fixed.

sort of.

So my custom domain is not linking correctly even though I own it all, but my blog is - so while its been literally like 4 months (cry. seriously cry), the only way I can update really quickly is with some photos first. I have been doing 365 since Jan 1 and it really changes the way I look at some days.

At the end of January, I posted on Reese's FB page that her tumor was smaller. The meds were working, the tumor shrunk, and onward we went. Tuesday is another MRI. Reese has said to me 100 times "are you so ready for Tuesday, mommy??" because she is so excited to go. I am hoping she has some sort of premonition that its going to be a great day.

If you have followed at all on IG (www.instagram.com/theskelteseven), then you'd know we've been filled with dance competitions, filled with Annie for recital at the end of May, filled with school projects and productions... We went to galveston with our very best friends, took bluebonnet pics, cried, laughed, had girl fights between sisters, went out to dinners downtown, played on bikes, and everything else in between.

beach pics below... :D

This is the first time in a while that I feel like "I am so busy right now" and then at the same time I don't know if I have done anything except take kids to places they need to go (haha). This weekend Reese and I went to the Texas Children's Cancer Fund gala again - this year, reese was a survivor/alum. She wore the *poof*iest dress (her favorite donut dress from her birthday last year), she got her hair, make up, and nails done with Miss Texas, danced with me for half the night. These are the moments... these are the times that seem like just another fun thing to do, but that she talks about for days later. Then, when she sees another pic, she'll relive it all over again.

I will have more epic posts soon. That aren't all pics and catching up and things. Another school year is coming to a close soon and that is just mind-boggling to me. I don't know how I can have a 5th grader - let alone a 4th, 2nd, and Kindergartener, too.

So for today, prayers for a wonderful MRI would be lovely. The rest of the week is dance, a model call for A and M, more dance, talent show tryouts for A and S, school pics and an easter party for M and C, soccer practice, PT for A's foot that is in a boot, trying to make homemade dinners every night (thats my goal for the week), one last ISD meeting on friday, and editing. Always that, too.

the summer is beginning to end.

its august. its hot - although not as hot as it usually is this time of year. my kids are sort of… over my face. we try to go to the gym in the mornings. if i can't get everyone ready in time for the 8:45 or 9am class, here we stay. i don't like driving around for no reason with all 5. its such a huge ordeal to get them in and out that i just... would rather sit in my PJs some days.  plus, dance is in the afternoons so we play, eat, nap, and go, generally.

the house gets so messy. toys come out that i haven't seen in months. yesterday, they brought a ridiculous amount of baby stuff downstairs. and carts. and "got in the car" and "went to the store". it was fun to listen to them.



i put them in the bath to waste time. or the sink. reese loves sink bubbles. today i had to hose corbin down after she ate and then i tossed reese in. so worth it.



they play dress up. they make each other laugh. or cry. or yell. or kiss and hug. and all of those emotions in a 30 second span.

sawyer had a fever last night and all day today. up to 102 or so. tonight the same. reese has been cranky and has a canker sore and i wonder if she is going to get sick.

i have been so good lately. its middle of august, 1 month until our next MRI, almost exactly. and i have been super confident. i watch reese show everyone how amazingly she opens her bad arm. i watch her walk everywhere. its amazing. she talks more. understand jokes and tells them. she knows so many numbers and letters - a place where i thought she'd be behind for kindergarten next year - i think she'll be right on track. her hair so soft and fluffy. growing back right over the scars.

but then i make things up, of course. "she looks fatter" - well, she is. lol she is bigger. she has gained weight and a smidgen of height. i imagine since chemo is over, she'll grow to be the size of a normal 4 year old haha she's still pounds and inches less than aidan was (similar body type as a toddler) at the same age. i worry about sleep. "oh she didnt sleep well last night" and then she's tired the next day. not too tired - normal tired. but then i think "wait she slept too well last night" blah blah. its a cycle of crazy. and then when another kid is sick? its hard to say to myself that there's even a possibility that anything reese does is because she, too, may feel crappy.

because it always has to be about the tumor.

but then i look at photos like this. or my random daily IG posts (punkfictionv4) and know that everything is okay right now. we are happy.

school starts on the 25th. next week is filled with meet the teacher nights and back to school shopping for things i couldn't find yet.

aidan is a bit nervous, but so excited. sawyer is beyond ready. reese cannot wait to see her teachers again. miller is giggly to see her friends. and corbin, well, she's happy with me ;)

prayers that we stay healthy, please. and that every day only feels better than the one before.

the pop-up carnival.

a friend mentioned tea-cups of death. as a joke.

i got so excited, i couldnt contain it.

i texted EJ immediately and told him that i had to take the bigs to the tiny carnival, in plano, that showed up in a parking lot overnight.

aidan had a party on friday. i had a shoot on sat. but yesterday... gorgeous sun, not too chilly.

i knew sawyer would love every ride - and i thought aidan would puke. but despite her original grimace, 2 mins into the swings and she was hooked. they went about 8 times. the man running it kept letting them stay on. the girls were so excited. they would tell the other kids how fun it was and not to be scared. their thrill was the reason i knew i'd love so many pics from last night... pure child excitement.