Happy Easter weekend

Happy Easter. May your weekend be pleasantly delightful.

A neighbor of mine has chickens and dropped these fresh eggs off at our house.

Growing

Here's Ansel at 7.5 wks. He's growing lots and is as cute as can be.  Look at those big eyes.  They will probably be, what we call around here, chocolate browns - just like his pops and brother.  His hair on the other hand is light with auburn hues.  We shall see where that goes.

I am trying to master the skills of being a mom of two.  I am far from it.  Yesterday I did not try to venture to the grocer with two.  So instead, I found myself at the store at 9pm, after Jess got home and we put Ollie to bed.  I was at Target and, after filling my cart with food items, got caught up looking at shoes for a brief moment. What was I thinking?  Get home, go to sleep for Pete's sake!

This is a fun time.  A good adventure.  So nice to have two little ones.

This sums it up

This photo is a great way to say a thousand words about our life around here at this point. I love this photo because:

1. Ansel is being held by Jess (which is a very common theme in our house),
2. Jess is sleeping,
3. Ollie is eating his dinner and is as happy as can be, but
4. He is eating alone since I am finishing up making dinner for the rest of us because I got started too late;
5. And finally, it is 6:15pm and it is still very light outside.

These days are uneventful. My mom always said an uneventful day was a good day. She was right.

ah, dumb phone

I don't need a smart phone, at least not yet.  I know my personality, and I would probably waste a bit too much time on it.  Did I ever mention that when email was introduced, I checked my email account ALL OF THE TIME?  It was exhausting.  This leads me to a short anecdote: The other day my brother came over to my house.  He saw Jess' phone (an iPhone 5) sitting on the counter and then mine (an old Samsung), after which he exclaimed, "If Jess has a smart phone, then what do you call yours, Ash?  A dumb phone?" The answer is yes. 

Here are the top 6 reasons you know you have a "dumb phone":

- only four app icons could fit on the screen, that is, if apps could be put on it
- your bro-in-law goes to use it and touches the small (see above) screen to scroll down, nothing happens
- the keyboard slides out
- texts do not come in conversation bubbles, they come in 160 character segments
- photos are the quality of a 7/eleven surveillance video
- your 16-year-old nephew sees your phone and says, "Oh, you've got the free phone."

So until I get a smart phone, my dumb phone will have to do.  And I'm okay with that.

p.s. I came up with this list whilst up in the night feeding the little one.  It's interesting the things you think about at 2am. 

These days

We are resting, not resting, cutting out a lot of letters and numbers (per Oliver's request), watching our babykins grow, and everything in between.

Quork is Spanish...did you know?

Oliver likes to learn how to count in different languages.  His personal favorite is Spanish.  He's got those numbers down, well, until he gets to seven, then he switches to German.

As a result, Oliver likes to make up words in Spanish.

Noodley = Don't know
Quork = No
Yim = yam

The list goes on and is added to each day.

Another thing Ollie does is make up words and then defines them.  A typical conversation goes something like this:
Oliver: Mom, do you know what "slerm" means?
Me: What does it mean?
Oliver: It's a thing (the key phrase in almost every one of his definitions) that makes loud noise.

Having a child 3+ years old is good times.  A great stage.  I often think throughout the day, "Man, this is fun! And this kid is hilarious!" But then again, all stages have their highlights.

Ollie fits inside the same box in which a Louisville Slugger was delivered.

Announcing...

Weighing in at 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19.5 inches long, here's Ansel!

Arriving on February 3rd, he is very cute, much anticipated, and we love him lots.


It truly is amazing that this:

equals this:

Hello February

Lots of change to come our way in February.

January was great and went by fast. It included a new garage, some snow melting inside our house, two speeding tickets (lay off the gas pedal Ash and Jess!), lots of baked goods, Ollie making up words and saying they are Spanish (noodley is "don't know" in Spanish apparently), visits with friends, Sunbeams for Oliver, naps, some good football watching, and playing with the camera.

And now it's Feb. Stay tuned.

Snapshot: 9:20am

Oliver has this morning all figured out. He requests a little music (today it is daft punk's "One More Time"),* we spell out words, dance, ride the scooter, and read. Good times.

*If you are at all worried about Ollie listening to techno beats, Chopin has also been in the mix of the many tunes we listen to lately.

Book Review: The Brenner Assignment: the Untold Story of the Most daring Spy Mission of World War II

The more I read WWII books, the more I realize how crazy, miserable, astonishing, and awful war is. Horrendous is a good word, although I know one word cannot sum war up properly.

Members of the OSS (the precursor to today's CIA), spies, did some wild things, to say the least. This book describes the mission of the brave lot who worked in the Italian mountains to blow bridges and tunnels that were essential to the German's supply route. Surviving day after day behind enemy lines, in the cold and constantly on the run from the enemy, these men suffered but outlasted the enemy and did the impossible.

While this tale is incredibly amazing, the book lacked the speed I thought it was going to offer. Slow at times, but very well researched, this book would be one I suggest for someone who has read a lot of WWII books and would like some more. Still, I always enjoy these books because they remind me how strong the human spirit is and how amazing people can do very big things.

For now, I am taking a break from the war stories. I need some more light-hearted stuff.