currently

thinking about:

change and how sometimes is just sucks. our beloved neighbors have sold their house and moved. it is so so so sad for me. i really loved them and loved having them right across the street. it's hard to even put into words how much i will miss them. i can't even look out the front door without tearing up. it feels almost the same as when my parents sat me down and told me that they were getting divorced. every fiber in my being not wanting it to happen.

i know i'm being a little melodramatic, but i don't care.

great neighbors are a blessing and i'm thankful that we had them in our lives for almost 9 years.

on the bright side, a sweet new family moved in next to us with 2 girls the same ages as mine. they have been connected at the hip since the day they moved in. that makes me happy.

reading:

bread and wine by shauna niequist. it's really good.

listening to:  kenny loggins… pooh corner. we ran into ken at whole foods in vegas, he was really into J's baltic amber beads. we are best friends now. i made a new KL pandora station and the kids think i'm crazy crying along to pooh corner. wow, i'm kind of a sappy mess in this post. well, why do kids have to grow up?

watching: attempting to watch breaking bad. i don't like it at all. it's gross and sad. i think i'm not going to watch anymore. still love to watch my recorded modern family episodes every night. so so so funny.

thankful for:

my first baby doll turning 14 today! how does that happen, i don't know. she just returned from a huge catholic teen retreat and is on fire with the holy spirit. i am thankful that we are in with the audio/visual guys and had him keep tabs in her… he sent me pics thru out the weekend :)

i am thankful for the great group of kids and people who put on the retreat. i am so proud of her wanting to go even though she didn't know anyone going. she is so brave and confident. she had a great time and slept until noon today. i guess they were a little sleep deprived.

happy birthday SRW!!!! i love you!!!

12 and 1

i am kind of diggin this 2 on one day birthday gig

i think L is coming around with the idea of sharing her birthday.

she was very excited about her new camera & first sleepover party.

i made L a chocolate cake with chocolate icing & J a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

 baby J loved his first cake & wasn't scared at all when everyone sang to him.

mother's day trip

this year for mother's day,

my mom, sis and i

decided to go on a trip to indy to visit my grandma.

and my two aunties were there as well.

one lives there and one was visiting from california.

love those funny crafty aunties of mine.

it was very exciting.

we ate lots of food, visited lots of family,

took lots of pictures, and acted very silly.

we had an instagram-off with my aunties.

we all took pictures of the same thing and then admired each others artwork.

baby J loves grandma. grandpa couldn't remember his name so he nick named him Thor. we thought that was pretty funny and called him Thor all weekend.

little sisters are the pits.

baby J getting a bath in grandma's sink.

so thankful for this amazing mother of mine. she's fun, kooky, loving, generous, pretty on the inside and out, adventurous and brave.

we were so honored to attend the night owls mother's day brunch ay my mom's cousins house.

it was all very fancy and delicious.

my gram and her sisters were nicknamed the night owls when they were young mothers.

once a week they would take a break form their 18+ kids 

and get together with their red lipstick

and play cards, smoke cigarettes, eat donuts and drink coffee

all night long.

hence… the night owls.

i am personally impressed that they just drank coffee.

we had a hat decorating contest and guess who took first, second and third place!!!??????

we even got to ride in an indy 500 pace car.

we just barely missed the best blooming time in the whole wide world.

and my sweet baby with the legendary rubber band ball

i am so thankful for these special times with my family.

i love them so.

this happened...

my baby is one.

just say no to carpet

i have a hate/hate relationship with our carpet. i wish i could rip it all out and replace with beautiful new wood flooring. but unless the stars align in just the right way, that is not happening.

last night i gave my bouncing baby boy some time to "air out" before his bath. he right away proceeded to urinate all over the floor. that wasn't that bad, I cleaned it up & shrugged it off. a few minutes later Paul came in to get him and stepped on something smooshy. we thought maybe spit up, alas no. bright green foamy poo was all over the front of the little angel and all over the floor. how it got on the front, I don't know. anywho, i spent a good hour scrubbing carpets last night.

just another wild saturday night.

post edit: less than 12 hours after this post…. the cat peed in the basement AGAIN!!! $%^&&

uuurrrrgggggghhhhhh.

d's first communion & confirmation

it's catch up time.

we have had some milestone moments and i need to get those babies recorded!

D had her first communion & confirmation in may.

it was beautiful. i was feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the activities that we have going in may

and this blessed event happened right smack in the middle of all of them. 

she asked our beloved neighbor, ahem well ex-neighbor… that's a blogpost all on it's own,

to be her sponsor. 

Joan, her sponsor, was so sweet and spent so much time with D making sure she was ready for her sacraments.

it was unbelievable. she went above and beyond.

i am so thankful for her and her example to my children.

because if this and because of generally being over stretched in may,

i was not on the ball with putting together a party.

i was confident that anyone who new us well would be there and be ready to celebrate

the sacrament day.

it was divine intervention… because it was all pulled together and it was

perfect.

my family of course was all there. D's godparents had inquired a while back and were there with their kids.

all grandparents were there.

cousins, friends…

very special.

D was asked to bring up the gifts during the Mass. she had practiced several times but was a little thrown off with the church full of people and got a little turned around.

i could see that  this was happening, and i was getting so nervous for her. i was way on the other side of the church and in the middle of the row.

i saw her walk back, then back again… and then pace back and forth a few more times in the back. i saw the top of her sweet little vintage veil bouncing up and down… getting a little more frantic.

my heart was beating fast and i wanted to go and rescue her.

and out of nowhere, like two angels,

i saw her godmother appear on one side and her confirmation sponsor appear on the other.

they guided her back to her seat.

i teared up.

they were there to help her just when she needed it.

it was beautiful.

after the Mass, we gathered outside

and invited everyone over to our house.

my sis made a cake and we made sandwiches & gave the kids as much

candy & soda that they could handle….

making a big deal of the sacrament day.

the gang

D's superstar sponsor

D's amazing godparents

her vintage veil from indiana