Coveting

Could we just talk about this shoe for a minute?  Is this not the most perfect shoe?

I just really love this shoe.  Thanks for talking with me about it. 

Only, I don’t prefer heels.  But if I had to wear them, I’d wear them like this.

Lady Bug

Here’s Rosalyn’s super fancy, extremely well crafted, and expertly sewn Halloween costume. 

While we’re still talking about Halloween I wanted to record some things to remember about the boys first Trick-or-treating experience.  Nick took them around our neighborhood while I handed out candy, so here is dictation from Nick:

Brookston didn’t initially want to go, but finally got into it despite his dislike for his bull costume.  Once he discovered folks were handing out candy he found motivation.  Everett would yell ‘trick or treat’ all the way up the drive-way.  And by the end of the night they both would say thank you without being prompted.  At some point during the evening, Everett became enthralled with a monkey and kept saying “Where the monkey go? Find the monkey.” 

The next day we took a walk as a family and Everett insisted upon bringing his pumpkin bucket, for obvious reasons.  He suspected pumpkin buckets are the path to free candy.  And lo and behold, as we passed a lady sitting on her porch she darted inside and came back out as quickly as she could with her candy bucket!  So, through empirical evidence Everett and Brookston know that the pumpkin bucket is indeed the means to your dreams. 

We have since hidden the pumpkin buckets.

Halloween Pun, I mean, Fun.

 

Everett is a door.

Brookston is a bull.

Together they’re…

ADORABLE.

And this is what it took to get that shot:

We got it in the end.  It only took three adults, 42 attempts, and a container of grapes.  Rebecca did it all by herself with all three of my kids, but she’s a professional, and she’s Wonder Woman.  I don’t worry about holding myself to such high standards.  (But I do like to brag about her.)

Nick and I went as “sick” and “tired.”  We didn’t have to work very hard on our costumes.   

I haven’t gotten a picture of Rosalyn in her costume yet, so you’ll have to wait and see what she was. 

Roz, you’re a mess.

 

But you clean up nice.

Sometimes we get hyper.

Sometimes, when I have free time,

I recently have ventured into a little logo and web design.  You can click on the pictures to see the websites.

 

Blue Dragonfly Massage

 

website:

Most of the pictures on this title page are from my talented friend Kayli who is living the dream over there in Switzerland.  If you want to see some more amazing shots go here.  Nick did the web programming.

 

Rachel Narula Music Studio

I think this website is coming up soon. If you follow it now it links to the old site, so here’s a screen shot:

The web programming for Rachel’s site is by Prieto Designs.

 

Nick’s ‘Hot’ Geekery

Nick puts a lot of work into this baby.

 

Mermaid Treehouse

A year or so ago, I made a blog header for this fantastic kid’s craft site, also a talented friend:

Although, I really think this one still needs a lot of work, but I was really inspired by those mermaids in that treehouse.   Someday I’ll take the time this design deserves and polish it up.

 

Kelly Allen Photography

And, while we’re at it, I did this logo for another talented friend a couple of years ago:

 

As I put all the pictures together I realized I know a lot of talented people.  Nice job guys.  Nice job.  So, sometimes when I have free time I brag about myself and my friends. 

Block Party

So we live in a vintage swank* neighborhood and they rock an annual in-the-street-block party.

This very well may be the first time the boys had Soda Pop.  They called it fizzy.

The little red wagon of toddler dreams: 

That wagon didn’t really get old.

All neighborhoods should be this cool.

vintage swank? *that’s a term I just made up, right there.  I’m not really sure what it means.  Old-fashioned modern?  I don’t know.  So you end up with vintage swank.   I wonder if you google it if it’s a real term…

Mom, here’s your update.

Roz has eaten her first pancake.  She has also joined the daily-banana-for-breakfast bunch and eats it just like the boys.  I just hand her the banana.

I have the boys singing the tune to Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains because it’s been stuck in my head.  Who knows why.  Just this morning Brookston sang the tune with the words “ambulance truck am-bu-lance truck. Fire truck and fire truck, go outside.”

Brookston feeding Rosalyn.

We have a sugar ant infestation.  If I had to choose any bug infestation to have, it would be sugar ants.  Sometimes, I tell myself that they’re being friendly and just trying to help me get things cleaned up.  It’s teaching me not to lean against the counter when I’m doing dishes because they’ll crawl up my shirt.  I was always getting my shirt wet doing dishes.  Really wet.

Since I just revealed grossness, here’s a picture of my kitchen – perfectly clean.  Because this is how it always looks.  Always.

The boys have given up their naps and I, in turn, my sanity.  Theirs was willingly given, and mine unwillingly.  Now we have “quiet time” and that stays in quotes.

Rosalyn pulls up on the furniture to stand.  She gives high fives, claps her hands, and crawls fast enough that she can harass B&E if she wants to.  I encourage this behavior.  And if I hear “don’t eat that, Roz, don’t eat that” ten more times today I’ll…I’ll...I’ll…*sigh.  I don’t know.  Roz has three Moms.  Two are misguided for certain, one we’re not certain about.

The Roz Baby.  Nice bruise, eh?

The boys still won’t eat mashed potatoes and gravy.  I know, I know.  You’re saying “they can’t be your kids, Nicole.”  But I think they are my kids -- enough to know not to get in the way of me and the gravy.

We have the greatest neighbors.  They are heaven sent neighbors and I love them.  They are teaching me what it means to be a good neighbor and I’m taking notes.  We just went to the 35th annual (or something like that) block party.  It was in the street fantastic.  I’ma blog more about that later.

Need a shower?  There’s a handy setting on the hose for that.

Rosalyn is a library book assassin. If you have any books you’re not fond of, request to have her over.

These days I say cool things like: “Brookston, don’t touch your sister with your hot-dog.”  And “Everett, are you having booger trouble?”  And “Let’s not put the books in the dishwasher.”