Shoes

I've been thinking a lot about shoes this week. Brennan has gotten to the stage where he always wants to be going somewhere, and he's constantly bring me his shoes or my own shoes. He even gives Collin his shoes to try to get us out the door.

We also FINALLY just got a DSW here in little Peoria, and it's right by my house. Hooray! I popped in last night with a friend, and we reminisced about the shoes of our days gone past.

So, What if my old shoes could talk?

Dr Martens sandals, 2000 

Doc sandals: I bought these handsome sandals as a senior in high school. I had a crush on a tall guy, and I felt confident in my tallness. They have a two-inch raised heel. I wore them for 11 summers. I still miss them (which might explain why they are in a box in the basment and not in the garbage).

Dr Martens flats, 2000

Doc flats: Enter the flat docs. I bought these when I had a crush on a short guy, and I needed to try to be as short as I could. They have no sole to speak of, and I still wear them in the winter.


Pumas, 2002

Pumas: These babies were purchased my sophomore year in college. I was dating a "skater," and I loved to wear my tight Dashboard Confessional tshirt with my Pumas. Now they are my yard-working shoes, as you can tell by the filth.

These last three pairs of shoes has gotten me wondering, Are all my shoe-purchases hinged on the boys in my life?


Black flats, 2009

Black flats: Yep, these were purchased in direct consequence to Collin's birth (and accompanying screaming). Standing and rocking the C-Man for all three hours of church just about did me in, and flats were all I wanted. Check - another pair purchased for a boy.


Boots, 2011

Boots: I purchased these boots just days before Brennan was born. Another boy-induced pair. I was fed up with trying to tie my shoes over my huge belly, and I remembered my good friend had loaned me her boots at the end of my first pregnancy.

Of course, how many pairs have I purchased just for comfort then?


Ronald McDonald shoes, 2002

Red shoes: Yep, I actually own these. And no, they were not purchased for comfort. I was becoming better friends with my older brother during this semester of college, and he's an artist. Need I say more?

Despite this post focus on my shoes, I'm not actually a "shoe person." Compared to girls with a closet just for their shoes, I'm an embarrassment. In fact, I really just have a few pairs I consistently wear:


1 - brown dress shoes

(black flats already pictured)



2 - black dress shoes

3 - sandals

4 - running shoes

Now it occurred to me in DSW last night that I need a new pair of tennis shoes, which will bring my "wear all the time" shoe-count to a grand total of FIVE. I need a comfortable, daily pair that works with socks - for rain and wintertime.

Hm, what if I returned to my faves from middle school?


Converse

Sambas

Yep, pretty sure I have to buy one of these this fall. I'd be one rockin' mom, right?






So, what would your shoes today say about you? Why did you buy those shoes in middle school, high school, college or a decade ago? You knows the ones I'm talking about! Spill it.

I Work Where Ann Romney Works

Dear World,

Life is all about the people you love.

I work all day, every day.

I work nights and weekends... every night and every weekend.

I will never retire.

I don't get raises.

I don't get sick days or vacation.

I don't get annual bonuses.

I am a psychiatrist, taxi driver, cook, maid, ringmaster, babysitter, seamstress, teacher, and nurse... and I don't get paid a dime.

We are each entitled to our choices, and this has been mine.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Love,
The Greatest Threat to Feminism (aka A Stay-at-Home Mom)

PS: Do I think I'm better than a working mom, a single mom, or any other kind of mom? Of course not, but I'm not lesser either.

Easter

The boys were blessed to participate in three egg hunts this year.

One

The first was during playgroup the Friday before General Conference. I forgot to take the camera outside, but the weather was beautiful.

Each mom brought six "filled" eggs for each child goin' huntin'. Then one other mom and I went outside and hid them while the kids decorated bunny bags. Then the kids were set loose to find six eggs. After they found their allotment, they helped the little ones get the rest of theirs.

Brennan didn't quite get it and ended up picking up landscaping rocks and putting them in his bag too. Whatever. Collin had to help him get his six.

Brennan also had no idea there would be candy inside. Imagine his happiness when we went back inside to eat. This kid loves his sweets.

Two

The day after General Conference, Collin and I dyed eggs in the afternoon. That evening, Ryan read an Easter story from the Friend, while I went out in the backyard to hide the dozen. Once again, they were to each only find six.

Brennan has a hard time walking in our lumpy backyard, so this hunt was frustrating for him. The handle on his basket was too long too. Bad mom.

He looks pretty happy in this pic though.

Collin found his six quickly...

... but was super disappointed that this egg hunt yielded no candy. He was also thoroughly disgusted by hard-boiled egg for our FHE snack. (Ryan let him have some candy from the playgroup hunt to console him.)

 
Three
Our last hunt as in a friend's backyard the day before Easter. She'd filled hundreds of eggs, and the daddies hid them everywhere.

By our third hunt, Brennan was a pro. He grabbed his basket and went to town! He found eggs for a good 30 minutes. 

Slow and steady wins the race. Look at this turtle's take!

Collin, on the other hand, got the "maximum of six eggs" rule so solidified in his brain that he quit just as he got started. 

 He sat down and started eating the chocolate. This hare definitely lost.

And the Real Thing
And then the Easter Bunny came. We had Stake Conference Easter Sunday, so I didn't do the cute matching clothes or bunny ears photo, but Ryan did manage to get Collin's training wheels on while I was at the adult session Saturday night.

Collin got a new helmet too, and Brennan officially inherited all of Collin's old biking gear. The picture sucks, but you get the idea.

Now we just need a decent day to get out and ride!

Hope you had a happy Easter.

Us

COLLIN
Collin is awake pee-trained. He holds his poops until nap time or bedtime when he has a diaper on. I'm counting this as a success. He needs a nap every day, but he won't take one. That means I have a monster on my hands all day. He insists on waking up at six every morning and waking up his brother in the process. He is demanding about when, where and how he wants everything. I want to give him away. His allergies are in full-swing but he refuses to take his Claritin.

BRENNAN
Brennan is 15-months old. We don't get along. He screams anytime he doesn't get what he wants, which is all of the time. He swings hard things (PVC pipe, wood chunks, shovels, screw drivers, play hammers, etc) at me and Collin all the time. He cries a lot. I get frustrated a lot. We don't get along. He doesn't eat anything but fruit. He only naps in our closet. He naps well there (sometimes 2 hours in the morning and 2 more in the afternoon), but I'm tired of having all my clothes on the floor, and I want my room back. He is beyond stubborn and throws worse tantrums than you can imagine. He has diarrhea again, and it always lasts several weeks with diaper rash. He hates being changed or being dressed, and it's a constant wrestling match. I want to give him away. His allergies are in full-swing, but hopefully his Claritin will help.

RYAN
He continues to plug along as an engineer, elder's quorum president, lawn-care provider, basement electrician, marathon-er in training, father to two monsters, and husband to a witch. It's too many titles for one man.

LINDSEY
I'm grumpy tonight. Can you tell? My allergies are in full-swing, it got cold outside again, we ran out of cell minutes for the month, I'm on my period, and my boys cry/complain/whine/fight all day every day. Don't I have a right to be grumpy?

House Full o' Stock

Last week our great friends from Madison were able to come visit. Their daddy had a conference in St Louis, so he dropped the family (3-year-old, 1-year-old, and Mommy) here Wednesday evening.

Thursday morning we were brave and ventured out to the library for story time. Our library does a story time where the parents remain in the building, but the children over three go to the story time alone. I love it! Lane and Collin did great, and we were able to hang out with the babies.

Thursday evening Jenn and I went shopping for some toddler activities for General Conference. Here's what we came up with... Each time one of the "Big 15" gets up to speak, the child finds the bag with the person's photo on it. They get to play with that activity until it's time for another bag. We have coloring pages, connect-the-dots, lacing cards, bead necklaces, stickers, magnet-folder matching, Bible trivia, etc. We'll see how it goes this weekend. Happy Conference weekend!

Friday morning I got to take Collin on a Mommy Date while Brennan napped. We went shopping at Kohl's (funny he doesn't mention that part when he tells people he got to go on a date), to Sonic for lunch, and to Toys R Us to play with the Thomas track afterwards. He's such a sweet boy when he's got my undivided attention.

Friday night Ryan and I went to see Hunger Games. Yahoo! It was fabulous. We put Brennan down before we left, and Jennifer put the big boys to bed afterwards. Great movie.

We also went as families to Robot Brawl on Saturday morning. This has become a family tradition of ours. It's super dorky, but we love it, so I guess we are just super dorky! It's in the  basement of the museum but has free admission. The team is made up mostly of college kids, but some of the Cat engineers are ring-leaders.

If Ryan had free-time (ha ha), this is how he'd like to use it.

Saturday afternoon Jennifer treated our family to a photo shoot, as you saw in my previous post. Isn't she amazing? What a cute little family I have.

We also spent a lot of time eating delicious food. Jennifer loves to cook, and she loves to go to the farmer's markets. We got to enjoy her talents, and I'm still full!

 

Most of the time was spent letting the kids play and the moms chat. It was great.

Sunday morning we all posed for a photo before church, but Mr. Williams was MIA - Ward Council before church, Scout High Adventure meeting afterwards, and two PPIs in the evening, sigh.

Jennifer and Dave are moving this summer since Dave will get his PhD in May. Yippee! Many happy trails to our friends the Stocks.

The Midwest - especially the Williams - will miss you!

Family Photo Shoot

Happy Spring

from the Midwest!

Favorites of the whole family

Favorite of the boys together

Favorites of Collin

Favorites of Brennan

Thank you, Jennifer! They are beautiful. Now I finally have family pics with Brennan hanging in my home.

Do you have a favorite?

I Spy

I am not perfect. I am not a grammar Nazi. I make TONS of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, especially on this blog. I try my best, but my brain is going to Mommy-mush.

While on our vacation, Ryan and I enjoyed playing "I Spy," and I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorites for your viewing pleasure.

Punctuation Errors

The misuse of punctuation

The forgotten punctuation

The patron-added punctuation

 Spelling Errors


Name misspelling 1

Name misspelling 2

Ad Misspelling

And last but not least...

The art of a good pun