Our Backyard Butterfly

This is our friend, whom we have dubbed "The Backyard Butterfly". He flutters around the whole time we are outside. Apparently Griffin is sweet, because the butterfly really likes to land on him. There is another butterfly that flies over occasionally, but our little butterfly chases him off so that he can have free reign over his domain. It's too bad we don't have any flowers back there!

Backyard Before and After

Just in case you couldn't tell, the first picture is BEFORE the transformation of our backyard into a safe place for the boys to play. We worked very hard on Sunday night to clean it up and get rid of all of the clutter and stuff that was laying around on the patio. It makes for a much nicer place to sit and read or sip a cool drink or munch on an ice-cold popsicle while the boys run and play.

As you can see, we moved the turtle sandbox to a nice shady place under the swingset, and the basketball goal got a new home between two bars on the side of the swingset. It's rather tipsy, so that's a good spot for it.

The bike and the doghouse were banished to the side of the house, and the little pool and the exersaucer will be thrown away. They have both been through way too much, and aren't even worthy of being given away.

We have played outside several times since the "makeover", and we all enjoy being out in the backyard 100% more now.

The Sticker Chart

Griffin has completely filled in his sticker chart! For those who are unaware, Griffin has been potty-training for the last couple of weeks. We went to the store and got him a whole bunch of "Big Boy Underwear" in Thomas the Train and Finding Nemo designs, and also a bunch of plain white ones. Every time he sat on the potty and actually went, he got three M&M's -- I know, I know, food as a reward isn't good for the psychological development of a child, but I don't think a few M&M's (he calls them "L-N-M's") will damage him for life -- and a sticker for his chart. We have Spiderman, Blue's Clues and Tigger stickers, and he got to choose his sticker every time.

He has been doing very well, and Mommy is getting better at remembering to take him potty on a regular basis. You could say that Mommy is almost fully potty-trained! I think he is knows what it feels like when he has to go, he just need to work on telling me. And bowel movements are another thing. I've heard that it takes a while for many kids to feel comfortable going #2 on the big potty, so that one might take a while. But we're not rushing anything. It will come, in its own (not-so-sweet-smelling) time.

As a reward for filling in his first sticker chart (the next one will be even bigger), we presented him with a little Tonka Truck town that we had picked up for eight bucks at Children's Orchard a few months ago. He is utterly thrilled, and we had fun making a big deal of his accomplishment last night.

A Slide Show

This has been a slide show depicting what it is like to try to take "the perfect picture" of two squirmy little boys. I think the last one wins, don't you?

Hat Trick

Sammy tries so hard to put the hat on his head. He usually ends up smashing it onto his forehead and giggling like crazy because we are laughing so hard. And then of course Griffin wants a piece of the action too!

Cookie Monster

Sammy has recently learned how to push a chair over to the kitchen counter and steal things from the countertop. I caught him one day after I had made oatmeal raisin cookies that were left on the counter to cool. He had had a taste, and he wanted some more! When I snuck up on him, he had one in each hand, and one in his mouth. He dropped a couple before I could snap the picture, but he grabbed them again and tried to get down and run away with them.

These pictures are pre-haircut. I love the curls! But he does look so much like a little boy now. His baby days are almost gone; it's hard to believe it has happened so fast!

A Walk to Remember

We walked to the library a couple of nights ago (I just LOVE that it is close enough to walk to!), and on the way back, Sammy fell asleep. And was he ever asleep! I couldn't wake him up. I tickled, bounced, even made his sleepy little body do a jig, and he remained solidly zonked. Now, why would I want to wake up a sleeping baby, you wonder. Because I didn't want him to wake up crying for his bedtime bottle (which he's too old for, some would say) at midnight and have to give it to him then. Much better to force-feed on my time schedule.

Anyway, it was a lovely trip. Just a hint of a chill in the breeze. I think Spring might finally be here! Not that I'm counting on it. I mean, this is Kansas. One just never knows around here.

Sammy's First Haircut

Griffin has always loved getting his hair cut (okay, so he didn't mind... too much), so we just naturally assumed Sammy would be the same way. I know, it hasn't worked that way with anything else; they are very different except for their mutual love of all things round. But we thought, maybe this once, we would be in luck. And it was almost true!

Sammy had a rocky start. When we put him on the nice soft booster seat they have for little ones, he started to kick and writhe and squirm in a desperate attempt to escape. And then, when they placed the brightly colored... what's that called... cloth? vest? hair jacket?... around his neck, he protested even more, and the hair stylist had to distract him with one of the tropical fish displayed on it while she fitted it and snapped it closed.

They had already started Griffin's haircut at this point, so I was trying to take pictures of both of them and yet focus on Sammy at the same time... the trials of having two. Griffin is an angel in the stylist's chair; he hardly moves. Which is great when they need him to be still, but doesn't come in quite so handy when they need him to bend his rigid little neck to one side. It's like a very thick, solid, strong brick wall -- oh wait, that's a line from "There's A Monster at the End of This Book" -- anyway, it's almost unmov(e?)able. But he is very well behaved, and sits very calmly, especially since he knows there is a sucker waiting for him at the end of the haircut.

Sammy's sucker couldn't wait until the end. I was trying desperately to hold him in place while the poor stylist cut haphazardly at whatever hair she could manage to grab between jerks of Sammy's head. I feared that there would be no hair left when she was through (which wouldn't have been too bad, considering it is usually a long time between haircuts for the boys), so I felt I needed to intervene.

"Do you have a sucker?!" I finally managed to ask between trying to take pictures and hold Sammy down. Mike was also doing a stellar job of keeping the little booger still. Actually, I don't know if I really helped all that much. But I think I stressed out about it enough that it seemed like I was helping.

"Yes!!!" the relief in the stylist's voice was evident. She hadn't thought of the sucker tactic. Maybe because of what she knew was bound to happen to it, which we had yet to learn.

Sammy was ecstatic! He loves suckers. Even if they have lots of freshly cut hair on them.

And he was such a good boy throughout most of the rest of the haircut.

As was Griffin, of course. Oh, and Mike. All the men needed haircuts. I didn't take pictures of Mike's though. I was too busy chasing two sticky, hair-covered boys through the salon.

Good times.

But Mommy!

So we're sitting at dinner the other night, and Mike and I are talking away. Actually, I am talking away, and Mike is listening, which is the typical scenario.


Griffin really wants to contribute to the conversation, so he is making noise, trying to get our attention away from each other and onto him. Well, I don't like to be interrupted. I like to be the center of attention, too, for goodness' sake!


"Griffin!!!" I shouted. I had to shout, because his noise-making was a few decibels louder than a jet plane flying directly over the dinner table.


The noises stopped.


"If you need to say something while Mommy and Daddy are talking," I proclaimed, "you don't just interrupt us, or make loud noises. You need to say "Excuse me!""


I was attempting to look parental and wise, instead of displaying how I really felt -- like an annoyed little girl.


Griffin stopped making noise, and was about to concede the point and say "okay"... his mouth had already formed into an "O"...


And then he stopped.


"But Mommy!" he exclaimed, with a look of confusion creeping over him, "I didn't burp yet!"

Don't Cry

A couple of nights ago, as Mike and I lay dozing -- I can't remember whether it was very late night or very early morning -- Sammy began to whimper in his crib. We could hear him tossing and turning, probably rubbing his sleepy little eyes. After a couple minutes of Sammy's sad little noises, we heard a tiny tired voice in the baby monitor.

"Don't cry, Sammy... I love you."

And Sammy stopped crying.

Our New Dog

Gordon's hair starts shedding in huge clumps in the spring, and he looks like he has some kind of wasting disease. His whole hind end starts losing all of the lighter colored hair, and the dark hair underneath shows where the big clumps of light hair have fallen out. I would imagine it is very itchy. And our carpets suffer too.

He is part Great Dane, part Golden Retriever, so I would imagine that this is the Golden Retriever part showing through. He has already outlived a lot of Great Danes, and he still acts like he has plenty of life in him! He turns 6 this month. Happy Birthday, Gordon!!

We got him a birthday present (actually, it was just to maintain oour sanity and hair-free carpet). It's the Shed-Ender, a professional de-shedding tool we saw on TV and bought at the As Seen on TV store. And does it ever work!! Every brush stroke resulted in a big clump of hair that was obviously coming from his undercoat. It pulled out all of the light clumps quite easily. It was time-consuming, partially because he is such a large dog and has SO much hair, and partially because of his Great-Dane-ness that causes him to be quite nervous and want to turn in circles and lick the brush and our hands and the leash we used to tie him onto a chair to keep him still.

But it all only took about two hours, which is actually a very short time compared to the time we would have spent cleaning up dog hair off of the floor if we hadn't brushed him. We had a "normal" dog brush, but it didn't get down to his undercoat very well, and would leave lots of hair that would work its way to the top. Brushing him would just make him shed even more for a few weeks while the leftover hair worked its way out.

As fascinating as this subject is, I think I'll stop here.

Let's just say that we have one very happy doggie. With a lot less hair.

After the Cut

Okay, here are my Post-Haircut pictures. I loved my stylist, and will definitely be going back to her. Went to The Hairem. It was an awesome experience! I told her that I would never be able to make the haircut look as good as it did when she finished, but it's actually not all that hard, it just takes a while. And some mousse, styling wax and hairspray... and a hair straightener. And a half-round brush. I don't have the brush, and I need to get a straightener that doesn't pull my hair out when I use it (mine was very cheaply made). I love the haircut, though, and will most likely keep it up even after the blonde fades.

Y-luh-doo

Sounds strange, I know. But this is Sammy's new phrase for the week.

Have you guessed what it is yet?

Yes, you're right.

He's saying "I love you."

My heart melts.

Originality

"Originality is not doing something no one else has ever done, but doing what has been done countless times with new life, new breath." -- Marie Chapian


I think this means that every time I fold a load of clothes or load the dishwasher for the third time today I can do it with originality. But how does one achieve originality?


Is it found by buying new things that make me happy to look at them? My new little white and green sauce cups from Crate and Barrel do that.


Is it found by doing my chores a different way each time I do them, or on a different day of the week every week? I have never kept a cleaning schedule, with the excuse that I could be more flexible if I wasn't tied down to doing a certain thing on a certain day.


Or is it found by just being happy and content in the midst of my chores, and letting the routine become a soothing part of my life? I believe that the men in my home would appreciate some order and routine.


I tend to lean toward the last option as the "right answer", if there is such a thing. It is the right answer for me, anyway. People are different, and I know that not everyone has my tendency to wait until something absolutely has to be done before doing it. Some people thrive on schedules, lists, routines, etc.


I have always believed that I would not be able to stick with a routine. And perhaps that is why I never have. Believing something about yourself changes many of the choices you make in life, and that can impact your life positively or negatively, depending on the belief.


Say I believe I am overweight. My thought pattern tends to be "Oh, I can't shop at that store, I'll never find anything that fits." But if I *believe* that I am losing weight, there is a smorgasboard of new opportunities that await me (and not just in the clothing department). I will say "Yes, it is a bit tight now, but I am losing weight, so it will fit perfectly in not too long!" or "My stomach is shrinking, so I'll pass up the triple bypass burger today because I couldn't possibly eat it all." Or maybe even "I need to go to the gym today because I really wouldn't want all of the work I've put in so far to go to waste!"

Wow, that was pretty motivating, huh?

Blonde Bombshell

I think I'm going to like being a blonde. :) And it cost a whole lot less than going to the salon! I spent a little over $10 for Loreal Frost and Design's "Dramatic" (that it is!), "High-Precision" (we will only do every *other* hole in the cap next time), "Pull-Through Cap" (and poke, and pull, and poke, and pull, and poke, and pull), "Highlights" (would have been if we'd have only done every other hole).

Mike worked so long and hard last night poking all of those little holes in the plastic cap, and pulling the little bits of hair through. Then I mixed up the formula and he was nice enough to spread it onto my hair and make sure it was all evenly placed. He spent at least an hour pulling all of the hair through. Gotta love a man who'll do that!! You have no idea how much work it is to highlight hair with a pull-through cap until you have done it at home (or are a hair stylist, God bless 'em). Mike asked me how much it costs to have it done at a salon. I told him I would have spent $50, and he told me I could tip him later. ;)

I love my new hair color. I can't wait to do fun things with it as it grows!