Mean Girls..

Let me paint you a picture.

7th grade. Chubby girl. First chair flute player. Thick straight frizzy hair with a wall of bangs that I made my mom perm every 6 weeks thankyouverymuch. I had such a poof on the top of my head.. girl, I was a mess. Needless to say, I was a walking target for meanies.

However, I was put into Weight Watchers at age 11, (oh, trust me.. I'm in therapy for that!) grew a few inches and over one summer became the skinny popular 8th grader. My bangs had grown out a bit, and I replaced flute with drama club. I even was class speaker at graduation.

Yep.. I peaked in the 8th grade. True story.

Sad sad sad true story.

High school was even sadder than 7th grade. My weight came back on with a venegance and I returned to the social suicide that was "Organized School Music Programs" only this time it was show choir. I mean, I could not get any hotter my people.

Debbie Downer moment, if I may.. I believe this is one of the moments when I realized that, in this twisted culture of ours, if skinny=good, then chubby=bad. Math was not my forte, but that was one simple equation I could figure out. Oh, how I desperately wish I could go back to that sweet little 15 year old and tell her a few things.

Why the outpouring of emotions tonight on my unsuspecting blog?? Well, for one, I am in the full throes of pms. Yay! TMI?? Secondly, my sweet squishy 8 year old daughter is dealing with a mean girl of her own. And boy, I have never wanted to pick a fight with a mean girl more than I do right now, even if she is only 9.

The short of it.. this little girl has been harassing my little girl for almost 2 years, off and on. We have constantly tried to encourage our bubba to stand up for herself in hopes we can teach her some life lessons about how life is hard, Love is the answer.. blah blah blah.. and up until this point, it was mostly playground hierarchy.

However, when said mean girl gets an entire table of 2nd graders to make fun of my daughter over her lunch contents? And my daughter comes home telling me an entire table accused her of passing gas because she was eating a smelley hard boiled egg?? And she doesn't want to eat eggs ever again?? And mean girl told people at the table to smell my daughter's booty?? Umm.. Mamma Bear (and Papa Bear for that matter) are. on. it. On it!

I hate...HATE...that my lovebug has to suffer this inevitable? girlhood tragedy this young.

I implore you to tell your sweet things they are precious and loved and safe.

And that the God of the universe finds them beautiful and captivating.

And He is simply thrilled over them, and has been since the day He created them.

I am absolutely positive of this fact.. if every girl knew these things without a doubt, our world would change radically. I know my world would have been vastly different had I understood that a little earlier.

Please.. let's do our part to stop the meaness.

A recap..

Oh my gravy.. I haven't been on here in a while. July 2009? What? I have been so busy with the business side of things, that I haven't had a moment to breathe and write a bit about the haps with our little family.

A few brief recaps..
* We went to Disneyland with the kiddos during their fall break and even stayed in the ohsoMickey-fied Disneyland Hotel. My sweet deprived children had never seen such decadence.. It wasn't that decadent.. they just haven't gotten out much. ;)

* The holidays were full of twinkle lights and hot cocoa, family time with some family drama thrown in. Add a huge car repair bill to the mix and it makes for interesting times.. But God provides, and we are blessed. That's all I have to say about that!

* Our sassy Miss H turned 8 years old last week. Coconut smoothies and Tortilla soup from Island's was her pick. I will dedicate a whole post to her day as soon as I get her 8 year old portraits done.

* I have been seeing a biocranial doctor to help with my migraines and fibro.. it seems to be working, so yay??!!

I need to get to bed, but wanted to fill in the details. I will be back soon!

He's 10..

My son just turned 10 this month, which means I have been a parent for that long.

Wow..

I just had to pause for a moment to let that sink in.

My husband rocked his father's hat and planned a huge Halo Wars party, complete with a Training Mission, a "fill up your own bag" candy bar, and Dye Wars Battle.

Side Note.... Squirt Guns+White T-shirts+Many Bottles of Red and Blue food coloring+the wild abandon of 8 ten year old boys running amuck=Dye Wars.

I have never seen that many boys running around with that much food coloring on their person. Needless to say, though the parents were forewarned, they looked a little shocked at the deep blue and vibrant red hands their boys were sporting. :)

The sound of my sweet boy squealing like a girl (don't tell him I said that) and continuously hugging his dad was all the thanks I needed. T3 is one of the most kindhearted, loyal, faithful and sarcastic 10 year olds I have ever known. I say this every year, but I am so proud of him...and delight that God ordained him a Tolson and we get to spend a lifetime loving on that kid.


Fun was had by all.. especially my boy. He is certainly going to remember the time his daddy planned a great day for him.


Of course you have to see his 10 year old portrait...Happiest of Birthday's My 10 year old!


Love Birthdays..

San Diego photography presents Random Thought time..

Some things I am not excited about...

- Chickenpox and Pinkeye and the Flu.... Basically the amazing ability that my children have of picking up every sickness that runs through our school.... T3 just got over pink eye and I was so thankful that we were able to prevent anyone else from getting it. However, my sweet daughter woke up this morning covered with little pink spots all over..

- Having to re-schedule photoshoots because of above sicknesses, or the migraines that have been ripping through my brain on a weekly basis...

- The completely confusing template I have been trying to work on... I am so overwhelmed by trying to figure it all out that I have sort of given it up for now. Truth be told, I have been taking care of sick kiddos so much that I haven't had time.... I really need to get to it yo! This is why I haven't been posting much...

- Girl drama that continues to go on... I am so desiring a community of women that has each other's backs instead of stabbing one another in that same area! Why do we do that to ourselves?? Safety and acceptance ladies!

And because I am so motivated to have the positives outweigh the negatives.. I will add a bunch of things I am excited about these days..

- Umm.. have you even tried the Gluten Free Valencia Orange Cake from Starby's?? For someone who hasn't purposely ingested gluten (the protein found in wheat) for over 6 months... it is a little slice of Orange.Scented.HEAVEN!! I die!

- Learning the Hoedown Throwdown in the parking lot last night with the small group I lead... I am a complete dork when it comes to dancing.. but it was fun and fab nonetheless! Come on.. you know you want to pop it, lock it, polka dot it!

- The wonderful client who sent me Starby's card! Kim... you rock.. and you know me so well! My favorite get away.. Cappucino in hand+browsing through the thousands of books=Perfection.

-Seasame Street... My 7 year old is sitting here enthralled. It is timeless, I must say. :-) Who wouldn't love Elmo and the Pipe Organ number of the day excitement!!! What number will it be??

- My new blogsite... it will be so fine! (Once I get it working the way I want..)

- Great photography friends who are so willing to help one another out.. That is community!

- A husband who continues to take care of.. well.. everything. He is a wonder and I don't know what I would without him..

- The new orange rugs I bought for my front bathroom.. I love them. But.. so does my cat! We fight about the ownership of said rugs alot!!

- A Palm Springs getaway with the hubster next week.. hopefully the pox will have abated so I can go... I'm thinking positive!!



There's my list. What's on yours??


Love polka dotting it..

San Diego Photography presents Random Thoughts...

- We just moved into a new condo.. I love the new-ness, but hate the process. I'm going a little mad not knowing where everything is...

- My daughter just brought me a $10 bill and said, "Here Mom. This is for you as thanks for all you do." I swear that girl can drive me to the brink of insanity with her attitude... but then reel me back in with her sweetness. Just today we were driving home from an errand, blasting some Taylor Swift, singing together, and I got teary-eyed sharing that moment with her.

- Can I just say how much I love a full size washer and dryer?? You don't even know how great it is to be able to wash more than 2 towels at a time. I am not kidding! Stackable washer/dryers are from the devil...

- My husband introduced me to the wonder/evil/insanity that is an El Aztec breakfast burrito. It is the size of a small baby.. No joke. In my defense, we share it, and I either scoop out the insides, or transfer it to a Gluten Free tortilla. (No wheat for me!) Thus, my arteries won't give out as fast as my husbands. I am not sure if this is good or bad.. :)

- I have a friend coming over for dinner in less than an hour, and I don't know where my cooking items are. So, I better go find them. Why.. because microwaved Chicken and Broccoli doesn't sound super great..

Love Sweet Moments..

San Diego Photography presents Random thought time...

So, I haven't shared my random-ness in a while.. and I just know that you have been sitting there on your computer, biting your nails in anticipation of my next post. Thanks for waiting. ;)

- I think the Barefoot Contessa and her husband are the cutest thing since chubby puppies... She cooks for him.. he happily enjoys the offering. They stand so close to each other and she giggles... I bet they "cuddle" every night... ;)

- My daughter turned 7 this past week. Words cannot express the vast emotions I go through when I watch my children age. I will post about that soon...

- I shudder/cringe/die a little every time my son gleefully, and with wild abandon, shoots someone on Halo 3...

- I love this salad or any variation thereof.. and would eat it every day if I could afford the sashimi. It's expensive yo...

- My husband and I just finished this series and I am utterly and profoundly sad about it.. I feel lost not knowing if Rory and Logan ever got back together, or if Luke and Lorelai ended up married... *Sad sigh*

- I have never been so thrilled to get an email from Kaiser about test results... because I am anxiously, feverishly, hopefully awaiting a diagnosis of the pain that has been plaguing me for a few years...

- I have a deep desire to learn how to play the guitar and my rockstar husband who has played for over 20 years will not teach me... So I am probably going to figure out how to do it myself...

- This site is SO.MUCH.FUN... My husband should be very glad I am not the spender in the family...

Post some random things about you in the comments! I love learning new things about people...

Love unplanned..

Overheard Conversations..

My two children.. in the kitchen...planning to sell some tea to our neighbors.

"Brother, you have to put more agave in the tea so people will buy it..
Can I stir it??"

"Hannah, I am good at stirring it."

"Oh yeah, wait, you're the business dude."

"I hope we can make 5 dollars a day, and Mom, you get 25% for being such a good mom."

"Brother, don't drink all the tea because it is for our customers."

"This is the goodest tea ever."

So, my heart was melted, but then I looked at my kitchen, and it is destroyed. I need some prayer so I don't ruin their business venture with my yelling. :)

I am all about being real...

The Message Board: My Dress

I found this on a forum today, and just wanted to share... It made me chuckle. :)

And the winner is...

Christina!!!

The battle was a hard one to win apparently.. even people who don't comment on my blog made an appearance. Thank you for all of your effort, and please stay tuned as I love to give away free gift cards frequently. :)

Extra cool points if you know the whole song or if you watch the whole intro... we will be friends for life!!

Ahhh.. the memories....

Though there are 6 of us Scharfenberg children, the memories I have of watching t.v. growing up only include 2 of them. This is because my older siblings were either married, engaged,or heading off to college while I was still in elementary school. So, in some ways I feel like a middle child of 3, since the siblings left at home consisted of my brother Andrew (3 years older), and my sister Amy (2 1/2 years younger).

Even more distressing to me was that Amy was a born tomboy.. do you know what that meant to me.. the girliest girl ever?? It meant that Amy and Andrew often combined their votes 2 to 1 in favor of boy shows like Air Wolf, Knight Rider, and... the A-Team. Now, I made the best of it, by falling in love with the cutest boy on the show, and could watch and dream about marrying the handsome bad-boy ladies man (Face), or the lone crimefighter Michael Knight and off we would drive into the sunset with Kit.

And because we all need a little memory refresher.. I leave you with this theme song.

And.... a $10 Starbucks card will be shipped to the first person who can tell me what show I wanted to watch, but was cruelly out-voted on.

(P.S. Family members are not allowed to comment!!!)

I go to bed late, and get up early, and it affects me the rest of the day. A Soy Carmel Macchiato helps a little, but then my energy flags and I wish I could go back to bed....

But not her... not my highly engertic 6 year old. She had to get up early today too.. and she did not have the aid of a sugary coffee drink to lift away the tiredness. But when we arrived home at 8:30am.. she was already planning on making a recipe and having a tea party, unbeknownst to me.

This girl I love knows that she must ask permission to use anything in the kitchen. This rule was set in place after this same girl at the age of 4 mixed a wonderful concoction of dark chocolate syrup, expensive Italian tomato paste, and expensive French mustard into my carpet.

No...Don't say that.. I wasn't mad at all... Nope.. nary a raised voice left these lips. I was totally in control of my emotions.


So, she knows this rule and trys to abide by it, but all the condiments in my fridge must call her name on a daily basis, because I sometimes come out to the kitchen and find a mixture of red chili paste and soy sauce and mayo and lemon juice and peanut butter... And no, she never eats it..she just wants to mix it up and see what happens.

Today she asked if she could make tea and serve strawberry jam sandwiches to her "friends". I agreed, but should have known she would try to sneak something else in... When I went to light the candles I found expensive sliced Bing Cherries mixed with the jam.

Why does she always have to use the expensive stuff??? I snapped a few pictures of her little party because I do love her and her quirkiness, but if you ever come by and see my lack of condiment supply.. you will know why!

Random thought time....

I am woefully behind on posting. I have a few sessions to get up, but the end of May and the entirety of June is turning out to be extremely busy. So, I thought I would kick off the weekend with a Random Thought posts... I know how you all love those!!

-We finally got a kitty. My man has wanted one for a very long time, and 2 weeks ago he picked up a fluffy, gray tiger striped beast.. I mean kitten. It took us a while to name him and we settled on Buster, realizing later as we were watching the second season of Arrested Development that we had named our kitten after the crazy brother. Such is life in our house. And the name fits as our kitten/beast/predator of walking feet is completely pyscho!!


Here is the beast! He is ferocious.



-Last week I fell as I was doing something very dangerous... walking... yep. Don't try that at home. I actually slipped on Buster's food plate and my arm caught the corner of the stove. Nothing hurt at the time, but now I am sore all over.. and it's been a week... I probably should have gone to see a chiropracter!!

-School is out for us, and without the structure of homeschool... and by structure I mean in the most free-spirited, relaxed way... my kids are already claiming boredom. My new favorite phrase to them is... "Wow...I think you forgot about being grateful for all the wonderful things you have... and if complaining continues, said wonderful things will be taken away." So far... it works. But I am going to be really stuck if I actually have to take away wonderful things because then they will be realllllly bored. I love it when my discipline backs me into a corner. That is some good parenting.

I should write a book.... ;)

-I am getting partial highlights today... just thought you would want to know. It has been years since I have had my hair professionally colored... and I don't mean that it hasn't been colored. Oh yes, it has been lots of different shades of brown. There was the lovely shade of Olive Green Brown when I went too ashy with the color. The was the Burnt Orange Brown when I tried to color over a bad highlight job that I gave to myself. :) So now, I am trusting my hair to Emily Benitez who does a fabulous job!! And maybe if you are lucky.. I will post some pictures.


Here's a random pic of my kiddos. If you have seen my hallway canvas, you know I have a great shot of the 2 of them.. but that was 2 years ago. I am constantly trying to get another shot of them for another canvas.. and have yet to attain that shot. I will prevail one of these days...

My 100th post....

This is actually closer to my 200th post, but since I have combined blogs, I lost all of the other posts.. such is life! :)

This past weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of helping Carey Shumacher of Barefoot Memories and Me Ra Koh of Me Ra Koh Photography with assisting at one of their workshops for women. They needed photographers who already knew their camera to come and help workshop attendees during the photoshoots as there were only 2 of them, and 30+ attendees. On Saturday, I met them at the beautiful Rancho Bernarndo Inn for a Mom and Baby photoshoot... I didn't take any pictures that day... I was just so pleased to be able to meet these two phenomenal women photographers!!

On Sunday, we met at the Wind and Sea Beach in La Jolla, and I will definitely have to add that beach to my list of locations. I am taking my family there next week! :) It was beautiful, and this time I did take some photos.


Here is a few of Carey.. teaching what she does best.. beach shots!




And, here is Me Ra... helping out...



And here is Brian, Me Ra's husband not paying attention, and taking some scenic shots. :)




Then the workshops gals were split up into groups of 5-6 and given a photographer and a family. I wasn't there to shoot pics, but to help the women.... but you know me.. I couldn't help snap a couple. This was an adorable family!!






I wish I had gotten a tiny bit lower on this shot... that is their parents feet in the background and I just loved the moment...


Again, thanks for letting me help out, and I am so glad I was able to meet you both! If you ever need assistants again... give me a holler!! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Random Thought Time!!

- I have have been a momma for 9 years... weird to think that almost a decade has gone by. I sure hope I have learned a few things...

- Being married to a pastor means we celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday usually. However, last night our family was volunteering for Journey Up Babysitting to raise money for the church, so I get Monday!! I will take it. :)

- We have decided to stay in our condo for now. We just didn't find the right fit anywhere else, and feel good about some changes we are going to make around here! Most notably the rats...the Rodent man's a'coming tomorra!!

- I was very excited to grab myself a Soy Chai and enjoy our church service today. My daughter (and the devil??) decided to steal my joy by throwing a huge fit. I missed my nephew's baby dedication and most of the worship and walked in the WC sooooo frustrated... But just was overwhelmed by Ed's message. I needed to hear everything he had to say today. Whoo.. I am fired up!

- And lastly... My man and I watched the last bit of "Carrie" by Stephen King (while the kiddos were resting in their rooms)..... It was at the part where she locks everyone in the gym, and I was not creeped out by anything until her mother tried to kill her. I was very disturbed that someone would run that movie on this day!! Ummm.. also didn't like the hand coming out of the ground at the end. Ohh.. or the scary Jesus crucifix eyes... but other than that... I am ok. I will let you know how my sleep goes tomorrow!

And I am leaving you with a picture.. because I am not taking any today!! Don't worry, I picked a clean picture of Carrie.. before she goes all psycho!




Blessings to all you momma's out there. The sacrifice that you make on a daily basis does not go unnoticed.

It Random Thought time.....

I haven't posted my thoughts in a while, and I am sure you are all just dying to get inside this crazy head of mine. :)

-My 10 year anniversary is 6 days away. WHAT!! How have I been married for 10 years??? We haven't decided what we will be doing. Oh, sure, we have had grand plans (and when I say we, I mean me!) but the mula to do such things hasn't been forthcoming, so we might have to scale back on the grand plans..... for now!!

-My son just asked if he can have one of my diamond rings to give to the girl he will marry someday so he doesn't have to spend a lot of money on a ring for her. Hmmm, I am not quite sure what to think of that.

-Hannah has been doing her hair lately, and I have been catching myself reaching to fix her lopsided and messy pigtails, because I want them to look perfect. Or is it because I don't want people to think I did her hair. And that reminds me that I care way too much about what people think. It is amazing that God uses tiny, seemingly insignificant things to change my heart on a daily basis.

-In the time it has taken to type the above, my son has changed his mind. He is no longer getting married at all, because he can't fathom saving money for "over a year" for a ring. I think I need to go have a chat with him. :)

-I love my kids, but having them here with me all the time has brought the need for Sarah Time to astronomic levels. In fact, I need to go... we have a park play day, and there will be actual, real, people... live people. People who don't want to talk about Pokemon, or Barbies, or puppies, or Harry Potter... I really need to go.

I will leave you with these pics I snapped yesterday at the golden light hour of 5pm. I was practicing my sunflare shots. I love their backlit hair!

A few happy things...

Todd and I have been married for 29 days shy of 10 years...

Did that make sense to you?? Because it made sense to me!

Anywhoo... we have learned a few things along the way, one the them being the importance of "our" time together. When Todd gets home from work, we usually snuggle on the bed for a few minutes. Usually, I am right in the middle of dinner, with hungry kiddos, so I don't have a bunch o'time. Sometimes we just lay there, sometimes we talk... but it is a good connection for us, even if we are eventually invaded by a snuggling addict...



I love their hands together and I told them to hold the position until I could get my camera. I will need to look at this when she is all grown up!

Todd is also the one who puts the kiddos to bed. I love that because by that time of night, I am spent. I have no energy left.... except to make some tea for me and coffee for my hubster. I usually try to scurry about and get dinner things picked up by the time the tea kettle boils.. I know... I have some OCD tendencies... umm don't we all!

But then I get to do this....


And it is so nice to sit back with my hubby and enjoy a hot drink and read, and watch some t.v., and chill.

Sometimes it is the little things in life...

Random thoughts...

I think this will be a weekly addition to this blog.. all of my lovely randomness. But this time... I am going to add pictures!!!

-I didn't know that my husband read my blog until he said last week...."Hon, if you need Sarah Time, all you gotta do is ask." :) Good thing he reads it huh! So, last Friday, I was sent to do some shopping and hang out at Barnes and Noble. All by myself. Completely alone in the child's section (because that was where the quiet corner was!). Looking at People magazine, and a photography book. Heaven!

-Speaking of wonderful husbands, Saturday Todd brought me these... for no reason...actually I take that back.. there is a reason... I am too wonderful and these flowers symbolize all of that wonderfulness....but I digress.

I love him....



-Speaking about love....Monday was a rainy day so the kiddos and I made this. Which I love...

And then we added this to make....My favorite snack. Or meal actually. You should try it.


-Speaking of trying something... My sis and I went to sushi last night. I am ever thankful because the last time I had sushi was in the summer. My family doesn't crave sushi like I do (well Hannah does but she is good with TJ's sushi in a pinch)and it gets expensive. Amy and I went at the wrong time though and had to wait almost an hour for a table. The Rancho Roll was well worth the wait... seriously... I am still thinking about it this morning... I wish I knew how to make it. Sigh.

-On our way out...Hannah fell asleep on the couch, and I had to snap a picture because this is what I see when she is snuggling with me in bed. The long dark eyelashes... the sweet cheeks... the curve of her nose... just kissable. :)
Wish my husband luck in trying to put an energetic, untired 6 year old in bed!!

And thus concludes this weeks randomness. :)

Thoughts....

A few things I am thinking about right now...


..My daughter is turning 6, and she is acting and looking like a little woman. It scares me, but I don't let her know.

..My husband has taken a liking to Family Guy, and I think it is horrid. But then, he probably feels that way about The Real Housewives of the O.C. that I watch.

..I haven't taken my thyroid meds for a few days, and I am feeling it. I need to get my prescription refilled.

..I have another lifelong friend leaving for the other side of the country.. as if the Fai'ais leaving wasn't enough. I am sad about that, but happy for them.

..I love Sprouts, and I am on my way to get some fresh veggies and bulk items that I am out of. My children think it is a playground, and that drives me crazy. I am thinking about bribing them with fast food lunch... does that make me a bad mother, or just one trying to survive this thing called motherhood/homeschool.

..Speaking of homeschool, it isn't going too bad, considering I haven't a drop of Sarah Time anymore. I don't miss the stress and worry and heartache that was my life when they were in school. My kiddos are very happy and I am soooo glad. I would do anything for them... even give up my freedom. :)

..That reminds me, I need to tell my husband that I need some Sarah Time.

Thus concludes today's thoughts. The amount of random thoughts I have is astounding, so be prepared for lots of crazy talk from yours truly. :)

My boys...

I love these two. I especially love how they have such a connection between them. It all started when...(cue the squiggly hazy lines that signals a flash back sequence)....

Umm, it started when little Todd was born. I know he loved me, but nothing could make him light up like his daddy. When he could crawl, he would wait by the door and make what we refer to as "lemon faces" until Daddy walked in and picked him up. Sometimes he would take toys over with him to pass the time, and occasionally he would nurse, you know, if he got hungry and stuff. And much to his dismay, I made him take a nap or two, horrible mamma that I am. But most of his day was spent waiting for the "big man". He would start this little bounce thing when he heard the car pull into the gravel driveway. Yep, my heart was melted, but also a little bit envious of the obvious devotion he had, and still has for that matter.

I am older and hopefully wiser, and I know now that there is nothing in this world I want more for my son than a great relationship with his Dad, earthly and Heavenly. I often remind my hubster that he has a great responsibility. (as if he needs my help!!) It is a powerful thing to have someone adore you that much. One that I pray often that my husband and I use wisely.

Umm... Can I get a witness!! What, what!! :)

Thought of the day....

How can one family have so much laundry???