Through the Eyes of Lyla

 

Lyla's first photography show. 

Give her some love by leaving a comment and I will be sure to read them to her.

And yes that is a mannequin. Her name is Gertie and she lives with us. I will do a meet and greet with her in another post.

hair, hair, everywhere

So I did it. With a little inspiration from Cassidy and Tracy and coordinating kid swapping w/Brook... I chopped off all my hair and donated it to locks of loves. It feels good to have a change and not get hair in Cora's face every time I nurse.  Hhhmmm... it makes me feel like  I am getting ready for the slowly approaching spring & summer.

Although for those that know me... are aware of my incredibly thick hair... and I have a lot of it. So anytime I get a haircut it involves A LOT of thinning. By the time she was done there was another wig laying on the floor. So thick course hair also means it has a mind of its own when it gets short enough to take control again. So of course after a shower last night and going to bed with wet hair... I woke up this morning with rooster bangs and tidal wave coming over the left side of my head. A little flock of seagullish. As Mike is literally pulling me out of bed at 6:30 this morning (this is the only way I am able to wake up... he has to pull me to my feet:) he casually says... "wow your hair still looks good."  He is just so funny...

(pic added 3/17)

OK... OK... a picture. I really tried to post a picture Lyla had taken of me but my vanity over ruled my motherly love. You gotta love these self portraits... it is black & white so you don't notice the bags under my eyes as much:)

Finding your spot

So it has been one week and one day since I gave up TV. 

Is my life richer, fuller, calmer? Probably too soon to tell. My house is still a disaster so the extra time has not gone into cleaning. I might have replaced TV with computer time... but I guess that is good for all you grandparents out there... more blog entries.

It has been difficult finding someplace to go when Mike is watching TV... I am looking forward to finishing Lyla's room so I can create my "craft closet" in the other room. For those of you who don't know - ever since we moved into this house Lyla has been patiently waiting for her "princess" room. And we have slowly worked on it as time and funds allow. I am keeping ample pictures of the progress so I am sure I will post about it soon. The end of the princess project is coming near. I am excited to soon have my own "spot" where it can be quiet, creative, and inspiring. Everyone needs their own little nest to smooth their feathers, sharpen their beak, and dream about one day finding the big worm in the sky. 

How about you guys... do you have your own nest/spot? Where is it? What does it look like? 

OK, OK I have a confession. I watched Lost last night. Good I'm glad that is out in the open... now we can all move on.

Poop, Nails, and Garden Journals

Today Keenan pooped on the hallway carpet. 

It all started with  him helping me do the dishes. He is so enthusiastic about washing dishes that I always strip him down to a diaper and put about a gazillion towels under him. Today he was even more enthusiastic than usual and his diaper exploded from all the water dripping down into it. So somewhere between me directing him to his room to get dressed and clean up, picking up the towels, and mopping up all the water (by the way this is the ONLY time my floor ever gets cleaned:)... Lyla had found a box of finishing nails and dumped them in the middle of the hallway to play with them (yes cursing Mikey right about now.)

So Keeny on the way to his room passes this extremely enticing mountain of nails and decides to stop and play awhile with his sister. He must have been pretty engaged and relaxed because he pooped... on the carpet... and the nails. This is about when I walk in on the scene of spilled nails... and poop. Poop on spilled nails.

Have you ever tried to pick up those tiny finishing nails from the carpet? One by one. 

Now add poop to the equation.

So after much cleaning and window opening (did I mention it was 20 degrees today?) we pushed on to our activity... Garden Journals. And I am so glad we did because it made me forget all about the poop and dream forward to the sweet smelling flowers of Spring.

I had the kids glue collages of things they wanted in their garden this year... we looked through gardening books... then we all made wish lists. I'm writing their wishes below. Thought it was cute.

Keenan's Garden Wish List

1. Fruit

2. Sticks

3. A Yellow Leaf

Lyla's Garden Wish List

1. Leaves

2. A girl

3. Pumpkin

4. Flowers

5. Birdbath

My Garden Wish List ( I am really only putting mine on here for the benefit of the Hippy NY Joyces... r u reading this Uncle Thom or are you still mad at me for leaving Myspace.)

1. Herbs

2. Birdbath/Birdhouse

3. Snap Pea Teepee

4. Bocci ball or horse shoe

5. Lettuce

6. Sunflowers

7. Rhubarb

8. Uncle Thom's Art (Just because a girl elopes in snowshoes doesn't mean she shouldn't have the wedding gift she has dreamt about ever since she was a wee lass learning to go weewee next to a certain station wagon. And yes... all five of you boys... it still pains and hurts me how much you laughed at me for not knowing how to go pee outside... hello I grew up in Tampa. People in Tampa don't learn how to do that until college. Proud to say Lyla is a pro at peeing in the woods:) Oh I digress.....

Anyways... garden journals...so much fun. Although I think I enjoyed it more than the kids.

I want you all to check out the Artist Within under my "Things I'm Lovin".... I promise it will be worth the two and half minutes.

Decided not to post pictures of the poop. I will post the garden journal pics later... I am having camera issues.

More of the Dog Park

 
 
 
 

Dog Park

One of our favorite things to do... head to the dog park and let Budda and the kids run wild. It always helps to get the Winter Wigglies out. 

 
 
 
 

Lost without Lost

Mike and I's favorite time of day is 7:00pm. The kiddos are snuggled in their beds and we lazily retreat to the basement to sink into the couch and never rise again. The dishes usually stay stacked in the sink, laundry unfolded, and toys still on the floor... the only nanobit of energy left is expelled walking down the stairs to actually get to the couch. 

The best time in the whole week is Wednesday's at 8:00pm. Lost is on. For one hour we escape to an island where matchbox cars, princess dresses, and fruit snacks don't exist. This last Wednesday was one of those days in particular... right around 7:30 the kids were snug in bed... I was contemplating a perfect Lost snack... Cora was primed and ready to nurse the whole hour so as not to make a peep... my favorite down blanket was waiting for me to curl under... and then it hit me - It was ASH Wednesday!! For weeks I had been telling Mike I was going to give up TV for Lent. And now here it was... well now I had to stick to it. So I left my favorite blankie on the floor and Cora and I headed for the bedroom. 

You would think my wonderful husband would have come in and offered to give up TV as well so we could have long in depth conversations, play games, paint, write poetry...... but no he took my favorite blanket and snack and shouted  - "I'll tell you what happens." You would also think after he heard my whimpers coming from the bedroom that he might come and give me a play by play... was the island still flashing, was Locke still dead????? Nope... I never saw Mike again that night... with nothing to do Cora and I went to bed.

So my journey begins 40 days without TV... can someone who stays home all day survive? I'll keep you posted.

Carefree Cora

 

full of smiles and gurgly giggles

fresh and oh so new to the world

bugeyed wonder

snuggler

smells so sweet

happy and content

loves when big brother & big sister fawn all over her

does NOT like to sleep by herself

keeps Mama smilin' all day long:)

Love to my Cora Lovie... I can't wait to hold all your babies one day. 

Keeping Up With Keenan

 

no fear

sensitive

loves to laugh

stubborn

curious

cookie monster

should wear a helmet 24/7

funny

hates to be in trouble

climbs anything and everything

banana eating monkey

smart

Love to my Keeny Lovie... I can't wait to watch you at the Xgames someday.

Lyla Love

 

the first born

stubborn

mother hen

creative

huge imagination... HUGE

persistent

a dancer

a singer

a performer

humbles me EVERY single day

cuddles, cuddles, cuddles

dilly dally, dilly dally, DILLY DALLY

pack rat

remembers everything

strong, tough, brave

love to my little Lyla lovie... I can't wait to one day get post cards from all your exotic travels and adventures around the world.

 

In the Name of Love

Today is our wedding anniversary. 

Saturday is Valentine's Day.

In honor of these momentous occasions the next few posts will be sappy and sentimental.

Time to spread a little love to all my lovies:)

And thank you to everyone for your kind words and comments.

Happy Anniversary

 

What I love about Mikey...

laughing everyday

strong hands and popeye forearms

handy around the house

sense of empathy

breakfast scramble and sleeping in

driving me EVERYWHERE

campfires, hikes, taking deep breaths in the woods

wedding ring tattoo

his beautiful family that helped mold him into the man he is today

loving my beautiful family and letting my Mom stay for 6 weeks

mohawks

bundling, bundling, and bundling for winter wonderland fun

blue collar

chicken alfredo dinner

putting up with barking budda

lyla, keenan, and cora

and most of all...

dreaming together... cabin on the lake, canoe trips with the kids, kitchen renovations, and flying our kid's college colors.

Happy Anniversay

Love,

Me

Why am I Always the Monster?

Everyday I am assaulted with pillows, flying socks, and nerf apparatuses.

The games begin with the kids assigning parts. Lyla is the mom or princess... Keenan is the dad or princess... and I am ALWAYS the monster. They spend the rest of the day hiding from the monster, hissing at the monster, fighting off the horrendous, hideously, horrible monster.

"Get away monster!"

I can only guess what they are imagining in those little heads when they attack my leg with an Elmo doll. Am I big and fury... scaly and fire breathing... slimy and drooly? Whatever they envision I am always the enemy.

Just once I would love for them to say...

"Mom today you can be the kind fair maiden who rescues puppies & kittens." 

or 

"Mom, you are the patient, loveable fairy who sprinkles happiness wherever she goes."

Even better...

"Mom you are too beautiful and kind to play a monster."

or

"Mom you are too beautiful and skinny to play a monster."

Why can't Mike or our big fury dog be the enemy?

OK... I have to go. I was just attacked because they said I ate their phone?!?! Time to go breathe fire.

Winter Wonderland?

Yes... it is beautiful. 

Yes... I appreciate all the snow after growing up without any. 

Yes... it would not be a "real" Christmas without it. 

No... I do not look forward to bundling up these two princesses and one monkey to venture into the beauty. The couch is so soft and warm and Dora oh so entertaining.

Mike is so much better at it than I. Almost everyday he comes home from work and bundles them up to go play in the winter wonderland.  Just one of the things I love about him.

Did you know that one of the theories of why a flamingo stands on one leg is to conserve body heat. How smart. Even in tropical climates they are working on staying even warmer.

OK... here I go. Potty, Bundle, Potty again, Bundle again... then we are all headed outside. The kids will frolic in the snow while I stand on one leg.

(photos courtesy of Mimi Flo:)

Babies and Holidays

No I have not yet sent out Christmas gifts or cards. The gifts I am working on ... the cards I have given up on. I have finally accepted the fact that babies and holidays don't always mix. This is about how our winter goes.... Cora born, Thanksgiving, Lyla Bday, Christmas, Keenan Bday, New Years, Mike Bday.... then Breathe. I have got to stop having babies near the holidays. So I am posting some fun holiday pics that never made it to you in a letter.

Dear Family & Friends,

We had another baby.

Love Always,

The Heads