I can’t believe I bought a flamingo.

At Joanns this week Owen spotted something hotpink across the store and begged to get closer for another look.
“Mom! It’s just like the flamingo from Gnomeo and Juliet!
Can we buy him?”

Hmmm.
Does anyone really need a junky plastic flamingo in their yard?
“Okay. Sure.
He’s on sale.”
And now this guy is part of the family:It’s been a really exciting Mother’s Day.

Actually it has. The family was real sweet to me.
I got to sleep in. We ate pancakes in our jammies. Casey and the kids bought me some beautiful sunflowers and snazzy new spatulas. Lucy made me a darling picture saying what a good “photographer” I was. And (if you remember my Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel quandary) Casey made me a good Phil/Peter mix tape (er, CD). Now I have no excuses.Then to try out my new spatulas, Lucy and I made PW’s knock you naked brownies. Lucy carefully unwrapped all the caramels (she’s such a good helper) and both kids licked everything more than clean.The brownies were super ooey gooey but a bit dry on the top. So it’s a work in progress. I’m not giving up yet.Ā 

Finally we took our standard Mother’s Day pic, which is fun to compare with pics from the past. More kids pop up in the pics, my hair looks less and less maintained, and despite the craziness that comes with being a mom I’m so lucky these kiddos are mine. Happy Mother’s Day! to you and your flamingos.

  1. 1) Kim

    I love them.. It may be silly but that is just me. I have told my husband for years that I want some and he is always saying really “nooo, why” lol
    maybe this year?

  2. Haha! I thought the same thing when we bought two flamingos last year for the front yard” of the kids playhouse.

  3. 3) Louise

    Lucy’s right – you are a great ‘fatogafer’ – beautiful pics šŸ™‚

  4. 4) EMILY

    Nice flamingo! :o) and Happy Mothers day!

  5. 5) SueMurph

    Here to search up your LA Fashion District advice as my day after mother’s day will be spent there. So excited! Love the flamingo…my then teenage daughter “acquired” one somehow a few years back(let your imagination fill in the unsaid) and she has been a part of her room since.

  6. Awww…lovely photos as always. Happy Mother’s Day, Dana!

  7. 8) Lindsay

    Of course you don’t NEED a pink flamingo in your yard..but it’s cool anyway : ) Glad to see you had an awesome day!

  8. 9) Sam

    I love the picture idea! when the munchkin wakes up we’re going outside for ours! My hair actually looks good today so I’m in luck!

  9. My husband’s Dad liked flamingo stuff for some reason, so every once in a while I buy something flamingo for him. I haven’t bought any for the yard yet, but I’ve thought about it. Your kids are so precious! Happy Mothers Day!

  10. YES! You definitely needed a hot pink flamingo! Especially since it’s just like from Gnomeo & Juliet. I LOVE that movie!! In fact, I want a hot pink flamingo in the yard… I wonder how I can convince my hubby to let me have one.

    Well, Happy Mother’s Day! šŸ™‚

  11. 12) Jenny

    The next step is being able to tell the difference between Phil solo, Peter solo, and Genesis. My particular duties as wife (and dutiful girlfriend before that) have included this skill. My just-turned 7yo is ahead of me, because tonight his dad was playing bass (just bass) and he said, “That’s Behind the Lines.” I had to confirm it was true. I’m not that good.

  12. Hehehe, fatogapher made me laugh out loud! šŸ˜€

    Happy Mother’s Day!

  13. I love them! Our church youth groups are raising money by taking donations to send them (32 of them) to spend a few days in peoples yards! You can insure that they won’t land in your yard for a small donation. It’s been lots of fun seeing them flock around town;)
    Happy Mothers Day! The brownies sound yummy, I may have to try them!

  14. I love Knomeo and Juliet and my son is only 1 1/2 lol. We watch the movies without him! šŸ™‚ Who doesn’t need a flamingo? Sounds like you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

  15. 16) Cheryl M

    That is the same thing my kids say when we go to Joanns! They would love me to buy them one too!

  16. this was so sweet! you are definetly an awesome “fotogafer”…and love the shot of you with your kids!

  17. 19) Paige W

    Forty jears with no one for to talk at!

    alas your flamingo reminds me of gnomeo and juliet, in which case you need a lady flamingo to keep him company!

    Cute.

  18. 20) bdaiss

    Happy mother’s day gorgeous! Glad it was a great one! I’m all for a lone pink flamingo. Everyone needs a bit of whimsy in their yard.

  19. Awwww…Happy Mother’s Day! Love the new pic! It’s been so fun to know you since Owen was a wee one. Seems like yesterday doesn’t it? Harper is turning 2 tomorrow and so I’m an emotional wreck for mother’s day – happy to be a mommy, but sad that my youngest isn’t a wee babe anymore šŸ™‚
    Big hugs and you look gorgeous!

  20. 22) Anna

    Oh my Gosh, it’s ME who wants a bright pink flamingo! We love G&J here, it’s such a sweet movie.
    Happy Mothers Day!

  21. 23) Cara sullenger

    I feel
    Like you have such great taste in everything so it makes me happy that I have that same dress for my Girl Roxie as your Lucy. So fun!

  22. Gorgeous pictures! Happy Mother’s Day! Love your tradition. šŸ™‚

  23. 25) charlie

    Casey looks so badass in the photo with children. And I can’t believe Owen is already so tall!

  24. 26) lauralee

    I love love love your jammie pants… where did you get the fabric or are they premade? You are a fantasticfatographer. Happy mothers day!

  25. My husband made those brownies a few weeks ago & we decided that next time, we’re using dark chocolate. The we’re good, but quite sweet! Your photos are darling. šŸ™‚

  26. Can you believe you have THREE babies??? So beautiful, all of them (plus you!).

    Also: my dad adores flamingos, and where he lives in Florida, you can hire a company on someone’s birthday to come cover the entire lawn with hundreds of plastic flamingos overnight so when they wake up, there’s a big, pink surprise. So my step-mother did that for him when he turned 61, and he has never stopped talking about it. True story.

    Happy Mother’s Day! šŸ™‚

  27. Love that you have a pink flamingo…..I have been dreaming of a photo shoot with a bunch of them but am too cheap to buy all of them. Wouldn’t about 20 of them make a cute photo shoot? All 50’s and vintage Florida-y?

    (Ok, I know I am weird….)
    ~Elizabeth

  28. Yes! Everyone needs them! I have 2 on my fire escape in a pot. Yay for Kitsch! šŸ™‚

  29. Aww…what a fun Mother’s Day. Lucy has very nice handwriting! I am really impressed. šŸ™‚

    And Owen is so cool. Love his flamingo. You are such a cool mom for buying it for him.

  30. Several of the families in the oldest, most beautiful part of my hometown had flamingos in their yards. Pulling Santa’s sleigh, playing volleyball, cheering for the local sports teams. Campy fun!!

  31. 33) Megan

    Ha! I finally bought a flamingo at Target last summer. I figure I have lived in CA long enough now to own one! Welcome to the club.

  32. 34) Christina

    I heartily approve of the pink flamingo! When I was about Owen’s age, my mom went to visit her best friend in the nearest big city and asked what us kids wanted her to bring back. I am sure my brother was reasonable and asked for a “surprise”, but I must have thought that the big city was a magical place with everything possible, and I asked for a pink flamingo (I am pretty sure I wanted one for the lawn as well!). When she came home, she had an inflatable pink flamingo for me, and Dad inflated it and it hung in my bedroom window until I was a teenager.

    I have been visiting Mom this week and clearing out my kid stuff from the basement, and found my pink flamingo. Perfect timing for Mother’s Day to reminisce with her about the crazy demands and wonderful things I thought my she could do when I was a kid, and that she actually managed to pull most of them off!

    The flamingo still inflates and we gave it to the little girl next door to pass on some of its magic.

  33. 35) Jen

    So cute, we have flamingos too! For the same reason, one even has (hand drawn, by me) eyelashes like the girl Flamingo.

    Happy (late) Mother’s day to you too!

    Jen

  34. 36) Jessica

    That is exactly how we ended up with “Mingo” the Flamingo in our yard – except we were at Lowe’s. LOL! I love it! Beautiful family.

  35. 37) Amy

    We have two pink flamingos in our yard – Janet & Herb. My son is constantly making sure they are there and everything is ok. Yes, they’re cheap – but they make any yard much more inviting! šŸ™‚

    Happy Mother’s Day!

    (PS: I used your tote bag tutorial for some Mother’s Day gifts – they turned out perfect! Thanks for the inspiration!)

  36. 38) Lillian

    We’ve had pink flamingos in our front yard for as long as I can remember…they’re my Mom’s thing and I love them. We have a couple that we’ve “enhanced” due to sun fading their “plumage” over the year. For the holidays, we bought Mom a solar-powered back-yard flamingo light – she loves it!

  37. 40) Maddie

    Haha anytime we pass a yard with one my son yells, “Look momma just like Featherstone!!!” I was wondering if it was leading to a Gnomeo and Juliet reference the minute I saw the title in my googlereader.

  38. 41) Genevieve

    my daughter saw the same flamingo at Joanne’s. nearly screamed as she said it’s Featherstone from Gnomeo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    it now lives in the back yard. with our gnomeo and juliet stone figures we found last year at hobby lobby.
    I feel your pain.

  39. 42) Gaia Woolf-Nightingall

    So wonderful ! Love this !!

  40. 43) Kayla C

    We bought 2 flamingos last summer. I even painted eyelashes and added a bow on one!

  41. 44) shannon

    I have an 11 month old,so I bought a pink flamingo for our backyard. Mostly as a photo prop…I plan on being in the yard a lot! Mine was about $2 at Target!

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