My Awesome Kids

Believe it or not, Will did not start talking till he was 3 1/2 years old. Ever since then, we cannot get him to stop. He LOVES to talk. If you know what he's gonna say, and answer before he's done or finish his sentence.... He'll start all over so he can say it all. He can literally talk about nothing for hours. He'll ask you questions he knows the answers to. He can rhyme like nobody's business. And every morning he will say this: "Can I please have chocolate milk in a sippee cup. a lot. with a straw. and Tom and Jerry. get it." EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. And if he doesn't have the chocolate milk at the same time as Tom and Jerry all hell breaks loose and you have to do it over. Sheesh. I thought I was demanding.

He does have his adorable moments though.... like when he gives me a vibrating hug (a tight hug while shaking- hard to describe) or when he is just so sweet and loving and comes at me and Alyssa with those skinny little lips of his. When he tells me that I'm the prettiest mommy he ever had. When he shows me the things he "rocks" at.... mario games, baseball, trouble (the game). When he watches The Sandlot and giggles at : "You play ball like a GIRL!" He talks smack when we play baseball... except he never is allowed to be out, and every pitch he misses was bad, and tells me that I play ball like a GIRL! I love the way he doesn't give up on learning to skate and thinks he's awesome at hockey. I love that he plays golf in our backyard and that it's his second favorite sport (first is hockey, third is baseball). I love that when we go to mini golf it can take him 8 swings and when i ask him how many he'll say "hole in one!" I love that he plays chess and asks me "Are you sure you wanna do that?" when I make a bad move. I guess I kinda love everything about this little guy... even if he does talk too much.





Emily. We have gotten even closer with Jessica away at camp. She is my helper. She is the most similar to me of all the kids. She is competitive and stubborn and a perfectionist. She likes things to be organized. She will always remind me to do things even a million times until I get it done. She understands rules. If I tell her she must do something, it will be done. She makes her bed every morning as soon as she gets out of it. She helps me with Alyssa and Will all the time without complaining. Two nights ago when Jon was out, I was putting Alyssa to bed. Emily gave Will a bath and read him a book in bed afterward! She never asks for anything, but is thrilled to get special things. Anything. Even if it's something she totally deserved or knew she was getting. She is totally respectful and kind and thoughtful and sweet and sensitive and funny and.... and best of all ... addicted to bejeweled blitz on facebook! She helps me get the high scores and is excited when we beat my friends' scores :) I love that girl.




Alyssa is the family monster. She loves to cause trouble. I think she knows when she's doing it too. She gets this excited look on her face. The other day, I wanted to water my flowers, and decided to let Alyssa help. At first she held the hose straight.... kind of awkwardly... not really knowing what to do... But within seconds she was an expert. She watered both sides and the grass. She learned how to make muddy puddles. She then turned to me with the most mischievous smile I've ever seen and came after me! She got me all wet and giggled the whole time! I had to keep a safe distance from her after that. But I must admit... it was really cute and totally hilarious.


















Last but not least, Jessica, my oldest, my softy with the hard exterior, the one that can truly make me laugh, who adds so much life to our house. And the reason I am writing this heartfelt post. Yesterday was her 11th birthday. Her sleepover camp does not allow kids to call their parents unless it's their birthday, so I carried my phone in my hand all. day. long.... Waiting.. Hoping... that even though they were on their overnight in the woods she would call. I called the camp to make sure her counselors had planned a little party and had a cake for her (they said they saw the cake in the fridge). But, all I really wanted was to hear that little voice of hers... to wish her a happy birthday. At around 10:15 PM, I was on the phone ordering special cookies to bring up to camp for her, when call waiting clicked. It was a 347 number. Telemarketers... They had called earlier and I had hung up on them. Well I found out 25 minutes too late that it was Jessica calling from a new yorker's cell phone (cell phones are not allowed) at camp. I called the counselor (my sister's friend) back but she said she couldn't go back to Jessica's bunk anymore. I listened to a sad, almost in tears, Jessica on my voicemail say, " hey Mommy, it's Jessica. bye." I burst into tears when I heard her message. Why hadn't I just clicked the call waiting??? I could not stop crying... she sounded so sad. All I wanted to do was wish her a happy birthday and tell her I love her. I emailed the director and asked him if she could have the option to call me tomorrow because I didn't get to talk to her on her birthday. He wrote back that it shouldn't be a problem. I felt a little better that is till I wrote this and started crying all over again.