Whiney Wednesday

1. Stomach flu.

2. I feel like I am treading water all day and not getting anywhere.  Seriously.  I work HARD all day long, giving of myself to my maximum capacity in all ways I can think of and by the end of the day it seems like nothing has gotten done!  The only way to get items crossed off my "to do" list is to make a list of things I have ALREADY done.  Hmmm. . . maybe I am on to something here :)

3. Charity junk mail.  I don't care if you send me an envelope every month.  I told you I was giving one time or two times or whatever when I gave MY INITIAL pledge so stop sending me your letters.  They get shredded and recycled and frankly I'm tired of dealing with them.  I am not going to suddenly be "moved" to give you more money just because you sent me another envelope and sob-story letter.  Oh and while we are on the topic.  DO NOT CALL ME AND ASK FOR A PLEDGE ON THE PHONE.  I don't care how pathetic I sound or how guilty you make me feel.  You cause my be the worthiest of all, but I do NOT want to be bothered with a phone call where I have to LISTEN to your sob story and then tell you no and hear you all gruff and disappointed.  If I think you cause is worthy, I will give you money, but let me do my own research. - Don't call me, I will call you.

(On a side note, one charity called to thank me for my past support and ask if I had any prayer requests - no strings attached.  That was nice.  They can call me anytime.)

To join in Whiney Wednesday, click here for details.

Samuel has turned 5-years-old

Samuel turned 5-years-old at the beginning of December, but due to a lot of factors (broken computer, sickness, busy schedule, etc) I have been unable to reach my blog and pictures for a while, but fear not, it is still December, and a good time to stop for a moment and reflect on the little gentleman I am growing.

SAMUEL:

*Favorite toy right now: any Ironman paraphernalia he can find (I blame this fascination on Daddy who INSISTED we watch Ironman as a family.  I personally thought it was scary, but obviously Samuel thought it was "cool.")

*Is an AMAZINGLY helpful little guy - when he wants to be.  He cleans off the table, picks up/sorts toys, brings me things (like a wet wipe or the phone) and is just generally a very handy child to have on hand.

*Loves to play creatively (aka pretend) with his brother, Jacob and his older sister, Rebekah.

*Likes to make Paul laugh and can keep him "occupied" for at least a few minutes.

*Enjoys books and would have me read to him all day if possible.

*LOVES to cook.  Sometimes if I don't let him help often enough he hauls his chair in the kitchen and demands to help.  And baking anything from cookies to muffins, completely makes his day.

*Is intensely inquisitive.  He is constantly jabbering - talking things out, asking questions, pondering.  Quite the thinker.

*Runs very quickly!!  He really is quite athletic.

*Is exceedingly honest.  He has no concept of "secret" and is blatantly truthful about everything - so innocent.

Thank you, dear God, for my sweet son, Samuel.  May he continue to grow in gentleness and faith as he blesses our family.

Jacob and Samuel playing



Fun with Fair Toys

 There are these fun car-track sets at the State Fair every year and this is our second year of Nana's generosity bringing a set back to our home.  Here is the combined result of those two sets and Daddy's engineering (as well as the kids' assistance).  I call it "The Track of Awesome."

Later Jacob decided the track needed to be modified.  Here is his creativity at work.

Helping Daddy

Fortunately, my husband is amazing and can fix things for me - like the vacuum cleaner.  He is passing on his talent to our children (as witnessed here - for your viewing pleasure).

A new look.

 I am all about functionality.  So I grow my hair long and then when it annoys me (approximately every couple of years), I cut it short and donate it.  This way I only have to go to my hair dresser every couple years.  Last Saturday it was "time for a cut" again.  Here are so pictures to document.

I never knew how difficult it is to hold your hand steady to take a picture when not using the flash.

This one is "a little" better but you can't see my hair as much.



It does not look like much here, but it should be enough for Locks of Love to use.

From the back.

And the final product.  Again - taking my own picture - definitely not my area of expertise, but here ya go :)

Kids

It has been a little while since I gave much of an update on the kids and they are doing more and more all the time, so I figured I better get on it!

Before Mass on Sunday - they LOVE to stop at this bench.

Rebekah:

*She is getting soooooo helpful!  She can watch Paul for me, or help him down from places he is not supposed to be (like the kitchen table).

*She still loves all things "girly" - pink, purple, hearts, purses, pretty hair things, etc

(With that said, she still rarely lets me do her hair as she is a tender-head.)

*She is still doing dance class (ballet and tap) and has recently joined the swim team (although she is basically just advanced lessons at this point).

*Our Girl Scout troop will begin meeting next week and she is beside herself with excitement.

*I really enjoy when she calls me "Momma" for some reason.  I hope it never gets shortened to the typical "Mom."

Samuel:

*He is a talker!!  He can keep up a running commentary at all times of everything that might be around us or in his head.

*He is also very inquisitive.  He cannot help himself but ask questions about EVERYTHING.  Although I know this is good learning for him it annoys me to no end when his questions are improperly formed (as in so badly I have trouble distinguishing what he wants to know).  He often wants to group things by saying "always, everyone, all the people," etc, and I am always telling him, no not ALWAYS or every time, but THIS TIME it is this way - for THIS PERSON (not every person).  I guess I should look at it as a game like Daddy does (making things up as he goes) - perhaps I take life a little too seriously sometimes.

*Samuel is very athletic and sad that he is not old enough to play real soccer or do swim team yet.

*His favorite book right now is "The Cat in the Hat"

Jacob:

*Jacob is my cuddly guy.  He loves to give me hugs and sit with me and look me in the eye.  He likes to be the baby turtle and have me be the mommy turtle.

*He is getting more coordinated all the time, running and jumping after his big brother Samuel.

*He is enjoying school (I think) even though every day I get a report of how he did not behave quite right.  He is happy when I pick him up and often when I leave him, so it can't all be bad.  I think he enjoys having his brother in the same class

*He loves to build with his mega blocks.

*Unfortunately lately his little brother, Paul, has discovered that pulling at, dropping, or breaking apart those blocks causes a great response from Jacob.

*He has tons of words and knows a lot of his letters.  I love to listen to him talk.  One of the phrases I enjoy hearing (because it is cute - not because I really want him saying it) is "No, I tan't" (No I can't).

*He is in the full swing of 3-year-old rebellion, being contrary to everything, but he has THE MOST ADORABLE pouty face.  So I really don't mind.

Paul:

*Paul is at the stage where he is a terror but he is so stinking cute you can't possibly get mad at him.
*He has a few words already.  He recently has started saying "Thank you."  Although it sounds more like "dank you."  But he says it as he brings me something (I guess in anticipation of me saying to him for bringing whatever to me).

*Some of his other phrases: "What's dis?" "I have dis."  He also says "Daddy" and he can say Mommy, but sadly he does not say it much.

*He is getting very good at feeding himself with a spoon.  Although finger foods like peas, black beans, and bananas are still his favorites.

*He still nurses like crazy but it makes him happy so I roll with it.

*I love his little toddle and his giggle.

Hooray for my crazy - fun - little family :)  Thank you God for these blessings!  My life is so full and amazing with them!

Small Successes Thursday

Thursday is the day to stop and count our blessings and recognize the small victories in every day life that might get lost otherwise, in the business of daily life. Here are my small successes for this week.

1. I cleaned out the basement closet - which consisted of re-arranging the back porch (as that is where a lot of that stuff needed to go), re-arranging two sets of shelves (one in Paul's room and one in the work-out/laundry room - hey, that stuff has to go somewhere!), and going through/organizing three large containers of extended kitchen items that I just don't have room for in my actual kitchen.

2. I finally took a picture of Rebekah in her school uniform. Instead of a "First Day of School" picture, we have a "17th Day of School" picture. But hey, maybe I will have started a tradition that we could continue. Who knows? :)

3. The holy water font I bought back in college (that would only be about 7 years ago - since I graduated) has finally been "placed"and stocked with holy water.

I was also pretty proud of placing it right by the doorway to the kitchen (on the wall beside our table) since the kids like to bless themselves as we begin our meal prayer. And Rebekah's recent artwork from school seemed to fit right in with the theme (the Hail Mary above and the other picture is Mary giving the Rosary to St Dominic).

Unfortunately, not everyone is crazy about my "brilliant" placement of the font as my hubby already sent it flying once. Maybe I should have put it on the OTHER side of the light switch - or the other side of the door. (But then I would have to reach across to use my right hand which I thought would be awkward. . . )

In any case, there you have it. To share your small victories, head over to Chocolate for Your Brain for details.

Whiney Wednesday

1. I have not felt like being creative in the kitchen lately. In fact, choosing meals and getting them ready has REALLY been a chore as I cannot see to come up with anything new, groceries seem so much more expensive, and it just takes so much time!

2. My nursing baby (whom I LOVE dearly and I LOVE nursing still a lot - at 15 months now) has thrown my body into mass confusion and it has me going CRAZY some days. Seriously, I annoy myself! I am so lost with my hormones all over the place. I am crabby and short-tempered and just all-around unhappy. Not to mention I cannot seem to concentrate on what I should be doing. Although I am trying to get Paul on more of a regular nursing schedule (as I think that might help) I absolutely CANNOT tell him no when he asks to nurse (he is the first of my children to come up with his own sign for it - so smart!) so it looks like I just might have to suffer through this for a while. I just hope I don't get so caught up on the rough part to miss the beauty of connecting with my baby and being able to comfort him so well.

3. I really need some TIME to get some projects done and between running after the kids and their activities and my own social life, I just don't see any opportunity for these projects (like sorting the mail, filing papers, labeling pictures, etc) and frankly that is kind of depressing.

Ok, there's my whines for this week. Feel free to join me in the whining fun. Click here for details.

Happy Birthday, Jacob Christopher!

Today is Jacob's 3rd Birthday. This morning he got a "baby sea turtle" book (part of our present to him) and I have only read it to him about 15 times (yes, I think it is a keeper), but I don't mind as hearing him say "baby turtle" makes me feel all warm and fuzzy since he is so incredible cute about it.


Some things about Jacob:

• When he is hungry, he wants a banana. Always, all the time, no matter if he has eaten 6 bananas, he wants. . . a banana. "Please, may I have. . . a banana."


• He is on a "baby turtle" kick that is adorable. He pretends to be a baby turtle and I (his mother) get to be the mommy turtle. It is very helpful to get him to lay down for a nap or tuck him in at night - and sometimes even to get him to use the potty. I say, "Come on Baby Turtle. . ." and he happily clops after me making "baby turtle noises" (difficult to explain but they are definitely cute :)


• Jacob now has feet about a size and half bigger than his older brother (older brother is 4.5 years-old). I bought him some AMAZING new shoes the other day and he commented, "Mom, these shoes FIT and they are COOL!" (I plan to give these shoes their own post when I get around to it.)


• He was a little slow to start talking (waiting until well into his second year before vocalizing more than grunts) but now he has an amazing vocabulary and I am impressed with his attention for detail. For example, Daddy had left to walk to a friend's house by going out the front door, but Jacob wanted Daddy to "go out the back door, get in his car, turn on the engine, and drive to the friend's house."


• Jacob loves trucks, trains, and planes.


• His favorite things to watch (as we don't get regular cable or anything) are Signing Time, the movie WallE, a dvd of Thomas the Tank Engine, and Mater's Tall Tales.


• Something I enjoy doing with him lately, when I help him put on his shirt, while he is lost trying to get his head in, I ask, "Where is Jacob?" and then he pops out and cries, "Here I am!" with a great big smile. He also grants my request for a big hug after getting his clothes on - once he can dress himself I will have to find another reason to get a hug :)


• The other day during lunch the "big kids" were saying what they wanted to be when they grew up. Jacob listened a bit and then chimed in, "I want to be a bad guy!"
  

I love you, my sweet Jacob! May God continue to bless you and form you into a virtuous and considerate little boy.

The TV room. . . and THE TOYS

I have been thinking a lot about toys since my friend Monica posted this link on facebook. The comments about it were also good for thought. Monica mentioned that she had several toys in "storage" and rotated frequently. The funny thing is that I would have told you I do the same thing, but as I was thinking about it, I realized that is not quite true. We don't really have a lot of room for storage. I have to stick things here or there - no real "storage room" or what-not. So in a sense, I was considering toys to be "in storage" when really they were just crammed in the nooks and crannies of the tv (toy) room in places I really did not expect the kids to get them out (although I was not consciously thinking that when I put them there - if that makes sense). In any case, after much mulling over the subject of toys (and having some free time as I mentioned in my previous post -staying home with an almost fine baby) I attacked the tv room. I thinned out the toys so there would be more space. And created a "toy library" (or really it is more just an "ask permission first" so that I can make you pick up your other toys and/or help you because I don't want these broken or the pieces lost - although there are some things that are just regular toys I am planning to rotate to perk interest).

Unfortunately I have no "before" pictures as it did not dawn on me to take any until I was in the thick of it and toys were EVERYWHERE so you will just have to take my word that it looks better.

Here is the "toy library" - although most of it is games or puzzles that I don't want broken or the pieces destroyed - so in a sense it is more like "restricted play" - although there are some "rotating toys" here, too. Here is the tv room - you can't tell but I've seriously cut down on all the bins and what-not that are scattered about. And the ones left I have put serious thought into - the toys on the black shelves are well-loved by all the kids (doctor toy set, toy tea set, tub of toy phones) and the bottom shelf are blocks for the baby to stack and a tub of little people and animals that I think Paul will enjoy.

I moved the toy kitchen into this room from the front room. All the kids love the toy kitchen and use it frequently - so as much as I dislike picking up toy food every day (and disinfecting on a regular basis), I think the kids might riot if I tried to put it in "restricted play"

Here is the closet - just trust me - it has been thinned out and the toys are MUCH MORE accessible. The box in the middle is dress-up clothes or to be more official, "dramatic play." Many of the moms I am friends with dislike plastic toys that take batteries and trust me, I am right there with you - but at the same time, the baby always seems to enjoy the heck out of these - and most of the ones in this closet have been with us since Rebekah was a baby - so they are tried and true.

Here are our videos (yep, old-school - most of these are from when I was little - hehe) and our "older books" - some are chapter books and some are just a bit more advanced. (This is my first time "organizing" the books - I hope it sticks as it makes my book choice much easier when I'm looking for something to read to the kids.)

Here is our other shelf of books. (Notice the tubs on top - more "toy library/restricted play" toys.)

Here is a close up of the bookshelf. The top shelf is wooden puzzles (ask to get them down - so we don't lose the pieces) and our religious books (and St Francis and Jesus). I keep a few of these down in the living room as our "featured books" and then rotate them every week or so. The next shelf down is comic books (a little old for our kids - again, from my childhood - some day they will love them, though - I still enjoy them :) followed by a "regular reading" shelf - books that all the kids (except Paul) enjoy. The shelf one up from the bottom is board books. And then the bottom shelf is big board books and a few more "regular reading" books.

I know it seems nerdy to have a whole post on this but I am sooooo excited to have the room cleaner and a conscious approach to toys. I'm still letting the concept of homeschooling sink into my soul - maybe some day. In the mean time I'm trying to make the most of my time with the kiddos as I work and play with them throughout the day.

House Rearrangement

I was home with the recovering baby this past weekend - and really he was not very sick to begin with and was feeling much better very quickly, so I took the opportunity to rearrange the house. I am THRILLED with the results. I imagine you will be, too.

Here is the living room as it was - front door shot.

Here is another view of the front room. This is an older picture as we still have the stove here (it has been taken out for a while now - it was not mounted, just sitting there, so when it got warmer we moved it to the back porch) but the picture suits my purposes - as you can tell this wall had a bookshelf and chair and misc other junk.

I should interject here, that we were given a new couch that we like quite a bit. We debated getting rid of the old one but then decided to keep both. In any case, it was in front of the window (where the kids' table and chairs are).

Now, here is a shot of the new set-up. I call it dueling couches. But it really seems to open up the room. I put the rug sideways because I like to have the footstool in front of the easy chair (as the kids like to jump on my legs when I have them up and I'm always afraid they will hurt the recliner foot - so I use a footstool instead) and it does not sit well on the rug. But I think the rug sideways also makes the room look larger as it makes the dining area appear bigger. (And I'm all about illusion - if you can't actually make the room bigger, you might as well make it LOOK bigger :)

Here is shot of the old set-up. Notice all the toys along the wall near the kitchen door? I will address where all those toys went in my next post. I did not realize how cluttered they looked until I moved them.

Here is the new set-up. I like the bookshelf there a lot better, but now I will have to move our 5x7 frames of the kiddos. Oh well, maybe I will invest in a digital photo frame (hint hint for Christmas dear Hubby - if you actually read this :) - then I could just have ONE and put pictures of the all the kiddos on it.

And a final picture - looking at the front room from the front door.

Rebekah is now 6-years-old

• Loves riding her bike, going swimming, and dance class.


• Favorite food: homemade pizza without the sauce (I put olive oil on the crust instead)


• Dislikes: tomatoes and tomato sauce (go figure)


• Caught up on: Disney Princesses - Cinderella is her favorite - hence why we are reading "The Glass Slipper" (a Cinderella chapter book) right now.


• Likes to help take care of her youngest brother, Paul - really enjoys carrying him around (but I'm not so sure he enjoys it as much!)


• Can be very helpful in the kitchen and cleaning up - when she wants to be!


• Has an imagination like none other and really enjoys creating adventures with her oldest younger brother, Samuel.


• Willingly appeases her Momma to make homemade cards, valentines, and other crafts that I think need her touch.


• Brushes her own teeth very well - and reminds me when we have no done so - as silly thing, but we just went to the dentist and oh how I wish all the kids were like her!!

Such a sweet, fun-loving little lady! I love you Miss Strawberry Princess Rebekah! May God help me form you into a virtuous, kind, and gentle young woman.

Small Successes

1. Way back in May my daughter convinced me we needed to have a flower garden. I have never really tried to grow anything before. Occasionally my mom would bring us flowers and they would die because we forgot to water them. Well, I decided to try - even though I really know very little about this kind of stuff - and I can honestly say I really did not expect to actually grow anything other than weeds or grass, but here is our first flower blooming that started as just an ity-bitty little seed. (Don't worry, I watered them right after this picture.)

2. I finally found a piano teacher (after planning to for about a year now) and had my first "adult" lesson (as technically I had a year of lessons in 3rd grade). I forgot how much I LOVE playing the piano!!

3. I had some major paperwork things looming over my head and I actually managed to get them all done (one was almost a month late, but hey, it is done now at least).

Feel free to chime in with your successes. For details, check here.

Paul Update

My youngest son, Paul, recently (back on May 17) turned one-year-old. I have been MEANING to post for some time, but circumstances have kept me away. In any case, I figure better late than never. So here we have a few pictures of Paul sitting for the first time at "the big kids' table" and enjoying one of his favorite birthday toys - his drum.






And now I want to copy my good friend, Monica and say a little bit about Paul.

• He LOVES To jabber! He is quite talkative. The only "real" word we consistently hear is "Daddy" (go figure :) but I would swear he has his own version of "thank you" (same inflection - jibberish words, though)



• He is really good at climbing on things. I plan to put up an entire post about this aspect. I have caught him everywhere from on top of the couch (way up on the back) to the top of Jacob's tall table chair. He has no fear and quite a bit of skill.



• His favorite foods right now are: black beans (so strange as I never thought to try and feed these to the other kids, but he eats them straight and LOVES them), peas, hamburger (mashed up), yogurt, and apples



• Nursing - he has nursed the most of all the kids at his age (5 or 6 times a day). Of course, in his defense, this is the longest I have gone, between children, before getting pregnant again. And the nursing baby always seems to be the first to notice that I am pregnant.
  


• Sleeping - he was giving me no short amount of trouble as his "preferred" nap schedule did not mesh with his brother and sister's school schedules and then he was always grumpy by evening, giving me trouble going to sleep at night and stay asleep. But at right about a year he seemed to figure things out. He shifted to one nap a day (about 1pm to 3:30 or 4pm) and began going down quite easily around 7pm - and STAYING ASLEEP until about 8am the next morning (occasionally he still wakes up once, around 5am, but then he goes right back to sleep after nursing a bit).

Paul, you are such a blessing to me!! Hooray for being a year old :)

Small Successes

It is that time again when I take stock of how things are going and look at the positive. So here are our successes for this week.

1) Survived two weeks of swim lessons - got everyone there on time - wrangled the younger kiddos - all went well.

2) Got the spare room cleaned up. It is amazing how things get out of hand so easily when stuff comes in and starts getting piled where it does not belong, but I have gotten it back under control (for now).

3) I have been doing better at keeping myself calm and letting things that normally would have me all upset, slip past (not all, of course, but some and that is a start).

Feel free to join in our weekly reflection by checking out the rules here.

Changes

It has been a little while since I've posted and part of it is the craziness of life and part of it is blogger acting funny and part of it is the camera hiding from me for a while. In any case, I wanted to share some thoughts here today. I have noticed some changes in myself and. . . well, just wow, that is really all I can say about them - oh and thank you, God!

A while ago I began praying that I would be transformed to not be so materialistic and to have a better attitude about money. Early on I realized that the label "financially poor" would be sticking with us for some time as we began our family before "establishing" our careers or really taking too much time to settle in. Then, as we continued to be blessed by God with children I realized I needed an attitude adjustment. I could make do with less, but that was not good enough, I wanted to make do with less AND feel good about doing it! That was more of a challenge as initially I was quite resentful and embarrassed to be choosing children and staying home with them over possessions. Yes, now as I type it I truly understand how silly it was - I was making the right choices for us, but feeling bad about them. So I prayed that God would change my heart - show me true detachment from possessions and true trust in His providence. Well, it has taken some time (as answering prayers often does) but I am beginning to notice the changes deep within me. Here are some of the most recent revelations of them.

1) For the Fathers' Day I told my husband we could bring in dinner from a restaurant. As good a cook as I am becoming, he still has a soft spot in his heart (or more precisely his stomach :) for restaurant food. So we planned a dinner date after the kiddos went to bed (as the cheapskate in me rarely feeds them restaurant food - unless we actually eat out as a family). The hubby chose a place I do not particularly like, so he encouraged me to get food for myself from another restaurant. I thought long and hard, I considered all the options and in the end I chose to eat left-overs from the fridge! And I was just as content (if not more so) with them than I would have been with restaurant food. It has taken a long time to reach this point, but I now truly choose my own cooking over eating out.

2) I was going to the store early Saturday morning to buy last-minute Fathers' Day cards for all the fathers in my life and a gift for my own dad. As I went from store to store, looking at cards and gift ideas (prepared to spend a little money on my Dad as more money spent equaled more respect and affection, so I thought). At the second store, as I scanned the cards, it dawned on me that I could go home right now and the time I would have spent here shopping I could instead spend with my daughter, making homemade cards that would probably be appreciated more anyhow! Likewise, as I thought deep in my heart, I knew what my Dad would truly appreciate - some new praise music - and I had a cd at home that I enjoyed a lot, but he had not heard and would surely enjoy just as much! So home I went to make homemade cards and wrap up my own cd to give to my father. Somehow this simple event just made me stop and think how often I go buy a store card or gift for someone simply because that is what is expected and not because that would truly be the most thoughtful way to do it!

3) Our next-door-neighbor had a baby a few days ago. I want to make her dinner but we are not that close and I'm not sure how to go about offering that so instead we made cookies for her and her other children today. I have kinda turned into a health nut (perhaps a whole other number in itself) so instead of regular granulated sugar and brown sugar I use organic sugar and instead of shortening I use coconut oil and instead of while flour, I use wheat. But since these were for someone else I decided to go for the fluff. We used the last of the regular granulated sugar and brown sugar along with crisco shortening and half white flour (as I was running out). As I was putting the cookies on the pans to bake I inevitably got some on my fingers and it would be wasteful to not lick that off, right? (and wash my hands afterward, of course) Well, the strangest thing happened. . . I did not really enjoy the dough as much as I normally would - it was too sweet. And then, when the cookies were done I of course had to sample a few to make sure I was not giving away something that tasted bad and although I they did taste good, I prefer them with my substitutions. This really solidified that it is not just a conscious choice to use healthier ingredients - I really do like them better all around!

I am still in awe of how God is working me - and oh so grateful!!

Whiney Wednesday

1. I am so grateful that my children have inquisitive minds, but if I have to answer why I am doing whatever I am doing ONE MORE TIME I think I might scream. BECAUSE!!!!

2. "Mom, look!, Mom, look!, Moooom, look!!, Look, Mom! Look, Mom! Keep looking at me, Mom!!" Sheesh - even when Samuel is just telling me something, he seems to think that if I am not looking then I obviously am not listening. How oh how do I ever get anything done around here with having to look up or come around the corner to see every five minutes, I have no idea.

3. I think my brain has a short in it somewhere. Seriously, I cannot remember things. I walk into a room and forget why I am there. If I don't write things down IMMEDIATELY (on my ever-missing-when-I-need-it-list) then they are so gone. And even when I do get them written down, half the time I can't remember where I put the list. It is a good thing the phone rings or it would be lost FOREVER. I feel sooooo scatter-brained. I had trouble following a tv episode last night. Maybe being up so often with the baby is affecting my REM sleep or something - either that or I'm slowly going crazy. Yep, apparently that is what kids do to you when used incorrectly, so always follow the directions!! (Too bad I misplaced mine! - haha)

See, I was so absent-minded I forgot to put the link at the bottom of my whines!! (well, I guess you can't see that once I re-post, but trust me, I forgot) So, if you want to know what Whiney Wednesday is all about and join in the fun, click here.

Happy Easter! :)

Sometimes it takes two to get everyone smiling.

So I almost did not post anything specific to Easter as I "missed" posting on the first Sunday of Easter, but then I remembered that it is the "First Sunday of Easter" for the entire week!! (A whole octave, actually) And then we celebrate the Easter Season for a good long time - until Pentecost, so why not say Happy Easter today and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that and the day after that. . . ? :)

Playful Paul

Paul has been pulling up and cruising the furniture for some time now, but I finally captured him playing with his Christmas toy here.

moving the beads along the tracks

Who me?

"chuckles"

squatting - gotta work those thighs

big smile