mom's home! mom's home!

Who wouldn't want to come home with a reception like this?

I get this text, "Photo day 10... self portrait and I don't see yours!"
I haven't done the last couple of days because the sun was hiding in overcastedness and my front door is... well, I just didn't do that one. 

But for my sister who is texting me at 10:00 pm for it... here you go.

Oh yeah.  Bathroom self shots.  I know you all have one.

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Don't forget on Monday you won't find us at this url any more.  Remember to change your links to us to circusofmine.blogspot.com.  :)

googling hippo milk. candy gram service. secret admirer.

It amazes me how many people google "hippo milk."
I read it once on a fact website that hippo's milk is actually pink.  I was dumbfounded.  I did some googling on it myself and came up with yes indeed, hippos milk is pink.

And so I posted about it.  How could I not? It was such a random and ridiculous thing.

It has been my #1 post of all time since I posted it.  Even this month it's in the top ten. 

In my stats it tells me what people searched for to be shown my blog. 

hippo milk
pink hippo milk
pink hippo

These show up on my blog stats almost daily.

Of all the things to post about.  Who would have thought that a silly post on hippo milk would keep popping up like it has?

In other news, I'm super proud of Cali.  She used her birthday money to buy candy grams for her siblings at school.  The student council at the Elementary sells candy grams every year before Valentine's day to raise some money.One of the boys in our neighborhood that walks to school with the circus made mention that he never gets a candy gram from anyone. 

Guess what Cali did.  It makes my heart melt.

Casidee got a candy gram from "anonymous"... oooohhhh.... somebody has a secret admirer.

I found this dropped in the yard:

it must be really hard having to do two things at once. I feel really bad for you.

Yesterday I came home from work and was bombarded for requests to help with Valentine's boxes from the circus.  Tayler had brought a note home from her teacher saying she needed one so we put our heads together and came up with this:

I only helped her with the hot glue gun and the card hole.  She did everything else all on her own.  I think it turned out great.

Sean came home from his time with his mom and informed us that he still needed his box.  They, of course, were due at school today.  Everyone else got put on the back burner since they only wanted one, not needed one.

So last night we pulled out paper and boxes and the hot glue gun and set to work, while I cooked dinner.  We had a small time crunch with Sean having Cub Scouts and me needing to get to Young Women's.

Sean watches me move back and forth from helping him cut and glue paper, to watching the taco meat cooking on the stove and says, "Man.  It must be really hard having to do two things at once.  I really feel bad for you."

His box turned out like this:

we even cut the bottom off the top box, and a big hole in the bottom box so his cards will fall all the way through and have more room to fit. 

This weekend I get to paint the kitchen.  I think The Man is a lot like me.  He just needs time to get used to an idea.  To warm up to it.  I have a green light on both of my color schemes, well, using the compromise of not doing whole rooms but accent walls, and I'm definitely okay with that.  It's going to look amazing, I can't wait.

The circus must have been hungry last night because they ate all of the taco meat before I was able to get any.  The Man offered to make more while I was at Young Women's and I could just eat when I got home.  How would I survive without him?

So off I headed (with Sean in tow for Scouts) to make these awesome puppies with the Laurels.

{original idea came from here}

I thnk the pink and white ones are my very favorite.  They look so... dainty. 

And they celebrated my birthday with me.

I keep fighting the fact that I know I should probably eat healthier, but I just don't want to. 

Confession: I don't drink water.  Except maybe at night I'll drink a glass before bed.  And it's not that I don't like it.  I do.  I just don't reach for it.

So I bought this:

I need to drink three of these bad boys a day.  The lid even helps me keep track of how many I've had.

I'm sitting here thinking of how much water that really is... 

That didn't last long...

My boss and the Chief Investigator gave me $15 in a gift card to McD's for my birthday.  It would be rude for me to not use it.  Especially when the card said it was for my cokes.  (Do they have me figured out already or what?)

changing our blog address.

I'm going to make a change to my blog, and it's a pretty big change so I figure I ought to give some notice for those of you who try to make me feel good by actually reading it. 

I'm especially talking to those of you who have me linked in your blog list on your own blogs.

I'm going to be changing my url address.

"All girl circus" was very fitting when I started the blog.  But with the run of life, it doesn't fit anymore.  Though we have added another girl to our circus, we also added two boys.

That kind of ruins the "all girl" part.  And since we really like these two boys, and we want to keep them around, a change needs to be made.

So if you have my blog linked up, get ready for the change in a couple of days to this url address:
www.circusofmine.blogspot.com.  Same blog.  New address.

I guess I'll have to revamp my blog button too.  *sigh*

I guess those boys are worth it.

This change might be a pain in the butt, but I'm hoping if you like to make me feel good by reading my blog now, you'll follow over with me and keep making me feel good.  And while you're at it, say hi.  I'm getting roughly 200 hits a day, which is shocking to me.  And I would love to meet you.

I was pretty certain that the only people reading my blog were my parents (who are forced to read it since the posts get emailed to them), and a handful of bored friends from facebook.  So let me know you're there.  I'm looking for more "life in general" blogs to read myself.  Do you have one?  Tell me about it.

Please be aware that in a couple of days if you try to use a link that is hooked up with "allgirlcircus.blogspot" it will tell you that the blog does not exist.  But we still will.   Thanks for understanding, and please write down the new address so you can find me after this weekend.

who am i to say that i'm not someone?

Last night The Man said I was ornery.

I didn't feel ornery.

But I guess I must have been less than gentle with my dealings with the circus.

And now I feel bad.

So tonight I will make a conscious effort to listen to how my words are coming out of my mouth.  And I'll take the time to have one on one interaction with each child at some point.  I'm hoping that being a gentle, soft mom is something that I can learn.  I don't think I'm very good at it.

I read in Casidee's autobiography that being the oldest was hard for her.  She's expected to do everything.  She's expected to do it perfectly.

I just want her to know that she has amazing potential.  I know she can do these things and be amazing.  Maybe I put too much pressure on her. 

Maybe I put too much pressure on myself.  I so desperately want to be someone.  And I have to do it all, and do it all perfectly.  It overwhelms me.

I'm overwhelming my daughter.

I'm overwhelming the circus.

Who am I to say that I'm not someone?  What right do I have to say that? 

My kids love me.  They braid they're hair the same way that I have mine braided.  They talk of joining the cross country team so they can run like me.  They're going to open up restaurants with my recipes and decorate cakes like me.  I'm going to decorate their wedding cakes.  They want to wear clothes that look like mine, they plan on driving Camry's when they can drive, just like I do.  They want to read "that" book when I'm done with it.  And "go with", even if it's just grocery shopping.  What's your favorite color Mom?  Mine too.  Penguins are awesome, aren't they Mom.

They're learning to be parents from me.

Can I read this book to you Mom?

Can I sit by you Mom?

Will you look at this Mom?

Are you going to tuck me in?

Who am I to say I'm not someone, when  everything the circus is doing is telling me that I am?

Tonight I will be gentle.  I will be soft.  And I will know that I am their someone.

And they are mine.

Dinner Plans

Today I was excited to share with you a photo of dinner.  We were going to have Taco Pizza.  I found it on pinterest and it has become a staple to our menu. 

If you are what you eat the I guess I'm fast and easy. Or at the very least Americanized Mexican.

But then I came home and found this.

Dinner became this.

Color Me Bright. Or At Least A Few Walls...

I would love, love, LOVE to do our kitchen and dining room (which are one elongated room, with a fireplace, no less) like this:

{source}

The Man, in so many words said not only no, but hell to the no.

Mostly he doesn't want white cabinets to contrast such dark walls.  At least that was the one coherent complaint that was verbalized.

So now I'm wracking my brain for a compromise.  I once heard someone say that compromise is never the answer in a marriage because it only means that you both lose.  I didn't understand where that comment came from then, and I still don't. 

I think if you're both losing in your compromise, then you need a lesson on compromise.

My next angle for this kitchen color is to perhaps do one wall in this yummy dark chocolate color.  I want to accent the rooms with citrus fruit decorations (jars full of fake lemons etc.).  I think it would be so gorgeous, especially with white accents.  And then the other walls can be a lighter tan to help lighten the room, and not overwhelm my man who has a fear of color in the home. 

I love him anyway.

I do have to give him credit where credit is due.  When I showed him this color scheme for the home office he only said hell to the no with his eyes and not his words.

{source}

In his defense, we already have a red TV room.  But I think if I find a really nice neutral tan, ligh brown color to flow through the whole house, different accent walls in various rooms will be nice, and not overwhelming.

I don't know, maybe I'm out in the night.

But I'd still like to try it with at least one of these rooms.