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My guitar broke the other day. It was knocked over completely by accident, landed on the carpet and the neck (the long part behind the strings) just about snapped in half. I've had this guitar for a few years but it wasn't until the last two months that I started to find the time to seriously start learning to play. It has been the only thing I have been doing for me and only me and no one else. It has been challenging and fun and my mind is so happy to be doing something other than juggling laundry, cooking, and playing hide-and-seek. The guitar fell. It broke. My heart was crushed.

I left Greg to take care of the kids while I went in my room and cried. Part of me knew it was silly to be crying over a "thing" but any musician will tell you that their instrument is far more than just a "thing". It wasn't just the damage to the "thing", it was the loss of the instrument I use to feed my soul. I was sad.

The kids were a little concerned about me. They asked me over and over if I was sad. When I put Marcus to bed that night, he had some more questions and I was finally recovered enough that I could talk about it. Once again he asked me if I was sad that my guitar broke. I said that I was and he wanted to know why. "My guitar was my favorite toy. Now it is broken and I can't play with it anymore. Wouldn't you be sad if your favorite toy broke and you couldn't play with it anymore?" He's been a little bratty lately so I was not at all surprised that he smiled really big and told me that he would be happy. Time for me to teach that kid a little lesson.

"So if Bear," (Bear is his lovey), "got broken and you couldn't play with him again, you would be happy?" Marcus's cute face started to crumple and he shouted out that no, nothing can happen to Bear and if it did he would be very sad. I told him that that was how I felt about my guitar. I gave him a few reassuring words and told him to make sure he takes good care of Bear so he doesn't get broken.

Then Marcus tried to make me feel better. "Mommy, you have another guitar. You can play your other guitar."

"I am sure I will play my other guitar but it just isn't the same. You have another bear that is a really nice bear, but he just isn't the same as Bear, is he?"

I think he got it. Now I just have to try to figure out how to extend this lesson into taking care of all his toys, and not continuing to rip the wallpaper off the wall in his room, and stop destroying his artwork and throwing it in the trash.

There is a beacon of hope at the end of this story. Although my guitar will always have a scar, it does look like it will be able to be repaired at a reasonable cost.

I'm usually the one with the camera so I don't have too many pictures of me. Greg took this completely unglamorous photo of me in the summer of 2006. We took a mini vacation to Washington, DC and Annapolis, MD so we could spend some time together before becoming a family of three. I've been to DC several times but this was the first time I had seen the WWII Memorial. I probably shouldn't have put my feet in there but it was such a horribly hot day and my dogs were barking and... well... everyone else was doing it. Not a great picture but a great memory.

Next week's theme is Sunshine!


Let's see your picture! Post your Favorite Foto on your blog. Then use MckLinky to create a link so everyone here can view your photo. Just click on the next number available and fill in the form to create your link.
(I haven't used MckLlinky before so if you have any issues please comment in my blog and we'll work together to figure it out.)

Tomorrow (and hopefully every Friday) I am going to start a Favorite Foto Friday. Please check it out. I woke up this morning with this huge dread that it is going to be a total bust and no one will participate. And it is soooo easy.

A blog I used to read hosted Favorite Foto Fridays and then the blog went private. I participated sometimes, but most of the time I just really enjoyed finding a new blogs and seeing everyone's pictures. It is really easy. I'll post a theme each week for a photo, and you post a photo in your blog. There will be a place in my post where you can put a link to your blog so everyone can see your photo. It doesn't have to be fancy or professional looking. If you read my blog, you know all my photos are just whatever I happen to catch on my dinky camera with no editing or photoshop fixing up later. Or dazzle us with your photo skills. Stick to the theme or not. Check out the other people's posts but don't post your own. Just help a girl out and try it at least once!

Tomorrow's theme will be "You". So start thinking of a picture of you that you want to post. See you tomorrow!

Two projects completed this weekend! And don't forget to check my blog this Friday for the new feature I am starting!!

I was in the mood to purge and organize over the weekend and figured I better take advantage of that feeling. Most of our art supplies are hidden away in a cabinet, but the cabinet is in such a disastrous state I can't keep track of what art supplies are even in there. Even more concerning, we purchased a giant stack of construction paper at Sam's Club that won't fit in the cabinet. It has been hanging out in a messy pile (that becomes more of a mess each time we try to get a piece of paper out of the pile) on my bakers rack. I kicked my head into creative mode and came up with a solution.

While out running errands, I located a huge roll of craft paper for $2.50. Back home I survived our attic where I think we still have every single box that we used to move to find the perfect one. Then I tried to figure out just how my nerves were going to take two kids and a bunch of paint. Greg asked Will to run an errand with him and Marcus was begging me to do some artwork, so the project became something for just Marcus and me to tackle.

First step, pull out every single color of paint that we own. Second step, grab the stamps that were purchased for artwork purposes about two years ago but got lost in the artwork cabinet and were never used. Step three, start stamping.


Once the paint was dry, I got out a roll of clear packing tape and got to work. Marcus was rather excited with what we had created.


All our construction paper fits neatly inside. This particular box even had this little insert so I was able to create a second space inside that holds our coloring books!


This box looks way nicer sitting on my bakers rack than that ugly messy pile of paper.


Next project to finish off was the curtains for Will's room that I think I started back in November. Yes, that was November. I fell in love with this fabric and got to work. Then Christmas happened and I did a ton of knitting and got craftiness burnout. When I did work on the curtains, it was usually 10 minutes at a time while I was also trying to watch/entertain the kids. I made the decision that I was going to spend a wild Saturday night staying up as late as I needed to in order to finish the project. I put some good music on my ear phones, and 45 minutes later, the curtains were finally done. Or done for now.


This was the biggest project that I have sewn. Not all that technical, but just big. Juggling all that fabric ended up being a little more challenging than I expected, particularly since I didn't have a nice large place to lay everything out. The result is that one curtain is about an inch longer than the other. A noticeable inch. But for now they are done. It will probably take me another 4 months to get that long curtain hemmed up. I used a navy blue fabric on the back side of the curtains which is a nice complimentary color (but probably would choose differently if I were to do this project again, which I am not). I wanted something dark on the back side to keep the room dark during nap or those summer evenings when the sun stays up late.

Finally got a couple other things on Will's bedroom walls as well. Although now I am thinking he also needs some sort of hockey decoration.

Nope, not a post about how Sydney Crosby won the gold medal for Canada. This is a post about Will. My cute little full contact sports fan Will.

While checking the calendar at the place when Marcus plays soccer, I noticed that right after his last practice, the Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled to be having practice on the rink. Had to take the kids to check it out!

Will has watched some hockey on TV and upon seeing pictures of people playing hockey, he definitely knows what sport it is. I figured he would enjoy it. At first, I wasn't quite sure what he was thinking. When we went in, there were only a couple guys on the ice and they were skating around, taking shots on empty goals, and causing quite a lot of noise with all those pucks bouncing off the boards and glass. The way Will sat wide-eyed and motionless, I thought he was a bit shocked and scared. It didn't help that he kept telling me over and over again, "I don't want to do that." I kept assuring him over and over again that we weren't doing that, just there to watch. Very little will keep Will still for longer than two minutes, but as hockey practice progressed, Will kept his focus.

Eventually he moved from the steps into a seat and was joined by Marcus and another friend Finn.

All three boys watched the action for a few minutes. Then Marcus and Finn were off running around and playing and Will, he stayed put.

Eventually he moved down to the glass so he could get an upfront and personal look.

Will suffers from selective hearing, but during hockey practice, his focus was so intense that there was no getting through to him. Marcus and Finn tried several times to get him to join in their play, but Will was having none of it. It was hockey time and nothing else. Finn left. Marcus was bored. It was nearly lunch time and we were all getting hungry. Marcus became such a pill, full of whining and complaining and was just being downright annoying. Normally that would have been my indication it was time to get out of there, and quick.

But how do you tear your kid away from something he is so clearly enjoying so much? We stayed a short while longer until at last I announced that we really did need to go. Will crawled into my lap and just cried. It wasn't a temper tantrum, just complete devastation. His little heart was breaking for the love of the game.

I had also noticed on the calendar that the Pens were scheduled to practice again the following day. I told Will that we would talk to Daddy and maybe he and Daddy could come back the next day to watch more. All he talked about all day long was how he was going to go watch hockey again. Sadly, I called the next day and the hockey practice had been canceled.

We asked Will several times if he wants to play hockey now. He kept saying that he is too little. We told him he could play hockey with kids his own size and as that slowly has sunk in, he has decided that is a pretty good idea. Today we were playing pretend and Will wanted to pretend to skate and play hockey. Guess we have to get the kid on ice skates some time.

Yes, I know I have had a very Marcus-centric blog lately. Next post is about Will. I promise.

After my brother, otherwise known as Uncle Willie, posted this gem of himself taken about 20 years ago on his facebook page,

Marcus was more thrilled than ever to hit the soccer field... and be just like Uncle Willie. I figured I would try to take advantage of Marcus's enthusiasm for the photo, to try to get a "formal" picture of Marcus at soccer. Poor lighting and a kid who has the nasty attitude of a 3.5 year old, didn't lead to much success, but still have a couple pictures to hold on to. Maybe in 20 years I can laugh at Marcus's haircut as much as I was laughing at my brother's haircut in his photo.



Stay tuned. I am going to attempt to start my first ever weekly feature on my blog starting this Friday!!

I'm rather addicted to Man vs. Wild and have my DVR set up to catch all the episodes. (Man vs. Wild is a reality-type show about surviving in remote places.) I typically don't watch this show when the kids are around. However, I noticed that one of the episodes my DVR picked up took place in Guatemala. I told the kids we were going to watch a guy in Guatemala and flipped on the tele to witness the star of the show climbing through the jungle toward rescue and searching for food. He found a rather large beetle and Marcus, Will, and I all cringed when he ate it whole and wiggling. Suddenly I had visions of my own kids eating bugs (as soon as all this snow melts and the bugs come out of hibernation) because we all know how easily kids are influenced by things they see on TV. I quickly informed them that we don't eat bugs. People only eat bugs when they don't have any other good food to eat, like we have.

I wasn't even sure the kids were paying attention to me. Silly me for forgetting that Marcus never misses a thing. Two days later we were headed into preschool and, as happens every single day, Marcus and Will asked me about the area set up for people to drop off food for the needy. Like I do every single time, I explained that that is a place that we can bring our food to share with people that don't have good food to eat, and how sad it is that some people aren't as fortunate as we are. It took me a minute to figure out where in the world Marcus came up with this, but he shouted out, "Those people have to eat bugs!" So there you have it. We give food to the needy so they don't have to eat bugs.

Marcus is still totally loving soccer. Each week as soon as we get there, he tears off his coat, waves good-bye, and is off running faster and kicking better than the week before. He recently got a pair of indoor soccer shoes and some special soccer socks and the boy looks like a professional. If only he would stop running quite so fast so I could get a picture of him.


All that snow that we had was calling to me. I had to break out the old skis, get back to my younger days, and do some skiing. Who needs a mountain when you have a driveway?

A couple runs down the driveway followed by a hike back up to the top made me realize that I might not need a mountain, but I really would prefer to have a ski lift.

It had been four years since Greg and I have gone skiing and we were due. We called in some child care and headed off to Hidden Valley to enjoy some of the best skiing conditions Western PA has seen in years. I really miss being able to hit the slopes on a weekly basis, but until it becomes a poor man's sport, I think it will remain a luxury we enjoy on those special rare occasions. I am hoping our next ski trip will be a whole family affair.

It is definitely true what "they" say. Three is the new two. Three is way worse than two. I learned about the idea on Ask Moxie about children having a balanced period followed by an unbalanced period. (Not sure who's idea this was originally.) The balanced period generally occurs for the first 6 months of an age, followed by 6 months of being unbalanced. (So that from say, age 3-3.5 a child will be going through their balanced period and then be unbalanced from 3.5-4.) Both of my kids seem to go through some major unbalancing a few months before their birthday. Which means, right about now, Marcus is completely out of whack.

I try not to say anything negative about my kids on this here blog. Let's face it though, there is a lot of stuff that goes on in the raising of children that isn't all puppies and rainbows. This phase is hard. This phase sucks. And this phase will be over soon enough. In fact, as bad as the last two weeks have been, I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Not even sure how much of this behavior has been this "unbalanced" phase and how much has just been our current situation. We have snow. A lot of it. (Which is starting to melt at last.) That leads to lots of time inside. No school. Spending 24/7 with each other. Lots of boredom from everyone involved. Lack of patience and energy from pretty much everyone in the house. And a three year old who is driving us all nuts.

Marcus is typically an easy kid. He is always doing his best to make sure everyone is happy and can even be qualified as overly obedient. Not counting these last couple weeks. He has been whining more than I have ever heard a kid whine in my life. There is sass. He could win a gold medal in sibling rivalry. There is defiance. There is pouting and temper tantrums. Making it more frustrating is that I know he has the verbal skills to express his needs/wants but often times just resorts to behavior that I would expect from an 18 month old. He is testing his limits.

Thankfully I recognized all this pretty quick and tightened those limits right up. It has been a bit of a struggle of wills, but slowly we are coming out on the other side of it all. Still having some issues of some serious attitude and downright grumpiness, but things aren't nearly as bad as they have been.

So it sucks sometimes. Sometimes I feel like the good times are so limited and I never know what I might say or do (or not say or not do) that will quickly tip those good times into the bad. Any day that Marcus happens to take a nap now, he wakes up crying that he wants his mommy and all I can do is sit and rock him in my lap until whatever unknown thing that has set him off has passed. And sometimes, sitting there with my great big boy curled up in my lap while I rock him makes all the tough times during this phase not matter one bit.

I finally got around to getting the kids' pictures with their birthmoms scanned. During the adoption process when our boys were still in Guatemala, a DNA test had to be completed to make sure that the woman that was placing the child for adoption was indeed the child's birthmom. At the time the test is done, the birthmom typically hasn't seen her child for months and likely won't ever see her child again. Talk about an emotional experience! One of the steps of the DNA test is to have a photo taken of the birthmom holding her child. The Polaroid is the only photo we have our children's birthmoms.

Now I have digital copies of the photos as well. I printed off a photo of each of my boys and their birthmoms and put them in frames. I finally got around to getting this completed the other day just before "rest time". Will was in bed already but Marcus spotted the picture frames on the counter and wanted to know what they were. I showed him the picture of him and his birthmom. He instantly recognized "Baby Marcus" and I told him about his birthmom, how he grew in her belly and she wasn't able to take care of any children so Mommy and Daddy adopted him. We bring up adoption frequently but it was the first time he asked questions back. He wanted to know where his birthmom was and if he had a birthdad too. The most exciting part was that the questions he asked were all ones that I could easily answer. I left Marcus in his room with his picture of his birthmom for "rest time".

A bit later I went into his room because Marcus was being a bit loud. He was just sitting on his floor studying the photo. When "rest time" was over I went in to check on him. Marcus had fallen asleep in his bed with his birthmom photo.

When Will got up I gave him his picture of his birthmom and explained who it was. Will found a special spot in his room to keep his picture so he could look at his photo whenever he wanted to.

Greg read the kids an adoption related story before bed. The character in the book said he had a birthmom and a birthdad as well as a forever mommy and a forever daddy. Marcus shouted out, "Like I do!"