future hearthrob?

Those sensitive eyes and the "pouting" mouth, nearly a cupids bow; the silky soft hair, with its little "spike-y do"; the arches in those eyebrows, the strengthening chin. He's a mighty handsome three year old.

Yep, pretty soon the neighbors will be locking up their daughters.

things that make you go "awwwww":

Everyone likes to tease Indy.

Poor kid is going to have a complex, he he.

Anyways, Indy and Tooti have a running bit going in which Indy shouts "blow-y flower" and Tooti shouts "Dandy-Lion"! The two of them can go back and forth with this bit for AGES.

so. here he is blowing on whatever it is:

It really doesnt get a lot cuter than this.

keeping busy:

It's a good idea to keep your children busy; out of trouble! Make sure they have plenty of activities and learning games to keep them occupied. When that fails, make them wash the truck!Actually, our buddy Terry wanted to wash his truck before heading over to the thriving metropolis of Baker City,Oregon and he thought that Indy might want to give him a hand! We are having a bit of unseasonably warm weather, so we had a great time... Indy turned the house on Terry, so i enjoyed the visit.

today, Indy and his girlfriend played in the park on Indy's portable teeter totter... it appears that both of my sons have good looking girl-friends...

now if Duck would just share a picture of him with his girlfriend with me...

All in all... another nice walk through our little slice of the world.

There are wonderful flowers to see and smell on our walk to the lake; irises, daffodils, daisys, tulips, lots of flowers i cant identify, but my mother can...even some early roses!when we get to the lake there are critters to be fed! We enjoy feeding the geese... This time they acted like they hadn't been fed in a very long time! There were seven or eight geese all together when they accosted Indy, taking bread out of his hands and off the bench behind him, bumping and shoving him to get what they wanted. Finally they settled down into a more orderly group (including this little set of three in the photograph)...
When a six block walk includes: our green park, a beautiful blooming tree (or 5), more flowers than we can count, children on bicycles, a beautiful house that i would give anything to own (which is for sale but we just could never afford), teen aged girls sitting on porches talking on the phone, a nice pit stop at Grandpa and Grandma Leys' house, one house even has railroad ties for Indy to balance on as we walk along... and we end up at the lake where the path goes all the way around and we can feed the ducks, geese, sea-gulls, and various other birds. there are benches to be sat upon, and tables to eat at... there is a small dock for the paddle boats and the pre-k fishermen....

well...Albany isn't as bad a town as i make it out to be.

i go out walkin'

With the mild weather, and so much to see, we walk walk walk and walk again... maybe mommy can shed a few pounds. probably not.

So, one of this years mothers day gifts that i have already received is a new mp3 player (my dell gave up the ghost). Indy commandeered it for our walk today... he dances when he walks... it is way cuter on him than it would be on me.

There is so much to see and do. the vacant lot of last week is a construction site now... big back-hoes, track-hoes and rollers to be watched. there are ditch diggers around the corner as well! there are ducks to be fed, swings needing swung, dandy-lions to be blown, blossoms to be sniffed and slides to go down: no wonder i am exhausted!

spring finally sprung

the trees are blooming and we are getting "out and about" a lot more than we did in the winter!

so, hopefully, there will be lots of beauty to share in the coming months.

growing up in town:

A beautiful day demands a walk...

when i first saw the vacant lot near our home, i thought it looked sad, neglected, and a little like a wasteland.

then we got closer and I realized its a wonderland:

We spent nearly half an hour playing with the "blow-y flowers" and enjoying a warm day in a new way.

artistic:

something about this photograph captivates me.

i can explain no more than that.

THREE:

Today is 16 April 2008.

Indiana is THREE today.

his reaction?

"I DON'T WANT TO BE A BIG BOY!! I'M TWOOOOOO! (sniffle sniffle)"

It's going to be a long day at the Chuck E Cheese.

fun faces:

Ok, Indy...

show 'em your TOUGH GUY face!

Washed and Waxed:

The new cruiser just got its first wash and wax.
It took us a couple hours, but it was fun and she looks beautiful.
Indy helped.

pics from the park party forthcoming

Take my Breath Away:

To be honest, this picture doesn't have anything to do with what i wanted to say today... i just like it.



I had to share this:
Yesterday, as Indy and I are doing the mambo together in the living room, he jumps down off his dancing perch on the coffee table, wraps his arms around my legs and tells me, "I love you, momma, you're my best girl".
Now, i don't know where he heard that, but i had the instant watery eyes and thought to myself... for all the complaining i do, for all the times he screamed until i wanted a drink, for all the piddle i wiped off the floor because he can't aim yet, yeah, its worth it.
(its not that i doubted it before, but that was one of THE MOMENTS if you know what i mean)

I drive like Oncle Nate:

Indy had a minor accident, giggles, and shouts :

"I drive like Oncle Nate!"

I nearly wet my pants.

Long Live Senor Crash!

(its an O not U in the word "Oncle" on purpose, i prefer the french spelling and pronunciation)

Welcome Home:

there are many repercussions to which friends a person chooses in their youth.

i was luckier than most in this regard.

I have mentioned our group a few times here... as we searched for each other and came together as adults, who's shared history made us veterans of a crazy time, most fully recovered. Oddly, most of my current friends i have known for many years. usually in those odd myspace surveys, its my husband who i have known the least amount of time.


There's Terry: He was the high school jock, captain of this and that (my high school boyfriend) full of himself and with a glorious life ahead of him, too good for the rest of us, but Here he is now: a sweet guy, mostly single, who plays with Indy, helps my mom out, hangs out with my brother, plays video games with my husband, and is a great friend.


There's Teresa: loud, proud, brash, and a little insecure, our favorite, she made you want to protect her from life, but Here she is now: the most stable of my friends, with a quiet husband for 7ish years now, stays home and babysits her nieces and nephews and in laws, rediscovered and is a beautiful person


There's Melody: She was the "new kid" never really fitting in, but ever ready to please, bake for us, or just be noticed by us, in retrospect probably more fragile than any of us knew...but Where is she now: well, no one actually talks to her really, in nearly a year. the loss of younger brother from heart failure 3 years ago seemed to shatter that veneer of sanity she hid behind. i feel for her, hope she recovers and rejoins us, but for now am cut off, as i circle the wagons to protect my family.

There's Arica: Beautiful, funny, charming, slightly evil, flitting like a butterfly around life. Loud enough to lead, smart enough not to. Here she is now: two beautiful sons (one brand new) a handsome husband who loves her, who serves his country and all of us, keeping himself and the rest of us safe, fighting for us all in Iraq. Arica, with her humor and strength keeping us all sane, and grounded. wow.


There were others, but there was John: quiet, competent, caring, a fantastic family, he struggled with his image of himself, and of us, he was the most outwardly normal of everyone i knew... because we all know jock's, slow's, new's, tramp's and drunk's cant be normal... and that was the rest of us, in one or more categories. As soon as he could, he joined up with the service and kicked some of this dust. And here he is now: quiet, caring, flashing moments of competence, but unsettled, struggling with his image of himself and a family that evolved from Donna Reed into Ozzy Osbourne while he was away.


Now, this post isn't about all of my old friends who stayed with me... it's about John's parents. As the family changed, they adjusted so that they could still exude the same quiet strength and competence and security that they did all my life... even if Karen has taken to moving the Christmas tree. the history i have with them is sometimes embarrassing, sometimes i try not to remember, but they have always been willing to be there... when i deserved it, when i didn't, when they didn't have to be. even now.

So, the repercussions i started out talking about? Sometimes, when you find a lifetime friend in your youth, your children benefit years later. how? from getting to have an extra set of grandparents most kids don't get to have. the "john's mom and John's dad" that every little kid should have in their lives.

welcome home, Indy's wearing his shirt today!

...they also hold hands with the Easter Bunny:

Do I really need to add anything?

run to mommy hunny!

Happy Easter!

We attended the annual Central Linn Easter Egg Hunt in Brownsville. Indiana participated in the 0-3 age group and found 5 eggs! Sure it doesn't sound like a lot, but it really was. We had a great time and look forward to attending that event again next year.

Is it strange to drive 20 miles to a different town for egg hunting? Probably. But, Brownsville is the hometown of hometowns, the bastion of my family, my favorite memory lane... its Castle Rock in Stand By Me. no kidding.

Next event for us in Brownsville? Pioneer Picnic. Yes, i rail against it every year, but still we attend. Sometimes, you just have to go home again.

up close and personal

over the 3 years i have been blogging i have often talked about Waverly Park where we go to feed the ducks. The goose population has really taken off there and although occasionally they can get a little rough (re: bite) most of the time the geese come right on up and eat nearly out of your hands. So, on our ramble to feed the geese we have picked up bits of leaves, grass, rocks, feathers and various flotsam... i think i am going to have his grandpa build him a box to hold all his nature treasures. i feel a bit bad about throwing all this fun stuff in the trash when we get home.

couldnt resist:

Every now and again i get pictures i just have to share. Here are a few from the last couple of days:

This first one is Indiana and his daddy with the South Fork of the Santiam River in the background:Next was a sweet moment at the top of the Falls at McDowell Creek Park:And Last, but certainly not least, was this absolute marvel... Indy with his Oncle Nate (i like the French Spelling better than the English, I am pretentious that way). This was also taken at McDowell Creek park:

there was a good shot of me at the falls, also, but i will save that for another day... Oh, yeah, the car... I still haven't actually taken a picture of it. well, i have, but it was lousy. So, you must still wait for pictures of it, sorry!

tummy troubles update:

The news of the day? Indy is keeping food down! He was cleared by Doctor Bartlett today and is feeling fine!

Feelings of relief sweep through our home, and a big "thank you" goes out to all of our friends and family who kept Indy in their thoughts the last few days.



Pictures and all that junk on the new car coming in the next day or two. It's funny, we were all excited about the car for a few hours, then Indy got sick and it just sort of wasn't that important. I am, of course, back to being excited!

Hospital Run:

So, we were at the car lot today buying our new car and instead of getting a regular dinner, we hopped over to Wendy's and got a quick bite for Indy, then went back to continue the marathon session at the dealership. The car dealer actually bought our lunch/dinner which we thought was kind of nice.

UNTIL:

about 4 hours after Indy ate his cheeseburger kids meal he was violently ill. I'm talking exorcist vomiting. So, we cleaned him up in the bath with his dad, i washed his sheets and put fresh blankets on his bed, wiped down the walls, scraped up the floor and back to sleep he goes. 2 hours later he awakens again from a deep sleep violently spewing. We threw him into the new car and headed for the er. The nurse leads us to our little cubby-hole where Indy proceeds to vomit more... this time getting not just the bed, himself, but me and the nurse as well.

Diagnosis: FOOD POISONING.

Bad Food from Wendy's. Good news, he is spewing everything as his body combats illness on its own. his stomach is working hard to right the wrong. he shouldn't need hospitalization unless he dehydrates or cant hold liquids down by noon or develops a fever.

For now he takes a few sips of his clear liquid diet, throws them up, cries a little, then rests until he tries again. its going to be a very long night... but be SHOULD be just fine in a day or so.
in case you are curious... yes, he threw up in the new car on the way home from the doctor. thankfully only on the blanket he was covered in.