JUST LIKE CHINESE FOOD

so, the other day, i hear boon

talking to his friends.

the following came out of his mouth:

"i tried eating rotten flesh

but it just made me hungrier."

i kid you not.

thank goodness i know he's obsessed with:

otherwise, i would have been offended.

my cooking isn't that bad, is it?

minecraft creeper.

minecraft block.

huh.

i guess rotten flesh

is kinda like

chinese food.

go figure.

INSTAGRAM

it's instagram friday!

ok, not really.

it is friday.

and i am posting about instagram.

but i just wanted to try out one of those

catchy-named weekly blog posts.

it didn't work.

my bad.

please forgive.

anyhoo...

in case you are not familiar

with my latest love,

instagram,

let me briefly introduce you.

instagram is a photo sharing app for your phone

that allows you to use funky cool filters

on your phone photos.

it takes a hum drum photo and makes it look

like you knew what you were doing.

when you took it.

with your phone.

and who likes to take photos?

and who always has their phone on them?

and who likes to scroll through all the filtered photos

she's taken that make her look like she knew what she was doing?

that would be, um, er, well...me.

i don't really "follow" any other users.

i don't really have a posse of "followers" either.

i just use it for my amusement.

makes me use my camera phone

and notice things around me more.

oh, and look like a crazy women bent over

taking pictures of dandelions and rocks and food and feet.

here's a sampling of my instagram "feed."

see? i'm teaching you all the lingo!

no, we didn't go to seattle for new year's

that's a photo of the tv.

awesome.

gotta love bread dipped in stinky cheese.

it's a classic.

who's that dude lurking in the background?

ketchup, leave me alone.

oh, mustard. why are you always so crabby?

happy weekend!

OBSESSIONS OF MEN

currently, the men in our household

are obsessed with chess.

all 3 of them.

here we have wyatt and boon

battling it out

while hudson plays a chess app

on wyatt's phone.

boon is in chess club at school.

the boys often play each other

in the mornings before school.

there are always games on the weekends,

and a lot of challenging the computer

and each other

with the phone app.

books are checked out of the library

to read up on rules, moves and

winning strategies

it's a chess fest!

the two younger boys have

another obsession.

one that's been around for years and years,

but they are just now becoming acquainted...

the world of pokemon.

trading cards,

playing the game,

and having a blastola

buying new decks, and

browsing through them

over and over and over,

discussing the merits of each character.

as i am no stranger to obsessions,

i welcome these new family interests

and wish the men in my life all the best

as they immerse themselves in the sheer delight

of obsessive geekery.

it's a good place to be.

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.

O IS FOR ORGANIZE

i got a little bee

in my bonnet the other day.

you see, there were these huge bags

full of tons of lego instruction booklets.

they were taking up space,

and not in a useful way.

the booklets were folded and torn.

they were a mess.

did the guys care.

nope.

did i?

heck, yes.

aah. that's better.

all neat and tidy.

in alphabetical order,

grouped by type.

with cute photos, too.

it's a dream come true

for this mom.

i mean, really,

legos are practically a part

of our family.

we should treat them

and their instruction booklets

accordingly,

don't you think?

INDIANA MANIA

we are knee deep. no maybe up to our necks. no, how about over our heads in indiana jones around here. the boys are obsessed. and wyatt and i can get obsessed about them being obsessed. that's a lot of obsession in one little household. hold onto your fedoras, folks.

the boys have indy hats from disneyland. genuine felt fedoras. they have indy bags (or brown leather "man purses" from a garage sale and a thrift store). they have genuine indy whips straight from the easter bunny.



but most of all, they have pure indy joy. imagination. sense of adventure. they are infatuated with all things indy. boon will say, "he's such a stud." they will take turns being indy and a german soldier. and they are constantly asking questions about indy and where in the world his adventures take him.




we've watched the first, third and fourth movies with them. several eye coverings and tv mutings later, they still love love loved them. and educational? you betcha. geography! ('they're in south america, right dad?) history! (quite a conversation discussing nazis and 'bad guy germans and russians,' trying to teach history in a kid friendly way, making sure they understand the then vs now). vocabulary! (fedora...of course).

and oh the catch phrases! their latest favorite is from crystal skull..."get that greaser!"

we are riding the indy wave and it is awesome.