I wuv you!

Owen has recently started telling us that he loves us. Ahhh...it's so sweet. I know sweet is a word I use regularly when it comes to talking about Owen, but its so true. He is always a very loving boy. He loves to cuddle. Loves to hug. Its super adorable when he puckers up for a kiss. But now with this recent addition of affection, we can't help but smile from ear to ear around here. Just this morning we heard this from him:

I wuv you daddy.

I wuv you mommy.

I wuv you Aidan.

I wuv my brudder.

I wuv balls mommy.

I wuv baseballs, I wuv basketballs.

I wuv my baby teddy.

I'm really going to have to get a recording of his funny little voice that makes us smile so much in this house!

Not What I Ever Expected...

...but sometimes practicality reigns supreme! You know how you move into a new house and you have all kinds of plans for how you will decorate and furnish it? Well, I always thought I would find the perfect buffet or china cabinet for my dining room wall. I never quite found what I wanted, or if I did, I didn't have the money for it. Well, a few weeks ago, I just couldn't bear to look at the mess of mail, coloring books, plastic file bins and computers that had taken over the table and dresser that I had on the dining room wall. I decided I had to do something about it. Since all our rooms are used up, I figured that this was still the best place for our office. So here is my solution:

When I told Kip I was going to order a secretary, he really thought I meant a person! I'm all on board for a full time secretary, but this kind is more in the budget right now (even though I decided one was not enough for all our stuff).

Two big file drawers... Four drawers for all the phone books, paper, markers, etc... Two big computer holes... Six cubbies for all the staplers, tape, stamps, envelopes, etc... I'm in organization heaven.

I painted the ugly green bench and sewed up some super cute cushions,

The best part ... When I'm tired of looking at all the stuff, I can promptly close them right up (insert happy dance here)!

What the Future May Hold

Aidan was asking how movies like Harry Potter are made. "How do they make it look so real?" So I launched into an explanation about the different roles of those who make movies. I then mentioned that maybe he could be a movie writer or director one day, because he has such an imagination and likes to create stories to act out. He thought about it a few seconds and then said "I think I would either like to be a movie director or a zoo keeper. A zookeeper would be an interesting job too!" I love it when my big boy says something so childlike. It makes me smile.

Milky Milky and Sleepy Pie

Owen cracks us up with his sugary sweet phrases. He comes up with these on his own. About a week ago, he started calling his milk "Owen's milky milky." "Where's Owen's milky milky?" Or in a long drawn out affectionate way "Miillky miillky." For months now, he's been saying "Owen wants to go sleepy pie" when he wants to go to bed. Apparently it rubs off because now we all call bed time sleepy pie and say things like "Lets go look for some milky milky." It would be really funny if anyone on the outside overheard Kip use these phrases...

Interview: Roller Coasters!

Mom: What did you think about your first big roller coaster "The Hulk?"

Aidan: When I first got in that car, I was like "I don't know if I should do this, I want out!" But I was in it and there was no getting out. So then we started going up the hill slowly and and then faster and I was thinking "uh oh uh oh uh oh" then we shot out the top so fast and it twisted us upside down! Thats when I didn't feel so good because I was facing toward the sidewalk! After I felt much better because it was a lot smoother. Once we were done, I felt glad I got that over with, then I felt the urge to do that again. I wanted to do it again but we were headed to Harry Potter land and mom dragged me away.

Mom: Was riding a big roller coaster what you expected?

Aidan: Yeah, I kind of expected it to be kind of like that.

Mom: So would you say riding roller coasters was your favorite part of the trip?

Aidan: Yes. That was definitely my favorite type of ride.

Mom: What was your next roller coaster? Tell me about that.

Aidan: My next roller coaster was Dragon Challenge. It was by far my favorite. In my opinion it went faster than the Hulk. It was really scary because it was all over the place and your feet were hanging down. There was this one part where you look like you were going to run into the other roller coaster and then you barely miss (he makes a motion to demonstrate how the two challenging coasters head together before turning you straight up then into an upside down loop).

Mom: Did your dad go on these roller coasters with you?

Aidan: No! He is much too scared, much too scared! I call him the "Chicken of the Roller Coasters!"

Mom: Did your dad ride anything with you?

Aidan: Yes, yes he did. He rode all the simulators with me. I got him to ride two little roller coasters. They were really little. Really little! There were no drops or anything. I also got him to ride splash mountain with me too. That had a lot of small drops and one big drop. I also call him "Chicken of the Water Rides...."

Mom: So, your mom rode all the rides with you?

Aidan: Yes. She basically rode all of them. All of them. The ones she loved the most was all the roller coasters.

Mom: Is there a downside to riding that many roller coasters in a day?

Aidan: You feel like you're going to throw up!

Mom: So you had to take a break?

Aidan: Yeah for a little while. We just went on a bunch of other rides like a carousel, simulators, stuff like that.

Mom: What was your favorite ride?

Aidan: I think we both agreed that it was Dragon Challenge, but the Hulk almost tied. I think that this trip was one of the best trips I've tooken in a long time! All those roller coasters in one day....That kinda made me want to go to the hotel and rest awhile, but I think they make some of the best roller coasters around.

Author's Note: I remember riding Space Mountain by myself when Kip and I went to Disney together (before kids). It was fun, but no fun waiting in line alone.... and sitting alone.... When we walked into Universal Studios the first day of our theme parking adventures, Aidan saw the "Hulk" (pictured below) across the water and exclaimed "I want to ride that!" I was in roller coaster heaven the rest of the trip, because Aidan had discovered the thrill of the ride and he shared it with me. I think I shall have a riding companion for life!

Ride the Alligator?

You might think this is referring to some magical ride at Disney...but you'd be wrong. While we were vacationing in Florida a few weeks ago, Owen couldn't get enough of riding the alligators. We rode them in all the airports and every day in the hotel. He would ask constantly "Ride the alligator?" I laughed so hard when I first realized that he was asking to ride the elevator. This was the first of many super sweet and cute things he said during the trip.

Owen was a super traveler. When he would get restless and want out of his seat or stroller, I would tell him what we were going to do and he would sit back down and in the sweetest little voice say "Okay Mommy." And he was content. I can't even count the number of times we went through this routine. And it would be impossible to get tired of hearing his response. During one of these exchanges, I must have said we are going to find a play area, because whenever he was bored in the stroller he would say "play area?" All I had to do tell him were about to go to the the play area. Again I would hear "Okay Mommy" and he was happy for a little bit longer.
When we first told Owen we were going on this trip, we told him we were going to see Mickey Mouse. He remembered this every few hours during the first few days of traveling and Universal. He would look up at me and ask wonderingly if it was time to see Squeaky (a.k.a Mickey) Mouse. When we finally did get to Disney, Owen loved the parade and was definitely interested in Squeaky Mouse, but was most excited about playing with the hula hoops in the middle of the street. They had bean bags to toss into a wooden box (which he slam dunked) and he called it ring toss. We could barely tear him away from this expensive fun and from that point on, he asked repeatedly to go back and play ring toss.

At one point, I took Owen on the Whinnie the Pooh ride while Kip and Aidan were doing some rides of their own. He really didn't know who Whinnie the Pooh was before we got on the ride. During the ride I kept pointing out "Pooh Bear" and Tigger. He was very interested in it all and when the ride was over and we landed in the middle of the end of ride gift shop, he wanted to look at all the stuffed Whinnie the Pooh's and Tiggers. I let him hold a Pooh Bear and the first thing he did was turn him over and declare that we needed to change him! I tried to tell him Pooh was a silly pooh not a stinky pooh, but he only had one type of pooh on his mind. Needless to say, I am a sucker and had to get a pooh bear for him to carry around and cuddle with during his many stroller naps (and also so I would not forget that moment) .

Finally, one of the funniest things he said happened our last day at Harry Potter. We were standing by one of the window displays. It had a Mandrake that actually squeaks like in the movie. (If you are unfamiliar with the Mandrake from the movie, it is a plant that Harry's class has to transplant. When he does, it makes a horrible squeaking/crying noise.) Owen was so entranced with this prop in the window that he just sat and stared for the longest time. Finally, he turned to me and asked "What's in there?" I asked him in return, "What do you think is in there?" His answers were priceless. "Maybe a boy in the flower." And then, "Maybe a bird." He seemed concerned. I think he was worried that the boy (or bird) trapped in the Mandrake might not be able to get out, hence the crying noise. Only through the eyes of a child!

It was an exhausting trip. I'm sure Owen won't remember a thing. But he sure contributed to my fond memories of the trip. We had fun!

Catching Up

I can't believe it has been 2 months since my last post! Then again, if I think about how my life has been for the last two months it should be no surprise. Here's my recap...

I have been struggling with my new teaching position. The school I have been placed is going through a very difficult transition. It used to be the school in the poorer part of town that all the white kids were bussed into, but since the end of forced bussing its population is changing dramatically. The school is about 90 - 95% black and it is in a very poor area of town. Needless to say, that the balance of kids is completely out of whack. I'm dealing with kids who simply do not know how to behave and many who are academically behind. My last few years of teaching had been difficult enough with chatty kids who made it hard to just teach. This makes all that look like a piece of cake! To make things more difficult, the school is overcrowded, and that leaves me without a classroom of my own. So I teach music on-a-carte... This is about the most counterintuitive solution for freeing up classrooms that I can think of. Imagine trying to carry books, instruments, CD's, and other classroom materials from room to room...Then trying to teach music and movement on one (two if I'm lucky) area rug. To make things more difficult, the school is on three levels and there is no elevator. This forces me to have 3 different carts. My stuff is spread out all over the school and needs transported between each class. I have plenty of plan time, but I spend it calling parents or moving things around from cart to cart. When I do get to sit down and plan, I have to try to find a spot at a table in the teachers lounge or library, but mostly I have to bring all my planning home. If I run out of time to do it at home, I go in really early on Monday and try to get caught up. Anyway, I'm not sure how, but I will somehow make it to the end of the year and then things will have to change, because this is wearing me so thin I don't think I could do it again.

On to happier things. Halloween was exhausting, but fun as usual. It is a really stressful time for us since it is the majority of our annual income, so there is a lot riding on the weather and attendance. I'm always amazed at how expensive it is to get things up and running, but since we raised the price $1 per ticket at the field, it helped. We didn't increase our attendance over the last couple of years, but things went well. The island added a new twist and it was not as busy as we had hoped, but we didn't lose much money on it. We are going to try it for one more year and hope it will make a profit next year. If it wasn't for the vandalism, we might have broken even.

I am enjoying lots of design work right now. I just wish it would have all come in January instead of August! I spend most Wednesday mornings and every Thursday with my client who is building the 2 million dollar home. It is really fun to see it all coming together. Since it is very custom, I feel like I get a lot of creative input. I have several others right now who are getting custom window treatments and bedding that I have designed. It is one of my favorite things to do, but again, I am so short on time that I am falling behind. I got my first commercial job. It is a temporary vet's therapy office. It is a remodel for a very short term office, so they are on a very tight budget. I'm hoping it will lead to work when they build the new building in a couple of years.

Aidan is enjoying third grade. He has a fabulous teacher. She is very thorough, and some how manages to get the best out of Aidan. His parent teacher conferences were great. She commented that he had a "flair for entertainment." I'm not sure where he gets that from... He continues to entertain the class at recess with many imaginative games and he appointed himself lead reporter for a class newspaper. He also recruited an editor and illustrator....and a printer (that would be me...). The newspaper has had one publication, but there is talk of another. A few days ago he was inquiring about Santa and trying to figure out how he could really make it around the world in one night. He made himself laugh and stated that he bet Santa was a "techie" and secretly used special rocket boosters and wheels. We laughed about it and he declared that he would make a publication about it to let all the kids in on Santa's secret!

Owen is cute as can be. Mostly I just get a glimpse of him before I'm off to work and around dinner and bedtime. But he is happy most of the time. He smiles and goes anywhere without much fuss. Friday night I thought I would drop him off with mom and he just wanted to go home. This was one of the only times I have seen him fuss about getting dropped off. He was just so tired and wanted his mom and his own home! Otherwise, he smiles and loves everyone who takes care of him. He has the cutest little voice and wants to say everything. I love it when he runs down the hall and falls or falls off of a stool and says "I'm okay!" It cracks me up. One day this past week he patted me lovingly on the arm and said "Good boy." It was so funny I laughed out loud. He tells me, Kip and Patsy that all the time now. I keep telling him that I'm a good girl but he insists that I'm a good boy! The one thing that I hope lasts for a while is how much he loves to cuddle. He says "mommas bed" every night and morning. He repeats it over and over until we get in the bed. In the morning when he wakes up, he cuddles up with me and repeats over and over "momma" in the most sweet and loving way. Then he rolls over to dad and does the same thing with "dadda." I know this will end all too soon, but I can only hope it doesn't!