You Don't See That Every Day

There was a time when having something going on every night of the week made me so excited, and by the weekend I was ready for more fun. That time has passed. We have had something going on every night for the past 11 days straight, along with the daily events and fun things thrown in there to keep my homeschool kids from rising up and firing me. Last weekend we went to Seattle for the day to see my niece married to a great guy. It was fun to show the two younger girls who went with us, the sites of Seattle, even though those sights were found due to a couple of missed turns. Earlier in the week my sisters and I took the two youngsters to a Nativity 'festival'. We visited a place that had a large room/gym (?) full of Nativity scenes. It was like they could read my mind. I love Nativities, and am slowly gathering my own collection of them. But this collection from all over the world was just ... well it made me happy! These pictures are just a few of what we saw. The du...

One of the best moments of the day Blowing bubbles with Little K. She would blow, then laugh, laugh, laugh. Even funnier was the dog Who chased any bubble she could see, and leaped all over the yard trying to catch that bubble. Hilarious! Easy entertainment.  

A picture of our new dishwasher(s) They love to 'hide' in this hole, or read, or play there. You know how fun boxes are for kids - well, holes work nicely too.  

We've lived a full week - in 2 days. The kids came home on Monday and the girls decided to make a movie. Oh, have I mentioned we are 'electronic free' for the summer? Thus, the need to make their own entertainment instead of being entertained. It was mainly the girls who developed the storyline and gathered the actors. The idea centered around a murder no less. A cereal murderer. Oh yes, you read that correctly. C-e-r-e-a-l.  Not only entertaining but highly comedic. If I could find the little camera they used I might just be able to blog some of it! So as they were playing around, I took a moment to sit in the hammock and look up, and this is what I saw, for the few seconds I had my eyes off my 2 year old. Lovely. On Monday I got up the courage energy to make a bunch of phone calls I had been putting off. The dentist, the ob, the hair salon, the doctor's office .. and amazingly some of them were able to get me in this week. So that's why I have...

The younger girls were playing in the front room this morning. (The older 3 kids were out of the house.) A helicopter and some little people were involved in the playtime. The 'monologue' I heard went something like this (from my 6 year old): " Passengers? Passengers! Please make sure you don't have any bombs. We will be leaving soon. Passengers, make sure there are no bombs ." After a few seconds the girl continued on in her announcer voice, " Passengers. Please throw your bombs out before we leave. Thank you. " ((If only it was so easy!)) By this time I am laughing in the front room, but quietly, so she doesn't stop. And then I hear, " Passengers. We are going to take off. Please stop smoking and drinking and buckle your seat belts ." By then I was doubled over, trying to laugh silently. Because, you know, I always tell my kids to stop smoking and drinking and buckle their seatbelts, don't you? Where do they get these thoughts?...

When you were young, did you ever play 'House'? You know, the pretend time where someone is the mom, someone is the dad, maybe there is a baby or a little kid played by someone else. You use your imagination to play what, for most us, becomes reality someday. I can vividly recall playing house when I was little and my brother would be ... no, not the dad; not the son, not the boy next door ... no, he would be ... the dog. Yep, my brother would play with me, but he would be the dog. 'Splains a lot, my husband says. Odd, but not the strangest thing ever. Well, the other day my girls were playing house. Usually they play as 3 sisters. No surprise there. Usually they play that they don't know who their mother is. Hmmm... don't want to dwell on that one too long. And usually they play that they don't have other siblings ... namely one brother. But yesterday, they came up with a new way to play House. Once again they were playing as all sisters, except this time th...

I have an admission to make. Not a confession, because this is a good thing, and no shame here. I like ironing. I Like it. I LIKE it. (I still remember ironing for my brother when I stayed with his family one summer. It was that wonderful.) So this weekend I ironed the pile of clothes that had built up over the past week. I turned on the radio and went to town. I find ironing relaxing. And it gives me a great time to just think. For some people, the shower is The Place to come up with ideas. For me, ironing is when I get some good thoughts. A song came on the radio - Small Town USA - by Justin Moore. I started thinking of growing up in a small town in southern Oregon. At the time I wanted out (like he sings in the song) but now I look back with fondness. I had a great home, land to run around on, mud pies to make, cow pies (dried!) to throw, mud to squish in between my toes. Of course, there was a lot of work to be done, but I remember getting dirty. And I began to think of my own chil...