"Kennedys Don't Cry!"

Seriously!  I have been wrapped around this series for a week, and last night was the final part of 8.  LOVED every single piece!  I have not been a fan of Katie Holmes for, well EVER, but oh my word she played an amazing Jacki O!!  Go girl!  I DVR'd the entire series!  I can't believe a bigger network didn't pick this up, thank you REEL tv!!

So you know it's a good weekend when the kids are worn out & asleep by 7:00, popsicle sticks line the picnic table, and the flip flop tan line on your feet is much more noticeable!!  Hooray for great weekends!

A little of this & a little of that from our weekend...

Kaydee, Whitney & Ty.  3 of the 5 kids that qualified for a limo ride at school! They worked their tails off ( ok well Chris did ) and sold 30 saver cards! 

This was so exciting for them!!

This is Carsens new "surprise!" face =)  love it!

Soaking up the sunshine!

I'm sure washing the dog is exactly what Chris wanted to do as soon as he got off work Saturday, haha! The kids had a great time cleaning Harlo girl.  Notice the cute little tushie on the little miss?  She enjoyed an afternoon of the toddler equivalent of "free ballin" or "commando".  She didn't poop so it was a success!

How can something so cute throw a cell phone in the toilet?  Thank God for the good old rice trick!  Soaked it over night and it came back to life!!

Ty, Harlo & Kaydee laying down watching Grease =)

To cure my Monday blues, Ashlyn ( aka future-sister-in-law ) is picking me up and we are going to look at 1 more reception site for the big wedding!  We got SO much accomplished on our wedding planning adventure Saturday, yay!  Then we enjoyed a delish-o lunch at Quintons, I love you girl!

This song is dedicated to my hubs, who worked all day saturday & hated every minute of it I'm sure... considering the weather was so darn tempting!  I know you are reading this babe, I love you =)
..."this is my love song to you"

Happy Monday all!!



Friday Confessional Link Up!

Holy Cow, it's FRIDAY!  This week flew by....

Link up here ----> Friday Confessional!

I confess to signing up for Twitter ages ago, then just yesterday sitting down to try and navigate my way through it.  My intentions were based soley on stalking following Josh Wolf & David Tutera!  I still can't figure the whole Twitter experience out, but I love reading what those 2 boys have to say! Hehe!

I confess to speaking at the board meeting last night, and crying back to my seat.  Being interviewed on the news thereafter and forgetting everything I'd planned to say!  Live tv isn't my thing, haha!
wanna see? follow my link ---> My Tv Interview

I confess to being super bummed ( still ) that we had to postpone our Texas vaca.  The week we'd planned to be gone is the same week as the kids' school music program.  Then Chris couldn't get off the following week, then baseball starts, Kaydee's surgery, end of school, Ty's birthday, dance recital!!  Damn, are we that busy that we can't even manage a single week away?  JUNE!  After baseball is said & done, we are TEXAS bound baby!

I confess to being super excited ( still ) about my brothers wedding.  I've been asked to be a bridesmaid, Chris will be the best man!  I am also serving as event planner, Ashlyn girl... you are too sweet!  It's my ambition to be an event planner and I won't let you down love!  We are going to look at venues Saturday ( insert happy dance here!! )

I confess to being super emotional this week and sitting staring at the kids' newborn pics and sobbing "where have my babies gone?".  It was bad, ugly bad.  Can you blame me? here is one of the photos:

Now, where's the photo of the sleepless nights, breast pump, the 2 tons of stuff required to leave the house for more than 10 minutes, the moments out in public where I wanted to cry along with her, the moments when I felt I was neglecting the older 2 b/c she required so much of me?  Those are the photos I guess I need to surround myself with otherwise I will never get over this! =)

I confess to being pumped about tonight! I will be in the exclusive company of my favorite 8 year old & my favorite 1 year old!  Girl time Friday night!  Ty has a birthday sleep over ( I won't mention how my OCD effects that situation ) and Chris is going with him until bedtime!  I'm forseeing nail polish, chocolate chip cookies & lots of giggles in my near future =)

That's it.  All my confessions are out. 

The kids sold 30, yes 30, saver cards for school and qualified for a limo ride to an  pizza party!  This is like winning the lottery for an 8 year old & 5 year old!  Today is the day, and yes my OCD is requiring that I follow the limo to the pizza party to ensure their safety.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Carsens Blog Heist!

A mama should never leave her laptop unattended with the blog tab open.... now it's my turn to share a few things!  Welcome to my world!  My name is Carsen Mae Votaw, 13 months old. 

I love...

• milk!
• cheetos
• making BIG messes
• streaking through the house
• cuddlin' in between mama & dada
• turning the Wii off when my brother & sister are in the middle of a game
• waiting for a toilet lip to be left up ( what can I get wet? )
• climbing out of my high chair ( mama still can't figure that one out! )
• finding the book Kaydee's reading & pulling the book mark out of it
• playing OUTSIDE!

and.... CLIMBING!

on this....

and this....

oh, and this too...

Gee wiz, all that climbing sure makes me thirsty!

Who's my innocent hostage buddy?  Harlo is!

See... I wuv her so!

I'm not a fan of....

• wearing a hat ( of ANY kind )
• meat ( of ANY kind )
• getting dressed
• having my diaper changed
• coming inside
• naptime
• the word "no" ( what does that even mean anyways? )
• socks
• sitting still

I've also been shopping online for a new swim suit for summer, to show off my milk gut girlish figure =)  Whatcha think?

Wow, this has really been fun.  Now time to sneak back in to bed before I'm figured out!

In the words of my mama "Happy Thursday All"!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday all!  Link up to this fabulous blog link by clicking This Kind Of Love ... go on, play along!

My "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post is owe'd to Spring & everything cheery!

Carried Away, a new scent from Bath & Body!

This smells crazy good, and I love B&B sale prices =)

Pomegranate Passion candle, from Bath & Body!

Seriously, you can smell this candle in a room when it's not even lit!

I love my Little Miss in night gowns! 

 Such a short little spit fire, she is!

I love this new little night gown from Old Navy!

Kaydee's favorite color is purple ( well & pink ), so she requested that I add this to my list today =)

Another great deal from Old Navy!

Does Mama need a new Easter Dress?  I'm thinking... yeah!

Love the color, love the price - under $20 from Forever 21!

So, The Childrens Place might not be my go-to place for clothes for my girls, but they have the most handsome boys stuff and the best prices!  If mama gets her way, my handsome Ty will be sporting this get-up come Easter Sunday!

Ok, am I the last to know that Forever 21 has a girls line?  I almost fell off the chair when I found it! Kaydee is still young enough to not care if I dress us alike ( what? total nerd huh? ) so I get away with it every now & then.  This will match my above mentioned must have!

Aside from the What I'm Loving Wednesday I'd like to wish one of my best friends a HAPPY 30th Birthday!  Happy Birthday Brandy! 

She's the pretty little thing left front.  Please ignore the drunk girl, left back.  That b me... it was Vegas baby!  Subjects in picture are drunker than they appear!

GTKY

Linking up on this fabulous Sunday! Head on over to MannLand5 to join or hop on over to my girl Kelly Marie's page to read what she's all about!

1. do you weigh yourself?  Nope.  Sure Don't.  Only time i ever really have is all 3 times I was pregnant.  There will probably come a day when it's required, but until then we don't even own a scale.

2. what's the nastiest thing you've ever eaten? Not quite sure what to put for this answer. During a trip to Europe I got a hotdog with some sort of funk nasty interesting mustard on it.  It was so off putting I couldn't even eat more than 1 bite.

3. snail mail or email? Both.  I love email, but for birthdays anniversaries or holidays I think it's better to send it the good old fashioned way! 

4. do you have any irrational fears...what are they? Oh I have TONS of fears!  Including but not limited to: Birds, Sponges, Kidnappers, Velvet, Drowning, Losing one of my children in public, People of Walmart.  =)

5. do you play an instrument? That is a big NO!

6. would you rather be bitten by a snake or attacked by a bear? Wow, those both sound so enjoyable!  I suppose a snake of the non-poisonous nature!

7. do you ever go braless in public? Haha!  I'll add this to one of my irrational fears! NO, never ever ever!  I'm completely somewhat of the flat chested breed!  I might be mistaken for a 12 year old boy if I were to go braless!  Give me push-up!  God Bless Victoria's Secret Miracle Bra =)

8. today i am thankful for........................? I am thankful for the gorgeous weather we have spent all day enjoying.  Thankful for the entire weekend actually, loved it!!  Thankful that my husband is now out at the grill working his magic.... for dinner & then the country music awards later =)

Happy Sunday all!

and she said... YES!

So, I can finally shout from the roof tops what I've been jumping out of my skin excited about for a couple weeks now!  My little brother, only brother, wonderful brother asked his ever-so-long time girlfriend Ashlyn to marry him!!  He purchased the (amazingly beautiful ring) all by himself.  Informed me & my mom.  Asked HER mom to lunch to ask her permission.  Bought supplies, planned every single detail, and then finally...Friday night...the moment of truth!!  Chris & I hid with video camera & camera in hand(s) in the trees to capture the entire event!  Part of me was scared that passerbys would think we would child molesters or murderers.... but without fail the entire thing was a success!!  I love these 2 with all my heart, I've never been more excited to participate in something so romantic & sweet!!  I cried, cried, cried.  Which is why Chris was in charge of the video.  Oh my goodness, it feels so good to announce the big news!  Congrats Joel & Ashlyn, I love love love ya!  Lets get to planning us you guys a wedding!!

here's what I've felt like for the past couple weeks.... =)

SNL - Kristin Wiig as Sue Video

and.. this is the song that was stuck in my head leading up to last night... =)

and here's the happy couple
(this pic wasn't taken last night)

and here's the rock!

Have a great weekend all!!

Friday Confessional!

I confess that I felt left out today ( and bored ) so I needed to post something on my blog!

No seriously, I have no confessions.... just secrets! Actually 1 big secret!  I've been keeping it for a couple weeks now, like a good girl.  I have come to realize that I am somewhat of a not-so-good secret keeper.  Literally felt turrets coming on a few times, like I was just going to shout it out and ruin everything!  Anyways, today's the day.  Ironically April Fools Day, but this is no joke!  I will be in the clear to reveal everything tomorrow ( or later tonight ) so stay tuned! 

Here's some fun little images to represent a fraction of the excitement that is building up inside me:

So, have a GREAT Friday everyone!!