My kids are so cute!

W had his first school pictures this year in preschool and I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect.  We were able to go early in the morning, before school, to have a picture taken with little brother as well, so of course we did that, too.  It was hectic, and Bear took his shoes and socks off and DID. NOT. want them back on, but check out the incredible proofs we got…I melt!

(click the picture to see it bigger)

Sorry that the scan is all crooked, I was moving fast

Another hectic day in our house, with lots to do, unfortunately no more time for talking (typing), but I just had to share these before sending the proofs back for our order today! 

Wicked good time :)

We had a great time!  Didn't dress up this year (too much else going on and I didn't get it together!) but there were a TON of awesome costumes!!  Blue Moon and chili in a bread bowl at the finish, delicious.  This race is definitely one I want to do every year :)  Looking forward to the next one!  

Official time was 1:01..better than we thought initially, and I'm more than happy with it!  Next 10K (on Thanksgiving day), I hope to finish under an hour.  Time to work in a little speedwork!!  

Happy Halloween!!!

Being Mommy is HARD!

Like those days where I have to take my kids for shots.  I HATE that.  Even though I  know it’s for the best and will keep them safe from nasty sicknesses.  I still feel so terrible knowing that I’m taking these sweet little innocent faces that are so trusting of me to the doctor knowing full well that they are going to get stuck.  The looks in their eyes when it happens seriously breaks my heart.

I feel kinda bad when I say no to cookies and ice cream for breakfast (or dinner, or lunch) when W asks in his polite voice and tells me I’m a gorgeous pretty flower (yes, he tells me that! Hubs taught him, is that super cute or what?!).  But I know if I give in just ONE time, it’s all over and he’ll want cookies and ice cream for every meal!  With both boys, I am trying to get them to eat real, healthy food at mealtimes rather than snack their appetites away like they’d prefer.  Just as W is starting to maybe branch out a little, Bear is getting to be pickier…sigh.  It’s just a phase…I know it now!

This one is a toughie – not giving in to a tantrum.  Some days, when I’m especially tired, or preoccupied, or needing to get something done, it’s so hard to stop and make sure I don’t let the tantrum win.  I mean, I WANT to give my boys everything, but we can’t let them think whining or throwing a fit means they get their way. That wouldn’t be doing them any favors at all, would it??  Giving W a timeout and having him sniffle at me: “Mommy, you’re being so MEAN” is a tough blow some days! 

Crying it out nearly brought me to my knees.  More so for Bear than W.  I think the approach worked better overall for W.  Bear didn’t start sleeping through the night till 9 months.  And then I had to let him cry in the wee hours of the morning since I knew if I went in there, he just wanted me to hold him.  He’d nurse for about a minute, then fall right back asleep, but of course would wake up and cry when I tried to put him down.  Although I think he’s better about putting himself to sleep, even if he does cry for 30 seconds or so before snuggling in. 

Working. The biggie.  I am very, very blessed to work from home full time.  I like my job and my coworkers very much. I am thankful to have this identity as a professional woman in addition to being MOMMY.  I love that I can see my boys anytime during the day and can take W to and from preschool.  But it’s hard, too, since I would really like to be able to do playgroups with my mommy friends, take the boys fun places during the day, go to the beach or on picnics.  I think this is on my mind a bit more right now since Bear is especially clingy and affectionate with me lately.  He misses me even when I’m just down the hall and literally runs to me when I come out of my office.  But I just remind myself that I have a fantastic working situation, but that being a mommy to these 2 little angels and wife to my dear hubby is the most important job in the world.  So every time I think (fret) about it, I recommit to being the best wife and mommy I can be and making sure they know how important they are to me every single day.

So, that said, I’m going to kiss my boys (all 3 of them!) and say a prayer of thanks for how blessed I am!  Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll share your own thoughts and feelings in the comments below, too!

Just when I worry…

That I’m not keeping up with the domestic side of things very well…like, say, washing the windows…something happens that makes me feel like I’m not letting things go quite as badly as I thought.  I’m sitting here working and yes, there are some smudges on the windows here next to me, but apparently NOT ENOUGH smudges to keep a bird from flying straight into the window just now.  Yes, now I’m most definitely awake!!  Poor bird; I saw feathers fly, but it seems to have flown off even after the um, mis-fly?

Another fun birthday shot

Photo: RSutherland Photography

Displaying Kids’ Artwork

I’ve seen this done in lots of places and have been really wanting to create a display wall for W’s art now that he’s so into doing projects here at home and is bringing home cute things from school, too.  Since we have pretty much converted our old dining area into a playroom for the boys’ toys, I figured that would be the ideal place to do it! 

I took the boys up to Lowe’s to get the supplies – first I looked for some cute drawer pulls that I could use as the anchors, but didn’t find anything I loved.  So, I decided on some simple eye hooks and instead of silver picture wire, I used some clear line…(not sure what you’d call it, it’s not bendy like wire, and is much thicker than fishing line).  To be honest, the clear line was a real pain to work with and tough to get tied around the eye hooks.  But I love the end result.  I used some blue plastic clothespins for now till I can find some clips that are more fun (or paint some plain ones fun colors maybe).  I love how this fills up the wall and makes it so cheerful, and super love how proud W is to see his artwork on display in our house!

Gotta wrap up work for the day and go hang with some friends who just got to town, so I’ll leave you with this:  I saw this cuteness happening last night and it made me smile.  I grabbed the camera to capture it…

Ahhh-chooo!

Hi again!  Apologies in advance for the lack of pictures in this post.  I haven’t taken any new ones so far this week (lazy, probably; busy, definitely!) and I apparently have things to say, pictures or not

So, I love fall and am super excited for the cooler weather.  BUT, with the change of seasons and general lack of sleep that has seemingly become my new norm, I’m afraid I’ve gotten a cold.  BOO!  Definitely going through the tissues and am thinking soup sounds just right for dinner tonight. 

Anyway, that basically means my running has not been happening as planned.  I am hoping after a good night’s sleep tonight and some more tea, I will be ready to knock out 3 miles tomorrow morning first thing.  I need to be ready to run a 10K by the end of the month.  I feel good with 4 miles right now, so totally doable.  AND, I figure since I’ll be running for the first time in costume, it’s not meant to be a PR kinda race   At least not for this girl!

Apart from the sniffles and sneezes and lack of running, things are going pretty well.  W is still loving school, but is starting to challenge us some.  Literally.  Like he wants to make sure we really do mean what we say.  I am hopeful that a little more one-on-one attention will help and am brainstorming craft ideas for him since he loves to do “projects.”  I found a great website/blog for some ideas and signed up for their emails so I can get little reminders and new ideas.  Go check out Play At Home Mom if you get a chance, it’s a great site!

Hubby and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary last week!  We went out to a fantastic dinner to celebrate and I was excited to get dressed up.  We had some good wine, delicious seafood, and then went for a dessert martini at the “neighborhood bar.”  (Literally, it’s in our neighborhood just about.  We could bike or walk)  It’s so hard to believe that it’s been 5 years already!  A lot of fun stuff has happened in these last 5 years  

We are getting excited for Halloween here at our house, too.  W has decided that he’s going to be Woody, Bear will be Buzz, I will be Jessie, and Daddy will be Buzz.  Actually, he said Bear would be Rex the dinosaur, but finding a Rex costume for a 1 year old isn’t happening.  So, we decided he could be Buzz, too.  Not sure if hubby and I will invest in the adult versions of these costumes since they are pretty pricey…I will be ordering the costumes ASAP and you’d better believe pictures will be up as soon as I get my boys into those cute outfits! 

Have a great night, y’all!

Live Writer and My Fave...Rockin Green

Couple of thoughts on something new to me and something that I can't get enough of...

I just started using Live Writer for my blog composing (although not using it now since this is a quickie...) and I am a really big fan of how easy it is.  Especially for inserting pictures!  I'm glad I've found it and am definitely going to continue to use it for most of my posts.  I am still getting familiar, so I'm sure there's more I can do with it that I don't even know yet!

And...another plug for my favorite detergent ever...Rockin Green!  I bought it initially for Bear's cloth diapers.  Then I found other uses for it around the house.  But when we washed a new Hokie tie dyed shirt we got for W and it bled on some of the other (dark) clothes, I decided to give "rocking a soak" a try.  You know you're a mom/housewife/getting old when the fact that it ERASED the stains on all but 1 thing and took it mostly out of the last thing is the thrill of the day.  

Oh yes, I was a happy girl!

Hey…remember me?

Well, it’s been a little while guys.  I’m sorry to have taken a little hiatus from this blog, but I needed to take some time to breathe and regroup.  I think I’m ready to jump back in now, though!!

So, to catch up on things, here’s what’s been happening with the team…

W started preschool 3 mornings a week last month and is absolutely loving it.  He loves his teachers and is excited to go and see his friends.  He’s doing so well with his potty, too.  Accidents are fewer and farer (?) between these days, although we are still doing pull-ups for sleeping.  Partially (ok, mostly) because mommy is lazy and doesn’t want to deal with changing the sheets all the time

Bear is now a full-fledged walker.  He’s now trying to RUN, too.  He babbles a lot and is still such a little lover and gives lots and lots of hugs (yay!). He loves, loves, loves his daddy; sometimes no one else will do!  It’s the sweetest thing to see him starting to play more with W.  Nobody makes him laugh harder than his brother.  And this one, just like W and mommy, has a huge sweet tooth.  Particular weakness for Oreos, just like daddy…

Bear turned ONE on September 21 and we had loads of icing with a little cake to celebrate.  

And we went to our favorite photographer friend, Rachel from RSutherland Photography for a little birthday session:

(I guess he likes to wave! I didn’t realize till I uploaded both of these that he was in both!! )

The fur kids are also keeping us on our toes.  Daisy was back in for surgery to remove some potentially malignant tumors last month and is recovering well.  Keeping both dogs from pulling at the stitches was a challenge; Beamer also wanted to “help” by getting them out of her.  So, poor little girl had to wear the Cone of Shame for about a week, pretty much 24/7.  I tell you what, once those stitches were gone, she was ready to GO.  Next up, later this month, Beamer needs his teeth cleaned…

I’m slowly easing back into my running routine.  It was a little hard to be away from it, but a much needed break for my body.  The dogs are pretty thrilled I’m back to it, though.  And the weather is pretty perfect for running right now…a nice welcome back for all of us!  We signed up to run the Wicked 10K here on October 29 and we think we might be an angel (me) and devil (hubs), and I am hoping to work a tutu in there somehow!  It will be our first time running it, so I’m looking forward to this one.  Good food and good beer after the race…always a nice incentive

Hubby and I went to Blacksburg for the Hokies-Clemson game last weekend and it was so much fun!  We met some new friends, caught up with old friends, passed out some SpiritFingerz, tailgated, and even got to sleep in since the boys stayed with their grandparents.  It was a great getaway, and much needed!

I’m also working on my photography “practice” again a little more.  I hope to get a new, upgraded lens for my camera sometime soon but I’m practicing with the settings more again and getting the feel for it again.  It doesn’t hurt that I pretty much have the cutest subjects on the planet!!

Hold on to your hats…get ready for fall and lots more Team Collins updates!!