Right Wing Mom

Wednesday, against my better judgement, I loaded up all the kids and Joey (my little brother) and took a little day trip down to Galveston to visit a really neat place called Moody Gardens.

I had not been feeling great the previous few days and my energy level leaves a lot to be desired. I was nervous that I would crash about halfway through the day and the kids would be disappointed. But, praise God, I hung in there

We visited the aquarium, the rainforest, saw an Imax movie about sharks, visited an interactive display all about bones, ate lunch, saw some life size animatronic dinosaurs, the kids went on a movie ride about dinosaurs and we finished the day by visiting the splash pad It was fun!!! And most importantly almost all indoors, which means… air conditioning, my friend

All the kids were perfect! Having a great time and being courteous and well mannered. OK.. who am I kidding? The girls are almost all this way and Emma… she still has that baby thing to fall back on if she gets in a mood. I’m talking about that ball of testosterone filled craziness that is my son. And he was perfect! And I was happy!

Perfect that is until we got to the splash pad. At the splash pad area that had two water slides for the kids. Not big or crazy or fast, but fun never the less. Jake was having a great time playing with all the kids and taking his turn at the water slides.

I was sitting on this little wall, in the shade, soaking my feet a bit and watching the kids run around and play. Then, a lifeguard came up to me and asked if the boy in the blue shorts was my son. Yep, he’s mine.

I was preparing myself for the worst. But then she told me the funniest thing! Oh, he still got in trouble, but it was so funny!

It seems that my little man walked up to the line of kids and the life guard at the top of the water slides and loudly announced for all to hear “I am impatient, so I am just going to go ahead and go first.” Then he hopped up to the front of the line and took his turn.

My question is: Is it possible to be rude and polite in the same sentence?

11 years. Where did it go?

11 years ago, I was in Camp Lester Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan.

11 years ago I was arguing with a doctor and my husband on weather or not I had to push when they said I had to.

11 years ago I was worried when I didn’t hear one of my babies cry.

11 years ago Marc flashed me a smile I will never forget. A smile of pure bliss and joy and wonder.

11 years ago I fell in love, a type of love I never knew existed.

11 years ago God blessed me more than I ever deserved.

Last year I was in tears, realizing that my babies were growing up. Seriously… I cried off and one for a week. This year? Not so much.

This year I am choosing to be thankful. Thankful that for some reason, God chose Marc and I to be the parents of Kaitlin and Amanda.

Sure, I am a little biased, but trust me when I say these two girls are one of a kind! Kind, smart, beautiful sweet souls that bless my life everyday.

Thank you Lord for making me a Mother. And thank you for allowing my to mother two of the best kids ever!

Kaitie and Mandy: Words can not express the love and joy you bring to our lives. Happy Birthday sweet girls! I love you!

When I first found out I was pregnant (the first time)( back in 1997) I just knew I wanted a boy. I had never been a real “girly-girl.” I didn’t like dresses or shoes (unless they were running shoes) Make-up? I could take it or leave it. My hair style of choice was a pony tail. I was in the Marine Corps for crying out loud. A place nicknamed “The worlds largest male gun club” Yep… not too bit on the girly stuff.

Needless to say, when I found out I was having not one, but TWO girls, I was a little shocked. What was I going to do with girls? Thankfully, as always, God knew what he was doing. Before long I was buying dresses (for the girls, not for me!) in pinks and purples and other pretty girly colors. Hair stuff and baby dolls. Yep, I think having Kaitie and Mandy brought out the inner girl in me.

I still don’t “do” dresses. Most days you will find my hair in a ponytail. Make-up? On any given day - about 50-50 chance that I have it on. I still don’t get the whole shoe thing either, unless its a Nike or Asics.

Ok, there is a point.

When I found out I was expecting Jake, I was really excited. A boy? Alright, I can do this! I mean, I had two brothers. Grew up with almost all boys and don’t forget that whole Marine Corps thing. Yep - I thought I knew I could handle a boy.

This is where you can start laughing. I KNEW NOTHING WHEN IT CAME TO RAISING A BOY!

Those things are some interesting creatures. To say the least.

On any given day, I can expect to be farted on, shot, stabbed, step on at least 10 legos, have to remind him that there is such a thing as in inside voice, remind him that girls don’t like to be farted on, feed him more than anyone his size should be able to eat and tell him repeatedly that he needs to wear more clothing that just underwear.

One last week Jake was being particularly obnoxious. All day long. Finally, I told him he had one more chance to chill or I was going to kick him outside. Not 5 minutes later, I gave him the boot. He went complaining to Daddy, who thankfully took my side and told him he had to scoot outside, BUT… he could play with the hose. Ummm, WHAT? Water?

First you take the hose…

Contemplate your stratgey

Relax

Yep, thats my boy… wallowing in a mud hole, like a pig.

Then there is this little beauty…

That is a Mandy’s stuff gorilla. Jake decided that he needed to preform a c-section. He was a little dismayed to find out there was no baby in there. Even more dismayed when Mandy explained to him that the gorilla was actually a boy. Of course, you should have seen his face when I told him that most Mommy’s including me, didn’t have their babies cut out of them. Oh yes, I told him how they came out. One word for his reaction… priceless.

Revenge is sweet:

One more thing I forgot to mention with the things I can expect. Almost every day, I can expect to hear my little man tell me I am the best Mommy in the world, which is the sweetest thing I have ever heard.

Yep, he is a strange little creature. But he is all mine and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

(I think)

It looks like I am over the first trimester ickies and trying to get back into the swing of life. Did ya’ll miss me? I missed you, seriously, I did.

I kind of missed blogging too. There were days when I would think of a great post I wanted to write, but then realized that writing said post would involve me climbing the stairs and actually being productive. So, I would think long and hard over it, and I think you can come to your own conclusion as to what I decided.

So, what’s been going on?

The pregnancy seems to be going well. I have my next midwife appointment this Wednesday and I cant wait! We got to hear the babies heartbeat last month and I just can’t wait to hear it again!!! Its one of the best sounds ever!

Kaitie and Mandy are getting older by the day, I can’t believe they will be turing 11 NEXT WEEK!? (Oh crud… I thought I had a few weeks left - reality check!) They are doing great with school and are getting ready for competition season to start up, we are hoping for a great year!

Jake, also getting up there in age, will be turning 6 next month! 6! Can you believe that? My baby boy is becoming my little man. He has made huge growths in his maturity the last 6 months or so and I am super proud of him! He is also doing well with school. He is learning to read and he loves learning about spiders and dinosaurs. Yep, in case there was any doubt still… he is very much a boy.

Emma, is still my pretty princess. She is talking so much and running around like a crazy woman! She has fallen in love with a stuffed monkey and wants to take it everywhere with her and still refuses to drink milk. Well, cows milk. She can’t get enough of that Momma’s stuff, much to Momma’s dismay sometimes.

Hmm, guess thats it for now. I want to say I will post more often and believe me, I will try. But, you know how it is sometimes…