Reality Blogging Day 2

This will be in bullet point form to save me time and feed my desire for random journaling!:)

• I admit it, I was dreading today because of all the housework from being sick three days. I tried to sleep in but when no one else does it's like a session of torture dozing.


• Coffee...blogging....ah, this is better and I am awake after all. Kids are watching cartoons and enjoying that one box of junk cereal they get a paycheck.


• My head is still clogged as can be and it's been five days now.


• I'm feeling like Jerry Lewis in "the Stooge" when Dean Martin tries to wake him up and he is having a hard time getting going. "here we go....here we go...here we go..." but it's so hard to get going.


• My kids seem to be endless pits on Saturday's for food. I think it's because they are home and taking it easy so they think more about food. They keep coming in and asking what they can eat. How will I ever make it through teen years on this budget? I actually bought my first flat of Ramen noodles which I don't believe in just to fill the cracks on days there is no good thing to give them.


• I get up and go into the kitchen. While feeling better yesterday I managed to grocery shop and make dinner. I did not manage to put away all the groceries and do all the dishes so there was hardly a void anywhere to set my cup of coffee down.


• I was randomly thinking about manners. I've never understood why we follow something as proper when it came from the mind of one human. Who gets to decide what it culturally appropriate or not? After all, they are different in different places. Yet, so many people become nearly religious about manners. I've somewhat failed my girls in pushing manners too much besides the obvious ones I would send rumors about town with. Really, who decides them? I decided I'm rather rebellious.


• Pondered the blog a lot again and was annoyed how much it was bothering me. Told myself to not over think like I do everything else. Wondered what was going on in the heads of others. I do that too much.


• Turned on Johnny Cash and dug into the kitchen. I feel some weird kindred to Johnny Cash. His struggle between conviction and humanity are something I feel in my own skin. Pondered that for a good log while while slicing that 4lb of lunch meat with the slicer I did get to borrow from the neighbor. I was scared to use the thing. I have a fear of blades and getting digits cut off. I think I was rather loudly announcing to my children to not come within three feet of me while I was using the thing. All of a sudden I remembered Johnny Cash's brother got fatally injured using a saw. Suddenly I wondered if I was listening to the wrong music for the job. Swallowed.


• Had the kids do some help with their rooms and the living room. Princess never fails to be so deadly hungry when it's time to work.


• Switched around some mattresses to prepare for the foster child bed to be put up in Superkids room. Gathered up all the things the girls needed to sort though in bags and baskets. Vacuumed their room while they played.


• Watched the lead up stuff to the Kentucky derby (I was born in Louisville) and remembered my girlhood love of horses....wow, they are so beautiful. Did housework in between. The kitchen was still a work in progress.


• Called my mom to check on her and was on the phone at least an hour. I was saddened by how much she has been put through lately. I ask God to give her relief. It's been such a hard two years. I wonder how she can take all the circumstances. I start to ponder how much I feel her age creeping up on her. I feel the weight of sorrow and burdens on her. I long for happier days for her.


• Ponder whether over thinking and intense analyzing of life is a side effect of grief. I don't remember thinking so hard about things or feeling so bold about what I think or feel before Dad died. I try to remember what it was like to not be so intense. Was it an innocence that is gone forever now? An ignorance is bliss kind of thing? I ask myself if I'm just now starting to grieve in my own way. Like some hyper sense is kicking in and it's driving me nuts.


• Consider how the internet brings people so close to each other. Facebook, blogs, twitter. Is it really a good thing we are all so connected? My mother use to say that too many women in one house is a bad thing. The trend of women blogging is so hype right now and I start to wonder if we've all put ourselves in a virtual dwelling. I start to wonder if I want to be just another shouting voice in a crowd or a calm and reflective poet in the corner of the room. I'm leaning toward the latter.


• Superkid and Lilo go out to play and come in soaking wet. What was that all about? Go to the bathroom and strip please and thank you for the puddles in the house. Don't run the faucet outside as long as you please thank you. Do you know daddy pays money for that water?


• Daddy... I miss Rick a lot today. Can I just have a bunch of girlfriends as loving and easy to get along with as my husband? I love this man. What will I ever do if I loose him. I think of my mother again. How did that happen? Could I handle that? Where would I ever find such a kindred spirit again. I hope he gets home soon.


• He calls and says he's done and I tell him I need garbanzo beans and french bread. Oh and I've been craving a beer. Oh, sounds great he says. Nothing heavy I warn, I do have to go to TOPS on Monday and beer is usually on my no, no list.


• When thinking of something fast and easy for dinner since I still had half a kitchen to work on and was on my second load in the dishwasher, I remembered something. Years ago, my friend Donna and her husband invited Rick and I over for dinner. They had two young kids and we had none at that time. We got there and the dinner was iceberg bag salad w/ garbanzo and kidney beans served with a French Bread loaf w/ butter. For dessert we had gram crackers with icing spread on top. This made a big impression on me. My mother hardly ever had people over but if we did it was a big dinner. I was surprised that this salad was all we were having. I knew they were on a tight budget though and was more and more deeply amazed at their generosity to have us over even though things were tight and they did not have a meatloaf or roast to share. It made a permanent impression on me. I've always tried to remember that. I knew they wanted to be with us because we were friends and that was what made the occasion. So, I repeat that dinner now and then because it is a good memory for me. So, we are having gram crackers and icing for dessert. It's a good reason to use up the two half full containers of icing sitting around. I remind myself of my TOPS again and will be having one little piece.


• The girls go in their room after dinner and rock out to their loud Christian girlie music. The modular shakes. Their neighbor friend comes to see if they can play and they go outside to play basketball together. The evening is balmy and clear. The green leaves in the nectarine tree are vibrant and the birds sing the sunset into play.


• Oh, and there was a stray dog in the neighborhood today that the kids played with and begged to keep. I told them he would find his way home and they were sure he would not. I told them to go in and wash their hands with soap and water and not even talk about doggies to me again. I considered taking them up to the chew spot on the house left by Ebony. They would only say that this dog would never do that, he was too sweet.


• Rick and Superkid take a shower and their silly boyish banter rings through the house. A deep voice and a little boyish voice chatting back and forth. I feel so blessed to have a son.


• Emma put on shades at dinner (not sure where they came from) and made cool faces. They all got laughing and Rick had to bring them all back to focus again and again.


• I wonder if I'll ever get everything done, look at the clock which by now says nearly eight and realize the answer is no.


• I realize that this day is coming to an end. No matter what over thinking I've done, what was accomplished or left for later, what the kids gleaned from me or picked up from me, whether things are perfect or hard, whether we have a day of struggling or gliding by, God is purposeful and He is truth. Though I may be distracted by the tossing waves of humanity and it's drama, he is a rock..steady and firm, dependable and sure. All else seems to swirl around in unpredictable chaos but in the middle is the certainty of His wisdom. It is still and I long to be still and rest in it.

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At a Parental Loss Part 2: New Growth Requires We Abide

Thank you for those of you who said you would pray for us. I have to tell you, I was assured of it last night. The Lord did not let this thing just go on anymore. He allowed us to sit with Princess, though it was not planned out or anything, and just have a heart to heart. What I had feared from having to correct her so much had happened, she felt we were angry at her. In great sincerity of heart I told her that we were not angry at all, but we were desperate. We were desperate that her heart be in submission to Christ and that she would be walking in His ways. I explained to her that to love her, is to be desperately concerned for her. We discussed how parents who leave their children to do whatever they want and act anyway they want are not loving their children as much. My example I used was our neighbor who she knows let's her children eat anything they want. Even if it means they have hot dogs and chips every meal. Her son will not eat a single fruit or vegetable. Princess herself has heard this mom over at our house saying "I just told them, fine, eat whatever, I'm tired of hearing it". I asked her if it was more loving to work with the child to make sure they ate better or to just let them destroy their bodies because it is too hard or inconvenient to battle with them. She agreed it was more loving to make sure they were fed properly. So, I said it is the same with our giving of instruciton. It would be so much easier to just throw our hands and say "do what you want" or "say whatever you want to all of us" instead of working with you and letting your character development bother us enough to guide you properly. To feed your spirit with God's way and not let you starve spiritually.

We asked her to be reconciled to the Lord in her heart. To which she welled up tears in her eyes and said that she had prayed twice for the Lord and nothing happened. To which my heart just swelled with emotion for her. How, well we all know that feeling and I knew it was time to understand what being a Christian was so this is what I said:

"Christ is not a magic button, Princess. We do not just ask for Him to be our Lord and he reaches down with a wand and says 'bibidy, bobidy, boo!' and our lives and behavior are perfect. That is not the way it works.

Have you seen the little oak tree outside Princess? All of it's leaves are a deep green except for the little tips of the branches. If you look close, you will see that the final inch or so of the tree has a new spring green of growth for the year. That means that in a whole year of taking in nourishment, sun and water, that tree has this tiny result to show for it. It does not look like much, but many years ago, that tree was the size of your brother. Years from now it will be the size of the great beautiful oak by the grain mill that is in the 1800's pictures of the original schoolhouse. It did not happen over night. This little tree has to be patient to grow at the pace God has for it to grow. Every spring those little green leaves are a great reminder to me of His faithfulness.

Now, if the little tree had decided it was not happy with it's rate of growth and gave up saying "I'm not good enough so I'll stop trying" and as a result it shut down it's root system and rejected the light from the sun, what would happen to the tree?"

"It would die" Princess said.

"Yes, it would. And that is why Christ told us to abide in Him. He says that if we abide in him, we will bear fruit. We don't read our bibles and pray out of ritual duty, we do it because we long to be close to him and abide in his will every day. We are virtually opening up our roots and receiving the water of life, and turning our faces to his light to feed our souls. Even when the tree does all this, it grows slowly at times. Some years are better than others. But, it will keep growing if it accepts what God tries to feed it.

We are here as your parents to be used by God to feed you. We try to feed you instruction, wisdom, guidance, right and wrong, love, protection, and all the things you need. If you reject these things, it will stunt your growth. You are getting older and are now able to abide in Christ through us and on your own. You can take the time to pour out your heart to God even tonight and ask Him to be on the throne of your heart instead of you. We promise you that if you abide in Him, you will see change in your life. Not overnight, but you will see it. It's the same lesson for mommy and daddy, we need to abide also or we don't grow. You are not alone in this journey but the important thing is to stay on it."

That is kind of the just of it. She seemed to really understand. She was worried that she could not fall asleep praying. I told her that my dad, her Papa, use to tell me that if you could not sleep praying to the Lord was always the best thing to do. Not only does it made you sleepy, but it sends you out on a peaceful note and your soul is at rest as well as your body.

(my little oak tree and it's yearly spring green growth that reminds me every time)

Sure enough, my little girl, who I went to check on in a little bit, was peacefully sound asleep.

How To Stay Married

I read these in the latest Readers Digest and thought they were great:

The secret to marriage is the same as the secret to living in California...

When you find a fault , don't DWELL on it!

Marriage is all about falling in love over and over and over again......

with the same person.

(no quotes because I'm paraphraising and too tired to look up who said it)

I thought those were great and the last one thrills me. It's so true.

I've recently fallen in love again myself.

"Come On Baby, Let's Get Away"

I love exercising to that Janet Song on my Project Playlist , and I truly had a great Escapade weekend!

Today marks 12 years since my sweet fella and I said it would be "forever", and I'm so much more in love with him today than any year or moment before hand. Time makes love better like a good wine. Many people miss out on that because they tire of it before it mellows and sweetens. God knew what he was doing when he said "stick it out, people!".

We headed out on Friday and dropped the kids off with my mom. I was nervous how they would be for her. Even when Dad was alive, they did not take them EVER for two nights. In fact, this was our first two nights away in 12 years. They did great, and I'm relieved.

We stayed in Cambria which is our favorite get away. It was a lovely suite at Cambria Pines Lodge with two fire places and a jacuzzi tub...yeee haw! The GREAT deal he got included dinner with a bottle of wine (Yes, I ordered Fillet Mignon and he a New York steak, baby!) and two hot all-you-can-eat breakfasts. Such a deal and lovely place.

We headed out Saturday for a tour of Hearst Castle since we kind of started that tradition on our 10 year anniversary. We did tour #2 which he had never done and I did when I was about 11 (The main library)

years old. It is the one you get to see his room , the libraries, Julia Morgan's room, and my favorite (drum roll please!) ...the KITCHEN! OH, Yeah! That is my dream kitchen and YES, I (does that counter not scream for you to make SOMETHING!!!!)

DO remember seeing it when I was little. I have loved kitchens subconsciously I think. Oh, my goodness, the vintage beauty of an old kitchen! Old machines, huge stainless steel counter top (ovens and rotissary with the mixer and meat grinder in the background for all that fresh beef right off the ranch hills)

that was about 20 feet by 5 feet in size (are you not drooling by now?). The old wooden cabinet looking iceboxes with old metal seal hinges....oh, my. All the food was for (this is just the pantry..can you imagine the culinary potential?!!!)

the most part, grown on the ranch at Hearst, so we are talking fresh herbs, fresh fruit

and veggies and Jersey cows giving milk to make cheese and butter. Can food making get any better than that? I ask you.

Rick liked his smaller library with it's Greek collection of goblets and vases. It was cozy and inviting. The main library was much more formal but beautiful and well lit with natural light.

Julia Morgan's room was built to her scale (she was very short and designed the room herself) and if you have ever seen it, it's very unique with a tiny staircase winding up to her loft bed area.

Of course it was a gorgeous California day, and the view was spectacular.

We went from there down into the heart of Cambria and walked through some antique stores. Now, most men don't enjoy this venture, but not my man. He loves it. It helps to marry a man who loves history and it's collectibles. I look at the Pyrex, he looks at the coins, books and comics. We had a blast. I found an old Crazy Daisy Juice Carafe that is very hard to find, and he found a comic book and an old Bambi record he says is an exact replica of one he had as a child. It includes a lovely large story book.

From here, we traveled down to Trader Joe's and picked out our lunch/dinner picnic needs/wants. Wine, dill Havarti, German cheese, salami and other Italian meats, a bit of smoked salmon, grapes, bread, and some veggies and a Greek Yogurt w/ cilantro and chives dip. Ahhh.. We headed up to a wonderful new sand dune at Montana De Oro that we picnicked just days before with the kids. From it, you can see all of the coast including all of the Morro Bay area. It was my favorite time of all. We watched the sun go down and the dolphins come in to shore to feed. Breathtaking and unforgettable. We sat up so high that we were warm and windless pretty much until the sun went down and the temps dropped so quickly. I wanted to stay and star gaze, but Rick had a good point that we would be hiking back in the dark since we did not have a flashlight. It was quite a hike back to the car too. So, we stayed until Canis Majoris came out and Betelgeuse in the upper right shoulder of Orion followed by the final star in this perfect triangle which I can't recall the name of.

The next day we took our time and had breakfast and one more run through the antique stores before heading back to get the kids. Rick gave me a beautiful gift of a turquoise necklace and ear rings for our anniversary. It is my birthstone but more than that, he loves me wearing it because of my Indian heritage and complexion. It was beautiful. He did a great job. As if I was not spoiled enough, he let me pick out a Turquoise ring at the antique store to go with it. I think he really likes it on me. I did find one, and love it.

It was one of the best weekends of my life and I wished it did not have to end. Still, we do love our children and it was good to bring them home.

Twelve years goes very fast and I feel as if the next will too. I love him more than ever and in a more deeply and fascinatingly complicated way. It is both fully accepting of that which bugs me, and that which I love and produces the most real and yet piercing passion for a man that will ever consume me.

Yes, I will let him read this. It's good he knows. :)

Poets may write, singers may croon,

Wise men may ponder beneath the moon-

Many may feel in similar way,

Or say better now, what I have to say.

But here is a beating that never will end,

A heart for my endless lover and friend.

From me, happy 12th!
Give me more where they came from.

Love you.

Wowowow, The Sweetest Thing

My favorite present this year turned out to be the little tin mailbox my husband gave me. It does not look like this, it's a Mary Engelbreit one. The purpose of it was to send me love notes in. If the flag is up, I have mail and I can leave him notes in it too. I am really enjoying this and looking forward to it the rest of the year. I am definitely a person who does better writing things down that I would otherwise not say or know how to say. More than that, it's a way to focus on our relationship during the day when we are away. Much like reading scripture helps us focus on the Lord during our day. Oh, the power of the written word.

One thing that has been a keen observation for me has been my fostering of love thoughts for my husband. I can have them and then life and kids and messes start happening and I can literally feel them starting to fade away. No fault to him, just life crowding in, or even the temptation to grow bitter or blame about tiny things that frustrate me. I'm really wanting to nourish those love thoughts this year and keep them stirring, focused and surface dwelling most of the time. This little love note box is really helping with that so far. It's like a little mystery in the relationship again. I love it. It was so cute too because he said that he realized that he delivered mail to so many people but never any to his love. Awe, so sweet. I get my own personal mail man....and it's okay if my kids look like him!LOL

So, if you want a good valentine idea early...it's a great gift. Oh, and my kids wanted to leave me notes in it but I very sensitively asked them not to because it was just for me and daddy (actually Rick had to make it a hands off since we may spice life up more even by putting other things than mail in it to send messages and that is a question I don't want from my kids "what's this in your box for mommy?:*). I was however touched that they wanted to do this and I had thought years ago that it would be fun to make them for the kids to leave them encouragement and love too. So, I'm going to work on that for a Valentine gift for them. I also want them to learn to foster love for each other so I may encourage a once a week note to their siblings.

You can never go wrong writing the myriad of "I love you" thoughts in your heart.

The New Year's Commit-It List

btw-my keyboard seems to not want to type the letter "i" unless I work hard at it. So, if you catch it missing, you will know why. It's bugging me to fix it each time.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to do goals different this year. I wanted to commit to the Lord some things he has laid on my heart to shoot for.

1. Lord, I commit to you a desire to know your word better. Both in context and content. I long to really feast on truth this year.

2. Lord, I feel a great burden to grow as a wife. I have been married for nearly 12 years and have been so distracted with a decade of babies and toddler years. I love the new season of life I'm in now and want to put Rick first and get to know him better this year. I commit this desire to you and ask you to give me focus and practical wisdom how to do this. I also ask that you would grow my heart toward him and let the things that distract me fall away.

3. Lord, I commit to you a desire to disciple my children through this next year. Practically in the ways that they are developing their godly world views. I long to be deliberate in planing some of the ways to do this and more so being open to seizing the moments as they come. This desire is related to #1 because I am sure that knowing your word more will fuel my ability to lead them in your truth.

4. Lord, I have a joyful mission to make this home a haven this year. Not by spending money but using the resources you give me creatively. I desire to be diligent in the hours you give me and not waste them but use them to clear the board for family moments when everyone is home. I commit this desire to you and ask that you give me the strength to persevere.

5. Lord, I commit my health to you. To do my part to make wise decisions in that regard but to also not become consumed with wrong motivations and the idol that health can be in our culture. Help me remember that anything I do to be more healthy is for one purpose alone: to glorify you by being better equip to bless those you need me to serve, and to maintain a balanced cheerful mood that is so effected by the every day health decisions I make.

6. Lord, I commit to you my desire to stop reading into other's motives and thoughts. I see this as a hindering sin in my life. Help me do what it says in Colosians and mind my own business. Help me be a friend when I need to be and leave the rest to you of what people may or may not think of me. I desire to be absolutely obsessed with your perceptions of me alone. Thank you that you are faithful to me in this regard.

7. Lord I commit to you a desire to become more resourceful and a good steward of that which you have given. To work well with money in our budget, and learn to make or grow what I can. May I not try to take on more than you would have for me but find balance in what to do or not do.

8. Lord I commit to you a desire to continue to share the gospel with the many unbelievers there now are in my everyday life. Allow me to just speak what you would have me, to just be bold, and above all, to love people you are seeking to save.

Thank you for the prospect of a year to grow in you, but help me not to hold onto even that more than I do to you. Thank you that your work on the cross shadows over all I hope to do this year. Let me remember "it is finished" and let it thunder threw my soul again and again with it's complete perfection and promise eternal.

NOTE TO SELF

NOTE TO SELF:


It's getting to that point. Some things are just not done. Time to look at the list and scratch out or simplify the grandiose idealistic parameters of tasks and to-do's. Time to remember...live is NEVER perfect..not even at Christmas. Children are still going to get up at night because they have bad gas from the beans but think their tummies are going to explode and refuse to sit on the potty. Husbands are still going to forget some of those things you've been sweetly nagging about. Pets are still going to try to eat the tree and make themselves sick from eating the needles so that you have to run for the Bissel (only happened once to each cat and I think they both learned their lesson). Dinner is still going to burn if you get distracted, even a simple side dish of corn. You babies are still going to need long bedtime rituals and kisses, books and songs. You husband still needs a smile when he walks in the door. And...
If you tree dies before Christmas.. be thankful they gave you a new one.
And..
If it was cut so badly short at the stump that you and your husband cannot get it to stay up straight after hours of trying so that you still have to cut a whole layer and foot of the new tree so that it's much shorter than your original dead tree and it has to go up on a table, and you have to redecorate and get to bed at 2am.

You can still, remember the amazing husband who was willing to go through it all with you and run to the store for a new tree base (at 9:30 and back home an hour later) only to come back empty handed and then relent to spending time out in the freezing night air at midnight to hack the tree down.

You can be thankful. You can let things go that need to go. You can enjoy your kids school parties and be thankful you get to be there with them. You can have that company for dinner and let them see some mess. You can stop trying to perfect...and learn to..
REFLECT...
RELAX...
and more than anything..
REJOICE.

If You Knew Me, You Would Understand

(first I just have to say about the quiz below...it's very accurate, but.. I don't get physical when I'm mad, and I don't make a habit of cursing! Also, I hope I have some more tender qualities than just those mentioned. I still am wreathing that I'm Betty Davis, she is the one Hollywood woman I would never admire. Humph.)

So, if you knew me, you would know why I get tickled about these things.

I found a vintage Little People for Superkid at the Goodwill Outlet (I call it "the dig" because you dig for things literally). I was so excited just to find the frame. It's not as old as the one Rick and I had growing up which had the chalkboard, but it had a retractable playground that is way cool and it had parts too! That is not usually the case at the dig. So, today I cleaned it up with an old toothbrush and some soft scrub w/ bleach. It is so cute now!

We have a crate of a bunch of vintage little people all ready that he can add to this to have more kids and so on.
The really fun thing about this and a reason I think it was a fun thought of God's that I found it, is that school itself is so new to him this year. He is now going to understand the play and be able to get more out of it. So fun!
Just had to share my other little thrill. I use to have a tradition where I would wrap garland and beads on our dinning room light at Christmas to make a type of holiday chandelier. This year I did not want to do that because I don't want to mess with my new special one .

So, I had all this white garland and had some fun with it. I wrapped it around my entry way lamps instead. It gave the same effect as it did in the dinning room, a rather snowy feel to we deprived California types. A cheap thrill.

When lit they are warm and cozy. The one on the right is shown before I turned the shade around so the overlap is showing of the garland. You want to put that in the back normally. It's very easy to do. You just start a loop and tuck it, wrap around to the top and tuck that. No glue or anything.

Lastly, here are some pics form Thanksgiving day before we left for my mom's. We forgot to take the camera to moms:*.

Superkid cuddling with Shasta. If you are on my facebook, you all ready know this cat hates me. She loves Superkid but she is meaning to give me those evil eyes, trust me. Her brother loves me, so it's not me, right? As I said on facebook, I'm sure she is a dominatrix. She likes him because she knows he is the least in charge in the house. She hates me because I boss her when to get off or down all the time.

Rick watching the parade and playing big legos with Superkid.

Lilo happy in a chair with a bucket of crayons and a notebook.

Princess helping me peel apples. She was so cute in her apron.

Superkid building Diego's treehouse with daddy's help.

My Husband Rocks Because He's Passionate About Politics

Though this sometimes drives me nuts when he's yellin' at the TV or the radio during debates, he is very, very passionate about the issues of the nation. He makes up for my out-of-it-ness on the issues. Though, I have to say, this election I'm pumpin' it up.
Rick is a major Rush fan. I appreciate this because I use to be. Now I can't stand to listen to him after life kid drama. So, he gets his fix while he's sorting all yawl's mail in the morning. If he could listen to political radio all day, he would.
It's very unlike him the rest of the time. He is non-confrontational in every way, and I mean EVERY. The kids have to get him really cranky before he raises his voice one notch. But, in politics he is all about voicing himself. Sometimes I wonder if he will do more with this passion. We'll see.
So, Rick, though I hound you for calming down sometimes....I'm thankful you are a strong conservative man and have a heart for standing up for whats right in America.

Pumpkins, Recipes and a Blog Tag

We had a great pumpkin farm day this year. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of great pics though. Princess was feeling sick and had a bad headache. By the time the trip was nearly over she was in the car with a fever. She ended up having what Superkid did last week. These long incubation periods bug me because you think it's over but it's not. She did good just to be trying to smile in the photos. Lilo was fighting off tears moments before these were taken (the first two anyway) because we were not able to fit in the hay ride this year. So, they sat on the tractor for a pic and had to try to look their happiest. They did have a great time the rest of the day though. We were so glad Rick was able to go and we went with the G. family from church (not sure if you use last names Christina...so being careful:)

The yearly tradition of a honey stick is always appreciated too.:)
We came home and made Chocolate Pudding Cake to top off the day! Superkid was thinking it was heavy, thus the strain to smile for the picture. :)*

We came home and incorporated the tiny pumpkins into the dining room decor. Wow, lovin' the orange. The do get carried around and played with most of the time too. When I talked about baking the larger ones, Superkid acted like I was going to murder something. I told him, we would wait until the last minute possible before the pumpkin would be going bye bye anyway. I think he things they last forever.
After the pumpkin farm, we went to get apples with our friends and now have some great crispy sweet ones in the fridge. I'm hoping to post some apple recipes in the Cupboard soon. In the meantime there are a bunch of new ones:
Florentine Chicken Ring

Chili Skillet
Trial Mix Cookies (originally from Christina)Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

And...finally today...I'm getting FINALLY to a blog tag from my friend Nicole. Sorry it's taken me so long Nicole!

Rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write six random things about yourself.
3. Tag six people at the end of your post.
4. If you are tagged, JUST DO IT, and pass the tag along.

Six Random thing about me:
1. I have to put lotion on my hands every time I fold laundry. Otherwise, I hate the way the static in the clothes feels on my hands.
2. I can't seem to get through a movie anymore. I can strain my eyes to watch one episode after another online for Lost, or CSI, or Heroes , but movies has lost my attention. If I do watch it, is is nearly always in two segments.
3. I am trying to grow my hair down past my back. I'm half way there.
4. I sometimes hate that my brain thinks too much. Sometimes it wears even me out, but there is no off button.
5. I'm achin' to make some apple cider in my crockpot soon. I found some cinnamon sticks in my spice cabinet and will be putting it on my next grocery list to get apple juice and lemons.
6. I have never completely fit in to one group anywhere in my life. I always manage to find a faithful handful of friends. Wow, that's pensive. I'm all deep now.

If your a blogging buddy...tag, you it.:)


Well, gotta run and make another batch of those trail mix cookies before the kids get home from school. They ate them all yesterday! Good thing they are healthy.

A Day Of Simple Joys

I got to do something special today. Something that meant a lot to me. I got to finally put up the light my dad bought for my mom 20 years or more ago. I was with him when he bought it (I would have put this in my favorite things blog if I had had it up) at a flea market somewhere. He thought she would like it because of the yellow daisies, my mom's favorite flower. It went in box in his shop and they never had a place to put it up where they lived.

When we moved in here I thought someday I would get a black iron work chandelier but then I remembered that old one. I asked my mom if she still had it. She said she was pretty sure. We went out to dad's big shop and started digging. It's so emotional to be in his shop. She has not had the heart to move anything so most of it is where he put it. She had some guys come after he passed away to help get rid of some dangerous things she didn't want around (okay, lots of guns:). Besides that, it's been sitting like a time capsule. We found the light and I was so thrilled. She said I could have it. It has been sitting at my house in the box for a month. Today, Rick put it up for me. Thank you honey! I cried. Can you believe that? It just meant so much to me to have it hanging and being enjoyed as he had hopped it would. It's so special to me. The other fun today was Rick pulling out the harvest tote for me. I always love how I forget exactly what's in there. I took down the tea cups and set out the mugs from the dollar store I got a few years ago that I love using for spiced tea or cider. Actually I kind of get everything from the dollar tree:). The sunflowers are usually in my bedroom and I just bring them out this time of year. They were a fun Michael's 90% off find. (Someday we'll get to staining those chairs. I can't decide if I want them all whitewashed or stained to match the table. Votes?)A few years ago Maxwell House coffee put out some collective cans. I keep this one on a shelf and throw junk in it to address when I can figure out where it should go. I dumped it out when I realized it made the perfect harvest centerpiece for my dollar store foliage.
After the fun break of decorating (and the dinning room is the only room I do right now. Someday I'd love to make pillow covers for the living room too), it was time to clean my messy kitchen and clear out the fridge. It was a good day to make a what I call a "soup goulash". This is when there are leftovers that would be great in a pot of soup. Today it was corn, vegi mix, brown rice, and some potatoes. I don't even bother chopping the potatoes now, I just throw it all together and save it for when I have some left over meat. Mix with a broth and make some bread in the machine, or corn bread, and dinner is served.
Rick went out with Superkid after kindergarten, to wash our old vintage beauty that we have to sell because we don't have the money to upkeep it and do what it needs. It runs, but it's not reliable. It needs a good home thought, cause by the time I have grandkids, I'll probably see it at an oldies car show. It's a 1974. I'm sad it has to go.

Superkid did what any normal California kid would do, tried to cool off. Yes, it's STILL hot. The only place I have fall is my blog, and now, the dining room. So, he found the closest thing to a pool he could. Thank God for small favors.:)

We had a lovely afternoon when all the kids were home from school and we sat and talked about the day over smoothies. I started cooking and Rick did a puzzle with Lilo. We were still shut in from the heat.

Our house is always the hub for the neighbor kids. Every day there are knocks on our door after school. I have had to be a real stickler about not letting them come in till homework is done but that usually only takes the girls 30 min. Lilo gets a packet on Monday's that is due on Friday's. She is always so eager to get it done. Today she got the whole packet done, and she spent the evening practicing cursive writing for fun! Who are you, and what have you done with my school hating daughter? Love it.

This is Riley and Johnny playing Lego's with Superkid.
Dinner was an adventure of a quiche. I did not have a recipe either so I was nervous. I knew I had eggs, bacon, cheese, powdered milk, and a few strips of bacon yet to cook. We ended up with a yummy bacon and cheese quiche and some oven roasted potatoes and onions. Served with orange juice...yummy.
My crust was obviously not covered. I'm thinking that is what I should have got from the last Pampered Chef party! I also was unsure how much egg mixture to put in. Another 1/2 cup of milk and egg would have been perfect.


Domestic simplicity, family huddles, and some decorating for the season. It was a good Monday.