First Day (again)

Today was our first day of the school year! This time with TWO students...Joey is my big kindergarten-man now. Ideally, I would have started earlier...in August, as I did the last two years, but it wasn't happening this year with still "settling in" here at our new house.

(I love how I don't have to fight with my son's porcupine hair on "school" days. The perks of homeschooling= hair combing not necessary!)

Joey was especially excited about our first day of school! And praise the Lord, our first day went well. (and I've even figured out how to teach a lefty how to write!) Right after our homeschool convention in May, when my brain was fresh and bursting with ideas for the upcoming school year...we decided to move. And honestly, I haven't thought about school much since then. :) But the Lord blessed anyhow, and we are starting to think "school" again.

I'm so thankful to be in our new house to begin homeschooling again...it was so much easier to have both of them and all of our stuff all over the dining room table, rather than clearing off our kitchen table in between every meal and lesson like we did at our old house. God is good.

My sister and I went on a curtain-shopping extravaganza on Monday and I would love to show you what I got, but first I need to deal with the explosion of baby clothes surrounding me. I finally worked up enough courage to sort through Gracie's baby clothes...to decide what to keep, quilt, sell, or give away. I think I've got it whittled down, and I have an appointment with the second-hand store in the morning. Hopefully the children's-clothes gnomes in my brain will settle down after all of this. And I can get started on her baby quilt, too. Right after we finish and hang all of the curtains in this house. Four rooms down... Can't wait to show you them soon!

Goin' on a buggy ride

Earlier in the summer, I promised the kids that I would take them on a buggy ride in Lancaster county. So with the first day of school looming very near, today we packed up and fulfilled our promise.



After a stop at our favorite homeschool store and an unfortunate keys-locked-in-the-minivan event for my sister, we were finally in-line to board our buggy.





Mary Ingalls, Sarge the cowboy, and the cute little one on the left in the pink calico bonnet are mine.





We saw a lot of this...

...and this...

...and this...

...while we were out there. Sarge was unduly ecstatic about the volume of livestock.

These Shetland ponies were adorable...the babies were about the size of a labrador retriever...so sweet!

I just love pictures of animal mommies nursing their animal babies. :)

We made it home after squeezing in a little outlet shopping, of course. And a Target-stop...or two. :) Good times. Happy Summer!

Why, yes, a little boy lives in this house...

How could you tell?

Long time, no post

Last week was a blur of summer activities, a playdate, a lot of ministry, trying to figure out curtains for this house, and a host of other things that I am forgetting.

Then yesterday we took the kids to Knoebel's...a first for all of us. In the past, Hersheypark has been our amusement park of choice. But Knoebel's was a nice change. And cheaper. And we all had lots of fun! What Knoebel's lacked in speed (in comparison to Hershey) it made up for in spin. Last night after crawling into bed and closing my eyes, I still felt like my body was spinning, and whirling and swirling all over the place. Even now, my equilibrium is still a little off. It was great though and I would do it all over again. I love rides! I hope I never get too old to enjoy them, because there is not a ride in that park (or any, probably) that I wouldn't like to try out.




My favorite Lily moment was a few seconds into the first ride. She had been a little apprehensive prior to riding anything, which is very par for the course with Lily. But it took her less than 2 seconds to loosen up and scream while sitting in the seat next to me, "I am TOTALLY going on this one again!" while we were propelled through the air.

My favorite Joey moment was seeing his face beam when he took off and drove a mini-car (like a little go-cart) all by himself! The sheer exhileration of driving it all on his own shone across his face. And no matter how much he tried on each ride to hide his smile or act all cool, his deep dimple always revealed his excitement.




And my favorite Gracie moment is maybe not as sweet for her, but I thought it was both adorable and pitiful. She sat out with my dad on the first ride...too big for her, we thought. And when we all boarded our little cars, and she realized that she was the only one left with Pop-pop still standing behind the fence, she got the most pathetic and smoochable poochie face and began crying heart-breaking, "how could you not take me on something so fun?" tears. It was so cute! So we took her straight to a little kiddie ride as soon as our ride was over, and the tears were replaced with her signature smile that didn't go away all day. :)


We had a great day and it was so nice to get away with Daddy and family and not think about work and all of the things that we need to get finished around here. :) Our little thrill-lovers had a blast!

The First Room

Over the weekend, my Man hung some pictures and mirrors and stuff on the walls here. So I thought I would show you our first "finished room." (Although, it's not technically finished because we haven't painted yet. Details, details.)

No, it's not our foyer, but that is what is pictured above. Scott hung the mirror that used to be in our old living room, there in the foyer. You can see the rug that I bought at an outlet for an amazing price.

Here's a close-up... Let's ignore the dirt that my children tracked in on it, OK?




I like the chocolate brown background. You'll see how this rug ties into the powder room.

Hello, Powder Room! How I love you! We didn't have a first-floor bathroom in our first home, and I still get excited when I remember that I can just pop in here and not run all of the way up the stairs. The newness hasn't worn off yet...call me crazy.

Now let's pretend that the walls are a lovely light terra cotta color, shall we? Because that's what I am envisioning.

I found these floral tiles at the same outlet that I got the rug. Look how the burnt orange flowers tie into the rug in the foyer just a few steps away?!

I folded the toilet paper into a triangle, all fancy-like just for you. I want you to know that. :)

I purchased (on a great sale with a coupon, of course) the copper colored hand towels to roll up and put on that shelf. They double as the hand towel supply, obviously, but also as a nice design element. There are no windows in this room, so I wanted to incorporate some print (the tiles) and also a few fabric elements. Plus, the rolled up towels add another shape- circles, to the mix. (Pretend that the shelf is full of them, OK?)

The seagrass basket on the back of the potty holds extra TP, and I needed a cabinet to hold cleaning supplies. Since the sink is a pedestal, there was no storage in the room. But I didn't want to pay top dollar on a new cabinet at Home Depot.

Sooo, at the same outlet that I found the rug and tiles, I spied this white cabinet. It was priced at just $18, which fit the budget. It's a little cheaper than one from Home Depot. But since the lighting fixture is brushed nickel, I spruced the cabinet up with new (and cheap) brushed nickel knobs (rather than the shiny chrome ones that it came with) and you'll never know the difference!

Also, there was a tiny crack in the side. But it's unnoticeable since the room is so small.

As the Nester says... "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!" That's my new motto, too!

$6, 2 hours, hot glue, duct tape, and a bed sheet

Here is the window over my kitchen sink (nevermind the dishes in the sink, OK?). It lets in light. LOTS of light...right into my eyes in the late afternoon when I'm making dinner. :) And it's dwarfed by my 42" cabs. On Saturday, I decided that it needed a mistreatment.

I've already mentioned this great yard of fabric that my sister picked up.

It showcases my fiestaware colors nicely and features stripes. What's not to love?

After reading a post that the Nester did about her sister's kitchen window, I decided to try my first mistreatment. So I folded the fabric like so...

Using upholstery tacks, like the Nester suggests, I tacked that folded fabric up.

Ugh. Just as I suspected...not enough fabric. So I broke out the iron and ironing board (first time in my new house...I'm an ironing slacker) and folded the fabric lengthwise and cut it along the fold.

Then I got out my handy-dandy glue gun (It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful...I repeated that phrase a lot during the process), ironed a seam, and glued those long pieces together.

The next problem I had was the raw edge. This is a stiff fabric, and didn't fold easily. I wanted to finish this project (so few projects are coming to completion at this stage of the game...I just wanted to do it, and not leave it until this next week.)

Upon the advice of my sister, I decided to try duct tape! What could it hurt, right? The fabric only cost $6 and if it flopped, oh well. My project wouldn't get done. So I broke out the duct tape and taped that raw edge up. (This was a great idea, except it presented one fatal flaw that we'll see in a moment.)

Here is the long length of "mistreatment" ready to go back up.

I grabbed the nearest long stick-like thing and laid it across the cabs so I could eyeball the height for the tacks, and began tacking.

I thought the top raw edge wouldn't be a problem, because it would be folded down, as opposed to the bottom edge which wasn't staying turned up and needed the tape. But the top edge was a problem too, so down came the mistreatment (avoiding the use of the word curtain, here) and I glued down the top edge.


Of course, I left the tacks in while I did this step...why bother taking them out and repositioning them when I put it back up.

After I glued down the top edge, I hung it back up, using one of the Nester's methods.

Voila! Looks great!!!

Only there is one small problem. You can see the duct tape peeking out where the curtain "rolls" out. Duh! I am such a mistreatment-newbie. (Actually, it wasn't that noticeable...Scott said no one would ever notice, but it bothered me.)

So I brainstormed with my sister again. I had no extra fabric in the house, or so I thought. Then I remembered a pile of bedsheets that I had recently banished to the "drop cloth" pile. Ah-ha!

I hacked off a length of the sheet and glued the edged end to the duct tape on the mistreatment. I had to piece it together at one place, but it's undetectable.

Again, I left the tacks in. Why bother?

I didn't think it was necessary to glue the "lining" fabric to the top edge...that's what the tacks are for, right? And then I just cut the sheet off in line with the top of the mistreatment.

After I tacked it up for the last time, I reached into each "roll/fold" and straight-pinned them to each other, so it hung nicely.



And there you have it! A mistreatment for $6, 2 hours, hot glue, duct tape and a bed sheet! Of course I hung it above my window with just the edge hanging over the top part of the window, so as to not cover much of the window. Picture a nice roman shade (that I need to order, now) hanging behind it that I can pull down in the afternoons when the sun is too bright.

Come'on now. Tell me that doesn't look professional? And no needle and thread was utilized.

Before and After.

Thanks for your great ideas, Nester! My husband loves it, my pocketbook thanks you, and my heart sings a little bit every time I come in my kitchen and see my window! One down...too many more to go. :)

Come back tomorrow to see my first "finished" room in the house.

(For more mistreatments, go to the Nester's site today!)

Last Winter...

...during the mid-winter blahs, when we were stuck in the house, sharing the common cold, trudging through schoolwork, and not absorbing much sunlight...I decided to sell a bunch of stuff on ebay and buy something bright and colorful to chase away the winter dreariness.



So I got us some new dishes. Before we were married, I went with the traditional white dishes. You know... "they go with everything"... "you can dress them up for any holiday" etc. Well, the boring white got old after awhile, so I went the opposite direction... COLOR!

Fiestaware to be exact. And I haven't looked back!

I am SO glad, having recently moved, that I decided to purchase some new housewares back then. I chose red as my predominate color, found some other red accents and did a little redecorating. And all of it was stuff that we brought with us...

These were a birthday gift.

Remember the new rugs I got on a great Kohl's sale? They totally go in the new house. Plus, this week I found two more rugs, identical to the first one at Kohl's (my kitchen SO needs them at the doors) and they were on a GREAT sale!

My recipe "system" just wasn't working, so I spent some time last winter changing over to these...

I am SO glad that I did! They are so much easier to use than what I had before and I am finding that my meal planning/preparing is going much more smoothly since we moved here too.

So my point (yes, I have one) is... do what you can, when you can to work with what you already have, or have the power to change. And in the end, it all ties together! I am so glad I took the time to change some things last winter, when I had the time to do some selling and buying. Because I surely don't have the time or money now.

Remember, my "new" tan family room set with the mocha and blue striped pillows?

I love the stripe pillows, but they don't go with the red theme that carries into the family room from the kitchen.

Enter a yard of fabric that my sister, the Wondershopper, found last week.

What do you think? The fresh, bright stripes tie the fiesta colors from the kitchen into the family room with the red chair!

And here is the fabric again impostering as a pillow on the club chair.



I am totally going to be buying more of this fabric for pillows in the family room. But to see what I did with this particular yard of fabric...come back Monday morning. :)

The Empty Lot

The empty lot behind our house is our children's new favorite spot. They have spent countless hours out there digging in the dirt, weeds and stray mounds of left over gravel (or "coal" as train-lovers like to think of it). It has also been the place that their feet have acquired our lovely Pennsylvanian clay and then dislodged it onto (or into, whatever the case may be) our flooring. :) But let's not mention that right now.

Because of their penchant to dig out there, every shovel that our family owns...garden spades, snow shovels of all sizes, and kiddie shovels are dotting the landscape of the empty lot. But nobody lives there, so who cares, right?

Until the "lake" came back again this week. And our kiddie shovel became flotsam.

Good-bye Kiddie Shovel!

Can you see it? It's the tiny dot above the right "point" of the topsoil island in the lake. I looked out this morning, and didn't see it anymore. I think it found it's watery grave at the bottom of the lake. Maybe once the lake dries out really well, we will be able to retrieve it. Until then, the shovel can stay in the murky recesses of the lake...far from my children's muddy feet. :)

Found this somewhere and thought it was cute...

But for the record, I certainly hope that my children never think I'm a miracle-working expert (because I am not, nor ever will be) as seen in #1. I would rather them fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the whole duty of man. The rest are adorable...I'm particularly fond of #16 because I do that. :)

Enjoy...


Top 20 Advantages to Homeschooling

20. Your kids never tell you that you're a lot dumber than their teacher.

19. If you can't find matching socks for your child first thing in the morning, who cares?

18. Cleaning out the refrigerator can double as chemistry lab.

17. Your kids have good reason to think they might get spanked in school, but no reason to think they'll get beat up by a gang.

16. If the principal gives the teacher a bad evaluation, she can stick her icy feet against his legs at night.

15. You can post the Ten Commandments on your school room wall and won't get sued.

14. You never have to drive your child's forgotten lunch to school.

13.Your child will never go to their 20th high school reunion, meet an old flame, and recklessly abandon their marriage.

12. You get to change more than diapers, you get to change their minds.

11. If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a PTA meeting.

10. It's better to be slightly concerned about socialization than very concerned about socialism.

9. Your child will never suffer the embarrassment of group showers after PE.

8. The only debate about the school lunch program is whose turn it is to cook.

7. You never have to face the dilemma of whether to take your child's side or the teacher's side in a dispute at school.

6. If your child gets drugs at school, it's probably Tylenol.

5. The teacher gets to kiss the principal in the faculty lounge and no one gossips.

4. Your kids recognize that this list is numerically in reverse order.

3. Your honor student can actually read the bumper sticker that you have on your car.

2. If your child claims that the dog ate his homework, you can ask the dog.

1. Some day your children will consider you to be a miracle working expert and will turn to you for advice.

Joey - The Theologian

Apparently the twenty-third Psalm is having a profound effect on my man-child. He keeps coming out with new applications of the verses at the most interesting of times.

On Sunday morning, our friends were teaching the Jr. Church lesson on the Prodigal Son. Joey raised his hand and said something like, "When the prodigal son came back to his parents, that was him 'restoring his soul.'"

:)

And this morning, as he was trying to squeeze his entire collection of stuffed animals into the drawers where they belong, he said, "Hey Mommy, this is kindof like 'my cup runneth over.' I have so many animals that they don't all fit in here!"

Why yes, I can see how an abundance of animals would be a little boy's proverbial "cup running over."

Whoa boy, don't get lost in too much deep thinking. :)

"Right back atcha' Mommy!"

(Don't you love his self-chosen "soldier" outfit?)

Happy Birthday Auntie!

Last Friday night was our first "party" in our new house. We celebrated my sister's birthday a few days early. Because she is silly, she showed up wearing her bridesmaid dress from our wedding. It's only been nine years but I'm already looking back at my wedding pictures and thinking about some things, "What was I thinking?" :)





Chocolate cake with mocha almond frosting and a few cupcakes to spare...

Happy Birthday Auntie! We hope you are having a wonderful day today!

Fasting

We are not big TV-watchers in this house. In fact, Scott and I almost never watch TV. It's not that we are opposed to a good show or movie, on occasion. But we just never seem to have time and consequently, don't get around to it. Oh yeah, and we are one of the few American households not subscribed to any kind of cable/dish/satellite TV. Yeah, we're boring. I know.


But the kids...they like videos. And all of them are decent and cute videos that we have hand-selected. Normally, the TV-watching is well-underhand. But with the end of school (and thereby, abrupt lack of daily routine) coupled with a surprise and fast move...well, the TV-watching got a little out of hand. I needed quiet and occupied children often in order to handle the paperwork, phonecalls and packing. And they needed structure that I couldn't give, so the TV was on more than normal.


And then came the move and the back and forth between our two houses...it was crazy there for a few weeks. Finally one day, the TV (and the rest of our crazy circumstances) had taken a toll on all of our attitudes, and I spontaneously declared a TV-fast! Bible School was starting the next week and I knew the week would be crazy, so I pulled the plug on the tube.


The kids weren't happy about it for a day or two, and then VBS happened and life was too busy to miss the TV. And an amazing thing happened...we haven't missed it! For the last four weeks, the doors to our entertainment center have stayed closed and I almost haven't even noticed. Every once in awhile, one of the kids will ask when the TV-fast is going to be over, but other than that, we are entirely un-hooked and I am loving it! It's not as though we will never pop in a DVD in the future, but here is what we are doing instead:



1. Moving into a house has really helped by supplying more options. The kids ride their bikes with the neighbor kids almost every night.



2. Last week, the playset, that we ordered before we decided to move, was delivered...and has been covered by children (ours, cousins, and neighbors) ever since. :) So much fun!



3. There is a empty lot directly behind us covered in dirt, gravel, and the occasional "lake" that entices our children daily. The dirt has increased since the TV has been off. But it has been totally worth it.

4. We've played with playdoh more, done more craft projects, and right around the time of the beginning of the TV fast, I got out a beautifully illustrated chart of Psalm 23, and I started working on that with the children at breakfast time. Scott heads up our family Bible Time at night where the kids learn memory verses etc. But the time in the morning that I spent working with the children on a different passage got squeezed out during the move. The TV fast was the fresh start we needed, and the children are almost finished memorizing the Psalm. (Is there anything more precious to a mommy's heart than hearing her children quote the Word of God?!) As a special reward for finishing that passage, they are each going to get a Lego set. Normally, they don't get gifts apart from birthdays and Christmas. But when we started playing with Joey's birthday Lego sets, which they all LOVE, I was reminded just how many legos you need to give all 3 kids enough to each build something. They are such a good, wholesome activity (and the pink Lego sets were a'callin' my name. :) So they will get them as a special one-time treat.

Though the move was crazy, and in a lot of ways, we are still unsettled, I am so grateful that we are here and enjoying the summer! Is there anything better than sweaty, dusty, sun-kissed children drinking in fresh air all day and sleeping soundly from a day full of good, honest play? I think not. Thank you Lord! And thank you for the last glorious weeks of summer!

Public Service Announcement

Thank you for your feedback on my rock post! I do believe I have worked up the courage to speak with the nearest and nicest bulldozer-man as soon as one passes my house tomorrow. Which, come to think of it, will probably occur before my eyes even open tomorrow morning. So I will ask the nearest and nicest bulldozer-man who I see after I am up and at 'em tomorrow morning. :)

And we have decided to plunk that large boulder in the backyard...assuming all works out as planned. I think it will be too big for the front yard and the kids are itching to climb on it. The backyard will be a better place for a big climbing rock, so we'll plunk her there. Our next-door neighbors have one in their backyard and they jokingly call it "The Thinking Rock." That's where they send their children "to think." So if on a trying day, I tell you that the kids are out back doing some "thinking"...you'll know where they are. :)

Further, I wanted to give you the cap to my mailbox saga. Initially in the mailbox search, I was opposed to the Great American Plastic Mailbox. But then we found out that our box had to be installed across the street. In fact, all of the mailboxes that were on our side of the street had to be moved to the other side. Since our neighbors across the street had just found out that there would be a few mailboxes lining their property, Scott offered to buy a matching mailbox to theirs. They are happy with that, it was cheap, and I have to say I'm happy with it, too! Plus, there aren't a bunch of mailboxes on my side of the street, so I don't mind walking across to get my mail. Actually, Lily gets the mail for me most days. :)

Thanks for your input!

The King's Daughter - A Cheerful Servant

II Corinthians 9:7
“…so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”


Dear Little Princess,

Cheerfulness and giving. Two very important parts of a little princess’ life! You have probably read the verse that is printed above and thought of giving money to the Lord with a happy heart. That is the way we often think of that verse, and indeed, that is a very good application of that verse. But I want to mention a character trait that you should be working very hard to develop right now. And that is the trait of servanthood!

Normally, when I think of a princess, I imagine her as having servants, not being a servant! But a daughter of the King is just that…a servant of the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no more royal position one can have than being a child of God and living your life for Christ! What does that look like in a little girl’s life?

First, I want to remind you that you are in training to be a servant as a grown-up. Many of you are dreaming about the day that you will be a bride and then become a mommy! Becoming a wife and mother is a very wonderful thing! But did you know that that is a role of service? A wife serves her husband by loving him and cheerfully keeping and caring for the house. And a Mommy serves her children all day long, and sometimes during the night too!

It is important for you to learn to be a servant right now! Make sure you do your chores with a cheerful heart, like the verse says. A true servant gives her time and all of her energy to complete a task well. Look for ways that you can serve those in your household. Maybe your mom needs some extra help with a special cleaning project. Perhaps you can bless your daddy by bringing him a cool drink after he finishes mowing the lawn, or offering to fetch a tool for him while he’s working on something. What about those brothers and sisters? Are you supposed to serve them? Sure! It would be a big help to your parents and a good example to your siblings if you volunteered to read a story to your younger sister or brother, or offered to help them clean their room after a busy day of play. Learning to serve your family with a happy heart is wonderful preparation for the future plans God has for you! Here are some verses for you to study with your mom:

Galations 5:13
Psalm 100:2
I Thessalonians 5:16

In everything we, whether it is clearing the table after a meal or helping your little brother put his shoes on, we are to serve with gladness and joy! So make sure your face, especially your smile, displays your heart of service for others. When you work with a cheerful heart, you bring delight to the Lord and your parents, and show others that you are a daughter of the King…all glorious within!

Love,
Mrs. P

The Other Night...

...we watched a pretty cool phenomenon...rain falling while the sun was shining, with thunder in the distance. (Mind you it was pretty cool for more than the obvious reason...it meant free watering. :) Plus, we got a night that the kids could still play outside due to the sun coming out. But I digress...

Back to the rainbow and sunshine... So Joey piped up and said, "Let's run and look for the rainbow, because there is always a rainbow when the sun comes out after rain!"

And sure enough...a beautiful, full double-rainbow appeared out front.

My heart was touched, not only because of the scientific truths that my son is learning without me really "teaching him" anything. :)

But also the rainbows reminds us of the faithfulness of God and the trustworthiness of His promises.

Oh may they always "run looking" for His fulfilled promises in their lives!

God-given

Here are some pictures of our "new" furniture...

This is the living room. The curio cabinet was purchased before we were married and I think it looks perfect with our living room furniture. Around the corner to the left is my computer armoire, which also coordinates nicely with the rest of the room. Once I dig out of the last of the moving paperwork, it might be presentable enough to photograph!



At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like the "separateness" of the living room. I love that the house sports an open floor plan, but the living room is kindof a "dead end" off to the right as you come in the front door.

However. From the first night that we plunked the computer armoire in here, I have fallen in love and have claimed this as "Daddy and Mommy's" room. It's nice to retreat in here at night when the kids are in bed. I can be close to the computer and Scott has his guitar in here and we can chat and enjoy our "away" room. It has turned out to be a very wonderful thing.

Plus, I have enough space in here to keep all of the office supplies and junk organized neatly (once I get them organized that is!) and presentable so that when we have company, the room can function as a place for hospitality too...not just a pretty "office" by day. I love this room, and I can't wait to put some color on the walls and curtains on the windows. Actually, that last statement could be said about every room in this house. :)

Here is an updated picture of the dining room...sans the cardboard boxes of homeschool stuff. The armoire fits perfectly in here and holds everything I need to homeschool, all of the art stuff, plus has some more space besides!

(Oh yeah...the globe isn't staying there...it was temporarily resting there out of the reach of two-year old fingers.)

Here is the family room...

The sofa and loveseat came off of Craigslist and the red club chair was purchased at the furniture outlet, along with the homeschool armoire...at unbelievable clearance prices!

There is a half-wall that separates our kitchen from our family room, but other than that, it is all open to each other and I LOVE it! (I still haven't posted pictures of the kitchen...bad me!)

The entertainment center and tables in here are from before, and I am hoping to find some replacements on Craigslist as they don't go with the style of our new furniture.

I would like this room to be a comfy place for our family to make lots of memories together, and also an inviting relaxing area for our guests, too!

I found this somewhere...

...and think it's hysterical!! I LOVE bargain shopping, and coupons are my best friend...I have mine organized into three different folder-accordion-envelope thingies. This week I got a TON of print-off coupons at CVS and scored so many deals. My grand out-of-pocket at CVS was .71 cents. And I have earned $1.10 off each gallon of gas at our supermarket! And I didn't spent that much there this month in order to earn those points, either! Woo-hoo for savings!!

To Rock, or Not to Rock?

Several of our neighbors have large rocks on their property as part of their landscaping or plunked right in the middle of their yards. These rocks were dug up while digging the foundations of homes, and then set to the side until the builder moves them off-site or a resident asks a nice excavator-man to move it (free of charge) into their yard. They look really nice, but I didn't want to snap pictures of my neighbor's houses and post them on the internet. :) So basically, we can get a free boulder. But do I want one?

An "available" rock is sitting in the empty lot behind us...there's the back of our house...

Hi House!

Hi Empty Yard!

Hi Grass! :)

But I'm vacillating on asking the nice excavator-man to put it in our yard. It's so permanent, you know. It's not as though we can just change our minds in 5 years from now. We will be pretty much stuck with it once we make the decision.

We are working so hard on our grass, that I'm having a hard time choosing to just plunk it in the middle of the yard. Although Joey, especially, LOVED playing King of the Mountain on the neighbor's "yard" rock. I'm leaning toward incorporating it into landscaping?? Like maybe having a rock near our tree out front and then extending the landscaping to encompass the rock too?? Then we wouldn't have to weed-whack around the rock. But I'm still not sure...

What would you do?

To Rock, or Not to Rock? That is the question.

My Son- the Zookeeper

Due to Joe's overwhelming obsession with animals, his birthday was understandably, "all about the animal." From the bear cake to all of his presents...it was animals, animals, animals.

Here's my boy in his new lion towel...


...which he kept on while he opened all of his presents...



My parents enjoy adding to his Schleich collection which already numbered in the dozens...

"Are you looking at me?"

I love Joey's animals. :) And his animal-love is an easy and wonderful way to incorporate a little science into daily life.

The birthday duet...Cousin Sophia turned 6 a few days after Joey turned 5.

(See that glow ring Sophie's holding? I picked up a pack of glow bracelets for $1 a few months back and decided to pull them out for the party. They were a hit! After the sun set, we had all kinds of fun with those things...glowing frisbee, tag..."lightening bug" style, Joey even stuck 2 in his teeth and pretended to be a walrus :)...and on and on...so much fun! Great memories of a fun, warm summer night!)

Happy Birthday Little Man! May the next 5 be just as exciting!

The Creation and Destruction of Mr. Bear

My Joey decided that he wanted a "bear" cake for his birthday, this year. I borrowed this contraption of a stand-up bear cake pan from my sister to do the job.

I have a feeling Joey was hoping more for the "grizzly" bear look rather than the "teddy bear" look. But my laid-back man child never commented on it, so I thought this would be easier than coming up with something else.

We had a teenage friend over on the cake baking and decorating day, so we took pictures to document our silliness. There were more pictures, but I spared her and I, by not posting the embarrassing ones of us. :)

Here's Mr. Bear getting himself filled. And then into the oven...

...he had a bit of an explosion out of the ears and bottom. :(

It gets worse...then we sawed off the excess...and ate it. Cannibals.

Here he is coming out of the pan...

Finally, finally...he gets to sit up like a respectable bear. Only he has what appears to be a gunshot through his jugular. No problem...a little icing will take care of that minor problem. :)

Sweet Success! My sweaty-headed boy loved him!



And since I have been so gruesome thus far, I might as well finish the story.

We ate Mr. Bear.

Not only did we eat him. We beheaded him first...

(See that dimple on my man-child? I want to eat it. It's sweeter to me than all of that yummy chocolate buttercream goodness. Mmmm. It slays me on a daily basis.)

Further, my boy wanted to eat the "face" of his bear. Just like that rogue Cousin Peter from Little House in the Big Woods. Always wanting to chomp down the heads of the pancake men. Boys. I love 'em!

I suppose the fact that I posted a picture of a bear cake face on a paper plate proves that I am a boy's Mama! And lovin' every minute of it. :)

Putting the table and chairs...

...to good use. The best use, possible.

Yeah-hooray!

We made settlement on our first house yesterday and we no longer own two houses. :) Praise the Lord, everything went smoothly!