There sure have been some good stories since the last post.

Like the Father's Day when G was so tired he fell asleep about 6:30 p.m. and when we woke him up to go to bed and Deeda shuffled him to the bathroom to potty, G literally pottied on Deeda, at which time Deeda's Father's Day celebration was truly complete.

Like G's first sleep over with Tal where I noticed the two of them playing like real friends do. Not playing side by side but feeding off each other... taking one another's imaginary world and making it their own...building a story together. Taking turns. It really was something to see. A major milestone as far as I am concerned.

Like B's first words... Da! Da! and every now and then you'd swear he spits out a sentence... in between motor boating. He loves to motor boat.

Just in the last week, at nine months on the dot, B has started with major protests when we take something from him or when he doesn't get what he wants. waaaaaaaaaaaaaah. It's new enough that it still makes me laugh...but before long we'll have to figure out how to take care of that.

Last week G wanted to wear his "Clark Kent" clothes, as in a button down shirt and clip on tie, to school because his new girlfriend Andrea wants him to dress fancy. I asked him what happen to Isabelle (the ex) and he said he just can't decide... good!

The other day I picked G up from school. The class was on the playground and G was sitting to the side pouting. The teacher made it clear hew was beating himself up more than he really needed to... so I went over and asked what happened. He didn't look up. He mumbled, "I used my super powers on Taylor." Now, I am not going to tell the child he doesn't have super powers. I just reminded him to use them for good, not bad. No kicking allowed.

There is something blogworthy nearly every single day at our house. I love that. But I haven't been good about keeping up...

Time flies. And that's what inspired me to sit down and quick get at least something down tonight. Because this morning... just before 6 a.m., B was making noise in his bed and Deeda brought him to our bed where he cooed and snuggled in back to sleep. Just after 6, G came in, his feet flopping all the way... and he crawled in next to me laying as close as he could. Still, snuggly, and quiet. And we layed there. And I thought to myself: these days are numbered. It's just that at these ages, it works as part of our routine.

Now, there are a lot of mornings when the four of us in one bed isn't so sweet. G is kicking, B is pulling up and playing with the blinds, I just want a few more minutes of sleep... and then B spits up all over Deeda and pretty much from then, it's "everyone up." But this morning, it was wonderful. The four of us. Before the morning madness began...

Look at these cuties. B is 9 mos with 7 teeth. G is 4 and a half and he is totally into superheroes.

Summer Fun's in Full Swing

I've been writing this post for a long while, saving it for a time when corresponding photos are ready to upload. But the post just keeps getting longer... and the photos keep getting put off. So, here's the recap of our May... Photos will follow. Promise.

At the start of May, Deeda and I basically said, "see you next month" and let the craziness ensue. As a result, I have actually come to realize that relaxing may, in fact, be easier away from the casa than at the casa. For one, sometimes the kids aren't with you when you're not at home... Two, when they are with you, there are more hands around to hold them. Three, I can't do the weekend list of chores if I am not here. So, I have no choice but to chill. That all said, I find myself weary after all our adventures in the last 30 days. AND I maintain that a weekend at home with no todos is about as good as (and in our case as rare as) a vacation.

May saw not one but two conventions for The Dental Network. Deeda is still brimming with new and exciting ideas... The boys and I managed swimmingly on our own, complete with a 7:30 a.m. meeting on day three. Made it on time thank you very much.


On the heals of Deeda's his out of town adventures I spent three nights in Orlando with the CP gang learning software stuff and having a great time. It was a working event but something about Florida, a hotel and dinner among good friends made is seem an awful lot like vacation to me. To top it off, we went to see the Blue Man Group. It's a visual feast and laughing felt so good. Meanwhile, Deeda and the boys seemed to manage just fine on their own... nonetheless, I bought $40 worth of Spiderman guilt gifts at the Orlando airport. Deeda is really the one who deserved a gift.

In between Deeda's convention and my conference we squeezed in a trip to Austin. We played with the Slack's on their boat and had our inaugural meal at Buster's Barbecue, a new venture Nana and Papa are enjoying being a part of. It was a quick but good visit.

Memorial Day weekend, we hit the road for Dallas to enjoy what has become somewhat of a family tradition of pool time and catching up with Grandaddy, Nennie and the Perritte aunts. Though, none of us stand a chance of catching up with Aunt Alyssa, it was good to work on our tans.

I am happy to report G seems to have retained his swimming skills. That said, he nearly had to sit the swim time out after a good bonk on the chin the previous weekend that resulted in two stitches. The minor emergency experience was truly the best it could have been. He didn't hit his head on the side of the neighborhood pool. Just the chin. Thank heavens. We didn't have to wait in the ER for hours. Thank heavens. And nobody passed out. A dose of good judgement told me to leave the room. And G was super brave about the whole thing. His bravery is truly an inspiration. I could see the fear in his eyes, and at the very same time the courage. Have I mentioned once or twice in this space how proud I am of that boy?

This past weekend, we made a long weekend of it in Galveston enjoying some quality time with the Bromley's and some new friends, too. Accommodations were superb! It's good to know people who know people... In total we had six kids and six adults. The 1:1 ratio is excellent for beach going. G reported tonight at bedtime (in a moment of clarity amidst total delirium brought on by total exhaustion) his favorite parts were playing at the beach, making sandcastles and sleeping on the top bunk! My favorite parts were the good friends, good food, good photo ops and a good look at the starry sky with Deeda.

Already we've had a lot of adventures this summer and the fun has just begun. All this traveling and some really good advertising makes me wonder about the swagger wagon...

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is my new favorite holiday. Today I was completely selfish and kept the boys all to myself. I had a little piece of heaven with each of them. My best days and my favorite memories are the ones we make when we're home with no agenda other than being a family.

The first actually came yesterday when Deeda came waltzing across the front yard at a block party like a knight in shining armor coming to the rescue after three nights away from home. I wasn't expecting him and I have to admit, I literally had to catch my breath. I was truly happy to see him. I missed him and secondarily, I missed his help.

The second came with the Bear this morning... we had one of those interactions that's a little deeper than the average coo and hair pulling. I can see the wheels spinning behind his eyes.

Later, G and I chilled on the sofa. We rested under the blanket, watched the world outside through the picture window and chatted about our plans for the afternoon.

Other highlights include a brief dance party G, B and Deeda stirred up. The giggling coming from G's room was enough to draw me in with the video camera. Later G and Deeda washed my car while B and I napped. The house was daytime quiet. The kind of quiet I usually only get late at night. daytime quiet is way better because it's rare. Very rare.

It was really a great day. I didn't do any laundry today. Even though it's piled up waiting for me. We didn't go to the store today... and I don't have our weekly meal plan in place....

We hit the neighborhood pizza joint for an early dinner. It was dinner out with a four year old and a 6 month old. It wasn't the most relaxing... Who's big idea was it anyway? (mine). But it was good. And the kitchen was clean when we got home. Best of all... on our way out the door a woman looked at me and said, "your children were so well-behaved." Whoever you are, nice lady at the restaurant, THANK YOU. Thanks for noticing. We're trying our very best!

Picture Spring

Last month I took an online photography class hosted at Big Picture Scrapbooking and taught by the wonderful Tracey Clark of Shutter Sisters. I had a great time!

I learned of the class at the (now somewhat infamous) Mom 2.0 conference (because I can't stop talking about it). And though I was skeptical that I would be able to make time to shoot a photo every day, I thought I'd try. In the end, I came close. There were times when I had to play catch up, but I am proud to say I completed 29 of 30 assignments. Letting myself have that one, is a lesson in and of itself.

Carrying the camera with me even to and from the office provided more opportunities than I imagined it would. I also had time to play with and learn more about my still new Birthday lens. Most of all, I was inspired and truly enjoyed interacting with the class and posting my images to the classroom gallery. Many a night I was up far too late "playing." Having a personal project in the works rather than on a perma-back burner does wonders for my mental state of "not having enough time."

The hardest assignment (I thought) was a self portrait. That was day #2 or #3 and I thought, "oh lord, I can't do this." But I did. And I included the portraits in this slide show to prove it. My favorite assignment was probably "catch lights" because it was all about catching the light in eyes. I had two wonderful subjects for that one! Past that, I had a good time playing with shallow depth of field and blown out color.

I feel like the collection I came up with documents what turned out to be a month of some major milestones. B crawled for the first time and G learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Moreover, the blooms that were just beginning on April 1 had fully sprung by the end of the month. And, I admit there are a lot of flowers here. But flowers are easy targets for a girl with a camera AND let's not forget the class was called Picture Spring.

On April 29, my photo was featured on Shutter Sisters. I thought I might burst when I clicked there to see who the instructor picked to feature that day! Because no matter how often my mom (love you mom) and the rest of the family comment on my photos, a little recognition from Tracey Clark felt REALLY good.

I planned all along to somehow collect and share the photos. The slide show posted here seemed like a good way to share with everyone. Quality is degraded in a big way... but it was fun to put together. For the high quality version, I am going to print a photo book. It will be fun to flip through in about 20 years.

Dee Dog

Last Friday Deeda and I had to choose to let our Dee dog go so she could take her place in heaven. Even though, there was no question it was time, I would consider it among the hardest things we’ve ever had to do.

Dee was our first child. A problem child, but our first child. Despite her somewhat unfavorable habits that became affectionately named “dumpster diving” and “jail breaks,” we loved her deeply and she loved us back with thousands of daily greetings, kisses and leg humping, of course.

Before G arrived, we were concerned about how she would react to becoming a big sister. She never disappointed. In fact, her patience was amazing. She, too, came to love G despite the fact he dethroned her. Likewise, G came to love her. The grief that came over him when I told him the news was heartbreaking, but heartwarming at the same time. While my own grief multiplied when I felt his too, I also felt proud of his ability to love so truly. And later, as we continued to discuss heaven and God, I was warmed by his questions about where “exactly” heaven is, how you get there and how many hands God must have to make all the animals and people in the world.
I literally watched Dee age over the last couple years and more so in the last few months as her geriatric problems multiplied. Guided by a wonderful vet we managed her medical problems as best we could with meds. But last Wednesday, she couldn’t get comfortable. By Thursday she wasn’t walking. Friday the vet seemed to think she had “thrown a clot” or essentially had a stroke. She wasn’t eating…

The house has been quiet. No knock at the back door. No clanking collar at the water bowl. No snoring. Man, she could bring the house down…

We’ve moved the trash can to the kitchen, but keep going to the laundry room with the garbage. I shut the gate before I get out of my car, just the same as I used to, and I am reminded there’s no dog waiting to escape or wagging her tail at the back door.

She is missed. There is a void. We’ve suffered a lot of family loss in just a few months… it’s never easy. But losing something that’s been a part of everyday is especially difficult. Dee was truly one of a kind. Our poo poo head.

All About April

B is six months old. How can that be? In one week he had his six month shots, crawled across the living room floor and sprouted his first tooth. Busy week for the little guy.

Specs: He weighs in at 18 lbs 12 oz, he’s 27.25” long and his head is 18”.

The new thing is a whining thing… in a cute way… almost the way a puppy whimpers with excitement. mmmmmm. mm.mmmmm.mmm.mmmm.

He continues to be an easy, easy (knock on wood) baby who virtually puts himself to sleep and stays that way (knock on wood again).

He thinks G is the funniest thing EVER. In fact, while mom and dad can get an occasional laugh, G is the one who can really get him going. Already, that baby wants to be where his big brother is and playing with whatever his big brother is playing with. He even seems to have an affinity for Buzz and Lightning.

Big brother remains cooler than ever with sharing his stuff and his parents with the little one. He loves the little guy as much as we do. He also loves riding his bike. One afternoon a couple weeks ago Mr. Claus caught his attention and convinced him he could do it without training wheels (we’d be trying but must have sounded something like the Charlie Brown teacher). Not unlike learning to jump off the diving board or catch a baseball, the pride and accomplishment this child feels when he learns something new is wonderful to witness. He sits awfully tall and proud on that bike seat.

He’s also learning to write his name and is more and more into writing notes and drawing. His favorite thing to draw right now is people. Super heroes and families we know are among his favorite subjects.

We saw the end of the first Tball season last weekend... Best part about it? I think he likes the trophey (a.k.a. his Piston Cup a la Cars) as much as anything... maybe short his LA Dodgers hat which he pretty much hasn't taken off since he got it.