Draw Something...

The drawing is non-stop with Hadley. She's in some kind of talented and gifted art class this year. At the meeting they made a big deal out of it. They gave all the parents a speech about how our children were hand picked to be in this art class.

 

Was I surprised? No. Hadley is definitely a very artsy soul. I am slightly concerned though by the number of talented and gifted and Pre-AP classes she has this year. She's got quite the academic load. At least J is patient enough to deal with homework. I am not. The man qualified for Sainthood the day he married me. 

Cannery...

I have always wanted to be a soup can. Not literally. Metaphorically. To be just another Campbell's Soup can on the shelf. Red and white. Boldly similar.

I am not a Campbell's Soup can. I am the Great Value knock off of Chicken Noodle. Maybe you had to be on Kim's back porch to find my Great Value analogy amusing. Or maybe it was just the wine.

 

Either way, I want to be a soup can.

Holy Hooker Boots, Batman...

Prepare for sequins. Get ready for boots. Hairspray. Lipstick. Go!


 

The sun was right in their faces the whole time at the first game to which they wore their uniforms and boots. Hadley was nervous about wearing the boots for a performance. She asked me for advice, and I had none since I never twirled in boots.

 

They did a super job!! I was so proud of her.

 

Do You Want Some Cheese with That Wine?...

I'm probably having a glass of wine right about now. It's my Sunday thing. We have a family dinner, and wine is consumed.


 

Good stuff. I love wine. It's almost time to drink red instead of white. As the months turn colder, I go darker with my wine choices. I don't drink tons of red wine to be honest though. I tend to flush. My neck and face will turn splotchy and red. Not all red wines will make me flush, so I try to avoid the ones that I know make me splotchy and uncomfortable. Merlot is the number one culprit, and it's also J's favorite red to drink. I prefer a Sangiovese or Cabernet or a nice Blush.
Friends, please eat, drink, and be merry this evening!
Keep on keeping on!

Hay, Layton...

If you're at a farm, you have to jump on a hay bale at least once. If you're Layton on top of a hay bale, you look adorable.

 

Admit it. You kind of want to come jump on hay bales with him.

 

Did Ella Just Do That?...

She did. Ella was supposed to be an acolyte at church recently. The air conditioning was not working, so she didn't have to wear the robe. Part way through the service, Layton used my phone to take pictures and keep himself entertained in the heat. When he showed me this picture, I had to turn around to double check that what I was seeing was actually happening.

She was hot. She took off her shoes. She then proceeded to stretch out on the floor. Aren't you glad we don't attend your church? Ha!

Sent From My Droid

Close Your Eyes...I'm Gonna Type It...

**This post is brought to you by the bleeding peptic ulcer that formed in my stomach about 15 seconds before college football season kicked off. 

Shit. It's football season. Sure, I love a good football game as much as the next gal, but the smack talking stresses me out. Why can't we just watch the game and be proud of all the players for how hard they worked to get there? All the posts on facebook about which team is best, etc. are just more than my nerves can take. It literally makes me sick at my stomach to read all the hate over a game. A game. It's not like this is life or death. I'm just not built to handle the controversy of SEC football. I'm more of a "let's all get along and hug" type of person. Gosh, I love hugs. I lean toward the Dalai Lama.

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
Dalai Lama


Football will never be my religion, but here in Alabama football stadiums might as well be temples. I think J said it best years ago when we went to Pisa, Italy. A tour guide had just finished showing us the sarcophagus of a saint. She made a remark to J about there not being any saints where we live. J replied, "The closest thing we have to a saint where we live is Paul Bear Bryant." True story. It was hilarious.

I'm going to spend my time this football season thinking of ways to help others instead of thinking of ways to avoid getting on facebook. 

If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.
Dalai Lama

Smiley Boy...

Why does he always have the remnants of a fake tattoo on some part of his body?

 

I'm Just Going to Go Ahead and Say It...

-The week is almost over. Yea! I can already feel myself luxuriating in my covers on Saturday morning.   I have quite a few things I'd like to accomplish this weekend. I probably won't get anything crossed off the good ole list, but I am going to make a serious effort. I need to rid my house of some clutter. I cleaned out my closet, and the rest of the closets are waiting on me. J and I briefly discussed the possibility of having a garage sale, but we both agreed that we would rather donate all of our gently used items to charity instead. It's so much easier, and it gives me the warm fuzzies. The Goodwill Store might need to make room for all the goodies I'm bringing by!


-I do have the ingredients for pancakes. This Saturday will not be met with Ella tears because of pancakes or a lack thereof.


-I would cut you for some peanut M&Ms right now. Like for real. Don't come any closer unless you have a sackful of peanut goodness you can throw at me to tame me. I'm like a pit bull who hasn't eaten in 8 days when it comes to a chocolate craving.


-Let's just take a moment to remember the haircut I got five months ago. I looked so clean and kept for about 18 minutes. I have begun to look like a scary banshee again. It's not altogether a bad thing though. I did get a free soda one day when the convenience store clerk thought I was there to rob her instead of paying for my gas. I'm wondering if I can parlay my homeless thief look into a free pair of shoes as well.


-The upcoming presidential election makes for good fodder on facebook and twitter all day every day. There are serious posts, amusing pictures, religious references, name calling, side taking, and lots of condescending words. Allow me to be condescending for a moment. It is difficult for me to read a serious facebook update without laughing when the post is littered with grammatical errors and wrong word usage. I know that I am the queen of twisting and breaking the rules of sentence structure, but I can assure you that I would not write a serious, political post without intense proofreading. I would also triple check the use of the words to and too. Ella is in 4th grade and knows the difference; I am not inspired by an adult's post that modifies instead of links and vice versa. If you want to change my mind about my beliefs, at least have the courtesy to use the correct words. Was that elitist enough?

-I'm not feeling well today. I think one of the germ disseminators kids has given me a little touch  of something. Then again, I might just be a little bit hungover.

-How many pictures of my children playing soccer will cause you to never check the blog again? I need to keep it under that threshold, but I literally took 1,000 pictures at their games this week. I also took far too many pictures of Hadley in her sequins at the football game. How do I even begin to pick only a few to post on the blog?

-Keep on keeping on, my friends! We've survived another week!

Did I Mention Not to Trust Layton with Your Cell?...

Sent From My Droid

Never Trust Layton with Your Cell Phone...

Sent From My Droid

Hadley...Rarely Seen...

She spends most of her time hiding behind her computer, a book, or her kindle. She's not big on photographs at all.


 

Hadley is definitely at an age where her opinions matter more and more. She has a lot more say in her life and activities now than ever before. I still haven't been able to convince her to go to a school dance though. She went to one in 5th grade and hasn't had any desire to attend another. Oh well. You can't win them all. 

Did I Mention the Hay Bale?...

 

I'm on a Hay Bale...

 

Cooking with Ella...

Ella came to get me. She pulled my camera from its bag and told me that it was time to take her picture. I asked why. She told me that she was about to make a cake start to finish all by herself. Well, who could pass up that photo op?

She had decided to make a white cake, so she had to separate the whites from the yolks. It was beyond adorable.

 

She did have to have a little bit of help, but for the most part she did it on her own. I can only imagine what this child will make and do in the future.

 

I love the fact that she adores to cook and bake. I just wish I had more ways and time to encourage her and teach her. We have to rely on fast and easy meals a lot during the school year because of after school activities and tax season. Holidays and certain days in the Summer are the only times I can really get down and dirty and let her make a full out feast.

 

Oh goodness. This child captivates my heart and soul. Her imagination when it comes to food is unstoppable and delicious. I just hope that she continues to feel such a passion for food.

Say What?...

This happened in our neighborhood. I haven't seen anything in the newspaper about it, but it seems as though a rather intoxicated man ran over a mailbox....before church one Sunday.

 

At first I thought to myself, "Dang, how can anyone be that drunk that early in the day?" Then, it occurred to me that he was probably still drunk from the night before. The more I thought about this man and the way he wrecked his truck and a neighbor's mailbox thinking he was on his own street...the more I realized that this man needs help. He needs a friend. He needs a loved one. I am not the person to be his friend; I would just enable him and make it worse. I am calling out to anyone in the community who knows this man though. Please, let me know if he is okay and if he is going to get the help he needs. Or let me know if you have tried to help him, and enough was finally enough. Believe me, I understand the position of enough is e-freaking-nough; one doesn't call her blog The Enabler and Her Codependents without learning the hard way that sometimes you half to cut people off.

Boys...

Having a son is so special. I can honestly say that the way he loves me is different from the way the girls love me. Not better. Not worse. Just different. And rambunctious. And full force. All the time. Boys are precious.

 

Blog Star...Groovy, Baby...

Hola Readers! Today is the first Tuesday of the month, and I am linking up with Mrs. Monologues. I am declaring myself a Blog Star. This may not be true, but just roll with it anyway. :)

Today was a rough morning. The codependents had a nice, long three day weekend, and we were not ready for the early morning alarm and getting ready for school ritual. Confession: I doped Hadley with benadryl last night hoping she would go to sleep earlier than later. If I hadn't, she would have stayed up until 3:00 AM like she did the night before. We are night owls at the enabling household. I failed to roofie  medicate Ella, so she stayed up with Layton until who knows when. I put them in their rooms and beds before I forced myself to sleep around 11:30 PM, but they had both come into the den and crashed on the sofa at some point in time during the night. Parent of the year award - Right Here. Confetti in the air. My smiling family.

It's looking like another busy week. Meetings, soccer games, football games, etc. We are going to have to eat Pop Tarts in the car as a substitute for dinner a few times this week. I am also taking up doping - Lance Armstrong Style - to deal with the fact that I have so much going on. When I start growing a beard, shoot me a text, so I will know to take care of that. Also, I was hoping that no one would mention that tidbit of information to the authorities; I certainly cannot cover 15 trips to various ball fields, homework, laundry, and stalking photographing my children from a jail cell. Work with me people. Work with me.

Have a wonderful day and an even better evening!! Short work week!! Woohoo!!

Sometimes...

There are pictures that are good. There are pictures that are bad. Then, there are the pictures that even though they aren't good and were botched by a child moving or looking the other way, they are so sweet and special to me. Just looking at her soft, wispy hair makes me smile.

 

Shopping...In My Closet...

Soooo, my closet has been a mess for a while. It's a walk in closet, but it has been more like a squeeze in closet for a while. I have been hanging onto to way too many articles of clothing and shoes for way too long. As an example, check out these shoes, pardon the dried mud...

I wore these shoes to my high school graduation. Seriously. I've been out of high school for closer to 20 years than 10 years, and these shoes were still in my closet. I decided to have a massive cleaning out party. Well, it wasn't much of a party, but it was a massive cleaning. I've got close to two full baskets of clothes that I'm going to take to a consignment store and a seriously large amount to take to goodwill. There were a number of things though that I thought I might put on the ole blog to see if anyone was interested in buying them. Some are new with tags; some are new without tags; and some were only worn once or twice. If you'll look at the top of the blog I added a "Shop My Closet" page. All the items are pictured there. Shoot me an email at romine.amanda@gmail.com if you are interested in anything.