Stop and smell the asphalt.

I "got ready" like 5 separate times this week and this is the only lame picture i have to show for it!?

My blog muscles are a bit flabby these days (come to think of it...most of my muscles are a bit flabby these days) Take a week off and all of the sudden its like i'm trying to translate my thoughts into spanish (My name is Carolyn. I am a mother that likes the jokes. Do you know where the library is?) We have had a lot of family around and it just didn't seem right to choose the cold embrace of my computer screen over those capable of two way conversation and...heartbeats. 

I have been up to my scrappy old self. Cutting down dead plants with inappropriate garage tools and getting in arguments with vietnamese men at the nail salon by day, then wearing red lipstick and watching 3D tweenie movies by night (this description explains a random weekend of mine...or that of an underage stripper, your choice.) 


Really though this weekend was a lot of fun. So even though i cooked for like 50+ mouths and I washed every dish in my house at least 5 times, it did rain. IT RAINED! And when you live in Arizona, you get to stop whatever you're used to doing and watch it, for as long as you want. It's like Disneyland when it rains here. Everyone is happy and nice, birds chirp and also Churros have no calories. It's magical.

team Boo ♥'s you

flashdance.

wait....i mean flashback. to 2010. the year of hospitals and love (and love handles). We kicked it off like rock stars with a death scare (like a for real one) but emerged victorious, hooray! (in your face flesh eating bacteria) Elyott turned 7...minus dad :( But he got better just in time to bring the sunniest Sonny there ever was in all the land! He was cute, just like them. I pretended to be domestic but then traded it for being evil by making defenseless babies play dress up while they were still too uncoordinated to get away (I'm not used to compliance). 

Then we told AZ to suck it and took our second little/long road trip that ended too soon, then returned to melt our faces in new ways. Elyott got inspired, and then shiny new teeth. School started, and i got confused. Then i took baby steps to get my groove back (still waiting). I sat in the hot seat, and then I blinked and my Sheamus boy turned 5 (but is still as sweet as ever). 


We sipped pina coladas, and then painted cardboard until our souls turned black . We took a little time out for family and celebrated talked about the 8th year since we put a ring on it. I got older. We made a lot of cardboard candy. Sonny smiled and nursed nonstop. Then Adam got older. We got our first official family pictures taken and owned it. BUT, most importantly...we loved each other's faces off. 2010...you got served! the end :)

team Boo ♥'s you

*remember to mix in a lot of stress and heartache. It's just not as fun to hear me whine about money or days i spend in the fetal position. But if life is for learning...we learned a lot ;)

squeak.

the only thing cuter than a picture of my boys on christmas morning?...a picture of my boys on christmas morning where sonny is a Christmas mouse (with nap face). Hope yours was just as sweet!

how about some christmas 2010 high/lows:

-sheamus reacting to his toy batman car "oh my gosh! are you kidding me!? this is so expensive!!" (it wasn't)

-the kids sleeping until 7:30 (pshew)

-elyott rollerblading the whole day around the house...in rapunzel hair

-silly uncle chris t.n.s.d.c.m (texting nonstop during christmas morning)

-Elyott's bedtime tummy ache from a day of straight up donuts and candy :(

-finally some guilt free time to relax with my computer and a little Paper Heart.

team Boo ♥'s you


p.s. J&W has new stuff :)

thhhhere it is!

So we managed to pull it together and remember what Christmas is all about after all (but not without clenched teeth threats of a present-less christmas :)

The Mario mustache that keeps on giving.

backstage.

 offspring awesomeness.

team Boo ♥'s you

Christmas of love.

Doesn't Sonny look like a giant godzilla baby? How did he come out of me 10 months ago?! Anyway I wanted to make you a short christmas video, but unless tomorrow has 48 hours, you might have to settle for this. So just incase we don't meet again before Christmas, hope your holiday includes lots of crazy family togetherness. This picture pretty much sums it up for us ;) Merry Christmas friends. all you need is love...

team Boo ♥'s you

Happy Dikefest Holidays 2010!

(my scanner is lame...sorry TP)
 
They're here, They're here!!

(ok they came two weeks ago, but don't rush me)

My Tiny Prints holiday cards! I love them! and technology! and all of you!! They are truly (truly truly)...outrageous. I wish I had enough to send to every person I have ever known in my whole life. 

Wanna hear a funny story about their very helpful customer service?...

click here to read more...

team Boo ♥'s you

turkish delight.

sonny & uncle cheese

This is me resisting the urge to post the classic picture of a giant plate of Thanksgiving food (you better believe i took one) You also won't find any pictures of me preparing any food (cause i didn't) If you are thinking you might see a picture of me blowing out a candle or two, think again (for this marks the 28th year my birthday was overshadowed by driving and packing :) But if you are dying to hear a good throw up story, then i am your blog, cause I've got tons (since my family has the gag reflexes of champions, or rather non-champions).

We seriously have someone throw up at every holiday. Like this year on Halloween, I reminded my kids all night not to eat too much candy or else they would get a tummy ache. When we got home...Adam threw up (from eating too much candy). And let us not forget this time.


So this Thanksgiving when cousin Ashlyn burped at the table, Elyott was so grossed out, she heaved every last morsel she had just eaten back onto her plate (such a considerate thrower-upper) When cousin Ashlyn saw this, she went to the bathroom to toss her own cookies (this is also a girl who one time barfed at her own fart smell). I don't make this stuff up guys, luckily it doesn't even phase me any more. 

team Boo ♥'s you

team Boo gets cheesy.

Thank you Geoff and Stacie (yes, they have real names!)...we will surely be back. As for the rest of you...well you haven't seen the end of us yet (cause doi, you read our blog) but also because we have a fun thing we are making with these pictures, but it's a gift...so it's top secret until christmas. shhh.

team Boo ♥'s you

and i was like, baby baby baby ooooooh

My sister steph finally had her little muchkin! (That makes two for her now) Hopefully people will stop thinking I am the oldest sister since i have "all the kids". I'm the youngest sister, and technically my other older sister has one fetus more than me (cause she is preg and i'm not).

It's because i'm so wise.

Happy Birthday "Sweetie Peetie"

(aka: peter christopher kubal

born 11/15/10)
We've almost gotten all the "pumpkin eater" jokes out of our systems...or the stroking of his little head saying "pretty bird" (the duct tape headed bird on dumb and dumber was "peetie")...almost. There are no free passes into this family...everyone has to pay their dues ;)

team Boo ♥'s you

sneaky peaky...

So i can't divulge too much yet

but here is a preview of Dikefest 2010
with more to come...

p.s. Steoffrey is as cute in person as they are on their blog.

Don't be jealous now that we are basically best friends.

p.p.s. Don't tell them i said that. They don't know yet ;)

team Boo ♥'s you

team picnic

I have been neglecting my computer. I haven't even read Nie in like a week and a half, so you know I'm for real. but i've been taking lots of pictures (do iphone pictures count??) Here are a few i wanted to share before too much time goes by and then it's old news and I feel like i'm breaking the blog rules even though you'd never know ;)

*Fun fact about this picture: I am wearing the same pants that I was wearing in the previous post....Onlyyyy it's been like three years and i'm still trying to pretend like they fit me. I'm pretty certain I haven't bought new jeans in those same three years (besides the maternity ones that were basically ripped from my quivering fists when my sister was nine months pregnant and needed them more that me, who was wearing them 7 months post-pardom :) The jeans i did have all died and became cutoffs/nevernudes (except for "old blues" above) at which point I started to pretend leggings were pants (sorry legs) but then it got too hard to disguise my court ordered ankle bracelet so I alternated between thigh high boots with ripped fishnets, and the more classic metallic hammer pants (for when i needed to be grown up, you know for court and stuff)...wait nevermind, that's Lindsay Lohan...i hate when I get us mixed up. 

Anyway, needless to say, when I found my old blue-ies I was SO relieved...I wore them for the rest of my life. 

oh ya, we had a lovely picnic.

team Boo ♥'s you

dressed to kill.

I tried to get my family to dress up as cavemen (not the annoying Geico kind...ones like this adorable family) but i lost to the marketing genius that is Nintendo (brought to you and crafted entirely by handsome bob/dad).

Name that Carebear...

I had a hard time figuring out how a cavewoman should pose...

team Boo ♥'s you

famewhores unite (again!)

Things got extra hot and heavy here last post, but i am SO glad and i'll tell you why: It seems there were more than one of you who were pickin' up what i was puttin' down.  So thank you for allowing me to spill my guts to you. They are hopeful guts...guts that truly want you to be happy, guts that are glad you're here.

wait...what's that? you couldn't stop my guts even if you wanted to? 

Well then I guess we're all clear who's the boss around these parts (hint: it isn't Tony Danza).

Speaking of "pickin' up what i'm puttin' down"...don't i look a little like a street walker here??

 (a "private dancer" in neon lights if you will. Which is incidentally also a song by the unmatched Tina Turner, not to be confused with Sir Eltons John's "Tiny Dancer"...that i can't help but sing the substitute lyrics "hold me closer Tony Dan-zaaaa." Count 'em, that's two tony Danza references in one blog post, totally unplanned...weird.)

And speaking of "whoring oneself out" (for lack of a better term)...

I wanted to let you know that I have a new little brown button in my left sidebar. It's a blog that showcases baby and mommy blogs from all around the web (who am i kidding, it's a site where mommy bloggers exploit themselves to get their name in flashing lights). If you feel so inclined, click on it each day you're here...and then click again in the link to vote and show your team Boo support :)

Also, here's proof that I wasn't "hooking" on my free time...

...just a harmless date at the movies with team Boo :)

team Boo ♥'s you
*and can somebody please come confiscate all my belts for a little while!? 
can we say "DE-NI-AL"? sheesh.

now all we need is a couch in our front yard...

Who doesn't like white trash creative summer fun??

here's one of our best so far...

some scrap wood + plastic lining + some stray pavers + a hose = water slide...

Adam also constructed a 30 foot slip n' slide down our driveway with cardboard, egg crate foam and the same plastic sheeting.

I slid down twice.
my abs were sore the next day.

today it is 116 degrees
we will not be playing outside ;)

team boo ♥'s you

happy trails.

{This is us passing what was quite possibly the stinkiest highway on the planet}

Some things we've discovered on our trip: -Adam and I have super opposite tastes in music. Well actually we already knew this quite well. But for reconfirmation, I listened to his euro top 40 from 2007 about 27 times before I played one run through of Vampire weekend. Our conversaysh went something like this: (Adam) "are we almost done listening to the crappiest music of all time" ...(me) "yes we finished about 45 minutes ago"...(Adam) "no this. it's like that lame song Chevy Chase dances to" ...He meant Paul Simon. I meant to slap him in the mouth. He's lucky he was driving. -we are the SLOWEST travelers. We can take any 12 hour car ride and turn it into an 18 hour car ride. I mostly blame Adam as he takes twice as long as any woman to leave anywhere. In his defense, im pretty sure he just started his period. It works for us though, we are chillaxers by nature, so we still manage to love eachother the whole way. -my kids lose respect for me once the engine is on. Once when they were messing around and kicking the radio controls in the back. After 17 warnings to shut their faces, I reach to smack at their feet. They start hysterically laughing at me, and I can't help but laugh at my spazzy Joan Crawford moment. -Adam likes to rub it in when he poops 14+ inch dukes, even after I haven't gone in like 4 days. I tell him that's a cruel and equally weird thing to brag about. He stands by his accomplishment. -my kids are definitely retarded at plugging their noses (see above) -road trips turn us all into filthy animals We are on the road yet again (Disneyland here we come) the baby is screaming and we are pulling over for the bajillionth time for me to nurse him... ...we are in road trip heaven :) happy trails friends.

team boo ♥'s you

jemma is ONE-ish

Last weekend the sisters/family constructed yet another last minute party. Pulled together in less than 24 hours from start to finish.(minus the adorable invitation above) This one was for the sweet and daring Jemma who turned one years old, ehgm....2 months ago

Anyway, I left in the morning run party errands with bed head, no makeup, running shorts and an ACDC shirt i'd been wearing for at least 48 hours.

WILL I NEVER LEARN??

repeat in mirror: "Shower before party...shower before party"

...because without fail, this is what I will end up wearing for the party!

So, when my sister began snapping pictures of me once it had started (after she was given time to go freshen up while I deep fried corndogs) my tallest finger couldn't help but stand up. "Carolyn!" she'd say "...just smile like Lisa!"....to which Lisa replied "Oh I'd be flipping you off too if I weren't tying ribbons around your hotdogs." (and sadly we were...well, parchment paper and bakers twine...whatever, it made sense at the time) That pretty much summed it up right there.

When all was said and done, it was the most fun one year old birthday party I've ever been to :) we sure love you Jem!

The above invite created by the always fantastic and creative Stephanie Kubal

She never ceases to amaze...she has SO much talent! {sayRED creative...where your customized artwork dreams come true!}

*fun fact...In my mad birthday rush (and sporting my au natural beauty) i ran into none other than my favorite couple on the planet! OF COURSE THEN. If I weren't in such a hurry I'd have taken a picture to document the magical moment....but then I'd have had to flip myself off :( you understand. Stacey + Geoff 4 eva.

team boo ♥'s you

(and Jemma)

(and sayRED)

(and Steoffery)

F-I-V-E

I am pretty sure 5 is the very max for a traditional photo booth

[but thats only if you've got mad skillz, which we don't]

we haven't technically done a photo booth pic for 2010

so this will have to do.

unless our family grows some more...

in which case I will just have to grow a longer arm :)

team boo ♥'s you

*p.s. has it really been 12 days since i posted last!? sheesh guys, time flies when your playing angry birds obsessively on your phone....sorry charlies.

picture this.

I thought for mothers day, the sisters could pool our offspring together for a cousins picture to give to the grandmas. With several identical experiences under my belt, i've decided from now on, it should be mandatory to also have someone to stand by and film a panoramic view all photo sessions, as they are so ridiculous it's retarded. 

Funny yes, but mostly stressful and frustrating for the parent.

What must our kids be thinking??
Its possible they are feeling a little scared...defiant....but probably mostly embarrased for us as we stand behind the camera clapping, jumping, yelling, indian chanting, rap video dancing. Any regard to our surroundings dissipate as we stoop lower and lower in an effort to get all the children looking in the same direction at the same time.

It is always clear who is really running the show, and it is never the crazy lady with no makeup, spitting her tongue and repetitively whooping names and noises all in the name of....memories(?)

Yet, all we ever have to show for what felt like a mini nervous breakdown, is a nanosecond in time where the stars aligned, and the kids seem to appear to be sweethearts ;)


basically kids are turds. and we are the crazy people who love and look after them unconditionaly.

kids 1, parents 0

team boo ♥'s you

we added a boo!

meet our sweet new team member...

{born 2 . 13 . 2010}

team boo ♥'s you!

Love me still.

Since i have been SO terrible about posting lately

I thought the least i could do was post a peecture.

These are my brothers and sisters...

Aren't we cute?? (also a little vampire-y)

(if you look closely you will notice my tummy is catching up with my chest...but just barely ;)

I have so many Chirstmas projects I have been working on

Parties (yes more parties while pregnant...i can't stay away.  One down one to go)

...homemade wreaths, woodsy chandeliers, yarn ornaments, fireplaces, mangers, snowy stick trees and more!

stay tuned...

I will type more when my hands heal after working with pine cones

(p.s. they are frigging sharp)

and, of course, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!

team boo ♥'s you