giveaway winner

Congratulations Nicole!!! 

The Pottery Barn Banner is yours!

Thank you to everyone that entered!  The next giveaway will be on 

NOVEMBER 9TH, so mark your calendars. 

a random post about the grocery store and some vultures

Happy Friday dear readers!  A few weeks ago I started doing the nicest thing for myself on Fridays….the grocery shopping. It is my most unfavorite mom job (as I may have mentioned more than a couple of times).  It always hangs over my head the entire weekend until I remind myself that it is my job to feed my family, and grudgingly drag myself to the store (usually late Saturday night).  So,  this new shift in my twenty plus years of procrastinating "routine" has been soooo delightful.  Because, although I still dislike grocery shopping intensely, my shopping is done, my fridge and pantry are stocked, and I have at least five meals planned for the coming week.  Eureka.  Seriously.

And completely shifting gears from eureka, I had to post about this completely bizarre and (for me at least) super disturbing development in my beloved little farm neighbor hood.  Last week, while taking Navy on our morning bike ride (I ride, she runs), I noticed this gigantar bird flying in a large field.  It's wing span looked at least five feet wide.   It startled me, so I stopped to watch it for a few minutes.  At first, I thought it was a hawk. Then, I shuddered when I suddenly realized it was a vulture.  You know… carcass eating, flesh tearing, likes to hang out and devour dead things, Vulture.  And although  we live in a desert, vulture sightings in the city are almost unheard of.  After a few minutes I rode away and dismissed it as some anomaly.

Last week I became even more disturbed with this sight.  Suddenly the vulture count had become seven  instead of one and yesterday I counted twenty vultures, twenty. So, today I started making some calls.  I started with our local animal control and ended up talking  to a woman with Arizona Fish and Game.   This sweet woman gets my vote for quote of the day…. this was her response after hearing the situation, "Well, we're not going to disturb the vultures", delivered with the most irritated tone of (Duh!?) …(Of course) We're not going to disturb the vultures!!!
It took complete restrain on my part not to laugh at this comment, and this was my monolog response (in my head)
Well of course not, I mean really, twenty flesh eating vultures in a small residential neighborhood obviously take precedence over everyone else living there?!?! 
I don't know.  People are funny.  After her vulture love comment she suggested I talk to our neighbor where the vultures seem to be congregating.  She suggested he may have a dead animal in his field.  This may actually be true since he has a goat farm.  And maybe Monday I'll stop by, or maybe I'll just hope that the vultures move on when they've finished the job. Any anyway, it's Friday, and instead of worrying about vultures I'm going to enjoy my weekend, and not even give the grocery store a passing glance.  Eureka.  Full circle baby.
                                                              Hope you enjoy your weekend!
  

September's Spooky Giveaway

So excited for this giveaway today.  I love everything about celebrating Halloween…. none of the stress, and all of the fun, ya know!?

Loving this Trick or Treat banner from Pottery Barn. So versatile, go anywhere, and classic black and cream design.  This should be hanging somewhere in your haunted house!

          {How to enter}

1. Become a follower of terra's earth (by liking terra's earth on facebook OR via google friends connect.)

2. Leave a comment on this post telling me how you follow.
3. Also leave a contact email (with comment) if it's not linked to your profile (so I can let you know if you win:)

One winner will be selected from the comments using random.org and announced on September 28th, 2015

{the giveaway closes on Sept. 27th, 2015 at midnight}

{contest open to those residing in the intercontinental u.s.-no p.o. boxes please)

check it out

Good morning dear readers,  first things first.  Next Monday will be my next giveaway.  I found a little something for your halloween decor, and I think you'll like it.  We are under construction here this week.  A few months ago we painted all of our cream cabinets white, and now I cannot get enough white into my house. Gentry was ready to shift her very girly room into something with a little more tween feel.  And Sadie, when I hesitantly approached her about changing her room (even though she's in college  now) said, "uh, yes mom, it's time".  So Sierra and Gentry will be getting bright white walls, and Sadie a pretty light grey. I'll post some pics when this project is done.

This coming Friday Drew will be getting his wisdom teeth out, and Saturday, Sierra will be playing in a band with McKenna for our city's annual constitution fair.

In 2012 Sadie and her friend Jackson (far left) accompanied McKenna….

and this Saturday Sierra and Jackson's younger brother, Payton (far right on the cajon drum) will be accompanying McKenna. 

Good stuff. Also check out Spencer (far left) and his cinematic pop premier. 

If you happen to be local, please come and support the constitution fair.  Activities start at 6:00 p.m. and the music show starts and 8:00.  

And here's a little sneak peak snip it…

I promise it will be worth braving the heat!

mirror talk

I'm definitely having a monday on a tuesday here courtesy of the long weekend.  I had to arm wrestle myself into starting the laundry this morning (and it got kind of ugly).  After that scene, I decided it was time for a new playlist.  I kicked it off with I Don't Feel Like Dancing by the Scissor Sisters.  And contrary to the title, I always do dance when I listen to this song.  Like in my kitchen.  By myself.  And the animals looked at each other like, "uh, yea, she's lost it".  But, I didn't care, because after my little session, I was ready for the rest of my day, and life is good and here I am. So, to continue on with this somewhat random string of musings….I've noticed something I've been doing a lot lately that needs correcting.  I have a lighted make-up mirror in my bathroom, and the self talk that's been happening in that mirror the past couple of months is not good.   Not good at all I tell you.  The monolog goes something like this…

I think you got a new wrinkle last night. Those elevens are hideous.  Your right eye is more droopy than your left.  Your hair color looks kind of mousey …...and on and on and on…..

Until last week I had to tell myself STOP... and sit myself down... and have a talk that went something like this…

You are a trusted and loved and worthy daughter of God.  You are beautiful in ways that matter so much more than your hair or your skin or that new wrinkle.  And by that way…..when you smile at yourself and quite ripping yourself apart, you will feel so much HAPPIER. 

So, this monolog is my new mantra.  And is is sooooo hard for me not to revert to the old one.  Like SO hard.  Because the other one was easier for me to believe, but completely toxic and debilitating.  So today, in the mirror, I will remember who I am.  I will make a conscious choice to trust in God's love for me, despite all of those imperfections.

a couple of thoughts on the mom that left her baby in a shopping cart, for what they're worth

Several years ago I was loading our four small children into our suburban.  Our oldest was eight at the time, and our youngest, just two months old.  The center bench seat in our suburban had a split configuration.   I usually kept one side folded down so our older kids could climb in the back.  In this center seat I always kept my three year old's car seat on the left and saved the middle section for our newborn's infant carrier.  I remember being very frustrated that day as I tried to hustle my kids into the car and get every one buckled.  We were very late for my daughter's piano lesson and no one seemed to want to cooperate.  With everyone finally in, I sped away feeling overwhelmed and kind of embarrassed at my (once again) tardiness.  As we approached the piano teachers house I took one final corner just a little too fast.  As we rounded the corner I heard a dull thud followed by my oldest daughter screaming.  I turned around in horror to find that my newborn daughter's car seat had completely flipped upside down onto the adjacent, folded down seat.  Then, I started screaming as I pulled over and scrambled to right the car seat.  I had forgotten to buckle in her car seat.   Thankfully, she was uninjured.  This scene was followed by a lot of tears (mine) and me apologizing to my baby and my other kids for my impatience and frustration as I had loaded them into the car.

Last week Cherish Peterson loaded her kids into her vehicle and drove away from one of our local supermarkets here in Gilbert.   As she left the supermarket, she stopped by a drive thru to get her kids lunch and also stopped by a local high school to drop off a candy gram ( her main purchase a the grocery store) to her nephew who was celebrating his sixteenth birthday.  Then she returned home.  As she pulled into her drive way, her three year old questioned from the back seat, "Mom, where is baby Huxton?"

I cannot begin to imagine what this mom went through at this moment.  I have watched her complete interview (here) as she describes in detail everything that happened that afternoon and what led up to an  unimaginably horrible result. I have read the comments on various social media forums that people have made  about this mom both in support of and brutal condemning of her not only as a mom, but as a human being.  I do not know Cherish, but several  of my friends who I love and trust do.  They describe her as  a kind, loving, caring, and self-less mother who devotes everything she has to her children and their well being.

After watching the video of  Cherish describing what happened, I told my husband, "That could have been me."  As moms we rely on mental routines.  Routines that help us navigate those count sleepless nights and often exhausting days as we try to just do the very best we can to help our children be health, happy, and feel loved. When Cherish talked about not usually parking where she parked, and her baby's carrier being inside the shopping cart it gave me chills.  I understood.  Her mom mental routine had been shifted.

We all make mistakes.  I feel confident in saying that most of us would absolutely cringe at the thought of having some of those mistakes posted on the many social media venues.

In Cherish's own words, "I am a good mom who made a horrible mistake". I echo this thought and wish only the best for Cherish and her family as they try to move forward.

Below is a link to a fb page 20,000+ strong if you would like to lend your support to this family.

#istandwithcherish

a luau and a lightning storm

Good morning dear readers, and happy Thursday.  My day is off to a good start.  Everyone made it to school on time (I think), and when I took Navy for  her walk this morning, it was a sublime seventy nine degrees.  I actually made my bed and my laundry is finally done.   Looking forward to a long labor day weekend.

This is a picture of McKenzie and Sierra, age four. 

 

And this is a picture of McKenzie and Sierra, (almost) age sixteen. 

For better or worse, and just like sisters, these two girls have been friends since birth.  Literally.  McKenzie's mom Pam and I were pregnant at the same time and McKenzie was born exactly one week earlier than Sierra.  So, it just seemed right to have a combined sweet sixteen birthday party. 

Gregg, Drew, and I spent about five hours on the day of their party mowing, trimming, repairing globe lights, putting up tiki torches, hanging banners, and setting up tables and chairs.  Also a big shout out to the other birthday mom Pam for doing these pinterest like center pieces and a complete spray painted island scene for the picture backdrop.

Finally, we were ready. And then the wind picked up…. 

and these kind of ominous clouds moved in….

and then... (not pictured in the interest of protecting my camera)….this crazy monsoon storm moved in... complete with pounding rain and a lightning storm to rival any show they do in Vegas.  

But, no worries, the teenagers took it in stride and just picked up the tables, moved them under our patio and continued to eat and talk and laugh and take selfies. 

Because when you have food….

and music...

and your friends….

what more do you need anyway?

Except maybe cake?

Happy birthday beautifuls.