I love my crazy lil man!

Mikey is now 17 months old and has been a crazy lil man lately!.He's becoming a lil naughty, but he's just the cutest thing in the world! I've learned from my four oldest not to laugh or pay too much attention to the naughty things (at his age) so it won't encourage them to continue. But when Mikey runs away laughing carrying something he shouldn't have, I find myself laughing too, chasing him, and scooping him up in my arms for hugs!  Yeah, I'm totally encouraging him. But he either has an infectious lil laugh when he's doing something wrong or a sweet inncocent look. Last, week Julia left her empty glass bowl on the kitchen table, before anyone noticed what Mikey's motives were, he had grabbed the bowl, headed to the hallway, and threw it, smashing into pieces on the floor. Then looked so innocently at it, like, he didn't mean it.

But, really...how could anyone get mad at this lil guy and those big, brown eyes?

I love him soo much!

I've got PROOF!

So, like most men, my Rocky has a problem with listening (which he denies).

Sample recent conversation...

Rocky: "When are Rock's games this week?"

Me: "Monday and Wednesday, they're both Away games, Mari has cheerleading and band practice on Thursday, and Volleyball camp all week, and Rock has Basketball camp, so it's gonna be a crazy week!"

Rocky: "Oh..."

Me: "Yup!"

Two hours later...

Rocky: "When are Rock's games this week?"

Me. "ummm...Monday and Wednesday remember?"

Rocky: "Oh yea, are they Home games?"

Me: "really??... no, they're both Away games, I just told you this."

Rocky: "No, you told me Monday and Wednesday but didn't say if they were Home or Away games."

Me: "Yeah...ah...I did, you're just a horrible listener..."

Rocky: "(laughing) No, I'm not...."

Me: ::Rolling my eyes::

So, onto last night....

I was sitting next to Rock looking through a magazine while he was watching something boring on t.v. I usually pull out the perfume samples and ask if he likes 'em. Well, last night there was a small advertisement for watches in the magazine. I showed it to Rock, and clearly said to him, "Ya think this one's pretty?" He leans in, eyes still glued to the t.v., and SNIFFS the watch ad, saying "yeah, it smells, ok".

Proof! He does not listen!! Gotta love him.

Anthony James

My heart hurts today. Four years ago today my nephew passed away. He was 4 years old. A babysitter was not watching him and he jumped into a pool. He fought hard for a few days in the hospital before he went to Heaven. I am his Auntie Lilly. We tried to teach him to say Auntie Cindy when he first started talking, but he refused and would only call me Lilly. I love him so much.

I think about him often but even more so on this day and his birthday. I remember when he painted Rock's Tonka truck with nail polish, when he colored down my hallway stairs with red permanant marker, and emptied an entire bottle of air freshener spray in my bathroom. I'm glad that each time I laughed with his mom for him doing those things. He never walked, he only ran. He was always on a mission, loved Harley's (Harley Bikes, as he called them) and racecars. I miss him and wonder what he would be like today.

His parents were brave enough to donate his organs. After he passed away I noticed butterflies constantly around me. I'd see them everywhere, but even more special they would fly right in front of my face, or sit on the edge of a my window. I mentioned this to other family members and we cried when they were having the same experiences. A few months after he went to Heaven, his mother and I went to an special event to honor family members for donating their loved one's organs. The parents were given special ornaments, some birds, some angel wings, each different. When Melissa (Anthony's Mom) opened her box to look at her ornament there was a beautiful carved white butterfly. I know Anthony's still with us in spirit. I love him so much and wish more than anything I could still give him big hugs, even if they were just for a second before he was off and running again.

Another Month

Well May n June have come and gone and we're now in July!!! Shame on me, I didn't blog once! I blame Rocky. I need want a laptop so bad. I think I would blog more if I didn't have to sit alone in the family room once the kiddies are in bed. They're usually in bed by 8pm and Rocky and I will watch a movie or he'll watch a boring war show and I'll sit and read a book or complain about how boring the war show is. Instead I'd much rather be sitting next to him blogging. I'll continue working on him, my birthday's in a few months, so we'll see. ;)

May was crazy. The end of the school year came up quick! I had a fun Mother's day with everyone over for a BBQ, on Memorial Day my girls danced in the parade followed by another BBQ at our house afterwards. We've been so busy with baseball now that Rcok Jr (9) is on a traveling team! It's been fun, but keeps us super busy! Our nights have been, rush home from work, load up the babies, eat junk from concession stands followed by McDonald's or Pop's for dinner. Nice. I'm sure I'll gain 20 pounds by the end of baseball season! grr! We played two tournaments, one in Germantown and one in West Bend and ended up with 2nd place at each one! Pretty awesome!

The kids are glad to be outta school! I can't lie, I love summer break! It gets tiring every night to go through four folders, signing papers n assignment notebooks, practice spelling words n checking over homework. I'm still trying to make sure they read daily, but love the break from school nights and mornings!!


I really can NOT believe my Mariana (11) is going into 6th grade! Middle school....Jr. High....::sobs:: She's now taking clarinet lessons once a week and is in cheeleading again, practicing two nights a week. Crazy how time flies!