his favorite bedtime story

     
<<pictures from pretzel’s tie-dye party>>

there once was a little boy named lukey who had a favorite t-shirt.  it was tie-dyed and if you asked him why he loved it so much he’d say, “because it has all of my favorite colors, red,  orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.”
he wore it everyday.
he slept in it every night.
and every morning his mother would say, “lukey – we really need to wash that shirt of yours today! it’s getting so dirty and starting to smell like mud pies!” and lukey would say, “one more day, mom. you can wash it tomorrow.”

so for one more day he:
:: splashed in mud puddles
:: ate an ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles
:: made cookies and splattered batter everywhere
:: painted a picture for his grammy
:: ate spaghetti for dinner

that night he climbed in his bed and got:
:: mud
:: ice cream sludge
:: chocolate chip cookie dough
:: some purple paint
:: a little red marinara sauce

all over his sheets.

in the morning his mother hollered, “luuuuuuukey! coooooooome heeeeeeeeeere! i made something special just for you!”
when he scuffled his sleepy feet into the kitchen and rubbed the sleepy from his eyes he saw a brand new tie-dyed shirt!
she’d made it with every color of the rainbow.
all of his favorites.
red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

“we’ll put that one in the wash – and you can wear this one. and when this one gets covered in mud pies and popsicle juice – we’ll put it in the wash and you can wear that one. deal?”

he thought about it real good for a second.
“deal.”

<<lucas jude + presley brynn – happy hippies - age four>>

evidence:

me + babe-in-belly frog leggies  (19 weeks)

a boy.
to join his brothers.
a mama + her boys.
now how sweet is that?!

“get out the map + lay your finger anywhere down” – indi-go-go girls

today was laundry day. tomorrow is packing day. oh yeah, and sparkle-the-house-up-so-it-will-feel-good-to-come-home-to day. 
i made this map for lucas after asking my twitter/facebook friends for advice on how to keep my four year old entertained on the loooong roadtrip to grammy’s house. only when he saw the map he said, “well – that’s not very far, mom!” we’ll see how he feels when we get to pendleton. when we pass each stop i have a little toy or activity for him to open and play with until we reach the next stop. a new cd, some dvd’s, and stacks and stacks of new-to-us library books.
++++
we made this trip alot when i was little. each of us girls got our own suitcase and our own special activities and snacks that we couldn’t tear into until we actually hit the highway. sometimes we’d even spend the night out in the car so that my parent’s wouldn’t have to wake us when they took off early in the morning. we’d fold the back seat down and make the ultimate barbie house while listening to books on tape and singing disney songs. the same stops. la grande – then boise. mountain home a half hour later if we had to. i still remember what it felt like to pull into my grammy’s drive way. grandpa on the porch having a nervous smoke waiting for us to get there safely. gram inside with beds made up on the floor for all of us girls and listening to my mom stay up late chatting – so happy to be home.
++++
the yellow bedroom at the top of my parents’ stairs is waiting for me and my boys. i can’t wait for gavin to meet the dogs. and lucas to meet up with his cousin’s that we’ve been missing so badly. a snuggle from little regg and the smell of steen’s perfume. paying kody to detail my car, dinner made by nat, a cupcake with jade, going to morning coffee with my dad, sinking into my mom’s striped chair, dinner out someplace real with amy, a  birthday for pres, new walking shoes for jackie-boy, feed the ducks with gram and cam. oh! and a first ultrasound glimpse at babe-in-belly!
++++
i’m going home.

50° – partly cloudy

i’ll take it. anything minus the wind is a-ok with me today. i must get these restless troublemakers outside. i think we’ll head out on a little walk to the store on the corner and pick up some sour cream. a tub of sour cream for the gigantic bag of ruffles you see below. ask babe-in-belly how those made it into our shopping cart. (and don’t tell my mother.)

hey jade- remember when your babe-in-belly only wanted little cherry pies? i would sneak you to the store so you could eat them in the car.
hey natalie- remember when your pretzel-in-the-oven only wanted alfalfa? speaking of presley… four years ago today you were probably downing a glass of superfood + smart water.
hey christine – remember four years ago when you took nat to the hospital and they said “she’s having her baby – now!” and you said, “hey now! wait just a second!” – and then that little was here.

i miss my sisters.
in a bad way.
but today i’ve got boys.

so we’ll take a walk and have a ruffles picnic. we’ll make a countdown chart: how many sleeps ‘til grammy’s. we’ll think about birthday presents for presley. and i’ll make a list of all the places the babe-in-belly wants to go eat at while we’re there.

happy 50° folks.
love, lindsay

mama words

read me here today, friends.
love, lindsay