Usually.

Usually, we eat lots of leafy greens and fresh food...

...but sometimes we don't.

Usually, our morning routine is very strict and we don't have time for for Lego City that the tooth fairy brought last night...

...but sometimes we do.

WHEN YOU PLAY BLOCKS WITH YOUR DAD...

...CLOTHES ARE OPTIONAL


...THERE WILL BE POIGNANT LESSONS SPELLED OUT


...NO, REALLY. SIT DOWN AND STAY AWHILE, 'CAUSE THIS IS THE STUFF OF SOCRATES


...OR, NOT.

Candid

Covered in Quinoa and totally crashed out... again!
He had SO much fun at Jack's preschool Halloween Party.

And look at this big kid! I swear he gets more and more independent each day.
[getting ready for school]
Every now and then I see a little bit of preteen come through and it makes me laugh...

...ask me in 7 years if that's still the case!

WEEKLY WRAP

What's that, you say? It's only Thursday. Well, whatever, it feels like it has already been a very full, long week.



Monday I got to hear words like "role model" and "asset to the classroom" at Jack's parent/teacher conference. Then I got to visit with a good friend and her brand new one month old daughter, and if we weren't already TTC, I would have had full blown baby fever. But then I tackled a very ambitious idea of painting wooden airplane model kits with 18 little boys at my after school club and the pendulum swung back in the other direction. Monday was a long day!



So, it seems fitting that we had a ridiculous wind storm that night and got zero sleep. I was a complete zombie all day Tuesday, didn't make it to my Intentional Mom's Group, and was so happy to curl up on the couch with all the boys after school and watch Coraline once Warren got a good start on his homework.



Wednesday, after getting at least a little bit of sleep, I was feeling revived! Got myself spiffed up and drove to Bryan's work with Jack and Nolan to meet him for lunch. So fun! I was jazzed to take some pictures of the boys with their Daddy at his work... until I realized that yet again I forgot to return the memory card to the camera. Argh!



We had a nice lunch and came back home in time to walk to pick up Warren and return to greet one of our favorite little neighbor boys, whom we got to have visit us for several hours. The kids were SO good, which turned out to be a huge blessing because I had about an hour and a half of severe food poisoning symptoms, presumably from the salad I had a lunch. No fun, but soon enough it was a distant memory and health was restored.



Which brings me to today, Thursday. The day before my Mom is due to arrive. The day before Warren's first day of basketball camp. The day before Jack's Halloween party at school. The day Bryan is going to Warren's school to surprise him with lunch... and I am SO excited for Warren to have that memory and know how special he is to his Daddy. Brings a tear to my eyes, much like when he brought me the pillow from his bed and a little dixie cup of water when I was dreadfully ill yesterday. Love that boy! Love all my boys! Love the weekend! Much love...

..these two..

..just needed to be shared..

[the scence I was graced with when I walked in the door this morning, back from Jack's parent/teacher conference]

[a favorite beauty/anti-aging product. I use it on my hands every night and a tiny bit by my eyes, where crows feet will not be forming but might like to, and I slather it on the boys' faces after they're asleep each night. your welcome.]

I have shared several other "favorites" here., oh and here too.

.fallishness.

Already fall finds us playing indoors a bit more at familiar places

like the mall play area.

Crossing paths with wild pumpkins in our neighborhood.

And decorating carmel dipped apples at a neighbor friend's house.

...

***
Oh, and since a couple people asked, you can find all the "vintage posts" by typing "installment" in the search box thingy at the top left corner, but I went ahead and found them all for you... here you go!

Installment #1

Installment #2

Installment #3 (mature audiences only!)

Installment #4

Installment #5

Installment #6

Installment #7

Installment #8

My goal is to get a recap of all our trips and milestones up here on this blog eventually so our "story" in its entirety can be found at one place. I imagine my grown kids and grandchildren perusing this website. I hope they gleen some giggles, inspiration and a good solid sense of the love that got them here.

***

THAT LOVE

You know the love you have for each of your children?

How it can make you smile in a dark hushed room and then keep you up half the night pondering big fears and getting lost in such big thoughts as the infiniteness of the Universe...

...and how it never ends.

That love?

I imagine Jack feels a shade of that love for his beloved Blankie.

So, before this Blankie stage is over, we took pictures and talked about Blankie and came up with some words Jack thinks describe "him."

[Soft]

[Letters and Animals]

[Gives me kisses and hugs]

[Smells clean]

[Lots of holes but I love them]

["Is he your best friend?" "Yeah, he's my best friend, Mom."]

SHADOWS

.a couple of my favorite shadows.

.out on a mid-day adventure.

.to see what we could see.

.in the "sunshiney sun".

Vintage Posts -- Installment #9

The place -- Alaska. Specifically, on the child sized recliner at my Grandparents house in Big Lake, Alaska... eating some Cheetos as I recall. Yup, I still cringe at the thought!

The time -- June, 2005. Warren was just freshly turned one. And me... I look waaaay too young to be 3 months pregnant with baby number two! Yikes!

My main memories of this trip:

Warren taking a bath in my Mom's (Grandma from Alaska as she would come to be known by her grandsons) oversized tub every day.

My best friend from High School's wedding.

{Me and my mom at the reception. Don't tell me you don't remember when it was all the rage to have the underneath part of your hair darker that the rest... but instead of looking at my wacky hair, check out the Chugach Mtns reflecting behind the bar please, thanks!}

Which was set atop one of the taller buildings in downtown Anchorage overlooking Cook Inlet. On a day when the sun didn't get much lower in the sky than this:

And Bryan thought he was pretty nifty for capturing his reflection on a building:

And I was pretty happy to capture this picture of two of the most important people in my life:

While my only child at the time had his first encounter with bikini-clad women, and a sprinkler, in his Momma's hometown... all those years ago!

Ahhhhh, haven't done one of these for a while and it's got me all nostalgic and homesick. Thankfully my Mom is coming... NEXT WEEK!!

Crazy little thing called "Keeping Up"

I haven't touched my photography website since I created it. In fact, I can't even remember how to get in there and change things. It's all in an email somewhere for sure, but that hurdle has just been too big. Silly, I know.

So, I will just share a few pictures here from a session yesterday with two little boy cousins, aged one and two.

And while I was a little disappointed to not get that "it" shot of the two of them gazing my way with huge smiles plastered on their faces...

... the reality is, we were lucky to get as many as we did of them in the same frame together...

... because -- you know -- they are one and two...

... and they had differing opinions on which direction to walk, which slide to go down...

...which direction to look in and when to smile.

But all told, it didn't matter one bit,

because cuteness like this knows no obstacle!

I ended up getting lots of great individual shots of them oozing cuteness directed at the camera though, so that counts, right?
::
So, while I may not be "keeping up" in all aspects, there is still plenty to be proud of!

Namely, I am shocked at how easy it was for me to make the change to not throwing my clothes into the dryer. Now, without even thinking I hang them to dry.

Also (and I don't know what has taken me so long on this one, since it is directly plucked from my childhood) last week I implemented a great idea with the boys snacking addiction.

I cut up lots and lots of fresh veggies in a Tupperware stored nice and low in the fridge. And whenever they come down to forage through the pantry, I point them to the tupperware... and... it has worked like a charm! Now they know that they are welcome to eat as much of the veggies whenever they want in addition to the fruit bowl, that they have always been free to help themselves from.
Perfect!

Good Golly, I am feeling so enthused after typing that all up, maybe I will go looking for that email with the directions now...

Life is messy.

Fortunately, I'm not afraid of a mess.

And it's not very often, if ever, that I go very deep here... but suffice it to say the mess in my house, life, and even in my head extends way beyond Nolan's high chair tray.

But if I've learned anything in the years of being a wife, mother, friend, and all those other roles we all have, it's that you can't shy away from the mess. Certainly can't live in a way so as to avoid the messes...



...'cause sure, I could give Nolan only cheerios and other nice easy to clean up things, but that's not well-balanced and that's just not reality...



So, I plow forward, sometimes knowingly into a huge mess. Fully aware of how much work it will be to clean it up, but also open to the possibility of learning something along the way and living life to the fullest... what can I say...



... caution isn't my middle name.

Around the house.

::fresh flowers from one of my favorite friends (that was a lot of f's)::

::my favorite little nearly 15 month old with his favorite red ball::

::and a favorite snack that I can't quit grabbing by the handful::

What more do ya need?!

Confessions.

I usually eat the leftovers from Warren's lunch as we walk home from the school. Mmmm, goldfish crackers, mostly crusts of sandwiches, and some room temperature cut up veggies... but I draw the line at the dried up warm remnants of string cheese and leave that for less discriminating folk than myself... our dog, Reagan. Wow, did I just admit that about the only soul I am aware of with less standards in what they are willing to eat than me is my dog? Um, moving right along...

I waited and waited and waited this morning, until realizing... it is Monday. Jack doesn't have preschool on Mondays.

I haven't put on makeup in so many days that I'm no longer surprised by my makeupless reflection and am starting to think I look alright without it... must be the Latisse I've been using. Hello, lashes!! But seriously a little concealer wouldn't hurt...

I am addicted to Sister Wives on TLC. And I don't know why... but it is fascinating to me.

Nolan was nursing and eating a pretzel stick tonight before bedtime. Literally, nursing and eating a pretzel... and I thought "you know you need to wean your child when...."

Despite all the stress and chaos in my life with all these little miniature Bryan's, I am ridiculously happy and wouldn't have it any other way. They are such good kids!

I WONDER...

...what it feels like...

...to be the youngest of three boys.

...to not be the oldest (as I was of four).

...to be surrounded by entertainment, affection, chaos, noise...

...and LOTS of kisses!