Today

Today, we finally had a really good day, after several really rough days around here.

Today, I realized that my attitude really does set the tone for the whole household, and I decided to be more loving, patient, caring, and nurturing. It was in stark contrast to the cranky, tired, short-on-patience, yelling mama I had been lately.

Today, I swallowed my frustration and hugged those two sweet boys instead.

Today, instead of yelling when they bickered with each other the second I stepped out of the room, I went back in, pulled them into my lap and played with them some more.

Today, instead of sending them to their rooms for every small infraction, I used distraction and told just one more story full of spies and race cars.

Today, we actually enjoyed each other instead of crying out of frustration.

It was a wonderful day, and one I hope to repeat more often. But it did make me tired, and I am off to bed at 8 p.m. At least am going to bed happy with today instead of wishing for a do-over.

Pool Season

Pool season is finally upon us, and my boys have been swimming like crazy. Thank goodness Grammy and Papa have a pool! We have spent the last four afternoons over there swimming and they love it so much. Plus, there is the added bonus of tiring them out like nothing else, and ensuring that they eat a great dinner that night. Coleson is constantly on bug patrol, and Landon always jumps straight in even if the water is freezing. I think this summer will consist of lots of time at the pool for these boys.

Hiking at Gram's

The boys love to go to my mom's house because there is always something for them to do. My mom and step-dad live on quite a bit of acreage, so there is always work to be done, animals to tend to, and exploring to undertake. We always take Jasper too, because he loves to play "farm dog" for the day. We spent a day up there this week, and it was a perfect glimpse into what will happen there for my boys this summer.

Swinging by the creek.

Hiking across the creek.

Exploring the trails.

Feeding wild turkeys using the dump-the-food method.

Feeding the wild turkeys using the, slightly more coordinated, scatter-the-food-by-hand method.

Getting help over the mushy areas by the creek.

The "farm dog."

Catching a nap between hiking adventures.

It's magical to watch my boys explore nature. They love it so much, and they are just so happy when they are out in the fresh air covered in mud and creek water. I can't wait to spend the summer doing this.

tree climbing

Landon has discovered a love for climbing trees lately. I knew it was coming - he has always loved to climb outdoors.

He's good, too. I just wish we had some more challenging trees around our house for him.

I look at these pictures and I can't help but see my baby fading away quickly and being replaced rapidly by such a little BOY. His limbs are starting to lengthen out, and he even has knobby knees. I think the tree climbing is just the first of many exciting, and increasingly independent, adventures to come for this guy.

Mother's Day

We decided to celebrate a day early and it turns out that I have the most awesome husband ever! For Mother's Day this year he got me a Nikon D5100 camera. I had been wanting a nicer camera, since I have a really basic little camera that is quite old, but he went above and beyond with this one. I am currently waiting for the battery to charge so I can try it out. I am really going to have to work on improving my photography skills to feel like I deserve to have a camera like this!

My boys have been really sweet too. Landon told me he is so glad I'm his mommy and that he gets to be with me all the time. Coleson gave me about a million kisses and told me how much he loves me. I am just so blessed to have these little people in my life. We have our rough days, but ultimately they bring me so much joy and love! How amazing it is to be a mother.

So, to all the mamas out there - Happy Mother's Day!

My Own Shop?

I'm thinking of starting an Etsy shop for knit and crochet items and paper crafts. I have loved browsing and shopping on Etsy for a long time, and I have toyed with the idea of starting my own shop for a while but I could never figure out what I would make. I finally came up with some ideas for products, and I think I might just go for it. I have a few friends who have them, and I am planning on picking their brains for what works and what doesn't. I am mostly worried about failing big-time at it, but I think even if I sold a few things here and there that it would be worth it. Then I could have a bit of my own spending money, and actually start contributing to my own retirement fund again. It's kind of a big idea, but I've always wanted to be in business for myself, so why not, right?

Spring

It's been a long time since I've been here in my blog space, and we have just been living life with all it's ups and downs around here. Spring is definitely here, and we are starting to transition our activities in that direction. The days are longer, and our outside time is increasing in response. It's been quite lovely.

Today we have plans to work on the garden (expanding it to accommodate the huge number of seeds I bought this week!), re-organize the cluttered garage, take the boys to a dinosaur movie at the IMAX, and do a few more little chores around the house. Tomorrow will involve going to church, brewing some beer, and probably working in the yard again.

We are raising 30 meat chickens, gathering eggs from our five laying hens, and loving our new-ish dog. One of our kitties has had to transition to living in the garage because she was having territory issues with the dog. My kids are growing and changing so fast it's unbelievable some days.

So, are we all caught up then? Good.