Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Best Part

One of the best things about James and Audrey’s daddy working at the same school they go to is that he is privy to some insider information about them that probably not all parents are privileged with. For example, Jon was walking down the hall one day last week and ran into (okay he didn’t actually run into him in a physical form but passed him in the hall) the music teacher/band director. The Music Man said “Hey I’ve got a funny story for you about James.” Imagine that, a funny story about our boy :)


On the first day of music for this school year, the Music Man asked if any of the kids did any thing exciting this summer?! James was the first to raise his hand (shocker I know) and proceeded to tell the Music Man “Yeah!! We went to our grandparents for a whole week this summer!” The Music Man said “Oh that sounds like a lot of fun James! How wonderful!” James replied with “Yeah it was. And the best part was that our parents weren’t even there.”

As Jon was telling me this, those words stung for about 3.5 seconds and then we both started laughing and I said “Yep he is right. That was THE BEST PART.” Muhahahahahaha!!!!!


Friday, August 7, 2015

2+1 is 80

Olivia loves to tell James and Audrey that she is smarter than them. Here are my favorites:

Olivia: Audrey I so am smarter than you
James: Yeah well whats 2+1?
Olivia: 80!!!!

Olivia: I so am smarter than you Audrey!
Audrey: Oh yeah well how many legs does a spider have?
Olivia: 8!!!
Audrey: Nope! They have 6!!!

Hahahahaha oh Audrey I guess she is smarter than you this time!!!






Thursday, August 6, 2015

The One Where She turned Four

Olivia turned 4 years old on June 22. While I did not write her a birthday letter and blog about her birthday on her birthday this year, rest assured we partied in style and its sure to be a birthday she won’t forget! Having boy/girl twins its hard to throw parties because they have to be gender neutral. Well I guess they don’t HAVE to be but I hate dislike birthday parties enough with out having to throw two different ones on the same day or even the same week. Twice a year is really pushing it for me :)

So, I’ve never been able to have a really girlie kinda party and this year I thought it would be super duper cool to do a fancy tea party for my baby girl. She LOVES to play tea party, we play it often and when I mentioned it to her she was thrilled! So I stalked Pinterest for a few days pinning any and everything that caught my eye and took ideas (big or small) from several different pictures and threw the best stinking tea party 7th Ave has ever seen :)







 I made this cake and I didn’t threaten to cancel all birthdays for the rest of our lives while
in the process either. It was the easiest time I’ve ever had making a cake and it only took 8 years
to achieve this goal!! You may remember the twins 5th birthday that included the Barbie cake
and the Angry Birds cake and my admittance of seeing myself as cake baker extrodinare when
in reality, I’m so not :) 















Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Zip on the lam

Pretty positive every one who reads my blog is friends with me either on Facebook, Instagram or perhaps both. So, I will spare you the great depths of details that that this story could delve into and start out by saying, Y’all remember the hermit crab James got last Summer? The one he lovingly named Stubborn because he kept trying to escape his little cage? Yes, ok, I’m sure y’all do.

Now, fast forward a few months after that and their daddy lucked up on some stuff that the BOE was discarding (we are such dumpster divers. not literally but figuratively, ya know?!) and wouldn’t you know among some of the stuff he went through was a larger cage. After Stubborn settled into his larger home he quit trying to escape :)

Now rewind to our summer this year. Audrey decided she wanted a hermit crab, too, so she and James learned to fold clothes and folded about 1,00 loads of laundry for me (all while watching The Brady Bunch!) and earned enough money to buy themselves two hermit crabs each! Woo.hoo.

Wait, rewind again. James got into this horrible habit of leaving the top off of Stubborn’s cage to which I assume was only because he was too lazy to put it back on when he got done feeding or watering or taking him out for a stroll. And it was a habit that I strongly reprimanded him for time and time again but he just refused for whatever reason to head my warnings. You see where this is going, don’t you? Yeah.

Now we are caught up to present day hermit crab shenanigans. Our kids are weird because they like to PLAY with their hermit crabs. Like get them out and watch them crawl around together on the floor. It’s sad really. But not sad enough for us to cave on the “no cats, no dogs” rule :) I digress. On Sunday afternoon whilest I was relaxing on the couch I noticed my two eldest children looking under furniture and pillows and what not. When I asked what they were looking for James says, “Well I really don’t wanna tell you.” He eventually did and at first I thought they were just pulling a joke on me because it was just so unbelievably wild. He says “Well this morning while I was getting cereal out of the pantry I happened to look down and I saw Zip under the cabinet. But I DIDN’T PICK HIM UP RIGHT THEN and when I went back just now to get him he was gone.”

HE WAS WHERE??!! YOU WHAT??!!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SAW THE CRAB IN THE KITCHEN AND DIDN’T PICK HIM UP???? See? See why I thought they were tricking me? It’s ludicrous, isn’t it? Insanity I tell ya.
I mean #1 how in the ever living world did a hermit crab get down stairs in the first place and secondly why would that boy choose to keep walking after seeing his CRAB in the kitchen? As you can see, it still boggles my mind. We searched high and low for that stupid dumb crab to no avail. We finally accepted the fact that Zip had found a deep dark whole to crawl into and stay to die. James learned a few very valuable lessons on Sunday, bless his heart.

Yesterday, after the kids got home from school, I was in the kitchen (can you believe it) and Audrey starts screaming “I FOUND ZIP!!! I FOUND ZIP!!!” I couldn’t believe it but she sure had. That stupid dumb crab was at the bottom of the stairs. Apparently he decided that there was nothing for him downstairs and was trying to get back to his home. Can you guess where the lid is to that cage now?



Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Its me again, Margret

Yes, yes. It’s been awhile. Lets just skip all the formalities and act as if we’ve been talking regularly for the past 3 months!!

The great Summer of 2015 comes to a close the day after tomorrow for the kids and sadly enough it came to a screeching halt for J and myself yesterday. Let me assure you that after 9 weeks of sleeping until your eyes slowly opened on their own (OR sleeping until a certain 4 year old violently shook you awake because she couldn’t reach the milk!) that yesterday morning the 5:45 a.m. alarm was crude, rude and an abomination to all things lovely. And day two was no better. Blech.

I spent the majority of yesterday digging us out of the pile of laundry that built up over the summer. Yeah, you know it was bad when your eldest daughter says “YES!!! I've been looking for those shirts all Summer!” :)

We had a fantastic summer and there is so much to share! I just don’t know if I will ever get it all on here but I’m gonna give it my best shot so check back frequently :)










Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Snaggle tooth Bubs

His smile is infectious and so is his laugh. And I am going to be so very sad when those two front teeth grow back. I could look at him all day long he’s so adorable. He’s been so helpful these last few weeks; always offering to help me in the kitchen or his daddy out side. Which is not your typical 7 yr old behavior. He wolfs down his supper every.single.night. and always gives a rave review about it. Now if that won’t keep me slaving away in the kitchen I don’t know what will!!

 He’s hot to trot since he reached red dot status AR level at school and has been reading chapter books left and right and made all A Honor Roll, again :) Smarty pants.

He’s playing pitching machine baseball at the Rec Dept this Spring and while he and most of the other kids on his team are um, terrible, they LOVE being out there and are all in when out on that field. He’s made a few really good plays and while he’s yet to hit the ball while at bat, he’s still got a few more games to try! I bought him a T last week and have been “making” him (he gladly does it) go out there and hit the ball off it every evening.

He has started to care about how he dresses (at church) and I am beyond excited for this!! He and his little buddy Cason help lead sining at church every Sunday and you will just have to come visit us to see how stinking cute they are! And to hear them cause they sing just as loud as they can and even “start” a few songs here and there :) Absolutely precious!!





Monday, March 30, 2015

That time a year ago

I have a laundry list (isn’t that what they call it?) of things waiting on me that need to get done and sitting at this computer looking through pictures and blogging is not on there. Maybe I should get up and go pencil it in so that when I am through here I can go mark it of my list and feel productive!!
Yes, that is what I will do!

I sat down looking for something else and ended up looking through pics from last year around this time and was hit by a huge wave of nostalgia and other emotional feelings. So I felt inclined to blog about it. Aren’t you lucky?

We’ve been back in this house for almost one year now, May 2 will be a year. When I think back (and I do often) on how March and April of 2014 were spent, it makes me tired and sad and happy all at the same time. It also humbles me because I am reminded of all the many lessons we learned during that period of our lives. And lastly it makes me so grateful that our lessons were short lived and the repercussions did not last to very long.

It makes me tired thinking of how we literally busted our behinds for 2 months working on that house. It makes me sad thinking about how much time we lost with our kids during that particular point and how miserable Jon and I ended up being out there. And it makes me happy remembering how much pure fun our kids had while we were there. They came home, did their homework and went outside and didn’t come back in until bed time. They climbed trees and learned to ride their bikes and just had the best time kids could have. I can still hear their happy squeals through that kitchen window!! They loved it so!

It humbles me when I remember the most important lesson we learned is that you have to wait on the Lord. You cannot MAKE His will your will. If you try, you will create a disaster.

It makes me grateful because our disaster was fairly easy to recover come. We certainly didn’t deserve that but the Lord is merciful and He chose to bless us that way. For that I am grateful.

We moved back 3 weeks before school was out. As sad as we all were to leave that little house I cannot begin to describe the relief we experienced when we finally spent that 1st night back. I can’t describe it but I will never forget it. Never.

Note: All these pictures were taken around the 1st week we moved back



helping his mama practice with her light in door ways

contemplating life back on 7th Ave

throwing the ball on top of the roof



the still very rare occasion that these two laugh and play together :)


this was right before she lost her very 1st tooth

grandaddy came for field day at school




Tuesday, March 17, 2015

The Struggle Is Real, Y'all

The struggle of life is real. The struggle to stay on task is real. The struggle to stay caught up is real. But today the struggle to learn to ride a tricycle when you have extra short legs, now that is real. Bless her heart. We’re trying, we’re learning and one day our legs will grow enough where we don’t have to struggle!!






Real quick, I did send my camera off and I did have a few things repaired on it and even though I’ve only used it twice since it came back, wow. I wish I had sent it off months and months ago!! Well worth the money. And as far as printing off pictures goes, I finally dived in and tried a new printing company that had been recommended to me and printed of about 65 pics just to see and I was very impressed. Mpix is the company and I highly recommend them!! Super fast turn over time and awesome quality!! I also had 3 large canvas printed and finally got them hung on the wall. I’m no where near being done but I feel very good about my efforts and will most certainly continue!!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

I thought I had lost them all....

All my pictures in Lightroom that is. I know. I sat at the computer trying to tell myself that it was not possible. I then sat at my computer telling myself to figure it out on my own and not run outside screaming to Jon that my life as I knew it was over. So I sat here at this desk hyperventilating and bawling like a baby while I googled my problem and found the answer. You can really solve any thing with google these days. Well, almost anything! What happened, you ask? Well I am doing some serious cleaning an purging and organizing to my files and downloaded the latest version of Lightroom. I was unaware that it would open in a different way and when I went to find a certain picture, I couldn’t find any thing. Sheer panic I tell ya!! While all this was going on I kept reminding myself that my three children were still alive and in the living room watching t.v. so life would go on. But all I could think about was all the priceless, timeless pictures of my children living their life, doing every day things. I kept thinking about all the shots of their eye lashes and their little hands performing tasks and the quiet little moments that I quietly shoot while they are unaware that I am in the room. And that is what stopped my heart. Not the portraits or even the holidays. It was the everyday things that I will never be able to recall to mind. And that was the serious wake up call that I needed to get my rear into action and start PRINTING my pictures. Whether it be snap shots for an album or memory books or portraits to hang on the wall, they are going to be printed. Its about time we start enjoying my “art” any way. Why in the world would I continue to let 2 years worth of timeless moments of our lives just sit on my hard drive? Insanity, I tell ya. Insanity. So, the next time you come to my house, be prepared to ooohhh and awwww :)



 Moving on. The last 3 months around here have just been marvelous. Busy at times but then whats new? My blog stalker asked me the other day “Are you telling me that nothing exciting has happened in your children’s lives over the last 2 months?” Hahahaha!!! I love my blog stalker :)


Exciting things happen every day even if it’s just fight #1232 that I’ve had to break up between my eldest and my youngest. No kidding now, those 2 have been fighting like cats and dogs lately. It’s been rough and I’ve decided that it’s just a sheer test of my will. And my patience and my ability to give them grace and mercy at the times they need it most. Y’all, the struggle is real!!


Here is a run down of the things that have been happening lately. And by run down, lets see how much I can remember before Angel Baby Face wakes up and wants me to play babies!!



1. Audrey Grace tested into the “Gifted” program which is incredibly exciting and wonderful news for her!! Her brother did not, unfortunately, and one day I will sit down and write all about why I think the public school gifted system is a crock. In the meant time, I better find him an art teacher so that he can pass the next time he is tested. Yep, its a crock.

2. James and Audrey both have made all A Honor Roll so far this year and have both made their A.R. goal. Audrey is reading her red dot books and James just made it to that level. He was super proud of himself!!

3. Olivia. Well, Olivia keeps us all in stitches (when she’s not making us want to jam pencils in our eyes) and she keeps me busy. All day long. She loves to help around the house and has really gotten into role playing (cue the baby talk) and we have to go upstairs every day to play tea party and play with her My Little Pony Castle and all the little ponies. I’ve decided to NOT send her to preschool in the Fall. I just cannot bare to part with her yet. Hers will only be 4 and it’s such a long day and this is the reason I stay at home any way. So we don’t have to send the kids off to something they/we are not ready for!!

4. James is going to play baseball this year, pitching machine baseball to be exact. Im a little nervous about that but he’s over the moon excited!

5. The girls are still dancing up a storm on Tuesday’s and Olivia is very impressive with all the terms she’s learned and she practices her moves every day! Audrey has come a long way since last year and it’s amazing to see her in action. I’m so proud of her. The recital this year will be The Princess and the Frog and Audrey will be one of Charlotte’s whispers but we don’t know what Olivia will be. But I do know that I can hardly wait to see her up on that stage!!

Till next time.....