busy and tired (in a mostly good way)

life has been crazy with tim's store opening, but i've been trying to roll with the punches...instead of getting my panties in bunches. (BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! i'm really tired. be warned. things like that are hi-larious in my tired brain.)

max is dazed by the beauty of the new store.

but seriously, i've been trying to focus more on the good stuff and not dwell on the crappy stuff lately. because there's always going to be crappy stuff. unfortunately, as much as i'd like to think that if i figure out the perfect equation of sleep, diet, play, home organization, etc that life will be perfect and easy, IT NEVER WILL BE PERFECT. because as i've been reminded a lot lately, this isn't Heaven.

i'm not a naturally optimistic person and a lot of times the personality needs of my charming boys and myself don't match up, but i've been trying. i think lots of outside time and sunshine, combined with a good multivitamin and b-vitamin, and most importantly, more prayer, is helping. but i'm also pretty certain i will struggle with my little optimism issues my whole life. alas.

so some things that i'm grateful for these days:


this picture represents outside time!!! our new backyard fence!!! and max's hair. and his personal style. in the morning max's hair is totally nuts and it makes me smile. on this particular day he didn't want to change out of his jammies, insisted on the tie and too small spider man sandals, and his socks didn't match. he's my funny little old man.

ben talking in a british accent. the other day we watched a you tube video of a british kid showing how to make wasp jars. although our wasp jars didn't work, ben has been talking with an accent on and off and it is awesome. he's totally aware of how funny i think it is because he uses it to ask me when he wants something. he definitely has tim's ear for voices and that makes me very happy.


art time. although i can be impatient with it because max ends up making a mess most days unless i diligently watch him, i love watching what emerges from their little brains. usually max scribbles but on this day, he very intentionally painted this guy with his watercolors. within the last couple months ben has started drawing pictures that represent things and his descriptions are pretty amusing, albeit lengthy. which has led to...


ben's wall 'o' pictures. inspired by flint lockwood from cloudy with a chance of meatballs, who has pictures taped up on his wall, he asked to hang a picture on his wall. i'll admit, at first i resisted. even now, i'm selective about which pictures we put up. sometimes he wants to hang up paper scraps that he cuts from coupon fliers like pictures of chuck e cheese or pictures of dogs or pictures that he's just scribbled and i distract him or hang them on our other art wall. although i feel a bit controlling by not letting him have free reign over what we hang up, i think it looks really cool like this instead of so random and cluttered (read: trashy) and he is very proud of his wall.


okay, this is more outside time. but it's also brotherhood. the boys are better brothers when they are outside. they tend to fight and squabble so much more when we are inside, and while i realize that's part of being brothers, it's not very pleasant. when outside, max follows a little bit and i love watching ben lead and i love listening to their conversations. on this day, they were exploring part of our pasture/corral and declared this old washed-out bridge to be their "idea spot". it's also really gratifying to see our boys explore our land. our little spot of earth has been a lot of work and frustration for us and i've always consoled myself that it would be worth it when the boys were older. getting to see them wander makes my efforts seem worthwhile.


the beginning of garage sale season. although i'm not a die hard garage saler, picking up treasures every once in a while is pretty fun. although i didn't think this police van was worth a $1, ben really wanted it and i gave in because it came with the four lego guys. it proved totally worth it when ben named the guys blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and 'frigerator. right now we're keeping our eyes peeled for blueberry, who has gone missing.

and as i sit here and type, i'm thankful, in a weird way, for tim's cold. although it's meant that he is pretty much sleeping any time he is not working, it has made his voice raspy, which i totally love. he's playing a video game right now with his headset on and listening to him talk is funny. the other day he had no voice at all and had to whisper everything. although he didn't appreciate my mocking him, it was entertaining.

so that's what we've been up to. trying to savor the good and accept the not so good-it's all part of this life.