EmLouisa

I got to be the featured guest blogger today.  Ain’t I special?

http://segullah.org/small-epiphanies/woolly-mommoth/

This summer I put the the boys in summer camp, aka Mom Freedom.  Two mornings a week I drop them off for three blissful hours.  I go shopping with no one asking for stuff or pretending like the aisle is “Luigi’s Circuit” from Mario Kart.  No one calls me “Princess Peach Mom” in public.  I can go to multiple stores with a calmness and purpose that I have never imagined.  In, out.  I could get used to this.

When school starts this will happen every single afternoon.  I. Can’t. Wait.  Then I’ll get pregnant and we’ll start this whole process over again.  The time.  The effort.  The inability to wipe ones own bum.  The kid better be pretty dang cute.  I’m told it’s worth it and I clench my teeth and tell Greg I think it’s worth it so it must be.  Right? 

The whole month of June passed by in a blur.  I went to the Wasatch Back Relay Race again, this time as a driver.  The knee is still cruddy so driving was the best I could do.  I was a little worried that I’d be all sad watching them run while I hobbled along in my gimpy glory but I wasn’t.  It looked hard.  And painful.  Been there, done that.  Not sure I want to do it again.  Those girls rocked those hills.  I love them all!

The remainder of our June weekends involved hangin’ out with with family.  Greg’s parents just entered the MTC on Monday and will be gone for the next 18 months.  They gave the each of the boys a picture of them with a nice note on the back.   A-Boy gives it a kiss every night before bed.  

I invited my entire side of the family over for the Fourth of July weekend.  Nine extra people sleeping at my house, piles of crap everywhere.  Thankfully I’m not being literal.  There was just lots of stuff.  Everywhere.  Chaos.    Insanity.  A Good Time.  We had hot dogs and corn on the cob.  We ate an entire watermelon.  We played on the Slip n Slide.  We went to the pool.  We lit fireworks.  We played games.  I’m pretty sure that Mini-Man thought he died and went to heaven at this point right here:

Having the fireman squirt you with his fire hose?  Amazing.  Squirting the other little kids?  Even MORE amazing.  The kid was completely soaked within two minutes. 

June was busy, July is not so much.  A-Boy is turning into a fish at swimming lessons, Mini-Man will finally put his face in the water with little-to-no freaking out.  I consider it a success.  Lessons ended today so to celebrate we sat on the front porch and ate gargantuan ice cream cones.

It’s nice to have time away from the boys.  But its even nicer to sit on the porch with drippy ice cream cones, talking about nothing.  Ah, Summer.  Thank you.

That or I better get preggers pretty quickly.  I’ve got no kids in diapers.  I guess I trudged my way right through that part.

School is out and my house can feel it.  The boys spent the day building forts and dumping out every container of toys they could get their grubby little hands on.  They played great together all morning and I kept thinking how lucky they are to have each other and patting myself on the back for being such a fabulous parent that has such fabulous kids that play so fabulously together.  In other words, I jinxed it.

Fighting ensued.  A-Boy wouldn’t let Mini-Man play with something.  Mini-Man kept trying to sit on A-Boy.  A-Boy shoved.  Mini-Man pushed.  There was tattling.  Mini-Man cried. 

He crawled into my arms, tears streaming down his face.  “I wanna *sniff* go *snort* to SCHOOL!!!!!!   “I miss my *hiccup* teacher!”   Aw, kid.  Sorry.  

Last week Mini-Man jumped off the bus and ran into the house.  “Mom, Mom!!  Look what’s in my backpack, hurry!”  I hurried.  All the stuff from his classroom.  The pumpkin shape with his name on it that told him where to sit.  The laminated wordstrip that he used every day to trace his name.  The flower that he hung on the ceiling.  I held all that stuff and cried like a baby.  In September he would barely talk or look at me.  And in May, here he is, telling me to look in his backpack and giving me hugs.

I want to kiss his teachers.  I don’t think I could ever make them understand how grateful I am for everything they have done for him.  They love their jobs and they love my son.  They celebrate his milestones just like I do.  Wonderful, wonderful people.

So there I was crying, clutching on to various arts and crafts and the dang pumpkin.  A-Boy asked what was wrong.  “Nothing is wrong, Honey.  I just don’t want you guys to grow up.”  I hugged him and thought about next year when both my kids will be in the big bad elementary school.  I hate that I can’t protect them from the world. 

As excited as I am to have 3 hours to myself every day, I’m sad too.  Five years went way too fast.  A-Boy tells me defiantly that he WILL grow up.  Because he wants to be six.  Six it is.  Be six.  And then don’t grow up after that.

A-Boy walking in with his friend for the preschool program.  And of course they had to play “We’re Going to be Friends” by Jack Johnson, causing me to well up with tears.  Grrr…

Mini-Man at his preschool program.  He got to wear a hula skirt and kept wiggling his hips back and forth.  So cute!

So yep.  Summer is here.  And I’m looking forward to spending some time with my little guys while they are still little.

Congratulations to Flutterbug, who won the March Boleyn warmer and a Scentsy Bar!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! We will do a new one next month!

Alright people.  This is your lucky day.  I was just going to give away a Scentsy Plug In ($15) and a Scentsy Bar ($5)  but I think the March Warmer of the Month is so freaking adorable that I’m going to give that away instead.

So what you will win:

1 Boleyn Deluxe Scentsy Warmer (Retails at $27 this month only)
1 Scentsy Bar of your choice (Retails at $5)

So what the heck is so cool about Scentsy?

Scentsy is a wickless candle company.  Yup, that’s what I said.  Wickless.  The wax comes in a Scentsy Bar that you heat up in an electric warmer.   The warmers work with a 25 watt lightbulb instead of a flame, which is cool because you can keep it on and not worry that your house is going to burn down or that your kid is going to hurt themselves.  You can actually stick your finger in the hot wax and it doesn’t burn!  It’s warm, not hot. 

There is as much scent in a Scentsy Bar as in a high quality jarred candle twice its size!  They come in over 80 different fragrances and there are over 45 unique warmers to choose from.  So not only does your house smell amazing but you have this beautiful piece of art to look at and enjoy.  Rock on.

If you haven’t tried it, you NEED to.  NEED I tell you!!!   

Scentsy has been in business for about five years and is growing at a phenomenal rate, even in this cruddy economy.  So if you are looking for a way to earn some extra $$$, want to start a successful business or just want to have something fun to get out of the house, you should look into it!  It’s only $99 to get started and I offer a great sign up incentive!  Email me for details, or go to my Scentsy Website and click on Start a Business. 

How to Enter the Drawing

• Make a comment on this thread.  Make sure to leave your email address so I can know how to get a hold of you.  (email addresses will remain private)  ONE entry per person.

How to Get Extra Entries

• Write a blog post about my giveaway on your own blog.  The post must contain a link to this giveaway.   Make sure to leave a comment on this blog, as well as your blog address so I can verify.  You will receive 3 extra entries.
• When you comment on this post, mention that you would like to join my monthly e-newsletter club!  I need your name and your email address to get you set up.  If you are already on my newsletter let me know and you’ll receive the 3 extra entries. 
• Order something from my Scentsy Website.  Click on Place an Order and then Emily Andersen’s Online Party.  If you do it that way I will give you FREE shipping AND 3 extra entries.  

The drawing will end on March 27, 2009 at 12 pm MT. 

I’ve LOVED being a part of Scentsy the past two years and I’m excited to introduce it to you!  To view a catalog or find out more information about Scentsy please visit http://scentsy.com/emilya or email me. 

Good luck!!!

I learned a few things when taking A-Boy to his 5 year check up at the pediatrican’s office.  First, never tell the kid that he is going to the doctor for a shot.  You’ll have to do some bribing to get him in the car.  Second, he has no problem lying to the doctor when it is to his advantage.  “I LOVE broccoli, it’s my very favorite!”  Liar.  And third, the kid has seriously cruddy vision.  Ugh.

Before booster shot time they gave him a vision screening.  A-Boy covered up his right eye and squinted at the chart.  “I can’t see it!”  The nurse thought it was because it was letters so she showed him shapes.  “I can’t see that either!”  So she moved him a lot closer.  He read all the letters and all the shapes.  She sent him back further and asked him to cover up his right eye again. 

“WHY DO YOU MAKE ME COME BACK HERE WHERE I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING??”"

I stifled a giggle and then heaved a heavy sigh.  Of COURSE the kid can’t see.  Neither of his parents can see without contacts or glasses.  His father is practically blind and has been since he was six.  It was only a matter of time before the kid needed them.  I was just hoping it wouldn’t be quite this early.

So we did the eye doctor thing.  His left eye has a lot of astigmatism and without correction he could get a lazy eye.  So of course, we are doing glasses.  We tried on frames.  Lots and lots of frames.  And I tried not to be annoyed that they didn’t have cool black plastic rimmed ones for little boys.  Finally I found some that were the appropriate amount of cuteness.

We picked them up a few days later and A-Boy has worn them without complaint ever since.  He LOVES them!  What’s not to love when you are five?  Your friends think they are super cool, everyone notices them and tells you how awesome you look, plus you get this way cool case.   Hopefully that feeling doesn’t fade.   

I, on the other hand, had issues.  I cried the first couple of days that he had them.  I mourned the fact that he had to wear them.  (Privately, he doesn’t know I felt that way at all) Would he get made fun of?  Would he be “the nerd”?  He just didn’t look the same!  And…I’ll be honest.  I thought he looked like a goober.  I made Samantha give him a haircut the day he got them so he looked less gooberish.  It didn’t help.  I still didn’t like them and resented the fact he had to wear them.  It took me a few days to take a real picture.

I was really surprised that I felt that way.  I mean, he’s my kid!  Who would think that way about their kid?  Apparently a lot of people.  Because when I told a few friends about it they confided that they felt the same way when THEIR kid got glasses.  It was hard at first, but they always got over it.  Who knew?  I’m adding that to my list of  Things That People Never Tell You.

I got over it too.  After watching him in glasses for a few days I realized that he isn’t just cute in them, he is ADORABLE.  They totally fit his personality.  He is a smart, handsome little kid.  But don’t tell him that.  He LOATHES when I call him handsome.  But, being the mom, I still do.  Because I can.