Pause

Just in case you might be interested, I am not ignoring the blog. We are OUTTA HERE! This is beach week with the extended family. Oh, wait, many of you who read the blog will be there with us. I am sure we will come home with all kinds of fun stories and misadventures to share. Be prepared for buried brothers, sand in strange places, attempted drownings, and lots of laughs and fun and sun. Now, everybody cross your fingers that we manage to keep the sun burns to a minimum. Especially since the dermatologist will be on hand to beat me for any burns our little family incur. Ah, I can hear the waves now........

Consider Myself Warned

Lately I have been getting lots of laughs and warnings when people hear of the trouble of Jerry. The most common is something along the lines of "Well, you named him Jerry. What did you expect?" This is usually followed by some sort of story about my dad causing trouble or some sort of wild misadventure. Often these tales include my dad smiling, charming, and laughing. Yes, my Jerry is named after my dad. From all the stories I hear and from what I remember, my dad was a character. I love to hear the stories of my dad. I especially love to run into his old, and you can interpret old to whichever meaning you choose ;) friends. My Jerry is often compared to my dad, Jerry. This is fine, it is an honor. After all, we named him Jerry for a reason. So now, a request. If you have any stories of my dad that stories of my Jerry trigger, share away. At least I know my dad survived childhood without being strangled or taped to a tree. And he turned out to be a pretty decent guy too. Some days that is all I have to hold on to. "My dad was crazy, but was a great man. My dad was crazy, but was a great man. My dad was crazy, but was a great man....."

(note: if you think your stories are too long or too personal to post, feel free to email them. I would still love to hear any and all of them)

War Paint

Sunday seems to be a bad day in our house. Especially if it involves a nap for me. *SIGH* Jerry is a mess, in so many ways. Yes, he put mascara on his eye. Yes, he put eyeliner on his cheek. Yes, he has foundation and mascara in his hair. Yes, it was all over my carpet and couches. No, I didn't take pictures of the carpet and couches. No, it still isn't all out. I also have foundation on my door from when he was in time out and rubbed his head on the door. Yes, that bag of Tostitos ended up on the floor too. At least it was an easy vacuum fix. I should be glad I don't keep my lipstick in with the rest of my makeup. Oh, wait, a couple weeks ago he colored the carpet with lipstick. Nevermind. Does he look upset, no, the stinker smiled for the camera. He is lucky he is cute. Cute is what keeps him alive sometimes. (Little funny... in swim lessons today, he looked like he got punched in the face. He still had mascara on his lashes and it was running and smearing around his eye. Serves him right? Nope, it was just cute, dangit.)

Stay tuned for whatever the child does next.

Scrambled Eggs

Father's Day morning was fantastic. I dragged my sorry, sleepy behind out of bed and made the requested French Toast. Tyler got cards from everybody and seemed to enjoy the morning. We all ate, got ready for church, got out the door, and were at church the regular 10 minutes early. I also noticed that many other families arrived at their usual times, unlike on Mother's Day. Just an observation. After we got home, we all went down for naps. Sort of...

Lie down in my nice comfy bed
Michael starts fussing
Feed Michael
Put Michael down
Michael screams
Give up and go to the guest room with Michael so Tyler can get a good nap
Fall asleep for a little while
"Mommy! Jerry is in the eggs"

Oh dear, let the adventure begin. I could only imagine what I was about to walk into. Jerry had cracked about 8 eggs on the counter, which dripped down the front of the cabinets and onto the floor. ( Maybe we should have bought more eggs last night, even though we had almost 2 dozen) After a bit of losing my cool and sending a screaming child to bed (again), I cleaned up the mess. Then I discovered the scissors on the table. The the freezie pop melted all over the table and chair. Then I remembered the chocolate lollipops I had made and put in the fridge. What did I find, you might ask? Someone, not sure who, forgot to lock the fridge. Yes, the fridge and pantry have to stay locked at all times thanks to Jerry. Damage: one completely eaten, 3 partially eaten, 1 with teeth marks. So much for giving those away. Well, what would you think if someone gave you a partially eaten pop or one with teeth marks? "Gee, um, thanks?"

No, no pictures of that one. My temper was too close to exploding this time. Not to worry, all children involved survived. I even had enough lollipops left for what I intended.

DORA!!!

Thomas has a girlfriend. Dora Hastings played the part of Kate, the Lieutenant's American wife. He did not interact with her on stage, but they had lots of fun backstage with their dressing rooms across from each other. Dora recently graduated from UNC-G with her masters in music performance. If I remember correctly, this is her first big professional production. Thomas fell in love with her almost immediately and she is so sweet is it no wonder he did. If only she were a few years younger, or Thomas were a few years older *sigh* At rehearsals, they played hide-and-seek, colored, and had lots of fun. Every day he would see her and excitedly scream "Dora!" He also told her all about Dora the Explorer. Thomas also wanted to give Dora a gift when the show was over. Of course, a Dora the Explorer something was first choice. Instead of a doll or some other little thing, we found a water bottle. So now Dora has a water bottle with Dora on it. We wish her many happy wishes and success as she moves forward in her career. If you happen to be in New York and have the chance to see the Seagle Music Colony, stop in and see her.

More cast members to come.....

Opera Star

Thomas had the wonderful opportunity to be part of the cast of Madama Butterfly with the Opera Company of North Carolina. The production was absolutely beautiful and the cast was full of amazing people and talent. The combination of the singers, orchestra, lighting, set, costumes, and all the other elements was breathtaking. Even those who may not be opera fans could appreciate the beauty and emotion that penetrated every corner of the auditorium. Although I heard it many times, I still got goosebumps every time.

Does anybody else find it amusing that it is Thomas in the cast and not me?!?! Anyway... He had a blast, to put it mildly. His part was the child, Sorrow. Every day he would go to "opera practice" with "my friends." There was no stranger there. He made many new friends and I got to be part of the opera scene again. Everybody seemed to love him and enjoy him and his excitement. I am most appreciative of all the cast and crew and management. All of them were so patient with him and so kind. They played with him and encouraged him.

Once the show came around, he had no fear. I was so proud of him and all he did. He stayed focused on his part and the singers on stage, and never looked out to the audience. Many people told me what a fantastic job he did. Maryanne, the director, has performed as the lead and directed the show many times. She said that Thomas was the best child she has ever worked with. She wasn't just saying it to be nice either, she also told my mom.

I am so thrilled that Thomas had such an incredible opportunity. Many thanks to those who got him involved and those who coached him to do such a wonderful job. Also, I can not say enough wonderful things about the entire cast. We would jump at the opportunity to do this again. Who knows, maybe next time we can both be in the cast.

You can check out the story of Madama Butterfly here. There was also a review in the newspaper about the show, and they even mention Thomas. Take a look! (A little note on the review: Mr Skinner, an attorney at Lolly's office, pointed out that the purpose of Sorrow is not to be cute, but to be an emotional pull. He is cute, but his role brings out the tears in almost anyone.) Thomas also got to have his picture in the program with his own bio. I think we have an opera star on our hands. At least a drama junkie.

Thomas in his Japanese costume. Just ignore the goofy face he is making. We still are working on his "smile" face for pictures.
The most adorable little sailor you will ever see. His socks are up here, but that never lasted long. You can also see the curl in his hair done with the teeniest curling iron I have ever seen.
This is the coolest tree! Thomas sat in it and sprinkled flower petals as Butterfly and Suzuki were singing their duet. Just picture him sprinkling, swinging his feet, and playing with the branches. Yeah, he is a cutie, and he will be sure to tell you (so humble).

My House is NOT a Cake

The following photos may disturb some of you. I was quite disturbed, to say the least. After much screaming and yelling and putting everybody in time out, including myself, we started to get things under control. I scrubbed, Tyler scrubbed. The kids still looked like easter eggs for several days, and the carpet still has a pink hue to it in a couple places. This would qualify as one of those days when you wonder "why did I even get out of bed this morning?!?!"

The disaster in the living room that greeted me one morning

Fabulous art work on the couches

The remains of what was once a cabinet holding all my cake decorating stuff. Jerry managed to pull the entire cabinet down and break it. You can also see the coloring gel all over the carpet.

The contents of the cabinet

My carpet, before lots of scrubbing. And, please note the light blue spot on the bottom right. NO, that is not cake coloring, that is dawn dish detergent.Jerry looking pitiful in time out
Thomas showing off his colorful self

Life in Motion

Michael started crawling tonight. He finally progressed from moving a hand or knee to actual motion. After a couple little tries, he made it half way across the room. Great. As if my life wasn't crazy before, now I have three mobile boys. Maybe I should build a track in my back yard.

Jerry is talking. No longer is he doing his weird talk in the back of his throat thing, he is talking. He also has to say everything twice. Instead of "hot," he says "hot, hot." Same with cold, milk, and his many other words. In a matter of about 6 weeks, he went from saying about 5 words to saying ten times that. Many words he still signs as he says them, which is cute and impressive.

Thomas just finished the opera. Throughout the rehearsals and performances, he ran to the car and ran to his place when it was time. No fear, just pure joy and excitement that was infectious. There will be an entire post on the opera later. As we left today, he asked when we will come back. I seem to have a feeling that we will be spending many more hours in the car and at rehearsals in the future.

I am trying to keep up with myself. Recently I told my good friend that I am turning into her. She is so nice and never says no and always volunteers for everything. As a result, "she meets herself coming and going," as my mom says. When I told her I was becoming her, she told me to stop and turn away from the dark side. We both just laughed and I know she loves doing it and those around her are grateful for all she does. Now, as my kids are starting school and providing me with more opportunities to be involved, my time is becoming full with volunteering and the inability to say no. If you can't find me in the future, chances are I can't either, so just keep trying.