Farrer Family Fall Photopalooza

We had family pictures taken the other day downtown on the Bentonville square. The tyrant tater was in a good mood so we actually got some where everyone was looking and smiling (or at least pleasant looking).  I am really happy with how they turned out.  I shared a couple on my facebook but here are the rest.  Enjoy!  :)

 

Talk to ya soon,
Angie

What Not To Wear

I see a lot of people doing style blogs now where they share outfit ideas and tell you where they buy their clothes.  I like to look at these posts, but it is not something I would ever do.  Instead I thought it might be fun to do What Not To Wear posts.  I like to look cute, but lord knows I have plenty of material for some not so great fashion idea posts.  Today I'll cover What Not To Wear unless your goal is to look like a worn out, thirty twenty something (wink), mom of three. 

M's Saturday morning football games are a weekly fashion low for me.  It is not exactly like the games are at the crack of dawn, but we have to be there at 9:30 and that is a little early for a Saturday in the Farrer house.  Plus, I have to get the three taters ready to go and if I were to get myself ready I seriously might have to get up with the chickens.  Is that a saying?  It sounds good to me...I think chickens get up early.  I mean surely they can't sleep what with the rooster crowing and all.

This is what I wore to the game last week.  My head is not in the pic because I did not have makeup on, and I am not willing to share my no makeup unwashed hair head shot with you.  However, I do share it with half the town each week at the Upward games.  Be there at 9:30am any Saturday if the suspense is killing you.  Haha.

T-Shirt: Sample from work

Hoodie: Sample from work

Yoga Pants: Hand me down from my old neighbor.  I wear these all the time.  They are VERY worn out and have a couple little holes in them.  Also, my neighb was like 6' tall and I am 5'4" 1/2 ish (yes the 1/2" matters to me) so you can imagine how good they must look on me.

Blue KEEN Shoes: These were a hand me down from my mom.  I think she may have bought them at a garage sale or inherited them from a friend...can't remember for sure.  I love them and wear them a lot.  They make me feel outdoorsy.  You know what they say about looking the part and all.  :)

Total Cost: $0!!!!  I hadn't actually realized that until I typed the list. 

Funny story about yoga pants...I was looking for some at Goodwill the other day and found something wrong with every single pair.  They all looked too worn, had discolored spots on them, or were torquing at the seams.  I began to get a little frustrated.  Then I got tickled and started laughing at myself right there in the aisle because 1) Based on the condition of above pictured yoga pants I wear EVERY OTHER DAY who am I to discriminate against worn out yoga pants, 2) I was at Goodwill for pete's sake what did I expect, and 3) I haven't done yoga since before M was born.

Lastly, a quick What Not To Wear tip for the gents.
Exhibit A: B's old high school football sweats. 

These were on the floor of our bedroom this morning which is proof enough that B still wears them.  I would never let him leave the house in these, but I can't make any guarantees about what he does when I'm not monitoring him. :)  Kudos to BHS on the purchase of a good quality sweat pant that has lasted for 16+ years.  I can't say I have ever seen another pair of pants hold up so well. 

That's it for this edition of What Not To Wear.  I'll be back the next time I cringe when I catch a glimpse of myself in a full length mirror! 


Talk to ya soon,
Angie

Cotton Candy Coma

Fall has arrived in Northwest Arkansas and with it the annual Arts and Crafts Fairs.  We ventured out late this afternoon to see what we could find.  We ended up just finding food...surprise!  Seems like the same thing has happened for the past couple years.  Haha. 

 

A family friend recently started up a new bbq food trailer so we ate there and loved it.  If you are at Spanker Creek this weekend make sure to try Rub'n Butts BBQ.  Look for this big red trailer you can't miss it.  M and E gobbled up their BBQ because they are such good eaters I told them they had to in order to get cotton candy.  My kids are all about the cotton candy!

 

 

I, on the other hand, am all about the nachos.  I really haven't met a concession stand nacho I didn't like.  I could probably save myself $6-$7 a pop by purchasing some canned cheese and tortilla chips and making them at home.  But I think nachos are one of those foods that just taste better from a concession trailer.  I don't know how it's possible, but it's true!

 



They had a little cow train the kids rode.  It was FREE!.  Everything at the craft fair seems to cost a lot so I was shocked this didn't cost a thing.  The bargain hunter in me almost asked if they could ride a second time.  Heehee.

 

The littlest tater was getting a bit disgruntled in the backpack so we let him try some cotton candy while we waited for the train to come back.  He takes after his siblings and LOVED it.  I ended up having to give him big pieces that he could feed himself. 

 

He feel asleep when we got in the car, and was snoring loudly by the time we got home!  I had to wake him up to wash his hands and face.  Sweet baby.

 

Hope you have a great weekend and get to enjoy the fall weather.  If you are headed to the craft fairs don't buy any kettle corn or German (?) almonds...We have plenty of leftovers you can have!!  :)

 

Talk to ya soon,

Angie

 

Confession: Things I Found In The Mothership

I think I've made it pretty clear that I have a love hate relationship with my mini van, The Mothership.  She has many wonderful qualities that we currently need, but due to the vast amount of time the taters spend in her she has become a family dumping ground of sorts.  I did a quick once over yesterday and grabbed a few contraband items before I went inside.  The list could go on and on, but here are a few of the things I found.  Ahem, at least a few of the things I feel comfortable sharing on the web.

1.  Two mis-match socks and a pair of E's undies.  I am not sure about the underwear, but my kids ALWAYS pull their socks and shoes off in the car.   

2.  Baby's First Christmas bib.  I think this fell out of a goodwill box at some point and just disappeared into the chaos waiting to be found.

3.  McDonald's cup.  This in and of itself is not that unusual.  There were no less than 4 other fast foods cups in The Mothership.  The thing is I can't remember the last time I took the kids to MCD's.  We NEVER go there.  It was completely empty...evidence that it has sat long enough for any and all fluid to evaporate.

4.  One set of plastic vampire teeth.  I was actually trying to get to the very back of the van the other day to grab M's backpack, and I hit my head on the door frame crawling in.  It put me in a bad mood so I was grumbling to myself and then saw these teeth sitting on the back seat and just busted out laughing!  Who can be mad when plastic vampire teeth are grinning at you?

5.  An iron.  My old neighbor gave this to me when she moved in April.  I didn't really need an iron so I put it in The Mothership to drop at goodwill, but then a couple days later started feeling bad that I was giving away an iron that my neighbor had given me so I put it back in the garage.  For the past few six months I have put it in the van and taken it back out several times.  I don't know why but I have some weird emotional attachment to it.  I guess deep down I think the Chavarri's intended for me to pass it on to my kids one day.  Right now it is on my kitchen counter.  As I was typing this I started thinking that as soon as I give it away something is going to happen to my iron and I will wish I still had it.  I am going to quit talking about it now before I convince myself to write it into my will or something.

6.  A check from Delta Dental for 157 buckaroos dated 8/30.  We're rich and I had completely forgotten about it!  I think I'll make an appointment for a pedicure tomorrow.

7. Too many goldfish, french fries, chicken nugget pieces, and cheerios to be counted.  I am embarrassed to go to the local Boomerang and vacuum my car because there is always someone in the next parking space and I am mortified for them to be able to see in The Mothership. 

9.  One of M's flags for football.  Turns out the dog only ate one!  The other surviving flag was hiding under the back seat. 

8.  Three magnets, two chess pieces, and a partridge in pear tree.  No my kids don't play chess...they just chew on the pieces because that is totally safe and acceptable.  And ok I didn't really find the partridge in a pear tree, but it totally could have been in there.  The Mothership is a large marge yall.

What's the craziest thing you've ever found in your car?

Talk to ya soon,
Angie

Happy Belated Birthday B!

We celebrated B's birthday last weekend.  A few family members joined us for dinner, cake, and smores.  He is now officially older than me for a few weeks!  Saturday morning I was telling the kids that it was daddy's birthday, which led to E asking when her birthday was.  I told her it was coming up (November 3) just a few weeks after daddy's.  Later, she went in to wake B up and I reminded her to tell him Happy Birthday.  I walked into the bedroom just in time to hear her lean over him and say "Daddy, I have a birthday comin' up." Haha. She might be a little one track minded. 

Here is B blowing or rather pinching out his candles (that's how all the cool kids do it).  The kids like to be as close to the action as possible.  Disclaimer:  E is wearing panties.  It is just hard to tell in the pics.  It is near impossible to get her to keep clothes on lately.

 

Even though it was really too cold and rainy to be outside the kids had their hearts set on doing smores.  And when our kids have their hearts set on something it is most likely going to happen.  R and E have their cute sock monkey hats on.  Those hats are my favorite. 

 

I feel like I have "man hands" in this pic.  I am

hoping it is just the angle.  I definitely have

sub par photography skills. :)

B wore his new birthday boots to church Sunday.  E also FINALLY got some boots of her own (now she can stop wearing bubs) and she wore them Sunday too.  She was really proud. 

 

 

One more cute shot of baby R in his sock monkey hat, and the kiddos enjoying some of the leftover cake.  This may or not have been breakfast on Sunday.  ;)

 

 

Happy Birthday B!  We love you and are glad you're OURS!

 

Talk to ya soon,

Angie

Life 101

This morning a little bird told me it was Friday.  I don't know where Monday - Thursday went but I survived them so that's a good thing.  We've been busy hence the mini blog hiatus.  I am STILL sort of adjusting to this kindergarten mom gig.  I know, I know quite talking about it already.  We all have kids in school too blah blah blah.  But it's harder than I thought it was going to be, and I want to whine about it a little. :-p

Anyway, back to a few of the things life has had in store for us Farrer's lately...    

We've had a couple of special birthday's to celebrate.  One of our favorite cousins, Hudson, turned 5.  He had a mario cart party and the kids all got caps and mustaches to wear!  M looked totally natural sportin' the stache - right?  E didn't want to wear the mustache or hat.  She did warm up a bit in time to participate in a few party games. 

 

We also got to celebrate a birthday with my SIL, Mandi. We went to a park so all the kiddos would have somewhere to play while we visited.  Love this girl and am so glad my bro chose to make her a part of our family!  I met Mandi years ago when she worked for wal-mart in the category I supplied.  She was super sweet and little did I know she was dating my bro at that time!  They were keeping it on the down low for some super secret surprise reason that I am still not sure I completely understand.  But that's all water under the bridge, or icing on the cake, or something like that.  

 

One evening I kept the Bane boys for a bit so their parents could go to some sort of fru fru choir concert/symphony thing.  I think my description of the event is a good indication of how artsy and musically inclined I truly am.  :)  While they were off acting cultured I had a taste of what it would be like to have 5 kiddos.  I wouldn't recommend it.  These were actually 5 well behaved kiddos (with the except ionof baby R the tyrant tater) and getting them all to the table for dinner was no small miracle.  I took a photo to commemorate a job well done.  Please don't look closely at their plates.  It's none of your business what they ate...the point is that I made something and then got them all to the table to eat it!  Haha.

Monday M and B both had football practices.  M's coach told the boys to go home and watch the Cowboys vs Bears Monday Night Football game.  We don't have cable so M couldn't watch.  This was disappointing to him so I was trying to explain some of the reasons we choose not to have cable in our home.  One being that there are things on TV that we don't want him and the other taters seeing.  He cut me off as I was explaining and said "Mommy, if you're talking about Scooby Doo I've already seen it."  Ummm...not exactly what I meant.  Obviously, it's a little hard for a 6 year old boy to see the logic in this no cable business!  In other football related news...the dog ate M's flags.  I have procrastinated getting new ones all week, and will be forced to brave the rain at some point today to get them.  Woe is me. ;)

M's class had a pumpkin patch field trip Tuesday.  B chaperoned and took E with him.  She was so excited to get to go.  She desperately wanted to ride the bus with bubs, and talked about it for several days leading up to the trip.  I told her she wasn't big enough yet but she was growing every day and one day she would get to ride on a bus.  When she woke up Tues morning the first thing she said was "Am I all grown up now?" 

 

 

Wednesday evening M was playing a game on the computer before bed, and I was doing a little organizing in the garage.  When I came in he was standing in the hallway crying his little eyes out!  He had tried to switch to a different game and a "scary commercial" came on (I assume some Halloweenish ad).  Poor baby was so upset.  Darn that internet!  He asked if I could call the people who make the game and ask them not to put scary commercials on sites where kids play.  He also asked if he could sleep in my bed.  This is the face he was making when he asked.  I'll let you guess what my answer was.

 

This boy also tried to claim scaredy cat dog and get to sleep in my bed, but I wasn't buying it.  I assured him he would be safest behind bars and sent him to his crate. 

 

 

Last night we had an impromptu dinner with some new friends from the PD, tomorrow is B's 32nd birthday, and today is rainy and cold.  Someone thinks I am going to sit here all day and let him be a footstool.  Don't tempt me dog.  I seriously have dreams of sitting and doing nothing for an entire day.  Usually there is not a dog under my feet, but I can be flexible!

 

 

Talk to ya soon,

Angie



Thursday Randomonium

1) My very favorite brother and SIL surprised me this week by secretly paying for my hair appointment as an early birthday present!  I'm going to assume that it was probably my SIL who came up with this brilliant idea...I am so glad she married my brother.  My roots and I thank you both for the thoughtful gift! 

2) Brent surprised me today and hired a lady to come deep clean our house while I was at work.  This was an absolutely lovely treat, and something I never in a million years would have expected him to do.  I have never had my house professionally cleaned before (NEVER).  I am absolutely beside myself at how pretty and shiny everything looks!  I didn't want to touch anything, but the kids refused to sit in the foyer and twiddle their thumbs all evening so we had to mess things up just a bit.  If anyone else out there has never had your house cleaned by a professional you should totally do it - soon!  It is sort of life changing.  I'm serious. 

3) Brent is coaching a eight year old football team this season.  The other night he told Michael he thought he might need a little help on the field, and asked if M might consider coming out and helping him coach.  Of course M was all for it...he asked a lot of questions about what type of stuff he would need to do etc.  Later that night while getting ready for bed I asked M if he was excited about helping dad coach.  He replied "Yep, and it's my first paying job."  I told him I thought it would be pro bono work, and he looked at me like I had two heads.  He said he was sure coaches got paid. 

4) Ellie Rose has become a total backseat driver...at two years old.  She tells me to stop, go, slow down, and even tells cars in front of us to get out of the way!  I am going to go out on a limb and say she has probably learned this from her Peepaw Frank.  She rides with him a lot and I think he might have a tendency to "talk" to some of the other folks on the road while he is driving.  ;)

5)  We had M's first parent teacher conference this afternoon.  He is doing great!  His teacher thinks he may have a propensity for math.  This is somewhat amazing considering I always struggled with math, and B actually failed out of a number of math classes over the years!  He did inherit B's horrible penmanship though...his lowest score was in the neatness of work category.  This is what Mrs. C wrote on his conference sheet "Michael is a sweet smart boy with so much personality.  He really seems to enjoy school and has made new friends."  Toward the beginning of the conference Brent blurts out a question that had obviously been on his mind..."Is he playing with boys or mostly girls?"  LOL...I guess dads worry about different things than moms.

6) B and I will both turn thirty two next month.  I know, I know...y'all thought we were a little sooo much younger.  :)  But it's true...the big 32 is right around the corner for both of us.  I like that our birthdays are close together so we are almost always the same age.  I can't think about being "in my thirties" for too long or it starts to freak me out a little.  I feel like I should be doing something really mature and influential.  I realize I've wasted too many hours cleaning my house when there were people out there to clean it for me and free me up to do something that makes a difference (see point #2 above - LIFE CHANGING I tell ya).  Just kidding...sort of.   :)

7) Has anyone seen that ad on the web that says something about a simple diet trick that will help you beat belly bulge and then it has a picture of a banana?  I feel like I see it every day.  I am too nervous to click on it because I fear it might contain a virus, but I am dying to know if it is indicating that bananas cause belly bulge.  It is important that I find out because if there is anyway I can blame my belly bulge on my love of bananas I am absolutely going to start.  I think that may get me more sympathy than only having too many Sonic cherry vanilla cokes and blue coconut cream slushes to blame it on!

Hope you're having a great week!!

Talk to ya soon,
Angie