my dreams v. my reality

I can't believe it's been six months since I posted anything on the blog. There just doesn't seem to be enough time to keep up with everything. In my dreams, I'm able to keep the house perfectly clean, be a patient and creative first grade teacher for James, cook gourmet and healthy meals for the family, craft in my free time and blog about it, and sail through the third trimester of pregnancy with grace and composure. In reality, I have a sink full of dirty dishes that I'm ignoring in order to blog right now. There's no way I can cover all that's happened in the last six months, so I figured I'd just hit the highlights and pick up where we are now.

As far as Project 365 goes, I just about finished January and then barely picked up the camera until April. In fact, I didn't take any photos at all in March. I decided I'd go ahead and scrap what I do manage to take this year anyway, so here's January & February's pages (as always, click to see credits)...


In the past couple of weeks, I've picked up my camera more to try to capture the craziness that is the Pranaitis family. I can hardly believe that we're only three months away from adding another boy to our motley crew. Simon already calls me the "token female" of the family! It's a position I really enjoy for the most part. The weeks when he's working out of state are always hard, but they make me even more thankful for the days he's home. Two months ago we were on our way to some event and were (miraculously) ready about 20 minutes early so we grabbed the tripod and took some family photos on self-timer. The 20 minutes consisted of me pushing the button to start the 10 second countdown, then rushing back to the front porch steps to try to get settled before the photo was taken. We only got one decent photo, and it would never win any awards, but I'm so happy we made the effort because I know we can never get these days back. The photo:

and one of the photos I snapped while I was trying to get the settings right...

Yep, these are my boys!

Okay! I'm off to go tackle those dishes. I really am hoping to get back to blogging more regularly though. I seem to have finally gotten a bit of energy back!

Crazy Hair Night

Last week was crazy hair night at the Awana club that the boys go to. And of course there's a funny story that goes with it! Three weeks ago James came home that Sunday night and told me that the next week was "crazy hair night" at the club. Indeed, I had seen on the schedule for the year that this date was coming up, and so when the next Sunday rolled around, we got James and John up from their naps and trundled them into the bathroom where we applied various gels and hairsprays in an attempt to get their hair to stand straight out from their heads. Their hair was pretty long at this point because I had not cut it on purpose, just for this night, and the effect was pretty impressive I must say. Then we loaded them up into the car and headed off to church. As we pulled into the parking lot, I started looking around (to size up the competition for the craziest hair award) and what should meet my eyes? Normal hair everywhere I looked! That's right... not a single crazy head in sight, except for my two goobers in the back seat. Apparently James was off by one week; NEXT week was crazy hair night. Well, there was nothing to do but swallow my pride and send them in, looking like complete goofballs. We were all practiced up for next week though... and here was the result:


And you know I had to scrap it!!

(image is linked)

So there ya go! Crazy Hair Night, take 2!!

What I've Been Up To

I can hardly believe that it's been two months since the last blog post... life has been busy! I started kindergarten with James last month and it's been going surprisingly well. I had started him last year on the book Teach Your Child to Read in a Hundred Easy Lessons but he just wasn't getting it and I had taken too many breaks in between the lessons so we eventually gave up. We started at the beginning again last month and this time it's going great! I can't wait for him to be able to read on his own and if he's anything like me, I'll be prying his nose out of a book whenever I need him to do something else. I haven't had as much time to read as I used to (read: before I had kids) but I did discover that I am able to borrow audio books for free online through a program that our local library has. I just listened to a mystery book called Maisie Dobbs while scrapping, or doing housework, or before falling asleep. In fact, just this week I was extolling to Simon the benefits of listening to a book rather than reading it for, I said, "if I were reading it I'd no doubt be up all night in order to finish it, but when I listen it puts me to sleep." Of course, that very night I stayed up until two in the morning in order to hear the end of the book! So much for that theory.

In September we participated in a park outreach event that the church we are part of hosted. It was fun to meet people in the neighborhood and for the boys to jump in the jump house and get their faces painted. However I came home with three creatures:
this big tiger...

this little tiger...

and this furry dog...

who was a stray wandering the streets. We've had her now for a month, watched for signs advertising a lost dog, checked to see if she has a microchip, discussed multiple times whether we really want another dog, and named her Mocha. (Well, actually I named her Mocha, because the only thing better than coffee is chocolate AND coffee.) We're keeping her. The boys love her. She sleeps next to my side of the bed. She fills a little spot in my heart that's been empty since my last pomeranian died. And that's the end of that story.

I'll be back in a bit with some of the crafty things I've been up to; there's a stench wafting from the boys' room that needs to be attended to and I guess it's time to start school for the day...

Photos & More

I can never seem to think of an interesting title...

Anyway, I finally made it through all the photos and picked out some of my favorites.












Just a couple of quick layouts... this one is John from over a year ago. There's just something about it that makes me smile everytime I see it. I don't know if it's the hat, or his sweet little face, or both, but it's one of my favorite photos of him. I used Creashen's Pillowtalk again, and also Torn Bits 1 for the photo.



Yesterday was Peter's first birthday and it's so hard for me to believe that a whole year could have gone by since he was born... wasn't it just a few months ago that we brought him home from the hospital? Where does the time go?




We're going to celebrate on Saturday... I'll be sure to get some photos!

He just makes me smile!

I thought I'd pop in with a photo of John from last week. Every time I see it I can't help but grin back at that little face!



Hope you're having a great day!

The Birthday Boy

James turned four a couple of weeks ago. When I stop and look at him, I realize that he has left toddler-hood far behind. I know that in the blink of an eye the next four years will be gone too. He has already become such fun to be around (when he isn't grumpy, of course) and the funny things he says and does keep us laughing.

I went looking for some pictures of him taken on or around each of his birthdays just so I could see how he'd grown, and thought I'd share them with you too. Here we are in the hospital.

I think by his first birthday he was already running, and he's been mostly a blur of action ever since!

Two years old and already a style icon.

Last summer in Hawaii (our camera broke while we were there so I don't have any pictures for a couple of months)... muscle man.

Last week...

How I love that kid! Thanks for walking down memory lane with me.

Some graduation pictures

(If you're here for the blog train, scroll down a post... )

Out of all the photos I took the two days we were in San Diego for William's graduation from boot camp, most of them didn't come out very good. It was such an emotional time, that I guess I must have had trouble focusing the camera well. These are a few of the better pictures.
The first ones here are photos I took while walking to the stands on Family Day. These are all the new Marines that were about to be released for their first liberty in months, five hours worth.This is Will's platoon marching out and then all lined up, waiting to be dismissed.Our family
These are two of my favorites: My mom getting her first hug, and James who wanted to hold Uncle's hand.
These last two of Will's platoon are from graduation day. I wish I could convey to you the excitement that built in the crowd as they marched out; the amazement of watching 585 men move and speak as one; and the pride that radiated from the new Marines.And now he leaves in just a few more days for combat training, and I will miss him again but at least this time he'll be allowed to bring a cell phone! And I'm sure my mom will continue to update the blog as his exploits continue!

Thanks for dropping by!

Just a few photos

It's been a few weeks since I posted any pictures of the boys, so I thought I'd share a few that I took this week. The first ones of Peter are from this morning... I think it's the first time he's worn a hat since right after birth. The weather here has been so cool in the mornings this week that it makes me long for autumn to really come. I even got out some of the fall candles and decorations yesterday (of course, it's supposed to be 101 on Monday, but maybe I'll just crank the air down to 68 and pretend!) Notice his two teeth; I think another one is coming in right next to the bottom right one. He's going to look pretty funny if he never gets any top teeth, don't you think?


Because it's been so nice, the boys have been able to play outside a lot. And because Simon's been working or gone much of the week, they've been sent outside a lot! I think these are from Thursday... if you notice the peanut butter on James' cheek that'll give you a clue about what kind of a day it was. By the time lunch was over they must have been bugging me so much that I didn't even bother cleaning them up before I sent them out!


This is John's newest "look" and we see it often now. It's the "I don't want to do what you are saying" look, the "I'm going to pretend I don't know you" look, the "don't touch me, James" look, the "things aren't going the way I want them to" look, the... well, you get the idea. It's pretty funny really, but we're trying to work on the attitude behind it, because it won't be too funny if it continues into the teen years!!

Peter, again. I can't help it. He's so doggone photogenic... must get that from his father! He is sitting up by himself pretty reliably now so we should finally be able to ditch the infant carrier this week. Thank goodness, his feet were hanging off the edge! He loves to be with the "big boys," especially if they're outside, so he's spent three or four mornings out there this week too. (If you're reading this, Mom P., he LOVES that blanket that you made for James, and we frequently go in to get him up from naps only to find him with his fingers through the holes all wrapped up in it. I'll try to get a picture for you!)


On Thursday night at Biblestudy, the girls in charge of childcare for the night brought gel to give Peter a mohawk. His hair wasn't thick enough or long enough, but guess who's was? This is the next morning and it isn't quite as impressive as it was Thursday night (when it was kind of like a preview of the rebel teen hairstyle that would go with his new "look") but it's still pretty wild. The best part about it was that when the boys went outside to play that afternoon, they threw dirt and little leaf pieces in each other's hair, and because of the gel residue -- well, let's just say that it wasn't coming out easily! You wouldn't have wanted to see the bathtub after that bath. So thanks girls! I can only pray that I will have the opportunity to return the favor someday when you're both married and have kids!


I hope that everyone is having a wonderful week! Only five more days until we get to see Will! (Not that I'm excited or anything! )

I'm Back!

**Tap, tap, tap**





Is this thing on anymore?





Is anyone even still out there??




Wake up!!!



I know you all probably thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth, but life has just gotten so busy this month that something had to go, and blogging was it! But, hopefully I'll be able to post a bit more regularly now that some of the month's activities have ended. You might wonder if Peter is walking and talking with a full set of teeth by now, but I'm happy to report that none of you have missed THAT much of his short life, although he did get his two bottom teeth in last week. He LOVES the saucer and is just on the verge of being able to sit up by himself. He is quite popular at church, since he bestows a happy smile on anyone willing to take the time to talk to him. I generally have to pry him away from someone's arms when I go to pick him up in the nursery.


We've spent quite a few of the evenings enjoying the unseasonably mild weather. The boys like to run around and play, but I like to sit on the patio and take pictures...
Here's the big boys having a race. John was the smart one ~ he'd take off from the starting line with the rest, but as soon everyone passed him, he'd turn around and "run" back to the starting line and be there waiting when everyone got back! Poor Peter had to sit and watch, but next summer I'm sure he'll be right in there with the rest of them.
Now that Rascal is our only dog, the boys dote on her more than ever. Here's John chasing her down in order to brush her. That's not a black eye, just dirt. More than James, he's always dirty! Doesn't matter how many times I bathe him, wash his face, or trim and clean his fingernails... he and dirt have a magnetic attraction!

We enrolled James in AWANA Cubbies this year, and he'll be starting in a few weeks. He's very excited and already wants to wear his little vest around the house, but I'm making him wait until it actually starts. No point in it getting dirty and having to be washed more than necessary! We've been working on memorizing some Bible verses at meal times. One of them is James 1:22, "But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." Because of his propensity to say the letter "L" as a "W" sound, it sounds like, "who dewude themselves," much to the endless amusement of all, but especially Simon. It never fails to make him laugh. James loves to play with Peter, and is always asking to hold, play, or help feed him. He even likes to "read" stories to him.


John surprised us the other day by counting to 10 all by himself. I think that we will constantly be amazed at how much he picks up just by listening to our conversations with James. He loves to sing and dance with James, and we get numerous noisy (but not terribly musical) concerts. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds right now, and it's so much fun to hear his little voice.

Off to get my hair cut... I'll be back with more random news and some scrapping CT stuff later...

Promised Pool Pics

ahhh... don't you just love alliteration?

Here's James. White and happy, and white. Gee whiz, where does he get that lack of color from? Must be from Simon, that's all I can figure. Excuse me while I go slather on some more tan-in-a-can...

Next up: John. See that look in his eyes? No driving for him anytime soon, maybe not ever. Actually, I think he's just gloating because he got to spend the most time in the race car float, which was of course the favorite float. "James, you're older. You need to show preference to your brother." Yes siree, firstborns always get the short end of the stick. I can totally empathize with him, but I figure it must be good for him. I mean, look at me? I turned out ok! Moving right along...

Simon and James. Lessons in trust. Painful, but oh so necessary. At some point every child has to learn that dad isn't going to drop him, or drown him. This is the only picture where he doesn't have a float on and yet is still smiling. In the others, he just looks terrified.

John again. White and happy, and huge. Where does he get that tummy... oh, never mind.