Not Me! Mondays

Some very creative mother decided to start sharing her less than stellar mothering moments in a humorous way. I cannot get the link to work but you can find her at www.mycharmingkids.net. So here's my not me moments:

I did NOT go through my entire hour and a half workout only to find out that I had a fabric softener sheet hanging out from the bottom of my shorts. (At least it wasn't a sock!)

I did NOT recently realize that my 11 year old has been sleeping on the same sheets for a month.

I did NOT do our wash for a week and find only ONE pair of underwear for my son.

I did NOT see my son come to get in the car dressed for church in his flip flops and painting shorts.

I did NOT see a grape smashed on the floor and think, oh well the maid will be here tomorrow.

I did NOT allow the boys to play 2 hours of video games so that I could finish reading a really good book.

I did NOT wash the same load of laundry at least 3 times because I couldn't remember to put it in the dryer.

I did NOT just watch the Red Green show with my boys and actually enjoy it!

And I did NOT send my coughing, sniffling child to school with a threat that if he mentioned his symptoms (we are in the midst of swine flu paranoia in Mexico) and get sent home I would personally make sure he had a miserable day at home. Nope, NOT ME!

So what have you NOT done lately?

Lawn Service

So after about 8 men stopped by the house this week asking to cut our grass, Joe went out and bought us a grass cutter. I say grass cutter and not mower because it has no motor just blades that spin. He instructed Anthony last night that it was his job to put the cutter together and he and Zac needed to cut the grass today. I think it was said with a little teasing because both boys stayed home from school yesterday feeling a little puny. But sure enough Anthony put it together and was out mowing while I went to pick up Zac. It was quite a task because the grass was pretty high. I don't think it's been cut since we got here and it has been raining constantly for the last 2 weeks! I think they did a great job although I'm not sure about Anthony's grass cutting attire - long sleeve black shirt and black jeans in 90 degree weather with tons of humidity! Crazy kids!

Aguacates

So on our back patio we have this wonderful, large avocado tree (although it is strangely hollow and still very fruitful). Anyone with an apple tree in there yard can sympathize - great shade but a lot of mess! On one of our first days back in Monterrey, I had an appointment and left the boys to fend for their own at home. Upon returning I get out of my car and hear shrieking. I think to myself, I'm sure that's not my boys, it's too hot (104) for them to be outside. But as I open the door I see them rushing in from the back. "What are you doing out there?" I ask. "Having an avocado fight, " they answer like it's the most normal thing in the world. I look out to see smashed avocados all over our WHITE walls - super! But the best comes when Anthony says, "We called Papi and he said it was okay as long as we just threw them below the waist." Thanks Joe!!

The Boys

Jackson, Anthony, David, Jesse, Zac, Brenden

Back in 1973 when Carol gave birth to Joe, the family started a trend - Van Hoosers only have boys. And it continues going strong. Mike and Amy thought, maybe even hoped, that they could break the trend with their newest baby. We tried to tell them, Van Hoosers only have boys but alas they thought that it might be a baby girl. We weren't surprised when out came Jackson Robert in early May! So there are now 6 handsome Van Hooser grandsons. Watch out ladies!

Birthday Fun

We made it safely to Michigan for our summer fun. We have had a busy few weeks. We started with a birthday party for my nephew David. He had his party at the park, so we played on the play structure, flew kites, went for a dip, and of course ate cake! I also got to meet my newest nephew, Jackson, he is perfect! We had a beautiful day and fun was had by all. Zac, Anthony, and David trying to get the kite in the air

Brenden by the lake

David digging in the sand

Anthony helping Brenden in the lake

Yummy cake!

Happy Fifth Birthday David!

Boys

It has come to my realization recently that I am living with 3 boys! Yikes! I am the lone female living in a house with lots of testosterone. Some days I feel quite outnumbered. Like on the weekend when trying to decide what to do our options tend to be driving through big mud puddles with our giant truck, hiking a mountain, driving ATV's up dangerous rocky cliffs, or visiting powersports dealers to check out said ATVs and motorcycles. How did I ever come to be here? Why doesn't anyone want to sit and read or scrapbook or sew some curtains? I just didn't have any idea how much different life could be with all these boys. I am trying to adapt and like or at least tolerate these new activities because I know that that is the only way for me to bond and spend time with them and that is so important to me. After just a few years with Joe I realized that to be able to spend time with him I had to help or at least go along with him when he went out to work in the garage or build in the basement. And strangely enough Joe's mom told me a similar thing, she would spend many an hour sitting in the car in the garage talking to David as he worked on the car. My relationships with Joe and the boys are of utmost importance to me , so I guess from now on if your looking for me I'll be out doing some crazy activity like climbing up the side of a mountain and bonding with my boys!

Spring Break

Church in Zacatecas Cathedral in Guadalajara

Cathedral in Guadalajara

Zac surfing

Joe surfing

Anthony holding a monkey

Zac holding a monkey

Me kissing a parrot

The boys in the ocean

All three boys out boogie boarding

Joe and I on the beach

Joe and the boys on the beach

We planned a pretty full week of vacation this year. It was really our first family vacation that we have taken all by ourselves so we were pretty excited. At the last minute we decided to leave a day early. So we drove about 6 hours to San Luis Potosi on Saturday. We spent the evening swimming in the hotel pool (after we went to Walmart to buy the boys swimsuits - they BOTH forgot to pack them, guess mom still has to thoroughly check the packing!) Sunday morning we took off bright and early for Zacatecas. The city was very busy with holiday (it was Easter Sunday) celebrations and we found our hotel. Then we walked to La Mina Eden - it is a mine in the mountain that is in the center of the city. We took the tour, which was neat but the boys were kind of grumpy because it was all in Spanish and I think we were being affected by altitude sickness. Then we took a cable car ride over the city and walked back to our hotel. We had a break and then walked to a quaint Argentine restaurant where we had super yummy food and great ambiance. The next morning we got up early to drive the last leg of our trip. The drive was interesting but very desolate most of the way. Past Guadalajara we saw an amazingly beautiful canyon and some cool volcanoes. As we approached the coast we had to drive a windy two lane road up and down through the mountains. It was the only road out to Puerto Vallarta so everyone had to drive it even the double trailer semis that only seem to go about 10mph! And of course you can't pass since it's a super windy road, so the last short distance seemed to take forever! We finally got to the hotel, an all inclusive resort, at about 5pm. We went straight to the beach where Zac and Joe realized that the salt water was burning their skin. Zac's was due to the return of his Fifth's Disease and Joe's was either him getting Fifth's Disease or the case of poison ivy that showed up! I thought that meant the end to all beach activities for our week at the ocean. I was in dire straights! The next day we took a kayak ride in the morning and in the afternoon we drove to La Punta Mita in search of a surf instructor. As we drove in to town we saw a sign and went to request lessons. The boys all tried and got up on the board, but Zac really took to it and rocked the waves! On Wednesday we took an hour boat ride to a private beach. We snorkeled and saw some beautiful fish, including puffer fish. We went for a kayak ride where we were joined by a group of dolphins - so cool! We got to hold parrots and monkeys and just hang out on a gorgeous beach. On Thursday we went into downtown Puerto Vallarta (our resort was about a half hour north) and did some shopping, we found some very cool native artisans. On Friday we swam a little and then checked out and headed to Guadalajara. We had reservations in a really cool hotel in downtown, it was a neat old building with beautiful architecture. We walked downtown and checked out lots of old cathedrals, the architecture was phenomenal, I definitely want to go back. The next day we drove home. So good to be back in my own bed!