Love Day

The day began with Tyler bounding into the kitchen, clad in PJ's and serious bedhead, holding a stack of hand drawn valentines. He could barely contain his excitement as he showed Ryan and I his pictures, explaining each one in great detail. "Karen let us cut up all of her old Christmas cards," he squealed. He had worked hard to select the recycled Christmas cards he thought Ryan and I would love the most and he was so proud. Such a sweet boy.

 

The boys quickly opened gifts from Ryan and I; a new Wii game for Tyler and a toy phone for Matty. I didn't get any photos though because weekday mornings at our house? Complete chaos.

 

Ryan sent me flowers to the office, and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I came home to a clean house and Chinese takeout for dinner. Floors I didn't have to clean and food I didn't have to cook? That guy knows me too well.

 

We played a few games of Mario Brothers, read a handful of books and tucked the boys into bed. Ryan and I watched a movie that he had picked up from the Redbox, but not before I paused to take in the sight of a spotless kitchen.

 

....and I'm glad I did because when I got home from work today? It looked more like this: 

 

 

 back to reality.

 

Xoxo

 



This boy of mine

This sweet boy of mine seems to be growing like mad lately. He's looking so much less like a baby and so much more like the "big kid" we'll be sending off to school in the fall. Watching him become this person with thoughts, ideas and strong opinions has been a complete joy, yet I'd still give anything to freeze this time.

Right now...

• He hugs me less and tests me more. He's stubborn and independent and 100% his mama.
• He's constantly complaining that his feet are hot. He can't stand socks and has some pretty compelling reasons why we should let him play outside without them. The fact that it is the dead of winter and we have a foot of snow on the ground? Doesn't matter. 
• Video games trump all...including books which, if you know Tyler, is saying something {perhaps that his parents need to enforce some serious time limits.}
• He insists on wearing a sleeveless shirt under EVERYTHING.
• Any object can be transformed into a masterpiece. Toilet paper rolls? Instant submarines. Kleenex boxes? Creepy space aliens.
• Anything and everything is worthy of a collection.

• Hand drawn pictures of people, buildings and animals have taken the place of the superhero art that once adorned his bedroom walls. I may be biased, but I'm pretty sure we'll be selling this stuff someday.

• Last night he yelled out "Free mom on Craigslist!" It seems that he's had enough of me and dad can come back from his fishing trip any time now.It also seems that his mother should stop threatening to sell him on a sketchy website every time he gets a little sassy.
• He broke up with Catie. Apparently she squealed "MATTY!" one too many times and well, that's a completely acceptable reason to end a relationship. Squealing is annoying and paying too much attention to the baby brother is absolutely intolerable. Said split has not stopped Tyler from writing "Catie" on every piece of paper he can get his hands on.  

• What else? He's the world's greatest big brother.

Words can't describe how much I love this boy. The baby he once was and the "big kid" he's becoming.

2013 Blog Awards!

A couple of days ago as I was checking my email I came across one from Parents Magazine. The email stated that my blog was chosen as a finalist for the 2013 Parents Magazine Blog Awards, under the category “Most Likely to Wow You with Photos or Videos.” To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. Mostly because this blog is still in baby phase, yet someone {other than my husband} read it and thought it worthy of nomination.

I am in great company in my category. Well established blogs that I read religiously, that have thousands, if not HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of followers, and that inspire me in parenting, photography and everyday living are listed next to little ole me. My chances of winning are nearly non-existent, but I’m going be be excited nonetheless.

You can vote once a day through February 24^th, so if you feel so compelled please take a minute to cast yours. And check out Under the Sycamore—cause Ashley? She’s got my vote every day of the week. 

You can cast you vote here.

Matty's Cake Smash!

No words. Just tiny little cake coated toes.

Weekend Recap

Winter with small children can be complete magic. The first snowfall of the season, movie nights in front of the fireplace and sneaking in some precious family time by hunkering down under layers of blankets with endless stacks of books.

On the flip side? Winter with those same small children can also be nothing short of torture. Eventually the holidays pass and with them goes the excitement of snowmen, sledding and hot chocolate. The temperatures dip into the double digit negatives and the daycare germs that so kindly attached themselves to my little guys in November get cozy and decide that a weekend visit isn’t quite enough and an extended stay is absolutely necessary.

Soon, it’s nearly the end of January and you realize that you haven’t left the house as a family in what feels like half a year. That is where I found myself last weekend. However, this particular weekend, unlike all the others, showed signs of a light at the end of the tunnel. All 4 members of our family were relatively healthy for the first time since Thanksgiving  and we had no big plans on the calendar.

On Friday night, I got home from work and announced that it appeared to be a perfect night for a living room sleepover. And living room sleepovers? They are Tyler’s version of gold. That kid loves nothing more than an air mattress, sugary snacks and back to back episodes of Curious George. Turns out Matty feels the same way. 

Saturday morning brought with it waffles, an intense wait for the mailman and big plans for the Children’s Museum. Tyler was looking forward to it and to say that I was excited would be a complete understatement. Hello! I hadn’t left the house in FOREVER and a day with my three favorite guys sounded like absolute bliss. We picked up the house, packed up the kids and got ready to go. Except? About 10 minutes before we were set to walk out the door, Tyler had the ingenious idea that our bed needed to be moved from its current location to a much more appropriate location under the window. The problem? Tyler is 5 years old and no matter how dead set he was on turning his vision into reality, the chances of that bed moving even an inch was slim to none. He ended up pulling a muscle in his neck and while I admire his extreme determination, I was pretty bummed out that we had to cancel our outing and spend yet another day at home.

That day ended up looking a whole lot like this {sweats, video games & a nice warm heating pad.} 

And even Harley seemed a tad disappointed.

On the plus side? That extra time at home provided Ryan and I with the opportunity to finally figure out what was really happening to all of those missing waffles. 

And to think, we've been blaming that poor cat all this time.

Mom Fail? Check!

A few days ago {I can’t even remember which one}, I finished up some last minute emails, shut down my computer and quickly left the office to pick up the boys from daycare. I arrived on time {mom WIN in my book}, got a quick synopsis of the days’ events and buckled the boys into their carseats for the 6 minute drive home. This short car ride began like any other, but unfortunately, didn’t end that way.

Me: “So, how was your day Ty?”

Tyler: “It was good. I colored a lot of pictures.”

Me: “Fun! How was Matty?”

Tyler: “He was good. He cried a lot.”

Insert 45 seconds of silence here.

Tyler: “Mom, Do you remember that other day?”

Me: “What other day?”

Tyler: “You know, that other day.”

Me: “What other day, Tyler?”

Tyler: “That OTHER day, when Aubrey and I were bitching at each other all day.”

Me: “Ummm…what?”

Tyler, completely unfazed, repeats himself.

Me: “Ah, yeah buddy I do remember that day. That day when you and Aubrey were BICKERING at each other all day.”

{Which happened to be the same day that he told me that he and this girl just weren’t meant to be friends…God just didn’t make them that way.}

Awesome. 

Random Wednesday

Bear with me, this post is all sorts of random {hence the title.}

Parenthood. Hands down the best show on TV right now or ever. Last night? I cried for Julia, laughed for Max, then cried again for Drew. If you’re not watching it, you’re seriously missing out.

 

Have I mentioned that Tyler is hilarious? He keeps me on my toes, that’s for sure. Recently, on our drive home, he told me all about a new kid at daycare. “He punches people a lot. And he has an in-crowd. You know, like that Berenstain Bears book? He has one of THOSE in-crowds and he doesn’t let anyone join. And if Joey can’t join?! Well, then…”

 

Smart kid. Avoid those in-crowds, they’re nothing but trouble.

 

This conversation came only days after another in which he threw a bunch of questions about heaven at me and I struggled to find answers that made even a shred of sense. He was adamant that people do NOT go to Heaven. "Mom...people are buried in the ground." It's not easy trying to explain to a 5 year old how people who are buried under six feet of dirt end up in the sky. I fumbled with words for a good twenty minutes before he  finally said, “Ooh, I get it. So the skin and the toes go in the ground, but the spirit….the person, really goes up to Heaven.” Yes, exactly little buddy. Whew.

 
I made a resolution to get my butt in gear and start running. I REALLY want to do the Color Run this summer and in order to do it, I figure I better be able to get beyond the first block. I made a deal with Ryan that I would do Couch to 5K with him. It only requires that you get on the treadmill 3 days a week…who can’t do that? Me apparently because I bought new shoes, downloaded the app and ran exactly once. On January 1^st. As a result, he’s on week three and I pretty much haven’t begun. Wonderful.
 
The next few months are again jam-packed with activity. There are birthday parties and fishing trips, best friend visits and photo shoots. It’s nuts, really. We’re also in the midst of planning a Disney vacation. I’m hoping to surprise Tyler. He’s going to be ecstatic.
 
In the middle of all of the activities mentioned above, I’m beginning a new photography course soon. It’s focused solely on editing and I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve also begun booking for Spring/Summer 2013.  Now if only the snow would melt a little quicker. I can’t speak for the other two but Tyler and I are beyond ready for some warmer weather.

And a photo, albeit blurry. Because photo-less blog posts? Lame.