Scragglehead

It has happened again. I've been blessed with another insanely hairy boy in my life (that makes three). Let me introduce you to my son, Scragglehead

We had many a good day, me and Scragglehead.
My grumpy, old, Italian man.
My Benjamin Button.
Much fun was had playing with those wisping tufts that poke out at random across his scalp. But all good thing must come to an end. And then better things happen.

Like this.

He looks ten years younger, dontcha think?

As you can see, he was very pleased with his new 'do too

Amore

A photo series by Anna

Seven days old...

Outside We Dine, Rain or Shine

Mealtime is not my favorite time of day. It has not always been this way. But now meal time means thinking of a meal, cooking that meal, refilling my freshly emptied sink with dirty dishes, messing up the entire kitchen that I just finished cleaning from the last meal, and tripping over three children who suddenly remembered they are starving. But the WORST part of mealtime is the eating of the meal. Experienced moms, when do children learn how to eat without splattering their entire meal on anything within a ten foot radius??

 During the summer we eat every meal possible on the deck, or out on the grass. The grass makes a great no clean up drop cloth. So unless a tornado is in sight, we eat outside. Yesterday, I had just gotten the kids settled on the deck with their lunch, when it started to drizzle. I didn't move a muscle (hoping the kids wouldn't notice?) Yeah right. Sophia quickly gathered her plate and headed for the door. Jazlyn screamed, ran to my side and shrieked in my ear in horror, "Mom! It's RAINING! We need to go inside! Ahhhh!"

I calmly assured her that it is ok to eat in the rain. This nearly sent her into hysterics. She begged and pleaded me to go inside. She just wanted to save her mom from the killer rain drizzle. I asked her if she thought I would melt? No. What then? You will get WET. Horror of horrors. That's about the time that the rain stopped, and we finished our lunch on the deck. Win.

**Note: They did NOT have butter sandwiches for lunch.

Only in America

Me: Sophia, are you hungry?

Sophia: Yeah! I want a butter sandwich.

My Art Gallery

After winning a set of sixteen hand drawn postcards from Ladaisi*, I decided to make a wall collage. So I invaded the local Goodwills until I came out with sixteen unique frames (and a couple of mirrors I couldn't pass up!), and ended up with this...

An art gallery in my very own home

Awesome, right?

My hallway is super artsy. Now the rest my the house needs to catch up.


*Go buy your own art gallery from Ladaisi's Etsy Shop.

For the Love of Garage Sales

Today, on the way home from Walmart, I made an impulsive decision to follow the neon pink sign that screamed "GARAGE SALE -->"

Now, when you become a mother, particularly a mother of four children in five years, you tend to lose some reasoning capabilities... and common sense. All four of my angels had turned into demons in transit from home to Walmart. They perfected their whiiiiiine the entire way around Walmart, and when that wasn't enough to break me, they turned it up a notch to full fledged whining mixed with perfectly placed sobs of despair on the way home. So this was the state of my brood when the neon sign screamed at me. We were almost home, and both of my girls were teetering on the brink of dehydration, but being the good mother that I am, I ignored their near-death-state-of-being, because... well, because all common sense is lost on me at this point. My eldest immediately noticed that I did not make the turn to go home, and leaned forward as far as possible in her car seat, demanding to know where we were going. The minute "garage sale" left my lips, the demons were cast out, the heavens parted and my angels returned. In a peal of resounding excitement, Sophia yelled gleefully into her sister's face, "JAZLYN!! We are going to a GARAGE SALE! Oh Mama, you are just SO NICE! I just LOVE you Mama! We are going to a garage sale!"
So we did.

I got this cool pedometer, so now I know how many steps I take. Totally necessary.

 I better go walk some more...
Maybe I'll walk in circles aroumd the kitchen island.
Or maybe I'll just shake my arm around.

Then we went home and did this.

Date Night!

Garden Nome: Take Two

Begin building raised bed

Keep on stackin'

Enlist help of three very helpful children

Brody will hold that in place for you Daddy

Fill with organic compost

PLANT!

Jared

Just a few reasons

                                           I love this guy...

1. He loves me.
2. He helps with the house.
3. He wrestles with the kids.
4. He gives me the last bite.
5. He wants the best for our kids.
6. He helps with the kids at bedtime.
7. He's passionate about our family.
8. He's a good leader.
9. He sacrifices for us daily.
10. He's not a whiner.
11. I can trust his judgment completely.
12. He does the right thing, even when he doesn't want to.
13. He tries to please me.
14. He's methodical.
15. He's extremely inventive and creative.
16. He loves babies.
17. He's loves family adventures.
18. He's dependable.
19. He takes command.
20. He can still sweet talk me.
21. He handles the finances and pays the bills.
22. He is not careless with our money.
23. He is proud of my accomplishments.
24. He doesn’t get angry when I change my mind... again.
25. He doesn't swear.
26. He uses words well.
27. He knows how to reason through a disagreement calmly and logically.
28. He can fix just about anything.
29. He is generous.
30. He's stays calm in stressful situations.
31. He is the best birth support person on the face of the planet.
32. He changes diapers.
33. He can be trusted to care for all four of our children.
34. He marvels at our children.
35. He asks my opinion.
36. He's committed wholeheartedly to our marriage.
37. He's realistic.
38. He surprises me with flowers and gifts.
39. He compliments me.
40. He tells me I am beautiful several times a day.
41. He's consistent.
42. He helps feed the kids.
43. He thanks me at the end of the meal.
44. He is not picky.
45. I'm still attracted to him.
46. He worked his butt off to buy us a house.
47. He doesn't make excuses.
48. He handles my mood swings with patience and grace.
49. He knows me.
50. He takes care of me.
51. He has insanely beautiful eyes.
52. He helps with laundry.
53. He looks at me with wonder, like I am the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen.
54. He loves me as I grow older.
55. He wants to be a good husband and father.
56. He values my job as a wife and mother.
57. He is encouraging to our kids.
58. He takes the kids on dates.
59. He's silly for our children.
60. His eyes don't stray.
61. He makes me laugh.
62. He doesn't get drunk.
63. He doesn't do drugs.
64. He understands what's important in life.
65. He has a great sense of humor.
66. He would lay down his life for us in a heartbeat.
67. His arms are protective.
68. He keeps our cars running.
69. He pursues a relationship with God.
70. He let’s things roll off his back.
71. He shows excitement about my interests.
72. He'd rather be with me and the kids than anywhere else.
73. He is so giving...of his time, knowledge, help, love.
74. He'd give a stranger the shirt off his back.
75. He's honest.
76. He questions the “facts” until he knows the truth for himself.
77. He's not scatter-brained.
78. He's always prepared.
79. He's a great provider.
80. He thinks of small ways to be helpful to me, and does them.
81. He's intuitive and understands women.
82. He tells me if he's running late.
83. He's predictable.
84. He's happy to work behind the scenes.
85. He fills the cars with gas when I leave it on empty.
86. He drives when we are together.
87. He opens the door for me.
88. He takes out the garbage.
89. He is a friendly, talktative, extrovert.
90. He considers the needs of our family first when making decisions.
91. He's got a really cute butt.
92. He's kind.
93. He lets me talk and he actually listens.
94. He helps me make decisions.
95. He is incredibly patient.
96. He has a job.
97. He works hard.
98. He desires to understand how things work, and figures it out.
99. He's a man of his word.
100. He chose me.

Garden Nome

(No, I did not spell that wrong. Nome is a nickname my brother, Andy, calls me)

Summer is pushing it's way into Wisconsin, and that means it's garden time. Those of you who know me, know my track record with plants. I don't have a very high success rate of keeping them alive.

Ok, more specifically, I don't have any success at keeping them alive.

But this year is different. Because I decided it is.

I will be successful. Period.

So...

I dove right in. I came up with an equation for success.

1.) Move the location of the vegetable garden. (Jared was THRILLED about this one.)

This spot is much closer to the kitchen door. Which means I have to only walk 5 feet, instead of 25 feet to pluck some basil for the gourmet italian cuisine I will prepare every night...

2.) Make it a raised bed.

Commense digging, since this location is on a hill and a raised bed wouldn't be much of a success if it's tilting downhill...



3.) Finish digging it out before Memorial Day.

 This is as far as we've gotten. Next week, we proceed on the path to success.

And now for the flowers. Be impressed.

daisy

dahlia

martha washington geranium

senetti

martha washington geranium

dianthus

vinca

petunia

dahlia

yellow daisy

dianthus

dahlia

purple iris

Me and my garden extraordinaire. My mom. She is amazing.

My Four Monkeys

I am back!

Our life with a new baby has been a little more crazy than usual, but I finally feel pretty well adjusted to our new dynamic.

I have tried to capture as much of it on film as possible. Here are some of my favorites from over the past month...

Gino, 3 days old

Soph chillin' with Ruby

My sister, Anna, moved in with us for the summer to help out with the kids, and keep me company!

Sophia completed her first year of AWANA Cubbies!

She finished her first Cubbies book and got a book award! (So proud!)

Preparing to pray?

For the first two weeks, Gino took his baths in the bathroom sink.
Now he has graduated to the kitchen sink.

Sleeping like a man... in his skivvies.

First bottle. Two weeks old.

Love the tenderness of this one. Special, quiet moments.

Mother's Day with my mom.
The sunglasses are hiding the hideous pink eye I woke up with that morning.

A daily (hourly?) sight. She loves to help Mama burp the baby.

My four monkeys...

Take two.

Take three.

Give up.

The End.