Joy and Pain

I think the reason I haven't blogged lately is because I've been wanting to add photos, and haven't been able to. So much has happened in the past month and there are so many photos I could share.... Ugh. Maybe I'll sneak my camera into work and see if I'm able to upload anything. Some of the happenings:

Cole turned 5 !!!

My little munchkin is a "big boy" now. Five. It's such a milestone. And that very next weekend he learned to ride his two-wheeler without the training wheels!! ("Are you trying to give Mama a heart attack??") He had a week-long birthday celebration - 1st at school, then his party at Chuck E. Cheese, then the family BBQ Party at Grammy & Grumpy's and then at his dads. Yep, spoiled.

Shawn & I are great and busy every stinkin' weekend !! (No complaints here!) Fathers Day weekend, Cole was at his dads, so Shawn, his daughter Anna and I went to Portland for the Champ Car Race. He has a friend who is on the Mi-Jack Racing Team and got us free Pit Passes. It was so amazing to watch those open-air wheel little cars go whizzing by us at 160 mph!! Shawn got to be an actual pit-crew member on the day of the race - which was also Fathers Day. Awww... My most exciting moment was to see Paul Newman in person!! He's co-owner of Newman-Haas and a living ledgend in my book!! I got photos of him sitting in the pit area. Aren't you jealous? ;)

We also went to Wild Waves/Enchanted Village a couple of weekends ago. Talk about a change. That was my summer hang out in junior high and I don't think I've been back since. So a lot has changed since 1988. Ouch!! Can you beleive we're that old?? The green water slides are still the best thing ever and yes, they still have the river ride with the tubes where you get stuck in those dang pools and go around and around until someone is nice enough to push you down. Ahhh... memories.

Cole has been trying my patience this past week for sure. He's been defiant and angry and just not paying attention to athority. Grrr... I know this happens with kids, it's happened with him before, but not for A WEEK AT A TIME!!!! Finally I had to get tough. He had had a red card for the third time last week so I took Shawn's advice: "Tell him how disappointed you are, have a PB sandwich for dinner and send him to bed." Period. I barely spoke to him and was very stern. It took a few (4 to be exact) days, but I think it's finally helping. He got a yellow card at school yesterday! It's not green, but it's an improvement. I told him how proud I was for not getting a red card (positive reinforcement). And I can notice the mood change in him already. "Ahhhh....", she sighs.

More on those photos soon!