Tired Boy

This little man has been attending football camp at my school this week. Coach has them running passes, guarding, catching throws, and just all out working hard.

Evan was so tired and sore yesterday. He told me that his legs hurt, and his muscles hurt, and his neck hurts, and his bones hurt! When I said, "Your bones hurt?" he answered with that tone only a 4-year-old can pull off, "Yeeeessss! Bones can hurt you know!"

The kid refused to sleep yesterday afternoon, but his mother got smart today. I refused to turn on the tv, therefore almost guaranteeing myself some quiet time once he drifted off. What my plan didn't foresee was the child stripping nude, dragging out his sleeping bag to lay right next to my desk, and draping himself with my robe because he was catching a chill in this 104 degree heat!

Hey, whatever it takes, I guess. He really needed to rest after the amount of energy he has been spending at camp. The circles under his eyes were starting to look permanent. Now I just hope he goes to sleep tonight!

Oh, and the fuzzy black and white thing at the top left of the photo is our dog, Bandit, hopping over Evan as he sleeps. This is not the best place in the house for a sleeping bag: right next to the sliding glass door, the dog door, and my computer. Evan, however, doesn't have a problem with any of it.

No Satisfaction

Ha ha! Get your minds out of the gutter people! That is not what the title of this post refers to. Instead it is a bit deeper than that.

I am going to speak in very general terms, but I need to get something off my chest and out of my mind. I learned today that taking the high road is the right thing to do, but it certainly doesn't leave a whole lot of satisfaction.

Today I received an email from someone who is not a friend. This person took it upon herself to give me unsolicited advice and to chastise me for what she termed as my "rude" behavior at my dad's funeral (which she did not attend). Feeling stunned is putting it mildly. I could not fathom why she would want to write to me to give me her opinion, but I also am flabbergasted that she would have any opinion whatsoever in regards to my behavior at my father's service.

The nasty icky part of me wanted to write back to this person giving her a piece of my mind. I wanted to say mean, hurtful things to make her feel bad the way she made me feel bad. I wanted to ask her what in the world I had done to her to make her think it would be acceptable for her to judge me and then let me know about it.

Do I judge people? Sure I do. I think we all do. However, I try not to blatantly tell people rude and inconsiderate things. I try to keep to that old adage of, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Ironically, ever since my dad's funeral, I have been making more of a private effort to be less judgmental and less gossipy. Losing a loved one sure puts that into perspective. Life is so short. I'll admit, though, I'm having a REALLY hard time not judging this person right now.

I guess it boils down to the fact that I'm mad. I'm mad that she would dare speak to me about the funeral. She is not someone who cares about me or my family. I just feel like she has no right to make comments about anything that may or may not have happened.

People always say to not let it get to you. I am trying, but she did get to me. Any time my dad's funeral is brought up, it brings sad memories to the front of my mind. This email was not written with love and compassion. It was written to hurt. And it did.

Maybe now I can let go of the bitter feelings I've had all afternoon. By the way, I did respond to her and told her how wonderful it was to know that I have so many people, including her, caring and worrying about my family as we grieve. Then I promptly blocked her from being able to send any more emails.

High road? Yes. Satisfaction? Not really. I guess that means I'm human.

A Very Merry UnBirthday

Evan and I made cupcakes today. He did a great job cracking all three eggs without getting any shells in the batter. I even had him figure out which measuring cups to use.

Evan then asked me if we could put candles in the cupcakes for his birthday. I told him it wasn't his birthday. He asked if we could pretend! Who am I to squash an unbirthday party?!

Little Shadow

I have a little shadow, and his name is Hudson. This shadow follows me where ever I go. Funny thing about this shadow, though, is that he squeals and cries when I get too far away from him. Shadows aren't supposed to make noise.

As of late this shadow has gotten rather clingy. I wouldn't call him my shadow anymore. I'd call him my new appendage. He must be attached to my body at all times, especially when we are out of the house where it is soooo easy to carry him all the time. My discomfort doesn't bother the shadow. He has high demands for closeness.

My little shadow also doesn't talk very much, but makes many LOUD sounds to get his point across. It is frustrating trying to figure out what he wants, especially when he is grouchy and tired. Then he just stands and screams and waves his little shadowy arms around.

I'm tired. I'm just worn out. I am trying to keep in mind that in a few short years, this little shadow will actually leave me alone, and then I might wish for these days.

Quick Trip

We took a quick trip down to Bakersfield to see Mama and Papa (Eric's parents). It was a nice visit. Hudson was a little insane, but we had a nice time talking and catching up with each other.

We found out that Hudson is able to climb out of his pack-n-play. Luckily he's not sleeping in that very often. I have serious doubts about taking him anywhere anytime soon! Poor kid is so off his schedule that he was inconsolable this afternoon. I hope he gets a good night's sleep tonight.

One super cool thing that happened (at least in my opinion it was super cool) is that Hudson started calling me by name. He would say, "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom." With each "mom," his voice would get a little louder and intense. I have to admit, I ate it up! Eric has had the pleasure of being called "Day Day" for months now. Hudson never calls me by name. I think it surprised and pleased Hudson to know that he could say Mom, and I would turn and respond to him. His little face would light up in smiles when I answered him.

I am ashamed I did not take my camera to get any grandparent photos. Bad Heather. Eric took the big camera, but it never made it out of it's case. Next time.

Visit to the Fire Station

Today the boys and I drove down to Hanford to have lunch with Daddy. Since Eric fixes all the computers for the city, he arranged for the Fire Chief to give us a tour of the station. Evan had a ball jumping in and out of the various fire trucks. Hudson...not so much.


Evan could barely see over the steering wheel, but he sure loved being up high in the truck.


Chief buckled him in so he wouldn't fall out. It's a long drop to the ground. Just getting in and out of the trucks would wear me out!


This is how Hudson spent the tour. If I took two steps away from him, he'd start screaming. I'm not sure why he is such a fearful little thing when it comes to people.


Evan checking out the top of another fire truck. This kid is so lucky sometimes. Chief let him explore everything!


It takes a lot of strength to hold those hoses!


I stuck Hudson on the back of a fire truck just to get him off of me for a few seconds. You can see how that went over.


At the end of our visit, Chief dressed Evan in turnouts. He was engulfed by the huge jacket, but was loving every minute of it.


Ready to go fight fires.


These are the shirts that the fire fighters wear when they are fighting brush fires.

Evan thoroughly enjoyed his afternoon. Hudson was happy once I got him a Sprite.

Little Wizard

We went to the water park for a few hours today. It always wears us out. As Hudson climbed back in the car to go home, he grabbed the hat we got at the circus. It only takes us about seven minutes to get home, but he fell asleep. I thought he looked especially sweet sleeping with the hat on his head.


Maybe he is in secret training to join up with Harry Potter!