Hump Day

The owl hat lives on.

For today - a brain dump:

1 - Our trip is coming up very soon. In some ways I'm less worried about it, in other ways I'm totally still a basket case about leaving LM for 12 days. We have been writing up helpful notes for Nana and getting the house in order. We also bought some recordable books so LM can hear our voices read him a story. We updated our wills. We have some activities already scheduled. We'll use the laptop to FaceTime with LM and Nana on a regular basis. And it's only 12 days. It'll be OK.

Last weekend, it was used as a bike helmet.

2 - I'm fat. FAT. Fat as a TICK. If I had more time, I'd make you a graphic - me on one side, fat tick on the other. You would see the similarities immediately. I've written about this here several times - this is not new for me. I've been fat for quite some time. I cannot seem to get a handle on this. I feel like I'm too busy to be able to really focus on it. In other parts of my life, I am very successful at changing habits and making them stick, but not in this one. I eat on the run and sometimes late when I'm too hungry to make the best choices. I have a proclivity to eat too many sweets. I'm really addicted to sugar, I think. I read this book about how bodies relate to carbs, and I really think I need to eat less carbs in general. The most successful diet I went on in recent years was low carb - and then I got pregnant. I did watch my carbs with success for several weeks at the start of the year and now I'm failing at it. I need to find a solution and fewer excuses. But I don't know right now what that is. So, right now I'm just stinking irritated about it.

3 - We still have a number of items to complete before the big trip - I know, sort of back on #1 - and we have to get that done this weekend. I'm feeling a lot of anxiety not only about the trip but about feeling ready to leave. Of course, I can only do so much between now and then and what's done will be done, etc etc.

4 - We're out of all types of food. So we've been eating out. See #2.

5 - I read about (and personally know, actually) working mothers who cook every night and also find time to work out, participate in triathlons, be an active member in a book club, have a fabulous home and are generally perfect. There's got to be a way to do more. So far, I clearly haven't figured it out. I, prior to having a son, always felt like an organized and able person. I would like to find this balance again. Part of this is just having time to think things through and feeling less scattered. I wonder if I could figure out how to do just THAT for a while. That would be nice!

6 - The week is halfway over. Amen to that.

See you soon.

Spring has Sprung!

It's not officially spring for a couple more weeks. However, Evan Andrews, my favorite local meteorologist, says it is "meteorological spring" here. And I believe that, because everything is budding and blooming! Here are some photos I snapped on Sunday:

Our redbud trees are in bloom!

There are some branches that are not budding - I hope last summer didn't get them.

I hope they're just late bloomers!

The Japanese maple is getting leaves!

This is especially heartening, as this little tree was nearly dead when we moved to this house, and it's right up front. There was a water leak under the soil keeping the roots too wet. We lost a big old oak to this as well, actually. But the little tree survived, and so far, is thriving, even after last summer!

The cyclamen have loved this winter.

I used to plant cyclamen over the lantana for the winter months in the front of the house. I haven't done that in a while, as the lantana take up too much room, even dormant. But this one plant comes back anyway, and with this mild winter, it is HUGE.

The lantana is budding out, too, actually.

Even the vine is blooming.

I LOVE spring. Spring is one of the best times of the year in North Texas, for sure. Basically, you gotta live for spring and fall. And winter's not bad either. But, spring and fall are divine. It helps a girl get through that other season which shall remain nameless, if you know what I mean. Oy. Let's not think about that right now! Let's love spring! New beginnings! Every possibility! Beautiful flowers. 

See you soon.

Reading Nook

I have shown you the boy in the corner with the books before on this blog, but he was just so sweet, reading to himself last weekend, that I have to show it again. It really has me thinking about how to incorporate a REAL reading nook into his room when we move to a big boy bed down the road and change things up. He really loves to sit back there and look through his books, quietly and in an all encompassing way. When he's in the reading zone, don't bug him - he wants to sit there and READ!!!

Here are some photos from Sunday morning:

The books are still piled up in bins. The "new room" should also allow for some bookshelves, which probably means taking my old toy chest out of the room. Perhaps we can use that in a "playroom" if and when we ever move. It still needs some work done to it anyway. 

The basket in the back corner is really reserved for books he will like when he is a bit older, or books we should look at together, because they have slick pages or something like that. This doesn't keep LM from checking those books out from time to time. He is looking at one from that basket in the photo up there - one of his favorites, actually, written by a woman from work, about instruments in the orchestra.

This is one of his recorded books, this one read to him by his Nana.

That is a great book - it talks about how all the babies born all over the world are pretty much the same.

Goodnight Moon. I have this one memorized.

In the great green room...

Another recorded book - this one read by his cousins Veda, Deacon and Cora.

And Uncle Steve and Aunt Terri too!

You can see the basket was becoming the "done" pile.

The bunny book was from Unk and Bevi last Easter - still a big favorite of his.

One of two photo album "books" he has - here he was saying, "Nonna!"

He knows all the people in his books.

That there is a book about Christmas. It's always in season.

So many books! So little time!

A soft book - with a mirror, of course - he's checking himself out.

Boynton books! Always favorites - these came from several sources...

...a big chunk of them from his cousin Ann, though. 

That Ann, she knows a good book when she sees it.

And there are many, many more favorites in those bins. He really loves books. I hope this continues as he gets older. I hope we can keep book reading part of our regular routine and part of something he values and enjoys. I was thinking we need to start going to the library and checking books out soon. There is one not too far from our house, so we could go on the weekend, no problem. 

At the end of this reading time, Daddy came in, and LM chose some books for him to read.

That book is about the itsy bitsy spider. 

LM is acting out the spider part in this photo.

Great memories.

There is another favorite in that pile next to Daddy - a foam shape book, first given to us by Aunt Brooke and Uncle Michael - he loves those. He loved the one he got from them so much I found a couple more for him to play with, and he loves those too. 

Do you have a a book loving child? What do you do with your children to instill a love for reading? Do you have a special place for reading in your child's room or in the house? I would love to hear your ideas. 

See you soon.

Helping Daddy and Doing it Himself

Helping Daddy

I mentioned last week LM recently was the recipient of an activity table, compliments of Kid's Woot. He helped Daddy put it together recently. Here are a few photos of that action:

Please note that we not only use rabbit ears, but some FINE rabbit ears at that.

We are top drawer, don't ya know.

There was really no need for a hammer. 

LM used it anyway.

Also recently, even as the weather is getting warmer, LM pulled out his owl hat and wanted to wear it around the house. He put it on himself, and that is why it is, well, not on in the way Mommy would have arranged it.

This boy loves puzzles. This one is his latch puzzle.

He is also a ham and a half. In case you haven't noticed.

I lurve him anyway. I do. I do.

This is the penultimate weekend before we leave town for twelve days and leave LM with his Nana. So, we really need to get some stuff cleaned out around the house so Nana doesn't have to live in our unnecessary clutter. There WILL be clutter, you understand. But, hopefully, only the necessary kind. Ahem.  We will of course have Little Gym on Saturday. But, surprisingly, we DON'T have a birthday party!  I'm sure we'll do something else fun and amazing with the boy as well as time goes by...who knows. We'll see ya next week right here to talk about it.I hope your weekend is a good one.

See you soon.

Catching Up

So I'm playing a little bit of catch up this week. My class is all over but the grading, leaving me with a little more time to tend to life in general. And, when I look at my Flickr stream, I have a number of random photos from here and there I haven't shared. So today, with a smidge more time, I plan to share them with you:

LM received Valentines.

This one from his Nana.

This one from Grandma and Grandpa Craig

Here he is riding the horse at Nonna and Papaw's house.

And his Mama is making an impression of Bertha the Wonderslug as commentator.

Playing in the curtains. Again, I am a sound effect MACHINE.

This was a while back - us trying to get him to say "Oh NO!" on camera.

He does it, but not in the over exaggerated big way he was doing it back then.

Breadsticks are a distraction, clearly.

After helping Mommy cook one day - chocolate all over his face.

I wish it wasn't blurry, but it is.

Sweet boy sleeping in the car seat.

He climbed up the steps, hoisted himself up and onto the counter and into the sink.

To brush his teeth.

See you soon.