lovely little life.

 i admit, i haven't been making my kids spend their entire summer in the backyard. we have been going to the pool most week nights and went back to red top beach last weekend. i'm not sure why, but evan loved it. it could have something to do with not being so tired. or maybe it was because i slathered him in sunscreen before we left the house. or, more than likely, it was because his papa was with him.

whatever it was, the boys had a blast.

any time anyone wants to join us for an early morning, before it gets too crowded, meet-up at red top beach, let me know.

we are in.

 in summer learning news, my mom gave lane an activity book for kindergartners a few weeks ago. there's lots of pages full of all of his favorite things to do - tracing letters, drawing shapes, counting objects. and, what he isn't quite old enough to grasp yet, i just modify for him (without him even knowing).

most mornings, before breakfast, he'll ask for a page in his book and i'll set him up with a marker and and some sunshine.

he constantly amazes me.

 last week, lane found an empty box in the dining room and started playing cars around it. he informed me it was dixie speedway - and bam, just like that, i had a great idea. i cut open the box. pulled some instant oatmeal out of its box, found an almost empty box of cereal. and set out to help him create his own dixie speedway. 

 first, we needed a place for people to sit. then we needed a pit stop. then a concession stand. we continued to add on for a few days, including a track drawn by lane and a girl cut from one of my catalogs singing our national anthem.

lane came up with the design. i cut and taped. evan constantly destroyed his brother's hard work.

it gave all three of us something to play with and work on for a few days. 

 last friday night, james had to run up to the office before bed time. so, all of us went with him and stopped at dairy queen on our way there. we parked in the back of the office complex. the boys ate their ice creams while james and i enjoyed our shakes. all of us looked for dear and bunnies.

lane soon tired of looking for bunnies and decided he would much rather look at himself. i caught him happily licking away at his ice cream cone while watching his own reflection in the truck's bumper.

of course, last sunday was father's day. we lazed around the house all morning. the boys and i went to the gym in the early afternoon - giving james some much needed at home alone time. and then we spoiled him with  scooby doo cupcakes on the back deck. as a special treat, lane and evan stuck their fingers in to each cupcake and ate just the icing off more than half of them.

we sure do love that guy.

the best seat in the house.

the green grass is nice, but the best spot in the backyard has to be our red adirondack chair. it has always been a sought after chair on the back deck but now it is THE SPOT TO BE. i spotted that yellow cushion at a treasure store in downtown on my way to the office a month or so ago and rushed in to get it before anyone else could.

it is bright yellow. big. and cushy. just what our red chair needed.

i didn't realize how much time we spent in that chair until i started looking through my instagram feed. apparently, each one of us makes our way to that chair at least once a day. i'm going to venture out and say it might be the most photographed chair in the june photo challenge i signed on to do this month.

it is just right for reading, watching the boys play in the yard, munching on an afternoon snack or just monkeying around.

wordless wednesday.

our beautiful backyard.

 have i ever told all of you that james has a slightly unhealthy relationship with our backyard? i'm not kidding. this place was a mess when we moved here more than five years ago. the grass in the backyard was so high and unkept that james couldn't even use a mower to cut it down. he had to use a machete in certain places. for two years after moving in, we would find random items that did not belong to us that would somehow float to the surface of our backyard.

for a few years, james dealt with it and did the best he could to clean it up on his own. then, when i was pregnant with lane, he went crazy with the nesting and took a bulldozer to the backyard. it has only gotten worse since then. he's planted grass. he's watered. he's laid sod in certain spots. nothing worked.

this year, he killed all of our grass. all of it. for weeks, i was left with what you see above. dirt.

dirt in my backyard. dirt in my house. dirt on my dogs. dirt on my boys. dirt on my furniture.

i cleaned on and remained calm. (or at least tried to remain calm.)

then, the landscapers came. they leveled. they raked up rocks. they laid sod and placed pinestraw.

they made my backyard a lovely little space where our dogs run and our boys play all day long.

 and, i get to spend my afternoons lounged on our back deck reading books, eating yummy food and watching the boys throw balls, play cars and run through the sprinkler.

not all it is cracked up to be.

i'm sure each and every mama has wished for, at least once, someone to prepare all her family's meals for her. I'm here to tell you that isn't all it is cracked up to be.

i'm going on week three of no kitchen. well, that's not entirely true, I have a small space of countertop, a sink and a refrigerator. no stove. no microwave. no cabinets. no dishes in my kitchen. i do have a table and chairs and half of my floors.

needless to say, i have had to get creative. the boys eat cold cereal for breakfast. papa eats his at work. i usually eat a protein bar on our way to wherever we are going that morning. lunch consists of whatever I can pull from the fridge - sandwich meat, fruit, purchased hard boiled eggs and cheese. we find ourselves out for dinner most nights. although, i started to get creative with the grill, and last week, i rummaged through boxes until i found my crock pot.

i've been promised that progress will be made on the kitchen this week, and that i will have cabinets in two to three weeks. i know it is going to be worth it in the end. i just can't wait.

in the meantime, with my house out of sorts, we've been spending a lot of time in our beautiful backyard. so, this week, i bring you the week of posts featuring our backyard.

enjoy.

wordless wednesday

lovely little life.

 most afternoons, we all start to get antsy if james hasn't arrived home by five. last week, the boys couldn't sit still or focus on one task or toy so i pulled out the markers, which had been put away a few months ago.

once james arrived home, i escaped upstairs to shower and have a few minutes to myself. when i got back downstairs, the boys were covered in ink.

i figured out why they get so excited when papa's in charge.

and remembered why i put the markers had been put up.

 i admit, there's quite a few things i do as a parent that i swore i would never do before i was a parent. for example, let my kids eat fast food and play with my cell phone in public.

then, there's things i do that just plain out shock me - and make me laugh - like buy tank tops, otherwise known as wife beaters around here, then dress my 18 month old in one and take him to a sports bar for dinner.

 as the mama of two boys, i often get asked if we will go for a third and try to "get that girl." at this point, i'm a boy mama. loud, tough, non-stop action is what i'm used to.

however, i am enjoying hanging out with my little friend ari. her mom is a friend and has moved in to the neighborhood. ari's been stopping by to hang with the boys occasionally. last week, while the boys were napping, she came over so her mom could get some work done.

we baked sugar cookies, did spin art, made bead necklaces and decorated the sugar cookies. for two hours, she hung out in my kitchen and quietly kept herself occupied.

now, when people ask if i want a girl, i have an answer. i'm pretty sure a baby girl would get lost in the chaos around here.

 saturday morning, the boys and i went with ari and her mom to red top mountain. we've been there countless times but just discovered a new jewel - the beach at red top mountain. lane had no idea it was just a snippet of the old dirty lake and some man-placed sand. he ran to that water so fast and declared the day a success before our adventure even started.

evan, on the other hand, enjoyed himself for about 30 minutes - until he got tired, hot and sticky with sand. while lane spent two hours swimming, splashing, and scooping sand, evan spent that time in my lap.

 saturday evening, my parents came over to hang with the boys so james and i could go out for an anniversary dinner. as soon as we sat down at our very tiny table, we heard the couple beside us. the slightly intoxicated woman was insisting on a fight with her significant other. we heard voices raises, hands slammed and a few naughty words.

most couples might be upset to share their anniversary dinner with someone like that. not us. as soon as they left, james and i both got giddy. we felt like the luckiest couple in the world to get to see something that silly.


there's a lot i could say about my husband and our marriage but i'll keep it simple. we just get each other. 
we've been married for 7 years. i feel  lucky to have him every single day. he's an accomplished man with lots to be proud of but if he ever doubts his self worth i hope he knows that his love changed me and made my life better in every way. for that i am forever grateful.

and, last but definitely not least, we are knee deep in our kitchen remodel. my stove, microwave and counters and cabinets are gone. half the floor has to be replaced. all of the items that normally belong in a kitchen are packed in boxes in our dining room. there's been lots of paper plates and take out. so, if things are quiet on the blog for a while just know it is because things are kind of crazy here.

it is a mess right now but i know it is going to be just lovely when it is complete.

big boy.

 

evan's itching to be a big boy - to do all the things his big brother does. he refuses a booster seat. pitches a fit to drink from an open cup.

don't get me wrong. i think it is wonderful that he growing up.

it is just hard to take him seriously when he's had that balloon tied around his waist all afternoon.

wordless wednesday.