because it's been awhile...

no, we haven't (all) been hiding, just busy. sorry!
























last few are from one sunday a few weeks ago when we had services at a local olive orchard and stayed afterward to pick olives and eat. Some ppl went to the processing bldg, but it was naptime for us =( Man in the white on the left is our old chaplain, new guy is in blue on the rt (of the first pic below).

"patcherk camer?"

"ok, here, take a picture of momma and 'fer"
"smile! hol' still! cheeeeee!! now look."
"bossy butt."
"'fer: smile. momma: loooka atda camer."
"that's enough pictures. let me see."
"nooooooooooo. more pitchers."
"ahem. we are done taking pictures."
"cyouter now?"
"yes, now we're going to put them on the computer so people can look at them."
(runs and gets the closest little people)
"peepew. look. see?!"













































The End.

Our House is Back to as "normal" as it gets...

These two are the last of our sneaky cat's second litter. As of Wed. they are all gone and we are back to only 4 "under 3's" in our house. phew.

In comparison, Tuesday night we had 10 "under 3's" in our house with a collective 36 legs. yeah, thirty-six.

Allow me to explain: I was the on-duty stray animal guy on Tuesday. I had just gone to bed at around 9, which is slightly on the late end considering the alarm was set for 4:50 (ugh). I had been in bed for about 10 minutes, just long enough to get really comfy and settled in, when the duty phone rang. Downstairs. I got up and ran down to answer it. My co-worker (who is conveniently not at work this week) decided to go to the gym. On the way home from the gym he happened upon a squeaking box. A squeaking box of five puppies, approximately 6 weeks old. Being the on duty guy and therefore "responsible," I tell him to bring the pups to the house and I will take them to the kennel in the morning. After bringing the outside dog crate in and getting the puppies settled, I again laid down and closed my eyes, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before the alarm went off at 4:50 a.m.

The boys are just getting over a tenacious cold, and were therefore up more often than usual, and the puppies were up several times, but I must have gotten some sleep because at 5:20 the following morning I bolted awake and realized that although I had set the alarm, I had neglected to activate it. Now I'm late and have to provide transportation for 5 pups and the last kitten who is being adopted out today. I should also tell you that our cat carrier is not that cool and the kitten figured out how to get out of it. I drove the whole way to work with one hand on the wheel and the other holding a 12 week old kitten, trying not to get clawed/bit by the attempts it was making to escape.

Fun week. I am looking forward to this 4 day weekend. So this Thanksgiving I am truly thankful for a "normal" house of 4 living things under three years old with a mere 12 legs. 2 of which are attached to knees that are dangerously close to crawling, but I'll take it.

a post with words on*

*this one's for granny boo, who asks all the right questions and sends all the right stuff.

Now that the monkey is able to sit up (mostly) on his own, he has his very own seat. He approves. So does Tonka.






I'm pretty sure they are talking about me, but what can ya do.









Do you see what I see? Here, let me show you another way:









Elaboration: until rather recently, the options for the youngest boy were rather limited (milk, milk, and...um...more milk), with no potential for variety in the near future. Tonka, for the record, was not interested in varying his diet for close to a year, and I wasn't even planning to offer the monkey experimental veggies from my plate until at LEAST 6 months. Baby-led solids, ya know? Well, this baby had other ideas. He attacked my sweet-potato laden finger one day last week on its way to my own mouth, and is now hooked on anthing orange and mashed. This is how he eats, with one or both hands FIRMLY gripping my hand and guiding finger or spoon to his mouth. There is no playing around, basically no tongue-thrust, and lots of swallowing and babbling. After about 2 T, he's done, which is still enough to impress me. The ubiquitous "they" say this might help with the puking (did I tell you monkey's other nickname is "puke-face"?), but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Where did my newborn go, and can I have him back please??

PS: Mom, I spy a high chair and cover, popsicle sticks (and mold, unseen but used), spoon, and socks. Oh, and in the background a cookie sheet. Thanks!

WW: a little something to distract you from the news...

...in no particular order, though each is connected to an interesting story. Too bad this is supposed to be a wordless wednesday post ;-)

Technology kicks my butt again....

So we made a really cool video today. The boys played with each other, Patrick said Hi to all his favorite relatives, and there was even a secret handshake. Sad to say the audio never made it off the camera and into the computer. Ugh. So I am trying to figure this out for a while, then I am going to dropkick my computer/camera into next week. If you and I are lucky we may get to see this on the internet. If I am not lucky and you are, maybe the missus will bring the video camera when she visits. Stupid technology.

two-inch squares

did you know that I hate to throw something out if I think there is any chance it might be of use to me later?





did you know that drives mr. waaz batty?







did you know that scraps make a really neat matching game?






did you know that all 2-year-old's love the box just as much as the toy?






score one for the hoarder thrifty crafter!

yup, all boy.

"new sliiiiii!!!!" (yes, from the dumpster)

"be fare-cul...wash: go dow sli!!"








"bonk! nose! slii!


"'gain? 2...4....go!!!!" (note the bloody nose)

an agritourismic experience

the view:

The company: Heather and my chunky monkey.








antipasti: olives, pickled artichoke and eggplant, sundried tomato, fresh cheese, bread, olive oil, and basalmic vinegar








primi piatti:pasta primavera








segundo piatti: baked chicken, rosemary garlic potatoes, grilled zucchini.








Riposta: well-deserved.

So, who wants to come visit?

Photographic proof...

That I met Rich Franklin and Tim Silvia:

Rich signing flyers

Me, Rich and Tim

Funny story, I wasn't as excited about meeting Tim Sylvia as I was about Rich Franklin (who happens to be my fave) but after today I earned a lot of respect for him. Turns out we have very similar views on many things, like: Dana White, Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar. If you don't know who these people are it's ok; but if you are an avid fan such as myself, go ahead and start being jealous.

(almost) WW: good start

book: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.
coffee: flavored with pralines and cream creamer
boys: plotting conversing on the floor
spirit: refreshed

peek-a-boo

tie-died cotton from my mother: $0machine thread: $.10naptime: priceless.
now let's see if I can get anything done (ha.ha.)

Sleeping like a ...

on the floor with my boys

first, the smile:
and then, what happened next: