I Finished!

Well, I actually finished about two weeks ago... but here it is. I finally got around to showing you: my figure drawing of my little sister. Now, you people don't get to see the whole thing, sorry, but not really...Can't do that to my sis. Here is the photo her face:




And here is my rendition. I altered a few things just a bit, like trying to upturn the corner of her mouth to make her look like she was smiling...but this is it! (Dare I ask) what do you think? I have a degree in art, so critiques are welcome...

For all You Art Buffs

I know you can't really see it that well behind those obnoxious people that got in the way, but behind them to the right is the new building which is part of the Denver Art Museum. This is pretty much going to be landmark architecture. It doesn't open until next fall, but I'm glad I got to see it in progress. I will definitely have to visit again in the future.

P.S. oh, and Allie- this is what the new haircut looks like- I know, it's a real shocker isn't it! Ha ha!

Happy Monday

Drew and his first big experience with snow.




Definitely liking it.




Well...maybe not so much. (Mom bring the gloves next time!)



Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my in-laws over the weekend. A really great trip. Food. Hiking. Gabbing. The Denver Art Museum. Costplus World Market. Guitar Center. (The last one is for the hubs!)
Hope you all had a nice holiday weekend as well!

...Exhaustion...

So yesterday, make sure you're sitting down when you read this so you don't drop from the exhaustion...
I got up...
...well I was woken (is that a word?) by my mother's phone call...
...call four portrait studios and made an appointment with the first one to answer...
...called my mom back to tell her that the picture taking would be on...need your help!...
...called the hubby to let him know we were getting our pics taken at one p.m....be there...
...fed both boys...oh...and...myself...
...amazingly took a shower before 2 in the afternoon...
...gave both boys a bath...
...fed Beau...
...chose outfits for both of them...and re-chose...and re-chose...
...got on the computer...
...answered the return calls of the studios who didn't answer the phone when I called the first time...
...said, "Sorry, but I made an appointment with the people who weren't too lazy to be answering the phones at 8:30 in the morning... (not really...LOL!)...
...decided I needed a haircut...
...mom called when she got down here..
...told her I needed a haircut...
...realized I had less than an hour to finish getting ready and get out to get a haircut and make it to picture appointment on time...
...rushed around the house like a loopy chicken gathering various items with no apparent rhyme or reason...
...strapped kids into the car...
...grabbed sippy cup...
...grabbed ringing cell phone...for the umpteenth time...my mom...HA ha ha!...
...rushed down to mall...
...went to an amazingly unbusy Great Clips... (I know, VERY brave move!)...
...actually got a haircut in less than 30 minutes and it looked halfway decent...
...rushed to the photo appointment and got there with one minute to spare, thankyou very much...
...waited...for thirty more minutes...till our session actually started...
...wrestled with boys for oh, probably and hour... and came out with three good shots...
...watched Drew pore my bottled water all over portrait studio floor...whoops...chuckle chuckle...
...waited while lone photographer answered the phones, dealt with other customers and tried to take our pictures...
...waited while lone photographer did all of the above except downloading our pics to computer...
...lone photographer gave us a discount since we had to wait so long! Thank you lone photographer...(Sears needs to get on the ball and hire more photographers...sheeeesh!)...
...went to Chili's at 3 for lunch...
...happily ate while Drew happily played with his Storm Trooper and Beau slept...
...went to Sally's and then went to Vitamin cottage...all the time carrying a cart resistant Beau...(I didn't want to put my sling on over/under my coat)...blah blah blah...
...went to Sam's Club...
...felt my feet get tired in their four inch heels...(boots)...
...nursed Beau in parking lot at Wal-Mart...watched Drew fall asleep in the backseat...
...woke up Drew...grumpy kid...and bought my 20 items at WM...along with everyone and their brother buying their Thanksgiving dinner food...
...finally drive home...eight hours since I left...
...dump kids with hubby so I can unload car...
...unload car...plop on couch...
...nurse Beau again...
...Beau magically falls asleep and actually stays asleep in his crib....
...make soup and sandwiches for myself and awake boys...
...put Drew in bed...
...watch I Robot with my hubby...
...watch I Robot that we got from Netflix skip on our old DVD player...
...get crying Beau and nurse him again...
...watch hubby futz with DVD from Netflix...
...move downstairs with nursing Beau...DVD...and watch on computer...
...works much better...must be the old DVD player...
...finish watching movie and nursing Beau...
...fall asleep with Beau on futon while hubby watches bonus features...
...finally move child and myself back upstairs to bedroom...
...Beau wakes up just as I am falling asleep...hungry again...
...so Beau nurses...again...in bed...wiggly child...
...sleep...


And this, ladies and gentlemen, this is the life of a stay at home mom. (And also the reason I didn't post yesterday...)

Me and My Baby

Furniture and Tomatoes

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. See I even excused myself and prewarned everyone about possibly not posting every day- and I STILL feel guilty. Oh well...that's just me.

Today we've been out looking for a new couch for our newly finished family room. The hubby was commenting on how now that we've fixed it up, we need to get new nice stuff for it- but before we didn't need anything for it. Maybe we just need to see the beauty of sitting on the floor-more.

Here's a shot of our empty, but now very nice family room...

Okay, so not completely empty...but here it is...

And...sadly...say goodbye to my tomatoes...I slaved and slaved all summer long to get these things to grow (not really...)- but I finally ended up with 18 GREEN tomatoes that I knew I wasn't going to eat. I just wanted the satisfaction of watching them turn red. So here they are:

Yeah, I know they're not all red yet- but they needed to go. Darn mealy tomatoes. I will avenge you next year!!!!

Forgiveness

Was talking with my Mother-in-Law. (She rocks by the way.) We were discussing forgiveness, and this is a quote she sent me I thought I would share with you all. Just some gum for your mind to chew on.

Making Friends and Making them count, Em Griffin quotes Frederick Buechner "To forgive somebody is to say one way or another, 'You have done something unspeakable, and by all rights I should call it quits between us. Both my pride and my principles...demand no less. However, although I make no guarantees that I will be able to forget what you've done and though we may both carry the scars for life, I refuse to let it stand between us. I still want you for my friend.'"

...and I Quote

Me talking to the hubs on the cell: "So what do you want to eat? Taco Bell, Wendy's, or trusty old Burger King?"
Drew from the backseat: "I want tusty ol Burger King, Momma." (Said in a broken toddler English)



Last night during a conversation about Drew being handsome.
"Drew, you're a handsome boy."

"I'm not handsome, I'm Darf Bader."

Dear Beau,

Eight months old as of November 8th, 2005.
Could a boy be any cuter? Look at those toofers. You're at this cute little two-teeth stage which brings a lot of drool, chewing and pain. Pain on your end and sometimes unfortunately on mine. But hey, you've been good for a while now.
I weighed you yesterday at your great-grandparents house. (For some reason, we do not own a scale-probably a good thing.) You are a robust 24 pounds. I'm pretty sure your brother is still 27 pounds, so I figure, unless he has a growth spurt, you're gonna pass him up here in the next few months. You are moving leaps and bounds, standing up and cruising around furniture to your hearts content. We've even got you to stand all by yourself for seconds at a time, and today I caught you actually trying to stand up by yourself with nothing to hold on to. Yep, I'm pretty sure you'll be walking by Christmas. And this is a good thing because then you wont have to hold onto my legs all the time to hold yourself up.
You are interested in absolutely everything and becoming quite adept at getting where you want to. You have chewed up many a leaf from my plants, and try to grab the camera whenever it is pointed at you. ( Which is a lot, particularly because your brother has made a pact not to smile for me. Ever.)
The other night you tried to actually get down the stairs towards daddy's studio. Your head can fit through our homemade little barrier there, but fortunately your big diapered but wouldn't fit through the rungs and I found you before you figured out how to make it fit.
You still wont go down for a nap in your crib so I've been letting you sleep on the couch or in my arms. I believe you've only fallen off the couch once, but I put a ton of pillows right below it to catch you. So the only reason I knew you fell is because I heard a little of your normal grunting noise and then you came crawling around the corner. However, these are not amongst the most dangerous of your sleeping habits. You end up in bed with me and Daddy at some point every night. The other night we were so exhausted, we didn't notice you had woke up- and you tried to crawl all the way to the end. (It would be a good three and a half foot fall if you did fall.) Fortunately, your Daddy heard you headbutt the footboard and quickly retrieved you. Then you tried it again a few minutes later. You are gonna have to start sleeping in your own bed here pretty soon. Just too dangerous for you! And that disturbs our sleep even more than your wiggly little butt!Let's see, what else can I tell you about yourself. Aaah yes, you still absolutely adore your big brother (heaven knows why sometimes.) Several times now you've crawled down to his bedroom door while he is taking a nap, fussing for him to come out. And you put up with all the, ehem, things, he does to you quite well. You're gonna be a tough one you are.
Oh yes, and you also love, love, love guitars. You are right at Daddy's feet the minute he pulls one out. We are predicting that you'll be a virtuoso by the time you are six. But no pressure here...
Beau, my prayer for you, and your brother, is that you grow up to be Godly men. Not just your average Christian, but men who really love and obey God. Men who serve Jesus and others. I also hope that you both will my closest friends and able to talk to me and share your dreams with me. I promise to support you and be encouraging in your endeavors. (Unless you want to fling cowpies for a living. LOL!)
I love you so much, don't you ever forget it!
Love,
Momma

My Cop Out Post...

Ok, so is it sad that I feel like I need to post before I can go and get anything done today. I have a million and one things to do today like the laundry and bills and grocery shopping. Oh yeah, and take a shower! Can't forget that one...

It seems like everyone skipped posting on Friday. It is getting to that busy holiday time of year, so I don't know if I can promise a daily post, but I will try. Please don't give me a hard time if I put up what I call a "cop out" easy post. At least it gives you something to read...

I am overdue for writing my eight month letter to Beau. The task is overwhelming me. More to follow...

Weird Question

Have you ever put a pair of pants on too soon after you smothered lotion all over your legs and it feels like your pants soaked up all the lotion and then your legs feel slimy and cold rubbing against your pants all day?

I Got a New Sling!

Saturday I went out to get my mail and this was in it. My new sling that I ordered from Planet Zebes!

This is how it came to me.










And this is what it looks like on.







Some nice things about this sling: I got to choose my colors. I know you can't tell, but it is purple on the inside. And it is reversible. So it matches with the majority of my clothes. It is custom fit. No rings or anything to mess around with. I can fold it up and fit it in my purse. My other sling was padded and had a big fat ring so it wasn't that "stowable." It was pretty inexpensive. So this is one of those things to go along with "babywearing." If you have a child that likes to be held all the time and you need a little extra help, one of these comes in handy. You can hold your baby in several different positions and, if you're particularly talented, (I'm not) you can even nurse your baby in one. If you are interested you should go check out Planet Zebes. The darling who HAND makes these is a mommy herself (naturally!) and is very nice to work with.

What Am I Doing Right Now?

Currently perched on my comfy chaise lounge-legs stretched to the end, where I can conveniently see the rest of the house and therefore keep an eye on the boys. Of course, the minute I moved here, so did both boys, so it doesn't really matter. But, I have my new camera right next to me, just in case there are any split second photo opportunities. (Because when you have 2 boys, there always are.) And of course my phone on the other side of me, because someone will inevitably call the minute you get settled in. I have lots of work to do on the computer today. Got to email all the family our holiday plans and what not. So, this is not so interesting and I promise I will have a post up soon with pictures and hopefully other interesting stuff. Didn't post last night, cause the hubby and I actually went to bed at the butt crack of dusk. Ok, not THAT early, but like 9:45 p.m. So nice to actually get some sleep. Anyways, I will be back today. Promise!

WHAT is on Drew's Hands?

Since we aren't letting our little bug watch Star Wars anymore, I caved in and bought him some Star Wars themed fun fruits. (Plus, they kept him occupied the rest of the time I was in Sam's Club.) So today when we gave him some, he tapped into his creative/demolition side and smooshed them all together on his hands and made this sticky, disgusting paste. You think that's gross, you should have been the one clean it off his little hands...

Enjoy your weekend!

Why the Carpet Will Never Survive Toddlers and Some Other Stuff

Today while I was in the kitchen washing dishes, like the dutiful wife that I am, my kids were headed towards Drew's room. Not wanting to leave them alone for any length of time I went back to the room to check on them and was greeted by the familiar smell of Bleach. I looked down and Drew had gotten a hold of my Bleach pen. He had dripped it several places on the carpet and was about to make a bleach drawing on his magna-doodle. Drew, of course, got in trouble. However, the problem with this situation is that it is really MY fault this happened. I underestimated the abilities of my son. He can open doors. He can find anything to help him climb up to an object that is out of reach. I should have known better than to leave my Bleach pen anywhere in plain site where he could get it. I felt terrible that this happened-and now we have several discolored polka-dots on our new carpet. All I could think was, "Great! How am I gonna tell Kevin about this one?!" My explanation for this one (and other mishaps like it) is that it is virtually impossible to keep up with, foresee EVERY potential problem that might have a possibility of happening with my two year olds vastly multiplying abilities. Fortunately, Kevin dealt with it much better than I expected, but was rather miffed at me for a good deal of time tonight. OH, this sucks! These are just the painful little things that you can do nothing about and you have to just let go and not worry about.

In better news: I hate to be all, "Look what I got!" But this particular goody benefits y'all too. Finally. My. New. Camera! Lets hope this one passes the hubby test so we can keep it! Here's the following to celebrate.



Drew muggin' it for the new cam...




My hottie of a hubby, even if he is mad at me.




Can't forget my sleepy baby. And would you just get a load of those luscious lips!




Behold the fate of my only tomatoes this year. Anyone got a good recipe for fried green tomatoes?




Drew and I, doing much better today : )

Dear Drew,

You are now 3 months away from your third birthday. I'm sure I said this last time, but I can't believe we're approaching this so fast.
Let me just say that this has been a really difficult month between you and I. I don't know what you're trying to do, but you sure are testing US again, for like the umpteenth time. I really hope this is a phase that doesn't last long. I really want you to know, that I hate myself for yelling at you, but sometimes I just can't help it because you make me so mad. I don't want to be the type of mother who is always screaming at her kids, so I promise you that I am going to work on it. I don't want you to develop this habit from me and yell at MY grandkids and then go around feeling guilty and unworthy all the time.
Not that I expect you to change any of these things, but maybe it would help if you slept in a little in the morning. And didn't crawl into our bed at oh, say, 5 in the morning. And it would help to if you took your naps without fighting me. But what I'd really like you to stop doing is beating up on your little brother. I can't explain how upset that gets me. I hope that you and he will be nicer to each other in the NEAR future here. And that is that, I got it off my chest, now maybe I will be better able to deal with you this next month. Hopefully I will be a better mom next month.

You are growin' like a weed. You are a tall little two year old. And the pants that fit your waist are too short, and the pants that are long enough, don't fit your waist. You would think being skinny is a curse! He he.

You are such a smart little kid. Sometimes I forget you are just two. Actually, all the time I forget you are two. You seem so much older to me. Maybe that is part of my problem with your behavior. Maybe I am expecting too much out of you. I'm sorry for that. Although- I do expect a lot from you, oh spawn of your father!

Something that really surprises me about you is how friendly and uninhibited you are. You just love other kids (as long as they're not your brother LOL!) On Halloween I let you help me pass out the candy and you stood at that door faithfully looking out for each kid. You greeted each one as they came to the door, and you even had a light-saber duel with one of them. ( I don't think that kid knew what to think about this little toddler making all his light saber noises and swinging at him.) Although, that brings me to another issue about this month, Star Wars. We had to cut back on your Star Wars, because you seem to be taking it a bit too literally and have been shooting kids regularly at our friends houses and in the nursery at church. It wouldn't be so bad if you just aimed from afar and shot, but you have to follow your bullets straight to their heads or whatever you are aiming at on them. Needless to say, this doesn't go over so well with those who haven't been enlightened by the Force.

You are also a clothes changing maniac this month. I never knew a boy could BE so interested in what he was wearing, but , actually, no, I should have known- again, your father. He he. ( The first time he met your grandparents, he took longer to get ready than me! Ask me about it sometime...) I can't count how many times I've had to hang up flung on the floor clothes or tell you to keep what you have on. I think I may have to change the location of your clothes if things get any worse. Of course, this may do me no good, since you now can open any door you want to. Not good.

So, child, for this next month, I am going to try to help channel all your raw energy, and smarts into something more constructive than what we've got going now. Maybe some more arts and crafts type stuff. (It should really be like, second nature with mwa, duh!) I'm definitely going to pay a lot more positive attention to you. Play with you, read to you, teach you new stuff, converse with you. I just want to be a better mom. I want you to have an awesome childhood and a great example of how to raise your own kids, (someday, a long time from now!) I love you so much, and I am trying, kiddo. And I know God is on my side- so we both win!

Love,
Momma