Makin' Waffles

Kids in the kitchen, cooking away... nothing unusual around here.

Val - eggs

Tony - side dishes

Court - waffles

A little note to top it off?

Perfect.

 

 and, of course no meal would be complete at the Taylor house without a movie quote.

Friday Flashback

Sisters

2007

Good Mom/Bad Mom

The kids had a half-day of school...

We were looking for something fun, unique, cheap to entertain ourselves.

The kids decided that they wanted me to paint their faces.

And why not?

We had a whole bin of craft paints 
in my closet.

So after deciding on their designs 
and

trying very hard to sit still  
(for what seemed like forever), 

they happily lined up to admire 
themselves in the mirror...

Tony

aka: Mr. Sneaky Snake

Valerie

aka: Miss Flower Fairy

Courtney

aka: Miss Mis-Matched 

* life was good 
in the Taylor home

* my little Peeps 
were so very happy

* and proud 
of their artistic masterpieces
 

until

the itching began...

which led to  

*

*

*

*

V

an extremely long (2+ hours), painful removal.

rats.

fyi: a combination of vegetable oil & vanilla handsoap will remove craft paint from skin... not that we will EVER try this again.

Living Off The Land

The girls first attempt at gardening...

Pretty impressive, eh?

Bet you wish you had an eggplant, tomato, avocado, kiwi, broccoli tree...

Out of the mouth of Babes

Valerie this morning...
"I miss daddy.
He has been at work a long time."

Hang In There Baby, Tomorrow's Coming.

Life With Tony

I'm in the kitchen doing dishes
Tony & Val are in the family room talking, playing, giggling.
Not really paying attention...
doing dishes.
Chitter Chatter.
I really love their chitter chatter.
Favorite Background Noise.
until I hear this...
"I. Cut. Your. Hair."
Wha....?
WHAT?!?!

Tony thought it might be a good idea
to give Valerie a
"little trim".
Well, cut off her entire ponytail.
Luckily I caught him before I had to write another post entitled,
"Goodbye Goldilocks"

The scissors are now confiscated.
My "confiscated" pile is growing alarmingly large.
I'm gonna need a storage unit.

Friday Flashback

January 2007
Following Tony's birth, my poor war-torn body was covered with bruises.
2-year-old Valerie was very concerned & decided something MUST be done to soothe
"mommies owies".
When she discovered I had fallen asleep on the couch with Tony, she sprang into action.
I awoke from my nap to discover that nearly every inch of my exposed skin had been tenderly bandaged with her beloved Princess Bandaids, which she had received for Christmas.
An entire box.
Mike had the foresight to take a picture of Valerie's handiwork.

And just how did I not wake up while nurse Valerie was busy at work?!
THAT is what I call OTM.
(One Tired Mama... or is that Mummy?)

And, just so you know...
I Love This Girl!!!
(but I think you already knew that)

Switcheroo

This fun fest all began with some
Pajama Drama,
which i would love to say,
"save for your mama",
but wait,
i AM the mama.
Hmpf.
Valerie wanting to wear
Courtney PJ's.
Courtney NOT wanting Valerie to wear her PJ's.
weeping.
wailing.
near fist-fight.
(well, not really)
So as any good? mom would do,
I offered to let Courtney wear my PJ's
(bottoms)
if she let Valerie wear her PJ's.
The ole' Switcheroo
worked like magic
and even led to some disco fever.

PJ Party

GiddyUp

Grandpa Taylor was so excited to introduce the kids to his newest horse, Mysti.
And vice versa.

Courtney started out on Mysti with McKay leading. Courtney has come a long way since she first started riding the horses. She can even ride solo now!

Then Valerie got a turn on Mysti with Grandpa leading and McKay assisting. She was really enamored with the "sparkly white" horse.

And of course we could not forget Tony, who kept saying, "my turn, my turn". He got to have a ride on Lacy (who happens to be Mysti's aunt).

Courtney going solo on Lacy.

I think this girl was born to wear a cowboy (girl) hat.

Finally, after all of the little ones had their turns riding, McKay & Grandpa took Lacy & Mysti for some real riding up in the mountains. Lacy really loves McKay & always give him a "horse hug" at the end of their ride.

The kids really look forward to their "cowboy time" with Grandpa.
Thanks Grandpa!
and thanks Larry, Grandpa's long-time friend, for helping us ride
Thanks Lacy & Mysti for being so kind & generous!!!
we'll be back...

Following in his Bootsteps

Everyone is so giddy(up) when Grandpa brings out the cowboy hats.

Anticipation... smiles.
Then off to the barn to meet the newest member of the Taylor family,
Mysti (as in short for Mystical).

Beautiful pure white joy.
Grandpa helps McKay ready the horses for riding.
McKay has such a gentle touch.

cute lil' cowpokes

howdy partner.

off to ride

Happy Trails
To You...

Snapshots of Heaven

For a mother, is there anything more heavenly than your 5 children being together and ENJOYING it?

Or snuggling in the sunshine
in your PJ's...

Or realizing your baby has fallen asleep
as you gently swing him
under the blue skies.

Oh yes, heaven on earth.

Cuckoo * Cuckoo

Sometimes
when the
days are
tough,

I just need to do
this...

or this...

or this...

Thanks, I needed that.
i miss you Mike.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

FYI:
having long, beautiful, curly blonde hair is not all fun & games.

pros vs cons
* having hair to braid, put in pig tails, or leave long & flowing:
* FUN *

* letting your hair swing as you dance the night away:
* FUN *

* getting your long hair wound around the button of your dress & subsequently needing to cut it off
* NOT FUN *

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

While Molly is visiting, McKay gets the pleasure of sleeping on the coveted "Movie Bed"
McKay however is not the only one who has been enjoying the "Movie Bed"
first Tony

Then Val

Then Courtney joined the ranks

A short injury time-out

Better in a jiffy with the help of
mr. puppy ice pack.

Ready to go again, but let's up the ante...
how about everyone together for one final jump.

Man I'm pooped... that was hard work.

can we do it again tomorrow?