Humpday again.  Funny how humpday doesn’t carry as much weight when you aren’t in school and you aren’t eleven years old and you aren’t longing for Saturday so you can sleep until your eyes open… or until your mom insists you get up and dust the furniture.  That was my Saturday job.  All my life!  I dusted the furniture, cleaned the glass, and cleaned the baseboards.  It’s a joke around mom’s house that those baseboards haven’t been cleaned since I left home, although she does enlist the help of my kids when she can talk them into it pay them enough. The house had to shine before we could do anything fun on Saturday.  This wasn’t hard because our house was always clean to begin with, but chores were just no fun!  The other rule was that no one relaxed in the evening until the kitchen was clean.  I have gone so wrong with my child raising in this area.  I am the one left with the messy kitchen… and cleaning on the weekends while my kids are off having fun.  What is wrong with me and why didn’t I learn from my childhood?  I did have a convenient digestive system that was always in place when it was time for the dishes to be washed.  I can’t remember a night at home that I didn’t fix the glasses and set the table though…  it was definitely a group effort.  Me and mom were the group.  Mike (brother) didn’t mind helping too much.  He liked to cook.  Still does in fact.  The weird thing was his food combinations.  He spiced up a can of spaghettios to the point of making them unedible!  He has a severe aversion to eggs so he liked making them for others.  Me.  He didn’t realize omelets needed to be cooked in the middle.  Mike has come a long way in the cooking area and is now the cook for his little family of four and does a great job.  He can make a delish pecan pie!  We usually swap out food, it goes like this:  mike will say, “what are you bringing to dinner?”  I’ll say, “spinach dip, or corn casserole.”  He’ll say, “I’ll make you a pie if you make extra.”  and I do and he does and we swap.  It is a good system!   I spent yesterday afternoon helping watching Mike move into his new house. Technically I did help a little, I assembled Katie’s daybed almost all by myself.  I put her dust ruffle on and put the laundry soap and stuff in the laundry room.  See, I did help.  Mostly I let my muscle man help.  He is a great lifter and he took the day off to lift heavy furniture.  They got almost all moved in.  Just bits and peices left to do today.  We came home at 9 p.m. and still went for a walk in the dark of the night.  It was really dark, with stars and everything!  Pinky was glad to see us and has gotten more and more friendly.  He runs (gallops) to the fence for nose petting when we walk by.  I heart that silly horse.  Now I’m off to write about treatments for acne.

Wednesday again.  It was a long weekend.  Matt was off Friday – Monday and then came home for a while Tuesday to eat and check on some things.  It’s hard to get anything done when the “man” is around huh?  It is for me!  I played catch up all day yesterday.  I started the day by making a pot of spaghetti sauce… dad gave me a bunch of red/purple/green/yellow peppers from his garden, so I sauteed some with garlic and onion, added some lean ground beef and tomatoes… I let it cook with Italian spices all day and then made some penne pasta.  It was done enough for amanda to have some for lunch  before heading to her college classes.  Later I mixed it together, covered with freshly grated parm and put it away until dinner.  I popped it in the oven with some garlic bread and dinner was a cinch!

Matt and I have been walking.  A lot!  Well maybe not a lot to most people, but it seems like a lot.  The weather is just great right now for getting outside and enjoying the fresh air.  We walked twice Monday and twice Tuesday.  About an hour each time.  I have to be creative with dinner to have that much time to just walk!  I love how Pinky (the horse) comes to the fence when we walk by to be petted… You know my trash aversion… well last night everyone had their trash rolled out so I spent the time trying to walk as far away from the trash containers as possible.  It is amazing to walk in the dark and look up at all the stars!  I had this song in my head… (if you listen, stay with it until past the halfway mark… and I couldn’t find many videos except church dramas like this one).

We came in and had a devo with the family before bed.  We even snuck in half of the biggest loser before sleeping.

We had a good devo last night and one of the questions was, “What do you want God to help you with?”  The kids all gave different answers…

Amanda said, “homework.”

Bailey said, “getting all my school work finished.” and

Emelia said, “helping a boy at school who is a sixth grader and doesn’t believe in God to believe in God.”

I thought it was good to hear their answers to all the questions and when I woke up early I had things to specifically pray for them because I knew what they were needing from God.  We end our devo (FAT-family altar time) by having a chain prayer.  Emelia always prays that we keep doing our FAT time.  They never protest when we say, “time for devo.”

I have Miki’s cabbage stuff in the crockpot… I hope I remembered her verbal instructions correctly… she said, “cut a head of cabbage into chunks, lay in bottom of pot (I put them in the crockpot); mix lean ground beef with rice and onions (I added salt, pepper and garlic), roll into meatballs and lay on top of cabbage… pour a can of tomato juice and a can of tomato soup on top…  I hope it’s  yummy.  I like cabbage rolls so this sounds like that without all the rolling cabbage…

I’m sleepy today.  Matt woke me up after midnight because I was kicking him… my legs were jerking probably from all the walking?  They do that from time to time and it is so annoying but I was sleeping through it.  He woke me up a few hours later when he had a bad dream to make sure all our guns were locked and secured.  I was irritated to say the least.  I love sleep!

Happy Wednesday! (Today is Kat’s birthday… Karen’s was Monday!)

I haven’t been much of a blogger this week… there’ve been too many things going on and then not much at all if that makes sense?  I rarely read books lately, I feel like blogging is my me-time… but I started the Twilight book and when Bailey read it before I finished I decided to finish it and we have planned to see the movie together.  I started the second book and read it in a few days so now have been reading the third book, “eclipse.”  They are interesting books and I can see why there are so many people in to them… but I always feel guilty when I read books like that.  I tend to devour books that I’m interested in like someone hungry devours a good meal.  It makes me feel bad for not being that hungry when I read the bible.  It makes me feel like I’m not doing what I should be doing which probably means I’m not.  Do you ever feel that way?

Anyway, Izzy was really congested yesterday.   She went to school and had a good day but was very sneezy and snotty.  She came home and just kinda layed there.  She was tired and limp.  I could tell she really didn’t feel well at all.  She slept pretty well although I could hear her trying to breath all night.  It was loud. Today she seems a little better.  I’m hoping she feels like going to school… I don’t think she has a temp.  I’m having trouble finding fall clothes to buy for her.  I bought a few outfits from Kohls the other day that are just cotton and comfortable… but not that cute.  I like Gymboree for her and have seen a few things that are okay.  I think as she gets older it’s harder to find the right clothes.  Camilla likes her to wear cotton soft clothes, like leggings and t-shirts.  I know it makes it a lot easier to work with her when she dresses the right way and I really try to dress her that way especially on her pt days (I really do Camilla!)… I looked at kid gap online and at old navy but only saw one or two things that weren’t that cute.  Any suggestions?

I have so many things on my to do list today.  I want to clean out the bottom cabinets in the kitchen, weed the front flower beds, finish a load or two of laundry.  Pick up and wash kid’s bedding, write a post on acne… Get dinner going early since church is tonight… Get izzy to school, go to the store, possibly meet Melody for lunch…  I need to write a devo for the internet cafe that is due today.

I could go on and on, but I’m going to go work on that list.  Happy Wednesday!!!

I just realized I didn’t post anything yesterday!  Weird.  This has been a semi-busy week and for some reason I’ve just been so sleepy.  I took Izzy to Bear on Monday and afterwards she was really cranky so we stayed home for the afternoon.  Tuesday she went to school, I almost didn’t take her because she hadn’t slept well. (Bear really gave her a good work out!) but I decided she would be just as comfortable there.  When I picked her up I was happy to hear that she had a great day and really participated in the activities.  She put stickers on a paper.  Camilla said when she was given the sticker she tried standing and pushing it forward onto the paper.  She pouted when a toy was exchanged for another.  That is pretty huge because finding something to interest Izzy is a great challenge.  She was happy when given back the toy frog.  They said there were lots of smiles and lots of good attention to things going on. I love when she has great days and expect more of the same.

Last night was FLO at church (for ladies only).  It was the first flo for the year.  Beverly Barker (sp?) came to do signing to music and when you hear that you think, “ya’ right.” but it is amazing.  She really is a cool lady and I enjoyed visiting with her at the dinner before the service.  I was in a strange, quiet mood and dreaded doing the announcements in front of everyone but it worked out okay and I got through it.  It ran a little late, and Izzy wasn’t happy about that and as a result no one else was … but it all worked out.

I made the pasta salad that Sheryl posted.  It was yummy.  I may have that for breakfast .  AND the cowboy stew was really really good.  Maybe better than I hoped.  The best part was that everyone really liked it and ate it all!  That’s always a plus.  Good, easy, fast and well recieved.

Matt’s neck is much better and I think Bailey’s poison ivy is just about gone.  It’s raining here and is only supposed to be in the 70′s today.  Should be a great day!  Hope you have a great Wednesday too!

Cell phone vs. Bible

 Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

 What if we carried  it around in our purses or pockets?

 What if we flipped  through it several time a day?

 What if we turned  back to go get it, if we forgot it?

 What if we used it  to receive messages from the text?

 What if we treated  it like we couldn’t live without it?

 What if we gave it  to our Kids as gifts?

 What if we used it  when we traveled?

 What if we used it  in case of emergency?

 This is something  to make you go….hmm…where is my Bible?

 Oh, and one more thing.  Unlike our cell  phone, we don ‘ t have to worry about our

Bible being disconnected because  Jesus already paid the  bill.

(this came in an email from Betty this morning and I thought it was interesting!)

My first thought this morning… headache!  Ouch.  The weather is weird today, that may be the culprit… but seriously.  Ouch.  It’s humpday.  Again!  These weeks are zooming by. I know I say it every week, but time is in fast forward for me.  I just looked at the weather radar, at Matt’s prompting (he’s very into looking at the radar and/or 7day forecast)… and see that Gustav may be knocking on our door today.  The high is supposed to be 70 degrees, which is about 20 shy of what it has been and at 7:00 a.m. it still looks dark outside.

Bailey stayed home to nurse his poison ivy yesterday.  I think it’s much better, but he was still pretty miserable.  I snuck in a hair appointment which was greatly needed.  He’s been sporting some pretty long locks for some time now and I did a quick trim the other day but he wouldn’t let me “finish.”  He was afraid I was going to cut it too short.  So he looked kinda wonky.  I think he looks better and it is shorter than it’s been in at least a year.  So, no more comments about him looking like a girl… for now anyway.  He’s such a sweet guy.

The Labor Day weekend was uneventful.  We did have the cook out at Mom & Dad’s house Monday evening.  Matt stayed home and kept warm compresses on his neck.  He is scheduled to see the surgeon on September 9th.  I’m hoping & praying it dissapears before that date so we don’t have to go.  We have to go before the board or presbyters or something Saturday for final approval of his ministerial certification.  I think it’s kind of a big deal.  Hmmm…

Izzy had a fun day at school yesterday.  I’m telling you those people are great!  Melanie (v.t. and her teacher) brought several different dress up items for izzy to choose from.  Izzy was wearing a purple outfit so of course she chose the big clip on rhinestone aka plastic heart earrings.  She wore them until I picked her up and when the were taken off she didn’t take her eyes off of them as the other teachers took turns trying them on.

What’s going on in your world this Wednesday?

It’s been a busy Wednesday morning around here!  Overall it’s going well… beds made (check), laundry done (check), dinner planned (check), Izzy fed breakfast (check), Izzy with foot splints (check), Izzy in stander 30 minutes (check)…  I have a big stack of CADs I need to work on in a minute and then it will be time to get Izzy to school! YIKES.

To update my review of the WEN product I mentioned… I’ve used it a few more times and I think it is getting better.  I still feel like my hair isn’t as clean as I like.  I normally use biolage which smells so clean to begin with and usually wash and wash again before using conditioner.  I like clean.  Anyway, this stuff smells pretty good, kinda minty.  It doesn’t lather.  At all.  It’s like putting conditioner on your hair.  But you leave it on for the whole time you shower (five minutes or more) and then rinse it off.  You use a lot.  It’s recommended that you use like 24 pumps of it minimum.  It’s hard to use so much of something that was $30 for a small bottle, but I’m giving it a fair shot.  I have had several people say my hair looks smoother than they have ever seen it.  It’s naturally curly and I prefer it straight.  I have been staightening it more and even with the normal humidity of Oklahoma it’s been staying straight without getting frizzy.  I am not sure yet… a)if I’ll re-buy… my hair is going to have to show drastic results to buy more or b) if it is going to drive me crazy feeling like my hair isn’t clean enough.  I’ll keep you updated, I know you are just on the edge of your seat!

I marinated chicken yesterday to grill.  At 4:45 I went out to fire up the grill and noticed the flames were not very high.  Oops… time for a new bottle of propane.  Matt (usually) gets home at five and is hungry, more now that I’ve been starving limiting his portions.  So I opted for plan B which wasn’t a plan at all, but almost an entire pizza left in the fridge from the night before.  I put it in the oven to make it crispy again and fixed a spinach salad and broccoli on the side.  I put the chicken in the fridge because it’s better anyway if it marinates longer, right?  Then Matt calls to say he is working late.  Really late.  So, at 10 p.m. he got what resembled two slices of pizza but has turned into a cracker with dry cheese because it sat in the over (I did remember to turn it off – duh!) for hours & hours!  That’ll teach him to be late!  No not really, I just didn’t have a plan C… Well, I could have a plan C but by ten I wasn’t willing to do a plan C.  He didn’t complain.  He’s a saint.

I was looking through the folder that was sent home from school with Isabelle yesterday evening.  I didn’t read read everything but kinda glanced at everything and thank goodness I noticed the snack schedule!  She is the snack bringer for TODAY!   I had no idea.  She wasn’t on the schedule for last year in pre-k, probably because she doesn’t stay in the room during snack time and doesn’t always partake in snacks… but I don’t mind bringing them… just glad I know to bring them.  So some time before I take her which is only a couple of hours we have to run to the store and find something healthy.  I had bought some chewy fruit things at Sams that say 100% of daily vitamins… for snacks for the big kids.  I think it had about 50 packs inside and thought… I can take out 19 of those and send them.  They are healthy.  After reading the notes from the teacher it said “do not send chewy fruit or candy.”  Okay.  I’ll have to go to the store.  Izzy’s favorite snack is gogurt.  But, I doubt I’ll send that.  We’ll see.  Any suggestions (please don’t tell me to slice fruit! UGH)?

Okay, I’m out!  Too much to do to keep typing your ear off.  Have a great Wednesday!