Both of my boys are blanket lovers.  We have tons around the house not just one or two each like most kids.  My 3yo likes fuzzy blankets on one side and satin on the other.  My 4yo loves his old crib quilts and then quilts my grandma made me and my brother when we were his age.  My 4yo says he loves them because he can suck on them.  I'm not sure what he is talking about because I only see him sucking his thumb and holding his blanket close to his mouth but hey who am I to question it.

Anyway, it was time to wash my 4yo's most favorite 2 blankets today (1 at a time of course because we can't be without them for that long) so he gave me one and I got it all washed, dryed and returned.  He gave me the other one and said he was glad to have the other one back so he could suck on it.  When I asked "How do you do that?  I thought you sucked your thumb."  He replied "No mom, I suck the blanket...I can do that because I'm a kid!  One day I'll be grown up and then I can't suck my blanket but now it is ok to do that because I'm a kid...OK!"

There you go!! That's why kids suck their blankets...they're kids not grown ups :)

Anyone who has a boy knows that finding interesting (can't really say cute) boys clothes is really hard.  Girl clothes?  No problem.  Boys clothes are either boring and inexpensive or interesting and expensive.  A friend of mine suggested I check out Lil Branches.  She swore they had some nice boy clothes that were not too expensive. 

If you haven’t been in to Lil Branches yet (at the Belk plaza next to the Chinese restaurant), now is a good time to check it out.  They are having a sale.  (click on the Lil Branches Link from the home page).  I went in there a few weeks ago to check it out.  I assumed it would be like all the small, children’s clothing stores and have 99% girl stuff and a few expensive boys things.  I was wrong!  It does have more girl then boy stuff, but there is a very good selection of boys clothes.  AND they are not overly expensive.  Yes, they are more expensive then wal-mart – but not by much!  And they have some nice things that are different then what you would find at wal-mart. 

Another problem I have in this area is that stores never seem to have much, if anything, in Ryan's size.  And the specialty type stores seem to only have smaller sizes.  Not so here!  I don't know what size they go up to, but they definitely had Ryan's current size (7/8) and some things even bigger than that!  I didn't buy anything at the time because my son is in the middle of a growth spurt.  but I do plan to check out the sale! They also have some different things if you are looking for a baby gift.   

I bet I'm not the only one who usually expects the worst when it comes to customer service.  I used to have high expectations, but as I get closer to 40 (only 2 months away!) I start to realize I need to lower those so I'm not always upset.  I have two examples of customer service and yes, one of them has a happy ending!

During the busy shopping season, my husband and I rushed into one of the big stores to remain unanimous.  I have only step foot in there 2 times in the past year due to the fact I don't like to support China, but at this time I had no choice.  It was close to that big day of gifts and I had to work everyday.  Anyway, we rushed in before work one Friday morning, loaded the cart, and ran off to the register.  We ran to our car and unloaded, took it to the office and hid the *stuff*.  About a week after Christmas I reviewed my receipts.  I found we were charged for 2 items twice.  I took the receipt back into that un-named store and was told, "sorry".  That extra $50 that got charged to my card will not be refunded.  I was told "You should've called about a week ago so we could ask the cashier if she remembered your items".  Right!  If she did, then she wouldn't have scanned twice and overcharged 2 items!  I begged the manager for some help.  After being told I waited too long, I walked out, vowing to never go back.  I told the story to another mom I saw while walking out.  She told me my expectations are too high..

OK, here is the GOOD STORY!!  I had never bought a new oven before.  A week before Thanksgiving my old oven caught on fire while preheating to bake cookies!  I went to Kees Appliance in Aberdeen and they helped me decide a good pick for a replacement.  They made sure my oven was installed before Thanksgiving   During the install, something went awry and an indicator light went out.  No problem, they'd have a local repair company come and fix it.  It was either 3,4 or 5 visits from the repair place later, and now the back burner wasn't working.  I was left with the oven turned off and the breaker off.  Hmmm...  I had in-laws coming to visit from Florida that next day!

Kees Appliance ordered me a replacement oven and came and installed it within 4 days.  Vern was very polite when I wasn't at my best.  I appreciate their service and want to tell people... this is one huge reason to shop locally.  Whether it's ovens, clothing, food, Internet or other items, shop locally for the personal service.  Always remember too that it is real PEOPLE that are running businesses.  They are humans too.

I thought I would give blogging a try since I love to run my mouth...I'll let my fingers work a while.  I grew up here in the Sandhills and so did my husband...true southerners I suppose.  I have 2 boys, they are 11 months apart and are now 3 & 4.  Needless to say my house is crazy!!  They definitely keep me busy and have me laughing my head off when it isn't spinning :)

As any of you with more than one kid know they are vastly different when they are alone but put them together and anything goes.  For the most part they get along really good they just play off of each other a lot.  My 3yo has a horrible temper, I have all the books like The Difficult Child, The Spirited Child, The Explosive Child, all great by the way if you have a child that falls into that category.  Yesterday he was diagnosed with Asthma and I just pray that some of that temper came from not being able to breathe well...wouldn't that be a nice fix, expensive but fixed.

I am trying to teach my 4yo that whatever he does to his brother will visit him in about a year if not sooner and he is slowly figuring that out.  All of the pushing, plowing over, slapping, snatching, etc. comes back three-fold.  Right now we are dealing with "I'm not gonna share with you.  I'm not gonna be your friend anymore."  Hopefully I can nip that in the bud as quick as I did "stupid" and "I'm gonna shoot you. I'm gonna kill you."  Boy I just love the things they bring home from preschool, the park, etc.

Last night Ryan went to the PJ Party at Colors N Clay.  He had the best time!!!  He was very excited about it all week and couldn’t wait (a lot of the excitment stemming from the fact he could wear his PJs which he LOVES to do!)  .  He had a friend that was supposed to go with him who got sick and couldn’t make it.  I thought he would not want to go but, no, he was still excited!  We walked in and were just about the first ones there but Ryan didn’t care, he wanted us to GO.  Jason and I got to have a wonderful dinner out.  We were done early and thought we would go pick him up early.  No way.  He saw me walk in and immediately said “I’m not ready to go.”  Amy told me that they were just about to play games so we left and came back when we were supposed to.  He was ready to go then but said “I want to do that EVERY night!” 

I haven’t seen the finished product yet, but it sounds like the popcorn bowl he made will be wonderful!  Amy taught them 3 different techniques – taping, sponge painting and using their thumb (to make pop corn kernels).  The best part is that it is NOT blue!  If you know my son, you know that everything he makes has to be blue.  It is his favorite color.  Almost everything he has ever painted at Colors N Clay is 2 different shades of blue, with some red & yellow.  Finally, something that has NO blue in it!!!!  Thank you Amy!!!! 

Ryan will definitely be back next month!  He is counting the days.

    I find myself once again at the potty training junction.  I am full of emotion concerning this monumental event.  She is my youngest, so I'm a little sad that she is growing up so quickly, yet I am excited that she is interested and showing the signs that she is ready.

    I guess what scares me the most is the ghost of potty training past that haunts me.  Yes, you guessed it, my oldest child and her potty training woes.  My oldest is very smart, loving, friendly, but has a strong will.  I was a pre-school teacher in college and had potty trained many children so I expected this to be a piece of cake.  I bought the potty that really flushes and plays music. I bought an assortment of books and videos for back-up and, of course, I bought M&M's for rewards. I had cleared my schedule for the week so that I could be focused on my mission.  I was a soilder ready for war and potty training would not overtake me.  I would be victorious.

    Needless to say, it did not go as well as expected.  Fours months later, I was stressed, she was stressed, and I probably couldn't name more that three places in the house that had not suffered due to an accident.  The culminating event was when my two and a half year old came to me and told me that she wanted to talk about potty. My heart raced with excitement because I thought that she was really ready this time.  Instead she said "Mommy I have been thinking 'bout potty and I not like it.  I found diaper and I wear it.  OK ! Bye!" She then opened my hand, placed the Elmo panties inside my palm, and folded my fingers around them.  Next she proceeded to pull up her dress and show me the diaper that she got gotten from the top of the closet and put on perfectly. I stood there speechless thinking to myself that I have just been had by a two year old. I turned in my weapons and gave up on my mission.  I told my husband that I would send her to college with a pack of pull-ups.   

    Three months later she was completely potty-trained both day and night.  I would like to take the credit, but she basically made up her mind that she wanted to do it and that was it.  It actuallly was a piece of cake, but not until she was ready.  If you are a mom reading this and you are on the front line of the potty training battle just remember it's not about you, it's just about them being ready.  I promise that they won't go to college in a pull-up! 

The Pilot recently published a three part series on alternative education that covered homeschooling, unschooling and classical education. I had read the the homeschooling article but hadn't read the others. I didn't think much of it until I read Sunday's Column by Karen Evans apologizing to the family featured in the unschooling article.

Much to my suprise, I knew the family she was talking about. So, I quickly jumped online and found the article in question. After reading it, I realized why Wendy and her family were under fire. The article didn't paint a very positive picture of their education choice for their son. It focused on items such as playing with his friends or the fact that he plays video games. What was missing were all the things that Wendy and her husband do with their son that is educational. Their son learns each day just not with a text book.

I haven't known Wendy very long but I can say that she is a caring, loving parent. She is also a great resource for this community. Without her help, SandhillsKids could not have collected all the resources and contacts for the different homeschool groups in the area as well as the state resources outlining requirements for homeschooling. She also sets up field trips and activities for the Moore for Homeschoolers Network. Even though she is "unschooling" her child, she is teaching him everyday and his education is important to her.

Whether or not you or I agree with her choice, we should respect it. As parents we all want the same things for our children, but we often take different paths to get there. So, please don't be to quick to judge her family until you've taken the time to talk to her.

In early November 2006 my son (now 6) and I took a trip to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham.  We had been to the museum once before when he was about 2 and many things have changed since then.  The first time we went to the Museum was specifically to ride the train.  Ryan was absolutely Thomas the Tank engine crazy.  Someone had told me about the museum and the train so I thought it would be a nice trip.  Unfortunately I did not check to make sure the train was actually running the day we went so we had a big disappointment.  Maybe that is why we had not been back in so long.  Someone recently reminded me about the museum.  Ryan still loves trains, and the weather was great for November, so we decided to give it another try.  I am so glad we did!  We were joined by 2 other families who had together a total of 5 kids ranging in age from 2 to 6 ½.  There is definitely something for every age – even the teenagers. 

There is so much to see and do at the museum that we hardly new where to start.  We decided it would be a good idea to do the outside stuff early, before it got too hot, so we headed for the playground area.  There is a wonderful climbing structure for all ages, a big sandbox with lots of trucks, shovels and diggers provided, and a music area with drums and bells. 

Our next stop was the Magic Wings Butterfly House.  The butterfly house itself is not our kind of exhibit.  Ryan and I are much more active, keep moving, types and the butterflies really prefer you to move slowly or, even better, just sit still for long periods of time.  We breezed through, enjoying the colorful butterflies, but leaving everyone else in the dust.  At the exit of the butterfly house was one of Ryan’s top picks for “the best thing we did at the museum” – the BUGS!  They have an Insectarium with spiders, stick bugs, frogs, beetles and other creepy-crawlies.  His favorite was the tarantula.  We spent a lot more time there then we did with the butterflies.  It was a great place to wait for the rest to catch up.

Then it was on to see the new nature park that has bears and other animals.  The exhibits are all high-tech, allowing you to use computers and video cameras to view the animals no matter where they are.  We did manage to see the bears but that was about it.  Just after the bears there is a water encounter that captured Ryan’s interests.  We spent a LONG time there.  They have hands-on displays that show you how ducks feet work, how tadpoles swim and, the favorite, how to build a dam!  Good thing it was warm that day, because Ryan got very wet!  He chose to stay and play rather then go on and see more of the animals.

Then it was time for the long-awaited train ride.  Ryan was so excited!  We had to get there early to make sure we got to sit in the front.  The train is 5:8 scale (which means the cars hold 2 people per row) and goes around an oval track.  The track is not very long so it does go around twice.  There is a “tunnel” (just a metal shed, really) and everyone screams as you go through.  The train did not impress me but since it was not about me, but Ryan, that was OK.  He had a blast and wanted to do it again.  Unfortunately the train rides for the rest of the day were sold out so we couldn’t do it again (you need to purchase tickets in advance for a set time.  It costs $2).

The museum has a very good restaurant called Grayson’s Café.  There are lots of healthy choices and the food is good.  Be prepared, though, it is expensive.  After our lunch break we headed inside to see the exhibits.  By no means did we see all there was to see.  We were running out of time so we had to pick and choose (next trip, we are going to schedule more time).  There was a traveling exhibit called Holiday Springs and Sprockets that was interactive.  It was very cool.  We also visited the Aerospace exhibit (Ryan had been looking forward to getting inside an actual space ship) and the Small Science area with some stops at an exhibit here and there.  When Ryan was 2 the small science area was his favorite and we spent a good portion of our visit there.  It was again a favorite area.  His favorites were the bubbles and racing balls down various tracks.  We had a wonderful time and will definitely go back again.   Hopefully we won’t wait 4 years to do it.

If you get the chance, I highly recommend a visit to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham.  They even offer summer science camps.  If you have older kids, they are looking for volunteers age 12-18 for the summer camps.  http://www.ncmls.org/

I happened to take a few minutes today and look at the calendar. That's when it hit me, my husband will once again be heading to Iraq in a couple of weeks. It was definitely not something I wanted to think about at that moment but reality is that it's time to get into deployment mode.

So what does that mean? It means I have to start making lists of projects that need to be completed, verify that I have a current power of attorney, a copy of his orders, life insurance policies and emergency contact numbers for his unit. I have to make sure to give him recent photos of the kids, take lots of pictures with him and the girls, and hopefully get an updated family photo (that's because I'm a little paranoid about not having one if something ever happened - just another naroutic moment). IAnd it's time try to fit in a few more family activities, take a small trip and just enjoy the little time we have left.

But mostly, it's time for me to prepare myself for another good-bye. And that's always something I don't look forward too. Because no matter how long your husband will be gone or how many deployments he has been through, it never gets easier. It is never something you get used to. At least I don't.

On that same note, I don't want people to feel sorry for me or think that my life is somehow harder because of my husbands service because I don't. I know that he serves with pride and believes he is needed in Iraq. And because of that, I have the strength to take care of our family and wait for his safe return. When he leaves next month, I will once again say good-bye, have a good cry and pray for his safe return. (If that doesn't make me feel better, than I have a few margaritas with my friends - I'm sure that will do the trick.)