every captive thought

What a day.  I woke up at 2:30 am (stupid pregnancy hormones), the boys woke up at 5:00 am.  That makes for a long day.  This morning I tried to get a picture of the awesomeness that was James' hair.  It was a thing of beauty.   Later he colored some beautiful pictures. Then after a MUCH NEEDED nap time we played outside.  It was such a beautiful day.  But after yesterday's dust bowl they were filthy within seconds.  James tried to bully negotiate with Jude to give up the big wheels. It didn't happen. When we moved into this house in August of 2010 we put James' hand and foot prints in the cement in the courtyard.  I was pregnant with Jude at the time.  James didn't like getting his hands and feet dirty at all.  But look how he's grown! After pretty much rolling around in the dirt for a couple of hours I gave them both baths, got them jammied up, and our sweet Nana came over to give me some adult conversation and salted caramels.  Because she loves me. Y

My sweet friends Lindsay and Zach (aka Bean, or Uncle Bean if you are James) have a blog now!  I am so excited!  Not your average Beans

I don't remember this unpleasant stage with James that Jude is in.  He is grumpy.  I am sure it has a lot to do with the 6 teeth he is cutting but goodness...it's starting to wear on all of us around here.  This video is a typical day in the life of Judie Bug.  Apparently just the sound of my voice causes him such great irritation that he has to throw himself on the floor in disgust. In all of the eons that I have spent being pregnant, I have NEVER asked Brad to go get me pickles and ice cream.  Too cliche.  For one thing...I'm not a huge fan of ice cream or pickles.  But for the first time, I actually really did crave ice cream and pickles.  I'm blaming it on Jude. But for the record, I did not eat them together. When Brad and James were at the store, James talked Brad into buying him another movie.  Rango.  I cannot even begin to tell you how disappointed we were in this cartoon.  It is NOT for children.  And it wasn't even slightly amusing to us or to James.

The other day James was asking me how old everyone is...."how old are you?  how old is daddy?  how old is Papa?  how old is Nana?"  I told him all the ages but when we got to Nana, I said, "Nana is just a spring chicken!"  Today, we were going through the same routine.  When we got to Nana he said, "And Nana is just a fried chicken!!!!" I think the KFC we ate last night was still on his mind.

James has always impressed me with his strength and acrobatic abilities ever since he was a tiny little guy.  But this one I just had to share.  He and Jude were in the bath the other day and he said, "Mom, look at this!" I told him to hold it until I could get my camera.  I'm not even sure what is going on there but it's impressive. Jude impresses me with his adorableness.  I love when he curls up like a baby.  ~~~~~ We have been blessed by so much kindness this week.  On Monday a sweet friend from BSF brought over a huge fabulous meal complete with dessert AND breakfast for the next morning!  Tuesday, Karin, my wonderful sister-in-law, had us over for dinner and fixed the most delicious chicken enchiladas I've ever had.  YUM!  Then yesterday, a friend that I haven't seen in over 10 years stopped by with 4 casseroles for my freezer for a rainy day!  What a blessing!  Each of these sweet women were such an encouragement to me this week and I am so gratefu

Remember a few weeks ago when I made a feeble and pathetic attempt to keep the kids from making a big mess in their room by telling them the monsters live in their closet???  Well, that has been a running conversation in our house since then.  Unfortunately I have two little boys who are the type that face their fears instead of cowering in fear, trusting their dear mother's every word to be true.  One morning I went into get the boys and the closet was open and James exclaimed, "Look Mom!  There are no monsters in there!!!!"  Dang it.  I tried a few more times to convince them but to no avail. This morning I was trying to drink my coffee in peace and read emails while James and Jude watched Monsters, Inc.   James looked at me and said, "Do monsters really live in the closet?"  I owned up.  I told him I was just joking when I told him that and there is no such thing as monsters.  Without missing a beat he said, "Oh.  So it was just a lie?"  Ouch.

Thursday I was finally able to get Jude's results back and he is MRSA FREE!!!!!  Yahoo!  Everything we had heard was about how very difficult it was to get rid of.  So I am giving all the credit to the Lord for answering our prayers and healing Judie Bug.  I am so grateful.  The first thing we did was give him a bunch of kisses right smack on the lips.  We had to stick to a strict no smooch policy for a long time and I missed those sweet Judie Bug kisses. I am still going to keep him in a lot until the spring because I don't want him to catch anything else.  The poor angel was sick for over a month and I don't want to take too many risks.  But it is nice to have him well after so long. The boys went over to Nana and Papa's last night so Brad and I could go out alone.  Jude has had to be away from Papa for over a month and he didn't like it one little bit.  Papa is his BFF.  So he was so glad to be over at Nana and Papa's.  When we got there to pick them up af

Or as Jamesie says, "Happy Balance Time's Day".  Brad & James love these suckers We all love chocolate covered strawberries Jude couldn't wait to start opening his present Judie Bug waiting patiently for Daddy to open his car CHEEEEESE! A mouth-full of chocolate Yummy!

This morning I went in to get the boys but I couldn't get their door open.  That would be because all of Jude's clothes were on the other side of the door. This picture says it all...James is ashamed and Jude is hiding behind the instigator.  They had emptied out all of Jude's drawers.  James immediately blamed it on Jude.  But I know Jude's limits.  He can't open his drawers yet so I know he had some help.  I hadn't even had coffee yet!  Really kids, where are your manners.  That's just rude. The good thing was that I have been needing to go through Jude's drawers anyways...this just made me do it.  Also, they were both scared for a couple hours because I didn't really react at all.  I think they were waiting for their punishment so they acted really sweet for awhile.  A short while.  But at least I got to enjoy my coffee in peace. Don't let the halo fool you, he's no angel. I haven't posted a belly picture in awhile because I can

As James would say, "This has been a long day, hasn't it?" Jude was in rare form today.  I don't know what is making him so cranky but I sure hope it passes soon.  The four of us ran errands today then Brad and James dropped Jude and I off so I could start dinner.  While I was in the kitchen cooking I was thinking how nice it was that Jude was playing so nicely and quietly by himself.  (Foreshadowing)  I turned to check on him and saw him sitting in the "big chair" as we call it pouring James' orange soda all over it.  I didn't know a pregnant girl could move that fast.  I was too late though.  The damage was done.  I tried to clean it but orange soda is really orange...and likes to stay that way.  Jude was so furious with me for moving him and taking away the orange soda can that he screamed at decibels my ears and brain couldn't process and grabbed a hold of my legs as if he wanted to take me down and do serious bodily harm.  He wouldn't le

Two boys in the tub.      

James has done great with potty training.  He only has a few accidents here and there but overall is doing really well.  We made a deal with him that if he went a whole week with no accidents we would take him for ice cream!  Every time he successfully went potty he got a smiley face.  Any accidents would have been a frowny face.  All smileys!  (He must have drunk a lot of water on Tuesday). Off we all went for ice cream.  James got chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream with marshmallows, sprinkles, and nerds. Jude is lactose intolerant so he got to play with a spoon. Clearly I've forgotten how to brush James' hair.  What a ragamuffin.   Friday I took Jude to see Dr. Honey.  Poor little thing had to get another shot. While Dr. Honey and I were talking Jude was climbing all over this chair.  Somehow he got stuck in the space between the seat and back.  It took both Dr. Honey and I to get him out.  I was glad she was in there so I didn't have to drag my chair-bou