my sweet buz

tomorrow (09.07.08) is buz's birthday.

today he went with my cute dad to a football game 3.5 hours away. that's 3.5 hours each way. clearly, my husband and father get along.

so tonight, before he gets home, i want to try to honor him.

which is tough.

because he's that guy. the guy that does NOT take a compliment well. the guy that never asks for anything specific. the guy that never has anything on his birthday or christmas list. the guy that is totally content giving ME something for HIS birthday.

i know.

so tonight, i am determined to make a fuss over him. and lieu of the time i have before he gets home, none of this will be in any form of chronological order. forgive me. (yes, it's killing me that it's out of order. oh well. anything for my man.

always helping goo be a part of what big h is doing. even though she doesn't ever thank him. ever.

the one time a year i see him OVER THE TOP excited. when the newest version of either Madden or NCAA football comes out on playstation. this year was even bigger. what my parents and his parents got him? playstation THREE.

oh my word. since he's a guy and doesn't care about age like women do, i'd like to go ahead and share that he is THIRTY-NINE. see the grey in his beard? yeah, but he still loves playstation.

always doing the job that no one wants. in this case, making sure goo doesn't fall on her face (i.e. goo duty). he even asked, "who do you want? goo or big h?" and selfishly, i said " big h." because he's easier.

(for those of you know me in real life and HAVE KNOWN me for some time, can you believe i would ever say "because big h is easier?")

this guy does ANYTHING for my little boy. anything. he loves him to the moon and back. and my little man? feels the exact. same. way.

see? cut him some slack. this is july 4 of this year. they are out past big h's bedtime. big h is wiped out. and already in his jammies, i'll point out. but buz? smiling. because like i said...he will do anything for him.

where am i in this picture? at home. with goo duty. because she was asleep. see? i got the easier job.

cute. that's all.

there is dad. always in the middle of all the action. what was i probably doing at the time? laundry. making someone's bed. reading a blog or eight. not buz. he does not want to miss a minute.

seriously. i am head over heels for this guy.

oh my heavens. our first official date. new year's eve. first of all, what material is my dress made of? anyone (other than my mother) noticing my sweet watch? i'm cool. and the bangs? kelly and i have a tendency to get our hair cut when we're together. this was an unfortunate event. but then, just look at buz. he's going to KILL me when he sees this picture. clearly, it was december. because the color of our skin? i'm blinded just looking at it.

and if you really want to know...no kiss. because it was a group date. awkward. that's another post for another day.

buz being THRILLED on my baptism day. i was honored to have him right next to me.

again with the always doing anything for big h.

i have to tell a fun story about the next picture. we took the car seats out to clean one saturday. and in true buz fashion, he decided to make a game out of it. he pretended they were rocket seats. he would shake them. then say blast off. and they would go flying. they both loved it.

know what i would've done? just cleaned the carseats.

i know looks aren't everything, but oh. my. right here -- green bay, wisconsin. another time i saw buz totally pumped and full of excitement.

see the theme?

grrr...

big h took this picture. impressive. and for you photographers out there, what do you think of big h's use of flare?

mavericks game. straight from work. seems as though buz had a long day.

buz dancing with my mom at our wedding. and i'll say it. he is the BEST son-in-law. ever.

when buz surprised me with my fantasy dream vacation -- new york city at christmas. he is so thoughtful. that was on my list of things i wanted to do in my lifetime. and he made it happen.

first time we ever went to the horse races together. and he won. and i wore a "horse race hat" because his mom told me to. and she knows best with these kinds of things.

i love that he is SO handy around the house. he does so many things himself that we could probably just hire someone to do. but the pride that comes from doing it himself is so fun to watch.

the first time he met my brother and his wife. they totally hit it off. that sealed the deal for me.

the night we got engaged. please tell me i've told that story. i haven't? a different day.

buz and my awesome father-in-law doing a house project. that's where he learned his mad handy man skillz.

our first date once we were "dating." after dinner here at the magic time machine, we went to the movies. and held hands. and i can't begin to tell how my heart raced.

when we went to dinner with our moms. they loved each other instantly. which again...sealed the deal. oh, and look how sweet he is with his mom? holding her hand? in his thirties? he's the whole package. (and when i scanned the picture, there was a piece of paper on the scanner. which is why i appear to have a huge white triangle on my arm.)

i love that buz is willing to do anything for me. like to take sorority pictures in the backyard. this is part of the dating era.

this was, according to buz's brother "the first time you will see janet in a swimsuit." good times. nothing like bringing the obvious to the table. but let the record state that the enormous fish on the left that i am holding? yeah, i caught that. those fish that buz is holding? someone else caught. he just wanted something to hold. that picture is on the wall in our room. it makes me happy.

big h. daddy. no more to say.

goo's first birthday. she's thrilled, obviously.

vacation without children. and me with an ice cream cone.

buz swears that goo isn't that into him. i beg to differ. so does she.

big h. daddy. right. got it.

the day we brought goo home from the hospital.

the day after goo was born.

the spiritual leader of our family. always loooking towards Christ for our every need.

bottom line. my mom summed it up best one time when she said, "there is nowhere that guy would rather be than with you and your childrne."

and as conceited it sounds, she's right.

buz gives me/us 110% of himself 110% of the time. and never, NEVER asks for anything in return.

buz. thank you. thank you for being my best friend. for being my husband. for being the best father big h and goo could ever ask for. and for being the leader of our home.

i love you. i hope you have a wonderful birthday. you deserve the best.

recap #2

so today was goo's first day.

i so planned to get up early, take a shower before the kids were awake, prepare everything that needed to go into bags. basically...amaze even myself.

the shower didn't get taken. which was good. because i was sweating from all my nerves.

lunches got packed. but the stipulations on the method of packing the lunch for goo was pretty strict. (no ziplocs. no cheese sticks. no juice boxes. basically, they prefer you use a divided rubbermaid, which they provided.) by nature, i am a rule follower. dorky, i know. have always been like that. so i wanted to pack her lunch perfectly.

i know. i'm a peach to live with.

and thanks to Sunni, i decided to make first-day-of-school gifts.

and, of course, it just happened to be Donut Friday too.

because i wasn't already worried about being prompt.

but we did great. big h got dressed quickly. goo was fine with everything. we headed to the donut shop but ate in the car. i refused to let myself be late to the first day of school.

we got there and were greeted by big h's best school friends. L and L. twins. mom is rad. and goo knows them really well too. even better.

we headed inside and waited for the doors to open. goo put her mat and sleeping bag in the bin outside the door.

i said as loud as i could (with all of the commotion in the background), "i love you, goo. have a great day."

home girl didn't even turn back.

and that was it.

then, i dropped big h off. he was way pumped to get inside.

and then, i walked to the car. seriously not knowing what to do with myself. having not been by myself in FOUR YEARS.

i took one of the longest showers i have ever taken. fixed some coffee to go. headed to one of the most barren malls near my house and the school. found a really comfy chair. and plopped myself into it for THREE HOURS.

i wrote letters to big h and the goo. talked on the phone for a while. clipped coupons. watched people. watched mommies with their children in strollers. and for several hours, looked at them as though they were foreign. it was weird to be out in the middle of the day. without my children.

and all i could do was think about both of them. and smile.

i got some lunch. and ate it really slowly. and surprisingly did NOT get heartburn. walked into two stores.

and then...i couldn't wait. i had to go so that hopefully i could get there a little early. to peek in on my goo.

i peeked. she was standing on a stool next to one of the teachers. washing her hands. by herself.

and all of the sudden, she looked like she was five.

oh. and by the way. she was THE CUTEST girl in her class today. and yes, i am TOTALLY 100% biased.

i got her first. she gave me the biggest hug i have ever received. and don't mind me. i cried.

and then we went to pick up big h. right across the hall. all four feet of it. and the reunion of those two?

i'm still crying, just so you know.

um, big h's comment when we got in the car? "mama. i'd like to have some skechers. they're shoes that light up. mason has some. how many dollars are skechers? because i'd really like to have some."

oh no. it's already starting. and i just thought he didn't pay attention.

i talked to her teachers, and they said she did great. ate lunch. loved the pretzels at snack time. played in the sandbox with a boy. (you go, goo.) napped on her mat. listened attentively and sat still at story time.

screech.

come again?

sat still and listened attentively? goo?

miracle workers. that's what preschool teachers are. they're MIRACLE WORKERS.

we went for ice cream and then to mcdonalds for some playing.

good times had by all.

recap #1

i am tired. for no other reason than i have been thinking about how to perfectly get everyone out the door with as much enthusiasm as possible.

but not too much enthusiasm. you know big h. he doesn't do perkiness.

i prayed and prayed and prayed last night. i'm a mom. i stay up late thinking about and talking to Jesus about my sweet little people.

God had compassion on me. seriously.

this morning could not have gone ANY BETTER.

big h got up and wanted to cuddle.

let's just stop there for a moment.

anyway. goo still not awake. ???

so big h and i had breakfast. and he proceeded to check everything off his 'morning routine' checklist. the kid ADORES structure. adores it.

when i saw that it was getting close to leaving time, and goo STILL wasn't awake, i wasn't nervous. i took big h outside for a 'first day of school' picture. again, because i'm a mom. and that is what you're supposed to do.

even though this is the first time i have ever done it.

let's comment on this photo for a minute, shall we? the boy is shiverring. in september. in texas. people, it was a beautiful morning. in the SIXTIES. that's winter around here. hallelujah.

also, let's take note of the cinnamon roll. could not NOT bring it out there.

and why? why must boys make faces like these?

wait. what do you know? apparently, i did it once. his first day of mother's day out.

he was in a great mood. we talked to Jesus about giving us a great day. then, he wanted to carry his lunchbox. and of course, he had to look inside. and ruin the surprise i had in there for him. a note from me (even though he can't read) and a picture of our family.

i basically got goo out of bed and into the car with a cinnamon roll and some juice.

we got there, and he was so pumped about playing.

(it's ok. i know you clicked to enlarge. and you're dying to leave something in the comments section about if he is wearing anklets. no. those are batman socks. picked out by big h himself.)

and here is where the one tiny thing that went 'wrong' today comes in.

here is big h playing and getting ready to meet new friends.

see goo in the back? and the girl in the pink? the lovely, sweet, mild-mannered, meek little girl in pink?

she's the one who was goo's victim this morning.

bless her heart.

i was getting ready to take big h's picture with each of his teachers. when all of the sudden, from the other side of the room, i hear "uh, MINE! uh, MINE! help! help!"

of course, i think goo has fallen and hurt herself.

only not.

she is stealing a tea cup and saucer from sweet little girl in pink. who didn't know what hit her this morning.

so the beautiful goodbye i had in my head went a little differently. like mommy holding goo under her arm while she screamed "no! no! no!"

i barely hugged and kissed big h and told him i loved him, and we were out of there.

we'll see how tomorrow goes. when she picks on someone her own age.

when did i raise such a hoss?

who knows? but tomorrow i drop BOTH OF MY CHILDREN off. at the same time. for the same amount of time.

the two things on my to-do list?

drink a cup of coffee or two. and journal.

and maybe nap.

will probably nap.

pray for goo. actually, pray for the kids in goo's class.

and just for a little *humor*, i thought i'd throw this in.

tomorrow

well, i've read all of the kindergarten posts that i can read. and i was so cruising along, not thinking anything about my two little people. not thinking i'd be sad. not thinking any of this whole back to school stuff would phase me.

last night, buz and i had a 'date.' i use the term date loosely because we stopped at taco bueno for a quick bite and then we headed to big h and goo's parent orientation. after the general session, we split. buz headed to big h's 'session,' and i headed to goo's.

buz didn't give me a lot of detailed information. but he's a guy. he never gives me a lot of detail. but seeing as how this is his fourth year of preschool, we kind of know the drill.

as for goo's informational session, we had our share of the "moms who like to talk to hear themselves speak." more competition among the mommies. the same competition that several people have talked about. these mommies talking about how impressive their little darling's THREE AND A HALF HOUR NAP is. or how their little sweet pea is already potty trained at 25 months.

seriously. i'll admit it. i secretly rolled my eyes once. or two or six times.

(deep breath in. deep breath out.)

and i've been that gal who has been sharing encouragement lately. "it'll be ok. your little one will do great. preschool is awesome. yes, it's sad the first day. but your little precious will love it."

blah, blah, blah. today? was meet the teacher. and i caught myself once or twice getting a little misty-eyed.

surprisingly? i didn't take my camera. on purpose.

i know.

big h met his teacher first. really no big deal. these two women have very big shoes to fill. his teachers from last year set the bar. really, really high.

so he was cool. "hey, what's up? i'm big h. don't mind me. i'm just going to casually play with these toys. and stuff."

have i mentioned that somehow big h has a VERY chapped upper lip? very, very, very chapped. we have been keeping vitamin e on it for a couple of days. but i'm here to say. that first-day-of-school pictures tomorrow? will feature one of the two: 1) really, really red lips or 2) very, very shiny glossy lips.

but let the record state that big h has had a history of "things on his face" for big occasions.

for example. on school picture day (which i totally forgot about), big h was proudly wearing his gauze and athletic tape (per dr. g) covering the topical antibiotic for his infected mosquito bite.





(see him? second little boy from the left on the back row? with the thomas t-shirt? holding his hands together? that's my ALMOST FIVE-YEAR-OLD.)

good times.

then, we went to the playground to unleash about three months of energy. some girl pushed goo down onto the mulch.

goo pushed her back. and held her own.

oh, heaven help us.

i couldn't decide whether to high five her to showing that girl who was boss or hang my head in shame because i was the mom of "that little girl."

so we went to goo's meet the teacher. her teachers are DARLING. one of them was big h's spanish teacher from last year. he was so confused. SO confused.

goo was THE ONLY girl crying at the end of the little thirty minutes. she kept yelling "drink! drink!"

and some sweet mommy thought she wanted a pen on the counter. and goo.

my precious goo?

threw the pen on the floor and yelled "NO THANKS!"

nice. and four years ago, i thought i was going to have to worry about big h.

bless my heart.

tomorrow is big h's first day. friday is his second day and goo's first. it's also donut friday.

don't count on hearing from me that day. i will be very, very busy. :)