living in the earth's core

yep. 
you read the title correctly. 
today's topic is living in the center of the earth. 

why?
because this was also the topic of conversation at the dinner table this week. 
don't ask me why. 
i was just there for the quesadillas. 

anyway. 
benny asked what would happen if a giant came and broke the earth's mantle. 
anthony complicated the conversation by tossing in a broken core. 
the boys discussed this for a bit. 
and decided that the house would probably fall straight into the earth. 
ben then declared that we would have to live the rest of our days stuck inside our house. 
he looked upset for about 2.3 seconds.
and then he brightened up and declared, "but at least we would have wireless!"

priorities. 
i'm glad to know we are instilling the ones that really matter. 

Kim, Kourtney & Kentrosaurus

we recently returned from a lovely trip to San Clemente, California. 

we visited not only my parents, but my sister, Katie, as well. 

it was amazing and sunny and delicious and Disney. 

there are many great photos. 

that you will likely never see. 

because, if i'm being honest with myself, they have gone into my camera to live out their lives, never to be seen again. 

but. . . i did take a picture the other night. 

thankfully, it was on my phone. 

so it can escape with ease. 

the boys have always loved to be read to at night. 

sometimes, bernie and i have our lives just together enough that we have some quality time to devote to this. 

sometimes. 

on those other (majority) of days, a page or two from a book about some topic or another has to suffice. 

recently, we have been working our way through a book about dinosaurs. 

earlier this week, we were reading about the two groups of dinosaurs: 

saurischians:  saw-RIS-kee-ə

and ornithischians:  or-ni-thiss-kee-ə

i include the proper pronunciation because i clearly did not know it. 

anyway, i read this paragraph about the "saw-RISH-ee-ans" and the "0r-ni-THISH-ee-ans."

(whatever. if you knew how to pronounce these, bravo. i apparently failed Dinosaur Studies.)

at this point, ben looked up at me, and with the utmost sincerity asked, "what about the Kar-DASH-ee-ans?"

so, parents, and parents to be. 

pay attention in Dinosaur Studies. 

or you may have to  have a serious conversation with your 7-year-old about the fact that the Kardashian family are alive and well in the Cenozoic era. 

going gray: the year of the selfie

tonight i managed to lock myself out of my office. 
and my homework in my office. 
sounds like a great time to write a post. 

today, it has officially been one year since i gave up on hair dye. 
when i started this journey, i shared it on my blog to hold myself accountable. 
to my readers. 
who basically include my parents, sister, and bernie.
maybe i should have just texted them. . . 

anyway.
so far?
i'm pretty stinking proud of myself. 
i've stuck with it and embraced it as a temporary. . . albeit several year. . . process. 

along the way, i have searched the internet for other people's stories.
suffice it to say, there aren't a TON of blogs about women choosing to go gray in their 30's. 
but there are some out there. 
and i really appreciated hearing. . . and more importantly, seeing. . . how the process has gone for them. 
so. . . here's mine in return. 
mainly in pictures because there isn't much to say. 
"look. there's gray hair."
"and now there's more. . . "

but. 
there's one awkward part. 
(at least for me.)
this.
requires.
SO. 
MANY. 
selfies. 

these are not things i regularly take.
or share. 
but, it is awfully hard to look at the top of your head without them. 
and i decided to spare bernie from this new life task. 
so. 
selfies it is. 
here we go!

JUST GETTING STARTED. . . April 6, 2014

MAY

a few of these seem to have a blue filter. 
i don't know. 
apparently i was in the mood for blueish gray hair on occasion. 

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

i think i made anth help me take this one. 
such lucky kids i have. . . 

DECEMBER

based on the artwork in background, this one appears to have been taken in my office. 
you can really see the lovely contrast between the gray and my highlights. 
i had highlights done when i started growing out the gray, because i thought things would blend better. 
word to the wise?
just grow it out. 
i am now contending with natural, highlighted, and gray hair. 
oops. 

 JANUARY

FEBRUARY

february was exciting. 
i finally reached the point where the gray goes all the way back to my ponytail. 
so what i'm saying is. . . i now look like i got one of those hairpieces at a stand in the mall. 
in the wrong color. 

MARCH

here's one featuring not just the top of my head. 
neat. 
also...it shows that, after a year, i'm not quite there yet. . . 
darn curls. 

APRIL 2015: A PHOTO WITH OTHER HUMANS!

i feel like the savvy boys should at least make an appearance on their namesake blog. 
if you look closely, you can see a christmas light in the background. 
they are strung around the boys' bunk bed.
eternally.
oops. 

anyway. 
i still have a long road ahead of me. . . 
"a long road."
ha. 
that sounds a bit dramatic for "sitting around and waiting for hair to grow."
but. . . i'm still not ready to cut it off. 
i've just gotten used to looking a little bit messy. 
but. . . between work, school, the boys' sports, and our new obsession with Sherlock, life is a little bit messy right now. 
here's to looking how i feel!
?

what ben did while he was busy being 6

i've finally waived the white flag. 

grad school wins. 

and it ate my blog. 

BUT...there are still a few reasons to show up here. 

the boys being one of them. 

today, it's for this boy in particular: 

today is our sweet benjamin's 7th birthday. 

seventh. 

SEVENTH. 

. . . 

sorry. 

i passed out for a bit. 

i'm back. 

and because i have been basically MIA for the last several months, i thought that benny's birthday was a good time to give a quick update on what 6 was like for him. 

in poor-quality phone-photos. 

clearly. 

because the nice camera requires effort. 

and forethought. 

and those are hard to come by these days. 

so. . . here is what benny did while 6. . . 

 we measured snow for school.

so. much. snow.  

he ate snacks at baseball games. 
he might have noticed the game was happened. 
but there were definitely snacks. 

he learned how to swim. 

 he was made to take baseball pictures sans bat. 

  

 he spent quality time with his new friend, Rocky.

he had a ton of fun at the 4th of July parade. 
oh. 
wait. .  

and actual fun at the fireworks show. . . 

we visited grandma & grandpa welch (and aunt katie!) in California. 
when we landed at the airport, i told him we were minutes away from my college campus, UC Irvine. 
he took in a deep breath, looked around, and said, "ahhhh. the memories. . ."
note: he has never stepped foot on that campus. 
or, just for clarification, been in college. 
but, yes, benny. 
yes. 
the memories. 

he discovered that, unlike last time, he kind of loves the beach. 

then he made this face when anth and bernie buried him in the sand. 

 and this one in the USS Midway.

and this one at Legoland. 
maybe we should assess the effect of California on the poor kid. . . 

he explored his love of baking with grandma welch. . . and his love of cooking by developing a brief obsession with Master Chef Kids. 

 he had moments where he and anthony agreed. 
on anything. 
at all. 
those were nice. . . 

he started 1st grade at a new school. 

with his big brother. 

he visited mommy's old stomping grounds, Baker West, so mommy could go see Pentatonix. 
he  made this face on the way in. 
and has been begging to go back ever since. 

he was fully indoctrinated into the Buckeye Football culture. 

and he stole my spot in bed each time dad traveled for work. 
while anth stole bern's spot. 
leaving me without a spot. 
in my own bed. 

 he played the role of "bat" in a school assembly. 

and the role of ninja at Halloween. 

he took a field trip to the entomology lab at Ohio State.
where he was equally enthralled and disgusted. 





he spent some QT with Brutus at a men's basketball game. 

he grinned-and-beared-it for the annual family photos. 
with bribes of Blizzards in his ears. . . 

he met new family members. 

and explored new money making schemes. 
in a wet shower. 
while wearing socks. . .  

he helped get ready for christmas. 

and told lots of jokes and stories. 

 and had an "epic" christmas. 

he also made sure we were aware of his feelings on the matter of having to stay at the dinner table until everyone is finished. 

we're still working on the staying in your chair part. . . 

he took up basketball. 

and is a natural like his daddy. :)

he tagged along to work with mommy and daddy on the various weather-related school closure days. 

and then he decided that he had pretty much worn out 6. 
and it was time to be 7. 

happy birthday to our sweet, sweet boy!