The Landers' Life

stalkers

6/18/13

Bound to happen and it finally did - last Monday we got our you're-not-in-Disneyworld-anymore reality check. By Tuesday, I was ready to call in and say nope not coming today, and our trip to the pool after work was a huge failure.

There were toddler meltdowns. For example, Mr. Independent will not be helped and in the case of the pool outing-gone-bad...even while climbing out of water that's four feet deep. But he needed it obviously, and when he finally got out he laid on the side of the pool under the lifeguard's chair screaming and unable to pick himself up because his puddle jumper kills the range of motion in his arms. And there were daddy meltdowns. After one too many attempts to make a picture in my head come to life, he in so many words named me the paparazzi. "Does every event in our lives require cameras?" he asked me. And I wanted to say, Well, clearly! So help me get this baby back in the water so I can take his picture!, but instead I turned to the lifeguard who was watching (Who wasn't?) and asked her where the closest bathroom was for Jake who was clinching his teeth and complaining that his stomach was hurting. I finally just sat on a lounger next to Parker who had lost all privileges after he swung his fist at me and filled his swim diaper to the brim and started planning a do-over.

To me there's nothing sweeter than a chance to make everything that went wrong right. Not pefect. Just right.

This week has definitely gotten off to a better start but because it never hurts to look back and hope to relive certain moments, here's one that I, the paparazzi of our family (Who cares. I'm owning it.), took of the boys staring outside our Disney resort room window.

Housekeeping would leave little washcloths tied up with rubber bands and stickers on them to make them look like butterflies, etc., and Parker had the best time picking them off and attaching them to the window. Jake kept his eyes peeled towards the bushes to see if he could see any of the wild bunnies that we saw jumping out from them pretty much daily. And they both got the biggest kick out of seeing someone go by - especially if they were riding a scooter. Well, that just totally lit them up!

Happy Tuesday, Y'all!

letters to my sons

6/6/13

My Little Dreamers,

Having only been back for a few days, we are still very much on a Disney vacay high. What an incredible week. Just keep swimming, Chewbacca and ewoks, hakuna matata, Mad Tea Party, Toy Story Mania, Belle and the Beast...we breathed it all in for six straight days. But as surprisingly wonderful (I say surprisingly because going in, Daddy and I had no expectations for this experience other than to just enjoy the good moments no matter how many or few and far between they were.) as it all truly was, the best, most memorable part of it was seeing the magic of it all through your eyes. Parker - the way you pointed at every animal you recognized and shouted their names as we sailed through It's A Small World, your squeals and screams as you handed Woody your own cowboy Woody doll and touched his hat and hugged him tight, and watching you sleep snuggled in your stroller when you'd had enough. Jake - the extra minutes you wanted to stay and watch Darth Maul interact with everyone else even after your turn to meet him was over, the confidence you exuded after you had ridden "big" rides that you couldn't yet the last time we were there, and the way you celebrated with us as Parker finally warmed up to his favorite characters. Simply priceless.

This time around, the happiest place on Earth was just that...it was happy. And I hope and pray that happy is something you always are. Just remember...sometimes it may not always find you - you have to find it.

Seek to find the good in every situation. It's there, I promise.

Change your circumstances if you can. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone if it requires it. Most times you'll find the only thing holding you back is you. I'm the greatest example of this I know, and so often I wish I wasn't.

Let go if you must. Tough, but necessary.

And through it all, keep smiling. The world will then smile at you.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mom

"Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever." -walt disney

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." -Walt Disney

6/5/13

After six full days and seven nights, we are back from vacationing at Walt Disney World. It came and went like a whirlwind, and if you had told me even two months ago that I would be filling up blog posts with pictures and memories from this past week, I would have said you're crazy love ya anyway.

But Jim got the urge to go after lots of lunch conversations with a friend who recently honeymooned there with his new family and started researching airfare online. He found a steal of a deal, the rest fell into place; and in less than three weeks, we were there.

I realized after about three days in that I really hadn't captured much picture-wise, so I started making more of an effort over the next few days to not just enjoy it but to have something to remember it by. I took this one during our last visit to the Magic Kingdom (We made several since our tickets were "hoppers" because it really is the best in our books.), and I knew before I even downloaded it that it was a favorite because it really has WE WERE HERE! written all over it. Hats with ears, a Mickey-shaped chocolate-covered ice cream bar, watching the carousel go round and round...just magical peeps.

More later. Just feelin' the need tonight to clear the piles of dirty laundry. sigh

Kindergarten. Check.

5/23/13

All week long this week we've been working on calling Kindergarten a wrap. Graduation was Tuesday, the end-of-the-year party was yesterday, and we still have teacher gift-giving and a half day to go before we are officially done.

The graduation ceremony itself got off to a little bit of a rocky start. His shoes were all wrong, he got held up somehow and had to sprint to catch up to the rest of his class that was steadily filing up onto the stage without him, and the opening guest singer's backup music was a hot mess (his singing was not praise God). But the rest was something I hope he'll never forget. They sang, and they quoted I Corinthians 13 from memory. We watched a slideshow of pictures taken throughout the year set to music and listened to words of wisdom given from administrative staff and teachers. They were all called one by one to come up and receive their "diplomas" (the real ones are in the mail). And to top it all off, they simultaneously threw their red caps and tassels in the air while the entire audience cheered and clapped.

I have a few pictures from the big night, but I mostly took video with my phone. I hate trying to do both, and when it comes to things that don't get do-overs, I rather have something I can go back and watch than get worked up over pictures that I can take another day. I know my limits when I'm already what I call an emotional basketcase. So sooner rather than later, I'll bribe him back into those godawful shoes that were "hurting me" and take some "real" pictures of him in his cap and gown. To die for...but then again, I'm his mom.

I did take some yesterday of him at his end-of-the-year party which was made complete with a twenty-foot waterslide. Awesome!

Just one little quote from Jake, and then I'm outta here. Yesterday at his party, I was the ball-thrower during a game of kickball, and I was telling Jim all about it on my way back to work. So last night, he mentioned it to Jake and asked him how the game of kickball went and Jake said, "It's kickpen in our world, Dad." Oh you've been told!

you're gonna miss this

5/16/13

I love so much the words to Trace Adkins' song "You're Gonna Miss This". Melts me every single time I hear it, and I think that's because it's one hundred percent truth. I remember my mom telling me when Jake was less than a toddler that I would miss as much as his handprints on glass. So these past couple of weeks, I started looking around and following behind them. And after they had already moved on to whatever came next, I started capturing what I know I'm gonna miss.

"...you're gonna miss this

you're gonna want this back

you're gonna wish these days

hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

so take a good look around

You may not know it now

but you're gonna miss this."

So many more of these "you're gonna miss this" posts to come. They're my new fav.

wishes

5/13/13

to all you moms out there...

to all those who hope to be moms...

to all those who wait to be moms...

to all Grand moms...

to all those who are missing mom...

to me...

and to mine...

wishes-come-true for a great Mother's Day...today and every day.

And because I wouldn't be a mom without him...and because it's not all about me, I have to give a shout out to my hubs who's as hard at work at parenting as I am. This morning, I got into my car and found a card that he had left for me with a note he wrote that says, "Thank you for being the mom to my boys that I never had. They will one day understand the sacrifices you make for them every day." He rows our lifeboat ashore day in and day out which allows me to have the emotional, mental, and physical energy I need to be the best that I can be. Thank you for that, Babes.

And because Jake doesn't believe in keeping wishes to himself...when he said he needed to make one before he scattered the petals of a dandelion, he said, "Ummm. I wish me and you were throwing the football right now." Ahhh...he's such a good sport. I'd die for him.

I'm his biggest fan. Humor me as I brag.

5/9/13

Well, these ten plus days have just been slap full. Dental appointments, praying for mom who's got a small family of kidney stones in her left one, vacation-planning, a major purchase, a sun up to sun down road trip...let's see...what else. Or not.

It sounds a bit cray but really other than the kidney stones, everything I mentioned is nothing but happy.

The school year is winding down (Who else is in denial about this?) and so is karate class. Right here, right now, I don't know if it will continue. I'm leaving that up to him this go around because I think he's ready for that. Or should I say that's what I feel like should come next. He's been there done that so loving it enough to keep going is something only he will know he wants to do. But oh, I'm so proud of him. He's looked forward to Tuesdays since his first class, he's worked hard, he's stayed focused. He's soaked it in, stuck with it, and he's truly learned - not just how to break boards or Kata routines - but the things that made me sign him up for it in the first place...the things that build character. One day on the way home from school, he was talking, talking, talking about bullies and bad guys and what you should do if you encounter one, and at the end of his whole spill, he said, "Mom, thank goodness I do karate!" After nine months, not only is he convinced but so am I that he's a David that could conquer a Goliath, brush it off his shoulders, and say, "Have a nice day!" before he walked away...just like Sensei Micheal has taught him to.

This past Tuesday, his class had part one of their rank test - breaking a board. Part two is this coming week, and they'll go over their Kata routines, and if all goes well, he'll earn his yellow belt. Here's a video of him breaking his board. I'm still amazed when I watch this that he's gone from having to stomp on it to break it for his first rank test to this.

Two thumbs up, Buddy! You make mama so, so proud!

stalkers 6/18/13

6/18/13