JustJessie

Marriage counseling a`la Grayson

Me: Ooh, look.  Rob Thomas.  Momma thinks he's cute.

Grayson:  *looking at me in bewilderment*  No, you already have a husband.  You think Daddy's cute. 

Me:  Of course I do.  I love Daddy, but I can still think people are cute.

Grayson:  No.  If you think he's cute, you might decide you want HIM to be your husband, and then Daddy won't have a wife, and me and Grant won't have a mommy.  Humph! *crosses arms and sticks out lip*

I think we may need to explain to our son the meaning of "commitment"!

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Grant:  My hawngry.

Me:  Ok.  FInish your breakfast.

Grant:  My wont... ummm... maybe chockit?  *flashes winning smile*

Me:  You can finish your breakfast.

Grant:  Umm... nope.  How 'bout maybe... canny cames (candy canes)?  *bats eyelashes*

Me:  Breakfast.

Grant:  My know!  My know!  Emmy ems?!  *hands clasped, big grin*

silence

Grant:  *head hung, shoulders drooping*  My eat brektust.

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A Rundown on the Birthday Fun

These are the Penguin cupcakes I made and took to Grayson's class yesterday.  We decided on the penguins because a)they were cute and b)this is letter "p" week for his class.  Even though one little boy asked why we were eating owls, the cupcakes were still a hit!

Grayson got to be king for the day, and do all kinds of special things.  He cracked his classmates up when his teacher gave him his birthday spankings (she used a big stuffed hand on a stick, and patted him really softly).  When she gave him "one to grow on" she wound up like she was going to hit him really hard, and when she patted him on the bottom, he went flying through the air and landed on his hands and knees.  His classmates were howling with laughter!

After school, we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch, and I let the boys play in the indoor playground for almost two hours.  Grayson got his lunch free since it was his birthday, and we ended up seeing some kids we knew to play with.   In the pic, he's taking a break to talk to Poppy on my cell.

Overall, I think it was a pretty cool birthday.

Happy 6th Birthday, Grayson!

There's no way he's really six years old, that not-so-tiny baby who came into my life and changed my world. He can't be six, because it was only a month ago that I held him in the hospital after his first midnight feeding, and we locked eyes for the first time.  His hair smelled so good, and it was soft and sticking straight up all over his head.  His eyes were so tiny, but they held mine for that moment, and melted my heart forever.

It was just last week that he said "Mama" the first time, and that he taught the other one year olds in his Sunday School to fake sneeze, and that I caught him in his room with three pacifiers in his mouth at once.

I know it was yesterday that he was so proud and embarassed over having his first girlfriend.  And that he wrote his name for the first time. 

The time flies by so quickly, but here, in these small moments and memories, he will always remain my small boy.

I love you, Grayson.  Happy Birthday, My Little Man.

and YOU were so worried

Seriously, I don't know what you were all so worried about!  I knew Grayson would do great at kindergarten, but I won't say "I told you so."

Okay, so I'm lying.  I was a nervous wreck all day long yesterday.  I had butterflies in my stomach and sweaty palms and my nails are now jagged little nubs.  You see, I was an extreme homebody at his age.  I hated leaving home to go to school everyday, and I usually got a stomach ache from nerves.  As most mom's do from time to time, I was projecting my fears onto Grayson.  Luckily he inherited his dad's naturally outgoing personality and charisma that make meeting new people a breeze for him.  As a friend put it yesterday, "He's totally going to own that place."

They were right.  Here are a few quick things that made his day great.  First of all, his teacher is a super-friendly, energetic lady.  She made him feel right at home.  Secondly, his assigned seat is across the table from a very pretty blue-eyed blond.  According to Grayson, they played house at free time and first she made him be the dad and then she made him be the brother.  He wasn't exactly heartbroken.  Then, thirdly, he stopped playing with her and played spies (his favorite thing to pretend right now) with four other boys who were as into it as he was.  They were pretending all sorts of fancy gadgets and secret passwords.  One boy even told Grayson his secret password!  Fourth, at one point they had to partner up to sing a song, and people were fighting for the chance to be his partner. 

I don't think he could have possibly had a better day!  From just one day of playing with kids his age, I can see how much he's been missing.  His entire demeanor was different yesterday.  He was calmer, kinder, and a better listener.  I am SO glad we made this decision.  Thanks for all your kind words yesterday, they meant a lot.

Off to school

There's my boy, all packed up and ready for his first day of school.  I'm feeling too many things to write right now.  I've been trying for the last fifteen minutes, but what I need to say just won't translate here.

Suffice it to say, I'm a proud, sad, excited, nervous momma.  Everything in me wants to go back to the school and tell them they can't have my baby.  He belongs at home with me.  But, as much as I wish it, that's just not what he needs.  He's out there, testing his wings for the first time, and I have to let him.  But I don't have to be entirely happy about it.

My little wise guy

Grayson has always been mature for his age.  His verbal skills are ridiculous, mostly because of his first child/grandchild status in the family.  Every one of us, parents and grandparents alike worked with him all the time on learning new words, enunciation, correct pronunciation, the whole nine yards.  I've always been very proud of him for these things.  Lately, though, I'm thinking that a less expressive child might not be such a bad thing. 

For instance, Wednesday morning, he and I did our Turbojam video together.  That video kicked my booty, and there was Grayson having a ball and not sweating a drop.  He didn't rub it in my face as he is sometimes wont to do.  The next day, however, I woke up ridiculously sore, particularly my weak tummy and back muscles.  As I was grumbling about having to get up and do something at my dad's house, Grayson pipes up, "Uh, maybe we've been eating a little more junk food lately than we realized, huh Mommy?"

And here's another one.  Because Grant is a daredevil and a rascal, I don't take my shower in the morning until he takes his nap.  Sometimes this means I'm hanging out with bedhead and mascara smears for the better part of the morning.  Yesterday, Grayson was kinda staring at me, and I asked him what was up.  He said, "You're just so beautiful, Mommy.  I mean, with your hair fixed better and a little make-up on, you'd look just great."  As he fingered my nappy hair with his head cocked to the side.

Yeah, I'm thinking a less talkative child might have done wonders for my self-esteem.

Plan B

This month marks the end of our homeschool endeavors at the Keith house.  As much as I wanted it to work out for us, it just hasn't.  Without going into detail, I'll just say Grayson needs socialization with kids his age. 

At the beginning of the school year, we tried to enroll Grayson in a private, half-day kindergarten, but they were full.  I decided a couple of weeks before Christmas to call them and see if they had had anyone withdraw.  Well, they had three spaces open, so we got him in!  Tuition is going to put a little squeeze on our fincances, but it is so worth it to me!  I took him to meet his new teacher, and she was great.  The kids were out on the playground when we went, so she invited Grayson to play while we chatted.  He was immediately encircled by five boys who were all asking him to play.  We were both on cloud nine when we left that place. 

While I and especially Grant will miss Grayson in the mornings, I think this will be a positive experience for our family.  Grant will be afforded some of the one-on-one attention he has missed by being the second child.  I will get some "me" time during his morning nap that will allow me to achieve some of my goals.  Grayson's life will be enriched by new friends and learning experiences.  His class has a field trip and a party every month, which Grant and I can take part in.

He starts this Monday, two days before his sixth birthday.  I'm sure he'll be thrilled, and I'll be a proud, teary mess.  Just as it should be.

   

No Resolutions This Year

Okay, I wrote a post about New Year goals on New Year's Eve, and typepad ate it when I hit save.  I suppose I'm going to give it one more go.  I don't really do the "resolution" thing.  When someone tells me their "New Year Resolutions", a little voice in the back of my mind automatically goes, "We'll see how long this lasts!"  After all, promises made in haste rarely work out, right? 

Well, for the last month, I have already been working on changing my life.  I am a naturally lazy, messy, disorganized person.  That goes for everything from keeping track of our finances, to meal planning, to house cleaning.  It hit me recently how much of a slacker I've become, and I set about to change it.  The things I have already begun and intend to make a habit for the new year are as follows:

1. Become a healthier me.  I am very careful about what my kids eat, but as for myself... not so much.  I put way too much junk into my body, and exercise has become nonexistent in my life.  That's just crazy.  Of course I want to lose weight.  The more important thing for me, though, is to become a good role model for my boys.  There are a lot of things I want them to experience in life, and I won't be able to help them if I don't get healthy. 
2. Budget our money.  I used to do a great job at this for our family, but the last three years I have let it slide.  We have slowly become more and more careless with our money, and Jeff and I agree it stops now.  The thing that has worked for us in the past is the envelope system.  We divide our money into specific categories for things we need, and the rest goes to savings/debt.  This is a proven system for us, and we began it again two weeks ago.
3. Take time for things I enjoy.  And I don't mean surfing the internet.  I love to paint, yet I haven't bought a fresh canvas in almost six years.  The last real paintings I did were for Grayson's nursery.  I love to scrapbook, but I never, ever take the time.   I am also really enjoying sewing, and I've had a few people lately encouraging me to make things to sell.  I would like to do this, but REALLY lack the confidence in my ability.  I also love to write.  Sure, I have this blog, but I have always wanted to become a published children's author/illustrator.  I have stories to sell, but I am absolutely terrified to take the next step.  If my stories are terrible, I would much rather remain ignorant of that fact.

So there you have it.  Wish me luck, because these things mean a lot to me, and I would really like to succeed!

Date Night

Happiness in a box

One of the most exciting things that can happen for my boys is to receive a letter in the mail.  It's so thrilling for them to walk to the mailbox with me and find a something with their name on it.  They grab the letter and dance all the way up the driveway singing, "I got a letter, I got a letter!"  Imagine the pandemonium, then when we received a package from across the ocean that was just for them! 

A couple of days before Christmas, the postman rang our doorbell with a delivery from our blogging friend Chris all the way over in Oxford.  (I've put off posting about it, because he was out of town, and I wanted to make sure he saw it!).  It was so cool of him to think of the boys, and the gifts were great.  He sent a domino game with pictures as well as numbers, which the boys have greatly enjoyed playing with.  The best thing, though was a puzzle of a map of the British Isles.  Grayson's favorite thing in the world right now is "big boy puzzles."  When we finished putting it together, we were able to show him from where the gift was sent.  We also got to show him the places which produced our ancestors.  He has heard the names lots of times in the stories we tell, but now he can identify it with a real place.  This was a very cool and thoughtful gift.  The greatest thing though, as with most gifts, is the warm fuzzy you get just knowing someone thought of you.  So, thanks Chris and Sinead - for the warm fuzzy and the thoughtful gifts!