see your dentist right away

The boys have a great dentist, a little better than P. Sherman from Nemo, eh?

Jack making silly faces while he awaits his cleaning
Harry chillin' while she works

Ella Fitzgerald's Comes Love

Who Do You Love?

This was a great haul, eh? My sweet husband sprinkled cards all around the house and car to surprise me, and these roses were beautiful enough to see, even by my bleary morning eyes! You can sort of see the little boxes that they painted for me in the mix of cards.

The boys' preschool offered a free Parents' Nite Out, so the boys loaded up and had a great time playing with their friends while we had a chance to enjoy our favorite romantic restaurant - it was a great deal all around <3The Doors

AsheR, asheR, we all fall down!

The boys have been hanging out with their good friend Asher recently, and it's been a lot of fun for his mom and me, too :-)

Jack and Asher playing at the park recently
The boys at Story Hour last week

Parting is such sweet sorrow - waving goodbye after a playdate

Do you remember me saying I'd been really lucky lately? Well, I got a call from the comedy club and they gave me free tix to a weeknight show. We went with Asher's parents, his grandmother kept all three boys, and everybody seemed to have a great time - I felt like we were playing hooky, since it was a school nite ;-) Thanx for all the fun!

I've Got The Music In Me(me)

This is the funnest (yeah, I know but come on...) meme I've seen, and it comes to you via one of the nicest bloggers I know.

Stephanie, of Scraps: Making something beautiful from the bits and pieces of an ordinary life. , is a quilter, a gentle soul, a movie trivia fan, a Halloween phenomenon, and we seem to share a lot more musical tastes than I'd realized. And I found her through another wonderfully amazing and kind blogger, Antique Mommy. Reading them makes me happy, and so did doing this meme - hope you tap a foot or two and have a little fun - if you do the meme, please leave a comment so I can check yours out ;-)

You can find the directions at the link above, but basically you shuffle your ipod and answer these questions in order (no cheating, it's much funnier that way!). I added the lyrics that seemed to fit because it was funner (a grammar joke from last nite's comedy club) for me....maybe for you, too

HOW DID YOU BECOME A MOM? "Follow Me/Double Wide" by Uncle Kracker ...Follow me everything is alright, I'll be the one to tuck you in at night.... baby I'm not scared....you're better off if you don't ask why AND Double Wide intro: Kracker - What if I don't make it Kid Rock - That's impossible

WHAT DID YOU THINK THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BABY? "I Fall To Pieces" by Patsy Cline ....the lyrics don't work so well, but it's one of my favorites, and it's true in a different way

WHAT DID YOU DO THE FIRST MORNING AFTER A SLEEPLESS NIGHT? "Waitin' On A Friend" by Rolling Stones ....I'm just trying to make some sense....a smile relieves a heart that grieves...I need someone to protect

WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN SOMEONE COLORS ON THE WALL? "School's Out For Summer" by Alice Cooper ....No more pencils!

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A TODDLER’S BODILY FLUID ISSUES? "Fruit Salad Salsa" by Laurie Berkner ....ewww

IF SOMEONE ASKS FOR A SNACK, YOU SAY? "Seven Bridges Road" by Alan Jackson ....there is moonlight and moss in the trees - how does that sound? yummy, right?!

IF SOMEONE LEAVES THEIR STUFF ON THE FLOOR, YOU SAY? "When I Think About Cheatin'" by Gretchen Wilson .....I've never crossed the line or needed an alibi to cover up a lie

IF SOMEONE ISN’T SICK TODAY, YOU SAY? "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley ..... Preacherman, don't tell me, Heaven is under the earth

HOW DO YOUR KIDS ENJOY YOUR COOKING? "Amazing Grace" by Lyle Lovett, Reba McIntire, Clint Black, Waylon Jennings, Carlene Carter....His endless grace will leave me whole - Dean taught them early to say 'thank you for the delicious meal'...it's a nicety that has stuck so far ;-)

HOW DID YOUR KIDS DO IN SCHOOL TODAY? "Today I Started Loving You Again" by Vince Gill and Brad Paisley ....What a fool I was to think I could get by

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHILE SITTING IN CARPOOL LINE? "Trick-Or-Treat" by Andrew Gold...I gotta get these things into a different playlist ;-) {OT: there is a pretty cool Fastway song with this title}

HOMESCHOOLERS, WHAT IS THE FIRST SUBJECT TAUGHT OF THE DAY? "Melissa" by
Allman Brothers ...Crossroads, will you ever let him go? We are all ready for school :-)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS WANT TO BE WHEN THEY GROW UP? "Bad To The Bone" by George Thoroughgood ..... I'll make a rich woman beg, I'll make a good woman steal, I'll make an old woman blush, And make a young woman squeal Fair warning - lock 'em up ;-)

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO BE WHEN THEY GROW UP? "Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash ... (this fits in more ways than I can say, the flag was Harry's 'lovie' for the longest time and Jack has a real affinity for the Statue of Liberty....patriots they are, so I'm preparing myself)...On second thought, I do like to brag,'Cause I'm mighty proud of the Ragged Old Flag"

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY AS A MOM? "BarLight/Life Of The Party" by Charlie Robison....this is a hilarious take on all the classic nursery rhymes he calls a Honky Tonk Nursery Rhyme - barlight, barbright, first bar that I see tonite, wish I may, wish I might, find someone to hold me tight, hey diddle diddle, the man with the fiddle and the girls sing along with the tune, just one more dance and you can turn out the lites and you can shut down this saloon

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE AS A MOM? "Oh, Happy Day" by Mahalia Jackson...I'm talking about the happy days (oh happy day)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO AS A MOM? "Twisting By The Pool" by Dire Straits .... We're going on a holiday now

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE REALLY A MOM? "Play That Funky Music White Boy" by Dr. Hook (I could NOT do some music thing without a little wacky DH) ....and just when it hit me

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MOST OFTEN AS A MOM? "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" by David Allen Coe ..... And I'll hang around as long as you will let me (you can find this classic mother line:Well I wonder why you don't call me, but I pray I will never be *that* mom)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY AS A MOM? "I Love My Rooster" by Laurie Berkner ..... I love my rooster, my rooster loves me

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET AS A MOM? "Listen To The Rhythm Of The Falling Rain" by Ricky Nelson .... pitter patter pitter patter Not really regret, but in the perfect world none of us would be touched by sadness - if they ever catch me crying or getting emotinal, they say 'don't whine, mommy!' LOL

WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE AS A MOM? "Time Is On My Side" by Rolling Stones .... Remember, I'll always be around I have to say that waiting, not that we did it patiently, has brought us amazing wonders, so it was on my side .....

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks ...can the child within my heart rise above?

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU CRY? "Garden Party" by Ricky Nelson .... A chance to share old memories and play our songs again

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" by John Denver ..... A lotta sad people thinkin’ that’s mighty keen I do worry about them getting side-tracked by all the bright, shiny objects

HOW DO YOUR KIDS DESCRIBE YOU AS THEIR MOM? "Waterfalls/Now & Forever" by TLC
..... She'll be by his side ...Believe in yourself, The rest is up to me and you
I LOVE this song!

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? "Paper Wings" by Gillian Welch ... But you made me feel like they were heaven sent

WHAT WILL YOUR MOM OF THE YEAR CERTIFICATE SAY? "You've Got A Friend In Me" Randy Newman and Lyle Lovett ... But none of them Will ever love you The way I do It's me and you, boy


...oh, that was a lot of fun, and the one time I tried to cheat, I realized it was all messed up, so do it straight up and share what you get, please :-)

Whew, I have no idea how you who write a lot do it....I'm wiped, but have a spring in my step - Happy weekend!


Hey, Good Lookin' was the next song up, so I'm off to do a little cookin'!

Thanx again, Stephanie, for reminding me how wonderful life and music are :hug:


Heart

The more you laugh The more you fill with glee

Jen's Spin Cycle for the week is all about Laughter, and I must say my laughter has gotten liter and nicer since having kiddies. An example of the humor I grew up with:

For a fat girl, you don't stink much.

Funny, shocking and not so nice.

Humor tended to be at the expense of someone, mostly myself, but my younger years were fairly pointed and cruel.

These days, the laughter comes in this form ~

Mary Poppins and Uncle Albert I Love To Laugh

it won't be like this for long - Random Tuesday Thoughts

Keely over at The UnMom hosts Random Tuesday Thoughts, check out all the other random thinking for a lotta laughs

This is one of those songs that just makes me so happy some days I hear it and makes me weep all the way thru on others - if you haven't heard it, you probably will, then get sick of it. It still holds a lot of magic for me at the moment, despite the fact that it's about a girl....why are all the good songs about daughters?!?

One day soon we'll look back laughin At the week we brought [them] home

It's getting to be that time of year, and this one is really so distant from years past. They spent 9 days in the hospital, and my heart still stops when I think of going home without them. Dean made me a flick of all the initial pix, and I would just sit and weep and make milk, then we'd drive back and forth; sleep and wake to do it again. I remember Dean laughing at me because my crying made him stop the car several times to check to make sure they were breathing. It was just a time of sheer joy and terror and fatigue. Then they started smiling...

And just watch'n [them] it breaks [my] heart Cause [I] already know It wont be like this for long

Jen's Spin Cycle is about laughter this week (I'm working on the post) and I've been more aware - thanx! I watched them til my eyes wept, I laughed with them until my sides hurt, it's just been one of those weeks. Watching them sing Wonderful World tonite was just magic for me. They have been so good to each other lately, and I cherish these moments and they give me hope.

Enough cheese!

The house thing seems to be gaining momentum.

I did not really want to clean today, but now it feels good to be done.

I haven't done any good exercise of healthy eating this week, and it feels bad, which is good, right?

Tivo may be one of the greatest inventions...EVER!

I've stopped enjoying as much gore and mean stuff lately, but I sure do love me some Closer and Lie To Me. Wonder if they have to pay or get rights to any of those high profile pix they use on LTM?

There is not enough space left to capture all the crazy stuff bouncing around in my head tonite.

Darius Rucker

Payin' attention

Harry's been firing on all cylinders lately, to wit:

We've been talking a lot about how to get someone's attention in the right way. Last nite at dinner -

H: attention please, Daddy (smartass-in-the-making)

Jack was getting a serious TalkingTo about some trash talk, and somehow ate faster than usual...Dean looks over at Harry who is not eating very efficiently and asks 'do I need to yell at you, too?' H: MONKEY (ok, there's no way to make this work in writing, but he's quoting a character yelling at CG and uses perfect tone) It cracked us all up. He's definitely got a skill for comic relief ;-)

Today in the car - H: Mommy, I can't see the garmin when you're doing your hair (if you know me IRL, you know I never 'do' my hair, so how did he get this so spot on?!?)
Radiohead's 2+2=5

Love Me Two Times

It's Love Me Like A Rock weekend on a local station, and I just loved the Doors at some point when I was younger. Hope you're loved all day today!

The boys are having a great time opening all their Valentines, so thank you to everyone who shared the love! Jack's totally into the conversation hearts. He brings them over and happily tells me what they say - I've been explaining sayings like 'go girl' all morning. One of them said 'one kiss' so I gave him a big cheeky smoochy, but I'd just taken a drink of water so my lips were cold and wet. I said "I'm sorry" and he said "you don't have to apologize for THAT - I love your kisses!" Awww. My greatgrandma always gave the worst sloppy kisses, but hopefully I'm not to that stage yet (or he is too kind to say) LOL

And am I the last person to realize that there's a new Scooby Doo theme song? I sorta miss the old one :shrug: Thanx, Christina!

**if anyone can remember that old song "I'm sorry, so sorry" please help me - I was thinking it was Patsy Cline, but can't seem to make my lyrics search work to find it - TIA!

The Doors

Day late friend

It's been one of those weeks where I'm always just a step behind - the boys finished their Valentines for their classmates, then I realized we hadn't done any teacher cards...they finished these this morning - pretty good effort for their first homemade cards ;-)

We got together with some great friends to celebrate Ms Christina's birthday (a day late)

Harry gave her a hug that may have been worth the wait.

We also got to meet her beautiful new boy, who is an absolute doll!
Jack and Carter played Star Wars and every other costumey game they could imagine

And big brother Zach dug the red velvet Birthday cupcake

(and the Batman costume!)

They got some fun mail today from Grandma and Grandpa S - thank you!

You can see Jack's favorite part is the cashola ;-)
while Harry loved reading the card with Dean
(XOXOXO means 'ox ox ox' btw)

Happy Valentine's to everyone - even a day late!

Anberlin

What Is Love?

In honor of Heart Day (and in conjunction with Sprite's Keeper's Spin Cycle), I asked them separately "what is love?"

Jack: When your heart is happy. I love you. I love Daddy. I love Harry. I love my whole family!

Harry: Hugs and kisses. You can snuggle me! Love your Mommy. Love your Daddy. Love your Grammys and Papas. Love your sister....(anyone missing??LOL) (I prompted him a little, and he got there with a big wink!)

Hope you are able to surround yourself with love this weekend!

Haddaway

a heart speaks louder than a color can

The boys finished their Valentine's this morning, then I realized we hadn't done any for their teachers, so we finished those this afternoon - it should be a nice little party tomorrow!

Harry used the class list to make sure he didn't miss anyone

(Casey, they aren't *that* good :wink:)


Harry was a huge help last nite, completely setting the table for the first time on his own (Jack and Dean were playing in the other room, and it was a great chance for him to show his stuff!)

And here's Harry's colorful heart snowman from today's library story time.

First, he drew the happy and sad faces, which sort of remind me of the thespian masks.

As I've mentioned, he loves the Garmin and has been studying all aspects of it lately. Here, he drew each type of road that we see (paraphrasing): grey is small road, purple is our route, orange is a regular road, and red is a BiG road (ours usually represents a highway and shows as two lines)

Ben Harper's Jah Work

2/12/09 Harry: Mommy, Jack is being VERY generous today. Jack: I didn't want Harry to be sad, and I wanted him to have a long turn!

My Funny Valentine(s)

You're my funny valentines,

Sweet comic valentines,

You make me smile with my heart.

Your looks are laughable, un-photographable,

Yet, you're my favorite works of art.

We had a really enjoyable afternoon of Word Bingo (thanx, CFA!)

and making Valentines for their school friends yesterday

This look? My beloved Gramma (not me, of course )
This look? His Daddy, for sure!

Harry won this first round of Word Bingo -
and it's great for building their word recognition
(in a much more fun way than flash cards!)

Some pix remind me that there is still a little sweet baby left ;)

They are almost finished with the Valentines for the boys in their classes,

now we get to do the girls' cards today!

Frank Sinatra

Life is just what happens to you, when you're busy making other plans - Random Tuesday Thoughts

Keely over at The Un-Mom has a cool Tuesday feature, and I thought I'd jump in there with all the randomness of today - check everyone out for some laughs and some good thoughts! Thanx Keely!

There's probably not much need to explain things, but here goes: I worked out for the second time this week (HASAY - HAWHAT!), my boys made me all sentimental several times in the last days, I am ever thankful for the life I've been given the chance to make, we keep plugging along with house hunting and selling, it's manmail day - SISwimsuit and the Jeep catalog LOL

The deepest thought I've had today is 'when does it change, and will I cherish these moments enough'? The boys were playing and I looked up to see Jack telling another mom "That's MY mom" with a look of pride and love that completely undid me right there in the CFA. The spirit of St. Valentine is certainly in the air around here, and I'm just a happy, weepy mess!

I hope your days are filled with your favorite things!

John Lennon's Beautiful Boy

2/09/09 Jack: Can I tell you how I missed you, Mommy? Harry: What makes ice splippery?

Take me to another time

My beloved Gramma had all sorts of fun ways to talk about love, making a little circle with her fingers and talking about how it never ended, a big circle and how it never ended, etc. I don't remember whether she started it or I did, but I would stretch my arms back as far as they would reach and say "I love you way back til it hurts"

Thank you, Ms. Heidi, for the conversation with Jack that led to this picture!

I must be in a real reminiscing mood today because this moment...
reminded me of this one, almost 5 years to the day - they were 24 weeks and we laughed about how it looked like Jack was practicing his left hook
(if you're not versed in twin ultrasounds, the letter A represents Jack and is right beside his head, you can make out his left arm stretching to just above his head, and Harry's profile just above Jack's hand) I flipped the picture around to get J&H in the same positions ;-)

Jim Croce's Photographs and Memories

Roustabouts are roustabout'n

Any excuse to use Elvis, here you see one of my favorite roustabouts helping to get the party started - Harry taking gifts into Griffin's bouncing party

Sam's big brother Zachary and his posse during the party
Somehow I didn't get many pix that weren't complete blurs, a sure sign that
It was a lot of fun!
Thanx for the great goodies :-)
Happy Birthday, Griffin! Welcome to the 4's!

And it was another two-a-day for our guys, not a bad problem to have, eh? Their girl, Caroline (of the naming HarryJack fame!), celebrated her 6th birthday with a Carnival-themed party. Her mom knocked herself out coming up with fun games and deco - here are some highlights:
Jack pins-the-nose-on-the-clown
Harry and Jack walking the 'tight rope'

There were three stages: simply walking, walking while balancing a beanbag on their head, and then doing it after 'the spin'

Caroline and her cheering squad playing the penny toss game

(basically an excuse for lots and lots of candy!)

Jack, Tim, and Harry waiting their turns

Dean and Harry cheering on the festivities

Harry loves him some popcorn, and watching this old-fashioned machine work its magic was a great science-y time!

Fireman Jack taking a break with his 'firebird' after a big rescue

And if you remember the cookie cutter gender post, here's an 'official' shield...you were all right!

And the roustabout'n continues as Jack helps round up all the bags and paper and bows after the big unwrapping fest - great job, helpful boy!

It was such a joy for me to watch them picking special gifts for Caroline -

they spent quite a while picking out just the perfect bear, puzzle, heart globe, game and craft for her, and it was fun to see how excited they were (tho Harry got shy at the actual giving). Thanx so much for letting us celebrate with you, Caroline!

Welcome to the 6's!

Elvis Presley's It's Carnival Time

just dribble up - game nite 4

The boys are still playing basketball on Friday nites, and tonite was about figuring out how to get the ball high enough to get it into the net (from the right side) and dribbling the length of the court and just working together as a team. It's a good foundation, and they're seeming to like it!

Jack practicing his dribble
and Harry taking it down the court

Jimmy Fallon's (I Can't Play) Basketball

Nothing's quite the same as the Pajama Game

Today was the 100-day celebration at school, a great excuse to count lots of 100's, wear cozy pajamas, watch fun movies, and basically have a good time! Here are my two modeling their once-a-year school outfits, including backpacks...

...which also have to be seen from the back
and totally decked out for the weather and the fun!

Happy weekend -

may you stay in your most comfy gear as long as you want!

The Pajama Game

Drain Bamage

Yesterday, a big fun group of friends got together for bowling! It was fun, and mostly they were cute and behaved, but when I looked through the pix, I got a little Pink Floyd tune in my head that hasn't gone away - maybe it was the tiedye shirts, maybe it was Harry's insistence on bashing his head into things...who knows?!

He was really trying to play with the blower, maybe better, maybe not?

Then he and Jack were playing a game, rolling the ball back and forth, then here he goes again....silly boy! There don't seem to be any after-effects, so no dains were bramaged in the making of this post ;-)

Here's the regular cute stuff - they teamed up a bit, and Jack even picked up three spares on his own!

This stance? His dad :-)

Pink Floyd's Brain Damage