Independent vs. Dependent

I want you to take a really good look at this picture. This is my son, Nathan. For those of you that know my son, you know he is an extremely independent little boy... well, independent in areas we don't yet want him to be independent in, yet he's very dependent in areas we would like him to be more independent in. Confused yet? Let me give you a couple of examples:

Independent

Nathan loves to travel around when he darn well pleases. Yes, he has gotten MUCH better at not doing this since the last time he pulled a stunt like that we had to get a park ranger involved because he went missing while we were camping and no one (but the people he went with) knew where he was. Poor cousin Laura was having a heart attack while I was causing the lake to rise from my worried tears alone! On another occasion, when he was 2 years old, he had gone over to a neighbors house without telling us, and we were frantically searching our house and yard for him. As soon as we began running out the front door, our neighbor was carrying him back to our house. We have since become good friends with those neighbors and we got permission to put in a gate from our yard to theirs so Nathan can travel there without walking the streets. Ha!

Dependent

Nathan does not like to be alone, even if we are all home, but spread throughout the house doing our own chores or what-not. He can be watching TV, look up to see we are not there, and then he will mindlessly explore the house looking for us. Of course, when he finds us, he wouldn't dare admit he just wants to be close to someone, so instead, he will start babbling about the first thing that comes to him mind. Nathan also will not begin any chores/homework he is supposed to do unless we initiate it and physically make him do these things; with help, of course. And God forbid this 'independent boy' learn how to pick-up after himself... why does he insist on having 3 or 4 pairs of his shoes spread out all over the living room floor, yet also insist on wearing the same outfit for 3 or 4 days in a row?? Geez!

OR... Neither??

For the past few months Nathan has frequently been using the same 4 phrases multiple times a day... at first the hubby and I thought these phrases were part of his 'dependence', but because these phrases have become a daily occurrence, we're not entirely sure, but we hope they are just a stage he's going through; hehehe!

1) "Mom, Dad? Will you get my blanket?" (When it's never more than 5 ft. away from him.)

2) "Mom, Dad? Will you get me some water?" (While he's literally standing right next to the stack of water bottles.)

3) "Mom, Dad? I'm bored." (I assure you this kid has NO reason to be bored... not with so many toys not only in his bedroom, but also in the playroom, AND all the electronic devices he own.)

4) "Mom, Dad? I'm hungry." (Trust me, this kid has been eating everything he can find in our cabinets; we've even caught him eating 3/4's of a just opened Cheez-it box, then 10 minutes later telling us he was hungry.)

However, even though my sweet baby boy has some annoying 'independencies' and 'dependencies', I still don't mind catering to him... well, most of the time anyway; ha! He's is, and always will be, the 'baby' in my mind. And, his smile just makes everything we do for him TOTALLY worth it!! 

I love you Nathan... aka: Tornater!

Goodbye Elementary... Hello Middle School! Yikes!

My beautiful Katie Bug, as I affectionately like to call her, has officially graduated Valley Oaks Elementary School! She walked in, she strolled across the stage, and my tears rolled. She has attended a wonderful elementary school for six years (kinder - 5th), she has met so many super-friends, and quite a few BFFs! I have had the pleasure of watching my daughter blossom from learning her ABCs and 123s, to learning how to write really good stories and spell words even I have trouble with, to learning how to properly research science and social study projects. At the moment, the word 'proud' is a huge understatement of how I feel. So, goodbye to elementary school...

...And hello to middle school! This fall Katie will be attending Spring Branch Middle School for the next three years! Let's face it, we've all heard the horror stories about middle school, and this mamma is a little nervous. But, Katie is a very responsible, mature, and cautious kind of gal... at least so far. I keep traveling back in time to my own days in middle school, which scares me! When Katie was first born I can still clearly hear what my own mother told me, "Ahhh, paybacks are hell; hahaha!" Even though she was joking, I know EXACTLY what she meant; my days of 'rebellion' began in middle school. Katie has been a mini-me thus far, basically a goody-goody, and middle school is when I said goodbye to my 'goody-goody' days.

This is the part where I have to 'practice what I write', and learn to be the kind of mother that will always be there for her through support and trust. (Yes, I am fully aware that this is easier 'said' than 'done'.) She will be shaping her own personality styles, and I just hope she doesn't come home one day with jet black hair, wearing a black t-shirt that says 'Rebel' in red lettering, black acid-washed jeans with chains for belts, black boots up to her knees, thick black eyeliner, and midnight black lipstick! Hahahaha! (Of course, I don't think I will truly start panicking until she asks me if she can go out on a date, or shows up at the house with her 'boyfriend'!) Lord help me!

Luckily I can't see into the future, so until then, I will enjoy taking one-day-at-a-time! 

I love you Katie Bug!!

Is Mother's Day Overrated?? I think NOT!

With Mother's Day only a couple days away, I've been hearing and reading stories about the best and worst gifts to give a mother on her special day. On the list of 'bad gifts' were vacuum cleaners, a new washer/dryer, scented lotions/candles, and plants. Also on this list of big no-no's was household appliances, which is a good thing since my hubby has banned me from our kitchen in fear of me burning the house down. Ha! Apparently, all of the above mentioned gifts are 'evil' because they give us mommies 'extra' work in a round about way. (I have to admit though, a new washer/dryer would be nice... hehehe!) But, there are a few gifts that were worthy enough to be placed on the 'good gift' list. Day Spa certificates, movie tickets, take us out to dinner instead of us making it, and of course the obvious favorite, diamonds. These type of gifts help 'relieve' a mother from her daily chores/routine.

Now, what about the gifts we receive from our younger children? They obviously can't afford to 'buy' us gifts, and if they did, I'd seriously be playing 20 questions to find out where they got the money from! So instead, every year, we get those oh-so-cute handmade picture frames, plastic beaded ribbon necklaces, handprints with a nice sappy poem, and handwritten colorfully decorated letters on lined notebook paper. Don't get me wrong, I love getting these kinds of gifts from my kids, and I even go as far as save these wonderful gifts in a special container for future memories. BUT....

Here is MY personal Mother's Day Wish List:

1) For one whole week, I'd like my kids to have their homework finished before I come home from work.

2) One whole day ALONE at home...

3) A 1-hour foot massage. (Without the hubby hoping it will lead to a 'happy ending'!)

4) And finally, a clean house. (This includes doing laundry.)

My list is short, sweet, and simple. Yeah, right! You see, in my household, we do not live 'simple' lives. Time is a virtue, and to be honest, I would probably feel like I've 'fallen behind' on my normal chores if I were to 'do absolutely nothing for an entire day'! Ultimately, the best Mother's Day gift I could ever ask for, has already taken place, and will bring me joy until the day I die. My kids. In my opinion, Mother's Day is everyday, 365 days a year. (366 on leap years!) Our kids bring us joy and fear, love and pain, laughs and tears, and put us through  endless emotional roller coaster rides. But at the end of every night, I go to bed smiling because I simply feel blessed to have them in my life. Every time I get hugs from them is Mother's Day for me!

Happy Mother's Day to ALL mother's out there! (Even if you're only a mother to four-legged furry kids!)

Life is a Highway!

Geez, has it really been almost six long months since I last posted a blog on here? I guess it's true what they say (and sing about)... "Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long". Except my highway has been full of traffic, accidents, and apparently speed bumps; what the heck are speed bumps doing on MY highway?? Luckily, traffic has died down a bit, I'm recovering from the accidents, and I'm hoping I've run over the last speed bump for a while.

I am endlessly amazed at how busy life can get every now and then for me. Still trying to figure out if I just have a problem saying 'no', or if I simply enjoy staying busy. Either way, I think I am finally coming to my senses and realizing I needed to throw something out the window; figuratively speaking of course; ha! The last few months I have been working toward working only one job versus the two I had been working just so I could make time for the ten billion other things I had going on in my extra curricular life. Yes, I am only working one job now, but it seems it may take a little more time to scratch off the other ten billion things... well, I'd be fine and dandy just cutting it down to five billion. It's a work in progress...

Throughout my super busy schedule, I always look forward to seeing my kiddos' faces when I come home from work. Even when I come home late in the evening and the first thing they do is bombard me with "I need help on this homework question", "Can I go to so-in-so's house?", "Mom, sign this so I can go on the field trip", and my favorite one is, "I'm bored". Yes, even through my exhausted eyes, they make me smile and my heart grow. In fact, my kids are one of the many reasons my schedule stays busy. I like being as active as possible in their school functions, so this is where my problem saying 'no' comes into play. Earlier this week, while home sick with bronchitis, I made 12 dozen confetti eggs for them to turn in at school as part of a contest for a popsicle party. The confetti eggs are sold at an annual Jamboree event they have at school, so making the eggs was my way of contributing... BUT, I am also chairing the 'Art Booth' at this Jamboree, so that means I have to have my craft examples made, have enough supplies ready the school-wide event, and have decorations for my art-tent... I have 2 weeks left. THEN, at the end of May, the 5th graders go to the University of Houston for a day and participate in a few activities. Yes, this overachiever (as I am often called) signed up to help decorate the tables for all 95 5th graders; so I am now in charge of the table centerpieces! So needless-to-say, by the time school ends at the end of May, my list of 10 billion things to do will have successfully been cut down to only 5 billion things to do... hehehe!

Until next time...

Like Mama, like daughter!

You've heard the phrase, "Like father, like son", right?

Well, I'm super-glad to announce this story is about "Like mama, like daughter"!

My daughter Katie has recently taken up an interest in blogging... just like me! Yippie! She has decided to blog about the many pets we share a home with! I must say this is a great place for her to begin utilizing her typing/writing skills since our pets are ALWAYS giving us something to laugh (or scream) about!

I can see it now! My daughter, the award-winning author of many books! (Below is the picture that you would see on the back-cover of all her top-selling books!) LOVE IT!!!

Go see her blog at www.belle-mypets.blogspot.com

Until next time...

Little League Soccer Season!

Nathan has officially begun his first soccer season ever! Now before I continue, let me reiterate that the SuperSilly Brown Family has NEVER been to a single soccer game, we have never seen a game on television, and we had not even played soccer in our front yard! But let me tell you that our son Nathan must be athletically gifted (or the quickest learned I've ever met) because he played like a champ during his very first game last weekend... after only 2 practices!

The name of his team is called "Thunder", and they won their first game 11-0!! Deep down I felt real bad for the other team, but super-excited for Nathan and his teammates! The coach even put Nathan as 'acting goalie' for a little while... even though there is no 'official' goalie for this level of kids! BUT, even when Nathan was on the sidelines watching his teammates play, he was very intent on watching the game and cheering for his friends! Super-cool!

Chris took 69 pictures throughout the entire game, but below are my 2 favorite pictures of Nathan! Super-dooper job #12!!

Until next time...