When life hands you lemons...

squeeze em, add water & sugar



and make lemonade!

For Nie

Go to



You will find such an outpouring of support, love and care for Nie and Christian. Today is NieNie Day......if you can help by donating, do so. Prayers and good thoughts will help too!

Woo-ee-oo, I look just like Buddy Holly.

I wish I had his fashion sense......

Not your typical Monday morning.

Natalie got to take a bath without any of her siblings bothering her! Oh the joy! Our little curly q didn't know what to do, she was so happy.


After her bath and her banana, she sat down and read one of her favorite books, God loves you. It was so nice to spend time with her and only her. She is a sweet girl, learning and changing so much every day. I love this time that we get to share.

You affect me.

Every single one of you. Whether I lurk, comment occasionally, or have become bloggy friends, you & your blog affect me. I feel like I know you, even if we have never cyber-met. So, that is why yesterday was tough. I visit her blog daily and am inspired by her love of life, her children, her family and her husband. She has amazing style and such a great sense of humor. Saturday she, along with a flight instructor and her husband, were in a horrible plane crash. It broke my heart for her, her husband, their 4 small children and her family, as well as, the flight instructor's family. They are all in my prayers and I know that they will be fine with the support of their family & many, many friends.

Check out her blog here...you will see what I am talking about. You all affect me!

And if after reading her blog and her sister's blog, you feel as compelled as I to donate....please do!

Seven things I like about

my life right now....(besides the 5 you already know....C,T,L,M & N)

1. This adorable dress I found at Old Navy for $12! Fashion accessories(smile, sneaks, toothpaste stain on the front) provided by Lindsey.

2. A semi-clean kitchen...just kidding. Our new fridge & stove! Oh, and the new green paint on the wall. Still have to pick up a new range hood, but I am okay til then.

3. My crazy hair 2 year old singing her heart out with bunny ears on...all the while holding a margarita glass(hey, they were on clearance and are so much more fun to play with). What was she singing? See you again from Miley Cyrus. I told you guys, Disney is invading our home and not Mickey Mouse(that I could handle). 4. My wonderful husband priming the back room. Finally. Am I the only one who sings that song by Cece Peniston whenever I say finally?I can't wait to paint it and make it our playroom.5. That my husband is happy with my gourmet sandwiches of swiss, turkey, lettuce and tomato. Seriously...include some pickles and some iced tea and he is sooo happy!6. Lindsey wants to help me cook all the time. Here she is perfecting the art of mashed potatoes. Really, could her smile get any bigger or cuter?

7. That our kids are this excited about FFFNOs. What you don't know about these? We call them Family Fun Friday Night Out. We hit Sonic....and I meant to make Jill proud and order a bag of ice, but forgot. Next time.

Oh and how could I forget this wonderful highlight of my week so far.

GOOD MAIL!!!

From my friend, Lori, I rec'd this huge box. Okay, yes we are partners in her fall swap and I knew she would be sending something nice, but I didn't expect all these goodies!Can you see why I was jumping up and down with giddiness? She was so generous and sweet to send me 8 pumpkin placecard holders, yankee candles, fall pasta, very cool autumn dishtowels, Bath & Body works antibacterial soap in my FAVORITE scent...irresistible apple! And the nicest sign in the shape of a gourd that says...Friends Gather here. I absolutely love it!Did I mention that she included candy corn and peanuts for my sweet tooth? Also, the most adorable card w/a sweet message inside, along with a basket with a bunch of fun ribbons tied to the handles. I can tell you this box made me pretty excited for fall to arrive.

Lori, thank you so much for it all. AND for hosting the swap. You are really a sweet person.

Where I win parent of the year...

I went to Walgreens to pick up Lindsey's prescription(she has a nodule on her eyeball...what???) and as we pull up to the drive-thru, Natalie starts asking for "chicken and milk". Uhhh, we don't go to McDonalds much. It was so funny and pretty sad that she is 2 and already knows way too much about fast food dining.

And so it begins.

School started for us on Monday. I know! August 11th? It doesn't seem right to me. It seems to be earlier and earlier every year. I decided we were going to try to be a little more friendly to our environment. I set the kids up with a lunch box, stainless steel thermos & snack container and washable sandwich bags. No more Ziploc bags or at least not as many. With 4 kids you tend to use alot of em. Anyhow, onto the 1st day hoopla, well, that wasn't.

This is the type of cooperation I got from Michael.

from Tyler(I had to prove to everyone that I do TRY to take photos of Tyler, but would you want this irritated, anxious, mad face all over your blog?)

and Lindsey, the only child that came through for Mommy's desperate need of 1st day of school photos.

I mean really, is this what you all go through to get a photo too? I do love this photo however. Both of my babies in 1 shot...imagine that!

Lindsey's self portrait.....I love this sweet child o' mine.

Lindsey was the lucky one to have Daddy take her to school. She was so happy to ride with him and just "be" with him. Alone time is a hard thing for us to get a handle on around here, so it was pretty special to the both of them. Once she got to theplayground, she was off and running. Do you love the red socks? She picked them. She was so proud.

Here she is in her new classroom. She is smiling nicely and she seems excited.

I think this shot explains alot about how she was feeling. A little nervous.
And then, this is where my husband wins Husband of the year. He calls me on the cell phone so we could talk

about who was in her class and how proud I was of her. 29 students to 1 teacher. This year ought to be interesting.

At the same time on the other side of town, Michael was busy
signing/stamping into his new classroom.


Finding the shirt with his name on it,

hanging it on the clothesline,giving Mom one smile on the playground




and waiting anxiously in line to go into class. He did so well. He kissed me good-bye with no drama and I couldn't have been prouder.

Back at home Natalie and I played "see how pretty my shoes are?" Don't you love the ladybug? I also had to include the 2nd pic, because I loved how the sun hit it just right.

While Natalie & I played together, Michael & Charles got their haircut. Oh my gosh, is he a cutie or what?

When we picked up Lindsey I had planned on taking some photos of her in her room and with her teacher, but there was drama. She couldn't find her lunchbox....the lunchbox that I just filled with all those "greener and pricier" containers. The search was on. We looked everywhere and I happened to look in a 3rd grade class and found it. Did the teacher even notice that there were 4 lunchboxes still in her basket and no children in the school? I wonder if anyone else "misplaced" theirs in her class. After we found it, she was able to pose for a pic. I love that you can see the sky in the school door windows.


Taking a quick drink from her found thermos. All was right in the world again. We then went to pick up Tyler and was met with so much resistance to the camera that I don't even have any that look like the pic from above. He had a really good day and was so pleased to have Musical Theatre and Drama on his schedule. Hope it is a good year for him.



Natalie was happy that it was the 1st day of school, cause you know that there is always a trip to DQ involved. Please note, Lindsey's happiness is all over her face.

There you have it. All my babies are growing up. All of them.