Fab Five Friday Foto(s) and a Great Injustice

I'm mad. Stinkin' mad. Hoppin' mad. Do you want to know why I'm stinkin', hoppin' mad? I'll tell you why. Because my last blog post (the one about the tote bags) has literally DISAPPEARED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Why, Blogger? I trusted you. This...this..this is what I call a GREAT INJUSTICE!! Get it together, Blogger; or else I'm going to have to get it together for you. Capiche?? Comprende? Okay.

*Deep, cleansing breath*

*Okay, 10 Deep, Cleansing Breaths*

And now...

Fab Five Friday Foto(s).

Yay.

We got ourselves a new tree today! The old one, a most respectable Norwegian Maple, had succumbed to the deciduous equivalent of the Black Death and was sporting white spots all over its sad leaves. It was time. I was grieved, for I was quite attached to it. I am a tree hugger without actually being a tree hugger. Does that make any sense? I didn't think so. Anyway, it was quite a sight watching the old tree get chopped down and chopped up, and then having the entertainment of watching a most exuberant team of young men take apart my fence, back up a truck into the yard, plow an enormous hole in said yard, tear up the root system of the old tree, plant a new tree, and then clean up the entire colossal mess. Oh, and they put my fence back together. Wasn't that nice of them? It was greatly amusing watching them take turns jumping into the hole and chop away at the roots with a tremendous fervor. Men. I understand them so much more now that I have three boys of my own. Guys, you're all right.

On a completely different topic, we had the great pleasure of having a very special person from the beautiful state of North Carolina come and visit us for a spell. Allow me to introduce you to Ricky, my sister Megan's boyfriend. Ricky is...well, delightful. I heartily approve. Are they not the cutest couple known to mankind? I am firmly convinced that they are, and nobody can change my mind. So there. We took Ricky down to the lake, and during the 5-minute drive from our house to the lake, the temperature dropped 40 degrees. It. Was. BIZARRE! So we were freezing (especially Meg in her grey leggings and gold sandals), but we stuck it out for about half an hour, and then decided it was time to go to Culver's for lunch. SNACK PAK ENTHUSIASTS, UNITE!

Yes, I like Ricky. Not only did he play with my kids so I could make dinner, but both he and Megan cleaned up the kitchen after dinner. Now that's teamwork. He also plays a mean game of MarioKart (I will have my revenge someday), and he liked my cooking. BONUS.

Yep. Giddy.

One of my favorite and familiar little spots along the lake. Whenever I go to the lake, I think to myself,"You know, I kinda like it here. Kenosha, you're all right." Yes. Like the guys chopping up the roots with great gusto in a 4-foot crater in my backyard, Kenosha is quite all right. I'm not quite sure what that really means. At any rate, Happy Friday, ya'll!

Fab Five Friday Foto(s) Part 3.14

Okay. It's Friday night.

Tall glass of ice water? Check.

Headphones to block out the BANG BANG SHOOT SHOOT background of Steve's movie? Check.

Chapstick? Check. (Yes, I'm a chapstick freak. Tremendously so.)

Music that makes me feel as though I am strolling through the streets of Paris? Check. (Thank you, Pandora.)

Freshly uploaded pictures? Check.

A morbidly obese slice of freshly baked chocolate-chip banana bread? Check. Oh, wait; I already ate it. DANGIT.

All righty. I'm ready. Let's get to it, shall we?

Ahh, hyacinths. I love thee with a passion that knoweth no bounds...or something like that. I was pretty stoked about capturing a "Water Droplets on Pink Hyacinths" picture. Yay, me! I've always been under the impression that capturing water droplets on some form of plant life is a respectable accomplishment in the world of photography. I also have no idea what I'm talking about.

There's going to be a bit of a theme today. That theme is "Funky Unky Nate". Or rather, "My Brother Uncle Nate, the Girt Beastie". Only Nathan and I know what a Girt Beastie is, and we refer to each fondly as fellow Girt Beasties. The story is too long, complicated, boring, and immature to expound upon right now, but it involves playing massive amounts of Mario Brothers 3, finding the Magic Flute to skip to Level 9, eating Oke Doke popcorn, and making general nuisances of ourselves. Ahh, those were the days.

I must confess; I absolutely LOVE watching my brother interact with my boys. They adore him. Can you tell? :) The relationship between and uncle and his nephews is a unique thing to behold. And very, very heart-warming.

Yes. He is a bit of a beastie, but I am grateful that I actually have a relationship with my brother. He hates talking on the phone. I love this about him, because I understand so very well. We text. That is what we do.

Uncle Nate is also most obliging when it comes to taking family pictures for me. Do you know how difficult it is to get a decent family picture? I can practically see all of you nodding your heads in fervent agreement. Everybody needs an Uncle Nate to take a family picture once in a while. And because my precious wittle Lucas was napping during picture time...

Now doesn't that just put an instant smile on your face? Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Thanks for reading!

Flurries of Fotos!

Oh, such a flurry of activity has been my life today! I shall try to be concise (HAHA), because I have a hot date with a Canadian lumberjack this evening!

His name is...Steve.

Yep. Steve is Canadian. The "lumberjack" term started about 5 years ago while we were on vacation "Up North" and Steve decided to be rebellious, defy the 9-5 working man, and skipped shaving for an entire week. And you know what?

I liked it.

I began to call him "My Canadian Lumberjack" during that shaving strike, and even though Steve prefers to be clean-shaven for work, I shall never forget the ferocity of his 10-day shadow.

Ah, memories.

I am so thrilled to have shared that with you. AND NOW...flurries of Friday Foto(s)!!!

Ahh, homemade bread. It thrills my soul. This is my 5th attempt at making bread from scratch (ie., NO BREAD MAKER), and I think I'm getting closer and closer to the perfect loaf. Each attempt has been acceptable...just not...not...PERFECT. And I am convinced that a perfect loaf of bread is something that is attainable in my lifetime. Now, if I can just get the bread to stop making evil faces at me (why does my bread always turn out with EYES of some sort??), then I'll consider that to be progress in my quest for the holy grail.

This is Daniel from this morning. I call this, "Little Lion Boy".

This is Daniel from late this morning. I call this, "My Little Shorn Lamb." I love this kid. He kept thanking me profusely while I was cutting his hair. Every time I tossed his curls onto the patio, he'd say,"Thank you, Mommy. Oh, thank you, Mother." Like I said, I love this kid. He is my mild-mannered one.

And now...

The grand finale...

All I can say is...BRACE YOURSELF.

Look!! It's a Green Bay Packers quilted tote bag! You know you've always wanted one! And for only $69.95 or four easy installments of $17.49 each, it's yours forever! But wait; there's more! Order now and receive TWO (2) free Green Bay Packer quilted cosmetic bags! They'll fit perfectly in your stylish tote! Order now; these babies are gonna go like hotcakes!

I'm so, so, SO sorry to have exposed you to that.

NO, I'M NOT! BAHAHAHAHA!!!

Words fail me, other than Welcome to Wisconsin. Oh, and Please Don't Show This To My Dad Because He'll Probably Buy It For Me. I can just hear him now..."Mary! This bag is CHOICE!!"

Anyway.

And now...

To end on a MUCH more positive note...

I have just one more thing to say...

God Bless Sam's Club. Where else can you buy a 50 oz. bag of peanut butter M&M's? And now, if you would excuse me, I've got a rendezvous with my Canadian lumberjack. Have a wonderful weekend!

Fab Five Friday Foto(s) Part XYZ

It's 10:19 pm on a cold, rainy, and dreary Friday night. Hurray! To cheer you up, here's some deeeelightful pictorials for you.

This is my dear family friend Laura reading "There's a Wocket In My Pocket" to Daniel. Here's an extraordinary fun fact for you: Laura used to babysit my brother. BEFORE I WAS EVEN BORN. So, Laura has known me for my entire life. True story! It's so cool to see her interact with my boys. :)

I am terribly, hopelessly, irrevocably, painfully, marvelously in love with Instagram. This precious picture of Lucas is seriously one my favorites of ALL TIME. The sweet, rosy cheeks. The adorable expression of wonder. Why are my children so gorgeous? I shall never know.

This is my first attempt at a photo tray project. I made this for my mother-in-law's birthday recently, and I am really quite pleased with the outcome. It was very simple, and it was fun to try something different on the craft front. This particular tray was a simple grid of 4x6 spaces, so it was very quick and easy- no cropping photos required! Now that is MY kind of craft project!

Spring. Because I know you're out there somewhere. Look, Spring; I know this is southeastern Wisconsin and all, but is this incessant cold, rain, and grayness really necessary? I need to know. All I know is this: It's the coldest spring I have ever experienced in all my 27 years, and for the first time in 3 years, my daffodils are blooming. What. Is. Going. On? Once again, I need to know. What are the philosophical implications of this? Or better yet, the ramifications? Oh, the ramifications...

What we really need is a picture of an adorable baby boy with crazy post-bath hair. Immense joy, this child brings to me. And now, on that Yoda-esque note, good night. Have a blessed weekend!

Fab Five Friday...yeah, yeah, yeah!

I'm pretty pooped today. Does anyone use the term "pooped" anymore? I like it. It has...POWER. Anyway, we met some friends at the Children's Museum in Milwaukee today (Hi, Kristin!!), and we just loved it. But, as it always goes after a day of fun, fun, fun, the troops and I are dragging. At least we have "Mommy's Special Pizza" to look forward to tonight. I'm nearly salivating just thinking about it. At any rate, I shall prop my eyelids open, wipe the drool off the computer, and post some pick-tures for you! I sincerely apologize if any more Hipstamatic shots make it into the bunch...actually, I don't apologize. Not one bit. Sorry. I'm feeling a bit sassy today. Watch out!

Ahem. Here we go.

These first three are from our jaunt to the Museum this morning. Yay!

Oh, my. What's this upstart Hipstamatic shot doing in here? Oh, dear.

And now...

A preview of a new category in "The Epic Adventures of Skarymop & Co." ...

"Random Domesticities" !!!

It's true. I am creating another category. It's so groundbreaking; I don't even know where to begin. HA. Anyway, this category will showcase random little household thingies such as my favorite way to clean something (remember my shiny microwave?), my favorite bags (see above picture), and other small inspirations which I hope will prove helpful and POSITIVELY THRILLING TO YOUR SOUL!

Well, perhaps not the whole "positively thrilling to your soul" part.

But fun stuff, nonetheless.

SO stay tuned! I've already taken pictures of my first few entries, so sit tight as we blaze a new trail on The Epic Adventures of Skarymop & Co.! Thanks for reading! :)

Theme of the Day: Hipstamatic, Baby!!

Wow. Can I just say how excited I am right now? I mean, I usually go through life in a fairly perpetual state of excitement, but right now, I. AM. SO. EXCITED. What is the reason for all of this obnoxious excitement? One word, my dear friends: iPhone4.

Or is that 2 words?

Or...three?

While I'd love to ponder the philosophical reasons behind the naming of Apple merchandise, I simply haven't the strength OR TIME to do such a thing. So let's sally forth, shall we?

Here's how it happened:

On Sunday, I was toodling around online, when all of a sudden, the internet stopped working. This normally wouldn't bother me a bit, except that it happens ALL THE TIME. We've been doing the whole song-and-dance with AT & T for a couple of months now, and Steve had decided that enough was enough. After I uttered a small groan of frustration, the following conversation ensued:

Steve: "What's wrong?"

Me: "I'm on the computer and I'm frustrated. I'll give you three guesses as to why."

Steve: "That's IT. I am going to buy us new cell phones that have built-in wireless hotspots, and then we'll dump AT & T forever!!"

*Steve grabs his coat and leaves*

Me: "What just happened?"

A couple of hours later, Steve came home with what we are now calling my early Mother's Day present and his very early Father's Day present. And now, without further ado, I shall now present to you our Fab Five Friday Foto(s) in...HIPSTAMATIC!! (my app splurge for the month!)

I just love Hipstamatic. Oh, and my baby, too.

These three are nuthin' but trouble. But cute trouble.

I look...normal. Gotta hang on to this one.

I am finding the cloudier the sky, the more dramatic the shot with Hipstamatic. I love this shot of my little back yard overlooking the baseball field.

This...is my beloved Woodman's. The culinary bastion of Kenosha. The hope of all who strive for great creativity in their kitchen creations. The gold standard. I was going to go grocery shopping yesterday, but...

Someone fell fast asleep in the car on the way, and could not be woken up for all the granola bars in the world. So I let him sleep for an hour while I took more pictures. With Hipstamatic. Yep. I do believe I'm addicted. AND...I am fully aware I posted SIX pictures, not five. Consider it a bonus for all of you wonderful people out there. HA ha ha ha...Anyway. I hope you enjoyed our little voyage into the world of Hipstamatic. I am truly stoked about the adventures that lie ahead with my new little piece of technology! Have a lovely weekend, ya'll! :)

Fab Five Friday Foto(s) Part IV

Late. Again. But at any rate, here's the group for today:

This is what is known as "April in Southeastern Wisconsin." The snow is mostly gone, but it's cold, wet, cloudy, and rainy. Almost. Every. Day. Oh, and it is more than possible that we will get just one more freak spring snowstorm. It happens more than I'd like for it to happen, which would be never.

Lucas in his new favorite hiding spot/play area. Who knew curtains and patio doors could be so much fun??

New spring/fall coat!! Yes? No? Maybe? Too long? Too...pink??

My absolute favorite salsa: Bandana Bandito Black Bean/Corn Salsa. Zesty. Spicy. Chunky. Great Flavor. LOVE. NEED. CAN'T...LIVE WITHOUT. Well, I might be exaggerating. But only slightly!

I like to call this one,"Lucas after I was bragging to a friend about what a neat and tidy eater he was." The joke's on me! But he is still positively adorable; prune-encrusted face and all.

There you go, folks! Another installment in the exhaustive series "FAB FIVE FRIDAY FOTO(s)"!! Stay tuned for more rambunctiousness next week...I've got some new ideas cooking!