HAPPY LITTLE SURPRISES

i'm a notebook girl.

i like to buy them.

cute ones.

colorful ones.

big ones.

little ones.

thin and thick ones.

i have them everywhere.

on the desk and in the drawer

and by my bed and in my purse.

i come across old ones from time to time

that i haven't used in a while.

take this one, for example.

i flipped through and found this:

some scribbles and a few silly little guys

drawn by one of my silly little guys.

from the looks of the ears on this dude,

i'm sure this is some of hudson's handiwork.

those are his signature ears from ages 3 and 4.

i find little surprises like this one

in many of my notebooks.

happy little surprises.

little flashbacks from the past.

THE MEN'S ROOM, PART DEUX

the men's room has a new addition.

the senior man in the family

spent several hours

surrounded by a bunch of kids

at the paint-your-own

ceramics shop.

he created tiles

with symbols of things the

two younger men in our family love.
and some that all men in our family love.

wsu

mariners

seahawks

indiana jones

harry potter

metal!
tie fighters

boba fett
the avengers

and now the tiles have a new home.

in the shower.

and they are awesome.

lucky men's room.

MACHO NACHO MAN

hudson drew this oh-so-incredibly

accurate portrait of wyatt

with his rippling muscles

and tiny undies.

he's a man's man, you know?

i mean, look at him.

he's a stud even while

wearing frilly pink rubber gloves

for a bathroom tiling project.

he's my macho, macho man.

and sometimes,

he's a nacho, nacho man.

what can i say?

the guy likes nachos!

KENNY LOGGINS...

or more specifically,

how kenny loggins

earned wyatt's

grudging respect.

you may think it's because

of his lush full beard...

or his stylish flipped up denim collar.

but actually, no.

let's consider the genesis of the song footloose, shall we?

perhaps it went something like this:

a footloose movie executive

contacts mr. loggins.

"kenny, we've got this movie, you see,

that needs a song.

a good song.

a really catchy song.

the movie is called footloose,

and surprisingly enough,

it's pretty much about dancing.

go!"

and young kenny,

our dear kenny,

 delivers a smash hit we all know and love.

a hit we tap our toes to.

a hit we sing along to,

even though we have to mumble

through most of the verses,

but we totally rock it

when the chorus kicks in.

and i mean rock it.

and that is why kenny loggins

has earned wyatt's grudging respect.

and in case you aren't convinced

of the one-time sheer genius

of kenny loggins,

try it yourself.

"we've got this movie we're working on.

it's called jujubees in space.

and surprisingly enough,

it's pretty much about jujubees.

in space.

go!"

HAPPY MANTLE

a rainbow of books =

seriously happy mantle.

THE LUCK 'O THE NON-IRISH

when on earth did

st. patrick's day

became such a big deal

to my kids and their school

i will never know.

hudson had to make a leprechaun trap

for his class.

and he got to be a ginger for a day.

facepainting was done at recess

and green headbands with

bobbing shamrocks

were seen throughout the halls.

nonetheless, we started off the

 official day of st. patrick
(or as we like to call it,
st. leprechaun's day)

with a hearty, traditional irish breakfast...

green eggs,

green milk

and lucky charms, of course.

may the luck 'o the irish

be with you and yours

this holiday season.

WALLS

i have a few gallery walls

in our home.

and by a few, i mean 3.

for now, anyway.

i seem to enjoy them immensely.

and i cannot get enough of them.

so perhaps i will add more.

but for now, there are 3.

and here's perhaps way too much

information on these walls.

you're welcome,

or i apologize.

whichever fits.

one of these walls is in our family room.

it  makes me happy.

i think it makes my family happy.

there are two paintings of rockets

the boys did a year or two ago.

and an avengers print

i found online, in my colors, no doubt!

plus the heart boon made for me in 2nd grade

to thank me for volunteering.

and some painted keys i mounted.

there's one of my favorite quotes

that i typed up by

how i met your mother's barney:

"when i feel sad, i start feeling sad

 and be awesome instead. 

true story."

and a little print

in the shape of a yellow darth vader helmet

that reads,

"look on the bright side."

there's also a tiny print of a red lego

with feet, arms and sunglasses.

it's titled,

"six pack." 

and finally, there's a print that reads:

"the family routine:

1. wake up

2. be amazing

3. go back to bed"

here is wall number 2.

it's in the downstairs hallway.

i always see it when i come in from the garage

or out of the laundry room.

it's colorful and cheerful

and full of memories.

it's a gallery of artwork by my boys over the years.

paintings, actually, all on canvas.

and they are remarkable.

i love them!

a happy hallway!

gallery wall number 3 is in the happy room.

i've shared photos of it before.

and as soon as i can get some photos 

where you might actually be able

to see the prints better, 

i'll fill you in on that one, too.

calm down. it will be ok.

i know you're excited.

you'll make it.

HUDSON'S HATS: A FLASHBACK

when hudson was just a nub,

i sat him down for an 

impromptu photo shoot.

with hats.

lots of them.

poor kid.

he was done when the fire helmet came out.

can't say as i blame him.

he's not a doll, after all.

what was his mom thinking?

sheesh!

BOONISMS FLASHBACK

when boon was just a week tyke,

he said stuff.

funny stuff.

funny kid stuff.

just like all kids do,

but of course,

he's my kid,

so his stuff is extra funny.

here are some classic Boonisms

for your entertaining pleasure. 

Boonism #242:

"Mom-Mom, you have to sing

"Have a Merry Little Man!"

Boonism #96:

After looking at pictures of his friends and

their new baby sisters:

Boon says, "I have a baby sister."

Mom clarifies, "You have a baby brother."

After thinking for a moment, Boon replies,

"I have a new baby brother.

It's a different kinda sister called a Hudson."

Boonism #58:

"That's sugar. It's sweet

and good and

healthy!"

Boonism #43:

on baseball:

"The pitcher has to throw the ball.

The batter has to throw the bat."

Boonism #83:

"That's a urinal.

It's where you wash your hands."

And some Boonism Vocabulary:

Mommy Beans = Edamame Beans

Hair Jello = Hair Gel

Wack-a-Mole Backaphone = Rock-n-Roll Microphone

Potty Napkins = Toilet Paper

our little boon was so silly!

woa. flashback indeed. 

GEEKERY AT ODDS

wyatt and i have
3 graphic novels between us.

these are mine:

this is his:

let's take a look at our geekery, shall we?

mine:
main characters:
bella swan, a high school girl
edward cullen, a 109-year-old vampire
who sparkles in the sun
jacob black, a young boy turned werewolf

his:
main characters:
bertrand russell, philosopher
ludwig wittgenstein, passionate student of russell's

mine:
total young adult fiction

his:
based on real people and history

mine:
"edward was both irresistible and impenetrable...
he managed to keep his true identity hidden,
 but bella is determined to uncover his dark secret..."

his:
"...russell became obsessed with a promethean goal:
to establish the logical foundation
of all mathematics."

seriously, i cannot figure out
for the life of me
how it is we've managed to stay married
for almost 18 years.
and which one of us is more messed up.
wait. don't answer that.

FRIGHTENING

"it's about time John and Olivia

did another album together,"

said no one ever.

THE ART OF THE VALENTINE

i gave the boys a choice:

store bought or homemade

valentines.

they both chose homemade.

boon opted for a pretty quick design.

i printed a quick

to:

happy valentines day

from:

on construction paper.

we found printable hearts

with superhero designs inside.

he cut them out and

glued them to the middle.

add a lollipop and voila!

hudson chose a more elaborate project

which involved mom and dad a bit more.

he made superhero lollipops.

there was a lot of felt cutting

and logo punching

and ribbon tying.

but dang, they turned out pretty darn cute.

this was a fun (if not LONG)

experience.

perhaps next year

i'll encourage the 

store bought variety. :)

YA OBSESSION

i'm currently in a young adult book phase.

perhaps it's my ever-increasing age

i want to ignore for a while.

or that i simply don't want to read anything too heavy.

i want to escape into a world of fantasy.

with vampires and werewolves

and witches and demons

and ghosts and fairies.

i've got a big stack by my bed,

just waiting.

it's all good.