Link in a bumper car...alone!

Harrison's first swim meet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XF5-NQWC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Nasty carpet and surprising strength

See that HUGE roll of carpet sticking out of my trash can? If you were to look closer, you'd see it's actually one big roll folded in half. And even if you weren't to look close you'd notice the plume of filth that rose from it at the least disturbance. And you might notice some wasp nests attached to it (you know, right by the mystery substance stains).

That thing was sitting up in the rafters of our very nasty garage. And spring is coming. And my boys can't stay out of nasty places--in fact, they prefer them. So guess what I did this morning....

Keep in mind, I literally can not remember the last time I worked out. I have one active group of muscles that I maintain by lugging Link on my right hip. Everything withered away long ago. I got that thing in that dumpster all. by. my. self. And it was heavy. Muscle-spasming-while-it's-suspended-over-your-head heavy.

The take away here? I am hilariously stubborn about weird things. I can't stand to have a trash day go by where we haven't filled our trash cans to the brim because we have so much weird crap that was left in the house we recently moved into and are remodeling. So there is the battle I chose to fight this morning.

Now to see if the trash guys will actually take it...

Turns out...

Well, I'm not going to spend tons of time trying to catch up on all the LIFE I didn't chronicle, but... we did happen to acquire a gorgeous little human being a while ago. Lincoln is now almost 18 months old and perfect in almost every way. None of us remember life without him, and he pretty much rules the roost.  Here the boys are on the way down to Diamond Caverns last week. 

We also were so happy to take the boys with us on a little trip to Washington D.C. a few weeks ago. SO FUN! Highlights of the trip included getting reacquainted with our adorable nieces Aniya, Lizzie, Paige, and Amber, seeing the Star Spangled Banner, dinosaur bones, a space shuttle, and the Hope Diamond, and talking with the boys about all kinds of exciting American history.

And this is what happens when  you leave your sons in the care of your husband while you attend a Time Out for Women in Indianapolis...they end up touching pig lungs and having the time of their lives, as is apparent from the picture. He's a good dad.

Shhh...

Move along, there's nothing to see here. Just a sheepish mom trying to get back into the habit of recording her life. Because it's a good life. But seriously, don't freak out (she says to the vast enormity of the internet that isn't paying attention to her anyway). If I'm going to do this again, I just needed to start somewhere and write SOMETHING. 

I'm setting a new goal to do a little blogging and meditating daily. So....if this is legit, I'll do this again tomorrow. Maybe even include a little pic or something. Forget that, we're baby-stepping here, people.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose...

As long as I've known Truman to talk, he has called Harrison by the name of "Ya-ya." That's cool. Tru isn't the leader in the toddler-speech field and actually hasn't even mastered the shortened (let alone full-length) version of his own name.

So, I'm used to the Ya-ya thing. Not exactly a fan, but what IS one to do? And truth be told, I've caught myself even using the misnomer every now and then. The other night though, Truman really took it to the next level as he asked for help getting the last firefly out of his jar. I was just close enough to catch: "You do it, Ya-ya James, you do it."


What do you think--does he look like a Ya-ya James?

Speaking of Mr. Harrison James, he is getting quite the reputation in the neighborhood. His literal girl-next-door BFF Chloe was over the other day watching me give Dan a haircut. She obviously hadn't seen this do-it-yourself approach before and was eyeing me pretty intensely. When I switched guards on the clippers she wanted to know why I needed to do that. With H-man around, I don't have to trouble myself with trivial explanations of that sort; he's on it. He jumped right in, explaining that the guards were different sizes and changed how short or long I cut the hair. Chloe listened to the pretty much spot-on answer to her query, then sighed and solemnly said to me, "He knows everything."


Of course he does--he's Ya-ya James.

These are the days of our lives

I can't believe it's already September. The boy's birthdays are looming and the flames of time are hungry: before my eyes they're licking away the baby fat and all things infant. Tonight we went for a picnic at Backbone State Park. It was a new kind of family outing for us. Dan and I went one way, grilling and staying close to the food, and the boys did their own thing. Of course, this isn't the first time they've played on their own. It just felt different. Like a family without a baby. We haven't had that sensation in a while.

It was nice. We creek-stomped in absolutely frigid water. The boys were oblivious to the temperature and enjoyed every dirty, slimy moment.

It's just not FAIR!

Yesterday, while doing errands, we drove past a big colorful daycare. Kids were out playing on some very basic park equipment. Unfortunately, our errand left us standing across the street from this fenced in oasis and Harrison and Truman's big blue eyes zeroed in on it. They'd like to go play too. (Of course, we'd just been to the park, but that didn't seem to matter.) I carefully explained what a daycare was, and that they didn't have to go to one because Mom and Dad make sure one of us can stay with them. Oh, the disappointment and resentment! Truman didn't have the vocabulary, but Harrison did. "It's just not FAIR, Mom!" As soon as we were inside, he carefully arranged himself in his most pouty stance and made sure I noted it several times.

What am I supposed to do with THAT?