Life is Good

"Life is good when you have another baseball game," is what I read in Liam's journal the other day.

He'll be disappointed to know tonight's game is canceled due to rain. But he'll be happy when he realizes he has a tournament of 3-4 games next week.

Yes, I read his journal. I'm nosey that way.

And I just love that my boy's journal is full of nothing but baseball talk. Pure, innocent fun.

He's Growing on Us

Marshall, the pup, has been home for about 6 weeks now, and he only has one post on the blog? That's just not right. A good mommy brags about ALL of her children equally.

Here he is today at 3 1/2 months:
He's almost tripled in weight since we got him, and he's taller than Winston now.

How does Winston feel about it all? This look tells all:
Poor Winston! I keep telling him that he's still my #1 dog, but he remains very bitter about sharing his mommy. I can't blame him with all the nasty stunts that Marshall pulls. He won't let Winston get any of my love without jumping right in the middle of us. The brown boy likes to sneak up behind W and bite his legs at any given moment. Marshall also likes to nip at his jowls and steal his favorite toy. They go round and ROUND, even if I'm sure to give them both the exact same chew toy.

If you look a little closer at Marshall's nose, you'll see that he hasn't learned to back off.
We should have named him Scarface.

Although the two dogs still haven't figured out how to live peacefully under one roof, Marshall has otherwise settled into our family quite well. The boys love playing with him, and I enjoy training him. I'm taking him to a manners class once a week, and his trainer is very impressed with how calm he is for his age and breed.

I don't tell her that I drug him every day. I wouldn't want to give her any reason to call PETA on me.

Truthfully, the only time I drug him is when he's about to get more shots, in which case, I must give him Benadryl so that his lips and eyes don't triple in size due to another reaction. I'm not sure why, but I always end up with the high-maintenance animals.

But we love our new addition, and he is here to stay, right Daddy?

Mother's Day Recap

My boys had been talking about their Mother's Day gifts for weeks. I love how their teachers took a great deal of time (2-3 weeks) to build up the day as very special. Liam and Jackson came home with gift bags similar to Garrett's, so I had three hand-made gifts to open on Sunday.
Liam made me a fan, complete with his cute mug shot, as well as a new plant. When I asked him what kind of plant it is, he said, "I dunno. It's pink or purple." I plan to replant it to see for myself.

Jackson and Garrett each made a recipe holder.
I'm not sure how well you can tell from the photos, but each little boy made a flower out of a styrofoam cup. After painting the flower, they added their photo and a clothes pin. What a cute idea! Since I use a recipe binder instead of index cards, I plan to use mine for Bible verses.

Jman and GB also made cards with questionnaires about me, which were a hoot. Jackson doesn't call me "Moma", but I think it's funny that he added it to his card.
His questionnaire reads as follows:
My mommy's name is Ami. (Check.)

She is 51 years old. (When I asked him if he really thinks I'm that old, he said, "I can't reMEMBER how old you are, so Mrs. Woods said that I should say 50-something." Thank you, Mrs. Woods.)

Her favorite thing to do is watch tv all by herself. (It's not exactly my favorite pastime, but I do enjoy it.)

She does not like to clean. (Amen!)

My mommy's favorite food is cabbage. (It is?!)

My mommy's favorite color is rainbows. (He's pretty close, because I always say that I like a lot of colors.)

My mommy is really good at cleaning. (Somebody has to be.)

My mommy loves to watch news on tv. (I do?)

I love my mommy because she is special. (Thank you!)

My middle man taught me some things about myself.

Garrett's questionnaire was in the form of a book. The first page asked how he makes me happy and he said, "When I do the dishes." (Can I get another 'amen'?)

The second page asked him what he likes me to wear, and he said "red" and then drew a picture of me wearing a red Lil Ron t-shirt that we had made with Liam's photo on it. He's also got my hair in pigtails, which I have done once for the fun of it, and all 3 of my boys think it's my best hair style.

His favorite way to spend time with me is when "gowig to the ragrs gam." (going to the Rangers game)

Finally, the last page has a list of my favorite things according to GB:
Food: ckigi pot pi (chicken pot pie)

Color: bran (brown, which I do love, especially on skin)

Movie: segutreyen (Secretariat)

Place to eat: Mexucun (Yet another 'amen' needed!)

Flower: rozess (What girl doesn't love them?)

Place to shop: wolmrt (WalMart...I think I have done an EXCELLENT job of shopping there without complaining in front of him!)

Hobby: wrc (Any guesses?)

Sport: volebol (What about baseball?)

Rick rounded out the day with some kitchen gadgets, an iTunes gift card, and dinner OUT!

I sure do love my men, and I'm grateful for the special day.

Mother's Day

I have been instructed to not touch until Sunday.
I will obey.

Garrett (6) came home from school with that beautiful gift yesterday. I can't wait to see what is inside!

His teacher also assigned this journal entry earlier this week: Write a sentence about why your mother is so special.

Garrett's response: My mom is speshel because my mom tegis (teaches) me the wrd (word) uv God.

At least I am trying to do so. But when he tackles me and brings me to my knees in a fit of giggles, I believe I might be failing in the "Honor your Mother" department.

Happy Mother's Day!

Singing in the Home Depot Shower Aisle

While he and Garrett were at the Home Depot on Saturday, Rick sent me this text message and picture: "I thought it was something for singing in the shower."
When they came home, I met Garrett at the door and asked, "Did you find a microphone for the shower?"

My little guy said, "Yes!"

I asked if he sang a song right there in the Home Depot, and he giggled.

Kids are so funny.