My Kid Is So Freaking Adorable.

Seriously.

Go check out his annual pics that I just posted on the biz blog.
And try not to swoon....he IS only 6, you know. :)

Here's a preview:

That's Random (An Aydenism)

Yesterday, as I'm cleaning up the kitchen, AJ comes around the corner:

AJ (sternly): Mom.
Me: yes?
AJ: Everybody in this house has a peepee but NOT you (as he pats where my "peepee" should be).
Me: Yes, that's true.
AJ: Because Daddy has a peepee, and Owen has a peepee, and I have a peepee, and Tyler has a peepee.
(as an afterthought):And Cooper has a peepee.

Me: Yes, that's right. Why don't you think I have one?
AJ: I dunno.....I think's it's becawse you are a goyle (girl).
Me: You're exactly right. Thanks for telling me.
AJ (walking away): You're welcome.

As Promised.....

Photos of the ever-elusive Steve-o, on the eve of his 30th birthday. :)
The entire "shoot" took all of 6 minutes - and he hated every one of them.

I am Sooooo clever.
LOL :)

This was his reaction when I told him to stare directly into the camera and "look badass"

:)

Birth Day.....30 Years to Date

Let's start things off by talking about...well, ME.

Steve and I both have milestones birthdays this year.....turning thirty.
THIRTY.
Leaving the comfort of our 20's in our wake, we drop the "young" off "young adult" and I suppose that now we're just.....well, regular adults. It somehow seems so much more serious and imposing.
While I approach this milestone with alternating bouts of depression and sheer panic - Steve on the other hand is very calm and nonchalant about it.

So, how do you feel about turning 30 next week?
Fine, doesn't bother me at all.

Can you believe that in 3 days you'll be THIRTY?
Yeah, I guess so. It doesn't seem that different to me.

(20 minutes before the clock strikes midnight and his birthday is official): You STILL feeling good about turning 30?
Yeah, I feel fine. It really doesn't bother me. You're going to let me sleep in tomorrow right?

Okay, he didn't actually SAY that last part. But he was thinking it.

So today....as he's sleeping in, as a 30 year old - I draw courage from his calmness about the whole thing. Maybe turning 30 ISN'T that big of a deal, ...maybe you're NOT knocking on death's door, maybe you're NOT leaving behind your inerrant coolness to pick up the nerdiness of being a mom, a dad, a responsible parent. He's still cool, right? He's still a fantastic dad, a great coach, a beloved teacher. A loving husband, a levelheaded man, a fair parent, a fun guy. Nothing has changed between yesterday and today, save for a number to tag as his age.

So to my husband....my 30 YEAR OLD husband: Happy Birthday - I love you more than you know and I'm glad I've got to spend the last 12 years of my life knowing you.
And I'm glad I'm still younger than you for another 6 months.
:)
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Side bar: Stay tuned for PICTURES of Steve on his monumental birthday. He's letting me take some pictures tonight to document the occasion of another decade of his life. Okay....so "letting me" is a bit of a stretch. It's more like I'm making him, and he's not complaining TOO loudly about it. Should be fun. :)

Twilight

So all the hype about Twilight....I watched as Steve's students, former students, athletes, my former athletes OBSESSED over this book series. Then a few of my adult friends started saying how good they were, everyone's so excited for the movie, blah, blah, blah. You would think it was the apocalypse of literary genius the way everyone was talking....it created buzz like the Harry Potter series.

So on Friday night, I caved to the peer pressure and bought the book. Started it Sat a.m. and finished it Sunday afternoon. It was a good book - interesting story, characters that pull you in, mindless enjoyable book consumption. So last night I went to see the movie, and what a disappointment. Usually movies are never as good as the books that inspired them, but i thought that the Twilight movie totally missed the mark. I would guess that most people who saw the movie without reading the book wouldn't have cared for the movie at all. They glossed over so much, filled in gaps with additional material NOT in the book (I HATE that), sped through important dialogues for the sake of time, etc. etc. With Twilight grossing over 70 million at the box office this weekend, I think it's too bad that they didn't just make the movie a little longer and kept in more of the key elements that create the foundations for the story.
I WILL say that they did an outstanding job of casting.....Robert Pattinson who plays Edward Cullen (the vampire) is described in the book as an otherworldly type of beautiful. Compelling, but almost shocking to look at. Pattinson (also played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter movies) himself is a gorgeous piece of man, but when you add in the hair and makeup to make him look like a vampire? They totally hit the nail on the head - he WAS otherworldly, compelling...beautiful. He justified the movie for me because well...he's nice to look at for 2 hours. I think he's this next generation's Brad Pitt. YUM.

My overall impression? The books are good. They are romance novels geared towards young adults (I can see why highschool girls are batty over them) so the reading level makes for a quick and easy read. The movie's okay -IF you read the books and are interested in the story and the actualization of the characters on film.....if you haven't read the book: skip the movie - you'll miss out on a lot.

If you like stories about vampires and fantasy-type fiction, a more "adult" type book along those lines would be The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I read it a few years back when I worked at Books A Million. It took me a LONG time to read - it's a pretty thick book - but it's more along the lines of a DaVinci Code-esque suspense/thriller following a mystery surrounding Dracula. Did you know that legends of Dracula have some elements of historical truth to it?? Vlad the Impaler, a cruel Romanian ruler from the 15th Century inspired Bram Stoker's famous novel, and stories and legends about vampires have been around for centuries. True story. Google it if you're bored one day. :)

So that's my history lesson, movie review, book review and book recommendation for the day.
Happy Monday!

I've Got Christmas on the Brain Again

And I saw this video this morning and found it inspiring. Sometimes it's hard to turn away from the traditional American ideals of what Christmas should be, but when I see videos like this it encourages me.

Kindof Dying...and Kindof Not

We all Wish We Could Be Them

In case you're not privy to the cool world of photography/photographers, here's a fun trip that you can follow along with.

12 Rockstars of the Photography World, the self-titled Mammoth Men, embark on an annual roadtrip across the West on a huge tourbus. Their pictures rock, they're freaking hilarious, and pretty much every guy photographer worth his rocks wants to BE them.
And the girls WISH they were guys so they could be them too. Self included.

Every day, readers get to vote on the group's adventures...they do giveaways, they twitter, they do man things, they photograph EVERYTHING. It's tons of fun to read and follow along with them, and wish you had a smidgeon of their coolness.
I'm not easily impressed by, well, anything....but these guys?? ROCK MY SOCKS.

Check 'em out for some good reading and awesome pics.

Mammoth Men Blog

Weird Tuesday

How 'bout some weird things to amuse you this Tuesday morning?

I've said before that I love me some Etsy. You can find all sorts of awesome handmade stuff on there (I should do a post JUST on Etsy sometime), so don't let this taint your view of it. But in case you have cats, and are thinking they might enjoy a Knitted Tampon Catnip Toy....well, you can find it on Etsy.













Let's see....then there's the man who carved a carrot into a clarinet and then played it. Why spend money buying your kid expensive instruments when you can just make them yourself from produce??




I don't even know WHAT to say about the Fetus Cookie Cutter. What are they trying to say? Is it some sort of political statement? Just had a whim to create a strange shape with which to cut your cookies?? Weird, Weird, WEIRD.

And then there's this. Our dear friend Clint - who's apparently played one too many games of Guitar Hero. And I'm quite certain that he wasn't even drinking when this photo was taken. He's just that weird.

(Thanks to Cassie - I swiped the pic from her Facebook profile. :)


That's all I've got....got anything weird to add?

A First: Tyler-ism

This morning Tyler opens the top drawer of my dresser, stands up on his tippy toes and reaches his arm down in there and starts digging around.
After a minute or two, he pulls out a bra - examines it closely and then pops it up on his head like a yarmulke and announces: "HAT!"
He turns, balancing it carefully, and toddles from the room saying "hat. hat. hat" as he walks away.

LOL :)

Days with My Father

Enough about me....you must go to this site and click through the slideshow. It's powerful. And moving.

Days with My Father

Personality Testing....a.k.a. Procrastinating on My Work

I'll blame it all on Ness, at Happiness is a Butterfly, for leading me to this personality test.
Here's the results.
I'm dying to know....Do you think this sounds like me?

Healers present a calm and serene face to the world, and can seem shy, even distant around others. But inside they're anything but serene, having a capacity for personal caring rarely found in the other types. Healers care deeply about the inner life of a few special persons, or about a favorite cause in the world at large. And their great passion is to heal the conflicts that trouble individuals, or that divide groups, and thus to bring wholeness, or health, to themselves, their loved ones, and their community.

Healers have a profound sense of idealism that comes from a strong personal sense of right and wrong. They conceive of the world as an ethical, honorable place, full of wondrous possibilities and potential goods. In fact, to understand Healers, we must understand that their deep commitment to the positive and the good is almost boundless and selfless, inspiring them to make extraordinary sacrifices for someone or something they believe in. Set off from the rest of humanity by their privacy and scarcity (around one percent of the population), Healers can feel even more isolated in the purity of their idealism.

Also, Healers might well feel a sense of separation because of their often misunderstood childhood. Healers live a fantasy-filled childhood-they are the prince or princess of fairy tales-an attitude which, sadly, is frowned upon, or even punished, by many parents. With parents who want them to get their head out of the clouds, Healers begin to believe they are bad to be so fanciful, so dreamy, and can come to see themselves as ugly ducklings. In truth, they are quite OK just as they are, only different from most others-swans reared in a family of ducks.

At work, Healers are adaptable, welcome new ideas and new information, are patient with complicated situations, but impatient with routine details. Healers are keenly aware of people and their feelings, and relate well with most others. Because of their deep-seated reserve, however, they can work quite happily alone. When making decisions, Healers follow their heart not their head, which means they can make errors of fact, but seldom of feeling. They have a natural interest in scholarly activities and demonstrate, like the other Idealists, a remarkable facility with language. They have a gift for interpreting stories, as well as for creating them, and thus often write in lyric, poetic fashion. Frequently they hear a call to go forth into the world and help others, a call they seem ready to answer, even if they must sacrifice their own comfort.

Princess Diana, Richard Gere, Audrey Hephurn, Albert Schweiter, George Orwell, Karen Armstrong, Aldous Huxley, Mia Farrow", Mikhael Gorbachev, Oprah Winfreyand Isabel Meyers are examples of a Healer Idealists.

Eating Apples

Tyler is my wild man.
I've said before that "he's awful" or "he drives me bonkers" because well....a lot of times he does. And is.
Just this morning we had to pay plumbers to come out to the house and unclog the toilet because Tyler threw something down there. It was a rubber bathtoy/snail. The plumbers had a good chuckle from that one - I wiped away a tear as I wrote out the check. *sigh*

He requires most of my energy during the day and leaves me weary by bedtime. He is belligerent, stubborn, cheeky, demanding, fun, comedic, high energy, and into everything all the time. He demands 100% of my attention all the time - he rarely plays alone or quietly and requires constant attention and entertainment. He want to sit in my lap, or have me carry him, or tickle him, or read him books, or play with him ALL DAY LONG WITHOUT EVER STOPPING. For these reasons I simultaneously can't stand him and love him so much that I want to eat his little face. There's honesty for ya.

In many ways, he reminds me of myself, and of what I imagine that I was like as a child.

Today we had a good day.
He demanded, as always - but today I gave him all I had and it was amazing how happy we both were.
Just being together.

He worked on an apple the entire time I was taking these pictures

This one isn't in focus, BUT:
1) Tyler is hard to photograph because he NEVER holds still
2) I like it anyway. So there.

A total accident when he moved from the dark into the light of the window and I didn't have time to change my settings.
I think it was a happy accident.

He looks so big in this one, with his long lean legs and his mouth full of apple.

The wings...I'm mildly obsessed with the wings.....

This is one of Tyler's favorite tricks. He does this to his brothers and it totally infuriates them (and it annoys daddy too). He goes up to the tv armoire and pushes the button to turn off the television. Then he turns around and grins at whoever was watching tv and runs away.

Well.....I feel Awkward

I've had a couple of awkward moments the last couple days, which I don't care to talk about.

BUT....you know what I WILL talk about??

How freaking HARD it is to coordinate clothing for my OWN family photo shoot! I had Erica come over the other day and I hit the mall with the grand intentions of buying some stuff for us to wear when we do our annual family photo shoot next month and I left the mall with.....a set of earrings that I got on sale for $1 and some striped arm warmers from Rue21. Not exactly successful.

I truly know that I am disconnected from the the hip clothing and fashion world when I find myself looking at pictures/displays in the stores for ideas of how to piece together outfits. Fashion-savvy I am not, but I had to find SOMETHING for us to wear. Finally, with the mall about to close and me wandering aimlessly through Gap I called Casey and whined for a bit to him about how he had to heelllllppppppp mmeeee........*whine, whine, whine* because I am a totally clothing boob, and he (as we all know) is quite the fashion whore.

I never knew the agony of my clients as they prepared for photo shoots....do you all go through this torture of coordinating clothing ensembles or is it just me??

I Shall Order 10 of Them Right Now

Despair.com takes all of those inspiring motivational-type slogans and posters that you see in offices and gyms and reworks them into sarcastic, snarky ones....so obviously they appeal to me greatly.

I especially love the tshirts so I will be adding some to my Christmas list. :)

A Lovely Fall Day

Yesterday took the boys to Chehaw for a picnic and some fun at the park and the "zoo". The weather couldn't have been more perfect and it was nice to get out for an afternoon of fresh air and good times with my 3 favorite little boys. :)
Sorry for the watermark on some of these....I posted them on my biz blog too so I stamped 'em. :)

We were having fun doing some self-portraits...

His Wings

After Tyler gets a bath, or after he wakes from a nap, his hair flips up around his ears. It's one of my favorite things about him - his little wings. :)

Flat Lining

Seems like all the blogs I read are flat-lining lately.....and so is mine.
Apparently, people don't have much to say these days. :)

I don't have much to say either, but check out this weird jewelry from this chick on Etsy. If you've never heard of Etsy, then you are TOTALLY missing out. Seriously....hide my debit card if I log on to that site, because I will clear my bank account. :)
Anyway....kindof Creepy.....but cool, in my ever-so-humble opinion.
What do you think of it?

About a Boy

Hates:
Vegetables.
Cleaning his room.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The "Blueberry Girl" is especially distressing)
Getting his hair cut.
Spiders.

Loves:
Lizards.
StarWars.
Thomas the Tank Engine.
His spongebob underpants.
"Smarshmallows"
Playing Super Mario Brothers, especially with his daddy.
Tacos.
Erica.
The Phantom of the Opera.
Being tickled under his armpits.
Having his daddy put him to bed.
Books.

Is Usually:
Getting into mischief.
Being a good big brother.
Smiling.
Rummaging around the refrigerator.
Pulling his hands up to his chin.
Getting Crayola marker on his fingertips.
Asking for a "big bowl of popcorn".

Is always:
The first one to wake up in the morning.
Thinking creatively
The first one to whine about having to go on a bike ride
Bossing around his brothers.
Drawing pictures
LOUD.
Sensitive.
My first baby.

And he's six years old today, though I can hardly believe it.

Happy Birthday Owen
I love you to the moon and back.

Conversations with AJ

Last night, at the pet store in the mall:
Looking at some puppies, who come up to the window and start jumping and biting at them through the glass:
Owen: oooohhhh! They're so CUTE!
AJ: Oh look! They love me!
Owen: Can we get one mama?
AJ (sadly): We can't, Owen. Daddy doesn't like puppies.

LOL! :)

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Last night, right before falling asleep:

AJ: Mama, we need a goyle baby (girl baby)
Me: We do? Why is that?
AJ: Because we don't have one!
Me: Well, what would we do with a girl baby in this house?
AJ: Love her, and rock her, and pway wif' her.
Me: Hmmm.....maybe. We don't have much room for a baby here. Our house is pretty full with 3 boys, don't you think?
AJ: No, we have room for more.
(thinking)
She can stay in our room!! IS that a great idea?
Me: It's a brilliant idea. We'll talk about it some more another day. Goodnight.
AJ: G'night.

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This morning, AJ was watching one of those weird/gross cartoons on Cartoon Network. One of the characters loudly farted (freaking hilarious, apparently - although I usually miss the humor). I puckered my face up in disdain and looked over at AJ with the stink eye.
He looks back and says, "WELL!?! It wasn't ME!"
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Today, driving in the car - AJ notices the speed limit sign as we drive by and announces it to the car.
"The speed limit is firty here!"
{no one responds}
AJ (louder): I SAID, THE SPEED LIMITS IS FIRTY!!
Me: Okay AJ, thanks.
AJ: Are you goin' firty, mama?
Me: Yup, I'm going 30.
AJ: Lemme see
Me: You can't - you have to stay buckled in your seat.
AJ: Or the po-leese will get me.
Me: Yup.
AJ: And they'll catch me, and get me, and take me away........to the dentist.

(click to enlarge)

Random Thoughts on a Monday Afternoon

Why We Can't Have More Kids:

This morning, the boys were up at 5:40 a.m. (dang that Daylight Savings) so I got up and made breakfast before school. In one, hour-long time frame, they consumed the following:

6 Waffles
3.5 bowls of cereal
Approximately 1/4 gallon of cow's milk
1 cup of Almond Milk
A good deal of O.J.
And I'm fairly certain that before I got out of bed they snuck some Halloween candy from the top shelf of the pantry.

My 5 year old, 4 year old, and 1 year old.
ATE ALL THESE THINGS.
And this is why we can have no more.
Because if they keep eating like this, we'll have to start eating paint chips for snacks between meals.
Just to make the groceries last longer.

And before you say it Megan, yes, I KNOW that it only gets worse.

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On Talking Southern and Other Speech Related Matters:

Further evidence that Owen is talking like a southerner, yesterday he announced to us that it was his turn to take something to school for "show and tail". This was after he counted out 10 of his trains:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, TIN"
Meanwhile, AJ has apparently taken on the speech of a Bostonian/Brooklyn-ite (it's a mix between the two), saying things like "I need a glass of wata-uh" or "let's play cahhhs (cars)" or "Cooper is our dauwg"

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Do You Read My Biz Blog?
If not, then how come?
Help me come up with some topics for my Photography 101 series. I'm going to try to post something once a week along the lines of a tutorial or tips 'n tricks type thing, but I'm not really sure where to start. Last week I did just a general "How to take better photos of people" type of post, but this week I'd like to start in on something slightly more in-depth. Any ideas?

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What's going on with all of you guys?