an ode to bobby or the lost post

~i found this post recently. it was typed on april 10th, but i had to go through cds and hard drives to find pictures. one thing lead to another and i obviously forgot. when i read it, i knew i had to post it because of the impact it had on our family. so . . .

bobby, bobby b (said in your best snl whitney accent), bobbarino, bob . . . 

these are all endearing terms for one of the few things that has brought miller comfort for the last THREE years. (can you believe he will turn 3 next week??) for a child that screamed for hours on end as an infant and toddler due to horrible eczema that we treat daily with several different medicines, comfort was hard to find. when he was injured, heart broken, tired, whatever, bobby brought him joy. 

i made up songs about bobby:

we love you bobby, oh, yes we do

we love you bobby,  you're always true

when you're not with us, we're blue

oh, bobby, we love you

he went to the beach,
to get miller's first haircut,
and to zoo lights. we used to jokingly say he was our third child because he went everywhere we did.

we knew bobby couldn't be part of our lives forever, but we weren't sure how or when to take it away. then, last tuesday, we forgot to take it to school. miller said he could take a nap without it. on thursday, we lost it. seriously, lost it. miller and i looked everywhere. (or so we thought.) so, another nap with no bobby. that night, i had craft club and josh put him to bed without bobby. he made it! two days later, we spotted bobby under the crib. (miller is still in a crib because i haven't found a bed for carter who is sleeping in the bed meant for him.) i just left it. he found it later when josh asked me if miller had seen what was under the bed. uh, he has now. but we told him it was dirty. he handed it back immediately and later said he wanted to give it to a baby that needed it. as i type, miller is sleeping without bobby for the 9th night in a row. the only problem is he gets up really early, but i am hoping that will correct itself eventually.

if you are wondering why we didn't just give him a different bobby, it is because we only had one. miller has had the same mam pacifier in blue since he was six months old. they discontinued the color/print pattern almost a year ago, so i of course bought all that i could find because don't they know children get attached to things. 

bobby may have been a huge part of our life, but he will not be missed . . . for long.

this is miller straight out of the crib after nap time (5/2008). it is one of my favorite pictures. 

here comes peter cottontail

how about a little holiday decor tour . . .

this is my only display area in case you are wondering why i show the same area over and over. that cute little bunny was finally discovered at pier 1 for $2. that's right, $2. isn't he cute? i love his little home in the vintage wooden thimbles. a sad story-the other night, josh took the trash out and while he was outside, i heard this really loud noise that sounded like something hitting glass. for a minute, i wondered if he was shot. since i was feeding spencer, i just ignored it (nice, huh?) and, when josh came in unscathed, asked him to check it out. he, of course,  found nothing. the next day as  i was looking around, i found a huge crack down the entire side of my glass container. sad! now, i will have to go buy a new one. yeah! also, the two pictures are always displayed there, but they fit perfectly because they were both taken during easter.

this bible verse card is from a set of vintage children's memory scripture cards i found at an estate sale. i love being able to change it out.

carter made this cross at an easter egg hunt recently. miller supposedly has one in josh's car-fyi, i may never see it, it will probably be consumed by marjory the trash heap. i am pretty sure she lives underneath all the diet coke cans. anyway, they just put blue tape in the form of a cross on a piece of wood. it was prepainted white, then the kids painted over the tape. when they removed the tape, it looks like this. how cute? just incase some of you might want a cute and simple craft project for the kiddos with an extra day off.

details for the above paper projects  can be found at martha mondays.

come monday

every monday night, i meet with a group of girls for a little creative restoration. we pick a craft, collect our supplies, meet up, talk, laugh, covet every one else's supplies, talk, laugh, drag out the large craft towers, start crafting, talk, laugh, bounce ideas off each other, talk, laugh, and eventually head home with a semi-finished craft. hopefully, we complete some of the projects and maybe even blog about them. but most of all, we get a much needed break from our typical mommy frenzied day.

over time, other friends and bloggers have inquired about our crafts and so we thought what if we put them all in one place. what if we created a crafty blog where each of us posted our final product with details and tutorials? and so it all began. but first, we had to take care of the details.

we wanted a fun name. we wanted she's crafty. but of course it's taken. whatever. so jennifer and i attempted to think of a creative, kitschy little name. when our over worked baby brains gave us absolutely nothing, we requested the help of our very creative, ridiculously funny husbands. here are a few of their suggestions:

meet the smockers

but, umm, we don't smock

kiss my craft

hmm, a bit inappropriate

are we crafty? i gesso

a little long and do you even know what gesso is??

who gives a craft?

seriously might be my favorite, but once again . . .

then it just went downhill from there. i guess that is what we get from enlisting their help during march madness. so, it was left to us to come up with something. after much discussion and little chance that she's crafty would come available, we settled on martha mondays. why?

because, like i said, we meet on mondays and, when we do so, we try to channel our inner martha, and, daily, the biblical martha. so, if you are looking for a little craftiness, come check it out! 

if you had to read this story twice because you follow more than one of our blogs, i sincerely apologize. so, how about a sneak peek of my easter projects:

now head on over and take a look at what every one made for spring!

this . . .

makes my heart happy . . . as a child, as a teacher and as a mommy.

enjoy.

he'll huff and he'll puff 03.10

remember the perfect day at the park? as we were walking home that day, miller was jumping to get dogwood flowers off a tree. i know, i know he isn't supposed to hijack park foliage, but he was being tended to by his father. as he's trying to swipe the flowers, two women were walking a large, beautiful husky along the path. miller landed on the ground and turned to catch up with us just in time to come face to face with the husky. Startled, he shouts,"oh, no, the big bad wolf!"

after josh and the red riding hoods had a great laugh, he and miller caught up with us and my little prince presented me with this:
oh, i love that kid! what a mess!

you gotta fight for your right

. . . to dress your children!

not long after i had carter, i began to form my own ideas about how i wanted her to dress. i have worked with children of varying ages for as long as i can remember and the first decision i made was that i wanted my babies to be dressed like, well, babies. down here in the south, that entails bloomers and bows and smocking, trunk shows and boutiques, bubbles and jon jons, and so on. and, i am more than happy to oblige!

as she has grown older and more have come along, i have learned that the advice "you have to pick your battles" is entirely true, especially with children. so, we have "rules" (this is a term my friends have given me, i prefer "ideas", as rules implies that i enforce them on others). for example,

some days are bow days

no black (unless part of a costume)

no characters 

well, and, sometimes you have to pick your battles!

especially when they are FREE!! that's right, FREE! thanks, jen and emma, we appreciate the hand-me-down!

and, especially when they make this little boy so happy! he loves some cookie! loves! so this mama will forfeit this one. thank goodness they don't light up!!

bloggers, did you know . . .

have you ever discovered a simpler way to do something and wondered why you didn't know this before? well, that has happened to me once again, and, rather than keep the tidbit to myself, i thought i would pay it forward.

do you use google reader?? it is fabulous. no more wasted time spent checking to see if any of my favorite blogs have new posts. my one complaint with google reader or any such aggregator is that i missed everyone's cute blog decor. it made me sad to read about your latest fun adventure or newest mommy meltdown on a white background without a cute header. but, alas, did you know about the next button?? it is the solution to my problem, and maybe yours! i love it!

would you like one, too? okay, go to your google reader page, click on settings in the upper right hand corner. it will go to a new page with a yellow box. click the goodies tab in the yellow box. and, there it is, second item down, the next button. it takes two seconds to add to your bookmarks bar. then, next time you check your blogs, just click the next button and it will take you to the first blog with a new post. click it again, and it will go to the next one and so on and so on. how cool is that?? i hope this helps!

if everyone already knows this cool tip and i am the last to know, don't laugh too hard! and, help a girl out! seriously, i have three kids, i don't know that my brain will ever recover! and, speaking of my kids . . . 

look at this smiling cutie!! isn't she presh! and, can you believe she will be 3 months old on sunday?!? seriously! with each one, time seems to move faster. i am trying desperately to enjoy each and every second!

sing, sing, sing

recently, carter has become very finicky about music. we actually see this as a somewhat positive experience in our family because we believe not all music is created equal. we have a very musical extended family and both grew up with music playing an important roll in our lives. we want our children to love music as we do. we want our children to feel the intense emotion a song can produce. the smile it can bring, the goose bumps it can raise, the connection it can make. 

our church just released a worship cd. it is really good, and i am not just saying that because josh played on it-it really is good. we have been listening to it a.l.o.t. so much so, that carter can sing along to almost every song. there is something so cool about watching your child sing about jesus. i know she may not understand all of the concepts, but years from now she will remember those words and the promises that they hold. and, hopefully, she will get it. 

it is this same cd that has made me think about worship music as a whole which brings me to the following questions: 

at some point, as a christian, you fear that you may have to listen to sub par music for the rest of your life. have you ever noticed how if someone isn't good enough to cut it in pop or rock music, they go country, and if that doesn't work, they become a christian artist? if you are only singing for jesus to bring fame to yourself, i think you need to rethink singing for jesus.

and

when recording live worship music, why do some people feel it is a good idea to also record the prayer spoken before or after the song?? it is weird. i feel like i am eavesdropping . . . on someone's personal conversation with jesus. weird.

eight days a week

carhop at sonic: "did you get your hair cut? it's cute." 

me: "uhh, yeah. thanks."

d**n you, sonic diet coke! why must you be so good?!?

woohoo!

go tigers go!

no such luck!

isn't that what today is supposed to be about? well, i have one area right now that while lucky for most, is not so lucky for me. as you know, we have an 11 week old baby. oh, she is precious! but, that is besides the point. she is also breastfed. so were the other two. i know that breastfeeding alone comes with all sorts of baggage, but this is not that kind of post. this post is about me! ha! see, most of you who breast feed love it (and hate it) for many reasons, but you really love it because of how it makes you look. most of you find the girls growing while your tummy is shrinking. in fact, you may look a little like this:

me, not so much. see my weight hangs on. and on. and on. until i ween my child. so while you feel like that, i feel like this:

seriously. it sucks. we are hitting the beach in a little less than 7 weeks, and so i have been trying to look a little less like the above by watching what i eat. but let me tell you the problem: i am ravenous. i am hungrier when i nurse than when i am pregnant. it is horrible. and, if you have never nursed (and i am not judging), you do not understand what i mean by hungry.  it strikes out of nowhere and only gets worse until you put something in your mouth. it doesn't matter what, just how much. and the answer is A LOT. because i am a busy mommy of 8 piglets 3 children what i usually grab to stuff my face with is not the best choice. it may include, but is not limited to: goldfish, cheeze its, chips, lofthouse cookies,etc. i know there are better options, but when the hunger strikes, i would eat my hand. seriously.

but, while my skinny jeans might not fit yet, i have hope and, as luck would have it, a beautiful reason to be a little chubbier for the next few months!

and, let me tell you, she is worth it. worth every single pound.

perfect

finally after 8 inches of snow (still bitter, i know), the sun shined and the temperatures rose and we were able to go outside without coats and a bundle of blankets in a carseat. for a few short days, we played outside, went to the park, grilled out,etc.etc. on monday as we played outside, carter said, "daddy, today is what we call perfect!" 

this is miller's favorite thing to do right now-RUN!

what a boy!

a self portrait of mommy & spencer

a short walk to the park

i think she was right! i can't wait for spring!

oh, snow!

sorry for the long delay brought to you by comcast. comcast decided to take 5 days to get my chosen images from colonel awesome's computer to mine. (what do you think? is the name thing working? i didn't think so.) "ridicilus", as we like to say at our house. 

so, two weeks ago, it was rumored that we were in for more snow. carter had a birthday party to attend and josh had a bridal portrait to take, but the stars aligned and we were going to be able to do everything with a hand off at the portrait location. if you live in the south, you know that snow, real snow, is rare, and so is accurate weather forecasting. fast forward to halfway through the party when it starts to rain, then sleet, then snow in a matter of minutes. after i pried spencer from a grandmother's arms, we headed to meet the boys. by the time we made it to the location, the ground was covered and it was snowing hard. we headed home and i could hardly see a thing. my windshield wipers were not working very well and the street was covered in slush. by the time we made it home, it was almost dark. it snowed all night for a total of 8 inches! what?!?

josh played the guitar at an event after the portrait and the next morning at church. our kids didn't get to go play in it until the next day at 2 pm. look at how much snow was left!

snow is yummy!

so yummy, you should share it with a friend!

do you know what happens when you live in the south and you leave your umbrella up and it snows 8 inches~

that's what! nice.

4 days later after preschool, guess what was still on the ground? that's right, snow. now, don't get me wrong, i like snow. especially pretty, thick snow that makes everything look magical. i like it better when we ALL get to stay home and play in it and watch movies and drink hot chocolate while snuggled on the couch. i also like it better when it is gone when we return to our regular routines. this snow lingered, much like winter has altogether this year. and, i am SO OVER winter. 

my mom is not. she built this snowman with my kids after preschool. they made it a pirate snowman because that is the only hat they would let the snowman borrow. my dad found some sticks in the back yard and i pulled buttons from my stash. my mom found part of my broken tail light (from when josh backed into the fence ;) for the mouth and, voila! this was the response when i said, what does a pirate do? miller was heart broken about something. he never recovered. well, you can't make everyone happy! 3 days later we watched the last of our snowman melt. finally! and, it looked like spring was on it's way . . .

it's already starting

what? you ask.

this. this is what i dreaded my children would do. as a teacher, i dreaded they would be the free art kids. free art kids love the free art center. love it. they spend all of center time creating to their heart's content and then gingerly place each creation in their cubby for mommy to find. 

this is miller's first creation. i found it in his cubby a few weeks ago. as i removed it, the puzzled look must have said it all because one of his teachers quickly jumped in and said, "oh, miller cut that today and said, 'my mommy will love this.'" thanks, buddy!(insert sarcastic tone.)

why am i so unenthusiatic already? you ask. because below you will find a week's worth of free art from carter's first week of school. by the way, she only goes three days a week. 
this is the second year i have received such beautiful creations. please, don't get me wrong, i love that my children create. but what in the world am i supposed to do with it all. what?? please tell me. 
i mean how many pretend homework pages for miller can i own. notice not only does she make miller his own homework page, but she actually does it for him!

yummy fruit, anyone??

and, one of my favorites-this is from early fall, too. and, as it dictates, is a sweet picture of miller SO sad because he cannot find cookie. this i understand. this i want to keep, but what about the rest of it? should i feel guilty if i only keep the ones i think are special (because she thinks they are all special!)? help! otherwise, it is going to take over our tiny house!

same song, different verse

do you remember this?

well, look how they've grown! same kids. same chair. different wall color. different matching pjs.

bittersweet. (sigh.)

it won't be long before we squeeze three pajama clad cuties in such a picture. (sigh.)