okeedoke.  so…APPARENTLY…going out and acting as if i have been playing soccer over the last 24 years was a bit of a mistake.  oh…i went out…guns a-blazzin..and played full throttle, alright.

this is the before:

and this is the after.

i went full throttle alright!  i didn’t even feel it happen.  i came home…all jazzed about being a real soccer player…bathed the girls…carried annlsee UPSTAIRS to bed…and got picked up by UK for the movies.  no problem.

about 20 minutes into the hunger games…i started feeling my right ankle hurting.  i started trying to circle it around and stretch it out…and that’s when i realized that i couldn’t really move it.  i told UK that my foot really hurt and he reminded me about that same thing happening to his foot after his last MMA fight.  he thought for sure it was broken…but then, a few days later, it was fine.  i sat there…trying to pay attention to the movie and it just kept getting worse and worse.  about 3/4 of the way through the movie…i reached down to feel of it and it was swollen up like a balloon.  i told UK that he had to get me out of there.  it was hurting so bad that i couldn’t keep still.  i tried to see if i could bare any weight on it at all…knowing that if i couldn’t…we would make total spectacles of ourselves trying to get outta there.  there was no way.  i couldn’t even let it touch the floor without searing pain.  so…we counted the minutes until the movie was over (me because of how bad it hurt and UK because he thought the movie was super stupid) and then he carried me out on his back.  by this point…i was dying.  it hurt so bad.  i can’t even tell you how bad.  and i couldn’t move it at all.  not even my toes.

we got home at midnight and my brother carried me in and woke up chad.  chad took one look at it and we were off to the ER clinic.

the doctor took one look and said, “ligament damage.”

he took x-rays to make sure it wasn’t broken (it’s not), wrapped it up and sent me home with some serious pain meds and crutches and said that if i can’t bare weight by monday…it’s off to the orthopedic for an mri.

yesterday…after taking 1 dose of pain meds…i was out ALL DAY.  luckily my mom came over and i remember hearing things like lunch being served…aiden getting her hair done for her soccer game…and chad doing something with the blender.

today…when i woke up from a medicine induced stupor…this is what it looked like.  thankfully, someone (my sweet mom) changed my ice packs yesterday and then chad did it again last night…keeping it iced for a good 24 hours.  the swelling looked so much better today (in the picture above) than it did the yesterday and certainly the night before.

today…i can bare a little bit of weight and it feels a lot better.  i don’t think i will have to go to another doctor and hope to be back on the field next week.

annnnddddd….she’s up!  i really wish i had pictures of friday night.  being thrown over my brother’s back was a sight, i’m sure.  but…i was in no mood.

and i had the perfect foot rest today at a friend’s birthday party.

DREAM BIG.

****

as for the hunger games…i loved the first book.  the second was ok.  the third was hard to get through.  i was bored with the story.  i was pretty jazzed about the movie and thought i would really like it because i thought that the casting was really good.  i really loved lenny kravitz  for cinna.  liam what’s-his-name for gale is good too.  katnis and peeta are cast well, as is prim.  however…the story did not go into near enough detail for me in the movie.  plus…i think the mother really under acted.  i wish there had been more character development.  my brother absolutely hated it.  but he had not read the book.  and it should be said that my opinion coooooooould have been influenced by the great deal of crazy-what-to-be-knocked-out kind of pain that i was experiencing through the majority of it.

and that’s what i have to say about that.



okay…first i’d like to admit that i have only completed a small portion of this morning’s chores.  and it’s already 9:30.  that means half of the sesame street power hour is over; i still have bathroom counters to wipe down; trout and george bailey to brush; the beds to make; and the swing chore…wiping all cabinets and furniture down.  i got the kitchen scrubbed from top to bottom and all of the appliances and cabinets cleaned…but that’s about it.  that took all morning.  i did veer off on some tangents (i’m not supposed to let myself do that while cleaning) and easterize a bit.  i’m sorta, “if you give a mouse a cookie-ish.”  like…if i’m cleaning the kitchen…it’s entirely possible that reorganizing the pencils and scissors will seem like a necessity in between loading the dishwasher and wiping the counters.  and…i’ve been known to somehow feel that cleaning out the hall closet logically fits in there somewhere, as well…all because i had to hang up a kid’s jacket that had been slung over a kitchen bar stool.  or…completely re-vamping the shoe bins…all because aiden left her flip flops at the door.  see how that works??  i’m trying to be better at staying focused and on the task at hand so that i can actually, properly complete something.

BUT…look at this little bit of easter heaven:

and since i was cleaning the kitchen…i obbbbbbbbviously needed to go through the kid’s school work that was back-logged and in serious need of filing.  i love these little gems.

“when i am 100 years old! i  will have ganchiledrin. i thecke that i will eckcsrcis.  my musls will hage down. -aiden (age 6)

“my mom taks crar (care) of peple.

my dad dus krosfit.

and i am going to be a cooker.” – aiden (age 6)

“My New Year’s Resolution to Lrn How to Cook with my Mom.  So I can get bettr at it.  and to Get Bettr ar Puslls (puzzles).” – aiden (age 6)

annslee found a way to entertain herself with her new umbrella.  so much for these being in their easter basket.

those sweet bunny eggs came from cracker barrel.  that place is a gift to me straight from the Lord, himself.  i love it there.  in the winter…you can always find a crackling fire in the fireplace and in the spring…the entire gift shop looks like it’s breeding bunnies and chicks.  i love it.

****

it’s no secret that i adore the changing of the seasons.  in texas…people always say that we don’t get to experience all of them. but i disagree.  i’ll admit that i miss things like the first snow fall, and getting to do things like sledding and wearing cute knitted mittens…but i love to celebrate when each season rolls in.  no matter how quietly.

fall to winter is a bit challenging…so we use christmas for that less obvious switch.  and summer is easy…because school lets out, which is ALWAYS exciting.  and my two favorites…fall and spring are the most tangible.  the cold and dreary all of a sudden part for the sun to show off it’s magical power over the flowers and everything green.  my children will know of God’s lovely and thoughtful details that He used when creating our world.  details like seasons.  they will know them because i will always go a little nuts with all the celebratory craziness.  like…do we really need more stuffed lambs???  i think so.

****

on to the rodeo.

as you know…the real treat was that chad and i got to go watch the rodeo and see miranda lambert by ourselves this year. 

my absolute favorite part, other than miranda (of course-however running a very close second) was the barrel racers.  i found out this year that there was a barrel racer competing that was a grandmother!!  this was great news.  this means that i still have a realistic shot.  i’m prepared to make this happen.  chad rolls his eyes.  but he just better watch out.  i’m not joking about this.  my first goal is finding a place to store my horse.  my second order of business is getting a barrel racing horse.  you may remember that i rode one in colorado, named paint, who is retired…and i’ve had my eye on him ever since.  then…i just have to find a coach.  how hard can that be?  and i’m not sure…but i may have to purchase some barrels.  i tell the kids to dream big.  and when are you supposed to stop doing that?  i say, NEVER.  the other night, my dad asked me if i had set up the barrels in the backyard yet.  i’m pretty sure he was making fun of me.

carnivals are phenomenons that i love the idea of…but don’t really feel completely comfortable with.  like…the lights and squeals of laughter are very enticing…

but those rickety rides that are put up and torn down and put up again by who knows who?  no thanks.

and the meat on a stick?  um…no again.

i did go out of my comfort zone and shared corn in a cup with chad…and even put some seasoning salt that had been out WHO KNOWS HOW LONG on it.  you can see the worry on my face here…

then…we went again for the championship day and brad paisley.  i was waaaay more excited about seeing the championships than i was about brad paisley…and so was aiden

it was st. patrick’s day…so i had to incorporate green into her western wear.

these two cowgirls are completely inseparable.

we piddled around the livestock show while we were waiting for the rodeo to start.

and to make a long story short…something that is totally uncharacteristic of me…but necessary so as to not re-hash the emotional trauma that the whole thing caused:

we checked our watches and waltzed on over to the stadium in plenty of time to see the entire stadium remove their hats and rise to sing the national anthem.  when we walked up to the stadium, i wondered where all the people were.  when we walked into the arena…i saw that they were all in their seats, where they had been for the last 3 hours.  APPARENTLY…the rodeo starts EARLY on the weekends.  a fact that had totally slipped right by us.

DAMN!!!! (sorry, mom.  she totally doesn’t like it when i say “damn”)

we missed the entire rodeo.

on the up side…we did get there about 5 minutes before brad paisley started playing…which made up for things a little.

baby girl went to sleep smack dab in the middle of the 2nd song.

poor darlin.  she had missed her barrel racers.

what else was she there for???

she sorta takes after her mama, that way.

****

tonight…i play in my first competitive soccer game in 24 years.  i’m pretty on fire about this turn of events.  i’m all pullin’ out my old gear…….squeezin into the old cleats and the kid sized shin guards……..the old uniform……..with

FANNING

displayed proudly across the back.

just kidding.  i’m really pretty scared.  UK called and asked me what time it started.  i said, “6.50.”  then he asked me when i’d be through.  i said, “7.02……..or whenever they roll me off the field on a stretcher.”

one can only take a wild guess at how this is gonna go.

dream BIG though.  right?



it’s that mixture of sadness and happiness that keeps me on my toes.  if you didn’t have sadness…you wouldn’t truly know happiness.  except if you think about how God intended it to be…before the fall of man…i’m sure we were all supposed to be laughing and joyful and stuff all the time, and it sure wouldn’t have taken a baby bird falling from a nest to make you realize how great eating supper outside can be.  but…the whole need for sadness to appreciate happiness makes sense in my limited, imperfect, earthly world.

unfortunately, sad became gross in a matter of seconds when we saw that our dead dove had been half eaten by some disgusting animal and the carcass was displayed proudly in our yard.

i was over it.

aiden struggled and needed some lovin’…but i was the strong one this time.  that’s right.  no uncontrollable tears here.  i explained the circle of life.  i maaaay have even sang the song.  actually…i really didn’t.  i swear.

i skipped out on bible study tonight and had my parents stay for dinner after they brought annslee home instead.  i love impromptu celebrations.  i don’t know what we were celebrating…but i’m sure it was something.

maybe it was the change of the season.  maybe it was the warm breeze.  maybe it was the spaghetti.  maybe it was the old, new patio or the brand new umbrella.  or maybe it was just each other.

it could have been hop scotch.  i had completely forgotten about this gem of a game.  i can’t believe i had let so much time go by without bringin’ this one out.  luckily, my mama had her head screwed on straight and realized that if there was gonna be side walk chalk…then, by golly…there was gonna be hop scotch.

this was the puddin cup’s first go at hoppin’ scotch.

it wouldn’t be our driveway if the little, big man wasn’t shootin’ some serious hoops.  he’s found his niche’, this one.  the one thing…that makes you so happy that you want to do it all the time and if you’re not doing it…your dreaming about doing it.  mine was gymnastics.  mama said that she talked to my feet more than she talked to my face.  i was on my hands constantly.  every kitchen tile pattern became a beam; every open space a tumbling mat; and if i was lucky enough to get my hands on a swing set bar…you could bet a glide kip was comin’.  and just forget about the flips that i did off my bed.  i don’t know how i didn’t break a bone.

well…it’s about time that this one find his thing.

we purchased our “old school” lawn chairs from walmart last night after soccer practice.  none of this fold-up-fit-into-a-bag chair for us.  no sirree.  we needed the real deal.  and the girls are nothin’ but thrilled with the deal.

aiden found her easter basket present today.  i thought i had it properly rolled up in my pilate’s mat in the car…but obviously i was mistaken.  because when i walked out of the gate after dinner tonight…she was proudly displaying it above her head as if she was mary poppins.  what are you gonna do?  it’s not like i could tell her that the easter bunny had sent me a text, telling me to go ahead and pick it on up for him.

i simply love these pictures.  just look at that little arm taking hold of her big sister’s chair…making sure she stayed close.

i knew i should have bought two.  she stole it the second the sweet pea wasn’t lookin’.

she wanted the guitar.

but johnny cash was in the middle of a song…and it wasn’t happening.

what concert is complete without bubbles?  i think people should think long and hard about adding bubbles to their shows.  i’d pay more.  who doesn’t love bubbles?

except this guy.  he hates them.  he says they’re “sticky.”  i said…what’s not to love???  it’s soap.  who doesn’t like soap???

we may have a new, little johnny cash fan.  she did some of her very own clappin’.

i need to go tuck in a little girl.  she has finished her home-reader and is in need of prayers, kisses, and a lullaby.  i think that’s a perfect way to end a perfect evening.



welp…as if the universe just haaaaaaaad to swoop in and crap poop all over my daisys…

last night, after our dinner outdoors, we strolled down the driveway to pay a visit to our across-the-street-neighbors and i stopped to check on my morning doves.

right away i noticed that mama dove wasn’t perched in her usual place…the place where i’ve grown so accustomed to paying her a visit…and worse, the nest looked disturbed.  even though i told myself that she could be off gathering food for her babies-(after all, i had watched her do so many times)-i immediately felt that something was wrong.  looking closer, i didn’t see the soft downy feathers of the babies.  without pause, i climbed the tree to look in the nest.  they were all gone.

with one eye shut, like a child trying hard not to see something upsetting or scary, i peeked around on the ground under the tree.

and there he was.  the baby morning dove.  eyes closed.  still breast.

i don’t know where the other baby is.  and i can’t imagine where my mama friend is mourning.  i do wish i could comfort her though.  i would tell her, as i did ever other visit,

“you are such a good mama.  you are doing such a good job.”

****

in other news…we have had weather straight out of a southern living magazine photo shoot for the last 7 days.  we took full advantage this weekend and spent the majority of it outside.

i decided to pull the old patio table and chairs out of it’s resting place in the garage and give them a coat of spray paint and new chair pads.

never underestimate the power of a hose being able to convince children that helping can be fun.  they totally helped me wash without complaining.

sister was willing to wash anything.

it truly needed a good scrubbin’.  and she took her job very seriously too.

we had to do some moving around.  we really want to extend our patio, but that seems pretty labory.

the cat was pretty tired from all his watching out the window.

now that i feel totally experienced with a can of spray paint…every brass fixture in our home better watch out.  i had no idea how easily and quickly a can of spray paint can transform something.  i’m seein’ black door knobs in our future.

we have been enjoying our old, new table in lots of ways, already.

i tried to talk her into changing our go fish game to texas hold em…

but she just sorta looked at me funny.

and sister totally helped me “go fish” when necessary.

when i saw her in the middle of this painting…the song,

started playing in my mind.

i absolutely love this next picture.  sister’s arms reaching up…all “gimme” like.

try as she might…she just can’t get those bubbles blowin’ like her sister.

dinners have a new feel these days.  more relaxed.  more conversation.  happier.  better.

these kinda suppers are the perfect catalyst for allowing the activity of the satisfying spring days to wash over you…giving way to the moon and stars making their appearance, perfectly choreographed with yawns and resting heads.

according to pinterest…i needed a cleaning calendar.  now…if you know me at all…you will know that this is right up my ally.

cleaning……..check.

organization……..check.

displayed with twine……..check, check.

i took the example on pinterest and tweaked it to work for me.

and…i must admit…it’s working well.

i’ve always been a “take 2 days and clean the whole house” kinda girl…but with 4 kids and the increasing laundry loads, messes, activity and clutter…it was a job that was never quite finished before we’d have to start all over again.

well…

here’s to a beautiful spring day.  it’s gonna be hard taking the puddin cup outside this morning after the sesame street power hour.  i know my old mama friend is not gonna be there today.  i wonder if she will miss me as much as i will miss her?  i like to think so.

we all need friends……

right?

I know I said that The RODEO was up next…but isn’t it a girl’s prerogative to change her mind?  The RODEO will have to wait because of the excitement of the every day.  It’s no secret that I have a hard time transitioning from the over-the-top-week-of-fun back to the every day.  Often times…the miracles and magic of the every day get over shadowed and, just plain ignored, because of they are intermingled with the mundane.  But…I happen to have a knack for noticing the tiny treasures of the every day.  I think it’s because I am often looking at life through the lens of a camera or the story on a blog…and certainly setting it all to the music in my head…if not the ipod.

So…you can imagine the excitement that lingered long after Aiden pulled her second tooth her very, own self.

She made it finally happen in the morning…which left her all day to dream about the tooth fairy visiting that night.  She decided to write her a letter and I nearly couldn’t contain my love for her as she went to her wallet’s hiding place that evening at bed time and pulled out a dollar.

“I’ll leave my tooth fairy this dollar for her work.”

“Can You pLease Sind A Pikchr uv You !

My toth came out!”

After failing at convincing her Uncle Davey that he should dress up in a Tinkerbell costume for me to take a picture…I opted for writing her back.

“Aiden,

I would take a picture of me, but I don’t have a camera.  Way to pull that tooth though!  Keep brushing!!

Love-t.f.

I am also tooooooo small to hold a camera anyway!”

Then I drew a picture of myself as a tooth fairy and drew an arrow and said,

“This is sorta what I look like.  I’m not a great drawer.”

I topped it off with $2 and some glitter and boy oh boy…did that offer hours of entertainment for her.

She has already decided what she is going to ask her tooth fairy next time.  I have a feeling, I’m gonna have to get creative.

****

We spent a good portion of the evening outside last night.  The lighting was too perfect to not have the camera out.  I just let Colton think that my main purpose in life is to irritate him with a camera.

Spring evenings outside make me long for Summer nights…when we can stay out way past bed time and watch the sun go down and the fireflies come out.  I don’t have to worry about looking at my watch or asking if homework is done.  I can tuck freshly bathed kids in my bed to fall asleep watching a movie together and know that they are right where they should be.

****

The puddin cup and I spent just as much time outside today.  She is showing off the fact that she is wearing my little, red sandals from when I was her age.  Boy…do these things make me happy.  And to see her little feet tucked in them does something to me.  And anyway…who doesn’t love red sandals?

My little feet and her little feet have done a lot of walkin’ in those things.  I love the slick, worn soles.  It shows we’ve been places…her and I.

We checked on our mama dove and her eggs…and wouldn’t you know that those babies picked the perfect day to hatch!

We walked ourselves across the street and visited.

People don’t visit enough anymore.

Visiting is different than talking because when you visit…their doesn’t need to be any agenda.  It usually involves coffee or tea or a coke-a-cola…and kids running around without a care in the world.  When I was little, every evening in the Summer, all the neighbors in the cul-de-sac would bring their sweet teas and their lawn chairs and gather in our driveway.  We were the center house and the perfect meeting place.  The adults would sit back, relax and visit while they sipped their beverage and watched the kids play until well after dark.  We scattered from game to game and yard to yard under the watchful eyes of our parents.  That’s when I learned the ropes of cops and robbers, night hide and seek, and visitin’.  (That’s southern for visiting.)

And just look at who’s rolling!!

These are the moments when the mundane becomes miraculous.



sister loves herself a dog.  any dog will do.

an 8 week old pit puppy at the beach…

or a beagle at the park.  it doesn’t really matter.

i had to dump some of the random iphone pictures here…because i don’t know what else to do with them.  we made the rain forest cafe tradition happen after the beach…and the wait was 2 hours.  i think it’s safe to say we won’t be doing that again.  even though we put our names in and then went back to the beach…the wait and crowd has gotten a little ridiculous.

her daddy got her dressed this particular morning while i was at pilate’s.  i was pretty amazed by his fashion talents. even though those were her brother’s overalls…everything matched and the shoes were on the right feet.  he’s learning.

that hair is really working hard at growing.  we have a flip happening in the back that just makes me want to do a cartwheel.

****

this year’s theme of the week was a variety show.  you may remember last year’s play/puppet show.  this year…on day 1, i had them submit their acts to me and then they had to practice all week.  we have a talented bunch.  we decided to set it up outside around the fire pit.  they opened with a little boot scootin’ boogie group number.

they informed me what they were going to be doing…

and then they did it!!

we had tayler on the flute…

chase singing a little johnny cash…

sawyer singing a little wobble…with his very own back-up dancers…

aiden and chase singing june carter and johnny cash’s “jackson”

a little a, b, c action…

some 1,2,3,4 by fiest lip syncing…

eternal flame solo (oh yeah…she did it)

and the shake down finale…

complete with back up radio city rockettes.

the doll manned the marshmallows…just for safe keeping.

and then the after party began.

****

st. patrick’s day happened.  it was combined with the RODEO…which was really throwing off my outfit choices.  we just had to divide it.  green for the first half of the day…cowgirl for the second.

breakfast was lucky charms, green milk, and junk that the kids picked out.

this one refused the lucky charms!  apparently, she’s not irish.

he shot his first bb gun.  he didn’t want me to take a picture because the gun happened to be pink…but i snuck one.

they played a nasty trick on me and found a dead baby bird and set it up in the yard like colt had shot it off the roof.  they ran in and told me to come out there.  when i did…they were all huddled over the dead bird and telling me what a great shot colt had made.  what they didn’t expect was for me to tear up and start crying like a baby.  oh…the tears were flowin’ and by that point they were scared to tell me they were kidding.

it was all my brother-in-law’s idea and he just started profusely apologizing.  i was crying so hard (and i’m not kidding about that) that i couldn’t even pull it together to successfully get out, “so colt really didn’t kill the baby bird.”  it just sounded like the sup-sups.

they were scared of me for the rest of the morning.

one would poke their head in the back door…look around…listen…and report back,

“i don’t think she is crying anymore!!!!”

i would hear it all through the window and laugh.

they were a little scared of me when i grabbed the gun.  🙂

and then lookie who caught her first lizard!!

i guess there’s nothin like being taught by your 6 year old daughter!!  remember when she caught a lizard just the other week and i freaked out??  she taught me how to not be scared.  i love that.

note to self…the rolling out of bed/no make-up look does not really work for me.

the little girls constructed and named their very own camp sight.  they let me be an honorary member, even though my name doesn’t start with an “A”…because i made the sign.

the RODEO comes next.  and trust you me…it’s a whopper of a tale.

i woke up to an empty house this morning, after it had been filled with activity, love and laughter for the last 2 weeks.  chad’s mama had been here from iowa for the last two weeks and his sister, brother-in-law, and our nieces and nephew had been here for the last week.  there is always a sense of loneliness and sadness after visits like this one.  chad handles things fine.  i’m the one that struggles.  i have learned that i crave togetherness…probably more than the average person.  i won’t go to bed at night unless i am falling asleep and i’ll never be the first one to walk away from the fire pit or the board game.  my philosophy must be,

“keep the party going…”

so, when i didn’t wake to the sound of children trying to whisper but really squealing and the smell of davey’s famous pancake breakfast this morning…it threw me off my game.  i walked around the quiet house, looking around at the emptiness and hearing nothing but quiet… and i felt sad.  our kids were back in school.  chad was back at work.  our family was on the road…somewhere between here and iowa.  annslee was asleep.

my people were gone.

on our first night reunited…we went out to topwater grill.  this was after dinner and before chase was hit in the head by a falling, 12 ft., extremely heavy pole.  the large pot that was filled with cement was not heavy enough to hold it up and when chase stepped over the rope that was tethered to it…we watched it begin to fall over in slow motion.  chad lunged to try to catch it and i screamed at chase to move…but it went down on him too fast.  it hit him in the head as it slammed to the ground.

miraculously…he began screaming and didn’t lose consciousness.

we took him straight to the ER where they performed a ct scan.

the test showed that he had a concussion but no scull fraction and no brain damage.

we talked a lot about angels and thanked God, through tears, for protecting our boy.

****

the park happened…

a little baking happened…

and the beach definitely happened!

this girl can not get enough sand on herself to make her happy…so she just keeps trying.

kids climbed trees for the first time.

truth be told…the story telling from this chapter of family and fun will take at least 3 posts.  but that outta get ya started.

it was a good week.

i miss my family.

i wish they lived closer.

i wish we had these times more than twice a year.

i guess…that’s what makes these times special.

next up…

rabbits, rodeos, and shotguns.

…just because i love the boy.



it’s no secret that i think that HOOSIERS is one of the best movies i’ve ever seen.  it’s my favorite, for sure.  and it’s on track to being colton’s favorite too.  it is great for many reasons…but one of the things that i especially love is how the main character gives shooter…a man who is deemed worthless by the entire community, including his own son…a second chance.  shooter has been shamed enough by the people in his town that he believes it himself…which is evident in the scene when coach dale goes to his broken down house in the woods to ask him to assist him on the bench.  shooter, looking in complete shock says, “Me?????  You want me?????

all of this to say…i’ve loved picket fences ever since.

so…when my brother and chad started out on our fence this weekend…

what do you think the inspiration was?

these guys watched out the window as if they were a part of the cat in the hat story.

chase became mario and aiden was yoshi.  the boy can throw a realistic costume together in a matter of seconds.

sister tried to help.  she did an amazing job holding up the fence post that had already been bolted into the ground.

and then…the picket fence was born.

this was my contribution.  i got to use the drill and everything.

the kids and trout enjoyed a walk with their grandma sue.

and i lingered back in the front yard and allowed inspiration to take over in the form of clovers,

azaleas,

pretty little, white flowers,

and holly.  i did wonder why the holly was still out.  isn’t that a holiday thing?

and this little lady?  well…she is doing a wonderful job being a mama, sitting on her 2 eggs.

i have to, somehow turn all of this…

into a kermit puppet.  and i have NO idea how to do it.  chase got it in his head that if we went and picked out the fabric at joann’s that we could slap that baby together with no problem.

not so.

annslee picked me her very first flower.

and colt lost 2 teeth in 1 day.

that’s some sort of family record.

****

tonight, chad and i are going to the rodeo to see miranda lambert.  she is my favorite.  i also have a date with the barrel racers.

tomorrow, his sister, brother-in-law, our two nieces and nephew arrive from iowa.  i feel a blow-by cleaning coming in the morning.  hopefully they won’t mind a little dust.

so, spring break is here.  however…it’s not feeling very spring-y.  non-springy example number one is that aiden and annslee went to bed tonight in their matching hot cocoa jammies instead of their sweet, cotton gowns.

it was…and still is…rainy and cold.  it was the perfect night to bake homemade lemon bars with grandma sue.

and i took it upon myself to “spring” it up a little bit with the smell of tulips.

sister has had a cold for a week now.  and i’m pretty sure…several days ago she sneezed in my mouth, which is probably why i have a killer sore throat and woke up with body aches this morning.  it was all i could do to drag myself to pilate’s today.  but i know me well.  and if i start missing…for any reason other than being hospitalized…then i will start convincing myself that i should miss for a hang nail.

i suppose she needed to blow her nose.

****

this one hasn’t been without a dolly in her arms for going on 3 days now.

they come everywhere with us.  they have seen every isle in target and also know the mall fairly well.  we dress them, undress them, and dress them again more times in the day then i can count.  and…it’s not easy to talk her out of giving them baths.

there is something about a little girl with her doll that makes my heart pitter patter.  it’s just so sweet.

she’s a very good mama.

and i tell her so.

she was tired tonight.  all that mothering can really take it out of a person.  especially a baby person.

aiden played a little “just dance” to kick off her spring break.  the girl can break it down pretty fiercely.

it was good that they were entertaining themselves…because i was not feeling it at all.  i don’t have time to have a cold.  i checked my calendar…and it’s not on there.

****

and just when i was starting to feel sorry for myself, these came through the door.  chad and his mom went to the store to get the stuff to make to lemon bars…and surprised me with a for real…

wait for it…

this was just what the doctor ordered to brighten my non-springy, irish spirits.

and these cough drops will, hopefully get me through the night…

which ended in my most favorite way.

i love it when all 4 kids are freshly bathed and showered and jammied and snuggle together in our big, cabiny bed.

maybe a cold, blustery night isn’t such a bad thing after all.