Little Stinker

Garrett was so excited to go back to "school" this week! 

He looks just a little bit like big sister.  That's all I see!

He just could barely be still.  Notice the foggy background.  This week has been crazy with all the smoke in town from the wildfires. The fires are about 5-10 miles out of town, but when the wind was just right, there was quite a bit of smoke.

Ready to go mom!

This was a perfectly clear morning from a weather standpoint, but it looked like a thunderstorm was moving in.

Signing his name for his teacher...he won't stay teacher's pet long, do not worry.

He was so excited to go to school, and I anticipated he would do fine when I picked him up.  I guess he was so busy that he forgot to run to the potty.  Yep, he pooped in his pants on the first day...... and the second day. UGGH!

My oh so thoughtful friend, Amy could not resist picking up this book for him as a little first day souvenir.  It was actually a big hit if you are potty training!  Day 3, he was poop free. SHEW, mamma was stressed out!

Number 400

I just noticed that when I hit the "new post" button, that THIS is POST #400. (insert admiration and applause).  

Good grief, I'm just kiddin'.  Sometimes, I ask myself, "why do I blog anyway????"  No one reads this silly ole thing, and how long will Blogger store all this information anyway???? Well, I'd like to be done with this whole blog thing, and I keep saying that, but it PULLS ME IN....


It pulls me in to going to bed later than I intended because it's the only time there is to blog.   It's just nice to be able to click, click, click and read over the things that have happened the last several years.  I would forget so many of the "little" things, but this is the ONLY place where much of it is written...so I keep typing.  I am no writer, but I sure consider myself a "documenter."

It is quite sad that my 400th post is quite lame, however, I have to blog about things for which I am proud.  This weekend was LABOR day.  Therefore, I labored. 


The kids were jumping in the bounce house because the weather FINALLY cooled off.  Mary was doing nothing crazy, and RIP!!!  A BIG HOLE appeared.


There were tears. There was finger pointing. There was a loud whistling sound of air escaping.  There was a little boy sitting in the middle of a heap of primary colors....screaming because the bounce house had been gravely injured.

This was NO small hole. It was about 18 inches total.  I stared at the cloth and not wanting to show my alarm to the kids, I put on my super mom cape and told the kids, I'd BE BACK!!!!!

They were less than enamored when I reappeared with my sewing machine.  The tear was a clean one, so I thought this was the most logical solution.  I bunched up that bounce house right under that needle and thread and went to TOWN..oh yeah.  

CHECK IT OUT!  Can you tell how proud I was??!!!

This was a total "husband" problem, but I rose to the occasion!

My mom was in town, and she suggested adding silicone caulk to seal off any leaks and then duct taping it together. See where I get my geniousness....well now you know.

The kids bounced all morning.  And that is the story of how the bounce house was spared.  Thank you...Thank you.

Several friends have texted to see if we are ok among the wild fires. Our area has not seen rain in so very long, and there are fires all around our community.  There are none "in town", but several major fires right outside of town causing several evacuations.  We are praying for the victims, fire fighters, and for RAIN.  

This week

School is in full swing...for the girls anyway.  Bunny and Pappy stopped in for a few days this week, and Allie pounced on the opportunity to play Monopoly after school.

We've told her more than once that she's not quite ready (or maybe we were not quite ready to play with her), so she thought she'd give Bunny a whirl...and it WORKED.

Mary likes the game "Head Bandz"  Mary told me, "I will have to remember that Bunny likes games.  She's REALLY good!"

Garrett was too busy playing Bunny's phone to cooperate.

Sweet Mary made a card at school for them to take home...not realizing they had already left.  She burst into tears and I said, "We can save it for them. They will be back."  She replied, "BUT YOU THROW EVERYTHING AWAY!"  Yikes. Kindergarten will take it out of a person.

Garrett FINALLY starts pre-school on Tuesday.  Ms. Shiela has had both girls....but NOT my Gman. She's in for a REAL treat this time!

He is OBSESSED with the "Signing Time" videos that we've had for years.  Here is the result of the "ABC" signs disc.

News you can use

I wouldn't say things have been slow around here, but I would say the blog topics are "slim pickens."  


Part of being a mom is INNOVATION.  We are always trying to fix silly little problems, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  The girls gave me the "super mom" award for fixing their shoes this week.  


The beginning of school has quite a few bugs to work out and new shoes are sometimes a problem. Found these super cute mary janes for the girls, and both came home limping because they rubbed their heels.

I decided to buy some mounting tape. I just trimmed the right size, and taped it to the inside of the shoe, and then covered it with a soft ribbon instead of leaving the plastic part on.

The tape has stayed on both kids' feet ALL WEEK, and they both said they don't hurt anymore! In a week, the shoes will be nicely broken in, and they won't be afraid to wear them. I'll probably remove the tape, and they won't even notice.

2.  Have you heard??? Here's some great advice that your "ears" can appreciate. Found this secret out from my mom and sister recently.  Instead of boiling corn, you can MICROWAVE it to PERFECTION. 

My kids LOVE corn.  Place in microwave with shucks on, and microwave for 3 minutes.  When you open and eat, it's just about perfect.

3.  And the last of the "news you can use" is from a blog - www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com.

Click on her "recipes" tab, and I've found some gems.  We tried the mexican casserole and it is quite different than any I've made in a while, and the mongolian beef was also VERY tasty.

My boy has had a less than stellar week. He hasn't felt well, and he was due for his first dental visit. He plopped right down, and did very well.  He didn't appreciate waiting for his sisters to finish, but we managed to get a good cleaning and X-rays.  He said "I so proud of me."

...but next time, we will split them into two appointments. lesson learned.

The rear view mirror

As I was driving the girls to school on their first day, I looked back, and they were just giggling about something.  Mary was GIDDY that she was FINALLY going to Allie's school.   I had to take the opportunity at the red light to snap a pick.

In my cheesy, blog lovin' head, I had to use this pic to show what I was thinking on my sweet Mary's first day of kindergarten.  I was thinking....

It has already been 5 years.  Which means the next 5 will only go quicker. 

Ha ha. Mary went through a long phase of NOT SMILING for the camera.  

As I look at these pics, I really can't believe they look so grown up.  All of a sudden!  

Happy first day of grade school Mary.  You are going to be a SUPER student.  You are sweet, respectful,  quiet, and attentive.  

Their first day was actually last week.  She isn't crazy about getting out of bed at lightening speed and having to rush off to school, but once we get there she is happy.  After her first day, she jumped in the car and said, "Now THAT was awesome." This one is LOW drama girl who saves words like these for the real deal. I'm thankful school ranked right on up there for a day at least. 

chicken wings

....Soooo we're at the beach week before last.  It's my birthday, so we are out to lunch.  We are at a hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant, and of course my sister, Em, orders CHICKEN!

Notice anything funny about that chicken wing???

IT STILL HAS FEATHERS!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRossss.

So Emily agonizes over how to handle the situation, but one thing is for sure. She's not eating the wings.  Opinions are offered at the table as to what to say to the waitress. Finally, Em hands them over and says, "Do the wings normally still have feathers???" To which the waitress nicely replies, "Well sometimes."

Sometimes????????  Yikes

So the waitress takes the chicken wings, and says, "I'll have these took off."

To which I kindly reply, "Oh I don't think she's going to eat them now (thinking she meant have the feathers "took" off)

The waitress turned around and probably annoyed at this point said, "off the BILL"

Oops...the table burst into laughter. It was just too funny!

Beach pics

We spent last week on our annual beach trip with my parents and siblings.  There are too many pics! Here are just a few of my family on our picture night.  

I would love to get a BIG print of this one to frame...but someone is missing.....

DON'T MISS HIM! Ha...that's the first pic I've posted of him, but I just couldn't resist hiding him any longer!  Photoshop rocks!
 
We are always go the first full week of August which is the week that Reese Catherine Rowe was born.  I can't believe she would have been 2 this week. Happy Birthday to you baby Reese. You have changed so many lives and we remembered you each day this week and sooooo many days the past 2 years.