Stephanie's Spot

I Love My Family, But....

2010-01-23T19:13:00.004-06:00

You know you're reading something written by a courageous author with a title like that.

It's Saturday night and I'm home alone. Let's say it again "alone". Deep cleansing breath. Ahhhhh.... Yes. I love my family, but let's face it, they're obsessed with me. They always want to be near me and demand my attention all. day. long. The little short ones have co-dependency issues, I'm almost sure of it.
As much as I love them sometimes a girl needs a break. So my fantabulous husband, Lee, took the wee ones to the Monster Jam. I'm trying not to think about what sort of permanent damage this will do to their delicate psyche's. Instead I'm focusing on the silent, peaceful atmosphere that is filling my normally chaotic space. I threw together some homemade mushroom soup, and baked some bread. Comfort in a bowl.

I randomly came across this site called BirthVerse. You put in your birthday and it gives you a bible verse. My verse was Proverbs 8:21 "bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full". Hmmm... interesting. It might be time to look in to the whole "name it and claim philosophy". Ah, I jest.

Alright, I'm outta here. I can't spend all of my precious alone time blogging. I think I'll go to Target. Going to Target alone is almost too much fun for me to handle, but I'll manage.

Tabitha

2010-01-20T21:31:00.005-06:00

Many of you know I have a Betta, Tabitha, that used to love to do tricks and just hang out with me. She's been sick for quite sometime but she's still hanging on. I read A LOT about what makes Betta's sick and what might make them better. I buy A LOT of different do-dads and medicines. I spend A LOT of time just checking on her and adjusting this and that. She's been on a steady decline and I'm not sure if she's going to make it. I just switched her antibiotic to Tetracycline yesterday. I hope it works!

I'm thinking about renaming her Money Pit, but I don't want to bring her down. I sure wish she could talk and tell me what she needs. Today I had to force feed her bloodworm's. Yum. Tasty snack. She doesn't have much of an appetite so i have to put the worm on the end of a toothpick and chase her around the tank with it until she's so annoyed she chomps on it just to get it to go away. I wonder what choice words she would bubble to me about that if she could?

2010-01-19T13:15:00.006-06:00

On this day in 1809 Edgar Allen Poe was born. In honor of this I decided to memorize "The Raven".

Oh my gosh. No I did not. Have you ever read it?? It's so, SO very hard for me to figure out what half the words mean, much less what they mean strung together in a sentence. Baby steps. That's what i need. I'll look up the definitions of the words I don't know. I might even try to work one in to casual conversation today... or this week. Ok, before I die. I'm sure Lee will be familiar with all of them. We all know how he likes to use his big words ::snicker::

surcease, obeisance, beguiling, shorn, craven, dirges, yore, plume, pallid

Ok, i looked all of these up and some of them seem a bit more famililar after reading the definitions but it will be extremely challenging to USE them and not get funny looks. Except for maybe craven. "I was craven pizza so i ordered Dominos." Score! One down....

farewell Emma Rose with the big red bows...

2009-08-26T17:32:00.007-05:00

I'm sort of struggling with Emma and her refusal to stop growing up.
Look at her, she looks so smug, as if she knows she's 10 going on 21 and there is nothing I can do about it. This week she started 5th grade.

I hate 5th grade.

There are no hair bows in 5th grade. No cute from head to toe, matchy-matchy outfits. No funky tights or cute mary janes. No super cute monogrammed polka dot lunch boxes, those I was told this morning, are so 4th grade ::insert rolling eyes here::

It's really her fault that I'm so depressed about her growing up. She was so much fun to play dress up with even as a baby. She wore tiny baby jewelry, bows and hats. I could dress her up in the morning and she would stay clean and dressed all day. What kind of baby does that? You can't do that to a mom and then decide to give it all up a decade later!

Next week I send the J's off to preschool for the first time ever, then in a few weeks Jones will turn 5. You might want to avoid the blog for the next month or so. I foresee a lot of dismal, depressing posts coming up....

First day of kindergarten (2004)

First day of 5th grade (2009)

Back to School (and blog)

2009-08-24T21:31:00.005-05:00

Ahhh…. A moment of silence. It’s been a hectic evening. The J’s are wild, and Emma decided to go 0 to 60 straight in to preteen sassy-ness. I still have to put them all to bed, but they went upstairs and I can’t hear anything. It’s NICE.

School starts tomorrow so I thought it would be as good a time as any to get back together with my blog. We were on again, off again for awhile. I wasn’t sure we would last, but I’m committed and i’m ready to give it another go.

I made a cake in celebration of “back to school”. I’m almost too scared to post a picture of it here for fear it might end up on Cake Wrecks. The color scheme is lacking, but it was pretty tasty. That’s what really counts. I almost spelled school “shcool” which would have been oh so embarrassing. I also added a little message on there about my birthday, which was a few days ago. I didn’t get a cake ~~which I won’t soon forget~~ but it’s no big deal.

I turned my back on my drink today and the next thing I know it looked like this.

Sometimes when there’s an incident, I have to question all the suspects to figure out who did it. This one, not so much. This has Jaden written all over it. A little later he came back and told me he needed a sip of “his” drink. I'm not positive, but I think that counts as a guilty plea.

2009-05-15T14:34:00.001-05:00

Duck, Duck, Chomp

2009-04-13T18:57:00.010-05:00

I'm not sure if I'm risking rubber ducky's secret identity, but... Jonah has a duck that is a super hero. He calls him Super Duck. He's even made (or had me and Emma make) paper capes and masks for Super Duck. So when I saw this cute little candy duck I just had to get it for Jonah's Easter Basket.

I noticed after the fact that this yummy little treat was labeled "milk" flavored. Uhhh... what the heck does that mean? I checked the back before I let him eat it and the first ingredient was sugar so I deemed it edible. Sugar is, after all, one of the five basic food groups... isn't it?

Before he indulged in the tasty treat he let Snack Duck and Super Duck get acquainted. They seemed to have an instant connection.

After a few minutes Jones was ready to eat his sweet treat. In a flash he chomped down on Snack Ducks head and a few chews later he announced it tasted like chocolate. I sure wasn't expecting that! A yellow candy duck, advertised as being "milk" flavored, tasted like chocolate? Somehow I doubt it, but I wasn't curious enough to taste for myself so we'll have to take Jonah's word on it.

Ugly Blog. Cute Kids.

2009-04-08T12:49:00.006-05:00

Ohm'gosh - I don't think I can stand this blog layout a minute longer. I hate it. It's time to change it. I would love to make my own but I sure don't have the time to learn how right now. I'll have to look online for something I can live with.

Right now Jonah and Jaden are having a burping contest while I contemplate whether or not I have had any positive influence on them at all.

Jonah got a new bike. He was thrilled. This is a piece I call "Kids On Bikes". It's one heck of a title, bordering on lyrical genius - but not so out there that it confuses the viewer. You should definitely click on this one to see it full size. Emma is looking all "crazy eyes" in the tiny version.

This is fun. I told Em to look "fast", like we were doing an ad for the bike helmet. I'm looking at it now and I'm not getting "fast". It's actually looking pretty darn still. I guess it's time for me to google a tutorial on panning. Don't get your hopes up. I'm convinced it's way too advanced for me.

Here are a few pictures of mostly Jaden playing in the yard yesterday. Everyone else kept disappearing.

That's all for now.....

My Favorite Things #003

2009-03-23T14:13:00.006-05:00

I got this umbrella while I was in California visiting a friend (I think bought it at Borders). It's the Pet Chopz design from Paperchase. It can be hard to find cute, original boy stuff and this is adorable with all of those colorful critters on it. There's even a robot, and I love robots!

I fell in love with it and struggled with whether or not to get it because I wasn't sure if you could fly with an umbrella. It seems kind of silly now, but I was worried they would think I could use it as a weapon.

::perplexed look::

I should have gotten two of them but I didn't want the J's to have identical umbrella's. That just seems silly now, especially since Jaden is forced to use a pink Disney Princess umbrella, which is cute, but I don't want to be the subject of all of the kids adult therapy sessions.

It rained a bit last week. The J's wanted to splash in the puddles for about three minutes and they were ready to go back inside. They're so fickle.

Seniors 2009

2009-03-17T19:35:00.008-05:00

I attempted to do senior pictures for Hannah and two of her friends, Heather and Brianna. I was pretty successful with Heather and Brianna, but Hannah, well - let's just say someone was Miss Crankypants. I will be doing Hannah's again sometime soon. I posted more of these on my flickr if you're interested. I love that last picture. They look very Charlie's Angels to me.

Babies Anyone?

2009-03-05T21:24:00.011-06:00

There's a baby boom among my friends and I'm not too proud to beg folks to let me practice on their precious bundles of joy. I feel so fortunate that people will actually let me experiment with their brand new babies. I have no idea what I'm doing so I'm basically just winging it with other peoples tiny loved ones. (shhhhhh! don't tell.)

This little gal was 12 days old and NOT sleepy at all. I only got her to go to sleep once. I think I jostled her too much because her mom told me her cord fell off about an hour after I left. Oops.

This bitty baby boy wouldn't sleep much either. I even got to try on two separate days. Apparently I'm no baby whisperer, but I'm going to keep trying.

I don't think little Ava (who's not so little anymore) was much of a sleeper either. That didn't matter because she was the first newborn I ever shot and I was more worried about figuring out what to do with her. She was sweet enough to show me a wee bit of sleepy love though.

Are you starting to see a trend here? Another 'eyes wide open' model. He was as sweet as he could be though. He didn't complain at all while I flipped him this way and that trying to figure out what would work.

This is Phoebe. She's obviously not a newborn, but she was a very cooperative model. I wish she lived closer because I would definitely stalk her and make her do all kinds of insane poses because I'm almost positive she would make me look like an awesome photographer.

Mason here is obviously not a newborn, he's not even a baby, but he's pretty stinkin' cute so I had to share his 'cool dude' pose.

Thank you to everyone who's willing to help me get much needed experience. I think I'm about to start acquiring props. You know you'll want to check that out. I'll let you know how it goes.

My Favorite Things #002

2009-03-05T09:05:00.003-06:00

Here is another one of my favorite things.

I got these at Walgreens about a month ago. They were 3/$1. I actually considered not getting them because I got a dozen and that meant I was spending a whopping $4 dollars and I thought that was too much. Sometimes I'm not very rational. Especially considering how much I love and use these little dessert dishes. Not only are they super fun to eat ice cream out of but they are the perfect size for snacks for the kids. The boys like to dip stuff and these bowls are the perfect size for dipping french toast sticks in to syrup, or chicken in to ketchup. I could go on and on.
If you have a chance you might want to check out your local drug store or dollar store to see if you can load up on tiny plastic dessert dishes. They'll probably end up on your "Favorite Things" list.

much love for the queso

2009-02-16T09:50:00.007-06:00

Wow. Jaden was all about the queso last night. It was intended to be eaten on nachos, but he decided to eat it like soup right off the ladle. Yummo.

Got cheese?

with love from Emma

2009-02-13T21:55:00.009-06:00

I wasn't feeling very creative this year when it came to Emma's Valentine's cards. I even took her to the store and suggested she pick out something cute there, like Camp Rock or Hannah Montana. She wouldn't even entertain the thought. I guess I can't fault her since I'm the one that started the trend of making her personalized cards.

So late Thursday, the night before the the class party I made little picture tags and put them on goody bags. Em picked out these really cute bags with owls on them that say "Owl love you forever"...awwww.

I had my friend Kelly of Alacrity Designs make this cute shirt just for Valentine's day. I saw one like it on Etsy and asked her if she could whip one up and she did lickity split! Be sure to keep her in mind if you *need* any customs.

Mia & Rome

2009-02-11T22:45:00.007-06:00

Doesn't that sound like the title of a movie? Mia & Rome.
My sister came over this weekend to let me take some pictures of her lovlies.
Here are a few of my fave's....

Sweet baby Mia

Little lady bug

Taking a break to say her prayers
:: Dear Lord, please save me from these crazy people that keep changing my clothes and propping me this way and that on a bean bag ::

Rome & Mia

Awwww....

Did I spell Rome correctly? I thought I saw it on a license plate but I could be remembering wrong...

Just for Mom

2009-02-05T09:41:00.004-06:00

Here are the pictures of Jonah that you can't see at work. I bribed him with jelly beans and he still couldn't sit still. I really just try to snap shots in the split seconds between his goofy looks. It might seem like he was calm and cooperative, but the camera lies.

Liar, liar - lens on fire.

My Favorite Things #001

2009-01-31T00:26:00.004-06:00

I've decided to share some of my favorite things. It's good to focus on "the lovlies" in your life. It makes for a positive attitude and a cheery disposition. Who doesn't want a positive attitude and a cheery disposition?
I love my aprons. I mean L-O-V-E my aprons, big fancy, swirly capitol "L" love my aprons. I'm not good at prioritizing things, so I can't say for sure if they are my number one favorite thing, but they are up there.
Most of mine come from Anthropologie because they have the best, most beautiful, inspiring aprons on the planet. Yes, aprons can be inspiring. Let's face it, even the most positive, cheery people are going to have "those days". You know what I'm talking about. The days you set aside to catch up on laundry only to have your washing machine take a crap just as you get started. Or you've finally finished scrubbing a months worth of gunk off the kitchen floor and someone drops a jar of sweet pickles and it smashes creating a 10 square foot radius of sticky pickle juice. It's the kinks life throws at you to try and get you down. Now imagine glancing up from the pickletastrophy and something catching your eye. Something brightly colored, with happy flowers and festive rick rack and it says to you, "Hey, let me help you. We can fix this. We can do it together and we'll do it with a smile." That's what my aprons do!

This one is Emma's. So very cute!
I was stacking aprons as I ironed them. Yes, I iron them.

I iron everything. I'll save that conversation for another day.

Festive rick rack (it's like long rows of tiny smiles)

The Twins

2009-01-29T14:12:00.001-06:00

I came across an old picture of Emma the other day. I thought it was funny because it very closely resembles a picture I had just posted of Jonah. Not only that, but they are the same age in the pictures. Kooky! Oh my gosh, I just noticed they are wearing the same colors too. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do (twilight zone music :: wink, wink ::)

All of the similarities prompted me to dig up the pictures of them both at age 3 months. They look like fraternal twins born five years apart. Look at those sweet babies...

Emma Rose

Jonah

2009-01-05T13:17:00.001-06:00

Christmas came and went and I never got around to blogging about it. If you click the tree picture you can see some pictures of the kids.

This is Jonah asleep all curled up like a baby. I'm feeling sad about him growing up. When he's all grown up I'm going to miss the funny way he says things and the way he interprets the world.

The always fashionable, sometimes edgy Jaden in an ensemble called "random boots".

Dreamland

2008-12-14T13:35:00.001-06:00

At night when I'm tucking the boys in I sing them songs. It's the same four songs in the same order, every night. One of the songs I picked up from a cheap dollar video I had purchased for Hannah ages ago. It was a video that had a lot of obsure cartoons on it that no one really knew, but it was a dollar so I bought it. There was a super sappy cartoon about a boy and girl who were very poor and would dream about having an abundance of all the things they were lacking in real life. The cartoon has a theme song that is present from beginning to end and it embedded itself in my brain and eventually became a night time lullaby.
As it turns out the cartoon, called Somwhere in Dreamland, was actually very well known in it's time. It was released in 1936 by Fleischer Studios who brought us characters such as Betty Boop, Popeye and they were even the first animate the comic book hero Supermanm and such as... (I can't ever hear the words "such as" without thinking about Miss South Carolina 2007. So, so FUNNY.) Anyway, my point is that what I thought was cheap, low quality dollar store find, was actually a rich part of the history of animation.
I was a little disappointed to find out I didn't have all of the lyrics correct. My version still has the same general feel. I tried to sing the song the way it was written but Jonah quickly corrected me, so I'm sticking with my revised version.

Here are the lyrics as they were written:

I'll see you somewhere in dreamland
Somewhere in dreamland tonight!
Over a bridge made of moonbeams
We'll find our clouds are silver lined!
Each little star in the cosmos
Shining a welcome so bright!
Dreams will come true
For me and you
Somewhere in dreamland tonight!

Brrrrrrr......

2008-12-13T00:11:00.000-06:00

So this week we experienced a historic event when it snowed in Houston. The kids were thrilled. We did our best to capture it on "film", but it was no easy task. If you click on the picture below you can see a slideshow of our snow fun. I know that the snow seems nonexistant in some of the pictures, but it WAS there, I promise. If you tune in to the Christmas spirit and look with your heart, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to *see* the snow.

Top 10 Reasons I Did Not Shop Black Friday

2008-11-28T23:31:00.000-06:00

10. Getting up early makes me tired.

9. I'm extremely inept at prioritizing. I would have never been able to decide where to go first and that would be stressful. Stress is neither holly nor jolly.

8. Pregnant people tend to get swollen ankles if they are on their feet for long periods of time.

(While it's true that I am not pregnant, I would have been in danger of getting stuck in an obscenely long line behind someone that was. I surely would have been at risk of having to watch some poor lady swell up until her feet were hideously disfigured. Imagine the horror....)

7. Cleaning house seemed like a more productive way to spend my time. And by "my time" I also mean my kids time, who just happened to all be home (never happens) so I got out my ~~whip~~ to do list, and gave them all some chores.

6. People are crazy. I'm not just saying that, they really are. A man actually died when he was trampled by people rushing in to a Walmart. That's insane.

7. I didn't have anything to wear. You're probably thinking, "just throw on some sweats and tee and go!" but that would not have been sufficient. I heard on the radio that people shopping in groups were actually planning on sporting coordinating shirts. Matchy-matchy is so "right up my alley", yet I hadn't thought of it. I knew I would feel terrible when I ran in to those fashion savvy folks at the mall so it was best to avoid it altogether.

8. I was holding out for Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday just sounds so much cooler then Black Friday, which sounds ominous. Cyber Monday has a cool, smart feel to it. So shopping Cyber Monday seems like the more intelligent choice. Who's with me?

9. Getting up early makes me tired. I know I already mentioned this, but getting up early makes me really, really tired. So it counts twice.

10. I'm broke. Sure, I could have probably charged a bunch of "great deals" but credit is from the Devil. I'm determined to get out of debt and the only way to do that is to not buy stuff.

In the midst of being broke and feeling like I don't have any money, I've realized that even when I'm scaling back and "going without", I have more then I need. I can't help but think about men, women and children all over the world that know what it really means to "go without" the basic necessities. I can't justify going out and spending hundreds of dollars on stuff for my family and friends when none of us really "need" anything. While I don't see myself becoming some radical anti-consumerism advocate, I do see myself being very purposeful about how I spend my money. I can not, however, tell you how to spend your money. So if you we're already planning on getting someone special, like say... me, for instance, something pretty and admittedly frivolous, I won't hold it against you.

Random Ramblings

2008-11-20T09:33:00.000-06:00

I'm so behind on everything. I've got so much to do I can't even think about what to do first. Not fun. Someone needs to send me there life schedule so I can copy it. Oh and I need a housekeeper for Christmas, in case anyone was wondering what to get me ::wink, wink::

I understand that might be a bit much to ask, so i'll settle for a Roomba or Scooba. Maybe you can find a great deal on a bundle pack and get me both! Come on, you know i'm worth it. Remember that time I did that thing for you and you were eternally grateful? No? Keep thinking, maybe it will come to you.

I will soon be taking our annual family photo for our Christmas Card, and I need to take Hannah's Senior pictures. I'm going to take hers and her best friends pictures and I'm looking forward to it. I find it's much easier taking pictures of people that actually stay where you put them and don't spontaneously burst in to tears when forced to stand still.

Here are some pictures I've taken just around the house and at the park the last few weeks. It's nothing special, but it's all i've got. Like I said, I'm behind on everything. I don't have any pictures of Noah. He's not been around when I'm shooting, but I think i'll probably take him along when I take Hannah's pictures so I can take some pictures of him too.

mm-kay.... let's see....

This is Jonah on a pole.

This is Emma leaning on our house.

This is Hannah leaning on our house (being sassy).

This is Jonah and Jaden showing you prime examples of why I'm excited to take Hannah and Noah's pictures.

Jaden hanging out by the pole.

Jaden in one of my favorite Boden outfits. Oh yeah, he said to tell everyone all he wants for Christmas is Mini Boden.

And finally.... Jonah being super cute with his cheesy grin.

2008-11-19T16:28:00.000-06:00

Jonah put together this snazzy ensemble a few mornings ago. He then requested that I take his picture; he struck this pose and asked,

"Do I look like a real superhero?"

I of course said yes, even though the belt to his Batman costume was the only thing remotely "hero-esque" about his get-up.

You've gotta love a guy who's not afraid to accessorize.

Jaden's Singing Debut

2008-11-13T12:49:00.001-06:00

Brace yourself. You're about to witness some raw talent.
This is Jaden singing along to the theme song from The Planet Heroes cartoon. He only says the last syllable of the last word in each sentence. Still, I think you can sense the depth of his passion for music, even at this early age
:: please insert a sarcastic tone::
Enjoy!

Meet Miss Mia

2008-11-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

This is my newest niece Mia Ramielle. She was born yesterday, which just happened to be my anniversary. She seems to be very patient, which is always an admirable trait in a newborn, especially when you are you're Mommy's first baby. She's just as bitty as she can be, born 5.3 pounds and 19.5 inches long.
I'm pretty sure I'm her favorite aunt (shhh... don't tell Aunt Kelly). I'm also almost positive that she wants big Texas sized headbands adorned with froufrou bows. I have a sixth sense about these kind of things ;o) I guess I'll have to hook her up!

Koo Koon

2008-10-29T14:11:00.000-05:00

There's never any shortage of fun around here, no siree.

Check out the little critter that visited us yesterday. It's a baby raccoon. He was wandering around our front yard, obviously scavenging for food so I took it a plate of cat food. Apparently baby raccoons are big entertainment because all of my kids came outside and just sat there and watched it eat.

He wasn't very fast and he didn't seem bothered by us at all. There was a time (long, LONG ago) when I would have taken in that bundle of potentially rabid furry cuteness and raised it as a domesticated pet, bought it little coon sweaters for the holidays, and so on. But not anymore. Five kids is apparently the cure for a chronic case of taking in stray animals. Although, if it had been a bird (particularly a Hawk) I probably would be writing this with a new friend perched on my shoulder. The coon however, was a bit easier to resist, even if he did have sad beady eyes.

I was pretty sure he was harmless, but a part of me was ready for him to realize he'd been lured in to a trap by the yummy goodness of Hills Science Diet and go crazy trying to claw all of our eyes out. I informed the kids that if it made any sudden moves they were to run for their lives. I even told them that coons can carry rabies and if they got bit they would have to get 20 shots in the belly or they would die. Extreme? Maybe. Untrue? Probably. But I couldn't remember all the facts about rabies and Google was not an option, so I had to punt. I'm sure I gave Jonah something good to talk about in therapy. Every time he moved in the raccoons direction I shouted "20 shots!!" in an effort to scare him straight.

After Koo Koon (ya, I named him/her) finished eating he headed for the nearest tree and started climbing. He got about 10 feet high and fell, yes FELL off of it and crashed on to the ground with a THUD! I might have freaked out a teeny tiny bit, and shouted "Get the baby! Get the baby!" because for some reason I felt like Jaden needed to be protected from a two pound dazed and confused orphaned raccoon baby.

Koo Koon finally made it safely to a nook in the tree and we all went inside. Today I wondered what the heck I was thinking sending a defenseless baby lump of love out in to the wild on his own. I passed no less then a dozen dead raccoons on the roads today. I couldn't help but wonder if that is how Koo Koon will end up. I put some more food out in the yard today in case he came back. Tonight I was driving home in the dark and I spotted some glistening spots in a neighbors drive way. "Koo Koon?" I thought.... no, just a soccer ball. Sigh. I guess I'm not as cured from my obsession with strays as I thought I was. Good luck tiny Koo Koon, live long and prosper!

A Homecoming Bri Ha Ha

2008-10-20T20:39:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was homecoming weekend for Hannah and Noah's high school. I had this plan to get pictures of everyone before they left but it didn't pan out. It took a lot longer for Hannah to get ready then I thought it was going to (imagine that). And while I was helping Hannah do her hair, Noah got dressed and left to go meet up with his friends.
So here's what I managed to capture....

Bri and "Ha Ha" (that's how Jaden says Hannah, so stinkin' cute) doing their hair.

Then they left, about 45 minutes later then they should have so you know what that means? Yep. No before photos.

Fast forward several hours and they came home and asked me to take some pictures. They were so goofy. They are ALWAYS goofy.

Walking like an Egyptian.

Posers.

Uhhh... I have no idea.
Don't make the face if you don't want me to take a picture of it. That's all i'm sayin'.
Like I said, just plain goofy.

A hole lotta love...

2008-10-14T23:57:00.000-05:00

Donut holes that is.

I heard Jonah laughing and calling my name from down the hall this morning. He walked in to the room declaring "You have to see this!" Then he held up two donut holes that were being held together by thier sticky sugary goodness and said "They are getting a hug!" and he laughed and I laughed. I snapped a picture. Then suddenly, without warning, he shoved the snuggling couple in to his mouth and there was screaming and gnashing of teeth... Ok, not really.

Donuts don't scream.

2008-10-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

I have bloggers block. Isn't that silly? Silly but true.

So, um... uhhh... well, Jonah just had a birthday. He is four! Saturday is Lee's birthday and that is the end of our 2008 birthday run. You know what that means.... it's time for the holidays. It's enough to bring on a little panic attack, isn't it? Let's take a deep breath together.

For several years now, I've tried to use the Organized Christmas website to help me stay on top of the holiday madness. I always start late, but this year it looks like I'm going to be right on time! I'm going to count that as a victory, albeit a small victory, but these days every tiny triumph counts.

Summer is over and I didn't really keep my blog updated over the last few months. Let's catch up....

Jaden turned 2

My nephew Kendall visited

Hannah turned 17

We went to the circus

Emma started 4th grade (Noah started 10th and Hannah is a SENIOR)

Lee and Danny surprised me with a trip to California to surprise Christine

Hurricane Ike dropped by

Jaden narrowly escaped being consumed by his hair.

Jonah finally got to have his party after having it postponed for several weeks due to Ike

So, that's about all for now. Hopefully it won't be two months before you hear from me again...

The Mother of Invention

2008-08-12T20:46:00.000-05:00

Thomas Edison said, "To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Apparently Emma and Edison are kindred spirits. She recently made a curious little contraption for Jonah. It's made from things you might find laying around your house. Paint brushes, a lid from a jar and tape. Tape is essential to Em's existence. She uses it for any and every thing. It got so bad that I had to forbid her from using tape for a time. I think the condition is communicable because recently Jonah started asking me for tape. I refused to give him any the first few times he asked so he came up with a new strategy. He now quantifies exactly how much tape he needs (3 pieces, 6 pieces, etc.), he presents it as a need not a desire, and he's always willing to negotiate. It seems to be working for him so far because I always give him tape.

If you had to guess, what would you say this is used for?

I bet you want a hint don't you? Well too bad. Hints are for people who don't know the answer and don't want to guess and be wrong.

Oh gawsh... stop whining. Fine, I'll give you a hint. It's used to reach something.

Ok, click here to see a picture of Jonah using it.
Isn't that cool? He always has to ask for help to turn on lights so Emma had the ingenious idea to make him a special tool so he can be more independent. It's a classic case of necessity being the mother of invention. He loves it AND it actually works! It's not very sturdy, but it's just a prototype. I think these gadgets are going to be huge, huge I tell ya.

2008-06-03T07:31:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I welcome it, and yet I don't. I love not having to be on a strict schedule. I am however dreading the first "Mom I'm boooooored." Ugh. Not only do I have to cook and clean for the little monsters, now they are going to expect me to entertain them day and night for the next three months. I'm thinking about buying one of those big inflatable water slides to keep the kids busy, i'm just not convinced they won't get tired of it. I'm also a little afraid of how hard it will be to take care of and store. So i'm undecided.... Imagine that.

Great kid quote of the week:

Jonah: "I'm so happy Mommy."

Mom: "You are?"

Jonah: "Yes, you make me so happy."

Awww... So i'm currently looking for this in toddler sizes. JUST KIDDING.... You don't think I'd actually admit to having a favorite do you?

Jones

2008-05-28T12:57:00.000-05:00

Today Jonah went to the doctor to have his ears checked. He seems to be having difficulty hearing so I decided to get it checked out. I totally didn't expect it, but he has an ear infection in his right ear. I asked him if it hurts and he said no. Hmmm... odd that. Anyway, he also has a good amount of wax built up in his left ear. He is on antibiotics and some anti wax drops and he's going back in a month to be evaluated. If I still feel like he's having trouble hearing they are going to do a hearing test. I'm praying that once his infection and the wax are gone that he will be good as new. His constant "Huh? What? What Mom?.... I can't heeeaaarrrr you." is getting old.

On a brighter note, Monday was a day of celebration at our house. Jones made a major life decision, all on his own, in true big boy fashion. We were having a casual conversation about whatever was on his mind and he told me his teeth were getting bigger. It's true, he made me look at them at least a dozen times and they are definately bigger, although they are not bigger then a breadbox, which is good. I mentioned that his big teeth were the reason a lot of his suckers (pacifiers) were breaking. He used the Soothie kind that hospitals give babies when they are born. They are the complete opposite of orthodontically friendly. His teeth are pretty messed up from them, but when we tried to take them away a few months ago he fell in to a dark depression. He quit sleeping and eating and he wanted to wear black all the time. We caved and gave them back to him. So on Monday, after our chat, I went to take a bath and he spent a good 30 minutes walking back and forth to the mirror. He would yank his lips out and examine his teeth, ask me if I thought they were bigger, back to the mirror to see them once again with his own eyes, then mumble to himself about his teeth being bigger. Finally he said, "I'm going to throw my suckers in the trash. Ok Mom?" I played it cool, like I didn't care either way. I didn't really think he would go through with it, but if he did I wanted it to be all his idea. Off he went and that was that. They are gone. He's talked about them a few times, but he's sleeping and eating and still dressing very fashionabley so I think he's going to be fine. I'm sure my "Let them suck a sucker until they decide they are done with it" technique won't win me any Mother of the Year awards, but it worked for us.

And how cute is this?? Jones drinking some Jones. LOL!

Emma's Birthday Photos

2008-05-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

I know, Emma seems to be a theme for my blog these days. I have some big Jonah news but I'm saving it. He has a doctor's appointment for his (possible) hearing problem tomorrow so I'll just make him the topic of my next post and knock out all I have to share about him at once.
I had the opportunity to take Em to the park, and it was just the two of us. I wanted to try and get some pictures good enough to call her "Nine Year Pictures". I kind of wish we had been somewhere with decorative architecture, or even in a studio - but we weren't, so this is it. I took a bunch. Here are a few and there are even more on my flickr site.

Here she is throwing some "I'm nine" gang signs.

You'd of thought I asked her to balance upside down, blind-folded on a tight rope the way she acted when I told her how to pose for this one.

Serious Emma

Happy Emma

Wild Emma

Sweet Emma

Number 9, number 9, number 9.....

2008-05-25T22:57:00.001-05:00

Yes indeed! Emma turned 9. We didn't have a big party because, well... quite frankly it was because the party theme she picked (glow in the dark) really stumped me. I could never figure out exactly how to do it and then before I knew it my time was up. I told her we would do a big blow out for her decade birthday next year.
She finally got Heeley's. She has been asking for them for so long but I put it off. They sort of freak me out, plus when I see kids out and about in them they are usually being inconsiderate so I just wasn't feeling the Heeley love. She also got a Wii, but it was kind of a group gift that we just happened to give the kids on her birthday.
We took the kids to IT'Z. Oh my goodness. I did not like that place. If I had a notepad I could have spent hours writing up safety violations. It was a mess! Everyone else loved it. There was a lot to do. They even have a tiny roller coaster and a spinning, make you vomit, my worst nightmare ride. Emma was all about that one!

That's two down, three to go as far as kid birthdays are concerned. Jaden's is next month and I haven't even thought about what we are going to do yet.....

Heeley Happiness.

Hannah and Jones on the "roller coaster"

He made a basket!

She's got her game face on. Look at that form!

The girls with the creepy psychic guy ::shiver::

Do you think she likes it??

Hair

2008-05-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

Hannah put her hair up in a new do yesterday. I really liked it. I don't think it's appropriate for me though. I don't want to look like i'm trying to be 25 instead of 35 (yeah, I know... just humor me).
Lee has been trying to get me to go to have my hair cut by his 'guy' for a long time, probably about two years. I'm finally going next Saturday. I don't know what to tell them I want. I really have more of an idea what I don't want then what I do. I'm sure they are going to tell me that I need to chop it all off. For some reason hair stylist are long hair haters. I'm NOT getting a short hair cut. I don't really have a lot of options because my hair is straight and thin and in bad shape because I have a haircut phobia. I guess we'll see what happens. It's exciting stuff, exciting stuff indeed.

Emma's Talent Show

2008-05-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

2008-05-20T23:06:00.001-05:00

I went to the park today. It was SO hot. So very hot. Almost too hot. Complaining about the heat in Houston is so cliche, so I'm not going to go on and on about it.

The J's were not very cooperative with pictures, but they had on cute new outfit's and it was Tuesday so of course I have to share.

No matter how many times I try it, I always hate shooting in full sun. Not fun. I do however get bonus points for getting both boys in one picture, with both of them looking at the camera (see above photo) Even if Jonah has some funky expression on his face and Jaden looks about half a degree away from a heat stroke, it still counts!

My Shiner

2008-05-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

Monday, while at lunch with some friends, Jaden whacked me on the side of my eye with a fork.

I wasn't mad. It was an accident... well, I think it was an accident. Everything is still a little foggy from the temporary amnesia.

It didn't really hurt but I felt a bump form almost instantly. Casually I turned to my pals and mentioned the mishap. There were audible gasps as there mouths fell open and they drew back in horror. "Is it that bad?" I asked. In boy scout like "be prepared" swiftness my friend Kelly whipped out a mirror. OK, so it was a sizable knot and had taken no time turning a wonderful shade of plum.

No big deal. I'm not proud. It was, after all, only temporary and shouldn't take too long to heal, right? Wrong. I swear the thing gets bigger everyday. I woke up today, four days after the incident, and i'm pretty sure it's quadrupled in size. My kids can't look at me without commenting "Your eye is getting worse."

Now i'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to stop growing. There is strong possibility that by the weekend my face will be one big bruise. I'll be driven in to seclusion by the pointing and whispering, my heart broken to know that the sight of my face sends small children running terrified in to the arms of their parents.

If it doesn't start to clear up soon I'm going to have a t-shirt made that says "No. I fell down." in hopes that it will prevent folks from asking the ever so humorous question "Oh, what happened? Did Lee hit you?" for the umpteenth time.

Jonah to the rescue...

2008-05-07T17:12:00.000-05:00

Now this is a sweet boy.

He saw that the paper was in the driveway and it was raining so he grabbed his boots and an umbrella and said "The mail is in the rain! I'm going to go get it as fast as I can!"

And he did.

I just love his pink polka dot umbrella, green striped pj's and orange plaid boots. MWAH!

Rub-a-dub-dub

2008-05-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

Two boys in a tub.

Hello Spring!!

2008-03-20T20:20:00.001-05:00

Ah....the first day of spring! How wonderful, or not. I feel fat, but whatever. Jonah asked to plant something yesterday and I thought that sounded like a pretty good way to welcome in the spring season. We went to Home Depot and picked out a bunch of random things. We brought them home and stuck them in dirt. We'll see how that works out.
Emma did most of the work, with me coaching from behind the camera. Jonah and Jaden were more interested in the watering part of the planting process. Eventually Jaden lost all interest and wandered off to play with a ball and hang on trees.
We planted "flowers" in the pot for next to the front door. I have no idea what kind. The kids just picked what they liked. Then we planted peas from seeds which was fun. Emma was surprised to see the pea seeds were acutally peas. Emma planted a tomato plant. She loves tomatoes so she's hoping that one will actually fruit. Then Jonah planted some zinnia seeds. I love zinnias! There is a strong probability that all or most of these plants will be dead in a month, but we are going to give it our all. If anything grows you'll definately be hearing about it.

All By Myself

2008-03-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

So, it's Sunday morning. I just woke up. My brain is a bit foggy due to the new med's I'm on. I can't believe I woke up to a quiet house. I'm always thankful when I get to wake up naturally. I'm usually awakened by an annoying alarm clock, or Lee and most often it's Jonah whining that he "wants" me. I think I'll pry myself out of bed and go wake up the kiddos.

Wait a minute. The house looks different. People have definitely been up. I can see toys have been played with, food has been eaten.... hmmm.... what time is it anyway? 11:30 am???? WHAT? How in the world did I sleep until almost noon? I'm going to check upstairs. No one is here. The clothes I set out for the kids to wear are gone... well, except for the J's shoes. I wonder where they are and what's on their feet? Wow. What kind of mom am I? My family has potentially been abducted by aliens and my first concern is if my toddlers are committing a fashion faux pas. Jeez. I think I'll leave that out when I'm being questioned by the authorities. I just checked and the Excursion and the Expedition are both gone. I'm guessing it probably wasn't aliens. I know they've been known to snatch up people, but I'm not aware of them beaming up Ford trucks so I'm going to cross "alien abduction" off my "what happened to my family" list. So that pretty much only leaves one possibility. They went to church without me. That is so weird. Almost weirder then being taken by martians.

I think I'll pick up the kitchen and eat a bowl of raisin bran. I love cereal. Seriously. I was just thinking the other day that I could probably eat a cereal only diet and it would be both nutritionally sound and yummy. I could have Raisin Bran for breakfast, Cinnamon Life for a snack, Kashi Go Lean for lunch (I love how much protein they manage to pack in to that cereal) and then for dinner something like Frosted Mini Wheat's or a tasty granola. Then if I need a dessert I could always have a bowl of Coco Puffs or whip up some Rice Crispy treats. (I have serious issues with Rice Crispy treats. I'll have to tell you about it some other time.) But anyway, I think you get the point. I like cereal. A lot.

Lee just called. He has three of the kids, Britt has one, and one is at a friends house. He thought I needed to rest. That was sweet of him. It did freak me out a bit since no one told me what was going on, but that's OK. He wants me to take it easy. I want to pick up the house, it's sort of messy. You know I'm going to tidy up. Shhhh.... don't tell him.

OK, enough about my morning. Let's take a looksie at some pictures from my week. I took the J's to the park. Jaden is fearless when it comes to critters. He made me so nervous. I was scared he was going to be attacked by a rabid squirrel. Some of those squirrels will crawl right up your leg to get to a peice of bread. It's skeery.

Both Noah and Jonah had to go to the clinic this week because they hurt themselves. Jonah dropped a soda can on his foot. Noah dropped a drum on his hand. I took them to the Dr. together. Jonah was so stinkin' cute at the Dr.'s office. He loves to go to the Dr. They both got x-ray's and nothing was broken. Jonah's foot got worse before it got better. His toe kept filling up with blood and it was very painful for him. We tried to poke a hole in his nail Friday night. Did you know if you google "blood toe nail" you can actually find instructions on how to drain the blood from a smashed toe?? We were unsuccessful because someone (i'm not naming names) freaked out and acted like we were taking a chain saw to his leg. Yesterday his nail finally exploded (eeewwww!) and now he is much better. That nail is going to fall off though, so i'm sure that will be more grossness we will have to endure. Noah's hand is much better and we didn't even have to lance or stab anything. Woohoo!

It's All Right

2008-02-24T00:35:00.000-06:00

Well, i've been slacking on the blogging. Obviously. Most anyone who reads this knows I have a dumb problem going on with my cervical spine, which is a fancy way of saying "neck" apparently. Who knew? I'm sure a lot of people did. I on the other hand, think of an entirely different body part when I hear the word "cervical"... ahem...

S'anyway, I've not been able to take many pictures due to the ol' pain in the neck and it's sort of getting me down. I have realized that I take a lot of things for granted. Like my right hand for instance. I pretty much don't do anything that doesn't involve my trusty right hand. I have a completely new understanding of the phrase "right hand man". I currently have a lot of pain, weakness and numbness in my right hand so he's on light duty. I wonder if he got tired of my lack of appreciation and this is his way of going on strike.

Where my hand has been slacking, my family has definately swooped right in and helped pick it up, the slack that is. Lee has been the pill police and has appointed himself full time Pain Manager. He and the kids have also been wonderful about helping to take care of the house and the J's. I'm very proud of them and I'm soooooo grateful for all of their extra effort.

Here's a pic I snapped of Hannah and Jones the other day. How sweet are they?? I just love it when I catch them loving each other :o) Even better to catch it on 'film'!

Tiny Little Drunk People

2008-02-15T17:49:00.000-06:00

I've been very tired the last several days. And my back hurts, or my shoulder, or maybe it's my arm. I can't pin point it, but it sure does hurt. Being tired and in pain can make you pretty irritable. It doesn't take much for things to get on my nerves, and I know that so I'm trying to keep myself in check. This morning the J's were being their usual toddler selves and they weren't being *bad* really, but I was being a wee bit short with them. I wondered why thier usual antics would bug me so much and I had a revelation. They act like tiny little drunk people.
They were hanging all over me, totally invading my personal space. I tried to pry them off of me but they were relentless. Jonah wanted "something" but it was almost impossible to understand him because he was mumbling and slurring his speech. He then became irate because I'm not a mind reader and he took off crying and running towards the fridge. Jaden followed and they both ended up stumbling and falling over each other. After exchanging a few shoves back and forth they finally made it to the kitchen. Jonah wanted ice cream and when I refused to serve him he got mad and started pitching a fit. Does this scene remind anyone else of an encounter with an inebriated induvidual? I'll admit, it's amusing sometimes, especially when I'm not feeling tired and achy. But today I was SO glad when it was nap time and my "tiny little drunk people" finally passed out.

More Valentine's Cards....

2008-02-09T10:32:00.000-06:00

After spending a day or two not looking at the pictures of Jonah, I realized there were a few that I could use to make a card. I think a lot of times I have this idea of what I want and if I don't capture it I think I need to scrap all the pic's. I'll come back to the pictures after some time has passed and see them differently. I'm weird like that. So Jonah has a card!
I did Jadens over because I didn't like the way his sock monkey was being a copy catter in the first one. They were both sitting in the wagon in the exact same way. If he would have just held the sock monkey, maybe even hugged him... anything other then angrily rejecting him and tossing him across the room, it would have made my job much easier. So which one do you like better? Ugly greyish sock monkey card or blue sock monkey card?

Here are a few more from Jonah's session. I considered the first one for his card, but I couldn't think of anything clever to say with it. He's looking off to the side so I didn't think it worked for a card that is meant to tell someone you love them. I think eye contact is pretty important in a declaration of ones affection.

I love that second one. It wasn't until days later that I realized what he was telling me when I was taking it. He kept saying "I'm Superman!" and doing that thing with his hand. I was like "OK, you're Superman. Look over here Superman." What he was doing was making SPIDERMAN hands. How cute is he?? I love him ::big throbbing heart::

Oh and just a side note: That cute little fish bowl of candy hearts met it's demise. It lasted about a day and half. The boys noticed it on the kitchen counter and tried to get it down. I heard the loud smash of glass and I was so scared they were going to slice their feet on it. It's a miracle they didn't have a scratch on them, especially considering they must have thought it was opposite day. No matter how many times I said "DON'T MOVE!", they just kept scampering back and forth across the kitchen floor. I guess glass is no obstacle for a man of steel.

Valentine's Day Cards

2008-02-07T00:21:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to get some pictures of the kids so I can make them personalized Valentine's Day cards. So far it's proven to be much more work then I expected. I don't think I got one good picture of Jonah. Jaden was WILD and wouldn't even sit still. I wish I was better at photoshop. I haven't really decided if I'm using either of these. Jaden's is nothing like I want it to look, but I don't know if I can find the energy to try and do his pictures again. So here you go MOM, I know you are eagerly awaiting another post. And yes, I know there are 3 kids missing. Hopefully i'll get around to doing them before Valentine's Day is over.

Crimson Star

2008-01-31T20:14:00.000-06:00

I love taking pictures. I will take pictures of just about anything. I can't drive down the road without seeing how the light is cast across a field, or noticing the reflections in ponds. I always imagine spending hours snapping shots of the picturesque fences that line the local roads.
Today was an absolutely scenic day. The skys were clear and a brilliant shade of blue. I was rushing out the door to pick the kids up from school when something caught my eye. There in a bare, twiggy tree was a crimson, star shaped leaf all by itself blowing in the wind. The sun was shining through it in a way that made it seem to glow. I just *had* to take some pictures of it.
I wish I had some kind of profound metephore to describe these images, but I don't. I guess i'll leave it up to you. Oh, and if you 'click' the pic's they get bigger, just in case you didn't know.

Preshus

2008-01-30T19:48:00.000-06:00

Emma was in a spelling bee today. She made it through the practice round with ease. Then it was time for the official first round. She was student 24 of 24 students. I watched as kids dropped like flies, one after the other. Poor kids. Then it was finally Emma's turn. I was nervously waiting to hear what her word would be. "Precious" This could be tricky. "P-R-E...." Good start! "S-H-U-S". Uh oh... That's not good. Pardon me, judge? My kid got a hard word. That's not really fair. Can she have a do-over?
Ok, you know I didn't really say that. I was proud of her just for qualifying. You had to be one of the top three spellers in your class just to take the test to see if could be in the bee. That's quite an accomplishment in itself. Oh, and she got a medal and that was enough to satisfy her.

And speaking of "preshus", Jonah made a train out of two boxes and a tote today and he and Jaden played in it for hours. Every time I would say his name he would tell me "Jonah's not here. I'm the conductor." He even called himself (talking in to his hand) and said "Hey Jonah, do you want us to come pick you up?" I think he thought the whole act was convincing me that he really was the conductor. He is such a silly boy.

Why am I here?

2008-01-27T16:16:00.000-06:00

I have a horrible memory. Ask anyone who lives with me. Almost daily I leave a room and by the time I arrive to the next one I find myself questioning why I'm there. And not in a deep, meaningful, purpose of life kind of way either, it's more of an absolute blank brain phenomenon. I hate it. I have to write myself notes to remember what I'm supposed to do tomorrow, or next week or a month from now. I forget where I put the notes and by the time I stumble across them again they are obsolete. If I just met you, you can pretty much bet I've forgotten your name before we even finished with our introductions. It's not because you weren't captivatingly interesting. I just can't absorb a name until I've heard it associated with a person 52 times. Maybe I have a condition. I do have the ability to remember some things, obviously. I don't have to look at the keyboard to type, I can spout out lyrics to a song I haven't heard in 10 years and I can identify the brand of almost all children's clothes without seeing the tag. Some information sticks naturally, which is nice and I'm thankful for the wee bit of brain function I've retained over the years. I'm hopeful that documenting random daily stuff will be useful in two ways.

1.) It will give me something to look back on and remember the wonderful, silly, bazaar, happy, sad, etc. things my family and I have experienced over the years.

2.) To give those of you not lucky enough to witness the daily antics of my life a little glimpse of euphoria. Is it not euphoric? As far as I can recall it is.....

My Lovelies