Feet (and Nail) Fun

Happy Birthday to me! Again! Today my friend Shannon took me out for a girls' day to celebrate my birthday. We both had gift cards that we received for teacher gifts last spring to a local nail bar. We enjoyed pedicures and manicures, sans kids.

Here's Shannon getting her pedi. I pulled out the camera to take her pic, and I believe her exact words were: "You're such a dork." Gotta love her.

Of course, she had to take my picture:

(I look slightly uncomfortable because I was still trying to figure out the massage chair.)

Pretty feet!
Back at the House of Sass.....the finished product: Thanks, Shannon, for a fun day with a great friend. I think it's so neat how God crossed our paths and gifted me with you. Thanks for making me laugh and sharing the adventures of preschool, motherhood, and PTA with me. You keep it fun. I love you, sister!

On a completely unrelated matter, we've had some sickness in our house this week. Goliath had a stomach bug that cost us one peaceful night, two days of school, and a lot of extra laundry. At the end of the first day, I put him to bed (special bed on the floor--sheets were still in the wash) and walked away for a few minutes while he listened to his out-of-town daddy read him a book over the phone. I came back to find this:

Dead asleep with his slingshot in his hand. Hubby was still reading.....to himself. :)

Pumpkins, Playdates, and Parties

*Shannon and I took our four younger kids to the pumpkin patch this week. We packed a picnic lunch, hoping to kill a few hours. After everyone had eaten, the kids ran off toward the hay maze. We cleaned up and followed them, but while we were walking we heard a noise. I thought it was an acorn--awww...how cute! A squirrel is dropping acorns on us!....but I was wrong. Look close:

This is a picture of Shannon's head. With bird poop on it. I laughed so hard I cried, and I've been laughing all week. I should also mention that I cleaned most of it out of her hair with a baby wipe (those things are so useful!)...because I'm a true friend.

*Goliath's school held a mock election this week. It was Shannon's day to drive carpool (BTW, if you're a mom and you don't have a carpool...GET ONE!), and she noticed the kids wearing "I Voted!" stickers, so she asked them who they voted for. Kendal voted for "the brown guy", Kaitlyn voted for Sarah. Why? "Because she's a girl." And Goliath? "I voted for John McCain." Good little Republican boy. "Because I have an uncle named John!" How's that for political depth?

*Two days after the bird poop episode, I took Little Middle and Baby on another playdate--indoors this time. We met all their girlfriends at a new bounce house place. It was very fun! We only saw the kids when they ran by us or stopped to eat some popcorn. When we were driving home I asked them what their favorite part was. Baby liked the kangaroo bounce house, but here's what I got from Little Middle: "I can only tell you what my worstest part was, Mommy. It was the part where we had to LEAVE!"

*Today we are celebrating my grandmother-in-law's 80th birthday. The WHOLE family is coming to DFW for the party. I am looking forward to it--I love her!--except for one thing: having to make nice and hold superficial conversations with people who have made it pretty obvious they don't care about me or my family. That's the part I dread.

*Our church is holding the annual Family Fall Festival this Sunday evening. What I'm grateful for: my friend Heather who has gone far above and beyond the call of duty to help me with this event. What I'm not fond of: spending an entire day at church and disposing of all those hay bales when it's over.

*Our Halloween costume plan:

Goliath=Darth Vader

Little Middle=Batman

Baby=Frog

*I am now working childcare at MOPS every other Tuesday morning. I subbed one time and said I didn't want anything else on my plate...but then Little Middle started asking when we could go back to that fun class. I'm such a sucker.

My New Favorite

"Flavorful cinnamon ice cream with chunks of snickerdoodle

cookies and a praline cinnamon swirl."

YUMMY!

There Goes My Heart(s)...

"To be a mother is to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body."

I don't know who said it, but isn't it true? I sometimes look at my boys and literally feel like I can't breathe because I am so overwhelmed with love. Those three little people can evoke incredible emotion within me--joy, fear, pride, anger, anticipation! I love who they are becoming: Goliath: independent, funny, smart. Little Middle: sensitive, compassionate, athletic. Baby: loving, adorable, helpful. I look forward to the days ahead, as they grow from boys to men. I feel an awesome sense of responsibility. Three lives, totally dependent on me and Hubby to help them become what God made them to be. We don't want them to miss out on a single thing! In a lot of ways, I feel like they need me more as they get older, not less. Sure, they can toast their own Eggos, pick out their own clothes (within reason), brush their own teeth. But for the things that really matter--faith, values, morals--they're watching me for direction. They're asking for guidance. And I don't have all the answers.

In our family we have one "umbrella" rule that covers a lot of things: "Be your best." That's it. I so desperately want to be the best mother. A lot of days I wonder if I'm good enough for this Very Important Job, or am I just making a mess of things? Tonight I am thankful that His mercies are new every morning, and that He carries my babies in His hand.

Thank you, Lord, for choosing me for them, and thank you for helping me with them. I love them SO much.

Pumpkin Patch with Nana

West Texas Weekend

Hey, ya'll! We spent the weekend at my in-laws' place in Abilene. They've got lots of land, lots of animals, lots to do...it's a little boy's paradise!

Goliath LOVES horses. He got the horse in from the pasture, mounted, and rode him without any help.

Little Middle also loves to ride, but he still has some growing to do before he can go it alone.

Speaking of horses..........

Meet Nugget.

Nugget is the latest 4-legged addition to our family. For the time being, he will live in Abilene, but I have a feeling we will be visiting often!

The proud horse-owner. Isn't he handsome? (The man, I mean...not the horse.)

A few more shots from the farm:

On Sunday morning, we met our good friends the B's at the park. Goliath and J. have been friends since they were babies. Even though we miss living close by, we keep in touch and get the boys together as often as possible.

I took this picture 3 different times, and never did get a shot with J's eyes open!

The boys

Goliath, J, and their siblings. Why is Baby making that face in every picture?!?!?!?

The Girls! Notice the great West Texas wind......Nice hair, huh?

Good friends!