what eleven looks like today

February 16, 2012

For three days i had been planning on today.

In my world it takes three days to beg and plead any child of mine to please put on a nice shirt….

some clean shorts…..and run a comb though their hair so that maybe…..just maybe…..

we could head out and get some photos done.

It’s not easy anymore……and the older they get….the harder it is.

Today was different though.

We came home from the beach….where we spent the afternoon with my MIL who is visiting from Florida…..

and Mason showered….

he put on some decent clothes….

ran a comb through his hair….and we headed to a little quiet beach where he did his thing .

{no you can’t have him Abercrombie and Fitch}


My MIL keeps whispering in his ear that she misses his short hair…..

and he keeps reminding her that we don’t live in Illinois anymore.


Last year he played the cello at school….this year he plays the ukulele…..

he loves to be barefoot….he wears his swim trunks to school….

he plays a mean game of scrabble.

He received all A’s in Social Studies and Science…..but i did get a phone call home from his teacher

this week saying he’s been slacking off on turning in his homework.

{obviously…..that is not due to my lack of good parenting….}

Today Mason turns eleven years old.

He is tender hearted…..he is kind….he is patient….and mature. He loves life as much as we do…..

and still loves when i lay with him at bedtime.

{i credit all of this to the beautiful soundtrack of SADE playing when he entered the world}

{and no….there was no birthing ball in the room…..just plenty of good old fashioned legal drugs..}
 Everyone always says to me…..

{for some reason it’s always grandmothers at the supermarket}

“enjoy this time while you can…..they grow so fast”.

How right they are……but you know what….i wouldn’t change a thing.

I think i even told someone the other day how easy it was when they were little…..

of course they slept through the night by 12 weeks of age….

and weren’t they all potty trained by age 2…..

and now that i think about it….i probably even made my own baby food and taught them sign language.

errrrr….

nope….that wasn’t me. I just reconfirmed it with my MIL and i was all wrong.

No one still sleeps through the night….

there is the occasional peeing in the yard but they claim it’s an accident….

and the only sign language they know is a middle finger that will put them into a closet for a year with no food.

So yes….the little years were good….but the big years are better.




I loved them when they were little…..but i love who they are now….

and yes…it does go by so fast.

lightening speed

but the best is yet to come.

Tagged family, Kauai, life Filed Under Uncategorized 52 Comments

what time has taught me

February 9, 2012

*stepping out of your comfort zone will not only make you stronger….it will make you a better person.

*red wine is good for your heart.

*if you keep saying “what if” then you’ll never get to say “i did”.

*sheltering your children does not prepare them for the future.

*once you get your first grey hair…it’s all downhill from there.

*carrying your camera around with you is important.

*nothing compares to a Hawaiian avocado.

*i spend way too much time on Pinterest …..pinning pretty clothes that i can’t afford……

styling for a house i don’t live in anymore….and food that i can never get to look that good when i make it.

*a house doesn’t make a home.

*if you don’t breastfeed…..it’s not the end of the world.

*turning the clocks forward on some nights and putting the kids to bed early is not a bad idea….

it’s pure genius.

*values and views vary from person to person…..hold onto what you believe.

*if your third child does not wear underwear…….the occasional shart will make you think

you just weren’t strict enough.

*being closed minded only hurts yourself.

*you have to live life moving forward not back {courtesy of Spy Kids 3}.

*making minimum wage humbles your character

*your spouse should always come first.

*it’s okay to have “me” time.

*it’s not okay for your cleaning lady to find your vibrator.

{just kidding mom}

*communication is the best asset.

*not everything will go according to plan.

*there is something magical about not knowing what comes next.

*a good hair cut by a good stylist is worth every penny.

*there is nothing more deflating then to have to do the walk of shame out of a cheap hair place.

*a temperature of 99.2 does not constitute a phone call home from the school nurse.

*being on the beach in the middle of February is good for your soul.

*it really isn’t about what “school district* you are in.

*you can’t rewind time…but you can help shape the future.

*i don’t really like grapefruit juice without the vodka in it.

*don’t make a list of things you want to do…make a list of things you are going to do.

*always keep a journal next to your bed.

*just make sure that you don’t look in that journal a few years later to find the pages filled with

get milk. sign permissions slip. make pap smear appointment in morning.

*there really is something to be said about drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

*with the right attitude…..a jump in the pool can also be the kids bath for the day.

*you can wash a shirt…you can wash your socks….but you never have to wash your jeans

*kids grow up.

*time flies.

*life is what you make of it.


Tagged family, Kauai, life, style Filed Under Uncategorized 40 Comments

what are the chances

January 26, 2012

Seriously……

What are the chances that your boyfriend {now husband…cough cough}…….

accidentally forgot to pay for the oil change you sent him to do with your car?

Pretty slim.

What are the chances that a police officer shows up at the door not much later to escort you {not boyfriend because the car is obviously registered in your name} back to oil change place to pay for said service.

Pretty slim. Highly likely.

What are the chances that later that day you introduce your boyfriend for the first time to your parents and

the first thing your father {the judge} asks the boyfriend is if he’s ever had a run in with the law?

Pretty slim.

What are the chances that your little boy gets into your private stash of KY jelly and uses it in his hair as gel?

Pretty slim.

What are the chances that said child wins best crazy hair that night at his church shin-dig?

Pretty slim.

{actually…..any child that uses KY jelly in his hair should win an award}

What are the chances that you leave your kids outside of Trader Joe’s so that you can just run in to grab a quick

bottle of wine and you get approached by someone stating that they are from Child Protective Services?

Pretty slim.

What are the chances that your child will find a piece of already chewed up gum at the bottom of a pool

and put it in their mouth?

Pretty slim.

What are the chances that your daughter gets hit in the head with a coconut?

Pretty slim.

Luckily it was a baby coconut.

Did you know that more people are injured by falling coconuts than by getting bit by a shark?

I’m glad she won’t be getting bit by a shark now.

Phew

p.s. Lola wanted me to tell you that the piece of gum that she found in the pool a few years ago was actually really good…

it was minty.

Tagged Kauai, life Filed Under Uncategorized 13 Comments
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