I Run a Tightly Wound Ship....

The girls making sure Mama is keeping her cool

I Run A Tightly Wound Ship....  

Right now you may be thinking, "What did she say?   I thought the saying is 'They operate a tightly run ship' ".  Well, you are correct, that is how the saying goes, but that is not how my boat floats!!  You see, as much as I would like for everyone to believe that I am this calm, cool, collected, queen bee of a mama, the truth is most of the time I am a mess.  In past blogs I have mentioned how much I adore organization and structure. But without it I get this wide-eyed yet glazed over expression on my face.  I stutter, and frown, and find it hard to think. Sometimes, I dread reaching that frazzled point so much, that I will be reduced to tears at the very thought of the chaos that might ensue.  I am what my husband calls a nervous person.  I tend to fidget....a lot.  When you are this concerned or tightly wound, sometimes the only cure is to get goofy.  Sometimes you just have to let go and realize that if things are not perfect, you can still survive and learn to laugh.  And in my opinion laughter is even better than being organized.
     That being said, I would like to share some pictures of our family being goofy.  Most of these instances are situations that would normally have me nervous and worried about what could go wrong.  But the kids came through for me and helped me end my day with a smile.  Take a look at the funny photos of the potentially stressful situations below:

This picture is of my nephew Tate.  He was so excited to go swimming with his cousins. You all know a day at the pool is so much fun for the kids, but often exhausting for Mom.  The day begins with,"He's splashing me!" and ends with, "I'm hungry... I'm tired... my sunburn hurts...." and you get to hear it all while washing a load of towels.   Pictures like these remind me to smile.

Charlie's Angels recreated for the family Christmas
 dinner at Great Grandmas.

Sometimes it is as simple as bath time before bed.  There are times when the bath time fight takes more strength than I have, but Hayden was in rare form that night and I got this goofy pic.

Finding the perfect pose so you can send out beautiful Christmas pictures, can sometimes take a lot of time and energy.   Now the rule for taking Christmas pictures is: If you give me one good one, you can take as many goofy ones as you need. 

 The first day of school is always bittersweet for this mama.  I love the quiet that comes with the first day of school.  And as you all know, I love the structure and schedule of the day that comes with the first day of school. 
      I always take that first day of school picture. 
      I always cry as the school bus pulls away because I am reminded of how fast they grow up. 
      In this picture Hayden is in kindergarten, Hannah is in second, Alli is in fourth and Abbi is in the sixth.  Just looking at this picture gives me mixed feelings.  Love to see their playful nature ~ hate to see them growing up so fast.

 What happens at the St. Louis Zoo, stays at the St. Louis Zoo..... No, that is not a real cobra that my son is hanging on too, but it still gives me the shivers.  

This trip had me biting my fingernails before we ever left the house. The questions in my head were crazily spinning  around, all the way there.  "It is such a long drive, will it be expensive?  What will we eat?  What if someone follows us around the park? What if we have car trouble? What if someone gets sick? What if there aren't any available rooms at the local motel? What if we get lost?....."

It took a little while for me to relax, but Hayden certainly found the way to get me there.  What a nut!! (The puddle you see behind him came from a nearby waterfall, not from the act that it appears he is committing!) 



 My son and nephews having fun at Grandpa's 60th birthday dinner at church.   If you are ever gonna worry about your kids being on their best behavior, it is at a church dinner around your church family.

Sydney and Olivia trying on glasses at the eye doctors.  Glasses are expensive.  Eye exams are expensive.  I don't like to spend money.   You can probably imagine me wringing my hands and the frown on my face as we stepped into the office.  But turning around and seeing these faces certainly put a new twist in my day.  Aren't they pretty??

Even my husband got in on the goofiness of life.  This picture was taken during a garage sale we were having earlier this Spring.  I was busy worrying about parking, displaying stuff, the money coming out alright, whether it would rain.....and here comes my handsome husband out to help me get organized.  Proudly sporting his peacock pants.  The story on how he acquired these pants is a whole other blog post.  This is not normal attire for my guy, but I think he pulls it off pretty well........  But then he always makes me smile!