A few pictures I took today. Drew was my only willing subject, and I got several nice shots of him. Only a few of Nick turned out--he didn't want to sit still for me today. The pictures of Andy turned out OK, but what you see here is what you get. I took 16 shots of him, at various distances, and they're all the same. I asked him to smile, to pose, to move... this is it.

It's 64 degrees today. Awesome. Windy, but that's OK. I'm thinking that after naptime it would be a good day to take the boys to the lake or to the park and let them play extra hard.

I don't know what this thing is, really. Some sort of seed pod, I imagine. I found it while I was walking along the creek. I took several pictures of it, because it's really cool.

Sunset over one of the old farm ponds.

A calm spot in the creek.

Another of the sunset over the pond. You can see one of the barns, too...

Horses on the neighboring farm.

Callie

Posted this story about Nick as a comment on another site, and thought I might as well share it with everyone:

Sunday night we took the kids to O'Charleys for dinner out. Nick is currently learning to use the bathroom like a big kid, so I took him in with me. He did his business, and then I kept him in the stall with me so I could go. In his loudest little 2 year old voice, he very kindly reminded me to "poke it down, Mom! be sure to poke it down!" I heard lots of giggling from the other ladies in the bathroom.

Which reminds me of this story about Drew:

Last spring I was doing a bit of shopping at Goody's. Drew was with me, and Nick was home with his dad. Normally I wouldn't try on clothes with Drew along--he was almost 4. But they had some cute spring dresses at awesome prices, so I took him in the dressing room with me. He was supposed to be facing away while I changed, but he turned around. And said, (yelled, actually, because he was quite alarmed) "Mom! Where's your penis?!" Yeah, he did. In the middle of a dressing room full of shoppers. My face was several shades of red as I took my child and left. I received several grins on the way out, too...

I know that this picture is off center, and a little blurry, but I really like it. The expression on Drew's face is great. It's just so much him. A little cocky, a little annoyed (because I have the camera in his face), but generally loveable. And then there's Nick, waiting patiently in the background, being the angel that he is...

Check this out. I cut Nick's hair. I did Drew, too, but his hair was short enough that it didn't really make a difference. But look at Nick:

What do you think? To really see the difference, look at some of the previous posts where he's not wearing a hat. It's cute, I think. Quite a change, though. He looks very grown up. After it was washed it got even more fluffy--his hair naturally stands straight up off of his head.

I had the boys to the Dr. yesterday for a checkup. They're switching to a new guy, and this was just a meet-and-greet appointment. Of course, they're perfect. And Nick is really big--the 95th percentile for height and weight. Drew is not as big for his age, which explains why his 2-year-younger brother is nearly the same size. But he's still a good size, and healthy. I love their new Dr. He's my Dr., too, and he's great. He actually listens!

I am off of work this week. Just to be spiteful. Well, and because I probably won't get the opportunity for time off again for 4 months or so. It's my difficult co-workers last week on the job, and while that in and of itself is awesome, it'll be 4 months or more before we get a replacement in. So I'll be on my own. But I don't mind. It's not like she's done too much in the way of work for the past 6 months or so, anyway... So, I'm loving my time off. The boys are still spending some time at the sitter's house (to preserve their routine and my sanity) but I've been picking them up extra early to give us time to play outside while it's still light out. My parents came to visit on Monday (mom took the haircut pics), I've been shopping with a girlfriend, I've been working in the yard, and I've kept up on the laundry and housework. I could TOTALLY do without ever returning to my job. Except then we couldn't afford food or a house. So I'll go back on Monday, but I'll go back happier because SHE will be gone.

There aren't too many pictures of me. That's because I take the pictures. So I thought I'd put up this rare picture of me so you can see that I do exist! And I do smile--I'm not always as crabby as I seem sometimes when I post.

I've been thinking about that. Some of the comments I've gotten on my posts have been mildly critical, and I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's made me see that perhaps I need to be a bit more positive. I'm not really THAT negative in real life, but it seems easier to complain here to (mostly) strangers than to the folks I hang out with in person. So, I'm going to write a list of things that are good in my life.

1. I have 2 wonderful kids, who are healthy and happy and loved.
2. I have a great husband who works very hard to provide for his family.
3. I have a good job that I can stand going to most days that helps pay the bills and keep a roof
over our heads.
4. The majority of the co-workers at that job are awesome.
5. My husband and I both have wonderful families.
6. We have a nice house, 2 nice vehicles, food in our stomachs and clothes on our backs.
7. Our bills get paid on time, even if there's not alot left over afterwards!
8. There is time in my life to enjoy hobbies--scrapbooking and photography--and to try
to improve.
9. Andy is incredibly supportive of me and of the boys, no matter how crabby any of us are.

So there, see? I'm not so bad. Really.

Labels: Photography

These are just pictures that I took today that I thought were nice. No special significance to what I'm about to write.

I've been waiting all week for Andy to be here in the evening for supper. He hasn't been home one night this week before 7 or 8, and for some reason I thought I wanted him here.

Not that I don't want him here. I do. I just don't understand why everything has to be so much harder when he's home.

The boys won't listen at all. And when they don't listen to their dad he gets frustrated. It's not a problem when he's gone (unless I'm on the phone, and that could be an entirely separate blog entry!) but the minute he's around it's like they've totally forgotten every rule. They run, they yell, they throw balls in the house. They don't listen. They won't eat their supper. They get out EVERY toy even though the rule is one at a time.

I know it's not Andy's fault, but he's still the cause. Arrgh!

Solution? Since the oven is broken, I have a convenient reason not to cook. I could (we do have a stovetop and grill and a crock pot), but I'm not going to. Instead I sent them to McDonalds to pick up Happy Meals, thus ensuring myself a half an hour of peace.

Today was beautiful. Sunny and 67 degrees, and not much of a breeze. This is an unexpected treat for more than one reason. First, it's January. While the weather in KY in not comparable to the weather in the arctic, it is usually cold here in January. Like it was yesterday, when schools were closed due to the ice and snow covering the roads.

So, we take advantage of the weather when we get it. Today after I picked up the boys, I took them out to the farm. We stayed nearly until sunset. The boys had a blast, as usual, and got to run off some of the energy they've been saving up while watching too much TV.

One of the things I like best about taking them out there is that I can just let them go. I don't have to constantly stay on them to keep back from the road, or to watch out for cars, or to be courteous of other kids that are playing. They can be kids, and just run and explore however they like. At one time I did have some difficulty keeping them away from the electric fence, but that issue resolved itself when I finally just let them touch it. 5 minutes of tears and it hasn't been a problem since!

Today while we were there we saw a groundhog. There is a family of them that live out there, but they don't typically make an appearance until later in the spring. But today one poked his head up and looked around. The boys were thrilled, and spent quite awhile looking in his hole waiting for him to come back out. As you can probably figure, that didn't ever happen.

What you see here in this (deliberately) blurry picture shouldn't be. Nick, who is 2 1/2, shouldn't still have a paci. In fact, there is very little actual evidence that he does still have one. There is this picture, and maybe 2 or 3 others taken over the span of his whole life, and that's it.

The thing is, the paci addiction is getting worse, not better. For awhile he only had it for bedtime. Then it was bedtime and naptime. Then it was only after 6:00. Now it seems like he's got one most of the time when he's home. Never in public. Never at the sitter. But always when he's home.

Why can't I take it away from him? Logic tells me that since I am the parent I can just take it away. Throw them all in the trash, and be done with it. What's the worst that can happen? So he cries. So he doesn't sleep well for a few nights. After that it would be over. So why don't I just do it? I don't know. I can't. At this rate he'll be sucking on the thing after his high school graduation. *sigh*


And here's another thing that shouldn't be, but is anyway. Drew is watching TV. My kids watch too much TV. What I dislike is that vacant expression he's got on his face, and I feel like I see it entirely too often lately. It's winter, and the weather isn't very nice, so it's easy to just let them veg out in front of the television while I do housework or while I watch it with them. But I shouldn't. I should turn it off and play with them more. Why can't I? I tell myself, it's just for the winter. When the weather is nice they can go outside. But really, there's plenty of stuff to do inside without turning the television. *double sigh*

On a more pleasant note, I got this giant copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" from a friend at work today. The boys love it! They've been practicing their counting on all the food the caterpillar eats. If you have kids and you don't have this story, I highly recommend it. The pictures are great and the story is fun.

What you are looking at here are 2 tired little boys. Amazingly, they slept a little late yesterday morning (7 instead of their usual 5:30-6:00) and then took a later, short nap yesterday afternoon. And then REFUSED to go to sleep last night. When I went to bed at 10:30, I could still hear Drew wiggling around in his bed. So, of course, they absolutely did not want to get up this morning. But they had no choice, because I had to go to work. So, up at 5:45. And both refused to take a nap when they were with Trish.

When we got home (later than usual because we visited the cows) I sent the boys in to watch cartoons while I got started on supper. I checked on them after maybe 10 minutes and found Drew with his eyes closing and Nick stripped to his underwear and wrapped in his blankie, cuddling his lion and dozing.

I'm curious to see how long they'll make it before crashing tonight. They got up for supper and ate, and now they're playing very quietly in their room. That's pretty unusual--this time of night is typically when playtime gets pretty wild.

See this bag of M&M's? See that it says "Large bag"? 5lbs of M&M's. And this is the 3rd bag since potty training began. That's 15 pounds of M&M's! Oh, my. Yes, Nick and Drew have eaten alot of those. But I tend to treat myself, too. Every time Nick uses the potty, not only do the boys get candy, so do I. And I eat more than one at a time, that's for sure. This is going to have to stop. And soon.

Speaking of the potty, Nick made his first trip out today in his big boy underwear. And he stayed dry. He's been dry since last week, excluding nighttime.

Ever jinx yourself? As I was bragging on my dry kid, he peed all over the kitchen floor.

Oh well, at least it wasn't on the carpet...

Look at this sad sad face. Isn't it pitiful?

Hard to believe that he was smiling just 2 seconds ago. Why is he crying? Who knows--just a 2 year old whim, I guess. It didn't last long. But look at how happy Drew is. I let them drive their jeep over to the school playground, and they thought that they were so cool. They had a really great time playing, and then drove themselves home. Great workout for me--that thing goes 5 mph! This was yesterday.

Today, Madison and Camden and their baby sister Ebbianne came over to play. Drew and Madison are great friends, as are Camden and Nick. It's funny to hear Drew talk to her, though, because he pronounces her name "Medicine". He always has said it like that, and it still makes me laugh.

Come on, ask me why Drew has his arm over his face. You know you're wondering. Drew is wiping his face where Madison gave him a kiss. He's also saying "eewwwww". And do you see how big Camden is? He's 4 months younger than Nick.

Well, I hear screams coming from the other room, I guess I should probably intervene. I'll try to have a more interesting post next time...

Meet Lora Lee. She's the 6 year old daughter of a co-worker. Her mom had to work late this evening, so I picked Lora Lee up from school and she came to our house to play.

They all had a blast. It was so easy for me--I just gave them a box, and it entertained them for nearly a half an hour. Then they "helped" me use the new Bissell Spotlifter (that's what came in the box) to clean some spots off the carpet. And they spent the rest of the evening building a fort out of some bedsheets and the sofa cushions.

Most amazing of all? There wasn't one single argument.

Oh yeah. Just a little mom brag... Nick has been dry for 2 whole days now (not counting nighttime, though). What a big boy!

Apparently in the world of blogging (a world I'm still quite new to, by the way!) it's National De-lurking week. So, in the spirit of things, please leave a comment and let me know you've been here.

Decided on the spur of the moment to take some pics this afternoon. The boys behaved quite well at first:

But it didn't take very long for their true personalities to come shining through:

Currently they are outside still. It's January 8, and it's 64 degrees and mostly sunny outside. Can't waste that weather!

I don't know if all kids are this way, or if it's just mine. But when they get it in their heads to do something, there's not much you can do to talk them out of it. That's why, this morning when it was 40 degrees and fairly windy, Drew and Nick headed out to play with the jeep. It took over an hour before they declared that they were cold and headed back into the house. And no, I don't know how Drew can see to drive. He claimed he was keeping his eyes warm and refused to let me flip the hat up.

Nick is learning to use the potty. He's doing pretty well for just his first week. But tell me this--do most kids sit on the potty like this?

Yes, he's sitting on the potty. In the living room, watching cartoons. With his blankie on because his legs were cold. With his lion and his dog. (And his paci, which is a secret. Nick doesn't have a pacifier...). But hey, he's using it. I guess that's all that matters, right?

And every time he uses the potty, he gets M&M's. He calls them M's. Drew has to have M's each time Nick pees, too. All the attention Nick is getting is just driving Drew crazy. But it's helping, because he's encouraging Nick to use the potty often so that HE can get candy!

Oh yes, and I must tell everyone that today is my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, Daddy!

I'll sign off with some pics I took this evening. Enjoy...

This is the kind of photograph I want to be able to take of my family.

One day I WILL be this good.

Look at Nick. Doesn't he look like an angel? He could never do anything wrong. Anything mean. Or could he?

Usually Drew is the bully of the two, bossing Nick around and generally just being the big brother. He's even be known to *gasp* hit his little brother for no reason at all. And Nick, well, since he's such an angel and all, he usually just takes it. Oh, he'll cry. And occasionally he'll swat back. And he always plays the tattle-tale. "Mooommmyyy! Drew hit/bit/pushed me!!!"

So today, when the crying began in the other room, I went in ready to reprimand Drew. Imagine my surprise when I found Drew screaming his head off, tears running down his face, complaining that Nick bit him. And I saw Nick, very calmly playing with the Rescue Heroes fire truck--a toy they typically fight over.

Sure enough, Drew raised up his sleeve to show me the bite mark on his arm. It was already bruising up. And bleeding a tiny bit. Huh. Surely Nick didn't do it.

I asked him. "Nick, did you bite your brother?" "Yep" he said, never even looking up from his toy.

"Why?"

"He took my truck away."

Not that I condone biting, or hitting or pushing for that matter. But a small part of me (just a tiny part) was a little bit proud of the boy for standing up for himself. The rest of me, of course, made him apologize to his brother, and then made him sit on his bed alone for 4 minutes.

And now it's an hour later, and guess what I can hear them fighting over in the other room? Yes, it's that same toy.

Well, I discovered this weekend that, at the age of 4 1/2 years, Drew is quite an excellent driver. It was his first time to really get to drive the new jeep for more than a minute or two. And boy did he pick it up quick. In less than 5 minutes he was zooming around the backyard with no fear. And he can back up and do 3 point turns like a pro.

The catch is, he thinks he can drive anything. He wanted to drive this morning when we went to the store. "Why can't I drive your truck mom? I can drive my Jeep!"