Christmas photo fiasco

I decided this afternoon that I'd better get cracking on our Christmas card photo so I would have a chance to get them in the mail before 2008. It was nice and sunny in the afternoon, so while Conrad was at school I shot some photos of Rylan. I am a big advocate of "fair", so I thought I should get some wallets printed of Rylan to go along with Conrad's school photo.







Surprisingly, Rylan was quite cooperative. I mean, the kid is cute 24x7, but he usually runs in terror when I break out the camera. He was all smiles today though! We tried a bunch with him standing in front of the tree (wild hair and all)...

...then he ran off and found the Mickey ears from our trip to Disney a few years ago. Those were really cute too!!

This is the one I went with though. That look is just so "Rylan".

Unfortunately, the picture taking wasn't as fun when Conrad got home. Rylan had had enough cooperating for one day. I tried to make it fun, but it turned into a headache!!





Can we try not leaning quite so far?










This one was close, but Rylan looks like he needs to sneeze or something.












Ok, we've lost them. I think I told Rylan to hug his brother, not choke him!











In a last attempt at a Christmas card quality photo, I decided to head to the mall too see Santa after Conrad's piano lesson. After all, it was 6:30 -- shouldn't most families be eating dinner at that time?

Turns out I was wrong. Very very wrong. As we walked through Macy's, I knew there must be quite a line because I could hear the noise almost as soon as we entered the store. My jaw dropped after we made our way past the cosmetic counters. Judging from the harried looks of the parents toward the front of the line, they had to have been standing there at least an hour. I pulled Conrad and Rylan aside and asked if it would be ok to wait to visit Santa until Conrad's is on Christmas vacation (so we can go during the day). Thank goodness they were feeling agreeable. But I still had my photo dilemma. Being the resourceful mama that I am, I had the boys take off their coats and sit in front of the decorations by the entrance. Voila! Instant Holiday merriment!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Snow!

Well, I thought by now I would have Santa pictures to share. I had this grand plan to take the boys Wednesday morning. Conrad had a late start day at school, so I thought I could go to the mall and beat the crowds before dropping Conrad off at school. However, when I woke up and looked out the window, it looked like this:


so we decided to play outside instead. I didn't want to risk our lives just so we could go stand in line at the mall. I'm planning to put Santa photos on our Christmas cards this year, so if it gets to be late in the month and you haven't gotten a card from me yet, this is the reason! Hopefully we can go see Santa this weekend and get the cards printed quickly.

I was negligent in my Mommy the Official Photographer responsibilities because I totally forgot to take any photos of the boys playing in the snow. Just know that they had a blast and were cute as can be all bundled up.

I kept waiting for them to cancel school because it fell heavily all morning, but apparently the roads weren't as bad as I suspected. After drying Conrad's coat and gloves, we all piled in the car so I could drive him down to the bus stop. Just last week I had mentioned that driveway markers were unnecessary, and all I had to do was drive straight from the garage to the road. My plan didn't work out so well because I ended up driving through our nice new grass with one side of the car, tearing it up in the process. Ooops...I guess the markers are a good idea after all.

Conrad walked in the front door a little late that afternoon. When I went to see how his day went, I immediately noticed the pile of snow all over his backpack and the back of his pants. After giving him the "look" (you know, the one where you raise your eyebrows in a questioning sort of way) he said "oh yeah, I decided to make a snow angel and forgot I still had my backpack on." Ahhhh, well good thing it is waterproof!

The next morning Jason got up early and went next door to borrow Mr. Jason's Steiner. Jason, if you are reading this, we are soooooo thankful to have your stash next door! He got our driveway plowed pretty quickly, and also a path for mom to get into her driveway. He saved some of the snow past the garage though, because he knew Jason would be disappointed if he didn't get to "play". He's pretty thoughtful, don't you think?

Cotton ball houses

Last year for a science project Conrad was to make a house out of ordinary objects and see if it could withstand the big bad wolf (a hairdryer). We opted to glue a huge pile of cotton balls on a piece of cardboard, cover it with aluminum foil for stability, and then cut a piece of cardboard for the roof. There was a lot of duct tape involved as well. It passed the test with flying colors and didn't budge.

Conrad came home from school on Monday ready to make another cotton ball house. I'm not quite sure why, but he was persistent. I brought him all of the cotton balls in the house, a piece of cardboard, and some glue. He worked tirelessly until every cotton ball was positioned just so, trying to ignore Rylan's offers to help. So now we have two cotton ball houses. I may need to take a trip to Sam's Club and stock up before the next house raising project.

Cousins!!

Friday, after we had all recovered from our turkey induced commas, we went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art with Aunt Jackie, her kids, Tina, her kids, and grandma and grandpa Lorntson. They are featuring Roman Art from the Louvre and it was incredible! Unfortunately Rylan was ready for a nap by the time we got there so I ended up carrying him through the exhibit. I loved that he was cuddly, but my arms felt like they would fall off my body by the time we were done. Afterwards we had the kids pose on this Love statue. From left to right we have Julia, Nancy, Chloe, Eva, Jacob and Conrad. Notice that Rylan is missing? He wasn't in the mood for posing.

Next we had them pose next to the huge numbers. Jacob chose a 4 since putting his age together would have taken some serious Photoshopping.

Rylan posed next to the 2 but wasn't too happy about it.

Conrad was determined to climb on top of his number, but I convinced him to pose next to it instead.

Isn't Chloe the cutest? I love that she just stands there and smiles, instead of bobbing around saying "take a picture of this!" (like I am used to with my boys). So much easier!

Conrad at the Conrad

How many people get the chance to stay at a hotel with the same name as their own? Not too many I would suppose. There is a Conrad in Indianapolis (Hilton's top of the line hotel) and Jason had piles of hotel points, so we decided to stay there Thanksgiving night. We were going to Indy anyway to visit Jason's family, so we thought we would treat ourselves to a really (really really) nice hotel. We met another Conrad right off the bat when we went to park our car. The man working the valet service was named Conrad! Him and Conrad had a nice chat about what a great name they have. We were just in time to swim a little bit before they closed the pool for the night.


After swimming, the boys and I were hungry so we ordered room service and ate in our pj's. Conrad and Rylan did great sleeping in a bed together and went right to sleep (probably because it was close to midnight). Of course there was more swimming in the morning. Breakfast was fabulous with fancy fresh pastries and lots of fruit. Conrad got a kick out of all of the napkins and paper being personalized for him, and has been carrying the room key as his faux identification ever since. Now if we could just find a Rylan hotel...

Being Thankful!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! I am certainly thankful that today I get to eat turkey not once, but twice! We will have our traditional turkey dinner with my mom in a few hours, and then hop in the car and drive to Indianapolis to visit Jason's sister and her kids, his aunt and her kids, and his grandparents. If we are lucky they will have plenty of leftovers for a second turkey dinner. Then we are staying at the "Conrad" in Indy. Conrad is very excited to be staying in a hotel with his name. Hopefully we can snag him some personalized stationary.

On Tuesday, Conrad's class had a turkey feast. He invited his mommy (awww) and I was more than happy to attend. Everyone brought a dish and the class provided the turkey. I was really impressed -- there was turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggies, and lots of desserts. Yum! We started the feast with a play by the kids. Conrad told me he was the narrator, but I had no idea he would be the only one with a speaking part! Thus is the life of a boy who speaks loud and clear. ;) He did a fabulous job!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy (and yummy) Thanksgiving! And don't forget to hug your loved ones extra tight! I am thankful for my family and friends every day, but today is the day to really think about everything I have been blessed with.

"Don't be scared, it's just me!"

After Matthew let Conrad borrow his Darth Vader mask for Halloween, this mask was quickly disowned. It sat unloved in Conrad's room for a week or so until Rylan discovered it. He came walking into the kitchen wearing it one afternoon, and when I pretended to be scared and exclaimed "Ahhhh!!! It's Darth Vader!!" he picked the mask up and said "Don't be scared, it's just me." That is how the game started. Now we repeat the above steps at least ten times a day. It is cute, but after the 5th or 6th time, it is hard to act surprised! We had to institute a no walking up and down the stairs while wearing a mask rule, because I was sure I would otherwise hear my two-year-old tumbling down the stairs.


By the way, do you like Rylan's hair cut? He looks so big and grown up, but I have to admit I kind of miss his long crazy hair!

A Stab at Landscaping

Now that we have grass, I've been trying to start on some landscaping. Jason B. and Jen told me about a sale at the nursery, so Rylan and I ventured over a few days ago to see what they had. He had a blast because there were lots of puddles in which to throw rocks. We ended up getting a weeping cherry (something I have always wanted!) for the front flower bed, and 6 evergreens to start a row of trees along the driveway. Jason B. was even kind enough to go pick them up for me . Now we need to get them planted soon before they dry out. Hopefully I can talk my kind and loving husband into helping me dig holes this weekend.

Speaking of landscaping, here is my pitiful start. :) I found some super cheap end-of-year bushes at Lowe's, and figured if they don't make a comeback next year I can replace them without loosing much money. I think a shot of Miracle Grow in the spring will perk them up and get them going. If they do survive, that's not too bad to landscape my whole flower bed for $20!

Taking a Walk

After Conrad got done with his homework tonight, we decided to head out back for a walk in the woods. It is supposed to get cold tomorrow, so I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the mild weather. Conrad thought we might get hungry along the way, so we brought a bag of trail mix in case we needed a snack. We found lots of deer tracks, and Conrad found some acorns and walnuts to take to school for show and tell tomorrow. I love living out here!!

Crazy about flubber

We have rediscovered flubber! I used to make it pretty often for Conrad when he was younger, but Rylan had not experienced it yet. Flubber is the reason I have a 1/2 gallon bottle of glue in my pantry. You mix glue, borax, water, and food coloring together and it somehow chemically reacts to make a "goo". Stretchy, bouncy, and much more fun than play doh! And best of all it cleans up really easily instead of crumbing all over the place like play doh. We made some yesterday and the boys have been playing with it nonstop! I have a feeling we will be using up that bottle of glue before long.

Toothless Wonder

We've been calling Conrad the "toothless wonder" lately, and for good reason! He lost 3 teeth in one week, finally catching up to his peers. He lost his two bottom teeth last year but that was it, and most of his friends have a mouthful of permanent teeth already! I kept telling him it was just because he takes such good care of his teeth, they don't want to fall out of his head.

The last tooth he lost at school, and somewhere between there and here it actually did get lost. Conrad had saved the other two teeth so he could "cash in" with more than one tooth and decided it was time to turn them in. The tooth fairy was not quite sure what to do about the lost tooth and pondered it for quite a while. In the end, Conrad got $2.50 and a note telling him that if he located the missing tooth, he could have the other 50 cents.

I have my hairs!

Rylan is not a thumb sucker or a blanket carrier. His source of comfort comes from his hair. Whenever he is tired he will "have his hairs" as he calls it -- twirling his hair around his fingers over and over. This is why his hair is usually on the long side. It would be cruel to have his hair buzzed!

A couple days ago it was super cold in the morning, so I put a hat on him before we headed out. As we were pulling out of the driveway he asked in a very concerned voice "how can I have my hairs?" Poor kiddo!

Favs from NYC (part 2)

Manhattan -- pretty cool view from the Staten Island Ferry.

I just thought this was cool. Parking has to be creative when there is not a lot of available real estate!

Japanese Garden at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Bridge at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

This just "feels" like NYC to me. We walked past here with Paul and Diane the first day.

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Favs from NYC (part 1)

I'm not going to bore you with every single picture from my trip to NYC, but I'll definitely share a few! Mom and I had a great time visiting Paul and Diane's new apartment in Brooklyn. It was so nice to spend time with them and have built in tour guides to the city!

We took the Staten Island Ferry which gave a great view of the city and of course the Statue of Liberty. We were pretty far away, but my big zoom lens took care of that. I was really happy with how this photo turned out, especially considering I was standing on my tip toes to get over people's heads!

The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens was one of my favorite destinations. It would have been nice if it hadn't been so windy and chilly, but we managed to get through most of it. Loved the Japanese garden -- it was so pretty with it's neatly trimmed fall colored foliage.

This is just too funny. Paul in front of a truck that says "Paul Signs".

I am a sucker for close-ups, so I loved how this fern picture turned out. Definitely next on my wish list is a macro lens so I can do some serious close-ups!

Again, the Japanese Garden at the Botanical Gardens.

I just thought these buildings were interesting and very NYCish.

Darth and the Pirate

Conrad decided to be Darth Vader for Halloween right off the bat this year. His buddy Ben told him he was going to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Conrad thought it would be pretty cool to be good ole' Darth. Jason took him to the Halloween shop and they found an outfit, but Conrad was pretty disappointed with the mask. You know the kind I'm talking about. The flat flimsy plastic kind with an elastic cord to hold it in place. Luckily his buddy Matthew pulled through for him and let him borrow his ultra cool mask complete with sound effects--including the infamous Darth Vader breathing!

Rylan was a little more difficult when we tried to narrow down his costume. Every suggestion was met with an enthusiastic "YES!" As in:

Mommy: Do you want to be Spiderman?
Rylan: Yes!
Mommy: How about a policeman?
Rylan: Yes!
Mommy: Would you rather be Diego?
Rylan: Yes!

Finally, Rylan and I were walking by The Children's Place at the mall and the costumes caught my eye. They were really unique, and super cute, so we ducked into the store. I immediately envisioned my 2 year old looking adorable in the dinosaur outfit they had. He agreed that it was acceptable, so we found his size on the rack. Then I made a tragic mistake. I put the hat (which looked like a dinosaur head) on my hand and said "roar!" in what I thought was a playful voice. He backed up immediately and said very seriously "I do NOT want to be a dinosaur." I bargained, pleaded, and did everything I could think of to get him to change his mind, but he wouldn't budge. So we left with a pirate costume instead.