365 days 14-16

1-28-12

I took this just before bed. My skin hates cold and flu season.

1-29-12

Searching. The Dude took a necklace of mine and hid it somewhere in my room. I think. The necklace that has all the charms my bridesmaids hid on my wedding dress. GAH.

1-30-12

Surprise! Our recent bouts of the plague made our Monday morning look bleak. Until I threw the kids into the bath with shaving cream and water guns.

Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I slept past 4am.  The sicknesses, the finicky Dude have all conditioned my body to wake up and stay up.  This morning it was 3am.  I lay there, wheezing and cursing my brain as I try to count backwards from 100 but get lost around 70 every ^%$^%$# time because I start singing really dumb songs over and over and over in my head until the Dude starts yelling.  This is not a good use of 2 hours.  Or any hours.

You know those anniversary videos I do every year?  Each time when I sit down and start reviewing the pictures from the last year, I find barely any from January to April, and then each month has more and more until December explodes all over the place.  February?  Meh.  This is like the armpit of the year.  Cold, sick, BAH.  

There's a silver lining though - last fall my mom was planning a trip here and we decided instead of in the fall when we are all happy and snap-happy, we should save the visit for when I am desperate and miserable.  That's next week, woohoo!  I'm going to dress up all fancy for church and wear my new skirt.  That skirt deserves heels and I just can't wrangle both kids through church by myself in anything that looks remotely cute.

In conclusion, I found out the Dude is not the only toddler who uses his hair as a napkin.  And that made me feel better as a mother and human.

365 lucky 13

1-27-12

New skirt. I took a chance on a $9 skirt that I didn't have time to try on yesterday, and I scored! I also forgot to take this earlier and discovered the only decent lighting at 4:30pm is my bathroom. That does not have a full-length mirror, so you'll have to imagine it ending just bellow my knees.

space filler

Ug, this blog needs some kind of words.  The fact is, I have very few to give.  Things are all skewumpas and as soon as I have any clue about what is going on, I'll let you know.

What I CAN say is that WonderGirl is kind of freaking me out.  Where on earth did she get these brains???  She figured out that one of her new violin songs is just a variation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Something I was unaware of.  Although I've played Suzuki violin my entire life.  And am certified in the book those songs are in.  And have been teaching those 2 songs for over 10 years.  And no other violin teachers I've asked had noticed this before.  So I HAD to record it to show the world.  It's just OBVIOUS when think about it - how did I miss it for all those years??  Anywho, of course when I started recording she got a bit ham-like.  No more than usual.



Have I mentioned I adore her?  Cuz I do.

365 days 9-12

1-23-12

We represent the Lollipop Guild. Lots more ankle biters around these parts than usual.

1-24-12

Hello Sally. I found my glasses from high school *shudder*. I'm so glad I'm not a teenager.

 1-25-12

Maypleasehavecookie????

1-26-12

The tens of thousands of hours spent hanging off these pegs... totally worth it for today alone. Today, my 5 year old daughter improvised on the 12 bar blues. 

365 days 4 - 8

1-18-12

Change is on the horizon. All I can do is close my eyes and wait for impact. 

1-19-12

Life is slowly but surely slipping out of my control. I tried to take a picture with a slow exposure with my daughter running around me to show the blur I'm feeling, but as she did that my son walked up and poked the lens. He's the ghost in the left corner. I was going try again, but I knew it would be impossible. This fits.

 1-20-12

What in the world...? Today brought an unexpected blessing. Not a solution, but a blessing nonetheless.

1-21-12

Threadbare. My corduroys from college are within one wearing of being retired. Somehow that works on too many levels.

1-22-12

I tried to take a picture of my fabulous knee-high fuzzy socks, but WonderGirl got in the frame. She desperately needed to snuggle them, apparently.

yo

*pant pant*  I'm alive.  Life has been so uncertain and out-of-control that I've been having trouble breathing.  Also, all of us had the stomach bug, and then yesterday the Dude and I got sore throats. But then some good news came into day.  Not the good kind that lets me know where life is heading, but good enough that I got a second wind.  I'm still wearing my pajamas and my hair looks like a bird's nest, but I did a load of laundry and the dishes.   HOLLA.

As I was doing said dishes, I put on one of my favorite Turtle Island String Quartet CDs on and WonderGirl sat on a stool to keep me company while the Dude tried to crawl up the pantry.  After a bit, she asked thoughtfully "Mommy, is this Muvaldi's Four Seasons?"

Me... shock...listening...yes, this was a JAZZ arrangement of Vivaldi's Winter.  Goodness gracious.  How on earth did she know that??  So I'm feeling slightly better, when the Dude crashes to the ground.  I could tell by the sound it was probably just a flesh wound, so didn't turn around.  "Mommy," the Dude moaned.  "Owwwie elbow." He put it in my face and asked "may please have kiss?"

My daughter recognizes Vivaldi works.  My son knows where his elbow is. And what an elbow is.  I'm feeling so blessed with tender mercies right now I could just cry.  Wait, already did that.  Now I'm smiling.

It's your turn to smile.  I ran across a set of photos of men taking pictures in poses women typically do.

I love this for multiple reasons, not the least of which shows how ridiculous the idea of what attracts some males.  Sheesh.

Also,check out this pic of a closet that some awesome parents turned into a pirate ship:

I plan on being that awesome someday.

365 thingy

So I'm doing this 365 thing.  I'd been considering doing one, and then Elizabeth posted a thingy on FB - her friend is a photographer hosting a 365 thing and there are prizes.  I like prizes.  There are also prizes just for participating.  I like prizes for just participating.  

I'm a little on the fence about it because it's a 365 self-portrait thing, and the rule is we have to be IN every picture in some way.  It's kind of a challenge though, so I'm with it for now.  Plus he said if we did it we'd get better at this photography thing and I like being better at stuff.  I don't know if I'll post them all here, but you can see them on my Flickr page.

I'll be nice though and show you what I've done so far.

1-15-12

Today is my 7th wedding anniversary. 7 crazy years, and the sheer amount of trying to hang on shows in my hands. When I look at my ring, though - it makes me feel like he just gave it to me yesterday.

1-16-12

Up all night with sick kids plus being sick yourself earns a pass on the day.

1-17-12

I live in Lilliput.

sauce

For our anniversary, I gave husband a letter. The Dude threw up on him.  I think he liked my present better.

This was after WonderGirl was down for the last few days with the puking, so we were prepared.  Extra sheets on the bed for easier middle-of-the-night changing, an extra set of pajamas and blankets by the door, and we decided to take shifts sleeping on the futon in his room to catch the puking before he became a hopeless mess.

Husband took a successful shift until 3am (bless him!!) and then I tried.  But I was lucky enough to have gotten the bug too, so I laid there wound up like a cat ready to pounce every time I heard a sneeze or an "uuuunnngghhh," trying to ignore the fact that my stomach actually sounded like someone was boiling a pot of water in my abdomen.

Around 4 something he got up and said he was done and was ready to wake up.  Nuh-uh.  So he tried another approach, a snuggle?  Well, that at least would keep him quiet so the other household members sleep so I gave in, but it wasn't long before he was asking for water.  And when I tried to leave him there and just get him some, he cried, so I got to heave his enormous carcass to the kitchen.  THEN we got back in his room and he moaned sadly "I no want water, I want sauce."  Applesauce.  Really.  At 4 in the morning?

Me: No sweetie, just drink some water.

Dude:  NO WATER.

Me:  SSSHHHHHHHHHH!!  Just have a drink of water!

Dude:  No, *crying* water yucky I want sauce may I please sauce??

Me: No, have water.

Dude:  NOOOO.

Me:  SHHHHH water!

Dude: NOOOOO!

Me: SSSHHHHHwater!

Dude: NOOOOOOO!!

Me:  SHHHHHHHHH WATER!

*Poor husband woke up to the yelling but I sent him back to bed. This conversation continues for another few minutes and then...*

Me: Just have some water.

Dude:  *suddenly insanely cheerful*  Alright!  Okay!  Water!  sipsipsip yay water!  Are you happy?

Me:  ...uuunngggg... yes...

Dude: Sing Elmo's Song!  May I please have cookie?

Me:  HBJSWLHUEFUY&H$E

Somehow I managed to get up and get WG to school.  Late, but that's no different than normal.  We got home and I turned Sesame Street on, poured myself a bowl of cereal, and headed back to bed.  But the Dude heard the sound of food packaging and came running, so I took pity on him and poured him a bowl, expecting him to take it back to the TV, but he carefully carried it to the table, crawled into his chair and said "May I please milk?"  Ug, and those eyes.  You've never seen a sweeter sight.  I sat down at the table, poured his milk and he said "May I please have prayer?" and folded his arms.  OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.  I wanted to hate him for stealing all my sleep, but instead I sat there charmed to pieces and had breakfast with him while he yammered on about Elmo and cookies.

It was so blasted sweet, I HAD to get my camera, and at first sight of the camera he fled the scene.  The expression you see on his face is the this-is-my-cue-to-skeedadle face.

I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it through the next few weeks.  It would sure be nice to get a full night's sleep seeing as the rest of life is a big blurry mess, but given how everything else is going, I'm doubtful.

I'm going to go eat a cookie.

trooo wuv

I hope I don't make anyone sick with these graphic images.  But I feel this is a real issue that MUST be addressed.

THIS:

IS NOT LOVE. **shudder**

And call me a grinch, but I don't look up to this either:

I do appreciate the dress, though.   YUM.

Really, love isn't camera-ready most of the time.  It isn't well-orchestrated, it's a stumbling, climbing and tripping hike without a GPS.

It's being up at 2am with a sick child so the other parent can get some sleep.

It's not putting green peppers into your cooking because you are the only one who likes them.

It's actually cooking.  Sometimes even doing laundry.

It's waking up at 6am to shovel the driveway.

It's baking some chocolate chip cookies once the kids go down so you can have a moment together.  And then not eating the last cookie because you know the other one wants needs it more.

It's spending hours at church serving others, then coming home and making Sunday dinner for your family (and one or two others too).

It's spending 8 hours at a job that pushes your health and sanity to the limit, not because you want to be rich or get ahead, but because you take your responsibility to care for your family seriously.

It's not having everything you want, but getting everything you need.

It may not be as glamorous as this:

But it is beautiful in its unique way:

And it goes uphill from the wedding day, not downhill.

It's trying to get a nice picture together, and having him start giggling for some unknown reason about soy sauce.

It's being thankful, really thankful for what you have.   It's seven years for husband and I this Sunday.  I can hardly believe it.  I can also hardly believe how much we have both changed in the last seven years.   Yeah, real love means change.  And saying you're sorry.  Compromise.  Screwing the medicine bottle lids on all the way so when the next person grabs the children's Benadryl it doesn't spill all over their hands, the counter and the floor.  I'm working on that one.

I'm grateful for all the examples of true love I have in my life and blog stalking.  We may not be Hollywood, but we're all stars in my book!

lucky number seven

Year 7 from Reva Paget on Vimeo.

I think we'll call this year the Year Reva Got The Fancy Camera And Tried Hard To Take Nice Pictures And Posted Them ALL On Her Blog So This Is Just A Bunch Of Same 'Ol Same 'Ol To The Dedicated Blog Stalker Or My Mom.  But I do like it.  I was stumped for some kind of fabulous ending, when I thought about maybe having WonderGirl and I write a big number 7 with a sparkler in the dark basement.  Because it was dark, and also not 20 degrees down there.

Those of you who follow me on FB already know that this brilliant idea helped me learn a valuable lesson about where the smoke detector is in the basement.  And how to turn it off.  And also scared the snot out of me.

The best part was I was trying to talk WG into it, and she responded with- "Do you know how many matches it takes to burn a house down, Mom??"  Hmmm..  how many?

"ONE."  Firefighter Tom taught her a little too well at school this year.

Anywho, the resulting mess was just the touch I needed.  Our year ended with a sucker punch and 2012 promises to be one of the roller coaster ones, so I wasn't in the most festive of moods when I picked out the music.  A little arson was just what I needed.  Enjoy!

PS  Our anniversary is actually next Sunday.  I'll be sufficiently mushy then.  I have to jump when the creative spirit decides to strike and this year it came early, so the video did too.

still blllaahhhhhh

I love Pinterest.  Also, I started a board of things I actually did.  It's called Stuff I Actually Did.

also, this one

via

nothings

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnUGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!  I hate keeping things to myself.  I'm busy trying to get the our annual anniversary video together and I like to keep it a big secret from the husband until it's done, but it's two weeeeeeeeks.  I really dislike keeping things to myself.  A LOT.

So instead of talking about things I'm not supposed to talk about, I'm just going to talk.  Like, did you know you can freeze bubbles?

via

 You can.

Also, this is awesome:

via

Also, I dig the caption for this:

“Ok John, George, Paul, I want you guys to smile. Ringo, pretend you’re about to catch some food in your mouth.”

HA!  Now it's your turn.  I dare you to cheer me up.

new

Last year, Jane gave our family a luau party kit for Christmas.

Inspired.

Last New Years, I decided to use our present and  have our new family tradition be a tropical bash for New Year's Eve.  We aren't much for late night parties, so it added just enough par-tayyyy to the situation.  This year, our holiday season had been... less than jolly.  Complicated.  Hard.  We tried our darndest to be upbeat but by the time NYE came along, we'd used up ever ounce of cheer we could muster.  (yes I'm being vague.  life is kind of vague at the moment.)  I didn't have to try - I just blew up the inflatable pal tree, hung up the paper fish and put on a grass skirt.  Husband wouldn't wear the coconut bra though, I should probably just send it back to you Jane.  Tarzan could totally rock it.

I can't say thank you enough.  Really.  THANK YOU.

Honestly, I'm terrified of 2012 already.  I've got a hunch it's going to be a bumpy ride.