Some recent pictures

MK hates this picture, but I love it. She and her friend realized that they had the same shirt, so coordinated them on a day I had to pick them up from band practice.


















T. Willy going for a ride. What a life!


















I took T. Willy to the park to feed ducks and swans. We had a blast and, of course, finished it up with snowballs!

A bit of the random

Not much has been going on to blog about, but much has been going on. I spent a couple of days chasing down T. Willy's shot records. I was able to get my hands on them when his former doctor finally returned my calls with, "Oh, I haven't checked messages in 4 weeks." Ugh. But we are all set and T. Willy won't be getting expelled from preschool.

My dad answered the caterpillar question, but I'm still not sure why the gardenias are blooming. They are "azalea caterpillars" and are doing a number stripping the leaves on the azaleas. However, I am not really crazy about the azaleas anyway, so it may be the impetus I need to dig them up.

The kids are doing well in school. T. Willy still doesn't love it, but he walks right in and has a lot to tell me at the end of the day. He has only taken naps there twice, so if I ever find a job, that will be the hardest thing for him, I think. MK still loves her school. She has spent a lot of time studying this weekend. Her dream is to go to NYU one day. I realize she is only 13, but it is only 5 years away, so she wants to work hard, because she doesn't want to miss out. I respect her diligence.

My class is going well. I really love it. The college level is so fun!!! It is all of the things that the other levels aren't...teaching...pure teaching. I would love for this to turn into something full time, but am very thankful for this opportunity. I also got a new i.d. card and it says, Adjunct Professor, instead of Adjunct Instructor, which is what I really am. It's just fun to see.

And...for those of you watching the weather...we have family in town and others on their way from New Orleans. As I write, Gustav continues to grow with nothing but a nice warm Gulf in its way. It was even windy here earlier, but we aren't really expecting what Louisiana is facing.

Oddities

We were sitting on our front porch this evening and noticed a plethora of caterpillars in our azalea bushes. So here are some pictures of them. MK found them disgusting...she thinks their red faces are gross!

















And these are some gardenias. They are supposed to and usually do bloom in late May. For some reason, we are getting a small helping of them in August. They aren't as fragrant as the May blooms, but still just as pretty. Do any green thumbs out there know why?

Off and Running

School is in and we are back in the swing of things. MK really likes it, and T. Willy is doing well. He was the "flag holder" today and said that he loved it! My class began this morning. It was a short class for the first day, but I think it's going to be good. The class is full, and they are young!!! Many of them are fresh out of high school. In the last class, most of the students were adults seeking to change careers. I will be interested to see the differences.

So, that's about it. I just wanted to check in. Have a great night!!!

Come on in.

We did some rearranging last week so I am going to post the pictures. This is mostly for our family who don't make it here often enough to see the changes.

I'll start with T. Willy's room. His bed used to be in front of the door when you first walked in, and there was an armoire in the back corner. It made the room seem much smaller for both of these reasons. So we moved the armoire into the living room, and moved his bed into the corner where it was. Now you walk into the room and see a dresser, and it has really opened the room. I took these pictures with my phone, so the quality isn't great, but you get the idea.



















Then we did some things to the living room. The blanket chest was on the wall where the armoire is now, and we did some changes to the mantle and plant shelf.



















I stopped at the college this morning to get my new books and to see my classroom. I am really excited about this opportunity, and since it is only Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am free to substitute on the other days.

I will leave you with pictures of T. Willy and some of the things Chel sent to him. You will notice football in the background...it is almost fall...it is to be expected. Go, Eagles!!!!

So.....

today was the first day of school. It went really well. MK was up bright and early at 5 am and we were out the door to meet the bus a little after 6. There are only girls at the bus stop this year, and they all seemed to enjoy it that way. She was so excited to be in 8th grade and able to move the underlings out of the way, so that she could sit in the back. Her day went really well and she seems pleased with all of her teachers.


















T. Willy started pre-school today. The first thing he said when he woke up this morning was, "It's Monday. I start my new school today." So I took that as a sign of readiness. The school isn't too far from our house, so the Big Man and I walked him in his wagon. He seemed to enjoy that. He walked right in, we figured out how to check in, and took him to his class. He did really well. He was a bit overwhelmed, because the class size is about twice what his last class was, but I didn't have to peel him off of me. I did choke back some tears...he's my baby...but held on and we walked home pulling an empty wagon. I knew I needed to keep busy, so I washed clothes and sheets and cleaned Ty's room. With all of the rearranging I did last week, it needed work. That kept me busy until almost time to pick him up. He will stay all day, but since it was the first day, he only stayed till lunch. They had him lying on his mat when I picked him up, and he said that was his favorite part of the day. Oh well. He can nap tomorrow. He was pretty chatty about his day and met a friend, Sarah, so that was good. He also loved snack and the playground.













Finally, my phone rang today with a job offer. Not full time, like I was hoping, but a class at the college where I taught in the spring. I am very delighted, because I loved the experience, and it is a day class, which fits perfectly into our schedule. I start Thursday! I will stop by the school tomorrow to pick up my materials. It is also at the campus which is closer to our home, so it is really good news!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ode to Pioneer Woman

Lest you read this post and think, Oh, that clever Annette...this is not an original post. The idea was completely taken from Pioneer Woman, from the recipe to the pictures. If you don't read her blog, then forget what you've just read and feel free to think I am just this clever.

So I stumbled upon this recipe and thought it looked good and like something I could handle. I found the recipe on my new fangled cook book.















Then I assembled the ingredients. I may have mentioned that we live in a very small town. We have 3 grocery stores, but Wal-Mart is the closest. Hence the Wal-Mart brand products. Hey, I'm not proud.














So, the first thing to do is peel, core and slice 2 Granny Smith apples. For my wedding, I was given one of these handy little tools. We moved a lot when we were first married, and it made every move with us. However, I did not know what it was. I just kept moving it with everything else in the drawer. When I finally figured it out, I used it like crazy. So this is number 2.


















Then use 2 containers of crescent rolls. Easier said than done. With a little math, I knew that I needed 16 rolls. Well, the rolls were sold in packages of six, not eight. So I grabbed these...Recipe Creations. They are just solid sheets of dough, so I cut them into eighths and they worked just fine. (See how I made it sound like I planned it, when in fact, I just grabbed 3 packages thinking I would have to waste some, not even realizing I had grabbed the whole sheets.)














Then roll each apple slice in a piece of the dough and place them in a buttered 13 x 9 pan.
















The pan looks a little awkward as I am holding it above. I was trying to get a picture of my new bracelet.
Chel sent it to me with a matching necklace. She also sent MK a necklace and some really fun toys to T. Willy. Thank you so much, Chellie!!! It didn't turn out well in this picture, but keep reading!



It is now time to melt 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan. Yes, 2 whole sticks of real butter!















Then add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and stir gently, but do not allow the sugar to dissolve.















Add a teaspoon of vanilla. (I am not left handed, just trying to get a good shot of my bracelet.)














Then pour the butter/sugar mixture over the apples, and pour 12 ounces of Mountain Dew around the edges (like PW, I poured it down the center as well.) Sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 - 45 minutes. It took about 40 for me.
















And here is the finished product.















They were delicious. I hope you'll try them and let me know about it. They are very sweet, but it is dessert. The Big Man liked them, and he generally does not care for "hot fruit."

So, thank you, Chellie, for the gifts, thank you, Pioneer Woman, for the ideas, and the rest of you, have a sweet day!!!

Keep reading...it will start out much more sentimental than it ends.

For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a mother. Motherhood did not come too easily to me, but it has been as wonderful as I'd hoped. MK was my firstborn, and it seemed that she would be an only child. Then T. Willy came along and we were complete. (Just didn't want to leave him out, because this is about MK.)

MK and I have always been close. This isn't to say that she and the Big Man aren't close, or that T. Willy and I aren't, but he is his daddy's boy, and MK has always been my girl. She and I butt heads, it isn't all perfect, but we also get along well, and laugh and share and have a great time.

So, last week I had a follow up doctor's appointment in Pensacola. I took her with me so that we could do some school shopping. I was prepared to spend money and was really looking forward to some "girl time." Ugh. She was not agreeable to anything. She is 13, I blamed that...surely not my mothering skills. So we left, and drove home quietly. I believe the words, "Your father can take you next time," were spoken. But he is a busy man, and didn't get the chance, and school starts Monday. So we tried again today, with T. Willy in tow.

Please understand that MK's "style" is unique. She is vehemently "anti-prep," so I still have never set foot in American Eagle, and she would be mortified for anyone to know that she actually does own a pair of jeans from Aeropostale...her nicest pair, by the way. And this is where the disagreements start. I want very much to respect her style, but am completely tired of jeans and t-shirts...every....day. So I was just trying to get her to be open minded, which she wasn't last week...but was today.

It was glorious. She tried things on, liked them, and smiled!!! She even gave us a fashion show tonight, because she was so excited. She still bought jeans and a t-shirt, but even the t-shirt has a scarf with it. She also saw at least a dozen kids from school, which helped her to get even more excited about Monday. T. Willy also had a good day, because he got a snowball at the end of it. It was a good day.

Something she keeps reminding me...this time next year she will be starting HIGH SCHOOL!!!! And T. Willy will start kindergarten.

So that's it. Have a great night!!

I'm up late...may as well post.

I am planning to get up early, but could not sleep, so I came out to the computer to job search. There is nothing on the horizon, so right now it looks like I will be subbing. I am very hopeful that it takes off and I get plenty to do, because it would really be ideal.

School starts Monday. MK has been looking so forward to it, but has few classes with any close friends, so she is a little bit discouraged. I'm sure it won't last. She really likes school, and has been kind of bored this summer, so she is very eager to go. T. Willy is less eager. He has developed a shyness that he did not have last year. I am hoping it is only because he has not been around many kids his age since school ended. He even saw his buddy, Dylan, today and wouldn't talk to him.

A sudden burst of needing change hit me this week. I have rearranged furniture in Ty's room and the living room, changed curtains, bought curtains (which aren't hung yet,) and done some decorating changes. When everything is hung and cleaned up, I will try to post pictures. MK's room is my biggest challenge. It is the last room that needs to be painted, but has high ceilings and many angles, so I have put it off, although I bought the paint long ago. Perhaps posting about it will spur me on, because now I may have to be accountable for it. With the kids in school, I really have no excuse of a four year old running around wanting to "help."

We have also been watching the Olympics...a lot.

T. Willy and I went to the snowball stand recently, and he took pictures, so I thought I would post them. He had so much fun doing it, and we had fun just hanging in the heat and cooling off with icy treats. The first is me and my snowball. The second is a picture of a truck that he found fascinating. Go figure.



















Then, for the grandparents, here are pictures of the ill-fated soccer camp adventure.

T. Willy and our neighbor...shouldn't the look on his face have told me something?





















I think this pose says, nope, not gonna do it.



















And if you look where the 40 yard line should be, you can see me in a green shirt trying to tell him that if he would just try it, he might have fun. But he had already made up his mind.


So that's what we've been doing. Have a great day!!

Olympic Night

Tonight we celebrated the opening ceremony of the Olympics by having an "international" dinner. We drove around our small town and bought samplers of several different cuisines. We tried Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Italian, and American food, drank Mexican soda, ate Scottish shortbread and German and Swiss chocolate. We had too much food and so much fun. We watched the operning ceremony and had a blast. Now everyone else is in bed, but I wanted to post this before I forgot.

08 08 08

What a cool date! MK was born on 05 05 95 and celebrated her tenth birthday on 05 05 05. I have always thought that was neat. Now Chel is celebrating her birthday today. Happy birthday, Chel!

As if I haven't posted enough pictures lately

We had some family pictures taken while we were in Delaware. We went to "Old" New Castle which is an historic area of town. The history is from Colonial days and it still has some original cobblestone streets. You can also see some headstones from a very old graveyard at a church.























My parents...don't they look amazing?!?!?!?!