Me Gusta!

Seeing this today on a favorite design blog made me smile so big that i figured Id share it with you.
I LOVE the Smiths lyrics on this cross stitched, embroidery hoop. They're sooooo me: a sheepish, people pleasing person begging to get her way for once. The creator of this embroidery hoop actually has quite a few Smith lyrics, but I love these the most. Do you know the song? Its dreamy.

See more here: chezsucrechez.bigcartel.com

This Is What Happens When My Boys Take My Camera

The boys must have taken my camera recently because when I uploaded photos today I had dozens of images like these on my card:

Recognize these? They're bakugan and they are my kids' favorite things to collect these days. Bakugan toys come in a ball shape form but when you put them on a magnetic card, they pop out into figurines. Finn is so passionate about these little toys that I initiated a reward system where he can earn one for every neat, "O" (as in outstanding) test grade he receives. Let me tell ya, the O's are flying in. Seamus and Finn didnt happen upon bakugan on their own. I blame Nathan Whitney for this latest craze. ;) He's the one who got the kids interested in this stuff. They didnt have a clue about bakugan before Nathan showed them his toys last Spring. God, was it only in the Spring? I feel like this current phase has been going on forever. My boys were definitely interested after playing with Nathan, but didnt go ballistic for bakugan until they saw the tv shows. After that, they were hooked. Oh yes... there are two seasons worth of shows on hulu.com if you're wondering. Yessiree, gotta love those marketing gods over at Cartoon Network.

I will admit: the figurines are kind of neat. I guess you're actually supposed to play a game with the bakugan toys, but my kids dont know how nor do they care. They just like to collect the figurines. Lately, theyve been super excited about the traps- whatever that means. And just a few nights ago, they brought all their bakugan out and set them open on top of the card just for show. It was like a bakugan parade on my window sill.

Boys are so weird.

Happy Tuesday.

They Say Its Your Birthday....

My sister turns 37 years old today.
Genetically she seems to have gotten all the traits I missed:
She's organized.
She's poised.
She's beautiful.
She's articulate.
She's responsible.
She's assertive.
She's dependable.
She's a leader.
We dont look alike. She took after mom - the exotic, Mexican side. She has wide, pretty eyes and thick, naturally curly hair. She doesnt have many wrinkles at all and she has great legs. I took after Dad - a white man. Enough said. ha ha. When we are introduced as sisters most people think she's the older one not because she looks older, but because she acts older. But even though we are different, Ive heard many people say that after they've spent time with the two of us, there is no denying we are sisters. We talk the same way - using similar inflections and such. And we interact together with striking familiarly, as if we know each other very well. As if we are connected. As if we were raised together, side by side.
My sister suffers from middle child syndrome so she feels like she is always overlooked and unloved.
But she is very very loved and she's impossible to ignore.
I love that we can talk on the phone for 10 seconds and it gives me a little lift.
I love that you are most likely the only person I feel secure enough to gossip to.
I love that you always watch the Today show.
I love when you drop by for no reason.
I love that you are the first person I go to when I need fashion advice.
I love that there are countless songs that make me instantly think of you.
I love that you love oatmeal scotchies and will drive over in a second if I make them. They're like a lure.
I love your chin. Its very unique and something you've passed down to your son.
I love to see you with your kids and love to see parts of you in them.
I love that you have shared in so many of my happiest moments. You were there for the boys. You were there at my wedding.
But there are so many little things too - little moments. Like I always think of you when I hear Oasis "Wonderwall" because I remember the two of us dancing up in your room at the house after college. We were giggling and laughing and it is such a happy memory for me. We were just being dorks.
I love when you are happy because when you are in a good mood you are the funnest person in the whole world to be around. Seriously. You are.

I can not imagine my life, nor do I want to, without you in it.
Happy birthday, little sister.
I love you more than you will ever dare to admit or believe.
I do.
I have always loved you and I always will.

Lets Here It For The Boy

Last Saturday Seamus and Matt went out to get something at Lowes and when they returned they had these:

The first feeling that passed over me when I saw Seamus holding the flowers was surprise. Matt hasnt given me flowers for a long time. A split second later I felt a warm feeling come over me of feeling loved. Maybe "feeling loved" isnt the right word. Matt is great at making me feel loved. Feeling noticed. Yeah that's probably more accurate. Feeling acknowledged is even better.

The first few years of our marriage, Matt would surprise me with flowers frequently. When we lived in Sacramento (before kids) he would sometimes grab flowers just for fun on his way home from work . I remember one particular type of flower he used to get that I loved; it was called feverfew. The bouquet was kind of bush like with tiny daisy like flowers. When Matt worked in Vista back when the kids were babies, he would bring flowers home because he knew I was going nuts with our two young sons. There was (and still is) a flower stand near his old work and he would pick up flowers (sometimes roses if I remember correctly) on the way home. Im afraid to admit that many times I didnt appreciate those flowers as much as I should have. By the time he got home, I was harried and cranky dealing with the struggles of a new mother. When Matt came through the door at 6pm, I didnt want to see flowers; I wanted to see help and/or an escape route. Most recently Matt would pick up flowers for me at the farmers market on Saturday mornings. I think those might have been my favorite. Often times Matt would take the kids with him to the early morning market (therefore allowing me to sleep in) and when they returned, they'd always have salsa, hummus and fresh freesia or sweet peas for me. Oh yes... those flowers were by far my favorites. Alas, the farmers market moved across town a few years ago and with it went the flowers.

Last Saturday when I saw the flowers, I was genuinely touched in an "Ooooh. You still love me!" kind of way. Back in the beginning of our marriage when I was receiving flowers frequently, I didnt always appreciate them like I should have. But these flowers shot an arrow right through my heart. I was smitten and feeling gooey ooey in love with my husband. It was probably 5 seconds after recieving the flowers and feeling a flush of love that I heard Seamus say, "It was my idea, Mama. They're from me." Quickly, I looked at Matt. I assumed this was his idea. I was already feeling romantic with the idea that I was still his sweetheart after all these years, but he nodded at me affirming what Seamus just said. These flowers were Seamus' idea.

My reaction changed: I was shocked and maybe even a little bit disappointed they werent from Matt. I recall hugging Seamus and telling him thank you but my feelings were all mixed up. Today however, I feel overwhelmed and lucky. My son wanted to get me flowers! I mean, wow....that is really, really cool. And my son is 11 years old - he's not some cute little 6 year old picking flowers in the yard for his mama. Not that those flowers arent the best. They are! But these flowers were purchased with intent. I have no idea why he thought to get me flowers. I wonder if he had a motive or if he just thought they would make me smile. Ive gone back in my head and tried to remember what happened that day, but I cant recall anything that might have prompted his sweet gesture. Regardless, I gotta say it makes me feel sappy sweet love for my boy, Seamus.

Happy Friday.

Little School Boy

Finn doing homework, 9.22.09

I love these pictures I took of Finn yesterday. He comes home most days and does his homework without any prodding from me. Sometimes he will take a break between pages; other times he'll sit down and not stop until he's finished. I hope he stays like this for many more years.

I love that you can see some of our new bookshelves in back of the right photo.
I love the glow coming out from the window shades.
I love that you can spy Finn's feet rubbing the cat under our dining room table.
I love how his after school snack is sitting next to him on the table: strawberries and vanilla wafers.

I love him.

Happy Wednesday and stay cool. Its gonna be a hot one around here.

We Wont Get Fooled Again

Seamus doing reading logs- 9.21.09

A couple years ago when Seamus began getting report/essay assignments in school, I made the HUGE mistake of typing some out for him. Im a fast typist. Seamus is not. Seamus is also a procrastinator - a bad habit Im assuming he gets from me. I told myself Id rather save him the time to sleep, than have him spend hours typing a report the night before. Honestly, Ive probably typed his work three or four times in his life - not much, but enough. It was a mistake, and I knew pretty much immediately. It didnt feel right - it felt like a mistake. As much as I hoped to set things straight, I never had the balls to follow through. That mistake of typing his work has literally haunted me for the past couple years.

Note to parents: do not make your child's life easier by shouldering his/her responsibility. It will blow up in your face every single time.

Segue to this summer: Seamus had two book reports due on the first day of school. One had to be handwritten in cursive and the other had to be typed. When he asked me to type his report for him, I told him no. Naturally he was upset. He began to argue with me that it wasnt fair; that I had done it in the past. Why was I being so mean and not helping him now. Blah blah blah. I'll spare you the embarrassing details but suffice it to say, this conversation went on for far longer than I would have liked. It left me feeling buggered. I was mad - mad at him for being such a spoiled, entitled brat, but madder at myself for starting this entire mess in the first place.

Then I thought of a plan: I told Seamus I would type his report if he agreed it was the last time. I would never type any of his school work again. He readily agreed. That's when I came out with the contract. See photo below.

Seamus barely thought twice about writing and signing the contract. I thought it would take more convincing, but it didnt. He was only thinking of his present situation and not the 6+ years of mandatory school work coming to him in the future. His swiftness in taking my offer made me smile because Seamus truly believes he's smarter than me. Not so, my son. Not so. ((((insert evil laugh))) When my mother in law proposed she sign the contract too - as a witness - I jumped on the opportunity. Once the contract was signed and witnessed, I tacked it to the bulletin board where his school work is normally displayed. I was holding on to that contract. Seamus would forget it, but I would not.

Sure enough, yesterday Seamus was running behind on doing his reading logs. He had four to write and asked me if I would type them for him. I calmly and without guilt said "No Shea. Im not typing any of your work anymore." He looked at me like he was going to start and complain, but when I mentioned the contract and pointed to it on the bulletin board he stopped. There was no whining, no argument. He did say a couple things underneath his breath, but he didnt push it. For almost an hour, he poked at that key board with two fingers and got the work done by himself.

Now some may think I played a dirty trick on him with my contract, but I see it as a means to an ends. I do not feel the least bit guilty about it either. Instead, I feel responsible. I feel good. I should have never typed his reports to begin with - not even one. That is his responsibility, not mine. If I were a good parent I would have allowed him to struggle and type his papers on his own. But I didnt, and that was a mistake. John Wooden had a quote he would tell his players during his UCLA tenure as head basketball coach: "The worst things you can do for the ones you love are the things they can do and should do for themselves." I believe that whole heartedly. Now I just need to follow through and make it a reality for my kids.

Happy Tuesday.

Mariachi El Bronx - Me Gusta!

I was in the car today and I heard a story on NPR about this band: Mariachi El Bronx. I only heard the last minute or two of the interview but I was intrigued and decided to check them out on itunes. Im so glad I did. I LOVE IT!!! If you like mariachi music, you'll enjoy this album.

A little background: The Bronx is an LA based punk band that decided they wanted to learn how to play mariachi music. The guys educated themselves on the genre and learned how to play the traditional instruments. Then, they made an album. I love traditional mariachi music. Love love love! But this album is interesting because its traditional mariachi music sung in English. FANTASTICO!

I highly recommend. Its fun fun fun! Here's a picture of the guys:

Viva Mariachi el Bronx! :)

Im Just Waiting on a Friend

Finn loves his friends. He doesnt have many which is probably why he loves them so much. It seems like everyday he is asking for someone to come over. James, Jeremy, Ryan, Drew, Nathan. He is always asking for those five. Always. The unfortunate problem is that it isnt always convenient for those five to come over. Drew and Nathan live far away and James, Jeremy and Ryan are at a different school. I feel bad telling Finn no, but sometimes its just not possible for his buddies to visit.

Today, Finn had a new friend come over. His name is Michael and he's a kid in Finn's class.
This is what Finn looked like waiting for him to arrive.

When any of Finn's friends come, this is what he does. He sits and waits and waits and waits. If his friend(s) is running late, he'll ask me "what time is it?" every two minutes until they arrive.
I can hear Finn and Michael talking on the couch. I hope they are having fun. I think they are.

Happy Saturday. :)

Revision

I have one hour to post something and be back to the school for Seamus' flag football practice.
One hour isnt even close to enough time.
When I post something on this blog, I revise and revise and revise. I revise in my head as Im actually writing and then once or twice or three times after Im done writing.
Then once Ive pushed "publish post" I go back and revise again. Seriously. I do.
I know... you cant tell, can you? Well, darn it, Im working on that! ;)
Sometimes when I want to post something but I dont have the time, I will will myself not to revise. It is so hard. I did that with Seamus' birthday post. I posted once (revised in my head a wee bit while I was writing) and then I published it never to look back. That is what I have to do - I have to will myself not to look back. Its painful. I want to revise but instead I need to let it go and move forward.

That reminds me, I heard a quote recently and I liked it so much I wrote it down. It said "Dont let perfection get in the way of progress." I like that!

You see, with me I will very often let perfection get in the way of progress. And believe me, I am by no means a perfectionist. Pul-ease. I am not the A type. I wish I had some A type in me. Alas... I dont. But sometimes I'll get stuck wanting something a certain way and I refuse to accept anything else. Let me think of some instances...
-Pictures. Sometimes if Im setting up a photo with the boys I will not stop (even if they are annoyed and not happy with me) until I get a shot I want. I have learned to stop doing that because the feeling I have afterwards makes me feel crummy. Even if the picture is good, I cant enjoy it because all I can think of is how mean I became trying to obtain it.
-Men. OMG... yes. Men! I was not a big dater before Matt. Nope. I was super picky and I didnt settle foranything less than what I wanted. I remember in high school being pressured once to "go out" with this guy that I didnt like. I knew I didnt like him in a boyfriend type way. Im not even sure I liked him as a friend, to be honest. But I went out with him for about a week because everyone knew he liked me and my friends were egging me on to do it. So I did and it sucked. I felt like a fraud. I was annoyed and bored. I almost immediately regretted it. My first kiss ended up being with this guy. Stolen. He stole my first kiss! What a huge price to pay for a mistake! I honest to God didnt want to kiss him either, but it was night and I was dropping him off and before I knew it he was all over my face. It was super gross and I was instantly pissed. I practically kicked him out of my car. In fact, I was so mad at myself that on the way home from "the kiss"" I honked the horn and slammed the steering wheel with disgust until I got out of his neighborhood. The next time I saw him I said it was over.
-Scrapbooking. The pages I do (especially my earlier ones) take HOURS to do. I used to be really bad. I would go to a 5 hour crop and come home with 2 pages done. Seriously. Perfection over progress.

And that leads me to the page I have to share:

This page took about 20 minutes; not hours. :)
Looks like my hour is up. Gotta jet.
Not revising; just posting.

Happy Friday, everyone.

You Fill My Heart With Gladness...

You know those lyrics from the Van Morrison song that say "You fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness. You ease my troubles that what you do." That is my Finn.

He brings such sweet, quiet joy to my day. He's not a grand person and is almost always overshadowed by his more charismatic brother. Finn is rarely ever boastful or demanding of my time and attention. He's sooooo under the radar. FInn will do dozens of little things everyday that make me so grateful he's in my life. He is such a sweet boy to me, but unfortunately not many others get to experience his gentle charm.

A couple days ago I snapped the above photo of him sitting on the floor coloring. One minute he was doing science homework and the next he was back in his room busy on something. He was at it for about 20 minutes - quietly coloring and deep in thought. Finn never said a word until he was done. Then, he came out to the front room to show me his masterpiece.

Could you just die? I love kid artwork, but especially love it when its MY kid's artwork. His drawing is so adorable with its wobbly writing and scribbled coloring. I could tell he was very proud of his work so I gave him a folder to keep it in. He's had that folder by his bedside for two days.

I swear, my Finner is as sweet as tupulo honey. I LOVE HIM!
Happy Thursday.

Cant Buy Me Love

Yesterday my cousin Joe came over to visit. He asked how the boys were doing in school and then asked if Seamus (his godson) was noticing girls now. Seamus just began middle school and this question has been a common one with many friends and family. I told Joe I didnt think girls were a big deal yet. I think Seamus definitely notices girls and there is evidence that he might even have a crush in his class, but I dont think girls look at him that way because he's the smallest kid in his class. Joe looked at me and in all seriousness said:

" For Christ's sake, Lisa. Get the kid Beatles Rock Band. Every girl loves a guy with a guitar. Jeeez!"

He made me laugh so much. I was dying.

Happy Wednesday. :)

I Hope You Had the Time of Your Life

This post is delayed, but I didnt want to miss sharing some memories and pictures of Seamus' 11th birthday on 9.3.09. My boy had an epic day at Disneyland thanks to his grandma, Dama Teri. It was her idea to get the entire family together and spend the day in Anaheim. We had a blast! There was laughter and fun and song and sun all day long. It was the type of birthday you see in movies - not experience in real life. Im fairly confident Seamus experienced the apex of birthday celebrations this year. Im happy to report he was very grateful.

My entire family went to celebrate: Mom, Dad, Miranda, Jennifer, Barry, Eli, Abbey and the four of us. I couldn't remember the last time my dad went with us to Disneyland and it was super cool having him there. There were no lines. Zero. Zip. None. I have been to Disneyland more times than I can count and I have never in my entire life gone on so many rides in one Disneyland outing. We did them all: Splash Mountain, Star Tours, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Its a Small Word, Submarine, Autopia, Matterhorn, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, etc. etc. etc. We literally walked right on to Space Mountain... twice! The weather was very hot and humid-ish, but it didnt damper our spirit. We shouldered on from ride to ride for 12 hours. TWELVE HOURS, PEOPLE! It was a marathon day to say the least.

At the end of the night, we were standing on Main Street watching the late night fireworks. It was a moving moment: the fireworks were climaxing over the castle and ticket tape confetti blasted off around us. Seamus tuned to both me and my mom and proclaimed "This was the best birthday of my entire life!" I have no doubt he was speaking from the heart. It was an unforgettable day.

Here are some photos of the day. Note: I didnt take my camera. I wanted to enjoy the day and not be stuck behind a camera lens the entire time. Matt took his point and shoot camera so some of these are from his camera and some are from my sister's.

Me, Finn and Dama Teri on the Nemo submarine ride:

Miranda and Seamus waiting to get on Big Thunder Mountain:

Group shot of the kids, my sisters and Dama Teri:

Mom and Dad holding hands on Main Street. Awwwww!

Seamus and Finn after the fireworks and ticket tape confetti:

Dama Teri and Seamus at the end of "the best birthday evah!"


Happy Tuesday!

TGIF!

I can not believe its Friday already. Since school started two weeks ago, my days have been flooding into each other. Weve had birthdays (I have to post about that soon,) doctor appointments, school, speech, soccer, etc. I havent found my bearings yet. To be honest, its been a tad overwhelming. Ive been spending all my free time at the kids' school helping out in the office. There is so much work to be done at the beginning of the year. Im looking forward to getting my two days off a week. That hasnt happened yet, but Im looking forward to it.

However...

-The kids are doing great with school. They seem motivated and the response coming back from their teachers at this time is positive. That is huge! I realize that sharing this info might be very premature. Typically, the problems start to come through October and November, but Im going to enjoy this while it lasts. It feels good to celebrate their accomplishments.

-The Steelers won their home opener against Tennessee last night. Happy husband, happy household. :) Nuff said.

- We have lots of soccer coming at us this weekend; games on both Saturday and Sunday. So far Seamus is juggling both school and soccer well. Im proud of him.

-Also, Matt is having his celebratory "wet down" this weekend. A "wet down" is when a Marine throws a party for his friends upon promotion. If anyone wants to come celebrate with us on Saturday at Del Mar Beach on Camp Pendleton, you are all welcomed. He's a little stressed about buying food and drink etc, but Im going to be helping him out some today. Costco here I come.

- September 11th. Our flag pole thing has not been up for over a year. I like to believe it was blown down in a storm a couple years ago, but in actuality I think the kids might have hung on the flag therefore tearing the pole out of the wood. Nice. ;) Yesterday I went out and got a new pole, flag and thingy to put it into the house. My wonderful husband got it up during half time last night. Feels good to have the flag up today. I'll never forget that day 8 years ago. Seems crazy how time has passed so fast.

Im leaving you with a picture I got of the kids this morning. I love how handsome they look in their full dress uniform. They were so well behaved this morning. THey got up great, ate their breakfast and got dressed quickly without any disagreements or stall tactics. I wish every morning was like today. I had so much extra time that I was able to snap a couple pictures before school. Very cool.

Happy Friday.

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

Last night, Matt and I took our sons to see their first live concert at the Sports Arena in San Diego. The band was AC/DC.

Before you judge me, understand that Matt and my decision to take our kids to an AC/DC concert was not a decision we made lightly or on a whim. For the past couple years, I have thought long and hard about how I was going to introduce my children to live music. Matt and I thought about the kinds of bands we would like to introduce them too as well as the venue and the multiple random variables that occur at live concerts. All of this was taken under consideration when we decided to buy tickets to see AC/DC. Also to note: Seamus and Finn listen to all kinds of music. Heavy metal, alternative, pop, classical, reggae, R&B, etc. I give them free range to my itunes library and they make their own playlists of songs they enjoy. I am proud to say that my sons are musical kids. They are exposed, by me, to a lot of different music. Thus far, I have not censored anything from them. They listen to all the music I own and a small portion of it, admittedly, contains profanity and mature content. However, it is my personal belief that 99% of all music has value. As a kid, I listened to all sorts of stuff and I feel that I benefited immensely from it. While I imagine it is possible I may have to set some rules about what they listen to or buy in the future, I dont anticipate it at this time. Id rather be present and involved in the development of their musical tastes through discussion and by sharing music with them.

We went to the concert together - all four McGarveys. Matt's good friend, Joe, went with us too. While Finn was admittedly younger than ideal, we knew Seamus was ready to see a live act and we wanted to experience this first time event as a family. We were equipped with ear plugs and an open question policy where the kids could ask us anything. Matt and I were aware that there would be things happening that might make them confused or scared or awkward and I wanted them to know that we were there for them and we would have answers. I told them beforehand that if they wanted to leave, they just had to tell me and we'd go. I also told them that if I felt it was time to go, that we would leave.

The concert had all the elements I hoped the kids might enjoy: epic yet familiar music; pyrotechnics; cool lighting; awesome looking stage props and effects. There were quite a lot of young children there, many of them attending with both a mother and a father. We saw older fans too - grey haired men and women. I dont think Ive ever been to a concert where the age of the attendees spanned such a wide range. It was pretty cool. The concert also had some elements that were not so great, but unavoidable at many typical shows. We worked through it and while the boys did seem uncomfortable a couple times, they did great.

Seamus sat through most of the show intently observing everything around him. He seemed pensive and quiet, but responsive to the music. At first Finn was moving to the music much more than Shea, but the loudness (is that a word?) got to him after a while and he and I ended up outside about half the time. We could still hear the music; it was just muffled some. After about an hour and a half, I decided to take the kids home. They were unusually quiet and seemed tired (it was very late) so I left Matt and Joe at the concert and headed back to the hotel with the boys. Even though they didnt appear as excited by the experience as I had hoped, I felt confident that their first concert was memorable and worthwhile.

As soon as we got in the parking lot, both boys perked up considerably. They became giddy and started talking a ton about what they had just experienced. When we were in the concert I barely heard them say a word. None of us really talked - it was so loud. I was happy to hear they enjoyed the music a lot. They talked to each other about all the songs they recognized and Seamus remarked about the big bell they rang for the "Hell's Bells" song. What I had thought was exhaustion was just their way of observing all the sights and sounds around them.

Seamus and Finn's overall review: they both really liked the show a lot (though Finn said it was too loud.) Im going to count that as a success. :)

And now for some pictures. This is the view of the stage:

Here is Finn, Matt, Seamus and Joe waiting for the concert to start:

Here is Matt (getting in touch with his inner metal head) and the boys in the Sports Arena parking lots before the concert:

Shhhh - Im trying to think

Yesterday Seamus had his annual physical with Dr. Weintraub. He had to get two booster shots and on the way home he peppered me with TONS of questions about immunizations.

Why were they used?
Are they effective?
Why are there side effects?
What did people do before shots?

His questions were thorough and jumped logically from one to another. About half way home, the questions started to shift into a more focused topic: specifically cancer.

Seamus: Why isnt there an immunization for cancer?
Me: That's a great question, but there's not a simple answer. Creating these immunizations takes a lot of time, brainpower, energy, and money. I think people are working on it as we speak.
Seamus: Who's working on it?
Me: Scientists. Doctors. Smart people.
Seamus: Why is it taking so long?
Me: I dont know, Shea. Im not a scientist. Its complicated.
Seamus: Do you think they will make a shot for cancer soon?
Me: I hope they will, but who knows. People lived with the affects of tuberculosis and polio and all sorts of really bad diseases for centuries before the immunizations were discovered. It might take a while.

On the way home, I had to stop by Vons and pick up some things for dinner. As the kids and I were walking around the store, I was talking to them and asking them to help me pick out stuff. Seamus was quiet - lost in thought. In the freezer aisle I asked him which kind of popsicle he wanted and he didnt respond. Strange. Finally, as we were checking out, I asked him to go get something for me and he absentmindedly told me to "shhhhh." I was floored and responded in an irritated manner. " Do not 'shhh' me Seamus! Are you even listening to anything Im saying? What is going on?" He looked at me in an exasperated way and said, "Mama, Im trying to think of an immunization for cancer and its hard to think when you keep talking so much."

Happy Saturday.

Second Day of School Picture

Its been a long day at school. Im exhausted and could seriously use a nap right now.
But I had to share our 2nd day of school picture.

Its not the best picture they've ever taken, but it will do for now. I may try again tomorrow. You wont believe it, but this picture almost didnt happen too! Check this out: I asked the boys to go outside for a picture and when they did they found a headless bird dead on the side of our deck. I think it was a mourning dove, but it may have been something else. Im glad it wanst a crow. Those suckers are big and seeing one decapitated in our yard would have totally scared me too. Both boys were pretty freaked out by it. It was a gnarly sight. There were feathers all over the place like there was a struggle. Seamus was a tiny bit curious, but mostly freaked. Finn wanted to quickly get back inside. I too was feeling a little weirded out by it so I snapped a couple pictures in a rush.

Im thinking tomorrow will be better. :)