This weekend at Six Flags, Sloan was very concerned about the roller coasters. Our conversation went something like this:
Sloan: “That roller coaster is really high and goes super fast.”
Me: “Yep. That’s what roller coaster’s do.”
Sloan: “Is it scary?”
Me: “No, roller coasters are really fun.”
Sloan (eyebrows raised): “Then why is everyone screaming?”
Me: “Uhhh…Those are happy screams because they’re having so much fun.”
I don’t think he believed me…

I took the kids – all three of them – to Six Flags today…by myself. Along with 8 bajillion other people, 90% of them between the ages of 12 and 15. No, I’m not really that much of a glutton for punishment. I had a reason for going and did not plan on spending as much time there as we did, but whatever because I’m a ROCKSTAR! My brother and sister-in-law are coming to town this weekend and we told them that because we had season passes to Six Flags (which were given to us as a gift) we could get three of them in for free with our coupons. Ummm…I didn’t know that you had to actually enter the bowels of the park to get your season pass processed. I figured we could just get it done Sunday morning when we all got there, then we planned to use the Mother’s Day free friend passes because Six Flags is allowing us to use them since Mother’s Day was so nasty here. But, we had to actually get our passes and coupon books before Sunday, thus my reason for taking the kids this morning. I got there right when the park opened hoping to get the passes and get out quick, only to find out they didn’t start processing passes until noon. Nooooooo!!! So, we headed off to ride the kiddie rides. Except Tia was being a complete pill and wouldn’t try anything and just kept whining and crying. But, being the rockstar that I am, I did not lose my temper. I was cool and calm and kept it together. Even when we had to wait in line for forty minutes to get our passes. By the time we were ready to leave, Landon had had it and I was beginning to fade myself. Here is a picture of the kids as we were leaving the park – notice sweet Landon’s face:

So now we are all very excited about going to Six Flags again on Sunday, and this time I will have three other sets of hands to help, not like I need them or anything though because I’m a ROCKSTAR, yeah!

Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman lost his 5 year old daughter in a tragic accident yesterday when his son accidentally struck her with his car in their driveway. Please be praying for this family as I cannot imagine the grief they are experiencing – especially their son. That is a heavy load for someone so young to bear. If you want to read more, click here.

Sorry. I kind of say that shamefully, but I must say I’ve gotten sucked in over the years. This is the first year where I really watched consistently though because Sloan was so into it that it became our family night. Nothing says modern day family like sitting down with your kids, butts firmly tucked into the coushins (sp?) of your couch, hands covered in salt and grease from microwave popcorn and eyes swimming with the images of young, hip (that’s questionable) wannabe singers. Thank God for American Idol. Whatever did people do before? I am THRILLED with tonight’s result. Sorry to any Archuleta fans, but I was so over him. I liked him at first because there is no denying his adorableness. But somewhere along the way he started to rub me the wrong way. He’s like a cute little puppy that just won’t go away…the cuteness rubs off after awhile, you know? Anyway, the schmaltzy ballads were starting to really annoy me. Could the kid have been any more pigeon holed? Sheesh. But I liked David Cook. He’s cool and sweet, a great musician and, to be honest, he reminds me of my little brother so much. Something about his mannerisms and his smile…Brett would probably keel over in a gagging heap of horror if he knew I thought that. American Idol is not his idea of fantastic music. He’s one of those super music fans who knows anybody and everybody who ever sang every song ever created. And that may have been the most poorly constructed sentence I’ve written in a long time. Sorry. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Brett doesn’t read this blog, so I can say whatever I want! So, YAY David Cook. Sloan will be thrilled. He has liked David Cook from the beginning. I DVR’ed tonight so he could watch it tomorrow. Unfortunately our DVR is new (we’re just now entering the 21st century…it hurt to say goodbye to the VCR) and it cut off just as Ryan Seacrest said, “The winner of American Idol 2008 is…David…” And that was it!! A box popped up asking if I wanted to save this recording. Uh, yeah…but I also want to know who won the freakin’ show!!! I almost fainted. I had to call my mom to see who won. When I went back to rewatch the recording it did have Cook’s last name in it on the play back, then it cut off, so at least Sloan will be able to see his name announced. I’m so glad that show is over because I really hate being addicted to shows – there’s so much pressure to keep up. Well, except for LOST. I loooove being addicted to that show. I look forward to it coming on every week and I shall dearly miss it after next Thursday night. Anyway, I think I’ve revealed enough geekiness for one night. I’m off to bed because I’m tired. Go Cook!

Don’t worry. I didn’t forget my mother’s birthday. I did actually wish her a happy birthday on Sunday, but I’m only now getting to post about it. I just wanted to say happy birthday to the most amazing mom in the world. My mom truly is spectacular. If I could only be half the mother she is, then I would consider myself doing well. She has modeled for me exactly what a mother should be. She has loved me unconditionally, supported me without wavering, been involved when needed and stepped back when necessary. My mom has become my dearest friend over the years as I’ve moved into adulthood and motherhood myself. I value her advice as if it were gold. My mom lives here in town and I admit I have become very spoiled by that. She is so helpful to me and is fantastic with my kids. If my mom was good at parenting, she excels at grandparenting. My kids adore her, especially Sloan. They have a special little connection. She’s so involved. She kept them all yesterday for me so I could get some things done. When I went to pick the kids up, she was outside playing with them. That is how she is. She gives 100% of herself without asking for anything in return. She always has.

Growing up, my mom was extremely involved in our everyday lives. She was a homeroom mom, on the PTA, Sunday school teacher and all around super mom. When I was in high school I remember getting annoyed by her constant presence. I realize now that she was just being smart. Because she was involved, she knew what was going on. It was hard to pull anything past her. That involvement saved me from making many poor choices. When I was 8 and Brett was 5, we lived in Wisconsin and we went skiing for the first time. After a morning in ski school, we were allowed to go up the big lift. Brett and I rode with the ski instructor and my parents rode up behind us. My mom was so concerned about us getting off the lift that she forgot to get off herself, so she jumped, fell and tore the cartiledge in her knee. She wore a brace for a long time and as far as I know, she never skiied again. That’s the kind of mom she is. She would do anything for us. I feel certain that if one of us needed her to walk to the ends of the earth, she would do it, without complaining. She has literally travelled the world to do things with us, going on band trips, to youth camps, traipsing through Ukraine with me in the dead of winter, sitting outside in the sweltering heat with Brett so he could hear his favorite bands play, and so much more. Mom, I love you dearly and am so grateful for you and all you do for me. You are the best! Enjoy Florida this week.

Last Wednesday was Sloan’s last day of preschool for this year. To celebrate, we went to Chuck E Cheese after school with the kids from his class. Just as we were about to leave, one of the mom’s told me that her daughter has been talking about Sloan kissing her on the lips for a week. Sloan came over and heard us talking about it and right there in the middle of CEC, leaned over and smacked her on the lips again! No shame. All puffed up from the amusement/horror on my face the little Casanova turned and kissed another little girl, then turned around and kissed the first girl again! Jeez! But, before you think of my son as a little lady lover, you should know that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Lee apparently was known for his kissing abilities back in his day. I’ve heard plenty of stories of him ducking behind buildings at church camps to kiss little girls. From what I can tell, his lips got around! So Sloan is apparently a natural born ladies man. When I told Lee he just kind of smiled and nodded. He was all, “That’s my boy!” and “At least he’s kissing the girls!” He was no help. So Sloan and I sat down later that day and talked about who he could kiss (me, his grandmothers and his sister) and who he could not (any other girl). We agreed that when he was a grown up man and found one special girl that he loved, then he could kiss her. Until then no one else. Riiight. Since he appears to be just like his father, I suspect he’s got plenty of kissing days ahead of him!

In other news, we pulled the trigger and put Sloan and Tia together. So far it’s going okay, but not great. I suspect it will take a little time although I hope not too long because I live for bedtime and bedtime has been taking two hours or more. So we’ll see. Landon had a horrible night last night! Seriously awful. He’s had a cold for about a month now. If this is what happens every time he gets a tooth, I’m not sure we’ll survive the next two years. He just could not sleep last night so today I’m operating on about 3 hours of sleep. Momma doesn’t do good with 3 hours of sleep. Praying for patience!!! Do any of you know if lactose intolerance can cause cold like symptoms? I’m just wondering if maybe we need to switch Landon to Soy based formula. If anyone has wisdom, I’m all ears! One good thing coming out of Sloan and Tia sleeping together is that we may end up getting both of them night time potty trained at the same time. We’ve been trying for a couple of months now to get Sloan trained at night. Now he and Tia think it’s funny to get up and go potty numerous times, which drives me mad – but they’ve both been waking up dry! We may end up with only 1 kid in diapers. That’s cool. Anyway, we’ll see what happens with this sleep thing. This is still not my ideal long term solution. I’m hoping we can get a little room set up for Landon by finishing in part of our garage, then move Tia back into her room. Until then we’ll deal the best we can!

Last night we had to make an emergency run to the Urgent Care for Sloan who was screaming with an ear ache. It was indeed an ear infection. After the doctor, we headed to Walgreens to fill the prescriptions. Poor Sloan was exhausted and in so much pain so I decided rather than go through the drive thru window, I would take him inside to fill the prescriptions, hoping that his “patheticness” would make them feel sorry for him and fill the prescriptions faster. That was a friggin’ stroke of genius! They had all three prescriptions filled in less than five minutes. All three pharmicists worked on it and got us in and out of there so fast. It was great! And Sloan really milked it. He laid across my lap half comatose, his feverish little eyes all pitiful and sad. I was so glad I did that.

This is only the third time I’ve actually set foot in Walgreens in the last six months. I usually just drive through the pharmacy if I have to. I think they are way overpriced so I never go there to buy stuff. But the last three times I have been in this particular Walgreens, something interesting has happened. The first time was in early December. Sloan and I ran in there to get a couple of things and while we were there, Jenna Fisher, the girl who plays Pam in The Office, walked in. I didn’t even know she was from here until I got home later and googled her. She went to Parkway – random. A couple of months ago I went in to grab some milk and a man dressed as a clown was standing at the register. I don’t know why he was at Walgreens, but he bought beef jerky, Coke and Tylenol. Again, random. Then, last night as Sloan and I were leaving, a little girl who had clearly just come from a gymnastics workout was tumbling down the isle. Seriously, she must have done four or five back handsprings in a row. She was very good actually! So anyway, if you guys are looking for an interesting experience, it appears that the Walgreens at Baxter and Clayton is a hoppin’ place.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday. I’m biased, but isn’t Landon the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? Oh, and he slept all night last night! Go figure. Just when I was ready to give it all up, he sleeps all night. I’m hopefully optimistic that this is the beginning of a new pattern, but also a little skeptical. We’ll see what happens tonight. Anyway, enjoy these photos!

Thanks for the comments and emails regarding the last post. I know this phase won’t last forever, it just feels eternal right now. Someday, soon I hope, life will feel normal again. Tomorrow is Sloan’s last day of school so maybe once we have a little less going on things will settle down. Or maybe not. Who knows? Oh, and as a disclaimer to those of you preparing to have your third, or hoping to have three children: everything I wrote in that last post is a lie. Three kids is a breeze. You should all do it!

Truly, I obviously would not trade my children for the world. They are each so special and so unique and so very precious to me. This is a season, I know, and it is short and one day they will be grown and I will long for these days again…at least that’s what I’ve heard. I just don’t want to miss it, you know? And I feel like I am a little because it’s so difficult. So that’s part of my struggle. It’s a battle between longing for this season to end and hoping it doesn’t go too fast. Whew. That makes my head hurt. I’m going to take a bath and go to bed!

*update: Last night was another rough night. Landon screamed for over an hour. We finally moved him into the pack n play in our room to let him cry it out. But let me tell you what God did. After an hour of listening to him scream, I couldn’t take it anymore so I got up and picked him up and held him tight against my chest, taking deep breaths to calm my own spirit as well. As he slowly began to calm down he pulled his head back and looked in my eyes. In the darkness I could see the tears glinting on his little cheeks. The look he gave me was so sweet and so precious and in that moment I was reminded that he almost didn’t make it to life on this earth. I remembered the doctor’s words that miscarriage was a very good possibility and I was suddenly so grateful for that moment. Then my mind drifted to the story of Audrey Caroline and I realized that all over the world there are mothers whose arms ache to hold their children. Mothers who would gladly get up in the middle of the night because it would mean that their children were alive. And I was grateful. Isn’t God good to remind us of these things when we’ve reached the point of desperation? I’m tired today, utterly exhausted, but I’m grateful for this fatigue as it serves as a reminder that I hold in my hands great blessings. Blessings which were no guarantee. So I am grateful today.