the real life.....

this is what my life consisted of today.....

there were, at one time or another, 9 kids in my house

using my couch cushions and decorative pillows as a fort and/or armor... 

for an epic nerf gun war.

things got out of control pretty quickly

what is this, you ask?

besides a really dirty front door rug?  how about the front door handle

which ended up on the floor

how does a handle just fall off of the door?

since we are having a subdivision garage sale tomorrow and i will be participating, i made some 

goodies for the kids to sell....4 dozen cupcakes, a pan of brownies and banana bread which resulted in my kitchen looking like

this:

and this:

aah, a little visual reprieve....

nope. back to real life.....

the dog played it safe and hid out in his cage during all of the madness...

and what could be more craptastic than all of that?

the email i got from my girlfriend that said 

"good morning! 

your baby is now a high schooler"! 

yes, austen graduated 8th grade and hence is done with middle school.  he had his recognition ceremony 

tuesday night....

and today?

he turned 14.  fourteen!

and my stomach is sick.  he was just in kindergarten....how does this happen?

he is too young to be 14!

happy birthday buddy, you are a rock star.