more on rhett

...I love this picture, even though Rhett is riding right out of the frame. I love his face, so excited to be showing his mom how good he is on his scooter. And he really is. He has lost that fear of falling that he had last year when he first learned to ride his bike. Now he goes down the hills fast on his bike and scooter. He is even learning to ride a skateboard, his dad's no less. It is huge for him but he still loves to ride it.

Rhett is very technical and wants to master things right away. He does something over and over again to make sure he understands it. I think that is one of the reasons he asks questions over and over too. I know part of it is because of his age, but I think he just wants to make sure he knows what is going on and why and when and who is involved and where it will be...you get the picture. If I don't answer something, it drives him just as crazy as it does when he does all the asking. So I am trying to not let it bother me so much. But I do have to share this story:

The other day I was making dinner and was trying to open 3 cans. But my can opener would not work properly and it was making me mad. Mad that we only have one can opener, mad that I could get it to kind of work for a second then it would stop, mad that it was only a few months old! When Seth walked in the kitchen, I told him we needed a new can opener.

Why do we need a new can opener?

What is wrong with it?

Have you tried to open a can with it?

Have you tried to fix it?

Let me see you try to open a can with it.

Here is the funny part. I would expect these questions to come from Seth, that is just like him to question it like I didn't mean it. BUT, the questions were from, you-know-who--Rhett! Just like his daddy. I looked at him, then I looked at Seth, who was laughing, and I just shook my head because it is so scary how alike they are.

one after another

...It is finally warming up. Woo. This morning, I let the boys go out to the front yard and play while I sanded my buffet cabinet at 9, and by 9:15, Noah was ready to go back inside, siting that it was just too hot to play.

The buffet cabinet is the one that was in my craft room. I am repainting it black and putting it in the breakfast area of the kitchen. I am excited about this project because I really need more storage space in the kitchen.

All of my scrapbooking supplies and the boys' art supplies are crammed in the office right now. I am going to repaint the craft (dining room) room, entry way and hallway and then I will be ready for a trip to Frisco, TX. Why? That is where the nearest IKEA store is and that is where I want to get my tables and bookshelves for the craft room.

And are you wondering how I am getting all of this done? Well, I am sanding a little bit a day because 1) it is really hot out there and 2) sanding really makes my arms tired :) and I am going to start painting today at 5 because that is when the boys go to a party for 4 hours and I will have uninterrupted paint time. They are very excited about this party because "no grown-ups are allowed" except my neighbor, whom every kid thinks is the coolest mom ever anyway. And she really is.

Anyway, have a great Monday!

friend or foe?

...I love neighbors. Just the idea of them makes me smile. Today my neighbor and friend got locked out of her house with her two kids. So she came here. I love that we can feel comfortable enough with each other that we can go to each other's house, early morning, when we all still have our pjs on, and ask for help. It is nice.
*
So I am in major re-do mode around here. We are talking, seriously, about hardwood floors in a couple of our rooms, making over the craft room and Seth is going to be building a new fence soon. I want to paint our entry way and craft room (otherwise known as formal dining room) and then, you know what? I will be through painting our house! Except the garage. Which will not happen while it is still hot outside. But yay! how exciting! Now if you talk to Seth about this, I don't think he would sound excited about any of this. We are different, he and I. He likes to talk about it, I like to do it. You know? Sometimes I move too fast for him, sometimes he moves to slow for me. Most of the time, we even each other out. Which is good.
*
So my son Rhett is into this stage where he wants to know exactly what is going on every minute of every day. If the phone rings, he immediately asks who it is. If Seth and I are talking about something, he jumps in with a question or comment about the subject he thinks we are talking about (he rarely is right). He is always asking if he can play with this friend, or go to this friend's house or call this friend. He is always making plans with friends before asking us. And. it. is. driving. me. crazy! Don't get me wrong. I love that he is so inquisitive. I love that he wants to know about things. But because he asks these things all the time, I sound so negative.

No, you cannot play with your friends right now because you aren't even dressed yet.

It is no one you know that is on the phone.

Daddy and I were not talking about anything you really want to know about.

That is really none of your business.

No, you cannot call your friend yet. It is suppertime.

Maybe later.

Maybe later.

Maybe later.

Not right now.

No!!!

You see what I mean? I don't sound friendly at all. Now I do let them play with their friends. Everyday. They know the important things. Really. And I do say yes a lot. Ask Seth. :)
*

a prayer request

...A while back I think I mentioned one of our friend's friends, who has cancer. Her name is Julie Lyons and she has melanoma and recently they found lesions on her brain. You can read her story here: http://www.lyonsfamily.org/.

I ask for prayers for Julie as she goes through a tough procedure tomorrow. She has 3 small kids. She is only 34.

About a year ago, my sister Jana lost a high school friend who was around that age to lung cancer. She had 3 small kids. I think about her often because I am around that age, with small children. So are my sisters and most of my friends.

It makes me scared. Sad. Frustrated.

So I pray for Julie mostly because she needs to be there while her kids are growing up. Children need their moms. When I pray for Julie, I know in my heart I am praying for all moms and dads with illnesses.

best.book.ever.

...When a package arrived Saturday with this sticker on it, I knew it was the book.

Harry Potter's last book!!! I was so excited. I am still so excited. I finished the book yesterday, but I am already rereading parts of it. Amazing. I will say no more. :)

photo day

...I have a lot to share too! Here is Seth with his new mower:


I think he really enjoyed it. As enjoyable as mowing the lawn is anyway.

Noah enjoying his Buzz Lightyear Art Set. In the past two weeks, I have seen a major change in him: he really likes to sit down and color and draw now. He didn't like it much before. Yay!

We are working with Noah to use his words instead of crying everytime something doesn't go his way. We are trying to teach him that small things don't need to be cried about. This week, we are doing the sticker chart. After 5 stickers in a row (a sticker a day when he doesn't use his cry noise about the small things) he gets a treat. We talked to him about when it is okay to cry: getting hurt (or as Noah would put it: So if Rhett hits me, then I can cry!) or if something really sad happens. He has 2 stickers so far. Yesterday he cut his foot on a rock and he cried a lot (which is okay) but after a few minutes of him crying hard, I wondered if it was a release of all the crying he hasn't been doing! But he is doing well and I think learning that small things can be worked out by using words. Or at least I hope he is.

Rhett is doing great. Except for the other night when he sniffed pepper (from the pepper shaker) up his nose and it burned. He didn't like that too much! Good. Maybe it will teach him not to sniff things up his nose. I didn't let the important lesson pass, not with kids sniffing all sorts of things now a days.

Can you see his freckles? I love them! He is adorable.

The aquarium was fantastic. We spent 4 hours there and I know the boys would love to go back in a instant. Here are some favorites:


The blue moon jelly fish were awesome, the sea horses were cool, as always, I loved this school of fish in the coral reef aquarium (they moved together so well), and the lemon shark was huge and loved to eat.


The boys at the stingray tank. There was a tank where we could actually touch the stingrays so that was really cool. This turtle is an alligator turtle and it was huge! It is perched on a log, getting a breath of fresh air (hence the reflection on top). Besides this huge turtle, we also saw a 100 pound catfish, which was amazing because someone actually caught it at Lake Texhoma! Wow.

The boys watching the stingrays.

We bought a family pass, so we'll be going back. And the boys were excited because we saw a sponge (Spongebob), starfish (Patrick), crabs (Mr. Crabs), and we did see an octupus but not a squid (Squidward). But I think that was okay. :)

Have a great day!

fun planned

...We are headed for the Oklahoma Aquarium today and the boys are so excited. It is in Jenks (pronounced Jinks) near Tulsa. We haven't been to an aquarium in a while, so it should be fun.

Our neighborhood pool is already too warm to go and cool off and although the boys don't mind it, the adults do so we are trying to think of other things.

I know that this has to be the most boring post ever.

And how disappointing, considering my title.

still being lazy

...no photos to share again. I know it isn't that hard to upload pictures, but my computer is slow.

Just a quick note: Justin, although I said Edmond, OK is my favorite place to live so far, I am a Texas girl and always will be. So our friendship should survive this. :)

Have a great day!

a little of this, a little of that

...I have pictures to share but I am too lazy to upload them right now. Tomorrow will have a lot of pictures, hopefully! I have been taking many of the boys, being silly, being mad, being serious, being happy.

I also secretly took one of my husband and his brand new lawn mower!!! Why is this such a great thing, you may be asking? Because Seth has been thinking of getting a new lawn mower for a year. He finally took the plunge yesterday and bought it. All I know about it is that it mulches the blades of grass so small that they fall back deep into the grass where you can't see them and that it is self-propelled. That means I could even mow without thinking that I am pushing an elephant up the hills in our yard. Yay! :)

*****
Hot weather has finally come to Oklahoma. After 2 months of rain, we need the dry air, I guess, but I already wish it weren't so hot.

*****
The countdown to the last book of Harry Potter has begun for me. I have already told my family that I will not be available on Saturday or Sunday. I am so excited about the last book. I haven't seen the new HP movie yet, but we are finding a babysitter as I write, right Seth? :)

*****
And yes, I am so aware that for several, several Tuesdays I have not shared any scrapbook things. Besides the work I am doing for the design team, I haven't really been scrapping. At all. I guess I am taking a little break. Maybe with all the photos I plan on taking this week, I will be inspired to create some layouts again. But I am not too worried about it.

*****
We have been in Oklahoma for almost a year now. I have to admit, I love Edmond. I love the people, I love the atmosphere, I love our neighborhood, our house, our yard, yes, it is one of my favorite places to live. And being a Texan, that is no small thing to say, right?

Really the only thing that makes me shake my head is the newspapers. Edmond has a local newspaper that is so conservative, so anti-liberal that it is almost funny. I am not saying I am a liberal or a conservative--I really think I am more middle of the road--but in the past month, I have really taken a disliking for this kind of "liberals are so un-American" view. They have mentioned Jane Fonda several times (and use her unfortunate nickname) and are still incensed that she did what she did over 30 years ago. I just can't believe that people haven't just let it go. Because that is what they need to do. I have read her biography, she has explained herself, she apologized for what that photo must have looked like, she has gotten past it. Why can't everyone else? They automatically discount anything anyone who has a more liberal view and I just find it---unsettling. Because one of the things I am going to look for in the next President of the U.S. is how he or she can unify our nation, not if he/she is liberal or conservative, democratic or republican. There are so many more important things than that.

Anyway, I have talked to long. I just had to get that off my chest. I hope my friends in Texas (and husband) forgive me for my views. :)

Have a great, great Tuesday!

no work for you!

...Seth is on vacation this week and although we don't have any big plans, we are glad he is taking a break. That said, I don't know how much of us he can take. Us means the boys and me. Yesterday we went to the mall after church so I could get my wedding ring cleaned. One hour, two Disney store purchases (walkie talkies for Rhett and a Buzz Lightyear Art Set for Noah--both on clearance), one "wedding ring will be back Wednesday because it is getting sent off to be Rodiumed" (don't ask me how to spell that-I am not really sure) plus a lifetime guarantee purchase and one pair of shoes (for me, on sale--60% off!) later, we got out of there.
The spots on Seth's shirt are part of Noah's art set. It is the glitter glue. Glitter glue is how Seth talked Noah into the art set. Noah wanted a plastic aquarium that you fill up with water and put plastic "things" in that float. He wanted this because he didn't have an aquarium in his room. Uh, hello? We have a real life fish aquarium in the living room! Anyway, Seth talked Noah into the art set and when he tried to help Noah open the glitter glue, this is what happened. Glitter all over his shirt, his hands and arms. Glitter boy. You can see he was really happy.

This is the grasshopper that we found on Rhett's flowers. I have never seen one quite like this one before. I've seen the big, brown ones but never the green ones. Pretty cool.

And these are the two boys gathering the trash for me. At least that was what they were supposed to be doing. Instead they figured out how to ride the elliptical trainer together. They had fun. Hey, I am glad someone is using it. :)

mommy highs and lows

...Rhett and his toothless grin.

Noah and his infectious laugh.

Rhett and Noah ringing my doorbell over and over. (They are supposed to be getting the mail). I finally go to the unlocked door, open it while saying, "I didn't lock the door!" when they both say in unison, "I love you!"

Rhett asking, "Why?" after everything I say. Because I said so has escaped my mouth many times over the past week.

Noah melting down every time he has to go home after playing with friends. Every time he has to share. Every time he doesn't get his way.

Noah telling me that I am the best mom ever because he got to go swimming with friends.

Rhett telling Noah in response to his remark is that I was not the one who planned it.

Rhett and Noah finally getting a joke from one of my childhood books called The Laugh Book.

Of course, the joke is about underwear.

Rhett having the ability to hear the things we don't want him to hear exactly, but when we speak to him, he either says, Huh? or repeats it back to us completely mixed up and wrong.

Rhett and Noah wanting to be near us all the time.

Even when we are in the bathroom.

The way Noah tells stories. He is animated, his tone is hilarious and he makes sure you are listening.

Rhett's heart. His kindness is amazing. People tell me all the time how sweet he is, how caring, what a great big brother he is.

The fact is they are growing up fast. They can have conversations with you now, they can tell you what they want or what they don't want. But they still need me. They still want me. I love that.

I am so happy that they still want to snuggle with me. I hope the day never comes when they don't want a hug from their mom.

My goal this week is to take lots of pictures of the boys. Because I haven't in awhile. Because I am feeling like I need to capture Rhett at age 6 and 1/2 and Noah at age 4 and 1/2 before it is gone.

Now I am going to bed. Good night.

our new bedroom

...is finished! Well, the walls are at least. We hope to put wood floors in eventually, but right now I am just enjoying the finished product. Here are some photos:


I show this because 1)it only cost me about $20 for all three frames and photos. I know! I found the open frames (meaning no glass and backing) at Hobby Lobby for $4 each (clearance sale), took the photos myself (and I think they are pretty cool views of the St. Louis Arch, if I say so myself) and ordered them online, and found 3 pieces of glass from old frames I was no longer using. Seth had picture hangers in his tool box and I cut cardboard backing from a box. I love that it costs so little, yet looks great! Yay!

Can you see the chocolate ceiling? I love it! The walls are called white barn and the quilt is from West Elm (westelm.com). Thanks to Jana for having the catalog at her house. I love that store! Seth ended up having to choose the quilt for me because I had so many choices. It is an indigo color and is very soft and comfy.

And this is the piece de resistance. Also found at westelm.com, it is a botantical mobile and it adds fun to the room. I love how modern yet comfortable our room is. It is very grown up feeling as well.

I know I have gone on and on but this is our first bedroom, out of 5 houses that I have painted and decorated. So it is a big deal for me!

****
Right now, we are having a nice morning storm. Yes, it is raining again! Our grass is beautiful and we haven't had to use much of our own water! God's sprinklers work so much better anyway.

We are actually very lucky here in Edmond. We haven't seen a lot of the flooding that other areas have. I am sure if my house and surrounding area was flooded, I would be pretty sick of the rain.

****

Have a great Thursday!

getting involved

...I have been thinking of ways to get involved, helping with things that I am concerned about--the environment, global warming. I really hope that Edmond has something. I won't be able to really look into it until after school starts but I am writing this down now, so I will remember. I will be held accountable.

You see, my mom said something to me a few months ago that has stuck with me. I don't know how we got on the subject, but we were talking about how the generations behind hers (the baby boomers) are not actively involved with...well, not much of anything. They aren't doers. And if they aren't involved with things, actively helping out, then their children won't learn how to. And although I know this isn't true for everyone, it did make me think of myself and what kind of example I want to set for my children. Do I want to keep living like I do, hoping someone else will fix the problems of our world or do I want to participate in solutions to the problems? Of course the latter. Do I want to be more knowledgable on current issues and take an active role on things that are important to my kids' futures or do I want to pretend it doesn't exist? I know I don't want to pretend anymore. I know I don't want to leave the problems for my children's generations to fix them.

I am ready. I'll keep you updated...

some recent faves

...I haven't had a list in a while, so here is a list of three things that have made me declare, "I love that!"

*The movie Music & Lyrics. I was not going to watch this. I thought it would be too cheesy. But Seth rented it for me and last night I watched it and although, it was cheesy (but who am I kidding? I love cheesy movies) it was also funny and endearing. If you ever loved anything about 80 pop bands, then you must watch the first 5 minutes of this movie.

*Cereal Straws. I admit, when Rhett and Noah picked the Cocoa Krispy's and Fruit Loop's cereal straws for a snack, I was not impressed. But these things are good. I don't use them in milk, like they say too, and I love them. Crispy and flaky on the outside, with a chocolate or fruit-flavored inside---yummy!

*Experimenting with Ice Cream. This is very recent. I watched Scoop, on Food Network where they had 5 contestants make flavors for Haagan-Daas (sp?) and the winner would have their new flavor hit the shelves. How fun does that sound? So I decided to do the same (without the fame or glory--just for my family). I made Key Lime Pie Ice Cream the other day and it was pretty good, I have to say. I am thinking of other flavors to try. It is a fun way to spend time in the kitchen, when it is too hot to cook anything.

Have a great day!

where have I gone?

...hee! hee! So, I haven't blogged for a week almost. So maybe you are wondering where I have been? Here at home.

Wednesday: The nation's birthday. I spent it cleaning house while the guys all went to see Transformers. Yes it is PG-13. And yes, Seth found out why. Much to his disappointment. He thought it would mainly be some sophisticated violence and maybe a few inuendos. There were some bad words and something that was very straight forward that is not meant for little boys' ears (and honestly, I wouldn't want my 13 year old son to hear it either). It makes us a little angry because don't the studios, directors, writers, whoever, know that little kids will want to see the film. Don't they realize the big boys who played with the toys in the 80s, will want to take their kids? Why do they have to make it PG-13? Ugg.

Anyway, we also went to see the Fireworks and that was a bust because the boys fell asleep within 5 minutes of it starting. So we left early. But we ate popcorn and had fun visiting before it started so I guess there was that.

Thursday: I decided to start painting my bedroom. I will show you pictures of the finished product, but let's just say that my ceiling reminds me of chocolate. Yum! I am painting the walls a white-gray color and it looks great so far. Makes our furniture really stand out. I hope to finish today.

We also went to the pool today and left right before a big downpour came. It rained for about an hour and a half. That is the last rain we have seen for 3 days straight. That is something, since it rained for 22 days in a row here. Now it is hot and muggy. But the evenings are beautiful so that is nice.

Friday: More painting. The boys had a play date and they had a lot of fun. We went to the pool again. The computer was down so I couldn't get on to blog. I really had intentions.

This day was Phoebe's birthday! If you haven't read Krista' blog about the big day, you should. It was very touching and funny.

Saturday: Our friends from Midland were up this way visiting family and so we had lunch with them in Norman. This was the first time we had gone there, so they, being OU alumni, showed us around the campus (very nice, even if it is OU), took me to Harold's (where they were having a great sale--skirt and capris were $10 and $20, respectively), and we ate at this Greek dive (where they shaved the meat from this giant cylinders of lamb/beef mix. That kind of grossed me out. I had a gyro and the meat pile was enough to feed a family of 6. It was really hot in there--remember the giant cylinders of meat? They were attached to this open warmer and sat right behind the counter. There were 4 of those and the place wasn't that big. It was literally a big oven in there.) I thought it was pretty good, but after a while, I really began thinking that it was too much--the atmosphere, the meat cylinders, the heat), so I was glad when we left.

But that was a fun day with our friends. We love that we can see them, even if it is once a year. They have two boys so Rhett and Noah had fun too.

That evening we went to the pool and then watched Monster House. The boys' first scary movie. It was actually pretty funny. Seth and I laughed hard at some parts. The boys were a little nervous about it, but Noah wants to watch it again. Rhett does not. :)

Sunday: We went to church, then had some friends over for dinner.

Seth tried to get the boys to help him in the yard that afternoon. I could hear Noah cry the whole time--how it was so hot, how it was so hard. Reminded me of well, me. My dad would always make us rake the grass after he mowed--which actually was a big deal if you saw our yard. We lived in the country and also shared a yard with my grandparents, so it was a pretty big yard. We would have these huge piles of grass that we had to bag and haul somewhere. Not fun. I think I complained about it every time. It got even worse when Casey started mowing instead of Dad. Then I would have to rake by myself.

I guess I am a better person for it. And I don't hate yard work now, so in hindsight, it must have not been that bad. :)

Anyway, that was my week.

I hope you have a great Monday!

where have you gone?

...This is going to make me sound old. But I remember vividly climbing trees when I was a girl. I loved it. I never gave a second thought to how high I was off the ground. I never complained if the tree scratched me or if it was hard to climb. I just did it.

This tree, found in my sister Jana's front yard, is the first tree that my boys have climbed. They were a little apprehensive. But I was so proud of them because they did it. Without complaint. And they thought it was so cool.

How I wish we had a climbing tree in our yard. How I wish I still had that little girl's fearlessness, mentality and carefree nature. Where did she go I wonder? Nowadays, I catch myself being afraid of everything that could potentionally hurt my kids. Germs, high places, mosquitos, sunburns, strangers...

Does becoming a parent automatically mean you have to lose that part of yourself that wanted to do things just for the heck of it? Does it mean you have to lose your guts?

I hope that little girl is around here, in me, somewhere. I believe it was her, not me, that suggested the boys climb the tree in the first place. The mom in me protested loudly in my mind, but the words, "Hey, why don't you try to climb this tree?" still came out of my mouth.

And I am so glad they did.

you wanna know?

...I've been on "vacation" for 2 weeks, visiting with family and came back very exhausted to a husband that missed us very much! We loved seeing all of the cousins, but we missed Seth too and are happy to be back. In fact, I told Seth I didn't want to go anywhere else for awhile!

7 kids and 7 adults in a house makes for a lot of noise, but a lot of fun. At least, I hope the kids had fun. The picture above was taken after 2 hours at The Discovery Center in Amarillo, TX where they all had a good time.

What did I miss here in Edmond while I was gone? Rain. It actually rained every day that I was gone and now we at the 20th day in a row that it has rained sometime during the day. More rain is in the forecast. But I am not complaining. I love it. The weather is cooler and it is just showers, no heavy storms. Yes, there is flooding, but I know come August we will be wishing for the wet stuff, so I am not saying a negative word about it.

What else did I miss? Scrapbooking. I need to do some things for the design team I am on at Your Scrapbook Stash. The stash is having a great sale and some great contests coming up so go check it out if you need some scrapbook supplies.

Now I am in the throes of housecleaning. I have tackled Rhett's room and now am going to finish laundry and clean Noah's room next. I am hoping to start painting my bedroom sometime this week but I need the house clean first.

Have a great Monday!