Cricket's Chirp

Don't Carpe Diem by Glennon Melton

2012-01-20T14:57:00.000-06:00

A friend posted this and being a mom, it took me a couple days to actually get to read it. Once I did though, I just had to share it. The open honesty, the being able to relate to someone being so honest about motherhood and not feeling like a fish out of water being the mom that isn't loving every minute, or cherishing every second. It was such a breath of fresh air. It was so nice to hear someone else say so many of the things we feel as moms, but don't dare share ourselves half the time for fear of rejection or misinterpretation. I hope you read this, I hope it helps you, and I hope you check out her blog as well. http://momastery.com/blog/

Don't Carpe Diem by: Glennon Melton Blogger, Momastery

Every time I’m out with my kids – this seems to happen:

An older woman stops us, puts her hand over her heart and says something like, “Oh- Enjoy every moment. This time goes by so fast.”

Everywhere I go, someone is telling me to seize the moment, raise my awareness, be happy, enjoy every second, etc, etc, etc.

I know that this message is right and good. But as 2011 closes, I have finally allowed myself to admit that it just doesn’t work for me. It bugs me. This CARPE DIEM message makes me paranoid and panicky. Especially during this phase of my life – while I’m raising young kids. Being told, in a million different ways to CARPE DIEM makes me worry that if I’m not in a constant state of intense gratitude and ecstasy, I’m doing something wrong.

I think parenting young children (and old ones, I’ve heard) is a little like climbing Mount Everest. Brave, adventurous souls try it because they’ve heard there’s magic in the climb. They try because they believe that finishing, or even attempting the climb are impressive accomplishments. They try because during the climb, if they allow themselves to pause and lift their eyes and minds from the pain and drudgery, the views are breathtaking. They try because even though it hurts and it’s hard, there are moments that make it worth the hard. These moments are so intense and unique that many people who reach the top start planning, almost immediately, to climb again. Even though any climber will tell you that most of the climb is treacherous, exhausting, killer. That they literally cried most of the way up.

And so I think that if there were people stationed, say, every thirty feet along Mount Everest yelling to the climbers – “ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF!? IF NOT, YOU SHOULD BE! ONE DAY YOU’LL BE SORRY YOU DIDN’T!” TRUST US!! IT’LL BE OVER TOO SOON! CARPE DIEM!” - those well-meaning, nostalgic cheerleaders might be physically thrown from the mountain.

Now. I’m not suggesting that the sweet old ladies who tell me to ENJOY MYSELF be thrown from a mountain. These are wonderful ladies. Monkees, probably. But last week, a woman approached me in the Target line and said the following: “Sugar, I hope you are enjoying this. I loved every single second of parenting my two girls. Every single moment. These days go by so fast.”

At that particular moment, Amma had swiped a bra from the cart and arranged it over her sweater, while sucking a lollipop undoubtedly found on the ground. She also had three shop-lifted clip-on neon feathers stuck in her hair. She looked exactly like a contestant from Toddlers and Tiaras. A losing contestant. I couldn’t find Chase anywhere, and Tish was sucking the pen from the credit card machine WHILE the woman in front of me was trying to use it. And so I just looked at the woman, smiled and said, “Thank you. Yes. Me too. I am enjoying every single moment. Especially this one. Yes. Thank you.”

That’s not exactly what I wanted to say, though.

There was a famous writer who, when asked if she loved writing, replied, “No. but I love having written.” What I wanted to say to this sweet woman was, “Are you sure? Are you sure you don’t mean you love having parented?”

I love having written. And I love having parented. My favorite part of each day is when the kids are put to sleep (to bed) and Craig and I sink into the couch to watch some quality TV, like Celebrity Wife Swap, and congratulate each other on a job well done. Or a job done, at least.

Every time I write a post like this, I get emails suggesting that I’m being negative. I have received this particular message four or five times – G, if you can’t handle the three you have, why do you want a fourth?

That one always stings, and I don’t think it’s quite fair. Parenting is hard. Just like lots of important jobs are hard. Why is it that the second a mother admits that it’s hard, people feel the need to suggest that maybe she’s not doing it right? Or that she certainly shouldn’t add more to her load. Maybe the fact that it’s so hard means she IS doing it right…in her own way…and she happens to be honest.

Craig is a software salesman. It’s a hard job in this economy. And he comes home each day and talks a little bit about how hard it is. And I don’t ever feel the need to suggest that he’s not doing it right, or that he’s negative for noticing that it’s hard, or that maybe he shouldn’t even consider taking on more responsibility. And I doubt anybody comes by his office to make sure he’s ENJOYING HIMSELF. I doubt his boss peeks in his office and says: “This career stuff…it goes so fast…ARE YOU ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT IN THERE, CRAIG???? THE FISCAL YEAR FLIES BY!! CARPE DIEM, CRAIG!”

My point is this. I used to worry that not only was I failing to do a good enough job at parenting, but that I wasn’t enjoying it enough. Double failure. I felt guilty because I wasn’t in parental ecstasy every hour of every day and I wasn’t MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT like the mamas in the parenting magazines seemed to be doing. I felt guilty because honestly, I was tired and cranky and ready for the day to be over quite often. And because I knew that one day, I’d wake up and the kids would be gone, and I’d be the old lady in the grocery store with my hand over my heart. Would I be able to say I enjoyed every moment? No.

But the fact remains that I will be that nostalgic lady. I just hope to be one with a clear memory. And here’s what I hope to say to the younger mama gritting her teeth in line:

“It’s helluva hard, isn’t it? You’re a good mom, I can tell. And I like your kids, especially that one peeing in the corner. She’s my favorite. Carry on, warrior. Six hours till bedtime.” And hopefully, every once in a while, I’ll add- “Let me pick up that grocery bill for ya, sister. Go put those kids in the van and pull on up- I’ll have them bring your groceries out.”

Anyway. Clearly, Carpe Diem doesn’t work for me. I can’t even carpe fifteen minutes in a row, so a whole diem is out of the question.

Here’s what does work for me:

There are two different types of time. Chronos time is what we live in. It’s regular time, it’s one minute at a time, it’s staring down the clock till bedtime time, it’s ten excruciating minutes in the Target line time, it’s four screaming minutes in time out time, it’s two hours till daddy gets home time. Chronos is the hard, slow passing time we parents often live in.

Then there’s Kairos time. Kairos is God’s time. It’s time outside of time. It’s metaphysical time. Kairos is those magical moments in which time stands still. I have a few of those moments each day, and I cherish them.

Like when I actually stop what I’m doing and really look at Tish. I notice how perfectly smooth and brownish her skin is. I notice the perfect curves of her teeny elf mouth and her asianish brown eyes, and I breathe in her soft Tishy smell. In these moments, I see that her mouth is moving but I can’t hear her because all I can think is – This is the first time I’ve really seen Tish all day, and my God – she is so beautiful. Kairos.

Like when I’m stuck in chronos time in the grocery line and I’m haggard and annoyed and angry at the slow check-out clerk. And then I look at my cart and I’m transported out of chronos. And suddenly I notice the piles of healthy food I’ll feed my children to grow their bodies and minds and I remember that most of the world’s mamas would kill for this opportunity. This chance to stand in a grocery line with enough money to pay. And I just stare at my cart. At the abundance. The bounty. Thank you, God. Kairos.

Or when I curl up in my cozy bed with Theo asleep at my feet and Craig asleep by my side and I listen to them both breathing. And for a moment, I think- how did a girl like me get so lucky? To go to bed each night surrounded by this breath, this love, this peace, this warmth? Kairos.

These kairos moments leave as fast as they come- but I mark them. I say the word kairos in my head each time I leave chronos. And at the end of the day, I don’t remember exactly what my kairos moments were, but I remember I had them. And that makes the pain of the daily parenting climb worth it.

If I had a couple Kairos moments during the day, I call it a success.

Carpe a couple of Kairoses a day.

Good enough for me.

A hoot of a gift

2012-01-10T10:41:00.001-06:00

I know, that title was just too easy.

Here is the homemade Owl bag I made for my SIL this year for Christmas. She loves artsy fun things so I decided to make her a bag that she would double as purse and arsty carry bag. It was about 20"H by 14"W so it was big enough to carry different art supplies or maybe even some art.

I'm super proud of how it turned out, I'm just bummed I didn't get better pictures of it.

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-09T12:41:00.000-06:00

Busted!

2012-01-08T09:50:00.011-06:00

In more ways than one!

Lysie has moved from crawling to pulling up and the day

before Thanksgiving got a nice little cut to prove it.

We have those IKEA shoe cubbies by our front door (LOVE THEM)

and as you can see from the picture, they each have a knob on them.

Knobs that are apparently sharp enough to split your eyebrow when you fall against them :(

With tears (from mommy and baby), a little bit of blood, some good

antibacterial and a steri-strip. She was good as new.

As you can see from the other picture it didn't take long for her smiley little personality to come back around. Which certainly made mommy's heart feel quite better.

Love this crazy sweet thing!

November Mew

2012-01-07T08:35:00.000-06:00

This was our first try at braids and she wanted a picture shoot to go with them.
She's so stinkin' cute of course I obliged ;)

With all my littles getting bigger, we have been switching rooms and trading beds.
First Lysie moved to Mew's old room in her old crib. Which meant Mew was
getting a big girl bed. As you can see she was quite thrilled with her new bed!
We decorated a tiny bit above her new bed to make her feel at home in Bper's room.
Soon, hopefully, I'll be posting pictures of an awesome newly decorated room.
One that combines a girls side and a boys side in awesome harmony.
Okay, like I said....hopefully.

With Daddy - 11/2011

2012-01-06T08:30:00.000-06:00

Listening to the safety rules

Sighting in with Daddy

- Camera fun -

Our pups

2012-01-05T11:00:00.001-06:00

Roxy keeping a sick Bper company while he watched a movie on the couch

Roxy...
Quite at home on our couch. We came in from mass
one evening and found her laying there, head on the
pillow and covered by a blanket just like she was one
of the kids. Lol, and no we did not leave her like that.

Here is Watson. He is fairly new to the family and while still rather skittish to
any and all loud noises, people, things, toys, etc. (from what we can only guess
was a sad past) he is finding his way in this little, er, big family of ours.

It's a big job

2012-01-04T11:18:00.001-06:00

It's a big job learning to walk, but somebody has to do it!

Pancake Lessons

2012-01-03T11:13:00.000-06:00

Some of our favorite learning tools are edibles ones!

One of the best edible learning tools? PANCAKE BATTER!

I emptied out an old honey container and filled it with pancake batter. Then using my cast iron skillet I was able to make letters and shapes for the kids. The catch? They have to tell me the letter/shape before I put them on their plate. We usually start with their initials because that's the letters they want the most, but then I just go down the line. Not only do they LOVE them, but they are learning too. Score not just one for mom, but two!!

Silly, Willy, & Nilly

2012-01-02T11:00:00.000-06:00

Me and my littles, being crazy!

My man buzz

2011-12-30T22:37:00.001-06:00

Bper loves Toy Story so his Aunt Kista bought him a Buzz Lightyear shirt. It has Buzz front and back (although I guess I didn't get a picture of that). He loved it!

Thanks bunches Aunt Kista!

Mando Brando

2011-12-29T23:11:00.003-06:00

I can write

2011-12-29T14:13:00.000-06:00

Pork Roast with Carolina Gravy

2011-12-28T22:37:00.000-06:00

This was probably the best pork roast I have ever made before. It was so flavorful, so juicy, just melt-in-your-mouth tender. It was so good!

Ingredients

4 medium leeks

1 (5- to 6-lb.) bone-in pork shoulder roast (Boston butt)

Kitchen string

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

3 thick bacon slices, chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

10 garlic cloves, halved

3 medium onions, halved and sliced

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

10 fresh thyme sprigs

4 bay leaves

1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove and discard root ends and dark green tops of leeks. Thinly slice leeks; rinse well, and drain.

2. Tie pork roast with kitchen string, securing at 2-inch intervals. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Cook bacon in hot oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven or large, deep cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes. Add leeks, garlic, and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, 15 to 17 minutes or until mixture is golden brown; transfer to a bowl.

4. Add pork roast, fat side down, to Dutch oven, and cook 2 minutes on all sides or until browned. Remove pork.

5. Return leek mixture to Dutch oven; top with pork. Add broth and next 3 ingredients. Reduce heat to medium, and bring to a light boil. Remove from heat, and cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

6. Bake at 350° for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 180° to 185°. Remove pork from Dutch oven, cover with foil, and let stand 20 minutes before slicing.

7. Meanwhile, pour pan juices through a wire mesh strainer into a saucepan to equal 4 cups, discarding solids (add equal parts broth and white wine to pan juices to equal 4 cups, if necessary). Let stand 5 minutes; skim fat from surface of pan juices.

8. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook 20 to 25 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1 cup and slightly thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in butter until melted. Serve with pork.

9. Shredded Pork With Carolina Gravy: Prepare recipe as directed through Step 5. Bake at 350° for 4 to 5 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 195°. Remove pork from Dutch oven, cover with foil, and let stand 20 minutes. Shred pork with two forks. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Amy Tornquist, Watts Grocery, Durham, North Carolina, Southern Living

APRIL 2009

Recipe many thanks to http://www.myrecipes.com.

A flower would look as sweet

2011-12-28T22:15:00.000-06:00

I just love the new trend of wearing flowers in your hair, the cost of them, I don't love as much.

So I did a trial run and made one of my own.

I started SUPER simple, mostly because I was in a hurry when I did it, but simple is never bad when starting a new project.

I cut out about 10 of a quick drawn flower shape from an old scrap piece of fabric.

Then I folded the first piece in half three times and sewed through what would have been the center of the flower. Then I followed suit with all the others. I didn't cut enough flowers out to make it really fluffy so I decided to add a button to the middle. I think it turned out cute though :)

Adventures of Bper Boy: Super boys need to eat!

2011-12-28T13:42:00.000-06:00

I left Bper taking a nap and when I came back to check on him I found him missing.

Yes, a regular occurrence and really, I guess I should start sitting outside his room. However this seems to defeat the purpose of my using their nap time to clean the house, start dinner, breath quietly to myself for a moment, think about future messes, dream of days beyond potty training, eat bon bons, you know...mom stuff.

Oh and the bon bons thing...yeah, HA!

So anyway, I went downstairs to find him, and instead I found the ziploc bag containing about 20 pancakes from the morning, empty and on the floor. My entire large container of Coffeemate French Vanilla coffee creamer empty. With only about a quarter of it used previously and about a quarter of it on the floor presently. I can only assume the rest was consumed via a 3 year old in one swell drink of "milk".

Did I mention I found the pancakes?
I did, did you count them?
There are only six in the picture...where the other 14 went...
Well your guess is as good as mine. However, That would
certainly be one hell of a snack.
14 pancakes and a huge french vanilla creamer drink...
I fear I've been doing my celery and carrots snacking all wrong.

You can imagine he was sent BACK to his room while I cleaned up the mess downstairs.

Don't you just hate that twinge as you go back up the stairs though? The one that says, there's something wrong, not wrong with the kids mind you, but wrong!? Yes, I had one of those feelings.

Open the door.....Don't open the door.

Damn the decisions we must make as parents, right?

Well, he had a surprise waiting for me.

When I found him moments later, MOMENTS. I am pretty quick at cleaning messes now because I know I only have a short amount of time before I should be stopping another. So, MOMENTS later, he had managed to strip his bed of it's sheets and blanket, remove the mattress to the floor, place the blankets on the box spring, pull all his puzzles down from the top shelf in his room, empty out the basket of folded clothes I was "going to put away", pull out half the box of blocks and wet his pants.

Some people wonder how I have so much patience, well here it is...I don't.

My body goes into survival mode and I come back to consciousness later wondering how it all went down.

Surely a trait from God to ensure the survival of the species.

Me and My Nonni

2011-12-27T22:29:00.002-06:00

Practicing

2011-12-27T22:27:00.001-06:00

The hubs and I decided to do something crazy to remember how we aren't 18 anymore,

thus practicing one of our old dancing ariels. Never a dull moment around here.

This was one of our tries and you can see the kids started dancing into the
pictures with us. It was so funny and I love the way the pictures turned
out with them. Good thing we looked before I leapt.

Halloween 2011

2011-12-27T10:26:00.000-06:00

This year I put together the kids costumes by hand. I started by making Bper

a Popeye hat out of an old sheet (one of the best ways to to get a lot of fabric for cheap).

Then I took an old black T-shirt and added some Popeye sleeves, buttons and sailor

neck. His daddy made him a pipe and with a pair of jeans his outfit was complete.

Mara's was pretty easy too. I bought a red shirt and added a lace collar. Then I

cut up one of my old black tops to make her a skirt. I added a yellow felt stripe to the bottom

using a simple zigzag stich. Added a pair of boots and Olive Oyl was born!

Lysie was supposed to be Sweet Pea...but my time fell short.

The dress shuffle

2011-12-27T09:33:00.001-06:00

My SIL is getting married in March and she asked me to be her MOH.

I, of course, said yes and here I am at our first dress shuffle.

What Lysie thought of all the dress shopping:

Love the first picture, unfortunately that opinion of the goings on didn't last

October photo shoot

2011-12-27T09:22:00.002-06:00

Treats for who?

2011-12-27T09:06:00.001-06:00

Watson Lovin'

2011-12-26T23:05:00.002-06:00

Working it

2011-12-26T22:37:00.000-06:00

For those that remember this book

2011-12-26T22:12:00.000-06:00

My very own Jilly Jiggs

If you have never read the book, Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman, to your children or yourself, you should.

I grew up with this book and it is quite near and dear to my heart. She is a wonderful author and this is now one of my kids favorite books as well.

Watson

2011-12-19T21:57:00.001-06:00

Watson joined our family the weekend the Brian's visited. They found him wandering around in Georgia and brought him all the way here looking for a no-kill shelter that would accept him.

Well, that or some suckers with big hearts....enter in my husband and I.

There were no shelters that would take him, so we did. I never thought I would have taken in a second dog, but, my husband has a big heart and holds mine as well, so a second dog it was.

After a visit to our vet we found out he was about 7 to 10 years old, has joint problems, and had a rough life before us. After a couple months with us, he loves to run at the land, get loving from Brandon and I and sleep outside in dirt holes. He is still a bit wary of people in general, he makes tracks either out the door or upstairs to hide out until they leave. He's finding a nice little home with us now though.

Best game....EVER!

2011-12-16T01:24:00.000-06:00

My kids discovered the best game known to ~~man~~ child.

My dad came over and in the midst of trying to toss me a pillow to sit on the floor with he got one of my kids. Well my son thought it was HILARIOUS and thus the game was born.

My father tosses the pillow at them, they get whacked with the pillow, they laugh histarically and then bring the pillow back to him so he can do it all over again.

All you moms, and future moms out there, this could be the best stress relief ever, LOL!

I love the actual look on their faces right after the pillow gets them! It's hilarious.
They think it's the best thing ever!

Love it!

White and Brian Kiddos

2011-12-09T00:32:00.002-06:00

Good friends of ours, Matt and Kitsy, came into town this October. Actually it's quite funny, they weren't even here that long, but we went dancing, met up at my parents land and even got a new dog all in the span of about a days time. Oh yes, you heard me right, another dog, but that's another post ;)

Here are our kiddos all together, and in all their glory, lol. Hard to believe sometimes that we were friends before we were even dating, now married with kids and DOGS! Lol.

Love these littles!

Swing Night with old friends

2011-12-06T21:10:00.000-06:00

Cherry Top Growing UP!

2011-11-29T22:01:00.000-06:00

She dressed herself today and this is what we ended up with. Not so bad in fact.
I especially like those colors paired with that smile.

P-Dub's Spicy Shredded Pork

2011-11-26T22:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, Pionneer Woman's Recipe for Spicy Shredded Pork (this woman CAN COOK!), on my homemade torillas, with sour cream, tomatoes, and avocado. Are you drooling yet?

It was AMAZING food!

This was so unbelievably good, you really must try it! Yes, that's right, you must!

It's a must thing, that's how good it was.

Best taco meat ever
(slightly adapted from Cynthia's Spicy Shredded Pork Recipe on Pioneer Woman.com)

INGREDIENTS:

5 - 7 lb Boston Butt or Whole Picnic

1 teaspoon Dried Mexican Oregano

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 - 2 Tbsp Salt

Pepper to Taste

4 Cloves Garlic

2 Tbsps Olive Oil

2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar

1/8 cup Brown Sugar

1 whole Onion

PREP & COOK WORK:

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder.

Toss dried Mexican oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and brown sugar into a food processor (if you don't have one, you should get one). Cut onion into quarters and add to processor seasoning goodness. Blend the mixture until totally combined and smelling amazing.

Place your pork in a dutch oven (again, if you don't have one, you should get one) and pour the seasoning mixture onto your pork. Use your hands to rub it into every nook and cranny of the meat, massaging it here and there, leave no area untouched, even the nooks and crannies.

Add a couple of cups of water (don't pour it on top of the meat and pour away all that goodness either).

Cover tightly and roast pork at 300º for several hours. If you remember, unlike me, rotate the pork every couple hours. When it is fork tender, crank up the heat (say about 450-475), remove the lid, and roast it, fat side up for another 10 to 15 minutes to get it nice and crispy. Once it's finished, let it rest for 15 minutes before shredding.

Shred the pork with two forks inside your dutch oven (removing any large chunks of fat).

Serve on top of warm, preferably homemade, tortillas, with avocado, onion, lime juice and sour cream. *drool*

Completely AWESOME!

2011-11-14T20:19:00.000-06:00

Okay, yes, I'm going to toot my own horn here, but I promise my post here is much better than the ridiculous little jig I did at home when I saw my hubby and I made the Photo of the Week for our local swing dancing hot spot. It's just SO awesome! Most especially because that's one of my fav. outfits and *major horn toot* I made the flower in my hair!! Oh and my hubby is doing his favorite flip with me :)

I don't care who you are, now, that's cool right there ;)

Loved this pic too.

**Photos courtesy of Meagan Glover of course, she's amazing!

Not just because she takes awesome photos of us either ;)**

So love!

2011-11-14T20:00:00.000-06:00

For my birthday the hubs and I went to the Melting Pot and then perused local stores killing time before going to pick the kids up from the babysitters. We stopped at a furniture store and I completely fell in love with this living room set, most especially the GORGEOUS chair, oh, loved it!

See, I even look fabulous in it!
If only we weren't debt free and it wasn't $350...
oh and if only I didn't have children that
would destroy it once I got it home...

The man burger

2011-11-13T08:00:00.002-06:00

Here is my version of the man burger:

One grass fed beef pattie with all the good seasoning (worchestershire, s&p,
seasoned salt, oregano, garlic-a must!, an egg and a tiny bit of bread crumbs
to hold it together. Don't be a doubter - it's an amazing combination!) laid on top of
two slices of crossed bacon. Topped with a thick green pepper & onion slice,
and finally some homemade herb butter.

Bring the bacon up and wrap it like the present it is.

And grill that bad boy until the bacon is crispy, the veggies are soft,
the butter is melted, and the burger is cooked to a nice medium.
Put it on a deli burger bun and take a bite.
Savor.
Repeat.

A gift for Adam

2011-11-12T08:00:00.066-06:00

I saw this fun idea on Pinterest (my new favorite addiction by the way), the U-Create blog had a guest post from iCandy Handmade, and it was for these little art desks.

First I hunted down an old cabinet face (a local cabinet shop sold it to me)
because, surprise surprise, I didn't have any just laying around.

Next I had to pick up legs from Lowe's. I initially wen in looking for some plain square
legs that weren't detailed, but alas, we live in a small town and this was all they had four of.

Looking better after a good paint job (or two actually).

My amusement while waiting for paint to dry.

He's quite talented at making me smile ;)

I did sand the whole thing down before I painted it, but
that was rather messy and not a place for my poor camera.

Some hardboard, cut to size by the hubs and some drilled holes later...

My handsome helpers

Hubs is the one in the green, good friend Rob in the white.
I bribed them with a good dinner to come help me finish the project.

The next day are leg glue and paint had dried it was time for coat number...
oh I can't even remember now. It was just time to coat the whole thing inside and out.

Adam loves trains, so trains it was. I searched online
for the perfect looking train, printed it extra big and carefully
cut it out with an exacto knife. Just one more reason
I want a silhouette machine SO badly!!
I couldn't decide if I wanted to use the outline or the cut-out.

With input from Bper and the hubs, I decided to use the cut-out.
First I sprayed a very light coat with the blue spray paint
and stuck the paper to it so I wouldn't have any leaks.

Then I peeled it off, gave it a nice clear overcoat
to even the texture and final look of it.

Inside we added a clip to display his art work in the future
and a little homemade note card that said Happy Birthday for the present.

All in all, I thought it turned out really cute. I hope the boy liked it. I love giving homemade gifts, but I'm always worried the receivers might not be as pleased to get as I am to give. What do you think? Homemade gift giving dead? or would you love to see it alive and thriving?

Brindaul Farms

2011-11-11T08:00:00.012-06:00

We've been working on my parent's land each weekend lately to help get things moving towards a grass fed beef operation. It's been A TON of work, hard work. However, I've found a lot of special moments that have made for fun pictures. The ones below are some of my favorites.

Working with momma, aren't we stylish

You must have your hands full...

2011-11-10T10:00:00.001-06:00

I think every mother has heard that phrase, "you must have your hands full". Really does no one have anything better to say? Can you not be any more uplifting than that?! Hell yes, I have my hands full, but don't you think I already know that? Thank you, Captain Obvious. What's so wrong with, "what a lovely family you have", or "what beautiful children" or just running away in terror as we come down the grocery aisle?! At least the last reaction would make feel powerful.
Muwahaha, I have powers of mass child destruction, tremble ye mere mortals!

Anyway, I wanted to be that loving, endearing, so put together looking mother so I was trying to think of something brilliant and sweet as a retort. I landed on "Yes, but you should see my heart". I know, you don't have to say anything, I know.
I hadn't actually said it either because every time I tried it just felt so...sappy, fake, ridiculous, yes, you get my drift. You know, Mrs. Duggar could pull off saying something like that...me, all harried, crazed, unorganized, with the one twitching eye that seems to come from being around three children 3 and under...yeah, not so much.
Oh, I did try it though, some sweet lady said it, like a fly to fly paper, she just couldn't help herself.
"You sure have your hands full", she said.
"Yes," I replied, "but you should see my heart."
*gag* I almost threw up in my mouth.
Definitely not one that can pull that off. It's okay though, this just means I'm back on the search. I'm going to find a retort to that comment.

Bits of Setember

2011-11-09T17:00:00.000-06:00

What happens when you get blogged up....you run months late on the posts you should have already posted and you do posts like this that don't mean anything to anyone else because you didn't have time to put any back stories or come up with anything witty, but at least they're out there and they'll make it into the family photo/blog book for memories sake. Even if I'm the only one that will remember about them. Sigh, If that.

I am LOVED! Flowers, a card, gummie lifesavers & Big candies
(two throwbacks to my childhood, thanks daddy).
Loved coming down the stairs to all these goodies :)

Food Face, as my two children so fondly called this picture.

They told me they didn't need any baby dolls, because Lysie could be their baby doll.
I'll have to think on that one.

This kid makes the funniest faces.
She is always cracking us up. And she knows it too!

Our first nails day - we didn't brave the hands,
but the toes turned out FAB-U-LOUS!
Love that crazy cherry top!

I see the moon, and the moon sees me.

2011-11-09T14:28:00.001-06:00

The moon up on the farm, rising over the tree line one night.

Little Lulu

2011-11-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

Little Lulu, I love you!

My sister moved back to California, but before she did we had a special little night with Bper's best friend, his cousin, Lulu. We painted nails, had a special movie under a homemade tent (by uncle Brandon) and ate way too many sweets. Really the only thing to do if you're a cool aunt ;)

p.s. my favorite picture, the one that makes me really smile, even in my liver, is the one of Bper and Lulu hugging like crazy. I miss that sunny funny little thing and her momma and siblings for that matter.

Bunk Crib

2011-11-07T20:55:00.001-06:00

After putting the kids to bed and going down to finish dishes we came back up to find this:

Math...no wonder I never liked it

2011-11-07T09:07:00.002-06:00

Little Bits of Farm Life

2011-11-05T23:17:00.003-05:00

Dancing with the hubbs!

2011-11-03T15:06:00.001-05:00

The past couple weekends me and the hubbs have been dancing again!!!

I've been dancing since 2003 and dancing with him since 2004. After the littles came on the scene though our dancing came to pause. *humph* Something I'm not thrilled about...It should be much easier to drag little kids out for a night of dancing than it is, lol.

Anyway, we've been finding/making the time for it a lot more lately and surprise, we still love it! Here are a few pics of the past couples times we went.

**Photos by Meagan Glover - fantastic, awesome, photographer extraordinaire!**

Dancing with Lysie in tow :)

Ain't nothing gonna break our stride, haha!

Just like old times, dancing with Matt

And over I go...that's right...we still got...or at least a little bit of it

It's begun...bringing in a brand new generation of dancers
aka, my little sibs.

5 + years and I still love and adore that man ;)
It's the dancing I tell you!

My little brother Granger & little sis, Kelly

Granger and Karly

Red Handed

2011-11-02T23:41:00.000-05:00

Lysie is crawling!

2011-10-31T13:42:00.000-05:00

Really though, she is crawling like a little speedster.

She LOVES following her big sibs around, eating EVERYTHING off the floor,

spilling the dog's water and pulling up on everything from the couch to the dogs.

Precious Moments

2011-10-26T19:32:00.002-05:00

Hugs & Kisses with Love

2011-10-14T23:03:00.000-05:00

Bper started this thing about Popeye kisses and hugs. They are big long kisses or hugs and after one of us says, "ack ack ack ack eye". And frankly, they are so adorable! Cherry Top (newly nicknamed that, because I tell her each night, I love you with a cherry on top, to which she responds, "cherry top") picked it up also and I get and give these Popeye kisses many times a day now.
Well, tonight when I was putting them down I gave Cherry Top her Popeye kisses and told her that I loved her with a cherry on top. Then I went in to give Bper his nightly momma lovin.
After I got my Popeye loves I said, "I wanna give you momma hugs and kisses now, they are special and sometimes they take a long time because they have so much love in them." I held him and asked if he could feel the love, and he said yes. I hugged him a little longer and asked again if he could still feel the love, and he said yes again. Then he said he got all the love and he climbed up to get under his covers.
I started to walk out of his room and he said, "No wait, momma, I wanna give you Bper hugs and kisses."
How could I refuse? Right? I know, he's got my number.
Right, so I happily obliged, after all, soon enough he will be big and won't want to share all that lovin' with me.
He climbed up and sat down and patted the bed next to him and when I sat down he hugged me SO so so softly. Can you see my heart just welling with momma love?
Then he said to me, "Sometimes Bper hugs come into you and make your heart feel good." Then he rubbed my back and said, "more heartness is coming into you".
Why I do believe that's right son. I didn't think that was possible until now.
*sniff...I love that boy*

Dinner: Take Two - Soup & Parm Knots

2011-10-13T10:33:00.015-05:00

So, I love cooking!
Love love love cooking.
It's a shame I can't be a professional chef for some family that loves to eat everything, has gobs of money, and would let me create any menu I wanted each week.
Where are these people?!
Here I AM! If you're looking....

.....Nothing?.....

Okay, fine I'll continue to cook for my little family of 5 (7 if you count the dogs and since they usually get to eat some of my dinner each night via the children, I count them) each night. Speaking of which, Pinterest has been fueling me with tons of delicious new recipe ideas, not all good for the thighs or pocket book, but that's where I get thrifty (and fat)! A challenge? Why yes, let's tango...the tango part helps with the thigh part.

So my budget friendly and most delicious dinner tonight was sausage, potato & kale soup with Parmesan knots....I know....breath.

For dinner tonight I borrowed Real Mom Kitchen's recipe for Easy Parmesan Knots and adapted it a tad to be in line with the dairy allergies running rampant in my house. Here's my version:

Parm Knots

1 tube refrigerated flaky biscuits
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp Veggie Parmesan cheese (found at most Publix stores)
1 tsp garlic powder
1tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh/dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt (if you use real Parmesan you don't need salt)

Tear each biscuit in half (peeling between the layers) and stretch them to about 6". Quickly tie into a knot and place on your baking dish (I used stoneware and didn't grease my pan). Place about 1" apart and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until perfectly golden and baked through.
While they're cooking, in a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Then brush the warm knots with the oil mixture.
Yielded: 16 knots.

SOUP Delish

(slighted adapted from: Pioneer Woman's Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup - LOVE that woman!)

1 bag prepared kale
3 baking potatoes diced or 2 cans diced potatoes (I know, it's like cheating - but it's so EASY!)

1 whole Onion, Chopped

3 Cloves Garlic, smashed and thrown in (unless you aren't a lover of garlic like I am)

1 1/2 pound Sweet Italian Sausage
(I added some sage breakfast sausage to mine too - leftovers and all)

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

4 cups Chicken Broth

5 cups Almond Milk
Fresh or Dried Oregano
Black Pepper (to taste)

In a large pot, bring your diced potatoes to boil (I used what I had on hand; 2 baking potatoes and 1 can of diced potatoes. If you're like me then you'll want to boil the raw ones until tender first, drain and set them aside to add to the soup for later. In another large pot, or the same pot, or Oooh, if you have a dutch oven, use that! Crumble and brown the sausage. Add the onion and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Next add the red pepper flakes, oregano, chicken broth and almond milk. Simmer for 20 minutes. Give it a taste and add any additional seasonings if needed. Add the potatoes and kale and give it a good stir. Simmer another 10 minutes and serve, preferably with the yummy Parm knots above.

**P.s. I had leftover rotisserie chicken (I know crazy right!) so I chopped it up and added that to the soup as well.

Love them!

2011-10-10T23:04:00.002-05:00

How!?

2011-10-07T10:53:00.000-05:00

I sent Bper and Mara outside to play. It is a gorgeous, GORGEOUS day outside. I was even a smart mom, I sent both in to go potty before they went out.
Somehow though while they were playing and digging in the dirt (a fine 4 and under activity for kids I say) Mara wet her pants. Stripped them and her panties off and continued playing. When I checked on them I got the wet clothes, put them in the washer, put new panties on her and sent her back outside.
Next, no wait, let me preface this with I am running on around 11 hours of sleep over the past three days because my youngest (8 month old Lysie) has been running a fever of 100 - 102 degrees. She has a viral infection we're just waiting it out, letting it run its' course.
Okay, next, I went in and laid my sweet baby down upstairs and began gathering up our photo outfits for tonight, as we have a portrait session for our church directory this evening.
I would venture to say I was upstairs about 10 minutes before going down to check on my littles (I know better than to leave them for any longer than that, or so I thought).
What did I find? No, there are no pictures, the scene was just too gruesome to subject some of you poor souls to.
I found a bathroom covered in poop. The toilet seat, the floor, the wall, the toilet paper (I'm sure you're thinking, "at least she tried, right?". Hell no). It gets better though, follow the smell and what do I find? Mara naked as a jaybird standing at my back door covered in, what else?, sugar. Beautiful, sand like, granulated sugar. Turns out she was scooping sugar out of my sugar bin with her poopy hands. Dessert? No, I think I'll pass. In addition to poopy hands it was all over her. Did I mention I showered her this morning?! Now there was a good use of my time apparently...okay, well, it was because she was a poopy mess this morning too. She had it on my bedroom carpet, my bathroom toilet, and on her. But, clearly I digress. Can you blame me though? Once you start talking about one poopy mess they all seem to mesh together.
Okay, so then my 3 1/2 year old informs me that she pooped all over outside. And, he is correct. It's on the pavement, in the dirt, on the sand toys, thank goodness we have a fenced in yard, or who knows where else it would be. I shudder at the thought.
At this point fear, rage, frustration, laughter, anger, disbelief, humor (a brief and most fleeting emotion), and desperation made the rounds in my head.
Thoughts of:

"how do you even begin to clean this up?"

"what in the world?! Why?!"

"Are you serious?! Where's Ashton, I know I'm being punk'd"

"Please dear Lord, tell me I am being punk'd"

and then shouts of:

"No, don't move!"

"Quit licking your hands!!!!!"

"Don't touch the sugar ANY. MORE!"

"Okay, self control hands and to the shower. NOW."

Off to shower off the delinquent little brutes, yes bruteS, my son chose that very time to wet his pants and put poopy sand in his hair, go figure.
Wondering if they're still alive, aren't you? Yes, they are. They are spending some time in their room. Not because for my creative, adventurous kids it's any kind of punishment, but because I have a HUGE mess to clean up, 3 lbs. of sugar to throw away, clothes to now wash, and mommy needs a little alone time to do just that. Instead of a smoke break, mommy needs her breakdown break.

**Children, once I convert all these blog entries, and you read this. YOU OWE ME! Normal children don't do things like this to their mothers...Oh, and this is not a take mom to dinner kind of owing either...You both need to think long and hard about whether you are going to send me on an all expense paid cruise, a trip to Italy or Greece, or Germany or hire me a house cleaner that will come weekly until the day I die. Or maybe all of the above.**

Water + Friends

2011-10-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

August 23rd, 2011

2011-10-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

Brandon took the day off and we decided to make it a family

day for his and Mara's birthday....it really ended up being

a kids day going places like jumping jax, a cute little gym

class for Mara and Sweet Treats at the end. I made up for it

at the end though by making him a delish dinner!

Family Party for Miss tThis hing and Daddy B

2011-10-05T14:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's supposed to say Funny Bones...
not Bones Bones, but that's what I get for working
late at night I guess.

Mew turns 2!

2011-10-04T00:41:00.000-05:00

The cake!
Along with presents, a cupcake tier filled with
grass cupcakes in adorable picket wrappers
(to be decorated later with candy flowers, bees &
lady bugs) and the gift bags, complete with
homemade butterfly masks for the kids.

hahaha, okay, as goofy as she looks here, it was actually her smiling!!! She
loves to throw that smile out lately, she'll do just about anything for a
smile or a laugh.

The kids had a blast. They decorated cupcakes & devoured them, or at least
the tops of them anyway. Then they moved on to presents and about
mauled Mew for her new toy puppies. She was pretty happy to fairy Godmother
her way around the house though, poofing everything in sight.

She is such a special little girl. Love that crazy little girl of mine!

Mew, your personality and your funny little
ways make me smile every single day!

From zero to hero

2011-09-28T09:42:00.001-05:00

Or at least in my opinion....I'm sure you piano lovers will cringe when you see what I did to this WELL loved Kohler & Campbell Professional model piano. However, with all the cracks and breaks in the finish and the drawing on the sides from being a school practice piano for the first years of its' life,

I think she's looking a whole lot better.

Well loved....

To brand new :)

2011-09-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

The walk up to the caverns was pretty long for those little legs,
I was surprised they were still ready to go after running up and
down it so many times.

My girls lovey little smiles!
The littles showing off their booties for daddy's picture, lol!
& the best family picture out of about 15 we took that day :)

Inside the caves...the boys, the girls and a duck.

After the caverns we drove down the way to a little picnic park
and had lunch (the super delish looking lunch you see above). It
was fabulous and the kids some how still had energy to play on the
playground before and after eating...whew! I was ready to sleep
right there on the picnic table.

Five little piggies wen to the caverns
and three little piggies slept all the way home.
Bper didn't even make it long enough to finish his gummy snacks.

Pancakes!

2011-09-19T23:55:00.002-05:00

A little peek of MarMar's garden party!

2011-09-05T22:48:00.000-05:00

Movie Night

2011-09-03T12:03:00.000-05:00

The littles and I did a movie night while daddy was out sailing one evening. It included personal bags of popcorn, strawberry almond milk, and of course the fabulous company! The kids LOVED it!

Mommy and Mara!

2011-09-03T11:57:00.002-05:00

Swing Night with the kids

2011-09-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

Snow-tastic activity!

2011-09-03T00:36:00.002-05:00

This is the closest we get to snow in Florida ;)

2011-08-30T13:21:00.000-05:00

We spent one Sunday visiting with some long time family friends and they live in the most gorgeous home!

We swam in their pool and barbecued some burgers and hots dogs. It was a blast!

Tea-nking it's going to be a long day...

2011-08-30T08:44:00.002-05:00

My little lovely!

2011-08-29T14:42:00.002-05:00

Singing in the rain!

2011-08-29T14:39:00.002-05:00

Doggy Doggy

2011-08-29T14:38:00.000-05:00

Summer Fun with my kiddos

2011-08-29T14:34:00.001-05:00

B-B-B-Bowling!

2011-08-28T13:18:00.001-05:00

Taking all three kids bowling by myself was an adventure,
most definitely, but it was also a bunch of fun! A true
lesson in patience and taking turns for my brood.
Not to mention they got to bowl with the coolest
contraption I've ever seen to help kiddos bowl.
Every bowling alley should have one!!

Not so Lucky Charms...

2011-08-16T14:13:00.004-05:00

Really this post could have many names, Visited by heathens, Not so Lucky Charms, Cereal mess (like surreal, get it? Hahahahaha! okay, anyway), Magically Delicious Morning, or even "Pink Hearts, Orange Stars, Yellow Moons, Green Clovers, Blue Diamonds, and Purple Horseshoes! And now with...." Butter! That would just be too long though.

You see, apparently heathens visited my house this morning and my poor, obedient, angelic, children were defenseless to their evil charms (pun intended).

I opened my eyes and my head popped off my pillow
to the tune of, "OH NO! It's 7:45 and it's too quiet"
A quick scan of my room and theirs, lead me downstairs in a hurry...

So here is my first view from the hallway...I was thinking,
"Well, not so bad, but clearly they've gotten into something."
Boy was that an understatement.

This is where my thoughts started escalating.
Escalating to, "Oh no...please no...Good heavens, no"

Here is where I just sighed. Breathing in the mess in all it's
heathen glory. Truly it was sight to behold.
A real artistic touch was put into this you could even say...if
you weren't fuming over the mess that is.

Sadly you missed the face on my poor little "angel" when I rounded the corner and saw my 2 year old daughter sitting on the floor by an opened stick of VERY soft butter, dipping cereal in it.

The very spot my daughter sat, just moments before,
eating her curds and whey...no wait wrong story.

I guess I can't blame them, I mean if I was going to get cereal,

why not pour it all over the counter right. How fun would be?!

Cleaning it up though....that's where the fun ends.
Did I mention these were two BRAND NEW boxes
of Lucky Charms, just bought last night?! Well, they were!

When I found my son (sitting in my new recliner) he held this
bowl of cereal...I wonder what happened to the lucky charms?

Oh, did I mention Lucky Charms was clearly not sufficient enough for
a heathen breakfast and therefore two containers of yogurt were
clearly necessary.

My poor carpet speckled with ground in marshmallow
and letters? numbers? shapes?
Eh, what does it matter...they were ground in so I guess crumbs
is a better description. Did you know it's VERY difficult to get
crushed marshmallow charms out of a shag rug?
Yes, well, you may want to note that...you never know...

So anyway, after I sent them up to my shower (because the heathens had dirtied them up good) I took a good look around, breathed deeply a few times, spoke to God, and cursed that darn leprechaun before heading up behind them. Silly me, I thought that was more than enough adventure for one morning, but my daughter surprised me with taking off her poopy diaper and sharing the contents between her room, my room and my bathroom shower.

When you start out like this, all before 8 am,
you know what you can say?

"It's all up from here!"

My little man

2011-08-16T11:14:00.002-05:00

Something Saturdays - an o-clay day :)

2011-08-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

2011-08-12T16:48:00.002-05:00

2011-08-12T14:10:00.002-05:00

Afro Kids!

2011-08-11T15:22:00.002-05:00

Swimming with the fishes...or just his teacher ;)

2011-08-09T23:54:00.000-05:00

A Sister makeover!

2011-07-26T23:24:00.000-05:00

My younger sisters turned 14 and it was time for their first day of shopping (not lead by mom).

A day of self discovery (at least in the fashion sense)!

First off I can say, hardly ever were so many laughs shared or fun had by four sisters (we missed you CC!). We had a blast, from the moment we got started in at a fancy hair salon, and on to a tiny little second hand shop all the way to the moment we finished, dragging our tired bodies back home after a day of literally shop till you drop!

I would have made a collage of our whole day, the stores we hit, our finds, and where we ate...but I forgot my camera....so instead I made a collage of all our finds put together at the end of the night and of course some late night goofiness had by all ;)

Love my sisters, can't wait to do it again!!

Karly M.

Kelly M.

Fourteen & Fabulous!

Baby Aria's Baby Shower

2011-07-20T22:20:00.000-05:00

My sweet new niece baby Aria (my blog knick name for her :) came all the way up here for her special shower and she loved every minute of it! We had delicious food, did some fun games, opened presents and in the mean time we had a HUGE craft station set up with baby clothes, blankets, bloomers, & hats to be decorated with embellishments, buttons, ribbons, and more. It was so much fun and people really liked hand-making her something right then and there! I will definitely do that again for the next shower I plan :)

My Girls

2011-07-12T14:07:00.002-05:00

Why children make it through each day alive...

2011-06-22T23:12:00.000-05:00

Why children make it through each day alive: my son was acting like a heathen so I sent him to his room, where he peed in his outfit, stripped his whole bed apart, peed on the carpet, pulled his clothes out of his drawers (where they were neatly folded) and dumped out his underwear and sock bucket. I calmly (I know amazing right) told him he would remain in his room until it was completely clean *crying and screaming quickly followed-his not mine, mine came later*. I then walked back downstairs to breath - in and out, in and out, in and out. A short time (very short!) I made my way back upstairs to check on him - what did I smell? bleach. He sprayed his carpet with clorox bleach bathroom cleaner (which WAS locked under a bathroom cabinet, still figuring how he did that). A lovely white spot on my carpet and sleeping child later I snuck into his room and kissed him on his cheek and in his sleep he smiled....and that my friends is one of those little things that ensure they make it alive and well to each new day.
*glass of wine in hand* Here is a toast to all of you moms that are nodding right now.

Woody The Cowboy

2011-06-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

Since Christmas Woody has become the new toy in town. Bper asked me to take a picture of him and his pal Woody - so Bper...when you look back on this in twenty years...Here you go!

Special Pre-Easter Supper

2011-06-14T14:35:00.002-05:00

sisterly love...

2011-06-14T13:58:00.000-05:00

Bper had one of his first real experiences with

"sisterly love" while I was making dinner one night.

How she bit him there...I'm still trying to figure out.

Lions, Tigers, and oh yeah...Bears!

2011-06-14T13:41:00.000-05:00

Every Saturday!

2011-06-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

I was noticing that we were becoming hermits on the weekends so I made a pack with my family that we would do something blog worthy every Saturday. Meaning I would promise that we would have fun as a family, big or small every Saturday! Here's our first weekend of fun:

While Bper went fishing with his daddy, the girls and I played on a fabulous little playground. A picnic lunch simply HAD to follow and finally naps in the car on the long drive home.

First fun Saturday = a success

Poppi - that old guy...

2011-06-10T23:22:00.000-05:00

My daughter was walking around saying, "poppi, poppi, poppi, poppi" so Bper walked up and said, "Mew, you know Poppi, he's one of the old guys that lives at nonni's house".

Well now you know where you stand old guy ;)

MDLMMOA!

Easter

2011-06-03T23:19:00.001-05:00

Easter egg decorating at awesome Aunt BB's house

more EGGS! Oh and did I mention, that egg decorating
with Superman is...well...SUPER ;)

Bper & Mew's Easter on the land with family!

Growing...

2011-05-30T21:49:00.001-05:00

Always trying new things - we went to a gardening activity at the park where the kids planted some flowers in recycled water bottles that they decorated.

Here's how our garden's been doing at home though :) My hubby and his green thumb have been on a role this spring/summer growing all kinds of herbs and now peppers! Yummo!

2011-05-29T01:00:00.000-05:00

One more park activity with the MOMS Club here. This time it included bubbles, running, giggling and lots of spilled bubble solution!

The Fair

2011-05-28T14:32:00.001-05:00

The kids only rode one ride because they were TERRIFIED! We did get to enjoy just walking around though and let's not forget, the cotton candy!

Adventures of Bper Boy - Sherbet & Sunshine!

2011-05-26T13:31:00.000-05:00

Big brother and little sister

2011-05-24T22:00:00.001-05:00

Little Miss Baptized

2011-05-24T21:58:00.002-05:00

New Hair

2011-05-23T22:40:00.002-05:00

Pure Sweetness!

2011-05-16T22:33:00.001-05:00

Old School Swing

2011-05-14T22:46:00.003-05:00

Strawberry Picking

2011-05-10T14:38:00.002-05:00

Sibs

2011-05-09T23:05:00.002-05:00

PANCAKES!

2011-05-08T22:38:00.000-05:00

While I was upstairs taking care of Leesy my other two went downstairs and hunted down the leftover pancakes. When I rounded the corner Mew called out "Geese(please)" as loud as she could, both hands FULL of pancakes and her sweet big brother was equally as cute (while getting into things they shouldn't) by asking me to take a picture of them eating their FAVORITE pancakes...

Trying to butter me up? I say yes!