Totally random thought here. Has anyone noticed a larger than usual crop of acorns this year? Pulling out of the driveway each morning sounds like we are driving over bubble wrap, there are so many acorns that have accumulated overnight. What is so funny to me is the squirrels climb up to the top of our oak trees, which would be about 60 or more feet up, and shake the branches to make them fall. Have they not noticed that there are about 7,000,000 of them already on the ground? Let's work a little smarter, little squirrels. That could explain why you are not on the top of your food chain!
On a more frightening note, has anyone ever been hit with an acorn that has fallen down 60 feet? I can't do the math on that anymore, but I'd estimate the velocity of an acorn could reach a force similar to the force Micah uses tackling Katie when he wants to take her down! In either situation, it's going to hurt. We are about to start using helmets outside.
I just wonder if I should be concerned about the plethora of acorns. I may have to consult the farmer's almanac and see what that bodes for the winter. Maybe I should be squirreling something away too. Mac and cheese was on sale at Publix this week - buy one get one free. Hmmmm...
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
This truly is a glamorous life I lead.
For example, I had 2 major victories today in the domestic goddess department. First, I figured out how to get the straps off of Micah's high chair so that I could wash 2 years worth of crust out of them. You might think this is minor. If so, then you have never witnessed the magnitude of crust that can accumulate on anything a toddler routinely touches. Especially one that eats like Micah!
Secondly, I actually finished all of the laundry today. Finished. As in all washed, all dryed, all folded and all put away. Even the hang up stuff! Every article of clothing except for what we were wearing! I even washed tennis shoes and a jacket, all of the detached high chair paraphernalia and every one of the towels in this house. In fact, I didn't know we had that many towels. (Does anyone else feel like they are always scrounging for a towel in the morning? Many a day, I have settled for a damp pink one that Katie had used the night before.) Problem was, there was some serious jamming going on to get all of the towels in the cabinet. Maybe I should have left some in the dirty clothes hamper, but that would have made this only a minor laundry victory.
The trade-off for these feats of domestic splendor was in the loss of some drywall. Let me explain. Micah is a little Houdini. He has mastered almost every baby-type lock, including the door knob covers. So in order to let him out of my sight, he has to be either strapped in his high chair (via the formerly crusty straps) or thoroughly gated in. I have a tension mounted gate that stretches across the hallway to keep him out of the bedrooms and I was determined to do that today. I had to tighten the tension rods repeatedly because he kept busting through them. I finally got them so tight that I had to leave the thing up all day, leaping over it even while he was asleep, because I couldn't get it off. Rick finally managed to get it off, along with a chunk of drywall on each side of my newly painted hallway. Bummer.
BUT, refer back to my 2 major domestic victories. Don't "they" say something like 'victory demands sacrifice'?
On a totally separate note, I have to jot down a very happy mom moment for the sake of posterity. Katie has not been the most fun kid these days. She has a pretty sassy mouth on her (shocker, huh) and she is extremely moody (another big shock). But yesterday, we were at a Daisy Scout meeting at Moe's (southwest restaurant). Moe's was voted as the troop's favorite restaurant and they graciously agreed to let us come eat as much chips and queso as we could pack down them. Anyway, the TV was on and there was coverage of a fire and explosion somewhere. Katie (my TV junkie - no surprise there) spotted it and drew the attention of all the girls to the TV. Then she said, "We need to pray for the people in that fire. Everyone hold hands." She then proceeded to tell the girl next to her to offer the prayer, which she did. Incidentally, it was a rather lengthy prayer, although very sweet, and Katie couldn't make it all the way through without dipping a chip - the sneaky dipping of the chip was rather comical. But I was just so proud of her tender heart! If only all of us had such an immediate inclination to pray in the face of tragedy!
It is a glamorous life! All I am lacking is an extremely large pair of dark sunglasses and then everyone would know how glamorous it is!
For example, I had 2 major victories today in the domestic goddess department. First, I figured out how to get the straps off of Micah's high chair so that I could wash 2 years worth of crust out of them. You might think this is minor. If so, then you have never witnessed the magnitude of crust that can accumulate on anything a toddler routinely touches. Especially one that eats like Micah!
Secondly, I actually finished all of the laundry today. Finished. As in all washed, all dryed, all folded and all put away. Even the hang up stuff! Every article of clothing except for what we were wearing! I even washed tennis shoes and a jacket, all of the detached high chair paraphernalia and every one of the towels in this house. In fact, I didn't know we had that many towels. (Does anyone else feel like they are always scrounging for a towel in the morning? Many a day, I have settled for a damp pink one that Katie had used the night before.) Problem was, there was some serious jamming going on to get all of the towels in the cabinet. Maybe I should have left some in the dirty clothes hamper, but that would have made this only a minor laundry victory.
The trade-off for these feats of domestic splendor was in the loss of some drywall. Let me explain. Micah is a little Houdini. He has mastered almost every baby-type lock, including the door knob covers. So in order to let him out of my sight, he has to be either strapped in his high chair (via the formerly crusty straps) or thoroughly gated in. I have a tension mounted gate that stretches across the hallway to keep him out of the bedrooms and I was determined to do that today. I had to tighten the tension rods repeatedly because he kept busting through them. I finally got them so tight that I had to leave the thing up all day, leaping over it even while he was asleep, because I couldn't get it off. Rick finally managed to get it off, along with a chunk of drywall on each side of my newly painted hallway. Bummer.
BUT, refer back to my 2 major domestic victories. Don't "they" say something like 'victory demands sacrifice'?
On a totally separate note, I have to jot down a very happy mom moment for the sake of posterity. Katie has not been the most fun kid these days. She has a pretty sassy mouth on her (shocker, huh) and she is extremely moody (another big shock). But yesterday, we were at a Daisy Scout meeting at Moe's (southwest restaurant). Moe's was voted as the troop's favorite restaurant and they graciously agreed to let us come eat as much chips and queso as we could pack down them. Anyway, the TV was on and there was coverage of a fire and explosion somewhere. Katie (my TV junkie - no surprise there) spotted it and drew the attention of all the girls to the TV. Then she said, "We need to pray for the people in that fire. Everyone hold hands." She then proceeded to tell the girl next to her to offer the prayer, which she did. Incidentally, it was a rather lengthy prayer, although very sweet, and Katie couldn't make it all the way through without dipping a chip - the sneaky dipping of the chip was rather comical. But I was just so proud of her tender heart! If only all of us had such an immediate inclination to pray in the face of tragedy!
It is a glamorous life! All I am lacking is an extremely large pair of dark sunglasses and then everyone would know how glamorous it is!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
51 hours in the car and 2,947 miles later...
...we survived the marathon trip and have recovered nicely! We hit 15 states plus one province and lived to tell about it! We had a great visit with my mom and dad, Rick's mom and dad, all of my brothers and friends in Arkansas. Rick also had a GREAT reunion show with the Christian group he sang with for 10 years and we had a lot of fun catching up with those guys.
There is much more to tell but I'm sleepy tonight, so I'll leave you with some glimpses of our incredible journey...
Micah's first taste of hockey (outside of my parents church in Canada on a Sunday!) They don't normally play hockey at church, by the way! It only seems that way!
We actually got to wear winter clothes in Canada!
My parents are still finishing building their house. My dad and brothers let him "help"! I guess this is what "training up a child in the way he should go" means in my family!
Ahhh... cousins! This is Jolene and she is tougher than she looks, fortunately for her!
There is much more to tell but I'm sleepy tonight, so I'll leave you with some glimpses of our incredible journey...
Micah's first taste of hockey (outside of my parents church in Canada on a Sunday!) They don't normally play hockey at church, by the way! It only seems that way!
We actually got to wear winter clothes in Canada!
My parents are still finishing building their house. My dad and brothers let him "help"! I guess this is what "training up a child in the way he should go" means in my family!
Ahhh... cousins! This is Jolene and she is tougher than she looks, fortunately for her!
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