Flip-Flops and Snowballs

chillin’

Ellen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:32:34 +0000

And did he need to chill! This picture was taken a few hours before total mayhem ensued, in the form of eleven boys invading our home for a slumber party. It was crazy and loud, and the house was quiet only while they slept for three short hours. The pantry was cleaned out, a few crashes were heard…but it was all okay.

After all, a certain favorite boy of mine boasted that it was an awesome way to celebrate turning ten. And you just can’t beat that.

on a mission

Ellen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:44:42 +0000

She has always preferred climbing up slides to sliding down them.

My hunch is that it is all part of the training for her top secret plan to achieve total world domination.

But that’s just a hunch.

10

Ellen — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:06:38 +0000

Double digits. A decade.

How did it happen?

But every parent says that, right??? Time goes so fast, they grow before your eyes, savor every minute. And whatever you do….DON’T EVER, EVER BLINK!

I blinked. Dammit.

And today he turned ten. Bright, creative, empathetic, with a total slap-stick sense of humor. He continually shows me, in his own quiet way, what kind of person I can only hope to be.

Love you to infinity to the infinity power.

Plus one.

(Yep, that’s the letter “I” taken off Charlie’s wall and shamelessly used in place of the number one.)

determined to make a point. any point.

Ellen — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:58:11 +0000

A recent conversation in the car:

Ethan: “Wow. That sky looks gorgeous!”

Charlie: “Ethan, you said the S word. That’s a bad word.”

Ethan: “Sky is not a bad word.”

Charlie: “Not that one. The other S word. Gorgeous.”

Ethan: “Charlie, gorgeous does not start with S. It starts with G.”

Charlie: “Well, it’s still a bad word.”

Ethan [definitely losing patience]: “No, it’s not Charlie.”

[a pause of silence for about five seconds....]

Charlie: “Well, it’s kind of a girly word, so you really shouldn’t say it.”

candyland daddy

Ellen — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:29:19 +0000

A game that sat on a shelf in our basement, largely ignored, for the last several years now holds a promiment place on our kitchen table. The cards inside have started showing signs of wear. After all, this game gets played at least six times a day.

Probably more.

Charlie has discovered Candyland. Joel started playing it with her a couple months ago, and she hasn’t let him stop. It has given them this new bond, and she now refers to him as “Candyland Daddy”.

It’s amazing what one little box can do.

crazy old man

Ellen — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:47:06 +0000

For some unknown reason, Santa thought it was a good idea to bring the world’s loudest girl a microphone.

i’m here!

Ellen — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:54:25 +0000

Did you miss us? Our computer caught some nasty viruses and was getting cleaned out for a week, so my apologies for the absenteeism. And with the holidays right around the corner, life is busy and packed to the brim. Throw in some good ol’ stomach flu, and you have yourselves a recipe for pure craziness. Aaaaahh….such is life.

But we did make time to enjoy Ethan and Charlie’s Christmas concert at school. Wow – their music teacher does an incredible job! Plus, with the kids all dressed in their holiday best, the cute meter pretty much exploded.

Wishing each of you a beautiful holiday filled with peace and family (can those two go together?!!? ha ha!).

Much love.

at times he makes me feel completely incompetent

Ellen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:01:08 +0000

Ethan made this. He took a photo of himself jumping over something. He then created a background using a very simple paint program on our computer and pasted his photo into it. It’s his (very successful, in my ridiculously biased opinion) attempt to make it appear as if he is Mario.

Love it. Love him.

color

Ellen — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:49:11 +0000

Charlie has discovered coloring, probably due to the influence of life at preschool. She is hooked. And she takes the word “color” very seriously. She fills the page with as much color as she can, never ignoring a single crayon. While she does a good job staying inside the exterior lines, all lines on the inside of the picture are simply disregarded.

After all, when have rainbows ever paid attention to borders??

As you can see, her love of color extends to her clothing. And, in case it isn’t obvious, no one else has a say in what she wears.

Or in a lot of things, quite frankly.

as arnold said, i’ll be back

Ellen — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:33:08 +0000

Crazy, crazy busy week at work. So I’ve been away from my kiddos much more than normal, and any free time must be filled with as many hugs and kisses as I can squeeze in. I promise to post this weekend.

Make that a pinky swear.