a simple way to stay light-hearted

Every day of my life is filled with moments where I can't help but sigh which usually means "I'm going to lose my mind" or "how did I get here?" Does anyone else feel this way? I'm pretty positive I am not alone by any means. That being said, I am happy to share my simple way to stay light-hearted when you feel like you are going to explode in the midst of something completely ridiculous.

It's so very simple. I picture these two (the best brothers a girl could ask for) doing the same thing. 

I have been keeping a running list. Pick an adult in your life....preferably someone that makes you laugh since thinking of someone that aggravates you would only make the situation worse ; )

These are pretty much all about the boys...go figure...now the key is to picture that grown up...

• The boys are notorious for sucking toothpaste off of other people's toothbrushes. They can also be found with head leaned back & toothpaste squirting into mouth. This act can be in a synchronized fashion.
• When served a plate that contains a various assortment of things they start mixing it all together & saying "yum" following bites of blueberries dipped in ketchup & ranch dressing.  When they eat sauce from Chick-Fil-A they lick it straight out of the containers or scoop it into their hands & lick it off. It reminds us of Buddy the Elf.
• Collapsing on the floor in complete dismay when someone else gets the blue plate.
• Handing someone a toy to put away & they instead smile at you while running to the top of the stairs & throwing it over the banister.
• There was a morning that I was reading to the boys. Owen climbed up behind me, sneezed & shot a snot rocket into my hair. After a quick wash I decided to make a latte. Anson immediately reminded me that he really likes lattes & wanted to smell mine. I leaned down to his level....he got right over my cup & instead of taking a breath in he breathed out of his mouth & nose very forcefully & said "mmmmmm, I like that mommy."
• When eating lunch one day I was looking at someone across the table from me, glanced at Arlo & when I looked back there were feet in place of where the head was.
• One of the boys constantly struggles with putting his pants on correctly & ends up with two legs down the same side. He always looks so confused. This same child lays in his bed at night being told to pull up his covers which are within inches of his fingers & laments saying "I can't do it by my-see-elf!"
• Anson was next to me when I was getting the milk out of the fridge & said "can I help you mama?" I said "Sure! Hold this cap for me." He smiled at me & popped it into his mouth.
• I found both boys squirting hand soap into the girls hairbrush. That was actually the second time that happened. The first time I found out when the girls hair was magically filled with soap suds hahahaha! That is a great prank!
• When given markers or watercolor or basically anything you can use to color yourself, they do as soon as I turn around.
• The amount of times in one day that someone says "watch me, watch me" is insane& the majority of the time it is hilarious to picture an adult thinking they would like you to see every cool trick they can do.
• Every time someone touches ANYTHING that belongs to them they let out an extremely high pitched scream & sometimes go into attack mode.

Of course while looking through pictures to feature those funny guys I came up with more than I needed so, here are the Ellis kids back in the early 90's.

This next one reminds me of when the girls try to hold Arlo.

They don't do this any more but they still make me laugh....

A final word about staying light-hearted....laugh at yourself or be okay when the rest of your crew does. Sometime in the newborn fog I poured orange juice into my cereal instead of milk & I have yet to live it down.  

Splish Splash Kickball Bash

This kickball bash was definitely filled with a splish & a splash!  Since a spontaneous game of kickball on Father's Day we played nearly everyday whether it included friends or just the seven of us. When you have a birthday in the middle of July, outside in Texas & in triple digit temperatures there has to be water involved! We decided to add some baby pools to the kickball "diamond" which sounds like it would be an easy task but it was far from easy.

 

We had plenty of time to get the pools in the weeks leading up to the party but kept thinking it wouldn't be a big deal to just pick some up at Target that week. Fast forward to just hours before the party we (the entire family) were driving around like maniacs looking for them! Can you believe that Walmart, Target & Toys R Us had NOTHING?? It was the middle of July! After each place the poor birthday girls' face would drop as she said "are we going to find one?" I felt so sad. The last shot in the dark was a sporting goods store. I walked straight in & asked an employee if they had any in stock. He got on his walkie talkie & confirmed that they did not. My heart sank. I decided to look for myself & what do you know, hidden on a shelf were THREE perfect pools! I was jumping for joy, raced to the checkout & had a beaming girl when I hopped in the car. Phew! I thought we would have to text to let everyone know to leave their swimsuits at home & come ready to sweat like a dog.

 

Once we were home preparations for hosting were in full swing. Thankfully the girls & I knocked out the cake baking the night before. We stayed up late, ate the cake batter & didn't even get salmonella from the raw eggs! Some little guys got good naps in & thanks to Rob we had hotdogs, pulled pork sandwiches & all sorts of sides ready & waiting.

 

After eating, we headed out back for the bases to be blown up.  In no time at all the kids were lined up & the National Anthem was playing. One after the other all those cuties kicked & kicked & kicked. Here is Char with her friend Sarah...

 

 

 

The lemonade stand from birthday #5 was in business & the outfielders were looking a little too well dressed for this type of bash. They all needed some encouragement to play some ball instead of chatting ; )

 

How much cuter could we get with all our players & on lookers?

 

 

The vast majority of our team had no idea how the game was to be played & the average age was probably 4-5 which explains so much! It didn't matter though, we had a blast! Here are some action shots...

Grandpa Bob was about the best infielder you could ask for. He not only coached those little bitty ones to run to first base but also chased them with a ball & aimed to miss time after time. They felt like a million bucks! When it was his turn to "bat" he moved in slo-mo around the bases stepping in each pool with his tennis shoes on! I couldn't believe it & couldn't stop laughing. The only time I didn't laugh was when he tagged me out rather aggressively or when my dad caught my fly ball which made for out #2. I thought we were playing for fun?

This kiddo should be best buds with Owen & Anson who always seem to have their shorts on backward. TOO cute!

Elo is a pretty strong girlie & fast runner!

some preferred to lounge while runners passed her by...

 

Hannah liked lounging so much she moved her chair into the pool to visit with Owen.



 

It was pretty exciting when the pitcher started pitching to two at a time...

 

I even got to kick with the birthday girl! We were running so fast down the 1st base line I accidently halfway slid into the pool. Char thought that was hilarious. 

 

Robby was the pitcher the entire game. He was also the guy behind the awesome playlist which included some good ol' fashioned "Take me out to the Ballgame," "Deep in the Heart of Texas" & various others that kept us feeling like we were watching the Astros play ball. It also reminded me of the music from A League of Their Own....love that movie!

 

Back to a couple more action shots..



 

Talk about bases loaded! With your average player age of 5, often half the team was in a pool at any given time : ) 

 

While the big kids were playing Arlo was getting some lovin' from Gaga.  He was actually extremely grumpy up until this moment. Being with her makes me happy too. 

 

Two of the mamas watching the game were my friends Laura & Rachel. I am so thankful for the families we have met through our homeschooling community. Our kids like each other & we like each other too.....win win!! It looks like they funded the lemonade business.....or stole everyone's lemonade ; )

There were also other party-goers that were smart & avoided the heat & also happened to avoid the camera but we were thankful to have them celebrating with us! I did have a picture taken with some special guests. My cousin Jon & his wife Lauren welcomed twins in May. Boone & Lyla were just about the sweetest little things & decided to snooze the majority of the time.

Arlo was much happier when everyone left & he had the swing & Paw Paw all to himself.

 

Prior to the mass exodus we enjoyed a Texas sheet cake topped with seven candles.  Our sweet girl who still rather not be the center of attention asked if we could skip singing the birthday song. We told her if there was a party she would hear the lovely song sung loudly by all with her name inserted at the appropriate spot. She survived with a smile on her face. She basically had a smile on her face the entire party just blending in with her buddies enjoying something she loves....kickball.  It was most certainly a happy, happy birthday for Charlotte Grace.

Celebrating Charlottte

She's 7...our little baby Charlotte is 7! It happened just a few weeks ago & she could not be happier to be "SO OLD!" On the eve of the big day Eloise & I did some wrapping & decorating for her birthday breakfast. The homemade cards are my favorite....

 

Delicious cinnamon rolls were on the menu. I think we may need to double the amount we cook...there is never enough! We let her have a really big one with extra icing, sang happy birthday & watch her blow out her birthday candle.

 

We were excited to let her open a gift we had been thinking about getting her for awhile. She was thrilled to be photographed with her very own telescope & "The Night Sky" to know what to be looking for & to read about the history of astronomy.

After breakfast while she was reading her new book the bubsters gave blowing up balloons a try. Apparently it's harder than it looks! The girls just enjoyed the balloons that were already tied.

Rob left for work after breakfast & we headed to the park. It ended up being a marathon scooter ride/playing at two parks, eating a snack & each drinking a gallon of water in the middle of July. I tried to narrow this down but these five were making me laugh. Here is the big seven year old with her biggest fans...

Rob came home for the Kraft mac & cheese extravaganza the birthday girl requested. He walked in & surprised her with a bouquet of flowers. Her eyes lit up & she had a big smile on her face. In the late afternoon we got all gussied up to go to Daddy's office & out to dinner at her favorite pizza place. She was looking pretty : ) Our dear friends Michael & Christi sent Charlotte a state of Florida necklace that she proudly wore. Such a special part of her story.

Dinner at SPIN pizza was fun considering that we have had pizza from there a million times & have only eaten at the restaurant twice. We were reminded (again) that it is a challenging time to eat a meal out with our family ; ) The big girls were awesome of course & had their first experience of going to the ladies room sans mommy. They were full of giggles & stories about how loud the hand dryer was etc. They had to go back another time or two. I'm glad they have each other!

Once we were home, we got all the boys to bed & set up the telescope. We had some issues finding the moon even though it was literally right in front of us. Come to find out there are certain adjustments described in great detail in the instructions that I didn't notice. Robby & I had a good laugh when I shared my frustration & he took a look. I think better times are ahead, ha!

Our science study this fall includes astronomy so having this lovely addition to the family will be of great benefit....as long as we follow those directions. She was also given a microscope for her birthday. What a perfect gift to complement a telescope! God can use each of those tools to reveal more about himself & his incredible creation of everything from the pollen of a flower to vast galaxies far beyond even a telescope cold see.  What a wonderful thing to be exposed to at a young age.  It really was a special day for our special girl & the excitement was only growing for a birthday celebration with friends & family that was to happen a few days later!

Another fun 4th!

The 4th of July was our first official holiday to celebrate in the new house. We were in the mood for a low key kind of day that started with a long walk/scooter ride & ended with attempting to do sparklers with five kids 6 & under. In the "between" we enjoyed time with friends & a rowdy game of kickball. Now that I'm thinking about it one month post party, it really got started around 2 am when Robby got the smoker going with brisket & pork shoulder. I was up around 4 or 5 with a kiddo & observed some of the most intense lightning I had seen since we left Florida. I ran downstairs to make sure Robby had not been struck as he ran back & forth to the smoker which would make the perfect conductor of electricity! He was alive & well & the meat was cookin' so I went back to sleep until the next kid woke up.

 

By early evening we were ready to welcome our guests which came bearing the most delicious of foods. Here we are with almost everyone smiling! Babies get a pass if they are looking in the general direction of the camera right?

We had these awesome people to share in the celebrating. Patti & David + Jessica, Dave & the adorable baby Grayson who was born in May. What a great combo!

 

Along with our tasty meal we set up our plastic plates as bases & were ready for another game of kickball. The bounce house was open for business as well & our kids were happy campers!

 

There are many things we are so thankful to have in our new home. Near the top of the list is a backyard with lots of room to run & NO mud!!

 

The players were pretty adorable...

 



some liked bouncing more than playing...



Anson absolutely loved playing & along with the rest of the kids were learning how to play the game correctly. There was a lot of encouragement from the coaches : ) We love how he runs with one arm tucked next to his body. I was playing shortstop when he took off from home plate running as fast his little legs could carry him, serious look on his face & saying under his breath "run to second, run to second, run to second." Oh my goodness, he was SO cute & there was no way on earth I would have corrected him & sent him back to 1st! Since there was a lot of confusion we often ended up with two or even three children on a base....still so cute.

If there was a picture of Arlo it would be him crashed in his bed from about 6pm on. Maybe next year he can make it to the fireworks or at least till dinner  ; )

Our evening ended with s'mores which sounded like a great idea until the fire heated us up to about 120 degrees! They were delicious though & so much safer with Owen & Anson than even a few months ago. The boys were the first to try a super long sparkler...very fun but they took FOREVER when four kids wanted to have a try!  I'm not sure if we bathed any sweaty, stinky kids before bed. I'm pretty sure we didn't since they hit the "wired equals tired" phase.  If I said I washed the sheets the next day I'd be lying.

 

When I pulled out massive quantities of clothes, notebooks, legos & a lot of trash from under Charlotte's bed last week I came across something she wrote....

 

 

It was a great day especially compared to the year we moved here when Robby was a few days post-op from his ruptured appendix. It doesn't take much to beat that ; )