The infinite wisdom of a 5 year old

Upon inspecting a coffee machine and filters that are in their original boxes…

Daniel says to Lucas, “ You put coffee salt in, and you put it in the oven, and it comes out like that." (pointing to the picture of the coffee pot with freshly brewed coffee in it).

That made me smile big today.

Swing set

Our swing set is officially up and running. This fine day comes after several weeks of waiting. T has set the posts in about 400 pounds of concrete. Believe it or not, the set still shakes a little when the heafty kids from next door are on it. The weight limit per person is supposed to be 105 pounds. (the 7 year old from next door is probably close to the limit) so we'll see just how long this equipment will last before the boys and their friends destroy it. It looks pretty sturdy for now. The kids are having a blast with it.
T and I are in the process of coming up with rules for the swing set. I started a pretty good list as I watched the kids today.
So far... no broken bones. You can keep these kids in your daily prayers :-)

April

I just got word that my grandmother, Froggie, passed away this morning. Only three weeks after T’s grandfather died. April has turned into quite an odd month.
My Dad pointed out that April has been a month in which many of our family members have passed away.
In a way, spring is a great time for this. God may simply be taking the older folks home while he is birthing beautiful new life around us. We should not only be thankful for the lives of our loved ones who have gone but also for the new life that surround us.
I am so thankful for the life of Froggie and for what she has meant to our family. I will miss her dearly. It seems so odd to say goodbye to someone that has impacted our lives for so many years.
At the same time I am thankful for the new life that has come with spring. The flowers, trees, birds and nature that surround us… as well as the new babies that are being born and will be born in the near future. We are blessed to experience these cycles of life and I thank God for the sorrow and the joy that he enables us to embrace at certain times in our lives.

so... heading back to L'burg this week. Please keep our family in your prayers.

"wow!" news

the voice on the phone said,
"There are THREE of them."

I'm so excited... and speechless! Congrats you guys!!

(hint: the rest of you will have to do your homework to find out what this means)
have fun! ;-)

sleepover

The sleepover went amazingly well.
Our small group was here until almost 10pm. Having a great discussion about the state of our marriages. :p
Then the boys watched a calm video while I set up the sleeping bags and pillows.
At 11pm they were ready to zip up.
I mentioned that they may hear the cat come down and eat from the cat dish. L totally got creeped out and insisted on going to his own bed... go figure. But he soon went back down and joined the older boys.
They whispered and joked for about an hour and I went down at midnight and told them to quiet down a bit. I think that they fell asleep shortly after.
It seems that they had a great time.
Another successful event.

wet cookout day

As for the cleaning... everything is purdy in my house. I agree that it is good to get it done with in one shot and then let it go for about a month. I think that process will be my new routine.

I'm glad that I'm finally learning these tips after many years. A very important fact that I have finally learned.... Never mop your floors before a party. Especially before a cookout on a rainy day. Save the mopping for the day after! Duh... why hadn't I thought of that one before?!

Tonight we have a cookout with our small group. I was really excited to have everyone over for the first official cookout of the season. And it's raining.
I had even bought a cutsie beverage bucket to put some "cold ones" in. Is it proper to have a bucket of ice and drinks inside your kitchen?? I'm praying that the rain will clear up as the evening approaches. I'd really hate not getting to use the bucket. ha.

The boys are having their first official sleepover tonight. One of their friends will be spending the night tonight after the cookout. It should be an interesting night!

I caved in.

I was simply going to pick up the floors and vacuum today. But I became crazy again.
I've learned today that you simply can't pick up a floor and vacuum. One thing leads to another, ya know?!
Somehow I managed to get D to clean out from under his bed and I flew through both kid's rooms and straighened things up. The clutter under the bed quickly covered the entire floor and took most of the morning to sort through. I'm proud that D was able to do most of it on his own and we even gathered an entire trash bag of stuff to throw out!! yay!!
(sigh of relief that L still uses a mattress on the floor... why rush getting a bed frame... that would be twice the mess!)
Anyway, I managed to gut most of the house this morning. Even putting all the plants outdoors. I'm feeling accomplished so far but the bathrooms still need a scrubbing. Maybe tomorrow.
I feel like such a failure. I was doing so good at NOT cleaning. I guess old habits are hard to break.
I do feel somewhat relieved that I may only need to do a major cleaning about once a month. That's okay, right?! haha!

a life crisis?

I think that I must be turning over a new leaf. I’ve been on a cleaning strike for about a month now. (It may be time to clean the toilets today. And possibly vacuum.) But other than that, I haven’t been motivated to do any housework except keep the clothes clean.
Today I decided to go on a cooking strike as well. I am getting tired of rushing around to have dinner on the table by 5pm in order for me to leave for work at 6. My new plan is to have T cook dinner for him and the kids sometime later in the evening.
(It has been great being outdoors while it is light in the evenings. Why rush everything just to cook dinner??) On my “off” nights, we’ve been out in the yard till late and we don’t even worry about dinner until after 7pm. It’s been very relaxing.
So, all that to say, I’m taking a more laid back approach to my housewife responsibilities. I’ve been too organized for too long and I’ve decided that it’s time to chill.
I’m also trying to find “myself” in all of this… since I’ve been too wrapped up in being a mom, wife, etc.
By golly, I can be my own person too!!

our little furry friends

Well, I am back online after several days that were filled with a birthday party, a baby shower, a trip to Grandma's, a potluck, a horseback ride, work, Easter, a 3 hour nap, preschool and babysitting.
Today is our first full, free day at home. And I was still antsy and had to go out and meet T for lunch. I've finally got the kids down for nap and I think I'll read a bit and take a snooze too, if possible.
The household chores are piling up but I really want this to be a free day. No work tonight either!!
I was thinking of going to a local plant nursery and picking out a few flowers for the yard. the kids and I stopped by today but there were way too many to choose from. I will need T's opinion.
We were lucky to get hostas and liriope, for free, from our family. What a wonderful difference a few plants make!!

Speaking of our yard...
For those of you that heard our "bat" story last year.... they are back!!! AND... they didn't choose the nice bat house that we installed for them. what punks. From the sounds of it, and the looks of it, it seems like they are behind our chimney?! I'm sending up my lovely husband to check it out tonight. It's time for us to lay down the law and send those guys out of here!

the thing to do...

This blogging thing seems to be spreading like wild fire.
Be sure to keep up to date with folks that I have added to my list in the margin.
I'm so thrilled that I can keep up to date with everyone!

An official Bulldog

Daniel had an appointment for Kindergarten Registration today at 1pm. They did a “screening” for reading readiness and Daniel did super well. He also got his picture taken to aid his teacher in the fall. AND he (we) got to meet with the Principal, Mr. Berry, who gave Daniel a super little talk and gave him a “goody bag” with things that will help him get ready for kindergarten. Magnetic numbers, a pencil, crayons, glue, scissors, play dough and a book called “The Night Before Kindergarten”. Best of all (in my opinion) he was given a stuffed red bulldog. It turns out that the school is home to the Gordon Barbour Bulldogs. Fun mascot.
We’ve gotten all the info we need. Now we wait for orientation, and for school to start on August 23rd.
I am so excited for Daniel!

An interesting note: I ran into a 1st grade teacher in the hallway… whom I went to school with in L’burg!! What a small world!!

Tip for eating out with kids...

Yesterday was our 7th wedding anniversary.
After discovering that I had to work last night… T and I decided to go out for our anniversary dinner on Sunday night instead.
Since it was a last minute idea, the kids came along. (I know how pathetic that sounds). On the way to the restaurant, we encouraged the kids to be invisible and silent as their parents enjoyed an anniversary meal.
Surprising enough, it was one of the most pleasurable evenings out with the kids. They were calm and quiet.
Perhaps the invisible/silent request worked. We'll certainly try that one again!

Last week

Last week seemed pretty eventful in the scheme of things.
We enjoyed a visit from my sister and bro-in-law on Saturday the 1st. In the late afternoon, we received a call that T’s grandfather probably wouldn’t live through the night.
So, we frantically packed things up and headed to L’burg.
T and I stayed up with his grandmother, by his grandfather’s bedside, all night. Elmer passed away at 6:35am on Sunday, April 2.
I never knew what it would be like to watch someone die. It wasn’t too morbid or as depressing as I had imagined. It was really a blessing. Hard to explain all of the emotions of the night but the overall sense of peace was amazing. I assume that it was such an event since Elmer had lived a long full life of 85 years and he was SO ready to move on and be with Jesus. It is so nice to know that he is no longer suffering from the cancer that had eaten away at his body. I feel very fortunate that I could be there as he was departing this world.

Sadly enough T was scheduled to leave for Italy on Monday. His plans could not be changed so we said goodbye and sent him over the big puddle.
The kids and I stayed in L’burg with T’s family and proceeded with the funeral plans and family time. Everything went smoothly. T’s brother, Thad, spoke very eloquently at the funeral and made a wonderful tribute to his grandfather. I must admit it was the best funeral that I have attended. (if they can be ranked).

We headed back home on Saturday night, arriving just a few hours before T came home. We were glad to see that he didn’t go down in a fiery plane crash.

We are getting back into the swing of things this week.

I'm back

Sorry to my loyal fans for my lack of blogging lately. :)
We were unexpectedly gone all last week. I'll try to post an update when I get my brain back in order.
keep checking in...