Purple (Kitty) Haze

My life has been overrun by a herd of purple kitties.

Sassy is turning 5 tomorrow - *tear* - and I have been trying to put things together for her "purple kitty party."

Surely you know of my daughters deep love of the purple kitty?

What you haven't heard the best selling hit?

The purple kitty has owned me this week.

If you know me well, you know I am far too flaky and disorganized to attempt something like this, but for some reason I lost my mind and purchased felt and buttons and borrowed my mother's sewing machine.

By some miracle, I have successfully created purple kitties for the kids to stuff at the party and take home as their "goodie."

Side note... I don't sew. Not unless you count the "kids can sew" class my mother enrolled me in back in the 4th grade.

I must not have been totally inept because I did make a super cute bright yellow skort.

Yes, I said, "skort."

So after a thrilling evening of sewing machine manual reading and a one-on-one session with my mother in which we spun a bobbin and other exciting "sewy" things...  I made this:

That's right... a Satan cat.

I bet the kids can't wait to come to Abi's party and stuff their very own Beelzebub felines.

If at first you don't succeed... try, try again.

My working draft.

My massive mess.

My little purple army.

Note the extra creepy one at the middle top with large, different color eyes. That one is Sassy's. She hand selected the buttons for that bad boy.

In my insanity, I also decided to paint a sign...

...as well as my children's faces.

The party is tomorrow... I should not be blogging, but I can't look at the cats any more and I'm too wired to go to bed.

It might have something to do with the freaky cats all over my house.

They are everywhere.

Maranda

It tastes better when...

...you roll out the pizza dough whilst wearing no pants.

At least that's what Mr. Jenkins claimed.

Lest any of you worry... Yes, I did make him wash his hands prior to preparing the food.

And no, I did not partake of his cuisine, but he and his sisters thought it was de-lish.

Maranda

Watching Paint Dry

I was kinda nervous that today was going to be a challenging one.

I mean, honestly, most days are for me since I am a scattered, disorganized, hot mess and I have 3 littles running my life.

But I was a bit anxious because we were having our front door sanded and repainted in hopes of staving off the inevitable (specifically, forking over big bucks to replace the door and surrounding window panels which are all in various stages of rot.)

You see when we got our home a bout a year and a half ago, it was a foreclosure and it needed some work. We basically have done what was essential and are trying to save up for the big repairs and replacements. This is the 3rd (and final) salvage attempt for the front door.

So today, Mr. Abel came to paint. The kids were excited, the dog was irate (and consequently exiled to the basement) and I was freaking out!

I was pretty sure that with the front door open all afternoon, at some point all 3 of my children were going to be frolicking in the street.

But, Jesus is Lord - Fried Pies 49 cents! My kids did awesome! The dog, however, no so much.

I doubt Mr. Abel has ever painted with such an audience before.

They seriously sat there eating waffles and watching him paint for a large portion of the afternoon.

My little angels.

Well... at least some days.

Maranda

Mean Dinos and Dragons

Does this strike you as odd?

Take a closer look.

I mean really.

Who was the marketing genius who came up with this one?

A dragon...

Eating a person...

With bloody bits.

On the KIDS menu!

Mmmmm.... who wants chicken fingers?!

Sassy was totally disturbed.

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Speaking of dinosaur-like-creatures. I posted earlier this week about the box of dinosaurs that my children adore and play with daily. I shared specifically about a couple of items (heh heh) in the box, but failed to tell you about the box itself which has become quite the item this past week.

I keep finding my kids in the box itself.

They have branched out to other Tupperware boxes as well... making nests with their blankets and lining up together to eat snacks, watch Shawn the Sheep, and pretend they are babies or random domestic animals.

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In other Dino news...The Dinos have started migrating.

I mean... they - like all toys in our home - migrate.

But they not only end up on the kitchen floor or between the sheets of someone's bed, but I also find them in very strange predicaments around the house.

These Dinos are in Jail. Sassy said they robbed a bank. They often fall down the stairs and break limbs and must be doctored with copious amounts of scotch tape.

Not sure what exactly is going on here. But yes, that is a plastic hot dog wiener... which was not included in the dino kit.

I wish he would actually vacuum for me and not just sit there. Lazy dinosaur.

Tea anyone?

The Dinos can also be disruptive. Just yesterday the kids came screaming into the kitchen and insisted that we all get in the pantry because a "mean" dinosaur was coming.

Good thing Sassy had her Tinker bell lamp so we weren't in the pitch black darkness waiting out that mean dino.

Maranda

We refer to "them" as volcanos

I purchased a box of dinosaurs and various prehistoric paraphernalia for a whopping $7.99 at the second hand kid store a few months ago. 

Best. Investment. Ever. 

It has been quite the hit with my dino-loving kids. 

It has been quite the hit with me because it can entertain them for fairly long stretches with lots of imaginative, independent play.

However...

I have become somewhat disturbed by the volcanos that came with this set. 

Be honest.

They resemble something, don't they?

Something...err... female and perky?

Please tell me I am not insane. 

Maranda

The mountain

Brent had the day off today and so we had the genius idea to go and climb Stone Mountain...

In August.

In Georgia.

With our children ages 4, 3 and 1.

Genius I tell you.

Things started out so well...Happy, sweet, smiling children... helping one another and excited about the adventure before them...

But sadly, we declined into this:

And I don't even know where Chilli bean is at this point.

Probably because I was lying unconscious on the floor on the other side of the observatory room.

Actually, it wasn't all that bad and I was quite impressed with the kids. I only observed minimal "hitchhiking" on the journey.

And I am proud to report that Sassy walked the whole way and even Jenkins held out until we were nearing the top (and most strenuous and exposed to the blazing sun) part of the hike.

And let's be honest... can you really say no to this little face begging to be picked up?

As for Chilli bean. Well, she's just a slacker. That girl sleazed a ride the whole way on daddy or mommy.

Though she did run around up top for a bit.

On the way up, Sassy found some beautiful yellow flowers and had me put them in her hair.

When we got to the observatory at the top, I noticed a picture of these flowers on a sign highlighting the rare and endangered plant species of the area.

Awesome.

The Curly Cues... breakin' all the rules... as usual.

Maranda

Underwears

We've discussed my children's odd fashion taste have we not?

Perhaps you remember a few of the past "outfit of the week" winners.

This past week at the beach, they reached a new high...
...or low depending upon how you look at it.

Underwear (or underwears - as we refer to them 'round here) as accessory.

Poor Grammy even had to wear a pair.

Good grief.

Maranda