Ready, Set, GO!

Our van is jam packed.  Our bikes are secure.  I’m exhausted and my kids can’t sleep. AND we have three Nintendo DS systems all being charged (at least when someone isn’t hiding behind the couch playing…). 

You know what it all means, don’t you?  It means we’re going on…

A Road Trip! 

Our vacations usually take us east to Pennsylvania and Maryland where we visit with friends and family.  (And try to eat as many hoagies as possible!  Lol!  That’s something Indiana simply doesn’t have!)

This year, we are squeezing in a trip to Knoebels Grove Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pa.  That will be tons of fun.  But what will be even better is that we’ll be meeting and hanging out with some of our dearest friends in the world, and sporting five boys between us! I can’t wait to see them! 

Knoebels is America’s largest free-admission amusement park, and it boasts some of the oldest rides in the country.  I believe their wooden roller coaster may be just that!  (My bones don’t take it anymore, but the boys want to try it this year!) 

I might (might, mind you) be persuaded to go on one of the smoother metal roller coasters.  Just once, though.  :0

Then we’ll head south to Maryland to visit with my husband’s family and take in some fireworks.  O.K., LOTS of fireworks.  Some Friday, and some Saturday.  We have our chairs, blankets and bug spray all ready to go!

From there, we travel back up to Blue Ball, Pennsylvania (just a few miles from where we used to live),  where we’ll be staying at a cabin.  I seriously can’t wait to tell you about this campground.  It is totally awesome, and it took us moving all the way to Indiana to find it on the internet! 

While there, we’ll see my side of the family.  And lots more friends.

We’ve been waiting a long time for vacation to finally get here.  Just ask the boys!  Lol!  I’m taking my camera and hoping to find some place with internet so I can post a few pictures for you.

But If I don’t, at least you’ll know where I am!  We expect to be home sometime around July 14.  If I haven’t already posted some pictures, I’ll be sure to post some then!  

A Happy Reunion

My husband made the early flight!  (Thanks so much for your prayers!!)  He stopped home to change, and then crashed our cookout at the neighbors’ place. 

The boys were totally surprised!  You should have seen their faces when he appeared.  I didn’t have my camera, but it would have made a beautiful picture.  They dropped what they were doing and made a beeline for hugs. 

It was a fun evening of swapping stories.

Yesterday, we took a walk to see what what was blooming.  These cone flowers were out by my woodshop. 

We’ve missed our walks.  It’s so nice to have him home. 

Today, he is working on some things that need to be done before we leave for vacation Tuesday.

He’s tilling the garden to set back the weeds, and setting out the Japanese Beetle traps.  It seems the beetles have arrived in full force.  The idea is to get the outside work done before it gets too hot. 

I’m not sure what we’ll be doing for the rest of the day.  But I wanted to let you all know that he made it safely home. 

Again, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers while he was away.  I can’t tell you how much your thoughtful comments and prayers meant to me! 

Everyone’s Excited…

These are the beautiful lilies that surround my neighbor’s pool.  I just love them!

After two weeks in Germany, my husband gets home tonight!

His plane landed in Chicago about 45 minutes ago and he’ll fly from there into Indianapolis.  My boys are expecting him around midnight tonight. 

What they don’t know is that he was able to switch to an earlier flight.  He called me on the run (literally) and said if he can make the gate, he’ll be flying out of there in half an hour, and quite possibly be home by seven.  SEVEN!  Yeahhh!!

I’m taking the boys to a cookout and swim at our neighbors’ place.  (They got home last night, too!)  So it will be a fun evening.  I can’t wait to see the boys’ faces when their dad shows up to join the party!

Pray he makes that earlier flight!!

Easy Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad is the perfect hot weather food.  I like to make up a bowl to keep in the fridge on days like this when no one is interested in hot food.

What I include depends on what vegetables are in season.  And I don’t measure anything (sorry).  I just cook how much pasta I think we will need and then add the other things to my liking. 

Here are my favorite ingredients, along with what I use to season it:

• Spiral pasta (cooked, drained and rinsed with cold water)
• Broccoli/Cauliflower
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Sweet yellow, orange or red bell peppers
• Blanched Fresh Peas (Now you know what I did with the peas I picked!)
• Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (which I didn’t have this time)
• Cheddar Cheese (tiny cubes)
• Parmesan Cheese (as much as a cup or two, depending on how much I’m making)
• Zesty Italian Salad Dressing (to taste—I add some when I’m making it, but usually add a little more when I serve it, since it soaks in.)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Wyler’s Shakers Zesty Italian and Herb Instant bouillon and seasoning to taste.  Optional.  I use a sprinkle to enhance the flavor, if I have any on hand.  It allows me to cut down on the dressing.

Tip:  If you plan to store it in the fridge for more than a day or two, keep the cheese and cucumbers separate.  They are best added fresh.

Not only is this an easy dish, my boys, who usually put their noses up at anything with noodles in it, LOVE it!  And it’s a great way to get them to eat vegetables!

For more Kitchen tips and Recipes, or to share your own, join us at:  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!, Tasty Tuesday, and Kitchen Tip Tuesday!

Relief From The Heat

The two inches of rain which poured out of the sky this morning pooled on the already saturated ground and added to the sauna-like humidity.

It was the kind of day where a walk to the mailbox made you think you were going to have a heat stroke. 

Add to that the dive-bombing mosquitoes that are increasing at record rates, and all you do is sweat and swat!

However, the kids, thinking the mosquitoes couldn’t catch them and the wind in their faces would feel good, braved the elements to ride their bikes this afternoon.  They came in soaked with sweat and collapsed in front of the fans. 

They determined that the best way to survive is to stay indoors and watch movies, or hide in the depths of the neighbor’s pool!We very much appreciate our neighbors inviting us to use it while they are away.  The only thing that would make it more enjoyable is if they (and my husband) were swimming with us!  We’re missing them all!  Have I said that?? 

Well, it bears repeating.   :)

We’ll probably go for a swim tonight.  The water was in the upper 80’s yesterday.  So, even I can get in without my joints aching.

Psalms 23:2-3 is taking on new meaning…

…He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul…

I know he wasn’t talking about swimming pools.  But after a day like today, I’m thinking a swim in the quiet waters of a pool would go a long way towards refreshing my soul.  :)  It couldn’t hurt, anyway!

And I’m running out of movies! 

What do you all do to beat the heat??  I need to come up with some more ideas for the rest of the week! 

“Happy Father’s Day, Dad”

The boys wanted to do their own post for their dad today.  (He is in Germany on business till Thursday) Hi Dad,

We made you a collage of fun pictures, complete with a drawing of  P-51 Mustangs!  Hope you like it!

We wish you were here!  We miss you! 

We can’t wait for vacation.  Guess what!  We washed and waxed AND cleaned the van today.  So we’re all ready to pack! Bet you didn’t know there was a waterfall in the neighbor’s pool, did you??

Can’t wait to see you Thursday Night!

Love,

The Boys

Pleasing Peas

Our pea patch yielded a few peas yesterday.  I had to laugh at how the boys fought over them to shell.  COUNTING them, even, to make sure no one was jipped.  Lol!

My oldest counted the pods, took the average number of peas per pod, and multiplied to find the total number of peas in the bowl.   294.  He scolded me for the two I ate, bringing the total down to 292.  Tell me he’s not going to be a crazy engineer someday…

I smile when I think of how different our garden is from what Mom used to have.  And how different my boys’ experiences are than mine.

Mom had everything from cabbage and beats to eggplants and radishes.  Each vegetable had it’s harvest time.  Peas usually “came in” around the week school was leaving out.  Since we planted five pounds of peas, it was a busy time. 

Mom would go out long before we were out of bed and pick several rows of peas.  By the time our sleepy heads peaked outside, there were several ACME bags of peas on the porch for us to shell.  Complete with bowls at the ready.

And she would be back in the garden, going over more rows.

My brother and I would sit on the porch fighting over whether each other had taken enough.  Heaven forbid we should have more peas in our pile than the other.

We would race to see who could shell the fastest, not looking up.  But noting our progress by comparing the tempo of shells hitting the bag. 

Inevitably there would be pea wars.  To see who could bean the other in head the hardest. 

As lunchtime neared, the peas in our bowls became our snack. 

By noon, the porch and patio were littered with peas and hulls and looked like a war zone.  Which it had, indeed, been.

It’s a wonder we were able to contribute any to the big bowls for blanching and freezing.  On average, she would freeze about 55 pint size bags.  And they would “melt in your mouth,” as she would say.

Mom’s garden was our source of vegetables for the entire year.  She worked very hard.

Our garden is more of a hobby.  We enjoy it for the season, but usually don’t have enough for putting up.  But with the economy such as it is, I’d like to do that this year.  Not with the peas.  But with our tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. 

So, what did we do with our precious few peas last night?  You’ll have to wait to see.  :)

If you have any freezing or canning recipes, I’d love to see them!

Angel Wings Must Be Heavy To Wear

Today at the salon, my kids set up their portable DVD player and proceeded to watch Star Wars. 

With their headsets all in place, you wouldn’t have known they were sequestered out there just below the peek through window in the little 4 by 8 waiting area.

Although I had my head under the dryer at the time, I heard bits and pieces of the conversation that floated around the salon.  Clients would come past the boys and through the door commenting on how well-behaved those kids were out there. 

I pretended not to hear.  And kept my eyes on my book.  But I was smiling inside. 

And praying the movie outlasted my perm!

As my hairdresser was removing my cape, she said the nicest thing to the next hairdresser over.  “I think she should win the award of the century for the best behaved kids—EVER!”

I thanked them and proceeded to gather up my things and write the check. 

Wouldn’t that be a neat award to hang on my wall??

I was signing my name as the movie ended, and my angelic boys began shaking off their wings.  Like an executive ditching his tie in the car after work.

Quietly, at first, they began arguing over who should have to wind up cords and carry headphones, and put back the pillows, etc.  But, in seconds their hushed threats picked up speed and ferocity until it was obvious a storm was brewing.

I barely had them herded out the door when poison tipped verbal assaults started sailing like darts at each other.

And I thought…Can I still keep my award? 

All Kinds of Fun

Meet Bear.  He’s the big hearted canine we’re taking care of while my neighbors are on vacation.  We love him to pieces and my boys would love to claim him as their own.  I wouldn’t mind claiming him either…especially with my husband away.  I’ve secretly thought of bringing him home with us and posting him at our front door.  No one in their right mind would mess with him.

On one of our walks, we learned that Bear and Cricket (another neighbor’s dog who is the size of a rat) do not get along so well.  Cricket came flying out of nowhere to accost us. 

Thankfully, Bear is obedient and I was able to keep him moving.  But holy moly!  That little dog was on a kamikaze mission!  Cricket’s owner later told me that he suffers from small man syndrome.  LOL!

This is my neighbor’s pool.  They graciously invited us to swim anytime we wanted.  On a hot day like today, how could we resist??  Stirring it up helps the filter do it’s job, too. 

And this is the little frog the boys rescued from the deep blue sea tonight.  Cute, eh?  That is, after they pretended to be Jaws coming up from below and swallowing him up.  (Because they’re boys.)    Did you know that this kind of little frog has suction cup toes that feel really REALLY strange when they cling to you??  

Some of my other (mis)adventures thus far include…

…Investigating a gas alarm in our neighbors brand new camper.  That was exciting!  Cricket’s owner was nice enough to come help me check things out and silence it.

…And finding a screwdriver small enough to unlock my four-year-old’s bedroom door.  Don’t ask.  My husband usually takes care of door issues.   

…Oh, and once, for a heart stopping minute and a half, I thought I left my neighbor’s house keys, along with their dog, two cats, and all their emergency numbers inside their locked house! 

Thankfully—VERY thankfully, I found the keys on the seat of my car.  Geepers!  If you are reading this, friend, I promise to engage my brain for the rest of the time I am taking care of your little buddies!  

As for my husband…

…When he arrived at the airport for his first flight, they didn’t have him in the system, and put him through all kinds of extra security and paper work. 

…And then proceeded to ship his luggage to China (just a guess).  Poor guy.  He made it to the Netherlands, but still hasn’t seen hide nor hair of his luggage.  The airline sent a bag out to his hotel yesterday, but it was the wrong color…

Tomorrow will be day four in his travel clothes. 

Would you believe he actually asked around to see if there were any consignment shops or Good Will type stores?  My frugalness has thoroughly rubbed off on him.  The man I married wouldn’t have blinked an eye at 35 Euros for a shirt.  

But that man didn’t have three growing boys and a SAHM at the time to support, either! He’s a good man.  :)

It’s six hours ahead of our time there.  So, he will be waking up in a few hours.  And I’m heading to bed.

They’ll be more adventures tomorrow, I’m sure. 

Because I’m taking three boys to the salon while I get the two hour PERM I desperately need.  That ought to be something, eh? 

They have promised to be good…and not fight…or argue…complain, pinch or hit…Lol!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Want to take a walk through our garden?  Just don’t mind the weeds…and watch the mud.  We’ve had close to five inches of rain in the last 3 or 4 days.

It’s exciting to see things taking off this year.  I think moving the garden to a sunnier place has really helped. 

We have yellow and zucchini squash, sweet peas,  cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins and gourds.  Oh, and two lonely little green bean plants (sadly, that’s all that came up in the row).

 

We like to set a fence next to the cucumbers for them to climb.  It makes them so much easier to pick, and keeps cucumbers from laying and rotting on the ground.  We love them just sliced with a little Catalina dressing, or in garden salads.  This year we planted a bunch of different kinds in all shapes and sizes.   One packet said the cucumbers would be over a foot long.  I can’t wait to see them! 

Our peas got a late start, and are pretty slow in coming.  But I’m hopeful we’ll get at least enough for meal.  :) They might be ready to pick by the end of the week.

I remember Mom having 10 or 12 LONG double rows when I was growing up, and shelling a couple five gallon buckets at a time.  We froze enough peas for the entire winter, and they were delicious.

The tomatoes are coming along great, too.  We planted a variety including some slicing, cherry, and plumb tomatoes.  Three rows, in all.  Before my husband left for Germany, he set some posts with wire between them to tie up the plants.  It’s so much cheaper than buying individual tomato cages (especially for this amount of plants) and it works just fine.

For the last few years, our pepper plants have been really straggly. But this year, they are looking very healthy.   We’ve already had some chili peppers.  The bell and banana peppers will take some more time.

So that’s our garden!

I’ll have to remember take you on another walk after vacation, when everything is producing.  At least, I hope it will be producing by then!

The boys and I are heading down to the neighbors’ to walk their dog and then go for a swim. 

If I get a chance when we get back, I’ll write an update on my husband’s travels (he’s had some “fun”).  I might even share about our own “excitement” that he’s been missing!  Never a dull moment!!  And hardly a moment to blog…sigh.

How do these single mom’s do it, anyway!!??  My hat is SO off to them!

Two Mile Stones in One Weekend! Whew!

Often, our children’s mile stones slip by before we think to mark their significance in our heart.  Or to treasure the moment as a forever memory.

My youngest and oldest each passed a milestone this week, and I’m thankful my husband and I had the chance to pause and recognize the significance of each. 

Because, Little boys grow up quickly.

First, my little guy left his training wheels behind!

When he started doing stunt skids with them on, I figured he was probably ready to have them taken off.  Lol!  But I didn’t expect him to pick it up SO quickly.

After just a few nudges on the grass, he was riding around flowerbeds and circling the driveway!  He’s doing awesome!  By the time vacation gets here (two weeks), he’ll be a regular pro!

For the record, the kitty was smart enough to sense DANGER…and move.

My oldest son, who was taking this picture to the right, was not so lucky.  I call this the “T minus 1 second to collision” picture.  Both boys will sport cool battle wounds tomorrow, but nothing too major.  It just ended our bike time a little early.  :)

The second mile stone was just as monumental. 

My oldest learned how to shoot a shotgun.  Sigh.  My husband took him outback and let him shoot off the 410.  (Whatever that is.  I’m more of a slingshot pro, myself.)  Thankfully, my husband can show him the ropes.  The event is something that he and his dad will remember for the rest of their lives.  It’s one of those moments.

So all in all, it was a big weekend, and I’m thankful for the family time we had before my husband had to leave on a business trip.  We even snuck in a movie…Night at the Museum 2.  (Everyone enjoyed it!)

Speaking of my husband, he made the first leg of his Germany trip from Indy to Washington D.C. safely (PTL!).  His second flight, bound for Frankfort, left around 7pm.  He is probably halfway across the Atlantic Ocean as I type.  Hopefully sleeping soundly. 

We’re missing you.  Be safe.  Can it really just be just 12 hours since you left?  It already seems like a week.

Looks are Deceiving

This is a picture of a raccoon I took last spring.  He was curled up in my side yard and didn’t seem to want to scat on command.  When I walked towards him, he only moved a few feet up a tree, then stopped to look at me. 

Cute as a button.  Right?  Adorable, even.  But waving an invisible red flag.

Even when raccoons are exhibiting normal behavior, they aren’t something I want my kids to stumble upon.  So, since my husband was at work, I called a kindly neighbor to remove him.

It would seem we have more raccoons living around on our property then all the state campgrounds combined.  So far, we have removed 4 more of them since my last post about raccoons and their garbage raiding parties.  It’s crazy!

We did find what was keeping the trap from tripping so many times.  A rock had gotten wedged between the wire and the tripping plate.  It was one of those “duh” moments.

Tonight will be the last time we set the trap for a while, as my husband leaves tomorrow for his second business trip to Germany. He will be gone for ten days.  So I hope the remaining raccoons behave themselves!

My husband’s last trip was only 6 days.  I’m hoping that with the boys and I keeping busy, it won’t seem like an eternity.

What will we do while he is gone?

That’s a good question!

We’ll visit the Library, go shoe shopping, mow tons of grass, pick peas, tie up tomato plants, and do some packing for vacation.  (We leave for Pa a few days after my husband gets home.)

We’ll also do some swimming.  O.K., a LOT of swimming.  We’re pet sitting for a neighbor friend, and taking care of her pool.  And, the easiest way to clean the pool is to jump in, stir it up, and let the filter do the work.  Tough job.  But I think we can handle it!  Lol!

This Soccer Mom Rebels

A few weeks ago, my boys’ soccer league had a photographer come and offer outrageously expensive (in my opinion) individual and team photos.

I looked over the paperwork and novelty items on their display tables.  Then, in an act of total rebellion (quite out of character for me), I got out my camera and took my OWN pictures of each boy.  Off to the side.  Away from the crowd.

Then, feeling slightly bolder, I went over to the team while the photographer was setting up the group picture.  And right over his shoulder, I took my own picture  (GASP!).  Trying  not to feel like a total social outcast for being so openly cheap.

And you know what happened?  Other mom’s got out their cameras and stood in my shadow.  Now that’s weighty stuff when you incite other mom’s to step out of their boxes.  Lol!

Granted, we could have taken our pictures at a different time or at a different location and let our “lack of purchasing” do the speaking about their prices.  But something in me wanted to take an open stand against the highway robbery of these traveling sports photographers. 

We love our kiddos as much as the next family.  But in today’s economy, I feel the responsibility to watch our dollars and wade upstream when necessary, even if I am branded a social misfit for the rest of my life. 

These are my pictures.  And because I took a stand, some other moms have some great pictures, too.  I’m not sorry in the least for making waves this time.  Getting photos to treasure, while staying on budget is a finer thing, in my book.

Join us at:

Finer Things Friday

Friday’s Foto Finish Fiesta      and

By the way, my oldest (first picture) had his braces put on the day before and was in a fair amount of pain.  So I REALLY appreciate him being a good sport while his mom took pictures.

The SISTERCHICKS Series, by Robin Jones Gunn…Check it out!

Over the last few weeks, I have been reading a few books by Robin Jones Gunn in her SISTERCHICK series.

The last one I read was called SISTERCHICKS in Gondolas! 

Gunn defines SISTERCHICKS in this way:

SISTERCHICK n. : friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you’re being a brat.

This particular story is about a divorced fifty-ish woman named Jenna who is invited to Venice by a missionary friend to come and cook for a small retreat.  She takes her sister-in-law along, and we laugh with them through their sometimes hilarious adventures in a foreign country. 

The back of the book says it better than I could…

“Coming out of a time of dark shadows in their lives, these two friends dive into a new season of refreshing and realize that sometimes when serving God, the most important thing to do is just show up…and watch for goodness and mercy to follow close behind…”

Besides enjoying the adventures of exploring new places with the characters, I find myself looking for the nuggets of truth tucked throughout the pages.

Like this one.

Jenna and her sister-in-law are taking a gondola tour with the retreat participants through the beautiful sites of Venice when she is overcome with longing.  It is one of my favorite parts of the whole book.  Because we all have longings, and because Gunn injects such truth.      

Without warning, a pervasive sadness came over me.  The sharp sting of this melancholy was familiar, but I hadn’t felt its forceful pull in a long time.  Yet it didn’t matter that I had put those emotions far away from me.  The feelings were elemental.  The longings were easily recognizable.

I wanted to be loved.  I wanted to be married.  I wanted to be married to a man who loved me and wouldn’t leave me.

There, I admitted it.  In such a place as this on such a night as this, I wish I didn’t have to be alone.  I wish I weren’t so alone.  I wish my life hadn’t the way it did.

The tears came before I could stop them.

Turning my head as far away from the others as I could, I pretended to carefully examine the water and the distant island.  I actually was deep inside myself, standing on the edge of an emotional precipice.  These feelings nearly had overpowered me more than once in the past.  I knew what it meant to look down into such darkness.

An evening breeze skimmed across the lagoon and dried my tears as quickly as I shed them.  For a few moments I let myself wish that a wonderful man would fall from the sky into my life.  I wished he would find me irresistible, sweep me up in his arms, and love me forever.

I blinked back the self-pity tears and tried to remember what I had taken away from those counseling sessions so long ago.  The counselor had given me a potent weapon to use in moments like this: Thankfulness, a grateful spirit.

I tried to think of one thing for which I was thankful.  I knew that, with a handful of darts forged from a spirit of appreciation, I could take down the dragons of doubt and vultures of self-pity.

It took a moment before I was composed enough to pick up the first dart and throw it at the target of my deep longing.

“This,” I whispered.  “All of this.  I’m thankful for this—the travel, the experiences, the people.”

If you are looking for some good summer reading, I highly recommend the SISTERCHICKS series.  They aren’t so involving that you will ignore your kids for a week straight.  Lol!  But, for me, they provided a delightful retreat during snatches of time and made me think of my own life and friends with a thankful heart.  A good thing, no? 

Trashing the Neighborhood

Last night we caught another bad guy. We're wondering how many we'll have to catch in order to free our trash cans from the disgrace of nightly raids. Having our refuse spread throughout the neighborhood has simply got to end.

In the mean time, my boys have learned a valuable lesson about how important it is to secure our trash can lids.

All it takes is ONE night of leaving it unlatched, and ONE lucky (or unlucky, as the case may be) raccoon to stumble onto the treasure inside, and an all-out war will ensue.

Because, that raccoon WILL tell his friends, relatives, and acquaintances. And they all WILL want to get in on the fun.

Seriously.

They must throw a party in the middle of the night and have contests to see who can drag their yogurt cup the farthest into neighboring yards.

No joke.

I diverge. Sorry. My all important tip for the day?

Take the time to LATCH those trash can lids. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

That's it.

Visit: We Are That Family for more Works For Me Wednesday tips, and Five Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday Pictures.

Turkey And Filling Wraps

Nothing fancy here.  In fact, I’m kind of embarrassed to put this picture up.

However, my boys insisted this was blog-worthy, and one of the best lunches ever.  

They even arranged this last one a plate before they fought over how to divide it up.

I confess, it was really born out of my attempt to make a lunch out of slim pickings.  In the fridge, we had a little turkey lunch meat which needed to be eaten, but not a single slice of bread in the house.

So I cooked up some boxed stuffing and rolled spoonfuls in layers of the turkey.  Then I put the rolls in a casserole dish, sprinkled them with pepper, covered the dish with foil, and placed it in the oven for a few minutes to warm the turkey.

My boys M-mmmed with appreciation, and ate every roll as though it were a Thanksgiving Day feast.  I sure do like it when that happens.  Sigh.

Why not join us over at  Temp My Tummy Tuesday?

My New “I Mean Business” Badge

I love my boys.  Really, I do. 

But there are days where I can’t find them (or myself) among the piles of their debris. 

They are extremely adept at disappearing when I call them.  Not the piles.  The boys.  The only thing that assures me they still live here is the fact that the piles shift and expand.

Each morning, I’ve fallen into the habit of making large piles of toys, Lego's, dirty socks, shin guards, light sabers and various other weapons in the middle of each room.  I’ve seriously considered making a burnt offering out of them.  JUST KIDDING, GUYS. Maybe.

My goal is to, when I find them, rope them into hauling it all back to where it belongs.

On one of my straightening endeavors, I came across a recycled bag of conservation items one of the boys brought home from school.  It contained a Yogi Bear coloring book, a dead sapling, a green pencil, etc.

…and this sticker.  (Do you like the toilet brush I managed to include in the picture?)  Do look closely. 

Your Litter is “Bugging Me!”  

Those little black things are ants crawling on a ring of flowers and grass.

Jack-Pot!  Oh yes!  I peeled that baby off on the spot and slapped it on my shirt.  My wide-eyed boys looked for all the world like they had just seen their mom cross over to the dark side. 

I saved that sticker, feeling totally akin to those ants.

I now don my sticker when the piles get knee high, or I stumble onto (or over, as the case may be) things that need three boys’ attention.

Like this closet.  It desperately needed help.  I was hearing things like, “Mom, I don’t have any shorts that fit me!”

That’s the wrong thing to say (boys) if you want Mom to believe you’ve been hanging your clothes up and sorting them when they come back from the wash.  Because you KNOW the first thing I’m going to do is take a look in your closet.

In my book, it’s one thing to have no shorts that fit.  But it’s a totally different thing when you simply can’t find any.

Having three boys, and having been a mom for 11 and 3/4 years, I’m well aware of their handicap when it comes to finding things.  Especially when the heaps they are looking in have more than one layer. 

No.  We didn’t need a trip to the store.  We needed an hour of sorting (directed by a sticker clad mom) in order to find the dozens of shorts hidden in the mix.

 

Ahhhhhhhh.  Now.  Isn’t that better boys?  What a great job, even if it did about killlllll you to do it. 

This post is linked to: Tackle It Tuesday

Masked Bandit Strikes Again!

A little over two weeks ago we had our first bandit strike.  Finding one of the trash lids unsecured, a critter was able to discover a veritable smorgasbord of delightfully disgusting tidbits. 

And drag them all over the yard.  Don’t you hate that??

Ever since then, it’s been all out war.

We were fairly convinced it was the work of a raccoon.  So we set our live trap. 

Sure enough.  The next morning we were able to remove one large raccoon from our property.  Permanently.

To our disappointment, a few nights later, our cans’ contents were dragged all over the yard again.  

We’ve reset the trap.  Again, and again.  But, somehow, the bandit keeps steeling the bait, tripping the trap, and getting away to raid our trash cans at will. 

Yesterday, I strapped bungees over the trash lids in an attempt to keep the bandits out.  But, as you can see from the picture I took this morning, it didn’t work! 

It’s a wonder he was able to get all that stuff out of the can without getting his head caught!  Because the tight bungee was still in place! He’s crazy determined!  Lol!

So, I ask you, friends, do you have any other suggestions?  I really don’t want to have to bring those smelly cans inside.  But this is beyond old, and I’m not sure what else to do.

Help!!!

A Powerful Display

Recently, the boys and I were home alone for a wicked thunderstorm.  We froze in place when a simultaneous flash and  BOOM rocked our house.  Literally.  The windows rattled and the floor shook. 

Then we all moved away from the windows!

A few days later, the boys discovered  where the lightening had struck.

I could hardly believe it.

This tree is about 50-75 yards behind our house in the hedge row.  The force must have been incredible that night. 

I took the first picture about 25 feet from the tree, and then turned around to take the next one.  What is hard to see from the second, is that some of the pieces which exploded from the tree are the size of TWO-by-FOURS!

The piece leaning against the evergreen (the vertical piece) was about 7-8 feet long…and just shy of FOUR-by-FOUR size.  And there were even some farther out, which this picture does not show.  YIKES!

I’m so thankful that no one was hurt, and that it didn’t strike the house. 

When a storm is threatening, the boys no longer dilly dally when I say it’s time to come inside.  The first-hand look at what lightening can do has made a serious impression on them (and me!). 

And, to think, our God is more powerful than that…WOW!  In Job, it says:

How great is God—beyond our understanding!

The number of his years is past finding out.

He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams:

the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.

Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?

See how he scatters his lightning about him,

bathing the depths of the sea.

This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.

 

He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.

His thunder announces the coming storm;

even the cattle make known  its approach.

At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.

Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,

to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.

Job 36:26 through 37:3

How Awesome is our God!

This post is  linked to Thankful Thursday, and Thousand Words Thursday.

Oh, But My Hair!

Facing his first swim of the season, my four year old told me he didn’t want to go swimming the other night.  When I asked him why, he said, “Because when I sink to the bottom, my hair will be all stick in’ up.” This from a little boy who hasn’t yet ventured under the water.  :)

For more great pictures, visit Wordless Wednesday!

Summer Fun Boredom Busters Works For Me Wednesdays

With three boys, the fastest way to send an exciting thrill up the spine of my children is to spot a critter.  This horrid creature began spinning a web on our kitchen window as we finished up dinner tonight.  Great entertainment, eh?And these little guys, which appear by the thousands in our yard, are a favorite early summer catch.  They are little tree frogs, the kind that will jump and stick to your arm as you try to catch them.  I kid you not. What boy can resist filling his own container?? (or tossing them at his mother!)  These little bug containers from Walmart need to be emptied daily around here!Or, how about having a wet and sloppy game of Sponge Ball Dodge Ball? The pool sponge balls work well!  You can get bunches from the Dollar Tree or Walmart.Of course we also love the Library.  Besides encouraging the kids to dive into their own books, we enjoy listening to audio books together.  The Chronicles of Narnia by Focus on the Family are VERY well done.  And we recently picked up the first book of A Series Of Unfortunate Events which were recommended by our librarian.  We can’t wait to start it!

We love bike-riding, and making fun signs to post around our circular driveway.  You know, STOP, RIGHT TURN ONLY, RR CROSSING, and SPEED BUMP AHEAD.  Last year, we made our own gas pump out of an overturned Lego tub and a piece of old hose. 

We are lucky enough to have super nice neighbors who invite us to swim in their pool.  But visiting the community pool, or throwing the Slip and Slide down is a close second. On especially hot days, we like to make our own snow cones!  I’ve posted my favorite syrup recipe here.   If you are interested, Walmart sells several different snow cone machines.  Snow cones are a BIG hit for all the neighborhood kids!!  Does anything say summer bliss more than this?  I LOVE this picture!Of course, there’s having a hose war washing a car, which I posted about recently.

But for rainy days, Lego contests rock!  The boys like to see who can build the slickest speeder, baddest Bionicle, coolest car, or most radical racer.  It helps that we have tubs and tubs of Lego's!

And when they are really making me climb the wall, I grab a ball of any size and make up a game!!

Don’t forget to check out all the other summer fun ideas over at Works For Me Wednesday hosted by We Are That Family!

The Followers Gadget

Well,I’m giving the Followers Gadget another try.  I’ve moved it down a little on the sidebar, which Google suggested to do.  So, hopefully, it won’t cause more abort errors when loading my blog.  

I admit, I’m lazy.  But it was SO nice to have your links right there to click on.  I got a lot more visiting done!  Lol!   So don’t forget to link back up and help this busy mom out!  Thanks!!!

Friendship and Encouragement Award

Tracey, at Girls To Grow, recently sent this pretty award my way.  Thanks so much, Tracey, for the encouragement!

The award is all about making new friends, something I have enjoyed doing very much in the last few months.

So I’m going to randomly pick LIST (edit) some fun blogs and pass the banner along!  (ROTFL!, Kim!  Thanks for pointing that out.  That’s what I get for editing a post a thousand times!)

Anyways, some of these make me laugh out loud, some truly are beautiful, some make me think (hard), some share the beauty of God’s creation, and some just make me smile--because I can relate. 

Maybe you’ll find a new friend among the list!  I’m listing different blogs which Tracey didn’t have on her list.  But she had some wonderful picks as well, so check it out sometime!  

A  Homemaker’s Journal

Keetha’s Eclectic Stuff

Maher Family Grows – And Baby Makes FOUR!

Homesteader’s Heart

It Feels Like Chaos

Honey I Fed The Kids

Moms, Ministry and More

Life . . .or a Reasonable Facsimile Thereof

My Little Corner of the World

Raising Three Sons Not a Bow In Sight!

If your blog isn’t listed, please don’t feel left out.  Remember, I lost all my favorites not that long ago and it is taking me a while to find folks again.  Just grab the button and consider yourself nominated.  If you have some great suggestions for the rest of us to check out, let us know in a comment!  That will help me find you again, too!  :) 

Happy Tuesday!

Where There’s a Will…

After almost three days of milkshakes, pudding and yogurt, my son decided he wanted some real food.

The pain from the new braces and herbst has lessened considerably. But his teeth don’t make enough contact to chew.

Last night, he rode with me to pick up Chinese take-out and the wonderful smell drove him crazy all the way home. 

He became more determined than ever to find a way…

So, into the little processor went some Cashew Chicken, a hint of water, and a dose of Soy Sauce.  Not pretty (by a long shot). 

But he said it was “Very Good!”  Lol!

The wonderful thing was that it was loaded with vegetables which he normally would have picked out!

Now he is looking at the leftover cold pizza in the fridge with new eyes. Lord have mercy! 

On another note, this is the second day of summer vacation(really, the first, since Friday was spent at the orthodontist, picking up supplies, and going to a swim party).

Putting two thoughts together to post while the wild Indians circle my desk seems futile.  I can see it is going to be an interesting summer!!