i'm sorry. seriously?

granted. i would love for goo to have a doll house. but really?

700 big ones for a toy? that doesn't light up? or make noise? or somehow create revenue?

i love christmas

house divided

for the first time, we had a house divided last night.

but the lullably i heard growing up resonated beautifully throughout my home last night.

Fire ants

I hate fire ants.

I hate them even more after they stung Goo up and down both legs, her arms, armpit and her fingers.

They swarm so fast. Poor goo.

Is it possible for ants to feel pain the instant before they're incinerated? I'll get back to you on that.

Buzz unplugged

Some random thoughts about my last three days playing Mr. Mom...

Each morning after I drop Lil Man off at school, and I drag Goo away kicking and screaming I can hear a the teachers whisper in the hallway...DEAD MAN WALKIN'

My kids now say “boo” to each other as way to say good morning.

Lil Man told me he loved me and always will so that I never have a broken heart

When Goo doesn’t want me to take something from her she’ll say “ No daddy…I hode it”

Goo uses Ah as a subsititute for every pronoun
“Ah tis” here it is
“Ah boots” that’s boots
“Ah tur daddy” your turn daddy
“Ah pez” more wonderpets please
“Ah pink” I would like the pink please…no the other pink idiot

When I tell goo "it’s time to change your poop" she says “no daddy, ah tummy”?
Am I to assume she is telling me the smell is just gas?

When we got home from school today Goo and I played outside while Lil Man went inside. Goo is fascinated by the standing water in the sandbox which she calls mud. I rolled up her sleeves and she spent 20 minutes trying to get the water from her shovel to her little bucket without it falling out.

Goo has found the joy of hiding in the bathroom behind the shower curtain.

Little man is always hungry.

We had spider man mac n cheese tonight. Lil man was sad I had already put the noodles in but he got to add the cheese and butter.

Last night he wanted to wear his incredible jammies so he could be a super hero like goo (since she was wearing her superman)

Mysteriously, he woke up in car jammies this morning. Apparently mr incredible isn’t fully potty trained yet either.

JANET HURRY HOME!!!!

seriously

seriously.


the humble pie the Lord served me today was almost too much to swallow.


i got to california yesterday. met my roommate at the airport. she is awesome. loves the Lord. awesome. we had a great day getting to know each other. we went to a mixer last night to meet all of the (40) girls who are here for this workshop.


i love mixers.


actually, no. i don't


(note the sarcasm.)


but i did fine. way to go, janet.


this morning, we had class. lots of class. then, lunch. and then we were to break up into groups to shoot the various models assigned to us.


so i'm shooting. feeling confused. but ready to keep learning. after all, that's why i'm here.


i'm doing more shooting. and more shooting.


and chink. chink. kunk. kunk.


these are NOT good sounds coming out of one's camera. NOT GOOD SOUNDS.


and then. my camera stopped working.


let me repeat myself.


my camera STOPPED. WORKING.


so...cool. alright. i'm at a photography workshop without a camera.


talked to one of the instructors. we spent some time together. she said it didn't look too good.


she walked me back to my swanky hotel. i talked to the "whatever, whenever" rep about whether or not there was a camera store anywhere around here.


she arranged for a driver to take me to the one DOWN. THE. STREET.


i went in. and immediately burst into tears. i couldn't help it.


three unbelievably nice guys helped me. first, by asking me what year i was in college.


thank you. i'm 33. you are such a dear.


and they looked and looked. and then said, "time of death...4:30PM."


i called my parents. (totally by God's grace, i wasn't able to reach buz. i was afraid i would've totally lost it had i heard his sweet voice. course, i lost it when i heard my parents' sweet voices.)


so basically, he sold me a very basic display model camera for not much. at all. to get me through this week. i will decide where to go from here once i get home.


but my roommate was awesome, asking what she could do. and the instructor who originally talked to me about has continued to ask.


but God is good. i'm pressing on. i refuse to let this get the best of me. i am here for a reason. i know i am.


the hotel is awesome. i am surrounded by unbelievable talent. and some women of God. that part, i really love.


so tonight, i am heading up to the lounge with my (buz's) laptop to try to learn the bulk of what i missed this afternoon.


this is just a bump in the road. a big bump. but just a bump.


and i know my kiddos are being loved on by their daddy which makes all of this easier to take.


kelly, i love you. thanks for talking me down. :)


buz, i literally can't imagine my life without you.

two posts in one day

seriously.

tomorrow night? friday night? big h is having a friend over. and not just to play after school.

sleep over.

oh. my. word.

i could swear to you -- i just heard big h ask me if he could borrow the keys to my car.

i'm thinking that putting him in a pull-up is mandatory. yes? :) can't think of anything that would ruin the mood more than waking up to a wet spot in your friend's bed.

this is a little boy that big h has known for more than half of his life. longer than he has known goo. they started at the same preschool for MDO FOUR years ago. they have been in the same class every year. sweet, sweet kid. so he knows him pretty well. and he has a little sister a couple of months younger than goo. so the mom and i have gotten to know each other.

but i can't tell you all of the thoughts that have been running through my head.

will he sleep in the same bed with big h? will he sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor? will he fall asleep faster than big h? will that weird big h out? will big h want to cuddle with him? will they ever actually go to sleep? will his mom end up coming to get him at 930? will he want to come and get in our bed at 4am too? what will goo think?

this is way new.

but big h has been asking for weeks now. i finally bit the bullet and called his mom. and she said, "are you sure you guys are up for it?"

buz and i? we're risk takers. sure, we're up for it.

(kidding on the whole risk-taking thing.) :)

so milestone #671 will occur tomorrow night at home of the wisners. pray. pray for big h. that he doesn't weird out with his friend over. pray for his friend. that he has a good time here. pray for goo. that she'll be able to fall asleep with all the fun happening. and really, pray for buz and me. that we don't literally age overnight.

i'm doing it

i'm taking a big plunge. into uncharted territory. for me, at least.


this monday, i leave for san diego, california. for a photography workshop. like, a real one.


(and save your comments about me being a jet setting stay-at-home mom. i have gotten plenty of those from my spouse.)


i am nervous. i am anxious.


i will try and spare you the story of how things have gotten to this point. in a nutshell. took a darkroom developing class with a friend. she went hard core successful. she's amazing like that. i've watched from afar. with awe. but have wanted to be more. more confidence. more satisfaction. more. and to be honest, i think she's wanted more for me too. she has been the all-encompassing friend/mentor. she has helped me with everything. and when i say, i mean everything. like frantic phone calls about my "work" not looking right. and her response always being, "oh no big deal. we'll just fix it for you." and her other comments? basically can be summarized by "dude. you rocked that. seriously. you rocked it."


weentrab, i heart you so much. i love you for the photographer you are. but i love you even more for the friend you are to me. roots and now wings, right? :)



anyway. in APRIL. i took that next step. i got a call one saturday night. the four of us were having dinner. we normally don't answer the phone during dinner. but for some reason, buz answered. well, not for "some" reason. for a Jesus moment. it was one of the photographers putting on the workshop. she wanted to know if i would be interested.


um. duh.


luckily, that's NOT what i said. but it was close. don't think it's not what i wanted to say.


i knew it would be a stretch for buz and me financially. but we both felt like the Lord was making the decision for us.


easy enough.


so since APRIL. i have had time to be nervous. anxious. afraid.


all those warm fuzzies.


but i've been clinging to the comforting peace. i have officially breathed a sigh of relief. i feel like i can hear Him whisper, "it's going to be great. be still. know that I am God."


ok. well then. that's it.


so, now i'm packing. staying in a fancy hotel. gonna kick it roommate-style with a fun, new friend (who probably isn't it aware that i just used the phrase "kick it roommate-style -- bless her heart). preparing to learn from four unbelievable photographers from different parts of the country. and leaving my "duties" back home to my freakin' RAD buz and my parents.


so because i'm clearly so frequent in posting lately (tongue in cheek), i just wanted you to know that i'll be gone for a while. honing in on my mad skillz.


or whatever.

(and if someone can tell me WHAT IN THE HECK is up with the formatting and why my post is double-spaced? well, that would be great.)

so many things to say

so prepare yourself. as usual.

i haven't been around. for exciting reasons. like my recent vacation/"business trip" to montana two weeks ago. like big h turning five.

we're going bullet points tonight. because i want to get this written out. more for posterity sake than anything else.

(and beware. i'm not proofing any of the layout. like if the pictures are in the middle or on the left. which will kill the OCD side of me.)

and because lately, i would really rather be snuggling with buz watching fun shows and looking through the THREE FEET of christmas catalogs at night than blogging. it seems to have taken a number on the low priority list.

(speaking of buz. right now. he's looking through old pictures. to have scanned. friends of his on facebook -- consider yourself warned.)

• milestone #1 since we last "spoke." big h and goo went to the dentist.

this is pretty big. big h is FIVE and has not been to the dentist yet. don't judge. but you gotta start somewhere, right? and so we did it. took them both for the first time at the same time. and i'm here to report. nothing. my kids are freaking rockstars. ROCK STARS! big h went first. x-rays. check. of course, he's a boy interested in anything electronic. so he asked the tech if he could look. then, sunglasses and a movie on the ceiling. rotating toothbrush with toothpaste. check. water "squirter" to rinse off teeth. check. "straw" to suck out his saliva? check. fluoride treatment with "mouth thing" and straw? check. and a goody bag filled to the brim with new crayola toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, and coupon for kid rinse. not to mention a prize. seriously. he thought it was like going to the store. he told dad, "i got to get my teeth all sparkly AND look what all i got while i was there!!!!!!" and then it was goo's turn. they let her sit in my lap while holding nemo with teeth. she brushed his teeth while they did hers. hoss. she didn't care about the goody bag. but the bouncy ball was well worth it. and the icing on the cake. the dentist? my age. not only that. but it turns out we were both freshman at baylor the same year living in the SAME DORM. hello. and now you're talking to me about my children's dental hygiene. weird. yet surprisingly cool. which brings us to...

• huge milestone #2. big h using a normal amount of toothpaste. he has been saying for several months now that when he turned five, he was going to start using more toothpaste and spit like me. flattering. and by more toothpaste, he meant enough to actually see. well, every night since we got back from the dentist, he has wanted me to floss his teeth. i know. AND. tonight. he put a GLOB of turquoise lightning mcqueen toothpaste on his toothbrush and let me brush. EVERYWHERE. perhaps you don't understand how HUGE this is. if not, pretend. this is HUGE. and he was delighted. he even said that swooshing and spitting was cool. i love this kid.
• ENORMOUS MILESTONE #3. i am writing this out for my little online scrapbook of sorts. so please, please, please save the judgment for someone else. my child. my FIVE-YEAR-OLD little boy. has slept the last two nights in UNDERWEAR. for those of you without children, feel free to skip this part. you'll be bored. i can assure you. our awesome pediatrician suggested we wait to potty train big h until he was at least three. after goo was born. he has always been a little late doing things. talking, etc. but he always makes up for it. like, when we did potty train, it took THREE days to potty train. three days. and that was it. except for the nighttime part. and we have worked for TWO YEARS on wetting. i'll admit it. it's been a real struggle. but we knew in time, it would happen. and to be honest, i was done changing so many sheets all the time. so he's been in a pullup for a LONG time. well. i think it's happened. and i don't really believe in the whole "jinx" thing so i'm writing it on the internet. friday afternoon, we met some friends after school to play. one of the kids asked if something had scared big h. and he responded, "nope. i'm pretty brave. i'm pive. i also sleep in underwear." (can you imagine if it was ok for me to talk about what underwear i sleep in?) anyway. that night, he had gone to change into his jammies, and buz and i were getting goo out of the bath. (yes, it takes both of us.) and he came in. instantly buz noticed, and big h said nonchalantly, "yeah, i'm just wearing underwear tonight." secretly, i was bummed because i knew we were going back into the season of changing sheets. he woke up saturday morning totally dry and again was so nonchalant about it. this morning, he woke up dry too. TWO DAYS. unbelievable. i am so impressed with my little man, i can't stand it.
• now, the only other thing he wanted to do once he turned "pive" was to get a "real" massage. guess i need to get that scheduled.
• he had a fun birthday party. know how to take a flattering picture of yourself? send yourself down a bounce house slide. works every time.


• big h got stickers for his birthday. he's been rewarding himself for good behavior. again, i love this kid.


• seems that i cannot, CANNOT, stop eating peanut m'n'm's. have i mentioned i don't even like chocolate?
• goo has become increasingly more sassy. and i use sassy as a cute word for OHMYHEAVENSWILLSHEEVEROBEY.
• last night, she insisted on wearing big h's raincoat to bed. it was one of those battles i didn't want to fight. so she worked it in her bright yellow, way too big rain coat. all night long. goo.
• and several nights ago, she was adamant about wearing big h's rain boots to bed. and so she did. what is up with her obsession with rain apparel? too big rain apparel.
see? cute, little goo asleep. with her cute, little jammies. pink blankie underneath her head.nice.

• reasons i love having a daughter.

• two weeks ago, we had some family pictures taken by my friend, courtney. actually, we took hers, and she and her husband returned the favor. so fun NOT to have to use a tripod.


• what else? RIGHT. i went to montana. i freaking love montana. i so wish i lived there. not only does my best friend live there, the weather is unbelievable. do you remember the reason i went? the long story? the senior i photographed? um, hello? he could not be any more handsome. and the personality and character to go with it. and his mom was telling me that because of the accident, he will most likely go into full-time ministry for Christ. i'm telling you. this was NO JOB. he has a younger sister and brother, who are such neat kids. wait...young people? how not to offend 17- and 15-year-olds? cool? awesome? i'm finding myself feeling old right now. and their parents? so much fun. and wow...great parents. i SO don't want big h and the goo to grow up and be teenagers. anyway, they were such a blast to hang out with.

meet chase, the senior. i know. how handsome?

and his sister. brynne. gorgeous.

and his brother, cole. so handsome.

and his WAY CUTE parents. so young and hip. please let me look like this when i have teenagers.

• as for kelly? well, she remains my best friend. we did a bunch of running errands, eating, drinking dr. pepper (oh how the two of us can polish off some DP), talking about patagonia, making dinner for each other, and loving on little lizzy, who has more clothes and blankies than she will know what to do with. we watched movies, wore sweaters and jeans and warm socks, cried at touching things on the internet, talked about purses we wanted. we just were. which is how it always is. which is why i love her so deeply.
• and buz? well, he's just pretty much ALL THAT. he did such an awesome job while i was gone. awesome. you know what? after having such a great time, i was actually ready to go home. after spending time with kelly's kids, it really made me miss my own.
• let's see. anything else new? i think that's about it.
• oh wait! i told my mom and mother-in-law that i would start taking pictures of goo after church. it's the only time she wears something without a stain or pink converse. not to mention, she started smelling the flowers outside church. on her own. her very own photo shoot once a week. here you go, mom and ms. wiz.

which means now i will sign off to have a DP, cuddle with buz, and start making a dent in those catalogs.

the obligatory halloween post

so, i guess there's an unwritten rule that says when you have children, you have to post pictures of them in their halloween costumes. and of course, how darling they are.

and so, i am here to do just that.

see? darling.

big h as bumble bee, the yellow transformer. and goo, as a fairy bag lady of sorts.

we went to a carnival that a VERY LARGE church here hosts every year. here is big h riding in a parachute ride. couldn't believe he did it.

even more so...goo, the fearless wonder did it. almost fell out of the harness because she wasn't big enough. after that, she was done with "rides." (clearly, she was SO done with her costume.)

the fam enjoying some refreshments.

don't mind goo, who inhaled an entire polish sausage, including the bread. she's so dainty.

and that concludes the wisner halloween extravaganza.