Flashback Friday

Budding Artists

I have two very artistic little boys in my family. They may use different mediums,

but the effects are fantastic!

On the left is Jack experimenting with marker last week and on the right is Nathan 8 years ago experimenting with DESITIN!

Yes, Desitin. He was new to his big boy bed and I had put him down for a nap. Came in later realizing that he was not sleeping and found this. Somehow he had climbed up his dresser and got the tube. Definitely a Kodak moment. He was proud to pose. Disgusting! This was back before Desitin even smelled decent. And take my word for it, it doesn't wash off easily.

Halloween is Coming!

Lets just pretend that this is what the front of my house looks like for Halloween. Isn't it all too cute! Although my son would not like it's cuteness, rather, he thinks we need more scary! I also thought this halloween calender was super cute and would be so easy (yet time consuming) to make. Won't do it this year, but I will keep it in mind for a future craft idea. Gotta love Pottery Barn (thanks for all the ridiculously overpriced items! :)

Not So Deep Thoughts

THOUGHT #1
I've been impressed by peoples meal plans and recipes this last week. Therefore, I will impress ya'll with my meal planning for the week.
Fast food.
I informed my husband yesterday that I did not plan to cook this week.
Just cause.
Not feeling inspired.
Monday we had mac n' cheese.
Last night, Pizza.
Tonight, maybe....quesadillas.
You get the picture!


THOUGHT #2
It recently occurred to me that I am almost THERE!
There being...my 100th post!
Aaaaggghhh!
Pressure.
Am I supposed to do something fabulous?
What do my loyal fans (ha ha) want to see??
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
Lurkers, don't be shy!


THOUGHT #3
I thought I had more than that.

Samantha's Words of Wisdom

I so love talking with Samantha. She is hilarious and has many deep thoughts. Sometimes she just throws information out there. Here are a few that I've been able to write down over the year.

Talking about her preschool class yesterday she told me of a boy in her class that used to sit by her just to annoy her.
Me "So, he sat next to you specifically to annoy you?"
Her "Yes. But then my teacher moved him, because he would always bother me"


Last year while dropping her off at preschool I told her "have a good day"
She turns in response and sighs "If Michael bugs me, I don't think I'm going to have a good day"
"He's always bugging me" (she huffs)

Zach and I pretty much like each other. It's like we're in love

Ice is made out of hardness and water

Black is the color of darkness

Sometimes when Ladies wear sunglasses they do this (she demonstrates putting glasses towards her nose and looking over them) (You had to see this one, it was too funny)

Mom, if I were you I wouldn't have this kind of room. MMM.....I would have a black wall and a purple wall and....a pink bed...ya.

(laughing as she says this one) When I have a bad word to say, mom says she's going to wash my mouth out with soap. (does a comic frown and makes her eyes big after)


(sitting in the hot tub) It's like we're in a big hot bowl of soup.


I'm her mom, and of course I think she is hilarious. But really, she is so fun to talk too. She has lots of expressions, likes to make BIG EYES, and look out the corner of her eyes. I am so lucky I get to spend time with her. Do you ever look at your kids and just feel amazed that they are a part of you...that you helped create them? I'm so grateful I get to be a mother. It is such a blessing.
I'm kinda glad she didn't get to start kindergarten this year. One more year to be with her...my kids are growing too fast. I want to make our time together more meaningful. I want to be a better mom. I need to get down and play more often. I am going to work on that one.

Therapy

So, I have been busy scrapbooking, a lot. It is therapy for me. I need it like I need my diet coke! Jack is good about taking a long nap during the day so I try to use that time for myself, if possible. The house may suffer a little...but I don't really care. Getting some peace and quiet to myself and being able to create is heaven. I am so excited to have finished the baby album. I love how it turned out and can now get back to doing whatever...it feels good. I made this "whatever" page today in fact...

Here are the rest of the pages and cover of the baby album I made for Stephanie

Proof of Summer

grapes grew in our backyard

Proof that our summer existed

Beyond the hospital

Beyond the doctors

Beyond the nightmare that is our life

Beautiful things still happened

And here is proof

*Check out my other blog for more pictures of our summer*

JUMP BABY!!!

First of all, I forgot to mention that the exercising bit lasted about 5 minutes!

Next was jump time.

Tear up the couch, throw all the cushions on the floor, proceed with jumping.

This was Jack's favorite part.

Check out his form, he's awesome!

The boy jumps off EVERYTHING!

He even lands on his own 2 feet...occasionally.

I believe I've mentioned it before, but this crazy boy loves to jump, leap, lunge, tumble off anything he can find.

He's an animal!

Sweat!

There is something about Sundays that inspires my children to play nice. I love it. They play all day (minus church time of course). Yesterday it was exercise time. They got all dressed up in their "work out" clothes and pulled out the power 90 dvd. Here is a snippet of their conversation I was able to record...including some horrible pictures....

Nathan "These stretches hurt."

Kristen "That's ok with me."

Samantha "Ok, I feel like I'm getting a cramp here."

Samantha "Something smells in here" as she looks at Nathan

Kristen "Ya, I'm exercising, it's probably my sweat."

Journaling

Found these journals through a friend of a friend blogging sorta thing (ya know). Decided it was a great idea that my kids would SO dig. With school having just started there were no black notebooks to be found, but I did find these cute little books at Target and they even come with a pen. Can't wait to start. Such a great way to bond with the kids and perhaps find out things I wouldn't normally hear about. Samantha will be a little challenging, since she can't read but I bet Kristen will help her out.

Thanks for all the great ideas out there!

Test Time

Thanks Cammie and Steph for the link. Some of the questions were hard to answer because they are not very relevant to my life, but I guess in another life this is who I would be:

***You Belong in Paris***

Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris.The art, the fashion, the wine!Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park...You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?http://www.blogthings.com/whatcitydoyoubelonginquiz/

Looks like there are a few other quizes that would be fun to do.

Oh ya, and everyone should give me a big hand for linking all this stuff on my blog and getting the picture up too. It's a big accomplishment for little ol' me!!!

Wasn't feeling to energetic yesterday, but I had a little time to myself. Kinda wanted to scrap but didn't think I could get into it. Decided to go with a no pressure attitude, see what I could whip up quickly. Well, it actually took me till today to finish it (thanks to Jack for not taking a proper nap). But this is what I came up with. My picture looks a little blurry but I didn't put a lot of effort into taking that for the post either. It felt good to accomplish something.

This did make me realize though that I need to seriously get on to printing some pictures from this year. I have next to none. Like that old commercial said, they are all trapped on my computer waiting to be brought to life! I think I will add this to my to do list. One month at a time. I only have 9 months to go!

Preschool...Again

I almost forgot to post about Samanthas first day of school, last week. She has been so excited to start. She picked her outfit and did her own hair. I'm impressed with her ability to put her hair in a ponytail. She is the kinda girl that will practice things she wants to know how to do. I've never had much say in the clothing department with her. She has her own ideas.

It has been a hard year for my little girl. Two of her best friends have moved and the rest seemed to have started Kindergarten without her...she has not been very happy about that. She wants to be in kindergarten too. She is having to make all new friends this year. Atleast for her she has some options there and is doing well with her new friends. She is loving school. I love it too because it is just down the street. She wants to be able to go by herself but it is around a corner, so much to her dismay, I do escort her!

Love her big brown eyes!

The Good...and the Bad

Soooooo.....I am frustrated with myself. I am normally a pretty even tempered gal. I don't have major mood swings, I am generally happy most the time. Not anymore. I continue to be shocked by my emotions. One day I feel pretty good and happy, the next, not so much. I know we have been through a lot, but seriously, it's getting old. We found out yesterday to expect a good 4 months of recovery on Doug's shoulder. I feel bad for him, he can't take anymore of this pain. It is a constant. It's been 9 weeks now, with very little pain relief. Who knows how much longer it will continue. It is exhausting for him, and so hard for me to watch. I find that I am so emotional. I cry easily. Just realized what today was and that makes me cry. I may not have lost my husband. But I know that fear. I know how it feels. So others loss is hard for me. There's this new song by Tim McGraw about a Soldier who dies, and yep, it makes me cry. The harshness of this world is very real to me. I can see through my blog how erratic I am. Even my posts seem crazy to me. So with all this said, I want to list a few things that DO make me happy...

• Last night Kristen was telling us as she stood in line at school yesterday, one of the boys dads commented on all the pretty girls he was standing by. Then he pointed to Kristen and said "Especially that one". She was laughing as she told us, but quickly turned beet red and was beyond embarrassed and then started to cry. That's my girl. Embarrassment brings her to tears. It was so cute.


• Jack was full of it last night. Literally. Was passing gas all through FHE, then Scriptures, then prayer. Nathan was in tears he kept laughing so hard. Once that boy starts laughing, he cannot stop. I have no idea what we read last night!


• I just finished making sandwiches for the kids lunches this morning. Turned my back to get something else. Jack reached Nathans triple decker and had it smooshed to death in seconds. Not very happy that I had to make another, but still, gave us all a good laugh.


• Yesterday, made pancakes for the kids. I NEVER do that. We all sang along to this song as we ate. I love it when they are all happy and actually love each other!


• Made myself a To Do List for the week. Hoping to cross some things off. Already started some.


• Today, I do not have to go anywhere. So happy about that!!!


• Actually made some cookies last night. Kristen has been begging for weeks now. Yum...cookie dough.


• Got my new Jenni Bowlin kit. Have every intention of scrapbooking soon...wish me luck!

• Oh ya, I finally learned how to add a link to my blog, Ta Daaaa! I am a bit computer illiterate!

Well, there's the good and the bad of my life right now. Tomorrow I will probably be in a great mood, although this afternoon is looking up as Jack is now in bed and Samantha went to a friends. Yay for me, some quiet time. I'll try to reclaim some sanity.

Just a little tidbit...

I'd like to introduce you to

Bear Bear, Ribbit, and Quack Quack

These are Jack Jack's little sleeping buddies. The boy loves animals. He loves stuffed animals. I think we have another animal on our hands.

Jack says Ribbit as Budta and Quack Quack is a very throaty, nasaly honk honk.

He sure is a cutie and makes us laugh all the time.

Must See...

So Doug and I were watching vh1 "I Love the 70"s" last night. If you've never seen it, it's a show that talks about different years in history and what was popular and way Way cool back then. Comedians and actors and such give commentary on things and joke about it and how dorky it all seems now. It is quite entertaining and funny. Any way, they mentioned a very popular movie in 1978, a little show called "Ice Castles". One person commented, "the story that just HAD to be told", of an ice skater who goes blind and a boyfriend who forces her to skate again. It appears to be very emotional and deep...

Got me to thinking...maybe we should have a weekend where we rent some very popular movies that one should see before they die kinda thing, ya know. I mean, I've never seen Ice Castles and it obviously is a classic! So does anyone have suggestions on some oldies but goodies that we should check out?

Years ago, before we had kids we did do a Planet of the Apes all nighter. I think we saw every one! So we can check that one off the list. But I know there are more out there. Come on, give me your best shot!

I don't feel like I have anything to say.
I am cranky.
I am tired.
Calgon, take me away....