The End of an Era

Last week our oldest turned 12.  As in, the year before being a teenager.  The last year of being a child in his mind.  It's a little scary, and quite sad to see how quickly time goes by.  (Because I'm not reminded enough of this watching the fussbucket grow up the past year and a half!)  I think it's fair that I shouldn't be calling him our "little" boy anymore, but I can't promise I never will.  Because even though I see him every day, there's still part of my mind that sees him as a five year old still.  (We won't get into why...ha!)  Regardless, I've decided I'd like to be 12 again solely for the awesome birthday celebration!  C really took the cake with a special birthday weekend planned just for him!

It started on his actual birthday with a relaxed evening at home.  Pizza, a move of his choice and cupcake fondue.  That's right folks, I said cupcake fondue.  Now, I may have been more excited about this than the birthday boy, because from the moment I found the idea on Pinterest I had to do it.  C was the lucky one with the next birthday!  I thought it was much more fun than a boring old cake!  He thought it was cool, but the adults definitely spent more time around the fondue pot!

Saturday morning we headed out to Myrtle Beach and treated the birthday boy to a rocking good time at Medieval Times.  We'd been once before as a family, but this was by far the best trip for us.  We were joined by great friends and neighbors which made it extra fun and  we splurged for the celebration package and were seated in the front row!  This meant that the knights could actually hear us heckling them.  Right up a 12 year olds alley!  The poor knight next to us was such a good sport and really gave it back to Cody!  It was a lot of fun!  Even the fussbucket enjoyed the evening.  He went a little crazy with the banner nearly poking his parents eyes out, but he was well mannered throughout the whole thing and didn't freak out at the loud noises.  What a great present for his big brother.

   We rounded out the weekend with a trip to Ripley's aquarium and lunch at Landry's at Broadway on the Beach.  I thought both boys would really enjoy it.  To be honest, who doesn't love an aquarium.  They're peaceful, colorful, educational and downright amazing!  The best part was the shark exhibit by far.  Oh, and the 75% military discount!  Thank you Ripley's!  (If you're ever in Myrtle Beach, they offer a 75% discount on all their attractions!  Awesome!)  We missed the mermaids, but maybe we'll time it right next time.  Cody got to touch some rays while Liam splashed in the pool and scared them away! It wasn't crowded so the fussbucket could run around which made him happier than being in his stroller.  All around, I'd say it was a hit and we'll go back again.

And now it's back to normal at the Gunny's house.  School, work, tax returns, cleaning, shopping, cooking, Zumba classes and all that being a military family entails.  I'm so thankful for our tween, even when he does drive me insane.  He brings us joy and laughter.  He's not afraid to give us a hug still and he puts up with my crazy ideas.  It's a blessing to be his mom.  I can't imagine a life without him.  I'm glad he has a birthday each year so we can celebrate how special he is and the special role he plays in our family.

The Joys of Boys

Tornado Liam

2012 has kicked off with a bang!  I have two very busy boys who keep me on my toes.  The past couple of nights we've had these idyllic 1950's-esque evenings.  The Gunny and I have a drink while I finish up dinner as the boys play nicely together in the living room under our watchful eye.  It's great!  Then yesterday happened.  The fussbucket was, you guessed it, fussy.  He's cutting about six teeth right now so napping was not in his schedule, even if it was in mums.  Needless to say, not a lot got done around the house.  Instead it looked like a tornado had touched down in our living room and I was frazzled to say the least. 

My savior!

When my oldest finished his homework he took the fussbucket upstairs to play and for the first time all day a calm settled over me.  I wanted to sit and relax with my feet up, but somehow I mustered the strength to do dishes and bake banana muffins.  I have no clue where this energy came from, but it was one of those  moments in life where I thanked God that I have kids ten years apart.  Because yesterday I needed the sanity of a clean kitchen and my sweet boy gave me that gift.  (I'm pretty sure my husband appreciates it too!)

The fruit of my labor!

What's even better is that when the Gunny did get home from work as I was wrapping up feeding the fussbucket he noticed how tired I was and kindly offered to make dinner!  So I did get a little time to relax with a glass of wine to finish off the evening.  Living in a house full of boys is exhausting, but it definitely has it's perks!  I am blessed by each of my boys and their love for me.

Hardheaded

Those of you who know the fussbucket know he's a little hard headed.  And, who are we kidding, he comes by it honestly! While this description fits his budding personality, it's also literal this week as L and the coffee table met for the first time! 

The fussbucket wasn't so fond of this encounter as you can see, but he recovered nicely.

A little bump on the head won't put the fussbucket in the corner!  He was off and running once he got over the initial shock and pain.

I think the lasting impacts on Mum might be harder than they were on L.  Course the incessant teasing by my husband probably doesn't help, but at least I know the fussbucket will go on being his normal adventurous self, despite my inability to foresee his actions!  Oh the joys of parenthood!  Maybe I'll just put him in a bubble? 

P.S.  I did call the doctor and the doctor said...no more babies bumping their heads!  (Or watch for these signs of concussion...)

A Few of My Favorite Things - Volume Three

Today's favorite is important to me because I use them every day.  I received a ton of diapers for baby shower gifts (THANK YOU!!!!) and felt very blessed not to have to buy diapers for quite some time.  As we were nearing the end of our diaper stash I toyed with the idea of cloth diapering as a way to save some cash.  (Sorry environment, that was my main motivation.)  In the end, I decided it wasn't for me.  So, that left me trying to find a way to save a buck and still diaper my precious fussbucket.   Because, of course, he deserves the best!  Look at that face, how could he not?

Today I'd like to give a shout out to my friends at Wal-Mart for having such great diapers!  I used Pampers Swaddlers pretty exclusively, although I think thanks to generous donations I've tried every type of diaper available, and decided to try some of the store brands to save a little cash.  Because let's face it, millionaires we are not!  So I tried some other store brands before using some of the Parent's Choice brand.  I was pleasantly surprised!  In my personal opinion, they are just as good as Pampers.  The texture and feel of them is most comparable to the Swaddlers I was using.  Some of the store brands felt rough to me and my sweet boy couldn't have a rough diaper!  And at just under $14 a box I am saving a ton of money by using them!  So, thanks Wal-Mart for helping this mama save some cash! The fussbucket thanks you too as now his rear end is swaddled in softness!

A Ray of Hope

Our oldest turned eleven last week.  That's right, eleven.  We are swiftly moving towards the teen years and fully immersed in the new "tween" years.  Scary!  And while this stage of parenthood brings a set of challenges that I feel much more equipped to handle than sleepless nights,  I dread them all the same.  I miss the boy who used to cuddle on my lap.  The little guy who wanted to hold our hands.  And yet I appreciate his independence.  I love that he can pour himself a glass of milk and nuke something to eat.  I love that he still needs our help and advice on occasion.  I must say, he is a really good kid.  He has his moments of course, because he is an eleven year old boy, but man I love him!  And for all his tween rebellion, for every moment where he thinks he knows better, there are the moments that bring tears to our eyes.  The ones that let us know we have raised a kind, generous, caring young man. 

When he still wanted to cuddle!

The other day, C totally came through with one of those "this is why we do it" moments.  He went to rehearsals at school for the yearly musical and came home to ask if he could go to the exchange with a friend.  They rode their bikes down to look at video games and buy soda and snacks for themselves.   Well, our big, bad eleven year old comes home happy, a little cold, and handing out gifts????  What?  Seriously.  They were just little things.  A Coke for dad and peanut M&M's for mom, but man, they were worth a million dollars to us.  No one asked him for these things, he bought them out of the kindness of his heart.   That he remembered things we love and bought them, with his money, was jaw dropping.   All I wanted to do was hug him!  I felt like the queen of England! 

At the end of  this year's football season

It's these little things that make every struggle of parenting worth it!  Sleepless nights to the fight to go to sleep at night are worth it at that moment.   Those arguments about homework...worth it.  He may be showing us in a different way now that he loves us, but so long as it comes straight from the heart it's appreciated.  And it may just cause me to cry.  Who am I kidding?  These days, it probably will!