by special request

Here are the highlights from our Saturday afternoon "Painting with Water" session.

I snorted out loud...

... 'cause y'all know I love me some funny! PUH-LEASE read this! (I have been following BooMama for awhile - she makes me laugh every single day!)

my book

So I am putting the little man to bed tonight (a whole 'nother story in itself!) and we go through the whole ritual:
pajamas. brush teeth. wash hands (don't ask - somehow it became part of the routine and the world will end if it is removed from the routine). give Daddy hugs and kisses. read the "moon book" (Goodnight, Moon). turn out lamp. get into bed.

however, tonight, I say to little man, "Are you going to throw your pacifiers down?" (a new lovely little trick he has to get us back in the room). he shakes his head no.
"Are you going to cry and yell?" (this kiddo is a master manipulator). he shakes his head no.

I tuck him in, leave and close the door, and the screaming/shreiking/yelling/completely snot-covered ordeal begins. following my American Academy of Pediatrics advice for crazy 2-yr olds, I give him 10 minutes.
the minute I open the door to go back in, he stops crying. oh yeah.
then he says to me. "mama, poo poo."
what?!?

and actually, he did. he really had pooped.(to his credit, however, he had not thrown the pacifiers on the floor! way to go, son!)
so, lamp on, change diaper, apply ointment, discuss "night night" again - no throwing objects, no yelling, etc.

tuck into bed, kiss, "I love you", leave, close door. he doesn't yell. great, right? I thought so.

until he started growling at me.

yes. growling. I told him he couldn't cry and yell, so instead my brilliant son decides he will growl at me. so I quickly opened the door again and said, "no growling either."
and honestly, that was that. he was asleep in 2 minutes.

we have had going-to-sleep drama for a month or so with the little man and I was stressed, reading articles, receiving lots of unsolicited advice from well-meaning co-workers, etc.
and to think that all I had to do was to tell him to stop.

I think I will write a book and make millions of $$ - the title will be "How to Get Your 2-yr-old to Quit Throwing Fits and Go to Sleep". the inside will have 5 words: "Tell him to stop it."

and you can all say you knew me back when... (and yes, I'll give you all an autographed copy of the book.)

sigh.

To the lady who constantly invades my personal space:

To the Lady who Constantly Invades My Personal Space:

Well, it was bound to happen. Eventually, someone would have to come talk to me at my desk at work and take things a little too far. And last week it happened.

Before we go on I will admit to having a larger "sphere of personal space" than most people. I am admittedly, not a big hugger, and I WILL take a step or two backwards if I get uncomfortable as we are speaking. But what I am to describe is unacceptable, regardless of how large one's "sphere" might be.

I realize I was wearing my headphones and didn't hear you walk up behind me. I understand that you wanted to lower your voice, as not to disturb other people. But when I finally DO hear you and turn my head to find your face 2 INCHES from mine, that is not right. And the kicker... you kept your face there as the conversation continued! I literally leaned forward to try and put some distance between us, but because I was seated, I was completely trapped. I honestly have no recollection of what we talked about because I could not get past the fact that your face was so close!

I thought, perhaps, it was an isolated incident. Maybe you were just caught in an awkward situation as well. But no. You did it again this week. What gives? Are we in a secret society for which I missed my membership card? Do i give off a hard-of-hearing vibe? Please let me know because incident #3 will definitely require a forceful response.

In the spirit of giving you the benefit of the doubt, I offer these suggestions:
1. use the ever-popular shoulder tap if I am initially unresponsive... joyfully distant from my face
2. just yell. I'd rather have you make a little noise when given the choice.
3. no onions for lunch. do I need to elaborate? I thought not.

Thank you for your time and hopefully we won't need to have this conversation again.
Sincerely,
Life of Preston

fun with Photoshop

this was my Christmas present and I am still learning, but I can't complain... I have pretty good subject matter!!


















and my personal favorite :)

a little more fun!!

If you have kid, or know a kid, you have to see this site!!!! This lady makes the CUTEST superhero capes for kids.

Little Window Shoppe is doing a giveaway here if you want to sign up! I did!! They always have something fun going on!

aprons and Starbucks, oh my!!

My fun friend, Leslie, over at Stethoscopes and Stilettos, is having a fun giveaway for a cute apron and Starbucks card... go check her out!!!

(and by the way, Leslie, I'm not sure if I am cool enough to follow you any more... I just had to check the spelling of "stilettos" and of course, had to change what I had typed! sigh.)