Lola Love

I'm feeling lots of love right now.

I'm not sure why but I am sure that it's a good thing.

I think it may have something to do with the yoga classes I took this week.

Yoga always has a way of creating that inner balance thus creating a more loving feeling.

It gives me a greater sense of gratitude,

for my life, my family,

and for Joey.

So, I thought I'd sit back and take a moment to think about him and his quirks, his compassion, his wants, needs and the things he loves the most.

I kept going back to last night. Let me set the scene. It was a usual Thursday night, about seven o clock, an hour before bedtime...

Brant was sitting on the couch after a long days work. Eva was sitting at the computer listening to her new fave- Taylor Swift. Soph was bouncing around with her short attention span. Lola was laying on the couch next to Brant with her chin resting on his thigh. I just thought this was the cutest thing I had seen all day and went over to pet the peaceful pup's head while she lay nested with the "leader of the pack." I sat next to her.

Joey ran into the room,
"Aw! Look at Lola!"
He nestled right in to her.
Joey adores Lola and I'm pretty sure the feelings mutual.
Lola began licking Joey's face, Joey began laughing.
She was licking all over his face, and then concentrating on his nose.
And then very gently,
with her front teeth,
everso gently,
she began nibbling at the tip of his nose.
This caused Joey to laugh harder and pull away a bit.
Lola reached her paw to Joey's shoulder trying to keep him steady while she continued to lick his nose. She was relentless in her quest to nibble his nose. He laughed harder. She kept at it. She couldn't get close enough! Joey laughing, Lola licking and nibbling, Brant and I laughing, she kept pawing to pull him closer,
"Steady now, steady, I HAVE to nibble your nose!" I'm just sure she was thinking.
It was the most entertaining display of affection I had ever seen.
So then, after the licking and nibbling was finished,
Lola rested her head yet again on the thigh of her master.
Joey snuggled in, petted the top of her soft head, said,
"I love you Lola."
and kissed her gently on the muzzle.
Now if that doesnt' just warm your heart on a typical thursday night before bedtime,
I don't know what does.

He's eight!

A few weekends ago we went to Big Daddy's brother's house out in the boondocks. Joeys cousin has rollerblades. She helped Joey slip on her blades so that he could glide or skid (whatever you call it at this point)around the driveway.

Well....

He was hooked.

"Mommy, I want rollerblades for my birthday." he says.

Having already bought his birthday presents, I say,

"Go tell Ammie. I'll bet she'll get them for you."

He tells Ammie and she takes him to the store friday afternoon to buy the coveted

rollerblades.

He wakes up birthday morning, which luckily happens to be a Saturday. It is 7 am.

"Mommy?..."

"Mommy?..."

I'm pretending not to wake up so that he'll go to Big Daddys side of the bed.

No luck.

"Mommy?..."

I mutter.

"Can I go outside and rollerblade?"

"Sure."

Now that I've been waken up, I'm up. No getting back to sleep. Unfortunate I know.

I'm a big sleeper and I enjoy 8 or 9 hours a night but if I get waken up after a good solid four or more hours? that's it, I'm up, can't fall back. This is why I ask the children to bother their Daddy in the morning. He can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, anytime, anywhere. I think it's an old man thing.

So while he's been skating, I am searching for a birthday outing. What would make more sense than Skateland?

Nothing!!!

Skateland it is!

So now here it is noon.

"Joey, come in for lunch."

"Do I have to take my skates off?"

Really? He's been skating since 7am, 5 hours. And he wants to wear them in the house?

"Yes! Take the skates off and get in here!"

Here is Big Daddy, Joey and his cousin Anthony.

The kid skated up a storm. He's ready to go back asap. The rollerblades were a big hit.

And do you know what else was a big hit???

This Book!

Now hear this. Joey has never been a big reader.

He neeever wants to read.

He throws a big fit if you ask him to read or if there is reading involved in his homework.

I would go so far as to say that Joey despises reading. UNTIL.....

This book.

Oh thank you author-of-this-book-that-I'm-too-lazy-to-get-up-and-get- so-I-can-type-your-name, thank you!

Thank you, and thanks to his reading teacher at school, gotta recognize, you know.

The eighth birthday was a great success. Joey was happy with his gifts. He was happy to share it, as usual, with his twin sister. She had a great birthday. All in attendence had a great time. What more can a mom ask for? ...Happy healthy and eight years old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY!

YOU ARE LOVED!

Our moments

Now that springtime is here, I get to enjoy an occasion run around the neighborhood. Time for me to unwind from the day, be alone with my thoughts, or spend time with my favorite little man.

He spies me lacing up my shoes in my joggin pants and hoodie.

"Oh, Mommy, are you going for a run? Can I go too?"

"Absolutely." I tell him and he races off to find his shoes.

He is usually already out in the garage, bike helmet on, racing around the driveway waiting on me, before I can say boo.

And off we go.

Now the run takes place around our circle. Said circle is approximately 1.2 miles. One lap. I usually do this circle three or four times, passing the house each time.

So the first part of the run, Joey is riding furiously, jumpin curbs, racing round the cul-de-sacs, wizzing ahead of me, around me, up to the moon and back.

And then for the second half of the run he settles down and idles next to me on the sidewalk. This is my favorite part.

This is the time where he has my full attention.

No "stop it, use your manners, use your fork, wash your hands, clean your room, take a bath, take a vitamin, quit peeing on the toilet seat, clear your plate, do your homework, drink your milk etc etc etc."

You get the point.

Nope, none of that. No judgements either.

This is the time where he can tell me anything.

This is the time where I get to ask questions like:

How do you feel about the kids in your class?

What's your most favorite thing in the whole world?

What makes you the most happy?

And what makes you the most sad?

And as he rides his bike next to me, in the cool evening breeze, I get the pleasure of listening to him as he shares his thoughts, feelings, opinions, and concerns.

And I also get to say things like:

I'm so lucky I get to be your mom.

I'm so proud of you.

I love you more than you'll ever know.

This is one of the many joys of being a mom to this kid.

Twinky Love

The twins were just four years old in this picture.

It says so much about their relationship.

I had this framed and it hung in our bathroom when we lived in Michigan. Now it is among the others on the wall of fame.

I think it's wonderful to snap away pictures and never knowing if THIS one will be the one that captures the true essence of:

happiness

a relationship

a bond

love

innocence

a time that stands still for all eternity.

This is what I see when I look at this picture.

Although it is dated, it never gets old.

These little souls will linger around each other for all of times.

Dollar Store Extravaganza

The dollar store is a magnificent magical kingdom full of incredible rare gems just waiting for the picking from my kid's hot little hands.
He loves the dollar store more than his parents.
Well that may be pushing it.
He loves the dollar store more than pizza and ice cream in the same sitting.
He may love the dollar store more than Spongebob.

And he gets on these kicks where he starts to crave the dollar store like some junkie needing his next fix.
Can we go to the dollar store? Can we go to the dollar store? Can we Can we Can we?
I don't know Joey, maybe this weekend. And he never lets up, asking randomly here and there with great anticipation of the answer yes.
And the mere thought of a possible trip to the dollar store is an itch that can be scratched by nothing other than the coveted dollar store.
So the weekend comes, "Can we go to the dollar store? Can we Can we Can we?
I don't know Joey, we're kinda in the middle of such and such.
BUT YOU SAID WE COULD GO TO THE DOLLAR STORE!!!

Well crap!
If I don't take the kid to the dollar store, he's going to go into hysterics, convulsions, right here on the kitchen floor, coughing, sputtering, screaming, holding his gut in agony and pain. It is quite a sight to see.

It's not pretty.

But it happens.

And not just because we deny him a trip to the dollar store when he doesn't get his room cleaned after we've asked him like four billion times.
But also if we say, no ice cream, dude, it's a half hour PAST your bedtime! Here we go...

Or no you can't go to your friends house, can't you see I'm plating up a delicious delicacy I've prepared with lots of love and cheese?
That creates quite a ruckus too.

The dollar store is pleasure and pain all wrapped up in one neat little bundle.
The pleasure part is for my kid, who gets to go into that fluorescent lighted wonder world with those brightly colored items from floor to ceiling all begging to be bought. There is as much stuff stuffed onto those walls as there is poppyseeds on a bagel.
And they all scream, "Buy me buy me, I'm only a dollar!"
And it's pleasureable that I get outta there with only having to spend a dollar on each kid.

I'm kinda cheap like that sometimes.

Of course I spend ten more dollars on random things such as napkins and paper towels. Paper plates, disinfectant wipes...those are good to buy there too. I may pick up an occasional gift bag and/or tissue paper.

And my kid gets to pick out ANYTHING he wants!
Oh the joy!
And with the responsibility of picking out whatever he wants, here comes the pain part,
it takes him FIVE HOURS to pick out the crappy little plastic toy that will probably break within two hours of getting it home.

He has to pick up all the squishy balls and squeeze them.

He inspects each little plastic wrapped piece of crap.

He asks, what's that?

What does this do?

Can I see that one way up there?

Should I get this?

How about that?

What does this one say?

Does this really make a loud fart noise?

Can I try it? Yeah- get that one, like I want to hear that all day! And of course that would be the ONE that NEVER breaks or gets lost.

It's a dollar store for crying out loud! Just pick one before I start picking out strands of my hair one by one. I will be bald before you finally decide on something! It would be more fun to stick that giant dollar store pencil in my eyeball that to still be here!

Finally he chooses THE ONE! It's usually some type or sword, or dagger, or hatchet, or butcher knife, maybe a bow and arrow set. But he's got his hands on it and he's the happiest kid on the earth for the next ten minutes! He got his fix and he is ready to consume this little junket of a toy with all his concentration and might.

So the toy is finally picked and he can breath again.
The itch is finally scratched.
Now if he can only get it out of the plastic fast enough. We hope that the toy will at least make it through the car ride without breaking. Some haven't, most break within a twenty four hours, and a mere few still exist today at the bottom of the kid's toybox.

This has been one of Joey's favorite things to do since he was about five or so, a good couple years thus far. I wonder if he'll end up buying napkins and paper plates when he's a dad and his kid is begging him for a trip to the dollar store?

A Case of the Stitches

I declare Sunday as Family Funday.

We are going to the Art Gallery. It's free.

We're a family.

And it'll be fun.

So we ate our lunch. Roasted garlic tomato soup (yum) with leftover veggie pizza (yum) for the big people and tuna dogs and pear slices for the little people.
Tuna dogs?
Yes, this is tuna salad on toasted hot dog buns. One must improvise when there is only one slice and a heel of stale sandwich bread left.

After lunch it is time to do a quick clean up of the kids rooms, put on shoes and head out the door for a fun filled afternoon.

As usual, Joey is lickity split, shoes on and ready to go. During the "waiting on the girls" time, he leaps and bounds outside to ride his skateboard on the driveway.
He has only had this skateboard for seventeen days, mind you. He got it for Christmas. Needless to say he is still learning the basics and theory of balance and control on this little bone breaker of a Christmas present.

So the girls and I are upstairs, picking out shoes, I'm helping with hair accessories, then I'm on to my own primping and spritzing. And then just as I consider whether or not to revamp into more appropriate attire for the art gallery gala...

I hear some crying.
Not the whining, upset, why-won't-you-give-me-cake-at-nine-in-the-morning crying...
but real crying.
I go to my bedroom door and listen a little more intently.
That sounds serious.
I disregard my second outfit of the day and scurry downstairs.
There's Joey... over the kitchen sink,
cupped hand full of blood.
Daddy behind him cupping his chin with blood soaked napkin.

Ah crap.
The first skateboard war wound.

He's scared from the blood.

Who am I kidding, so am I.

But I'm the mom, I play it cool...

Rubbing his back, telling him it'll be alright.

The bleeding finally slows,

the crying finally quiets,

the napkin comes off,

the wound is assessed.

Daddy says,

"Yep Joey, you're going to need a couple stitches."

The crying escalates once again.

"NOOO"

I DON'T WANT STITCHES!!!"
"IT'S GONNA HURT!!!"

Like it doesn't right now?
Aaaand we go through the same routine we just went through the previous six minutes.

I fix the baggie of ice.
I give him some tylenol.
The girls come down to inspect the situation.
Daddy gets his keys to the car and his office.
Those are the perks of having a doctor daddy. He stitches people everyday.
Just a quick visit to the office, a little numbing, a couple stitches and we'll be on our way.

This is when we got there...

The car ride went smooth,
really it did.
But the moment of anticipation had built up.

The waterworks start again.

Honey, it's gonna be okay.


I'm pretty sure the good doctor comforts all his patients like this....

And this is Joey during the first stitch. Eyes squeezed tight.
You should have felt how hard he was squeezing my hand.
and then a few more stiches, he relaxes a bit...

And this is what the girls are doing.

You can see they're super concerned.
But this is what we do when we go to daddys work.
We make rubber glove balloons.
Why would today be any different?

Yeah- real concerned... torn up I think.
Ahem.

So the girls are a little preoccupied.

Daddy's work is fun.

Joey's in good hands.

Daddy's stitching...

Six perfect stitches to be exact.

Mommy's comforting and holding hands...

See?

Awww, look...

you can take a deep breath now.

It's all over!

Only love, smiles and rubber glove balloons fill the air.

And the procedure is complete.

Life is good again!

Joey's got some cool stitches and a great story to tell at school tomorrow.
And better yet, he'll have a scar.
Well, Daddy sewed him up, and he's an awesome stitcher upper,
there will probably be no scar.
Sorry Joe...
Your Daddy rocks when it comes to putting in stitches.
That's alright,
you rock too.

You were a brave little man today.

And your getting a new helmet!

One with a chin strap!

Oh, and we still made it to the art gallery.

Meet Joey

I love this kid.
He has been a ton of work, but I still love him.
He has taught me much patience. Not enough yet, he's still testing me and I'm still working on developing more of it.
This is a picture from when he lost his first tooth, no excuse me, his second tooth.
He is so proud and excited that the tooth fairy will come and leave him a dollar that he will lose a couple days later.
None the less...
Here he is,
My boy.
And now lets meet the family unit.







This is Sophie.

You can tell she's a quirker, can't you?
Boy she can press his buttons like no other.
But Joey and Soph can play "monster shooters" till the cows come home.
He can get a little rough, knock her around, she holds her own.
She's a stout little one.





This is Eva,
Joey's twin sister, his favorite person in the whole wide world.
(Okay he may not admit it but I know that's what he thinks.)


She and Joey spend hours on end together playing, laughing, hanging out.
She is there for him when all the scary kids show up at the beginning of the school year.
Boy, he's on her like white on rice for the first few weeks of school.
There's nothing better than having twins and seeing how awesome their bond can be.

I mean really, look at them! smiling, playing in the sunshine on a warm summer day.
Never mind the rusted chain link fence from the abandoned house next door.
Come on kids! Back to the sprinkler! Weehee! Fun Fun!
Ah, gotta love the Detroit suburb charm, right?



Here he is hugging her...




Here he is cuddling her, keeping her warm on the boat...

Are they not the cutest pair of siblings you've ever seen?




And all three of these little charmers came from us. Yours truly and this guy,
Big Daddy.
Here we are, the proud parents of these three little monkeys,
the three munchkins,
the three poliwogs.
(Shaking my head) How I was so blessed and so cursed at the same time?
Yet I smile because the blessings far outweigh the cursing.

(Well, most of the time
but we won't go in to that right now, will we)

And luckily, not only was Joey blessed with

a great quirker of a Sophie,

a best twin/friend Eva

an awesome, mother blogger of a mom (that's what Big Daddy calls me when I'm typing away)

He was blessed with this guy,

the best Daddy in the world.

For he is best at wrestling, playing burrito, being a tickle machine, making loud entertaining noxious gas, fixing broken toys, cuddling at night, playing guitar hero...

Shall I go on???

Because I can...

Oh shoot, this sums it up, what kid wouldn't love a dad like this?

And the apple don't fall far from the tree.
So in the following posts about Super Joe,
remember this face.
And it'll be clear as glass
why my kid is such a goof pants.