You Don't See That Every Day

I love having a pickup - the thought crossed my mind more than a few times this morning. I hurried up the girls and we headed out to my dad's farm one more time before the rains come. We had some potatoes and carrots to dig! My dad wasn't so sure I should drive our pickup down to the field; he even offered me the tractor! I don't think Dad has ever let me drive that tractor. I politely declined, knowing my 4-wheel drive could handle it. I did stay on the dirt road, per his instructions. And we experienced some awesome fishtails and 'squizzling' with the back tires. If I knew my dad and husband wouldn't have minded, I would have tried spinning some donuts out in the field. We got nice and muddy - on the tires, and our jeans. Digging potatoes and carrots in the near-winter is not a neat and easy job like it can be in the summer. But the end results are delicious. In other grand news - our Boy is having a birthday this week. I have been searching and researchin...

It has been a year since we got this pup. And this is what she looked like back then. And here she is now. We've learned a lot about puppies, and how much they chew and dig and stink and jump. But she is such a great running companion now, and she keeps our other mutt in shape.

A few weeks ago a facebook friend shared the following website with us. And once I looked through the Inspiration Gallery , I was hooked! I love these little nests and how you can personalize them. A mother's ring, or charm bracelet are something that everyone has, (or could have) but these - I have never seen such a cute idea! The above photo is the one I had made for my mother in-law. She doesn't read this blog, that I know of!, and so won't see her Christmas gift too early. One color represents our kids, the pink represents the colors of G's brother who has girls, and the other brown is for the other brother's children. I'm wondering how I could fit 21 on there for my parents! ;) One more cool thing about this gift - the story behind why the crafter is making and selling these. They are raising money to adopt! And since orphans have been so dear to my heart for many years, I couldn't resist helping out someone who wants to bring a child home a...

A day of giving thanks for all we have. I am thankful to have children old enough to really help. The girls helped make brownies and pie yesterday. All the kids took orders well and got the house cleaned and food prepped for the feasting today.   And then a neighbor brought by more sugary goodness. Aren't these the cutest treats? We are so blessed to have a number of terrific neighbors! And like every other holiday, there was home improvement work to be done. Yesterday G and the Boy tore up the stairway, to fix the running boards that go along the side of the stairs. The top photo is looking down the top stair into the garage.     Here we have the end of the day work - the side running boards are in, and the stairs are back in place. A few more items on the to-do list (texturing and painting) and then the carpet comes in!!    For the first time, the family signed up to run a Thanksgiving Day 5k. This was the sunset we walked out the door to. ...

The second day of this vacation - the kids did not sleep in again! What is the deal?! Oh, yeah, the 2 year old doesn't tell time yet. We spent the morning in the library. What a wonderful building. If I could I would have a room in my house filled with books on shelves. Kind of like that room in the Beauty and the Beast movie. I am so thankful my kids love to read. Going to the library is a joyous occasion for them. Having a limit to how many books they can have - not so happy. But we've had too many "I don't know where it is!" moments to let them have as many as they can. This week we've decided to have them do a report on one of the books they read. Keeping their minds going you know. The Boy got to choose from any of Steinbeck's works. He chose Of Mice and Men. I have to admit I never read the book. I saw the movie back in college. And my dear friends who went with me to see it - Ann and G - did not tell me how it ended - and boy was that a surprise I...

The first day of Thanksgiving break around here. Nobody slept in. My body wanted to, but the children did not. The howling wind outside might have had something to do with the wake up time. So I had the older girls make bread today. From scratch. By themselves. With minimum input from the Top Chef (me). And the Boy made cookies today. I don't know if he has ever made them by himself before. I hope so. But, either way they turned out delicious. And our mouths and tummies were happy. We also got in touch with our Irish roots this morning, and had some jigging going on in the front room. We like to listen to Drop Kick Murphys, or Flogging Molly; I'll try and get that home movie up soon .... G and I spent the afternoon without children! We went out on a pseudo-date - to our son's school conferences! So we had time in the car to talk uninterrupted. We had time in between meeting with teachers; and we had time together on the long drive home. Long - because it is rai...

 Last week I had a bunch of blog posts .. did I spoil ya?  Yeah, we got back into a school schedule this week and the time flew away from me. Plus I took out a quilt that has been sitting next to my bed for a long time, taunting me every time I walk into my room, and I started to actually quilt again! Oh, it is nice to sit and watch Cosby Show reruns, or family home videos, and rock that needle back and forth through the quilt layers. I also started running regularly again. I have finally gotten rid of the nasty cold my sweet kids shared with me, and I can talk without coughing. So since we signed up for a 5k on Thanksgiving morning, I am having the kids run with me every other day. Some have made it up to 2 miles. Some haven't gotten past the first mile. Thursday morning is going to be fun! SO, last Saturday, as in a week ago - my girl had a swim meet.  I finally got the photos uploaded from the meet and the short walk out onto the beach.     ...