Week 3: January 15 - 21, 2010 {#Mamatography}

It was so hard to choose photos for this week's Mamatography post. It seemed like I had the camera out all of the time. And we did so much! I had the kids help me choose which picture to include and this is what we decided on:

Day 15 (1/15/12)

"I push this button!"

Little Guy was just thrilled when "Brubber" invited him to play computer games on his laptop with him. Usually, we try to keep him away from our computers because he gets over-excited AND had that "I know what I'm doing and I'm going to do it myself" attitude going. The two of those, together, usually equal a computer that is completely frozen up within minutes and hours of trying to figure out how to fix it. But, my oldest patiently kept little guy in check and found a game that would allow him to use the mouse pad easily. He had the BEST time!

Day 16 (1/16/12)

Warm Winter's Catnap

Number 1 has been in heaven lately. He comes into the house after spending a few hours in the freezing cold, gets a bite to eat, then lays down somewhere for a nap - purring the entire time. I can't help but wonder if he ran into a stray who told him he should be grateful for a warm home and food in his belly. He's been showing his appreciation in many ways, too. He knows how much I like a kitty sitting on my lap, but he never really cared for it himself. Not recently! He's been bringing up "presents" to the door (and sometimes tries to sneak them into the house) in the form of field mice. My oldest usually is the recipient of these gifts, since he's often the first one to leave the house in the morning! And, he has even been hanging out with Little Guy, who has just recently made the differentiation between stuffed animal and real animal.

Day 17 (1/17/12)

Goofball

If you're my friend on Facebook, you already know about this picture. My oldest borrowed my camera for a school project he had to do (how cool is it that he can email his homework to his teachers?!) And, while he had the camera, he had to screw around a little, right? I found about 20 goofy pictures of him and his friend on my camera after he returned it to me. I jokingly told him that he should always delete photos after uploading, or they could make their way into the wrong hands. Then I mentioned putting one of the pictures on Facebook and tagging him in it. The kid actually DARED me to do it. Well, being the mom that I am, that's exactly what I did. I started feeling bad a few minutes later, so I removed the tag (the picture is still there.) I just don't know if one of his classmates might get a hold of his goofy picture and turn it into some kind of nasty joke. So, it's on my wall and he can tag himself in it if he wants. And I'll be having prints made of these photos because they are just too fun to forget about!

Day 18 (1/18/12)

You Could Have Put Your Eye Out!

You know how you're always warning kids to be careful with scissors? Yeah... While Little Guy and I were making our Craft Idea Book, I put the scissors down for a split second. That was long enough for him to come charging across the room at full-speed to grab them. Only I was faster and snatched them up. And, as you can see by the picture, I didn't do so safely. I stabbed myself in the hand - and it was a bloody one. Little Guy's eyes were like saucers when he saw what had happened. I think that he truly did not believe me all of those times I told him that scissors are dangerous. He probably thought I was just saying it to keep him from having all of the cutting-up-paper-fun. Ever since this occurrence, though, he hasn't tried to get my scissors. And I'm on the look-out for a good pair of child safety scissors for him. It is fun to cut paper and why should I be the only one to enjoy it?

Day 19 (1/19/12)

My Very Cold Friend

It was so cold! The wind was blowing like mad and the temperature, without taking windchill into account, was 9F. We have a pair of Blue Jays that have decided to winter in the woods behind our house and I couldn't help but see this bright blue guy all puffed up and trying to stay warm when I passed the window. I tossed a handful of seeds out for him and he quickly swooped down from his perch to fill his stomach.

Day 20 (1/20/12)

The Sick Blanket

Another chilly day. Rather than heading outside, Little Guy and I had an all-day indoor camping trip. This picture was taken early on in our day. We ended up making a campfire out of paper towel tubes and tissue paper. We made beds and Little Guy took a nap in his tent. We had snacks. We even went fishing, using sticks, yarn and paper clips for hooks. We didn't catch anything and concluded that fish do not like gummy worms, so we ate the worms for "dinner", instead!

See that striped, crocheted blanket? My great-grandmother made that before I was born (I think it may even be older than my mom.) It is known as "The Sick Blanket" because that is the blanket that we used whenever we were ill and laid on the couch in the living room all day, while our mom or dad nursed us back to health. It is used for the same purpose for my kids and, hopefully, one of them will become as attached as I have to it and their kids will get to know The Sick Blanket, as well. And when we were well, that blanket made the BEST tents... Still does!

Day 21 (1/21/12)

Wintertime

This is the picture of winter in my mind. Sled and squirrel tracks in the snow. Kids' footprints, big and small. The sunshine creating those cool blue shadows that you can only see in the wintertime across the snow...














So, what did your week look like? If you'd like to join me in this endeavor, just click on the Mamatography button at the top of this post to learn more. I'll be linking this post at Diary of a First Child's Week 3 Mamatography Linky when it's posted on Wednesday (1/25), so if you'd like to see more photos you should head over!

Week 2 - January 8 - 14, 2012 {#Mamatography}

Well, I can't believe I've made it to the second week! I seem to always have good intentions when I start this type of thing. Unfortunately, when I miss a day or two, I seem to give up. I know there are other "take a picture a day for a year" memes out there, but I chose this one for a couple of reasons: 1) I love reading Diary of a First Child. 2) The guidelines of Mamatography are very laid back, making it feel less of an obligation and more of a fun experiment. The one thing that really hooked me was this from the Mamatography info post:

"If things happen and you can’t participate for a while, that’s fine – just start up again when you can."

Yay For Clean Dishes!

Day 8 (1/8/12)

Yeah, I was lazy. The only thing I did that was productive all day. Well, I made dinner, too, but it shouldn't count. I just opened a jar of spaghetti sauce, then added a few herbs and the leftover meatloaf from the night before. Oh, and cooked some pasta.

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

Day 9 (1/9/12)

I saw the moon and just had to take a picture! I love how the clouds give a smoky, mysterious feel to the photo. And the corona is so bright! It was easier to see the line between the moon and the corona circling it with the naked eye than through the lens on my camera. One of these days I'll learn how to take photos that look the same as how I see them.

Mustache Man!

 Day 10 (1/10/12)

When my oldest was little, he called these beans. Well, actually, he still does (and so do I!) Little Guy, who seems to have a different way of looking at everything, has decided that they are not beans. They are most definitely mustaches, instead. Just after this picture was taken, my oldest came up and asked Little Guy what he was doing with the "bean". He got an earful and I don't think he'll be calling them anything but "mustaches" around Little Guy again!!

Zzzz...

Day 11 (1/11/12)

This hasn't happened... ever! He said, "Mama, please be quiet. I need a rest. I'm in a grumpy mood." Once I got over my shock, I began to wonder if he might be getting sick. Nope. Wouldn't it be cool if he was just learning to recognize his  need for sleep AND deciding to follow it?!

"Snot's On!"

Day 12 (1/12/12)

I've taken it upon myself to develop a recipe for a cotton play dough. I want something that is pliable like dough, but fuzzy like cotton balls. This was my first (failed) attempt. I wound up with a pot full of snotty cotton. ICK!

I added a bunch of flour until it was dough-ish, and let the kids have their fun with it.

Day 13 (1/13/12)

Yeah. Completely forgot to take the camera out all day.

Uh-Oh!

Day 14 (1/14/12)

We finally got some snow! This was Little Guy's first snowball fight. As you can see, the mittens are way too big for for him (the site I got them from said they fit ages 2-5. Those things are just a little too small for me to wear!) Anyway, my oldest showed him how to take his hands and push the snow together to pack it into a snowball-like formation. Pretty cool big brother, huh?











So, what did your week look like? If you'd like to join me on this endeavor, just click on the Mamatography button at the top of this post to learn more. I'll be linking this post at Diary of a First Child's Week 2 Mamatography Linky when it's posted on Wednesday (1/18), so if you'd like to see more photos you should head over!

In Up to My Eyeballs in Melted Chocolate and Candle Wax...

I had planned on writing two posts tonight before going to bed. Not gonna happen!

Since we don't have a car, it can be kind of hard to get things done in the winter time. Well, Michigan has some of the most contrary weather I've ever witnessed. Tomorrow (Thursday) is going to be 51 degrees and partly sunny. This will be the perfect opportunity for us to walk to the post office and get our three packages of gifts mailed out. Oh, and I have got to buy stamps for our cards! I MUST remember to buy the darn stamps! Our cards have been done for a week - the first time that I've ever gotten them done when I planned - and they're just sitting here... waiting for a 3 year old with a marker to get a hold of them!

Now, I had planned to mail out our packages next Monday, but I just can't let a beautiful day in the middle of December go by without taking full advantage! Little Guy needs to get out and run (his snow pants make him waddle - it's cute, but not that great for getting around quickly), I need to go to the grocery store, I have a few more items to pick up at the thrift store for projects that I am giving on Sunday, AND I just found out that I can get free range eggs at the health food store - so I have got to stop there, too. Anyway, the date change means that I need to have all of the gifts I plan on mailing made, wrapped, packed, and addressed... TONIGHT!

I planned on making one food item per night this week. Each afternoon all week, I was to work on the homemade gifts I plan to give. They're not terribly complicated, but they do take time. Well, since those gifts and food items are all supposed to go into the packages I want to mail out, I need to get it all done tonight. I know I won't... it's too much stress and these things need to be done right. I don't want to be giving crappy gifts just because I went too fast. I also don't want to hate making this stuff. I live for the holidays. I love making things to give. Regardless, I still want to try to get as much done as possible.

Please check back tomorrow evening, though. I have a wonderful story to tell you! Plus, I have a quick giveaway to post.

Here's a preview of the story I want to tell you. 

Can you guess what's got Little Guy so excited and 

allowed me to get a photo of my teen with a genuine smile on his face?

Keeping A Busy Guy Happy When It's HOT Out

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Yep, it's hot outside! Even with the sauna-like heat and humidity, I'm still going to say that I like summer best and this type of heat wave is to be expected at least once a year. I can live with it, but I'm not sure Little Guy can. We've had to keep him inside during the day, as the heat index has regularly been hitting the upper 90's and has gotten over 110 degrees F a few times in the last week and a half. Add 75% or higher humidity and you've got a catastrophe waiting to happen with this kid. He's like Forrest Gump - he MUST run everywhere. It's hard to wrangle him up for a drink of water. He just loves being free. I swear, the kid giggles the entire time we go for walks or to the park, only stopping when he wants to tell us something. You could pick him up off the ground and his feet would still be going.

When he doesn't get his daily outings, he can become a handful of trouble. He's got so much pent up energy that he needs to release that it can turn into fury. He just doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll end up hitting, throwing things, having tantrums over the simplest things... it's a nightmare. So, hubby and I decided to alter the whole family's timetable. We've been putting Little Guy to bed around midnight rather than 9:30pm. We stay up until 1 or 2am to get some alone time. Little Guy usually doesn't wake up until 9-9:30 in the morning now, instead of his usual 7am. Strangely, nap time has only moved back a little bit, but it's lasting longer (YES!)

What do we do while we're up so much later? We go for walks and head to the park! On our walks, we encounter lots of interesting creatures that you just don't see during the day. Little Guy and I have been looking for moths and other insects (and arachnids!) in trees, on lampposts, in bushes, and on our own porch. Check out some of what we found in just one night (the first three pics are of a moth that was about 3 inches long!):

My husband says he said his name is "Irving"

These guys remind me of Murano glass beads.

I've seen this type moth in some amazing colors - from brown like a leaf to fluorescent purple. They all are the same size with the same shape. Someday, I'll find out what they are.

In addition to our walks (or Little Guy's "runs"), we've been hitting the park. I've been having a ton of fun taking pictures blind - it's so dark there that it's really hard to see anything, especially through the lens of my camera. As you can see, the flash can be a blinding surprise!

Sometimes I caught some pretty cool photos by just pointing and hitting the button!

There are some drawbacks to taking a little one to a very dark park - if he's running faster than you, he can disappear into the night. I shot the above pic in hopes that the flash would show us where he went. Oh, and there are wild animals at the park. Little Guy was running toward the shelter, where people picnic. It has a nice trash can filled with all kids of leftover goodies that attract animals. Just as he got to the shelter, I saw the shadow of a small animal scurrying away. Then we noticed something... n odor. It was a skunk and Little Guy had surprised him. I took off like a bat out of hell toward the shelter, screaming, "STOP!!!" at the top of my lungs at 11:30 at night. I grabbed up Little Guy, praying that he'd still smell like citronella oil and NOT Eau d' Pepe La Pew. He was fine. That's when I noticed that every house across the street from the park had its lights on and people were mulling around on their porches and front yards. Oops - guess the screaming must've woke a few people up. After this incident, we kept Little Guy in MUCH closer range! 

Looking at the stars.

 We also took advantage of the lack of players on the tennis courts. Now here was a place that was partially lit and fenced in - our little freebird couldn't get too far away from us! He loved throwing his ball and chasing after it. Plus, we didn't have to run after him. We managed to sit down, drink our ice water, and talk! Oh, and I want to mention that, when we got home on the night these photos were taken, we checked the Weather Channel - the heat index, at 11:45pm, was 90 degrees!

So, what do you do when it's too hot for your little ones to get outside and burn off some energy??? 

***I just want to add here that the really cool bug shirt little guy is wearing is from Tea Collection - it's a prize I won from a giveaway on Abby Approved! Isn't it awesome?!