Share Nice.

Honestly...I'm pretty tired. Not exactly physically, sleep-deprived tired...more emotionally tired. Things with 3 little kids are in constant motion. I love every sticky, loud moment, but at the same time I could really use another vacation. Ya feel me?

Another thing...I don't like conflict, and I don't know if it's just election year or whattheheck, but just being in contact with social media makes...me...tired. I felt compelled to say "why can't we all just get along", but it's not even that. I know we all aren't going to agree. DUH. Just take my kids for example. They can't agree on whose mother I am, much less deep political/theological/social issues. Granola vs. I'm hungry gonna eat what I wanna, Conservative vs. Liberal, Obama vs. Romney, Attachment parenting vs...not sure what the opposite of that one is?, Hug a tree vs. Good ol' boy, etc. I don't really think of myself as an extreme of any of these ideas, or an extreme supporter of any one or the other. I just get weary of the "I'm right you're wrong, oh and yo mama is fat so there" attitude.

Yeah, I'm ranting. Yeah, I'm grumpy. Yeah I need a social media detox. (This will probably be happening in the near future. I'm sure people get tired of me too.) As a stay at home mom I love keeping up with my mommy friends, best friends, and my family through social media...but sometimes I feel like I'm wading through crap and a bunch of arguments to get there. I just wanna know what's up with people, not why they hate so-in-so cuz they don't eat grass 3 meals a day, or why they think so-in-so is prettymuchdumb because they are a Democrat.

I'm also all for saying what you think and standing up for your beliefs, and also for sharing information that you're learning and loving via social media. But ya don't gotta send it a long with a big ol' splash of rude and a side of "you're stupid cuz you don't agree with me". Share away, just share nice. It's like I tell my kids, you don't have to agree with me, you don't even have to LIKE me all the time...but for the lllllooooovvvvveeeee just have a good attitude and be kind while you do it.

I want my kids to be opinionated, and strong in their beliefs. But I also want them to be kind. I want them to be the kind of people who treat other people like people. I want them to examine and re-examine and know down to their toes why they believe what they do. Not because it's cool, not because it's easy, not because twitbook or the media said so...but because it's truth. Whether that other person agrees with you or not, they are just that. Another person. They might not think just like you do, but that doesn't make them dumb or worthless. And ya never know...you (me?) might even be the real lunatic. ;) Now I'm going to break up a fight about how peanut butter should best be applied to the kitchen table. Later.

Classifieds

Kids for sale. Helpful for scaring away intruders. Energetic (don't sleep) with simple tastes (only pb&j). Female has been known to bite when threatened or just for fun. Mother is funny white girl, father has ADHD.

Disclaimer: I love my kids...but it's been one of those days already, ya know? Hoping we all make it till Daddy gets home! ;)

Big Sparkley Dress

I have to give Pinterest credit for this big idea...letting my 3 year old wear my wedding dress (deemed the "big sparkley dress" by Tizzy) out in the yard for a photo shoot. But that dress has survived a trash the dress session in a lake, so I think it was up for the challenge.

She was more than willing to model it for me. Saying she couldn't wait till she was bigger and it fit her. Oh girl, don't you dare get that big just yet. I know it'll be here before I know it...but this practice run made me emotional enough.

She is all sassy drama and spunk. Whatever man is brave enough to attempt to tame the beast better be a calm, patient, laid back kind of man. (Maybe with a personality a little like the guy who married her sassy, dramatic mother?)

It was a bit scary how comfortable she was in all those yards of white satin. But those chubby, baby girl arms sticking out of it, and that crazy, summer heat-curled hair topping it all off reminded me that I still have a few years yet where this fierce little warrior princess, as we like to call her, is my responsibility. Always needing her hand held wherever we go. One day she'll be holding hands with some guy I surely don't approve of and Billy surely wants to use his shotgun on...but thankfully today is not that day. She's still mine. In all her 3 year old drama queen's glory.

And thankfully, as you can see, Spiderman is always nearby to keep an eye on her. Goodness knows she needs it.

The first shot is for The Paper Mama.

Hi Ho...

I haven't really tried to play a lot of board games with my kiddos. I guess I'm not so great at sitting still and playing a game myself. (I've always hated games like Monopoly. It takes hours to finish. Don't even get me started on the game Risk. I start fidgeting after about 20 minutes.) I see that this character trait has also been passed down to one of the hooligans in particular...

Merrick, bless his little Thomas the Tank Engine undies, could barely even stay in the room, let alone play the game. He loved the game, don't get me wrong...he just kept forgetting he was playing it I think. ;) He kept getting distracted by Jericho (who was playing in the other room with Billy), or the window, or sock lint, or anything. He's a distracted kind of guy, but he's Merrick and he keeps life interesting.

Tirzah did a great job too. She is pretty good with the counting, as long as you are counting to "4". It didn't matter what number she spun, she always put 4 cherries into the bucket. She can count some and knows a lot of her numbers by sight...so I'm not sure, but I think this was just a ploy since she won both rounds.

We actually lost the spinner, so I downloaded a "spinner" app. We're so high tech around here. Our TV may be from when I was in college, but we know how to make use of an iPhone by golly. I really had a good time playing with the hooligans, and I think we all learned a little bit. Some of us learned more about counting, and some of us learned a little about sitting still. ;)

...beginning over

Nothing too terribly exciting happening today. Just looking forward to a chill week at home with my hooligans. I love the laid back ingredient of summer, mixed in with the warmth and sunshine...it's a comforting combination. I saw this quote and it really resonated with me. I feel like every summer I begin over. Stocked up on sunshine and ready to meet the rest of what this year will be filled with.