"Look, Mommy!"

"I'm a moose!"

Yes, that is what Jace told me one day while holding these 'antlers' up to his head- clever little guy! I would totally run with this idea and let him be a moose for Halloween if only these antlers weren't potentially hazardous to other trick-or-treaters! Too bad; it would save me the trouble of making a costume for him!

Halloween Countdown...

I posted these pics yesterday, but blogger was having issues so I didn't get to finish my post! Nothing spectacular here- just some snapshots of Jace helping me decorate for Halloween last week. That second shot is Jace's contribution to our decorations- faux web-spreading is just a little to advanced for him. Jace is so excited for Halloween this year! Every day he asks "Mom, is it Halloween yet?" or he will just blurt out "HAPPY HALLOWEEN" (no doubt in hopes that if he says it enough he might actually convince us that it really IS Halloween and maybe we will give him some candy!) We even made a paper chain to help us countdown, but gosh that chain still looks pretty long! Poor kid! I am glad he is excited though- maybe all those scary masks won't scare him this year. A couple weeks ago (I think it was the first day of October actually) we were in Waynesboro at the superwalmart there and they had these Halloween ads in the cart. They have every Halloween item imaginable in there. Jace saved it and now carries it around every day, scouring through the pages again and again looking at all the stuff! He is so careful with it, too- If I bend a corner or don't put it away safely, I never hear the end of it! I can't even count how many times he has come up to me and said, pointing to the picture of a big pumpkin bowl filled with candy, "Mommy, that candy looks Deee-LICIOUS!" Funny kid!

I am excited for Halloween too! I have always loved Halloween and I am really a kid at heart- I love Halloween parties and still think it is fun to go trick or treating (good thing I have kids now, as I am a bit too old to go by myself!) And I love candy! Last year we went to the UVA Lawn and every door Jace went to he wanted to pick out the dum-dums, and it took every ounce of strength to restrain myself from telling him to put that dang sucker back and get the Snickers instead! But, as much as I love Halloween, I hate the week after. All that sugar in Jace just spells disaster(disaster as in T-A-N-T-R-U-M-S!)! And some days I just can't decide if I would rather spend the whole day saying "No, Jace, you can't have any more candy" or just letting him have it so it will be gone faster and just deal with the hyperactivity.

Anyways, Jace says he wants to be a scary monster for Halloween, but I just don't think that is going to happen. He would be too afraid of himself! Plus, I got some things to make a pirate costume, so we checked out Peter Pan from the library again and I am going to spend the next few weeks convincing him that he 'wants' to be Captain Hook.

Well, that is all for now folks! Yesterday Ethan turned 9 months so I took some bare bum pictures of him out by our wood pile. He will soon grow out of the it's-not-entirely-inappropriate-to-take-pictures-of-bare-bum stage, so I thought I would take advantage of that! So watch for those coming up!

Take care everyone and Happy 21-more-days-'till-Halloween!

Out and about...

Last week we went out to Pleasant Grove to take the kids to the park out there and get some new self portraits of me for my website. I have to say, I felt like a moron while Tim took pictures of me. When I was a teen, I loved being in front of a camera, but now I just feel ridiculous! We were right off the road to the ball fields at Pleasant Grove and anytime a car would drive by I felt so STUPID!! I would tell Tim "Quick- put the camera down!", and try to act natural, like we were just hanging out by the hay bales with a big old yellow chair. Duh- I am sure it was totally obvious what we were doing. But eventually (once those dang cars stopped driving by! How dare they!) I loosened up a little and Tim got some cool shots of me for my new website. Oh yeah, I am thinking of getting a new and improved website, but it probably won't be until this winter. We'll see. Anyways, I'll show those pics later, but these are just a few snapshots of us from that night.

That first shot of Ethan is my new favorite- I did some funky processing on it! I love how I can see my shadow in the second shot. And I love the shot of Tim- he is such a kid at heart- I love it! The last two shots were taken by Tim- didn't he do a great job? Back lighting too, which is tricky!(I must say, I am exceedingly impressed with Tim's quickly developing photography skills!) And I love how Ethan is grabbing Jace's face in that shot- something he does a lot of lately (gotta keep those nails cut!)

That's all for now. More to pics to come...

Volcanic Eruption

'Earlier today, we received stunning reports of a volcanic eruption at the Lake Monticello main park.

The eruption occurred at approximately 12:15 pm, while innocent children and families were enjoying an active morning at the playground. Speaking of the tragedy, one witness stated "It was shocking- never have I seen anything like this! I thought my children and I were safe from such horrific things here at the park- I am truly terrified!" Fortunately, as it was near lunchtime, many of the families had vacated the premises and were safe from the tragedy. Although the eruption lasted less than 15 minutes, authorities say it has left many feeling frightened, frustrated and hopeless. It is certain that many families will think twice before visiting the park again.'

- Art Van Delay, Lake Monticello Sun Times

Yes, I know he looks cute up there in his stylish clothes, but this account by Art is a true story! Today we were at the park with Amy and Addison, and Jace threw a tantrum like I have never seen before! Seriously, it was a NIGHTMARE (Amy will attest!). I really was shocked- Jace has thrown tantrums before, but never completely lost it like this. I am not even sure what caused it- I am sure more likely it was that he was tired (or maybe the DumDum I gave him shortly before- perhaps I should start bribing him with sugar-free treats?) Anyways, Addison and Jace were heading over to the swings, and apparently Jace wanted the swing on the right, but Addison got there first, so Jace started SCREAMING- seriously SCREAMING like I have never heard! He was flailing his arms, punching his fists into the ground, occasionally flopping on the ground while he screamed "That swing is MINE!!!!!! I want THAT swing! Addison is NOT my friend anymore!" I was seriously in shock- I didn't know hot to handle it. Part of me was terrified- another part of me just wanting to SPANK his little bum as hard as I could! And I am sure if Amy wasn't there I would've completely lost it! Thankfully, it was pretty much only Amy and I there or I would've been even more horrified. It worries me though- I have thought this whole year "Gosh, 3 is hard! I hope 4 is better" but now I am not so sure! Jace just seems to get more defiant and independent everyday. Then my mind fast forwards to Ethan in another few years and I seriously start sweating and trembling in my shoes! I hope I survive these kids!

I always think it is so amazing how much love we have for our kids, but I am sure that this is exactly why! We need to love them this much so we can survive the moments like this! And thankfully, although he is hard to handle sometimes, he also has moments where he can be truly so so sweet and so fun! It was funny, after he threw his fit, he was having a hard time calming down, so he said "I can't stop crying! I ate too many Shmo's!" He was referring to last Friday night- we made a fire outside and made Smores, then he had a hard time falling asleep (too much sugar too late!). He kept saying he couldn't keep his eyes closed. So I thought it was funny he made that connection today- silly kid!

Tim and I recently read a parenting book called "Screamfree Parenting'' by Hal Edward Runkel. I highly recommend it- it is all about how to keep your cool with your kids, which in turn teaches them how to deal with conflict and helps you build better relationships with them. The main idea of the book is to focus more on yourself and how you choose to react to tough situations (like my situation today at the park, which I am sure you can all relate to in some way (or will be able to soon!)). I know it is a simple concept, but it is SO HARD to not react in situations like this or even much smaller situations! The author refers to this as 'picking up the gauntlets' our kids throw at us. If Gauntlet Picking-Up was an Olympic sport, I would have a million gold medals! I feel like I am so uptight and react to things Jace does (or does not do) without even thinking about it much of the time. Gosh, parenting is hard work! Anyways, read the book! I was a little hesitant to read it at first (worried it would just point out how much I am FAILING as a parent) but the author goes about it all in a very gentle and humorous way.

And with that, I will leave you with some pics. I took these of Jace yesterday- don't you love the outfit I put together (thanks April for 90% of that outfit!)? So stylin'! I want to get some layer outfit pics up on my business blog to point my clients in this direction- especially for older kids (which I don't get a lot of yet!) But I love this look- very commercial looking. And I am in LOVE with that first shot of Jace- such a handsome boy!

I took some more in that same outfit this morning, so if you see some more pics of Jace in that outfit, I apologize! Thanks for looking!

Ethan

So here are a few I snapped of Ethan the other day. Not an easy task, let me tell you! He is so quick- but I managed to take about 10 pics of him in about 2 minutes, then he was done! I thought they were kinda cute though! Don't mind the funky color casts- I was battling some super strong yellow light from the suns reflection off of our honey wood floor in front of our front door.

I love the round shape of his eyes- they are so big and blue! It is so fun to have two kids that look so very different, but are both so dang cute! It's so great to be in a houseful of handsome fellas (you too, Tim!)

More pics and some crazy stories coming right up...