should be polite and do so. He agreed. A pretty girl approached me and introduced herself and asked if she could dance with him. I approved, so she asked him herself. He smiled, said yes...then screamed, "NO! Um...no thank you! Um...No." Then tried hard to smile at her. She smiled back and said, "Okay. Maybe next time."

Oh well. We will keep working on that! lol

In other news, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I babysit a wee one. She sleeps in the dining room and Rianna sleeps in my room (no one can be on any other floor because of fire codes). Since Rianna is too big for a pack n play I usually put her on the floor on a mat in my room. Since I don’t want her to roam around the room playing with toys during nap time, I put her at the foot of then bed, and put door gates up on either side of her...that way she is contained, but still has plenty of room. I put her down with all her "things" and left her alone.

Well, I checked on her some time later and about freaked out. She wasn't on her mat! I quickly scanned the room and found her. She had figured out how to get on my bed. My bed is a captain's bed...it really high! She was totally asleep and under my blankets, on my pillow, mouth open wide and drooling. The funniest thing about the whole thing is she also put Toby's hat on. She looked adorable with Daddy's blue beanie sticking straight up.

I have super cute kids!

My tickle bug

Rianna cracks me up. Both my kids do. All the time. I asked Rianna if i could tickle her today. She simply looked at me and said, "No." I asked her if i could count her ribs. She stated the same answer. Then I asked her if I could check her armpit health. She looked at me flatly and said, "I have two of 'em, Mommy."

Wow. She's two. Holy cow.