Decomom's Dalliance

Endings...and new beginnings...

2011-06-07T17:13:00.000-04:00

Today is June 7th, 2011. Today, my big guy graduated from Kindergarten. Next year, he will officially be a "grader" and will be in school all day. He will leave my house before 8am and not be home until 3pm. He will bring his lunch to school. He will eat his lunch with his friends and tell THEM all about his morning and share with THEM all the amazing ideas and stories dancing around in his head. I will miss him.

My little guy will start pre-school in the fall. A baby no more. He turned three a week ago. He is potty-trained (finally). But I will no longer be the center of his universe. His teachers will inspire his imagination and feed his confidence. His friends will excite him and he will start to beg for playdates (like his brother).

We bought bunk beds and are going to move the boys into a shared bedroom this summer.

Which leads me to the next big thing in our lives: the baby growing in my body. I am pregnant again and due at the end of September. We will have a tiny baby in the family again. Someone new to love and to share our lives with. It is amazing. An unexpected blessing. I am joyous about the arrival of this new baby but now I really know how quickly it will all go by. Every milestone that Declan and Brendan hit seems to come rushing at me like a comet - so fast, so unexpected...even though it's coming is as regular as the ticking of a clock. Kids grow. That's what they do. And parents are stuck in a weird time warp, just watching in shock as the time rushes by in a blur of color, laughter, tears and those moments.

Dry for too long...

2011-01-25T17:23:00.000-05:00

Well, finally a blog post. My friend Beth passed away in October and I haven't had the heart to post here since then. But her daughter, Melinda (yes, we share the same name) has generously agreed to read here and comment here if I wanted to blog again. And you know what? I do want to blog again. Beth once said that her blog was a place to record the life of her family, the good times, the memories that build up family and forge bonds. Akin to why we scrapbook... and so, I want to keep doing it!

So what is new? I'm knee deep in potty-training my little guy, Brendan. He will probably be diaper-free in just a few short weeks...and I can't wait! My big guy, Declan went skiing for the first time last weekend - what a trooper! He took a 3 hour ski lesson and then had some lunch and hit the slopes with his big, high-school-ski-team cousin, Kevin. Kevin took my big guy up EVERY chair lift (except the red one) on Schuss Mountain and then, heroically, skiied Declan DOWN the mountain...

I am crocheting again. I took a little break after Christmas - I made my mother-in-law a shawl and it took a l-o-o-n-g tome so I was not anxious to pick up my hooks again. But I just finished a hat for myself and I am starting a baby blanket for a friend who is having a baby in April.

Ok - what else? I've joined the debate about dropping cable TV and watching shows from Netflix, Hulu and iTunes. Could save a couple of bucks and lesson our addiction to television. And when I say "our", I mean mine. Not my husband's or my kids'. My kids each get to watch one TV show per day. After they go to bed, I find myself on the couch for TWO PLUS hours, watching mindless nonsense when I could be crafting, scrapbooking, crocheting, blogging, cooking, working out, etc.

I have lots more to say, but I'm just happy to be getting my feet wet again. They've been dry for too long.

Kevin takes Declan down the mountain

Me and Brendan with Kevin

Cool kid Declan

Brian skis for the very first time!

Honey Do List

2010-08-23T12:01:00.002-04:00

Well, honey, here it is. The to-do list that has been in my head but now is on "paper" (so to speak). Home improvement is on my mind here. I'm itching to make some nice changes to our little nest. So, let's start at the beginning, shall we?

1. Back door to the nook - new molding under door and paint door
2. Shelves or a towel rack or some other thing to hide the 2-3 inches between the kitchen cabinet and the landing (you know what I am talking about - the mess is currently DUCT - TAPED - yuck)
3. Touch-up paint on all the moldings
4. Ceiling in dining room needs to be repainted and I need the window frame to be repaired so it is not so crumbly and I don't have to worry about my blinds falling down (sounds pretty, doesn't it?)
5. Remove baby gate between LR and DR. (will need to be painted there)
6. Hang some sort of coat rack behind front door or on the back of the closet door so people can have a place to put coats as they come in to visit
7. New rug for wiping feet when you enter vestibule
8. Get rid of PC in living room and do something with that area
9. New couch (say no more)
10. Have I mentioned the living room wall and window yet?
11. And of course that means we need a new roof....
12. New curtains in living room
13. New lamps in living room (maybe wall sconces???)
14. New towel rack in bathroom
15. Fix grout around tub
16. New curtain rod for Declan's room
17. Hang curtain rods in our bedroom
18. New curtains in our room
19. Paint laundry room
20. Organize and finish basement
21. Scrapbook organization (new desk, shelves, etc)
22. Hang shelves in Brendan's room
23. Paint kitchen cabinets (that's a big one, but I think it will make the biggest impact)
24. Re-upholster and paint the purple chair
25. New island/cart thing for kitchen
26. New burner drip pans for stove
27. New phone in kitchen (one that hangs up on the wall)
28.
Lots to do honey, so let's make a plan!

Things I'm into lately...

2010-08-04T16:41:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy summer. I feel sad that there are only a few weeks left before Declan goes back to school. We have spent many many days and evenings at our community pool. Declan jumps off the diving board and sort of muscles his way back to the edge of the pool. He does an underwater doggy paddle that has some major kick. He also likes to dive down to the bottom of the deep end (10.5 feet is his record) to retrieve diving weights. Much fun and much worry for his mama! Because of all this, we have him in swimming lessons at our pool. He is learning to float on his back and some basic swimming strokes (which he learned in the winter at his indoor swim classes but has since forgotten). Brendan most enjoys spending time with his mama - to Brian's disappointment. We have to remind him each evening that he has to take turns with Declan. Brendan loves to play in the fountains and sprayers in the shallow end of our pool. He is also very intrigued with making water footprints on the deck.

I'm also finding myself sewing. On my machine. It's crazy and fun. And frustrating (especially since I can't find my manual and am often googling things like "how to replace a broken needle on your sewing machine" or "feed dogs not working"). But thanks to google, I can now wind bobbins, replace broken needles, change feet, adjust tension, load bobbins, thread the needle and even backstitch! My quilt is almost done. I need to replace the needle (again) and can't do that until I've made another trip to JoAnn. It is cute. Not perfect or heirloom, but cute. And Brendan adores it. The fabrics have trucks and diggers printed on them. His favorite things! I will get a picture up as soon as it is finished.

I am packing and planning our camping trip next week. It should be...let's say, interesting. We pitched the tent in the backyard last week and gave it a trial run with the boys and Declan stayed up past 11pm and Brendan never did fall asleep, so he and I ended up back in the house. Now, whenever I mention camping to Brendan, he says "but I sleep in my crib". I'll let you know how it goes. We are headed "up north" as we say here in Michigan. People from other places say things like "at the lake" or plain old "camping" but if you are from Michigan, you go "up north". We'll be camping at Aloha State Park in Cheboygan, Michigan. Just a few miles from the Upper Peninsula. We visited my uncle there in May and now we will be camping just a 1/2 mile down the road from his home. My parents and my cousins are coming up to visit too. It should be really fun.

And I'm finishing up a couple of lap trays and crayon holders for the boys to have in the car. It's a four hour car ride and experience tells us that it will not be pleasant. I'm going to do my best with the boredom busters, but I'm prepared to just suck it up. Here's what the crayon holder should look like when it's done (mine are with different colors): I found the tutorial at Skip to My Lou a wonderful blog! (the picture is of her finished product)

The lap tray that I am making is inspired by this one (see pic below) that I found here: (another adorable blog)

But mine is turning out to be more like a white board hot glued to a pillow case with some felt pockets sewn on the sides. I will post pictures of all my crafty goodness soon.

THE purse

2010-07-12T16:28:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned how much I love to crochet lately? Well a couple of weeks ago, I got a book from the library - Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet. There is a pattern in there for a little purse. So, I grabbed some yarn that I had purchased on sale at JoAnn and started in on it. I wasn't 100% sure that it would turn out ok, but I was determined to master rectangular/square crochet shapes (circles are more my style). I LOVED how it turned out soo much that I wanted to use it every day without risk of losing all my things (darn crochet is so HOLEY). So, I found a tutorial online to line the purse. (I got to use my sewing machine! Yay!) I happened to have some fabric with the same shade of red in it. I whipped up a little matching flower (my fave thing to crochet) and VOILA! and PRESTO! A purse I adore! Of course, it is too small really. Sooo, I need to find a pattern I love for a BIGGER crocheted purse!!!

Moose Hockey!

2010-06-26T00:06:00.000-04:00

My mailbox had the sweetest little surprise in it today - two Moose Hockey t-shirts for my little guys and they were from Beth! The boys LOVE them! The little moose hat flips open to reveal that the moose is EATING the puck! It cracks Declan up!

And me, I'm so honored to have a good friend like Beth. Thank you Beth!

(They were saying Thank You Beth!)

Blatant attempt to win a giveaway - Silhouette Die Cutting Machine

2010-06-21T16:08:00.000-04:00

I've been dreaming about the Silhouette Digital Die Cutting Machine for a couple of years now - at least I think it's been a couple of years...I can remember when I bought my Sizzix (used on eBay) and I dreamt about the Silhouette. If I could have afforded it, I would have snapped it up over the Cricut in a heartbeat. With the Silhouette, you don't need to buy cartridges to die-cut shapes! You can use FONTS and DINGBAT fonts (for F-R-E-E!!!)! And they have lovely designs to download for only $0.99 each (a BARGAIN).
Cutting to the chase, the lovely blog site, Tatertots and Jello is hosting a giveaway for one of these puppies and I want one! So I'm blogging about it in hopes of increasing my chances! Wish me luck!

Curse you, Martha Stewart and the end of naps

2010-06-07T18:15:00.001-04:00

I am exhaused. It is about 6pm and I have spent the better part of my day in my teeny, tiny orange kitchen. The boys and I wandered up to the corner store this morning for dish soap and I picked up the June 2010 Martha Stewart Living magazine - Uh Oh! Every single flipping recipe in that magazine looked good to me. So in my infinte wisdom and using my exemplary time-planning skills, I decided to make not ONE, not TWO, but THREE of those beautiful, gorgeous, inspiring, labor-intensive Martha-worthy recipes for dinner tonight! (um, hello insanity, Melinda would like to visit today) So without further ado, here are the time-stealing, yet tasty recipes that tempted me so:
1. Carmelized Onion dip with vegetables ("Active time 45 min, total time 2 hrs, 15 min" yeeaah, I didn't notice the little time estimates until AFTER I had started) {sorry, no linky, apparently this recipe is only available in the actual magazine}
2. Herbed flatbread (~~Active time: 30 min~~, total time 2 hrs - strike that first bit, active time was at LEAST an hour, unless you have your own personal sous chef rolling out the dough to near paper thinness FOR you!)
3. Penne Frittata with basil and ricotta (Active time: 15 min, total time: 30 min, yeah right Martha, I'm sure prep time in the Martha Stewart kitchen was only 15 minutes, but that was probably after one of your minions gathered the necessary ingredients and equipment FOR you !) I must confess, that I only sort of followed the recipe, as in I made a frittata with potatoes instead of penne pasta and onions instead of basil and cheddar cheese instead of ricotta...

I'm not saying that dinner wasn't delicious, and fabulous and deserving of some quality time in a glossy magazine, because it was. I'm just saying that my five year old hated the frittata ("it tastes like stale waffles to me, mom", and it soo DID NOT, it was yummo X 2, if I do say so myself!), my two year old only wanted to eat the flatbread ("I don't HAVE to" and "I don't LIKE it" were repeated throughout the entire meal) and my husband is satisfied when I make any food of any kind at any temperature, the man just likes to eat. period. He would have been just as pleased with a slab of meat and boiled potatoes. So, although I loved the meal, pay-off wise, the prep was just too time consuming and labor intensive for this stay-at-home mama with two energetice little boys. To top it off, Brendan has decided that THIS is the week that he will be giving up naps, so I had BOTH boys demanding (and deserving) attention while I tried to piece this meal together. It is day three of no-nap-dom and it's a serious bummer. (My Declan also gave up naps at age two, but I had hope, nay prayed, that B would keep napping for at least one more year.) *sighs*

Ok, off to wash the mountain of dishes in the kitchen, yay me. (Just kidding, Brian offered to wash them, but I think he deserves a little one-on-one time with his boyz)

.

2010-05-31T23:39:00.000-04:00

May 2010 Photos

2010-05-31T07:44:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos from May. We were busy! (Click on the slideshow to view it full screen, then click "Show Info" in the right hand corner to see the captions)

More flowers for Mother's Day

2010-05-19T15:53:00.002-04:00

So, remember the felt flower from my last post (uh, a month ago, I think)? Well, I actually USED it in another craft, once more inspired by none other than LollyChops! She made her mom this killer wreath, and it inspired me to attempt to make one for MY mom for Mother's Day. I did it! (almost). I didn't quite make enough flowers to cover the entire wreath, but I'm super happy with the result. I crocheted the wreath cover (and that took more time than it probably should have because I'm quite good at crocheting flowers and round things, but when I start trying to do straight, row-type things, I mess up because I hate counting the stitches) and then I made some felt and fabric flowers (ala Lolly from Wallflowers Week) to glue to the wreath. It's impossibly bright and very pretty in a girly-girly kind of way. I love it! AND, so does my mom! :)

For Mother's Day, we went to my grandma's house, which was soo wonderful. I mean, how cool is it that my grandma is 94 (almost 95) and STILL living at her own house?!? Plus, my own sweet mom came. AND, there was Uncle Conrad, Uncle Dan and his girlfriend Mary Jo, my dad (of course), Aunt Merrie and her four kids plus Uncle Frank! We all brought food and my grandma made strawberry shortcake (from scratch!!!) It was a delicious buffet dinner, a beautiful day, and a memorable Mother's Day. My boys got to play outside, walk down to the lake looking for frogs (too cold, brrr), play in the old horse meadow and generally have a blast outside almost all day. Pics from the day: (And for some reason, no pics of any of the moms...hmmm, that's really odd...) The girls are my cousins, Elaine and Emilie. The guys are Brendan, Declan, Brian and my dad.

Felt flower fun!

2010-04-30T18:53:00.003-04:00

I discovered LollyChops yesterday! She has a really fun blog with loads of great projects, tutorials, downloads, etcetera, etcetera...

Miss LollyChops had a wonderful series called Wallflowers where she crafted different kinds of flowers and framed them - the whole series looks delightful, but I was immediately drawn to the crochet flowers (of COURSE). I'm going to be whipping up some of those roses pronto! I also LOVED the felt flower she showed. So I made one. And here it is.

All I had was some (very cheap) kid's felt that I got at some superstore and I didn't have enough of one color to make the flower, so I mixed it up and used two different colors. Lolly's flower had a fancy beaded middle that I would like to learn how to do, so I asked her and she said she would do a tutorial on MONDAY! How cool is that?!?

More Beth's Belief

2010-04-21T21:21:00.006-04:00

Another layout for my friend Beth. Her radiation ends May12th and her chemo ends May 25th. The countdown begins in earnest! :)

(Click the image to see larger. Click again to read the journaling)

Beth - I hope you like it!

(Credits: Word art strips and girl with scarf doodle by Kate Hadfield from her Beth's Belief freebieBlue paper by Jacque (Pocketful of Sunshine at the Lilypad), Green hills by Nikki Beaudreau (of After Five Designs), Birdie Border, Rainbow RicRac, Yellow Sunshine, Plant in Dirt, Recycle Robot and Mini Butterflies by Heaven's Gate Designs (available at Scrapartist), Bird pulling rainbow from Scrapartist Art Journal collab kit, Brazen Borders from FPD, Used Michelle Godin's Rainbow paper for one of the borders, and Jacque's blue paper again for the other, Tiff Brady's little gnome, Sausan Designs Funky flowers and staples by Jessica Bolt)

LOOK at all the credits - sheesh-a'loo!

Julia

2010-04-19T23:04:00.003-04:00

I finally met Julia last weekend. Julia is my friend Dana's baby and she turned one on April 1st - the same day that my Declan turned five! Dana is a friend from a parenting group that we joined when our first children (Andy for her, Declan for me) were just a few months old. We shared the joys and frustrations of first-time parenthood.

Julia is a beautiful little girl. She is petite and so sweet. I loved holding her and so did Brian. His hands are the ones holding her in the other picture. She looks so tiny in his hands!

We were blessed to finally get together again with Brad, Dana, Andy and Julia (for the first time!) for Andy's fifth birthday party on Saturday and then again for Declan's fifth birthday party on Sunday.

I have loads more to post and write about, but for now, I must go to bed. Declan is sick and has to see the Dr. tomorrow. We are both NOT looking forward to it.

(and the, um, credits - Quickpage by Heaven's Gate Designs at scrapartist)

Beth's Belief

2010-04-09T15:51:00.004-04:00

My friend, Beth, is fighting cancer right now and a wonderful, wonderful digital scrapbook designer named Kate Hadfield just made the most amazing "cancer kit" for Beth to scrap with. If you are a scrapbooker, you know how cathartic it can be to scrap your own stories. Your journey, your life, your joys and often your struggles can be found in your scrapbook pages. So, for Kate to give Beth the tools she needed to put down on paper some of this momentous experience, is just amazing. Cancer sucks, there is no way around it. But, Beth is an incredible person and she has the belief and strength to fight cancer and to scrapbook it! Go Beth!

You can get the freebie here and find more of Kate's designs at the Lilypad. Beth's Belief kit is such a gift! This is a good example of how people often amaze me with their kindness and generosity. It is very hard to be jaded when you see good works like this in action all around you. So, I couldn't wait to make something with the kit and here it is:

(credits: Bird and hearts by Kate Hadfield from her Celebrate Love freebie. Word art and cancer-diva doodle by Kate Hadfield from the Beth's Belief freebie. BG paper from the Scrapartist Exclusive Art Journal kit. Thought bubble by Sausan Designs from her My Little Heart kit)

Somerset dreaming

2010-04-02T16:23:00.002-04:00

So I got an email today asking if I "want to get published?" Somerset Studio's deadline for their Halloween issue is April 15th and they want Halloween art that is elegant, sophisticated and timeless. I'm intrigued. So, I've been surfing the web and enjoying some eye candy. Like here at My Artful Adventures. Gorgeous jewelry and some very interesting mixed media pieces. I've been cruising over at Flickr and I really liked the photos of the ATC Treasures.

And I'm still obsessed with inchies and this is a very practical little art project that I think I could handle. There is a little apple inchie that looks beaded and I've got an image of a little beaded pumpkin in my head. We'll see what happens.

This is teeny little blog post, really just a nice digital journal of my ideas and thoughts this afternoon. Better go back to the real world and get the baby out of the crib and make dinner!

March in Michigan (for Beth)

2010-03-25T23:27:00.007-04:00

(This post is for my friend Beth who just got home from being in the hospital for ten days - she is battling cancer and at the beginning of her radiation therapy. Please pray for her!)

Well, it is almost the end of March and in typical Michigan style, we have seen temperatures range from below freezing (with snow) to just-about-shorts weather. Today was a gray, drizzly day and snow was in the forecast, but just missed us. I must say that I am happy. Snow in March (and April) just bums me out. I like the snow in "winter" but wish it would stay there - in winter.

When the days were nice, my boys and I experienced a beautiful preview of summer. Brendan is big enough now to play fairly independently in the backyard. I'm no longer terrified that he will climb up (and promptly fall off) the play structure before I can reach him. He is learning what he can and cannot safely do - through trial and error, of course, but still, we're making progress. Although....he DID get clonked on the head TWICE by Declan's feet while Declan was swinging...hopefully, he finally learned that lesson. The only downside about being outside so much is trying to get the boys to come back IN! They are NOT interested.

In other news, Birthday Season has officially kicked off for us again. We go through a period in the winter with no birthdays and then BAM, it's birthday madness! We went to my cousin Sean's 20th birthday party and Brendan was soo very independent - it was a big switch from the last time we were there. I barely saw him! My little cousins just swooped him up and played with him, and brought him food and kept an eye on him. Just like they do with Declan. I am sincerely so blessed to have such wonderful family. And it was nice to hear my cousin Frank describe my boys as so happy and well-behaved! Right after that party was Brian's birthday (which we celebrated at home, just the four of us). Now, Declan's fifth birthday party is coming up and then the birthday party floodgates open! FUN! :)

Picture Time:

Bikes and snow - always a fun combination!

Brendan Loooves the tricycle!

The birthday party - I love how Declan is just glommed in with all his "big" cousins

Brian's birthday at home: the boys got "him" a Dr. Seuss book

Random pic of Brendan - he likes to wear his shirt as a hat

Brian's very special birthday cupcake with a gummy lifesaver holding the candle - his all-time favorite candy (do not ask me why)

And here we are in the backyard again - look no snow!

And a bit later in the month - outside again - no hats!

We chalked a rainbow on the garden path...

Swinging...

In unrelated, internet-surfing news - Anne Taintor is hilarious. This particular gem cracks me up!

Ok - go enjoy the weather wherever you are!

Grandma's House

2010-03-03T13:45:00.005-05:00

My grandma is a unique woman. She is 94 1/2 years old. She will be 95 in August. She lives in her own home. She is an artist and a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. Going to her house feels like coming home to me. (Especially since my own parents moved out of my childhood home in 2001). Growing up, we spent almost every Sunday at my grandparents' house. Grandma's house is in the "country" with 17 or so acres, I think. It is across the street from a lake, but with "lake privileges" (and very nice neighbors). I also would go and stay the night there for a week or so in the summer-time.

When I think of Grandma's house, I think of family. I spent summers swimming in the lake, or catching crayfish in the creek with my brothers, sisters and cousins (plus my dad, uncles and aunts). We played a lot of frisbee on the front lawn. Sometimes we would play crochet. I would climb the trees in the horse field or go pick raspberries. We went for long walks in the woods or up the dirt road to the other lake and the sand dunes. And in the winter, we would go ice skating on the lake, have snowball fights and build snowmen. Lots and lots of outdoor fun with my family.

On Saturday, I shared some of that with my boys. And Brian. We were going to visit my grandma (and uncle) so I called my aunt, who happens to live next door to my grandma now. Her daughters are 10 and 12. After some lunch, everyone went outside to "play" while grandma rested. We built a giant snowman. Brian orchestrated a huge snow fort with a tunnel. And my aunt created a fantastic sled-run down the front yard slope. I went inside with Brendan after an hour and that's when things got crazy on the sled-run. Brian built what he thought would be a snow wall at the bottom of the hill to slow the sled down because the sled was fast and kept taking the kids into the dried-up pond and through a bunch of pickery brambles. The wall wasn't quite what he expected and became a JUMP. Man, those kids had F-U-N! The first thing Declan said after two hours outside was "When can we come back?" And Brian wondered the same thing. Brian didn't have this kind of experience when he was growing up and he was a little jealous that I did. But we were both happy to be there, playing outside and building memories for our sons and cousins to enjoy, the way I enjoy my memories of time spent at grandma's house.

And now for some pictures:

Brendan was bundled up and with his snowpants on, he could barely walk. The snow was deep and untouched all winter. He sank down up to his tummy when he tried to walk unaided, so Elaine pulled him around on her sled:

Such a good big cousin!

Up and down the hill, until she was worn OUT!

And now for the sled JUMP! Declan gets some air:

Emilie - after her jump!

Some feet in the air:

The six foot snow-lady:
See the house in the background?
The girls resting on the "fort":
Declan gets more air: The End

Update your blog, woman!

2010-02-26T13:39:00.005-05:00

The post title is an almost direct quote from my husband. Here are the pictures as requested, my dear.

Declan had "beach day" at pre-school today. The heat was CRANKED up because baby, it's cold outside!

Declan, at lunch today, looking sweet:
And here is Brendan at lunch today wearing "Goo Goo Goggles" (his name for them)

We've been enjoying the snow around here lately. Snow Snow Snow. A veritable winter wonderland. But even Declan is ready for spring. He told that he likes the snow but it really should have snowed like this at Christmas, "instead of rain". Amen.

We went to the zoo last Saturday. Yes Beth, we even go to the zoo in the snowy months!
Still at the zoo:
Brian at the zoo
The jogging stroller is very handy at the zoo in winter: two boys fit snuggly, blankets too and you can cover the front with the rain cover thingy.
This is Declan in bird house at the zoo (I just like saying "at the zoo")
In front of the butterfly house, you know where:

Our dogs enjoy the snow too! Here is Daisy eating some:
And Rufus coming in for his close-up. Snow brings out the puppy in our nine year old basset hound. He runs, romps, barks and begs for someone to play with him. He does not seem to tire of it ever! :)

Where did I leave off?

2010-02-17T13:11:00.003-05:00

A common question of mine lately. "Where did I leave off..." with my knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, blogging and embroidering. I start a project, get distracted and go back to it at a later date. It is all good though. It is Good to have projects to work on. It is Good to be distracted because those distractions are typically my sons or my husband or cooking or cleaning - in other words, my life. And my life is all good right now. I have been lately realizing how blessed I am to be HERE, NOW, in this moment.

Ok, so a quick recap of Valentine's Day is in order. Brian bought me the most beautiful flowers (see pictures). Pink and peachy roses and tulips (he always gets me pink and peach since those are the colors from our wedding day) from him, sunflowers "from" Declan and daffodils "from" Brendan. Brian said that Brendan "chose" the daffodils because of a book that we read that has daffodils in it. I have told Brendan, while reading said book, that daffodils are my favorite flower. And Brendan, in turn, has told Brian, while reading said book, that those are "mommy favorite". So sweet. Meanwhile, Declan was "educating" Brendan about which flowers were the tulips and which ones were the roses. He explained that the tulips wear their leaves "like a dress" and the roses wear their leaves "like a collar". That kid is brilliant - I never thought of it like that at ALL. He came up with that gem all on his own.

And today is Ash Wednesday. I took the boys to church this morning to get ashes and talked to them about Lent and this season leading up to Easter. We talked about sacrifice and doing things so Jesus knows that we appreciate what He did for us. Declan volunteered to give up meat along with the grown-ups today and on Fridays. Now, that is a big sacrifice for a kid whose favorite rhyme is "What do we eat? We eat MEAT!"

Brian is making his traditional Lenten sacrifice of all beverages aside from water. So no coffee, no juice, no pop, no milk, no beer, no wine, no tea. It's a big sacrifice for him, and frankly for all of us, since his addiction to caffeine is HUGE and therefore, the withdrawal is HARD. He gets grumpy and I don't blame him but I am praying that it is easier for him this year and that he doesn't let it get the best of his mood and his enjoyment of our beautiful children (and wife, nudge nudge, wink wink). I am proud to say that he is also volunteering time for the church fish fry and for the homeless shelter. He is a good man.

You can see why I am feeling so blessed lately. I have a beautiful life, now time to get back to it! Where did I leave off, again?

Bendaroos

2010-02-03T09:43:00.003-05:00

Well, it's February already and I'm way behind on my blogging, photography and digital scrapbooking goals for 2010. I had hoped to create one new digi-scrap page per week and to post one "really good" photo per week. On the plus side, I've been very busy in other creative areas. I'm almost done with my very first knitting project. That's right people, I've graduated from practice pieces to something "real". In my case, a much needed glasses case. I've completed several embroidery projects, even a canvas tote bag. And I've been creating paper "art" in the form of inchies and cards. I'm feeling very blessed lately.

Speaking of blessed, today is the feast of St. Blaise and in Catholic tradition, we took the boys to mass to get their (and our) throats blessed. There was just one other family there, and lots of elderly people and some other "singles". I felt very peaceful while in church and since the blessing was for the throat, I couldn't help but think of my friend Beth who is battling throat cancer. Love you Bethy!

We also turned in the necessary paperwork for Declan to start kindergarten in the fall. It is surreal that he will be in the "big" school soon. This time with my small boys is so precious and fleeting. I must bemoan the fact that the boys are growing up often because Declan is quick to hug me and declare that he will NEVER leave me and that he will always be mine. Love that kid.

And on to the title of this post - Bendaroos. I just have to share the love we have for Bendaroos. I will declare that buying these things was the best $20 I ever spent. What is a Bendaroo, you ask? Well one Bendaroo is a string covered in wax. Lame, right? Well the TV commercial (like ALL TV commercials) made Bendaroos look impossibly cool to Declan.
Let me share our history: Before Declan's fourth birthday, he watched some television on Nick Jr, and Nick Jr, unfortunately, has (*gasp*) commercials. One of the commercials was for Bendaroos - which were only sold on TV or online at the time. (Now you can get them at Target or Toys R Us). Declan was smitten and begged for Bendaroos for months and months. He talked about them all the time. He often wanted what he saw on TV but generally only as long as the commercial was right in front of him. But he never relented in his quest for Bendaroos and would randomly recite from the commercial. So, for his birthday, he got Bendaroos! (And what a reaction - he was psyched!) I was skeptical-mommy and never expected Bendaroos to live up to the hype. I only bought them so Declan could feel that JOY when you finally get what you always wanted. I figured he would play with them for a few days and them get over it.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Bendaroos are FUN! And portable! And they don't make a mess! And even baby Brendan loves to squeeze them and bend them and unwrap big balls of them. You can spell your name with them. Stick them to paper. Stick them on your walls. Make jewelry (rings, bracelets, rings). Create animal buddies. Wrap Star Wars actions figures in them and pretend that they are frozen in carbonite (a peculiar household favorite).

I find myself telling other moms about Bendaroos whenever we are out and about. Bendaroos have created quiet, well-behaved children at church, restaurants, Dr.'s waiting rooms, in the car, watching siblings gymnastics' practice, etc. Moms often ask me what those "things" are that keep the boys so engaged and quiet and then I become Infomercial Mom. I admit it, I am sold on these things.

Knitting and other adventures

2010-01-18T08:00:00.004-05:00

So, I am still determined to learn to knit. I practice every time we go somewhere in the car as a family - Brian drives and I knit. I'm horrible. I admit this. But I keep plugging away. I am not only determined to learn to knit for myself, but because I want to teach Declan that you CAN learn to do something, even when it's hard for you, if you just keep trying. There's a very catchy tune from a kid's show (Yo Gabba Gabba) called "Keep Trying" and I hum it to myself when I am contemplating the knotted mess that I call my "knitting". (I tried to find the video for keep trying, but no luck on youtube but here's a pic of the Yo Gabba characters on my windowsill).

So, I keep trying. My sister, Irene, knows that I am trying to learn to knit and so she talked about it with her husband's family one day. Her husband's brother is married to a lovely lady from Italy named Tina. Tina's mother, Melina, lives with them. Irene had a small birthday party for her daughter Ashley on Saturday and she invited Tina, Melina and family. They told Irene to tell me to bring my knitting needles. Well, to make a long story longer, I got a private lesson from these knitting wizards on Saturday night. They are so quick and so neat! I was in awe. Tina's husband calls them knitting nazis. He says that Melina and Tina sit down in the family room while he is watching football and whip out completed socks, blankets, scarves, hats, sweaters - you name it! Well, I learned a lot from them, despite the language barrier (Melina speaks almost no english and Tina's english is not perfect, especially when it comes to knitting terms LOL). I successfully completed a row under their watchful eyes! Hooray! But when I tried to replicate my success at home, I was disappointed. Ultimately what I learned is that I need to suck it up and get actual lessons. So that is what I am going to do. There is a little knitting shop about a mile from my house, called Ewenique Knits and they offer classes. Sign me up Scotty!

What else has been going on? Well, we FINALLY took down all the Xmas decorations in the house. We got the tree down on the 26th of December, but just got everything else (nativity, nutcrackers, mantle stuff, etc) put away yesterday. Brendan got up from his nap, took a look around and said "Ho Ho Ho - Where?!?" Too funny.

Still hand embroidering - it is seriously fun and easy. After a non-productive knitting attempt, I always take refuge in a quick embroidery success! AND, Declan does it too! He said he wanted to try so we went to the fabric store and got some big tapestry needles and his own embroidery hoop. So far, he's done his own name, a football and a monster. I just thread the needle for him, hand him the fabric (in the hoop) and he follows the lines that have been drawn on with pencil. Very fun and cute! Here is what I WANT to do and am working up to do:

From this place Sublime Stitching...Floral Fantasy Isn't it lovely?

Today is a holiday, so no school for Declan. He wants to know what we are going to do that is "fun and exciting" to celebrate. So we are having a picnic on the living room floor for lunch. Should be interesting with the 20 month old.

Hand Embroidery Madness

2010-01-14T15:11:00.003-05:00

Well, I am recently obsessed with hand embroidery. I don't know how I got here, but here I am. I bought an embroidery hoop yesterday. Sketched a cartoon monster last night. Sketched it again this morning with a fabric marker on an old green pillowcase and went to work. I mostly used a split stitch which I learned from a youtube video. I'm super geeked b/c I can add details to all sorts of my clothes, the boys' clothes, tote bages, etc. And it's wicked easy!

Fun in the tub

2010-01-08T13:41:00.002-05:00

Posting this here for you Beth! Just some eye candy...

Snowy day

2010-01-04T09:43:00.003-05:00

Christmas 2009 - a layout

2009-12-27T20:01:00.003-05:00

Photos - finally!

2009-12-27T13:46:00.001-05:00

These first few pics are not Christmas ones, but they are soo cute! Brendan enjoys his bubbles!

Now for some Christmas photos:

Declan - excited about going to his Grammy's house on Christmas Eve:

The whole fam:

(Brian is a little bitter that he doesn't own a green or red sweater - must remedy that before next year)

Just the boys in front of our tree: (wearing the hats, of course)

A quite moment...

At Grammy's house - cuteness!

Gabby and Zack with the boyz:

Declan and I checking out a book:

Gabby holds Brendan - he walked up to her and said: "Lap"

Grammy's friend made the boys some adorable scarves and we tried to get a picture of them together wearing them:

Our effort to get a family shot in front of Grammy's tree:

Kathy and Marc: (his first Christmas with us!)

On Christmas morning, we tried our best to get a nice family shot before church, but we were pretty rushed!

And here is a happy happy Declan:

Christmas! (bits)

2009-12-25T14:56:00.002-05:00

Just some Christmas tidbits before I forget them.

We spent a fabulous evening at Brian's mom's house last night. Christmas Eve with the traditional Tulley quiches, stuffed mushrooms and coffee cake. Every dish was made with either sour cream or bacon or BOTH! (Except for the fruit salad which I brought - instead of bacon, I made a nutty, crunchy topping for it with loads of butter and brown sugar - yum!)

Declan and Brendan had a great time opening presents reveling in the spotlight.

This morning, we opened presents, had OUR traditional Christmas breakfast of pancakes (blueberry) and sausages then hustled to get ready for mass. We go to the Cathedral downtown. It is a beautiful church and the ceremony is always lovely, but Brian likes it the most because it is soooo not-crowded. It's so uncrowded, that it's kind of sad. There were maybe a dozen cars in the parking lot. This is the CATHEDRAL of the archdiocese of Detroit. But it is in downtown Detroit, in a very bad neighborhood and the majority of parishioners go to the midnight mass, so 11am mass on Christmas day is very empty. We sat in the front row, despite being only two minutes early. (that is late for us!) Mass was lovely. Declan cried because they didn't take the children away for "Sunday School" like they did last year. But other than that, he was good. Brendan liked the echoing of the church so we spent a lot of time shushing him. And he in turn, spent a great deal of time telling everyone around us to "SIT!". He does not like when everyone is standing.

I got a new lens for my camera - hooray! And some camera books. Which leads me to my mistake of the day - I was fooling around with my camera and decided to "format" my CF card (not knowing what it did) and I discovered that what it does is delete all the photos on your card! AAUGH! All the pics from last night, this morning, GONE! So, my PC is trying to recover the photos with the help of a free download from CNET. Could take hours. I have to use my backup CF card at my grandma's house, which is a tiny card so I'm restricted to taking like 50 pictures - oh, the horror! :)

Oh, and a resolution in the making for 2010 - it involves exercise! I am finding that most of my clothes are too snug all of a sudden, so I need to start exercising again! Yikes!

Ok, now I need to wake up Brendan and get the gang over to my grandma's house for the Carlock celebration. Merry Christmas! Pictures to come!

A layout for Jenni!

2009-12-12T20:52:00.003-05:00

My friend, Beth, has 6 daughters, that's right six! And her oldest, Jenni, just turned 29! This layout is for Jenni. According to her mother, she likes puzzles, Chuck Norris and the color purple (among other things). I hope you like this Jenni!!

I met Beth in the digital scrapping world and she is sincerely inspiring to me. We are currently doing The Artist's Way together, which is kind of miraculous for me. I think one of Beth's gifts is to help other people bloom and shine. She is a precious example of "leading by example". She is most certainly one of the people in my life that I try to emulate: her faith, her craftiness, her industriousness, her artistry, and of course, her parenting. Love you Bethy!

Attempt #3 to upload photos "easily" via new laptop

2009-12-12T15:17:00.004-05:00

Scrap that idea. This is a post from Flickr and it took about 45 minutes, all told, what with first uploading to Flickr from Elements (that was the longest bit and I had hoped that that would replace my emailing directly to the blog since that is what my new laptop is struggling with and since emailing to the blog has also become impossible on my desktop for NO apparent reason). Back to the drawing board!
(oh and this is one of the papier mache heads from the Detroit Parade company warehouse. They have an "open house/fair" each year the weekend after Thanksgiving. Very cool)

November 1 - 12 th

2009-12-09T15:48:00.001-05:00

Brendan in Brian's hat on the first day of November. I like this one b/c Brian took it (with the Elph, which I am not fond of) in the morning before I woke up. It was a fun little glimpse of their morning together.

This is what Brendan looks like when he is asked to say CHEESE:

It was an action figure day and Brendan had the pink Power Ranger:

Declan had GI Joe, although here he looks as though he is holding something quite foreign and unpleasant...

Brendan likes to get in boxes....

Down and UP:

This is not a great shot, but a great memory of Brendan's first time with PAINT! No finger paints for this guy, he jumped in with a brush with Declan and his watercolors!

Perhaps the mess is less distracting in Black and White?

Declan had his tongue out while painting, the concentration was immense:

More: (the room they were in is our NOOK - it is also my scrapbooking room)

Paint, paint, paint

Brian being sportsy with Brendan in the backyard - check out the tee - it went flying through the air:

Brendan retrieves the ball (which is more than our dogs will do)

This is great pic of the autumn trees/skyline as reflected in my neighbor's garden ball - I just love it!

Here are the photos that I want to share with you.

I sent these photos using Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 5.0. Find out more: http://www.adobe.com/photoshopelementswin

A month of pictures...

2009-12-06T17:47:00.000-05:00

I'm that far behind. I will post...soon. Be careful what you wish for. A month of pictures is on the way...

Nothing but costumes...

2009-11-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

Halloween is so much fun, and Brian and I have decided to embrace the children in our heart who love to dress up. We get in the spirit of things around here! And so do our boys! This was the year of costumes. Declan wore three different costumes to his various Halloween "events" and Brendan wore two different costumes this year. I also wore two different costumes.

Here we are on Halloween in our Star Wars finery. Declan as Little Anakin Skywalker from the Phantom Menace. I am dressed as Queen Amidala from Star Wars. Brian was Obi-Wan-Kenobi (the young one!) and Brendan was our sweet Yoda. This is what we wore trick -or- treating and to pass out candy. Declan was FAR more interested in coming home to pass out candy so we only went up and down one block - which was more than enough for everyone involved (except Brian, who also embraces his inner child when it comes to collecting and eating candy).

For Declan's pre-school party, he decided to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume. He looked so cute.

These outdoor pics were taken on the way to school. Brendan LOVES costumes and thought that Declan looked pretty cool.

Here are my two boys on the steps to Declan's school - waiting. We were sooo early that day!

And here is the whole class - man, pre-school kids are so cute in costumes!

And Brendan wore this cute frog costume to Kindermusik and then outside to play in the mud. Thankfully, the thing is machine washable and all the mud came right out!

Declan wore his Anakin costume again when he went trick-or-treating with Brian to our little downtown event on the Sunday before Halloween. All the retail stores pass out candy and treats and it was CRAZY crowded!

Brian dressed up for that event too (sort of):

And on the Saturday before Halloween, we went to my father-in-law's condo party and won "first prize" for our Family Costume. We were all fairy-tale figures (sort-of). Declan was Peter Pan. Brendan was a frog (he needs to be kissed to turn back to a prince) and I was a witch (with green face paint, no less). Brian wore his Obi Wan Kenobi costume again, but everyone thought he was Robin Hood.

Brendan LOVED his frog costume, especially the FEET...

And here are the boys, just playing dress-up the week before Halloween:

You might need tissues...I did

2009-10-24T21:15:00.004-04:00

Ok, maybe it's just me, but this poem that I stumbled upon while investigating the world of home schooling just floored me. I printed it out and I swear that I am going to live by it!!!

To My Child

Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.

Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is.

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count stars.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me such a precious gift.

I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and the mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly and screaming inside when they can't handle it anymore.

And when I kiss you goodnight I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer...It is then that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day.............

I found it here

(mostly) Pictures from yesterday

2009-10-21T13:56:00.002-04:00

I feel like we have been stuck in the house for an entire season. Declan got sick the weekend of October 10th. I didn't take him ANYWHERE for an entire week. Not even to the grocery store. While we were sequestered, I let him wear his pajamas all day (he considers that a real treat) and let him watch waaayy too much tv. The five days (or so) when his throat was sore were the absolute worst. He got not sleep, and neither did I. Brian and I both got (mild) sore throats and poor Brendan has had a stuffy nose for a week now. Declan has been feeling better for several days now. It's October 21st and I guess his last day with a fever was a week ago. He went to preschool today and I'm praying that he has a good day. He was kind of anxious about it. He was pretending that he couldn't remember anybody's name (saying Pophia instead of Sophia, etc). When I dropped him off, I heard him tell his teacher that he still wasn't feeling very well, but I'm 99.9% sure that that was for sympathy only.
Anyway, it is actually kind of nice here today, weather-wise. It's 60-some degrees out and the sun is shining. Yesterday was similarly mild (although less sunny) and I managed to take the boys outside in the backyard after Brendan's nap. Here are some pics from yesterday:

You can kind of see in Brendan's face that he's still not feeling 100% himself:

I love watching my boys when they are together and exploring:

I like how you can see Brendan's little teeth in this shot:

Sooo serious:

A poppy:

Declan enjoying the swing: (he is restricted from lots of physical activity b/c of the mono. No soccer, no gymnastics, no playground equipment except swings. Mono can cause an enlarged spleen and if it is hit hard enough, it can rupture and kill you. fun stuff)

Love this shot of my hardy white roses underneath the already red/orange maple tree:

This is from two days ago. Brendan playing in Declan's room in the morning - our usual routine:

Photos: Sep 22 thru October 3 (waaaay behind)

2009-10-15T12:45:00.001-04:00

The boys were playing (separately) in Declan's room. I left (to get coffee) and when I came back, this was happening:

Right before going to Brian's 20th high school reunion (which was very fun, by the way)

Brendan gets a kick out of this orange construction hat and puts it on whenever he sees it:

At Richard's (and Tony's) birthday party: Brendan wasn't quite sure about going down the slide at first:

Tony got this cool remote controlled car for his 50th birthday and Brendan LOVED it!

And, you can tell this one is from September because Brendan was wearing shorts as he lounged and ate snacks:

October already, oh man

2009-10-09T12:24:00.002-04:00

I was not ready for it to be October already. I haven't pulled out the boys' winter coats and sweaters. I haven't even located MY winter clothes yet - I think they are in the attic somewhere?!? And last night we had a power outage that really put me to thinking about ORGANIZING! I couldn't find matches! And when it's pitch black and you have two flashlights and about a million candles but no matches, that is one frustrating scenario. Brian's BBQ lighter finally worked and we lit the candles. But then I started thinking that I should get out some extra blankets and whatnot in case the power didn't come on for a day or so - it would get mighty cold in the house without heat, let me tell you. I was a little stressed when the power first went out, I hate feeling unprepared. But by the time I went to bed, I was at peace. I said a prayer and put it all in God's hands and slept like a baby. The power did go on again at 2am. And I've been feeling mighty grateful ever since. And mighty determined to not let myself get caught flat-footed again. So, call me Captain Organization today. Gotta run and clean out some more drawers while the baby is sleeping...

Binder Park Zoo pics (1st batch of pics)

2009-09-30T13:31:00.005-04:00

Sooo, we went to another zoo, this time in Battle Creek, about two hours from our home. What can I say? Declan LOVES zoos and we are on a mission to capitalize on and encourage that passion. I can honestly say that it was worth the drive. It was wonderful and fun and just the right size for a family with small children. We fed giraffes! That was amazing. The animals were up close. The habitats were naturalistic and the exhibits were engaging, informative and interesting. We had such a good time!
I'm still super behind on photo uploading. The zoo trip was on 9/18! ooops

This little baby giraffe was only a couple of months old!

Brendan and Declan fed the giraffes lettuce. Brendan was sticking out his tongue after to show what the giraffes did! (too cute)

Brian carried Brendan in a backpack for much of the zoo and that helped keep Brendan happy. It's much easier to see what the big people are looking at when you are up high too. And we've certainly found that most zoo exhibits are built for viewing by adults (which is strange to us since we believe that zoos are for children primarily)

Cutest drinking fountains ever:

Another adorable drinking fountain:

Binder Park Zoo pics (more pictures)

2009-09-30T13:31:00.004-04:00

How cute is this lemur? He was soooo close to us!

White peacock:

They had a carousel, it was new, about three years old and it was incredible! Just stunning animals and the colors were so vibrant. Really really cool.

The pathway of flags was stunning:

And the signs on our way to the African safari experience (which was fabulous)

Saying goodbye to summer

2009-09-18T20:15:00.001-04:00

How did it become the middle of September so quickly? I am flabbergasted!
It's September 18th today? Really?!? Holy cow! We still have tomatoes growing in the backyard. I still think we should be wearing shorts every day. But I have to check the weather each morning and close the windows at night when we go to bed. I can't take for granted that the weather will be warm. I mean, Declan has been wearing long sleeves and pants for pajamas and Brendan has been wearing zippered/footed jammies to bed - it's cold at night, people! Declan started school and we have been adjusting to the new schedule. M,W,F from 12 - 3. It's kind of dream come true for me since Brendan naps the whole time that Declan is at school. I've been trying to work-out and scrapbook and clean the house and do laundry and plan dinner and organize and print pictures and do every single thing that has been on my to-do-list for sooo long. Three hours, three times a week - all to myself....sigh....it's amazing, and overwhelming.

Ok, picture-time:

Pics of Brendan, from today. He was standing up, opening and closing the doors on the tv/entertainment center (a favorite activity). The third pic is him saying "cheese":

During Brendan's impromptu photo shoot, Declan was in the bathroom, doing his, "ahem", business and I snapped this, ambush-style. He was thorougly amused:

This week saw us going on "adventures" every night. We would walk to a park or drive to a park and play after dinner, before bed. On Tuesday night, we went to the local grade school's park and the boys enjoyed "running the bases" on the baseball diamond:

And then enjoying the playground:

Last weekend, Brian cut down a bunch of tree limbs that were hanging over our house. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, climbing on the roof, using rope and saws...and Declan thought it looked like GREAT FUN, so he did his best to emulate his daddy...here he is climbing a little ladder and throwing a rope over the "limb"...

And, last but not least, Declan started school "officially" on Friday, September 11th (a date which fills me with sadness). But he was so excited to start school and he's such a good student....

And check out the mini-me:

The Cleveland Zoo Labor Day Weekend 2009

2009-09-09T21:10:00.001-04:00

First stop was to see the koala: and it was AWAKE!

These next pictures are so sweet, Declan is holding Brendan's hand

Cheetahs!

What a tortoise!

Statue riding:

The primate exhibit was awesome: look at that baby!

Declan is feeding nectar to lorikeets:

This wallaby mama had a joey in her pouch:

Beautiful giraffe exhibit with a large herd of Masai giraffes (just like on Big Cat Diary!)

Brian took this rhino picture - it cracks him up. Rhino body and "detached" rhino head

Welcome to the zoo!

Again!

Big ol' lens:

Aaawww - isn't this too cute?!?

Brian - the human alpaca

Brendan was determined to "push" the stroller:

The zoo was great - there are exhibits that we didn't see that are must-sees for next time, but it was a very successful zoo weekend for us! (Except for Brendan getting so horribly ill)

August Photos

2009-08-26T19:36:00.001-04:00

Sooo, what kind of pictures do I have here today? I feel like I am writing a school essay titled "What I did on summer vacation", except mine is called - "What did I do in August? I can barely remember even though it's only August 26th...let me check the pictures, maybe they will spark my memory" Long title, but then again, I was never very good at titles.

Here is Rufus in the garden...these Echinacea really last such a long time and the yellow finches LOVE them. And boy do they propagate!!

We had some friends visit at the beginning of August - there were six adults and eight children. The kids were soo sweet and it was a joy to play with facepaint with them...Declan chose the leopard face

My little butterfly...

The princess...

The whole painted gang (minus the two unpainted babies)

One of our friends' sons is really into superheroes and he brought along his black Spiderman costume and Declan was delighted to show off his OWN black Spiderman costume. Some serious male bonding ensued.

And here are all of the Quayles (visiting all the way from Texas). Check out Colleen, she is such a cool gal - let her daughter try her hand at painting a butterfly on her face! Tony and Colleen are some of our oldest friends and we were so bummed when they moved to Texas. Now we see them once a year (if we are lucky) when they come "home" to visit family in the summer.

And here we are...

We visited my grandma a couple of times this month - we really need to get out there more often!!! She just turned 94 and I feel so lucky and blessed to have her in my life - I better start showing it even more! Here's Brendan playing with the dollhouse in her living room (kept there just for the grandbabies)

And Declan in her living room, showing off his angelic "pose"

And Declan in her front yard, practicing his tree climbing. My grandma lives on 17 acres and there are loads of great trees to climb, but you have to watch out for poison ivy and "gardener snakes" (as Declan calls them)

And here is Brendan walking up the hill to my grandma's house. I love this shot because I have so many fond memories of this place. We visited my grandma every Sunday of my entire childhood and I spent a week or two every summer staying with her and my grandpa. All that land was sooo fun to explore and she always had a dog or two running around to play with. What joy I experienced there!

We also had a couple of campouts in our backyard. I say "we" but I really mean Brian and Declan. Brendan and I slept in the house. I'm just not crazy about sleeping in a tent with a baby. Which is why the tent was in our backyard and not at some campground somewhere. But Brendan did enjoy the novelty of the tent and of eating our dinner in the backyard.

He also enjoyed the cicada that Declan caught - here it is:

And closer still...

The "men" and their tent...

And Daisy enjoying the comforts of our air mattress in the tent

No camp-out would be complete without s'mores, so we borrowed my parents' fire pit and roasted some marshmallows. (We also caught a mass of fireflies, but I have no pics of that)

My boys in the sandbox - that was certainly used A LOT in August!

We spent hours and hours in the garden...

Random...but cute

We went to my 20th high school reunion and had a blast.

We went swimming at our community pool and at Kathy's new boyfriend's house. Good times...

And more fun at the zoo...here is Declan on the train...

Me and Brendan on the train....

And the boys checking out a peacock

The End

Updating

2009-08-11T12:20:00.003-04:00

I need to do some uploading from my camera and then more uploading to the blog, but for now, I'll do some updating. The big stuff around here is that Brendan is 99% weaned. Yes, weaned, as in from breastfeeding. This is BIG BIG BIG stuff because I didn't wean Declan until he was 18 months old and Brendan is a mere 14 months. Now, my plan was to wean him at 12 months, but stuff just got in the way and I can list about 20 different "reasons", but they are all excuses because the truth is, I was the one who was not ready. It IS very liberating to be free from breastfeeding (especially at bedtime). But it is also a little sad and lonely in a way. Breastfeeding has always been a wonderful bonding experience and I don't hate it, not at all. But, Brendan was probably ready a LONG time ago. His first night without breastfeeding was so easy and every night since then has been just as painless. He just goes right to sleep. No grumbling. Hooray for Brendan! He is such a champ.
So, now that he has been weaned, I can finally let my mother babysit AND put him down to bed at night. Previously, for all date nights, Brian and I waited until after Brendan was in bed. Since he goes to bed at 7pm, it wasn't that big of a deal. This Saturday is going to be different. It's my 20th High School Reunion and we are going to be out of the house by 5:00 or something. Cuckoo.
Anyhoo, I better go and play Star Wars with Declan. Adult Swim is officially over and the little guy is itching to jump back in the pool, so to speak.

July is almost over!

2009-07-26T21:50:00.001-04:00

Summer is coming to an end...it feels like it slipped away this year, like water pouring through my hands. Declan's summer day camp, called Fruit Camp ended this week. Fruit Camp in our city is a rite of passage for all residents. There are different fruits for different ages - the four year olds are in Camp Apples. The biggest kids are in Camp Watermelon. It was four weeks of fun, fun, fun and I am sad for Declan that it's over. There's always next summer...Camp Bananas!

Here is Brendan discovering the joy of MUD! It has been a wet, rainy summer so far, and Friday was no different. I took the boys out front to wait for Brian to come home and there was a teeny puddle that Brendan could not resist. Sheer joy for him.

Brendan was very interested in Declan's cape the other night...

Declan was more interested in making up his OWN costume...

Last Wednesday was Declan's very first sleep-over-with-a-kid-at-our-house!!! He has stayed the night at my mom's and at Aunt Kathy's but this was the first time anyone except Grandma has stayed the night at our house and it was ASHLEY! Hooray! They had fun and were surprisingly well-behaved (except for the hungry and tired times...)

This is a pic of Ashley as she is being tested for her Diabetes. She has type 1 Diabetes and was diagnosed three years ago when she was only three. She needs to be tested (poked until she bleeds) and get a shot before every meal and at bedtime. She does not complain or fuss or cry at all. It is really amazing.

Declan in the garden one evening...

Brendan on the same night...

The bees LOVE my liatris...

And this lovely rose as the sun went down was so striking...

White echinacea...

On the eighteenth, at my cousin's house on the lake for the beach party to welcome the Gilpins. We didn't take too many pictures that day, but it was a nice time. My Uncle Joe, Aunt Kathleen and their son Jeff drove in from South Dakota and their other son Joe flew in from Minnesota.

On the seventeenth, we went to my cousin Shari's house for their neighborhood's annual beach party for the kids. They have games, bouncers, a giant chicken and a shaving cream fight. We've been to the party before but this was the first year that Declan felt ready to participate in the shaving cream fight...keep looking at the pictures, they are so funny!

Scattered thoughts

2009-07-21T14:15:00.003-04:00

I am going to update with some more pictures, but I have a ton of random thoughts running through my head and would like to get them all down "on paper".

1. Could I be a successful, work-from-home "content re-writer"? Time will tell. I sent in my application along with resume today.

2. Does Jiffy Mix have MSG? Why does ANYthing have to have MSG? I hate MSG

3. Can I successfully budget and spend only $100 per week for groceries? Check out this frugal shopper. She is Brian's IDOL. hahaha

4. Could I actually sell things (like this) on Etsy? How hard could it be? (tongue in cheek)

5. What's for dinner tonight?

Ok, now to edit my pics!

Portraits of Brendan in July

2009-07-16T14:48:00.005-04:00

Pics of Brendan from July 5 - July 15th

Portraits of Declan in July

2009-07-16T14:48:00.004-04:00

Pics of Declan from July 5 - July 15th

We Love The Zoo

2009-07-16T14:48:00.003-04:00

Photos from our last two trips to the Detroit Zoo. One visit was last night (July 15th) and the other visit was last week with Ashley and Irene. The zoo has a summer concert series with bands every Wednesday night, but we like it because the entire zoo is open til 8pm. This way, we get to go as a family (that means Brian gets to go) AND it's not on a weekend when it's crazy busy and a bonus is that the animals tend to be more active in the evening (feeding time). We go to the zoo about once a week in the summer/spring/fall. Less in the winter, but we still try to go as often as the weather permits.

I hate fireworks*

2009-07-05T14:14:00.002-04:00

* - 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

2009-06-24T12:54:00.005-04:00

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)

2009-06-24T12:54:00.004-04:00

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?

2009-06-19T22:46:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-06-18T20:48:00.001-04:00

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

2009-06-08T20:45:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2009-05-29T14:37:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-24T21:19:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-05-15T23:01:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-13T20:23:00.005-04:00

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! :)

2009-05-03T12:47:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-04-23T20:18:00.004-04:00

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)

2009-04-19T19:22:00.004-04:00

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!!!

2009-04-16T15:09:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-15T15:56:00.006-04:00

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

2009-04-07T21:10:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-02T19:45:00.007-04:00

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!

2009-03-21T21:49:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-16T14:26:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-15T22:01:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-13T20:15:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-12T21:12:00.004-04:00

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....

2009-03-10T22:05:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-03-04T20:19:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-03T13:31:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-02-27T19:52:00.008-05:00

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...

2009-02-19T19:37:00.007-05:00

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

2009-02-14T14:36:00.005-05:00

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...

2009-02-13T19:34:00.006-05:00

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...

2009-02-13T14:32:00.007-05:00

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

2009-02-07T14:37:00.002-05:00

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"

2009-02-02T13:55:00.003-05:00

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!

The boys, the boys, the boys

2009-02-01T20:05:00.007-05:00

Four days, five pics of boys! I haven't updated recently, but have been faithfully taking pictures. I have loads of blurry pics thanks to my desire to learn to shoot in the non-auto mode of my fancy shmancy little SLR. I am comfortable with the "M" setting (where you change the shutter speed but have a fixed aperture) but have trouble with the others still. So, here are the "best" pics from the last four days in January. (February 1 is still in "process" - LOL)

We had some big news this week - Brendan is crawling! Ah, mobility! As my dh says, we want them to grow and reach their milestones, but once they are mobile, we are really screwed! (paraphrased) Well, I'm off to bed in a few minutes. No Superbowl for me. I can't shake this fatigue, I've been to bed by 8:30 for the last couple of nights - yuck. Can't wait to see everyone's pics!

Portraits

2009-01-27T21:15:00.006-05:00

That's Daisy, one of our basset hounds. We think she's about ten, but we're not sure. We rescued her eight years ago and we thought she was two at the time...soo, do the math! I was playing around with my camera, trying to master the depth of field when both my dogs decided that I was on the floor to play with them. First Rufus stuck his nose in my camera (unfortunately all the pics of him turned out kinda yucky) and then Daisy (the boss) pushed him over and put HER nose in the camera. This turned out sorta cute.

My little guy. He was feeling kinda blue yesterday. He had a fever and I think he might be teething. On the plus side, he is kind of crawling. He can go one "step" and then plops back down on his tummy - adorable.

And this is my big guy, what an angel. I'm feeling kind of guilty tonight because I really was angry with him earlier. He woke up the baby TWICE when I was trying to get him down for a nap....I was sooo mad and I lost my temper. He wasn't being mean, he just L-O-V-E-S his baby brother! Look at that face - what a dollbaby. *sigh* Well the best I can do is move forward and learn from it. Tomorrow is another day...

January 21, 22, 23 and 24 (phew!)

2009-01-24T20:45:00.007-05:00

It was another cold day so we headed to the mall for a diversion. Declan got his haircut, grandma and grandpa met us for lunch at Johnny Rockets (hence the hat) and we went to the play area. Great way to burn off some pre-schooler energy!

Brendan was getting his bath with his daddy and I couldn't resist taking a few pics. Just a wet, happy baby!
Isn't the snowman great? My mother-in-law built it with Declan - she rocks! He had fun...it was the first "warm" day in a while here so we took advantage and got outside - hooray!

And another water pic - this time of Declan at his swimming lesson. We go to a great indoor pool that has water temps in the nineties all winter - it is perfect for little kids - they tend to get cold so fast in the water otherwise! I lvoe the water splashing up. I wish I had a better telephoto lens for my XTI - any suggestions?!?

January 18, 19, 20

2009-01-20T20:36:00.004-05:00

My husband just told me that I am not very good at taking pictures of things other than my boys and I admit, he is right. *sigh* I give up! I'm just going to take pictures of the things that move me on any given day. Maybe it will be my boys, maybe it will be the snow. (I might have more luck in the spring, summer and fall when I'm not confined to my house and the landscape is more varied than snow, snow and more snow! LOL)
Declan had lots of fun playing hide and seek with Brendan after dinner.

Brendan was fascinated with his reflection in the mirror. This is not a great shot, but it was the best I could do.

I just love his blue eyes and his little face.

January 16 and January 17

2009-01-18T10:18:00.003-05:00

This is a snapshot of Brendan, taken with my little digital Elph. We had a very lazy weekend together since he's still recovering from an ear infection. Declan had gymnastics in the morning and then we just hung out at home the rest of the day. The weather was still very very cold but sunny and bright. I can't wait for it to warm up so we can go play out in the snow!

Declan has decided to start taking pictures more too! He got his camera out when he saw me with mine. And this pic of him laying on the floor taking a picture of ME ended up being my favorite from the day. I love how I got the flash going off - fun!

January 15

2009-01-15T13:13:00.002-05:00

Coldest day of the year so far. It was 1.9 degrees this morning and the wind chill was negative fifteen. But it's a sunny day, and very pretty to look at. I ventured into the backyard during the baby's nap. This is my garden globe that I forgot to put away for the winter - doesn't it look striking?

January 12, 13, 14

2009-01-15T13:00:00.005-05:00

Poor baby has had a horrible cold/cough and now an ear infection. He was feeling pretty needy when I snapped this pic - my mom was holding him but he was begging me to get him and he was so hopeful when I got near, but I was only taking his photograph, so seconds later, he had burst into tears again. (I did take him then, poor thing).
More pics of my son's Star Wars Galactic Heroes. Declan got out HIS digital camera on this day and was "posing" his favorite characters and snapping some pics for his "scrapbook". I decided to take a couple of pics too! This is Shaak Ti and Han Solo frozen in carbonite.

This darling boy was helping me dust when I decided to take his picture. The fuzzy white in the lower left corner is the feather duster. He was trying to clean my camera... :)

Snow Star and Buddha

2009-01-11T20:51:00.007-05:00

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I have been taking care of my two sick little ones for the past couple of days and I'm battling their cold/cough so I haven't had a lot of extra time this weekend but I did manage to take these two snaps. The first is of a sun star that I have hanging in my kitchen window. On Saturday we had over six inches of snow fall and it was even sticking to the screens of my window - a real blizzard - so my little sun catcher looks more like a snow star to me!

The second pic is a cute little Buddha that I have kept on my desk for years and years. My mom's best friend brought it back for her from a trip abroad and I "borrowed" it when I went away to college. I have always loved it and it always makes me smile. These days it reminds me an awful lot of my baby boy - he looks very similar when he is nude and seated! LOL

Fancy Hairstyle and Playboys

2009-01-09T21:23:00.006-05:00

The pic from yesterday is of my oldest boy right before he went to pre-school. It was his first day back since before Christmas and he was very excited. Sooo excited that he decided to do a "fancy" hairstyle for everyone to admire. A little backstory - normally this boy likes his hair combed forward "flat". No matter how hard I try to get him to spike it up, he resists. On this day though, he wanted it spiked and "fancy". So he spent about five minutes in the mirror with not one, not two, but THREE combs. I put some gel on it and then he decided he needed some "smoothing cream" from mommy's drawer. He DID look fancy and claims that everyone told him so at pre-school.

Today's pic was just a quick snap of my two boys playing together on the floor. They are both sick, poor things, but it did not stop them from having a lovely morning together. It may not be the greatest picture but I like the movement and I love the memory.

And yes, I did resort to pics of my boys again. I'm still trying to take pics of other things, but to be honest, I just really like to take and have pictures of THEM. I'll try again tomorrow!