PS...I love you

Among the many things that our children inherited from us, one is a strong tendency towards repetition. I don't think Damon would disagree that any OCD in the kids can be directly traced back to him. And while most are harmless, like the way Kestian must touch the sides/front/back of his pants in certain order a certain amount of times, for no other reason than it makes him feel better (classic OCD, as he does it to relieve some anxiety), or is always brushing the hair out of his eyes even though his hair is about 1 inch long and doesn't even come down his forehead, sometimes the kids display it in other ways. And I do think that Adelaide deals with it more than Kestian. She's had trouble with sticking her finger nails into the palms of her hands to the extent that it leaves sores, or pushing down the cuticles on her fingers and thumbs until they are cut up and her nails are dented. But more recently she's had trouble with, for a lack of better words, lip licking. She will lick her lips so much, and all around them, that she's left with a red, chapped mouth.

We work with her on these things because with her, like Damon, she can control it with a bit of awareness and practice. And she has been successful: she doesn't gouge her palms or dent her nails anymore. But these things creep back in from time to time, and she still hasn't mastered control of her lip-licking.

Unfortunately, she was dealing with this recently when it came time for pictures at school. Not her school pictures from the fall, but another round from a private photographer, much like the one who comes to the daycare twice a year for a photog session.

Getting her ready that morning, I knew the pics would not come back that great. And, well, here they are:


They aren't horrible, and obviously she is still ridiculously cute. But the red, chapped mouth is not something that we may want to remember forever.

Enter: Photoshop.

Now, I will be the first one to admit that even though I am comfortable with a lot of different technologies, Photoshop has been my Achille's heal. I can do so many things with so many programs, but I find it very counter-intuitive to use Photoshop. So I struggle with it. But this time I wanted to see if I could indeed take Adelaide's pictures and clean them up.

Here's what I came up with...


Not too bad, eh? I even fixed her shoes and the hole/stain on her pants.

Now Kestian got his pics back, but they were fine enough without any touching-up, so I left them as is:




Now that I am clearly an expert in PS, I thought it would be fun to play with some of the filters...

Road trip (them - not us)

This weekend brought us many fun filled activities, namely the Johnson family visit. Damon's friend for like forevar rode into town in nothing less than 85 foot* RV. He and his family thought it would be fun to rent one and drive through the hills of Western Maryland and West Virginia just to try it out. Chris' comment upon arrival: "White-knuckle driving...for 10 hours." (I know. We all define "fun" a little differently sometimes.)

So of course, after a day of driving the monster-behemoth-mobile, we thought it only fitting to go driving in the monster-behemoth-mobile - only now there were 9 of us (although 1 sat out). Surprisingly - or not - it was quite roomy for 8 people. It was like a party in, well, an RV, and we were all invited. I didn't drive it, but was just as nervous anyway. Since Lexington is technically a city, but its roads haven't quite gotten the memo, we chose the most obvious place to drive to in a such a land-whale on a 44-degree Saturday afternoon: Culvers!

It was so wide I couldn't even get the whole windshield in the picture...

(It was equipped with a camera system to see out the back and sides, but strangely no GPS. Yes, an RV without a GPS...'cause like you're only going to drive it to Walmart and back...)

The kids happily sat in the breakfast nook...
While Fenton prayed for dear life...

Soon we were all happily feasting on burgers and custard!

Aside from the RV excitement, we managed to just enjoy the time together (after the major head-bump-bloody-nose episode 3.67 minutes into the visit...)

Feeding the fish in the pond...

"Watching" the "Italian cooking show"

Eating purple hippos...

Practicing ukuleles...

Reading stories...

Not shown here is Adelaide kicking my ass at Go Fish, stuffing our faces with pizza, and other things I feel I don't look good in in photographic form.

The visit was awesome and we only hope to visit more with the Johnson's if/when we ever move as we will be soooo close then.

---

*Probably not 85 feet, but who's to judge?

Totem Animals

My totem animal has always been, naturally, the brown bear.

Not that I’ve had any sort of affinity with it, but I’m going by my last name, what with the ors- root meaning bear and the only bear in Italy (let alone Europe) is the brown bear. Since it is my totem, it is also my kids’ totem, but let’s have some fun with this and give them a secondary one based on their names!

Instead of getting an animal that is derived from the meaning of their names (which isn’t going to work since one name is made up, one name describes a type of person, and one is about a town in a swamp), let’s go by similar sounding animals. Eldest is easiest, since I sometimes pretend that is what his name is derived from (it is not) and the others seem just natural to me.

Kestian’s totem is the kestrel.

This seemed natural based on similar beginning (what else starts with kest- in English?), and is pretty awesome to have a falcon (along with a bear!) as your totem animal. Granted, kestrels are small and often eat bugs, but they are nicely colored (with some blue, at least in the American one) with a cool ‘death mask’ look. Also, when Kestian found out that there was a falcon called a kestrel he thought it was neat that it was so similar to his name.

Adelaide’s totem is the Adelie penguin.

Oh, she’d like this a lot I’m sure, especially since she just loved to see them in my animal book when she heard the name (odd how kids feel an attachment to things based on similar names). It also fits her well since it is cute and all but not too cutesy. While they do look cute and clumsy on land, penguins are sleek and graceful in the water, so they are both cute and bad ass.

Fenton’s totem is the fennec.

Oh yeah, that'll work.

Just another Tuesday night for us

All the kids talk about these days (now that their birthday has passed) is Kid's Night at Fazoli's. It's nothing new for us really. Over the years, we have often headed over there on a Tuesday night for bread sticks and pizza and pasta. The food is decent, the break is welcome, the kids have fun.

But lately we've been going there almost every Tuesday, and the kids have been enjoying it even more. Sometime around Sunday evening the kids will start talking about "Tuesday is Kid's Night at Fazoli's" in an air of excitement. And we don't mind going since the kids meals are $1, no one has to cook, and they get to do a craft.

But lately, let me tell you, everyone and their brother has been going - at least to the one near us. I mean by the time we get there (around 6) we are lucky to get a table. The last two times someone has taken pity on me as I juggle Fenton, a diaper bag, and my purse, and offered up a table. Is that bad to use my baby to get a table? I sure as heck don't mind if I do.

So here is a brief photo essay of our most recent Fazoli's night.

Pick up the Fenner

Pick up A & K

We're here!

The craft this night was to create a portrait
(or color whatever you like!)

Packed!

Hmmm...what will he draw?

Always time for a smile!

Wherez mah fuud!

They've changed their service lately, and now they bring your food to your table!

Before
(They've also changed from disposable dinnerware to washable plates, bowls, and silverware. This makes the eco-friendly side of me VERY happy!)

After

The final art

The other side

Until next Tuesday...

Why not? It's Spring!

I took these pictures of the kids one fine day recently when we could actually be outside. I have no idea why Kestian and Adelaide posed like this. They weren't playing "planes" or spinning or anything. Just random arms-up-and-turn pose. I have strange kids.*



Fenton, on the other hand, just likes to walk with his arms up for balance. If this were Halloween, I'd dress him up as Frankenstein's monster....


*Knowing my kids, it's not at all strange.

Where were we | ew erew erehW

With all that's come up and gone on recently, and with my not knowing if I am coming or going, I need to remember to write about all that comes and goes. Consider this a summary, an update, a let's-get-back-on-track post:

Fenton

• Walks like a pro, and roams the house like a lion surveying his territory (and is drawn to the stairs like a fly to honey)
  
• Loves Cheerios, graham crackers, biscuits, and apparently tacos
  
• Did not like shoes the first time I put them on, but does OK with them now
• Has a strange affinity for any pillow he finds and the kids' foam couches
• Has an even stranger affinity for paper, and must eat any that he finds
• Gets excited when he realizes it's bath time
• Loves to crawl away during the middle of a diaper change
• Has a personal goal (and high success rate) of finding any remote, phone, printer, camera, or other technical device within a 500 foot radius
  

Adelaide

• Is a pretty good beginner reader, but better when she doesn't try to be perfect
  
• Is guilty of loving her baby brother probably a little too much
• Can be the best helper when she wants to be
  
• Weighed in at 40.8 lbs and measured 44.5 inches at her last doctor's visit (she grew about 3 inches last year, for the third year in a row, and now technically weighs enough to be in a booster seat)
• Still sleeps with her arms stretched above her head
• Likes to decorate her desk with glittery hearts
• Is already excited for her next birthday
• Wears the silliest combination of clothes, and looks good in them every time

Kestian

• Understands more about math than most people realize (even himself) (he recently told us "Anytime you add 9, it's just 1 less than that number plus 10")
  
• Treats his stuffed animals like living creatures
• Just lost another tooth!
• Is more open to trying new foods these days, but still takes forever to eat corn
• Weighed in at 42.8 lbs and measured 45 inches at his last doctor's visit (also continuing to grow at about 3 inches a year!)
• Never complains when Fenton pulls his hair or scratches his face
• Likes to take a dozen sheets of paper and connect them altogether and draw a huge long picture
• Has worn a hole in the left knee of every pair of pants he has owned

Meanwhile:

• The playroom has been repainted
• Nick-knacks, pictures, and clutter (aka "stuff we use every day") have been packed
  
• Possums continue to be caught (waiting for #4, but found - and sealed off - another entry point that was missed, so should be the last one)
• Budget has been updated
  
• Taxes are done
• Computers have been backed up
  
• Items are tagged for the upcoming consignment sale
• Jobs have been applied to
• Real estate agent has been selected

You'd think after all that there'd be nothing left to do. Hahahahhahaaahhhhaaaa. Seriously. Stop. My sides hurt.