Friday, October 31, 2014

Ready for a whirlwind

Book Character Day went off like a charm. I spent a bit more time at school today than I should have. I am a person who enjoys my routine and some scheduing, but not so much that I can't stray from it. Today I really needed to keep with a very strict schedule...which did not happen. School required a few more hours than I anticipated, which is okay. The kids were proud of their book costumes:






My fingers may never be the same from whipstitching, but the end result was fun.

The evening was a cold and wet one, not too conducive to trick or treat. We were busy enough taking S to school to play in the band at the football game. Two of the the children are going to be playing in frigid soccer games tomorrow, so they needed to keep warm. We may have to thaw the oldest out. In a felt poodle skirt with a pair of leggings, a shirt and cami and a raincoat, she will be an ice cube.

I'm off to bed and watch a little of Liev Schreiber in the remake of The Omen. I prefer the Gregory Peck one, but this one was a decent remake. A good scary movie on a creepy, cold night. Night all.
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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Crafting madness

As I stated last night, I have been crfting book character day "costumes" for the two youngers for TOMORROW!!!!! I have made some progress, but was thrown a curve ball this morning with having to get last minute treat bags together for a class and then having to use our street shared leaf blower before the rain, snow? and neighbor come to take it away for a few days. My whipstitching has been going a mile a minute and I was seeing the finish line. Then another curve ball hit that one child need some sort of Norweigian flag for their costume. Honestly? For once, my craft supply hoarding has been of some benefit and I at least have the supplies to make one. Guess Jimmy Fallon and I have a sewing date tonight. SIgh.


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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Book character exhaustion

Instead of calling it Halloween at school, they prefer to call it "Book Character Day".  Lots of the kids choose not to pick an actual book character and have to come up with or pay for two different costumes, I get it...it gets expensive.  So instead we are left to imagine what a book about Monster High dolls or kid in the Jason from Friday the 13th costume without the ski mask would read like.  There are times when I really wish mine would take that approach and not want something out of the ordinary crafted two days before the event.  Such is life, so I am crafting two makeshift costumes for the two youngers in my home.  I will reveal the final products and their corresponding books on Friday because, as they have emphatically stated, we do not want to ruin the surprise...or deal with possible copycat artists out there.  Honestly, I can't imagine that many people would think to choose these books, so I think they are okay.  Let's just say that they involve a lot of fabric glue, hats, tiny pieces of felt and shoddy embroidery skills.  But if I can pull them off, they will be pretty darn funny. Speaking of that, I must away to the crafting table.  More pieces are awaiting construction.  Night all.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Worried....

I don't have a whole lot to say tonight. I am working on Book Character Day costume hats and preparing myself to help G's class learn about sewing and making sock monkeys in art class tomorrow. But most pressing in my mind is my Uncle D. He is in the hospital tonight and experiencing some disturbing illness after what was thought to be a routine heart cath. He is hopefully getting some rest tonight in his hospital room. I ask that you lift him up in thought and prayer that his blood pressure will lower to a safe level and that everything will even out in a healthy way. He is such a good man and does so much for so many. We just want him better. Night all.


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Monday, October 27, 2014

The Day After

Well. It was a Monday for sure, but then everybody has them. I think I folded about 50,000 pieces of laundry and, looking in the basket about 5 minutes ago, I have accumulated about 5,000 more just since the kids have gotten home. S is feeling better today, but I picked her up from school and found her with puffy eyes and weirdly red cheeks. Something is still irritating her. As parents, we are frustrated that no one can give us any answers as to why this weird crap keeps happening to her. We get a lot of "We're fairly sure this won't bother her.." or "We think this is prpobably safe...". I mean, really?

On a positive note, the boy went to his first Pack meeting as a Cub Scout. He is now officially a Bobcat. I remember with my brother his Boy Scout days more than the Cub Scout stuff. I do recall my earliest memory of when I realized that parents do the majority of the work so their kids can win when I saw him compete in the Pinewood Derby for the first time. My brother had a normal looking car that he crafted(with Dad's help on the sharp stuff)and it looked nice and age appropriate. Then came a kids two years younger who had a streamlined vehicle with a carved out spoiler on the back and, I mean, come on. Oh well. The hub is excited about his boy being involved in the scouting program. I am too.

Now to a game of "Goldfish" with the boy and then bedtime. Night all.


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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Argghhhh!!!!!

I have just come from the Trunk or Treat at church.  What a wonderful turnout we had!  Lots of fun costumes were spotted and lots of  hungry tummies were filled.  I am now at the ER with S.  She had some sort of allergic reaction to something and couldn't breathe.  They have jacked her up on lots of good stuff.  We are awaiting her return from X-ray and are hoping for an easy fix.  Say a little prayer for her.  That kid is a puzzle.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Pancakes and pumpkins

We had a rare morning where we did not have to be on a soccer field at the crack of dawn. So instead of a quick bowl of cereal or a Clif bar showed down our gullet, we got to have yummy pancakes. The kids welcomed this rare treat and ate them with great gusto. I think they liked the faces:



It looks more like a FrankenPancake. After stuffing their bellies, they got ready to start their day. S was deposited at school to travel to a band competition. I fired up the leaf blower and got a head start on the onslaught of leaves that has begun. After a trip to pick up book character day costume supplies, we got home with pumpkins and some new carving tools. S will have to do her pumpkin tomorrow, but G and the boy got a head start on theirs:



Why he felt he needed to be in shorts with no shirt, I am not sure. But it turned out to be a good idea...he was covered wih pumpkin guts. He even had a little pumpkin gut goatee...amazing. After finishing his mustachioed pumpkin, he went on to a birthday party dressed as a skunk and G and I went to help serve dinner at the community meal at church. The diners filled their bellies with a hearty meal of meatloaf, peas, mashed potatoes and cake. It was a good evening. The hub and I are currently trying to find something to have for dinner. G ate meatloaf and the boy dined on chili at the party. I would like something to help me sleep all night through. Can you order that through takeout? I wish.
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Friday, October 24, 2014

My husband is a dynamo...

The hub got a good report from his ortho surgeon on Tuesday. He told him he could do pretty much whatever he wanted within reason. Someone said, "That's a dangerous thing for a wife to hear." Uh thanks for the sexist remark. It only makes me nervous that he is going to overdo it and hurt himself again. After the dog decided to morph into part beaver and chew up the wall, he began the process of deconstructing that part of the frame and purchasing new materials to stain and repair. While at Lowe's, he found materials to repair and finish out the area around the garage door that had rotted from age. When I returned home from child pickup duty, it looked like we had a new front to part of our house. That man can do anything once he puts his mind to it...or he is given the doctor's go ahead. I sat in the dungoen and sewed bears and bunnies. My mojo was off, I must admit, because A&E changed their morning lineup and did not have Criminal Minds on as it normally does. Gideon, Hotch and the crew were not able to catch serial killers while I attached heads to creatures. Oh well. They still got made.

The oldest is in Oak Ridge for one of her last football games of the marching season. She is going to be in terrible withdrawal after the last game next week. I imagine a little break will be welcome, but she will miss her friends terribly. Hopefully we can work something out in the meantime for her to see them. I just hope she is not going to freeze tonight. I think she had on at least two layers.

Time to go snuggle up with my little boy for a bit. I feel guilty I am not at the game, but this is a good trade off. Night all.


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Thursday, October 23, 2014

We adopted a beaver...

Soooo, here's the thing. Either we adopted a dog-like beaver last December or we have the world's most spiteful pet. The answer is still really a toss up at this point. Because bathing the dog up to this point has been a violent clash between human and demon canine, we have contracted that business out to one of those dog washing units run out of a supersized van. Because we haven't been able to get an appointment with the people, she has not had a bath recently and smells a bit funky. She also has a bad habit of chewing up her beds. So when I purchased a new bed, I decided that she could not have the new bed until she got the funk washed off. After the bed got obliterated in a morning chew session, I threw it away and went upstairs to do some straightening and sewing. I heard her crying a few times, but then she stopped and, I assumed, took a nap. Big mistake. Huge. This is what she was doing instead:



She was chewing up the recently installed and newly stained trim...some of the last pieces to the remodel. If I hadn't just been paralyzed by shock, I probably would have thrown up right there. I decided it was best for all involved, especially the dog, to go ahead and tell the hub what she had done so he would have time to cool off. I also decided that it was a good idea to bite the bullet and bathe her before he got home. If she was clean and cute and contrite, maybe he wouldn't kill her. The two youngers and I took her out in the yard for a cold, humiliating bath for all to see. For a while she flopped around like a crocodile in a death roll and then she just surrendered to the oatmeal based shampoo scrubbing that she was receiving. She enjoyed the vigorous drying and a healthy piece of Pupperoni. She is still in the doghouse with her dad, but I think she has lived to see another day. She will be on probation for a good while. I still am on the fence about whether the "Lab mix" title on her papers should read "Lab-Beaver Mix". We'll see...
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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Almost over the hump...

We are in a dry and boring slump in the usually comedy filled arena known as our home. Fall break was not relaxing really, what with the puke virus making its way around the fold and torrential rains making it impossible to get out and exhaust people...who weren't throwing up. The kids are just exhausted. While they can do funny things when they are in this state, they do not respond well to our amusement at their condition. Kind of like the equivalent of poking an already grumpy bear who went to bed super angry and then expecting it to wake up amused. I'd rather stick a poker in a hornets' nest.

It is bedtime here at the ranch. I am trying to stick it out to watch a full episode of "American Horror Story: Freak Show", but I saw the terrifying clown and I think it is time to watch some super happy fun stuff. I will say that Kathy Bates is amazing as the bearded woman and her accent is incredibly similar to several of my relatives up north. Oh well...bedtime is here and I have a date with Sheldon, Leonard and the gang. Night all.


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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

I know you are sick of it...

This is going to be short. I am tired and I have little brain power left. I have, since 5:30, been at the high school for the county marching band exhibition. All the high schools in the county played their shows for all the parents with kids in marching bands in the county. Thirteen bands were there, chilly and ready to play. We saw all sizes, shapes and decibel levels this evening. While I enjoyed them all, I loved AE High School the best. The whole band could have fit in our living room, but they danced and danced and played their ten instruments to death. I never get tired of hearing our band play. They have improved every week and it is a joy to watch them. S has been a guest with them this season, but she has had an absolute ball...she has found her place of comfort. It is so nice to see.

My face is windburnt and my toes are still frozen. Time to hunker down under some covers and get warm and sleepy.


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Monday, October 20, 2014

It's a Monday for sure...

Today is a Monday for sure. Nothing bad happened. Just had no desire to get up out of the warm bed. Nor did the children. The dog had no problem with getting up and wanting everyone else to be as excited as she was about being up. I found one child laying in the floor, fully clothed, pep talking under their breath to "Wake up wake up wake up!!". One child asked if she could just sleep through breakfast. The other kept wondering if the dog could come to school to keep them awake. I would have liked to let them all stay home and have a lazy day, but I don't want to ever get sideways of the truant officer. The kids got off to school and I hit the grocery store and started baking goodies. Band parents were asked to help provide baked goods for the concession stand at the competition tomorrow. So I made a few:









Nothing complicated, but tasty just the same. Hopefully it will bring in a tiny bit of cash.

Hope everybody has a lovely evening. I am going to build some bears this evening. Hopefully my fingers won't be raw from my slips of the needle. Who knows...
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Sunday, October 19, 2014

I am tired...but then who isn't?

Many thanks to the hub who filled in while I was in a sleepy TN town freezing my rear end off watching a band competition for several hours. I had not planned to attend this one, but parental guilt overtook me and I showed up. The hub was in soccerland with the youngers, so I just decided why not. I am a band geek from many years back and have been to more than a lot of competitions. We were out on the field at attention, ready to perform, when some nice person turned the huge stadium lights off. Nice. We had to stand there for what seemed like an eternity until the things came back on so the judges could see us play. I love all the excitement and the theatrics and the different ways the schools cheer for their bands...or how the band student reps conduct themselves and respond when scores and awards are announced. I was sitting, nestled very uncomfortably between two groups of fans from two different schools. One school was the "we can't sit still and are going to put our feet on the metal bleachers and make them shake annoyingly because we have the jimmy legs and can't stop shaking them...all while elbowing innocent people(me)in the knees and spill our shakes from Sonic all over peoples' shoes and laugh and laugh and pull our sweatshirt up and make our friends smell our sweaty armpiits.". The other school was the "I don't care if we are supposed to be quiet during the shows, I am going to show that I have a stadium volume whisper and comment on everyone's appearance and express shock at their abiliities to carry their horn because of their gender while my husband and grandfather continuously clear their throats and what sound like their lungs and entire sinus cavities every five minutes while making the rest of the people around immediately think 'ebola'". It is hard to enjoy band tributes to the Stones or Zeppelin or Fiddler on the Roof when your seat is shaking uncontrollably and you are ducking in fear of flying phlegm. Our drum major's grandma was sitting behind me...not sure how annoyed she was. The man right next to me did say, "How tacky!" a few times.

The band emerged victorious and got very good scores and lots of trophys. It took me the drive back to unthaw my extremities. It was worth it. Their happy faces made the strange bleachermates not so bad. Still a good story...but not so bad.

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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Wesley Woods Recap

Note: The bloggess is out supporting the Marching Band at a Band Competition. The guest blogger is her husband tonight.

I had the honor to chaperone Grace's 5th Grade trip to Wesley Woods. Some might call this a chore; I call it an investment in my daughter. I took the same trip 3 years ago with Sarah.

I am a big proponent of Outdoor Education for several reasons:
-Where else can you talk about ecosystem, learn about invasive bugs that are killing the Hemlocks in the Smokies, and catch a Crawfish during stream ecology?
-Where else can you learn to work as a team to solve problems on a challenge course?
-Where else can you teach kids its okay to spend the night in the woods and eat camp food and be away from home?

I was able to see Grace experience Camp, challenge herself, and learn about nature. I was able to see positive relationships she has built with her peers and her teachers. Grace does extremely well in these situations. Since she has been to camp for several years, she appeared as the expert about all things Welsey Woods. She could help friends understand the dining hall processes and the whereabouts of all things at camp. I am a proud father of Grace. She is growing into a wonderful young lady right before my eyes. This trip will be a snapshot of great times with my daughter.

One of my favorite activities at camp this year was hiking the Blueberry Trail at camp with Bob. Bob looked familiar from dropping our children off at camp during the summer when its focus is a church camp. Rev. Bob Hayes serves as a Minister-In-Residence during camp over the last 25 years. He immediately began telling stories and bonding with the 10 year olds. My initial goal was to "survive the hike" with my newly reconstructed back; I didn't care if I got anything else out of it... I just wanted the afternoon hike done! We started out the hike, Bob stopped and told stories, taught ecology, and instructed how to traverse difficult part of the hike as we walked up a stream bed. I was the caboose. My goal was keep the children between the Bob and I. At 80 years old, Bob could hiked the trails like a 25 year old. He plowed up the stream and switchbacks. I was so glad the 5th graders were huffing and puffing in front of me... I was not the slowest guy on the trail and my back was holding up. I climbed up and over rocks, downed trees, and through the muck of the stream.

Towards the end of the hike, while the children were resting on a log, Bob told a story of a refugee, An (aka Andy), that he and his wife sponsored from Vietnam 35 years ago. Andy came to America without knowing any English when he was in the 10th grade. Andy lived with Bob and his wife for 5 years. Bob talked about taking Andy hiking in the woods and leaves were falling off the trees. Andy became very concerned about the trees dying. In Vietnam, Andy stated that when trees lose their leaves, then they are dead. There are no deciduous in Vietnam. Bob also mentioned that Andy had never seen ice on a frozen stream. It was a wonderful moment of learning about ecology and recounting of Andy's experience in the woods as a way of teaching about ecology. One of the students, Max, asked the "Paul Harvey" question: "What's the rest of the story?" Andy graduated college, moved to Chicago, married and has 3 children. He teaches Art Education. Bob paused. His eyes got tears in them. He proceeded slowly and explained that about 3 weeks ago Andy was hanging up art work at school and fell off the ladder that he was on. Andy has been in ICU with an unknown fate ever sense. Max had that awkward moment of "Why did I ask that question?" Bob, in his pastoral wisdom, comforted Max briefly. Bob was off down the trail. I went from "survive the hike" dread mode to wishing we could hike with Bob for a few more hours to hear more about ecology and his life stories.

Tonight, I ask for prayers for Andy. I am thankful to God for placing Bob into my path this week.

Additionally, I was very nervous about going to Wesley Woods this week. I had concerns over whether my back would tolerate the physical activity or fail during this endeavor. I am so pleased that I went to camp with Grace and my back held up as well as it did. Yes, I am tired... but it is a good kind of tired!


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Friday, October 17, 2014

A quick note

The hub and G returned each in one piece from the 'Woods. They were dirty and exhausted and G is covered with massive mosquito bites. I took a trip to our favorite Fruit and Berry Patch with the little guys and gals at our church. Dennis Fox gave them his annual speech about not eating pokeweed or any other berries that present themselves on their journey around the farm:



S had another home football game and got to see one of her best buddies from the opposing school. Her joy was short lived as the pain of braces put a damper on everything. Currently we are trying to figure out if G is falling prey to the stomach crud that hit some of her friends at camp or if the massive mosquito invasion on her body is having an adverse reaction that is worse than normal. Here's hoping that the Benadryl will kick in soon and she will be able to sleep this off.

Here's hoping...


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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Braced for the reaction

We hit yet another milestone in our family today. We made a visit to our orthodontist, Dr. Pickering, and got some braces today. Many years ago I went to see Dr. White and had the same thing done. I was shocked at the difference in application time. I was in his office for hours and went home to drug up and drink milshakes. S went in and got the braces on in less than 10 minutes. Then she received her instructions and asked to go back to school for science review. She even got to wear fancy glasses while being worked on:



No trying to play the mine's bigger than yours game, but we had our own earphones at Dr. White's office that played soft rock hits of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Just sayin'. She is currently experiencing some aching in her mouth which is not shocking. Hopefully she will be able to sleep tonight.

A lot happened after I posted last night. The hub and G had an adventure whilst away at school camp. It the throes of one of her favorite summer camp games, Gagaball, G jammed the fire out of her thumb to the point that ibuprofen and ice did not help. They took a trip to urgent care to get xrays and make sure the thumb wasn't broken. As far as they could tell, just a severe sprain. Waiting for the radiologist to make the final call. She is splinted up and fine. They will return tomorrow and I look forward to their return. A whole bunch.

The boy stayed home today. He really could have gone to school, but he had a thought in his mind that he would get in trouble if he went back to school the next day. He is mortified by the thought of getting in trouble. That boy.

I am going to finish up here and finish sewing the ears on a bear while watching Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder. Riveting evening.


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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Waiting for the other shoe to drop....

Another child is down in the house. The boy got a bellyache at school and eventually tossed his cookies into the classroom trashcan strategically placed next to his desk by his forward thinking teacher. Since I brought him home, he has sipped on ginger ale, snacked on oyster crackers or as we call them in our house, mini round saltines and has been resting on the sick mattress covered with vintage Star Trek sheets:



He has chatted nonstop almost the whole afternoon and I feel like i am face with a dilemma. If he has only thrown up once, kept food down, has no fever and feels peppy tomorrow...should I send him back to school? I don't want to be that mom, but I don't want to keep him home if it is unnecessary. I don't know. He is in good spirits right now, so I'll just be thankful with that. Just say a few prayers that G will not come down with it while on her camping trip to the 'Woods...or that the hub doesn't get it chaperoning...or I don't get it and can't get the kids to school. I will keep my positive mental attitude and hope those things don't happen...and strategically place trash cans everywhere.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Rain, rain, go away...no really...go

Okay. Enough is enough already. We were thinking that it might be time to start googling ark plans in our neck of the woods. I have been making frequent trips to the basement to see if I need to fire up the ole' shop vac and fight puddles...which reminds me that I haven't been down there in a couple of hours. Ignorance is bliss and all. We did make a trip out to the mall, partially to get out of the house among others in the human race and partially so S could spend her birthday giftcards at Altar'd State. I was honestly surpirsed that more people had not escaped there as well. They were probably all at the movies. The boy made some pineapple upside down cupcakes to share. That did brighten up the day and the tastebuds. It also dirtied up 85% of the bowls in our kitchen. Every artist must use multiple paintbrushes.

The hub and G leave tomorrow to go to camp for a few days with school. I'm glad I got G some new rubber boots, because she is going to need them if she can prevent getting completely stuck in the mud. It will be a special time together for the two of them.

I'm headed back to the basement to see if there has been any leakage. I hope not, but you'll know soon enough. The profanities that may spew from my mouth will not be quiet.


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Monday, October 13, 2014

Best laid plans...

Well, Murphy's law is in full effect over here. What we thought would be a lazy Fall Break of sloth and sewing has not panned out. One child has thrown up and the other has a yucky cold. The third is just hanging on and staying out of their way. Can't say that I blame him. Timing couldn't be better what with one hcild getting braces this week and the other leaving Wednesday for her school retreat to Wesley Woods. I am trying not to panic or be Debbie Downer, so please say some big prayers that G will not get the stomach crud and be unable to go on her trip. She has wanted to do this since the big K year in school when she found out 5th graders get to go on a trip. I am hoping that S's messed up tummy was merely a fluke and will not happen again. Pray along with me on that one friends.

I am off to shower off layers of chicken soup making ingredients, poly-fil and the fuzz from many bear and bunny carcasses that I have been messing with today. Then I will be sewing them up to look like some creature that someone would want to buy. Here's hoping.


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What did I do?

My first time ever in three years hat I forgot to write a post. I know the world won't end, but I want to croak. It has been a part of my routine and mine was way off yesterday. The hub and I went to see a movie and I worked and there were storms and I have a child who is feeling yucky. My brain was not with me more than usual. The streak is broken. Oh well. Not like I'm drawing a paycheck from writing about my strange life.

We did see Gone Girl. I had read the book and really enjoyed it, so I was anxious to see how it translated. Since the author also wrote the screenplay, I felt pretty positive. It was very good...twisty turny good. One of S'd friends told her she went to see it. I will just say that I don't think it is a film for 13 year olds. Suspenseful and creepy? Yes! Several scenes of relations going on between a married couple? My 13 year olf would have been traumatized. Just saying.

Well. i must make the bed and grump at myself for breaking my streak...just a personal goal I had set for myself. Boo to me.


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Saturday, October 11, 2014

My heart just exploded

We got a reprieve this morning and all our soccer games were cancelled which meant that we could sleep in. A rare occurrence to say the least and I was really excited about it. My usual get up time is 5:45-6:00am, so the thought of a 7:30-8:00 one was exciting. 6:30 is as far as I got this morning. At least I did get the chance to have my cuddly little boy come in for a few minutes before he ran off to the next activity. While I let the girls sleep and packed G for her school trip to Wesley Woods, the hub took th boy and went to the scout shop to buy some supplies. With a dad, two uncles, a cousin and various friends who were Eagle Scouts, it was only a matter of time before he started himself. He had his first meeting this past Monday and came home ecstatic. He had gotten to use power tools, learned how to do the Cub Scout salute, reunite with some of his buddies from preschool days and spend time with his dad. I mean, what else could a kid want? So the natural progression was to go purchase his class A Cub Scout uniform, his handbook and a class B tshirt. Upon their arrival home, the boy immediately had to try the whole thing on for us. B told him the significance of each part of the uniform while my mom worked to get his pants ready to hem...one can't scout sloppy. I had continued the packing process and was called in to see the final product. What I saw made my heart explode and my eyes tear:



I mean, come on...and Van's to boot. I can't even talk about it. He is not supposed to be this old yet. I feigned a packing emergency and escaped to dry my eyes, while the hub beamed with pride at his boy. I know the scouts have gotten a bad rap from some groups, but the men in my life have had nothing but positive benefits from their times with them. They are men of integrity and grit, of skill and kindness...and I can't wait for my son to join that special brotherhood.
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Friday, October 10, 2014

Musings from the lot

We had a soggy day ALL day. It was a bad hair, damp clothes, "I want to take a nap" day. The 'rents were in town to view the marching band at the football game and see some kidlets play in soccer games tomorrow. Weeellllll, the best laid plans and all that stuff. Soccer games were cancelled due to soupy fields and the fear of broken legs and furious parents with sick kids over Fall Break. Believe me when I say, there were no complaints from me a d possibly even a little happy dance...or a big one. I love a good soccer game, but I need a sleep in day once in a while. Football goes on, unless there is a major thunder storm, so we went to the stadium prepared for the ultimate in monsoons and were pleasantly surprised that the rain stopped. S made it just in time as her bus had come from a dead stop behind a wreck 30 minutes away from home on her way back from a Beta Club trip. They didn't bother going out on the field for their program. They played in the stands and S and her front ensemble compatriots played on the track. They sounded great. S looked so tired and, as she was having to move the unwieldy chimes around, just about turned them over on top of herself. She has not eaten dinner and is probably going to be evil if she doesn't get food soon. I am sitting in the parking lot ready to whisk her away to find some food to shove down her gullet. I honestly don't know whether I will be able to fill her up. I think the kid has a worm.

Have a great evening. I will be playing Words With Friends while I wait. I am determined to win a match against Elke Hildegard, random opponent chosen for me. She is kicking my tail. Grrrr.


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Thursday, October 9, 2014

What a day!

It was a busy and drama filled day today. Trying to get the house cleaned so when Fall Break arrives, I can just sit back, sew and watch Criminal Minds. Is there a pattern there? Anyway, I was transitioning from tub cleaning to toilet cleaning which required a music change from Springsteen to Pink Floyd and I snuck a peek at Twitter to tweet this change, because so many people care. I saw that an occurence had happened at my oldest child's middle school involving children being stung while taking soil samples outside. The school had a soft lockdown and children were being taken to our local children's hospital. Our friend was stung four times. Yellowjackets. I hate those things...how they hide in the ground. The hub finds great pleasure in taking out their nests at dusk with lots of gasoline. I am just so relieved that our friend is okay and everyone seems to be on the road to recovery. The emotional scars will be there for a while. To be swarmed and stung multiple times when you are doing schoolwork and you see your friends getting stung...a scary thing. I know there will be some educators and administrators who will be sleeping hard tonight after an awfully stressful day. Bless them all.


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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Chili cookoffed

Tonight was our annual Chili Cookoff to benefit our conference church camp and true location of heaven on earth, Wesley Woods. While we had a great turnout, we only had 4 teams competing for chili bragging rights. The children take their job very seriously and love the thrill of competition. They won People's Choice Award again this year, an announcement which was met with thunderous celebration. Our friend and former neighbor won People's Choice for her dessert which was an excellent Hershey Bar cake. There were several delicacies and lots of willing samplers. Regardless of winners and runners up and all that stuff, the exciting part is that we raised $1100 for CWW. I am thrilled! Our children love that place and look forward to going every summer.

As with every year, I am exhausted and will be glad to not have chili any time soon...or at least until the next cold ball game day. Night all!


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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Three babies takes a toll

We have had a lot of rain these past couple days. I mean good soaking rain that sounds heavenly on the roof when your are settling into sleep...until it gets so hard that you lay in bed worried and then run down to the basement to check for flooding and drama. Luckily we have managed to avoid that sitution this round, but we did not avoid having a visitor in our bed last night when the thunder got a bit lively. I was so grateful to be awake when the thunder came, because being awakened by it is never good for me. Today we again had some lively storms and thunderous rain pouring down not in buckets, but in 55 gallon drums. I was finishing my munch while watching Richard Belzer and crew bring Law and Order to NYC when an explosion of thunder and lightening came so hard and loud that I jumped off the couch and crouched in anticipation of the second ccoming. Thank goodness I had not had much to drink at that point in the day. Three children have caused the integrity of my bladder to take a hit in stressful situations. Luckily I have not yet needed Depends so nobody "gonna breaka my stride" as the commercial used to say. While my bladder remained strong, the intensity of the strike burnt out the sequencer control board of our garage door opener mechanism. Oh well. It could have been our house or a tree on our house. I'll count my blessings for sure.


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Monday, October 6, 2014

Hurry up and wait

As I am typing this, I am waiting in yet another pickup line. The current line is for marching band. I am listening to Elvis Presley sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Confession time: I like his version much better than the original. See? Would I have time to make such analytical comparisons between song versions if I didn't have ample pickup line time? Solving the world's problems one car load at a time. Middle school pickup probably looked a bit sketchy today. I am working on a couple of teddy bears out of matrial that is bothe very soft and very messy. My usual uniform of jeans and a gray Old Navy tshirt was covered with tiny little pieces of cream terry cloth and chocolate brown ultra soft material. When I got out of the car to visit with a friend, a shower of those pieces went up in a mini-cloud like confetti at a celebratory crafters' parade shown on PBS on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. Random thoughts, sorry. Inhaled too much Polyfil stuffing today. Elvis is now singing "Always On My Mind". Yet another excellent version. See again? I am slowing being driven into some sort of mania by waiting in the car too long and listening to XM radio whilst sewing creepy little animals. It gets to a mom after a while. Just to see the fruits of my labor(and waiting), here is a picture of the latest creation...a sock monkey patterned bunny:



Hope it will sell some day. If not, you might get it as a gift one day. Sorry to ruin the surprise.
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Sunday, October 5, 2014

It's for the children...

Bake sale day at church was a success! I feel like quite the slacker that I only had my few treats when several industrious souls made many, many batches of yummy delights. Next time I will do a better job. Just know that one could get contact diabetes from all of the sugar on those tables. The kids were all so very proud, wheeling and dealing with several hard bargainers in the hallway. True, it was playing a bit of dirty pool to station our table right in the path of people entering the church building, but come on...it's for the children. Insert sad puppy dog faces here. In order to really seal the deal and get people to buy lots of confections, the children sang an absolutely lovely song in church complete with harmony and a djembe played by our multitalented associate pastor. In the end, the children easily cleared $500 at the very least. They will be able to further their program and make others happy with their music. I am so very proud of them.

I am currently in a laundry holding pattern, waiting for the dryer to finish so I can fold and hang before the washer is done. Homeland premieres tonight and, if my headache will let up, I plan to see what Carrie and Saul are up to this season. Oh what an exciting life I lead.

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Saturday, October 4, 2014

All s'mored out

We had a pretty busy and fairly productive day. As always, someone was playing soccer. All the parents thought we were going to blow away on the field with the crazy wind. Fall weather was officially here and I, for one, am thrilled about it. This is my kind of weather. My oldest was bundled up in her hoodie, completely inside of it like a soccer troll. The kid has no body fat, so I see her position...well as much as one can who has enough body fat for three kids. Anyhoo, they won, but not without some controversy and coach vs coach arguing and some coach vs ref drama.

The afternoon was spent preparing snacks for a bake sale at church. G and I made "S'mores Cups" from a DIY picture off of Twitter. Making a new recipe simply from pictures can be a risky move, but thank goodness they turned out. Afterwards we channeled our inner pyromaniacs and took a lighter to the tops to make the marshmallows look campfire kissed:



We of course had to try them to make sure they weren't awful(we're thoughtful like that)and they were pretty cute and tasty



I am not a partaker inner of manicures, so forgive my nails. Fter those were finished, I started on dinner. The boy insisted on helping, which is nice and entertaining and exhausting all at the same time. He decided that we needed to keep with the "food in a cup" theme and make pizza cups for dinner. He assembled after all the hot and sharp prep work was complete. I think he did a smashing and tasty job:



Everyone is now enjoying a relaxing evenin with satisfied tummies and comfy pj's. I'm about to stuff some bunnies and watch some Criminal Minds, which seems to be my companion show when sewing. Maybe a soft bunny tempers the scary of Mandy Patinkin hunting serial killers....or Joe Mantegna whichever season is playing. Entertainment is entertainment. Night all.
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Friday, October 3, 2014

All spread out

Our family is having an evening all over the county. The hub and the boy are at our church father-son campout. They will not be camping out, but will enjoy all the fun offerings that are in store tonight. Call us crazy(I know we are), but we didn't think almost three months post back surgery was the best time to be sleeping on the ground. We're no fun, I know. S has gone to some friends' house for the evening. Since there was not a football game tonight, she has a rare treat of a march-free Friday. G and I were planning to go to church for the mother-daughter Spirit-Filled Art night, but chose to stay home and try to just physically recover from the week. She was exhausted and in need of some quiet mom time. I will never turn that down!

Have a lovely evening, everybody. I am "enjoying" watching a "I have parasites living inside of me" show of my child's choosing. Ew. Sleep tight with that one.


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Thursday, October 2, 2014

Thursday Ball

Yes, I sat on concrete bleachers for the better part of 4.5 hours this evening to watch our oldest play in the band for the Thursday night high school game. While those darn bleachers are the most uncomfortable and dangerous things around, I will sit on them every time I am able to watch. As I have said before, I am a band geek from way back. I could honestly care less about the football game. When I was in school I did a little bit, but not so much now. I love the band. I love to watch the crowd dancing to the cadences...the fans getting fired up hearing the school song...the cheerleaders dancing...the drum line amping everybody else up. Exhaustion will be my enemy tomorrow, but for now I will enjoy and relive my youth.


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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Stop the napsanity

I have been very tired lately. I need to just power through, caffeinate and work to stay awake through it all. Today I decided to go to the grocery store right after school drop off and wake myself up. After putting the groceries away, I went down to the basement to switch laundry around and hang up the freshly fried stuff. The new load in the dryer had 25 minutes left to go, so I sat down in one of the chairs to finish out an episode of the always riveting "Dog the Bounty Hunter". That was about 9:20. The next thing I know, I woke up(unsure of exactly where I was with a little drool in the corner of my mouth)and it was 11:55. My friend said that I must have needed it, but I have regretted it all day. Headaches and regret are what have made up the rest of the day. I have already decided to make a to do list tomorrow so I won't have time to sit down for a nap. Jeepers.

Update from last night. The boy did seem like he grew a mile, but I don't think he grew quite a centimeter...maybe a milimeter. Let him stay small for a little bit longer. Sweet boy.


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