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my mom

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(my mom is in the blue.)
  

mom….you are funny…and you tell funny stories.
you are thoughtful.
you pick the best gifts.
you love my kids.
you are fashionable…always look cute!
you have great taste in your home.
you make awesome coconut cake.
you have great friends who love you very much….and that i love too.
you taught me that i was creative…not that i could be…that i WAS.
your house is so clean.
i wish i could keep half as clean of a house as you do…maybe someday?  ha!  doubtful.

you took me to twenty thousand dance classes.
you paid for twenty thousand dance classes.
you did not send me to boarding school…even when you wanted to.
you take such good care of your own mother.
you are the perfect day-after-thanksgiving shopper.
actually….you are an awesome shopper any day.  
i know that i got my love of shopping from you!
you play board games with my children.
you are smart….you have computer skills!  that is impressive mama!
you took care of my dog when i moved away and loved him more than i ever did…and that is a LOT.
you always smell good mom.  how do you do that?
you are so much fun to throw surprise parties for!
you gave me the best margarita recipe…ever.


so since i will not be with you today…
i wanted you to know i was thinking about you even at 1:14 in the morning of mother's day! 
despite how hard i tried to NOT listen to you growing up…
you were right.
about pretty much everything.

thank you.
i love you mom.

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happy mother's day mom.

Mother's Day Gift Philippines - Each photo was so beautiful in a wonderful and unique way. This was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed looking.
Paula M

Tracy - Thanks for sharing your mother’s day…. I intend to write on my blog about it this weekend… yes, that is one week after the event. I hear you on the above. And I hear your love for your kids. Life is just funny sometimes.
-Tracy By the way… I have a good kids cookie recipe on my blog for your kids. My kids call them homemade and they only take 5 minutes. Enjoy!!!www.lifeisjustplainfun.blogspot.com

Christina - Sweet, sweet
And I also think that if you have a perfect margarita recipe that you should share it. If it’s not a secret. πŸ™‚

Jessica from Stars and Clouds - You and your mum look so alike! Both of you are really beautiful!

Tanya - I love your mom’s freckles!

Lindsey - Awww. πŸ™‚
“despite how hard i tried to NOT listen to you growing up…
you were right.
about pretty much everything.”
Haha, isn’t it amazing how right our mother’s are? (And how much like them we become?)

julia - didn’t you used to have a pic up of you in crazy glasses? hmmm….I wonder where you get it from?

Dave Ranney - My goodness, you dad sure is good looking!
Fat Cowboy

lorel - Our mom is wonderful – thanks for putting it out there for the world to see. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms today

Melanie - Has anyone ever told you that you favor your mom? You do!

Molly - Your mom rocks!
Molly
http://www.mypeaceoflove.com

Seleta - What a heartfelt and beautiful tribute. Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Christy - Beautifully said. A happy Mother’s Day to you!
You have your mom’s smile. πŸ™‚

sara's art house - Your mom is so cute! Happy Mother’s day!

Heather in Utah - What a beautiful Mamma you have! Your tribute made me think of my Mom that is 350 miles away….it was very nice.
PLEASE, oh please post her cocunut cake recipe. My Mamma and I have been looking for the perfect cocunut cake for years. We think we have found a good (not perfect) frosting, but can’t seem to find the perfect cocunut cake!
Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks for sharing you fun family with the world.

DreamGirlLisa - Lovely! Happy Mother’s Day!!

Julie - Very sweet post Meg. I’m sure to have a daughter like you, your mom must be a wonderful woman!

Dianne Avery - Sweet tribute. Happy mothers day to you Meg!

Melanie - Happy Mother’s Day Meg!

mom - Thank you Megan. I’m all vah-klimp!
I love you and your family very much. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO YOU!

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Have a great day Meg. Sweet tribute to your momma!

chasity - happy mother’s day!

Gemma - Awww so sweet! Hope you all have a great day πŸ˜€
Gemma X http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/

Sophie - You have such a wonderful Mom (:
I live in England, so our mother’s day was back in March, but I still took the time to appreciate my mom this morning.
I hope your kids do something brilliant for you today, you deserve it.
Happy Mother’s Day Meg!

Michelle - Love, love, love the photo with the purple glasses. What a cool Grandma!

Peggyrice@gmail.com - Margarita Recipe? Do share please:)

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that’s the good stuff.

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Waffle

Kimberlee J. - Love the earrings you’re wearing in that last shot.

Christina - Those first pictures with your younger son (I think that’s right) are so funny. And Talby is looking so like you! What a sweet face!
Happy Mother’s Day.

karen - Happy Mother’s Day Meg!!

Melanie - I love the photo of Talby. She is adorable!

Erin from Skoots and Cuddles - i love the photo of you and your pooch! it truly is the good stuff. thanks for sharing!

amy jupin - please move to alabama and be my bff. pretty please!

Jennifer - Wonderful, happy pictures! Especially the ones of you all terrorizing some indoor pool. HA!
We did a family cannon ball (Mom and Dad too!) on our cruise back in December. A family was allowing their kid to be VERY rude, splashing my girls terribly with no regard at all. So before we left, we retaliated. Great lesson for the kids, no?

Sixty-Fifth Avenue - Looks like so much fun! All of it!
We are starting swim lessons next week for our 4 year old…I hope this year she has more fun in the water.
Have a fabulous mothers day!!

Carrie K - good stuff for sure!! love the pool pics the most…
and that one of you and waffle…haaahaahaaa…that made me laugh LOUD…at WORK…whoops…haaahaahaa

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife - Such priceless photos! I’m so glad I found your blog. I loved the guest post at 320 Sycamore!

Staci - Fun times πŸ™‚ And I love Waffle’s “mean dog” face πŸ™‚ I love it that you have to help him be mean πŸ˜‰ Happy Mother’s Day Meg!!!!!!!!

Sue K. - oh ya, i forgot to say, it hard to make a doodle look vicious, even when you try too!

Sue K. - love waffles haircut – looks just like koda used too sniff sniff… and oh my goodness, talby looks just like you!!!

Molly - Looks like fun!!!
Molly
http://www.mypeaceoflove.com

Jesse Peak - My little ones just started taking swim lesson 2 months ago. We are loving it. Can’t wait to let them take off and swim this summer.
P.S. I have been thinking I might try to make an at home photo booth and duplicate that look. I think it would be fun! Happy Mother’s Day!

Gemma - Your pictures are lovely!( As per usual lol)
Yummy doughnuts πŸ˜€
Gemma X http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/

seriouslyahomemaker - stop it with the cute kids. its not fair to the rest of us! πŸ™‚
angie

kelli - please have a drubers giveaway! πŸ™‚

Dana Banana - This is the 3rd post I have seen today about Drubers. Makes me REALLY want donuts!

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lemurs, llamas and tantrums

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we went to tangayika wildlife park.
i had no clue what this place was so i was impressed with what i say.
and the kids LOVED the lemur exhibit.
 

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IMG_8422 you were not allowed to pet them but they can jump on you if you let them.
 
 
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this was sean's not-so-subtle way of encouraging the lemur to climb onto his lap.
 

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craig was wearing camoflauge….at least in the lemur exhibit.

the goats were noisy. 

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yes…you are correct….you eyes are not deceiving you.
it was a FAMILY night.  all 7 duerksen's in attendance.
not all 7 were happy about it but we did it…and survived.
 

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annie fell down towards the end of out time and never recovered.
she cried for a really long time.  
she finally yelled "UGH!!! why did i w'run in my flip flops?!"  so mad at herself.
and later when getting in the car to go home "i am not going to run in my flip flops ever again"
yeah right…..

jeanne - That last photo…sweet girl. So cute what she said.

Kellie Dugan - Oh, those tears! So sweet. I still have to remind myself not to do things at 38. We never learn. I hope she feels better.

Elisa - Poor Annie…flip flops are a big deal for little girls. You have a big family like mine…I beat you with 8 of us here. My older girls don’t usually like family time together and the zoo is totally out of the question. So glad you were able to spend it together. Have a blessed day.

Gemma - So cute! Running in flipflops is dangerous..the amount of times i’ve nearly had a fall. Looks like a great day out : ) Just to let you know I linked to you in my blog…hope this is ok!
http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/
Gemma X

Niki - This is like literally 3 minutes from my new house! I can’t wait to visit and take my 4 kids! I’m so excited to hear good things about it!

Rachael B - I am so surprised to see Lauren! she is so beautiful, glad to see her in some pictures πŸ™‚ lol!

emily - lauren’s dress is ADORABLE. where did she get it?

julia - isn’t it funny how with your fist you’re all on top of them when they cry…by number 5 (3 for me) you take a picture of it! When mine cries I usually turn to whoever is next to me and say “doesn’t she look cute when she cries?”

Heather - How could you NOT pet the lemurs??? When they were so close?? How unfair. And oh the tears. Nobody cries quite so well as a little girl after a long day. I think if we could, we’d have a lot less problems in our lives. Just get it all out and then go play.

designHer Momma - looks like an awesome field trip! Yeah, running in flip flops is danger, danger, danger.

candace - Aww, you’ve built great memories! You seem so good at that – being intentional about good memories for your kids. Annie is sweet! Does she get more upset when you try to take her picture in that state or is she just accustomed to having a camera around? My neice HATES it when I take her picture.

haleigh - i’ve been reading your blog for a while and i love your spark and color. i found your annies preschool blog through yours. i am an elementary education major and i hope that i can create such a fun, learning environment that she has for her preschoolers when i get my own classroom. you’re very lucky to have someone care about annies education so early.

Tam - oh that looks like so much fun. I love Annie’s dress, I bought the same one for my niece. Annie crying breaks my heart-running in flip flops is definitely a bad combo πŸ˜‰

lifeologia - We love lemurs! Ever since Madagascar my daughter who is only 2 1/2 loves them. I found a cereal for her called Leapin’ Lemurs from EnviroKidz (great organic cereal by the way) and we just love them – wish we could go to a Lemur exhibit too. Poor Annie – big hugs to her.

Georgia - Awww Annie looks so sad, Flip flops are definatly not for running in… Toe scrapes… Owwwwie!!! i can sympathise with her pain.

Vera - I was just going to pop in and pull up pictures of your kitchen to show my husband, but when I was scrolling down, sweet Annie’s tears made it impossible for me not to read and comment – that girl is the SWEETEST!! The lemur exhibit sounds awesome! My kids always want to go into the zoo exhibits, especially the monkeys, so they would love it.

sarah - How NEAT!!
i love that you can be that close the the lemurs.
Poor Annie πŸ™

Rachel @ Pencil Shavings - Love these!
I’m sighing over not-all-7 wanting to go together. I’m totally dreading when my little one grows up and doesn’t want to spend time with us. I remember that age so well, when I was soooo embarrassed to be with my parents. I remember wanting the floor to swallow me whole one time at the movies because (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT) MY MOTHER WANTED TO BUY POPCORN. I know! Who on earth EVER buys popcorn at the movies?! ::rolling my eyes::
Hang in there. She will want to hang out with you again. πŸ™‚

Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Oh, precious!
Kiss sweet Annie’s knee for me!

Heather @ Cookie Mondays - Cute! All those lemurs remind me of Madagascar.
Darn flip-flops! Camden had a flip-flop related scraped knee this week too. Which really just means a new princess band-aid every hour.

Courtney Walsh - awww, poor Annie. That is such a cool place, though!! How awesome to be able to sit right in there with them!
I want a lemur. lol

Diana - we are wanting to go to tanganyika sometime soon. sounds like so much fun.
so sorry, annie… i have done that in my flip-flops, too… ouchie.
β™₯

Tere - love the share

Dianne Avery - You got to pet Lemurs!! That is so cool. I’m going to go google right now and find a place near me to do that too.

Whitney - Megan, I love keeping up with the kids as they grow up. Talby is just “mini-you”! Love the striped shirt and lemur tails photo – hilarious!

Kendra - So fun! Our family has been wanting to go there too but haven’t made it yet! That is so cool to be in there with the lemurs! Thanks for showing us pictures of it!

Krista - How nice you got out will all of the kids– I can’t believe how big they are all getting. Thanks for sharing!!

Staci - Awwww πŸ™ That picture captures it all!!! Poor Sweet Annie πŸ™‚ What a great place though!!!!

Laura - This is unrelated to your post. I am hoping that you and your children will make your summer poster this year. And when you do, will you link to your last ones? It will be here before we know it! Thanks, Meg!

Lisa - Hey Meg, I love how close you could get to the Lemurs. Big hugs to you, it is hard when a child wants to distance themselves. Good on you for insisting on holding onto family values. They will be thankful for it one day. xxx

Kristi - How in the world did they resist petting those cute little boogers!

RLG - That picture (Annie’s tears) is priceless. I’m going to have to remember to try and get some of mine crying. LOL Thanks for sharing the good and the bad, Meg. It makes me feel so much more human (and every mom needs that). xoxo

LouBoo - The flipflops comment just made me laugh out loud – so much like my son! They learn but its oh-so-hard! Such a cute picture with the tears – heart-breaking x

Kelly - OMG! I can’t you were allowed to get so close to the lemurs! How cool!!!
http://kellyloves.wordpress.com/

angela - Hope ALL of you had fun…even though it’s not COOL to be with your family!

Sandy - Love them all, but I have to say Annie is so precious. What a doll! Wondering if she gets mad when you take pictures of her crying?

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sunshine, sisters and bubbles

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perfect weather.
beautiful sunshine.
brand new container of bubbles.

that's the good stuff. 

Holly Rhodes - Everyone looks so happy! Now I want 5 kids!!! Ok 4 would be ok! My husband insists that we are done at 2!! They are young but they are still each others bestfriends! =)

Sandy - Talby is getting so tall!!

Rachel / cREaTe - annie’s smile in the 4th one down just put the biggest smile on my face. pure joy in her eyes & smile.

Kellie Dugan - Love the photos! The bonds that sisters have. I always wished I had a sister. I will settle for that cute waffle though. Just send him my way! He truely is part of the family. So sweet.

Diana - awwwwwwwwwwesome! oh Meg, where oh where did you find that huge bottle of bubbles! was that here in town?? i’m out of bubbles and the grandkids are comin’ this weekend!
bubble weather is the greatest!
{heart}

tamara - Your blog is very sweet, I love visiting. I’m new to blogging, someone just gave me the “sunshine award” and now I’m giving it to you. Details are on my blog at http://tamaramodernmommy.blogspot.com/

kelly - Ah, yes…I still love bubbles…

Beth - Those pics of Talby and Annie together are precious!

carissa... brown eyed fox - look at them!
you can tell they are having a ball.
we’re soooo looking forward to bubbles here.
we are down to 25 degrees tonight & the WIND… oh the wind.
i suddenly feel like toto about to blow away! πŸ™‚
it’s nuts!
these pics glow with hope! :O)
make my heart remember the warmth to come!

Traci - that is the good stuff. maybe i should rent a couple little ones so i can play and have fun like that.

Melanie - Annie is starting to look older. Your baby is growing up. It happens fast doesn’t it.

Jack - I hope someday that I can take photos as good as yours, Meg. It helps that you have the cutest kids on the planet! You have such a gift for capturing the emotion behind your shots. I’m all signed up for Karen’s The Photographer’s Workshop and can’t wait for my first lesson! Oh, and I LOVE Waffle too – he’s just the bestest!

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - SWEET! Great shots of the sistas playin’ nice and loving on each other:) Cute one of your pup too. I forget his name. His hair cut is just perfect now.

Meagan - How Fantastic… as I drifted through your pictures completely lost in your perfect little moment. I realized I was rubbing my big ole pregnant belly!!! I can’t wait til my little man is old enough for bubbles… they’re just so magical

Melissa Shepard - I was w/ my youngest two kids at Walmart and couldn’t pass up the bubbles, chalk, jump ropes, and bouncy balls. Spring fever! Great job at capturing it!

Suzanne Gallagher - What a glorious day. Your pooch has such personality. What breed of dog is he? Sping Sunshine/Daughters/Bubbles nothing gets better!

La Dolce Vita Gal - So refreshing after driving through snow this morning…I love this. There is nothing like the friendship and love between sisters…lovely to see your girls learning that!

meaghan - do you KNOW how much talby looks like you?! she even stands likeyou!

Courtney Walsh - oh we had just a hint, a tease of sunshine last week, but the past couple days have been freezing and rainy. boo!! Love your shots capturing the sweet sister relationship. πŸ™‚ So cute!

Ana - Your girls are adorable and can I tell you just how envious I am (in a very healthy way, of course) of you because your house is just DREAMY!!

Kate - Yeah!! Happy happy day!

Alicia - You can’t be anything but happy when you have a full bottle of bubbles to play with! Happy Spring Meg!

Jessie Sterling - My mother always said she took the most pictures of the oldest and then took less and less of each kid down the line. I noticed you take a lot of Annie, and I feel like I take the most of my youngest child (I blame this mostly on the invention of digital cameras!). Just wondering if you take more pics now than you did before? Or were you just as into photography when your first was born?

amy jupin - what pretty, pretty light!
talby and annie have such a sense of style. i love it.
i noticed how big talby’s feet are (or at least in this pics) and i started giggling. they are both becoming such big girls. crazy.

Julie - Sweet, sweet sisters! Love it!

Morning T - The good stuff includes your incredible photos! Wow~ those are quite the bubbles. πŸ™‚

Paige - Ah, bubbles….one childhood plaything i have truly NOT outgrown….still love them soooo much. enjoy your kids! πŸ™‚ they are beautiful.

Staci - We’ve had much the same weather as you guys this Winter and it has been sooooo nice to get out and FINALLY enjoy the sunshine!!!!!! I bet Waffle was IN HEAVEN chasing bubbles πŸ˜‰

rhonda - I love that first shot. Looks like a fun day.

Megan - So sweet! I love the fun kids have with bubbles, any age and they have fun!

linda@LimeintheCoconut - Oh yeah. REALLY good stuff. I love how you have such an amazing ability to capture the moment. simply, beautifully.

Christy - Love that 2nd picture, the sun is in the perfect spot!
Cool shot!

sara@augustfields - new bottles of bubbles are a so great! meg…your pictures and lighting are amazing! but more amazing are the memories that you’re capturing πŸ™‚

PaisleyJade - Those bubbles are amazing!

angela - I LOVE the picture of them looking at each other…I know you must love it too!!

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gettin’ crafty outside

its so much easier to let the kids be messy….outside.
SO MUCH EASIER!!
the pressure is off…spills are ok…hardly any clean up involved.
 
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i envisioned this activity to be with my five children outside in the sunshine having a family time.
instead…
one kid went to a friends, one kid was too cool, one kid was doing who-knows-what and
two other children were at our house to play.
so i dyed eggs with talby and annie and their friends.
it was just as fun as what i had planned out….go with the flow…no big deal.
 

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i have been a mother for 15 years and this was my first time to dye eggs with my kids by myself.

that is nuts.
 

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and i had to google….how to hard boil eggs.
I AM SERIOUS.

i am such a dork.
 

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so i hard boiled 36 eggs…flawlessy i might add…because thanks to google…i am a pro now.
 

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and filled cups with dye from the packs at the grocery store….
 

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and made memories with my kids…and their two friends.
 

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loving the bright colors.
i could have a really good time by myself doing this!  


i was dipping my egg in the pink
and talby's friend looked at me funny and i said "what?"
she said "your egg is my drink."
yes…i put my egg in her pink lemonade.

nerd.

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this one was a happy accident.  
they called it the spider web egg.
 

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talby is probably saying "can you believe my mom stuck her egg in your drink?!"
 

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and i forgot to say "don't get your fingers in the dye" so now my girls will 
have red and green hands for easter day.
niiiice.
 

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and i am getting really wild and making deviled eggs for easter lunch!

look out world…meg knows how to hard boil things now.
who knows what i might do next!
              

chris - mom of five for almost 29 years, and NEVER did it! before you have me beheaded, i always had a sweet neighbor (sans kids) who loved to do it! bliss! i babysit a darling little korean girl who grew up loving to gut the pumpkins at halloween~kept her busy and me happy for many years! i thought all of these photos were wonderful, but the one that really cracked me up was where you could see the dog looking longingly out the screen door!

Courtney Walsh - oh my gosh. i forgot to dye eggs this year!! how did that happen??? these look perfect! i love the really bright ones! πŸ™‚

JustMommer - Hint for next year, for younger kids, slip the boiled egg inside a wisk and they can hold the handle and dip into the dye.

Julie - I could come steal that daisy bowl.
adore.
I make my mom dye eggs with the kids.
I can’t do it. Just can’t.
You are rad.
The end.

Holly - Oh Meg, you crack me up!! I love reading your post πŸ™‚ And dying the eggs outside…. totally brilliant!! Why didn’t I think of that?!

Michele Renee - OK, I must be weird because I have made egg salad about a thousand million times since I was a teenager.

johnnie - I have to pull out my Red/White checkered Betty Crocker cookbook to look up the directions each time too!
I always loose half the eggs while boiling due to cracking open. Im at a 2:1 ratio on survivors!

kristine - i had to google how to hardboil too! i remember watching a rachael ray show when she was joking with a guest about, “oh but i’m sure you can at least hard boil an egg!” and i was thinking how glad i was that i wasn’t the guest b/c i would have had to say “actually….” and i thought for sure she would just give the two step directions but she didn’t!
the lcd screen on my camera broke last week! boo! fortunately i bought the accidental warranty so i don’t have to pay BUT they kept it for three weeks! so no easter pics. i KNEW you’d have great ones of eggs on here! i love all the colors!

adrianne - I love your daisy bowl.
(I also love the picture with Waffle in the house looking out at all the fun…forlorn…)

brooke - don’t feel so bad…the first time i tried to hard boil eggs for my daughter i boiled all the water and then carefully dropped the cold eggs into the boiling water…went back to check 5 minutes later and had a pot full of shells and boiled egg guts…ha!
but as we speak i am googling a recipe for egg salad as i have way too many hard boiled eggs for a party of three!!
having a seven year old too i laughed out loud at your putting your egg in talby’s friend’s drink and then snickering about it…love these little mishaps as it will be what is remembered the most about that day…

Susie - My favorite picture is the one with Waffle in the door in the background!

susan - it’s fun to let the kids make a mess! we love doing our eggs too! hope you had a beautiful Easter!

Jessie Westfall - Found your blog through my friend Jody and I must tell you that I too had to google hard boiling my first time. I LOVE dying eggs and I even buy the clearanced out dye so we can do it anytime we want. It makes for great colorful healthy snacks for the kids. Glad it all went well for you.

Tiffany Feger - you make a regular thing look so inviting! i took pics of my kids outside too, but not like that.

amanda fuentes - Ha ha, I recently had to google how to hard boil eggs too! We did our eggs last night – out of a dozen only 8 made it after dropping and cracking while boiling!

tami reed - Happy Easter looks like you guys are having a great time! My kids decorated eggs too lol.

Kirsten - Ah!!! Love Waffle peeking out the door – gosh, that looks so perfect…we were inside, with pouring rain and 30mph winds howling. Pink lemonade, to boot…like a picture postcard. With dyed fingers πŸ™‚

Willy Van Os - Happy Easter!

bobbie - I did it by myself with my two girls and our baby tonight. I was so nervous but it went great! I gave the baby a lollipop (ha!) to keep her happy in her high chair and the girls and I just went to work. It was the cleanest and funnest egg dye I’ve ever done. I used gel food dye colors mixed with vinegar and water and we got the best colors! Even better than pink lemonade! πŸ™‚

Christy - Too funny, because here I sit at nearly 9pm to google how long to cook the eggs. Hoping to dye with my munchkin tomorrow b/f our family comes for dinner. πŸ™‚ Looks like you created everlatsing memories & lots of eggs! Happy Esater!

Christina - The lemonade story is priceless.
About hard boiling eggs…first of all, a couple of days ago my oldest wanted hard boiled eggs so I put the water on to boil, it came to a boil, and then I remembered you are supposed to put it all in together and bring to a boil. I cracked one egg putting it in, from the heat, and the other I think cooked in three seconds.
Then yesterday I made some new, the right way, and when they were done I changed the hot water for cold and set them on the stove to cool. I was going to put them in the fridge for another time. Way to plan ahead! I left the house with the kids for six hours, and came back to find them still sitting on the stove. Nice.
You are still the coolest mom around.

julia - I used to have to have things a certain way…then I had my third…I’m learning to go with the flow too.

karen - Oh Waffle…i bet you would have loved to be out there and make a mess out of it all!!

kathy b - One year, as a preschool director, I hard boiled over 300 eggs. I learned the hard way that the same rules don’t apply for cooking eggs at that volume. They dyed just fine but one child dropped an egg out of his basket on the way out the door and we discovered they were not cooked but still runny.We had to quickly put a warning sign up for the rest of the parents,” eggs are not to be eaten, just decorative”. Everyone has an egg story.
Kathy b

Amy - I have been hard boiling eggs for years and just when I think they are perfect I crack them open and they are either raw or the shell won’t come off! (not to make you paranoid or anything) I put my eggs on to boil today, began talking college choices with my daughter and burned them. They look alright but I’m sure they aren’t inside! ah well, the dogs will have a happy easter!

Tanya H - confession: I have been a mother for nearly 8 years and this is the first time I have dyed eggs with my kids by myself. I had to call my mom to find out how to hard-boil eggs. Fabulous. πŸ˜€

Sharley McMullen - Next year try dyeing brown eggs, Our Western magazine called Sunset showed a picture, so my grandchildren and I tried it the eggs come out a deep rich jewel tones, do have to leave them in the dye a bit longer. Glad you learned to boil eggs!!
I assume you brought them to a boil, cover and turn off and let sit for 14mins and then submerge in an ice bath till cold?

Laurie, from Maryland - I’ve got a few cool kids of my own (20, 17, and 11), who frequently don’t feel like doing what I’ve planned. I try to enjoy whoever shows up, without being mad at those who don’t. Not always easy. I’ve noticed that when my oldest is home from college, she seems more eager to do things with the family, though. I guess there’s hope!

Kate - Hi! Congratulations! That is a huge accomplishment!
If you have a mom egg dyeing party – I am so there!

`Kelly - Congratulations on learning to hard boil eggs! πŸ™‚
I have two handy egg decorating tips that I learned this year and just have to share. Tip #1 – If you use a whisk to hold your egg instead of a spoon or those little dipper things that come in the box, hands stay clean and eggs are less likely to break. It does mess up your whisk a little but I decided I’m going to stock up on good wire whisks from thrift stores this year and stick them with our Easter stuff to use next year. It worked wonderfully. Tip #2 – use mason jars instead of cups. It just looks really cool πŸ™‚

linda lou - meg you should of called i would of decorated eggs with you girls! (: they are beautiful…
happy easter to you and your family.

Diana - p.s. LOVE Waffle looking out the door… TOO cute! LOL!

Diana - no way! really?!?! i never woulda guessed you hadn’t done this. but remember, you do so much OTHER stuff with them. and now you have done THIS, and had so much FUN, right? {get out your craft stuff… glitter, bits of fabric, buttons, ribbon, all those neat things, and let them fancy their eggs up… regular glue works, or tacky glue, or your hot glue gun thingy… my grandkids LOVE doing that}
gonna google the deviled eggs recipe, too? {i have a good one if you need it… i make deviled eggs all the time… you let me know, i can send it tonight when we get back from family bbq}
HAPPY EASTER, MEG! xoxo
β™₯

meaghan - i totally googled it too…

anna. - I’m a stalker and former super-mean-to-my-mom teenager. I sure hope that kid isn’t being too hard on you. I could just kick myself when I look back at my nasty attitude. Too cool is something we all regret. Wishing you love and kindness for your holiday weekend.

amy j. - I did the same thing. Thank goodness for Google.

a-m - We’re just about to do the same thing now! We’re going to try rolling the eggs in a mixture of olive oil and food colouring after their first dunking this year. If it works I’ll post the results, if not well I’ll try and show willing!
a-m x

Keri ~ Forever Folding Laundry - You are not the only egg Googler out there…I had to do the same thing yesterday. πŸ™‚
Poor Waffle looked like he wanted in on the action. He would look cute dyed a nice shade of Easter egg pink. πŸ™‚
~Keri

Lori - Am I the only one that noticed Waffle in the background of the one picture? I bet he was wishing he could join in the fun! πŸ™‚ Too cute!

Michelle B. - Toooo funny about putting your egg in her lemonade! That really makes me laugh! Your egg pictures turned out fantastic!

Julie - I can’t stop laughing (out loud, mind you) about the pink lemonade… and then the picture of the afterwards. Oh, HOW FUNNY! And that’s not good, considering I had the stomach flu two days ago and my ribs HURT. But I laugh anyways, because that is soooo funny! I can totally see myself doing that.
And eggs… I only boil them once a year–for Easter. So I have to google it EVERY year. At least you are considering yourself a pro now!
PS: I am making baked french toast for brunch tomorrow. CAN’T WAIT. My husband is so excited (so am I). It’s been too long. I am going to try to tweak it a bit, since my youngest son is allergic to eggs. Apparently you can make french toast with bananas instead of eggs. Who knew! I googled that, too. Sounds yummy enough, but man, I am going to miss the real thing. My youngest is 3 now, so he’s at an age where we can’t just always serve him something “special”–he’s starting to feel really left out.

Christine - I have been reading your blog for a few months now and just love it so much! Thanks for sharing your beautiful images and thoughts. It is funny as I was dying eggs yesterday with my boys I thought about you because of the rainbow of bright colors – I thought: I bet she LOVES this! So I had to laugh when you said it was your first time to do it with the kids. LOVE that you put the egg in the lemonade. LOL Funny how things don’t turn out like how we have them in our heads, but they always turn out, don’t they?

jeanne - All I have are brown eggs…how do you think they will turn out:-) I love that you dipped your egg in her drink…so me.

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - I can’t believe you’d never hard boiled an egg! You are so funny. Those were great pics. We do ours tonight. It’s one of my fav things to do. I did it every year growing up and it’s just one of my best memories. Happy Easter to ya Meg:)

Tanya - In her lemonade! Ah that is TOO funny! Happy Easter!

Flower Patch Farmgirl - C is 5 and has never dyed eggs before. It always gets away from me. But this year, I took the plan one step further and bought the dye tablets and an extra dozen eggs! Except…tomorrow is the Big Day and the eggs are still white.
Also – are you Meg or Megan? I feel so strange not knowing for sure. I definitely want to say the right name in my head when I talk to myself about you.
(Kinda creepy, I know.)

Dianne - Looks like you had a lovely time πŸ˜‰

holly - i have to look up how to hard boil eggs EVERY single time I make them! πŸ™‚ I love the picture of the dog looking out the window at you & the kids dying eggs. so sweet.
my mom is here visiting for a few days…. we had a great time catching up yesterday. She confided to me that she accidentally put desitin on her toothbrush (thinking it was toothpaste) & put it in her mouth. HYSTERICAL. I almost peed in my pants I was laughing so hard.
have a happy Easter!

Susan - Love the eggs but I am most impressed with your hard boiling skills! I am 50 and I have been hard boiling eggs for 40 of those years and I have never had a perfect batch…EVER! I am off to google this right now. Have a happy Easter!

Messy@Bungalow'56 - I woke up this morning wondering whether we were going to empty the eggs or boil them. Mine always crack. So now I know I can google it and the decision is made. Thanks. Wish it were warm enough here to do it outside. Still snow in the backyard. The Easter Bunny always has such a hard time of it.
Dana

callie grayson - awesome!!!
The smile on Talby’s face is the greatest!! Your kids will remember all the fun you do with them.
Let us know how the deviled eggs tun out!!
xx
callie

gina - oh yeah we dyed 7 packs of eggs yesterday and we all have colored hands. πŸ™‚ Have a VERY happy Easter!!

candace - Fun stuff I miss dying eggs – we did it almost every year growing up. And in the south you learn to hard boil eggs as a youngster – I think that deviled eggs are the admission ticket to potlucks.
Have a happy Easter!

kristi rediske - Love all the Easter egg decorating pictures-I did that with my kids for years-they are grown now and I miss it. I especially love the picture where the dog is in the doorway looking out-to cute. What a great family you have-God has blessed you!

Sara @ It's Good to be Queen - this is just funny stuff. love it.

shelly - I couldn’t hard boil eggs until last week either! How nuts! We just never needed them…if we did my mom always made them.
It looks like everyone had a blast πŸ™‚ the dyed fingers should be faded by Sunday…when my oldest was little, he had to sing at church with crazy egg dye fingers-Lovely-mother of the year for sure!

Kirsten - my family will only eat eggs if they are scrambled, so i have to google how to hard-boil eggs every easter, too. so you’re not the only dork! and every year, my mom cracks a few and i do not. i’m so glad i learned how to boil eggs from google and not my mom.
looks like a blast! i love it that you dipped one in the lemonade. that is awesome! (and something i would totally do).

Jill - So cute! That looks like a lot of fun for the kids that were there. πŸ™‚

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from the archives….4

this post was from august 17, 2008:
 
i was wrong.

all these years….i thought fishing was boring.

i couldn't imagine why people (men) did it.

what could possibly be interesting about it?

i was wrong.

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fishing was nothing like i thought.

mike set my kids up with real fishing poles and worms 

and within minutes we had fish!

everyone was catching fish!

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sean was so proud.

they all were.

this was so much fun.

the sun was going down and it was beautiful outside.

the setting is perfect at mike and carolyn's…beautiful, calm and quiet.

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i was loving how the kids would pull the hook out (or try to at least)

or just stick that worm on by themselves.

their second time fishing and they seemed like naturals….at least i thought so.
 

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look at annie's face seeing talby's catifsh…nervous?

i felt like i had to touch it and it felt just like i'd thought…slimey.

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joel was ready to help sean wrap his worm around a few more times.

and then joel caught one too.  

he taught me a photography trick…hold the fish close to the camera

so it will look bigger.

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i think it worked.

and look – even i caught one!  

it took about one minute.

the perfect kind of fishing for my ADD personality.

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much to annie's dismay, we threw them all back in.

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we got to play with max again.

(and we begged craig for a puppy again)

the little girls & my mom helped bring in more tomatoes from the garden.

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annie's last fish on the tiny Nemo pole was a big one.

so big that the pole was bent over.

mike took over reeling it in while annie cheered him on clapping and jumping.

it fought hard but up popped the biggest bass we'd seen yet, splashing all around.

then suddenly…it snapped the line and got away.

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and that's no fish tale.

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thanks again mike and carolyn for a wonderful memory.

(and yummy dinner too)

i am so happy i was wrong.

*hey i just realized that i have known you (carolyn, mike, nancy & joel)

for 24 years.

wow…that's so cool.


ohio auto glass - You youngest daughter is much better on fishing than me. Good to see you enjoyed that day.

Ellen - Ok, just stumbled upon your blog (by clicking links from others, etc.) and I loved what I saw – then, I saw your son’s Jayhawk T-shirt and now know I’ll be back time and time again! Go Hawks!

Diana - Oh what fun! I know my hubby is just waiting patiently for fishing weather now….
and waiting….
waiting…
LOVED this post! β™₯
{ I’m a hiker myself while hubby fishes, although sometimes I can make myself sit still and fish, too. πŸ˜€ }

Krista - I have been watching your team’s progress from Jody lander’s blog, she’s been posting updates. Sounds like your group is having an amazing, life-changing time. Wishing you a safe trip home, we missed you this week!!

Messy@Bungalow'56 - I too wasn’t too keen on fishing, but this past summer we decided everyone was old enough and our whole family tried it off a rock point…. it was soo much fun. Although, your fish are much prettier than the sturgeon we catch in Northern Canada. Thanks for the good memory.
Dana

Karen Gerstenberger - I know you are away right now, but want you to know that I gave you an award on my blog today. I love coming here to visit, and wanted you to know.
Praying for you and your traveling group, for blessing to come to you and all whom your lives touch.

Lanny Stanard - I remember this post… and I’m thinking that was the picture that was in the magazine! can’t wait for you to get home and hope all are doing well…

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from the archives….3

this was posted july 18, 2008.

the last baby piggies.

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craig's uncle and aunt told us this was the last round of baby pigs.

after 30 years they are going to be pig-free.

sad for us but so liberating for them.
 

since these are the last ones…we had to get out there!

so we called them up and invited ourselves over…last minute.

we gave them a 20 minute warning.

wasn't that polite of us?

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if you hold them like this they don't squeal….seriously.
but i couldn't do it.
it just felt so funny.

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i set my camera down low and they kept creeping in on me.

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it was cool but kind of creepy too.

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"please craig…can we keep just one?"

earlier in the day we'd laughed about the thought of having a pig as a pet.

they get to be like 800 pounds…the size of a couch?

who wouldn't want one?

the babies are cute though.

if you had one all cleaned up and could teach it tricks?!

i need to join 4H and get all this stuff out of my system.

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annie was watching the mama…keeping track of her.

good plan.

she's gianormous.

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i will miss this janet!

what we will do without the baby pigs to visit?

maybe you can start raising puppies?

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I
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ray is the biggest golden retriever in the world.

he has to be.

but such a sweet dog…if he doesn't knock you over by accident.

sean wanted to ride him.

ray could do it but we said no. 

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lots of corn this year – everywhere in kansas!

it is so pretty to see fields of it everywhere you go.

the kids got to pick some and check if it was ready.

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not quite yet.

janet took annie out to the garden and let her pick cucumbers.

she couldn't wait to eat them.

(the ONLY vegetable she eats??)

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i love this blurry picture (so many of these were blurry?)

fruit punch on her lip, dirty hair stuck to her face, cucumbers in her lap…

completely zonked out.

we love the farm.

we'll miss the pigs.

thanks gary and janet.

next time we will have a cookout so we can check that off our summer list.

but i promise we'll plan it more than 20 minutes in advance…

maybe even an hour? 

jen - I LOVE the picture of Scott with the baby pig–that look of pure joy, laughing so hard. I would frame it (as weird as it is with a piglet upside down).

Jane - Those piggie pictures just melt my heart!

amy jupin - i know you can’t read his right now, but i miss you.
wearing my polka dot pajamas, drinking out of my polka dot mug, hoping your trip is awesome. miss you, call me, let’s do lunch, mmmmkay? πŸ™‚

`Kelly - Oh how cute!
I prayed for you today as I washed my red with white polka dots spoon rest! I can’t wait to hear about your trip!

carrie - Very cute pigs. I used to have a pot bellied pig named Penelope, she stayed indoors and was actually very sweet. Those little pink piggies are the cutest. Take Care, Carrie

Vera - All these baby animals sure are cute! But it’s littler Annie who is totally melting my heart right now!!!!

purejoy - oh, that was such a babe moment!! i could almost hear his little voice… la la la. so cute. and that annie?? she is absolutely the most adorable girl in the universe. seriously.

sandy toe - Oh my what fun and special memories!
sandy toe

Holly - that is awesome!

Teresa - They are too cute….Love your blog.. Hope you will stop by…I just added some extra giveaways…
So glad to have a few hours to blog hop.
Teresa
http://teresa-grammygirlfriend.blogspot.com/

Hillary @ The Other Mama - This is awesome. I love the pigs! What was the old show where they had a pig as a pet? Green Acres? Maybe it was named Elmer or something? I can’t remember, but I loved the thought of it. And the pig stampede is too much! Adorable!
Glad y’all got to enjoy the farm life!

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Oh I love pigs. So cute how they were creeping up on you. That last one of your sweetie all tuckered out was precious.
Thinking of you alot this week. Hope all is going really well. Can’t wait to hear every detail.

Sarah - Oh my goodness those piggies are so cute. I might have to give up bacon now. Seriously.
I am praying group has made it to Africa safely, that your families are doing okay without their mama’s, and you are able to do God’s work and make a difference. I can’t wait to hear about your trip!

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