whatever

clean.

oh these goofball dogs.
they loooove to wrestle.

L O V E. 

they wrestled for at least 30 minutes straight without stopping.
rolling and running and tackling each other.....like maniacs.
in the dirt and my weeds.
all for fun...not hurting each other....just full on PLAY time.



waffle is the happiest he's ever been.

and then this happened....


they sat.
together.
just totally chill.

first time ever.




they were TIRED.

it's about time!!!



i think waffle was having the best day ever.



until i declared "BATHTIME!"




ha ha ha.
wet dogs are so funny.
they always look so crazy and scrawny.


shake it.  shake it.

shake it like a polaroid picture.

he actually doesn't mind any part of a bath but his favorite part is when when we towel dry him.
he enjoys the massage.
he's a smart dog!
he hangs out for towel drying....he doesn't want us to stop!


since the girls had their suits on and were already wet they said "let's have a carwash!"
even though i thought it was totally cold outside, they were fine in their suits and cold hose water.  brrrrr.



brilliant plan.
my truck was filthy.
and so was craig's car.
country living in white cars....dirty dirty dirty.


annie's suit is new this year from the walmarts.









clean dog.
clean cars.
clean kids....they took a bubble bath inside after this.

we have had such a good weekend!
my kids are still off school today....who knows what we will do.
maybe some art.
it's been awhile that we have gotten crafty.

 

a favorite of mine...

i love hearing my children practice piano.
they whine and complain.
they say "WHY DO I HAVE TO TAKE PIANO?!"
and at times....throw themselves on the floor dramatically and kick their legs up and down. 

but when they can play and when they do play....


 
i love to listen.

it's like background music for the family.

the soundtrack of life in our home.

and they do love to play once they have figured out the notes.



she sticks out her tongue quite often when she concentrates.


she gets silly too....

we got this piano for FREE from the classifieds when we lived in illinois.
in the newspaper...before craigslist existed!
the woman giving it away was going to miss it and she said "it has a sweet sound" several times.
it's been well loved for a long time.

(and i think it needs some white paint on it sooner or later.
i can't believe it's still wood color after all these years!)


all the kids have taken lessons at some point in their little lives.
right now it's only talby and annie playing.
i wish they all played.
but i am just not that mom.
it takes so much dedication from THE MOM to have all your kids play and keep at it.
so we are down to two kiddos in lessons immediately after school on mondays.



one awesome thing about their lessons is they are at a college in the music department.
so when we walk in every week there is music everywhere.
trumpets practicing scales....cellos, violins and yesterday a full choir was singing!
i love that extra something the music dept. brings to our mondays. 

photo bomber.
and there is that tongue again!


 
waffle always has to be right at our feet.
literally.

well since i showed a home video yesterday....
why not one more today?!
it makes the pictures come to life right? 

pretty quickly waffle begins barking and continues throughout the entire song.
i am sure it was at something very important like a leaf falling or a person walking by two blocks away.... 

i hope that one day at least ONE of our kids wants to play an instrument for fun.
but it has to be their choice and it's either in you or it's not.
and it's not in me.
at all.
but i sure do love to listen to them play.

what about you?
do you play?
do your kids? 

 

 

hello monday....my back hurts.

i am sore from running after a two week break.
why in my back though?  ugh. 

how was your weekend?
i feel like it was a little too busy for my taste.
not any hanging out.
just go go go.
and if i was not going....i was thinking about what next?...where was i?....where is that thing?....just one more load of laundry....oh don't forget that....

that stuff will weigh you down you know?
your sleep isn't even good cause your brain is just on overload.

oh well....it's over now and it's monday.
a new week.
a BIG week.

 
annie made the cheese part of our lasagna this weekend.
it is my favorite meal.
it just IS.

how about some winners from last weeks giveaway??

for the SpunkyFluff sign......

You're killin' me smalls

Posted by: Mae | February 22, 2012 at 01:13 PM

 

for the 31 BiTS necklace.....

Wow. I can't believe those beads are paper? I loved the waverly necklace the best, until I saw the 87 cuff. LOVE that bracelet. Might have to save up and get it! Empowering women to live life and kick a** at their profession = awesome. Who knows how many lives have been changed by this!

Posted by: Jenn | February 25, 2012 at 12:32 AM

 

email me at cdduerksen@yahoo.com with your address ok?
:)



 
lauren had a volleyball tournament on sunday.
it's always fun to watch her play.
she seems happy when she's out there.



my little girls were cracking me up last night at bedtime.
 

 
oh that justin bieber....he is pretty special.

please enjoy this lovely performance of "Baby Baby" complete with my 10 and 7 year old rapping Ludacris, a very messy bedroom, giggling, baby dolls and iguanas and two very cool rock star sisters.
sometimes the bedtime stalling technique they have is pretty darn cute.

that iguana was definitely lip syncing......

i gotta get movin' on my monday list.
it is going to be a WEEK of lists.

and i am nervously gearing up to ROCK my body on thursday.
i feel like i should have kept quiet.
i hope you don't really expect much for a "plan" since i am not a nutritionalist, a fitness guru or anything remotely
athletic but i will tell you what my thoughts are....and what i am going to do for the weeks of march.
i guess.

i am making it up as i go along.
(that was probably pretty obvious)

have a great day today.

 

it was a full one....

this weekend was quite a bit more full than i prefer....

basketball tournaments in two different towns for two different kids.
that meant i was on my own with many children at ball games.
and meals.
and bedtimes.
and church.
and packing for camp.

we squeezed in some time to cool off between two of sean's games.
he was dripping with sweat before we got here.
it was the best place to go.




 
i ran into some cute little friends of mine from church.
after our conversations and photos Ellie said "hey megan....you gonna put that on yer blog?"

best. comment. ever.

i said "YES!"  and she was so happy!
happy anniversary rachel and matt....she told me ALL about your plans. 
;)

 
we had pool time later that night as the sun was setting.
other than their LOUD voices that were driving me bonkers....
and two of them splashing my camera.....
it was good.
with that light....how could it not be good?





sometimes they just laugh and laugh, not too often but every once in a while.

and then this happened all on it's own.....

annie grabbed a dandelion and said "i wish that talby would have a good time at her camp"

and my heart burst into a thousand pieces with LOVE for that girl.


talby doesn't comprehend how much annie loves her.
it's deep.


sean joined us on the curb.
and they are laughing because i was wearing a skirt and they had all just seen my striped underwear.

pretty funny stuff.
anything for a laugh....


yesterday morning sean and talby left for camp.
for the first time.


we were ALL nervous.

they packed yummy snacks and flashlights and new shampoo.
they have their bibles and money for the snack bar.
they have bugs spray.

but........
when you see your kid get seperated from all his friends and put to ride with older kids he barely knows....
after he was so looking forward to the drive WITH his friends....
it's really hard even for the mom to hold her head up and say "it's okay....it's going to be fun!"
the mama grizzly in me wanted to FIX THIS but that is not the right response in most situations.
they were already so nervous and this made it worse.
it wasn't a conspiracy.
i am not mad about the seating arrangement.
no one singled him out to ride in that car....it was just a list of names.
and he was with great kids.
i know that he is fine.
and she is fine.
but sometimes the emotional part of being a mama is hard!  
it's hard to pack them up and send them to camp....when they are visibly nervous.
to see them with hurt feelings or being left out.
and then when they are gone to not WORRY about their feelings or being left out.
it's hard to see them try not to cry.
it's HARD to not know what they are doing right now....i really do miss them!

all the more reason to be praying for them every minute while they are gone.
because i know that it will an AWESOME week for them.
i doubt they miss us at all.
camp is too fun to miss your mom.

we are sending them a care package today....
annie and i made cards and she picked out chocolate donuts for talby and NERDS for sean.

and annie SCREAMED herself to sleep last night because she missed talby so much.
it could be a long week.

 

random.

annie came running inside during the wiffle ball game with everyone while i was fixing dinner and yelled

"mom...did you see me out there?!  i was beasting it up!!!"
 

we both thought her new swimsuit looked like a leotard for gymnastics.
which is perfect for jumping on the trampoline....or playing wiffle ball....or walking the dog.....

..........................................................................

our baby birds on saturday.

unbelievable how quickly they change!!

..........................................................................

on thursday night craig took me to see Tim Mcgraw in concert.

oh my.

i have loved tim since i was in high school.
we had no camera and we have crummy cameras in our phones.....but there he is.



he is timeless.
and handsome.
and lovely.

i was so happy.
i think i kept saying "i am so happy!" 

craig isn't a big country music fan.....not much at least....so he gets big points for bringing me.
his friend bought him a shirt to wear to play basketball in at the gym .
:)


 
HA HA HA

but seriously now.....tim mcgraw is awesome.
i have all his music.
and i had a surreal moment at that concert thinking
"i have loved this song so much for so long and here i am with him singing it in front of me....wow." 

not this song...but this one is a recent, catchy, happy one and looked like what i saw at the concert.

as much as i love kings of leon, U2 and the black keys.....i love country music that much too.

and he is my favorite of all the cowboys.

best thursday night evah......

 

 

sassy

my kids don't go to get their haircut.

it's always been by me....just easier that way.

but i thought annie would look so cute with a sassy little haircut so i took her to miss amy.


 
they asked "have you ever cut a kid's hair before?"
they are so oblivious to what they are missing out on.
don't all moms cut their kids hair??  
as far as they know.


 


her friend micah was over for a playdate/babysitting so he kept her entertained.
professional haircuts take a little more time than moms.
 


crazy annie runs a hair dryer?
 

 

 
it's layered and short in the back.....super cute.

 

then look at this monsterous globe amy picked up at a garage sale for me?!!!!


it's hard to tell but it's HUGE.
i love it.
a lot.