So Grown Up

C: "Mom, wanna see a grown up E?"

Me: (intrigued) "Sure."

Caleb writes a capital E.

C: "Here's a lowercase e... see the difference?"

Great job buddy. Great job. :)

For The Birds

We have the privilege of owning a home that backs up to a busy road which is currently being widened to allow for more busyness. However, one of the perks of not having a neighbor directly behind us is that we get the opportunity to view vast open blue skies... and some power lines. So if you don't mind the traffic noise, continual dust and unobstructed utility views, it really is a great place to hunker down. :)

This morning Caleb was enjoying a bowl of cereal at our kitchen table. It's Sunday which means there's no cartoon viewing which means he's feeling extremely extra chatty. I love this about Caleb, however it's 6:45 am so I'm not there yet, buddy... I'm still in yawn mode. During a spoonful of crunch, Caleb looks through our back sliding glass door and notices a few birds perched on top of the power lines.

C: "Mom, those birds are watching me eat my cereal."

M: "Oh really?"

C: "Yes. They haven't taken their eyes off of me."

M: "Hmm.."

C: "Why do they keep looking at me?"

M: "Maybe they are hungry?"

C: "No mom. They don't eat cereal, they eat worms."

M: "Oh." "Maybe they are resting?"

C: "But they just woke up."

M: "Right."

C: "Maybe they are bored?"

M: "Well, perhaps you should do a little dance for them?"


Caleb digs this idea. He hops off the chair and begins to do a half bop with snappy fingers. But not too long after he starts one bird flies away.

C: "Mommmm.... they didn't like it. One of them flew away!"

M: "Really? Oh, I bet they loved it. I'm sure he's probably flying away to tell the rest of his birdie friends to come over and watch your show."

Caleb's eyes light up. He stands motionless staring out the sliding glass door.

Then right on cue... less than 20 seconds later a few more birds fly over and join the other two perched birds... making it now an audience of 5. Now, I realize that this is pure coincidence, but I think to myself... oh this could be fun.

C: "Look mom! Now, there's five birds."

M: "See Caleb, I told you. Your dancing is fabulous. They want to see more."

Caleb then proceeds to boogy like I've never seen Caleb boogy before. Full on arm movements, facial expressions and bust a move moves. Wow, I thought. I never get that kind of dance magic.

...Perhaps I outta perch myself on top of that utility wire?

Love,

A Staple Around Our House

Anybody: "Porter, did you go poo-poo?"

Just like clockwork and without any hesitation...this question gets answered 99.9% of the time like this (regardless of what's in the pants)....

Porter: (w/ a slight southern drawl) "Nah, just wet."

Happy Valentines Day

I LOVE....

My Husband

This Guy



And This Little Man



My Sisters


My Parents

Running




My Wonderful Friends

And My Testimony of The Gospel of Jesus Christ



Happy Valentines Day!

Love,

A New Reality

Is there anybody out there that finds the HGTV channel as wonderful as I? I love love love it. I'm not sure what the addiction fascination is about looking inside other folk's homes and watching how other people live. I'm sure it has something to do with the lack of Carrie design skills.... I just know I've got the bug.

Imagine my excitement when the concept of room and furniture renovations spilled over into the world of blogosphering. Actually spilled over doesn't really do it justice. More like taken by fire. There are sooooo many cute DIY (Do it yourself) blogs out there with umpteen fabulous project re-do's that quite frankly you could spend hours and hours a lot of time getting lost and inspired and then not understand why there wasn't any time left in your day to clean the house.

I was filled with all kinds of butterflies when I discovered a new twist on reality TV. It's called a Reality Blogivision and it involves all of the elements that I love. Competition. Projects. And inspiring results galore! It's called, So You Think You Can Decorate and the inaugural Season 1 begins, Sunday Feb. 28th. In my obsessed humble opinion, it's worth checking out.

Brilliant Stephanie... truly brilliant!

Calebism

Overheard by Mom.

Caleb: "Porter, do you want a graham cracker?"

Porter: "Yes!"

30 second delay...

Porter: "Heyyyyyyy, I want two."

Caleb: "Porter, you get one. I have two because my mouth is bigger."

Brudderly love.

Note To Self

When am I going to realize that the time to look for festive holiday ideas is really the month before the holiday...

I was searching for some FHE ideas and came across a fantastic Valentine tradition. I think I'll hang onto this lotsa-love fest idea and introduce it to our family in 2011. Why? Because I think my youngest will get more out of it and (the real reason) because we've already missed a week of the fun!

In a nutshell: Everyone in the family creates a Losta-Love envelope for them self. They are hung on the fridge and within reach of all the children. A stash of pre-made note templates and crayons or markers are kept close by and for two weeks the family spreads love by writing or drawing secret love messages for one another.... and who doesn't love getting mail?

I'd be willing to bet that the overall level of raised voices and fighting may very well decrease in a household over that two week period. I may even just chart that progress next year. And heck, if that's the case I just might institute Holmes Losta-Love Fest all year 'round... :)

I thought I'd pass along my find. If you're interested in doing something similar, you can find the templates here.

Happy Love Month!

Endurance

This month marks the beginning of my marathon training. 16 weeks and counting... 16 weeks doesn't feel like nearly enough time to train and running 26.2 miles sounds uh a... slightly excessive (sarcasm).

I hope this preparatory period will go as fast as a turtle speed-o-meter.

No pain, no gain-

Easy As Black and White

I love all things black. And black and white. Why? I'm not sure. But, I'm truly drawn to them. It's the first thing that I reach for on a clothing rack, the first pair of shoes I peruse through at the store, it's the first car I notice on the road and it's the first home accessory that catches my eye. I'm a creature of habit and I absolutely have tunnel vision for it.

Unless you've been in my house, it might surprise you to know that although I have a fetish for black I don't have any black decor in my home.... This is really unfortunate and frankly quite a bummer. :)

When Damon and I first married we chose to go with the cherry (matchy matchy) look. I've been tempted over the years to purchase a distressed black furniture piece but chickened out due to fear... fear because it would stick out like a sore thumb against the rest of our furniture. And as a realist I also know that it would take awhile before our home would be furnished to fit a new "style".

I have several friends that have LOADS of talent in interior design, they can find a piece of furniture, see a vision for it, refurbish it and put it together with the rest of their house. I love their eclectic style. Along with a good singing voice, this would have been a talent that I would have LOVED to have stood in line for.

Just looking at these things makes me smile...-

Gorgeous Pillow:


I love this vinyl clock pattern:



Cheeky Ottoman:



Collage of Black and White Photos:



Cozy Black Chandelier:



Large Wall Clock:



Magnetic Weekly Planner:



Fabulous Black & White Apron:



Step Stool:



Circular Rug:


Serving Platter:



Table Linens:



I really like this chair:



Newsprint Baskets:



Yummy Barstools:



File Folders:



Black & White Frames:

My wheels are turning...

-Chillax'n

Damon and I took the boys to Mt. Rainier. We went sledding, built snow forts and threw snow balls. And had an absolutely fabulous time!

Snowflakes are one of life's most fragile things, but look what they can do when they stick together...