Rapunzel

My older girls were in the play, Rapunzel, last week.

Oh, and welcome back Ms. BlahGGER who doesn't show up for days on end...

Ahem...yes well...I'm sorry for that...the snot that has built up in my nose has apparantly brought in luggage and set up residence in my entire sinus areas...which now allows me for yet another excuse for my absence of late....

And so...where was I?
Yes...LAST week, my girls were in a play...Let me begin by saying that it OVERJOYED...no...it THRILLED my soul that my daughters wanted to PERFORM!  I know, I know...it's pathetic, selfish, "all glory to me-ish"...but, I just sooo wanted to "Show the world" (or at least the handful of parents and grandparents that crammed their bodies into the teeeeeny, tiny room) the fact that my girls DO enjoy applause and can be in the spotlight...

well...they kinda like the spotlight...

If the spotlight is center stage and they are down the hallway, in another room, in a group of other kids doing something completely different than acting in a play...

So

Where does that leave us with regards to the play itself and PERFORMANCE night?

They thoroughly enjoyed each and every practice...they read their lines at home and practiced in the car...they're looking forward to the new Disney movie, Tangled...all the "stars" were in our favor...

This was Peanut on the night of the performance...up on stage...

What?  Can't you see the PURE JOY that exudes from her very soul?

Yeah, she was doing everything in her power to hold it together and not lose it to tears...bless her heart!

They DID have fun though...and I DO have pictures to prove it...I'm thankful that the play was "low key"...and there weren't more than about 30 people in the room to watch...just their crazy mother hopping all over the place taking flash pictures and blinding everyone for miles made them resort to rolling of the eyes and stern looks!

I am happy though...so proud of them for trying something out of their comfort zone...for making new friends...for challenging themselves...

And although Italian Stallion deemed the watching of the HOUR AND A HALF performance a tad, "painful"...I, for one, was thoroughly pleased and bursting with love for my girlies...and then we went home and had pizza and ice cream...

The End.

Randomness

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:" ~Ecc.3:1

I'm not sure if photography and christmas cards fall under the complexity and context of this verse, but I'm going to hope so...perhaps it catagorizes itself under vs. 6 where there are times to search and give up, keep and throw away? 

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed the outlet that photography affords me...and although it is with great pleasure that I help create memories for families...and it is often with giggles and Ah-Ha moments that I design cards...Well, I have to admit that it takes time...and apparantly, a lot of it...

Italian Stallion reminds me that it is a season...the FALL season to be exact...the time when everyone wants those family photos so they have them for those long winter months when everyone is holed up in the house dreaming of spring...it just takes a lot of my time and therefore other things have to go...

The blogging being one of those things...I knew coming into this time that it'd be hectic, but I had high hopes...what I didn't figure into the equation were the mounds of laundry, multiple scooter rides and late night games of rummikub with the girlies...and therefore...I've been a bit lax when it comes to blah-ing to all of you...(or at least the handful of people that happen to stop by here every once in awhile)

I want to interject here as I write b/c my husband has just pointed out specific dynamics of our children...Let me set the stage:  Sweetpea is in the top bunk in her room yelling for us...why?  Well, because Peanut has gone over to lay down with Little Munchkin in the purple room b/c Little Munch apparantly needed some cuddle time with her sister...Sweetpea is yelling to tattle on Peanut.  Peanut however has fallen asleep...SOUND asleep in Little Munchkin's bed...Little Munchkin, upon hearing Sweetpea's weak yells for Mom and Dad, decides it is HER duty to overpower those pathetic cries and scream at the top of her lungs that Sweetpea NEEDS us...all the while, Peanut, the reason for all the noise in the first place, remains utterly and soundly asleep, oblivious to all that is going on around her...

Just wanted to throw that in there...this is a nightly occurance...fun times!

And so, that's just my little explanation as to why I may be incredibly sporadic in the coming month(s) with regards to the blog...I want to return once the sessions have settled down...I'll come back and let you know the Italian household happenings as I am able...

IN the meantime...here are a couple of things I've enjoyed lately and would LOVE to expound on them in the future:

You've GOT to see: How to Train a Dragon  (awesome movie)
Read: Sarah's Keys (oh, my...heart breaking, but incredibly vivid and well developed literature)
Play:  outside in the sun when you can...jump in leaves, scooter down the street, have a bonfire and eat smores...

See you soon!

What I've been up to

I know I complain verbalize some discomfort when I feel rather swamped with "stuff".

I've had some "stuff" lately.

My Italian Stallion has had a lot more travel this month (and will continue to do so until month's end) which is not only out of the norm for him, but tends to send me into a landslide of  "woe is me" and cries of "will it ever end"???

Amidst the 'drama', we have had some fun moments and I thought I'd share...

first off:  Apple Pie

I'd like to say that we picked the apples ourselves as we jovially went to the orchard and picked our bushels...

but that would be lying...

Meijer's produce department was the closest we got to the orchards this year...so I cheated and then made a pie...

it was good and we ate it...

and so did some fruit flies who decided to permanently move into my kitchen.

Next:  Family Pictures

I have that love/hate relationship with our family pictures...

Love because, duh, I love pictures

Hate, because I think by the time the picture taking is complete both myself and the rest of my family want to wring each other's necks...ahhh the love

Child Labor is next on the list...we like to grow 'em strong and resiliant...

We find that the best way to do this is to put them to work...

Visits from long lost uncles who move away to California and then come back and complain about the midwest weather in the middle of a soccer game when he's only really been gone one month and there's NO WAY his body has gotten used to his "glorified" Cali-weather...just because it happens to be a "bit" cold and blustery and rainy...

but, we love him anyway!

More child labor...cuz sometimes you just need a break!

That's what's goin' in my neck of the woods...

How about you?

Seriously?

We got our pictures taken yesterday...

When I say WE, I do infact mean my entire family...even my husband who puts up with my endless "ideas" for poses even into the setting sun...

And so with prodding and pleading, I got everyone over to the farm where AM met up with us to snap a few shots so that I could get my christmas card finished (for heavens sake!!!)

I wish I could adequately verbalize the type of friendship/relationship that Anne and I have...there are times that we could be identical twins and then there are times that we are as different as night and day...

the one thing that we do share...VERY strongly I might add...is our love for a good picture...infact it is very difficult when one of us has a camera and the other doesn't...

Therefore, these family photo sessions, though relatively painless, do cause me some nervous reactions at times...this is why she and I work so well together at weddings...we're bouncing all over the place, each one of us "seeing" different views...

So, it shouldn't surprise me that once our "family" shots were done, I went back and grabbed my camera as if I had lost my right arm and started shooting "other" things...

What I didn't realize, is that I had now become the "view" for her...

She sent me these today:

I suppose I have a bit of fun while shooting...no?

Thanks Anne for the reminder!!!  Love ya!

I prayed for a barrette

Remember the pile of leaves?

Little Munchkin not only enjoys leaves, but she has a fascination for anything in her hair...barrettes being one of those such things.

She had them on in these pictures b/c we had just purchased them that morning...

She needed something to keep it out of her eyes so that she could run full blast down any aisle of any store as fast as her legs could carry her...

And so, I didn't really think much of it while playing in the leaves...she could see, she could jump...I figured they were doing their job and all was right with our world...

What I failed to recognize is that when pieces of sticks and leaf stems get caught in your hair, you often have the uncontrollable desire to just start pulling and yanking things out...including barrettes.

Now...she LOVES those things, so even though she had yanked them out of her hair single-handedly, she wasn't about to surrender them over to Mama...nope!  "I hold 'em Mama...I got 'em"

Alrighty then...and so I diligently continued the raking...and she continued the jumping...

UNTIL...

her sad little cry..."Oh no Mama...I dwopped them...in the leaves!"

And there sank our dear hot pink barrettes...

Daddy, sisters, Mommy raked and looked for 2 days in the grass, and soaked leaves after the rain...to no avail...

Today, she awoke from her nap (knowing we were going to try getting some family photos done) and asked if I could please find her barrettes...

What's a mom to do after spoiling her child with hot cocoa from Starbucks and a chick fil a milkshake in one day?  What's a mom to do for a little girl who awakens and her only care is her hot pink barrette?

Well...I headed outside for the umpteenth time to try to locate the things in the trampled bazillion leaf pieces in our back yard...and in doing so I prayed...

"Lord, you know that I have a hard time with prayer...I don't ask for a lot of things b/c I don't like being disappointed...normally, I'd just ask for wisdom in how to parent this little 3 year old who is waiting inside for me who is really sad about her barrettes...and I'm not thinking that you're some magic genie who's going to give me anything I wish for...but, we've been looking for these things for 2 days and even if I could just locate ONE of them, I'd surely be thankful..."

Not more than 5 seconds later, I looked down and there was one barrette.

I was floored...

Now, call it what you will...maybe you think it's just a coincidence...maybe I raked harder and looked with a set of eagle eyes this time around...but, I have a feeling that He was just giggling up there..."Watch this everyone...I want to surprise her...she's going to love this!!"

Well...I didn't stop there...although I told Him I was perfectly content with just one, but I said, "I've heard that if you don't ask Big, you're not gonna receive big...and this is about as "big" as I'm capable of asking at this point...I'll keep looking for just a tad longer, and if you have that other one show up...well, I can guarantee I'm going to have a blog post at the least!"

And there appeared the 2nd one...

Maybe He's teaching me something...He knows how to best teach me...and it does take me awhile to learn...and I'm a tad cautious along the way...

And then again, maybe He just wanted to see me smile!

Either way...I had a tiny blessing today...and it was sweet!

Things That Make Me Happy...

1. A clean house...or at least a semi-, almost, pretend-esque clean so that when someone pops in, it looks like I've actually DONE something and not been sitting at my computer eating cookies and drinking Pepsi while surfing through all my favorite blogs.

2. Painted toenails in a really pretty color that are not chipped or peeling away because of an awful hangnail that you just can't quite fix b/c doggone it if it doesn't hurt like the dickens...throw in a toe ring to finish off the "ensemble"!

3. My camera ('nuf said)

4. Crunchy leaves that make a really loud noise when Little Munchkin jumps into them and then rolls around so they get all caught up in her hair, but because they are crunchy they'll just slowly dissenigrate and you don't have to worry too much about them...unless someone asks if you've checked her head for lice and then you freak out until you realize, oh yeah, it's leaves and then you can give her a bath and it's all better anyway...

5.  A Starbucks coffee ('nuf said)

6. Apple pie a'la mode

7. the smell of a spice/cinnamon candle burning all evening on a brisk fall day...especially when my husband has turned on the heat at least being able to keep the house in the 60s so that I can actually breathe without nose hair-cicles.

8. talking on the phone uninterrupted for at least 15 minutes...doesn't even matter who it is...to just be able to carry on a conversation without having to stop at least 30-gazillion times.

9. reading silly books to my girls in which they laugh and I laugh and then we start snortin' b/c we're laughing so hard...yeah, it makes me happy!

...just a few of my "happy" things...
What makes YOU happy?

Little Munchkin and Fall

A tradition at our house is to rake all the leaves in our yard into a huge pile around this time of year and wait for all the kids to get off the bus and then the whole neighborhood comes and jumps in it...In years past, I've had Sweetpea and Peanut there to help me...

they drag the blanket from one corner of our yard to the next as Mama rakes up dead leaves from our 22 trees...then we drag the blanket to a most appropriate spot on the premises and await the unloading of cooped up school children...

This year however, a couple of things are different...#1 I only have a 3 year with whom to work...and therefore the task of raking up leaves from, said 22 trees, is a workload that only a realistic task force can really tackle.  Not to mention, Mommy is getting older people...Mommy can't hack the sweat and trudging an acre to pile the leaves...in a word (or two) Mommy is a wimp and she's old...plus, when she's ridiculous enough to scarf down the amount of food she did this past weekend, well, it takes some time for her poor ole heart to recooperate!

Therefore, our pile is a tad smaller than in years past...

But it turned out okay...b/c Little Munch and I had a great time 'swimming' and 'sleeping' in the leaves together...I'm learning to savor those moments...not only because living in the midwest does not afford you the luxury of knowing that your leaves will not be plummeted by rainfall within 24 hours and thus all your hard work was for naught...

but it wasn't for naught really, because we had a blast together...and it was worth the sweat dribbling down my back and the wet armpits b/c I have some issues with perspiring that obviously is NOT managed by clinical strenght Degree as the commercial promises!

Happy Fall everyone...it's my favorite time of year!