Me too!

I have a feeling that those moments in which you stop and wonder where the heck your "baby" went are going to be more and more frequent from here on. And to those who don't have kids yet, or who's kids aren't old enough to relate... I have some advice for you - cherish the moments, all of them. Even the tiny trivial moments that you let slip by without even a second thought, find something about that moment and enjoy it. Not just the moments in which your little guy hits his first t-ball and then runs towards third base. Not just in the moments when you're flashing pictures of them getting an award in school. Not just those moments that we all live for when you're watching them sleep! ;) Enjoy all of the moments. Even if it's that one moment that you want to curse after stepping on the sharp pointy fake gun sticking out the side of a little army guy that you asked your son to pick up 20 minutes ago. Even if it's while doing that extra 2 loads of little girl laundry A DAY because they are going through a phase in which the world will come to a screeching halt if your daughter doesn't get to change her outfit 4 times a day. Even when you're on your knees scrubbing oatmeal off the floor under the table, or stepping in sticky apple juice on the kitchen floor because they HAD to pour it themselves. I wish I had. I wish I had smiled at those moments and gave my kids just one more hug. I wish I would have cuddled 5 minutes longer or read one more book to them instead of feeling like I had to get up and finish the laundry. Because the day has already come and gone in which Shane got "too old" for army men and put them in a bag one day and brought them to me to give to his younger cousin. And I know one day Dion will stay in the same outfit for more than 3 hours and I'll miss the incessant laundry, I really will. And my floor is less and less sticky these days as I've only one short person who can't really pour it herself without spilling. They all know to run to first base, not third, after hitting the ball. They can all brush their own teeth. The things that once felt like chores, I miss. And if I thought the last 5-11 years have flown by, I have a feeling I'm really not going to like the speed of the next 15.

Incase you're wondering what brought this on, here's the "moment". Every morning when I drop the kids off at school I said, "I love you! Have a great day!!" And between the car doors slamming I hear the occasional, "OK!" or "Thanks!" or "I will!" and then they're off to their perceived "busy day" at school full of hop scotch, times tables, library, teather ball, and incessant breaks and snack periods. But not today; today was a first. I dropped Savannah and Lacey off first; wished Lacey luck on her test today, told Savannah I hoped she enjoyed her lunch she made herself this morning, and wish them a great day. Doors slammed and they were off. Then I took Shane over to his side of the campus. He leaned over to give me a kiss and as he opened the door I said, "Have a great day!". And he looked at me and sincerely said, "You too, Mom." Whaaaaat?? Me too??? Me too have a great day?? I said thanks and pull away. A little butterfly of happiness in my stomach kept the knot in my throat down. In that moment he wasn't that little boy that used to beg me to let him stay home from school to hang out with me and make cookies. He wasn't that little boy who only thought of his day and assumed mine stopped the minute I dropped them off. In that moment he was growing up, and it was bittersweet. And just because he told me to, I'm going to have a great day! :)

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." ~Elizabeth Lawrence

"Life is a matter of passing the time enjoyably. There may be other things in life, but I've been too busy passing my time enjoyably to think very deeply about them."
- Peter Cook

Savannah, The Entreprenuer

"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." -Mark Twain

Man I wish I carried a voice recorder with me all the time. These kids of mine, I tell ya, are just too funny! This last weekend we went to Reno and the drive there and back gave the rest of the trip a run for it's money on fun! I'm constantly amazed by how quickly the kids are growing up, even more so when it comes to conversations. Simply put, they are brilliant and hysterical. There were a million and one things that were said that I busted up laughing at that I could kick myself for not remembering. In retrospect, I can't believe I paid $43.50 for a ticket to a comedy show in which I only laughed a fraction of the times I laughed during the drive.

I have a rule, actually I have many, many, many rules - ask the kids, lol. But one of my rules is that the kids are not allowed to call each other names. Shane and I were talking up front and I heard Lacey and Dion begin to argue over something. Now don't be alarmed, I was listening to Shane; but I'm a mother, it's in our job description to be able to multitask and one of THE most important multi-tasking subjects is having four sets of ears. At any rate, I knew it was coming and sure enough Lacey says, "MOM!! Dion is being annooooooooyyying!!" (Yes, it was said JUST LIKE THAT! lol). So then here comes Dion's 2 cents, "Well Mom!!! She's having a sassy mouth!!!" Notice, they said they are "being" or "having", not they ARE! But Dion's accusation really rubbed Lacey the wrong way. So while Shane and I are in the front rolling our eyes at each other over the ridiculousness of the girls' drama, Lacey decides she's going to risk it and get one up on Dion. So, somewhat quietly, I'm assuming in an attempt to prevent me from hearing, she says to Dion, "Well you ARE sassy!!" Oh noooooo!!

So I'm listening, and driving, and glancing in the rear view mirror waiting to see how this is going to play out. And to my surprise I noticed a vague smile come over Savannah's face?!?!? Savannah had been quietly sitting in the third row minding her own business, also probably rolling her eyes over the quarrel taking place in the middle seat. And without missing a beat Savannah pipes up, "Well, Lacey, you can call me sassy....................


..... FOR FIIIIIIIIVE BUCKS!!!!"

Lacey and Dion both stopped dead in their tracks and looked back at Savannah, who then said, "And for $1,000 bucks you could even call me a brat!!!!"

We all died laughing! I suppose Savannah got tired of the conflict and inserted her own peacekeeping tactic. It worked better than anything I was preparing to do. :)