plain and simple

a mama bat and her babies

Thought I would post some Aislin art because ::

1.  these bats are too cute

2. I want to be like my friend,Elizabeth superstar

3. I FINALLY GOT A NEW SCANNER!!!!!!!!!!!!  oh yeah. so excited!  (thanks to Matt (E's husband) and to Shelby for the help!)

you guys are going to be seeing some stuff from me now :-)  just get ready.  you will be sick of me soon enough if you aren't already!

*I want to dunk you in my coffee*

this is our new saying around here (yep, from Madagascar).  Declan loves to say it when he is happy with us... "Mommy, I just want to dunk you in my coffee and eat you all up".  too cute. and too funny.  we should all know by now that I do not like coffee.  but. if I did.  I would dunk this little guy (scraped up nose and all) in my coffee.

THIS was on our front door this morning- too cool!!

and THIS is how talented my husband is :: he made swords for the kids out of cardboard and packing tape.  i am not a big fan of having swords, etc in the house.  maybe a little bit of a freak about it. but I just couldn't help to think that these were the two coolest swords ever. Brian is crafty after all !!  :-)

I had Saturday Night Fever

ok I really did :-)  I had SUCH a great time in Birmingham!!!!  I was Jenn and Leslie's little helper in the cool DW inspiration class- it was such fun!  Those two are such great teachers-- I loved being able to see them work it!

We were able to sit in on some classes throughout the weekend... they were all so fabulous and so motivating!  I seriously have had some major stuff going on lately and this weekend was so inspiring and so wonderful!  Totally made me see things in a different way and totally made me get motivated to really take control of a few things I need to!

I met a TON of new friends- so many ultra-sweet ultra-cool girls there!  I love meeting new people!   Hi to my new friends!!!!  :-)

ok let's talk about my fever. Saturday night. oh boy.  Hung out all night with some really cool fun friends... of course my loves, Leslie and Jenn (who loves being blog-less :-)  ).. but also my cutie pie Elsie, and gorgeous girl Carrie and her awesome boy, Brad.  Oh trouble.  These guys probably think I am one big nut... but we had fun- and took about 8 billion photos with Carrie's/Brad's camera that I am sure I will regret one day.  I guess I will have to send Carrie and Brad one NICE wedding present to bribe them (DELETE those awful photos of Renee NOW Brad!!!!!)  hee hee.  I'll have to get a few photos from them and then see what photoshop can do to make me look better :-)  AND ... Congrats to Carrie and Brad who are getting married this coming weekend- so super cool - they are such a neato :-) couple!! 

Just a few photos that I have... 

this beauty loves me so much

(Hi Leslie!!  kiss kiss):

THIS is who I slept with all weekend

(she's hot, huh???)  hiya Jenn :-) 

snuggle snuggle

this girl thinks

I am cuckoo for

cocoa puffs::

hi Elsie-poo :-)

what I did all weekend :: 

hi cookie/brownie smooshed

together  (I LOVE YOU my sweet sweet dessert *smooch*) 

*the* fundraiser ((READ THIS))

The coolest ever *scrapbooking* fundraiser ::    check it out here ::  Karen Russell is amazing     You can find out details.. what it is all about on Karen's blog- go there NOW.  SO happy to participate in this and to help raise money/awareness about the women for women organization.  Find out more ::  Women for Women International . 

bye bye!

Heading to Birmingham to crash in on my friends, Jenn and Leslie!!  Can't wait to see them- they make me laugh so hard!!  Be back Sunday :-)   

some new color :-) and some other random..

got my hair done today... highlights and a cut... Aislin went with me and she got a little trim, also.  She was so funny at the salon- when I had my foils in, she said "Mama, you look like a rock star" and *everyone* in the whole place just started laughing.  When you have foils in - you definitely do NOT feel like a rock star! I can't decide if having foils in my hair makes me look like an alien or makes me look like a person trying to protect myself from an alien.  You get the picture.  Anyway, I got some sweet highlights today that I am in love with- I was bored with the hair, so I went a little funky.. so nice! 

can you say red?? (and blonde. and more red.and bug eyed?  ah well.)  i love it.

We had a super Easter.. here are some photos:::

and my sister's and I went to Glamour shots- don't we look fab??  ;-)

goodnight!

some little cuties

last night at bedtime

and the showcase showdown winner is...

LISA!!    The trashed out purse weighed in at (roughly) the same size Aislin was when she was born :::::   7 pounds!  Susie was right- lots of papers, receipts and stuff, but there was a Canon Elph in there and some random change that added a little weight.  Ok, Lisa- you will be getting some goods in the mail soon, chickie!! 

this was fun, I think I want to play more games with this blog.. well, not with the blog.. with people.. you know what I mean :-)

thanks for playing!!

oops forgot to show how cute (and TINY) my new green purse is ::   

although I realized today that it is almost too small- definitely not an every day purse for me.. I need an in-between size!! 

Photo courtesy of Aislin :-)

Now that I have fully embarrassed myself by showing that mess of a purse and all of the contents, gotta run!!  :-)

YOU can be a winner!! :-)

Let's play a game

it's called ... Renee is really not a slob. but her purse is. 

Big purses just don't get along with me. They are too unorganized, there is too much space to toss junk into, and well... they tend to get heavy.  For some reason, I have been carrying around this BIG boring purse and it has been packed full of stuff.  It went to CHA with me.  It went to Houston with me.  and it hasn't been cleaned out since.  Now, you may think that this is just crazy.  I am a clean person. Sometimes a little freakily obsessed with organizing and cleaning.  My friend, Cheryl, seems to think I have problems because I like to get down on my hands and knees and clean the floors.  That is another story. Sometimes, it is nice to just have a huge purse to throw things in.  Sometimes not.  I have the *cutest* little green purse next to my bed with the tag still on it.  Later today, I am switching out to that cutie (pictures later) but for this morning, I just wanted to have big mama purse clean. 

HERE is the game ::  whoever can come closest to how much my purse weighed before cleaning will get a bunch of goodies from me :-)  and here is a picture that can be a clue :::

ready. set.GO.

I feel like I am Bob Barker.  COME ON DOWN.  You are the next contestant on The Weight is Right!!

irresponsible mother of the year award

I let my children play in a nest of water moccasins aka cottonmouths. 

The story?  We were at the park on Wednesday, with Aislin and Declan's cousin (9 yrs old) and two other friends (7 and 8 yrs old).  They were all down by this little (and I mean LITTLE, like pond like)  lake trying to catch tadpoles.  (have I mentioned how icked out those things make me?).  A little stream that leads into the lake flows down a rocky little path, perfect for the kids to climb on and around and over to the other side where it is a little forest-y (not a word, I know).  With the kids on other side of rocks, I tell them to be careful - there could be snakes (not really thinking that, just want them to be careful).  (oh, and I just want to mention that I would have NEVER let A & D do this... EVER... but their cousin was helping them along and they were loving it and having such a good time).  My brother-in-law calls the kids to come back to our side, they start coming back over the rocks when my friend spots the snake... less than 8 FEET AWAY FROM THE KIDS.  It is up on a rock, then slithers (away from the kids) under some brush.  HURRY up and get out of there, I yell.  When they all get on our side, we are just standing there *shocked* and I spot TWO more HUGE cottonmouths on rocks about a foot from where the other one was.  HUGE. ONES. LIKE  3-4 FEET LONG AND 2-3 INCHES THICK.  HUGE.  I almost died. really.  i did.  they are aggressive. they usually stand their ground when threatened. and they are more venomous/dangerous than most of the other poisonous snakes around here. they like to lie dormant on a rock near the water and wait for prey. and I know that if we saw 3 within a few feet of each other, there were more. i just get the shivers thinking about the kids near those.  walking right there where the snakes were all around them.  I called the park yesterday to let them know.  They knew the exact spot I was talking about- apparently they had cleared a TON of cottonmouths out of that same spot last year.  I guess they will do the same this year.  I am just SO glad none of the kids 1. got bitten 2. were that scared.  Aislin was a little frightened, but she quickly got over it.  Being in Colorado for so long, I had completely forgotten about cottonmouths in the south. not anymore.