LOGAN TURNS 10!

Let's get the obvious out of the way.
Yes, it's been way too long since I've blogged.
Yes, I regret it and feel horrible I've missed documenting the past few months of our lives.
However, it was a good break.
I feel refreshed and ready to write again!
Let's start with my Most Favoritest Son's 10th Birthday.
DOUBLE DIGITS PEOPLE!!
I whipped up these snazzy little invites to resemble real Baseball Tickets.
Even with a bar code at the bottom!

This year, instead of inviting all the boys in his class for a sleep over (every parent needs to experience this at least once) we let him choose 4 friends to spend the night and go to a Nashville Sounds ballgame. We had an awesome group of boys. We had PRIME seats. Right behind the Sounds dugout!
There was also a good group of enthusiastic people around us including a little league team!
I've found that it can really affect the mood you're in by the people you sit around at big events like this. (i.e. concerts)
This here is Ozzie the Cougar. Not real sure what he has to do with "Sounds" but, he did a great job of amping up the crowd.

Little boys pigging out on hot dogs, slushies, pizza and...

FUNNEL CAKES!!!

About half way through the boys were getting a little restless. Let's face it, baseball games are long! Thank goodness there's a cool little area for kids to play around on. Obstacle bounce houses, trampolines and velcro walls.

The velcro wall was hilarious. I don't think the boys were quite heavy enough to make themselves stick to the wall so Josh had to end up throwing the boys against it to make them stick!

Evan got completely stuck up there and it took all 4 boys to get him down.

My son. He does awesome tricks only a 10 year old boy can do.

I think they're singing here? Their facial expressions are hilarious!

So after all that fun we made it back to the game. It was getting to be a real nail biter! Sounds were down by 2. In the 7th inning we scored 2 runs and tied it up! Our 5 had made their way down to the front row. Right behind the dugout! The little league team beside us were going crazy! They started chanting this little diddy:
We want a single just a little single s-i-n-g-l-e single single single We want a double just a little double d-o-u-b-l-e double double double We want a triple just a little triple t-r-i-p-l-e triple triple triple We want a homerun just a little homerun H-O H-O-M H-O-M-E-R-U-N HOMERUN
And wouldn't you know?? The next batter got a HOMERUN!! It was amazing.
Those little boys were so excited thinking they'd caused the homerun (maybe they did!?) and our guys were really into it by this point.
So by the 9th inning Sounds were up by 1 point.
All we had to do was hold them in the Top of the 9th.

First batter up...3 strikes and he's out!
Second batter...3 strikes!
THIRD BATTER...3 strikes.
OUT!
9 pitches, all strikes. Annnnnd
THAT'S THE GAME!!

IT.WAS.AMAZING!!
On top of that, there was a couple sitting next to the boys above the dugout. The guy kept hollering to the pitcher to give Logan a ball 'cause it was his birthday. The pitcher kept trying to ignore/wave him off. The guy was relentless and the pitcher gave in!
Logan got a game ball!!

Oh it does not end there my friends. After the field was cleared all the kiddos were invited to run the bases. The excitement of 5 10 year old boys running a real baseball field was immeasurable!
To end the night, there was a fireworks display to the tunes of Mr. Michael Jackson. It was like our own personal amzing light show! We were so close to the action!
And that is the story of the Most Awesome 10 Year Old Birthday EVA!!

The Truth

Below is a transcript of a conversation I had this morning with Logan before school:

Him: Mom. Poppy told me Santa isn't real.
Me: *heart breaking* What? He didn't say that. Why would he say that!?
Him: Well that's what he told me. You can't help me with my list this year.
Me: OK. Why not?
Him: Because I'm going to see if I get the first thing on my list. Then I'll know if Santa's real or not.
Me: What is it? Heely's?
Him: Nope that's 2nd.
Me: A Wii?
Him: Nope that's 3rd.
Me: You want Heely's more than you want a Wii? *assuming that the thing he wants most will be first.
Him: No mom! There not in order! I'm just gonna make a list.
Me: Ummmm ok.
WOW! He's good. He's going to make a secret list of things he wants. This list will be in no certain order & will be kept hidden from the parents. This is his master plan. To find out The Truth.
After he'd left for school I texted the FIL.
Me: Did you tell Logan that Santa wasn't real? *I'm a bit frustrated. This is something I felt Josh & I should handle. You know...kinda like the Birds & The Bees talk.*
Him: He said he thinks he knows where the presents come from (smart kid). Asked me if it was so. I said it's ok to believe Santa Claus is real in our imagination. Best way I knew to tell the truth. Hope you're not mad.
Me: *this man is one of the most faithful I know. He didn't want to lie which is understandable. I mean, he IS a preacher after all.* I'm not mad I'm just not ready.
Him: Sorry. Wish he had not figured it out.

Then I went on to cook lunch for Brynn & I. The tears came. The sadness of a little boy growing up too fast consumed me. I knew it was coming. He had lots of questions last year. I just wanted to hold on another year or two. Does this mean the magic of Christmas will be lost for him? How do we broach this subject? Will he shed tears? I want to make it more about The True Meaning of Christmas for him now. The miracle of the birth of Jesus. The REAL Reason for the Season. Maybe I should go on and tell Brynn The Truth now and save us all the agony later.

The Day That Shook Me To The Core

Sunday was gonna be a great day!

I had high hopes for that day.
The weather was supposed to be gorgeous, I was really looking forward to church &
the NFL season was beginning.
After church I got a message that my Mema was coming to town.
I couldn't wait to see her!
I headed outside to round the boys up (my nephew was with us) because Josh was mowing and I knew they needed to come in before I left.
We were standing in the driveway.
Josh was in the middle of the front yard.
At least 20 feet from us.
I heard a loud smack.
Turned to Logan and saw red.
Blood curdling screams & Gushing red from Logan's head.
Dear Lord!!
What The!!??
My heart is pounding.
Josh stops mowing.
We run into the garage, I grab towels and apply pressure.
I devise a plan.
It's called the "Gotta Keep Myself Composed & Strong For Him" Plan.
I have to draw strength from somewhere.
Just then the In-Laws arrive (they'd planned on coming by after church).
We've gotta get to the ER!
The blood is literally squirting from his head and
the wound looks like a mini cave carved right out of his little skin.
Deep enough that it might have hit the skull!
Josh jumps in the back with Logan and I ride up front with Steve.
I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to keep my plan intact.
I have to hold it together for him.
It's not working!
Steve is driving the fastest I've ever seen that man go!
Like 50 MPH!!
Remaining completely calm the whole time.
I hear Logan say from the backseat,
"I'm really tired! Can I just go to sleep?"
NOOOO!!! GOD NO!!
I'm Losing him! This is it.
"Buddy, You have to stay awake. Sleep is not an option. Please GOD keep him awake!"
The minute I step foot in the ER I loose it.
Sobbing uncontrollably. I can't even get out our last name to the receptionist.
She looks shell-shocked.
Logan is turning very pale. He says he can't see and needs to go to the bathroom.
Josh carries him there while I'm attempting to fill out papers with a completely unsteady hand.
A man rounds the corner.
"There's a kid throwing up everywhere! We need help quick!"
I'm thinking, "Great! Some kid in the ER is super sick and Logan might catch that now!"
NOPE!
It's Logan!
They get us in a room.
Josh asks Logan if his ok.
He turns and sees the floods of water pouring from my eyes.
"I'm ok. Is my mom ok?"
I think, "Dear Lord! He knows he's ok because he's going to heaven!
He wants to make sure I'll be ok!! How can I be losing my little buddy this soon!?"
Routine cleaning and sterilizing begin. The doctors look nervous.
He's so pale and the wound is so big!
We wheel down to do the CAT scan.
I'm standing in the room with the nurses watching the X-rays of his brain on the screen.
Looking for any sign that something is wrong.
"I can't watch," I think. If I watch and see something that is really nothing it will not help with the whole "Gotta Keep Myself Composed & Strong For Him" Plan.
I turn away. Test is done and we will have results in 10 minutes.
Longest.10.Minutes.Of.My.Life!
If I had a knife I would've cut that tension to shreds.
But, Logan's talking. He's remembering things like what happened yesterday and what our plans for the week are. Color is coming back.
The Dr. strides in. He has an air of confidence about him.
This has to be a good sign."You're CAT scan results came back normal! Everything looks completely fine!"
The life that had been sucked out of me for what felt like forever finally returned.
My head stopped swimming with what if questions.He would be ok. He would be ours to keep and raise and cuddle for many many more years.
Then the Dr. turns to us and says, "I'm going to speak to you in grown up terms now so he doesn't understand."
I'M thinking, " Well, if he can't understand them then I probably can't either!
How old does he think Logan is?"
I prepare to follow along with some very scientific words and he says,
"He got very lucky. If the laceration had been a little farther left, on the temple,we might have had a very different outcome."
WOW! Very difficult to understand there buddy!
Now that we know there's no skull fracture or brain bleeding we wait.For close to 3 hours to complete the stitches.
But, I don't even care.
Cause my buddy is there and he's having conversations with us and joking around and he's here.
He will have stitches and a head bandage that resembles The Karate Kid for a week.
When we got home he said he was sorry for bleeding all over my dress and that when he threw up in the ER he stretched his neck as far out as he could so he wouldn't throw up all over his dads clothes.
Seriously, the kid is thinking of us when he's got the massive head wound.I slept in his floor last night.
I knew I'd need to get him to flip back on his back and re-adjust the bandages. He was very nervous and wanted to make sure I'd be waking him up every so often.
It was nice to be there and to be the one taking care of him and soothing his fears.
The bandages have now been replaced and the wound cleaned.
Life will resume tomorrow and I pray I never experience a day like that again.
Having the actual real life fear that you're losing your child is
the most painful thing I've ever experienced.
I can't help but think his Guardian Angel was in full effect that day.
I Thank GOD that the in-laws arrived when they did
that father-in-law had a steady hand and remained calm enough to drive us safely
that mother-in-law was there to watch the other kids
that HE gave him to US for keeps.

Another Year Older~Another Grade Higher

Everyone says, "Fourth Grade is when it starts getting tough!"
More homework, more responsibility, more, more more!
Well, so far, they're right!
But before we get back to school we had a
Back To School Bash!
Lots of Kids
+
Lots of Water=
Lots of FUN!!!

NOW Back to School...
Getting back into the swing of things was not really something anyone was looking forward to. Gone are the glorious lazy days of summer. Waking up late, staying up even later.
This summer was a far cry from last summer when school couldn't get here fast enough. I think it's because Bynn's older and her and Logan actually PLAYED together.
We sure have enjoyed ourselves this summer, even if we didn't go on vacation. It's evident from the pics below that no one was ready for summer to end.

BUT, we made it.

And with this year, as I said earlier, comes more responsibility.
This is the year he gets his laptop.
Yep, his very own MAC(blasphemy in our house) to use until 6th grade!
You see, the hubs works at Dell and has for some time now!
The mere mention of us getting a MAC (I would LOVE to have one) has caused huffs and puffs that could blow a house down!
But, it's coming.
I hope we don't burst into flames when it comes through the doors.
And now I'm being asked to set up a kid friendly email account (that I monitor of course).
He will be able to communicate with his teacher this way, teaches him email etiquette and basically how to use this popular form of communication.
So much responsibility for such a little guy!!
I mean, isn't 9 just like a big toddler!?
I digress...
He is definitely entertaining at this age.
And it's pretty fun to carry on a conversation with him 'cause we kinda have the same sense of humor. Yes, I have the sense of humor of a 9 year old boy and I'm proud of it!

Welcome To Fourth Grade Buddy!!
can't wait to play on your mac.

My Dear Son Logan's Future...

Apparently includes this:

Which is completely fine!
Because I LOVE Jeeps.
BUT

It also includes these:

And if you don't know, those are spinners.

Yep.

He wants a Jeep with spinners for his first car.

He's been saying this for about a year now.

Hmmmmm
So I guess it'd look a little like this:

But in my mind,

it looks like this:

Yes, I know that's a hummer but still.

To make matters worse...

He spotted one of these gems in my sis in laws car the other day

(for what reason she had it in there I haven't a clue)

His eyes twinkled off the fake gemstones.

As soon as I saw it I knew what was coming.

"MOM! What is THIS!?"

Eyes of wonderment are abounding.

"Can I have it?"

I do NOT like where this is going.

I mean, kids change their minds all the time right!?

And Now For The Sappy Birthday Post

The other day

I was talking to one of you classmates mom

who has a daughter in middles school

She talked of how she feels so un-involved in the middle school

Rarely eating with your child in the cafeteria

Small amount of communication with the teacher

Basically not much assistance is needed at all from us Parents

This made me sad.

I know it's coming.

You're

NINE

now for heavens sake.

So as I walked into your class to eat your birthday lunch with you

and deliver cookies to the class

I thought of how lucky I am to be able to do this.

To come into your school freely and see if your teacher needs help

To bring special things in on special days

To be involved with the school as a whole

And, in turn, be involved with your life, your friends, your work.

I shudder to think of the day you won't need or want me as much anymore.

I know it's a part of growing and spreading your wings

BUT

As for now, you need me!

More importantly, you want me there!

So I'm there.

You are maturing so fast!

And observing surroundings even faster.

You're kind to others

Make friends easily

Love music, video games, candy and soccer.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Lightning Thief and Silly Bandz.

You read your FIRST long chapter book with NO pictures this year!!
(The Lightning Thief)

While in your class your teacher had all the kids say something nice about you if they wished

What your friend Joseph said

Made My Heart MELT

"Logan, I like you because you're a really good friend and

whenever I'm sad you help me put on my happy face."

On Your 9th Birthday

I had a LOT planned!

Everything Outside

It would be your very first SleepOver

I was nervous, excited, ready for my impending night of non-sleeping.

You could hardly STAND to wait for Saturday to come.

The boys were to come at 3pm for WATER WARS

Capture the flag watergun style

Then we'd play

badmitton

basketball

ladderball

maybe even slip-N-slide

HOWEVER

weather had a different opinion of how the day would go.

Serious threats of tornodos surrounded us

Everyone was nervous considering what happened last year.

The boys eventually came but, not til 5:30

We DID manage a few games of Capture The Flag (minus the water guns)

You guys LOVED it

You Strategized

And made Secret Sneak Attacks

And took your Flag Guarding

VERY seriously

But it got dark quick and we had to retreat.

Ohhhh Mother Nature

Why do you test me so!?

Many MANY video games were played

You wrestled and fought and made faces on silly stinky boys make

Cake & Pizza were consumed

and so was

HELIUM!

Yep, and I think I actualy started that one.

WHOOPS sorry parents.

They all began busting the balloons and talking like cartoon versions of themselves.

I made an attempt to corral the boys for a fun game of

CHARADES

But it didn't go so well.

I think you guys finally drifted off around

2 AM

We gave out water guns, blow pops and

SILLY BANDZ

For party favors

Wake time was somewhere between 5 & 7.

I can't be too sure exactly

I was a tad tired.

BUT YOU

had a blast!

And so did your friends!

Can I jus say how awesome these kids are!

Yes, they're rowdy at times

But they're also kind and respectful and encouraging to others

We Survived! Your First Sleepover!!

Love you Buddy

Happy Nine Years of Life

*sappy post from mom to come*