All Growed Up

Man, my baby went to pr-K and came home a big boy! I really didnt feel like it was going to effect me at all this whole pre-k thing, mainly because he has been in daycare all his life and pre-K is in the same school. But I tell you what, seeing him come out of school with his little book bag on I realized it is a big deal. Pretty soon he will be riding a bus and then he will be driving and dating and then moving out and leaving me. (sob)

It is amazing how his entire attitude has changed, he got in the car and said "Mom, you know how there are Pre-K friends? Well now I am a Pre-K friend" He is excited to go to school and I am hoping this newness dosent wear off any time soon! He is really loving his teachers, I think he has finally gotten to the point where he can say Mrs. Wiener with out totally losing it. I am really excited for what this school year has in store, he will be working on reading and writing among other things. In this first week they worked on learning telephone numbers, he called me. And then he called John, and Gigi and Poppy and Jenny and Nathan and me again. LOL

I guess I have to face the fact he is growing up very quickly but I still have 1 year until Kindergarten.

My very own FORT...

Well, it has never really been a big deal to have a play set in the yard. We go to the park all the time, and a lot of the kids in the n-hood have one so I really didnt see the big deal about having one, until now!

Johnny is getting to an age where I can let him play outside by himself, while I cook dinner - if the windows are open and he is singing a song loud enough for me to hear the entire time. Just kidding, but not really. LOL

So I started my hunt for a cheap play set, which are hard to come by. After stalking craigslist I found one that looked pretty good all it needed was a little TLC and a couple swings- we picked it up for 100 bucks! And let me tell you ever since that little fort was put in our backyard Johnny has been hiding out in it. He has big plans for it too, he can keep all his weapon sticks there, and have a weapons store. He can hide out and camp out, eat lunches up there, defend the house from bad guys and aliens and it can be his ninja hide out - really the possibilities are endless.

Such a great father and son project! So they first started with sanding the wood which Johnny was able to do all by himself. Then they had to get the lumber to re build the base. The two of them worked on this every evening using every bit of daylight they could. Coming inside dirty and smelling like boys! When it was ready to be erect John put it up while Johnny held the base, adjusting it as needed.

While the boys were busy building the swing set I was accessorising it! Now Johnny has never been a big fan of swinging, he prefers to jump off them or see how long he can spin around in one. So with that in mind I thought a punching bag would be better use of the swing area. I also got him a trapeze bar because he is part monkey, and a telescope simply because every fort needs a telescope. Johnny was pretty excited with my selections.

And drum roll please .... the finished product

Old Skool

In this digital and high tec world we are living in its no surprise the toys that are out now are unlike any I have seen. And believe me Johnny is always begging for the latest and greatest. But I have realized lately that what he find the most joy in playing with are the simple, old skool toys.

He went to a birthday part and in the favor bag got a whoopee cushion, why I have not thought to buy my son this I have no idea. It was the HARDEST I have ever seen him laugh in my life. He has tried to make everyone sit on that thing, even Hickup. Johnny has been working on his techniques and sneaky skills to make it more effective - but it was great pure fun and laughter for hours.

We just got a great deal on a swingset / fort for the backyard and now that he has a fort he needs a way of communication between up top and below. So we got some cans and made walkie talkies. Another great success, fun project for Johnny and I am once again a cool mom. He is so cute and truly believes the rope between the cans is transmitting directly to my ear, he kept whispering the top secrete messages to me and then after he thought about it for a second he screamed into the can. Of cores I played along, dropping the can and holding my ear, he thinks he is sooo funny.

So along with collecting as many sticks I can find for his 5th birthday (yes I said 5th - tear) I am on the lookout for more blast from the past toys- if you have any suggestions let me know!

Play Ballllll

Well the break from T-Ball is just what Johnny needed he is fired up and ready to go. He and John have been practicing almost every night, I dont know that it's because he missed baseball so much but more he missed playing it with his daddy! It is so awesome to see them playing together, even if it does cut into bath time.

This year we are moving Johnny up from Pre-T to T-ball. He got the basics of baseball down now he needs to learn the game. They have try outs in the next couple weeks and I will post updates and the schedule once I know.

Barefoot

I love to be bare foot as much as Johnny loves to be shirtless. Unfortunatlly being bare foot does not help keep the feet pretty. Well John found a solution, the 5 finger shoes by Vibrum. I have been wanting a pair of these for a while and John surprised the whole family with a pair. (Johnny's are by far the cutest)




I have been wearing them now for over a month and let me tell you I love them!! Now at first I was a little weirded out by putting my toes into the individual spots and I get some funny looks when I am wearing them but they adjust to your foot after a cople times. I wear them for my group workouts three times a week and while walking or running. It is amazing the calf workout you get running in these things. I did 1 mile and my legs felt like I just compleated my first marathon (well what I imagine that would feel like). Johnny and John wear them for bike riding they are so cool and I highly recomend them to anyone. There are a lot of benefits to wearing them - check it out if you get a chance

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/barefoot-sports/barefoot_running.htm

Now if only we could find JR a shirt that felt like he was shirtless. LOL

that guy....

It is nothing new, when it heats up Johnny's shirt comes off. I remember even as young as 1 picking him up from daycare to hear all about how Johnny kept taking his shirt off and beating his chest. lol

We got together with some friends this weekend, he was really excited to see Amellia, Clint's 5 year old daughter. When the truck pulled up Johnny ran over to it and said Amellia!

Then he got his deep voice (he uses this voice when he is being a big boy like when he and John are riding bikes, when talking to me about wanting a skate board, when ever he is being serious he uses this voice) You also must know that while talking in the deep voice a coolness comes over Johnny. His body language and confidence is different.

The next thing I hear him say was "yea Amellia, I took my shirt off (pause) cause I was hot"

I am in trouble.

Ah, to be a kid

I love seeing the world with Johnny. A day at the park, the park we go to every day but today there were new discoveries

Today the meadows were more over grown then they have been in months..

Today I let him run through the overgrown fields wtihout worring about the bugs or snakes or other scary encounters.

Today he was all boy....

and it was FUN!

Two thumbs up

Well it only took about a week for the boy to get used to the water again. Now I cant get him out, he practicing all of his jumps for the diving board. With the summer starting out in the high 90's we are going to be parked at the pool for the next couple months.

Life is good

Well John got home two weeks ago today, it is so funny to me how time can go so slow when your waiting for something and then how fast it can pass. I cant believe he has already been back for 2 weeks! It was by far the sweetest reunion yet, because this time we all knew it was for good. In the car I asked Johnny if he was happy that his dad was home (duh, stuipd question) and he said " I am happy he is never, never ever going back to the desert again."

Everyone and everything has been invisible to Johnny except for dada, I am not even sur

e he remembers my name at this point. He has been trying to tell John everything that has happened in the year and at the same time show him all the things he has learned. Johnny

is going a million mph and is so happy. They have to match all the time - what is daddy having for breakfast, what color shirt is dad

wearing, John rolls down the window Johnny rolls down his. I know it wont be like this

for long so I am just trying to stand back and let John have all the love. (Even though I have become the mean mommy who cant even get a hug these days. lol) But John cant get enough. We did get a bigger bed cause one blue boy tossing and turning is a lot but 2 leaves me on the floor.

For right now I am trying to keep Johnny on the same schedule we have had, until we figure out what John will be doing. The last thing I want is to get Johnny off schedule only to redo the entire thing. With summer here things have slowed down a bit anyway. Johnny is only doing Karate, and swimming - thank God for the pool in this heat!

As for John he is just soaking it all in and taking a very deserved break for a couple weeks. He has been hitting the trails and riding his new bike everyday. (I think he was just as excited to see that bike as he was us). Fixing everything in the house that has been neglected - not that there is that much, l

awn cough cough and just hanging out with us. We are going to head to the beach in a couple weeks then he is taking off to see his brother for a few days.



Its funny I never really thought of having to get used to my husband but he is back and I

am having to get used to him again. We have played such different roles in this year, that coming back together as parents will take a little while. I learned a lot about myself and am proud that I survived the year and managed to stay out of mental hospitals, and the bar - lol.

A lot of our goals were accomplished, John did an unbelievable job for his family and himself. He has a very impr

essive resume and I am so proud of him but the best part of the entire year is realizing how important family is. Every aspect of family - all

the support we got was amazing.

The saying rang true for me that friends will come and go but you will always have your family. And now seeing the way my son looks at his dad, life is good.

Exciting NEWS.....

I don't know who has been following the blog, but if you notice the countdown is to 3 DAYS!! So what is going on with John, when will he be home, what are yall going to do - those are a few of the questions I get asked about 10 times a day. lol
Here is what I know for sure - John has filled out all his paperwork to demobe. He will hopefully be able to fly out on Friday the 20th to Baghdad for there he will fly to Dubai. He is letting the company send him home so once he is in Dubai he will be flying standby which means I don't know when he will be home! It will be no earlier then Sunday and hopefully no later then Friday, either way it is over. He completed his year with KBR and kicked ass, now its time to come home and see his family!
The Blue's are all very excited, I'm not sure any of us will be getting much sleep the next few days.
Now all I have to do is about a million things - haha I will try to keep the blog and everyone updated!

One for you, two for me

That seems to be the theme while picking berries! For Johnny and me berry picking has become an annual thing. This year we brought along two rookies GiGi and Jenny. Hard to believe with such a big strawberry patch right down the street they had never been. It was the perfect afternoon sunny with a slight breeze. The strawberries were perfect, I think this excites me so much because it feels like the kick off to summer. I love going to the grocery store and seeing the fresh ripe fruit! We all picked a bucket and Jenny won the contest for the biggest berry found, and Johnny for the smallest. It was a great afternoon, and even better evening there is just something about a fresh strawberry shake! mmmmm

Funny we started this year (May) with John a few days before he left picking strawberries and seems we have come full circle, here we are one year later with only a few days left picking berries.

What do you think, has Johnny changed in one year? To me he looks so much older!

Busy, busy!

Well once again I have neglected my blog. Trust me everything that has gone on I have thought of a great blog post to share with the world but lately I seem to be lacking on one thing and that is TIME! Time to actually sit down and put these thoughts on paper is limited. So we will just do a quick update on the past few weeks mkay?

The only time we had all the people we love in that same room (minus the few that couldn't be there) was our wedding. John and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in April! Most days it feels like we have been married forever, which isn't always a bad thing I just don't remember my life without him. (seriously, I have a bad memory. lol) Every year has had their ups and downs and I really feel like we have become a good team and are always improving. This year challenged us in many ways and looking ahead it will be an adjustment living together again! (weird to think that) But I feel in spending this time apart we have gotten such an appreciation for each other and our love has grown even more.

I know some amazing women, I am very lucky to have them in my life as friends and family. All are very strong, smart, confident and independent I look up to all of them and have really used them as an example to make it through this year. One in particular has been there for me my entire life and I never fully appreciated her until I became a mother. Amazing does not describe my mom she has always been there for me, loved me unconditionally, worried when she should and let me go when she had to. She has been such a great example - a teacher, a nurse, chef, chauffeur, a councilor, a maid and all without a complaint. Thank you mom for everything you do for us!

On the flip side of mothers day I must say I am a pretty to be the mom of such an amazing kid! He is so loving and thoughtful not to mention freaking hilarious. He made me a couple of sweet presents at school including a golden shoe - no dont worry I always wanted a pair of shoes 1 gold and the other normal. lol It was a nice and relaxing day.

Lots of good stuff going on, stay tuned!

Turning it up a notch...

Now that Johnny is in the black belt club he is allowed to spar. He was so excited to get his bag filled with all the gear which included a cup which he thought looked great. Oy ve, anytime now John. He did awesome in his first fight and loved every minuet, shocking I know.

John Blue, kinda a big deal...

Well I think everyone in the middle east knows his name, at least everyone at KBR. While he was in Arramadi the entire incinerator broke down, which is the only one on that base which meant they had to shut it down. Now who would be able to fix this? Only someone with good knowledge on machines, someone who could read and follow instructions and someone with the common sense and smarts - John took the job. He told them it would be up and running in 3 days time. After putting in a lot of hard work and manual labor, he is not able to stand up straight but the incinerator is running. And the good news is he was able to fly back to ALasaid, now he can start getting ready to come home. I know I have said it before but I am so proud of him, and I know all of the higher ups and people around him are too.

He is an athlete, no a rock star no..

Maybe an Artist? There is nothing like enjoying everything you try - Johnny is that kid, the one growing up we all cant stand. No matter what he does he is good at it, I am sure a lot of this is my bias opinion but who cares I think he is awesome. His school is trying to raise money for a new playground so they came up with a great idea of having a children's art show. Every student in the school did something for the show, the school framed it and then displayed it in an art show available for the parents to purchase. Great idea - what parent isnt going to buy their child's framed artwork? It might have been a coincidence but Johnny's was on display in the front of the school and the director told me his was a fan favorite. Alright enough bragging, here it is a rocket ship flying to the moon....

Easter!

Holidays are so much fun, well maybe it is the traditions that are the fun part and the Gold/Wolf/Blue clan have some good ones! The dying of the eggs starts the Easter fun, I prepared 18 eggs for Johnny and myself and between the broken and eaten we ended up with 13, they turned out really pretty. Johnny got very creative making planet eggs and my favorite the striped one which he left out for the Easter bunny to hide. (At our house the EB hides your egg and leaves a basket filled with treats and presents, you cant touch your basket until the egg is found.)

Johnny woke up excited to find his egg and basket right away. We then had a mystery EB leave us 2 baskets outside our front door! It was a good surprise! He gave up bubble gum for lent and went the whole 40 days with out cheating. I am proud to say even when he was offered the gum he did not take it. So after chewingg about 2 packs of gum we headed to the park. I really felt it was important to remember what Easter really means to us and with church being so crowded I thought he would get more out of it by me reading him children's bible stories. It was such a beautiful day so we went to the park. We walked and he listened very carefully asking questions and really understanding what I was trying to explain. There was something special about enjoying the day and teaching him about the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

We headed over to Gigi and Poppy's to find more eggs and baskets and made bouncy balls (so cool)! The wolf pack joined us and we had our annual big kid Easter egg hunt. In the eggs were lotto tickets, pony bottles, itunes and money, it was a lot of fun - who says your too old for an egg hunt? Besides with Johnny being the only "kid" we didnt want him to feel lonely hunting for eggs. A beautiful day with family and good food leaves me feeling good. Like always we really missed John (and the Wolf boys) but I am so happy to think this is the LAST holiday he will miss with us. We are counting down the days, hours and min until we are a family again. Not too much longer!

What keeps you up?

So I am sure a lot of people are losing sleep these days, from worrying about a job, a family problem, a new baby, a stupid dog that needs to be let out (im not bitter) or the government shutdown - just to name a few. Well let me tell you what a 4 year old lays awake worrying about. I got woken up this morning at 3 am to be asked three important questions.

1. Do plant eaters attack each other?

2. Why do some animals lay eggs to grow their babies and some are like mamas and grow them in their bellies?

and probably the most important of the three

3. Does Lady Gaga really smoke cigarettes, because in her song she says just light my cigarette and hush?

After Johnny got his answers he was able to fall right back to sleep. I on the other hand laid awake for the next hour trying to think which animals lay eggs and which give live births because at 3 am in the morning I could only think of two. LOL I must say I am impressed with his questions, that mind is always going!

Ahh Spring...

Spring time is finally here, how do I know? Well the fact that everything in GA turns yellow is a good indicator it is spring, or all the caterpillars falling out of trees and walking along every sidewalk (a boys dream) but the way I know is a visit from the Grandparents. My grandparents come every year around the last weeks of March for a visit. It is so good to see them and spend some one on one time with them, Johnny really enjoys it too. They came down from Buffalo to defrost for a couple weeks, it always makes me smile to hear what they are up to these days. My grandpa is still playing golf and the guitar while my grandma is relaxing and enjoying retirement. They are so cute and I really cherish the time we get to spend with them, and I am so glad Johnny has gotten to know them.

The Best Day Ever...

Well it will be when John comes home, however he had a pretty good one the other day. After receiving a special package in the mail from me, paying off his truck and getting a day off he got to ride in a Black hawk Helicopter to a new base in ArRamadi. He was so excited about the ride and it was great to hear him smiling. I know he didnt want to look silly for taking a ton of pictures but he managed to get a few. And now like everything

new John experiences he wants to learn how to fly one. He said it felt so cool, like being in a machine in the sky - like a dozer or something. Lucky guy, gets to ride one on the way back too. He got sent to a different base to run the incineration department while the other guy is on R&R. Being in a new place might help these next 2 months go by faster. It is a much smaller base surrounded by a city, they are forwarding his mail to him so dont worry the address is still the same and he will be back in Alasad by April 20th. I know he is missing his TV but I think it will be good to change things up a bit. He is really working hard over there and really geeting to do some cool things.

April 5, 2011 6:50 PM

See I told yall he can do them backwards.

How do I love Thee...

Ok, reason number 1,587 that I love Johnny. I picked him up from school where they had their latest art projects on display. The class built the city of Dacula, and each student choose a building to make. There was grocery stores, schools, the post office, all kinds of fast food places. (You could really see where these kids like to go). Now what did Johnny make? A surf board shop, like I said I love him. When I asked why a surf board shop he said cause people need them to surf. I think he is ready for a trip to the beach!

My insane moment of the day...

Really I could probably post something under this heading every day, but this one I thought was too funny not to share. So I was loading the dishwasher when I noticed our Beta Fish, Superman was swimming under the rocks in his bowl which I thought was a bit odd. Well the next time I looked up Superman was stuck under the rocks trying with all his fishy might to get out, rearing back and swimming forward to try and push the rocks. I thought, my God he is going to drown. I rushed over to the bowl and stuck my hand in to move the rocks for the little guy. It was at this moment I realized I was saving our fish from drowning. All I could do is laugh, I still did make sure he got out of the rocks, only to find him a couple hours later back under. Now before you judge, listen to this. I got curious and did a little research and low and behold a fish can in fact drown under water. How you ask - well the first answer I found was if you hold its gills closed it will drown under water :( I was not going to settle for that so here is what I found


Fish get their oxygen directly from the water. They have organs called gills that take oxygen out of the water, just as your lungs take oxygen out of the air. But water can run out of oxygen, just as air can. So fish can suffocate in water, which means they can drown in water. These drownings occur most often in small ponds that dry up. All the fish that live in the pond are crowded into the remaining water, where they use up all the oxygen in the water, then drown. Fish can also drown if their gills are damaged in a collision with an underwater plant or in a fight with other sea creatures. Weather conditions also account for some drownings. For example, when some fish realize that oxygen supply in the water is getting very low, they rise to the surface and suck air into a sac-like organ called the air bladder. The fish can then take oxygen out of this air instead of directly out of the water. But in cold weather, when the surface of the water is frozen, the fish can’t reach that air, and so they drown.

SO THERE, now stop laughing.

Funny Guy

The boy keeps me laughing all the time.

From the mouth of Blue

When tucking Johnny in I found batteries under the pillow, when I asked him why they were there he gave me a famous look and said " they are for the tooth fairy mom, cause I dont have any teeth to leave her! duh" Then I asked what she would do with batteries and got " I dont know put um in her wand or something"

He was playing on the playground the other day and heard the famous " my dad can beat your dad up" the other little boy did not respond and Johnny said, " seriously he can"

Johnny kept walking out of the bathroom telling me hey I thought I had to go but I didnt. Well the other day I heard him go pee he came out with the same story. I told him Johnny I know you just went potty where did you go. He led me into the bathroom and showed me the trash can which was not the first time he used it. ICK! After he went to time out and we talked about it I asked him why did you go potty in the trash anyway he said "cause I like the way it sounds" and when I asked if he pees in other peoples trash cans he said "nah, ours is the only one I can reach."

A lot of times I really wish I had a video camera going to catch all of it. This boy is such a character!

The Softer Side...

Johnny went to a friends birthday party and she had pony rides and bunny rabbits. It was an exciting day, lol. I was surprised how much Johnny loves those rabbits and even more surprised they all made it out alive. They must have starved these things because I know Johnny fed the spotted one at least 4 carrots. It was cute he sat in the cage telling everyone else how to hold them, pick them up and feed them. (apparently they like the head lock position for feeding) See Johnny Blue can be sweet and gentle.

Goallllll

Well after playing Baseball for 2 years straight I regret to say Johnny has gotten burned out. I really think part of it is because John is gone, as it is something they enjoy doing together. The other part is the winter league he was in - my bad, apparently a 4 year old needs to take a break between spring, fall and winter. A break is good, he has been missing it and will move up to T-Ball in the fall.

Johnny has been really wanting to try soccer again so I signed him up and Saturday was his first game. It was pretty funny, he is playing U6 and the games are 4 v 4. He has a coach that knows less about soccer then the kids and picked team Italy cause he "don't like them Spanirds and cant stand Argentina" duh people WINNING. lol I really don't know how we always end up on such awesome teams, but I have come up with a plan to slowly take it over. Johnny did good in the game, he scored a goal (in the other teams goal) and only managed to pick up the ball once. He had fun and looked so freaking cute in his uniform. It will be fun to see him play and I can actually teach him a few things about it. He has a game every Saturday until the end of May so let me know if you want to come support the Italians, cause according to coach "they are closest to Americans."

You have to take the bad with the good....

The balance of good and bad. With John's promotion there are a lot of good things.

He is a lot busier, so the time is going by much faster for him.

He is making more money.

He is doing an outstanding job. John was just recognized in front of the entire company and received not 1 but 2 awards! We are so proud of him, Johnny cant wait to see daddy's trophies. LOL

Now the bad, we dont get to talk to him at all anymore. I was able to speak to him between 3-4 times a day and Johnny every morning. These days we are lucky to talk to him once a day. This is really, really going to make these last few months hard. I want to let yall know because most of you have his phone number or get in touch with him through facebook. Dont get worried if you cant get in touch with him. John is hardly on the computer any more, including fb and isnt at that number. His mailing address is still the same and he can still be reached at his johnblue@bellsouth.net email or get out that pen and paper and write him a quick note. The finish line is in sight just gotta get up these last few hills to get there.

It was bound to happen

Having a small Evil Knievel as a son I have always known that casts and broken bones are part of our future.

The Monkey Bars: Many children have fallen victim to these parallel predators. Broken arms, wrists very common. Johnny loves the monkey bars he trys to do them as fast as he can. He is very good at them, can do every other one and this weekend I saw him do them backwards. I have it on video for the non believers. He has had quite a few falls and he seems to always land on his head. So to prevent any further head injuries this is what we do first on the playground after riding his bike so he still has on his helmet. Ha, ha.

The Rock Wall: What could be more fun then climbing a huge rock, apparently for a 4 year old not too many things. I believe his love of climbing rocks started with Stone Mt, bribed to the top with candy at the age of 2 (by his Gigi) once he conquered that its no wonder he owns the ones on the playground. I have seen him in a game of chase climb the rocks in a matter of seconds and then jump from the top. Again the landing is what always worries me.

The Slide: Really does not seem like the most dangerous place on the playground especially if used properly however that is not a fun way to use the slide. Johnny enjoys using the slides to climb up or to jump off, a quick getaway. The main problem with this is the children that are trying to use the slides correctly lots of room for injury head bumps, kicks to the face - not good, not good.

Then there is the....

The Supernova: which can now be found at most playgrounds. Most of the times the kids all sit on it and they con one parent to spin it around getting in a workout. Johnny likes to walk on it and turn that walk into a run. It really is amazing the balance he has. (chalk that one up to gymnastics).

On this particular morning Johnny was playing good on the playground. He tried all his daredevil stuff on his bike. (You know slamming on the breaks to make skid marks and peddling as fast as he can down the hills.) So you can imagine my surprise while he was riding on the Supernova and holding on he fell off and started crying. Like hard crying, I asked what was wrong and he said he hurt his hand I gave him a hug and told him to shake it off unless he wanted to go home. Within a few min he was fine, playing again. When we got home we iced his fingers and that was that. The rest of the weekend his fingers turned from red to purple to black, but he was still able to bend it and didnt seem to be in much pain. I decided to take him to the doctor and his poor little finger is broken! I cant believe it, no complaining, no whining - nothing. X-rays are so cool, I dont know where it is broken or how bad but here is his cute little bones. We have to go to the surgeon tomorrow, where I will find out more. I dont think they will really be able to do anything other then splint it but I will keep yall updated. What I have learned from this is Johnny has a very high threshold for pain and its never a bad thing to get something checked, just in case. Hopefully this will not only be the first broken bone for Johnny Blue but also the LAST!

The Weather for today, sandy...

I feel a little guilty enjoying this 75 degree weather. This is what John got today.

And by the end of the afternoon it looked like this. Guess I wont get a chance to talk to him today.