Ewwww!

In the car, a coversation from the prespective of a 2 year old:

Blaine: "I have a booger on my finger!"
Papaw: "Ok, let me stop and I'll get it for you."
Momentary Silence
Blaine: "Papaw, should I eat it?"

Does a Momma's Heart Good

Last night at church the boys took home helium balloons. As expected, as soon as we got home, Blaine's balloon popped in the ceiling fan. Blaine tried to blow up the parts of the torn balloon, to no avail. When he realized the balloon was dead, he cried. Braylon rushed to his side and said, "Here Blaine - You can have my balloon...Don't cry."

A Boy's Life

Don't ya just love boys? Last night after a round of wrestling with Daddy, the boys played Crocodile Hunter in the floor of the living room. Braylon was the Crocodile Hunter; Blaine the crocodile. It was fun until Blaine crawled over to Mommy on the sofa and bit my leg. I said, "Stop that!" and he replied, "But I a crocodile, Momma!" After that fun episode we colored extensively while watching Dora and Rescue Heroes.

No tea parties or princess stories from my house!

Movie Review: Vantage Point

Vantage Point: Rated PG-13
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forrest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver

This is a film about strained relations between the US and a Latin America country. The US President visits in a goodwill effort and makes a very public appearance in a crowded courtyard. The US President is then assassinated, which sets off a series of points of view looking at the same event. After a few 'vantage points' the audience realizes how they are all connected.

Becky Rating: B

In the spirit of Groundhog Day, this movie was repetitive and at times annoying. The film-makers were creative in weaving the stories together to make a solid storyline. However, there were a few holes in the story in doing it this way. The biggest question left unanswered, "Why?" Saying that, if you can live without some ends being tied up, the film was done in a way to capture your attention. You will sit on the edge of your seat trying to piece it all together and there are even a few 'Ahhh' moments during the ride.

Bottom line: If you can get through some repeating of material, it is worth your time.

Sweet Dreams

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Braylon woke up this a.m. with a big grin on his face. He ran into my room as I was getting ready for work and exclaimed, "I had a dream about Grampy!!!" Ahhhh..... He misses his Grampy....

P.S. (So does his Mommy!)

Back In the Saddle Again

There was a break in blog posts, in case you failed to notice. Let me explain:

Thursday of last week: Blaine spends the night with Granny so that we can go to the hospital early. Blaine gets sick - very sick and they have a full night of gastrointestinal woes. Blaine stays over there until Friday at bedtime to avoid spreading germs to a post-surgery Braylon.
Friday of last week: Braylon had surgery. We were at the hospital for 6 hours for a 10 minute procedure. Don't you just love surgery??
Saturday: Brandon comes down with what Blaine had. We avoid him and stay out of the house as much as we can.
Sunday: Blaine is still a little symptomatic, but nothing serious, so we all go to church. I managed to get a book review blog in...
Monday: Chore day. Took the kids to school and had off from work. Got a long laundry list of items done. WOO HOO!!! Went to bed feeling good about my accomplishments.
Tuesday: Awoke at 2 a.m. not feeling good with my accomplishments and not feeling good about anything since I was vomitting and had other icky symptoms... I stayed in bed all day. Kids came home from Granny's house at bedtime despite her offer to keep them... I felt like I should keep them if I could muster it. That night we wake up to Blaine having diahrrea fill his bed sheets. If you're a mom, you've been there, no doubt. Bless his heart, he had to wait to go back to sleep through a bath and a bedding change. He was so sweet.
Wednesday: Still not up to snuff... Took the day off...
Thursday: Here I am, blogging my excuses for being a lame blogger of late.

I'm sure to post something of interest soon. Please be patient!! HAHAHA!!!

Book Review: "Skin"

"Skin" by Ted Dekker
Genre: Inspirational Fiction

This is the story that follows five assumed strangers through a crisis in a small town when a tornado rips through one evening and a psychotic killer is on the loose. The five individuals from various disturbed backgrounds must find a way to stop the killer and survive both the weather and the killer's unsettling game against them.

Becky's rating: B++

Ted Dekker is a strong writer; STRONG. His character development and creative story lines have traces of Stephen King quality, but minus the filth and illicit gore. This story is not unlike his other novels in that way. He captivates you from the first chapter and I find it hard to put the book down - Needing to know what happens next. The only reason I give this book less than an A is that it does end a little more sci-fi that I was prepared for. However, the means to the end is defintely worth the read. I also like the fact that despite the 'inspirational fiction' genre (which is my favorite, by the way), the novel doesn't get preachy and the reader gets to read between the lines on what he is 'saying' without 'saying it.' (In this case, an obvious directional pull to the fact that we are ugly in our sin and are in need of a Savior to make us beautiful.)

Bottom line: If you like Stephen King or The Matrix - This is a must read.

Doctor Hopping

Last evening we left Blaine to spend the night with Granny because we had a 6:30 a.m. arrival time at the hospital for Braylon's procedure. At 10 p.m. I got a frantic phone call from Granny claiming that Blaine had vomitted several times and they had had to run to the potty for other emergency bodily functions. SO, I tried to let her take the reigns on Blaine so I could focus on Braylon. Braylon didn't fall asleep until nearly 11 p.m. due to nerves. 6:10 a.m. rolled around especially early it seemed. We were at the hospital from 6:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. for what the doctor said was a 5 min procedure. Wanting to make double-sure that Blaine had nothing greater than a tummy bug, I set an appointment for him at 1:30 p.m. I had just enough time to eat, drop Braylon/Daddy off at home, and rush over to the other doctor for Blaine. So much for resting...

Blaine has a tummy bug and nothing more. Braylon is back to his normal, active self. Mom & Dad are a little more worn for their wear, but I guess it's just another silver lining of parenting...

'I'm In the Mood For Love...."

Picture this: 6:30 a.m. Alarm goes off. Snooze button hit. 6:50 a.m. husband comes in and announces I'm going to be late if I don't get up. I reluctantly get up, shuffle to the bathroom to start getting ready... I venture slowly into the living room to tell Brandon to please remember to deliver Valentines to his parents from the kids (Spiderman and Bible verse notes...So cute...). Brandon doesn't know what in the world I'm talking about, despite having talked on this last night. Brandon leaves for school, hopefully with Valentines in hand...

7:10 a.m. I am ready. Kids are still sleeping. I make sure the Valentine's box has it's final touches with everything I need for the day at the various locations I plan to stop. It's all good.

7:20 a.m. I talk Braylon into getting out of bed despite his, "Just 7 more minutes because I'm still tired" speech. I bribe him to get out of bed by promising he can wear his Spiderman shirt, which I have no idea it's location. Search for the Spidey shirt. Find it after several minutes. Set Braylon on his course of getting ready with a firm warning not to drown his toothbrush with toothpaste....Again.

7:25 a.m. Ok we should be gearing up to leave already and Blaine is still snoozing away, snoring and oblivious to my calls to wake up. I yank him out of bed only to find that he wants to cuddle. I bribe him out of bed by reminding him he has a party to get to today... He is thinking of the candy and cookies, no doubt.

7:35 a.m. We REALLY should have left already considering we have 2 stops and Valentines to drop off before Mommy has to arrive at work by 8 a.m. Sheesh! We venture out, kids complaining about X, Y, or Z (you pick) around 7:38 a.m.

7:40 a.m. We arrive at Blaine's day care provider's house. I had a big box to carry in. I told Blaine to walk to the door, where he was lovingly attacked by a stray boxer who wanted to lick his face and jump on him. This set an emotional cry from Blaine who wanted to be picked up away from the dog. Juggled box/kid/dog/door. Only dropped cupcakes once (don't worry, Mom, they didn't get hurt).

7:55 a.m. Arrive at the final stop. Realized that in our hurry and chaos, Braylon didn't eat breakfast. Braylon assures me it's ok because he'll just eat candy instead. He begs me not to tell his teacher he didn't eat because then he'll fill up on something halfway good for him, which he doesn't want. I take the 'Bad Mom of the Year' stance and agree to keep it a secret.

8:05 a.m. Arrive at work. Ok, there may have been a little speeding involved, who's to say? All I know is that it was one wild way to start the "Day of Love...."

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Hug your loved ones tight and remember to always say "I love you" more often than is comfortable!!!

'A' Game

Yesterday at school Braylon got into trouble for fighting on the playground. I can only assume it wasn't a major infraction since I wasn't notified by the school. Braylon fessed up fast and served his time in his room while I made dinner. After about 15 minutes of solitude, I went in his room and talked with him about making good choices in school. After what I consider an 'A' game lecture (short, to the point, loving), I asked Braylon, "So what did you learn?"

With sincerity in his voice and an utterly confused look in his face, Braylon said, "What are you talking about, Mom?"

So much for my 'A' game lecture!!!

Family Movie Night

On Friday night our little family gathered around the boob tube, popped popcorn and settled in for a family movie night. On the menu, "Shiloh." It's a touching story of one boy's plight to rescue an abused dog and claim it for his own. I'll spare you a movie review of this film - But it is a cute family film that I recommend.

During one part of the movie, the main character and his little friend, a girl, exchange a special dialogue about the dog. The friend leans in a gives the boy a kiss on the cheek, expressing a special moment between the two friends.

It was at this moment that Braylon quietly says, "Eww." Blaine then chimes in with a loud, "EWWWWW!!! She has boogers!!!" The tender moment was then turned to laughter in our home...

Different as Night and Day

Yep, I confirmed it. It's not like I didn't already know... Last night I clicked on the advertisement at the top of this blog that said something like, "What's your child's temperment," or some such thing. I took the test twice, once for each child. It's free and doesn't make you put in personal info for advertisers to nab opportunities...It will even print out a little chart at the end with 5 main points of personality.

What I confirmed was that my kids could not be more different. Braylon's line chart looked like a one-peak mountain, or a bell curve. Blaine's looked like a valley with a few little ridges. Braylon scored nearly off the charts on "Activity" and high on "Persistance." Blaine scored high on "Emotionality" and "Persistance." Persistance was the only one of the five they had in common. Everything else was bi-polar opposites. I'd say that was just about right.

Try the test if it's still on there - It's fun!

Banned from the Library

Ok, maybe not banned, but I'm sure we'll raise eyebrows when we go back...

Last night Blaine and I ventured to the branch library to get Braylon some easy reader books. Blaine had already been VERY clingy all evening - even more than usual. He was being a little naughty when we first got there by pulling books off the shelf and running them over to the book return slot just for fun. So I made him sit in the chair on the floor of the children's section. The wailing begins. As I quickly perused the easy reader section (after taking what seemed like forever to even FIND the easy reader books), the entire library listened to Blaine screaming at the top of his lungs. Consoling him from across the shelf wasn't cutting it... I had to hurry... I had time to pick out 6 books and my patience could take no more toddler screams and evil librarian stares.

I went over to pick him up, he nuzzled his head in my shoulder, and mumbled something about, "I just wanted you to hold me." Guess Blaine won that one...

Ready Reader

Last night I confirmed a suspicision I've had for a while. I gave Braylon three books that had very simple words in it. As Brandon as my witness, that kid read all three books to me with alarming accuracy! Now, I did assist him with harder phonics like 'th' and 'ch', but all the basic phonic words like 'frog' and 'dog' were a breeze for him. He was so proud of himself, it took him extra long to wind-down for sleep. He has been wanting to read for several weeks now and he is just bursting about it...Thanks for letting me share...

Super Family Weekend

We had a good Super Bowl weekend - Not that any of us were really into the game, per se, but it was a good weekend nonetheless. Brandon's brother, Zane, was in town with his family. It was great to let the boys play with their youngest cousin, Maverick. Unfortunately, this part of the family lives over 10 hours away in Louisiana and we just aren't able to see them often at all... A Super time was had by all!

Oh and there was the Super Bowl, too - Brandon didn't feel strongly towards either team, but was minorly irritated at the upset.