Our Furry Family

I'm pretty sure if they could talk, Freckles and Fiona would not be using kind words!

Intervention

I am a total failure when it comes to laundry. This is not a new thing in our house, but it is one of the most annoying things about being a mom/wife. Many of my very close friends know of my lack of ambition when it comes to clean clothes and getting them where they belong.

My hubby has ALWAYS been patient with our "laundry" situation, but I think he is tired of wearing dirty boxers and scrubs that have been in the dirty clothes. My cue that he has run out of those objects is when I find him in a towel with his head in the dryer looking for clothes. Other than that he doesn't go near the laundry room.

When the laundry does get done it sits in baskets waiting to be folded (that would be day 2) and day 3, it gets folded and put in baskets where everyone must search to find their clothes in the morning. I have a total of 8 laundry baskets and a hamper that has 3 sections (almost always full). Hubs thinks if I didn't divide the laundry into 6 categories, it wouldn't take so long. This is something I brought to our marriage from my mom (now, she can do laundry), but is just as picky as I am.

Many have offered me advice, but few have succeeded in helping me. I am a laundry mess and probably deserve an intervention. If there was a reality tv show about housewives that do AND put away laundry that might actually be helpful.

I fold in the great room where our clothes teeter on the back of the furniture. And don't think if the kids brush past and knock them down, I don't have a fit (more dysfunction).

Oh, and if I leave them in the dryer or baskets too long, I have to put them through the "fluff" cycle in the dryer. I am good at a lot of things, but laundry is not one of them and I am lucky I am married to a man that doesn't mind digging for his clothes or playing the "which basket are my scrubs in" game.

And I didn't dare take a pic of the 4 baskets in our room waiting to be unloaded. Dressers are a waste of space for this family due to their lack of use. I probably waste more time trying to avoid the laundry than actually doing it. Don't judge me as a homemaker, just feel sorry for my family who one day may revolt and get me some "laundry" therapy.

A Birth Announcement

We are proud to announce a new addition to Picomania. Her name is Fiona (as named by Belle) and weighs in at an outstanding 4 lbs. When we first brought her home she was a little over 2 lbs. Her DOB is 12/12, which she shares with the mom of the pack. It was meant to be or at least that's what I told Cam trying to convince him we couldn't leave without her.

She is doing great and settling in quite well. House training has been challenging, but we are all getting better at it. It's a good day when she only has a couple accidents in the house.

She was welcomed by the 5 of us, the 2 cats, and our beloved, Freckles who still holds favorite dog status. We keep growing like this and we'll have to relocate to a farm.

Family Pictures

Recently, we had family photos taken by the most amazing photographer ever. Her name is Stacey Kay and her website is www.staceykayphotographer.com. I highly recommend her and can't say enough great things about her. I don't know if all mothers freak out right before pics, but this one does, especially since we hadn't had professional pictures taken in forever. The only professional pictures we have of Charlie are the ones we get from school every year. So, I admit I got a little crazy about this photo session.

We were meeting Stacey in a gorgeous area of Mesa called Las Sendas. Desert landscape can be beautiful and hopefully, we captured the beauty in our pictures. I obsessed about what the kids would wear because I wanted to coordinate, but not match. Then, I obsessed about everyone's hair and then I got super tense about people not cooperating and this was all before we even got in the car to go. All the stress and obsession was for nothing because Stacey is fabulous and made the session feel more like a fun family night instead of boring pictures. We ended up with a ton of great pictures of which I'll be posting a few.

Every time I look at the people in these photographs I get a sense of awe and wonder because they belong to me and this family of 5 can do just about anything they set their minds too. I think I might have the most gorgeous children and hottest hubby out there (I'm only a little bias).

So here's to family photos and stress free moms...

I love this guy!

We jumped about 6 times...they loved it.

This one is over our fireplace.

I am lucky to be the mom to these 3 (most of the time)!