July 16: Last Game of the Season


I was looking through my blog earlier today for a recipe, and it's official--I miss the collages! It was so fun to look back at our days when the baby was so little and literally watch her grow up as I scrolled on by. 

So here's today. Day-sized chunks are probably easier for me to keep up with in reality, verses my grand plan of having a week's worth of photos prepped and ready to go at one time.

Today was the last baseball game of the season, and they finished it off with a win! Clayton hit a ball into the outfield, and Ruby hit the ball and scored a run, ending on an awesome note. Go Cardinals! 

Real Life Still Life, Vol. 6


We were both still sitting at the table tonight, picking at the leftover yellow peppers and entertained by the kid's post-mealtime antics, and I casually said to him, 

So... you know that Proverbs 31 woman?

And he quipped, No, I don't know her, without even missing a beat.

I doubled over in laughter, my eyes happening upon the shredded napkins smeared with pasta sauce all over the floor like the remnants of some bloody massacre, and then over at the sink-full of dirty dishes. I know what he means.

Momentarily distracted by the comment and my uncontrollable abdominals, however, I completely forgot to finish my thought, which was that if the Proverbs 31 woman is truly able to laugh at the days to come, then she must've had a glass of wine before dinner.

While making dinner, to be more specific, and with a side of Boys to Men and other random 90's classics to drown out all the chaos underfoot that time of day.

With that glorious combination, I would laugh, too, and probably dance a little. And if you can laugh at today, there's certainly hope for all the tomorrows.

Montage Monday: April 13-19

On the heels of a busy weekend, Mondays seem to be the day of the week that I set aside to get my life cleaned up and put back together. Laundry, dishes, and photo montages. :) That's about as organized as I get on a good day.

April 13


April 14


April 15
Lest you think I'm johnny-on-the-spot about getting these cute little bird houses painted and hung this fine spring, I just want to point out the fact that the kids got them for Easter. 

Last year.

#betterlatethennever
#mylifemotto


April 16


April 17
Happy 7th Birthday Ruby! Frozen, rainbows, family and friends. It was a good day. Recipe to follow for the Leaning Tower of Rainbow Cake.


April 18
Ahh... Saturday... where imaginations and relaxation begin.


April 19
Girls day with Ruby at the mall, filled to the brim with giggles, thank you's and BFF paraphernalia. It didn't take long for me to earn the title of Stuff Holder.

March 17: St. Patrick's Day, Then & Now

I make those brilliant green eggs with spinach. Clayton hates spinach, but he loooooves my green eggs. On the outside, I smile kindly and say, "Well, good, honey! I'm so glad!! Eat as many as you would like! On the inside reverberates an evil laugh… muahahahahah…. #i'llnevertell #motheroftheyear 

Heeeellllllooooo everyone! Long time no see, or post, as the case may be. I have missed being here, but time has been filled by other things and has prevented such an occasion. It's been a long time since I've done a Then & Now post, so I figured I'd start fresh with St. Patrick's Day and go from there.

In the meantime, you may wondering WHAT THE HECK I'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST MONTH???? Well, here are a few things:

1. Trying to stay away from social media, especially Facebook. This has been so good on so many levels. I'm less anxious, waste far less time, and am present more. Clearly, I'm into the internet scene with blogging and all, and I usually enjoy my time spent there, but I've realized it's hard for me to draw the line on where to stop. When to shut it off.

Any addiction, much like a weed, creeps in slowly and over time. At first, it seems harmless. After all, it's just one measly little weed. But then, as the days pass and morning turns into night an then back to morning again, the roots grow deeper. Stronger. Thicker. And slowly, they begin to absorb the clean, fresh, life-giving water that was meant for you. For your roots. As the two become intertwined even further, they begin to steal your nutrients, and the source of your very life. The weed is now tall, broad, looming overhead, even unrecognizable from it's original form, as it towers over the withering frame of what was once you. Because any plant without Light, without the Son, will surely die.

I have found that some things, at least as far as I'm concerned, are best left untouched. At least for a time, as I get overshadowed quickly.

2. Not writing as much as I would like, but writing some and not publishing it. Hopefully that will happen soon!


3. Attempting to prepare for the Women's Retreat at our church in mid-April, along with several birthdays, Easter, and continue to raise small children, maintain a cleanliness at home that's a notch above slovenly, and help with homework and spelling words without losing it. Basically, I'm going insane here, people.


4. Exercising!! I haven't been able to say that since college, about a decade ago. I have wanted to, meant to, intended to, and thought it would be a good idea to many times over the years but didn't ever actually do it. That's the thing about desiring change--you can't just wish it or hope it or speak it into existence, as if you were God or something. You actually have to, you know, do it. Some of us are slow learners.

I've been following Blogilates on YouTube and doing her daily workout routines, and it's been hard (really, that's a misleading understatement. Most days I want to punch her in the face. Truly, and without a hint of remorse.), but good, the good mostly being afterwards. But I'm finally telling my body who's boss around here, so that's a start. And I admit that I feel stronger these days, too. Check her out and let me know what you think! We can suffer together…


But about St. Patrick's Day… Above is the Now, and here's the past couple years:

2014


2013


They've all gotten so big!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you back soon! I hope to see me back soon, for that matter. :)

Real Life Still Life, Vol. 5


Come three o'clock this afternoon, I noticed this on the floor in the kitchen. Eva was sitting at the table, and upon picking it up, I asked, "who left this pull-up here on the floor?" 

Pushing the blond hair back from her eyes and looking up at me with a sweet little smile she replied, "me." 

The two phrases I say the most as a mother have to be: 

1.) Keep your hands to yourself.

2.) The floor is not a garbage can.

Sometimes I feel like I have a verbal glitch that gets stuck on problematic behaviors, causing the same phrases to tumble out time and time again. There's probably also a good dash of "I love you" and "tell them sorry" in my repertoire, along with a peppering of "don't fart on your brother," too, just for good measure. 


What do you find yourself repeating ad nauseum?

Foto Friday: February 6-12

February 6
I have a traumatic dental history, which includes getting my front tooth knocked out and glued back on a couple times before a disaster of a crown experience, and it's still not the same to this day. I wore a retainer and/or braces, complete with colored rubber bands on the brackets and big, ugly jaw-correcting rubber bands, for most of my elementary and middle school careers. I never actually wore the jaw-correcting bands, however, because: A. They were painful, and B. They looked awkward, and I didn't need any more help in that area. And yet, every month when I went back to the dentist, he would say that I was "making great progress."

Sucker. I thought I was so clever.

I still remember the elation I felt when it was finally time to have them removed in eighth grade. My straight{er} teeth felt so clean and smooth I remember thinking they were slimy. The dorky, metal smile was gone, and I didn't even care that half a decade in braces had left my teeth slightly stained. But then I began to have issues with TMJ, a jaw condition, followed by years of cavities between teeth due to a lax flossing routine and a love of Dr. Pepper.

Bad combo.

So this may put things into perspective when I say that we had a wonderful experience at the Hudec Dental in my neighborhood. I scheduled myself and three kids for cleanings, thinking we'd knock it out in an afternoon and be done with it. We were there literally ALL AFTERNOON, and they were beyond friendly and gracious. My children were surprisingly well-behaved and allowed to roam about and visit each other in different rooms.

The assistant took Eva to pick out a prize when she was crying and beside herself as I was getting an x-ray. They all ended up with crayons, coloring books, parachute guys, modeling clay and chalk. Each of them also received goodie bags complete with toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss. Everyone was incredibly kind, and they even went above and beyond and painted the girl's nails after the cleanings because they had been so brave.

Knelt down and painted their nails. At the dentist.

I don't think I need to say anything more.


February 7


February 8
Some days are just rainbows and sunshine.


February 9


February 10


February 11


February 12
The kids got Valentine treats today at school, and a little boy bought Ruby a candy bar and a flower. She said he got them for her because he likes her, and everyone in class was laughing, although she recounted the story with only a mildly-embarrassed smirk. She promptly told the boy that she did not like him, and she gave his flower away. Poor guy. But she kept the chocolate. 

Foto Friday {Except on Monday}: January 24-29

January 24
Clayton went to a bowling party today--it was a lot of fun!


January 25


January 26
I found a fish at the pet store that matches the rest of our house, so naturally, I brought him home with us. I named him Turk--not only is it an extremely masculine sounding name, but it makes a subtle reference to the turquoise color from which he's made. But Eva has been wanting to say "hi" to "the turkey" all day. So we have a turquoise fish, who lives on our mantle, that is named The Turkey. Life is incredibly confusing sometimes.

And also, Toby came running into the kitchen today with his plant, screaming, "Mom!!! My plant is DEAD!!!" It did indeed look like it had seen better days, slumped over in it's current state and parched with thirst. The poor guy thoughtfully picked out this little flower on Friday (3 days ago) to give to his preschool teacher when he sees her tomorrow. All I had to do was keep it alive until then. Apparently you're supposed to water these things every once in a while. It's hard to find good help in a mom with a black thumb.

I am happy to report, however, that a few generous waterings later, the little flower was back to it's perky self. Disaster averted.


January 27
I decided that the first step in successfully mopping the floors was to actually own a mop, so I got one at the store today.

We are now proud owners of a squirty mop/duster combo thing, so I have high hopes for the floors actually getting mopped more then once a year (or two? but who's counting…). What I was not prepared for, however, was the excitement about said mop. You would've thought it was Christmas morning--they were lining up to take turns with the mop, sweeping the floor clean so they could use the mop in that area, and arguing about who was going to mop next and for how long.

Whaaat?????

If I would've known THAT, I may have just boughten one a long time ago…


January 28
And the mopping continues…


January 29

Foto Friday {Actually on Friday--Imagine That!}, My Week in Review: January 16-22

This week's Foto Friday finally happens to be up to date. Enjoy!


January 16


January 17
"My daddy painted it!" Said Eva. She was excited.

So was mommy.


January 19
I often order "extra extra extra pickles" when I go to Chick-Fil-A, and believe it or not, they actually punch it in that many times {or more} on the register. The green letters shine back at me the promise of a profusion of sourness in my sandwich with the increments +1 pickles, +2 pickles, +3 pickles…

Sadly, it's not very often that I open up my sandwich and see "extra" to the degree for which my taste buds were hoping. Sometimes as little as three small pickles qualifies as "extra."

But not today.

Well played, Chick-Fil-A. Well played.

#thereischickenunderthere
#butyoucan'tseeit
#itwenttosleepunderablanketofpickles


January 20
Aaaaannnnddd, we're back at Chick-Fil-A. Again. But no pickles this time.


January 21
We put Eva in a big girl bed last night, but I didn't take a picture until today. She's so cute with all her little babies. Auntie Jen--two of those babies are "Sadie" and "Sillllas." His name is elongated for some reason.


January 22
Today I got up to date on all the collages, and I don't want to see another one for a while.

And p.s., Aldi now has organic cheese. Just so you know.

Foto Friday {Except on Thursday}, My Week in Review: January 9-15

Getting closer to caught up. 


January 9
Frozen on Ice! The arena echoed with a throng of starry-eyed little girls, all joined together in a unanimous chorus of "Let It Go!" The kids loved it. :)

#mayihaveyourattentionplease
#willtherealElsapleasestandup
#pleasestandup


January 10


January 11


January 12
School music concerts today. They were both so cute!


January 13
Chaperoning my very first field trip, which is sad since my oldest is now eight… But it was an exciting time for them. We survived and only lost one student. Bringing back most of them is good, right?

#kidding


January 14


January 15
Look at those man hands. When I saw them in this photo, taken on our very first mother/son date night, I couldn't believe it. Not sure when exactly that happened--he insists on growing like a weed. Pretty soon I'll be able to wear his clothes and shoes, not that I'd want to. Ironically, my level of personal hygiene is the equivalent of an adolescent male without an overly demanding mother insisting he shower every day, so there's that. Maybe the leap wouldn't be too far, after all.