Margie and the EVOO treatment

Yes.  We love Rachael Ray so much that we use EVOO for everything!  We even use it to treat lice!  It’s an all natrual treatment for lice that works great.  It does however create some craziness…see below

Visit to Dawes

We visited Dawes on Sunday.  Here are a few pictures

M is for Margie

Margie’s pose

Noah’s pose and looking at a snake

Eww, these were actually pretty cool.  If you put your ear up to the glass you can hear them…gave me the willies!

This lil guy is Franklin and he followed you around, I think he was hungry

These Bonsai trees are so neat!

The wave

Margie’s first day of school included a wave…I hope I get a few more…

Grown (almost)

I remember when I had to carry Noah everywhere and thought, “I cannot wait until he can walk” then I wondered why I thought that!

I took him to the bus stop this morning and was mocked for having a camera.  In fact the oldest kid got out his cell phone and pretended to take a picture…kids!  Anyway…there was a hug but no ‘turn n wave’.  *Sniff*

Motley Crew

Long sleeves?  He dressed himself, don’t ask me.

Noah and Harrison

Whew.

Let me tell ya…awww, let me tell you!  I am exhausted.  I’ve been getting everything ready for the start of school, trying to organize the house making food, doing dishes, doing laundry, going to the park, going to open house and meeting all 10 of Noah’s teachers, going to another open house and meeting Margie’s teacher, taking the kids to the dentist, figgering out how football pants work again, and drinking a lot of coffee.

And that’s all on a 2 day vacation from work…I’m ready to go back to work!

Let me tell you a few things that I have observed;

Happiness is a choice not a direct result of circumstances

Consistent and structured discipline works for my kids…they aren’t perfect but who’s kids are?  I printed a list of rules that are backed up with a bible verse and had both kids read through them.  I read through the entire list again just to reinforce the new rules.  THEN, I printed a list of consequences for breaking the rules and a sheet to keep track of them.  The difference is amazing!

I like to cook but hate doing dishes.  Let me tell you…this is getting crazy!  I honestly don’t think I’ve cooked for my kids this much before.  In fact, I know I haven’t.  And they know it too.  On the way home tonight Noah ask where we were going for dinner, I answered, “Rachel’s diner”.  They both wanted Wendy’s or McDonald’s and when I said ‘Rachel’s diner’, Noah groaned and said…”We’ve eaten at home for the past 3 nights”.  Hehe, says it all right there.

Patience is a virtue.

“Patience is more than clenching your teeth and waiting for it all to be over” -Rachel Laughlin

God is present in everything we do, if we let Him.  I am still in awe of seeing God work.  I have had so many “coincidences” the past 5 days that it’s hard to even use the word.

The fact that they now sell shelving to go into a school locker irks me.  Kid’s are too pampered these days.  I’m not trying to be negative but I just think it’s a little kookie to spend money on that stuff…ahem…that’s why my son has a card board box for his locker shelving and a plastic 50 cent basket for his stuff.  He is not getting the fidge-a-dair for his locker and I don’t care if ‘what’s his name’ has one or not.

I like to unlock combination padlocks…it’s fun to see how fast you can unlock it.

I would really like to go to school and learn some stuff.  I can’t wait for Spanish homework!

It’s true that doing things for others is better than being selfish and self-centered.  And not expecting anything in return takes practice.

And finally, we went to the dentist…Noah has no cavities but needs to floss more.  Margie has a new tooth coming in and needs to loose her baby tooth…one of the last to go.  Margie also has a cavity, which we made an appointment for, and at that appointment we have an ortho consultation…

I love her to pieces but put me on the prayer chain now!

Peach Season

Saturday afternoon I picked peaches for the first time.  I really should have done a little peach research before I went but I thought, “How hard can it be?”  The lady at the orchard gave us 2 boxes and a paper that had a little map of where the different species of peach trees were located.  “A peach is a peach”, I thought, so I flung the paper aside and set out on the adventure.

I have never paid attention to the color of the peach as I’m eating it and when I buy them at the store I just pick up a few that don’t look rotten or smashed so picking them off the tree turned out to be more difficult than I thought.  I kicked myself for not asking questions but there was no turning back now.

I stood in front of the tree perplexed for a few seconds and finally decided that the only way to figure out which ones to pick was to taste test.  I took bites out of the peaches to determine what color tasted the best and what the ripe ones felt like.  After a few peaches, I figured ‘em out enough to pick the ripe ones.  Margie, however, was determined to become a peach connoisseur.  She tried one from almost every tree. After we got them home she asked to have one, I said yes and then she picked through the peaches to find just the right one.  I think she really did learn which ones were the best.

I learned that there really is a difference in the fruit from the different trees.  (In fact, now that I sit and think about it…they’re probably like apples…ok…that was a “Duuuh” moment!) I honestly didn’t give it much thought until I got them home and cut up a few.  There is a distinct difference in textures and taste.  I think I may read up on peaches before next year’s outing.

Hehehe, I got to looking at the picture of the peach tree and could almost visualize it talking and singing, like on The Wiggles…

well, it made me giggle…

Microwave cleaning made easy

I finally tried a cleaning suggestion that I’ve heard a dozen times and it works.  Put a bowl of water with a cut up lemon in the microwave, set it for 5 minutes and then clean.  It really did make cleaning easy.  The microwave was a bit gross so it took more than one steaming.  When the water got low I had the bright idea to add vinegar instead of water…it worked about the same except that when I opened the door of the microwave and the steam came rushing out I got a sinus cleansing.

Hindsight, it probably wasn’t one of my better ideas but trying the lemon water worked great.

I could be in jail

I could be in jail this time tomorrow, accused of child abuse.

I got Margie from Drama Camp today and as she was walking up to the car I noticed she had a bloody nose.  I asked her if she was okay and what happened, she giggled and told me that it was make-up.  Yup, I was fooled.  Then she asked if her eye still looked black, I looked closer and sure enough she had a black eye.

On the way home I stopped at the video store.  On the way out I noticed some guy looking at Margie, I turned around and harshly said, “Come on, don’t make me hit you again.”  She giggled and hurried along.  I didn’t look to see his reaction but Margie thought it was funny.  Ah, looking back on it now it prolly wasn’t such a good idea…some day I might cross paths with him again…I hope it’s not an important interview or something.

By the time we got home the nose bleed was gone but the dog somehow scratched her forehead so that’s added drama to the pictures below;

Here’s the sad, abused child look (I should send this to the Lifetime Channel, maybe she could get a part in a movie!)

Here’s the really sad look (see? drama camp was money well spent

This is the “I’m tough so don’t mess with me” (This one is going in the Lifetime Channel packet)

This is the “She told me not to ask for the toy again” look

Rachel Who?

Rachel Lee.  Ya.  NOT Rachael Ray.  I followed a recipe from the Food Network’s Sweetheart and let me tell ya…not Yumm-O.

The crust was Pillsbury Pizza Crust and opening it was fun, just like she said!  I put the garlic on the crust, like she did…OK, not exactly like she did, it was from a tube.  I used the same amount as she did though, but it turns out that the stuff in the tube is concentrate garlic or something because I firmly believe I could ward off any vampire with this thing.

K, after the garlic I put a little tomato paste on, then the fresh mozzarella, and since I am trying new things, I put on some roasted red peppers from a jar.  If you’ve never tried roasted red peppers from a jar, you should!  They are Yumm-O.

I “popped” the pizza in the oven at 425 just like the can said to do and left it in there for 14 minutes…just like the can said.  Well, the cheese was brown and bubbly, in fact it had a hard, crispy texture.  And it was not Yumm-O, really, I’d say it wasn’t even edible.

First attempt of a Rachael Ray recipe…bomb-O

It was a good thing I baked a Freshetta frozen pizza first, otherwise the kids would’ve starved.  I’m going to try the recipe again…I will get better at this recipe!  At least the pizza dough was on sale at Kroger 10 for $10, the cheese however made me a bit upset.  I tried to eat the burnt cheese, I ate a few pieces just b/c it was expensive cheese but it wasn’t worth it.

Lazy Saturday…

Saturday afternoon Margie and I just hung out.  We watched the Olympics, took a walk, went to the park and thrifted at Big Lots.  It was a lazy day…which was nice.  Here are some pictures;

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I thought this tree was cool.  The barbbed wire had been wrapped around it and the tree had grown around it.  I’m sure there’s a way to apply this to life but the depth of thought escapes me and I can’t think of anything.

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Na-nananana, Batgirl! (Check out the look of determination on her face)

Scared of heights?

There were some pretty flowers at the park.  Margie did not want to pose beside the flowers;

These are my two favorite pictures from the day-

My Mother said the “Mother’s curse”* to me more times than I can count.  Most days I can’t believe she did this to me but there are days when my daughter makes me laugh and I can see my Mother’s prayers not her curse

*The Mother’s Curse – “I don’t wish any bad upon you, but when you grow up I hope you have a kid that acts just like you.”  This can be done with three bony fingers and thumb pointed at the child, my Mother didn’t perform any ritualistic motions…at least not in front of me.  I did once find an envelope of my hair…voodoo?