A Conversation 10 Years Too Soon

I was putting Wyatt's clothes away in his room as Wyatt and his father laid in our bed reading a hunting magazine. Wyatt then comes into his room, shows me the magazine and this is our conversation...

Wyatt: I want you to buy me this gun.

Sommer: (Not comprehending the sentence) What did you say?

Wyatt: (Pointing to the gun) I want you to buy this gun for Daddy and me.

Sommer: Guess what Wyatt? You don't need anymore guns. You might not know it, but Pappa Larry left you a bunch of guns. And so did Pappa Chris...

(This is where the argument begins. I'm not understanding what he is saying, but Wyatt is adamant that this gun be purchased and begins speaking over me.)

Wyatt: But I need this gun so Daddy can help me shoot deers!

Sommer: But what I'm trying to tell you is Pappa and Daddy both have guns for you to use, we don't need another one.

Wyatt: Yes we do, I need a gun to go shoot deers. (He ends the conversation by slamming the door. He then runs back to his father where his father explains that you always need "one more gun" and when Wyatt gets older, Daddy will buy him one.)

After this conversation, I sat there on the floor wondering, "Did I just have this conversation with a three year old? And why do I have the feeling I'll be having this same conversation 10 years from now? I'm so doomed!

What a waste!

I still don't know how I feel about this story. Watch the video and share with me your thoughts. Looks like the Cerdas thought their mortgage would be paid for by going on Extreme Home Makeover. Because clearly a million dollar home with virtually no energy costs isn't enough. Looks like we all got suckered.

The Butterflies Have Come and Gone

It is a quiet morning. Looks like Wyatt is sleeping in (Thank Heavens!). Da Vinci is curled up on my window seat feeling the breeze through the window. Duke has found a sunny spot up against a wall. And though I should be working out on my Wii Fit, I opted to play with some pictures and start today slowly. Today is the first day in about 2 weeks that I haven't had to wake up and rush into the never ending list of "Things to Do Today!"


I've been wanting to update you on our butterflies. I love this project! I loved keeping caterpillars and butterflies when I taught kindergarten. I was amazed by the cycle every year! There is something special, however,about sharing this with my own child. Wyatt loved talking about the butterflies. He's show them to anyone who came over to the house. It was even a neat thing to share this experience with Byron. All the years I did the butterflies in my classroom, he never saw them. So it was fun to see his interest in them too!


We went out Friday on an outing with Byron's family. And when we came back home that afternoon, almost all of the butterflies had emerged from their chrysalises. It happened so fast! For the next few days we watched them. We fed them cottons balls of sugar water. We brought some out to take pictures and examine them. Those lucky ones tasted freedom earlier than the others. We also let the ladybugs go. We didn't get a very good crop of ladybugs, only about three. But just enough to let them crawl on Wyatt and watch them sit on a plant.


After a few days, I started pondering when would be a good time to let the butterflies go. Monday was windy and I decided to wait for the wind to die down, that it, until I realized what was happening. I noticed a large group of the butterflies were all huddled in a section of the container. They just happened to be next to the zipper. I started thinking, "You little smarties! You figured out where the opening is and you're trying to get out!" Then I looked closer..."what are they...why are they moving their thoraxes to the other butterflies...?" And then the realization came to me..."Gross! They're MATING! NOT IN MY HOUSE!" That was just way to much science for me! And then the thought of little caterpillar eggs in my home made my skin crawl! That was that, wind or no wind, it was time to say goodbye to our little visitors. Wyatt and I took the container out to a nearby bush and carefully sent the butterflies to their freedom, where they could mate all they wished, OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE! Ahhh, the joys of nature!

Always the Teacher!

I love to teach! I loved teaching the little guys, even though it was tiring and time to move on. I was really getting into teaching in-services for other teachers. I like to think we had a lot of fun teaching and discussing ways to become better teachers. I even enjoyed teaching church classes on Sunday. So, I have a new subject to teach: Digital Scrapbooking. I am NOT an expert. There are so many of you that are WAY BETTER than me. But I volunteered to teach a class for our enrichment night at church next month. I've packed as many techniques as I could into this one page, hoping I can get through it all in 30 minutes. So here's the page, but the class isn't really about the outcome of the page, but all the things we did to it. I hope the women like it. You're invited, by the way. June 4th, 6:30!

Dr. Byron

I'm so embarrassed to admit this this, because I covet the Mother of the Year Award, but I fed my son a bad hot dog yesterday for lunch. And I ate it too. I didn't do it knowingly, but thinking about it now, I can't remember how long it was in the frig. Thank heavens for our body's natural reflexes, because it knew that particular hot dog was not supposed to be in our tummies and it did everything it could to get it out! Wyatt woke up from his nap, expelling said hot dog, so I kicked it into Mother-mode and starting doing what I could to help the little guy out. But then, as I sat there with him, my tummy began gurgling and I started getting a little light headed. Just then, Byron came home. Hooray! For a while I thought I was fine. I got dinner made for Byron and I, but when I sat down to eat the chicken and herb tortellini in Alfredo sauce, I couldn't even put a nibble of it in my mouth. Byron was supposed to go to the church but quickly cancelled when he saw me RUN to the bathroom and Wyatt dunk his head into the large bowl sitting on the bed, all at the same time! And the was our evening. Byron literally having to run back and forth between Wyatt and I. Poor Wyatt would be screaming from the bed, so Byron would sit there with him, with a cool rag on his forehead. Then my lovely sounds of anguish would come from the bathroom, and he'd run to me with another wet compress on my forehead! What a disaster! But what a great guy we have in our lives! Byron is always so concerned for Wyatt. He often does a better "Mom job" than I do. And Byron certainly knows when to step in, when I just can't handle it (which seems to be a lot). Thank you so much for taking care of us, Byron. We love you!

J-Shapes and Chrysalis

Lots of changes going on with the butterflies. Wish I had better pictures. I was too lazy to walk up the measly 15 steps to get Byron's zoom lens, but you get the idea. It has been fun watching the changes. It has been even more fun listening to a three year old pronounce "chrysalis."

Extreme Makeover: Sommer's Edition

Did ya see it? It was great! Byron's mug was all over the place, and yes, that was my big head hovering over Ty's shoulder. Embarrassing! Its so sad though, that one hour just really didn't do the week justice. There were so many things you didn't see. So many things that we thought we significant, but "they" obviously did not. I saw Eduardo do a complete monologue in the pool they were installing as it was driving down the street. Paulie interviewed Anjuli and Daniel's son, talking about family and being involved and together. Ty didn't really talk about his secret room all that much. Didn't even give them an intro before going in. The house has a ton of revolutionary products in it that you only caught a glimpse of. That tub they show Byron installing, actually was music activated! I don't mean to sound negative, it just goes to show that one hour just isn't enough time to explain all the hard work that went into the project.

Some new thoughts were revealed to me last night though. I'm going to be honest with you (I usually am, aren't I?), I was very skeptical about how sick the girls were. They don't look sick, they don't sound sick. They wear a mask. Big deal. That's all I saw. They came to our church activity and sat with all of our germy little children, taking the masks off whenever they felt like it. I know, I'm mean, doubtful, disbelieving, whatever. But no one explained the plasma injections. And then I saw it. Four little needles being jabbed into their little bodies on a regular basis? I know what its like to be jabbed by one or 2 needles at a time for a series of a month. Its no fun. I do not shut up easily,most of you know that. But seeing the girls going through medical treatments just to stay healthy, that shut my mouth immediately. You will no longer here my skepticism about the Cerda girls any longer.

My final thoughts and feelings about this show and this experience is just pride, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm just so proud and happy to be connected with the people that worked so hard. I'm mostly proud of my husband and father. My dad has worked so hard to create a solid foundation and an excellent reputation for KB Plumbing. Forgive me for boasting when I say that many people choose KB Plumbing because they know the work will be excellent. Byron really proved himself the week of EM:HE. He asked to take this project on as his own and he pulled it off beautifully. Byron has a warm, outgoing personality that people gravitate to. He made wonderful connections with good companies. Though other plumbing companies assisted in building the house, our men are the hardest working men around. Those three guys get so anxious when they are just standing around. They appreciate the value of work. On a personal level, I was able to make new friendships and build stronger existing friendships. I would do anything for the Wright family. I was more than happy to hear Anjuli call my name and ask me to do something for her. Anjuli, I'll be your assistant any day! It was so exciting to see my Bishop be the head of this thing. I'm used to hearing Brent Wright address our congregation almost every week. It was exciting to see him addressing even more people as he asked them to serve the Cerda family. So cool!

So, in case you missed the show, or just want to see it again...click here and enjoy! I know we will!

Extreme Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone. For my Mother's Day, I will be celebrating with family, then off to the ESPNZone to watch the screening of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Don't miss it! Sunday, May 10th, local coverage 7 PM to 8PM, the show starts at 8 PM. Here's a preview!

I do believe there are challenges up ahead for me!

Mother- hood itself is a challenge, but we do it because we love it and we love our family. There are moments though, when I look at my son, and I think, I've got a long road ahead of me. 99% of the time, Wyatt is a perfect little boy. He rarely has tantrums, and though I'm noticing he is testing his independence much more as a three year old, we really didn't have the terrible two's. He is good in his nursery class, quite the leader and helper, I'm told. And I think he does pretty well in his preschool class, I would hope the moms would tell me if he was a little terror. But then come the moments where I get a glimpse of what he's going to be as a teenager.

Wyatt loves things that go fast. His favorite ride at Disneyland is the Matterhorn. He is a thrill seeker. He loves riding his big wheel bike down the driveway into traffic as fast as he can possible go (I stop him before he reaches the street, don't freak out). If you challenge him to do it with his eyes closed, he will accept the challenge, eyes closed, AND no hands. I'm pretty sure Wyatt thinks he is a contestant in the X Games. Before you know it, he's going to be going off ramps, kicking his heels behind him in mid-air.

I do believe Wyatt thinks he's a rock star. When we're playing Guitar Hero, it is absolutely essential that Wyatt have the other guitar so that he can perform. I do mean "perform." Foot is tapping, knee is bobbing, hip is to the side to "look cool," and head his bobbing up and down to the beat, all while the fingers are strumming the guitar. Periodically, you will hear him yell, "Yeah! That's how you do it!" and he'll swirl around in a turn, just to entertain you with his flair. The other day, I played the Kid Bopz version of Gavin Degraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" while driving home from the library. The guitar started strumming and immediately Wyatt's head started bobbing to the beat, a commen occurance when ever he hears a song with a guitar making a beat (I'm sure there's a term for that, but I have n idea what it is). Then, all of a sudden, my barely-three year old son yelled, "Yeah! I like this song!" I wish I had a recording of it. It was not said in a sweet little boys voice. It had a rhaspiness to it. As though he were standing in the back of a concert hall at an Aerosmith concert. Now it is a requirement that "I Don't Wanna Be" is played as loud as possible in the car where ever we go.

So, 15 years from now, please do not judge me if my son is a BMX stunt rider that plays lead guitar in a heavy metal band. Know that I have had this trial all my son's life! On the bright side, maybe Wyatt will win the gold medal in those X Games, get millions of dollars in sponsors, and start his own record label. Then he'll buy a simple beach side mansion in Malibu for his mother. I would think by then, Wyatt's mother would deserve it.

Bigger and Bigger and Bigger

...that's what Wyatt says when you ask how his caterpillars are doing. When these little guys came in the mail, I called the other preschool moms immediately, because I knew the changes happened fast. With each phone call I received the response, "Oh, ok. We'll get over there tomorrow." But I could tell in their voice they had no idea what "fast" really meant. Now they do. By the time I get this post up, they will already have gotten bigger.

The ladybugs have gotten bigger too, though not as drastic. But their coloring is much darker. I love people response when they see them. "That's a ladybug?" It will be!

My Favorite Time of the Year

Despite my name, my favorite season is the spring time. Yes Las Vegas gets bombarded with wind, like now as I write, but spring time is filled with wonderful things. Warm weather, cool breezes, and beautiful flowers. I get so annoyed when people who live her say they can't wait to get out of this town. "This desert is sooooo ugly!" They would whine. Ugh! Be quiet and look around! The desert in spring time has some of the most gorgeous, brightly colored blossoms around. Every look at a cactus in the spring? The neon colors rival any light you might see on the strip.

When I taught kindergarten, springtime was my favorite season to teach in. Science was my favorite subject, and during this season there seemed to be so many moments for discovery. Watching grass seeds grow from a plastic cup, and lima beans in a plastic baggie. Observing different kinds of bugs and life cycles! I loved it all! The bulk of the curriculum was finishing up, and it was more of a time to relax and observe. I've been searching for those moments to relax and observe with Wyatt recently. Not only do things interest him, but now he can really talk about what he's seeing, and ask great questions. It is so much fun to be a apart of your own child's learning.

I was reminded about how much I love teaching in the springtime when our preschool group went to the Bellagio to see the butterflies. As you can see by the pictures the conservatory was gorgeous, once again, and the butterflies were huge. It was a great way to get the kids interested, because a surprise was on the way...caterpillars! I ordered them every year, teaching kindergarten, it was one of my favorite projects. So I was happy to do it again. Every family in our group gets a few, so that we can all experience the butterfly life cycle. We'll keep you up to date as they get bigger and bigger! Wyatt and I also got some ladybug larva, did you know they have a life cycle too? Along with the bugs, we've planted some seeds, sunflowers, forget-me-nots, and a "sensitive plant" that curls up when you touch it (we'll see about that one). Lots of fun Springtime things at our house! What a great way to celebrate my favorite time of year!