Mommies and Babies

While editing some of Diego's Baptism photos (yeah, I'm a procrastinator so I'm still working on those pics, haha)... anyhow... while editing those pics, I came across one of them that quickly became my favorite one. It just shows that beautiful love a mother has for her child. I hope you like it as much as I do, Alexis.

Unconditional Love!

2011 Christmas Card

This was our Christmas Card for this year. It was soooo much fun!

FRONT

BACK



I hope your Christmas was as special as ours was. Now comes the NOT so fun part of taking down the decorations and disposing of the tree :( 

Until....next year.

Diego's Baptism

This last weekend I had the honor of photographing a friend's baby while he received the sacrament of baptism. I also brought my BFF along since she's got 'an eye' for photography as well. Here's a sneak peak of what we got...

Wordless Wednesday

Cruisn' Katalina

I took the kids to the park the other day to take a Christmas photo for our 2011 Xmas cards. I got brave and took the dog too. And since I was taking the dog... why not take the cat?! If you're thinking of taking a cat to the park.... DON'T.

Stop Drop and Roll

I haven't blogged in awhile. I mean like 'really' blogged. I'm sure you've noticed. Lately, my posting is short and to the point. While they usually do have pics, they are lacking in other areas... like content. The kinda content that puts you in my shoes and gives you a real good dose of my reality and what it's like to be Mom to Many Mejias. I can blame it on my lack of time and my busy chaotic schedule, but the truth of the matter is, I am a horrible time management person. There you have it. I have finally admitted it, Miguel!!!! Enjoy it, breathe it in baby. Yes, you heard me right! I suck at managing my time efficiently! There. Now don't EVA expect to hear me admit it again. NEVA! On the other hand, I am good at sticking to a routine which is vital to raising half a dozen short people.

A Message from Santa

Don't be jealous, but Santa sent Meggie a message all the way from the North Pole. What's that? You want one of your own? Don't worry, he sends adults messages too! Click on Miguel's to see what he said. If you can't contain your jealousy anymore, make one of your own... follow the directions after watching the videos.


Meggie's Message

Daddy's Message

I'm Thankful for...

I've had curly hair my whole life and around the age of 12 I started HATING it. I've done everything imaginable to get it to look 'pin straight'...flat ironing, blow-drying, and even chemically straightening it! Now, I'm suffering the consequences of all those years of abuse. My hair is so brittle and every day I lose more and more, haha. But still,  for some reason, curly, frizzy hair is just not as cute on a 30 year old mommy as it is on a little girl!

Witch Fingers

I know we are into mid-November and Halloween is very much over but I wanted to share a cool recipe I made for the boys' birthday party. It was too easy NOT to make so I'm pretty sure it will be on our To Do List every October.

SARAH SAVES THE holiDAY!

Daddy may have accidentally deleted our Halloween videos, but Sarah also recorded the evening. She willingly shared it with me...

Halloween 2011 from Mom of Many Mejias on Vimeo.

Mejia Updates

Brianna had her first Jr. High Dance on Friday night. What a moment that was for me. She went with a group of girlfriends but it was still hard for me to swallow that she was 'old enough' for something like this. It was right after school and only lasted about an hour but it was still a DANCE nonetheless.

Good News. Bad News.

Okay, I'll give you the GOOD news first...

Halloween 2011

It's Daddy's favorite time of year again!

Every Princess Needs ....

Every princess needs a prince

Scratch the Fish Food

I haven't forgotten to post a pic of our haunted graveyard. It's just been very, very hectic around here lately. I'm recovering from the flu and the worst ear infection known to mankind. My ear even drained some yellowish goop but I'll spare you the details. I had bodyaches and fever that lasted a long, tormenting two days.  But I'm feeling a lot better until this morning that is... when I was awakened by Emily who was desperately trying to save her bed sheets from being sprayed on by Megan who decided 5:30 am was the perfect time to wake up and barf all over her bed. I bet Emily was surprised to find how easy it was to wake me because I had just fallen back to sleep from being awakened by Ben thirty minutes prior because he had decided at 5:00 am that he wanted to watch cartoons and eat "so-we-all (cereal)."

To Pee or Not to Pee

Once upon a time, there was a little boy. We'll call him Dangerboy (just because it's been awhile since we've had one of these stories).

Katalina and Catalina

Meet Katalina

Inflation?

Wow!!! Two posts in one week! Aren't you feeln' special?!

We are still waiting for our letters from Africa. I passed the real estate exam. It took me TWO tries just because I thought I was too cool to study the first time around (learn from mom, kids. Don't be a loser. Study for your tests!!!!); but let's just say I passed the first time! It makes me feel better! LOL.  I had lunch with my husband, my mom, and my 2 brothers the other day. Life is busy and chaotic; we NEVER make time to just 'hang out'. It was really nice and I think we should do it more often.

Happy 8th Birthday Emily!

Ten years ago the 9/11 terrorist attack happened. It's such a sad time, a sad month. I watched the 9/11 Memorial Service on tv this weekend and went through a whole box of Kleenex. Then I went to church that night for another service and cried some more!!! It hurts my heart to think of the families that were broken by this event. This past weekend we also took the kids to the Nixon Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, to see some of the 9/11 wreckage that was put on display. The younger kids don't really 'get it' but Brianna did, and I think Elizabeth is starting to.

Although it's such a sad month, I do have one little piece of goodness during this month that makes me smile! Emily. She's a bright star born during this sad month. Eleven days ago, Emily turned 8 years old! Geez!!! Time flies! It feels like I just had her. Her birth was the most difficult out of all six kids, she had the widest shoulder width (we're talkn' football shoulders), OUCH! But once she was in my arms, I couldn't stop inspecting her and kissing her all over. Fuzz covered her whole body! Papa Bear said I had given birth to a 'real' bear cub!

Happy Birthday, M&M's. I love you! Enjoy your video!

 (If the music on the main blog is too loud or distracting,
you can pause it or lower the volume by scrolling to the bottom of the page)

Emilys 8th bday video from christine mejia on Vimeo.

Do Elephants Remember

My good friend/co-worker sent this to me. I giggled for a good 10 minutes after I read it. I just had to share. Hopefully it's your first time reading it. And I won't torture you by telling you to send to 10 people afterwards, cuz I've done that a million times and I'm STILLwaiting for something AMAZING to happen to me! HAHA!

I climbed into a trash can tonight

because I accidentally threw away my cell phone while I was cleaning out the car.

still alive!

Just super busy. I will post some blog stories soon. Just checking in and letting you all know that we're still alive!

When nobody is watching...

This is what Megan does when she thinks nobody is watching....

Happy Birthday Papa

So we celebrated my own father's birthday about 2 weeks ago. I'm a little behind in blogging.

Letters to Africa

I remember when I was still a young kid, about elementary age, I had a penpal from England. We exchanged a few letters and a few coins from our respective countries. I remember being sooo excited because I had actually received some mail! I felt important! It was fun getting to know another kid, I learned some things about her life and her country. I also learned the art of writing letters. I want my children to experience this too. No emails to be exchanged, just good old fashioned letter writing! Writing letters to a friend far away can enrich a child’s life and at the same time teach them about someone else's culture and traditions.

Big Time Rush

Elizabeth and Emily got to go to their very 1st concert this past weekend where they saw the boy band, Big Time Rush. We got invited to go by Elizabeth's BFF and her mom.

Kids and Chores

Do you have kids? I do, 6 to be exact.
Are they off on summer break, driving you nuts, making messes around the house, complaining that they're bored and there's absolutely nothing to do despite the fact that there's a big whole in the ground coated with pebbletech and filled all the way to the top with water? Mine are!

Mental Note To Self

If you wanna go to the beach to see tidepools, you MUST go during LOW tide.

Happy Birthday Lynn

I’ve authored many of birthday posts on a this here blogsite. But I have realized quite some time ago that I have failed to celebrate or even announce the birthday of one very, very important blog reader. So here goes…

Happy 4th!

Our annual photo taken on the front lawn.

Couldn't decide which one I liked better, lol.

We spent the day swimming.

Is This A Dream Come True?

 Maybe she's been watching too many fairytales lately, but this is exactly what Megan asked me the other day. As usual, this girl keeps me on my toes with her random comments and questions. Yesterday, she tattle-tailed about a dozen times on her siblings telling me that they "breaked her heart" and they were "hurting her feelwings". Can she be any more precious?

We went to the annual pre-4th of July carnival in our town last weekend. At the end of the night they had about a twenty minute firework display. As beautiful as it was,

Mejia Madness - A Peek Into Our Week

I thought I'd do something different this week. I was playing around with a video editing program that I didn't even know we owned. Check out our chaotic week and try not to laugh too hard!

Stop and Smell the Roses

Wow! What a week this was! From Monday to Friday we were on the go. I think the only time I sat down was in the car while we were on the road driving to our next destination!!!! We started the week off with Matthew graduating from kindergarten and Elizabeth receiving an Excellent Reader award.

Speaking of Lemonade...

Before I start this post, I wanna thank everyone for all of the kind comments on my last entry. It meant so very much to me and even brought me to tears. I thank you for that. I needed that. I was having 'one of those days.' You know what I mean? Okay. on with today's post. Where was I.... saying my girls love selling lemonade is such an understatement! They beg me to do it the second after homework is completed. In fact, they are preparing the lemonade to sell as I type. Now that the weather has warmed up, I'm sure I'll be hearing even more nagging begging from them. They've pretty much outgrown their current stand and daddy noticed this the other day. Do you know what that means?

When Life Gives You Lemons

When life gives you lemons, do not throw them in your neighbor's face!

We just got a treadmill. I used to have one then I sold it. I quickly regretted it and just bought another one. Now if I can only locate some motivation to get my butt on it. I know it's there somewhere. I just gotta find it.

Megan had a dr. appt yesterday. The day before her appt. Matthew kept teasing her about getting shots and of course she freaked out until she was distracted with whatever was going on in the room at the time. The next day we arrived at the dr. Just her and I. It was a scheduled annual check-up and I really didn't expect any shots to be given. That is until the nurse reminded us that we were behind 4 immunizations!!!  Oh yeah, I seemed to have forgotten that I was one of those wacko delayed immunization believers. At least I am when I forget to schedule shots, haha. Anyhow, this upset me because I had just got done telling her she didn't need shots. I don't want my child to lose her trust in me thinking I lied to her. We made the best of it and I promised her an ice cream cone afterwards which she gladly ate up. Her personality has blossomed lately. Some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth leaves me in disbelief. You'd swear she was a ten year old, not three.

Anyhow. during our visit the nurse asked if she was allergic to any medications. Out of habit, I instinctly said "no". But then I immediately remembered she was, I corrected myself. The funny part was, it initiated a conversation about her medical ID bracelet. This is how it went:

Random Stuff

This week was the start of Teacher Appreciation Week. Each day of the week has a theme with it. Today, was bring your teacher a flower. Rather than bring real flowers, because I figured all of the other students would do that, we made flower pens. If the teachers are anything like me,

Sarah Graduates

My cousin,

Sarah,

 graduated from University of LaVerne this past weekend.

Catch Up

It's been kinda busy around the Mejia house lately. I'll try to catch you up. I'll be posting some pics but of course I don't have the time or patience right now to put them in order of occurrence so everything will be all mixed up.

Where did my baby boy go?

Lately, I just can't seem to get over how big this boy is getting! What happened to my sweet little baby Matthew?! He's already 5 and almost done with kindergarten. Time flies by too quick!!!

Beach Bums!

So here's a loooong post to make up for the lack of blogging lately.

Wasn't the Wordless Wednesday photo hilarious!? That was taken during our beach day last week where the kids and I (daddy had to work) spent some quality time with our cousins. As we were loading the car in the morning to head out, Megan decided it was the perfect time to throw up the contents of her stomach all over the garage floor. I wasnt gonna let that stop us from going, seeing as how I worked so hard for the day off from work. So,

Wordless Wednesday

Or alternately titled... "Boys will be Boys"

Happy 3rd Birthday, Megan!

Earlier this month, Megan turned 3! We had a bbq for her at the park.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Megan, right now you have just about mastered potty training. You are a bossy little thing yet you give orders in the most irresistible way. You LOVE taking Ewok for walks all over the house. He HATES it yet puts up with it. You are so stinkin smart it's ridiculous. The other day you had a conversation with Elizabeth and I about races and people of all different colors. You're laugh is infectious and your smile is beautiful. We are so in love with you. Thank you for being our baby girl!

Mudbench and other crafts

Daddy built mama this mudbench. She's been wanting one for a quite a long time now. It makes organization much easier in such a large family.

He used lots of mouldings to give it character and the feeling like its been there for years. I am loving it! He's so awesome. He did this in 2 days. However, while he was building...Ben was breaking.

Here's the final product. I framed some of our favorite pics and put them at the top. We have baskets for the shoes and each child has their own hook.

I plan on making a seat cushion for it. But its good enough for now.

The girls and I were bored one day so we made these cute flowered hair clips.

We hot glued diamonds in the middle of each one.

We made enough for each girl and even had one leftover. Elizabeth gave it to her teacher.

I made myself a camera strap cover. I don't like the look of the ugly plain old black with the brand "CANON" written on it in big letters. I had envy for the ones I've seen other photographers walking around with. So here's my attempt at making one because I refuse to pay someone to make it for me.

It came out really cute. The best part is that daddy doesnt want to use it because it's a lil

too girly for him. So now the camera is all MINE!

While we have been busy crafting... Ben has found a new place to play!

This kitchen drawer is his favorite new spot to sit in.

A friend at work showed me how to knit and crochet. I've been making baby beanies. This owl one is my favorite one so far.

And for St. Patricks Day, the kids and I made daddy and his coworkers some green cupcakes. We hand delivered them to the hospital.

Aren't the x-ray hands cool?!

That's it for now. We are going off track soon. I've got a list of things to do while we're off to keep the kids busy. But, if you've got any ideas for us- please send them our way. We want to stay busy.

Happy Very Belated Birthday Brianna!

I don't think I've EVER been this late on birthday post before. I'm sorry Bree. It doesn't mean I don't love you, I promise!!!!

Since you are 12 now (oh, my gosh... one more year and I'll be a parent of a teenager) (I still feel like I'm 12 myself, how can that be?)... where was I???? Since you're 12 now... I thought I'd give you 12 pieces of advice for your birthday post. 12 Statements of advice you can take with you for the rest of your days. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Always wash your hands... you never know what kind of germs are lurking. In fact, you taught me this one when you were in preschool and you were learning about germs. You would literally have crying fits after ten minutes of washing your hands because you swore there were still germs there. I cursed that damn preschool teacher for months. You were totally a germ-a-phob!
2. Always have a good friend and a good book. And you can't go wrong. Your pediatrician told me this the other day and the more I pondered on it the more I realized that she knew what she was talking about. Life just seems so much more manageable when you have these 2 things.
3. Trust your instincts. Especially when it comes to your children. I've learned this one recently too. Sometimes, momma's know better than doctors. I don't care how many years of medical school a doctor has had-- momma knows best. If your instinct tells you something-- listen!
4. Always tell the truth. Especially to your mother!
5. Lead by example. You are already well on your way with this one. You are paving a very rough road for your siblings to follow! LOL
6. Have Faith. I often think to myself that if God would just do it my way, then things would work out fine. But, sometimes I'm wrong (it's rare though). We need to live by faith and not by our ability to understand everything. Because, the truth is... we won't always understand why. Faith has nothing to do with seeing or understanding, it is the evidence of what we don't see.
7. Prioritize your life. Don't forget what or whom the most important things are. Don't let life's struggles blind you of that. My children and my husband are my priorities. Your father and I give up having days off together so that one of us will always be there for you guys. Find your priorities and don't forget what they are.
8. Be confident and love who you are. You are an amazing, smart, and beautiful person. Don't EVER forget that. Know it and own it, girl!
9. Follow your moral compass. Your teacher pointed this one out. He knows you too well since having you for the last 3 years. If you do this, it will keep you honest throughout your life. If you do something wrong, own up to it. If you see someone fall, help them up. Treat people the way you want to be treated.
10. Respect your elders. Hold the door for that pregnant woman or help that little old lady with her groceries. When Nana and Papa are repeating the same old stories you've heard a thousand times, just nod your head and smile like you've never heard it before.
11. It's okay to pamper yourself every now and then. In fact, it's healthy for your mind and soul. Take a girl's day and go get that massage (especially if you have six kids)!

12. No matter what you think, mom is usually right (99.9% of the time). Remember that one. It's probably the most important of them all! Nana taught it to me, and I'm teaching it to you. You will have the honor one day of teaching your daughter!

Because Brianna is so mature for her age and such a good, responsible kid, I let her get her hair done for her birthday. So, now my grown-up daughter has highlights!!!!

Thank you Brianna, for being you. Your father and I love you sooooooooooooooooooooo very much. Don't ever stop being just you! We are proud of who you are.

On Strike!

I'm soooo tired of laundry and cleaning house. Sometimes, I do 5 loads a day and the mountains of laundry look like they've barely been touched. And making beds? Psshhh. Forget about it.  I gave that up a very, long time ago. It makes no sense to make a bed (especially when you have as many kids as I do) only to get back into it the same day! Really-- think about it? That's a waste of a very valuable 10 minutes I can use somewhere else in my day like hiding from the kids in a coat closet or on better days maybe even reading to my children because we all know how important that is.  And the dirty dishes are killing me!!!!  There's always a mess somewhere. When I'm busy cleaning up one mess, I turn around to find my sweet Ben or another one of my children has made another! Why do I even try? I'm officially going on strike! As of right now!

This morning, I came across a quote by a woman I have grown to idolize, Erma Bombeck:

"Housework, if you do it right, will kill you. No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there is wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick. There’s something wrong with a mother who washes out a measuring cup with soap and water after she’s only measured water in it."

My response to her:

"AMEN SISTA!!!"

A little early for a NOT ME MONDAY

but I had to share!

I was NOT getting ready for bed the other night and excitedly pulling back the covers on my bed with a devious grin because alas the most favorite time of my day had arrived! I did NOT pull back my sheets to find a whole weenie waiting for me! And it was NOT the kind of weenie you all are thinking of!!! Get your dirty little minds out of the gutter, bloggie readers!!! (I'm talking about a hot dog weenie.) I still am NOT sure how that got there or even how long it sat there. I surely do NOT remember it from the night before, but then again by the time bedtime arrives I can hardly see so by all means it could have been there for a whole week. But no worries, it did NOT have fuzz on it.
 

Yesterday, I did NOT decide that Matthew's hair was looking kinda bushy and could undergo a cut of some kind. I did NOT decide that I was NOT gonna waste my hard earned money on a haircut in a fancy shmancy salon or barber shop when surely I could do it myself at home! Mind you, I have NEVER taken  haircutting/cosmetology course of any kind. Mind you that I have mostly girls and am NOT sure how hair clippers even work. I'm sure you know where this is going... I did NOT almost make my kid bald by  accidentally using a 1 instead of a 4 when cutting his hair!



before

I did NOT start crying! I did NOT repeat to him and myself, "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. What have I done?!!!! Get a hat and get in the car, QUICK!" I did NOT drive like a bat out of hell to SuperCuts. The haircut lady did NOT laugh at me and she did NOT have to fix my attempts. I did NOT feel like the worst mommy ever. I could NOT resist imagining him getting made fun of by cruel, mean kids at school the next day and how that might screw up my kids self-confidence and surely damage him for LIFE! I did NOT make both him and myself feel better by buying him NOT one but TWO new pairs of shoes so that at least his feet would look decent! HE most surely does NOT look like an army recruit right now.

 

After



I was NOT running behind schedule last night with dinner and baths. It was NOT 9:00 when the little ones finally got into the bath. Benjamin did NOT sneak a mini stapler into the bathtub last night. Megan did NOT find it and pinch her little pinky with it. She did NOT need a band-aid at almost 10:00 pm because surely she was fast asleep in her warm bed. I was NOT thinking, "where the hell is my husband when I need him? I do NOT feel like a single mother when daddy's at work or worse - like the little old lady who lived in a shoe she had so many kids she didn't know what to do!"  Her pinky looks fine by the way so stop worrying.  I did NOT come downstairs after the kids were in bed to find Ewok on top of the dinner table munching their uneaten dinner. I did NOT picture my foot on his rear and his little doggy body flying through the air like this...

Okay, I did. But don't worry. I didn't really do that! I love that damn loyal dog. I did NOT ditch the gym last night and instead have a nice chilled glass of wine prior to going to bed.

Megs did NOT just remind me that she got a boo-boo last night in the shower and the ONLY thing that would make her feel better was a piece of chocolate (smart girl, eh? Takes after her mommy). She did NOT just bring me this Easter decoration that my father bought me last year and tell me to "open please."

 Something tells me she's thinking it's one of these chocolate candies!

I am NOT 13 days late on Brianna's birthday post!

Sigh. I need another glass of wine. And thanks to Meggies I'm craving some chocolate now, too- 

So I'm about 3 weeks behind in posting...

But this one post is very important to me so although it's late, it still holds its value.
 Happy Birthday, Papa Bear.

Without you, the Great Big Mejia Family wouldn't have been possible :p

Without you, I would have never learned the important lesson that the world will still continue to turn even if a child falls asleep without brushing his teeth, with sticky hands, a dirty face, and/or mismatched clothes. 

Without you, I would never know what true love is.

Without you, I'd be walking through this hectic, chaotic life all alone.

Without you, I'd have nobody to build me the many things on my Honey Do List. Things like this new project!!!!

I couldn't have found a better partner!

Happy Birthday, Papa Bear!

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip. ~
Author Unknown

Can I vent for a minute?

No, you say?

Too bad. Here goes...

I'm in a mood. Kinda a grumpy one. I feel so stressed out lately. I feel like I have way tooo much weight on my shoulders. I hate venting. I feel silly venting. Probably because I know that I cause most of this stress myself. I take on too much. I hate saying no to people. I do. Although, I feel silly venting and I know that I probably shouldn't be complaining because I am the cause of it all, I'm still human and I'm allowed to vent. It feels good to get it all out there. I feel like if I would just learn to tell people NO then I could probably reduce my stress and responsibilites by at least 40 percent. So, that's on my list of things to do/learn. Learn to say no. I'm not Superwoman. Some may think I am, and maybe this blog is a big facade and perhaps I make it look easy. But, it's not. It's not easy at all. I have to stop doing favors for other people because it takes me away from my kids and they are my primary concern right now. It's not fun to have a mom around when she's grumpy all the time.

Plus, all the time that I spend doing things for others, I could be spending on my own house too! My bathrooms smell like a dirty men's gas station bathroom. Thanks to Matthew. He cannot aim well at all! Especially, in the middle of the night. I don't even know why I clean it because an hour later there will be pee puddles all around the toilet.

I'm going on very little sleep lately too. That's probably why I'm so irritable lately. Oh, speaking of bathroom issues.... if Megan will just make up her little mind if she's potty trained or not, that would help too! One day she goes potty all day long, the next day it's back in the diaper! Ugh!!!! And another about this girl is her makeup fetish. I have so many makeup items MIA. I have replaced 3 mascaras in the last month. I can't take it anymore! I don't even wear makeup on most days but every now and then when I'm feeling kind blah, I'd like to put on a little something to make me feel a lil feminine. But who knows where it's at! I try buying Megs her own makeup but she loses that too! Now, she's got Ben into this little habit. I found him playing with my blush twice within the last week. BEN... you are a BOY. a B-O-Y. That means NO make-up mister!!!!

My toothbrush. I swear somewhere in the deep dark abyss of this house lies a Bermuda Triangle. Maybe it's in the closet where I hide to eat my chocolate. I'm not sure, but I know when I find it, I will also find the thirty something toothbrushes that I have bought and one of thoses six kids have lost the same day! Stop using my toothbrush in your beautiful plaque filled mouths. You have your own!!!! I don't use your toothbrush and then throw down when I'm done next to the dirty toilet with pee puddles all around it! Yet, you all seem to LOVE to do it to me!!! Leave my stuff alone, pulllleasse!

My wonderful husband bought me a camera lens I have been wanting for a long time. I used it for a whole 30 minutes when Megan dropped it and broke it.

Elizabeth and her refusal to wear any kinda pants BUT skinny jeans! It's killing me! You should see our laundry baskets. It's scary. I can't keep up with all the dirty clothes these kids or husband create. That means skinny jeans will NOT be available everyday, child!

Gosh, is it too much to ask for a clean house and my clean car!  I'm tired of vaccuming the car to just find goldfish crumbs all over it seconds later. I'm tired of vaccuming the family room 3x a day. Just remember this children, next time you want a nice warm meal!


Oh, and just so you know... I complain, but I LOVE my children. All six of them. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I Just needed to vent.

And I feel much better now!

Goodnight.

P.S.   Ewok- stop eating our shoes!!!!

Father Daughter Dance- 2011

This year's Father Daughter Dance had a sock hop theme. Mama whipped up some poodle skirts. I found a pattern online and seeing that I was not in a sewing mood, I put it off til the last possible minute. Boy, was I surprised when the skirts took only about 15 minutes each to make. I was procrastinating for nothing. I felt like a fool! The best part is... they cost me only $12 total to make.

In the days leading up to the dance, the girls were so giddy. Especially, Emily. On the day she received the flyer, I picked the kids up after school and she ran as fast as she possibly could up to the car holding the hot pink paper and shouting out, "This is it! This is it! This is the day DADDY's been waiting for!!!!! "

What on earth was she talking about?!!!

Daddy?!!!

Judging by the past conversations about this long awaited day and the look on her face, I think this is the day that EMILY's been waiting for. But I wasn't gonna bust her chops!

"You bet your bottom dollar that this is the day your daddy's been waiting for. We gotta call him at work as soon as we get home. He's gonna be soooooo excited!"

Once we got home, Emily decided to write him a letter instead. She left it out for daddy to find when he got home from work. Being the mommy that I am, I called daddy up and gave him fair warning that he MUST be on the lookout for an important memo!

Here's what it read:

To: Daddy     From: Emily
Dear Daddy, We have ben (been) waiting for this day. The year went by so fast. Open this note and you will be exided (excited) just like me. I hope you like it. And I hope we can go.

Who could say no to that! Daddy worked his charm on the boss and was given some time off to attend this very important event. When he asked Brianna if she was coming too because after all, this is her last year in elementary school and she would never get to do this with him again, her reply was, "no thanks, dad." He tried putting the guilt on her but it wasn't working. Apparently this just isn't cool anymore when you're a 6th grader. Elizabeth was in between wanting to go with daddy and being embarrassed. She told daddy that she would go but only because her friends were going! Poor Daddy. He's losing his little ladies already. But alas, he still has Emily (for hopefully awhile longer) and Megan too!

Can you tell by this pic here that Emily still loves her daddy. Ahem (Brianna, if you're reading this.) Ahem.

Somebody was getting a little jealous and didn't want to share his daddy.

Gotta give Ben some love too!

 Don't worry Ben, just wait for our Mommy/Son dance. We'll make daddy jealous!

I LOVE daddy's face in this one! 

You didn't think that was the end, did you? You know me better than that! Of course, I waited a half hour before sneaking over to the school and stealing a sneak peak of daddy with his girls. I was very stealthy and hid behind some of the extra large daddies that were there. I didn't take any physical pics of them together only some mental ones. I wouldn't want the girls to find out later and get mad.

But I did get a few pics of the decor.

They had a blast and Emily   Daddy was overjoyed that the day finally arrived!