Wordless Wednesday - New Breadmaker

Well, new to me... it was handed-down by a dear friend. It's my very first one, and I'm already in love.

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Wordless Wednesday - Nighty Night!

This is what I get to look forward to at the end of each day... and the best part is that I get to join them. Co-sleeping/family bed might not be for everybody, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. <3

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Dinner at our house...

(This was going to be a Wordless Wednesday post, since apparently that's all I'm capable of lately, but just can't sit quiet on this picture. So hold on to your seats, folks, you're getting a semi-real blog post!)

I snapped the above photo a couple nights ago, because it's such a good representation of our family. No fancy table, china plates, spotless kitchen or prim and proper children here. There was no posing or staging (or else I would have moved the precariously stacked pile of crap on the microwave). Certainly no photoshopping (or else I would have "cleaned" the macaroni off the floor). Just my three wonderful Sprouts...

First off, just in case you are wondering if I accidentally put cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon on her applesauce, Abbie's not in pain. She was actually singing. Very Loudly. But very passionately and from the heart. Her dinner attire include butterfly PJs and a princess crown.

Next, we have little Oliver, being a total ham. Poor bugger has been having such trouble with teething, but otherwise, he's an absolutely delight. His ear-to-ear grin just melts my heart, even when he's covered in cheese.

Isaiah looks so serious here, but he usually is during mealtimes. They remain our biggest challenge because there's just a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong according to him, but we are working it. Anyways, back to the photo, I love how his little feet are perched on the edge of the chair. Also, he calls that his tiger shirt, as indicated by lots of RAWRing.

Just a couple more notes... The Sprouts like smooshing all the chairs together. Doesn't matter what the proper seating arrangement is, all they know is that they enjoy one another's company. Also, the extra silverware on the table? Abbie put those there for mommy. She calls it "decorating the table" (as opposed to setting), which I think is just too cute.

Anyways, this photo might not seem of importance to anybody else, but it brings tears to my eyes looking at it. Not because the Sprouts have bent the blinds all to hell, but because I wouldn't trade this for any "magazine cover" dining room table in the world! <3

Wordless Wednesday - Pretty in Mud

This sums up Abbie perfectly. She may like dressing up in pink frills and lace, but she's still a nature-loving outdoorsy girl through and through!

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Wordless Wednesday - Squirrel's Eye View

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Uh-oh, the kids are a little TOO quiet...

The other day, I was working on the computer, and I realized that it suddenly got quiet in the house. Mind you, that in the previous 24 hours, Abbie and Isaiah had pulled out everything in both my diaper bag and purse, emptied my wallet twice, snuck in the bathroom and got soap everywhere, knocked over the trash can, raided the candy stash... the list goes on. They had been so mischievous lately, and I was pretty much at the end of my rope at that point.

I angrily stomp into the living room, muscles tensed, as I open my mouth to yell "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS GETTING INTO NOW?!", but before I can get out the first word, this is what I find...

I watch them in silence a few minutes, before tiptoeing back into the computer room, tears streaming down my face. It's so easy to fall into the habit of always assuming the worst, and I've been so quick to anger lately. I quietly took this picture so I could look at it whenever I feel myself getting stressed out. There are many challenges to having two young children so close in age, but there are many, many benefits as well. One of them is being able to see unconditional love in action, time and time again.