Ranting...

My whole-hearted apologies for the rant earlier. I know that's not very uplifting to read. Sorry about that. Next post will be more fun - I swear.

One of Those Days...

I just had to get away. I've come down to the computer to unwind and do some blogging. Oh wait, my computer is messed up again, and it only took me about an hour to get my pictures loaded onto it.... Arrrrgh. Okay, now I'll do some blogging, however sour my demeanor. Sorry. But here goes: Today, I believe, in my insanity, I actually uttered the words (under my breath of course), "I don't think I want any more kids." I know that is not true, but at the time, it felt true. Today, Spencer chose to give me a taste of what, I assume, every other boy is like. And I must say, I'm not such a fan. He tore up everything in his line of vision. At the library, that included every book off the shelf! Even when I strapped him into the stroller, he kept wiggling out and finding a way to perpetuate my insanity. He's also had like, 5 poopy diapers, he's pulled everything off the shelves in their room multiple times, not to mention he's been whining and crying about everything through it all. To top it all off - when I was in the kitchen, Ben did this to Spencer:(Below) And to himself... (hiding from my anger? Nope, just sick of me taking pics.) He said he was making the duo into "Funny Clowns." This would be more funny if the marker were washable... Poor Spence screamed bloody murder for like, 10 minutes while I was scrubbing his face so hard. I've learned my lesson. Washable markers? Best invention ever!(Above) Awesome lighting, I know. I couldn't get either of them to stay still long enough to get many decent pictures. I was not in the mood to keep trying.(Above) I'm not sure if he's feigning a look of innocence, or looking sneaky and matter-of-fact. He is kind of darling even when I'm mad at him though.

(Above) Not the best picture, again - but this shows you THE BEST I could do in removing the marker. Now I've got a 1 year old who looks like he stole the eyeshadow of a two-dollar hooker. Who knows how long that will last? Hopefully not into adulthood.

I would honestly think this was really funny if it weren't at the end of this horrible day. I apologize for not being very good humored about it all. I know I'm in danger of dying young with my attitude :) - it does help to vent though. I know I sound ridiculous. All I've got to say about Spencer's behavior today is this: I think the year of The Angel is over. I'm in mourning, believe me. Ummm, I better be done here - I just looked over at Ben cutting a bunch of paper with scissors, and he just said, "Mom, it feels like I cut myself, but I didn't." I'm not buying that. I better go stop the bleeding! AHHHHH!

Welcome to the 21st Century Kate. It's only taken 8 years or so... And technically - I'm not even there yet!!!

As you may or may not know - my dear, sweet, archaic, fat ole' sucka of a phone took it's leave from our lives on Friday; (okay, so it wasn't that old - just, poorly designed). It unexpectedly fell into a puddle in the Walmart parking lot, and began the struggle for survival shortly thereafter, (as the message on my voicemail may have already told you). Although it put up a good fight and it seemed like the damage was minor at first - we even thought it was going to pull through - but alas, it lost the battle just 3 hours later. We will miss you phone. You saw us through some good times. You never gave me any problems - I could even go as far as to nickname you "Old Reliable", at least as far as signal strength goes. Oh, you'll always have a special place in my heart...

But anyway, needless to say, if you need to get a hold of us, because we don't have a land line - you'll need to call Doug's phone. And we're just going to deal with it - until March 5th. The day we are eligible to get new cell phones without having to pay out-the-freaking-nose. Doug's phone is a huge piece of junk, (MUCH worse than mine, although supposedly nicer and more expensive, thanks to LG), and he's been counting down the seconds until that day anyway. So, in short, it's not a completely devastating loss - although a loss indeed. We'll have to write all about our new phones once we get them. And PS - I'm going to take the opportunity to get on my soap box about my hatred for cell phone companies. If you are a cell phone provider please take note to the following: You are all cheats, and thieves. Although I've liked some of the service that's been provided to me by AT&T, Verizon, Midwest Wireless, and now Alltel - none of you have ever shown me that you cared about anything other than the almighty dollar. And in most cases, unfortunately, most of you have always been nothing less than GREEDY with all your "billing mistakes." Shame on you. And Shame on most of your policies - especially the ones about phone replacement when you're not under warranty. Like I'm going to pay $250 to replace my Nokia candybar just because I don't qualify for the "promotional deal." But [sigh] - they know we can't live without them - those wicked creatures. So, with a heavy heart, I will sign on the dotted line in exchange for my soul... Boo, Hiss.

Birthday Man in tha House!

Well, disappointingly enough, you're NOT in the house Dad - not mine anyway... :( That is the stinky thing about living so far from my family. I have to miss fun days like birthdays and all the festivities. I wish I could have been there with you guys today. Since I didn't get to talk to you for very long today, I'll just write a word or 2 about how special I think you are.

My dad is the most loveable, happy, optimistic, goofy, determined, kind, lovING, almost-too-nice nice guy out there. He aims to please. And that my friends, is what he's done. I am pleased with the father that I have. He's taken TOO good of care of us, and spoiled me. I just love him so much. He's a great guy - and everyone who knows him thinks likewise. Happy birthday Pops! You're swell.

And PS - Chicks defnitely DO dig your ride!!! :)

And PPS - Do I look just like him? Because that's what they've been telling me for years... What's your take?

Before people comment on the above...

Um, excuse me Mr. Simmons - you've got some severe competition; uh, if there were such a competition for outrageously long tongues. And furthermore, isn't a uvula shot something that can really be appreciated by all? Seriously though, all tongues aside here, aren't my boys gloriously darling?

2 Reasons...

Why I don't blog very much anymore:

1. Winter boredom. We have nothing very exciting to write about - things are super low key over here. We hardly go anywhere or do anything but go to the store. But maybe pictures of my kids in the grocery cart would be just what this blog needs... (note to self.)

And 2. I don't nurse anymore. I used to be on the computer all the time when I was nursing Spence - but seriously, I have time for a quick check of the email, and rarely sit at the computer conjuring up ideas for my next post, or creating a post for that matter. I'm sorry all of you have given up on me. But I spend most of my time cleaning up stuff like this now:

And just for fun -

Lately, Ben usually spends his time like this -

Or occasionally this (pardon the hideously filthy desk):

And Spence is doing something adorable like this:

...and I guess there's always a little of this - for good measure:

And the 20th post of the day...

I think I got my collages to work now....

Spencer turned 1 on Jan. 20th!!! - and... let's see if this collage works.

Our guy is growing up SO fast!!! I just can't believe Spence is one! We had a great celebration with the Worthingtons on the actual birthday - it was so much fun with all his cousins; they dote on him. He loved when we sang Happy Birthday to him - and loved the chocolate frosting even more. He's actually walking all over the place these days! He doesn't even try to crawl anymore. Not quite running - but any day now - I'm sure. He's a man now... it happened so fast. Please, just stay away from the girls for just a little while longer Spence. I can't take that. Though, he will most assuredly not be able to fend them off with a face like this...

Spence's first time in a front facing car seat. I think he wasn't sure about it...

It only took a minute though!I love ya Spence you're just the sweetest kid ever. You sure have made it easy to love you.

Stupid Collages...

I am so frustrated with the collages I've been putting on my blog lately. The first few I put on, I've had no trouble with, but then at Christmas - it started happening. I'm sure you've noticed it. You can't click on the collage to make it bigger. You can't even see the pictures. What am I doing wrong? I don't think I changed any preferences or anything. Anyone know what I can do? Your help is much appreciated.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mama Jewkes' Big birthday! I hope you have a great day! We're thinking of you and we miss you guys a lot. You're the best mom ever. Thanks for being a good example to me - and showing me lots of unconditional love. Come and see me, and I'll shower you with gifts! :)

Some winter fun - from before our trip...

Here are some pics of a Family Night from before our trip - I've been meaning to stick this on forever. We finally took the boys SLEDDING - it was even Ben's first time! It was dark, so the pics are obviously not that good. It was also icy, so we didn't last that long- but it sure was fun! Spence even did pretty well, although cold toward the end. It made me really nostalgic about a lot of the things we did as kids. I know that if I were 15 years younger, I would have stayed out there for hours, regardless of cold, ice, or whatever. It gave me a reality check - I am old.... :( Doug probably could have stayed out for a lot longer though. Does that mean that he's got a younger "REAL AGE" than I have because he's more fun? Or is it just because he's a guy? What has happened to me...
EDITED NOTE - IF YOU READ THIS BEFORE: I had to add 3 more images to the collage, because I could only get a 9 square collage to do the zooming-in thing. So, I added a couple more pictures. Spence clobbering chocolate - again. And the weird red blob is of my tummy on my right side - not a good picture, I know - but it was hard to get one to focus. Anyway... Right before Christmas, I broke out with shingles!!! I really WAS stressed out. It was pretty itchy and painful, but I didn't even know what it was until it was gone. I picked all the little scabs off and made them scars. I'm lucky that Spence didn't get chicken pox from it. It was weird.

Embarrassed... but here it is anyway!

So sorry this has taken so long to get a new post. I know our fans have been patiently waiting... ha ha, (that one goes out to Jessi - b/c I think she's the only one who has expressed her disappointment in me!) I feel like I had a good excuse up until a week and a half ago (Utah, then computer was acting up for a while) - and then I think I can just chalk it up the rest of the delay to being lazy and overwhelmed that this is going to have to be such a long post. Also, I just haven't been on the computer much - hence the reason I've hardly read any of your blogs either. Sorry. I guess I've just been a slacker - with a major need to veg.

So - our trip to UTAH was fantastic, and depite being there for over 2 weeks - not long enough. We had a lot of fun with family and friends. Jill and Jason were able to sacrifice driving through blizzards - both ways - to come and see us, as well as my little prego Sami (Adam couldn't make it,) and Doug's sister Dona from Southern Utah- it so kind of them. So, it was great to see everyone and do everything. We went to a jazz game (doug went to 2), spent a day in Price with our friends Ryan and Lindsay, went to 2 dinosaur museums (Thanksgiving Point and one in Price), of course; we celebrated Spence's 1st birthday (and cousin Ezra's 2nd), went to some great eating establishments that we really miss out here in the tundra, and mostly, the boys played with a LOT of cousins. We also, basked in the balmy 28 degree weather. Ahh, leaving MN in January is a good thing. I'm reminded of that fact especially because this weekend we're supposedly having another 'Arctic blast' where wind chills are going to feel like -40. Yikes! Oh, the good life... Here are some pics of our trip, and a little of what we've been up to lately.

Edited collage - so it should let you click to enlarge....

We all got haircuts on the same day by coincidence. Even Spencer got his first. We took a picture to mark the occasion - and this is the best we could do... :) At least Spencer's happy about it. This was Spence and Ezra's birthday dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Good times above and below.

Look! We're at the Energy Solutions Arena!... ha ha - I mean the Delta Center :)Grandpa Jewkes and Ben bonding Dona and Spence intently watching the game...

Hangin' it over at Worthingtons'... Ben and Ruby during one of their many playtimes...Above is my glowing Samantha. And below, the Combined Birthday Party...

There will be more to come on Spencer turning one - and other stuff (all my pics of the Worthingtons are from Spencer's birthday - I will post those too).