My Morning

All I did was take a shower...and while I was doing that Will became "Will-guy shooter man." And in case you are wondering I dropped him off at pre-school looking exactly as he does above and I'm pretty sure his teacher thought to herself "This woman is a terribly inattentive parent" and I really don't care what she thinks. My kid rules.

Life is busy, life is good.

We are resurfacing after surgery. Things have been beyond busy... I used to feel like I could get a handle on things, lately, not so much. Thank you to all of you who have kept us, and most especially Alex, in your prayers. We have felt so loved, supported and buoyed up by those near and far. Our mantra is we are "cautiously optimistic" about the results of the surgery. Only time will tell how successful it actually was. You wouldn't believe how brave our boy was...he shed no tears and had much less anxiety than I. He and I shared some great moments during his recovery. I loved having him all to myself and we made it through the whole ordeal together.
And now life is back to business as usual...except we have so much going on that I can't wrap my head around it all. Halloween is upon us and I can't tell you how many times Will has asked, "Is TODAY Halloween yet?" Something to add to the To Do List: make a countdown chart to the big day. There is nothing I would rather do than be the mom of these two boys. Life is good.

Here we go again.

Alex is having surgery on his eyes for the sixth time on Wednesday. I am scared, anxious, and hopeful. The surgery is to correct a condition he has had since he was one-year-old. Our families and many of our friends are fasting with us tomorrow. I believe in the power of prayer. I know many of our friends from all over read this blog-if you can, please add Alex to your prayers on Wednesday. Thanks- we love you for caring about our little boy.

The Chaos That Surrounds Us

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think of, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church.... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes."

-Charles Swindoll

With all that is currently going on in the state of Arizona, the United States, the world in general...the only thing I truly have control of is my attitude. For someone who is a bit of a control freak.... I love this reminder of what I can control. It helps me want to do better, be more positive, and have faith that the outcome will be just as it should be.

Guate Pics

Meet the woman who put a curse on Alan and Seth as they traveled through the hills of Guatemala.....we can thank her for many things, including: our flights out being canceled (she must have conjured up hurricane Ike), Alan being pick pocketed on a chicken bus out in the middle of nowhere, dollars taken out of our bank account when the thief purchased a serious amount of rims and McD's for all of his friends, and more than half of Alan's pictures being deleted from his memory card (actually, we have Will to thank for that one.)







Everyone always asks me what I do when we go to Guatemala... this is what we do, many times a day. An old-school teeter-totter and seriously scary slide. The boys were in heaven. Will wants to know when we are going back.

Saturday Jobs

Cleaning out the garage... my least favorite chore. Alan took over and sent me inside for a nap. Lucky me. The garage holds such treasures for the boys... they always find toys they've long since forgotten about. Saturday it was this hose contraption that shoots water everywhere. They were out there in the street playing for what seemed like hours. Tragic that it was in the street instead of some soft green grass... they didn't care though, they had a blast.

ps- Pay no attention to the speedo shorts that Alex insisted on wearing (hand-me-down from older cousin Sam.) Apparently it made him feel stronger than ever- there was a great deal of flexing going on.

Camping '09

Camping Schedule:
Leave house Friday night at 7:10pm. Sun is setting.
Arrive campsite about 8pm.
Start fire, eat smores, set up tent, go to bed by 10pm.
Wake up, pack up, stop at DD's on the way home. Home by 9am.
Boys were thrilled- camping to them is smores and sleeping in a tent. Mission accomplished.

Why, why do I bother?

It's 6pm at the Curtis home. There is no sign of the Doctor. Cell phone is off.
Dinner is done. Boys are starving. Because of significant whining and some tears, we go ahead and sit.

Menu:
tilapia with tomatoes, basil and garlic
tossed salad
watermelon
roasted potatoes
fresh-out-of-the-oven-oatmeal bread

Boy #1 eats: bread and red peppers and cries about the fish.
"Why are you always begging me to eat the food you make?" he asks. Then some tears are shed.
Boy #2 eats: watermelon and tilapia. This child only eats bread if it is a homemade dinner roll.
I have a friend whose child says to her mother, "Whatever you make, is what I'll eat." Where have I gone wrong? I think I've created a couple of picky-eater monsters.

Guate!

We've set up shop in Guatemala City once again. Boys and I are staying in our pj's all morning, swimming, napping, and eating Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche to our hearts content. There has been a trip or two to Will's favorite place on earth, Pollo Campero. Meanwhile....I just got a call from Alan who is off doing his boy thing...hitchhiking his way to the city of Antiqua, "laying with the lava" (at an active volcano), riding chicken buses all about, and generally having the time of his life with his new favorite traveling companion and old friend, Seth. They made it to Lake Atitlan today and are getting soaked through and through, this being the rainy season and all. He told me that he wished I was there... but really, we both know I'm much better off where I am. I mean chicken buses? Really? Seth is the right partner for him on this one, of that I am sure.

Sick Day

This morning at 6:23am Alex announced he was sick. A dose of motrin and an hour later we were out in the 95 degree heat painting up a storm. The boys wanted to make a paper cut-out of Will, so we taped together pages of 8 1/2 X 11 and traced his little body, which they then painted. Many masterpieces were created for the Art Gallery in our garage.

And oh yes, the hair is BACK.

Lately

*A conversation I overheard while the boys were playing "dogs":
Will: And let's pretend mommy is our girl.
Alex: Yeah, mom is our girl. No, wait, mommy is our Woman. Cause she is a woman.
Will: Okay, she can be a woman.
*Will to mom: Where are we going? Mom to Will: We have to run to Walmart. Will to mom: You mean WILL-MART. It's called WILL-MART mommy. Let's go to Will-mart now.
*While driving home from the bus stop, Alex and I were chatting about his friends at school, and I was trying to get details out of him. He said, "Mom, my only best friend is Will. He is the kid I like to talk to the VERY most. He will always be the kid I want to talk to for the rest of my life." Oh how I hope that is true. Isn't that every mother's dream- that her children will be best friends? It's most definitely one of mine.
*Everyday after school I try to get the run down from Alex, and I always ask how Ms. Warren was that day. I've gained some insight into his pre-k experience last year, because he is constantly telling me how nice Ms. Warren is, and that, "She never never growls at us Mom. She is always nice and never growls." Apparently there was daily growling going on last year at school. I'm so happy his kindergarten teacher is so kind and sweet with him.
*We had a big bowling back to school FHE with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Will was particularly fond of the process... so much so that it was VERY difficult to wait his turn each round. We will have to take him back again soon.

I think I'm in love with my new life.

We are back in a routine. The alarm goes off at 7, out the door by 7:50am, snack and homework after school, baths by 7 pm and bedtime at 7:30. On Tues, Wed, Thurs. I have 3 whole hours to myself while both boys are at school. It is blissful. Both boys have adjusted to school and I think I'm finally over crying at the bus stop each morning. Well, today was actually the first day that I haven't cried, but I take that as a good sign. My sister and I have been doing a 21-day cleanse that has kept us off of the following: sugar, wheat, animal products including all dairy and meat, and caffeine. Did I mention I haven't had ice cream in 21 days?? Well, today is our last day, so tomorrow I am FREE. I am quite proud of myself and grateful to my sis for making me stick with it. Last night I had a dream about Dunkin Donuts. That is not a joke.
A few recent comments from my 3 year old that I record for his sake and mine:
* While having an absolute meltdown after church, amid flying limbs and obnoxious screams, he belts out, "Mom, I am Freaking Out!"
*I cut my hair. And I colored it. It's really dark, darker than my natural color. I went straight from the salon to pick Will up from school. He didn't recognize me, and clung to his teacher. Once I convinced him that it was me, he said, "Mom, where is your wegular hair? That hair is so nasty." He has let me know how "Nasty" my hair is about 5 times today. Isn't Will great for my self-esteem? I'll keep him anyway.

Another First

Alex let me know yesterday that he wanted to rid the bus. No more of this mom driving me to school stuff. I tried to convince him that he could take the "Mom Bus" but he was having none of it. The bus picks up at 7:57am (crazy! We are usually just rolling out of bed then) and drops off at 4:02pm. It's a LONG day. So I confess that after putting him on the bus with his classmate Avery, I followed the bus to school. I know I sound like a stalker, I sort of felt like one, too. And then I hid in the bushes and watched him get off of the bus and with complete confidence navigate the walkway filled with kids and head towards his classroom like he's been doing it his entire life. When I asked him if he missed me today he said, "Not even a little bit mom." That sort of broke my heart, but I'm also just so happy that he is loving kindergarten.

First Day 2008

A little someone was beyond excited! Too bad I burst into tears as soon as I set foot on the campus. I wasn't the only mom there crying. But was my boy even a little bit sad to see me go? Umm, No.

This guy was excited as well... but it was 115 degrees outside and that makes it hard to smile for a picture.

Clarke Family Reunion 2008

We had an amazing time at Red Horse Mountain Ranch.

Family, horses, the mountains, cookouts, challenge courses, kayaking, cousins, fishing, campfires, cowboys, cool weather.... it was pure joy.

Park City

This is the reason we are here... the view up from the tramp.Alan's dad commented about how Alex looks so happy and carefree here... because he is. There is room to run, he can be outside all day long, we don't have to be any where or get anything done, really. We just take it day by day.

Will fishing for slime.

Most of the Curtis family joined us at my parents place for the 4th. The PC parade, huge barbecue, view of the fireworks from the deck= great 4th. We're headed north to the ranch tomorrow, the boys can hardly contain their excitement: a week of dad, Clarke cousins, and horses. They are such city kids it pains me sometimes... I hope we can lose the flip-flops and gadgets that require batteries and enjoy the sound of nothing. I can't wait.

A conversation I don't want to forget.

Conversation from the backseat of the car today:
Alex: Mom, P is a consonant, right?
Me: Yep, you're right Alex.
Will: Mom, pee and poop are a consonant, right?

En Route

Boys had the time of their lives when they were asked to help the pilot fly the plane (I guess these are the types of perks available when you are bumped up to first class! Which, by the way, makes it very difficult to go back to coach on the next flight.) The gracious flight attendant snapped this for me and sent it to Alan's phone.
We are settled in PC and loving the cooler weather. We've connected with friends/family and it has been great... but we are ANXIOUSLY awaiting The Doctor's arrival tonight. We miss him and need him so much-all 3 of us.

Happy 30th Birthday Christie!!!! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE YOU