Battlestations!

Julius has built a very fine castle for his army forces. There is a landing strip for planes, a reinforced bunker and plenty of parking for tanks. He asked me this morning if we can decorate his room with robots, colored posters and other cool stuff. He said , "All the stuff I have now is baby stuff." I swear he was still my baby yesterday...

What I'm Looking At

Enjoying a gorgeous view of the lake. On a listing appointment. Wow do I live in a pretty place!

Pure Heaven

Heaven is a big book store. No wait... Heaven is a big book store when you have lots of money.

Still waiting

I tried to be clever and take a detour but got stuck again. At least the scenery here is better. I wish I could get some traffic news on the radio. Rob says hwy dept web site says its an 18 wheeler accident. Traffic is backed up for at least 15 miles.

Endless Traffic Jam

I am not sure I will get where I am going. It goes on for a million miles.

On the Road

On the long road to Little Rock.

Currently Reading

This is what I'm currently reading and having a lot of trouble getting into it. (Sidenote... I didn't know it was possible to make my feet look like they are two inches long. Incredible!)

Worn Out

It's not easy being Tristan.

A Bird for Mom

Julius made his first picture at pre-school and dedicated it to me. The caption reads, "This is for my mom. This is a bird. Its feathers and bones fell off." My son's sentimentality often makes me cry (on the inside).

Heard on the Radio

Every morning on the radio there is a show called The Trading Post where folks call in to say what they have for sale or trade. This morning I heard a guy say, "I've got a billy goat I want rid of for forty dollars or I'll trade it for 10 hens." Not everyone gets to live in as a cool a place as I do!

Celebration

Celebrating a positive first day at school!

First Day at School

Today is Julius's first day at school! Here he is next to the gerbil house. The teacher says she is a grouchy gerbil who bites. (Indeed said gerbil did bite my mother at the school open house, much to the delight of my husband.) We are anxious to pick Julius up today to hear all about his first day at school adventure.

Musical Talent

Last night and this morning we had jam sessions, me and the boys. I was on a wooden flute from India and the boys were doing a piano duet. I'm waiting for hubby to stagger bleary-eyed out of the bedroom to see what on earth is going on.

Morning Time

Tristan is almost too big for Julius to hold. Both my boys are morning boys (unlike their father). :-D

Medieval Hybrid

Julius is hopped up on the medieval vibe! He's got kind of this quasi-medieval/Blade/Spy Kid thing going on. Tough little cutie!

Kickin' it Up Medieval Style

Tristan's doing a big kick in his kilt. He was a cutie-pie hit in his duds! He nearly knocked down a screen wall in one of the gathering rooms with his big ole beefy self. People had a hard time believing he's only 9 months old.

On the Way

On our way to medieval Aphar Faire!

In a Meeting

Sitting in a meeting getting an update on the current state of affairs in lending. I am a party animal!

Starting School

Today was open house at the pre-school. We got to see the teacher and we got the one I was hoping for. She is an old classmate of mine, same graduating class and I worked with her mom in the school cafeteria all through middle and high school. I was the cafeteria geek. They put gift backpacks in their cubbies, so cute! Julius seemed to enjoy his time there and is looking forward to his first day on Monday.

In the Boonies

An unexpected oasis of yellow flowers found while walking waist high through a whole heap of weeds. With clients trying to find the overgrown path down to the creek. Praying for no snakes!

A Real Trooper

Shots completed. I am so amazed -- he didn't even cry!! I told Rob I wanted him to go this time because I didn't want to be the only one crying about it. He still doesn't know what all the fuss is about! :-)

Waiting for Shots

One of the top crummy things about being a parent is having to take kids in to get shots. Bleh. Here he is, smiling, unsuspecting, no clue he's about to be stuck with those hideous needles. Bleh again, I say!

Paper Boyz

The other day for craft time, my oldest and I were making paper people. He inspired the whole session by making a paper Spongebob completely on his own, from his own idea and with no input from me. It was really cute. I should add a picture of it here. This was my project which is supposed to end up as fridge magnets, but we were having too much fun playing with them as dolls to finish.

Learning the Hard Way

My youngest son is a daredevil, so far fearless. He swallows food without chewing, wrestles a Spiderman chair twice his size (rarely winning) and will challenge his 4 year old brother to a cage match (often winning). Here he is doing a set of four hurdles at the doctor's office, the first one on his face. He didn't seem to mind. This attitude will serve him well in life later because as you know there are times when we all just land on our faces.

Taking Things into Account

I'm not an accountant but I do a lot of that in my job. In the stress of real estate, there is something comforting about numbers. They don't lie, they don't argue, they don't disappear for no reason. While they are not always easy, you can count on them to be reasonable and follow the rules. Numbers are nice in that respect.

Dino Boy

He has discovered that dressing a dinosaur in military gear is hilarious. Like his mother he seems to particularly relish the incongruous and absurd.

Movie Night

Every Sunday night is movie night at our house. Tonight we're watching George and the Dragon which is a terrible movie, yet we watch it with determination. It's a path we've committed ourselves to and so we soldier on.

Wormy Goodness

My son is enamoured with creatures of all kinds. Today's poor beleagured critter is the catalpa worm which is an excellent catfish bait. They fetch about $10 per dozen on the open worm market. We're toying with the idea of opening a roadside worm stand in our front yard.

Life is Good

My littlest feller had to go get a blood test at the hospital. His treat for being such a trooper was to have sweet tater fries with mom and gramma. This is probably the scariest picture I've ever seen of him. (People keep asking me what that yellow thing is on his arm. It's the bandaid taping down the gauze on the spot where the phlebotomist took his blood.)

Welcome to "Observations from an Ozark Life."

Thanks for joining my daily romp through life in the pristine southern countryside.