Chilly Day

It really feels like Fall outside this morning... or maybe Spring. Either way, it doesn't feel like the first day of July is tomorrow. It's kind of nice. It is only 65 degrees (at 9:45 a.m.) and is only supposed to get into the mid-70s.

We had a great weekend. We spent a lot of time outside... playing, mowing, picking cherries at Mom and Dad's. I just love the fact that the kids are old enough to run around the yard and burn off energy. It's also great to be able to share the great outdoors and all of the wonders in it with them.

The Japanese Beetles have appeared. They have taken up residence in our "weed garden" - the garden that we never planted... or weeded this year. At least they are eating the weeds and not the other "good" stuff. We have been plucking them off into glasses of water and feeding them to our neighbor's chicken. They are like nice little crunchy snacks for her. It's great! We eliminate the beetles; she gets an enjoyable snack.

Amanda has been wanting to get some Fourth of July decorations. Yesterday, we headed over to JoAnn and picked up some neat stuff. As we were turning into the parking lot, we spotted a couple walking a dog. Amanda, being the social butterfly, proudly yells, "HI!" out of the truck window. She's so funny. She has definitely come out of her shy shell.

Well, today will be filled with loads of laundry and a trip to the grocery store. Shasta has her 6th training class tonight. I think that we will be the only family there... should be a pretty quick class.

Friday's Feast

I had a lovely time with my neighbor last night. We went to a local bookstore that has a nice coffee shoppe inside of it. We were able to chat the night away... I didn't get home until a bit after 11:00 p.m. It's so nice to have finally found someone to "escape" with and talk about "mom" stuff...

Not sure what this weekend holds. I'd like to continue getting some yardwork done. We are slowly but surely chipping away at the mulch pile. I have one more area to week (not counting the vegetable gardens). I also would like to start working on clearing some of the area behind our fence into the woods. Doug did a first pass a few weeks ago with weed killer. It looks pretty nice. Now, we need to do a bit more clearing and mulch spreading back there.

Amanda has talked Doug into creating a little pond in our backyard, too. That will be an awesome addition to our area. I still would like to eventually tear down our small storage shed, build a pergola there... and have the pond nearby (with a small waterfall). It would make a lovely place to relax.

Lots of possibilities...

It's time for this week's feast... enjoy!

Appetizer:
What is the weather like today where you live? Today the highs are to be in the high 80's... although right now (2:45 p.m.), it is only 80. It's humid. There is a chance of storms later. Pretty much your typical Indiana summer day.

Soup:
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you? I've got to say 1. Right now, I have no desire to work outside of the home. Even though I complain sometimes, I am totally committed to the fact that my responsibilities are here with my family. My focus right now is on raising our children to know what truly is important in life...

Salad:
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.? Oh gosh. I guess that we have "all of the above". We have shutters on the outside of the house, but they are purely decorative... not functional at all. We have blinds on most of our windows and close them at night. We have curtains on most of the windows, too... but, again they are purely decorative. We really don't close them.

Main Course:
Name something that instantly cheers you up. Oh, this is easy... When either of my children tell me that they love me.

Dessert:
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning? Oh, another easy one. Zero! Because I don't set an alarm. If by chance, I do have to set an alarm to get up for an early doctor's appointment or something, I get up immediately when the alarm goes off. I don't want it to drone on forever and wake up other sleeping beauties in the house.

Fowl Fun

Our neighbors are just the best! They have two teenage boys... and serve as an adopted "uncle and aunt" to our two kiddos. They have the best critters, too. Snakes. Frogs. Turtles. Fish. A cat. Chickens. A duck. The kids just love to go over and visit. The mom in the family promises me that they don't mind. I just don't want to become a nuisance.

Anyway, we really enjoy visiting on Tuesdays which are Doug's golf nights. Last night, we had our weekly visit... and, here are some of our pictures. As you can tell, it was a blast! I just love the one of Darwin the Duck hopping out of the water to get a worm out of Amanda's hand!!

Enjoy...

Ok, I Give...

More continued excitement... almost more than I can handle.

On a good note, Mom is home from the hospital. She finally got to come home late Tuesday night. She is still on oxygen, but at least she is in the comfort of home. That makes a huge difference.

While Mom was in the hospital, Dad arrived home one evening (Sunday, I think), to find that a large tree next to their garage had been struck by lightning. The lightning had also come into the house and had at least one of their outlets in the garage smoking. When everything settled, they had to have a few circuits replaced... and a component on their stove replaced. At least Dad wasn't home and standing in his normal "storm watching" position... at the garage door... right by that very tree.

I finally gave in and went to the doctor yesterday for my poison ivy. The first few spots were starting to dry up, but new spots were still appearing... and driving me nuts. I got a nice steroid shot in the bum. Amanda wouldn't watch, but James did. After he saw that I got a Shrek donkey band-aid, he said, "Bubby, too!" Needless to say, he didn't take a needle for his desire to have a cool band-aid.

While we were at the doctor, Mallory escaped again. She somehow popped half of the bottom of the screen in the laundry room out. Amanda was devastated when we discovered it. The kids and I walked around the neighborhood, alerting everyone that we could find. For those that we couldn't find, we stuffed "lost" flyers in their mailboxes. Then, we drove around and stuffed some more in mailboxes on the other side of the woods behind our house. While we were out driving around, the neighbor boy spotted her at the edge of the woods behind his house. We all walked around back there calling for her and clanking the cereal bowl (since she likes to have milk out of cereal bowls...). Well, we didn't spot her again. We kept calling for her throughout the day and evening. We kept praying that she would appear again (shortly!) like she did the last time she got out. We did another search right before bedtime... to no avail. I woke up about 2:00 a.m. and thought that I should open the door and give a call for her. I did... and, heard that lovely jingle of her tags!! She ran up to the door and was safely in our home. Whew! I guess that she won't have "window privileges" again... Darn cat.

On a cool note, I discovered some oak tree saplings while finally finishing up the front yard last night. Doug and James transplanted one of them into a blank area in our front yard. It will certainly be fun to watch it grow up to be big and strong (I hope!) as James grows up to be big and strong. I can just imagine looking back and saying, "Oh, I remember when you and your daddy planted that tree... It was just before you turned 3 years old. It seems like only yesterday."

Mimi, Dean and Anzie are due into town today! Yeah!! They have had a couple of showings on their house already, and it sounds like one couple is wanting to make an offer. Awesome!

Have a great day and weekend... Here is Friday's Feast!

Appetizer:
If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose? I think that I would have to select Australia. I've never been there, but I have heard that it is just absolutely beautiful. I know that they have some great beaches and surfing... so, how could you go wrong?

Soup:
Which browser do you use to surf the Internet? I use Firefox. My husband has set up our family computer to run in Linux... and selected Firefox to be our browser. I have no problems with it... seems to work great for me.

Salad:
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country? Wow... there always seems to be one question each week that stumps me. This is the one for this week's feast. Honestly, I really didn't enjoy history when I was a younger student. I think that I've learned more in the last few years though from visiting museums and reading with the kiddos. I guess that I'd have to say 6... Surely this number will improve as the kiddos get older and we continue our learning experience together.

Main Course:
Finish this sentence: Love is… This question makes me think of Snoopy back in the 70's. Wasn't there a time when he was used on t-shirts and the like with that phrase? Need to go look that up...


Well, to get on with the question, I guess that I would have to say:
      Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4

Dessert:
Have you ever been in or near a tornado? No, but it is one of my greatest fears. When I was young and impressionable, my mom was usually home with us in the evenings along, as my dad worked the late shift. One summer I think that we had Tornado Warnings at least once a week. I'm not sure how many times we had to hide in the closets. That whole experience really formed my fear of tornados. The last few years, Doug has worked to bring me back the other way. I'm not as scared as I was, but still get uneasy when severe weather is in the area...

More Family Excitement...

Well, we received a call last night that Mom had been admitted to the hospital. She had been fighting a nasty cold basically ever since Grandpa's funeral. She got it a couple of days after it... and has been dealing with it ever since. She finally broke down and went in to see the doctor and was quickly diagnosed with pneumonia. So, she'll be spending a few days in the hospital receiving antibiotics and much needed rest. The kids made her all kinds of "get well" artwork that I'll be delivering later today.

It's raining here... again. Our yard is beginning to look like a hayfield. I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to give it some attention.

I am starting to break out in poison ivy. I haven't had a bad case of it since Amanda was a wee little baby. I guess that I'm overdue. I was pulling weeds back in the butterfly garden and apparently got into some p.i. there. Yuck. This won't be fun. So far, I've noticed itching on my neck, my right arm and my belly... Somehow, I wound up with a nice itchy patch inside of my belly button. That took talent...

For now, here is this week's feast:

Appetizer:
Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist? I am definitely an optimist! I always try to have a positive outlook on things... although every now and then I slip. I always try to have a smile on my face and look on the bright side.

Soup:
What is your favorite color of ink to write with? Without a doubt BLACK. I think that it looks so much more clean and crisp... and it's easier to read than blue. Love the black ink!!

Salad:
How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them? I had my first "official" (read - one that I paid for) manicure this past winter. My neighbor and I went to a salon and had our nails done. It was fun. I would love to have a pedicure sometime... haven't done it yet. As for painting my nails on my own, I do paint my toes quite often. Amanda (and James!) like to have their nails done. Right now, they are into having me paint dots over their base color. It's fun. I usually don't get a chance to paint my fingernails, because I don't sit still long enough for them to dry. However, I did paint my left pinkie last night to show Amanda the color of the polish that I just bought for her... a nice light purple color.

Main Course:
Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it? Oh wow... I don't think that I've ever won anything online. I see where some blogs have giveaways and stuff... but, I've never won anything.

Dessert:
In which room in your house do you keep your home computer? We keep our computer in the Family Room. We used to keep it in the den... but the den became the guest room... and, then it became James' room. We moved it out here when Amanda was just a baby. It's nice to have it here, because if someone is on the computer playing Suduko (Doug!!!!), he can still be with the rest of the family. LOL!

A Few Pictures

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures... I actually had a few free moments to edit some. Of course, now James is literally climbing on my head. Ok, now I'm safe. He discovered the bug finger puppets that he and Amanda got last night at summer reading club... Whew!

Anyway, here are a few recent pictures. I know that I still need to go back and do Round 2 of Doug's birthday which was back in April... and I need to continue my "every car that I've ever had" series, too. When will things slow down so that I can get back on track???

To the pictures...

James and Amanda working on hard a painting project... birdhouses to put in our woods!




Amanda and James taking a break while playing on the playset at Uncle Dave and Aunt Shari's house in Ohio:




The kiddos doing all kinds of fun things while their cousin, Anzie visited... watching Thomas, making brownies with Aunt Mimi and going on a ride in the wagon.

Purple Monster and Digging Dog

Amanda apparently had a bad dream last night that somehow involved a purple monster. She wouldn't tell me at first why she was scared today, but I could tell that something was wrong. She was following me around like a little shadow (more than normal...), and she wanted to cuddle... all morning. Finally, I got her to admit to a nightmare... then she finally gave up some details. Poor thing. If I leave the room for a second or two, she gets a little frantic looking for me. Hopefully, she can have a happy, peaceful rest tonight and forget the purple guy.

I just discovered that Shasta has dug up and destroyed our chili pepper plant. I planted all of our veggies in pots this year to try and give them a chance of survival. We set them in and around our "normal" garden area... Looks like we'll be relocating them to an "outside of the fence" location this evening. Drat.

The kids are into the Wiggles now. Honestly, I like them, too. Their songs are very catchy... the characters are quite funny - especially Captain Feathersword. Last night, the kiddos picked out the Wiggles Safari DVD at the library. It is great!! The late, great Steve Irwin is in it with his wife and daughter. It's a bit eerie watching him... but, he is so awesome... so energetic and in love with what he does. Of course, the animals are super, too...

Oh, the other day I had an appointment with the dietician at the doctor's office. Nothing like meeting with her two months after receiving my flunking numbers on my bloodwork. Anyway, it seems as though I am doing nearly everything correctly on my new and improved diet. Of course, I have blips here and there... like eating two frozen pods of chocolate chip cookie dough today... oops. But, overall, things are great. I still need to bump up the exercise... The best news came when I stepped onto the scales. I have lost 16 pounds in two months!! I was ecstatic!!! No wonder my pants are falling off - literally!

Gotta run for now. Doug is due home soon. We're cooking chicken fajitas on the grill for dinner - can't wait!!

Monday's Feast?

The Friday's Feast chef had been on vacation for a couple of weeks, so there had been no feast. I got out of the "groove" and forgot to do last week's feast on Friday... So, here it is now a couple of days late. Enjoy...

Appetizer:
When you drink soda/pop/coke, do you prefer to drink it from the bottle, a can, or after pouring it into a cup? If the can is cold, I usually drink it straight from the can. If it's warm, I'll pour it over a nice heap of ice in a glass.

Soup:
What television show are you willing to stay up late to watch? Hmmmm. It has to be pretty good for me to even watch it in the first place... Lately, all that I've been watching is the "create" channel, and we watch that in the afternoon. Boy, I can't imagine what would keep me up late. Maybe a special music concert on PBS or something... Maybe an IndyCar race...

Salad:
Name one person, place, or thing you think of as brilliant. The person that invented air conditioning!!! It has been unbelievable hot and humid here the last few days. Yesterday, I had sweat rolling down my face while I was sitting on my bum, using my trowel to put dirt into flower pots. What a wonderful treat it was to seek refuge in our nice 71-degree house...

Main Course:
Would you be willing to work 4 10-hour days instead of 5 8-hour days in order to save gas? Sure. Not only would it save gas, but it would be pretty cool to have an extra day "off" every week! Of course, being a full-time mommy I never get any time off. On the plus side, I can sleep in however late the kids do and stay in my jammies until lunch!

Dessert:
If you were a superhero, what would you call yourself? Wonder Woman. She was my favorite superhero when I was growing up. I even had a latch-hook pillow of her!! As for today, I amaze myself at the things that I am able to do in a given day, while constantly being on call as a referee, doctor, teacher, head chef, maid, grounds keeper and CFO of the house... Hence, Wonder Woman.

Jumpin' Jellybeans... It's June!

I have NO earthly idea where the month of May went. It totally evaporated into thin air, I guess. We were very busy last month... lots going on. I guess that just kept me pre-occupied, and I didn't realize that the month was slipping by so quickly.

I'm doing good. The funeral for Grandpa was very nice. There were tons of people there! He obviously touched a lot of peoples' lives while he was here. The day was just perfect... blue skies, comfortable temperatures. My Grandma is hanging in there. The day of the funeral, she was very confused and messed up at times. I think that since the stress of everything is lessening a bit, she is doing better. Thanks to my loyal readers (both of you - LOL!) that left comments. Your thoughtfulness really does help.

The house next door has all but sold. Today, there was a gaggle of people over there while the inspection was being done. Hope that it went well. I can't imagine that there was anything major wrong with the house. The previous neighbors took great care of the place. The buyers seem like very nice people. I've talked with them... they came over asking a few questions about the neighborhood. She is an associate pastor with a Methodist church. He is an attorney for a town not too far from here...

I'm tired. I need about two or three more days to recuperate, I think. Yesterday was spent outside in the nice HOT weather. I pulled and clipped weeds that had grown up the chain-link fence. That was a treat. Ugh! I had Doug spray some weed/grass killer there so we shouldn't have to worry about that again... at least for a few months. Then, I mowed the front yard. Boy, it looks really nice right now...

Well, gotta run. Some sort of plea for help just came from the playroom...