Clean-O-Meter

Ladies, grab your cameras & take a photo of the following things AS IS. Don't clean or move anything, just snap a picture & let us all see how messy or clean you really are! :)
The Sink:

The Fridge:

A Bathroom:

Favorite Room:

A Closet:

just kidding about the empty hangers. jeff's always telling me i have too many clothes. that's like telling a bird she has too many feathers!
Laundry Room:
...but the dryer died last week.
Favorite Shoes:

Self Portrait:

Kids:


Dream Vacation: Italy

thanks to my brother Ryan for the picture of Milan!

I'm tagging whoever wants to do this. It's fun, try it!

Invisible Mother

I got this in my email and it really just sums it all up:

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously, not.
No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but no w they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..
Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did.





Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.

We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance

Swimming In October...

Yesterday Ethan saw Kamden's swimsuit in the dresser drawer and asked if we could go swimming. I told him it's too cold now and that made him really sad. Then I remembered there's a YMCA not too far from here and we invited Callie and Elisa to go with us today. The boys had a lot of fun (even though you can't tell by Ethan's picture) and neither one of them wanted to leave. They were more than ready for naps by the time we got home so it was a nice day!

Jeff The Chef Cooks Fish...

The family came over for mom's birthday yesterday and we had a yummy dinner featuring 3 different kinds of fish prepared by none other than our own personal chef. Jeff sported a stylin' apron while baking and frying perch, bass, and crappie. He discovered that he's pretty good at cooking up fish and I discovered that he really can cook...when he wants to!


I made this:

HaPpY BiRtHdAy to my AMAZING mom!

Baby Brother's Gettin' Hitched...

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS to Jeff & Erin who got EnGaGeD yesterday!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my nephew LOGAN who turns FIFTEEN today!

Fabulous Fall Fashion Finds Under Fifty Dollars

Say that 5 times fast!
One of my favorite things about this season is bundling up in chunky sweaters, soft scarves, and cute hats. Here are some items I found online that I wanted to share with you:
Comfy, Cozy Cardigans from Target


















I need to learn how to knit and crochet because I could clean out this entire Etsy shop!
Some of her beautiful creations:

OLD NAVY














More from Etsy
An Eyelash Scarf

Luxury Skinny Scarf

Earthtones Scarf

Forest Green Scarf with fringe

A few cute sweaters from JCPenney

And Puffer Vests are great for adding an extra layer

More from FOREVER 21. I love this color!

















Adorable shoes at Payless AND it's buy one get the 2nd pair 1/2 off!




Cute ballet flats from OLD NAVY



And some cute sweater-knit slipper boots to keep your tootsies cozy on those chilly mornings, also from OLD NAVY

So many fabulous fall colors and styles at Target!






Fabulous Fall Fashion Scavenger Hunt:
I want to know what YOUR Fall Fashion Necessities are. If you're reading this post, I tag you for the scavenger hunt. On your blog, do a post showing 3 essentials or items you would purchase for the season, then leave a comment on this post letting me know you completed the scavenger hunt. Have fun!

I hope you enjoyed Fabulous Fall Week!