Push button in case of emergency

Well, hello. I know, it's been a while. Have you ever had one of those days...or 4 or 5 in a row?

I finally have my PC back and in working order. Mind you, it's not without a few glitches. But, I can get back to a few of my projects.  Plans are in the works for a new Mac!

Max has been sick this week. Miserably sick. The kind of sick that makes a mom feel helpless. Ethan was home yesterday, too, also not feeling well. Fortunately, working from home allows me to stop, drop, and roll when it comes to these circumstances.

Throughout this mini "hiatus," I was able to keep up with my #Febphotoaday challenge. I did, however, mix up yesterday's challenge with today's.  So yesterday's photo theme was button but I'm posting it today.

There are days I wish I had an emergency button, so I made myself one.

How have you been? 

Open for Business - OM [one moment] meet up

Ethan got a new bed this week. His room is the smallest of the bedrooms but has fantastic built-in bookshelves. His two twin beds were just too much for the room. While E was in school, Chris and I rearranged his room and "spiffied" it up for him. He was so excited when he got home that he spent most of the evening lounging in his new digs. I loved how excited he was.

The next day, when I picked him up from school, he asked me if I made his bed as he had not had a chance.

Me: "Ummmmm, no. That's your job."

Ethan: "Aw, man. Now I'm going to have to make my bed, leave my room and then walk back in it so I can experience the same new exciting feeling I did yesterday."

: )

[I need a nice bed skirt if anyone has suggestions.]

Tell me about your week.  Did you have a moment of levity?

Flowers from my boys

My house is filled with flowers that I received for Mother's Day.  The air smells so sweet.  I Thought I'd share a few special ones with you.

 M cut and arranged some branches from our flowering crab apple tree.  He even filled my vase with river rocks.  I was touched by his attention to detail.

E painted a flower pot and filled it with a plant.  It is sitting on my kitchen window sill waiting to bloom.  What a treasure.

I hope you had a nice Mother's Day.

DIY slingshot a.k.a. boy's toys

slingshot, originally uploaded by alamodestuff.

E, my 9yo, made this slingshot the other day. I'll admit, It's impressive.

It has taken me years to get over the weapon fascination boys seem to naturally have. No matter how hard I've tried, they found a way to make something life threatening out of nothing. Reminds me of my friend's story about her little one chewing his toast into the shape of a gun. That's when you know it's a loosing battle.

My oldest, soon to be 14, had said he'll be in therapy for years due to my not letting him have a Nerf gun until he was well past 10 years. Oh well, I'll happily foot the bill. My youngest now has an arsenal of Nerf guns. I gave up.

Do you have a losing battle with your kids?

Life with boys

The other day, I found this strategically placed on our staircase. Coincidence? I think not!

Tell me, do little girls do this???

Fight lost - toy army men won

This has been the state of my family room for the last week. Legos have been abandoned and army men have taken over.
I finally gave up the fight and allowed my boys (boy) to play with these plastic toys. I spent years avoiding war games, anything gun related, and general violence. My older son feels his childhood was deprived. It was a loosing battle with my younger son who made every stick he found a weapon. A friend of mine said she gave up when her son chewed his piece of toast into the shape of a gun. So, I finally relented and allowed army men to enter our home.

So, how do I manage this interest? By talking about the realities of war and how fighting doesn't solve our problems, how grandpa fought in Vietnam and that war isn't something to be glorified. I simply keep the dialogue open.

There is really only the setting up of the army men. Once that happens, the interest has waned (kinda like me and my Barbies when I was a kid). Rarely do battles ensue.

This too shall pass, right?

Notice how anything can be made aesthetically pleasing if it is repeated more than 3 times.

Monday Morning Madness

Weekend Recap:
I woke up this morning to a house full of boys. Well, I went to bed with the house full of boys - five, to be exact. I came home from a meeting (ArtsinRI) to find that my husband had invited 3 additional children to spend the night with our two. Actually, I really like the flurry of activity and seeing all of the boys happily playing.

Saturday, my husband and I went to the Newport Comedy Festival to see Joel McHale, from E's Talk Soup. What fun! I can always use a good laugh and Joel delivered! Most of his act, and the funniest, really focused on Hollywood (as to be expected) but it was still good. For those who like comedy, I just learned that Bob Saget is being roasted on August 17 on Comedy Central. Now, I imagine that you are rolling your eyes into the back of your head. "What, the guy from Full House?!" But, you'll be surprised to learn that Saget is a very different comedian than you'd expect. I'll put it this way, he certainly did not typecast himself. WARNING: if you google him, be careful that kids aren't around. For those of you who already know this...I have 2 words....The Aristocrats!

Okay, on to this week. I have to prepare for my trip to Seattle. I can't wait to see my sister/friend Sus and hang with her sans any children. Always a great time! I've also landed a few appointments for work, one including Amazon. They contacted me originally. Should be interesting.

Currently, I'm more worried about getting schedules squared away on the home front for my husband. He's great with taking over kid duty full time, but he's not used to the crazy schedule that we have when he's at work (camps, piano, football, karate, Japanese, did I mention football).

Things I must do this week:
1) Qtrly taxes
2) Application for a show I'm afraid to mention for fear of jinxing.
3) Finish newsletter