I might need a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on

It's a list, I'm sorry, but after the crazy week that we've had, it's all I've got in me:

it's a 3 day weekend and while I'm looking forward to it my kids have been fighting like crazy. The little two have turned into a tag team temper tantrum duo {try saying that five times fast} and Adison is just annoyed with each and every single thing they do. Hold me or hand me a glass of wine, either work for me.

also, they have all turned into the tasmanian devils when it comes to the house. Holy smokes, they have been destroying/making a mess of everything. I think I have vacuumed the living room/dining room about 5 times in the last two days. Homegirls are messy.

we have some family members going through some health issues, so if you could please pray for them we would all be extremely grateful.

we found out yesterday that my dad will be having back surgery in a couple of weeks, again, prayers would be greatly appreciated.

there's more, but I'm sick of focusing on the frustrating and choose to focus on the good: my family, husband, children, parents, friends, life and for you all.

Have a lovely weekend, lovelies, xo

I have no idea how she thinks of such things

Ainsley: Abby, let me help you put your shorts on.

Abby: No, mama has to do it!

Ainsley: Mommy, why doesn't Abby ever let me help her?!?

Me: Ainsley, it's because I'm her mama.

Ainsley: Ugh, well, when you die then she'll have Adison help her and then when Adison dies THEN she'll let me help her!

It was/is slightly concerning as to how quickly her mind came up with that scenario and that she even thought that up in the first place.

Should I be concerned???

Right now I'm...

listening to the girls talk

urging myself to go get dinner ready {enchiladas!}

feeling the workout I did this morning, yowza!

starting the countdown until Pilates class tonight

waiting for my darling niece to come over

waiting for K to get home from work

enjoying my post-coffee alertness

so glad that I don't have another migraine like I did yesterday

feeling super pumped about running in The Color Run again, my brother will be running it with me this time. K and the girls as well as my mom, step-dad and dad will be there to cheer us on

in disbelief that tomorrow is Thursday already

feeling so very grateful for life and love and friends and family

itching to start reading another book

really hungry for the previously mentioned enchiladas

feeling ready for fall and blue jeans and boots and sweaters

What are you up to?

Can you spot the funny?

Yesterday I was going through pics on my phone, you guys, I had over 700 from my phone alone plus an extra 1,000 from the iCloud.

Picture overload.

Tangent: I have the hardest time deleting pictures off of my phone.

It's like I'm afraid that if I delete them that I will forget that moment.

Which, to be honest, is not that far off from truth, what is it about having kids that sucks your brain out?
What would I do without my smartphone other than forget absolutely everything and then double book everything else.

End tangent.

Back to pictures.

I meant to share this with you guys forever and a day ago, but then I got lazy because I would need to unplug the usb cable from my phone charger and plug it into my computer to then get the picture off of my phone.

Ridiculous, I know.

But then, due to me forgetting everything...what's my name again...when's my birthday...

I forgot, hence, me looking at old pictures on my phone, running across the beauty and remembering, Hey Self, remember when you wanted to share this picture with your lovelies and then totally got lazy then forgot?

REDEMPTION TIME!

Here you go my dears, I hope you get as many laughs from this pic as we did.

p.s. this was at the gorilla exhibit

Our life in pictures and words...and random tangents

Life has taken on a whole new level of busy now that Adison is in school during the day.

It also brings on a whole new level of exhaustion, mama is needing 2 cups o' coffee nowadays.

::yawn::

Little girls in matching tutus picking flowers, be still my heart.

Seriously, is there anything cuter?

They even wanted to wear matching bows and shoes.

I love having little girls!

Ainsley lost an earring last week.

It fell out sometime during the night and she didn't realize it was missing until almost 11 a.m.

uh oh

We ran up to the mall to pick up some new sterling silver earrings and I had to repierce her ear {gag, the hole had closed up a bit, end gag}.

She picked these out because they are sparkly and have pink AND purple in them.

So completely Lee it's not even funny.

She told me that she wants a pair of ladybug earring for her birthday, I think we can manage that one.

My poor Dad has a hernia in his back.

He is in major pain and the swelling has caused sciatica in his back.

The girls and I have been taking him to physical therapy three times a week and he has treated us to some ice cream treats.

I have no idea how she does it but Ainsley manages to get ice cream all over her face.

Puzzles are all the rage in our house right now.

Do your kids go through cycles with toys and such too?
Adison and I completed a 3D Finding Nemo puzzle yesterday, it was awesome.

Oh, did you hear that Finding Nemo is going to be back in the theaters in 3D?
I'm normally not a huge fan of 3D movies, I tend to get headaches and they are not normally worth the extra $$$, I think that we are going to have to see Nemo in 3D though.

{P.S. it was the first movie that Adison saw in the movie theater as a wee little toddler.}

Last week, on our way home from dropping Dad off at p/t there was a wreck on highway.

Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but the highway was backed up for miles.

This bus was being towed and when Abby saw it get in line in front of us she burst into laughter.
I texted it to K to throw him for a loop, I'm happy to report that it worked and it had no clue what was going on.

Success!

K's mom and dad sent the girls some happy mail last week.

The girls got to open their gifts right after dinner.
They were so excited!

{Man, Adison's hair is getting so long! She refuses to get it trimmed, I've told her that as long as she takes care of it she can keep growing it out. I wonder how long she will grow it. Lee is growing out her's too and has decided that she is going to donate her hair to Locks of Love, such a sweetie!}

The dreaded laundry and clothing changes.

The kids are growing {which is great} and the seasons will be changing soon so I did the bi-annual clothing swap.

Storing clothes for later and weeding out clothes that don't fit anymore.

It is such a big job, I was beyond thrilled to get it done.

We had a new store open in our town recently.

Yesterday they had a big promotional sale and interesting attractions.

This guy doing the chainsaw, wood carvings was amazing.

The one that he is working on is an owl and the one in the foreground in an eagle.

Stunning.

He also had done a bear but I didn't get a picture of it.

I also spotted this beauty while we were walking to the car after the store opening.

I want one, this is beyond awesome.

I looked on ye old internet last night, but couldn't find the exact one.

Oh well, I'll keep searching.

This picture does not do it justice, but I noticed this massive bruise on my leg Saturday.

It's huge.

Plus, I have no idea how I got it.

At all.

It kind of {read REALLY} weirds me out.

In SUPER DUPER EXCITING DESERVING OF ALL UPPER CASES NEWS:

I am doing The Color Run AGAIN!

That's right baby, to 5Ks {and hopefully more!} in a year. 

I can't wait, super excited and I am determined to run the entire thing again and hopefully do even better than last time.

Backseat Conversation

For this conversation to make sense I am going to call Ainsley or Lee as she is often referred to as "L", Abby or Babs as she is often called will be B.

B: I'm the biggest.

L: No you're not, Papa {my Dad} is.

No, actually, Uncle Isaac is.

B: No, I'M the biggest.

L: No, Abby, Jesus is the biggest.

B: No, it's me.

L: No, it's Jesus, he's the biggest because He's in Heaven.

He has all sorts of neat things up there like books.

B: I love Jesus.

L: Me too, when we die we get to go to Heaven with Him.

B: Yeah, we get to go to Heaven with Him.

L: But, we have to die on the cross like He did.

B: Yeah, it'll make my knees hurt real bad.

I obviously corrected Lee that we don't have to die on the cross to get to Heaven, rather, it is through believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. That His sacrifice was and is enough and that we are saved by grace as we can never be good enough on our own to get in.

It cracks me up to hear how much they bicker about things yet ultimately work things out and come to a mutually satisfying result. They are such an amazing duo, the play well together, are best friends. Even though they fight sometimes they come together and are just a great team.

This conversation went on in the van on our way home. I often like to quietly listen to what they have to say. The back and forth flow of information and thoughts. To hear how stubborn and unyielding they both are but peace always prevails and ends with laughter.

Miss Emma Grace

Ainsley has been talking to me a lot about Emma lately.

She wants to know how old she would be.

{almost 6}

If she will have a birthday party in Heaven.

{She thinks we should make a cake and throw it up in the air as high as we can and maybe it will get to Heaven. I told her that I am sure that she will have a great party with Jesus as well as our loved ones already there.}

She wants to know what Emma looks like.

{When I tell her that I don't know she tells me that Emma has blue eyes, silver hair and a sparkly dress. She's also not a baby but a big girl.}

Ainsley wants to know if Emma wore certain shoes, then remembers that she died in my tummy.

{Be still my mama's heart, it hurts a lot sometimes.}

She tells Abby about Emma, tells other people about her, too.

Shares that she has sisters and brothers in Heaven, that they are with Jesus and that we will see them someday.

I love her openness, her willingness to share her sister and siblings that aren't with us.

At the same time though, it makes me so sad.

Sad to know that this sadness is such a part of her story.

You know what though, I know that Jesus will use this in her story, just as He has used it in mine.

There is no sadness or wistfulness in her voice when she talks to me about Emma, she's very matter-of-fact.

It's part of her, the same way that she has two other sisters, a mom and dad that love her and a Savior that is always there for her.

I'm looking forward to seeing how God uses this in Ainsley's life.

I know that it has given her empathy towards others, I have also witnessed her sharing Emma's story giving others the opportunity to share with us their trials and sadness.

God uses it all, the trials and the triumphs for good.

It is not always visible immediately, but it's there.

A wanderin' we went

Saturday evening K declared a desire to take the girls for a walk on a beautiful trail that runs through town.

There is a creek, a big wooded area, wildflowers and such.

Adison saw the vine hanging down and couldn't wait to try it out.

The girls always have fun and it's an opportunity for K and I to talk and watch the kids.

Interact with the kids while doing something different.

Plus, we get some exercise, I love multitasking!

We found a cicaida.

I live one, well, just barely alive.

It didn't even have the strength to fly away.

It was in the middle of the sidewalk and K very nicely put it back in the grass.

Miss Babykins, homegirl was even more opinionated than normal.

It. had. to. be. just. right.

It's a good thing she is smooshably cute.

It's her superpower.

Lee got to ride her bike.

She was a trooper and proclaimed that It's the very best day ever ever.

Well, alrighty then.

I love pigtails on little girls, I mean, is there anything cuter?

Well, besides said little girl's shadow, double the pigtail for the win!

It was such a gorgeous day out.

I had to snap some pics of the greenery, isn't it pretty?

Ugh, before we know it winter will be here.

This, my lovelies, is Kansas for ya.

Well, it's missing a cow or two as well as some wheat.

Besides that though, Kansas.

How was your weekend my dears?

The Ba-ba Fairy

Abby still has a pacifier or as they are called in our house, a "ba-ba".

Sigh.

 

Abby has a particular knack for losing her ba-bas in our house for some reason.

She is only "supposed" to have them at nap and bed time.

I say "supposed" to have them then, but with age comes some sneaky smarts and homegirl has figured out that she can sneak them out of her bed.

Forever and a day ago she lost her last ba-ba and she's VERY particular when it comes to them.

I had decided that I was "laying down the law" and I was NOT going to buy anymore of them.

You can laugh at/with me if you want to, hahahahahahaha!

The next nap time not having a ba-ba she flipped out, she's got a bit of a temper.

She then found some other pacifier that was a different brand and put up with it for a day or so but then started complaining that it was hurting her teeth.

I don't know if it's because she's my baby or because she is the youngest of my kids and let's be honesty, mama needs a break.

I broke down, broke my own law, saved myself a headache or two and bought her another ba-ba.

It's a necessity around here.

She didn't realize that they came in a two pack so I hid the extra one knowing that the other one would get lost.

Well, the day came, her fabit {favorite}pirate ba-ba went missing.
She was crushed and would tell anyone listening that it was lost.

She was so sad, it was heartbreaking.

I brought out the other one and for some strange reason decided to tell her that the "Ba-ba Fairy" brought it to her.

She would come back though and take the ba-ba away eventually and give it to a baby that would need one.

All went well, she went with it and would constantly remind us that she couldn't keep it for very long because a baby needed her ba-ba.

But, remember earlier when I mentioned that age brings sneaky smarts?
Well, when K or I would tell her to give up the bink she would get flat out snarky and inform us that if we took away her ba-ba then the Ba-ba Fairy would bring her yots and yots of ba-bas.

Man, she got us.

Figured out how to beat the system.

She forgot one thing though, we are the parents, the adults.

We just take it away and out of sight all the while Abby's little voice is harping about the Ba-ba Fairy will bring her more.

Ah, life with a two year old, it's never dull.

1, 2, 3

Today was Adison's first day of school.

4th Grade

She had a great day and loves her teacher.

She was bummed that she and her best friend are still not in the same class but they have decided to play together at recess to make up for that fact.

 

It was nice being back in our routine this morning.

That being said though, I did not enjoy having to wake up early.

*yawn*

We did have a nice visitor today, baby B spent the day with us.

It was so fun seeing her again!

 

Every year on the first day of school Ainsley always jumps in to take part in Adison's first day of school photo.

This year I asked Abby to join too.

Next year Ainsley will be in kindergarten.

Say what!

in which I discuss our weekend and then ramble on a tangent

This is what I've been doing the last week or so.

Yep, my cat, Chloe, does the perfect "sick Danna" pose.

Sleepy kitty is getting old.

I seriously worry about her dying while K is at work and the kids are at home.

I don't know what I would do, well, besides freak out and cry hysterically.

Today, when I caught her napping on our bed {naughty kitty!} I had to quietly watch her to make sure that she was breathing.

Insane a bit, yep.

{Has anyone else with an iPhone been seriously pampered with autocorrect? Yes, we all complain about the weirdo word mistakes, but I love that 99% of the time it correct my misspelling like iwth = with. I find that now when I type I have way more mistakes than ever before. Thank you autocorrect for making my life easier.}

Anyways, serious rambling going on today.
I had a post all typed up in my brain and then when I sat down to write it all of the other nonsense in my brain decided to spill out.

Sorry lovelies.

Okay, sleeping cat = perfect representation of me.

Right.

The weird thing about this sickness is how tired it made me.

I struggled with sleeping at night but during the day found it next to impossible to keep my eyes open.

I am so very grateful I got sick before school started.

Seriously.

To thank the kidlets for their patience while K and I were sick I decided to take them to our favorite cupcake place as a reward.
K was still too sick to go so I brought some home.

His request was either: something with lime or the grasshopper {mint} kind.

Billy Vanilly has daily special cupcakes as well as their everyday selection.

You never really know {unless you plan ahead and check on-line what the daily specials are, which I NEVER remember to do} what's going to be available.

The two pictured are the Mojito and Cosmopolitan.

sans alcohol

So yummy.

Okay lovelies, sorry for the ramble or as my friend, Jennifer, likes to call it Shiny Object Syndrome.

Insta-Friday

Hello lovelies!

How was your week?

Around here, well, it consisted of 3 healthy children and a sick me.

Allergies + pushing yourself too much = sickness

I'm feeling much better though, woo to the hoo, but was up a lot last night coughing.

{Although poor K is sick today, allergies + asthma = no me gusta}

I'm tired, but feeling pretty good.

Good enough to realize that this is the last Friday before school starts.

Hold me, I want to cry.

School starts in 5 days, FIVE DAYS.

So. not. ready.

Monday I dragged myself, properly caffeinated, and the kiddos to the store to get Adison's school supplies.

I learned from my mistake of waiting until the absolute last minute last year.

I was able to find everything she needed at one store.

Score!

This girl.

She slays me with her cuteness.

I want to bottle up her sweetness, I think it could finally bring about lasting world peace.

For real.

She was a cowgirl/ballerina.

What you can't see in this pic are her ballet skirt and cowgirl boots.

It was fierce.

We got rain.

For real, water falling from the sky rain.

I know that the majority of the U.S. is having a drought too, but when you see nothing but ruined crops it's heartbreaking.

It's someones livelihood, that brown, brittle corn.

While it rained I took the girls out to enjoy it.

Running and dancing ensued, as well as a rainbow hunt as the sun was shining too.

I *thought* I  saw a faint one, but can't be sure.

While doing Adison's school supply shopping I saw this cupcake.

It's supposed to make your locker smell good and seeing as I don't have a locker I decided to hang it in my car.

It smells a bit like chocolate bubble gum, odd but I'm going with it.

Um, yeah, this picture...I don't really have words for other than my girl is a massive goof ball.

These two, there fighting is what will turn my hair grey.

However, they will occasionally, very occasionally, have moments of peace and sisterly love.

Adison found a new game to play and Ainsley absolutely loved watching her play it.

Thanks Steve Jobs for bringing peace to what would probably be feuding sisters.

We don't have a Trader Joe's in our fair city.

Sad face.

However, the in-laws do!
Before we left their house on Sunday we picked up some yumminess.

I really love flax so these were a no brainer in my book, deliciousness.

They tasted so good with TJ's black bean soup, me gusta.

Pinterest yumminess- Crispy Edamame

Source: allrecipes.com via Danna on Pinterest

They were delicious.

I don't normally make the things I pin on Pinterest.

Probably because when I'm at the grocery store I usually have all three kids with me and chaos ensues.

Plus, shopping for a new recipe takes time and planning, forethought, something I don't generally employ before a shopping trip.

I'm more concerned with making sure the children are nice and full as well as making sure that I am properly caffeinated.

Priorities.

Anyways.

I saw this pin for Crispy Edamame and knew that I HAD to try it.

I love edamame, it's delicious.

I love parmesan cheese.

I love cheesy snacks, a little too much.

Crispy, cheesy snacks tend to be my downfall.

Yay gym, not.

These, while definitely cheesy were not so crunchy.

They were, however, delicious.

Everyone liked them, especially Abby.

K even tried them and he's not in the edamame fan club.

I think that next time I make them I will make sure to put some extra parm on top before baking and maybe mix in a bit of garlic.

You simply cannot go wrong with adding garlic, at least in my book.

Well, okay, you can go wrong adding garlic to pastries.

Lee just ran back to eat some more and declared them, "Yum."

Success!

Have you tried making any recipes from Pinterest?
Any delicious ones that your family loved?

Surprise!!!!

Last Thursday was my mother-in-law's birthday.

I won't share which one but say that it starts with a certain number between 5 and 7 and ends with a 0.

It's a big deal yo.

My father-in-law, Bob, and sister-in-law, Anna, collaborated in throwing my mother-in-law, Terrie, a wonderful surprise.

A surprise made complete with out of town family coming in town and her best friends.

She didn't know about it.

I was a bit worried as a confusing text convo between K and I led me to sharing secret info that I thought wasn't secret with my very talkative nine year old.

I then realized my blunder and tried to fix the situation only to have said nine year old blurt out a top secret information to Terrie.

Thankfully she didn't catch the info and somehow didn't question what Adison said.

It's probably because our family of five showing up around dinner time with three children that have been packed into the back of a sedan for over an hour is the blessed culprit of said information being glazed over.

The next day we layed low.

I slept until 11 thanks to feeling super run down, yay allergies {sarcasm}.

We watched some Olympics.

Yay {no sarcasm} as we don't have cable anymore so I had missed all of it.

I watched some swimming, track, volleyball, water polo, fencing and trampoline.

Seriously, trampoline?
Is this new or have I somehow been unaware of trampoline being an Olympic sport.

P.S. I also heard that they also have speed walking now, can anyone confirm that for me? I am feeling slightly confused, what other Olympic sports do I not know about?

So.

Back to the story as I got completely sidetracked by all. things. Olympic.

We went over to Anna's house about 20 minutes for Bob and Terrie were due to arrive.

Snap, I just realized I forgot to tell you the cover story:

We were dressed up to go to Terrie's fav Italian restaurant for a celebratory dinner.

Beforehand though, we were going to go over to Anna and Isaac's {her hubby} for drinks and appetizers.

End cover story.

The house was all decorated and everyone was fancied up.

We were all hiding in the living room.

Terrie was so cute talking to Anna about how fancy the house was all decorated, still not having put it all together.

She walked through to the living room when roughly 40 people started singing Happy Birthday to her.

She cried and so surprised.

It was so much fun.

I got to meet K's cousin's new baby boy, catch up with Tiffany and meet her little girl, make some new friends, celebrate life and marriage and birth and so so so much more.

We stayed up late and talked and talked some more.

I had to share this precious pic of Miss Abigail.

My niece, Ada, made this little hat.

Mr. Darcy ::sigh::

Okay, so last night my allergies decided to go haywire and left me feeling kinda bleh.

I have been exceedingly lazy today and for my sake the children have complied and I have been reading even more Pride and Prejudice lately, I just cannot help myself.

Jane Austen knows how to do romance.

Not the sleazy, horrified if someone caught you reading it kind of romance, but pure romance.

The interactions between people, the subtle nuances and such.

I haven't been just reading Pride and Prejudice lately but have stumbled upon a wealth of post-P & P books, sequels if you will.

::sigh::

The other night I watched {for like the 1,000th time} the 2005 version of P & P.

I love all of it.

Every single one of the characters is so perfectly cast in my mind, the actors are flawless.

The acting supreme, it is hands down, by far my most favorite movie/book of all time.

I think this is a neat video montage and the song is one of my favorites.

What is your favorite movie/book of all time, what do you love about it?

Please share, I'm always on the lookout for a new book/movie!

Have a blessed weekend my lovelies!

Stream of thought

Ainsley is a goofball, much like her parents.

Last night my friend Jennifer and I took our younger kids to the library for some Pinkalicious fun.

They had cupcake decorating, magic wand decorating, flower making, face painting and balloon animals.

We skipped the face painting as the line went on for miles and Lee had bluntly told me earlier in the day, "I don't want to have my face painted."

Duly noted my dear.

Her ability to know her own mind so clearly is impressive to me.

As a child I was pretty passive with things, I was a huge people pleaser.

Still am to be honest, it annoys me at times.

I would often go along with whatever and then not be happy.

I remember going clothes shopping with my mom as a child.

She would show me something, I would agree that I liked it {even when I didn't} and then when we got home I wouldn't want to wear it.

As a parent, I can now understand how annoying that must have been. 

Yesterday morning I enrolled Adison in school.

4th grade.

It's crazy.

She said that she's kind of ready for school to start again, she wants to see all of her friends again but isn't ready to give up our laid-back summer.

I understand as I'm ready for our schedule to resume yet am not ready to hope back on the busy train yet.

I got the school calendar yesterday and started entering everything into my phone.

I've already agreed to join two committees, I was on them last year, but am not going to be taking anything else on.

I just don't want to get as worn down as I was last year, it's just too much.

We finally got some rain last night.

It was so very necessary.

The grass is almost completely brown and the trees are already losing some leaves.

It's just too hot for it be so very dry.

Okay lovelies, that's all I've got for today.

Does anyone have any prayer requests, if so please share!

xo, me