"A Wink and a Smile"

After picking my 6.5 year old up {c} from soccer practice the other day ... Me:  "How was soccer?" {c}: "Good ..." Me: "Did all your friends show up?" {c}: "One girl had dance and Bella couldn't come because she had too much on her plate" my 9 year old chimes in ... {b}: "What does too much on her plate mean?" {c}: with an expression that totally screamed DUH ... "It means that she had too much dinner left to eat and she couldn't come" LOL!  Just another (smile) gift at the very end of a long, crazy day.  Thank you GOD!  This mommy sure appreciated that.

Let me start off by saying that the only part of Halloween that I like is the dress up- take a picture part.  Is that horrible?  I don't really enjoy walking the neighborhood and knocking at strangers doors.  I don't even love the candy part.  Well maybe just the Reece's peanut butter cups.  I don't like the fact that my children will consume about 10+ pieces of candy in a sitting. I envision horrible results at the dentist.  I don't enjoy finding wrappers hidden in various parts of my house AFTER the whole treat part is done.  I don't like spending a lot on costumes, but I am proud when I can put together a costume on the cheap with some extra creativity.  I'm just hum-bug about the holiday. This year I had three of my girls going around the neighborhood.  My oldest (who did dress up) stayed home with about 10 other high school kids and gave out candy, had pizza/soda, chatted, and watched scary movies.  Daughter #2 went to another ne...

There is no swim meet (it was an off weekend for USA Swimming and the high school meet was cancelled). There are no basketball games ... CANCELLED due to the icy roads. Except for dropping my 10 year off at a sleepover party later today, there is nothing major to do! I *could* do ... laundry bathroom cleaning re-organizing of my closet "help" the girls with their mess in the playroom BUT ... My husband has dared me to sit and relax today. He told me to read and put my feet up. So ... I may just have to do that! Speaking of books, did you know that the Pioneer Woman has a children's book coming out? I knew about her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story book ... which I may just have to buy because I'm curious. Reading and watching these girls today. Sounds like a plan!

Was soooooooo much f u n ! The children were well behaved, the weather was just perfect, and of course I got to snap a few good pictures (which I love). I love this photo of Miss {c} and her very big smile. She was so genuinely excited to run through the mazes. This was {c}'s field trip partner who was ALSO very excited and willing to smile for the camera. I love how little girls this age like to hold hands and get close. So sweet! This was the entire class. Except for the one girl sitting under the scarecrow, everyone was happy and silly! Such a great day with my littlest girl :)

WE live in the SOUTH, so I think it is perfectly acceptable for little girls to sport the BIG BOW!

This past Thursday we started the day early ... getting the oldest off to high school first (she caught a ride) and then these 4 got their day started. This will be the only year that I will have 3 of my girls in the same school ... kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th grade. That big girl is my 7th grader who is taking on her 3rd year in homeschooling. Of course there had to be the obligatory first day of school pictures. These are just a few ... Off to school ... Mommy and {c} ... no tears. Aren't you proud! Already she has a big job ... Once those little girls were off to school, the 7th grader and I headed to PANERA for our back to school breakfast ... I couldn't help myself after the breakfast. I needed to stop HERE to take a few pictures ... just can't resist the dimples :) I'm feeling good about this year.

Goodbye to the summer pools and HELLO sprinklers! When everyday seems to have heat indexes near 110 When the pool waters border on hot tub feel (without the bubbles) When you need to walk around the pool area in flip flops so as not to burn the feet (OUCH) When you can't even sit on a lounge chair for a minute without sweat just pouring off When telling your children to turn on the sprinklers and play outside seems easier than packing up a car and heading to the pool When the brown spots show up on the lawn and almost seem to thank you giving them an extra drink When a certain mommy of 5 can look out her kitchen windows and see children happy and playing while she stays inside clothed and COOL ! That's WHEN!

‎"Take lots of photos, no matter what your equipment or ability or availability. Just take them! You’ll never regret it." - Pioneer Woman ‎

Listening to the radio today, we heard a song that could possibly be the only one NOT overplayed in the last year. The reason for that probably is because the song debuted in 2003 ... "I don't want to be" by Gavin DeGraw. 5 year old ... "This must be a new song" Big sisters ... "No, it's really OLD!" 5 year old ... "Then how come I don't know it?" This 5 year old is a backseat singer who KNOWS her songs. At least all the ones that are from 2005 and on ... Continuing to listen to the song, she just proceeded to hum the rest of it and throw in a few choice words of her own. She's a singer after all!

Oh where did the time go? Happy Birthday Cate Once upon a time so small Today a big girl *a mommy attempt at a bad haiku

This little girl will be done with Pre-K . I love her little class of 14 with it's super sweet teacher. I love her little uniform that she wears each time she goes to school. I love that she LOVES going to school and she is always happy at the end of the day. I love that she often takes a car nap in our afternoon travels ... she plays hard and needs it. I love that she sings cute songs at home ... clearly songs that were taught in class. I love that she checks her folder each day and always comes home with practice worksheets that she can't wait to complete. I love that she has made about 10 perler bead HEARTS for her teacher. I love that she learns about GOD and tells me about it. ((((SIGH)))) I will miss Pre-K too!

My almost 5 fingers old girl ... She loves to ride her scooter and at very impressive (scary) speeds. She loves to ride in daddy's car any chance she can get. It's smaller and like a race car ;) After going to church at "Price the King" (Christ the King) she requests eating dinner at "Sinter Takeella" (Senor Tequilla) She loves her Playmobil people and mermaid Barbies in the bathtub. She likes to smile with all of her teeth ... just like me :) If she could, she would wear flip flops every day of the year. She's a busy girl and just likes the ease of the shoe. She's rather quiet around adults, but pretty outgoing around little people her size. She loves to help her daddy pack for trips. In fact this morning she wanted him to bring a Mickey Mouse puzzle and a Memory game on the plane so he wouldn't be bored. Instead that daddy stole the mommy's iPad (grrrrrr). She enjoys her sweets ... especially things she can lick (frosting, lollipops)...

also including a certain 4.5 year old and her Handwriting Without Tears book Can it be possible that this little girl will be "5" come June 1st and that she (most probably) will be starting kindergarten come August????? Where has the time gone? sniff, SNIFF!

The 4 year old and I planted a few seeds last week. She was so excited to see the seeds SPROUTING . I myself have been happy to see growth all around me. The trees, grasses, bushes, and flowers are bursting with new life and COLOR. The only thing bad I can say about this would be that my ALLERGIES are getting the best of me. I've been sneezing, blowing my nose, and itching my eyes like cRaZy . It's worth it though. Seeing all this "new" is amazing.