Prayers and Ketchup

Lately as I am trying to get Landon down for bed we go through the normal routine of saying prayers after brushing teeth and getting pajamas on but before we read books and lay together. So last night I realized we are going into a routine of sorts.

Landon is so hyper right before bed. I'm not sure if this happens to ALL boys or if it's just a Landon thing, but he seems to go onto a sugar high right when "bedtime" is mentioned. Jumping off things, walking funny up the stairs, on all fours being a dog, and tons of running, squealing, and laughing ensues right before bedtime. I have always had to strap on my "patient" belt and endure it as best I can, as I am WAY overdue for sleep most nights.

But I realized that there's another thing that happens as well....

Landon will be so busy-body when I kneel down to his bed and ask him to kneel too. He jumps, lays or sits on his bed and tells me he's too tired to, while at the same time squirming around everywhere. So instead of arguing (which I found doesn't work well) I started saying the prayer without him kneeling. Most of the time he would fall into place at my side and echo my every 1/2 sentence through the prayer. But there are times when he's still pretty head-strong and doesn't.

I realized that as soon as I ask for his father to be protected and brought home safe, I always feel him fall into place right next to me with arms folded, head bowed, eyes closed and kneeling reverently and thoughtfully. You see, he misses his dad to pieces and if he's not repeating me before this point of the bedtime prayer, he does immediately following that plea.

It's amazing what you can tell about children with their actions.

This last weekend my sister, Leah, had Baby Drake finally! And my mom has been down for the event. Drake was born on Saturday and we were all there in the waiting room. The kids did very well sitting in the little room with TV and toys and treats, but MAN did they need to get out and run around. So April and Leon treated us to Burger King after Drake's arrival and we had documented every moment in pictures or video when we were let into the room after the delivery. The kids ran off to play on the toys right when we stepped into the room and I enjoyed sitting back and supervising while we waited for the food. When the food came we all dug in SUPER hungry after hours of waiting and refereeing kids to not be mean to one another.

While we were digging in my mom ended up spilling ketchup on the front of her white sweater. This made Linzey (my niece) laugh hysterically as she pointed at NaNa's sweater! So before I know it my mom is laughing too... I look over wondering what was going on. She told me that when Landon saw that Linzey was laughing at NaNa for having ketchup on her shirt he took ketchup and was about to put it on his shirt so she didn't feel alone. My heart grew in that instance for the loving act of ketchup smearing.

I had to stop myself later that night and think of what happened that day. I am proud of Landon for caring about others and doing something to help them. I'm also glad I didn't have to get ketchup stains out of his shirt although it would have been worth it!

I am truly blessed with a wonderful, big-hearted little boy who continues to make me realize that giving of yourself gives you more joy than receiving. I hope as he continues to grow up that he will remember these little acts and know that Christmas time is about appreciating what we have been blessed with, that his heart will continue to grow with his body, and that he might know much very much I love and cherish him. I am amazed at some points and wonder if his heart isn't bigger than my own at these points. Landon definitely makes me view the world more closely through his childlike eyes.

I am the one who is blessed. I truly am.

Oregon Coast and Reunion

The Oregon Coast... ahhh... nothing is like it.
It captivates you by doing nothing extraordinary than what it does day in and day out... but it's the other things that gets to you. The smell of the saltwater, the ocean lapping at your feet, the call of gulls around you, the crashing of the waves, the sand beneath your feet, and most important this trip was the sun beating down on you... warming you. It's amazing and I love the ocean. I love being able to relax and getting away from all the hussle and bussle of the normal day. I love being able to not have any plans making your day full of things to get checked off... instead you are able to do what you want, when you want, and if something doesn't go as planned, it doesn't matter. :)

Landon LOVED being on the beach. We didn't play in the water the first time we went out on the beach, but we did have fun building a castle, with a moat, and drawbridge! He was so good this trip and really loved playing on the ever-sandy coast. I love how he continually flicked sand everywhere so before I knew what hit me there was a shovel full down my shirt or in my hair. :) But that's the great thing about being there... it doesn't matter!



Yep! You guessed it! NAP TIME! :) I told him he couldn't have the camera anymore and then he plopped himself down just like this and stayed there for over 5 minutes till I went and picked him up. If this wasn't a sign that a nap was in order, I don't know what would have been... but before we could leave we were rolling with laughter at what happened below in the photos.

I had been watching this older couple walking along the beach together (because I've always wanted to grow old with someone and love seeing proof of two people being able to tolerate one another their whole lives to walk hand in hand, wrinkled and old *sigh*) and as they were walking the man stops and because the woman was looking down, she didn't notice he'd stopped till about 15 feet ahead... where she turned around and went back... by that time she'd noticed what had stopped her husband in the middle of their coasting on the beach... a scantily clad couple (woman specifically) had decided to strip down and enjoy the ocean as it should be enjoyed during the summer... o_O but the water was FREEZING and so I found myself staring too and watching the couple of course.


Instead of walking up to him and whacking him while telling him to stop eying the girl, she totally surprised me by standing by his side and staring too! hahaha... it had Sean and I laughing heartily!

Landon took the camera right before we left and took this photo... this is Sean and I. Sean is a dear dear friend... my best friend from the 8th grade. We met at Pattonville Heights while I lived in St. Louis, Missouri, in our Spanish class with Mr. Bimbo. He and I hit it off from there, but I moved away and we fell out of touch... over the next few years we kept tabs on one another and really enjoyed talking and laughing together over the phone. I stopped contact when I was going to be married, due to a misunderstanding (which was stupid in hindsight) and so we didn't contact each other for over 4 years. Then when I was divorced I found him on Facebook. We've been talking nonstop for almost a year now... seeing as November 3rd would be my 1 year anniversary for my D day.


He is my best friend. He knows everything about me... and the only thing that isn't in favor of us being in a relationship is he is not LDS. So we remain friends. And after a decade of not seeing one another, we decided to meet. I was planning a trip to the Oregon Coast, and when I told him and he said he wanted to come, we made the plans! He flew into Spokane and I picked him up, drove him to Quincy to see my family there, then onto Tri-Cities to have dinner with the other half of my family. It was a good (and long) day. We both crashed that night and then headed for the coast the following morning. We stayed 2 nights in Seaside and LOVED the weather we had! Last time I had gone to the Oregon Coast, Tiff and I were met with a blanket of thick fog and drizzly weather... not the makings for a gorgeous time at the beach! But we were in luck because the weather was perfect!



Landon was crazy when I took him to wade in the water. He kept stomping and getting my rolled-up jeans wet! Ugh... but the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye soon smoothed over any irritation I felt. He's doll and I love him so much. I am so happy that he was able to have so much fun on the beach and enjoy the time together.


Landon serving me his special dinner of toasted football served on cheese and season mixture presented on a rare, vintage shovel! Om nom nom...

This is the sunsets we found ourselves enjoying. hmm... I miss it already!

Whenever I go anywhere I always take all the pictures and because I take those pictures, I am never in them and I don't get to have some of Landon and I interacting.... luckily Sean took the initiative to grab the camera an start taking shots. So I have him to thank for these awesome pictures.

But then I took over again and found that this was my favorite picture of the trip. I love it.

And you can't go without the self-portraits... those are a staple! :)

The trip was so much fun! Landon was very well behaved, which I was worried about coming back from his dad's just 2 nights before, but except for the tantrum in the sand... he did amazing. Sean and I were able to catch up and realize that we really do enjoy one anothers company and both have a love for the ocean... even though Sean thought I was crazy for wading in it... he followed my lead finally and got the full experience of the ocean by standing in it with his bare feet. :)

I miss my friend already and wanted to thank him for flying over to see me even after all this time.

Blankies

I know this is a small thing, but it hit me pretty good... so I decided to share:

Landon has always had a blue blanket and a green blanket that is silky on one side and furry on the other... he has had these in his possession since before he was born. He loves the silky side of the blanket and LOVES to go to sleep with his blanket even though he can sleep without it, he does enjoy having it with him.

The other night after returning from his dad's not too long ago I was reading him a story when he stopped me mid-sentence and said, "Where's my blanket mom?!?!?" To which I told him I had just washed them and they were in the dryer. I got up and got one of them and went back to the bedroom.

The first thing that happened is he hugs his blanket against his little body and says so sincerely that it made me laugh and hug him, "I love you blankie!"

I guess we have a second generation in my family (me being the first) that loves the silky feeling of blankets... But I still smile and giggle when I think about how he said it. I've missed him and glad he's with me again.

Mr. Magoo in Action

I have always called Landon, my son, Mr. Magoo from an early age. This was dawned because of his many, many, many close calls with accidents... and that's just the ones that were close... not the ones that he actually had. He is accident prone, just like me. But since he's come home from the few weeks he spend with his dad in Seattle, he's gone to great extremes.

Just to paint a picture I will tell you what happened 2 nights ago....

It was the first night back from the Oregon Coast (which will be blogged about this week), and I was getting Landon ready for bed. He seems to have a hour long burst of energy that is higher than normal since returning home from his dad's. I understand he's excited to be home and see me and be in his bedroom with his things... but it gets a little wearing when you are trying to read him books and he keeps jumping up and down on the bed at random intervals.... yeah.... like I was saying... *clears throat*

I had gone in and told Landon to lay down about 5-7 times and each time he was either on the other side of the room messing around on my bed with toys, or in the bathroom eating toothpaste, or writing on the dresser with a pen... yeah... just the kind of thing you want to catch your little boy doing when he's supposed to be the sweet sleeping little one that looks so peaceful, instead of the full of energy monster that can't sit still, let alone go to sleep!

So after going in there countless times I finally heard... nothing.
Didn't think that quiet could sound so good.... that was until I went into my bedroom.

I went in and got ready for bed, put out my clothes, and as I was pulling back the covers to my bed, I realized that there was something wet... NO! I thought to myself! He went to the bathroom twice before bedtime! Ugh! *scowl* but I found myself smelling the wet spot... and it wasn't pee.

Yeah... if the can of SPF 35 Coppertone Continuous Spray Sunscreen wasn't laying right next to Mr. Magoo I wouldn't have been able to figure out what that smell was. You guessed it!

Mr. Magoo had gone all out and decided my bed could use some Sunscreen protection. :)

As I had just found this out, my roommate and good friend, Tiffany, called me into the bathroom and pointed to something on the counter and asked, "What's this?!?!?" You see it was a black circle like thing drawn onto the counter in what appeared to be permanent marker. Black permanent marker on a white and gold counter top. Tiffany, being the best roommate and friend one could have, immediately put on her mommy cap and grabbed a rag with hairspray and dowsed the area in hairspray and scrubbed afterwards with the rag... repeating time and time again.

After the bathroom was cleaned up and satisfactory... I thought I would show her what other mischievous things Mr. Magoo had undertaken when sleep should have overcome him.

Lets just say we both had a good quiet, muffled giggle and after placing a towel under Mr. Magoo and I, I was finally able to retire for the night.

September Fun

Yes, Yes I know... here are all the happenings in September! :)

Landon and I went to a Single's BBQ that also had a boat at hand for fun times... Landon really came to like this girl named Cassie while we were in the boat... he liked to sit on her lap and look at the girls who were wake boarding and knee boarding. It was so much fun. Landon was in charge of the flag at first, but after getting pulled over by the water patrol and told that we just had to move something he liked being on Cassie's lap the rest of the time. :)





This is Leah at the end of August, beginning of September. She is just 6 months and is looking so cute. Every time I see her belly I just want to go and feel it. I don't every time because she might freak out on me, but I do when I can. It's funny... since I have been pregnant, and heard a lot of women don't like their bellies touched I'm really hesitant to touch other woman's bellies. I don't want to offend them or get into their personal bubble. While I was prego I didn't mind anyone touching my big belly... it was fun actually...



Believe it or not, this is Leah at the end of September... she doesn't look like she's changed at all huh! :) I just caught her right when she got home from work and she had the same shirt on that's all. She is still cute as cute can be. Last night though she said that Drake was sitting on her pelvic bone and she was SOOOO uncomfortable. I felt so bad for her and offered a massage, but she just wanted to lay down to see if he would move into another position that didn't hurt as much. I have to say... there are some things I don't miss about pregnancies. lol


We were invited out to camp with Tiffany and her family. Landon and Nicole are best friends... actually Landon asks most everyday that I pick him up from Daycare if we're going to Nicole's house and when I tell him we're not, he tells me he loves Nicole and wants to play at her house. Awww... my little boy already has a best friend. :) I love it!


This would be me starting the fire and adding more wood. I was going to make a tee pee type thing with the wood and then light the newspaper underneath, but someone brought lighter fluid, so I cheated... hahaha... whatever works right!


This is Ashley Rae and Nicole... sisters... and awesome posers too. My camera disappeared while I was there at the campsite when I took Landon to the bathroom and these ended up on my camera by chance... who do you think could have borrowed it? lol


The happy little family. Tiffany with her girls. Something funny was going on and this was my favorite picture of the night.


Landon admiring his smore that I made... I really don't know what's wrong with me, but I've never liked smores. I think it's the marshmallows in it. I have never really like marshmallows... plain and simple they're disgusting to me. If I HAVE to eat one I will, but I can't stand their texture and how they taste... but I love to watch Landon get all gooed up with marshmallow while trying to devour his smore. Those times are precious and should be a part of childhood for everyone.

Roasting Smores...


This should tell you that Landon had HAD it with my camera shots by this point in the night. He was tired of looking my way and being blinded by the flash... but he is just so darn cute that I can't help myself... so this is when he was coming towards me telling me no more. :) Then right after this was taken I felt really bad because the flash really did hurt his eyes and partially blind him for a few seconds... so I put the camera up...


But you know it couldn't stay up all night... hehehe


We were invited to Brad and Nelda Asay's house. Brad works as a Funeral Director where I work and they just moved into their new home. So they had us over for dinner, swimming and fun. I went planning on getting in the pool, but I totally forgot to take off my mascara...


So I ended up with Raccoon eyes at the end of the night. Non-waterproof mascara + water = a MESS! hahaha Lesson is now learned and I won't be doing that again anytime soon.


On the upside, Landon had a BLAST with the other kids. He LOVED being in the pool and jumping off the steps to me, watching the rocket launch onto the neighbors roof, and eating the delicious ice cream dessert Nelda prepared. He loved getting to know Rob and Sonda's children and play with Nicole and Linzey too. At the end of the night the kids were exhausted from all the running around, exploring, playing, eating, swimming, and cheering.








Just this last weekend Corey and Sammy came over to hunt with Uncle Thomas during the Youth Hunt. Corey shot his first duck of the season... and Sammy showed Corey the ropes of how to cut the meat out, bag, and freeze it.



I had to come see Cheryl this early Monday Morning because I was going through withdraws of her happy attitude, her stories, and her chiding me for not updating my blog. She's awesome and I love this photo of her. She's beautiful and so caring and giving to others. Thanks Cheryl for the many things you have given me while I have known you. You are truly an amazing God-fearing woman and I am blessed to call you my friend. Keep your chin up with helping Jeremy through this rough time for his father who is in the hospital. You are a beam of happiness in a busy, fast paced business there. Remember that I love you! :)


Then I got a shock when Larry Bateman came in and asked me if I thought he had forgotten about me... a little confused I asked him what he meant... that's when it clicked. The Batemans and the Mueller's families have always helped each other out. So naturally when Larry's mom and dad passed away last year, I was able to help him with their services. During that time I came to love the long conversations we had where he told me about many different experiences he's had in his life and the stories about growing up in the Tri-Cities area when there wasn't anything here. I grew to really love our visits, but when the services were done we knew we wouldn't be able to see each other on a regular basis again... but he did mention that he was getting a Camaro that was custom built with everything he wanted in detail. He said he had just ordered it and paid for it and that it would be in sometime in August... little did I know that day that he came in that it was parked in the driveway! So this is Larry Bateman, one of the best men I know through my job. He even let me get in it and took a picture for me. Thank you Larry for the eye candy I was able to feast on for a few minutes and it was good to able to see you. Thanks for that laughs you caused by telling me about your wife taking the car to work and taking some of her coworkers out and wondering why everyone was staring at them... good times... good times...



I bought the kids some silly string things at the Dollar Store and they were having a blast with it. Landon couldn't hold the button down by himself, but Linzey knew just what to do. I seemed to have taken the brunt of the end of one of the cans and got all those fuzzies on me from Linzey's can. It was like Christmas morning for the kids though. Definitely something we'll have to do again! :)

Landon is now with his Dad and enjoying one-on-one time with him before James leaves to go to Iraq. During this time without him I have come to realize how much empathy I'm gaining for James having to go during times without seeing his son. I found myself bawling last night after getting off the phone with Landon who was eating pizza with Tyler (his dad's girlfriend's son) and have resorted to sleeping with his blanket at night. It's not the same, but it helps just a tiny bit. I can't wait to get him back on the 7th of October... 3 weeks without your little one is torture... especially when you're used to him being there, hanging with you everyday.