Life is short....

Life is short, too short to spend on things that in the end really don't matter.  Too short to be overly concerned with politics, or the trends of the world, too short for gossip and grudges, too short to be waiting for tomorrows, life is to short to not live in the moment and make every day a memory. Life is short, and childhood is even shorter, I am doing my best to live each day to the fullest, and create as much magic as I possibly can for my boys.  Okay... most days, I am mostly just trying to SURVIVE the chaos my two toddlers create, but I create quite a bit of chaos myself with all our little adventures.  I want each day to be an adventure for my littles, a learning experience, a moment they will remember.  Here are some pictures from this weeks adventures...

here we are enjoying a FREE movie, the kids were so enchanted to go to a movie theater!

eating crayons...

cooling off at Boo-bah's house....

making cake....

relaxing in a buttermilk bath...

Boys and their babies....

flying high in the sky...

mmmm, breakfast with Boo-bah....

trying to keep up with big brother....

according to Caillou... the 3 little pigs live here!

late night happy meals!

a shopping trip...

snacks at the park...

don't be fooled by the pictures... they don't stay in the cart for long...

boys love trains....

and bubbles....

and trees!

cooling off on a hot day

cuteness!

smelling flowers

an impromptu boogie in a wal-mart aisle

Hi mama!

Life is short, spend it doing what you love and with those you love.  Life may not be perfect, there will be hard times, and uncontrollable events in the world...there will be over due bills, and no good days. There will be people who don't like you and try to hurt you, and there will be plenty of difficult trials in life....

but there is so much good if you look for it.

Good in people, and in places, and in simple things.

Sunshine to be found in each and every day, even in the midst of toddler tantrums and mama meltdowns and a world of crap spinning around you.  Savor the simple things, muddy toddler toes, hand-made blankets, diet coke, and chocolate frosting... ladybugs, grass stained knees,  a hand-picked bouquet, walks to the park, tricycle rides. The voice of my little ones singing me songs, the quiet of nursing my baby in the middle of the night, evenings spent at the park, and afternoons snuggling littles in the hammock.  The whir and hum of my sewing machine late at night, the crow of our rooster in the morning. 

This is my world, my life, my sunshine. 

As long as my boys have a smile on their face at the end of the day, NOTHING else matters to me!

Growing things....

Since my first son, Caillou, was born, I have had a fascination with growing a garden.  It started with a pumpkin seed and a couple of strawberry plants when I lived on Ivy street.  And then when I lived in our upstairs apartment, there were dozens of potted plants, a wading pool filled with soil and seedlings, and a warm afternoon 8 months pregnant with Jasper in which I hauled 170 pounds of potting soil bag by bag up my stairs to the balcony.  And now, we are blessed to be renting a cute little home with a wonderful yard.  It has been so much fun growing things with my little ones.  Caillou and Jasper love to spend time in the garden, find little yummys to eat... a red ripe strawberry, a corn on the cob, sugar snap peas, a handful of chubby little carrots.  My mama got some darling Sesame Street seed starters for the boys from Lowe's.  They had so much fun arranging the little pots, putting the dirt tablets in - watering and watching them expand, burying the seeds, putting stickers on the little wooden stick plant markers.  We have them all lined up in our window sill, watching them sprout, waitng for them to become big enough to add to our garden.

Oh Jasper....

Jasper is such a delightful child.  I love this little boy with all my heart.  Next month he will be two!!!! Jasper loves Mickey Mouse, baby dolls, toy trains, eating crayons, and throwing sand.  His poor liitle elbows and knees are always scraped, he does his very best to keep up with his rough and rowdy big brother.  Jasper loves his binky very much, he also loves his new baby brother Ollie and gives Ollie his binky when he is crying.  Such a good boy! 

If you don't have anything nice to say....

then don't say anything at all!

Please pardon me for the chatty hiatus I have taken on this blog.  It seems as of lately the cat has gotten my tongue.  I have been in a bit of a funk, life seems to have gotten me feeling a bit down in the dumps and not much in the writing mood.  But.... alas, I am emerging from my bloggy silence.  I am trying not to let the hard parts of my life weigh me down and overwhelm me.  I am trying to look on the brightside of things. But frankly,  sometimes there just ain't enough sugar to turn lemons into lemonade.  I am doing my best, each and every day, I am doing my very best.  I have a dream for my life, a dream that involves having many children, being loved deeply, and going to my church's temple.  My dream also involves a darling house with a white picket fence, a vintage volkswagen bus to transport my many children, and a very large gift card to Jo-anns.  I hope with all my heart, God sees how hard I am trying, and will bless me, for my dream to become reality. I am not ready to give up my dream, no matter how many challenges I meet.  Someway, somehow, I will make my dream a reality, I am just not done having sweet little babies.  On a happier note....  Life with little Ollie in it is simply wonderful, he is a beautiful, sweet, snuggly little boy.  I am so in love with him - as I am with each of my 3 little men.  I really cannot imagine my world without them.  There are days when motherhood wears me out, sleepless nights, leaky boobs, a never-ending amount of poopy hinys to be wiped....and then of course terrible tantrums, and fighting, biting children make me want to scream and pull my hair out.  But I love these boys, and would not trade this little life with them, crazy days and all, for anything else in the world.  Each day is a crazy journey, and a learning experience as to what can make the next day better.  I may never earn the crown of BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD or the title of MOST PATIENT MOTHER either... but I think my boys will look back on their childhood and know without a doubt how much their mama loved them and how hard their mama tried to make the sun shine for them on the cloudiest of days.  In my bloggy quietness, we have been very busy.  Nearly each and every day, we pack up the stroller with toys and snacks, I sling baby Ollie to me, and we set off to the park.  A word of wisdom to mothers...DO NOT LET YOUR TODDLER CONVINCE YOU THAT HE CAN DRIVE HIS FISHER PRICE COZYCOUPE CAR 7 BLOCKS TO THE PARK WITH EFFICIENT SPEED....THE TODDLER IS LYING!!!  Another word of wisdom to mothers....DO LET YOUR CHILDREN RUN THROUGH THE PARK SPRINKLERS, ALL THE OTHER MOMS MAY LOOK AT YOU STRANGELY AS YOUR CHILDREN STRIP DOWN TO THEIR UNDIES AND RUN THROUGH WATER AND MUD, BUT YOUR KIDS WILL BE THE HAPPIEST KIDS EVER, AND YOU WILL BE A HAPPY MOM, BECAUSE YOU HAVE JUST AVOIDED A VERY LARGE TANTRUM.  So, we have had many, many trips to the park.  We also made the journey down to the duck pond behind the grocery store.  The same duck pond we visited last summer, and accidentally let a cow loose and had it accompany us to the blockbuster video.  I am pleased to report, we did not have any incidents with cows or police herding cows back to where they belong, on this most recent visit.  Just a simple, mundane, visit to the duck pond to feed the ducks.  We walked to church today, and afterwards had a day of play.  Tomorrow we are going to plant some seeds, bake a batch of cupcakes, and head to the park for an evening of adventures.

my three boys....