Why It's A Good Thing I Went To The Gym This Morning...

'Cause.. well, when I got in my car to go.. the steering wheel was still greasy from the cheese-filled Pizza Plus breadsticks I just COULDN'T wait to get home to eat last night-- so snarfed down at least 3, while driving.

Multi-tasking. It's A Gift.

Tonight, between approximately 9:00 and 9:15.. I:
1. Bathed a child.
2. Boiled, prepared, and served, pasta.
(I know.. late dinner. But dinner none the less.)
3. Threw in some laundry.
4. Changed the sheets on Sophies bed.
and
5. Fixed a shelf full of toys that collapsed in the process.

Impressed?

Mr. Bo Jangles...

or as he's often referred to round these parts.. simply-- "Jangles" turned SEVEN today!
Seriously? Seven?? That's so not 5, or 6. It's SEVEN. Something about it's harsh odd number character and threatening sharp shape.. just makes it seem so much bigger, older.. so, SEVEN.
So of course, in perfect Katy's-A-Spaze fashion, amidst school registration, dentist appointments, and out of town visitors, --
I kinda missed this birthdays sudden approach.. and on Sunday night, roughly 48 hours before the big day, when Bo asked,
"So when's my party?" I answered, completely unprepared, yet unfazed.. "Well on your birthday of course."
Hey! Nothin' a few apologetic last-minute'phone call invites' and trip to Wal-Mart can't make happen! The day arrived-- and,
WA,LA..

Seven seven-year-olds at a seven-year-old, party.
(Complete with a pinata for a, um.. 3-year-old.. that was "cleverly".. I use the word lightly.. presto-changoed into an obvious B. Ya know.. for Bo.)
A scavenger hunt and few water balloons later.. and a party had been had.
Oh.. and inner tube races..

'Cause what's a party without inner tube races?

I really enjoyed the hard-cold-cash look in his eyes here..(I mean.. what's a party without hard, cold, CASH?)

So many fun friends, so many fun gifts..

SOOOOO many weird faces..

and so many happy birthday wishes from me.. to my darling, hilarious, seven-year-old, Jangles.

I love every bit of your double-dimple-faced little self. Happy birthday my boy.

Missed Me--Missed Me.. Do Ya Wanna Kiss Me??

I know. You've been on the edge of your computer chair seat.. awaiting my return.
Well.. I'm BACK! Back from a really RADICAL trip (can you tell I was chillin' with my very much younger, and oh-so-much cooler nephews and nieces while ON that trip?? I have now committed myself to using both the words "radical", and "rad" on a regular basis. Hope you enjoy it.)
Back from 12 days of getting to look at, and talk to, and laugh at.. my brothers and sister..

and their darling families.
I'm back from morning jogs to the boardwalk and circuit training on the pool deck overlooking the ocean.
Back from days lounging on the beach next to my hubby..

while my kids roll in the huge, crashing waves.. and dig in the brown-sugar sand.
Back from nights strolling each towns fry-filled boardwalks..
and eating more Grottos pizza and Cream of Crab soup than any 37-year-old with a mediocre metabolism should ever indulge in.

Back from sister time..
..girl time..
and a highlight.. "spa" time!
Back from midnight rounds of 'Celebrity' and 'Charades'..
Candy Kitchen treats out the wa-zoo...
and cousins.

Lots and lots.. of darling.. entertaining.. fun, fun, cousins.
Infact.. RAD cousins.

(they don't actually MAKE these faces in real life.)
Trust me when I say there are at least another 50 shots of those very fun cousins.. but this downloading is gettin' a little tedious-- and my kids would appreciate my attention at SOME point today.. so I'll stop. But ya get the idea.
So for now.. though I loved every minute of it.. I'll just be back. Back to ortho appointments.. football practice taxi.. and watering our dying lawn. Back to laundry, and bills, and our busted bumper. (Oh yeah. Did I mention Jasens fender bender before leaving?? No injuries.. other than.. um.. the bumper.) So even though I would go BACK.. in an INSTANT even.. it's always good to BE back. Back to our town, and streets, and friends, and home. Back to our own pillows and blankets. Back to bed before 3am (well.. for the most part..) and eating fruit on a regular basis.

And back to hearing about all of your own summer adventures through the beautiful world of blog.
Happy sporadic summer posting to all.

Why I Don't LOVE The Pool..

So we've frequented the local pool a few times this week. 3 times to be exact.. which is 3 more times then we attended last summer. (Something about the random rash-infusing virus that was plaguing pools in our general area.. turned us off.. a tad.)
But in general, I've been a fan of pools most of my life. They represent summer and tan lines, and a good virgin pina colada when there's a fancy "pool bar". We had neighborhood pools for the first 8 years of marriage and our kids have grown up with pink cheeks and pruny skinned fingertips and toes. So I'm not sure why, just recently.. when I focus on what a public pool is (a huge cesspool of bathwater, essentially..) I have a hard time not throwing up in my throat a little.
MAYBE it's because when I do think too hard about it.. I come up with a mental list of all the things I know to be somewhere IN that clear sparkling, oh-so-inviting, TUB of humans.
Namely:
Sweat. Lots of it.
Spit. Even more of that.
Boogers. Seriously.
Dandruff. Think about it.
Scabs. Soggy, soggy, disintegrating, scabs.
And hair. BOTH kinds.
I know.
There's chlorine too.
I get it.
But I don't believe in it.
Don't trust it.
And don't accept that it's capable of doing what would be necessary to kill,dissolve and destroy the items above--
without killing us all in the process.
So there.
Sorry to poop on your summer fun.
(Oh yeah.. POOP. And PEE. Add those to the list.)
But it's not all bad. I will admit, though truly disgusting.. there is an upside to turning the kids loose for hours to frolic in others mucus and secretions.

This is how you find them way before bedtime.
May all your little ones avoid various types of disease.. and get tuckered out too.
Happy tan lines to all.

You Say Television Is Having An Effect On Our Children?

Today Sophie said..
"Mom, there's an iron.. (referring to a flat iron for hair, of course..)
that's on T.V., that is better than our pink one."
(She was referring to our new 'pink dazzle' CHI. I bought it drug-deal style on the side of the road in downtown Salt Lake from a parked black car, for $35.00. I do live on the edge.)
"Oh, it's better?" I responded.. "How come?"
"Because," she continued,
"it looks like you walked out of a salon everyday."

One Lucky Mama.

It happened 13 years ago TODAY.
A tiny little sweet-faced boy, with blue eyes, and dark hair, with a tiny cowlick right at the top of his forehead..
was layed in my arms--
and I became a Mom, for the very first time ever.
I have now been proud to be his Mom, for 13 years..
(making not only myself, OBVIOUSLY very old..) but more importantly, HIM, a "teenager."
How lucky I am to have had him sent to me. How grateful I am that the Lord trusted me with such a dear little spirit. A little person who I would love beyond my ability to comprehend, and who would love me back, every single day. A little boy that would say things to melt my heart.. and at his PRECIOUS age of 3, would sing "Livin' The Vida Loca" into his stand up microphone, as many times as I asked him to.
He has always been my buddy.. my respectful, thoughtful, son.
He is now my funny, mature, loyal and responsible oldest sibling,
and smart, talented "young man".
He is his little brothers really cool hero..

and little sisters first choice of a shoulder to lean on.

He LOVES his cousins..




LOVES roller coasters..



LOVES snowboarding..


and LOVES the guitar.

I LOVE that he is mine.
Happy birthday my very first teenager. I love you forever.