green mango madness

Sometimes it's hard to make sure the kiddos get enough veggies each day.  Heck, who am I kidding?  Sometimes it's hard to make sure I get enough veggies each day.  For  Christmas we got an amazing refurbished Blendtec Blender from Tony's Parents and it has totally changed our lives.  We are lean mean smoothie making machines! (Actually, as a warning, if you invest in this your husband may or may not try to blend every single meal into a smooth slurry... We've made pancakes, waffles, soups, hummus, brownies and of course smoothies.  I've stopped the random experiments to blend chicken bones and odd misfit toys.)

back in the saddle

Oh hello there blog land.  It's been awhile... did you miss us?  I totally missed you and all of the escape and joy that writing can bring - not to mention the fact that this is one of the only places that I consistantly shared and documented the amazing going-ons of our lovley little household.  It's been over a year, and what a year it's been - I won't go all crazy and try to recap - though there may be the occasional flash back post now and again.  I make no promises.

little love trees

I was so inspired by the success of last weeks little craft-scapade that I spent much of the next week seeking out an additional love inspired project for my budding artists.  Presenting week two of valentines crafts;  the little love tree!

dusting

It goes without saying that when parents are prepared for an event - it most likely will not happen.  Thats why we drive around with tiny potties, diapers, first aid kits, extra granola bars, and applesauce packs in our car.  It's why at the end of each season we pack up four pairs of hardly used snow boots to send to good will.  Our little part of the world is nestled between two rather cozy hills - and those hills do all they can to keep massive amounts of snowfall off of our streets - to the dismay of every school age student in the county.  

The first winter that the girls could "play" in the snow we regaled ourselves with a multitude of mittens, hats, pants, coats, and boots.  I believe we used them once.  The year after , if memory serves,  we were startling unprepared (discouraged by the lack of snow the prior year), as such we missed the biggest snow of the season.  It seems the more prepared we were for snow, the less snow we got.  So, much to the disappointment of four little kiddos on Rosebud Street, four new pairs of goulashes complete with winter welly socks have been sitting unused.  Until this Sunday!

they're crafty

Man I love me some Pinspiration!  When it comes to holiday crafts for the kiddies, it's my go-to for some quick ideas that may help me occupy my favorite artists for a few moments on a given Saturday.  I came across this adorable little penguin craft a few weeks ago and it was just the inspiration I needed to get me back in crafty mommy mode after a long hiatus.  

shadows of the past

I let it happen again - I blinked and now three months have passed - three pretty fabulous months full of amazing moments that I am now relying on my faulty memory to recall dusty details decades from now.  Please, please, please let me remember SOME of it!

2013 is here - how - I'll never know.  Minutes pass (and I find I forget to eat breakfast), Hours pass - I should definitely make a bathroom stop. Weeks - laundry again.  Months - wow, I accomplished precious little in the last 30 days, and now a whole new year.   Before I get all weepy and sad for posterity (which is inevitable for me I'm afraid - the new year brings hope, but also it fills me with remorse for the millions of things I should have done or could have done differently) I thought I would share some of the  visual memories I hope to preserve from last year - even if I don't have a written dialogue to go with it.  When I think back on 2012 these are some of the pictures that appear as faded watercolors in my mind.

a song of summer

I have never figured out how it happens... after years of trying... I blink my eye once in June and when I open them it's the end of September.  Nearly 3 months have passed since I last wrote of life here at 1010 Rosebud.  Nearly 3 months of giggles, tears, milestones, and thrown stones.    Wasn't it only yesterday that Bella was bouncing high on Uncle Adam and Aunt Laura's trampoline?  Somehow when she landed she was back in preschool and months away from carefree summer evenings.  Time flies in the blink of an eye.  And though it was never my intention to allow such a long lapse in writing about our lives, I must say that at least part of my absence was somewhat intentional.  It occurred to me somewhere along the way that it was possible that my writing about my four little loves may actually be getting in the way of me actually being with them.  My desire to capture every nuance of their lives became another "have to" that sapped at least some of the joy of just watching.  Just listening.  Just being.  

going on two

Oh man oh man - we are in the throws of what I've affectionately dubbed the pre-two blues... With the girls, I found the even number years to be particularly enjoyable (0 - so sweet!, 2 - how adorably curious, 4 - we're just getting there, but the independence is inspiring to watch) - it was the second 1/2 of the odd number years that have you thanking natures ability to make children cute - because if they weren't you'd have sold them to the Gypsies long ago.  The boys are following in the same footsteps as their sisters, mimicking this pattern, but as the boys are want to do, they've taken the pattern spun it around in circles, built a tower with it, smashed it to the ground and then dissolved into tears.  They are the girls on speed and there's no break peddle on this bike.

big boy bed bonanza

The time has come, their parents said, to talk of many tales, of boys and girls, and sleepy time, of beds without a rail... The memorial day weekend was hot, and we had cleaned up the remains of their crib drawers for the last time (or so we thought).  Spurred into action by Alex's twice daily death-defying leaps over the side of his crib, Tony and I thought it time to finally covert their cribs to day beds once and for all - and hopefully spare the neck of our youngest child in the process.  While the kiddos had a wee sleep over at Mimi and PopPops, Tony took apart the cribs, I cleaned the bedding, we vacuumed, dusted, and got the big boy room all ready for its big reveal on Monday evening.  This, we thought, was the last reminder of our baby boys as we tearfully closed the door on the two toddlers laying bright eyed in their new beds.  If we could only have imagined just how many times that door would be slammed over the next two weeks we would have savored that peaceful nostalgic moment a bit more.

Daddy's Helper

It's one of the greatest mysteries on Rosebud Street.  The child who covers his ears if the conversation gets too loud - yet screams the loudest also runs terrified of the Vacuum - but insists on pushing the dust buster.  Each time the garbage disposal is turned on the little man runs to your side, looks up, eyes wide and says "dada okay? okay dada?"  The same situation with the hair dryer.  And he absolutely will not leave your side until the sound has abated and he is assured of your well being.  He cries at loud horns.  Runs for your arms when neighbors cut their grass... so why is it that when Tony cut the grass this weekend, Jackson followed along until daddy had no choice but to let Jack help too.

Full Bloom

I'm sure that you're just about as sick of garden posts are you are puke posts - but what can I say - that's what the last few weeks have been - puking inside, garden outside.  Hurray for you though, this time, I pick garden. 

I can't say just what it is that I find so captivating about our little garden this spring.  Out of curiosity I looked back over the last few years of photo archives and as I suspected - not a one.  So why this year?  Is the garden better?  Perhaps.  It's certainly fuller - lusher.  Could also be that the last few years of my life are a blur, so I didn't actually ever really notice the garden aesthetically before.  But I think it's something more - if you'll forgive my blatant sentimentality, I think I associate the garden with my children.

little necks

 Of all the baby parts that I love to love - I believe that my absolute favorite is little baby necks.  At times I feel I'm almost obsessed with them - pulling their collars aside to give them a nuzzle.  Their little necks are always so warm, so soft, so perfect.  Every time I see on of the babies like this I marvel at their straight, strong backs, that little curve from their neck to shoulder - the line of their arm as it presses against their side.  My fingers itch to grap a pencil and sketch them - see if I can create that curve again.  At times the desire to do so is so strong it's almost painful - and yet I've refrained from doing so, because something tells me that my re-creation attempts could never come close to the original.

Touch A Truck

I had been feeling quite neglectful with the kiddos lately - like we never DO anything or GO anywhere... never mind that it is like preparing for battle just to leave the front door - I mean, will these kids have any memories of things that are not at the home of a family member?  Now they will!  Hurray!  Enter Touch a Truck!  A fabulously priced fundraiser from the Junior League tipped off to me by the lovely Mrs. Kaufmann who has helped organize the event for the last few years.

Watching Daddy Go

I so wish that I could have snapped this particular photo with a high res. camera and that I could have recorded the boys voices as they called bye bye to Daddy on this morning. It could have been any morning really. They do this nearly every day as Daddy goes to work - pad to the door after him and then get a bit teary as they press their noses to the window and call for their favorite guy to come back.  They wave and cry and yell bye bye for a few moments and their Nono comes to the rescue.  He lifts them up high so they can watch Daddy's work truck dive away and then cleverly distracts them by pointing out trucks and cars on the street, birds in the front yard, and clouds in the sky.

A Little Bit Prep

My OCD comes out of the closet when I get the kids dressed in the morning.  It's a real problem.  Whenever possible, I like to dress all of them (and myself, if possible) in co-ordinating hues, trends, or layers as though we're all on our way to a photo shoot.  The shit of it is, I hardly ever manage to get a picture of all the kids together, so it really is a wasted effort on my part.  I can tell myself this, but when the opportunity arises, I will pull out polo shirts for everyone (skinny jeans and a navy izod sweater for mommy), and I will feel great about the organized and picture perfect start of our day.

I Can't Believe He Ate The Whole Thing...

Originally posted Tuesday, April 3, 2012

 Proving that I really have no idea what my kids will eat:  Jackson, following a morning bowl of oatmeal, two banana's, and grapes, proceeded to climb on top of the table, grab an apple, and eat the whole freaking thing.  To the core.

A trip to the ER

Originally posted on Saturday, March 31, 2012

It was bound to happen sooner or later - we've ben lucky so far, really.  It just seemed an odd coincidence that this happened almost exactly a year after my trip to the ER for a kidney infection.  Both incidents happened the day after Mimi and PopPop flew to California to visit with Aunt Ben and Uncle Brooke.  This particular incident happened approximately 24 hours after Mimi gave us a hug good bye and said "now try to stay out of the ER this time".

A Little Flash Back

Originally posted on Friday, March 23, 2012

While perusing our old blog, I happened upon these postings of the four kids from this time last year.  You don't always realize how much they change until you see it smacking you in the face.  I thought perhaps the family would enjoy this little time warp as much as I did.

Co-Sleeping

The boys...  (co-starring my shoes)

You guys, I did it... I snuck in at night and caught Alex and Jack sleeping in the same crib!  It was all for you, Aunt Sallie!  Picture taking was a bit rough - as it was DARK!, but you can hopefully absorb some of the adorable quotient here...

Spring on the Deck

Originally published on Monday, March 12, 2012

This moment of brotherly joy brought to you today by Jackson and Alexander.  A little sunshine, a folding chair, a push toy and lots of smiles.  The two boys were out here for over an hour, giggling and playing as happy as could be.  Even though financially I occasionally regret putting on the deck, I simply cannot argue with the benefits it has brought to us as a family