It came. She went.

It finally happened.



There's no turning back now.

She was ready to go.

She's at school.
Gabe's becoming more and more independent and wants me less.
Riah and Dot are in Arkansas.
Jesus. I don't know what to do with myself.

On the upside, no tears were shed from anyone.

June Photo Challenge - Day 16

Day 16 - Mason Jars/Jelly Jars

These are repurposed jars I made for a reward system for the kids.
Okay, not "made". But...I mod podge'd the letters onto them. And then I painted the lids with chalkboard paint. I'm not sure how well that'll work yet, but I planned on making a post about the whole system. So we'll see. :)

June Photo Challenge - Day 15

Day 15 - Motion

What gives more motion than bubbles that magically float in the air?

I love bubbles. I'll never grow out of that love.

June Photo Challenge - Day 14

June 14 - Someone You Love

Oh, my dear husband.
He deals with so much craft crap.
I love him so much.

June Photo Challenge - Day 13

Day 13 - Reminds You Of Childhood.

Daring duck of mystery, 

Champion of right, 

Swoops out of the shadows, 

Darkwing owns the night. 

Somewhere some villain schemes, 

But his number's up. 

(3-2-1) Darkwing Duck (When there's trouble you call DW)

Darkwing Duck (Let'sget dangerous) 

Darkwing Duck (Darkwing, Darkwing Duck!) 

Cloud of smoke and he appears, 

Master of surprise. 

Who's that cunning mind behind 

That shadowy disguise? 

Nobody knows for sure, 

But bad guys are out of luck. 

'Cause here comes (Darkwing Duck) 

Look out! (When there's trouble you call DW) 

Darkwing Duck (Let's get dangerous) 

Darkwing Duck (Better watch out, you bad boys) 

Darkwing Duck!

June Photo Challenge - Day 12

Day 12 - Sun Flare.



Lookie! There's a bunny caught in my flare!

June Photo Challenge - Day 11

Day 11 - Silhouette

<3 My babies.

June Photo Challenge - Day 10

Day 10 - Animal.

This is Izzy, aka Isabel, aka Izzerkinz.
And I chose her picture for today because..well...I haven't yet posted any photos of the disastrous hair cut I gave her. She's uneven and choppy and just rough looking. It definitely didn't make her any cuter, though she honestly wasn't all that adorable to begin with.
Kyle loves it, though. He's always wanted a straggly looking mutt.

Click "read more" for some more photos of her before and after her hair cut.

June Photo Challenge - Day 9

Day 9 - Fresh Fruit.

Nomnomnom. I love grapes.
I hate cleaning them. And picking them from the stem thing.
But I love 'em.

June Photo Challenge - Day 8

Day 8 - Sunset

The best I can do from my back porch. You make do with what you have. :)

June Photo Challenge - Day 7

Day 7 - High Angle

If you couldn't tell, getting a high angle shot is pretty difficult for us short folk. However, I was able to climb ontop of the loveseat and capture the homo sapien male species in his natural habitat.

Thanks, Kyle.

June Photo Challenge - Day 6

Day 6 - Books.

I don't think that J.K. Rowling had any idea her magical world would turn into such global phenomenon.

I personally didn't get to see the moves until I was 17. I didn't read the books until I was 19 (I think). I grew up in the religious family on the block, the one that didn't celebrate Halloween, the one that judged EVERYONE and decided their faults and mistakes were their one way tickets to Hell, yeah. I grew up in that family. Don't worry, I'm not like them.

The Harry Potter series entrapped me into a whimsical world of magical creatures, unshakable friendships, and love that I never knew was possible for any family to have. They are, bar none, my favorite series to read.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling.

June Photo Challenge - Day 5

Day 5 - Breakfast Today

The mug says hot chocolate. My heart says coffee. Yes, this is a very typical breakfast for me.
The best part of my waking up really is Foldgers in my cup.

June Photo Challenge - Day 4

Day 4 - Clouds

Kinda hard to do when there's no clouds in the sky, but I did my best.

June Photo Challenge - Day 3

Day 3 - Hands

Special thanks to Gabe for that wicked Hi-5. :) I love my boy.

June Photo Challenge - Day 2

Day 2 - Your Favorite Shoes

I'm...barely ever out of flip-flops. Even in the winter. I get a lot of crap for it.

I deserve it, actually.

Kyle and I went to St. Louis in March for an Evanescence concert (which rocked, by the way. Amy Lee was SO much better than the last time I saw her) and I wore my flip-flops all day while we walked around St. Louis. We went to the zoo, the Arch, and just had a day of it. Me, being the idiot that I am, removed the calluses off my feet the night before, which were on my feet to begin with from the rubbing against the plastic on the flip-flops all the time. Needless to say, I came home with 10+ huge blisters on my feet.

But I still wear them all the time.

June Photo Challenge - Day 1

When Abby from Projects For Your Nest posted the June Photo-A-Day challenge on her blog, I didn't know about it. I stumbled on it on Pinterest.

But you should SO check out her blog. No lie.

I figured it was about time I do one of these.

Day 1 - Self Portrait.

Ohai. :)

Happy Mother's Day (Dr. Seuss Style)

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course, 
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH! 
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! 



You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself 
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek, 
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course, 
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.So...get on your way!

-"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss.-

Thank you, kids, for making life fun, exciting, and pretty exhausting. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I don't need one day devoted to moms to make me feel special when I have 365 days with you all in my life.

Easy DIY Mother's Day Gift

I live in a housefull of kids, pets, and a forgetful husband. I doubt he can tell you when mother's day is.

Sunday, May 13th.

He remembers the important dates, like my birthday, and our anniversary. So he makes up for it.

Nevermind that they're 7 days apart exactly. And his birthday is 7 days after.

Money is tight pretty much everywhere, which means it's a great excuse to DIY any gift.

Personally, I prefer things handcrafted. I appreciate them a lot more. Nothing can replace something as original as those. Especially from kids. I think most moms see it that way, too.

So, you have young kids? Here's a perfect time to break out your Elmer's glue and popsicle sticks.