A Thorn Among Roses

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this last week... brooke DID NOT ask me in the car if babies come out of mom's butts.  me: 'p, jk and s were all born out of their bmoms bellies.  b: 'Where was I? Was it a butt?'   me: 'no b, you were born in brit's birth canal.'  b DID NOT say 'i'm so glad bc being born out of a butt is just plain gross!' the girlies were NOT out in the back yard with neighbor girls and were NOT convinced that a frozen tree monkey was on our back tree in the midwest.  ryan DID NOT go to check things out...to NOT find out that it was a seeping tree knot. ryan DID NOT ask "do u girls remember what jesus did in last nights reading? he turned something into something."  brooke DID NOT say: "oh, water into beer!" i DID NOT get starbucks and leave out the donut for sofia...to which sofia DID NOT say "hey! where is my donut!" when i broke the news, she DID NOT chuck her tinkerbell at my venti say...

i'm not gonna lie, i have to get almost to the yelling stage or i have to bribe my kids to get things done right.  it makes me frustrated and tired...and so i am trying a little something new.  diamonds. i am using hot pink diamonds as rewards that each girlie gets as reward for completing chores correctly.  i took popsicle sticks, wrote the chores on them and assigned a diamond rating...bc i'm cool like that...and when they complete the chore, bring me the stick and i review, they get the diamonds. and at the end of the week, there's reward store that open and they exchange their diamonds out {or choose to save them for bigger items} for goodies they have chosen to be on the list like candy necklaces, slushies, new packs of gum, etc...and NO TOYS. it seems to be working, bc i have some busy bees... and you can never be too young or beautiful for diamonds...and chores. and you can dress the way you want...like a desperate housewife... but in the end, it's all about the ...

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... i DID NOT see the best "i'm an idiot don't date me" bumper sticker on a car. 'deer camp. big racks. wild tails." it DID NOT have the uber trashy lady silhouette.  and you guessed it, the car was NOT running on a donut.  NOT classy at all. our AC is NOT out...and it is NOT almost 100 degrees here with 4000% humidity.  we are NOT boiling!! we DID NOT have our summer college ministry kick off on saturday.  it was def NOT rocking and awesome.  joe banua and kyle DID NOT play the best worship music ever at the fire pit...we DID NOT worship the lord and just plain have fun! sofia DID NOT say 'hear ice cream man with my head'...then grabbed her pixie. i DID NOT wonder if maybe she has radar with that pixie thing. we DID NOT have an entire softball free weekend...and yes, we DID NOT make any plans :) i DID NOT hang out with my girlfriend on friday night, have some wine and do girl time while the kiddos ...

yep...you find the weirdest things, even when ur not even looking... it's true...at a girls softball tournament, you can, in fact, buy a 6 pack of beer at the concession stand. lesson learned.

when your kid plays travel softball, the whole fam plays travel softball. we live it.  eat it. dream it. we are a softball family...but it's fun and we all love it. sofia feels most at home in the brickdust and dirt that surrounds the fields. b loves to field grounders and hit, if she's playing.  otherwise, it's all about making "soup" out of stuff around the fields and playing make up games with friends. foul balls...sofia tries to get them all! jada remains a fashionista no matter where she is and... on and off the field...some things never do change. a big sister is always a big sister, even when the little sister is really stinking cute!!!

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... at the park, b says 'hey mom, you have one of those cottonwood things in ur nose. wait...i'll get it.' she DID NOT proceed to stick her fingers up my nostril, grab something, wipe it on her shirt and say, "there we go. alright. got it." paige DID NOT get her driver's permit on friday...life as i know it, has NOT changed. paige and i DID NOT have to take shelter under a concession stand at the softball tourney this weekend while a tornado siren was NOT blaring at us.   brooke DID NOT ask for yogurt raison snacks...i DID NOT tell her {outside} she could have only 10.  she DID NOT proceed to get an entire bowl and go to sit with brit {inside}...who DID NOT say, "aren't you suppose to only have 10? go put them up"  brooke DID NOT drop her mouth open in amazement that we were on the same page. birthmom and mom...unite!!!!! sofia DID NOT collapse in hubs arms at the tournament on saturday...she w...

there's nothing sweeter than a lovey-dovey kiss from a sweet baby girl!!

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this last week... i DID NOT drive in the driveway to find my sofia screaming "i naked, mommy" with the full moon showing.  hubs was NOT running around the corner of the house saying, "sofia, you may not be naked outside.  oh, hi honey."  we are NOT "those neighbors". while riding in papa's "big truck", brooke DID NOT yell, "slow down papa on those turns.  i'm afraid i'm gonna my stinking pancreas for heaven's sake."  jada DID NOT come running to hubs and say, 'guess what? brooke is letting ME clean her room! isn't that awesome?!'  we DO NOT have our very own tom sawyer in this house. jada DID NOT go to the horse stable with her school. she DID NOT say "roland pooped on his bed where he sleeps. that's weird, mommy.  that's why I stopped!" paige DID NOT have her first post-varsity high school softball tourney on her travel team this last weekend.  it w...

as a photographer, i am always asked by my clients what they should wear...so i decided to pull together some examples for families: outfits for family members should be fun and mold together as one BIG outfit.  so matchy matchy isn't always the best.  for families with children, the best option is to find one patterned or fun item that you love and match up the other peeps in the fam accordingly.  mini boden soooo has this right... start with the blue checked top, add little sisters dress and toss in the handbag for color and coordination.  the added red and turquoise and lilac then gets pulled out in mom and dad's outfits. and then good old dad... i love the whisy kiddo clothes, and making momma fancy smancy a little with some great touches.  add some color to daddy-o with a belt...but lose the watch.  i love picking outfits straight from the closet...and using the clothes that you love and the kids enjoy wearing.  it makes the "jump in the air" p...

when i caught sofia with an entire bag of potato chips...she seemed surprised. she said "sorry, mommy" and i sent her on her way.   i grabbed the chips and put them back in the pantry and headed to the basement for another load of laundry...and when i returned from the bowels of the laundry room, i was met with many smiles... i mean, how do you stinking argue with that? i will tell you how...you put a lock on the pantry!