Damn, I feel like a huge failure with this blog. In my own defense, life certainly has been challenging lately. All day I’m dealing with two insane preschool-aged children and a newbie to toddlerism, who has just begun to walk. I don’t have time for a complete thought, let alone to sit down and post items of my own interest, my life, photography, etc. I have a feeling my world of utter chaos will slow down a tad in the near future, and hopefully I will be able to do more things I enjoy…more “me-time”. Anyway, not sure if anyone will even read this due to my absence for the past 3 months or so….but if you are reading, thank you for keeping the faith in me to return! You will be hearing more from me in a short time to come.

My Scarlett is ONE today!!  Where the hell has this year gone anyway??  Here she is…a radiant, curious, beautiful….toddler!!??

I know, I know…I’ve been out of commission for….2 months now. Then I all of a sudden pop up out of nowhere to say MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hopefully after the holidays I will once again be able to post at least weekly!

Jenna, Scarlett, and Charlie ~ 2006

I’m sure some of you may be bored with seeing my photography…but hey, it’s all I have time for people! So here’s me just messin’ around with my camera. This would be a much cooler photo if I actually knew how to play the guitar…LOL! It would definitely put some more meaning behind it, wouldn’t it? Oh well, I like it anyway….

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

This week’s theme was difficult for me. I browsed through 100’s of photos that I had taken, but had no luck. So I stole a pic my husband took instead. This was taken at a ranch here in town, where my brave boy couldn’t get enough of riding the horses. I chose this as my “safe” pic since I am holding his hand keeping him from falling from the horse.

“Mommy, I want to go spit my hiccups into the potty.”

I really had no way to respond to this.  I tried to make sense of it in attempt to play along or to have a conversation about it, but it was no use.  I had a good little laugh, however.

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

So I joined this blogroll called “Photohunt” and each Saturday, there is a different theme…and you post a pic accordingly. I’m not sure if “dreaming” is supposed to be a picture of somebody sleeping or something not so literal. Either way, this is the best that I’ve got! This was Scarlett’s first day home, sleeping quite peacefully in her bassinet. I can’t believe she’s already 10 months!!!

Update!: I just found out that I got an honorable mention in a photo contest for this shot! Please go check it out at Picture This….an awesome blog with lots of info and ideas in photography.

Now, maybe this is old news to some of you…but my husband showed this to me and I just wanted to kick myself. Do any of you ever sit around wondering to yourself, “What can I invent so I can stop worrying about money all of the time???” Well, I do. I never thought of this idea, but I wanted to kick myself because it makes so much sense and seems so obvious to do! These Inchworm shoes GROW with your children up to three sizes!!!!! Some of the styles I’m not too crazy about, but there are a few I’d definitely buy for my own kids. Also, you can get a pair for only $20!!! That’s really saving money!  Three pairs of shoes in one for only twenty bucks!!!  Check out all the styles and prices at Inchworm Shoes. They also have many video demonstrations and different shows/news promoting the shoe.

“Built right into INCHworm shoes is the iFit technology. The iFit technology allows you to GROW the size of the shoe with a simple push of the button. So eliminate unnecessary trips to the shoe store and provide your children with better fitting shoes that last up to three sizes longer. Inchworm shoes grow in half size increments. Just push the button on the side, and pull the toe of the shoe to adjust into the next size.” (inchwormshoes.com)

Today my dad and step-mom came to visit us and the kids. And how can the grandparents come without wanting to taking a trip on over to Toys-R-Us?? In the check-out line, after the kids each picked out a toy, Deby spotted some bubbles and decided to get those for them as well. When we got home, we all went out back to test out these new amazing bubbles…and amazing they were! There was no popping these suckers! They would land in our hair and stayed until you brushed them off. My dad demonstrated that you could actually BOUNCE them off one another! He also ran around the yard (being the kid that he is) to collect and stack his bubbles. I think he and Deby had more fun with them than the kids did! So here they are….the magnificent, incredible, unpoppable….”Catch-A-Bubble“!!! (On my dad’s fingertip, of course)

We were invited to a lovely Labor Day picnic at Maclay Gardens with our good friends, Tassy, Jeremy and their children, Caroline and Charlotte. I just recently got this one developed, which was taken with my old 35mm, and fell in love with it. Charlie and Caroline wanted to go down by the water before we had to leave. The expressions on both of their faces are priceless. It’s hard to believe by looking at this picture that Charlie had a massive meltdown right after this was taken. He didn’t want to leave! Who can blame him, it was a good day!

I love anything that involves photographs and memories, so this is a must-have for myself. And, at only $12.50 each, I will be getting one for all my kids (eventually)!

spoonsisters

Not only do I love the choice of names for these peculiar looking dolls (Lola is my dog’s name), but the design and colors are awesome! Forget buying them for my kids, I want them in MY room! Pink Dress Lola is my fave. View and buy at Olie Bollen.

Lately I’ve been extra motivated to teach my son, who just turned 3, how to read. It never even dawned on me that he would even be capable of doing this at such a young age until one of my friend’s informed me that her 3 year old can read. So in July I began to really teach him the sounds that each letter makes and recognition of each letter. (Leap Frog Fridge Phonics was a great help) Obviously, I’m no expert and I’m not professionally educated in this area, but hey, they worked! Hopefully somebody will read this and will find it helpful. Anyway, here are the different things I have been doing with him (and he loves it!):

~ ABC notebook- I bought a cheap spiral notebook, rounded up some old parenting magazines, and broke out the scissors and glue. Each page in the notebook is assigned a different letter. The first page being “Aa”, we browsed through the magazines looking for any “Aa’s” and pictures that begin with the letter “Aa”. I’d cut them out and glue ‘em on the page, making a very creative “Aa” collage. He loves doing this, but usually only stays focused for about 15 minutes or so.

~ Letter of the day- On blank white stickers (nametags, labels) I’d write a new letter (upper and lower case) everyday and we’d each wear one. Throughout the day I’d ask him what letter we were wearing, have him point out something in the house that begins with that letter…etc. If he couldn’t remember, I’d have him trot into the kitchen to his handy Fridge Phonics to find out. He would get very excited every morning and would remind me if I forgot to get give him his letter. After awhile, I’d let him choose the letter of the day.

~ “-at” words- I got this idea from my good friend. Think of a bunch of different “-at” words such as “pat”, “cat”, “bat” and write them down one at a time. Have your child make the sound of each letter and put the sounds together. I was sitting at the table feeding Scarlett and doing this with Charlie at the same time, not thinking anything would really happen. Well, IT DID!!! He read “bat” and “hat” all by himself! It was truly one of the coolest moments in my parenting so far. I got all teary-eyed and he jumped into my lap (before I even had a chance to praise him!) to give me a huge hug because he was so proud of himself.

~ Storytime- Whenever I read to him, I ask him questions about the story/pictures after each page I read. I think this helps him understand the story a little better and he gets to voice his opinions/thoughts about the book and characters. Also, I sometimes hand him a book and tell him to read it to me. He loves doing this, he feels important and smart (which he is, of course) and although he can’t read all the words, he is able to tell a story by looking at a picture.

Some people might think, “Damn, give it a rest, he’s only three!”, but it’s such a wonderful time spent with your child. Charlie loves it and gets so proud of himself. It’s also pretty neat to sit back and watch him teach Jenna all the stuff he knows. They will go to the fridge, put in letter after letter and sing “ABC’s” over and over!

What greater gift can you (help) give to your child, than the ability to read?

My best friend, Jill, had her third, beautiful child September 29th, 06 at 9:06 am. Olivia weighs 6 lbs 12oz., is 18 and 1/4 inches long, and looks just like her big sister, Maddie! Congratulations Noble family! I love you guys and can’t wait to meet your newest (and perfect) addition.

Olivia Grace

Chris, Brayden, Jill, Madison, and Olivia

The kids were driving me crazy in the house today, so I thought I’d take ‘em out front in our cheapo ten dollar kiddie pool. Turns out, I really should have been doing this all summer! They were all so happy and content for a good hour! My little Scarlett was hesitant at first, but I think she ended up having the most fun! She was PISSED when I took her out!

I’m pretty hard on myself when it comes to any photography I do….but I LOVE this one of Jenna!!!

taken 09.30.06

I came across this cute and clever video/song at Mama Says Om. It’s more fun to watch when you have a child on your lap!!

I thought it was about time to add a pic of my niece, Jenna.  This was taken out front today.  The only time her or Charlie stood still enough to take a decent pic was when the huge, loud, distracting garbage truck came by.  So here she is…gorgeous!

Really, I have living, breathing proof laying in their beds right at this very moment! I now have TWO toddlers under my roof. My neice (Jenna), who is two and half, is living with me. So I now have a three year old, a two year old, and a nine month old to take care of every single day. My nine month old is my angel. The majority of the time she sits there, plays, smiles, and looks cute. The other two, however, are constantly trying to piss each other off which, in the end, pisses me off. I called my friend, Jill today in desperate need of adult conversation. I told her that I am so sick of saying the same things over and over and over….”Get off that chair”, “Leave him/her alone”, “If a problem arises, come tell ME, don’t hit the person you’re having the problem with”, “No, you cannot have a cookie at 8 am.”

Of course there are the good moments, too. Like when they decide to stop tormenting each other and actually play. It’s very cute to watch and listen to…especially when they don’t know you’re spying. I’ve even heard them utter the words “Ok, now it’s your turn” and “You can play with my batman yoyo and I’m going to play with your phone.” I’ve walked in the room and witnessed them “reading” together, pretending to be basket monsters (with plastic blue and green baskets over their heads), having tea parties, playing knight and princess, and superman (where one jumps onto the floor from the bed and yells for superman to come and save them).

I will be posting some recent pics soon….maybe…hopefully.

This was an awesome experience for my kids and myself.  I had never been to a butterfly garden and it was so magical!  We walked into this small greenhouse where there were over 500 butterflies fluttering about.  They would land on us and we could also lure them with a gotorade soaked q-tip.  Here’s a pic of a proud Charlie with his butterfly.