Rainy night fun

I left Luke this morning after we talked through what a great day he was going to have with his sitter, Heather. Heather is amazing with him, and he actually adores her, but when I am leaving he is a tad pouty and was shooting her dirty looks today.
Yesterday I came home to some paintings that he had done for me and Steve. He was very proud to have used purple on mine and orange on Steve's as those are our favorite colors. I am proud of his considerate nature :) His vocabulary and comprehension is really expanding as well. Yesterday, I asked him to tell daddy what he did that was 'artistic' with Heather and he immediately said 'I painted!'. Loved that moment.
Okay on to the fun. My folks lost power for a while last night so they used that as a good reason to come out and visit for a bit. And...they brought Luke a fun Lightning McQueen folding chair. At least he has furniture ;)
I mixed the photos into my writing b/c I know that the four people reading this really only come here for the pictures. Right, Dad!?!? Uncle Ziggy is coming to town today so who knows what the weekend brings!

Remembering a friend

My dear mentor and friend, J'ke, one of the 'forces' that I have been fortunate to know in my life died tonight after an 18 month battle with lung cancer. J'ke is one of the voices that rings in my head when I am making a decision or need that internal advice. I was so lucky to know her, so lucky to intern with her as I was learning to be a school counselor, and so so lucky to continue to be friends with her when we didn't see each other every day for school. J'ke made a positive difference in the world while she was here. The last time we spoke, on ACT testing day last month, neither of us said goodbye, we reminisced a bit over fun times eating pizza, she reminded me to love my boys every day and I reminded her of the impact she has had on me and so many of her students. She told me to continue that legacy and I will do my best. I love you, J'ke. Thank you for being my teacher, my friend and my role model.

Cake and some gum in the hair

Here is the gum that Luke wanted to save for later. Unfortunately, he saved it in his hair. Luckily he has enough that you can't even tell where I cut!

Yesterday we made the day an occasion by baking a cake. Luke really helped me. He broke the eggs, poured the water and oil, listened to my very exciting explanation of measuring cups and then poured the mix in as well. He helped me stir a bit until he wanted to lick the whisk...


Then the fun began! ICING...He did help me tap the cake out of the pan and worked diligently on his icing part until he and Daddy tried to race to see who could eat more of the extra icing. It was really a fun time.




Luke kept telling me Happy Birthday because we were talking about when birthdays in our house occur and he grasped that mine is next. He also kept saying "This is the best birthday cake you have ever seen mommy!" He also said he wants to have three birthday parties at his next birthday. He will probably remember that :)


I gave him the sprinkles to decorate with, and he dumped them right in the middle. He was more focused on getting to eat than making it look pretty :)




I love these two! This photo is a great reminder about the importance of baking cakes once in a while!

Lillies, the moon and some dog bones

We are pretty excited around here for the flowers that we have planted to be blooming,for the view of the full moon as it rises in our front yard,

and for talents of dogs and kids alike for being able to get two bones in their mouth at once.

At least Luke will tell you he is 'not a dog' he is a 'big boy' so we don't have any kind of identity crisis going on around here.

Real Quick

Luke is a gift. Anyone that hears me say that might think I am biased, but it is simply the truth. Luke simply makes the world a better place. I am lucky to watch him work his magic.

Example: The last 12 hours in bullet points.

9:30pm - last potty break before bed/wants to go outside to pee

9:36 - no problem, we all go outside on a beautiful night and get some fresh air

9:37 - oops. We are locked out of the house.

9:50 - I climb through the garage window and think we are home free once we break a little window to the inside door.

10:10 - Luke is smiling and saying "We can do it" when Steve cannot break through the window with a hammer or a SHOVEL. We have some fun while Steve throws his back out saying "bang bang bang"

10:20 - I go to our new neighbors and ask to use a phone. Yes, there goes the neighborhood. Luke, however, wants to look through their garage for toys and hops around like a frog when we see a real frog on the driveway.

10:45 - my mom gets through the a locksmith that will come 30 minutes south to help out. It took a search to find him. Thanks, Kenny! Also, notice that a lily that we planted last weekend has opened up! Marveled at it and smelled it "It smells like roses"

11:15 - Luke is so good watching Kenny work and saying "He can do it!"

11:30 - "Let's sing, Mommy" What should we sing? "Ring Around Rosie" so Steve, Luke and I held hands in the driveway singing and, of course, falling down :)

12:00 am- Trying a lock on the deck, we live at Fort Knox, and Luke plays with his construction site. Nothing like playing with trucks at midnight!

12:20 - smiling and laughing at Kenny as he tries to drill the lock out of the interior door. Loves the noises, loves climbing in my car to pet Star, loves climbing in driver's seat to push buttons.

12:38 - Claps and cheers when Kenny and Steve drill a hole through safety glass (never could get a lock to give) and are able to reach in to open door. Rush in to leave the june bugs out and immediately need some CHOCOLATE MILK!

12:46 - stays far enough from me while I clean up interior glass, asking me what I am doing and sipping his milk, goes happily to bed with daddy and knocks out in about ten minutes.

8:40 am- I hear him yelling "LAY IN BED" and I jump up to check him. We lay in bed with star for a bit and snuggle. I love when he will lay looking at me and smile. Then order me to get up and get him some CHOCOLATE MILK. Played happily and reminded me that a lily opened up while I got ready for work and headed to school with Lightning McQueen in the seat with him. Crunched apples on the way telling me how they 'clean his teeth' and how he is an 'apple monster'

10:00am - on way to school we see TWO CRANES at work, go under a 'viaduct' and once parked to drop him get to wave at and watch the grounds crew use a mulcher RIGHT IN FRONT OF US

10:15 - Tells me bye-bye as his teacher gets sunscreen on him so that he can GO OUTSIDE! Life is GOOD!

Luke, I love you. I love you. I love you.

My Mummy

I like to call my mom mummy for some reason but this post is about my other mummy...in the morning Luke likes to sit in the bathroom where I wrap him up 'warm me up, Mommy!' and we talk while I get ready for work...the smile might be for me, but it might be for that chocolate milk sitting by him. His latest love.

The view from here

We had dinner last night on the deck. It was awesome! After, I planted a bunch more flowers and got a little evening love from my sweet Luke.

Happy Mother's Day

Sun is shining...planting lots of flowers...Luke has SAND to play with...and this is our family. I am very thankful!

The picture says it all

When internet is working at the house, there will be lots more to post. Until then, I have a very busy week at work and we are just enjoying settling in to our new place. I do have to mention that we had a fabulous, really fabulous, time with our parents on Friday night. They all came out to celebrate Steve's birthday. Susan brought her amazing lasagna, Jackie saved me and got the cake, and they both brought throw-away utensils and plates. Luke drank a lot of chocolate milk and fun was had by all. We love our family! And...here is one shot from my phone of Luke enjoying a ramp made out of empty boxes :)