Wax Museum

Our fourth grader had a huge social studies project to complete this quarter. It is called the Arizona Wax Museum Project. It is a lot of work, memorization, research, prop preparation and learning, over the last quarter. (The OCD Mom in me tends to over-think some of these projects. I would have way-overdone it if Jax had let me help any more than I did. I have to remember this kid is 10 and not an adult.....) Speeches have to be memorized and work completed along a time line. Jax was so nervous practicing his speech with us, in the kitchen, but after practicing with his class buddy, Megan, giving the presentation to the kindergartener's and 3rd graders, he was so ready!

And we are pretty darn proud of this kid!!!!!

Jaxi Bear

The first part of this post is an article Erma Bombeck wrote about her three children. I have loved it since the first time I ever read it... I think I was maybe 10. There were only two kids in my family but I was absolutely sure that my parents loved my sister best. They had to. Kelly was the good, shy kid that did everything right. She was older and wiser and I was the wickedly crazy dare-devil of our family.


Now I understand it all... I was adopted...


Just kidding.


It is just simply amazing how, as mom's, we can love our kids with such abundance and completeness, but in completely different ways. No matter how wickedly awful they can be at times.


So for my three babies... I do love you best.......

To the first born......
I've always loved you best because you were our first miracle. You were the genesis of a marriage, the fulfillment of young love, the promise of our infinity.

You sustained us through the hamburger years. The first apartment furnished in Early Poverty... our first mode of transportation, the 7-inch TV set we paid on for 36 months.

You wore new everything, had unused grandparents and more clothes than a Barbie doll. You were the "original model" for unsure parents trying to work the bugs out. You got the strained lamb, open pins and three-hour naps.

You were the beginning.

To the middle child...
I've always loved you the best because you drew the dumb spot in the family and it made you stronger for it.

You cried less, had more patience, wore faded clothes and never in your life did anything "first," but it only made you more special. You are the one we relaxed with and realized a dog could kiss you and you wouldn't get sick. You could cross the street by yourself long before you were old enough to get married, and the world wouldn't come to an end if you went to bed with dirty feet.

You were the continuance.

To the baby...
I've always loved you the best because endings generally are sad and you are such a joy. You readily accepted milk stained bibs. The lower bunk. The cracked baseball bat. The baby book, barren but for a recipe for graham pie crust that someone jammed between the pages.

You are the one we held onto so tightly. For, you see, you are the link with the past that gives a reason to tommorow. You darken our hair, quicken our steps, square our shoulders, restore our vision, and give us humor that security and maturity can't give us.

When your hairline takes on the shape of Lake Erie and your children tower over you, you will still be "the baby."

You were the culmination.

~Erma Bombeck



Dear Jaxi,

You are my first born. You are the first love I have ever felt that was truly unconditional. I didn't grow to love you. I loved you the second I knew about you, and probably even before that. You have always been a Mommy's boy. I find no fault in that. You are the one that we had to experiment with and you have never complained. I put enough antibacterial hand cleaner on you to kill just about anything, more protective helmets and pads on you than I care to admit to when you played, and taught you a little too well about stranger danger.

You are the one that everything needed to be perfect for. Your clothes had to be organized by size and your diapers had to be in rows. You never had a dirty face and you never wore an outfit that had a hole or stain. You were my trial and error child. The night you ate part of a cricket and I thought I needed to rush you to the emergency room, I thought I would die. I was learning the hard way how resilient you really are. You let me dress you in such cute clothes. Thankfully you couldn't talk, otherwise you would have hated me. You are the first to show me that material things don't matter. Family is first and you have nothing if you don't have love and laughter.

You have always been my quiet one that people fall for. You have a built in magnet that draws friends in and your kindness keeps them close. You have taught me there is no end to happiness. You are my love. You are my boy that has no problem hugging me, really hugging me tight, in public, or wrestling until we are both on the ground in pain! You are brilliant and wonderful and amazing all rolled into one.

You have everything and more to look forward to.

This year will be your best year yet!

I love you more than words could ever explain.

Happy Birthday Jaxi!

All my love,
Mom

Now onto the fun stuff..
After a dinner at Chuck E. Cheese, Jax and Daddy were on a mission this morning. I guess Jaxi has stepped into the BIG BOY realm now... and Big Boys like BIG TOYS................

Jaxi Bear Smarty Pants

Jax and Binky were assigned their teachers for the 2008-2009 school year. I finally got the assignments on Friday. When I opened the letters, Jax's had his results from his 2nd grade Terra Nova tests.

In AZ, our 2nd graders take Terra Novas like other parts of the country take CATS tests etc. Older kids take AIMS here.

I had heard Jax did well and was not too worried about what his scores were. Jax is extremely smart. He has a true photographic memory and the only time I ever have to really help Jax with homework is when he is sick or over-tired from a long week. Jax can also name sniper rifles by sight, not to mention their scope names and ammo they use..... not the most useful information for an 8 year old but it comes in handy when one of Tommy's SWAT guys has a question about the right gun to use, in Ranbow 6 Vegas, just for Jax.

I was not quite prepared for Jax's test results. I also could not be more proud of my smart little man. Jax scored 99% straight across the board on his tests. I am not sure I could ask for more out of him! (Well maybe cleaning his bathroom a little better... but what are you going to do?)

Jaxi, we are so proud of how hard you work... and how you do it so effortlessly! Here's to 3rd grade buddy!

9

Yep, 9!!!

9 long, disgusting, tedious, tiresome, exhausting, sad, gross, fever-filled, barf-covering, snot-running, sore-throath, coughing, hacking, tears-spilling, liquid diapers over-flowing, crappy, crappy, crappy, sick days. I told my wonderful friend, whom I am going to lunch with tomorrow come hell or high barf... that my children need to be vomiting up their lungs, through their ears, for me to cancel my day with her..... because I really don't like this family right now.


I know that sounds harsh, mean, sad... call it what it is.... I am sick of everyone being sick and tired of everyone being tired. This mom crap is overrated this week and I am praying loudly tonight that the last of the fevers is gone in the morning.... because it came back late tonight and I just wanted to cry. There has been no winning with this virus that has attacked my poor beautiful children and it is really affecting all of us.. Well not so much Daddy... but he has those darn SWAT earplugs and leaves for work when the going gets tough.


So for anyone that sees me daily... I am seriously apologizing for anything mean or nasty or rude I have said in the last couple of days... I seriously couldn't tell you what I have eaten, who I have talked with or what I may have said to you, what the date is or if I made promises to anyone in the past week about somehting that may be coming up in the future.


I even went as far as to pick up Brinkley from school yesterday...

AT THE WRONG TIME!

Can you say BRAIN OVERLOAD?

STILL GOING..

YES, THAT IS RIGHT... THE SICKNESS IS STILL GOING STRONG. NOW IT IS DOWN TO JAXI. JAXI AND HIS 102.7 FEVER. MAYBE TOMORROW WILL BE A BETTER DAY! (IT CAN'T GET ANY WORSE THAN IT HAS BEEN!! YES, I KNOW... I JUST JINXED MY LIFE BY SAYING THAT!!)