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.

Lil Ron Washington and Southwest Airlines

About three weeks ago, a producer called and asked if Lil Wash could help make a commercial for Southwest Airlines with the Rangers.
We agreed to pull him out of school for the afternoon in exchange for some tickets.

Only one parent was allowed to follow Liam around for the commercial, and I think Rick realized that I would never, ever forgive him if he took our son out onto the field again, so he gave me the honors. It was another moment where I needed to pinch myself, as I watched my little boy walk around the field and perform for strangers with cameras.

One of the producers walked him around to show him what he wanted Liam to do. Basically, they wanted him to be Ron Washington in his pregame mentality. So Liam put his finger over his mouth and looked deep in thought.
He's very good at looking pensive.

The producer said, "He's a natural, and he takes direction so well. I think you should put him in acting classes soon!"

I think we'll stick to baseball and Halloween costumes.
Part of Liam's role was to "interview" Nolan Ryan, but we had some time before he came down. While we waited, we sat on Wash's bench and enjoyed the view.
Liam also found the stash of sunflower seeds, so he picked a packet for himself. One of the security men noticed that Liam chose Ranch flavor and said, "That's Ron Washington's favorite flavor." Who knew?!
It was about this time that we noticed where Rick and Garrett were sitting. (Jackson chose to go home with his grandmother instead.) We waved at Daddy and G.
If you close one eye and maybe stick out your tongue and then look to the left of the ESPN sign, you might see two blue spots. Those would be our people.
Our waiting continued, but I got this fun pic. He's sitting in Ron Washington's spot, chewing Ranch sunflower seeds, watching the players warm up. Classic.
We were also able to get some fun autographs. Jackie Moore here:
Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, David Murphy to name a few others.

Mr. Ryan came down, and Liam talked to him quite a while. I have no idea what they said to each other, since I couldn't hear them. And when we ask Liam what he and Mr. Ryan talked about, he shrugs his shoulders.
It's all in a day's work, and he just can't seem to remember all of the details.

Meanwhile, I was busy taking pictures of Michael Young, who stood 5 feet away from me and practiced his swing.
He pretended to not notice me.

But Captain did notice us.
And so did THE Wash.
Once again, he was most gracious to us. He signed the boys' balls and took time to really talk to us. He seems genuinely interested in Liam.

As we were leaving the dugout, I told Wash, "We're so pleased with the Rangers' start to the season." He said, "Oh, thank you. I hope we can keep it up." Me too, me too.

(By the way, Liam's mustache is horribly off. Do you know how hard it is to find a variety of mustaches around Easter?)

If you fly Southwest Airlines, look for Liam's commercial. He's helping them to promote their new in-flight WiFi program.

Turning Eight

8 years ago today, we received the phone call announcing that a peanut had been born for us. Even though we couldn't see him for five days, we were in love and beyond excited.

Now, I can hardly remember what life was like without my Liam.
We began celebrating yesterday, and it was his turn to be beyond excited. He could hardly hold himself together in church. All he could think about was the cake, the CAKE.
And the CAKE did not disappoint.

This little character...
where did we get him?

And this one...
don't let either one of them fool you into believing they're all that. Cuz they'll tell you they're all that and MORE.

As part of his birthday/Easter celebration, Liam asked for an Easter egg hunt. I was surprised he didn't think he was too old for that.
More sugar. Oh yea.

This morning, he asked for his usual breakfast of warm granola and chocolate milk. He's so easy to please.
Chocolate cupcakes for his classmates...
and playing his own baseball game tonight will top off the day.

Liam, I am so proud to be called your mom. You are kind and compassionate and growing up to be such a fun young man. I love you, Peanut.