favorite moments. . .

Late in the day . . . running outside to dispel the hovering tension . . . the caged impatience . . . anxious for Spring's warmer touch . . .

Sunshine's fingers reaches through the trees on the hillside. . . growing longer . . . thinner . . .
reminding me that bedtime is only a breath away.

But, it's Saturday, so we ignore the signs. . .deaf to the universe's minute hand. . .

And swing. . .

I like fwing! I like fwing!

Smiles and laughter coloring this still corner of the wood. . .

Our puppies running happy . . . Max the bull . . . Dude the old matador . . . still skillful in her age . . . turning to miss his clumsy swipes round her, beside her . . . rediscovering her youth. . . her joy of playing outside. . .

Cheeks and fingers red, we retreat back indoors. . . for dinner and bedtime. . .

And one last breath outside. . . While a distant church chimes the hour ten . . . embracing the stars and the melody under the clear, black sky. . .a quiet. . .a still. . .that I miss during those chaotic moments between breakfast and bedtime.

Muddled fragments of dreams I can never quiet understand, or remember. . .and morning comes all too soon. . .Max announcing his puppy bladder can wait no longer. . . Luke waking happy to a Sunday morning with his family home, together. . .

And we gather in the kitchen together. . .The boys driving their cars along the kitchen floor, while Mama and Dada brew coffee . . . making homemade waffles and strawberry syrup . . . reminiscing about Mexico . . . and planning our Sunday together . . .

Moments that almost slip through my fingers . . . maybe not so ordinary . . . I wrap their loose threads [so much like a spider's web], gently, into a small package. . . and slip it into my pocket for later. . .

spring fever. . .

I like fwing. . .

Shoes on! Shoes on!

I like shoes on!

I like fwing. . .


We've spent some great time playing outside swinging. . . Running with little Max. . .
We've had some beautiful weather this week . . . Just teasing. . . tempting. . .
Giving us a taste of fresh air, blue skies. . . spring. . .

And now it's what Luke wants to do every day.

she. . .

has become a smidge more tolerant of her little brother. . .

Allowing him to snuggle close to her belly as they napped today.

Although she would deny it in a court of law. . .

happy easter

A fun holiday here in the Zeli house. Always bustling and running and loud . . . but so many happy memories. . .

We dyed eggs Friday morning after breakfast. Then packed up to go visit Nan and Pap Pap for their Good Friday luncheon (boy, that makes it sound so fancy).

The boys spent the night, so Mama and Dada could have a date night (what's that?).

Saturday we enjoyed hanging out together. . . Because Sunday was another bustling day. . .

Jack was very excited about his goodies from the Easter bunny. Not only did he get chickens in a golden egg and chocolate sticks (aka chocolate pretzels), but he also got some coveted mail jeep legos, the Bee Movie, and a new video game.

Luke, on the other hand, remained unenthusiastic.

We got ready for church (with Nan). And had lots of fun visiting.

The best part of the day? Coming home. . . And the boys playing outside with X and Max. . . And watching the Bee Movie with popcorn 'til bedtime. Oh, and eating too much chocolate (how could I forget that?).

Love visitng with family. And love our quiet (or not so quiet) moments together in our home. Building our family memories.

the newest zeli. . .

After much soul searching and miles on the Jeep, we brought home our baby boy last night. . .

He spent the evening romping around the house with Jack and peeing on the carpets. . .

Right now, his name seems to be puppy. However, Mr. Obvious (aka Jack) was full of cute suggestions. On the way home from school, he thought if we found a brown dog, we should name him Brownie. Driving home from the shelter, he suggested Love and John. His favorite, Lucky (which seems to be pretty appropriate for his St. Patrick's Day adoption).

He slept in Jack's room (much to Jack's delight) on the floor on a special blanket he picked for him from the O House (aka Target). Although he was much more content sleeping in Mama's lap, he did spend all night in Jack's room (howling only twice).

Tonight, our job is to give this sweet guy a name.

Will you boys. . .

Ever believe that a world existed without remotes?

I just realized how utterly remote dependent I have become, when I decided to pre-load (is that a word? 'cause I love to make up my own. . .along with song lyrics. . .but that's a story for another day) the car (sans Luke).

As I approached the front door, without thinking, I pressed the unlock button on the car remote. . .

Yes boys, once upon a time we had to open the car door with a key in the lock (maybe just as short as two years ago, during the Sunfire years). But, apparently I have already forgotten those dark ages. . .

You know what I would really love? If our tv remote had a locator button like the cordless phone (both of which I am constantly searching for. . .the gremlins in our home love to hide them, much to my irritation).

today. . .

We discovered a gaping hole in Jack's beloved blue. . . and Dr. Mama successfully operated to fix his dear buddy. . . (who says Mamas are just glorified babysitters? . . .).

Jack was excited that it's Friday. . . which means snack and playtime in Kindergarten . . . anxious to try out the block area for the first time.

Luke discovered the scawee pwants on top of the piano (as we walked hand-in-hand down the steps) . . . Mama reassured him that they were far away. . . And he was safe.

Screams and thumps echoed down the steps.
And a sweet little smile told me, scweem. Facks. . . A Clarabird. . .
The wreckage told the tale of a Lukey storm that raged through Sodor (yet again). . . blowing track all over the room. . . and leaving poor Annie and Clarabel lying on their sides without their friend Thomas.

Luke, you have caused confusion and de-way.

Luckily Foreman Mama was able to reorder the train yard. . .and fix the broken train lines. . . And Sodor was running smoothly once more. Sir Toppom Hat was pleased. . .

Music calmed the savage Luke as Mama attempted to dress him for the day (to the tune of You are my Sunshine).

Music again calmed His Craziness as we brought Jack home from school. . .apparently dropping fruit snacks is the same as a three-alarm fire in Lukey world.

And there was no play time today (those kids were too noisy). Oh well, keeping fingers crossed for next week.

We lunched on leftover chicken and fries. And watched Super Spy Dora solve one mystery after another.

Drew several hundred cookies and traffic signs. . .

And all before nap time. . .

a beautiful day

in the Wood. . .

Right now, the living room thermometer is telling me it's 65 degrees outside. Maybe. . . Whatever, the real number, it's beautiful outside. We've had the doors open all afternoon.

Jack played outside after his lunch. . . Excited to show me that he can swing all by
himself. . . finally figuring out how to do the pumping legs thing. Growing so much. . .

It's like somebody invisible is pushing me!

After I put Luke down for his nap, I slipped out onto the back porch. . . Just to listen to the breeze and the silence. . . And discovered two squirrels racing round and round a fat tree trunk in the back. . . and three deer a few yards down. . . munching on some feed corn. . .

And just now, a little squirrel in the back. . . sniffing the ground like a little puppy. . . in search of the walnuts he stashed so long ago in the fall. . . And the happy discovery of his dinner. . . He turned it round and round in his little paws before scampering back into the woods with his reward. . .

We all are feeling Spring just a breath away. . .

black monday

The day after the time change. . .

I am not a big fan of the whole losing an hour thing. I insist to Sam that it is the worst day of the year.

I have since changed my opinion.

The Monday after the time change is definitely the worst day of the year.

Dragging out of that comfy bed early on the back to work day. Shaking the sleeping stone that pretends to be Jack, so he might wake up for Kindergarten this morning.

And trying to function. . . I need my coffee as an IV drip this morning. . . Is that possible?

I might have fooled my mind into thinking we went to bed at the same time last night. But, my body is screaming, no way! this morning.

Jack's passion

He loves the legos. Something he gets from his Mama (Santa brought me a red lego house for Christmas one year, that I absolutely loved. . .).

Right now, he is loving the vehicle thing. We've been creating all sorts of crazy cars from salvaged bits of other legit vehicles.

First on the parade route is the police car. . .that has been transformed into the mail sucking car. Complete with a mailbox, a mail finding radar/sucking mechanism, and a mail searching computer (with the keyboard on the dashboard. . .pretty handy for the driving lego man). A mama creation.

Next is the melting ray car. A Dada creating. It has a specialized ray machine that can melt anything. Jack loves to melt all sorts of objects down into mud. (I hope this isn't some sort of commentary on my housekeeping skills).

The yellow car mashed together with some red car bits (salvaged from Goodwill) has turned into the fastest car in Legoville. Complete with a fan on the front (because it can fly, of course) and fire shooting from the back. Warp speed, baby.

The next car has some red car bits. Some fire truck bits. And a lazy susan on the back full of green bottles. What does it do? Beside not stay together very well? Not much.

The mail airplane (much sought after this week) full of important packages.

A quad runner with an impenetrable orange shield.

The fire truck. Stripped. Apparently left unattended on the bad side of Legoville. Who would have thought a fire truck would be the target of vandals? I guess there's bad elements everywhere (and if you peek into Jack's lego jail, you'll see it's always full). . . Well, at least there's room for more guys to ride along (right now, the spaceman and diver). And, I see that a boat has been added. Ah, the recreation fire truck. Hey, even firemen need to be able to kick back and have fun.

Followed by a bad guy on a motorcycle. And the space rover.

Pulling up the rear is Dada's finest creation. The laser truck. I believe in another life it was part of the giant police truck. Now it carries two huge search lights. And two giant lasers mounted on top. The man in the back has two controls for those bad boys. Ready for battle. And from what I hear, Legoville could use some more good guys on patrol.

In back is the red Jeep. Not Lego. But, what parade in Jack's universe would be complete without some sort of Jeep?

Love this. His growing creativity. Ornery, but so much fun.

the culprits. . .

For two days, our little Luke refused to go into the living room. Screaming bloody murder. . . Clinging to Mama and Dada as if the floor were alive with toe munching monsters.

Why, you ask?

Good question.

We couldn't figured out.

So, he spent two days in the kitchen and entry way. . . Refusing to step foot into the living room. And if he had to, he ran through. . . at light speed. . . Back to the safety of the kitchen.

Snacking on his yogurt on the gossip bench in the entry way. . .

And hanging out with Dude on the little blue couch (also in the entry way).

Until last night, when we coaxed him into the living room. Dis! Dis! He screamed, anxiously looking at the wall behind the couch. The window? The pictures on the wall?

What?

Until we realized it was the plants. The same plants he terrorizes in the kitchen

(pulling off their leaves and tossing them in the sink).

Their leaves shaking every time he bumped into the couch. . .

So we tried to show him the only move when they are shaken. . . And that the leaves were OK to touch. . . And they were plants (pants) with leaves (weevs). . .

Who were relocated to the top of the piano. . .

It seems. . .

that all of our little moments . . . the laughs . . . silly stories. . .and sometimes just the goldfish getting crushed into the carpet. . . Get lost somewhere in the greatness of the day. . . And by greatness, I mean the moments in between loads of clothes in the washer. . . loads of dishes in the sink . . . and the dog puking on the carpet. . .

This is my hope that I can grab all of those little things I desperately don't want to forget. . .

Put them in a little basket. . .

So I can come back to them every now and again. . .

Smile. . .

And go back to cleaning the carpet before the boys track it through the rest of the house.