Working Out Ike Style

Mike and I couldn't stop laughing. Probably one of those things you need to see in person to really see the humor. Check out this boy playing wii. It really gets him going. Now I understand why he is always so sweaty after playing.

He so doesn't take after his mom. The lady who still has to use her entire body to turn on mario kart, or jump out of her seat to get mario to jump on super mario brothers. . . definitely doesn't take after me!

Gonna be honest. I got a good workout watching him. My sides hurt so bad from laughing. I don't think he even knew we were there. He was in the zone.

Flares Continued

It's been awhile since I have picked up my camera. 19 weeks to be exact.

I still can't do too much or I get beyond exhausted, which makes the nausea all that much worse.

Over at I ♥ Faces, you can find weekly {photo} challenges. This week was sun flares.

I have never tried to get flares in my pictures before. Let's just say that manual mode was testing my patience yesterday!

It's hard for me to not smile when I see her grump face. . . but I don't her knowing how cute I think it is. Some days it can get a little tiring.

By the way. She would be FURIOUS if she found out I was calling her a LITTLE princess. She would tell me "I'M YOUR BIG GUR-L" (that's girl with 2 syllables. and said with a very demanding voice. and a very exaggerated pause between each word.)

Don't tell her, but in my mind, she's going to be my little princess for quite some time.

Basically They're Crazy

Or maybe they just make me crazy. . .

Here's their latest thing.

Climb up my dresser (they are part monkey).

Jump off the dresser. (maybe part spider monkey).

Land on the bed.

No joke.

Then the boy does this thing where he lands on his feet, does a flip and lands on the other side of the bed.

Scares me.

Is it bad that it's entertaining as well. . . probably until they get hurt. . .

Mike caught it on film, and by film I mean digital camera!

Crazy kids.


And this my friends is what happens when mom is not feeling so hot, and the kids are allowed to run amuck. Time to find a new activity for the Monkeys.

Couple sidenotes:

** yes, Isaac dresses himself and decided to wear his swim trunk and shirt on a cold very cold fall day!).

** yes, Ainsley is not dressed. I can barely get myself dressed let alone her. She's cool with it though!

** yes, I was potty training her and she was just about good. . . then I got sick. . . and I gave up a little. When I am not spending my entire day hanging over the toilet we will start again finish up.

Past Due

I haven't been feeling good lately. 13 weeks to be exact. Which means I only have 6 months left of feeling sick and tired. I am one of those lucky women, who is sick the ENTIRE NINE MONTHS of pregnancy. So Fun!

I spend my days doing as little as possible. The more I do, the sicker I get. I am lucky that my kids love to entertain each other!!! (also VERY lucky, they can get their own drinks and a lot of times food! Yes I buy frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I don't feel bad at all!!)

One of their favorites is dress-up. These aren't their halloween costumes, but as soon as walmart put out their stuff, the kids each picked a couple to add to the dress-up box. Hours of entertainment.
This is also one of Isaac's favorite things to do right now . . .

Isaac is all about "making" music these days. Anyone who knows Mike, knows this would be HIS kid!

The other day Isaac and I had a talk about money. He was just so sure we make a million dollars and can buy him any toys he wants. I told him no one has that money, except maybe Hannah Montana. His response, "Well I can sing, play the drums, and guitar. I could be a jonas brother. Then I would have a million dollars!" Judging by the picture above, he is on the right track!

Last but not least, we just got back from San Antonio. We went for a quick trip to sea world. Let me tell you FUN FUN FUN, but so exhausting. I overdid it a bit, and am still paying for it. Morning sickness and long days in the sun just don't mix well.

Here's a shocker, I didn't take any pictures. I took maybe five. That's it. I had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and holding two little people's hands, no energy left over for picture taking. Which is fine. I was enjoying the moment(s) with my kids.

Ainsley sat and watched the ENTIRE Shamu show without blinking. Isaac laughed through the ENTIRE Sea Lion show. We all liked feeding the dolphins. The kids were too afraid to pet the dolphins. . . as soon as they saw the teeth, but you better believe Mike and I took advantage.


Off to go take a quick nap while the kids are playing. Although I don't know if ten minutes counts as a "real" nap. But I will take it! Just want to throw this out there, the kids and I wouldn't make this nine months without Michael. He is playing Mr. Dad and Mr. Mom these days, and hasn't complained once. What a champ!

Little Bit Mine

There is a reason I like being behind the camera and not in front. I am one of the most un-photogenic people I know. Seriously.

My kids aren't what I would call "un-photogenic". . . but in one photo-shoot, I will get 100 of these:

Before I get 1 of these:
(by the way I love the goofy ones just as much. . . actually even a little more!)

side note: the editing is not normally my style, but I thought it was fun to try.

Point Goes to Mother Nature

Last night was supposed to be their engagement photo-shoot. . . but then a storm rolled in.

They wanted to try to beat the storm and get in a few shots.

A few is all we got.

We will try again this weekend.

I checked the forecast, and the weather looks a little sketchy.

Hopefully mother nature gives us a small break.

Only a small one though, because I LOVE the RAIN!

Playing Mommy

This little girl normally is my sleeper. . . well both of my kids are. I got lucky.

The past few days, she has been getting up at 3am. Wanting to watch tv, eat, and drink lots of water. Not like her at all. She also has had a slight fever. Yesterday she had a nice fever most of the day.

She woke me up again about three this morning crying her mouth hurt. I looked inside. Sores on her tongue and inside her cheeks. Nice. I know hand foot and mouth was going around, and I thought we escaped it. Guess not. She's miserable. But she's a tough little cookie. Thankfully not a drama queen when she is sick. One sight of blood and all drama breaks loose. Man, I love this girl!

Like the wink? It's her new thing when I take pictures. Winking at the camera.

And this is his new thing. Can't get a picture without that tongue.

Make it Easy

I finally picked up my camera again. I did my first engagement photo shoot. I am a little rusty. I need to work on the focus. My lens has been driving me nutsos. The good news, these two love having their pictures taken, and they aren't getting married for awhile, so we still have time to practice. Family is good like that. Being guinea pigs.

I had so much fun with these too. They make being the photographer easy. We are doing another shoot this weekend. Different location. It's for fun. I will take all the practice I can get. I get to do another engagement shoot in a couple weeks. I can't wait.

Hot Crustacean Band

I put soap in my boots, rubbed it around, buckled them up, and jumped in the water like I was some kind of pro. I just knew today was going to be the day. The day I would clear my first wake. The boat took off. I pulled myself up out of the water. The boat gained speed. The rope tightened, and I cut for the wake. Yes, today was going to be the day. My speed increased as I got closer to the wake. I prepared myself for the jump, and I hit the water. Hard.

I am sure I was quite the sight EVERY time I did these massive cartwheels in the water. I would come home from every lake trip with at least one good bruise, usually multiple. I never was able to jump the wake. I am okay with that. I was just happy to be out on the lake. I loved that summer. Every weekend out on a boat. My friends doing some crazy tricks, and me doing crazy cartwheels. I made falling look good, or maybe I just made falling look like it hurt.

The dirty, creature filled (and who knows what else filled) lake water never even phased me, but put me in a swimming pool, and I am one unhappy girl. Pretty, clear, sparkling, cold water. . . can't do it. I have never been a big fan of swimming pools. I am the girl that still has to plug her nose to go under water. You won't find me jumping off a diving board. Terrifies me. I took swim lessons. I know how to swim. I learned how to do pretty swan dives. I just don't enjoy it.

My kids on the other hand LOVE the swimming pool. Me being the wonderful mother I am, take them. Unfortunately, I don't have a swim suit yet this year, so Mike has had to take the kids when he gets home from work. Bummer for me. Actually I am more than thrilled to sit on the sidelines and take pictures, and shout out words of encouragement to the rest of the clan.

We have gone twice to the pool so far this summer. I will hold out as long as I can, not taking the kids by myself, during the day. The water is too cold for me still. The kiddo's don't last very long either. Like I said the water is cold. They live it up though, even if it is only for five minutes.

They hold out as long as they can, teeth chattering and all. Then we spend the next 30 minutes wrapped in towels, or lying in the sun warming up, watching everyone else play in the pool.

People watching can amuse me for hours. My children are the same way. For now I am fine with "people watching" from the side of the pool. Soon enough I know it's going to be too hot for watching from the sidelines. Like I said earlier I am a "good" mom, so I will break down and buy myself a suit, but for the next few weeks I am more than happy to be the cheerleader on the side.

Where the Wind Comes Sweepin'

I admit, the kids and I are rarely "up and at 'em" before 8 o'clock on any given morning. Yesterday I woke up early. I thought about going back to sleep, but I knew it was going to be too good of a day to waste on extra sleep. The hint of sunshine peeking through my bedroom blinds told me so. After the sun spoke to me, I got up and decided to head to the store, and get my shopping done before the kiddos were up for the day.

I love making shopping lists. There are times when I stray from those lists. Yesterday was one of those days. Walking past the toy aisle, I remembered my kids were running out of play dough. I found the play dough and into the cart it went. Then I thought, bubbles could be fun, so into the cart they went. That's when my eye caught the "travel toys". That's when it happened. I decided right then and there we were going on a road trip. Right now.

I got a few "travel toys", paid for my purchases and went home to pack up the family. I knew exactly where we would go, but it was going to be a surprise for them.

Have you seen the Disney-Pixar movie Up? I took the kid's to see it Friday. We loved it. To quote the movie: "The wilderness must be explored!" That was exactly my plan. To explore the wilderness.

We went to the Arbuckle Wilderness Zoo, in Davis Oklahoma. You drive through the "wilderness", and the animals come up to your car and you feed them special food. I can't remember a time this past year, where I have laughed so hard, for so long.

Isaac giggled so hard from the emus and ostriches I thought he would wet his pants. I laughed so hard from him laughing so hard, I feared the same for my pants. Yet, as hard as I was laughing on the outside I was crying on the inside. Those birds scared me. They were crazy. They would stick those long necks clear across my body and reach the middle console, where we had our cups of food sitting, and try to rip the cups out of our hands. My vote is crazy.

The llamas didn't make a good impression on Ainsley.
Nor did the donkeys. She insisted they were trying to eat her. Come on now, who could resist this smile?
Okay when you put it that way. . . I can see your point.
I think Mike had a soft spot for the zebras. Was pretty amazing to be feeding a zebra out of the palm of your hand.
My pick of the day. . . drum roll please. . . the giraffes. I have never given much thought to the creature before. Never on my top picks of favorite animals. I have always thought it an interesting, almost awkward kind of animal. Abnormally long neck. Abnormally long, wobbly-looking legs. Two small odd looking horns things on top of it's head. Odd.

I am now 100% in love though. These guys were so gentle, and really just amazing. It was love at first sight for Ainsley. She probably could have fed the giraffes all day. I would have stuck around all day with them too, if I could.


A day WELL SPENT "exploring" the "wilderness". The sun never lies.