Words with Friends

A few months ago, one of my boys took an extra long time brushing his teeth.

After he was in bed, I found this in the bathroom:

Yep, his name spelled out, in hair thinga majigies, combs, tooth brushes.

Creative spirit!

He started something, y'all, and my friends and family joined in!

My dear friend Suzanne's hubby did this from his office, in Little Rock, AR:

And she responded with this one, from her home:

Then I found some Joy, while hiking.

It is usually where I find the most joy--

outside, with my kids, in the warmth and fresh air.

Another friend, Ann-Marie, sent this from her office in Rockford, Illinois:

(I totally thought that was toilet paper on her desk, at first glance!)

And, below....

behold, my dishes.

Oh, and another from Suzanne. Isn't this sweet? :D

Bright Partying!

I had a little party for my art students, for the big V-Day.

I'll tell you, I ached to do the swirly bright cakes, and the rice krispie marshmallow treats that look like paintbrushes (check pinterest), and all that creative sugary awesomeness ...

BUT my family has issues with that much sugar,

plus we had gluten-free attendees and also vegetarian attendees.

Sooo....

we stuck with turkey and cheese mini sandwiches on wheat,

some veggie-"meat" sandwiches, lots of fruit, nuts, olives, and so on.

The kids didn't miss the sugar a bit!
Love these two little ones, stuffing their faces with healthy goodness!

The thing is, my boys are super-hyper. I know most boys are movers, tumblers, wall-climbers....

but two of mine almost seem to {{vibrate}} when they get too much sugar!

*And then there's Fred. {sigh} That's a whole 'nother post!*

Everything in moderation, yes, but I know we still need to make some changes.

No more dyes, please! It's in everything from medicine to pickles to olives to jello.

I wonder how much dye we consume a year! I might have bright insides by now!

We also recently went with a dear friend and her kids, to Crazy Sock Jump Zone day (discounts!!)

I've known this sweet girl since she was born.
 

We managed to wrangle some of the kids into a photo.

Two of my boys are in red, my niece and nephew are the other blondies,

and the dark hair kiddos belong to October.

Love all these little munchkins!

Bright, Happy Party Central!

Pull up your party panties!

Okay, folks, I went to the funnest, and funniest, Panty Exchange Party this past weekend!!

 It was hard to take many photos, while laughing so hard!

I cropped my friends right out, to protect the identities of those panty-owners.

Of course, the laughable 4X panties and the edible versions also made appearances. ;)
So.Much.Laughing.

Attendees RSVPed and our hostess handed out sizes to shop for.

The only rule was to keep the purchase under $10.

These panty exchange parties really ought to sweep the nation!

Monday Moments

Recent captured moments~

My friend's adorable munchkin, munchin' away on his apple of the day.

Can't beat 70 degrees in January!! After school, we met at the park and let the kids run off energy. My Oldest Boy had some bonding time with our friend's pup.

Starting early at archery! My Youngest, taking aim.

Yes, I need to repaint the door. Still. It makes me smile. :)

Serious bedhead kitty lovin'~

 Aaaaaaand, seemingly unrelated, but definitely a happy moment for me, I dressed up in one of my favorite stripey dresses and stripey tights, and spent a night out with my sisters this past weekend.

Life is good in stripes!

What's a Monday without a game of Sorry? It's our Go-To game!

The gathering of a group

One of my dearest besties lives about an hour away, so we don't get to hang out as often as I'd like. Recently, we went to see October and her kids, for her birthday.

Yes, her name is October

and nooooo, she was not born in October.

Her kiddos are the short ones in black shirts, and mine are the tall and colorful children. ;)

By golly, you can tell which of my children is ALWAYS photo-ready, huh?

Not a bit shy, that one.

 These are our trying-to-get-the-herd-together photos that my very

NON-photographer husband decided to snap.

I'm thankful. Really.

I love that little Miss Liana put my Oldest in her place.

They're like sisters, those two. Good for both of them.

Someone--*ahem*-- always has to be the center of attention!

We're proof that opposites attract.

My darling non-make-up, casual attire, public school teacher friend with

me, a colorful eclectic paint-my-make-up-on-for-fun kinda homeschooler.

We fill in the gaps for each other!

We've been through shed-building, bike-fixing, baby-having, you-name-it together.

Love this girl like a sister!

Costume Party #2

Update in photos:

Top Row: Chris, Carina, Kristin, me, Fred, Astine, Amy, Joshua, Jason
Second Row: Coli, Vu, Isabelle, Julie, Jenny, Bryan
Bottom: Athena and Traci

 Traci's costume totally cracked me up!!!

The right to bear arms-- yeah, baby!

Below, my lovely youngest sister, and my incredibly tall and beautiful teenage daughter.
They're 16 years apart, but about the same size. :)

 I went as Cleopatra to this party, and my Man went as Julius Caesar.
We're trying out the couple theme outfits this time around.
(We also own the Popeye and Olive Oil set!)

Here we have Jenny AKA Cat-Nurse from Dr.Who, and Amy AKA Harlequin mime.

And now, to get ready to go, once again! :)

Costume Cooking Club Par-taaaaay

My lovely little sister, Medusa
and me, Victorian Steampunk

Left to right: me, Tracy, Kari, Traci, Rochelle, Julie ( below, Medusa), Michele (sitting, pirate), Megan, and Kailee

I'll tell ya, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I looooove dressing up, love hanging out with friends, love making funky gross-looking food, and loooooove parties!

For Cooking Club, we had a great group of former and current members.

Oh my goodness, these women are FUN!

Mmmmm...BACON!

Forgive the food pictures. I neglected to take any with my camera, but my sister did manage to snag some with her phone.
I made a vomiting pumpkin (guacamole...mmmmm)

Used Q-tips (mini marshmallows with white icing and crushed cookies on the end)

Bloody band-aids (graham crackers with white icing and strawberry pie filling- YUM)

The bleeding brain
(gelatin, pureed peaches and syrup, whipped cream vodka, filled with blackberry and strawberry pie filling)

Fun times, y'all, fun times!!

We went to another fab-u-lous party last night. Pictures to come.

And today we are headed to yet another.

Seriously, this is a fun fun time of year!

In the mailbox

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks. This is what came in MY mailbox! Yay!

Isn't it all beautiful?

 

An old book page, stitched into an envelope (happy sigh),

 

another envelope inside, with a real feather attached (happy sigh, again)

 

 the personalized stationary

 

and an Operation game card!

 

 

Just wow. I love it. In case you haven't guessed, I save stuff-- pictures, receipts, cards and envelopes from friends.

I'm an art journaler, and everything gets a special place.

(It's kinda like scrapbooking, y'all, but messier, and anything goes!)

Thank you, Miss Sam!!