Blissfully Unaware of the Chaos the Surrounds Me

Befuddled . . .

I'm stuck. 1,000 was a big number. And we've got lots going on in our lives at the moment. Thus, I'm stuck. Trying to step out in a big way, but settling instead for a random assortment.

As usual.

Yesterday I hosted  a Matilda Jane trunk show. It was a beautiful sunny day. Their product line is amazing. I kind of wish that I could live out some combination of Matilda Jane/Pottery Barn/Garnet Hill photo-shoot. As my real life. Sadly, because it was such a beautiful day? A lot of my expected guests didn't make it to the show. Which was no biggie for me. (Hey, I ate that leftover salad for dinner. And lunch today!) But I felt bad for my "trunk -keeper", Keri, who drove down from Redding and spent most of her afternoon here. She said it was fine, and I ordered a few things to try and make up for her slower afternoon!

( I bought the green/teal stuff for our upcoming photoshoot with Blue Lily. I bought the purple dress for Halle because she loved it. Surprise!)

We also got to see our beloved Lauren and Bobby yesterday evening. It was an hour of talking, laughing and lots of doggie antics. Yeah! Crazy-love! I even got to sneak out to see Lauren this morning. I miss her. A lot. A really, awfully lot. Apparently, Halle really misses Prince Bobby. (Who is wearing a Matilda Jane headband. Because he can.)

My handsome boy got his braces off. He is even cuter than before. Which is saying something.

 I started and finished Bloom over this last week. As a follower of her blog, it certainly seemed familiar. But it was more of a comfortable familiar versus a boring kind of familiar. I knew enough about her story and had read enough of her blog to feel at ease with the book. It felt good. It felt like growth. It made me set the book down several times to go connect with my kiddos. It made me feel like I was in the right place at the right time. My patio. My quilt. My kids playing in the background. My feet on my table. My home. It was a feel-good, grow-well, LOL and simultaneously dry-your-tears-kinda-book. That's a book review from a Mama heart, yes?

I planted even more stuff in my yard. I'm committed. We are not moving for at least two years. (According to me.) Also, according to me, I'm going to successfully grow a hydrangea this year. So help me! (My Mom bought me another one. We named her Henrietta. We prayed over her. Multiple times. Halle asked God to "not let her Mama kill Henrietta, like she's killed her brothers and sisters before." Yikes. Even my four-year-old knows that I'm a hydrangea killer!) I also trimmed (hacked) my gardenia bush. After hacking it? My mother informed me that it was totally the wrong time of year to do it. Yep. Oh well! I also planted a couple of more containers. That really seems to be my thing. I'm good at it! Maybe my entire yard should consist of containers?

My Mom and I went out and did some looking around for birthday ideas. Everything I told her that I would love was stuff for our yard. Today? I did a 180! I told her I wanted some girlie cowgirl boots. Random, yes? But way better than yet another market umbrella! Speaking of my birthday? I am having a potluck to celebrate. Seriously! I am christening this summer as the Year of the Potluck. I felt strongly that we had let the social pressure and some ridiculous expectations get to us. My standards for entertaining got so high (expensive) that we just stopped having people over. So I am bringing back a new reality. Perfection is out. Potluck is in. Get on board, peeps! Bring a covered dish and come on over!

Speaking of the yard, my birthday and family? I asked my Dad to design and build me a custom/reclaimed/recycled/made-of-pallet outdoor sofa-ish creation. I want it to be u-shaped AND be moveable so as to be able to turn it into a . . . Big. Family. Bed. (It's not as creepy as it sounds. I swear.) I want this summer to not only be the Summer of the Poluck? But also, the Summer of the Backyard Campout. I'm inspired by all sorts of Google images and of course, the almighty Pinterest, but have yet to find an example of what I actually want. Thus, my father, the engineer to the rescue!

I worked at church on Sunday. It made me miss our small-group (RLG, to my Bidwell peeps). We simply cannot do it, right now, because of our crazy schedules. But I really miss that miss-mash group of people coming together in our living room every week. 

The kids and I took our first spring bike ride on Saturday. I'm actually very surprised that my legs didn't fall off. Halle is still riding in the bike seat behind me. Let's just say that will come to an end very soon. Holy cats! Who knew that an extra 35 pounds in the rear could be so hard to pull along!

This week is looming large. As is next week. I look at Cozi and see lots of holes.  Lots of notes that say, "childcare needed". Not sure what to do about those holes just yet! But I'm committed to taking it one day at a time. Kids. Husband. School (x 3). Work (x 2). Stress (x 1,000). Laundry (x never-ending). Faith (x hopeitsenoughtogetusthroughthenextsixweeks). Or something like that!

Bring on the potluck. Bring on the birthday wish-list. Bring on a walk or two or twelve with good friends in the park. Bring on the weekend. Please (please, please!) let's ignore the fact that it's only Monday.

Tuesday Phone Dump . . .

hey, I'm just calling it what it is!

From top to bottom, left to right . . . 

1. The tick that I removed from Dylan's back after a walk around our neighborhood lake. Ew.

2. Halle's Rockstar jacket, courtesy of our Shannon's very talented Mama.

3. Rosemary ham, egss, spinach and tomato-less salsa. Weirdly delicious.

4. One of the masks made at my house last week for the Middle School Masquerade Ball. It's hilarious to watch a 7th grade girl convince two 7th grade boys to make masks that match hers. And they were all hot pink!

5. Halle's Valentine's bracelet craft.

6. Goo Gone is handy when your crafts involve spray adhesive and glitter. (And hands that are almost glued together.) Just saying.

7. My controversial fishnets that I wore to work yesterday. John thought that the 1-2 inches that showed between my boots and skirt might have been too risque. I think that the idea of fishnets might have just planted that idea in his head. I thought they were very appropriate and I am ultra-conservative. Plus, they were nude-colored. Not even black!

8. Greek yogurt, a sliced banana and Addie's granola. Another delightful breakfast option!

9. I finally finished my Pinterest-inspired wreath. I even managed to sneak a little burlap into it!

Tinkering . . .

I am in a full-blown tinkering, browsing, organizing, list-making kinda mood.

I am being sucked in by Pinterest and all of the goodness that comes from that particular version of time-sucking procrastination.

I am thoroughly enjoying formatting my Christmas card envelopes. Because yes, I do run them through the printer. So sue me!

I am being called to the table every 2.5 minutes to help Halle with her various Turkey-hand drawings. Loving that.

I am on a mission to actually catch up on laundry. Not just re-wash it 4.5 times after forgetting that it has been in the washer for three days. And the classic . . . throw a damp rag in the dryer to fluff up the load that's been living in the dryer for those same three days. Or more. I am going to actually wash-dry-gasp-and put away the laundry. Shocker! Hold onto your heart, peeps!

I am trying, with all that is in me, to not freak out on the cat. The cat that insists that my lovely damask chair is the best thing ever to use as a springboard. The cat that knows that I'm going to spray the living heck out of it every time it touches said chair. The cat that leaps, scratches and then immediately hides/runs away because he knows that I am going to flip out and he is going to be soaked. He thinks its a game. I swear.

I am really tempted to launch into a huge project of organizing the kids' schoolwork/artwork. But I am hesitating because I know that those types of projects can take over my life. And I'm not certain that I'm 100% committed. But I'm thinking about it. I even considered printing out the labels from this lovely blog . . . but that might be a bit too much for my half-hearted mood. At least at this particular moment.

We're taking my Dad to lunch today to celebrate his birthday. Which is the only reason we are getting dressed at all. Seriously. The. Only. Reason.

But I'll be putting these pajamas right back on as soon as we get home! With my belly full of a delicious Bear burger. Yum. Take that Thanksgiving turkey! 

Family Rules . . .

as subway art. Otherwise known as the trend sweeping Pinterest. I am a joiner. What can I say? But I love it:

I know that the more traditional subway art is black on white or white on black, but hey, I needed a little color in the hallway where this will be hung!