with everything going on to close out this school year…the girl’s birthday party got put on hold.  the hold was way longer than i had hoped…due to having concrete poured in our backyard to extend the patio.  but…even if her celebration with her friends was gonna have to wait until 3 weeks after her actual birthday…it was gonna happen.

she wanted her first slumber party.

i had flashback visions of huddled groups of girls walking around the block…one of us carrying the jam box; talk of paying a boy’s house a visit; wrapping houses; and watching Girl’s Just Want to Have Fun over and over again.  but this was not what she had in mind.

together, we decided on a fairy hunt sleepover.

this one was thrown together in 1 day…and ended up being one of my favorites.

it was just simple.  and had that not-too-planned magic to it.

it’s often that the things that are thrown together at the last minute, end up being the most memorable and fun.  that’s what happened in this case.

they made their own fairy dust…

had their own fairy wands…

got their faces painted…

and had roasted hot dogs, and fire-pit s’mores.



we didn’t get crazy with the numbers…which was helpful

they used their glow stick fairy wands for microphones.  i think that was very ingenious of them.

the sisters performed their own rendition of “tennessee flat top box.”

since it was so “girly”…we really didn’t have trouble keeping the boys out of their hair.  they came out for the fire-pit and s’mores, of course.

and they helped hide the fairies for the fairy hunt.  (there is still one that we can’t find.)

someone has taught this muffin how to hold a flashlight.  i love it.

we played a very serious game of truth or dare…

and then had a patio, glow stick, dance party.  strobe lights and disco balls are cool…but they ain’t got nothin’ on fairy wand glow sticks.

chad couldn’t tell the darlin’s “no” when they begged him to set the tent up inside so they could watch Camp Rock and have popcorn and sleep in the tent.

and if your wondering if flicka could hang with the big girls…

yep.

fun and celebration will never be lost on our party girl.  and you just have-ta love that fact.

****

Happy 7th Birthday Party, Sugar Plum.

thank you and your friends for being so sweet to your little sister and letting her hang with y’all.

what a pleasure it was to watch your magic.



so…here’s what went down on the way to colt’s basketball game last night:

a fight nearly broke out between chad and i over a comment that he made…

at first, i thought he was kidding because my main sports that i competed in growing up were soccer, swimming, and gymnastics and he likes to tell me that those are not “real” sports…which drives me bonkers and makes me want to kick him in the shins.  but…no such luck.  he wasn’t kidding and that one, little, (somewhat passive aggressive) comment started a debate that has lasted for more than 24 hours.

we discussed it with my parents and my brother over dinner last night.

and then we did the only logical thing left to do.

we took it to facebook.

****

my original stance was that it was an impossible question to answer.  in every competitive sport…there are extremely talented athletes that are the only athletes in the world who can do what they do.

i stated that soccer players could run circles around most anybody.

i stated that if you put a basketball player in a pool to swim against michael phelps…they most likely would sink.

i stated that i would love to see any basketball player do an inverted cross on the rings while keeping them totally still.

michael jordan, himself, tried a run at baseball and couldn’t hang.

chad doesn’t like it…but i agree with one facebook friend of chad’s who brought up the point about  height being the principal requirement at high levels of competition in basketball…de-valuing his original statement.

the point is…i felt it was an unfair statement.

****

at dinner, my brother argued that the top UFC fighters are in a physical and mental state like none other.  he said that athletes from other disciplines come into the sport and try to compete and can’t.

****

my mom threw tennis out there…commenting on how much court they have to individually cover and how long the matches can be.

****

my dad echoed my opinion and said that it was not a question that can be fairly answered.

****

friends on facebook have weighed in and have made some really good points…

i particularly loved “motherhood” and “synchronized swimming” and “curling” being mentioned.

(you may remember that i had seriously considered taking up both those last two a few years ago…thinking that my olympic dreams may eventually come true.  but that’s beside the point.)

anyhow…here’s the facebook breakdown on the votes:

SOCCER: 15

BASKETBALL: 11

TRIATHLETES/DECATHLETES: 9

HOCKEY: 6

TENNIS: 6

RUGBY: 5

GYMNASTICS: 5

UFC: 4

BASEBALL: 4

BOXING: 2

****

i’m not gonna lie.  it makes me extremely satisfied that soccer came out on top…even though i wasn’t arguing with him that it should.  not once did i say that one sport held the best athletes in the world.

chad, on the other hand can’t stand it and has proceeded to get nasty.  he tried to make up other rules…such as all of his family and wanna-be basketball player friend’s text opinions should also count in the facebook vote.  don’t worry.  i would never let him get away with cheating like that.

and then he tried to tell me that if a person is not a competitive athlete…their vote doesn’t hold any weight.  another obvious ploy at cheating.

he’s just bitter.

and that makes my “win” all the sweeter!!

plain and simple…the boy doesn’t like to lose.

or…be WRONG.



it’s no secret that i am usually a sentimental mess.  it’s not uncommon for my oldest son to look at me and say something like…

“mom…you’re doin’ good.  you’re holding it together.”

or…

“MOM!!!  ARE YOU CRYING??????”

for the last six years…if you would have asked me how i’d handle this past friday…i would have summed up my emotional state with two words:

somehow…it snuck up on me.  the distractions of the last week of school, teacher gifts, graduation gifts, being one of six parents, or so, in charge of throwing a graduation party for the entire 5th grade, etc. etc. etc…facilitated this “suppressing emotions” thing that is completely foreign to me.

when my alarm went off on friday morning…i was instantly taken back to colton’s first day of kindergarten six years ago.

i didn’t have a blog then…but i did record the day in a journal.

****

my journal entry from august 10, 2006:

this morning the alarm went off at 6:40am.  some mornings, i tap the snooze button without thinking twice, but this morning was different.  this morning, i hit snooze and tried to go back to sleep for the extra ten minutes, but i knew that it wasn’t going to happen.  it took no time for me to remember what the next hour and twenty minutes had in store for me this morning:  getting colton, my first born…my little colton lloy, my punkin, my baby…to his first day of kindergarten.  what????  how could it be here already?  i’ve always been told that the time with your kids at home will fly by, but seriously?  it could not already be time to let him go.  this is the same kid that i have spent all day with…every day…since he was born 5 years, 6 months, 27 days and six minutes ago.  this is the same kid that i had trouble leaving…even for one hour…when he was a baby.  i was uncomfortable without him.  i was missing something and missing him. 

i tried to make yesterday, his official last day at home with me, special.  we went to meet his teacher and see the classroom; to his guitar lesson; and to target to pick out stuff for his cool, new, superman lunchbox.  i got special baseball stick-it notes because, after all, he has never taken a lunchbox to pre-school without a note from me in it and he was not about to start now.  then we celebrated at mr. gatti’s last night for an early dinner.  and then before bed…we read the two new books together:  Miss Bindergarten gets Ready for Kindergarten and Twas the Night Before Kindergarten.  i, of course cried and he hugged me for comfort. 

i’ve digressed.  i did hit the snooze button, but instead of drifting right back to sleep, i turned over to see my baby sleeping next to me-having no idea what today was……the first day of the next twenty years, or so, of school…of growing up…of maturing…of not needing me so much anymore.  i rubbed his back.  he’s always loved that.  and i gently woke him up.  i rolled out of bed and started getting dressed in the bathroom while he rested.  i pulled on my favorite jeans…somehow i thought they could bring me comfort…and chose my new, light pink t-shirt that said “FREE” on it…hoping it would bring me courage.  i pulled my hair back into a ponytail bun thing that my kids see every day and put on some make-up for good measure.  while i was doing that, colton asked what i was doing.  i said, “i want to look good for your first day of kindergarten”…half kidding…because who really cares what i look like?  i guess he was not anticipating this like i was, becasue he said, “my first day of kindergarten is today???”  after all of the talk yesterday, going to meet his teacher, and touring the school…he had forgotten.  was this a good sign or a bad one, i wondered?  then he said, “i’m tired.  i’m afraid i’m going to have to cancel for today.  i’m too sick.”  uh-oh.  i put on the finishing touches of pink lip gloss and walked out of the bathroom.  he was still laying in bed.  he said, “you look good.”  i said, “thanks.”  then he said, “you look better that good.”  i smiled and said, “you’re sweeter than sweet.”  he smiled and…at that point…i knew he was going to be fine.  there is an unspoken bond between a mother and a son where a smile or facial expression can actually tell you things like that.  we proceeded on as planned…although he didn’t finish his pancakes, strawberries and blueberries, like usual.  i let this slide.  we took a whole roll of film and shot some video.

  then it was time.  chad stayed with chase and aiden as i ushered colton out the door with his new camouflage backpack and superman lunchbox (with base-ball love note included).  we parked and got out for the walk that i had been dreading for months.  the walk…were the destination found me alone.  we got to his class and by this point he was being so patient to humor me with all my picture taking and video shooting.  he would comply when i wanted him to pose next to the welcome to bauerschlag sign and then at the welcome to kindergarten sign and then at his classroom door.

  i held his hand the whole way in.  we walked into the classroom, filled with kids.  i smiled at the teacher but was completely focused on not missing my last minutes with my baby…which were now only seconds.  i took a couple of last pictures and video of him hanging up his backpack.  he sat down and i knelt beside him.  i told him that i loved him and that i was really proud of him and to have a good day and that i would see him at 3:00.  at this point, the best thing happened.  i could tell he wanted me to go.  he was ready.  i said, “hugs and kisses” and put my arms around him on last time.  i wished that embrace could have lasted forever.  i stood up and walked out.  of course, i stopped at the door, turned around, and took two more pictures of him already coloring at his seat.  he looked up and gave me that huge colton smile…the same one that you can see in his one year picture of him standing in his overalls…and he waved good-bye. 

 i waved too…and then turned to walk away.  that is when i felt different.  awkward.  where do i go?  my eyes seemed in a gaze and my head in a fog.  that was a long walk.  much longer than the walk into the school…because this time…i didn’t have his hand to clutch.  i got into the car to drive home to be greeted by chad, chase and aiden…like nothing out of the norm had just happened.  after a while, i felt like writing it all down…in order to remember all of the details that are always so important to me.  after all…love is in those details.  now…all i have to do is wait;  wait for 3:00……when my baby comes home.  3 hours and 47 minutes to go.  then i can hug him for as long as i want.  or at least…as long as he’ll let me.

****

so…this passed friday when my alarm went off…i tried to hit snooze and go back to sleep.  i found that i couldn’t.  i slipped out of bed and put on my favorite sundress.  while i stood in front of the mirror…applying the mascara that i knew would end up tear streaked…i instantly remembered doing the very same thing on colton’s first day of kindergarten.  i remembered how i felt that morning.  i remembered it like it was yesterday.

and that’s when it happened.  that’s when the lump that would remain in my throat for the remainder of the morning, formed.  that’s when the tears welled up.  and that’s when i felt the gravity of time passing so quickly.

we all got ready and headed to the school together.  this time, it would be our whole family…parents, grandparents, great-grandparent…showing up to celebrate him.  this would be colton’s last day of elementary school.

he was 1 of 28 kids out of the entire 5th grade to receive the President’s Award for Educational Excellence for meeting the highest academic standards.

i could not be more proud of my oldest son.

****

a lot has happened since that first day of kindergarten.  two of his younger siblings have followed in his footsteps.  that kindergarten teacher became their kindergarten teacher as well as a close, family friend.  i still wear my hair in the messy bun.  and time still passes just as fast.

congratulations, colton.

i love you more than you know.

when i say, “i’m really busy this week”…i mean it.

i don’t mind business.  sometimes i work best under pressure.

like today, for example.

i am decorating 21 buckets for aiden’s end of the year class party,  making 4 cell phone cases for the teacher’s end of the year gift, making sure that the kinect and snow cone supplies are ready to go for the 5th grade graduation party tomorrow, taking the kid’s graduation books up to the school to be signed by the teachers, picking up honey and taking her to lunch, going to colt’s basketball game tonight, planning aiden’s impromptu, birthday, slumber party for friday night, and hopefully folding a wicked mound of clothes.  i’m not factoring in doing all this with flicka on my hip or dinner or the animals or the picking up of kids or the attempt at getting rid of some crazy, wet, dog smell coming from the kennel in our closet that no amount of bleach is seeming to eradicate.  those are all just bonuses.

anyhow…i thrive under pressure.

i also have a tendency to get a little cranky.  like yesterday, when i found a 1/2 full water bottle…from who knows when…tumped upside down in the dress-up bin upstairs and went all kanya west on the kids.  i felt bad about it.  but geesh.  can they not just do me a solid and keep the drinks in spill proof containers?

i’m fine until i come in at night…after the whirlwind of celebration and activity…to a house that could appear in an episode of hoarders.

i guess my philosophy for this week will be:

enjoy the last few days of this school year and go out with guns a-blazin.  sleep will come next week.  after all…it’s the end of elementary school for colt.  and that deserves my full attention.

memorial day weekend in pictures.  because…let’s face it…

that’s all i really have time for this morning.

while i tackled getting dinner in the crock-pot and the obvious kitchen disaster…flicka worked at her “station.”

and this lasted a solid 4 minutes.  i’d say that’s a success.

she fell in love with my favorite bear from when i was little.

apparently we are wearing goggles on a regular basis now.

whatever floats her boat.

happy last few days of school!  they should be something to write home about!!  

Well it’s never a good sign when a perfect stranger suggests that you read James Dobson’s

after spending a half hour with your 2 year old.

Of course, she meant well.

I smiled…caught Flicka before she dismantled the fish tank…held onto her arm tightly…and politely said,

“Kiss my @&$.”  “I’ll check it out.”

I thought about it the rest of the day.

How we can’t “let her be in control” and “let her get away with everything because she is the youngest.”

No doubt…I agree.

But I came to the realization that she’s got my number.

Annslee looks at me and thinks,

She can sense defeat from a mile away.  She’s thinkin’

And I swear…we DON’T let her get away with everything.  But I will admit…sister gets away with waaaaaay more than the other 3 did.

For example, this was after I told her to put the hat back where she got it.

This was when I told her…

“Annslee.  We are not buying that hat.  Please put it back where you found it.”

This was when I told her to stay sitting on the bench and to not touch the shoes.

This was after I told her to sit down while she was eating.

This was after I told her not to puddle jump.

This was after I told her she was not going to have her drink in the car.  I can’t remember who was supposed to be holding it for her so that it wouldn’t spill everywhere.  But…I blame them.

Chad has said from the beginning,

“Why do I get the feeling that she’s gonna be the one we are draggin’ out of parties by her hair when she’s 13?”

Maybe I need to give James a little looksee.

****

Aiden had her Chicken Little play today.  These are some of the cutie pies in her class.  Well…AJ squeezed herself in there…but you get the drift.

She played Goosey Lucy.

Yesterday, when I picked her up from school, I asked her if she was excited to do her play the next day.  She said that she was very excited.  I asked her if she was supposed to wear anything special and she said,

“No.  We can just wear regular clothes.  But I woooooould like to wear something…Goosey.”

That’s as “goosey” as we could get at such short notice.

Side note:  It drove me absolutely bonkers that her ribbon at the end of her braid was untied the entire play.

****

Chase hosted a hip hop dance party in the driveway for us last night.  There was a lot of dancing going on.

And that’s when I decided that the happiness that can be found dancing in the driveway is really underestimated.

a few days ago, i noticed that my morning dove friend was back.  i know.  i’m announcing her return to my little corner of the world with non-mindy-flare emotion when normally i would be making welcome home signs and making everyone in a two block radius come to see her.  it’s all about balance.

we can’t always have fan fare.

although…my friend deserves it.

after what she’s been through.

i saw the new nest in the tree one day last week.  it’s not exactly in the same place that it was…but right next to it.  i think it’s sturdier.  and her nest is definitely bigger this time.

i know what you’re thinking.

how do you know it’s really the same bird?

well…either that…or…

is she seriously telling us about this bird again?

to answer possible question #1…

i know because she told me.

i’m just kidding.

that would make me sound crazy.

i really don’t know.  but i am choosing to believe that it is.  and we all know that if you tell yourself something long enough……..you start to believe it.

why do you think there are so many people in counseling as a result of ridiculous things that they were told as children?  why do you think i still call myself “flamingo legs?”

and to answer possible question #2…

yes.  i am.

i went out this morning to get a good look at the nest and to see if there were any eggs in it.

little did i know that there was a platoon of mosquito’s waiting in the bushes to attack the first sign of human flesh.

while i was trying to get in a good position to take a picture…i looked down and witnessed the sneak attack.  now i have…literally…like 14 bites on my legs and arms.

naturally i started swatting and flailing and jumping around in the flower bed…before making a mad dash back into the front door…because that’s how we roll around here.  i hate mosquito’s.  i’m convinced they are from the devil.

****

on friday afternoon, chad, colton and i were sitting in the “lodge” room when we noticed a massive swarm of bees in the front yard.  i have never seen anything like this.  it looked like a plague.  after about 30 minutes of swarming all over the place on their part and frantically calling local bee keepers on our part…they settled nicely into our tree.  the bee keeper said it was a thermal bee ball.  evidently, the queen bee was tired of flying and needed to rest.  so…she picked this spot in our tree and all of the other bees surrounded her.  this is where they will stay until she is ready to fly again.  we put cones all around the sidewalk and wrote “BEES” really big with an arrow pointing to the tree so that people wouldn’t walk under them and disturb them somehow.

the problem was that this was the night that we had sleepover 2012 at our house.  colt had some of the boys from his class and a bunch of the girls from their class were at another little girl’s house.  chad brought up the possibility of the girls coming over to either wrap the house…put a sign in the yard…ding dong ditch…etc to my attention at 11:45 pm and then i obsessed and panicked and entertained the movie “My Girl” for a while until i finally called and woke up one of their parents.

apparently the girls were making duct tape purses and had not even entertained the notion.

so…all was ok.

and the bee keeper was right.  when that queen was rested and ready to fly again the next morning…

they disappeared as quickly as they came.

it’s just a good thing they stayed away from my bird.

or we would have had problems.

and that, my friends is your nature lesson for this fine tuesday.

****

speaking of the birds and the bees…

i am attending a showing of some film on puberty that is being shown to the 5th grade boys at the school this week.  i can’t wait for that.  the entire group of boys from the 5th grade…my 11 year old son…a documentary on puberty…and a few mom’s who thought that it might be a good idea to see what they are being told…all in one room?  that’s my idea of a party.

what if i’m the only mom that decides to go?

i’m gonna need some kind of disguise.

futher more…

doesn’t this fall under “dad” duties?



i’ve learned some things this weekend.

first of all…did you know that you can find out all sorts of stuff if you play truth or dare with a bunch of 5th grade boys?

secondly…the word “beast” is out and “tubular” is in.

here is an example of how to use it appropriately.  just in case you need to.

“that emenim song is so tubular.”

and if you’re really down with it…

“that emenim song is tubsies.”

just keepin’ it real.

****

friday night, we had…like…a billion kids spending the night.

colt had 3 friends.  chase had 1.  aiden had 2.  and annslee counts as 3 people…easily.

aiden got a big mess of melted marshmallow in her hair.  we just pretended it wasn’t there until i could get her inside and wash it out.  we were a little concerned that we were gonna have to cut that hot mess.  but…in case anyone is wondering…melted marshmallow comes out of hair relatively easily.

saturday was her last game of the season.

and tuesday is the first game of my new season.

i’ve recruited some friends to play on our team for the summer.

this should be good.



being a mom is nothing but extraordinary.  i asked God to help me live an extraordinary life…and He reminded me that He had given me a complicated husband and 4 children.  (“complicated” being a good thing.)

you can’t really put all of the thoughts and emotions that come with being a mom into a nice, little paragraph of words that will make sense.  it’s more like speaking in tongues.  like…you grunt and groan and sigh and ooooh and aaaaahhhhh and close your eyes tightly and let your heart be overwhelmed with gratitude and love, while hoping that God knows what your conflicted heart is saying.

and it’s really strange that you have to go to school for four plus years in order to be employable and, better yet, acceptable for a good number of jobs out there.  however…anyone can become a mother.  even children, themselves.

i take my job extremely serious.

i can’t let anything get in my way of a job well done.

and that includes a bitter heart.

it’s clear to me what kind of mother God wants me to be to these precious angels that he gifted and entrusted me with.  i asked for them.  and he pooled together his resources and He let 4 of His children…whom He loves more than anything in this world…go and selflessly gave them to us to love and teach and raise and cherish.

how hard must that have been?  you take a young, scared girl who gives up her baby to a couple, who she doesn’t know, to raise and love and trust to do what she thinks she can’t…thinking of the child before her own self and times it by alot….and that’s the situation.  it’s selfless, sacrificial love at it’s finest.

only He is trusting me to do what He knew He could do a whole lot better than me.

Love them.

my truth is that i can allow myself to dwell on the stuff that doesn’t really matter.

i have written that “i am a person that desires and craves validation and appreciation but have chosen to live with the title wife and mom…where my payment comes in the form of hugs and kisses and the occasional “i hate you for saying no” instead of awards and promotions.”

and if i let myself…

i start believing the lie that my worth is wrapped up in my payment.

so…when the kids get a little older and the “i hate you’s” become a little more frequently received than the hugs and kisses…i lose sight of my truth.

the joy…

the rewards…

the gift is in my journey.

my every day.

the service.

i must serve…

because i’m serving Him while i’m serving them.

and although i will never get a paycheck, telling me that i am appreciated…

there are hidden moments in the every day…

that when you open your eyes…can’t be missed…

moments that say, “thank you.”

it’s confusing sometimes…

learning how to turn frustrating/angry/end of your rope moments into kingdom focused/thankful/eye on the prize ones.

but…

i’m learning.

and the truth is…it’s often that the jobs that you volunteer for end up being the ones that you go to bed feeling the best about.

i believe what God say’s love is:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on it’s own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoce at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends.” 1st Corinthians 13: 4-8

when i die, i want my children to say…

“our mom?  well…she sure did know how to love.”

this weekend was one of “those” weekends.  (and “those” was supposed to be a link to an april 2010 post titled “chronicals of easter” which didn’t work.)  but please…if you have a minute…go there.  because it was a weekend that i think of on a fairly regular basis.  because it was one of those “rainbows and daisy’s” weekends.

to be clear…i took 208 pictures this weekend.  so…in the name of keeping a blog post readable for people other than the writer or the writee (that’s the people featured)…we will have to break this one up into 3 parts:

aiden turns 7; mother’s day sunday; and the house that built me.

and trust me when i say…

there are nothin’ but perfectly arched rainbows with all colors a-blazin’ and huge white daisy’s with perfect yellow centers representing this weekend.

so…please stay with me while…

aiden turns 7.

the boardwalk might as well have rolled out a red carpet for her…

as the people that love her most in this world came from far and wide to watch her make the 6-7 transition.

the boardwalk has been good to us over the last 11 years.  i remember taking colt there as a baby.  (here is where another link would be nice.)  i don’t think it has ever let us down.

memories are made at places like this.  make no mistake…annslee will never forget that honey took her for a ride on the train.

whether 2 or 92…magic can be found here.

and let it be noted…that if face painting is ever a possibility…

it’s an unspoken rule that you must experience it.  it’s one of those things that you never outgrow.  it’s magic at it’s finest…transforming 7 year old little girls into things like fairies, butterflies, flowers, kittens, or puppies, in this case.  she was never wavering in her “puppy face” decision.

boys become men with rides that make mature adults squirm.

she received her first “real” Bible.

and did things like make pancakes all by herself…flipping the flap jacks and all.  (the flipping is what made her the most proud of herself.)

happiness lesson:  whenever there can be candles involved…it’s best to just go ahead and experience them.

the same goes for long, flowy skirts…

and swinging…

didn’t i tell you??

rainbows.

of the most magical kind.



7 years ago, tonight…i was in labor.  i was waiting to meet my girl.  my first daughter.  i could not wait to see her…hold her…smell her.  and just after midnight…she came.

tomorrow she will officially be 7…an age that doesn’t sound so young anymore.  and it is hard to not feel sad about that.  i don’t want to be sad.  growing up is a part of it.  it’s not like i thought when i birthed my children that they would stay babies forever.  but…7??  already??  colt was just 7.  and now he is 11 and almost in jr. high.  surely, the next 4 years will not pass as fast as the last.  surely.

****

she insisted on cupcakes for her class.  little did i know that she was 1 of 4 kids celebrating birthdays in mrs. singleton’s class today.  FOUR.  that’s a lot of cupcakes, people.  i personally apologized to her teacher.  we did have fun making them, though.  the girl wants to be a chef, after all.  the practice, itself, was worth it.  well…that and the licking of the icing bowl.

we also put together some cowboy cookies for teacher’s appreciation.  although…i’m not entirely sure they will turn out like they are supposed to.  which sort-of may send the wrong message.

we did some wrapping of my favorite kind.  there is something about a brown, paper package…tied up with string that makes me very happyish.  i guess that’s why there is a song about that very thing.

this is headed to ankeny, iowa…in the hopes of making one, 11 year old tween neice very happy.  it involves the hunger games.  shhhh.  don’t tell.

aiden asked to have her hair rolled for her birthday eve.  she also wanted to wear her finest dress to school.  even though it wasn’t her actual birthday today…she was taking cupcakes, after all.  one must look one’s best when passing out pink, birthday cupcakes.  everyone knows that.

and as i rolled her waist length hair onto those pink, sponge rollers…i had all kinds of flashbacks.  i slept on these very rollers when i was her age…every saturday night so that my curls would be perfect for sunday morning church, or any other time that my mother decided we needed dolling up.  which was a lot, i think.

there was something about the combination of those pink, sponge rollers and her soft, cotton, country pajamas that melted my mama-ness right into a “proud, honored to be her mother” heap.

she climbed in my bed, snuggled up next to her sister…

watched a little sprout…

and cuddled one, tattered bear.  when i look at her…i see beauty.  i know i’ve said that before.  however…there are times, like last night…that i can’t take my eyes off her.  and isn’t that how it should be between a mama and her child?  i feel that feeling…at certain points…with all the kids.  like, when colt is handling a basketball; when chase is telling an animated story; when annslee looks at me with great understanding and says, “ok, mama.”  and when aiden is wearing pink, sponge rollers.

the cat likes to fall asleep next to trout.  and trout gently puts his paw over the cat’s paw…as if he is assuring him that everything is alright and that it’s ok to sleep.  he’s got things covered.

it reminds me of how i feel when i have a new born and my mother tells me that she will hold the baby while i sleep.  it’s the most peaceful sleep that i get during that time.  because i know…

she’s got this.

tonight…we walked down the street to get the mail as a family.  i was a little side tracked by this beautiful sight.  it’s the silver lining.  just in case you thought that those things didn’t exist…here it is.

i promise i didn’t draw that.

and to what did her wondering eyes should appear….but her very first birthday package of the year.

i see lots of cupcakes in our future.  thank you gramma sue.  that’s the look of one, happy “cooker.”

****

this picture is one of my all-time favorites and really just explains annslee so perfectly.

i like to call it…

“alrighty boys.  where we headed?”

she was as serious as she could be, too.  oh…she was goin’ wherever they were goin’ alright.