ten. seven. five. three. one. all the tears.

unfortunately, I *still* haven't found a way to stop time. I'd even settle for time to ssslllooowww down! but alas, another school year has begun. 

in summers past, I haven't been ready for the kids to go back to school. this year... they were driving me bonkers the last couple   few weeks   month. goodness! I haddd to pack them up and head to our best neighbor evers pool a few times in the last few weeks in hopes of not locking them all in a room together and leaving!

and now as I sit here in the middle of the day. Will napping. girls snacking and watching Sophia. I miss them. it's quiet. too quiet. this is most likely preparation for the day when they're out of the house, but I don't like it one bit.

enough rambling. photos!

first, the 'school age kids.'

from left to right: 

Tayt (7) - 3rd grade

Lia (12) - 7th grade

Austyn (10) - 5th grade

Peyton (15) - 10th grade

Nash (6) - 1st grade

and now I'll cry myself to sleep for a nap instead of anything else that needs to be done around here :(

shockingly, I only took a total of 14 photos. and of course Dave drives by in the butcher truck just a honkin' at the kids. had to laugh at this one :)

get serious kids!

and then we added em all in :)

a couple things about this photo... Will may or may not have just nose dived into the gravel. finished drive way, yay!!! and Peyton may or may not be patting Tayt on the shoulder. nice and gentle. looks can be deceiving people. ;)

this one on the other hand, they are, in fact, being nice.

Drew (Rowdy) starts a 3yo preK program this year, twice a week, and she is *beyond* ready and excited to go. imagine the sheer terror.disappointment.sadness when I told her she was not riding the bus yesterday. or ever actually. glad I caught this photo before I broke the news to her.  :|

and this one just because. come on! none of my kids had curls like this!

we cleaned. we ate lunch. we did laundry. we played outside. we went to the park. we napped. we watched them get off the bus! not a bad first day at all :)

and I'm still sad today that they're all back to school :( wishing all of you and your kiddos a happy first week of school. if you have little ones at home, enjoy it! before you know it, they'll be gone!

for the record, Drew and Meg dressed themselves. a nice break from tutus, pjs, and yesterdays dirty clothes :)

junior varsity. junior peewee. repeat.

Football season has begun!

Mondays or Tuesdays we watch Peyton (our oldest - #20). Saturdays we watch Tayt (number four - #3). Peyton is on JV. Tayt is Jr Peewee. I'm very glad these games don't land on the same day(s). I'm not looking forward to divide and conquer!

We did the math and calculated Tayt is aboutttt 20 pounds heavier than Peyton was at this age. Game changer, folks. 

Tayt is doing a great job. He's not so sure. Proud mom. :)

and of course, his biggest fans keeping busy during his first game.

half of our tribe. well, except that little one on the right. he belongs to Casey. they're cute. and catching a genuine smile from Dave. love it!

Dave's pretty serious at these games. We don't talk much while watching ;)

again, serious.

that look!

he's really the best.

I know nothing about football, but I do feel as though my yelling during games will make them win. for sure. I'm quite certain Peyton agrees.

he's about to do something super important here. block... tackle... something maybe ;)

looking forward to lots and lotsss more football!

#9months9tips

I was asked to write a blog post regarding 9 months of pregnancy. Don't laugh, but I don't feel as though I'm experienced enough to write on this topic. I know, I know... I have eight children. I probably know something... still, I'm not one to claim to know it all. My pregnancies, for the most part, have been relatively uneventful - just the way I like it. Nonetheless, I'm going to do my best to give some advice, maybe help a first time mom out there. Take this with a grain of salt... I'm feeling salty today ;)

disclaimer: all or none of these apply to my pregnancies.

and here goes nothin. 9 tips for 9 months... I apologize in advance if this was a waste of your time ;)

one.
rest.
okay, don't laugh. I know with one or more children, rest is unheard of. quite honestly, I haven't slept peacefully in ohhh, 15+ years! I don't expect to sleep peacefully in a very long time. regardless, during pregnancy it is wise to attempt rest. as often as possible really. if I were to do it again, I would nap more often. and sleep in. and then nap some more.

point: nap.

two.
exercise.
I realize 'exercise' immediately follows 'rest' in this sequence. Intentionally? Absolutely! Know your priorities, folks ;) there are lots of great activities to do while pregnant. a few:

walk hard. sorta like this.

I did a couple of these... once... maybe... again, see disclaimer above.

pregnancy pilates

prenatal yoga

three.
eat.
okay, anddd healthy. again, see disclaimer above. while this isn't something I regularly did during pregnancy, I hear it's a good thing. ha! I've been known to go on salad binges. and mintbonbon binges. and chocolate anything binges. mostly mintbonbon binges. ;) I've also been known to gain between 50 and 60 pounds during pregnancy. don't judge. again, I may not be equipped to give advice. regardless, I do feel better (pregnant or not) when I eat better. early in all of my pregnancies I was very nauseous. food was not my friend. food is almost always my friend so the first few months were hangry days! I have a handy-dandy safe medications list that I refer to occasionally if I need to, just to make sure what I'm taking is safe. I don't recall needing to take anything for nausea while pregnant, but I know there are a few meds listed on my safe sheet. I cut soda out of my "diet" a long time ago, with the exception of an occasional  monthly  weekly accident. okay, so I didn't entirely cut soda out. mostly caffeinated beverages. honest! I do feel better without the caffeine. (this does not include the exclusion of coffee morning) ;) try it. you won't be sorry! currently hooked on this. and the kids dig it too.

four.
this is hard. uhhh...
research. be prepared.
each pregnancy is different for each woman. no surprise there. be aware of your choices from everything to naming baby to sleepers to pain medications or no pain medications during childbirth to butt creams to obstetrician or midwife. so many choices, so little time. be sure you feel comfortable with all your choices. know what you're going into. any time I've run into something unusual or new to me during pregnancy (and life for that matter), I've tried to do some research. ask some people around me. and then make an informed decision. try to do the same with any concerns or problems you encounter during pregnancy. okay, this all seems like common sense. do *not* rely solely on the internet. guilty! occasionally we all believe we are most likely dying because of what we read on the internet. it happens. I've been near death numerous times. pulled myself back around ;) also, do *not* rely solely on the advice of your obstetrician and/or midwife! while he/she is a great source for lots of information, it's important to research any prescribed medications, exercises, etc on your own. often, women are given drugs to treat morning sickness which are not safe for their baby! 

point: research and prepare yourself for any and all things pregnancy related. get comfortable with all of it. don't be afraid to ask questions. it's a lot to take in, but don't get overwhelmed. you.can.do.it!

five.
drink.
...water. drink water. yeah. ha. kidding. we've all heard it, but I'll repeat it. drink lots of water. it helps with lots of good stuff. I think.

six.
photograph.
I take a lot of photos. mostly of our children. I enjoy being behind the camera, not in front of it. that being said, I wish I had better photos of alllll my bellies. would have been fun to look back at. look how big I was with Tayt or Nash. look how tiny I was... never. ;) so as much as you may not like the idea, do your future self a favor and get some maternity photos done. locals, I'll hook a sista up :) random coincidental shout out to muhhhself.

seven.
document.
babies one through three (and a half) have a scrapbook-ish type thing. babies four through eight have all info written in a notebook I keep. I started writing in a notebook for each individual child for them to look at when I'm dead. every little thing that makes me smile or warms my heart, I write in their book. I'm certain they're reading these notebooks behind my back, buttt I'll continue to write in them. each of their pregnancies is documented in a notebook, which now that I think about it... I didn't put their pregnancy details in each of their individual books... add it to my list. my long, lllooonnnggg list of things to do.

eight.
ignore.
this is probably the worst list you have ever read. my apologies. I'm a terrible writer. and I give even worse advice. buttt, ignore the naysayers. everyone has advice and opinions, no getting around that. but take some and leave some. just the other day, someone told me, "you need to be done!" if I listened to everyone's opinion on the size of my family and what I should be doing for sleeping routine and what I should give them when they're sick or how I should discipline, life would be downright boring for Dave and I. and I wouldn't laugh as much. yes, we're laughing at you with large mouths and obnoxious opinions. so take all advice and opinions with a grain of salt. most people aren't intending to be rude or hurtful. and the others... ignore.

nine.
enjoy it.
all too often in life we rush. rush through the grocery store (why this is my first example, I have no idea. although, often times I find myself rushing through the grocery store because come on... toddlers and infants in the grocery store is reason enough to rush). rush to Friday. rush through the dishes. rush during conversations. rush. rush. rush. I'm begging you, don't rush through pregnancy. Our pregnancies are numbered. Our days are numbered. enjoy them. I understand this is coming from someone who enjoyed pregnancy immensely. I understand there are many discomforts and things that may not go as planned during pregnancy. But I also understand there are only so many days, weeks, months, years of pregnancy and I'm going to thoroughly miss those days, weeks, months, years :)

with that... a little flash back :) 

all Will belly. and I miss it.

27 to 31ish/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2015"

Peyton: the best big brother.
Lia: lounging.
Austyn: very enthused.
Tayt: helping cut down trees. found some huge grubs. I gagged.
Nash: strange boy.
Drew: fashionista.
Meg: never a dull moment with her.
Will: testing Lia's popsicles.
Duke: he walked with us for the first time the other morning. he's a slow old man.

as usual on this blog, I'm behind. these photos are from the last 5 weeks, one here, one there. I thought summer would make it easier to take photos and post them. it's proving not to be. while we're trying to pack as much fun into the last few weeks of summer vacation as possible, we're also extremely busy with other things as well. work. weddings. photo shoots. school shopping. cleaning. gardening. editing. family reunion. so much to do, so little time. I'm honestly not sure how we fit it all in. one of these weekends will be for relaxing... I hope!

hope all of you are enjoying the last days of summer vacation!