My Boys and Me

Braeden finally has his name back!  Since Mikey was born, we’ve referred to Braeden as “brother” when talking to Mikey.  “Where’s brother?” “Give brother a kiss”…..etc.  Well on his own, out of the blue, Mikey started saying Braeden.  It sounds a little more like, “Baden” but so cute!  In fact Mikey can pretty much copy anything he hears, which means we have to start watching what we say.  Not that any of us use profanity or “bad” language on a regular basis, but he is saying everything we say and we want to be sure we are teaching him the right words!  Mike always gets up first in the morning and wakes up Braeden.  Since the boys share a room, Mikey gets up at the same time.  He usually calls for me after Mike picks him up, so he comes and lays with me.  The other morning he sat up in our bed and yelled, “MIKE!” I frequently yell “MIKE!” when he is on the other side of the house and I need him. Copy cat he is. Yesterday in the car he said, “Oh boy!” after hearing Braeden say it.  Speaking of “hearing,” all he wants to hear lately is the song “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry.  Mike’s Mom recently played the CD in her car while driving with Mikey and Sayelor.  Since then, both babies go bananas when they hear the song.  Mikey kicks his feet and Sayelor sings.  The first thing he says when we get into the car is “non” (he can’t quite pronounce Gone).  As soon as the song is over, he says it again and again, and again.  Yesterday we were stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours (there was a wreck and it took that long to move 2 miles) and Mikey’s dinnertime came and went and bedtime came and went and naturally he was MISERABLE.  The only thing that saved him from loosing it completely was “Gone” so I didn’t object to his continuous requests.  I downloaded the song on I-tunes a few days ago since Mike’s Mom told me how much he liked it.  I truly don’t think I EVER want to hear that song again.  Too bad, he still wants to hear it, over and over.  As far as the awful traffic last night, Braeden had a little issue of his own.  The accident was about 2 miles ahead of where we were stopped and there was no where for us to get off the interstate.  Braeden had to pee SO bad that he was crying.  He held it about an hr and then couldn’t take it anymore.  I told him to grab one of  Mikey’s diapers…..and pee he went!  Thank goodness it was dark, the windows in the jeep are tinted and that he only had to pee! For me, it was torture, not because Mikey was miserable or that Braeden was crying because he had to pee (these are things you become immune to after almost 7 years as a parent), but that we had just picked up a pizza at my favorite little place and I was STARVING.  Having to smell that pizza after not having lunch was no fun..

Of course everything always goes haywire while Mike is away.  He was out of town doing some pre-employment stuff for a perspective new job.  Not only have things been a little crazy here, but Mike was sicker than he has ever been yesterday due to an awful case of food poisoning and threw up in front of everyone while waiting to do some testing.  Mike is rarely ever sick and I’ve only seen him throw up once in 3 years.  It would be his luck to get sick while trying to accomplish one of the most important things to him right now.  He wants the job SO bad and is SO close at this point and I know he must have felt incredibly embarrassed.  Fortunately everyone was very patient and understanding with him.  The Agency paid for all of his travel expenses so he has to be pretty far in the process.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  He has been so nervous and anxious and I know him getting sick while there was NOT what he hoped to accomplish.  He knows it was food poisoning since the wings he ate the night before did not seem to be fully cooked (and yet he still ate them) :(

So, what else……

-Mikey is in love with Elmo and will point him out any time he sees anything with Elmo on it

-I am off work until next Wed (Holly and her family went skiing in Colorado for the week)

-Mikey has decided that he does not like being buckled in his car seat and puts up a fight every time we put him in which gets Mommy especially frustrated (especially since I am always running late).

-Mikey has developed the awful habit of screaming.  Not a “cry” scream, just an out of the blue screech at the top of his lungs that he usually does when he is mad about something.  When I scold him for screaming so loudly (it is truly the most awful sound which often preceds some nasty looks from people in stores) he gives the sassy, “blah” noise that you do with your mouth and tongue.  Are we entering another “rough” phase?

-Out of no where, Braeden has developed a sudden fear of “Monsters.” The other night he called for Mike and I and was crying.  When we asked what was wrong, he indicated he was scared of Monsters.  It seems to really be bothering him.  Mike told Braeden that he set up traps in the house to catch the monsters and they wouldn’t even be able to make it to his room.  This morning Braeden said he heard the “traps” go off last night :)

-Braeden lost his other front tooth so now he is missing both front teeth and looks SO adorable

-1 month and counting until I head to a resort in FL to meet my parents and sister (who lives in Canada and who I haven’t seen since the month after Mikey was born).  My Dad is coming here on Feb 26th, staying the night and then after Braeden gets off school Friday, he and I are going back to FL with my Dad.  I am taking him out of school for the week because he only sees my sister once a year and I know how much he loves her (and her him).  We will pick my sister up on Sat from Tampa airport and spend 3 glorious days and nights at the beach!  The beaches in FL are AWESOME (much better than ours) and I am just so excited to A. See my sister B. Get away! C. Do nothing but read, sun tan and enjoy my little man and favorite sister D. See my 2 favorite major league baseball teams play each other- Mike and Mikey will join us at my parents on Wed evening (Mike can’t miss a full week of work right now since he needs to save his vacation days for perspective new job stuff and lets face it, there’s no way I would actually be able to “relax in the sun at the beach” with a 20 month old)! We will watch the Phillies play the Tigers at a Spring training game.  It will be a rivalry because my Dad, Mom and sister will be rooting for the Tigers, while Mike, Braeden, Mikey and I the Tigers. It will be a lot of fun regardless who wins. Mike is so wonderful to take over Mikey duty for a few days and allow me a break.  I can not wait!

-The following pictures show what Mikey is most interested in lately-

Wearing Braeden’s hat and sliding down his slide

Wearing Braeden’s hat and jumping on Mommy and Daddy’s bed

Playing Braeden’s drums

Here’s to happy thoughts of Spring!

(Those 2 trucks in the front of the house are there to collect the Christmas decorations- and I thought I was bad with my 3-4 bins!)

This is one of many wine cellars they have at the winery.  The picture is not that clear, but the cellar is really long and can store a lot of wine.

FINALLY………sorry I guess I enjoyed myself TOO much while away for the weekend that I had a hard time refocusing once we got back.  I was lazy ALL week! Busy yes, but lazy too, and enjoying my boys that I missed oh so much.  Anyway, allow me to take a trip down memory lane and share my dream-like weekend with you…….

So, we got to Asheville at about 7pm Thursday night.  I could tell we were in the mountains even though it was dark and I couldn’t see them because my ears kept popping. We arrived at the Doubletree hotel a block away from the Biltmore and went to check in. The man at the front desk said he could check us in, but that we’d need to drive around the the “Executive Tower” to pick up our keys and be greeted.  Nice!  This just goes to show that it pays to “know” people.  Mike has a great friend that lives in Asheville and owns a few Cold Stone Creameries.  Being a business owner, he also knows a lot of other people in the customer service business.  He really hooked us up.  We got the lowest rate in the hotel and the best room.  As I mentioned, it was gorgeous and I would have been happy hibernating in the room with a good book snuggled up with my honey all weekend.  Hibernate we did not.  We changed as soon as we got in the room and met Chad and his wife Stacey at a neat little restaurant/bar called Cheddars.  We had fattening appetizers which I ate too much of, wine and beer, and I loved every minute of it. After dinner Chad treated us to ice cream at his shop!  Friday, my Birthday, was truly amazing and I felt so loved and cared for by so many.  I received phone calls and e-mails all day long (most of which I had to dodge because we were on the go all day) filled with Birthday wishes that truly made me feel so special!  THANK YOU EVERYONE!  30 is not so bad afterall!  We woke up early, enjoyed our free DELUXE continental breakfast (for those of us staying in the “executive tower”) then headed to the Biltmore Estate.  We were there 5.5 hours!  The place was phenomenal and much more than I thought.  I am typically not much of a history buff, but was intrigued by the house and the stories surrounding it. I enjoyed being a tourist. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures inside the house, but I can understand why. Pictures would do it NO justice.  This is a place you have to see for yourself.  The land surrounding the house (which is part of the estate) was just as amazing.  We ate lunch at the Stable Cafe (which fittingly had a stable theme) and the food was outstanding. After lunch, we drove 3 miles on the estate to the Winery and arrived just in time for the wine tasting! Happy Birthday Sandy! After sampling about 7 different wines, I told Mike I needed a nap.  We picked up a bottle of wine and headed back. As we entered our room, there were beautiful pink roses (my favorite) a bottle of wine and a sweet card wating for me.  Mike is sneaky sneaky!  Rather than nap, we relaxed in the hot tub before getting ready for dinner.

Chas’s parents are members of a very elite private golf club and he arranged for the 4 of us to have dinner at the Club which is in a neighborhood with houses so big they belonged in Hollywood.  We sat in the bar area (much more relaxing than the restaurant itself) and I ate one of the best salads I’ve ever had.  After dinner, I felt that year older and was ready for bed! Now I understand how a child can become over-stimulated!  It was such a wonderful day filled with so much fun! 

The greatest thing was that it was not hard to want to come home.  As exciting as it was to have a couple days to ourselves, the days just aren’t the same without our two little guys!

All dressed up for dinner- Thanks Chara for my necklace!  I LOVE it!

The club we ate dinner at

I can’t think of a prouder moment as a Mom…..oh wait, this seems like dejavu…..hmm……NOPE, it really DID happen before…..Braeden has been nominated as Terrific Kid for the month of Jan, 2009!  There are 18 kids in Braeden’s class and only 9 full months of the school year (therefore 9 kids total that can be nominated) and Braeden was picked AGAIN!  He was picked in October (when in Kindergarten) and I remember crying as I opened his folder and read the letter (he didn’t even know he had been chosen).  Today, Braeden was telling me about his day and very nonchalantly said, “oh I got Terrific Kid!” I mean, he was acting like it was right up there with having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and loosing his little skate board on the bus-just another part of his day.  To MAMA, though…..oh that Mama who gets choked up and teary eyed at just about anything lately (must be a 30′s thing), it is HUGE news!  He really is pretty TERRIFIC too.  He tries SO hard to do good and gets very concerned when he has done something wrong.  The first thing he says to me when I greet him after school is what he did wrong. He doesn’t want to hold anything back and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he is 100% honest with me 100% of the time.  He even shares things that would be impossible for me to fnd out. I am not sure there is ANYONE else in my world that I feel that way about.  About a week ago, he came out of the shower dripping wet about to cry and shaking. He said, “Mama, I did something wrong…..” I said, “OK sweetie talk to me.” He started bawling his eyes out and continued on, telling me how he lied to Harley and Mike’s Mom saying his feet hurt when really he just didn’t want to go outside and play. Of course, all I could do was hold him and tell him it was OK and that no one is perfect, we all make mistakes and do things and say things wrong (all the while thanking GOD for this precious soul).  I am CERTAIN that he had been thinking of this non stop and just couldn’t take the guilt. If only every one of us had a little more of a conscience like Braeden.  I reminded him that it was so wonderful that he came to me and admitted fault, but that it was even more important to tell God you are sorry when you do wrong.  He said, “I already did Mama, and I also prayed that you wouldn’t be mad at me!” This kid never ceases to amaze me!  His behavior is almost like that of a child with extremely strict or mean parents and Mike and I are so far from either. How did I get SO lucky?

 So, his ceremony is on Jan 30th and I will take pictures. 

I DO have more to report on my fabulous Birthday weekend that turned out to be even more perfect than I thought, but I felt Braeden’s news took precedence.  Stay tuned…..

So, not only am I about to turn a DECADE older in about 4 hours (an event I truly see as a chance to look back on the past 10 years and all I have been blessed with and anticipate and imagine all that lies ahead in the next 10years), but my AMAZING husband planned the most incredible Birthday weekend-all of which was a surprise.  I am typing to you from our spectacular room at a hotel about a block away from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  I have wanted to see the estate for so long and just spend some time in the mountains.  What a wonderful get-a-way for Mike and I.  We are here through Sat and the ONLY thing I can imagine putting a damper on these special few days is not seeing my precious boys on my Birthday.  BUT, I know we will be so busy enjoying this beautiful part of NC and each other, and that our boys will be spoiled by Mom Mom (what both Mikey and Braeden call Mike’s Mom now) that we will hardly notice that things are a bit “too quiet.” We are about to head for drinks and appetizers, but I just couldn’t contain my excitement!  BTW, our hotel room has an LG flat screen TV, two bath robes, granite counter tops and even a chair in the shower!  Oh Mike, you did SO good sweetheart!  I can’t help but “dido” a previous blog entry- Mike, along with God gives me far more than I can ask for imagine- and not just on my Birthday, but always.

Stay tuned for LOTS of pictures and a weekend recap…..