231 An Afternoon - Katie Style

Katie needs constant entertainment. Even when she is actually entertaining herself it seems as though I have to be there to look at what she has created or to "watch me Momma!" Today was no exception. She finished her medicine and she could FINALLY play with Mia again, so she wanted to surprise her with a Tea Party. Okay, that's not too hard. But wait, Mia is allergic to gluten, so no finger sandwiches, no crackers, and no cookies. I know ... they make gluten free mixes and all that stuff, but I don't have it just sitting around the house. So, I scraped together a tea party with what we had on hand. The tea party snacks consisted of grapes, fruit snacks, black olives, and frozen berries. Of course there was milk and sugar to add to the tea, although Mia had never heard of putting milk in your tea. She adapted rather quickly. You would have thought I was feeding them ambrosia and the finest chocolate. All six year old girls care about is POURING the tea!They each poured their own so that the other did not get to have all the fun. Poor Connor wanted to join in so badly. I gave him some of his own snacks, but he still tried to climb onto the table to play with Katie and Mia. He wants so badly to be big. The tea party was a smash. Its a good thing that they are still at that "easy to please" stage. Well, in this matter anyway.

Not too long after Mia headed off to cheerleader practice, Katie started lobbying for the sprinkler. When she couldn't find anyone else to play with, I gave in. And really, when she enjoys it THIS much then who could say no??!!She runs and jumps and screams! She even includes Connor in some of her sprinkler time antics. He is not a big fan of water in the face, but he will run with her for a while, just to be near his big sis. No one could ever accuse her of being a couch potato. She does still suffer from the horrible disease of "Noassatall". She is growing taller so quickly, but she is not growing out at all. Trying to put some pounds on that girl is a near impossible feat. She eats non-stop, but you can't tell that from looking at her. Now if I can just talk her out of wanting to be a professional cheerleader when she grows up.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that they had Career Day at school, so they talked about what they wanted to be when they grow up and Katie said a "professional cheerleader." One of the boys in her class, Dylan B (not to be confused with Dylan H) wants to be a professional football player, so she is going to cheer for him. One huge problem with that, Dylan B wants to go to the University of Georgia. I don't want her cheering for the Bulldogs! (unless we move back to Georgia) Although we talked about it today and she agreed that she wants to cheer for Ole Miss. I just wish I could talk her out of cheering altogether. She is just way to accident prone to do cheerleading! And she is such a skinny thing that I am afraid that she will end up on the top of the pyramid, or being tossed into the air. I can't take another broken bone, so I am going to try to keep her as close to the ground as possible.

And what is a trip to the backyard without a pic of flowers? This is the inside of an iris. I can't help being fascinated by the inside of the flower. The tiger stripes and soft colors. Gorgeous!

Deep in the Heart (of an Iris)

It's Love Thursday Y'all! Check out Chookooloonks for Love Thursday links and lovey-dovey goodness. Happy Love Thursday!!

230 Macro Monday: Death of an Iris

My irises are fading quickly, but there is always beauty to be found in nature.

Especially when you get up-close and personal.

Or maybe I am just a little strange for taking pictures of dead flowers.

Whatever :) Macro Monday is hosted by Lisa's Chaos

Head on over and check out the other Macro Monday pictures, and please! join in on the fun if you feel the urge!

229 Happy (belated) Mother's Day!

As usual, I am chiming in late. I would have written yesterday, but I was too busy spending time with the family and getting a few things accomplished. After Chip brought back the donuts for breakfast (YUM) he asked me what I wanted to do for the day. I looked at the humongous tv, still sitting on the coffee table, and I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish. GET THAT DARN BEHEMOTH OF A TELEVISION ON THE WALL!! We bought the mount months ago, but Chip has been waivering back and forth on exactly how he wanted to run the connections. We bought the "entertainment center" (an IKEA bookshelf turned on its side) in March when we were in Atlanta, and it was still in its boxes in the garage. Of course he said "I was planning on doing that today anyway" ... which is what he says ANYTIME I say we should get something done... or when I decide to do something while he is at work he will say "I was going to do that tomorrow!" But that is beside the point :) Well, we did it! The tv is on the wall and Mama is happy. It is however INSANELY scary to see that big ol' tv hanging out into the room. The mount has a tilt and rotate feature so you can minimize glare and point it where you want it to go. There are 8 huge bolts holding it into the wall. I know it is sturdy and safe, but it still looks scary to me.

I was hoping we would be able to get started on painting the upstairs bathroom, but that was aiming TOO high for Mother's Day. However, Chip did buy me spackle, so we are getting closer. Just have to let it dry and get it sanded and I am in business! We need to knock out all those little home improvement projects that we have already bought supplies for. We are bad about that. We buy the stuff then run out of steam. I am about to clear our paint reserves and get this house going. I am going to make it my house ... MY house! I have been just as bad about waivering. Waiting for Chip to pitch in. If I want the walls painted we all know I am the one that will be painting them. I did want him to help me move furniture, but we know I can do that, too.

Enough of the practicalities of Mother's Day 2009. Now I will wax emotional about being a Mom (and being a daughter). Almost 7 years ago (very very close, and I am very very sad/happy to see my little girl getting older) I became a Mom for the first time. Well, that is not entirely true. We had been pregnant before, but we did not make it all the way. I still think of them as "my babies", so I guess I was a Mommy well before this day.

-- and on a side note, to all those Mommies without Babies, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Just because you do not have them to hold in your arms, does not mean that you do not hold them in your heart. --

But, as I was saying, seven years ago I was about to become a Mom. We were right at the finish line. Katie was stomping and kicking me to pieces. We were all packed and ready to go. I knew that my life was about to change, but until I held her I did not know exactly how much. The amount of love that a mother has for her child is immeasurable. You hear that, and you think "yeah yeah, love" BUT, OH MY GOODNESS! Seriously, massive amounts of LOVE! Throw yourself in front of a bullet, feel every tiny hurt, wish away every tear and every slight kind of love! And it GROWS! It gets stronger and stronger every day. As you watch their personalities develop. As you watch them discover the world you have created around them - and then the scary real world they have to discover on their own.

And then, you add to your family. I was actually a little bit worried when I found out I was pregnant again. I wasn't worried about how we would provide for another mouth, or whether it was a boy or a girl, or what we would name it. I was worried that it was not possible to love another human being the way that I love Katie. That there really would not be enough love to go around. We ended up losing that baby, too. Katie will still talk about the "baby that died in my stomach" even though she was only three when it happened. And I was wrong, because I did love that baby every bit as much as I love my Katie. When we found out we were pregnant with Connor I worried again, but once again I was wrong. That boy gets every bit as much love as Katie, and possibly more because he has Katie to adore him. Of course, that is only fair since he thinks Katie is the coolest thing ever.

You always hear people say that being a Mom is the best job in the world. You know why they say it? Because it is completely true! They are a constant source of joy and aggravation. They can make you laugh one minute and cry the next. They look up to you as a HERO and an Ogre! You get to create life, and if you are lucky, you get to watch that life grow and become a mother or father of their own little ones. And then, they will finally understand just how much they are loved. I know that I did not truly understand how much I was loved until I held my Katie in my arms. It was an "AH-HA!" moment. It was the moment that I really really wished to be like my own mother.

I love you Mommy!! Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks for always being my shoulder to cry on and my shoulder to lean on.My Grandma holding my Mom

228 SOOC Saturday - Reflect

This week I am choosing to take the time I saved by NOT editing this picture to go snuggle with my not-so baby girl. Head on over to see Melody at Slurping Life to join in the SOOC fun.

I bid you all - GOODNIGHT!

227 This Morning in the Garden

I went to check on my peony this morning and found a sad spectacle. Half of its petals were brown. It was droopy. My peony is soon to be no more ... but it still smells like heaven! I was leaning in to take a few shots of it when this rude guy got into the picture. I was just a few inches away, and I stood VERY still so he wouldn't notice me. Like he even cared. He was intent on the flower and I never registered at all. The irises are still blooming. They are so heavy that all the stalks are laying on the ground, but the flowers are growing up. But even the lilies fade daily. I might be the only one to think so, but even this has beauty!! Connor joined me outside, of course. He spent a little while with the flowers (he loves to sniff them, though it usually looks like he is trying to eat them), and then he took a ride in his little red car. At least we have a few years to teach him about keeping his head INSIDE the car at all times.

** he is actually leaning out to "pull weeds"**

We tossed the foam football around. Well, he threw it at me as hard as possible, and I rolled it back to him. He was getting tired of watching us play football with Katie anyway. She never wants to let him have the ball. Summer vacation is going to be fun with the constant WHINING and CRYING! I am sure the kids will be miserable, too.

I hope Connor isn't allergic to the flowers :) Kidding, we turned the AC on a few days ago and he has been snotty ever since. I might need to shift his bed or buy him a ski mask. Doesn't seem to bother him a bit, except when I try to clean the boogies off. I know you are all disappointed that I could not catch him with an actual snot bubble, but you will just have to make due with full stoppage.

226 Monochrome Friday #0001

Thought I would try another photo challenge. Monochrome Friday seems to fit the bill. I need something to force me to look past all the colors in my photgraphs, to see what is hidden in the lines and lighting. This may not be the best example, but I wanted to share Connor's first bubble bath with you, and I wanted to do Monochrome Friday ... so here he is in black and white. Of course he had his sister to keep him company. And theoretically to keep him a little bit safer ... but only in theory. In truth, she moves around too much and forgets he has no balance. We did not have any mishaps though, and Connor's first bubble bath was a huge success ... until I had to take him out. I thought it was adorable that he put the bubbles on his face like he is shaving. Guess it is ingrained in our boys because he can't have seen his Daddy shave too often.

Happy Monochrome Friday. Remember to appreciate the simplicity in life, not just the glitz and glamour. And take a nice warm bubble bath ... it always helps!

225 Love Thursday - The Purple Edition

Sometimes the heart is buried deep.

You need to really look to find it. You might think it isn't there at all, but suddenly you see it peaking through. Love is not always easy, but it is always worth the effort to find.

Happy Love Thursday!

Hope you ALL find the love you are searching for!
(I just popped over to Chookooloonks, and her post is purple, too - great minds)