H...e....double hockey sticks

Can I just admit I am feeling a lot like this these days??? A trip to the pool with two sweet boys age 8 and 13 will do that to me, combined with a little too much healthy radio addiction (Hello...turn it off!), Greece, and a ton of other stuff. Good thing there's prayer and such. I get like this sometimes, a little crazed let's just say, and my dear husband is smart enough to just let it slide. When I say things like, "I change my mind, I don't care if my kids drown, I want my own pool!" He just says "OK." and lets it go. Smart man.

Anywho, summer is here and we are excited! We'll be doing a bit of homeschooling to keep up our skills! That's our favorite phrase for some reason it just works magic in making my kids work on academic stuff...they must have their mother's competitive streak. Next week includes swim lessons, but not before an exciting cousin visit. Then a long overdue trip to NOVA to see the fam.

Beanie wants to go to California so she can see her cousins S. and C. because she thinks they live there together, never mind that she's never seen those two cousins from two different places and sides of the family at the same time. She also wants to know when she can stay in a hotel and get "breakfast food". It is amazing what kids remember and how they remember it.

Diamonds might be a girl's best friend....

but this woman's BFFs are prayer, coffee, and eyeliner in that order!

Coming soon...

a post on the minivan as metaphor for the soul. (And it has nothing to do with the swagger wagoon!)

Birthday Boy

I am now the proud parent of an 8 year old. This is big....I remember being 8 years old. This really means I have to stop trying to fake this parenting stuff and had better start getting it for real!!! I love how he still thinks he's getting bigger with every birthday and insists he didn't turn 8 until 1am last night because that's when he was really born. I also love how he's such a team player and is, for the most part, really good to all of his sisters. In return, they are good to him. They just sat watching him hit golf balls today and I just kept hearing, "Good shot birthday boy!" It is good to remember those times that they are all actually getting along.

He's all boy...loved his archery set but was excited about a little play hamster too. I am happy there's still so much innocence in him because I know that's hard to come by these days. I think other little boys he knows seem to have, sad to say, lost their imaginations, so I am glad he still has his. I love how he belly laughs at story time...Mrs. Piggle Wiggle can bring him to tears.

Did I mention he finally got a hit in baseball the other night? Not only was it a hit, but a RBI AND he made it to home. Just what the doctor ordered after a long string of KOs and foul balls. I loved hearing him explain it to everyone in an excited tone. Reminds me to be thankful for the little things!

Rough day at the office...

Today's events included a baseball practice a lunch date and a trip to the driving range with 5 kids. Sometimes I forget that I am actually just better off NEVER leaving my house with all of my children much less an extra one, particularly when P. is out of town.

You would not believe the looks I was getting at the driving range. In exasperation at one point I let them all go to the practice sand pit to try out their pitching wedges while I kept the baby at the whole other end of the range with all our stuff. What could go wrong right? Wrong. They weren't in my line of sight totally and all of a sudden I hear the starter yell, "Hey watch what you are doing you are going to hit someone!" That was the end of that. Yes, today I was *that* mom, the harried lady who bit off more than she could chew. But it was worth it when the birthday boy turned to his buddy and said, "Wow!!! That was fun wasn't it?" at the end of it all.

Minivans are cool....

No seriously. Really!!! This made me laugh so hard that I had to share. Thanks for sharing Sara! I love how Toyota totally knows their market.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4&feature=player_embedded

If your filter blocks youtube like mine does it is totally worth pulling it down temporarily! : )

Fierce Baby's Feast

So, I put all the plates on the table with the food on them already when Paul isn't at dinner. Tonight I sit down and immediately start grace, bowing reverently because you know I am so good and all. Anyway, we finish and I try to start eating only to see that my brat, complete with bun, has been swiped by Momo who is chomping away at it. This after she had already eaten a half of brat!!! She just looked up and smiled as if to say, "Yummy! Good stuff!" I guess she is in touch with her German side!