what's been up at the white house? also known as an iphone photo dump

the days have been full and there hasn't been much of an opportunity to write. although, i have read two books in the past week so i guess i was trading reading for writing. which isn't a bad deal. but i've missed you! and there's so much to tell you about!

i think i should start with the fact that graham broke his arm. on saturday morning, the 4th of may, jer took the boys to the school playground right behind our house. it was boy vs monkey bars. and the monkey bars won. we took him to the emergency room. again. third time in 10 weeks. ear infection, stitches in lip, broken arm. love this kid. seriously, i love him. he keeps our lives miles away from mundane.

we left the e.r. with a temporary cast as they were not able to see an actual fracture on graham's xrays. they claimed this is typical with kids - often times you cannot see the fracture until it begins to heal. we were told to follow up with an pediatric orthopedic physician within the week. i was not-so-secretly hoping that it wasn't really broken.

of course i wasn't that lucky. or graham wasn't. the orthopedic doctor took one look at the xrays from the emergency room and said "let's get a couple more pictures because if it really looks like what those xrays say it looks like, we're going to need to call a surgeon". ten of my still black hairs instantaneously turned white. they got more pictures. no surgeon was needed. thank you lord. graham gets to wear a cast for four weeks. he's doing very well with it all.


my friend michelle challenged me to do this:

i was going strong for a few days but i've been stuck on day seven for quite some time now. i just need to bust 'em out and keep going strong.  anyone else want to join us? as michelle put it, "let's get asstastic!" ha! she cracks me up.


i got a new sports bra. it's the perfect sports bra. the best sports bra i've ever worn. i can wear it all day and it never bothers me. it's supportive but not too tight. it hits my shoulders in the perfect spot. and you'll never guess where i found it: old navy! it's the active by old navy molded-support bra. it's awesome. and that is high praise coming from me because i am a total bra hater. when i used to work in corporate america after a long day at the office i would get in my car to drive home and the very first thing i would do was take off my bra. while in the parking garage. or while waiting at a stop light. or while driving down the freeway. my bra was always off by the time i walked in the door at home. too much info - i know. i'll stop now.


i've been letting my boys play with push pins:

i draw a picture for them and they have to trace along the lines by poking holes with a push pin. they think it's fun. the cool part (if you use a black marker) is that you can't see the tiny holes until you hold the paper up to a window and then it looks like a constellation. it's pretty. if you use a lighter colored marker it's easier for them to stay on the lines. either way, they've had fun. and kept busy for a few minutes. and please don't email me and tell me i'm a bad mom for letting my kids play with push pins. we've met our out of pocket max for the year so i figure we're covered no matter what might possibly happen.

graham had prince and princess day at preschool. he dressed as a knight. here he is with his two best buds, cayden and lucanne:

i've been cyber stalking an old friend from college. she writes a blog too. we are not friends anymore but i found myself reading and reading and reading every post on her blog, fascinated with her life and her words and wondering if we could ever be friends again and if we would have remained friends if certain situations had played out differently between us and how alike we are and how different we are and how she has matured but it still exactly the same. i kinda miss her. but i think some things are just better left in the past.


why is it that the batteries in smoke detectors never fail to die in the middle of the night? and why is it that you receive coupons in the mail the day after you bought a product? and why is it you return all the videos to the library only to come home and realize there is one dvd that didn't make it into it's case? and why is it that i brush my teeth at least twice a day and floss and don't eat sugar and don't drink sugar and my husband does none of those things and i end up with the cavities and he doesn't?

but the dentist also told me this morning that i look thinner. so that was a nice compliment to focus on after she told me i need a filling. but then during lunch graham made a game out of jiggling my arm fat.

so there's that.


we've made up our own version of angry birds.  it's called angry sock monkeys. here's the cast of characters:

om nom, green pig, finn mcmissile, mater, and matchbox car. these guys are all interactive ipad toys.

 first you build a structure. like this.

 or like this.

 then you throw a sock monkey at the structure, trying to knock down the characters.

 poor mater got knocked over.

then fling a second sock monkey toward the structure, knowing this is your last attempt to knock everyone over.

 victory.


harrison goes to STAR twice this week and also has his kindergarten celebration (in lieu of a graduation). the weather is gorgeous outside!! should be a good week!