Christmas Eve Elves!

Me & My Sweet Friend Jen...who will be bravin' baby #THREE this coming June! You go girl!

Picnic at Foster Park

Hugging your hot chocolate is the only way to get warm!

On the Rip-Off Express, I mean, North Pole Express train in Fillmore.

In the Nard while looking at Christmas lights on F&G St. (say that real fast a couple times). Luke is telling Santa he wants "Fun Slides". Yes, that would be one of those infomercial products...$19.95 but THAT'S not ALL. If you call within the next 10 minutes you'll get a 2nd pair free...blah, blah, blah".
Luke was obsessed about these things so what does a loving suckered mother do during the holidays? That's right go online and buy a dang pair and then tell the little darling that perhaps Santa will bring them (if he is on his best behavior that is!!)

The Fun Never Stops...and nor do we!!

After a rainy weekend I decided to take the boys on an outdoor adventure today...the LA Zoo!
We had a great time despite Jake's pensive or rather indignant look!!

Luke, I know you can see me but what/who is your little trouble-maker brother looking at!?

Entering the gorilla exhibit (misters)

Jake was not lovin' this...as you can see. After the pic he kept saying, "Uke, s'else, s'else" which translates to "Luke let's get the heck out of here and see something else!!!"

During our visit we came across a peacock roaming freely. As it slowly approached us Luke anxiously asked, "Do peacocks eat people?" This was followed by the peacock sauntering by and Jake saying, "Bye pigeon!"

...up next more Christmas stuff...

Jakey showing incredible skill and restraint as a very focused helper. He unwrapped about 20 yummy Hershey Kisses and only ate ONE!

The tree was so cute and obviously less tempting when naked.
Why or why do I do some things!!!

Clothing line after the rain..my inner photographer coming out.

Self Portraits AND the holiday spirit!!!!

I bought Luke a kid's digital camera for his birthday because he always borrows mine (it starts so young doesn't it!!). Well, his is still "not mommy's" so I let him use mine on occasion.
These are the type of pics I was surprised to discover (just a few minutes ago actually) after Luke had my camera for oh, 10 minutes (or less!). And this is just a small sample....!

He did however get a couple cute ones. I'll let you choose which.
It is interesting to see what he takes pictures of; it's like a window into his little narcissist soul.

Ignoring the above photo...
If you can't brag about your own kids who can you brag about...so here it goes.
Instead of sending a wish list to Santa, Luke drew a picture so Santa would have something to open Christmas Day too!

Yesterday Luke says, "Mom, you need to save more and you'll live better." I was skeptical of this "profound" statement coming from my 4-yr old's mouth but had lukewarm hopes he heard it at preschool, Sunday school, from a friend, etc.
Weeeelllll, while watching t.v. later I came to find out the source was actually a Walmart commercial!! Funny, but scary how quickly these little ones are sucked into mass marketing campaigns!

Good news is Luke said he wanted to save too. Okay?! I asked him what he would be saving for and he said (the obvious) to buy some toy. But this was followed by him saying, "And give some to my church."
And the angels sung (in my head)!!!

Never A Dull Moment!

My girlfriend gave me this idea to dress the boys as super heroes with aluminum foil.
They loved it!!

However, the little super heroes weren't too happy when their toes ripped through the "indestructible" boots after a few minutes.

I was told that the wristbands and medallions on the belts have SUPER powers!

The horns on the helmets crack me up! I really missed my calling in fashion design!!!

If you don't recognize him that's Jake wearing my over-sized sunglasses while watching t.v.
But when I called his name to get a picture he immediately whipped off the disguise!

Note the dinosaur and fly in the fish's mouths. This was followed by a giraffe, cow and various other animals that became fish food. Shortly thereafter Jake moved on to feeding the fish Cheerios. (That was fun trying to get those darn things out!!) But it was funny watching them go round and round while Jake sat there proudly admiring his work.
Heck, why play the game as intended when you can be so much more creative!

In the morning Jake is like a little track star...running back and forth from his room to the couch until he has all his animals (about 10) situated "just so". Some of the privileged occasionally sit at the breakfast table with him and others get tucked in to watch t.v. with cozy blankets.

In my spare time I redecorated the boys bedrooms. Jake was crawling out of his crib so I moved him into the toddler car bed that was getting too small for Luke. We are cribless finally! Yahoo!

Here's Luke's big boy bedroom! I have to say the pictures don't do it justice. I think the colors look pretty cool and is definitely a room he can grow with.

And the next day we had a wonderful birthday party for Luke who turned FOUR on Nov. 30th! Unbelievable! I absolutely adore him! He's sweet, loving, creative, sensitive, polite, inquisitive, feisty, respectful, funny, energetic, fun and one of my very favorite people in this world!!

Boys Will Be Boys...

Received a phone call this afternoon from a dear friend in Wi today. I couldn't believe it, the last 10 minutes or so of our conversation was miraculously uninterrupted. However, I heard wild giggles and laughter coming from Jake's room which only meant one thing...TROUBLE!

THIS is what I walked into!
And if you were wondering, YES, Jake had clothes on when I got on the phone. I guess he must've felt restricted in the chaos!

They PROUDLY cleared out every single article of clothing and bedding from the dresser AS WELL AS an entire box of wipes strewn throughout the room...some even landed on top of a picture on the wall! So I did get about 10 minutes of uninterrupted, adult phone conversation but I had to pay for it by spending about 20 minutes motivating/disciplining/coercing my little men to clean up their mess AND put some clothes on.

I have a picture of me with a similar headdress when I was about Luke's age. I'll have to hunt it down to compare...he looks a lot like I did in this pic.

And only two days earlier this happened....
I was in Luke's room (right next to Jake's) painting and trying to motor through. After a few minutes of hysterical laughter and lots of loud thumps I decided I'd better check things out. Here it is... I did get a good portion of Luke's room painted while they "entertained" themselves and managed not to break anything (body or otherwise).

Good Ol' Mom Mantra...."Pick your battles!!"

Randoms of the Week

At least it wasn't permanent...and on the walls!

How many people in your life can you say you "adore"?
Well, I ADORE this little man!

And like everyone says "he's growing up so fast"!

Little holiday wreath I made for my own mommy! Love you!!!

Not to be outdone by the felt solar system I made for Luke - which mistakenly includes Pluto that I've been informed is not a planet after all but rather a star.

Jake is 2. In mind and spirit Jake lives in the true essence of what it means to be 2!!
Last week he started climbing out of his crib and refusing to nap.
I've been enjoying Jake's THREE hour naps up until they came to a screeching halt past week.
I AM NOT READY FOR TWO TODDLERS TO BE UP 14 HOURS STRAIGHT (WITH ME)!!!!

What does this have to do with the above picture?
Well, at 3:30 (2 hours later than his usual nap) I decided I, and Jake, had had enough (of his crying and complaining) so "in" he went. However, my little darling was NOT about to give in and nap. Darnit, he positioned himself upright in his crib to defy all odds of napping!

I regret not having this on video but imagine Jake slumbering and sliding from one side to the next as he bumps his head or shoulder on the side of the crib, then wakes whimpering or crying for a few seconds, followed by him falling back asleep and repeating the process several times until he finally falls asleep on his belly for a mere 45 minutes.
Kid's got stamina, will power and tenacity! God love um!