hello, and happy birthday

hello there.  it's been a while.

someone had a birthday yesterday.  bet you can't guess who.

max turned ten. TEN! 

ten years ago today i was waking up a brand new mom with a brand new baby and a brand new life.  

i was 21.  i was so young.

we were so young.  

crazy that we've been parents for ten years now.

we had no idea what we were doing, and most days i feel like we still have no idea what we're doing.

look at that baby.  look at him!!  

he was the most beautiful thing i had ever seen.

and the sweetest most pleasant baby ever.

i mean it.

(just humor me)

and now, ten years later, he is still the sweetest, kindest, most loving boy i know.  he really is.  max is the BEST big brother.  i tell him all the time that the reason he has four little sisters is because he's such a good big brother for sisters.  he always shares everything of his with them, never yells at them or beats them up, he always lets them have first pick, or move his game pieces when they want to play too. he is so patient. 

and he loves and enjoys them.  you can tell. 

max is the BEST son.  he is so so helpful.  i call him my little gopher because anything i ask him to go do for me he does.  i have to be careful not to take advantage of him because he's so willing to help.  he loves to sit and talk with us.  he's so complimentary.  he always notices if i've rearranged something or cut my hair.  he's funny.  he's smart.  really smart.  he's just so good.

and he's the BEST friend.  i make it a point to eavesdrop on him when he's playing with his friends and i have never ever heard him put a friend down or try to make himself sound better or cooler than his friends. he doesn't see them as his competition. i've only ever heard him uplift and encourage and praise his friends, even if they're not there to hear what he's saying about them.  he's so good at pointing out what they're good at.  max is SUCH a good sport.  and he's genuinely concerned about how his friends feel.  the other day he came home in tears because he saw another friend get his feelings hurt and all he wanted to do was make him feel better.  

i'm not one of those moms who thinks her kid is perfect...

scratch that.  yes i am.

in my eyes, max is about as close to perfect as they come.  

i can say that because i honestly think that the way he is has nothing to do with us being good parents.  he's the way he is in spite of our parenting.

he does have issues with brushing his teeth, and bathing regularly  and changing his clothes more than weekly,

  but we are so so lucky to have max in our lives.

we love you, max.  we love you times ten.

true

i'm in the kitchen with devan putting groceries away as she licks and sucks at the lollipop she chose at the store.

she then proceeds to CHOMP CHOMP CHMOP on the sucker.

me: ooooh!  don't chomp on that sucker, devan, you'll crack your teeth.

she pauses for a fraction of a second to consider my warning,

looks me straight in the eye and,

devan: that's not izacily true, mom.

and then continues to chomp as before.

wow.  i was under the impression that i was the one in charge around here.  i guess that's not exactly true. 

lunch prayer

devan's little prayer before lunch:

heanly father,

we're thankful for this day.

please bless that we'll be good.

pleas bless that we'll be nice.

please bless that we'll be lovely.

please bless that we won't hate...

umm, umm, umm,

little boys.

please bless that we'll be nice.

amen!

she forgot to bless the food, but i think she covered the more important issues of her personal struggles juuust fine.

double blooms

i love it when my daffodils bloom.  

they make me feel like i'm not such a lame-o when it comes to gardening.

and then they die and that feeling instantly vanishes.

(aren't those double blooms magnificent?)

adventures in thrifting: kid's shoes

i do believe it's high time for another installment of A.I.T.

 if you were to ask me what my all time favorite thrifted piece is i would have to say this pair of little girl's red leather dress shoes.  i don't know why except they just make me happy.  i got them when whitney was a baby and devan now wears them, and she wears them well.  they're just so classic and well made and fabulous.

so, now that we're on the subject of kid's shoes, let's see what else i've come up with on my little escapades at the thrift shops.

let me just say, before we move on, that i am fully aware that i have a shoe problem.  too many.  they just call to me and i can't ignore them.  this is a VERY narrowed down selection of what i have and i'm not embarrassed to say so. 

i really prefer the vintage shoes.  one, because they are just so cute.  two, because they are often made of real, sturdy leather so they wear and last so much better and longer.  three, the soles are often stitched to the body of the shoe as opposed to being glued which means, again, they wear and last better.

plus they're cute.  did i already say that?

these aren't vintage, but just look at those sweet little cut-outs.  can you imagine these with a little springy easter dress?  these are actually kind of ridiculous, since they're so small and most babies are not walking when their feet are this size, but they are darling.  and who doesn't love patent leather?  

these are my favorite sandals for little kids.  i have four or five other pairs, all thrifted.  why anyone would donate a perfectly good pair of salt water sandals on purpose is beyond me, but i'm not complaining, since i'm the one benefiting here.

these little ranch boots are really cute with a knee length dress, some opaque tights and a winter dress coat.

always a classic.

more dress shoes, although all of the "dress" shoes get worn with jeans, short, skirts and pajamas during the week too.

these are awesome.  i have another pair for nikki.  can't you see these with a bright pair of matchstick cords tucked in?

as an aside: i make it sound as if my kids are fashionably dressed at all times, when in reality they could pass as homeless more often than not.  

these belonged to max when he was a baby.  i loved them.  a couple of my girls also wore them.  they're a total throw-back.

these were also worn by max... then nik, then whit, now devan, gwen next.  i love love love these.  and they're hardly any more worn out than when i found them nine years ago at my good ol' louisville, kentucky goodwill.  very crew cuts-ish.   

aaaaaww!

(i know, i did that bottom strap wrong, but gwen was tired of being used as a prop so i decided not to push it.)

i better stop and be done, but aren't shoes fun?

none of my kids have developed any kind of foot fungus thus far, so i guess i'll just keep perusing the shoe aisles as normal, fingers crossed.

packing lunch

this week nikki has lost three, count them, three lunch boxes.

hmmmmm.

that's why today, instead of packing her lunch in the paper lunch sacks that sit on the shelf in my pantry, 

i packed her lunch in an empty cracker box.

maybe that will motivate her to search the lost and found good and hard today for those three abandoned lunch boxes with her name on them.

bedtime stories

tonight the little girls wanted me to tell them a bedtime story.  this is how that went as i lay next to devan on her bed.

whit: mom, tell us a story about how you and dad met.

me: well, once upon a time, when i was a little girl, i used to dream about meeting the perfect boy...

devan: (interrupting) was is ken?  cuz' ken is number one.

me: what? like barbie? no. i used to dream...

whit: mom, i know what ipad starts with. i!

me: yes, whitney.  that's true.  anyway.  when i was a...

devan: (pointing to my cleavage laughing) mom, is that a butt crack?  

me: oh my gosh.  you are so rude. so, when i...

whit: mom, i know what ipad starts with. i!

me: the end. good night girls.

girls: good night!

maybe i should stick to books at bedtime.

grey is not glum

i'm slightly obsessed with grey (or gray) as of late.  i have this urge to paint everything  in my house a shade of the color.  i won't, but i might come close.

found this coffee table at (where else) the goodwill last week and attacked it with my paint brush.  SO much better than that big leather ottoman i had i there.  it was a sea of leather.  now for the couches... probably can't paint those.

this made its way to my house while wade was out of town.  it also took a beating from me and my brush.

i've got BIG plans for this wall.

before.  blech.

see?  grey is superior in every way

recently painted my piano room a creamy shade of grey.  

actually, ms sharkey grey, to be exact.  

it's the prettiest in the morning light.

i wish my whole house was this color.

nope.  still haven't finished my curtains.

house beautiful

i love the dark graphite of the armoire here.

source unknown

these cupboards are almost white they're so light, 

but they're definitely grey, and so sophisticated.

also, i freaked out over the wall of plates when i first saw this.

country living

mmmmmmmm.

alice lane

another lovely shade of grey.

this is at the top of my wish list.

right at the top... wade.

8 months, and then some

i'm a little late on these.  still no crawling (hooray!), although she seems like she's getting closer to thinking about it.  

no rush.  a string of drool and a slobbery shirt are her constant companions nowadays.

this girl LOVES her food.  

her favorites: beets and butternut squash.

she goes a little crazy when she sees it coming.

it looks a little bit like she got ahold of a kitchen knife when she's done with her beets.

gwen says "mamama" when she wants something and "dadada" when she's happy and entertained.

pretty genius, i know.

oooooh, that face.  love it.  love her.

yeah, i fixed it.

repair man? we don't need no stinkin' repair man.

p.s. i make house calls.

downton abbey

if you think you're not missing out on something by ignoring this series you're sorely mistaken.  talk about great tv.  i don't really watch much tv at all, but this, this is good stuff.

it's like a super posh, high class soap opera...

minus the lame acting, low budget sets, and trashy story line.

and so fascinating to see inside the intricacies and snobbery of the gentrified english estates. 

there's enough of love, intrigue, and scandal to keep 

you on your toes,

not to mention an old meddling bat who loves to stir the pot,

and some pretty vicious sibling rivalry.

the second season cannot come soon enough.

oh, and the dresses!  the dresses.

max and nik have even been enjoying 

some of the first season with me.

oops. there's the dressing gong. time to go dress for dinner.   

i wish.

dang it.

do you think that large bar of salted dark chocolate i ate on the way home from the gym ruined my workout?

i was only going to eat 2 squares.

it's amazing how much trouble you can get into in the short ten minutes from here to there.