I hate fireworks*

* - the asterisk is because I only hate fireworks because of my crazy, needy, manic, insane, did I say crazy? dogs. Every June/July finds them cowering, whimpering, shedding, shaking, barking, and generally miserable while the firecrackers pop off and especially when our city's fireworks go off on the Fourth. I know some people who have dogs who are afraid of fireworks and their dogs will simply go hide under a table and refuse to come out. My dogs could not be that low maintenance. Oh, no, not MY dogs! They will run around the house perpetually seeking (and never finding) a "safe" place, This was mildly annoying before we had children. NOW it is unbearably irritating. You see, both dogs think that perhaps the boys' bedrooms might be that illusive safehaven and so they try to get in. And since fireworks happen long after my boys are in bed, the dogs bursting into their bedrooms (combined with the thundering fireworks outside) would understandably wake up the boys. So, Brian and I have to keep them away from the boys' bedrooms. Which is fine and dandy while we are awake. We simply put them on the couch next to us and hold onto their harnesses so they can't run around like chickens with their heads cut off. After the fireworks are done, I go to bed, leaving Brian alone to corral both bassets. Unfortunately, the end of fireworks is LONG before the end of the firecrackers. There are yokels shooting off firecrackers until the wee hours of the morning. Last night, Brian got tired of being alone downstairs on the couch and brought both dogs up to bed with him (around 1am). He promptly fell asleep. I, on the other hand, was up for MUCH longer. I am a light sleeper and find that I cannot go to sleep while one drooling, shaking, panting basset hound lies on my hair and the other panting, shaking, whimpering basset hound lies curled around my leg. Long story short? I am tired, cranky and hating the Fourth of July today, despite having had a wonderful day yesterday. *sigh*

The good stuff from the Fourth of July:

Declan was in his first parade! Our city parade has the following motto: "Half the city is in the parade, and the other half watches the parade". My mom, dad and Ashley came to see. It was neat.

We went to my cousin's house on the lake for her annual party. A couple of pontoon rides, swimming in very cold water for the brave and the young, good food, good company, good times.

Here are some pics from the 4th:


Our family unit before the parade:

My mom and Brendan "spectating" on the parade route:

There is Declan (and me walking beside) in the Zoo tram with Camp Apples and Bananas (his summer camp program)

After the parade on the swingset, waiting for Brendan to wake up so we can all go to the lake.

Ashley waiting too. Yup, I painted some faces!

At the lake: Steve let Ashley and Declan take turns "driving" his boat. That man is so chill and relaxed all the time. I do NOT know his secret, but I would like to!

The Fourth of July party is also/actually Kevin's birthday party. He was born on the 3rd - close enough!

Me, holding Brendan and his lakewater mohawk. He didn't get a bath last night and his hair still smells a little funky...

A better shot of the "do":

Here is Richard...he is too sweet for words. He was either playing with Ashley and Declan or watching Brendan the whole day!

Miss Stacy - so pretty!

June 20

On June 20th, we went to the Strawberry Festival. It was a hot, hot day (again), but it was a lovely affair. A parade, carnival rides, craft booths and the most wonderful thing of all - fresh strawberry baked goods! (we had strawberry shortcake, and brought home cheesecake, jam and bread - yum!)

Me and Declan in line for the "cars"

Declan on the ride...

Isnt' this a delightful shot? (that new lens has the most amazing depth of field)

Brendan was looking for me when I took this picture from quite far away...

June 21st (aka Father's Day)

I have officially abandoned the Photo a Day premise. I am still trying to take a photo a day, but I find I can't seem to winnow them down to one a day for the blog posting. Especially with my fancy shmancy new lens. On Father's Day, we had a nice breakfast together, Brian opened some gifts and then we headed up to my mom and dad's house for a "party". It was just us, plus my parents, my two sisters, one husband and my niece. And while that does sound like a party, we were the only ones there who don't LIVE there. (yup, it's crowded at my mom's house!)

It was a hot day, so the kiddos played in the little pool outside while the grownups got all sweaty. Carlo cooked up a feast and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Here are some of the pics from Sunday:

Brian, opening up his card. And yes, Brendan is looking on from inside the clothes hamper (one of his very favorite spots)

That is me - a pretty nice pic taken by my dearest with the fancy new lens.

And here is Ashley coming out of the pool...

Ashley and Declan playing dress-up (the got married a few moments before the photo was snapped)

Brendan, being Brendan

Declan splashing up a storm in the pool (love, love, love the new lens!)

Isn't she lovely?

Beth (20birds) has the most beautiful daughters. Six daughters, to be exact. I am envious. I have two darling, precious, adorable, adored sons, but no daughters. I always thought that I would have daughters - I am a girlie girl, after all. I love make-up, the color pink, ballet, shopping, chick flicks, etc, etc, etc. Anyway...

Beth's daughter, Hannah, just graduated from the sixth grade. And she is growing up. Slowly, but surely. They do that, you know. Daughters, that is. Well, children in general, I guess. To the point: I love this picture of Beth's daughter, Hannah. She is stunningly beautiful.

Oops - June is more than half over!

Summertime! Popsicles, playing in the backyard, going to the pool, running through the sprinkler, sandboxes, baby pools, water tables...it's officially here in Michigan. I think that sums up what I've been doing for the past ten days or so. Oh, and I watched the Red Wings lose the Stanley Cup, had my 38th birthday and my 8th wedding anniversary. Aside from the hockey trauma, it's been a delightful June so far.

Except for today. Today was another thing altogether. I had a dentist appointment at 7am (which is bad enough - I HATE mornings!). To make matters worse, I had to get TWO crowns AND a filling done on the lower right side of my mouth. I was in the chair for two solid hours. Only about 20 minutes of which did not have me with my mouth WIDE open. I was numbed up but I KNEW there was going to be some repercussions and I was right. What a miserable day. Ouch, ouch and ouchy. The only saving grace is that Declan truly took pity on me and was a complete angel all day. Not demanding, easy going, and sweet as pie to boot. To reward him, Brian took him to an evening nature exhibit all about Bats. It's from 7-9pm and it's over an hour away, so Declan won't be home until WAY past his bedtime, but I think he's going to enjoy himself. And he deserves it!

(On a side note, this is the THIRD nature thing-y that Brian has taken Declan to in as many weeks. The first week was all about turtles. The boys got to hold all ten different kinds of turtles that are native to Michigan and learn about them from an expert. Plus a nature hike. The next week was all about frogs and salamanders - same deal as the turtles. And now, the bats. It's no wonder that Declan wants to be a zookeeper!)

Here are the summer pics:

Sweet Brendan in the backyard (today)

And Declan in the backyard (also today)

My reward for Declan today for being so sweet was to paint his face. Fancy snake, eh?

Isn't he darling? Love him soo much!

Brendan at the water table...how's that fish taste?

Yummy - want some?

Brothers...

In the baby pool. By the time I got him out, his lips were blue and he still shrieked at me and wanted to stay in!

Declan - running through the sprinkler. He had sooo much fun!

Here's Declan helping me make pizza...cutting up the black olives, which he adores. One to eat, one for the pizza....

Sandman:

Brendan is still not walking, but man can he STAND!

When Brendan sees my camera, THIS is his "say, cheese" face!

Two brothers, at play!

You should hear the laugh that goes with this face...

Through June 7, 2009

HOORAY! I knew there was an easier way to post these pictures to blogger and, six months later, I FINALLY figured it out! I can email the darn things directly from the Photoshop Elements Organizer - super easy!!

Ok - so what's been happening around here? The biggest thing was Brendan's 1st Birthday (and subsequent party!). My little guy turned one on June 1st - he is a doll baby if I do say so myself. On to the pics:

Here is the birthday boy himself enjoying his cake. Brian selected the piece for him and it was HUGE and there was a giant red balloon on it. Brendan put on quite a show eating that cake, let me tell you. At one point, at least twenty people were standing around him just cooing over him eating and making a mess - he was in his glory! This pic is from yesterday.

Just a close-up of Brendan in the backyard being cute.

Another day at the zoo! Brendan's been switching from two naps a day to one nap a day and it's been a little bit of a difficult adjustment for Declan. So on this afternoon, I rewarded Declan with a quick trip to the zoo after Brendan woke up at 3pm. We got to the zoo at 3:30 and left at 5pm. It was nice and both boys had fun.

Here's Declan trying to wear his sunglasses from last year. They don't quite fit, eh?

Look at those chompers!

And, his boo boo face...he looks almost pretty here! ;) Usually he is ALL BOY!

Look at that cheeky smile!

And here is Declan - a censored shot. He enjoys taking LOTS of little animals in the tub with him - honestly I don't know how he can be comfortable...one wrong move and OUCH!

Another garden shot...the peonies are stunning. The garden looked perfect for Brendan's party too - peonies, irises and roses all in bloom together. Loved it!

My camera's back!!!

Hooray- my camera has been returned from Canon and it is as good as new!! I'm so thrilled, sort of giddy, just like when I first got it. Hooray again!

Ok, since my last post we've been busy. Brian had a "stay-cation" this week (although he HATES that term) and I've been loving it! He's been home every day and although we haven't done anything too crazy, it's been soo nice to have him around to share the load around here and just to pal around with.

Brian took Declan to the zoo yesterday (because what would a vacation be without at least ONE trip to the zoo?). On a side note, one of my friends from HS posted a note on facebook the other day about how she doesn't like zoos (she had just gotten back from taking her five kids to the zoo). A bunch of other people commented that they also didn't like zoos and I was, frankly, taken aback. I thought that almost EVERYONE loved zoos! I know I do! We live right behind the zoo and since having Declan, I think I've gone at LEAST once a month. I love walking around outside, looking at the animals, feeding the giraffes, looking at the gardens and teaching Declan (and Brendan) all about animals. Declan LOVES animals and he wants to be a zoologist. We check out books from the library all the time about different animals and he is consistently interested and eager to learn more. Love, love, love the zoo.

What else? Well, we are having a builder come over tomorrow to see about having an addition put on. I'm in seventh heaven about it - we have such a tiny house and to get just a little more space would be sublime. We'll see how things shake out after the meeting, but I'm hoping and praying that we can do this.

Ok, here are my pics:

This was really too cute for words (or pictures). While I was showering, Brian was entertaining the boys and he put Brendan in Declan's baby stroller/wagon and let Declan push Brendan around in it. This is not something I would have done (or encouraged) but I have to admit, that it was darling and they both loved it! Declan was so proud of himself and Brendan was having a ball. (BTW, this was taken with my Rebel - hooray again)

First picture taken when I got my camera back yesterday. Just went right into Declan's room where I found Brendan playing (as usual). Adorable.

(The rest of today's pics are from the little Elph). This was from Monday at my cousin's birthday party. Brendan is fascinated by feet and here he is enthralled by blue toenails!

At the Memorial Day parade. Brian took Declan and they were lucky enough to run into my friend Monique and Declan's best friend Sophie.

This is from the Heritage Festival. I just love this pic of my two boys together. Declan had just gotten his face painted (see next pic) and Brendan was reaching to touch it. As usual, Declan was very patient and gentle with his baby brother.

Here is Declan with his face painted - a snake! Eek!

Memorial Day Weekend

Not much going on here. It's Memorial Day Weekend, so we are doing some gardening - getting all the veggies planted outside. I started some from seed and we bought a few plants. Brian did all the hard labor outside (as usual) and I got to play with the boys, watch some hockey and make dinner - a seriously nice day.

Yesterday was busy, we went to the Heritage Festival where Declan got to ride a pony and there was a petting zoo. Then we went to our friends' house for dinner. I do have pics from yesterday, but I haven't uploaded to the computer yet.

I'm still missing my Rebel, but here are some Elph pictures from the past week through May21st:

This is Brendan, he was so happy to play with these little animals of Declan's. They have a little button on the bottom and when you push it, they make animal noises. He was so proud of himself when he learned to push that button!

And here is my baby getting his VERY first haircut at a salon. Brian took him because he was off work and likes the boys to look "neat". He was a good boy, never even moved a muscle.

This is just some of the artwork that Brian and Declan did on our sidewalk the other night.

And here are the artists themselves...

Some pics from the Basset Hound Waddle last Sunday....these two look a lot like my Rufus

Here is Brendan enjoying the parade. He squealed everytime he saw a dog - very exciting stuff for him!

Me and my boys, watching the parade...

Here's Declan on the WAY to the parade - very very excited!

And here's a pic of Brendan in his car in the backyard - he loves it in the yard and gets so mad when it's time to come inside!

And Brian took this pic at the park last week. It was a fun, family evening.

Big day tomorrow - it's a cousin birthday party and Declan is psyched! Happy Memorial Day!

Go Wings!

I'm off to bed but felt like making a teeny tiny little post first. I'm in a good mood for the following reasons:
1. Had a "date" night with my husband tonight - we saw the new X-Men movie and before I get any rolled eyes or sympathetic tones, you should know that I love the X-Men movies. Hugh Jackman is gorgeous, for one, and I'm a super-hero, action movie type of gal. Thanks mom and dad for babysitting!
2. Last night Brian and I watched our Red Wings eliminate the Ducks in an exciting Game 7 - yahoo! And the best part is that the next series is against Chicago with only a one-hour time difference!!! The Blackhawks ARE a scary team, but I was still hoping they would defeat Vancouver so I can stay up to watch every game. Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is SUNDAY!
3. Before the date with Brian, my mother-in-law visited today and we all went garage-sale-ing in our neighborhood's annual event. I got some scrapbooking things which I was pleasantly surprised to find. Also two lovely books to alter (thanks sweetie for finding those).
4. And I do have more pics to post for Project 365 - my dear husband reminded me that I can still take pictures using the little Elph *sighs* - it's not the same though. ;)

Good night sweetheart, well it's time to go...voh doh dee oh doh...I hate to leave you but I really must say, Good night sweetheart, good night

Bummer

Well, I'm finally getting around to uploading some more pics, and it looks like it's going to be a while before I will be uploading more after today. Total bummer - my camera is broken. Darn thing won't turn on. I (idiotically) left it on the couch when I put Brendand down for his nap today. Turns out, that Declan may or may not have knocked it onto the ground. He, of course, wouldn't give me a straight answer, but he did say that "it fell". I have to send it to Canon for evaluation and (hopefully) repairs. Darn, darn, darn.


I have lots to keep me busy though - since May 1st, I've worked out every day with the exception of Mother's Day and today. Not too shabby! And I feel great, so that is the most important thing. More energy, and more patience with the boys.


Also, I've rediscovered reading. Just finished a great fantasy book , Bones of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. They wrote the Dragonlance series that I loved in highschool. After I had Declan, I must have read a book a day. I would read whenever I nursed him - and I nursed him A LOT! When I started digital scrapbooking, I found that my free time was spent on the computer instead of curled up with a good book. I'm trying to find some balance in my life and not be so caught up in one thing or another. Moderation in all things?


Still playing around with my altered book. And I made two hybrid projects (little accordion brag books) for Mother's Day, plus cards for my mom, my mother-in-law and my grandma - yay me! Super proud of myself for doing the hybrid thing. It's been intimidating me for some reason. Anyway - it was fun and I'll be doing more in the future.


And playoff hockey has got me in front of the TV for a couple of nights each week. Go Wings!


On to the pics:

This was yesterday at the corner park. My parents stopped by and this is Brendan peeking out at my mom, who was sitting on a bench across from him. Peekaboo is a new fav for him. Cute.



Yup, this was Mother's Day - I had my little cousin Emmi take the picture with my camera. She was pretty nervous (she's 8) but I think she did a great job! We spent the day at my grandma's house. My mom and dad were there along with my aunt and her four kids, and two of my uncles. It was a lovely day, although my grandma is looking a bit tired (she's 93, so I shouldn't be surprised, I guess!)

Still from Mother's day -this is Declan holding a toad that he caught behind her house. Very proud of himself, he was.

And check out Deck with a python around his neck! Yikes! Our neighborhood library had a Science Alive visitor who brought a ton of animals for kids to touch and hold! Declan touched (or held) a turtle, a parrot, a kangaroo, a chinchilla, a porcupine, a smelly anteater and the python - how cool is that?

This is from last Friday. Brian was off work so we took the boys to the zoo. It was a really nice afternoon.
This is Brendan at the zoo. He had so much fun and is becoming so much more interactive and communcative - I love it!!!

I took the boys to the mall to meet my folks and Brendan had his very first "hands-on" experience in the play area - he was so excited - see the tongue? That is evidence of his enthusiasm!

And here is a morning shot of Brendan, just hanging out in the living room while the light was nice. (I'm sooo going to miss my camera!)

And more fun at the local park from earlier last week. Declan and Brendan swing side by side with a beautiful magnolia tree behind them. These two shots show them each looking over at each other - precious. (These two are begging for a scrapbook page!)

Off so get my camera ready to be shipped - peace out! :)

I've been remiss in taking photos lately. I missed several days at the end of April. I have no real excuse, just that I was feeling a little bored by my photos. I also started a new project - altering a book. I just decided one day to make use of some of my scrapbooking supplies and an old book of quotations that has been lying around for a few years. It has been very satisfying, from a creative standpoint, although, I think the only person who really appreciates the "art" of it is me. My husband just shakes his head when he looks at it and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law looked interested, but quizzical. But it is for ME after all, not for anyone else, so why should I care if no one else appreciates it? Well, that's not really fair, since Declan loves it. He especially likes the glittery pages. I will take some photos and post them soon. I also finally got off my duff and started exercising again. May 1st, May 2nd, May and May 3rd - CHECK! I feel so good about myself already - it is like a drug. I had forgotten how much I love it! If I can keep this up through May, I should be ready to go to the pool without too much bathing-suit anxiety. Also, I have been having a hard time keeping my cool with Declan lately and I've been praying for help and I think this is the answer. A happy Melinda makes a happier mommy and I'm always happier when I'm working out on a regular basis. I'm going to recommit myself to the 365 project because I really do love the idea of a photographic journal of our year. I have to figure out how I'm going to print and preserve these photos...but I'll figure it out before the end of the year.

So, on to the pictures. Yesterday was a beautiful (but cool) day and we went to the train park near our house to see the trains (these crazy train enthusiasts have miniature trains on a track and they come out once a month to let the kids ride their trains) - but the ground was too wet and the trains weren't there. So we played on the swings for a while. Brendan cried and cried when we took him out of the swing. He loves it!


This was also from yesterday morning. Brian and Declan were walking the dogs and I was playing with Brendan in the living room. He was cooing and "talking" and chewing paper - he knew I was going to take it away and kept crawling away from me when I would come near.


This is from last Tuesday, the 28th. Kathy came over for a visit in the afternoon and played with Declan. After Brendan's nap, he came in the living room to play too. He was throwing that little football and showing off for his aunt. He is soo funny about balls - loves them. If you ask him to throw you the ball, he will, but make sure to give it right back or he will SCREAM! :)

And this is from last Saturday at my grandmother's house for Alex's 19th birthday party. Brian was holding Brendan up and making him "dance'. It was cracking up Brendan and all the kids. Very sweet day and such a sweet moment.

And the last pic is from our hallway. Brendan in his diaper, getting ready for bed and playing with the closet door. He is still obsessed with the doors - open, shut, open, shut. Occasionally, he will pull the sheets and blankets out of this closet, or the diapers out of his little cupboard, but for the most part, he just opens and shuts the doors without worrying about the contents.

Catching up...through today!

There's been quite a lot happening here since Easter - nothing major, just life, busy-work style. Declan had his school's Easter break from Holy Thursday until just this past Tuesday. He only goes two days a week to pre-school but those two days are mighty precious to me and missing three of them was a big deal around here!

The weather has been typical of a Michigan spring - gorgeous and 70 degrees one day, then hailing the next. I'm grateful for all the nice days - we get our stuff and head outside as much as we can, whenever we can. Warm spring days are simply the best. No bugs yet (to speak of), everything is green, and the thrill of just being outside after a long winter is enough to please every member of the family.

Here is Brendan today - after I dropped Declan off at preschool, I took Brendan in the backyard to check out the garden, I like to see what new things have been growing...however, once he got a load of his "car", he cried like I had broken his heart until I dried it off and plopped him down in it. We played for an hour or so...it was 50 degrees, sunny and beautiful.

Another picture of Brendan in his highchair. This time, eating an apple. He was so excited when I gave him the whole big thing, he just giggled at it. Then he started eating...it was heaven for him. He likes to eat what WE are eating and he makes it very clear!!

This is Declan, being silly in the living room. Hanging off the couch, practically begging to be tickled!

Brendan was being sleepy and cuddly with a pillow the other day..I just couldn't resist his smile. Normally, he is on the go, but on days when he doesn't nap very well, he likes it when I put the couch pillows on the floor so he can snuggle them.

This is Declan - it was a beautiful April day - 75 degrees, sunny - gorgeous! We got out the bubble-maker, which was a gift from Declan's birthday. Declan was running and screaming and having a blast! Even the dogs were curious about soo many bubbles! I am a bubble lover. It is one of my favorite things to do in the summer with kids - bubbles! They love it, I love it, win-win! Check out the forsythia in the background - simply stunning!

Here is Brendan wearing sunglasses - it was his first time in sunglasses and he was surprising amenable to them. If you look closely at the reflection in the lenses, you can see his arm and hand - cute.

And lastly -here is a hero - hidden in the garden by Declan. Looks like this summer's new game will be "find the hero". Declan has hidden all kinds of heroes in the garden lately - and he likes to take me around and give me hints until I find them - very fun.

Some Easter pics (in reverse order)

On the next post, I will get back to 365 business. This one is all about Easter Sunday.

We got up at the usual time (crack of dawn) and Declan opened his Easter basket. The Easter Bunny had left Declan's Easter basket on the dining room table and Brendan's basket was on his high chair tray, both were cleverly out of the reach of our food-obsessed basset hounds. Declan's basket had lots of Star Wars toys (of course), a few jelly beans, a chocolate rabbit and lots of pink peeps! (to date, he has had only the ONE peep - that one was eagerly devoured within minutes of its identification). Brendan's basket had some toys - Fisher Price Little People, one Matchbox car, a book and two light-up rubber duckies.

We had breakfast and got ready for church at the Cathedral. We like to go to the Cathedral downtown for Christmas and Easter because it is beautiful and the Archbishop says Mass and also, it is less crowded. (Sad, but true. The Cathedral is in downtown Detroit and the parish is quite small. It is not in a very nice neighborhood, to say the least. Such a shame, because it is a GORGEOUS church and the parishioners are delightful). Mass started at eleven and lasted until close to one. It was a beautiful service with lots of music and chanting, but it was all a bit much for poor Brendan. (Who, BTW, does NOT like incense at ALL!). We hurried home to put him down for his nap and tried to keep Declan busy before we allowed him to go in the yard for the Easter Egg hunt. After lunch and Brendan's nap - we did the Egg hunt in the garden. It was fun - the Easter Bunny had hidden 11 eggs in the garden and 10 eggs in the house. Declan found them all within ten minutes. (Note to Easter Bunny for next year - hide more eggs and make it a LITTLE more challenging.) Then we hurried to get ready to go to my mom's for Easter dinner. I made deviled eggs and then we drove the 45 minutes to my mom's house. My mom, dad, two sisters, two of three nieces (with one husband in tow), one brother-in-law, one aunt, two uncles, four cousins, (two dogs) and the four of US all sat down together for a beautiful ham and turkey dinner with all the trimmings. My two brothers were a no-show (again) and that made my mom sad, but otherwise, it was a really lovely afternoon/evening.

Brendan at the end of the day, getting changed into jammies for the drive home

Declan, all pink-cheeked, playing hard with his cousins

Declan, Brendan and Ashley, all smiles when we first arrived...

Our little fam in front of the daffodils (which have since exploded) in our garden

The boys' matching sweaters - Declan could NOT sit still!

Brendan discovered an egg on the play structure (with a little help from his daddy)

Declan crawling toward his Easter basket

Declan (still in PJs), shows of his new Star Wars action figure - Ayla Secura

Pink peeps (sans one)

The Easter Basket dance of joy. (it is still dark outside at this point)

An Easter layout!!!

I did an Easter layout with a bunch of stuff that I picked up today at We Are Storytellers. I love that shop! They have a sale once a week called a Book Fair and one kit is on sale for only $2 and then a bunch of other stuff is on sale for 45% off. I got two Easter kits and the Bookfair kit. Pics are from Easter day, the egg hunt in our garden. Declan was the sole participant since poor Brendan is not yet walking. Next year should be very interesting indeed...

April 6th through April 12th

I have been bad blogger/365'er. It's to the point where my husband wonders when I am going to post some new pics. His inquiry made me start thinking about blogging - why I blog, what is a blog, who am I doing this for, what am I getting out of it, etc etc. This blog, in particular, has me pondering my motives/drives/desires surrounding it. I have another blog which is updated whenever I finish a digital scrapbook page. "That" blog is for my mom (and other relatives) who are interested in seeing my scrapbook pages. I started "that" blog because my mom (and other relatives) were not visiting my various digital scrapbooking sites to see my pages there, so I made "that" blog so that these family members could see all my pages in one convenient location. I know my mom appreciates this because "that" blog is my mother's home page on her Internet Explorer.
Back to my rambling. Blogging. What is it? It is kind of a journal, really. Except that people read it. So, maybe it's more like a letter. Except that ANYONE can read it. So, it is sort of like writing your family's annual Christmas letter (except you are writing it daily-ish, including a lot of minutiae from your life, illustrating it with hundreds of photos) and then posting it on the bulletin board at the mall. Don't get me wrong, I love reading other people's blogs. And I like sharing things on my blog. It's just that when you stop and think about it, it's a very strange, surreal concept.

Anyhoo. Here are a bunch more pictures.
Confession: I did not even take my camera out on April 13th and 14th. Declan had an ear infection and Brendan has some sort of virus. We all have cabin fever to boot.

Here is my Brendan, all fat and naked, on Easter Sunday. After a L-O-N-G day of church, Easter baskets, Egg hunts, dinner and cousins, he was ready for jammies and the long drive home from my mom's house. Fun day though. I will post Easter pics in a separate post (just for you Beth)

And here is Declan on the Saturday before Easter, at his friend's birthday party. The party was at an indoor pool and the kids swam for an hour and twenty minutes before devouring pizza and cake. Another fun day!

A shot of one of my daffodils in the back yard. Finally blooming. It seems like I waited all winter to see the first one bloom and they will be gone all too soon. The story of life, I guess.



We had a nice evening "walk" when the weather was nice. Brian and I walked. Brendan was pushed in a stroller (until we got to our neighbor's house where this picture was taken) and Declan was driving his frighteningly authentic monster truck. Brian bought it for him for his 3rd birthday (yup, last year) and he just wasn't quite up to driving it until this year. I tried telling that to Brian but he was as stubborn as ever. (and yes, I do know you read this Brian - LOL)

On this day, Declan was taking his bath and thawing out Han Solo, who had been "frozen in carbonite". Well, actually, he had been frozen in water in an ice cube tray. That Declan, he is full of bright ideas! Declan also has a Star Wars temporary tattoo on his forehead. Lovely to wash off.

Declan and I dyed the Easter eggs this year. We just used regular old food coloring plus vinegar in water to get the base color. And then I got fancy and we rubbed the eggs with some olive oil and then squirted food coloring all over the eggs. Fun and messy!

These delightful flowers are from Shirlene, the wonderful lady who watches our two basset hounds whenever we need her to. She is the BEST dog-sitter and I referred a customer to her and she rewarded me with flowers. Well, truth be told, Brian did the actual referring, but the flowers were for me - yay! ;)

April 1st - April 5th

Well, Declan's birthday week is finally over! What an extravaganza! He had FOUR parties and I was lucky enough to be invited to all of them. One party with his friends at one of those bounce places, one party at his preschool, one party with his immediate family ON his actual day and the last party was his "family" party with all the cousins on Sunday. It has been a whirlwind and although it was fun, I'm glad it's over. I'm that kind of girl, I guess. I like my routine, I like "normal" more than extraordinary. For example, although I enjoy vacations, I'm always, always happy to be home. I was even homesick (a little) on our honeymoon in Tahiti - LOL.

Here's Declan blowing out the candles on his cake at the family/cousins party. We had about 30 people in our tiny house, but it was fun (and exhausting). Happy Birthday big guy!

To add a little more excitement to the week, we also went to an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday (the day before Declan's big party). This is a picture of Brian's brother Kevin holding Brendan. What is so special to me is that Brendan is actually snuggly and content with Kevin. Brendan is generally not the type of baby to let anyone but me hold him, and he seems to especially not like it when men try to hold him (poor Grandpa), but he likes Kevin. So cute.

Here is Brendan wearing the glasses from one of Declan's birthday presents (from his little pal Sophie). She got him a DJ Lance wig with glasses (from Yo Gabba Gabba, which you know if you have a preschooler). Brendan LOVES the glasses. It just tickles him to pieces. I think it's because I wear glasses in the morning and NEVER ever let him touch them!

Here is Brendan in the garden - just enjoying the little "preview of Spring" that we were all enjoying until Sunday, when we got hit with a snowstorm - yuck.

And here is the birthday boy himself, on his actual birthday. He was opening one of his presents - Bendaroos, which are one of the worst toys ever but they have relentlessly advertised them on one of the kid's channels that Declan likes, so he has been asking for them since Christmas. I broke down and ordered them and he is thrilled with them. They are, basically, sticky pieces of string that you can (sort of) stick together to create "things", like butterflies and spiders. They have this little booklet (that he is reading here) that shows all these magnificent creations that you can make with Bendaroos, but in reality, even an adult would have a hard time replicating the creations they have in the booklet. Declan is just as happy making his OWN creations. He likes that I let him stick them on the door to make "pictures". He is still at an age where he is easily amused.

More pics through 3/31

I really am enjoying this 365 project, although I find the photo editing and posting to be more time consuming than I had imagined. I have Lightroom 1.1 and wish there was a way for me to edit and submit to the blog from Lightroom. If anyone has any processing/posting hints or tips, please share them!!

My oldest son, Declan, turned four on April 1st and I've been busy planning his parties, yes plural. He had a friend party at one of those bounce places, a preschool party that I attended, the obligatory mommy/daddy party on his actual birthday and we are having the entire family over on Sunday for the family party. What a haul that kid is getting! I remember birthdays as a kid, and they were NOTHING like this - LOL.

Here are the pics:

Declan as DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba - enough said.

Another shot of Brendan in Declan's room. The morning light is really spectacular, but I can almost never get Brendan to actually stay in the light. LOL

Declan at his "friend" party with his cousin Ashley. They are very sweet on each other.

Declan running around in his underpants - per usual.

Happy snap of Brendan in his cups because he managed to grab Declan's prized notebook. He knows that if Declan likes it, it has to be good!

This is Declan showing me the crocuses in garden. Since he was two years old, he has loved to check the flowers in the spring to see what's coming up next. He planted his very seeds in the garden last year and this year he is getting his own little plot. He is psyched!

Another face painting day with Sophie and Declan. Sophie liked her face painting so much, she requested a photo of just herself. She's a card!


Sweet baby Brendan running his little motor lips and making funny noises. So cute.

My mom and dad stopped by to visit one morning.

My house is messy in the background, but this is how we really live - LOL

When Declan laughs, it is so contagious. He has recently discovered his inner comedian and likes to make up his own jokes. He's exploring what's funny and what isn't funny and I love the little sneak peek into his brain that I get when he's doing it.

This is my good friend Kim, aka Star Wars Kim. Kim sent my son a box of Star Wars action figures and she has been Star Wars Kim ever since. I've known her since grade school and she is a doll.

That ought to do it for now. Thanks for looking (and reading).

Pics - Through 3/20!

I'm catching up again.

This is Brendan sitting in his high chair at dinner yesterday. I had just cut the front of his bangs because they were driving me nuts - kinda stringy and yucky. I thought he looked so angelic sitting there...

Yes, another pic of Brendan playing with doors. Will the obsession ever end?

We had another nice day on Wednesday, so during Brendan's nap, Declan and I went outside and drew on the sidewalk with chalk. This is Declan standing in front of "himself". I traced his body and we colored it in. He wrote his own name and was soo proud!

St Patrick's Day was gorgeous here. Declan and I called it our "preview of summer". We were outside A LOT! Here's Declan enjoying his swing in the backyard.

The 16th was nice so we went for a "family walk" after dinner. It has been our tradition to do that forever! (at least when the weather is nice enough). Even before we had kids, Brian and I liked to go for walks together after dinner with the dogs. Now that Declan is bigger, he rides his little bike. Brendan LOVES it. And gets very excited when Declan and his bike go whizzing by. I can't WAIT for summer! :)

I Heart Faces Week 10

This is my first entry at I Heart Faces - Beth (kewljive) had the link on her site, and I just love the idea of a challenge for photography. This week's entry had to GREEN themed in honor of St Patrick's Day. This is my Declan all greened up for the St Patty's Day Parade yesterday. Be sure to check out all the entries at www.iheartfaces.com

March 14 and March 15

Yesterday was gorgeous here - almost 50 degrees, sunny - beautiful! So, Brian and I took both boys to the zoo. It was heavenly to get outside with the boys and stretch our legs. This pic is of Declan - just thinking about the animals, I guess. He wants to work at the zoo when he grows up. He promises that I will get to hold ALL the baby animals when they are born AND I will be able to ride a hippo! Sounds fantastic to me.



Today was even more beautiful, so we went downtown to the Corktown St. Patrick's Day Parade. It was fun! I painted Declan's face - so cute. We had a great time - spent about an hour and a half there and then came home. I love that we are so close to downtown (and the zoo!)

March 13, 2009

Today was a good day. Declan's gymnastics at 9:45, then off to the mall to buy him some new shoes. We went to my favorite mall - Somerset - and to my favorite store - Nordstrom's. Fancy, fancy, fancy. I haven't been there in a looong time but I had budgeted for Declan's shoes and lunch, so off we went. Got the shoes (and a balloon, thank you very much) and off to the little Cafe. Declan and I both had grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato basil soup - yum. Brendan enjoyed our view from the window seat and behaved like a perfect little gentleman. Then we did a little "window shopping" in the ladies' shoe department - fabulous. Then home. I dragged out some old toys of Declan's that were in the basement (see the castle there?) and we made a huge mess on the living room floor playing pirates and knights. Brendan played too. This shot is when Declan was talking on the phone to Brian. When he saw the camera, he hammed it up. Precious. It was a very good day.

Early March pics through today - March 12

Ok, I admit (mostly to myself) that these pics are not in order but they are the rest of the March pics through today....I feel so sloppy because I haven't been posting each day and haven't been taking the time to format the photos with a date on them. Having said that, I am really excited about this 365 project (still) and looking forward to looking BACK at an entire year's worth of pictures. I'm sure that I won't care that I posted March 5th's picture after I posted March 8th's pic - I'll just be happy to have all these little snapshots of this year. Ok - moving on:



Here, Declan and Sophie are at it again in their facepaing. Sophie wanted to be a superhero, but she would not tell me her identity. Declan was a superhero named "Angel" who had a laserbeam for an eyeball. Very exciting stuff! He also had on my headband, a vampire cape and Star Wars Underoos OVER his pants.

Brendan - laughing. He has such a precious laugh and is such a sweet baby. God certainly blessed me with this one.

Declan in his room. I "fantasied" the photo up a little to reflect the mood that I feel when I look at this picture - very dreamy, very point-in-time-ish. Soon, he will be all grown up and I am lucky to capture these moments.

This is Brendan in my favorite room - Declan's. The light streams in from his windows in the morning and it is simply gorgeous in there. Brendan loves it there too. I say that it is because of the painted fish on the walls, but I bet it's because it is Declan's room, plain and simple.

Here is Brendan practicing his new skill - up and down the little step in our landing. He was just learning how when we had this little photo shoot and wouldn't do it for the video camera either but now he is an old pro.

And just a blurry, but close-up shot of my darling Brendan's big blue eyes. Love him.

I'm slipping....

Things are getting crazy - I'm obviously not posting religiously. I AM taking pics like crazy, but not editing them promptly and then posting them online. Why? Plain and simple procrastination. For example, tonight I found myself in Lightroom editing pics of my dogs going back to 2001. (Why?!? LOL)

Also, FB has been really a time-stealer. I knew I should have given it up for Lent! I am going to have to set up some rules for myself - no FB until I post my pics, or else!

Anyhoo - Here are three more -all of Brendan!div> We've had some nice weather recently. One day even got up close to seventy degrees! It was a tiny slice of heaven and we made the most of it. We went for a walk, Declan rode his bike and then we played in the backyard - LOTS. Here is Brendan enjoying himself on our swing in the backyard.
This is my little guy at a birthday party for my cousin. So sweet

And here is Brendan again, looking out the window. He was just desperate to get out there again, but the weather was not quite as nice. (Still, it's getting warmer and I can feel that spring is right around the corner - hooray!)

Three more pics - through today!

I'm finally caught up! Hooray!

This is a pic of my son with his girlie friend after their playdate and some facepainting. Of course, Declan was not interested in anything but a vampire with his full face painted. Luckily, Sophie could not be talked into being a vampire princess - she stuck to the regular princess and I bet her mom is glad!

This was the night before last. As I was heading up to bed, I realized that I hadn't taken a single picture all day, so I grabbed my camera and took a few pics of my pretty Christmas cactus. It didn't bloom for two full years and this year it has bloomed twice. Go figure! Must have something to do with global warming...LOL

And this is Brendan, again in Declan's room. I just love that you can see the movement of his arms - the blur is awesome in my opinion! And check out his cheeks! What a chunk!

Colorful days

The last bunch of pictures that I've taken have been in Declan's room. It is a very very colorful room - we painted it bright aqua and stenciled a kaleidoscope of fishes on the walls. We spend a lot of time playing in there and that's why there are so many pics in there I guess.

This is my hubby playing on the bed with Declan. I love his smile here. Sometimes it's hard to capture his true expressions on film - he tends to do a cheesy fake smile whenever he spots a camera - LOL!

This is Brendan "cruising" along Declan's bed. It is just the perfect height for him to grab. One more reason to love his big brother's room!

And another shot of Brendan in Declan's room. Holding onto a cherished possession - a balloon. We get balloons once a week at their swimming lessons and both boys really love those darn things!

Holy procrastinator Batman!

Wow - I have been horrible at posting lately! Here are pics from February 20 through February 26. Just one day behind! LOL

Poser! This 365 thing has really increased Declan's interest in all things photographic...he has started asking to take pictures with the little Elph (not the Rebel, thank goodness), he has been taking lots more pictures with his OWN camera (Fisher Price digital) and he has been POSING for me. This is a pose of his own creation - priceless!

Brendan's latest accomplishment is pulling himself up on any piece of furniture. He is so proud of himself!

Just a cute, quick pic of my baby. As usual, he was getting ready to MOVE!

Glowing ears - Declan spends a lot of time climbing on the foot of his bed and sitting there. He just loves it there. Unfortunately, there are two windows next to him and I can never get a good shot. I know this, but he does not and insists on asking me to take his picture while there. This time, I told him that his ears were going to glow if I did that and he laughed so hard. When I showed him the picture, he was delighted!

I'm cheating here, because clearly, I did not take this picture. My three (almost four) year old took it with our little digital Elph. It was the only picture taken that day - oops!

My sweetie - on certain Sundays, after church, we go to brunch at what my son calls the "breakfast bar". On this Sunday, I tried to get a cute pic of Brian but he was sitting next to the windows so it wasn't a great pic. It was a great day though.

This is Brendan's sleepy face. He rubs his little nose when he's tired. So cute.

It was a face painting week...

This is from today. Just a quick snap of me and my little guy right before his preschool's Beach day. I put the camera on some books on the coffee table and used the timer. I've noticed that I take a LOT of my daily pics while the baby is napping. I will have to change that and give Brendan more face time...

We busted out the face painting kit from Halloween. Yesterday Declan was a cheetah.

This is his vampire face paint. He has a little cape and runs around pretending to be a vampire - but a GOOD one, not a bad one.

And this was the superhero day. He wore a red cape and carried a little hockey stick as his sword. He painted my face that day too - I had green "polka dots" all over my face - yikes!

And finally, a picture of the baby. He is always crawling, crawling, crawling and it's hard to get him in good light. He is just learning to pull himself up on furniture so I'm hoping the "standing but not walking" stage will result in some good photos!

All Caught Up

My husband always buys me roses on Valentine's day - these are just gorgeous. They start out sort of peachy and then bloom to a bright pinkish red. I bought him cologne. We bought Declan Star Wars under-roos (he is THRILLED). And we forgot to buy the baby ANYTHING! Thank goodness he doesn't get it yet! :)

This is from yesterday, February 13th. Brendan goes hauling down the hallway to Declan's room every chance he gets. He loves it in there. Here he is, entering his favorite place on earth. It's like Disneyworld for him!

And this is my little pumpkin lumpkin from February 12th. Just sitting in his jammies before bed...playing in his own room for once!

Happy Valentines Day!

It was a Sophie day...

And on to yesterday - February 11th. I could NOT pick just one picture. My son has a standing playdate on Wednesdays with his BFF Sophie. She is a kick, to be sure. These are some of the pics from their "date". Dancing, dancing and playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii. My poor baby Brendan was trying desperately to be part of the action!

Catching up...

February 6th - Looking alike:


This may not be the best shot of both boys, but it was the best shot on this day. I dressed them in matching outfits - just being goofy that morning. Declan has started picking out his own clothes and this was his pick. So I applauded his choice and told him it was so cool that I was going to match Brendan to him.

February 7th Doors:

I just wanted to capture some shots of Brendan with his current obsession - doors! He could spend all day just opening them and closing them. He ignores all distractions (like toys and people) and heads right to any door to play, play, play!

February 8 - Zoo:

It was the first "warm" day (40's) in ages so we packed up and headed to the zoo (which we live behind). This was a fun trip b/c it was the first of 2009 and my brother came. This HOP sign is right outside the frog house (otherwise known as Amphibiville)

February 9 - Eat:

Just a cute shot of Brendan, happy, eating at dinner.

February 10 - Irene

In this picture, Brendan looks so much like my sister Irene's baby pictures - it's kinda spooky!

Composition

I'm still working out the best way to post these pics. I clearly don't have it down to a science where I take the pics, process the pics and then post them all in one day. I usually get one or two hours a week to do this kind of stuff so I do multiple pics at one time. Today I decided to post them as one JPEG. These are pics from Feb 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th. They are all Declan-centric.
The B/W of him is from one of our mornings upstairs in my bedroom after I put Brendan down for a nap. Declan was sitting in the computer chair playing with one of my Wizard of Oz dolls and the morning light from the window was stunning.
The color one of him was an attempted photo shoot in the living room. In this shot, he was actually telling me that he was DONE.
The snowman shot was taken from the front porch on a sunny but frigid morning.
And the other B/W is Declan with his little friend Sophie playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii. They are both zealous little Star Wars fans!!
Have a great weekend!

"cause I'm so wonderful"

Declan is a card. He cracks me up daily. He is taking swimming lessons on Saturdays and he decided to wear his goggles in the bath - I think it might have been his dad's suggestion (he does bathtime around here). When I came into the bathroom for a peek - I oohed and aahhed and then left to grab a diaper for the baby - I heard Declan say to his dad when I walked out "I know where mommy is going, she's going to get her camera cause I'm so wonderful". Cracked me up! Of course, I yelled from the other room "Yes, I AM getting my camera, how did you know?" He certainly knows my M.O. - something cool happens, and mom grabs her camera!