A Dentist Visit…Fun???

My youngest had his first visit to the dentist yesterday.  Although he often goes along to watch the rest of us get cleanings, this was to be his first time in the chair. 

I had a fair amount of fear as we drove to the office. 

Especially when, the day before, he went along to watch his older brother get a cleaning and proved to be quite a handful.  It was all I could do to keep his curious little fingers off the instruments and his feet from experimenting with the pedals. 

While attempting to converse casually with the hygienist, I felt like I was playing tag with an octopus. 

By the end of the appointment, he had made quite an impression on her.  Along with her good-byes, she tossed me a “Good luck over the summer.” 

Eye-yi-yie! 

Much to my relief, his own appointment went surprisingly well.  Of course, the antihistamine he was on for his cold might have enhanced his “mellow fellow” status.  But whatever the case, I was really happy to hear him say on the way out, “That was FUN!  I like going to the dentist!”

What boy wouldn’t love it when the first thing they did after he climbed into the chair was give him a ride to the very the top of the lift and back.  Twice.  That alone had him hooked.

Then, the dentist donned his mask, on which he had used a sharpie to draw a bunny nose and mouth.  Only it looked more like a pig’s snout.  And it brought giggles from my boy.

They gave him a pare of wildly funky looking kid’s sunglasses to keep the splashes out of his eyes.  (I WISH I had brought my camera.  But I forgot.) 

And through the whole appointment, he opened wide, and was the picture of cooperation.  I couldn’t have been more proud of him.

As he stepped off the chair, they gave him his own little treat bag complete with a new SOCCER-themed toothbrush!  You should have seen his smile!

And to top it all off…

He got to pick a toy out of the treasure box…Something his brothers never got to do.  He’s now the proud owner of a sticky little green hand that sticks to my windows like nobody’s business. 

His brothers were, naturally, jealous!  Lol!

It really pays to have a kid-friendly dentist.  I think we hit the jackpot here.  :)

What have you and your dentist done to make your little ones comfortable with the experience?

The New Pond Fountain

Our neighbor recently added a fountain to the pond outback, and we get to enjoy it, too.  Isn’t it pretty? 

The water level is slowly coming up, and he has already stocked it with hundreds of fish.  Bass, bluegill, and catfish.  The boys and I are going to love fishing back here.  At night, we are enjoying the sound of the bull frogs which have moved in, as well.

I think I’m going to keep my eyes open for one of those timber swings to set along the bank. 

I’m so ready for the lazy days of summer! 

Tomorrow is the last day of school for the boys, and then we get to sleep in—my favorite part of summer!!!!!!!

For more "Wordful" / Wordless Wednesday, stop by Angie's Seven Clown Circus or 5MinutesforMom.

Are You Yo-ing?

My boys are into Yo-Yos.  At first I didn’t believe it when they told me they were all the rage in middle school.  In an age where high tech gadgets fill everyone’s pockets and purses, how could a Yo-Yo ever compete? 

Not that I’m complaining!

They play with them everywhere.  Is play the right word?? 

…At the bus stop. 

…In the house. 

…On the porch. 

…While they gather the clothes.

…While they walk down the hall. 

…While they brush their teeth. 

Seriously.  The other day I couldn’t help but comment, “Dude, do you think it would go any better without a Yo-Yo in your hand?”  Lol!

And at one point, my five-year-old, who wanted to play army, said, “Would you PLEASE stop YO-ING?!”

My oldest can do several tricks.  He is very, very talented.  :)He also helped me create this blurred background for the coolness effect.  So he’s talented in more ways than one.

And would you believe, I found three of these LED light-up Lime Light Yo-Yos by DUNCAN at Aldi’s for $1.99 each?  :)   

Yes, I can dig this new rage that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg! 

…Or rot their brains. 

…Or make shooting sounds.

Is your family Yo-ing? 

Six…

Six years ago, we planted this climbing rose in front of our porch.  I anticipated beautiful things, but it never bloomed.  Not once.  Last fall, I finally decided to move it to a new location where it would get more light.

And I was rewarded with our first bud!

Here it is in full bloom.

I’m thinking it was worth the wait.  This giant beauty is a good five inches across.

***

Six years ago, my middle son started Kindergarten. 

Last night we went to his fifth grade recognition program.  Here he is receiving an award for maintaining at least an A/B average throughout his entire school career.  We are so proud of all his hard work.

All of those times we struggled through homework were worth this moment.

He may be moving on to middle school, but his little brother will be starting Kindergarten next year.  Our involvement at this elementary school will be seamless. 

In fact, when the next six years bring this little guy’s elementary school career to an end, we will have been involved at this school for 13 straight years.  13 years!  I sure hope our impact will have been a positive one!

School leaves out next Thursday for the summer.  Only six more days to go.  Boy, the year went fast!

When does school leave out for you?

A Fun Game And Great Gift!

My 11 year old son just got Hyper Dash for his birthday, and I have to say, it’s as fun as the reviews say!

If you aren’t familiar with the game, think of the old game Simon, but with more choices, activity levels, and levels of difficulty for play. 

The hand held tagger plays music and calls out which disc to strike next.  It can be played indoors, or out, and you can put as much space between the discs as you like.  The farther apart you place them, the more running there is. 

The better you get, the longer and more complicated the sequences can become. 

Also, you can play by yourself, against your friends, or in teams.  The tagger records the times and the best time wins.

I can’t tell you how much fun the boys and I have had with it.  I even beat them two out of three times on the first day!  Woo-hooo!  We won’t mention how much pain I was in the next day.  Lol!  Or how I haven’t been able to beat them since.

As far as ages go, it's recommended for ages 7-12.  But my 5-year-old can play on the simpler levels.  And, as I already said, I love it, too.  :)

In fact, since it doesn’t take up a lot of space, I can see us taking it on vacation to burn off some energy along the way.  Maybe we’ll even challenge our friends and relatives to a race.  I’d love to beat my brother!

Games that use up all that energy my boys have going on work for Me!!

As far as disclosures go…No one contacted me about reviewing this game, or is compensating me in any way.  I just really liked the game and wanted to recommend it.

Check out more Works For Me Wednesday Ideas over at We Are That Family!

Sweet Blog Award

I found a sweet surprise in the comments a few days ago.  Olivia at Of Such Is The Kingdom sent this sweet blog award my way. Thank you so much, Olivia, for thinking of me.  :)

I really don’t mean to be punny when I say this, but it was incredibly sweet of her.  :) 

It seems like, over the last few weeks, I’ve been anything but sweet in my posts.  With my husband away and so many things going wrong on the home front, I feel like all I did was complain.  Yet, you guys stood by me with prayers and hugs.  Thanks.

Anyways, now, I have the privilege of passing the award on to ten more sweet bloggers…and hopefully encouraging some of you.  These ladies may, if they would like, pass it on to ten others, and keep the chain of encouragement going.   

In no particular order, I choose these sweet bloggers to appreciate:

Mari, at My Little Corner of the World.  Mari is one of the sweetest ladies I’ve met on the blogging journey, and I appreciate her kind words more than words can say.  Her blog is ALWAYS full of encouragement.  :) 

Beth, at Not a Bow In Sight.  Beth, like me, has three boys.  So, naturally, I can relate to many of the experiences she writes about.  And we moms of boys need all the commiserating (and hugs) we can get.  Lol! 

Sandy, at Jesus and Dark Chocolate.  What can I say?  It’s one of those small world things.  I think we “met” sometime last year and realized that not only do we share a love for teaching.  But, she’s living a “stones throw” away from where I grew up.  I appreciate her sweet spirit as much as I enjoy the glimpses of home I find in her blog.

Kim, at Homesteader’s Heart.  Crazy.  Fun.  Sweet.  Encouraging.  Real.  Crazy.  Hmmm.  I know I said that.  But she really is crazy funny, lol!  I’m so glad I’ve gotten to know her through blogging.  Our youngest boys would be the best of friends if only she would move closer.  Lol!  There are still two houses for sale in my neighborhood…

It Feels Like Chaos.  This sweet mom of three is on a journey with her family to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia.  I admire her courage.  I love her blog.  And I enjoy all the times she makes me laugh out loud over the silly things I can relate to all too well.  :)

Leah, at A Silly Little Sparrow.    Leah’s blog is fairly new to me, but I’m enjoying her sweet spirit which is evidenced in her writing.  Leah hosts a Fun Meme called, Toot Your Horn Tuesday.  Her disclaimer  says, “To God goes the glory, but on Tuesdays we get to brag!”  Now, how fun is that??

Christina, at Homemaker’s Journal.  Christina is one of the very first friends I met through blogging.  I think we started out about the same time.  She is a mom of two little boys and is, hands down, the most creatively gifted blogger I know.  She can sew, quilt, craft, cook and SO much more!  But the thing I enjoy the most about her is her sweet desire to please the Lord and glorify Him in her marriage and home. 

The Voice Of Melody.  She hasn’t posted in a while, and I trust she is doing well.  But I couldn’t fail to mention her, since the award is for sweet blogs.  She certainly is a sweet lady.  She has a rare gift with words and anyone who visits her blog is sure to be blessed.

Amy, at Finer Things.  Although I don’t know Amy personally, her blog has always blessed me.  Her sweet spirit shines through in every post, whether she’s sharing a recipe, a funny family story, or a heart-to-heart talk.

Genny, at My Cup To Yours.  Genny is a pretty new friend to me, as well.  I don’t remember exactly when I happened across her blog, but I’m so glad I did!  She is a mom, a writer and a dear, dear, heart.  She’s also a pretty wise lady.

Wow, that’s ten already?  And there are so many more of you I could mention.  :)  But I guess I’d better save some of you for others to appreciate.

Thank you all for coming back and sticking with me.  I don’t know why you do, but I’m richer for it.  Now go say hello to someone you don’t know.  You can thank me later for introducing you.  :)

Shamelessly Improvising: Pictures Of Before, And In-Between.

We all have dreams of things we’d like to do with our homes.  But saving up to finance those dreams takes time.  So what do you do in the in-between time?

I say, look around and improvise.  Learn the fine art of repurposing and make the most of what you have.  With today’s economy, there’s no shame in refusing to go into debt, and you might surprise yourself with how much of a difference you can make.

The back corner of our house has always been an eyesore.  This picture, taken before we moved in, shows that it was at least clutter free back then.

We let it become even worse by using it as a gathering place for all of our unsightly junk.   

Although we planted several shade trees in the foreground right away, it took us 6 years to replace the non-functioning steel door with a patio door. 

Although we loved the new door, all that glass made our piles of junk visible from the inside.  Yikes!  Lol!  Thankfully, I don’t have a picture of that.

Anyway, this spring, the boys helped me drag everything but an old rusty tub off to the curb.

Then, we mulched the barren corner, as well as a strip along the back of the house.   I had lots of perennials elsewhere that needed dividing, so we planted some starts here and there, too.

Here’s a picture I took this morning from the inside looking out.  It’s chilly and raining.  But look!  No more junk.  :)

I repurposed the old tub as a fire ring, and it is working nicely to cook our hotdogs.  :)

Unfortunately, the old steps by the door were rotten and had to be torn off.  In their place, we used a small deck I built out of scrap lumber. The stepping stones you see to the right of it are the inexpensive cement kind, robbed from elsewhere in the yard, and stained brown.

Because the landing was still too low, I made a step from a couple of cinder blocks (painted brown) and a piece of 2x6 board, which turned out to be just the right height. 

The big swing was displaced from our small front porch last year when I hung a smaller swing from chains.

We made a handy little coffee table/foot rest out of two more cinder blocks and another piece of board (painted green). 

Then, I found the little glass-topped side table in a shed, and the log plant/stand came from the woodpile. 

The best part about this space is, I didn’t have to buy anything.  Even the straggly potted plants were ones I wintered over and hope to coax back to vitality. 

Yes, building a deck right away would be nice.  And some pretty new deck furniture would be delightful.  But we really don’t want to go into debt in order to build it or furnish it. 

We can wait a little longer.  

For now, we’ll delight in this little imperfect space, with all its peace and quiet.  You are welcome to come join me for a morning cup of coffee!  It’s the perfect spot.  :)

Passing On The Blessings

My dear friend down the street called yesterday, saying, “Hey, do you know if Goodwill takes beds and mattresses?”  The next thing you know, I was de-cluttering, cleaning, and re-arranging furniture.

My youngest son now has a “big boy” bed. 

I remember before how hard it was (for me) to see him go from the crib to the toddler bed.  And this proved to be another one of those mixed emotion things for me.

It was SO tempting to drag his toddler bed back in when he cried big crocodile tears over this bed being too big and feeling different. 

However, you would have been proud of me as I pasted on a smile and told him how much better this bed was.  How his daddy would now be able to sit on the bed next to him to read bedtime stories, instead of having to sit on the floor beside the bed. 

Inside, though, I was feeling just like him.

Kids grow fast.  Sometimes too fast for a mama’s heart to keep up with all the changes.

This morning, when I paused by his door, I was struck again at how tiny he looked curled up in that great big bed.  But, with his feet hanging off the toddler bed, it was definitely time for this change.  And I thanked God for friends and blessings.

Another friend recently gave me two bags of clothing her son had outgrown.  I felt silly when I cried at her offer.  But it meant I could cross off one big item from my “to buy” list. 

God has been like that lately.  He has been meeting needs and sending encouragement, leaving me speechless at His perfect timing.

So yesterday, I felt inspired to pass on the blessing.  I have several boxes of boys’ clothes that I was thinking of trying to sell.  But instead, I impulsively called around and found a family that will greatly appreciate them.  

And it felt wonderful.

Why do I hang on to things?  Why do I let so much “stuff” clutter my house, and pack my closets?  God could be using those things to bless someone else who needs them. 

I’m determined to sort through more closets today and see what else I can pass on.  It’s raining buckets, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t work outside.  I guess it’s God’s way of keeping me on task.  :)

Want to join me in my journey to de-clutter?

Our Makeshift Shower

Well, we’re surviving our week without a sewer pump.  After three nights of struggling through bath-time with basins and garden hoses, I finally came up with a stroke of genius.

Well, not really.  But the boys were excited, anyway.  

It occurred to me that if I attached a hose to the laundry tub in the garage, I could run it outside and the boys could have WARM showers.  It was one of those **duh** moments for me.

Anyway, I used two lengths of hose so I could run it all the way around to the back of the house.  Then, I fastened the nozzle to an umbrella rib.  The air was getting kind of chilly, and the grass was cold, so I used our big galvanized tub to retain the warm water.  I have to tell you, it’s the cleanest my boys’ feet have been all week!  Lol!

It was one of those happy mom moments.  I only wish I had thought of it sooner.

My husband comes home tomorrow night.  But he probably won’t have a chance to look at the pump till Saturday.  So our outdoor shower system will come in handy for at least one more day.

I’m not sure what I’ll be most happy to use again…my dish washer, my washing machine, or my own shower.  Actually, I’ll be pretty tickled just to flush more often!  Lol!   Oh, the little things in life!

Camping Out In My Own House

Lately, I’ve been scarce in the blogosphere.  Last week, our family did its best to catch up on things put on hold while my husband was away.

And this week, my husband is on his last (he promised) business trip. 

I’d like to say all is going just fine.  However, although nothing catastrophic or life threatening has gone wrong…

Would you believe the tank alarm for the sewer pump sounded the day after he left?  I almost looked around for the candid camera team.

Unfortunately, the sewer pump definitely needs a man’s attention.  A commodity on which I’m short at the moment.

So I have two choices. 

I could call the sewer guys (again) to come out, and pay them big bucks to find and fix whatever is wrong. 

Or, we could live “camp style” until Saturday when my husband can look at it and replace whatever is broken himself. 

There is a limited amount of room left in the tank that I could use very sparingly. 

But, it’s a really really tough decision for several reasons.

1. Boys hardly get clean using a wash basin and wash cloth.
2. The mountain range of growing laundry piles are depressing to look at.
3. Abandoning the dish washer means spending precious time doing dishes by hand and lugging the water outside afterwards.
4. Limiting toilet flushes is fine in theory, but rather hard in reality. 
5. And lastly, I would love not to have this yucky job and a smelly family waiting for my husband when he gets home. 
6. BUT, and here’s the struggle, I also hate to pay someone to do what my husband is capable of doing.  Especially when we want to save every penny we can for our camper fund. 

The boys and I have made it through one day so far of “camping out” in our own home.  But we have three more days at least to go. 

It’s funny how much we take for granted.  Now that I’m running outside to check on the water level in the sewer tank, I’ll never EVER take a toilet flush or an extra long shower for granted again! 

So, friends, if I don’t show up here or at your blog much this week, I hope you’ll understand.  BELIEVE me, I’d much rather be visiting with you than having my hands in a dish pan or worse. 

I’m really looking forward to the day when I have more to post about than sticky tree frogs and sewer tanks.  And I bet you are, too!  Lol!

Thanks for sticking with me anyway!