Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm grateful for:

• modern medicine, including baby ibuprofen, which has helped Miles' fever cool down these past couple days.
  
• our trampoline. My kids LOVE that thing, even when it's 40 degrees outside.
• Neal's ability to grow plants, including this pretty plumeria that smells like Hawaii when it blooms in the summer.
  
• girls' night out and friends who feel like sisters, since mine are so far away.
  
• a 3-day weekend, even if Neal did have to work on Saturday.

A couple of goals for this week:

1. Finalize Audrey's birthday party plans.
2. Read my scriptures every day.
3. Have some quiet chats with Audrey and work on reading with Parker.
   

Interview avec Moi

Natalie caught me on a day with nothing to blog about, so I'm doing her survey!

* What's the quality that you like least about yourself? That I have a hard time relaxing. As soon as Miles is asleep, I immediately turn into a tornado of activity, running around my house cleaning, grabbing some lunch, throwing some laundry in, etc. I wish I could just stop multi-tasking already and relax.

* If you could trade places with anyone, living or dead, for a day, who would it be? I would trade places with myself when I was about 7. Life was so good back then, so carefree. I would love to be a little kid again, but live that life understanding how good I had it.

* My life would be simpler if... I had a wife to do all the housework for me.

* What's your favorite possession? (must be a thing) I have a lot of favorites, but I'll have to go with my piano.

* Guiltiest pleasure? Sleeping in. That makes me feel the most guilty.

* High road or low road? Does anyone purposely take the low road? I don't think so, I hope not anyway.

* Who was the naughtiest kid in your elementary school, and what did he do? I'm going to have to embarrass my brother, Matt, here and say that it was him! He pantsed a GIRL! And it was in Junior High. Worse.

* The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is... When to book my trip to see Stephanie in Arizona.

Hey, while you're on the computer, check out my other blog today, and weigh in on my Burning Fashion Question, just for fun!

I know, I know

More Miles pictures, but this is what he REALLY looks like. Natalie got her long-awaited and oft-coveted new DSLR camera and practiced on Miles yesterday. I'm in love with these pictures! My camera feels majorly inferior now, and all I can say is, we better be seeing a lot more of Natalie and her camera before she moves to Denver in June!

If you click to enlarge this first one, you can see his little tooth that emerged last weekend.

Do you notice a reddish tinge on the top of his head, or is it just me?

We are just plain crazy about this boy!

My Valentine

Neal always finds the most beautiful flowers for me. I think he's only bought me roses once in all these years. See, he knows more about flowers than the average boy, and so he buys the more unusual bouquets, knowing I'll appreciate them more. Last year it was peonies, my favorite. The year before that, he brought home orchids that I could clip off and wear in my hair.

This year, he found these incredible

blue and white hydrangeas.

I love them. And him.

Summer here at Flowerchain

Welcome to my summery blog!
On days like today, when it's white and freezing almost everywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line, I'm very grateful to live in Texas.

Don't ask me about it in July.

ps kristen, i googled "buffalo snow" and found this picture. :) stay warm!

Happy Boys

make for a happy mommy.

Good Lips and Six Months

Little Miles Jefferson is six months old this week. His bald head and petite size fool some people into thinking he's a bit younger, but six months! I can't believe it's already been half a year since I had him. I'm doing this as a "baby book post," so I won't forget the little things.

Miles is super smiley, smiles at most strangers who talk to him, puts his fists up and turns his little face into my shoulder when he feels a bit shy.
He has one little teeny tooth, bottom right. He also has really good lips, as you can see above.
He is pretty easily entertained, especially by Audrey and Parker, who will do pretty much anything to make him laugh.
He's a major talker, especially during church meetings, where he prefers squealing to talking.
He laughs a little bit when he first latches on to nurse, so glad that he got what he wanted, especially when he's really tired.
His "hair" gets a little messy when we take off his hat (which he wears a lot, even in the house). Audrey loves when his hair sticks up.
He has about 8 hairs that you can see, and in the sunlight, they're pretty much orange.
He sleeps on his tummy, but likes to roll over to see his ceiling fan after he wakes up.
He loves a diaper change, but hates a bath.
He finally accepted the fact that the car seat is part of his life. He's pretty okay with it now, thank goodness.
He's as sweet as can be, and his entire life is being blogged.

We're totally crazy about our little Moe (Moo, Moey, Moezy, Doodle, Mr. Miles), and are so grateful he came to our family! Happy 6 months Miles!

Two Barefoot Mommas

I have great news! My ultra-talented sister, Stephanie, of Barefoot in the Kitchen, and our super-clever sister-in-law, Ginger (who, even with the recent addition of her fourth child, has found time to blog and craft and quilt), have been hard at work starting their own small web-based business! Steph has some mad sewing skills and has hand-stitched beautiful burp cloths with initials and wool felt appliques; personalized, custom, made-to-order aprons for little girls; and baby blankets to come. Ginger has found her niche creating one-of-a-kind baby, child, and momma-sized sterling bracelets, personalized for the little girls and proud mommies in your life. Click on over to

Two Barefoot Mommas

and support home-based mommy-run business! Audrey's bracelet order is in! Sterling silver horse charm and all.

One of the sweet aprons available here.

One of several sets of personalized chenille burp cloths. See them all here!

Adorable newborn-sized sterling baby bracelet, hand made for Ginger's niece, Ruby Jeanette. See the other infant bracelets here.

I think I'd like Audrey's to look something like this child-sized one. Isn't that ballet shoe charm the sweetest?

Ginger and Stephanie are adding new products every day, so check back often!
I love it, girls! I'm so proud of you both!

Quotes of the Day IX

Up at 5 with Miles again, and since there's not a whole lot to do but lay on the floor and chew on sunglasses, here you go:

Number Nine in the Series, Quotes of the Day, by Audrey (5) and Parker (3).

Audrey, to Parker in the tub: Parker, do you know what "carbon dioxygen" is?
Parker: No.
Audrey: It's the kind of air that's on other planets. We can't breathe it.
Parker: Why?
Audrey: 'Cuz you'll die.

Audrey and I were coloring a few pictures from the Friend Magazine about the creation of the Earth. I was coloring Adam and Eve, and Audrey was watching me and said,

I like Eve. She's so pretty. Did you know that Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth?
Me: Yep. Do you know who was here first, Adam or Eve?
Audrey: I can't remember.
Me: Who do you think came first?
Audrey: Um, Eve.
Me: Nope. Adam.
Audrey: Awwww!

The other day, Parker and I went for a walk over the bridge behind our street. It goes over what is known as Oyster Creek, but we call it the river. Parker said, "What if this river went all the way back there and then all the way to Egypt and turned into the Egypt River?"

Don't you think that would be cool? I do.

Last one: Parker and Neal were in the car, listening to the radio about a woman who was a maid.

Parker: Daddy, what's a maid?
Neal: Someone who cleans houses.
Parker: Is Mommy a maid?
Neal: No, because she cleans her own house.
Parker: Well, she's kind of like a maid!

True that, Parker!

Daddy's going to shoot stuff.

Neal's gone hunting this weekend in Georgia. Hunting, you say? Neal?

Ya, I know. Whenever people hear that Neal grew up the son of a cattle rancher, and spent his summers working with cows on horseback on a ranch in Kansas, they have a hard time believing it. One friend said to me once, "But Neal's so . . . urban!" "Yes, well, that's my influence," I joked. :)

So Mr. Animal Lover himself has gone hunting with his three brothers and his dad, none of whom enjoy animals as much as Neal does. He went on trips like this as a boy, but hasn't "shot a gun since high school." That doesn't sound very good, does it. He practiced at the shooting range last weekend with a friend, so as not to embarrass himself among his more seasoned (with guns) brothers. He went to the sporting goods store in search of hunter-crowd-friendly clothing (including some new, slightly tighter jeans). It's all a bit comical to me, as you can see: picturing Neal out there in the wild, taking aim at a small bird, and the manliness of it all. The fact that Neal's going to shoot quail (those cute little birdies with the little feather sticking out of the top of their heads) is really bothersome to Audrey. Not so bothersome to Parker, who really would have liked to go.

I can't wait to hear how it goes. He gets back on Sunday.

On another note, I am very respectful of all you wives who send your husband away on business for days at a time (MOM, my whole life!). I'm so not looking forward to him being gone. Not so much for my own self (I'll be fine with the all the kids, especially since my parents arrive here in about an hour), I just WORRY! I run scenarios through my head of all the things that could happen and how I would deal with it, what would we do IF, etc. It's not good, but all I know is, I can't wait to see that boy on Sunday. :)

My Camera is Back . . .

And so are the straps.






Oh, and so is Sawyer, just FYI.

Go Natalie, It's Your Birthday!

A special Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Natalie, who joins me today as a proud 29-year-old, determined to live the last year of our twenties to its absolute fullest.
Natalie is the best kind of friend. I have blogged her praises many times before, like here and here, but she is completely devoted to so many aspects of her life, including our friendship. She's very passionate about things like to-do lists, thank-you notes and movies. She loves a clean house, a hot shower, her blogs, and Target. She takes some wickedly awesome pictures of my children (and other people, too). We share a love of so many things: good food, good chocolate, girl time, pretty clothes, Orangina and Project Runway, to name a few. Go here to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Natalie!

Now where are those chocolate croissants?

Playgroup Boycott or Why I'm a Snob

I don't think I'm going to playgroup anymore. I haven't been much since I had Miles, since he tends to nap during that time, but last Friday he was awake, so we thought we'd join society again. Since it's been so rainy, we've been forced indoors for the past 4 playdates. I'm the co-chair of our group (organized through our church), so I help decide what we'll do each Friday and send out the requisite email. One of my friends offered to have it at her house, which was very nice of her. I used to look forward to the playgroups at people's homes because it was a controlled, enclosed environment and didn't involve mosquitoes or me pushing anyone on a swing for half an hour.

I was quite alarmed when I got to the playdate and saw what I saw. I totally would rather have pushed Parker on the swing! Maybe it's because I was raised in a very peaceful, non-chaotic home, despite the fact that six children lived in it. Maybe it's because I only have 3 children, who are all quite mild-mannered and well-behaved (if I do say so myself). Maybe it's because I'm a total snob and don't like my kids associating with wild children. But seriously, I couldn't take all those kids and all that noise. Miles had his head sat on by a husky one-year-old, and proceeded to cry, I was shot in the head by a Nerf gun, and had to ask the child to take it elsewhere, and Parker had a ball thrown directly at his ear by a very strong baby. Not one of those three mothers apologized (or even noticed what their kid was doing). Sure, kids will be kids, you may say, but what has happened to parents taking responsibility and disciplining their children? Just because there's a bunch of toys hanging around doesn't mean you can just leave your kid to do whatever while you chat away with your friends! I could really spout off about this topic. (Neal and I discuss it every Sunday afternoon, after church meetings full of wild, unruly, irreverent children and inattentive parents.)

I guess I am just judgmental about other parents, but I can't help it. I have no patience for it!

Besides the injuries above, there were so many sick kids there, kids who should not have been let out of the house lookin' like that. One child had perhaps the goopiest eyes I've ever seen. They were so infected that they were swollen and purple around the outside. I heard one of the other moms say to his mom, "Oh look! Aaron* just opened his eyes!" as if it was such a relief that the poor kid could finally do so (at 11:00 in the morning). Another conversation I overheard about how the preschool called home requesting my friend go pick up her child, "but we caught 'it' really early, so she's fine now (and here at playgroup)."

I looked down at my healthy little glowing Miles, he looked back up at me, and together we grabbed Parker's hand, headed for the car, Purell-ed immediately, and headed off to play somewhere else. I know I'm horrible. I just couldn't take it.

*name changed to protect the poor innocent little invalid

If you don't like me anymore, you don't have to read my blog. I'm not offended. ;)

Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm grateful for:

• our AAA Texas membership. It came in quite handy on Tuesday morning when my battery was dead.
• my little family. I'm grateful that we can have fun when we're together, even if we're just at the grocery store on a Saturday night.
• the fact that we live in semi-tropical Texas and not Iowa (where, according to our friend Keith, the high was ZERO yesterday).
• Audrey, who loves Parker, and Parker, who loves Audrey. And Miles, with whom we're all smitten, even though he pulls our hair, pinches our noses and gets us wet with slobber.
  
• my mom and dad, who are coming to see us on Thursday. Yay!
• a fridge full of food and a warm house to come home to.

Some goals for the week:

1. the garage
   
2. the pantry
3. the weeds out back

Blondie

I'm a blonde and always have been. When I was little, I had hair "down to my bottom" that was a nice light blonde and I thought it was so pretty. By the time I got to high school, the blonde had turned kind of ashy and not so pretty anymore, and half-way through my freshman year at BYU, I determined that the cost of professional hair color was worth the way it made me feel when I walked out of the salon. It's just one of those things that I know I'll be shovelling out the cash for for the rest of my life, and Neal has come to understand that. (Plus, he has no idea how much it costs.)

Having blonde hair is part of my identity, sadly enough. When my roots grow out, I feel lousy about myself. But ba-da-bing, when my very young and semi-scary goth hairdresser, Jaclyn, finishes blow drying my newly refreshed blondeness, suddenly life is good again! Steph understands, see?

This morning, Audrey pointed to the back of my head and said, "Momma, this part's brown." Yes, I know. Thank you, sweetie.

Ideally, and if you have the cashola, you're supposed to have your hair blondified every 6-8 weeks. Well, having a 5-month-old who's addicted to nursing doesn't really fit in well with the need to have my roots done. It takes a good 2 hours, and with driving time, that makes for a sad Miles, or at least I thought it would. I've only had it done once since he was born (and he was fine), and my roots are shouting that out to the world!

My parents are coming in town next week, and Dad, I am counting on your magical baby-sleep-molecules to help Miles while I get my hair done. I'm sure he'll be fine, I'll fill him up nice and full before I go. He eats baby food now, too, so he won't get hungry. I'm just preparing you, Mom and Dad. Saturday, 9.30 am. I really need my hair done. It's turning brown.