Space Monkey!

Need to do a little Christmas Shopping? Check out The Space Monkey Shop!

Boys Will Be Boys?

It used to drive me NUTS when someone would say "He's ALL BOY."

So, it still drives me nuts, but Lennon, if I were to put this kind of label on him...Well, let's just say it fits him to a T. He sort of reminds me of Fred Armisen in this picture.

Lennon has sort of been like a bat to the gut from which I am starting to recover. He's a great kid. He has always had a sort of glimmer in his eye that tells me he is always looking for a little bit of trouble. He is talkative, funny, adorable, sweet, and will hug and kiss you when you ask... That being said, his disposition and nature are quite different from Noel. Noel has always been fairly serene. I'm chalking Lennon's personality up to being the 2nd child. I am used to him being louder, wilder, and more boyish (I'm "ugh-ing" at myself)...because sometimes along with those hugs and kisses, he'll try to bite a chunk of your face off while giving you a kiss...then laugh when you howl.
Yeah, it's ADORABLE. :-

Here's the sweetness that he's had to try and live up to. I'll tell you...they don't come much sweeter than Noel.

But then, couldn't you just gobble him up? He is so, so, so, so loveable.

I should add the disclaimer that he thew up about 20 minutes after I took these pictures...

I am so thankful for them.

Watching their new favorite show "Thunderbirds". No comment.

For Anissa

This past week, a fellow blogger and friend to many, Anissa Mayhew, had a major stroke and is currently in the hospital. Anissa is a young wife & mother of three. If you’ve been following #prayersforanissa this week on Twitter, you’ve also noticed that she’s touched many lives far and wide. She is a presence in life and in the blogosphere to be reckoned with, and I’ve seen why as I’ve followed her husband and friends through this trial.

Although I’m not close friends with Anissa, we’ve exchanged tweets and I’ve always found her to be a nice and very funny lady. Little did I know that she is way more than a nice gal. Anissa, I can tell, is the kind of friend that makes you feel like the most important person in the world. She’ll help you to believe you can do anything. She will make you feel stronger when you are at your weakest. I believe the reason Anissa has this way about her is because she’s a survivor. She’s a talented, smart, wickedly funny person that has overcome a previous stroke and her daughter’s fight with cancer.

If you’d like to follow Anissa’s story, please visit hope4peyton.org, follow @aiminglow on Twitter, and follow @anissamayhew as well-she WILL be back, folks. If you’d like to help her family, please go here and find out how you can help. Please keep Anissa and her family in your thoughts as they take this day by day, minute by minute.

Starting on Monday, December 7, a group of bloggers will be working together to promote an event entitled, Blog 4 Good. By hosting a series of auctions, our hope is to raise money on behalf of bloggers who need our support. All proceeds raised during the three day auction will benefit the Liz Logelin Foundation <http://thelizlogelinfoundation.org/>, a non-profit organization working to help families who have lost a spouse, life-partner, or parent, as well as Anissa Mayhew <http://www.hope4peyton.org/>, a 35 year old blogger who recently suffered a stroke.

I’m pleased to tell you that The Space Monkey Shop will be auctioning an archival paper print, and every penny earned will go toward these wonderful causes.

The cool ladies hosting this event are:

Jill from Scary Mommy <http://www.scarymommy.com/>
Kacey and Francesca from Mayhem and Moxie <http://mayhemandmoxie.com/>
Mama Kat from Mama’s Losin It <http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/>
Angie from 7 Clown Circus <http://angiescircus.blogspot.com/>
Jen from Buried with Children <http://www.buriedwithchildren.com/>
Heather from The Extraordinary
Ordinary<http://theextraordinaryordinary.blogspot.com/>

We’ll post more as we have more information on what is sure to be awesome & give hope to many.

Thank you, friends!

Crossposted at MumsTheWurd

The Milestones that Matter

I've been stewing over what I'm going to post for my 10,oooth tweet. As I was showering tonight (don't you always have the best "a-ha!" moments there?), I realized that I was overdramatizing this "milestone" just a bit.

I've spent the better part of 10 years with this man. In 10 years with him, I have come 10,000 miles. Before we met, I was lost. I did not know who I was, or who I wanted to be. He has been my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, my soulmate...the father of my two most precious accomplishments.

For almost two years, I have been his mom.

Four 1/2 years ago, the realization of him made us a family.

For almost 2 years, I have witnessed this brotherhood and friendship blossom and grow. It's buds are still small, but they will one day be a beautiful, even if imperfect, flower.

As much as I love Twitter & the online community, there's nothing that compares to the milestones I've accomplished in this tangible, beautiful life.

I Dreamt of Her

I miss her.

Last night I had a dream about her. She had the best smile.

She loved us. She didn't want to leave us.

My children will never know her. I can't believe they won't ever know her.

I can tell them about her. How fun she was. How she loved McDonald's and shopping and ice cream and having us over. How much she loved us. How she was the matriarch of our little family, and how good she was at it.

I wish she could have lived forever. Sometimes I still can't believe she's actually gone.

I'm glad she visits me in my dreams...I only wish it was real.

I Want to Manage More Than a Couple Posts a Month, Really.

Oh, it has been quite a few weeks. All I can say is "Whew," take a deep breath, and go to bed. It's been tiring. Soooo, so tiring. The tired has been worth it though...lots of good things have happened and it makes me really look forward to our future. It has been a long road. These past couple of years have been full of challenges, but I think we're at a point where we can relax and look forward to what's ahead. I can't wait. I'm not sure how quickly any changes will occur, but I'm pleased to think about it. I see Jack Stack in our future...and Groucho Marx.

These glasses have been passed down a generation. My family played with them often when I was a kid. See? Nostalgia is in my blood.

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. My whole family has finally recovered from a coughy, hacky, runny-nosey something that "wasn't the flu", when Noel was tested for it. We've all still got residual coughs, but the fever and listlessness is finally gone. I'm grateful, because although it means they are much more active, both boys can go to their 2 mornings of parents day out, and we can actually get some things done around the house.

The wee sick children.

The Terror also Known as Lennon.
You figure this one out.

Yesterday, I passed an accreditation exam for my job. This will allow me to be able to work from home very, very soon. This has been something I've wanted since going in to this profession...and it is going to happen. I still can't believe it. :D

This pumpkin did not even place at my work contest. Clearly, the judges were lame.

I'm well aware that this post is totally random. My brain hurts. Please forgive.

Oh, Mama.

When you're sick, there's nothing better than having your mom around. My kids feel the same way. Do women instinctively understand how to care for a sick child in ways that men don't? Not that my husband isn't an awesome caretaker, but he's more hesitant to go get in bed with the sick kids, probably for fear of catching whatever illness they have or getting puked on...who knows? Everyone just seems to defer to me when they are ill. Perhaps it's my characteristically Cancer nurturing that they all, my husband included, sense.

I've noticed during this October illness month, my kids only want me when they don't feel good. I'm the one who has to force the medicine, take the temperatures, hold their heads over the toilet, and make them shower to clean up said "toilet incident". You'd think they'd run for the hills when they see me coming. Instead, Noel, my 3 1/2 year old, independent little boy wanted me to carry him around Target today, willingly held my hand, and says, "Stay," when he senses, from a dead sleep, that I'm about to get out of bed. When Lennon is sick, he will sit still for hours with me just holding him. I can't pass him off, or he's inconsolable.

I sort of like taking care of everyone when they're sick, to tell you the truth. The boys aren't always willing to sit still and be held, have their backs rubbed, have their heads kissed incessantly. When they are sick, I seem to understand how small and vulnerable they are...and I'm going to hold on to that memory, even when they're back to their old selves, running away from me, squirming out of a hug, and just being kids. They do need me, even if they don't always show it.