My Little Life

"I'm havin ' a (pity) party and the theme is this dog mama!" (Name that movie...) It's official. I'm sick. No longer "coming down with" something. It's here, and it's made itself at home. I feel like I haven't been sick in so long and I am being a TOTAL baby about it. So, bear with me whilst I whine... My throat hurts. My nose is drippy. My left cheekbone is under pressure. My shoulders ache. And I can't stop sneezing. You know it's really bad when a blogger can hardly throw a post together and snaps three lousy photos on one of the funnest (I know, I know..."not a word"...whatev...) holidays of the year. Yes, I said "three photos". Not three poses, not 3 photos of each child...THREE PHOTOS. So, here's to feeling better tomorrow. If not, I feel bad for you, ' cuz this pity party might just turn into a blog version of WoodStock ...3 long days of partying. Only "pity" style.

I'm tarred. (Say that with a MinneSOOOOOta accent and try to pretend you're from the South...) I'm coming down with something. My throat hurts, my nose is all snuffly ...and I don't wanna be sick! (Say that with your best MinneSOOOOOta whine...) I have some fun posts in my brain, but let's hope this head cold/whatever it is doesn't clog up my synapses and make me forget them! Please remember to vote for my nomination for my sister-in-law for the "Heroic Mom" contest. ..it's going to be a very close race, as there is a new "contender" who is quickly taking on massive amounts of votes! Voting goes until November 4 th and you can vote every 24 hours! Thank you!

Day 2 of 4 straight shifts at work...which prolly doesn't seem like a whole lot to you, but for this "5 shifts a pay period" girl, it's a lot. A LOT a lot. So, while my family does fun things to get ready for Halloween, I will be at work...welcoming in a new batch of future Halloween Birthday Partiers . You know...I really do have a great job, don't I? I mean, not everyone gets the pleasure of experiencing the miracle of birth EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (That I'm at work, anyway...) Love it. I am one lucky woman. Okay, let's get this 5 QF going! Welcome to Five Question Friday! THE blog hop to do when your muses have taken an extended vacation to the Caribbean and decide they don't want to return. Plus, you get to answer fun questions about yourself...what's not to love?! Rules for 5 QF : Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear on Friday morning and LINK UP! Feel free to play along

Holy moly...did it ever get late! I worked, I picked up kids, we picked up something new for the Belle (do you follow me on Twitter? If you do, then you know what it is!), we ate supper, I went to a 31 party, I picked up milk, I came home, we finished homework, we prayed, tucked in, proffered several drinks of water, encouraged multiple bathroom trips, re-tucked in, and PHEW! Here I am... FINALLY ready to do the Five Question Friday Sneak Peek! Enough with the small talk, though, let's get down to business! Welcome to Five Question Friday! THE blog hop to do when your muses have taken an extended vacation to the Caribbean and decide they don't want to return. Plus, you get to answer fun questions about yourself...what's not to love?! Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear on Friday morning and LINK UP! Feel free to play along via Twitter if you'd like! Questions for Friday, October 2

Hi friends! I am reaching out for your help, once again, in voting for my sister-in-law for the "Heroic Mom" contest. Our lead is not anywhere near as large as it once was, and i am afraid that we will soon be surpassed! If you've read here for any amount of time, you'll remember that my incredible brother-in-law was killed in a tragic accident in January. I have nominated his wife for this award, which includes a $2500 cash prize. I can not tell you how much I would love to hand her that check right before the holidays...their first without Verd. Please consider voting...it's incredibly easy, just a simple click on "vote"-no registering, no liking, no signing up for anything. Thank you so much for your support in this! And remember, you can vote once every 24 hours! Here is the link to vote: http://theblogfrog.com/p/allstate/default.aspx?replyid=1125465#Vote If you feel compelled, I would love for you to share this with as many people as you can! Thank

In the past week I've worked out twice. Two times. One. Two. And, you know what? I don't look like Giselle Bundchen yet. I mean, WTH ?! The universe must be playing games with me because I totally FEEL like I should look like Giselle, yet, when I look in the mirror all I see is a 30 something mother of five (with the battle wounds to show for it) with a strong penchant for Doritos and Sour Patch Kids staring back at me. Here's the other thing. I hurt. And, I'm not so sure it's in a good way...but it could be. All I know is those damn "front plank holds" totally kicked my ass when all I thought I was doing was kicking their ass. Sure, my legs, arms, back, belly, and butt were quivering with fatigue and waving their white flags but I'D BE DAMNED if I was going to let that front plank win!! So, I held it. I quivered. I swore. I tried not to hold my breath. And when it was over, I collapsed (all 4 inches) to the ground and tried to talk myself into how gr

I feel like I've been a photographin ' fool lately! Several photoshoots over the last couple of weeks...guess it's time for those family photos, huh? Unbeknownst to me, there is a little hidden photography gem not terribly far from my house. I met a co-worker (it was her discovery) and her family there for a quick late morning photoshoot ! I find that time of the day (11 am) is challenging because of the lighting...it's getting better here, because the sun isn't quite as high in the sky as it is in mid summer, but it's still awfully bright and shadowy out there! This "park" where we went was an old farm site, with adorable old tin and granite and steel and wooden out buildings PERFECT for taking pictures! It was a great setting and fabulous looking subjects...although the baby in the group really wanted NOTHING to do with getting her picture taken! Here is my favorite from the day: (Just another reminder to please, please, please take a second [liter

Remember when I was floundering about, asking for advice on which phone I should upgrade to? I just know that you've been dying to know what I choose. Pacing the floor, biting your nails, wondering WHAT ON EARTH is taking me so long to tell you? Right? Oh...you weren't? You were just going about life normally, without a second thought to which phone I chose? Well, hrmph. Fine then. But I'm gonna tell you anyway. I debated, I fretted, I weighed this option and that option and this feature and that feature and I asked Twitter, Google, Facebook and my gynecologist for their opinions. (Okay, fine. I'm kidding about the last one. Maybe.) My baby bro nailed it: "4S. Go big or go home." My next baby bro (iPhone hater that he is) taunted me: "Droid." (He doesn't know what he's missing.) My big bro let me down and didn't help out his baby sister a bit. Not a peep from him. See if I ever ask for his advice again. In the end...it was Siri that won m

Happy Friday! Loving this fall break we're getting...so nice having all my kiddos home (and getting to sleep in!)! Last nights hayride? FABULOUS! So much fun, that I want to bring the Mr. and video him the entire time because he startles like a little school girl and I think it would be hilarious to see! Okay, let's get down to business! Welcome to Five Question Friday...THE blog hop to participate in if you like to talk about yourself (what blogger doesn't) and if your muses have run off into the sunset and eloped. Oh, yeah...and it's TONS of fun, too! Rules for 5 QF : Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP! Then visit some fellow linker uppers and see what THEY have to say! Remember, feel free to participate via Twitter if you'd like! Questions for Friday, October 21st : (Special thanks to @ eah 1234 , @ katieb 38 , @nicgep1114 , Sandy , and Lora [no blog link!] fo

BOO!!! :D We (The Pal, Belle, myself, my mom, dad, and two of my bros) are headed to a Haunted Hayride! It's a local hot spot that I've never been to before...please pray that I survive (oh, yeah, and my kids and family too). I hear they chase you with chainsaws. Should be a blast...or horrifically frightening. Anyway...sneak peek time! Welcome to Five Question Friday...THE blog hop to participate in if you like to talk about yourself (what blogger doesn't) and if your muses have run off into the sunset and eloped. Oh, yeah...and it's TONS of fun, too! Rules for 5 QF : Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP! Then visit some fellow linker uppers and see what THEY have to say! Questions for Friday, October 21st : (Special thanks to @ eah 1234 , @ katieb 38 , @nicgep1114 , Sandy , and Lora [no blog link!] for their question suggestions! I would LOVE to link YOU in a future