Mama's Sweetness

According to Princess A, it was a lovely summer evening to stand in the yard and watch people go by...

And as you can see from the picture, the home front has been somewhat eventful since my last post.

For starters, Princess A broke her arm...with style!

Biggest Brother turned 10!

And I have a large amount of editing to complete before Thursday; so alas, only one picture for tonight.

But what one picture could be better than sweet summertime baby leggers?! Especially when they are belonging to a sweet baby girl with a purple cast, purple socks, purple sunsuit and a purple barrette to accessorize it!

Dentist Day

Today was Dentist Day! Biggest Brother, Younger Brother, Big Sis and Little Sis all had appointments; but Princess A got her little mouth full of toothers checked out too.

I've found that it's just easier to schedule them all for the same time.

However after getting scraped and brushed last year while holding a baby on my lap and having four children in orbit around me, I have also found that it's easier to schedule myself for a different time! So I went last week, alone. :)

What made this visit extra special was that it was Little Sis's first ever trip to the dentist!
She volunteered Younger Brother to go first so he could prove to her that it wasn't scary.

Younger Brother of course jumped at the opportunity.

He and the rest of the kids love to go to the dentist! They actually jump up and down and squeal when I tell them it's time for their 6month check-ups.

They're a little strange like that!

Little Sis's turn.

She was not quite sure she shared the enthusiasm just yet.

But she bravely hopped on up anyway.

The bib thing was just a little big on her!

Miss J was very nice about letting her check out the instruments before she used them.

Not quite sure she was sold on that, "Tickle Toothbrush" thing though...

...but the promise of pink bubble gum toothpaste won her over.

She was super brave!

Truthfully, I wasn't too sure how she would do. She often flips out about me just brushing her teeth at night. But she was great!

I could tell she was feeling quite accomplished by the end of it.

Especially when she got to pick out her own new toothbrush from the drawer.

Great job, Little Sis!

Now your job is not to knock out any more teeth between now and your next visit!

If you missed out on that event...

click here!

:)

Lookie What I Found!

Whilst digging through the sea of boxes in our crawl space searching for garage sale material, I struck gold!!!

A whole box full of original My Little Ponies dated 1983-1987!!!

They aren't my original originals...those, ironically, got sold in a garage sale. But when my mom realized the faux pas, she searched the internet to replace them and found all of these. I haven't seen them in years!

I posted this picture on Facebook and got such a kick out of all of the people that made comments on it. Especially my old roommate from college and fellow horse person, who listed all but one of the official names of the ponies pictured from left to right!
My girls were very excited to find that out! Even Mommy couldn't remember the names of all of them.

Big Sis, Little Sis, and even Princess A are really into My Little Pony right now; and personally I think the 2011 ponies are hideous! I'm not sure what Hasbro was thinking, but I digress. This was perfect timing!
I think the girls might even have been almost as excited as Mommy to find them!
Oh the memories...
:)

Updates and Stuff

Well of course I coudn't post an entry without a picture! And while basically irrelevant to the post at hand, I thought these two were extra sweet!

I caught Princess A sitting on my piano bench, in her fabulous hat, scoping out an old baby picture of me and my sister.

It was a photo-worthy moment for sure.

Of course as soon as I got my stepstool out to take the picture, she hopped down and usurped it. But you can get a good look at her oh-so-stylish favorite hat at least!
***

So anyway, about that update...

It has been a crazy busy past couple of weeks around here! Not that it isn't always busy, but you know. And I regret that I haven't done a very good job keeping up with the blog! It's something fun that I do for me, so unfortunately it ends up getting the boot when there is work to be done. So here's to catching up, and what we've been up to around here:

1. The kids all had Croup in varying degrees from oldest to youngest. Princess A had it so badly that the airway constriction she was experiencing was making it difficult for her to breathe, and we spent most of Friday evening in the Urgent Care. She got oral steroids and an epinephrine breathing treatment, and is finally starting to feel better. Meanwhile, the upstairs of our house has been transformed into a virtual rain forest from the humidifiers cranking in various rooms!

2. We have been preparing for the big gigantic garage sale that we're having Friday and Saturday. I was hopeful that the mass amount of stuff we're getting rid of would start to make the house look a little bit less cluttered, but so far no dice.

3. I just ordered our new curriculum and will be beginning our summer reading and writing program in the next week or so.

4. There is more work to be done at the farm right now, so I am working extra days there. And on my own time, I have averaged 2 or 3 photoshoots per week recently...which requires editing time at night when the kids are in bed.

5. J works his usual 50hrs a week at the TV Station, and has picked up a second job cleaning his friend's office on the weekends...and works an occasional freelance shoot here and there.

So there you have it, M Family life as we know it. Crazy, but lovely and I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Between all of our jobs, homeschooling, extra curricular activities and everyday life, I tend to get a little disorganized and a lot behind on things!

But I really am doing my best to keep up with my posts here; it's something I love to do!

In Flight

Okay, it's official.

I don't typically write about gear, but Mommy's new lens is just entirely too much fun!

Check out the eyes on this guy!!

Or girl.
I'm no bee expert.

Too fun!

:)

Breakfast 101

Fact #1: Some foods work well "ready-made."

Fact #2: Cheerios isn't one of them.

Fact #3: Lucky Charms are way better than Cheerios anyway.

Fact #4: 6, 4 and 3 year olds allowed to start on breakfast while you get ready for work will open up two jumbo size boxes of Lucky Charms, pour bowls with cereal towering an inch higher than the rim, leave most of the cereal...and not one single marshmallow anywhere in sight.

Fact #5: Even Princess A knows you only eat the marshmallows!

(It's inborn knowledge apparently.)

Fact #6: If you want to have seconds, you need to finish what's on your plate first.

So you'd best find a place to stash all of that "other stuff" that everyone knows you're not really supposed to eat anyway!

"I Spy"

Bug Support

"Mommy....

...I wish we had a fixer machine!"

Oh yes, Big Sis. Wouldn't that be a nice thing to have!

He Loves Her!

TK Olympiad

Younger Brother and Big Sis (not relatively speaking) had their first gymnastics showcase this past weekend. As near as I can tell, it was a precursor to the meets they will eventually have in the future; but at this stage it's just a fun way for parents to see what they've learned and for them to feel extra-accomplished. The whole event was super cute!

Each athlete was introduced individually, and they all paraded into the gym to music like the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

They were broken down into teams, and there were five different events that each team completed in rotation.

He landed on his feet!
In practice he landed on his face. :)

Next up is my favorite picture from the whole event...

My daughter is such a picture of pure style and grace on the beam!! :D

When all of the events were finished, each gymnast got to stand on the "podium" to receive his/her medal...and wave to the crowd of course!

They both did a great job being up in front of all of the spectators. In fact, I think they both ate that up!

And speaking of eating, we went through the BK drive-thru on the way home to treat each of the kids (our kids that is) to cherry icees.

J wanted to keep it a surprise as long as possible. So when he ordered a crispy chicken sandwich and five cherry icees, and the slightly taken aback drive-thru worker asked to be sure she had heard correctly...he explained that he was just, "really thirsty!" :)

You know, I personally don't feel like five kids is "a lot" of kids.
It's a blessing for sure! But beyond that, I don't feel like it's any big deal or anything.
But then there are the occasional times when J and I look at each other and think,
"Holy cow....we just ordered FIVE cherry icees!"