Yeah, I totally dropped the ball...

Y'all, I'm super sorry.  I was doing so well...I was 108 days away from having a perfect year of posts.
What happened, you ask?

This summer happened.  It was one of the most boring and uneventful summers ever.  There was literally nothing of major interest to report.  Oh, I had some adventures in life and love and parenting, but aside from a couple of trips to Houston, my boys didn't really do much this summer.

Here's a brief recap:

In June, I went to Pennsylvania for a few days.  I tagged along on a business trip with a guy I think is pretty fantastic.  I was apprehensive, I'll admit...because I don't allow myself to "feel" feelings for anyone, but by the end of the trip, I was feeling, not because I felt like I had to or needed to, but because I genuinely wanted to.  And that, my friends, is a fantastic feeling.  We flew into Baltimore, then took a trip to Gettysburg.  He had a couple of meetings, so I did some reading/relaxing while he was working.  We stayed in Johnstown for another meeting (site of the devastating Johnstown flood of 1889), and also went to the United 93 Memorial, which is part of the reason why I decided to post today (but I'll get to that in a minute).  We ended our trip with a stay in Hershey, complete with a visit to the Hershey Museum, which was a total blast...even for someone who isn't a huge chocolate fan.  It was relaxing and fun and just what I needed since I was kind of on the fence with this whole potential relationship thing (again, I'll get to that in a minute or maybe a day or two).

This summer, B alternated two week blocks between my house and his dad's house, and when he was at his dad's house, he went to a "day camp" where they did a lot of gymnastic-ish activities.  Halfway through the summer, B opted out of swimming everyday and started spending 8 hours a day in the gym.  He's all about gymnastics now, and loving every minute.  I'm loving that he has an outlet for his energy, because let's face it: as cute as he looked in that baseball uniform, there was entirely too much down time for him on the field and in the dugout.  The kid has to be on the move constantly.

N stayed with me pretty much all summer, except for a few days here and there when he went to his dad's or spent time with his grandmother.  He wasn't too thrilled about it, and even asked me if he could lie about his summer to his friends.  I feel for the kid, I really do, but I can think of a bunch of summers where I didn't do much of anything.  He and I spent 10 days in Houston towards the middle/end of July, hanging out with my dad.  We went to a Sugarland Skeeters game with my dad, Stella, and my sister/brother-in-law, and had a great time.  By the end of the game, N and David (my brother-in-law) were entertaining our section (and possibly several others) with all of the Beastie Boys songs they both knew.  It was impressive.  And loud.

We did Kaboomtown for July 3 (per usual) and had a great time.  The boys and I went to see Despicable Me 2 with "Ahem," and then headed to stake out our spot.  I sent them off to do something inside and hung out in the heat with my mom, reading a book, and glaring at people who tried to infringe on our territory.  My cousins came to join the party, and when the boys were back, it was a lot of fun.  The airshow is one of the best aspects of Kaboomtown, and "Ahem" is adorably obsessed with planes, fitting since he works in the industry.  They were literally flying directly overhead, and it was fun to watch all of the guys in our group just staring, transfixed, at the sky above.

I also turned 32 this summer.  I know.  It was awesome.  Actually, my birthday was less than great, but at some point, I have to grow up and realize that it's just another day.  I'm figuring that'll happen when I'm 80.  Maybe.  Although the day was mostly a bust, "Ahem" and I went out for dinner and a movie, and he showed up with Gerber Daisies, which are my absolute favorite.  Major points, for sure.  The next morning, he and I went to Six Flags right when they opened, and rode all of the rides we wanted to ride that our kids weren't tall enough to ride.  It was super fun!  We ended the day with the Texas Giant...and then, three days later, that poor woman fell to her death while riding it.  Such a sad story.

I found an extremely part-time job, where I only work two days a week while my boys are in school.  My work schedule follows the school district calendar, so I'm off when they're off, and it's just been a huge blessing to have that something extra in my life.  I'm taking a full course-load: 14 hours, in hopes that I'll be finished with a Science degree this spring/first summer semester.  I'm also room mom (again) for 2A, which will be interesting doing it for the entire year (instead of just a few months), and team mom for N's baseball team: the Ironbirds.  It will be a busy semester, and I'm glad for that...because I need the distraction.  I thrive on chaos, apparently.

Now...for the United 93 Memorial.  It was, by far, the most sobering place I've ever been.  I've been to Arlington National Cemetery, and been moved to tears by the sheer number of graves in one place, but this?  This was a random field in the middle of rural Pennsylvania.  The crew and passengers of that plane are some pretty serious heroes in my book.  They were able to find out from various loved ones what had already happened in New York and at the Pentagon and, after taking a vote, decided they wouldn't let another innocent life be taken, even if it meant losing their own.  That is the definition of a hero.  They overpowered the terrorists and died in a way I can't possibly imagine.  Pulling into the entrance of this monument to their bravery, it just feels different.  Walking down the sidewalk, lined with a black granite wall, the only thing separating visitors from the field where those 40 individuals rest, my eyes filled with tears...and stayed that way for the duration of my visit.  The wall had cutouts evenly spaced throughout the length of the wall, where people left small tokens or notes, thanking those who lost their lives and offering words of hope and encouragement to their families.  At the end of the wall, there was a white marble wall, with each name engraved upon it.  To the left, a large (locked) wooden gate.  If opened, one could walk directly to the boulder surrounded by American flags, the marker to show the point of impact.

Even now, almost three months after my visit, I get choked up thinking about it.  This morning, my boys and I sat on the couch, discussing the importance of this day.  We've talked about it the last couple of years, but I don't think either of them fully understood what 9/11 meant.  As a middle schooler, N is becoming increasingly more aware, and I have his Social Studies teacher to thank for that.  I explained to them that there would be a moment of silence and their principals would read a statement before that moment of silence.  I told them it was to remember the heroes that lost their lives in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, and we sat and looked at the information I brought home from the United 93 Memorial.  We talked about bravery and honor and how Americans (and the entire world, for that matter) will never forget what happened on 9/11/2001...and then B said, "Wow, mom...that was before N was even born."

And I was overcome with sadness.  My boys will never know the world I grew up in.  They will never experience the carefree childhood I experienced because the world has become increasingly more evil.  And I vowed then and there that I would start living life in the moment instead of focusing on the other stuff...the stuff that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.  I know I will fail at times, but the times that I'm successful?  I hope those are the times my boys will remember.

Life is far too short to waste time worrying/wondering what could happen.  It's a wonderful thing to dream and think about possibilities, but only focusing on that?  Well, it's not reality.  And sometimes, I just really wish it could be.

Aubs

Having four boys is becoming "normal" around here

Today, N & B begged to have J & E come over again, so they came over for a few hours in the afternoon.

It went a little something like this:

X-box.

Ipads/Ipods

Snacks

Random songs/mash-ups

Repeat.

Two hours flew by, and before I knew it, I was telling all of them to load into the car so we could go swim at J & E's house.

E had a rough time, and kept getting accidentally injured, so he went inside not long after we started hanging out.  That was a bummer...but the other boys put on quite the entertaining show.  The boys swam for a couple of hours, with J & E's dad throwing splash bombs to them as they jumped off the diving board.  The catches were awesome.  The misses, however, were absolutely hysterical. 

So was watching B "dive."  So much laughter...and as the only one not in the pool, I was the retriever of all items that flew outside of the pool area.

I'm pretty sure they did it on purpose.  I just can't prove it...

All too soon, it was time to go again, and the boys were all complaining about they don't EVER get to spend enough time together...

You know, because 4 hours a day or more is obviously NEVER enough.

When they get sick of each other and don't want to hang out anymore, I have no idea what I'll do to keep my boys entertained.

Aubs

Impromptu pool party

Today, I opted to take my boys to the pool for the afternoon, because seriously?  It was absolutely necessary.  I had invited their pals, J & E, but hadn't heard back from their dad, so when my friend Emily volunteered to bring herself and her girls, K & C, over to join us, I said, "Sure!"

Emily and I have been friends since we were in high school.  She actually adopted me as her little sister at one point, and we've been friends ever since.  We take college classes together sometimes, or, at the very least, help each other if one of us has already taken the class the other has signed up for.  It works for us.  Anyway, her girls are younger than my boys, but they've played together very successfully on many a Bonkers playdate, and we've done the whole trick-or-treating thing together, too.

They came over and got in the water, and then I heard from Jeff, who told me they were on their way over, too...hence the impromptu pool party.  We hung out and got wet, dried off, ate snacks, and got wet again.  At one point, J & E accompanied me back to my apartment for more snacks because we ran out of options! 

After a few hours, the guys went home, and Emily and her girls came home with my boys & me to hang out for a little bit.  The kids played video games and cars while Emily and I discussed her history class she's taking this summer...and life in general.  We're very deep, you know.  They left a little later, and my phone beeped.

The boys had invited J & E to spend the night, but their dad was on the fence about it.  He brought them back over to see how they behaved, and planned to make his decision based on the way they played together.  There was a lot of yelling and laughter over the next few hours, but no real issues...until there was.  E had an issue that involved a lot of screaming and yelling.  His dad decided to take him home, but leave J here, which caused an even bigger issue...

And then their mom called to say she wanted both of them to come home.  I opted to be the bearer of bad news...and it didn't go well.  Four little boys had sad faces, and E ran off to pout.  I ran after him, and told him that wasn't allowed in my house.  We.  Don't.  Pitch.  Fits.  I told him to come out so we could talk about other options, and we'd go from there.  So, he did, much to the amazement of his dad, until I told them they couldn't sleep over, but we would reschedule for another night.  And off he went again.  So, I followed him, reminded him we don't pitch fits, and told him if he was going to continue, that I wouldn't let him come over anymore.

He looked at me for a few minutes, then got up and walked out of the room.

Because that's how I do things.

Raaaaaaaaarrr! (Dinosaur impersonation)

Aubs

The Thunder Rolls

It never fails...each time I leave Houston, it rains the day of my departure.

It's like a parting gift I give to my dad and any other Houstonians that I know.

You're welcome, Houston!  I do what I can...

We hit the Sienna Plantations Sonic for happy hour before we headed to Chick Fil-A (it seems to be a trend with us lately), right as the sprinkles started hitting the windshield. 

The drive home was (mostly) uneventful...a few arguments broke out in the backseat, but other than that, we had a pretty quiet trip.  When we got home, we all unpacked our stuff (I've gotten smart and started washing the majority of our clothes before we leave my dad's house.), and just spent the rest of the night relaxing.

What else can you really say about a 4.5 hour car ride with very little in the way of scenery?

I've never been more ready to climb in my own bed in my life.

Aubs

Sky Zone & Headphones

After a good Benadryl-induced sleep, B deemed himself (mostly) healed, and felt like he could do some kind of activity today.

After we all got up and dressed, we headed out to run errands...namely, we were headed to Best Buy to look at headphones for N since the pair B got him for Christmas stopped working.

Before Best Buy, however, my dad and I decided to take the boys to Sky Zone for a little surprise.  A friend from work had given my dad a couple of free passes last year, and we didn't have time to use them at Thanksgiving time (the last time both boys were in Houston together), so I left them in my nightstand drawer for the next time we were all here. 

My dad looked up the hours, and we took off.  We pass this indoor trampoline park when we come into town, and it's become a landmark to show that we're getting close to Pampaw's house, but they've never really paid a lot of attention to what it actually is.  So, we parked and went inside and B got super excited.  He goes to something similar with his dad sometimes, so he was ready to go!  N was a little less excited...

Until he saw they had one section solely dedicated to dodgeball.  He wasn't ready for the first round and was the first one out.  He was pissed...and obviously, it was because he didn't have long hair anymore.  (Insert huge eye roll here.)

I told him that if he was going to pout, I was going to call a whambulance and he could just sit, so he glared at me, and went back to the dodgeball arena, and didn't leave again.  They both spent the majority of the time in there, and they had a blast.  You can wear their shoes or go barefoot.

Y'all.  I saw a lot of people who should've opted for shoes.  I want to throw up just thinking about it.

Trust me.  Gag.

After we finished at Sky Zone, we headed to Best Buy where we deliberated over speakers for the better part of an hour before each kid picked a pair that they liked, and we made our way to the checkout.

When we got back to my dad's, we got started preparing for dinner...my sister and brother-in-law and our friend, Stella, were headed over for steaks, potato salad, beans, and salad.

Yum.

I've been waiting for this all day.  The food was fantastic, the company even better...until B suggested playing Uno.

Y'all.  Just don't ever play Uno with my kids.  One of them is a quitter when he gets too many cards (N) and the other one has the worst habit of making one round last an hour.

Seriously.  An hour.  I started the round, played until N went nutso, then tagged my sister in, and went to deal with him.  She played for a while, then got tired of it, so she tagged her husband in, and B beat him within three minutes. 

Fantastic.  Uno is not my favorite.

Ever.

Aubs

Mad as a Hornet

So, I have one kid that's normal...N.  He doesn't ever really get sick, he doesn't ever have issues with allergies, and he's pretty easy, aside from the fact that he's a brand snob and has decided that he will only wear Nike, and that means he'll only wear socks that cost $15/pair.

Easy.

And then, there's B.  He's asthmatic, so we have a nebulizer and inhalers that go with us anywhere we go.  He's allergic to tons of stuff including peanuts, mango, and dogs/cats, so we also have Benadryl on hand as well as epi pens.  He doesn't care what he wears, but would prefer to just be in his boxers over anything else.

Sigh.

The boys kind of lazed around for most of the day on Thursday, and then decided they would go out in my dad's backyard to play in the evening once it cooled off a little bit.  They were out there for about five minutes when B started shrieking and crying.

Being the unbiased parent I am, I immediately started yelling at N, who was laughing at B's antics, until he realized something was very wrong.  My B had been stung by a hornet on the back of his neck, and since he's never been stung before, I was freaking out, wondering if I was going to have to stab him with a dang epi pen on the way to the emergency room.

I dosed him with Benadryl, my dad put some stuff on it to numb the sting, and then he (very dramatically) threw himself across an ice pack. 

Meanwhile...N was still stewing because I really pissed him off.  I took him to get his hair cut.

Before

After

I have to say, it's not as short as I wanted it to be, but he was fuming so much by the time we got to this point, that the stylist stopped.  And as N stomped off to the bathroom to change his shirt, the stylist looked at me, sighed, and said, "Teenagers." while shaking his head.

"Uh...he's 10." I replied.

The look of shock, followed by the "Oh shit" under his breath, quickly followed by an apology, made me laugh for a few minutes, until N came out of the bathroom with eyes full of hate for his dear, sweet Mama.

It's definitely super fun to be me right about now...every comment he makes is followed by "...with long hair."

So.  Fun.

Aubs

School's Out for the Summer

Per our tradition, I woke the boys up with Alice Cooper's "School's Out for the Summer" on Youtube.  When I went into their room and started the video, N was rolling his eyes (he was awake because of a nasty sunburn that's made him miserable for a couple of days now), and B was practically standing on his head, asleep.

When he heard the music, he started fist pumping...upside down, then he lept off of his bed and started a pretty gnarly air guitar for the duration of the song.  I sent both of them to school without lunch because they got out at 12:30, and we were headed straight to Houston after that.

Apparently, the first graders still ate lunch at 10:30 (which they NEVER do on half days), and B was so upset that he didn't have a lunch, that he didn't even think to eat his snack.  In his backpack.  Because he put it there.

Sigh...

When they got home, we took off for Houston by way of Chick Fil-A.  An hour later, we actually left, and by the time we got to Houston, we were lucky enough to sit on the beltway for an hour an a half.

Hooray for lane closures and construction zones!  After we FINALLY got to my dad's house, we relaxed for a little bit, then headed out for dinner and some grocery shopping.

We ate at Hoggs & Chicks, a cute little restaurant that's near my dad's house...and, even better, across from the Sienna Plantations HEB.  I love HEB.  It's my favorite grocery store of all time.  I look forward to going to my dad's house just to go to the dang grocery store.  This time, B also declared his love for HEB.  I was so proud.

As we were walking down the bean aisle, Paula Abdul was "Straight Up"ing and I was singing along.  I looked up from my phone, and saw all three of them dancing along to the music.  Obviously, we are, indeed, related.  After getting all of the items we needed, we headed back to my dad's to catch the end of the Rangers game.

I have zero reception in my dad's house as far as my cell phone goes, but if I go outside, I get three bars.  Dang radiant bear in the attic...Okay, so maybe it's a radiant barrier, but when my dad first mentioned it to my sister and me, we were convinced he said "radiant bear" which made me think of a bear in a tutu and a frilly umbrella.

Now B wants to meet the bear in attic.  Also, the nature preserve behind his house issued a warning that it's alligator mating season, so entering the wooded areas isn't in our best interest.

Not that I ever intended to go back there anyway...there are mosquitoes the size of my red rocket back there.

Aubs