Nov. 20, 2008 - Time out, indeed...

 

What is that?

 

I'm pretty sure I told her to sit on the couch. I'm pretty sure she was being a tad irritating and I told her to chill out by herself. I'm pretty sure she was crying just a second ago. I THOUGHT she was terribly sad that she had misbehaved and caused her mother a frowning brow.

 

 

 

 

This is not what I had in mind. I'm sure that I meant she was to be solemn...quiet....still. She was SUPPOSED to be THINKING about what she had done and coming to some sort of repentance. Those feet are not solemn. Nor do they look repentant in the least.

 

 

 

I believe those unrepentant feet are dancing.

 

 

Sigh...sometimes the cuteness just sneaks up on me.

See ya around...

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Nov. 18, 2008 - Not Naan...but not bad...

Last night I was on and indian food kick. I'd found a recipe for Butter Chicken that resembled my favorite Indian Restaurant's Chicken Makani...and I found a recipe for Naan (with an option for Garlic Naan).

Ooooooo...I was SO excited.

And then reality hit.

The Butter Chicken didn't suck. I wouldn't throw it BACK atcha. I wouldn't grab a jar of pickle relish to eat with a spoon INSTEAD. That's really all I can say about it. Oh, I guess ONE other thing...my Indian restaurant REALLY has no cause for fear.

But the Naan. Well, for some reason I was thinking it was a quick bread...so I didn't start it until 5:00pm. As a yeast bread it was impossible to finish by dinner time. I did MAKE it to a degree...but it started getting late. You know, I had to cook the Butter Chicken, make the rice, clean the kitchen, goof off with girlies...throw things at Bubba. ANYWAY...so I got as far as punching down the dough...making it into golf ball sized rounds that I put on a cookie sheet and covered with a tea towel and stuck in my cool oven. 

In almost clarvoiant fashion, I also stuck a pink sticky note on the oven door (just in case I forgot to mess with it) to remind myself not to just crank up the broiler before checking that I'd removed the stuff. I am very wise to my own idiosyncracies...and frankly it only takes one tea towel flambe, one time, 22 years ago to remind this old girl how terribly forgetful she is. But I digress.

As is my common practice, I took the girls upstairs and completely forgot there was a lower floor to my house for the rest of the night.

I got up this morning and noticed that, indeed, I'd forgotten the Naan. Well, hmmm, they looked a little overblown...but not much worse for the wear. I pulled them out of the oven, pre-heated it to 350 F, extricated my tea towel from the couple of pieces that had grown sticky overnight. When the temperature indicator beeped, I popped them in the oven as-is and baked them for about 15 minutes...I know it was longer than 10 because I'd set the timer...but beyond that I'm not sure.

Anyway, they CERTAINLY stuck to my cookie sheet...that will be a soak job for sure...but I scraped the top part off and put a little butter and agave nectar on it and it was definately yummy.

Real Naan is usually a flat bread, you do the second rise, flatten it and cook it on the grill (or so saith my recipe)...but this was crunchy on the out side, puffy and soft on the inside...sort of like an english muffin but not quite so chewy...yummmy!

So here is what my Not Naan, looked like...

and here is a link to the recipe. I think I'm going to try it as ACTUAL Naan next time...but I also am TOTALLY going to try it as more of a biscuit again...um, adding in the greasing of the cookie sheet, of course.

See ya around...

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Nov. 16, 2008 - Breaking my own rules of anonymity...

But for a very good reason.

This post is going to all the mommas out there that have a fussy writer.

Bean was a miracle child. She could write her name when she was two and a half. She had a harder time reading...but writing she had down cold. Bear is a miracle child in many MANY ways...but writing is not one of them. Well, maybe she is...you decide.

She doesn't LIKE handwriting. As a matter of fact while TEACHING her to write I've discovered that the child CAN NOT draw a counter-clockwise circle to save her life. (to those of you not teaching children, this is a vital skill for all ENGLISH writing...try to write a lower case a, c, d, g, o, q in either manuscript or cursive and you'll see what I mean.)

And she squawks about it..."I HATE handwriting!" "I don't WANT to do handwriting"...blah blah blah.

Check this out...this child can write...obviously when SHE wants to, but still, the child can write and I certainly didn't teach her this...All I do is spell stuff "one at a time"...

I've actually known this about her for about a year. I never really taught her numbers either I just wrote them on the top of the page for her...and all of a sudden she could write them...

 This is August 2007...

This is September 2007...

This is June 2008...

And November 2008...

So even a child who can not write in lessons, might actually be able to write. Even a child who fights every opportunity in a certain subject, might still go on to learn said subject in spite of herself. Bottom line...even though I have a hard time TEACHING her to write...she's learning to write. Praise the Lord.

See ya around...

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Nov. 16, 2008 - When Momma is SICK, ain't NOBODY happy!!

I'm sick. It started Wednesday night...turned into a good old fashioned chicken soup cold...and the stupid thing won't leave.

So ANYWAY, I've not been feeling up to par this week and it TOTALLY shows in the pictures of my children. It's the weirdest thing too. You'd think they'd be happy that mom was letting them run nutty...watch t.v. ... eat more junk than usual. But NOT really... Here they are making pizza pretty much by themselves on Friday (day 2 of me being REALLY tired)...

Not a smile. I'd go so far as to say they were all rather stoic. What's with that...they got to make PIZZA for crying out loud. I swear to you, I was not shouting, "Ha SLAVES, get that cheese grated" or anything of the sort. It's possible I threated someone with gypsy selling if they didn't hurry...but it's a little hazy...still...they aren't even smiling with the pepperoni flinging.

And then there is THIS portion. We were studying Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci...so they made frescos...FRESCOS. Painting on plaster...what could be better. Terrible messy stuff...and then PAINT...I hate to paint nearish to meal time and this was AS I was making dinner...They are PAINTING just when they want to on a really cool surface...not one little crack in those faces....

Here are Bean and Monkey Face staying out of the way while Bear works on Math...listening to wonderful things of their own choosing on Bean's MP3 player...coloring, as per THEIR request...No Joy...(actually, after looking at the picture, Bean is doing spelling...but still)...

Well, here is a LITTLE joy...Monkey Face was VERY happy with her donkey and had to show her sisters. But doesn't that second one look like Bear is telling her, "Chin up baby-sister, as soon as those gypsies get here, we'll sell HER."

So just in case you are wondering if your feelings alter your home...here are some good examples of how they do. I'm a little sad that my kids weren't full of joy this week...stupid cold. Colds also APPARENTLY cause all photos to be grainy...ALL OF THEM. However, perhaps things are looking up...this was yesterday...at the very least I now have a very clean spot on the floor...

 

See ya around...

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Nov. 12, 2008 - This, That and Medieval Torture Devices....

Well we put our Medieval unit to bed about 2 weeks ago...and since then...hmmmmm...what have I been doing???

 I don't know. Nothing. Been Busy.

Actually none of those are EXACTLY true...but we haven't been doing anything interesting really...at least not photo worthy.

Let's see...okay there was Voting Day. Bubba stayed home so that I could go vote. I never manage to vote early...NEVER. Bubba usually does. I always want to, but then my flighty nature takes over and there is always something ELSE to do, until it's TIME TO VOTE. So anyway, during the primaries our voting place was VERY crowded. I didn't get there until about 6:45 pm after Bubba got home from work, and I was there until after 9 waiting in line. So I hadn't wanted that to happen again, so Bubba stayed with the girls and I went a-voting about 10 in the morning. There were EXACTLY 7 voters in the room. Pffffffft, I coulda taken the girls. Oh well, I took it as a blessing. I had Bubba all to myself all day, he had a day off AND I'd voted.

The next day was my birthday...WEEEE HAAAAW! Yes, indeed I'm another year older since you saw me last. But ANYWAY, I somehow managed to schedule a dentist appointment for both Bean and me ON my birthday. I really MUST be getting old. What kind of a person SCHEDULES a dentist appointment ON their birthday. The day AFTER, maybe, but ON?

My oral hygienist did remind me that at the very least I get to start my new year with very clean teeth. I was thankful for the sentiment, but held no guilt when later in the day I slathered those clean teeth with a Caramel Pecan Fudge Sundae from Braum's.

That sundae was only a possibility because Bear's soccer team had a little end of season celebration. It was such fun. We all went to Braum's and ate junk and visited. I had made a DVD for them all that had a simple slide show of pictures set to "Trashin' the Camp" from Disney's Tarzan...and one of the other parents had taken our team picture and gave those out. It was a pretty fun birthday all around.

I've often missed out on BIG birthday fun because I'm usually the one to make the fun...AND all of the rest of the family's birthdays are OVER by mid-June and I'm the sole end of the year standout. But luckily for me, the kid's sport's end of season parties have coincided with my birthday for the last few years, so I usually end up with an actual PARTY...I'm fairly impressed with my finagling.

So anyway...that's what I've been doing...schoolin' kids, eatin' sundaes, makin' videos, cleanin' various elements of my house, diggin' OUT the garden (so sad)... So I don't know. Nothing. Been Busy.

But I can't leave you with NOTHING. These pictures were taken in October at a little friend's birthday party. It was a dress up party and we had just purchased our costumes for the end of our Medieval unit (there will be MORE pictures of those later). The party was sort of a spa day for the little girls (9 and under), the big sisters (14 and 12) pretty much ran the show, doing make-up, painting nails...oh it was just fun...we moms threw in to help with foot massages...

We DID learn that those toe separators that come in the little spa kits are not really MEANT for 5 year olds, unless you are into torture devices...

Look at her face....

 Now look at her poor little toes...

That's what I call MEDIEVAL!!!

See ya around...

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Oct. 23, 2008 - The Garden...

Bubba and I couldn't really be called gardeners. Quite frankly, if it were completely up to Bubba, we'd have grass right up to the front door...he'd mow it once a week and not look at it again until the next time it needed to be mowed. I'm a wish-I-was-a gardener. I LOVE to read about them...visit them...look at them...PLANT them...but then I just sorta want them to grow and leave me alone and look pretty when I want to look at them.

But I WANT to be one. I WANT to have one. I sorta have this little dream in my head that we could use a garden to be more self-sufficient one day. To those of you who know Bubba and his aversion to things that are now growing or ever have been grown in or near the ground...STOP that giggling...this is MY fantasy...and you never know, we COULD save money growing green beens, snow peas and lettuce...My fantasy really DOESN'T include Bubba EVER eating eggplant, squash, beets or any type of green except iceberg, I promise. But I digress.

Anyway, for the last two years I've had a pretty good (if I do say so myself) little garden. Last year there was a little herb garden in the back under tree house part of the swing set and we had one 4' x 4' other little square foot garden of...well, can you guess??? That's right, green beans.

Also for the last about 5 years Bubba and I have been saving up for some outside stuff for the house...we wanted planter beds in the front...we still want a patio cover on the back and Bubba wants the sun-shade screens and I want honest to goodness outside funiture...heaven SAVE me from the sling back beach chairs that I keep buying.

This year, in spring, my dear sweet Bubba, the one who would rather MOW than bother, purchased for my pure joy, stone planter beds for the front of the house. They weren't much to look at in the beginning...I did take pictures of the yard all covered with stone and dust but I can't find it right now.

I REALLY should have taken these pictures about 2 weeks ago when the Cosmos weren't all gray and spent...still look at my glorious garden...

Here are some more pictures of those cosmos...every single one of them grown from cast off flower heads...Not thinking too clearly, I'd been dead-heading directly into the garden. It rained the entire time we were in Colorado seeing the new baby and when we got back over 40 new cosmos plants had grown. I only saved about 20 of them and of that 20 we lost a few to replanting...but MAN do they bloom. It's funny because the little potted plants that they came from really only had 2 or 3 flowers at a time. These plants from seed went CRAZY. At the height of their bloom, a couple weeks ago, I counted 13 on just ONE plant...Now they are a bit spent...we haven't been dead-heading and it's been dipping into the 40s at night, so the leaves have lost their light green...but they are still so pretty...

The extra blooms on flowers from seed seem to be a running theme in my garden this year because these two marigolds ALSO came from seeds. I swiped (with permission) a couple of dead flowers off my neighbor's marigolds (again, little piddly things) and look what they have wrought. I've personally never seen such a bushy marigold with so many blooms as this first one...the second one is smaller...we transplanted it when we transplanted the cosmos and it had a harder go of it...but it still is bigger again by half of the parent plants...

I also discovered that natural remedies work in the garden, too. When I got my planters I KNEW I wanted to grow roses...and not those overblown knock-out roses that everyone grows. Nope, I wanted real and true, cut-em-at-a-five-leaflet roses...more tea roses than hybrids, but if they had the right shape and smell I wasn't terribly picky.

The lady at Lowes practically CALLED me a fool and told me I'd better stock up on anti-fungals because once the summer hit I was going to have to dose them every week or so for black spot. "Hmmmm," said my California-city-girl self, "We shall see."

Well Ms. Lowes-lady was not entirely wrong. We did get black spot...and on my favorite peachy rose, too. But it didn't happen until the end of September. When I saw the black spot, I cut that sucker right down to the ground. I'd already been using Peppermint Castile soap and water mixed in a spray bottle for aphids...that works great. I didn't have any commercial anti-fungals but I did have Oil of Oregano in the house (great anti-fungal and all around big dog sickness buster in natural healthcare) so I put a dropperful into the half-full bottle of Soap/Water mix and sprayed everything down really well. And then I kept checking. I'd noticed a couple leaves that were infected on two of the other roses and had sprayed them too, but hadn't cut everything off of them. Anyway, here is the original rose. It is working beautifully on re-growth, no black spot to be seen...and there isn't any on any of the other roses anymore...no aphids either...I love it when I manage to do something that works...

And here are just some random shots around the garden...be warned...you might see a kid or two..(or ehem, three, if you are counting)

Anyway...so hmmm...guess I at least LOOK like a gardener this year...as long as you don't look at what became of LAST year's gardens...

Just SAD... See ya around...

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Oct. 17, 2008 - Interesting Verse

I thought this was a wonderful verse. And very apropos for my parenting of small children.

My words would be something along the line of, "NO, I do not WANT that polly pocket, I WANT you to get your naked self into the bathtub!" See ya around...

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Oct. 9, 2008 - Forts and Surries...

I LOVE not turning on the T.V. I LOVE telling my children, "NO, you cannot play on the computer." I LOVE when they are bored to offer them nothing but a quiet place to sit and think of something to do.

It produces this kind of stuff...here is their HOUSE/CASTLE...

And here is their carriage (I think it is more of a surrey, on account of the fringe on top, of course)

 

I think I'm going to ignore my children more often...

la la la la la la la-de-da-dah...when I take you out in my surrey...when I take you out in my surrey with the friiiiiinnnnnnge.on.top.

See ya around...

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Oct. 6, 2008 - Wasp Identity SOLVED...

So I hadn't even LOOKED UP that wasp that we found last week. Some homeschool mom I am. But I've been inventorying all my books for the last couple of weeks and came across my National Audubon Society Field Guide Stash (they are AWESOME for any of you interested in that sort of thing). So I started looking through the wasp section and sure enough...there it was orangey golden legs, golden body with the lower half of the abdomen a shiny black...Great Golden Digger Wasp. Here is a MUCH better shot than I got of it... Found here Found here

From 09.2008.Pics

And here is the one that I took...I wish that I'd taken some while it was in the jar so you could see the markings...but now you can compare side by side, maybe I'll get a chance to crop and enlarge this a little later, but for now...

From 09.2008.Pics

The weird thing is that these are usually farther north than Texas...many of them on the upper east coast. I know I'd never seen one and I'm one who would look. We've had a cicada killer wasp every single summer EXCEPT this summer. Sadly our new planters must have destroyed the nest and they haven't come back...those are fun to watch.

Found this picture of a cicada killer wasp here

From 09.2008.Pics

Now that I know what it is, I'm sad that I was so quick to get rid of it...sounds like they are the northern version of the cicada killer in their habits...but this one was MUCH smaller than the cicada killers we've had in the past...one year we had one that was EASILY over 2 inches long...the Great Golden Digger was maybe an inch...still big, but the big cicada killer looked like it could carry off the children.

 So there you go, your nature study moment...

See you around...

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Sep. 29, 2008 - Boxes, Baskets, Beauties and Bug Bottoms...

Yep, got 'em yesterday...so far all I've succeeded in doing is making a mess...But ah, the plans I have...

The weather has been so lovely we've had the windows open for days...I LOVE this time of year. The late night soccer games and glo stick fun and star gazing...and the all day open windows that mean that lessons can come in and go out at will. Spring and Autumn are my very favorite. Theirs, too... (Well, and Christmas/Birthdays of course.)

And here are the best pictures of the wasp through the microscope...Boy, oh BOY! It is hard to get a good shot of a couple day dead wasp under a microscope. There must be a trick to it...but I don't know it yet. Still, check out that stinger! Notice that there are no barbs on it, as there would be on a honey bee...so yep, this guy could sting over and over and over and...well you get it.

See ya around...

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Sep. 22, 2008 - Sehen Sie den Hut auf meinem Kopf? Es ist eine GLOCKE!

Which means, per my babblefish translation..."Do you see the hat on my head? It is a BELL." Chicken-the-bird has found her bell...she thinks it makes a fine hat...she even sleeps with it that way. Bubba and I think it makes her look a little German. If only she could speak, we would teach her the title of this post...but sadly, all she can do is whistle. I need to come up with a German song to teach her. Oh, my cousins residing it GERMANY??? Any suggestions?

On to other news...the littler girls are having a pretty good time with their preschool and kindergarten crafts...we'll have to make a few more of these because they are a hit...the one on the left is ROSE and the other is GEORGE. OH, the adventures that Rose and George have had. I must say that they've held up admirably over the last 5 days. Rose is a touched squished and you have to MAKE her close her mouth and George is good as new after the arm gluing incident. I found the craft (actually this and a ton more) at DLTK ... this is just one of the crafts on the "B" page. Fun FUN!!

We also had some excitement. As we were gardening we found this...

 

Here is a still shot...

It is a wasp of some sort. We captured it. Actually it was easier than it would seem to catch a wasp...but because it was on the ground and pretty intent on that hole, we just upended a jar over it. After the...uh...euthanization...every kid on the block got to see it under the microscope...I'll have to get a picture and show you it's eyes and it's stinger...amazing. And finally, the progress on my two rooms isn't NEARLY as much as I'd like...but there has been some. Here is the schoolroom...the books in the smaller shelf on the left have all been inventoried...the stuff on the right, and floor are still waiting to be inventoried. I did get most of the stuff out of my kitchen. The pink tabs are simply row and column references so I can put it into my inventory spread sheet. My cousin, Oddy, (Mr Dinosaur's wife see October 2007 ) is an organization guru along the lines of those people on Clean Sweep...oh how I wish she didn't live so far away. She just sent me pictures of a project in my uncle's house...and it made me a little jealous that they have that brain residing so close. Miss you, Odd.

And here is the playroom. The baskets STILL are not in. Actually, to be truthful, the inventory on line said that they were in for ONE day, but I couldn't GO that day, so I missed out. About that time I said, "FINE, FORGET IT" and went and picked up cardboard banker's boxes. They aren't permanent but at the very least we are making a touch of headway. I need to do most of it when the kids aren't looking though, because you would not believe how important odd little MacDonald's toys really ARE to the 5yo...especially if she can't remember getting them at MacDonald's. There is much more drama in the sorting than I expected.

We also have a TON of soccer pictures but you know how soccer is, a BUNCH of kids in one shot. And I don't have permission from all those kid's parents to post them. I'd rather be safe than sorry with other people's children. But, just so you know, Bubba, Beanie and Bear are having a BLAST...how's that for alliteration. Bubba is coaching, Beanie is "helping" and Bear is playing. AND Bear scored the first 5 goals of the season in our game on Saturday. She just loves it. You should see her grin as she runs in the masses...it makes me so happy.

(There I think I fixed the formatting...picasa has the ability to link to your album, which it already sort of does, all you have to do is click the picture...but the added link shows up at the bottom, skewing the formatting of everything else. Turn off the link and you can do more with the formatting. I learn sumpin' new everyday. HAZAAR!!)

See ya around...

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Sep. 11, 2008 - Too Busy to Blog

What a 3 weeks it's been... Remember this?

From August 2008

Well over the last couple of weeks we've gotten her fixed...now she looks like this...

From August 2008

and this

From August 2008

But I'm not going to show you what my kitchen looked like, because, well, it was unseemly. While that was going on we decided to reorganize the play room and the school room...but we don't have the proper baskets yet so even with the new shelves the playroom STILL looks like this...

From 09.2008.Pics

And because he's been so busy, Bubba hasn't been able to finish my new shelf in the school room...so it looks like this...

From 09.2008.Pics

and this

From 09.2008.Pics

And so other than wanting to live in my refridgerator which is apparently the only organized place in the house...I'm a little discombobulated. I can't wait to get it all done.

 Still, we have had the opportunity for a little fun.

From 09.2008.Pics

From 09.2008.Pics

 

And of course, life isn't really worth the living without a little bit of science...(thank heaven for other people who have time to blog, eh? "Happy Things" )

From 09.2008.Pics

From 09.2008.Pics

See ya around...

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Sep. 1, 2008 - Dedicated to my darling 5 year old...

Well, it isn't her birthday and we aren't celebrating anything here. But...this has been a REALLY tough week on Bear. In light of her burning desire to interrupt, burst into tears, yell and have her way...and my absolute conviction that she SHOULD NOT EVER hit, smack, pinch, grab, toss, poke or otherwise abuse, accost, annoy, assail, attack, bother, disturb, encroach, harass, harm, interfere, misuse, tease, torment, trouble, or vex ANYONE...not to be limited to her sisters and HER MOTHER...I give you ODE TO BEAR. May it dampen my yearning to seek out Gypsies who may desire a sparkly haired 5 year old for their own purposes.

 

 

 

THERE! Now I feel much better. I started writing this a few days ago...thinking that I needed a shot of cuteness to help with the stress level. What I actually needed was the time to remember. To cherish the adorable, vivacious, sarcastic, hilarious and wonderful little girl that Bear is.

For years, when I've been overwhelmed, I've written an "I love you because" list. This list comes into play whenever I'm frustrated in a relationship, ANY relationship. I sit down with a pad of paper and write down 5 things I like about the person. It usually starts with silly things, "I like your car," for instance. But, in time, when I can refocus on the things that I like/love in a person, the negative nonsense falls away and I'm left realizing we ALL have our warts, but they don't define us.

So here it is, my "I Love you Because" Ode to Bear. The tireless, energetic, precocious, sparkling JOY of my life. The pictures I've taken over the years only reflect who she is. I'm thankful that I've been right here, looking not at her reflection, but at the real her, with all her many facets. And I'm thankful to the Lord that I get to be the mother who ushers her through THIS and many other difficult times in her life. I pray that I always remember that I'm simply here to round off her edges, never to change her brilliance.

Besides, if I'm ever in a less philosophic mood, this would be a great marketing tool to send to those gypsies!

See ya around...

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Jul. 29, 2008 - Didja ever wonder what kisses were for???

 

Now you know.

See ya around...

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Jul. 25, 2008 - Sometimes they are just fun to look at...

Sometimes, when they are quiet, I find pure joy in just looking at them.  Seeing the soft, slightly fuzzy cheeks.  Marveling at the shiny curls.  Smelling the clean hair.  I pray I never forget these days.

See you around...

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Jul. 24, 2008 - Tough Day at the Library

We had a bunch to do yesterday...Lots of odd chores...Swim Team in the morning...and then a major library run.  Now it would seem that a day in the library would be a lovely thing, right?  Well, yes and no.

See first we had to go home, gather all the books (we never have less than 50), decide what HAS to go back today, what we want to keep, what we've already read even if it's not due, separate the piles into "stuff to go BACK" to Library A, "stuff to RE-check out" at Library A, "stuff to go BACK" to Library B and "stuff to RE-check out" at Library B.  Then we have to choose who is having which color library bag (we use reusable grocery bags), gather those up, make sure every one has water for the car, get buckled and go...well get buckled and realize someone has to use the facilities...AND then GO!!

At Library A...we have to deal with snarky librarians who A.) feel that we shouldn't be allowed to check out a book more than once (???HUH???), and B.) Don't feel that it's THEIR job to check the book back in so that it can be checked out again...said librarian WOULD RATHER that we checked the books in, put in a request for them and came BACK again...(um, I live approximately 30 minutes away, my thoughts are "Sure, no problem, sweetie, I completely understand that you would rather me drive away AND drive back so that you don't have to CHANGE SCREENS on your computer"...okay really thought, "GET A GRIP"). 

Anyhoo, during THIS lovely transaction, the girlies were checking out a COOL fish tank (thankfully) and so were none the wiser.  I DID get to recheck my library books and I DID make her go get my holds for me in the other room. After which I went to look at the fish with the girls.  Bean, understandably, got a touch bored with the fish and asked if she could walk into the children's department that shared a wall with the tank...basically it was on the other side and I'd be able to see her THROUGH the fish tank.  I said, "Sure, no problem"...off she went.  So we stood there for 5 minutes or so, checking out the wonders that a wall-sized fish tank hold for small children.  I decided it was time to go...waved to Bean and started to head out.  She came along at first, BUT THEN, Bear had another question or two and Bean thought she'd head back.  Well, I ANSWERED the question, grabbed Monkey Face's hand and said, "Let's go"...and we went.

This is the part that gets a little fuzzy.  I counted heads...walked away from the fishtank...then outside the doors to the little "friends of the library" shelves in the hallway outside the library, but still in the building. I counted heads again.  I told them I was going to see if there was anything of interest and turned to ask  Bean to hold hands with Monkey Face...looked again...spun in a circle like I was chasing my tail...she was nowhere.  So I dropped EVERYTHIHNG (library bags, books) grabbed the two I HAD and raced back inside...as she was RACING out.  Bless her little heart, she had been feeling SO independant and then well, not so much.

I discovered as we turned BACK around, all three children firmly IN HAND, that there HAD been another kid sort of WITH me...but it was just a little girl that was the same approximate size as Beanie.  At least I felt better that I wasn't losing my mind and technically we didn't LEAVE her...had she LOOKED out the door she could have seen me, but you know that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think all is well and then realize that it's not...well she is still stickin' close to me today.  S'okay, with me, my heart dropped a little, too.

Now that we were all together, I was able to gander through the shelves...and I did find a little gold...Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent by Bill Peet (we love Bill Peet) in hard back and My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara for a quarter each.  WOO HOO.  And for just a little more icing on that cake, I found out that my library is having it's BIG sale in a week or so...WOO HOO...I LOVE BOOKS!  But I REALLY love CHEAP books.

Then off to Library B...where things went more smoothly with the staff, but where Bear decided that she had had ENOUGH and THEN decided that completely obnoxious was a personality she would try.  When I said, "Okay, no books, we're going home", she melted down.  Thankfully, I'd reserved some Strawberry Shortcake books for Monkey Face, so I didn't lose her, too. 

But I've learned my lesson...this is what happens when you do a BIG library trip after lunch and it crosses that 1:00 pm hour.  Now quiet time is NOT until 2:00 pm here...but apparently 1:00 has it's own special KIND of magic for little girls.  Bean was just glad that they FINALLY fell asleep. :D

See ya around...

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Jul. 23, 2008 - A Sad Day in Potty Training...

And I blame the parents...

Monkey Face the miraculous, potty-trained HERSELF some 6 weeks ago.  She noticed that Mom didn't care much for the activity and that both Sisters 1 and 2, being "Big Girls" seemed to accomplish the task with ease.  She set about a campaign to convince her mother that not only was she fully CAPABLE of going to the restroom at the proper time, she was willing to face the death-defying task of wiping herself if no-one was around.  This task made even MORE dangerous due to her dimunuative stature and slight build and the large, child-swallowing size of the commode put in by the builders of her home.  All these things were WORTH the danger, if only her mother would bestow upon her the trophy of pony panties.

There were only a few hiccoughs in her crusade.  There was the Hiney-Dipping incident that really tested her metal and convictions.  There was the unfortunate "Toll Paper" incident...where she discovered that if you just KEEP rolling, all said "Toll Paper" will completely unravel...and if by CHANCE...it was a new roll...the paper will completely fill the waste basket and you will be forced to call on mom to help you extricate the proper portion with which to wipe. 

And then there was last night's incident.  She had somehow ducked mother's eagle eye and managed to go to bed in said "pony panties".  Also, she had managed to escape the mandatory evening potty duty prior to retiring for the night.  This, due to the he thought/she thought nature of the parent's supervision of the bedtime chores...he thought mom had done it/she thought dad had done it, Monkey Face found it easy to sneak through the communication cracks.

And sadly, Monkey Face awoke in a pool of...well...you know.

Hopefully she will take it in stride as just another lesson in the long road to potty freedom and the pursuit of pony panies.

See ya around...

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Jul. 22, 2008 - Was GONE - Now I'm able to GO....

Well...hmmmmph...I had every intention of doing more blogging, not less...I'm not even sure where I left off.

Oh well.  I did get a new computer.  It's a laptop...VERY exciting.  The first MODERN laptop that I've had since about 1995 or 1996 when I had one that ran Windows 95 and MS Office of the era and that was about it.  I'll have to ask my dad but I think it had about a 250 MG hard drive...it COULD have been 500, but I'm pretty sure it was not a GB,  because I REMEMBER my first 1 GB hard drive and it was on a desktop that I had at work at about that same time, 95-96...but they were expensive, so we didn't have them at home yet.

Let me say...THIS is better.  I am not in love YET.  I'm a little cynical to fall TOO hard for a shiny new case no matter HOW cool the computer...ESPECIALLY if the "cool" part includes a brand-new-to-me MICROSOFT operating system (this is usually BIG points off)...but I must say, being able to cart this one around is a definite plus...now I can curse Vista ALL OVER my house...at least until I figure it out.  The older I get, the less involved with the day to day tech stuff I am...the more I realize the truth to the cliche "Can't teach an old dog new tricks"...it's not that you CAN'T teach them...it's that we old dogs just don't wanna learn 'em.  Oh well, deed is done, better get off my XP high horse and see what this baby can do.

Ain't she pretty in the gloaming light of morning???  I really like the turtle...but Vista doesn't have the "Aquarium" screen saver...(sigh) the girls'll be sad.

 

 

Hey, maybe I'll have a better chance at blogging.  Well here's hoping...

See ya around...

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Apr. 2, 2008 - Canada, interrupted...

Got my camera back...WOO HOO.  But you know what, I'm tired, too.

See ya around

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Mar. 9, 2008 - Early March...the 1/2 month the blog forgot...

Well, hmmm...March, let's see, what was up with March...

Well it snowed...TWICE within 1 week of each other

The second time it snowed these HUGE, GINORMOUS flakes...and it snowed enough that it lasted all night and we got to walk down by the creek / lake and take some more pictures which was great fun...



We discovered that a laudry basket does NOT make a good sled, even with Dad pushing it...very sad!

And Monkey Face REALLY needed her little gloves on...

The Snowball Fight


And here is our snowlady...her name was Mrs. Snow Strawberry and sadly, she expired in the night...

This was the next day...we got a bunch of pretty naturey shots...but I don't think those are as interesting as the ones with the girlies...

This is a little dock that is over a very small man-made lake.  People do fish in it, but all we do usually is throw cheerios to the turtles, frogs and fish...oh and throw horse apples (bois d'arc tree fruit) in it in the fall.

That brings you up to about the 9th...

See ya around...

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