fresh

tonight i went to bath and body works for some new soap and lotion.

the new scent country chic is rather delightful.

apparently will thinks so, too.

he took the lid off to smell and said,

"mmm, this smells fresh."

there's nothing negative about this kid.

he is always happy

and always looking for the positive in every situation.

he has a lot of love in his heart,

and he brightens our family every day.

or better yet,

he makes it a little more "fresh".

may i???

may i just take a minute to tell you about the month of may?

it's my favorite month.

the weather is normally just right.

always sunny.

and never too warm.

i used to always get a new swimming suit for my birthday in may.

it was my favorite birthday tradition.

i don't think it would be so easy for my mom to pick out a swimming suit for me now.

that has now become a definitely need to try on item.

however, now my mom and others may wonder what to get me for my birthday instead.

my list seems to get smaller every year.

so, for those of you wondering,

here's my 32nd wish list....

turquoise star

gold star

this book

a gift certificate here or anything from here so i don't have to make a decision,

perhaps another piece to add to my stainless steel cooking set,

and some new make-up would be fabulous.

but mostly i would be most satisfied with just a day where i felt no guilt and i was able to see myself exactly how i am.

that's not really asking too much is it?

or more pieces to finish off my

friday book review: where the sidewalk ends

where the sidewalk ends

by shel silverstein

suggested reading level: ages 5-12

where the sidewalk ends is a collection of 130 silly children's poems about topics ranging from "dancing pants", "dirtiest man in the world", hug wars, and hippopotamus sandwiches. silverstein has a funny way of reaching kids with silly words and simple pen-and-ink drawings. each of the 130 poems are touching in a different way. some may be a bit disgusting or joke about naughtiness, but they are all subjects children can relate to. since the release in 1974 four and a half million copies have been sold, making it the bestselling children's poetry book ever.

i'm sure this is a book that will take us back to 2nd or 4th grade!

i remember very well sitting in my 2nd grade and listening to Ms. Martin read this book.

i must admit that "hug-o-war" was my favorite,

and it has always stuck in my head.

i'm sure we've all heard about how important poetry is for children to assist with learning about rhyming, expanding the imagination, and how it is an important first step in learning how to read.

we introduced this book into our family about 1 year ago with a fun tradition.

sam was very sick,

like in bed with a high fever sick,

and i found myself laying with him often for comfort.

i pulled out this book for something different to entertain him.

i wondered if he was too young,

but he loved it!

now whenever anyone is sick,

they get to lay in my bed, snuggle, and read where the sidewalk ends.

sam was recently sick again,

so out the book came.

it was so entertaining that will joined us,

and the book has had to stay out.

it is their book of choice every night at story time.

they each pick 4 poems,

and they want more after.

i recently checked out the cd at the library,

and they like listening to it in bed as they fall asleep.

they think these poems are hilarious.

let's face it,

what's not funny about captain hook picking his nose,

or getting buried with spaghetti instead of confetti,

or hector the junk collector,

or getting eaten by a boa constrictor,

or losing your head and not being able to find it even if you are sitting on it?

this book has most certainly opened sam and will's imagination,

and it has been a pleasant reminder of my childhood memories.

get the book,

if you don't already own it.

if you own it,

then pull it out again.

another thing...

another thing that makes maggie cry,

we discovered,

is a ruptured ear drum.

poor baby.

remember this moment

every 1-2 months pete and i like to take the boys one-on-one for a date night.

tonight was my privilege to take sam.

he wanted his date to be a trip to ikea for dinner and an easel.

that may seem random,

but sam is a kid who loves to paint.

every night at our ritual talking about things he always includes that he would like to paint a picture the next day.

he has been dying for an easel.

he wants to paint a picture of the earth,

and a large piece of paper on a stand was just what he was dreaming of.

i was excited to assist him with this dream.

what happened from here i hope to always freeze in my memory.

i want to not forget a thing about sam in this moment in time...

how he loves rhyming, it started with just made up words, but now his rhymes make sense,

he rhymed to whole way to ikea.

his originals are... don't tell your dad or he will be mad, anything that rhymes with poo or pee.

he passes his time in the car by counting signs or identifying letters on street signs or making contraptions out of rubber bands and sticks or drawing in a notebook that he always has with him so he won't get car sick,

he still loves to hold my hand wherever we go,

he is such a good eater,

and i love watching when he is given the choice to have whatever he wants.

tonight it was chicken strips, french fries, mashed potatoes & gravy, 2 chocolate milks, & a chocolate bar for dessert.

he's like a little grown-up talking about how there weren't many people there or about how they must all be downstairs or about how delicious the gravy was or about how wonderful the date was going.

he is very task oriented,

he spends his time focusing on the task without being easily distracted,

like loading the easel into the cart before we could do anything else.

then he was free to crawl through the display tunnels and play at the game kiosks.

i want to freeze in my brain his blond, long, textured hair,

his serious blue eyes,

how tall he is getting and how he loves to always measure how much more he has to grow to be as tall as me. (he comes to the top of my chest already!)

i also want to freeze what happened once we got home.

the easel got set up immediately,

and he went straight to work.

he created his first masterpiece of the solar system,

the earth with mexico, california, and hollywood all included.

as well as outer space, the stars, the sun, and pluto, saturn, mars, and neptune.

he wants to send it to a museum.

he wants to roll it up, put it in a tube, and mail it.

i hope it gets displayed.

then we will always remember this day and how it all began.

the only thing

i'm learning that the only thing that makes maggie cry is getting her 2 lateral incisor teeth.

this is about the fussiest she has been so far in her life.

easter in review

i love easter,

and apparently my kids do, too.

a few of the highlights...

norma's annual easter egg hunt:

the boys have done it enough times they are starting to memorize their favorite spots:

this was maggie's 1st real hunt. she surprisingly knew just what to do. she picked the egg up and plopped it right in her basket. it didn't take her long to discover the candy either. she now scavenges for it, and i now find chocolate bars in her mouth wrapper included:

it is funny helping will find easter eggs. if you say look up, then he looks down. he eventually spots them, but it is quite entertaining watching him.

there's nothing fancy about the way we dye easter eggs.

we just need some color, crayons, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes.

easter morning was better than christmas morning for my children.

they woke at 6 to see if they the easter bunny ate the carrots they left,

and thankfully he did eat it and leave them jelly bean "poop".

i believe it easter outfits.

and i believe in family traditions like cousin egg hunts and egg drops especially when our egg doesn't break and sam wins the $5 golden egg.

and i believe in really cute easter pics.