little boy

Besides still wanting to be carried sometimes, the baby in this little boy is just about gone. He is changing so quickly, looking more and more like a little boy and his siblings every day.



He has so much to say. We love listening to his babble trying to decipher his sentences. It is fun to say something and then hear him try to say it himself. Stephen taught him elbow the other day it is adorable. "Bye bye dada" is my favorite right now.



He loves his friends (stuffed animals) has taken to Avery's pink and black Build-A-Bear cheetah as "mimi". Mimi has to be in the crib now for Jackson to sleep.
He likes moving chairs around the house, especially if it can aid him in climbing on things.
He is helpful, almost to a fault and still loves sucking his thumb.

Just a glimpse

Almost that time of year

19 days of school, so we're already preparing for summer fun!

S'MORES!!!




I am not yet daring enough to let Jackson attempt one (in the house). The mess he makes with Cheerios and yogurt are enough to make my skin crawl. He will have to wait for warmer, sunnier weather:)

I was mistaken

The HOMES section of the paper is online. Here is the direct link to the section, my feature story is on pages 5, 6 and 7.

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/Homes/

or you can go here
http://loudountimes.com/
and click on the drop down menu titled "Marketplace" and then click on HOMES.

LA LA Shoo Shoo

I overheard Avery tell Charlie that when she gets older she wants to open a store and call it LA LA Shoo Shoo. This is a phrase she picked up from her cousin while we were staying there in the short sale debacle. I don't think any of us know what it means, she says it a lot for many different reasons, so LA LA Shoo Shoo it is.
She wants to sell books and hats.
And there will be Mario Games to play.

I love peaking inside her brain during these moments.

Bike to Work Week

Taking an adventure this week, Stephen has decided to bike to work. He left this morning, in light rain, and will ride the W&OD trail - www.wodfriends.org/trail - through Northern VA into DC. He has mapped out all of his routes, booked hotel reservations in town and packed for rain.

He'll return Thursday night very tired, probably sore and hopefully with some great stories.

Clematis

The previous homeowner left us with beautiful flower beds. These two are so gorgeous right when we walk out our back door.

Another tooth

So cute to see both bottom teeth missing. Avery chose not to allow the tooth fairy in her room last night, she wants to keep her teeth. So we now have a designated baby food jar with her tooth and the others that will follow.

This is my first week of work. I vacillate between excited and fearful at any given moment. Excited for the opportunity to use my skills for something other than being mommy, fearful that I won't get it right.

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one." - Elbert Hubbard

So this has been a week of organizing. It seems that when I am more organized, I work better, complete more tasks. As if my desk is an image of my brain and when it is full of clutter, so is my thinking. Seems kind of obvious, but so easy to lose sight off amidst the chaos.

In my organizing and in discussions with friends I have realized how much I multi-task to a fault. If I go upstairs to get a pair of shoes, I stop and throw in a load of laundry, pick up some toys, redistribute toys, dust the blinds, start organizing my closet...all because I went upstairs for that pair of shoes.

I went to Michael's Craft Store the other day for pipecleaners. I came out with two wall placards, a basket, iron wall decorations, two red pens, a magic kit and bracelet making kit (birthday presents, but still...) and thankfully the pipecleaners.

If I go to my computer to get a recipe, I get sidetracked with emails, facebook, blogs and sometimes forget what it was that sent me to my computer.

It is as if I walk into a room and my mind says "How much can we get accomplished here in the next few minutes aside from what you came in here for?" And I go into TAZ mode (as Stephen calls it), running around like a whirling dervish.

Motherhood has done this to me, brainwashed me into thinking I have to get as much done in every step I take every day. Multi-task every nano-second to get everything complete each day.

This new job is making me focus on my tasks, one at a time. There is just no way to conduct a phone interview while multi-tasking or write a story without complete concentration, that just ends with disaster.

I thought at first it might add more stress to my days, but it has actually made my time more valuable, distributing my time more evenly between work and play.

Most importantly, this job has given me the notion "So what if it doesn't all get done?"


"One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again." - Henry Ford

No fear.

siblings

Avery puts toothpaste on Charlie's toothbrush every night.
Charlie put Jackson's shoes on this afternoon.
They know each other's favorite things - "Charlie! A Mini Cooper over there, your favorite!"
Charlie tells Avery how pretty she looks.
Avery encourages Charlie to change his attitude so the family existence is all around better (she hates to see mommy lose it).
Charlie belly bumps Avery when she does something good - their version of a high five.

Amidst the whining, fighting, screaming and tattling, these moments, as well as the hugs and laughs that go around between these kids, is beautiful.