I like autumn, BUT ...

Today, I had a little time to myself while all the kiddos were at school. So, I took a little stroll through Kohl's to see what I could find. Mainly, I was looking for some pieces to update my fall wardrobe.
And, therein, lies the problem.
I don't like fall/winter clothes. Sweaters are bulky, most items are in dreary colors, jeans are no fun to shop for and I am just too much of a summer girl to get excited about this. I love bright colors, flip-flops, shorts and skirts. I live in Florida, so luckily, I get to wear these things longer than most. But, we are moving northward next winter, and my cool weather wardrobe is pretty much the same stuff I was wearing in Misawa, Japan, four+ years ago.
Needless to say, I found nothing that floated my boat. I think this problem goes back to childhood. I have a summer birthday. All my new clothes came around that time and back-to-school. I had a closet full of summer goodies, but not a lot of wintry stuff.
Oh, well. Guess I will get over it. Or freeze to death one.

Starting to feel like FALL

It's amazing what a little autumn decor will do for ya. Despite the temperatures and humidity outside, it's an autumn celebration inside.

Just thankful that God gave me you

"On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I pray we never undo

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
*If* There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you, gave me you.
Gave me you. "

--"God Gave Me You" by Dave Barnes

Feels like a Monday ...

Here is a griping post. A whining post. A grumpy post. Not my typical post.
I was 10 minutes late getting Em to preschool. While trying to get out the door, said toddler peed on the floor, on the toilet and in the toilet, so I had to clean that up. Said toddler did not like her shoes this morning. Said toddler would not get in the car after wrong shoes were applied to her feet.
Wanted to run errands but just felt too tired. Came home and did housework ... again. Dishwasher is making funny noise. Rearranged dishes. Did not help. Funny noise still there. Hmmm ... what does this mean? Will figure it out later.
Ate gummy worms trying to boost energy level. Gummy worms are so magically delicious. Not what I should be eating though. After three weeks of cutting calories and exercising (refusing to say the word DIET here), I had lost between 5 and 7 pounds. This morning the scales were CRUEL. Said I had only lost three pounds. What the heck? Must be the gummy worms.
One kid has a doctor's appointment after school. Have to drag all three with me. Not fun. Same kid also has soccer practice this afternoon. Again, all three have to go. Again, not fun. Praying for rain.
Ok, I think I am done now. Got all the gripeys out for the moment. But, remember the day is still young. After all, it is only 10:30 a.m.

Disney

Our impromptu trip to Disney this past weekend scored some major photographic memories - mostly supplied by Becca. Let's see - there was the totally goofy, driving-like-a-maniac face while we rode the cars, the pouty face on Dumbo, the screaming-for-her-life face on Thunder Mountain, the silly drunk face on the Tea Cups. You get the picture. She is definitely my drama mama.
P.S. I wonder what Mickey whispered in her ear. Probably that she is going to become a SUPERSTAR if she keeps up this act.

Ahhh, curry, how I've missed you

Well, we went to Disney this weekend. Yes, again. Hard not to when you live this close, and they offer special deals to us military folk.
Anyway, we ended up at Epcot on Friday evening, and - lo and behold - in Japan for dinner. I didn't even realize how much I missed curry and sticky rice until this was in front of me. I practically licked my plate clean. And, later as I walked around the park with dreadful heartburn, I realized that curry didn't miss me as much as I missed it. Next time, I will remember to pack the Tums.

All in a day's work ... Emma-style

I cannot even begin to count the number of times in a day that this appears on my end table. I am not sure why or to what purpose, but somewhere there are two potato heads feeling very unplayed with.

Gotta love her ...

She is a character. Gotta love her!

Paying for your raising ...

Well, there is that old saying that you pay for your raising ... whatever you did to your poor parents comes back to you as a parent - sometimes tenfold. I got to experience that again this weekend. I took the older girls to get their hair cut. Needless to say, the oldest one was not pleased with the outcome. Hannah got what she asked for - a stacked bob. I told her that it was going to be really short; she kept saying ok.
However ...
It wasn't ok. It was worse than ok. It was much, much worse in her eyes. Poor thing cried out the door, in the car and all the way to Justice, which Mommy pulled out of her bag of tricks to make it all better.
As I tried to console her (because in my view, it looked really cute and stylish on her), I flashed back to several times in my childhood/teenage years where new hairdos were met with bitter, bitter tears. My poor mother has had to endure numerous meltdowns from me and my sister regarding butchered hair. I guess it is just my turn.
Hannah accused me of just telling her that it looked good because I am her mother and I have to say these things. But, that isn't true. She really does look cute. And sporty.
And, I have never been more proud of my husband, who didn't poke fun at her or her tears, but instead showed her pics of girls with short hair, girls who play soccer. Having Daddy like it did way more for bruised egos than anything Mom could ever say.
Ahh, the joys of parenting a tween ...

What are you reading?

This is my condensed version of the to-be-read pile. There are more hiding in my closet. There are even more sitting on my bookshelf. There are still more hiding in a bucket somewhere. These seemed to be the most pressing. And, I can now GLEEFULLY say that "Eclipse" has moved off this pile. I finally finished that darn thing!!!

Do you ever do this?

I took this pic a couple of days ago. Just look at us in our vast array of orange. I really didn't mean to dress us like twinkies, but there we are. I have done this to all my children. Whatever color I am feeling that day, my kids inexplicably end up dressed in it, too. Sorry, Em, if you weren't feeling the orange. (However, you look FABULOUS!)

Ahhh, the joys of scrapbooking ...

I wonder why I don't get much scrapbooking done these days. Who can safely leave this out, especially when there are six small hands just waiting for me to turn my back? That is why you are looking at Becca's Kindergarten scrapbook currently in progress ... we will overlook the fact that she is now in the second grade.

Good thing she's cute ...

That's what I was thinking today as I drove home with a toddler in full-fledged, uber-meltdown mode. For twenty minutes - from the store I had jerked her out of to the entrance to our subdivision - she proceeded to scream at the top of her not-as-tiny-as they-appear lungs. I think my ears are still ringing.


But, I love her anyways.

I hate the Twilight saga

I have decided that something must be wrong with me. I am currently slugging my way through the third book in Stephenie Meyer's series, and I just can't wait for the misery to be over. "Twilight," the first book of the series, was just ok for me. But, looking back on it now, I miss it. "New Moon" was sheer torture. You see, I am not much on WHINING and COMPLAINING and WHINING some more. And, that is all that Bella does in the second book. EEEGADS!!! "Eclipse" is just not doing it for me either. And, quite frankly, I can't believe I am wasting my time trying to finish it. My to-be-read pile is not getting any smaller, and there are some juicy books waiting for me there.
So, last night, I went to Amazon to read the reviews of "Breaking Dawn." Like any nerd child, I often read the last page of the book first, so I figured reading people's opinions wouldn't really ruin anything fore me. And, as I suspected all along, I don't think Book Four is going to sway my current opinion. I may just skip it. That way I can imagine a more perfect ending to the series than the author (who apparently took a hard right and did some major credibility damage).
So, what is wrong with me? Everyone else seems to love this series. Me, I would rather read Harry Potter again.