The boys wanted a tractor ride while Daddy was mowing lawn, so we got our shoes and socks on and – eventually – trooped outside for said ride around the yard. Thumper always wants to be first, but Cricket beat him to the punch. So while Daddy adjusted Cricket’s hearing protection, Thumper and I retreated to the sidewalk.
Apparently he thinks lawnmowers are quite loud, but he still had a great time riding around the yard when it was his turn.
(c) 2014. All rights reserved.
Today’s theme is funny faces, and with someone as talented as Miss Tadpole is at making funny faces, I have no shortage of pictures to share. Indeed, our annual photo book for 2013 has a full-page spread of some of her funnier faces.
Behold, Miss Tadpole, Queen of the Funny Faces:
It’s been a whirlwind sort of day around here. I stayed up till 2:00 a.m. reading Inquisitor by RJ Blain, which I’m really enjoying, so I wasn’t exactly ready to rise with the boys this morning at 7:00 a.m. I spent half my day running all over three counties to get last-minute things done for the kids’ fair projects, which are being judged as we speak.
At last, I have a little bit of peace and quiet to get done the dozen and one other things I have to do today, and I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open.
So. I think I’m just going to go sit down with my candy-coated licorice bites and listen to the birds sing in the trees while I finish reading my book. It’s nice to relax every now and then.
(c) 2014. All rights reserved.
Today, I have a lovely coaster (part of a very pretty set of four) that I received from a work friend when Seymour and I got married:
The flower is courtesy of Cricket, my resident flower-picker. This morning, he gave me a sunny little dandelion.
Don’t forget to stop by Charnele’s blog and take a look at her Photo Friday fun! 🙂
(c) 2014. All rights reserved.
Saturday was a tough day. Our kittens, Oscar and Patches, went to their new home Saturday afternoon with a lovely lady who’s a friend of a friend. Bubbles and Tadpole were understandably upset when they came home and found the kittens gone, but not nearly as upset as they were when we received the news that Oscar had died sometime Monday night from an unknown illness.
This week’s Photo Friday is all about being out and about, and since it’s Independence Day here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., I can’t think of a better place to be than out and about.
I started the day off out and about at our old house, prepping for the open house this weekend. That was followed up by a trip to the park, which is where the bulk of my hometown’s Fourth of July festivities take place:
Remember a while back when I reviewed Moms’ Night Out? I went to see it again, this time with my mother-in-law, who’d had a very stressful day and needed a good laugh. I’m so glad she went with me, because we don’t see each other as often as I’d like and we had a ton of fun. We definitely need to do things like this more often.
Anyway, as we watched the movie, I got to thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know) about why I related so much to Allyson. I mean, I’ve been there – I stayed home with Bubbles till he was two and now that I only work part-time, I’m home alone with Cricket and Thumper two or three days a week.
It’s hard! It’s so hard. Like Allyson, I wanted to be a mom. Of course, I also wanted to be a world-famous author, but let’s just take this one dream at a time. Her reasons for wanting to be a mom are never mentioned – it’s simply her dream, and she’s lucky enough to be living it.
Did you know that? They are. And the sensitivity extends to kids in general.
I’m not one of those people who gets offended every time someone says, “You must have your hands full!” when I mention how many children I have. Why should I? They’re absolutely right.
What prompted this sudden outpouring of…um…incredulity? Well, a friend of mine shared a link to a Scary Mommy post on Facebook this morning. I read it, I laughed, and then I clicked on a related article on the same site called “10 Things Never to Say to a Mom Expecting Another Boy.” Also, the Day 12 prompt for Writing 101.
Anyway, back to the article at hand and my incredulity. Most of the things the author suggested you should never ask a mom expecting another boy are fairly harmless, in my opinion. Things like, “Were you trying for a girl?” Or, “Your husband must be SO excited!” I guess the reason those questions don’t bother me is because I was so desperate to have a girl (really, there’s no other word for it) and my husband was excited to be having a boy, and I will be the first person to say so, whether you asked or not.
I already had one boy and I wanted one of each, so my answer to the question, “Were you disappointed when you found out it wasn’t a girl?” is always…
Today’s theme being close-ups, this is one of my favorites:
This is just outside my high school after Miss Tadpole’s spring concert. She was in kindergarten, Bubbles here was in preschool, and Seymour and I were three short months away from tying the knot. It was a happy time for me, and exciting. I think both emotions are captured in this picture.
Don’t forget to stop by Charnele’s blog to see what she has posted, and have a great weekend!
(c) 2014. All rights reserved.
The day four assignment for Writing 101 was to write about a loss. I’ve had a lot of loss in my life, from my parents and grandparents to my first marriage and more. Loss is part of life, though not necessarily the most fun part. And sometimes, what we gain more than makes up for what we’ve lost.
Take sleep, for instance. I have children, therefore I do not sleep. Or to be more precise, I no longer sleep as much as I would like.
I no longer have my evenings and weekends to myself, because I’m taking care of little people and shuttling slightly bigger little people to sports practices and piano lessons and birthday parties and all those other fun things that kids like to do.
I no longer have the luxury of privacy, because Cricket and Thumper believe me to be their servant, created solely to give them whatever they want five minutes ago. Apparently when I became a mother, I also became a clairvoyant genie. Who knew?
Despite the sleep deprivation and the loss of my privacy, I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything. I’ve gained so much by knowing them, watching them learn and grow and question, and I love them all so very, very much.
If there’s anything in life more precious than the love of a child, I have yet to discover it. And I’m not sure I want to.
(c) 2014. All rights reserved.
Suddenly they all died. The end. 