Been Painting

Whew. 

Summer? Over.

And where did it go?

Most of my days were spent 

with a brush in my hand 

and paint in my hair!

It has been a whirlwind, 

with lots of green frog tape 

and tons of friends in the making.

My sidekick Sara 

got suckered into the madness 

and we have been loving 

brightening up walls.

Here is a "summer-ization" 

of a few of the things 

we have been up too!!

To keep up on our projects, 

Like us on Facebook!!

2.

Today my baby turned 2.
Two.
Can't believe it.
We celebrated yesterday
So today was more like operation recovery.
We laid around.
Most stayed pajama-ed all day.
We played with the loot from yesterdays hullaballoo
And munched on daddy's fine cookin.
Milo was puny last night so we skipped church
And sometimes home is just as good for the soul.

in total avoidance.

I have no point here.

Actually I am avoiding doing 

what I oughtta be doing

and in the scope of things 

this seems way more fun

and I can pretend that 

it is really important.

So first things first...

Not being much of a cereal gal myself

{OK so at one point I did live on cheerios 

everyday for a half a millennium}

I don't usually like the 

sugary junk.

But yesterday I discovered this treasure in the bare cupboard.

Yes that is 

marshmallows 

AAAND 

Cocoa puffies 

in the same bowl 

from the same bag.

{and yes I did eat it}

{and yes I did have two bowls}

{and yes I liked it so much I texted a 

picture to my sister}

The kids are so happy when Dad does the shopping.

Which  has been lots 

lately because with my 

pea brain, comes some 

involuntary half concussions 

where I suddenly forget 

that it is my responsibility 

to shop...

or cook 

for that matter.

And now that I look back over the last day or two I am a little concerned.

Wait a second....

we did eat blueberries.

I remember now cuz Elsa called them Bluebabies....

Whew that was a close one.

Mostly lately we have been lounging outside.

{Thinking up ways to kill the commune of nasty 

millers that live in our big trees.  

Grrrrr. 

Don't even get me started...}

And playing in our pool and sandbox.

Oh and I have been slightly obsessing over an upcoming wedding for my niece.

{this picture is for you Liz}

And redecorating 

Milo and Elsa's room.

In which I cussed those that had wallpapered before us.

And swore I would NEVER apply that monstrosity...

And promptly mod podged a half of a dictionary to the wall.

I did however make a pact with myself 

that I would also be the 

one to remove it 

sometime down the road.

{But don't quote me on that}

The children have braved the last few days of school. 

{uninjured by their grouchy mother, I might add}

And tomorrow I will ship 

them all away to 

their grammy and pappy.

for a week.

{don't know quite whether to snivel or hollar} 

So here we come summer.

{and here I go...

back to the real reason I sat down at the computer 

in the first place}

XOXOXOXOXO,

holly

Well hello there...

I know I have been AWAL.

It's true.  

I'm sorry.

But for a month my oldest kid has been 

Driving me. Crazy.

No Really. It's True.

I know I don't look old enough

but let's face it I was a child bride.

So I have been carted around 

in the passenger's seat

and have decided to take full advantage.

One outing I made him drive me 

2 hours to 

You know, he needed Interstate experience.

Another day I made him tote me around

with my long lost camera.

I never just get to go on a treasure hunt 

for good pics...

and we spotted some doozies!

Poor Elsa isn't as thrilled as I am with 

these outings.

She HATES her carseat.

She swims against it like something is 

just holding her down.

I always say "Relax, Elsa!"

So the other day Daddy gets in the car

and she pipes up from the back...

"Relax, Daddy!"

Betty Barf-up

Early the other morning Elsa wanted to swing.

Rather than finding shoes, socks, sweatshirts, coats, mittens, hats.........

My mind raced for an alternative....

hmmm....a swing without the park....

out pops the good ol' jenny-jump-up!!!

It was magic!! Happy Day!!!

Fasty Forward to later that night.

Mr. Milo needed some one on one mama time

and Elsa was beggin for the "swing."

I gave in and made everybody happy.

After Milo beat me at a looong game of Toy Story Memory,

(I wish I could say that I let him win)

I took Elsa out of the jumper.

She seemed thirsty...

swallowing in a strange way.

But when I held up the cup for water 

she shoved my hand away and did

what anyone sane would do after 

an eternally long winding and unwinding episode...

she hurled.

Live and learn...right?

So now we set the timer.

and now she doesn't seem to spin around as much.

And Jenny Jump-up has a new name...

Betty Barf-up

and I am going for mom of the year.

I am an addict.

They say the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem.

I HAVE A PROBLEM.

It is this website......

APARTMENT THERAPY.

I. cannot. stay. away.

It is my mostest favorite website on earth.

Who can resist looking at rooms like this:

(look at more black and white stripes HERE)  

Yummy.

Or links to DIY's like this:

(wanna make it?? look HERE)

Don't this make ya wanna have another baby????

Just to decorate like this...

(check it out HERE)

and I loooove the before and after shots....

AND

Bookmark it baby.

Apartment Therapy Rocks.

xxoxox

blame it on the moon....

Did you see the moon last night??? 

My hubby called us outside 

to watch it rise...

WOW.

Things have been a  tad bit busy  

complete chaos.

It got so hectic that both the 

vacuum and dish washer 

went on strike.

Don't think they could take it anymore.

We had a week of puny babies.

Poor tots had fevers 

and just hung around.

my. neck.

I almost lost what little mind 

sloshes around in this pea brain.

A.D.D. doesn't sit well.

Regardless of my inabilities 

as their mother, 

the kiddos survived...

or at least I 

think 

they 

are 

ok..

????

What? 

Do they look traumatized???

xoxox

xoxoxoxox

PICTURES!!! THIS BLABBY BLOG NEEDS PICTURES!!!!

these two are getting to be the bestest of buddies...
and the wooliest of warriors!

So many sunshiney days it was starting to not feel like winter.

Until this weekend.

We took down Elsa's crib and got her a big girl bed.
 This is how things looked for a week...at least!

 Ain't it great to be CRAZY????

The Hank Picture that didn't upload during my sleep deprived post.

And in my spare time I drill holes in 22 shells raided from Levi's room
and hook them onto rusty washers raided from Grandpa's shop.
Why ask why??

Also in my spare time I have been doing baby bleacher aerobics
while watching this girl in these shoes race down the basketball court.
My camera cannot handle the lighting or chaos of such situations
so this is the only shot I've got.

In her spare moments, she covers her ears while I boss her around,
runs away when she isn't supposed to,
and melts my heart with her sweet little smiles.

too tired to think of a title. ok. goodnight.

It is late. 
I should be in bed.
It is sooo quiet though.
Something tells me I need to get a life.
I spent two looong days painting a rental house
and it felt like a vacation.
That's not right....





In other Random news:


Hank Williams Jr. went with us to church this morning.
He didn't like being called Hank.
But I thought there was a strong resemblance.








So he is not Hank.  Just Milo.


My brain is starting to freeze up like a 3 year old computer.

 Goodnight. 

my smart phone suffers from domestic violence...

My man got me a smart phone for my birthday.

It is getting me organized.

It has a calendar. 

A list.

A list for lists.

A journal that you can slap in a picture and write a little ditty.

A camera to take those snappy pics,

and even a video camera to catch the fights and show the 

children how ugly it is to argue.  

(Even though they are really only fighting for their mother's attention

and the casting away of the little black screen that has morphed her into a complete zombie)

So I have been a little distracted by this new miracle.

ok. 

obsessed might be a better word.

But I am beginning to wonder if it is really as "smart" as it should be.

See, on New Year's Day, I hosted the family Christmas.

Realize this was just a few weeks after I got this dandy contraption.

So I figured I would make a few lists to get ready.

The problem is that I have ogre thumbs that constantly bonk out the wrong words on the delicate touch screen. 

We will not go into details on some of the boo boos that I have written,

but in order to avoid these faux pas, I decided to give the voice command a try.

After all, wouldn't it be lovely to just boss something around without rolling eyes?

 I had a few things down on the list already.

Even a few crossed off.

It looked like this.

• trim nails...what? I have approximately 120 of the buggers to keep track of, you would write it down too...
• Fold laundry...SURPRISE!!
• Table Decorations...If you know my mother you know that this is the whole point of even having company.
• Set up Tables
• Make Potatoes
• Make Spiced Apple Cider...Remind me to give you the recipe. YUMMY.
• Mop Floors
• Clean Bathrooms.

And then began the voice commands:

ME: thaw turkey

Phone: Song Cherokee

ME: thaw turkey

Phone: Contact 30

ME: thaw turkey

Phone: Knockouts turkey

ME: THaw TURkey

Phone: The Turkey

ME: ok we are getting closer...

       thAW TURkey

Phone: Dog Sharks

ME (yelling):THAW TURKEY

Phone: Tempe.

ME (yelling with a British accent): 

THAW TURKEY!!!

Phone: Bloc Party.

ME (yelling with a British accent wacking my phone on the table): THAW TURKEY YOU STUPID PHONE!!!

Phone: Hi Sexy.

I am not kidding.

Maybe it is smart after all.

Enough said.