Love her imagination

I love this assignment Avery's teacher gives the class. She gives them writing paper with a black mark on it. The kids have to draw a picture incorporating the black mark and then write three sentences about their picture. This is so in line with Avery's imagination.
So the black mark today was this half circle. I asked Avery how long it takes her to think of something to draw and write and she said "Oh just a couple of seconds." She even includes the movement lines and the frustration symbol by the turtle's head.

 

 

I flipped through a sketch pad Avery has been using and found a three chapter book she had written. It was about a whale who was upset because his friend made fun of him. It is titled "A Whale Who Cried Dinosaur."

Such a big help

Jackson, Lucas and I ventured down to the basement this morning to clean out the corner of sell, give away, throw away. Jackson rode his tricycle for a bit and then disappeared. No big deal until I heard him drop something in the kitchen.

Came upstairs to find the coat closet open, Lucas's food container open, Lucas gobbling up every morsel, Jackson laughing and putting more food in the dog's bowl with the food scooper.

Jackson was so proud he had helped "bubba" and of course Lucas was thrilled to have a partner in crime. I had to physically pull Lucas from the container of food. Lucas is a very happy dog this afternoon.

I also opened two boxes of home goods yesterday, both with styrofoam inserts that exploded everywhere. As I grumbled about the mess I had made, I turned around to the sound of the dust buster, Jackson ready to clean up.

Every day I am so surprised at how much he understands. He is a doer, a go getter and while it is hard to parent/keep up with this type of personality, I know it will serve him well as he grows.

fluff because I am exhausted

Got a couple of heavy topics on my mind the last few days but I am not quite ready to put them into words (and *possibly* be judged). They are important topics to our family, things I believe belong here so someday the kids can read and see what their parents stood for and believed in.

But I am exhausted. Trying to juggle everything is tiring. I am still week to week on my articles, so every week I scramble to pull something together. It ALWAYS comes together, but sometimes that means Monday morning with a Monday afternoon deadline. Can make for an interesting weekend. I love my job though. I meet the nicest, most creative people and I love having something to call my own.

The half marathon in Richmond is 3 weeks away! It has been a wonderful outlet and stress reliever, but trying to get 'in' all my training miles has proven tricky. My goal is to run all 13 miles. No time in mind, but hoping to build from here for future 1/2's.

Hopefully Stephen's schedule will slow down in late November, so we are gearing up for some home projects. Still kind of living like we just moved in. Local paint store is having a sale this month, so we picked colors and are ready to go once we have a little time. Living room, Charlie's room and kid's bath are on the list. And we are going to jump on painting the laundry room before the new tile is installed in two weeks.

Stephen's job is a little high stress right now, Charlie seems to be crying at school when he is frustrated (his parents are doing the same at soccer when he insists on pouting on the sidelines), all this and just plain ole regular life is wearing me thin and keeping me from posting anything too serious (or even posting at all these last few months).

Charlie took this photo of Lucas. It makes me smile.

Memorable weekend

Visiting with family we haven't seen in quite some time and in that visiting, meeting a new member of the family and celebrating her first year of life with delicious cupcakes.

Sitting around a fire with good friends watching the kids (big and little) make smores.

30 mile bike ride with Stephen. We haven't been out riding together in a long time and I haven't done 30 miles in at least 7 years.

Playing yellow car.

Hearing Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" sung at deafening levels by every attendee at the wedding.

Bagels and Taylor Pork Roll.

Watching one of my dearest friends marry the man of her dreams.

Spotting three rainbows on the drive home from New Jersey. As Lauren said, sign of a great weekend!

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.