This morning, Jack has:

a) drawn on the walls with crayon (note to self-invest in washable paint for the house)

b) poured out the salt on the flour

c) dumped the entire contents of the oregano on the floor

d) flung bits and pieces of his peanut butter and honey sandwich far and wide

e) scattered his bowl of popcorn ev.ery.where.

f) and has generally been a complete scamp today

g) I’m so glad he is down for his nap!

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OOH! Check to see who’s blog my lovely sis-in-law has been featured on! Yipee!!!!

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Now that the boys are tucked in, I plan on wrapping up a few things I’ve been working on. Stay tuned later today or tomorrow for pics!

I just put Ryan down for a nap, and out of the blue he whispers “Mommy, you are my best friend in the whole world!”

This job is so worth it! That was pretty significant seeing as though he is a daddy’s boy through and through.

And on a sillier note, the other day Nonnie said “Ryan, you are delightful!” and he replies “No, I’m goodness gracious great balls of fire.”

Cleaning frenzy+2 little boys not exactly on their best behavior the entire morning = chocolate & peanut butter & graham crackers & magazines aplenty during nap time in the afternoon for momma. Don’t you think?

Happy Friday!

Alright…now time for the good stuff.

Friday night we hooked up with The Romantic Family and had a super time, not leaving until after 10pm. After 10, you say? That’s right late for us! And we didn’t want to leave…coulda stayed all night! So, obviously, that was a great kickoff to the weekend.

Saturday we were up and about a bit late, but decided to head for Bath by way of Augusta (had to stop and dream at Lowe’s). The sun burst forth and warmed us right up-it was a Godsend of a day! I’m so drawn to Bath-it’s just full of fun things to do. And I rediscovered what is now in the top, oh, 2 of my favorite shops. It’s called Ornament, and I could have very well bought them out to decorate my house, had I the funds. The nice thing is that they are very classy, with high end furniture (of which we could never afford) but they also carry things that I can actually purchase on our little ol’ salary. Great mix to appeal to the masses. I took a picture of the front of the building, but it was quite sunny! Didn’t turn out all that well, but I’ll post it anyway. The other pictures are just here and there…

*Rock Stash*

Very “Maine”

Check out the fabric find, honey! YAY! (It’s gorgeous, by the way. Primed for the overhaul they are going to preform on the house once we are finally in a place of our own).

One happy family! The way life should be.

“Hey Mom! Guess what I spelled!” I hear from the backseat of the car on the ride home…

Which brings me to ask…anyone out there have good resources to refer when it comes to a 3 year old just itchin’ to read and write? I’m absolutely not on the ball, but obviously have to get in gear, because Ryan is So ready. I’d love recommendations if you have any.

Keep those house prayers a comin’! Just set a tentative time of 3:30 tomorrow to sign the papers, although nothing is official yet (a few missing pieces left to gather).

Hopefully I’ll have good news to report tomorrow!

Seriously…I am so tempted to say this to my sweet Jack, on a DAILY basis:

• Why of COURSE you can grab the steak knives from the dishwasher and run willy nilly all over the kitchen. What a fun thing to do!
• Dancing on the table? Great exercise!
• Well, since it’s not bathtime yet, I’d be delighted if you’d entertain yourself by splashing in the toilet.
• Licking daddy’s deodorant again? Super breath freshener, isn’t it?!
• You can absolutely open the woodstove door and stoke the fireplace by yourself. That is SUCH a help to mommy.
• Dashing into the street? Playing chicken with cars is fun!

Ack! He is determined to get into trouble!

Speaking of highly active children, anyone have ideas for entertaining a 1 and 3 year old on an airplane? I’d welcome suggestions!

Been sick, still sick, probably won’t recover for another few days.

I need one of me to go immediately back to bed and sleep for the next 48 hours.

I need another one of me to cuddle my oldest, who kept me awake all night because he is feeling so puny.

Yet another, to entertain my youngest who I am convinced could finish the Boston Marathon and have energy to spare.  And who is particularly jealous of the time I have been spending with his brother.  And whose nose just started running this morning. Agh.

A forth to get work done.  Messy house, dirty floor, so much I want to get accomplished blog and work-wise.

Number 5?  To take over in every area for a week, in order to give my blessed husband time to catch up with his own work.  He’s too far behind, much due to taking care of us this weekend.  He really is a saint.

I’ll be back on the ball soon-I have much to share!

I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to explaining what I have to explain, so ’scuse me if this is all a jumble. But here we go…

I am a stay at home mom. Always have wanted to be one, and am so blessed that I am currently able to live my life-long dream! And yet, after being said mom for nigh on 3 years, I have realized that a part of me wants something else that is separate from my kids; something that I can be proud of. I’ve always been a little crafty, and I decided to start my fabric business on Etsy as an outlet, which has led to the soon-to-open actual hand-made Etsy store. Unfortunately this business won’t be all in the name of “fun”, but also in the name of necessity, because we desperately need a little more cash-flow. Not for “fun things”, not for “wants”, but for really important things, like actually moving out of my parent’s house and being able to provide for ourselves. My fantastic husband excels at his job, but he is a teacher. And teachers, as most of you hopefully realize, don’t get paid what they are well-worth!

I’ve been pretty excited about my new venture, but to the detriment of my kids. I hate to have to admit that. I don’t neglect them by any means, but this business involves quite a bit of computer time, so very often my kids are plugged in, too. Ryan is a 3 year old computer genius, and that breaks my heart! Sure, he spends time “painting” in the paint program, and watching family videos, and typing away (not bad things), but I don’t want that to consume him. Good grief, I’m the momma who was never going to let her kids watch tv, much less play on the computer!

Last night we were on the floor playing with the kids, which we do often, but not enough. They were in absolute fits of giggles. And I want more fits of giggles, more often. So I made a decision.

This morning, I allowed Ry a little time on the computer, and let he and Jack watch one Blue’s Clue’s episode. Then we played. We played hard! When they were ok playing by themselves, I picked up the house a bit and finished 3 loads of laundry. I was on the computer before they woke up for a brief time this morning. Now they are down for their naps, and I feel so good. I feel like I put my all into them; not into my little business. And I’m praying that because I’m changing my way of doing things, God will actually bless the time that I am able to work and allow me to get quite a bit accomplished. We’ll see how it goes, but I am a bit excited! I know things won’t be perfect, and we may have an occasional morning filled with kiddie shows. But no more frantic-trying-to-get-my-things-done attitude. And you know what? The guilt is gone. That feels good.

I was SO going to start on my new store this weekend. And I have…it’s just not going to be up and running quite yet. There is more to this business thing than you would think! Not to mention the fact that we were gone all day yesterday, which put a kink in getting things accomplished.

Big blessing to mention! I was trying to lay low with my fabric shop until I moved everything over, then I sold 6 yards in two days, right out of the blue! Fortunately I was able to save my bday money for a little fun, and use my fabric money to put back into supplies. Yesterday I was armed with a list of things I needed for some new projects, but I unfortunately struck out everywhere we went and will have to order online.

People, I have ideas. I am now a tried-and-true carrier of a notebook on my person because my brain is on creative overdrive. I’ve always loved little notebooks and journals, and I am currently running at the rate of filling them up faster than ever before. Which is saying alot, because they used to just sit on my bureau and look pretty.

In family news, Erick took Ryan to watch a couple of his students in a state wrestling match yesterday. Mom, Dad, Jack and I toodled around Augusta and Topsham, where we let Jack run around and stretch his little legs at Lowes, Michaels, AC Moore, Best Buy, Target…he had a blast. And he did exceptionally well at staying away from the merchandise until the last few minutes at the very last store (of course). I handed him some shampoo and conditioner to carry which he promptly threw to the floor, resulting in an exploding bottle of Aussie. (Big Fat Sigh). Do any of you mothers remember pre-motherhood, wherein you constantly thought “My kids aren’t going to act like that” ? For those current pre-parent’s out there, just think it while you can. ‘Ats all I have to say.

Tonight, Ryan just flat-out decided he wanted to go pee pee in the potty. He unzipped his pj’s, took his diaper off, and sat down on his little seat.

I haven’t pushed him too hard-we’ve tried and failed a few times. I kept telling myself I’d hit it full force, tears and all, but then I would put it off…

It would have been quite the hilarious picture-Ryan would pee a little and then Erick and I would do a happy dance. Then he’d pee a little more, and we’d sing and dance again-he liked the attention so much that he kept dragging it out. LOL. We were all so giddy and silly I’m glad that no one was watching. Funny what you end up being thrilled about when you are a parent.

We started a sticker chart for him tonight, and told him once he fills it up he’ll get a treat. Tomorrow he’s going to his Grandma Murray’s and he told us he can’t wait to go on the potty for her.

Here’s to Wednesday and the continuation of pee pee success!

I can’t stop this morning-I’m on a blogging roll! Doesn’t help that we moved the computer downstairs, where it is much more accessible.

I had to share with you, though, that while I was blogging my last post about Ryan, I heard a Plop! Plop! in the bathroom.

Nooooooo! Whenever I leave the door open to said room, and whenever I lose sight of my Jack, the inevitable happens. This morning, into the toilet go Erick’s beard trimmer and deodorant. (Don’t tell, please. I did dry them off really well).

This child is downright attracted to trouble.

(Edited to add: You would think, from the last few posts, that I spend all day on the computer and let my kids veg in front of the tv hours upon hours. I promise I don’t! )