absolutley adorable video

you must.watch.this.video.
http://loveisspokenhere.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/this-is-a-story-about-nick/
this is my friend's daughter addie. angie is her mom, and she posted this video on her blog today. i highly recommend that you watch it. it just might be the most adorable thing you've ever seen.

Twenty10:31

Today was all about the kids. I spent the morning with Jack and the afternoon with Kaitlin. We call it mommy/daughter and mommy/son time. I don't get a lot of quality time with my kids, so I treasure every second when I do. I am with my kids 24/7 but most of our time is structured and scheduled. Jack decided he wanted to spend our time together building his Lego Star Wars Battleship. What this really means is that I spent four hours putting it together while he cheered me on. Four hours. Did I mention four hours? The sad news is that my nephew Colby can put one together twice this size in half the time. Clearly I need an upgrade in my megabites.....my brain just doesn't work that fast. This was Jack's idea of quality time......I would have rather been at the park. His reaction, however, made the four hour process worth every minute. He went on and on in precious Jack fashion about how totally awesome his battleship is and how thankful he is that I built it. I don't sit down very well, so four hours of sitting and concentrating felt like like torture to me. I was about to explode when it was done. I could have run 5 miles after that process if I didn't have to hurry and get ready for quality time with Kaitlin.

Kaitlin chose ice skating at the local rink for our Q~time.....our tradition. We've been doing this for 6 years. This was our way of spending time alone after Jack was born. I still love it.....and I get better every time I go. I am now that dork who does spins and flies by everyone like a show off. Kaitlin is getting very comfy on the ice after all these years. She's a little pro now. We took Carsyn today. She is my little clone, I sware. I was fearless as a child and she is too. After about 30 minutes of skating she was trying tricks she wasn't ready for. She finally said her legs were about to fall off and we left after 2 hours. Thank Goodness.....after carrying her and holding her up that long, my arms were dying. They are now functioning at about 30%. They ache.....but spending the day with my girls was just perfect. I'll take the aches. As I was skating around the rink, I realized how important these times are. I spend way too much time functioning on a robotic level.....checking off the next item on my never ending list of things to do. I realized I needed more of this. Date nights with my man, and outings with my kids. This is what life is supposed to be about.

Zamboni time

There is always a show off hockey player out there while the ice is being cleaned. I guess it's the entertainment.

Twenty10:30

We had a little surprise at Kaitlin's basketball game today...the Vaughntraps showed up with Nana and made our day! They came home with us after the game and played for a couple of joyous hours. {Kaitlin's team won the game and she scored 13 points!!} I love it when Layton, Camden, and Carysn come over. The kids are so happy, and I've really missed them lately. We don't see each other that much anymore. My sister and I lead such busy lives...hers being twice as busy as mine. She works 2 full time jobs and has 3 kids.....can you imagine? She's a warrior. I am craving some sister time. I laugh so hard every time we hang out. She puts life in perspective for me. Any time I am being dramatic or moody, she puts me in my place and adds a humorous light to every situation. I love my time with my sister. And I love my time with her kids. The kids in my family all share one very AWESOME quality.....a fantastic sense of humor. All 5 of them. They are all hysterical and love to completely goob out. This picture says a thousand words. LoVe It.

Now it is time for some stir-fry and a movie night with the kids. I love the weekends so much. They go by so fast though.

Twenty10:29

My date with Roger Federer

FLASHBACK FRIDAY
April 1997- 2nd month with my new boyfriend
My dress was not that short....just looks that way in the picture (I hope).....but WOW at that chubby face! I always forget about my chipmunk cheeks. They disappeared after I had Kaitlin, and looking back at old pictures makes me thankful for that. You like Eric's tattoo?

Project Twenty10:28

Kailtin is back to normal as of this afternoon. Nana stayed home with her today because I had to take two days off this week already. They had a great time snuggling and spending time together. Nana is the best when you are sick because hse is a major snuggler and will snuggle with you and tickle your back all day. I remember faking sickness on a regular basis growing up because I loved the one on one attention she gave me. I was one of four kids......I did what I had to do! We are lucky to have help when things get ugly around here. Mama is always there to make chicken homemade chicken soup and run the kids around and Nana is always there to pick them up in a hurry and snuggle on the couch. I say this a lot....but I would not want to raise my kids without family. My friends Kelly and Jennifer say that you just depend heavily on your friends. It really does take a village to raise a child. Anyway, we are glad to get back to normal life. It's such a blessing to be able to live a normal life. I've learned that from reading about celebrities and hospital patients, and I am reminded of that every time one of us gets sick. It's take weeks to recover from a few off days. Everything gets thrown off. Now I am looking so very forward to my date night with Eric tomorrow night!!!! Once again, thank goodness for family. Babysitters are so expensive. We would never go anywhere if we had to pay for a babysitter!

{i love this photo of kaitlin but i have no idea how it looks. i am editing on another loner monitor. i plan to come back and re-edit this one when i get mine back (for the 2nd time) because i like it so much}

Project Twenty10:27

Another day....another victim. Let's see if we can all finally be well for longer than a week. What a blessing that would be!

Project Twenty10:26

I layed in bed all day today aching and tossing and turning. My kids were troopers. They took such good care of me. They are such loving little angels when I am sick. As a matter of fact.....Kaitlin did such a great job taking care of me that I gave it to her. And so another round begins....

Project Twenty10:25

I barely made it home from work on Monday when it began......

Twenty10:24

Nothin' better than warm, clean laundry...fresh out of the dryer.

Today is ther perfect, rainy Sunday. Jack made it through his first sleepover with flying colors. SO.....I had the morning to do whatever I wanted because KK and Eric sleep in. So of course, I chose photos. I spent 2 hours trying to read tutorials on textures and attempt to produce my own texture photos for this week's faces challenge....to no avail. I finally gave up and cleaned the kitchen. On the bright side, I did enjoy the process and gained a few new Photoshop skills, along with some new PS actions from Coffee Shop. I had 2 very lovely cups of coffee throughout the process. We are all still in our PJ's. Eric has been cooking a roast all day in the crockpot. The kids have friends over, so they are having a blast trashing the upstairs. And I have been doing laundry and playing on Flickr throughout the day. Now I'm off to lay in bed and watch a movie before the 5 0'clock rock begins. I love this days like today.

Twenty10:23

Jack on his way to his first sleepover outside of the family. Conor's mom called and said they were having a great time! We will see if I get that phonecall at midnight saying he wants to come home. :)

Twenty10:22

Oh MY GOODNESS!!!!!!! Tonight's game was an awesome game to watch. Her team beat the other team by 22 points with a final score of 32-10. Kaitlin possibly had her best game ever, certainly her highest scoring game. Twenty points? really? She can't brag about it, but I can!! And just when she was feeling down about basketball and not enjoying the season. :) Great job Kaitlin!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

The picture at the top was a re-inactment (sp.?) of this one here. What a cutie pie!! This was taken at MaMa's house 10 years ago. Clearly MaMa was trying to get her to like the game. I think it worked. Kaitlin and I laughed pretty hard at the process of trying to re-create the photo. I remember those pajamas so well! I think baby Day may have them now. :)

Twenty10:21

The Afterschool Crew

Some days after work are better than others. Sometimes Jack is happy-wants to play-and doen't want to leave school. I literally have to drag him out of the building crying sometimes because he is having such a great time with his friends. It's a huge bonus that I teach Kindergarten because my classroom is stocked with games, toys, activities, technology, puzzles, ect. My students beg me to check them out of ASP and let them play in my classroom with Jack. .........And then some days he walks in at 2:15 from his classroom- crying to leave- and DOES.NOT.STOP. On those days, I have to leave. No matter how much work is piled up on my desk, it isn't going to happen with Jack in that kind of mood. Today was a good day. He did not want to leave. I got a lot done. The Crew of children (this photo is missing 3 kids that normally play in my room after school) played happily and loudly for 2 hours as I worked away and got caught up on my procrastination list. Teachers often walk by....peek in.....and ask "how do you work with all this noisy craziness around you?" I just smile and say, "what noise?" Seriously......I can tune noise out like nobody's business. So on days like today, I come home smiling. I feel caught up at work, my kids are in a good mood, and I get to relax for a minute on my computer and type away. This is my therepy. And it was nice. Now I am off the get started on the 5 o'clock rock. Homework. Dinner. Baths. Books. Stories. Stalling bedtime with more books (Jack). Stalling bedtime with last minute homework she forgot about (Kaitlin). Some more stories. And me falling asleep with Jack fully clothed and getting woken up by Kaitlin whispering....."mommy, can you please tuck me in?" :)

Twenty10:20

I am so glad this day is over.

Twenty10:19

{Jack's truck, Kaitlin's jewelry box, and Mama's coffee mug}

Mama picks the kids up from school one day a week and let's me get some things done at work. They go to this pottery painting place nearby to paint pottery every so often. The kids got their pottery back today from their most recent trip and Mama and I were both surprised to see that Jack's truck is BLUE. He has 5 other pottery made items upstairs.....all solid green. I guess color schemes arent his thing. But I'm loving that blue truck!! Kaitlin is a great little painter......she gets that from her Mama.

I lost my car keys this weekend and I have never found them. I had Eric and Beth searching the house with me today. We have gutted this house three times over and there is no sign of my car keys. So Eric had to cancel his meetings today so I could go to work, take Kaitlin to the doctor (.....and pay 35 bucks for the doctor to tell me to go buy some Sudafed...why did I go again?), and go to technology class. Now I guess I will have to pay out the ying yang to get another set made by the dealer. Oh well. Atleast I don't live in Haiti. Lost keys are a pain, but not even close to a real problem. I can be a bit dramatic and high strung, so I have to bring myself back to earth when stupid things happen that get me all in a tizzy. And after this day~ that should be titled "Where did I put my brain?"....I have to count my blessings 100 times. I have so much to be thankful for. We all do. Thank you for saving us today Beth!!! Dinner was DE-LISH.

{Lauren- you made me laugh with your comment! Thanks for the tips about the coke!!}

Twenty10:18

Does this look like a boy who has a stomach bug?

Jack woke us up at 3:30 this morning by throwing up all over our bedroom floor. Nice. Poor guy is such a champ when he is sick. He even told me to turn the TV on in the living room, get him a wet cloth for his head, and go back to bed. He said that he would call me when it was time to "puke" again. How sweet is that? Such a brave little toaster.

But by 3:00....he was his old self. He insisted on vacuuming the downstairs.....and without me telling him to.....he vacuumed under the couch! I was running around the house looking for my camera and couldn't find it. I thought I had missed the magic, but he saw me taking pictures and kept going for me.{I go a little crazy with cleaning after one of the kids gets sick.} What a cutie. I am so thankful that he got better quickly and I PRAY that no one else gets it. I do hate that we had to cancel plans with the Carley's. We were all excited to see them today.

Off to put the kids to bed and watch the Bachelor!! love me some Jake! He's a really precious guy who deserves a really precious girl. I hope he finds it.

Twenty10:17

Beth took Kaitlin, her friend Katie, and I to the Fox yesterday to see Annie. We went last year and I think last year's Annie was a little more fitting. I could never get sick of the sound of all those little girls singing "It's a Hard Knock Life"......so powerful. The sincrinization (sp.?) and sound of their voices is amazing. My favorite character is Molly. I can't believe how brave one has to be at 6 years old to get up on stage like that. We ate at the fancy pizza place (that I can't spell) next door before the show. It's a delicious tradition. MaMa has given us a lot of great memories at the Fox. I am going to have the treat you to the Sound of Music this summer Beth! I saw it with my dad in New York on broadway in 99'. Awesome.

This photo makes me want to go downtown and do a street photoshoot. Jessica Brown...you up for it?

Kaitlin better get use to all those papparazzi if she's gunna be famous someday!

Twenty10:16

This happiness is due the doctors appt. we had with Jack today. We were confirmed that he is highly allergic to sugar and animals.....and has a lot of other chemical imbalances. But the great news is that we are going to have him treated for it through natural therepy (no drugs or shots or poison) that will take his allergies away completely. If it were any other allergy, we'd try avoidance first....but sugar is in everything! Even fruit!! It would be an impossible life for him. It will take about 4 months, but he will someday be able to eat birthday cake at a party and NOT throw himself on the ground in tears immediately after. It will also train us all to keep sugar out of their diet as much as possible. We will also have the option to treat him for his animal allergy this summer after the sugar therepy is complete. Jack's natureopath is an angel!!! I call her his BMW, which stands for the beautiful medicine woman. Beth, you are so right. When I first met her, I thought....I want what she has.....a glow around her like an angel. She is so balanced and at peace and wonderful at whats he does. I'v already seen Jack, the real one, reappear recently since the therepy started. He is now eating FULL meals and his coloring is coming back. I left the appt. with so much hope today. I wanted to cry. Most people don't understand what we go through everyday with him. And the worst part is that he is suffering.... from chronic misery. He walks around like an exhausted zombie all day long, with little or no conrol over his actions. Now I know why. He is allergic to something that is IN EVERYTHING, so his body is always in reaction mode, which wears him out. I did cry yesterday afternoon by myself in sheer joy that my little man will get to feel normal and happy someday soon. Until then, we've got a lot of doctors visits and food avoidance, but it's all so do-able. Praise GOD!!! He is always good folks. I've prayed so hard for this. Thank you Beth for saving Jack from years and years of suffering and being misunderstood as a behavior issue. If you had not suggested we go visit Deb, it could have been 5 more years before we figured this out. You are an angel.

{Side note: Kaitlin had a game today. She scored 6 points, I think....maybe more, I was too busy focusing on how terrible the ref was!!! They lost becuase the ref was clearly being paid by the other team. He called one foul after another on us and CLEARLY did not call atleast 5 or 6 fouls on the other team that resulted in many unfair points on the board. He was really bad.....people were yelling at him and getting kicked out of the game in anger. Crazy. That's why sports are so unfair. You've got these people making or breaking the games who are half alseep on the sidelines or favoring one team over the other. It's unfair and annoying and ruins the fun of the game.

Flashback Friday

{Eric- 1982-ish}

I guess Jack gets his posing skills from his daddy.

{see picture below}

Twenty10:15

funny jack pic = funny jack story

Jack: I want to move somewhere that there are no twees (trees)

Carsyn: You should move to Mexico

Jack: Yeah....cus thewe's no twees in Mexico

Carsyn: No...thewe AWE twees in Mexico...just not AWOT of twees...only Bonzai twees.

Jack: I'm gunna move thewe.

Carysn: I'll move thewe with you.

Just some random car ride talk between Jack and Carsyn. I love that they both pronounce their r's as w's. It's so cute to listen to their words of wisdom. Iguess Carsyn knows AWOT about bonzai twees. And the best part of that story is that Jack believes every word she says. She does speak with conviction and confidence, I must say.

FYI: Jack still has balloons laying around the house from his birthday. He was running around like this saying he was as fat as Santa. I made him pose for the picture of the day, thinking he would not cooperate, and he did THAT. Awesome.

Twenty10:14

Homework with Kaitlin is a far cry from homework with Jack. It goes something like this.....

me:Kailtlin?

KK:what???

me:Have you done your homework?

KK:Yes.

me:okay.

{FYI: I love my children the exact same amount. Just because one of them is more difficult than the other at the present moment does not mean that I favor one over the other. Just an FYI to my kiddos when they read this someday.....you bring me an equal amount of joy, chinese cursing, and hysterical laughter. I love you both to the depth of my heart. }

{FYI#2:No news on Carsyn yet. She was in with a specialist all day and had boocoodles of tests run. She also chewed out several doctors, grabbed her mom's purse, and ran out of the office in refusal to get blood taken. At least she is her usual self. I believe the exact words out of Cindy's mouth today was "the nurses were scared of her." :) Gotta love that spicy little chicken mcnugget!

Twenty10:13

{Jack and the dreaded daily homework challenge}

Today stunk. Carsyn has been in the hospital all day with extreme pain in her bottom for the 2nd time. The obvious and extreme has been ruled out, but after 5 hours in the hospital, she is being sent to a specialist tomorrow. I had that on my mind all day which resulted in my being in a complete funk/daze all day....which then resulted in my class sensing my stress and being out of control all day. We got home at 4:30 from school/work and I walked straight into my bed. I woke myself up at 5:15 and remembered Kailtin had guitar at 6. Thank goodness for my wonderul husband who kindly offered to take her. After seeing the zombie-like state of my being..... I think he wanted to leave. Then it was time for homework. Jack, in usual fashion, threw his tiny self on the floor when I told him it was time, and began a rant of the "I hate school, I want to quit, school stinks" sort. This is a daily event. Oh. Joy. I kinda wanted to do the same today. Throwing myself on the floor and crying sounds like a rational way of dealing with stress, right? After 45 minutes of negotiating and arguing and whining, he finished.....and I now have a few new chin hairs. He's a good little writer I might add. His handwriting is freakishly good. His attitude stinks, but he's 5....and a boy......and who likes homework, really.

If you are reading this...please pray for Carsyn. I'm off to retire to my room for a half hour of mindless T.V. before it's rock-n-roll bedtime marathon hour.

Twenty10:12

Jack's concoctions

{gotta love his little smiling face in the background}

Jack recently visited a natureopath for his mystery health issues. She pin-pointed some allergies he has and also a bacterial infection in his belly. That certainly did explain the 3 months of stomach aches and no eating! He is on the road to recovery, but it's a pain to get him there. I have to mix a plethera of drops in some juice for him 3 times a day, which is getting real old, real fast. But I won't jump on that whiny bandwagon! My child is being "fixed" the natural way and that's all that really matters. I will do what it takes to see him thrive. And I know this is so mild compared to the flip side and I am thankful that his issues are mild.

On another note: I had a four hour class today after work. Beth picked the kids up, gave Jack his meds, cooked dinner, and did the dishes. I came home at 7:30 to dinner and happy kids. THANK YOU BETH. This is not a one time thing. She does this all the time. I have the best mom's! What do people do without family in town?

Twenty10:11

The girls making homemade dippin dots

We had another great day off from school today. We could not have asked for a better 01-10-10. Celebrating Jack's birthday was so fun and then finding out school was cancelled at the party and having a mini sleepover was such a gift to Jack Jack. We hung out with his cousins all day and they played so well together, as always. I even took an afternoon nap! Now we are battling the back to school blues. It's been such a fun few weeks!! I am so sick of seeing the polaroid backgrounds on my pictures that I am not doing that anymore. Now because I am OCD...I am going to have to go back and take that out of the 1st ten pics so the book at the end of the year is "even". I have issues.

i heart faces week 2: "Best Face Photo"

{photo taken December 30, 2009}

As part of i heart faces 1st birthday celebration (Happy Birthday!!) they are hosting a challenge for the best face photo! The only catch is that the photo has to be taken in the month of December or early January. I am glad I hung out with my dear friend Brandi and her beautiful girls, or I might not have anything to enter this week! When I read the rules for this week's contest I immediately thought of this photo because it really focuses on Dakota's facial features....which are amazing. If you don't enter their contests or read their blog....you've got to start today. You do not have to be a professional, you can be an amateur like me. :) I've learned a lot from the pro's on this site. Go for it!

Visit i heart faces to read, learn, enter, and view tons of amazing photos!

Twenty10:10

Happy 6th Birthday Boo-sif McBoogleslime! We love you!

We had our family birthday party today (family pus Jack's BF, Conor). The kids had a really good time playing lazer tag and bouncing around The Bounce House. I looked around at how big my family is and how much love we have and felt really blessed. I know there are a lot of people on this planet that don't have that. I never take that for granted. It feels like yesterday that Jack was born, but also an entire lifetime ago. So much has happened in 6 years. I'm so thankful for this little guy.

Can you believe how tired we look? It's 8:58 right now. Jack was born at 9:10....6 years ago. I sure am glad I am not where I was 6 years ago....OUCH. I was so exhausted, yet so in love. Why does Eric look more tired than me? What did HE do?

I have always loved this picture. Kaitlin look so proud yet so unsure. Jack looks angelic, and he's looking at MaMa like...."I have a good feeling about you....but I'm not sure why."

And to make this day ever MORE awesome......SCHOOL IS CANCELED FOR TOMORROW! We are having a spend the night party with Cam, Carsyn, and Jenna. Jack's in HOG HEAVEN! And now that I have easily spent 3 hours on this blog today....I must go watch Desperate Housewives and take a break. :) And now it's 9:10. I'm feeling a strange sense of relief.

my moment in the sun

I have been trying to acheive sun flare in a photo for so long, and have never had any really success. Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and the sun was blaring into my bathroom in the most beautiful way. I ran to grab the kids to attempt a shot and they would not have anything to do with it. I was so mad, and knew I only had about 5 minutes before the sun went below the trees behind me house, so I ran back upstairs and started taking pictures of myself....in full on model fashion. This made me laugh so hard that I had tears flowing from my eyes and I almost peed in my pants. Then I couldn't get the shot because I was laughing so hard. I love those moments when you make yourself laugh so hard you almost pee in your pants...they happen a lot with me. Anyway- as I pretended to be a model and snapped away and laughed so hard at the rediculousness of the moment that I cried, I kept snapping, and posing, and snapping, and posing. I had so much fun all by myself at my photo shoot. When it was all over, my eyes were so damaged from the sun and the tears that I did not think I got any sun flare looking through the camera screen. I didn't care at the time. I had just had so much fun that it was worth it for that kind of laughter. I moved on with my day, and keopt my little photoshoot to myself. As I went through the pictures this morning, I got to re-live the hystercial, all by myself laughter all over again. Then I saw this picture. Figures that I would be randomly be snapping pictures of MYSELF and get THIS kind of sunflare. Because who, past the age of 25, want to look at pictures of themselves???After some smoothing of my skin and some over all color fix, I actually really like the picture. Especially the memory of snapping my own vogue photo shoot in my bathroom and having so much fun doing it. At least I can entertain myself, and I got a great picture out of it with the most gorgeous and colorful sun rays I've ever seen thru my own lens!

{My mom told me something about pictures that is so true. She said that no woman likes to see pictures of herself past a certain age because you see yourself aging and it upsets you. Angie and I were just talking about this and I couldn't agree more. I avoid being in pictures like the plague now that I see myself getting older. And I know I look young, but it's still strange to wacth yourself age. But she said to think of it this way....you will always look back at that picture years later and see yourself as younger than you currently are and think you looked fantastic! I challenge my photog friends who are always behind the lens to do this very same thing. Do your own photo shoot and post it on your blog! Have some fun! Know that you are beautiful on the inside and out and stop beating yourself up about aging! I'll try to practice what I preach. And remember, you will look back on those photos and think you look awesome someday! }

Here is the original. It's amazing what a little airbrushing of the skin and lighting changes can do to a picture! I made the edited one look kinda 70's because I felt like it.

Twenty10:9

I have finally convinced Kaitlin to let me blow dry her hair straight to avoid what she calls, her "sheep dog hair". Now if I could just figure out how to avoid glasses glare in photos I could get a great shot of what she really looks like.

We had a laaaaaaate night last night. We went over to a friend's house for the Eagle's game and did not get home until 12:30....with the kids!!! They have kids our kids age exactly and KK plays basketball with the daughter, Megan. We had so much fun that I lost track of time, in a big way. At one point I glanced at their DVD clock and it said 8:58.......I thought, man it's not even 9 o'clock! That's' awesome! We've still got a couple of hours to hang out! A few minutes later I was talking and glanced over again and it said 8:60. I thought hmmmmm.......that's strange, that's not a clock. I looked for a real clock and saw that it was 12:15, and all 8 of the kids that were there were still running around like rock stars! Needless to say, we all slept until 10 this morning. We had so much fun, always do with this group of friends!

Now it's time to celebrate my little man's birthday! Six years ago right this very moment I was in the hospital being treated for dehydration after a bad stomach virus. I thought I was going home around 2 o'clock when I went into labor 2 weeks early on the sonogram table! The guy was just checking me out to dismiss me and make sure Jack survived the trama of the 24-7-barf-o-thon, and BAM....time to have a baby! Jack was born at 9:10 that night after I had been awake, and sick, for over 24 hours. Fun times. I didn't care so much when I saw that red hair and that beautiful blue face.....I was in love. Still am.

Twenty10:8

FLASHBACK FRIDAY- back again.

As I was cleaning out the basement today (ready for the for sale sign now!), I found a box of old magazines and photos. I was stopped in my tracks by what I saw. The last 15 years of my life....in a box. I sat on my newly swept but totally dirty basement floor and cried as I looked through the stories that make up my life thus far. I know I say this a lot, but the whole concept of time really gets me. It just goes by sooooo fast! It's hard to enjoy the little moments because they are gone so fast, and we are left with memories that seem almost like a dream....like they never really happened. That is why I am so obsessed with pictures. Pictures are the only way to capture the little moments that would never really exist without the picture. They would someday be erased from time all together because memories fade as we get older. My memory is so bad that I have cried many times over it. Pictures are all I have when it comes to memories. I have a handful of memories of my childhood but most of them are major events or tramatic events....not the everyday little stuff....and most of them are from pictures. And I have so very few memeries of Kaitlin when she was little. I have to look at pictures to remember her early years.

As I tearfully fumbled through this amazing little box of memories, I found this photo of my tiny little girl on snow day 2004. Jack was about 6 weeks old at the time and I remember this day like it was a month ago. I had just gotten over a terrible case of post pardom and was so happy to be alive once that dark cloud lifted, and so in love with my new son. We got a snow day ( a little gift from God) and I was outside building a snow man with Kaitlin and taking pictures, feeling guilty for leaving Jack in a bouncy seat inside the kitchen behind the sliding glass door.....watching us play in the snow. He was just an infant, but I remember thinking..."oh my goodness.....this is what juggling 2 kids is like. Always feeling guilty for not being with one when your with the other." It was my first realization that I was now sharing my love and time with 2 kids, and I was amazed at how much love I had in my heart to share. I am in awe at the slew of emotions and memories that came over me when I saw this photo....and that I found it in a box on a rare snow day 6 years later. Life is so precious. Today was a gift in so many ways. I know everyday is a gift, but today...God was really trying to talk to me. He confirmed a lot of things for me and in the coolest ways. Let me share one of them.

A while back, I posted a message on this blog.....a plea to God...asking for him to send us neighbors for my kids to play with.

It totally changes your everyday life when you have neighbors that you love, and we just haven't had that in our home here. Yesterday afternoon, God answered my prayers. We discovered that we already have neighbors that are wonderful, and God already brought them to us a long time ago....we just never took the time to get to know them. I have been confused because after I prayed for this, a new couple moved into the house next door who have NO KIDS. I didn't understand....why? This is an easy one GOD, right? Some great neighbors....some great kids....a family on our street that could be like family.....this is a piece of cake for you! Why THESE people? Well....yesterday he told me why. My kids found a couple of new friends 2 houses down and they have spent the last 24 hours at their house. The mom is a woman named Mabry.....the sweetest most southern and precious woman alive. She's a teacher and I've known her for a while but never really tried to get to know her more out of a lack of effort and time. My kids all of the sudden decided to want to play with her kids yesterday, and they had a blast! They played in the snow and threw snow balls all afternoon. I ended up at Mabry's poppin open the vino and hanging out with her and another teacher friend for over an hour last night.....laughng so hard I almost cried several times. Mabry is hysterical and wonderful and I want to be just like her when I grow up!This was an unexpected event, but a welcomed one. That, as sad as it sounds, was my first time hanging out with another girl close to my age since we moved in. I told you this year was gunna be good. I can just feel it.

Apparently the kids had a fantastic time at their house because they woke up at 8 and walked over there fully dressed without telling us!! WE WERE STILL ASLEEP!!!! Her kids were asleep too, but she invited my kids into her house and MADE THEM BREAKFAST! I'm not kidding. She is the most warm, sweet, hystercial woman you will ever meet. She reminds me so much of a younger version of my mom and my mother in law combined.

So my kids ate pancakes at her house and I was awakened to Kaitin telling me I needed to go help Jack at Mabry's house because he was using the restroom and needed me. Um...... WHAT? HOW? WHY? WHEN? She fed you? Her kids are still sleeping? What time is it? I walked over to her house in my PJ's, thanked her for her unbelivable hospitality, helped Jack get his bathroom issue taken care of, and took my kids home for breakfst #2. They ended up going back over there at 11 and I had to rip them out of her house at 4:30....as she was feeding them homemade chicken soup. Love her.

I think my kids want to move in with Mabry and her kids. I think I do too. I think I just met the most awesome neighbors ever.....just in time to put my house on the market. Oh, the irony of life. At least I learned a lesson. Get to know your neighbors. God puts people right next door to you for a reason. :)

Twenty10:7

Jack's first real snow day was a blast. We got out of school at 12:00, were home by 1:30, and were playing in the snow by 2:30. The kids continued to play spiratically throughout the day with neighbors and had a ball. It was pure joy watching them throw snowballs and laugh hysterically at our hilarious neighbors. We just got them to bed an hour ago and it's 11:30. They had their last snow ball fight around 9:30 and we finally all came in at 10:00 to hang with Eric and watch the national championship game for a half an hour before he kids were zonked on the couch. I have so many great photos from today. If I wasn't crossed eyed I would share more. Night Night time. Too much fun for one day! On to day 2....looking so forward to sleeping in and playing in the snow again. :)

Twenty10:6

Schools will be closed as of 12 noon tomorrow.......wooooooo hooooooooo! Snow Day here we come!!!!!!!! This message is brought to you by Kaitlin Shoemaker (her alias), who is now the newscaster for the school news!! It only took me three days to get the picture (which clearly bites)of her delivering the latest elementary dish, but I got it so who cares. The first day (December 19th) my camera did not have the card in it. The second day I snapped away and did not look at the pics until later and her face was blocked by the flourescent light reflections. I finally got the shot today. My class was all clapping for me because they were so proud of me for finally getting her on camera doing the news. We have TV's in our classrooms so I get to watch her everyday! I know, I know....I brag on my kids too much, but this is my blog and I'll brag if I want to! I do try to even it out with stories of how they drive me crazy....but I always delete the posts out of fear that KK will read it and be upset. She is highly sensitve. :)

I am SO excited for our mini snow storm tomorrow. Jack has never seen snow. And I am the master at snow people. :)

Twenty10:5

This is what our afternoons are like. I attempt to work while the kids play in my room. One of Jack's main sources of entertainment is my promethean board. It hooks to my computer and has completely replaced my white board as part of a technology endorsement I am getting right now. We now do everything on white screens that have crazy graphics and interactive games. It makes learning like a game and the kids get to use a wand to move stuff around on the board....much fun. The kids love to play on it in the afternoons. Jack plays on educational websites (everything else is blocked thru the school system thank goodness). One of his favorites is starfall.com. As you can see by the picture below, he gets pretty excited when he gets all the answers right. :) Not sure what this move is called, but I think he realized I was taking pictures of them on the board and decided to give me a show. I got a good belly laugh after a long day.

I love the rolled up pants...he said he did it because it looks cool.

Twenty10:4

Well it's back to school tomorrow, and that means back to our normal routine. Jack needs to be in bed by 7:30 and Kaitlin by 8:oo, so the night time process starts early. The afternoons go like this....get home, have a little down time, homework, dinner, bath, bed. I wish it were as simple as it sounds. :) Jack's night time process it's quite similar to wrestling an alligator. He likes to talk his way out of it every night, and sometimes it works. We end up reading 3 books instead of one, or telling 2 stories instead of one, or spending an extra ten minutes in the bath....just to stall bedtime. He's smooth. He knows how to get an extra half hour out of it just by bring cute, talking my head off, and negotiating like a Wall Street stockbroker. One of my favorite times is getting him out of the bath and wrapping him up like a little burrito and cuddling up with him in towels and blankets after bath. I use to do this with Kaitlin when she was little. It's the best. He is so big, but still so little to me. I know this time is going to fly by so I just enjoy all of his little stall tactics and recognize that most days....it may be the only quality time I get with him. I'll take it. :) Love that little burrito boy. Miss my little burrito girl. She's so grown up.

Twenty10:3

This is Jack dressed in his "handsome guy clothes" for church this morning. He is totally a cotton pants/shirt kinda guy, but every now and then I can dress him in jeans and layered shirts, which is the epitome of cuteness with little boys to me. Don't be deceived by all the handsomeness though....he never made it to Sunday school. He still freaks out every week because he wants to be with me. But he sure did look cute walking to the car in an empty parking lot during the church service! I remain hopeful about church. Something will just click and he'll stop picthing fits about it, right? Maybe he'll meet a friend. Maybe he'll see a cute girl in his class. Or maybe I should make him do push-ups in the parking lot every time he throws a fit! Funny thing is...he is SO into learning about God and Jesus. He loves reading the kids bible and he always asks me questions about God...but church is a different story. And we even go to a really cool, modern, fun church! Oh well. In time. Stinker.