i feel like i have fallen off of my blog-wagon. but man, we are struggling a bit around here. with being three. with limits. with being the kind of momma i know i need to be, and feeling like i'm falling a smidge short. ben has always struggled with change and transition (and here we are smack in the middle of starting a new school, soccer and momma going back to work). bless his heart, he gets it honestly. poor kid, the best AND the worst of me are all tangled up in his dna. so after a looong morning and a nap-time battle of epic proportions, i sat down to browse through pinterest and saw just the reminder i needed.
8.30.2011
8.25.2011
greatest hits
1) calling nana and papa in new york using facetime (is that it's name?) on chris' iphone. it's a pretty big deal for us non-skypers.
2) getting a bumbo chair for crosby (we never had one for ben). he looks like a new man sitting up like that.
3) a perfect saturday. it started at the deep ellum outdoor market (why i chose a day in august with a high of 107 for our first time, i'll never understand. if it is that fantastic in august, i can't wait to see it in october). it was small but awesome. grandpa bought ben a globe for his room, we met some pretty talented local artists (like this guy),
i bought one of these (from here) for each of my boys, because let's be honest, they are both my favorite.
oh my word, for the love of pete, if you live in the metroplex, please go here as fast as you can and order the brisket. i kinda can't stop thinking about it.
after lunch, we took a stroll through shed two, where lo and behold my little hippie found a bongo and someone to play with. before you know it, i'll blink and he'll be on phish tour.
4) another successful pinterest project.
5) another photoshoot. my oldest child is really good at naming his emotions. so much so, at times he will roam around the house crying and screaming, "i am soooo sad!" (where would he ever get that from???) we like to ask him if he is the president of the drama club. to which he responds with blank stares.
6) helping marcy move out of her house today. ben watched looney toons, i scrubbed the fridge, marcy vacuumed, and crosby took a nap on the floor. we will do anything for a free lunch marcy.
looking forward to: a full day of work at my new job and movie date night (finally!)
how was your week?
what are you looking forward to?
until next time,
xoxoxo
p.s. sweet arianne. i am sorry we didn't make it. don't give up on me yet!
i mean, really?
i would love to tell you that the fluorescent orange tint to ben's hands and face was caused by baked or whole-grain cheetos, but that would be a lie. look at his hands. i mean, really???
we have been placing utensils in front of him since he moved past the gerber puff stage. at every meal he is reminded of their purpose as we model, in slow-motion, how to use them properly. you see, we heard somewhere once that the key to parenting/getting-your-child-to-do-what-you-want is repetition. mind-numbing repetition. it worked with potty-training. but eating like a civilized human being? fuhgeddaboutit. he's an animal, i'll tell ya.
last year, i walked into his classroom where a class picnic on the teacher's nice quilt was underway, to find my child slathered in what looked like yogurt while his classmates were delicately plucking goldfish from their snack baggies and placing them directly into their tiny little mouths. his teacher shook her head, laughed and said, "i've never seen anything quite like it." recently, i picked ben up from gymnastics camp (where he eats lunch) to find his entire face smeared with peanut butter. i hope none of the kids with peanut allergies came near him. they would've dropped dead. this morning, he went to the bathroom to wash jelly out of his hair. there is a film of sticky on every surface of this house. and you know what sticks to "sticky"? dirt and germs and nastiness.
my dear friend's daughter ate soup. from a bowl. with a spoon. AT AGE TWO! i mean, really?
am i cut out for this parenting boys business??? say a little prayer, friends.
8.23.2011
frat party
you know those blog posts where the blogger recommends articles/products/other blog posts in a long list of links? i usually skip those. not because of lack of time, but because of laziness. that's a lot of clicking! every once in a while i will click on a link that catches my eye, and very recently i was greatly rewarded for my click. joanna recommended reading these two blog posts about parenthood, which are hi-lar-ious. i swear, she must read everything on the internet.
{crazy toddler ben}
the first laugh-out-loud post comes from the blog, suburban snapshots. the title explains the content. i have included the whole list, but please click on the title to read the comments. they are equally funny.
10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.
9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.
8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.
7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.
6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.
5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.
4. There's definitely going to be a fight.
3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you just hope it won't get you arrested.
2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.
1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.
9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.
8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.
7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.
6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.
5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.
4. There's definitely going to be a fight.
3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you just hope it won't get you arrested.
2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.
1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.
see? funny.
these second comes from the blog, parenting. illustrated with crappy pictures. (also pointed out on cup of jo) this one explains crappy laws of parenting. i have just included one, but if you click on the title, you will see the entire (hilarious) list.
Crappy Law of Parenting #6 (naps are never safe)
If you've remembered to turn off your phone ringer during a nap, the doorbell will ring. Followed by loud knocking.
If you go to the door, it will be someone trying to sell you something you don't want. If you pretend to not be home, you'll find out later it was a friend bringing you chocolate and wine. She tried to call you, but your ringer was off.
Either way, it wakes up the baby.
i'm off to hug my toddler. wish me luck, he's not a hugger.
8.18.2011
greatest hits
here are a few things that made my week:
1) a naptime that looks like this. sadly, it seems as though naptime is on it's way out the door, although i am still hanging on to it for dear life. in this picture, naptime is saying, "oh yeah? are you so sure you want me to stick around???
f-you, lady!!!"
2) gymnastics camp. every friday in august ben goes to swing on ropes and jump on trampolines with his buddies. afterwards he tells me things like, "momma, now that was a fun day."
3) a 24-hour mini-college-reunion in college station. you know you are old when the 'party girl' of your group brings her tiny dog and carries it around in a fanny pack.
{we may be old, but we can still take care of some business.}
4) a growth-spurt. this kid demolished a bowl of edamame, tempura, rice and ice cream cone. how are we supposed to survive the teenage years when boys drink a gallon of milk a day? omg.
5) making slime. i found this recipe on pinterest. it was fast, cheap and easy. craft trifecta.
6) daddy coming home from work. all he has to do is smile at us and we are puddy in his hands.
looking forward to a steak dinner, checking out the new h&m, and a possible movie night.
how was your week?
what are you looking forward to?
until next time,
xoxoxo
8.17.2011
ten thousand words
thanks marcy for helping me remember how much i love this song and this band.
{click on the song title to hear the song.}
enjoy!
8.16.2011
let's just say, if you aren't on pinterest already, you should be. if you need an invitation to join, i'll hook you up.
recently in blogland i heard of this woman who has decided to make something that she found on pinterest EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR. this woman has children. how? HOW, i say???? check her out.
i have managed to tackle a few 'projects' that i have found on this site of fabulousness.
so here is my review,
just for you
(i'm a poet and don't know it).
1) slime: A-
ours was not this cute but ben loved it. and i love anything that will occupy his interest for longer than 10 minutes.
2) pulled pork tacos with cilantro ranch: B
the pork was delicious, but the sauce was too sweet for us. but the ranch, oh my, the ranch. it was divine.
3) baby photo collage: A
it was actually really easy on picasa. however, i am having trouble printing it the size i want due to the resolution. which makes me feel like a dumb-dumb, so it only gets an A instead of an A+.
check out my finished product here.
4) oven baked zucchini chips: B+
once again, mine were not this cute. mine shriveled to the size of silver dollars. my husband tried to sell these to our dorito/cheeto/frito-loving son as "zu-zu chips", but he wasn't buying it. we thought they were delicious.
5) dot letters: A
we already had the "dotters", so all i had to do was print (B,E and N).
ben did great but was bored by the time we got to N, which is more indicative of my son than this activity.
6) summer schedule: C
we followed this very loosely. i need to find one that has a go-to-target-tuesday.
7) stuffed taco shells: A
chris and i loved this one and plan on making it again. and again. and maybe again.
8) fluffy falafel: A+
this one was delicious. i actually formed my falafel patties pretty small and served them on small triangles of naan (like nachos). we loved it but it was very filling. so i reheated the leftovers for lunch the next day and ate them wrapped in lettuce leaves (like a wrap). much better.
9) slow-cooker tikki masala: C
a) it has a lot of ingredients (spices) that only come in handy if you plan on making this specific dish again.
b) taste: meh.
c) leftovers: in the trash.
i've got a couple of things on the menu this week from recipes i found on pinterest. i'll let you know how it goes.
what has pinterest inspired you to do?
please don't tell me 365 things.
xoxo
what has pinterest inspired you to do?
please don't tell me 365 things.
xoxo
8.15.2011
and the winner is...
woohoo! amber- i'll message you on facebook for the details.
thanks for all the sweet comments, friends. i love, love, love all of you.
xoxo
8.12.2011
marriage
i just think his words are beautiful.
here is a taste:
"Jayne was the nicest young person I'd ever met when the notes we passed in the halls between classes turned into lengthy epistles. She was funny, too. And recently blooming into her young womanhood. I could find her face among the thousands as we shuffled between the lockers, and when she slowed to hand me a letter, the dull flurry of color behind my ribs exploded and shivered in my cheeks and finger tips. I slipped into a bathroom stall and inhaled the perfume that had escaped her wrists as they slid across the paper."
"The other night over dinner we mourned the excitement of passing each other in the halls at school. It wasn't that long ago that her letters twisted me into knots and sneaking a kiss in the auditorium gave me a high that should have been illegal, but some days it feels like a lifetime ago. But trade that for the peace of waking up next to her? Of raising the kids with her that we made together? Trade it for nights in tears about bills or the loss of a job, the white-knuckled prayers on our knees together? If I could have another first kiss in exchange for a second of what we have now, I wouldn't take it.
Never. No never, no never."
8.11.2011
greatest hits
hey y'all. feels like forever since my last greatest hits and quite frankly i am having one of those memory lapses where i can't even remember what i did this morning much less at the beginning of the week {can i still blame things on my hormones?} so once again, i'll just have to use my pictures to remind me of events passed. so please forgive me if you were an integral part of our week and aren't mentioned! if you aren't in a picture, you didn't make the cut.
p.s. i love you.
p.s.s. omg, thank you for your comments on my blogiversary post. i can't wait to see who wins the pillow.
alas, our week:
1) guess who signed up for soccer???
2) marcy helping me beyond words.
3) gifted tickets to the greatest show on earth. not sure how i feel about the circus, but i do know my boy sure does love some elephants (still).
4) a visit from the blond beauties, ellie and her momma.
{she pulled up a chair to sing 'where is thumpkin?' i almost died.}
5) a successful trip to the mall for storytime. and i didn't even look in the direction of j. crew this time.
6) goo-gooing and ga-gaing with cros.
7) visiting kelly and baby joe (no pictures because i remembered all by myself. it was today, mind you.)
looking forward to: devouring the pound cake that is currently baking in my oven, sitting outside in the...get this...89 degree temps right now, seeing the help tonight, and a 24-hour jaunt to see some of my favorite people in college station on saturday.
how was your week?
until next time,
xoxoxo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)