Today started slow and complicated. I am still feeling exhausted and unable to rest for some reason. So I had a slow start. I did get better and the kids were angels but I am still feeling worn out.

David’s been playing with his legos still. Loves them.

And the little boy is playing with his legos/blocks too.

Look at those little toes.

I even scrapped. Doing more layouts for CHA. I am trying to pace myself and just do one a day and see how it goes. Let’s see if I can manage it. Next week promises to be crazy with more layouts for CHA and then the AMM kit. So trying to take it easy now.

Plans for tonight are to rest and possibly read some. Lonesome Dove, here I come.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful that my kids are so good on their own.
2. Grateful that I am getting some good nagging tasks done. Ones that need doing.
3. Grateful that I am now starting a 4-day weekend!!

Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. lego men.
2. daddy

Fair warning: this post has a LOT of photos. Even more than my usual many. So if you don’t like seeing a ton of photos of my two boys, feel free to skip it. (having said that, if you don’t like seeing my boys, you’ve likely long stopped visiting my blog.)

I got home at 2:30am last night from the movie and wasn’t even tired. So, of course, this morning, I was. Tired and grouchy and cranky and so much more. I yelled, threatened, whined, sulked. And yet. My kids were mostly unfazed. Bless them. I captured tons of hugs, laughter and love so I wanted to post it all mostly to remind myself that even I can’t get in the way of their joy (not that I should be trying to, I need to be on better behavior.)

love.

He’s trying so hard to make Nathaniel laugh.

and succeeds easily.

he kisses him.

watches him.

hugs him.

hugs him some more.

and he hugs back in spades.

my toothless boy.

laughing together.

Nathaniel discovered a drawer full of plastic cutlery and has been playing with them nonstop. He gets very focused.

In the afternoon, we took out some time and all 3 of us played legos. It was really wonderful.

And then there was more hugging.

And I am so glad I caught this face. It’s one Nathaniel makes too often and always cracks me up.

I feel all out of sorts for the last two days. I am hoping it will be better on a good night’s sleep which I plan to get tonight. Let’s hope I do.

Note to Self:
In the beginning of this month, I worked on some layouts for an upcoming free BPS workshop called Big Idea Festival. I haven’t seen the other designers’ work but I am pretty sure it will be fantastic and it’s totally free so you have nothing to lose. Click here to sign up. (And that’s my layout there on the right, love me some orange.)

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Lego time with David (and Nathaniel).
2. My husband letting me sleep in this morning, I surely would have fallen apart without it.
3. I am thankful for my kids putting up with me on days like this.

Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing legos with mommy.
2. daddy.

I know I didn’t put up a Crafting with David today but I have a very good excuse for it:

Remember when I said David had a bump on his gums that I was going to call the dentist about? Well I called and then went and it turns out his fuzed tooth is all infected cause of a crack in and they had to pull it. Ouch. They had to give my little boy a novocaine shot which was really painful and then they yanked the tooth right out, which was also very painful. But my little boy was super brave and really so amazing (As he always is.) and I’ve been working hard to pamper him since we got home. He got to have chocolate pudding and watch TV and relax as much as he wanted.

That’s gauze in his mouth which he had all day. He didn’t complain or whine one bit. And now he’s super excited about the tooth fairy (who is going to bring him a small little toy since we’re not into doing the money thing just yet.)

While David watched TV, Nathaniel tried to carry as many legos as he could at one time.

Here he is, trying not to drop them.

He really loves the legos. I love watching both my kids enjoy them so much. I’ve always been a huge fan of legos.

And Nathaniel’s really interested in books lately, too. Not in my reading them to him but exploring them by himself. You know that makes me happy, too.

And I’ll end with a little shot of the toothless boy. His bottom one is moving like crazy too and is bound to fall at any minute. Which will make taking portraits that much more challenging.

To be honest, those are my favorite shots. The ones with character. So I look forward to capturing them.

Since we ran to the dentist first thing this morning, and then went food shopping for david, most of our day went wonky. Naps were all over the place, Nathaniel is still lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. I am wiped and wiped.

Note to Self:
Amazing how things work out sometimes. I am really sorry that we let David’s tooth be sick for over a week. I am glad he didn’t have pain but here’s an instant where I would have otherwise worried and taken care of immediately. Thankfully it didn’t have huge repercussions but it could have. It’s so hard to know when to take action immediately and when to sit and wait a bit.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that the dentist took us immediately and took care of David right away, thankful for dental care today.
2. I am grateful that my kids are so wonderful and Nathaniel behaved wonderfully the whole time we were at the dentist and made it easy for me to focus on David and hold his hand, etc.
3. I am thankful that I will get to go see Eclipse tomorrow!

Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. lego magazine that he got in the mail.
2. daddy.

Since I went to bed so late last night, I knew today was going to be a disaster. And it wasn’t that bad but I was quite tired for almost all of it. It was David’s wii day so in the morning, he played with his legos while Nathaniel walked around.

I love capturing random shots of him cause every little thing he does has so much personality right now.

Even the way his toes sink into the carpet when he’s standing or walking.

David’s been covering our dining room table with legos for the last few days. It’s full to the brim.

And Nathaniel’s doing this funny walk with his hands clasped behind his back.

When he went down for his nap, David got to play wii while I read and then scrapped a bunch. I made a card and a layout today. I rarely ever make cards. I have like 7 more things on my list for this weekend, but I might just take it easy and relax. I am feeling quite tired and I know there will be some CHA work in the next week so best to get a lot of rest.

And read. I have to read 3 books in the next month, each of which is 1000 pages or more. Ugh. They are all supposed to be great books, though.

I am off to get my coffee and read a bit. I hope you’re well. Oh, yes, I plan to work on my zentangle, too.

Note to Self:
I have been working on plans for July. I have some ideas but I still need to flesh them out. I’ve really enjoyed doing this project-focused June and the layout-focused May. I wonder if I can keep it up for July. David’s school starts sometime in August so we have one more full month to play before our schedule changes so I want to take advantage of it while I can.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I accomplished something big this weekend. Something I was sort of scared to do but Lori encouraged me to. It might go nowhere but I am still proud of myself. And grateful to her.
2. I am grateful for some wonderful quiet time where I took a brief nap. I wish I could do that more. Brief naps are great.
3. I am grateful for some garage-cleaning time with Jake. Our garage is an ongoing project here so any progress makes me grateful.

Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daddy.
2. all the legos in the world (and then he said, i wish i had them all).

Before I forget, HAPPY Birthday Daddy!! I love love love you so much!

Jake was working from home today and it made such a difference in my day. Even the little bit of extra help made me feel more relaxed and calmer. I wish he was around all the time.

David’s been working on this big lego city he’s building on the dinner table. Photos to come.

Nathaniel is exploring the room and throwing around anything he can find.

Especially his water bottles.

And he’s chewing anything he can find, too. The teeth are just always itching now I imagine.

I convinced David to let me take a photo today.

And then snapped another one while he was working on his Lego sticker book which he finished today and he was very proud of it.

His feet while he’s focused on the Lego book.

Later that day, Nathaniel discovered all of David’s markers and spread them all over the room so David is putting them back here and Nathaniel is watching him with interest, of course.

I got quite a bit of work done today and started tackling a big project that I am happy to tackle. I also did some work on my blog and scheduled a lot of the posts I’ve been working on for the last month. I’ve got a few more things left on my June list but I am feeling great about it and want to focus on July now. I have a few ideas for July but haven’t sat down to decide concretely just yet.

Note to Self:
I’m still thinking about the Anna Quindlen book I just finished. It’s reminding me to not focus on the small things. Or even the medium things. Life works out ok for the most part and it’s better to truly enjoy it and savor the moments as opposed to worrying about all the details and stressing about everything. I need to remember this way more often.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Having Jake around today. It was wonderful.
2. I am so grateful for the internet today and for all the crafty people who make youtube videos and crafty tutorials. Thank you for doing that, it truly makes my day.
3. I am grateful for summer and the laziness of summer. Spending the day in our pajamas. Not having to rush anywhere. Feeling happy and taking it all slow. I love that.

Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. mommy.
2. daddy.
(down to the basics or too bored to think, not sure.)

There’s something odd I like about this photo.

This is the kind of day Nathaniel had today. He woke up at 6, went down for nap at 9 and slept all the way to 12:30 and then was cranky most of the day.

But he’s still so cute.

David was watching his shows and Nathaniel played right next to him.

And I deeply admired how restrained David was. He did not yell at the little boy at all. Not once.

Then Nathaniel decided to topple over the whole box of legos.

And looked at me like he did nothing wrong when I got his attention. What? his expression said.

It was of course David who had to clean all of those and he did without complaint. My angel.

Book club tonight so I am trying to get all my tasks done before they get here.

Note to Self:
My back is still in quite a bit of pain. I wonder if this is someone’s way of telling me to slow down. Or just be less stupid when I bend down.

Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. My little boys. They make me so so happy.
2. Jake’s been coming home early and feeding the boys dinner. I am so worn out by night time that this is a tremendous help for me. I am so grateful for it.
3. I am grateful that my book is ending. It turned miserable and I can’t wait to finish it.

Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. batman movies.
2, daddy
3. doing toy story workbook with mommy
4. i’m grateful for myself.