Don't worry...

... he's okay!

Monday Minute: The best way to start a Monday

I'm not quite back to work yet, that will be tomorrow, but today is going to be a busy enough day trying to tie up all the loose ends (I'm sure you can imagine what kind of mess it's been trying to get a doctor's office and HR to communicate.... two places you know you'll never get something done right the first time, and never get anything done in any decent amount of time. Add in HR red tape and budget cuts, and... well... you get the picture), so what better way to start a crazy day, and a crazy week, than some awesome baby giggles??



This went on for quite some time, and even when we stopped I played back the video from my phone and James started giggling along with himself every time the mouse squeaked. Too funny! This will definitely be my go-to video when I'm missing my babies at work!

A perfect Mother's Day

Given the way things have been going around here lately, I was surprised when, at the end of the day today, I thought to myself, "today has been a perfect day!" By perfect I don't necessarily mean there were no tears and both children did exactly what we asked/expected. That wouldn't be a perfect day, that would be more like something from the Twilight Zone. We still had tears, and time-outs, and cranky babies with runny noses, but overall today was the kind of day you envision when you start thinking about what you'd like your Mother's Day to be like.

My first "gift" was getting to sleep in. James woke up even earlier than normal this morning, and thanks to his new-found ability to take bottles easily (one day at our preschool was all it took!), Jason was able to get up with him and feed him while I continued to sleep.

Then we were off to church for the morning, with a quick stop at Panera for me to get one of my beloved Cinnamon Crunch bagels (I eat those things like they're dessert). I had nursery duty at church, but I only had Drew, James, and one other little sweetie, so it was nice and easy. Drew and the other little boy had a great time playing with trains together. :)

Lunch was my next "gift". On a particularly rough night this week I told Jason, on my 87th time of getting up to refill a glass of milk/rinse off a dropped spoon/grab a knife/grab the butter/ketchup/salad dressing I forgot from the fridge, that for Mother's Day all I wanted was to SIT STILL FOR AN ENTIRE MEAL! A few moments later I went on to add that I'd also like a meal with no whining or crying, and I'd like to be able to eat with BOTH hands. Jason's response: "you realize that means you'd have to eat alone, right?" So off to Burger King went Jason and the boys while I happily enjoyed a lunch at home while reading the Sunday comics!

I guess Burger King wore them out because the boys then surprised us both by taking excessively long naps. Drew has been fighting naps for the past few months, but he went down fairly easily, as did James. And usually James wakes earlier than I'd like, but not today! They both slept over TWO hours! I got to take a lovely nap myself. :)

Dinner wasn't as calm and peaceful as my lunch, but it was great to spend it with my boys and it sure was delicious! Grilled burgers using the meat from our freshly purchased quarter of a cow, fresh corn on the cob, and salad and peaches provided by our weekly box of organic goodies! I might have to admit that I ate 3 whole peaches! They were actually quite small, but oh my gosh they were fabulous!! James munched on some peaches too, though he wasn't as much a fan as I was. Actually, I guess that means I ate more like 3 and a half peaches as I finished off what James didn't eat.

To wrap it all up we headed to Bruster's for a treat I haven't been able to enjoy in a long time: ice cream! With the discovery that James is actually not allergic to dairy, but to eggs instead, I've been allowing myself to eat some dairy again. Would you believe that once I started eating dairy again, his rash came back?? So I've only been eating dairy in small amounts until we see the allergist and figure out what's going on, but today called for a special treat.

Drew's favorite is now Mint Chocolate Chip. Why?
Because his favorite color is green. :)

My gifts included my new garden in the backyard (yes, that's what I asked for. It was a bit pricey to get it all started. Pictures to come when things are actually growing well. I hope that means you'll get to see pictures this year!), and this beautiful bag Drew made for me at school. It's perfect for my return to work this week.

The only other thing that could have made today more perfect would have been spending it with my mom. But we did get to video chat via FaceTime! I hope all of my other mommy readers had a wonderful day as well!

At the lake

Continuing with yesterday's theme, more family photos, this time of Laura and her nephews in the cute outfits she bought them (followed by some nice sister photos and more Grandma photos) :)

Both boys distracted, you'll see why later
I love how Drew's trying to look at the camera while NOT looking :P

Just loved Drew's sly face in this one

The neighbors next door are protecting their shore line from erosion

Cranes and diggers on a barge moving rock and other big things- very distracting!

Even distracting for the big girls!

That sounds scary... should we move?

Boys still distracted

Me and Laura doing what sisters do best

It is so hard to get a decent picture with BOTH boys looking at the camera! I would love to get a picture with both smiling, but I highly doubt that's happening anytime soon! For now I'm settling for a smile on Drew's face, and James looking in the general direction of the camera, but even getting a decent smile from Drew is difficult! When I finally get a good one, James is distracted and looking anywhere but the camera. Oh well. They're still cute!

Grandma and her boys

It used to be "Mommy and her girls" but now it's "Grandma and her boys"! We very much enjoyed having my mom down for a week to help out a little while I resting and recovering from a CF exacerbation. It's pretty awesome to have such wonderful family who is always here for me, no matter what. My mom dropped everything (work included) just to be here, and it was certainly no vacation for her. Even though these two adorable faces are wonderful to snuggle, she did a lot more than that! I think I sent her home worn out. (I think I always send her home worn out!) She already put in her time with two little ones of her own, so it's such a blessing that she's willing to do it all again for me when I need her.

I actually remembered to get some photos of Grandma and her boys while she was here. I find I'm really bad about getting nice pictures of our visitors when they're here. My dad teases my mom about the fact that she always pulls out the camera for last minute family pictures just as he's ready to hit the road. He's started asking her an hour before they're ready to leave if she's taken all the pictures she wants. But that's better than me! I don't think about it until the visitors are already pulling out of the driveway. So this time I decided to get some nice pictures of the boys in some of the adorable outfits my mom bought. I obviously had a little trouble with the light (editing did nothing but make it worse, so these are pretty unaltered), but they're adorable pictures nonetheless.

Real life

I suppose I should have saved these pictures and this post for Mother's Day, but I just couldn't wait to share! I spent quite a while trying to "fix" the photos with editing, but eventually gave up and just want to show off my awesome family! :)