Monday, March 26, 2012

Cousins

LM and Cousin J

So Sweet!

Saturday we met up with Cousin J, Aunt R and Uncle J and Grandma M at a local park. The weather was so nice and they had a great time playing followed up with some ice cream!

Spring Break 2012 - part 2


As most of you know, Little Man is a Star Wars fanatic as well as a big fan of LEGOS. Imagine how excited we were to find a Lego Star Wars Club meeting close to our town. So Saturday morning we made the 2 hour drive so that LM could join the club at the Lego Store and build with other boys his age.

Upon arrival they were given a special Lego Star Wars Club T-shirt with an X-Wing fighter on it. (Star Wars ship) The boys had the store all to themselves for an hour before it was opened for regular business hours so LM felt pretty cool. :D

The kids were split up into small groups and each given a cupful of random Lego bricks and asked to build a Droid (Star Wars robot type thing). Then they had to present their droid to the other groups and explain how they built it and the special features of their droid. At the end, they received a mini set of Star Wars Legos.

Let the building begin!

One of the boys explaining one of the features

The Club
(LM is front row, 2nd from left)

There were adults dressed up in Star Wars costumes so the kids could get their picture taken with them. I was VERY impressed with the whole event and LM said he wants to do it again sometime. :)

LM with the Madalorians and Jedis.


Spring Break 2012


When we saw that rain was in the forecast for the WHOLE WEEK of Spring Break, I was worried. But by Friday the weather was beautiful and we were able to enjoy some outdoor activities with Miss M and her Mom.

Tuesday
At Purple Glaze with
Miss M and Miss L (classmates)

Painting his blue dog.

Wednesday
Went to see Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.
Miss M, Miss L and Little Man

Friday
At the Zoo with Miss M

At the Elephant Encounter

Climbing monkeys!

More pics to be posted.


Monday, March 12, 2012

Pics!

Every time we go to the grocery store, Little Man wants to get something from the trinket machines at the front of the store. Our recent prize was a stick-on mustache! He wasn't real jazzed about it until he saw himself in the mirror. Hysterical! He couldn't stop laughing! I bet this is what he'll look like in his 50's.

Kinda makes him look like The Lorax! hee hee


Philbrook Museum of Art has a program for kids/families called "2nd Saturday". Admission is free, the kids get a box of art supplies and they have crafts you can do as a family. The weather was perfect so we took advantage of it!

One of the many pathways

Me and Little Man

Philbrook

Daddy and LM


It seems like winter is over (high today is 80 degrees), the flowers and trees are blooming and you see people getting out and about. Looking forward to more weekend outings!


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Star Wars, Valentines Day & Our New Hobby

As most of you know, Star Wars movies and anything Star Wars related has been Little Man's favorite thing in the world (slowly changing to Ninjago & other action toys). So when Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace came out, we HAD to go! This is the only movie in which Darth Maul is featured and LM thinks he's so cool! LM is partial to the bad guys. Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Bobba Fett, etc.

Getting pumped up before the movie; LM & The Husb having a lightsaber fight.

LM (3-D glasses) and his friend "A"


LM's Pre-K class had a Valentines Day party, handing out cards and overdoing it with the sweets. :)

LM passing out his Valentines

LM, "J", Miss "M" and Miss "L" enjoying their snacks

Last week Little Man and I were heading home from running errands and we saw dog running loose on a very busy street. We turned around to pick him up and a lady had loaded him in her car but said she had a sick dog at home and really didn't know what to do with this one.

Since we lived close, I offered to take him (? - not sure of its sex yet because there was SO MUCH FUR and I wasn't going to dig around in this dogs business) to our house and try and locate the owner. Well, this big bear of a dog (Great Pyrenees, 100+ pounds) hopped out of her car and right into ours...taking up the whole back area of my small SUV.

We took him to the nearest Vet to have him scanned for a microchip and were told he didn't have one. So after a quick stop at the store for food (he decided he was riding shotgun while we were in the store), we got him situated in our sunroom (he was put out because we wouldn't let him in the house) took his picture and started making flyers. LM and I had just finished posting them in the area, calling local vets, etc, when the "parents" called. I had them describe the collar and bandana he was wearing and then gave them our address to come pick him up.

Turns out Boo (cute name!) was rescued by this very nice couple a while back, taken to the vet for grooming and a microchip (which should have been detected)...so I guess you could say he's been rescued twice. :)

This is the second dog LM and I have returned to its owner and now we kinda consider ourselves animal rescuers...like Diego! :D

Such a sweet giant teddy bear but LM and I both agree that when we do finally get a dog...it won't be a big one. :)

BOO

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Catch Up...

Since moving to Oklahoma, we've tried to get out and about in the community for shows, kids events, etc.

About a month or so ago we went to see Jeff Porter and the Claptet, sponsored by the local Children's Museum. These guys are AWESOME! They make music by stomping, clapping, snapping and singing...they play instruments too but it's their "body music" that is most impressive.

Little Man said the one on the end (right side) looks just like Uncle J. :)



Today Little Man and I met a friend of his from school (Miss M), and her mom - who just happened to be in my CrossStream class, at Joe Mamas Pizza place for Saturday Book Club. It's a lunchtime story hour with give aways too!

The pizza was great, the kids got to toss pizza dough and Little Man won a Rio coloring book! They also had a "balloon guy" who made a Darth Maul double lightsaber which was super cool!


Tossing pizza dough!

Darth Maul double lightsaber!

Looking forward to more weekend outings!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Quick Trip

Just returned from a quick overnight trip to OKC and was very impressed at how much they have developed their downtown district!

Little Man wanted to visit the LEGO Store and I have to say it was pretty cool! He had a hard time deciding on which set to spend his Christmas money (Thanks Aunt K and Uncle L!). I was checking out the "grown up" lego sets like the Fallingwater house (seen here)


originally built by Frank Lloyd Wright (seen here), very cool!


After hanging out in the hotel room for a little bit, letting LM put together and play with his new LEGO set, we headed over to Toby Keith's restaurant for dinner. Very busy place, HUGE tables, cool decor, very good chips & queso, quesadillas and margaritas...but not for LM :D!


After dinner, we walked along the canal and watched all the people heading to the basketball game (NY Nicks vs. OKC Thunder) then stopped in a boutique-y cupcake shop for dessert. Chocolate yummy goodness!


This morning before heading home, we decided to visit the outdoor Oklahoma City Memorial.

"The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6, and injured more than 680 people. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings. The bomb was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of damage."

LM wanted to know what it all meant and I tried to explain it too him but was choked up. All I could say was that a really bad man bombed the building and a lot of people, including little kids were hurt. I don't know how much he really understood...don't know how any of us could ever understand such a horrific act.

The Gates of Time: Monumental twin bronze gates frame the moment of destruction - 9:02 - and mark the formal entrances to the Outdoor Memorial. 9:01, found on the eastern gate, represents the last moments of peace, while its opposite on the western gate, 9:03, represents the first moments of recovery. Both time stamps are inscribed on the interior of the monument, facing each other and the Reflecting Pool.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial as seen from the base of the reflecting pool.
The outside of each gate bears this inscription:
"We come here to remember Those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."

Reflecting Pool: A thin layer of water flows over polished black granite to form the pool, which runs east to west down the center of the Memorial (also see reflecting pool) on what was once Fifth Street. Visitors' seeing their reflections are seeing "someone changed forever by what happened here."

Field of Empty Chairs: 168 empty chairs hand-crafted from glass, bronze, and stone represent those who lost their lives, with a name etched in the glass base of each.
The 19 smaller chairs represent the children killed in the bombing. Three unborn children died along with their mothers, and they are listed on their mothers' chairs beneath their mothers' names.

LM standing next to a chair in memory of a little boy who lost his life in the blast.

And Jesus Wept: On a corner adjacent to the memorial is a sculpture of Jesus weeping, erected by St. Joseph's Catholic Church. St. Joseph's, one of the first brick-and-mortar churches built in the city, was almost destroyed by the blast. Not officially part of the memorial, the statue is regularly visited.


The Memorial Fence: A 10-foot-tall (3.0 m) chain link fence was installed around the area that is now the Reflecting Pool and the Field of Empty Chairs to protect the site from damage and visitors from injury. The Fence stood for more than four years, becoming notable as the place where visitors left stuffed animals, poems, keychains, and other items as tributes. During the construction of the Outdoor Memorial, 210 feet (64 m) of the Fence was moved to the west side of the Memorial, along the 9:03 side or the 'healing' side. The remainder of the Fence is in storage. Visitors may still leave small items along and in the Fence; the mementos are periodically collected, cataloged, and stored.

Hopefully in the spring we can make another trip down to visit the zoo!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

25 Rules for Moms with Sons


1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment. He'll cry from fear and bite out of excitement. Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference. Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion. Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.


2. Be a cheerleader for his life
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to "stop, mom" when you sing along to his garage band's lyrics. There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts. There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you've been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade. He will tell you to stop. He will say he's embarrassed. But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

3. Teach him how to do laundry
..and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.


4. Read to him and read with him.
Emilie Buchwald said, "Children become readers on the laps of their parents." Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books. Let him see you reading...reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are the transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.


5. Encourage him to dance.
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet - they have some form of the three. It doesn't have to be good. Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it's perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform (like Batman and LaMarr Woodley) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen (Mark Twain), and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity (Officer Frank Shankwitz), and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphne Blake, Princess Jasmine, and Britney Spears) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Marie Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things. If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this: If you have done any of the following: a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero. do not doubt yourself for one second. Seriously.


9. Teach him to have manners
because its nice. and it will make the world a little better of a place.


10. Give him something to believe in
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won't be able to be there. Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never.


11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle
like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people's feelings.


12. Let him ruin his clothes
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes. You'll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don't waste your energy being angry about something inevitable. Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes. Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.


13. Learn how to throw a football
or how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case Star Wars characters), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Wookie, or recognize the difference between Darth Vader and Darth Maul, or the lyrics to his favorite song. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.

14. Go outside with him
turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away. Just go outside and follow him around. Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions. It's like magic.

15. Let him lose
Losing sucks. Everybody isn't always a winner. Even if you want to say, "You're a winner because you tried," don't. He doesn't feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed. And that's a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids. This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again.....) Instead make sure he understands that - sometimes you win - sometimes you lose. But that doesn't mean you ever give up.

Source: None via Emma on Pinterest

16. Give him opportunities to help others
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help. Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities. Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together.

17. Remind him that practice makes perfect.
This doesn't just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life. You become a better writer by writing. You become a better listener by listening. You become better speaker by speaking. Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks - they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing. Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip. Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier. Practice, practice, practice.

18. Answer him when he asks, "Why?"
Answer him, or search for the answer together. Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches). Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself. Someday, when he needs to ask questions he's too embarrassed to ask you - he'll know where to go to find the right answers.


19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you.
especially the wipes.


20. Let his dad teach him how to do things
...without interrupting about how to do it the 'right way.' If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything. You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers. And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life. Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.


21. Give him something to release his energy
drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog. Give him something to go crazy with - or he will use your stuff. and then you'll be sorry.


22. Build him forts
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic. Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders. For the rest of his life, he'll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.


Source: None via Tabitha on Pinterest

23. Take him to new places
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.
Source: None via Anne on Pinterest

24. Kiss him
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet. They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day. But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender. So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, 'what happens in between that made you lose that?' Let's try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they're loving and kissing them even more when they're wild. Kissing them when they're 2 months and kissing them when they're 16 years old. You're the mom - you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets - and make sure he knows it. p.s. (this one is just as important for dad's too).


25. Be home base
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.

(saw this on another blog and felt it was share-worthy)

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