Diary of a Workin' Girl

Talk about a fun job! I've been helping set up shop for a brand new boutique full of cool, trendy merchandise -- purses, fancy belts, scarves, jewelry, and unique home decor.

I was given an empty, blank slate and told to "go to town" displaying it all.

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what I've been up to. As usual, the pictures don't seem to do it justice.

For my Wichita peeps -- it's called "All Dec'd Out" on Andover Road, between Kellogg & Central. Let me know if you want more details!

Birthday on a Budget

Evan celebrated his birthday last week with 3 of his best buds. They started out at our house for hot dogs & birthday cake .... then my hubby took them to watch a Wichita State University baseball game.

This party was so easy & inexpensive! For starters, all I had to do was make a simple round cake & decorate it like a baseball. Then, I grabbed Evan's sports themed quilt off his bed to use as a tablecloth. Finally, I "shopped" the garage for assorted sports equipment, stuffed them artistically in a basket, complete with a sports page.

It's a tradition at our house that first you take a "nice" picture, then the next picture everyone can make a CRAZY face!

Hey, it's the simple things in life, right?

In Like a LION

Maybe you've noticed Kansas getting extra coverage on the Weather Channel lately. I'm here to simply say: "WE DESERVED IT". Can you imagine, the week following Spring Break, being under a Blizzard Warning, of all things?

Here's Natalie, happily working on her snowman masterpiece.

It's hard to believe that just last week I was contem- plating breaking out the sun screen....

Clearly, Mother Nature hates our tree.

These are the broken limbs from that tree alone -- combined with an equal pile in our neighbor's front yard. Yes, all from the same tree!

On a somewhat related note ..... A few weeks ago, Evan lost his winter coat. We couldn't find it ANYWHERE. I thought to myself, "Oh well, we won't need a heavy coat again until, say....November anyway" -- WRONG! So..... I followed my little sister's advice and made Evan wear one of his sister's coats! (I'm trying to make a point with that little guy to keep track of his belongings)! Here he is, a bit uncertain about making this fashion statement. At least he has matching silver gloves!

PG Rated Humor

As I was growing up, my older brothers and dad delighted in embarrassing me over sensitive "girl" stuff. Back-in-da-day, a Cathy Rigby commercial couldn't come on t.v. without one of the males in the house hollering for me to HURRY & see this important message on the tube.

You get the idea. Charming, huh?

When sorting laundry, my dad would dangle an unmentionable in the air just for comic effect, loudly inquiring, "Whose flopper stopper is this?!" Okay, maybe the Strawberry Shortcake figure on it might have given that away that it was mine and not mom's! I told that story to my kids, and now Evan keeps calling my bras "flapper snappers" on accident. What have I started? Oh yes, Grandpa would be proud.

Anywho, a friend sent me this little ditty which I thought was kinda cute:

What Religion is Your Bra?
A man walked into the ladies department of a Macy's and shyly walked up to the woman behind the counter and said, "I'd like to buy a bra for my wife". "What type of bra"? asked the clerk. "Type?" inquires the man, "There's more than one type"? The saleslady replied that there are four types to choose from:

'There are the Catholic,
the Salvation Army,
the Presbyterian,
and the Baptist types.
Which one would you prefer?'

Now totally befuddled, the man asked about the differences between them. The Saleslady responded, "It is all really quite simple......"

The Catholic type supports the masses;
The Salvation Army type lifts the fallen;
The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright;
The Baptist type makes mountains out of molehills.'

And don't forget the German bra:
Holtzemfromfloppen

Good, "Clean" Fun

Happy First Day of Spring Break ...... feel free to join me in doubling our respective anti-anxiety medicines until school resumes.

Honestly, the kids are at such a fun age, that I'm actually -- brace yourself -- LOOKING FORWARD (just a little) to a week of quality time together. I know, that's WAY out of character for me.

During former Spring Breaks, I would be awakened early by little munchkins begging for frivolous things like breakfast! Now that they're a little older, they can serve themselves the most important meal of the day.... and even make an occasional room service delivery for good ole mom.

This particular morning, our girls set their alarm & awoke early with a mission in mind -- TAKE BACK THEIR TURF. In fact, this morning I awakened to Holly leaning over my bed with a full-size shovel in hand, telling me that they were heading over to the dirt pile. After briefly picturing the hobbling scene from the movie "Misery", I said "Oh, sure! Go ahead, have fun"!

This particular dirt pile has been a God-send. Our kids recently discovered said treasure when exploring a nearby vacant lot, and have enjoyed hours of fun digging & building. Hey, when you live in Kansas, this is as close to playing in the sand at the beach as you can get! (I can hear it now.....What did you do during Spring Break?)

On a sidenote, it tickles me that all 4 of our kids "dig" that scene (pun intended). Our 13-year-old is right in there, digging to her heart's content next to our 1st grader.

Well, it seems that other kids in the 'hood have discovered the promised-land-o-dirt-pile as well, and have been tampering with our kids' masterpieces. They had the audacity to create their OWN creations -- and that did NOT set well with my kiddos! SO...... my gang woke up early before the "others" were up & around, to have their way with the dirt pile and put it back the way THEY wanted and the way God intended.

I'm fairly certain this is a modern day "West Side Story" that's developing. With Holly wielding the shovel, I'm not worried.

The man cub turns 9

This boy of mine is turning NINE!

Surrounded by all sisters, Evan joins in the dress-up fun and strikes a pose in Alli's dance dress!

In 2nd grade, Evan's artwork was selected from his school to be displayed at the Art Museum -- behold THE NUTCRACKER KING!

Evan & little sis Natalie being their typical silly selves during a photo shootOur little guy is ALL BOY, but also has a tender heart ...... here he's taking it hard & saying goodbye to his favorite kitten from Peanut's litter when it was being adopted by a family.




Happy Birthday, Evan! Our family is so blessed. Even though your birth was the most traumatic for me, I'd do it again tomorrow to have the blessing of YOU in our lives.

Hard-Hitting Interview with Natalie

This is a fun activity that's ALL THE RAGE over at Facebook. I asked my youngest, Natalie, the following questions and typed her answers exactly as she stated them:

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
STOP THAT !!!!!

2. What makes mommy happy?
Kisses and hugs.

3. What makes mommy sad?
When we always get on your nerves.

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
Tickle me.

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
I don't know. You never told us about you.

6. How old is your mommy?
44. (I just had a b-day so this is fresh information on her mind!)

7. How tall is your mommy?
I don't know. WHO would know that about their mom?!

8. What is mommy’s favorite thing to do?
Tickle fight.

9. What does your mommy do when you are not home?
Watch t.v. and work on the computer.

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Speaking at churches and like ... doing funny stuff.

11. What is your mommy really good at?
Balloon volleyball.

12. What is your mommy not good at?
Karate.

13.what does your mommy do for a job?
Speak in churches.

14. What is your mommy's favorite food?
Donuts, pizza & brownies.

15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
You feed us.

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Sandy on Sponge Bob 'cause she's a karate fighter. (refer to #12....????)

17. What do you and your mommy do together?
Go out shopping for apples.

18. How are you and your mommy the same?
We're both girls! We both have brown hair and we both have brown eyes.

19. How are you and your mommy different?
My hair is straight and yours is up a little bit and crazy.

20. How do you know your mommy loves you?
'Cause you're sweet on us; you care for us.

21. What does your mommy like most about your daddy?
That he always tickles you.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go.
Natalie thinking....asks me: "Have you been to Applebees?" Oh, I got it -- SUMO! (Japanese Steak House)

Show us the Bling

Alli's middle school does lots of special "spirit" days. Everything from pajama day to mismatched day.

The latest one was "bling" day & she tapped into her inner rap girl to fully express her blingin' self. My girl, she loves a theme day!!!

She went all out, even uttering a phrase I never thought I'd hear her say: "Dad, can I borrow a pair of your boxer shorts to wear to school tomorrow?" (for some strange reason I can get the photo below to rotate....ugh!)

Whadayathink? WORD. Fo-shizzle.