for jessica

*

so the other day, in my previous post, i alluded to feeling all wonky about blogging. i took a little hiatus due to a bout of the blogging (also facebook, pinterest, and internet in general) ick. i can't be the only person who leaves an intimate session with my computer feeling jealous, unproductive, unfulfilled, and well...sad. in a flash of ridiculous vengence, i've struck blogs from my bookmark bar as though that action alone will bring relief from the endless window shopping i constantly subject myself to. that's just crazy.

then a few months (or less) go by, and i step back in, cautiously, vowing to spend only so much time in front of the screen, with only a select few, purposeful stops, promising to steer clear of the not-so-feel-good-spots i know still taunt me. and i think, "hey...i can do this! i'll just look a little, share a little, and walk away...just walk away."

today, on the actual telephone, my sister and i discussed this. i think we agreed to sum it up this way: who doesn't love show and tell? especially when you're the shower-teller? it's fun. it's a method of record keeping. it's like an interactive video game involving your own actual life where real live people can jump right in and hang out a little. the thing to keep in mind, though, is that it is a game. all those pictures aren't the whole picture, that's the thing. as long as i spend sufficient time unplugged (let's not get all matrix-ey here), i think it's gonna be okay.

in the meantime, if you don't mind me thinking out loud, subjecting you to the ongoing report of my life with children, or reading my profound retellings of some of the things i've seen or heard, you're welcome to stay. make yourself at home. and if i'm on your annoying list, go ahead and delete me into cyber nothingness. jess, you say you like it, and that's good enough for me. from all the way over here to all the way over there, this one's for you.

*coming soon: more clutter shots that tell the story of our lives, in all their chaotic glory.

happy birthday, dr. seuss...annnd....we're back!

well, hello there! apparently i'm on the nine-month plan, as it's been nearly that long since i've actually published a post. there've been a couple of puny little posts hanging out in my "drafts" box, but i never got back to them. oopsie. actually, i've been trying to sort out all this blog stuff in my head all this time, but that's a post for another day.

so why today? well because it's dr. seuss' birthday, and we had a darn fine time at doodlebugs, that's why. pure genius that man was, i tell you, and if he's not an inspiration to share your craziness with the world, i don't know what is. so here we go.

i set up three seussish stations for the kiddos to explore, all inspired by various seuss stories. first up, fish bowls inspired by the cat in the hat and one fish two fish red fish blue fish. a fish bowl outline, permanent markers, and water colors. there were all kinds of cool creations swimming around in those bowls!

next up? crazy creatures inspired by there's a wocket in my pocket and if i ran the zoo and pretty much every other dr. seuss book there is.

this little one just decided to go ahead and write her own book. yes!

and finally? OOBLECK! this was definitely a favorite, especially with the younger littles. we liked it much better than the king did in bartholomew and the oobleck.

even the kids themselves were works of art (aren't they always?) today. some came dressed in formal seuss attire: stripes, colors, wigs, polka dots, crazy hair, and any other wild combination they could think of.

this lasted all of five minutes before he spied his "robin" suit, which he preferred. hmmm...seuss and batman? whatever, right?

green bean teepee

saw her bean pole teepee last year, and knew these little fort nuts would LOVE one. and since leif's favorite vegetables are "garden" green beans, i knew it would be a hit. we have lots of space outside, but also lots of deer visitors, and constructing a deer-proof garden spot is on a long list of projects. but we do have a little fenced side yard in need of lots of work (meaning we can do just about anything we want over there, and it will be better than what it is now). so we took advantage of a break in the rain and got busy. i gathered a few random long sticks, tied them up, and let the boys go crazy with the yarn bag. they pretended to be spiders, weaving their way in and out of the sticks and each other. everyone was busy working on different aspects of the project, and it felt so good to be happily creating something together. everyone came and went, of course, but for the most part, all three boys were enthusiastically engaged at one time or another.

we were on such a roll, we even stuck a few pea seeds in the ground...we'll see what happens. (by the way, for those of you who aren't local, we've had TONS of rain and unseasonably cold temperatures here, so that's why our gardening adventures may seem late...and why i'm optimistic, but not betting too much on a whole lot of success...it's the process, not the product, right?!?)

and when the inevitable rain paid us its afternoon visit, the boys enjoyed sitting at the window watching all the birdies feasting on the tiny critters we turned up.

what is

it's 5:04.

normally, this is the time when little boys around here are herded away

from afternoon activities toward dinner (or are already pacing the kitchen like starving hyenas). but not tonight. finally, there's a break in the rain, and i'm licking these moments up like the last bits of cake. they're outside, making their own mud dinners, soups, and crazy concoctions. i can see a beer bottle, the ash bucket, a tool belt, and a nice pile of urgently green weeds. they're happy. i'm happy. and whenever the inside calls to them, there are warm cookies

waiting to lure them to the tub.

dinner can wait.

easter bunny day

dear blog, it's been a long time. sorry i've neglected you. i'll do better (maybe). how about a little easter recap to catch up?

we had some special visitors (in addition to the easter bunny, of course) this easter....grandma holly and grandpa andy came for the weekend. after enjoying a much appreciated day of gorgeous weather on saturday, we decorated eggs that evening.

a close-up of eric's favorite "anakin" egg...he wanted to make sure this shot found

its way to the blog.

the next morning, the boys were tickled to find many of their stuffed bunny friends waiting patiently for them downstairs...quietly gathered on the rug, presumably invited together by the E.B. him- (her?) self. then, we dashed outside, managing to beat the snowflakes to the easter baskets on sunday morning.

back inside, goodies were discovered and devoured by all.

the day was rainy, but that seemed only to enhance sam's adventures...

seemed like the right kind of day for warm, yummy pretzels & soup, so that was easter dinner...

thanks, bunny...mama thinks this holiday is her favorite.

it's deja vu all over again

these boys love to draw, there's no doubt about that. and they love to draw the same things over and over and over again. even when it's the same subject, the images do change over time, usually becoming more detailed, so that's fun to watch. sometimes, though, i think i'm going crazy when i look down and see a picture that looks exactly the same as it did some months ago, even though i'm sure i stashed (or possibly trashed...i know, GASP!) it away in a very safe spot...ahem. today was one of those days. leif made another of his football players, and even he remarked that it looked exactly like the old one (above). then, of course, he wanted me to find that old one, so he could make the comparison himself. i could probably do that with a little digging, but i can find these pictures more quickly.

at least today's round was a little easier on the nerves than that last time. these are just some of the rejects that caused us all a little...um...distress. the numbers, the hands, the face...they all hand to be just so. one of the challenges of drawing from a model, i suppose. but he cannot be deterred.

last time, eric and sam joined in the fun, too. eric's guy is in the middle...the tape used to correct a few small cutting boo boos quickly became "bandages" from a rough game. the guy on the right is a cast-off happily decorated by sam.

i think i'll leave it at that...wouldn't want to relive the trauma that befell us all when good 'ol number 16 became drenched by a spill....oy!

friend party, finally!

are they here yet? what about now? now? NOW?????

last weekend, we finally had a "friend party" for leif...his actual birthday was only two months ago. sickness, busy-ness, post holiday no-more-celebrating-anything-ness...it all contributed to a little delay in the festivities. but, we finally arrived at just the right time, and (crazy, high-energy, six-year-old) fun was had by all. oh yah.

there were cool dino headbands,

balloon craziness...followed by nerve blasting balloon popping,

a little gift envy (oh, that one's so hard for me...),

and an awesome, daddy-designed dino cake!

oh, and yes...a pinata. giving an old ax handle to the above mentioned crazy six year olds? what a great idea! but, it was fate -- leif discovered it hanging from the ceiling at the local discount store. no way that thing wasn't coming home with us.

we didn't escape without a little snow and a lot of wind (i guess a january birthday just kinda sticks with ya), but we did make it outside for the pinata. just on account of that, i'm chalking the whole thing up as a success.