How cute is this?!

Sutton ordered her dorm room bedding today and I think it's just adorable. Look at this fun print:




Oh, to be young and hip and funky again...

Heck, forget hip and funky, at this point I'd just settle for YOUNG.


(Okay, fine. I was never hip OR funky and you can quit laughing at me now.)

Happiness is...

Big bows, a poofy dress, and squeaky shoes that make you prance.





















Tiny tantrums that are brief...





















...and move right past happy...





















...to downright giddy.





















Tender Bubba kisses.



















A soft place to fall.




















And being loved.

So he's a little confused

Landon (4): "Mom, when I was a little baby was I a girl baby or a boy baby?"


(And yes, that is the windshield of a car he's standing on.)

*sigh*

I never know what I'll find

I looked up recently and noticed this on the ceiling of my bedroom. Can you tell what it is?










It took me a while too. Look closely.










Still can't figure it out? How about now?










Give up?





SPIT WADS.

I have SPIT WADS.

On my CEILING.

Momma's NOT happy.

And two little boys...well, MOMMA'S NOT HAPPY.

Mini Mr. Miyagi

Landon had his first Tae Kwon Do class recently. He wouldn't agree to attend if he was just a student like the other kids; he would only go if he was going to be the instructor's helper; he wanted to teach the class.

Yeah, he said that.

So Mr. Jonathan allowed him to come and help and after his teaching debut, our little guy can now think of little else.

Trying to contain his excitement before class.

















Showing off those innate karate skills.

















So, he ran this way.

















And he ran that way.

















He even carved out time to interact with his fans.

















Then came home and promptly fell asleep on the ottoman.










That teaching stuff sure wears a boy out.

Chasing cherries and What is up with my hair?

Perpetual motion. That's what she is. She stops only to sleep and even that doesn't last. So we chase and corral and attempt to stay one step ahead which usually means three steps behind, and always in hot pursuit.

*sigh*























But look at my hair.




















I've always had stick-straight thin hair and so I succumbed in the 80's to the perm when it was considered fashionable; but I, unfortunately, continued the style (sadly quite unfashionably) waaaaay into the 90's.

What can I say, I am ridiculously. slow. to. change when it comes to fashion. Ask my daughters, they don't mind sayin'.

Though once I realized I was one of the few females in the world still sporting a perm (well, that and a complete freak-out when I discovered I was expecting baby #3), I cut my hair and went au naturale, which basically meant straight hair with just enough wave to look stupid.

Thank goodness for flat irons.

So kiddos 4 and 5 came and went and there were no really noticeable follicle changes. But the little girl shown above (a.k.a. Miss Caboose), brought with her some MOMMY CURLS.

And I'm not just talking a few waves. Oh, no. This momma's sporting some major naps that I'm having to learn to manage. I'm having to buy new hair products, y'all.

Oh, how I wish I could have back all that money I spent on perms. At least then I'd have money for the activator I need now to maintain my jheri curl.

Cow Patty Country Club

My in-laws are members of a country club in a teeny tiny country town. We call it the Cow Patty Country Club because we tease that you have to step over cow patties to get to your golf balls. The club boasts a charming old club house ($40 to rent and that's a price increase) where we celebrated Hayden's birthday celebration and a beautiful pool we were lucky enough to enjoy alone for most of the afternoon.

It was a very small gathering with just us, grandparents, and my sister Krista and her son, Cade, so it was the perfect size...just enough people to call it a party.

















It was all great fun. And with accommodations like that, I'll step over cow patties any day.

Super 7

Today is Hayden's 7th birthday and he is stoked beyond words. This past weekend was all about celebrating his big day (pics to follow soon) and today has been no different.

His morning began with homemade pancakes that tasted absolutely TERRIBLE. (That's what I get for picking the recipe with the least number of ingredients.) I mean, they were really, really gross. So we threw those away and had good 'ole Bisquick stand-byes...with chocolate chips, of course.

Catastrophe diverted.











He couldn't understand why I had the radio playing so loudly while I was making breakfast until I told him to listen closely to what the announcer was saying. When he heard his name spoken over the radio he was hesitant. Then when he heard that "Hayden's" dad was out of town and wanted this little boy who loves to play piano and is in to Tae Kwon Do to have great birthday, hesitation quickly morphed into complete elation.



















So far the rest of the day that has included vacation bible school, Chik-Fil-A, and swimming, hasn't held a candle to this morning's surprise. Maybe things will improve later.

And we pause to reflect

At Granna's house, just like at home, sometimes boys have to stop, rethink their actions, and smell a little panel dust.

Weekend in the country

We just returned, like the good Clampetts that we are, from a few days "down south." We stayed at my in-law's home where the kids get to run amok outdoors, sans shoes and matching clothes (Daddy is so happy), while they explore the land and the vermin that inhabit it.

Oh, there were the usual ba-ows (cows per Peyton) and a sweet dog named Sam, but this trip also included two new animals to examine.

There were brand new kitties that were tiny and cute but caused these children to pause as they weighed their chances against teeny teeth and claws.














And a opossum Pawpaw was smart enough to trap was great fun to ogle from afar. His wicked opossum hissing from within the confines of that trap were enough to keep us all at a distance.











And if you're a little squeamish and not at all country like me, ahem, do not click on that opossum pic above. Nasty!

I have a complaint

There is no chocolate in my house.

None.

Someone found my secret stash.

*sigh*

These people have absolutely no respect for my chocolate privacy.

Four and frustrated

"Hayden, you're losing my patience!"

Wordless Wednesday: Little emotions

Panda update

Some of you have inquired about the result of our Kung Fu Panda discipline experiment. If you recall, this was the Kung Fu Panda sheet on the first day minus the P (because, unfortunately, my picture taking happened to take longer than their first infraction):










They boys had to make it from Monday to the weekend without losing all of the letters and I can honestly say that it was a long, LONG week for us all.

I finally had to carefully decide which little-boy actions would result in a letter loss. If I went with every time I had to reprimand them, those letters wouldn't have lasted the first afternoon. So I made the decision to remove letters when their actions were considered over-the-top (read: When Mommy's blood pressure spiked to four-digit levels.)

So, they lost a letter when I found them hanging from the dining room chandelier. (I am SO not kidding.) They lost a letter when Hayden ninja-kicked his brother in the throat (Oh, the screams.) They lost a letter when I found Hayden carrying the baby up the stairs (OMG!). And they lost a letter when they used scissors to cut the ribbons from soccer medals and then hid them behind the "God picture."

There were a few other incidents but I'd hate to give other little boys any ideas.

Here was the same sheet just minutes before the first showing of Kung Fu Panda:










That poor little tattered A barely made it. In fact, it should have been pulled off multiple times but I desperately needed two hours of peace and quiet while they were gone just didn't have the heart to keep them home.

All in all, the idea worked. I've been worried that the next movie I could bribe them with use to encourage appropriate behavior is WALL.E which only has four letters and well, that just won't cut it.

But guess what's on their movie short list now? The Incredible Hulk!

17 letters! Whoo Hoo!

Girl fight...and the one who gave up

I warned Reagan (13) that the constant picking on Sutton (18) was going to get her into trouble.

She wouldn't listen.


















Peyton wanted to "play" too but her sisters just wouldn't stop.












"Well, fine then..."










"...I'll just lie here and pout."