the first sleep over

under no circumstances can i divulge the information that was shared at the slumber party...i mean...sleep over friday night.  all i can say is that i had absolutely no idea that the whole "guy/girl" thing had started up already.

where was i????

i will say that 3 out of the 4 boys wanted nothing to do with all the "girl" talk and wanted to stick to the video games.

however...the idea of a good "ding dong ditch" did sound appealing to them...even if it was a girl.

****

poor sisters had to watch the football action from inside.

these boys felt the need to start the night with some football.  now...the idea of this was very foreign to me.  a.  it's dark.  b.  they've already played football at recess.  c.  it's time for dinner.  d.  it's muggy.  e.  now they are going to smell.

the list could go on and on.

but apparently...they needed to mark their "everything boy" territory or something before we even really got started.

did you know that when boys drink root beer out of the bottle...it automatically ups their cool points?

and...furthermore...i actually had to explain to one of them that root beer would NOT, in fact, get them drunk and that he was just excited.

sister was not happy that she was not allowed to sit with the boys.

she perched her little self at the table in chase's place and clasped her hands together and i swear i heard her say,

"sup, boys?"

****

my red solo cup...

i fill you up.

it was over pizza that i found out waaaaay more than i ever thought i might.  like i said...two of the boys had some serious crushes.  now...i'm completely aware that i began behaving somewhat immaturely at this turn of events and may or may not have given them the idea of taking the girl some chocolate.

my intentions were pure.

i swear.

after all...she lived around the corner and we could easily walk to her house...drop off the candy...and be back before chad knew we were gone.

(he's not the parent you want to go to if you have any sort of plan that deviates from the norm.  if shenanigans are in order...

i'm your girl.)

so...

somehow...it ended in dropping the candy on the doorstep and ringing the doorbell and running,

with me being the get away car.

yeah...

so what if i tied the bow for him?

****

i saw how the male brain works and finally feel like i have a handle on some things.

the guy with the crush was super excited to ring his girl...and just because he wanted to get a little "just dance 3" on...didn't mean that he cared any less about her.

something to think about.

i decided to let the girls play this time.  annslee never has to know that her remote might as well be for the ceiling fan.  it totally wasn't hooked up.

****

moving on.

i tell you the truth when i say that colton was only excited about the ding dong ditch and he didn't care who was on the other end of it.

and this is fine by me.  i'm not ready for my little guy to have another girl in his life.  i mean...he already has 3.  what more does he need at the tender age of 11?

****

the movie lasted about 20 minutes before chad, colton and i got left by ourselves to watch the "miracle" that is the us hockey team beating the russians in the winter olympics.

colt joined his friends in his room for the remainder of the night.

i overheard comments like, "this is the best night of my life" and i know, for certain, that one kid texted his mom that he was having the "best time ever."

so...i'm gonna chalk it up as a win.

****

not that boys really care whether they drink their milk out of a cute bottle or the carton...

but the extra touch of these old, frappachino bottles made me happy.

this morning, we learned that our dear friends had to put their dog to sleep yesterday.

so...naturally we went with the whole "sugar makes everything better" plan.

****

there are some living beings that have their designated spots in our home.  i always know that i can look to that spot...and there they will be...my sedentary friends.

it's a comfort, really.

and just to keep things real.

the basket looked like this...

before it looked like this.

i'll leave you with a little just dance 3...

which i promise gets your heart pumpin in a really fun way.

i've mastered the zombie people song...

which happens to be her favorite.

thank you very much.

i've been thinking.

i've been thinking about some things.  one of which is, am i ever going to break away from the top knot???  and do people think i look like a messy, unorganized, grungy librarian??

the second thing that i've been thinking about is colt's 11th birthday sleepover.  it's tonight and it is our very first slumber party.  (although it is very important that i not call it a "slumber party" in front of his friends.  i've been adamantly told this.)

we are having pizza; bottled root beer; brownies and ice cream; the movies miracle and we are marshall complete with popcorn and m&m's.

whose excited??

****

the other thing that i have been thinking a lot about lately is becoming more conscience about the amount of trash that we are producing.  we have a large trash can in the kitchen and we fill that thing full, at least 1 time a day.  sometimes 2.  plus...we have trash cans in every bedroom and bathroom that are filled to the brim each week.  trash comes in the form of mail, every day...in the form of bulletins and announcements from school every day...in the form of plastic bags housing all of our bread, chips, snacks, hygiene products, etc...and countless other ways.  it's getting out of hand.

i'm all about easy. 

and if we start this challenge...my life won't be as easy.

but maybe...

it will be worth it.

in order to become more "trash free"...

i would have to take my own jars to the store to fill them with lunch meats, chicken from the butcher, cheeses, and dried goods sold in bulk.  i would also need to take a pillow case to fill it with bread from the bakery.  i would have to radically change the way we buy and use hygiene products...doing things like making my own toothpaste and laundry detergent and hair care.

and what about toys...and the packaging around movies, games, etc?

and don't even get me started on composting.

yuck.

it's overwhelming to think about.

but...

i am feeling the nudge to make a few changes that could add up to a lot less trash over time.

i can't imagine how this will go.  after all...we don't even recycle!

i'll keep you posted.

****

in the meantime...

i will try my best to entertain 5 eleven year olds, 1 nine year old, 1 six year old, 1 two year old, 1 thirty-nine year old, 1 puppy, and 1 kitten for the night.

and while i'm at it...

i'll try to figure out what i would do with this popsicle stick if we were a trash free family.

how can you eliminate popsicles??  they are like the best thing ever.

a look at her eyes...and through his.

pinterest is proving it's worth in countless ways...and i've only been a member for, like, a month.

i checked out some photography pointers for bringing out the eyes in a photo.

and who better to practice on than the sweet pea.  she is really the only one who has the patience for my camera being shoved in her face at every turn.  plus...i promised her a reward if she would traipse around the yard with me...experimenting with shadow and sunlight.

technically...you are supposed to use a light reflector shade and also be able to do some touching up with photo shop...but i don't have either of those.  so these babies are all natural. 

she has really unique eyes.  they are not really a specific color...which makes them hard to highlight.  the outsides of her iris are dark blue and then as you get closer to the pupil...they turn from blue to hazel.  and...one is lighter than the other.  in order to fully appreciate the color...she has to be looking at the sun...which makes for a squinty photo.  i used to turn her highchair toward the window when i would feed her when she was a baby...just so i could study her eyes.

i just love those eyes.

this particular night...we went to top water grill.  chad...nor i had ever been there before, so we didn't know what to expect.  all we knew was that the restaurant had been featured in southern living magazine.  so it had to be good.

and it was.

the highlight of mine and annslee's meal were the hush puppies.  she kept saying,

"uuuuppiiiiieeees."

the highlight of chase's and aiden's was the ginormous fishing poles.

the girl could catch some serious fish with this baby.

it is always a little uncomfortable when strangers go out of their way to talk to my children.  and that just makes me so sad.  this man had been sitting at the bar with friends...and got off his stool to come and talk to annslee.  he was so kind and complimentary and it's a shame that...as a parent...i constantly find myself questioning people's motives.

it's just not the way our world was supposed to be.

they played a serious game of air ping pong.

and then we hit yogurt bear.  who doesn't love yogurt?

chad's dad and his wife got the meal.  my parent's got the yogurt.

generosity is a thread that weaves deeply in and out of both sides of our families.  and that example pays off in tangible ways.

like when you witness your 11 year old give some of his birthday money to a "feed the poor" table outside of walmart on his birthday.  i had to tell him that it was ok to not give it all away.

sister was hungry and decided to take things into her own hands.

and...she enlisted a helper.

yesterday, the kids had a holiday from school...so i tried to come up with something fun for us to do that didn't involve spending any money.

picnic in the backyard it is.

i layed out the blanket...prepared the lunches...and announced to meet me in the backyard.

that's where i instantly became majorly irritated due to the wind blowing everything everywhere...making it nearly impossible to eat.

the blanket blew in the food...the soda cans blew over on the blanket...our hair was in our mouths.  it was a mess.

i started getting all irrational about how everything i try to do ends up a hot mess...

and then i looked at the kids.

they didn't care that the blanket now had food all over it.

they didn't care that the soda cans had tipped...or that their hair was in their faces.

because, you see...

superman can really get some good flying done in weather like that.

and that's what really mattered to him.

he's the candy to my land. plus...he's 11.

eleven.  he's eleven.  and that just sounds old.

but he is.

and there is nothing i can do to make him ten again.  i was used to ten.  i was comfortable with ten.

yesterday...january 14th...at 10:28 am...he turned the big one one.

and i made sure hot chocolate greeted him.

with whipped cream and sprinkles, of course.

after all...

a celebration was in order.

and i am slowly getting used to having an eleven year old.

while he stayed in our bed...watching tv and enjoying his hot chocolate, sister and i busted out some basketball cupcakes.

and then...we busted out big brother's pancake, egg, and bacon birthday brunch.

ever since the hair cut...i've been calling him slim shady.  he reminds me of a certain, white rapper.

just the hair...of course.

that evening, he had a basketball game.

people came far and wide to watch him.

it was a "fan club" of sorts.

just look at that cheering section!  i mean, paleeeease...

we might as well have busted out my old pom poms.  (and don't think i wouldn't do it.)

after big birthday brother tore it up on the court...

we went to mooyah burger to celebrate him...

and the big win.

(but mostly him.)

look at uk...lurking in the background.

i just love a good lurker.

and uk came through too.

he brought it...with the new basketball.

colt's old one had become a little "slick" from all the wear and tear of the driveway dribble and bucket play.

because chad's dad and his wife were here from iowa...we had to put the real partying off until next weekend.

a 5th grade boy sleep over is in order for friday night.

i better start preparing now.

i'm thinking some shenanigans are in my near future.

and everyone knows...

i just can't turn down a good double dog dare.

oh yeah...

those boys will have met their match.

happy 11th birthday colt.

you are the candy to my land.