Wasting Time

Shhhh!!!

Okay, listen. It is 9:16am and both my children are still asleep. What?!?! 

I swear I didn't drug them or anything. You would think that with this unexpected block of free time I would be doing something productive but, no.... Instead I am sitting on the couch with my second cup of coffee wasting time on the computer. It is fabulous. Here is what I have discovered online this morning:

1.  I am always right. I told Wes 4 days ago that the navy blue skinny jeans worn by Princess Kate would sell out in record time and therefore I must purchase them ASAP. He remained skeptical, I waited, and BAM! - 4 days later they are nowhere to be found. I hate being right - especially when it costs me a pair of super adorable pants!

2.  When I went to People.com I found out many important things. The Beckhams named their new baby Harper (my friend Katy must be a trend setter as her 2 year old is named Harper!), Lea Michelle will leave the cast of Glee after next season, Gwyneth Paltrow still has a rockin' body (I only hate her a little), and last but not least, the celeb I still most want to befriend is Jennifer Garner. She is totally fine with being photographed in a t-shirt, jeans, and (gasp) baseball cap while out and about with her kids. She doesn't look like she spends three hours with a stylist before running to the store. I love it - she seems real. Well, as real as someone I stalk on a celebrity website can seem.

3.  I have an unhealthy obsession with "Healthy Living" blogs. Seriously, I could probably spend all day experiencing the domino effect of finding one blog that leads to another, then another... well, you get the picture. But should I decide to take up becoming a gluten-free, vegan, yoga/runner who photographs all her meals for this blog I will have some good role models to follow. Maybe I will just become a professional blogger like some of these girls I am reading about....

Except, wait... Yep, there it is. I hear the thump from upstairs that means things are being thrown out of the crib, and THAT means I have about 34.6 seconds until Liam starts screaming for me to come get him. Drat, guess being a professional blogger will have to wait.

We Have the Yuckies

"Cause everything is so wondrous....."

Those are some of the lyrics to the Curious George theme song and every time I hear it on the TV I laugh cause they make me think of Liam. He is at that age when everyday really is marvelous and everything (remote controls, chip clips, dirty laundry - you name it) really is wondrous! That is why he goes a hundred miles an hour and is into everything All. Day. Long.

So yesterday when I realized that he had been sitting on the couch lounging against a pillow watching morning cartoons for 15 minutes straight I was instantly alerted that something was wrong! (That and the fever he had started running.) Anyway, little Liam has a yucky virus that the doctor told us has been going around and will hopefully run its course in 3-5 days. I must say, being sick in the summertime is even stinkier than being sick in the winter. There is something very off about having to stay inside and rest during our usual hours of summer play. Not mention how bad I feel for the little guy having a fever while it is this hot outside! So we will keep doing a lot of this until we are well....

Oh, and in other random info... The only thing I accomplished yesterday was a trip to the grocery store after Wes got home from work. After I unloaded my loot and looked around I noticed the following and laughed.

Surely I am not the only one arranges her Larabars with the fruit in the fruit bowl? I mean, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is healthy right? Right???

Riverdogs

On Sunday we went with our friends Joy and Brian, and their kids to a Riverdogs game. I have decided they should rename themselves the Swampdogs as the heat was practically unbearable in this swamp of a city that we live in. I don't think I stopped sweating the entire time!

Despite the looks on their faces Abby Grace, Noah, and Caleb all had a good time. (No really, I swear!) Noah had never been to a baseball game before. In fact his only experience with baseball is playing Mario Brothers Super Sluggers on the Wii and he kept yelling, "That guys swings like Funky Kong!" I was only slightly embarrassed by this. It was pretty funny though because in classic girl/guy dynamic I witnessed the following conversation between Noah and Abby Grace:

AG: "Noah! Look over there, it's the Riverdog! Look!"

N: (exasperated) "Abby Grace I can't look, I might miss the batter hit the ball."

And here is a picture of Liam for the 3 and 1/2 seconds that he sat still and looked at the game. Ready....

Yep, that was as still as he stood the whole time! Oh well, what else would you expect from a 15 month old?!

A Good Chuckle

It's no secret to anybody who knows me that I love clothes. Don't get me wrong, I am not on the cutting edge of fashion or anything. Quite the contrary probably. I really love well made clothes with classic lines in muted colors. I like to think of myself as "classy conservative". Anyway, because of that, I love looking at pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Princess Kate). I have not seen her step wrong as far as her wardrobe choices - I love every single one of them!

 Well made. Classic. Muted Colors. Usually..... Cause today I saw this picture and I had a good chuckle.

I guess everyone - even princesses - make a fashion faux pas every now and then!

Love/Hate

I have been having a lack of inspiration when it comes to blog posts lately. My creative juices are stifled...bummer. I have been wanting to tell you about some new things I am loving but there don't seem to be enough to make up a whole post. And also, there I many things I am NOT loving but who wants to read a whole blog about negative things? So I am combining them for you. Anyway, the following is kind of random but it is what is going through my brain on this lazy Friday morning.

I LOVE my son.

But I HATE cleaning up after him. Seriously, this phase of I have just discovered how to be mobile and destroy everything I see is getting old fast!

I HATE that our washing machine finally died - after 9 years and 3 or 4 moves - but I LOVE that we were finally able to get a front loading washing machine to replace it.

All the better to wash something else that I am LOVING at the moment. My new running shorts from Lululemon.

I will never, I repeat NEVER, go back to wearing any other shorts! You see the waist band on those puppies? It is the most comfortable and flattering I ever experienced (hello, no muffin top!) and the material is so lightweight that it almost feels like you are wearing nothing!

Okay, next.... I HATE under eye circles. Seriously if I could change one thing on my face I would wish for no dark circles. But I can almost have this wish thanks to a new product that I LOVE!

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Concealer. This is like a little tube of magic. It goes on liquid smooth with no caking and it makes your dark circles disappear while simultaneously making your skin luminous!

Okay, this part is more serious than the rest but it still applies. I LOVE the following books.

These books by Michael Pollan, and a few others I have read, have been so interesting and helpful in educating me about the American food system. They have led me to HATE processed food, factory farming and the unbelievable amount of chemicals we ingest on a daily basis. As a result our family has started eating organic and locally grown. Plus, I am slowly headed in the direction of vegetarianism. And as a result of my new found info I had to bid adieu to my old friend....

When I read in the book Skinny Bitch that aspartame turns to formaldehyde (?!!) in your body I,  a) Threw up in my mouth and then,  b) Promptly gave up Diet Coke cold turkey. I am 2 weeks clean!

Well, that's about all for today I guess. What are you guys loving and hating right now? Leave a comment and let me know!

Fourth of July at the Lake

Liam relaxes in a rocking chair that is the perfect size for little people!

Noah and Pops enjoy a little pre-bedtime snack on the couch.

Cousin Gemma enjoys some yummy Cheerios while we are out to dinner Saturday night.

Wes is not at all ashamed to have ordered a drink called a "Dirty Banana" - which he enjoyed with some fried onions. (Actually everything there was fried so I can't remember what that exact basket contained!)

Noah helps Uncle Cy blow out the candles on his birthday cake.

Riding in the boat to see the fireworks display. Liam didn't make it very long because in classic Shealy fashion we were forced to arrive 30 minutes early. Yeah, a 14 month old won't enjoy sitting for 30 minutes in a small boat while restricted to wearing his life jacket. Needless to say, Liam and I were dropped off back at the dock and Noah, Wes, and Pops returned to see the fireworks. Noah was very excited and kept telling Wes, "This is my very first fireworks!"

Liam likes to kick back and relax in the mornings with a nice greasy slice of bacon.

Noah discovered the Angry Birds game on our phones and spent much of his downtime in this position.

And, possibly my favorite picture of the whole weekend....

If there were a thought bubble over Liam's head it would read like this:  "Yeah, I'm not gonna lie - I'm pretty bad ass!"

Wrestling

I am frantically packing up our family to head to the lake for the holiday weekend, but I had to stop and document what my boys were doing this morning.

They were watching TV together so nicely when, as usual, Liam decided it would be WAY more fun to start walloping Noah on the head. I love that at first Noah smiled and took it. But of course, a five year old will only tolerate that for so long before he has had enough. When he tackled Liam to the ground I chuckled and thought, Well, that's the end of that! Wrong. Oh boy, can that kid defend himself! Pretty soon I was hearing a phrase that is becoming all too common in our house....

"Ouch, Liam! That hurts...Stop it Liam, you're hurting me!!!"

Poor big brother!