always when you're not looking.

i was not in the market for new ones.

i swear.

but when they find you, and they make you all cozy and happy...

it's just kinda nice... and you just kinda wanna keep them.

it's a bonus, you know?

when you meet aMAZing people through things that suck the life out of you.

i mean, if i have to have zero "me" time in this world, at least it can be filled with lots of awesomely amazing chicks.  

football moms.

rock.

last year was great.  this year even better.  being a veteran football mom meant i already knew a lot of what it took to be a new football parent.  and when you know at the end of the season that you became family by the end of it all... well... it makes entering into a new season that much easier.  if we're gonna meet eventually, let's get the show on the road.

and if they drop the f-bomb mid conversation... well, we're bonded for life.

i don't know what it is with me and that word, but... it's the only word i know of that can send the vibe across i need to feel in order to be completely comfortable with someone i meet.  you know... i know exactly what it is.  i use that word a lot.  A LOT.  i think i just need to know if i drop it randomly into our conversation that you won't be mad at me.  or think i'm trashy.  or crass.  or vulgar.

although, i'm human.  

vulgarly human.

but we all are to some extent.

i just know it.

what i'm trying to say is that i'm lucky.  i've met some great new gals through this sport, and when you figure out how much this team cost me and divide it by TWO players (myself included), i think my wallet came out on top.

and the best part?

we haven't even had our first game yet.  

(i.e. lots of season left to go)

we're just already so cozy.  so F*@&ing cozy.

love and friendship finds you when you least expect it to.

EMBRACE IT!

here's the deal.

i'm a bit of a big talker.  i have plans, LOTS of plans.  plans and lists and plans and more lists.  it's how i roll.  i'm a mom and moms have plans.

mom plans.

wife plans.

me plans.

work plans.

house plans.

shopping plans.

friend plans.

damn plans.

i try, ya'll.  i have so much going on in this little tiny brain of mine, yet everytime i put it to paper, i come out with horribly janky ideas.  paragraphs.  blogs.

it's pathetic.

i have tried three times to write a coherent blog entry about my kids' first days of school, or ethan's eighth birthday and the guilt associated with NOT throwing him a big ole' bash this year... and even a blog about having too much to blog about. 

damned if you do, damned if you don't.

blog dryspells to overwhelming blog ideas.  both ending in nada.  nunca.  nil.  zippy.  zap.  ZERO.

but let me just explain something (reference picture below):

it's this time of year again.  it's a big deal.  new coach, new teammates, new attitude.
it's been awesome.  it's been tiring.  it's been completely consuming.

i'll get back on track.  but i'm going to stop making promises to you.  i love you too much to break your heart like that.

Failure that was more like a win.

So I totally failed you. Instead of hanging out at home yesterday, wallowing in my own dental sorrows and blogging away, I took my smallest bambina out to get a new oufit for her first day of preschool. Yes, I totally just under prioritized you.

So off we went, to the mall. Oye. The mall with my fashionista four year old. It took HOURS. That girl loves jewels, and shoes, and clothes, and... THE MALL. Time of her life, I tell ya... Just her and her mom.

I was just as happy as she was.

Even if I was drooling in public. It was totally worth it because my kid felt special which definitely helped make today's drop off at preschool a lot easier on everyone.

More on that later.

As I sign off tonight I warn you that tonight's entry was done on my iPhone. Please forgive any errors you might catch. I was way too lazy to get up and fetch the laptop. The first week of school hits ALL of us like a ton of bricks. No judging, please.

a plan.

i have a plan today.

besides sending my kids off on the first day of school and getting some dental work done, i have a plan.

when half my face is numb to the point where i can't do anything adequately enough or to my satisfaction, i plan to blog today.

i can type with half a numb face.

i have left you high and dry.

i talked a big talk and left you hanging.

i am full of shame.

and lots of other adjectives.

but i promise i will return.

usually when i have a plan, i honestly try to follow through.  it's been a crazy week.

blog ya' later.

when you really... love a woman...

when you love your family, you do anything for them.

like spending a ton of moola at dinner to celebrate your sister's 30th birthday.

and more specifically, to throw her off the scent of her surprise party.

 

totally worth it.

you can read her side of the story here...

but one thing i want to add to her side of the story is that her family {me in particular} loves her too much to not throw her a party.  while she was upset that we weren't having a surprise party, how did she know we weren't having one? 

i'll tell you how she didn't know.....  because i am that good.

yes, yes, i rocked it.

{ok, ok, i give... her hubby was awesome too}

surprises are surprises, DRE... and i'm pretty sure we gotcha good.  all in the name of love.

i'm so happy to have you in my club.

the 30 and over "D" club.

you were the last to arrive but the first to be surprised.

doesn't it feel good?

consistency.

One of the things I like the most about some of my favorite bloggers {shout out to NieNie and cjane} is that they are consistent bloggers.  I mean, at least when they're not having a mental blog-block or major reconstructive surgery. 

This is my main problem.  I am inconsistent.  And I know that I am.  I am congitively aware of this fault of mine.  However, this fault mostly has to do with my resolution to put kids first.  Lately blogging feels more like "me" time than it did before.  I, selfishly, get a lot out of doing this thang.  And now, NOW, it has turned on me and makes me feel GUILTY for not spending this amount of time with my babes because I get a blog-high from writing.

Can you believe that?  Stinking blog guilt from my stinking mommy guilt.  It's unreal.  Will it ever go away?  *oye*  I can only hope.

I do feel I owe this blog a bit more dedication.  In the end it really is for my kids.  And if blogspot.com ever goes under and takes all my written recordings with it one day, just like snapfish.com I think I'll meltdown unlike any of my previous meltdowns before. And believe you me, those were quite the sight to see. These are two things that weigh on me every day.  Isn't that ridiculous?  Pictures and written entries... my history... in a nutshell.  But I digresssssssss...   I really owe it to my blog to be a little more dedicated.  Like  I owe my old, sickly dog the best last years of his life that I can provide for him. 

Not that my blog is sickly.

But it is needy.

And rightfully so.  Because it's all for my kids. 

They don't know me now as the thirty-something adult that I am today.  They simply know me as their mom.  One day when they are all grown up, I hope they read these entries and can relate to me a little bet better.  Adult to adult.  Thirty-something to thirty-something.  I think that would be pretty cool to provide them with that kind of opportunity. 

Hopefully I can turn this blog guilt over to just mommy guilt about NOT blogging enough for my kids. 

Consistency and routine make everything easier.  Just like raising babies, I'm raising a blog.  For my kids.

{and partly for me too.  shhhhh.}

schweet niblets.

ok, i'm double posting today.

and really, it's only because of this Canadian Rockies Wedding showcased on Style Me Pretty.

schweet niblets this wedding is amazing.

from the location, to the colors, to the vibe...

oh so perfect.

orange girl photographs get major kudos for this one!

and if i wasn't afraid of getting sued, i totally would have posted the pictures right here for you.

but click the link.

you won't be sorry.

messy bessy.

'twas messy.

just like we wanted.

paint. water balloons. sand. cupcakes. pony rides.

'twas also awesome.

here is birthday girl, addi, getting ready for her party.

you might remember her from way back here...

when i fell in love again.

she is so schwoopy.

In this family, it's not a party without water balloons.

and the fifty bajillion blisters you get from tying up hundreds of these suckers.

just ask kim.

we suckered her into it this time.

and then she suckered her little cousin into it.

smaht.

my sister is fancy.

she has messy parties and makes sure to wear a bouquet in her hair.

commitment.

look at this {baby} girl painting with her feet.

messy.

and so much fun.

pony rides.

heck yeah pony rides.

we all wanted them when we were little.

{i got one when i was big.}

as long as you were little and fit on the saddle, you didn't get messy.

but for those of us that rode bareback...

it was quite messy.

ponies are dirty.

emma conquered her fear.

it was great.

she was proud of herself...

isn't that what life's about?

this boy was too much.

i think he also conquered a fear.

not that he would ever admit to being afraid of a pony, though.

i love it.

messy is also decorating your own cupcakes.

girls are so delicate.

boys are not so much.

notice aidan's cupcake.

he was very efficient in decorating his cupcake.

he just dumped each of his 6 containers onto the top of his cake.

it worked.

i guess.

babies in hats are the best.

i mean seriously, look at this.

she ended her night in the sandbox.

which was more like baby powder.

messy, much?

check out how cute this family is.

*siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

i love them.

Happy Birthday, Addison Naomi!

You are so loved.

Thank you for making our lives so much better by just being YOU.

xoxo,

auntie ergica. 

{that was not a typo}

because i love you...

i will let you see these:

{and really, it pains me to do so -- but if i'm an ass, i still should share that, right?  because i did it to the kids at some point.  and this is my fair payback.} 

 {and if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you rightfully laugh at? and so... i share... *gulp*}

1:

2:

3:

4:

omg.

for real.

they said i didn't hurt the pony.

i took their word.

only because before actually getting on this little pony, i flipped myself right off her back.  hence picture #2.

i made sure to hurt myself first so i was guilt free once i got on that pony.  

{only, it wasn't planned}

picture #2 was seriously as i was flipping my body all the way from the pony's left side up and over to her right and then to her feet.  as i went over her right side i did an awesome 180 flip and then a perfect tuck and roll.

it was so perfect that i somehow got up and had grass in my underwear.

i know.

tmi.

but totally ninja-like.

even if i had grass on my bum.

#3 is when kristina decided to do a little canter/jog/much.  i was bareback, afterall.

eek.

 

more pics from the Let's Get Messy Party, however i think i've already left you with enough for this particular entry.  you're welcome.  and if you vomited in your mouth a little bit i apologize.

'splanation.

i have to tell you...

when i first created this blog, i almost made it completely private.  but then wonder set in.

• would i get visitors?  
• who would they be?  
• where would they come from and how would they find me?

i have had no problem writing anything on here up until today.  i mean, i see you out there checking me out.  it's cool, you know?  mostly because i have no idea who you are besides an i.p. address and geographical location.  sometimes i see that some of you link over from my facebook.  {which tells me i'm friends with you and would totally be fine with you reading my jank.}  but today... it changed.

several hits were from google with the search term of my name.  my full name.  full as in maiden AND married.  from like, all over the country.  how did you know my full name?

i have to be honest.  it kind of freaks me out.  

not that i'm trying to be all incognito or anything, but like Single Infertile Female, sometimes i think maybe i would be better suited to not have my name out there... or my face... or the faces of my kids.  

it's such a pickle.  mainly because today took me by surprise.  googling me because you heard of me?  googling me because you're totally creeping?  i don't know.  it just felt kind of weird.  both good and bad weird.  uncertainly {is that a word?} weird.  funky.

*****

when people choose to actually "follow" your blog, there's somewhat of a record of who likes to read your work.  most of you that visit here don't follow me, and that's totally cool, but i have no idea who you are, what you're into, and what would bring you back for more.  and when someone is out there googling me, i figure it must be for a reason.  

weird to even talk about it.  but even weirder to see it on my screen today as it  was the first i'd seen such a thing.  and what's weirder about this is that i've never seen another blogger post about what goes on behind the scenes on these things.  i'd really like to know if any of you have had the same experience - where you're unsure if you should be ecstatic or slightly freaked out.  

but i've been told i'm a drama queen.  like once.  one time i was called a drama queen and a hypochondriac and you know, some other dramatic terminology.  

am i just being dramatic?

maybe it's the fact that i'm so tired.  the earth has been shaking every night this week thanks to chris, and i have had little to no sleep every night.  i'm just glad he goes to get a new c-pap mask tomorrow.  mmmmm, so sexy. 

oh august, how you slay me.

first off...

if you are local to fredericksburg and have a birthday in august and have great taste in fashion/accessories/shoes, head on over to Monkee's for $25 towards your purchase.  seriously rad.  you don't even have to print the coupon, just mention it.

secondly...

it's august.  i mean,  holy crap...

it's for real, august.

school starts in twenty days.

but don't tell my kids.

they will totally freak out on you.

but seriously, AUGUST?

why so soon, man?

why did you rush june and july along?

i feel like yesterday was the last day of school.

but yes.  you are right. then i think back to all of the high-fives i exchanged with chris in the parking lot at work these last two months... and boy.

it feels like it has been the longest summer of my life.

such a walking hypocrisy, i know.

no need to tell me twice.

i just don't think i'm ready for fall chaos.  football three nights a week, swim lessons one night a week, another odd set of work-hours to accommodate my man's class schedule, kiddie homework (ugh, the worst), dinners on the fly...

oh man.  i'm sweating just thinking about it.  ugh.  but at least the further we go, the less humid it should be.

this summer has been a doozy.

*****

and just because i can,

here are pics of me and soso.

i know i look uber asian in this one {mostly because i am}, but man does this girl's smile make me happy.

she's a nut like her mother.

the sass?

totally not her mother.

design*sponge

oh design*sponge...

and really,

SERIOUSLY anthropologie?

could you make me drool more?

did you need to?

oh how i love color...

and the paintstroke vibe...

you are too perfect.

thank you to design*sponge for putting this board together.

if i could seriously delve into your talents and absorb them through osmosis, i totally would.