Spring Cleaning....

Ahh the joys of home ownership. We have been cleaning house for what seems like weeks. We've cleaned the storage room, the garage, worked on the yard and yesterday and today I have been painting. The one benefit of my son marking on the walls with permanent marker is that if forced me to dig out our paint and since I had it out, I figured why not touch up all the yucky spots. I've painted trim, walls, and doors, it's amazing what a little paint will do. Our house is looking almost new it's so clean. Surely I've lost wait with all this cleaning and grooving to great cleaning music, I've definitely sweat enough to lose a couple pounds.

Weekend at my parents

So I spent the weekend at my parents house, I hadn't been home since Christmas, which is crazy considering they only live two hours away but life has been hectic. Anyway, we went for a group birthday party for Ben and three of my nephews. It was a great seeing everyone and the kids had a blast. My dad always entertains them with fire and water and fish, you good guy things. My mom wanted me to take pictures of my niece while I was there, because she didn't have any for her wall and I had been meaning to do it anyway to get some older kids in my portfolio. She is 14 and it was her prom the night before we took these, so her hair was still curly from the fancy do she had. She is a knockout and was easy to take pics of, we will do a to be continued, because apparently there is grease on train tracks and she sat on the tracks for some of the pics and it got all over her clothes so we had to cut it short, but I did get some good ones.

Four Years Ago.....

I was in the hospital having my last baby. The youngest of my clan, and the one with the most personality was born at 1:30pm four years ago today. He is my little wild man, the one with no fears and the one who loves so passionately it can knock you over. He adores his big brother and follows his every move, sticks up for him against their big sister and is the biggest dog lover you'll ever meet. He has such an intense personality, I can only imagine the amazing things he is going to do when he grows up. In the mean time he loves playing outside and with his big brother and sister. He loves Star Wars and pirates and Indiana Jones, he likes to ride bikes and dig in the dirt, he fears nothing and his favorite food is cereal and peanut butter and jelly. Happy Birthday my little man, 4 today, 16 tomorrow, it goes by in such an instant.

New Car!! New Hair!!

So we just signed all the papers on a brand spanking new Ford Escape. We decided against the Jeep, because in order to afford it, we were going to have to get a used one. I drove an Escape today and there was actually a little more room in it than the jeep and it gets better gas mileage. It's bizarre just how expensive our van actually was because this is and 08 Escape with like 3000 miles and our payments are cut in half for the same amount of time we had left to pay on the van. Pretty good deal. Car shopping is so exhausting, though, so I think I'm going to take a nap. Oh and I got my hair cut today. Super short, you might not even recognize me.

New Car??

So we have been looking at getting a new car. We've spent the better part of this week looking and driving several different cars to replace our minivan. Not that we have to, but it has a pretty hefty payment and we don't have to have the extra room now that we are down to just a booster seat for Ben. It is a very nice car and the kids love the dvd player and think that life will not go on without one, even though we have one of those portable one's that we can take anywhere. So anyway, I think we have singled it down the the new Jeep Liberty's, which is a cute little SUV, but get good gas mileage or at least the same as the van. It all depends if our awesome car dealer can find us a slightly used one, I say slightly because the one we are looking at is a 2008 and it is super cool. It has what they call a "sky slider roof", which is a fancy way of say the whole freakin roof slides back. It feels like a convertible, but it also has four wheel drive and to sweeten an already sweet deal, it will cut our car payments in half and will be paid off in a couple of years. Pretty awesome right, oh and it will also upgrade our cool factor from driving the mom mobile around for like 7 years. :)

Writing

So I wonder if this urge I have to write is a way for me to avoid reality. I need to find a job, a real job and yet I just seem to get more and more obsessed with writing something. I don't seem to have a problem writing poetry, I can whip out a poem in about five minutes, but try to write some fiction and the blank page just stares at me. It's almost as if it's taunting me, daring me to even try. I think I could write essays or magazine articles, but there's something about writing dialogue that has me stumped. It's funny because I read constantly you would think it would just come naturally, but I can't even seem to get a conversation out. I read the blogs of other writers, fellow blogging writers and I get a little jealous of their progress. One just celebrated the finishing of their novel and I was like wow, I want to write a novel when I should be like that's so great, I'm so happy for you. Oh well, just some thoughts I've been wrestling with, I will write something eventually.

Earthquake??

So around 4:30 this morning here's what I'm thinking as I wake up to the whole house shaking. My windows are open and we live fairly close to the tornado alarm and it wasn't going off, Andrew is working, so I'm thinking do I call him maybe the alarm is broken. I thought it was just some serious wind. Jack comes strolling in, "mom why is the house shaking?", I don't know Jack it's just the wind go back to bed. A few minutes later it stops and I just think huh weird wind storm. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep. Andrew comes home and I ask was there some kind of tornado or something last night? No, was it around 4:30? I'm like yeah why, he says "all be damn, there was an earthquake, we had calls last night and just thought they were crazy". Who would of thought we'd have an earthquake in Missouri. I can remember as a kid doing all the drills and people buying earthquake insurance because they thought the New Madrid fault was gonna cause an earthquake. Crazy.

Life

Have you ever had a life experience that changed you forever. Like seriously you think you might not recover from it. It is so profound that everything you ever held true about life, you now proceed to question. Every belief you once held dear has become another doubt your not sure you can survive. It's amazing how the littlest things in life can come along and change everything you ever believed in. I don't know, it's crazy this thing called life. Just a thought to ponder, not that I'm speaking from experience, I'm just saying.

What my son does when he's supposed to be sleeping...

So I had a girls Bible study meeting last night and of course Andrew was working, so we had it at my house. It was scheduled around 8:15pm so the kids would be in bed.....sleeping. Well the best made plans and whatever, that didn't happen. I head upstairs around midnight to find this lovely artwork on my wall..........with permanent marker. Good times.

Yeah!!!

Juno came out today, and I of course bought the movie. I can see many nights of watching this movie. I'm super excited, it's been a long time since I've purchased a movie, but this one's well worth it.

Look What I Found!!

So I had a very productive day today. I have this little "flower garden" in the front yard, where once there was a tree. It came with

the house, I think I have improved it immensely, but I still really didn't like it. It just didn't feel like it should be there, not to mention everything I plant there the moles in our yard think it's a personal invitation to dinner. So today I got the bright idea to put a little fish/flower pond there. There was already this giant sinkhole where the moles had eaten a plant from the bottom to the point of destruction. So I went to Lowes and bought a little pond kit, with the fountain and everything. I dug the hole myself and put the pond in place and it will be beautiful when I am finished. I think I am even going to put some fish in there. Anyway, while I was digging away at this hole, I come across the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen. I am not kidding you I think it's possible it was a tarantula. I'm not sure, but it was huge, so of course I took some pics. Now this thing was huge and I don't particularly like spiders, so these are not great pics, I was a little shaky.

A New Poem

Sometimes a poet comes along and changes your life, Mary Oliver has done that for me. She has inspired me to write more, better and often the words that are within me. I only hope that someday I can write poetry as profound as hers. I have been writing a lot this month for National Poetry Month, and mostly it's been crap just to get something on paper or screen. It has, however, given me seed for future poems, and just the realization that I have the ability to do it if I put my mind to it. This most recent poem I have read is truly profound, I recommend it to all. Here's just a snippet, but the last line is truly the most stunning, I'll let you read it yourself.

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
--Mary Oliver

Conversations with an almost 4 year old....

Our lunch conversation today was so funny I had to write it down. He really never stops talking, but at least it's interesting right? He was eating his pb&j and grapes when I sat down with my sandwich and Dorritos, being the unhealthy example that I am, and he of course wanted some chips. I obliged and we proceeded to eat happily. He then said:

"Mom, you should plant these chips in your garden....that would be so tool (cool)"
"Ben, I don't think chips grow in the garden."
"I know, they grow in the mud....hee, hee,....no they grow on the bird feeders"
"Your silly, Ben"
"I know, I was just joking"

Sneak Peak!!

I had the wonderful opportunity to take pictures of the beautiful little baby G yesterday. Can you call a little guy beautiful, well as you can see, he is. Anyway, it was so much fun and he was so adorable, it's a good thing my biological clock can't tick anymore:) cause this little guy would make me want more. In other exciting news, I got my Kris Delmhorst cd's finally, she is so awesome. I don't think she's made a bad cd, or song really for that matter.

Will it ever stop raining??

I am patiently waiting for the rain to stop. I am pretty sure you could actually go swimming in our yard now, there's a small lake in the back. I am ready for it to dry out a little so I can plant my garden, put our basketball goal in the ground, get out and take some pictures. There's tons of things I want to get done, but this rainy weather is stinking it all up for me.

NKOTB Reunion!!??!!

So I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, cause I was actually a little on the old side to be so into these guys, but I had pictures of the New Kids On The Block, like Maddison has pictures of the Jonas Brothers on my wall. I was an official member of their fan club and can't believe I just found out about this reunion tour. I will seriously take my daughter to a concert if they come close enough. I think they've aged quite well, definitely better than me. They are hotties aren't they?

"I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales"

August Rush we just watched this, and it might be my new favorite movie. It is absolutely amazing, I basically cried the entire movie. The title of this post is my favorite line in the movie, and oh my gosh, the little guy that plays August, I could just eat him up. He is adorable, and has dimples you could get lost in. Everyone should see this movie.

Great Day, Great Weekend!!!!

What awesome weather, I love this time of year. The weather is perfect the excitement of summer is just around the corner, barbeque's are a plenty. Time with friends and family and sitting around a fire. Life is good. We had a great and productive weekend. Saturday, Andrew cleaned out the garage, while I cleaned out the storage room. Then he and I went for a bicycle ride on the green way, however we did take a detour, which included five too many hills. Later we went over to friends house and had an awesome grilled dinner and sat around the fire pit and had S'mores. Today we did the church thing and then came home put the kids to bed and then I went on another bicycle ride, solo, this time on the Katy Trail, it is so beautiful. I am totally frustrated that I didn't bring my camera, but didn't know if I could manage both, as I was still pretty sore from yesterdays ride. I got a little worried when about 15 minutes into it, I started seeing vultures flying overhead, as if they just knew I would keel over any minute. It went great, though, I rode 30 minutes one way and turned around thinking I'd have 30 minutes back. In the future, I will know to take account of the wind, cause it took about 40 to get back. It was awesome, though, and I'm excited that I am getting back in shape before softball starts.

Another shot with the Holga

Here's one of the boys, with the Holga. I can't wait for my film to arrive tomorrow!! I am seriously considering developing my black and white, I have researched it and I think it's totally doable. Saturday we are cleaning out the storage room and I think I can set up a dark room in there, no problem, I will just have to hold off on the enlarger until I have more funds.

Got the Prints Back from my Holga

Yeah happy day!!!! I got my prints back today. They were actually much better than I expected, I was really afraid they wouldn't turn out at all. I did have some trouble with advancement of the film, most of them run into one another, but hey it just adds to the charm I think. I will get it down eventually. Having gotten these back, I can't wait for my film to arrive, I got mostly black and white and am super stoked about shooting all black and white.

Holga Happiness!!

So I took my first batch of film in to be processed today. We will see if it turns out, I'm crossing my fingers. Hopefully there will some worthy of posting, but I'm not promising anything. What a total pain to get film processed these days. It totally makes me want my own dark room all the more. I can't even buy the film I need, I actually had to order it online, because nobody carries it anymore. It's so sad to me, the thought that film might actually become extinct in these digital times. While I am all about technology, believe me, I love everything digital, there's something to be said for the excitement of not knowing what I am going to get when I get the prints back. There's also something totally amazing about creating those prints yourself, which again, is why I think I just need to build my own.