living it up

well, hello there.

sorry i've been away for so long.

how was your halloween?

thanksgiving?

Christmas?

new year's?

wow. 

we are doing great here. finding our groove again after the holidays and then being sick with the flu. 

it ravaged our house.

seriously.

all 7 of us got sick.

the.....pits.

there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

nothing much to report.

the boys are growing so fast, they're starting to shave.

i kid, i kid.

it was just a fun Christmas present.

there's no blade.

don't fret, pet.

one time i went to visit my sister with my kids and we fed horses only the horses were gone so we sat outside a gate throwing carrots to "imaginary" horses. i make fun of her for it a lot.

"way to go, auntie! you promised them horses...you just didn't clarify they were invisible!"

this time when we visited her, there were actual real live horses. 

and we fed them.

mind...blown.

sometimes around here, life feels stressful.

i talk non-stop all afternoon and evening trying to get the kids to take care of business and get things done and finish homework and clean up. 

we are instituting a new system around here where each kid is responsible for three things after dinner, such as cleaning the bathroom counter (was there any toothpaste on your toothbrush or did you just pour it all out on the counter?), feeding the dogs, and clearing the table.

as with all new implementations, the kids are learning slowly and seem to enjoy making me repeat myself.

it's exhausting. 

some days you just need to roll around on the bed wrestling with children who like to smoosh up your face into awkward positions.

i'm terrifying, i know. apparently i like to eat children.

this went on for like 30 minutes. if you see me with more wrinkles next time, it's because my children like to make my face look like a melted wax sculpture.

(staring contest. i always lose. always.)

we still have little miss. she's growing fast and doing so many amazing things. 

we like her. 

we hope we can keep her.

i'm in the middle of organizing my desk and my schedule and all that so that maybe i can feel more productive at the end of the day.

but on days when i don't quite get it all done (daily), kids smooshing my face works ok to relieve stress. 

that and a hot bubble bath.

now go take a nap or eat some chocolate.

hey, we have to live it up when we can, folks.