I'm still kickin'

Hey all (and by all I mean all 6 of you who humor me and read this blog...and are nice enough to pretend it's interesting). Somehow the entire month of March slipped by without a blog post and now I'm just trying figure out how to catch up. I have many many pictures to share (shocking I know) but right now my camera is charging up so I will give you a little update via actual words instead of pictures until I can get my images downloaded.

This month has been nuts. It started out with Jason making plans to visit South Dakota to possibly see his sister Becky play at the state basketball tournament. Our plans changed quickly when his beloved great grandma Mina died. She was quite the lady who lived to be 98 years old. Needless to say we headed back to SoDak as a family to pay some respects. Unfortunately, his great aunt died the day after we arrived at the age of 96. (My grandma is currently in her late 90's as well so I'm starting to think we need to boost our retirement plan). Though it wasn't the greatest of circumstances, we are always very happy to be back in Pollock. The drive however, sucks. It is so hard to be living this far from family. Tyson slept a total of 30 minutes on each round of the 12 hour (one way) drive. Anyway, we returned for a total of three days and then Tyson and I headed to the local Amtrak station and boarded the train to northern Minnesota to visit my sister and her newest little nugget Tucker (along with her other little nuggets Tate and Teagen). It was a blast. The boys played non stop and Jen and I got some good girl talk in...well in between all the chaos that is little boys playing. Now we are home and plan to stay here for awhile. I promise to update with pics as soon as possible.

for Phyllis...

The summer after I graduated high school I moved into my aunt Phyllis and uncle Bob's house so I could work in a nursing home until college started. Anyone who's met my aunt Phyllis knows that Martha Stewart's got nothin' on her...especially when it comes to quilting. Before you can even utter the words 'pregnancy test' she's already got a baby blanket made and in the mail, somehow magically matching the decor of the nursery. So over the course of this summer I watched her quilt...and I watched my cousin Rachel quilt...and soon I thought, "hey, this business looks fun. I should try it."

I was wrong.

Turns out an 18 year old who just moved out of her parents house for the first time doesn't really like quilting. She probably wants to spend all time off eating cereal and watching bad soaps. Phyllis eventually finished it for me because she's cool like that...or perhaps because she had the ability to predict that I wouldn't actually finish anything of this crafty nature for another decade. So this one's for you Phyllis...I finally did it!!!

My mom and I tore apart my uniforms that I wore in Iraq and I attempted to make something pretty out of them.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little proud.

Current obsessions...

Doing anything with his food to avoid actually eating it...

Staying messy all the time but looking so cute I can't remain too frustrated...

his alphabet puzzle...

Finding mischief...

reading...

*good Lord, do we have enough books?

Keeping his parents entertained with his Beavis and Butthead impressions...

**for the record, we do not let him watch Beavis and Butthead

***Are Beavis and Butthead even on anymore??

Trying to play with momma's toys...

finding his own toys...

mischief

I think I'll have to start taking my showers at night...

ABC's

Okay, so here's the story. Lately Tyson has been obsessed with reading this book with the letters in the alphabet. So obsessed I bet I read that thing 15 times a day at least. I know I'm supposed to be all "whatever encourages his development" and all that garbage but it was driving me bananas. I seriously considered hiding it (don't judge) but then one day he started pointing out the letters himself. Imagine my excitement!...followed by frustration as nobody (including my own husband) believed me. The phone calls went like this...

me: so Tyson learned his letters!

everyone else: really?...pause...hmmm, that's nice dear.

me: no really, he knows his letters!

everyone else: wow, that's great (patronizing sarcasm noted).

So I took matters into my own hands and taped it. I know it wasn't perfect and he needs some help with M and N but hey, it's a great start. I also realize this is normal development but if there's one thing I've learned after becoming a parent is that I have a right to take pride in things I had absolutely no control over. It's one of the perks that makes all of the vomit easier to deal with.

picture perfect

So after a year+ of selling anything I could on ebay I finally had enough to purchase my first DSLR camera. Though I haven't had the nerve to take it off of auto and mess around in manual mode, I already think it's amazing.

Even without any real knowledge, skill or editing, it shows Tyson's big brown eyes with such clarity.

...unfortunately it also shows the crust under his nose (doesn't his mother ever wipe is face off?)

Note: must learn how to touch up photos.

No resolutions...

Well even though New Years has come and gone, I figured I'd tackle to topic of resolutions. Since I'm pretty far behind time wise, I thought it would still be appropriate. Ironically, my list does not include procrastinating less. Maybe next year.

Typically I don't like resolutions. I think it's like opening a big door to let Disappointment and her friend Failure dance right on in. And kick you in the shins. Bitches.

I'm much more of a list maker so I usually make a yearly to-do list of the big accomplishments I want to make. And when I say big accomplishments it's usually referring to cleaning the basement or hemming my jeans. World peace will be a lot easier to tackle if I'm not tripping all over my pants. The only resolution I thought would be a good idea to try is to surrender to motherhood. I know that phrase sounds a little cheesy. Blame Oprah. The thought behind it is less ridiculous. Basically I want to stop worrying about the fact that there are always dishes in the sink and my living room looks like someone tried to rob us but couldn't find anything of value amidst all the Fisher Price paraphernalia. Stop thinking about the fact that I cannot be everything to everybody or even everything to myself at this point. My child will grow and he will grow fast. I'm trying to soak up this time when Tyson still thinks I'm the coolest thing ever. I realize soon enough he will be complaining about my presence and making me drop him off a block before the school. I'm really trying to enjoy it.

(Irony of Ironies, one of the things on my 2010 to do list is to become more organized. My house is still a mess and I'm on my computer while Tyson is watching Elmo. Maybe my Nobel prize in mothering will have to wait until 2011).

Mwah! Kisses to everyone:)