Monday, March 11, 2013

Springing Forward

Sunday, we had less time than we did on Saturday. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, we sprang forward. We lost one hour. One hour we'll never get back.

And today, we have less time than we did yesterday. Literally. But then, we all have limited time in our lives. We don't get more. We can't create more. And we certainly can't keep it from passing. And the catch is, we never know how much time we have left.

My mom has stage IV ovarian cancer. But she's really no more susceptible to death than I am. Than any of us are. I've been thinking about this a lot...and a post I received over the weekend summed it up fairly well.

We may not get another chance to do what we are called to do. Or more time to pursue the dreams we've been putting off. Or to tell that special person how we feel. Or, for me, to travel and explore Alaska, Scotland and Iceland...all on my Bucket List.

So, we should take action. Today. And begin making every day and every hour count.

 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Splinters Happen

Sunday morning and afternoon was dedicated family time. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to the OSU Botanical Gardens to enjoy fresh air, warm March temperatures, and most of all, each other. It was exactly what the doctor ordered after a long week in the office...staring at Excel spreadsheets and crunching numbers. I didn't look at a computer screen all day. It was heaven.

Henry was obviously in heaven too. He was so tickled to spend the entire day outdoors with rocks. Big rocks. Very big rocks. Rocks of boulder proportion.

 
Brotherly love. When no one is looking, they're actually quite fond of each other.



 
The boy who could fly.


 
I am Sam. Hear me roar.


 
The boys made a game of jumping through the hoop. I need to find one of these for our backyard. It would keep them entertained for HOURS.



 
Henry + Rocks = LOVE


 
Splinters happen


 
My little China man...in his Asian garden


 
A dream. Pergolas with built in planters and flower boxes. I. Love. Deeply.

 
Sam loves chickens deeply

 
Sam's favorite

 
Following the yellow brick road

 
When we finally caught up to Sam, it was too late. He had already been taken captive by the R.O.U.S.'s. (For those less familiar with Princess Bride, that's Rodents Of Unusual Size.)







Saturday, March 2, 2013

Snowmageddon

During the 2013 "blizzard", in anticipation of school and work being cancelled and the possibility of actually sleeping in, the boys decided to play musical beds. Of course they did.

Sam crawled in bed with me early into the night...and because Wade and Henry had camped out in the play room, I didn't bother to coerce Sam into going back to his own bed. We snuggled and snored until about 5 AM when Henry decided he'd had enough carpet and wanted to join us in bed. Unfortunately, Henry's snore is 10x louder than mine and Sam's, so sleep for the two of us with clear nasal passages, was OVER. And since we were up, Sam and I decided to have a quick bite for breakfast and then take advantage of the measly 1 - 2 inches of snow before it melted. And mind you, these were 1 - 2 inch drifts. This blizzard was a bust in Stillwater.


 
Burr...



 
It didn't take Henry long to get bundled up and outside once he wakened and learned there was snow on the ground.


 
Love the snow boots, Henry



 
Where's Henry?



 
We didn't have a sled and so...we improvised.
 
First with the boys' Little Tikes picnic table.


 
Then, with the lid to a plastic storage tub.

 
Was the problem our sled, or the grass?

 
Plastic storage tub lid #2. We were determined.

 
Still no luck. Our backyard hills still only had foot tracks...no sled tracks yet.

 
Low and behold, the blizzard blew an eye ball into the yard. Hope no one is missing an eye?



Aye, aye, captain! Or, after our find, perhaps 'EYE, EYE, captain' would be more appropriate.

 
We finally got desperate and went to Lowe's to purchase a real sled. Sigh.



 
Finally. Sled tracks.