busy busy busy

we have numberous projects underway around here, and not much in the way of time. hopefully, at least some of them will be completed before the end of the week.
if I'm missing in action around here, at least you'll know why.

friends, vol. II

Michael has been showing-off ever since Mara got here.















she and I are both totally charmed.
William, however, remains unimpressed.




we're having a fun morning.

happy birthday, christofer

today is Christofer's birthday.

You know what I love about Christofer? He makes me laugh every day.

I'm glad he was born.

sweet Ivy

(just thought you'd want to know she's wearing girl clothes.)
(bought for her by other people.)
(whatever.)

(thanks Kate!)

resemblance

there's been some discussion in our family about who Ivy resembles most. After this picture, I'm going with him:

girly

I take a lot of flak for the way I dress Ivy.

I recently came home with new pajamas for her, pajamas that I thought were completely unobjectionable, but APPARENTLY red is not okay color for a girl if that red also has a baseball on it.

because girls don't play baseball, I guess.

but pointing out the rampant CHAUVINISM and GENDER CONDITIONING of such SMALL-MINDED OPINIONS I'M LOOKING AT YOU CHRISTOFER AND DAVID is not the actual subject of my post today.

The point is that I've been pretty laid back about what Ivy wears, but the Expensive and Beautiful Clothes for Little Girls People have discovered me and started sending me catalogues.

catalogues I'd never heard of before.

and now I'm pretty sure my life will never be complete if I don't immediately buy Ivy some bloomers.

that is all.

the tulip festival

Yesterday we went with some friends to the tulip festival.



Tanner takes tulips very seriously. I asked him if I could take his picture, and he was all, "I am looking at the tulips. DO YOU MIND."

Although he didn't actually say that last part.
but he was thinking it.
I could tell.






























William likes flowers okay. but mostly he likes rolling down the hills and splashing in the water.





























and feeding the fish.

I just like that Spring is here.

sunday afternoon fort

magnum

I didn't use this picture before because you can't tell he's dancing, but it's been cracking me up all weekend.

I feel wordy today

I'm so boring today, it hurts me.

so, guess what! we're going to talk about my shoes.

it's my default topic, I can't help it.

sorry.

and if you have no interest in listening to me ramble on and on about my shoes, go here instead.

(you're welcome.)

so. I made this goal during the GCP that I would not acquire any more shoes this year. I mean, not that I wouldn't get any new shoes at all (what am I, made of will power?) but rather that the number of shoes in my closet would stay constant.

To this end I kept a bunch of the shoes I was going to get rid of so I could have the satisfaction of switching them out with new, improved pairs.

For example, I had these beauties lurking on my bottom shelf:

When I bought these shoes in 1997, I thought they were AMAZING. I don't think I've actually worn them since 1999, when I realized that they were, in fact, NOT amazing, but I've kept them because they seemed like a little time capsule into 16-year-old me and I always thought it would have been cool to see what my mom wore as a teenager. But they are the only thing I've managed to hold onto because I love to throw old stuff away, and frankly I want the closet space.

sorry, Ivy.

let's just take a moment and appreciate the fact that those shoes are 12-years-old.

They were by far the oldest thing in my closet.

(unless Chris owns older stuff? he might. that guy does NOT appreciate my love of throwing old stuff away.)

That was a long story.

Goodbye shoes. I replaced you with these:

sneakers or tennis shoes: the eternal debate.

Which camp do you fall in?

next: I'm not really sure why I bought these, since platform flip-flops are unacceptable on anyone over 13, and questionable even then:

oh, well. at some point, we've all made regrettable shoes decisions.

right? RIGHT?

and look at how pretty these are:

in conclusion, I would like to say that I enjoy shoes.

a lot.

and also, I acknowledge that I spend an embarrassing amount of time talking about them.

and also, I'm glad it's Saturday and no one will check my blog.

...that is all.

i'm so tired of repeating myself/beating myself up

gonna take a trip and multiply.

some really boring pictures of my backyard

I am not a nature photographer. I'm just in favor of spring.

whiling away a snowy morning

Dear Universe,

I would really appreciate it if you would stop sending me irresistable Easter treats.



I cannot resist them.


I've probably eaten one meal that wasn't at least 50% chocolate in the last week.



and I'm getting too old for that.






























maybe some fresh produce instead?

thanks,
Liz

the zoo is exhausting

easter egg hunt

I was getting all set to clean my house this morning when I checked my messages and found out we were invited to a party.
In one hour.
I was torn.
wait. no. no, I really wasn't.

maudlin

some four months ago, Michael trudged out of his room after a rare nap, still sweaty and bleary-eyed from sleep. He made a straight line for my lap, crawled up onto it, twisting and turning, trying to curl himself into a comfortable position. And all of a sudden I looked at him, and he was all legs and arms and so long and gangly, it occurred to me that even his claims to toddlerhood were gone, gone, gone.

He's growing up.