I Am Pocahantas

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?
Oh, that's great. I'm the only Disney princess that the cartoonist forgot to put facial features on. Just two little holes for my nose. Actually, what it says is pretty accurate. I am very wise. And I do impact all I know. Oh, and I'm quite modest as well. :)

I saw this test on Heidi's blog and was curious about which Disney princess I am. Now that I know, I think I'll get in touch with my inner Pocahantas and go look for a pet raccoon. Wish me luck.

Thematic Photography--Wood

My butt is numb. I've been sitting at my computer for hours and hours it seems over the past week trying to catch up my pictures. I've been editing shots, backing up pictures in seventeen places 'cuz I'm paranoid (not really seventeen---only four), and uploading to Walgreen's, FOREVER! I had to go all the way back to February...hundreds and hundreds of pictures! I am never going to get so behind again! Never ever! Not even when my eyes are no longer glazed over from staying up too late staring at the computer screen. The fact that my butt is numb and my eyes are glazed really has nothing to do with the reason for this post. I just thought you'd like to know.

While I'm waiting for a CD to finish burning, I'm posting a thematic photograph of a hunk of wood. I came across this blogging activity a couple weeks ago on a blog called Written Inc. and thought it sounded like fun. Plus it would prove that I do take pictures of something other than my son. :) Carmi posts a photography theme and those that want to participate do so. This week's theme is wood, so here's some wood pictures that I took in Montana a few years ago. It was one weird hunk of wood.

FFF-Summer Lovin'

Like Sarah, I've had the song from Grease, "Summer Nights" in my head since I found out what the theme for Favorite Foto Friday was. Thankfully, there will be no summer flings for my sweet boy for quite awhile. He can get his summer lovin' from his Mommy and Daddy.

Here's our Summer...

Colter likes his birthday present!

Sand is so cool, Mom!Colter on his daily walk to check the flowers (it's just his excuse to get us to take him outside).

And here's our Lovin'!

Giving Lambie a big hug!

And a kiss!

Ouch! Poor Lambie! That kiss got a little aggressive.

The Reclaiming of My Bosoms

ATTENTION: Any male readers (or female for that matter) who may be embarrassed reading about my latest adventures in breastfeeding, this post is not for you. Come back tomorrow. I'll be posting cute pictures--of my son--not my breasts.

So far, I've avoided reference to my boobs in this blog. I don't know how, because I feel like the girls have spent a lot of time over the past year hanging out. I've flashed more people, mostly accidentally, then I ever imagined I would. Including my twelve-year-old brother. And I suspect, on one occasion my father-in-law. Maybe he didn't notice. :) Needless to say, when my baby is hungry and screaming for his bottle, which just happens to be attached to my chest, I don't really think about modesty. To all you people out there who may have gotten an unwanted glimpse at my bosoms, I'm sorry. To all you people out there who may have gotten a wanted glimpse at my bosoms, you're welcome.

I'm making it sound like I'm one of those brave breast-feeding mommies who feed there babies while standing in line at the grocery store. I'm not. I really have tried to be modest for the most part and not make anyone uncomfortable (which does happen by the way....I can't for the life of me understand why a woman feeding her baby makes people uncomfortable, but whatever. It takes all kinds). Whenever we are out of the house, I always go to a dressing room to nurse or go to the car where I may have flashed a few people in parking lots, but that can't be helped.

Now that Colter is a year old, I'm ready for cow's milk to become his drink of choice. I really wanted to nurse for at least a year, and I'm so thankful I was able to (especially when I'm in the baby food aisle, and I see the price of formula--yikes!), but I'm ready for things to go back to their normal sizes. Hopefully that's a possibility because I really have quite a nice collection of Victoria's Secret bras that I would love to wear. It would be nice to be a C cup again instead of a DD!

Weaning has begun, but I'm not sure how it's going. I'm afraid my poor little boy is hungry! He's not been drinking the recommended 16 ounces of milk a day--even if I put chocolate in it (yes, I'm already giving my boy chocolate milk sometimes). Since I've tried to cut him off to one nursing session a day, he keeps waking up at weird hours, like 3 am, wide awake! Even if I give in and let him nurse, he still is wide-awake. I assume he will drink when he's thirsty and not dehydrate or anything, but I still worry about him a little. I don't want the little guy to be thirsty!

Anyway, since complete strangers ask about my baby's eating and sleeping habits quite often, I thought this must be a topic of interest and decided to share with my wonderful readers. As a side note, people ask funny questions about babies. They also are starting to give funny looks when they discover my boy is still a boob baby. I don't think everyone realizes that mothers are now recommend by the American Academy of Pediatrics to breastfeed for a year, because I've gotten the impression some people think Colter is too old to still be nursing. He's only been one a week and a half! Give us time woman in Wal Mart that I don't even know that asks nosey questions and then looks shocked when you realize my son still nurses! :)

Wordless Wednesday--Excedrin Anyone?

Word-Filled Wednesday

My Mystic Tan

You know the Friends episode when Ross tries one of those spray tanning booths and ends up getting sprayed four times on one side of his body? After years of curiosity, I decided to try one of those spray-tanning booths today. Fortunately, while my tan is far from perfect, I didn't end up looking half-baked like Ross.

Just in case someone out there has no clue what I'm talking about, I got a mystic tan today. I'm not sure what is so mystic about it--all I had to do was stand in a booth while sunless tanning stuff was sprayed all over my body--I didn't have to gaze into a crystal ball or meditate or anything. (As I'm writing this, I realize that it's probably called a mystic because it sprays tanning mist--duh--I'm a little slow.) Anyway, according to mystic tanning brochures, after using a mystic tanning booth, those brave--or silly--enough to try it, end up with a fabulous, glowing, not-at-all-orange tan without exposing their skin to dangerous UV rays.

I'm pasty. If I lived during the middle ages when plump, pale people were considered sexy, I would be a drop-dead gorgeous super-model. Actually, if some of the paintings from the middle ages are an accurate indicator of what was considered the ideal body, I may be a tad skinny. Just a tad. I'm rambling again. I know I'm albino-like, but yesterday when I went swimming with my little brother, the shining glare emitting from my legs nearly blinded everyone within a 3-mile radius, so I decided to call the local tanning salon and ask some questions about sunless tanning, because I really have no desire to lie in my backyard in a bikini. For one thing, none of my bikinis fit anymore. For another, I don't have much desire to get skin cancer. It ended up that mystic tanning is half price on Mondays, so I could try it today for $10. For only $10, I forgot any reservations about ending up looking like a carrot.

Usually I'm very good about researching before I take action, but today, I went to my appointment with very little knowledge about what I was doing. I guess I expected a sign or something on the wall, or an attendant that would give me some detailed information. I didn't get that. The attendant took me to the room with the booth, told me to put some blending lotion between my toes and fingers, put a shower cap on my hair, wear some goggles, and get in the booth. I just assumed that was all the information I needed, but knowing a little bit more would have been great.

Right away I had a problem. My head was too big for the little shower cap she gave me! I have a fat head--it's full of brains. Plus I have really thick hair. I messed with the cap for a few minutes, without much luck. I ended up putting one cap over my ponytail and positioning the other one around the rest of my head. After I figured that out and got in the booth, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Was I supposed to hit a button? Just stand there in my undies? Hmm... The attendant had said something about the green light in the booth. I pushed it, but I still don't know if it was a button or if a timer just made the stuff spray. After a minute or so, the sprayers kicked on and I was sprayed on one side. Then I turned around and was sprayed on the other. That went pretty well, I didn't mess up like Ross, but then I didn't know what to do. I was dripping with tanning spray, but I didn't know whether to dry off or stand there and air dry or what. I hadn't been smart enough to ask. I decided to just blot dry and hope for the best. I couldn't tell a big difference right away, but I was a little more tan. I was told not to take a shower for six hours.

As the day progressed, I got darker. I was too busy with my son to really notice for a few hours though, and when I finally glanced in the mirror, I noticed a line across my forehead! In my attempts to cover my hair, I neglected to make sure the shower cap was covering only my hair and not part of my face! Oops! I also have one perfectly tanned arm, and one very blotchy, looks-like-I-have-funky-birth-marks-arm. And I have orange feet and very dark knee caps.

All in all, I would say it's something worth trying again. After I had already got the tan, I read some information about Mystic tans online (I know--kinda pointless to research it afterwards) and discovered that I should have kinda rubbed the stuff in and wiped down to avoid blotchiness. I also need to bring my own hair cover! Except for my feet, I don't look like a carrot--I think it looks like a pretty natural tan, and it's a lot darker than I expected. In a week or so, the line across my forehead should go away, and maybe I'll try again. If any of the five people that read my blog have any sunless tanning suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

FFF-Daddy and Me

Colter loves his Daddy! Especially today. Colter had his one-year-check up, and I had to help the nurse hold him still for his shots. Of course afterwards, he didn't want mean mommy to comfort him. He went straight to Daddy!

Here's John and Colter on the day they met. I'm not sure if this is the first time John held him or not, but I know Colter was only an hour or so old!

My Precious Boys

Outside! Colter's Favorite Place

I love my two guys! To see more Daddy and Me photos go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

Sort of Wordless Wednesday

Why My Son's Outdoor Birthday Party

Was Rushed And Had The Fastest

Party Clean-Up Ever!

Future Helicopter Pilot? Not Likely.

Colter and I had the opportunity to see a Black Hawk Army helicopter on Saturday up close with my friend Gina's family and Rachel and Riley. Colter really enjoyed looking at everything and everyone. He kept pointing at the helicopter and the people looking at it while saying something that sounds sort of like "this." He points and says "this, this" like he's asking what something is. It's super cute. We play that game all the time. Anyway, he acted very interested in the helicopter until...
I put him in the pilot's seat--for like, five seconds.
It doesn't look like I have to worry about my boy running off to join the army. It's just as well. My son being an army helicopter pilot would totally stress me out.

My Little Boy is One!

FFF-Bloopers

Sarah's theme for Favorite Foto Friday today is Bloopers! I'm not positive what pictures would be considered bloopers, but I think a blooper can be classified as a lot of different things.

For instance, in January when I decided my boy had grown too big for his bouncy seat (sniff, sniff), I put him in it to take some pictures before I packed it up. As soon as I put him down, he scooted right out! Seems like a blooper to me. :)

Getting stuck under the chair is definitely a blooper moment. Just look at this face! And the hair blowing in the wind. Crazy picture.

I have a ton of blooper pictures of my siblings. Probably because they are bloopers. Mom and Dad should have stopped while they were ahead (I'm the oldest). Just kidding. My siblings, while not as wonderful as me, aren't bloopers. I love them to pieces.

There's my deranged sister, Jessica, trying to beat me up with a spatula.

Then there's my slightly psycho brother, Chance, who really is a good-looking guy, not that you can tell from this picture. This is what happens when I leave my camera unattended. Chance gets a hold of it and takes crazy pictures. Then my goof-ball sister, Courtney. I'm sure she'll love that I posted this. The youngest of my siblings and I is my brother, Sawyer. I have SO MANY pictures of him making silly faces. This is his favorite pose. Sawyer has a birthday coming up! He's going to be 13 next week. Ug. I was almost 16 when Sawyer was born, and it seems like only yesterday he was a cuddly, precious baby. Now my sweet, little brother is going to be a teen-ager! Yuck. This is my all-time-favorite blooper picture. I've actually posted it before. Sawyer the chicken fighter. I love how I caught him in mid jump/punch.
Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday-Trampoline Fun Four Years Ago

Word-Filled Wednesday

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3

The swans at my local park strike me as lonely. I don't know much about swans*--maybe they're not people persons--or swan swans---whatever, but the swans in the duck pond seem to be depressed loners with troubled hearts. They even hold their heads down in their sadness. If we trust in God, there is no reason for our hearts to be troubled. Jesus loves us! He's prepared a place for us! Someday we'll be with Him! Whoo Hoo! Happy Word-Filled Wednesday!

*I do, however, know that a swan mother is a pen, a father is a cob, and a baby is a cygnet thanks to Eric Carle's Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? Just one of the many things I've learned during story time.

FFF-Hurricane Colter

This week's theme for Favorite Foto Friday is disorderly conduct or messy spaces! Piece of Cake. My sweet, innocent, wee babe leaves a path of destruction wherever he goes. Though he's not quite one, he is a CHAMPION MESS MAKER! When I see the messes he is capable of making now, I can't imagine what state of wreckage my house will be in a few weeks when he's running.

Some of Colter's favorite things to do are: empty out the cabinets that aren't off limits in the kitchen; remove anything and everything from any laundry basket, box, or bag he comes across; try to empty out the entertainment center cabinet when I'm not looking; take all the clothes out of my dresser; empty out the lower bathroom drawers when I'm preoccupied with trying to make my hair resemble something other than a frizzy bush and not paying enough attention to him; etc. Basically, if something is put away, he wants it out! I didn't get around to documenting his demolition projects this week, but I do have a few older pictures to provide proof.

Here's one of his daily activities--taking the books off the shelf in his room.


This little snowman book is one he often chooses out of the pile and just grins at. He'll drag it around with him for awhile and even open it up to look at the pictures. I don't really think it's that special, but it amuses my boy!

It seems like everything in the bottom drawer in my bathroom gets emptied out as soon as I put it back. Colter loves to play with the cotton balls and the Q-tips that are in there. One would think that as many times as I've had to pick up Q-tips that he's dragged all over the house, I would put them in a higher place, but that would make sense. Instead of making sense, I like to leave the Q-tips where Colter can get them so I can pick them up over and over again. It's good exercise.

Oh, and then of course there's always the mess that is made when I give in and relinquish the control of the spoon. Notice the suction on the bottom of the bowl--great idea in theory, but yeah, those don't really work.

There's lots more messes to see at Kiss the Frog 4 Me!

Totally off topic, but Colter's birthday is coming up and I've had several family members ask what he wants for his birthday. Since I don't speak baby and Colter is my first kid, I really don't know what to suggest. His favorite things to play with seem to be remote controls, keys, phones, spatulas, and of course, Q-tips. If any mommies out there in blog land know of some toys that their one-year-olds just loved, I would appreciate some ideas. There are way too many options out there, and no one seems to take me seriously when I say a cardboard box. Even though I suspect Colter would be just fine with that.

Word-Filled Wednesday

If you look at this verse in context, it doesn't really fit (it's from the chapter where Jesus leaves his disciples to keep watch while He goes to pray and they keep falling asleep!). Hopefully, if Jesus asked me to keep watch for an hour, I could stay awake, but my eyes are extremely heavy today, and I feel like stretching out on the bed like this picture of my son a few months ago. He was sleepy!

So far, it has been The Year of the Tornado in the Midwest. Or The Year of The Really Loud Thunder That Wakes Up Jenelle. We have been getting so many storms all spring, and storms are predicted for almost everyday of the upcoming week. The poor weather guys have been working overtime.

Last night Colter cried around 11:30 and needed his mommy. Then just as I was getting back to sleep the tornado sirens went off (the second time in two days), so I woke up again and worried about that for awhile wondering what to do (we have no basement and no shelter so I'm always in a quandary about where the safest place in the house is--we don't really have a good place that meets all the no window, no outside wall requirements). After I fell asleep again, ANOTHER storm went through! Good grief. What am I doing blogging??? I need to go take a nap with my baby. Good night.

To see more Word-Filled Wednesday, go to

Puppy Licks and Lemur Food

My nephew, Tristan, is a nut. If one took a look at the rest of my family, he or she would probably determine that Tristan fits right in with the rest of us, but sometimes, though I love him dearly, I think his nuttiness is a little extreme. For some reason, this four-year-old creative genius is almost never just a little boy. He is usually lost in some imaginary world of pretend where he is a dog. Or a cat. Or a saber-tooth tiger. Perhaps, someday he'll be a brilliant author. Perhaps, someday he'll be in a loony bin diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

I know it's perfectly normal for kids to pretend to be something else, but he seriously takes it a little too far. It's hilarious. He most often pretends to be a dog--he gets so into his role that once (this is crazy), before my sister thankfully realized what he was going to do and stopped him, he almost suckled off a boxer named Jinx who had recently had puppies! EEEWWWW! I told you he was a nut. He insists that he be given water in a bowl so he can lap it up, and he plays with dog toys. He walks around on all fours and barks and growls. He licks people to say hello--at a cousin's graduation party the other day he sneaked up behind a woman whom he didn't even know and licked her!!! (Ewww! again) He's really very convincing.

Recently, Tristan has played the part of a lemur. At a dinner my family had a few weeks ago, Tristan was jumping around pretending to be a lemur monkey. The poor lemur kept getting into "ticks," which were clothespins that Tristan stuck all over himself then he would look for someone to pretend to be his "Mommy Lemur" and take all the ticks off. He had to have a mommy lemur--not a daddy lemur. He got into a few arguments with uncles that didn't want to pretend to be girls. My husband had an interesting experience with Tristan the Lemur. John was just sitting on the couch when the lemur came over and bit him on the arm. Surprised and a little irritated of course, John asked Tristan why he did that, and Tristan replied, "You're Lemur Food!"