Walking in the king castle.

This morning we were discussing marriage at breakfast.

Sam: "I'm going to marry Adah."
Mom: "Might not be a good idea bub."
Dad: "Ewww, groooos!"
Adah: "Girls only marry girls."
(Zoinks!)
Dad: "No, girls don't marry girls honey, girls marry boys."
Mom: "Boys & girls marry each other."
Mom: "Sam, you could marry D or M or K or A from school."
Sam: "No mom, they are 1st graders, I can't marry them."
Mom: "Well, D & M aren't 1st graders, they are k-kids like you."
Sam, looking at me like I'm nuts: "Ewwww!"
(I went into the kitchen to clean up - Eli comes in a minute later.)
Eli: "Mom, I'm going to marry you & give you flowers & you can walk in the king castle!"

Awwwwwwww...

Bear with me...

This is the first time I've ever messed with templates. Technically I didn't mess with it, I just downloaded & uploaded it but hey, I'm an html idiot so this is a major accomplishment!
I've now spent about 4 hours messing with it & trying to get all the stuff in my sidebar back...during the time I planned on blogging. Whoops!
BTW, anybody know where to get the Facebook code? I want my button back but can't find it over there - girrrrr.
So it's wayyy past time for bed & I'm going to crash now.
I'll get back to this tomorrow.
If I can keep my eyes open.

Hey Jereth, blow a bubble my way will ya?

I could watch this all day long...mesmerizing!

100 things part 3

I have been a very bad blogger this week. I haven't written a thing & while I've read most of the blogs I follow, I've not commented much. I thrive on comments, it's like getting a hug or a gift from you so when I'm not giving them out I feel like a looser. I'm hoping with the twins in school 3 mornings a week I'll have some me time & get more consistent.

Life's been busy, getting kids ready for school next week (yay!) & dealing with money (ugh!) has taken it out of me...not to mention issues of the female variety. Oh yeah, and my babies (Adah & Eli) turned 5 yesterday. I'll have pics coming soon - my dad has a way cool fancy camera so he was in charge of pics at their party last weekend & I have to wait for him to send them. Those retired people are soooo busy you know. (Yes dad, I know you really are busy :))



I can't wait for Wednesday, when the kids start back to school. I think I'll drive the twins the first day, they are going into preschool so I don't want to just throw them on the bus their first time out. Don't know if Sam will want to ride the bus or come with me - he was very proud of being a bus rider last year. Sam is repeating kindergarten so things might be interesting until he settles in. It's the best thing for him but I'm not sure how he will handle seeing his pals from last years class on the other side of the room. (K & 1st are in the same room for half the day.) Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to 6 hours alone every week.

~~~

Ok so I'm very thankful that nobody pointed out what a dork I was in my previous 100 things post. I completely forgot that when you end with 20 your next list should begin with 21- duh!! I never claimed to be the quickest woman around but that was just sad. My excuse is that I gave my brain cells to the kids. Yeah.

41. My love language is receiving gifts.

42. And I'm a pack rat - not a good combo - I even have a hard time throwing out greeting cards.



43. I'm a perfectionist that is completely disorganized (no wonder I'm such a mess!)

44. I like things that are unusual, extreme or silly.

45. Example of #44 - My favorite dog breeds are the Yorkie & the Great Dane. I once had a snake as a pet - her name was Phoebe. I'd love to have a female bulldog named something really girly like Penelope or Abagail - just cos' bulldogs are not cutsie or girly at all!

46. My mind is SO blank right now.

47. I was once robbed at work.

48. I love to sing - it's kinda like breathing for me. Chris & I once had a conversation on which we'd rather be, deaf or blind - I picked blind because I can't imagine not singing along with any music I hear.

49. I just joined Facebook - it's almost as addicting as blogging. This is not good people!!

50. But I did find some old pals from my HS. It's fun to see how they are doing & see pics of them & their families.

51. If I could only stay away from all those fun applications I'd be ok.

52. But hey, maybe I can lure them over here.

53. I love to get mani/pedi's but rarely can we afford them.

54. A Friend of mine in town will be graduating from beauty school in September, and she's doing nails - Woo Hoo!

55. Next year, when the twins are in school full time & I can get a job I'm SO getting my nails done. I love to have pretty nails but my natural ones are wimpy & break all the time.

56. In HS I had a pair of lavender hi-top Converse with purple laces. I wore them all through HS & they were covered with drawings of Daisy's, smiley faces, peace signs & many versions of "I love __." They eventually were held together with layers of duct tape after the soles started coming off.

57. My mother hated those shoes - she tried to throw them away multiple times & I rescued them as many times. I hauled them around for years after I quit wearing them. I wish I still had them, it would be fun to show them to my kids someday.

57. I wore holey jeans in HS. So holey I shouldn't have been left out of the house. One pair had a hole in the thigh that was roughly the size of a football. Another had no butt anymore, just the seam. I wore boxers or long johns with those ones.

59. When I got a new pair of jeans I would lay them out on our patio & spray them with bleach to accelerate the holes. My favorite pair was one I slit the side seams out of, then punched holes & laced them up the sides - so cool!

60. My mom hated the jeans as much (if not more) as the shoes. She also hated the fact that my sisters thought that was a good idea too. (love those 80's fashions!)

~~~

Hope y'all'r havinn a great weekend!

Do not throw the cat!!!

I need help people!

My dear, darling son Eli who professes to love our kitty keeps hurting him instead.

As I was getting Adah cleaned up in the bathroom last night, (don't ask) I spied Eli holding smudge in the air one handed & throwing him like he was competing for the shot put medal or something.

This kid holds my cat sweetly (at times) and tells me how cute smudge is & what a good kitty he is & "oh I love our smudgie" & then pulls a stunt like this.

We are forever at all the kids to not harass the cat - they dearly love to scoop him up from a nap saying 'he wants me to hold him mommy" while smudge meows pitifully, plainly asking me to rescue him from being mauled. They want him to play when he's napping & snuggle when he's on the prowl, yada yada yada.

But Eli takes the cake. I've seen him hold smudge hanging in the air from his front legs, drop him hard on the floor, push him forcefully off the couch & now this.

I did not react well last night. I threw the washcloth onto the counter & blasted into the living room at him, yelling at the top of my lungs "what the HELL are you doing to my cat?" Then I grabbed him by the arm, yanked him over to my recliner & smacked that lil booty (in anger) several times. I know it didn't hurt that much, he's used to getting a spoon but I know I scared the dickens out of him & I know I was not spanking him in the right frame of mind.

Then I sent him to his room while I finished getting the others ready for bed. I made him stay in his room while I read a story to Sam & Adah - he cried at that - but I called him in for prayer time.

I talked to him at length afterwards, I apologised for flying off the handle & tried to get him to understand what he did. I asked him if some huge guy threw him like that how would he feel. Eli said he would be sad, scared & cry & that would be a very bad guy & he would go to jail. I asked him if he felt sad about what he did to smudge & he said "no mom, I feel good."

Wha???

I know he's little & he doesn't get it but he just can't do this to an animal! He's stomped on our dog's feet & tail before, just cos he wanted to. I'm at my wits end & don't know what to do.

Got any ideas?

Just stay away from that dryer lint frugal franny!

I have a confession to make...
I'm a penny pincher.
I rip my dryer sheets in half & wash & sometimes reuse plastic bags.
It's a sickness really - shhh, don't tell anyone!
But some of my frugal-franny ways are useful & we can all use an extra buck so I'ma let you in on a secret every now & then.

I love coffee.
Specifically I love expensive coffee - Starbucks coffee frappacino with vanilla, and make that a venti if you please. Ohhh, heaven in a cup!

Not good when you are a family of 5 living on one blue collar income.

My sister turned me onto this frappe freeze stuff she found at Costco, which I loved & drank heartily until I realized I was spending way too much on the stuff & decided I could make it cheaper.

Thus was born my frugal frappe - fancy coffee for gals on a budget.

Into a blender place desired amount of hot chocolate mix.
Add desired amount of instant coffee.
Add desired amount of water.
Add a few ice cubes & blend - adding cubes until drink is desired consistency.

Yum-o & the fact that I'm saving money makes it taste even better!

I like a big coffee so I make a lot - my version makes enough for a venti and then some. I almost cover the blades in my blender with HC, put in 1 small spoon of coffee (I'm sensitive to caffeine so you might want more), add water to the 2 cup mark & blend with ice until very thick. I prefer store brand HC but use Swiss Miss instead, it's what Costco carries & cheaper per ounce. It would taste even better if powdered creamer was added...but of course it would add to the cost.

Stairs & bedding & closets & rods & kids...oh my!

My kids are way to creative.

Sam: "Mom, we slid on the covers!"
Mom: "Uh, where did you slide?"
S: "On the covers."
M: "Yes, you told me that but what did you slide down?"
S: "With Adah & Eli."
M: "Ok Sam I get that but where in the house did you slide?"
S: "Down the stairs."
M: "So that's why Eli is crying."
S: "Yeah, I bonked his head." (laughs)

I then make them (while listening to the whining apparently required of the task) take the comforter back upstairs & put it on the bed where it belongs. And explain why it's not such a good idea to slide together down the stairs on the (expensive) comforter (that grama bought) but that it is ok to 'bump' down the stairs one at a time.

I'm such a killjoy.

~~~

While I was finishing up the above I began to hear screaming & crying from upstairs.
Oh goody.

Mom: "What is going on up here?"
Kids: "We were swinging in the closet & it fell & bonked."
M: "Swinging in the closet & it fell? How exactly were you swinging in the closet?" (already knowing the answer but needing to hear if from the culprits mouths.)
K: "The stick in the closet."
M: "The stick eh?"
K: "Yeah, the big heavy stick."
M: Not such a good idea then, was it?

I should explain that the 'stick' they were referring to is actually a huge metal rod. While they were swinging from the 'stick' the thingy attached to the wall that holds it up there got worked around until it turned upside down & the 'stick fell right out.
Whoops!
No serious injuries thankfully. Just a few Small bonks & bruises.
Kinda poetic justice if you ask me :)

~~~

Did I mention that one of the shower doors fell off from a broken screw this morning...before I took my shower?

Can I go back to bed now?

*Snort!*

You Are Gymnastics

You are agile, expressive, and precise. You have the drive to practice until you get something perfectly right. And you have the confidence to perform difficult moves when under pressure.

What Olympic Sport Are You?

Bwaaa'hahahahahaha!!!

This one kills me cos I'm about the least flexible person on the earth.

Seriously!

When I sit on the floor & try to touch my toes I can only get a couple of inches past my knees.

It's quite sad really.

I shoulda been Greek!

I have been remiss in my Whip it up recipe postings & I aim to catch up so you'll be seeing a lot more food here for awhile.

This recipe I actually made a few weeks ago but just have not had (or made) the time to post about it. But it's worth the wait if you like Greek food - I was SO happy when I tried this one.

Chicken Souvlaki Salad

2 tsp bottled minced garlic, divided
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
3 cups cubed peeled cucumber (about 3 cukes)
½ cup vertically sliced red onion
½ cup (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp chopped pitted kalamata olives
2 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1 lb)
½ cup plain fat free yogurt
¼ cup grated peeled cucumber
1 tsp white wine vinegar
½ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp red pepper
¼ tsp black pepper
Preheat grill or broiler

Combine 1 tsp garlic & next 6 ingredients (garlic to chicken) in a large zip top plastic bag
Seal the bag and shake to coat
Remove chicken from the bag
Grill or broil chicken 5 minutes on each side or until done
Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces
Combine chicken, cubed cucumber, and the next 4 ingredients (cubed cucumber to tomatoes) in a large bowl
Combine yogurt and remaining ingredients in a small bowl
Pour over chicken mixture; toss well

Was the recipe easy to follow?

Yup.

Did the dish taste good?

I thought I'd died & gone to Greek heaven!

Would you make this again?

Already have - a note on that though...make sure you have plain yogurt, using vanilla by mistake does not ruin it but it's just not quite the same. Not that I'd know by experience or anything. (ahem)

Or I'll give you something to cry about!

Hey y'all, grab your depends & go enter (or just read) the funniest contest ever at My Semblance of Sanity.
I laughed, I cried...I almost peed my pants!!

"Mom, can we just go home?"

We left for Wallowa lake Thursday afternoon at about 1:30 and got there somewhere in the neighborhood of 7ish. The kids did surprisingly well, but I did get the title of this post from what Sam asked me repeatedly during the last 2 hours of the trip.

The route there was a new one for me & stunningly beautiful. I spent a lot of time praising God for giving us such a wonderful place to inhabit.


View Larger Map

My favorite parts were going down & back up again the winding roads into Lewston/Clarkston & at the WA/OR border. You can't see it on this map but if you zoom way in it shows the fun curvy roads that have stunning views everywhere you look. Another favorite was approaching Enterprise & Joseph with the Wallowa Mountains rising in the distance - it is just stunning.
Here's a slide show of the pictures I took on the way there...I'll tell you more about the drive when I get to Monday & our trip home. I didn't take as many pictures getting there, as I was trying to arrive before dark. Good thing too, finding our house was quite confusing in the daylight - I don't think I'd have found it after dark!

Hi y'all, I'm back!
We had a wonderful time, we played, rested & just all around had lots of fun. It was great to see all the cousins there, from my 3 week old second cousin twice removed (I think) to my dad's cousin (my second cousin once removed) who is the oldest in the clan now. (love you Audry!!) Some I'd never met before & others I've not seen for 20+ years. We honored those who are gone now & missed those that couldn't make it.
The drive there & back was long, hot & absolutely beautiful - I'll be making a side show & posting more about the fun things we got to do & my numerous pics of the scenery.
Now I've got to catch up on my blog reading & get some laundry done!
Have a great day y'all :)

Awww, shucks George, thanks!

My blog is worth $5,645.40.
How much is your blog worth?

This is comforting! Yesterday (ok, Tuesday, this is a scheduled post) when I did this it told me my blog was worth nothing! I was going to post it anyway but sheesh, how embarrassing right? Kinda fun to see what some widget thinks this place is worth, but no matter what it comes up with for you, I think your blog is priceless!

Just don't give me the finger!

You Are an "A-OK"

Your life philosophy can be summed up as, "Whatever will be, will be." Your greatest wish is to live each day a little better than the next. You are naturally calm and stable. Some people would call you a rock. You feel one with the world. You are a spiritual person, though no one who knows you would guess it.

What Hand Gesture Are You?

I agree with the gesture but nosomuch the description. I am calm & stable...sometimes. Dunno if I could be called a rock! Whatever God wills, will be is more my thoughts than whatever will be will be. And I am a spiritual person although I don't like the worlds perception of spiritual these days. And I would like to think that my love of the Lord shines through so it can clearly be seen!

The kids - oh, those dang kids!

You Sometimes Know When Someone's Lying

You can spot a liar if the liar slips up, but you're not always aware of other people's dishonesty. Eventually a liar will reveal himself, and you usually will figure out if you've been lied to. However, someone could be duping you without you knowing it. So watch out for the telltale signs of lying!

Can You Spot a Liar?

Milk toast baby

You Are Occasionally a Wimp

You're pretty tough in every day life. You don't back down easily. However, you can be a wimp at times, especially in stressful situations. You can be overwhelmed or intimidated or just plain scared when life gets rough. While these are natural reactions, you may want to face your fears a little more.

Are You a Wimp?

I think I'm a wimp way more often than occasionally. Lift intimidates me, to be honest. I don't like to be in new situations & I strongly (and wrongly) fear others impressions of me. Something I struggle with daily and need to work on more.