Even though the lighting is so terrible, I just love this picture. Seriously- how cute is this kid??! I know I’m a bit biased, but come ON. He is so stinkin awesome!

Some stuff over the last few months (I’m so behind on this kind of thing which upsets me) that he says that I want to remember:

• Qcu me (excuse me)
• glirl (no boy in this house can say the word girl correctly)
• don’t worry, mommy. I commin.
• whacha doin mommy?
• "whot?"
• mommy, you’re a genius!
• thank you, mommy, thank you!
• maybe Santa will bring me that for christmas.
• my shoes not all tied.
• my _____, my beautiful_____ (insert whatever is broken or hurt: ie toy, eyes, nose, etc.)
• i beautiful can’t.
• while having a fit, if i tell him he can’t do something he wants to if he continues with the fit ‘oh, okay mommy, i can _______"
• i can stop the nawnsense.
• awwww….he’s so cuuuuute.
• pooka planet (also sometimes hooka planet)
• i stay them/it on. (talking about his shoes or coat or hat)
• don’t call me like that!
• sings the "fish heads" song with me. Eat them up, yum!

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In other news, for those of you waiting for your pictures, I am hoping to have them up by Friday night or Saturday morning. Working hard, there’s just a lot of them. Shooting three communions this weekend. Keep a good thought for nice weather!

Feeling better (not all the way, but some) for those of you who asked. Apparently, I’m stuck with this Fifths crap for 3-4 more weeks until it works its way out of my system. Not contaigous at all, just achy, swollen and arthritic. Fun. Especially on photoshoots. I just try to ignore it as much as possible.

I think I have to face the fact that I am not scrapbooking anymore. I honestly don’t have the urge, it’s just work to me at this point. Which is really so sad. I’ve been doing it for so long now that I feel guilty not doing it! But the photography thing has just totally taken over everything. Not just the business end of it, but taking my own pictures too.I feel like I’m pouring all of my creativity into that. Not that photography is a bad thing (especially for my clients) to be passionate about- and I am- I just don’t have the inclination to scrap. So what the hell do I do with all my stuff? Do I sell it? Do I pack it away and see if the urge ever comes back? (John is voting for the latter option). I even think I might dismantle the scrapbook room (*gasp*) and turn into a guestroom with a bed and everything. Maybe I’ll make into the "photography room" instead with tons of pictures all over. Any suggestions?

In lieu of scrapbooking, I have found something to step in in it’s place, so I’m still using the zillions of pictures I take and still keeping up with documenting their lives. It’s a photobook and I’m in the middle of working on 2007’s now. I will show you when it’s all done and published. I’m having a great time doing it and I love the way it looks so far. And one of the best parts of the photobook…I don’t have to print every picture I take (cause I’m not scrapping them). I can just blow up my favorites and put them around the house. Now, if I can just get to that….

Happy April Fools day! Well, the boys FINALLY did the old twin switcheroo today! At long last. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Apparently, they were kinda talked into it by their friends and their assistant teachers. The assistant teachers even went and got approval from the principal of the school- you know how much they hate getting in any kind of trouble! At lunch, the two of them switched shirts (clever, huh?) and switched classes. I think their teachers figured it out right away, but they did play along for a little while anyway. The boys had a great time with it. All the kids in the classes knew about it and loved the joke. The principal told them that they were going to be in the school paper this month with it. According to Patrick, it was all Tara’s idea so she should be in the paper too! Jack said he totally took it easy in Patrick’s class, and Patrick said he had to do soooooo much work in Jack’s class. If nothing else, it’s great that they got to see things from the other side for a little bit.

I think next year, I’m going to send them to the other’s class first thing in the morning on April fools day. Of course, they’ll make me get some kind of written approval from the principal so they have no chance of getting in trouble.

Meanwhile, they got in big trouble tonight for torturing Timmy.

Our town’s annual St. Patrick’s Parade was this past Saturday. It was as late in March as I think it ever has been. It’s usually held the Saturday immediately following St. Patrick’s Day, but with Easter coming so early this year it kinda threw off the schedule.

Anyway, we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa’s for our $500,000 sky box parade viewing seats. Timmy lost interest pretty early on (Daddy in his firetruck, Grandpa Jack, Uncle Joe & Aunt Gail in the bagpipe band, and the horses all passed in the beginning of the parade) and went inside for some TV time with Hakka (aka Grandpa Ken). The big boys watched for a pretty long time, lost interest after seeing most of their friends in the parade, went inside for some TV, but made a second appearance once I told them Jack’s teacher from 2nd grade was there with her baby. So they stuck it out til the end so we could see and cheer for "Uncle Jerry". He’s like Santa at the end of the Thanksgiving parade- closing out the parade with style. Maybe some hope that spring is actually coming yet! See the buds on the tree? Woohoo!

John rode in his firetruck. Do you remember the whole fiasco about him and his (f******) newspaper that he HAD TO HAVE everyday after back surgery? You know, the one he was going to walk 10 blocks round trip every morning to go and get after having a hole drilled in his spine? The same paper that he cannot LIVE without every day? Well…check this out. So totally busted!

Fifth’s Disease! No, not lymphoma (well, at least not at this time anyway). The doctor called this morning with the test results. I am Parvovirus 15 positive. At least it explains everything- the enlarged lymph nodes, the low grade fever, the all over rash, the red cheeks, and now the very swollen and very arthritic joints (especially, hands, wrists, and knees). And as a bonus, I can expect to enjoy the arthritis aspect for another 3 or so weeks. Fabulous! So thank you to everyone who sent good (non-lymphoma) vibes my way. It worked! I can honestly say that the whole thing scared the crap out of me. And where I picked up Fifths from….NO IDEA.

I did far, far too much today so I am going to be paying for it tommorrow. Three shoots coming up this weekend, not including the one from today. Took Timmy to the park twice today- once this morning with his best buddy, Jack, and once this afternoon while the big boys had soccer practice. The two of them are already wise to my tricks to try to get them to look at the camera. So they just won’t look. Some shots from the first park trip:

Then Timmy had Cats where HE played soccer:

And so it begins…soccer season has officially (almost) started.   The first practice today with a lot of out of shape boys! A few of the kids from their team dropped out over the winter, so they should be getting more field time this season. The official start is in two weeks. Baseball too. We’re gonna be busy! There are at least some hints of green now- not everything is completely brown and grey anymore. Spring might actually come. I wish I had brought my telephoto lens for some pictures of the boys on the field. These were as good as I could get. And while the big boys practiced, Timmy and I hit the playground (again). Done with pictures yet?? No? Me neither!

First, I am a lucky mommy. I had parent/teacher conferences today and the boys are doing soooooo great. Really excelling at school (some shameless bragging coming up- you’ve been warned- so stop reading now if you are not into that) in everyway. I was told that not only are they so super smart, but that they both have the market cornered on "thinking outside the box" which impressed their teachers to no end in 3rd grade. They have lots of friends in class and are just doing super overall. Jack’s teacher (my almost Aunt) has funny stories for me all the time about the things he said during the day, and Patrick’s teacher told me how upset she’s going to be next year when he leaves her. They both apparently keep their teachers on their toes and constantly surprise them with the "wise beyond their years" things they say. YEAH!!! A little brotherly love for ya. Jack was fatting out on the couch and didn’t want to be bothered with pictures.

As for my illness update…I have a new diagnosis for myself. I’m off the lymphoma kick (well, for the most part anyway) and now think I have Fifths Disease. Which is just a virus, ends eventually with no lasting issues. So that would be much better than lymphoma. I have all the symptoms and I’m thinking the rash wasn’t a reaction to the steroids, but the Fifths rash cause my cheeks got that crazy red. Went back to the doctor today and he really liked my diagnosis- he said that he was planning on testing me for that anyway. So he took another 4 big vials of blood (so I’ll have lymphoma, Fifths, and be anemic!!) and will test for Fifths among a few other inflamatory illnesses. The rash is totally gone now but my hands, wrists and knees are all kinds of swollen and arthritic feeling. They really hurt. So we’ll see on Saturday what it is I have. I am hoping for a concrete answer. He’s testing for Lupus and other auto immune diseases too, since I already have Raynaud’s syndrome. More medical fun…woohoo!