New Car

I have placidly watched the color being sucked out of my car as the winter progresses. It used to radiate this beautiful sapphire blue color, but as winter progressed, so did the vampire life force removing the color from my car.

By last weekend, I was frustrated because every time I walked by the car, I would get dandruff like dirt residue rubbed off on my clothes. I couldn't take the garbage out without feeling like I would be attacked by the dirt.

Last Thursday, Evan and I drove the boys to Chess Club, and I saw a golden sign, serving as a beacon to me: Car Wash- Open 24 hours. I remained skeptical that I would truly be able to drive up and get a car wash, but to my delight, a quick swipe of my credit card allowed me to enter the de-dirtification spa.

I paid for the works. No simple soap and water. I got two coatings of slippery slimy soap following by a wash then a final coat of colorful soap/ protector for the car and more rinse. Evan loved watching the water dance across the windshield. He was slightly less fond of the blowers and rinsers, yet he laughed and giggled most of the time.

Pulling out of the car wash, I could almost hear Bob Barker's voice: You have a brand new car! Evan and I talked about how it would look as we drove home, anxious to sneak a peak. It even smelled like a new car. Evan continuously commented on how "pretty" the car smelled.

When we got out of the car, Evan said, "Mom! Our car is a whole new color! It used to be light blue, now it is dark blue!" As I looked, I couldn't have agreed more!

Another One Bites the Dust. . .

. . . Just in time to start the semester, I was blessed to receive a gift from Evan: Pink eye!

Yesterday, I began to feel my eye itch. Nervous that it was just another case of psychosis, I ignored the temptations. Yet as the day wore, I could see a creeping reddish tint begin to cover the corner of my eye.

Finally, by mid-afternoon I could confirm that the pink eye had spread for sure to my eye. Now my mission was Damage Control.

Immediately, I began eye drops. Hoping that it wouldn't be noticeable for school today, I did my best at concealment and headed off.

Right awaythis morning a colleague uttered, "Oh no, now you have Pink Eye!" Great, I couldn't conceal it from them either.

By the end of today, the color has faded due to diligent use of eye drops. It is a mere pink and I am hoping my pink eye will be undetectable by tomorrow. Any hopefully, no one else bites the dust in my footprints!

Bobby Fischer? Not yet. . .

Our local area elementary schools collaborated to combine and create a Chess Club for elementary students earlier this year. Andrew immediately was "on board" with the idea, but recently Brendan joined as well.

Today our Chess Club hosted a tournament, so Andrew bravely volunteered to participate. We arrived at about 8:30 this morning to register for the big day. Then, we proceeded to wait until all the kids had arrived, and the adults could create the pairings for the first round. As I glanced around the room, I saw kids huddled in corners playing their Nintendo DS, some kids practiced their chess skills by playing on one of the nearly dozen chess boards that were set up around the room, and some kids just laughed and talked with their "chess buddies."

Finally, the first round arrived and we all traversed to the library to watch the proceedings. Kids sat at their assigned tables and waited for the official start. When the matches started, I was amazed by the atmosphere. The room, at first, seemed silent. No one talked. Then, you could hear the slight knock that each piece made as the players moved them. I heard an occasional chess clock click as someone completed their turn. I heard faint gasps or affirmations from the players that were barely audible through the silence. Moments after the round began, players began getting up who had lost their round. But, not Andrew. His match was the final match left playing: He won!

What happens next is the adults tabulate results and create new pairings for each players, then the cycle repeats. This happened for six rounds. Andrew was doing well. He won the first, lost the second, but then went on a winning streak for the next three. He lost his final match to a boy who was undefeated. (Actually, both of his losses were to boys who had not been beaten.)
The results? Andrew scored a third place trophy out of 31 participants! He was so excited and proud. On the way home, he was already asking when he could play again. He may not be Bobby Fischer yet, but he is working on it. . .

Pink is not my favorite color this week. . .

In high school I never liked the color pink: too girly. In the past two years, I have developed an affinity for the color pink in my wardrobe, growing my pink tops from one to about six. But this week, the color pink hit me in a bad way: in Evan's eyes.

Yes, you know it- good ol' Pink Eye.

If you have ever experienced Pink eye, you know what a disgusting illness this can be. Evan has woken up every morning this past week with at least one eye stuck shut from mountains of stuff-- what I call goop-- closing his eye shut. Today, we were blessed to have both eyes sealed off! Ev was stumbling in his bedroom like a blind man, crying because he needed to go to the bathroom and couldn't see the toilet!

Cautiously, I sat with him on the group and delicately wiped his eyes until they became unglued and he could peer through the spiderweb the pink eye has dealt him.

Not only are the mornings a blessing, but the afternoons are wonderful as well. The corner and center of his eye are constantly glossy with something that looks like green pus seeping out. If I -- or any of the other members of my family- come into contact with that lovely substance, we will get it as well.

I have been psychotically reminding the boys this week: "Don't touch your eyes! Not even a little. Use your shirt if your eye is bothering you!" So far- so good!

As for myself, I have been paranoid all week. From the moment I learned he had pink eye, my eyes itched.I have constantly been touching them- with my shirt, of course! I have been certain that I am also falling to the inevitable nasty end. (I don't really think I am; I am just scared to have the itchy eyes!)

I have been treating Ev all week with prior Pink Eye eyedrops that we had at home, but I am succumbing today and taking him to the doctor so that we can rid this pink eye pestilence.

So, now I am holding a grudge against the color pink. I am banning my pink shirts for at least a week until I can bear to face the color again!

Another "Where were you?"

Our lives are defined through many unique moments: some traumatic, some funny, and some historical. Today, was one of those moments that will join so many of my past memories.

Where were you when the space shuttle Challenger blew up? I remember watching that in my classroom at Maplewood North Elementary school. Our teacher gathered the whole grade in one room, wheeled the TV in for us to view it, and discussed the tragedy.

Where were you when the Berlin Wall came down? I vaguely remember being an adolescent/ preteen as the wall came down and watching footage on the evening news with my dad.

Where were you when the Oklahoma City Bombing happened? I remember going to Chris' frat house after an English class in college, and he told me to watch the news reports about the event.

Where were you for the OJ verdict? I was running late for my Modern Poetry class in college, just waiting to find out if he would be convicted. A group of us stood in the library converged on a little television.

Where were you for the final episode of Seinfeld? Chris and I were living in Wauwatosa at the time, and we watched it huddled on our archaic couches. I even taped it on my VCR!

Where were you when September 11th happened? I was a new mom of two little boys, and I was at home trying to keep my sanity. My friend called and told me to turn on the news. I cried most of the day out of fear for my brother who worked there, and I kept watching the news between breastfeeding and diaper changes.

Where were you when our first African American president was sworn in to office? Today, I realized the gravity of the moment. It is final exam week, so a few of my favorite teacher friends and I gathered in a classroom and watched history happen. We laughed, ate snacks, graded finals, and cried. We watched the parade of people enter. We watched Obama's incredible speech. We watched the reaction of the people in attendance. Truly amazing!

Leading up to today, I was frustrated a little with the hype surrounding the day, yet today I found myself intentionally mired in it. It is a monumental day. It is history in the making. It is a moment that I will always remember.

No School: Take Two

After a surprisingly pleasant day home yesterday, the boys and I were all ready to go back to our routines today. At first, Brendan and Andrew were not convinced that being at school would be more fun than staying home, but then I reminded them that our schools are in the situation where every additional day off will require us all to report an additional day at the end of the school year. Then, their enthusiasm for staying home waned.

This morning at 5 am, I crept into the basement to check the school listings to see if we were on the list. While waiting for the list of hundreds of schools-- yes, I am exaggerating-- to circle through, I hear the weather man say that today is simply, "Stupid cold." Hmm. . . I had never heard a weather man say that before.

Today is just plain stupid cold. Looking at the current temperatures, you can see that we are varying from 15-24 below zero for standard air temps with wind chills ranging to 45 below zero.

My weather man woke me up quickly to this solemn news. And yes, shortly after, I saw both the boys' and my school were closing for the day. Ultimately this means that all of us will get out of school two days later than planned. Instead, we are blessed with house confinement out of fear of freezing.

Yet, I don't think I am intimidated today. I have graded all the papers I brought home, so we are trudging back to my school today for me to gather another load of work. Then, I plan to treat the boys to a lunch out following by a quick trip to the library, looking for something fun to watch.

I plan to stop my maniacal grading this afternoon for some good old-fashioned bonding with my boys. Maybe we will make cookies, maybe we will watch a movie, but today, I am earnestly excited to just "hang out."

Nonetheless, I will be ready to go back to work Monday. Let's hope Mother Nature cooperates.

No School!

Remember when the two words, "No School", would create such jubilation in your heart? You looked forward to a day of jammies and no school work. As a mom, it doesn't feel quite this same to me.

For the third time this year, I awoke to the names of both my school and my boys' school scrolling across the screen as closed due to cold. Yes, cold!

(As a side note, the weather is so cold here in Wisconsin that hell has actually frozen over as well. We have a current air temp of -14 with wind chills in the negative 35-40. Tomorrow's morning temp will be -23 with wind chills at -40. Seriously? Who lives in this?)

When the boys got up, they inquired, "Is there school?" To which I responded, "Nope!"

They exclaimed, "YEAH!" while I gave an inaudible sigh.

In a perfect world I would celebrate the idea of hanging out all day with my three boys, but reality unfortunately differs. This is finals week for me, which means I am finishing second quarter grades and attempting to grade an additional 70 essays as well as 45 final exams for my classes. I am buried! Yet, the boys are footloose and fancy free! It is tough to be a good mom who can sit and watch movies when my only thought is of unburying myself enough to see the sun a little.

On our other two days off, we had a bunch of snow, allowing the boys to go out and enjoy the day. But, today that would be impossible. Playing outside for more than ten minutes would result in frostbite and a quick trip to the emergency room. So, we are stuck inside.

By seven this morning, Brendan was already claiming that he was bored. I could feel my exasperation increase. Bored? It's not even breakfast yet!

Thus far the rest of the morning has operated smoothly. We are hoping to watch a movie (while mommy grades essays in her lap), paint pictures (while mommy grades essays beside them), play the Wii (while mommy grades essays in her lap), etc. Are you getting the picture?

I know that the day will be fine. I just wish my exuberance would echo theirs when I hear the words, "No School!" Better luck next time.

The Wiggles

When Andrew and Brendan were toddlers, their favorite video to watch was "The Wiggles." They would sing and dance to the motions that the five goofy grown up men displayed. I found it endearing to watch. Little did I know that the concept of "wiggling" would never be far from their personalities.

Little boys wiggle. And squirm. And fidget. And jump, roll, kick, push, and WIGGLE!

I have a difficult time understanding this "ants in the pants" activity. Yet, no matter where we go, wiggling ensues.

Today in church, Brendan couldn't sit still. About 30 minutes into the service, he walks over to me and just stands next to me. He was restless. Andrew and Brendan began playing Tic-Tac-Toe (always one of my youthful favorite church activities), and ultimately- like everything else- it turned into a fight during communion. So, I ordered him to sit next to me. He goes to his chair, sits on his knees, and rubs his head back and forth on the table. Really, B? You can't just sit-- Nope!

Yesterday we went to Culver's for a lunch time treat compliments of awesome gift cards from Grandma Doucette. How much wiggling could boys do when they are eating? Well, we quickly found out. Evan continuously put his head on the bench and mimicked a "downward dog" yoga position between bites of his corndog. Andrew was doing fake karate moves while singing during his dessert treat. Brendan just literally moves as if he were carrying a bomb that would explode if he stopped. It was laughable! We need an oversized booth just to account for their motions.

Funniest yet is their movement during our long drives to and from Ohio and New York. Now, I can understand the need to expend energy as we stop at rest stops. We are all restless. But the boys are nearly combusting with their stored up energy. They race as fast as Bolt from the Olympics to get in to the restroom. Then, as we stand in line for food or drinks, they are pushing each other, laughing, joking-- all without care for anyone in their way. I often scold them, "Boys- stop moving. Boys-- go stand over by the wall so that you don't hurt anyone. Boys- pay attention. Boys! Boys!"

Boys are mysteries that I continue to unlock every day. The wiggles are something that I can't relate to. There is nothing more that I desire to do than just relax on the couch with nothing to do; however, that is a rare moment of bliss. My wiggles will sit for a moment, but then they are off and running. Wiggling. Having fun.

The Merger

Evan has always had the privilege of having a separate bedroom from the boys. When he was a baby, I was worried that he would wake the boys up when he cried, then we just never changed from that arrangement.

Lately, I have been struggling to get him to bed. He wants a drink. He wants another hug. He wants to cuddle. He wants to procrastinate!

Then, after the holidays, where visiting family forces us to sleep in close quarters, Ev decided that he liked having "the boys" around at night. Since we have been home, he will talk to the boys about who will sleep in his room on his bottom bunk.

So, last evening, Chris and I took action. We moved Andrew and Brendan's dresser and book shelf into Evan's room. Then, we moved Evan's bunk bed into their room. Now-- three boys in one room!

Evan was giddy! Going to bed was a breeze- My kiss and hug last night were succinct, and I received a brief "See ya!" on my way out the door.

The boys bedroom is a mere ten feet from our living room, so after they go to bed, we can hear them talk. Last night, I hear an excited Evan utter, "Let's tell stories now!" He euphorically bantered with the boys for over half an hour until one by one they drifted out of the conversation.

The result? Three happy boys and two happy parents

Things that made me smile: Part Two

Ok- At the halfway point in our vacation, we traveled out to Buffalo to visit the Doucette family. We were blessed with having everyone come home, and we enjoyed this rare time together.

Here are more things that made me smile:

Evan's resiliency: After he injured his fingers, he bounced right back and rarely complained about them. On occasion, he would whimper, but for the most part, he was a trooper~

My niece Samantha- I don't get to see her often, so I was treasuring my 20 month old niece. She has the most precious smile that she offers when asking you to "Sit." She pulls you by the fingers and guides you to a chair where you need to read to her or play with her. I was thrilled that she allowed me to read a few books to her over the weekend.

The kids and the train: There is something about a train to entrance little kids. Chris' parents set up a little train track around the base of their tree every year, and the kids enjoy watching the train run around the track. All four sat together at one point to watch together. It was a Kodak moment. As soon as I got my camera out, two of my boys felt it prudent to begin their best WWF impression.
After our big gift opening session, we were all feeling quite pampered and spoiled. The next day we decided to get out of the house for awhile, so we went bowling. The kids enjoyed playing while Samantha was only able to watch-- I don't think she minded.

This last picture represents everyone on the Doucette side of the family but us. Andrew wanted to take a picture so that he could remember everyone when we weren't there. I thought his sentiment was touching.
It was an amazing holiday with too many anecdotes to share. We miss you all~

Things that made me smile: Part One

Our holidays are never mundane. We open gifts at least five times over the holidays usually with a variety of people. Today we returned from our trip to Ohio and New York where we visited with our families. Exhausted, I am daunted by the idea of summarizing our 11 days away from home. So, I am planning to just show some pictures of the various things that made me smile over the holidays.

1. My dad: Last year dad had a double knee replacement, but he felt it prudent this year to lay on the floor and wrestle my boys, egging them on!

Someone always has to have the goofy "look what I got" picture. My dad is the perfect candidate, proudly boasting his new exercise gear!

2. My boys: The excitement exuding from them was tangible this year. Brendan could barely contain himself, and I loved watching all their enthusiasm.

3. Christmas at my Uncle Tom's: It has long been a tradition for the Titus side of the family to gather with cousins and babies and all. Recently, we began going to my Uncle Tom's home, and he has the utopian OSU basement complete with Buckeye gear on every wall. He also has a Wii that the kids loved this year and a vintage popcorn popper. Here is my mom, Noah, and Katherine enjoying themselves.
This is also a Titus tradition, stemming from my childhood days when we would all sit on the stairs at my Grandpa's house while our family would take pictures. Now, we are doing the same for our kids.
4. My Grandma Dilley: I don't get to see her enough, so just spending time with Gram this Christmas made me smile!
5. My mom: When I talk about going home, I always mention how much I miss my mom. I love going home and watching her get some special time with the boys. Here, mom and Evan were making traditional holiday cookies. (Ev even convinced her to make some shamrocks!)
6. My family: Our family continues to grow. This picture shows all the grandkids for mom and dad now. This is enough to make anyone smile!

Family games are another superb tradition for us. Mom, Tim, and Anita were concentrating on one of many new games.

Jeff, Emily, and my beautiful new niece McCamey posed for a once-in-a-lifetime photo of all three family members adorning Brady Quinn jerseys. Em is a die-hard Steeler fan, so putting on the jersey required a bit of moral compromise for her. Don't they look awesome?
7. Noah also made me smile. I am sure that he thought he was as old as the "big boys" all weekend long. He made Tif and David work to get him to sleep. I snapped this picture on a day where no tactics that Tif and David tried would coerce him to rest at all. This picture was nearing the end of his tolerance. What a cutie!

I am only halfway done! I will detail the second half of our trip in the next blog!

Happy New Years

I have never been much of a New Years Resolution person. I don't like to set goals and not reach them. The startling statistic that almost all New Years goals never get reached is enough to keep my away from setting them. Yet, I do feel it's appropriate to have a plan.

I like knowing when I am doing things and why I am doing them. I like knowing what direction I am headed in.

With that said, I have a couple of generic ideas that I would like to see materialize this year. Most of these could be considered mantras or morals-- without a measurable end, I can't consider them goals.

Here goes:

1. Just Say No! -- I have never been good at mastering this small word "No!" I am sure my mom would say that as a toddler I was adept at the word, yet as an adult I seem to struggle with turning anyone down. I am on every committee anyone has ever asked me to participate on. I join every club, I chair every event, and I work tirelessly to get all the items on my endless "to-do" list done. This year, I can't keep this up.

I need to say "no" to many more things. I plan to cut out many of the leadership roles I have taken in my PTO jobs and reduce the amount of extra work I am doing in other facets of my life. Then, the hardest part will be to say "no" to all of those new tempting committees that I may face this year. "N" "O" -- I will do my best.

2. Treasure my family -- I think that this mantra combines with the ideas on the first goal. I look at my boys and realize that they are no longer the crawling, crying infants that I cradled only a few short years ago. In fact, Andrew is closer to being a teen than he is to a baby now.

I need to savor the moments we have of peaceful family times. Sometimes amidst soccer games, basketball practice, and general chaos at home, I forget to just enjoy them to the extent that I should. Many nights I sit down and sigh in relief as I finally get them all to bed when I know that I should be more appreciative that I have had a day with them.

This concept sounds the most simple, yet I believe it will prove to be the hardest.

This is my vision for the year 2009. I do hope that this year finds us blessed with health and happiness again.