friday fotos--things that make you go hmmmm.....

Here's what we've been up to this week:

Nothing too fancy happening around here being in the midst of finals and all, but there were a few things that caught my camera's attention and made me go HMMMMMM.....

Like, how does James eat his Lucky Charms like this?! He can drink all the milk and eat all the marshmallows, but leave behind all the tastes- like- cardboard- looks -like -cat food pieces. Hmmmm......







And how is that he can always be so stinking cute?! Hmmmmmm........

Why do I continue to leave my expensive sunglasses right where Mr. Touches Everything can get to them?! Just look at that hunger in his eyes! Hmmmmm...........

When I was packing to leave California, dimple-icious Mystery Man (MM) was helping me. Among his contributions: perfectly winding the cords to all my electronic doohickey's. Is it just sick and wrong that well-wrapped cords get my pulse racing a little bit faster? Hmmmmm......

I remember waiting in line for hot chocolate at Disneyland and being "bumped" by a stroller. It hurt... but not too bad. Still, that's the only thing I could think of that could have caused this lovely on my leg. Should a person REALLY leave the *happiest place on earth* bruised? Hmmmmm.......

(shield your eyes from the whiteness of my leg!!! I never get tan, but at least in the summer I put on self-tanning lotion and make an attempt to be kinda "golden". I give up by winter though. I am the color of paste. Ah well.)

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Take care of yourself.

Love the one you're with.

AND

~Happy Weekending!~

THANKS for the award LenaLoo! I love anything foreigny!

Translated: "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!
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ALSO...PLEEEEEASE come back on Monday and enter to win a special prize donated to me to give away by one of my best bloggy friends Emily! You will LOVE it!

i fixed two things

Remember that picture wall I told you I was going to fix? The one that I put up almost two years ago--and immediately hated? The frames were always going crooked for one thing. And for another, it just never quite got in the pattern I wanted-- and I'd already put a billion nail holes in the wall trying to correct it. It got worse after I had to "edit" a few of the pictures. I still want my kids to have pictures of their dad around (and they do), but having to look at our family picture and my wedding picture on a daily basis was a little difficult. Anyway, here's the BEFORE in case you didn't see it on Saturday's post:


All kinds of yucky!!! (except for the people in the pictures--they're cute!)



Now I fixed it!:

Well, "fixed it".... as long as you ignore the holes from the old shelf that need patched and painted, and ignore the fingerprints on all the glass, and ignore the fact that at least one of the frames up there still has nothing in it. It looks better anyway, right? I think so! (and I actually painted that picture of the barn myself with watercolors. There was one like it in the Pottery Barn that I wanted a few years back, but it was too spendy--so I just copied and made my own! --I realize I'm no Van Gogh or anything but I like it enough to stick it on my wall.)

Wanna know what else I fixed?---

This little guy:

He and I were just hangin' out together today, eating some popcorn and watching People's Court, when he picked a kernel out of the bowl, held it up and asked:

"I eat this?"

"Nooooo" I answered, "we don't eat those. Kucky!"

"I do this?" he asked, and in a split second---- stuck... the... thing... up... his... nose...

I tried to get it out with the tweezers, but the more I tried--the more his arms flailed, and the more he rubbed his nose, and the deeper the thing got! SO a trip to the doc in a box and a $20 co-pay later---we have semi-painfully learned the lesson that not only don't we eat the popcorn kernels, but we don't put them in our nose either.

***ALL FIXED!***

friday fotos... and memories please!

I really like posting my week in pictures on Friday. Makes me feel a little less guilty about converting this blog from our family scrapbook to my own personal verbal release! :)



Here's what we've been up to:

James builds his own drum kits out of my pots and pans. And then plays them. Reeeeeeeally loud. EVERY day. But with that face, how can I NOT let him rock and roll all night?! (Notice the couch cushions too?)

We made the chalk paint that we found on Meg's blog. Everyone was entertained for at least 20 minutes!:
And after the kids had had enough of painting, guess who was still going :)?!:

It was as therapeutic as coloring or playing with play-doh!

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My favorite dance from this season of So You Think You Can Dance. Loved that Mark! Loved that whole silly show! I actually got a little teary watching the finale' last night. That "best of" routine---WOWZA!!! And did anyone else have a huge grin plastered on their face when Mary and Nygel danced? I bet Simon would never get up and SING on American Idol! Congratulations to Joshua---an untrained dancer---who won the whole sha-bang! Only 10 more months till the next season. *SIGH*

Also, after passing like blogging ships in the night once before, I finally got to meet Jenni this week! She's just as sweet as she seems on her blog, which leads me to think that all the rest of you are too :). Thanks for the great conversation Jenni! Hope to be able to buy one of your books some day soon!

Also, Also I've seen this memory challenge up on a few other blogs......and I'm self-centeredly curious to see what I might get. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a long time, a little time, or only through blogging---could you be so sweet as to leave me a comment about a memory you have of me? Let me know if you're playing on your blog too--and I'll come leave a memory about you!

***May your weekend be full of pleasant surprises!***

brothers day

I bet you didn't know that today was a major holiday, did you?

Well, at least it is around here.

My kids love to make up reasons to have fun(!)---from birthday parties for their stuffed animals to celebration dinners for any old thing and all sorts of made up holidays. Two years ago they deemed June 19 to officially be Brothers Day. I thought it was a cute idea-- so I wrote it down on the calendar...and it has been celebrated ever since!

If you want to celebrate "Brothers Day" at your house---here's how my boys say to do it:

*First, make sure you have brothers.

*Next, make sure that you treat all your brothers really nice and give them lots of hugs.

*Extra computer time and no chores (I told them it was one or the other....)

* You have to dance to the brothers' favorite song (playing now).

*Brothers pick what to have for dinner (tonight it was tacos)

*You have to have dessert!

*The big brothers get to stay up and watch a movie with Mom (this time we saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers---guess who picked that :) ).

***I think next year we'll add "airing of grievances" and "feats of strength".....

Everybody make a wish!

HAPPY BROTHERS DAY!!!

stuff i've been doing....

Believe it or not, I have been doing fun, constructive,happy things with my days. Things that involve much less drama than concussions, old boyfriends, and buckets of crazy. Some of them are more bittersweet than others, but it's all good.....

The first Saturday in May, I participated in the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure". I signed up to run with my niece just as I was getting over the rheumatic fever. Walking was still painful then, and I really wanted a goal to work toward. I've always been very active--taking step aerobics, using the elliptical machine, walking at a 15 incline on the treadmill---but I've never been a runner. I trained really hard to be able to run at least some of this 5K. Turns out it was sooooooo crowded that we couldn't have ran if we wanted to! Ah well!!! Brittany, my niece, made it fun! She thought we had a great "conversation" during our speed walk. Sweet, sweet Brittany--conversation involves TWO people, and really what we had was me having a case of the verbal diarrhea that seems to so easily inflict me since this divorce. I'm sure if there had been any traffic, my non-stop jabbering would have made you run out into it! (That's just me trying to be funny again--except that it's sadly true too :)!). Thank you so much though Brittany. The whole thing would have been a bore without you! And thank you Heavenly Father for my ability not only to be able to walk again, but maybe even to run!

There's not a picture of it, but I got to wear an "in memory of my mom" sign on my back. The small cell cancer in her eyes, brain, lungs and liver that finally killed her was a result of metastasized breast cancer. It was neat to see women who had survived this disease all around us, and others running "in memory" as well. Very powerful.

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Happy Birthday James! I love a kid turning 2! I COULD have had a fancy-schmancy kind of party, but why bother? All he cared about was blowing out these candles over and over and over again! What a sweetie! He also sang the birthday song to himself throughout the day. "Happy Boo-day du me.... " Love this boy ;)!

Liam, of course, had to give him a little help!

He got a gallon of chocolate milk (I call it his 'kiddie coffee' since it's what he always asks for first thing in the morning!) and books for presents. Again-- he was as thrilled with it all as a teenager would have been getting a new car! And yes, that is Brad holding him. Difficult on my heart to do these "family" things--but I'll keep doing them because I know it is still such a blessing to my children to have us be able to get along and be together.

AND FINALLY........

Since the boys will be attending public school for the very first time in the fall, we decided we'd check things out and attend the ****school carnival*****:

Do you guys remember these things being so crowded when you were little? It was like being at Disneyland or something---lines for EVERYTHING!
Zane helping Liam at the golf game. He won a kazoo!
Ethan and his friend after a visit to the face painting booth.
Ice cream was a big hit. It was still nearly 95 degrees that evening! Kind of wish I'd had some wet wipes with me afterwards though.....
All in all we had a really fun time. We only lost Liam once.

I found a nice lady willing to take a picture of all of us. We have far too few of these, and I want my kiddos to remember that I really was there!(says the invisible woman :) ). And if by chance you happen to click to enlarge it, I look horrid. 4 hours of sleep a night and too much stress has not been kind to my poor face---but the smile is genuine, I promise. Look at these sweeties I'm with. How could it not be?!

Thanks again for putting up with the randomness! Have a great day! (and by the way, is it just me or is this new Natasha Bedingfield song not incredibly catchy?! I gotta pocket, gotta pocket full of sunshine.....)

*update: Wednesday night: How many rounds of Guitar Hero do you think David Cook had to play to be able to jam along with ZZ? Has anyone else passed that level :)?!

and her children shall rise up and call her blessed....

My mother- in -law sent this to me and it touched my heart. Hope it does the same for you:

This is for the mothers who sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up vomit laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It's okay honey, Mommy's here.”

Who sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes~~and all the mothers who don’t.

This for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes. This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.

And, that when their kids asked, “Did you see me, Mom?” they could say, “Of course! I wouldn't have missed it for the world!” And mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year. And then read it again. “Just one more time.”

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls, “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college ~or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us...

Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray, and never stop being a mom.

“Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall.”
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I spent the greater part of this morning in the emergency room with James after a referral by the Primary Health doctor. Saturday, he took a tumble off the swing. 2 year olds tend to fall down and fall off of things a lot, and this spill didn't seem any worse than others he's taken. I gave him some magic mommy loves and kisses and he seemed better. A few hours later he started to throw up. I thought it was just a virus. He was lethargic on Sunday, but we went to church for Mother's Day anyway. Sunday evening, he wouldn't leave my lap. He dry heaved several times, was sensitive to light, and was having a hard time opening his eyes. I continued to think it was just a virus. After a restless night, and when he didn't seem much better this morning-- I went to have him looked at. Following a CT scan (which he was an angel for! Thank goodness!--I told him a big donut was taking his picture, and he thought that was funny!), I learned he had a concussion. Not so bad as to have to be admitted, but bad enough that I'll have to keep a close eye on him for the next several days.

I can't tell you how many times I had to delete the word "we" from the paragraph above and change it to "I". Brad was very concerned for James, and was here this evening to check on him and hug him up good. But then he left. And I was on my own again. And it really is my duty now to take care of these boys full time. To be the "mom". And while I'd rather still be half of a loving, committed parenting team-- I continue in my gratitude that the title of mother is one that can never be taken from me. I'm sure you are too!

Happy Belated Mothers Day to all of you!!!

happy birthday James!!!

My baby (and I call all my boys my babies, but this one really is!) is 2!!! I can't believe how time has flown! He has so quickly become his own little personality..... and a force to be reckoned with!

I was 5 months pregnant with James when I found out my Mom had cancer. She passed away a mere 6 weeks later-- hoping the whole time to make it a little longer so she could see the baby before she left this life. My sadness was so intense-- I wondered how my poor unborn baby would ever survive it when it felt like it was ripping me apart. I started to pray that the angels would sing to him so he would have something else to listen to besides all the crying that was going on. And he was so angelic when he was born, that I can only feel that prayer was answered. I also always felt that it was my Mom who handed him off to me. I gave him her gender-neutral middle name for his own, so he would always remember.

look at that serious little face :)!

People ask me constantly if I'm disappointed that I never had a girl. Sometimes around Christmas and Easter when all the cute holiday dresses make their appearance, I wonder..........but the other 363 days of the year, how could I not love everything about the "boyness" I have been blessed with?

James is my most headstrong little guy--even surpassing Liam (and I never thought that would be possible!). But there is such a strong desire to love and be loved in him as well, and a gentleness and concern for others. He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure, but he also teaches me so much about the joy of discovery.



Being the youngest of four means he has a lot of good examples to look up to. It also means that he has to really make himself known to get our attention. There is a lot of volume involved in that process. And a lot of climbing. And sometimes there is so much volume and climbing that Mommy wishes she drank just a little :)! I wouldn't have it any other way though-------- Life would be far too dull and quiet without my little James.



Happy Birthday Budgee! You are so very loved!



xoxo, Your Mommy

what a warm day brings....

It looks like a caveman with a piece of chalk visited our back porch! That would be the work of Liam.....
He sure does love to draw in an absTracT manner!
What a creative little soul ;)!
And James has drug out every ball.
Ethan is sporting a pair of my old sunglasses and feeling pretty cool (never mind that they have my prescription in them and will probably ruin his eyes.....)

the sandbox is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
Liam peeking in on his friend Emma. Thank goodness for knotholes at eye level!
Pretty yellow flowers.......
Not so pretty yellow flowers..... (this is the neighbors yard, by the way!)

And red shoes. How can you not be happy when you're wearing red shoes?!

what does a warm day bring around your house?

back to life

I'm still dealing with a lot. I have paperwork and forms and applications up to my eyeballs, and enough phone calls to make that I should probably hire myself a secretary. As the daughter of a widow, I have always had an emergency "back up life plan" formulated in my mind, just in case--but having it there, and actually executing it have turned out to be two totally different things. I'm trying to make sure I only spend three hours a day on the business of re-inventing my life, and the rest trying to live and appreciate it.

I spent all Saturday morning working in my yard. Nothing like hard work to keep the mind occupied! I figured out how to "cold start" the lawnmower all by myself by moving the turtle/rabbit thingie. I also got the weed eater started on the first pull and fixed the line several times when it broke. I pulled all the weeds and re-seeded the bare patches of grass. And finally ran the leaf blower to clean the driveway and sidewalks. I had 8796 steps on my pedometer when I was done. Not bad, eh?!



Then my good (but blog-less) friend Heidi and I went to go see this:

Yes--when I have my pick of movies, I go see a documentary. I loved it though. Ben Stein just makes anything good. I know we all remember him as the teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but he was actually a speech writer for President Nixon before starting down the acting path. Crazy! Anyway, I'm sure this won't be in theatres for too long, but I recommend seeing it if and when you can.

Saturday evening, the boys and I went to our next door neighbors, Chris and Michelle's, for a barbecue. A great use of a (finally!!!) warm day. There were 4 or 5 other families there and about 13 3,4, and 5 year olds. Very loud, but fun too. A lot of Guitar Hero was played-- with all the little ones 'busting a move' to "Slow Ride". It was HILARIOUS! Chris is a master on the barbecue and made these amazing hamburgers flavored with some kind of secret seasoning he won't reveal. I actually ate a whole one-- which I think is the most food I've eaten in two weeks. Even after we came back home, Liam and James continued to talk to all the kids through the knot holes in our fence. I think they also managed to push a few of the toys from the sandbox through the holes as well. Too cute!

Today before church, I packed up a quick lunch and we drove clear across town to picnic at a park in the foothills. As I watched the boys pair up on either end of the seesaw, and watched them help each other to go down the slide, and saw their precious faces just beaming in the Spring sunshine-- I could have kicked myself for not bringing the camera. But I took lots of pictures in my mind, and though those aren't the kind that you get to appreciate--they work just fine for me :).

So there I am trying to get on with this new chapter in my life-- and so grateful I have good friends and four beautiful boy faces to brighten up each day just a little. And I have even found myself smiling for 10 and 15 minutes at a stretch with no thoughts as to the difficulties that still lie ahead--just the blessings that are in front of me for the moment. And I think that's a good start!

(this is obviously an older photo of the boys and I, but I've always thought we looked just like angels in it! I figured I'd throw it up here so you had a little something more than google images to look at... and so that I could appreciate it throughout the day too ;)! ).

hello sunshine!

Typical of an Idaho Spring, we went from low 50's with a cold breeze, to high 70's and blue skies everywhere---in one day. Never seems to be much middle ground around here!

But unpredictable or not--a warm day should be enjoyed to the fullest! I see water. I see rocks. Hmmmm.....wonder what's going to happen?

My boys sure do love throwing rocks in the river (or the canal, or a puddle, or in James's case--the hot tub!)
Looks like I forgot to rotate this picture, and I'm too lazy to go back and do it now--but I think it's so cute the way James follows Zane around. He has no clue that he's not every bit as big and capable!

This doesn't look dangerous at all, does it?!

I sure do love these guys!

*And in other news--your friendly movie critic (me!) says I was actually entertained by Alvin and the Chipmunks, but I turned off both "No Reservations" and "Nancy Drew" before the ending and don't even care!

Have a great week~!