The Plunge

A receptacle of necessity.
Dumped on.
And in.
Stagnate and Dingy.
Stained.
A container of waste.
It.
Me.
{One in the same.}
Clogged and compacted.
Full of poison.
It overflows.
So do I.
Plumbing problems are always internal.
And sometimes you just have to sit in your own stink.
Sit and Smell.
Cold and contaminated.
Then with a quick repetitious suck.swirl.flush...
You are clear.
{A few sprays and swipe downs later.}
Fresh.
Disinfected.
Sterile.
An alabaster white vessel.
Vacant.

I can't quite tell you why the toilet has been on my mind today. Perhaps it is because I live with 3 boys. Yes, let's blame it on that. Constantly preaching for a steady aim and clean no-drip finish, I do. Results don't always end up that way though.

And isn't that life?

There are so many facets of my life that I strive for that steady aim and clean no-drip finish. But alas, the stench lingers. Potent and pungent is the aroma of my shortcomings and mistakes.

How I long for a life as crisply breathtaking and inspiring as what you see here.

Manicured.

Perfection

Vivid colors saturated and complimentary.

Yet, no.

And why is it that we all seem to think that life, in fact, should be that way? And that if and when it is not, we are the ones loosing it, cooky, or just not up to par.

Progress.

Change.

Dedication.

Desire.

Pattern sculpting.

The heart of the matter.

That's what life is really about. And least I am leaning towards this mental mantra right now.

I am adamant that my toilets will not reek of urine. No sir. Not in THIS house.

But, I go at it all wrong. And this just occurred to me today. You see, I stock up on cleaning supplies with all the best advertisements and guarantees. Then multiple times a week I spray all 3 toilets from top to bottom with these magic chemicals.

And then...

I let them soak in.

I do.

The spray turns into sticky residue and then a cloudy dried film on my johns.

Why?

Because my intentions aren't matched with my actions.

I over plan and under-achieve.

And before you know it, I have waisted countless 1/2 bottles of disinfectant and still have only dirty potties.

Does that sound like life to you?

I'm gonna attempt to stop that right here and right now.

I am plunging.

Can you see me?

My plungers:

1. This book and this book. I will read and take notes. I will let the words soften my heart and speak to my spirit.
2. This book. I will make changes to brighten and bring order to the world where I create.
3. I will run. With music loud and air drums jamming.
4. I will fill my belly with goodness for me.
5. I will rest.
6. I will listen to Kenny's dreams and wish for them to come true.
7. I will drink more water, damnit.
8. I will wipe down my toilets everyday.
9. I will paint my fingernails more. It's something I like to do.
10. I will call my favorite peeps more. I need to hear their voices and just maybe they need to hear mine.
11. I will romance my husband more.
12. I will write on just exactly what my heart needs to say.
13. And most of all, I will pray and thank God more.

Yes, I will strive to live for the transitions and gain from their place in my life instead of aiming for the perfection of a bathroom that doesn't exist.

Because there is no such thing as a clean no-drip finish.

.mac :)

Loopty-Loo

You have a presence about you. You do. A catchy charisma bred into you like a long line of Kentucky Derby Champions has their strong, swift legs. When I was little I was enthralled with each and every visit you paid us. I would study your thick reddish orange hair taking special note of any subtle changes that might have occurred since our last encounter. I can still remember exactly the way your shampoo smells. With a head full of cowlicks, my green & golden sunburst eyes studied you. I noticed not whether your hair was fixed or fresh washed out-of-the-shower dried. Your hair, to me, was just another expression of your overwhelming personality. Flowing full or dripping doused; it moved with flair.

The details of life have been a constant for me. Details in my memory. Feelings completely hitched to these observances of mine; I do not forget. And these feelings? These feelings were ones of "I want to be like that" and "She is so cool".

Your necklaces were always tiny and delicate and short. Usually a 14" chain length I would guess. An intricate patterned design I remember. Yellow gold never silver. And just like peanut butter and jelly, your necklaces were paired with a dainty charm dangling. A sand dollar I can recollect. But my favorite was the bear. The little golden bear. 4 paws out and little eyes. I think even the belly was a bit convex so to give a 3D effectiveness to it. Parts were shiny polished and parts were matte finished. I see this necklace on you now. The way that sweet chain would catch and lie just a bit lopsided on your smooth faintly freckled neckline would allow this golden bear a loopty-loo this way and then that for a bit.

And your fingers. Like Lady Slippers in the most manicured of gardens. The way your hands ebbed and flowed as you spoke was melodious and sweet to my little child mind. Fingers so long and tapered. Your nail beds would edge out at the last possible second before the tips of your finger pads leaving your nail length a mystical illusion of long and sometimes longer.

Revlon Red.

Sandstone Sable.

Complete oxymoron's of one another. These were your rotating hues. I loved this. My innocence as a child could hardly handle the anticipation of which was in lead rotation before your arrival. And like the juxtaposition of sandy brown soft and a loud pop of red, so is your personality. Calm and gentle your hazelnut brown eyes would share with me sweet reports of my cousins afar and then quick witted and tempered, at times, your stories would be grandiose and full of vigor. A storyteller you are.

Revlon Red and Sandstone Sable.

Legs. Legs for days. Picking you up from the airport I can remember your pumps. You were a fan of slingbacks. I walked behind you on the way to luggage claims taking note of the graceful flex of your perfectly shaped calves with heels bare. Tapered, like your fingers, from slender ankles to muscles full. You are a hard worker. You deserve legs of this design. For in a time when women in the corporate world were only found behind a desk taking memos and answering phone calls, you and your legs pushed past this mark. A single working mother of 3, you carved out your success. Exceeding limitations and slowly making your presence known. Yes, legs like this you deserve.

Conversations with you were full and at times so empty. Full of laughter and juicy details like your hairdresser "Jobear" and tales of your cocktail parties and wardrobe selections. You never neglected to be specific when it came to colors of the choice of heels to match suits. Each adjective you used be it "peacock green" or "brazen yellow", I remember them all. When conversations to turned a softer venue of "I love you" or "goodbye", your words became antsy and removed. Oftentimes skipped over just to find solace in an end.

I anticipated you. Your zest wooed me. I adored your femininity and knack for moving a room each time that you entered.

As years passed by and time moved its sneaky little way, you have been a backdrop prop to my life's painting. I can't help but find tiny snippets in me that were stellar WOWS of you. And that is by no accident.

I honor you as my own. A lady who has helped sculpt me into my now. Although you were not my everyday, you were my every heart. Your hand prints have manipulated and molded this feeling organ of mine in ways you will never know.

You and your "peacock greens" and Revlon Reds. Your slingbacks and hair with a life of its own. Your story telling fingers are the most delicate ballet on the stage of my mind. Your love of the water and the beach. Your caring nature and quick tempered soul.

And so, I love you too. As the details you have given me are the 3 little words I needed most. For life happens so much faster than one realizes. Faster still if you don't stay connected with the little things around you.

And you, Gramma, are so much more than a little thing.

Thank you for your strength, your pizzazz, your heart, and your style. It is on this Christmas Day that I give you this cross to remind you that God's glory and love is alive and so-very-present in your life then and your life now. He has woven together a grandmother and granddaughter through His wonderful design. And what is yours is now a little mine. And for that, I am so very grateful.

Yes, connected.

My snippets are but shadows in the beautiful woman you are, but woven in God's full beauty, we are the same. Sisters by His hand. So, I too, will have this same cross in my home to remind me of the pieces He has woven between us, His sacrifices for our salvation, and His intricate handiwork in making us grandmother and granddaughter.

Thank you so very much for the brushstrokes you have given my life. Like the little golden bear, my 4 paws loopty-loo around your heart.

Your granddaughter,
Meghan Alicia

Making a List

You see these toes?

These are OPI's Cajun Shrimp toes.
My all-time favorite nail polish color.
Just look at them. All flirty-flirt with the waves as they cascade ashore.
I bet those toes even bounce up and down as the white caps crash at their tips.
{Splashin and makin a regular rowdy saltwater ruckus.}

And those thighs just above the knee?
Sportin' the opaque sand skirt.

Who me?
Do you think that's just what I've been up to lately?
Forgetting all about this ole blog?
Neglecting to even keep up with my suber-fab favorite blogs that I LOVE reading.
Leaving this space naked of any December posts.
Almost all of November too for that matter.

Do you think I just threw another notch back in my sand covered chase lounger and twirled the tropical toned umbrella in my fruity concoction when I received almost 50 emails concerning my whereabouts in blog land?

Do you think I just looked the other way in my Jackie.O. shades as my very own mother-in-law interrupted me in mid-sentence when discussing my business with her to say, "Do you know the last time you posted on your blog was November 4th. November 4th to be exact."

NO.

No to all of the above.

The truth.

You want the truth do you? Hmm. Okay, I'll give you the truth.

1. My toes (I have 10) only have polish on 3 of them as pointed out by my 2 year old to me yesterday. He then went on to express that they were also "Really, really long, mama."
2. In the last month, I have fallen asleep at night not once but 3 times IN MY CLOTHES. 2 of those times my shoes were even on. Each time I woke around 3 or 4 in the morning to discover that I had been asleep!
3. My home is a Christmas winter wonderland. Really it is. Complete with the newest addition of wreaths on the outside of every window. (Wreaths I paid a whopping 20 cents each for including the bow at last year's after Christmas sale) Yet my back porch is still all decked out with my fall lights of orange and yellow. Yep, it's true. I shutter that I just admitted this. Truth hurts.
4. Since my last post (11.04.09. Thanks for the reminder, Carlene) I have mopped my kitchen floor once.
5. I had all of my Christmas shopping done by December 1st, but have wrapped nothing.
6. I have left the house not once but 4 times WITHOUT curling my eyelashes. (Angie and Stella Blue, you girls know what curling my eyelashes does to my moral and overall beauty mantra. Yeah, 4.)
7. The dish washing liquid container in my dishwasher is broken and will not stay closed. As a result of this faulty device, my dishes come out cloudy once washed. And what do I do? Just squirt more liquid in this faulty device and re-wash the dishes. {Like do I really think they are going to turn out crystal clear a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time? Really, Meg.}
8. In my downstairs closet, I house an arsenal of my craft supplies, homeschool gear, and some of the boys' larger toys. Over the course of just 2 weeks, I have managed to topple almost every basket over in several mad dashes to grab something. What did I do? Grumble ugly things under my breath each time and just shut the door. Kenny was in for a real treat the other night when he opened this closet door to get the cat food out. Marriage really is for better or worse.
9. I have had my Christmas cards printed out and ready for mailing since December 5th. I mailed them just 2 days ago.
10. I have eaten 2 bags of Hostess Sweet Sixteen Chocolate Donuts that I bought for my boys and Kenny for a breakfast treat on the weekends. These would be the big 13 oz. bags. Just hoarded them away so that no Cobble man or boy could even see that we had them in stock.
11. I have had a wonderful response this year to my Sunshine for the Soul Home Goods Line. I have gone through over a 100 pounds of soy wax making candles this Christmas season. 100 pounds of wax and I make each candle in quantities of 4 at a time. That there, my friend, equals a lot of wonderful donations to The Susan G. Komen Foundation and The Special Olympics.
12. My fingernails do not have dirt under them when you see me in person. That would be paint. Paint from handmade sign orders.
13. I have gone through 25 needles on my sewing machine. I change needles every 2 designs made. I think my boys think that Christmas music is just supposed to have the humming of a sewing machine in the background.
14. I made 15 appliqued Christmas t-shirts with names embroidered and doused in ribbon trim in one week. {mollyemade} is gonna be so much fun!
15. I have enjoyed every minute of un-made bed impromptu snuggling and book reading with my boys. They are growing way too fast.
16. I ordered $350 worth of fabric for spring bags! Not to mention 12 new embroidery fonts too! And, there are 4 new bag designs in my trusty Steno pad as we speak.
17. I have piddled around with a new blog header design, added an extra column, and figured out how to increase the size of my posting photos too.
18. I have 2 bags left to finish and send out tomorrow and my Santa workshop is closed for the next 12 days.
19. I am overjoyed to be back in posting action! Thank you to all of you checking in on me. It was so kind of each of you. Yes, even you, M-I-L Carlene.
20. I CANNOT wait to kick back with my feet up and catch up on all of you from the past month and a half. And I will. Just you wait and see!
    

I got my eye on you. Well, maybe not from here, but a girl can dream can't she?

7 more days...

.mac :)

A Southern Thing

I have a lot of clients in and about the southern region of the United States.
And in the south, we like names.
Yes, we like names so much that we want to be called by all of them.
One of our babysitter's for the boys is named Taylor Raye, for example.
One of Eli's good pals from church is John Mark for even more southern proof.

And Jack Watson's mama wanted him to be called just that.

Jack Watson

A client of mine ordered a baby bundle for this mama for a baby shower gift. His nursery colors are blue and black children's toile.

My client chose to off set the toile with a funky yet classic twist on this black and blue color palette.

The black and white stripes jazzes up the toile and the blue and black gingham lends itself to the classical theme of the nusery toile.

Free motion top quilting in wavy swirls just to mix it up a bit.
And for the backing, my client selected a soft minky dot. k.Mac baby blankets come with your choice of a coordinating satin backing as babies love the soft satin feel or you can opt for a coordinating minky dot to add a heavier weight to the blanket. And babies love the raised dot for a change in texture feel. My blankets are sized so that they are roomy enough to completely bundle a wee one up for the 1st year of life. Then the blanket becomes justtherightsize for the security blanket a little one cAnNoT sleep without. Just ask my niece, Mollye.
The nice part about k.Mac's baby bundles is that you can choose how you want to bundle your baby gift. This particular client selected to do a baby blanket with a coordinating burp cloth set.

Other baby bundles combinations can include:

1. diaper bag with matching changing pad
2. diaper bag with matching changing pad, mommy wallet, and burp set
3. burp cloth set and matching appliqued and personalized onsesies (set of 3)
   That's the beauty of purchasing customized and couture baby gifts.
   You can make it exactly what you want it to be.
   Just like Jack Watson.

Completely unique.
An individual.
Set apart from the rest.

Double names may, in fact, be prominent in the south, but giving exactly what you want as a baby gift doesn't have to be thanks to k.Mac!


.mac :)

The Lucky Leaf

6:30.
Percolating bumbling commences.

A crisp autumness of freckled leaves dances its way onto my eyelids.

s h i n i n g

The air is cool; our quilt is cozy.

With minor rotations and simple shifting, my hand fumbles through covers across the mattress's width, over a soundly slumbering tot.

{fingers sucking. B snuggling}
{A wee hour thief of our bed}

I reach to find him.

My hand's reach is interrupted by the touch of his hand simultaneously seeking my mine.Joining fingers intertwined, we rest them on our thief.

Halloween morning is here.

Sweet slumber steals yet another hour.

Up an attem fills our bellies full of sausage, eggs, Mamaw Hook's homemade cinnamon rolls, and orange juice fresh.

Chatter and squeals are the guests in our home just in time for Halloween.

"I'm gonna get a lot of Kit Kats, bubba""Not as many as me.""Uh-huh. I will too!"

A charming, bubbly anticipation is in the air.
And all 4 of us can feel it.

Daddy sketching out templates for Tin Man's cardboard chest while mama is knee deep in yellow felt with hums and turns of the needle.

And the boys couldn't be happier running in and about us.Pelting out ideas of just.the.right.belt.accessories to consider and "Make sure I have a heart, daddy!" only add to our handmaking jubilee.

Mama and Daddy are on it.

While the boys make one last trip out to find just the right funnel hat for our little Tin Man, I flutter about cleaning up breakfast and thinking....

Bliss.
This is what is feels like.
Pajamas on.
Slippers dancing a 2 step across my kitchen floor.
Dishes clanking out rhythm of my family is full.
Full of love.Full of togetherness.
Full of excitement.
And I am in love.

"Honey, do you think I should use Velcro to close up Case's chest?" to "Kenny, just where exactly should the Batman logo go?"

We are in sync.
Partners in giving our very best to these two we call son.

Pitter patters of little feet and hot wheel squeals die down as evidence of a late night prior is quickly upon us.

Napping with ease, Kenny walks down the steps and the time together is ours.

It is a magical day.

A day where the world around us is still and unnoticeable.

Our minutes pass by diligently jubilant about our tasks at hand. Bouncing finishing touch ideas off one another we stop and smile; our connection as husband and wife only magnifies the love and adoration we have as mama and daddy.

Scissor snip-snips, last minute hairdryer antics, a little crushed velvet hot glue gun action, and a few ziplines of stitches to nip and tuck have us greeting our Halloween rendezvous in a festive flurry of glee and giggles.
Orange plastic buckets never looked so good.

The commotion and bustle of cars on our trek to our spooky destination had all 4 of us chirping of "Ooooh, look I just saw a ghost!" and "I wonder what candy I will get the most!"
And it is at this very moment that I realize I am home. Whether my footsteps are 10 or 10 million miles from our family's residence, it matters not.

I am home.

Home with the memories of this very day, this very moment; my heart is overflowing with right.now.

Eli Garrett is growing taller.
Taller and more in his skin.
He is the super hero of our home.
A delegate of goodwill and fairness.
Of compassion and creativity.
Already established in the pride of hisveryown and confident in not being store bought.

Even when friends are becoming more important to him.
Yes, he is growing into his skin.

And then there's our Tin Man.
A lover and a fighter, this juxtaposition suits him to a tee.
Melting your heart with his bubbly, contagious, passionate personality and then ripping it out with his quick temper and utter desire for justwhathewants.
And about 60% of the time...
it's mama's undivided attention and affection.

A carnival of games and candy tossed in buckets filled our night.

Our boys unafraid to do any impromptu candy switch ups right there before the giver's eyes.
Candy inventory and on-sight preference management is of utmost importance you know.

These 2 are brothers best.

Amid the block building, book reading, train track clicking, and ball tossing, they have one another.
To have and to hit.
To laugh and to love.
To pick and to pester.
To be each other's constant.
Brothers.

The gift of candy.
Free.
Welcomed by the giver and the recipient.
Happy.
Highly anticipated.
Hopeful.
Melt.in.your.mouth.good.

Kinda like life, huh?

Cause we all have the choice to passover the fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls and the generic lollies.
Spitting anything out that need not consume or waste our taste bud's time.

But these 3 morsels?
Are everything I want in my candy bucket.

Our day ended with Halloween clad Tennessee Vols to watch, our traditional pumpkin chili, and mama and daddy sneaks of sweet loot.
With little boys in full slumber only to match the fullness of their candied bellies, Kenny and I nestle in under that same cozy quilt intertwining limbs like a cobweb spun. The crisp autumness is now but the swirling sounds of leaves tousling to and fro in the late evening's air from our bedroom window cracked.

An infinite number of God's glorious beauty just waiting to dance and then find their place.

I am lucky to be one of those leaves.
.mac :)

aLl hAlLoWs' eVe EVE

Man, it's getting spooky around here.

I have jumped and screamed really loudly not once, but twice today.

Bring it, baby!

I thought we would do a little Halloween costume parade here at k.Mac headquarters as somewhat of a pep rally for the BIG 10.31.

1st up...

Eli Garrett in his 1st costume. He was almost 7 months old and what sweet little lion he did make. Believe it or not, this costume is store bought. It is a Tom Arma. These were the years prior to me teaching myself how to sew and beginning k.Mac.

2nd up....

A cowboy. I put the ensemble together and made Eli's vest that said "Sherrif Cobble". I really wanted my kids to be exactly what they wanted to be each and every year. Eli couldn't really say his 1st year, but I worked that boy to death this 2nd year to have him make his very own choice! We even practiced knocking on doors and saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" at the end.

Perhaps the last costume I wore as I child made me this way.

{I have searched the world over for a visual for this only to realize that the only copy of this picture is hanging in my Mom-mommie and Dad-daddy's bedroom.}

My last year of trick-or-treating my mom MADE me be a bag of jelly beans.

5th grade

I.AM.DEAD.SERIOUS.

Not cool, I know.

A bag of jelly beans???

5th grade?

Geez.

What a way to go out, huh?

Well, I think I may have made up for it Eli's 2nd Halloween.

Yep, I think I found peace with my bag o' beans if you will.

By this time, you see, I had begun the beginnings of teaching myself to sew. And well, let's just say I got crafty.

Anybody see Casey face in this picture?!

That's right! I was 6 months pregnant with Casey on Eli's 2nd Halloween. And well, I just had to be a belly dancer. A belly dancer who actually won a Halloween costume contest at that! I like to say Casey helped nudge me into the win column.

How's that for a bag o'beans?

Closure feels good.

Onward to Eli's 3rd Halloween and Casey's 1st

{on the outside of my womb}...

Eli got to pick for the both of them. Eli's was a cinch to make. He specified that he wanted a green collar for his cow bell. Of course, wish granted. I struggled with what to do for Casey. I opted to make a headress that would do nothing short of SCREAM CHICKEN for this sweet nugget of mine. I used a soft felt for the cap and then went to town with a couple of boas and hot glue. Yep, I think my mission of chicken screaming was accomplished. I did think it was strange, however, how Eli decided with such quickness that he was going to be a cow and Casey was going to be a chicken. I mean he was only 2 1/2.

Then one morning in play time on the floor I look over and see this:

Voila. A cow and a chicken.

Observant fellow that Eli is.

Eli's 4th Halloween and Casey's 2nd Halloween...

A green train and a football.

Kenny took the train and I took the football.

We each completely winged it on patterns. Me with my sewing machine and Kenny with his carboard, we worked it out.

Eli aDoReD his costume. It actually had a wood frame on the inside complete with an adjustable safety strap.

Casey was only a 1 1/2 here. He cracked me up not wanting to put his hands outside of the football through the arm holes. Each time I would try to get him to put his arm through, he would shake his head and say "No bootball, mama! No bootball, mama!" The boy was clear in letting me know footballs don't have arms! I had to carry around his candy bucket all for the sake of real.

Which leaves us to this year...

Batman and The Tin Man.

Eli began wanting to be a lobster and then thought lobsters weren't scary enough. Then he decided he would be a bat. Yes, bats were lots scarier than lobsters.

Until...

He eyed a Toys-R-Us catalog and saw a picture of a Batman costume. He has never even seen a Batman cartoon, but came running to me to say, "Look, mom! A bat and a man. I have to be this!"

And so he will be. I have the belt and mask left to make.

And Casey's looks oh.so.fine in his mommy-made silver lamay jumpsuit awaiting the addition of his daddy's craftiness with silver spray paint and carboard. Funnel hat...we are on the look out for a silver one. I have some back up ideas should one not turn up tomorrow on our hunt.

Never fear.

Let's take the time to state here that Casey's intial request for his costume this year was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz not the Tinman.

Kenny quickly made clear to Casey that boys don't be Dorothy.

Casey is infatuated with Dorothy. Her voice, her sparkly shoes. We got ourselves a celebrity crush, there's no denying it.

The boys think Kenny would make a super vampire or dracula and I couldn't agree more. We will see if that Coach Cobble decides to play dress up with us or not.

And me?

Well, as much as I want to be a purple sequined belly dancer AGAIN this year, I can't. Belly dancers only look cute when they have pregnant bellies.

So, I am going to be a witch!

This was my all-time favorite costume to wear on Halloween. A close 2nd was a gypsy, but the black hat always did it for me!

My costume has yet to be made.

This witch better shake her broomstick and get on it or all she will have on for Halloween is that black hat!

Now THAT is scary!

.mac-a-boo :)

The Batstreet Boys

Halloween is just my favorite.
It is.
I really think to be born on Halloween would be the ultimate.
Think about it.

Free candy
Parties to attend
EVERYONE in costume.

{THE BEST.}

Now, I have 2 boys. And with 2 boys, you kinda have to think outside the sewing box when it comes to making handmade shirts for Halloween.

Me: "I can't wait to make the boys some cute shirts for Halloween."

Kenny: "Do what?"

Me: "You know some appliqued shirts with their names on them."

Kenny: "Meg. Seriously?"

Me: {SIGH. GRUNT. STOMP} "Look, I am making the boys cute Halloween shirts. I am. I don't have a girl and making for my children is what I adore. It's GOING to happen."

Kenny: "Okay. Just don't do any kind of patterned fabric."
{SHAKING HIS HEAD AS HE WALKS OFF}

Well, I went with a little patterned fabric, didn't I?
And their best buds had to have matching shirts too.

Why?

CAUSE THEY ARE THE BATSTREET BOYS!!
Let's meet the band, shall we? Meet Eli.

The eldest lover of trains and follower of all safety protocol in our home.
Age: 4 1/2
Favorite food: carrots
Favorite hobby: drawing trains in his journal {as of last week}
Favorite mischief: tempting his little brother to race him in the house
Halloween costume: Batman

Meet Garyn.

A ratta-tat-tapping marching band man.
Age: 27 months
Favorite food: grapes and bananas
Favorite hobby: playing with his train table
Favorite mischief: screaming holy terror when his mom and dad drop him off at his Sunday School classroom.
Halloween costume: Lion

Meet Casey.

The youngest spitfire in our home obsessed with his mama, getting his way, his "B", and playing football.
Age: 2 1/2
Favorite food: chips {great, I know.}
Favorite hobby: tackling
Favorite mischief: tackling
Halloween costume: The Tin Man

And last but not least, meet Brayden.

Neighbor one street over and full of handsome mischief and squeals of fun.
Age: 19 months
Favorite food: string cheese and LOTS of it.
Favorite hobby: block building and tearing down
Favorite mischief: climbing stairs when you already have told him no.
Halloween costume: dinosaur

Of course, my boys got to break their Batstreet Boys stage gear in first.

Nick Carter and A.J. McLean don't have nothin on these faces.

And we struck a mean face pose to be sure daddy would agree that real men can wear appliqued shirts.

Daddy approved.

Eli gettin' spooky with it.

Casey in true mean form.
Then The Batstreet Boys were off to their 1st gig.
The Pumpkin Patch on Signal Mountain. A playground of true bliss and kid wonder. Some of the best sliding action you can find this side of the Mississippi.

Garyn ready on the drums to pound out any swing set beat.
And Brayden hip on the mike with squeals of joy.
After a gig, The Batstreet Boys need refreshments.

Pumpkin frosted sugar cookie from The Bread Basket will do just fine.

But wait!

The Batstreet Boys ain't no fools.

They know any good band has one amazingly beautiful and totally decked out hot chic on stage with them.

Wearing something like this maybe?

Complete with all the girly bells and whistles.

And hair accessories.

One must not forget hair accesssories.

Or their mama.
And frosted pumpkin sugar cookies too.
Meet Mollye.

Back up singer with vocals and head bobs like no other.
Age: 15 months.
Favorite food: Goldfish
Favorite hobby: Playing dress up.
Favorite mischief: throwing herself on the floor and playing dead with evil stares at you when she doesn't get her way.
Halloween costume: A Pink Ladybug

So, anyone in need of a great band or great handmade outfits and shirts, contact The Batstreet Boys' manager at meghan@kmaccreations.com.

"Cause I want it that way."

.mac-a-boo