Mommy plus Five

Goodbye September, thank you for the memories.  See you next year.  :)

Hello October.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My 365...

I was playing with my grandson Cooper this afternoon, and every little bitty thing is so fascinating to him.  And I thought, my goodness, life must seem so magical through those precious baby eyes of his.  But then I realized that lately...life seems pretty magical through my 50 year old eyes too.

Life is amazing in the beginning.  Everything is fresh and new and we have not had the opportunity to become cynical and jaded...yet.  The middle part can be awesome, or it can royally suck, that is really up to us...but it also changes our perspective.  Better yet, I think we lose our perspective.  I am happy to report that after 50, perspective returns and it is very strong.  We are no longer in a big hurry to get anywhere, and the little things are magical once again.

Fifty rocks!  :)

Family news for today...Kori is moving home to Garrett.  Yay!  <3

My photos of the day...

"The leaves are still green mama."



Music I am listening to today...Rascal Flatts





Random Link of the Day...  Click below for a "Stampede of Cuteness!"




Until next time..."Happy Friday everyone...have a magical weekend."  :)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My 365...

This day started out a little rough, and immediately I start to think about all the things in the world that upset me the most.  That does not work to make things better, so instead I quickly wrote down things that make me happy.  The first 21 things that came to my mind...

1.  Blake.  His sense of humor, the way he guards my heart, his sweet smile and amazing blue eyes.

2.  Casey, when he is not being an impossible teenager he is large and in charge and he genuinely cares.

3.  Brandon, his patience, his big heart, his courage and his tolerance.  Of all my children, he has suffered the most with this crazy life, and you could never tell by being around him.  He is amazing.

4.  Giant Garrett hugs.  They are always so comforting when the world is not.

5.  Reading.  It transports me away from the heaviness that this world can bring.  There are now 491 books on my android tablet.

6.  Kori, Amber and baby Cooper.  Great additions to this family.  <3

7.  Music, it drowns out the negative noise.

8.  Dozer and Miss Lilly...they are always there for me.

9.  A good movie...or two...or three.

10. My Blog.

11. Photography.

12. Writing.

13. Pinterest.

14. Noise cancelling headphones.

15. Leaves changing colors.

16. Thanksgiving.

17. Hot Chai Tea.

18. Thunderstorms...as long as the power does not go out.

19. Candy Corn.

20. Snow.

21. Knowing it is never too late for change.  :)

How is that for random?

**Edited to add**

22.  Great friends.  (Thank you H & D)  <3

My photos of the day...




Music I am listening to to day...Norah Jones.





Random Link of the Day...100 Ways to use Blueberries.

Until next time..."Minimize the negative...celebrate the positive.  Smile."  :)
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My 365...

Casey was in online history class this afternoon, and had Cooper sitting on his lap in front of the computer.  Cooper reached up and started banging the keyboard and managed to raise Casey's hand in his virtual classroom.  The teacher paused the class..."You have a question Casey?"  LOL, silly Cooper.  :)

Hello Wednesday.

I am happy to report that Jack is a little bit more relaxed today.  Thank goodness...poor man is going to give himself a heart attack!

I am such a laid back easy going person.  Sometimes I wish there was a way to infuse him with the same as he is entirely too wound up all the time.  Could it be the pot of coffee and gallon of tea he drinks every day?  Evil caffeine!  At least things are back to normal in my home today.  Hope it lasts!


My photos of the day...

Amber's Autumn garden.
Music I am listening to to day...The Script




Random Link of the Day...Turtles.

Until next time..."Well behaved women rarely make history."
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My 365...

"Stop the insanity!"

Jack was off today, which lately around here is not such a good thing.  You see my beloved husband of 27 million years can not sit still for more than a second.  The result of this behavior makes the rest of us crazy!

So what is a woman to do?

Set him free to his madness, and ignore him.  He went to visit son number one and helped him clean his house.  Then he came home and did the dishes, laundry, mopped the floors, washed down the sidewalks, mopped some more, cleaned the kitchen again...the bathroom...etc...etc...

Now most women would think, "What an amazing man!"  Ordinarily I would agree, but the entire time he is doing these things he is mumbling nonsense under his breath and behaving like a two year old.  This tends to upset the other members of the household, which makes me want to kick him where the good Lord split him!

Ladies and gentlemen, this man is a loon.

So everyone piles into mama's room and we partake in a little entertainment TV and enjoy each other's company...the way a real family is supposed to be. (Minus the pile into mama's room part...lol)

We have an amazing family!  They are funny, warm, loving, creative and all around wonderful.  So what the "h" "e" double hockey sticks is his problem?

Honestly, I hope he figures out what matters most in life before he loses all of us.  Or maybe we will let him stay...to do the cleaning!

Remember...

My photo of the day...

The absolute best part of my day, Cooper.  :)


Music I am listening to today...Brett Dennen.  Amber introduced me to his music yesterday, and I find him quite delightful!





Random Link of the Day...Doggies before and after.  I do love doggies.  They never let you down.  <3

Until next time..."I don't hate you...I am just disappointed that you turned into everything you said you would never be."
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

...with a telephoto lens, but they both caught me in the act!

"Yeah mama, we see you."  :)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My 365...

Was this really a Monday? To be honest, it felt more like an extension of the weekend. Garrett and Kori stopped by and we enjoyed sitting in the living room with Brandon watching the comical antics of little Cooper.

He is the funniest little baby. He crawls all over the place, pulls himself up to standing and is soon to be walking.  But if you lay him flat on his back on the floor...he freezes.  It is as if he has "fallen and can't get up!" And he will not move with his arms straight out and little hands palm down.  With this look of panic/annoyance on his face.


But no worries, uncle Garrett and Kori came to his rescue!  :)


I love to watch Brandon when he is with his little Cooper.  He is an amazing father, and I am so very proud of him.  <3

My photo of the day....

We have some color!


Music I am listening to today...Bon Jovi

I never get tired of this song...






Random Link of the Day...I want a tree house!  I could live happily here.  :)

Until next time..."It is impossible!"...said pride.  "It is risky."...said experience.  "It is pointless."...said reason.  "Give it a try..."...whispered the heart.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My son Garrett has a fabulous Great Dane named Supra, and I have been shooting this picture with Blake on the other side of the fence to track his growth.

I can see that Blake is catching up with Supra!


Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

My 365...

Much cooler today, thank you Mother Nature.
I had a very nice evening last night.  Amber and Brandon went out with a friend, so I got to baby sit grandson Cooper and he was the most delightful company.  He is full of smiles, giggles and mischief and I love it!  Garrett and Kori came over last night as well, and we sat and chatted until almost 2:00 am.  It was fun.  My boys can drive me crazy sometimes, but I LOVE spending time with them.  They are my favorite human beings on the planet!

Garrett and Kori are coming over for dinner this evening and I am going to make some Calabacita goodness.  With Amber and Brandon here already it will make for another Sunday family dinner.  I do love those!  I also talked Garrett into bringing Supra the wonder dog so I can visit with him.  Being a Great Dane, it is not as easy as it used to be to take Supra for rides in the car because he is SO HUGE!  But I miss him, so they are bringing him for dinner tonight.  YAY!

I will update my photos of the day this evening.  I am sure I will have a ton of them!

Hope your Sunday is going well.  :)

My Photos of the Day...

Delicious homemade tomato cheesy soup...so good!

 Made by Amber.  :)

Spinach Artichoke dip...made by mama.


Calabacita made by Brandon.  And it was delicious!  Thank you son.  :)  With Amber's homemade refried beans.  Better than any canned beans that is for sure.


Son Garrett with Kori.


Son Brandon with Amber.
 Son Casey.
 Son Blake.
Grandson Cooper with his mommy Amber.
We had the perfect Sunday family time.  I have the best family in the world.  :)

Music I am listening to today...Jesse Cook.  He is amazing!








Random Link of the Day...Pumpkin Recipes.

Until next time..."No matter how hard or challenging life can be, with a solid family foundation, you can face anything.  If you fall, I will help you up.  If you are sad, I will make you smile.  If you are cold, I will keep you warm.  Because I love you.  mom."

Have a great Monday world.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,

"Rawrrrr!"


Music I am listening to today...Kid Rock





Random Link of the Day...Sand Sculptures.

Until next time..."Being nice to someone you dislike is not being fake.  It means you are mature enough to tolerate your dislike of them."


Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,