...when you're living out a dream

Top 10 Things I Love About Harry at 10

10. He loves water, fountains, and making wishes

9.  He loves music and the library

8.  He has his own sense of style

7.  He digs deep into whatever interests him

6.  He loves maps, Google Earth or old style

5.  He will persevere

4.  He is creative

3.  He is a charmer

2.  He lives on the bright side of the road,
loves nature and
can find beauty in every moment of every day

1.  He loves everything,
especially me,
for which I am eternally grateful

 Everything Is Awesome (unplugged)

Everything Is Awesome!

Top 10 Things I Love About Jack At 10

10. He is creative and determined!

9. He is a wonderful sous chef
and a great helper all around the house

8. He loves to study history and the stories of the Bible 

(especially the Lego version)

and has a very strong sense of right and wrong

7. He is silly and loves to joke around

6.  He strives to meet personal goals
and knows how to make fun of himself
to help him get past tough moments.

5. He loves to play games,
especially in Ocracoke!

4.  He never met a mirror that he didn't like 

3.  He is enthusiastic about everything

2.  He loves to read and help at the library

1.  He is loving and thoughtful
and doesn't mind showing people, 
which makes me a very lucky mommy!

Everything is Awesome!

Makes me wanna take a back road

This song was made for our boy Harry! He always loves taking a detour, so he and Dean headed out for an adventure on Saturday morning. Harry has studied every road in our county, and has taken the 'human garmin' moniker to lengths my directionally-challenged soul can appreciate!

Rodney Atkins' Take A Back Road

Love TrainS

Happy Valentine's Day

to you and the ones you love

The O'Jays

Mama said knock you out!

So, Harry has been experimenting with assertiveness of late, especially with Jack....he had always deferred to Jack and would probably cut off an arm if Jack would just ask. So, today when Jack was annoying him, Harry asked him to stop, Jack didn't, Harry told him: stop or I'll stop you, Jack looked at me and said he wanted to see what would happen.....Harry punched him right in the face! This is a total first, and if we hadn't worked so hard to have him be more assertive and Jack hadn't been being such a brat, I probably wouldn't have thought it was such progress ;-) It was a pretty good right jab.

Then they ran into a bully in the playarea and apparently no one has learned anything we've tried to teach them ....alas, the parenting continues.

Later,
Harry: Jack, you just jumped into my conversation with Mommy, and I am MAD at you!
(no real response from Jack)

Even later:
Jack: God must have really studied for a long time to make all the words in the whole world!

LL Cool J

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

Money has been a big topic this year in school, and the boys were excited to make the trek to the money machine....cashing in a few months' worth of piggy bank savings.

Have I mentioned that they LOVE this??

Jack has never met a dollar he didn't want to spend, but Harry seems to be able to make money grow. They both spent some at a video sale, and we've spent the last few days watching movies they bought with their own money....they say the movies are way better since they bought them themselves ;-)

Pink Floyd's Money

But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry

One of Harry's favorite games to play lately is "Raise your hand if you love ____" Here they are, raising their hands if they're excited to see Santa! We picked them up as a surprise from school today and headed to see the Jolly One.

Jack's awe was a beautiful thing

Jack taking it seriously - his first solo sit

I always like the ones we snap from the side best - the pros never catch the conversation ;-)

I could cry that I didn't catch a better shot of this - Santa showing Harry a few hat tricks

Like most years, they were so excited before and after with none of it showing in the pix :-(

I guess it's stage fright? Jack even practiced what he wanted to say: "I have two things to tell him: Thank you for all the gifts you got me last year. I love you, Santa!" Do you think he told him either thing? Nope. Guess we'll be writing those letters soon!

We Need A Little Christmas

And Santa please a box piled high with love

The boys were sent home with these forms to fill out - their classes will be posting their letters to Santa after Show and Tell tomorrow. These are SO them :wub:

And for comparison's sake, here is last year's Santa Letters post that I dictated and they signed. Mrs. Sharon, we'll be bringing the real deal by your awesome Santa Express Mailbox soonest!

Hank Snow's A Letter To Santa Claus (which was really sad, but made me think about the important things)

If a picture paints a thousand words

School pix came home yesterday and today, and tho they aren't the best pix of them, they really are pretty good reflections of their personalities at the moment....except of course that they are ever-changing these days - signs of teen moodiness? I hope not!

Jack - Kindergarten, September 2009
Chilaxin' while he talks with his buddy, Grayson
His 'doh' response to a story Grayson is telling
Harry - Kindergarten, September 2009
(I think my first grade picture had this same expression!)

Multi-tasking while talking on the phone with Grayson this afternoon

The boy is rarely idle, and can he talk - they were on the phone long enough for G's mom and I to have a conversation (on our cells), schedule lunch and solve a few world problems ;-) Again, signs of teen things to come??

Bread's If

I blink my eyes and the momentS ARE over

I'm still debating whether the days passed faster when they were home all day, or now when the moments are more rare but just as precious. They have definitely been hamming it up lately, as seen while they help me do the grocery shopping....

and even the unloading

The other day was just pure relaxation - Jack was practicing up for tomorrow's ice cream social while Harry was studying his new favorite map of the tri-cities.

I'm not sure if it will show up if you use Google Reader, but I finally finished a Pirate Videos post from August and couldn't make it post today....ugh.

09/15/09 Harry: Remember, Mommy, don't EVER eat the urinal cakes! Jack: I love going to school!

John Mellancamp's Just Another Day

Don't watch TV it's all lies!

Jack is our biggest tv fan, and he is getting a lot more savvy about commercials despite being an advertiser's dream...he reminded me the other day that Kaboom could make my job much easier as I was trying to remove a stain :rolleyes:

This may just be Jack's favorite part of moving so far...shopping for tv's

The boys got to play and celebrate their friend Joe's birthday a few weeks ago, and their friend Grayson gave Jack a chance to be a star in his own right. I'm thinking he liked it ;-)

Happy Birthday, Joe - can't wait to be your neighbor!

He's loving school, and his teacher tells us he's a delight. Meeting new friends is still his favorite part of any outing, and he's learning how to negotiate all the new social dynamics. He's a huge help around the house - his enthusiasm makes everything easier and more fun. He's really getting into watching football and racing with Daddy...full of questions and cheering for anyone in red LOL. He still gives me hugs during his nightly pitstop, and loves to tell silly jokes. All in all, it's a great age!



This is the first time I can ever remember him being hoarse...hoping it's just allergies.

American Music Club's Wish The World Away

I wanna talk about ME!

Harry's class had a "ME" project last week, and his teacher posted a class picture that was totally adorable. Here's our portion, with his great big proud grin...if you click on the picture, it will open a larger version so you can see all his favorite things of the moment.

And since I was thinking Happy Harry thoughts, I figured I would include some recent favorite shots of our youngest son :wub:

Clowning it up at the pool during our August beach vacation
Seriously chillin'

Playing at the park this summer

Gettin' his groove on before a walk a few weeks ago

Stealing my heart with his freckles and lashes and sweet cheeks at the beach

Putting on a happy face during a tired dinner at the beach

Helping us navigate on our trip home - he's studied that map so much he can tell you how to get just about anywhere on Ocracoke Island...our human Garmin to be sure!

And just being joyful at the circus last weekend

He's loving school more than I expected, he's cutting his 6yo molars and may have an ear infection, he's finding his own friends, and is finally standing up to his brother (and us, unfortunately LOL). It's an experience, mostly joyful, watching him grow :wub:

and watching the love that's there thru all the challenges

Toby Keith