3rd Annual Blogiversary Poem Part 3

Check here for part 1, and here for part 2.

I shared some pictures of Z in his glasses because he was so stinkin' cute

Then the poor little guy broke his collar bone and he got pneumonia too

Thanks to being snowed in I had a little time to read and clean my room

the next week Z started feeling better after two weeks of feeling gloom.

In February I wrote about our safari and baby SJ’s latest addiction
The month was actually full of cool stuff that really helped jump start my system


I blogged about parenting and then showed photos of my girl who just turned one

Then I had to share at least 2 posts about all the cool birthday party fun

On week 32 I wrote about sleep, libraries, imagination and more

And I had a series on once a month cooking where I shared freezer tips galore

3rd Annual Blogiversary Poem Part 2

Read part 1 here.

I gave some updates about baby girl and what she was up to on week twelve

Then shared lots of pictures of the kids when they dressed up as Woody and Belle

November 6^th was the big day! We celebrated marriage in a beautiful setting

Then on week 16 I finally moved on to talking about something besides our wedding

On thanksgiving week I was feeling thankful, but then again I guess everyone was

And after that I was feeling cheerful because we started getting ready for Christmas

Week 19 I shared some of life’s moments. The ones I want to remember well

Followed by a visit to Bethlehem and a few Christmas songs like the First Noel

The week of Christmas I lost my mind when we headed out for holiday trip

But it didn’t take long to cheer up as we celebrated our biggest Christmas yet

I did a recap of Christmas week followed by some new year’s goals

It’s funny how much it snowed this season and yet somehow it never got old

3rd Annual Blogiversary Poem Part 1

Here is the next rhyming recap of what I wrote about in my 3rd year of blogging. It's divided up week by week and begins with the first of the 5 part series.

On August eight one year ago my blog was up and looking fine

Then suddenly my domain was gone and there was no blog on August nine

But by the 16^th I was back in business and wrote my blogiversary poem

And after that I talked about babies and all the different places they go

I talked about texts, twitter, and skype on week 5 of blogging last year

Then my little boy turned three and told us his sister wanted a beer

I shared about a special notebook showing how dreams can become real

Week 8 the topic was all about SJ including a look at baby's first meal

I wrote all about the silly gossip I had read about a few celebrities

Then I talked about being pro life and issues that are important to me

That's when I took a little blogging break I guess I was busy with other things

Like getting ready for our vow renewal and shopping for new wedding rings

The Photos I've Been Taking

This is my first FULL week back since being away for almost all of July and it's been a packed schedule.

On Saturday I was hired to do my first photo booth. If you've never seen this latest photo booth trend you probably will soon. It's popular at proms, weddings, and parties and how it is done can vary. Sometimes it's a rentable photo booth that instantly prints out 4 consecutive photos just like you might have seen at the mall. Or sometimes it's a little studio area with props and costumes. That's what it was like at this 18th birthday party that I photographed. Here I am with my lovely assistant and BFF.

Then throughout the week there were lots of other fun photo shoots, but I can't share them yet until the magazine is published in October. Can you imagine trying to do seasonal shoots for October in 105 degree weather!? That's how it works though. I am always shooting 2 months in advance so that they have time to do layout, print, and have the issues arrive at your house by the first of the month.

Yesterday the only pictures I took were of Z's firetruck bed. It's funny how last summer I did a post about how much he has grown up and I posted this photo of his new toddler bed

and less than a year later he upgraded to our adult guest bed and now that is where he sleeps every night (until he joins us in our bed). We got the fire truck bed from Craig's List for $50 and today I sold it on Craig's List for $60. I was a little bummed though because I posted it with bedding for $75 and the buyer offered $60 then later I had someone else inquire and I guess I could have sold it for full price. Oh well, live and learn. I am still happy to have made a anything off of it.

Speaking of my little boy growing up, his 4th birthday is 3 weeks away and I've got a Veggie Tales party to plan. My friend came over to do crafts last night, but we ended up just hanging out and eating homemade bread. Next time though we are going to get serious and I am going to make a Bob tomato pinata. Today I started working on the invitations which I am super excited about.

More to come!

My Blogging Senior Year

Yesterday was my 3rd bloggiversary. I am currently in my fourth year of blogging which makes me a senior right? After 3 years of posting an average of 250 posts a year is there anything left to write about? You bet there is! I am looking forward to this next year of blogging and have plenty of topics up my sleeve. Here are 10 things you can expect to read about on messy mom for my "senior year".

1. The blogiversary poem- I have had a tradition of writing a blogiversary poem where I do a rhyming recap of the entire year of posts, and I plan on doing that, but betweeen the big road trip, playing catch up at work, and having everyone in our house get sick I am a bit behind.

2. Unplugging- This idea is something that has been brewing in me since I read Hamlet's Blackberry back in April. I even have some posts written, but this series is so important to me that I have been waiting to make sure it is just right, but it is about time I go ahead and put it out there.

3. Crafting- One of my friends and I have recently committed to a craft night. We're going to try a bunch of stuff like soap making, and homemade reusable bags. If any of it turns out I'll share it on here!

4. School- Whether it's talking about how things went at my 10 year class reunion, or the possibility of Z starting preschool next year I am sure there will be some posts on the topic of education.

5. Cooking- We still love freezer cooking and gardening around here, so be on the look out for some cooking posts.

6. Photography- Can you believe it's been almost 10 years since my first paid job as a photographer? There has to be some time devoted to this topic for sure.

7. Renovations- J and I are pumped and ready to get this old house completely remodeled. We've covered a lot of ground, but there is still a lot left. Of course I'll have plenty of before and after photos in the event that we accomplish anything.

8. Family Fun Time- It was one of my new years resolutions and we've been enjoying lots of it. I hope to share some of our successes in hopes to inspire other families with small children.

9. The Kiddos- The thing I get complemented about the most on my blog is having pictures and updates about the kids. They make blogging easy.

Here they are licking the spoons after helping me make brownies.

10. Thrift Fashion Show- No promises on this one, but I have had requests for a comeback of the thrift store fashion show and I will do my best to make that happen!

On our road trip this past month I bumped into readers from all over the country. People that I know, but didn't know were reading! I've always said I would continue to write even if no one reads it, but it would be like an ice cream sundae with no toppings. Community is what makes blogging so sweet, thank you all for being a part of that. Here's to another year.

Linked to Oh Amanda's Top Ten

A Journey Through the Past

One of the most special and unexpected aspects of "our biggest road trip ever" was making connections with people and places from my past.

J's niece (don't let the title fool you, she's actually slightly older than me) lives in Iowa and we stayed with her and her family over night.

With our baby girls

The last time I saw her was the night Z was born. She just happened to be in town and we had talked about the possibility of me taking pictures of her newborn daughter on labor day, but it never happened due to the fact that I was in labor on labor day and after leaving the family gathering I went to the birth center and had my son.

I'm the pregnant one in black and that's my niece sitting next to me on the left.

I also took a little trip down memory lane when I went to Michigan and got to hang out with a friend that I've known for 10 years.

Here we are about to go kayaking.

When I met her and her sister they worked at a little ice cream parlor. Now they both work at coffee shops. The difference is that they both had a huge role as designers of those establishments and currently manage the coffee shops themselves. Here is a picture of us before I had children and they ran businesses. Those were the footloose and fancy free days.

2005- That's me on the left and my MI friend on my right, and her sister, along with another friend.

The memories went back even further in Missouri when I met up with an old Highschool friend who I haven't even talked to in about 10 years.

Our little dinner meeting in KC. That's SJ in the middle.

I don't remember exactly when we met, but one of my first memories with him was when we both starred in the musical Bye Bye Birdie at the school. I am sure he would love me posting this picture of him "in character".

1998

Truth be told, as Conrad Birdie he was actually the star, but my role as Mrs. Macafee wasn't too bad.

I am the one in the apron obviously. This was my family in the play.

As we made our way across the country and into Kentucky the memories really started coming back when we visited the city I grew up in. Here is a photo of my brother, his daughter, my kids, and me.

And here is my brother at about 3 years old with our mom at that same place in 1980.

A lot has changed in 30 years!

By this time I was starting to feel very nostalgic and I wondered if our old house was still around.

My little brother and our house behind us in 1987.

I wasn't sure because our neighbor's house was gone and there has been a lot of construction in that area. When I heard that it was still there I told J we had to go see it. I felt a little uneasy knowing that the house I had lived in for 12 years had been abandoned at one time and basically desecrated by some alleged drug dealers. But the moment we pulled in the driveway I felt a sense of relief. The house had been restored.

The same house in 2011

It looked beautiful and cared for. I knew by the kids shoes on the porch and playground in the backyard that there must be children that live there now making their own childhood memories out on the hillside.

My brother walking up the driveway in 1988.

The driveway in 2011

I went up the old concrete steps that my smaller feet had walked on so many times and I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

I looked out across the yard where we had hunted for easter eggs, played in our tree house, and parked our old rusty bikes. It was a strange feeling, but it was comforting. My childhood home was still there and it was loved. Out of all the other long lost connections I had made on this trip this was one of the most significant. After taking a few photos and getting back in the car with J and the kids, we pulled out of the driveway and I felt at peace. Between 3,000 miles I had seen a lot and been reminded of all the places I have been, all the way from the night my first child was born, to the very house that I was born in. Our road trip had come to a close, but the bigger journey continues on.

SJ and Z at Sawyer Point 2011.

Home Is Where The Heat Is

Yesterday at around 8:00 am we finally made it full circle back to Texas. We traveled over 3,000 miles, were gone for over 3 weeks, and went through over 10 states and one Canadian province. It's been quite the trip, but boy was I ready to get back home. I dreamt of sleeping in my own bed, my kids making a mess of their own house, and having full access to my own closet and finally my dream has come true. It doesn't matter that I went back to work yesterday, or that Zion got sick because I am home. I don't even mind that the chickens ate the entire garden while we were gone and J has threatened to eat them for dinner. I don't even mind the heat. Oh the heat. It's horrible! SJ brought me a swimsuit to put on her and she wore it all day. We never swam, but I guess it was her way of coping with the warmer temperature and she was happy.

In Canada and the upper peninsula everyone appologized for the scorching temperatures and we had to laugh. It was kind of a disappointment that we didn't get to wear the wintery clothes we had packed, but 88 is still 20 degrees cooler than 108. It's been a record breaking summer and today is the 34th day in a row for DFW to have triple digit weather. It's a dry heat too. It will slap you in the face when you open the door. Yesterday my Facebook and instagram were flooded with people chiming in about the heat.

Our youth pastor had this photo

with the caption "Yes, that does say 113"

and immediately after that I find this post by J of a crayon that had melted in his car

and he writes "a warm welcome is nice but seriously 110*?"

I haven't posted my thoughts on the latest weather conditions, but if I did I would have say "Not cool Dallas, so not cool."