Taking the Good Stuff

Leading up to our move, I didn't know how I would handle leaving Alabama.  Not that I was madly in love with the horribly hot and humid summers (that seem to last three seasons instead of one), the gnats and fire ants that made being outdoors nearly impossible, or being in the middle of...pretty much nowhere.  But all that aside, it was our first "real" home.

So I am pretty proud of myself that I only teared up once.  Something about that last walk through the empty rooms...my heart flooded with emotions as a million memories played out in front of me like I was watching a movie.  It is amazing how much life can be lived in such a short time.

But when the time finally came to drive away, I didn't cry.  I only looked back to check on my sleeping babies.  As a stared at their perfect little faces and felt my husband's hand holding mine, it hit me.  I wasn't sad because I get to take all the good stuff with me.

(Don't worry, that idyllic scenario didn't last too long.  Before we were even half way into our six hour drive, both boys had woken up disoriented and hysterical...so much for driving at night so the boys would sleep)

My home is wherever these crazy guys are....

Admiring one of the many "beautiful" cherubs we inherited with our new house

And of course this one too!

Enjoying his new front yard

Note: Pictures taken during our first day in our new home (Oct 2011)

Flight School Graduation...Finally

Visiting the Aviation Museum was one of Jake's favorite things to do while we lived at Rucker.  It didn't matter how many times we visited (sometimes multiple times a week), he still wandered (or should I say strutted?) around with excitement and wonder.  So I was a little nostalgic as we walked in on the day of Arthur's graduation, knowing that this would be the last time (for a while) that we would get to spend time there.

I couldn't help but flash to Arthur's WOCS graduation over a year and a half ago.  As I sat among the other families, many who would become dear friends, the flight school journey that lay head seemed like it would last forever.

WOCS Graduation February 2010

Flight School Graduation October 2011

But it didn't last forever.  Time did what it always does.  And somewhere between studying 5 and 9's, maps, flight plans, tests, check rides, and selection...it passed.

And now, as I look back, I realize that the wings on Arthur's uniform will always symbolize more than his completion of flight school.  For me, they will forever remind me of the beautiful life that was lived during our time in Rucker.   I will see Jacob turning two...and then three.  I will see our family growing in size and love when James became apart of it.  I will think back to the amazing friends we made and all  fun times we shared with them.  And I will remember how our love and appreciation for one another continued to grow.

However, my dreams of Arthur holding James while Jake and I pinned on the wings was just that...a beautiful (and extremely unrealistic) dream.  Here is what the day really looked like...

James was over sitting on my lap before the ceremony had even started.

Last few seconds of consciousness 

Jake was passed out minutes into the key note speech (although, in his defense I'm pretty sure everyone else felt the same way).  On the one hand, this was great because now he was still and quiet.  But on the other, this left Aunt Robyn unavailable to help with his crazy little brother.

Things went from inconvenient, to impossible just about the time names started to be called for the pinning ceremony.  This is when James decided he was completely over the event and began demanding that he be nursed and put to sleep...yep, perfect timing.  So I helplessly paced the back of the museum trying to calm my very frustrated and not very quiet baby.  All I could do was hope that he would either give up and fall asleep or someone would come to my rescue in time for me to snap a few photos and pin my husband.  Luckily, Arthur's cousin Benjamin did come to my rescue and my husband was not forced to pin himself (and apparently James fell asleep seconds after I handed him over).  What would we have done without family?!  Thank you Aunt Robyn and Cousin Benjamin!

I think this last picture sums it up, not just for the graduation...but for flight school in general.

And while the boys didn't get to help me pin...there is no doubt that we did get through it together.

Our October

Wait!  Was October not the longest month ever?!  I think back to the first of the month, back to Auntie Robyn's 25th B-day and that seven layer S'more cake (thank you pinterest), and it feels like a million years ago.  

But maybe that is because a million things have happened since then.  Arthur finished flight school!  We got on accepted offer on a new house...we rented out our old house...we moved (and slept in our new house for one night before heading out to California for a much needed visit)...whew!  It has been crazy.  But now let's rewind back to the first part...the most important part.
Arthur finished flight school!  Yay!!!  He is now a blackhawk pilot for the United States Army!!  We are beyond proud of him.  Thank you Honey, for showing our boys that with hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance, dreams really can come true.
Five years ago you dreamed of flying helicopters...now you fly them everyday.  You have placed yourself in a position to learn and train from the best aviators in the world.  And soon you too will be one of the best. They say that anything worth doing is worth doing right, and that is exactly what you are doing.  You are living your dream, honorably serving your country, and somehow you still manage to always put me and the boys first.  You are our superman and our hero.  Congratulations!  We love you!

Pictures by yours truly. :-)

The end of flight school means lots of things...the biggest being that our time in Rucker is now over and it is time for our little family to start a new adventure.  But first we had to do a little celebrating.

Starting with the boys getting their much anticipated Blackhawk Family Day...

James' first family day was spent sleeping in a car seat, this time we can barely get him out of the helicopter for a picture.

There aren't many soldier's with children in this class so my boys didn't really have to share.

Not even a year old and he is already crazy about helicopters...must be genetic

Pushing Pause

"You're holding James aren't you?" my mother asks me as soon as I answer the phone.  I guess there is something in my voice ("gushing with love" are the words I think she used) that gives it away when I take this sweet baby in my arms.

It is true, James is like a little sunshine.  The room feels brighter and warmer when he is in it.  I can't get enough of his big open mouth smiles, and the way his eyes light up when he gets excited.  I love how he looks when he first wakes up, his baby hair sticking up on one side and his eyes still puffy with sleep, as he sits in the center of (our) bed waiting for someone to come pick him up.  And how he reaches for his Daddy when Arthur gets home from work and smothers his face into Arthur's uniform for a few seconds before resting his head on his chest.  You can almost hear him say, "Daddy, I missed you!"

I can hardly believe my Littlest Bubba has been here for more than Nine months.  I'm not sure if the time is flying or if babies just change so much in such a short amount of time...but since they haven't invented the Mommy Pause button yet, I will do the next best thing...blog it!


James is our dare devil.  I feel like he views the world (and our living room) as a series of challenges that need to be conquered.  I don't know how many times he has bumped his head trying to climb up (over, on or through) something.  You know you know he is up to something when you hear his chubby little hands smack the tile as he quickly makes a crawl for it.


Speaking of crawling...he does that with his own little style.  Arthur jokes that he crawls like a skate boarder.  He crawls on his left knee as he pushes with his right foot.  It is very entertaining to watch, but it is obviously efficient because he is fast.

When the bathroom door is closed and and he has enough of climbing up and over the kitchen chairs, you are likely to find him playing in Jake's room.  I love walking in there and watching him standing at the train table or running cars over the car mat.  He still looks like such a baby, but he is starting to play just like a big boy.  It is the most adorable site.  While he likes playing in there with Jake, I think he enjoys himself even more when he has free reign (and really, who can blame him?).

While his skater crawl has helped to reduce his frustration in his inability to walk, it certainly hasn't weakened his resolve.  If James can find willing hands, it is on.  He will grab on and happily march around the house until either his assistants back begins to hurts from leaning over for too long or something on the ground catches his attention.  He is also constantly working on his balance.  The other night he spent over an hour pulling himself up on things (or people), stabilizing, and letting go.  Each time he fell, he'd just do it again.  My favorite is when he gets so excited that he raises his hands over his head and beams or gives himself a big round of applause.  Where proud of you too, Baby Boy!

James said a new word this week.  Jake and Arthur were standing in the street talking to a neighbor and petting her black lab.  I came out with James to grab something from the car.  "Daw! Daw!"  He yelled.  I would have been oblivious of it being anything more than his usually baby babble, if he hadn't been lunging out of my arms.  After a second I realized what had caught his eye...the "Daw!"  Of course!  So we walked down the driveway.  I, of course, start gushing about his new word, and James of course was silent.  Luckily, after a few minutes (just about the time I'm sure everyone else was thinking I was full of it), James said it again.  Arthur was impressed, but the neighbor was in shock.  "How old is he?!?" Yep that's our boy.  And okay, he did call a horse a dog a few hours later, but at least he is grouping animals together. :-)

Like his older brother, James treats falling asleep like a battle he refuses to lose.  He wiggles and squirms, determined not to let his body relax and desperate not to give into to those heavy lashes.  But eventually he sleeps...like an angel.

I feel blessed every day for my amazing boys.  You wonder how, after the first, you will ever love anyone else so much.  And then the second one comes, and you understand.  A parents heart just gets bigger and more and more love exists.  They are life's greatest gift.  Thank you James for staying...I couldn't imagine our lives without you.

It's time for another edition of Jake quotes....

1)  As Robyn, the little boys, and I pulled into the Lowe's parking lot, our conversation somehow turned to growing up and going away to college.  Obviously, my babies heading off to college is not my favorite of topics so I said, "Don't talk about it.  Even though you drive me crazy sometimes, it makes Mommy sad to think about you going away to college."
"It's okay Mommy, I'll just go to a close college."
I will be sure to remind him of this when the times comes. :-)

2) Sick with a cold and in need of a nap has a way of heightening Jake's dramatics.  Frustrated over something he started to cry.  Aunt Robyn asked, "Are you a baby or a big boy?"  "Big boys cry sometimes too!!"  Jake spat back at her...

3) Jake is still adjusting to sharing the spotlight in this family.  So I shouldn't have been surprised when Jake walked over to the photos on the sofa table and announced, "Before James was born these were all pictures of me."  He wasn't so much mad as he just wanted me to know that he had noticed the change.  The best part is, I have only gotten around to changing out two of the six frames and he is still in one of them. Not to mention that I haven't even touched the wall photos so they still are all pictures of him.

4) But I guess he can't think big brotherhood is too bad because as he chatted away with a young woman (Jake has never met a stranger...especially when that stranger is a pretty girl) about our family he announced, "We're thinking about having a baby girl."  Then he explained that we can have a baby girl and "still keep James."  While I love that he feels he is so included in family decisions, I would like to add that, at this time, we are not thinking about having another baby...girl or otherwise.

4) Jake is spoiled, he'll even tell you that, especially when it comes to his extended family.  Being the first grandchild and great grandchild...well, he has a lot of grownups in his life that like to make all three year old desires come true.  So I am wondering how Apa will fulfill Jake's heartfelt request on Skype the other day.  "I want a 3T violin."  I think that was his way of saying he wanted a violin just his size.

5) Jake has actually wanted a violin for months.  After receiving a beautiful engraved harmonica from his Nana he told us, "If I were bigger, I wish this was a violin."  So hopefully, his growing appreciation for classical music will continue (Tchaikovsky is his favorite) and he will be our little musician.

6) Our next door neighbor, April, is the best!  She is the one who will always let me steal an egg (or butter...or vanilla...or anything else I am out of).  We love having her over and I try to pay her back with dinners as often as possible.  While we all adore her, Jake would probably tell you that April is his friend.  Nearly every time she comes over she spends at least an hour on the floor playing whatever Jake wants.  She'll even let Jake sequester her in his bedroom as they hunt for deer with his Apache action figure.  Recently Jake has caught on that April is married to someone he refers to as her "big boy."  However, between being stationed at another post and a year deployment, he is usually away.  So when April stopped by the other night, it warmed my heart to hear Jake ask with concern in his voice, "Did you come over because you're lonely?"

7) Jake's new found empathy and compassion surfaced again this weekend.  We were at a b-day BBQ for a friend, and the night was winding down.  Most of the children had already headed home. Then I heard Jake's voice sweetly asking, "Do you feel better now?"  He was speaking so softly that I could not hear much of what he was saying, but between his tone and the lack of response I just assumed he was taking to a stuffed animal or something.  Then he stuck his head into the room I was in and announced, "I'm just making a little girl feel better."  When she popped her head in, I asked Jake if he had asked her here name.  Very politely he asked the girl her name, but each time she said it, he could not quite understand her.  After several attempts he tired to make it out, "Grandma?!?" he asked.  I could here the great confusion in his voice, but I could also tell how hard he was trying to understand her.  "No!" she said back obviously frustrated.  As she said it again, I strained to listen so I could help out.  It turned out her name was Clara...Good try Buddy.

Our Adventures in Home School

Have you ever sat down to write a blog post and after 15 minutes of writing you think, "This isn't what I was going for..."  Well, that is how this one is going for me.  So I think I will forget it and let the pictures do the talking on this one.  Hope you enjoy the first addition of "Our Adventures in Home School"

Every day looks different here...we kind of just let the day unfold.  I love how many natural learning opportunities come up when I back off (I'm learning) and let them happen.

Baking has been one of Jake and my favorite activities for a long time...chocolate chip cookies is like its own subject at our house.  He can do so many of the jobs by himself now...I think he cracks an egg better than I do.

I love how many things can be taught in the kitchen, but my favorite part is watching his confidence grow as he masters something new (added bonus: his hands are busy)

Jake loves bugs!  And he is one awesome bug catcher!  He loves to put them in his bug box and can observe them for hours.  We enjoy researching them together so we can learn all about their diet and life cycle.

Can you believe I caught this venomous hobo spider!?  Yep,  the boys are the the only ones learning...Mommy is learning lots too!  I am doing my best to be more patient and creative while being less type A (I certainly don't want to be the teacher that makes them hate learning).

Music is must!  We've been listening to classical music lately and we talk a lot about the composers who wrote the "beautiful pieces" as well as the musicians who play their music today.  

We love arts and crafts!

 James first art project!

Totally worth it, but can you see why my children are never in clothes?

 

So much fun...but SOOOO messy!

 

 

He had such a great time painting that I made him edible finger paints to play with (and eat) while I fixed dinner.

Jake created, wrote, and solved the last problem all by himself!

So here it is...our version of home school.  To the untrained eye, it may look like a lot of playing and moving from one mess to another.  But I know that we are learning...about life, ourselves, and each other.  And I love that we are doing to together.

Upside Down and Inside Out

So you knows those moms, the cute crafty ones (check out http://notesshewrote.blogspot.com/), the ones who's kids always coordinate while they look like something out a magazine?  Yep, the ones who somehow seem to fit 1000 things into one day, including their 10 mile morning run?  Okay, let's be clear...I am not one of them.  As hard as I try and even when I do my best to fake it...nope, I am still not that mom.
I'll prove my point.  On a whim I decided to add a swipe of lip gloss to my normal hair brush (on a good day) and mascara routine.  Taking one look at me, Jake's eye brows knit together with great concern and he asked, "Why did you put that stuff on?"  He continued by stating, "Now you don't look like Momma anymore."  Holy Smokes!  A tiny bit of color on my lips and I don't look like his Mom anymore?!?  Wow, I must have really let myself go.
I'm sure the girl I was at 19 would be horrified if she saw me right now?  "What's going on with that lady's hair...doesn't she own a brush!? "Yes," I would explain to younger me, "I do own a brush...but retrieving from my bathroom could potentially disturb my sleeping 8 month old.  In addition, I have no guarantee that the hair brush, once out of the drawer, would not catch the attention of my jealous three year old who would then wield it as a weapon against his younger brother.  So, as you will soon see, Younger Me, sometimes brushing your hair really isn't worth it."
But while younger me may be displeased if she could witness her future lack of style or how rarely a workout fits into her schedule (not to mention how she herself now fits into a pair of skinny jeans), I know that she would definitely approve the two little boys I get to spend each day with.

When it comes to raising these boys, I should mention that Arthur and I probably do the opposite of mainstream 90% of time.  We've never used the cry it out method, my babies nurse on demand, and we rarely take parenting advice from a pediatrician (unless it is a real medical issue of course) But, so far it seems to be working.  Both boys are bright, happy, and thriving.

Honestly, I am getting use to people looking at me like I'm a crazy person when I talk about our parenting philosophy.  But in my defense, I only get into it after people ask why my boys are...the way they are.  When we first had Jake we really did what we felt right for him...for us as a family.  It was really that simple, and now as we move into a new phase of Jake's development we are working from that same place.  And homeschool...a Montessori homeschool of sorts is where we have ended up.  We love the idea of our lives always revolving around our family rather than our family trying to revolve around life.

So here I am upside down and inside out in motherhood while Arthur works hard to provide for our family so I can be home with our boys.  Each day brings out the best and the worst of me...often within minutes of each other but hopefully not in equal proportions.  But imperfect as I am, I do my best and my desire to learn with them and about them is as great as my desire to teach them.  If it is something that you have considered (even for a second) but maybe you doubt in your own ability to do it,  read http://mommylife.net/archives/2011/05/why_homeschool_7.html. 
To be clear, I do not think I have found some secret answer to Mommyhood nor do I think I am God's gift to teaching.  There are many mornings when I want to turn on the TV and let Nick Jr take over or afternoons I wish I could sentence Jake to his room for the rest of the day (usually for picking on James).  But at the end of the day, who else cares about them like I do?  Who else is invested in the outcome like I am?  So why would I entrust such an important job to someone else?  And truthfully, I can't imagine missing it.

So get ready to read all about our adventures in homeschooling.  It won't be pretty, and I can almost promise my hair will be a mess and my children will be in varying stages of undressed.  I've given up makeup for finger paints and baking is now more about the process than the outcome (but you should see Jake crack an egg).  But between the painting, puzzles, spider catching, time outs and hours of us all hanging out on the family room floor together, I see it working.  They are exploring, creating, discovering...both about themselves and the world around them.  So I hope I'm right....I hope they are learning, but more important I hope they sense how much they are loved.