Favorite Foto Friday-Silly!

The FFF theme for today is "silly!" We can do silly.

Look at this silly boy running away from his mommy! This silly boy likes to throw rocks. Is that just an inborn male trait? Colter is one; why is he already throwing rocks?

I think it's pretty silly take the lid off a sandbox and stand on the lid with your head between your legs. It's also pretty silly to use the sandbox lid as a trampoline. Colter must not think so. :)

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday-Drunken Blueberry Boy

Colter loves his blueberry smoothies! I have some really cute pictures of him grinning while sporting his blueberry smoothie mustache that I'll post later, but for now I thought this blueberry blooper picture was too funny! Oh my gosh, what am I doing talking/typing? It's wordless Wednesday! I'm pulling a Rachel!

Speaking of my friend Rachel, go tell her that you love her. She's had all-day sickness instead of morning sickness for quite awhile, and she needs some virtual love. I promise, she won't puke on you. OH, I'm doing it again. I must shut-up and be wordless! (lips zipped).

Procrastination

Ack! I did it again! I had a 37 500+ word narrative essays to grade, and I waited until the last possible moment to grade them. My freshman composition students handed in their essays LAST Tuesday, and I didn't start grading them until yesterday afternoon even though I promised I would hand them back this morning. It takes quite awhile to really give quality feedback on an essay--I can easily spend 15 minutes on each essay this length, and poorly written papers can take a lot longer to grade( I do not miss the paperwork I had when I was a full time English teacher with at all). Since I didn't want to disappoint the students that were anxiously awaiting the grades on their first essays this semester, I graded papers until 2 a.m., and I now look like this: Oh, and in case you were wondering, the essays were not fabulous. I brought cookies to lessen the blow of the low grades. There's a lot of work to do this semester!

Favorite Foto Friday-Fake Out

Sarah's Favorite Foto Friday theme for today is fake-out! Colter has just recently started smiling on command, (actually, he said "cheese" for the first time this week) so we don't have a lot of fake smile pictures of him. Here's one from our Valentine's Day photo shoot though. We caught some great expressions that day! Go here to see more.

Even though I don't have a lot of fake out pictures for Colter, I am sure I have a ton that would qualify of my nieces and nephews. While I was looking through my millions of photo files, I found these goofy pictures.

I guess my niece, Katie, is "fake" meditating.

Here she's a "fake" Egyptian.
And I'm one, too! This was pre-Colter and 20 pounds ago. Was I really that skinny?

We're silly girls. My nieces love to have photo shoots, so we had set up the tripod and were doing crazy things for the camera. There's lots of funny pictures from that day!

Happy Favorite Foto Friday! Make sure to go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me to see more FFF pictures!

Our Little Helper--A List of 19 on the 19th

I don't know how I ever got anything done before our boy moved in. He's such a helper! To prove it, I've listed, in no particular order, just some of the many things Colter does to help out.

1. He helps me spend less money by emptying all the credit cards out of my wallet and hiding them.

2. When it's time to "go go" he loads his bag up with diapers and wipes.

3. He helps me brush my teeth--in fact, sometimes the only way we can get his teeth brushed is if I let him brush mine.

4. Every morning after we eat breakfast, he's ready to feed the kitty cats! He puts their food in the bowl for them. Never mind that he almost always spills some on the deck--the birds appreciate it.

5. He also takes good care of his stuffed cats--he got into the real cat's food once while I was on the phone and dumped cat food all over his room for his stuffed kitties! It was really cute. Messy--but cute.

6. He puts the silverware in the drawer for me--unfortunately, sometimes he puts dirty silverware away, too. :)

7. He's a great laundry man. He has been helping us sort of fold laundry for ages, but now he's branched out to sorting it into Mommy, Daddy, and Colter piles. He puts the clothes in the washer for me, closes the lid, and turns all the knobs (sometimes even to the right setting). He also has been known to fill up a clothes basket to take it to the laundry room all by himself before.

8. He helps me with my Bible study homework. When I'm working on one page, he scribbles on the next. I have a very decorated Beth Moore Bible study book!

9. Just recently, he's started to want to help me cook a lot. He climbs up on the step stool and puts ingredients in for me. So cute!

10. One day a week, I babysit a one-year-old and a two-year-old. When anyone needs a diaper change, Colter lays out the diapers for me and hands me wipes (even though, he usually doesn't cooperate for his own diaper changes).

11. Speaking of diaper changes, there's been a few times when Colter has pretended he needed a diaper change. He lays out the diaper, gets the wipes, and lies down on the floor. When I open the wipes, he snatches a wipe and runs to the TV to wipe it off! He can't open the wipes himself, and I normally don't let him waste the wipes wiping everything in the living room down anyway, but he's smart enough to pretend to need a diaper change to get the wipe he wants. Tricky boy!

12. He wipes my nose for me.

13. And wants to wipe my butt! The little girl I baby sit for is being potty-trained, and Colter has seen me wipe her after she goes potty. Colter will follow me in to the bathroom and try to wipe me when I'm done! Oh, brother.

14. He like to help me put on chap stick--sometimes he even gets it on my lips.

15. He helps us get dressed. He knows where all John's clothes are and will get pants and socks out for him. He holds out our shoes for us and helps us pull on our socks. He even pulls my shirt over my head!

16. He helps me vacuum. Whenever I vacuum, I have to hold him, so he can hold the cord up for me. Plus, the vacuum scares him, so he needs his mommy, but don't tell him that I know the real reason.

17. He sets the table by putting napkins and silverware on it.

18. He loves to dust--I spray the Pledge and he wipes.

Lastly, even though I could keep going for quite some time...

19. Colter helps me feel more loved, fulfilled, and appreciated. He helps me smile more, laugh more, and love more. Colter helps me cherish each day and reminds me what a gift life is!

Wordless Wednesday

I Need to Feel Loved--Follow Me!

During my sabbatical from the blogging world, I forgot all I learned about html, I don't know how in the world I figured out how to change my blog format to having two side bars, and Blogger came up with the "follow me" stuff. I want to change my blog layout, so I have to learn everything all over again; plus, I only have four followers. Sad! I've been visiting other people's blogs and they all have this list of people that follow them. I don't really know what the point of the follow me button is---I'm not sure why people seem to have both the follow me and the blog roll, but I want followers, too! It makes me feel special to think that there are a few people out there that are reading my ramblings. Even if you never come back to my blog again, make me feel loved and follow me! I want a list of little squares on my blog, too! Thanks!

My Flower Panties

Most woman probably have a pair or two of flower-covered panties in their drawers (smirk--get it? Drawers! I'm too much.), but I have panties that ARE a flower! Check this pair of panties out! My creative sister, Courtney, gave me a pair of underwear shaped into a rose for Valentine's Day! Isn't that a funny/cute idea? I think she saw it on the Today show or something.In a few weeks when Colter can read (he's advanced), I can just hear him saying, "MOM! I can't believe you wrote about your panties on the INTERNET! How embarrassing!" with a facial expression something like this...Then, I'll explain to him, that girls are totally comfortable talking about underwear--unlike guys who get their panties in a wad (Ha!) when unmentionables are mentioned. I could even tell him about an underwear party I went to in college where girls exchanged names and bought panties for girls they didn't even necessarily know, but if I did, he would give me a look like this...

and say, "Girls are so weird."

Thankfully, I should have a few years before Colter will realize that I'm weird. But then again, he might figure it out sooner than I think. He's pretty smart! Cute, too!

Random Picture Challenge

Random Picture Challenge

January 2007

I ran across a new blog game today hosted by 4 Little Men and Girly Twins! It looks like fun, so I'm playing. :) This week's challenge is to post pictures from January 2007. Or maybe picture. I don't know--I've never played this game before, but I can never pick just one, so I'm posting pictureS.

In January 2007 we had a crazy ice storm! Many of our friends were without power for weeks! Yes, weeks plural!!! It was insane. Fortunately, we were only powerless for 10 hours, so our house was kind of a gathering place. Well, more of a shower house. :)

Ice-Covered Tree

Alien Ice Grass
Amazingly, not a limb on this tree broke even though it's limbs were so weighed down. It was one of the few trees that escaped damage. Our town looked like a war zone.
To see more random pictures go here.

If I Were a Candy Heart...

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Favorite Foto Friday-LOVE!

It's Favorite Foto Friday! I've been a FFF slacker, but I'm back and ready to show the world some of my goofy boy's LOVE pictures! One of the things I love about blogging is that it encourages me to take more photos of Colter. I've tried to get Colter to let me take some pictures that would fit the LOVE theme this week, and this is what I got.

Colter doesn't have time to stand still for photographs! What was I thinking?Here's a weak attempt at a kiss for Mr. Red Puppy.

And a big hug for Kitty!

Colter did cooperate better when I told him to have his kitties kiss each other to show some love. He thought that was pretty funny!
Gotta love that funny face!
I LOVE my boy!

Where's the love, mom?

Happy Valentine's Day one day early!

Wordless Wednesday Explained

We are cat people stuck in a dog neighborhood. I swear; EVERYONE in our neighborhood has a dog, or multiple dogs, as demonstrated by the howling that precedes the sounds of sirens and the constant barrage of barking that ensues if we dare play in our backyard. While growing up in the country, I didn’t mind dogs, I actually liked them, but I fear town living has forever damaged my relationship with dogs. They drive me crazy (for proof, read this)!


It’s only fitting, that as the only family on our street without a dog or two, we are the only people with a concrete dog perched on our mailbox. Yes, that’s right; a statue of a bird dog with a DEAD PHEASANT in its mouth greets our visitors. Isn’t that lovely? We welcome people to our house with death. Mwah Haa Haa Haa (that’s supposed to be an evil laugh).


The man that lived in our house before us obviously was a dog person. The shed in our backyard was used as a dog house for the man’s bird dog. A whole shed! The man put a window air conditioner in the shed and a glass door, so the dog could sit in the cool air conditioning and look outside! A glass door in a shed! I guess his wife was a cat person because one would think he would just let the dog in the house instead of going to the trouble to put a cooling system into a shed. The woman wouldn’t let her husband’s dog in the house, but she didn’t mind having the dog immortalized on the mailbox. At some point, the couple put the statue of a hunting dog on the brick mailbox, and then they moved and left the mailbox for the next owners to enjoy (us).


When we bought our house over five years ago, I thought we would get rid of the dog. After buying a house though, trivial purchases like new mailboxes seemed unnecessary, and the dog statue actually proved to be a little handy when visitors are trying to find our house. I mean, who else has a concrete dog in front of their house? Some of the little kids on our street really like the dog, too. Now though, the dog’s paint is chipping off, and it’s starting to get more and more unrecognizable as a dog all the time. It’s starting to look pretty tacky. :) This spring, we have to either paint the dumb dog or get a new mailbox! Preferably, one without a dog statue.


I find it amusing that as the only people without dogs on our street, we’re the only ones that appear oddly infatuated with canines. We don’t even own a dog! We’re cat people! Aren’t life’s little ironies grand?

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

My Tacky Mailbox Statue

(explanation to follow in a post where I don't have to be wordless)

Snow Day!

Once upon a time, long long ago, snow would blanket southwest Missouri several times every winter. Now, instead of a brilliant layer of soft, wet snow perfect for snow forts, snowmen, and sledding, the usual winter precipitation is ice. How fun is that? Instead of snowball fights, we get to fight over generators. Instead of enjoying snow ice cream, we get to stuff ourselves with real ice cream because the electricity is out, and we have to eat all the food in the refrigerator before it spoils. Instead of making trips down a hill on a sled, we get to make trips to the E.R. on a gurney because we've either 1. been hit by a falling limb 2. accidentally touched a down power line 3. got carbon monoxide poisoning from our generator or 4. been driven insane by all the sounds of cracking/breaking trees. When I say "we" I'm not really including myself, because fortunately, the yearly ice storm southwest Missouri gets nowadays hasn't really affected me too much, but I do miss snow! Ice is no fun!

Well, guess what! This winter, while the poor folks a bit south of us had the usual devastating ice, we got some snow on top of our ice, and Colter actually got to play in the snow for the first time a few weeks ago (Jan. 28, to be precise).
We didn't play outside very long, because it was COLD, but Colter had a ball while we were out. A snowball that is. Ha Ha.
Check out these very classy boots! Didn't you know? Wal Mart Bag Boots are all the rage. Get your own pair today! Our new kitties liked the snow too. Well, they aren't really new kittens any more since we got them in December. I'll tell you about them sometime. Really.

Colter's favorite part about playing outside in the snow was cleaning the snow off the truck. He's such a little helper.

It's hard to tell from this picture--snow does weird things to cameras--but Colter was standing beside his Little Tykes turtle sandbox trying to figure out where it went. We had to dig it out to make sure it was still there. He was a bit concerned. :)

Snow days are fun! Hear that weatherman? SNOW days are fun. Not ice days. You can keep the ice.

Colter's Comfort(?) Habit

Some kids suck their thumbs for comfort. Some twirl their hair. My kid ties his hair in knots! Well, not normally. But when he didn't feel so hot during his itchy penicillin rash days, he was twirling his hair more than usual and ended up with this in his hair!

Thankfully, it was a pretty easy knot to untie, and we didn't have to shave his head.

Colter does twirl his hair when he gets sleepy or doesn't feel good. It's so cute! What I really love though is when I'm holding him and he plays with my hair. I love holding my sleepy boy while he's using my hair as a security blanket. It's so sweet; he just melts my heart. My boy has got me wrapped around his little finger. My hair that is.

Meet My Son, Spot

Do toddlers have runny noses all winter long? All the toddlers I know seem to have a lot of problems with snot-leakage. My sweet little toddler boy is no exception--he has had a cold basically since October. Usually, it's a pretty mild cold, but just as soon as he is over one cough, another starts. And we've gone through a ton of Kleenex over the past few months! I think I may buy stock in a tissue company. Anyway, around two weeks ago, I decided it was time to have the doctor check out Colter's latest bout with boogers, and it turned out he had an ear infection. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics, and everything was fine and dandy. Or so we thought.

Four or five days after starting his antibiotic, Colter starting looking like a leper. It started with just a few spots here and there but soon turned into this:

Ack! My boy was spotted (and a little itchy)! It actually got quite a lot worse than these photographs show. It seemed like more than just a viral rash that babies get pretty often, so we went back to the doctor (two weeks in a row! Yippee!). Our pediatrician looked Colter over and determined that he is allergic to penicillin. Great. She told us to give him Benadryl for the itchiness and gave him a prescription for some steroids. Yes, steroids--he's preparing for the major leagues early. Actually, I only gave him the steroids once and decided that is wasn't worth the side effects. They were supposed to make the rash go away sooner, but they made him a little irritable and kept him awake. I still love my boy even if he's spotted, so we tossed the steroids in the garbage.

Hopefully, Colter doesn't ever get an ear infection again because apparently, like the 5-8% of the population that share his allergy, Colter should avoid amoxicillin. My mom is allergic to penicillin too, and according to what I read, the allergy can be inherited. Thanks, Nana.

Penicillin+Colter=Bad

NO MORE NEGLECT!

I miss my blog! I miss rambling on about nothing to no one in particular! I miss showing off photos of my boy! I miss Favorite Foto Friday and other blog games! Oh, my poor little neglected blog. I've been ignoring you for so long. Sigh. I'm going to try to do better, I promise.

I miss blogging a lot, but I just don't have the time to dedicate to blogging that I did when I started this baby up. I didn't have two part-time jobs back then. Part of what takes so much time about blogging is reading other people's blogs and commenting (which I love to do). Even though I still probably don't have a lot of time to read other blogs, I'm going to start posting again on Life in the Woods, if for no other reason, Grandma and Grandad are missing their Colter pictures. Get ready, Nell! Here come the Colter pictures! (until I flake out again anyways). :)