Heaven, Death, and What to wear

At the Green house some days are good and some are not. Lately both boys have been tired and grumpy and our house has not been a lot of fun. However, when I get discouraged God always provides me with what I need. In this case I needed a good laugh and some sweetness! I am so glad HE is always faithful!
Sunday morning I was driving to church and Nate was talking in the back seat about heaven. He then proceeded to ask if I would go to heaven first or if he would. I told him that hopefully I would because Mommy's should always go before their kids. He asked when that would happen and I said that I hoped that it would be when he was a lot older. He replied "Yeah, like when I am fat and old... that will be a good time... I will be a grandpa, you can go then." I just laughed and then he said, "Mommy, I will make a note for you. I will put it with you. It will say that I love you very much and I will miss you. It will say that I will see you when I get to heaven" He proceeded to go on about other things he would write in the note for me. I told him that I wanted him to know that no matter what when I was gone I wanted him to remember that I loved him very much and I'd be sending him hugs and kisses from heaven! Such a sweet boy... I needed that reminder this week!
For those of you who don't know we had one of our dogs (Trixie) die a few weeks ago so death has been a big part of our conversations lately. So Sunday night Caden coughed so hard that he made himself throw up. As he was getting sick in the toilet he looked at me with a sad face and said, "Trixie threw up and now she is dead! That means I am about to be dead too!" I hugged him and reassured him that he was fine and that Trixie was just really sick before she started throwing up. I have to admit I held back my giggles though. It cracked me up that he put all of that together and that it was a real worry for him... poor baby!
Finally, my good laugh...
Each night I set put clothes for Nate to wear the next day. When Nate gets up in the morning it is his job to get dressed. Sunday night I set out a windsuit for Nate that has a jacket to go with it. Monday morning Nate was dressed when I came out of our room ready to go. He had his jacket all zipped up so we headed out the door. When we got to school I told him he ought to take his jacket off or at least unzip it. Nate made a funny face at me and said I don't have a shirt on under this.... Apparently, he decided the jacket was enough or didn't see the shirt that was laying on top of his pants. Luckily, I had a good friend that was going home and coming back. She was nice enough to bring my son clothes. The nurse and one of the teachers told me that Nate came up to them and unzipped his jacket and showed off his chest! What a silly boy! At the end of the day my wonderful Asst. Principal, who had heard Nate's story, came up to me with her jacket all zipped up to let me know that she didn't have a shirt on underneath either. Her sarcasm was enough for another great laugh!
I just want you all to know that I DO have enough clothes for my children, I DO set them out for them, and from now on I WILL do a wardrobe check before we leave!

The charmer

On Thursday we had picture day at school. My kindergartner was SO excited as all kids are about this day. For those of you who don't work in an elementary school let me let you in on a little secret... I don't know what it is about picture day but for some reason the kids act like it is the day before Christmas break. They are everywhere and by the end of the day all of the teachers look frazzled and like they NEED it to be Christmas break.... OK so now that I have filled you in I need to share my story.

My little guy did not want to wear a nice button down shirt but after a trip to Kohl's and a convincing talk about how handsome he was going to look he decided to give into my demands. So the morning of pictures he gets dressed and comes into me to report that he needs a flower. What???? So I asked him, "why do you need a flower?" to which he responds that it will make him look handsome. Again, What???? He proceeded to tell me that his daddy gets dressed fancy and goes out and when he comes home he always has a flower pinned to his shirt.

(Let me clarify just to be sure you understand, he is on staff at a church and has done several wedding recently. That would be the reason for the flowers- no girlfriends or other crazy scenarios...) So my little guy goes into the closet and finds one of his daddy's flowers that was a silk flower and tucks it into the pocket of his shirt. He comes in proudly smiling and revealing his lovely fuchsia rose that is sticking out of his pocket. I began to giggle.... and said "Honey, that is not necessary for picture day today." We had to have a long discussion before I could convince him to leave the flower at home.

So then later that day one of my best friends calls laughing hysterically. It seems that as my little boy's class walked out or maybe back from the portable to get their pictures taken my little guy spotted a flower on the ground he could pick. You know the kind I am talking about??? The lovely yellow weed?

He decided to pick it up and stick it into the pocket of his shirt and made sure the flower was sticking out. So I am not sure what his picture will look like. Maybe it will just be my handsome boy or maybe it will be the little charmer with a yellow weed sticking out of his pocket... time will tell. Rest assured that IF his picture has the yellow flower sticking out you will be able to see the lovely picture posted on this blog.... until then we will have to wait and see!

After he got back to his classroom our super assistant principal spotted my little one and said hello to him. My little guy loves her and often stops into her office to talk to her. (So far that has been his only visits to her but I am sure he will get to have a very different kind of visit with her at some point) My boy, the charmer, smiled at her-pulled the lovely weed from his pocket-and handed it to her! Oh my! Just wait until this one is a teenager!

Monsters!

I know that all little kids have a fear of monsters. I can remember being younger and being afraid to go down the dark hallway to my room and out of my parents sight. I remember sometime walking until my parents couldn't see and then running in and out as fast as I could.

Today I had such a flashback as my youngest went in his room to get a toy. He came barreling around the corner and mumbled, "The cookie monster didn't get me!" The cookie monster? Really? That's the monster he is afraid of??? I laughed and called him over. I told him he didn't have to be afraid of the cookie monster.... he only liked cookies and there aren't any in the bedrooms. My youngest looked at me as serious as could be and said well then "we really need to be afraid at Christmas!" I laughed and said why... "because he'll take Santa's cookies!" So I think on Christmas eve when we set out our cookies for santa we will have to set out an extra set for cookie monster and a note that asks him not to eat Santa's cookies.

I just found all of this so funny! If my boys are going to be afraid of monsters I guess cookie monster is the best to have around!

Little Bit is turning 3!!!

We are having a birthday party for our youngest this weekend! I can't believe he is almost three! He loves Lightning McQueen, cars, dogs and babies. He is so tender hearted. The teachers at his preschool says he always makes sure everyone is included and taken care of! I am so thankful for his sweet spirit and tender heart! I am praying that this year will be wonderful for him. It is so great to se ehim chnge from year to year! What did I do to deserve such amazing boys. I am blessed beyond measure!

Funny Boys

So we were leaving school yesterday and my oldest turns to my AP and says, "Bye, we are going to Barnes and Oval"! Then as we leave he says, "What's at Barnes and Oval???" So excited and he doesn't even know why....

Today at Preschool, my youngest was rubbing a baby's head. He turns to the other kids and says, "It's ok... you can touch him.... he's real!"

My tender hearted boys

My youngest was at school today and they were playing with a litebrite making letters, counting etc. When they turned off the lights one of his friends began to get upset because he was scared. My little one turned to his friend and said "Please Mason, don't be scared! There are no bears in here! We are safe even when the lights are off. Its ok I will sit right beside you so you will feel better." Awwww... I am so thankful! At times my boys are relentlessly fighting so it is so good to know that deep down we are raising who will be sweet, tenderhearted young men!

My oldest finished his first six weeks of school! Kindergarten has been a blast! Last week they studied fire/police men. My boy loved that the home center had turned into a fire station. They topped off a week with a visit from the city firemen.
This week they have talked about space and darkness. Today they had dark day where they did everything with flashlights. He has been having so much fun! He did manage to get an S in conduct which I think is pretty good for the first six weeks of school. I was surprised at his letter assessment though. The teacher said he only knows 48 out of 54 letters (they have two different a's and g's that they test). I was surprised because at home he seems to know all of his letters! Oh well... I guess we have some practicing to do!

Three weeks down...but who's counting???

We just finished week three of school. My oldest is doing pretty good! He is enjoying kindergarten and his amazing teacher. Mrs. F is a perfect fit for him! She has high expectations and knows how to equip her students to meet them. I am so thankful for such a great first experience for him.
We also have a new music teacher that Nate LOVES! This week Mr. P even let them play drums! I think he is brave to put drums in kindergarten students hands but my little man thinks it was the best decision ever!
I asked Nate what the three best things about this week were and he said:
Being King of the day! (Thanks, Mrs. F)
Playing the drums (Thanks, Mr. P)
and getting to visit the outdoor garden (Thanks again, Mrs. F)

My top three favorite things included
watching the PE teachers sing and dance to "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed" with K students
eating lunch with my little man
and the funniest moment...after losing my little man finding out that the reason I couldn't find him was becuase the boys bathroom locks weren't working so he decided to go in the girls bathroom because his mommy takes him in there when we are at the store.... Oh goodness... let the retraining begin!

Finally, on a more serious note...
We have a new teacher at school that is really wonderful. She is great with the kids but also an amazing woman. About a year and half ago she lost her four year old daughter to cancer. She, of course, is very sad and clings to the memory of her beautiful girl. After hearing her talk about it, I decided to go check out her blog. I sat and cried as I read of the heartbreaks this family has encountered and yet was amazed at what awesome memories they created for themselves. She is just a really incredible mom! Even more than that, as I began reading I discovered that her precious one that she lost far too early has the exact same birthday as my little man. She should be walking the halls at our school, finishing her third week of kindergarten, playing, running, etc. It made her pain feel that much more real for me. As she talks of losing her I imagine what my boy and I were doing, as she talks of her fears and worries I think of how many times I have not spent enough quality time with my boy. As she talks of how people don't treasure every moment and don't notice the little things their kids notice I realize that I am that mom! I get so caught up in the everyday life that I fail to notice the little things... so I am stepping back. I am determined to enjoy the moment, appreciate the little things, and create life long memories because in an instant one of these boys could be gone. So for my many readers (ha ha), I hope you'll hold me accountable. I hope you'll push me to enjoy each day and be thankful for the blessings that I have. I in turn, hope to inspire you to do the same!