Five days off...

Yeah! I'm on vacation...sort of anyway. It's April break for the kiddos...Miles is in Myrtle Beach (lucky) with a friend and I have the next five days off to hang with the skeeter. It feels good to set work aside for a bit...I'm fried. So we'll be out for a day of running around soon, but I wanted to take few to post some shots from last weekend.

Heading to town with scooter boy.

All of a sudden, the kid has found his balance and there's no stopping him!

A little lunch from our favorite market...

...followed by ice cream, of course. Sweet tooth, courtesy of daddy's genes.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!

My sweet little sidekick.

This was a riot. At the library...dinosaurs versus...

...the horse family. According to Sam, the dinos wanted the horses for meat. That seemed a little dark to me...accurate, but dark.

I suggested that the horses broker a truce with this guy here...being a vegetarian and all...

...but apparently, these horses are a bunch of badasses.

The baby horse was particularly tough.

Game over.

On our walk home...spring is springing.

And in other news...I love cranial nerves...and muscles...and bones. I do...I love memorizing all of these crazy bits and pieces. I find it exhilarating and I haven't felt this accomplished or proud of myself in ages. Turns out...school is exactly what I needed.
Alright...time for another adventure with the bean. Happy week...happy spring!

A quick breather...

At last, a tiny pocket of time to post a few words and pics. The past few weeks have been crazy with a capital C-R-A-Z-Y. Just the usual mishmash of kiddos, work, school, late night studying, early morning studying...you name it. It's enough to make a gal dizzy and so I'm happy to finally have a few minutes for a long overdue post here.

Sleepy self portrait. Someone get this girl a cup of coffee!

We kicked off this week with a little egg coloring session. The blank canvases...

Gentlemen...start your engines.

Skeeter is ready.

And even at almost 15, M is still up for coloring. I love how precise his method is now that he's older.

Egg coloring...it's serious business.

And there it is...the "please quit taking my picture" pose.

Getting coloring tips from the teenager.

Brother bongos. They make me laugh...I love their relationship. Don't get me wrong...they annoy the heck out of each other but there is a ton of love there too. M has been taking Sam on little trips to town lately. M takes his bike and Sam rides his scooter...and they go to the little town market for a snack and then to the park. This is a BIG deal. I have never seen Sam beam so brightly when he knows that he'll be hanging with his big brother. It's so sweet, it makes me hurt a little.

Penguin brothers. The one on the right is M's from first grade art class and the left guy, Sammy just brought home last week. Easily, my two favorite works of art in this house.

Miles spent the weekend in CT and Sam and I headed for the town egg hunt on Saturday morning.

Happy Sam

Partners in crime.

Egg eggs...and more eggs.

Ready, set...

...and there's the final haul.

High five Easter Bunny.

He made this exact same face in the bunny shot, last year too.

Thanks Easter Bunny!

Mmmmmmmarshmallowwww

This spinach, onion, egg and cheese pie was insane. There was hardly a sliver left by then end of the day.

I find it moderately schmaltzy to wear my words, but I saw this necklace the other day and it just plain spoke to me. I love this sentiment and this is what we're practicing around here, these days. It's the year to take some risks and make some solid changes...so I feel kind of inspired, wearing this close to my heart.
So far, the ride has been a little scary, but more so exciting and unexpectedly empowering. I'm digging the change. Happy week peeps.

The conversation went something like this...

6 pm, Monday night at the dinner table...

Me- So Sammy...Daddy and I had a good meeting with your teacher today.

Sam- What did she say?

Me- She said that she loves you and that you're a great kid...and she told us about all of the helpers in class that you work with on math, reading and whatnot.

Evan- She also told us that sometimes you're a goofball in class and that she would love it if you try a little harder to pay attention and do your work.

Sam- (lots of wiggling in his chair, eating ketchup, sort of acknowledging what we're saying with that sweet/sly little grin on his face)

Miles- Is he going to get held back?

Me- (eyes bulging out of my head, horrified expression on my face, giving the cut off sign, hoping that only M can see me)

Sam- What's a held back? I'm going to give you a held back, Miles! Mom...how do you do a held back? (clearly, he's thinking it's an exciting new wrestling move)

We redirected Sam to adding actual french fries to his ketchup and that was pretty much the end of that conversation.

The truth of the matter is...we are pretty sure that Sammy will be repeating first grade. We're not 100% certain but at this point, it seems likely. Our little Sam is a dreamer...and he's young...one of those tricky July birthday boys. You just never quite know if they're going to take off or struggle when they begin kindergarten at 5. The same was true of Miles when he was little, although his developmental age stood out more in second grade and we discussed possibly having him repeat that year. M is an old soul though...always much more serious than his little brother and somehow after falling a little behind each year, always in the winter time, he would rally and catch up to the rest of his class. He really stretched his wings when he started middle school and now, in his first year of high school, the kid has become an academic powerhouse. Sam I Am is just a different little personality all together. Funny, free spirited, outgoing, incredibly dramatic, super chatty and happy happy happy. He is going to need another year in first grade. It will give him the time that he needs to grow developmentally, and a year of being top banana will be so good for his self confidence. He's a smart little guy but he has always moved at his own, very deliberate pace. He just needs a little time...both Evan and I know this about him. Does it still make my heart ache a little...you bet. And it tears at Miles too...I can see it. He reminds me so much of myself and how I've always felt about my younger brother. He's worried that Sam will be sad. I told him that might be the case, but that we can all make it ok for him...and we all know that the skeeter is resilient. He's like a duck...it just all rolls off his back. We hope that'll be the case here as well. Such a sweet, happy kid. He's going to do great things...both of my little loves will. I just know it.

Then...

...and now.
There's a whole lot of love there.

Like mother, like son.
What's not to love about a little brother?

All he wants for Christmas...

Another milestone for the bean. He's so cute, I could just eat him up!

Bring on the noise...

The kid is back! After a week of vacation in CT with dad, stepmom, kid brother and sister...we have a teenager back in the house and all is well...and significantly louder.

The pugger is happy...

...and so is the Skeeter. Can you tell?

Sam and I had a good week. We enjoyed our weekend grilled cheese tradition last Saturday...

...complete with giggle-fest.

A new friend was added to the menagerie...purchased with his own dough. Meet Nick the bunny.

Cardinal sin of hair...but I cut my own bangs anyway and I quite like them.

My husband is a culinary genius...particularly when it comes to soups. I ate almost the entire pot of this batch of chicken tortilla...not all at once. My love is the shizz.

Skeeter had a buddy come to play yesterday...I made them a fort in the dining room.

Chillin' in the hideout.

Then Sammy and I hung out after his pal went home.

We love blanket forts!

A little afternoon snack...3 2 1 cake. It's 3 tbs of instant cake mix, 2 tbs of water and 1 minute in the microwave. Not the best cake I've ever tasted, however...

...add a little of this combo to the top and it's a lovely, sweet little treat.

We spent the afternoon lolling around in Sam's room and had a funny face photo shoot with the iPad.

At one point, Sam looked at me and said..."I love your smile."

And I love your smile too, bean.

Pugs, and usually a kitty or two, cover my lap at all times when I sit anywhere.

Today we dropped M off to ski with some friends and then Super Sam and I headed to Burger King for lunch.

When in Rome...

And then we headed to the library to read and watch the snow. I'm typing right now as I listen to Sam read out loud to himself. He is getting to be a really good little bookworm.

Such a fun place to spend a snowy afternoon.

Picture of the week...I should frame this one. Oh how I love a noisy house.
Happy weekend!