*update: this contest is now closed. i'll announce the winner in a separate post.
i thought it might be fun to host a little contest.
look at the following photos...
now answer this question...
why does my son prefer to wear headphones while he plays with his legos?
a: he's trying to drown out the sounds of his annoying younger brother
b: the sound the legos make while he's searching for a piece is too loud
c: he thinks they make him look cool
d: listening to music helps him concentrate
e: listening to music helps him relax
f: his ears get cold easily
if you would like to participate in the guessing game, leave a comment with your answer.
i will mail a crisp ten dollar* bill to the person who answers the question correctly. if many people get the answer right, i'll draw a random winner from the pool of correct responses. this contest is open to anyone so feel free to pass it along to your friends. comments will stay open until thursday night, july 4th. i'll announce a winner on july 5th.
*$10 isn't much, but it'll buy an ice cream cone! and, really, what's better than an ice cream cone?!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
meet vinny
i know, i know.
bad blogger.
very bad blogger.
but i have an excuse! it's summer! and my children are out of school! and i'm LOVING our unscheduled, don't-have-to-be-anywhere-at-8am mornings! and i don't want to bother with photographing life because i'm too busy living it and relaxing in it and drinking an extra cup of coffee while reading books in it and coming up with crazy activities to keep my boys active in it.
so summer has been fantastic! but it's also not exactly conducive to blogging.
aaaaaand, aside from all that...
we've been taking care of this little guy...
well hello there you cutie patootie fluffball boy. want to come to the white house and hang out with us while your family is on vacation for a week?
this is vinny. he's the sweetest, gentlest, softest, most fun puppy i've ever encountered.
and guess who his new best friend is...
yup, that would be harrison.
the boy who is deathly afraid of dogs has overcome that fear thanks to this new precious friend.
the boy who is oversensitive to touch of all kinds has allowed vinny to tickle him with his tail, lick him with his tongue, gently nip at him with his teeth, and jump on him with his paws.
the boy who completely avoids dogs now approaches vinny with confidence, picks him up with ease, attaches the leash and loves to lead him on walks. harrison also seeks out opportunities to play with vinny, pet him and feed him treats.
we are so very thankful for vinny's sweet little personality and easy demeanor.
we are so very thankful for the opportunity to take care of him this week.
we are so very thankful his presence in our home has been such a healing experience!
now if this cute boy isn't a great excuse for my lack of blog posting, what is?
bad blogger.
very bad blogger.
but i have an excuse! it's summer! and my children are out of school! and i'm LOVING our unscheduled, don't-have-to-be-anywhere-at-8am mornings! and i don't want to bother with photographing life because i'm too busy living it and relaxing in it and drinking an extra cup of coffee while reading books in it and coming up with crazy activities to keep my boys active in it.
so summer has been fantastic! but it's also not exactly conducive to blogging.
aaaaaand, aside from all that...
we've been taking care of this little guy...
this is vinny. he's the sweetest, gentlest, softest, most fun puppy i've ever encountered.
and guess who his new best friend is...
yup, that would be harrison.
the boy who is deathly afraid of dogs has overcome that fear thanks to this new precious friend.
the boy who is oversensitive to touch of all kinds has allowed vinny to tickle him with his tail, lick him with his tongue, gently nip at him with his teeth, and jump on him with his paws.
the boy who completely avoids dogs now approaches vinny with confidence, picks him up with ease, attaches the leash and loves to lead him on walks. harrison also seeks out opportunities to play with vinny, pet him and feed him treats.
we are so very thankful for vinny's sweet little personality and easy demeanor.
we are so very thankful for the opportunity to take care of him this week.
we are so very thankful his presence in our home has been such a healing experience!
now if this cute boy isn't a great excuse for my lack of blog posting, what is?
Thursday, May 23, 2013
just some stuff while you're waiting for the real stuff
you guys.
here's the problem - my normal writing time is while the kiddos are at school. but the past two weeks have brought field days and water fun days and kindergarten celebrations and class picnics and preschool graduations and i'm telling you the end of the school year is trying to kill me.
so i'm thinking i'm going to have to start writing at night after the boys go to bed. otherwise this here blog may just never see me again. so until i can get my self coordinated like that's ever going to happen here are some things that i've been loving lately.
i'm going to get my haircut today! like this perhaps.
this is the best stuff ever - loreal sublime bronze sunless tanning lotion
i have been eating this for breakfast - chia pudding - i eat mine with strawberries. it's light and
refreshing and filling and healthy.
this article was awesome - the F word by jennifer weiner
i just ordered these shoes for summer. so excited for them to get here!
i just ordered this dress to wear to a wedding that's coming up in beloved oklahoma city praying for you, moore! on june 9th. let's hope it fits! so excited to see all my oklahoma peeps!
this article touched me deeply - a mountain i'm willing to die on by momastery
we've been hooked on children's books by oliver jeffers. this moose belongs to me cracks me up as does the great paper caper. very clever and witty.
we've also just finished reading the lion, the witch and the wardrobe and are going this afternoon to check out the next book in the series - the horse and his boy. it's awesome reading these books out loud to the boys. lewis used all kinds of words that i don't necessarily want my boys saying but feel the need to read just as it was written because, i mean, it's c.s. lewis. phrases like, "shut up, you prig" which, in all honesty, would be a very accurate word to call my black-and-white-thinking, ever-the-rule-follower, eldest son. but, all the same, i don't want any name-calling around here. whether it's accurate or not. hehehe
ok i think that's all i got.
hopefully sometime soon i'll be able to write to you again about the real things in our lives - the continuation of jeremy's and my dating story, how STAR is going, what i learned about my own brain and why it's so helpful and healing to write about the tough stuff, the silly things graham does, why it is so, so great living in colorado, etc etc etc
until then...
**edited to add: i forgot to tell you about this book. how i could forget to tell you about this book?! i loved, loved, loved it. if this doesn't inspire you, i don't know what will - wild: from lost to found on the pacific crest trail.
here's the problem - my normal writing time is while the kiddos are at school. but the past two weeks have brought field days and water fun days and kindergarten celebrations and class picnics and preschool graduations and i'm telling you the end of the school year is trying to kill me.
so i'm thinking i'm going to have to start writing at night after the boys go to bed. otherwise this here blog may just never see me again. so until i can get my self coordinated like that's ever going to happen here are some things that i've been loving lately.
i'm going to get my haircut today! like this perhaps.
this is the best stuff ever - loreal sublime bronze sunless tanning lotion
i have been eating this for breakfast - chia pudding - i eat mine with strawberries. it's light and
refreshing and filling and healthy.
this article was awesome - the F word by jennifer weiner
i just ordered these shoes for summer. so excited for them to get here!
i just ordered this dress to wear to a wedding that's coming up in beloved oklahoma city praying for you, moore! on june 9th. let's hope it fits! so excited to see all my oklahoma peeps!
this article touched me deeply - a mountain i'm willing to die on by momastery
we've been hooked on children's books by oliver jeffers. this moose belongs to me cracks me up as does the great paper caper. very clever and witty.
we've also just finished reading the lion, the witch and the wardrobe and are going this afternoon to check out the next book in the series - the horse and his boy. it's awesome reading these books out loud to the boys. lewis used all kinds of words that i don't necessarily want my boys saying but feel the need to read just as it was written because, i mean, it's c.s. lewis. phrases like, "shut up, you prig" which, in all honesty, would be a very accurate word to call my black-and-white-thinking, ever-the-rule-follower, eldest son. but, all the same, i don't want any name-calling around here. whether it's accurate or not. hehehe
ok i think that's all i got.
hopefully sometime soon i'll be able to write to you again about the real things in our lives - the continuation of jeremy's and my dating story, how STAR is going, what i learned about my own brain and why it's so helpful and healing to write about the tough stuff, the silly things graham does, why it is so, so great living in colorado, etc etc etc
until then...
**edited to add: i forgot to tell you about this book. how i could forget to tell you about this book?! i loved, loved, loved it. if this doesn't inspire you, i don't know what will - wild: from lost to found on the pacific crest trail.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
real life conversation
hi folks.
i'm in the middle of writing a couple stories that aren't yet ready to be published. so, in the meantime, i'll leave you with a conversation that took place yesterday. it struck me as quite humorous...and a sign of the times.
the scene: driving in the car with both boys
harrison: mommy, how can birds sit on the electrical wires without getting electrocuted?
me: you know what, buddy, i have absolutely no idea.
harrison: well, why don't you ask your phone?
thank god for siri.
incidentally, when i asked siri "how do birds sit on an electrical wire without being electrocuted" she responded with "i don't get it" but then decided to search the web for me anyway. ever the helpful assistant.
i'm in the middle of writing a couple stories that aren't yet ready to be published. so, in the meantime, i'll leave you with a conversation that took place yesterday. it struck me as quite humorous...and a sign of the times.
the scene: driving in the car with both boys
harrison: mommy, how can birds sit on the electrical wires without getting electrocuted?
me: you know what, buddy, i have absolutely no idea.
harrison: well, why don't you ask your phone?
thank god for siri.
incidentally, when i asked siri "how do birds sit on an electrical wire without being electrocuted" she responded with "i don't get it" but then decided to search the web for me anyway. ever the helpful assistant.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
real life conversations
just a couple cute things that have been said around these parts recently.
the scene: while driving in the car on the way to the library
harrison: my tummy hurts.
me: i'm sorry buddy
graham: well i have a cat iris tummy.
me: what?
graham: my tummy is cat iris.
me: oh. what does that mean?
graham: it's really tough.
me: oh! i think you meant to say you have a cast iron stomach.
graham: yup. that's what i have.
........
the scene: while clearing their breakfast cereal bowls from the dining table
harrison: why do we always have to do this?
graham: because it's the law.
the scene: while driving in the car on the way to the library
harrison: my tummy hurts.
me: i'm sorry buddy
graham: well i have a cat iris tummy.
me: what?
graham: my tummy is cat iris.
me: oh. what does that mean?
graham: it's really tough.
me: oh! i think you meant to say you have a cast iron stomach.
graham: yup. that's what i have.
........
the scene: while clearing their breakfast cereal bowls from the dining table
harrison: why do we always have to do this?
graham: because it's the law.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
he's in my life to keep me humble and why we love our dentist
yesterday i mentioned graham made a game out of jiggling my arm fat while i was trying to enjoy a yummy lunch.
nothing makes you lose your appetite faster than someone jiggling your arm fat.
or perhaps, if you're like me, it makes you drown your arm fat sorrows with a chocolove darkchocolatewithalmondsandseasalt candy bar.
it's a vicious arm fat cycle.
but what i was really thinking when i told you about the jiggly arm fat game was this:
graham is in my life to keep me humble.
and that sentiment was hammered in and sealed up tight just a few hours later when i took the boys to their biannual dental check up and my grahamer boy had to leave the dentist's office wearing this:
that would be dr. verschave's old lab coat.
as graham was having his teeth polished something bad happened. i don't know what or how or why but his gag reflex was triggered and he proceeded to empty his partially digested lunch all over himself and me and dr. verschave and the dental hygienist and the office furniture.
it was real pretty. i'm being sarcastic.
and real smelly. i'm not being sarcastic.
all of the office staff handled the situation amazingly and i am so thankful for their good humor. and i'm quite impressed no one dry heaved while cleaning up my son's vomit. those are just two reasons why i love our dentist's office.
the others are as follows:
1) in all the years we've been going there we have never had to wait in the waiting room more than two minutes.
2) the one time we did have to wait (for ten minutes) the office manager apologized, then dr. verschave came out to apologize, then they gave us a jamba juice gift card to apologize for the wait. what doctor's off does that?!
3) megan, our favorite hygienist, is the.best.ever.
4) they refer to the kid's check-ups as "happy visits" - just getting them used to the environment, counting and cleaning their teeth the best they can, but their goal is to keep kiddos happy so they are willing to come back. and my kids love it there!
5) it's a new, clean, peaceful office environment.
6) the time graham knocked his front tooth loose they got us in immediately and did not charge us a penny.
7) sweet dr. verschave's willingness to hand over her pristine white jacket so my boy didn't have to go home naked. that really says it all, doesn't it?
i love belmar smiles.
and i love graham.
and i love that he keeps me humble.
nothing makes you lose your appetite faster than someone jiggling your arm fat.
or perhaps, if you're like me, it makes you drown your arm fat sorrows with a chocolove darkchocolatewithalmondsandseasalt candy bar.
it's a vicious arm fat cycle.
but what i was really thinking when i told you about the jiggly arm fat game was this:
graham is in my life to keep me humble.
and that sentiment was hammered in and sealed up tight just a few hours later when i took the boys to their biannual dental check up and my grahamer boy had to leave the dentist's office wearing this:
that would be dr. verschave's old lab coat.
as graham was having his teeth polished something bad happened. i don't know what or how or why but his gag reflex was triggered and he proceeded to empty his partially digested lunch all over himself and me and dr. verschave and the dental hygienist and the office furniture.
it was real pretty. i'm being sarcastic.
and real smelly. i'm not being sarcastic.
all of the office staff handled the situation amazingly and i am so thankful for their good humor. and i'm quite impressed no one dry heaved while cleaning up my son's vomit. those are just two reasons why i love our dentist's office.
the others are as follows:
1) in all the years we've been going there we have never had to wait in the waiting room more than two minutes.
2) the one time we did have to wait (for ten minutes) the office manager apologized, then dr. verschave came out to apologize, then they gave us a jamba juice gift card to apologize for the wait. what doctor's off does that?!
3) megan, our favorite hygienist, is the.best.ever.
4) they refer to the kid's check-ups as "happy visits" - just getting them used to the environment, counting and cleaning their teeth the best they can, but their goal is to keep kiddos happy so they are willing to come back. and my kids love it there!
5) it's a new, clean, peaceful office environment.
6) the time graham knocked his front tooth loose they got us in immediately and did not charge us a penny.
7) sweet dr. verschave's willingness to hand over her pristine white jacket so my boy didn't have to go home naked. that really says it all, doesn't it?
i love belmar smiles.
and i love graham.
and i love that he keeps me humble.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
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!
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!
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