I Should be Cleaning House

Bring on 2014!!

2014-01-01T19:55:00.000-06:00

I finally figured out the sparkler writing trick. I've wanted to do it forever but just could never get it down. I guess after everything I've learned this last year, I realized last night I knew how to do it! Go figure. It was pretty simple after all. Well, I did have a little help from my eight year old, Aidan. I used him to get my focus right and to snap the picture after I got my settings right.

No New Year's resolutions for me this year. But there will be changes nonetheless! I'll be starting the new year off as a single mom to my two boys. My little photog business will be my sole means of income for now. If I have as many amazing clients in 2014 as I did in 2013, that shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully by business will GROW! It has been AMAZING.

I want to get back to the things I enjoy in life. One, being this blog. I learned so much about photography through blogging. I want to start back with the fun weekly challenges and meeting fellow photogs. I miss sharing my life and getting a peek into others'.

Now, let some more New Year fun begin! HEHE

InstaFriday

2012-07-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

I <3 InstaGram!

We visited my cousin over the weekend so I could

do some family pics for them.

My aunt that lives next door to her was having a Yard Sale.

My littles got into her stuff.

I swear they are hoarders.
They both found sombreros :-)

And we STILL have fireworks.

We set off quite a few of these shortly after the pic.

And yes, this was over a week after the 4th!

Aidan got my niece that is a hair stylist to give him highlights.

What 6 year old doesn't need highlights?!

They didn't really take, but it was a pretty fun process!

For this little shot of LuLu....
I have no words.
I should've saved this for a
Wordless Wednesday post.
Seriously.

I've been wondering why my cats are always hungry.
I heard some racket out on the front porch late one evening this week
as I was up editing a session.
THIS is what I found.
EWWWWW!!!

Me and a couple girl friends spent a super gloomy, rainy day in Houston.

Yummmmmmmmm-O.
We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.
And THIS was desert.

We did some shopping and picking and junking.
This place was so flippin' cool.
I guess they're famous for their boots and their picture frames.
I didn't buy either.
I did find a cool crate for 6 bucks.

And there was rain at home, as well as in Houston.
I'm so sick of RAIN.
Rain, rain, go AWAY!!!!
At least go a different direction!
My yard is washing away.
It's actually washing into my front porch and laundry room.
BOOOOO!

I'm linking up with

It's really fun!
It's like a weekly InstaGram recap.
A photo dump of sorts!

Thanks for stopping by!

H is for.... HOLD THAT BABY IN!

2012-07-12T14:29:00.001-05:00

These pictures were taken
this past Sunday, July 8th.

And as I'm posting....

this precious little mama is being checked into
the hospital to have her little man, Tuff!

So I wanted to share a few of the photos
from her maternity session.
And as always, some of my ramblings.

Maybe we did wait until

the last minute to have her session!?
But I guess what counts
is that we got 'em done in time!

And I'm very proud of how they turned out.

I've seen these used in maternity shoots before,

but she and I weren't really sure WHAT to do with it!

We did quite a few shots,

actually a LOT with this piece of cloth,

but this one turned out to be our fave.

She looks almost like a goddess.

I feel like I'm growing as a photographer.
And learning so much.
But I still see so many things I need to work on.
The little details I need to catch while shooting.
Things I need to plan ahead for and think about in advance.

I've tried doing this as a "business" several times
over the past three years.
But this time feels very different.
I dumped my cheesy business name
and will just stick with MY name.

Hmmmmm,

maybe she'll call me to come over and snap a few

pics after the little man is born?

I have another newborn scheduled for next Wednesday.

I can't wait!

Stay tuned for pics of new baby Mallory :-)

I'm linking up with these awesome sites:

Please, I beg of you,
if you have some constructive criticism,
I'm a big girl! Please share!

And thanks for stopping by !

Wordless Wednesday {Rainy Day Style}

2012-07-12T08:48:00.002-05:00

As I said in the ONE blog post I've done this week,

I have been busy with my little photography business.

I guess it's "that" time of year?

But now comes the rain.....

And it keeps coming.

Yes, we are in a drought,
and REALLY need it.
But does it need to wash my yard into my front porch?!

Anyway,
I seriously need to get back into the bloggy groove!

I enjoy it so much.

I love sharing my photos with all you amazing bloggers

and love all the comments and emails.
I NEED constructive criticism!
Please, I beg of you all.
If you see something I could improve on or change...
TELL ME! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

So this is it for my not-so-wordless-wednesday.
But I am going to share more of my sessions with you
in the next few posts :-)

Please come back by and let me know what you think...
GOOD or BAD.
I can take it.
I'm a big girl!

I'm linking up with these amazing sites:

Finally.... FIREWORKS!

2012-07-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

I guess I got a little behind with the blogging....

I was doing so well!

The good thing is, I got behind because I got

busy with my photography.

We did a few pre-4th of July fireworkin'.

These parachute guys are the coolest thing!

But this poor parachute fella didn't have a good ride down.
He lost his legs upon lift-off.
The boys thought it was pretty awesome though.
My son's friend's reaction is priceless!
I couldn't hear what he said,
but I'm sure it was something along these lines...
"Dude! DUDE! Really?! It blew his legs off!"

A closer look at the damage...

Now what could've happened?

Ahhhhhh, we got one guy stuck in a tree.

We just bought one of those $15 variety packs for this good time....
But it was definitely worth it.

>

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Wordless Wednesday {A Donkey's Tail}

2012-07-04T01:27:00.000-05:00

I seriously couldn't make up the crap that goes on around this house!!

I guess our little donk donk, Flower,
found one of our weenie/marshmallow roasting hangers?!
I see the donkies rolling on their backs in the sand a lot.
I suppose to get rid of flies.
She must've rolled on this!

I'll have to threaten these kids to keep them OUT OF THE PASTURE!
I swear I thought we had them all put up!

I had to chase her down and cut it out of her tail!
It took FOREVER to get it all cut out,
with her running from me!
A little snip here, a little snip there.
I can't believe I didn't get kicked!!
She was not happy with me!

A day in the life of the Pate's!!

I am linking up with:

http://whatisamom.com

Tuesday Troubles

2012-07-03T23:10:00.002-05:00

{ A job in sales may not be in the cards for this kid }

Aidan got some sea shells from his cousin

and got it in his mind that he could SELL THEM
to make enough money for a dirt bike!

So he and his little sis drug out her princess table and chairs....
that have certainly been to hell and back...
and his desk, and set up shop.

As you can see, she wasn't much interested.

Her brother said if she helped, he'd get her some Oreos.
I guess she didn't know there were already Oreos in the pantry?!
Wonder where she thinks he got them?!

They also drug out a ton of broken toys and crap they didn't want.
How CREEPY is that doll head?!

And her hair?!
Shouldn't it be ON her head?!
Looks kinda like mine when I wake up in the morning.

Are you guys as shocked as I am that no one stopped and bought anything?!
I think just seeing that crazy doll head ALONE would keep me from stopping.

Aidan stayed outside for about 10 minutes.
He got LuLu to stay out for almost an hour watching his stuff.

I snapped this one from the living room window.
He has patience like his mama.
Lulu was content to just hang out...
waiting for customers with the kitty...
(he's that gray lump at the bottom of the pic)
while eating Oreos.

I don't guess he'll be getting a dirt bike any time soon.

But we will need to go to the store for some more Oreos.

Thanks for stopping by!!

I'm linking up with the following:

Pick me! Pick me!

2012-07-02T12:09:00.002-05:00

Hello, bloggy friends!
Please take a minute to go over and vote for me!

Click HERE to PICK ME!!

I was chosen as a weekly winner a few weeks back
and am now hoping to win
for the month of June!

There are some other amazing photographs there.I'm honored to even be considered with these folks, honestly!I've always heard people say that, but now I understand it completely!
* This is the photo *

* My Monday Photo Show Off *

2012-07-02T11:30:00.001-05:00

I have to start this post off with this poor little fella!
This is the son of a girl I went to school with
many, many years ago (yes, I'm old).
I've done pictures for her kiddos several times now,
and was so happy that she called me again last week :-)

However, at the very end of this session, this cutie was stung by a wasp....
now let's go ahead and add insult to LITERAL injury...
while trying to get off the old truck and AWAY from the wasp....
the baby fell in a super duper, large, FRESH pile of cow poo.

I just heard from his mom this morning. Apparently, he's allergic :-/
He was in the ER all night, but is home now and is fine.
Can I just tell you all how HORRIBLE I feel?
The location was not my doing.
Him being in the back of the truck where the wasp was wasn't either...
But still! I feel horrible! Just terribly horrible!
{Don't tell him I told you all about the poo. Please and thank you.}

And how about his sister's eyes?!
WOW!

Oh, this East Texas weather....

one minute it's sunny and gorgeous!

Then, it's gloomy and gross.

Yes, gross. And muggy and... gross.

I was hoping for that golden, end-of-the-day sun.
But, no. Just gloom.

I'm not a professional photographer BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION!
I've had NO training, other than a little online class last summer.
And that was just to learn to shoot manual.
Which I still struggle with.

So I may not even be using these presets as they're meant to be used.
But... for these photos I used
The Dream Baby collection by Pretty Presets
&
Spring Color, Flare & Haze by Pretty Presets.

I am so excited to be featured on the Photo Show Off this week!

Check out my previous post...

* Meg's Vintagey Photo Shoot *

Is Vintagey even a word? I don't think so....

but I like it and will continue to use it.

I'm linking up with the Photo Show Off again this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Lazy Summer Day

2012-07-01T14:40:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, it's just too stinkin' hot to run and jump and play.

I'm submitting this first shot to Ni Hao Y'all.

LOVE this little boy

LOVE how this turned out.

Click HERE to PICK ME!!

I was chosen as a weekly winner a few weeks back
and am now hoping to win
for the month of June!

Sometimes, you just wanna be LaZy.

Sometimes, you just want to relax and take it easy.

I'm submitting this photo to Melanie over at

This is another one of my faves!!
I feel bad picking so many of the boy!
But she only let me take a couple of her this time.

Yes, trampolines are for jumping.

But can't they just be for laying around with the waterhose?!

Just so we can be cool?

And lazy?

And relaxed?

And HaPpY hApPy HaPpY!!!

I edited these with

Brandy (B/W) from the Glimmer Action Set

My Four Hens.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Please leave me a comment knowing you were here!!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

2012-07-01T00:15:00.002-05:00

YAY!! YIPPEE! HIP HIP HOORAY!
It's finally SunDAY!
I tried to rhyme. See it there....
HOORAY AND DAY?

Okay, enough of that.
Here are my interpretations for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.
This week it's being hosted by the FABulous Sarah Halstead.
She is THE Naptime Momtog.
Check her out. You may learn a thing or two.
I know I'm trying :-)
She has some great stuff on her blog. Tutorials and such.

{SUNSET}

A {SUNSET}.... East Texas Style
Just a little pond, in a little pasture.
With my iPhone, no less.
Someone PLEASE give me some tips
for iPhone photos and InstaGram?!

{SWEET}

I.LOVE.SUGAR.
I had so many ideas for this one.
But what I went with...
was a mix of my four favorite candies.
Sweet tarts, Gobstoppers, Nerds and Lemon Head & Friends.
I like chocolate... but not as much as these {SWEET}s!!
Just looking at this picture makes my teeth hurt.
Better make a dentist appointment STAT.

{HANGING AROUND}

The kids and I have been {HANGING AROUND} the park some.
Here's what I've been thinking.
Since she has all this hair, and she thinks she's a princess....
I'll just call her "Your HAIRness."
Instead of "Your Highness"?!
hehe. I crack myself up.

{FUNNY FACE}

Wonder why our back patio glass door never stays clean?!
Could be Aidan's FISH LIPS smashed on it all the time :-)
He always has a {FUNNY FACE} for us.

{SPACE}

This guy knows nothing about personal {SPACE}.

Seriously. We have three donkies and I think we

have them all so spoiled.

They think if we're in the pasture, we're only there to pet them.

Or feed them.

So when I'm out snapping pics, I turn around and see THIS!

CHEEEEESE!

Thanks for stopping by! And please, oh please! Leave me some comment love!

* Sci Port Science Center FuN *

2012-06-30T22:44:00.000-05:00

In my continued attempts to keep these kids busy this summer,

we went to Sci-Port Science Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.

It's 92,000 square-feet of science and math fun.

There are over 290 science, math and space exhibits!

And the kids LOVED it!

So did mama :-)

AlkaSeltzer experiment.
FUN! We need to do this one at home.

I'm linking up with Shadow Shot Sunday 2
for this second shot.
Look at the look in his face....
He's learning AND having fun.
Can't go wrong with that!

A paper airplane launcher?!

I think YESSSS!!!!

Lift, drag & thrust....

These are the things you can learn about

at the computers near this exhibit.

They also had step-by-step

tutorials on making different types of paper airplanes

and how these things apply to each.

There were so many fun learning activities!!

They ran around like wild animals from place to place.

It was hard for me to keep up with them!!

Aidan was trying to fly and land the space shuttle.

Pretty scary, I know. See how observant he was!! hehe

We had to create some sort of chemical reaction here

to launch our rocket. I'm so smart.

LuLu got in the wind tunnel.

Her hair was cracking me up!!!

They thought the coolest part of the playhouse was calling each other!

Don't they look cute in their hard hats?!

I didn't think I would EVER get them out of this area.

I'll have both your heads on a platter!!

Well, we went to space, sailed on a ship and played with electricity.

Then went to see a movie.

Brave was pretty darn cute.

It was a LOOOOOONG day.

And, as usual, I have so many more pictures

from this fun day.

Already posting a bunch, so....

Save the rest for later maybe?

Puppy Shugas!!

2012-06-30T00:02:00.001-05:00

I'm cringing as I post these.

Don't get me wrong....

I love this pup.

And I love puppy shugas.

JUST.NOT.IN.THE.MOUTH.

I know where that pup's mouth has been!!

It doesn't seem to bother LuLu.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

InstaFriday {Short & Sweet}

2012-06-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

I'm still loving my InstaGram app! LOVING!

And I've found several sweet apps to go along with it!

These first two have to be my favorites!

There's nothing like an East Texas sunset.
These were both taken just down the road from our house.

The pup and I partied like ROCK STARS

over the weekend. The kiddos went

to their Naynay's for a couple nights.

The little guy had a terrible earache.

The stuff that was coming out of his ear was...

Was.... well, unspeakable.

Doc says no swimming for a week.

Like THAT is going to happen.

Both the littles think they have to get a stuffed

animal from the pharmacy when they're sick.

I guess they think right.

More library time.
They have some super cute games on their computers.

Blogging and wine?

I think YESSSS!!

And to wrap it all up, we went to Sci Port.
Super fun for the kiddos!
It's a hands-on type of museum where they
learn all about science and math.
All kinds of good stuff!
Aidan was brave enough to experiment with
Alka Seltzer tablets.

This or That Thursday

2012-06-29T22:40:00.002-05:00

I have so much to post!

Just not enough time to do it!!!

I'm still trying to keep these kiddos busy this summer,

while keeping the camera in their face!!

I kid! I try to stay out of the way and just let them be.

Enjoy themselves. I love the candid shots.

But occasionally, I get caught.

So, school is out for summer!
Has been for us for a month now.
But this is just a tidbit of how we're spending our summer

Aidan took a friend with him to the library one day this week.

BOYS!!!!!!
Derik looked at the movies for a hot second.
Then a few books.....

Then it was on to cricket chasing.
IN.THE.LIBRARY.

They did a program on nutrition.
The kids weren't too happy when they heard what it was about!
But they really enjoyed it!
Especially when they gave out free pencils for answering questions right.
Seriously?! Pencils.
Like we don't have them everywhere at home?!
And then there was the fruit pizza!!
It was so yummy!

{F is for FRUIT PIZZA}

We had a little feeding frenzy ....

picking fruit off each other's plates.

And there was a projector for the presentation.

Who doesn't love shadow animals on a projector?!

It was time to go and I got to looking for the boys...

They were up to something outside!!

They had caught the cricket and put him as high up as they could reach.

My poor little LuLu!

If you follow me, you may remember her fall into her play kitchen?!

Her teeth used to be straight.

Now her two front teeth go back more than they should.

And her poor little upper lip is purple and black!

AND! Did I mention she looks like Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch!

It has gone down some. This was the morning after.

Worldess Wednesday

2012-06-27T11:44:00.001-05:00

Things are crazy/busy here as usual!
Thank goodness for the library and their air conditioning!!
It reached 104 here on Monday!

Aidan has had swimmer's ear, and his allergies have been BRUTAL.
No more of this for a week.....

The little girl fell and hit her mouth on her play kitchen.
She said santa should've brought her a softer kitchen!!

She knocked her front tooth BACKWARDS!

It's not loose at all! Just pushed back. WEIRD!

The dentist says it's fine for now.

But will probably die?!

WOW! Just wow. She's four. And it's a baby tooth, soooo......

Hot Rod is still being house trained!! GRRRRR!

Cute as ever, but also chewing everything in sight.
And he's starting to run wild when we take him out.
I guess it's time for a collar and leash :-/
I liked it when he was really scared and would hide under my feet.
He really does have ears....
even though he's running wild in this pic and you can't tell!
But isn't it funny?

I just love how my little Mini Me, Aidan, doesn't meet a stranger.

He just loves to talk to people and meet people.

He didn't even know the kid in this photo (top left).
But they made friends quick! They both like comic books :-)

And as usual, she likes doing her own thing.

The computers are her favorite!!

She volunteered to be part of one of the programs this week with Aidan!

He was a sculptor and she was playdoh.

He was to sculpt her into the animal of their choice.

Well, she backed out pretty quickly!!! lol

And pouted about it for a while :-/

There were snowcones of course! And it was HOT HOT HOT outside!

Notice the messy, sweaty hair in the top right photo?!

It's just been so stinkin' hot!!

But I must must must get out with my camera!

* Meg's Vintagey Photo Shoot *

2012-06-25T19:26:00.001-05:00

This beautiful young lady

is my best friend's 20 year old daughter, Megan.

{She does hair. I have grays.}

{I do pictures. She is photogenic.}

We make trades :-)

For the rest...
I just couldn't put them in a collage like I usually do.
They're just
TOO.AMAZING.
Especially this first one.

I feel bad submitting a photo NOT of one of the littles!
But this first shot is my fave, fave, fave of the whole week!

Ahhhhhh, I love her.

As for processing,
I used LR3 (I have LR4, tried it, hated it)
Pretty Presets Spring Color Flare and Haze.
Some other tweaking here and there.
Not too much though :-)
I love the hazy, soft, vintage look.
Especially with this set.
L. O. V. E.

And these were taken at around 7:30 in the evening.
BEST.LIGHT.OF.THE.DAY.

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Donkies Love Watermelon!

2012-06-24T23:47:00.002-05:00

As I've been doing the last couple of Sundays,

I'm linking up with Murieta 365

for SOOC Sunday.
All of these shots are straight out of the camera,
no post processing.
I have, of course, cropped some of the photos somewhat,
so that they fit into my collages.

I'm submitting this first photo to
Ni Hao Y'all
for her Sunday Snapshot.

My two sweet littles....
loving on Hot Rod the pup :-)

Soooo.... I have donkies.
Three actually.
And THIS is Jack, the only male we have left.
He's silly, and a camera ham!
I think he was smiling for me .
What do y'all think?!
I think he needs to brush his teeth.

The kiddos were feeding the donkies watermelon.
That's the strangest way I've ever seen to feed them...
hanging it on the fence line?!

Thanks for stopping by!

It's the Simple Things...

2012-06-24T10:18:00.000-05:00

I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things
of life which are the real ones after all.

~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Simple things, like....

I'm linking up with Simple as That

Thanks for stopping by!

* My Quarterly Top 5 *

2012-06-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

Here are my Top 5 Photos
I've taken of the ~~brats~~ kiddos
from April, May and June.

It was hard to just pick just FIVE!
Seriously. I know I'll look back after I've posted this
and wish I'd picked others.
I've gotta commit though.
So, here they are.

Just the boy... being a boy.

I love the shadow of the plane across his face.

I love that head of hair too!

This was before his summer shearing.

It's become a sort of tradition around here.

AND.HE.HATES.IT.

I haven't shared this one on my blog yet.

This was from one of our Tonkawa days.

The kiddos got up close and personal with a deer.

They were feeding it bread.

I took this cute little lady
along with me to do some friends' photos.
She's such a ham!
I just love the light on this.

Ohhhhh, my silly littles. They make my heart smile.
Unless, they're fighting, tattling or begging!!
But here, they're actually loving each other and getting along!
She was trying to get on his back, unsuccessfully I might add!!

The little boy loves playing in the water.
To say the least!!
I just love that goofy look on his face.
And the way the light is shining on the splashing water behind him.

Is it me, or do I have the cutest kids EVER?!

My First InstaFriday :-)

2012-06-22T23:43:00.000-05:00

I am VERY new to Instagram. AND.I.LOVE.IT.

I love that I can just snap a photo, wherever I am, whatever I'm doing.

And BAM! There it goes... out to the world.

To Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc.

Ahhhhh, technology. I've been so far behind for so long :-/

And what important things am I doing and sharing?!

Well, just take a look for yourself!

It is total AWESOMENESS!!

I'm smoking a cigar. But I'm NOT smoking a cigar.
How real does that look?!
And how cool is that hat?! I mean, c'mon!!

NOW, I can
immediately share with the world
that "Mommy NEEDS wine!"
Cheap wine from Wal Mart, but still!
Groceries are so dang expensive,
you have to scrimp somewhere.
{See SCRIMP Definition Below Photo}
Side note: The wine is still in the ~~wine cellar~~ fridge .
Waiting for mommy.
Calling for her. Hear it?

scrimp/skrimp/

Verb:

Be thrifty or parsimonious; economize: "I have scrimped and saved".

Synonyms:

skimp - stint - retrench

{Not at ALL to be confused with Bubba Gump Scrimp}

So this is part of the reason Mommy needs wine.

We left out early this morning to take pup to vet and get groceries,
leaving the teens at home... ALONE.

JUST ran the dishwasher before I left
and this is what I have when we get home :-/

Maybe I should've doubled up on the wine....

And look at little Hot Rod here.

How stinkin' cute is this little pooper?!

He had just gotten a bath and was trying

to hide under LouLou's pillow with his chew toy.

"Nooooo, mommy! No more baths!

I won't roll in cat poop anymore! I promise!"

That happened. True story.

Hey, how about these two cuties?!

Waterlogged from all that swimming and water play...

Snuggled up watching "Good Luck, Charlie".
WHAT WILL AMY HAVE?! BOY OR GIRL?!
And what will they name it?
Only Sunday will tell.

Movie Day at the "Liberry" ... that's me with the little pink-haired girl.

I don't know WHY she and her brother decided they wanted to put color in their hair

before we went to watch Puss in Boots?!
Pick your battles.

And look at those rain clouds rolling in....

I could smell the rain!

Our pears are ready...

Ready for what I'm not sure!

We need to do something with them

before the deer and squirrels get them all!

Or... just let 'em have 'em!

They need to eat too.

Okay, last one. I swear.

How about one of a kid and a puppy?
They're both so peaceful when they're sleeping.
Hmmmm......

So, just when I think I may figure out my DSLR,
there's another photography somethin'-or-other to tackle!

Any Instagram tips and suggestions would be appreciated!!

I'm linking up with:

Happy Friday!! (Or is it officially Saturday as I'm posting this?!)

Eeeekkkk.... A Bear Sighting in East Texas

2012-06-22T00:38:00.002-05:00

E is for Eeeeeeeeek!!

Okay, so it wasn't a REAL bear,

but it sure was a cute one!

And look at that face covered with Cheetos and DIRT!

YUM!!!

Even the bear towel hasn't been safe from our new pup....

Notice that sad looking, chewed up left ear?!

Yep, courtesy of Hot Rod.

We went back to Camp Tonkawa this Wednesday.

This time, my niece and nephew got to go.

The boys tried building a "beaver damn" to stop the creek up.

But it seemed pretty dangerous to me.

If they were even somewhat successful,

I think once all the water built up behind it...

It could've come rolling down on them!!

{Mom A.K.A. Fun Ruiner}

I made them tear it apart.

Again, another boy with NO FEAR!

Little Lou Lou loves to just do her own thing most of the time.

I snuck around behind and sat down behind a big tree just to watch her.

And of course take pics.

She's so serious... playing, yet watching other people as well.

I'll leave you with the above picture of the peacock.

Okay, I know it's a wild turkey.

But it's an inside joke...

Obviously SOMEONE that was with us thought it was a peacock.

I won't name names... ~~CHERYL~~ :-)

I marked the name out, so I know you can't see it now. hehe

As with our all our outings,

I took WAY too many pictures.

I'll have more to share later!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Ohhhhh, I have WORDS for this Wordless Wednesday!

2012-06-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

Is this what my life has become? Laundry, library books and colored hairspray? Looks that way. And WHAT is that IN.MY.CLEAN.LAUNDRY?! A puppy. Chewing on MY SHORTS. A dirty puppy that I just took outside to go potty. But didn't go potty outside. But came in and did a little piddle right in the middle of my kitchen floor. A dirty puppy that got his little paws all wet and dirty from the wet grass so he could come in and get on my nice, warm clean laundry.... just out of the dryer. I think what I was hearing him say to me as I was taking the picture is, "This is my spot, woman." I'm not sure though. That whiney bark could mean a lot of things. Maybe, "Get me off this nice warm laundry. My paws are clean and dry now. I need to go poop on Lou Lou's floor." Yeah, that's probably it.

His little paws were wet from the dew. Ya know, dew? The little water droplets all over the ground EARLY in the morning. Aidan usually has me up by 6:30. Not this morning. WHEW! What a relief that Hot Rod the pup got me up even earlier! Thank you, Hot Rod!

He has his own crap to chew on! WHY does he have to chew on my stuff?
Not the kids stuff. MINE.

I find myself during the night (usually around 2 or 3 am) frantically searching for his chew toys. Just like getting a bottle for a newborn baby. Otherwise he chews my face. We tried the crate training thing. BAHAHAHAHAHA!!! No one got any sleep in this house. Or this neighborhood. And we live on seven acres. I'm still sure the neighbors could hear it. The angels in heaven could hear it. He yelped and cried and whined. So now he sleeps with mama. Mama and the kiddos now that daddy has left for his two week hitch.

I didn't realize when my kids BEGGED for this darn puppy, that they were pretty much saying, "Mama, please can we have a newborn brother?!" But that's what I wish I'd heard. Because I would've said NO! Not just no. HECK NO. I'll watch my language here on this blog {for now}. But dang.

Anyway, I do love the pup.
A LOT! A LOT LOT.
I just felt like ranting about the little ~~brat~~ fella this morning.

We're headed to Camp Tonkawa again today.
It may become a Wednesday tradition.

Puppy Smells Yummy Nummy

2012-06-19T23:06:00.000-05:00

Are y'all sick of seeing this pup? Or hearing about him?!

Sorry...

No end in sight!

I sprayed some "paw fume" on the pup earlier.
That's puppy perfume, of course.

It smells so YUMMY!

But I have disturbed even MYSELF!

I was snuggling him and rubbing his fat puppy tummy.

And I swear. SWEAR. I said to him in my baby puppy talk...

"You smell so yummy. Ohhhhh, puppy smells yummy nummy.

You smell like fwoot loops(that's fruit loops in my baby puppy talk).
Fwoot loops taste so yummy nummy.

Puppy smells so yummy nummy mama wants to eat him."

Wow. Seriously. I need help.

Here's a little video of the cuteness.

Well, mostly cuteness.
Even I annoy myself when listening to my baby puppy talk!
So, if you have nothing to do for the next 2 minutes and 27 seconds,
go ahead and click play.
But remember, you'll never get those 2 minutes and 27 seconds of your life back!
You are WARNED :-)

I should've named the video "Scaredy Cat",
because that's what I kept calling him!
I'm such a dork.

My 6 year old son, Aidan, thinks he is THE BOSS

of his 4 year old sister, Lou Lou.
Actually, he thinks he's the boss of everyone and everything.
Well, just look at him in the following pic....

DA BOSS

The kid is wearing arm floaties and a SWIM RING,
and he's still bossing his friend around?!
He's definitely not going to have self esteem issues.

I've told him over and over and over (you get the point)....

unless your sis is in some way going to harm herself or others,

mind your own dang business!

Well, today she was kissing the puppy,

apparently on the lips/mouth.

Aidan was BESIDE HIMSELF!
I hear him yelling at her so loud that I thought
SURELY she was risking life and limb for some
flip-off-the-bunk-bed-stunt or something.
But, no. No. Just pup kisses.
He sees me round the corner and he says,
"What?! You don't know where that puppy's mouth has been.
But I do. I saw him licking his butt."
So, this time at least, he was only looking after her best interest.

Thanks for stopping by!

Around Pawpaw & Mawmaw's

2012-06-19T10:31:00.002-05:00

This is my daddy....
I'm 37, and still call him that.

But now, he's mostly known as Pawpaw.
I don't have many pictures of him.

So when we were out visiting the other day,

I snapped a few before he caught me! hehe

The little grands love going out to Pawpaw and Mawmaw's

to run around and play.

Ahhhh, Pawpaw and his chickens.
I love not living in a big city anymore.
I miss some things about it.
But I get to be in the country and close to my family.

I was definitely getting some crazy looks from some of these chicks!

I think we need to come up for a name for Pawpaw and Mawmaw's place...
I mean, we do live in Shelby Co, Tx.
Aren't we like the chicken capital of the world or something?!
Okay, maybe not. But we do have a lot of chickens around here.

Chickens, chickens... so many chickens.
I took a TON more pictures of these guys.
But was trying not to over-share.
I just think they're SO COOL!

And with chickens, comes chicken poop!
I swear I didn't really see MUCH on Miss Priss's feet.
But she was NOT happy about it!

Mawmaw's flowers and figs.....

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