the difference between boys and girls

this morning kaitlin came into my room to wake me up and in usual fashion she quietly whispered that she was awake and would be in her room eating cereal (that she made herself). I happily let her go be a big girl so i could sleep in. ahhhhhhhh.....girls.

an hour later jack comes in and wakes me up by violently slamming a stuffed whale over my head and saying "I'm hungry, wake up!". After the my heart stopped beating out of my chest, jack was sent to his room for almost killing me and the day began. ahhhhhhhh!!!!.....boys.

guilty pleasures

Everyone has guilty pleasures. My guilty pleasure is Us magazine. When I get it in the mail, I have a rule. Everyone has to leave me alone while I indulge in mindless entertainment. The kids will come up and try to ask me to do something for them and I will give me the "turn around and walk away" signal. They now know not to even bother when I am reading my Us, atleast Kaitlin does. For some reason, despite the fact that I rarely watch T.V or movies, I do love my Us magazine. It's my guilty pleasure.

We went to Atlanta for a family sleep over at our friends Jessica and Craig's Friday. Jess and I took the kids to blockbuster for a movie. Kaitlin saw her favorite singers on the cover of Bop magazine and asked if she could by it. She begged actually. The kind of begging I rarely see from her....begging is Jack's specialty. I said yes and we left with a movie and a copy of Bop. As we piled in the car, I turned around to ask Kaitlin a question and she gave me the "don't talk to me" signal. She then went on to say "don't talk to me while I'm reading my magazine". Jessica and I bust out laughing. (Jessica and Craig will come over to our house and Jess and I will each have a copy of Us or In Touch and we will sit on opposites ends of the couch and not speak for over an hour. So Jessica understands where Kaitlin is coming from.)

The next morning as we were gathering our stuff to leave, I walked into the guestroom of Jessica's house to see my 9 year old daughter soaking up her own version of mindless entertainment...her new Bop magazine. I had to get a picture. I already know she is watching me, but it hits me harder when stuff like this happens. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! She better not get use to this!

Our visit with the Carleys

We got to visit with the Carley's (Angie, Savannah, and Addie) this week and had a great time watching the kids interact. It's been almost a year since we all got together so we had a good time catching up (love you ang!). Here are the pics....I just got photshop but have not perfected it so bare with me!

more

more, more, more....

My Jack

My mother in law came over today. We were all standing around talking and Jack kept bugging her to go outside so he could look at her car. She explained to him that she did not have her car today, she drove Grandpa Nick's car. Still, he kept asking to go outside and see her "clean car". So we all walked outside to pacify Jack and see Nick's "clean car" as we are all still holding a conversation about something totally different. (i know at the time we were all confused as to why he wanted to do this) When Beth opened the door to Grandpa Nick's car, Jack layed his head very casually down on the back seat and started gently "petting" the leather seats and says...."ahhhhh.....it's so nice and clean".

I think its safe to say its time to clean out my car. The poor kid rides around in a garbage can on wheels (the Tahoe is always a mess). I had no idea how much it effected him (he's my little neat freak who regularly tells me I need to clean the house) but after laughing at his comment, I felt I owed it to the poor kid. He's never come out and told me he hates our messy trash can on wheels, but after requesting a visit to embrase the seats of a clean car, I took the hint.

not so bad...

Today was Jack's 1st dentist appointment. I brought along my camera as evidence for what I thought was going to be a horrific experience. To my surprise, Jack did wonderful, and there were no cavities to report for the Stark children. No, I will not blog every dentist appointment, doctors appointment, bathroom visit, ect. I just had to show off these shots of Jack and the joy he somehow found in the dentist chair. I guess he's growing up! I just love the placement of his hands during the cleaning...he is so unsure of what is going on and his body language cracks me up! I also had to add the shot of his little flip flopped feet. I love the sight of a little boy in baggie shorts and flip flops.

Lily Jo Fano

Today, a dear friend of mine, Brandi, brought over her 1 year old daughter, Lily Jo Fano. My family fell in love with her. Lily is as adorable as they come, and a spitting image of her father. The kids and I enjoyed Brandi and Lily's company so much and had to share these adorable pictures.

the dreaded haircut

So Jack hates haircuts.....to the point where he will actuallly negotiate giving up his toys or favorite events to avoid getting one. I am the family hair stylist so you think he would trust me, but he doesn't. The reason we let his hair get so long is because it is such a fight to get him to cooperate. I am talking tears, tantrums, whatever. Regardless, we have to endure it. Yesterday was the day. I had to share the before and after....it's worth the fight to see how handsome he is with a cute haircut!

just a thought

do you ever feel like life is going so fast that it is hard to really enjoy it while it is happening? i feel that way all the time. i was recently putting some pictures that i found back in old albums and i started looking back on my life. i went through all 29 years of my life in a few hours time. what was cool is that i got to re-live my joys all over again. i couldn't help but wonder though.... was i really enjoying all of those times while they were happening, or was i too busy worrying about the future? did i really know how lucky i was (am), or was I in a place where i was always focusing on what i wanted, rather than what i had?

i knew the answer to my own question as i was asking myself, and i broke my heart.

it was in that little 3 hour experience that i realized i am not really living my life. i'm rushing through it, looking foward at what is to come, what i want to happen, what i can't wait to buy, or a place i can't wait to go. i am always thinking about the furture, planning things in my head as if i am the one in control. i've decide to change that. i refuse to be 40, sitting in my living room, looking back on photo albums of the last 10 years of my life thinking...where did it go? or, did i enjoy it while it was happening? i want to know that the answer to that question is yes, i enjoyed every stinkin minute...even the crummy ones.

the last few days have been awesome. i have been living every day as it comes. i'm taking in all in, slowing down, and living in the moment. i'm not worrying about the future or getting irritated with people because they are not doing what i want them to do, i'm just living. it feels so good, and i can't believe how much it changes life when you are truly living it WHILE IT IS HAPPENING instead of always waiting for something to happen, and missing the good stuff. it makes me wish i had always lived this way, but i won't go there. i'm just going to be glad i figured out this little treasure now, and not 20 years from now.

we went bowling today, and i thouroughly enjoyed my family. kaitlin was mad (pouting actually)because she wasn't winning (it's genetic, she truly can't help it), jack was literally on the floor screaming because he was out of money and wanted to play more video games. eric was taking his score way too seriously (again, genetics). but there i was, really enjoying them. i know the kids will be grown before i know it, and i just want to treasure every moment with them before they move out and eric and i are alone in disbelief that our children are grown and we didn't enjoy it like we should have.

i'm feeling really blessed of late and i just wanted to share what's been on my mind. i wonder...how many of us humans are really living our lives in the moment? how many people are just like me...always thinking and planning and stressing and not really taking it all in and enjoying what is happening in our lives because we are busy making other plans. it's so true...life is what happens while we are making other plans.

just a thought.