What's Bugging You?

Your kids?


Your dog?


Your kid's ratty old lovey?


Your husband who insists on sabotaging every photo he is in by either making wacky faces or else doing things like pretending he is pregnant?

Masterpieces

Sometime about a month ago I asked the kids to draw me a picture and tell me what they drew. Marcus drew this fabulous picture of his Daddy. All the detail didn't show up but Daddy comes complete with arms, legs, fingers, and toes.


Will also drew a picture. I had trouble writing fast enough to get everything he was telling about his picture but I did my best.

Favorite Foto Friday #4 - Spring

Tulips always get me in the mood for spring. I bought this new vase a couple years ago and Greg surprised me with these beautiful tulips to put in my vase. The light coming in the skylight in our old house made the perfect beam of sunshine to put the flowers in.

Next week's theme is Silly!


Let's see your picture! Post your Favorite Foto on your blog. Then use MckLinky to create a link so everyone here can view your photo. Just click on the next number available and fill in the form to create your link.

A Great Day

After having a cool day filled with rain, yesterday ended up being a great weather day. Not as warm as some that we have had recently, but still a great day for great activities.

It was a great day for cuddling with someone you love.


It was a great day for admiring your reflection.


It was a great day to slide.



It was a great day for showing off your best asset.


It was a great day to flash your biggest smile.


And it was a great day for just kicking up your feet and relaxing a bit.


I hope you had a great day!

Two Kids

One kid is a daddy's boy.
One kid is a mommy's boy.

One kid is the rule enforcer.
One kid is the rule breaker.

One kid loves to eat meat.
One kid is a future vegetarian.

One kid likes to do everything himself.
One kid likes everyone to do everything for him.

One kid knows exactly what he likes and doesn't like.
One kid likes and doesn't like things just so he can be like his brother.

One kid loves his vegetables, but only if they are raw.
One kid loves his vegetables, but only if they are cooked.
(One momma loves that her kids eat vegetables!)

One kid loves his stuffed bear.
One kid loves his stuffed dinosaur.

One kid can sit still for hours.
One kid can sit still for ten seconds.

One kid is great with letters.
One kid is great with numbers.

One kid loves football.
One kid loves soccer.

One kid finds one thing he loves and sticks with it.
One kid likes to try a little bit of everything.

One kid loves "jobs" to do and helping.
One kid protests the idea of doing any sort of job.

One kid sulks.
One kid screams.

One kid always wakes up happy.
One kid always wakes up grumpy.

One kid drinks and drinks and drinks.
One kid barely drinks at all.

One kid pees every ten minutes.
One kid can go almost all day without peeing.

One kid likes to try new things.
One kid likes to stick with what he knows.

One kid is the leader.
One kid is the follower.

Two kids.
Two unique kids.
Two kids with two wonderful personalities.
Two kids that I love with all my heart for all their differences.

Random Things

- If something happened in the past, be it several hours ago or several months ago, Marcus says it happened "last morning". Will has picked up on this and now all his past took place last morning as well.

- Ever since we decided to adopt, I am hyper sensitive to how often adoption is portrayed in books, movies, plays, etc. Picked up a book I loved as a kid recently. I had forgotten that the main character had been adopted (and was now dealing with feelings of inadequacy after her mother becomes pregnant... with quadruplets). I find myself worrying already about all the questions my kids are going to have from adoption being shown in a negative light. Odd for me since I am not one to shield my kids from things, and yet I want to shield them from this.

- Will is getting a baby doll for Easter. He is quite fond of my friend's foster son and always asks to "take him" (which means he wants to hold him). Never thought I would be dealing with this, but when I went to find a doll I was torn over which one to get. Light skin? Dark skin? If I bought him a light skin doll would I be sending the wrong message, and surrounding him with even more pale people like myself? If I picked the dark skinned one, would I feel like I was trying too hard? And what color skin does Will really have because his skin tone isn't really that dark? Would Will even notice? I got the dark skinned doll.

- Will has taken to acting out TV shows. He attempts to sing the songs and say all the dialogue and often do all the movement as well. Mostly it results in him mumbling and dancing around the room. At first it was really cute but the more and more words and movements he gets right, the more and more I realize that we need to quit watching the same TV shows over and over again.

Favorite Foto Friday #3 - Green

Hope you had a wonderful St. Patty's Day! I enjoyed time with some family and a big green beer. Show me your green!!


Photo taken by Greg because I made him do it in September 2008 on the day we bought our current house.

Next week's theme is Spring.


Let's see your picture! Post your Favorite Foto on your blog. Then use MckLinky to create a link so everyone here can view your photo. Just click on the next number available and fill in the form to create your link.

Favorite Foto #2 - Sunshine!

I'm ready for spring... or at least some sunshine. Let's see your photo of some sunshine!


Marcus was 13 months in this photo. We were out in our little wading pool, scooting around the yard, and just soaking up the sun. Can't wait until we can do this again!

Next week's theme, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, is Green.


Let's see your picture! Post your Favorite Foto on your blog. Then use MckLinky to create a link so everyone here can view your photo. Just click on the next number available and fill in the form to create your link.

Lesson Learned

My guitar broke the other day. It was knocked over completely by accident, landed on the carpet and the neck (the long part behind the strings) just about snapped in half. I've had this guitar for a few years but it wasn't until the last two months that I started to find the time to seriously start learning to play. It has been the only thing I have been doing for me and only me and no one else. It has been challenging and fun and my mind is so happy to be doing something other than juggling laundry, cooking, and playing hide-and-seek. The guitar fell. It broke. My heart was crushed.

I left Greg to take care of the kids while I went in my room and cried. Part of me knew it was silly to be crying over a "thing" but any musician will tell you that their instrument is far more than just a "thing". It wasn't just the damage to the "thing", it was the loss of the instrument I use to feed my soul. I was sad.

The kids were a little concerned about me. They asked me over and over if I was sad. When I put Marcus to bed that night, he had some more questions and I was finally recovered enough that I could talk about it. Once again he asked me if I was sad that my guitar broke. I said that I was and he wanted to know why. "My guitar was my favorite toy. Now it is broken and I can't play with it anymore. Wouldn't you be sad if your favorite toy broke and you couldn't play with it anymore?" He's been a little bratty lately so I was not at all surprised that he smiled really big and told me that he would be happy. Time for me to teach that kid a little lesson.

"So if Bear," (Bear is his lovey), "got broken and you couldn't play with him again, you would be happy?" Marcus's cute face started to crumple and he shouted out that no, nothing can happen to Bear and if it did he would be very sad. I told him that that was how I felt about my guitar. I gave him a few reassuring words and told him to make sure he takes good care of Bear so he doesn't get broken.

Then Marcus tried to make me feel better. "Mommy, you have another guitar. You can play your other guitar."

"I am sure I will play my other guitar but it just isn't the same. You have another bear that is a really nice bear, but he just isn't the same as Bear, is he?"

I think he got it. Now I just have to try to figure out how to extend this lesson into taking care of all his toys, and not continuing to rip the wallpaper off the wall in his room, and stop destroying his artwork and throwing it in the trash.

There is a beacon of hope at the end of this story. Although my guitar will always have a scar, it does look like it will be able to be repaired at a reasonable cost.

Favorite Foto Friday #1 - You

I'm usually the one with the camera so I don't have too many pictures of me. Greg took this completely unglamorous photo of me in the summer of 2006. We took a mini vacation to Washington, DC and Annapolis, MD so we could spend some time together before becoming a family of three. I've been to DC several times but this was the first time I had seen the WWII Memorial. I probably shouldn't have put my feet in there but it was such a horribly hot day and my dogs were barking and... well... everyone else was doing it. Not a great picture but a great memory.

Next week's theme is Sunshine!


Let's see your picture! Post your Favorite Foto on your blog. Then use MckLinky to create a link so everyone here can view your photo. Just click on the next number available and fill in the form to create your link.
(I haven't used MckLlinky before so if you have any issues please comment in my blog and we'll work together to figure it out.)

Feature Starting Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow (and hopefully every Friday) I am going to start a Favorite Foto Friday. Please check it out. I woke up this morning with this huge dread that it is going to be a total bust and no one will participate. And it is soooo easy.

A blog I used to read hosted Favorite Foto Fridays and then the blog went private. I participated sometimes, but most of the time I just really enjoyed finding a new blogs and seeing everyone's pictures. It is really easy. I'll post a theme each week for a photo, and you post a photo in your blog. There will be a place in my post where you can put a link to your blog so everyone can see your photo. It doesn't have to be fancy or professional looking. If you read my blog, you know all my photos are just whatever I happen to catch on my dinky camera with no editing or photoshop fixing up later. Or dazzle us with your photo skills. Stick to the theme or not. Check out the other people's posts but don't post your own. Just help a girl out and try it at least once!

Tomorrow's theme will be "You". So start thinking of a picture of you that you want to post. See you tomorrow!

Projects

Two projects completed this weekend! And don't forget to check my blog this Friday for the new feature I am starting!!

I was in the mood to purge and organize over the weekend and figured I better take advantage of that feeling. Most of our art supplies are hidden away in a cabinet, but the cabinet is in such a disastrous state I can't keep track of what art supplies are even in there. Even more concerning, we purchased a giant stack of construction paper at Sam's Club that won't fit in the cabinet. It has been hanging out in a messy pile (that becomes more of a mess each time we try to get a piece of paper out of the pile) on my bakers rack. I kicked my head into creative mode and came up with a solution.

While out running errands, I located a huge roll of craft paper for $2.50. Back home I survived our attic where I think we still have every single box that we used to move to find the perfect one. Then I tried to figure out just how my nerves were going to take two kids and a bunch of paint. Greg asked Will to run an errand with him and Marcus was begging me to do some artwork, so the project became something for just Marcus and me to tackle.

First step, pull out every single color of paint that we own. Second step, grab the stamps that were purchased for artwork purposes about two years ago but got lost in the artwork cabinet and were never used. Step three, start stamping.


Once the paint was dry, I got out a roll of clear packing tape and got to work. Marcus was rather excited with what we had created.


All our construction paper fits neatly inside. This particular box even had this little insert so I was able to create a second space inside that holds our coloring books!


This box looks way nicer sitting on my bakers rack than that ugly messy pile of paper.


Next project to finish off was the curtains for Will's room that I think I started back in November. Yes, that was November. I fell in love with this fabric and got to work. Then Christmas happened and I did a ton of knitting and got craftiness burnout. When I did work on the curtains, it was usually 10 minutes at a time while I was also trying to watch/entertain the kids. I made the decision that I was going to spend a wild Saturday night staying up as late as I needed to in order to finish the project. I put some good music on my ear phones, and 45 minutes later, the curtains were finally done. Or done for now.


This was the biggest project that I have sewn. Not all that technical, but just big. Juggling all that fabric ended up being a little more challenging than I expected, particularly since I didn't have a nice large place to lay everything out. The result is that one curtain is about an inch longer than the other. A noticeable inch. But for now they are done. It will probably take me another 4 months to get that long curtain hemmed up. I used a navy blue fabric on the back side of the curtains which is a nice complimentary color (but probably would choose differently if I were to do this project again, which I am not). I wanted something dark on the back side to keep the room dark during nap or those summer evenings when the sun stays up late.

Finally got a couple other things on Will's bedroom walls as well. Although now I am thinking he also needs some sort of hockey decoration.

Let's Go Pens!

Nope, not a post about how Sydney Crosby won the gold medal for Canada. This is a post about Will. My cute little full contact sports fan Will.

While checking the calendar at the place when Marcus plays soccer, I noticed that right after his last practice, the Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled to be having practice on the rink. Had to take the kids to check it out!

Will has watched some hockey on TV and upon seeing pictures of people playing hockey, he definitely knows what sport it is. I figured he would enjoy it. At first, I wasn't quite sure what he was thinking. When we went in, there were only a couple guys on the ice and they were skating around, taking shots on empty goals, and causing quite a lot of noise with all those pucks bouncing off the boards and glass. The way Will sat wide-eyed and motionless, I thought he was a bit shocked and scared. It didn't help that he kept telling me over and over again, "I don't want to do that." I kept assuring him over and over again that we weren't doing that, just there to watch. Very little will keep Will still for longer than two minutes, but as hockey practice progressed, Will kept his focus.

Eventually he moved from the steps into a seat and was joined by Marcus and another friend Finn.

All three boys watched the action for a few minutes. Then Marcus and Finn were off running around and playing and Will, he stayed put.

Eventually he moved down to the glass so he could get an upfront and personal look.

Will suffers from selective hearing, but during hockey practice, his focus was so intense that there was no getting through to him. Marcus and Finn tried several times to get him to join in their play, but Will was having none of it. It was hockey time and nothing else. Finn left. Marcus was bored. It was nearly lunch time and we were all getting hungry. Marcus became such a pill, full of whining and complaining and was just being downright annoying. Normally that would have been my indication it was time to get out of there, and quick.

But how do you tear your kid away from something he is so clearly enjoying so much? We stayed a short while longer until at last I announced that we really did need to go. Will crawled into my lap and just cried. It wasn't a temper tantrum, just complete devastation. His little heart was breaking for the love of the game.

I had also noticed on the calendar that the Pens were scheduled to practice again the following day. I told Will that we would talk to Daddy and maybe he and Daddy could come back the next day to watch more. All he talked about all day long was how he was going to go watch hockey again. Sadly, I called the next day and the hockey practice had been canceled.

We asked Will several times if he wants to play hockey now. He kept saying that he is too little. We told him he could play hockey with kids his own size and as that slowly has sunk in, he has decided that is a pretty good idea. Today we were playing pretend and Will wanted to pretend to skate and play hockey. Guess we have to get the kid on ice skates some time.

Role Model

Yes, I know I have had a very Marcus-centric blog lately. Next post is about Will. I promise.

After my brother, otherwise known as Uncle Willie, posted this gem of himself taken about 20 years ago on his facebook page,

Marcus was more thrilled than ever to hit the soccer field... and be just like Uncle Willie. I figured I would try to take advantage of Marcus's enthusiasm for the photo, to try to get a "formal" picture of Marcus at soccer. Poor lighting and a kid who has the nasty attitude of a 3.5 year old, didn't lead to much success, but still have a couple pictures to hold on to. Maybe in 20 years I can laugh at Marcus's haircut as much as I was laughing at my brother's haircut in his photo.



Stay tuned. I am going to attempt to start my first ever weekly feature on my blog starting this Friday!!