I've been tagged...

As I was reading my friend, Dana's post listing 6 random things about herself I was thinking to myself how neat each of those things were and also how hard it must have been to think of 6 random AND interesting things about yourself. I can think of tons of random things about me but not many are that interesting. Then, I got to the end and saw that she tagged me! I did manage to come up with 6 so we'll see what you think...

1. I have always wanted blue eyes. I used to want colored contacts even though my vision is perfectly fine. I was a chicken and never went through with it. Instead, I married a blue-eyed fella and had a couple of blue-eyed babies. I can't look at my own eyes anyway - this way I get to enjoy theirs! (I'm in love with your big brown ones too Jaden!)
2. I am listed as an author in a book chapter. Here's the reference: Scotti, J.R., Morris, T.J., Ruggiero, K.J., & Wolfgang, J. (2002). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In M. Hersen (Ed.), Clinical Behavior Therapy: Adults and Children (pp.361-382). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
3. I still wonder whether I chose the right names for my boys. I am still very happy with Anna but I worry about what the boys will think of their names when they grow up. I put a lot of thought into their names because I feel like names can have a big influence on your life. Think about it. What do you think of when I say the name Bambi? Walter? Rain? Names matter.
4. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan! Yeah, me and all the other 4th graders. If you are laughing at me you really should pick up one of the books and read it. You'll be a fan too. I'm sure of it. I love, love, love the books and can't wait for the next movie. Chris just told me it will be out in November. Yay!!!
5. I've never eaten shrimp, lobster, scallops, calamari, etc... I do eat fish (some) and I've tried a teeny, tiny bite of crabcake (can't tell you what it tastes like- guess I didn't get enough). Oh, and my Dad used to sneak fried clam strips in with my french fries when we would eat at Ponderosa. I just though I had some really tough fries!
6. I couldn't even swim on top of the water until I was 10 years old. The next year I joined the swim team. Turned out that I could do pretty good once I got it figured out. When I was in high school my relay team set a record for the 200 free style relay. That was in 1992, I think. It was still there the last time my sister told me. She'll be a Senior this year. I'll have to ask her again.

Okay, there you have it. Now it's my turn! I tag:

• Laura
• Kelli
• Chris (this should be interesting. It's a good way for me to get him to actually post something!!!)
• Jill
• Megan

This just might be my favorite photo ever!

Here it is! I just love this picture. He was soo done.

I got a new lens today (which I looove!). Anna has been so good about letting me test things out on her. Even though she didn't even really want her picture taken I think she looks beautiful.

Look at those fat cheeks! Doesn't he make fat look good?
This is the new gadget we picked up last night. It's a little tray for the Bumbo. It's wonderful! I highly recommend it for anyone in the market.

Luke doing his new "lip sucking" thing. It's so cute. I wish I could catch him doing it with video so you could see.

He still needs his Mama

I'm not certain of the reason- traveling, time difference, over-indulgence of junk food at Grandma's and on the road- could be any one of these or a limitless combination but my little Jaden has had the hardest time of any of us adjusting to being back at home. He just seems "wound up". He's got to run and jump and hit and throw. Everything he does seems to have an extra "jolt" of energy. I know he needs to get outside and burn it off but it's been about 96 degrees without counting the heat index and the mosquitos are big, persistent, and abundant! They seriously will bite you through your clothes - I'm not even joking. Chris killed one the back of my shirt at Lowes yesterday when I told him it was biting me. They are out any time of the day too- not just in the evening like normal mosquitos. They don't call Clute "The Mosquito Capital of Texas" for nothing I'm learning. Then, there's a little issue with the bug spray. I'm nervous about using it unless absolutely necessary. The other day Chris sprayed Anna so she could be outside with him for a little bit while he was working. He even sprayed her out of the house. When she came in a little while later the smell was still so strong that it burned my throat a little and made Luke cough. This is even special stuff without Deet for kids. Wonder what's in it instead?

Anyway, back to the point. My Jaden has been having a really hard time winding down to take a nap. So, he stays awake until he just can't stand it anymore then ends up sleeping 2-3 hours usually from like 4+ - 6 or 7. I'm sure you can imagine what happens next. He will not go to bed and is still raring to go at midnight. Then, he's up at the first sign of light because this is just his thing. You can see this isn't a good cycle...

This isn't really a problem for him, or Chris, or Anna but it is for ME! I'm the one hanging out with him trying desperately to make him sleepy. To add more interest to the story, Luke has been waking up pretty often throughout the night for a week or so. I am steadily wearing down. I've made it top priority to get my boys sleeping better - especially Jaden. For their sake and mine! I decided the first step was to get back into a routine. So far, so good. The next step was/is to get him to sleep in his room (instead of crashing on the couch). I know this will get better but he just cries and cries. It's so, so hard for me to hear him crying. And I can't just walk away until he finally falls asleep - it breaks my heart. I feel like I need to suffer to. So as I stand outside of his door hearing "Mama, Mama" "Oh Mama" I feel like crying too. A couple of times I went in and picked him up off of the floor (once he was right behind the door calling for me - I felt aweful). I hold him for a minute, stroke his hair, give him a kiss and lay him down telling him to let his little body rest so he can play later and I'll see him when he wakes up. Then, I leave. Today I had to do this 3 times. The last time when I picked him up I held him in sort of a cradle hold. This is getting hard to do because he is getting so long. But I do kinda like to get to hold him this way since I know my time is running out for it. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was close to sleep - all that crying wore him out I'm sure. So, I just rocked back and forth a little until his eyes actually closed. While I was giving him a minute to make sure he was really asleep he peeked his eyes open for just a moment to look at me. He quickly shut them then had the biggest grin. He was so happy. He had his Mama all to himself for a moment and he was comforted. I was so glad I went back in. He peeked one more time, gave a little smile, ran his hand across my chest and arm, then he was out. This time I could peacefully lay him down, pull the covers up, and walk out of the room to let him rest. I'm going to go make myself a cup of coffee so I'm ready for him when he wakes up!