Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The beginning of the end

As of today, I have our school materials for the coming year. I only needed two things to round out our studies, but I've been trying to find them cheap with no success. I found an eBay seller who had both for decent prices and reasonable shipping, so I ordered them last week, and they arrived today.

Let me emphasize my complete nerdiness by saying how excited I am about this year! Spyder and Sass will both be studying etymology, specifically Greek and Latin roots, and my inner nerd is loving it!

Spyder and Sass will also both be studying beginning biology, which I (personally) am more excited about than last year's astronomy. We'll be doing another earth science as well, since Spyder can't get enough of science.

I haven't decided exactly what our history lessons will encompass yet. The three of us decided today that we've had enough of the ancients -- thank heavens! -- and it's time to move on. I'm voting for the end of the Roman Empire to the High Middle Ages, but the children are leaning more toward early America. Either way, I have the materials, so it's just a matter of deciding. I'm betting we'll go with American since it's what they're more interested in studying.

Spyder and I decided that we'll begin at the same time as the regular schools this year, which works for me. That gives me about two weeks to get the schedule worked up and making the rounds at Target for basic supplies. Sounds easy enough, but those school supply aisles just make me giddy. I have to go in with a very specific list, otherwise I come out with all sorts of things that I just loved but don't particularly need.

"A bouquet of newly sharpened pencils"
may be ideal for our first day, if only for myself. :)

Monday, July 30, 2007

Alas, poor Grasshopper

I never introduced him here, so none of you knew him. But we did.

Grasshopper was our turtle (specifically a Red Eared Pond Slider), found on Skeeter's construction site in February. He rescued him from sure death by front-end loader and brought him home. By necessity, he taught us quite a lot about turtles during his time with us.

During the cold weather, he lived inside under a warming light. But once warm weather hit, he lived outside. He and the doggies got along most of the time, but Grasshopper would make a try for freedom on occasion, and it would annoy Lucy to no end. It almost always happened in the morning, between 7 and 8. Lucy would start barking like mad and I would know that Grasshopper was making a try for the fence.

For being turtle, Grasshopper could really book it when it had a purpose. And oddly, he'd always head toward the gate, as if he could just open it and walk out.

Grasshopper made his last bid for freedom while we were on vacation.

Brenda had agreed to stop by and feed the dogs and turtle while we were gone, and poor Grasshopper was missing that first evening when she came to feed everyone. She looked for an hour and a half, but no Grasshopper. She looked every day, and we looked and looked when we got back.

I just hope that he made it safely to the pond across the road.

So, in memoriam, our Grasshopper:

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Post-vacation recovery

So why is it that the post-vacation house is far messier than any other time? I've been making huge strides at getting rid of stuff and keeping the clutter down. Now I feel like I'm back at the beginning.

I sit among piles of laundry. Well, there are always piles of laundry, but these are far bigger and far more annoying piles. Plus there's all of the stuff that acted as stowaways for the ride home.

I still haven't cleaned out the car. Well, all of the stuff is out, but I haven't vacuumed it and such. The oppressive heat we've had for the last few days zaps me the moment I walk outside. I'm considering just taking it to the car wash/detail place. At this point, I'd happily pay them the $40 to clean it just so I don't have to be outside.

On a happy note, my friend Carla came by today to use the computer to enter her stuff for the consignment sale next weekend. I got my things out to enter, and she ended up taking all but two items, so I'm not going to bother with the sale. Wheeeee! My cedar wardrobe is cleaned out except for Skeeter's long sleeved shirts and a couple of Halloween costumes!

Oh, and Sass declared that she will be a pumpkin for Halloween this year. Works for me. There is a pumpkin costume in the closet, and it fits!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

More on the vacation and its aftereffect

PezMama hit it straight on -- swimming, swimming and a bit more swimming, briefly interrupted by a trip to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

digression

When I was in high school, The Michael and I were good friends with one of the exchange students, Stephan, from Germany. One of his choice expressions was "believe it or don't." Because of that, I always want to say or write Ripley's Believe It or Don't Museum. I actually did say it once, to Spyder, and he just looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

/digresssion

Having thought about all that swimming, I've decided to join the local YMCA. We have several throughout the city, and two of them are within 10 miles of my house. And luckily, a membership to one of them is good for any of them.

We spent loads of time at my friend Britt's pool last year, but this year poor Britt is hugely pregnant. She's due at the beginning of August, and I have such sympathy for her plight.

It's the south. It's the summer. It's the end of pregnancy. Poor, poor Britt. She emailed me last week and apologized for not having us over to swim. My response: "No apologies necessary! Not a bit, not at all! I know what you're thinking. 'It's hot; I'm as big as a moose and grumpy, and it's best if I stay away from everyone.'"

But not being able to go to Britt's this year made me realize that my urchins do love to swim, so the $65 a month for a membership to the Y is probably worth it.

Sound bites

"I'm just gettin' out my inner swing."

-- Spyder, while listening to his MP3 player and dancing in the back seat of the car

"Oh, Mama. Hug me and we'll think of happier times."

-- Sass, while watching me have watery eyes and sniffles during a sad part of the latest Harry Potter book

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The rest of the story

When I was writing my previous post, I was sitting on the floor of the hotel room using my sister's computer and listening to my children and their cousins playing in the little gathering area outside of our room. I think that it was determined that I should be finished whether I truly was or not. I was happily typing away when all of a sudden I got the "your blog has successfully published" message. I suppose it's lucky that I was at the end of a sentence when it happened.

So, picking up where we left off . . .

Lisa, Jason, and I went shopping. Jason said, "I'll leave you off here. I'm going to the Black & Decker store." So Lisa and I went to a variety of places and ended up spending loads of time at Old Navy. I found loads of things for the children and Skeeter. Lisa and Sass got identical pairs of shoes, which Sass thought was just wonderful. Skeeter got a number of shirts and boxer shorts. I bought myself a new pair of tennis shoes at a different store because, well, my old ones were looking old.

But my favorite purchase is THESE:


These were bought the following day, when Skeeter and I had gone back to the outlet mall. I wasn't even really looking for shoes for myself on that trip. Skeeter wanted tennis shoes, so we had gone for him. I went wandering, and I just fell in love with these! I've been told by just about everyone that they're amazingly ugly. But hey, you just go on thinking they're ugly. They're comfortable and I like them. I have a feeling I'll be wearing them quite a lot.

After I bought them, I was told by my sister and my 15-year-old cousin that they're a popular brand at the moment, which I think it quite a riot. I'm never "in fashion."

For being in a place known for stuff to do and see, we did surprisingly little. In fact, the only place we went was the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. We're already talking about going back though.

The children spent this morning in the pool, for as long as they possibly could. We finally got on the road around 11 am today, and we got back home around 6 pm.

Everyone is tired and pleased to be home, but it was a lovely vacation!

Monday, July 23, 2007

A brief recap of recent days

I managed to make it to our vacation destination with little trouble.

I set off early on Friday morn, and even after stopping at my aunt's store to pick out some Crocs for Sass, I got to my Memaw's house early.

Memaw was ready, with a ton of stuff, but it was all in small packages. She took a look at my car, already packed full of our own stuff, and said, "I don't see how you're going to get all this stuff in."

I said, "Memaw, give me 5 minutes and step back."

Sure enough, I moved stuff around, and I was able to get absolutely everything in. The children were a little bit crowded (Spyder had three cases of sodas at his feet), but it was all in.

The drive wasn't bad actually. Long, but not bad. Memaw and children didn't get on each other's nerves too much. Quite a feat!

Got to my sister's house around 4 pm on Friday. She has a cute, cute little house in the middle of a cow pasture. I love it! Well, not the flies that come with the cows, but I still love the area.

Later, my sister and her boyfriend took Spyder and Sass fishing in the pond behind the house. They had loads of fun! I didn't join in because, well, it required climbing over a barbed wire fence on a makeshift ladder. I don't do ladders in the best of circumstances, so there was no way I was climbing that one. Oh, and we stopped to pick blackberries on the way back. Prickly, sticky, and wonderful.

That night we had a late dinner at a Mexican place around the corner that was yummy, yummy! In a strange twist, my Sass got a hot dog there. My child who can eat hot salsa with a spoon ate a hot dog. Everyone had a grand time making fun of my vegetarian fajitas (which were quite yummy).

Spyder and I went to the Harry Potter release party that night. I wanted to leave immediately, and let me tell you -- it was an ultimate act of parental love that we didn't. We stayed the whole time, and we finally got our audio book at around 12:45.

Slow start to Saturday since I'd been up so late, but we finally ended up at our hotel around 4 pm. Saturday night was spent around the hotel pool mostly. I think my children would like to be fish.

Sunday was more out-and-about. Went out for brunch, then Skeeter, Spyder, and Sass went back to the hotel to swim. My sister, her boyfriend and I went shopping. Shopping! :)

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The Nag-O-Meter

I just got off the phone with my mom, finalizing plans for vacation. Despite that I was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear (I've made plans to transport that cooler; I'm picking up Memaw early Friday morning; I'm not going to bother her with coming down there a day early), but still she felt it was necessary to tell me how important these things were -- over and over again.

When I got off the phone, Skeeter said, "I think the Nag-O-Meter is on high right now. She sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown."

Yep. That Nag-O-Meter is on full volume. She's going to drive me crazy before we leave.

Let me tell you

It may be a "Tear and Share" package, but there was no sharing involved. Not one bit.


Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Today was better

I'm back to normal after my big ol' pity party yesterday.

The children got along normally today. We played Huntsville together (I think I like this game just as much as Spyder does!), got a few things at Target, and went to the library -- pretty much a normal day. We had a nice day, and as a bonus, there was no wailing or gnashing of teeth during afternoon clean up time.

My dad came out of surgery just fine, but we don't know how long he'll have to stay in the hospital. He thinks he'll get out on Thursday.

I started packing today, and I've gotten most of the children's things settled. Now I just have to do mine and Skeeter's. Tomorrow will be all laundry, all day because I surely don't want to have to do it when I get back. One good thing came out of my pity party yesterday though. The kitchen is clean. And I'm not doing any big cooking between now and time to leave. :)

The children are so excited they can't stand it. Spyder is going fishing with my sister's boyfriend on Friday before we all head out for the rest of the vacation, and he can't decide whether he's more excited about the fishing or going to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

I have a Plan. So far no one has thrown more things into the Plan, and all is well.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Pity Party

This is a rant/vent/pity party. Read on at your own peril.

Today was just a rotten day. It was one of those days where you think, "Good heavens. I just need to go back to bed and try again tomorrow."

Generally, I like Mondays. I'm strange that way, but I do. I like the way that it starts our routine again, since we always get off schedule on the weekends. Mondays always feel fresh to me, like a new beginning. I usually start out feeling excited and hopeful, a little like the first day of school. Today was just sour from the start.

And really, it wasn't any one great incident that set the tone for the day. Just one little thing after another. And another. And another.

-- The children couldn't get along. At all. All day.

-- My mom informed me that I'm going to be transporting far more than I planned when we leave for vacation later this week. In my new not-so-big car. I feel like I shouldn't complain, but at the moment, I'm wondering if I'm going to have room for any of my luggage.

-- I was slighted by a friend. This actually happened a couple of months ago, but I've been incessantly reminded of it for the past week or so. I've just about had it, and I can't figure out how to tell the person who keeps reminding me because I don't think she's doing it intentionally.

-- Skeeter dropped unhappy news on me. Well, more problematic than unhappy, but still, it's yet another thing to deal with.

-- I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything I have to do before we leave for vacation, and my schedule has been moved up a day due to circumstances beyond anyone's control.

-- I'm feeling guilty for feeling overwhelmed because my mom has far more going on than I do, and I feel like I should give her all of the support I can.

And the list could go on, but I'll spare you. By early evening, I wanted to lock myself in the bathroom and have a good cry. But instead, I did what I always do when I'm upset but still "on duty" -- I sat on the floor of the kitchen and scrubbed the cabinets, teary-eyed but quiet.

I hope tomorrow is better, but my dad is having heart surgery in the morning, and I already know that I'll start off the day fretting and worrying.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

"Good manners don't cost a thing."

Yesterday I closed out our post office box. We've had the box for years, since just before we moved to this area.

We haven't lived in that part of the city for almost five years, but we kept the box for a number of reasons. We still went to that part of the city relatively often, and it was easy to pop by and check the mail.

A couple of years ago, the post office started locking the doors during non-working hours. That made it much more difficult, since Skeeter and I weren't often there until evenings or weekends. Still, we didn't have much of our mail sent there. Mostly I used it for my eBay sales so I wouldn't have to give out our home address. I was lucky to get there once a month, and usually only if I was expecting a letter or package.

But this week I decided it was time to close it. And even after all of the inconvenience and such, I really closed it because of one of the clerk, a rude and hateful woman who started working there about two years after we got the box. Most of the time I didn't have to deal with her because, hey, I was just there to get the mail. It was always a 1-in-4 chance of getting her when I picked up a package, so it wasn't too bad.

All that changed last year, when she was put in charge of the boxes. Because I don't get there often, and sometimes less than once a month, I didn't get last year's box notice the month that it was due. When I came in a couple of weeks after it was due, she informed me that the post office wasn't in the business of letting people have the boxes for free. She had sent back all of my mail and changed the locks. And she told me all of that in her oh-so-haughty manner.

At the time, I wasn't considering changing and I was still selling on eBay pretty regularly, so I paid the changed-lock fee, renewed the box for another year, and moved along. But this year, as the time approached, I thought about it before I renewed. I don't sell on eBay as much any more, and there was really no need to have the box. I didn't renew it when it was due at the end of May.

Yesterday I happened to be in the area during post office hours, so I stopped by to officially close the box, set the forwarding order, and turn in the key. Haughty Hateful Clerk was there, but thankfully, she wasn't the one who waited on me. The woman who did wait on me has been there for longer than we have been customers, and she's always so nice. Not overly, grandmotherly nice, but pleasant and efficient, which is all the better in my opinion.

When I told Nice Clerk that I was there to get any mail that might be there and set the forwarding order, Haughty Hateful Clerk must have been eavesdropping. Haughty Hateful Clerk turned from her customer and called out from two stations over, "Your box has been closed. You don't have any mail."

I turned to Nice Clerk and said, "I understand if the mail has been sent back, but I do want to set a forwarding order." I told her the box number, and Nice Clerk said, "Wait a minute. You're [last name], right? There's a stack back there for you." Nice Clerk immediately went to look and came back a couple of minutes later with a stack of mail (mostly junk) and a small package that I had forgotten about.

I have a sneaky feeling that if Haughty Hateful Clerk had been the one to wait on me, there's no way she would have given me the mail. And now that makes me wonder about the last time. Last time I was there 17 days after the box was closed. This time, it was 45 days. If they had it this time, surely they had it last time as well.

But, interestingly enough, Nice Clerk and the clerk who stands next to her (another very nice woman who is more of the grandmotherly type) were having a discussion about manners while I filled out my forms. I can't remember how the discussion began, but they were talking in very vague terms about manners, specifically good and bad manners between a clerk and customer. I think that one of them must have had a bad experience earlier that day, although neither one of them said that.

Nice Clerk came out with the sentence I was expecting as soon as the manners topic came up. "Good manners don't cost a thing."

I hope that Haughty Hateful Clerk was eavesdropping then too.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Because I have nary an original thought in my head

I can't decide if I have absolutely nothing to say or if I have too much. Too many things are rattling around, so rather than sort them out, I'll entertain you all with yet another meme -- the "what's in your purse" meme.

Normally I credit the blog from which a meme was lifted, but there's not a particular person this time, so we'll just say it's been shamelessly copied from various sources. :)

I'm kind of a purse hound. Probably more than "kind of." I love purses. I have several that I change out regularly. Most recently, I was using a little navy blue woven Sak purse that my sister gave me. I loved it (still do, really) but it was just a little smaller than I needed, mostly because of my big fat tiger striped wallet that I've had for years (and also love).

When my mom gave me birthday money this year, I decided to go for something completely different. I had had my eye on the little Vera Bradley quilted purses, so I decided to use my birthday money for one of those.

So, without further prattle, my current purse:


Cute, roomy, and I love it. I'm not a "pink" kind of person, so I'm rather surprised at myself that this is the one I chose. Particularly since the interior is one of the things I like most about the design.


Don't you just love that pink and black design? LOVE it! Oh, and it has loads of pockets inside -- a total of six in various sizes -- as well as one on the outside. You can see three of the inside pockets in the above picture.

And I have now tossed my ages-old tiger striped wallet for this:


See that cute little identification wallet? That's what I used to replace that huge wallet. The other side has a clear plastic window for my drivers license (and no, I ain't showin' it). It also has a partition for my cash, debit card, and library card. Oh, and it attaches to the purse. Is that the best thing ever!?! All of those other cards that I feel like I must keep go in one of those little interior pockets.

So now for the nosy, fun part. This is what it looked like when I dumped it out on the table to clean it out this morning. I have to clean it out about once a week because otherwise I'd be overtaken by all of the receipts and candy.


Also included are some of the coin wrappers I got at the bank yesterday, Sass's drawing book, straws (that Sass decided to grab just as I was taking the photo), gum, etc., etc., etc.

After I took out all of the extra stuff, here's what was left -- necessities for my purse.


If you're looking carefully, you'll notice that there are three different types of lip balm. Obviously, I'm quite serious about healthy lips. And I am never without a tin of Altoids. The brush is in there for Sass because her hair is so fine that it looks icky about three minutes after it's brushed. Hand lotion is a must, and I find that we need the Neosporin often enough to warrant inclusion in the purse.

You'll also notice that there's not a wallet in the lot. That's because that little case never leaves the purse, thus, it never gets misplaced. (Very important.) This little rule has worked out astonishingly well.

Of all of the papers I took out, only two of them made it back into the purse -- my ticket to pick up the dry cleaning and the Chick-Fil-A coupon for a free sandwich. Oh, and a voucher from the local book traders, but that's in the "wallet."

Two important things aren't pictured though -- my Axim (aka, life in a little electronic gizmo) and cell phone -- since both of those were on their respective chargers.

So, you've seen a little snippet of mine . . . . Now, what's in your purse? :)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

And so it begins

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is being released to theatres tomorrow. My local theatre has midnight showings, and I'm sitting here wondering if I should go.

As far as the books go, Phoenix is my least favorite of the series so far. Thematically, I understand why it had to be written, and I actually liked it better on the second read. But really, it's at the bottom of my list.

The trailer for the new movie looks so good though. I'm sorely tempted to leave Skeeter a note in case he wakes up and scoot myself over to the theatre.

I won't. But I really want to.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Shameless bragging

I got a new car this weekend! It's a Nissan Versa, and I lovelovelove it!


To fully understand how awesome this is, let me give a little background.

Two years ago, well, more specifically, two years and seven weeks ago, Skeeter wrecked my car. It was a good little car, a Nissan Altima. But he wrecked it pretty badly. The good part is that it was still completely road-worthy. It drove just fine. The bad part is that it looked awful. Beyond awful. The front grille was missing entirely, the hood was crumpled, and the windshield was cracked.

Awful.

But the estimates for repair were more than the car was worth. Since Skeeter was in an unfortunate period of unemployment (to borrow a phrase from The Michael), getting a new car was out of the question.

Still, I liked the car. It had a great ride, and it was easy to handle. I liked it much, much more than our Honda Passport, despite the whole wreck thing, so I was reluctant to get rid of it. It's been having more and more troubles though. My dad and my sister's boyfriend completely overhauled it this past Christmas, not to mention the new belt and alternator that it needed more recently.

In short, it was time to move on. We had decided this about a month ago, and we had been window shopping for a new vehicle since then. I decided early on that I wanted a car rather than an SUV. I drove the new Altima, but I didn't really like it. It felt too cramped or something. Strangely, the car that I got is actually smaller than the Altima, but it didn't feel like it. The interior feels like the car is bigger than it actually is. Plus, it's a 6-speed manual transmission. I haven't had a manual transmission in years, and I've missed it.

As a bonus, Skeeter found out (in a completely offhand conversation) that as an employee of his new company, he gets a discount at Nissan. I had already decided that's what I wanted, so that little perk completely rocks, and it saved us about $2500 with no effort at all.

There are a few little things that I've found that I don't like (it doesn't have map lights, there's not a mirror on the driver's side visor), but those are easily remedied. Overall, it's exactly what I wanted.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Summer goodness

I had to go to Aldi today, just to pick up a couple of things to make dinner (chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce). I ended up coming out of there with more, as usual. But my best purchase was a cantaloupe for 69 cents.


It was, quite possibly, the best cantaloupe I've ever had. Sweet enough to eat almost down to the rind, but a little bit tangy in the middle. If I had known it would be this good, I would have bought more.

Perhaps it's good that I didn't know though. I'd have been tempted to eat them all.

Cracking up!

My children are so funny! Tonight it's Spyder's turn to entertain me (unintentional though it is).

He's sitting beside me, playing Scooby Doo on the GameCube and singing.

Oh, Santa Claus, Santa Claus! Won't you stay here with the dog?
You're not the only one who has to work.

Mrs. Claus, oh Mrs. Claus! I can't stay here with the dog!
I have to bring joy to the world
to all the little boys and girls!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Tonight's reads

Sass chose her three most favorite-est books for this evening: Harry the Dirty Dog, The Foot Book, and Zip! Pop! Hop! And Other Fun Words to Say.

Harry the Dirty Dog is unquestionably her #1 favorite. She loves it, and she can recite it word for word. I think she empathizes with poor old Harry, since getting muddy is one of her favorite things too.

The Foot Book was inherited from Spyder. It was one of his favorites too. Dr. Seuss is always a winner with them, but they both gravitated to this book more than most of his others.

Zip! Hop! Pop! is also an inheritance from Spyder. It originally came from my friend Julie though, and my two children have enjoyed it just as much as her son did.

Sass and I usually read a "big girl book" at bedtime (right now it's Pippi Longstocking), but tonight she asked for these instead, and I just couldn't say no. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that she's still my little girl.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Good old Southern food

Last night I made a veritable feast of Southern foods -- rotel chicken, fried green tomatoes, fried zucchini, homemade macaroni and cheese. It probably sounds disgusting to anyone who hasn't actually tried all of them, but . . . . mere words cannot describe the yummy goodness.

Michael came for dinner too. Considering the way that he kept going back to the rotel chicken, I think that might have been his favorite. I offered to send the rest of it home with him, but he declined. "I'll just eat it if you do."

My personal favorite was, as always, the fried green tomatoes. They don't look beautiful, but trust me, they were good!


Sass and Spyder don't like them though, so the adults got to finish them all. Sass decided early on that she did like the zucchini though, and (with a bit of help from Skeeter and Michael, I think) I made it to the table with about half of my original plateful.

Today though, I think I'll lay off the fried foods and processed cheese.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Meme

Shamelessly lifted from PezMama.

What were you doing ten years ago?

I had just gotten back from visiting my dad in the hospital. He had his second heart attack, and he ended up having triple bypass (I think it was triple) surgery and got a pacemaker.

What were you doing one year ago?

Skeeter had just finished his first year working for the state. We had finished our homeschool year and were deciding what to do next.

Five Snacks You Enjoy:

1. Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.
2. Apples.
3. All Bran crackers with Laughing Cow cheese.
4. M&Ms.
5. Coffee.

Five songs you know all the lyrics to:

1. Schoolhouse Rock (all of them)
2. Upside Down by Jack Johnson
3. Spanish Nights by Blackmore's Night
4. Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight (from Dr Demento)
5. No Ordinary Love by tobyMac

Things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Pay off everything.
2. Travel.
3. Travel a lot.
4. Put the rest away for college for the urchins.
5. Start saving for more travel.

Five Bad Habits:

1. Reading late at night when I should be sleeping.
2. Folding the laundry, then leaving it in the basket.
3. Snacking when the urchins are in bed.
4. Worrying about things I can't change.
5. Buying more books that I have room for in the bookshelves.

Five things you like to do:

1. Sing.
2. Make soap.
3. Cook.
4. Wander around thrift shops.
5. Play with the children.

Five things you will never wear again:

1. A perm.
2. Big earrings.
3. Anything in the style of Little House on the Prairie.
4. Bell bottoms.
5. Polyester.

Five Favorite Toys:

1. GameCube.
2. Computer.
3. Backgammon board.
4. Cards.
5. Skeeter.

Where will I be in ten years?

Somewhere with Skeeter. Spyder will have just finished his first year in college. Sass will be near the end of her high school years.

If you want to join in on the meme, please do. Leave a comment so I know to check out your answers.

Fireworks!


From the church celebration on Sunday night, where we sat in the drizzling rain to watch. And had a blast!

It's too bad that no one got a photo of Brenda's garbage bag toga. :)

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Weekend recap

On Friday afternoon Brenda and Carla came over with their children. I absolutely love getting all three of our families together. All of the children play beautifully! Everyone has a friend, and no one feels left out. Usually they divide themselves (two older boys, two younger boys, and all the girls), but lately all four boys have been playing together.

They came for a late lunch, around 1, and I had pizza for everyone. Brenda brought two new games for the GameCube that the boys could play, and Carla brought a yummy Chex Mix thing for dessert.

Friday night we went to the church, where they were showing One Night with the King. Spyder ended up playing in the nursery wing, but Sass wanted to stay with us. She finally decided about halfway through the film that she was bored, so she went to play with Spyder.

Friday was also Skeeter's last day at his job, and he had to turn in the keys, company truck, etc. He starts the new one tomorrow, so he'll get the new truck then. The intern is picking him up at 7 tomorrow, so he gets to sleep in a bit. :)

Saturday night we hosted our monthly game night, but Brenda and family were the only ones who came. Last time we had about 30 people here, and it was really too many, so this time we only invited a handful of people. But The Michael is out of town, and there was an activity at church for the Sunday School class, so most people couldn't make it. I'd never admit it to most people, but I was rather glad that it was just Brenda and family. I wouldn't have minded The Michael or Carla and family, but I was just tired and I wasn't all that enthusiastic about entertaining, so it was nice to have people over and not feel like I was "entertaining."

Tonight was the big July 4 celebration at church -- BBQ, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, the praise band, and a huge fireworks display. Sass and Olivia had a huge spat over . . . who knows what. The best that Brenda and I could get out of them was that Sass had turned around while Olivia was talking, and Olivia said she wasn't Sass's friend any more. Oh, the drama! As Skeeter said, "Melrose Place has nothing on these girls." They made up pretty quickly though, and the girls were inseparable the rest of the night. They even sat together (in the same chair) in the drizzle while watching the fireworks. After every display Olivia would ask, "Is it oooooover?" in a sad little heartbroken voice.

The fireworks lasted about 25 minutes, and I think everyone was tired and ready to go once it was over. Sass didn't even fuss about leaving, getting in the bath, or settling down afterward. I let her watch Strawberry Shortcake after bath while everyone else was getting ready for bed, and I don't think she ever moved from her spot.

All in all, a very satisfying weekend!