time with the boys

We are finally settling into the scheduled life. I am enjoying time with the boys while Avery is in school, getting to know them better, as brothers as well as individuals. And with Charlie in preschool three days a week, I am getting some extra special time with the littliest.

Charlie hiding in the toy box, reminiscent of E.T.



Jackson taking after big brother and the love for cars.


Two pictures from this summer that I adore, Charlie with pool toes. He was such a fish, his toes would bleed from scraping the concrete floor of the pool. Didn't stop him.


Redneck toddler.

Country Fair

There are so many little towns around where we live. And every little town has their own country fair. Some in the spring, but mostly this time of year.
We went to Bluemont today and the kids had so much fun. Glitter tattoos, cotton candy, really easy children's games (with books as the prizes, didn't have to add to the Made in China pile o' crap in the house!), uncooked noodle necklace crafts, just good ole country fun.
Avery's favorite part was the honey taste testing. Jackson's the model train shed and Charlie loved the mining of rocks.

 

 

 

Curious Jackson

He is so cute, so helpful, but so curious. You know the saying "Curiosity killed the cat?" Well, his is killing me. Nothing in the house is safe, especially now that he has mastered door knobs and knows how to pull chairs to counter tops.
He has a couple of favorite drawers where he can always find trouble.
Our office desks. There are lots of fun colored push pins, paper clips and gadgets with buttons.
Kitchen junk drawer. Flashlights, gum, keys. Loves it all. This drawer doesn't close easily so I can always tell when he has been sneaking because the drawer is left open. I left him napping at the house yesterday while Charlie and I went to get Avery off the bus and came home to an open drawer, Jackson with four pieces of gum in his mouth.
Bathroom drawer. This drawer is so thin, there isn't much that fits in there. But dental floss, toothpaste, some lipgloss always entertain.

Momma! Look what I found!


Bubba (what he calls puppies), do you need to floss?


Being curious makes me tired.

There she goes

Off to first grade!


Neighborhood kids getting on bus together.


See you this afternoon!

what else would you do?

Storm chaser/meteorologist (only if I was the one out in the elements, not behind a desk).

Quotes to live by

Now that we are settled, I have taken some small steps to reclaim 'me'. I love being a mom to these three beautiful children, and being a mom has brought so much out of me I never knew I had, but I also lost a little bit of myself in the baby/early childhood stages (throw in four moves and I kind of feel like I boxed myself up long ago and didn't unpack myself until now!).


Some quotes have resonated with me lately:
Decide you want it more than you are afraid of it. Bill Cosby

Do the thing you think you can't. Not sure of author, but my neighbor made shirts with this quote for a Mother's Day fun run.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Neale Donald Walsch


Going back to work, especially to writing was a HUGE step in the right direction for me. Deciding to run a half marathon in November has been another. Neither of these were on my radar a few months ago, and if you had told me a year ago that I would be doing either, I would have laughed. They are new adventures, pushing limits I love to push and I am doing them, happily.

But just this morning, while running, an old friend came to visit. I noticed a voice in my head urging me to take the short cuts to get home, a voice saying,
"You'll never make it the whole way".

As soon as I heard this, I got angry.

For too long I let my highschool English teacher's words sting,
"This is the worst piece of writing I have ever read!"

To allow myself to listen to these voices, whether in my head or aloud from others, and hold them true is lunacy. To have these voices create fear and intimidation is stupidity. I have been a stupid lunatic for far too long. I have let words hold me captive, control me, leaving me boxed up with little adventure and many limits.

I have realized that when I control my thoughts, I have more freedom to live.

things aren't where they should be

The laptop I use was attacked by a virus 2 weeks ago.
Surperiornerds.com helped me fix it