Wordless Wednesday

No, not taking a vow of silence today. [Though I did consider it last Thursday on Charlie Chaplin's birthday.] Instead, I've run across an idea that embodies the whole "A picture tells a thousand words" concept. And I guess you've noticed I take lots of pictures. Would love to learn about photography...but um, when?

Anyway.

So the idea is to post a photo without explanation. www.wordlesswednesday.com has a listing of bloggers who participate each Wednesday (at least).

So here's my first. Really says... a LOT.

Getting into a little bit of "fubble" and a lot of "fazy."

I know the last post was full of random one-liners and things the boys say. Well, there's more where those came from ;)

Tonight, the boys and I baked cookies at Ba's house...and made a complete mess, of course. Connery ate flour right off his spatula while Kieran carefully placed his cookie cutters. (Could they BE more different?) On the way home, Kieran asked if we brought a heart cookie for Daddy, "because I want him to have a heart cookie, because I love him really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad." Hm. Really? Later as he brushed his teeth, he reminded me, "I love my daddy 200 bad."

Could be because they look JUST alike. I nearly cried when Sandy showed me this picture.
He was barely 5 in this photo, and when Sandy showed it to Kieran, Kieran smiled and said "That's me." No need to wonder why.
It's like going back in time... I am curious to see when he starts to veer off and look different--or if he ever will.

I've updated the photos on the right, and if you click here, you'll go to our Picasa page, where we have folders of pics from the past few months.

Here are a few Connery-bits I've been saving up:
He still loves his fire-f*ck hat. And still gets in "fubble."

It's funny when you see your children do things that you know they learned directly from you. Connery grabs the sides of my face, puckers his lips and says, "Oo yistening to me?" That's EXACTLY what I do when I'm angry with him. But it's not as cute when I do it.

Says 'yow' instead of yes. We have no idea where he came up with that one.

Noticed the freckles on my arm one night and asked, "Why oo have dese? Oo get dem fum de mall? Dem tattoos?"

Mysteriously hurts his 'pinguh' whenever it's time to clean up toys. He gets a really pitiful voice and tells us 'My pinguh is hurting."

Iyuh oo.--I love you.

I am yisten.--I am listening.

One night, Sandy and I worked out at the gym while the boys played in the gym's kids' room. The next morning, I changed Connery's diaper and found 2 AAA batteries! Kieran told me (very matter-of-factly) that they were from the tv remote from the gym. WHAT?? I asked Connery if he put them in there, and he (also very matter-of-factly) told me that he had. I asked him why, and he gave his usual explanation. "Because. I no have pockets."

It's a little scary how quickly he can change emotions. When we tell him he has to stop crying before he can get whatever it is he wants, he takes a deep breath, then wipes his eyes with both hands. All done.

One night as I gave the boys a bath, Sandy walked into the bathroom and asked, "Are you boys being good?" They both were, and Kieran proudly announced, "I am!" And Connery stood up and said, "I am... NOT!" HUGE smile on his face...I guess because he knew it would make us laugh. And it did. He's constantly cracking us up.

And even though he started his preschool class in January, in his mind he's still transitioning at school. He still calls his class his "big boy class" as if he may one day go back to the old one.

And some Kieran-isms:
Kieran still translates when we can't figure what in the world C's saying. It comes in very handy. Even when he barely pays attention, he understands better than we do.

Girlfriend update: "Madeline is a little crazy about me, but she's a lot of crazy about my brother. When I have my birthday, I'm not going to give her an invitation."
"You're not?"
"No, 'cause I want her to be a lot of crazy about me, too."

I took K to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the Musical (actually back in February). Uncle Mike (aka the Lone Ranger) and his wife and son (aka Tonto) went and had extra tickets for us. We invited one of Kieran's friends from school with his mother. The boys were funny together...instantly silly, of course. They both really liked the show. Kieran said his favorite part was the dancing, and Ryan liked the flying car. (Which was pretty freaking awesome!) After the show, Kieran and I broke all the rules and went out for burgers and milkshakes. Just me and the boy. A nice little date. It made me realize how little time I get with just one child at a time. I think I'll try to build in some "date nights" with each one.

We spent a weekend at Aunt Mary's just before she passed away, and the boys were surprisingly VERY good the entire time. When we got home, Kieran pointed out "We didn't have to find a corner at all. And they had some corners, I saw them."

Ah, the way he describes things: When he didn't want crust on his pizza, he explained, "My teeth shake when I try to crack it." And he has a hard time getting to sleep sometimes. He tells us he's trying to go to sleep but his "eyes won't stick together."

K just told me that sometimes he gets in trouble but 'when my daddy tells me I'm in trouble he still loves me.'

KellyMasi came into town last weekend and took Kieran to Build-a-Bear...and he built a monkey! ;) As much as he looks like his dad, he's also very much MY child. He named it Batmonkey, because he dressed it like Batman. Masi didn't want Connery to be left out, so she bought him a smaller monkey, too, which, in true Connery style, he named "Nuffin."

He sadly told us that his friend Chloe was "never, ever, ever, ever coming back to my class." He sat quietly for a minute, then asked Ba to flip her rearview mirror to look at him. He pointed to the corner of his eye. "Ba, do you see that little water?"

The boys have learned more about car batteries in their short lives than I have in my own. My van's battery was pretty old, and twice, we left one of the interior lights on and the battery died. A few months later, we were driving home, and I noticed that the light over Kieran's seat was on and casually asked him to help me remember to turn it off when we got home. It was a cold night, and neither one of us remembered. The next day when Momma explained to him that my "car died," Kieran immediately made the connection: "I didn't turn off my light." :( The next night, I kept calling him to get out of the car, but he was trying to turn off the interior lights that were on because the door was open. :( And another night, he asked if we could turn on the light and promised he'd turn it off. Connery said, "Oo cah will be die. Oo battery will die." Needless to say, Sandy has replaced my battery since then.

And the music around here? Kieran loves Kenny Chesney and sings along with "Everybody wants to go to KEVin" ;) (For those of you non-Kenny fans, everybody really wants to go to Heaven.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I do realize that I've not updated about several important events like Kieran's birthday party, PaGaga's return from Afghanistan, our visit to TN over Spring Break, Easter, or my own birthday. Sorry 'bout that. Don't get me wrong. We are extremely thankful for those big moments. And I get pictures, of course.

But the little moments, the little "out of the blue" moments are the ones that come to me when I sit down to write. They're unscheduled, unrepeatable, and sometimes, I am almost terrified that I will forget them. I've heard enough people say,

"Enjoy them while they're young. They grow so fast."

And when Kieran puts on pajamas and cries when we explain that they're too small now... I believe all those people, and it makes me more than a little sad.

Exactly enough time

That's exactly what I feel like I don't have enough of. Time. But if there's ever a moment in my day when I feel the noisy world fade out into someone else's direction, it's when one of the boys says something funny, or makes a new face, or touches my hand. Their skin is cooler than mine, and of course softer.

That's why this Brian Andreas print stopped me tonight.
I need to remember that.
So here's an update on our latest adventures and some KieranSpeak and ConnerySpeak. With a few photos thrown in.

We've spent more time in Tennessee during the past month or so, and it's been wonderful. I remember spending weekends and then weeks (months, even?) in TN when I was little. In fact, almost ALL of my childhood memories are there, while I remember very little of my neighborhood or friends here. I want the boys to know the country, to walk the same gravel roads I used to walk down...back when they seemed much longer to my little legs than they actually are. So I was excited to take the boys to TN for several days during Spring Break. And the weather was perfect for walks down to the barn and the cemetery at Granny Pugh's house. Connery got a little confused when I said we were going to see Grandpa Carson's grave--"Not GRANDPA Carson. CONNERY Carson." The boys helped Granny weed in the yard and showed off for Aunt Estella. She hadn't seen them since they were babies, so she was pretty amazed.

At Granny Roysden's, the boys stayed fully entertained by all the cousins. And Kieran LOVED Uncle Terry and Aunt Brenda's horses. He didn't recognize Cheyenne from the last time we saw her...when she was only a few days old. I've got TONS of pictures from the weekend, but I just got a new computer and haven't gotten many pictures transferred over. That's why the slideshow over on the right is from DECEMBER! Sorry.

CONNERYSPEAK
Das Fazy--That's crazy.
infeBiDles.--increDiBles.
a yil bit--a little bit. That's usually his answer when we asked if he got in trouble at school.
oppopus--octopus
heyo daryin--hello, darlin'
hey, fitty yady--hey, pretty lady
...and one of my favorite things he says, "Oo yisten to me, Mommy?" while he holds my face in his hands.
...oh, and how can I forget the night he dropped his spoon on the floor and said, "What in the head?!" !!!!!!!!!! My jaw dropped! And I had to turn my face so he wouldn't see me laugh. We asked him where he heard that, and he said, "From myself," so we may never know the culprit who taught him that. We're just glad he thinks it's "head."

As you know, C LOVES to sing, and often requests a bedtime song. One night, he told me he'd sing one. 'On Top of Spaghetti.' Gotta love that kid.

Oh, and he loves to take his clothes off. We've noticed that he takes his socks and shoes off in the car a lot. But lately, when he's home, he's not satisfied with being barefoot. One morning, I found him dancing wildly in front of our full length mirror. Stark naked. When I asked what he was doing, he told me he was Obi Wan Kenobi. Not sure which scene he's thinking of...

One night, Sandy caught Connery drawing on the floor. Of course, he got onto him...and then felt bad when he realized he had drawn "tick up, tick down, tick afoss"--an A. Sandy asked him what it said, and Connery told him "I love you." Poor Sandy got a full dose of Dad-guilt there.

KIERANSPEAK
He's constantly telling us something that impresses us. Like when he asked me to "accelerate" and knew what it meant. I asked where he learned that, and he said, "I heard it in my imedicination." Yes, folks, i-medicin-ation. It turns out he learned it from Ben 10, one of his favorite cartoons. one of the aliens' names is XLR8. Makes me feel a little less guilty about letting him watch so much tv.

He's been struggling with the concept of city and state. He knows we're in AL but gets confused when we say the city. And when we go to TN, we go to two different cities sometimes (Crossville and Chattanooga), so he asks a lot: "Are we still in Alabama or are we in Tennessee? Which Tennessee are we in?" He told me once that we were in California, Tennessee. I think a globe is our next purchase.

Sandy told him that he was going to buy him a new house. He replied, "Daddy, you can only buy a new house if yours blows up." We have just started our house-hunting, and I'm just a little concerned about how the boys will adjust. One day we pulled up in front of the house and he saw the realtor's car. When I told him why she was here, he said, "I like our house best. Not another house." That will be the sad part about moving. This is the only house they've ever known.

He asks us almost every day if it's "a stay home day." Even though on our "stay home days" we usually go somewhere.

One night, he told me out of the blue, "I love my daddy and all his clothes."

Our newest toy is a four-sided Lite-Brite. And the boys love it. It's the "Light Game." The first time they played, Kieran cheered "I'm winning" every time he put a peg in.

He's in this "smile like a freak" stage that cracks me up. I'm guilty of taking LOTS of pictures, and he's great about smiling for them, but oftentimes the smiles are so fake.
This is pretty much his real smile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This is NOT. ;)













They both loving watching YouTube cartoons on Sandy's iPhone. One morning, they were zoned out watching Thundercats. (Great blast from our childhood!) Suddenly, Sandy and I noticed that the cartoon was in Spanish. ha! The boys never seemed to notice.

Speaking of Spanish. Every day, we ask the boys what they did in school. Almost every time, Kieran says "I didn't do Spanish." Clearly, Spanish class is a highlight for him.

Kieran has started reading a few words! He's learned a few sight words like dog, clap, and cat. One of his favorite books is Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel, and he excitedly points out the words "kitty" "bad" and "good."

It's just hard to believe he's big enough for that.

I think that every day.

The Wind Cries...Mary

Dear Mary, You will be missed and always loved. Where ever you are now, know that I am a better person for having the chance to have you in my life. I look forward to seeing you again in the next life. Love, Sandy.

There's Something About Mary

The past couple of weeks have been trying. My dad called me on Feb. 26 to tell me that my great Aunt Mary had been sent home on hospice care. She is my great aunt for more than the obvious reason that she is my Granny's sister. Here is another reason...
That's her with some of her grandchildren at our family reunion. For years, she has made an appearance in the bikini shirt. Dances. Sings. And last year, when it was difficult for her to walk, her granddaughter's boyfriend helped her strut around.

Here's another reason...I've always known that Mary was incredible. Yes, she was sweet and wise, but sweet Lord, she was FUNNY! Her sisters (including my Granny, the one they call "Saint Alice") were usually embarrassed because she wasn't afraid to say something inappropriate. She always seemed much younger than her years. And she could grab a baby and love on them like no one else. As she would say, "I could just kiss your face off." (This is her with Connery in July 07.)

Sandy and the boys and I drove to Chattanooga to see her the weekend after Daddy called, and as hard as it was to see her weak, it was also comforting just to see her again, to be able to tell her how much we loved her. To see her wake and brighten when she saw the boys or when one of her grandchildren fed her ice cream or brushed her hair. When I first saw her, I sat by her bed, held her hand and cried silently. She opened her eyes--crystal blue, by the way--reached up and wiped my tears. As long as I live, I will remember that. It really symbolized what she did all her life. Even when she was in pain, she tried to comfort others.

When we left to come home on Sunday, I felt a strong pull to stay behind and just let the boys go home. My cousin David told me that my Granny felt the same way when she left. So on Thursday, I picked my Granny up in Crossville, TN and drove to spend Mary's last days with her. Those last days taught me more than I can ever sum up here. In fact, I think I will realize more of those lessons in years to come.



...Those two sisters taught me to appreciate my own. When they look at each other, I wonder if they see what they looked like when they were little.
...Looking through old pictures taught me that time is fleeting by. And that my dad and his cousin Pam played house when they were kids. ;)
...Watching Mary's children laugh and cry with her taught me that the bond between mother and child is always, always as precious as the first moment they meet.

We cried a lot that weekend. But we laughed. A lot. Often through the tears. And that, I think, is the greatest lesson.


My granny amazed me. She stayed by her sister's side almost the entire time we were there. At 11:20 Friday night, my cousin told me I needed to make her go to sleep. (I was flattered that they thought I could make my granny do anything. ;) But when I asked her to get some rest, she sweetly said, "I will. Just give me 30 more minutes. You can time me." I think she knew that Mary was leaving; 10 minutes later, she called my cousins to the bed, and I went through the house to get the others. At 11:35, Mary took her last breath.

Mary passed away quietly with her children, grandchildren and her oldest sister all around her.
At her funeral, I sang a song called "Mary" by Patty Griffin. Now, I can't get these lines out of my head.

Mary, she moves behind me. She leaves her fingerprints everywhere. Every time the snow drifts, every way the sand shifts, even when the night lifts, she's always there.

Sweet Mary, I do love you "gooder'n snuff and better'n bakker." I'll laugh at least once every day for you, kiss my boys at least twice, and make sure somebody wears that bikini this year. They'll dance. And we'll laugh.

Brotherly Yuv

As we all four lay in bed watching The Lone Ranger, I heard Connery tell Kieran, "I yuv oo, Theh-Theh." I reached for my camera, of course, and caught the moment...which quickly turned silly.

Brother
(Toad The Wet Sprocket)

i find my brother in there
deep in my heart
i find my brother in there
hold in my arms
i love you
and if I seem too quiet now
there are no words
to tell you how
i love you
i often feel
like the prodigal son
take all I need
giving back none
our beauty shows
in such different ways
you're like the light behind the fog
so soft
but still you burn my eyes away
i find my brother in there
deep in my heart
i find my brother in there
hold in my arms
i love you
and if I seem too quiet now
there are no words to show you how
i love you
so much has changed
and so much has happened these years
but still I find that you
are waiting here
we have a bond
that nothing can change
and still I find
a peace of mind
whenever I hear your name
and if I seem too quiet now
there are no words to show you how
i love you

Family Pic

HI Everyone. Amy and I were lucky enough to spend a nice evening at home with the boys. Even though we were exhausted from the week we decided that since everyone was nicely playing together and were all in the living room that we would take a few minutes to try to snap some family pictures. We took about 20 picture and I think there were 2 that worked out well. We tried to get one with the animals as well. Our dog when we finally had the cooperation of our dog (Gryphon) and cat (Sweets), we could not get Connery to pay attention. C'est la vie. At least we have a good representation of Kieran's forced camera smile. Have a great weekend everyone!