Spring Break In a Nutshell

Another Spring Break has come and gone.

We were busy but in a "let's do whatever we feel like whenever we wanna" kind of way. There were no time lines and no schedules and that is how I like it!

Our week started off with some fun time spent with my niece, Jessica. At Christmas, we gave her (and her three siblings) certificates that entitled them to a day of fun spent with the four of us and a fun-filled sleep over. The only stipulation was they had to come one at a time. She was pretty stoked about leaving her young siblings behind to come hang out with us for some quality fun! Nick, Nolan, and Jessie spent most of the day outside in the sunshine riding bikes, rollerblading, and climbing trees. Oh, to be a kid again! Then we all piled in the car and headed to a great new restaurant in town called Mizu. The chef cooks at your table all the while dazzling you with superb culinary skills. He also randomly flung food through the air to all of us to see if we could catch it in our mouths. Very entertaining. You should've seen the amount of food on the floor behind the kids! They LOVED this place! Our day/night spent with Jessie was almost like a Christmas present for ourselves...she's a great kid and we loved spending one on one time with her!



We also spent a great deal of Spring Break sharpening our Baseball playing skills. Nick will be playing baseball on a league in a few weeks so we bought him a new glove and headed to the park. It was just Nick, Nolan, and myself digging up the diamond one sunny afternoon. We had a ball! OK maybe a ton of balls especially when mom was the pitcher. :) Luckily, my kids have a lot of patience and didn't mind that the incoming pitches were less than perfect. The fun on the ball field transferred to fun in the backyard when we played catch about a gazillion times over the week. I love playing catch with the boys... they just open up and say the greatest things. For example... Nolan was pondering who would win a baseball game- Superman or the Green Lantern? He went into great detail about who would win and why. I could've listened to him all day!

The rest of the week was spent sleeping in, watching movies, going to the library, having a picnic, making Easter baskets, painting bird houses, and having fun with cousins. It ended with a rainy Easter Sunday and a few family members feeling under the weather. But we spent the day munching on chocolate bunnies and playing a board game together, it was a nice day.

The boys are sad to see the vacation end and are less than thrilled to head back to school especially because it's testing week. Big all day aptitude tests given all week long. I don't blame them for not wanting to leave this laid back, no stress week behind. It's weeks like this one that remind me how happy my life makes me. I'm a lucky gal to have such a fun, healthy, and blessed family. We have fun together and I wish they could hang out with me more often during the week. Ahhh... Summer vacation isn't too far off, I'll have to remind them of that as they head out the door tomorrow morning.

Birthday Wishes...

When I was a kid in the early 80's, my best friend Karen and I would have to come up with some creative ideas to keep boredom at bay. A typical day in our young lives would find us writing "fake letters" to each other. In these letters we would pretend we were all grown up and we would write about our day to day lives, how our "husbands" were the greatest, and that our adorable "kiddos" were the apples of our eyes. After finishing writing, we'd hand them to each other and that's when the laughter would ensue. Karen was a stellar writer even in her younger days and always managed to crack me up. We'd laugh for a few minutes then we'd head to the kitchen to grab cylinder of sour cream and onion Pringles (I swear those containers would breed in her pantry, they ALWAYS had Pringles and an endless supply of Planter's Cheez-Puffs!) then we'd march outside to swing in her hammock, much on chips, and sing silly songs. That's just what we'd do. Without that girl next door my childhood would have been B.O.R.I.N.G.





Fast forward about 26 years.... Today is her 34th birthday and I'm happy she's joined me in the mid-thirties! (Connor would totally debate this fact, he insists I'm in the late-thirties...but he's 40 and senility is affecting his better judgement.) I'm super thankful she's remained my friend all of these years. I love that fake letters are no longer needed... She's got a "real" husband that really is great. Her four kids are amazing in every way. And her day to day life is still worthy of making me crack up from time to time! She's the best mother I know, her kids know they are loved and are growing up to be wonderful little people! If you need a laugh, call Karen. She's brilliant and keeps me in stitches with every visit! I treasure her friendship like no other friend I have to this day. It's a special one that I thank my lucky stars for all of the time. We've got many memories behind us and many more to be made in the future!



Happy Birthday to one of my all time favorite people on this planet! I hope you have something wonderful planned for your big day. Wish I could be there to celebrate with you... I would totally bring some Pringles to share.

Witmob

Today was a beautiful sunny Spring day... Finally. We had snow falling last Tuesday and I was not amused. So I welcomed this bright and lovely day with a smile on my face.

We spent the majority of the day outside. We've been promising the boys we'd take them to the local skate park that we've driven past on numerous occasions. They always ooh and aah at the thought of trying out their wheels at the park. So today they were giddy with excitement and I was not. I don't know why god thought giving me two boys was a good idea. I seriously cringe and worry with every "boy thing" they do. For instance, I was the only mom at the skate park packin' a small baggie filled with first-aid supplies. It's a miracle I don't have a massive ulcer after 12 years of being a mother of boys. Nick and Nolan had THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES and nary a bone was broken. Both of them caught on really quick and were doing tricks off the ramps and half pipes before I knew it. I must say, I actually enjoyed watching them between cringes and gasps.

Then it was off to the Green River for a small hike and to try our hand at hopping on rocks near the water's edge. I really wish I wasn't such a nervous Nellie... Why can't I just enjoy the lovely landscape and chirping birds as my children happily play alongside the river? Instead, I'm envisioning the worst case scenario of them slipping in the river only to be carried downstream never to be seen again. I talked myself out of my paranoia and discovered that I too, can huck a rock pretty far across the river. We had a grand time sitting on giant boulders surrounded by lapping water watching kayakers pass us by in the rapids. It was a lot of fun especially when Connor and Nolan both ended up knee deep in the drink. Good times. Good bone chilling cold times!

Connor said I should really rename my blog. He thinks Witnob is a far better name for me... Worried is the mother of boys. I would have to agree. But I seriously am going to make an effort at being less over protective. It's almost paralyzing and I'm missin' out on some of the fun. I just need to let my boys be boys... I promise I will not bring the baggie of first aid supplies to the park next time, I will just leave it in the car. :)

April Fools Shenanigans

We survived another April Fool's Day around here. It makes for a fun day, but also makes you feel a little paranoid at the same time.

I started the morning off trying to trick the boys. I told them to go get the milk out of the milk box that the milk man just delivered on the front porch... Nick came in with a notice from the milkman stating their cows can't produce enough milk to sustain the needs of our community... too many teenage boys drinkin' too much milk... Nick and Nolan were outraged until they saw me snickering.

Next... I was at work, when I received a phone call from CPS. The lady said they have had a few reports of Nolan coming to school dirty and smelly and that I'd have to come in to talk to them. Yeah right! I knew right off the bat that it was my old pal Suzan trying to pull a prank on me. See, I've gotten her SO MANY TIMES in the past (she's gullible that way) that she tries to get me back. Didn't work! I said "Really? And what school does my son attend?" Ha! She didn't have an answer, plus I know for a fact my kids are clean and smell just like fresh daisies every day of the year! :) Nice try Suzan!

Then...another call came in to work for me. This time it was a crazy customer who said his doctor wanted him to purchase some "Cow Butter" for his "Itchy groin". Um....yeah.... Hello Connor! I must admit, his accent was well done, but 16 years of marriage and you know your spouse's voice backwards and forwards. I have to admit that while I was laughing out loud into the phone receiver a little part of me was praying this wasn't an actual customer.

Connor also tricked Nick and Nolan by making a Russian Roulette dinner. On a few of the appetizers he made, he sprinkled Tabasco sauce for a "fun" surprise. Apparently, it made for a fun dining experience. And much milk was consumed-- mostly by Nick!

Then right before we climbed into bed, Connor opened his closet door. Inside he found a note from Nick saying "April Fool's DAD... I set your clock ahead one hour... hee hee hee" Of course, he meant for Connor to find this note the following morning after showering and getting ready for his work day. He was disappointed this morning when he found out his joke was thwarted.

He also put a bunch of hardback books in Nolan's pillowcase, hoping Nolan would clunk his head when it was time to go to bed. Nice huh? Nolan was not amused.

Ahhh... Fun times. It turns out we all need a little work at being more tricky. Which I guess is a good thing. :)

Bathroom Renovation Complete!

For the past few years I've been thinking about renovating our little powder room downstairs. I've never liked the nasty marbleized teal counter top that graced the top of the blah cabinet beneath.And the green tile on the floor drove me crazy every time I'd try to scrub the nasty white grout... I was never able to get it clean enough.
And my dated sponge painting technique was buggin' me every time I stepped foot into that room...So, we finally pushed up our sleeves and got to work trying to make our little bathroom shine to our liking.









I have to admit that a little trip to Costco started the ball rolling. We, or maybe I should say, I fell in love with this little dark brown vanity with a lovely marble top. I knew it was exactly what I was looking for and it fit perfectly!


We tore out all the green tiles and installed new brown/tan speckled ones. Neither one of us had ever laid a tile before so we were nervous about the whole procedure. But with some research, a few calls to my expert tile laying dad, and a tile saw borrowed from our neighbor we were tiling like pros in no time!

I love how the floor turned out!I painted the walls twice... First color was too dark. I mixed a couple colors together from the endless supply of paint cans in our garage and voila...I made something I could live with!We decided to go with a mostly brown room with blue accents. That meant I got to go shopping! I must have gone to every store that sold towels withing a twenty mile radius of our home before finding the ones I liked.

Connor picked out this faucet. It's very pretty and it is fun to watch the water dribble down the little channel before falling off into the sink. Nice choice Connor!

The boys were beyond thrilled to have the bathroom back in working order. They voiced their lack of enthusiasm for having to trek up the stairs every time they had to go to the john.

It took us a lot longer than I had anticipated to finish this job. Seemed like our weekends were jam packed with activities lending only an hour or two to work on the renovation.

But we persevered and today we can flush downstairs yet again!

The boys had to play rock, paper, scissors, to find out who was going to be the first one to try out the new facility! :) Nolan won.

It's very satisfying knowing we worked together on this project and it turned out even better than I anticipated. I love it! Thanks for all your help, Connor. We make a great team!

Odds and ends of growing up and growing old.

Here are some of the latest goings on around our homestead...

Nothing earth shattering going on here lately, but a few things floating around in my head that I feel worthy of writing down.

1. A few days ago, I entered the doors of the local Junior High School and sat through a parent orientation that strangely brought me right back to my junior high days. It was a very nice school, but I'm in serious denial that my son will be attending that place in the Fall. He's going to have an ASB card, use power tools, suit up for P.E., rush around crowded hallways, etc. etc. etc.... How did this happen so soon? I swear it was just yesterday that I was trying to teach him how to push those yellow plastic shapes into that red and blue Tupperware shape sorter sphere. Time is slipping by.

2. Nolan made my day this morning... I got up early (which is unbelievable in itself) and was sitting by myself on the couch enjoying a quiet cup of coffee along with Meredith Vierra. Next thing I know, sleepy Nolan, with bedhead beyond anything I've seen in a long time, plopped down next to me on the couch and leaned his head on my shoulder and gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. Seems so simple, but I really needed that. He's been seeming like he's growing up and trying to avoid the snuggling sweet stuff lately. Made. My. Day.

3. I can see the light. The light that will be our finished bathroom renovation. Connor and I worked a bunch this weekend on getting more steps completed... Just need to grout, seal, install trim, and attach the new vanity/sink that has been living in my family room for a month. This weekend we learned that we are one of the lucky couples. The type of couple that can withstand home renovations without wanting to kill one another. We work well together and actually had fun! :)

So see, nothing front page news worthy happening here... just a few thoughts bumping around in my brain that I thought I'd share. :) I'm getting older people, it's getting to the point that I need to jot things down or I'll forget about them forever.

Daydreaming and watching paint dry...

While I wait for paint to dry...

I will think back to my great weekend spent with Connor. His terrific Aunt Lee agreed to take our boys Saturday and Sunday so we could have a weekend together. We played "tourist" in Olympia and it was a lot of fun. We walked around downtown and along the waterfront harbor checking out the little shops and dining out to our hearts' content. The weather was bi-polar and we never knew if we'd be faced with sunshine or snow anytime we walked outdoors...kept things interesting! Why do we wait so long between weekends away? We had a wonderful time together and I know for a fact that Nick and Nolan had more fun that we could have ever shown them. Aunt Lee's house is a boys dream paradise... She lives on the Puget Sound so they usually hang out on the beach looking for crabs and fishing for who knows what. And the food that comes out of her kitchen is delicious and never ending! :) Great weekend for all! Thank you Aunt Lee!!

I've also got Nicholas on my mind today... I dropped him off at school today packed to the gills for his big 6th grade camp excursion. He and the entire 6th grade hopped on buses headed for the hills and some fun expeditions to be sure. He was SUPER excited and that makes me smile from ear to ear. He wont come home until Friday so it will be very strange around here without him. Nolan seems pretty excited, but I know he will miss his big bro in no time flat. I can't wait to hear about all of his fun experiences and to give him a big hug on Friday.

I'm also wondering how on earth I managed to pick the exact same paint color for my bathroom that I used in Nick's bedroom.... I mean I must have taken 32 paint chips from 3 different hardware stores and agonized over them for days before settling on the one I thought would be "just right". After painting for awhile I got a strange feeling that this color resembles Nick's, so I took the little paint chip up to his room and placed it on the wall and BINGO...it is exactly the same! Weird. Anyway, it's looking much darker than I expected and I'm hoping I haven't just painted a cave of a bathroom in my house.

Well, the first coat must be close to dry by now... on to coat number two! No rest for the wicked!

Mad Scientist

Things get a little crazy around these parts this time of year...

You may be thinking to yourself, spring cleaning? Tax time? After school sports?
None of those things apply, although the tax thing is weighing on my mind.

It's the school's Science Fair. And while I totally feel it is a worthwhile endeavor and completely necessary for teaching my boys the value of science, It brings me grief. No matter how much I try to step back and let my kids do the majority of the work, there is no way to avoid being sucked in.

This year, Nolan decided to make a mirror chamber. What's that you ask? It is a really cool project in optics and reflection. But it also caused his parents to trek to the hardware store several times and fork out more dough than they really wanted to, but it is all for the sake of science, right? It turned out great, he had a lot of fun making it, but I'm beyond thrilled that this project that took up most of our weekend is finally OVER.

As for Nicholas, that boy has floored us completely. He did the ENTIRE project from start to finish all by himself. He built a catapult from wood scraps in the garage and tested it to see what objects worked best for flying the farthest. His was out there sawing, hammering, and perfecting his project until it was complete. And let me tell you, this kid doesn't mess around. I believe his findings show that bouncy balls really make the best projectiles. He even added some flair with duct tape accents. (I'll post pictures later...)

It was so nice only having one science project needing our assistance. But somehow, even that one project made me feel overwhelmed. Sadly, I think this is just a sign of me getting old. I swear something like this wouldn't have phased me five years ago. So tonight's the big fair, where all the students display their projects for all to see. It's always fun to see what interesting experiments these kids come up with. They stand in front of their display boards with big grins ready to explain their scientific data and conclusions. It really is a great thing. Especially when we wake up tomorrow and don't have to think about it for another year!

I La-uv Him Soooo Much...

My husband is the absolute best.

I worked my tail off at work yesterday, all the dang day. Mondays are always insane at the pharmacy, but yesterday took the cake. INSANELY BUSY. Our busiest day EVER. So when I called Connor for a few minutes during my lunch break, I think he could tell by my my tone that I was less than thrilled with my day.

Fast forward several hours...

I drove home late in the evening completely tuckered out from the crazy day. I walked into our quiet house and climbed the stairs to my room where I found my sweet hubby. He had drawn a bubble bath for me! :) He had several candles burning and my favorite magazine was waiting for me on the side of the tub. And for my drinking pleasure... he poured my a yummy mixed drink concoction. Aahhhhh. Just. What. I. Needed. (He even cleaned the kitchen 'til it was sparkling clean!)

Am I lucky or what? Thank you Connor, for continually taking the time to make me happy! You are always so thoughtful. You turned my frown upside down! :)

Good Day Sunshine!

It was a balmy 55 degrees outside today and the sun was shining bright, so what were we to do?

We piled into the car and headed West to plunk our behinds on a log that was washed up many moons ago on the beach along the Puget Sound.

I hadn't been to the beach in a very long time. It was nice to hear the seagulls and smell the salty air. It was beautiful... hardly a breeze and the sun felt so good. For some reason I have never been more ready for Spring to arrive than I am this year. It's sooo close!

These two almost always put their arms around each other when it's picture time. I seriously don't prompt them to do this... I love that they actually like each other. :)

Just missin' dad!

Nicholas found something I've never seen on a beach before... an actual shark jaw. He was totally jazzed about this discovery, it had a few large teeth and another row of tiny teeth behind those. So cool!
Their cousins and aunt Shannon met up with us to join in the fun. Here's Jessica with my boys. I just have to say that this girl is a never ending growing machine. She's only 11 and is only 1/4" shorter than me... She shows no sign of stoppin' I think she may reach 6 ft. before the ripe old age of 14.

Here's Jessica's little sister, Nita... I don't think I have to worry about her getting taller than me, she's petite in every way. Well, except maybe in attitude... Watch out for her she's got some sass. I love her!!

My sis-in-law Shannon wouldn't let me take any photos of her. How rude. But here is proof that she was there. She's always a lot of fun and I'm glad she lives so nearby that we can do stuff like this!

I missed any shots of Ben and Jay because my camera totally died... ran out of batteries half way through our fun. They were so cute playing by the edge of the little creek that ran into the Sound. You'll just have to use your imagination. Maybe Uncle Sam's refund will be put to good use towards a new little camera in the coming month?

I am looking forward to many more days of sunshine in our future. When they are so few and far between you want to make the most of them! I think we accomplished our goal today.

Maybe I should have named him Alec...

I was warned.

By many mothers who have lived through raising boys around the age of 12-13.

I just didn't think it would happen to me. After all, my kids are perfect. :) But after a conversation with Nicholas the other night it appears that I, too, am going to have to weather the storm of smart remarks made by kids going through adolescence.

We were just sittin' around the television flippin' through the channels when "The Simpson's" came on. My boys hooted with glee in hopes that the channel surfing would stop right there. That's when I opened my big mouth and said, "Jeez, I can't believe they are still making new Simpson's episodes...that show started back when I was in high school." To this my oldest son remarked "Gosh, mom, you had TV back then? I thought you just sat around and watched fire."

Um...excuse me? When did my sweet, tenderhearted, thoughtful, and kind son turn on me? I have to admit that his smart Alec remark was quite a zinger, and I laughed out loud more than anyone in the room...but it still hurt. Just a little.

Nineteen Valentine's and counting...

Connor and I have spent 19 Valentine Days together so far... Wow, that is more than half my life. Crazy.

And most of those were celebrated at home in our own kitchen cookin' up some new recipe that sounded good to us at the time. It was always easier to stay in rather than fight the crowds at restraunts and finding a babysitter on Valentine's day was never an easy task. Cooking in the kitchen with your sweetie is so much fun especially with some good tunes and a delicious drink concoction in your hand.

This year we all had a hand in the Valentine's dinner.

Connor and I decided on bacon wrapped scallops (thank you Giada), a side of fried zuchinni, and parmesan garlic bread to boot. YUM.

Nolan LOVES to cook and wanted to help out, so we put him on zuchinni duty. They turned out divine... And Nicholas, being the artistically creative one, set off to make some Valentine's flair for our table. He made some lovely "never die" flowers and lit some candles to add to the ambiance.

The boys even started a fire in the fireplace...all by themselves! So we sat down to eat our awesome meal together and it was one of my best Valentine's Days ever. The scallops were cooked to perfection and the zuchinni was pretty much inhaled instantaneously (hence this photo shows no sign of the veggie). And the best part was having my three favorite Valentines surrounding me at the table... I love these guys.

He can be taught!

Nolan and I turned on some tunes and hunkered down to clean up his room that was being swallowed up by an endless array of meaningless stuff.

It only took two hours of sorting through junk on every surface in his room, but we did it! He was amazingly willing to part with much more than I had anticipated. I measure our success by not only how much better his room looks and feels but by the way he immediately wanted to sit down to write his cousin, Hanna, a letter on his newly found desk top!

We took Connor's advice and created a bigger "box of joy" filled with goodies his little heart could not live without... It fits nicely under his bed and even has room for future treasures.

I'm a firm believer in blaring good music while cleaning... it makes it so much easier!

Our first hike 2009

Ah... once the fog lifted this morning we saw some wonderfully blue skies and sunlight streaming through some wispy clouds. Wow, what luck! And it was Saturday too! Nothing beats a sunny day in the Northwest I tell you.

So...on went the sneakers, sweatpants, hoodies, and SUNGLASSES! We headed out for a hike in the woods. Nothing too extreme for our first outing this year... just headed to the next town where they have the best, relatively flat, well tended hiking paths to get our blood pumping. We also chose this path because after a couple of miles, it conveniently passes very near a quaint cafe that overlooks the river. We were famished after all of our tromping in the dirt and deserved a little grub of burgers and onion rings don't ya think? I just kept telling myself that I would burn the calories on our journey back. OK...maybe not enough but who cares, those were some darn fine onion rings worthy of every calorie.

It felt so good to be outside. The boys were happily discovering nature again. Sword fighting with giant branches, skipping over mud puddles, tossing rocks into the river, and hollering in the tunnels trying to make their mother cringe. It was all good. I do love living in the Northwest. I just wish we didn't have to spend so much time indoors dodging all the rain and misty gray weather. I guess I just have to remind myself that this misty gray weather is what makes everything so unbelievably green and lovely when the sun finally decides to show up!

One of my new year's "resolutions" is to spend more time hitting the trails. It's fun, free (unless you load up on lunch!), and my boys are the perfect ages for making the adventures hassle free and enjoyable. It is a great activity to share...bonding with nature and eachother!

How do you spell Nolan? P.A.C.K.R.A.T.

Ok... here is a glimpse into Nolan's world.

This boy seriously cannot throw anything away. He has absolutely no desire to purge his bedroom of useless dust collectors.

I have tried NUMEROUS times to convince him that cleaning up and tossing out old stuff makes you feel good. But he just says "nope mom, I love all this stuff". Really? Can you really love 4 tubes of lip balm, a broken Hulk action figure, a calendar that only displays July 2008, a damaged shell necklace, a geode covered in dust, piles and piles of crumpled paper, a picture of a hamburger, a birthday hat from so and so's party, a dusty pinball machine that no one ever plays with, a tiki made from wood, a green rabbits foot, a scratched up magnifying glass, a broken pez dispenser that is void of candy, a glow stick that hasn't glowed since Halloween, a nerf dart that's missing it's suction cup, a mood ring that only shows one color, stale Easter candy, blah, blah, blah.....

And this is only what is on his dresser and desk. I will spare you from seeing his closet. I just don't think anyone is ready for that. I probably couldn't even open the door all the way to get a proper photo even if I wanted to... Do you see what I'm dealing with here people?

My goal this week is to have Nolan work with me in learning how to clean and organize. Wish me luck. This is not going to be easy. I will post the after shots when our lesson is complete.