my girl.. enjoying the snow

catch it on your tongue!

one last snowfall for 2009... oh, how I love how silent the world seems then...

Autumn Memories

As a kid I remember playing soccer in the autumn.. it was always a little cool but when that sun came out it was awesome..
this afternoon reminded me of my own childhood...
short evening
golden glow
soccer
kids
fun
homework was finished quickly just so we could go out and play... it was just too nice to be inside...

man, I got a good lookin' family!!!

Well, we didn't get to the pumpkin patch on my birthday or out of town like I wanted..
we waited till the rains subsided.. at least for 30 minutes..
got everyone together
in long sleeves
and grabbed a shot!!
Thanks to the older lady who mesmerized my kids while the timer went off on my camera..
I never use the thing and had to figure out where it was- LOL!
My sweetie met us at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch and we got a few shots, jumped in bounce houses and played in all the pumpkins!! They were so big!!!
There were no whines or tears that afternoon.. it was a perfect family outing..
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Fort Worth Stockyards

I just so happened to be at the Stockyards the same time Lady G was there with her class... my friend taught me how to do this..
I am not responsible for others.
I am an extra set of eyes just in case.
I can bring other munchkins.
I get to see what my other school kids are doing.
I can leave if needed.
I can stay longer since I have other kids with me...
it is such a win win situation for me and the kids...

Some day I will be able to give 100% but some days it doesn't work out... soon it will as the Princess A will be able to hang out with others and know she is safe. For now I am the safe haven for her and it's just fine.

lessons learned

so there were lessons learned today...

Mr. T thought that he could hide choc'ates in the potty... my sweetie is STILL plunging... lol

Princess A..

she is another story all together.. being mobile she as the WHOLE WORLD at her fingertips...

new rules applied to her today.. things I thought I would NEVER say...

RULE #1: don't eat dead worms (notice the dirt around her mouth???)

RULE #2: don't bite the toilet seat

yep, these rules apply to my lovely daughter.. think she'll remember???

all 4... the latest of all 4 of our kiddos

each one is such an individual
Lady G is "little mama" always protective and sensative
Queen V is our little sprite/fairy with her head in the clouds
Mr. T is alllllllllllllll boy... today's adventure was flushing choc'ates down the potty to "hide it from mama" nice, huh?
Princess A is just plain happy!! (although this shot would fool you...)

Checkmate

This is life in our house..
laundry will wait and so will the dust..
My honey was teaching our Queen V how to play chess.. and she caught on! QUICK!!!
She is a fast learner when she has her head out of the clouds! lol!

Henrietta Apple Orchard

first grade
apples
books
how to's

yep, my little Queen V has definitely enterred first grade as she tries apples (again.. it's like pulling teeth trying to get this kid to eat fruit!!) and writes a ton of journals and books about apples. She is so excited to grow her apple seed they dug out of the apple at school.. I told her Noah would need to build and ark for all the water in that cup.. apparently Mr. T is "helping" her water the seed... poor thing.. I will have to fix it without Mr. T's "help" so she can grow her tree.. of which she will never eat the fruit! lol!!

I tried to get some pics of Queen V but I had one mama or another jump in front of me so I didn't get as many as I would have liked. It rained most of the time we were there but the kids didn't seem to mind at all. Queen V's bangs dropped a little bit more in her eyes the longer we were there.
She saw butterflies, bugs, bees, a baby pumpkin growing on a vine, chickens, dogs, peach, pecan and apple trees... Queen V had a great time with friends, being outside... and in the rain..

Smiling with Grandpa

out to catch a whopper!

trying to sweet-talk Grandpa into letting her jump ship with him... she can't get enough play time in the water!
Lady G, Grandee and Aunt J... catchin' a few rays :)

"Did you see that fish jump over 'der? I'm gonna catch a whopper!"

No matter how hard she tries Queen V can't catch a whopper.. she loves to try though.... We'll go again soon!

big boy = big toy

look how serious you both are discussing the race car...
THIS is imortant stuff!!!
now this mama knows what is important in her little guy's life... bet I can get toys picked up super fast with this dangling in front of my little guy...
Hey, Mr T, wanna see Grandpa's race car?? better pick up your matchbox!!!!
such a wicked mama....

barefoot in the back

doll for a doll house

what a little doll she is..


I absolutely love this little girl. I still can't believe she is ours... but she is. every smile. every giggle. every shriek of joy.. yep, she shrieks with joy. It took us all by suprise the first time we heard it but she does..
What we all love to see now is that she folds her hands in prayer while we all say Grace before we eat dinner. She smiles ear to ear and then puts her hands together again when we say Amen.. how sweet is that??

shhhhhhhh. don't tell the girls...

when they are at school..
we jump on the bed!!!

just because...

how cute can one little 4 year old be...
no bribery.. he just sat there waiting for me to focus..
such sweetness hiding in this jumpy, excited, funny, crazy, little boy

busy day

The day actually started off with Lady G having an MRI. She has had lots of migraines so we had to get to the bottom of it. Since she is considered a "cured epileptic" the neurologist didn't want to take any chances... She stayed so still, listened closely to the technician and go to jam to music she brought in!!!! They had headphones for her and we had gone to the library the day before just to get music for her to listen to while the knocking and pinging going on. I got to stay in the room and read!!! awesome!!

After the MRI we went and got some dollar sunglasses (my nice ones are broken...) and she got a pair too!!! She is one cool kid- don't you think?

We had a funeral to attend but just couldn't get from the MRI to Lindsay for it so we said our own prayers here. My sweetie went to the Rosary the night before and saw cousins he never knew he had and learned a few things he never knew.
about his great aunt.

After cleaning out the van (boy, it needed it!!) we drove up to Gainesville for a birthday party in the park. We loved seeing little CJ for his second birthday!

He was so excited to open each present!!
The crew was invited to his party and gave him some foam toys to stick on the bathtub tiles.. a roadway that fits together like a puzzle and cars and trucks to run up and down the tub tiles!!! (Amanda, I can't wait to see the pics of tub time!!)
Our kiddos had such a good time.. well, minus Princess A... she is cutting teeth again so fussy is her language of late.. if we have music playing she will giggle and dance... I *have* to get a video of that!

The park we were in was one my sweetie played in as a boy. There is a pool right next to it where he learned to swim!! The kids thought that was great and wanted to go for a swim. I only had Princess A's swim diaper (doesn't everyone travel with a swim diaper??? lol!) so we didn't go for a dip!

sweet sunsets

icecream cones 1.25
icecream 4.96
sunset 0.00
+_____________________________________
sweet sunsets to remember: PRICELESS

I could not pass up such a sweet sunset... we sat on the back porch, ate drippy icecream and had lots of chocolate smiles afterwards.. how great is that??

partly cloudy

Isn't it amazing how wonderful life is?
On some days it seems as though others have it easier.
On other days it seems as though we are walking on rainbows.
Either way we need to realize that it is God's will that we should follow.
We need to figure out how important it is to see the good in all.
Kids do it so naturally... we teach them not to...
How can we be more trusting in a world so full of fear? in a world full of wanting what other's have???
How can we protect ourselves while fulfilling our destiny to do God's will...
trust
have faith

I was sent the link to this blog I will be looking more at what he has to say in the future. His thoughts and words are very poiniant at this day and time...

Feed the Birds

Lady G had another big girl discussion with me... seems we need more family time. Other families get to go do things, other families spend more time hanging out.. doing STUFF... So we went to the zoo on Sunday. It was 106* but we went.. and boy did we sweat!!! The whole gang went.... and our tradition is that each kiddo gets to pick an animal and we see that one for sure. Any other animals are a bonus and we can enjoy them but they are not the main attraction for that day. Lady G wanted to see the snakes so we went in and the girls journaled about them. We got into that habit last summer while I was trying to get them to see more details in things and boy do they!!! Queen V drew the scales and patterns of different ones- wow! I didn't have the lens that would let in enough light for that dark building so we just hung out as Mr. T shreiked at every corner about how cool each frog, snake and lizard was!!! so fun!
Queen V wanted to see birds and feed them. We saw birds we had never seen before! I had no idea of some of them because they are either higher in the trees or not there for some reason. The main bids Queen V wanted to see were the ones you feed... Since Mom gave us season passes for Christmas paying a buck for feeding the birds is easy!!! Each kiddo got a stick with birdseed on them and stayed VERY STILL waiting for a dash of color to sit quietly... even Mr. T!!!! Princess A slept through all of this... it was just too hot...

Birthday Girl!

2 years old.
we just found out #2 was on the way... Lady G got to tell Daddy she was going to be a big sister!! lol!

at 3 Lady G started going to The Daddy Store and having just time with Daddy... they made all sorts of things.. including this bookend!

Lady G turned 9!!!

How on earth did we get to this age??? Just yesterday I sat boohooing over a sweet hankerchief that Grandee turned into a bonnet for her Baptism and with a cut of 2 strings back into a hankerchief for her wedding day...

and now she is into fashion, giggling without control, dogs, swimming and American Girl Dolls.

Her favorite color is green.. and that is all my favorite things (so she wants me to write in the blog).. and Elise is her best friend... still... 5 years into school and they love being together!! It's all good...

well, except that there has not been a party yet... seems a skunk has taken residence under Mom's deck... so far we have fed the skunk but not captured it... but we have captured someone's turtle and an oppossum. Oh well... we will have parties for our kids but never when we intend on them.. go figure... it's just one more thing...

She had a great birthday though, she has gone shopping, got a key to the front door, a cool pink hat with sequins, a new Webkinz and Carissa... the newest American Girl Doll.... yep... it was all good! She asked for an icecream cake - so easy to make and she love them! whohooo! No staying up till 2am decorating the cake... but we did have streamers everywhere, lipstick notes on her mirror, 25 balloons and presents to open...

stay tuned... she is going to be published!!! yes, Duchess Bobbe (you got your own name, Bobbe!!) sent her a book so she can be published... how exciting... What a great way to spend 100+* afternoons while the little guys take naps :)

Rockledge Park

so we aren't going anywhere for vacation just yet so we will instead visit all the parks in the area... getting our tax dollars to work for us as we take a weekly adventure to a new park..
this week's park was Rockledge Park. I heard about it via another photographer... it was not anything I knew about except another place to launch a windsurfer when I was in highschool...
It was so hot this day- probably too hot for most people but we were going to go as an entire family and not just me and the kids.. my sweetie was going to escort us... fun for him to see the kids in a new environment and good for me I didn't have to chase all of them at once.. an extra pair of eyes is a great thing!!!
Here are some random pics of our adventure this day..

an a-ha moment

For all my friends who received my crazed email with my a-ha photography moment Here is on of the pics from the series I took the day the math finally kicked in for me... my parents should be so proud! lol! all that money towards education and geometry is finally understood as something useful! lol!!

sunset snuggles

Mom came over for a sunset dinner with us tonight..
We had chicken (cooked in the crockpot), rice (not as good as Mom's), steamed broccoli, fresh pineapple, and fresh apple pie made by yours truly... (should have gotten a pic of that but we were too interested in eating hot apple pie!!)
but at the end of it all I dropped Princess A into her grandmother's lap and snapped a few.... after she grabbed her arm.. notice the napkin Mom is holding on her arm??? yep, Princess A got a good hold and didn't want to let go....
Anyway, she obliged me using the best evening light.... love that time of day whenthings are winding down here.
And we need them to wind down... it has been a hectic winter with flu on 3 out of 4 kids... and 2 of them got it twice... 5 ear infections... allergies.... birthdays... celebrating Mom turning 75!! and so many more things.... whew! Where does time go? anyway, sunset nd taking pics... the best... it lets me take a deep breath and just paint... I love it.

things kids say...

snakes only have names if they are adopted... according to Queen V
I miss you (also in Mr. T language means I love you)


makes sense, huh?

this is perfect

just love how Daddy jumped in and joined in on St. Patty's Day. I usually fix corned beef and cabbage but my sister did a few days before. Since I am pretty much the only one in the family who enjoys that meal I could not give it to my family 2 nights in one week...
so instead we had clean out the fridge night and I got to play with Princess A and my camera during sunset...

my 4 kiddos and I went to the park today.. we climbed, checked out some koi, hada picnic, played grumpy old troll.. it was a good day for sure!

quote on photo w/ my sweetie is a freebie from http://jodiemcnally.com/

how fast she grows up!

4 years old
5 years old

As we ate our Cheerios together out little conversation went like this:
Mommy: so tell me, what is 6 going to be like?
Queen V:you can draw and color all day
you get to do math... every day
you get to learn to ride a horse

yep, 6 (a girl number according to Queen V) will be a good year!

Last Day Being 5

one year ago today I could not believe Queen V was going to turn 5... and here I sit not believing she will be 6!!! In 9 hours my little sprite will be 6!
She has brought me such joy...
She makes me remember to smile...
She gives love unconditionally... even when we are so frustrated with each other...
She reminds me to take a second look at things
She makes me proud...
She is beautiful...
I love my little girl...

Today she made me a card (I will post later)
she made me a card..
I had to write it again
It's the selfless things she does when you least expect
I ask her to do a million things
and her head is always in the clouds
I sometimes have to plead with her to come down
sometimes have to yell for her to come back (LOL)
and when she does
she does the most remarkable things
like making me a card
on the last day she is 5
It's a keeper with the coloring, drawing and spelling...
What an angel sent to me

2 of my angels

Lady G and Princess A

two of the sweetest easy going kiddos I know...

oh, how I love my kids!



what am I grateful for today...
finding out Princess A does not have flu again.... just ear infections
watching Lady G in a play she created with friends and it is so.... CREATIVE! She has a competition with it on Saturday and I can't wait to see it again!!
Mr. T taking a nap and trying to help clean up the lemonade he spilled in the kitchen.
Queen V for skipping into school- gotta love a kid who is genuinely happy to go to school!
Mom for babysitting so Mr. T didn't have to go into an infected doc's office.
My Prince.. for offering to pick up dinner when he found out I had another migraine.

real mothers

so it's been a little rough here lately..
since the beginning of this year I had the flu (got it on January 1.... great way to start the new year), Queen V has had the flu... twice! and Princess A had the flu with double ear infections.
We have quarantined those with the flu and I am about to take Polly Pocket for a dip in the clorox.... just in case there are germs there to share!!!
As I sit in my pity party and gritch and moan about how crazy life has been with laundry in almost every room mocking me as I go by thinking I have *got* to get this under control and explain to my Prince that I can't figure out where my time is going because it hasn't been on photoshop or photography or scrapbooking....
he laughs and tells me it was where I was right then..
rocking a baby
Even my facebook page says at the top... Anne Marie is rocking a baby.
It has been like this for some time... unless it states that Mr. T is in time out... again
and in all fairness it has not always been his fault. How would you like it if you were couped up while everyone else around you has been sick??? poor fella. He just wants time to "fing" (swing) as he calls it.... and show me how much of a super hero he is!!! with or without a cape...
So if you see me and my hair is a mess, pulled back in a pony tail
I have yesterday's makeup on
I'm in the same warm up suit that has just about become my uniform as of late
I am rushing around at the last minute for who knows what
just remember...
I am a mama...
rocking her babies as they fall sick, scrape a knee, need to practice reading outloud, spell the latest words for Thursday's quiz...

Jeff's grandma sent me this email tonight... It couldn't have come at a better time... that woman has great timing... I am so happy I know her and am on her email list :)

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;
they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what
the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
and get their answer when a littlevoice says,

'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth
is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...