An open letter to my sons

Where should I start with you two?
The thousands of hairs pulled out daily by your tiny fingers?
My almost-scratched-way-too-many-times corneas?
The 1,0000 ER trips? The ER trip on Christmas day for Ace because of a certain someone who shall remain nameless? One hint- his name starts with a G and ends with an unner.
The emergency trip to the dentist for me because of the head butt that almost broke off my front two teeth?
The bajillion pieces of technology destroyed by your curiosity?
The screaming sessions at just the most inopportune moments?
The furniture we can't even give away on Craig's list now?
The new carpet that is now ruined from only 4 short months of your presence?
The peaceful mommy-time interrupted by your refusal to nap?
The times you practically kill each other when you get in your 'crazy modes'?
Hmmm, well I could go on... but this is starting to grow into a bit of a long list.

But I have a longer list, so you're gonna sit there and listen, you hear me!
I will start instead with this:
For every hair you pull, I am amazed and taken aback by the sweet smell and beautiful feel of each tiny strand on your heads.
For every eye almost gouged out, I'm reminded of the sheer beauty of those gorgeous peepers you both have.
For every ER trip I am reminded of the beautiful blessing of the health and well being of our little family when we could all be hurting so much more in so many ways.
For every piece of electronics destroyed, I am amazed by how brilliant you both are and how much you both have already grown in the short time you've graced us with your presence.
For every scream fest and tantrum you have, I'm reminded to count my blessings and be grateful for your strong and amazingly sweet voices and that you can scream your lungs out when you want.
For every piece of furniture ruined, I am grateful for your ability to ruin it- by jumping, coloring, ripping, hitting and everything else your little bodies can do.
For every stain on the carpet, I am grateful we had the money to give you the food and juice for which to spill and mush.
For every nap you didn't take, I am grateful that you are able to sleep, and sleep well, and wake up refreshed and beautiful, ready to play again.
For every time you almost kill each other, I thank the good Lord in Heaven for giving you each a brother to annoy and love.

You two are the most gorgeous, sweet, amazing, beautiful, wonderful blessings I have ever been giving by our almighty Father and Teacher. With out your pirate screams, your robot rampages, your creature-from-the-black-lagoon drools and messes, your amazing strength to reach out and grab (literally and figuratively :)) almost anything you want, your funny faces, your beautiful spirits, your exceeding baby patience for your parents and all of our screw ups, your bottomless love and affection, your kisses, your hugs, your baby laughter, and your little fish stick feet, I am nothing. I was nothing.

Till there was you.

I adore and love you both from the endless mommy love inside my mommy heart.
<3 and xoxo forever and ever.
Love, Mommy

Be like you

Asylum Street Spankers

You with your big blue eyes

You with your big surprise
You with your "I don't know"s
You with your mismatched clothes

Chasin the kitty cat
Tiptoe and pitter pat
Hiding 'neath the kitchen chair
Sleepin with a teddy bear

You sittin at the breakfast table wearing two different shoes
I, I wish that I could be like you

And when we're jumpin on the bed
Jump jump jumpin up and down
It seems like such great bliss
Makes me wonder if
A grownup like me could ever feel like this

You with your funny smile
You with your certain style
You when you play pretend
You know you're my best friend

You sing a bit off key
You say "Hey look at me!"
How I wish that this could last
But you're growing up so fast

And I love your silly expressions
And your different point of view
And I, I wish that I could be like you

And when we're walking down the street
Walk walk walkin hand in hand
We're having so much fun and when the day is done
I tell you I'm so glad you're my son

You're quite extraordinary and it's absolutely true that I,
I wish that I could be like you
I wish that I could be like you

I wish that I could be like you.

Sweet Shot Tuesdays!

Brought to you by life with my 3 boybarians!



So the deal is just to put up the best shot you took this week.

The photo I submitted:
(Just a little background- I call this one Seattle at midnight. It's a long exposure shot done of downtown Seattle from my front porch shot sometime between 11pm and 12am, I can't remember the exact time. And when I say long exposure I mean the shutter stays open about 15 or so seconds. I have not edited this picture in any way- it is what it is. I do little editing of all of my photos as it is aside from cropping. :))

The ones I had trouble deciding between:
(The next 2 are also from my front porch at around the same time, but the shutter was open a bit longer- say 30 seconds or so- I'm not quite sure. But it's a long time as far as shutter time goes! So yes, it really was taken that late at night- close to midnight- and yes it was practically pitch black outside. I just love these pictures! I think long exposure night/ low light pictures are turning out to be a favorite of mine. :))

                        

                                        

<3tprm

Quick art

So the other day I needed to get some work done and my oldest son really needed something to do besides watching SpongeBob :)
What I needed to do was time sensitive, so I had to think fast. We just moved so a lot of his stuff was still packed, and he was pretty tired of everything we had for him to do. And coloring was out cause that only keeps him occupied for about 20 seconds, and after that we usually end up with some beautiful wall art ;)

My first thought was "Why not set him out on our porch on this gorgeous day and give him something to do out there?" So my next thought was that if he was outside, he could do something messy, which he loves of course. He is the epitome of boy-ness. And really, what 2 year old doesn't love to get their hands in goop and make a mess? :)

"Finger paint! That is the answer!" He's never really painted much before and I knew he would love it. But alas, there was no finger paint readily available. Of course. I usually have great, grand ideas, but they usually fizzle out when it comes to the actual execution. But I was just too sure about this craft-ivity that I wasn't gonna let a lack of Crayola deter it!

So I grabbed a few plastic sauce containers, some food coloring, and some dish soap. Now I know what you're thinking- FOOD COLORING??? Yes it was quite messy, but all evidence was erased the next night at bath time :) So while this experiment was a ton of fun for him, it was rather stain inducing, so I don't recommend having your kid try it right before church in their cute little blazer with the elbow patches on it. It is, however, the perfect thing for a gorgeous day right before bath time :)

My recipe was crude- five drops of food coloring to five drops of soap. Just enough for him to paint with and not spill every where. But more than enough to leave him looking like he just got home from a toddler paint ball tournament as evidenced below:



But trust me, it got MUCH worse :D

So I definitely recommend this crafty project, even if it is messy, cause the results are totally fridge-worthy. :)



And he absolutely loved it :)



But you might try different ratios- more soap and less food coloring might give you better stain results! :)





So what are some of your favorite messy (and non-messy if you prefer :)) summer craft-ivities?