My Little Aviators

Being a mom photographer has it's benefits :) because I absolutely love taking pictures of my kids.
My dad and my mom had gotten my boys these bomber jackets a couple weeks ago, and I thought how great would it be to let them actually go see a plane? Of course, my ulterior motive was the photos. My grandfather, we called him Bumpa, was in the Air Force. He fought in Korea, and settled with his family in the Great Land. When I saw these jackets, I knew immediately what I wanted to do, create a small tribute to an amazing man. Of course it helped that my boys told me they both wanted to be pilots! So I called the airport and asked if it would be okay for me to come and take some pictures, and they said yes! Had to wait a week till they had time available, but it was soooo worth it! Thank you to the kind personnel at the Ames Municipal Airport for making this little dream come true for me and for my boys! 

The Park

Today I took the boys to the park while we waited to pick up Nick. It was a busy day, I picked up Tristan from school, and then we went to get the boys' haircut because they were looking shaggy. After haircuts, we went to the park on Duff and they got to play for a while. There was a pair of grandparents with their granddaughter and puppy dog. The grandpa let the boys hit tennis balls for the dog to fetch, and I got to chat with the grandma, who happened to be an emeritus professor from ISU in the English department. She taught middle school for years, and started a journalism program at one of the schools. It was great to chat with her :) Afterwards, I took the boys to Starbucks and got them spiced ciders and we went to get Nick, walked around campus while we waited for him. I think they had a nice time. They got to wear their bomber jackets my parents sent them, which they received many compliments on! It was a good day :)

Inked

So what's new in my life? Well, this past Sunday I got a new tattoo :) And it's AMAZING!!! I've always loved the look of henna, and thought it would make a great design, so I sent some ideas over to my tattoo artist and she came up with this :) Isn't it beautiful?? I didn't get to see it until I showed up for the tattoo, and we tweaked it a little, but it was just perfect! I was the only one in the shop too, lol, because there was a homecoming parade and most of the downtown area was blocked off. I had to park at a power plant a few blocks away. It took her two and a half hours, and the pain wasn't  bad, once I got into my zone. I think she did a splendid job, and I even got some compliments on it the next day at school. My favorite teacher said she loved it, so you know it's good haha! Nick couldn't stop looking at it and saying how beautiful it was, which made me feel all special since it was his gift to me.

being worked on

immediately after

close up detail

   

The Crown

I've had a bit of an eventful week. My mornings are full of classes, my afternoons with the kids, my evenings with homework, pictures and cleaning. I feel like I'm  going crazy sometimes with the amount of things I have to remember.

Dishes, laundry, clean the counters, wipe down the table, pick up the string so the cat doesn't eat it, Psych homework, English reading, education paper, linguistics exercises, client emails, photo editing, feed the dog, feed the cat, feed the kids, wipe the poop, shower, do my hair, pluck my eye brows....check the mail, rake the leaves (again and again), pick up Tristan, pick up Nick.

GAH!

On the bright side, I'm never bored. I just never have time to relax either. Which is why I am t trying to force myself to take a few minutes a day and just reflect on somethings. Like how I felt when I finished my grammar test, and saw the 91%. It was quite an achievement, because I've always done poorly on multiple choice  tests. I was so proud, I couldn't stop smiling all the way to the car. Or when I saw my 100% on my last four papers. And one of them was over 100%. Because I've been insecure about my writing abilities for so long, having my teachers recognize my efforts, and calling them good, really makes me feel happy. My education professor even went so far as to tell me "Well that's not evident in your papers, Sara". after I said I didn't think I was especially scholastically gifted. It's validating, and makes me feel like I've made a good decision in going back.

Wednesday, I went to Des Moines to have my crown put on. Yes, my bad teeth have gotten the better of me at last and I now have a crown. But after three weeks of a temporary, having the real one put in was amazing! It feels like a real tooth, and I'm so grateful for a kind and understanding dentist. I have super horrible anxiety about dental work, and I felt like a boss when we finished with the last two fillings last month. It's so funny, when I see the dentist, its not just a cleaning. Its a cleaning and then a few weeks of going back for more treatment......so they get to know me pretty well, and begin to understand why I might cry a little.....I burn through anesthetic super fast, so they have to stay on top of numbing me as we go, otherwise I feel things, and I've felt plenty of drillings and fillings, enough to cause me to hyperventilate as I walk in the door of the office. But I hide it well, and they always comment on how brave I am. But, its nice to be able to chew and brush my teeth again without worry about the temporary falling off :)

And whilst I was in Des Moines, I stopped at one of the only camera shops in the state to drop off some film. My mom and dad got me a twin sense Yashica for my birthday, live Vivian Maier, and I have been trying it out. This is my first time, so we'll get to see how they turned out this week. I'm hoping good because I want to use it to take pictures of the boys.

My parents sent the boys bomber jackets, and they are adorable! So I ordered them each an aviator hat with goggles to go with the jackets. And then I called the airport here in Ames to see if we could take a few pictures with a plane on the runway. They said yes! They boys are super excited, and so am I. I can't wait for my parents to see, because I think they will turn out amazing :)

But other than that, things are going well. Mis is speaking more clearly and might not need speech therapy anymore. Tristan is impressing me more and more each day with the things he's learning at school, from numbers, to letters, to "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit". He also showed me how to make a "b" by drawing a line and a "magic c".

At bedtime, Mis proudly displayed his snot encrusted finger at me, "I got his out of my nose!" "Gross!" I said, and wiped his finger on his pillow. He became distressed, and started searching his pillow immediately. "Uh! My booger!!"

Life is good :)

Being silly :)

autumn got here too fast!

riding his bike

snow boots and a garbage truck

digging a hole

my editing buddies

playing a "game"

fantastic hair

gummy feet from Nanny

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after bath faces

eww

Tristan's School

I had a senior session today. It was originally scheduled for yesterday, but the gloomy rain clouds forced us to reschedule. And then fall went away for a few hours and it was hot and muggy! While I worked, Nick took the boys on a walk around campus, down to campus town, and back. They had lunch in the Memorial Union, shopped at CVS, went perusing at the game store, and stalked me for the last half an hour of my session :)

Then we went up to Nick's lab class and poked around a dead cat cadaver. It was stinky and gross, but the boys thought it was pretty awesome. As a reward for their good behavior, we got McDonald's (terrible I know, and we spent an embarrassing amount of money on the food) which isn't something we do terribly often, so they were thrilled! The toy is always the best part, unless you are me, and then its the creamy goodness of a frappachino. We had some quick naps and then while the sun was still out, walked to Tristan's school to play on the playground for a bit.

I even climbed the tall tower to go down the slide. And I'd never admit it, but I was scared, lol. That playground is tall! Tristan likes to show us all the things he does, and I just have to remind myself that he does all of these things while I'm not around every day during recess. The night began with a spectacular sunset, and not a moment later the mosquitoes descend and we hightailed it home. Dinner was oatmeal....I felt like that was a good healthy option since lunch was so glutenous haha.

And before bed, I got super cute hugs and kisses. Tristan got his bed taken away because he was being the hulk and lifting it on its end with Mis hanging on...so he's sleeping on a mattress on the floor tonight. I think it might be time to move him out of the toddler bed and into a big boy bed. But they're good kids. Always sweet, always affectionate. Always full of energy and fun ideas.....and weird potty talk. But its probably the ages lol.

Gloomy

I sure love the smell of rain, and I used to like rainy days. Then I had kids. And when kids are stuck inside, they tend to go a little nuts. It gets even worse when I have homework to do, because they think that means be as loud and as crazy as you possibly can. Thankfully we got through it, and even got a few minutes out in the backyard before the mosquitos descended.

Dinner was shrimp (or as Mis says, Shrimp Fish) gumbo that took me two hours to make. Of course Tristan finished his, and Mis sat at the table for over an hour without eating more than two bites. That kid.... but then we did bath time, they got to play while I had a nice chat with Nana. And I admittedly ate 2 molasses cookies, and I'm thinking about sneaking another.

We read "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and "Dragon's Love Tacos" before saying goodnight, and now I get to relax because I finished my grammar homework. Its always a good feeling to not have anything to do immediately, and to just be able to breathe and watch a little "Modern Family".

Tristan is telling Mis right now "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit, how many times do I have to say it??" hahaha, I think he'll make a good daddy some day when his own kid is asking for a different sippy cup.

Hopefully tomorrow we get some sunshine so we can get out and enjoy the fall before the depressing Iowa winter sets in!

Sure loves to build :)

"look Mommy, I have boobs!"

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile since I felt the urge to blog about my life. I admit, I've been very preoccupied hating Mormonism, politics, chauvinism, racism....and a bunch of other isms. My Facebook went from just pictures of my kids and silly notes to being a politically charged melodrama. Yes, I'm passionate, and no I'm not afraid of sharing how I feel anymore. But I also realize that I've sort of lost the narrative of my life and my children's live in the process.

Hence the new blog :)

See, my other blog was littered with discontent for my past life, and so it's tainted. I just can't not write how much I hate religion  there. So I'll keep it for my rantings and ravings, until its not so painful to think about...

Here, I'd like to just retell our daily lives, as much as I am motivated to, so my kids can see what it was like for them to grow up. And I can remember all of the adorable details of their childhood. I was very good at it when Tristan was born, and then life just got complicated and busy. I love looking back at the things I had to say when he was first learning how to walk, his first taste of solid food, and those nasty peanut butter diapers. Their childhood is flying by, so I've made a goal to write something at least every other day. Even if it is just a note with a small phone picture attached.

Today, it was cold, but the boys wanted to ride their bikes after Tristan got home from school. So they geared up and rode back and forth in front of the house. Then we had a lovely walk around campus, I brought along the film camera my dad gave me for my birthday and took some non-people pictures. We'll see how they turned out :) But all in all, I had a good class this morning, a quiet afternoon with my kids, a pretty tasty chicken sandwich for dinner, and now I'm writing with a cup of cinnamon coffee and the dog sleeping at my feet. They boys are asleep, and its nice to have a few minutes to myself.

That's all I've got for today.

So welcome to the new blog, and here's to more stories!