The best four years of my life

From here to there so fast. Slow down my baby boy.

You make me so proud.

Yesterday you turned 4 and our hearts ached.
We reminisced about bringing you home for the first time.
You made us a family.
I love you Ka-Buns.
Happy Birthday.

24 months

Yes, it true. He's two. He's also...

Tenacious

Smart

Loving

Funny

Stubborn

Brave

Tough

Adorable

and a hitter, tantrum-thrower, scratcher/puller.

And, we love it all. Today and everyday. Happy Birthday Mack...

your smile makes it all worth it. We love you.

Hit me baby, one more time!

In case you didn't already know, I went to see Britney on Monday night, and IT WAS THE SHIZNITZ! Thanks to Melissa for scoring us some badass tickets and to Keith for holding down the fort while Momma went to scream her lungs out like a teeny-bopper! There were all kinds of peeps there, from the old to the young. I've never seen so many men with perfectly shaped eyebrows, gold boots and scarves to match! We saw several people dressed in Ringleader outfits. No. I'm. not. kidding. People that probably shouldn't be wearing such revealing clothes. At one point, Melissa and I were trying to do a covert op for a picture of these works of art, but they wouldn't turn around. Dammit! Quoting Melissa: "I want to get a shot of the gut and all". So, no pictures...you'll just have to take our words for it.

The Pussycat Dolls opened up and they were awesome, too. I was so excited that I used up most of my camera battery on PCD, of course. I could've sworned the damn thing was fully charged. By the time Britney came out, my red battery light was blinking...fuckin' a. True to form, I was rendered useless for the rest of the show. (Check out Melissa's pics) We were so close that when I was taking pictures/video, I almost felt rude, like I should be enjoying the show instead of messing with my electronics. And, there Britney was, performing right in front of us and we're all looking in the live view screens of our cameras. I couldn't help it, none of us could. Whether people like to admit it or not, Britney is an icon. She's a powerful marketing force. Elvis didn't write/read music, nor did he play the guitar, it was a prop. His act was a show and he sold it. Madonna: same shit.

I think people are really pulling for Britney to keep taking her "no crazy" pills. I can imagine it's hard for a healthy person to live captive in their celebrity world, much less someone battling demons. I was just in awe that this was the same head shaving, umbrella wielding, crotch flashing lunatic from all the gossip mags. If she makes it through, I think she'll maintain this wave of success and come out on top. Either way, LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!!!!!!!!!!! Ha! Ha!

The Amazing Weirdo

Kale is so amazing. He's an amazing weirdo, and so witty at the same time. You've heard living with a 3 year old is like living with a crazy person. It's so true! Oh my gosh, is it ever! Kale can tell you the wildest story about his teachers punching the kids in class. Or, how one kid was bleeding and then the teacher pushed him down and another kid hit him again. On Tuesday, I sat in the carpool lane watching him practice his Wii boxing moves on another little boy (just air, no contact). Uh yeah, he's been doing that a lot to us lately. There were 5 teachers standing by, but no one saw it, I almost honked my horn. I was cracking up in the car, but wanted him to stop. When he got in the car, I asked him who he was boxing. He acted like he didn't know what the hell I was talking about. I told him he was grounded from the Wii the rest of the afternoon. He said he was sorry. We then met Keith at Academy. Before we got there, I told Keith what I'd seen. When Keith opened the door, the first thing out of Kale's mouth was I'm sorry. Keith had a talk with him in the parking lot. And, then went into Academy and bought Kale a punching bag and gloves. Here kiddo, punch this...good message. When I picked him up on Thursday, the director was loading him into the car (like always) and Kale proudly announces to me "I DIDN'T PUNCH ANYONE TODAY MOMMY!!!". I smiled politely and said "Well...isn't that wonderful sweet pea!". Ms. Becky smiled back at me and shut the car door. :-)

I'm afraid my little boy is growing up...eek. Not really sure what stage this is called, but I can tell there is another section of Kale's personality blooming. A part of himself that is demanding respect and acknowledgment of just who he is. Fine. Fine. He really has learned so much this year and I'm continually proud of him. The week before Spring Break, I asked his teacher about how he was doing in school in a general way. She said he didn't have any enemies, that he was so sweet and really smart. Finishing up with "well, you've just done a great job with him". Ah. Be still my heart. That made me feel so good! 'Cause this stuff is hard work.

I've learned that it's hard to stay on top of my boys all the time. If you don't like them saying something or acting a certain way, it's got to be unacceptable at all times. Not just right then, but ALL the time. I know I can be hard on them at times and maybe I should lighten up a little. I know they feel hurt when they've disappointed me. I'm a yeller, but I'm trying hard to not be...as much. I know this time will pass me by and I want to be proud of the time they've spent with me. I still know how to have fun and I think my boys know that side of me, too. I'm a 'no-nonsense' kind of Momma, but I can be loving and funny, too. And, I am always in their corner no matter what, but when they're wrong, they're wrong. It's a tough world out there and I'm doing my best to prepare them for it. I am their biggest cheerleader, but also their coach. It's hard to be both, but it's what the job requires.

Testament

We didn't leave the house today and it was everything I'd hoped it to be. Fantabulous! Now with the time change it seems as if summer is right around the corner. The weather being in the 80's doesn't hurt either. I can't imagine it getting much warmer than what's it's been, but I know it does...dreadful.

Mack is really enjoying his tumbling class. He actually crawls on top of a mounting platform, reaches forward to touch the bar, grabs on, swings a few times and then lets go right into the middle of a hula-hoop. It is totally the highlight of his day. I'll have to get that on tape soon. He's also starting to make more sounds and a bigger attempt at talking. We know he's saying stuff, so we're working extra hard to make sense of those "words". Today he said "bath" for the first time, or at least, according to us it was his first time.

I think we've turned a corner with Mack. Now don't get me wrong, he's still lets us know when he's effing miserable, and you know how we know that? B/c we're effing miserable. (I feel like I've said this before...ah yes, I have. Well, this is a different corner...maybe) The Dums-Dums are still in effect, but we're using them less and less. Unfortunately this means we've been letting him roam the stores with us freely, which requires much more effort and attention on our part. But, at this age, it's what he wants...to be a big boy like his brother. It's difficult though, like a constant battle. Somedays I just don't have the energy to struggle with him, but I can't back down, b/c then all the groundwork I've done will have been for nothing. And, neither does he. So, there we are having words with one another in Ross.

Parenting never stops. There are no breaks. There's no just 15 minutes so you can finish your coffee. A quote that comes to mind right now is "It is an up-at-dawn, pride swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about." (a la Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire). Perfect. It's in your face, balls to the wall, bracing yourself for punches. It is not for the faint of heart. It will make you test your limits. Limits you didn't even know you had! No, I'm not crazy. I'm in love.

Today in pictures

A trip to the bug museum:

Airplane

On my mind

I downloaded a couple of albums so far.

1. Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours, this was recommended tunage on Dooce.com and she never steers me wrong. It's funky 80's music, a lot like Erasure. Keith said it's pretty gay.

2. M.I.A., Arular, which was released in 2005, but is getting a lot of buzz lately because Paper Planes was in Slumdog Millionaire. Turns out she's been popular among the cool folks for awhile, but I just jumped on the bandwagon. A week after I got her album, she performed on the Grammy's, totally pregnant, in a crazy outfit. M.I.A. is the S.H.I.T. Anyway, her Bucky Done Gun song rocks and listening to Kale sing it is effing hilarious.

You can give me a big fat F for all the non-posting I've been doing. Sorry. Bringing that up all the time is essentially the beginning of the end, huh? Well, I'll try and not let it be.

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Kale sent Valentine Transformers with a lollipop and M&M's to all his friends in class. The Valentines weren't to be addressed to anyone in particular just to "My Friend" from their name. Kale got a small heart box of Spiderman chocolates from one little girl. Pump ur brakes lil lady. And, it was addressed to him. Hmmm. Hmmm. This is the same little girl we ran into at Luby's ' a couple of weeks ago after school. Kale urged me to let him go say hi. So, after we finished eating, we headed over. As we got closer, Kale increasingly became glued to the back of my leg and disappeared. I introduced myself and nudged him to say hi to her, to which he did and was very happy. The little girl's grandmother whispered into her ear "Is that your boyfriend?" to which she very enthusiastically said "YES!" to.

Our weekend was spent with Uncle J, Na-na, and Melissa. We took turns babysitting while the other couple went out for the night. We've been spending a lot of time together, us four. It's been great. Last weekend, my Mom stayed home after the boys had gone to bed, we went to dinner and then bowling. We haven't had this much fun in a long time. I jokingly told them that getting pregnant at the same time we did, was the best non-planning they'd ever done. Ha! But, seriously, it's really been such a blessing and I can't think of any other way things should've turned out. We're looking forward to our vacation together this year. They're ready to get their arses handed to them in Scrabble...with love.

***

I'm going to end with news that's been spreading like wildfire where my Mom works. It's just a reminder of how precious life is and how we never know what path it will take. A well known Dr. at Methodist was recently featured in an article in Reader's Digest. Well, he lost his son in a tragic car accident this weekend. His son's obituary is truly remarkable and moving. Any mother and father would be proud of such a wonderful young man he was turning out to be.

I look at Kale and Mack and see their potential and I wonder what they'll be like one day. I can't imagine doing what every parent does...the feeding, the bathing, the hugging and kissing, the teaching, the nurturing and everything else...only to have it taken away from you. It's a pain I pray I never experience. Please pray for this family.

http://www.legacy.com/houstonchronicle/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=124138021