A Fabulously Flawed Life

{{Paparazzi - no pictures. Please .}} As expected, summer is wet n' wild. Drake has successfully completed his 2 week swim lesson. It was a bit dicey in the beginning as he does not like to be told what to do. By the third day, I resorted to using his latest fascination (the big Disney Sheriff which he's been asking for for months) as his reward if he cooperated. That did the trick! Granted, he reminded me of our arrangement every day - several times a day - but now he's officially a little minnow. The boys are doing well on their swim team and having fun. It's quite the commitment as we're at the pool every evening for a couple hours until mid-July. Neither of them have Michael Phelps potential, but I'm glad their doing it anyway. It's good for them to learn how to compete and to push themselves physically. (Neither of which they like to do.) For me, it's been fun to hang out with my friends and bond with my little minnow while at the pool. We...

We had a really great Father's Day. Jason slept in and then had his favorite breakfast in bed, breakfast burritos and bacon. We went to church and then had steak with all the fixin's for dinner. Yes, Jason grilled his own steak - I mean it needed to be editable for heavens sake. The boys were a bit disturbed that daddy made part of his own Father's Day dinner. However, he was able to convince them that a quality steak was his favorite dinner and he agreed to make it ahead of time. I just know Davis is going to bring it up next Father's Day, "Remember when you made daddy make his own dinner for Father's Day". Just wait - it will totally happen. We also made Jason the DAD frame that I featured a couple times on Tip Junkie for Jason's office. After he opened all his presents, we headed on over to his top secret, high level office and decorated it with all his new goodies. It was the first time I've seen his office and to say the least it need...

Last week was hands down the craziest week. Drake got sick, the kids had 2 doctors apts across town, Drake had swim lessons every morning , the boys had swim team every evening, and we had Scout camp which I chaperoned all day on Thursday. On top of that I was doing a post in the morning and every evening for Tip Junkie celebrating the new look with 50 giveaways. Needless to say my work load via Mommy & Tip Junkie was out of control. No matter how busy life gets, I always try to squeeze in some girl time. By Friday, I was completely spent but could not wait to get some projects done with Chanda and her daughter A.J. Since I had completely forgotten about my date with Christina, she popped by to give me a present. YES it was Bumpits !! OMGosh ! I was in hysterics. Christina and I had talked about them a while back. When she found them at Bed Bath & Beyond, she couldn't resist and got me some. We were all in my bathroom trying to figure out how to use them, when things got a...

Look what the boys found hidden under the bed in the guest room. I cannot tell you how excited they were with their new found treasure. I bought those huge candy canes for Christmas last year because I've never forgotten how I felt when I received one as a child. It was such a delight and surprise for me and I wanted to give that experience to my boys. With my back drama, I had completely forgot that I had hid them there. I guess it's not a total waste as it's officially Christmas in June in our home. The boys are enjoying their minty delight in the middle of summer. {{yummy}}

The boys had vacation bible school last week as well as started swim team. Our first meet is tomorrow! It's been a crazy week as Jason and I have been putting the final touches on Tip Junkie's make over. Today is the day! My little girl is all grown up and has on some new digs. What do you think? Jason has been working for over 2 months learning WordPress and PHP code to bring Tip Junkie to the next level. It's still not completely done as we'll be tweaking it and making it more user friendly and cohesive over the next several weeks. Monday I will host a Going Dot Com Birthday Bash and give away 50 amazing prizes. I hope you'll come on by and participate. I've been entering giveaways to stock up on Christmas and birthday presents. Anything to save a buck these days. {{evil laugh}} I've also created The Tip Junkie Community where creative women can network, market their products, and become a sisterhood. It launches tomorrow - so you're the ...

Have any of you been keeping up with NieNie's recovery ? I headed over there after a conversation with a twitter friend. Her words are heartbreaking, enlightening, and motivating all at the same time. Man, that girl is incredible. As I read, I kept thinking to myself what a gift at expressing herself. I've drawn such strength reading her blog. Personally, I always recoil while going through a difficult trial. I don't reach out and express what I am feeling. Instead I turn inward, grasping for all the strength I can muster then plow forward with my head down. It's not until afterward that I can allow myself a voice and reflection. At best I give myself a day or two to let it sink in, process it, and make life changes before it's old news and I'm back to the grind. I barely talked about my back surgery and recovery once I was up and around again. Only a handful of people even know the gravity of pain I experienced and the toll it took on my family. I stil...

There are so many kids Davis' age at church that are graduating from Elementary school this year. So Megan, Laurie M, and I decided to throw them a graduation party. I made them each a photo cupcake topper with their new school colors on it. I also brought balloons in all of the school colors so they would feel united and more grown up. I wanted Davis to know that he isn't alone in how he's feeling - they're all growing up together. Megan has such a fabulous backyard with plenty of space for the kids to play and run around. The party started with water cannons and the slip 'n slide. Megan's neighbor has a bounce house and kindly let us use it. The gymnasts had so much fun in it doing their flips and bonding with each other. Laurie M was in charge of the games and they had a blast! The object of the first game was to transfer the water in the first bucket to the last bucket while blindfolded. Next, they had to fill a 2 liter water bottle (cut with a window ...

I made the boys a special shirt for them to wear the last day of school. I can't take credit for the idea, I got it from Cristin. I have major mommy guilt for being AWOL the last half of the year and really credit the boys teachers for their success. I thought it would be appropriate to publicly thank them by adding it to their shirts. I believe every teacher of a Turk boy deserves bragging rights! Their teachers got such a kick out of the shirts and felt validated. Davis walked with all A's and 1 B. He grew up so much this year and exceeded our expectations as he only got 3 answers wrong on his TAKS test! A huge accomplishment considering his sensory integration issues, lack of comprehension skills, and anxiety. I was on the verge of tears during the ceremony. I made it through both classes without a hint of a tear. That is... until I saw Christina (Davis' teacher from last year). Then I lost it and we teared up together. I'm full of emotions: Pride , for Davis and al...

As I've mentioned before, I'm on this purging kick. I've been getting rid of everything in my home we no longer use. Life has most definitely gotten away from me as my home as become overrun with stuff. With summer here I needed a plan of attack on how to manage my household more efficiently. The solution - the less you have the less you have to clean. So the last full day of school I tackled the upstairs and purged it. It felt great emotionally but did a number on my poor back. I was completely lame with teacher gifts this year. I just purchased beaded lanyards and a summer treat. It's my go-to gift in a pinch. I was hoping the boxes made up for the lack of creativity inside. I got them at Canton a year or so ago. Davis' class has some OTT room moms which I really appreciate and admire. They went all out with autograph dogs, a framed picture of the class from Sky Ranch with their name on it, and topped off with a DVD of all the pictures they collected throughout...

Sometimes I just feel the need to cry. In real life I wouldn't consider myself a crier. Sure I have my moments when I'm overwhelmed with emotion but for the most part I suck it up and keep moving forward. With that said, every once in a while I need a good cry. It might be due to stress, child woe's, or even Aunt Vera. When this happens I turn to my trusty movie, "When a Man Loves a Woman". **This is in no way a recommendation** I am in no way suggesting that you queue it up in your Netflix. It's gritty and heavy. However, this movie always makes me cry. The year the movie came out is an important one in my life and brings back many memories. It's also about a mother who struggles, completely tanks her life, and finds her way back. For what ever reason, I really enjoy it. It speaks to me and keeps me focused. I cry like a Turk newborn and can completely let go all the emotion I have bottled up inside. It also inspires me to be the wife and mother...

It's been a Woodruff weekend as my darling friend Jen is getting remarried and moving to Arizona. It's bitter-sweet as I am so happy for her but will miss her terribly. Her kiddos are my kiddos ages and they are a blast to be around. Her boys are more outgoing and adventurous than mine and have been such good examples to them. I have thoroughly enjoyed having Ella in my home as she's a burst of fresh air in this testosterone filled home. Jen has many talents and glides through life with elegance despite the difficult challenges she's had to face. She's been an inspiration on how to handle adversity and an asset on how to handle my ADHD son. I'll miss my go-to-girl for advice and straight forward how-to with the school. Jen also knows how to throw a party! Armed with $1 squirt cannons, water balloons, baseball, volleyball, and sand the kids had a blast. The group of kids, even though large in number, were caring and made sure everyone got a chance to play. ...