Rest Easy

I walked into the kitchen last night and found this:

And I starred at her, with her pencil still in her hand and her paper nearby, and wondered how writing could possibly be so exhausting. Who knew that the counter top was a comfy place to rest?

And I was reminded of another time I found her, 5 or so years ago. When I went into her room to wake her for school:

I really can't puzzle this one out. Let's collectively wonder about this, shall we?

On a lighter note, I risked asking the 2 oldest what they want for Christmas. This is a question I rarely ever ask. It's just not wise. Here's what I got:

Child #2: Fake nails.

Child #1: A Camaro.

I may just take a rest on the counter today, myself.

Another Year Coming

It's that time of the year. The time where a mother feverishly hunts for 'the dress', then has it altered (because modest is hottest!), and then the zipper breaks 2 days before the dance, so the mother hunts down 'the perfect matching colored zipper' and has it replaced. It's my super favorite time of year. For sure.

But then the day comes, and all her friends gather together, and I take a step back to enjoy the view. And I can see just a glimpse of who they really are. For they are good, and kind, and funny, and strong. They are beauty. Inside and out. Especially the one in the green emerald dress with a newly replaced zipper.

Homecoming at it's finest.

Today I'm Wondering

I have a lot I should be doing/planning/preparing/thinking about today. But, I'm not. I'm wondering about completely insignificant things instead. I'm kindof a grand champion of avoiding your to-do list. I could probably teach a class. I think after I complete my wondering, I might spray paint a chair turquoise. For serious.

1. Leggings. Can we please wonder about leggings together? And not little girl, cute leggings. Grown women leggings. Patterned leggings. I see them everywhere. At what point did it become acceptable to use leggings as a substitute for pants? After the age of 5? Honestly, I need your thoughts. This issue plagues my mind. If you didn't already know, I'm a rather deep thinker.

2. After 3 weeks of enduring stitches and bandages and goopey antiobiotic cream on my scalp, I was finally able to dye the gray out of my hair. You're relieved, I just know it. And I finally feel like myself again. Which makes me wonder...Is my real self fake? Does my real self cost $7.99 (with a coupon!) at Walmart? This is another one of those deep thinking moments. It might take me a while. Oh, and in case you want to matchy-matchy hair with me, Loreal Preference #6. M'kay?

3. I'm wondering about a good name for a cow. I know, tough stuff, right? This super creative blogger that I follow has a new cow painting. She wants to name her.

I married a pretty boy who grew up on a dairy farm. I feel like I should be able to channel his inner farm boy and figure out the perfect name. If you must know, I've been wondering about this for over an hour. Time well spent.

If you've ever wanted to know how to use milk paint, check out her blog. She is the queen of the stuff. And I have decided a name for her (if you care that much, you'll have to look in her comments). It's the one name The Husband used with a cow (because she let the kids ride on her back) in all is glory milking days. The fact that there are people out there that would hang pictures of bovine in their home, will probably send him over the edge. It's a rather hysterical thing.


I hope you take time to wonder today too.
And avoid a whole bunch of your to-do list.

It Was Just A 16 oz. Drink

Last night.

{sigh...}

She drank a Dr. Pepper.

And then it all came tumbling down.

She pranced around in a friend's tutu. Like, for hours. And then I caught her with her ear buds up her nose. Yes, her nose. This was her explanation: "I read on Pinterest that you can put them in your nose and then open your mouth and it will act like a speaker." She thinks it was false advertising, because it didn't work. Duh.

To block it all out, The Favorite and I laid on the carpet doing homework. Which evolved into a spit bubble blowing contest. Her giggles drowned out all the other surrounding crazy. It felt monumental. Until the tutu and her owner descended. And the whirlwind picked right back up.

{sigh again...}

Random From The Week...Just Because

Do you remember how I told you my babies (I mean, my sister's babies) had a birthday? They're 5 and I still can't believe it. And at some point I should probably stop calling them 'The Babies'. Right? I'm thinking sometime around the age of 25 I'll call them something else.

We now eat breakfast on the kitchen floor. Because, you know, it's so hard to make it all the way over to the table.

And we also sleep in the orthodontist chair. Because staying awake at 8:00 am is just too much to ask of anyone.

The #1 and #2 now perform in the same choir. Much to my delight. This was one of those moments where you pause as a parent and ask yourself how time sped by so quickly. Truly.

I'm the kind of mother that sends her 17 year old messages like this during her school day. She has declared she wants it made into a t-shirt.

And I've become obsessed with trying to look at my now stitch-less head. I have to look in the mirror, using another mirror. It looks like teacup rats chewed tiny holes along my scalp. The absurdity of this fascination should alarm me. And yet, it doesn't.


I hope you enjoy all the random fascination you can this weekend.
And maybe an odd compliment, or two.

I Think My Brain Is Broken

I'm driving down the freeway. And driving some more. Because I'm going to get my stitches out of my head. And it's far away. Aaallllll the way down where The Husband works. So while I'm driving, I'm thinking. About lots of stuff. The first of which, is this stupid long drive in this stupid long traffic. And The Husband has to endure it every day. Twice. I should buy him some kind of trophy.

I don't know about your city, but in Houston, there are large, digital signs posted here and there. They're used to display important messages about traffic, accidents, weather alerts, that type of thing.

But on this particular morning, the digital billboards display a warning of a "Missing Elderly Person". So, because I'm me, I start thinking about what would happen if a mother went missing. Like, she just walked out her door and disappeared. Would the digital boards alert us to look for her?

Can't you just picture it? "Missing Exhausted Mother, last seen giving her final cash to her teenagers. Call the police if you locate her." And can't you just picture the reaction of all the other mothers who read that sign? "If she can make it out, so can I."

Do you see what I'm saying? There is something wrong with my brain. I'm dreaming of missing mothers everywhere and how delightful that would be. Who on earth would cook dinner?

And then.

Oh, and then.

This arrives in the mail:

And I look through it's pages. And I look at every picture. Over and over again.
And in my mind, I declare this, Candy Porn.
This kind of publication should not be allowed. It's just not right.

If I ever decide to go missing, I'm stocking up on this stuff before I head out.

For My Sister-Take 2

The mantel had a do-over. The last one stayed put for 2 weeks. Sometimes it all stays in place a little longer than that, but not usually. And if you're wondering why I'm even posting pictures of my mantel decor, and for my sister, no less, you can read why here.

 

 

And I made this. It's huge. You should make one too. You can download the print from this talented blog. I printed mine at Costco. It's 20x30. To be honest, I'm not very skilled at calculating measurements. I just wanted big. So, I clicked the box for the biggest print. Um, yah, it's super large. I framed it with yard sticks. In hindsight, I coulda used those to realize what a 20x30 candy print actually looks like.