The Biggest Brother.

One of the neat things about having a baby in the house again is seeing the nurturing coming from the big brothers.  Jakeb, the biggest of the big ones, is especially sweet.  One day last week or so we were sitting in Nolan's room after he woke up from a (brief) nap and Jakeb asked to hold him.  As he started to take him he remembered he needed to wash his hands and ran off.  He came back and picked him up out of his crib...standing to hold him is something we are letting him do here and there under strict instructions to NOT do unless with us.   So he carefully picked him up and walked over to his rocking chair and sat holding him.   And I sat on the floor watching the 2 of them...my almost 10 year old and my 2 month old. My oldest and youngest....watching him with Nolan is just cool.  He is careful and sweet and amazed by him.  We call him Daddy Jake or Daddy 2.0...he is just good.  Nolan was looking at Jakeb and smiling and Jakeb giggled "He's smiling at me...look at him smile"  He (Jakeb) talks to him in the baby voice we all get and he gets it.  The baby-ness.  Nolan fusses and he has a barrage of people around him to pick him up or pop a paci in his mouth.  Jakeb often responds faster than I do and he responds as if it was second nature...he just does it.
I can't wait to see how their bond grows, how Nolan at 2 looks up to his almost 12 year old brother...or at 4 and 14.  Wow.  My first thought about having a baby and a 9 year old was that it was like starting over and it is but oh my how neat it is.  Watching this big boy with this little baby is just...sweet.

This past Friday I ran Zachary to a neighbors house just down the road...as in in our neighborhood about 8 houses down.  It was cold and I am not ok with him walking down there alone just yet (our 'hood is very hilly and people make me nervous driving).   Nolan was asleep and it was going to take me 2 min so I told Jakeb he was on baby duty--ie pop the paci in his mouth-- but most likely he wouldn't need to do a thing before I got back.  Of course Nolan woke up while I was gone--my 2 min ended up being more like 7.  I came in to find Nolan laying in his crib happily chatting away to his big bro.  Jakeb who was calling a friend when Nolan started crying told his friend he had to go to deal with his baby brother.  {relayed back to me by Jakeb of course} He then proceeded to tell me that he in fact picked Nolan up and got to the top of the stairs to bring him down (EEK!) and realized that was probably not a very good idea so he laid him back down in his bed.  Smart, careful boy.   While I certainly don't think a 9 year old is ok to babysit for any length of time it's amazing how careful and thoughtful he is.  Watching him with the baby is fabulous and I am so glad we are getting the chance to do so.

Missing.

A few days ago I was watching pictures scroll thru on the digital picture frame we have in our living room...pictures that have been on the frame for a great while now and really need to be updated--which is totally not my point--as I watched the pictures of Jakeb as a preschooler and Zachary as a toddler and Gavin as a tiny baby I realized for the first time that I miss that. I miss the busyness of 3 little ones and the fun of dragging them around to various actitivies. I didn't appreciate it all at the time--I suppose we never do. But now as they are older and {sassier} and much more independent--I do miss it. I have Nolan (who is sleeping right next to me on the bed) but this is the first time in many years that I have a baby and no toddler to keep up with as well and as crazy as it sounds to say I miss that. I have said it before but I don't miss the big boys as babies as much as I miss them as toddlers and little tiny tikes. I miss their curiousity and little voices. I think I relisheed in their babyhood so very much and squeezed every lost drop of that time that I could. And while I do miss that stage I don't miss it quite as much. They really aren't that much older and on one hand they are easier and more fun but on the other it's harder. Jakeb and Zachary are big kids really--I know Zachary is only 7 (almost 8!) but he has always been "older" so while he's young he still is more of a big kid than a little. Which means that they need me less (yay!--boo!) and also they are rowdier and sassier and just more. Though also they are helpful and independent and did I say HELPFUL?! Because that is fabulous. I can talk with them and have big kid conversations and we can just hang out. So they are great at this age too but I miss their little squeaky voices and their innocence. Definitely the innocence and the wonder..I miss that. Gavin is going on 6 but is still my little buddy and that makes me happy. They all make me happy--and soon enough I will miss 9 and 7 and 5.

Sunshine and Strep

Jakeb woke up bright and early yesterday complaining of a sore throat. Not good, but kiddo had no fever and said he was fine for school. As in he wanted to go to school--which is a foreign idea to me but more power to him. That's awesome. However he returns from school yesterday stating that his throat hurts a little but he feels just fine otherwise....yet he winced in pain every time he swallowed. He insisted he's fine and a quick forehead check led me to believe he was indeed fever free. Two hours later he comes dragging into the living room and says he really feels bad now and that he needs to lay down. Genius mom that I am I chose to forego the trusty forehead check and busted out the themometer and sho enough kid is sporting a decent little fever. Ugh. I track down a walk-in clinic (his peds office was closed already) because I am suspecting strep and we just need a quick test and some meds and we are good to go. So yes--kiddo has strep, which means I am sure that's what I have/had--they didn't test me for it but treated me as if I had it. Awesome. Sorry North Georgia for being out and about infecting all of you.

All of that being said we are enjoying the sunshine. It's supposed to be in the 60's this weekend and full of sun. This is for real awesome. Mr. Zachario's birthday is tomorrow. His is the first birthday of the year so it's a big deal--he's the kick off birthday, before they start rolling in one after the other. Wam bam thank you mam. His gifts are bought and wrapped. We don't get too wild with birthday gifts--really we don't get too wild with gifts at all. It's not what it's about folks. It being, you know, LIFE. Some days I want to run out and buy my kiddo's everything there little hearts desire but most days I don't....most days I hope their experiences in life give them that. But gifts are fun so Zman has a few of course and Gavin was excited to help pick them out and has been a very good secret keeper. Zachary is a hard guy to buy for--he isn't a toy maniac and he is relatively practical in what he asks for. (Remember at Christmas he asked for a notebook and bed sheets--I promise he has both!) He was so excited for today at school he couldn't sleep. I made Cake Pops for his class and he is excited to bring them--and I think excited that his mom is cool like that and makes them for him even though she really doesn't like making them. They aren't especially hard but a bit of a process and they like to do things like fall off the stick or drip candy coating that doesn't melt right all over the place....basically I haven't perfected it. But the boys love bringing them so I do it--because he's so excited he couldn't sleep. Reason enough. Robert helped this go around because I don't need to serve Strep Pops. That would not be cool. So I am excited for him and excited that I am feeling better so that I can bring them to him and his class, because he got up and dressed in record time and hugged me 934342 times this morning. Because he's cool like that.

And for the record my cake pops look nothing like linked cake pops...mine are mishappen and wonky and lumpy but 1st graders don't care about perfection--they care about sugar. Even if they did care about perfection they wouldn't get it from me.

The Meltdown.

It's Thursday and it's Sunny. The shine on the ice is gorgeous, my yard is full of glistening pearls. And chunks of broken ice-snow. Underneath the ice-snow are falls leaves and underneath that is the promise of spring and then summer. When the snow started to fall I was giddy with excitement. I watched in awe as it fell and fell and fell fast. We had total coverage in a little over an hour so I woke the boys at midnight to show them--or tried to Gavin mumbled that he didn't want to see it and rolled back over. But I fell asleep smiling that smile that you can't hide. You know the one. I woke up with the same excitement. And somehow I lost it. Within 20 min of being outside it was gone--I was frustrated and overreacting. Shock, I know. As previously mentioned Jakeb and Gavin aren't much for the cold...so they had to warm up (no pun intended) to the idea of spending more than 10 minutes outside in a freezer. I get that, now. I got that then. But at the time I was expecting romping and sledding and giggling fun. That didn't happen at least not in my time frame. Instead I got angry and Jakeb ended up in tears. Smooth as ice, I am. Appologies were made and we made a second attempt, with greater success. If at first you don't succeed try again and you may. And we did. Today Jakeb was asking to go outside the second my foot hit the cold wood floor, progress. Next time however I will put down the camera and play with them too. Today we walked out to 5 cars stuck and trying to get out of our neighborhood, so we had a bit of extra excitement. The sledding was good and apparently so is the ice because Zachary couldn't get enough of it. It is slowly (very slowly) melting away....but in the mean time we are trying to enjoy it. Being "stuck" at home has been surprisingly easy this go round and I am wishing I was more often.

Here's a video of the boys sledding just this morning....ignore my loud mouth and listen to what Gavin says. Haha.

Snowy Snowness

We have a little stream that runs through our back yard and this is what it looks like right now

Our backyard is downhill from the front so we have stairs that go down from the driveway to the back yard--under the snow.

We are "snowed" in here in the suburbs of Atlanta. For real. Now Robert did make it out of the hood to head to work for the first time this week. But we haven't had our MAIL delivered in 2 days. On the news last night they showed a clip of a person ice skating on a major highway. What?! Yes ice skating and the night before that? Skiing. Not kidding.

The city was undoubtedly not prepared for such precipitation. And while maybe they should have heeded the weatherman's warnings, things like this happen every decade or so--therefore I am not surprised at their lack of response. The kids are more than pleased. As a result they will likely get over a month of Christmas break. They missed last week as a result of the flu and now it's Wednesday and I don't see school going back tomorrow. Friday maybe, and no school Monday for the holiday.

Our road looked like this last night

Going back is going to be hard! We have all been sleeping in and getting up lazily. The kids aren't much for cold weather and wet snow so outside time has been very little. We did all get out last night for over an hour and had a blast. Poor Gavin and Jakeb just can't do the cold-even with 3 pairs of pants, heavy duty socks and boots, hats, and gloves.

this was Zachary's favorite thing to do--dive into the snow/ice. And pretend to be stuck.

this is what is on top of the snow--sheets of ICE.

Maddie girl thought the snow was AWESOME.

Zachary totally nailed Robert with a snowball as he jumped.

These 3

Have grown. Like A lot.

(photo courtesy of McDougal Photography-circa 2006)

(photo courtesy of Lisa Slate Photography circo-2010)

Punky Punkin Punk

I have never called my kiddo's Punkin....instead I have shortened it to Punky, one time I shortened it to Punk and giggled because that just wouldn't work. Punky barely does. Right now they are often referred to as "Z", "J-baby", and "Boog" which is not short for booger....in my head it's a variation of bug but to ensure that it is properly pronounced I imagine one must spell it "boog". All of this to say that we went to the Pumpkin Apple Farm a couple weeks ago. Grandpa tagged along and it was decided this was the best Pumpkin Apple Farm we have ever been to

ETA: So after posting I usually do a once over of the finished product on the blog and I am cracking up at my unintentional arrangement of photos...As I finish up that this is the "bestPumpkin Apple Farm we have ever been to..." I follow it with a "Moonshine" sign. A) no pun intended and B) no moonshine was had or purchased.

And there is one other activity that Z and Boog did while the were at the farm that certainly deserves it's very own post....something that most definitely shows off their matching daredevil tendencies. Any ideas what that was!? A hint: They shot up like rockets!

Good for something

Yesterday the boys were out of school...for "Teacher work day and Conferences" aka Go Vote! Which for the record Robert and I are feeling rather guilty for not voting. But in our defense we couldn't...we have yet to register to vote and honestly it snuck up on us--so yeah. Anyway.

They were home--actually they were all home Monday as well and Jakeb is home today again. He's not feeling well and Monday just seemed like a good day to let Zachary stay home--both his brothers were and well I just wanted to keep him home, so I did.

But yesterday I had the boys come into the basement/toy room and we cleaned and organized everything. Something we had not done since we moved everything down there. And being that I like organization that's what we did. This resulted in tears of course but I reminded them that they will find long lost toys and it will be easier to play and get to things if it's put away like it should be. And I will have you know that Jakeb told me Thank you not once but like 3 times yesterday. As in "Thank you for helping us organize and clean up our toys"...3 times. This after shedding many tears. Yes, yes I know he's sick but he was really just sitting sorting Lego's from Bionicles. Which also made him realize they have "too many Lego's".

I sort thru their toys often....we toss, sell, and give what they don't play with a lot. So really we don't have odds and ends floating around--at least not for long. We aren't hitting fast food very often these days so dinky kid's meal toys aren't floating around for months and we don't buy new toys often. But I still think they have a lot of toys...most of which they rarely play with...but seriously in comparison to what most kids have they don't. We have lots of Lego's, lot's Bionicles, and lots of Hot Wheels. We don't have multiple game systems and buckets of toys upon buckets of toys. Sometimes I feel bad because they don't have as much as other kids--but then I remind myself that it's by choice that they don't. Sometimes I get caught up trying to keep up..."Little Billy has that toy?? Well by golly you should too!" and then I remind myself that we don't buy it because it's not what I want them to know. Not to mention that because I go thru their toys a lot, I also see how much money has been wasted on toys and it's a lot. Like A LOT. Because they just don't use it, don't need it, and don't care. So instead of getting caught up in keeping up--I clean up and remember why we choose not to buy. That's not what we want them to learn.

And instead I buy them clothes. Because they soooo need 47 pairs of blue jeans. I promise. And I also promise I am working on that too.

and also these pictures are from last year at our old house.

8-tween.

I was under the false impression that one isn't a tween until they are 10...you know double digits. Apparently tween-hood starts roughly around 8. So this would be the category that my sweet Jakey boy falls into. I am sorry what?

However much I would like to deny the fact that he is, in fact, getting older his actions lately are not letting me. This past week the big boys were "busted" trying to smuggle their DS's to school...to play on the bus ride home. The like 10 minute

bus ride that is "sooo long and they have nothing to dooooo" So I was the mean mom that found out (note to Zachary: if you insist that you should pack your bag and that I not look in your bag...I will in fact look in your bag. ) and then confiscated said $130 toy. Tears were shed and stomping ensued. On the ride to school I discussed with them why they couldn't bring them and how I wish they wouldn't try to sneak like that (even though I know they will again) because I will find out and they will get in trouble. To which Jakeb responded, "Yeah well, I like taking risks..." in a smug tone. I believe I stammered over my words and in fact sat there trying to figure out exactly how to respond. As it was I didn't. Jakeb is pretty much a non risk taker...feet planted firmly on the ground where it's nice and safe. So this comment was pretty much just comical. BUT um Hello he's 8, not 15.

Friday, in the tradition of Halloween, the kids could wear a "book character costume" aka their Halloween costume to school. Jakeb was beyond excited about his costume...that is until Friday on the way to school. His nerves got the best of him and he took it off. Apparently some punk kid has said Star Wars is stupid and Jakeb was too worried about that to wear it. What I wanted to tell Jakeb was who cares what some kid says....but along with that I get it. While I want him to overall not care what other kids think, I don't think telling him to get over and go with it is great either. There's such a fine line. It basically sucks. I was a kid once a very self conscience kid, very worried what others thought...it held me back...it still does. I don't want my kids overcome with that feeling--it really is awful. I just couldn't send him off feeling horrid nerves...so we compromised and I told him I thought he would be fine and should wear it, BUT if he wanted he could take it off and toss it in his bag. This is what he did and when I arrived for their "party" I found him in his costume. The problem is in 3rd grade some kids are growing past Star Wars, Lego's and toys (or at least they claim to be)....some are not. Jakeb is not. He's still for the most part a little boy. But he's crossing over and it's hard. For both of us. Finding his way, finding where he fits in. He's at a new school, new friends, and that's hard too. He calls me Mommy and snuggles on the couch but he's riddled with attitude, emotions, and has the beginnings of a chip on his shoulder. I hope we figure this out together and not apart...at least not always.

From behind the bus.

This past week was field trip central at the boys school. Wednesday I loaded my happy self into the caravan of cars following the big yellow bus down 10 lanes of traffic, thru Atlanta traffic at rush hour for a day of exploring at Zoo Atlanta. Now folks any city at rush hour pretty much blows, Atlanta however is known for traffic. This day was no different and we were left with 5 seconds to run thru the zoo and meet for lunch. Not really but it sure went by fast. And for the record Atlanta traffic isn't that bad it's just that 10-12 lanes of slow moving traffic is a bit more daunting that 4-6. Anyway...It was good times hanging out with 6 and 7 year old monkeys and Zachary seemed to have a grand ole' time. The highlight was holding the map and finding the god forsaken KOMODO DRAGON, because omg we asked to see it like 14356342 times....and do you know what 6 and 7 year old boys do when they do finally see the Komodo Dragon behind the glass laying on concrete not moving? Exactly...shrug and walk off. Cool. But overall the trip was cool, just getting to hang out with my boy and his peeps is fun so yeah. The kids are cute and they say things like "yeah my mom is on a diet" and "well my dad couldn't come because he didn't have enough money...or maybe he just didn't want to". I mean that alone is worth the trip and the $8.50. Yet makes me wonder what Zachary says when I am not around, I just won't think about that. Good times with my Zman even if he talks smack about me behind my back. I still love to kick it with him and his buddies.

Jakeb's class had a trip to Amicalola Falls State Park. Same idea...parents in their cars following the bus...however this was down windy roads in the fall sans traffic. Which is basically right up my ally. So the drive was nice. And despite already having gone to the park, I was looking forward to checking out the 3rd graders and see just what being 8 and 9 is all about in 2010. Pretty much the same just lots more usage of the word "Dude" than I recall. And I learned quite a bit about O'possum's and how surprisingly snugly they are when they aren't smashed into the blacktop. Granted I didn't get to hold one but park lady held and cuddled that little Petunia possum like she was a itty bitty baby and it wasn't that weird really. Did you know that don't really hang upside down and sleep in the tree's? And that if they didn't turn into roadkill or get eaten by like every other animal in the happy forest they could potentially have 40,000 descendants from one possum. No that's not a typo. Wow. So 3rd graders are interesting. It seems that they start maturing emotionally a bit more about this age and some are jumping into this progression already and some...not so much. Mine being one of them. I overheard the discussion of the usage of Mom vs. Mommy. Apparently in 3rd grade "Mommy" is not cool, "Mom" cool. So when Jakeb proceeded to call me "Mommy" 47 times at lunch I wanted to educate him on the cool factor...but his pals didn't notice, so I resisted the urge to rescue him from his sure fate of forever being exiled for referring to me as Mommy. But dang that sucks, because in 3rd grade groups and coolness starts and that is just no fun. However the field trip was fun and Jakeb had a good time and we jetted out of there early and fully educated on possum's and proper parental namage. And again it was good to kick it with my 8 year old and his buds. Who for the record are just as mature as Jakeb---and still rock the air light saber complete with sound effects and fully prepared fighting moves. Little boys for a little while longer, be still my heart. I did ask Jakeb if he thought he should call me Mom now instead of Mommy....and he thought probably he should, so he and Zachary said that a few times until we decided it sounded weird. So I am Mommy for just a little while longer.

Twenty nine

Today my younger brother turns 29. His last year in his 20's...crazy! Happy Birthday to my little brother, Bert Gee--who is really named Robert much like my husband, weird I know. Oddly enough as well my brother was called Bobby when he was a little boy and my husband, Robert, was called Bob. He may hurt me for letting that out, haha. Anyway Happy Happy Fantastic Birthday Day to my wittle bruva.

This weekend Robert's parents came down for a visit. We had a super nice time just hanging out. Yesterday we watched the boys soccer games. Which by the way they both are loving. Zachary's team lost 1-0, but this was their first loose so they were pretty indifferent about that...they are a pretty awesome little team though! And Jakeb's team has struggled A LOT, yesterdays game was their SIXTH game and they have only scored 1 goal up until yesterday where they scored FIVE and won. Everyone was so incredibly excited, it was awesome. And Jakey boy played his heart out--he did awesome and seems to finally be getting the concept of the game. They both are doing amazing but this is Jakeb's first time playing so he's behind a bit on his comfort level.

After soccer we hit up a few consignment/antique stores around--we have TONS of them here in ATL area. I didn't buy anything but certainly found things I liked--just nothing I had to have. I have specific peices of furniture I am wanting and am focused on that right now. We are working on furnishing the dining room and sunroom--all we lack is a love seat and a sideboard/buffet thingy in the dining room. It's coming together FINALLY. I am on the hunt for the perfect shelf/cabinet for the kitchen and found bar stools today. It's looking good up in here.

Some pics from the boys first soccer games...Jakeb is the one in the middle with his back to the camer running away--number 7
That's Zachary and his coach...he's number 8