Banks' & Soccer

Banks participated in his first soccer clinic this past Saturday. He's finally old enough to do a sport through the recreation department. It's not a "team" but a clinic. He loved it and we got Lucius to do it with his. Lucius had more reservations about this but Banks was ready.

Listening to Coach Paul tell them about soccer. Banks was also super-excited about the gear and especially his "spiderman" ball which is really just a red soccer ball that has some black stripes on it. He was upset this morning when he realized he didn't have a team jersey like Hughes so I'm on the hunt for a soccer shirt.

Banks and Lucius ready to dominate.

Awesome Kick

Lucius giving it his all.

We celebrated with ring pops. Banks is pumped up about his next "game". He was a little sad that he didn't get to kick it in the net so next time we'll have to sneak over and do some kicks. Altogether, Banks loves all sports and has said lately that when he grows up he's going to play football, basketball, soccer & baseball. He might be our jock.

Bojangles Baseball Team 2011

Baseball season has begun and there is a drastic difference between Hughes' attitude this year and last year. Last year, he did a lot of crying, refusing to play, a lot of bribes took place and he finally warmed up the last two games to actually participate. This year, however, he has participated in every practice (happily, I might add), worked on hitting/throwing/catching, and generally has a good time. We had our first game this past Saturday and, boy, was it hot! So, you can imagine, with one inning left the heat started to get to our team. But with his last time up at bat, Hughes cracked the ball past the 2nd baseman and ran to first. I brought back my ol' cheerleading days and was jumping up and down just like I would have for the Cavaliers with my pompoms. I was proud, David was proud, Hughes was very proud. Oh, did I mention BecBec, Kentos, Aunt Trina, Bryce, Lucius, Banks & Collins were also all in attendance and cheering loudly. He had enough batters behind him to get him to home plate.

The Team

Hughes - age 5

Check out those 3rd base coaches - ridiculously good looking

Running home with Mr. James ready to give a high-five

Conley taking a pose on 3rd base - he's serious about baseball

Rite of Passage

Today has been an amazing day for us but for Hughes especially! He learned to ride his bike without training wheels!

Helping Dad take off the training wheels.

Getting ready to start practicing.

Mom working with Hughes.

We had stopped and were about to pack it up when Hughes, while leaning against the car still on his bike, decided to start pedaling and OFF HE WENT!

That little bit of "doing it on his own" is what he needed to boost his confidence. It was amazing and something I'm so proud of him for having the courage to do.

Way To Go Hughes!

Happy 6 Months!

Collins turned 6 months old this week. His personality is blossoming and he wants to "eat" everything.

It's hard to get him to sit still for a picture so we have lots of action shots.

Okay, now we seem calm. At least one picture that is not blurry.

What is Collins doing?

He's eating food - sweet potatoes, apple sauce, and carrots

Not rolling over - Dr. doesn't seem to be concerned

Not sitting up - Dr. doesn't seem to be concerned

Smiling/Laughing all of the time

Reaching and grabbing toys

Mouthing toys, everything within reach

Sleeping like a champ - 7pm - 7am

Takes incredible naps when we're home

Loves it when Hughes or Banks sing to him

Absolutely loves bath time

Looks a lot like Hughes to me

WOW

Apparently, this mother's confidence is not an issue.

Do you think David would mind if he came home and saw this on the suburban?

Motor Cop Rodeo

On Saturday, we went to see the Motor Cop Rodeo. This is a competition where motorcycle officers from all over compete to see who is the best obstacle course driver. Some events are individual, some are follow-the-leader, and some are tandem (two bikes tethered together). It was at the North Charleston Coliseum parking lot and it was a lot of fun to watch. Each obstacle course was timed and points were deducted for knocking over a cone or grazing a cone. The individual winner with the best time gets the name Mr. Rodeo.

I got to catch up with two teachers that I use to teach with whose husbands are motor cops. Officer Matt Smoak was nice enough to let the boys sit on his motorcycle and take a picture. He came in 3rd overall - way to go Matt!

Check out all of those motorcycles in the background. It was loud but very interesting to watch. These officers definitely know how to maneuver their bikes.

Botany Bay

During the beginning of March, we went down to the creek house for some R & R. The Steeds joined us one night and the next day we ventured to Botany Bay. It was a beautiful day but very windy. The boys had a great time checking out all of the shells and building their very own shell trees.

It's Good To Have Friends In High Places

Conley & Hughes

Lessons Learned

I celebrated a birthday this past week and now that I am smack-dab in the middle of my 30s, I thought I would share 35 things I've learned about life since becoming a mom:

35. Tantrums at 6pm are often a result of being extremely hungry and/or extreme exhaustion.

34. Tantrums at 6pm often end with child asleep on floor. It's okay to wait it out.

33. Baby/Kid fingernails need to be trimmed once/week.

32. Target diapers are good.

31. Generic formula is great.

30. Hand-me-downs are wonderful. (Thank you Lisa)

29. I'll never be the same size as I was before having children and I'm trying to accept that.

28. It's okay to request a specific toy in the Happy Meals if it means that my boys will be ecstatic.

27. Boys love to play dress-up just as much as girls do.

26. Legos are intense and require a college education to follow the directions.

25. Legos hurt like a son-of-a-gun when stepped on.

24. Moms need nights off, girls' night out, alone time, etc. or we go crazy.

23. It's more fun to shop for my boys than me.

22. I'm happiest when the toys are organized and my floors are clean.

21. Moving from taking a bath to wanting to take a shower is a huge deal and timesaver.

20. Bedtime is something that I am not willing to budge on during the week.

19. Hearing your children ask about God always brings tears to my eyes.

18. Extinction is a hard concept to understand. Would someone explain to Hughes why he can't have a pet dinosaur?

17. Boy toys are more fun than girl toys.

16. Only a bath can get dirt from under the fingernails out.

15. "Sleeping in" means 8:00am.

14. Hearing/Seeing your children use good manners makes a mama proud.

13. Kisses from your children never get old.

12. Baby slobber on your cheek feels just like a kiss.

11. It's painstakingly hard to watch your child struggle with something.

10. Punishments must be tailored to the child. Time-outs work for some whereas pops work for others.

9. I'm a big believer in tubes for children who battle repeated ear infections.

8. When your child's feelings get hurt so do yours.

7. A good coach can make a world of difference on a team.

6. Going grocery shopping by myself is something I look forward to doing weekly.

5. Don't buy any expensive rugs/furniture until all children are grown and out of the house.

4. Leather seats are worth the upgrade when you have kids and juice boxes.

3. DVD Player in the car is a god-send and definitely worth the extra cost.

2. Husbands can make the best superhero noises, battle explosions, wrestling moves, etc. when playing with their little boys.

1. Unsolicited "I love you" and kisses make everything better. Oh yeah, so does a beer on the back porch :)

What lessons have you learned?

Say What?

Here are the latest sayings, mispronunciations, conversations, etc.

On the way to baseball practice:

Hughes: I wetting.

Me: You're what?

Hughes: I wetting.

David: You're sweating?

Hughes: yes, I wetting.

Will we ever get the "s" sound?

Outside of school:

David: Banks, look at those bird houses. Who do you think put them there?

Banks: God.

In the car with Lucius sitting beside Collins.

Lucius: Mimi, the baby shut off.

Me: what?

Lucius: the baby shut off.

Me: oh, he went to sleep.

Lucius: yes, he shut off.

A couple of weeks ago we had Olivia, Reese, & Jacob Daniels over for dinner. Jacob and Hughes were playing in the den when Jacob came into the kitchen. Jacob asked David if Hughes was speaking spanish. Geez Louise! Guess we'll keep trucking along with speech!

Lent Pledge 2011

I pledge during Lent to give up clutter.

I'm tired of my kitchen counter becoming the catch-all for random drawings, mail, small toys, etc. My goal is to get organized and I'm using simplemom.net to help me do this. While this is a weekly thing, I'm also pledging to organize one part of my house per day. This may be a drawer or a bookshelf or a toy bin but something will be organized. By the time Easter rolls around, I will have one insanely organized house!

This may seem like an easy, no-sweat pledge but with three boys, one big, hairy dog and not a lot of storage space things can get out-of-control quite quickly around here. Did I mention that the three little boys aren't the best at keeping their toys organized or that the big, hairy dog has yet to figure out how to sweep up behind himself? So, this will be quite a task for me and I'm ready to take it on.

Bring it on, Clutter. I'm ready.

Weekend Update

It was a beautiful weekend in Charleston. On Saturday, we took the boys to see Auburn play College of Charleston in baseball. Auburn won and the boys were good - the blowpops helped them sit still.

We still have those blowpops wrapped in ziploc bags that I plan to throw away very soon. Talk about teeth rot!

Then, on Sunday we met G-Daddy and Dawa at Hall's Chophouse for Sunday brunch. They were down here living it up at the Charleston Food & Wine Festival. The brunch was fantastic but I have to admit that I got a little nervous taking 3 little boys (2 excitable little boys and 1 baby) into such a fine restaurant but they did pretty well. Banks left his mark on the table cloth - literally - he colored the table cloth with his crayons. Sometimes coloring on the paper can be just as hard as coloring inside the lines.

After-Brunch Picture

Collins - 5 months old

Where has the time gone? 5 months has passed and I feel like Collins has been in our lives forever. The boys continue to adore him and always have lots of questions about him (why can't Collins eat food?, Why doesn't Collins have teeth?, Why does Collins drink special milk?). Collins continues to be a great sleeper & eater. I have not introduced cereal to him yet but plan on doing that this week.

Since his 4 month post he has been introduced to the exersaucer. We are currently building up our endurance and, right now, can last about 15 minutes happily. After that, he's done with it. He's on the verge of rolling over if he could just get his inside arm to move up. He's so close and loves to swing his hips over to the side.

Happy 5 Months Collins!

Sweetest Thing He Ever Said . . .

While in church on Sunday morning at the end of the service the choir stood up to sing the last hymn. Banks looked up at David and asked, "are those the angels".

MELTED MY HEART!

Total Blackmail

What happens when your boys play at a friend's house that has three girls?

Lucy, Hughes, Bank & MaryBec

No one made them put these leotards on. It was their idea.

Hughes' Latest Artwork

This may be one of my favorite things that Hughes has done yet in preschool. It is a picture of me that he drew and colored along with answers to questions about me. It's always nice to get a glimpse into my 5-year old's head about what he really thinks.

It's titled: What my mom does while I'm at school . . .

I eat peanut butter, water, orange juice and cheese.

I talk to Dad and Banks.

I play with Banks when Banks stays home

and when I leave him at school I go home and don't do anything. (WHAT!)

What's your favorite thing to do with your mom? play with boats

How do you know she loves you? because she told me that

What's the silliest thing your mom does? she sticks out her tongue at me

Yo, Ho, Ho

and a bottle of rum.

Muffins for Mom

The boys' school had their annual Muffins for Moms morning. Both boys were super excited about me having muffins with them and I enjoyed it, too.

I promise Hughes was excited. He hides his enthusiasm well.

Fossil Show = Shark Tooth Show

Last Saturday, we were trying to avoid the crowds downtown at the SEWE festival so we decided to head to Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner to see the Fossil Show. Well, as it turns out, that particular day Berkeley Co. residents got in free. We basically traded one crowded place for another. And the "fossil show" was pretty much a shark tooth show. Any fossil that was really interesting had a plaque beside it stating "replica". What the heck? I don't want to see replicas! I want to see the real deal!

So, the boys settled on looking at hundreds and hundreds of shark teeth. I, on the other hand, just enjoyed the people watching. It was an interesting crowd of scraggly beards, overalls, and missing teeth but they had enthusiasm that was for sure. I watched one vendor have a discussion on shark teeth while having half of a sandwich in his hand which he used for gesturing and chewing bites of said sandwich all while letting his beard catch the crumbs. I had to stop myself from staring.

The boys had a great time. They each got to pick a $1 bag of random shark teeth and do the fossil dig which was a baby pool filled with sand and mostly little shark teeth. Hughes supposedly found a whale ear bone. We decided to be the optimists and go with that label but who really knows what he found.

Checking out the shark teeth

My butterfly and caterpillar

David and Hughes showing his shark tooth necklace

Me and Banks chilling with some jell-o

And, this my friends, is why I refuse to go on a boat ride through the swamp. I realize that my fears are unrealistic. But, I may just be the one this little guy is waiting for or my children may look like just the right size for a chomp. Either way, I don't like alligators and I'm not going to chance it.

Do you see him? I spotted him while on our walk through the swamp. After that I couldn't take my eyes off of the path. I was constantly looking for alligators & snakes. Not the most relaxing walk.

To The Boys

Dear Hughes,

When you come home crying from a friend's house, I cry with you. Not always in front of you but I always cry tears for you. You are a sensitive boy and feel things deeply. You wear your heart on your sleeve and at this age and the coming years that will be tough. I hope Dad and I can guide you to where you are able to let some things roll off your back but still maintain your sweet nature. And know, whenever you need to let your tears flow, I'm always here to listen.

Love,

Mom

Dear Hughes & Banks,

It doesn't matter what color cup, plate, or straw you have. All food and drinks taste the same no matter what color container they are in/on. If you don't get it together, I'm going to give all of the colored cups, plates & straws away to children who don't have colored cups, plates & straws. And then you will be left drinking out of the cups of your hands and eating food off of the floor.

Love,

Mom

Dear Banks,

The threes are not suiting you. Sometimes, I swear, I think your head is spinning. One day we will look back at this time and laugh. But, right now, I'm not laughing.

Love,

Mom

Dear Collins,

Thank you for being a great sleeper. You definitely know what mom needs. Can I give you some advice that would make my job easier? Don't get so relaxed in the tub to the point that you poop? I understand that accidents happen but when said "poop" has been cleaned out, tub cloroxed down, refilled with clean water, baby placed back in tub to get washed, don't go and then poop again before I have a chance to wash you. Then, I have to go through the entire process again before I can officially wash you with soap. Next time, do it to your father when I'm out of the house :)

Love,

Mom

Collins - 4 months old

Today Collins is 4 months old!

It seems like just yesterday I was as big as a house, waddling around the neighborhood chasing Hughes & Banks, complaining of exhaustion, sick of sleeping on my side, hot as h&%*, Tums addicted, and praying for a healthy baby boy. And now, I have that healthy baby boy and life couldn't feel more complete.

He's cooing, He's drooling, He's watching, and He's sleeping like a Champ!

I put him down at around 7 and he sleeps until 7 (at least that is what time we get him out of the bed). Sometimes he feels the need to wake-up at 5am but homeboy just puts himself back to sleep - Mama doesn't do 5am.

He's very observant and loves to watch the older boys. Hughes and Banks continue to love him and Banks has shown a real interest in holding him (which could be good & bad). He loves to sit in the Bumbo but still doesn't like tummy time.

I'm still nursing him 4 times a day and then he gets a formula bottle (8oz) at 7pm right before he goes to bed. He's not quite as big as his brothers were at this age but that's okay. He's perfect for Collins.

Length: 24 1/2 inches 45%

Weight: 13.15 oz. 25%

Head Circ: 43 cm. 75%

Happy 4 Months Birthday, Monkey!

Head protection

just in case we fall off the toilet!

We have a serious love for all things Batman!