Owen almost three

I'm learning Photoshop Elements these days. Here's one of my first editing attempts.

all in the family

Per request of my oldest (but still younger) brother, I am providing an update of the entire Ruff house, rather than just our cutest member.

Kevin is putting more sweat equity into our home as I type. He's tearing down a fence that separates our yard from the neighbors. It so happens our neighbor Wes is the Martha Stewart of landscaping, so I think my husband is the smartest man in the world to take down the barrier and let the world wonder whether it's our green thumbs or Wes's that created the beautiful plantings. =) Of course, now this means we have to landscape to match his handiwork. We should buy stock in the Home Depot garden center.

Bryan, my younger (but not youngest) brother, is sleeping as I type - as most any 24 year old bachelor does on a Sunday. He's become a quick success at his new career as a personal banker for Chase bank. I continually remind him to remember who got him the job when he hits it big.

Owen will be three next week, though he's telling the world he's five. Our neighbor Ray (Owen's preschool idol) just turned five, so naturally he wants to be five and have all Spiderman gifts as well. I realized the other night how quickly he learns - as I put him to bed, I asked what song he'd like me to sing. His reply... "no song mom, but you can kratch my back if you want." Unable to pronounce a beginning "S" sound, this was his attempt at getting me to scratch his back. And not just for a minute - for what seems like hours.

And finally, I am just taking things slowly these days. The first fourteen weeks of pregnancy proved to be less than fun, so I'm hoping the next twenty six will be better! I just finished up a set of wedding invitations with my stationery business (www.ruffhousedesigns.com) and I'm looking for someone to take on my site updates. This is proving to be not so easy, as it's a fairly small job and most companies want to build an entire site for a large fee. SO, if any of you know an interested webby person, please let me know.

Okay, back to admiring the landscaping.

my "cheese" slide...

Leave it to an uncle to take Owen to Target and return with a certain disaster waiting to happen. The Slip N' Slide has been discovered. At first, Owen was unsure of what to do with the long "cheese" slide, as he calls it. Kevin then discovered he could sort of bowl him down in a Superman pose, successfully sliding him all the way to the pool at the end. "Again, again" became his new favorite phrase.

By the end of the day, our neighbor Ray (Owen's five year old idol) had joined in the action. Once Owen eyed Ray's running start and slide, it wasn't long before our soon-to-be three year old had mastered the slip n' slide.

Emergency room, here we come.

last day of preschool

I can't believe it's already over - the first year at least. Owen had "costume day" at school today, since they weren't allowed to dress up on Halloween, for fear the pagan gods might get us all I suppose. So what to wear on an 80 degree costume day? The only costume he owns is a fleece "kelican" (skeleton) suit that surely he would melt in on a day like today. So we improvised. I convinced him that by wearing his swimsuit and spiking his hair he'd be the coolest surfer dude at school. It worked - until we arrived. Seeing every princess from Disney's unending supply, he asked "where's my costume?" Thank goodness for sweet teachers. They made a huge fuss over him and continually reminded him he was wearing a great surfer costume. Now he'll think he's in costume every time we visit the pool this summer. Nice.

catching up with the world

It's my first ever online post. I wanted to say something terribly creative and inspiring, but here I sit in a Quizno's induced coma with nothing more than a stomachache and desire for a long nap.
Owen, my almost three year-old son, is napping - dreaming of going to the movie theatre when he awakens. We're seeing "Meet the Robinsons," the only movie out at the moment that wouldn't leave him with nightmares or a potty mouth. His favorite new toy is a Shrek doll from "Mister Donald's" that belches on command. So much for a well mannered three year-old, huh?