Monday, June 28, 2010

ONE DAY

Only one day left, and our family gets to be a WHOLE, COMPLETE unit for six wonderful weeks!!!

The plumbers are here, working on the bathroom. They arrived at 8:15 this morning, and now it's 10:58. I must admit, after two and a half hours of work, they have me a little worried, as it doesn't look like much is getting done. It actually looks like they keep running in and out... and they keep leaving my door open, so there are a ton of flies in here! :(

I feel very sluggish today. I didn't go to sleep until around 2, and I didn't sleep very well because I kept waking up. Then waking up so early... that is just not on (that means it's not good, lol). I make the kiddos pancakes, and Fifi asked for the dark chocolate peanut butter on hers. I put a little on there, and then she refused to touch it and ate two plain ones instead! Lulu ate three pancakes with the dark chocolate peanut butter on them, and Bud ate two with Nutella on them. As a rule, I don't eat when I wake up... I have a cup of coffee, and then if I start to feel hungry, I might eat. Usually lunch is my first meal of the day. I have always been like that, though - eating as soon as I wake up in the morning makes me feel nauseated the rest of the day. My middle child is my morning person - up at the butt crack of dawn, ready to eat and start the day, and ALWAYS happy, no matter how little sleep she may have gotten. Oh that we could all be that way!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

THANK GOD for good landladies!!!

God bless our landlady! She may be a little batty and have control issues, but stinkin' heck I love that woman! When our hot water heater started leaking a few months ago, we called and told her, and less than an hour later, we had a brand new one. My husband called and told her last week that our a/c was acting up, and that we had all kinds of mildew in the caulking of the tub that no amount of cleaner would get rid of. The same day he called her, she had the a/c guy out here. He changed the filter and put some more freon in the unit. Then this morning, the plumber shows up at 8:30 (we didn't know he was coming). He looked at the bathroom (and was as disgusted as I was, and if it tells you anything I had dubbed it "the scary shower"). He said he'd call her and tell her what he thought and would get back to us. Less than 20 minutes later he called back and said, "I got the go-ahead from [our landlady] - we're gonna put a new bathtub and shower unit in. Can we start now?" I practically shouted YES, and he said, "I'll have my guys there in a few minutes." Ten minutes later, they were already ripping out the gross tub! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Words can not describe how happy this whole thing makes me! And guess what? IT GETS BETTER! I know, you're wondering how it could possibly get any better than a brand spanking new tub & shower, right?? Well, the landlady came over to check out the bathroom for herself (like I said, control issues - I understand, it's her house, she wants to be sure), and looked in the bathroom. She sighed and said, "Well I guess I'd better call my electrician, too." I was baffled, but said nothing and listened as she called her electrician and said, "{electrician's name}, this is ______. I was calling to get a quote. I have plumbers at {our address} and they are installing a new bathtub and shower unit, and I figured it's about time to put in an overhead light and fan. Call me back and give me an estimate." Right now the only light we have in the bathroom is right above the sink, so the shower is dark and kinda scary unless we use 100 watt light bulbs (there are 3 in there) - so the shower is slightly more illuminated and the rest of the bathroom looks like the lights from a football field, it's so bright, lol! So the electrician is coming Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., and the plumbers will be finished by Monday evening. it's funny because they had to unhook the toilet to get the old tub out (it was sooooooo gross), so my husband was the bathroom taxi today, lol! He took the baby to Kroger to pee, then took the oldest to his mom's to pee, and then we all went to wal mart to pee! (And we wound up getting a bottle of 85 SPF sunblock, so it wasn't a completely wasted trip.) I've been taking pictures of the plumbers' progress, though I wasn't able to get in there to get a picture of the disgusting mildew that had been growing behind the thin plastic shower lining! EW!!!

The scary shower before:





after they began ripping the old tub/shower out:



This is what it looked like at quitting time today:



The only bad thing is that the bathroom is on the other side of the room my two younger girls share. Apparently in their drilling, they took a chunk out of the adjoining wall, and none of us noticed until I was tucking the girls in tonight... I just hope I remember to tell the landlady, because she'll be on the warpath!

On another high note, my stepdaughter got into the US okay in the wee hours of the morning this morning, and there's only 4 days left until we GET HER!!! OH YEAH!

I signed up online and got a coupon for a free Recipe Inspirations packet from McCormick. I chose the "Quesadilla Casserole" spice packet, and it looks really interesting. It's all the spices you need for the dish, and it has the recipe on the back. Check it out:



Quesadilla Casserole
2 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t oregano leaves
1/2 t crushed red pepper (optional)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 8 3/4 oz can whole corn kernels, undrained
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles, undrained
6 8-inch flour tortillas
2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1. brown beef and onion in large skillet on medium-high heat, drain. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chiles, mix well. Stir in all of the spices EXCEPT for the red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

2. Spread 1/2 cup of the beef mixture on the bottom of a 13x9x2 inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture, and cheese.

3. Bake in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I'll probably omit the beans when I make it, since I personally am not a big bean fan, but otherwise it sounds really good. My oldest will probably eat it with a dollop of sour cream on top, too. She always puts sour cream on top of the tacos when we have taco night, lol.

I have been so worried about my license. Last spring I got a seatbelt ticket (I pulled into the public library's parking lot and unfastened my seatbelt before I parked, and the cop gave me a ticket. In retrospect, I should've gone to court and fought it, but it's only $20, so why bother? It's literally the only ticket I've EVER gotten), and I waited for a while before it got paid. I was afraid my license was suspended this whole time, so I've been paranoid and refusing to drive. My husband was fed up with me! We went to the BMV yesterday, and it turns out my license has been just fine since about three days after the ticket was finally paid! GAH!!!! My worrying was all for nothing!

Looking forward to Tuesday... we're going early to the theater to wait in line, since we have tickets for the midnight showing of Eclipse. My stepdaughter comes at 7, so she'll be with us. SO MUCH FREAKING FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Glee makes me ohsohappy!

Yeah, the music from Glee makes me ohsohappy! I'm listening to one of the cd soundtracks and feeling happy even though I feel oogy right now. My allergies are just kicking my butt today, every time I sneeze, it feels like my ovaries explode! :( Despite that slight complication, I managed to get two rooms cleaned and overhauled today, 6 loads of laundry washed (seems like my kids like to hide dirty clothes at the foot of the bed under the covers, and in closets - ew), dinner made, and a trip to the library on top of it all.

Yesterday my middle child asked me about 9-11. I wasn't sure what to tell her, so I chose my words carefully. She promptly told me, "I don't believe people can be that evil." So together, we watched a video on youtube of the towers falling... and she sobbed openly. After we watched it, she said, "Mommy, I wish you hadn't showed that to me now. I want to un-know it." My heart broke for her. Now she wants to learn all about it, the events leading up to it, and what's been done about it since it happened... she checked a book out of the library today that was written to explain the tragedy to kids, and she read halfway through it before she wanted to discuss it. I answered as well as I could, and when I couldn't find the words, she called her Grandma to ask questions. I'm glad she's so curious about everything and that she takes the initiative to research and learn, but at the same time I am so sad that she had to learn about this. Frankly I'm sad to live in the kind of world where something like this even happened... and I remember that morning as I raced to get my oldest child from the babysitter's house (Bud was 11 months old then): "What kind of world have I brought my child into?" I keep my kids pretty sheltered - that was part of the point of my homeschooling them - I could control what information, music, tv, etc went into their little heads. I could pour in all the good they could hold, and there would be no room for the bad. Unfortunately, I know it's not possible. I guess I just want to keep them innocent for as long as I can, since I know that once they hit the outside world without me, they're not going to be innocent for long. Our culture pretty much sees to that even just sitting at home in front of the TV. I hate having to distract them when there's an inappropriate commercial or something on. I protect my kids, and I am unapologetic about it.

My stepdaughter got on a plane this morning from Germany, headed towards US soil. She was supposed to call us as soon as she got here, but so far we haven't heard anything from her. I am hoping that she's okay and will call us soon - I told her to call no matter what time it is, and it's 11 p.m. now.

On a lighter note, my 4 year old is totally in love with Justin Bieber! HA! All 3 of my girls love his song "Baby." Our summer playlist is as follows so far:

1. "Baby" - Justin Bieber
2. "Bulletproof" - La Roux
3. "Need You Now" - Lady Antebellum
4. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
5. "If We Ever Meet Again" - Timbaland f. Katy Perry
6. "That's Not My Name" - The Ting Tings
7. "Funhouse" - Pink (clean version)

Every summer we have a certain set of songs that the girls want to listen to repeatedly - so far it's these 7. In all fairness, all 3 Glee soundtracks should be listed up there too, especially Vol. 1, since it's particularly Rachel-heavy and they LOOOOOOVE Rachel, lol!

The moral to this whole story/post? I have AMAZING kids. Even when I complain about them. ;)

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

T-minus 6 days and counting!

So my stepdaughter will be here in 6 days, and we're all so excited!!!

Today at lunch, I asked the girls what they wanted. Fifi (the baby of the family) wanted what she always asks for: "a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich, but take the peanut butter off." LOL! Lulu and Bud got the same sandwiches: dark chocolate peanut butter from peanut butter & co., topped with a bit of Nutella. I always put everything on whole wheat bread, so at least there was some nutrition in what they ate! I chopped up some beautiful big Fuji apples and smeared some peanut butter on their plates for them to dip the chunks in, and I gave them each a couple of slices of colby jack cheese (their favorite because of their Papaw, lol). Top it all off with a 100% juice juice box, and that was their lunch today. Healthy for the most part... but I can compromise and give in a little bit, especially where Bud is concerned because we have to watch her sugar intake more than the other kids. I don't mind letting her have the Nutella and the dark chocolate PB at lunch, since I don't really put too much on there and she's not allowed to have a whole lot more sugar the rest of the day. I'm making pasta salad for myself (I'm not usually a big sandwich person), and Bud will probably have some of that, too. She's the best eater I have - the only problem is that she also eats a lot!

For dinner I'm making coconut rice and jerk cod. Okay, so it's not really "jerk" spice as we think of it, but it's gonna be pretty spicy, so the coconut rice will cool it down. I am excited for dinner! So is Bud! :)

I have two bunches of bananas in the kitchen that HAVE to be used today. I will either make my husband's favorite (Banana chocolate chip muffins) or banana bread... or maybe even both. The banana chocolate chip muffins never last long in this house, lol... usually just long enough to cool to the point where they won't burn the kids' mouths, and then BAM! They all disappear. It's like magic. ;)

I was looking through photography tips websites last night, and got lots of ideas for the girls' pictures this summer. Just some things I want to experiment with: waterfalls, railroad tracks, mirrors. Let your imagination run wild from there, lol!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

time to decompress

It's time to decompress. I've gotten two stressful situations worked out - at least, as much as they can be, from my end of things.

It's officially one week until my stepdaughter arrives, and the excitement from my girls is almost palpable. I don't know about them, but I am really looking forward to the first week she's here just because of the vacation plans we have. The night she gets here, we're seeing the midnight showing of the movie Eclipse. The next day, we're taking her shopping, then visiting her grandparents so she can open the gifts that everyone has been accumulating for her as early birthday gifts :) The day after that, we're going to a local (AWESOME) pool for the day. Then for the next 3 days after that, we're going to Brown County Indiana, which I LOVE. She and I have already decided we're going to hit the coffee shop we love before we do anything else! LOL!

After that, we have a myriad of birthday parties (including her own) and other outings planned, which is always fun!

Here's to hoping everyone's day was filled with good news as mine was!

Monday, June 21, 2010

So hot!

I hate this stinking hot weather. I'd much rather live somewhere cold or at least cooler (read: mid-70's) all year round. This is why, as much as I love it, I could never live in Florida, or any of the other southernmost states, for that matter. Stupid heat!

Husband called the landlord today and finally told her about the shower. For those who don't know: ever since we moved in, the caulking has been BLACK with mildew or mold or whatever it is. I have tried bleach (both diluted and straight), vinegar (which is an organic way of killing lots of bacteria in my kitchen), and just about every scum remover on the market. I even tried caulking over it, but it came right through. I wonder if our whole shower needs to be redone, because some of the siding is cracked too... hopefully someone will be out in the next day or so to fix it so I can stop calling it "the scary shower." LOL!!!

Took my oldest today to get the x-ray on her wrist, so hopefully by the end of this week we'll know something about whether or not she needs to get bloodwork done to measure her hormone levels. In any case, she was excited to go back and see the x-ray machines, lol.

And I have no news about my climbing garden, lol - as soon as we got home from the x-ray, I camped out inside the house in the air conditioning!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

truth be told, I've tried my best

So I have begun the somewhat daunting task of getting ready for my stepdaughter's arrival in 9 days by removing ALL of her clothes from the closet & dresser and washing them afresh. I wash them every year after she leaves, but they sit there for a whole year, and it's nice to come home to freshly washed clothes that smell good and clean and not like the musty old house, I think. Plus it gives me a chance to throw anything that looks too small into a storage container for the next kid who can wear it. it's nice having all girls, since that means anything I get will get plenty of wear.

Speaking of the stepdaughter, we talked today and she has some things going on in her life that need major prayer. I know prayer can move mountains, so anyone who prays, please keep her in mind the next time you talk to the Father.

I also decided that for her birthday party I'm not going to do 15 different mocktails as planned, I think instead I'm going to have a self-serve Italian soda bar. :) It sounds so much better, and no one will have to stand there and miss out on the party in order to serve drinks, which will be fun for all. Plus people can experiment and try what they want, when they want it. I can't believe it's almost time... I am mailing out the invitations tomorrow.

My garden is out of control! Apparently when I started planting, I didn't keep in mind that most of my plants are vine plants, which means they are creepers... and despite my putting a wire contraption for my cucumbers to climb up, they have wound themselves around the fence we share with a not-so-pleasant neighbor, so I'm hoping she doesn't do anything to them until after we've harvested them. The pumpkin plants' leaves look like elephant ears, they are HUGE!!!

It is supposed to reach temperatures of 100 by Tuesday here, and I hate it. I wish we could have another summer like last year's - mild enough to go swimming if you want, but not so hot that you started to sweat just by stepping out the door. Ugh. I hate the heat.

Oh, yeah... did I mention this?

Saturday, June 19, 2010

So my friend's visit today went wonderfully, I just wish she could have stayed longer- so did my oldest, who really enjoyed the company of my friend's oldest son :) my friend has two sons, and Fifi decided that she wanted to run from one end of the house to the other screaming 'I DON'T LIKE BOYS!!!' Wow...

We made seafood lasagna for dinner tonight, and my oldest was helping me in the kitchen. We don't always see eye to eye, that girl and I, but golly gee whiz we love each other to freaking death. She was helping me by making a basic beschamel sauce on the stovetop (supervised, of course...until a census taker knocked at my door). She and I also sat there and ate the crab cold before putting it into the lasagna, lol. She's definitely my good eater. We decided that this week, I will make pasta and we will soak the crab in (I can't believe it's not) butter and top the pasta with it. Yummy!

Tomorrow is Father's Day, so I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to the men in my family - my husband, my father in law, and my brother in law. You guys rock! You are awesome, and everyone should be so lucky as to have men like you in their lives.

Here's to hoping that everyone has a safe and fun weekend.

Friday, June 18, 2010

So.... tired... and achey....

So my stepdaughter will be here in 10 days, and I have been after my family to help me clean the house before she arrives, right? Everyone completely ignored me. I've been harping for two weeks... and nothing. Nada, zip, zilch, zero - they did absolutely frakkin' nothing.

So a few days ago, I got a message from a dear friend of mine from middle/high school, saying she is going to be in town this weekend and would like to see me. Translation: our deadline to clean the house moved up from 10 days to YESTERDAY so it will be clean for Saturday's planned visit.

It is currently 12:24 Saturday morning, and I have finally finished cleaning everything I can and showered and am decompressing by surfing the web. I really need to get to sleep, but I'm so tired that I can't. Does that even make sense? LOL.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

1st burn of the season

COUNTDOWN TO STEPDAUGHTER'S ARRIVAL: 12 DAYS.

I have missed the boat yet again. There's a bible study I wanted to take at church that apparently started at the beginning of this week, and because I have an absolute crap short-term memory, I completely forgot to sign up for it. Sigh.

Today was pretty good though. The girls had worked around Grandma's house and earned some money, and they decided to use it to take Daddy to the Sellersburg pool today. We all had a lot of fun, although I can't find the baby's lifejacket, and my oldest says she wants one to make her feel safer, too. The baby went underwater three times completely by accident... the first time, my oldest was holding her and she slipped out of her arms. She said, "Mommy she threw me in!" It took some convincing but I finally managed to get it across that it was an accident... and then she freaked out, worried that her sissy was "still under the water." LOL. And despite using baby sunscreen that was 40 SPF (the WHOLE bottle was used between the 5 of us), we all got burnt in some way or another. My upper back and the tops of my knees (from sitting on the ledge so long), hubby's upper back, and all of our cheeks... poor things. :( We still had fun though, so they think it was worth it!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The dinner game

I don't know what to make for dinner tonight. It's either gonna be creamy seafood lasagna (it's sooooooo good) or pesto pasta, with fresh basil from my garden. it's growing like crazy and I need to harvest some, and this was the tastiest way I could think of doing it... at least, until my tomatoes grow. :) I also need to get out there and put some stakes in next to my vine plants, since they're growing out of control now. The watermelons, canteloupes, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini all have little yellow flowers on them :)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Utterly Frustrated

I am at my wits' end, literally. I have been in my daughter's room cleaning for five hours today and still am only halfway done. there are so many more things that need to be done in my house and I am completely frustrated. I broke down and cried like a baby tonight while the kids were outside and couldn't see me and wouldn't know. I just feel like I have no one to talk to about anything. I feel so lonely and crappy right now. I know it will pass eventually because whenever I feel like this it always does, but for right now that's how I feel.

I need a vacation from my life, I guess. Normally I think that my life is pretty great, but this is one of those days when things smack me around a little.

Monday, June 14, 2010

SHE GOT IN!

Lulu got in to the gifted & talented program at a local school! The lady who administered it said "she did exceptionally well, scoring higher than 99% of children who took the test."

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Doctor Doctor, gimme the news...

So I took all three kids to the dentist today, and none of them had any cavities this time, which is GREAT! Though Fifi is going to be just like me, the dentist just wanted to LOOK at her teeth and she flipped out!

Then I took Bud to her pediatrician appointment. They froze a plantar's wart off of the bottom of one of her feet. She switched her from Claritin to Zyrtec, told me to give her melatonin an hour before bedtime to help her sleep, since she has such trouble with sleeping. She also said she has keratosis pilaris on her face, which is a kind of eczema (according to the pediatrician). Bud now has to wash her face twice a day with special soap and moisturize after each time with special lotion. When she uses sunscreen this summer, it'll have to be a special, specific kind, too. There are other, more personal problems, but the gist of it is that the pediatrician is afraid that she's developing too quickly, and has ordered an x-ray of her wrist to look at her growth plates.

Sigh.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

To Sir, With Love

COUNTDOWN TO STEPDAUGHTER'S ARRIVAL: 18 DAYS.

The title of today's post comes from the Lulu song, most recently performed by the cast of Glee in the season finale. I have watched it twice now, and bawled both times. Gosh, I love that show!

Didn't do much of anything today, except play around with some photos in photoshop that I took of my niece. I also made plans with someone awesome (seriously, I LOVE my husband's family - see my list of things to be thankful post several entries ago) to go and take some pictures when my stepdaughter gets here! Can't wait! We have so much planned just that first week, it's going to be amazing. Eclipse midnight premiere that night, shopping the next day, and for two days after that, a trip to Little Nashville in Brown County, Indiana!!! LOVE IT!

The thing I'm dreading is cleaning my oldest daughter's room next week... I HAVE to clean it before my stepdaughter gets here, as she and Bud share a room upstairs. I have bad problems with arthritis in my knees, so I do well just to make it to the basement and back to do laundry... I rarely go upstairs. Unfortunately, my less-than-neat daughter takes advantage of this fact, and as a result, her floor isn't visible! I am SO dreading the cleaning it's going to take to get that room ship-shape.

Tomorrow... which I guess is technically today, since the clock is currently reading 12:13 a.m. - we have dentist appointments for all 3 girls, and then in the afternoon a visit to the pediatrician for my oldest daughter's yearly checkup. I will also have to make a stop at the Dollar Tree to get some wrapping paper - I always wrap up my stepdaughter's gifts before she gets here. She loves opening gifts, and we love watching her do it, she's so funny!!!

Okay, I'm going to say goodnight to blogland and TRY to get off of my laptop... my husband complains that he thinks it's attached to my lap anymore! LOL!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

it's over...

Lulu took her test this morning, so it's over. Phew. We won't find out the results until Monday or later next week, though they did say Monday would be the earliest we'd hear anything. The lady told us it would take an hour, but my girl finished it in 20 minutes! She said it was easy peasy, so we'll see.

Since we got up at the buttcrack of dawn, I was dragging. We came home and I crawled back into bed and fell asleep totally without meaning to... but my wonderful husband let me sleep and he took care of the kids, even made them an early lunch! Thanks, honey!

In 20 days, my stepdaughter will be home. I finally ordered the invitations for her birthday party, and hopefully once they arrive here I will turn around and get them straight back in the mail! It's going to be a busy several weeks around here!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tuesday blahs?

I woke up with a weird feeling today. Not a bad one or anything, just weird... does anyone else do that? Sometimes I get the feeling I've forgotten something important, and it eats away at me until I remember what it is. Sometimes I get a funny feeling and it lasts and lasts until I go to bed, and then somehow it's magically gone. I know it's all in my head, but still.

So this is shaping up to be a busy week for us. Yesterday the girls and I went outside and put the canteloupes, watermelon, and corn in the ground. They were all 3 inches tall or taller, so it was time. Today I have to go out in the heat and put the tomatoes in the ground - I HAVE to, or they'll die. They're running out of room for their roots in the containers they're in right now. My garden is starting to take over my back yard... right now there's: rosemary, greek oregano, common sage, sweet basil, mint, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, canteloupes, watermelons, corn, and cucumbers. Now I have to make room for the lettuce, onions, lavender, thyme, chives, parsley, and carrots. Sigh. I have a feeling I'm going to be giving some seedlings away - anyone interested? ;)

Tomorrow I take Lulu in the morning to take the NNAT to see if she gets into the gifted program at a local school. If she doesn't (which I am sure is unlikely, I have the utmost faith in her), then the girls will continue to be homeschooled next year. If she does, then she and Bud will probably go to the school, which is a little ways away from us. We should know something by the end of this week, supposedly.

On Friday, all three girls have dentist appointments in the morning for their 6 month checkup. Then in the afternoon, I have to take Bud for her yearly checkup at the pediatrician - which actually works out really well, considering that she has a plantar's wart on the bottom of her foot that needs to be burnt/frozen off, and she's started to have tiny bumps all over her face. I don't know if it's the beginnings of acne, or if it's heat rash.

Tonight we're going to the library. It's time to sign the girls up for the summer reading program, like we do every year. And my husband (God bless him) volunteered to cook dinner tonight for me - BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, and baked beans... his favorite meal, lol.

But for right now... we're all camped out on my bed, watching a rerun marathon of America's Next Top Model... lol!



parsley



lettuce



lavender




L-R: rosemary, sweet basil, greek oregano, common sage



L-R: common sage, mint, pumpkins, squash



L-R: pumpkins, squash, zucchini, cucumbers



L-R: cucumbers, canteloupes, watermelons, corn.



Chives.



Chinese Lantern flowers.



Carrots.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

3 day lapse

COUNTDOWN TO STEPDAUGHTER ARRIVING: 23 DAYS.

Wow, I've been really lax about posting for the last three days. I can't help it; I've had so much to do around the house. And on top of everything, my allergies have been kicking my butt. I stepped outside the mudroom door yesterday afternoon, and my eyes immediately starting itching, burning, watering, and swelling up. I was miserable.

Today was good. We got Papa Murphy's pizza and took it to the in-laws' for Sunday lunch, and hung out for a while playing with pictures and whatnot. I love my mother in law, and I love that she likes messing with pictures on the computer. Then we went to my niece's dance recital, and she did so well! It was a lot of fun. I like stuff like that, though - dancing and singing and theater-type activities. :)

Right now my head is pounding though, and even though I took two ibuprofen during the intermission of the recital, it still hurts. I am going to hop offline and relax for a while. Good night, people in blog land!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

so tired

I am so tired. I think my allergies and the repeated trips down to the basement and back up are finally taking their toll on me. The back of my legs burn and ache all the way up and down! But hey, at least there's not a scrap of dirty laundry in the house, right? Right... I think...

One of our neighbors was outside today, mowing her grass for the THIRD TIME THIS WEEK. I kid you not. Well, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I blew up the only lawn mower I had access to... so yesterday my husband asked the teenager (boy) across the street to mow it (he does it for $20 a pop, too expensive for my tastes but we NEEDED it this time). he said he'd mow it today after school. So I'm in the kitchen as the girls and my husband carry the groceries inside, and my husband comes inside steaming mad. I said what happened? and he said, she (our neighbor) stopped me and said, "I was just wondering when you are going to cut your grass." My husband explained that the neighbor boy was going to do it today, and he told her what happened to the mower, and she cuts him off and says, "because you know there's a law about having to cut your grass." and walks off. How incredibly rude! We lived next to people like this once before, and let me tell you, it is not pleasant or a happy thing to know we live next to someone like this again. It's not like we didn't plan on cutting it soon, but we have to roll with the punches as they come. Sigh.

We had taco night for dinner, which all the kids love. Taco night is the best night in our house, they love putting their own tacos together! Then we watched Alice In Wonderland (the new one with Johnny Depp) - we'd seen it in the theater but we just love it so much! Then we had ice cream. It was a pretty good day, I'd say! You know... except for the nosy, rude neighbor...

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Got the ball rolling

I finally have the ball rolling on this whole school thing, though I'm not sure I like it. My husband heard from his sister (who works in our county's school system) that the school she works at has a gifted and talented program for advanced kids. Well, when my middle baby was in first grade during the 08-09 school year, her testing showed she was off the charts for a first grader - she read at a fifth grade level (actually the teacher said she probably read even higher than that, she just didn't have time to keep testing her). The class shared a "reading box" - a box of books that they were supposed to read when they had completed work and had free time. My child had her own box, since the other box of books was too easy for her. The teacher said she was worried about my daughter getting bored, since she completed all her work (correctly) way before the other kids got done. She's been homeschooled this last year, and her appetite for learning has just been voracious. I had the girls reading The Secret Garden, which is 5th grade level reading. We did tests and everything for that, and she was still passing her older sister in the work we did. she has done leaps and bounds more in math, as well, and I am still teaching them both French & Spanish. My husband thinks the G & T program would be good for her... I am undecided and want to keep them home, but at the same time I don't want to deny her such a wonderful opportunity... so I have been calling the admin building for a week. Finally got in touch with the woman in charge of the program today, and so a week from today at 9 a.m., she will take the Naglieri test to see if she gets into the program. She wants to go, but at the same time she says she doesn't want to leave me. For every reason she finds to go, she finds one to stay home. I told her not to worry about it until we find out whether or not she makes it in. She wailed, "I'm gonna fail!" I assured her you can't "pass" or "fail" this kind of test.

My oldest daughter keeps asking me to take her shopping for a training bra. She is 9, will be 10 in a few months. I don't know why she's in such a hurry to develop and grow up - I suspect that since her almost-15-year-old sister will be here in 27 days, she wants to be like her and wear a bra. She went to the bookshelf this morning and got the "Care & Keeping of You" American Girl book that I bought when she started needing deodorant. She's reading the section on developing chests... I don't want to discourage her from learning about it, but I know it's making her Daddy VERY uncomfortable! She keeps wanting to ask me stuff, but he's in the room so she says she'll ask me later.

So. On to subjects that I know how I feel about, lol. Gardening, yay! ;) I now have three green something-or-others in the lettuce pot, 6 lavender shoots, and the two thyme shoots are still the only ones in the pot. One of Lulu's Sweet William flowers began to sprout this morning, so of course she's out of her mind with excitement. She also has 13 greenish things in her pot of Chinese Lantern flowers. :) I need to go out today and get some things in the ground, too.

I've been doing laundry like crazy the last few days. I discovered that I actually find it soothing to sit and fold baskets of laundry... except for fitted sheets, which make me want to pull my hair out. I (literally) have done 15 loads of laundry in the past four days. Every time someone dirties something, I grab more stuff to be washed and take it downstairs to the machine. I am starting to think I may be addicted to doing laundry, as I can no longer stand seeing dirty clothes ANYWHERE. Or maybe I'm addicted to the smell of the clean laundry - I guess that makes more sense, lol. I just know I feel calmed when I sit and fold the clean clothes. Speaking of which, I need to go get some out of the dryer, and take down this basket of dirty stuff that just popped out of nowhere this morning... heehee....

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

the mean reds

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.
Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

Sometimes I suffer from the mean reds. Quite frequently, actually. And yes, Breakfast at Tiffany's is my all-time favorite movie, hands-down.

This morning I got up and went into the kitchen, where I'd moved my lavender, lettuce, thyme, parsley, and rosemary pots in an effort to keep them away from the birds. I have 5 strong-looking lavender sprouts and one pretty decent lettuce sprout. Nothing yet in the pot of rosemary. Two weak looking thyme sprouts, where I used to have about 15. Stinking birds. :( I also noticed a weak parsley sprout, but hey, weak is better than nothing, right?

My back hurt so bad last night and I am so weepy this week. It sucks to be overly emotional and physically in pain at the same time.

My stepdaughter arrives in 28 days, so we are doing our spring cleaning before she comes. We worked together and got the family room clean in less than 15 minutes. Next room is my bedroom, which is going to suck, because no matter where we've ever lived, my bedroom is always the catch-all for all the crap in the house. :(

Today is another marathon of America's Next Top Model, and the girls are thrilled. They love that show, lol.

Well, I've done my daily blogging duties, so I guess it's off to to begin work on my bedroom, and then start dinner... we're having garlic shrimp pasta tonight. Love to all, hope you had a great holiday weekend.