Tour of Uptown

Friday, we drove down to our old neighborhood to show our guests Charlotte. It's really a nice city to walk around in.

And there were Christmas decorations everywhere
Once again, I don't have many people pictures, other than of my kids. Don't they look like they were having a good time?

Maybe too good of a time?

These pictures are a bit deceiving. After two nights of a 9 pm bedtime, but normal waking time, both kids were pretty cranky, bordering on psychotic. I did capture a couple of pictures more true to the day.

We love early bedtime.

Day of Thanks

I'm waiting on the good people pictures from the day, but since Christmas is about to overtake us, I thought I should get these posts up.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Three of my favorite cousins came to visit(and if you are a cousin reading this who didn't come and are wondering if you are a favorite--come visit us and I'm sure you will be!) for a couple days. We put them to work right away--raking leaves, entertaining our kids, cooking, washing dishes, entertaining our kids . . . and did I mention, they entertained our kids? I welcome any and all guests who are willing to do that.

For dinner, we also had another couple join us, who Daddy-o knows the husband through work and softball. The food was great--especially all the desserts. I'm always a huge fan of the pies (the type of fan who will then eat them three meals a day until they are gone). And the next night, we had a chocolate lava cake that was delectable.

It's amazing that an entire day can be centered around food, but that really was pretty much it. We did throw a little leaf raking and football in there (both the throwing of one and the watching of one sadly one-sided game.) There were even a few moments of the parade and the dog show. But for the most part, we cooked. And ate. And ate some more. And spent a moment being thankful that we can do that, with family and friends, in the comfort of our own home.

Thanksgiving Prep

Busy day--didn't get pictures of all the fun (like Daddy-o's all day activity of installing 2 new toilets, which ended up taking 4 trips to hardware stores and wasn't wrapped up until 9 pm--just in time to start the pie making). But I did take a moment to memorialize making rolls with my daughter. :)

Doesn't get much better than this! And in the theme of thankfulness, I'm thankful that I hadn't mopped the floor yet.

A Week of Thanksgiving

I had these grand plans of doing a post each day this week on something different that I am thankful for, full of pictures and details and all the fun things that probably no one really wants to read. Because there really are a lot of things, and I'm not always so good about acknowledging that fact. Or even noticing. And I seem to be passing that trait onto one of my offspring who has been insanely whiny lately.

So I want to be a better example. But the elaborate posts are going to have to wait. Somehow the reality of Thanksgiving week at home had escaped me. This is our first year, and even though I think we have things under control and are really excited to have guests coming to stay with us (our first houseguests here!), Thanksgiving dinner seems to require trips to at least 3 grocery stores. And then there is the everlasting kitchen remodel. Not to get anyone's hopes up, but it really is happening. It looks like the projected end date is the beginning of next week. Don't hold your breath, but I think I may actually be able to post pictures.

So until I get a chance to "illustrate" the one thankful post I'd started, this will have to do:

I'm so thankful to have a warm home to live in, a family and friends to share it with, and plenty of love to go around. Oh, and good food to eat--with a lot more on the way.

A Day in the Life of a Bug

So, you saw a part of my life, but I think a glimpse into Bugaboo's is much more entertaining. I know its only been a little over a month since the last "tornado warning", but on Monday, he had a very busy day. Everytime I turned around, he was onto something else. (Sorry I don't have pictures of all of it--in a couple of cases, I thought I should be more concerned about his safety than a great photo op. Sometimes it was a toss-up. Sometimes I was just lazy.)

I found him:

ironing books (thank goodness the iron wasn't plugged in),

trying to reach the remote controls for the TV (and rearranging the mantle while he was up there--he gets sidetracked just like I do),

toasting his own bagel (the toaster was plugged in),

trying to cut a butternut squash (with a 10" chef's knife! Knife block has been relagated to the top of the fridge--I'm hoping he doesn't figure out a way to get up there anytime soon.),

hanging from the refrigerator shelf (yes--this picture is a repeat, but seriously, it makes me laugh. As I walked into the kitchen, I heard this pitiful little, "Help, mommy!" We are so glad that we didn't get one with the pull-out shelves which would have just been asking for a disaster.),

grating a potato into a pot,

soaping down the bathroom counter, again (yes, we got the doorknob covers, but they only work when everyone remembers to close the door all the way),

and helping himself to a before-dinner snack.

Just another day for Bugsy (okay, not really, thank goodness. He doesn't always have quite so much on his "to do" list.)

Good Evening Tag

I was tagged awhile ago (sorry, soybeanlover!) and it looked like fun, so here's our house in the [early] evening. (This is actually from last night, but I got side-tracked by dinner and kids' bedtime and never made it back to this. . . )

#1 My Kitchen Sink--this is one area of FlyLady that I am sadly lacking in--I don't do all that great of a job keeping it empty and shiny. But we do manage to get the dishes washed after dinner most of the time. I am in the middle of dinner right now (don't you always use the computer as you fix dinner? ;)

#2 My Favorite Room--this is so random, but for some reason it really is my favorite room in this house. I don't know if its the cute little door (which just goes under the eaves in the front of the house) or the fact that the roof slopes just a little on that side, but it feels so cozy in there. I haven't decided if I'm moving my craft stuff to it, or eventually setting it up as a guest room or let one of the kids move in there when they get tired of sharing. . .

#3 Me right now--just glad that Bugsy, aka The Tornado, is standing right by me at this post. You'll see why in a second. . .

#4 My Closet--um, really? I don't think anyone wants to see it. We haven't managed to unpack everything, (partially because we don't have a dresser and so the suitcases are very handy for containing all our extra clothing articles that don't hang and don't fit on the shelves I have hanging.

#5 My Fridge--OK, this one was hilarious. This is what I found when I went to see the fridge. Maybe I should have saved this picture for #8. (There is an entire post coming dedicate to this little guy's antics today. . .)

But I have to say, I LOVE my fridge. We have never really bought appliances before (I guess we did get a used washer/dryer set in UT, and then replaced the washer with a new, but cheap washer--but those weren't fun, nice ones.) and decided to go ahead and get what we really wanted and will last us for a LONG time.

#6 The Laundry Room--I love my new washer--LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that it has a delay feature, so, when I'm on top of it (which isn't as often as I'd like), I can throw a load in at night, set it to start in the wee hours of the morning, and then its ready for the dryer when I wake up in the morning. Those are the days my laundry is folded and put away before Bean goes to school.

#7 My Favorite Shoes--A little sad, I know. I said I was retiring them after the painting this fall since they are now probably some of the ugliest shoes on the planet (some people would argue the same about brand new ones), but they are just so comfy and so easy to slip on. I really need to go shoe shopping and find something a little more respectable to wear in public.


#8 What my Kids are doing right now--Well, as you saw, this wasn't the only thing they were doing while I blogged. . .

#9 My Bathroom--this is one area that will eventually be getting a much needed makeover (the counter/vanity is the shortest we've ever had and DH doesn't love having to practically stand on his head to brush his teeth.). But for now, I love the garden tub that you can just see a corner of on the left.

#10--My Dream Vacation--I decided to go with my most recent dream vacation--I have way too many places I'd like to vacation in the future, but I think I've been on a few pretty great ones already. I loved the cruise Daddy-o and I took in May. I think to really be a vacation, it just has to be kid free. At least, at this point in our lives.

Persistant Delusional Thoughts . . .

. . . of a Tired, and Apparently Overly-Optimistic Mother

(Don't laugh, Daddy-o! Somewhere, deep, DEEP inside, I must be optimistic or else I wouldn't constantly be so dissappointed by reality. Right?)

While helping Bean upstairs/making dinner/folding laundry: "Oh, good, Bugaboo must be playing quietly in the playroom!"

"If I take a nap right now, I'll be able to get a lot done tonight."

"I'll just jump on the computer to quickly check my email."

"When Bugaboo can crawl/walk/understand English/talk/?, then the kids will play together without fighting."

"This project should keep the kids busy long enough for me to clean up the last mess they made."

"If I chop this up really small, they'll never know that there is spinach in this soup."

"We had a busy day. Surely the kids will sleep-in tomorrow. Or sleep through the night." (Even I'm not delusional enough to think that both would happen on the same night.)


How many years is it going to take for me to face the truth?

"I'm Too Shy!"

Conversation at bedtime tonight:

Bean: I need you to pray that I won't have bad dreams! You forgot to say it!

Me: You can say your own prayer in bed to have happy dreams.

Bean: I can't! I can't!

Me: Why?

Bean: I'm too shy to talk to Jesus! I haven't seen him in a long, long time.

Guess that explains the reluctance on her part to say prayers for the last 2 years. So I said a prayer for her to not only have good dreams, but also to feel how much her Father in Heaven loves her and to know that she can talk to him whenever, even if she hasn't seen him for a long, long time.

Another Dress Revision

My mom and I made this dress for Bean a couple years ago (I think my part invovled picking out the material). It was always a little big through the shoulders, but after two years, it was getting a little short. So this dress didn't need as much "revision" as the one last month --just a ruffle to make it a little longer.

And this is the "no more pictures, Mom!" pose.

Puddle Jumping

When Animals Attack. . .

I went out for a short jog yesterday afternoon, enjoying the sun and the fact that Daddy-o had the day off, so I could actually go without a stroller. I didn't plan on making it a long one since I haven't been running much lately, so 1.5 miles or so wipes me out.


About 1 mile into it, the run got cut a short when a dog bit me.



It wasn't a really bad bite, but it did break the skin and leave a mark. I was just totally taken by surprise because it was a pretty big dog. I'm used to the little yappy dogs snapping at my ankles when I run, but I don't think I've ever had a 60 pound dog throw itself at my hip while snarling. It would have been scary if I'd had time to realize what was happening beforehand, but I just thought the dog wanted to play and was going to run up to me and then stop. Silly me.


And where were the owners? Well, aparently the two little boys playing in the street there owned the dog, but they weren't able to catch it. I think it may have escaped from the house in the first place. It would back down every time I yelled at it to go home, but then would charge again. I finally told the boys I was just going to leave so that it might calm down and they could take it in.

No signs of rabies yet. . .

The Fun Part of Raking

Parent/Teacher Conference

I feel like I've entered a new realm of parenting--our first parent/teacher conference. I must say that its pretty nice being one of the parents who gets to hear how much the teachers love your kid. In fact, they love both the kids so much that they asked how soon they get to have Bugaboo in their class. I'm sure some of the parents don't have quite as much fun at the conferences (although this is only preschool, and a VERY laid back preschool at that--I doubt they're too hard on anyone). This post is probably a lot of bragging, so the grandma's may be the only people who want to keep reading. Consider yourself warned :)

I didn't really hear anything that came as a shock--Bean is doing well. She's incredibly sweet at school (I think the teachers were shocked to hear that she is doing all her acting out at home, on her brother, who can't defend himself quite as well as her classmates). In fact, the one thing the teachers said they really want to work on with her is standing up for herself a little more. She's always been the kid who will stand back and watch as someone else snatches the toy she wants and then will just look heartbroken, but unsure of what to say. She has to be really comfortable with the person before she'll retaliate. They told me to tell her to leave Bugaboo alone, but push back a little at school! I think our home life might be a little calmer if she did.

When she first started school, it was interesting to watch the social aspect of it all. She was one of only 3 new kids--the other dozen or so all went to the school last year, and so they knew each other, knew the school, and settled right in. Bean spent the first week or so spending a lot of time by herself (and enjoying it all--there were so many new things to do that I doubt she noticed to much who was doing what). Then she quickly became friends with one of the other new boys, A. (the other little boy is one of the roughest, most aggressive kids in the class, so she steered clear of him for the most part). They had a lot of the same interests and I think because they didn't know everyone else, they kind of hung onto each other.

He is still her best friend there, but I was happy to hear that she is playing more and more with other kids. too. She is the ring leader for a lot of the imaginative play--creating storms, going on adventures, acting as puppies and penguins (her teachers' favorite). I'm glad that she's found a way to play with the other kids, who she thought were too rough before.

She also has spent a lot of time at the writing table and the art/craft table. And the blocks are her new favorite--apparently she built an apple tree out of blocks the other day that blew her teachers away. She loves creating things. In fact, they asked if I was an artist because they said she has such a fine-tuned sense of aesthetics. I laughed and told them that I'm no artist, but I do love trying out random projects and she's been my crafting partner since she could hold a crayon.

I knew she was happy there, and its nice to hear that the teachers also see her enjoyment and growth. Its a little odd for me to think that there are 2 other adults out there who get to see a lot of the things she does that have mostly just been mine and Daddy-o's to enjoy each day. Its probably good for me to learn to share her.

And now I just need to help her turn her anger back to the kids at school and away from her brother who is currently sporting 3 new scratches on his face. Gotta love that comfort zone at home where they can really be themselves.

It's Raining Leaves

The leaves are changing quickly now.

And I have spent the last 2 days trying to get a picture of the flood of leaves that come down with each gust of wind.

I can capture the leaves on the ground, but I just can't get a good shot of them in the air.

This is the best I've done, but seriously, they'll come down by the hundreds sometimes and it looks amazing!

Now we just have to clean them all up.

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