Friday Fragments

Got some leftovers to share?? Join Mrs. 4444  at Half Past Kissing Time for Friday Fragments!

• This week seriously came and went.  I have no idea what I’ve done all week.  When I work the weekend before, it seems like its Wednesday before I function.  Monday I sleep, Tuesday I recover…. now its Friday?
  
• Time to school shop!!  Not just for the kids, but for DADDY!  He’s going back to school, too.  Its time to use that G.I. Bill and tuition reimbursement he earned.  Therefore, money will be tight for a bit, but it will be well worth it.
  
• Took a bunch of pictures of graffiti while I had to wait for a train.  My big idea was to walk to a nearby home for a photoshoot.  I had to cross the tracks.  I didn’t realize the one time the trains would cross all day was when I wanted to walk home.  I stood there for at least 20 minutes.  SO I entertained myself with these (I’m hoping there’s no swear words, I can’t make any out):  
• Its not such a big deal, but this struck me.  JC, almost-but-not-quite-two, able to hold on and swing slowly on the swing.  Piper at age 4 can barely do it, most of the time she won’t because she falls off, or nearly falls.  Her right side is just too weak to keep her from falling.  JC also learned to climb the ladder to our little slide.  This, too Piper only recently learned.  Now comes the age where the younger child will surpass the older on some physical abilities.  I knew it was coming, just not so soon.
• Did I mention how much I love my husband’s cooking…. well, I do!!

• Aria and I did some storm chasing last night.  I wasn’t going anywhere near the really dangerous stuff, I just wanted to snap a few pictures.  It’s been SO stormy lately!!  Here’s Aria’s shots (taken with my phone):
• I’ve been catching up on Grey’s Anatomy the last few weeks via Hulu.com .  You MUST visit there if you haven’t already.  They carry all the major networks and the most recent shows.  We don’t have a DVR, and now I can survive without one!!
  
• Have a great weekend!!!

Friday Fragments

I’ve made it through another week.  One step closer to school being back in session!!!!  Let me spill all the Fragments (thanks Mrs. 4444!) since I have barely touched my blog since last week! Oops!

• So close to back-to-school time! Our annual paperwork has arrived and I feel like the faster I fill it out, the sooner these kids will be OUT of the house.  August 23 never seemed so far away….
  
• Where the __ did this week go? Seriously.  One minute I was waking up Monday morning, now Friday is here. Did I get anything done?? 
  
  GOOD:  I thought of meals to feed the kids.  I’m bad at that when hubby’s not around to cook!  I vacuumed the stairway between the first and second floors.  It’s always dusty (and furry).  It takes forever.  I prepared more fruit for canning before the fruit flies got to it.  I got ahead of the dishes (no dishwasher, just me!).  I …uh… oh! I cleaned up my studio for upcoming pictures and rearranged a bit.  That took most of a day.
  How many days am I up to? I’m just trying to account for lost time.  Maybe I was abducted by aliens?
  
  BAD: Didn’t actually CAN any of the fruit I prepared.  Instead of molding on the counter it may mold in the fridge.  I spent one whole day not stepping foot outside.  Not even for the mail.  I forgot to take in the poor dog one night and she slept on the porch all night :( (she probably liked it better than her kennel).  Although the 1-2 floor steps got done, the 2-3 floor steps did not.  I have tons of laundry to fold.  I have a scrapbook for the church to get done.  I let the kids play lots of Xbox (in exchange for reading books) so I could get things done. Lots. of. Xbox. Wii. DS.
  
  
  

  Mario, anybody??

• I taught Aria how to use Facebook chat and she had conversations with hubby while he’s in Florida.  She loved it!

Yes, frozen pizza again.  And, BTW, why are you dressed like Justin Bieber?

• I spent a lot of time on Skype with Leanna, my eBFF.  She actually has a new post up on her spiffy site.  I highly encourage you to stop by and say HI!  Maybe tell her she doesn’t sound like a B-yotch for being upset with the way special needs kids are little more than a number sometimes!!!
  
• I fed the kids a lot of Kool-Aid this week. (Maybe this should be filed up there with the “bad” list?)  The GOOD part was that its the sugar free version of what we all had as kids.  I loved Kool-Aid.  I think its all we drank in the summer.  I prefer real juice for my kids, but its just so easy to add water to these packets…..
  
• I went out and listened to a local band at the local bar.  I had hubby stay home (he was packing for Florida – did I mention he’s on Daytona Beach right now??).  Of the 5 band members 3 are brothers and a fourth brother couldn’t make it.  Hubby went to high school with all of them.  It was a great time!
  
• I posted a little article HERE on my “All That Other Stuff…” blog about getting ready for school.  I plan on having some cool giveaways coming up, so stop back!!
  
• I have hardly touched my camera at all this week.  That is SO not like me.  Hence the lack of photos in this post.  Maybe I really was abducted by aliens this week??

Getting away was actually getting back

This is my BFF’s little guy.  He’s just a few months older than Max.  When we get together we always end up calling them the wrong names.  About a month ago I went there (3 hours away) to spend a few nights, catch a movie…

and just do friend things.  All without my kids.  Now, I love my kids, but sometimes mama needs a break.  It was awesome.  It felt like we were in high school again.  We stayed out late and played frisbee golf (which I never did in high school) and played a second round because we didn’t have any other obligations.  We shopped a little, we ate our very favorite Chinese food, we went for a walk that took us almost all the way around our small town.  We talked.  Not just mommy talk, although that was a lot of it.  We talked about our old friends, our “old” lives, our current lives, made fun of the movie we saw, the works.  I really needed it.  The weekend was short and I hated to go.  Being the “Household 6” one doesn’t get a whole lot of time alone, much less to catch up with a BFF running her own household.  I want to get back there again.  This time I suppose I’ll bring the kids.  Our broods think of each other as family, too. Just like she and I do.  Like sisters.  I’m am so grateful for the friendship we have and continue to have.  I don’t know that many people who are still BFF’s with their fifth grade friend like we are.  We shared many years of happiness and sadness, experiences that we understand between us without speaking.  We share inside jokes that came from all of those moments.  We know “us” sometimes better than our spouses do.  I SO needed that weekend.  Did I mention I loved it?! I totally did.

Friday Fragments

Welcome to the day of purging. Leave your Fragments behind for the weekend with Mrs. 4444 & Half Past Kissing Time’s Friday Fragments!

• I’ve been hacked. I apparently sent out Viagra ads to all my email friends (and my mom!). If you get one, please don’t open in!! I’ve already changed my email passwords as well as other ones while I was at it. Don’t wait to update yours!
  
  

• I’ve had an extra two kiddos this week for some friends. It’s been crazy but not so bad, really. Just more cooking and planning. Otherwise with a few ground rules, they entertain each other nicely. That being said, I’m pretty sure I can’t do this alone next week.
  



• The hubby is going to a professional’s master class for French Horn, he’s being sent there through the National Guard (he plays in their band). He’ll be in FLORIDA all next week.
  
  

• JC got a mosquito bite on his forehead. It swelled up so big that he looks like someone else’s kid! He had one earlier on his arm that also got huge! I guess we’ll need to keep him in more if he reacts like that all the time. Spray or not, you get bitten around here! I tried giving him Benadryl but he wouldn’t take it (too bad, the long nap would be nice, too).
  
  


• I’ve become addicted to FB’s Family Fued, and have a sort-of-competition going on with my husband. Won’t you please play, I need more friends that play!?!?!
  
  


• Took all the big kids (+2) to a city park nearby. It was probably the largest park they’ve played in in recent memory. They had a great time. THEN we saw the signs for FREE ICE CREAM sponsored by a local dairy. Sweet!!!

• I’ve had the kids picking choke cherries all week. I now have juice that I plan on making syrup from this evening. When there are fewer kids around….
  
  


• We have well over 50 jars of various jams made. I love it!!!
  
  


• That’s about all I’ve got. Have a great weekend!!

Friday Fragments

The week has zipped by once again.  Mrs. 4444 invites us to invites us to join in cleansing our minds of all those little fragments cluttering up the place.

• The hubby and I spent the entire day at his parents’ place canning.  His mom had a million cranberries that we smashed and canned.  We brought strawberries, rhubarb and choke cherries to make jam and syrup!  It was a very productive day!

• We still have tons of strawberries to do as well as an entire tree full of choke cherries.  We may set up scaffolding to get to them all.  Yes, they are SO worth the work!
• Last weekend was the church’s block party.  Max was able to try on a real fireman’s gear.  It was super adorable!  There are lots of awesome pictures HERE on my Flickr page from that day!! (I’m still adding as I post this, too.)

 

•   I put up a set of photos I’m considering for display!  Will you help me decide?  Click HERE for the photos and use the poll in the sidebar to vote (or email me or leave a comment!!)  THANKS!!!
  
• JC spread most of a bottle of After-Sun lotion all over the couch.  I was somewhat resistant to leather when we got our couch, but after having JC, I am SO glad we did.  I wiped it all up before daddy came home (he ran to the store) so I neglected to take a picture.  It literally happened RIGHT behind my back.  I was on the computer (really?!) and I smelled coconut…..  I turned around to see him swishing his hands around half a gallon of lotion, splashing it all around the living room and carpet!!  Seriously, it was totally silent!!!  He is truly the trouble maker of our kids…I’ve never had such a naughty-sweet-big-bad-baby before!!!
  
• We had a big yet quick storm as I was leaving for work Saturday night (same day as the Block Party!) It showered heavily and dropped some pretty big hail!  I was trying to load up the kids to leave when the downpour started.  I ran upstairs while we waited for a break in the rain and I thought I heard the kids slamming the door.  It was actually these things slamming into the roof and window A/C!  Luckily all the windows survived.  My van has little dings all over it.
  
• I’m giving away a cloth diaper for you to try out (or give to someone who would like it!) Please stop by HERE and enter until 7/25!!  

Friday Fragments!

 Woohoo! It’s Friday.  Which is probably pretty cool for some of you, for me it means I have to go to work tonight.  So empty your brains and let the weekend begin!!

Why is Burger King marketing my Vampire/Werewolf movie to kids?? It’s at best teen literature.  Although Aria, 8, is interested, I told her she’s not old enough.  On top of that, what 6 year old BOY wants something with Edward on the front?  By the time kids should be seeing/reading this material they are far too old or cool to order kid’s meals.  They must realize that the only one keeping those toys are middle aged moms. (Um, guilty)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ever typed “HOmail” instead of hotmail while giving out my email.  Freudian perhaps…?

It’s my weekend to work and it never fails that Daddy has Guards this same weekend.  I’ve been trying to sell off my children for the weekend, but I had very little luck.  I can’t imagine why…

I was asked to show at some gallery space at a nearby hospital.  I’m excited about this!!  I need to go through my stuff and select 20-ish pieces.  I think I’m going to find some way to set up a pole here so you all can help me!

There was a bird trapped between the panes of our double hung windows upstairs.  We have a small air conditioner in the window, so the bird must have landed on it, then hopped up into the gap.  I have no idea how it squeezed in because it would freak out and try to squeeze back down to no avail.  Of course I took pictures and posted asking for help.  I called my neighbor over.  She and I got the bird to the top of the window and caught him in a towel.  We took him outside and released him.  No big deal, really.  But the conversation that happened on my Facebook was hilarious.

 Mel Fraase  I need advice. Bird stuck between storm windows. I don't want him IN, how do I get him out?
KB: Entice the bird (looks like a sparrow) on to the ground with food. Something whole grain like wheat, or sunflower seeds etc.. NOT bread as it's bad for them.  Make sure the food's located where it is conducive to it going through the window. All this is on the assumption that it's healthy and not injured.
RB: OMG....i have a bird phobia....that would absolutely terrify me. Good luck!!!!!
MT-L: I can't even look at that picture...I'd shit myself if that bird was in my window. The WORD 'bird' makes me want to crawl out of my skin. Grrrrroooosssss. GET IT OUT!!!
Mel Fraase: OMG - Ryan and Missy! ROFLMAO
KB: I don't get it - what's so freaky about birds? My bedroom walls are covered in pictures of them!
MT-L: Honestly, it's the sound of the flapping wings that gets me...their feathers ick me out...the beaks...the eyes...they're dirty and gross. Plus Alfred Hitchcock's movie wrecked me.
KB: Ah - never be worried by the image of birds given by that film. Birds can actually be very clean creatures, constantly preening feathers, bathing, removing parasites etc. Far from gross, birds, especially starlings and crows can demonstrate great intelligence, teamwork and problem-solving. Starlings can mimic other species, as well as replicate human speech. I am a keen birdwatcher (I live in the UK) and have held warblers and finches in my hand, as well as owls. They're soft and relaxing to hold. And the wing-beat sound when a flock of 2000-3000 birds fly over your head on their way to roost is MAGIC! They're a masterpiece of evolution.
RB: Birds could be the cleanest and smartest animals in the world but I'm still terrified of them. Missy's earlier comment about beaks and feathers and flapping just gave me the chills.

Max and Aria had their last practice and Aria’s last game for the baseball/softball season.  Max was dying to quit, Aria said she’d like to play again next year!
 

Last game: Aria got a home run!

While Max was practicing batting, Piper was apparently sword fighting.  She came to me moments later crying that some boy hit her with a stick.  I found this evidence later.  Busted!

Big storms, power outage, birthday parties for friends, swimming at the pool, harvesting from the garden….that’s all the big excitement for the week.  Our choke cherries are already turning color!! Rhubarb is almost done for the season.  I need to get on my jam/jelly making before I end up with a bunch of moldy fruit.  Which I did last year. *sad face*

My own Samson

So I’ve struggled with this for quite some time.
To cut or not to cut….his hair.
I am so in love with this boy’s crazy long curly blonde hair that I can’t bring myself to do it.

We started calling him our Samson.
His strength must be in his hair.
I keep thinking that if we cut it off he’ll not be him anymore.

I think he looks like a little surfer.
When he’s not being called a girl.
Honestly, that’s the only time I feel like cutting it.
I took these pictures in preparation for the big day.
I was all set, clippers in hand….but I couldn’t do it.
What if, when it grows back, it’s not the same.
I’m sure his hair will eventually be darker, maybe the curl will be gone.
I will miss that hair.  I’m trying to save it in pictures.
Daddy has already said he’s given up, he no longer cares if we don’t cut it.
And he’s the military man!

 

Of course, we’ve never let our son’s hair go that long.
Well, almost never.
And I took care of that sooner.

(How much do you love those freckles?!)

Food, Friends, and 40,000 bottle rockets

 

We invited all our neighbors, we cooked, we played with the kids, we fondly remembered the neighbor who’s funeral was just two days before.  The kids were allowed to eat whatever, whenever.

Aria was allowed to light her first bottle rockets.  She insisted on wearing cleats so she could run faster.

Piper dealt well with all the noise.

 

Jackson helped clear the tables when we weren’t looking.

         This shot is actually from last year, our friends lit 40,000 bottle rockets in celebration of their marriage! Cool right?!