goody, goody, gumdrops

our rainy day fun.
the perfect opportunity to practice shapes, patterns, build houses, space ships, and "master" cars. whatever those are.
oh, and also to eat as much christmas clearance sugar as possible before lunch.

and, call me crazy, but i thought an octagon had 8 sides.
guess ross isn't the place for buying "educational" place mats. no wonder they were such a good deal.

and later this afternoon, we are going to work on "how to smile naturally for the camera."

sexiest man alive

is there anything hotter than a dad teaching his children about God with fun devotions every night?

i sure don't think so.

(tied for a far distant second: a man who washes dishes, grocery shops, cooks, bathes the children, folds laundry, cleans the bathrooms, and treats me like a princess... basically, its a good thing for everyone else there isn't a contest. 'cause my man would win for sure.)

boys weekend

last year, for girls weekend, i had to bring this one with me: and yes, i just said "had to"

he didn't sleep and he cried and fussed the whole time.

it was awesome.

except, not so much.

so this year, joking around, anthony kept saying, "you really don't have to take mason with you this time."

and i wouldn't even laugh. i was like, "yeah, you better believe i am most definitely not taking mason this year."

so anyhow, my boys headed down to nana and papa's house.

good times filled with games, trips to the park, trains, feeding ducks...

and pretty much not sleeping well and being really fussy.

and after i feel all compassionate and say, "i'm so sorry honey" to my wonderful husband, i suppress my desire to say, "better you than me."

but mason welcomed me home by pulling an all niter last night. little stinker.3+ hours of no sleep. with a catnap in the middle when anthony feared for his son's safety in the hands of a his desperate and slightly crazy, exhausted mother, and wisely intervened.

and i wasn't kidding at 3 am when i told anthony i was going to give him up for adoption today.

maybe i can do a blog giveaway. leave a comment for an entry and the winner gets mason.just come pick him up before bedtime. i'd kinda like some good sleep.

cause it sure ain't pretty around here when i'm sleep deprived.

i think i need another girls weekend...

girls weekend

sorry to disappoint you aspiring soccer moms out there, but i have no profound soccer observations to share with you this week.

the reason being: we ditched our soccer games so ella and i could head out for a splendid girls weekend. it was ella's first time (that she remembers) on an airplane. believe it or not, there are still actually airports in this country where you board the plane outside. (well, there are probably many airports that do this, but i really don't get out much so it seems a lovely little retro novelty to me)ella was super excited when she found out about refreshments on the plane. "what!?! we get snacks?!?" and, if you remember this, you know why she raised her eyebrows and stifled her giggle at the inappropriate notion of having peanuts on the airplane. our time at my parents mostly consisted of getting "sugared out" (in the words of my precious niece). with such things like unending refills of whipped cream on top of hot chocolate. (hot chocolate clearly optional)and there was the fun of authentic doctor-playing equipment. it really is cool to have a nurse for a grammy. and truthfully, girls weekend for me consisted of good times with my 2 best friends, my sister and my mom. drinking lattes, eating sugar and doing pretty much nothing it all.

it was totally awesome.

(this post brought to you in part by southwest airlines. please, please, please, swa, have your sweet discounts again soon. thank you.)

info on boys weekend coming tomorrow-ish.

won't you join us?

we are praying for a miracle for this awesome little dude.
please be a part of the miracle and pray along with us.

"i will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; i will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. i will be filled with joy because of you. i will sing praises to your name, O Most High." -psalm 9:1,2

read more about my nephew here.

soccer observations: week 2

1. 2 hours is a looooonnnggg time to keep a toddler in a stroller. thank goodness for fruit snacks, granola bars, sunglasses, chapstick lids and all miscellaneous items i've yet to clean out of my diaper bag accumulated over the last year. or 3.oh, and of course, thanks for the proximity of the soccer field to the airport. airplanes are a fascinating novelty when you are 16 months.

2. some children are aggressive. some run full speed ahead, without concern of falling, running into another child or getting hurt. and some run like my daughter. on her tiptoes, sorta skipping through the air, more or less like a princess. with her mouth in a sheepish smile and her tongue sticking into her cheek. all she's missing is a teacup in her dainty little hand. pinkies up! 3. "what!?! i have mud on my face!?!" mud is not as much fun when splashing on my face while running. however, its completely awesome while playing in the ditch at halftime. 4. if you want your 3 year-old to actually run at the game, just skip ahead to the end where the parents do that silly little tunnel thing. its amazing to see just how much energy must have been in reserves. its like a race to see how many times you can get through it before the fun ends. 5. it must be nice to have supportive parents at your game. unlike those poor kids on the other team with the psychotic parents, yelling at their kids and arguing with the ref. seriously, people. chill out. its too bad all those kids can't have normal, perfect parents like me who will never ever embarrass their kids.

ever.

again...

... always investigate the silence.

(and... be sure to keep your bathroom clean. you never know when you might need to photgraph your 16 month-old standing on your toilet, cleaning his ears...)

a few rainy day mistakes

my first mistake was never child proofing the kitchen drawers. but i don't keep bleach or razor blades in there, so no harm, right?

my second mistake was ignoring the silence.

its just that we were really enjoying beatrix potter and all her bunny adventures under our fancy little tent in the living room. the absence of mason's whining was a special treat on our rainy day. so i didn't go investigate.

then came ella's notification of, "oh. wow. mom, i sure hope you don't need anymore waxed paper..."

when i grabbed the camera, bennett grabbed the broom. what a sweetheart...

but the waxed paper did provide much fun and entertainment.

it works well as wedding dress...

its perfect for playing horse races...

and its makes for a nice helmet/hijab

and for my 3rd mistake of the day...

i actually believed my children when they pleaded for the chance to sleep in a tent at nap time because, "we promise to sleep so good, mommy!"

and after much giggling and threatening they actually did fall asleep...

just barely, until the box and heavy (but not heavy enough to hold the sheet up) books came crashing down on them in their sleep when the tent collapsed and scared them to tears.

oops.