summer break

Summer break.  Oh summer break.  You had so much potential.  So many opportunities to be fun.  And now you're almost over and I'm not sure what happened.  I wasn't ready for you; I didn't know how much I needed a good plan.

Creighton was supposed to learn to write his name and tie his shoes.
We were supposed to go to the park and library and children's museum and do fun lunch dates.
We were supposed to get into a good summer routine with chores and allowance.
We were going to bake cookies and play in the kitchen.
Beckham was going to get better at basketball and being active everyday.
I was going to have nice morning devotions with the boys and memorize bible verses.
Beckham was going to regularly read to himself.
We were going to eat healthy snacks.

BUT...
We did do Boston and Wisconsin and grandma's house.  Golf lessons and VBS.
Creigh did get a little better at writing his name.
The boys got better at emptying the dishwasher and folding the towels.
We hit up the neighborhood pool and had water balloon fights.
We went to the library a couple times and once to the zoo.
Creighton learned to ride his bike.
We ate popsicles and ice-cream cones from McDonalds.
I read to the boys.
We sometimes did a morning devotion, but had lots of teaching moments to discuss.
There were summer evenings of walks and bike rides and golfing in the yard.

Summer, I wasn't ready for you; you took me by surprise.  You started with me being gone in Hawaii and coming home to house full of boys.  B & C's bickering, stubbornness, and competitive spirits; where did these come from?  It wasn't like this before.  The lack of school schedule, the wide-open and boring days, the complaining about doing a chore.  The asking for snacks, and shows, and friends to come over and play.  Why oh why is it so hard to just have a nice, normal day?  Summer, I wasn't ready for you, and granted, there were moments of fun.  But next year, oh next year, when school gets out, I'm going to be ready with a schedule and goals and activities to do in the sun.

So bring on the lunch boxes, homework and early morning routine.  School schedule is sounding quite nice.  Quiet days with just Ollie will suit me quite well; farewell to you, summer break.

you know you are a mom of boys...

...when...



+ your pocket's often full of little lego pieces that need returned to their rightful place
+ you get excited to see construction sites along the road and call mini excavators "cute"
+ wrestling is a common after dinner activity
+ "poop," "stink," and "butt" are used as often as possible and are hilarious terms
+ you try to believe kicking footballs and throwing baseballs can be safe indoor activities... always quickly realizing they aren't
+ everything is a competition... who is faster, gets the toy first, has more milk in their glass, picks the first book
+ there are 100% zero dolls in your house
+ your garden box has plants for part of the year and the rest of the year it is a dirt digging haven full of trucks
+ going to Lowes and "riding the lawn mowers" is a fun family activity
+ you think about making dinner and what the kids will eat well, you think of meat
+ you ask how their school day was and they say "good" (and mean it, no other details necessary!)
+ you get told "I love you so much," "big or small, I'll always be your boy," and "you're the best mom" because little boys are just the sweetest! (or can be :))

this and that

So this is what happens when you don't take time to blog for a long time... lots of randomness.  Here's some tidbits about our summer and what the boys are up to lately...

meeting friends at Mulberry Fields park - they love the stream there

All Comers family track meets in Zionsville... despite Beck's face, mom got into it way more than the kids did :)

the zoo brings out the crazies

lots of dune buggy riding 

and lots of bug bites this summer!  both of the boys (and myself) get bites so easy and C swells up to spider bites and Beck swells up to some mosquito bites

summer is for smores!

and donuts!  sharing a nutella filled one from the Zionsville farmers market

family hike at Eagle Creek park.. Beckham was our guide. :) definitely need to go there more with how close it is to our house - great spot!

pool time and mismatching flip flops (C's thing for a while this summer)

love these moments.

just like daddy... and Scott (who mows aunt Sheli's yard and wears headphones)

first time at the dentist for C and he was awesome!  Beck was terrified and cried his first time and C was the opposite... which is kind of what I expected.  He tends to embrace new things head on and Beck is much more tentative.

a bowl full of summer!  mom's tomato/cucumber salad made with garden fresh veggies is a must in the summer.  never get sick of it.

first day of school!  big stuff! (literally... Beck's outfit is a size 7 :))

walk before dinner in downtown Zville

loves helping water the flowers

enjoying one-on-one time with C now that Beck's in school.  the Lego exhibit at the zoo was their favorite this summer

flag football this fall for Beck!  not sure it will be a repeat activity (due to skill level :)), but he seems to be having fun and loves making new friends and being part of the team.  All he really wants to do is tackle, so wrestling with dad is the preferred kind of football!

Beckham:
- says he likes everything about school and doesn't complain about any of it (except being woke up in the morning for it :)), but usually says "I don't know" when asked what he's learning
- told me the other day that "big or small, I'll always be your boy"... still my little sweetie!
- doesn't want to ride his bike without training wheels
- wants to have friends over and play with the neighbor boys the minute he gets home from school
- keeps me in check and tells me not to drive too fast, or say bad words (like "shoot!" or "stupid"),  or reminds me of things I said I would do
- wants to have another baby so we can "get a car where the doors slide back"
- likes to tell jokes... most of which do not make sense



Creighton:
- likes to say "of course I do/will, why do you ask?" about everything... when if he wants to go somewhere, or eat something or play something.
- was begging the other night to ride his bike without training wheels, but decided it was overrated when he couldn't do it right away and wants the training wheels back on
- still wants me to cuddle with him in bed almost every night as he falls asleep
- is known to be found naked in the morning, after going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and not putting his pants back on... but I'm just glad he didn't wake me up to put them back on, b/c that's usually what happens
- wants to be "dropped off" at Sheli's house ever since Beck started school.  he'll say "mom, when we get to Sheli's house, just drop me off and Don't Go Inside!"... he even tries to close the front door on me so I won't come in.
- is a complete goof ball that talks a bunch of nonsense, and is either completely grumpy or completely fun and sweet... not too much middle ground with him

I don't want to forget...

How their little fingers and cheeks smell of sweet slobber after a night of sucking their fingers.

When they come into our bedroom at night and whisper "mom, can I lay with you for just a little bit?"

How Beckham corrects me when I don't say things Exactly right, especially in relation to... well, just about anything.

How we look for trucks and construction sites while driving and point excitedly and talk, talk, talk about them when we find them.

How Beck gently rubs my shoulder and says "I love you mom."

That Creighton likes to lay his head on my shoulder while I sing songs to him before bed.

How much they love to wrestle with dad after dinner.

The one day after BSF when Beckham said "mom, I want to tell you what I talked to God about during quiet time."

Their simple joy for digging in the dirt.

When they enthusiastically say "I love you so much, mom!"

How brave Beckham was before his first swim class, as he sat alone and wiped tears from his cheeks, while I watched from the observation room.

How they excitedly say "you're right mom!" when I am (surprisingly) right about something. :) Or "good job, mom!" when I do something nice, like make them food, or fix their toy.

About Creighton's weird obsession with rubbing things with texture while sucking his fingers... like "bumpies" and bug bites and scabs and my dry feet.

How they both love to push the mower and pretend pull start it, just like daddy.

That Beck loves to sing and dance, but he's too shy to dance in front of other kids and sings so confidently, whether he is saying the right words or not.

The moments the boys show love and kindness towards each other... Beckham protects Creighton or helps him out, they are excited to play together, or tell each other sorry and that they love each other.

Beck has a thing for peace signs in pictures right now. :)

Love those boys.

pics of the boys

About a month ago we went on our annual trip to AZ to visit Seth and Brandy and their kiddos.  While we're there, I usually have B do a quick photo shoot with the boys, since she has a nice camera and seems to enjoy it.  

It's always a little unknown how the boys are going to do during pictures.  In general, I've observed that little boys care much less about getting their picture taken than little girls.  Little girls like to pose and smile at the camera.  Little boys kind of look at the camera and do a cheesy-fake smile here and there while trying as hard as possible to not stay "in pose."

This session turned out to be one where we got some fun pics, but Beck was grumpy, then Creighton was grumpy, and it took lots of convincing to get the smiles out. :)  I kind of like the grumpy ones though... they show their real moods and personality!

Here's some of my favorites.... Beck is 4.5 and Creighton is 2 (although he quickly says he's five! if you ask him :) )....

our first attempt at smiles... "shoot guns!"

love the drool pictures...

trying to hide from the camera....

playing peek-a-boo with the camera 

ready for pictures to be done... love the pouty face :)

made him spit his gum out for pictures and gave it back a little too soon

Beck trying his hardest not to smile!

important life updates

... ok, so maybe not really important, but here's a random assortment of information about our life as of late:

Beck got his first ever short hair cut in time for summer.  Loved his longer hair, but he gets sweaty from fairly minimal physical activity and Chad was always promoting a short 'do, so I finally caved.... and Beck finally decided he was brave enough for the trimmers.  My first thought was "oh no, what did I do" after I cut it... hair is such an identity and it totally changed his.  He looks more grown up and I think he even got more of an attitude the minute it was done. :) 

Beck also got his first set of real kid golf clubs and went to the real golf course with Chad and loved it.  Chad tried to go play a few holes by himself the next day and Beck's sadness just wouldn't go away.  We have a family membership to a course close to our house and I have a feeling they'll be spending as much time there as possible.

The inside of our house is pretty much finally done so now it's time to focus on the outside.  Patio and landscaping.  Here's the patio, but the landscaping is still quite lacking.  If anyone wants to come do it for us, that would be great.  We'll even let you do it for free. :)

I love food.  I love cooking.  I need to talk about food more.  I also love Costco and food from Costco.  Sometimes I think about starting a food blog to promote Costco products just b/c I used them so much.  I can find simple, quick food to make from there that still feels fresh and delicious.  If you happen to have these three items on hand,  you can make some amazing lettuce wraps:

Think: the dressing from the slaw mix tossed on the noodles and topped with the peanut butter, grain mixture.  Then I topped it all off with some pickled onions & cucumbers, chopped peanuts and lime juice.  They were quite colorful and pretty but I didn't think of taking a picture until after they were devoured, so just close your eyes and picture it.

And speaking of pickled onions.  They are one of my favorite food accents right now.  On burgers, tacos, Asian... love the tangy, zesty crunch they add.

It's funny to hear yourself in your kids.  I like to say "say ok, mom" to Creighton to make sure what I'm saying is sinking in (or it makes me feel better about the interaction at least).  Beck caught on to this and he'll frequently lay out a situation to Creighton, explaining how they are going to play or what Creighton is going to do, followed by a "say ok Creighton," ensuring himself that Creighton is going to oblige with his desires...

My favorite phrases these days are "Creighton, stop screaming.  That is an awful noise.  If you need something just ask me." and "Beckham, just leave Creighton alone and give him some space.  If he's screaming that means he doesn't like it."  and "Creighton it's not ok to scream when you don't get your way."  Creighton is a screamer.  Beck was not.  It's not fun.  Advice?


I catered a rehearsal dinner.  First time for that.  It was  fun  enjoyable, but it is a lot of work for one meal.  I think my favorite part of it all is the menu planning, working with friends the day of the event, and having someone tell you that they tried something new and liked it.  My not-so-favorite part is the many, many details that float around in your head that you try to keep straight (list, new list, updated new list).... but I am an organized person that can handle details, so it works out.  I would do it again, just wouldn't want to do it every week.  I mentally told myself to take pics of the food, but the night of was too busy for me to remember, so a menu list will have to do, should you care what we served (the bride and groom wanted Italian):

Appetizers:
tomato.basil.mozerella toothpick kabobs drizzled in balsamic reduction
roasted grape and goat cheese crostini - p.s... I used the leftover roasted grapes to make a peach/grape crisp kind of dessert, topped with vanilla ice-cream and roasted coconut.  First time I had roasted grapes in dessert form and it was yummy!
prosciutto wrapped melon drizzled with mint pesto
sausage, cheese, and walnut stuffed mushrooms

Meal:
Bread w/ olive oil
Salad
Pasta with an alfredo, basil pesto, oven dried tomato sauce
Chicken stuffed with prosciutto, provolone and asparagus with a lemon sauce

And thankfully I didn't have to make dessert, which was ice-creamy and delicious.


Chad is letting his creative side come out and made this etsy-inspired piece of artwork for our living room out of scrap wood we have lying around.  He's scheming up his next project for the back yard and I'm all for it.  Love being resourceful and making cheap things that look great.  Turns out it's handy to live in a construction zone where they are regularly throwing away wood pallets. 

... and the most important one... Creighton took his FIRST drink out of a straw!!  Yes, he probably should have done this like 2 years ago, but every time I would offer him a straw, he would just kind of look at it or kind of put his mouth on it, but I COULD NOT get him to actually take a drink (but I didn't really try very hard).  Then at Costco he decided he could drink out of the straw!  So yes, this is huge.  I had to take sippy cups everywhere that used straws, unless I wanted him to just drink out of a regular glass.  Freedom!  He hasn't been consistent with it ever since though, of course. :)

The goof balls that are a delight and exhausting all at the same time:

Riding "fast backwards" mowers (Beck's name for mowers that go fast, backwards, of course!) during one of our many trips to Lowes.  They love climbing on the mowers and Beck always pretends to be "Scott," the name of the guy that mows aunt Sheli's lawn.  He has a "fast backwards" mower and he is very cool.

a sweet moment while watching the rain

first trip to the pool for the summer!

the little guys

I started drafting this post months ago and am just finishing it.  And the boys are already different than they were when I started writing it...


... Every now and then I feel the pressure to write a post about the boys.  To write down as much as possible about what they're saying/doing before I forget it all.

They are finally at a stage where they play together.  Which = more messes, chaos, and many toy battles, but I'll take it over Creighton bugging me to hold him all day long.  Creighton is still my biggest fan, but he's getting much better at playing with Beckham, or entertaining himself... which is refreshing for me.  I used to hardly be able to sneak through the room he was in without him following me and wanting held.

And speaking of that needy little Creighton who has been more challenging to parent so far (solely due to personality differences to Beckham... nothing really that challenging)...  well, we've discovered how much he reminds us of me, and Beckham is more like Chad.  So I guess I'm the one to blame. :)

How is Creighton more like me?
he's independent and wants to make the decision/do things himself
he's more of a risk taker
he's carefree and doesn't want to be restrained
he's busy and doesn't want to just sit
he's silly and likes to be the center of attention (not sure how silly I am, but I don't mind attention)
he's kind of a touch-me-not and often doesn't care for his brother's affection (although he loves to cuddle with me?)
he's stubborn and doesn't mind being told "no"/being disciplined... likes to see what he can get away with :)
he's particular and likes things a certain way... has an opinion about his shoes/clothes, how I do things, likes to clean up

How is Beck more like Chad?
he's soft hearted and feels things deeply
he's quick to say sorry and hates to disappoint
he likes to relax
he knows the right/thoughtful thing to say
he's cautious
he likes being taken care of and having things done for him :)

Creighton even looks more like me and Beck more like Chad.  Kind of fun to see them take after one of us.  I'm also predicting their sports are going to follow us... Beck's already into basketball and golf and I'm banking on C being the runner. :)

What else are the boys up to these days?

Creighton is learning new words every day, talking more and more.  When he turned 2 it's like a switch flipped and he knew how to talk.  He says "that" all the time, wanting to know the name of what he's pointing to.  He'll repeat the same word over and over while reading a book.  He loves books, but usually just wants to turn pages quickly and point to various objects, but is sometimes interested in hearing all the words.  He's starting to know his ABC's.
His latest favorite saying is [insert word] first.  Such as "Thomas first" when that's the show he wants to watch.  Or "milk first" when he wants a drink.  "Cheese first" is a common saying at meal times.  I'm waiting for his food palate to mirror mine... although he likes random things like blue cheese.

Beckham is still our our super observant/amazing memory little guy who is quite the smooth talker and always knows the right thing to say at the right time (but it feels genuine too).  He can be super sweet and say things like "I just can't stop loving you mom" or try to manipulate a situation... like "mom, how about you read me three books b/c you love me," or "I have an idea, how about I watch just a little show."
Beck has been very sweet with his brother lately, encouraging him to be obedient or trying to sooth him when he's worked up about something.  Some examples:  coaxing him to try his vegetables at dinner, helping him calm down during a time-out by reading him a book, soothing him while he's scared at the Dr's office, trying to get him to say sorry when he's disobedient. 
He'll say things like
"it's ok Creighton, just calm down"
"just take a bite Creighton, just one bite"
"we need to be obedient to mom and dad Creighton"
"I'm right here Creighton, it's ok"
"Just say sorry Creighton"

Creighton hanging out in the sink at Sheli's house... this is what she does with him while she needs to get things done, like make dinner.  I guess he likes it and asks to go in the sink!

love times like this when they play peacefully together

Creighton has some amazing bed head!

Creighton loves being the frog after bath time and will walk around for a while with this towel on his head

looking all grown up in their matching outfits ... I think it's the comb over :)

glad their sandbox is done so they no longer feel the need to dig in the mulch in our front yard.  it was a little chilly this day, so this is me being lazy and taking a picture from inside.  :)

sharing a hot dog at Costco!

Creighton determined to brush his own teeth.

Might as well suck your fingers and pick your nose at the same time!  I'm pretty sure he wasn't feeling too well in this pic..

This is what frequently happens when I pick Beck up after work and he hasn't taken a nap... falls asleep on the way home and can't wake up for dinner.  Even Chick-fil-A. :)

Ok, what do you think... does Creighton look like me?

Creighton (obviously)

me (even more obvious!)

this is me too :)