Prepping Season....

This time of year is always FULL blast and our lives feel like it is going a million miles per hour. Spring brings us warm weather which we all know this So Cal girl loves but when you live in Arkansas aka Tornado Alley you are ALWAYS on your toes and prepping for storm season. 

Not only to we prepare and freshen up the kids "survival" skills this time of year but we are also FULL swing into party planning. Today marks just a little over a week before the first birthday party of the 2016 takes place and the planning is no different this year than any other. 

We have hit Pinterest aka my LIFE saver hard for this year birthday themes 

(you can find them here) 

but I am also OVERLY EXCITED about them too. 

On the 12th we will be having my oldest daughters 14th birthday and she has gone with Horror Movie themed... we are talking food, decor and MORE! PLUS this year I am allowing here to gather a handful of friends to stay the night for a horror movie marathon! Can you hear the screams yet? 

(insert evil laugh here)

On TOP of all of this this week is Read Across America and the elementary school girls have this week JAM packed with fun days to participate with each day to show off and celebrate Dr. Suess!

Yesterday we got to wear many colors as they shared his book My Many Colored Days followed by today being crazy sock day of course in spirit for The Foot Book! 

Tomorrow is Cat in the Hat so naturally it's crazy hat day and Thursday is  Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! as the kids get to wear their school colors, but we are all stupid EXCITED for Friday's theme as they will be sharing I am NOT Going to Get Up Today!  and the kids get to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss Character and OF course Aaliyah and her bestie JUST HAVE to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and it fits them PERFECTLY! 

I started working on these things over the weekend and I just have to say if I was smaller I would TOTALLY be stealing these costumes!!! They are ADORBS if I do say so myself :)

 And because that is NOT ENOUGH this Thursday the Middle School and the Junior High kids are out of school that day for CAPS which is the day that they get to pick out their classes for the 2016-2017 school year....

UGH! 

Of course THIS morning is the morning that it HIT me like a TON of rocks that I will have a "HIGH SCHOOL" student next year....

#maniamfeelingold

But there of COURSE THERE IS MORE!

I am sadly having to get ready to go back into the work force and to make it SOOO much better it will be overnight yet again for at least 6 months. I will be shooting for a department manager's position which will take me to days and a pay increase so here's to hoping! 

Which means I have to swap my sleeping schedule... yet... again... 

Does your house have a crazy prepping season too or is it just me?!

Meet the Wolf Pack

One of my favorite things about the "new" place is because we

have such a close knit neighborhood... 

Though our wolf pack grows and shrinks on a regular basis the core of the wolf pack has stayed in tact since day one.

We are all very close and I LOVE IT!

Our hoe has always been the hang out for the kids and though this can sometimes be overwhelming I know in years to come I will look back at this as some of the best memories that the girls and I have as a family. 

So with out further ado....

Here they are (no special order) 

Tyson

(the one to the right)

Tyson is the oldest of the pack and I am grateful that he has the big brother status not only to his three younger sisters but to the rest of the pack as well. They all watch Tyson in awe and LOVE when he is spending time with them!

 Lanie (L) and Aaliyah (R)

These two...

They are besties and to say the least are VERY close! 

They do everything together and though these two get on each others nerves it only takes about 5 minutes before they are over it and back to being attached at the hip. 

Lanie is a little older than Aaliyah but they are in the same grade and inseparable.
I am blessed that Aaliyah has been able to have such a close friendship at such a young age. I feel these too will be friends for life and I am blessed to be like a second mother to her and her sisters. 

 Ashton (top), Summer (L), Thalia (M) and Kara (R)

These are our newest additions to the wolf pack. Ashton is with the middle school girls. then Summer and Kara are with the elementary girls and then there is our sweet Thaila who started her own "section" of the pack.
Though they haven't been here long they have come to fit in well and keeps things interesting and helps keeps our friend drama up :)
Not because our crew NEEDED the help :)

Raelyn:

Another daughter I have adopted in the mix.

Raelyn is the bestie to Alora and sister to Tyson, Lanie and Emmalee.

Raelyn is so much fun and reminds me a lot of my lifetime bestie Mia. 

Though her and Alora seem to be the core of drama these two have each others backs. 

They have been inseparable since last year and I am so honored to have her in Alora's life... now if the drama would come down about a 1000 notches this mamma wouldn't enjoy wine as much I am sure :) 

Alora

Alora has quickly earned my wild child title and since Middle School started I have been dumb founded by some of her stunts. 

I am thankful that I am so close to her best friends mom and we can work these things out together and aren't afraid to lecture them as a team. 

Alora and Raelyn are SOOOOO much like and my friendship with my bestie that I know these too are officially serving life together! 

Dakota:
Dakota and Tyson are the same age and though they get along and count each other as a friend they aren't super close.
Dakota kinda stand on her own and socializes when she is ready. She has always been my "keep to myself" girl but she does enjoy the company. She is a huge help with me keeping the pack in order and she usually plays mamma when needed.

Emmalee

Em is by far the youngest in the pack. She joined us last year on Alora's birthday as we all sat here at the house anxiously awaiting her arrival! 

We always joke about sharing Em's happiness because it is a rare day that this little shorty is in a mood. She is always happy, smiling and cheering us up when we need it most. 

Our favorite part... NO DRAMA, NO TALKING BACK and NOTHING BUT SMILES :) 

I am super excited to see where her personality will go when she gets older and how her role will be in the pack but what ever it may be we are good with waiting it out and enjoying this stage... 

We all know TOO well how FAST it goes! 

Do your kids have a lifetime group of friends? 

And the Theme Is...

If you stay and hang out with us here on the blog for any length of time you will come to find out several things about me.

#1: Birthdays in this house is a HUGE deal!

#2: I plan for these things WAY in advance...

Perfect example... I have the theme picked out for 2 of my daughter's sweet 16's ALREADY!

#3:  I tend to go OVER THE TOP for them and I REALLY don't care...

Growing up I was taught that each year you are given on this earth is a gift. A gift from God and should be celebrated. As a mom I couldn't thank my grandmother enough for giving me this knowledge to show and share with my children just how important their lives are not only to God but to me. This is one of the things that I hope they will pick up on and continue on one day with their own children. 

ANYWAYS...

As you may have guessed I have already been brain storming what the 2016 birthday parties will bring us and I can tell you that we are SET with themes for my three girls and I am EXCITED! 

Plus since my sister and her kids are here we get  more to plan and that makes me even HAPPIER and we are one shy of having them worked out. Once we do I will share them also. 

So without further ado...

Here are our birthday party themes this year!

HORROR MOVIES:

 My oldest turns 14 in March and to be honest I am SCARED TO DEATH! 

I think it is really the number that gets me but the knowledge of knowing the things that I did at 14 worries me too but that is another story we WON'T be going into :) but either way I am fearful. A TON has changed in a year and she is no longer Mommy's "baby" but a young woman and recently that fact hits harder and HARDER each passing day...

Dakota chose her party theme this year since I said no horror movies til she was 14 and she thought it would be great to make it a BIG deal and use her birthday party to do so.

Since I am SCARED to death of her growing up it fit well for us both. 

I am not a horror movie fan these days and refuse to watch them anymore but it is HER day and I am REALLY EXCITED to do this one...

GHOSTBUSTERS:

My youngest Aaliyah will be 9 in April and I am really unsure why she decided on this one but since I was a ghostbuster fan as a kid myself you can say I am kinda proud...

She has never picked a simple party for mommy so I love the challenge she gives me every year for her big day!

The hubby's bday is also the day before her so when she picks a unisex party like this it is easier for mommy to feel a little less guilty that daddy got the shitty deal of a birthday party that is well peacock themed like last years... 

I am grateful he is a good sport about these themes because LORD knows it takes a strong man to embrace pink, fairies, Minnie Mouse and peacocks as a birthday themes...

BONFIRE:

Alora ends our birthdays for the year in September and this year she graduates from the tween status and graduates to being a TEEN...

YES THAT IS 2 TEENAGE GIRLS IN MY HOUSE!!!!

Since her birthday is in the fall she opted for a bonfire themed party... 

and since we ALL LOVE bonfires you know I am game!

Ideas are running 90 to nothing in my brain and I am keep having to think about I still have A MILLION other things to worry about first.... 

Speaking of birthdays this weekend we get to celebrate my youngest nieces birthday with her Frozen aka Elsa Party! 

Stay tuned for more updates!

Which party are you most excited to hear more about?

 

Trendy Thursday: Boo Style

The other morning as the kids here were getting ready for school it dawned on me that my youngest kid has turned into a trend setter hipster...

She had came out of my room ready for the day and looked like this...

Of course she had to have her pitt in the picture with her when I went "OMG you are the cutest! I have got to take a picture to show EVERYONE!"

That morning she was wearing some skinny jeans, a plaid button up shirt over her super awesome Ninja Turtle T-Shirt, her black mocs and her daddy's beanie...

She picked out her newest teal plastic framed geek gear in August for this school year that she LOVES and there you have a Boo Styled Day.  

Later through out the day I had realized that Aaliyah aka Boo has ALWAYS had her own sense of style and with her body proportioned the way it is she usually can pull of ANY style, look or clothing that is made...

I thought it would be fun to show you JUST what I am talking about...

Here is a look in to the Boo Style...

Enjoy! 

Ringing in 2016!

Well 2015 ended and 2016 began with a bang! 

Our New Years Eve "party" turned into a straight out PARTY that I am sure our kids will not forget for a few years to come...

 Only problem is  now I am unsure how to top this one...

hmmmm...

 There's no better way to end a year and start a new one than with family and our babies... we held a straight out party! We partied hard... had 3 pass out early, one throw up, 3 party crashers that hung out for a while, a fight, drama, drinks spilled, danced in the new year and laughed the night away... 

Earlier in the week I sat down and threw together activities for the kids and placed them in paper bags with times on them. 

Each kid got to draw one activity and they varied from dressing up to doing a craft. 

This years craft was making memory jars!

Each kid got to make a jar to keep their favorite memories of 2016 in and they loved this idea!

We also did make overs, wrote down our favorite memories of 2015 and of course shared our resolutions for 2016...

This is one of my favorite activities for several reasons...

1. Some are REALLY funny "resolutions" 

2. It is SO cute to listen to the kids from the different ages come up with their ideas... 

They are as follows:

Dakota 13:

Try New Foods, Wear more dresses, Dye her hair and try a new hair style 

Ashton 12: 

No pictures taken for the year, to dye his hair, and be a vegetarian for 6 months... at first he said vegan but his tone changed quickly when we said no cheese :)  

Summer 9:

Go mud riding, play soccer, and own a horse

Riley 12:

Not to be "fat"... not sure WHY this is an issue at this age! UGH!

Write more music

Get good grades

Alora 12: 

Play softball at her best ability

Raelyn 11:

Work on anger

Work on softball skills

Aaliyah 8:

Hang out with Ashton more

Eat meat only... smh...

Kara 7:

Pet a goat...

Lanie 9:

Get better grades

Crystal 33:

Get her GED

Start culinary art school

Get a place and ride

Anthony 31:

Well the hubby is STILL anti-resolution.... 

maybe ONE year this will change... 

Sandra 31: 

If you missed mine on Friday you can find them here

Our Party Crowd!

The youngest party animal :)

Of course the day and night was filled with food galore that my sister and I threw together for the kids to snack on through out the party.

 and once we hit the dance party stage of the evening it was on! 

I threw together a play list on Spotify and used Alora's bluetooth light up speaker to set the mood. We gave the kids the living room area, turned off the lights and let them dance the night away while the adults hung out in the kitchen chatting and enjoying some wine. 

At midnight the kids enjoyed their "wine" aka sparking cider and their midnight "kisses"

Of course we got a few "awww that's gross" remarks when I did get an actual midnight kiss from the hubby... got to love kids...

After they toasted and "kissed" away I sent them out the door with noise makers and for a running lap around the house...

They took A lap into like 20 but whatever :) 

Three of the kids didn't make it to the count down and we found them either like this...

Or in a random bed in the house. 

We had one get sick and throw up...

We had 3 kids show up we didn't know...

and I had red solo cups and paper plates scattered through out the house...

We ended the kids party with a sleep over and a movie and us adults stayed up drinking, having music wars and chatting... The party stopped when my sister's 2 year old told her it was time for bed at 5 am...

Dang party pooper! 

My 2016 Goals...

Every New Year I set goals not only for myself personally but for my business and my blog...

This is is of course no exception but I can honestly say that my track record SUCKS ass and I hope that 2016 will be the year I can get my shit all lined up and have a good report at the end of the year :)

Here are my personal goals for 2016:

NOTE:

These are not in an special order so please don't think that

 MORE TIME WITH THE HUBBY:

 Since our home is so chaotic and filled with kids, I really want to be able to not just spend time with him but spend more quality one on one time with him. 

We have not really had a chance to do this since we moved to Arkansas but since my sister in now in the area it might be easier to sneak away and enjoy a few hours together more often than not. 

ORGANIZE MYSELF

 Back in the day I was on point with this... now days not so much. I would like to blame the busy life we have but if I was to be honest it is really because I have been too lazy to stick with it. 

SPENDING QUALITY TIME WITH MY GIRLS:

 I have come to the realization that my oldest will be 14 in March and my "baby" 9 in April! The time I have with them at home shrinks by the minute and though they drive me absolutely insane with their drama, school, boys and clothes I have to say I know I will miss these things when they are off to college.

Since Dakota is just 4 years shy of this milestone I have freaking out on the inside because I have seen HOW VERY FAST 4 years can fly! 

UGH! 

WORKOUT 

 I know... I know...

I say this EVERY year...

But this year I added a YAY YOU DID IT prize for myself and that is a new tat or 6 for my ribs....

I know I don't weigh a lot and people would be like you need to EAT not workout but here is the deal...

I have 3 babies...

I have stretchmarks....

 (thanks D)

and since I was 16 when I decided to start the motherhood journey I am well stretched out... 

Hints the working out... 

So...

LET GO and SAY NO

 This is a HUGE one for me. 

I have noticed recently that I may or may not be a bit of a control freak.

I also think that I am Superwoman and take on the world...

This leaving me stressed, overwhelmed, rushed which in terms leaves me well bitchy if you are looking for honesty.

NO MORE I SAY! 

I will have to say no to more things than I used to and I will have to learn to just let somethings go. 

Prayers are appreciated because this will be the hardest for me I am sure....

As for

 Inked & Sassy...

KEEP IT GOING:

 I LOVE to write and I hope that you all enjoy reading about my thoughts, our beautiful chaos and my opinions. 

Writing is almost therapeutic for me and though the LOVE for it is REAL I can say that some days it is HARD to sit down and write a blog when things are at the peak of CIRCUS status here. 

I have been known to disappear (as you all have recently seen) and I HATE THAT.

When I first starting blogging I wished to make it my full time job so many years ago... though I would LOVE to produce some sort of income from this it is no longer my goal as much as having a place to share my lack of writing skills and a place to voice some thoughts and stories.  You never know if one will help someone else or if someone know JUST what you MEAN when it comes to somethings life throws our way. 

For my biz...

What the Photography Studio and Boutique 

BUILD IT UP

 I know you all have heard me mention it before that I am working on starting my own biz. I have been on this for a while now but to tell you I have had the chance to sink in ALL of my time, money and heart in it would not be true. Right now I still can not throw my life into this because my family comes first but I can say that I hope 2016 will bring me more time and more clients here. 

I have spent the last few months of 2015 into revamping our "baby" and I am VERY VERY excited to share it with everyone. 

I hope that with this revamp life will be breathed into What the Photography and we will officially be off the ground. 

Here is to hoping! 

Today we are party prepping and getting ready to bring in 2016 as a family...

Here is a sneak peak of what we have going on right now! 

More on the outcome soon! 

 What are your 2016 goals this year?

We would LOVE to hear. 

Bringing in 2016!

Tomorrow is one of the BIGGEST partying days of the year where the ENTIRE WORLD celebrates together and brings in the new year... Talk about partying at it's finest...

This New Years Eve we are having a "party" kid style of course...

The sparkling ciders are bought...

Food is planned...

Decor is ready to be hung...

and the activities are ready!  

Last year I saw a great idea on pinterest about coming up with activities for every hour or so to keep the kids busy and mainly quiet (for sanity purposes). 

This year I am starting off the party at 2pm...

Yes I know it SEEMS early but since I have the girls friends here a lot of the time anyways there isn't really a reason not too. 

We always share our resolutions and our favorite memories and we always have a huge spread of food.... drinks.... and more! 

Of course our "party is consisting of 4 adults and 11 kids ranging from the ages of 13 to 3 months so we are partying hard as you can tell! 

I will be sharing all of the fun festivities,  activities, resolutions and more Friday! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And Just Where Have I BEEN?!....

It is so hard to believe that my last post was on November 19th! 

If you know me you know that life here seems to be on CHAOS status 99.99% of the time for the last few years and now since November it has raised about 100 times fold. I will still be here on the blog on a more frequent basis than I have been that I can promise. I have tried to get to you all sooner but it have not failed that  SOMETHING had taken priority for the day and the blog was on the back burner...

Got to LOVE life right?!

The last post I shared with you all that we were traveling to the Northern part of Arkansas to spend an early Thanksgiving with my biological father, his wife, my grandma and my half siblings. 

Since we never know what the Arkansas weather will do for the winter we decided to go ahead and celebrate Christmas with them too while we are there. 

The girls of course thought this was a GREAT idea and they racked up on TWO Christmases this year... 

We did manage to get a few snow flakes while we were there but since the weather here has been bipolar nothing stuck and we were able to travel home with no problems. 

With our "Thanksgiving" being the weekend before the actual day we were able to spend the next week chillin' at home. 

I usually have around 8 to 15 kids here during school breaks hanging out and since God blessed me with ALL girls we are usually surrounded by even more girls when they have friends over. 

We spent the week having a musical themed week! 

We watched Pitch Perfect one and two, Sweeny Todd, Grease, Dirty Dancing and more! 

We shorted our week at home because me and the hubby had to make an emergency trip to Alabama that weekend to help my sister and her kids move here. 

We made the QUICKEST trip ever.... Since we left our girls here in Arkansas with the neighbor this mamma was in a HURRY to get back. 

I know, I know, I know that they are NOT babies anymore but THIS mamma will ALWAYS consider them babies... 

The perk of this ALL happening when it did all of the kids were out for the Thanksgiving break and no one missed school during the commotion. 

My sisters kids did miss one day due to my car being in the shop for THREE WEEKS!... but that is a WHOLE different story....

The transition went well considering that me and my sister has not spent THIS much time together in 15 years... and out of our 7 kids 4 are ADHD and one is 2....

The kids LOVE (for the most part) that they are all in the same schools, and they have "friends" that are around ALL THE TIME.

Since the move we have gotten kids ready for Holiday dances, concerts, holiday parties, school programs and then Christmas where we have shopped, picked out and cut down our own Christmas tree, seen lights, watched the parade downtown and so much more! 

In between all of that we buried our cat Astrid and nursed our cat Tiger back to health after becoming a chew toy for a few pit bulls... 

Right now we are trying to survive the holiday break... we have had any where from 7 to 14 kids here a day and the noise level has been on the rock concert on crack levels. 

With New Years Eve and 2016 at the end of the week I can say that I am SO EXCITED!  2015 has been a VERY rough year for me personally and I am ready for a fresh start. 

I have also been working on my revamp for my biz and I am excited to show you all that too.