A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

Sometimes I let Drew use my camera. I love to scroll through the pictures and catch a glimpse of what the world looks like through his four-year old eyes.

Yesterday, though, I was horrified at the view my son is subjected to lately. Sorting through the digital files, I came across an image that filled the little screen on my camera.

My rear end... as seen by Drew. My "just-had-a-baby" rear end.

And it wasn't pretty at all.
Wanna see?

















Are you kidding me!!!??? Did you think I'd actually post that picture on my BLOG!!!!???

Well, I don't want to leave you without showing you something that should make you smile. And with a crew like this to keep up with this Christmas season, I should burn a few calories off that backside in no time!

A Day of Rest

I am beginning to wonder what, exactly, it might take to slow my four year old down. Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to experience any kind of physical injury or illness.

But lately it seems like the normal ailments don't slow him down even a little bit. Gone are the days when a runny nose equaled snuggle time on the couch. I've said good-bye to the memories of a child finding comfortable rest in my arms.

Now, he orders up a dose of Tylenol and is on his way.

Today, I kept him home from school when his morning started with a bout of tummy trouble. I fed him a popsicle for breakfast and spread his blanket and favorite pillow across the living room couch. Over the course of the next hour, he let the popsicle melt on the coffee table while he practiced his somersaults over the couch arms and built forts with the pillow and blanket.

Then, he was off to the backyard for some swinging and climbing. Not long after that, I found myself holding him up while he attempted to roller blade down the driveway.

After 2 laps around the block (first time on the bike and second time on the big wheel), I figured he'd be tired enough for a little nap. I figured wrong.

Feeling a little restless myself, we buckled up and headed for the mall. On the way home, he lost 6 consecutive rounds of the "Quiet Game" but beat my socks off at the "Loudest of All" game.

Now, he's chasing a dog around the living room.
And daddy's just walked through the door.
Which means I may just survive this day of rest after all.

I Feel Like Gumby tonight...

S T R E T C H E D

Pulled between life's highs
and lows.

Praising God for the blessings
and
Trusting Him for the blows.

It's ok. At least green's a good color for me.

Parkour!

It's the latest, greatest, up-and-coming fitness craze. And therefore, my husband is TOTALLY obsessed with Parkour these days.

Have you heard of it?

Let me try to describe it to you, using my dear friends at Wikipedia:

PARKOUR
"(English: the art of moving) is a non competitive physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, as if moving in an emergency situation, using skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves. The object is to get from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment."

Need a visual? Here's the cast of The Office with a little Parkour fun for you:


So... that's what my husband is now going to take on to keep his P90X-completed physique in tip-top shape. I have already seen him run up a tree trunk (I'm dead serious), and a climbing rope is on his Christmas list.

I can honestly tell you that I do not understand this exercise trend at all. But I did have a moment of clarity about it all recently.

Drew and I were on a walk around the block, and I took notice that my four-year old son was parkour-ing (is that a word?) without even realizing it. Every obstacle in his path became an opportunity. Rock? Jump over it. Garden wall? Climb on top of it. Lawn? Do somersaults across it.

That's when it hit me. My husband doesn't want to try a new fitness craze at all. He just wants to recapture the instinctive nature he's had for the past thirty years.

And, in the immortal words of Jim Halpert, "If point A is delusion, and point B is the hospital", then my dear, sweet parkour practioner is headed in the right direction!

Heigh ho, Heigh Ho

It's back to work I go!

After almost six weeks "off", I walked into work this morning more like it was the first day of first grade!

I was so excited to have an excuse to dress up, wear nice shoes, apply some make up and engage in adult conversations that had nothing to do with the consistency of my child's last poopy diaper.

I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to work on a part time basis, and to have my dad as my boss. It's a great situation, and it works so well for our family.

(It also eases my conscience to receive multiple phone calls from Grandma, thanking me for the opportunity to rock a baby all morning!)

As I sit here at my "other" job, though, I have to tell you how grateful I am for the chance to wear sweatpants & flip flops, wash off the make-up, and watch "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" with my son.

While my daughter works on making a poopy diaper.

Guess that's my cue...
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho!

Holidays

With a new baby, followed quickly by three consecutive holidays, I haven't had much time for blogging these days.

Hoping that all changes soon, but I wouldn't trade these precious moments with my kids for the world...

Here's what we've been up to (and here's hoping I find a few moments for more updates soon!)...

Miss M turns 1 month old and we pose her with her teddy bear for a picture. I'm hoping to continue this type of photo once a month to watch her growth. You know, 'cause she seems to love it so much...


Drew shows off the crafts he made at "Turkey School". A friend of mine invited us over on one of our vacation days from school to do crafts, read Thanksgiving stories, and enjoy some fun times!


We also decided to pay a visit to Santa. Here are a few shots after we got home.

The Divine (Little) Miss M

At four weeks old, Miss M has decided that she would prefer to be held. Always.

This explains why she had lasagna in her hair yesterday and white cheddar popcorn in the folds of her outfit today.

And why my blog posts have recently been typed with only one hand.