Hello there

I’m a little distracted because I just looked at my phone bill and whoops! went waaay over on the text messaging. I’m still used to it being UNLIMITED, apparently.

Anyway, we ate dinner at church yesterday and then, since it was now or never, took my mom up on her babysitting offer and went to see Inception. Liked it! It’s a little bit nuts! VERY fun to go on a throwdown date in the very middle of the week.

AND, not sure if I should be broadcasting this over the internets but, what the heck, we’ve got someone coming to see our house today and so we’ve been doing some deepish cleaning (and by ‘we’ I mostly mean my mom). We weren’t really planning on selling but ALWAYS talk about it and got a call from a friend (who happens to be a realtor) who has a buyer that may be interested. So, we’ll see… I do love my house but it’s a lot small. I’d love to be able to have houseguests.

And, along that note, I’d best be getting back to bill-paying and cleaning. And also, some (real) clothes would be nice.

Happenins

Arianna decided she can crawl. She didn’t even do that rocking thing babies often do – she just all of the sudden took off across my sisters’ living room Sunday, and that was that. (Same day she got another tooth — what does she think, she’s going off to college tomorrow?)

Madeline likewise took off riding her bike without the training wheels. And it was the same sort of way, as if she’d been doing it forever. (I guess we should have taken them off earlier.) Funny thing, Drew was the one that went to the shed and got Andy’s tools out and took her training wheels off all by himself.

Yeah. WHO NEEDS PARENTS?!

Family-amly

(Remember that goose in Charlotte’s Web?)

Yes, a weekend full o’ family – minus my dad, sadly. My mom has been helping get my sisters settled in their new apartment and it is super cute. We all had pizza over there last night and my kids ran wild. They discovered sliding down the carpeted steps on their bellies, head first. (We don’t have stairs, maybe that’s a good thing.)

It was also the second meal of the DAY we ate with my brother and SIL. Which is just crazy since we haven’t seen them in, literally, months. (And we live in the same town! Can you say busy?!) We had hosted everyone for lunch here, after church. My mom cooked, always a treat.

This is the last week of summer break for my kids, perfect that Grandmommy is here to help fill it with fun. And I hardly know what to do with myself now that the sale stuff is done! (Take a long nap??)

Here’s to Monday, friends.

If I seem a little crazy

This was my living room this past week:

And, you can’t tell, but behind the coffee table is a laundry basket – the clothes are stacked up all the way from the floor right there next to the couch.  I dropped off 295 items today, tagged and ready for the sale.

Relieved.

Weary.

Headache.

PROJECT ACCOMPLISHED.

Fun Mom Friday!

My kids have had a very fun week, but no thanks to me since I’ve been sick or working on this sale. It’s been fun because Grandmommy is here! They’ve gone shopping, out for ice cream, to the playground, gone on long bike rides and walks, played with the hose, got a new bike “pumper” and other small treats, and today she’s planning on making cookies with them. It’s like vacation!

How were YOU the Fun Mom this week? Link up your Fun Mom Friday post’s permalink below. Anyone can join at any time! Full FMF info can be found here.

Please, as a courtesy, and as you are able, remember to leave comments at all the FMF posts you visit.

No blog? Tell us your Fun Mom Friday story in the comments!

Ah, summer

My kids call this playing “hosing.” I rarely let them do it but Andy was off yesterday and gave them the green light. (Yeah, as long as you’re still around to pick up the pieces, Mr. Daddy.)

(Alternate Title: Brothers.)

You Capture: Get Outside!

Not

So I’ve definitely been fighting something. It’s pretty miserable being the one responsible for a bunch of kids when you’re not feeling great. I couldn’t sleep, either, which just adds insult to injury. I’m much better today, though, since I did get more sleep last night. (Funny how those little things can add up to so much.)

Oh Tuesday, here you are again

I went out with some girlfriends last night for pizza and Eat Pray Love. I knew nothing whatsoever about the movie or the book beforehand and… it was a little tedious. One of those movies that tries to be really philosophical but fails miserably. But, still fun to go out with the girls!

It was also the longest stretch I’d left Arianna but she did fine with the babyfood and my mom rubbing her back and singing to get her to drift off to sleep. So cute.

Alright. I spent the entire day yesterday laying low, feeling like I was fighting something off. My throat is a teensy bit raw but I have GOT to get moving on this sale, especially while my kids are playing quietly and nicely with the dollhouse. Cheers!

This post is brought to you by Signing Time

Whoa nellie, we had quite the weekend. Our local playground was the location for a church-sponsored fundraiser kiddie fair on Saturday morning, which my kids obviously thought was the coolest thing ever. We had no idea – some friends just called to say they were there and (for us) it was a total surprise.

Although, the music should have clued us in. Anyway, Andy took the kids down, fresh out of bed. Only he can pull off wild bedhair, a wifebeater with basketball shorts, flip-flops and a cup of coffee in hand. At the park.

The kids “won” at several different games, prized with (gently used) stuffed animals. [Which may or may not disappear sometime in the near(ish) future.] All very exciting. And then we packed up, made a picnic lunch, and went swimming. Arianna and I haven’t been in a few weeks, so that was fun.

Yesterday after church we played the “lets-see-how-many-kids-we-can-cram-into-one-house” game and ate lunch with two other families. Good friends, good times. We made it home in time to clean up a little bit before GRANDMOMMY CAME! Always an Event around these parts.

She’ll be in town for a couple of weeks so there’s been much rejoicing. The fall children’s consignment sale drop-off starts Thursday, so you can guess what I’ll be doing this week. (Too bad my attic is about 1,000 degrees.)

And these are just because, taken this morning fresh out of the bath:

(Of course, she spit up five minutes later and had to be changed. Life.)

Fun Mom Friday!

(I’m going to interrupt here and just tell you that Madeline tried to do some crazy stunt on the trampoline last night and whip-lashed her neck. She’s pitiful. It’s been a long night for both of us. She’s somewhat better today though.)

Our BIG FUN was going to Birmingham to see some sweet friends last weekend. Our kids have been playing together since they were babies. (Once, Andy and I left Drew on their doorstep when he was about 5 months old, rang the bell and ran. It was so funny peeking around the corner. Baby delivery!)

We ate pizza, played games, had coffee, shopped at Costco (and ate samples), watched movies, had watermelon, played Playdoh; you know, all that fun stuff.

How were YOU the Fun Mom this week? Link up your Fun Mom Friday post’s permalink below. Anyone can join at any time! Full FMF info can be found here.

Please, as a courtesy, and as you are able, remember to leave comments at all the FMF posts you visit.

No blog? Tell us your Fun Mom Friday story in the comments!

The Afternoon Lull

Whew!  Everyone is either room-timing or napping, time for me to grab some mid-day coffee and blog.  Andy took the kids swimming this morning; they should be good and tired.  (Let’s hope.)

Yesterday around 1 p.m. we decided to invite some newly back-in-town friends for supper and a little catch up.  So pretty much we ran around all afternoon like headless chickens getting groceries and whipping our house into shape.

It was worth it, as always.  Unfortunately I didn’t get the camera out so I have nothing to document the chaos that is 7 children excited to see each other again.  Good times.

And you would think, getting to bed well after 10, they’d be good and sleep in a little.  You would be wrong.  (Looking forward to the early-rising Grandmommy being here in a few days.)

Alright, ya’ll, YOU be good and link up for Fun Mom Friday tomorrow!

Me on skincare

So I do still write for Chic Critique, even though I haven’t been linking my posts here lately. We’re doing a two-week series on our skin care routines, and mine is up today!

Speaking of pearls…

Don’t you play tennis in your tutu and heels?

(Or jammies, if your name happens to be Drew…)

play now, work later

Yesterday we ditched the laundry and went and played instead.

I guess she’s having fish for dinner.

(All SOOC.)

Alive and well; a little tired around the edges

We’re recovering from our weekend around here, which I’ll share on Friday. I have extra laundry to do, too, since the load drying when we left didn’t get alltheway dry and has to be rewashed. So all I’ve got is two photos I snapped of the baby yesterday.

So that will just have to do.

Fun Mom Friday

Wednesday we met some friends at the mall {free} soft play area – kids climbed and ran and played and the moms talked and it was AIR CONDITIONED. Big fun! (Although Sarah called yesterday and said we forgot the coffee! Oops!)

And, I was such a dummy – forgot to take any photos while the kids were playing and only remembered as we were packing up to go.

(Arianna looks beyond thrilled at being plunked down in the stroller, I know.)

How were YOU the Fun Mom this week? Link up your Fun Mom Friday post’s permalink below. Anyone can join at any time! Full FMF info can be found here.

Please, as a courtesy, and as you are able, remember to leave comments at all the FMF posts you visit.

No blog? Tell us your Fun Mom Friday story in the comments!

Genius

So, speaking of child labor, Drew just took it upon himself to take his stack of laundry out of the basket on my bedroom floor and put it all away.

The lightbulb, it just went off.

Inspired, I asked Madeline if she wanted to put away her laundry, which she did, (mostly) perfectly.

Now. There are plenty of things my kids help with around the house but I’m a bit, uh, particular about the way things are washed and folded. Plus my mom did all the laundry growing up and so it’s my way of paying it forward. But getting it put away??? TOTALLY my kids’ job now.

Totally.

(What else do you have your kids do?)

Mama Drama

I had just finished cutting Drew’s hair last night and there was still hair everywhere and I was changing Arianna’s poopy on my bed, got poop on my sheets and then I hear “_____ peed in the bathtub!” It was one of those moments. IfyouknowwhatImean.

They had slept late during their nap yesterday, which means they were wired at 8 p.m. while I was exhausted. Funny how that works. I didn’t yell at anyone, though, so there’s that.

And then Adelaide’s been doing this get-up-a-million-times-a-night-after-I-put-her-down thing, even after being disciplined for it. She’s a wee bit, um, headstrong. But the things she says are so hilarious it’s almost worth it just to see what she’s gonna say.

The kids don’t go back to school for another full month, and a very very hot one at that. It sort of makes me want to curl up in a ball on my closet floor or just set up a tent right next to the pool. Thankfully we have plans tonight, tomorrow, and Thursday with friends – everyone needs a daily dose of good old family fun to keep the spirits high. We may even be in B’ham this weekend before her baby comes.

Ooh, and then my mom and sisters get here soon. The kids are talking about it by the minute. And I may be, too.