{13} looks good on you, {baby} girl!

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
My {baby} you'll be.

From a child to a young lady.

Just like that. 

We are so very proud of you.

Immeasurable love 

to infinity and beyond...

the gift of an ordinary moment

in my head, i'm quite the domestic goddess around the house, an organized martha stewart, if you will, and a healthy version of paula deen in the kitchen.  like i said, in my head.  my head doesn't always play out in real life.  life is messy.  i've mentioned that a time or twenty.

truthfully, i try.  but i tire of spinning so many plates.  a few of them, self-inflicted, i'm sure.  so much to do, so little of me to go around.  that's where i stand in this season of motherhood.  chances are, you know where i'm coming from.

a friend of mine asked my soon-to-be-thirteen-year-old (excuse me whilst i have an i'm-not-ready-for-my-girls-to-grow-up-tantrum) what we did over spring break.  my sweet girl told my friend that we cleaned.  and did schoolwork.

nice.

laughing, i walked up and reminded her that we only had theater and schoolwork this past week.  evenings were completely free for playtime since all dance classes & piano/voice was cancelled.

maybe we could take more breaks if we were not involved in theater, dance lessons, competition, piano/voice lessons, music guild, etc.  but the girls really don't want to give up any of their passions; therefore, some schoolwork must be seized during hours our public school friends might be on break.

i'm so glad mama is here to remind them how much fun they get to have each week. ;)

oh, i kid.  when asked, the girls will tell you that they love us.
and we have fun. 

sometimes, when distracted with my many spinning plates, i need a gentle nudge...
to just breath
and take in the moment.
i'm sharing one of those tissue-inducing nudges with you here...

after wiping my teary eyes, mama closed up shop.  reading could wait till the afternoon on this particular day.  

making a spontaneously-fun moment would come first.  they grow up so quickly.

getting our studies in is certainly important.
absolutely.
but not more important than appreciating life with those we love. 

to prove how dedicated i was, i even left the nikon at home.
this was truly about quality time, not quality of pix.
sometimes, the iphone captures the best moments.

(we called this our tree in the trail. ;)

may you and your family collect more fun-filled memories,
and guilt-free-parenting-plate-spinning.
because... well... life happens.
yo.

simply thankful

my mantra last year, 2012, was supposed to be simplify... i heard that snicker.
i had good intentions.  really.  in motherhood, though, i think we can all agree that things get complicated.  it's a title that makes us feel as if we're running in circles, all the while hoping we are going somewhere rewarding.  which, i'm sure, we are.

let's be completely honest for a moment.  maybe you've pinned 379 projects on your pinterest board during insomnia spells, but by a realistic day's end, you're thinking that the fact that you've kept the children alive, schooled, relatively fed, and somewhat clean is quite the accomplishment, right? 

i'm right there with ya.

so, where have i been these past months?  {has it really been that long?  geesh.}  well... i've been fully engrossed in the lives of a busy hubby and 2 purdy girlies.   come day's end, my body literally hurts and the idea of putting 2 sentences together gives me a headache.  not to mention the fact that my kids are getting older and sometimes i think they might not want me talking about them on such a public forum forever, you know.

however... guess who's missed the ol' bloggy?  yep.  the girls.  {hi, girls!  mama is trying to make a come-back.  just don't pay attention to the improper grammar, mkay?}

sometimes, one needs to be reminded as to why one started a blog in the first place... without getting lured into the temptation to compare one's life with others online.  or feel obligated to market the blog for money making.  *sigh* 

i mean, honestly, how many truly genuine blogs reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly?

{this pic cracked. me. up.  obviously, hubs, nor i, held the remote for this pic.  hmmm...}

i asked my hubs how one would catch up on everything since one's last post??  he said, "you wouldn't.  just start from where you are now."  such a wise man.  nevertheless, he married a picture hoarder.  so, i might just try to go back and highlight a few memories.

however, today, i will simply post a thankful heart.

life gets messy.  crumbs gather under the table, endless mounds of laundry stockpile, uncomfortable conversations sometimes need to be had, the kitchen table gets flooded with junk mail, feathers get ruffled, life disappoints.

but, through it all, we have each other. 
that alone brings us joy. 
and even makes this mama thankful for the crumbs underneath the table.

someone i love put them there. 

so, we give these little people neck-pie.
because we love them much more than the crumbs.
then ask them to help clean up the mess. ;)

truth is, i kinda dig these people.

truth is, i started this post a month ago. 

truth is, i'm still striving for simple.
maybe the answer to simplifying is to simply find the joys in all of life's busy during the busy.

truth is, i've had many distractions this evening and now i'm too deliriously tired to proofread.  i apologize for any misspeltings.