Did You Ever Dream Of the Day?

High-maintenanced.

Perfectionist.

Orderly.

Three words to describe my life B.K. {=Before Kids}.

I never dreamed of the day when not showering for 3 days in a row would be common-place. And that I am lucky enough to even find time (or remember) to brush my teeth. {Trident gum is suppose to clean your teeth when chewed after meals, right?}

I never dreamed of the day when the only task accomplished for the day was that the kids are still alive. Success is no longer measured by the results of my efforts. Because if you were to take a quick glance around my house, you could easily assume I sat around and ate bon-bons all day {I wish!}.

I never dreamed of the day when I would be so happy to hand my child a "yummy" {a.k.a. a hot doughnut from Krispy Kream} while she sits in her car seat, knowing full well that clumps of sugary-glaze would find their way into the deep crevices of my "clean" car. Until the sticky mess would mysteriously be discovered by my wandering finger-tips in desperate search of a much-wanted-pacifier...

I would have never dreamed, in a million years, that those three words would no longer describe me A.K. {=After Kids}.

It's because I never dreamed of how wonderful it was to be called "Mommy."

The "Valentina" Flower

Roses are red and sometimes purple.

Roses are in the hair.

Violet is cruisin' below.

Ice Cream is sweet.

And sisters are love.

The "Violet" Flower

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

by Kathy Fictorie

If you give a mom a muffin,

She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

She'll pour herself some.

The coffee will get spilled by her three-year-old.

She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.

She'll remember she has to do some laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer,

She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.

She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things to Make with a Pound of Hamburger.)

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.

She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.

She will look for her checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.

She'll smell something funny.

She'll change the two-year-old.

While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. (Of, course!)

Her five-year-old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on Friday.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.

She will pour herself some.

And chances are,

If she has a cup of coffee,

Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Speaking of muffins...

...don't you just want to gobble up this cute little muffin?!?

Her name is Julia.

And this is her flower:

The "Julia" Flower.

a flower for all seasons

No matter the time of year...

(Who says flowers can't bloom in the winter?)

No matter the stage of life...

(Who says you're too old for a lot of glitz and glam?)

No matter the occasion...

(Who says you're too dressed up? -aren't they just too dressed down?)

...Tammy's Funky Flowers has just what you need to bring color to your life, at any age, for any reason!

Just take it from sweet Adilynn.

She's barely lived her life and she already has it all figured out:

life's too short...so make the most of it!

The "Adilynn" Flower

My Kind of Pretty

I simply love it when the weather starts to get warmer. It has a magical way of filling my soul... Maybe it's the fresh air from my open windows dancing with my curtains. Maybe it's the care-free singing of the birds in wee hours of the morn. Maybe it's the constant power of the sun that thaws out the winter in my heart. It could be the peeking of yellow petals from beneath a brown earth. The sweetness of a fresh strawberry flooding my mouth. Anticipating the days of swinging on the porch. Sipping lemonade. Hearing the ice cubes create a personal symphony in my glass. Long walks after dinner. Watching God paint the sky in hues of purple, pink, and orange. The lingering smell of dinner in the air from a neighbor's grill. And longer days that give me more time to spend with the ones I love. Whatever it is, why-ever it is, that's my kind of pretty. So bring on the warmth. Bring on the magic. It's time to live like it's summer.

Meet Brianna.

Ain't she simply lovely?

Photos of Brianna courtesy of Sara Meyer Photography(check her out on Facebook)

The "Brianna" Flower

Your Child is Bent

One of the most quoted scriptures on parenting is Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Every boy and girl is created with a unique God-given design. The words right direction or the way come from a Hebrew term that means "the natural bent." The Creator has designed the personality, intellect, and heartprint of every human being. He has purposefully made your child with these propensities; it's our job to discover his or her natural bent and affirm it as God's handiwork. Remember the old saying, "God don't make no junk!"

I like to compare a child's natural bent to the curves of a tree trunk. And oak is destined to be an oak before the seedling pops above the soil. Its genetic properties are determined; it's not going to turn into a squash, for God has designed it to be an oak. Even so, as that oak matures, the environment to some extent will shape it with wind, rain, soil, and other properties.

The same is true of your child: God has purposely created him with a particular nature; you must shape, mold, guide, and affirm that design. This is a biblical balancing of the classic "nature vs. nurture" debate. We nurture what God has created; we discover our child's bent - tendencies, interests, giftedness, and passions - then embrace and develop them. When we do, we partner with God in fulfilling His purposes for our child. As the child grows older, he will know the way he was meant to walk.

-Excerpt taken from Connecting with Your Kids by Timothy Smith

Meet beautiful Maya:

And her flower:

The "Maya" Flower

My Children, Gather 'Round

Children come and gather 'round

Be very still, don't make a sound

This is what I have to say

Keep it with you every day

I wish I had the magic touch

For each of you I love so much

I'd protect you day and night

I'd keep you safe within my sight

But oh so soon this will be

One by one you'll say to me

That you must go, to find your way

Within my sight you can not stay

That is why I'll make it clear

If you need me, I'll be here

Into this world you came through me

So till the day no more I see

Remember here you have a home

Never do you have to roam

written by Diane Sibold

The "Payten" Flower

The "Camryn" Flower

A Felicitous Name

I googled the meaning of this sweet little girl's name.

And here's what came up:

lucky, fortunate, happy.

Seems to me that all those words appropriately define Felicia.

It also appropriately defines her flower.

The "Felicia" flower.

And when it becomes a new addition

to your growing collection of funky flowers,

you too, will be fortunate and happy.

What a felicitous coincidence.

Recipe for A Sweet Little Kennedy

First you add some sugar.

Then a little spice.

Blend well.

Fold in just a dash of 'everything nice'.

Bake until sweet.

To decorate, add a dollop of frosting atop a button nose.

And to complete your confection, adorn hair with the "Mini Sadie" flower.

Enjoy! Being sure to eat up every last crumb of those scrumptious 1-year-old cheeks!

The "Mini Flamingo" flower

adds just the right amount of sweetness to

Little Kennedy's birthday outfit.

Happy 1st Birthday Kennedy!

The "Kennedy" Flower

(A necessary ingredient for your sweet little confection)

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

It all started in my middle school years, between 5th and 7th grade. I never dared to go 'outside the box' when it came to fashion. Ironically, I had no clue about fashion. So half the stuff I wore, I never really knew if it was 'cool' or not. I would turn my nose up at things, even if I really, really liked them, because there was the smallest possibility it wouldn't be accepted come Monday morning.

But now, as I've learned about myself and life, I realize life is too short to let others tell you what you think. Especially when it comes to those things that make you smile and fill your heart with joy.

I stick these HUGE and elaborately GORGEOUS flowers atop my baby girl's head (nearly every day). There are times it seems almost ridiculous. Think about it.

A flower that is the same exact size as my daughter's head?!

My funky flowers have been called "head-dresses" a few times.

That makes me laugh-out-loud.

But 9 times out of 10, people can't stop "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" over the magnificence of the funky flower! My daughter gets so much more positive attention when a funky flower adorns her head. People say she's "beautiful". "What a doll," they say. Yes, I do believe my daughters are the prettiest things alive. Yet, those flowers are the cherry that sits on top of the, already, oh-so-yummy sundae!

My husband said to me one day, "How's it feel to be a trend-setter?"

Pretty good, actually.

In fact...it's amazing.

What's my point to all this?

Set your own standards when it comes to how fun you want your look to be. If you get some strange looks? So what? Who cares?

Because you know,

that deep inside,

they are secretly jealous of you.

They're just wishing they had enough guts to pull it off.

So go ahead. Have some fun!

You know you want to.

Here's the fun and fabulous Maddie

wearing the "Cheetah" flower.

And here, she's wearing the "Adilyn" flower.

And for even MORE fun,

you should try out this one.

This is the "Maddie" flower.

The Beauty of a Rose

What's in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell just as sweet.

-Juliet, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

This little rose's name is Emilee.

She is wearing the "Preslie" flower.

Both are just as sweet.

The sweet flowers that adorn her sweet head, in the pictures above, are:

(from left to right)

The "Preslie" flower, the "Mini Harvest" flower, and the "White Cloud" flower.

One fairer than my love?

The all-seeing sun ne'er saw her match since first the world begun.

-Romeo