InstaFriday - its been a while

I knew when I started this blog that I would be a sporadic poster.  But, every once in a while it is fun to pop on here and post what our family has been up to.  Here is a glimpse of our past two weeks via Instagram photos:

First up, Easter morning before church. 

I will continue to dress my kiddos in matching clothes as long as they let me.

Spring Break was filled with a visit from our mid-west family.

I can't believe that my five year old has the body of an Olympian - - where do all those muscles come from?

Three little sand mermaids.

Lovin' the orange smiles

I do what I can to keep the little ones entertained while we wait for food to arrive at a restaurant.

A trip to the petting zoo at Irvine Regional Park.

A trip to Disneyland in the rain - our absolute favorite time to go.  We were able to ride on almost every single ride in the park, and some of the rides multiple times!  A little water does not scare us.  We just pack rain coats, parkas and umbrellas and enjoy the park to the fullest.   

Drying off on Pirates of the Carribean.

and having to evacuate Thunder Mountain when the ride broke down. 

 And, finally, a family trip to the bowling alley.

 

Each kid with a unique style. 

Link up at Life. Rearraged with your instagram photos from the week



The Mona Lisa

A few nights ago, Noah and I were laying in his bed reading some books.  As we were reading, we came across a picture of Leonardo daVinci's painting, the Mona Lisa.  Noah specifically asked about the painting because he had seen it before.  I explained to Noah, that the Mona Lisa was one of the most famous paintings in all the world and was worth millions of dollars. 

"But, why?" he asked. 

I then tried to explain that many people describe the women's smile in the painting as being very mysterious.  People wonder why she is smiling and what is the story behind the painting.

Noah was still not convinced.  "But why is it worth millions of dollars?  Lots of people can paint pictures of people.  Even kids in my class can paint pictures like this."  Hmm, you think so buddy?  Not so sure about that.

Then I tried another tact by explaining that at one point in history the painting was stolen and was missing for two years before it was found.  That did not work either.  Eventually Noah just shrugged his sholders and we continued reading.  The idea of a piece of artwork being worth millions of dollars completely lost on him.

I was tempted to show Noah some of Jackson Pollack's work, but ultimately decided that he had experienced enough confustion for one night. 

I am not going to lie

It has been rough around the Taylor household lately.

Where should I begin?  I could tell you about the crazy cold that hit our household (at least I think it was a cold . . . I really have no idea).  It slowly infected each member of our family one at a time.  Not all at once, which, quite frankly I would have preferred.  Noooo, instead it decided to taunt us by infecting one person with a high fever for days in a row, only to be finally rid of all signs of illness, and them BAM, it claimed its next victim.  Talk about weeks of never ending sickness.

Eliza was the first victim.  After day four of a high fever we took her to the pediatrician where we were told she had a sinus infection.  We were given a prescription, and in a few days she was feeling better and back to her old self.  Next Noah was hit, followed a few days later by Davis.  Thinking that Eliza was free and clear, you can image my surprise when she walked into my bedroom one morning with bright red cheeks and that glazed look in her eyes that a mother immediately identifies as a fever.  Poor girl got sick even though she was antibiotics. 

For a while I thought that Vivian and I were the sole survivors of the Great Sickness of 2012.  Nope.  Not a chance.  The only problem is that I only was mildly sick.  Moms, you know what I am talking about.  Not sick enough to lay around in bed all day and milk the rare opportunity to take a break.  Instead, just sick enough to feel miserable while taking care of the rest of the family at the same time.  Fun times.

Or, I could tell you about our nanny's broken rib.  Yep, you read that one right.  Our poor nanny (who is a rock-star of a soccer player), was hit so hard during a soccer game last weekend that one of her ribs broke!  First and foremost, I felt bad for her.  She couldn't walk.  Couldn't drive.  Couldn't laugh.  And was in a great deal of pain.  Of course that also meant that she could not take care of four children which made for a difficult week.  Keith and I cobbled together a plan, alternating days that we stayed home, and stayed up until late at night trying to stay caught up at work.  Ever try drafting a legal pleading with a two year old around?  No?  Well, lucky you.  I would not recommend it.

Finally, I could tell you about (and I shudder to even type this) the MOLD that we found under our flooring in the kids' bathroom.  Yep, mold.  This OCD neat freak mom has mold in her house.  Apparently there were some cracks in the flooring which allowed moisture to accumulate between the flooring and the subflooring.  So, right now we are down a bathroom and taking estimates for repairing the floor and subfloor.  I am also trying to retain some of my patience as I struggle to share the master bathroom with the five other members of the family.  I think I am going to have to post a shower sign-up board soon.

Things can only get better from here, right?

Let's Play Ball!

It's that time again. Baseball season is back!

I have a kid who loves baseball. 

A kid who would eat, sleep and breathe baseball if he could. 

Don't you just love watching your kids do something that they love?

I love watching Noah make a great play at first base. 

I love seeing him smash the ball. 

And, I love, love, love watching him encourage and cheer on his teammates.

I also love the baseball community. 

I love that we are on a team with coaches who we have played with before. 

I love that Noah has friends on his team from the neigborhood.

I love that the two hour long games allows our family to get to know the

other families on Noah's team so well.

 I love the way Keith can't sit during a game and always has to be up pacing. 

I even love the butterflies I get in my stomach each time Noah comes up to bat.

Here's to a great season!  Go LSU Tigers!

Heartache

Do you ever have one of those days that you can feel your child's pain?  Feel the heartache?  Feel it so intensely that it is worse then your own pain or heartache.  I had one of those days this weekend.  Correction.  I actually had two of those days this weekend

I am sure I have mentioned it before, but Davis swims with a top-notch swim team.  He loves swimming.  He (usually) does not mind the long and intense practices, is not bothered by the cold temperatures or the cold water, and loves the meets.  He works hard and has consistently improved over the past few months.  He has become accustomed to time drops and accolades from his coaches.

This weekend was a different story.

Of the ten races that he competed in, there were a few shining moments.  Two new time drops, and meeting a new time standard for another race.

But then there were the other events.  A handful of "DQs" (disqualifications) for rules that I did not even know existed (did you know it is illegal to take the first arm stroke in breaststroke before you take your first breath?  No?  Well, I did not either).  And a very close call by an official who thought he left the blocks to early during a relay (which was especially painful because it caused his entire relay team to be DQed).

How is it that a 10 year old can try so desperately to act like a man in one moment, and fall apart like a child in the next moment.

I saw Davis fight to be strong.  

I saw Davis put on a brave face in front of his team mates.  

I saw Davis stand tall and still as he talked to his coaches.  

I saw this boy:

But then, when we walked away from everyone, I saw someone else.  

I saw heartbreak.  

I saw disappointment.  

I saw someone who still likes to be hugged by his mama and be told that everything will be alright.  

I saw this boy:

This is not the first time I have felt his pain, and I know this won't be the last.

But it never gets any easier.  

So glad that I said "yes"

14 years ago, on a chilly beach in Virginia, this guy asked if I would spend the rest of my life with him. 

I am so very, very  happy that I said "yes."

He knows me better than anyone else on this planet - - well enough to buy me the perfect Valentine's gift.

Now that is true love.

Happy Valentine's Day Keith!!

I love you!

 

And so do these four:

The wonders of a Mac.

For Christmas this year, our family decided to take the plunge and purchase a new iMac desktop computer. 

As a lifelong PC user, I was hesitant.  For me, the thing that ultimately sold me on this rather pricey purchase was iPhoto.  The idea of finally organizing all of my hundreds thousands of digital images excites this slightly OCD mama more than it probably should.  So, over the past few weeks I have played around with the Mac a bit here and there, but I have not really learned how to use it properly yet.

Not the case for my kiddos.  Apparently kids these days already have a built-in knowledge of how to use all things Mac related.

Keith and I had a date night scheduled on Sunday.  We also had one kiddo at a "spy-birthday party" a baseball team meeting, and a handful of neighborhood kids at our house that day.  As I raced home after picking up one kid from the spy party to get home before the babysitter arrived, Davis asked me if he could try out iMovie on the Mac that night.    "Sure, no problem," I replied.

The next morning, the boys were up uncharacteristically early.  They wanted to show us the movie trailer that they created the night before.  Not expecting much, I filled my coffee cup to the top and sleepily walked to the computer.  I could not believe what I saw - - video clips, music, and text all in a complete and fun to watch format.  In fact, I could not stop laughing when I watched it. 

The wonders of a Mac. 

Watching this movie trailer alone made the purchase worth it.