Not in a writing mood..

Here's a glimpse of what I've been taking pictures of:::

I'll caption later.

Happy birthday to..

...ME!.. but mostly to my husband, who I have been with for 5 birthdays now.
& to my little tiny brother who is FIFTEEN OMG!!??!!!
It's hard to remember 15 for me. I do remember pulling LOTS of all nighters. Whether it was staying up all night with friends, taking pictures, playing video games & talking about boys,
or writing english papers that i procrastinated the mess out of, I did it.
Even though i feel pretty sleep deprived all the time,
My body, mind & soul would absolutely disown me if i ever deprived myself of sleep like i did back when.



So all is well with the Taylors.
Evan is impressing us more & more everyday.
He has given us so much more purpose in life & we are so proud to be his parents.
So, here's to getting old & [hopefully] getting more sleep.


*pictures soon.

2 post's in 1 day? Craaaaaazaaaaaaay.

& while both my boys are fast asleep, my tired eyes just aren't quite ready to close.
The day was good. Really good!
Did i go & do everything i had originally planned to?
No.
Did we completely blow off much needed grocery running for a fabulous Mexican made restaurant dinner followed by lots&lots of Barnes & Noble funtime?
Yes.

Rob had meetings all morning and into the afternoon. But was home by 3:00. Just in time to get started. We loooooooove mexican food. We also loooooooove to read. We got Evan some classic Amelia Bedelia books from the bargain section. My face lit the entire store up when i saw these. I just HAD to have them...for..Evan! To this day is one of my absolute favorites. She also inspired my IloveLucy obsession. I have a very soft spot in my heart for female comedians.

We ended the evening by taking Evan to get a "Baby pumpkin" .. He's sleeping with it now..Along with his pink dalmation dog, his cabbage patch baby cow, and his plastic t-rex dinosaurs. Oh Evan, I love you so much!

Lately we've been...

 

Hi, Jack!

Getting everything together for a sleepover party at granny & papa's house

! 

The "Speed demon" going 50MPH in a 70. We just HAD to take a picture of this obviously quick car ;)

Went to Barnes & noble for half an hour, this is what i came home to. Rob was snoozing on the couch. I mean, REALLY???????? Major blackmail.

 

It has been a crazy week.

 SOME HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

Visiting my dad in Emporia, and believe it or not the drive there & back. Rob and I have some very different taste in music. We compromised with pink floyd, modest mouse, and PUNK GOES CRUNK. All of which we BOTH love.

Evan learned how to say "Chill out, mommy!" when i become heated and/or upset about anything. Rob taught him that one OF COURSE.

I GOT A NEW PHONE. It is BEAUTIFUL. I've never loved a phone as much as i do this one. Rob's blackberry is SO very jealous.

Evan told us yesterday he wants us to give him a little brother.

Quite clearly, that is word for word, EXACTLY how he said it.

My mouth fell to the floor.

Rob wouldn't, and still won't be quiet about it

& NOW HE TOO HAS A NEW BED!!!!

Her name is beige and she is a very comfortable sectional couch that lives in our living room. He will be sleeping with her for the next 2-4 years. No jokes.

Evan and I have a million and twelve errands to run today, that includes some of my favorite ever places to go. Whole foods. Trader Joe's. Ollie's. &World market. And there will probably be a chick-fil-a or taco bell somewhere in the mix. We're just not inspired enough by this partly cloudy weather to be cooking anything.

Next time,

Gretchen Taylor

Gretchen, go to sleep.

It's midnight and I'm editing pictures. What the HELL is wrong with me?? 
Hopefully someday soon I'll find the time & energy to blog about something besides fruit.
The end.
GLT

9/11

Today we are celebrating Rob's only brother, Lee, who knows how old birthday!
& instead of getting ready I am procrastinating, blog style!

I accidentally made twelve too many plans today.
& being that today is my only full day off with Rob and Evan, My brain is fighting over what to do.
In the meantime, there has been a lot of hide & seek going on around here this morning.
& i don't mean the song.
Which will now be in my head for the rest of the day..

Please excuse the poor picture quality.

Evans new favorite hiding spot.

Yes, he is under there.

This is his "NOOO MOMMY, I DON'T WANT MY SHITTY DIAPER CHANGED!" face.

I've been watching nothing but remembering 9/11 TV since yesterday.
It's so hard for me to believe 10 years have gone by.
I remember Heidi and I were about to head off to school when my grandma ran in the front door.
She was crying and praying while frantically trying to get the TV on so my mom and us could see what was happening. We sat on the couch in awe while my grandma continued to pray that we, our family, our friends, and our nation would be safe. Just thinking about that day leaves a huge knot in my throat.

Remembering 9/11*

My two weeks.

It's been way too long, I know. I've spent the past two weeks well, "working." I love boy's, but they are more than a handful next to the little women I've babysat for. I started looking after a little blond haired boy named Jack a couple weeks ago after Ayden left. He and Evan are adorable together.. Excluding the day where they bit each-other multiple times! Anyway, He's a sweetie, and I miss him when he's not here. Especially since we spent all of & every day of last week together. I also have little Makaya Tuesday and Thursday's. He has the best little smile, little laugh, little everything :) So i love him too. I'm still holding out to get Christian back, My friend Jennifer's bundle of Joy. He was the best cuddler, and I've missed him very much. On top of all of that, I picked up a little weekend gig. Every Saturday night I go over to Finn & Henry's house and watch them there. Finn is 3, and incredibly smart. He has full blown intelligent conversations with adults, and knows words that I can barely tell you the meaning of. Rob came over with Evan this last Saturday. He said, "Finn, when do you start pre-school? He replied, Tomorrow! And Henry starts next week! (Henry is 1...) Wicked smart he is. & then there's Henry, and easy going, loves to play outside, loves me to read to him, loves baths, loves cottage cheese, and pretty much anything you feed him, and doesn't let me out of his sight. They are both so cute, and I'm going to miss not watching them anymore in the fall. This sounds crazy, but getting out of my house, even if i'm going to babysit other peoples kids, is still kind of relaxing. Just to get out. And last but not least, There's Evan. Who is as crazy as ever. Is it sad that I'd rather watch someone else's kid rather than my own? Evan is at the age where he thinks he can walk all over me. &He doesn't do it with anyone BUT me. He still has days, or.. hours.. where he's the precious little boy I wish he always was, But he can be such a little youknowwhat. I've been thinking to myself a lot lately, If I can't handle just this one on my own, why the hell would I ever want another one who could potentially be as bad or worse than the one i already have?? Rob somehow always talks me out of that thought. 

Enough rambling about that.

We went on a family outing Sunday to Marbles children's museum. And of course I took LOTS of pictures. This is probably the coolest museum I've ever been to for kids. We were there three hours and could've easily been there another three. Definitely getting season passes ASAP. And Oh, Evan loved it too ;)

I had my wisdom tooth removed. It was excruciatingly painful. I was awake for the entire process. And the dentist was a dirty old perv. Thank god for prescription drugs because that is the ONLY thing that pulled me through all week. My face has finally decided to stop swelling. So, yay for that! 

We spent Sunday night partying with the in-laws, including Uncle Wayne & Aunt Sharon. Rob and I lost miserably at Sequence. And although it was rather fun, My head is still spinning from the twelve drinks too many I had. Let's do it again real soon!

Yes, for not visiting in so long this is all I've got. But I'm posting lot's of pictures, so that sort of makes up for the half-ass-ness. 

In no particular order. Love, Gretchen.

We were all sitting in a laundry basket. Don't ask.

R.I.P Harold & Kumar. Mommy forgot the water conditioner. I almost cried over these two.

How can something so adorable be so posessed?

Bunk beds complete :) Daddy did a good job.

SLIDE RACES!!!!!!

Crotch shot =]

STICK.

Ouch.

They built a wall! LOL

Love these two.

I see a bath in there near future..

Handsome boy :)

All the boys watching kung-fu-panda :)

We eat healthy, I SWEAR! ;)

I'm just so talented.

Mid air shot!

More of my talent..

Husband & Wife love.

There's so much more than this picture leads on. 

Little fishies.

Evan was following jack around the pool.

My scientist! @ marbles.

<3

Riding a paper pig.

<3

Priceless.

Cashier/pizza boy

I love this.

I tied a string to this and pulled them around the house... until the string broke :(

Evan's mess of a room.

Time-out. Where he spends most his time.

Tire swing!!

More to come.