You Don't See That Every Day

We went to a wedding this weekend. My niece (my sister's girl) was married on Saturday. I spent most of the ceremony in the cry-room with Miss Antsy-pants, aka baby K. She is a mover! And if she doesn't get to move when she wants to, she becomes a Screamer. So the cry room was the best place for us to hang out at the time.  My extended family; we're down in front The wedding was beautiful; no tears from what I could see back in the cry room - but I wasn't able to see the parents of the bride or groom; We got my family together afterward for the pictures. All but 2 of the 10 siblings were able to make it. With the weather the way it was last week, we weren't sure who was going to be at the wedding. The reception was a lot of fun and noise once we got it going. Good cake, people to talk to, plenty of food, and dancing. I think dancing was my girls' favorite part. They had all the married couples out on the dance floor. My parents ended up being the longest...

We are currently in the talks about buying a van. We're looking at our tax return and savings and thinking we might be able to swing it this spring. But before we get that far, we need to figure out just what we need in a vehicle. I would love to have the suburban, but practically we need to stick with a van. Ok, so the stow-and-go is really attractive to me. And I am siding with a bench seat in the middle. Mr G is leaning towards separate 'captain' seats in the middle. What do YOU think? Vote in my poll on the sidebar, and please feel free to leave a comment as to why you think so.

Please, no pictures. Oh well if you insist. Another? Okay, I'll smile.  But just one more. ** we're getting ready for a wedding tomorrow. Miss M really wanted to try on her new dress and her sister enjoyed practicing her camera skills.**

It snowed in northern Oregon today!! And although schools were not on their regular schedule, my son had his work done by 10:30 am! He was very motivated. I told him he could play in the snow first, but he wanted his work out of the way. The girls on the other hand, went out right after breakfast! (They are doing schoolwork this afternoon.) The little dog ran around crazily when the snow was falling. What is it about the white stuff that makes the world seem nicer, more peaceful, relaxed? Is it because my previously scheduled schedule is shot to pieces? Well, we still had a ballet class that the girl attended, and i was still able to return some clothes that were the wrong size. But watching the snow gently fall, well that made my day!

Q: What do you call a sticky black bird? (scroll down for answer) A: Velcrow! bwahahahahahahahahahaha

This morning I looked at my children and realized we had a lot going on right then. There was school work being scratched out on the papers at the dining table. The baby was pulling everything she could grab out of the cupboard. I was  checking every few minutes to see what Baby was chewing on; and then I added the next ingredients to the bowl for making graham crackers again. So I grabbed my camera. Of course. Just one more thing. No I am not A.D.D. At least I don't think so. And I snapped pictures of the LIFE happening in our house. And another light bulb went off in my head. I tell ya, I'm full of ideas for projects! If anyone is bored I've got a bunch of ideas for you to try! I decided to start up another blog. Yep, you're the first to know. My other blog - titled At 10:38 am -is accessible by just clicking here or on the title I just mentioned. I'll still be posting here; but now you have another site to waste time on have fun viewing. There is no hidden...

Last night was a basketball night, meaning supper had to be in a crock pot. Otherwise we are eating late and then getting the kids to bed late. And with church the next morning I try and find the quickest way to get supper on the table. So I saw a recipe on Tasty Kitchen website about pulled pork made in the slow cooker. I had never, ever, ever had pulled pork sandwiches until about a month ago when the church kitchen made them for a dinner night (another story another day.) Well, when I saw the recipe my mouth started to water. Drool formed on the sides of my mouth. So I went grocery shopping intending to buy pork since my husband does. Not. Like. Pork. At. All. Wait, what? Yes, he had the same pulled pork sandwiches, and actually liked them. I think. At least that's what I thought he said. Good enough for me. So I thought, finally we can have pork! But the price of pork that I needed vs price of a roast? Fuhgeddaboutit. I bought the roast; placed it in the crock pot; poured a ...

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...

It's all about the tower. And the crash. We build them up, she topples them over. Claps and cheers to follow. Repeat as needed.

After days of being stuck in the house because of rain, and runny, gunky noses, we had a high case of cabin fever.So I decided we had to get out before I threw the kids down the street. A local children's museum is sponsoring a scavenger hunt; so we downloaded the clues and looked over the details. The clues were actually 2-part. A small photo shows a part of a feature from a local downtown business, so we had to figure out the building. And then there were clues on the elements - parts of the periodic table. Perfect for school! So even though there was fun, there was also education. Sneak it in anyway we can, y'know. The hunt was on! We were able to figure out places from a few of the photos before we left the house, which helped get us started. Once we were in the designated downtown area we found more clues as we went. It was so cold out side though! We did some walking around the downtown area, but not for long! We jumped back in the truck and drove to find the other clu...

It was party weekend here. The kickoff was actually on Wednesday, or rather, Tuesday afternoon when the kids were scurrying around making Valentines to give to their friends at a party at Bible study the next day. And then on Friday we attended another party at a friends' home. We had a fun lunch, played games, and visited. They exchanged Valentines and capped the day off with a game of musical chairs! How long has been since I/we have played that game! But the fun wasn't over! On Saturday we went to a wedding shower for my niece who is getting married in two weeks! I was in charge of the games this time around. I love being in charge of the games - then I don't have to play, and I get to tell other people what to do! (Always a huge plus for the youngest in the family.) So I came up with these games: The Price Is Right Name that Spice and  What's In Your Wallet? Lots of fun, lots of laughter, and some cool prizes, in my humble opinion. Unfortunately this ...

A happy St. Valentine's Day to you all. I have finally gotten a hold of a copy of a compilation I put together a few (10!) years ago, which I titled "How We Met". One of my projects is to add to this compilation, or actually print up a second one, since there have been more weddings in our family, and among friends, since 2000. So today, since we are a little busy around here, I am just going to share an excerpt from one of the stories. It sticks with me, not just because it is from my oldest brother, but because it is a quote from my grandpa who died when I was 5 or 6. "One interesting event while we were engaged was a discussion we had with my Grandpa K. He made a comment that married life's experiences don't always work out fairly and that you will have to often put up with more than what you feel is fair. He cautioned us to realize that there would be times that we would want to ' kick the other one down the street ' and to remember to work thr...

Some things change over time. Some things don't. After our 4th child was born and we gave away baby items, I didn't think I would ever see certain clothes again. My sister in-law gets to surprise me all the time now when she passes back the baby clothes to our baby K! Here's the first girl (and big bro), April 2001 (my most favorite picture of them. Ever.) And here's the last girl, Feb. 2011. Same shirt, same overalls. Possibly even the same socks.

Seen on a dirty car I was following ( I would've taken a photo, but I decided it would be best to keep both hands on the wheel ) : "WASH ME" Underneath it someone had written: "I CAN'T      IT'S MY SCIENCE PROJECT."

Two men met at a rodeo. " Call me Tex, " said one man. "Oh, are you from Texas?" asked the other. " No ," the first replied, " I'm from Louisiana ." "Then why would I call you Tex?" asked the 2nd man. " Well, I sure wouldn't want to be called Louise."

In my corner of the world this past week: I ran 2 miles with my husband! A first for us to do together. I took Monday off from school. No school for the kids, no school for the teacher. A very nice day! I took baby K in for her 9 month checkup. We've got another long and lean kid, with a large head. I took a tour of a school nearby with all 5 kids in tow. Our son will be going to school next fall, so we are in the process of finding the right school for him/us. I watched my girl's ballet practice, and the boy's basketball practice. I stayed up way too late 2 nights in a row while my husband was out of town. Thus I came down with a cold. Well, perhaps the two are not related, but maybe they are. Either way, I have felt sinus pressure for the past two days, and I've felt wiped out. Which makes it more challenging to parent solo, drive the kids to various activities if needed, and eat ice cream. Actually, that last part is never a problem. I could eat ice cream in...

I was one of those kids who really liked 7th grade grammar class. We would diagram sentences and I was in heaven. My son has been learning to do this in school this year - he's not quite as enthusiastic about it as I was. But I am enjoying teaching it! I even have a book about grammar and common mistakes which I browse for fun. Well, I also have a relative with similar grammar leanings. See her post here for what I mean. But I just had to show you all these signs which are up near our home. They have been there for years. Years! I'm guessing it would cost too much to fix them. Maybe I'll take a Sharpie to them someday. And yes there are two of them. One facing west, one facing east.

Here are just a few happenings from our world this past month. G has been building something in the garage. Can you guess what it is? We brought out the Kelty pack and took a little walk with baby K in it for the first time. She is now tall enough to reach the piano. Ii think I have a picture of every one of the kids doing this. Baby K clapping for her brother. Ok, maybe not her brother... but her newest skill is clapping her hands! And the boy's basketball games - fun times. Last Saturday he played hard; he was running on little sleep, having gone to a sleepover the night before. So it seemed like he wasn't playing as 'nicely' as he usually does. By the end of the night the opposing guy there, #24, he was not very happy with our son.