Monday, January 31, 2011

permanent

not the curly-make-me-look-like-a-cabbage-patch-kid kind. 

the ink kind. 
on a manly arm. 
three manly arms to be exact.  "three!?!, what kind a freak show operation you running there girly?"
really four if you count the dearly departed. 
  the one that inspired it all.
  the manly man they were memorializing.


aren't they tute those three manly men with their retro bird tats? pop had the same one.  his said mother, theirs says pop. "did uncle steve really try to get the artist to add an extra 'o' in the middle of tony's?" 
   yes, yes he did.

speaking of permanent.  .  .
this family.
  there have been some ups and downs on tony's side of the fam.
  but these guys have always been there for him. 
  they are more than family, they are friends. 
get it?  friends? steve friend?  amy friend?  jake friend? i crack myself up.

 
 







Monday, January 24, 2011

catching up with the kids

What you have been missing...
a super 70's styles gold and green pine wood derby car...


the fierce competition...

 
coming in 2nd...

and most original...

look at those strong, broad shoulders...
those hunky arms...

ahem- snap to it woman! this is about the kids...
i can't help it...he's a right sexy man,
that awesome-husband-super-dad-tony...
i am not even holding a grudge that he
shamed me out of sanding aidan's car,
or that he didn't let me style it up.


a little brick stacking...
ha! and if you thought we used that forklift to
stack the bricks you are sorely mistaken,

each and every brick was lovingly tossed into a pile, then sorted and stacked
let's just think for a moment about when my dad said
he wouldn't throw them at me unless i was looking,
you know, so i could duck and what not...
and then tony warned me that my dad's rule only applies
if he is looking at you to see if you are looking at him...

my tush will tell you there were many more stacks
(not that i came close to doing my share...
& not that anyone expected me to
since it was my birthday and all)


a little improptu photo shoot...
  
old scary alleyways are no match for this chick...
she's tough, she is...

apparently this little alley-slash-parking lot sees quite a bit
of photography action throughout the week...
and one very bring-it-on move...

yo yo yo yo...

why did we ever pay for that hip hop class when it is
obvious she just naturally oozes urban badness?...




and with that...
we bid you farewell.
 



Friday, January 21, 2011

a good time to try something new

33 held many new things for me.

i expected things to sag.

i expected wrinkles to deepen.
i expected gray upon gray upon gray hair.
i expected to hear myself say, 'when i was your age...'
but this little twist was completely unexpected.

that twist was the fresh new scent of a stick of deodorant.
it is not like i never had used it before, but i never needed to use it before.  33 held all kinds of fluctuations in funky grown up hormones that left me, ahem...well lets just say that more than once margo jammed her cold wet nose in my pit to let me know i was ripe. now thanks to a little dove under the arm ,all is fresh again.

i wonder what 34 holds?

Saturday, January 15, 2011

mo leanai

it has been well established that my husband is one hunk of an amazing man.







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he has been testing his carpenter skills once more on a little project and i have been struggling with the finishing touches.
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that lead me to my handful of thumbdrives to translate a few pictures into black and white.





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just look at them.








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what i found made my arms ache to hold these wee bairns once more in their mini state.
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oh how i am missing them at this age.



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if i could put compelling words to the pull i feel to these early years, a bigger blog wouldn't be the only thing needing an up-size.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

sunshine

thank you sunshine for bringing me temps that hovered around 59 degrees in january and brightened my mood.  especially after i spent my day traipsing from one meeting to another (albeit -shock of all shocks- productive meetings) only to have margo (the wardrobe slayer) tear a hole in my new jacket.  oh, and i am sporting the beacon of pimples on the bridge of my nose.  wanna see it? just buy a 2011 yearbook and you'll see it.  they will probably put it in a special glow in the dark section so you can get the full effect. 

thank you sunshine for giving me a little taste of spring that i was yearning for as we stretch toward these last weeks of winter. don't get me wrong winter, you give me christmas and slothmas and my birthday and sporadic days off honoring our countries finest, but even with all of those gifts i love me some toasty warm days with chirping birds and nature treks.

thank you sunshine.  i needed you today.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

like i am domestic and stuff


i can't bake. 
i try. i make cupcakes--- from a box. i stuff the pre-made frosting into a ziploc bag and do a little faux-piping swirly action on the top and pat myself on the back.
i make no-bakes.
i make apple crisp or peach crisp.
i have messed up a texas almond sheet cake more times than i have done it right.

i know the reason. i won't follow directions and baking is all fussy about precision.  i bow to those who can and who do.  i don't have that kind of discipline.  when the wooden spoon is in my hand i must improvise, i must create, i must mix it up...all kinds of puns intended. 

but today after a day filled with little cleaning jobs (like cleaning out the mail holder, homework boxes and jewelry box) i decided to make this little beauty.  and if it looks a little blue, it is suppose to. 
sort of.
since we have just inched into the new year and are all full of resolutions, i used blueberry applesauce instead of oil.
i couldn't help myself.
i had to do a little of my own thing.
luckily, it was scrumdilioumptous.

how to not have to rely on tony for the baked goods.  he can still do the vacuuming.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

always on my side

we have this yellow polka dotted memo board that is perfect for writing my lovies love notes (idea from her) because it is located in the most popular thinking room of our house (yes i am talking about the washroom and of course i really mean the master washroom because all four of us have decide that is the best think-tank around).

i recently tagged this board with a simple "WOW, i wouldn't trade the 3 of you for all the riches in all the world" and a quick little doodle of my three favorite people on the planet. a stick figure doodle mind you, but one that there is no mistaking a handsome tall, bald man with rectangular specs, a boy with hair a mind of its own and a petite girl with her signature a-line bob. 

last night as i replaced the tp to assist the inevitable morning think session, i saw that someone had drawn another stick figure. this one had a longish bob and a huge smile, a heart just to the side and labeled with an 'm'.  i would know those m's anywhere. 
 she can't stand to see me left out...even in a silly doodle.  her sweetness can't leave anyone out really. just this morning she climbed onto the counter to set the breakfast table for four. we were having chocolate chip pancakes in the shape of the ti-fighter, x-wing fighter and millennium falcon in case you were wondering.  no one asked her to, but because hers was hot off the griddle she was making sure everyone had their plate ready.  as i lifted her off i made to stoop low to set her on her feet, but found that i really didn't have to bend at all.  all this sugary sweetness she carries around to dole out equally among her own lovies is making her grow tall too. i don't know if i like that growing up bit. it means our time like this- the four of us with relatively few obligations, this time for pancakes all together, this time for me to help her when she can't reach the cupboards on her own- is limited.  but i do love this little smoochie-face. and i love to see the person she is growing to be. and i love that i always have her on my side.   

Thursday, January 6, 2011

ahh schucks...

look at these ducks...

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

who you have become

You said it best when you said that your life is so full of love that you don’t have room for anger and hate.


I love that about you.

You said you are lucky because even though what you have is not typical, you have so much and so many.

That you can see this makes me love you all the more.

You did the right thing. You showed our children how to make amends. You showed them how to be the bigger person. You showed them how to be respectful.  You showed them how to stand up for themselves and those they love. You are teaching them how to love and how to be loved.

That inspires me.

That makes me think Pop would be proud.

That makes me proud.



You had a kitten in your shirt.

That makes you perfect for me. . .

. . . and it makes me want to be yours forever.

post edit.......................modern technology and photo enhancements shows me that is not a kitten in his shirt like the grainy 79 photo had me believing for the past ten years or so.  it is a spoon.  so he didn't have a love affair with furry little kittens with soft furry mittens as a tender two year old.  ehh. i still love him to pieces. there is nothing too shabby about a man who can bake.