Happy Father's Day!

Recently our kitchen sink stopped up and when Rodney got ready to work on it Tobey brought over his tools to help. He stayed with his Daddy in the kitchen the whole time. I don't know how much he helped but his Daddy let him "think" he was helping and Tobey was content with that. I love you honey and I love watching you and Tobey together. He loves you so much and misses you when you are gone. When evening approaches he will often hear a car outside and think that it is you. And he is so excited when I tell him that you are home. You are a wonderful Dad and I appreciate all you do for both of us. Happy Father's Day!

The "Player"

My son is becoming quite the player. I am sure he has always been a manipulator of my emotions but lately he goes to great length to win my affection and sympathy. Last week we were out eating lunch with Mimi and Aunt Lib. He was a little toot all through lunch. I was trying to clean him up as we were getting ready to leave and he kept fighting me and saying no. I got on to him in a very stern voice. He turned around and looked at me with the sweetest smile and then he leaned in and gave his mad mommy a kiss right on the lips. I was stunned into silence and when I looked up Mimi was trying to hold her laughter in. He then consented to my cleaning up efforts and we left the building. Some of you might think my stern voice just whipped him into shape and his kiss was a tender apology. But no I saw the look in his eyes-playful and cunning. He knew exactly what he was doing and that I would melt under such sweetness. And of course I did. I can't resist kisses from my Tobers. 

Yesterday he had some lab work drawn for allergy testing. Last year when he had this done he whimpered for a minute and then forgot about the whole ordeal. This year he milked the sympathy all day. He was quite brave while the nurse performed an arterial stick on his arm. He sat in my lap and I held him close. As soon as the needle stuck his skin he started crying quietly but he sat very still while the nurse collected 2 vials of blood. I didn't realize I was crying too until we left the office and I felt tears on my cheeks. He cried all the way to the car while I repeatedly told him how brave he was. In the car I had to kiss his "boo-boo" several times. Throughout the day he would show his boo-boo to me and then give a little fake whimper. He heard me telling his Mimi about it on the phone and he held his arm up and whimpered for a second and then immediately went back to playing with his cars. He had to tell his Daddy about it when they talked on the phone before bedtime. He even held his arm up to the phone so that Daddy could see his boo-boo.  He is very dramatic like that.  

The player has a certain gleam to his eyes when he knows he is about to do or get into something that is off limits. He will even look at you and smile sweetly if you catch on to it. He has even gotten brave enough to go ahead and do the forbidden task. The player is also very sneaky and as quiet as a mouse. We always know when he is up to something because it gets so quiet. But I love my little player. He has his moments but mostly he his a good boy. Last week we had VBS and I decided to help with the older kids instead of working in his class. He had so much fun without me and I really enjoyed my 1st graders. Ironically we had 8 boys on the first day and only three girls. These boys were rowdy and rambunctious and I loved each one of them. I know God was giving me a picture of the years to come. Glorious days with my rowdy and rambunctious boy who knows how to pull his Momma's heartstrings. I can live with that.

Summer Fun!

It has been a while since I have blogged but life has been a little busy lately. One thing I love about summer is that it is a time to reconnect with old friends especially those who are teachers and work hard during the school year. Almost all of my close friends are teachers and are busy during the week when I am not. And are free on the weekends when I am working. A couple of weekends ago I took Friday night off and we made a trip to Canton to visit the Johnson clan. The boys grilled steaks Friday night that were delicious. We ate and had good conversation while the kids ran around the house totally entertaining themselves. Before dinner I had some grown up conversation with Julianne. I remember playing with her when she was a baby. Rodney and I had just married and she is the reason I got baby fever so quick. Now she is in elementary school and so smart. Tobey had so much fun playing with the twins and their toys. He is finally catching up to them in size. On Saturday we woke up to a big breakfast that Jason cooked for us. We always eat well when we go to Canton. Then we played some Mexican Train (dominoes) and I was so proud of Rodney for actually playing. For the record I won. That afternoon we ventured out to First Monday because Rodney had never been. It was hot, very hot. We immediately purchased snow cones and found some shade. We had fun looking around. I saw lots of cute decorating stuff for the house but didn't buy a thing. I did buy Tobey some clogs. The rest of our money was spent on food which was probably the better choice. As we were leaving the boys were so sweet and held Tobey's hand in the parking lot. It was a great little visit!

I also purchased a season pass to Hawaiian Falls for the summer. My teacher friends Mindy and Suzanne also purchased one. All of our kids get in for free so it seemed like a good investment and a good way to get out of the house this summer. Mindy and I went last week and the kids had a blast. They lasted a whole four hours. Tobey loved the little water slide this year. Last year I had to go down with him. This year he was so brave and went down over and over and over. Emma and Tobey also walked around holding hands. It was really cute.

I have a really bad mommy blunder to share. Last week we drove to Oklahoma to spend the night with my mom. Tobey and I got a hotel room because my brother was occupying her guest room. Plus we had some points built up so the room was free. This hotel had a pool so we decided to take my niece and nephew with us to the pool. I was a little frazzled loading three kids into my car two of which are in carseats. I plopped Tobey in his seat and then moved around to get my nephew into his. My mom was recovering from minor surgery and couldn't do any lifting. Then we drove off. We were several blocks away and I glanced in the backseat and Tobey was not in his carseat. I just about had a heart attack. All kind of crazy thoughts ran through my head. I immediately pulled over and as I was looking in the rear view mirror my son's little face peeked up from behind the backseat. In all the chaos of trying to protect my brother's children I forgot to buckle my own son in he carseat. He took advantage of the situation and quietly crawled out of his seat and was having a good ole time in the back cargo area. He was not very happy when I returned him to his seat and buckled him in.

Now I am off to get a pedicure with friends. My first one for the summer. Yay me! Then we are meeting for my bestie Melissa's birthday celebration. Yum!