I Might Have Gotten a Little Carried Away

Recently I have been looking at pictures from last summer and thinking how handsome Zander looked with shorter hair. I have been debating getting his hair cut, but I just hate paying so much for a boys haircut or trim. I had a great girl up north that would cut the kids hair for a very reasonable price, but just haven't found anyone down here yet.

Today, I thought to myself, was a great day to "trim" Zander's hair. The back was starting to look like a mullet and his bangs were in his eyes. It started off simple enough and then as I went on I decided it would look better shorter. Clippers. That was the logical solution. I used to cut Bologna's hair back in his Corps day when he had to have a fresh haircut every week. We usually used a 3 on top and then blended the bottom with a 2, 1 and no shield.

I thought that surely a 5 on top would be plenty long. Maybe, it is the blond hair or maybe I just got carried away but his hair is so short!
Oh, well. He is still adorable. At least in my humble opinion!

You Capture: Week 5

Reflection. That was this week's challenge. I had this great picture all planned out in my head and then it started raining which totally ruined my idea since it was an outdoor shot. So, then I was wandering around the house wondering what I should use for reflection. Yes, I could have done a mirror shot, but I wanted something a bit more creative. Then I was cleaning up from breakfast I noticed my reflection in the microwave. Ta-da, inspiration. Here are the kids doing artwork:
This one might be my favorite shot. I like the way the blinds look.

Here is the opposite wall...

Not the most creative, but what are you going to do when it rains on your parade?

My Little Artist

I love it that Daddy resembles a potato and I am a much skinnier frog!

Some Much Needed Motivation

Well, I did it. I signed up for my first 5K. I started "training" the first of the year. However, I hit a slump at the beginning of this month. I was really busy the first couple of weeks and somehow running got pushed to the back burner. Then, after those few weeks I lost all motivation to run. I decided it was time that I do something drastic, so I signed up for the Race for the Cure. Now, I have to get myself in gear or face the embarrassment of dying during the run!

It is on May 16, so that gives me almost 9 weeks to get ready. My goal is to run it in 30 minutes, but we will see how that goes. I have yet to run outside, so I'm not sure how that will work out either! I really want one of these to help me track my runs, but we'll see. For now, it will be just me and the treadmill until I figure out a route.

What Were We Thinking?

Hannah has been BEGGING for a puppy and I mean BEGGING! So, last night we decided to go look at some dogs. Just to look and pet and so forth. However, somehow a few crocodile tears later, we managed to come home with the newest member of our family. Meet Fuzzy Bones:
Yes, that is his name; Fuzzy Bones! Hannah got to pick it because she really wanted a chihuahua and I did not so we compromised and she got to pick the name. He is a mutt Peekapoo , meaning he was intentionally "mixed" between a Pekingese and Toy Poodle.

Hopefully, he won't get much bigger. Also, hopefully he won't shed! He is a little cutie who has already stolen our hearts, but I kind of forgot how much work a puppy is!!! We are off to the store to buy the puppy essentials. One chew toy just isn't enough and if he chews my new furniture (to be delivered Saturday, yay!) he will quickly become an outdoor dog.

You Capture, Week Four

Week Four of the Blogging Carnival You Capture was shadows! Sometimes I have a hard time being creative, so the best I could come up with was shadows of the kids! Originally I had this grand idea of getting their shadows while they were jumping in the air. However, I randomly snapped this picture of their shadow and fell in love with it!

Here are some of the jumping shots that I took. I would have chosen this one as my favorite if I didn't happen to take the above photos.



Hannah had so much fun doing this! I just love how high she is in this picture. Unfortunately, here brother was too close so you can't see her shadow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We decided that we should make some sugar cookies in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, by the time we decided it (today at noon) there were no cookie cutters or cut-out cookies with a St. Patrick's Day theme. So, we had to improvise...

Green cookies ready for the oven: Green frosting:

Now I just need some little leprechauns to decorate the cookies for me. Oh wait, I just happen to have two at my disposal!


This little leprechaun was VERY hard working!

The other one at the other hand seemed to eat more than he decorated!

Overall they did a great job:) Here are the finished products.

How did you all celebrate?

Tater goes to the dentist...

Last Friday Hannah, Alex and I all had dentist appointments. I was a little nervous going into this since both the kids and I had appointments. Whoever I talked to on the phone assured me that it would be fine. The kids could watch while I got my teeth cleaned and then it would be their turn. We went ahead and scheduled them all together.

Of course we got there and had to wait at least 45 minutes before going back to the chair. Then for some reason they decided to take Hannah next door to start with her. Which of course made Alex mad because he wanted to go to a chair too. Upon seeing his meltdown another assistant took him to his room. All this time I am sitting in my chair fuming, hello these are my kids ages 2 and 4, I don't think they are quite old enough to be in their own room! Thankfully, they were just distracting Alex and taking Hannah's x-rays.

Alex is so young (the offices youngest patient!) that the dentist wanted it to be a positive experience for him. So, I held him in my lap and the dentist counted his teeth. Alex thought he was such a big boy! Hannah on the other hand got the works.
She was so excited! She just loved going to the dentist. As you can see, she thought her experience was worth two thumbs up.

You Capture, Week Three

The blog carnival over at I should be folding laundry continues. This weeks assignment was texture. What better way to show texture then with some yummy peanut butter m&m's!

Another Blog Carnival and Alex's Sleep Habits

Well the sleeping around these parts has gotten a tiny bit better. That's it, just a tiny bit. In fact I'm not even sure if it is "better" or not. After trying countless techniques, nothing seemed to be working. Then after talking to my SIL Julie it dawned on me. She was telling me about how they had to stop giving their daughter naps because otherwise she would be up until 11:00 or later. I thought seriously...can I give up naps? He is only 29 months old! Plus, he gets super whiny and turns into Mr. Crankypants when we skip a nap. My lovely SIL suggestion: just let him sleep for 30 - 45 minutes.

The past couple of days that has been my goal. Some days it is really easy, like when we are going somewhere because he will sleep in the car and that is it. Others he is just so exhausted he falls asleep on the floor. However, it seems to work. He has been going right to bed without getting out. The problem is he has still been waking up at night. I'm hoping that he is waking up only because he has a cold and needs his nose wiped. Only time will tell.

Now, onto the blog carnival. 5 Minutes for Mom is focusing on simple things that any Mom can do. Since I like to pretend that I am a good photographer, I figure practice, practice, practice can only make me better! This weeks tip was filling the frame. Here is my before shot of Alex after he passed out on the floor the other night. Notice how sloppy it looks? Your eyes are drawn to the toys around him.
Here is a full frame shot of his face. Much cleaner and sweeter looking! In this shot you notice his hand on his face and how it looks like he was playing cars until he couldn't take it anymore!

You Capture, Week Two

It has been a crazy couple of weeks here, with the kids and I going up to visit family the past two weekends. I felt like I hadn't really spent any time with my husband for two weeks. Usually when that happens I start to get a little cranky. Well I think my hubs knew that was coming because when I came home Sunday night these waiting on me.

I thought they would be perfect for this weeks you capture assignment: perspective. I remembered Beth's advice to just start shooting from different angles, so that is what I did. When I took this next shot I knew it was the one!

I love the bright colors and the way you can see the individual petals. (BTW no editing here!) I had so much fun with this "assignment." Here are a couple more of my favorite shots:

*Updated to add: After looking at Beth's photo I know it might look like I took her idea...but really I didn't. I took these pictures Monday afternoon;)