The week after VBS and more…

Posted on

We’re slowly getting back to our daily routine after a fab week spent with our Goddaughter and another fun week of VBS. It seems to be becoming a summer tradition for our lil ladies, our Goddaughter, Aryie, and our niece, Brylee! This year we brought a school friend of Aub’s along as well. The girls could hardly wait for vacation bible school since school let out. And quite honesty neither could I. It’s a happy flashback into my childhood when Maw-Maw would bring me and one of my fave cousins each summer. I can still remember running up to her with every picture I had made and to tell her everything I had learned much like these little dolls do now. I loved being able to bring them each morning and getting to listen to six little girls sing all of the new Christian songs they had learned (of course Bitty loved singing along with the big kiddos) on the way back to our house each day for another play date. It’s Always so much fun to be able to watch these little lovelies bond and I will never pass up a chance to hear all of those little giggles. Of course Maw-Maw was an amazing help in keeping a house full of little gals happy as I had continued to battle a migraine. I’m so thankful to her for helping me make sure they still had fun days regardless of how I felt. No way was I going to ruin their much anticipated special week. And as usual Maw-Maw’s are pretty awesome at saving the day!

It’s kind of hard to believe this summer is more than half way over and our monsters will be starting school before we know it. Our life has changed an awful lot as of late, both in happy and a few uncertain ways. I’ve continued to take a bit of a break from blogging to take in all of these changes that are going on and to enjoy these summer days with our monsters. Even as life shifts in unexpected ways I can’t help but to continue to count my blessings and love our little family with all of my might. I am somehow reminded daily of the incredible people we so graciously have in our lives and their unfailing way of always letting us know they are there. We have lots of interesting and exciting things coming up in our future. Sometimes things can be out of our control and let’s face it not always turn out the way we want it to be. But we choose to hold on to our faith and know that God’s plan is always bigger than our understanding. And with my Hubster always by my side I anxiously look forward to what’s to come.20140731-001441-881749.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest

Gibberish

Posted on

Aryie: “Nanny I learned how to write my name in gibberish at VBS!”

Me: “In gibberish?”

Aryie: “It was something with a J, I can’t remember.”

Me: “Jewish?”

Aryie: “That’s it! I knew it was with a J!”

-Aryie, 8 years old, VBS stories20140723-124238-45758520.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest

OPB & WCP

Posted on

Love is being willing to taste the sandwich your five year old is calling her “new famous recipe”. Even when you know that sandwich is organic peanut butter & white cheddar popcorn on white wheat. Maintaining a smile and telling her it’s the best sandwich ever as both you and your husband watch her in amazement as she eats the entire thing, I mean sandwich. Never mind what we really think it taste like. Our picky little eater happily ate an entire sandwich for lunch and that’s all that really matters. Who knows, maybe it will become a trend amongst little five year olds everywhere.

-Mad, 5 years old, July 201420140720-152406-55446035.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest

A bit of a scare

Posted on

We had a bit of a scare today. On what was to be just a quick trip to make a few groceries with our three oldest monsters. My eyes started twitching, I had a blood vessel rupture in my right eye, blurred vision, pain and numbness on the right side of my head and face, nausea, and just plain confusion. I called Matt and he quickly got me to the hospital. My confusion continued when I wasn’t able to remember my social security number and two of our four children’s date of birth. Which anyone that knows me well knows my vivid memory especially when it comes to numbers and important dates. I probably wouldn’t have held as much concern had I not had a family history on both sides of my family with aneurysms. My Granny had one rupture in her brain and my Maw-Maw had one rupture in her belly. Going in to that hospital with this knowledge was quite honestly my biggest fear. Upon evaluation and talking with Matt and I about my medical history and recent surgeries he felt that it was likely related to the onset of a migraine. But wanted to air on the side of precaution and ordered a CT scan due to my family history. The most unpleasant moment of this trip. I’m extremely claustrophobic and no matter how wide open these new machines are is still quite traumatizing for me. So he gave me a sedative to prepare me for it. Thankfully my results were quick and my diagnosis wasn’t related to an aneurysm! Prayers answered! He is referring me to a neurologist for further evaluation. But said that he feels the numbness and pain is a trigger that my migraine is setting in, and sure enough I had one before I left the hospital. He thinks the more consistent on set of the migraines are a direct result to one of my surgeries a few months ago. Which makes perfect sense to me now. As unpleasant as migraines are for a mama of four lil monsters, I am beyond thrilled with my diagnosis as opposed to what I had feared and would have been a much more frightening battle. I’m so thankful to be back home in my pjs, tucked in bed, had been given meds quickly with the onset of the migraine, and my love getting dinner ready and tending to our littles. As much as I dislike doing so I guess I have to tend to me now.20140717-193659-70619693.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest

Some days are like that

Posted on

So I’d like to say every day is peachy. Only have happy & bubbly things to blog about. While in my eyes my husband & our lil monsters are as close to perfect as they could possibly be. Our life maintains a certain level of chaos with a house full of seven people and a twelve year old pup. Not every day is as “perfect” as we’d like. Some days someone just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. Sometimes several of us do. As humans aren’t we entitled to have an off day? All too easily we forget that about our children. They are human too. Yes, respect is a necessity. But they aren’t always going to maintain a level of pep that we’d all like to think our lil monsters should day in and day out. Some days are going to be “off” for them too.

Today was one of those days for us in our house of chaos! These little monsters seemed to bicker about the most nit picking things possible. ALL DAY LONG! There was some definite hair pulling, when someone took the toy our two year old Bitty wanted. Mad, our five year old, through more than one tantrum, even over the fact that her peas & carrots were touching at dinner. Aub was a somewhat overly emotional nine year old today full of attitude and held back nothing when her brother who came home from a not so fun busy day at work, and then the cycle was complete. Four grumpy monsters all afternoon to the point I had to check the calendar and be sure it wasn’t really a manic Monday! Daddy & I decided to take them out after dinner for some bike riding and skateboarding to expel some of that pent up frustration. Had plans to take them out for an ice cream afterwards. Oddly enough even that didn’t do the trick. The bickering continued. This one looked at that one the wrong way. The other wasn’t happy that water got spilled. So and so did blah, blah, blah. OH MY WORD! It was just a train wreck! So after a hour of play we loaded the monsters, bikes, and skateboards back into the mini and instead of the ice cream shop we swung by the corner store for a box of ice cream (because at that point not everyone had attitude and we weren’t going to punish everyone) and headed home feeling a bit defeated. After their ice cream which they some how managed not choking a sibling through, the bedtime routines started…a bit earlier than usual.

Make no mistake daddy & I would have loved to find that start over button, especially me since I’m the stay at home mama that got to witness it first hand all day no matter how many times I tried to redirect a kiddo or two at a time. But at the end of the day all I can do is sigh. Take a nice Lush bath. Breathe. And remind myself that they are just kiddos that had an off day and tomorrow will surely be better than this! It just has to be. Otherwise it looks like they will unknowingly be getting back to a normal “school days” bedtime routine, ha ha!

It’s been a bit of an insane day. Not the picture perfect day that most of us are guilty of painting especially in the world of social media. Today was anything but picture perfect. Tears were shed by three little girls. Our eighteen year old son likely realized work was easier than the sibling rivalry he joined when he got home. I found myself on the verge of tears more than once myself today and all I could do was warn my husband about the evening he was coming home to. But as the chaotic day comes to an end I can look at the bigger picture. We are blessed. We have four healthy, feisty, energetic monsters with four huge personalities. They are as head strong as head strong gets. The are the four lil monsters God blessed us with. My husband and I have a fabulous marriage that is thankfully not full of anger and bickering. We are a team. One that takes on the chaotic “off” day together instead of letting it cause us to start fighting as well. And luckily for my mom that lives with us, she has a bedroom door that locks when she is ready for a break from these lil monsters’ “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day” (to quote an amazing children’s book). This big fam of ours holds a whole lot of love for each other and even on our worst not so social media pretty day we always know we can count on each other. And thankfully all of that gives me the ability to smile at the end of this not so pleasant day!

“It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that” -Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day20140716-220824-79704274.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest


The Music Man

Posted on

Aub & I went out for a special evening to see her very first musical tonight. We saw “The Music Man” at the Circle Arts Theatre in New Braunfels. My friend’s two little girls are part of the cast and did such a fab job! It was an incredibly cute musical. Aub especially loved getting dolled up and having a fun evening just the two of us. I think we’ll be watching the original in the near future with Daddy since it’s one of his faves. He grew up with a love for musicals with his mom too!20140713-121128-43888678.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest


Dude & Barbie

Posted on

Bitty and I going through pictures in my phone…

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “My Daddy”

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “My Mommy”

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Dude”

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Barbie”

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Mad-a-win”

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “dats ME!”

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Maw-Maw” (my MIL)

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Maw-Maw” (my mom)

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Paw-Paw” (my dad)

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Lin-Lin” (my sister)

Me: “Who’s that?”
Bitty: “Nan Boo” (my B-Boo)

She knows her family but still insist on calling Budah “Dude” and Aub “Barbie”!

Bitty, 2 1/2 years old, July 201420140708-091516-33316434.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest

Alzafar & Pride

Posted on

Yesterday we all went up to Camp Alzafar to spend the day with my cousins, both local & visiting from out of town. It’s such a unique place and the 4th of July celebration is always so much fun. They do watermelon throws in the pool for the kiddos to swim for & decorate golf carts for a contest. Budah got the girls fishing poles for their birthdays so they were thrilled to head straight to the water shortly after we got there. Even I caught a fish with them, though admittedly it was itty bitty, but I caught one none the less! More important was the bonding time I got I to share with our three oldest monsters during that part of the visit while Daddy, Bitty, & Maw-Maw were up at the camp. I especially love the pictures I was able to capture of the three of them working together and will forever cherish that moment with them when really nothing else mattered. I always loved going fishing with my Paw-Paw and seeing the girls learn how to from their big brother meant the world to me and was a vivid reminder of some of my fave childhood memories spent with my Paw-Paw. Afterwards they were all ready for a dip in the pool and lunch. It was such a nice afternoon catching up with our family and we look forward to doing it again soon.

After we got home we had just enough time to get cleaned up and then we headed over to my love’s work with our two oldest girls for a shuttle ride down to walk in the Pride SA parade in support of his works LGBT community and our lil monsters’ Guncles. It’s was incredibly fun and the emotions of being a part of something so amazing with our children was nothing short of over whelming. The girls absolutely loved being in the parade and getting to hand out beads (we had to keep reminding them that it was different from Mardi Gras and they couldn’t throw these beads). I love that our monsters don’t view people based on their race, sexual preferences, or way of living. Mad’s excitement alone to give one of our fave local drag queens some beads was pretty priceless. To quote her “I want to give that guy in the pretty dress some beads!”. It didn’t seem odd in the slightest that what she knew to be a man was rocking a dress, makeup, & wig. One of the endless things that we love about our five year old. Both girls were thrilled to share the experience with their Guncle Alex as well. Even putting on a little performance for him while we waited for the parade to start singing one of their fave Grease songs, Aub was Sandy and Mad was Danny. And I’m certain Aub was super appreciative of the piggy back ride her Guncle gave her on the walk back to the shuttle afterwards. We are so thankful to be able to teach our children how much our world needs equality and to never judge a book by its cover! We can’t wait until Pride SA 2015!

Such a fab day spent with fam & friends!20140707-201039-72639833.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest