The Birthday Unspoken.

If...

I had given birth to a son 14 years ago today he might look something like this.

And he would probably be fantastic.
He would be a fabulous big brother.
He would adore his Dad.
He would be a huge help to me.
I imagine he would be a lot of fun to be around.
If only....

However,
I am not nearly that old, there is no possible way I could have a son who is a mere 2 years away from a drivers license and 5 years away from a mission.
That's just crazy talk right there.

But...if I did...
He would probably look just like this right before
blowing out his candles on this very night.
Uh huh, the candles that were lit with the help of this...
(cuz that's the way we roll 'round here)


Yay, and I am pretty sure the only Denial of ever heard of is the one in Egypt.
Because I am dealing with everything very rationally.

Since I am unable to discuss the birthday of this so-called boy of mine
maybe we should talk about something else.
How 'bout another birthday?
Like, say, one of the very best of the besties.
This girl right here.
Yup, she's my Top Robyn and I just loves her.

Okay, so she might be my daughter after all....

Audrey's first week of school was fantastic.
She was happy.
Yesterday and today....not so much.
Yesterday we talked for a while, she brushed her bruised little preteen ego self off and went out the door to play.
Today we talked for a while, she wasn't so much up for talking.
After a few minutes she turned to me and said, "Can I just go make a treat?"

That is so, so....Me.

I can't count the number of pans of Blondies I made during my teenage years.
Honestly, probably nearing the thousands.
It's hard to wrap my brain around the amount of ingredients my mom so willingly let me use.
Now, of course I do love me some fresh from the oven goodness.
Who doesn't? But...
It was the whole baking process that I loved just as much as the consumption.
After a frustrating day with friends and school and everything else; knowing that two sticks of butter + two eggs + all the other ingredients = something I can count on to turn out right was a life saver. A control freak's dream come true.

Not much has changed.
I still love that.
I love knowing what I am doing, making the tried and true.
I love the memories that making the oldies but goodies conjures up.
I love the smell of fresh baked goodies in my house.
I love that treats (or any delicious eatables) make my family happy.
I love that I can change not just my own mood, but others too.
I love taking care of my brood.
I love that sometimes an audible sigh escapes my lips just from putting my apron over my head.

Okay, it's true...I am a little crazy. At least that's what I am thinking writing all this. I guess the bottom line here is a confession that my house, and the kitchen in particular, is all the therapy I think I will ever need. And I suppose if my girlie follows in my foot steps that wouldn't be such a bad thing either.

The key, I've learned is a big family. I came from a big family and I have a ~sorta~ big family. You really have to keep the numbers up so you don't end up eating completely everything all by your lonesome.

Or, in Audrey's case, having your mother eat it all.
:o)

Correction. Again.

For the Love!!
So, believe it or not we are changing the fugitive game.
....Again!
I am sorely regretting the day I announced this little shin dig on my blog.
This time it's Mark that will be out of town.
How could we party without Mark?
Considering the fact that it is his house and he is a barrel-O-fun, it is completely inconceivable.
Therefore, we be switching it up.
Saturday night. 8:30. The Weston's.
I surely am hoping a few of you adventurous souls will still join us.



*If we need to change it again, I will be far too embarrassed to post it here.
Instead, I will be standing in the Weston's drive way handing out cinnamon rolls and cookies.
Buying friendship and forgiveness.

Is it just me?

Or is the sky a little bluer today, the grass a little greener, are the birds singing in your neighborhood? Is it not just a fan-freakin'-tastic day??

I'm walking on sunshine. Oooo-oooo. I'm walking on sunshine. Oooo-oooo. And it's startin' to feel good!!

I love the first day of school!!
The kids were all excited to go---their excitement doesn't hold a candle to my own---but, I am so happy they were all happy to be off and away.

Let's have a little run down of what I've accomplished so far. Oh, and I am far from done. Far from it.

• Cleaned the kitchen (i know, i do that every day. i'm still counting it)
• Swept and mopped
• Cleaned the kids bathroom
• Cleaned my bathroom
• Wiped down all the doors, door knobs, and door jams
• Reorgan-sized and refolded everything in the linen closet (a summer of fort making takes a toll)
• Cleaned and organ-sized Audrey's room
• Cleaned and organ-sized the girls room
• Wiped down all the shelves in the pantry
• Been thoroughly entertained by Grant
• Enjoyed a delish grilled cheese and fresh from the garden tomato sandwich

I am a cleaning machine to be reckoned with. I am woman here me roar! Nothing makes me happier than cleaning. Weird, but true. Cleaning uninterrupted and not having everything undone with in moments is pure heaven in my book. That and fresh from the oven ooey gooey chocolatey goodness, in almost any form. Those two things. Just love 'em.

Lest I sound like a mother who doesn't adore the fruit of her loins....let me say, in my defense, this has not been a normal summer. Life has not been 'normal' for a while around here. I'm gonna be honest here and say that it is a sometimes daily battle just to keep on keepin' on with a smile. Well, I'm smiling today!

I do adore my little peeps. I even got choked up saying good bye to them this morning. Don't forget we had a lot of changes this year--I sent Adam to middle school, Audrey to intermediate school and Elsie to first grade this year. That's a big deal. And it was kinda hard to walk away from my sweet little Elsie-girl.

I did get over it pretty quickly though.

Oh, and p.s. how happy am I that I still have Grant D-lish with me. I am WAY too young to have All the kiddos in school.

They're happy.
I'm happy.
Let's just say it like it is.
School is a win/win situation for every one involved.

Correction.

Stop the presses!
I know you all are planning you whole life around the parents back to school party.
I've got some news....
Please do not freak out.
It has not been canceled.
It has been postponed.
The hostess with the mostest, our lovely Sarah is a no-can-do this Friday.
Soooo, we are going to do it next Friday, August 21st, at 8:30 pm. at the Weston's.

Be there or be...well, or don't be there.

If nothing else it should be entertaining.
And by entertaining I mean hilarious watching a slew of adults running around the neighborhood playing a game that was clearly designed for teenagers.

T minus Three.

That's right friends, only three more fun filled days of summer left.
Not that I'm counting or anything.
Just thought I'd throw that little tidbit of information out there.
I mean, I'm sure there are mothers out there who are excited about it.
~Not me.~
You certainly wouldn't catch me smiling to myself randomly these days.
I'm definitely not planning a cleaning extravaganza beginning Thursday morning.
There is no way we are having an adult back to school party Friday night.
(it's surely not an adult fugitive game starting at the Weston's at 9:00 with an open invite to all.)
In fact, I get teary eyed just thinking about the thoughts of school starting.
Yeah, there are probably mothers out there who just love the idea of things like
structure and routine.
CrAzY Ladies.
Me?
I live for chaos!
Why else would I have had 5 children?

Okay, it might be because when Mike and I reproduce we create these things.

Can I help it if they are the most fantastic 5 children the universe has to offer?

Not really.

...And because every once in a while we all head out to the backyard and have a grand ole time together.

The Fact of the Matter is...

Well, it's several things actually.

• If I don't stop making cookies and brownies I am going to weigh 400 lbs. Can I help it if my awesome baking abilities bring such joy to me and my family? No.

• Audrey's Bake and Buy is helping me well on my way to 400 lbs. Seriously, her baking business is good for her, trouble for me! Those no bake cookies are mighty tasty and I am awfully weak.

• I really need to get over my complete hatred of running in this heat. It's hot. Get over it. Not running is not helping me get ready for the Vegas Ragnar. It is also not helping me to not weigh 400 lbs.

• I do not understand why Grant (and all my other children at this age) feel the need to rise and shine at 5:30 in the AM. And I really, really don't understand why he is still adorable to me at such an hour. Let us not forget that I am a morning person, I just like to wake up on my own terms....even if my terms are only 15 minutes after his. ;o)

• I do not have TV recording abilities, SYTYCD starts at 7:00--mother of five not off duty by this point in time. Okay, so there is the possibility that I complete all my mom jobs during commercials. "Hurry Grant, tell everyone good night. Let's read your story, (I then skip 4 out of every 5 pages) all right, let's say your prayers, quick quick, jump in bed, night night, I love you!" All this happens in the span of about 90 seconds. There's also a chance that Elsie reads to me during commercials. That goes something like this, "All right Elsie, let's read (I mute during commercial. I am good like that). Good job, sound that one out, does the picture give you a clue? Your doing great, keep going...okay---WAIT---sshhh, ssshhh, ssshhh my show is back on." My Wednesday night mothering skills are Top Notch! Good thing for me it doesn't start until 8:00 on Thursdays.

• We are on the home stretch summer wise. How did summer come and (almost) go all ready? Less than two weeks until my little minions go back. Honestly, amazing! And, I will admit my complete and total freak outs of "GET THESE CHILDREN OUT OF HERE! I WANT MY SPACE BACK!" have been kept to a minimum. I'll go ahead and pat myself on the back now.

All right, so there ya go. You now know all the random crap that is rattling around in my head. I know, you may be slightly disappointed. Here you thought I was some sort of rocket scientist and we could solve world hunger if we could just get inside my head.
Well, we can't.
You will just have to get over it.


*You're all good with the fact that I am slightly crazy, right? I mean, that's part of my charm, isn't it?*

just a little FYI.

I miss Mike.

We are no strangers to spending time apart. He has worked out of town numerous times over the course of our marriage. I have taken many a trip to my moms without him. He has been on more scout camps then I would care to count.

And yet, I still miss him.

Here's the thing, we have no communication what so ever. That is not so strange, we never do over scout camp. But, I don't normally stay in town. I guess I never realized how much easier being away and preoccupied makes this particular week of the summer.

We have a fairly traditional system around here. I take care of the house and the kids and everything that goes along with it. That's my job. And I like it that way. I might be a little neurotic about how I like things, so it's best if I get to be in charge. I guess what I am saying is that physically it's not all that big of a deal to have him gone.

But mentally and emotionally he completely takes care of me. Like I said, I tend to venture into the realm of neurotic- he deals with all my craziness like a dream. And he makes me laugh- a lot. Laugh out loud, laugh in disgust, he laughs with me, he laughs at me, all that good stuff. That man is absolutely one of a kind. He tells me all the time how boring my life would be without him.

He is positively 110 percent correct.

My Main Squeeze

is spending his birthday 'on top of the world'
and could not be happier about it.
Mike is on scout camp-a 50 miler- in the Uinta's this week.
Today they will be climbing and conquering Kings Peak.
Mike has done it before, but he was still so excited to take these boys
and how lucky am I that 'these boys' include my own son.
p.s.
I waited A LOT of years for that.

I won't bore you all with 38 reasons why me loves him like I do.

A few years ago for Valentine's Day I made him an 'I love you because...' jar with 100 reasons
when Adam saw it he chuckled and said,
You really came up with 100, Mom? WoW!!

Life without Mike would be....well,
incredibly boring
to say the least.
Yup, I am one lucky girl.

So
Happy Birthday, Mikey!
Where ever you are.
:o)

Your a good man, Charlie Brown.

Meet Oscar.

Our new dog.

And Mike's new best friend.
I'm not joking, the man is in love.

Because,
- seriously-
how can you not love a face like this?

Plus Audrey has already trained him so amazingly well that she felt she needed to video document it.
They have worked especially hard on the "Sit...." and "Stay....." part.
Yup, she's practically the dog whisperer.
No worries, I already know she's crazy.

~Here's Da Scoop~
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Mikey.
He grew up to be, well...pretty much...just a big boy.
{Personally, I still like to call him Mikey.}
Anyhoo, this little boy never had a dog.
:o(
But, if he did...
it would have been a Boxer.
Because--Hello?-- who doesn't know that Boxers are the coolest dogs ever?!?
So,
This little boy grew up and married me...
Apparently the biggest softy on the planet.
How do we know this?
There are a million reasons.
And I do mean at least a million.
One of the latest happens to be named Oscar.

What's a girl to do when the love of her life finds the dog of his dreams for the cost of free and someone else has already dealt with the dreaded-albeit incredibly cute-puppy stage?
She caves.


Now,
are you curious to know what reason one million and one is?
I'll give you a hint....
He's named Nelson.
His name comes from whence he hales.
As in, the 'Nelson' homestead.
Can you believe this darling little thing
(I'm referring to the kitten, not the boy--although he would of been happy to live in the old barn too.)
was living in the old barn on my parents farm?
It was a crying shame, I tell ya.
A crying shame.
and
I am the biggest softy on the planet.


Don'cha kinda wish you had me for a wife and/or Mother?