Letter to Ben and Jack

Dear Ben and Jack,

Please ignore your mother right now. She is going through some sort of post traumatic holiday stress and likely a light case of seasonal affective disorder right now and it is making her appear crazy. So if you see any of the following behavior simply retreat to your room and come out later:

1) Your mother with that crazy look in her eyes tidying up your stuff, yeah you know you should have picked it up but once she gets her hands on it the game is over. Take your lecture and in order to avoid this next time pick up your stuff!

2) Your mother's face tighten into a concrete mask after you make a joke about how she is a big moron. Really this is not the time to be making any sort of joke, even the joke that she laughed at seconds earlier is to risky to repeat at this time. Just say you love her and that she is great and move on.

3) Wait wait wait until your mother is done one task before asking her to do another. This alone will save you from both the hairy eyeball and the crazy lecture that comes with it.

Never fear this too shall pass and your regular mother will return. We hope...yeah she will...stuff like this goes away right???

From your crazy, cranky, but always loving even in the midst of a long list of reasons why dirty clothes do not live on bedroom floors,
Your Mother

Letter to Ben and Jack Re:Christmas Crazies

Dear Ben and Jack,

Have you noticed the house is buzzing right now?  Oh yes it is Christmas and well...your parents have some of the most interesting luck in the world.  My Mom always said you pay for the good with the bad.  Very true right now.

As I sit here waiting for the two of you to wake up I feel so very blessed in life.  Two awesome little boys, a good husband, a lovely home and we are all healthy and happy.  Quite a bit to be appreciative and happy for and I am!

The part that has made the past few weeks crazy is:

*Broken furnace
*Lost cell phone
*Mommy's flu
*Jack's flu
*Ben's flu x2
*broken vacuum
*the dog got fleas
*Car accident which may or may not have written off the car (everyone is ok so we will add that to the blessing list x10)

So please understand that if we seem a little crazy right now it has to do with dealing with copious amounts of vomit, cleaning the house top to bottom for fleas and negotiating the best price for a car all in the same morning and nothing to do with you guys.  However, and most important here is to maintain perspective because these are the little curves life throws at us and they pale in comparison to all the good things we have going for us.  It just sometimes takes us...ok maybe more your mother a bit of time to absorb it all and move on.

One promise I will make is that by Christmas eve it will all be settled and sorted so we are ready to suck in your joy on Christmas morning.

I love you both more than you will ever know.
Your Mom

Momma Has Been a Little Crazy Lately...

Dear Ben and Jack,

I am sure you must sometimes notice that Mommy gets a bit nutty.  This is a nice way of saying that Mommy sometimes gets a wee bit cranky.  A little too focused on the details and forgetting to stand back and see the bigger picture.  I believe that all households go through hills.  Sometimes we are high up on the hill with everything running perfectly.  We cannot imagine even the possibility of a rotten day.  Other times we are in the valley and just getting through the day or week is enough of an effort.

Just want you both to be sure that even when Mommy is overwhelmed and yes CRANKY I still love love love you both.  Also want you to know that at the end of each valley is a new hill to climb.  The trick isn't to avoid the valley because they are what make the hills seem so high. We must instead become expert hill climbers for life is full of valleys but it is worth the climb my boys.  Now let's climb shall we?

Love Your Crazy Cranky Momma

Letter to Ben and Jack

Hi boys,

Well it is the morning of the last day before school starts.  Here I sit by myself.  You are at a sleepover with your very best friends and Daddy is gone on an errand.  I sit and ponder...I am sad to know that another summer has come and gone because I see these summers as a gift of time with you guys.  Snuggles in bed in the morning.  Slow starts to the day and late ends in the evening.  Plays on the street while parents chit chat and play dates with friends.  Happy boys, carefree boys.

Now that you are getting older I realize that the fabric of each successive summer will incorporate a new thread. Last summer your friends were important but this summer they were the focus.  I can only imagine that as each summer passes the changes will intensify until...well until the day we get you set up in your dorm.

Just want you to know that even though I might sometimes be that crazy lady running around making you clean your room, be nice to your brother, wipe your face, change those clothes that I am also that lady who loves you.  The lady who will always love you, and will quite possibly have some sort of boundary issues when you have your own little family to love.

I love you boys,
Mom

P.S. If there was any way you both might consider not growing up so quickly that would be much appreciated.