Mommathon

I am so sad. We have been kicked out of the little boy section of clothing stores and have officially moved into the big boy section. I went to The Children's Place today to check out a sale they were having on shorts and realized that the next step up for Colm is a size 4, which brings us to the front of the store, out of the little guy section. Heavy sigh. They grow up so fast.

We went to a new restaurant (actually it's more of a pub) tonight that's a little bit west of the BV Parks and Rec building, called Llewellyn's, and I have favorable reviews. It is very family friendly; they have a children's menu. They also have a nice list of beers and they even have cider. (Not the hot apple kind, but the beer kind.) Modern Irish music plays in the background and they also have yummy desserts. Note: if you order dessert, just pick one. Their desserts are pretty big. We had the Guinness brownies and the cheesecake. Anyways, it is definitely worth checking out- a nice fun atmosphere and locally owned.

Obviously these are not my kids, but the first one is a very good representation of what a group Suzuki lesson looks like in the VERY beginning. The second is a child playing the song Liam is now working on.






His newest song. He can't play it like this yet though. :)

Gem from today...

I can't wipe your bottom if you're being a frog.

I have been talking to anyone who will listen to me about this. It is fascinating because the show is about a high school in our area-my BIL went there not too long ago. I have only watched three episodes and three girls have already gotten pregnant. To clarify, only one of the twelve girls being filmed gets pregnant, but so does one of her friends and a younger sister of one of the other girls. That is not good, people! If you aren't familiar with the show, it is about twelve girls who were chosen when they were freshmen, to be filmed throughout their high school lives. So, the producer had no idea what would happen to these girls over the course of their four years in high school. It just amazes me to look at them as freshman, they are scared about high school and they are BABIES! By the time they are sophomores they are more comfortable in their own skin and by the time they are juniors and seniors...watch out! I am locking my kids in a closet until they are 40.

You can find out more here.

You can raise your son a Quaker, a vegan or a pagan; he's still going to fight with his brother over an unused pen cap as though it were the Star of India.

You can kiss him every night and sing to him of milkweed and nightingales and give him his own doll and play kitty with him instead of Navy SEALs. Go ahead. He's still going to make a gun from a toaster waffle and fire it across the table-even if he's never seen a gun that didn't squirt water and wasn't shaped like a caterpillar.

This was in Wondertime magazine this month written by Jacquelyn Mitchard.

I just had to share these gems because they are SOOOO true. :)

This was our Easter:
-we were awoken by Liam a little before 5a.m. because he was having a croup attack
-I gave Liam some meds to reduce the swelling in his throat while Sean looked frantically for my glasses so I could drive Liam to the hospital
-I put Liam in the car and then decided there was no way I could drive him-he was too bad
-Called 911 and sat in the driveway with Liam while Sean called 911 again because Liam was getting worse
-Went to the hospital, got the meds that he needs, and Liam was fine (It amazes me how effective the meds they give him for croup are. I wish we could have them at home and trust me, I have asked. He gets it enough that it would save everyone a whole lot of trouble. This episode was definitely in the top three worse cases of croup he has had and it is very scary. Sitting with your child in an ambulance is no fun.)
-Came home and fell asleep
-Totally missed church
-Opened Easter baskets
-Had Easter Egg Hunt
-Made Easter Cake
-Went to Sean's aunt's house for family meal

Colm fell asleep on the hard floor...now THAT'S tired. He was in timeout for biting Liam's toe and he just fell asleep.

I was standing in line at McDonald's in the airport today. I went up to order and this young professional woman grabbed my arm to tell me that I was in the wrong line. Okay, I admit, I was in the wrong line. It was an honest mistake. There were only two people in line. It's not like I accidentally cut in front of 100 people. Why did she have to grab my arm? Why couldn't she just let it go? I have had similar experiences where I was the one who could have done the arm grabbing, but you just let it go. It's not a big deal. There was such a short line that she was still there waiting for her food when I went up to order a second time when it was actually my turn. I almost said something super smarmy to her, but I swallowed it. I don't know what is going on in her life that would make her be the way she is. I let it go.

Off to...









Liam and Sean are up there somewhere. Colm wasn't tall enough and he was NOT happy.

The dolphin and beluga show was AWESOME! It wasn't just animals, it was like a Vegas show only in Texas. I didn't take a lot of pics because I was too busy watching with my mouth hanging open. We also sat in the "splash zone". We didn't get too wet, but the people behind us got SOAKED!



Another yummy dinner...thanks again for another great recommendation, Candy's mom. :)

At the Alamo...we didn't actually go in. The line went on forever. There is no way we could have stood in that line.


We had dinner at Mi Tierra (great advice from Candy and her mom.) It was SUPER yummy. Not only is it a restaurant, but it is a bakery, too. We got some baked goodies to take back to our hotel room.




Working off dinner at a park across from the restaurant.

This is where it all started. Last June, I saw this article in Parents magazine. We were going to go last summer, but decided that Texas in August was not a good idea.



We had a great flight. The only little "bubble" was that when we got there and checked in Colm was put on standby. Yep, just Colm. I explained to them why that wasn't going to work and a very nice Sister gave up her seat so that Colm could fly with the rest of his family. :)

Once we got there we dropped off our stuff in our room and went to explore the Riverwalk. How beautiful it is! The only scary part is that there is NO BARRIER in between your wandering children and the water. They could just fall right in, so you better bet that I was in super Mother Hen mode.


Great hotel...I would stay there again in a heartbeat


Our Room


The kids loved the pool...it was heated, so he even though it was a little chilly the first couple of days we were there, that didn't keep us out of the pool.

We ate at a yummy restaurant called the Zuni Grill then we strolled around soaking up the sights and sounds of the Riverwalk (while I had a death grip on Colm to make sure he didn't fall in).

This is an insightful look into an era that is gone. In the 40's, 50's and 60's if an unmarried woman/girl became pregnant they were often sent away to maternity homes where they stayed for the last few months/weeks of their pregnancy. They would then have the baby in a hospital with no one there to help them, hold their hand, etc. and without any education as to what to expect during childbirth. They were then expected to go back to their previous lives after having given up their babies for adoption without any choice in the matter. The stories of loss and betrayal are saddening. Even though the baby didn't come home with them, the families are never the same and there are a lot of hard feelings that never go away.

When Colm gets mad, it is not uncommon for him to call names. HIs favorite used to be to call someone the opposite gender.

For example:

Colm: Mom, can I have ice cream for breakfast.

Me: No, but you can have some waffles or a cereal bar.

Colm: You're a boy. (You really have to hear it with the tone he uses to get the full effect. He kind of draws out "boy" as if he is accusing me of something.)

He has a new one though. This one he does not save for when he is mad. He just likes to use it at random times with random people.

Example: Today I was talking with a woman who is the mother of a friend of mine from high school. This is someone who I rarely see so it was nice to see her and we stopped to chat for a few moments. The whole time I am talking to her Colm is saying, "You're a knucklehead." REPEATEDLY! We are both trying to ignore him, but he just keeps saying it. He isn't saying it to be mean or to get a rise out of anyone. It's kind of like when he calls me a boy. It doesn't bother me and it's not a bad word. It's not particularly nice, but it could be worse. Colm is the type of kid that you have to ignore when he tries out a new word, too. If you react, he knows he has found a button. So, if Colm calls you a knucklehead, kindly ignore him or gently tell him that is not nice, but whatever you do, don't let on that it bothers you! That would make you a knucklehead. :)

Sean and I watched this movie last weekend and it was so good. There are very few movies that I would watch again, but I would definitely watch this one again. It takes place in Dublin and is the story of a man and a woman who share a passion for music and might maybe just be falling for each other. I think my favorite part of the movie is the end. It has a little twist.

The other day Colm and I were at the park by our house and I saw this little girl walking her dog. The little girl looked like one of Liam's classmates, but I figured it must be her little sister because it was a school day. I was wrong, it was Liam's classmate. The girl's mom came outside and was telling me that she had been sick the day before and she was fine today, but they were going on vacation the next day so they just decided to keep her at home. I don't come from that school of thought. When I was little you could stay home from school if you were throwing up or had a temp. I am the same way with my kids. I follow the county guidelines that they pass out at school and they say about the same thing. Unless you have a temp or there is something coming out of your body that shouldn't be, you should be in school. Life's rough in the K house.

Colm had his second trip to the dentist today. It went SO MUCH better than the last time!!! He still cried and put up a little fight, but it was NOTHING like last time. He didn't scream this time and I don't think he broke any of the blood vessels in his face like he did last time. :) The dentist did say that he needs a spacer and they are going to put it in next month. This means that they will be spreading the roof of his mouth to make it wider. I knew we were going to get this talk eventually. His teeth aren't super bad, but he definitely needs some help. His teeth are SUPER close together and the shape of his mouth isn't the way it should be. Why is it that the child who HATES the dentist has to have this done? He is going to have to get an impression (if you have had one you know how unpleasant that is), the spacer and then go back once a month for six months for "adjustments". I hated my orthodontist. I know things have gotten better since the dark ages when I had braces, but still. I feel for the little man.

We had saved up three paper grocery sacks worth of glass, so it was time to head to the the recycling center. Colm had a blast. What little boy doesn't want to smash glass? The first time he heard the glass break, when he threw it in there, he looked at me like he might be in trouble. When he realized I wasn't mad and, in fact, it was totally and completely okay to throw and break glass (as long as it lands in the receptacle, mind you) he had a ball!

I was driving this weekend and got stopped by a very nice policewoman who gave me a $300 ticket. I was able to go to the courthouse today get it "pardoned". We are going to have a little contest here...can anyone guess what might have warranted a $300 ticket? I might even give out a prize if someone comes up with the right answer. :)

This weekend Sean and I went to a benefit dinner for the Irish Cultural Museum. It was a black-tie event, but you were supposed to wear something green, so I was charged with finding Sean a green tie to wear. Now, I have never bought a tie before so I asked him how much one costs before heading out to look for one. He never gave me a definite answer, so I figured I would just look, compare prices and buy one that was green, looked nice and was relatively inexpensive/comparable to the other ties...comparative shopping. So, my first mistake was that I went to Macy's. I also had to buy a green shawl/scarf thing for me, so I figured that would be a good place to start, and it was. I found a scarf and a tie there for both of us. So, we are on our way to the event and Sean asks me if I really paid that much for the tie. I say I did and he informs me that it is the most expensive tie he owns. Now, in my defense, the tie was on sale and it was about the same price as all the other ties around it. So, what have I learned from this? Don't go tie shopping.

On another note, the event was a lot of fun with good food, good music and a lot of dancing. :)

This weekend Liam went to a mini one day violin camp. This is the third year he has gone and the first year I have remembered to take my camera. He really enjoys it and it is fun to see how much he has grown from year to year. The first year he was barely doing rhythms and this year he is almost done with book one.

It may only be Tuesday, but it's never too early in the week for a party at our house. I guess the boys decided at school today that the K house was the place to be after school today. So, at about 4:30, boys came pouring through our back door and headed straight for the PS2. They played Spiderman and Star Wars until about 5:15 and then everyone headed home. I love that we live in a neighborhood where the boys have so many friends close to them in age and that they all live right behind us. Our back door gets used more than our front door. :)

I was home this morning doing some picking up while the boys were at school and I started to hear this loud banging sound, kind of like a hammer. I am used to this since we have new home construction all around us, but this seemed to be a little bit louder than it should have been. I looked out the window and saw a truck in our driveway. I went outside and there is a guy ripping the trim off of our garage. I ask him what he is doing and he tells me he is supposed to take the trim off. I tell him a number of times in a number of different ways that he has the wrong house and he keeps insisting he doesn't. Don't you think if I was going to have the trim ripped off of my garage I would know about it? Anyways, he finally decides that maybe he does have the wrong house and calls someone. Yep, he has the wrong house. Yes, I think I tried to tell you that. He put the trim back on and someone came by to apologize. What else goes on around here when we're not here?

Well, we had to go back to the drs office today. Colm fell off of the bars at gymnastics today and cut his head. I saw it happen. I didn't think it was that bad because he didn't start crying AT ALL. Not even a whimper. The next thing I know the instructor is carrying him out and there is blood all over both of them. The dr. got us right in and we got to go to the "treatment room". I always wondered what the treatment room was. We walk past it all the time on the way to the regular rooms. Well, now I know. That's where you go to get casts and stitches, or in our case, staples. Colm did not cry when the nurse cleaned up his wound. He did not cry when they put the staples in the his head. He screamed and fought, however, when they tried to give him some Motrin. The kid DOES NOT take meds. I will spare you a picture. It is really gross and kind of Frankensteiny. We have to go back in ten days and get the staples taken out. I can only hope and pray that he does as well then as he did today. He was so brave. I was truly impressed.

On Saturday, my parents took Colm for the afternoon, so it was just me, Sean and Liam. The decibel level greatly decreases when one of them is gone. Today, Liam was at a friend's house for a while this afternoon and Sean took Colm to work with him. I was here all by myself. That doesn't happen very often.