My FAVORITE Brother :)

As you can probably tell by the title this post is dedicated to my brother Kadon. He is pretty much the coolest. I'm being dead serious too, the kid is awesome. You should get to know him...

Crazy Little Thing Called LOVE

People have been begging me for these pictures. Begging me people. I like to please the people.

So here they are: Happy Annie-vair-suri Picture Palooza.Super. SUPER. hot husband.
Not sure why this next picture looks pixelated... also not sure why I am not teeth smiling... what's my deal?Check out my cute cute sunglasses.
(might I add that this is the only picture in which my bangs look the way they are intended to look. What is my problem people...)My husband's not as cute sunglasses but extra cute face.Guess where we went... go ahead, guess.
what's up with the red photo. we may never know.Things got a little blurry. Oragami grasshoppers while we waited for our table... I didn't take pics because I didn't want anyone to be jealous of our mad oragami skills. (They looked a lot like paper airplanes though...)Isn't he just so good looking you just want to die.
RAWR! As you can see I am fawning all over him.Texas Roadhouse baby. Super delish.
husband likes to stick his tongue out in Happy Annie-vair-suri pictures. I don't ask questions. I just go with it.See those three boxes of food. yep. all mine. Notice my hippopotamus face. That's the face I make when I am being a hippopotamus.wow. that is one good kisser.So good in fact that we had to try it out one more time...
Come on, it wouldn't be a happy annie-vair-suri post with out a little lip action.

Happy 6 years muffin! You are my bestest friend EVER!!p.s. we should go on hot dates more often. fun.

Dear Muffin,

You need to know the following.
I like how you smell. It's comforting, and very boy, and it makes me feel safe and home. (Let's not confuse how you smell clean, with how you smell dirty. Dirty boy is not a pleasant smell. Just ask Landon or Cooper...) I like it when you hold my hand, I feel like your girlfriend, and that is a feeling I definitely like. I like it when you bring me home balloons or flowers, it makes my heart feel super giddy, and my eyes kind of tear up. Which is a good thing. I like it when you take pictures with me and we can pretend that we are lovers on a fantastical journey. because we are. I love to watch you play with our kids, they absolutely adore you. So do I. I like your smile and your laugh, they are very handsome. You are very handsome. Some days I glance over at you doing nothing in particular and I think "What a hottie! I wonder if he'll go out with me?" I like your fairy leaps and your dancing. You have mad dance skills. I think we should bust them out at the next stake dance. It would be legendary. People would be talking about it forever. I DO NOT like tiger safari. This is not a joke, it's honest to heaven truth.
I like that you make me happy. I like that you make me better. I like that you're patient with my "not better".
I like that you asked me to marry you. I like that I said yes. I like that it's been 6 years. I like what we have created together. I like our potential.

I like you.
I really like you.
I practically love you.
I absolutely love you.
Happy Annie-vair-surry.

Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we:

Osgrr, the engagement puppy.The engagement photo.

Now for random Wedding Day Palooza pics:

Welcome to the Real World.

Please note the following:

• When your children ask if you (they) are going somewhere because you ask them to get dressed out of their pajamas...
• When your son chooses to eat his breakfast directly out of the saucepan instead of out of his bowl on the table...
• When your daughter asks you if you are putting on makeup so daddy will like you...
• When your youngest (who is 18 months) approaches you with the shaving cream and repeatedly attempts to put it on your legs... (hmm, I wonder if someone should shave...)
• When you potty trained son (YAY!) insists on wiping his own bum and you are left wiping unmentionables off the toilet seat everyday...
• When you are going through 3 times as much toilet paper because of a fore mentioned situation...
• When your children think the word poop is funny and so they include it in every one of their knock knock jokes...

Well that, my friends, is when you know that you have arrived.

You Just Got Schooled

Here it is: the legendary post I've been dreading for a year now.
Let's keep it simple. Kameryn started school on Monday. Mom started crying last week. Mom hasn't finished crying yet. Mom is not a crybaby.

Kameryn, of course, has been so stinkin' excited for the last month. Saturday she recieved a letter in the mail from the school fairy saying that she noticed it was time for her to go to school and if she would leave her backpack by her bedroom door Sunday night the back to school fairy would leave her some goodies. (click the picture to make it bigger if you would like to read what it says)

So, of course, first thing Sunday morning Kameryn's backpack goes right in front of her door. She was so excited she even drew a picture at church of the back to school fairy and her. (with her backpack of course) Notice how her arm is wrapped around the back to school fairy.

Then all day after church she kept asking me when it was going to be bed time.

Sure enough, Monday morning Kameryn woke up to goodies from the school fairy.Monday was orientation. First day of school but not "for reals" I kept telling Kami Tuesday was the first real day of school and she said "So was Monday fake school?"

Here she is on the front steps with her backpack. She has been begging to wear that little pink shirt since we bought it (it has a butterfly on it) So, there you go.I've smudged out our house numbers, safety first, but you should come see them because they are brand new and rockin' awesome. So is our mailbox, thanks for asking.Kami had a complete meltdown orientation day when she realized I wasn't going to talk to the bus representative so she couldn't ride the bus home. (We live three blocks from the school...)

Tuesday (yesterday) was her first official day of school. (My turn to pick the outfit. We are taking turns, her one day, me the next.)

mommy, straight out of the shower (yes Kadon, I do shower. Probably more frequently than you do.)Isn't she just a doll?!So Monday, we loaded up the whole family (minus daddy) in the stroller and walked the girl to school. My little independent girl wouldn't even let me say goodbye. She told me "Mom! I have to get my backpack I have to go!" Then she ran into the classroom without even a sideways glance at me or the teacher. I only cried halfway home. I had to keep telling myself to just pretend like it was a playdate with a friend.

As soon as I mentioned it was time to get ready to go pick up Kami, however, Cooper jumped up and ran out to the stroller. He kept calling to me "Mom! Let's go. We have to go get Kami!" So I'm pretty sure he missed her.Landon napped the whole time she was gone and so he didn't even notice her absence.
Kami kept us entertained the whole way home with stories of apples and gingerbread men, sitting on the carpet and new friends. And then something about someone getting stung by a bee (sad). She had a great time and is so excited to go back today.

Kami's first school paper. Look how cutely her little name is written at the top. Curvy letters and all.

We will adjust. Right now it just feels like a waiting game. Wait until 11:45 to take her to school. Wait until 2:45 to go pick her up... Hopefully we settle into the routine soon so I can start feeling like I have time to accomplish things during the day. And, hopefully soon the excitement will die down. I'm comparing the atmosphere in our house right now to pre-Christmas meltdowns. Poor girl (me, not Kami)

Also, Kami wanted her picture taken today as well. She said her Grandma would like to see her.

There are Times.

Being a mother is hard sometimes. Being a homemaker is hard sometimes. Running a home is hard sometimes. And sometimes, doing all three really sucks (pardon my language)

There are days when it feels like no one appreciates what you do. There are days when it's even worse and you feel like no one respects what you do. And you're just tired. Tired of the messes that appear instantaneously in the exact spot you just cleaned. Tired of the screaming, and the crying. Tired of feeling like you want to scream... and cry.

There are times when you wish that just once someone would show up unexpectedly at your house and it would be clean. Just once. Instead of people always showing up when it's not. And you laugh it off, and you apologize, but there are times you think "I bet they don't believe me when I say it was just barely clean."

There are days when you are tired of people judging you. Tired of thinking people judge you. Tired of worrying about what others think. There are days when you're tired of judging yourself.

There are times when you wish time would just slow down and let you catch your breath. There are times when you wish time would slow down and let you keep your little girl , just right here in this little moment. And then there are the uncountable times when you wish you could just go back and do it all over again, but this time do it better. Do it the way you thought you would do it before you got in the way. Be the mom, the wife, the home maker you thought you were going to be, instead of the reality of the one you are.

There are days when it just all boils to a head, all the stress, all the frustration, all the fatigue, all the loneliness, all the insecurity, all the guilt... yeah, all the guilt.

I'm just saying, sometimes there are those times. Sometimes.
And sometimes, it's comforting to know that others have those times as well, because other people do.
And maybe they don't.
But I know that there are times that I sure do.

Little Letters

Dear Ornery Child,
I don't think it is fair that you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and then I have to deal with your shenanigans. So, don't be surprised when I put you right back in your bed.
... and also, throwing a can of Pepsi at me, so not cool little boy.

Hugs and Kisses, mommy

Dear pesky annoying fly,
You've been flying around my head for the last 15 minutes. Please land so I can kill you.

xx

Dear Husband,
I love you. Thank you for cleaning the vast amounts of throw-up we experienced this week. That makes you awesome.

- Love, wee-fay.

which reminds me:

Dear throw-up,
We are not friends, and I would appreciate it if you didn't come to visit again. FOR A VERY LONG TIME!

With pure, unadulterated hatred, Not amused.

Dear Beautiful New Bathroom,
I love you. You were worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. (And the Stacy London hairstyle that lasted for a week.)

Sincerely, Pleased.

My dear miss Demi Lovato,
I desperately want to go to your concert but my husband thinks I am too old. I'm not too old huh? It would be fun huh? Please call my husband and tell him it would be fun. Thank you.

Signed, Elderly and Uncool.

Dear school,
I think you are evil and I would appreciate it if you stopped luring my child to you with thoughts of friends and learning. Just not cool. Keep your business to yourself and leave me my daughter.
P.S. I'm sorry if this is harsh, I'm sure I'll like you better in a couple years.

-Despair

Dear Husband, (you get two because I love you so much)
Tiger Safari is not a good activity. It's a good thing you are cute and easily forgivable. Also, I miss you. Please come home.

Sincerely, Traumatized.

Dear Home Appraiser,
Please agree with me and think my home is adorable and worth millions of dollars. We would really like all our dreams to come true.
Also, I would appreciate it if you would ignore the leaky basement and the garage roof.

- George Washington
(do you get what I mean...)