A sign?

So I had a dream last night that while walking to the eye doctor (which is about 35 miles away) I was accosted by a truly obnoxious teenage boy, who apparently had broken into my house and stolen all of my salsa that I had just finished canning. While I was screaming at him to give it back he decided to take the rings off and start pelting me with them. I very stealthily blocked them and actually ended up hitting him in the forehead with a couple of the deflected weapons. Then he got really mad at me and started throwing my jars of salsa at me. I don't remember if I was more upset that he was throwing things at me or because he was ruining all the salsa I had spent months making and preserving. Anyway, I was mad. I marched right into the eye doctor and told them that I wanted to call the police and get this kid arrested. Apparently I walked into a law office instead because the receptionist immediately started asking me what charges I would like to file against him. I couldn't get her to understand that he was right outside and if didn't call the police soon he'd get away and so we started filling out paperwork when all of the sudden Jacob walks in. He tells me that this kid came to the house (I guess I left him to watch the girls)and told me that he was really sorry and that I shouldn't call the police. Now I was trying to decide if I should keep filling out paperwork or go home with Jacob to get my girls who were now left unattended with a crazy kid that already knows how to get into my house running around. Jacob and I left together and then I woke up with a strange feeling that I should go and see if he got my peaches too.

Is this a sign that I have spent way too much time canning?

Twisty bun and ponytail

I am actually quite proud of this hairdo because I came up with it on my own. Most of the hairdo's I do are copies of other women's genius. So you just make a side ponytail and then start sectioning off small pieces. I made loose knots in each piece (literally a knot) and pinned them up. I left just a small section of the ponytail down and curled it into a ringlet. Slip in a pretty flower and she's ready for school or church.

A Family Photo, Finally

So remember my post from a few months ago and the disaster that ensued when trying to get a family picture. Well it took a few months, but we finally did it. These were taken by my sister-in-law Adelle (she also took that picture of Greg and I in my profile section, and I love it). The one of Annabelle may have been taken by my other sister-in-law Jessica. You can visit her website and drool over her pictures at www.jrandallportraits.com. Hooray for family photos! We only looked like this for a nanosecond though, I am glad we caught it.

What I really need to Google...

As I walked home from taking Jacob to school today I was thinking about how nice it would be if someone created a database, linked to a search engine like Google, that has a list of punishments(I like to call them consequences) that fit with the severity of the misbehavior. For instance, I would Google a sentence like this after my little incident with Jacob today, "What is the appropriate consequence for a child who holds a sit in (protest) at the edge of the playground insisting that he will not go to school?" After finally coercing said child to start walking by severe threats of losing all dinosaurs in his possession and also any video games he has ever even dreamed of playing I would then Google this scenario. "What do I do to a child who then walks about as slow as a two-legged turtle with a limp across a seemingly never-ending playground while his class is all waiting for him and the tardy bell has now rung? Teachers are telling him to hurry up and does he hurry, absolutely not. HE STOPS! HE STOPS! Eventually he does make it to his class line and goes into the school, still limping and now succeeding in making an entire 2nd grade class late." (He has a mosquito bite on his leg that apparently has rendered it useless, although it was fine until he hit the pain- inducing force field at the edge of the playground.) Now since there is no Google database that I am aware of with this function, what do you think should be the appropriate consequence for said actions? If anyone had seen me watching all of this unfold from across the street they would have seen the steam just shooting out of my ears, just like in the cartoons. This fuming mother only has an hour and a half before he comes home to decide his fate. Oh and it's got to be good...

First day of School!

It's amazing how the pliable the human brain is. So easily conditioned. When I was in college and even after Jacob was born I detested quiet. I wanted noise all the time, it's probably because that was what I was raised with and worked with, and lived with. I would go out of my way to make it noisier, like turning on the TV, simply for background noise. I rarely actually sat down and watched it at all. Now it's 1:40 in the afternoon on the first day of school 7 years later, Maddie and Annabelle are napping and I have had peace and quiet for almost 2 HOURS! And I love it. Obviously I miss my children, but just think what a happier mom I'll be at 2:45 because I had time to regroup in silence. Ahhh...don't you love school?

Here are a few pictures of my BIG kids going off to school. Jacob started 2nd grade and Lorelei started kindergarten, and Madalyn, she was a little bummed that she couldn't join them. The first picture is of our back to school party we had on Friday night. It was a blast!


It was torture for them to wait until I found my camera, they wanted that school bus cake!


Madalyn


Lorelei - Doesn't she look the part of a little school girl? As soon as I saw that outfit I knew it was meant for us. LOVE IT!


I wish the full body shot of Jacob hadn't come out blurry because then you could've seen his awesome shoes he picked out. Come to find out - Jacob has pretty good taste.

Even more pictures

Here are a few more random pictures from our trip to Nebraska. We just got back from our last trip of the summer and I have to say I am glad that we won't be stuck in the car for hours at a time for at least a couple of months. Now we just have to get ready for school (when did that happen?)


Lorelei and Madalyn after swimming at Star City Shores


Pondering even in her sleep (Annabelle)


Did you see the size of this bone???!!!


Having a "mammoth" good time


My kids loved hanging out with Uncle Jimmy

Finally She's Five Years Old!

Lorelei has been waiting for her fifth birthday since she found out 2 years ago that that is how old she needed to be to start school. It finally came! We got to celebrate in Nebraska and what a celebration it was. She got to open her presents with lots of family around, go to Toy Story 3, ride on a merry-go-round, eat pizza, and have this, if I do say so myself, fabulous cake. She was a Happy Birthday Girl. We love her sunshine and easy going spirit.



Madalyn was a little upset that it wasn't HER birthday!