More Sugar Than Spice

Monkey competed her swim lessons last week and we left with a certificate in hand and a feeling of accomplishment.  Granted, all the kids in her class passed, but I can still be a proud mama, right?

I didn’t really see a huge improvement in her swimming with this class, but she did learn the different arm positions, worked on floating with assistance on her front and back and even held her breath to go under water.  Here is a great picture of her getting ready to dunk her face in.  As you can see, she has no fear - which only increases my fear…

We start again next week and the focus will be doing much of the same, but unassisted.  I am really looking forward to her being able to go under without much prep (ie. hold your breath, now… one…. two…three) so when we go to the pool, mom doesn’t have to be an arms length away at all times.  That was fun when she was smaller, but now she has friends to go exploring with and mom is just in her way. Talk about feeling like a tag along!

She loves the water, and has so much fun in it.  In fact, leaving the pool has become very challenging and usually involves a bribe of some sort…. or a threat.  Depending on my mood.  Here she is laughing with her friends who were in her class this time, and I believe are going to be in the up coming class as well.

Just like her teacher said on her report card, we all hope she keeps on swimming!

My girlfriend and I have a pact. We are both pregnant (she’s due at the end of the month) and we have agreed that when she goes to the hospital I will keep her son, and while I am pushing a watermelon out of my haunches, she will take care of Monkey. Last night she was having some complications and the doctor wanted to have her come in for follow up.

Her son came over with his hospital bags packed and was looking forward to a night of popcorn (with M&M’s of course) and a late night movie. The kids played in the toy room for a while, then came down to settle in. They were about 20 minutes into the movie when mom called. False alarm. The baby is out of room, but not ready to make any moves yet. She will be back for her angel in 30 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

We took Monkey and her cousins to see Wall-E on opening day, and I don’t know who was more excited - Daddy or the kids.

The first 30 mins had no - I mean NO - dialog … yet even Monkey felt sorry for the robot when sad things happened to him.  That is amazing animation and character development.

It was Monkeys first movie in the theater since Happy Feet, since she couldn’t really sit still for the entire movie at that time.  We have stuck to the drive thru movies since then, but since they closed the closest one last year, we thought we would give it another shot.

She did great.  She ate popcorn and candy, and even let us know when she had to potty.  After a long and exhausting week, it was just what we needed.   At the discounted rates that Kerasotes offers during their “twilight hours” we were able to pile in the car and get in and out for less than $50, including five tickets, popcorn and drinks for all.

In summary, two thumbs up from this mommy - and check out your local theaters… there may be more discounts than you realize.  If not, this movie is worth the full price.

Today after VBS we all piled in the car and headed to Brunswick Zone, which is basically a bowling alley on crack.  They have about 50 lanes of bowling, laser tag, pool tables and an arcade.  I thought this would be a good idea because Monkey has never been bowling, and I had a coupon, so it was actually a reasonable price for an afternoon of entertainment.

We invited our friends Chris and Asher to get the most bang for our buck.  I also thought Monkey could use some friend time, and I knew I could.  As we pulled into the parking lot, both Monkey and Asher looked as though they would be content sleeping the car for the duration of the afternoon. I know Chris and I felt the same way.  However, Monkeys cousins, Jacob and Maddie, were clawing at the car doors to get out.  They hadn’t been able to visit BZ for a while, so they were stoked.  After the chaos of changing shoes and getting our names in the computer, I thought I would have a minute to sit and chat with Chris.  WRONG. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday was the start of Vacation Bible School and I have to say, they really should rename this organized chaos. I thought I was ready. I had prepped the crafts for my classes, read through the instructions a thousand times, and I had even woken up early to go through every thing in my head, just to make sure it was perfectly prepared.

Turns out the only thing that wasn’t perfectly prepared, was me. I was tired, my shoes were not as comfortable as I had hoped, and I really had no idea that hair gel would be so impossible to squeeze into a plastic test tube - especially with fifteen sets of eyes watching my every move.

My crafts ran about two minutes late all day long, and my room looked like a something had exploded. As I crawled around on my hands and knees picking up plastic bags and stickers at the end of the day, I realized I had not prepared for the unexpected. I had not prepared for the kids scissors to be pretty much useless and I had not prepared for the reaction from Monkey when her cousins came home with a craft and she had nothing. Read the rest of this entry »

We had a baby shower for one of the MOPS mommies that sat at our table last year. We have all stayed friends and when I do get out of the house without kiddos, it is usually with one of them.

We had to wake Monkey up from a much needed nap to go to the park, so I didn’t get many shots of her… she was grumpy gus for quite some time. Once she did lighten up a little, I was able to get this one:

One of the best things about the shower was the fact that after almost a year of relationships with these wonderful women, I finally got to meet their husbands! All of the daddies were so fun to watch with the kids, and even though most of us got an eye roll or two from them throughout the day, clearly we all have very supportive husbands to lean on.

The kids were all well behaved… especially considering we were fighting the heat and the tiredness that comes with a hard day of play. Here are some of my favorite shots of when little brother wondered off, and big sister was forced to walk into the wild grass and bushes to retrieve him - before mom got a hold of him!

What is a celebration without a dessert? Look at how wonderful these look… and they tasted even better than they look!

All in all, it was a fantastic day and I am honored that our friends shared their day with us. There was delicious food, wonderful fellowship, and it was an indication of the fun to come when baby Watson finally arrives!

Yesterday, all I wanted to do was stay in my pajamas and hang out with Monkey.  It was cloudy outside and I wanted to wallow in my own sadness about our marriage issue, but God had another plan.  I received a call that I was needed to help prep the crafts for VBS and even though I didn’t want to, I pulled on my big girl pants and went.  As always, God knew that’s what I needed.  Not only did I get a better understanding of how things were going to play out next week, but Monkey got to play with one of the girls from church who is her age (almost exactly).

It was so much fun to see them playing tea party, giggling and just being girls.  Monkeys closest friends are boys, so it was good for her to have some girl time.  We also found out the little girl is going to be in Monkeys preschool class in the fall.  Things were looking up. Read the rest of this entry »

Travis and I have a topic that isn’t going away and no matter how much we debate, fight, cry and spit at each other, we just cannot agree.

I have prayed and prayed.  I have tried to take the advice of friends, books I have read, and things I have read online… but my heart just isn’t in for the change. We have gone to counseling and have taken marriage classes, but yet, we are stuck.

I can admit I am the one that needs to do the changing, but after hours and hours of prayer, my heart remains the same - I just don’t want to do what he needs me to do.  Why?  In our six years of marriage, I have seen the benefit in change on both of our parts, and we really are united in so many ways.

I finally felt good about this pregnancy and I was getting some energy back.  Travis got the fence up, we got the weeds pulled in the back before the HOA sent us a warning, and Monkey made it into preschool at The Rock.  Everything was going great. Read the rest of this entry »

For Fathers Day, we had a full day. Daddy worked all morning with the neighbor to install our fence so Bluto could run around in our yard (and not everyone elses). He took a break to go to Monkeys swim lesson and then it was off to the Parker Country Festival. This is held annually, and even though I grew up in Parker, I haven’t been in quite some time.

Monkey had never been to a carnival, so Daddy was excited to see her face light up when she spotted the Farris Wheel for the very first time. And, boy did it. The Farris Wheel was right next to the ticket counter and she could not wait for us to even fork over money before she was off and running.

Daddy snapped this picture as we went “higher than the houses!”

Monkey isn’t quite tall enough to enjoy everything offered, but what they did have available she enjoyed. She rode her first roller coaster though the haunted mansion with Daddy and even rode on the Dumbo ride by herself.

After we here hot and sticky and tired of standing in lines for everything, we headed off to Chilis where Trav’s sister Sarah works. We had dinner and headed home. All in all, it was a busy day, but a lot of fun. And Daddy and Brooklyn were inseparable.

There isn’t a news report that goes by without mention of the midwest, and the storms they are suffering. The rain is so bad there, miles and miles of houses have been completely flooded out. While these families are suffering and mourning their losses, I can’t help but wonder how these families remain strong in their faith and focused on God. I have never faced such horror, but I imagine I would want to just cry out ‘why?’

In Sunday School yesterday, we taught the popular story of Jonah and the whale. Most people are familiar with the story and the concept is simple: When you are obedient to God, you will be protected. When you are not, you are on your own.

Not unlike in the story of Jonah and the whale, I often feel like my plan is the best. And not unlike a lot of people, only after I am swallowed by a whale of a problem, do I cry out for God. As always, my cries are heard, and I am spit out onto dry land.

Although I am sure there are many who disagree, I have learned flooding is actually a good thing. It washes away debris and sediments, and provides more fertile ground. The nutrients are infused into the land and the soil is stimulated. The part of Colorado I am in is not considered a flood zone, but my heart certainly is.

Just when I think I can’t handle any more and I start to cry out ‘why’, my dam cracks and to breaks, and the emotions flow freely. That is when God comes in and replants His love even more fertile then before. So, right now I pray for the families in the midwest, and all over. Everyone who has suffered a flood, I pray that as you crack and break God comes into your hearts, and gives you fertile ground to plant seeds on. To create new memories and a way to replenish.