We've gone tribal

Mr. Jenkins has been working on dressing himself as of late.

I imagine since he watches his sister go through about 5-7 outfits before 9 am each day, he has decided there must be something he is missing out on with this whole clothing deal.

I give him an A for effort...

But buddy,

That's a shirt... not pants.

Nice blue tongue by the way.

It matches your pants... err... I mean shirt.

If that getup was not enough on it's own, he was observed a few minutes later like this:

 It's supposed to be a bumble bee... but is it just me or is he rocking a tribal vibe with this look?

Hmmmm?


Maranda

The hair.

People.
Just look at my child's hair.

Seriously.
What is going on back there!?

It doesn't really help that the Chilli bean has some funky sprigs of her own.

At least her crazy hair is being reined in by some pony tail holders... with Mr. Jenkins, I am just at a total loss!

Because of the exceptionally insane state of his hair today, I took the Jenkie boy to observe my dad getting his hair cut in hopes that he might be more willing than he has historically been to get his hair cut.

I have attempted to have the boy's hair cut on a couple of occasions and the only successful (if you can call it that) endeavor was when my mom and sister took him and held him down while he was buzzed. The other times, we literally had to leave without his hair being cut.

The hair is clearly out of control, and I truly don't know what to do with it, so, I present you with this question:

Should I shear him again?

People. I need your counsel.

Before you answer, please see the following pictures where the long hair is actually working for him, and some pictures for the one and only time his hair has been cut buzzed professionally.

As in, not by me running around the house with scissors lopping of chunks of hair from his head.
Which is how it usually gets done around here.

Okay... here are the cutie curls:

Now, granted, I know that these are definitely the highlights, because I have others that are more like this:

But as cute as he still is when he's buzzed... I confess I love locks... at least when they are behaving.

 Please note... I think I still see a little "nest" back there, so it is not like the buzz will completely eliminate the problem. And I think I see some "horns" in this picture below.

Also, please factor into your decision, that I will have to endure this...

I am anxiously awaiting your response.

Maranda

'Fess Up Friday - A bunch of randomness

For this week's 'Fess up Friday, I bring to you random scenes from around the Curl home...

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Have I shared with you how ob. sessed. my kids are with their blankets? It's a little disturbing, and perhaps I should put the kibosh on such dependency, but then again, there are bigger battles I am attempting to fight these days.

You know... like a four year old that still sucks her thumb or trying to get the boy to eat something besides cheese and bread.

The "big" kids are fond of sleeping beneath "the shroud".

Here's Sassy. Yes, believe it or not, there is a child swaddled up in there!

Mr. Jenkins fell asleep with just his feetsies sticking out. 

You may remember that Sassy and Jenkie are now sharing a room. I went in to check on them one night and found them like this...

I found their sprawled positions rather humorous.

Note, the blankets are very much in play here. In fact, you can clearly see Sassy's "kitty nest."

What? You didn't know that kitties slept in nests? (Or Nest-es-ses as Sassy pronounces it).

For your future reference, a kitty nest, (or nest-es-ses if you prefer), is comprised of one filthy well-loved blanket spread out on the bed. You then lie upon this blanket whilst another equally nasty loved blanket is placed over you.

This afternoon, I found that Jenkie had reclaimed a storgage bin for a "nest-es-ses" of his own.

Oh wait... what's that I see... Oh yes, it's the blanket.

Yes, yes. The blanket ... perhaps the last blanket in the world of its kind. I do not know what I shall do if this beloved blankie is ever lost, for I cannot find another... not even on the internets.

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Moving on to other recent sights...

My kids went fishing.

In our back yard.

What, you didn't know we had a pond?

We don't.

Yup.

Fishin' in the dirt, in our redneck back yard with piles of discarded wood and demolition refuse.

You know...because I am a responsible parent who is highly concerned about the safety of my children.

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The deck project is in fact nearly completed now. I am happy to report that my children survived it despite my apparent lack of care in letting them play outside in the midst of the construction insanity.

Here is Sassy playing "kitty" on the new deck that my studly hubby built.

What? Didn't you know that kitties wore shoes on all their "paws"

I'm not quite sure how this one fell asleep without a kitty nest-es-ses.

And bless this kitty's wee heart. He has lost a shoe paw. 

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I think I have shared this picture in a previous post.

I mean seriously. The little dude is sitting in my coffee table drawer picking his nose. We won't discuss the other child in the distance sitting in an empty diaper box. 

Anywho... I think Jenkie is having an influence on the youngest member of the family.

And Sassy doesn't even need the drawer for her "magic seat" as she calls it.

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I find strange things in our house from time to time. 

Often times, some sort of footwear is involved.

We've got a monkey down! I repeat, a monkey down.

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Lastly, I'll leave you with the outfit of the week, courtesy of Sassy Curl!

And yes, she wore this out in public today, because I was running too late to have her go back and change.

I guess I should be grateful that she wasn't wearing her "triple tutu" get-up.

Maranda

Gettin' our run on

This past weekend, we did some runnin' up at Berry College!

Some of us ran more than others... ie. my husband and friends Ben and Jamey who ran the half marathon.

My sister, her roommate Ashley and my mom all ran the 5K.

But, can I get some props for running the fun run with Sassy?

It was a 2 lap course to complete the grueling 1 mile run. We won't discuss the fact that we were lapped so substantially that we were awarded our "medals" upon making only one circuit.

Please no comments about my poor running form or the fact that I am fixing my hair in this action shot. Sadly, this is the best shot I have.

Here are my cuties.

Sassy was so proud of her award. She tells everyone that she won the race.

So sweet... so oblivious. I love her.

She has also told me repeatedly that she is sorry that I did not win.

Thanks for the condolences sweetie.

Speaking of Berry College. My sister is still in school there... Have I mentioned previously that my sister and I are 12 years apart in age? I mean, my parents practically had two only children. She went into 1st grade as I started my freshman year in college. Ridiculous... or excellent planning on the part of my parents as they had the built in babysitter set up.

Anywho... I digress. She is in this awesome program up at Berry called Winshape. It is a scholarship program though Chick-fil-a and it has been an incredible experience for her. According to Marissa, "We had a movie awards ceremony last night for our Monday night meeting. We were invited to make videos and submit them. It took these students 7 days, 35 dollars and 130 combined hours to create this."

I thought it was pretty cool.

Maranda

You know you are jealous.

This is a very belated post, but I couldn't let my incredibly awesome valentine's day go "un-posted".

The day started with some valentines crafts. Sassy cut her own little hearts and honestly did an awesome job. Jenkie did a good job running cutting with scissors as well.

Lil' Miss and Happy were over a bit later in the day and unfortunately, I don't have much photo evidence as watching 5 kids kept me on my toes for sure! I did capture the following of some of "the brothers" as Sassy calls them, and their shenanigans. 

But I have to say the highlight of the day was my Valentine's gift. Seriously, I have the most thoughtful husband in the world. You guys are going to be crazy with envy when you find out what he gave me...

Wait for it...

Heck yes.
That's a TOILET!

Try to contain your jealousy!

 Maranda

P.S. I really had been begging for a new toilet... we'll technically we need to replace two, but I'll take what I can get! :) And no, perhaps not the most "romantic" gift I've ever received, but practical has its merits too!

We have a code brown.

Oh no you didn't...

Yes.
Yes, she did.

Just pick it up!

For the love of all things holy.

Mr. Jenkins... just pick up the dadgum fork.

I am here to tell you... that this fork resulted in a 40 minute battle of wills one night this week.

And these shoes...

Well... they made me late to church.

And believe it or not, the request to pick up these alphabet magnets took about 30 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Well, as you and I both know... it was not the fork or the shoes or the magnets that were the problem. I  love Mr. Jenkins so very much, but the challenge or raising a strong-willed child has taken it's toll on me as of late.

I cannot believe the things that can cause a melt-down of epic proportions.

And I know there is that saying about picking your battles, and I really do try to pick them, but sometimes I end up dying on a hill I never intended to even climb!

I mean, who would have thought that telling the boy to pick up the fork he just threw across the room would make him morph into some frothing, red-faced, Tasmanian-devil-child?

I feel like I have been trying some of the "traditional" discipline methods with him and not getting any where. He seriously goes out of his mind in anger and stubbornness and becomes a totally irrational, wild, little beast.

Are there some creative ideas you mommies of strong willed little ones can offer me?!

We seriously need some help.

Maranda

5 little monkeys

My precious friend 'licious' father has been very ill following some unexpected surgery last week. I was so grateful that she allowed me to keep her sweet kids today while she was at the hospital with her dad.

The kids had so much fun!

I thought they were all so cute eating lunch together.

Even the baby girls were sharing.

The little girls napped while the big kids had "room time" which I am pretty sure was just a wonderful opportunity to dismantle their closet and jump on the beds.

After "nap/chaos time" we played outside. "Happy" found my raised garden bed that Brent is building for me as part of the deck rebuild project.

I mention the deck building so I have a legitimate excuse for the incredible "red neck" appearance of our yard.

Playing in the dirt for a good 45 minutes is why we then had a bath.

Yes, that is 5 monkeys in the tub.

And boy do I love those monkeys!

Maranda