Pressing Buttons

You never know what Ryan will come up with while we are riding in the car. The other night while we were running errands, Ryan piped up from the back seat and asked, "What does this button do?"

Duane was driving, I was in the passenger seat and Wesley was in the middle row between us and Ryan so there was no way we knew what button he was talking about.

"This one up here," Ryan insisted.

"I don't know," I sighed.

"Can I press it?" he asked.

"I don't care," said Duane. "But don't blame me if you blow up."

Yeah, no one will wonder if our kids need therapy in a few years.

While Duane and I had a bit of a chuckle in the front seat, Ryan was busy examining the button in the back. Sure enough, the little man pressed it. Guess he thought it was worth the risk.

"Oh! It's to hang your shirt on!" Ryan exclaimed. He waited a beat then asked, "So can I take my shirt off for a minute?"

Oh, child.......

Wild Animals

The boys and I went for a little walk in "the woods" this afternoon. I love going down in the ravine at the park. I did it as a kid, as a teen and now as an adult with my own kids. Just feels kind of special.

Wesley took a notebook and pen with him on our hike so he could record the things we saw. And in case he shows it to any of you, no, we did not see a bear. I think that was wishful (?) thinking

This is what happens when you ask an 11 year old to look at the camera.

Ryan would have been content to throw rocks in the creek all day

Three boys on a log

Looking for tadpoles

Shoo managed to break a rock - well, it was shale, but it was still pretty impressive.

 

In the rose garden

 

Don't ask, I don't know what kind of face he's making here.

  

Possibly my favorite picture of the day

 

 

  

Sho giving his little cousin a lift to the car

Love Is....

I may not get flowers every week from my husband like a coworker I once had got from her husband. I may not find cute little love notes all over the house, but I have something better.

I have a husband who makes sure my iced coffee container is full, even though he doesn't drink coffee.

I have a husband who puts gas in my car because he knows I hate to do it.

I have a husband who didn't care that I made the background and theme on the new computer bright pink and just said, "It's your computer and it should look how you want. I don't use it enough to care about that."

I have a husband who understands that even though I have a ton of shoes in my closet, I need brown closed toe sandals to wear to work and was willing to drive me to four shoe stores looking for a new pair when my old ones fell apart.

I have a husband who didn't make me chose between two pairs of shoes and who told me I really should get both because they were completely different and I'd wear them for different things.

I have a husband who took a week off work to teach VBS with me.

I have a husband who bends over backwards for his family and friends; who really would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

I have a husband who I thank God for every single day.

In the Swim of Things

It's taken nearly 7 years, numerous swim classes, bribes, begging and anything else we can think of, but Wesley is finally doing something that approximates swimming. Grandma and Grandpa P have been working with him this summer and we may just have a swimmer on our hands yet!

Wesley can do the same basic thing on his stomach too. This may not look like much to you, but trust me, it's leaps and bounds from where he's been.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not find myself wondering how much it would cost to take my wrinkled clothes to the dry cleaner and just have them pressed there. I couldn't possibly hate ironing that much.

I did not tear up when my brother offered to pick my kids up one afternoon to make life easier for Duane and myself.

I did not come very close to impulse buying a bunch of cheap toys because I didn't have goody bags for Ryan's birthday party. And there's no way I actually talked myself out of what would have been an expensive decision.

There is no way I volunteered to change the diaper of a friend's baby. I mean, I just got my second child potty trained in early 2012 so why would I subject myself to that again? Couldn't have happened.

I certainly didn't short the amount of beer I needed to boil some bratwurst just so I would be "forced" to finish a bottle. Nope, not me!

I was not a teensy bit excited when it sounded as if Wesley was going to lose his voice from a summer cold. What kind of mom does that?

Mine! Mine!

Wesley and I got into a good natured argument tonight about whose cat Cleo was. She was sitting on my lap, purring and cuddling me so I said, "Are you my good little girl?"

"No," Wesley called from across the room. "She's mine."

"Wrong, she's mine," I answered.

"No. She's mine." Wesley said.

This continued for a couple more rounds of "mine" before Ryan yelled out "Mom, he named her so she's his cat. End of story."

Guess he told me. But Cleo is still mine.

Playing Catch Up

I don't know what it is about this summer, but I feel like I'm going a hundred miles an hour and I'm still in a constant state of catch-up.  It doesn't feel like there has been a single week all summer that has been "normal." Either someone is traveling, or there's an extra camp or class, or we have plans or visitors or something unusual pops up. What's that saying? "Life is what happens while you're making other plans"?  It has sure felt like it.

I am still playing catch up at work from being off for VBS. Of course, I was also off last Wednesday for Ryan's birthday and Friday was my "regular" day off. I was lucky enough not to have any desk hours yesterday, so I can actually see my desk again, but I know it's a temporary reprieve at best. I have jury duty starting August 5 and I know I'll be swamped again after that.

I don't know what I'd do without Duane to help keep me calm. He takes care of so much of the craziness and has this amazing ability to just go with the flow. And he makes me laugh. Last night on our way to take the Webihara boys to a movie we drove past the new neurosurgery wing of a hospital near us. "So is that where I should take you in a couple of months when you have a stroke from all this?" he asked jokingly.

"Either there or keep heading down the freeway to the university where the psychiatric hospital is located," I laughed back.

This morning in we were lying in bed and heard the four boys start stirring downstairs. Duane reached over, took my hand and kissed it. That all it took for my heart to go all aflutter and swell with the love I feel for that man.

If I have to be in a seemingly eternal game of catch up, I'm sure glad he's racing along beside me.

Party On, Dude

We haven't slowed down for a moment around here. Not for one moment.

Today after I dropped the boys off at camp, I picked up Sho and Kei for the week. Yep, it's the Return of the Webiharas!  Wesley said that sounds like a great cartoon and I have to agree. Anyhow, I dragged Sho and Kei to the grocery store with me, then we went back to Sky Zone to pick up the cake server and knife I had left there after Ryan's party. Oops.

We had an afternoon that was equal parts relaxing and busy. We started out with the relaxing part - lunch then heading to the park for an hour or so.  The best part about have four school age boys at the park together is that they pretty much entertained themselves and I had the rare opportunity to sit under a tree and read for awhile.

Ryan in his tree

A repair man came to fix the drinking fountain at the park and found himself surrounded by seven boys who wanted to watch what he was doing.

Kei doing his own version of Ninja Warrior

Ryan and Sonic exit the slide

After the park, we had to take Cleo to the vet for her last booster shot and a nail trim. She was less than impressed with the whole experience.

Then we came home and cleaned and made dinner and got ready for Ryan's family party to celebrate his birthday. Duane made another cake for him and this one was a little more...intricate than the last one.

Ryan remembered not to blow the candles out until we were done singing, which is something he didn't remember on his actual birthday!

Hanging out under the table with Uncle Kirk's phone

Diving in to gifts

I think Ryan had a great family party. We even managed to find the cinnamon ice cream he wanted, which is no small feat around here during summer. He crashed on the couch while the other guys watched tv tonight. I'm just hoping they all sleep in tomorrow (for Duane's sake, since I have to work)

Ryan's 5th Birthday

The strangest thing occurred when I woke up this morning. I woke up as the mother of a five year old. I just can't get over it. For some reason this birthday is hitting me kind of hard. Maybe it's because I know Ryan will be starting actual school this year and that is just one step closer to growing up. Maybe it's because after this year he'll have to use both hands to show how old he is and that seems like kind of a big step. Maybe it's because I also turn forty this year and I'm just feeling a little teeny bit older.

Don't worry though, I manage to keep all bits of melancholy from Ryan and I hope he had a pretty awesome day.

Last night while Ryan was sleeping, Duane and I hung streamers and balloons from in his doorway so he'd have a nice birthday surprise first thing when he woke up.

We grabbed a birthday breakfast before I dropped the boys off at camp.

The birthday boy wanted to spend the afternoon at COSI and since I am a big believer in getting to do what you want on your birthday, that's what we did.

Ryan thought this chicken strip looked like a lion, so he asked me to take a picture of it.

Waiting patiently to go into the Adventure exhibit

Now those look like my kids!

He's just hiding his fangs

 Ryan had his "friends party" at SkyZone and aside from a few minor bumps and bruises I think everyone had a good time.

Happy 5th Birthday, my angel. Mama loves you!

Celebrate!

Tom's headed home!!!! And just in time for Ryan's birthday!

My Little Campers

Wesley and Ryan started half day camps at their old preschool this week. Wesley is doing an art class with one of his former teachers (who he loved) and Ryan is doing an adventure camp about camping in his old classroom.

Drop off was kind of rough this morning. Well, maybe rough isn't the right word, but it was rushed and there was paperwork to fill out and the classrooms were doing last minute set up and I already knew I would be late to work.  Ryan turned clingy as I tried to leave him and get Wesley to his class. When I finally did coax Ryan off my leg, he went and sat in a corner and hid his head. 

This is where my kind, nurturing mommy side is supposed to emerge, right? Yeah, that so didn't happen. Instead, I looked at the teacher (who thankfully had Ryan in safety city earlier this summer) and said, "He'll get over himself and his big brother is across the hall if you need him." 

Ok, not my finest parenting moment.

But things did turn out fine. Both boys had a good time and Ryan brought home two completed projects from today.  Guess I haven't scarred him for life after all.

Begging for Normal

After last week's whirlwind tour of VBS and being a family of six, Duane and I were really looking forward to the weekend. We planned to sleep in as late as possible on Saturday, attend a friend's wedding that evening, go to VBS Sunday on (you guessed it!) Sunday and then take the boys to another friend's birthday party. Still busy, but lots of fun.  However, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.

Nothing happened the way we thought it would.

The phone rang at 5:30 Saturday morning and we all know that if the phone rings anytime before 7:00, it's not going to be good news. And it wasn't. It was my mom letting me know that my stepdad was in a hospital in Lima, OH.  He had been in Lima for the weekend doing some genealogical research and took a nasty fall in the early hours of the morning. She was getting ready to head to Lima and wondered if I would go with her.

Duane and I were out of bed in a flash. While I was in the shower Duane packed me a cooler of drinks and a few snacks to take to the hospital. I threw together an overnight bag and off my mom and I went.

Tom looked in really bad shape - lots of cuts and scrapes. Saturday afternoon he had surgery on his wrist which had been broken in two places. His CT scans were not as clear as the neurosurgeon would have liked, so we were told that he'd be there until at least Monday or until the CT scans showed some improvement.

I stayed in Lima with my mom Saturday night and came home Sunday afternoon after my aunts arrived to be with my mom. The problem is that now that I'm home, I'm incredibly restless. Last night I couldn't concentrated on anything for more than a few minutes. All I wanted to do was eat and I wandered the house aimlessly.  I go back to work shortly, after dropping the boys off at their morning camps. I may have to go back to Lima today, depending on what today's CT scan shows and if there is more surgery that has to be done.

Part of me feels like I should have just stayed because that's where my mind is anyhow. I'm going to be on pins and needles until I hear the results of today's scan. I dressed comfortably in case I have to leave work and head back to the hospital and I let my boss know last night that I may have to make a quick exit today. 

Please keep us in your thoughts today.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not take a week off work from my job as a librarian to do the equivalent of 40 story times a week during VBS. That wouldn't have made any sense.

I did not completely lose any semblance of cool when, an hour past my dinner time, the chicken came in from the grill burned to a crisp on the outside, but raw inside.

I did not worry/obsess over which bathing suit to wear to Zoombezi Bay (which, we all know means which bathing suit I felt the least fat in), only to get there and realize that there are a lot of people who have obsessed about it more and I could have worried a bit less.

There is no way that I got so lucky as to have a hubby that would get up and go get me special coffee when I got a phone call at 5:30 in the morning and had to head out of town on a family emergency.

Redemption

After Wednesday's stressful Bible school session, yesterday was a day of redemption. I talked to the VBS coordinator about the problem I had with the one group and I altered my lesson slightly in a way that would ensure the leaders would need to stay with their kids and the kids would have to sit in their own groups. I also took the time to pray before my problem kids came in. I asked God to give me patience while working with them and please help me reach their hearts while I shared the story of Christ's crucifixion.

When the group that had given me so much grief the day before came in, I told them that today's story was very important and very serious, so I needed them to respect me by not touching my props and by listening to me, and they needed to respect each other by keeping their hands to themselves and not talking so their friends could listen. It worked! The group behaved really well - in fact, I think they might have been my best group of the afternoon.

The telling of the story wasn't all that complex. I didn't use a lot of props, but the kids listened. When I asked them to dig their fingernails into their scalps and imagine how more a crown of thorns would hurt, I saw them grimace in pain. When I showed them the largest nails I could find and explained that the nails used to hang Jesus on the cross where even bigger, their eyes got wide and when I held my palm out and placed one of the nails right where it would have pierced Jesus, they grimaced. I had each child write their name on a piece of paper and during a quiet moment, everyone laid their name at the foot of the cross to remember that Jesus loved each and every one of them so much that he died for them. It was a lovely, somber moment.

Then we turned to the back of the room where I had created a tomb of sorts using some helium balloons resting on boxes and covered with a sheet. It really did look like a shrouded body. In fact, one girl in one of the groups gasped, "Is that really Him?" When I removed the sheet, the balloons floated up, reminding us of Christ in Heaven and that we should celebrate the eternal life we have in Him.

I had total buy-in with the kids in nearly every group and one of the leaders/guides left with tears in her eyes. I ended the day feeling so good and so positive. For the first time this week I felt like there was a real connection. I was reminded that I am doing God's work and these stories that are being shared can be life changing. It was a great day.

Halfway There

Today is the halfway point for VBS.  Overall, it's been really great. Wesley and Ryan seem to do really well with their groups. I see them doing the motions for the songs at opening and closing, sitting nicely and participating during Bible stories and they are bringing crafts home completed, so I know they are doing that too. I think Duane's enjoying it well enough and I love that we doing VBS as a family experience.

I'm having a great time with my preschool kids, but let me tell you, I don't think I'm going to volunteer to do the elementary school age Bible story again next year. It's the incoming fourth graders that are getting to me - and really it's only about 5 kids in that group of 40, but they are driving me up a wall!  I really don't need 9 and 10 year old hecklers at Bible school.

Today was the worst with that group. From the moment they walked in, I had one kid who would not stay off the furniture in the part of the room I did not want them on.And I had the kids that would NOT stop talking to his friends and when he did finally stop talking to them, it was only to repeat every word that I said.  I finally told him that if he would like to listen to the Bible story from out in the hallway instead of with his group, I could arrange that. Then I had the kid to mimicked every gesture I made during my Bible story time until I tapped him on the head with my script to let him know I was on to him.

And apparently my props were way too tempting. I had the remains of the wall of Jerusalem built out of boxes and paper bricks. During the story, the kids helped me rebuild the wall and I made sure everyone got a chance to help. But do you think that stopped some of the kids from reaching out and trying to touch or knock over the wall, even after I asked them not to? Of course not. I had one kid push me almost to the edge and I finally said, "Look, I've asked you nicely not to do that. It's starting to make me angry and you are starting to hurt my feelings." That worked and I didn't have to speak with him again.

Unfortunately, I did have one kid that pushed me a bit too far a few minutes later. As the groups were lining up to leave the Bible story area, he came up to the wall and kept pretending to punch it. Finally, he looked me in the eye, got an ornery grin on his face and did actually hit it. "Really?" I said.  The kid had the nerve to answer, "What? I didn't do it." That was the last straw for me. I asked the boy, "How do you think God feels about you lying to me in His church?" At least the kid had the sense to look embarrassed and uncomfortable and actually apologized to me. I just don't have these kinds of problems with the preschoolers.

After VBS the Webihara family headed to Zoombezi Bay to cool off. Three and a half hours in the water was wonderful. The kids were really good (except when trying to choose their dinner) and I know we all had a great time. I do have one funny story to share though and it even ties into VBS.

There were two large water slides at Zoombezi Bay. Kei wanted to go on this one big slide, so he and Duane got in line for that. Ryan, Sho and I wanted to go on a family water slide that would seat up to five people and we told Wesley he was coming with us. Wesley did not like that idea one little bit. The very thought of going on the water slide really scared him, but Ryan couldn't ride without an adult, so I really needed Wesley to go on it with us. Sho and I tried to put Wesley at ease, but he was having none of that.  Finally, it hit me!

"Wesley, all week at Bible school we have been talking about standing strong even when you're afraid. Remember yesterday when we learned that family and friends help us stand strong? Well, you've got your family right here doing this with you. And today we learned that prayer helps us stand strong, so if you are really nervous, you could say a prayer."

Wesley clasped his hands in prayer right there in line and prayed for courage, but when we reached the top and he was still scared, Ryan clapped him on the back and said, "Stand strong, Wesley!"

Wesley got in the raft and took off. He screamed the entire way to the bottom, but as the raft drifted to its landing point, a big smile crept across Wesley's face and he yelled, "I have got to do that again!" So we did.

We closed the park down and headed home wet, tired and thirsty. Not a bad way to end a summers day.

VBS Check In

Well, we have two days of VBS, and three days of being a family of 6 under our belts. Overall, everything is going very very well.

Duane came up with the idea of dubbing the four boys the Webiharas - a combination of their last name and ours. The guys seem to really like the idea of having a family name for the week and answer right away when we call it.

Ryan really seems to have taken the whole "Webihara" thing to heart. At VBS today they learned a Bible point that said, "Family and friends help us stand strong."  So check out what the little guy did at his craft today

It's a picture of the Webihara family! There's Sho, Kei, Cleo the kitten, Ryan, Mom and Dad. And yes, we did notice that Wesley was conspicuously absent in the picture. We just decided not to tell him about Ryan's (accidental?) oversight.

Since we are working both the morning and the afternoon sessions of VBS, Sho has been helping me out in the morning while Kei and Wesley go to child care and Ryan attends VBS. I wasn't supposed to have a helper, but I honestly don't know what I would do without Sho in there with me. He's been a lifesaver.

After the morning session, some women from the church prepare lunch for all the volunteers. It's been so nice to able to sit down to a ready meal after the crazy preschool session.

We've taken a quick trip to the playground each day too - mostly to warm up a little. Today Ryan was trying to emulate his oldest cousin and let of the chains while he was swinging. Poor kid didn't last a second in the saddle before he was flat on his back in the dirt and the swing smacked him in the head.  We dusted him off and went inside to clean up his scratched back.

As we were entering the church, I noticed a red splotch on his neck. "Huh," I thought. "I wonder how Ryan got squished strawberry on his neck."  I'm sure you've probably figured out that it wasn't strawberry I was seeing, but blood.  A quick examination told us that Ryan had cut the back of his head when he fell and was dripping blood onto his neck and shoulder.  It wasn't bad and nothing a quick mop up couldn't fix, but it didn't stop him from begging me to put a bandage on his head. He doesn't know how lucky he his that I refused to do it. He doesn't really want a bald patch when I would have to pull it off.

The afternoon sessions have gone really smoothly too. I've been worried about the Bible stories with the older kids because I'm much more comfortable with the little ones, but it's been okay. And don't tell anyone, but I think the kids are having a pretty good time too.

Wesley and Kei in their knights capes and crowns -with Ryan providing the photobomb

Two knights and a squire in the castle

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I was not oddly touched when Ryan decided I needed to use the Disney Princess place mat at dinner one night.

I am not so spoiled that when we lost power one night, I pulled out the iPad and downloaded some movies from HBO and the library to watch.

I did not tear up saying good-bye to my mom's cousin who is moving back to CA. Nope, there is no way I'm going to miss him that much!

There is no way we willingly and happily volunteered to keep our nephews for a few days, bring the boy total in my house up to 4 - 6 if you count Duane and one of the cats.

Family Pictures

It's been two years since have had any kind of family pictures professionally taken. Maybe three. Anyhow, we were long overdue so I made us an appointment with Portrait Shoppe (www.portraitshoppe.net) AKA photographer to the librarians. I have admired her work for quite a while and I am THRILLED with our pictures! Here are a few of the highlights.

After our professional pictures we went to have dinner with my mom's cousin, who is moving back to California today. This one isn't exactly a professional picture, but I love it none the less.

There's nothing like family. Nothing