on our way

45 years to celebrate

2011-12-29T12:10:00.002-07:00

I could say a lot about the fact that today, my parents have been married 45 years. But I'll let this photo stand on its own. Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom!

birthdays birthdays birthdays

2011-12-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am getting a little nervous. Blizzard warnings where we are supposed to be traveling? Eeek. My husband is the best though and is trying to find a way to get us to my family. I owe him the world. And it will all work out. I just keep telling that to myself. We'd rather be safe than not. Oh, but it is so hard when you want to get somewhere and there are obstacles. To make matters worse, I can't hold my mail online or over the phone. What is the point of technological advances if they do not work?

But, BUT, it is Noah's birthday today. And he is happy. So there is that. And we are all healthy (knock on wood...I totally did, did you?) so there is that too. And we will get to our destination somehow and sometime. Breathe...

Here are my favorite fellows...

Here is Noah's cookie cake. He wanted a green angry bird, so I put one on his cake. It turned out pretty well (although his beak is much bigger in the game...He is a toucan. Oh well)

Rhett wanted an ice cream sandwich cake. It was fairly easy to make. :) It is too cold for me though. Rhett loved it though!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and if you are traveling, be safe.

my baby boy turns 9

2011-12-18T21:19:00.001-07:00

I won't have pictures until tomorrow, because I'm writing this on my iPad. The boys just went to bed and I'm on my bed, ready for sleep. I've been baking a lot today and I am tired! Noah, sweet Noah. My favorite thing about Noah is that he is still so lovable. He still wants hugs and kisses and cuddling when he is sad. But he has grown up a lot too. He loves all things science and video games and books but he is very choosy on what he reads. He still wants to wear athletic pants and plain t-shirts that are soft. He has a thing for stuffed animals but no longer wants to bring them to school. He still will occasionally try to sneak one in my purse when we are going out to eat though. Noah is fiercely against being told what to do by anyone. My sister, Jana, once likened him to WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE's Max and it is true. Noah roars and gnashes his teeth when he doesn't like something. He once said that he would like a little brother or sister so he could have authority over them. We laughed and laughed at this. Seth and I are youngest children too so we know exactly what he means. I know that I have a twin but I couldn't tell Case what to do anymore than he could me. One more thing about Noah. He gets so excited about presents. I hear him upstairs because he is too wired to sleep. I am sure he will be waking up early tomorrow to open his gifts. So that means I better go to bed. Happy Birthday Noah!!

celebrating an eleventh birthday

2011-12-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Rhett turns 11 tomorrow. Without me getting all weepy, I will attempt to explain how lucky I am to be his mom.

Rhett is curious. He wants to know everything about everything. He also thinks he is right about most things and never thinks his mom knows what she is talking about, especially in subjects such as Math and Science. Or English...excuse me, I meant Language Arts. Or anything else. He always questions me. "Are you sure about that?" He doesn't do it so much with his dad yet.

Rhett likes to talk. Especially when he is happy. And that is what I remind his dad, when Seth is getting frustrated because Rhett has not stopped talking. I just say, "That means he is happy," and Seth smiles and can't be frustrated anymore. Funny enough, he wanted to look up what the meaning of his name was the other day. It means, "speaker." We were right on the nose with that one!

Here Rhett is, with his Dad and Pop, at the Philbrook Museum. I am sure Rhett is wondering if the fish get cold or why they are the color they are, or maybe he is asking the meaning of life. No telling with that child. Though I get exasperated, I secretly love it. He will never just do something without questioning the why of it. And that is a good thing.

Rhett loves to help. He also loves to please. In this picture, still at the museum, he climbed onto the tree branch quickly, but then turned and helped his brother. Without being asked, he just grabbed Noah's arm and pulled.

Rhett is such a sweet big brother. Too sweet, sometimes. The other day, the boys were fighting and I went to them to see what the big fuss was. Fighting over legos and Noah got his way. Again. Rhett just didn't know what to do. I told him that he needs to be assertive. If Noah is being mean, I said, then Rhett had every right to kick him out of his room, even if the legos belonged to both. Later that night, after the boys were in bed, Seth and I heard a loud bang upstairs. Seth ran up to see what it was. A few minutes later, Seth came down and asked me, "What did you tell Rhett?" I repeated that he needed to be assertive and asked why. Seth answered, "Because Rhett said Noah would not stop talking, so Rhett just pushed Noah out of bed." So he is trying, even if it is not in his nature to do so.

Rhett still gets scared, still gets sad enough to cry sometimes and can be silly and goofy and, well, a boy. But he is growing up. I can see glimpses of what kind of man he'll be and it makes me proud. But it also makes me happy to see this:

He is as excited as Noah is to open a card from our elf each day. He still wants to believe in magic even when his logical mind is screaming it cannot happen. He still believes in the wonder of childhood and I, for one, am so happy that he does.

Happy Birthday Rhett.

elvis likes owls too. whoo wouldn't?

2011-12-08T15:23:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, our little elf left stickers to decorate the boys' dad's presents:

A Chick-Fil-A sticker. That is the answer to your question, "What is on Rhett's head?" I don't know. That is the answer to your question, "Why?"

Today, we found this:

You see, Elvis used my craft supplies to make his cards. And he must have found my owl stamp and just loved it so much that he couldn't think of anything for the boys to do today. They were so excited to get to go play the Wii though and thought it was quite hilarious.

I have to say that Elvis has made this December the most fun for the boys. I'm glad he came around this year.

ode to all things peppermint-y

2011-12-07T14:24:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things to do this month is make peppermint bark. It's easy, it's yummy and it is a good little gift to give away. (Except the one year I made it and didn't give it away and I ended up eating the whole batch by myself. Ugh. Because of that, I didn't make it the next year. I needed time to reclaim my love of peppermint bark.)

Usually, I make it to look like this:

One bag of creme de mint baking chips, one bag of good quality white chocolate baking chips, and crushed up peppermints (I used the softer kind this year so it's not so crunchy). Melt the creme de mint chips in microwave, spread out and let harden. Melt white chips, stir in a few peppermints, spread on top of chocolate, top with some more peppermints, let harden. Break and enjoy. I like keeping it in the fridge because it tastes super yummy cold.

This year, I also made it like this:

In this batch, (that is still too soft to break apart) I melted bittersweet chocolate chips, and topped it with a layer of Hersey's Peppermint Kisses. Topped it with peppermints. It's pink! And it is sooo good. This stuff is dangerous. I need to give it away. Don't want a repeat of a few years ago...
I dare you to try it and not love it. (I am bringing this stuff with me wherever I go, so if I'm coming where you, get ready).

Oh peppermint bark. How I love you.

Elvis makes us bake cookies

2011-12-04T15:49:00.001-07:00

Our elf is a bit bossy. So far, he has ordered us to put up our tree (I was thinking of skipping that one this year but Elvis insisted), watch the movie Elf, and today we had to bake cookies. Because we were working on a short time limit (Rhett has baseball practice this evening), I went to the store and bought Pillsbury Simply... chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie dough and some Hersey kisses. Easy and I didn't mind giving up control for this one. :)

The boys rolled the dough in the sugar:

Then after baking for about 10 minutes, they placed the kiss in the middle:

Now for the fun part. While I drizzled chocolate onto the already sweet enough cookies, they followed with sprinkles. They didn't hold back:

I wonder what Elvis has in store for us this week? (I kind of wish he had told me so I could have written it down ahead of time but I guess surprises can be fun.)

in case you still check on me...

2011-12-01T16:08:00.001-07:00

I updated the blog today!

December is already here. I kind of let November pass me by on the blog. Sorry. How about some pictures? The one above is of Boston United Methodish Church in downtown Tulsa. It is a beautiful church. When Seth's parents were here over Thanksgiving, she wanted to take some pictures of nice architecture, so we came here first.

The next place we went was the Philbrook Museum. It has beautiful grounds. The trees still have color on them which was nice too. We really like this museum. Everytime we come here, there is always something fun for the boys.

This time, it was a cat. She just hopped right into Rhett's museum box and made herself at home. We all thought it was hilarious. She was a friendly cat

Here are my boys now. They are getting so big. I can't believe we'll be celebrating their birthdays this month.

This month will be fun. An elf came to visit today and left a bowl full of letters!

Rhett and Noah were so excited.

A month of activities to do. Noah wanted to open them all at once. He hates waiting for things. Sometimes that is the funnest part though.

love, me

2011-11-21T14:11:00.001-07:00

Ever since we bought our dining table last year, I've been waiting for the day til we fill up all the seats. Finally, that day will arrive on Thursday. I know it is crazy to go ahead and set the table, but I couldn't help it. I'm too excited. It's a mismatch of plates, glasses and decor, but I love it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you have a great one!

November

2011-11-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

I got on the Internet to see if I could get inspired for what to cook for dinner and decided to pop in and say hi. I haven't been a very good blogger these past few months. I couldn't tell you why except that Pinterest, kids, painting, laundry, planting bulbs and other things have taken precedent.

But I can tell you some things to catch up.

Noah is getting glasses. He has wanted them for so many years and it turns out he really needs them. He is near-sighted and the doctor said he could go another year but turns out, Noah has trouble seeing 3-D images. Which led me to ask, "You couldn't see 3-D during all those times we went to a 3-D movie?" Nope. Mother of the year, here folks. I felt so bad. How many blurry movies was he going to sit through before he finally realized that it wasn't supposed to be blurry? Who knows. That kid.
Earthquake! We had an honest-to-goodness Earthquake (I can't type it without capitalizing it, it was that !!!) here in Oklahoma. Walls shaking, rumbling...a very strange thing to go through. This year has been one crazy year as far as Mother Nature has been concerned.
Rhett didn't make his reading goal this past week and had to be a commoner on their fictional boat. A commoner! He said he wished he could have been a servant instead. I don't know how servants are better off than commoners but I felt bad nonetheless.
My bedroom is painted and beautiful. Well, not right now. Right now there is laundry everywhere. But when it is beautiful again I will take pictures.
November is here. Wow.
All the bulbs are not planted yet. I'm running out of time but it is such tedious work.
I finished 1984 by George Orwell for book club and it made me mad. I guess that was the point?
It is rainy outside. Perfect fall weather.

Til next time...

T(w)een Wolf vs. Vanishing Man

2011-11-01T12:41:00.000-06:00

It was a like a cheesy horror movie at our house last night. We had the webs, the b-movie characters (thanks to Martha Stewart's Halloween magazine), and ghosts. We even tried some spooky lighting but it didn't work.

Without further ado, here's the Houston boys starring in their own 'picture' movie:

To Catch a Vanished Man

The Vanishing Man is creepy. Can you see him? Only if he wraps his face in guaze. Ooooo. Wait, is he behind the tree?

Now he's over here! Watch out T(w)een Wolf! He's right behind you!

Aw, but the baby-face wolf knows all about the Vanishing Man. That man that hides behind his fedora thinks he has us all fooled but T(w)een sees through the man whose invisible. Yes, Wolfie has been on his trail for weeks now. He has set a trap and has been waiting patiently for the man in guaze to appear. T(w)een Wolf looks and quickly runs to catch him! Now is his chance!

The wrapped-up man in glasses runs from the not-a-child-not-quite-a-teen wolf and falls right into the trap that was set for him! The Vanishing Man is brought down by his own web of deception and lies! Aha ha ha ha! What will happen to the well-dressed vanished man now?

T(w)een Wolf doesn't know! He never got that far in his plan! He really didn't think he would ever catch the man no one can see! He needs some candy to think straight. And its almost getting dark. He tells the Vanishing Man that he will be back and to stay right where he is.

The Vanishing Man laughs quietly. He is not worried. He has his ways of disappearing. T(w)een Wolf doesn't know but VM likes his candy too. In a flash, the Vanishing Man is up and gone, into the night, always wary of a wolf that is between the ages of 10 and 12.

The End?

T(w)een Wolf.....Rhett

The Vanishing Man....Noah

Make-up and hair....Mom

Set design....Rhett

To Catch a Vanished Man Part 2: Coming soon

The T(w)een Wolf catches The Vanishing Man again! And this time he has a plan...and plenty of candy. Bwa ha ha ha!

Inspiration to Creation: All about Flowers

2011-10-11T08:43:00.001-06:00

Pinterest has become my new favorite place on the internet. Its window shopping at its easiest. Lots of inspiration there:

Inspiration: Nestofposies.com Felt Flower Wreath

Creation: Aimee's Felt Flower Wreath

My wreath looks like it was a lot easier than the one I was inspired by. I actually did most of it in the car in the Laser Quest parking lot while waiting for Noah to finish up at a birthday party. I wrapped a styrofoam wreath with 3 rolls of striped black and white ribbon (to make sure it was completely covered) and then cut felt squares into spirals. I wrapped the spirals into flowers and stuck a silver ball-headed pin into the middle. That is all. When I got home, I did glue the ends of the ribbon down but the flowers without glue. Easiest wreath ever.

Inspiration: Blue Sky Confections Paper Plate Wreath

Creation: Aimee's Paper Plate Wreath

Ok, so my paper plate wreath is not as cool as the other. But this was a lot of work and my hands still smell like coffee. Allow me to explain. First, you take 50 cheap paper plates, soak them in coffee (hence the reason why my hands still smell like coffee), ball them up to wrinkle and lay flat to dry. Then you cut them into spirals. After this step, you burn the edges with a candle and I tried, but I kept setting the plate on fire. (I had a dish of water near by) so I decided to skip that step. Then I ran out of hot glue sticks, which you are supposed to use to glue the flowers onto the wreath. So I decided to just wrap ribbon around the rest. I glued pink pearls in the middle of some of the flowers. I may make some tiny changes before hanging it up. Hers is a halloween wreath, mine will be for winter. I'm happy with it and that's all that matters, right? Although hers is really, really cool but I bet it took her days. Just saying...

In keeping with the flower theme, here is one more picture. I finally, finally like how my fireplace looks. I arranged the dried flowers and branches and love how it looks in the room. (The black balls in the fireplace are for halloween. Seth was a little concerned: "Why are there black balls in the fireplace?" Hee) Next week, I'll show you what I hung up on my blank wall.

Have a great day!

2011-10-10T14:23:00.000-06:00

I have a fractured tailbone.

How's that for an opening line? I could have said, "Here's a story for you, sprinkled with irony" and then tell you how I fell, not from a horse, but because of my two dumb dogs. And because of my two dogs making me fall, I have to give up horseback riding for awhile.

It would be here I could spout out that line, "When life gives you lemons..." but honestly, sometimes I don't want to make lemonade. You know?

It hurt. And I was mad. I was frustrated and just so unhappy that this happened to me last Thursday night. When it happened, I immediately started crying and didn't stop for about an hour.

But, four days later, I am trying to get over it. It still hurts and will probably hurt for quite awhile. I still haven't quite forgiven my dogs, even though they don't know that and I guess I know they didn't mean to amd all that and thank God it was me it happened to and not one of the boys.

Where was I? Oh yeah, getting over it. Not quite there yet. But I am trying. I know I can't do some things (like paint my bedroom or plant my bulbs or aforementioned horseback riding) but I am finding other things to do. Like making wreaths. I made one already and am in the process of making another. Catching up on reading books. Browsing Pinterest. Watching tv. Decorating for fall.

It would be here where I should say, "It could be worse." but how about I say, "Thank God it wasn't worse."

I'm going to go pick up my mess from making wreaths now.

hello old friends...

2011-10-04T13:57:00.000-06:00

I love this picture. It makes me laugh, true, with Noah's booty sticking out, but it also makes me proud. He actually was aggressive and blocked the ball from the offense. Way to go Noah!

I feel like October started with a bang and is busier than ever. We still have two sports to play (well, Rhett does, but we all have to be there), and kids are having birthdays (it seems like October is a really busy month for birthday parties. I wonder why), we are trying to make our backyard beautiful, and I'm trying to paint our bedroom. Oh and halloween costumes! Yikes.

Project Bedroom is in the works. I have got a paint color picked out but just can't find the time to paint! But I'm excited. I can't wait to show you when its finished. I can't wait til its finished. Honest, I am not looking forward to painting again but I'm tired of looking at boring walls.

Project Daffodil is in the wings. I have bought about 100 daffodil bulbs and plan on planting them in our backyard. Seth has made a wonderful mulch bed by our back fence so all I need to do is wait a couple of weeks so its not so hot and get to work. I wonder how long that will take me?

Project Halloween is waiting to be researched. Noah wants to be The Vanishing Man. I'm loving the idea and hope its as easy as I think it is to pull off. I think Rhett wants to be Glowstick Man but he could change his mind still.

That's what I've been up to. What about you?

it's all over but the sharing...

2011-09-23T09:28:00.001-06:00

Please, Aimee, can you show us pictures from your birthday? Why, yes...yes, I can.

The cupcakes:

They had Cinnamon-Caramel Cream in the middle, iced with Chocolate Ganache, topped with Sugar Pearls to make them snazzy. Pink candles because I try to add a little girly in my family's fun every once in awhile. :)

My Beautiful Boys:

I forgot to mention that Rhett told me "Happy Birthday" at least a dozen times yesterday and, AND, Noah got up all by himself yesterday morning. This is huge. It meant I didn't spend 10 minutes trying to drag him out of bed.

My Sweet, Handsome Husband:

Seth got contacts a few weeks ago and is lovin' them. What do you think? Do we look 17 years older from when we first started dating? Maybe I really don't want an answer. Hee. Hee.

The end:

blessings abound

2011-09-22T09:31:00.000-06:00

Today I turned 34. I've had a very nice day so far. My husband has given me a small gift everyday this week from flowers to Empire State Building legos. Ah, to be a mom of boys. So sweet.

My boys both said I don't look a day over 20 something, which I think is the best birthday gift they could ever give me.

It's cool and rainy and my friend took me to Panera to have coffee and a bagel. And she didn't even know it was my birthday!

Facebook makes it seem like you get all these cards in the mail wishing you a happy birthday. I think it is my favorite part about facebook. I should probably wish people a happy birthday more often on fb. Hmm... Although I did get real birthday cards in the mail and that is even better. I let Rhett and Noah open them for me because I really get a kick out of watching them try to open envelopes. They just can't do it. Hilarious.

I've already gotten several texts from family and friends. Sweet!

I made cupcakes last night and I'm going to fill them with cinnamon-caramel cream and ice them with ganache later today. This recipe is actually a cake and is the best cake ever. I wanted to make cupcakes out of them to see if I could do it.

Modern Family was new last night and Parks and Rec is new tonight. So our many other shows. I love Fall Premiere Week (which most of the time, always falls on the week of my birthday)!!

It's also my brother's bday and I love sharing that with him. He may think that is terribly cheesy so I won't tell him.

Above all, I realize that the older I get, the more I realize that there is a lot of terrible, sad things that happen every day and that you should celebrate the good things. Love your family and friends. Be thankful for them. Be present.

Oh happy day!

ruby

2011-09-19T12:50:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, one of my great-aunts passed away. I haven't seen her in at least ten years but I was quite fond of her, mostly because of good memories from my childhood.

She lived in San Antonio and had a very neat house. We visited it when Mom had to take Jana or both Jana and Krista to summer camp. Her yard was full of wasps, that Krista and I had the surprise of finding out once while racing down a small hill. We started running for fun, then both started running for real because our ankles were on fire! Wasps were stinging! I think Krista was braver than I was because I remember bawling and I don't think she did. I don't know how our aunt fixed it, but I do remember that she was quite calm about it.

My favorite memory of my great-aunt was when she took me swimming at her neighborhood pool. I thought it was quite amazing she lived walking distance to a pool and it was huge! She got in with me and challenged me to swim to her without taking a breath. She was just a few feet away, so I smiled and jumped in. After a few seconds, I realized that she was backing up slowly but I was determined not to take a breath. On and on it went until finally, when I thought I couldn't take anymore, she stopped and I reached her hand. She pulled me up and smiled. I looked around and saw that I had just swam the width of the pool! From then on, I could do it because I had done it before. This past summer, I did the same thing with Noah. He was so proud of himself when he realized what he had done.

And I thought of her.

a former night owl confesses change

2011-09-16T08:02:00.001-06:00

Before school started, I probably mentioned that I would have to start getting up earlier and didn't know how it would go.

I have found that the first ten minutes are the worst. That is when most people probably drink a cup of coffee, but since I don't drink coffee, I sit in a chair and read emails from my phone. Rhett usually is on the couch, curled up in a blanket, because he didn't want to get up either. Then we finally drag ourselves to the kitchen and I make breakfast (which usually is cereal or frozen waffles) and while he eats, I get his backpack, water bottle and snack ready. Then I feed the dogs and catch up on the world while sitting outside (it was chilly this morning!) while they are eating. By the time I go in, Seth and Rhett are ready to go.

I have ten minutes usually to eat breakfast and read some more before getting Noah up. I start at 7:30. On a good day, he is up by 7:38. I quickly make his breakfast, get his lunch and snack and water bottle ready then go get dressed in either work out clothes (because some days, I run with a friend. I know! Me, run.) or regular clothes and make up. Today I was happy because I got to wear jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I am so happy to not be wearing shorts.

We are out of the door by 8:07 because his bus comes around 8:15. (Did I tell you? They finally moved the bus stop closer to my house. It is just around the corner now. I feel very bad for the owners of the house where the bus stop is though because their poor lawn is getting trampled on by 40 kids every morning. Yes, 40 kids. Crazy.)

I either run right after or come home and do a few things before going to school to volunteer (Today, I pass out frozen yogurt to the 5th graders!) or running errands. Yesterday, I cleaned and organized.

I am telling you all of this boring stuff because I have a point and I am getting there.

After spending time cleaning out my dresser yesterday, I looked at the clock and it said 12 pm. I couldn't believe it was just noon. Surely, I thought, the clock is wrong. I have done so much and it couldn't possibly be just noon. But it was. That is when I realized that getting up early is wonderful. I feel so much more productive, even when I don't do that much. I find that I go to bed earlier and I only hit my snooze button once, but still get up before it goes off again.

The second week of school, Seth looked at me after I had just gotten up and said, "You are still getting up early?" And I said of course! If Rhett has to do it every morning, how unfair is it for his mom to sleep in? And how wrong.

So there you go. A former "not a morning person in the slightest" is liking the early morning wake-up call. Who knew?

However, I still sleep in on Saturday.

:)

Inspriration to Creation: Stenciled Tree Curtains

2011-09-13T08:27:00.000-06:00

Inspiration:

Last spring, I bought two books about the art of printing. One book is titled Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens. One project that the author, Lena Corwin showed was stenciled "wallpaper." She made tree stencils and then painted them on her wall to look like wallpaper.

Creation:

I took that idea and made curtains for my living room. Last winter, I took a few pictures of my two trees in the front of my house. I traced the outline of those trees, took away the many, many small branches, and then made three stencils (two big, one small) out of the tracings.

I bought 8 yards of a natural-looking fabric (basically a thicker muslin) and cut out two rectangles and got to work with two shades of blue:

Then I sewed the rectangles onto the bottom of the hemmed curtains. It was by far the easiest curtain project I've ever done, minus the trouble I had with my sewing machine. (Thanks to my mom and Seth for the help in getting it fixed!)

Here they are, framing my heavier, shorter curtains in the living room:

I love how they turned out! Now onto my next project... :)

visiting St. Louis, quick recap ahead

2011-09-12T10:54:00.001-06:00

Labor Day weekend we went to St. Louis to visit our friends. I love St. Louis because they have such neat places tucked in the city. One such place is called The Magic House and it is a children's museum full of cool things:

I could see this hanging in my house. Couldn't you?

When you walk in, there are all of these glass balloons on the ceiling. It was such a neat image.

This 'music wheel' played a song by Bach. Each chime played a different note and Rhett just held a metal stick to the chimes and we listened to classical music.

They had a whole section devoted to our governement. Here, Noah is in the Supreme Court.

Don't they look like they would be really touch judges? ;)

Another something I would like in my house: a giant kaleidoscope. The boys thought of Grandmom because she has a couple in her home (not this big!)

We also went to the zoo, went to a Cardinals game and rode a train in the woods (is cooler than it sounds) and went swimming but I didn't bring my camera to those things. It was a nice little getaway.

The rest of the week went by slowly because I kept forgetting what day it was. 'Its only Thursday?!?' I would think. Saturday and Sunday were sports days for us, with Rhett beginning Fall Baseball. He only plays double headers on Sunday and for only 5 weeks so it isn't so bad. And Noah didn't complain at all.

Of course, I felt reflective yesterday and made sure to enjoy my family. I need to do it everyday but 9/11 is a good reminder that life is short.

This week I have some projects planned. I have already finished one which I'll show you tomorrow that I am excited about.

I hope everyone has a great Monday!

august is over, on to september*

2011-09-01T08:52:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say, "Happy Fall Y'all!" like I always see those painted signs say but alas, it is still stinkin' hot here. And I'm done with it. I'm done with the heat, the heat index, the 7 day forecast saying more 100+ degree weather coming, ugh!!!

Really, I didn't come here to complain. I did want to post because I haven't so here I am. We are about to have a little 5-day vacation from school (They have Friday, Monday and Tuesday off) and the boys are so happy. Just when you get into a routine...

Stopping myself from complaining.

I think most of us are getting over the cold but Seth is just now getting it. Poor guy.

I donated some clothes today at one of those red bins. This red bin was in the parking lot of a daycare and of course, I parked right in the way of a parent dropping off their child. She gave me the meanest look. I was thinking, "But I'm doing a good deed!" It was punished though for sure.

Well, this is a bummer post. So...

I leave you with another Flag Football picture. Rhett had just gotten the ball and then ran it for a touchdown. Woo!

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!

From "On to September" by Dear Nora

'frog' in my throat croaks hi

2011-08-26T11:14:00.000-06:00

Well, the cold that Rhett had....I got it. So did Noah. And while we are all on the road to getting over it, I will say that having a cold when it is still over 100 degrees outside makes life miserable to an uncomfortable level. It doesn't even make sense.

Anyway, I'm about to go learn how to ride a horse. Last week's lesson surprised me by how many things you really have to know. It isn't just getting on and saying, "Go." The horse I rode knew that I knew nothing and he was having none of it. :) So faking confindence is something I will have to work on. (And Dad, I am sad that I didn't tell you about me wanting to ride a horse and also glad I didn't tell you all at the same time. heehee)

I hope everyone has a safe weekend. Krista, offer to come to Tulsa is still on table (always is) if hurricane gets to much. :)

inspriration to creation: Butterflies from Maps

2011-08-23T08:23:00.001-06:00

I'm a big fan of butterflies, and also love to keep mementos from vacations, so when I saw this, I knew I must do something like it:

My Inspiration

image from Image Surgery. This beautiful creation is made by Joseph Warren.

I had many maps and such to choose from, but I decided to make butterflies out of my vacation memorablia from New York, Washington D.C. and chose two things from Oklahoma that were special to me.

My Creation

1. Map of New York: It shows the Brooklyn Bridge Subway Station where my mom, sisters and I got off to go walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was pouring rain, however, so after Jana bought a $5 umbrella, we got back on the subway and went shopping intead.

2. The Star-Spangled Banner Flag from the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. This was one of my favorite places that my family went to during our trip. This flag was huge and protected and couldn't be photographed. I had a flyer for the museum though and a small picture of the flag so I thought it would make an awesome butterfly.

3. The White House. We took a tour on the day that Noah had an awful toothache. We had planned on finding a dentist after the tour. He was a trooper and didn't complain too badly. It was around the green room, however, that my other son began to complain. He needed to find a bathroom, NOW. Umm, are there public restrooms in the White House? No. Our tour went a little faster from that point on, much to Seth's dismay.

4. Ocktoberfest, October 2010, Tulsa, Ok. We had just recently moved to Tulsa and missed our friends terribly. We heard about this German festival and thought we'd invite our friends from Edmond to come and stay the night. They did and we all had a pretty great time. It was tiring, but all the kids got their faces painted and got to ride roller coasters and we got to see our friends. Win for all!

5. Map of OKC area. We lived in Edmond, OK for four years, longer than we had lived anywhere else since getting married. We met some pretty awesome friends there and even though some have moved away, and we have moved, we have stayed close. Edmond will always have a very special place in our hearts.

6. The Lion King, New York, Girls Trip. This was my first Broadway show. It was an amazing performance. Afterward, we walked down to a diner to get something to eat and ended up walking past Lehmen Brothers. There was a lot of commotion there-media, cameras, and such. It was September 14, 2008 the evening before news broke that they had filed for bankruptsy. You know the rest of the story.

I used an 8x10 canvas that I already had and painted it red. This canvas had black and white patterned scrapbook paper glued onto it from another past project, but I decided I liked how it came through. I mod-podged the canvas for texture, then antiqued it with black glaze. For the butterflies, I just cut out a pattern and used it for all of the butterflies. Some turned out better than others. I mod-podged the butterflies to make them less fragile, then folded them in half and glued the "body" onto the canvas. I mod-podged the wings, front and back yet again to make them stiff. Then I glued the top of the wings onto the canvas, with part of the wing still puffed out (I used the end of a paint brush between the butterfly and canvas to get the same amount of puff for each one). I glued the edges of the bottom wing and the "foot" too.

This is also hanging in my bedroom. I love this inspiration to creation project the most so far because it has so many stories attached to it. I like the butterfly-migrate-travel connection too.

Have a great day!!

nothing is sweeter than with you*

2011-08-22T08:21:00.002-06:00

Good Monday to you! I'm happy today. 13 years! Yea us! I made Seth a picture cd using a song that is my very favorite ever. It is called Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and describes perfectly what I feel for my sweet husband. The chorus goes:

Ahh. Home. Let me come home.

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Ahh. Home. Let me come home.

Home is where I'm alone with you.

I'm a lucky girl. ♥

In other news....

This picture will tell you how our weekend was:

It was busy and went too fast as usual. However, I will say that those 2 and a half hours we were outside on Saturday afternoon was pretty awful. The boys did great at their flag football game and I think had a pretty good time. But it was so so so hot and humid. I drank down 2 bottles of water and a half a gatorade and I was just sitting!! We were so sweaty and wet and I hope to never relive that experience. When I got in my car after that games, the thermometer said 116 degrees. I know it wasn't that hot but it did feel like it at times. Whew.

I will say I did enjoy using my camera! It does great for capturing the action. I was a little afraid for it cause it got so hot, but I would put it in a cooler bag for awhile and luckily it survived.

Here is Noah:

Don't you love his green mouthguard? :)

Rhett got to play quarterback some and was cool and collected. (Well, maybe just collected):

He also caught a pass perfectly and scored a touchdown!

Sunday came and Rhett came down with a fever, so he is home with me today. (Feeling better but you have to be fever free 24 hours before going back to school. I think it would be fine, but I don't want someone else breaking that rule, so I won't either). I hate that he is already missing a day of school though. Seriously. I guess you can't help it.

The bus situtation was a little better on Friday but you know, everything has its positives. I have met so many neighbors and have become friends with a few of them over this bus thing so you just never know. :) Plus Noah actually rode his scooter to the bus stop this morning with a friend and her parents and that is big in itself! haha.

I hope everyone has a great day!

*I love you Seth! Thanks for everything you do. Happy Anniversary.

13 years and he still surprises

2011-08-19T10:54:00.000-06:00

My anniversary is Monday. I'll have been married 13 years. Woo! Seth surprised me with a gift though a few weeks ago.

Any guesses?

my rockin' pair of boots

I start horseback riding lessons today!! Every Friday, I am going to learn how to ride and take care of a horse. It may sound silly to some of you, but I am most excited. I love horses, think they are beautiful animals and am looking forward to learning all there is to know. I have a helmet and everything. I'll let you know how it goes. If it goes even a little better than the bus situation, then it will be a success. ha!

Speaking of busses, Rhett was on his for almost 2 hours yesterday afternoon. Didn't get home til 5 pm. Crazy!!

Have a great weekend!!

PS- Happy Birthday Pop!!!

Rhett-5th grader; Noah-3rd grader

2011-08-18T09:03:00.001-06:00

First day of school.

The bus situation is a little sticky right now and I'm hoping that this afternoon, the bus even comes to our neighborhood. This whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm a little sad that all the kids had to witness the stressful situation.

Here's a quick recap: Bus stop routes were changed. One stop in the neighborhood. Several upset parents (I'm included in this. I don't understand it because of several reasons I won't go into right now). This morning, many cars lined the street where the bus was to make the stop. Transportation director shows up, threatens to divert bus. Noah and I leave, after Noah gets stressed out that parents and transportation direction are arguing.

Here's the thing. I am upset about the bus route change. To a point. I wish there were something we could do. To a point. But, and here is a big BUT, I'm out if it means my child gets to school late or he starts seeing a side of me that isn't pretty. I feel for those parents that both work and rely on the bus. I feel for the transportation director who has a job to do. But nobody handled it well. There were parents getting upset about it the bus not coming, parents getting upset that the transportation director was not seeing everyone's side, parents getting upset at other parents for not cooperating. It was getting ugly and I'm not good at confrontation nor conflict. So we left. And now I'm left wondering what is going to happen. Will it just blow over? Will it change? I don't know. Right now I just hope that at 3:45 and 4:00, my kids' busses drop them off in our neighborhood.

Sigh. Here's hoping that the boys have a good day regardless.

'twas the day before school starts

2011-08-17T08:07:00.000-06:00

The snacks in the pantry are all tucked away, nicely, waiting to be put into backpacks the next day.

The small chocolate candies are treats for lunchboxes, pb for Noah and caramel for Rhett.

The bags of school supplies are overflowing. So many supplies every year...

One more day of summer. I want to say that I think summer was just right this year. It didn't seem to go too fast or too slow. Just right. I think the boys are ready to begin the year. I think we are all ready for the cooler weather. The start of school means it is coming...soon I hope.

Here's to a big, fun year full of wonderful things to learn and do and be. Tomorrow is my favorite post of the year--First Day of School pictures! It may too dark for Rhett to do it by the bricks this year but we'll try it anyway. See you tomorrow!!

inspiration to creation: Red Fern Prints

2011-08-16T08:30:00.003-06:00

I like to tear out pages from catalogs when I find something that I like. I either want to create something like it or hopefully buy it. I keep all these pages in a folder and go back to it when I am finally ready to do a project. Last week, I needed ideas on what to do with one of our bedroom walls. We had moved some things around and this one wall was completely empty. What to do?

I am not a patient person, so I chose something that I thought I could try to recreate. I came across this page:

My Inspriration

from Ballard Designs (I could not find an image online, they must not sell these particular prints anymore, so I had to take a picture of the page. These prints are made by artist Patrick Wright and were priced for around $570 for the set of three)

I had some 12x16 canvas paper, paint and brushes so I just made my own flower prints:

My Creation

It took several steps, and the lighting in my bedroom is terrible for pictures, but I hope you can get an idea of what I did. They have been grey-washed (instead of white washed) and hopefully, when I repaint my bedroom, they'll go well with the color I have in mind. I have a yellow and white comforter, red accents and hopefully will paint my bedroom a grey-brown. They aren't perfect, but for now, I like them. I only spent money on the frames (which wasn't that much), so if I go with something different later on, it won't be a big deal.

Have a great day!

need: one wafflemaker, handle attached please

2011-08-15T08:13:00.003-06:00

I made waffles today. I was thinking waffles would be a great thing to make and freeze for mornings when I felt rushed (school starts in 4 days!). I got them made, but there was a problem.:

I guess sometime during the move last year, the handle broke off on the waffle iron. (iron? maker? which do you use?) I didn't think too much of it this morning until I realized you need the handle to unlock the latch to open the darn thing. Being the innovative person that I am though, I didn't worry. I would find something other than my fingers to push on the buttons where the handle used to be (it gets super hot as you can probably figure out.) I did find that the bottoms of wooden spoons would work, after not working countless many times. But I made batch after batch because I had a plan.

To answer your questions:

1. No, I haven't made waffles in more than a year, so I never realized the handle broke off.

2. No, not homemade. I bought a Belgian waffle mix. Pretty good if you ask me. I went the healthier route: I put blueberries, cinnamon-sugar, plus a drizzle of real maple syrup and it was super-delicious. The other route would be drowning in maple syrup and butter. So an improvement. Rhett had blueberries and a drowning, Noah had peanut butter and blueberries, no syrup at all. We each had only one.

3. No, I don't really think I need to rush out and buy a waffle ~~iron~~ ~~maker~~ iron (I'm going with waffle iron. I think) anytime soon, since I haven't used it in a year. But, I am planning on making the boys breakfast more than I have in the past so maybe in 3-6 months. :)

4. I'm throwing it away, as soon as it cools down.

Have a great day!

just passing through with a thought

2011-08-11T13:41:00.000-06:00

I think it is funny that no matter how many Pandora radio stations I create, they all end up playing the same or similar artists or songs. How does it know me better than I do?

Apparently, I like acoustic/folk rock/indie pop or a hybrid blend of that. In case you wanted to know.

if I could, I really would

2011-08-10T09:39:00.002-06:00

Or wishing, hoping, thinking and praying part 2

This past week, Tulsa has seen rain! And not just a little sprinkle either. Real thunderstorms, pouring rain. Of course, one of my little pine trees looks worse than ever, because that sweet rain knocked off all the dead needles. Anyone know if that will grow back?

I placed water bottles with small holes in the bottom to help water the trees throughout the day. Like a dripline, I guess. It's a good way for me to justify drinking from plastic water bottles still. I can't break the habit!! :)

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining! But one can see the effects of the droughts. Winds have brought down trees limbs (I'm sure they are not as strong as they used to be), fences and small plants just look beat down. However, that is a very small price to pay for the rain.

I actually collected the rain that was dripping off our roof and one thought popped into my head when I saw the full buckets:

I really wish I could send it down to Texas.

inspiration to creation: French Burlap Pillows

2011-08-09T08:49:00.001-06:00

Several months ago, I saw some pillows that I loved. You have probably seen them too. They are everywhere. Like this:

My Inspiration

from Restoration Hardware

I decided that those type of pillows would go really well with my living room. But, I wanted a little bit of color because my couches are brown, my walls are dark brown, by floor is brown...you get the idea. So, I did this:

My Creation

I have four, each in a different color. The reason you just see one finished is because I finished sewing one pillow and then didn't finish the others for another two months. But now they are all finished. If I had to do it over, I would pick another way to iron on the No. #s. I printed off the design onto iron-on transfer paper, but then had to painstakenly cut out the N and o and . and the number. Because of all the curls, it was very difficult and already the 4 has come off a little. I also didn't use burlap because I didn't think it would be very soft to lay your head, so I used a heavy cotton fabric. But I do like them in my living room. They add a little splash of color and also were not as expensive as the other pillows I have seen. These are "the boys can lay on them and throw them and if they don't last a few years, its okay" pillows, which every family with growing children should have if they are going to have pillows. :)

I have recently come across some designer knock off blogs that have many tutorials of things that you find in a catalog but can't justify spending a ton of money on it so instead they make their own. I was inspired and did a few works of art for my bedroom that I'll show you a little later. Our bedroom is in the middle of getting its own makeover but I need to paint and I just don't want to yet. I'm still tired from painting all this past year! So maybe soon...

Have a great day!

wishin', hopin', and thinkin' and prayin'

2011-08-08T08:30:00.000-06:00

At first, I didn't want to take pictures of my dried-out plants. They look so sad. The tops of my little pines, brown and crispy. The bushes, the flowers, even the trees look very parched. We water but its not enough, especially now that we have to conserve water.

But I decided that yes, I needed the reminder. When things are good, rainy and wet, we tend to forget to do little things like conserve water or be thankful. We just assume it will always be like this.

I read a few days ago, that La Nina may return after neutral conditions in the fall. That isn't good for any of us in the US (droughts in the South, flooding in other regions...) but its hard to pray for El Nino (which brings us more than average rainfall here in the South) because it causes drought conditions in places like Austraila! So I guess we just hope and pray for neutral conditions to stay.

Right now I wish there was such a thing as drought insurance. Who knows how many trees and plants are going to have to be replaced?

But I won't worry about that right now. I just hope that next year, I'll have some new pictures to take the place of these.

I may see the sun rise

2011-08-07T08:30:00.002-06:00

*fresh blueberries, thrown in homemade pancake batter. What could be better?

7:02 am. That is the time when the bus comes to pick up Rhett and his bus stop that is no longer right out the front door. It is actually .42 miles away if we want to be precise. (The school does apparently).

7:02 am.

If you know me, or even read this blog a little bit, you know that I don't get up early. Being a stay-at-home mom has afforded me the luxury of (gasp) sleeping in until 8 am or so. Especially now that the boys are older and get up to watch tv before wanting breakfast (at least in the summer).

Even during the school year, Rhett and Noah didn't have to be at school until 8:50 am. We could get up at 7:30 eat cereal or frozen waffles, get dressed, and make lunches and be out the door by 8:25 or 8:30. (And this was when the bus stopped right in front of our house around 8:15 am)

You can see where I'm going with this.

I don't claim to be a morning person but have recently realized that probably nobody really wants to be a morning person. If given the chance, wouldn't anyone want to sleep in a little later? But most don't have that choice. And now I won't either. So I have a choice to make. Either drag myself out of bed, realizing I woke up late, hussle Rhett out of bed, get him to gobble down breakfast and yell at him to hurry up, and we all leave feeling mad and streesed, or I wake up, make a nice* breakfast for the family, have everything ready, wake up Rhett and when he comes down stairs, everything is calm. Seth can probably take Rhett to his bus stop and then I can do the same for Noah, whose bus doesn't come until 8:28 am. If I look at it that way, instead of "Aww, I have to wake up early. Do I have to? Can't I sleep in???" then the choice is easy to make. I know when I was a child, I never felt hurried or harrassed or stressed in the mornings. I want the same for my children.

It won't be easy to do, but it is something I feel I must. And I know the rest of you must be rolling your eyes, thinking, "Aimee's finally joining the grown-up party" and all and I apologize if you are but isn't this one of the purposes of a blog: a kind of personal enlightenment confessional?

So there you go. A change is coming. A better me may be emerging. I may become, gulp, a morning person one of these days too.
I

*By nice, I mean, not cereal every day. I can fix pancakes like the picture above, more often. I can make french toast. I have several recipes I want to try out that I can make ahead of time (ham and cheese crossants, anyone?) so that should help too.

a lesson in following the directions

2011-08-05T08:30:00.002-06:00

*Our version of Sour Plum Ice Pops, with added blueberries, as per Noah's request

I have a popsicle cookbook which I bought last summer and have now just gotten around to trying a recipe. These taste quite delicious, but are not easy to remove from the molds and are a little slushy. I think I should have frozen them for awhile, then put the sticks in. Just like the instructions said to in the book. ;)

I want to try another recipe soon, but also am planning on making cheesecake bars. I'll let you know how those turn out too.

Here is the recipe for these icy treats:

Sour Plum Ice Pops
from Ice Pops by Shelly Kaldunski

1 1/2 lb underripe red plums (I used very ripe, better eat them now plums, so it wasn't as sour as I think it should have been. I also just now realized that I only used 3 plums, when it says "about 7 plums." Hmmm, no wonder they don't look as dark as the picture in the book.)
1/3 c superfine sugar (Put your sugar in the food processor first, then turn it on for a minute. Your sugar will be superfine then.)
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt

Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Place plums, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Pour in 1/3 cup of water. (Aha! Another thing I did not do! Probably why they aren't coming out. Wow, I am so glad I am blogging this recipe. I'm learning one thing after another.) Process until smooth.

Divide mixture among the molds, cover and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. If using sticks, insert them into the molds when the pops are partially frozen, after about 1 hour, then continue to freeze until solid.

So, in conclusion, if you do not want super sweet, slushy ice pops, then don't do what I did. :)

on a camera roll (iphone pics)

2011-08-04T09:58:00.001-06:00

Just for fun, here are my "Project ~~365~~ when I think about it" pictures from my iphone. Although I haven't taken pictures everyday as the project would have you do, I have tried harder to capture more of life's moments on film than I otherwise would have. This summer I dropped the ball more, but I want to get back to taking pictures again. Here you go, in no particular order:

this heat is making me cranky

2011-08-03T09:26:00.000-06:00

(and other things that are driving me insane)

*The boys have dentist appointments today. I know this because a) the dentist office has called at least 3 times on my cell, once on my home phone and once to Seth's cell, b) they have mailed postcards a month ago to remind us, c) they have sent me text messages twice, d) they have emailed me last week, and this week. Can I say, overkill? Wouldn't it be funny if I forgot now? haha

*The City of Bixby has been under voluntary water restrictions for a few weeks now. Now, the City of Tulsa is beginning voluntary water restrictions. I am fine with that. What I am not fine with is my HOA watering the "public" landscaping in my neighborhood in the heat of the day, after sending us all an email about said water restrictions. I sent an email this morning. I was that angry.

*Flag football practice starts Thursday for Rhett and Friday for Noah. Because of the heat, they have moved all practices to 7 pm. Do I think it will cool off by 7 pm? When the low has been 87 degrees? No.

*The bus stop will no longer stop right in front of my house. They had to slash the budget, so now the bus stops at the front of the neighborhood and that is it. I'm not mad about this, just wistful.

*School is 15 days away. This has been the first week all summer that I have been glad it is coming. But Seth let me go grocery shopping by myself the other night and then the boys played with friends yesterday, so I am good again. :)

Thanks for letting me get some things off my chest. I'm feeling a tad better. Now I need to get ready to go...let's see, where did I need to go today...oh yeah, the dentist.

it's a cool, comfortable 56 degrees

2011-08-01T14:03:00.000-06:00

...In this cavern, which is where we went to on Saturday. This is Bluff Dweller's Cavern, near Noel, Missouri. Here's our little story of how this road trip came to be.

Seth's parents were going to go to Colorado last week. Then, their air conditioner broke and alas, they had to cancel their trip. Sammy still had a few days off from work, however and decided that Tulsa is the place to go! haha (I really feel bad for them that they couldn't go to Colorado and had to come to one of the hottest spots in the USA right now.) We are really glad they came here though for the weekend because Sammy gave us the idea of going on a road trip.

So Saturday, we loaded up in the pick up and drove to Arkansas. We were going to go to Old Spanish Treasure Cave near some small town in Northern Arkansas. I had my trusty map on the iphone and lead us right to...

A hole in the ground, literally. Seth pulled into the little area of parking and said, "Umm, are you sure you want to go here?" We got out and Seth said, "This looks just like a scene out of Deliverance. Well, I hadn't seen that movie, so I told everyone that we just needed to chill and check it out. Luckily for Seth, the woman running it, who seemed nice enough, told us that a group of 17 children were coming out and we were welcome to join that group. That scared me, so I said no thank you! While the boys, Sandy and I were in the bathroom, Seth met one of the tour guides who could have been cast for Deliverance and got to hear how at Halloween, he sometimes keeps people in the cave and lost maze for over 2 hours, heh, heh, heh.

I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we found out that another cavern was just 15 minutes away in Missouri. I love how road trips always bring little surprises, don't you? :)

Bluff Dwellers Cave was beautiful on the outside. On privately owned land, the owner found and excavated a part of the cavern himself. His family still owns it and his youngest daughter (now 81) runs it now. It was very beautiful inside and the boys and I wore our jackets (I think because we could, you know?). The cavern was welcome relief from the heat, for sure!

Here everyone is after the tour. Already feeling hot again...

The boys also panned for gems, which was a lot of fun for them. They "found" several gemstones from their purchased bag of sand.

One more picture to help you imagine the coolness of the cavern. Just two hours away, we might be going back sooner than later! :)

Thanks Nana and Pop for the fun weekend!!

blah, blah, it is hot, blah

2011-07-25T10:33:00.000-06:00

This is turning into a strange summer. One of those summers that the only thing anyone ever talks about is the weather. How hot it is (very, very, very), how much is hasn't rained (little to not at all in months!), when it could rain again (people are actually hoping for a hurricane!), when it will cool off (January?)...and no one seems to mind talking about it. It is just all there is. Front and center, in everyone's mind.

Did you know there is actual research that says people's seratonin levels drop in heat, therefore making people crankier? There are stories about how baseball umpires are ejecting more players when the heat rises. Then there are stories about how cities in Texas are running out of water, literally.

Here in Tulsa, we are under voluntary water restrictions, which means, to me, stop watering your lawn in the middle of the day, right? I guess not everyone thinks that though. Our neighborhood association still waters the public lawns in the middle of the day, which just irritates me. They are the ones who sent everyone an email telling us about the water restrictions! Sigh.

I guess people talk about it because we are hoping it is just a fluke. As in, it won't last much longer. The heat will go away soon, right? (Not for us--we are under heat warnings until Saturday). The rain will come again, surely? I know I'm not the only one hoping so.

***

In lighter news, Rhett is reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm beyond excited for him. Last night, he read the first ten pages and said, "This book is awe-some! I can't stop reading!" Love!

We watched Captain America this weekend, so we are all ready for Avengers, which comes out next summer. I never thought I would watch so many superhero movies in my life. Perk of being a mom of boys I guess. :)

Have a great day!

we're happily ever after once again*

2011-07-20T12:58:00.000-06:00

These aren't the best pictures I have ever taken but here are the boys during their play. Noah was Jack Horner and Rhett, Hansel. They, along with their cousin Cameron, did a great job and maybe want to do it again.

The two weeks (or 17 days as my husband pointed out) we were in Friona were full of shopping, visits with grandparents, play practice and lots of DS playing. We didn't go outside a lot because it was hot but not as hot as it is here in Tulsa. Whew. Only about 150 more days until Winter! Then we'll be wishing it for warmer temps again. Aren't we ever happy? Haha.

One of my favorite parts of the last month has to be watching Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows Part 2 with Mom and Rhett. During the movie, I smiled a lot because I couldn't believe I was finally seeing the book played out on film! Then after it was over, I had a disappointed feeling. I didn't understand it because all in all, the movie was very good and although there were some things I wish they had done instead, I was satisfied. I finally figured out my disappointment though: It is over. Finished. No more movies, no more books. Some of you may not understand why Harry Potter is so great. And to others, it may mean so much more than it does to me. I won't try to explain why I love it but will say this: Reading the Harry Potter books led me to read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which began my love for the fantasy (I use that broadly here) genre of books. They are my favorite books to read and to escape for a little while. After the movie, Rhett said, "I'm going to have to get into the Harry Potter books so I can understand the movies better!" and my heart leapt a little. :)

Now we have a little less than a month left before school begins. We have school shopping done and just bought most of the school supplies today. It is too hot to be outside right now and the pool is like warm bath water, so we've been trying to keep busy indoors. I'm doing a lot of cleaning! :)

Hope you stay cool!

*That is the title of one of the songs from the play. :)

my closets are really clean, y'all

2011-06-30T09:23:00.002-06:00

Noah is very talented but not at balancing balls on his head. Someone was behind him, holding it.

This week's most exciting thing for me so far was cleaning out all of my closets (except one). Yay, clean closets!! Yeah, not that exciting. But, but!, I did have a fun weekend and so did the boys.

I went to Dallas with some of my friends from Edmond and we had fun shopping at Sam Moon and Ikea (Krista, I bought the pillow! and the whole set of dishes!!). And I know now that every trip to Dallas will include a trip to Sam Moon. It has accessories and handbags galore! I bought two purses and could have bought more but reigned myself in.

While I was having a good ole' time in Texas, the boys went to Relay for Life with Seth. His company sponsored a team so they went down there and had a great time for a really great cause. I think they had ice cream around midnight? Then they watched Cars 2 the next day. By the time I came home, all three were exhausted!!

So we haven't done much this week which is okay.

I did watch The Kennedys miniseries on Netflix and wondered what exactly was so controversial about it that it was not shown on The History Channel. It actually painted them in a very sympathetic light and nothing that everyone doesn't already know was in there.

This being the last day of June and all, I find myself looking forward to July. Here's what we've got going on:

Fourth of July Laser Show in Canyon, TX (the boys are more excited about this than they ever were for fireworks)
Summer Drama Workshop (I can't fathom that I'll be the one watching the plays this time. I used to be in those plays!! I just hope the boys have as much fun as I did.)
Seeing good friends (I was going to say 'old friends' but decided that I don't like using that word to describe people my own age anymore. Ha!)
Spending time with the families
Dry heat (You think I'm crazy, but all of us are having such bad allergies, I welcome no humidity for awhile.)
Harry Potter!!!
a slow month. I really hope it doesn't go too fast.

Happy 4th of July, because I know I won't be blogging before then.

the time: a little before sunset

2011-06-22T15:24:00.000-06:00

The boys were playing basketball with their dad and I sat outside and noticed the rays of sunshine coming through the clouds. I had to grab the camera and take some shots. I love clouds.

Here are some other things I'm lovin' right now:

Rescue Me, the tv show with Denis Leary (catching up on Netflix)
Purplish gray nail polish for my toes
Feta Cheese tossed onto a salad with Italian Dressing
Boo's little dream barks--when she is sleeping, she sometimes makes small "woof" sounds and it makes Seth and me laugh everytime.
the fact that Rhett can put in and take out his contacts all by himself now!!!
the fact that Noah wants to be a mascot for his summer job during college (specifically, a shark named Chompers)

See ya!

some love for my blue-eyed son

2011-06-15T09:29:00.003-06:00

Rhett is such a ham in front of the camera, but I did manage to get two good shots of him.

First, his serious side:

Then, my favorite, one of him laughing. He just lights up when he laughs. It is uninhibited and loud and sometimes he just falls down cause he has no control. That is a good laugh and I really love it!

Christy, you said that Noah looks like me. Well, Rhett looks so much like Seth but the other night, Seth and I looked at Noah and Rhett and for the first time said, "Wow, they really do look related!" I don't know what it was (was it the blue shirts they were wearing, their sun-lightened hair, the way they were eating ice cream?) but we just stared at them for a few minutes.

I wish I could show you a side by side picture of them, but instead, here is something they thought of on their own:

So goofy. Love it!

They are having a blast this week at Tennis Camp. They come home exhausted! I, myself, can't believe how fast this month has flown by but then don't we all say that every year during summer? I know that Seth and I have forgotten a couple of important dates and we are working on making that up to people. I kind of forget to look at a calendar when summer rolls around. Oops.

I hope everyone is beating the heat! Yesterday, it was actually pretty nice but the heat is back on today, so I'm sure the pool is in our immediate future. Have a great day!

and, you, my brown-eyed boy

2011-06-10T09:48:00.000-06:00

I found this photo of Noah on my older camera that I took to Charlotte. I had forgotten that I had taken the camera to school for his Thanksgiving play. It kind of took my breath away. His eyes. Could you not just get lost in those eyes?

a weekend away with my sister

2011-06-07T10:33:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was so much fun! I loved getting to see Krista and hang out. It had been too long. I really didn't take that many pictures but we did a lot.

The photos we did take are from the Segway Tour of Charlotte. Segways are the funnest way to travel for sure.

Here are two beautiful pictures of my sister and me:

But, really, we do look awesome. These were taken before we were allowed to get on them. You should have seen us once we were though, zipping along. I was amazed at the muscles you use in your feet, legs and back. I don't know how much we learned about Charlotte (the tour guide was fun, but didn't know much) but honestly, I didn't care.

We went through one of the oldest cemetaries in Charlotte and it was segregated. Here is a poignant headstone that our guide pointed out:

This one was interesting as well:

The man was killed by a lion!

We went through beautful parks and greenways and made our way to Uptown (which is Charlotte's Downtown) and I had to take a picture of this for the boys:

The Carolina Panther! This is emabarrassing to admit, but Krista and I couldn't remember the name of the NFL team that plays in Charlotte. Had no idea. When the tour guide said something about the Carolina Panthers, we both were like, "Oh yeah!" So yes, here is the panther. Looks kind of scary.

We also went to Ikea (spent 3 hours there!), and did some shopping at a mall and basically did things that you don't want to do when your kids are around because it is too much work. It was great!

Hold On*! We also watched Bridesmaids and laughed and laughed. So funny.

I can't forget to say that I also saw Krista's husband. He was there for a Heroes Comic convention and so I didn't see much of him but it was nice to catch up. He has a new blog called The Temple of Kemple which showcases his art. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

But it is back to life. Rhett is at Vacation Bible School (Noah refused to go) this week. We'll probably go to the pool a lot because its hot, hot, hot. Rhett also wants to go to church camp this weekend but I think I missed the deadline on that one. Oops. He won't be happy with me but I think we may get to go to a baseball game on Saturday, so that will make up for it, hopefully.

I'll leave you with something that Krista made. It is my favorite thing ever:

Isn't it adorable? I love it. And he is waving! Aww... Be still, my heart. :)

{thanks, sis for a fantastic weekend and my owl. thanks, chris for getting the boys awesome comic books! they've been busy drawing their own after reading the ones you got for them.}

*a surprise from the movie-one of my favorite (girl) bands from the 90s had a cameo. Can you guess which one?

oh what beautiful webs they weave

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we watched a small spider weave her web. I assume it was a she, but we kept calling it a he, so who knows? The wind was whipping the web back and forth and it looked like the spider was on one heck of a thrill ride, but she still continued until she was done. Then she went back to the middle to wait. It was pretty amazing.

After it got dark, we climbed up onto their fort to roast marshmallows (with candles-it was funny) and to begin reading Tom Sawyer. We only got through the first chapter and then I had to explain what happened because the language is such that we all are not used to (pantaloons, anyone?) but I have to admit that I started laughing when Tom and the boy dressed in the pantaloons were fighting over whether or not Tom would ~~beat him up~~ lick him.

Tonight we have our last baseball game. Rhett is ready for a break from baseball (as we all are). And then tomorrow, I am flying to Charlotte, NC to see Krista and Chris! I can hardly wait! Right now I can't decide whether or not to bring my good camera. It is kind of bulky so I think I'll take my older, smaller one. I am also trying to fit everything into a small "weekend" bag. I don't think "weekend" bags were made for women but I'll try.

I'll leave you with this:

I took some photos of the solar lights hung out on the fort, where we roasted marshmallows. I wanted to mainly to work on taking photos at night. This is without the flash, on auto.

This one above is on manual, and after working on shutter speed and white balance and ISO. I can see why people need tripods when taking photos at night because the shutter speed is very slow.

So slow that you can't move or it will blur. But I did this one above on purpose. I shook the camera as I took the picture and this was the result. Kind of cool.

Ok, enough of the boring light pictures. Hopefully, next week I'll have some of Charlotte. Til then, have a great weekend!

Being boys i.e. Captains of Adventure

2011-06-01T08:07:00.000-06:00

Well, I talk about boys

Don't ya know I mean boys

Well, I talk about boys, now

Aaahhh, boys

Well, I talk about boys, now

What a bundle of joy!

-from the Beatles "Boys"

Don't you just love boys? The drink mustache (I think its Sunkist), the sunscreen residue in their hair, the sweaty sideburns...

the freckles that dot their faces, the wide, holey smiles, the cool shades...

Day 1 of our Summer Adventure included getting new sunglasses because this is Rhett's first time to wear the ones he has always wanted to wear with the rainbow lenses. So excited! Rhett wears his contacts most days now, unless I'm not there to help him put them in. This, we are working on. We also went on a picnic at the riverside. This will be an ongoing adventure because the boys really want to explore the river but today we were not in a good spot. We walked down a small trail, slid down a small hill (even me), and looked around at the trashy and stinky water. Like I said, not a good spot. So, I hoisted the boys back up and they pulled me back on the trail (Rule #1 of being a good Captain of Adventure: Always help the smallest person up a hard spot to climb first, then they can all help pull the biggest. It worked really well. Thank goodness or I'd still be there at the waterside!)

After walking around the playground a bit, we then decided to go back home and play Beatles Rockband where we jammed to some good tunes, including the one at the top of this post.

Now, we are taking a break and waiting for Seth so we can go swimming at the pool.

Ahh, summer...

Oh and we are working on getting along with each other also. See how well its going?

a wish list for summer 2011

2011-05-31T08:44:00.000-06:00

Here are some things that would make this a really great summer:

Roasting marshmallows (from Rhett)-actually Rhett has wanted to do this for months now. I think we will try to do it today or tomorrow
Reading Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn with the boys
Getting Noah to wear something other than his black underarmor shirt (you know, the one he wore in the picture in the post below? Well, he wears it every other day) and wind pants.
Playing tennis with the family (I have a picture in my mind: All four of us go out and hit the ball around and it is fun and we don't have to chase the ball when the kids hit it over the fence or use 10 balls because they all hit the net...Rhett and Noah have a tennis camp at the end of the month!)
Noah learning how to play golf (because he really wants to)
Taking a trip to see Krista (oh yeah, this is happening! Three days and counting...)
Getting to see some cousins (the boys already saw two of their cousins this weekend and had a great time)
The mornings stay cool outside and then the evenings cool down so we can go outside and not be stifled by humidity and heat (I know, I live in Tulsa. This one isn't happening. But I can dream, can't I?)
Going to the mountains once this summer
Doing art projects with the boys
Taking lots of pictures
Getting to see some old friends that I haven't seen in awhile
Watching movies (HP! HP! HP)
Enjoying the long, lazy days of summer (this one should be easy)

What are some of your wishes for this summer?

last day of school-year 2011

2011-05-25T11:02:00.000-06:00

After a crazy night of tornado threats which ended up being mostly a windy thunderstorm for us (but sadly, not for others), the boys finally went to bed, too hyped up to sleep. Today is the day they have been looking forward to for a month!

I don't know what this summer holds for us so far, but I do know it will involve plenty of pool time (although it needs to warm up a bit for me to get in), reading books (the boys and I are going to read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn together), watching movies (Harry Potter!) and hanging out.

What about you?

little of this, little of that

2011-05-16T12:08:00.000-06:00

All day today I have felt like I am forgetting something important.

I am paying bills, so that is not it.

I know about Rhett's yearbook signing and pizza party lunch, which parents are not invited too, so that can't be it.

I checked on Facebook to see if it was someone's birthday. It is, but not a close friend.

I even looked on my blog archive and did find out that yesterday was my grandparents anniversary. Oops.
But still, that feeling...

I am sure I will remember it. Probably when it is too late.

In other news:

Rhett: His graduation was a real ceremony: a speech from the principal, a song (which didn't make me cry, only because I really couldn't hear it), each child's name being called while they walked across the stage to get a diploma. Many, many parents and grandparents, looking as proud as they can be.

Noah: Noah's new fascination is annoying his brother. He knows exactly which buttons to push too. Fortunately, Rhett doesn't get mad quickly and thinks most of it is funny. Unfortunately, if Rhett turns the tables around and does the same thing, Noah turns into Mr. Hyde quickly. That kid.

Oh and perhaps the most amazing thing that has happened to me, game-wise, in, let's say, ever: I was playing Words with Friends with my brother and was losing pretty badly. Then I played the word JOCK, with a triple word score overall and the K on the triple letter score and it totaled 120 points. 120 points!! I am not saying that this is anything but luck and I have no doubt that this will never happen to me again so that is why I am telling you now. :)

this has been a lot of fun

2011-05-13T12:39:00.000-06:00

I was thinking this morning about how I would begin my blog post and I thought of That 70's Show episode where the gang goes to Canada to get beer, then Fez loses his Green Card and they get caught by the Canadian border guard. Leo (who is played by Chong, of Cheech and Chong) answers all the Mounties' questions with the same question, for example:

Mounty: What are you doing in Canada?
Leo: What are you doing in Canada, man?

It is hilarious (and I know I am not doing it justice by writing about it here) and anyway, the reason I thought of it was because I imagined you, my blog reader, saying, "Where have you been lately?" and my immediate response was, "Where have you been lately, man?"

But to answer your question (that I imagined you asking), I have been reading. And sewing pillows. And cleaning carpets. Some other things too.

Books:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is such a good memoir. It is a story in the same vein as Angela's Ashes (alcholic father, very poor growing up, ect) but didn't make you feel as sad because of her tone. This book I read for my book club, which was last night at my house. I made pinwheel sandwiches and brownies and it was so fun to sit in a group of women and just talk.

I will admit, I never wanted to read this book. It looked boring to me. And then the movie came out and Robert Pattinson stars in it and all of the sudden, it looked a little less boring. ;) So I read it and kicked myself that I didn't read it before now. Love, love, love this book.

And my new obsession: The Mortal Instruments series by Cassadra Clare. These books remind me a little of Harry Potter (in a good way, not a totally copying-sort-of way.) A science-fiction/fantasy/romance (my favorite combo) story about supernatural beings, both good and evil. Really love these books. I think she wrote a trilogy, then decided to write six instead and the fourth book has been just released. She also has written a prequel about The Mortal Instruments so there is that too. Plenty to keep me busy during the hot summer months.

Today:

Rhett has his graduation ceremony today. His elementary school only goes through 4th grade. I do know they are going to show a slideshow and sing a song, a combination that will no doubt make me cry. I really try not to cry but I can't help it. Kids singing brings tears to my eyes and I have found it doesn't matter what it is--the kids' choir sang for Easter at our church and tears streamed down my face, when Rhett had his musical and sang about pioneers, I cried at that too. And slideshows--forget it. I'll just bring plenty of tissues and try not to embarrass myself.

A funny: (not meant to embarrass my hubby)

I tried a different recipe for my brownies for the book club meeting last night. While Rhett was eating one for his dessert last night, he told Seth, "These taste different." Seth didn't know I made them and he thought for a split second that maybe, just maybe, they were "special" brownies that one of the book club ladies made. So he tasted it but decided they were fine. When he told me about it later, I asked if he would have known what "special" brownines tasted like and he said that surely he could have. Then I asked if he really thought one of the women could have done that! He said, "I don't know them!" We had a good laugh. The more I think about it, the more I laugh. And, strangely enough, it reminds me of That 70's Show because there is always a point in each episode that they are sitting around a table, getting high and laughing. Stranger still, I have referenced that show twice and I really never watched it while it was on and hardly watch it now.

Have a wonderful weekend!

i'm tired of thinking of titles

2011-05-02T10:45:00.000-06:00

It's May! Only 18 more days of school for the boys. They are ready! I haven't posted any pictures in awhile, so here is a few for you:

Boo is 6 months old now. She is a smart, stubborn dog but a great watch dog. A couple of weeks ago, it was stormy outside, with hail and thunder being the worst of it. Boo thought the thunder was trying to get us, so she sat down in our entry way, facing the door, fully alert. We have never seen her sit that long away from any of us before so it was pretty funny.

I wanted to show Rhett when he was singing with the 4th grade, but had to blur out the other kids so sorry for the weird picture. I think they were singing, "When I first came to this land" and it was such a cute song. Here is a snippet of the end:

When I first came to this land

I was not a wealthy man

Then I got myself a son

I did what I could

I called my son "My Work's Done"

I called my wife "Joy of My Life"

I called my horse, "Lame of Course"

I called my cow ,"No Milk Now"

I called my shack "Break My Back"

Still the land was sweet and good

I did what I could.

The musical was all about the pioneers of Oklahoma. They sang the state song at the end and I have to say that Oklahoma has the best state song ever. It is so joyful and peppy.

Here is Noah with his class when they were singing a Spanish song about body parts (hands, feet, mouth, nose). It was cute too. Again, sorry for the blurs but I always have to show when Noah is smiling like that. He has blue hair because of his Suessical the Musical. He wanted to be wild and crazy, like a Who. :)

We've had rain (Thank God) and many days of cloudy skies the last two weeks of April. I love clouds and the promise of rain. It has rained out a few of Rhett's baseball games, so we are going to have to make those up but sometimes it is nice to be stuck inside doing nothing because of the rain.

One day, I went out and our sky looked like giant cotton balls. It was really cool.

I will leave you with this short quip:

The boys have been busy with school but on Friday, they did get a day off because they went to work with Seth, where they learned about volcanos and earthquakes. Then I met them for lunch at a great, greasy hamburger joint (seriously, yummy!) and while we were eating Noah was complaining about something that wasn't pleasing him. Rhett tells his brother, "You know, the sun does not rise and set on you alone." Before I could tell him I was impressed with that, Rhett's very quick-witted brother fires back, "Rhett, I will rise and sit on you." We all just burst out laughing. It was just so funny and just so Noah to say that. Even Rhett admitted that it was a great comeback.

Have a great day!

a celebration of learning about Noah

2011-04-18T12:34:00.000-06:00

Noah had a mucical today. It was very cute. They sang songs from Suessical the Musical (I'm totally guessing here but they were Dr. Suess songs and it was called Suessical the Musical, so I'm pretty sure that is right). After, we went to his classroom for a Celebration of Learning! He showed me his power point presentation on sharks (One slide said SHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!RUN!!!!!!!!!! against an orange screen), showed me his poster on FDR (huge blue paper with two smallish pictures on it and one paragraph of Roosevelt) his caterpillar ("Here are some caterpillars. Let's go do something else now."), his artwork (half of them were unfinished) and some of his writings in his writer's workshop folder (umm, I won't comment) . Then he read to me from Calvin and Hobbes for 15 minutes. I concluded this about my son:

He can ham it up when he wants to. He totally rocked in the musical.

He is much more interested in reading about sharks than actually doing a project on them.

He is much more interested in reading than doing much of anything else in school. In fact, his teacher said that sometimes, she catches Noah with a book during math.

He has a creative side...but he doesn't want to spend time on that side. He would rather read.

:)

sharing a list of loves today

2011-04-11T14:54:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say that I was so busy last week, that it flew by so fast, I totally didn't have a chance to blog. But, that really isn't true. I was kind of lazy last week. Fighting allergies, the blahs, whatever. Anyway, here's hoping this week will be better.

Things I'm loving right now:

Netflix. We have an account now and I am so loving it right now. I can watch things on my IPad while the boys are watching something else on the tv! Right now, I am enjoying 30 Rock (can I say that I love that show and have never watched it before now? But it is so funny) and we've already enjoyed (or not depending on what it was) 4 movies. 4! I feel like I have to break up with Blockbuster though. Imagine, will you, me sitting Mr. B down and giving him a coke from his own chilled beverage holder that is at the checkout counter and saying, "Look, I know we've had good times. You were there during my True Blood marathon. You had some great movie selections. And in the last couple of years, you didn't charge late fees. But, you are pretty expensive. And there is that whole bankruptsy thing going on...I mean, how long are you still going to be around? Plus, your "guaranteed" titles weren't always there. In fact, more often than not, they were all gone. So, this is good-bye. And good luck."

My Aladdin water bottle. Since moving to Tulsa, I started buying bottled water again and until recently, just didn't care. Then I started feeling guilty again so I stopped cold turkey but found I wasn't drinking enough during the day. I basically filled my glass half full then drank a sip, then forgot for an hour or two. Plus, you can't really take a glass with you whereever you go. So I tried filling my Camelback water bottle up with water but (and this is where I reveal something weird about me that I only recently figured out) I don't like drinking water from anything but clear cups or glasses! Because my blue Camelback would just sit there, untouched too. Instead of reverting back to bottled water, though, I bought a clear water bottle, which is also BPA free. So I am happily drinking water again.

The fact that there is only 6 (or maybe 7) weeks of school left. Yay! I am looking forward to summer, very much so.

My sister Krista's crochet critters. Look on her blog (link off to the side) and you too will fall in love with the cuteness.

Have a great Monday!

3 projects, 3 pictures, 3 wishes

2011-04-01T14:24:00.000-06:00

You really may not care at this point, but Round 2 in the Dogs vs. Me battle of the garden has begun. I decided to try a garden fence. I found a white garden fence (cheap, cheap, cheap!) at Wal-mart, but spray painted in black so it wouldn't be so noticeable. And standing from afar, you can hardly see it although when you can, it doesn't look so bad. The dogs sniffed it but then walked away. Maybe the spray paint will be a deterrent for awhile. I'll keep you updated because I know you really do care. Haha.

Have I ever showed you the shark that I paper-mâchéd? I don't think I have. So here it is in all his friendly glory:

It hangs in Noah's room and his room is officially finished. It is painted a lovely green, has a collage of picture frames that hangs above his desk, his bed is diagonal facing, just like he asked and there is a Mario-Luigi t-shirt stretched over a canvas (easiest project ever!) that hangs by his bed. Here is a shot:

My favorite is the framed art that hangs above his nightstand. It reads, "You are an Original" and that is Noah exactly.

It is so beautiful outside right now so here is what I'm wishing for this weekend:
1. I want to play tennis with the boys
2. I want to grill something and eat outdoors
3. I want to take some pictures of my family

Have a great weekend and Happy April!

is this normal for a dog?

2011-03-30T12:43:00.000-06:00

I'm just wondering...

setting myself up for a fail

2011-03-29T14:48:00.000-06:00

Good afternoon. If anyone is counting, it is Dogs 1 Me 0 as far as the garden is concerned. Somedog (I'm not naming names, but a not-so-little puppy has dirt written all over her face and fingernails) totally ignorned the Boundary dog spray and went right for a plant in one of my pots and also one of my grasses. She totally dug that up and took up some weed fabric along with it. I had that tacked down! She also pulled up some plastic that was under pea gravel which was by the air conditioner to keep the dogs away. (I read that they don't like the feel of pea gravel under their paws. I guess that was wrong). So, wait, that means it is Dogs 2 Me 0.

Sigh.

After blowing a fuse, I am calm now, the garden is halfway back to normal and the dogs are put away in the laundry room. I realize that I was just asking for it by planting grass. What dog doesn't like grass? And mulch? And apparently, fabric? Back to the drawing board...

Mangos. Delicious, yummy fruit. I found them at Sam's. We've yet to eat all of them but we are working on it. I took this picture last week when it was sunny. I don't mind the clouds, really, I don't, but I do wish it would rain if there were clouds. And spring is the only time with decent temperatures to enjoy here in humid Oklahoma. Summer is coming up fast and the hot temps await.

Wow, I really trailed onto another subject there. I was going to say that I'm working on taking photos inside with no flash and I have found that lots of light is helpful. Everyone probably knows that so I won't say anymore on the subject.

I'll end this post on a good note: This morning, I awoke to the sound of my boys laughing. And that was a really nice way to start the day.

Bye for now...

i really love my two goofballs

2011-03-28T15:07:00.001-06:00

I took this about a month ago. I took several pictures of them and believe it or not, this is the only one that they are both smiling a little. The others they are making funny faces or pouting (Noah) or I can see pink gum (Rhett). Yes, they are goofing around but don't they look adorable doing it? :)

If I can ever get us up and around on a Saturday, I would love to take some family shots in our living room. With the light coming in from the windows, it really is beautiful. Maybe someday.

I'm cold today. I haven't recovered from this weekend where we sat in 35 degree weather watching Rhett's baseball tournament. Every two minutes, Noah would say, "I really wish we could go right now." And I would say, "I know. Me too." But still we sat, huddled underneath a blanket and freezing our you know what's off. I am beginning to think Mother Nature doesn't like baseball.

Speaking of cold, the ice cream experiment is a breeze. hee hee. Seriously, so easy. All you need is:

1 gallon size freezer bag
1 quart size storage bag
3 cups of ice
3/4-1 cup of ice cream salt
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 t vanilla

1. Add the sugar, milk, cream and vanilla in the quart storage bag. Seal securely.
2. Put 3 cups of ice into the gallon storage bag. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of salt to the bag of ice.
3. Place the sealed quart bag inside the gallon bag and seal the gallon bag securely.
4. Gently rock the gallon bag from side to side for 10-15 minutes or until the contents of the quart bag have solidified into ice cream.
5. Remove the quart bag, open it and serve!

You might want to wear gloves for this. The bag gets really cold! Also, make sure the quart bag is sealed, otherwise your ice cream will taste salty. One boy had really salty ice cream, but he ate it anyway. Blech.

The experiment was too see if the temperature of the ice got colder or warmer when salt was added to it. It really is kind of cool (forgive all the puns) to test it out.

The ice cream didn't get too hard but the kids liked it that way. They used straws and had milkshakes.

I think I'll do this with my kids this summer because it was so easy. Enjoy!

three short thoughts; bittersweet in mood

2011-03-24T13:59:00.000-06:00

I helped Noah and his classmates make ice cream today. It was a pretty cool experiment and just a little messy. I love getting to see Noah during the school day. He is always so happy to see me. Rhett is too. I have missed that this year. In their school, parents aren't allowed to volunteer for their child's teacher, so I don't get to see them as often as I did last year. It was fun.

Yesterday, there was a funeral for a young man in Bixby, Oklahoma and "those" protestors (you know the ones that are always in the news. I don't want to say the name because I don't want them to get even more attention) came because they hate Oklahomans for some reason or another. It makes me sad, to see such hate and lack of compassion. Then you see the other side, the wall of anti-protestors that protect the family from the hate and it is so beautiful to see people work together for good.

Our heater just turned on for the first time in a while. It is much cooler today, of course, because Rhett has a ballgame and I'll be able to stay the whole time this time. So, of course, it will be cold. But he may pitch tonight. That will be exciting because he so wants to pitch. I'll let you know how it goes.

C25K Week 2 Day 1 reflections*

2011-03-23T10:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I went to the gym. It was kind of spontaneous, well, actually, the buying of new sneakers was spontaneous, the guilt that followed was self-generated. (As in, I just spent good money on a pair of good work-out shoes, now WORK OUT or else!) So, to the gym I went in my new shoes (they are the Sketchers Tone Ups which, judging by my sore butt and inner thigh muscles, really work.) and I began my Couch to 5K program again. And I found that it really wasn't that hard, this running and walking on the treadmill thing. I actually enjoyed it. I would walk and read To Kill A Mockingbird (again) and then run and think about things like "Wow, my neck looks old." (I saw my reflection in the tv monitor) and "I can't believe I named my dog after a man who stabbed his dad with scissors." and "But doesn't Boo Radley redeem himself in the end?" and "I can't believe its been so long since I've read my favorite book that I don't remember these things." and then it was time to walk again before getting to deep into thought.

It really went by fast. 30 minutes, 165 calories burned (is that really it?) and I was out of there. I also had energy to go back to work in the back yard for awhile.
I have decided I must go back at least 3x a week. And only read To Kill a Mockingbird then because that will motivate me.

I have also decided to start using night cream on my neck. Or is that too much information for you?

*I need to tell you in full disclosure that I started C25K last month. Since I walk/ran only once a week, then took a couple of weeks off, I am only on Week 2 when I should be, oh, much farther. But I didn't have the shoes. Now I do. ;)

flowers, flowers everywhere; Rhett's a hitter!

2011-03-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

I love my camera. I have never taken better pictures of flowers than I have with this camera. I love my photo editor too. It is so fun to play around with my images and find things that make my pictures better.

These flowers are from my front flower bed. The pansies were buried under a foot or more of snow and are still beautiful. I don't know how they do it but what an amazing flower.

Here is a tulip. My first tulip to bloom. I'm so proud. :)

The next two pictures are of the same tulip, but different filters. I kind of like the bottom picture better but the top is a brighter red. Which do you like?

I have different filters for the next shot as well. I liked both so I put them both in. This is my favorite tulip color.

Ahh...spring. Finally.

And this is what I've been working on yesterday and today. My back flower bed. I planted some grasses and just love this striped grass. Boo has been eyeing it so she much love it too. She also eats this mulch for breakfast so I sprayed some Boundary dog spray (very stinky) around the flower bed in hopes that the dogs stay out. They love to go behind the bushes and dig. Actually, they love to dig anywhere in the bed. So I am hoping that the weed fabric, rocks around the back edge and the spray deters them. Hope with me, will you? Do you think it is a lost cause? I don't want to pen them up but I may have to when we aren't outside. It may just be too tempting for them.

I'm not done with the back yard but I ran out of gas. That wore me out. And I need to do some other things too. Maybe tomorrow I will get back to it.

Rhett update: Last night he batted an RBI! I didn't see it because I took Noah home so he could go to bed ("It's not fair Mom. Rhett gets to stay up late and I don't.") but he hit one right to the pitcher and even though he was thrown out at first and tangled with the first baseman and bruised his knee pretty badly (you should have seen him limping proudly), his teammate made it home. That's pretty cool.

Oh and don't tell his eye doctor that he played. His eyes were dilated yesterday afternoon and the doctor strongly discouraged him to play. He was bound and determined though.

Noah update: He is bound and determined to not let me forget how much he wants a Pokemon DS game. That is all.

Hope everyone has a great day!

it started out as a Monday

2011-03-21T12:27:00.001-06:00

This morning began with a bang. A dog to clean up after and two boys who slept in after a week of getting up extra early-just because. We missed the bus, again, and so we hurried out the door to make the bell. (This would sound so much more dramatic and much less pathetic if the bus didn't get here at 8:10 and school didn't start at 8:50 am). I forgot my cell phone, so had to race back home to get it, then on to Lowe's to find plants for one of my flower beds.

The fun began! I picked out several ornamental grasses and a pink garza plant (my fave). But that fun didn't last long because I had to work after that. I had to even out the dirt, put weed fabric down to deter the dogs from digging, rocks around the back near the house to deter the dogs from digging (you see a pattern here?) and now I've run out of rock and mulch so I have to go back tomorrow.

This afternoon Rhett goes to the eye doctor and I really am hoping for some different news than the same old story. "Does he need surgery to correct his eye because it isn't getting that much better and he doesn't seem to be growing out of it?" "Can he have contacts because his glasses are a pain to keep clean and adjusted?" Oh and sunglasses. Got to ask about those.

The day is not over for us. Tonight is Rhett's first game of the season and it starts at 7:45 pm. I want to watch all of them this week (we have baseball every day this week except Tuesday) but then again, I don't. But I keep reminding myself: This is what Rhett likes.

So today has been a Monday. Right now, I am reminding myself of the fun we had last week, visiting our family in Friona, getting to see old friends and while Rhett and Seth went to NCAA basketball games on Friday night, Noah and I went to see Rango (is it just me or was it trying to make a political or environmental point, albeit subtly? If you've seen it, let me know in the comments. Also, Johnny Depp. Love him, even as a lizard.), Seth cleaning the house last night while I sat and watched The Real Housewives of Orange County (please don't judge me), and I am also reminding myself of future fun (I get to see Krista soon!!) so I can get through this day and perhaps week.

I also am going to try blogging more regularly. Casey mentioned that I don't much anymore. And Dad has my blog bookmarked on his phone (it looks like an app!). So I need to get with it. I will see you tomorrow with pictures of my tulips because I am so excited they are coming up.

Have a good day. Even if it is a Monday.

add this project to the list

2011-03-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have found fabric that makes me want to sew. To be a seamstress. Mom, I'm gonna need your help.

Ruffle Fabric is exactly what it says it is. I happened across it one day while googling "ruffle fabric" to see if I could find fabric that looks like Anthropologie's bedding that I am in love with but just can't spend the moolah for but I also know I could never sew that to save my life. Anyway, this site has ruffles, and lots of them, ranging from cute and frilly to soft and beautiful to "hey, I'd like a casual skirt in made from that." Wouldn't that be great in the summer? I'm hoping I can pull this off and even more hopeful that the fabric will arrive before Spring Break so I can bring it with me when I go visit my mom.

While I'm hoping, I will also throw in that I hope that any sewing lessons from my mom will go better than the last time we tried this. Ha! I vividly remember trying to make a pale blue dress and accidently cutting the fabric that was supposed to be the front of my dress. I was so frustrated, even though Mom spent so much time trying to fix it (with a fabric overlay in the shape of a V.) If none of this makes sense, I am sorry. I don't have any visuals but can see it perfectly in my mind.

I can sew okay now. And I think the skirt I have in mind will be fairly easy. But I do want to make sure nothing goes wrong because I do so love this fabric.

And to my family and friends that have girls, wouldn't a ruffle skirt look adorable on your daughters? If I can do this, your girl(s) may be getting one. I have to share the ruffle love and my boys just wouldn't appreciate it. :)

a post that's all about Rhett

2011-03-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

I think Rhett is the luckiest person I know. He is the one who always finds the quarters on the ground, much to his brother's dismay. The other day, we were at Blockbuster looking for Megamind. The section it was supposed to be in showed it was out. But as we were looking around, he found a copy in a section where you can buy movies. Apparently, someone had it and changed their mind. Who knows but it was no surprise that Rhett found it. If it were just me looking, I would have gone home empty-handed. He is cool like that.

He has officially started baseball. His first tournament is this weekend. He pitches and yesterday, played 2nd base in a scrimmage. (I didn't stay and watch. I figure I will make it up with the many, many games on the way). Honestly, I don't love watching baseball. I love watching Rhett though. Seth and I both hope though that his nerves and worrying don't suck the fun out of it for him. Because he does love baseball right now. And he does really well when he relaxes and just goes with it.

Monday, the 4th Grade students are turning into "living wax figures" from history. The people they represent must have contributed to society somehow. Rhett chose Chuck Yeager. He is the man who broke the sound barrier in case you forgot. In preparation for this day, we watched The Right Stuff, read some of an autobiography on Yeager, and he is now in the process of memorizing a speech that includes a quote from Yeager himself: "The secret to my success was that somehow I always managed to live to fly another day." I didn't let Rhett know that after his first wife died of ovarian cancer in 1990, he went on to marry a much younger woman and that 3 of his 4 children sued for financial reasons. He basically disowned them, which is totally sad and disheartening.

I am going to take some pictures of my tulips that are peeking out of the ground. I sure hope that Spring is on its way because they sure think its time. I've never grown tulips before so I was pretty excited to see the tiny shoots.

Have a great day!

No school Friday and other stuff

2011-03-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

As a mom who has spent the large part of February with her children, stuck inside because of snow, and knows that Spring Break is in two weeks, I am a little confused. Friday, the boys have no school for "optional" school conferences. How about they use that day. We have six days to make up!!

Ugg.

(By the way, Uggs are still my favorite shoes ever.)

But enough complaining. Here's a highlight of what's been going on:

Me:

I bought a couple of art books last week from Amazon and I am so excited to get started on a couple of projects. I've always wanted to learn screen printing and I've been dreaming about making curtains from fabric that isn't boring but can't find what I want. So, I thought, why don't I make my own design? Sounds like a big project but hopefully, these books will help. I'm going to start small and try some pillows first. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Project 365 is going...not well. I'm going to call February a wash and hopefully in March I will prove more successful.

Noah:

He is a mess. And I mean that in the best possible way a mom could when talking about her child. We went to two birthday parties in the past two weeks and he had a terrible time at both. The first one was a bowling party and we showed up late, so that is probably one reason he didn't have fun. The rest of the kids were halfway through the game and he likes winning. Then we went to a roller skating party and I thought he would have a blast. I loved roller skating parties when I was younger!! Alas, Noah did not. He cried. He fell. He cried some more. I even laced some roller skates on and skated with him. He didn't crack a smile once. Other kids were falling around us and popping back up, laughing. Noah would fall and stay there, thinking his wrist was broken. It was awful.
This morning, he said something about how he missed another classmate's birthday party that was this past Saturday. "Why?" he wanted to know. I told him because he was miserable the last two times we went to a party. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." Yeah, me too.

He also had a research paper on Franklin D. Roosevelt that is due today. He never had to bring it home but because he missed working on it one day last week because of a trip to the nurse (sigh), he brought it home last night. He had to write 10 sentences.

"Do you want to know more about Franklin Rosevelt? Then keep reading."

He wrote about his birth, who he got married to and his death. That about covered it. I bit my tongue trying not to say anything.

But, I do have a couple of positive things to say about him. He has finally found a book that he loves and it is a chapter book. His teacher wants him to read more challenging books besides the comic books he so enjoys, but he always found them boring. Rick Riordan's Red Pyramid provides just the right amount of excitement for him, I guess.

He also has one more basketball game and then we'll be done for the season. I think he enjoyed himself. He has learned how to screen for his teammates (even getting a bruised lip in the process) and last week scored 4 points. He wants to play golf next so his awesome uncle is going to give him a couple of lessons over Spring Break. I also said that I would, gulp, try to find out if he can start drum lessons. I know! But he has been asking forever and that may be a good thing to do over the summer. Yes, I am just asking for it.

This has turned into a much larger post than I thought so I think I will stop for now. Tomorrow I will write about Rhett and who is going to be for 4th grade's Living Wax Museum. Pretty exciting stuff!

back to the old routine, hooray!

2011-02-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

I feel I should blog about something. After all, it has been awhile and a lot has happened. For instance, it is nearly 100 degrees warmer than it was last week. (We were below 0 for awhile. Now it is in the 70s and beautiful.) Snow? What snow? There is no snow here!

Which means, school! We had school every day this week. Exciting stuff!

To make up for all those snow days, the school has decided to add 30 minutes to the day, starting on Monday until the end of school. So the boys will now have to go until, wait for it... 4 pm! Oh no! Actually, that is really okay by me and the boys are okay with it too once they realized they wouldn't have to go into June. Unless something happens and snow returns. I guess we do have one more month until spring.

Let's see, what else? Well, Seth had his birthday and we spoiled him with Good Cake. This is my mom's speciality, according to the boys. Rhett did say this though, after tasting it, "Doesn't Grandmom add whiskey to her Good Cake?" I chuckled at that, after saying that no, I didn't think so. It must be those Heath Bars that I don't put on mine that make the cake taste like whiskey. ;)

By the way, doesn't my husband look so handsome? 34? He looks not a day older than 25! :)

Then a couple of day later, we called Nana to wish her a happy birthday after going to watch Gnomio and Juliet. My movie grade for this one: Blah.

My project 365 hit a little snag this week because I kind of forgot to take pictures most days this week. But fear not, I will get back on track!

Next week we are going to start taking Boo to dog training classes. Isn't that funny? I figured if she was going to be a house dog, most of the time, then she needs to learn some manners. It will be interesting for sure. You saw what she did to my puppy training book. So wish me luck!

Have a good weekend!!

PS-I also want to say a little "happy belated birthday" to my friend's Christy's little girl. I know it was last week but I hope she had a wonderful first birthday!

Make a birthday wish for sunshine!

2011-02-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

Hi there. It is 10 minutes until midnight and normally I would be trying to go to sleep but normally, the boys would be going to school and they are not. Again. For the 8th snow day in a row. So why do I need to go to bed when there is no reason to get up early?

Well, there is one reason.

My sweetie's birthday is tomorrow. Or 9 minutes from now. And although he wont have presents to unwrap, I do want to make sure he feels special on his day. And at least be awake when he leaves for work. Hee hee. I would make him breakfast but he prefers cereal in the morning. he is pretty low-maintenance as far as celebrations go.

Hopefully, tomorrow the boys and I can get out and do some not-so-secret birthday shopping. Seth wrote out a list for Rhett who really wants to buy his daddy something. Noah has got supper covered. He is buying Panda Express for us to devour. They want to make a cake too. At least tomorrow we won't be bored. Yea for Seth's birthday to make another snow day bearable!

Actually, Seth makes a whole lot of things more bearable. And I hope that sounds lie a compliment. Because it is supposed to be.

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband. You mean so much to the boys and me. I hope that you have a very wonderful day and even if you don't like surprises, I hope there are a few good surprises that come your way. But only if they are really good. :)

We love, love, love you.

tree in snow, four different ways

2011-02-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

What is an inch of snow on top of 14 inches of snow really mean in the grand scheme of things? I can tell you that the snow that is falling right now is beautiful. Big flakes, falling slowly to the ground. I wish I lived near a mountain where I could just walk out and go skiing or sledding with the kids. Alas, we are here in "Green Country", a place like most of the country that is buried in snow and we don't know what to do.

Except take pictures:

Same tree, different filter. I love my photo editor. And my camera.

Four days off from school and no idea if we'll get back on Monday. Interesting month so far.

This is a view of the same tree but from an upstairs window. I was having fun today. I think I'll go make a loaf of bread in my bread machine now. We are out and I'm not going anywhere...

yes, Boo is wearing a coat

2011-02-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Snow! Lots and lots of it. I don't think we've ever seen so much snow and the city of Tulsa sure hasn't. It pretty much shut down most of the city and the school already called and said no on school tomorrow too! The boys may love it, but Seth, who pretty much spent a large part yesterday shoveling snow and getting all the snow off our roof, feels differently. Actually his words were, "I hate snow."

But it sure is fun to watch our dogs in it:

I wish I had more pictures of the boys but my camera's battery ran out of juice and then the dogs were cold and wet and well...life happens.

In other news:

I am still taking a photo once a day. But mostly, it is with my iphone so I haven't posted them on the blog. I hope this makes up for the lack of pictures. :) Hope everyone stays warm!

How's the training going, you ask?

2011-01-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

"Life is how you take it"*

2011-01-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

I took this picture on a Saturday. It was cold outside, the dogs and boys had cabin fever (except Noah just wanted to stay home and not go to his basketball game, but we did anyway) and so I got my one Diet Coke for the day and just sat down and enjoyed it.

Here are some other things that I am enjoying at the moment:

My Scrabble Game app: I am totally getting better at Scrabble and learning so many new words!
My ipad: Yes, I have one. Yes, I am so spoiled. Yes, I am loving it!!
Chicken Tortilla Soup: I made this last night and had it again for lunch. If I hide it from Seth in the back of the fridge, I might have it again tomorrow. Shh...don't say anything.
My clean house: Seriously, I said it Friday and I"ll say it again. Those snow days were awesome.
Movies with my hubby: We watched two on Saturday night with the boys- The Scorcer's Apprentice, which was actually pretty good but I like quirky Nicolas Cage and then Oceans which had some amazing footage of, well, the oceans. Then last night, we watched The Town with Ben Affleck. I thought it was well done and sad and disturbing and had an "aww" moment so that was good too.

Have a great day!

*This is Diet Coke's actual slogan for the year 2005. I thought it fit in nicely with today's blog. :)

It's Friday! Project 365 Week 2!

2011-01-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

I have been so excited to share my pictures that I have decided maybe next week to spread it out a little more. Especially because I have 8 photos to share today! 8! I know, there aren't even that many days in a week but remember I'm doing it my way.

Without further ado...

Project 365 Week 2:

We made it to Noah's basketball game on Saturday! He was so excited that he didn't even say a word about having to wear shorts. Ha. I love this picture. It was right before the game and the coaches were talking and he just looks over, so proud to be there.

Rhett and Boo, hanging out. That dog...we seriously love her.

Sunday night, Rhett spent the night with a friend because we had a day off from school. The next morning, Noah and I slept in and didn't get a chance to eat breakfast before picking up Rhett. So I promised Starbucks. Iced Chai Tea Latte and a veggie omelet ciabatta. It was really yummy.

Another hope for this year is to get back to baking again. Since moving, I've stopped baking and I really enjoy it so I have promised myself to bake something at least once a week. Last week, I made Rosemary bread which was a disappointment. This week, orange-blueberry muffins and banana-chocolate chip muffins. The orange-blueberry muffins, the ones you see here, were a hit. Just a hint of citrus. The recipe called for almonds but I didn't have any so I just added ground flax seed. It added the nuttiness it needed and made it more nutritious.

Wednesday, I went shopping. Target is having their big "Stock up and Save Sale" (which really doesn't save me anything because I buy more of what I probably could do without in the first place but Target is smart like that or maybe I'm not smart like that...anywho) and they had their Shark Steam Cleaner on sale. I've been wanting one of those for awhile (clean with only water? No dirty mop and bucket? No chemicals? Sold!) and so far I've not been disappointed. The microfiber cloths that fit on the bottom are washable and the dirt on that thing after I finished...whew! It made me wish I had bought one of these a long time ago.

It was also my sister, Krista's birthday on this day. Krista, did you love Modern Family as much as I did? We watched it again last night because we thought it was so hilarious!

Thursday brought a snow day which the boys must have needed because all week they had complaining about their stomachs and how tired they were (yes, they had Monday off) but no complaints this day. They woke up early and played all day. And also helped me shovel the driveway which was huge. I took this photo with my iphone. I'm looking outside the front door through the wreath that hangs there. I love this picture. And I loved this day. Yesterday, I felt like a superwoman. I got so much done! No where to go and nothing to do made it possible to get a lot of laundry done and bathrooms cleaned and closets straightened out and it was a wonderful feeling.

Here is another picture from Thursday. Rhett is about to go outside. He stayed out there for about an hour and a half just playing. Noah and I finished the driveway and hauled it back in the warm house. Rhett seemed to know that snow days don't happen very often.

This morning has been cold. 10 degrees cold. Miss Boo doesn't like it much. Here she is, begging to be let back in, while I'm waiting for her to do her business. Don't you love the door? It never stays clean and I guess I'm okay with that. Except on the day I clean it. :)

It's another snow day, so we are going to make Chocolate Crinkles. We never made them for Christmas and better late than never, right? Plus, they sound so good right now.

So yes, seeing how this took me about an hour to do, I think I am going to spread this out a little more next week. At least it gives me something to say on the ole' blog!

Have a great weekend!!

5 colorful things for your Monday

2011-01-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

There is hope for snow on Thursday. I have always loved snow. Maybe because where I live, it does not come around very often. I am sure those living in the Northeastern part of the US are wishing the snow would stop already. I also think it is so nice to be able to stay home and cuddle under a blanket with hot chocolate and a book. Not that I think we will have that much snow but it is nice to think about.

Today the boys didn't have to go to school. I had something I wanted them to do, needed them to do but silly me forgot to buy 'thank you cards' yesterday at the store. Oops. Writing thank you cards goes back on the list.

We made it to Noah's game on Saturday. He scored two points! I told him he tied my total for points scored in a game. Haha. I crack myself up. Watching 8 year olds play basketball is fairly funny itself. If a kid happens to get the ball, their faces register panic and everything they think they know about basketball goes out of their brain. Then they just throw it up in the air and hope it lands in the right basket. But when Noah made his basket, we were so happy for him.

Last night, Noah and I went to a movie. Yogi Bear. The whole time I was thinking that I wish I could see Justin Timberlake talking in his Boo-boo voice. Is it really his voice? Or is it digitally altered? If he did do that to his voice, did his throat get sore? These questions raced through my mind. You can tell the movie was riveting. Noah enjoyed it though and that is all that matters. Rhett went to a sleepover at a friends house and Seth stayed home to keep Boo company. She doesn't sound like Justin Timberlake at all. :)

I go to the dentist tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it but I do have a "At the dentist" playlist on my iphone. That will help right?

Friday: Project 365 my own way

2011-01-14T12:31:00.003-07:00

I don't know if you have ever heard of Project 365 but it is just what you might think. Take a photo, every day for a year. It is like a visual diary. I thought about doing it last year, then thought, "I know me. I get all excited about a project, begin with a fervor and then a few days later, I kind of lose interest." So I didn't even start it.

I realize now that this is not a healthy way of going about things. Quit before I even begin? So, one of my hopes (I use hope instead of resolution or goal because it is less pressure, haha) is that I stick with this project.

I am starting late but I guess that really doesn't matter. I am going to do my best to post my pictures on Fridays here on the old blog. Hopefully, I will have 7 pictures to post. But if not, it will be okay.

This week, I have three.

Project 365: Week 1

On Monday, the promise of snow filled the air. The boys were so excited about the prospect of having a snow day on Tuesday. All day, snow flurries fell for a while, then stopped. Finally, about the time when the boys got off the bus, big snowflakes were falling from the sky. Noah was so excited that he promptly took Boo outside for some play time. Of course, Boo was more interested in his shoes.

The snow fell for a solid three hours at least, but the roads stayed nice and non-icy. Sadly, the boys had to go to school the next day.

The next few days, it was very cold. Princess Boo didn't like it one bit. Here she is saying to me, "You are taking a picture now? Instead of holding me in the nice warm house? Crazy lady."

Seth had a great idea for our family. On Sunday, we talk about our week, our plans, and anything we are worried about or want to pray about. We also pick a bible verse for the week. This week, we had the homeless on our minds because Noah's class is collecting coats and sleeping bags for those in need. I said "listening ears" because I was having a hellava time trying to get the boys to do this with me. Bailey is our friends' dog who sprained his leg.

I think this is a fabulous idea because last Saturday was supposed to be Noah's first basketball game and we totally missed it because I thought it was at 4 pm and it was really at 3 pm. Noah was upset but I was the one crying. No kidding. I felt horrible. All turned out okay and now I pretty much know the schedule by heart. :)

Oh, and yes, I changed my blog again. I wasn't loving the other one. I decided to go back to a much simpler design. Using my favorite colors.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A liitle Noah on the side

2011-01-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

The other day, we were watching something on tv while the boys were eating a snack. I don't remember exactly what it was that was on but at one point Rhett said, "Noah, you need to cover your eyes when you see something inappropriate."

Noah answered,

"Rhett, Don't tell me what to do I can make my own decisions, unless Mom and Dad make them for me."

this picture is worth many words

2011-01-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here we are, in one of the only photos Seth or I took on Christmas break. But this one is good, eh? It shows Rhett and Noah's gingerbread houses that they started (and I finished). It shows the lovely Christmas pyramid that my mom brought back from Germany. It shows the bountiful Chrismas dinner that I prepared (sweet potatoes, Salad, rolls...where's the beef? Not in this picture, but I did make a nice roast). It shows our new table that reminds me of a farmhouse and then that makes me happy. And behind us, there is the formerly black cabinet that used to be in my red kitchen in Edmond. I painted it brown, replaced the knobs and took away the doors. Ta-da! It also shows the curtains that came with the house that do not exactly match the artwork that I bought half off at JCPenney Home Store. But I guess that can be fixed later. This photo also shows my glasses that I am realizing I need more and more, which makes Noah sad because now he is the only one without glasses! More importantly, it shows my two guys, who had just celebrated birthdays and now just had Christmas and were a little worn out from waking at 6 in the morning to open presents.

When I look at this picture, I will think this is before my sister Krista called me and we wished each other a Merry Christmas and bemoaned the fact that we weren't celebrating with each other again. I will think about how this Christmas was different from the others, a little more quiet and a little smaller as far as family is concerned, but it was lovely nonetheless. I will think about how two days later, my mom and dad came with my nephew and we had a great 5 days with them.

I will think that it went by too quickly like always. Now the boys are back in school and a new year is upon us. I have hopes for 2011 that I won't share now. There are still whirling in my head, not ready to be put into words, you know what I mean?

One hope that I can share is that I wish everyone here has a wonderful year. May it be filled with happiness and good surprises.

one more birthday celebrated, recap ahead

2010-12-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Holidays! We are out of school and I am planning fun all week. Today, we are making gingerbread houses (the pre-made, pre-packaged kind) and maybe some cookies. I am also making them do 2 chores for me today. Guess who didn't like that?

Before I get to Noah's birthday recap, I have to show you the chocolate pie for Rhett's birthday:

It was delicious. It makes me wonder why I slave over homemade ones....

The day before Noah's birthday, a big package came in the mail. It was from Uncle Scott and Aunt Melissa. While on the phone with Noah's uncle, we let him open it:

Noah was so surprised and so excited. He named the shark "Jawson", but calls him "Jaws." But he doesn't eat human meat. Just so you know.

The next morning, bright and early, Noah opened the rest of his presents. I love these following pictures:

"Oh, wow. This book is about sharks!"

"Awesome! Megaladons!" Thanks Grandmom!

Now, this face. Aww. I wish, just wish, Noah would smile like this all the time:

Or look at at all with this much adoration:

He loved his penguin pillow pet. Just loves it.

Later, we went to the church of Noah's choice and he chose one he loves and the rest of us, well, don't. But that is okay. Then we ate McDonald's for lunch, played all afternoon, went to Barnes and Nobles to spend the gift cards Nana and Pop bought both boys for their birthdays (Gift cards do not last long in our house. I begged them to hold off on the Target gift cards both of their aunts (Thanks Jana and Krista!) sent them until after Christmas), and then ate Cheddar's take-out while watching Disney's The Christmas Carol. This is the one with Jim Carrey as the voice of Scrooge. In Rhett's words, "This is a lot scarier than Mickey's Christmas Carol!" Ha ha!

Oh and yes, Noah's cookie pops with sparkler candles. We skyped Nana and Pop (Skype is awesome by the way. Does anyone else in my family have a webcam? Cause if so, we need to start Skype-ing!) and they helped us sing Happy Birthday (They did this for Rhett as well).

Birthdays are over. Christmas is almost here. I really didn't stress much about their birthdays this year (hello, bought pie and cookie pops!) and it was actually great. It shows me that they don't really care about a big production (although they do want a sleepover. Tips, Krista?). So yay.

Have a great day!

we'll be enjoying pie tonight-yum!

2010-12-16T09:18:00.001-07:00

Last night, we went to Target and bought a chocolate pie for Rhett and Happy Tracks ice cream. Also, he picked out candles whose flames are the color of the candle itself. Rhett said I sure was trying to make him happy.

Around 2:55 am Rhett came into our room, wide awake. He had turned on most of the hall lights. He said, "I just can't go to sleep!" We said, "Try and turn off the lights!"

Around 6:25 am, we heard him upstairs. He even woke up before the pup. We all trudged out of bed after Rhett turned on our light (aahh! bright light! bright light!) and it was present opening time!

I don't know when the "let's open presents the minute we get out of bed" tradition started around our house. Maybe because their birthdays are so close to Christmas and they associate opening gifts in the morning. I think it is because one year, Rhett wanted to open them, just couldn't wait! and we said okay. Who likes waiting? Anyway, let the festivities begin!

Happy Birthday to Rhett!!! Our 10 year old thinks he is the funniest guy ever, save his best friend. He is the nicest boy on the planet and a people pleaser to the core. He never wants to hurt anyone's feelings and if you break a rule, watch out. He is also always thinking, always curious. Rhett wants to be a lizard specialist when he grows up.

His first gift was something he really wanted, obviously. Mario vs Donkey Kong DS game. Awesome!

How about a remote-controlled helicopter? I'll take that as a yes.

The legos were a hit! Thanks Aunt Melissa!!

Noah, who begged to open a gift of his own, to which I said, "no way," talked Rhett into opening his cards for him. Here he is doing his job so well.

While Noah was opening the card from Nana, Rhett was trying to open the box from Grandmom. I asked Rhett if he wanted scissors. Noah replied, "No, I think I almost got the card opened." haha

I did get the scissors to help Rhett and he opened two of the coolest lizards ever! He was impressed Grandmom! About that time, Noah did finally open the card from Nana and Pop and read each and every word. Even the words on the gift card. "Rhett, not only can you go to Barnes and Noble, you can also use this on bn.com."

Then Noah set about opening the card from Grandmom. He read, "Star, star, star," where there were stars. He takes his job seriously folks.

Presents opened, they chowed down on breakfast and played the ds until time to go to school. They really didn't want to go. I don't blame them.

In other news...

My new tile floor is coming along! He has it almost all laid and then he has to grout. But doesn't it look so much better than the other? (For those who saw the other). I love it.

Just another view. This picture is more true of the color than the first picture. Different lighting, I guess.

And, I didn't get up to Noah's room to get a picture today but I did upload some pictures of Boo. We have some work to do to get her to stop biting and to go into her crate without barking. But other than that, we are having a ball with her.

tomorrow's post will be much better

2010-12-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hello. 10 days until Christmas but something more pressing is on me now. Seriously, I have a dog who refuses to sleep anywhere but on my arm. Spoiled much? A little.

Oh and there is a little thing going on tomorrow. Rhett turns 10. Ok, that is a big thing. 10! I'll come back tomorrow to show you a picture of my pre-teen. He gets to have lunch with his dad tomorrow and we all get to eat out tomorrow night. He even gets to pick out his own cake tonight at the store! Not my choice, but we also have an off-limits kitchen because of some tile work. (Which we love by the way!) It will be the first time in 10 years I haven't made his cake. Well, maybe the second time. He wasn't too disappointed though. Actually not at all... hmmm...

Then Sunday, Noah's birthday. Noah is so excited about his upcoming birthday that he is bound to be bitterly disappointed. Poor guy. :)

So tomorrow, I'll have pictures. Of Rhett, of Noah's room (newly painted), of our tile floor and probably some more of Boo because she is so darn cute.

Stay tuned....and stay warm. It's cold out there!

this is what we were thinking

2010-12-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is Boo. She is only 7 weeks old. We found her online and picked her up Saturday. Right now she is asleep in my lap. And all the "What were we thinking about when we said, 'OK! Let's get a puppy!'" goes away. The 2 sleepless nights Seth and I have spent listening to Boo whine and moan and carry on because she is away from us and all alone in her kennel are worth it. Because, because...Rhett and Noah adore her. And she adores them. She reminds us of Scout and it makes us smile. Brinkley is even excited. Oh and a sure sign that Boo is meant for us: She was born exactly one week after Scout left us. It is kismet. Merry Christmas to us.

on the first day of December

2010-12-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

We baked Spritz cookies, a holiday tradition that for many years had not been a tradition. To explain, my mom used to make these cookies with her kids every year. It was a pain but those yummy buttery cookies were so worth it. But we grew up, moved away, got married and had kids and honestly, I never thought about trying to find a Spritz cookie maker myself. Lo and behold, last year my friend, Cathy, moved away and one of the things she gifted me was her Spritz cookie maker because she "never would make those!" I secretly rejoiced inside.

Here is a sampling of cookies the boys and I made:

Rhett thought of mixing the two colors together. How come I never thought of that?

In other news:

Rhett now knows the big truth. He was feeling so guilty because he was starting not to believe, but he wanted to believe but it is so hard, but how can he not believe, will he not get presents now, is he a terrible person and you get why I had to tell him. The biggest thing that came out of that conversation was this: "So, who eats the cookies?" Seriously, he can't believe we would eat a whole plate of cookies. Lucky us.

He also lost two teeth today at the dentist and was a good sport and pretended to believe in the Tooth Fairy too. What a guy.

no matter, we are thankful anyway

2010-11-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Today, Noah had a Thanksgiving Play. He did wonderful on all of his lines, but I don't really think he was listening to the message. When we were eating our sack lunches together afterward, he looked at one of his classmate's acrostic* for the word "Pilgrams" and saw on the letter 'g' she wrote the word, God. He looked at me and said, "God? What does God have to do with Thanksgiving?"

Umm...

I asked if he really listened to the play about why the pilgrims came to America.

"They wanted to worship God their way, I know."

Well?

"But what does that have to do with Thanksgiving?"

Noah, why do we have Thanksgiving?

Blank look.

Don't we give...

"Thanks?"

to...

"We pray to God. Yeah, yeah."

Okay. Good to know he knows. I guess. Does this mean, if Noah lived all those years ago, he would not have been a Pilgrim?

Here is Noah's Pilgrim acrostic:

P lymout
I ndian
L akes
G rowing crops
R owing canoes
I ll
M ayflower
S ail

Have a great Thanksgiving my friends and family.

An acrostic (Greek: ákros "top"; stíchos "verse") is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message.

how long until HP part 2?

2010-11-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

It was wonderful. It was the best movie so far. I would see it again tomorrow if I could.

Just in case you all were wondering...

:)

PS- It is funny that probably half the people who regularly read my blog haven't gotten into Harry Potter. So to you, I ask why?!!? No, no, just kidding. Really I just wanted to say, sorry if you get tired of me talking about it. I just really, really love the books. When I think of the world that J.K. Rowling created, I am amazed at her imagination and her ability to tell a story that has connections to all sorts of themes: good vs. evil, growing up, friendship, love...and those are the easy ones. These books make it hard to read anything else. And that is a mark of a good book. In my opinion. But I hope you know I'm not trying to shove it down your throats. Mostly, I'm just trying to share with the two people who regularly read my blog who love hp as much as me: my mom and my sister.

nothing gold can stay -Robert Frost

2010-11-17T12:32:00.003-07:00

The colors of the trees here are beautiful! I have really been enjoying Fall this year. This is my tree in the front yard. I think it is an acorn tree and yes, there are Christmas lights on it! I put those on today because it is only going to get colder.

Also in the front, I planted some pansies and paperwhite bulbs, which are already coming up. It will be nice this winter to look out and see spots of color in the otherwise dreary landscape.

Do you see the bird in the lower left corner? I didn't even realize I had gotten that! Anyway, I have put up some bird feeders and wow, the birds love to hang out in our backyard now. They go through feed fast too, as you can see by the the empty feeder. Actually, a lot of it ends up on the ground but they don't seem to mind that.

Here is another picture of some birds, flying and just hanging out.

Maple trees are really pretty right now too. Ours in the backyard is just turning colors. I wish fall would last longer but I know as soon as a big wind comes, the trees will be empty of their leaves. Maybe it is doesn't last long because that way we won't ever take it for granted.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Fall too. Only one more week until Thanksgiving and then December comes and goes so quickly. It will be busy as usual so I'm thankful that I stopped and enjoyed the colors and nature for a few minutes.

I'm also thankful that I got to spend some time talking to my mom today (its her birthday!). Love you Mom!

a big dose of Harry Potter

2010-11-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of the new Harry Potter movie, we've been watching the Harry Potter movie marathon on ABC family. It seems silly to watch it on tv because I have all the dvds but I've been sick, so laziness is pardoned. Oh and we is mostly me but sometimes Rhett comes in and watches the second half and Noah comes in once or twice as well. Seth usually comes in at the very end.

Rhett is a question man. He comes by it honestly but it drives me crazy during Harry Potter. Number 1, I've been trying to get him to read the books forever, even offering to read them with him but he is never interested. Number 2, as I said before, he comes in during the second half of the movie. Which means there are many questions. And in Harry Potter, if you ask one question, it leads to another and then you seem to be trying to explain the entire series to a boy who takes everything literally. It is exhausting.

Last night, we watched the third and fourth movie (Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire). Here is a sampling of questions from my son:

Who is the prisoner?
What are those flying things?
I thought they were called the Death Eaters?
So what are the Death Eaters?
Werewolves don't really look like that, do they?
Why did the big dog bite Ron?
Is the big dog a werewolf?
So the prisoner is good?
Who is Peter Pettigrew?
Why did he kill Harry's parents? Wait! Voldemort killed his parents, so why did Sirius go to prison for it?
The time travel would make a black hole in the universe, right? At least it did in Penguins of Madagascar. Does it here?
What is that bird thing?
Why is it going to be killed?
It eats ferrets? Birds eat ferrets? Oh its half horse, ok.
So, the death eaters are sucking out his soul?
I thought they were death eaters! What are the death eaters?
Do they eat death?
But why are they called the death eaters?
Does Voldemort worship anything or just himself?
Why does Voldemort have a nose like a snake?

Hey, isn't that Edward?!? (from Twilight)
Is this their summer vacation?
Is this the one when the dementors come? Death Eaters!
Oh! I get those mixed up!
What is that skull in the sky?
Who is the guy that made it?
Who is that guy with the fake eye?
Why does he have a fake eye?
Why is Moody drinking that stuff all the time?
Why is Neville crying when the bug is being tortured?
Who tortured his parents?
Why?
Why does everyone have a "Harry Potter stinks" button?
How can Harry get his broomstick if he isn't allowed?
What does gillyweed do?
Are they going to die?
Is her name Harmony?
Why are Krum's eyes like that?
Does Dumbledore die?
Why won't you tell me?

I finally asked him if he wanted to finally read the books with me and he said, "Maybe." But I'm sure he is thinking, "Why read them? I know all I want to know."

Seth has watched all the movies with me but the problem is, he doesn't remember what happens. He needs to review before we go watch the movie, because I told him no questions during the presentation. ;)

waiting for the glue to dry

2010-11-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Because I can't seem to talk myself into buying the aforementioned (I love this word) shark quite yet (hoping it goes on sale or something because seriously, $119 for a wire shark seems like a lot), I decided to make Noah a paper mache shark. I told him what I was doing, because this was the first he's heard about decorating his room this way, and he was excited. In case you were wondering, the shark is added to the photograph this and share it on blog list.

Also on the list: a picture of me. With my new glasses. The eye doctor said I didn't have to wear them all the time, but I was amazed when I put them on and could see clearly again.

What else? Rhett went back to school today after being home sick for two days. So he missed the Veteren's Day assembly at school and couldn't share his interview with my dad. Bummer.

I did talk myself into buying a dining table and chairs for the empty dining room in our house. So excited. Also on the list...when it comes AND I repaint that room AND hang new curtains.

I just realized I still have a lot to do.

Going to paint the shark now. Have a good weekend!

thought I would drop a line

2010-11-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

I really want this for Noah's room. Isn't it so cool?

on my list: watch The Fly

2010-11-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have had every intention of posting more last week, but didn't. So here are some things:

We went to our old neighborhood for a birthday party for one of the sweetest one-year old girls ever. She cried though when we sang to her and didn't want anything to do with cake. Very funny.

Yesterday Rhett started baseball pitching practice (for Spring baseball) and then we went to see Megamind, which was pretty funny.

Noah disguised his paper turkey as Benjamin Franklin and it is adorable. I forgot to take a picture of it! Rhett thought of that disguise but Noah knew why. "Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird! Not the eagle."

I am going to talk to a college advisor today. About some things. The extra push I needed: Last night, Rhett says to me, "Mom, do you get bored during the day without your two sons and husband?" Noah says, "No! She probably watches tv all day!" Rhett says, "Do you watch tv all day?" Noah: "I bet she watches grown up shows like The Fly." I laughed but this conversation hit home on what I've been thinking for awhile. It is time.

I'll let you know more when I know more. Til then, have a great day.

parents are for remembering the good

2010-11-01T08:51:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween from two tough kids!

Iron Man: Noah did not like his mask. It smushed his nose. He asked if I could put a nose piece on the mask. I told him I don't think it would work. His response, "Okay. But I bet Tony Stark's mask doesn't smush his nose." (Yes, he uses "smush". So cute!)

Clone Trooper: Rhett didn't have a Clone Trooper gun which bothered him a lot, so in his bag, he carried his Nerf Gun. He also told us after every house he went to that he couldn't see very well. Then he said his foot hurt. He was also hot.

The boys went around our block, then decided to hand out candy. I think they had fun but Rhett was bothered when some kids took more than just one. Mr. Fair, that is my Rhett. At bedtime, they said that this Halloween wasn't as much fun as last year. I told them last year, Halloween wasn't on a school night. This morning, Noah hoped that Christmas was more fun than Halloween was.

Don't you hate when you reach that age when something you look forward to, like Halloween, ends up being just...so-so? Well, I think the boys just hit that age.

Although, I wish when they think back to this Halloween, they would think about:

*Going to a Pumpkin Patch and getting to ride camels.
*Going through a Cane Maze.
*Feeding goats and llamas and trying to feed a cow. (As Seth and I remarked how sad it is that our kids have to go to a petting zoo to see a cow.)
*Painting 2 huge pumpkins.
*Baking a Chocolate Cake on Halloween for Noah's homework assignment.
*Watching their scary movie of choice: Mall Cop. Yeah, they really weren't into scary movies this year. So they chose Mall Cop. Honestly, it was pretty frighteningly awful.

But I am sure they won't. And that's okay. That is why they have us.

'so ready for the weekend' shorts

2010-10-29T08:35:00.003-06:00

*Rhett wants to go to New York for his birthday. I am planning the trip in my mind already...

*We did make Apple Strudel. It was good. I like apple pie and apple cobbler better, but it was worth the effort.

*Yesterday, I watched Oprah. I don't usually because I don't like her interview style (shh..don't read that too loud...lots of Oprah fans out there) but, BUT, she had the cast of The Sound of Music on her show and it was wonderful! Did you know that 'Louisa' was Robert Urich's wife? Did you know 'Liesel' was 21 when she filmed? She was only 7 years younger than Julie Andrews! And she had a big crush on Christopher Plummer, but honestly, who wouldn't? Did you know that 'Frederich' grew 6 inches in the 6 months it took to film the movie? 'Liesel' had to wear heels, then stand on apple boxes just for consisitency.

*I am ready for Halloween to be over.

*I turned the heater on this morning.

*This weekend, I need to make a pie with Noah for a school assignment. He also needs to start on a book report about Comanche Indians. He is so excited to do his very first book report. He even wants to dress up like Quanah Parker. Full headdress and all. I guess I have my work cut out for me.

*I have been taking the kids to school in my pajama pants and slippers. What does this say about me, I wonder? Dad, don't answer. ;)

*I've been missing my friends and family a lot this week.

*In the course of a week, I have broken a new bottle of pure maple syrup all over the floor, spilled a glass of wine, dumped dog food all over the floor, spilled flour all over my clean counter, knocked over 2 bottles of water on the carpet, not at the same time, dropped a box of crackers and guess what, they spilled out all over the floor, and dropped my breakfast, say it with my, all over the floor. I am seriously thinking that I should quit eating, drinking and doing things until my clumsy bad luck ends.

*I hope everyone has a good weekend!

love, aimee

no deed goes unpunished; however small

2010-10-26T08:02:00.000-06:00

The other day, I walked into the laundry room to put something away and when I turned around, my eye caught this on the wall by my built-in desk:

Someone has been busy. And it sure isn't Rhett.

Immediately, I think about when I did this as a child. I wrote "Casey" on the wall of our bathroom and in a corner by my bedroom door but compared to Noah, I actually got away with it a couple of times before my parents really looked and knew it wasn't my brother's doing. Apparently, he wrote his "s" backwards back then. Small detail I missed.

Anyway, I couldn't help but laugh and then groan. How am I going to punish him for doing the same thing I did?

When confronted, Noah broke down and cried. He then told me, "What am I supposed to do when I'm mad at Rhett? You won't let me hit him!" Then he said, "I tried to erase it!"

Later that day, we went to Wal-mart. Before we went inside, he asked if he could buy a toy with his own money. I told him no. He didn't understand why I was punishing him that way. It was his own money. After 15 minutes of listening to him in Wal-mart go on and on, I wondered why I was punishing myself.

Not remembering what my parents' punishment was for me when they finally caught me as the culprit, I figure I am now square with the universe for my act against my brother.

Vielleicht werden wir backen Apfelstrudel heute**

2010-10-25T08:04:00.000-06:00

Fall Break has come and gone. We worked on the house, had friends over, went to Oktoberfest (Dieses Bier ist zu teuer)*, watched How to Train Your Dragon and then went to Barnes and Noble and found out that How to Train Your Dragon is actually a book series! Imagine that!

Rhett bought a Wizardry book (which I fully supported because I really want him to get into Harry Potter) and so far, he has tried to make a wand (it broke), tell the future with cards (his question: What does brute mean?), summon Merlin's owl (in the morning) and he wanted to see if he could make something fly but you have to hold your wand over it for 6 hours, so he hasn't done that yet.

He also has decided he does not like school (Too much math and maybe the writing isn't much fun either). I promised him we'd do something fun like bake cookies today. Because he does like to bake. He has made muffins (from the box) all by himself and is ready to tackle more difficult things. Too bad I haven't been in the mood to bake. :( Today, though, today we will bake.

Noah, well, I'll have to tell you about Noah's doings tomorrow in another post. He's been busy.

That's all I have for today. Have a good Monday!

*This is German for "This beer is too expensive!" My friend taught us that saying and yes, it was fitting. Oktoberfest was fun for the men (they sat, watching sports and drinking German beer). The kids, thankfully, had a good time too because of the carnival rides. Rhett rode his first roller coaster and loved it. They all had their faces painted (there was 6 kids in our group) and ate pizza and lemonade. Noah had funnel cake and ate most of it himself. No one tried any German food but the strudel did smell delicious. I know, we went to a German festival and didn't try German food? In our defense, half the kids were picky eaters, it was raining cats and dogs and the men weren't around to help us search for the right food tent. We saw pizza and went for it. :) Then we left when all the young, college kids were arriving. I am sure they had a great time dancing to The Chicken Dance.

**Ok, I feel guilty for not having the kids at least try German food. "Maybe we will bake Apple strudel today"

:)

beware: lots of "s and 's

2010-10-17T22:36:00.000-06:00

The "Beatles" concert was so much fun! All of us had a great time and Rhett and Noah survived their first concert. Here are the highlights:

*We sat next to one of Seth's co-workers who is orginally from England and when asked what she thought she said the "John Lennon" was pretty spot on. I thought he was pretty good myself. Through the course of the concert, he transformed from a member of the Beatles to the John Lennon who was married to Yoko Ono and stayed in bed for days to prove a peaceful point.

*They changed costumes that matched the Beatles album covers from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club and my favorite, Abbey Road. "Paul" even had barefeet! And I got to tell Seth all about the "Paul is Dead" controversy. Fun stuff!

*Seth had no idea that he liked the Beatles. Throughout the concert, he kept looking at me and saying, "Hey, I know that song! I didn't know they sang it!" His biggest surprise was that Guns N Roses did not sing 'Live and Let Die' orginally.

*Rhett's favorite song was 'I am the Walrus,' a song that makes absolutely no sense but is so much fun to try and sing on Beatles Rock Band. I think he likes that song best because he knows he doesn't have to understand it. Every other song, he kept asking questions. During 'Imagine' he asked, "Why is there no heaven? What would happen if there was no heaven?" During 'Eleanor Rigby' he asked, "Who were they talking about being lonely? Why were they lonely?" You get my drift.

*All Noah wanted to hear was 'Yellow Submarine'. And they played it. He was happy. Of course, after that, he got tired so Seth had to go walk around with him, missing my two favorite parts of the whole night:

*During 'Live and Let Die', Rhett looked at me and said, "Who's Little Ned?" I had no idea what he was talking about and said as much. Rhett said, "You know, Little Ned? And why did he die?" Rhett thought they were singing "Little Ned died" instead of "Live and let die." I laughed and laughed.

*During the first encore, the band came out and sang 'Hey Jude', truly a favorite of mine. Cell phones shot up in the air, as people waved them back and forth (someone old-schooled it and waved a lighter). Rhett asked me for my phone and he waved it back and forth throughout the song. It was great.

*I think the greatest part was that I never thought, "When are they going to sing this song?" At the end of the concert (before the encore), I never realized they didn't sing 'Hey, Jude'. Only til they came back on stage, did I think, "Oh yeah, they hadn't sung that yet!" A great night. Mom, I wish I would have known so I could have told you to come here and go with us. I'll keep a look out for them to come back.

roll up for the mystery tour

2010-10-15T11:28:00.001-06:00

I made these last week and hung them up in my kitchen/breakfast area. I certainly didn't come up with the idea myself but I love the touch of red in my kitchen (if you remember, my kitchen in Edmond was completely red). I also like the reminder and the fact that it is from a Beatles song is just an added bonus.

(And now look as I move seamlessly into this:)

Saturday night, Seth and I are taking the boys to this:

I'm more than a little excited. And I think the boys will enjoy it too. Seth may or may not be looking forward to it but he gave me a choice of this or a University of Tulsa football game and well, we all know why that was a silly question! Ha.ha. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh and Dad-hope you have a great birthday tomorrow!! love ya!

our scout

2010-10-12T08:38:00.000-06:00

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. ~Agnes Sligh Turnbull

Scout
Born February 1999. Died October 11, 2010.

Became a Houston during Spring Break of 1999. Seth and I were only going to look at boxer puppies because someday we would have liked one. We took one look at this beautiful puppy and tried to leave her. We drove away knowing in 10 minutes we would be back. And we were.

Named after the character in my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Thankful for Seth's parents that took her for about 2 months until we could find an apartment that allowed dogs.

Her favorite thing was to be rubbed on her belly while she stood in front of you. Sometimes she would stand there, in front of our feet, just waiting. She also loved laying in the sun. She would stretch out and you know that she was saying, "Ahhhh. This feels so good." Chasing Brinkley's tail was also a favorite pasttime. I think that is why Brinkley can't be still to save his life because he always had Scout behind him, biting his tail. I bet he'll miss it though. He'll miss her.

She loved to lay on my lap when I was pregnant with Rhett. I knew it got harder for her the bigger I got, but she still managed to fit. Then when Rhett was born, she knew that she had to protect him. She sat right in front of his bassanet and growled at anyone who tried to get close. She was so good with the boys and only barked at their loud and obnoxious friends.

Speaking of barking, she barked. A lot. All the time. These past few months, I would catch her just sitting in the middle of the yard and just bark. Maybe she was saying, "Hey, I may be old and can't get up but I still hear you so get away." Or maybe she just barked to bark. It will be quiet at our house now.

She layed on my bed after my miscarriage and knew to just lay there while I cried. I think all dogs are so good at being your friend. They just know what to do.

You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell. ~Emily Dickinson

Scout was a really, really good dog.

(If you are still here, thank you for reading. Using my blog to write about Scout has been good therapy.)

Tech game AND the fair? Lucky!

2010-10-11T11:15:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, we traveled to Dallas for the Texas Tech-Baylor game that was at the Cotton Bowl. We picked Sammy up at the airport on Friday night and then Saturday morning, we tried out Dallas' public transportation. First, we had to drive to Point A: The Park and Ride. That took us about 20 minutes and after driving through a maze we finally reached it. The photo above is the Houston boys trying to console Seth after learning that the train that was taking us to Point B would arrive 15 minutes before Kickoff at Point C. He wasn't happy. In his defense, Dallas doesn't have the greatest public transportation system. And we've been to cities that have great public transportation systems. If Dallas wants to even come close to competing, they need to do a lot of work. It was ridiculous. It was however, much better than driving to the Cotton Bowl. After reaching Point B and being herded like cattle onto buses (seriously, I heard many jokes about that and heard many "moos"), I saw the traffic. Eeek. The buses took us through some sketchy neighborhoods and then finally, finally, Point C: The Cotton Bowl, which, incidentally, was surrounded by The Great State Fair of Texas!! Oh boy.

My mood lifted immediately when I saw that our seats were shaded. It was rather warm and I was wearing long sleeves and jeans. So I was comfortable the whole game. We had a great view of the field and after seeing some tortillas fly, I was reminiscent about my ole college days when we would go watch the game. We saw The Goin' Band from Raider land and we even won which made one little boy so happy. The other little boy was just ready to go to the fair. Can you guess which one?

The fair! This is my view from sitting at a picnic table and being sprayed on by water spritzers (you can see the spray in the picture). Being novice fair goers, we had no idea that to buy anything you needed coupons. So Sammy got in line to buy coupons. Well, he bought a fair amount of them. Turns out, though, the only thing Noah wanted to do was play the games and guess what? You can't use coupons for the games, you had to buy credits! Those fair people have got this figured out. They know people will buy a whole lot of coupons at one time because who wants to stand in a long line more than once? And they know that no one will question the people that swipe the game credit card you just spent $5 on when they say, "Empty!" and you have to quickly buy another one so your child can try their hardest to win a crappy toy. They know when people get tired they will go home and they don't care because they have their money already from the coupons that weren't used. Maybe I am not meant for the fair.

But, BUT, we had a good time anyway. Noah won a Texas Tech basketball for Rhett and a Scooby Doo doll, er, I mean, stuffed animal, that he gave to Rhett too. Rhett won a stuffed parrot and Seth won Noah a stuffed parrot. Everyone was happy! They saw giant reptiles with their Pop and rode on the carousel and tried not to smile. Sammy and I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel and then when Uncle Scott and Sara joined us, they wanted to as well, but the line was long and we were tired, so no Ferris wheel.

Big Tex is telling us goodbye because that is what we were trying to leave when we saw him. Thank God for cellphones because we lost Sammy and Scott once and so we stayed by the statue until they came and found us.

The end of the fair, but not the end of our day. No, we had to make it back to the Park and Ride. Another 1 1/2 journey (more waiting, always waiting), then we stopped, got Steak n' Shake, ate at the hotel and I was thankful we weren't at home in our beds because none of us took showers to wash off that night. We just dropped into bed and lights out.

This weekend was a tiring one, but I think we all had a great time. It was good to see family and it was good to get away. I think it was fun to see all the people wearing red and black at the game and at the fair. Living in Oklahoma, well, we just don't see that here. I kind of liked seeing the absence of OU colors. It was fun being part of the crowd in that sense.

Have a wonderful Monday!

lest you think i was exagerrating

2010-10-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

My spider story would have been a lot better with pictures. Yesterday, I went back out there to see if the spider was still there. You see that it was. (It is the black spot in the picture above).

It is also the giant blob in the picture above. However, in this photo, I focused on the tree branches, not the spider. Look at what she is doing to the tree! There are webs all over the tree like this.

And here is her masterpiece, the one she was on when I was directly below her, looking for a football. I made these pictures black and white because the detail of the web really stands out better. Beautiful. The web, not the spider.

I zoomed out a little. This web really is high up from the ground. the thing is, I am not sure what it is attached to. Yes, the tree but then what? Our tree is by our fence and then for 5-10 feet there is nothing until the neighbor's trampoline. I don't know but it looks like it is just floating.

Scout update: I think she is doing better! She feels better but still doesn't really have an appetite and is so smart she knows when I'm trying to sneak a pill into food. I think she doesn't trust food or trust me with food anymore. But she is acting like her old self and that is a big relief.

Update on me: There are times when I feel guilty staying home, thinking I should do more or that both boys are in school so I need to get out there and go back to work. But honestly, these past two weeks, I haven't felt that once. Rhett has so much homework once he gets home (something I am not sure should happen and I definitely am going to inquire to the teacher about come parent/teacher conference-yes, I am going to be that mother, sorry teacher friends and family) and for about an hour and a half, I have to be there with them, helping them with Math and Spelling, and keeping them, especially Rhett on task (another think I need to inquire to the teacher about. This first, then the homework). Then there is Scout, who is takes half an hour to feed and take pills and so on and honestly, I am grateful right now. I'm not saying I am never going back to work or that I still don't feel guilty (honestly, what mom doesn't feel guilty about something, whether you work or stay-at-home?) but I do know that I still feel needed and that has restored my faith in being a stay-at-home mom. Anyway, enough about me.

Have a great weekend and make sure you look up when you go outside. You never know when spiders are lurking above. :)

halloween cometh early at our house

2010-10-07T07:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday evening, the boys are playing in the backyard, enjoying the weather.

Rhett comes in and asks me to help him get his football out from behind the bush because he just can't reach it.

So out I go.

I am looking for this football and after a few minutes, see it so I pull the bushes back with a stick and say to Rhett, "Ok, I'm holding the bushes back so why don't you get in there and get your ball?"

Rhett hesitates.

I tell him, "It's okay. There is nothing behind the bushes. Go fast!"

Rhett says, "I'm just hoping that spider up there doesn't drop down on me when I go by."

I look up.

Right above me is this huge spider (dime-sized is huge in my book) hanging out on his web.

Of course I scream and jump a mile away from the bushes.

When questioned about whether or not Rhett knew the spider was there the whole time, the answer was definitely on the yes side. When told to get his own dumb ball, the answer was "but I'm afraid of spiders."

We were at a standstill. Both of us, afraid of things of the 8-legged variety, were not going in the bushes.

Noah sighs, gets on the fence, inches his way to the football, grabs it and gets out of there calmly.

His face was priceless.