One Week Later

It was Brennan's turn at Ridemakerz. Anyone who knows this handsome little devil, knows that he tried his level best to keep from breaking out into a smile. During this event, it was tough for him. He had such a good time and loves his new ride.

Happy Unbirthday to Anna

Anna's birthday is in March. Less than a month after Jon passed away, Anna had her 8th birthday. I was in no frame of mind to plan and execute a party. Sweetly, Anna understood this and agreed to wait till summer when things were less stressful. Sadly, they weren't much less stressful and I talked her into waiting some more. Normally, Anna is not a patient child, but for whatever reason, she was patient in this situation. Embarrassingly, I found myself a year later, making excuses to wait until summer for Anna's 9th birthday party. Summer came and went. Finally, I was just embarrassed of myself and decided to make something happy for Anna's birthday, even though it meant doing it in September, 6 months after I postponed her second year of parties.

One Friday night in September, Anna, along with two of her close friends from school, her little sister, her cousin and myself, headed to Pearland for an evening of unbirthday fun. Where was Brennan you ask? He was with his Nana, sick with the flu. Poor baby, but how could I have postponed again? The show had to go on.

Our first stop was the food court. The girls couldn't have possibly chosen the same restaurants, right? That would have made life too easy for me...haha. But it was okay, I certainly didn't mind and they enjoyed eating, visiting and playing together.

Quick meal and then it was off to the main event...RIDEMAKERZ! If you know about Build-A-Bear, you can grasp the idea of Ridemakerz. This very cool store, is a place where you go and get to Build-A-Car. The girls had a fabulous time picking out their make, model, color of car, wheels, and rims. After that, they started putting the cars together. When the cars were all put together and the remote controls had been added in, the girls decorated their cars with stickers. Once stickers were added, there were 5 newly made cars zooming around the store as I was checking out. All I could think about was how much fun Brennan would have had and I determined right then that I would be bringing him back as soon as he was feeling up to it. I toyed with the idea of just putting a car together for him, but making it is more than half the fun. I couldn't take that away from him.

From Ridemakerz, we all headed to the food court for some Dip-N-Dots. Only one of the girls chose birthday cake as their flavor, but they all had a taste of that one. Again, there was more visiting, eating and playing around, along with a mess or two.

By this time, the mall was winding down and it was time for us to head out. Before heading back home, we had to stop off at my sister's house to drop off my niece. The girls were chopping at the bit to drive their cars some more, so I parked in a court close to my sister's house and gave them about 5 or 10 minutes to drive them underneath the street lights. There was so much squealing and giggling that I thought the neighbors might be irritated with us, but there weren't any complaints.

We loaded back up and headed home. The guests were all going to spend the night, but when we found out Brennan had the flu, we chose not to share that love. All the girls got dropped back home and my girls and I rushed over to pick up Brennan. I brought him a key and told him about my plans to take him there as soon as he was feeling better. His response..."I feel better right now!" Again, poor baby, but his sisters were sweet enough to allow him a ton of driving time with their new Ridemakerz cars.

Isn't it still true that it's better late than never? Happy Unbirthday to Anna!

Bedtime Surprise

One evening, the kids had gotten to bed at a decent time, and I was able to take a hot bath and relax for a few minutes. After I got through and was ready for bed, this is what was laying on my pillow. So sweet.

Exhaustion

Although this is a picture of Ella after her first full week of kindergarten, it depicts exactly the way everyone at our house felt Friday night. It was a good week, but it was exhausting. Let the "Rat Race" begin!

First Day of School

Like everyone, the first day of school exhausted us all in the Greene House. I'm just going to post some pictures and I will write more about our first day later.

Let's start with my baby...who tells me he's not a baby anymore. Brennan started prekindergarten today. Here he is with his teacher. I lovingly packed him a special lunch for his big day, but look at his lunch....he got a tray lunch!

Bren and me...I didn't have much time to see him off to his new class so as I went to pick up my students at the same time he was having lunch.

My sweet Ella...my kindergarten girl...sitting at her desk coloring. She had a great day.

And last but not least...my big fourth grader, Anna. I'm so excited that Anna is in the same grade that I teach. Of course I will not be teaching her, but we will be able to go on field trips together and other activities as well. Then next year she'll be off to middle school. She was so sweet today. She actually asked me if I would move up with her next year. For those of you who know Anna, this was a shocking statement to hear from her. She's so much like me...I might think it, but don't always express it with my words.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Rockin' Robin!

Be on the look out for us Crazy Greenes to head over your way to deliver your Bath & Body shower gel, lotion and hand sanitizer.

Everyone else will be receiving a small hand sanitizer as well...Anna just couldn't stand the fact that only one person would get a prize.

Fake It Till You Feel It

FAKE IT TILL YOU FEEL IT! For many years, this has been my motto my melancholy days. The last couple of days I've felt that way. Today ends day 2 of my attempts to "fake it till I feel it". In fact, a couple of times today, I would have sold my children cheap if a circus had been in town. Thankfully, those feelings didn't last terribly long and I found myself, once again, so in love with my children that I feel like my heart would burst right out of my chest.

This evening, I mustered the emotional strength to take them to the fountains in downtown. They only had an hour to play (thank you Sandra for putting the time they closed on your blog) and it was empty most of the time we were there. While the kids played in the water, I sat in the shade listening to music and watching the kids enjoy themselves. The kids made me smile most of the time we were there and were successful in lifting my spirits tremendously. It's quite bittersweet since I would give just about anything for Jon to be able to watch them as they frolick in the fountain. In fact, the last time I took the kids out there, Jon spent his lunch hour with me under that same shade tree and picnic table to watch our little ones. He is just that kind of man...a family man through and through. I feel like we've all been cheated out of so many pleasures in life. It's one of those times that I've mentioned before that makes me want to act like a 5 year old and start screaming, crying, stamping my Mary Janes and shouting out the injustice of it all.

Instead, I continue to fake it. I must find the faith and courage to count the blessings that I still have and not focus on what I no longer have. Without further whining...here are three of my greatest blessings...