July 25, 2009

When we got our hair cut yesterday, I got Bayleigh a treat. Of all the things she could have chosen, she picked a package of bubble gum . . .



and I ended up trying my best to show her how to blow a bubble.



After going through the whole pack, I think she's finally mastered the art of blowing bubbles.


Can't you just see how proud she is? I guess there is more excitement in a pack of bubble gum than I remembered. It's amazing how having children forces you to re-live parts of your childhood. The greatest gifts DO come in small packages.

July 24, 2009

The before . . .



and after of it all . . .



I've donated my hair to the Locks of Love program every two years since 1999. For someone like me, who isn't very spontaneous, this is a pretty big event every two years.




Poor Eli didn't know WHAT to think when mommy came home with short hair.

*NOTE* My little brother is a cancer survivor. He's been in remission for almost 4 years now. Although I can't donate millions of dollars to find a cure, I can give something of myself to the cause. A few hours of my time, a few dollars here and there, a foot of hair to boost someone's morale . . . and in turn give them a glimmer of hope. If you can, I hope you'll join me.

July 23,2009

While Dave was dealing with computer issues, he and Bayleigh took over my desk to stem and snap our first big batch of green beans from the garden . . .



At bedtime I asked Eli which jammies he wanted to wear and he picked out this pair of camo jammies that are slightly large on him.



He was so excited about wearing them, that I just couldn't say no to him . . .




He's a stinker, but he's a CUTE little stinker. . .

July 22, 2009

We tackled another trip to Branson before the back to school rush. We took a different route this time and I think the scenery was much more striking . . .



One of the main things we wanted to do, was visit Silver Dollar City and watch the Veggie Tales production of Pa Grape's Contraption of Silliness. I have to say it was very entertaining and the singers/dancers were extremely good. Both kids sat transfixed through the whole show.



This was the first time any of us had a chance to see Veggie Tales in a "LIVE" setting and the kids even got to meet Larry and Bob.



After we finished up with Bob and Larry, we all headed off to ride one of the water rides. We stood in line for about 45 minutes before we actually went on the 5 minute ride, but we did indeed get soaked, as promised. (I took a few shots with my cell phone of Dave and Eli getting doused.) Then we headed off to catch the last Marvel Cave Tour. We learned lots of interesting things during our meandering up and down the 600 plus stairs, but I have to say my favorite part was the "Waterfall Room". It's kind of wild to think that we were all over 500 feet below ground in a cave that has yet to be completely explored. We only saw one bat (thank goodness), and my calf muscles are going to be screaming weeks from now, I'm sure. But it was well worth the effort!



When we finished up at the cave, we walked around several of the Kid's Fest activities and let the kids play in the sand, the magnets and all the fun kiddy things.

I insisted on getting some pictures in front of the waterfall before we left, and I think you can tell by the photo that everyone was pretty worn out at this point. I don't know how many total steps I racked up today, but at Silver Dollar City alone, I hit 7,009 steps before finally collapsing into the passenger seat of the Jeep. WHEW! What a day!

July 21, 2009

Tuesdays I usually spend cleaning the bathrooms, but for some reason I got side-tracked in the kitchen. I moved the refrigerator and cleaned behind and under it (and found all kinds of strange things), cleaned off counter tops and the insides of a few cabinets, and mopped the floor on my hands and knees. The floor was WAY overdue for a good scrubbing and I know that tomorrow it will be a mess once again, but RIGHT NOW . . . it's lookin' good! I had to get a picture . . .



The kids' rooms just needed a touch up cleaning . . .



and the beds made, and they looked pretty good, too.



I wish I could get the rest of the house clean like this . . . and all at the same time! Aw well . . . I guess that's job security for me.

July 20, 2009

I had a monumental task before me today. Mondays are usually the day that I wash all the bedding and clean the bedrooms. This particular day I had lots of boys and girls clothing to go through, sort by size, put into totes and store away in their closets . . .



After I finished up in the kids' rooms, I took them for a walk, so Dave could work on his homework. The kids helped mom mix gas for her weed-eater . . .



and Eli played with his favorite toy . . .



while I enjoyed mom's flowers . . .



and watched a storm move in.



It was so nice and cool outside today. The perfect temperature for getting out and snapping photos!

July 19, 2009

After church we all took it easy and rested. At least until mom called wondering if I wanted to go to Wal-Mart with her. Since I needed to pick up some clear storage totes anyway, we all packed up to go.


I was also looking for some kind of bin or container to hold all my little girls "My Little Ponies" . . . and I ended up finding this cute little storage ottoman. I'm all about dual purpose and useful items, and this just fit the bill. We dumped all 31 little ponies in there and still have room to grow! Gotta like THAT!

July 18, 2009

Mom and I hit one of those "dream" yard sales this morning and I came home with enough little boy clothing to get my little man through KINDERGARTEN! On the negative side, I have no where to store it, so I'm going to have to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some more clear totes . . .



After we got home I started sorting and organizing the second pantry . . .



and I even managed to get my third wind. I ended up moving the stove and cleaning behind and under it. Totally disgusting. It's amazing what gathers under your cook stove . . .




Now I feel MUCH better about cooking a meal in here, without all the greasy dust bunnies under the stove. I'll tackle the refrigerator next week . . .

July 17, 2009

I cleaned out the upstairs storages today and really started utilizing our pantries . . .


All of my holiday decorating items are now in an easy to reach location, and I don't have to crawl into some tiny cave of a hole to dig things out each season.



Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Dymo label maker? It makes my life SO much easier!

July 16, 2009

My little guy likes corn on the cob, and although this photo isn't the best, I think it shows his enthusiasm for the subject matter . . .



This afternoon, I went down to give some stuff to my sister-in-law. I lucked out and it was feeding time . . .



it's quite the undertaking, and it's so fun to watch the deer dive right in. It's also fun to watch them interact with the little kittens.




They're such sweet and gentle creatures, and I mean . . . who can resist those big brown eyes?!


I can tolerate all the slobbering and them trying to eat my clothes off, just so long as I can get the occasional good shot.

July 15, 2009

I'm tired of all the half done projects that are waiting to be completed . . . so I decided to take the bull by the horns (so to speak), and at least get them on their way to completion. I started by completely cleaning out the east pantry to make room for a second shelf . . .



which had been taking up residence in our master bedroom. I didn't get the before, before photo of the shelf when it was crammed with power tools and the like, but here it is before it's relocation. Romantic isn't it?




After we moved the shelf to the pantry, I moved the gas fireplace (below on the right) . . .




to it's new location.



and I moved the entertainment center (which had been on the left) to it's new location, where the gas fireplace had been.




I obviously still have a lot of work to do getting everything relocated and put in it's proper place, but I'm hoping I can finish the big stuff before school starts . . . so I can get back to painting, staining and finish work. So much to do and not enough hours in the day to do it in!

July 14, 2009

Seeing as how I'm simplifying my life by getting rid of the excess . . . I bagged up all the left-overs from the garage sale. And since my Mom had a doctor's appointment early this morning, I left the kids with Dave, loaded up the Jeep with all those bags . . .



and dropped them off at the local women's shelter. (* And no! We didn't fill up their porch. Some of it was already there.)




On the way back home I happened to spot some of the local wildlife. Can you spot her?



She stood like a statue for several minutes, but I didn't want to get run over by a car while I was sitting in the middle of the highway, so I had to get a move on. I know I take things like this for granted, as I see them running across the road all the time, but I was thinking as I typed this that lots of people rarely see deer this closely. So I thought I'd share. They're one of God's most beautiful creatures.

July 13, 2009

Dave has been working on his school work non-stop, when he's not at work. Bayleigh put the "DUNCE" hat on him this morning, since he couldn't take time away to play. Just a few more weeks and then he'll have a short break before starting his Fall Semester. I can't wait!




It's been unseasonably cool the past few days, but I know it will be heating back up again by the weekend. It must be all the cloud cover and thunderstorms that's keeping things bearable around here . . .



Isn't it amazing that something as small as a blade of grass can be compressed into something as large as a 1 ton bale of hay? It takes a lot of small parts to make a whole in this instance . . .




These are Bayleigh's prize chickens. Four Blue Silkies and two Buff Cochins. That little female to the right is the one that won her two trophies and a blue ribbon . . .




The kids helped Dave harvest some squash, zucchini and cucumbers from the garden for supper.

I still say there is nothing that tastes better than veggies straight from the garden . . .

July 12, 2009

We started out the day with a dark stormy morning, and made it to church just before the downpour . . .



and late yesterday evening, my sister-in-law brought me two just born, baby kittens that had been born in her dog kennel with the Basset's. I was in hopes that Freckles still had enough milk to get them started, but figured I'd better pick up some type of supplement to help them along, just in case. The neighbor loaned me an eye dropper to feed them with . . .



Sunday is usually my day of rest and relaxation, however, my mom came over late this afternoon all gung ho to get my church pew moved out of my entryway and back into it's original location in the "mud room". So I ended up washing the walls in the mud room, mopping the floors, replacing the decor and pitching all the trash . . .



I still have a few odds and ends to sort, but my plan for this room is to use it as a shipping center for my Ebay items and maybe someday for some of my photographs/prints.

July 11, 2009

This is a building that I'll never tire of seeing. My grandpa built this back in the 60's for a chicken house and I remember gathering many an egg inside those walls . . .



Nowadays it sits to the east of the garden, that my mother spends endless hours working up. It holds "stuff" and is a catch all for garden implements, and misc. farm equipment.

I love it's old weathered look against the shrubs and flowers that my mom has so painstakingly planted and I know that it may not look like much, but I appreciate it's rustic beauty in the morning landscape.

July 10, 2009

Late yesterday evening Kasey came over to play and ended up staying all night, for the first time, with Bayleigh. They played "Ponies" and colored pictures before bedtime and then played on and off all day long. They managed to play pretty well with each other and didn't fight to bad, so we'll see how Bayleigh does when she stays all night with Kasey in a week or so . . .




My little guy played hard too. Grandma ended up coming over to relieve me for an hour or so and when she brought the kids back over, Eli fell promptly to sleep. He's getting so LONG and growing so quickly. My baby isn't such a baby anymore . . .

And this poor little creature that the kids have dubbed "Fuzz Face", has become part of the kids daily playtime. Freckles (our outside calico cat) had four kittens and this one is the only survivor. It's not much to look at, and it's always got yucky stuff around it's eyes, but it is oh so fun and entertaining to watch. The kids drag her EVERYWHERE. If it can survive the kids, I do believe it can survive anything. At times I wonder how many lives this little thing has left in it though . . .

I'm hoping for a quite weekend and a chance to regroup. I'm really needing a break from it all.