As promised: camera photo dump

{I realize this post is extremely boring for the majority of you. I won't be offended if you skip it, but there are a couple of gems amongst these few pictures... :)} 

There weren't as many pictures on my camera as I thought there were. Shame on me! I need to be using that fancy thing. It's juuuuuuuust.... (that's how Josie whines. Now I whine like that too.) that I have no inspiration thses days when we do the.same.thing. over and over again (read books, play with trucks, eat meals, repeat). I guess I'll need to try harder. But here are a few that I did find:

One of my best friends, Denise, came home for a couple of days. She's a keeper, that one. (also, ah, look! Proof that I cut my hair! But it's much shorter than even this now.)

A real smile! I could stare at this for hours. Also, she left that headband (hidden, but there) in her hair for the whole day. I never thought I'd see the day....

And... a fake smile. There are more of these than the real ones for the camera these days.Girl's got cheese.

We made cupcakes and the kids decorated them. By decorate, I mean I put the frosting on and they added sprinkles. It didn't go as I had hoped. They just wanted to eat them, not decorate them. 

...So I let them. It was still fun!

All too familiar feeling

Sitting here, freshly showered and still a little shaky from my workout (yay! I actually worked out today.), I need this silence that is all around me. I have about a half hour before 1/3 of the kids wakes up from nap time and it will all begin again. It's been a grueling day, with accidents (always), toys thrown (not by me, don't worry), time outs, screaming in pillows in bedrooms (again, not by me), a rough therapy session, and no outdoor activity. We're feeling cooped up again, and it hasn't even been that long since we were outside.

I so want to enjoy every season that we are given. It's such a waste to pine after the nicer seasons and miss out on a third of the year. I don't want to live my life like that. Personally, as an adult, I've used this time in the past to focus on myself (start eating better, working out again, trying to read my bible regularly) and also have some "down time." Spring, Summer, and Fall are so busybusybusy that my body kind of craves it and just loves to sit inside with a book and a hot cup of coffee. But of course I also get sick of it. 

Now, my life doesn't look anything like that. I have three kids that feel that urge for more (exercise, fresh air, space to run around) and I can't give it to them right now. I'm doing what I can to keep us all sane but whew! it's exhausting. Every week, I look back and wonder if we just wasted another week to do something fun, learn something new, become better people. That time for myself? I don't get that anymore, no matter what time of year it is.

I need to start focusing on what we CAN DO this week no matter what the weather is like. There are a lot of activities that are done indoors, but my mind seems blank of them right now. It's hard to come up out of the fog of winter, isn't it? It just takes over every thought, attitude, and emotion. 

This weekend will be busy and I am so so so grateful for that. I need busy. I need activity and traveling and socializing. 

I had no plans to write all of this out, but apparently my fingers (and heart) ached for it.

Happy Friday, y'all.

(and maybe I'll clear off my camera memory card this weekend. Stay tuned...)

Little old update

Let's do this bullet point style.

• Today we played outside and it was completely refreshing. The kids could have played for hours (well, the bigger two) but we had to eat lunch and get moving towards the next thing on our agenda. I am praying we'll have time for some longer playing times outside this week because it is GOOD for our souls. And attitudes. It really helps with attitudes.
• Speaking of attitudes, we are fighting one with miss Josie Grace. Whew that girl has sass! Where does she get that from? I've never thought of myself as a sassy person but I imagine she's modeling it after somebody in her life. She's been back talking a little more and more lately so we have had to really tighten the rope on her freedoms and what she can get away with. Suffice to say that mama and daddy are tired of it all. Gotta love the toddler years...
• Potty training is still chugging right along. My newest trick up my sleeve is the (ever so unoriginal) poop chart. I say "poop" because that's the focus right now so we aren't wasting time on anything else. If she goes, she gets a sticker. If she gets enough stickers, she gets a toy she picks out herself. We had a halfway success today that earned her a sticker so I pray that she likes this little game and we get somewhere because I am soooo sick of potty training. 3/4 of a year is too long! Here's hoping Audrey just gets it right away. She should, since it probably won't happen til she's five.
• I ordered a wedding album (5 years later) and family albums for 2011, 2012, and 2013 this week. I cannot wait to see them! It's about time I got somewhat organized and printed proof of our existence over the past few years. If it wasn't for this little blog, we'd have nothing to show for it. Well, not anymore, my friends, not anymore. 
• I also ordered pillow covers and a new rug for our living room. I'm trying ever so hard to get that room to come together into something with a bit more purpose but we don't have room in the budget (has, as if I am disciplined enough to follow one of those) for more expensive upgrades (looking at you, new chairs and loveseat). I am hoping that the pops of color (with a theme, a theme, people!) will help. Maybe I'll do a "living room" reveal post after that? We'll see how finished the room feels. 

Hope your Monday is happy happy happy (said like Phil from Duck Dynasty of course).

The third bedroom photos

Our foster boy is staying in our smallest bedroom. Since it's just him, it makes more sense to put him there and then throw all the extra furniture and the guest bed in the other bigger bedroom. I also thought he'd feel more comfortable and cozy in here instead of the other room, which seems huge to a small kid. (I'll maybe post pictures of it someday but it's nothing special. It's seriously just extra furniture, a double sized bed, a pack n play, and closets.) This room not that small but it can seem like it in comparison. It's actually bigger than the room the girls shared in our old home. 

Now the walls, they've got to go. I really really hate wood paneling, but we don't know what we want yet and have a million other projects to do. Since our foster kid is a boy, they work for now. I cannot picture this being a girls' room with those walls. It' just seems masculine. Unfortunately, the kids scratched up the walls with the Christmas lights (creative, right?) and so they have to go now regardless of my feelings. Hubby isn't that thrilled to tear down the paneling so we'll see how long they stay put like this. 

On to the pictures:

For now, we don't have anything permanent to put on this wall so I've been rotating his school art in as we get it. He loves that it's constantly changing but it does leave spots on the walls if I'm not careful. I'll have to come up with a better way to do this soon. I love the bed set but it's seen better days. I had to wash it often for a while and it really got beat up. It won't last long term.

View from the closet: The bed used to be over here, so the art seems too high right now. I threw these pictures up haphazardly when we found out we were having a longer term foster kid. They were hung where there were already holes... so it's quite random. I don't mind it and all our foster boy cares about is that the picture he painted of his family stays up there. No problem, kiddo! The magnet board is perfect for this room because we can switch out the pictures or whatever he wants up there without any effort.

The kids love to play in here (note Audrey's photobomb). It's the closest bedroom to the living room so it's easy for them to hang out in here while I am making a meal or working in the living room. Since there is a video monitor and absolutely nothing harmful in here, I can keep an eye on them knowing they can't do real damage or harm themselves.

You don't know how many times I have walked by to see the kids sitting here playing with legos or reading books. The table and chairs fit perfectly in here.

The minute I saw this globe (in storage from hubby's childhood), I knew it was perfect for this room. It also works as a night light but we don't use it for that very often. The bedding is from Macy's and the bed frame is mine from when I was a kid. So is the dresser. 

Here is the view from the hallway. The rocking chair is a family heirloom from hubby's family. As you can see, this bedroom is on the front of the house and you can see the street and garage from here pretty well. When we are expecting company, I open these blinds to see out in the front. It's the best view! Often times, I bring the laundry in here or in the master bedroom to fold so that I can make sure to see when the guests arrive. You gotta do what you gotta do...

We'll be making a lot of aesthetic changes to this room, but that won't be for a while. I'm fairly confident that this will be a nursery some day, so I'm sure the general feel will change quite drastically. For now, it's boyish and comfortable. He hasn't complained yet. ;)