Pictures on the Tank

JMS thoroughly enjoyed his time with his "uncle will" and he won't stop talking about it. On 60 Minutes a few nights ago they had an Army General speaking. JMS says, "Mommee, Uncle Will, he loves me, tanks are hot, big guns." So...he definitely made an impression!

Green Shirt Photo Shoot

And Quincy says, "we're done!"

Where have we been?

Well, last Sunday JMS and I flew out of Kentucky to visit my brother and his family in Georgia. JMS did so well on the airplanes. I think it was a blessing that we met another woman and her two girls (ages 3 and 1) in the airport that he could play with. We played with them at our layover in North Carolina too. The flights were short, and he played so hard in NC that he fell asleep on the second flight. When we landed, he was excited to share the backseat of my brother's truck with his two cousins...three car seats across the backseat of a Ford Pickup...I didn't think it was possible. :) I did have a thought though...the government is certainly limiting our ability to have large families...no more SUVs and every kid (up to age 16 is it?) needs to be in a car seat. Really...what options does that leave us? While in Georgia we got to play Guitar Hero, climb on/in an M1A1 Tank, visit a Japanese Restaurant (JMS was scared of the fire on the grill), watch frogs, and wait for his cousin to get off of the school bus every day. Then, my husband picked us up and we all drove to South Carolina to visit Pop and Grandma...and the other set of cousins.

Everyone can see by the photos that they had a good time!

JMS and Eli were talking to each other on their phones.
JMS (2 1/2) with Eli (1 1/2) and William (5) The lens on the camera fogged up when I brought it from inside the house (65 Degrees) to the front porch (90 Degrees).Boys and their toys...playing in Drew's bedroom. JMS, Drew (5) and Josh (10 mos).
JMS was so excited to sit by Drew during dinner.

Rachel Inspired Creation

Yesterday watching Rachel Ray she was attempting to cook away a bad day. So, today...I thought I'd try her technique. I grabbed what I could find in my pantry and fridge and this is the soupy creation we enjoyed for lunch.

1 onion..chopped and cooked in extra virgin olive oil
poured in 1 can of undrained diced tomatoes
poured in 2 cans of drained black beans
shake of garlic salt
1 cup of leftover rice (already cooked)
12 chopped leftover breakfast sausages
dash of cumin
dash of coriander
dash of hot sauce
dash of salt
8 cups of water (boiled in the microwave with 4 chicken stock cubes)
1 bay leaf
boiled and served.

Now my belly is full and I'm off to work to meet the district manager. Joy!

Finished JMS's (crocheted) Blanket

So, this blanket that I just finished for JMS was from the Vanna White's Book called Vanna's Choice Color it Beautiful Afghans. The pattern told me to pick six colors...then start with the green square in the middle and then turn and stitch...turn and stitch...well, in the picture I would have been done after six rows on each side. Apparently, the written directions and the photographed blanket did not exactly match. The concept was the same...and the blanket turned out well...I'm not excited about the colors I picked...but I adore the reaction I got ...see below.

Day With Thomas

We decided to take JMS to the "Day Out With Thomas (the train)" in Lebanon Ohio on Saturday. If you can't tell his expression is nervous excitement.
This is the "real" engine that actually moved the 8 - 1930s passenger cars. Yes...1930s.
Before/After the train ride they had activities for the kids to enjoy. Mini-golf was one of them...is dad or son more excited that he made it in the hole??? They also had those large inflatable jumping tents...to say he loved those would be a huge understatement. :)
And...last thought...who taught this kid to eat pizza?

Growing boy and crochet projects

JMS painting with his water colors and paint brushes (aka Qtips). Mom gave us these to use...I think they were left from the early 80s b/c the paint didn't work too well on the paper, but it sure did stain his hands and our kitchen table. I don't know how she did it without the color wonder and washable crayola products back then.

He was so intense that he water-painted a hole right through the paper...and of course, tells me..."mommy, fix it!" Um...divert attention...distract...move on to another activity! I think I've got this mom thing figured out...for this stage, anyhow.
So...we diverted and decided to focus on our manly man outdoor tasks. Funny...b/c I think I ended up cutting this horribly long grass on this same day. So much for it being a manly activity. See how intense he is...very focused.

And of course...I have to share the fruit of my recent crocheting labors. I made my dad two beanie hats for his upcoming birthday. I can't say he has a future in modeling, but the hats do look good and fit his head. This was the first time I've tried to crochet in a round (in circles for those of you who do not crochet). It turned out...well um, round. :) I think he can pull off the colors pretty well too.

Independent Big Boy

Last night we told JMS to go to bed. Then we tried to go to bed ourselves b/c we were both exhausted. 8:30pm and the whole house is in bed!!! So, we thought...my husband went to check on him about 15 minutes later...he was up, with his bedroom light on, playing! He was told to go to bed. Then, this morning...we got up...and he changed out the dvd in the player and got it started all by himself. Yikes! As they get older the challenges just get better.