Water Fun

A week ago, my little big D turned four. It was a great day followed by a fun family party that D absolutely loved. This was the first time that he actually understood that everyone was there to celebrate him. He sat up straight and shyly looked around as we all sang Happy Birthday to him, joining in with a few happy birthday's for himself. When it came time to open presents, he couldn't open them fast enough. With a huge grin and exclamations of joy, D opened each present and proudly showed them to me and his brother. While he loved the clothes from Gigi, was scared of the fish from Aunt K, and loved playing with the balloons from Aunt M until he decided to let them go in the backyard, it was obvious that there were a few favorites.

A slip in slide from Uncle H, Aunt D, and M, M, and H.

A Maternation Cars XBOX video game from Dad, C, and I.

And a pool from Aunt N and Uncle G (yes we are going to call him Uncle now Red).

Oh the pool. While the slip in slide was fun (until he slipped and bumped his head) and the Cars game kept him entertained (until he realized that it was hard and that he'd have to beat the majority of the game until he'd get the car he wanted), the pool was an instant, and constant, hit. With both C and D.

If it was left up to the boys, they'd be in the pool from sunup to sundown. It would be filled with the cherry red car that C loves to drive or the Toy Story 3 punching bag that I bought for D so that he'd stop pretending to hit me or his brother. I, on the other hand, can not wait to get them some pool toys that I saw at Target. I can already tell that this summer will be spent in the backyard with our beloved pool.

Boys and their Trucks

Saturday, the boys and I had a fun day hanging out with my Uncle H and Aunt D and M,M, and H.

We started the day at the annual Conejo Valley Touch a Truck.  Touch a Truck is a free event in which families are allowed to spend the day exploring the many different types of trucks and vehicles that are used daily in our communities. From tow trucks to a police car, from the dump truck full of beach balls to the bright yellow emergency helicopter that drew the biggest crowd, there was something for everyone to enjoy. D especially loved honking the horn of the bomb squad truck, while C enjoyed playing on the playground with a lot of other kids. We tried to get to see the inside of the helicopter, but by the time we were ready to stand in line, the kids were ready to go home. It was a nice hour and a half spent outside.

 

After a quick Slurpee run, we went back to Uncle H and Aunt D's house for some lunch and play time. C had fun destroying H's room (sorry H!) while D practiced the art of sharing with H. C finally learned how to play peek-a-boo with Aunt D and had the biggest smile on his face whenever he could make one of us giggle. It was nice to be able to just take a breather and know that the boys were having fun playing with their cousins.  C and D enjoyed dinner and dessert with kids their age and were very well behaved. We finished the night off with dinner for Uncle H, Aunt D, and me at The Bistro and then headed home. Note to self: Don't take C to a restaurant when he hasn't had a nap all day. At least at The Bistro, no one minded how loud or crazy our table got at times.

Four

Happy Birthday my fantastic four year old!

June 16, 2007. 12:28 am. Your dad was to the right of me wearing his Kansas City hat and pointing his camera phone at the doctor waiting to catch the first glimpse of you. Your Aunt K was behind, and to the left of me, rubbing my hair and helping me remember to breathe. After a thirty six and a half hour induction and labor you decided to grace the world with your presence. All six pounds eight ounces, nineteen and a half inches of you.

Never had I been more scared.

Fast forward four years, and my how you've changed.

Unlike your quiet entrance into the world (you didn't cry until they brought in the NICU nurse), you are a complete chatter box. And while most of it is cute, there are a few words and phrases that I wish I could find a way to eliminate from your vocabulary.

You are still an absolute Daddy's boy. You may call me your Best Buddy, but if you had a choice between me and your Dad it would definitely be Dad.

You still won't go anywhere without Ducky. Even though his once soft yellow coat has turned into a dingy gray (smelly) mess. Not to mention the burn holes Ducky obtained in his foot Christmas 2009 when he was placed on Uncle B's dining room table too close to the burning candles. Oh how I wish I had thought to buy two, or even three, when I bought the original.

When you first turned three, you still weren't too sure of your brother. You'd touch him or give him his binky when ever he cried. You handed me a diaper and tried to feed him when I wasn't looking. However, you still didn't really understand what it meant to actually be a brother. If anyone asked, he was simply C. Gradually it changed to " that's my brother C" followed by a complete update on what mischief the two of you had gotten into. Now he is "Mister Moe and he's my little brother and we drive around in the Cadillac and play in the hose". You are so proud of being his brother. When he's hurt, you kiss his hurt and soothingly tell him that it'll all be ok. When he does something you know he's not supposed to do, you tell him to stop before he gets in trouble. And when he's giggling and smiling, it's usually because you are making silly faces or trying to entice him into a rousing game of chase (which constitutes as seeing how many laps around the house you two can make before one of you fall. But as great of a big brother as you are, you can't help but pull the big brother card when ever it suites you.

You have finally come out of your shell. Gone is the shy little boy who would hide behind my leg whenever we'd go see Poppy and Gigi. Now, you tell them to "Hit me up" every time we say our good byes and spend the entire ride home talking about when you are going to go see them again. Now, you run to your Aunt R whenever you guys come into contact. Instead of speaking a maximum of five words the entire time we are out, you'll say hi to everyone in the store. If they don't hear you the first time, you say hi consistently until you receive a response of some sort.

By the end of your third year, you have somewhat learned how to control your temper. Which isn't to say that you don't have one to rival mine. But you have learned when you need a moment to regroup and calm down. Which means that you have started to put yourself in time out since you where three and a half. Mommy is sure glad we are bast the head-banging-on-whatever-hard-surface-you-could-find phase. It was really starting to worry me.

I love you, my D. You, who first made me a Mommy. Who likes to call me Best Buddy and tells me that you "love me anyway" after we both lose our patience. You light up my life and keep me on my toes. I never know what you'll do, or say, next. And while we have had some issues that needs to be resolved (your back talk when you get in trouble could use some improvement), you are an absolute joy to wake up to. You give the best hugs and can always do or say something to put a smile on my face in any circumstances. I wish you could stay this way forever, but since you can't, I hope that when you are older you can still be proud to say that I am your Best Buddy.

Alone

May 2 was a horrible day.

Kel got laid off.

He worked for a mortgage company as a Document Control Specialist. I'm not sure what the details of his job were, but he enjoyed it, it paid the bills, and it was less than two miles away from home. It also got me a few new friends who , although I've never hung out with them outside the few times me and the boys visited Kel at work, have made some great women to talk to. Heckling Kel was just an added bonus.

May 2 sucked, for lack of a better term.

Being home with the boys means that we've relied on one income since November. It hasn't always been easy, and Christmas was none existent,  but we made it work. And we have been happy.

May 2 was stressful.

Lucky for us, Kel's buddy B had a job waiting for him. Doing something that I never, in a million years, would have guessed Kel would be doing. Kel is now working as a stand in on Hell's Kitchen.  I laugh because Kel has an aversion to anything related to Hollywood. I've stopped buying US Weekly, OK! Magazine, and In Touch as I've become tired with taunting that Kel does every time he sees me read one (love you Babe). So Kel's doing ... what ever it is a stand in does... and again the bills are being paid. There's only one glitch in this plan.

Kel works twelve hours. In Culver City. At night. So in addition to the twelve hours of actual work, he has around two to three hours of driving time.

Which leaves me alone with the boys and feeling like a single mom. Hence the title of the post.

I have so much more respect for those women who are actually single moms. I know that I look forward to the short intervals during the week that Kel has to take over child duty so I can catch my breath.

The boys and I have finally gotten a pretty good routine going. During the day Kel catches up on his sleep. Which means that the boys and I are on our own. Which really isn't any different than when he worked his  eight to five job, so it's only our night routine that has really changed. Kel usually works at 6 or 7, so he only has an hour or two to play with the boys in the backyard before he has to leave.

Once Kel is gone, it's dinner by 6

Shower by 7

And in bed by 8.

Only to start the same routine the next day. It's lonely by myself at night, but I'm planning on getting a few craft projects started. Hopefully some DIY projects to fix up the house. Any suggestions or tips are welcome!