My kids are Instagramin'

I plan to steer my kids from social media for as far as I can, however, recently my kids (ages: 7,8,9) have discovered Instagram.... as I am sure most of you all are aware of by now since they are following eveeeeeeryone they know.

After seeing that their cousins and pretty much everyone else in the family had an account, they begged us for one. We, reluctantly, agreed and forbid them from following anyone that was not family.

Next, they would see "People you may know" pop-up and they were seeing lots of Mom and Dad's friends, church friends, and former teachers. They had been doing so good following our strict directions that we gave them permission to follow anyone they knew. We also periodically check their accounts.

It never fails, just when you think you are doing something right as a parent, you are quickly reminded that you probably aren't.

A coupple of nights ago I walked in Rilyn's room to tell her  it was time to get off of her laptop, brush her teeth, and go to bed and I found her teary-eyed.

"Whats wrong?" I asked her. 

"This boy posted something on Instagram!" she sobbed. 

And my first thought, was OMG! Roxie, you are such an idiot to ever allow your kids to get on social media! #badmom

"Who was it and what did he say???" I asked.

"It was my teachers son. He said, if you do not re-post this by midnight you are going to die!!!!" she wailed.

"And I didn't re-post it so I an probably going to die!!!!" she cried.

Immediately, I was relieved. And I may or may not have chuckled a little.

I explained to her that it was not true and that I see stupid stuff like that on Facebook all the time. I told her to un-follow him and ignore it.

"Oh I am!" she hissed!  "And I reported him, too!! You should never scare people like that!!"

So, I would like to publicly apologize to whatever teachers little boy  just got suspended from Instagram......

Resolution #1, check!

One of my resolutions this year is to not be too bogged down with too many obligations.

I'm sure there are some who enjoy never having a moment to just breath, but not me.  With four kids we often find our self too busy. Like, waaaaaay too busy. Over the years we have slowly began to get out of so many activities and this winter we opted to take a break from sports and it has been great. I think we owe it to ourselves and our families to slow down, simplify, and just appreciate our blessings.

I love quiet evenings at home, when we are all together (sometimes a rare occurrence). Its tough having to run to and from practices and trying to get dinner on the table. I think its important to step back sometimes and cut back on things. Its a personal decision, but I think its really important to prioritize things in our lives. Sometimes this is really hard.

For instance, our oldest did gymnastics for over 5 years and eventually was invited to be on team. Her little sister followed in her footsteps. Her little sister who also played soccer. And softball.  I literally didn't know how we would be able to fit in time for our oldest son to get to  do anything. And this was before we added  a fourth child to the mix. So we talked about it and we decided to step out of gymnastics for a while, completely.

With our obligations cut, this allowed us time for everyone to take a chance and explore a lot of other sports with out being too committed to just one.

Over the years we have learned that our kids don't have to play every single sport ever single year. They don't have to attend ever single camp or function they are invited to. I don't have to run myself ragged trying to make it all happen.

Over the years we have valued a more simple life. And we especially value our time together.

Art Party! Raigen turns 7!

As cliche as it sounds, I seriously cannot believe my baby just turned 7!

Dear Raigen, 

Somehow your birthday crept up on us, sweet girl. Its funny how it seems to happen every year during this busy season, even with all of the reminders you give us.

It finally arrived, though. You turned seven.

It makes me sad, if I'm being honest. Something about this age both excites me and scares me at the same time.  Something about you  turning 7 just feels scary, monumental, like, you are a real big kid now. Like, my baby is not a baby anymore. My #3 is a big girl and I totally feel like a professional at this whole Mom-thing now. Even though most days I still have no clue what I am doing.

I know there have been a lot of, "I remember when you were a baby...." and "Can you just stay little forever?" and you just smile and tell us that even though you are growing up, that you will still live with us forever. Even your husband, too. And I'm not kidding when I say, I wouldn't mind that a bit.

Truth is- we are excited you are 7, Raigen. Even though we may not act like it all the time. Even though a lot of time it makes us sad.  Even when I ask you how you got so big and you say, "Mom, you knoooooow.." and smile. Even when your old baby pictures and videos pop up in my Timehop and it literally feels like it was yesterday. The truth is, we are happy. So happy because we have been blessed  that we have had 7 super lucky, fun, amazing, wonderful years with you.

You are the precious baby that knit us together and made us that family of four.

You are the baby that made Rilyn a big sister.

And CJ a big brother.

You are the toddler who tested our patience and colored on every wall, cabinet door, and appliance. In the middle of the night.

You are the girl who continually surprises us, teaches us, and reminds us of Gods love for us every single day.

You are a joy.

Happy 7th birthday Raigen Elise. You are loved, loved, loved.

This year Raigen is totally into art, so what better way to celebrate then with a painting party! She was super excited when her besties from school came! And I enjoyed making all the decorations and favors. Each guest went home with an apron and goodie bag with their very own blank canvas and paint palet!

By far, the easist party, ever!

Barbie Hair

When you put sisters in a shared room its enviable that at some point you will have to get out of bed at 9:30 PM (or later) and break up an argument. 

Which is exactly what I had to do tonight. 

All evening I rushed to get dinner cooked and make sure the kids had baths just so I could finally get to bed early.

And by that I mean, go to my room, lock the door, and eat Bluebell in my bed while I watch Netflix. 

My happiness was short lived when the girl's argement started to drown out my final episode of How to get Away with Murder.

#rude.

"Why do you always want me to sleep with you, Rilyn? Ugh!"  Raigen yelled.

"Just come on Raigen,  you know I get scared at night!" Rilyn begged. 

"Well quit itching your head... Im gonna get it and I'm gonna be so mad at you!!"

"Seriously.... its so not contagious. "

"Whatever! Im telling Mom!!"

At this point I'm  about to bust in their room because clearly I am now aware of our  "lice problem".

And right before I do,  I hear Rilyn, "Seriously Raigen... grow up, dandruff is not contagious!"

And Raigen,  who is now crying, "how do you know?"

Waaaait.

"Grow up" says the girl who makes her little sister sleep with her because she has been reading Divergent and is scared of the dark?

I then spend the next 20 mintues explaning to Raigen that she is not going to catch dandruff from her sister. 

Ju

And just to be on the safe side I  also check out Rilyn's hair, which is strangly stiff and greasy. 

"Rilyn! What's wrong with your hair?" I gasped, "have you not been washing it when you take a bath?"

"Yes I wash it! Tonight, I ran out of shampoo and didnt feel like getting any from the cabinet, so I just used Ryker's baby wash," she said, "then I put conditioner in my hair 3 times  to make it extra soft."

"Well congratulations,  you now have Barbie hair."

I then explained to her that,  that was not a compliment.  And exactly  what happens when Barbie's hair  gets so nappy that you cant comb it.

Suddenly she was scared again. But for an entirely different reason.

Our attempt at Fall Pictures...

 

Raigen's Prayer Wall

 

There is nothing sweeter that discovering your six year old has a prayer wall.

 

 

 

 

 

If you know Raigen, then you know she tender-hearted and sweet as can be!

As you can imagine, my heart completely melted when I found this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll walk you thru her prayer list:

 

 

#1

Abraham Lincoln- for getting shot.

 

 

 

 

 

#2

Bre- Broker her toe.

#3

Emma- she almost broke her hand.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

#4-

Bayleigh- twisted her ankle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 #5

Aunt Chelle and Nelson- got in a car wreck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#6

Lubby-  Got kidney stones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#7-

Lilly- busted her head open.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, my sweetness has been praying hard for some of you. It looks like she has two spots left on her prayer wall. Let me know if you would like her to add you.

Our Relaxing Get-A-Way! 10 Year Anniversary

Ten years and four kids later you know what you need?





A get-a-way.






And that's exactly what we did.






This weekend Josh and I celebrated 10 years

by getting a sitter and enjoying a staycation-vacation at Artisan Lakes.



 

We rented a chic log cabin on the lake! It was literally 30 minutes from our house!
 

After checking in, we headed to our dinner reservations at the Hilltop Restaurant.  The restaurant is on site, which was super convenient. It was super yummy, too! Friday night they have a Seafood buffet! Do I know the way to his heart or what!?



 

When we arrived back to the cabin it was dark. Being right on the water, I always worry about lions, and tiger, and bears.... oh, and alligators, too. So I hurried in side, and jumped in the shower.



 

Josh had to run back out to the car and opened the door and immediately screamed like a 12 year old girl.

 

Did I forget to mention that the door automatically locks when its closed?
You have to access it with a 6 digit code.





Josh couldn't remember the code.

 

And Josh forgot the paper with the code in the cabin.






So there he is screaming like a girl on the porch and I'm in the shower. I took my time debating on whether to get out and rescue him. He was screaming, so I knew he was still alive...






And what do you know? As soon as I decided to let him in, the screaming stops.



 

 

I open the door  and there Josh is with a big fat raccoon he has befriended. They were literally swinging on the porch swing together.

 

I then scream like a twelve year old girl  and slam the door.


 

 I decided to watch from the window as Josh fed his friend, Rocky.

The next morning they picked us up in a carriage to take us to breakfast! It was so relaxing and cool outside!

They failed to mention that the carriage is a one-way trip.

On the way there, we were telling the driver about how we seen a baby alligator the night before at dinner. She informed us that "Grand-Dad" lives in the lake that we are staying on and he his HUGE! She said he looks like a horse coming out of the water.

Greeeeat. Now I'm not scared at all.

On the walk back we spotted Grand-Dad in the lake. He was far, far away from us but it was enough to seriously freak me out!

 

 

 

"Josh, what if he follows us home!? I swear hes looking right at us!" I said.

 

 

"He probably will, better watch out!"

 

 

"I'm serious! I was reading about alligators and it said they will stalk their pray!"I gasped.

 

 

 

Sidenote: I have no clue if that is true. I didn't really read that, I just wanted Josh to be half as scared as I was.

 

 

Spoiler Alert: It didn't work.

 

 

 

"I bet you did read that! And I bet you also read that they'll see ya later, too, huh?" he chuckled.

It wasn't funny to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you are wondering... we made it back to the cabin safely.

 

 

 

 

And we literally took a six hour nap! It was glorious!

 

 

 

 

When we woke up we got ready and headed to the Alabama Coushatta Casino.

 

 

 

 

We played some machines, Josh immediately was down $40. I put $20 in and with in 20 minutes I won $400 and cashed out!

 

 

 

We then headed to Humble to do some shopping.

 

 

 

 

On the way home I kept telling Josh how scared I was. What if Grand-Dad was at our cabin waiting in the woods for us?

 

 

 

 

 

When we got back I made Josh park as close to the steps as he could get and I ran to the cabin! And as soon as I reached the deck I heard the loudest hiss I have EVER heard!

 

 

 

 

And I'm not kidding when I say Grand-Dad was at our cabin!!! I have never screamed so much!

 

 

 

 

We spent the next few minutes feeding him the half a dozen fortune cookies I grabbed at Pei Wei. It was kind of cool to feed it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And if that wasn't cool enough, Sunday we woke up to turtles at our deck!

 

 

And a massive alligator snapping turtle! So cool!!

 

 

 

Overall we really enjoyed our little get-a-way. I cant remember the last time we spent the night somewhere with out our little rug-rats. Even though it was just two nights, we missed them a lot!

 

 

 

 

 

Here is to 10 more years, Joshy-poo! I sure am glad you picked me. Love you!