exposure cowboy

when i take photos, i use a digital exposure checker to be certain my colors are correct.

this is stroman helping me with the exposure card.

but i don't care about the colors - look at the smilin' blue eyes on that precious boy!

plus, he's got it upside down which won't tell me much on my histogram.

confessions.

it's horrible to discover that you've done something wrong. and i believe i have discovered just that.

i might have made a mistake.

see, i don't really think anyone reads my blog. just me. maybe mindi. amy s comes by occassionally. my mom doesn't even read it. drew does if i ask him to...

and then, the other day i got an email from someone saying they enjoyed the photos. how nice, i thought as i folded the blank-ing neverending laundry. (that's for amy!) then i wondered if said nice person was actually some dirty perv...then i was distracted by trying to match socks and didn't go down that sordid bunny trail.

point being - i think my neighbors with the motorcycle read my blog - YIKES!

since my last post i haven't heard one, NOT ONE, single rev of the engine. during nap time or any other time.

when we trick or treated at their house, they seemed nice. (yes, i'm that person. the one that let's her kids take your candy one day and complains about you the next. the "anti-Laren" fan club is in full force somewhere, be sure to sign up.)

thank you neighbors for not revving during naptime.

i'll try not to blog in anger. And now, photos of the kids...

i've been fighting this

but i can't anymore.

dear neighbor,

how nice it must be that you were guided to buy a motorcycle during your Quarter Life Crisis. it's been nice to know that you enjoy revving the engine of your bad-ass machine from the safety of your loud-ass garage every day. it doesn't seem to have any trouble with the engine, so why not just start it and drive away? is that too much to ask? it is a form of an automobile, yes? ride away!!!

how nice it must be that you apparently didn't decide to have children. how nice it must be not to worry about making sure your children get a good nap so that the witching hour (which is actually 2-3 hours) from 4-6 isn't something that drives you to drink.

however, when you rev your engine everyday 10 minutes into nap time i imagine you might also think it nice to move your ass away from me before i go postal.

have a great day!

Laren

this a.m.

8:00 cereal in bowls, juice in cups, all at table


8:01 realize we are out of milk and convince kids to eat cereal like a snack


8:04 feeding lexi when cyd asks how i get my body to make milk for baby to drink. that's a fun thing to explain to a 4 year old. she took it well.


8:22 remember it is trash day and quickly gather and take trash outside to place on curb. painfully aware as i wave at the neighbor that a) i haven't even knocked the crud out of my eyes from waking up, b) i didn't get the nursing bra hooked back up correctly, c) my hair looks like someone with curly hair who...well, imagine little orphan annie, but less cute and like she had a wild night on the town.


8:24 dressed to head to store for milk, remember that i broke the garage door last night and i haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. decide i just won't get milk. we have water. wonder, "will kids eat cherrios with water tomorrow for breakfast? is that legal?"

8:26 kids ask me to set up tent in living room. done. with tunnels. check. i'm guessing that could provide 35-60 minutes of entertainment and 45 minutes of clean-up!

i need to add that during all of the above, stroman was running around commando in his pj's because i couldn't find his undies. we HAD been on a trip, but still - i came home with clean undies for him and couldn't find them.

and, this small window into our lives was humorous to me. we were stuck in the house. no milk. half naked. that's a good tuesday.

unfortunately, wednesday has already begun so i'll have to catch up on the rest of tuesday another time.



i think i'll have time the 12th of Never or when all the kids are gone to college.

monkey toes

what color do you think it is?

Stroman had another night terror a few nights back.

Judging by how he was screaming "Mommy hold you!" it must have been something tragic that kept me from getting to him in his nightmare.

The next morning, we discussed the episode over breakfast.

"Stroman, did you have a bad dream last night," Drew asked.

"Yeah," Stroman pouted.

"Were you scared?" Drew asked.

"Yeah," the little guy admitted. He's 2-years-old and this episode lasted close to an hour of him screaming, not waking up, just screaming.

Cyd pipes up, "Stroman, did you dream that you got eaten by an alligator? Because I dreamed that once and I was terrified."

"What did the inside of the alligator look like, Cyd?" I joke.

"It's pink," she said without skipping a beat. "Really. It is. I saw it."

tidbits

yesterday i drove to big spring, texas to pick up sniggles from her weekend with her biological father. during the brief 5-hour drive there i normally a) listen to talk radio, b) drink excessive amounts of coffee and c) consider things to blog about.

apparently the DR was good listening because i only came up with blog tidbits...

• i'm EAGERLY awaiting the arrival of my new lens...drew and i made a deal that if i were hired for the pecos prom, i could purchase a new lens for the upcoming wedding season. i'm terribly hesitant when it comes to buying new equipment for photography. thank you to drew for your encouragement. i love new toys.
• stroman's sentences are amazing me daily. when i pick him up from "school" he says things like, "I fall down on playground. I have owie on hand. Maria tiss (kiss) it for me. It get better. And I watch movie with Diego. Go Diego Go. I play with Avery and Soren and Luke."
• cyd is registered for kindergarten. she'll be going to generations and we're using it as a year to continue education and see if she's ready for public school. her august birthday gives us the option of waiting another year before she hits the big leagues. she'll have about 6 classmates and an incredible teacher.
• we had a garage sale a few weeks ago and cleaned out SO much stuff. i'm thinking we may set one up for next weekend...i have a couch that i am tired of & ready to replace.
• our next wedding is at this little dive. we can't wait to go back! have done a couple of weddings there before and it is an incredible place with terrific food and hosts.
• baby lexi is a mere 10 weeks away (or less!)... we've rearranged the kids rooms, gotten new bedding for them and for lexi. i'm a nesting fiend. cleaning, organizing, re-organizing what i've already organized, decluttering, thinking i'm totally running out of time...

have a great Tuesday!

what would you do?

we received a call late last night...about 10 p.m. on our land line, which is never good.

it was a girl who has babysat for us before.

she wanted us to cover for her because she told her mom she was here keeping the kids...i asked where she had been.

she told me she was at the movies with her boyfriend.

her mom is calling this a.m. to confirm that the girl has been at our house keeping our kids several times in the past few weeks.

she hasn't.

would you cover for the 16-year-old who is dating even though her parents don't want her to?
or would you give her up?