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October 24, 2015

What we did last weekend...

Once upon a time, the Chinchilla Porras family bought a house. They dreamed of a home with a fireplace, green grass in the summer, snow in the winter, near mountains, near forest, and where they could raise their family. They bought their house in the dead of winter, and it had everything they wanted. Well, almost. There was some grass. But lots more weeds than grass. 


In the Spring, grass sprouted, and for a little while it was soft and green. 


But every year as Spring progressed, the weeds would grow.... 


...and well, they sort of took over. 

The Chinchilla Porras family cleared their yard and planted seeds several times. But to no avail. 


The weeds won every summer. 

Until one day, in the Fall of 2015, when the Chinchilla Porras family said, "enough is enough." They weeded. They raked. They cleared. They played in the dirt.  


He tilled. 


They watched movies. 


She watched him flex his muscles. 


Until finally, they were ready to lay down sod. 




And now.... 


...finally...


...the Chinchilla Porras family has thick, green, carpet-like grass that you can roll in, walk barefoot in, lay in and run in. All summer long. (Well, next summer they'll be able to.) 

And they lived normally ever after. 

The End. 

October 10, 2015

A Reward Hard Earned

He worked...



...and saved...


...and saved...

...and saved and saved and saved...

...and then it went on sale... 


...so we helped him purchase. 

And now...



...he is enjoying a well deserved reward! I'm so proud of him! 

(And us, I might add, for not caving and buying it for him.) 

Puzzles

Look who can do this puzzle all by himself?! 

Life with Boys

Ahahahaha!!! I just reread this one and cracked up all over again. http://www.scarymommy.com/10-things-moms-of-boys-must-do/#sthash.whMWYaze.gdHVauAI.gbpl

Today alone, I told one to get his hands out of the toilet. During a bathroom visit later today, I heard myself say, "take your head out of the toilet." And then thought, "did I just say that??" (Yes, I really did.) I told him not to touch his...because he had just gone potty. And then thought, "oh well, it's only urine," when I realized it was too late and he had already been wrapping it around his fingers, playing while he waited for me to realize he was done. The other one farted 9 inches from my face during reading (don't ask me why his rear was 9 inches from my face during reading) and I also had to ask him to please erase the detailed drawing of his friend urinating from his school writing assignment. We eat through a loaf of bread for breakfast and 3 gallons of milk per week. And there are only 2 of them and the older one's only in kindergarten. It's a different life with boys. For reals. 


October 2, 2015

Toys That Last

When my sister and I were small, my Mom made these quilted activity books for us. We played with them forever! Danny played with it when he was small. Now Gianni is playing with it. And miraculously somehow over the course of 30 years, none of the small pieces with Velcro backing have been lost! Even the plastic 3 ring binder hasn't cracked or faded or broken. Thanks, Mom!! ...especially for the extra moments in bed we are quietly enjoying right now!!


October 1, 2015

Fifteen Minutes on the Kitchen Floor

So I'm sitting on the kitchen floor reading this - http://momastery.com/blog/2015/09/30/the-erasing/ - and tears are rolling down my cheeks. The three of us - Danny, Gianni, and I slept late today. We had a big day yesterday. A good day. Filled with hard work and victories and lessons learned. It was a GOOD day. So today we slept late and we were tender to ourselves this morning (I love how she says that) and instead of school or chores or errands, we stopped for 15 minutes and they played with kinetic sand on the kitchen floor while I read this article. And I cried. And I remembered. I remembered when I used to write like this. I remembered how I have been in the expanse of nothingness and felt nothing but gray as she says. I realized how I am very much in the newness and beginning to live again and learning things all over again. Tears fall for the months which turn into several years lost to the gray. And in joy they fall for the newness that I feel again. Be tender with yourself today. Know that He loves you and designed you to thrive. Do the hard work to press through to victory today! I promise it's worth it.