if at first you don't succeed...try Picasa again!

Ok...so here are the pictures from the first week in July. July 4th...my birthday...37 years old! Way too close to 40 to feel good about, but it beats the alternative so... Happy Birthday me!
My sister Karen and her family were here for the first week of July so that Lilly could attend day camp at Living History Farms. My boys had so much fun with their 2 weeks of swimming lessons that Karen decided to sign Jack up for the week. He was a bit apprehensive at first, but that kid was so brave, and by the end of the week he was a little fish! My boys got to play in the pool while Jack had his lesson. They had a blast!


My Mom and Karen and I spent Friday taking Jack, Ty, Eva and Eden to Living History Farms while Lilly and Colin finished up their week-long day camp. We met up with the campers at the end and took that cute cousin picture on the right. My kids love having their cousins here...and, I gotta say, I love having them here too. I wish we all lived in the same town. I miss my sister horribly!


Overall, it was a great week. We hope that every year we will get a week to spend together with all the cousins! Love and miss you guys!

the return

ok.

I've had my time out.

My blog tantrum is over.

I have forgiven Picasa. I will try it again when I have an ungodly amount of unscheduled time. (ha ha)

As for not blogging anymore...well...I cannot do it, or not do it, I mean. I truly do blog for myself. It is my creative release and my family's story...my journal of our daily lives, however crazy it gets. It is my social life. It's where I get to share my stories with others. It's a community where I get to be inspired or taught or entertained by the blogs I read. Let's face it...it's hard for a Mom of three to get out and about. This is where I come to feel connected. It's where I come when I want to feel close to my best friend...to see her sweet boy's faces, and where she needs me to be when she's feeling alone. It's where my very busy sister and brother-in-law can quickly check in with me. It's where I make new friends. I cannot stay away.

So...I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Although, it was suggested that I try and keep the ugly, manic moments unpublished (thx Kan-do). I suppose it may be better to leave those posts in the form of an unpublished draft... :)

Love you all.

FRUSTRATED BEYOND I DON"T KNOW WHAT!

I'm teetering on the edge of insanity. I cannot spend an entire day (yes...trying to navigate picasa has taken me my entire morning!) trying to post pictures from the last 3 weeks while my children are running rampant and Chris' head is about to explode trying to deal with them. I feel like I'm going to explode. I want to post pictures from the last 3 weeks...we've had a lot going on. However...I apparently don't have the time, energy, or support to keep up with a blog. I'm contemplating just ending it ( no, I'm not suicidal...I'm talking about the blog). I have to work. I have family obligations. I have to do laundry. I need to sleep. This blog is my way of recording memories from our life...like a family diary. Not a way to compete with the rest of the blogging world or my BFF. My personality is such that if I'm going to do something I want it to reflect me... I like things to be cute...for me...it is an outlet for my creativity. Some apparently view my blog differently. I would argue that I only have 3 readers...who else would I be doing it for if not me...i mean, really...? as if i were that shallow...

I'm frustrated. I'm hurt. And I'm done posting for a while.

fire-dog

For those of you who know my mother, you are aware of her interest in all things acupuncture-y (it's a new word...I just made it up...). And for those of you who do not know my mother, lets just say that she has taken a deep interest in Chinese medicine since she started having acupuncture about 12 years ago. She is highly intelligent and in the 12 years since an acupuncture needle first pierced her skin that woman has become a well of knowledge when it comes to anything Chinese-y ( again...its a new word...). She has more than once imparted her Chinese wisdom on all of us...sometimes until our ears bleed ( just kidding Mommy). So, needless to say, we're all a little wiser than most when it comes to anything eastern medicine-y. Where am I going with this? It's a darn good question...the answer?...Chinese horoscopes. You weren't expecting that?

OK...now, how do I not get too involved in the whole explanation of the Chinese horoscope? (It's a bit complicated). You probably know from going to Chinese restaurants that each year is assigned an animal... I am an ox, for instance. You look up your year, you find out what animal you are. Each animal has traits which should describe you...the ox is strong and hard-working...amazingly correct ( :) ). OK...then depending on the day or the month or the moon or the weather or something, each person is also assigned an element: earth, water, wood, or fire. Each element also has traits. I am water...water is emotional...(duh). Chris, on the other hand, is wood...they are stubborn...again, amazing ( :) ). Anyway...there are so many levels...all very interesting...and, for the most part, pretty "dead-on" the deeper you go.

Meet fIRE-dOG: fun-loving, artistic, hot ("sweaty"), and explosive ( that can be good...or bad...).
And, once again, correct.

All of that explanation just to show you how his little artistic mind works. Ty loves to draw, color, paint, you name it... But, my favorite art that he does is this:

and this:

Just takes the normal everyday stuff and sees the art in it. Then hurls it across the room in a fit of rage when you ask him to pick it up. :) Just like the little fire-dog he is.

The End.

this is my life

Here I am. Almost a month after my comment "I will be posting again soon...no worries...". Good golly! Seriously people, I must be horribly unorganized because I honestly haven't had a moment to sit down and do this! I'm even playing beat-the-clock right now because I'm on dock to pick up Colin from a birthday party in 10 min.!!! Nothing like pressure...

So...one reason blogging was so hard for me...little league...2 games a week. However, Mother Nature won this season, raining out several games and then also our make-up games...but usually not until we were in route or already at the field, so we didn't miss out on the crazy!
Chris was an "assistant coach" this year...I think he actually enjoyed it a bit...

And, since then we've been running to swimming lessons every day for two weeks. The boys have had an absolute blast and are swimming around like fish! So proud of them! They've worked so hard and learned so much. Colin learned to dive...

Ty loves to jump in and totally submerge himself...

And Eden...well she's just chill...hangin' by the pool keeping the sun off her face so she can keep her youthful good looks...

Now I gotta run...times up...

Hello Sunshine!

Eden 17 weeks

*I'm still here and will be posting again soon...no worries...

retail therapy

It's been four days since Sarah and the boys have left. I'm coping. I spent Friday, my day off, at Target. Not the entire day, but close enough. And I feel a little better. Just a little.

heartache

Well, it's official. My BFF has left DM and is currently on the road to Tennessee. There is no amount of denial (trust me...I know) that can spare the heartache that I feel today. I know what you're thinking..." It's not like this came out of nowhere Bec ". And, you're right, I've known for a while now that this day would come. Only I think that cognitively I knew, but my heart was conveniently left in the dark. It was on a need-to-know basis...and now that she's actually on her way...well, there was no where to hide...the heart found out.

I tried very hard to keep my chin up for her sake. Hoping right along with her that her house would sell already. And I mean really hoping...for honest...for it to sell. What kind of friend would I be to hope for anything different? Who wants her best friend's family to be apart? That's no way to live...Todd missed those boys like crazy, and they missed him...heck, Sarah even missed Todd after a while (hahaha...jk). But, really, I wanted them to be a family again...to quit living in limbo! Even if it meant that I would be without her.

It's a rare gift to have a friend like Sarah. She knows who I am...I mean really knows. And, she likes me anyway (see my quote). She knows my weaknesses. She knows my strengths. She understands why I do the things I do...say the things I say...feel the way I do...because she understands me. Better than anyone I'd say. And it's rare to have a friend like that...it's a blessing to have a friend like that. We have a friendship that will withstand the miles (872.52 miles to be exact). I know cuz we've done it before. But it sucks! It plain sucks!

So, I'm forced to drink my Stella alone (which I am doing right now). While I fight the tears I am afraid to cry...because if I start they will not stop for a good, long time. For now I am hoping that they have a safe trip there. That's all.

for the complainers

Hello gentle readers...ha ha ha!

Seriously...hello you five! It's been a while and I'm starting to hear complaints! So, first of all here is a current picture of my little Sunshine...

Eden 13 weeks.

Isn't she adorable? She is the reason I'm having difficulty keeping this blog current. She is giving me the hairy eyeball right now, but in an incredibly sweet baby way, because she just woke up and is ready to eat. And frankly, she doesn't wait very patiently...I wonder where she acquired that trait? Hmm...................

Oh yeah...back to the blog.

Hope all you Moms out there had a great Mother's Day. Mine was perfect! I got coffee in bed with time to drink it and flip through a couple of mags while Eden cooed happily next to me (with a full stomach...because of a full stomach) and Chris and the boys dipped strawberries in dark chocolate for me. :)! Yummo! That is one of my favorite treats and has become a Mother's Day tradition around here. Then I was showered with hugs and kisses and hand-made cards! I love hand-made cards...they are the best thing about Mother's day.

Colin's cards...which included a knock-knock joke...
Knock, Knock. Who's there? Happy. Happy who? Happy Mother's Day! (cute, huh?)

And, Ty's cards. Complete with his favorite super-friends stickers and a shield for me to use if he wants to punch me in the face...you know...for protection. I have to say, I was a bit...um...what was it...disturbed? But it was thoughtful gesture, him wanting to protect my face and all.

Plus, flowers from my sweet husband. Beautiful!

Well... that's the update people. Eden has fallen back to sleep now, but I need to wake her before my chest explodes. More info than you needed? Chris thought so, but...well...I think you can handle it. :) Until next time...

i love Lucy

My Mom has a little bone shaped plaque in her kitchen which reads, "Dogs are just children with fur". In our family this is absolutely true. On Tuesday my sister Karen's dog-child passed away. Lucy was her first born, my first niece, the first grand-dog...it has been a tough couple of days for our family.

Lucy was our family's "original" dog. When Karen got Lucy it didn't take long for all of us to fall head-over-heels for her. We were lucky that Karen shared her with all of us. Lucy's arrival in our lives soon led to the arrival of Gus, my Mom and Dad's dog, and Mazzy, our sweet puppy (who died at 3 yrs old). But, she never lost her spot in our hearts...like I said, she was our "original" dog, and we loved her.

Lucy was one, sweet dog. When she wagged her tail her whole hind end would wag. There wasn't one occasion that I saw Lucy that her tail wasn't wagging. Even when I saw Lucy a few weeks ago on her 11th birthday, when she was barely able to walk due to her worsening spinal degeneration, she greeted us with her little, waggy bottom. Lucy loved her people, and I was lucky enough to be one of her people...to be on the receiving end of that waggy bottom.

And, as hard as it is for us...as sad as it is for us...my sister Karen and her family have it the hardest. Lucy-dog was an important member of that family. Nana dog to Lillian, Jack and Eva...they have never known a world without her. She has left them with wonderful memories and was a true gift in their lives.

All dogs go to heaven...and Lucy-dog is, no doubt, running about with Mazzy chasing rabbits...but never catching them.

Lucy Rosebud

define suck...

My BFF Sarah, who just sold her house in Des Moines, is headed to Tennessee tomorrow to hunt for a new house...

there...

to which she will be moving...

soon...