things i don't want to forget

SATURDAY! we went to a farm/pumpkin patchery/corn maze. we used porta-potties. and got high on hand sanitizer.
reagan dressed himself for the outing. i don't want to stifle and creative processes. it's a little "mondo" if you ask me.


the kids were fascinated by this little pig. i think they named him schumpy. (we've also had a fish named schumpy. i think it's a family name.) i was overpowered by the little sausage's foul scent. there was no love lost between us.

reagan was the catalyst for the maze visit. he went on a field trip and begged to go again.

the rest of us were less impressed. it just reconfirmed to me what i already knew from my years in college: i would rather eat corn than get lost in it.

and then scarlett entertained us with her "binastics". she's a natural.

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY! i spent every free minute sewing scarlett's halloween costume. i skipped workouts. i bargained with myself. if i got through the zipper i could go to the bathroom. if i finished the hem i could get a drink. i was hard core. i became personally acquainted with my seam ripper like never before. and then she REFUSED to wear it. REFUSED! she wanted to be a princess(which i have issues with but that's another post for another day) and i wanted her to be scarlett o'hara like in years past. it was a battle of iron wills. i had hoped i could at least wield a little more control of her halloween decisions for a few more years, but i was wrong. so wrong. and now my world is completely falling apart.

scarlett decided to be completely unreasonable and get all sick and fussy and not wear ANY kind of costume, princess or not, at our church halloween party.

so scarlett and i went home after about 20 minutes of no fun and crybabying and i pouted and crybabied and watched degrassi: the next generation until the boys got home.

sulking is sometimes the best medicine. i highly recommend it. in full flapper make-up and fishnets.

THURSDAY! my mom flew into town for a fun halloweekend.

the weather was perfect and fun was had by all.

***click on this picture!

my favorite part of our nature walk was scarlett losing her cool with her stroller and her baby flying out and skidding in the dirt toward the water. because who has been there? don't be ashamed.

i had to teach the kidlets the finer parts of local duck and goose behavior management. when they get too close and nip your fingers, you've got to give them a little of their own action.

FRIDAY and SATURDAY! grandma and the kidlets and me all piled in the car and took a short trip to north carolina to visit my uncle sherman and familia. unfortunately, the only picture we took was of this giant peach in gaffney, south carolina. but it's pretty cool if you love giant peaches.

SUNDAY! we took family pictures after church. this is an outtake. they were about 99% outtakes. but my shoes look killer. there was lots and lots of staring into the sun, and the shade not cooperating and booger picking and weird-looking, borderline inappropriate hand gestures. so we get to try again. which is awesome! because only one out of the four people in the picture loves getting her picture taken.

and then afterward, we sadly had to take grandma back to the airport. some of us took it better than others.

scarlett and a bucket full of nerds. which also describes my college dating track record! cha-ching!

reagan was more than a little torn up about it. he tried to block the front door and announced that he was done living with us and was moving back to missouri. and part of me silently agreed.

happy halloweiner!

mischief managed

when left to her own devices, scarlett is usually brewing trouble. sometimes i try and sneak up on her to catch her in the act. i was hiding on the stairs and spied this scene:

scarlett sneaking into thomas' office.

i cracked open the door and i happened upon this:

scarlett reading a talking cliff clavin greeting card:

i got this card as a freebee in a running swag bag. it has provided hours of entertainment. scarlett can repeat it verbatim:

cliff- "when the british ruled the punjab, they drank steaming hot pots of tea on the hottest days of the year to balance out their inside and outside body temperatures. see, drinking an ice cold drink on a cold drink actually results in a more comfortable body temperature."
diane- "so why do you drink cold beer on a hot day?"
cliff- "what else are you going to do with it?"
HAHAHAHAHAHA(laugh track)

the funniest part is when she laughs along with the laugh track. hahahahaha with a breathy old man voice.

reading her big, ugly baby to sleep.

which is the really funny part. scarlett is such a gentle, maternal little mama. i am baffled about where she gets it. she gets really upset if i toss her baby around or drop her on her head.

your move, martha

on occasion i've been known to shuffle off my witchy wet blanket coil and muster up some fun for the kids. it's a nice break from all the yelling and screaming. sometimes our house is not too far removed from a latin american game show. i wish i could claim that we are all screaming for ice cream. (but deep down isn't that what we are all screaming for?)

i am pretty much terrible at all crafts and things of a "making/creative nature". and if we are being honest, i struggle with a good portion of domesticity. except for ironing, i'm pretty darn good at ironing. and pre-heating. did you know i have a degree in home economics? and 4 years of french, c'est vrai. i digress. i am forced to enchant my children with mostly nearly already completed store bought crafts. like this gem of a haunted halloween house. it's become our $9 halloween commercialized tradition.
i thoroughly studied the directions before embarking on this venture(searching in vain for the toxic lead product caution), and i still screwed up the frosting measurements. so my countertops and forearms are stained orange and purple. which isn't half bad, if you like the internal bleeding kind of look.

when i was finally stopped messing it up all by myself, i allowed the kids to take a crack at it. no animals were injured in the making of this unsightly craft. but more than 5 dish towels bravely sacrificed themselves in the clean up.

ignorance is bliss when you are young. somedays these kids are going to go to a hobby lobby or a michaels and see that knick knacks don't have to look like they fell off the back of a turnip truck. but until that day, it's your move, martha!

of heros and brownies

my mom would make brownies for us everyday to enjoy when we got home from school. and i am grateful for that. not just for the brownies, but the efforts my mother made to make sure that our home was a haven from the world. my mom didn't have tons of time to be baking for a bunch of obnoxious kids. she made time for it. she made her kids her priority. she is my hero.

my grandmother was born in a log cabin in meadow, utah in 1927. her family were sheep farmers and they lost everything in the great depression. she has worked all her life. she and my grandfather raised 7 children. all of those children were well educated and learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ. she gave me my first sewing lessons and she made my baptism dress. she let me pick all the best flowers out of her garden. she doesn't have to tell me for me to know that i am her favorite grandchild. my grandmother is also my hero.

a couple of weeks ago a friend of ours from our tuscaloosa days was killed in afghanistan while serving in the USAF as a combat controller. i would venture to say that a combat controller is the air force equivalent to a navy seal or a green beret. the news of mark forester's death hit me like a ton of bricks. there have been few days since we received the news that i haven't shed tears for his loss of life. however, i have felt peace and i have felt a renewed sense of determination to live my life the way God wants me to because of mark's example. mark was a really fantastic guy who was dedicated to doing what God wanted him to do. in reading the account of mark's death, the words that impacted me the most were that mark died while fighting. it seems like an obvious phrase, considering that afghanistan is a war zone and mark was a soldier. but to me it says so much more. it's how i want to be and it's how i want to go. i want to live a life engaged in a cause that means something. i want to promote happy families. i want my children armed with the knowledge that they are special and loved and that our Heavenly Father is mindful of them. i want them to take those lessons to those around them who don't know those important and vital truths. i want the scriptures to be pried from my cold fingers. i want people to know that i promote modesty. i want to have each day filled with honest work. and honest play. yesterday i was thinking about my role as a woman and a mother and i had an epiphany. i am the adversary's greatest enemy. as a woman and a mother i have such power to influence others. my job is not to be taken lightly for those children are depending on me to teach them correctly.

while mark's death is a true tragedy, he is an incredible example of giving our all for others. i can teach my children about true heroism and that it has nothing to do with professional sports or musicians or politicians or wealth. and it has everything to do with service and selflessness and love.
my strength may not be in soldiering or combat in a far off place. i know it's not those things. but i do know that what i am doing is important. that each pan of brownies i make means something. that i can make a difference.