The kiss that missed...

Alright, I know you can get cheaper books at Walmart or where ever but I love to go to the book fair at H's elementary school. Usually anything they sale there he gets points on for reading.

It is wonderful. He gets to choose a few that earn him many points and then he gets to choose a few fun ones for him and we typically pick up a new book off the wish list for his teacher as well. We walk away spending a pretty penny but all worth it in the end because most of the funds are given to the school.

In one of our shopping trips we found this book, "The Kiss That Missed" by David Melling, I LOVE THIS BOOK. It is just a cute little book about a king who is too busy to spend time with his son. On his way busy being the king he blew a kiss and guess what, yep, it missed the boy.

The king then sends his trusty knight to track down the kiss. This kiss goes everywhere, a dark scary forrest, wolves, bears and yes even a dragon is in this book but the kiss is captured in the end and returned where everyone is happy and the king promises to not be in a hurry anymore.

It helps to remind me to take time to spend with the little lad before he is too old. The reason why I bring this up now is because H loves to say goodbye but to have missed kisses. Yes, we blow a kiss and the first one always goes on by. The second kiss usually lands on us and we rub it in. As he is getting older he doesn't want to kiss mom anymore but he really likes to play this game with me and I find it adorable.

Blog name meaning...

Well originally it was hmgfamilyfiles (Hunter and mama), it is mostly about the 2 of us and seriously who would not be able to gloat about this cute, little, adorable boy (yes, even if he chooses to wear stockings on his head and hands). I tend to use it to rant about little things that urk me here and there or to boost up something I love. If I find the time I like to put down the musings of the little one when I come across them in his school journal (he wants his own blog as he gets older he says, I am sure that will be interesting). It allows my friends and family get to know me better by going through this blog. I in turn love to "cyber" stalk them back and read up on their life with their family, lots of cute little ideas I have come across.

I ended up changing it to the G-files because it fits me a little bit more (think along the lines of the X-files, yes, that geekdom coming out again). Same talk just different name, shorter for me.

Who is my biggest impact...

Who has had the biggest impact on my life, I can sum it up with one word... Hunter. I know some who will read this will be like really come on. I am here to tell you that I would not be who I am and where I am in my life right now without him.

He is gives me the most joy in my life, not all of it but most. He makes me want to be a better person because I see parts of me that I hate coming out in him so I want to change those habits to get him to be the best person I know he can be.

I know it is corny and crazy but he has been the biggest impact on my life, I only hope to live up to the highest standards to make him as proud of me as I am of him.

My half marathon experience...

My time for the half sucked big time but I didn't have much training to go behind it so I must say it was a bigger accomplishment just to finish. Overall I would like to do it again with some real training behind me.

This wonderful journey started the day before, we rode up on the train to get our packets (we being Mary, H and I), while we were at the expo I was convinced if H had this orange visor that he would run better. I must say he wore it for 2 days but I bet he couldn't tell you where this is now. Money well spent not really but money well worth it to make the boy be happy for two days, I must say yes. While we were at the expo he got to try his hand a Kinect dodgeball.

I chose my first one to be the Ogden Half Marathon because my sister always talks about how beautiful the course is and it is basically down hill so worth the pain and suffering that follows the race. The two above pictures are from the start line. I signed up for this race thinking Mary was going to sign up for it as well. She did, just not the race I thought she would do, she chose the Marathon. Her, Megan and Mike were all doing the full. So it kind of made me loose determination to train because I was by myself. I did fairly good but really I was no where close to where I needed to be. Once it warmed up some too it H was a great joy and rode on his bike on my runs carrying water for us to drink. I love that little man at times, he was being very helpful for this race but it came a little too late so next time I get to be better at it.

There were some great views, two were taken before the camera got too sweaty. I don't remember what mile I go to with my run (ok really my run is more of a very light jog but it is what I do) but I got through I want to say about half way (the stop where Scott was at, maybe my sister can help) and I was feeling really good. I was about a mile after that I started feeling the pain. I am glad I decided to get a back brace to wear because I know I would not have been able to complete with out it.



The other two pictures were taken after the sweat took over the lens (I know gross but it's my blog). The running joke from Mike was he was going to use all the toilets in the race, sort of like a marking of territory. Jokes on me because I did practically use everyone. I thought I could miss one and you know what I regretted missing it. I missed using the one at the 3k mark and I regretted that one the most because my last 3 miles were the worst. I was no longer running, I was walking at best and I guess I looked terrible because even the spectators were coming up to me asking me if I was fine.

I had my knee hurting, my back was killing me, my muscles ached and I had feet problems (which later I find out were blisters). I got worried my son and mom were not going to make it in time along the course, come the 3 mile mark I was sure they would. H kept texting me but finally I came up to the finish line and got worried I had missed him. Finally he sent a text of I see you, I looked ahead and saw him. He was so excited to cross the finish line (rule breaker me) they allowed him to cross the line with me he was so happy and thrilled for me. Even though my eyes teared up along the way with all the encouragement from everyone along the way, that moment got to me the most having him be so proud.

Overall it was a decent experience and would like to try it again. I decided I preferred doing it alone because I hate thinking others are being held up by me so I didn't' mind doing it alone. I appreciate that my mom was able to bring the boy up so he could see me finish. I am still mad that my sister didn't try to contact me until AFTER I crossed the finish line to let me know she didn't make it, but it was all good and I plan to do it again.

Local disturber...

Today while driving to daycare we pulled up to the stop light and the boy was looking out the passenger window. I could see him get a little tense and he looked straight forward as a delivery truck pulled up beside us.

I didn't think much of it while we waited for the light to change. Then he says "mama, the truck beside us is a local disturber." It took a few seconds for what he said to sink in so I looked at him and said "huh?", he was cautiously trying to point to the truck and said again "a local disturber". I looked at the side of the truck and it said local distributor. I explained the difference and we laughed because he said "oh, good because I didn't want to be disturbed."

Of course I think we should have that caution on our car because he is a disturber himself but I am sure most would think that too.

Lucky as can be...

As a parent but even more so in my case as a single parent I must remember to control my temper more. I know I don't get upset when it comes to some things but I may lose my temper over others. I tend to take more of my stress out on the boy and he really doesn't deserve that.

We fight tooth and nail at times but I must take advantage of the time I have with him. If I push him too hard as he gets older is will only keep him further away.

Today I did and said somethings that I regret in a fight we were having, why did I do it? Because I knew it would make him cry and I wanted to see an emotion other than the dislike and hate I see coming from his eyes at me at times when we fight. I must remind myself he lives with me full time, even though it may be all fun and games when he gets to see his dad I know by the end of the time he thankful to come home and be an only child again. I get jealous and I let it get the best of me at times. As he gets older he will realize that the rules and stipulations he has at home are there for good reasons.

As a parent I must remember the good times more than the bad and show him the love that he deserves.

As a parent I must remember that I am as lucky as I can be when it comes to him because he is a wonderful person to be around and I am learning as much from him as he is from me.

As a parent I must remember to love the sweet innocent face more than the mean face that we get even if we know the rules we set forth are for good reasons and not what is deemed as "just being mean"...

I must remember this face, well maybe not the face exactly because that one kind of scares me ;) but the memories behind the face that show me I am loved.

V-day change of heart...

If I have liked Valentines day before I don't recall, I hate it. It has nothing to do with the holiday really itself, I just feel that if you love someone you should tell or show them all the time and not have a day that makes you do it. The boy has stepped it up a notch this year and I must admit that I have really enjoyed him gifting me this year.

He created this beautiful heart valentine for me, it has purple, my favorite color. I have this hanging up at work.

His next wonderful surprise consisted of me being asked to work late one night. What?! Me work late, that ludicrous! (see previous post) I got to a part where I didn't want to start another project so I asked my sister if I could come home. I love that she helped him out with this because it's hard that he doesn't have someone all the time on hand to help him out with things for me. I love her comment of "I love your son to death but he is SO SLOW MOVING." I know it was said with pure love in her heart and meant nothing by it because I feel the same way some times.

Needless to say these Cherry Chocolate cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting were some of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. I must say everything tastes better with love behind it.

113 hours...

I am a work-a-holic by nature, I must admit I get this from my parents and I want to be a proud mother who can say my son knows I bust my butt for him. Can I just say working 113 hours over the last two weeks has really gotten to me this time? I am so exhausted that I honestly can say I can not think straight.

Why do I work this hard? You mean other than the work ethics my parents have put into me? It is because I don't want to be one of those people that just has things handed to them. I know I should accept the help when it is offered but I just can't get it through my head, I would rather me be the one who does or gets what I want. This is my down fall when it comes to guys in my life, they don't seem to want a girl who can do it on their own and as much as I might regret it I would prefer to call my dad to help me over a guy.

Oh I am sure there is a man out there that is willing to put up with this but he has yet to be found. Can I say though the boy is willing and ready for me to date, he has directed me to web dating and thinks that is a good thing, it will come with time I just need to get the work out of me.

Thanksgiving Story on Black Friday...

Last year was the first time I have ever gone out for actual shopping on "Black Friday" I must say I really don't see the hype for it, sure I got all my Christmas shopping done on that day but really I wouldn't say I had a good deal that it was worth my while. I must say it was fun just to go out and hang with my sister and friends, I will do it again but it will really be for the company. When I have my son I don't go out for shopping then, no offense but I would prefer to spend time with him. I must thank my family for picking up a few things for me and looking for others.

I got the joy of serving Thanksgiving dinner, a week before the holiday I had realized I didn't have anything bought yet. I got it all bought and was working on cleaning the house then. I know it's family but I need to be able to feel comfortable in my house if we will have everyone over, clean is the only way. It was not the cleanest but survivable.

The night before I was working on cleaning when I get the call from my sister, "Hey, you coming over to help tonight?", yes that's right I forgot about the race day packets and helping with the race. If I didn't have enough to do already, but we made it over to help after we got the boy's room cleaned. We worked on the packets got them done and had to head home and worked on cleaning more. My wonderful young son saw me getting more stressed and was willing to work on cleaning so I could prep food for the next day. He cleaned until 2 in the morning with me prepping food. I must tell you I was never more proud of him then him stepping up to help me out, I love these moments when I see what a wonderful young man he is becoming. I let him sleep in as long as he needed the next morning while I got the turkey and food cooking. I want to thank my sister for letting me get out of helping on race day (I promise next time I will be more prepared) so I could finish cooking and cleaning.

Usually my dad comes over and gets the turkey prepped and in the roaster the night before but he didn't come down this year. I woke up and was getting it ready. I remembered to wash it off and the the innards bag pulled out and the neck. While I was covering it in homemade rosemary butter I was looking at it and wondering first, which was the breast side and second where were the drumsticks because don't they normally stick out? I got all confused and didn't know what I was doing so I went to the back of the turkey. Oh wait there is the drumsticks tied up with a plastic thing. Yes, I realize I am not a cook by nature but come on I should have credit for taking the bag and neck out.

I am sure it is easier to remove the plastic from the turkey if it is not all buttered up and in a roaster but why would I make things easy on myself. The turkey was not done in time, when we pulled it out it was still not cooked all the way, I felt that I had ruined it all but they all made me feel better about it (yep I over react and still I wonder where the boy gets it from).

My family usually never eats my stuffing/dressing (call it what you will I call it stuffing) and H will usually eat it with me. This year just to please us two we decided we would upgrade Stove Top, we added in fresh onions, celery and dried cranberries. We did use half a package of bread chunks too, but my family gobbled up the whole pan! Who knew!

I appreciate my mom for bringing me a bottle of wine, it was wonderful.

Then we were watching tv going through ads and talking, we got all worked up because of an actor on the tv and who he was and what he was in. It was all good fun though. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

The boy will not be here for Christmas, he will be celebrating Chanukkah (harmonica according to the boy)with his father and step family. H said they say a prayer all the time and his dad says he does not need to say a prayer because he is Christian but that he should try anyway, I let him know that a prayer comes from your heart and it doesn't matter who you are praying to as long as it comes from your heart so he can pray with them to share their holiday.

State Capital Field Trip and Mean Mom Story...

One of the few things I get to do as a working mother is find the time to go on field trips with the boy and his class. This was one part of a two part trip that was taken about 3 months ago, I just have not had anytime to blog about it. The boy loves learning about history and politics but our non-religious side came out as we were pulling up to the state capital, "mom, that's the temple." It took the remainder of the time explaining to him the difference between a temple and a capital building.

Our first stop was to the knock off Liberty Bell, yes it has the crack and all. They allowed the children to touch and "ring" the bell, the ring is in quotes because they rang it by just hitting it with their hands, with close to 30 children it made some noise.

Then we made our way to the representative room, they took us to the upstairs and sat us in seats. The old woman who was our guide, bless her heart, wanted only questions about the room itself because she could answer those, but the kids were not interested in that at all they wanted to ask about the rules and laws. The actually thought this was the court itself but we finally got them to understand this is where they make the laws.

This room is much smaller than I expected, when you see it on the tv it does look so much larger.

Then there was the "gold" room, I really didn't get to hear much about this room because one little, young man decided to throw some attitude (ratatouille style) and got pulled out into the hall. We spent the remainder of the time fighting with each other.

But the view was great!

We got a class picture on the stairs, can you find H?

There he is with a mean smile because he and his mom were fighting.

I am just reminded of our parent-teacher conference though and H had to write a story about what has been bothering him, his was not of the weather or peer pressure or anything as interesting as that, no his was about his mean mother. What has been bothering him is I have taken away video games from him for a very long time because he has not earned them back yet, he has not liked this very much. So he said how this bothers him that I have grounded him but at the very end he let me know that he knows that I still love him even if he is grounded for it. What more could a mother ask?

Shopping with mom...

H for the most part is really good at shopping, there are a few things that happen that can get on my nerves though but as long as we are in a hurry we don't normally encounter problems like this.

First, avoid the toilet paper/paper towel aisles or you will need to check behind every one to find him.



Of course sometimes his "hiding" is not as good as he would like to think, but most parents know how that goes.




Second, avoid going towards the pillow sections, he will literally sit there until you go to find him and then he can't even get out by himself, you have to help him up.


And last but not least, avoid shoe shopping unless you want him wearing the booty socks the whole time, but really who can a void such a cute boy?

Genius vs. dummy...

Okay, so the boy is old enough now that I give him chores.

Usually most of the chores are the ones that I had when I was younger growing up and hate to do even to this day. One of these chores is helping me to load the dishwasher, he is in charge of the silverware. No way he could screw this up and it was always the most tedious part of the dishes that I hated.

Now what urks me the most is I have done this for years and years but I never thought of what he has decided to do. When he puts the silverware in the dishwasher he sorts them out in the basket.

Why oh why have I never thought of this growing up and even in my adulthood? So a chore that took me 3 times as long as him now only takes him a matter of a minute at most to grab the clean silverware out of the basket and put them into the drawer. I tell you I don't know if I like my son being smarter than myself.

How fair is this that he has taken just moments to figure this out and I never have? I forget that he does this so when I have him do his chores before he can play and it takes such a short amount of time I just get more annoyed with myself.

Really...

The comment really is just for me, really has it been that long since I have blogged, I feel so bad.

School has started, my little one is now in 4th grade. He loves it, I don't know how we are going to pass because homework means serious business in this class. Wow, he has had so many punches (aka demerits) because we have not signed something or turned it in on time. I guess we will only learn as we go.

My favorite thing overheard at the first day of school after the teacher described Fun Friday's and what fun things they usually do "This is going to be the best year ever!", more power to you teach for getting them to say that.

My other favorite thing so far is a homework assignment that H had, a questionnaire about his name, it goes like this...

Why did your parents choose your name?
It was the only name they could agree on. (this is a very true statement)

If you were named after someone, who was it?
Isaac is my dad's Jewish name. (again true)

What nicknames do you have, and how did you get them?
Hunt from Garrett. (I have never heard him call this and part of the reason why I agreed to Hunter was because you couldn't shorten it)

Do you like your name? Why or why not?
Yes cause it's a good name. (glad he likes his name)

If you could choose another name, would you, and what would it be?
If I got tired of Hunter it would be Officer. (is this because you could choose it as a profession? I love the way his little mind works)

Hunter's Pizzaria, now open...

The return of the boy, yes he has returned only in time to make sure I have enough crumbs on my couch and floor to annoy me to death. Upon said return we were in his room (he was all to excited that I was able to hook up cable in his room on his tv). Well we found a box lid (?!, not sure why or what for) and on the box lid was something he wrote however we did not know what it said. I think he just randomly decided he made a sign for his Pizzaria. Well we find another lid (still not sure why and I am sorry to say yes sadly his room is that messy that two random box lids could be in his room and we don't know why) but this on was blank. I told him he could write on that one instead, I guess he now has a pizzeria that has EVERY pizza in the world. But I am sure you could get his all time favorite cheese (yes you have to order cheese even though a pizza comes with cheese or he will not be happy), mushrooms, pineapple and pepperoni (aka peppers, only to be pulled off and given to others because he really doesn't eat them and he can't just let them sit on his plate).

Upon his return he has decided to camp out on the floor instead of sleeping in his bed. He has also decided that EVERY doll he as will sleep with him and sleep on him.

Ah, the return of the boy, my life would not make sense with out him.

Great son...

I know I talk about how wonderful I think my son is, even though some days I feel like I just want to strangle him, but when I have someone else make a comment to me on how good a kid he is I get even more boastful.

I have always said that he makes me strive to be better and I really believe that. I can promise you I would not know any of my neighbors if it were not for my son. He loves to go out there and meet them. Because he has been sick lately he has not had a presence outside as much and our neighbors have been concerned. I tell them he is sick and we get through that talk and such, well then they have to add in their piece of how wonderful he is with all the kids that are so much younger than he is. They just think he is wonderful to play with their 18 month olds.

I say he takes pity on a few other boys in the complex here, but really he just has a good heart and just wants to be friends with anyone. He even is really good to all the adults. I sent him out the other day to take the dog to the bathroom and I see him over talking to an older lady (a grandma) with the dog. I just got told today by her that he is really a great kid. She says every time she comes out he rushes over to tell her hello and just chats with her.

Two of our neighbors had babies and he had to rush out to get presents for their babies. He is the best and I can only hope to have the love in my heart that he has in his.

Good night boo, love you muches.