Friday, June 29, 2007

Hunter's Green Towel

Our bathtub is nasty, nasty, nasty... so I don't really take pictures of the boys in the bathtub. Yesterday Hunter was cuddling a little with me after bathtime, and he was so cute in his towel. He had horrible diaper rash, so I was doting on him extra much. Here's my little cuddle bug.

A Good Day Fishing...

Theo recently discovered the Naval Reserve Unit he shares a building with has a boat you can borrow! He has been mega-stressed out lately, and I suggested he fish more. As you know, he fished last weekend, and it really de-stressed him. Yesterday he took off work early, and fished for hours and hours. He said he must have caught 100 fish. In WI you're allowed to keep 25 blue gill per person, per day. He also caught a a couple bass, and brought home one roughly 3 lb bass. While Theo is not into bass, he really wants to eat fish this summer, so he brought it home. I really wish I could have got a better picture of his lovely sunburn- I made so much fun of him. I could do that because I told him to wear sunscreen, and he didn't. That's permission to mock. He wore his hat backwards, and yup, got a profound sunburn the shape of that hole in the back of ball caps, only it's right in the middle of his forehaed. LOL! It's hilarious, and still there today, so I can try and get a better shot of it. He also has the worst farmer's tan I have ever seen right now. Pretty funny.

He TALKS!

Hunter has been a child of few words. He'll say "Dada" and "Mama" once a month. He has said "Ball" before, a few times. He's almost 14 months old, so I'm really focusing on words this last few weeks. Yesterday things started to click for him. He said, "Cat" 3 dozen time before his afternoon nap. He only said it once or twice after the nap, though. Short term memory? He's also really started pointing and asking for things by grunting. So cute.

Lil' Bit of Garden Goodness

More Elsa Spath Clematis, and the top bloom is coming from the Clematis around the corner I think... the variety escapes me at the moment. Cool they are mingling (also pictured John Cabot Cl. Rose and Trumpet Vine).

Black Eyed Susan everywhere... like I said. This was from seed a few years ago.

This Bee Balm is exactly what I wanted here. Pleased.



Next up: Orange Trumpet Vine blooms & Hostas. I'm excited to see the trumpet vine bloom. The last couple years I've tried to remove it. Yeah, don't ever try that. It WILL come back. In fact every single hard clipping you make will grow into a vine. Talk about invasive. It will also tear up the siding on your house if you don't control it. This is one high maintenance vine. I had to embrace it, but I am glad I did... the bright foliage and orange blooms are better than the old ugly house. :)

Dad didn't do a good job...

Apparently Hunter thought dad missed a few spots when he mowed the lawn this week, because Hunter spent the majority of his afternoon remowing the lawn yesterday. And boy is he precise! I bought this mower for Ben way back in the day, and he never seemed to like it all too much- but, Hunter loves this mower. He plays with it nearly everyday. As you can see from the pictures Hunter doesn't miss a spot. I chased him all over, turning him when he met up with a dead end, or road. So cute. Oh, and you can see the last dose of fetilizer effectively killed the lawn, I mean, the weeds. Hey, at least the weeds are gone, now maybe grass will grow? It's been dry as can be here... and I don't "do" watering the lawn. We have too much lawn for that.

When I scrap this stuff, it will likely be a 16 photo layout. LOL. Or not LOL for those of you who don't scrap, huh?
Enjoy!




Stopping to make sure he has enough gas.


Right through my newest flower bed, right over the seedlings...

He ditched the mower and ran free a bit, too. Time to trim the hedges, huh?

He can really run fast now; I love the face he makes as he gets going.

And now you're asking yourself, "Why does this crazy b%^$ch take so many pictures?" So I can get one shot like this:

Playing With The Big Boys

There is no stopping him now. Hunter can get on the table using all devices available. Finally, he can play with the big boys. You know, I think he likes the trains more than Ben? I find it so cute to watch him squeeling and jumping up and down in delight as the trains go around. I let him have some alone time playing with the trains while Ben napped yesterday, too. He loved it. These pictures are from yesterday morning, as Hunter played with Joe and Ben. My baby's getting too big... time to make more babies!

And I could not resist taking this picture. These are the temporarily out of use trains. Diesel 10 needs a "C" battery (according to Ben, who took Diesel's battery out and put in Toby the Train). Murdoch's wheel is broken. James' battery cover is MIA, and he'll need a "C" battery when we find it, too.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Newish Haircut

I woke up feeling like a grinch yesterday morning. I looked like one, too. I had a holy pajama t-shirt on, and pants with no drawstring that are stretched out look like bozo could fit in them with me. My hair was tied into some contraption that loosely resembled a bun. My week old toe nail polish chipped more with each step. I was TORE UP. Nevermind what Theo and my boys thought, I'm surprised I didn't scare Joe and his mom when he was dropped off. I don't have to mention Joe's mom, Julie, looked adorable with her new haircut and adorable new summer dress.
My Fibromyalgia was killing me when I woke up, causing a very slow start. Somedays I'm so stiff and sore, it takes all I have to just get down the stairs (in my head I promise myself coffee, and lately cereal, and I can rouse up enough adrenaline to wake up). I bet some of the people who knew me just 6 years ago, with my 5am daily trips to the gym, and way-to-good-to-be-true morning-attitude are pretty dumb-founded to know I can't function in the morning anymore. If I don't shower almost right after I wake up, before Theo leaves for work, I have to wait until the boys nap in the afternoon (that is, if Hunter will take a second nap, in which case the shower waits until night time). I decided I had to do something about the way I looked and felt.
I was contemplating an evening filled with a little self-indulgence. Theo went fishing for hours last weekend, and I promised him another dose of alone-time fishing this weekend. I needed some alone time, too. I thought about heading to the haircut place down the road to pay someone to cut my hair, when it occurred to me I could save the money, and try to accomplish the look I wanted all by myself... if only I had the time? I can count on one hand the time I've been in a salon or haircut place. I just have always cut my own hair- it's so curly and wavy I can't really go wrong with straight lines and such. We don't have money for those fancy salons, so the haircut place that charges $12 is about as luxurious as it gets for me... and I can do better than that lady there. And why pay all this money for a haircut nobody outside of my kids and husband, and Joe and his mom, will really see anyway?
All afternoon I searched the Cosmos a neighbor gave me to see what sort of haircut I wanted. I settled on something between Eva Mendes on the cover in February 2007, and some chick in an Herbal Essences add. So, yesterday both boys napped, and I showered ( luxury), cut my hair, and blow dried it, too (an unheard of luxury). In the evening we headed to the mall, and Theo let me have some alone time as I roamed right past the sale racks to buy something in-season, and only partly on sale. I came home with some darn cute shirts in yellow, bright coral and turqoise colors (not pictured). Bonus: I had to go back to the rack to get smaller sizes than I anticiated I'd need! I came home and sat with the shirts folded on the living room floor just staring at them. So pleased with myself. This may qualify as a Pamper Me Day.
Here's the haircut & frshly tweezed brows (ultra-mega-luxury) yesterday afternoon:





PS: Want before pictures? Scroll down the Farmer's market and see the sweaty rat's nest I working with.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Family Time

Yesterday the boys had the tent set up in the middle of the living room. They filled it with blankets and pillows, and we left them there in the evening, but removed the tent. We all laid on the floor and tickled and giggled and played. Quality time. Everyday stuff. Here are a few pictures I weasled Theo into taking.




I took the rest of the pictures: Hunter is really into these velcro monkeys Grandma Anita bought at the zoo last year. He'll bring it to me, and with gestures, ask me to put it on him. Cutey.

Laura Lu was getting pretty stinky (and she was shedding really bad), so she got a bath last night.


Some shots of Ben and Hunter playing.