Sunday, March 28, 2010
The official birthday celebration
started with cupcakes
at 'sponge park' with friends.
And a little 'monkey business'
from Teresa.
{thanks to all...
despite the wind/cold!}
Presents & hamburger dinner
{b/day girl requested}
before mom had to rush off to work.
And a Pinkalicious party
with family {Lunde's included}.
We did Pepto proud.
Thanks to everyone
for making Tatum's 5th
her best birthday so far!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
In only my wildest dreams
could I ever have imagined this.
That the sweet 'little'
ten and a half pound baby
that joined our family
that joined our family
on a beautiful snowy day
five years ago
could be even more beautiful today.
Happy Birthday Tatum!
We love you {this} much...and more.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Like I need another excuse
to shop at The Red Store.
{aka Target}
Liberty of London + Evie B = BFF
I hear that it can be found throughout the store,
but my current loves are found in the girls section.
I mean, honestly, can't you just picture
Tatum & Hayden
running around all summer
in that stinkin' denim romper thing?
Throwing on a long summer dress
and flip flops to run errands with mom?
Wishing I had loads of $$$ today.
Obsessed.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Well, to be fair,
it was more of a park hour.
But still, they loved it.
I had mom guilt for leaving the kids
with sitters for two full days in a row
{wedding/wedding}
and decided to indulge them all in a little
rambunctious fun.
Selfishly,
I wanted them to exert some energy outside
so that maybe,
just maybe,
they would be less crazy at home.
And we all know how that ususally turns out.
{not at all how we'd planned}
So off to the new park we went.
Pros:
the ground is a bouncy foam,
the toys are age appropriate,
it is super clean,
and the entire thing is fenced in.
Cons:
two words: sand box,
seating is at a minimum,
and by minimum, I mean one bench.
We'll be back, though.
Wanna come next time?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I've said it before
and I'll say it again;
I am Not Above Bribing My Children.
And this weekend brought with it a doozie.
Now let me start off by telling you
that I am not the luckiest of people.
I don't win prizes, contests,
or anything else based on chance.
I'm what you'd call a run-of-the mill non-winner.
{notice I didn't say loser...totally on purpose}
But I do get a lot of junk mail in my inbox,
that, I am awesome at acquiring without effort.
For whatever reason, I read one a few weeks ago
from a local radio station's weekly email.
"Visit this site and enter your email..." the message said.
So I typed, I submitted, I won.
Not only tickets for free,
but the best bribe the mother
of two little girls could dream of.
They had no idea what they were working towards,
but a daily reminder of a very special surprise
kept them squarely on their toes.
So, after a very well-behaved day at church,
they found new outfits waiting at home.
And that my friends, is how I became mother of the year.
At least for today.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
{disclaimer}
I don't literally feel like a failure.
I know there are many, many important
and useful things I accomplish in a day
and I'd like to think that, whether I'm aware of it or not,
I contribute positively to the world around me in some way.
But today
as I sit in my messy house
with my needs-to-be-washed hair
in my comfy clothes
listening to my children play a little
and fight a lot
wondering what I'll make for dinner
and staring at a to-do list a mile long,
I feel overwhelmed.
Sometimes I catch myself saying,
when asked what I 'do',
that I'm just a mom.
Just a mom.
Like it's something unimportant and disposable.
Like it's without value or is a casual responsibility.
But I don't really feel that way at all.
And I highly doubt that any of the people
that I choose to associate with or
dedicate my valuable time to
feel that way either.
My job is hard.
It's demanding and rewarding
and sometimes unappreciated.
And yes, overwhelming at times.
Times like today.
When all I feel is guilt for updating my blog
when I could be cleaning my house
or attempting to look like a put-together mom.
When included in my to-do list are several
should have's and need to's
that could be tackled in the time it takes to type this.
But then I remember
that my kids are happy.
They love each other enough to fight a little
and still feel connected at the end of the day.
That they have a mom who, feeling guilty or not,
sometimes avoids the chores so that we can watch
Enchanted for the 30th time together.
{like today}
That they have enough toys to play with
that they can actually make a mess.
That, no matter how long or tough the day may seem,
there's always nap time for at least one of them.
Two at the same time, if I'm lucky.
And that I have the best little helper in town
even if I have to bribe her with quarters sometimes.
{I mean, look at that mug above...
she's sunshine in black leggings}
I've been told that though I can't see it now,
I will achingly miss these days soon.
So today is a messy, neglected and wonderful day
for the Ballard mama and her chickens.
And that, my friends, is
success.
{photos taken by the lovely and talented Mrs. Diana Palmer of Yan Photography.
Many more pictures to come...with the whole family}
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Between being sick
and then playing catch up
after being sick,
there has been little time to blog.
But my intentions are good
and I will be updating
with some long overdue posts
very soon.
In the meantime,
enjoy this baby.
Cute beyone description.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
So, today when I picked Tatum
up from preschool I did the usual...
Went through her backpack for notes, etc.
Luckilly, because I found a note about
the classroom Valentine's Day party tomorrow.
I already knew about it and was prepared
with crayon bag gifts for all 22 kids.
But
Something new was posted on this note.
22 kids, 12 teachers
{she has preschool at the high school...
thus lots of student teachers}
thus lots of student teachers}
Crap!
I had only really planned on sending something
for her individual teacher.
You know, a good lotion or something.
So forced into creativity,
and armed with a 12 pack of soda
and some heart-shaped straws
and some heart-shaped straws
I came up with what you see above.
The good news?
It only cost me about 75 cents a teacher.
Less than I would have spend on a bottle of lotion.
Good under pressure.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
happy valentine's day
{in a few days}
love, tatum
p.s.
Want to know how to make them?
It's easy.
Find lots of old crayons
Separate them by colors
Peel paper off
Break into small pieces
Place {colors seperated} in washed out soup can
Place soup can in small pot of boiling water
Cook until all crayon pieces are melted
Carefully pour into heart molds
being careful not to drip any water into the molds;
this will make the crayons funky
{heart molds found at Ikea - ice cube trays}
Allow to set {quicker in the freezer}
Remove
Give
Monday, February 08, 2010
The Ballard Family has been stricken
by Strep Throat, officially.
I now have {besides me}
a miserable Little Miss Tate
diagnosed on Saturday
and
a sweet, tiny man
who I will be {somehow} taking in today
with all the same symptoms.
Hayden, so far, seems to be spared.
So {fingers crossed}
Health-only hopes for Hayden and Beau.
That guy never gets sick.
{How does he do it?}
So our days are now filled
with me having a little more energy,
and {surprisingly}, the kids losing little.
{How do they do it?}
Lots of hand sanitizer.
Fluids, fluids, fluids.
A desperate need for baby wipes
{running really low}
Winging it for dinner
{some serious creativity may have to come into play soon}
One more night I can call into work
without being penalized with another attendance point.
Keeping the house picked up just enough,
but not nearly enough.
And hours selfishly spent
wishing I had a husband
with the kind of job
that he could work from home.
Because if he could, he would.
And I would totally take him up on it.
And for the record,
having no health insurance bites.
$100+ each time I have to take one of the kids in.
Praying they are prescribed the medication that costs
$6.99 vs $149 {amoxicillian vs augmenten/true story}
Or $500+ dollars a month {that we don't have}
to pay for a crappy individual family plan
that probably wouldn't pay for much anyways.
Good thing we're totally rich.
Not.
p.s. Why doesn't blogger have
a spell checker in 'compose' mode anymore.
I hate it!
p.p.s. Something funny I noticed today.
All of my kids {individually} have decided
to call the following picture
in one of their favorite picture books
a baby cow and not a bull.
Why?
'Duh! The binky, mom!'
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
I have so many things to post about.
And very little energy to do it.
Seems the nasty bug that my kids
have all had for a couple of weeks
is rearing it's ugly head in my direction.
And I feel like poo.
My throat feels swollen shut.
It's itchy, scratchy, phlegmy (sp?).
And I can't stop coughing.
Really, that seems to be the only thing I can do.
Cough.
So bear with me and I promise
as soon as I'm feeling better there will be
pictures from my family's visit (so fun!)
and lots more.
Until then, I will remain quarantined until further notice.
But you'll be the first to know when I'm released from exile.
In the mean time, I will try my best to be an adequate
(because really, that might be as good as it gets this week)
mom and wife and hope that I get the occational
spurt of energy enough to change a diaper and make meals.
To Beau and the kids,
Sorry in advance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
