Bedtime

I am convinced that bedtime is divinely inspired.

It's amazing what the morning brings...
a fresh start.
piece of mind.
renewed patience.
and, unfortunately,
a matted mess for hair and a bad case of morning breath.

Mornings have never been kind to me.
The true test of Nate's love was being able to roll over in the morning next to me without running in the other direction as soon as he saw my face-- but, I digress.

Bedtime has always been a sacred time at my house. The minute that 7:15 pm hits, BAM, the kids are in bed (minus the sound effect). It used to be 6:30 but that changed as soon as people threatened to call social services.


"Hi, I'd like to report a form of cruel and unusual punishment"
"OK, what's the accusation?"
"Ummm, an obscenely early bedtime."


Let me let you in on a little secret:
The key to surviving motherhood is having an early bedtime.

So the other night as I was tucking Kaleb into bed, I cuddled up next to him. I wanted to soak up every last bit and piece of his 5 year old cuteness. I wanted to remember him like this for always...

The little boy with big blue eyes and long eyelashes.
The little boy with perfect shaped lips and nose.
The little boy, who at the end of the day when all is said and done,
has a sweetness I can absolutely devour.

This boy cracks me up.
He's not sad, not even in the slightest.
This is just one of Kaleb's many facial expressions.

Abrie's Photography Debut

Ch-ch-ch-check it out!

CLICK ME

PS- Make sure to leave her some love.

Right Now

I am recovering from...

a week long vacation in Moab,
a blown out tire on the freeway in the car pool lane,
massive amounts of mint chocolates
(more than I would ever recommend eating in one sitting),
an overdose of Rock Star energy drink,
and 2 hours worth of lame movie watching AKA Land of the Lost.

No worries, once I come down from the caffeine/sugar high
(and maybe some self induced vomiting)
I should be back to normal.

End of the world as we know it

For the past year, much to Nate's dismay, we have been watching my sister's cat while she and her family lived out of the country.
Long story short, they're back which means the cat gets to go live with them.

Nate is thrilled.
Abrie is devastated.

In her own words, "Mom, Princess was my best friend. I feel so alone without her." She even wrote princess a letter, "Dear Prisest, I mizzed you and kride last nite.". 'Kride' is actually an understatement, more like full on hysterics for two hours straight. She's convinced that the only thing that will make her feel better is another animal. I was just hoping she'd turn to emotional eating and use food to fill the void.

Mommy, I want a new kitty.
Really, are you sure? How about nice big happy meal instead?

So Abrie (along with the other two) have moved on to bigger and better things pets.

Abrie would like a brown horse named Hannah.
Kaleb would like a horse that's spotted like a cow named Jonas.
And Macie would just like a horse that looks like a puppy.




I'm still gonna try to hit 'em up for that happy meal though.

Shooting Up DMD style

Speaking of shooting up (in my previous post).
I found this gem of video that goes into greater detail.

This video cracks me up every time I watch it.
I love how Greg nonchalantly says, "I think I'm hitting bone".
I love the fact that Daegan is there providing the gift of light both with his knowledge and Surefire flashlight.
I love how everyone is watching intensely and Renn is smiling most likely because he's not the one sitting in the chair.
I love how Nate's face slightly resembled that of a basset hound after he was done with the 5+ rounds of shots.
I love how the whole time I was watching this go on I was fighting the urge to say something like, Please don't paralyze my husbands face. I kind of enjoy looking at him or I'd rather not have a husband who drools every time he tries to smile. I figured the added pressure probably wasn't a good thing.

* * * * * *

So let me preface this video with the fact that this wasn't just for entertainment purposes... at least for the guys. I, myself, was fully entertained. All it was lacking was 32 oz fountain drink, a large bucket of popcorn, and a box full of junior mints.
* * * * * *

I guess you could say practice makes perfect. Which is now why I say (John Cougar Mellencamp style), "'Come on baby make it hurt so good!" every time I visit the dentist.

Where Life Happened

It's hard to believe that a year ago this was the view in my rear window.

This was the last view of the place we called home for 4 years.

This was the place where I became a Mom of three...

Where spiders in the washing machine and having brown water is a normal occurrence...

Where I found that there are worse things to find in your house other than spiders...

Where doctors don't know how to diagnose a BAD case of poison ivy gone wild...

Where I hope Nate leaves this Bad hair phase behind...

Where friends and barbeque's were just a walk out to the courtyard...

Where adding the the word Vintage to blue sinks & blue toilets almost made having them more bearable... (almost)

Where I played the How-long-will-it-take-Nate-to-pass-out game. I was usually the winner. I was also the only player...

Where shooting up didn't just happen down in the ghetto's of Philly, but in your own home as well...

Where friends aren't just friends, they're family.

This was the place where life happened!

* * * * * * * *

So we drove onto our new life full of new adventures.

We left behind some great friends, but brought with us 4 years of amazing memories...

Just like the time my cupboards experienced an attack of the weevils, where everything was weevil infested... even the pancakes I ate for breakfast that morning. When my friends laughed at my misfortune I reminded them of the awesome NO-BAKE cookies I generously made for them the previous night. It just so happens that love wasn't the only secret ingredient in that recipe.

You're Invited

It's A Pity Party!

For: Yours truly

Where: My House

When: All day event

The Details: There will be lots of moping, lots of caffeine, and lots of chocolate. The day promises to be unproductive and full of mind numbing activities... something along the lines of staring at my feet all day. And maybe, just maybe, I might get motivated enough to shave my big toe(s) since we will be staring at them all day.

Please RSVP so I can send out the food assignments.

Rainy Day

Some parents do arts & crafts with their children...


I just send mine outside to play in the gutters.
I posted more pictures HERE.

N' Stuff

-Abrie-

"Mom, I want to play soccer again!" ...

"Ummm, I'm not a well seasoned soccer pro or anything, but I'm pretty sure you got the outfit thing wrong. You have, however, followed my first rule which is, whatever you do, make sure you look good doing it. PS- when you're done with Macie's shorts can you please put them back in her drawer. Thanks!"

-Kaleb-

CrAzY hair day

He pretty much ROCKED it.



-Macie-

She keeps asking when she can go to the mall and have her ears "peed".

She loves to find "holy" polies in the garden.

She thinks playing naked in the sand doubles as body exfoliation.

She likes to lick me good night. I'm not a fan.

She can devour a bag of cheese puffs in a matter of minutes.

She likes mustard on everything.

... She continues to make me laugh.

May the force be with you

If it isn't already official, it will be now. I am a nerd.
Better yet, Nate is a nerd, therefor by association that makes me one as well.

My lack of blog posting has been due to a week long STAR WARS marathon.

The past six days,

from start to finish,

movies 1 through 6.

(we get pretty CrAzY around here)

I think it's safe to say I've had my fill of
STARS WARS for the next ten years or so.