kitten paws

I was lying in bed this morning with my littlest girl next to me and as she woke up I held her hands and rubbed her palms and fingers and realized that her hands are growing up. It made me sad because her hands are the littlest hands in my house and she is the last baby. If her hands are growing she must be growing too.

It wasn’t just how big her hands felt it was that they are losing their kitten paw quality. Do you know what I mean? You know when kittens are born they have those soft paws and until they get a little older. As your little kitten plays outside, and scratches around in the litter box those soft paws lose their kitten softness.

When babies are born they have the softest paws… errrr….. hands. Those little hands and feet feel like the softest silk. Baby hands bring me to my knees, and make my heart skip a beat. I rubbed those little hands and feet until my babies couldn’t stand it anymore.

This morning as I laid there with her next to me and she held my hand and I rubbed her little hands I realized that her little hands just aren’t the little kitten paws that they use to be. The digging in the sand, the crawling on the carpet away from chasing brothers, the climbing up the slide after friends has taken a toll on those little paws and they will never feel the same as they did for all those years before she decided to get bigger.

I love watching her grow- every single day is a treat and a surprise but I miss those little silky paws.

P.S. The move is going great. We should be in our new house by tomorrow- Woo Hoo!

obsessive organizing or smart planning?

Does it seem crazy to label the whole kitchen BEFORE I move in? I'm really trying to avoid the question, you know-

"MOM, where does this go, MOM where does that go?"

I can say "read the label".

So I know it's organized and labled, the question IS-

am I obsessive?

mantle?

do you like this idea? I found it on cookie magazine and loved it. I love the way Stepahnie Nielson decorates- she is very talented. I am looking forward to seeing pictures of her new house in Utah as she recovers and builds a new life- and Im sure she will do so with dignity and grace.

I love the idea of silhouettes on the mantle- silhouettes are a perfectly wonderful way to decorate. I made them this year for our family members for Christmas. They came out so delightful- everyone loved them! I typically forget to make myself one when I make everyone else something so I only have one of Kid3, his was an experiment and I loved it!

Here is a picture of his silhouette- I made my families smaller like ornaments to hang on their trees, one of each kid.

Im still in moving madness mode I;m sure things will get back to normal eventually right?

RIGHT????

moving madness!

I went to bed early and now I’m up late… why does that happen?

I spend all the time I have to myself, you know the shower, the occasional time I can go to the bathroom alone, the few minutes I fall asleep- thinking about how to decorate this new house. I think I’m obsessed! The walls are much taller in this house. Am I going to hang everything too low? You know how you visit some people’s houses and they tend to have everything WAY too high? I am a low hanger- I like things at eye level. Tall walls could equal disaster for me! I lay in bed thinking about those tall walls and keep telling myself that I will be fine, the walls and I will come to an agreement about what to hang on them if anything at all in the tall spots.
Moving is such madness. I think I’m going mad!

Dear old house,
We have certainly enjoyed the warmth and shelter you have provided this last year but we must move onto a bigger floor plan. You’ll love your new family, they will probably be quieter, certainly less messy and probably have fewer kids.

Dear old neighbors,
I can’t say that I will miss the grouchiness or the keeping a constant eye on my teenage daughter because your son is so “cute”. I can’t say that I’ll miss your mood swings and daily changing of your rules- yes they can play at the basketball courts- no they can’t leave the yard- weird rules! I doubt I’ll miss that when you drive by and my little girl waves so sweetly at you that you totally ignore her and never wave back. You probably didn’t know that she almost never interacts with strangers and to wave at you is a big deal for her. When kids wave- WAVE BACK! I doubt I’ll miss your HUGE 80’s hair, the damage you must be doing to the ozone and your many strange habits… but I have been wrong before.

Dear security gate,
I won’t miss you. I know that you work relentlessly day in and day out never failing to open for me but I don’t really think your deterring anyone. Sorry that you have to work so hard for nothing.

Dear mailbox,
I have longed for you to be closer when we’re trotting through the rain to collect your insides; I don’t really see missing you.

Dear park across the street,
You provided hours of fun for my kids and for this I appreciate you! You would have to twist my arm to say that I will miss your sand in my carpets. I will miss your slide and the hours of entertainment you have provided my kids.

Dear neighborhood pool,
I will miss you but not nearly as much as my kids will. They loved your refreshing cool water in the heat of summer. You met their ever growing summer needs and for this I love you!

Dear other neighbor,
I have never met you or seen you but you are a dream neighbor and the quietest neighbor anyone could ever hope for. I hope you get a quiet neighbor to replace us- you deserve it!

Dear readers,
Aren’t you sweet for reading this boring post? Thank you! Hopefully I’ll have more great things to write in the new house. We are moving in Thursday and hope to have our computers up and running on Friday. Pray that I don’t go any more mad….

venting

Teenagers are very misunderstood. I know this may seem crazy but they are I know I’m right because I have two. Two misunderstood teens that I created all on my own (you know what I mean).

Teens so often get a bad rap; adults look at them and think they are up to now good, lying, cheating or stealing. I often feel bad for teens because I remember being one. I felt so very misunderstood.

There was one person who truly understood me as a teen and I loved her deeply. I spent as much time with her as possibly, I babysat her kids and soaked up her thoughts, words and goodness. I learned more from Hazel than anyone could ever hope to learn from one single person and she loved me, awkward teen and all. When she spoke to me, I knew that it was genuine, from her heart and true. She never spoke down to me, even if she scolded me, and trust me she did many times. She earned my respect by respecting me. I used her as an excuse to stay out of lots of trouble by saying I had to babysit. I can close my eyes now and see her so clearly.

She died many years ago and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her for a thousand reasons. She was my role model, my rock, and my safe place as a teen. Losing her was certainly like losing a piece of me.

In hard mothering times I miss her even more. I wonder what she would tell me now as I struggle through times with my teens. I wonder how she would tell me to handle the mean neighbors who have said bad and un-true things about my children. I wonder what she would tell me about them having cell phones- good idea or bad. I wonder what she would say about them starting to drive, date and move into adulthood? I wish she were here to guide me.

My teenagers, Kid1 and Kid2 are truly good kids. Kid1 is a skater kid so I think he gets harshly judged because of it and I hate it. He loves to skateboard, right now it’s his passion in life to learn new tricks and ride fast, he is truly talented. Isn’t that what we all strive for in life; a passion, something we love and look forward to each day? I’m thrilled that his passion is skateboarding. He could be drinking, cursing and doing drugs, but he isn’t. My Kid is spending his time skateboarding outside our house with his baby sister cheering him on. This kid is the first kid to help anyone, anytime. He is a good hearted boy with a love of a skateboard. Bad thing? I don’t think it is!

Kid2 is such a sweet girl. She has really struggled to fit in here. She had such a safety net of friends and adults who supported her and truly loved her for who she was in Texas. Moving really hit her hard and I hate that my neighbors have said mean things to her. When she was in 4th grade she started a Morning Prayer group, when someone in school is the underdog she always helps them out, she looks into others hearts and can see good in anyone. She reads endless books to her baby sister, baths her, sets up entire sleepovers for her and is so sweet to Kid4 who truly is an annoying little sister.

I never cease to be proud of my kids. I am amazed daily at them, at their niceness, their genuineness, their realness and their hearts. I am so thankful to God for these children who are nowhere near perfect but who keep me on the edge of my seat every day waiting for the next great saga. My teenagers are indeed teens. But isn’t a teenagers job to be a teen? Aren’t they suppose to be a little awkward, figure out things the hard way, get their hearts broken, and make you a little crazy? If they skipped this whole process would they still be the same when they were adults?

I like my teens, I just do. I wouldn’t trade them for anything and my neighbor is truly missing out on nice kids who are willing to help, support and be lifelong friends with whoever they meet without judgment.

HEY NEIGHBOR!

I hope you get the Osborne’s as your new neighbors!

moving to a new house

I’m moving to a new house and I’m trying to reach daily goals. We are moving in 6 days- next Thursday and I am wavering back and forth about if I am either going to have so much packed that we won’t comfortably make it through the weekend and the beginning of next week, or will I not have enough packed so I will be frantically throwing things in boxes at the last minute? Does that even make sense?

Moving with kids is a delicate balance! I mean when it comes right down to the brass tacks (I always wanted to say that-hee hee) of things there is very little that we REALLY need to survive… BUT… also I like everyone to be comfortable at all times. If you know me well you know that I DO NOT travel unprepared, here are a few examples-

· When the kids were little and we lived in Colorado Springs, I had a stash of those boxed “heater” meals and a survival kit for each kid in case we ever got stranded in the snow. I never got stranded and Bat Girl made me throw them away- she’s a sucker for an expiration date.
· When Kid2 was on a girl’s soccer team, a little girl fell and broke her arm and in my trunk was an emergency kit and a roll of tin foil. We were able to use the tin foil roll as a stabilizer for her arm.
· Once a friend of mine’s keyboard went out while I was over and I had one in my trunk- if you love your computer- you know this IS an emergency!
· I use to have a roll of waxed paper in my trunk at all times for bad slides at the park- if you slide using waxed paper you can go really fast and the kids loved it!
· In my purse there is a manicure kit, a sewing kit, wipes, 2 kinds of anti-bac, Lysol, alcohol wipes, a small emergency kit…. Need I go on?

I always have jumper cables (almost always- there was that bad truck stop incident that I didn’t have them… only J would remember that one, an emergency kit, a roll of tin foil – only that once, and whatever someone might need.

ANYWAY- this is not a post about travelling, we are moving to the next town over only 20 minutes away and I do not need too much but still I struggle to pack the plates- will I leave out enough? The glasses- might we need ONE more drink? What about the beds? Should all the beds go last? If they go last will we be sleeping in a house with nothing but beds? That means no curtains, no clothes to get dressed in, no bathroom items- no glasses, like I said what if we get thirsty? I’m a total planner and I cannot for the life of me figure out the best way to plan this whole thing out. It’s not like we’re moving far but if you wake up in the middle of the night needing something, 20 minutes seems a little far to go get a glass!

I’m a major planner but I’m not good at it. I write list after list but sometimes the lists are too detailed or not enough detail, sometimes I write “make a list” on my list… is that weird?
We are excited about our move, it’s a much bigger house, more space, great yard- just the perfect house, and we love it! The kids have walked through it planning and thinking of all the new memories each will make in the new house. I keep laying in bed decorating it in my head- there are WAY more walls in this house. OH THE STRESS!

So moving just 15 minutes away is leaving me feeling just a little unprepared for meals, bathtimes, homeschool and daily life in general!

Just look at this cute house! Isn’t it totally us? Well we have to give the real credit to Bat Girl- she found this fantastic house over the Christmas and we all fell in love with it!

Sweetest thing

This is Kid3 and Kid4 having the sweetest talk. I love it!

It's a little grainy because it's from my cell phone.

These are the special conversations that life are all about!

more gross

I know it seems as though my blog has gone terribly gross all of a sudden and I can’t really deny it- I have had quite a few gross stories posted lately and here’s another-

Have you heard of the foot detox? It’s quite a strange thing that Bat girl and I have been interested in doing for at least a year now and we got our opportunity while she was here and we decided to do it. With weak stomachs and hairy legs we reluctantly put our feet into crystal clean water and were assured a detoxifying experience.

I’m not sure if it worked or not but the pictures speak for themselves! We were more and more grossed out as the time went by and the water got darker. Poor Kid4 sat with disgust and was holding her nose for a good share of the 30 minutes.

Did I feel like a new girl? Maybe a little… I was grouchy and thirsty… does that count?

Is it a scam? Who can know in this day and age.

a puzzling new year

What is your new year tradition? Do you party like it's..... well you know? Do you spend it with friends or family? Do you spend it alone in the quiet?

Our family has always done a puzzle and spent it together and as we have grown older I insist that my kids are home- off the streets, and doing a puzzle at home with us. I know it sounds lame but it's a nice to start the new year doing what you hope to do a lot of the rest of the year and to me that means spending the new year doing something calm and all together.

I waited till the last minute to pick a puzzle this year and so Bat Girl and I ran out last minute to get our puzzle and there was really not a lot to choose from. There was the Obama puzzle- I don't like doing puzzles of people. There was the puzzle of arctic animals- they were almost all white and I felt like it would be too hard. The only other one to chose was a puzzle of a painting left over from Black Heritage month. It seemed like it was good for the kids, and something that we would enjoy. It looked like a good one and not super hard so we grabbed it.

Here's the thing- the picture on the front of the box was not exactally the same as the actual puzzle. The picture says it all I'm sure and my kids were dying of embarassment and laughter as it sat on my table for 3 days while we finished it! This puzzle was hard and inappropraite. Im hoping that my new year won't be hard and inappropriate! We'll see!

Happy new year friends, I hope your turns out to be exactally what you dream of!

New Year

Friends, family, food and fun.

We have had the absolute best time with our best friends who are really just an extension of ourselves... We feel whole again being all together.

We've eaten great, played good and bad games, put together one HECK of a puzzle, watched movies and laughed ourselves sick.

what more could anyone ask for in a new year?