It's Over

This has been a very up and down kind of week. Tuesday was my last day working at CDO, which made me very sad. I've been there for 7 1/2 years. Even though it's time to go, saying good-bye is hard. I have a lot of awesome friends there, that I won't see very often now. And when I do, it won't be the same, as these things never are. Carlye had her last day of 1st grade (she cried), and the boys had their last days of school on Tuesday as well (Nathanael cried too). Today is officially the first day of our summer, and we are so excited. There will be swimming and going to the lake and lazy days and slip 'n slides. It'll be great.

The Spurs lost game 5. Big time. I'm sick. And shocked. And very disappointed. It all hinged on one guy. Manu. While he has never been named our "super star" we apparently can't win without him. And there were actually times last night that he hurt us. Turnovers, and lost possessions when he shot and missed. It was hard to watch. I was with my team until the end, but the end came too early. It's over. The yucky old Lakers have won the Western Conference Finals, and I hope that the Celtics kick their butts in the Playoffs - even though I know that it's not likely. I won't watch - that's for sure. I have too much other stuff that's more important, like playing with my kids or reading or laundry or dishes or scrubbing toilets. It's just so sad.

Now comes our crazy summer with camp and birthdays and the lake and Fathers Day and new babies being born and homecoming and Vacation Bible School and my anniversary (12 years!) and all too soon we'll be doing back to school shopping. I've never foreseen a summer going so quickly! All the more to slow down and enjoy it.

Also, we're having a hard time getting our youngest one to wear underwear. My #2 didn't have this problem. There were certain underwear for certain things (remember his shopping underwear people?) but I don't remember him having this complete aversion to underwear. It's quite baffling. I think that he'd run around everywhere naked if he thought that he could get away with it!!!

Funny story - men, this might make you uncomfortable, I'm just warning you. This story has been told with complete permission from one of the participants with blissful ignorance from the other. I might change some things - simply because I have a horrible memory, but let's blame it on artistic license. My friend had her seven year old son in the doctors office so that he could get his cast off. She was looking the other way doing something else, when she heard him ask quite loudly, "Mom, what's this?" As she turned around she saw him brandishing one of her tampons high in the air of the crowded waiting room. She grabbed it from him, replaced it in her purse and told him that she didn't want to explain it to him right now. He looked at her and said knowingly, "Oh, I know - it's a present."

2-1

Tonight the Spurs managed to pull off a win against the Lakers. We have been awesome at defending our home court so far in the play offs, and if we continue to do so we're going to be in good shape! The series is now 2-1 Lakers, but since our game on Tuesday night is at home I think that we can turn this into a three game series. Manu actually showed up tonight - which is a good thing because without him we simply can't seem to win. I know that he's been hurt (and probably still is) but he had 30 points tonight. Woo-hoo! Of course, we all know that the real reason we won is because Carl refused to shave until we did and I wore my Spurs earrings today. We are the unsung hero's of basketball. The Spurs could never win without us, and they don't even know it. It's the behind the scenes fans that make this happen. The clapping, sitting just right on the couch (or floor), wearing the right shirts and earrings, etc. are the little things that make winning possible. So Tony, Timmy, Manu, and the rest of you, we will do our part. We will do what we do to make things easier for you. You can count on us. We won't let you down.

Noahism #273 - "No, don't leave me! I can't find my craps!" That would be crocs brand shoes, for all of you that don't speak Noah yet.

Noahism #274 - "Teacher, I didn't wear my underwear to school today." Nice. We've gone from wearing three pair at a time to none. I now have something new to check for before we leave the house.

Also, I have now apparently become the laughingstock of my friends and family because I danced with my 1 year old class for the end of year program. For the record, one year olds will NOT dance unless they have a teacher to follow, and if I didn't do it with them none of them would have done anything but stand there and stare at the crowd. Go ahead and laugh. You're all just jealous. Yes - even you.

Noah's fish

Noah's fish (orange platys) Boingy and Batfish had babies - one survived. Noah named it Banana. In his world banana's are apparently orange.

Prince Caspian

Well, Carl and I finally did it. We went and saw Prince Caspian. Let me first say that I loved the movie. I thought that it was phenomenal. The CG effects were very impressive, the actors did a better job this time around, and the core elements of CS Lewis' book were left in tact. However, they did NOT stick to the book very closely. Picking and choosing what they would, certain pieces were chosen while others were sadly left out. They kept the spirit and message of the book, though, adding scenes that I'm assuming they felt would make the point more effectively than what had actually been written originally by Lewis. Overall I was very impressed. I always feel a sadness, though, when a beloved friend is recreated with portions missing or distorted - no matter how well made the movie is. Reepicheep and Trumpkin were as they should be, as were Trufflehunter, Nikabrik and Pattertwig. I was sad, though, that they minimized the role of the bulgy bears, and Aslan was seen sparingly. There were other disturbing elements, but to tell you of them would essentially spoil the movie, and I don't want to do that. Carl liked this one more than the first, and other than my occasional "that's not in the book!" throughly enjoyed it. Sadly, our children will not be seeing this one as of yet. I must say that I'm slightly surprised that it pulled a PG rating with all of the violence. Necessary, yes, but having already read the book to my little ones, I didn't foresee it being such a dark movie - love of literature can often be blind, I know. I will buy this, though, and add it to our collection of Narnia movies. Dawn Treader is already in production, and I am now anxiously awaiting this new installment - along with news of who will play Eustace!

Monday Carl and I will be going to see Indy. I can't wait. We have been forewarned about a few things, so I believe that will help us enjoy the movie more. It's going to be a busy summer - quite a few movies that we're going to have to watch - but this will be a nice change from the last year when there has been very little which seemed theatre worthy.

On a more somber note, the Spurs seem to have had a difficult time beginning the Western Conference Finals as we are down 0-2 to the Lakers. We play at home Sunday night, and that will hopefully give us an advantage in the game and a win. We are older, tired and hurt, and that's making this series much more difficult than the New Orleans series even though the Lakers aren't nearly as good a team. Any player who gives himself a nickname (Kobe Bryant) is an arrogant idiot and not pleasant to watch - unless we're winning. Get ready "black mamba" the cockroaches are coming. And as all the sports casters have been saying, we just won't die. Go Spurs Go!

Okay....

Okay, so the blog that I just wrote wasn't about summer, sorry about that. My husband also very lovingly pointed out to me that it was depressing. Sorry about that, too. I really am a happy person, especially when the Spurs win, which they will tonight. Lakers stink.

Summertime

I am supposed to be cleaning my house right now. I have a fish tank that needs to be cleaned, toilets that need to be scrubbed and a floor that needs to be swept. But just moments ago I filled a large container full of bubbles and sent my two boys out to play. My heart is so full right now that I needed to take a moment of reflection. Yesterday my oldest son and middle child proudly walked the stage for his Pre-K graduation. As each child walked across the stage they announced where they would go to school and what they plan to be when they grow up. I wasn't sure what to expect since last year he announced that he was going to be half Jedi half robot. However, this year my son said that he was going to be a bull rider or a cowboy or a singer or a preacher or play the drums. He has apparently realized that he can be anything that he wants to be, and the choice is a difficult one to make.

As I proudly watched my handsome son cross the stage I had tears in my eyes. For so many reasons. We survived Pre-k without any major bodily injuries to ourself or others, we've learned that if we want someone to notice us we don't hit them on the head, we now know that wrestling is not an acceptable way to say hello or good bye, and numbers and letters have been mastered. Mommy has learned that time passes quickly, and that nursing and diapers rapidly turn into packed lunches and cleats. In three short months I will have only one child left at home during the day, while my older children bravely face the unknown world and all the wonders and fears that it holds. I will no longer be the one person that they spend more time with than any other. I have watched my daughter grow and learn, and I am proud of all that she has accomplished, but there are many days when I wish that she could stay home with me and spend the day cuddled up with a good book. I have many friends with high school students who will be graduating this week, and I know that to them I sound silly, but I know how quickly these next 11 yrs will pass. Thankfully, I have no regrets. I have been able to stay home and enjoy each and every one of my children from the time they were born. We have memory after memory, and a closeness that I am thankful for. I am quickly moving from a mom of toddlers, to a mom of elementary school children. I have two short years left with my baby, and then he, too, will walk the great halls of education and societal relationships. I have watched my children struggle and succeed, be rejected and welcomed, hurt and helped, and give and take the same. As I wrestle with my desire to control every aspect of their lives I am reminded that they aren't really mine, anyway, they are on loan to me from my Heavenly Father. They are His kids. It's simply my responsibility to "train them up in the way they should go." To raise them up to be independent, self-reliant, confident and caring children, teenagers and adults - the rest is up to them and Him. My days of maximum influence and total overall "coolness" are drawing to a close and my days of minimal influence and total "uncoolness" are looming - my daughter was embarrassed when I went to eat lunch with her the other day because her classmates said that I looked like a teenager, and my middle child was mortified when I asked him to give me a kiss in front of his classroom. New chapters are being opened and the final pages of old ones are being written. I only hope that when I face the graduation platform the next time I can say what I do now - I have no regrets, only happy memories.

More to come

Here are two pictures from the 2008 Preschool graduation. Thought that you'd get a kick out of these. I'll write more later. Heidi - how do I put pictures in without changing my format? This is very confusing for me! More soon....

Today is a sad day

Today has been a sad day for me. I feel as though I have received quite a bit of "bad" news - of course, bad news is often simply news which you have twisted to make about you when it's really not. I think that the majority of my sorrow, though, comes from knowing that my aunt and uncle will be moving away. I have been blessed with several special people in my life, people who - aside from my immediate family - have touched my life in a way that no one ever has before. They have given me new perspectives, shown me that I was lovable because I'm me (not because they have to), they have left an imprint on my life and a peace in my heart that no other human can. As a child and a teen-ager it was my grandmother. I was very thankful for her. She passed away a few weeks before my first child was born. As an adult, with my family strewn across the great United States, it has been my aunt. She became like a mom to me, in the absence (distance wise) of my own mother. And I still felt that I had that connection with my roots. Eating Omi's rolls at Thanksgiving, seeing each other at Christmas, sharing memories and talking about things that no one else would know or understand because they weren't there. She answered my questions, calmed my nerves, and gave me wonderful parenting advice (some of which I now pass on to my friends and pretend that it's mine!). My children have been blessed to experience a portion of what life is like from my side of the family because of the time spent and love felt from their Grandma Aunt Marianne. My husband grew closer with my side of the family while spending time with my aunt and uncle, and loves my cousins as much as I do. It's been wonderful having his family so close, but hard having my sisters, brother in laws, nieces, nephews, mom, dad and grandparents such great distances from us. Having my aunt here made that feel easier, and I have enjoyed our time together immensely. I know that this is a wonderful thing for all involved, and possibly not even a permanent thing, but in my selfishness and sorrow I will, for this moment, grieve all that I am momentarily, if not permanently, losing. I will say thank you. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, and for loving my husband and children the same way. Thank you for your words of love, kindness, patience and understanding. Thank you for the wisdom that you have passed down to me on numerous occasions, and above all, thank you for being such a beloved and cherished friend. I love you. And I will miss you.

Mothers Day

I love Mothers Day! My kids aren't awake yet, and I haven't received all of my presents, but I do know that Noah bought me a pink race car. Just like the one that he gave Daddy for his birthday. I love it! Nathanael made me a card at school with some fill in the blanks, here are his answers:
How old is your mom? 20 yrs old
When does your mom look pretty? When we go to church
What does your mom always say? No (OF COURSE, that's what he remembers!)
When does your mom make you laugh? When we play games
He also made me beaded bluebonnets which are absolutely beautiful. Carlye says that she's working on something at school for me, but that she hasn't finished it yet, so it will be late. Noah says he didn't make me anything. Oh well, atleast I have the pink race car to look forward to.
My children have formed a band. My oldest plays the guitar and sings, my middle child plays the "drums" (a turned over plastic tool box) and my youngest plays the "maracas" (a lego box with several loose Lego inside that Nathanael made him). Keep in mind that my children have NEVER seen or even heard of Friends, but their first song is entitled Stinky Cat, and at times sounds amazingly like Smelly Cat. It's great. They also have one about a loose tooth (Noah's only part in that song is to shake his maraca after they sing "loose tooth.") and several about how much they love Heavenly Father. It is truly a sight to see. Unfortunately, I don't know that any others will be able to enjoy the musical stylings of my children because Nathanael informed Carl last night that "they were no longer together. It just didn't work out." Ahh, I love my eeyore child.
Meanwhile, back in fanatical-ville, THE SPURS HAVE TO WIN TONIGHT!!!!!! For two reasons, firstly and most importantly, if they lose it is pretty much over for us because the next game is in New Orleans. Secondly, I HAVE TICKETS TO GAME 6 IN SAN ANTONIO!!! Carl, Dave, Jodi and I are going, but the Spurs have to win tonights game (and it would be nice if they won Tuesday nights as well - then Thursdays game will be the last one for the series). Oh, yeah baby - How do you like us now? We are the champions, my friend, and we'll keep on fighting until the end. We are the champions, we are the champions, no time for losers 'cause we are the champions of the world.....

My little girl

Carlye has now reached the highest reading level at school! She is so excited. She can now check out any book that she wants in the entire library, and gets a special reading t-shirt. We are so proud of her! Although we are having trouble keeping her from reading at night when she's supposed to be sleeping. I don't know where she gets it.
Today Noah had his toenails painted. We were thrilled. Carlye brought home nail polish from church Wed night because the girls were learning the scripture "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news...." Today she was painting her, Lili's and Victoria's nails, which was great. Then Noah came out with pink toes. We have now lost all nail polish privileges. So sad. Nathanael was quoting scripture to me last week (David is his Wed night teacher) and he said "One person can kill one person, and two people can kill 11." being slightly concerned about this, I questioned David. He was teaching them about the verse which begins "One can slay 1,000 two can slay 10,000." Well, atleast he was close to what the real verse was. Yesterday when I asked him what he learned he said "There is a door inside me and I can open it and let Jesus in and then it will be time to eat." Okay....
Happy news! Our Idahoan friends are home! Well, part of them are (1/5 of them is?). The rest are staying for another couple of weeks until Gracie finishes school and then they will come to Texas. Our time apart has ended. Woo-hoo! I am really looking forward to having us all together again. And of course, so are the kids.
For all you Spurs fans out there game 4 is tomorrow night. We are taking donations for tickets for Carl and I, because obviously the key to winning is having us at the game. You can make your checks out to Cari......

We won!

Well, I'm exhausted and headed off to bed, but for all who care I wanted you to know that our beloved Spurs have pulled it off. We won game 3. I cannot tell you how big this was. If we had lost it would have been the nail in our coffin, but this win has breathed new life into our team. Bowen effectively shut down Stojakovic, and Obi Wan Ginobili made an appearance with 31 points. These are the keys to shutting down New Orleans. I don't know why it took us 2 1/2 games to figure this out, but figure it out we did. We had AWESOME seats, and took several pics of the warm up, but forgot about the camera during the game. I am telling you, it was intense. It seemed to be a back and forth until late in the 4th quarter when we went on an 11 point run. Playoff basketball games in the At&T Center cannot be surpassed. I haven't enjoyed a game this much in a very long time. Of course, it helped a little bit that the Good Guys won. Oh, and I am now the proud owner of a be-yoo-ti-ful pair of Spurs earrings. I know, you're jealous.
In other news, my oldest son lost his first tooth today - and I missed it! He is so proud and excited. It has been loose for a really long time, and he finally got sick of it and just pulled it himself. He didn't put it under his pillow, though, because we were at the Spurs game, and he wanted me to be with him when he did it. I love my boy. I am very sad, though, because my little boy will officially graduate from Pre-K on Thursday, May 22(?). My baby is growing up, and sadly - and happily - I will have two of my heartbeats running around the hallways of elementary school next year. How quickly it passes......

Yeah, me!

I was given my mother's day gift from Carl early, and he and I are going to the SPURS PLAYOFF GAME!!!!!!!!! It's Thursday night in San Antonio - game time is 7:30 right now, but may be moved to 8:30. Make sure that you watch the game and try to see Carl and I. It should be an TNT or TBS. We'll be sitting in the middle, second section, row 2. I'll be wearing my pink Spurs shirt, and Carl will be wearing his black Spurs shirt. Not that it really matters, just wanted you to know in case by some crazy chance you do spot us. It's gonna be awesome! I can't wait. Do I have the best husband or what! Now we just need to win the game.....

Uh-oh

I don't mean to be gloom and doom - I mean, I love my Spurs - but we are in serious trouble here. Our "stars" can't seem to make baskets for their life, the refs definitely don't like us (fact, not opinion, watch the footage) and I think that unless we can get something going we are on our way out. AND, I predict that if we don't sweep the next four games we're out. These guys are young and athletic and seem to really want it. We're older with more experience but they seem to have gotten into our heads. We're down 2-0 people!!!! This is serious. Between Manu's inability to maintain possession of the ball - turnover, after turnover - and Tony's inability to score New Orleans very effectively shut us down. 102 to 84. I am very upset. I have not turned on my team, I still believe that we can win this thing, I just don't know if we want it badly enough. We have until Thursday night. Hopefully we'll regain some of our heart before then. Help us Obi Wan Ginobili - you're our only hope!

If the girls night out post doesn't make any sense it's because I'm tired. And it's only 1:00, not 3 like the blog says.

Girls Night Out

Well, I know that it's late, but I just arrived home, and I'm trying to wind down from my evening. Jodi and I had a girls night out, and we took our babysitter who is now our close friend with us for her birthday. Her name is Deborah. Anyhoo....we did some shopping (fun), ate, and then went and watched "Made of Honor." Iron Man was sold out and had very long lines and Jodi was the only one who really wanted to see it anyway, although I will say truthfully that I am starting to think I might really enjoy it. Truthfully, though, I am waiting for Prince Caspian (13 days 1 hour 4 minutes and 56 seconds), Indiana Jones, and I was looking forward to Inkheart even though they have pushed it soooo far back that now I won't see it until next year. What Happens in Vegas looks hilarious as well, as long as they don't go R-rated. Made of Honor was pretty good, but I don't know that I would buy it when it comes out on DVD. It was nice for some mindless laughing and a happy movie. And it did have a good ending, which you can never be sure of anymore. I do not go to movies to watch these artistic, poetic, or true to life movies. If I wanted that I would just stay home and watch my own life. Movies should always have a happy ending unless they are biographical or historical. If you're going to make something up then atleast take the time to give it an unrealistic happy ending. That's what I pay for. I have come to expect it. And when you let me down I am deeply disappointed. I have enough "real life" every day without dragging it into my entertainment as well.
This morning I was watching the movie Barnyard on the couch with the boys (it's still Noah's favorite movie), and during the scene with Wild Mike (a hairball that can dance) he turns to me and says, "I decided that I'm scared of that thing." I believe him. It has taken him over a year to process the data and come to a decision, so I'm sure that it's rock solid. A few moments later I caught him spitting in his empty cup. Noah,that's disgusting, please stop. I ran out of water, he tells me, I need to make more. I almost threw up. The cup went back into the kitchen very quickly. Then the little guy comes running out of his room naked as a jay bird. I asked him what he was doing. He sighed really big and said, "Getting duh-ress-ed-ah." Of course. We always do a lap around the dining room naked before we get dressed.
Spurs play game 1 against New Orleans tomorrow night at 9:00 pm. Some people are scared, but as I have said before, I think that we're good. Unless we fall asleep on the court. Seriously, why 9? It's a conspiracy. We're still gonna win.

Spurs

Even though it's been almost two days, I had to let everyone know that the Spurs finished out the series with Phoenix 4-1. Now we are on to play New Orleans. This will be an interesting playoff series. NO is good, but they are a young team and they don't have the playoff experience that we do. Of course, you've got to start somewhere! Game 1 is Saturday in New Orleans.
In extra news, Carl and I are now heading up the Kids Church and the nursery, and I'm starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed. I am so thrilled to be doing it - I love it, actually, but it takes so much organization, and let's face it, that's not my strong point. Ah, well, the adventure begins.
Carl is home from fishing. I am so glad. It is amazing how many things go wrong when he is gone! Hopefully now everything will return to "normal." We'll see....