Black & White Wednesday

As most of you might know, I usually reserve pics of my kiddos for my family blog, but I just shot these and they warmed my heart so much I had to share.  I was sitting at my desk and happened to look over & see this...

They are so sweet with one another - most of the time.  The love the feel is apparent to anyone that's ever been around them.  My cup runneth over.  

To see more black & white photos or to link up one of your own, head over to The Long Road to China now by clicking the logo above.  

Shutter Love Tuesday - Faces

This week for Shutter Love Tuesday the theme is 'faces'. I recently posted this pic for Black & White Wednesday but it was too perfect not to post again. So I thought I'd just edit this one a bit differently so maybe you wouldn't think you're seeing the same picture over and over.  And if you still think that, well... Sorry.  Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

To see more photos with the 'Faces' theme or to link up one of your own, head over to Trendy Treehouse now by clicking the logo above.  

I'm also linking up this week with my3boybarians for Sweet Shot Tuesdays.  This is my first time linking up to this challenge and I'm really excited to participate.  This is a pretty sweet shot, in my opinion.  To see more sweet shots or to link up one of your own, head over to my3boybarians now by clicking the logo below.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Black & White Wednesday

I mentioned in Monday's post that we'd spent our weekend on the boat in the TN River.  While I don't post a lot of personal family pics on this blog (I save those for my family blog) I thought a couple of my favorites from the weekend were perfect to share for Black & White Wednesday.  

You can see all our boat pics by heading over to my family blog, though I admit to being a little behind there as well.  

To see more black & white photos or to link up a few of your own, head over to The Long Road to China now by clicking the logo above.  

After the Rain

Peek-A-Boo

I snapped this photo on the first day of spring. We had gorgeous weather so the kids and I spent the majority of the day outside - camera in hand, of course. This is one of my favorite pics of the day. Presley is sitting at the bottom of the slide playing peek-a-boo with the camera. I did a little editing with the color in Photoshop Elements 8. I'm still learning my way around that software.

To see more pics from our warm, spring day head on over to my family blog. I hope everyone's spring is amazing so far!

My Ray of Sonshine

I snapped this picture a few days ago while Keegan and I played outside during our unusually warm spell here in Memphis. I was thrilled with the way it turned out, though it has a couple of blemishes. Still, I love the streams of light the camera captured.

My Ball of Fire

KEEGAN
Gender:	Male
Origin:	Irish
Meaning:	Little And Fiery

And that's exactly what he is: small and fiery. Little did we know when choosing his name while still in the womb that he would actually live up to his given name. But live up to it, he does and he does it well. Small and fiery indeed.

A precocious child, Keegan was born 4 days prior to his due date, he began walking at 8 1/2 months old and could have the child safety locks figured out in no time if he saw you do it only once. His favorite food is broccoli and he would rather sit down to a bowl of grapes than a cookie any day. He loves to be around people of any kind. He knows no strangers and thinks everyone wants to be his friend. He's fiercely loyal to his family and loves with all his heart.

But this four year old ball of fire can frustrate me to no end. I recognize this as a result of him being 50% my child, meaning he has the stubbornness of a mule and he nor I will budge an inch when it comes to some things. Unfortunately, I have also passed on hay fever to both of my children. And so my story begins....

Monday, Keegan's sister, Presley wakes up with a snotty nose. Clingy & fussy, this day becomes mostly about her and trying to make her happy. She's one.

Tuesday, Keegan follows suit. Sneezing & snotty, Keegan is determined to go about his business. Ain't nothing gonna break his stride. My army of Zyrtec, Tylenol and tissues are ready and waiting.

Tuesday evening, Keegan becomes really congested. He has a knack for developing croup so I begin dosing him with tons of saline and making him blow his nose every time I hear him sniff. He goes to bed complaining because he can't breathe.

11:55pm - Keegan tip toes into our room and wakes me up. Tears streaming, he explains that his nose is stuffy and he can't find "Lamby" (a stuffed lamb he has slept with since he was a baby). Can I sleep in your bed? he asks. I scoop him up and place him next to my husband. I grab a tissue - blow - grab another tissue and dry his tears. And I am off to his room to find "Lamby".

12:05am - I have recovered "Lamby" from the toy pit that is my son's room and I hurry back to bed, blurry eyed only to discover there is no room for me in my king-size bed. Both my husband and my son are spread out all across it. Sigh. I go to Mike's side of the bed, roll him over. Back to my side of the bed, I scoot Keegan towards the middle and I take up my position on the very edge of the bed.

1:30am - I'm awake and I have no idea why. Ugh. Frustrated, I try to turn over only to discover Keegan has turned himself sideways in the bed. I reposition Keegan and find another comfortable spot for myself. Husband now snoring loudly.

2:45am - POW! I've just been smacked in the face by my four year old in his sleep. Starting over again.

4:30am - I hear Presley sneezing in the monitor. I roll over to look in the video monitor to make sure she is okay. She's crying now. Off I go to her room with tissues and saline.

5:00am - I get Presley back to sleep and I am climbing back in my nice warm bed. BAM! I'm kneed in the ribs by Keegan.

6:00am - Husband's alarm goes off. Groan.

6:15am - Husband's alarm going off again after hitting the snooze button. I punch husband, trying to avoid waking Keegan who is sleeping soundly between us. I nestle back down under the covers and try to drift back off to sleep.

6:25am - Presley's talking. She's wide awake. I look into the video monitor to discover her standing up in her crib anxiously awaiting someone to come get her. I give up.

I am grumpy, sleep deprived and short. Snot is coming from every direction and I can't for the life of me figure out how such little bodies produce so much of it. I explain to Keegan that he's going to have to sleep in his own bed tonight. I dose both kids with zyrtec and saline and go for coffee. Strong coffee. And I don't usually drink caffeine but I do today. Now my heart feels like it's literally jumping out of my chest.

12:30pm - Keegan is determined to play outside. I tell him I don't think it a good idea given his allergies are attacking him due to spring arriving and he won't budge. He stomps and whines. Remember that stubbornness I spoke of earlier? Yeah, we're butting heads. I digress. I get him dressed and send him outside while his sister is napping. Maybe I can enjoy some peace and quiet. Maybe I can get something done besides wiping snotty noses. I open the office window so I can hear Keegan outside in our backyard. I walk out of the room to retrieve my camera and walk back into the office to find this:

A flower for you, Mommy.

My heart immediately melts. My cup runneth over. How could I have ever been short with this sweet child? This child who loves me with all his heart unconditionally. So I find myself in a somewhat awkward position - apologizing to my four year old boy for my behavior. Apologizing is not easy in most situations, but I find apologizing to your child can be especially difficult. And it was. Of course, that apology was immediately accepted and a hug placed around my neck topped off with a kiss upon my lips. It's okay, Mommy. My thoughts at this very moment: you can have anything you want, Keegan. Anything.

So what have I learned? I have gained a little wisdom through this experience and a large dose of humility. I am also extremely thankful. Thank you, God, for my children. Thank you, God, for being patient with me and teaching me, guiding me along this journey. For all things, I turn to You.

Some Unexpected Fun

Temperatures here in the Memphis area reached the 70s and Mike vowed to get home a little early to enjoy the weather with us in the backyard. Well, things came up as they do with his job sometimes and he didn't get home until after dark. On his way home, he was feeling guilty about not spending that time with kids so he stopped at the store and got a few things....

Keegan was THRILLED! They took off to the backyard with flashlights and perused the backyard for treasure. Then Mike built a fire in our fire pit and we made some s'mores.

BLISS!
I usually reserve my family pics and stories for my family blog but I thought this might inspire y'all to have a little unexpected fun. And fun it was!

Anticipation

This is our family dog, Lucy. She is a seven year old miniature dachshund that my husband got for me right before we got married. A very sweet dog in nature, she is a bit of a spaz sometimes. She still gets terribly excited when people come over and pees in the floor. She still chases her tail. She barks like mad when she hears the garage door go up, the doorbell ring or a knock of any kind. Lucy still gets bored and will upon occasion wreak havoc on one of the kids' toys much to their demise. She is starting to show signs of aging; gray around her face, moving a little slower most days, having accidents in the house. For the latter, I have threatened to give her away on more than one occasion. But she is the epitome of a lap dog and loves nothing more than to snuggle under a blanket with someone - anyone. She is wonderful with our small children, allowing them to learn respect for all animals beginning with her and she is very tolerant of them. And my kids truly love her. And for all these reasons, Lucy is still & forever will be part of our family.

I honestly don't know how families with small children and no dog keep their floors clean. A service I am eternally grateful for, Lucy provides it with eager willingness. She can be found under the table between the kids' chairs during every meal without fail. I have no idea why I was inspired to snap this picture but seeing her under the table anticipating the next bite she'd snag made me reach for the camera, point & shoot.

Thank you for allowing me to introduce you to Lucy. She would be tickled pink over the attention. Have a great day!

Simple but Fun

While the President was giving his State of the Union speech, I decided to do a little scrapbooking. The hubs and I watched it in our office so I was able to dig in to all my scrapbooking supplies. While these pages are simple (again, at this stage I'm all about just getting it done) they are colorful and fun. The first is "I'm just a Toddler" and it's inspired by a little embellishment kit about toddlers. I just picked out some colorful paper and took off. Brads were used on the journaling box to spruce it up just a bit.

This next one is very simplistic. I had only one picture so I printed a 5x7 & just backed the picture several times. I also used photo corners on the picture itself. Brads were used on the journaling box to add just a little embellishment. I didn't want to do too much with this page because the paper is so busy and it pretty much speaks for itself - "Boys".

Happy Scrapbooking!

2sweetthings is Truly Sweet!

I know I've already posted about my friend's Etsy shop but I've got to show her some love again. I just received my first custom order from her and it's adorable! Not only does it fit my daughter perfectly but the craftsmanship is top notch. I'm truly impressed!

This is a little Valentine's Day skirt I ordered for Presley & it is simply too cute. The tag gives you instructions on how to wash and dry the skirt as well as when and where it was made.

These are the little lounge pants I also ordered. Presley loves them! I took them out of the package and she immediately wanted to put them on. This pic shows one of the two front pockets complete with a sweet bow.

Here's a view of the back of the pants. I purposely ordered them a little big (lengthwise) so Presley had some room to grow into them over the summer months. But they are pretty cute rolled up.

I tried for a better picture but I had a moving target. Still, you get the idea and you can see a great pic of the pants in Mandy's Etsy shop here. She does immaculate work and is more than willing to do custom orders. Simply contact her through her shop. Also, be sure to check out Mandy's blog where she documents numerous projects she has going on as well as a glimpse into her family life. This is a great Christian family that I'd love to see do really well because sewing is truly something she loves and it shows in her work as well as her blog. There is a link to her blog on the right, or you can simply click here. Even if don't have little ones yourself, keep in mind that some of Mandy's items would make great baby gifts! If you place an order, be sure and let her know you're a friend of mine. I am so looking forward to my next 2sweetthings order as she rolls out her spring projects. Happy shopping!

Happy Halloween!

Here are my little trick-or-treaters - a pirate and a ladybug. To see all the Halloween picks, go to my family blog (link on the right to World of Noff). Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Sick Kids Trump Computer Time

I haven't posted in several days due to two sick kiddos here at our house.  Presley started running a fever, seemed to recover and now Keegan is running a fever.  Looks like he will recover also.  I have been so paranoid about this swine flu epidemic that I began to panic as soon as I took Presley's temperature the first day.  But I don't think that's what got the kids down.  I'm not sure what they've come into contact with, but it hit Keegan harder than Presley.  We have never gotten flu vaccinations but this year we are ALL getting vaccinated.  We're just anxiously awaiting a new shipment to our area.  I think most who know me know that I am not usually paranoid about germs.  We do exercise good hand washing and sanitizing but I don't freak out if one of the kids eats something off the floor.  My kids are generally pretty healthy kids.  But I have to admit that this flu has got me a little freaked out.  I've been careful to spray everything down with lysol, religiously use Clorox wipes, etc.  I guess you just can't be too careful because both kids came into contact with something.  What about you and your family?  Are you getting vaccinated?  Are you a little more than freaked out about all of this flu talk?

Because both of the kids haven't felt well this weekend, they've been napping pretty good and actually napped at the same time one afternoon.  So I was able to get another scrapbook page done for Keegan's scrapbook.  This is when we first bought Keegan's sandbox.  Keegan was about 15 or 16 months old, I think and we were living in Hendersonville at the time.  Again, I'm way behind.  Hoping to start another page today!

Picture Fun

My baby girl is now 10 months old and I realized that I hadn't yet taken her pictures marking this milestone for her scrapbook.  So we incorporated a little photo shoot with bath time.  I got great smiles from her and had a good time taking pictures, which is one of my favorite things to do.  So here are a few of my favorites.  If you want to see them all go to my kids' blog, The World of Noff (link on the right) and check them out.