Tag: The boys (Page 2 of 2)

Author Event Announcement and Spring 2016 in Pictures (Because I’m Busy!)

May 17, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

First order of business is I have a new event to announce. Barnes & Noble is hosting a nationwide Teen Book Festival the weekend of June 10-12, and I’ll be participating at the B&N in North Haven, CT on Sunday, June 12. Once I have all the details, I’ll post them here on the blog and on the homepage. But I wanted to start getting the word out now for any local people who might be interested.

In other news, I’ve been working hard to meet a couple of freelance deadlines and the hubby is away all this week, so you’re all getting a picture post. It’s quick and easy, and you all love pics of the boys, right? (You’re so not allowed to say no to that question!) 😉

Winter 2016 in Pictures

January 25, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

As I work on filling up my creative well (you can read all about that here), I’m feeling short on words. But I’m never short on pictures, especially of the boys. And you never tire of seeing them (right!? ;)). So here are some recent pics:

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Birthday, First Day of School, and Pictures, Oh My!

August 28, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

When the The Boy’s first day of school and birthday fall on the same day, well, let’s just say it makes for an interesting mixture of emotions. And I’m not even going to try and write a coherent post this week, so you get pictures instead!

I hope everyone is having a great end of summer!

A Quiet Moment of Playing Together

May 22, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

I posted this today on Observation Mommy (my Tumblr page), but I thought it warranted a post here as well. (Because you all like having updates on the kiddos occasionally, right?)

Almost a year since The Prince was born, there is still a lot of lingering resentment from The Boy. I get it; his whole world changed and now he has to share Mommy and Daddy, and his toys.

Growing up, my relationships with my four siblings was one of the best things in my young life. Sure we fought, sometimes a lot, but we were always there for each other. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how to be better friends with each of my siblings. So I’ve always wanted that for my boys, and was beginning to doubt it was going to happen.

The Prince, of course, loves his older brother, idolizes him. But The Boy has mostly shown annoyance and barely tolerates The Prince. There’s been the rare hug or kiss or concern when The Prince is crying, but not as much as I was hoping for.

Then, the other day the hubby witnessed them playing together with cars The Boy had willingly, with no prompting shared. It lasted about five minutes before a fight, but it was a start. And then yesterday, The Prince reached into The Boy’s car case (where all the fun rescue vehicles are kept) and The Boy didn’t yell. In fact, he said to his little brother, “You can play with that,” and proceeded to give me a selection (of his non-favorite) rescues to play with.

I was one happy mama! There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think we may be reaching the end. I’m not expecting peace all the time (or even most of the time), but at least now I know it is a possibility.

Books Are Not Precious

April 6, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

I never highlight, make notes, or otherwise intentionally mark the pages of my books. Even when I was in college and purchased text books, I never like to take notes in the pages. Books are sacred, precious, not to be marred.

The Boy at about 9 months old, enjoying his favorite book/chew toy DOLLY DUCK.

The Boy at 9 months old, enjoying his favorite book/chew toy DOLLY DUCK.

Then I had kids. And if I’ve learned anything from my boys, it’s that my world view is often flawed and certainly not absolute. To kids and babies, books are more than the words and pictures in their pages. They are teethers, drums, they can be stacked to make a tower or stairs.

The Prince at 9 months old, chewing on his favorite book about Pinky the pig.

Not that I don’t discourage them from doing all these things; we try to teach the boys to take care of their belongings. But that doesn’t mean they revere books in the way I do. To them, books are not sacred or precious. They are for reading, of course. And we love reading them. But they are fun in other ways, too. And if that gives them a life-long love affair with books, then I’m all for it!