We Went Wii Wii Wii

Blake's parents got him a Wii for Christmas this year, and it's one of the funnest gifts ever. I got Karaoke Revolution to go along with it, and we sang and sang and sang. Not necessarily well, but we sang our hearts out. The alcohol really helped our ability to sing. I swear.

I also got Wii Fit Plus, and I'm working on my hula hooping and stepping skills. I am finding that my balance, coordination, and rhythm are not good. Pathetic really.

Cooper got a bike, a blue tractor with a loader and a wagon, and a crocodile pillow.

Evan got a kitchen, a kitty (fake, not real - Cooper's allergic), and cute clothes.

Blake got a Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol (and I'm the greatest wife ever - and he can't hold the camera purchase over my head anymore).

Santa was good to us this year.

Funny Glasses

I loved this picture of Evan the minute I took it. Something about the joy you can see on her face, and her eyes can't even be seen.

But, before I could really share this pic, I had to clean it up a bit. That's where Elements comes in...

You see, Evan was just a tad bit dirty when this picture was taken. That just won't do. So, I used the spot healing brush and cleaned her up a bit. Then I added a vintage photo effect to the photo and feathered-in a black layer. Ta da!

I like this version much better.

Granny and the Candy

We were at Van and Cheryl's last night, and Emma decided she wanted to remove her red nail polish. She used a cotton ball and left it on the bathroom sink. If you've ever seen a cotton ball after you have used it to remove finger nail polish, you know it takes on the color of the polish. Cooper didn't know this.

Cheryl went in and used the bathroom. She saw the red cotton ball and threw it in the toilet. Before she could flush the toilet, Cooper walked in. He wandered over to the toilet and looked in (like all three year old boys do) and made an observation. "Granny," he said, "You pooped a candy!"

I thought Granny really would poop a candy as hard as she was laughing.

Layers

I bought Photoshop Elements 6 for Blake a couple of years ago as a father's day present. He was always messing with landscape and wildlife pictures he had taken in our Kodak software, and I wanted to upgrade for him. I don't think he's used Elements except maybe once.

I have been afraid of it. It's pretty complicated and I wasn't sure how to use it. I could do graphics on it (I made the header of the blog with it), but I was scared to use it when in it came to pictures.

Then I found The Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwoman.com/. She's a woman who was from the city, met a cowboy, got married and had lots of babies, and now they all live happily ever after on a ranch in Oklahoma. She cooks and homeschools and takes lots and lots of pictures. She has these contributors on her website, and they have all these tutorials about using Photoshop. I am learning to adapt some of their instructions for Elements since I don't have the full blown version of Photoshop. I am learning slowly but surely.

I made Cooper and Evan's birthday invites with Elements. This year's Christmas card was made in Elements after I figured out how to fade black around the photos.

And now, I am learning more about layers. Here's what I did to a pic of Cooper this morning. It started out as an average shot of Cooper with his face painted...

And then I added a layer, made it black and white, then used the eraser tool to erase the color in Cooper's eyes and on the snake...

Cool, right? I know, it's nothing you haven't seen before by someone else. But, I did it. After having the program for two years. It is an accomplishment, I promise.

Potty All The Time

You've heard the song that goes, "She likes to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time," right? I think Eddie Murphy sang it.

Well, that tune plays in my head each time Evan goes in to the bathroom and grabs her Sesame Street potty seat and says, "Eee". (She goes in to the bathroom and grabs her Sesame Street potty seat A LOT.) Except, the song goes, "She likes to potty all the time, potty all the time, potty all the time."

She seems so very happy on the potty.

Go figure.

Christmas Card 09

I have never ever never sent out Christmas cards. I never had the time. I never had the energy. I never really cared. Insert another excuse here.

But now I have two little darlings that I like to show off each and every time I have the opportunity, so for the first time ever, Boxley family Christmas cards were mailed.

Option 1 was good...

But Option 2 (I like to call it "Naughty and Nice") was the winning version...

I'm hoping next year they'll cooperate and I can get a picture of them together. But, I won't hold my breath.

I'll Just Say Coyote

Cooper can't say his f's. We're working on them, and starting tomorrow, the speech language pathologist at the school is going to officially start working on them. (And his k's, g's, l's, etc.)

His f's sound like t's. Frog is trog. Fire is tire. Fart is tart. You get the idea.

The other day, he swore he saw a fox. In his words, a tox. Blake and I were both telling him, "Bite your bottom lip and blow air out and you'll make the f sound".

He tried and he tried. He kept trying, but wasn't successful. Finally, he said, "I can't say tox. I'll just say 'coyote'."

Whatever.

When Two Is Better Than One

Monkey See Monkey Do

Cooper pushes a chair over to the counter, Evan pushes a chair over to the counter.

Cooper pulls the cushions off the couch, Evan pulls the cushions off the couch.

Cooper acts like he's a dinosaur, Evan acts like she's a dinosaur.

Cooper eats a cookie, Evan eats a cookie.

You get the idea.

Super Cooper

All he needs is a cape.

Cooper! UNLOCK THE DOOR!

Why does Cooper get so much pleasure from rushing to the car, getting in, then locking the doors? Tonight at the babysitter's, he beat me to the car and locked me and Evan out. We stood out in the cold, helpless, as he tried to unlock the door. He spilled my glass of tea in the process, and there were little wet and muddy footprints everywhere when we finally got inside. Good times.

We're Going to Hell

On Saturday, I held a baby shower for my bestie Kristy, who is pregnant with TWINS!

As things were winding down, gifts being loaded, dishes being done, I lost track of Cooper. I panicked. With so many people going in and out of the church, I thought he had slipped out. Then I heard the laughing. Cooper had apparently gone to the bathroom by himself (yay!), but he came out wearing only his sweater and socks (boo!). I went to grab him and said, "Jesus Christ" in total exasperation. Then I remembered where we were. Cooper also called another little boy there "a little shit" while they were playing.

These are not necessarily good things to do if you are in a church - show your privates, take the Lord's name in vain, and direct profanity at another person. Yep, we're going to hell.

This Little Girl is Growing Up

It started a couple of weeks ago.  Blake decided he was going to put Evan on the potty one morning.  She was 15 months old and I thought he was crazy.  But, he sat her on the potty and lo and behold, she pottied like a big girl.  She has gone pee on the potty every morning for about two weeks now and even tells us sometimes when she needs to go number one or number two.   

We've had an issue with her not sitting in her high chair for supper - she's constantly trying to get out.  She has been getting out then climbing up on Cooper's chair and eating what he didn't eat.  Tonight, I got her out of her high chair and stood her up in the chair next to mine.  She was happy as a lark.  It seems she just wanted to sit with us at the table. 

She amazes me.  She's so tiny (in the 25th percentile for her age for height and weight), but she's mighty.

Halloween 2009

Cooper was a T-Rex.  Evan was a bee.  Cute, right?  Too bad neither one of them wanted to cooperate with me so I could get a good pic of the two of them together. 

Country Roads

I took these pics last weekend on a Sunday drive.  I love country roads in the fall.

New Pictures

It's time to share some new(er) pictures of Cooper and Evan...

Evan is so beautiful, even covered in food!  I'm her mother, but I'm not biased or anything.  ;)

She was enjoying a beautiful fall evening, probably the last one of the year.  Boo.

Cooper was enjoying the same fall evening, but he was totally ticked that I interupted his game of football for a picture!

This pic totally cracks me up!  Cute, right?

H1N1 Vaccine

I thought I was going to have an emotional breakdown today trying to decide if I should get the H1N1 vaccine for Evan and Cooper.  After talking it over with Blake and the pediatrician, they got the first of two doses of the injection. 

I have been hearing about children dying from the H1N1 flu (please don't call it swine flu!), and it is devastating.  I didn't want to be a mother who loses their child to the flu and could have gotten the vaccine.

No Apology

About 8 years ago, I lost a friend.  Nobody died.  We broke up.  I was so hurt and upset, I wasn't sure I would survive.  I expected her to call and apologize.  Eight years later, she hasn't.

It continues to haunt me for a few reasons:

1. Didn't she care about me?
2. If she did, why did she do that?
3. If she didn't care about me, why couldn't I see that?
4. Why doesn't she just say she's sorry?
5. Is she sorry?
6. Why do I waste my time worrying about it when it is painfully obvious that she doesn't?

This past weekend, I saw her for the first time since our friendship ended.  There was no tearful, come to Jesus moment.  We were among mutual friends who seem to have sided with her - they have continued to be friends with her, and I'm the one who got left out.  Which leads to more questions about our mutual friends (see six above).

I tried to be a good person - I hugged her when she got there.  Then we tried to avoid each other the rest of the night.  It was incredibly uncomfortable. 

And here I sit, still baffled by the whole thing.  No apology.  No friend. 

No Ebay Addiction

Someone literally swooped in at the last minute and put in a better bid on the item I wanted.  I am so not addicted to Ebay.

Fall is Here

Van and Cheryl raised so many pumpkins this year that when they were picked this morning, there was literally a truckload.  Coop and Evan were perched on top of some of the biggest pumpkins you have ever seen!  Many of them were still green, but since the growing season ended last night due to temps well below normal, it was time for them to be picked.

This kind of weather means that Halloween is quickly approaching.  Evan will be a bee this year.  When we asked Cooper what he wanted to be, he said he wanted to be a dinosaur.  Duh, mom and dad.  Nearly every day, he asks to wear his costume.  When we got the camera out to take a picture, he wanted to be sure we got a picture of the tail.  I am a little disturbed that on this very boyish dinosaur costume is a tag which says "Princess Creations".  Things that make you go hmmm.

Ebay Addiction

I think I may have an addiction to Ebay.  Not sure yet.  We'll see if I win the item I am bidding on...

Milt

One of Cooper's favorite words?  Milt.  Yep, milt, not milk.  And it seems it's an issue.  He goes to speech for the first time on Tuesday.  He has a big vocabulary (including about a million curse words) but he's not always easy to understand.  I hope to get this corrected quickly and before it becomes a bigger issue.

Baby Shows Suck

I hate baby shows.  The judges wouldn't know cute if it bit them on the ass.

Poor, Poor, Pitiful Blog

Dear Blog,

I am so sorry I have been neglecting you. But, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with you, what with all the other things I need/have to do:

• Tonight - clean house, do laundry
• Thursday - Weight Watchers meeting, more laundry
• Friday - make hair bows and tutus for I Heart Tutus (cute, right? a topic for a future blog...), do yet more laundry
• Saturday - Calamity Jane Days festival (if Evan doesn't win the baby show, you'll know the judges by their black eyes)
• Sunday - go to KC for hair bow and tutu supplies, do laundry
• Monday - organize pics on my new external hard drive, put the last of the pics in photo album, do laundry
• Tuesday - order pics, organize more pics on the ext. hard drive, do some more laundry
• Wednesday - well, you get the idea

It's not that I don't love you anymore - I do. It's not you, it's me. I'll work harder in the future to make you a priority. Promise.
Love,
Holly

Vegas Vacation

I'd love to tell you all about our Vegas vacation. But you know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

When We Get Back...

Back in 2007, Blake and I took a trip to Norman, OK to see the OU vs. MU game. (Boomer Sooner! Anyway...) Cooper was about 16 months old at the time, and he stayed with Van and Cheryl. We didn't have a will, so I typed up what should happen with Coop if something happened to us while we were gone, Blake and I signed it, and I gave it to Cheryl before we left. I remember telling Blake at the time that we really needed to make a will. Well, here we are two years later, we're going to Vegas next week, the kids are staying with Van and Cheryl, and I found myself going through the same exercise today - I typed up what should happen with Coop and Evan if something happens to us, we signed it, and I gave it to Cheryl - because we still don't have a will. God willing, and with a little luck, what happens with the kids if something happens to us will never be anything anyone has to worry about. But, I want to be prepared. When we get back from Vegas, Blake and I are going to contact a lawyer and make a will.

God Bless Single Mothers

Blake was gone two nights last week for work, so I had the kids by myself. It was a challenge, to say the least. Blake and I are to blame. I am sure if we didn't each sleep with a kid, it wouldn't have been that big of a struggle. But since we both rock a kid to sleep and we sleep with them, when one parent is gone, holy hell breaks loose. I was feeling sorry for my struggles when I got an email from a friend who has 6 month old twins. She wrote in her email that she was worn out - her husband had been gone for 5 weeks for work. But she had successfully handled two babies for 5 weeks on her own. Thanks for the reality check. Got me to thinking that I am so glad I have a partner. Someone to tag team with. Someone to, well, just help.

Damn

I have created a damn monster. Well, actually, I don't think I am the only one that's responsible. I think Blake and Granddad had something to do with it.

Cooper's new favorite word is "damn". Recently, he told the babysitter to "shut the damn gate". The other day, he asked me, "Where's the damn squirrel?" He also told me to "catch that damn rabbit" for him. Apparently, "damn" is the best adjective in the whole of the English language.

The only consolation is that he is using it properly in sentences.

Garden Variety

We put up 125 quarts of sweet corn and 8 quarts of salsa on Saturday. Last weekend, we put up 7 quarts of salsa. I am really enjoying the garden (actually, my in-laws' garden and my parent's garden), but I am gonna weigh four hundred pounds by the end of summer.

"Thank You Mommy"

On Sunday, I took Cooper to see a movie in the theater for the first time. Ice Age 3. He did really well. There was only one time I thought I was in trouble - the dinosaurs scared him a bit and he crouched down on the floor. The floor of the movie theater is evidently one of the coolest places on earth to a 3 year old, and I had a heck of a time getting him back in his seat.

After the movie, as we were walking back to the car, I told him that I was so glad we were having a date - just me and him. He looked at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and said, "Thank you for taking me to the movie Mommy." Completely on his own. No prompting. Big smile on his face when he said it. Made me cry.

I felt so warm and fuzzy from this exchange that I took him to Wal-Mart and bought him some fish and a fish bowl. On Monday, the fish were dead. Hmmm.

You Belong With Me

Cooper's favorite song is "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. I have the video DVR'd, and we turn it up really loud on the surround sound and dance around and sing as loud as we can. Tonight, we had it blaring. Cooper was singing along (he's pretty good). I was holding Evan on my hip and I had Cooper's hands in mine while we all danced. I couldn't help but think that the song is was so meaningful and true - Coop and Evan, you belong with me.

Something Funny

Wanna hear something funny? My friend Jenni told me about how she went on our blog and saw the cowboy boot picture. Under it, Google Ads had an advertisement for gaycowboycentral.com. Not exactly what I had in mind when I posted that pic. Who places the ads for Google anyway? Is he a gay cowboy?

Vacation 2009 - Colorado

When I win the lottery, I'm moving to Steamboat Springs, CO. Beautiful, but you obviously have to have a million dollars to live there. Where do those people get all that money? We saw houses listed for 2, 3, and 4 million! Wow. Those folks obviously don't work in human resources or the environmental field like me and Blake.

From Steamboat Springs, we made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Also beautiful, but not as pretty as Glacier National Park that we visited a few years ago. We did get some great pictures, including some elk at the very top.

We ended up coming home a day early from our vacation... 2200 miles is a lot of time in the car for a 1 and 3 year old. Coop and Evan did really well, but they had had enough!

Next year, I'm thinking San Antonio!

Vacation 2009 - Cheyenne Frontier Days

I'm gonna buy a horse and some hot rollers, and throw on my cowboy boots. Then, I'm headed out west to Cheyenne to live there. I LOVED Cheyenne. Beautiful town. Nice people. Wide open spaces.

We were completely impressed with the parade on Saturday morning and then the rodeo that afternoon. Parking, however, was a complete mess. Not impressed with the parking. We weren't able to stay as long at the rodeo as we would have liked since it started at 12:45 pm and nap time is about 1 pm, but we enjoyed what we saw.

Lisa and Emma met us in Cheyenne, then we headed out to Wamsutter, WY for a couple of days with them. We had fun, but found Wamsutter to be a little depressing. Sorry Lisa, but that town of yours needs some trees or grass or stick-built houses or something... maybe a match? Just kidding! Sort of.

Vacation 2009 - Henry Doorly Zoo

In the days before our trip, I was very happy to see that there was no rain, only sunny skies, expected for our day at the zoo. Then, I checked the next day, and there was a 20% chance of rain. I checked the following day, and there was a 40% chance of rain. The day of, the weather said 80% chance of rain, but only in the afternoon. The weatherman lied. It poured on us mid morning. But, it didn't dampen our spirits. We had a great time at the zoo. I was a little disturbed by the gorillas, but otherwise, we were very impressed. Great zoo.

Cooper's 3rd Birthday Party

Cooper had a great time celebrating his third birthday. What little boy birthday would be complete without a Bob the Builder cake with blue icing? As he was wiping the blue icing all over his white shirt, I thought, "Crap, why did I have him wear this?" But I've decided it worked out for the best - nothing a little bleach couldn't take care of!

After a big meal of meatballs, sweet corn, cheesy tators, sliced tomatoes, and cake and ice cream, we all went outside to enjoy the mild weather. A couple of baseball games and several thousand bubbles later, it was time to call it a night.

These Cowboy Boots Are Made For Walkin'

We couldn't go to one of the biggest rodeos in the world and not come home with a new pair of cowboy boots for the kiddos! My pair is looking a little worn, but Cooper has a new pair of Ariats and Evan has a new pair of Ropers (that light up!).

Hittin' the Road

We're leaving on our family vacation today. This is the first of two vacations Blake and I have planned. We're heading to the Omaha Zoo, to Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, we'll spend a couple of days with Blake's sister in Wamsutter, Wyoming, then we'll head home through Colorado, taking in Rocky Mountain National Park on the way. Eight days. A one year old and a three year old in the car for eight days. Lord have mercy.

The second vacation is an adult only excursion in September - Blake and I are going with two other couples (and possibly Blake's sister) to Vegas, baby! Woo hoo.

I am behind on posting some stuff: Cooper's birthday party, how I found Rupert a new home but Blake won't let me give him away even though he pees on stuff, etc. I'll get caught up when we get back (hopefully).

Until then, happy trails to us! As we were scrambling around last night to do the last of the packing and preparations, the kids were both crying, and Blake asked, "Do we really want to go on vacation? Seems like we need a vacation from getting ready for vacation." But, fact is, we really need to get away for a while. We have been looking forward to this trip for some time. I'm excited to make these fun memories with our kids.

Inspriation

I love this website: simpletruths.com. Lots of great inspirational stuff. Take a look at this movie featuring quotes from great leaders.
http://www.greatquotesmovie.com/

Birthday Boy

Cooper turned three today. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew we were having a boy. Just a feeling of knowing, not something I can describe. Blake and I didn't talk about a bunch of options for a boy's name. Cooper was a great fit. At that time, we didn't know of any other Cooper's in town, and Cooper is my mom's maiden name. Cooper's middle name is Allen, which was the maiden name of Blake's grandma.

He made a grand entrance in to the world. At a prenatal doctor's visit where I mentioned to the doc that Blake weighed over 10 pounds when he was born, the doc sent me in for an ultrasound to see how big Cooper was. What we found out was that Cooper weighed only almost 8 pounds but I had only about half as much amniotic fluid as I should. (I thought I peed my pants a few days before the doc visit, but obviously my water had broken and sealed back over. Long embarassing story for another time.) It was one week before my due date, so I got admitted to the hospital and induced the next morning.

My induction lasted twelve hours with no progression. I dialated to a one. So, I got induced a second day. I dialated to a five after another twelve hours of labor, so they (FINALLY) decided I needed a c-section. They couldn't find Coop's heartbeat several times throughout the day, I had a fever, and my labor wasn't progressing as it should.

They got me on the table and Coop delivered in less than an hour. After having a scheduled c-section with Evan, I have begun to understand what an emergency my c-section with Cooper actually was. With Evan, the c-section took a couple of hours, and she was born very alert. With Cooper, it took only about 30 minutes and he was blue and quiet when he was delivered.

Regardless of how he came in to this world, I am so thankful he is here and he is mine. Looking back on that day three years ago, I was scared and naive. I wanted a healthy baby so badly. I prayed that if God would bring him in to world healthy, I would do my very best not to screw him up.

Unlike so many who take to motherhood with ease, I have struggled to become a good mother. There are times that I feel I didn't do justice to Cooper. I am still trying to figure it out day by day. Cooper has a very strong bond to Blake and I envy Blake for that wonderful relationship they share. But I hope that Cooper looks back on his childhood one day and can see the love and adoration I feel for him, too. Even though I am not perfect, I want to be the best mommy I can be for him. Happy birthday, my sweet baby boy.

How Was Your Day?

On the way home from work, Blake either calls me or I call him. I can always count on him to ask, "How was your day?" I love that.

Evan's First Haircut

She's changing so quickly. My broken heart, my happy heart. How bittersweet.

Evan's Birthday Party

Evan's first birthday party was Saturday. Just like Cooper on his first birthday, she got her very own birthday cake, and the rest of us shared one. After a bath, she opened presents. Evan got a lot of good loot: clothes, a see and say, some books, and a four wheeler. I didn't expect her to catch on so quickly to the four wheeler, but in no time, she found the button and was off! Thanks to our families for making her first birthday so special. We'll party again in a couple of weeks for Cooper's third birthday!

Evan is ONE

Evan is celebrating her first birthday today. I am both delighted and heartbroken. Delighted because I am enjoying seeing her grow and change every single day. I am heartbroken because my baby is changing every day and she's no longer a baby.

I knew I was pregnant with Evan long before a pregnancy test told me I was. I don't remember the exact number of tests I took before I got a positive result, but I think it was close to ten. Cooper was 14 months old at the time. I know my family thought we were crazy to have our kids so close together, but I wanted for my kids something that I never had - a sibling close to my age. My brother and sister are 7 and 11 years older than me. There's a similar age difference between Blake and his brother and sister.

I gave Blake a high five when we did Evan's ultrasound and found out we were having a girl. It took some convincing to get Blake to name her Evan, but after a while, it just sounded right. Now, I couldn't imagine another name.

I had a c-section, and when she was delivered, she came out screaming and grabbed the suction tube. She was so beautiful, so much hair, so bright-eyed and alert. I am excited to see how beautiful she will grow to be on the inside and the kind of person she will become. Who will she be friends with? Where will she go to college? What will be her hobbies? Who will she marry?

My wish for my baby girl on her birthday - a long, happy life. That's all any of us can wish for.