Hallowe'en

Max's Pumpkin
Matthew's Pumpkin

Max the Clown

Darth Matthew

The Gang

Isabel and Hudson

Scary Jimmy

Trade ya!

Favorite Time of Year

This is it. Right now. The weather is perfect, temperature right where I like it, sunny, clear blue skies. The trees are are electric with color-the ones that are orange with a touch of yellow being my favorite. Sweaters are making an appearance; flip-flops give way to clogs. Football is in full swing. Halloween is at our doorstep....the first of a whirlwind of holidays sweeping us through to January. Somehow the air just tastes better this time of year. The smell of it too...the crisp smell of fallen leaves, distant wood burning, the wind bringing smells from miles away.
It's just such a magical time.

Stacks

Check out the stack of cd's on my desk:

Random sampling of all that is our collection. We have hundreds of cd's...Mike is working on getting them all downloaded into our computer. By the time he finishes, I'll have bought him an IPod and all of his work will have been for naught. But oh well. It keeps the man busy. We've got some Guster, Jayhawks, Nick Drake, Gillian Welch, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Cure, Jeff Buckley, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, James Taylor...and the beat goes on! I think Mike must have been downloading a genre there...hmmm. Maybe there's a method to his madness!
I do have to say, I feel very proud of the fact that my boys will grow up in a household of very ecclectic music tastes. There will be no boring music coming from our speakers and into our boys' ears. I will never forget I had Matthew, at age three, singing along to my favorite Dashboard Confessional cd! He knew all the words and had the whole cd memorized! He even chewed on the cd insert! Sadly, we can not find the cd...that would have been a nice momento, chew marks and all. Perhaps he ate it?
We're sticklers about concerts too. Although, we haven't been to many lately...which is SO sad. There have been some great shows come to Nashville. Matthew's first concert (while I was pregnant) was Pearl Jam! Max's first (once again, in my belly) was Nickel Creek and Howie Day! I will, one day, list all of the concerts I have ever been to. But tonight is not the time. That is for another post! Hmm...perhaps this weekend...

Leaving the Hill

I just found out that my most very favorite neighbors (and friends) are putting their house up for sale. Sigh. Sadness fills my heart. I LOVE my street. I love my street because of the people that live on it. We are known as the street of boys here in the 'Hill. All told, including mine, there are 14 boys on my cul-de-sac, all but one under the age of 9. Three of those boys along with the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen live in the house that will now be up for sale. I have grown to love this family. It has become apparent to me that life will just never be the same without them on my street. Angel, Matt, Jacob, Clive, Hudson, and Isabel...I love you all!
We will miss you terribly.

Feelin' Loopy

Who would have thought that eating cereal was so entertaining as well as time consuming? I made Matthew a lovely dinner of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and crinkle-cut french fries. A perfectly filling dinner for any six year old, right? Wrong. He asked me "Mommy, if I finish my plate can I also have a bowl of cereal, and if I finish THAT could I also have a dessert?" I think to myself, "Hmmm....just say 'yes' to avoid a fuss, remember what Mother always said, 'Choose your battles'. Besides, there's just no way he'll be able to eat all of that food." So he finished his nuggets and fries in record time. Then asks if he can pick out and pour his own cereal. "Sure!", I say. It's time to let the boy-child have some liberties. So my precious son decides to create what can only be described as "Hurricane Cereal". (Apologies to the victims of Katrina, Rita, and impending Wilma.) Do you remember when you were a kid and you would go to the soda fountain and put a little of every kind of soda in your cup? That was called a "Hurricane", remember? So here he was at the pantry door where he so painstakingly chose three types of cereal for his second course. Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, and Lucky Charms. Why do I have so many types of sugary cereal, do you ask? Well, the answer is simple...I'm weak. I was hardly ever allowed to have those yummy sugary cereals as a kid, and to correct that blemish on my childhood memory, I am allowing my child to occasionally binge on horribly bad for you cereal. Shortly after finishing every last bit of his conconction he asks for a dessert. It just so happens that I had just finished baking a pan of Halloween brownies. How convenient! He finished his three course meal with a small piece of chocolate heaven. Of course, Max also enjoyed a spot of cereal...a little "gnosh" before beddy-bye. He tried oatmeal tonight (click on pic to see cereal mess!)...and seemed to really like it! No hurricane baby cereal for Max, though. I have to draw the line somewhere!

Let the blogging begin!`

Well, I have finally decided to join the apparent blog craze.
Check back often for new, insightful comments on raising a house full of boys!

I only hope I can live up to my friends' blogs. Holly has the wonderfully written, beautifully done blog entitled Lyrascope for all things Lyra! Cinde has the Realm of Rohan, which never fails to entertain while always hitting home. Stacie has the Bauerle Blog where you can learn all about Joshua, the next president of the United States! I have a few that are friends of friends and those that I have found accidentally that I love to read as well!

Let's hope they can all be as entertained and informed with my humble blog as I am with theirs!