The Hoarse Whisperer

About a week ago Caleb & I were sitting on the couch after putting the kids to bed. (phew!) The boys share a room and are allowed to whisper after the lights are out for a little while (usually until they fall asleep unless they get too loud or get out of bed). This rule is mostly for parental sanity, since bedtime can get a little rowdy otherwise. Well, on this particular night I could hear them whispering... Through a closed door... And a fan blowing on high... Down a hallway... Whispering. The loudest whispering I've ever heard in my life. And I have to ask, does it still count as whispering if it's that loud?

Some Videos... Just for Fun

In case you haven't figured it out, I'm not the best blogger in the world. Probably not even second best. Probably. There are some things that mystify me about blogging to this day. I do enjoy reading OTHER people's blogs more than writing my own. I know, after reading my blog I'm sure this surprises you. I don't often comment, or have anything witty to say, but commenting on someone else's blog (no matter how much you love to read it) is a little nerve-racking. The whole comment submittal is like a test, and sometimes (I confess) I fail the little letter part at the end that makes sure you're not a spammer. Oh well, I digress.

As a confirmation of my blogging-impairment I could not get the cute video of my boys to upload. Drat! Here are some fun stories about the boys and videos of Kate are at the end.

Clark is my little perfectionist. He is doing a wonderful job learning to read. We tried the more direct approach where I read with him and sound out every word as we go along, but he got a bit frustrated with me (oops!). Now we're to the point where he has enough interest in reading to sound words out himself. Its been a lot less stressful for him, and he asks if he needs help with a hard word. I try to sit nearby, look out of the corner of my eye, and pretend to not be too interested or he'll stop. As an avid reader it is really fun to watch his love of reading develop. He wrote "I LAV YW" for me a couple weeks ago. I love when little kids spell feh-neht-ik-lee!

Bruce is still my loose cannon. He has a lot of personality in a little person. Actually all of my kids do, but for some reason it just comes in a more quotable form from Bruce. When Clark started Pre-K, Bruce developed an imaginary friend named Jack. He usually makes an appearance in Bruce's stories when other people are talking about something and he wants to contribute to the conversation, but can't think of anything to say. "Jack said/did..." is the most common. Sometimes I don't know how to respond when he asks me if he can pleeeeeease go to Jack's house to play. (Trust me. We've discussed it many times. Jack is completely imaginary.) Bruce is notorious for not seeing things in time when we're driving in the car. "Look! There's a ..." He can never find it in time. Even if we drive really slow. Well apparently he "saw" Jack while we were driving in the car the other day. It went a little like this... Bruce: "There's Jack!" Me: "Where?" (Only seeing a random bike rider on the sidewalk.) Bruce: "Oh... you missed him." Paybacks? I'm not sure.

This gem is lovingly entitled "Redneck Baby" in my computer. You'll see why. Caleb filmed this one while I was cooking dinner and you can tell since no self-respecting mother would video their own baby in only a diaper digging through and eating the contents of discarded cereal boxes on the kitchen floor, but she may post it on her blog because she thinks its funny. Don't judge.

This last video is the story of my life the last little while. Kate emptying the drawer, Kate emptying my purse, Kate emptying the toy box, Kate emptying the garbage, Kate emptying the laundry basket... You see the pattern, I'm sure. Good thing she's so cute because my house is a mess!

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been almost a year since I've posted anything here. This time period corresponds almost exactly with a part-time job I worked, and before too long I realized that I had bitten off a little more than I could chew.

I'm not sure what to write without making this entry incredibly long, so maybe I'll do a quick update followed by some snapshots of what has happened recently. I always admire the frequent, short posts of other bloggers, but never manage it myself. Age updates: Clark is 4.9-ish, Bruce is 3.5, Kate is 14 months.

We recently celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We've had a few "low key" anniversaries in the past few years (I wonder why. See children's ages above.), so we had a day-trip to Savannah, GA. It was beautiful! The architecture was amazing, we saw some fun shops, and ate some good food. These pics are from Paula Deen's restaurant "The Lady and Sons" which had some excellent Southern food: Fried Chicken, Fried Fish, Collard Greens, Grits, Black-eyed Peas, etc...

Caleb enjoying his meal. Just so you know, this is a posed shot. He took a similar picture of me, but I've spared you by not posting that one. (Don't worry... Permission was requested and granted.)

If we look a little sweaty/tired, we are. Sweaty but happy (see plate). It was H-O-T! I guess that's what you get for getting married in one of the hottest months of the year.

Me and Ms. Dean (in cut-out form)

This is Kate's first birthday party (in May).

Clark's wonderful Pre-School teacher Mrs. J. He had a really great year and now we're gearing up for "the big K" (a.k.a. Kindergarten).

The boys went to the "Father-Son Campout" again this year. We all enjoyed their night away. :) I think they set new records in dirtiness. (Look for this picture in the dictionary: Dirty, Happy)

Clark at a visit to the beach. We went with my brother Mike's family when they were in town last month and had a blast. Not the best picture, but I'm not the best photographer.

Bruce smiling. I think this was their expression for the whole day. They love the beach.

Kate running around at the beach. She is a water baby if I ever saw one. Lest you think I escaped all beach pictures, you can see my arm on the right of this picture. :)

Finally, a video of some baby giggles to brighten your day. Please excuse the mess in the background, but sometimes you gotta get these moments when they happen. It just happened to be a messy moment.

More to come soon... (fingers crossed) I will also be updating the profile pictures to something more recent in the near future.