Thinking ahead

It has been over a month since my ex has called to talk to the boys. I have told him that it's up to him to call and keep in touch. The last time they talked was at Christmas, when he was here to visit.

In about a month and a half my divorce will be final. After nearly 4 years separated, the final chapter couldn't come soon enough.

In 2 months my son will play in his first Little League game. After how well he played in soccer, I'm looking forward to baseball season!

In 4 months it will be one year since the doctors told my dad that he had a year to live. So far he's doing well on the chemo medication and the side effects are lessening each month he takes the treatment.

In 5 months it will be the day we were supposed to take our big Walt Disney World vacation, cancelled when we got the news about my dad. Can't really plan a fancy vacation across the country when you get the "year-left-to-live" sentence :(

In about 8 months my little boy will be starting kindergarten. I don't even want to think that far ahead!

A Birthday Gift

My sister-in-law had her birthday a few weeks ago. I had bought a picture frame that would hold four 4x6 photos and my plan was to take some new photos of her son, my nephew, and give her the framed photos. But then she took the week off work and didn't bring him over for the week so I had no opportunity to photograph him! Yesterday turned out to be perfect weather and I was able to get some nice shots of him. He's a simply adorable boy but he tends to make that frozen smile that so many kids make and I had to catch him being natural to avoid the stiff face! Printed the best shots up on my new photo printer and put them in the frame, voila!

Here is one of the shots, what do you think?

Cough, cough

My poor little guy is sick again. He has a fever that comes and goes, a wet cough, he's a little more subdued (I don't mind that part! LOL) and he really wants to be snuggled (I don't mind that part either!). He's spent the week on the sofa, playing Wii and watching cartoons but not wanting to play outside or eat much. I can tell he's lost some weight and on a small child who is already on the slender side, it's noticable. His collarbone is a bit sharper and his eyes look even larger than usual!
His older stepbrother and I went to a school open house this weekend. It's a private Catholic elementary and I wanted to get the information about tuition and registration since my little one will be starting kindergarten this fall. I just know he's going to love going to school! He's a very clever and smart guy, though I still get nervous about his education since he's not gone to preschool. I think that once he gets into a school situation, he'll pick up the lessons very quickly, he really loves to learn. And I can't wait to see him in his adorable school uniform!

With him sick for so many weeks and us having wetter-than-usual weather, I've not taken new pictures in a while. Here is one from a few years ago (and a few cameras ago too!). You can buy this shirt custom sized on Etsy (see link on left)

Back at WW

After discovering this week that my mom and I weigh exactly the same, we decided the time has come to actually do something about losing weight. No more talking about needing to eat better and get more exercise, we decided to put our money where our mouth is and signed back up for Weight Watchers. We did the program 6 years ago and then I got pregnant and we quit. I was able to get almost all of the baby weight off after my son was born but over the last 5 years, portion sizes have been slowly increasing, exercise has been declining and the weight has been adding up.

Getting back to the meeting this week was great. The program has changed a bit for the better. My mom was shocked to learn that because of her age now she gets fewer Points than she did in the past and now she'll have to better manage her eating. My dad went to the grocery yesterday and picked up some yogurt and lettuce upon my mom's request. He came back with yogurt that has 4 Points! Yikes, I'd rather have a bowl of ice cream. And the lettuce was iceburg, zero nutritional value :( We'll have to show him our Points Finder and how you need to look at fiber, calories and fat, not just if the item says "low fat".

In any case, we're off to a good start...looking forward to losing at least a pound this week!

Peaceful Protest

This weekend my boys & I went to Balboa Park to watch a puppet show at the Marie Hitchcock theater and afterwards we walked over to the botanical gardens. On our way, we encountered a protest that was going on down the esplanade. There was a mixture of American flags and of another country, which I didn't recognize, and hundreds of people carrying banners and posters. Judging from the signs I guessed that they were protesting the war in Gaza. There was someone on a loudspeaker relaying a chant and then the crowd was repeating after her. There were police walking alongside the protesters and officers on horseback as well. My sons and I stood under an archway and watched these families march by as they waved their flags and shook their banners. My oldest asked what this all was and I explained that it was a protest, that when there is something you don't agree with you are able to peacefully protest in a public place. He asked what they were protesting and I said that I think it was the war in Gaza. At that moment I felt so sadly out of touch, not able to give him a more knowledgable answer about exactly why they would be protesting. I mean, I've seen brief bits about this on the news and online but I really don't know enough to explain it. My son wanted to stand and watch the entire protest. After the crowd had passed we went into the botanical garden, the sound of the passing crowd quieting as they kept walking.

A Happy Collaboration

I am over-the-moon to have collaborated with Angela of dandelionavenue on this Bluebird of Happiness set. Angela made the gorgeous smocked outfit, I painted the matching tote and Tracy of creme*de*la*gems made the sweet jewels. You can see everything up close and in detail by clicking my EBAY link on the left.

The Boy with the big brown eyes

My grandparents are 100 and 101. Up until August 07, they lived at home alone but after my grandpa had a fall they required 24-hour home care. They live close to us but with all the winter illness we've not been able to see them for about 2 months, we've either had a cold or they have.
Last night my aunt called and mentioned that my grandparents have been asking why my son hasn't been over to see them, referring to my just-turned-5 year old. My aunt said, "they ask everytime I'm there, a few times a week, where is the boy with the big brown eyes? They love him so much, do you think you could go over and see them soon?"
Ever since my son has been a baby, he has happily sat next to his great-grandparents on the couch, chatted with them, and allowed them to kiss him and hug him as much as they want. He's never pulled away from them when they squeeze his arms with their bony hands or kissed them when they didn't even have their teeth in! They don't always remember his proper name, so they call him "the boy with the big brown eyes". And I know they just think that is so sweet that he will sit there with them, as do I! Occasionally he'll say something, like "Wow, Great-Grandma, you sure have a lot of wrinkles!" which just makes my grandma throw her head back and roar with laughter. Sometimes my grandpa will squeeze my son and hold his cheeks tight and just stare at those big brown eyes and my son will patiently wait and smile right back.
And so this weekend we will go over for a visit. My son will sit between the two of them and allow them to snuggle him for a while before he asks if he can go outside to play. And they will be happy, that they were able to share that bit of time with "the boy with the big brown eyes".