Wrinkles

Honestly, my 30th birthday has barely come and gone, and I am getting wrinkles.  Not really "laugh lines" or "crows feet", but what I will call "autism mommy exhaustion circles".  I seem to be getting perma-lines from where I get bags under my eyes from lack of sleep or stress.  I really want to do something about them (I am afraid that they will get worse), but I don't have the money to go and try out different things that create promises of clear, wrinkle-free eyes.  Getting wrinkles is a part of getting older, and I am ok with that.  That being said, I am realizing how vain I am.  I find myself glancing in every "shiny" surface around our house, peering in hope that the lines have disappeared...they haven't.:(  

Matt says that he loves me, and doesn't care if I have wrinkles. (He is a wonderful man)  He thinks I need more sleep.  He is probably right, although I think that it is more a lack of quality sleep than the actual hours.  

Meanwhile, I will just do what they do on TV.  Cucumber slices.  Because instead of $50 for .2oz of a miracle, cucumbers are 3 for $1 at Food 4 Less. :)

End of the school year

Even though it doesn't feel like the end of May (weather wise), it feels like another school year is coming to a close.  The boys are excited for summer and the thrills that come with the last part of the year.  For instance, today Bren climbs excitedly into the car as I am picking him up, and exclaims, "I had ice cream at school!"  Unfortunately, he could not remember WHY they got ice cream (apparently all of the sugar so early in the morning had gone to his brain).  Andrew came home yelling, "Guess what, Mom!?!  No homework today!!  Mrs. Coleman forgot to copy our reading logs!!"  

You would have thought that Christmas had come early. 

So now they are outside playing some game involving weapons (as boys will do), and dreaming of days with no school, running through the sprinklers, and Sonic slushes!

Days like these, I love being a mom of boys.

Good...but not as good as Auntie Lynnie's

Last night I made fried potatoes.  My intent was to make a big batch for the boys, so that it was easy to warm up for those early morning school breakfasts.  My intent was that they would last a few days.  That was my intent. ;)

So, as I am making them the boys are begging to have them with dinner.  So much for a bunch of breakfasts!  I served up two small bowls full for the two big boys, and decided that what I wanted was "De Anza Browns" potatoes (I miss eating them with my mommy).  So I melted some cheese on a bowl of fried potatoes, added sour cream, avocado, and salsa (wishing I had some bacon).  They were divine!!  I think I will do them for dinner next week for the whole fam (with bacon).  

Andrew and Bren are eating them at the bar.  I ask, "How are they boys?"

Bren- "Good"

Andrew-"...but not as good as Auntie Lynnie's."

Oh well...I tried.

We only had enough for two small bowls for the big boys for breakfast.  They were popular, even if they were not "Auntie Lynnie" quality.

Getting into the soccer groove

First some pics, then the story. 

PS- Bren is #15

So Brennan played kindersoccer in the fall and just started back up with the spring league.  He loves it.  In the fall, he was the "nice" team mate who stepped away to give someone else a chance to kick it (his team or the opposing team).  I kept reminding him that it wasn't mean to try  to kick the ball away from the other team, and to keep kicking it toward the goal if you have the ball.  He would agree with what I was saying, and then continue to back away if someone came up to him.  He didn't seem afraid...just kind and generous.  During the entire season, he didn't score one goal.  Lots of assists...but no goal.

Well, spring soccer is here and a different Brennan is playing.  he is still sweet and kind, but something has clicked.  The first game of the season, he scored THREE goals!!

funny pics

Michael and Katie came over for dinner last week and were were playing with my new Mac Book Pro.  I am excited about this computer for numerous reasons.  Matt wrote a grant for 2 of them, which we got.  Free computers are the best kind.  I am producing all of the sparrow DVD's for our region now, and while my other mac works fine, while it is transferring/burning, etc. I can't use the computer.  So now I can continue to work while producing the dvd's.  Plus now I can work anywhere.  In the fall Parker will be in a EI autism program 3x/wk, and I will probably be down at our Asante office more often.  All of that to say, my new computer has a program called PhotoBooth.  It takes a pic with my built in camera and has tons of different effects.  Needless to say...we had a bit of fun.  Here are a few to share with you:

Torn!!

Yesterday we decided to have a garage sale.  We are beginning to move out of some of our "baby stuff" and since Parker is our last, we don't need to hang on to things. ;)  So as we were moving stuff out of the garage in the morning to set up for the sale, Parker's (the Crawford's) train table which was standing up on its end in the garage fell on me.  It hit my calf hard and scraped downward...taking off some skin in the process.  I cried like a baby.  It hurt SO badly.  The scrape hurt and burned, but my calf muscles were SO tight.  They felt like they were constantly cramped.  It was swelling, and by the afternoon I had two beautiful purple lumps in the back of my leg.  I was in tears just trying to walk.  After much coaxing from Matt and a friend who used to be a nurse (thx Laura) I went to urgent care.  Apparently, I have torn some muscles in my calf.  If I let it heal properly and stay off of it, it should heal itself in time.  For those of you who know me...that is easier said than done.  But I am doing my best to do the R.I.C.E thing (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and will hopefully be back up and around in no time.

Quote of the day:

"Mama, I don't want to hurt your feelings.  But looking at your leg kinda makes me want to throw up."  -Andrew (8)

*in his defense, it IS swollen and purple, and badly scraped* ;)

PS-  The train table was out in the garage because our hardwood floors have gotten refinished and we have not moved it back in.  We were NOT selling the Crawfords train table at our garage sale. (a sigh of relief all the way in Uganda)