You'll always be my baby.

In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days,

I'll always feel the same way.

Whatever road you may be on, know you're never too far gone.

My love is there wherever you may be.

Just remember that you'll always be my baby.

Yeah. I may be tearing up. My kids are starting kindergarten.

KINDERGARTEN.

SCHOOL.

No.

Coffee Talk: Starting School

I'm a little shocked that it's time.

It's time.

Time? Time for what?

These two little beauties are starting kindergarten.

WOAH. Stop time. Just stop. STOP.

Because just a few days ago, they were itty bitties.

And then next up, there's...

...and then...

..and from the looks of it, Gabey's meaning serious business.

When did my babies turn into kids? :(

Taking Advantage Of Late Nights.

Last night, Riah woke up around 2am. I was just beginning to doze off.
She had a nightmare. She clung tightly to me. She wanted to stay with me.
2 hours later, we were still both awake. So I did what any mommy would do.

I put in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
I made hot chocolate.
I snuggled with my baby.
I made her a memory.

Impromptu Birthdays.

This sounds so bad, but we were SO unprepared for Riah's birthday. We weren't expecting the girls to be here this soon, but due to some unfortunate circumstances with their father's family, they came yesterday. We got to celebrate Riah's birthday with her, and as exhausting as it was, I LOVED it.

We let her do her presents first, because I made the cuppycakes from scratch and needed time.
She got this wicked sprinkler seal that came with a beach ball. And a bubble machine. And she was full of jumps and shouts of excitement.

And then she saw her cuppycakes. And that was a whole new level of excitement.

We sang her "happy birthday", she blew out her candles, and then the kids went to town.

Kyle and I had to get into the fun.

And then the girls had a sleepover of sorts. We laid their pillow pets and blankets in the living room and popped in Tinkerbell. They loved every minute of the "sleepover" aspect, except for Gabe crashing the party.

Not too shabby for having less than 24 hours to prepare, right?

I don't love you much, do I?

I don't love you much, do I?

Just more than all the stars in the sky.

I don't love you much, do I?

I think you hung the moon, and that's alright.

See how it sparkles in my eye.

I couldn't hide it if I tried, that's right.

I don't love you much, do I?

Just more than anything else in this whole world.

This little beauty entered the world May 24th, 2007 at 9:14am, just as opinionated and outspoken as she is today.
Happy birthday, my dear baby girl. I hope your future is every bit of amazing as you deserve it to be.

The Girls' Room.

Do you remember that segment on The Amanda Show? It was one of my favorites.

If you don't, then please sit still while I try to steal your youth.

Anywho.

I've done a fair bit of random decorating in Selena's room. There's flowers and butterflies on the walls, there's a completely redone dresser, but we still have some things to do. It's really coming together.

We haven't done anything in Riah's and Dot's room, as horrible as that is.
Honestly, the paint on the walls sufficed for a good while. It's not just a flat one color wall.

The photos are a bit crummy, I know, but you get the general idea. The doors need some work, and that vent on the wall needs to be painted, but all in all it's pretty good alone. Lately, though, I've been trying to come up with ideas to spruce it up. My main goal is to make the rooms easy for the kids to grow with and into, so we aren't doing renovations all the time.

I started with something easy. A bookcase.

I had some problems with putting the backing on, because I'm a perfectionist, so Kyle and Gabey stepped up to the job.

And there's only one spot where they didn't hit the nail right. :)

So, it's slow progress, but it's a start, right? Soon the house will be more homey, right?

Maybe I'm not cut out for this, but I'm hoping my crafting will get be through.

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.

That doesn't make you a mommy...

I have a problem with the world these days. A big one. A few, actually. But one in particular really hits home.

What makes a mommy a mommy.

I'm a firm believer in there being a difference in being a mommy and being a mother. Just like there's a difference between being a daddy and being a father. HUGE difference. I'm taking, the size of moon craters.

Kidlet throwback.