Pumpkin Carving

I went up to eat lunch with Jackson at school and then we did pumpkin carving with his class. I brought Jackson "Wendy's" for lunch and you would have thought he was the new "rock star" of his class. Jackson thought he was way cool and all his friends wanted to see his lunch (as if they had never eaten at Wendy's before). I then helped Mr. Beckman get all the supplies ready and set up the pumpkins. Jackson says "Mommy, you are kind of going to help Mr. Beckman be the teacher today aren't you." He just cracks me up and I am loving that he is so into me being at his school because I don't think that will be the case in ten years or so. I am eating it up now. I told Jackson when I was done that I would come outside and watch him at recess. You could tell he was so excited about that and then he paused for a minute and said "Mommy since you used to be a kindergarten teacher you can stand with all the teachers at recess." I suffered through the cold recess and it brought back some unpleasant memories of years of cold recess duty. Thankfully Mr. Beckman blew the whistle and we all filed in (with Mollie Jane at the end of the line trying to act like the other kids) to carve the pumpkins. I really despise carving pumpkins and have always called the stuff inside the pumpkin "buggers." So I was thrilled my kids got to do it this year but we didn't have to do it in our kitchen. Mollie Jane, Smith and I all attended. It was a little crazy with the other ones up there. Mollie Jane fit right in and acted like she was in first grade. Smith just hung out in the Bijourn and kicked on a blanket in the corner of the room (my sweet poor third child). The kids in his class were so funny. Jackson, Mollie Jane and his partner carved their pumpkin and made it look like a vampire. Jackson handling the carving knife made me a little nervous and I probably took over a few too many times. Our vampire pumpkin turned out cute and it was a fun day.

Smith is four months old

Our big sweet boy is four months old. What a month it has been.
Here are the highlights.
-We started cereal at night. He eats cereal but in between bites he insists on sucking his thumb. He makes a huge mess doing it.
-He is still a great sleeper. He is a tummy sleeper and has learned to flip over and his back and gets extremely ticked when he does this. There was a week or so where this was really a problem in the middle of the night but he is back to his "good sleeping self."
-He loves his bath and the kids now refer to bath time for Smith as "kick mania" as he wildly kicks his feet and slaps his hands around and splashes water everywhere.
-He is sitting in the mega saucer and has good trunk control. He is starting to grab at the toys.
-He is grabbing with his hands and the other day flung my side salad across Wendy's.
-He drools constantly (we call him Brutus).
-He is wearing 6-12 month clothing and it fits him in length great but he is our "skinny guy."
-He is a babbler and does some crazy talking.
-He usually goes down between 8-10 pm and wakes up between 8-10am. Whenever he gets up he is usually up about 2 hours or so and then goes back down for a nap and sleeps 3 hours or so. He really kind of does this all day until it is time for bed.
-He is still not a big fan of the car but getting much better now that he sucks his thumb and can play with some toys. My Mom is convinced that he hates his car seat because he has big "balls." (If you weren't aware he has hydroseal??? or something along that medical term where he has a little extra fluid in that area) It is supposedly not harmful but we are just watching it. Poor guy.
-The highlight of this month was getting to meet the "original Smith" A dear friend of ours father is named Smith and he is such a remarkable godly man. He was so honored that we named our big man "Smith" and we were touched that they came up for a visit.

The true picture of a single Mom

Thank the Lord I don't have any pictures for this blog. Clearly, Jason being gone for 4 1/2 weeks is not healthy for me. I decided to go to the mall as I had a couple of returns. I took Smith in the "Baby Bijorn" (cauz he still hates his car seat). We first headed to Old Navy and Mollie Jane and I both used the potty. We left the Old Navy and proceded to walk literally the whole mall. We decided we would have a major treat for lunch and go to Chick Fill A. We ate our meal in the lovely food court and I am trying to juggle Smith, help Mollie Jane finish her meal, clean up, and gather all our items. A lady walks over to me and says "Maum, I don't want you to be alarmed, it is really no big deal, it happens to all of us but you have toilet paper hanging out of your jeans. Literally it was down to my calf (nice) and I had cruised the whole mall. I thought to myself, I should have just stayed home. AHHHHH!
The next day, I am cooking Mollie Jane lunch and the extra lovely part of this event is that I am still in my bathrobe. Why you ask? Because I was having a lazy cleaning day at home and thankfully our dear friends the Paul and Cindy Teas took Jackson to school that day for me so we hadn't left the house. I started to cook a quesidilla for Mollie Jane and walked outside and was fiddling in the garage and the back yard with Mollie Jane. I forgot about the quesidilla and came back into the house with the smoke dectors going off and our alarm system going off. I got it all turned off and I couldn't believe it but Baby Smith slept through the whole thing. I was airing out the house when I heard sirens and then it dawned on me that the alarm probably triggered the fire dept. Yep! Three very kind and very attractive fire fighters jumped out of their truck with their full gear. I realized that I did not have time to go put something else on and so I greeted them in my front yard in my bath robe. At this point, just about every neighbor on my street was standing in their front yard trying to figure out what was going on with the sirens. Yet, more importantly why was Alison Brawner still in her bathrobe at 1:30? I am sure I was a sight trying to explain that I had just burnt my lunch. Mollie Jane says "That was awesome Mommy" when I walked back inside and Baby Smith slept through all that noise and ruckus once again. I think it was after that 24 hour period I was done being a single Mom and realized probably no one could love me or put up with my serious flaws besides sweet Jason. I think it will be important for my kids to know as the read this lovely entry years from now that their Mom functions much better when their Dad is around.

Boy Do I need Help!

We have gone 5 weekends and 4 weeks with Jason gone. We are pumped for his return. I have decided that I need help. I don't know what I would have done without help from so many precious family and friends these past several weeks. Our dear friends the Frechs have been awesome to help me out with the kids several times and offering support. Jason's sweet sister Jill has a ton on her plate, a new baby due in November, a million people to see while she was in town, the cutest truckload (literally) of precious gifts to pack up, moving stress, etc... and she came down for a day to help me out. Then there are my parents, where do I start. My Mom came down to help me out for a week. They have so much going on these next several weeks (of course my Mom down plays all they have going on). Mom cleaned and carted the kids around and cooked some great meals. It was a big treat for this busy Mom and kids to go out to some fun dinners and lunches. I was so grateful that I was able to work many days while she was here. We were so sad to see her leave but understood she had to go. The day after she got home she had a huge party at her house. Then a week after that she and my Dad left to go on their "retirement trip of a lifetime" to Africa for 3 weeks. I am sure her life would have been way less stressful if she would have just stayed home and got herself ready. But in my Mom and Dad's typical servant fashion, they helped me out. My precious sister flew in from Washington DC with my sweet 7 month old niece to also help. She and my Mom's flights overlapped so we all got to have lunch together. My sister was left with four children way too many times to count while I worked. She handled the chaos like a pro. She also cleaned up a storm and hauled a literal truckload of brush out of my backyard. We almost had to figure out how to work the lawnmower but thankfully awesome Troy & Devon from our church came and mowed. My Dad said when he heard our "backyard overhaul" that he was sure that the "Glass women had never worked that hard." He might have been right. My sister did some serious manual labor. Jackson had so much fun as my sister and Mom both brought McDonald's lunch up to school on different days. They both got to see his school and meet the famous "Mr. Beckman." I was very said to see my sister go. I felt that our roles were reversed while she was here and she was "my big sister" bailing me out and giving me some much needed morale support. Our sweet neighbors, Paul and Cindy Teas, watched the kids for me so I could go work and then have taken Jackson to school several days for me. What a blessing they are and how lucky we are that they so genuinely love my kids. "Aunt Nat" and "Aunt Shawna" as my kids affectionately call them have been so gracious to call and keep me sane and grounded. They also watched the kids so I could work. The sweet Flannery family treated us all to a fun crazy night at Chuck E Cheese. My dear friend Emily who has four children (a set of 7 month twins) is hounding me, trying to help us out. Seriously, she is so busy and I am touched that she actually is trying to make time to help us out. My sweet friend Melissa is also hounding me and has a more than full plate as well but seemed determined also to help out our crazy family.
All that to say.... I think we have officially made it. We have had a few bumps along the way these last four and a half weeks. I am overwhelmed with the support system of family and friends that we have.
I have to remind myself the main purpose of blogging is so that my children someday have an account of our crazy but fun life we lead. So I guess, I want them to know how grateful I am for those individuals who love and support us. It is my prayer that we continue to spend time with these amazing friends and family members and that their "servant-like" attitudes will rub off on my children. It is my goal as a mom that my children learn what it is like to serve others and to learn gratefulness when they have been served. I have truly been served these past several weeks and I am soooo grateful.

The buzz over the Tooth Fairy

Jackson lost his first tooth. It all started when he came home from school one day and literally ate nothing out of his lunch box.
Me- "Buddy, why didn't you eat your lunch?"
Jackson-"I was really busy at lunch today"
Me- "What were you busy with?"
Jackson- "I was busy wiggling my tooth and didn't have time to eat."
The wiggling worked because the next day at a birthday party it fell out. Apparently, there was a lot of blood and it sounded like a major ordeal that the tooth came out at this swimming birthday party. Jackson was so excited. The big deal was then the tooth fairy. He was telling me that one kid in his class got five dollars. I am thinking to myself dollars? I am major old school or just grew up with a frugle tooth fairy because my tooth fairy just left coins. Thankfully my sister was here to bail me out financially as I often don't have a lot of cash. So Jackson got out his tooth fairy pillow, and hung it on his bedpost. The next morning he was thrilled and hauled around his two dollar bills for days. We have had lots of tooth fairy questions and statements the last several days. Here are a few.
"Mom, does Santa know what the tooth fairy looks like."
Jackson to Mollie Jane "Sissy, no one knows what the tooth fairy looks like because she only comes at night."
At his Luthern school he is learning the concept of the trinity so the other day when I was telling him that Jesus knows how he treats his sister even when no one is looking, he reminded me that "Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, the tooth fairy and Santa all know what he is doing."
"I bet I might get to meet the tooth fairy in heaven. Are spiders in heaven?"
He just cracks me up. We had a brief discussion of heaven and then it was determined that GeGe and Brutus have probably both met the tooth fairy.

Now we know how Tiger Woods feels!

Jackson is crazy excited because we recently found out he is the boys 9 & under Jr Golf club champion at our club. I am excited because I think there are some big bonuses to be reaped from winning golf tournaments. He got a box of monogram ed golf balls, a pair of golf shoes, a trophy, his name in the newsletter, and a $50 credit in the pro shop. Seriously, all this for winning a kids tournament. He has been the youngest in the program for the last three years. He started playing with my parents when he was three and then when he was four we signed him up for Jr. Golf. This is the third summer he has participated in the program. The funny thing is that we have never really told the club his age. You have to be seven to do Jr Golf program. We haven't lied about his age. We just tell the club "he is younger than seven." He is our big tall boy so even at age four he looked like he was seven. Next year he will finally be the same age as the other kids in the Jr. Golf program. Jackson has a very funny serous, business like attitude towards life. Jason and I feel that trait is working well for him as a golfer. (Maybe that is my problem with golf. I ask him all the time when I will be able to beat him. He can seriously beat me and occasionally his Dad on some holes. I picked up golf two years ago and love it. I am terrible but have so much fun playing it. Unlike Jackson, I can actually hit the ball pretty far. I just hit it all over the place, whiff constantly, have a shabby looking stroke and am very inconsistent with my shots. Jackson does not hit the ball real hard but he is very consistent and has a beautiful stroke. I won't even try to evaluate Jason's golf game (Oh My!). He is probably somewhere in between Jackson and I. However, he has done an amazing, patient job of teaching Jackson how to play golf. So the morale of this blog post is that Tiger Wood's started golfing at age three and is a big winner. Our recent earnings aren't comparable to Tiger but a college scholarship would do just fine. I always said in high school and college that if I had to pick a sport where all the cute boys were I would choose golf. How did I marry a swimmer? Sorry, dear. I guess I got the best of both worlds. I married a super cute swimmer but maybe there could still be a cute golfer in my future.

The Mohawks

Our Daddy had to leave to go to "Army Camp" as Mollie Jane affectionately calls it.
Before he left he had to shave his head (literally bald). I felt for a moment like we were dating again and he was at Drury getting ready for a big swim meet (except he is quite a bit chubbier). Our dear friends the Frechs invited us over for pizza and a head shaving party. We decided that before the final shave we would do a lovely mohawk. We have laughed that since Smith was born he has a mohawk or a "comb over" too. So we had some special bonding with Daddy and Baby Smith as they both enjoyed their mohawks.
Jason will be gone for 5 weekends and four weeks. It really stinks. We are praying it goes by fast. I know this will be nothing compared to what the future holds for Jason in the army. People say often "this will be good for you guys to get used to what it will be like if he ever gets deployed." I guess that is right on some level. I still think no matter how much he is gone with the army we will never ever get used to it or okay with him gone. So in a weird way I guess I hope it always stinks every time he is gone!

Mollie Jane's first day of preschool

Mollie Jane started 3 year old preschool. She goes on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9-11:30. She has her teacher from last year and Jackson's old teacher. Ms. Allison and Ms. Natasha are so patient and sweet to Mollie Jane. She was very excited about her Dora backpack and all her school supplies. Her very best friend Caden is in her class. She got there and was putting her stuff away and realized Caden was not there yet and had a small panic attack. He eventually came in and the day went on. Caden and Mollie Jane have been in class together since they were one. I feel like that was just yesterday. Where has the time gone? When I picked her up and asked her about her day. The report was "it was so fun. Caden was there and we had goldfish." It doesn't take much to make her happy.


Mollie Jane and Caden at one year old preschool. Wasn't it just yesterday she was at PDO with her "woobie" and sitting in a high chair.

Mollie Jane and Caden on meet the teacher day.

Mollie Jane on the first day of school, with her hand on her chin and as much drama in her voice as she can says "wait a minute, Caden is not here yet."

Our annual Lake weekend with my best buds!

We had such a great time at the lake with my TCU pals. They are truly my sisters. I wish life wasn't so crazy and I was better about keeping in touch with them during the year. We just always pick up right where we left off and I love that. We had several realizations this weekend. Here they are summing up our fabulous weekend:
-I realized as I stumbled in the bathroom early in the morning half awake to see Sam Burke brushing his teeth and I am in my pajamas with cream on my face that these girls and their husbands are truly like family.
-I realized that my husband is the crazy source of entertainment on our annual trip as he rented a hilarious Jim Gaffirty video and we all laughed until we were sick (literally).
-I realized that we have all been piling up in Christy's parents lake house for years and even though it is crammed it is so cozy and so much fun. The Taylors are so generous to let us do this. Without this I feel it would be so much more difficult for us to all stay in touch.
-I realized talking on the porch Friday night with my pals watching the storm come in that I wish I lived closer and we could all catch up more often.
-I realized that Jason and I are chubby and we need to stop getting pastries at the Chech Stop outside Waco.
-I realized that our kids are beginning to love this weekend more than the adults and I had to bribe Jackson to go with his friends to Austin with Mac & Cheese.
-I realized that Mandy has a gift for cooking (especially breakfast), Christy has a gift for organizing all the meals and food, and Anna has the gift of being the bartender and horderve girl (and was it just me or did we totally forget the sausage dip this year?)
-I realized that we have been doing this trip for nine years and every year we keep adding people and it gets crazier but more fun.
-I realized that my girlfriend's parents are also like family. I have known them since freshman year parents weekend and it is always such a blast to get all the parents together. Mr & Mrs. Sessi (Anna's parents) offered to take my kids back to Austin and spend two nights with them along with their own two grandchildren Catherine and Samuel. What a blessing! Are you kidding? They did not have to do that but my kids had an absolute blast and it was great for Jason and I to get to relax with just Smith. When my Mom asked Jackson if he wanted to go back he said "Yes, but I really want to go back to that one place with that lady named Mia. That was really fun."
-I realized that Smith does look like my Dad (as my pals confirmed) and that he needs to be nicknamed L.C.-Little Colonel or as Jason says (Lieutenant Colonel)
-I realized that Mollie Jane is just happy no matter where she is. She had no clue who Anna's parents were or where she was but was so happy to be there. Mrs. Sessi kept telling her that her name was "Mia." However, every time "Mia" asked her, "Do you remember my name" she reported that Mollie Jane just smiled and said "Nope."
-I realized that the lake weekend is never complete without an annual "booze cruise" and Matt driving. Matt you did awesome this year!
-I realized that every year I slow the speed of the jet ski down a couple mph's because I think it is to fast and dangerous and in about 9 more years I won't even be creating a wake.
-I realized that we are old because we referred to college students as "teens" and the crazy things they are doing with their cell phones. Thank you Anna for that informative education.
-I realized that the 10-12 hour car drive down there and back definitely seems longer with three kids but worth every minute of it still to hang with my pals.
-I realized that we are now all married and the weddings have spanned 13 years. What a joy it is to have been at every one of those weddings. Now we are all in the "baby phase" whether we are finishing up or just starting but it is proving to be equally as much fun as the "wedding phase."
-I realized every year we go down their I leave wishing I lived in Texas, closer to family and friends. Keep praying CT.

-The Last and most profound realization of the weekend (thank you Shane Niles) was that our children are closer to their freshman year in college than we are. Geez, we are suddenly old. It got a little brighter when we realized that we were still closer to our Senior year in college than they were (at least for a couple years).

Some of the lovely faces of the drive 12 hours down and 12 hours back!

What a week

What a week we have had. I feel like all my kids have suddenly grown this week.

Jackson is now riding his bike up and down our street by himself. He has been riding his bike for a year without training wheels but usually just in our long driveway or in the street with us out there with him. He also has decided he was old enough to start mowing this week. Jason started to mow and Jackson said he wanted to do it. He ended up mowing the whole front yard. As you can see from the pictures he had some trouble pushing the mower but it didn't stop him from mowing the whole front yard all by himself.
Jackson still continues to love school. He told me today that one of his friends told him that Mr. Beckman was 99. Jackson said "I think he is in the 50's though Mom. I think when people are 99 they can't walk very well and Mr. Beckman can play kickball." I think Jaskson's classmate couldn't fool Jackson but no telling how many other kids in the class think Mr. Beckman is 99.
I picked him up the other day and as he is getting into the car he started yelling to say goodbye to his teacher. Mr Beckman was busy with the other students and didn't see Jackson. Jackson proceeded to yell louder and goes to the back of the car so Mr Beckman could see him. Finally, Mr Beckman waved back and told Jackson he would see him tomorrow. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the biggest smile on my son's face. It was priceless. He thinks Mr. Beckman is it. I am so glad Mr. Beckman is such a wonderful Christian teacher because he has such an impact on Jackson.

Mollie Jane started ballet this week and loves it. She is taking a traditional ballet class. We think she has plenty of rowdiness sandwiched between two boys so Jason and I thought classic ballet might help with the grace and poise factor. She is all excited to wear her "ballets" as she call her black leotard. She looks so big in her little outfit. She has two girls in her class and she call them her "ballet friends." It is a christian ballet studio about 5 blocks away from our house. It is so fun for Mollie Jane to finally have something of her own. She has been dragged to all of her big brothers events for the last three years. Thanks Mom and Dad, Sissy loves it.

Our Big Smith has been sleeping like crazy. I feel like all he does is sleep these days and I just figured out his secret. I went in to wake him the other day to feed him and I caught our little chub sucking his thumb. I thought all along he would be a thumbsucker as he always slept with his fists right by his face and is constantly sucking his fist. So for right now we love our thumbsucker. Maybe if he is 6 and still sucking his thumb we may not like it so much but for right now it is peaceful 12 hour night slumber for the Brawner house. Bless those thumbsuckers! God knew this Mommy needed another one.