Game night

MK spent the night at her friend's house on Saturday, then her friend spent the night with us on Sunday. They cajoled the Big Man and me to play games...well, cajoled him; I am always happy to play games. He was a good sport, because he had worked all day, but it must have helped because I think he won every game. So here are some pictures of that.

Girls' Night

MK and I rented a movie tonight. It was a lot of fun hanging around with her. It looks like she's going to spend a few days with the Big Man's parents, so I wanted to spend some time with her before she goes. T. Willy and I will have to find some things to do to keep busy while she's gone. When she gets home, we'll just have a short while before we head to Delaware. Big things ahead!!!

&!@*#*@!*%$

Sorry about the language...but I am frustrated. Nothing major...just BLUEJAYS.

This is a tomato from my garden...

















This is the other side of it.















As soon as my tomatoes start turning red, the bluejays peck at them. Ugh. This has happened to several, so I'm picking them sooner than I want to. I've watched the jays, but have not taken steps to stop them. Any suggestions? Sure I could Google it, but it's more fun to hear from you!

Please rain

I'm sitting on my rocking chair out front listening to thunder and watching some lightning. I am hoping that it isn't just a teaser and that it's actually going to rain. We need it so bad. This is my grass:

















It's crunchy! You'll notice the other yard in the picture. These people just put down new sod and a sprinkler system. We neglect to water our grass...we just keep thinking it'll rain. The neighbors must love us. But I use so much water between the frontyard flowerbed and backyard garden that I can't justify using more.

We had a good day: went to the early service at church. Then the Big Man went to work, and T. Willy and I hung out and played and swam. We picked up MK and her friend and took them to a 4th of July festival. It was pretty crowded with lots of long lines, so we opted out of that and went to the Big Man's restaurant for dinner instead. Now MK's friend is here to spend the night, and we're ready for settle in for the evening.

And that's it. Hope you have a great night!

Saturday

T. Willy loves the water now. He can't exactly swim, but he's very brave and will completely immerse himself. Today he wore goggles for the first time, so here's a picture.


















MK is spending the night with a friend, so the guys and I are going to cook out. Have a great Saturday!

Ouch!

MK is really devoted to the color guard. She practices at home and really gives it her all...too much the other day. She hit herself in the head doing a flag toss. She tried to hide it, but I could tell that it really hurt. Immediately a huge goose egg developed on her head, but she wouldn't let me post a picture of it. However, today she was washing her face and realized it wasn't makeup on her eye that wouldn't come off; it was a bruise. So, here are a couple of pictures of her pretty black eye. The yellowish bruise over her eyebrow is where the flagpole hit her directly and where the goose egg was. (I do have permission to post these.)




















The Big Man is working late, so I'm going to take the kids to Destin. We're just going to walk around and people watch. That's our night; I hope yours is fun too!

So fun!

Color guard camp ended today. MK loved it and made a new friend, CJ. After camp, they came over and swam for a bit. It was a lot of fun for all of us...MK had a friend, T. Willy had someone new to talk to and play with, and I was able to sit and watch and read for a bit.

When CJ's mom picked her up, we followed her to the house that they're building. The house is beautiful, and she's been able to add a lot of special extras to it. Walking distance, but not visible from the main house, they've build a camphouse with a view of a creek. It is so neat! There's a rocking chair front porch complete with rocking chairs where they can sit and enjoy the creek and no neighbors in sight. So here are some pictures of that.



















MK stayed there while T. Willy and I came home. I need to go make him some dinner. Hope you had a fun night too!

Relief

It has been very hot here. I know I live in Florida, but it has been unseasonably hot here. The pool has not been refreshing at 91 degrees, but we've been using it a lot. Tonight, however, it was a bit cooler than it has been. It was actually comfortable enough to sit outside and read which is my favorite thing to do, especially after our trip to the library today. The kids then joined me with a bucket of chalk, and we drew pictures on the sidewalk for the Big Man to see when he returned home from his 15 1/2 hour day!

Let them eat cake

MK made a cake for the Big Man for Father's Day. She asked T. Willy to help her, so here are some pictures of that.

He can pour.




















He can lick beaters.



















But he can't lick batter off of his elbow.

While I'm thinking of it...

I wanted to jot a couple of things down so that I don't forget them.

T. Willy has decided that he lives in Texas. It's hilarious. He's never been to Texas, but he talks about it frequently. I mentioned something to him about going home, and he looked right at me and said, "This is just vacation; my home is in Texas," and he keeps going right along with it. We were riding in the car today, and the Alabama song, "If you want to play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band," was on the radio. He asked why they were singing about his home.

Yesterday while we were celebrating Father's Day, T. Willy looked at the Big Man and said, "You don't look like a real dad. Dads have big muscles." We had no idea where that came from, but it made us laugh. Then the Big Man showed T. the guns, and T. believed him.

I know there were other things I wanted to remember, but that's it for now.

MK had an orthodontist appointment today. I picked her up from color guard, and she, T. Willy and I went to Ft. Walton for it. It is such a nice practice, and they have all kinds of things to keep T. busy while she's getting worked on. He found this toy today, and here's a picture:























He had the most fun with that...he imprinted his hair, his hands, his shoes...anything he could find. I'm quite certain, though, that if we had one at home, he would not touch it.

So, that's it. Have a great day!

Happy Father's Day!

There are many wonderful fathers in my life. Of course, I must mention the Big Man...he's a great father to our kids. He also has a wonderful father, so Happy Father's Day to them!

But I only have one dad.

How do you sum up what your father means to you? Certainly it cannot be done in words. My dad is not verbally emotive, but his love was expressed through everything he did for us. He was a teacher. Perhaps because of that, I always wanted to be a teacher. However, he rarely was just a teacher...he always coached and taught summer school, and I even remember him tutoring. While I was in an education class in college, a student mentioned that he didn't think he'd ever have to work additional jobs. He and his family would just make do on his salary. I thought about that a lot. I realized that my dad did these extra things so that we could have extras in our lives...not material things exactly, but so that we could do extracurricular activities in school, so that he could paint the Mustang for my 16th birthday!. We never did without anything.

My dad has a true servant's heart. He will lend a hand to anyone. He landscapes at his church. He made a friend from another country and helped him in countless ways. It would be impossible to number what he means to so many people.

Even though he didn't say it a lot, I knew that he loved me. However...the night before I got married, we had a lot of family staying with us. We had been to the rehearsal dinner, and things had been hectic. I was sleeping on the living room sofa and stayed up a little while to do some last minute things. Everyone else in the house was asleep. My dad came downstairs, and without a word, he just looked at me and hugged me and we both stood and hugged and cried. I'm not sure we said anything more than, "Good night," but I'll never forget it. When I went to the sofa to sleep, he had left a note on my pillow. I will not share what it said, but it was exactly what any girl wants to hear from her dad. I still have it in the same box that holds birth certificates and all of the other most important papers of our lives.

So, today is your dad, Dad! I hope it's as wonderful as the days you've given me!

A

Party like a pirate

Today we went to a birthday party for one of T. Willy's friends. It was a pool party which was wonderful for the kids, because it is HOT here...stifling and oppressive. Air conditioning has permanently moved ahead of contact lenses as my favorite invention! So here are some pictures of our day.

T. Willy is on the bottom right by the cool pirate ship pool toy.
























MK and I sneaked inside to beat the heat for a few minutes.





















And that was our day so far. MK is exhausted and came right home and went to sleep. She's had a full week, and I think it's catching up with her.

And that's it for us. Have a great Saturday!

Why get a pet?

We toss the idea of getting a pet back and forth. We were pretty sure we were going to get a dog, and then the kids didn't want one at that time. Then MK decided she did, but we didn't. So we're still negotiating. However, there are enough creatures around here that I don't think an actual pet is necessary.

I was on the phone this afternoon and folding T. Willy's swimsuit that had been left outside to dry. I shook it and out popped this little guy.


















I squealed even though I'm not really afraid of frogs. It just startled me because I wasn't expecting it. We have had more lizards around our house this year than I've ever seen, so if we could just catch one, we could have a pet. We feed birds (and inadvertently squirrels)in a feeder out back, so I think there are more than enough animals around here for now.

That's about the most interesting thing that happened here today. We're looking forward to the weekend. MK has really been enjoying color guard camp, but she's worked physically harder than I can remember her ever working. It will be good for her to get some rest this weekend, then she's back at it again on Monday.

Have a great night!

Better than it looks

Tonight I went to the garden and picked some green tomatoes. I fried them, and here is a picture of one.























They don't look great, but they were really good. I suspect that the reason people started making them in the first place is because they got tired of waiting for the tomatoes to turn red. I know that's how I feel. There are some orange ones, though, and I'm looking forward to them ripening.

MK is tired and has done more exercise this week than she has in a very long time. She didn't take P.E. in 8th grade, but they are making up for it in color guard. She's really enjoying it, and I'm impressed by the improvements she has made in just a week. They've been assigned "big sisters," and she really likes the one she has.

So, that's about it. I hope you have a great night!

Busy morning

While I don't have a (known) mental illness, I can completely identify with agoraphobics...I love to be at my home. I would rarely leave it if I didn't absolutely have to. If I know that I have running around to do, I try to schedule it all at once so that I don't have to be out and about too often. My kids will never have to worry about being overscheduled. MK has always had one activity going at a time, and it's on purpose. I just like to be home.

However, today I have already done some running around. I picked up MK's friend at her mom's work and took her and MK to camp. Then I went to the store to get something for the Big Man and dropped it off at his work. I'm going back out later to pick up a prescription and to get some lunch for a friend of mine who is coming to eat with me during her lunch break from the preschool that T. attended this year. Finally, MK is going to a birthday party tonight. For many, that is an average hour, but for me...that's a busy day!

MK has a packed baby book. It has locks of hair, information for nearly her entire first year, clippings, receipts, you name it...it's there. Ty's has....maybe a few pictures, his name and weight...that's about it. I'm also not a great scrapbooker, so this blog is where I chronicle things for the kids. So I'm going to share two things that he said this morning that made me smile.

He dressed himself and when he came to show me, I saw that his pants were on backwards. I said, "T., your shorts are on backwards; the pockets go in the back." He looked down and said, "I love them this way," and they are still the same.

And now I can't remember the second thing which is exactly why I blog. I can't remember everything that I want the kids to know. Ask me what I wore to the Valentine's Banquet during my Junior year of high school, and I can tell you...but please don't ask what I had for breakfast yesterday.

While I was waiting to turn into the Wal-mart parking lot, this caught my eye...so that's the picture of the morning.

Today

MK had another day of camp. She came home much livelier than she did yesterday. She is developing a callous from throwing and catching the flag, but she seems to be enjoying it. A friend of mine has a daughter on color guard, so we're sharing driving duties, and that makes it nice.

The Big Man only has one day off this week due to his illness last week. Today was that day. He and T. Willy bonded and spent most of the day together. T. is worn out due to swimming. He took his "floaties" off today, and he is getting much bolder in the water. That's progress. He's invited to his friend's birthday party on Saturday, and it's a swim party. Is it too much to hope he'll be swimming by then?

MK has been teasing me about my hair roots. They were really bad, but I just kept putting it off. Finally, the Big Man coerced me to do it today. So, I spent a delightful 3 hours at the salon. However, I'm very pleased with the way they turned out, and knowing me, won't go back for another year...or until MK's teasing becomes relentless. It's tough having a fashion forward teenager!
before


















after
So, that's it for today. Hope you have a great night!

Color guard camp

MK went to her first day of camp. She came home and practiced and has already shown great strides since she went to the tryouts. She was kind of quiet when I first picked her up, but she opened up and had a lot to say as the night went on. There is a McDonald's right by the school, and they walked there for lunch. That gave her a feeling of independence. She just doesn't get out and alone like I did as a kid. I walked and rode my bike everywhere, but it's a different world.

She frequently reminds us that she will get her learner's permit next year on her birthday. I know I'm not ready for it, but the poor girl gets lessons every time we go anywhere. I am constantly giving her tips (I do know that I am NOT the best driver out there) and telling her the names of roads. The Big Man was surprised when he came to DE with me for the first time that I did not know the names of many roads. I knew things by who lived near them...the way to Noelle's house, by Missy's house, the 7-11 where we stopped that one time...none of which helped him navigate his way around. I'm better now and determined that MK will know where she is.

T. Willy and I had fun while the Big Man was at work and MK was at camp. We played in the pool, and that was a blast. He has not liked the water much before, but he is getting much braver. He's not a fish yet, but I'm hoping he'll continue to gain confidence.

And now a picture of MK's dream car...a white Mustang with a pink stripe. She would love all pink, but we saw this in Destin a while ago, and she still talks about it.

T. Willy talks to his food

Today I made T. Willy a pb&j sandwich for lunch. When I handed it to him, I heard him say, "Hello, delicious...come to papa."

Wet (T.) Willy

MK went out with a friend today, and the Big Man went to work, so T. Willy and I spent the afternoon playing Wii and swimming. Here is a picture of him after getting out of the pool.

A good day

Not much happened today. The kids and I hung out. I started my thorough house cleaning...not much fun, but it feels good. While I was working, a lot of things fell to the wayside, and I'm trying to get things back to normal.

MK and I went shopping today. We found her a new bathing suit. Her friend's family bought her a season pass to our local water park, so she needs to own more than one suit. It is just so fun to spend time with her: she's such a neat kid. "Age appropriateness" is something I think about a lot. I saw a shirt and asked MK if I was too old to wear it...she said, "You're too young to wear it." That was a nice thing to hear. I don't feel old, but don't want to dress like I still think I'm a kid, nor do I want to dress "old" either.

So, that's about it. I hope you had a wonderful day.


I'll leave this to MK.

UP

Tonight I took the kids to see "Up." It was much deeper than I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. We picked up a friend for MK, and they were too cool to sit right with me, but they sat one row over and back, and MK texted me the whole time. T. Willy enjoyed it, but he gets bored easily. It was the best he's ever done at a movie, though, so that offered me hope.

The Big Man is much better today. He had a dr's appointment, and they cleared him for work, so he worked from about 2 - 9:30. He was a bit tired, but he made it and will go back to a regular schedule now.

So, the summer is off to a good start! I hope yours is too!

It's the small things

My first day home was wonderful. I wasn't able to sleep in, but I slept well. The Big Man is feeling better and hasn't run a fever at all today. The kids were great and helpful. It is good to be home.

While I was working, dinner became something of an afterthought. So, tonight, I tried to make up for it. We grilled chicken and ribs, had corn on the cob, and MK and I picked beans from the garden and made them for dinner. We had watermelon for dessert. T. Willy ate three servings of watermelon...as he walked away with a bowl in hand, he would say to anyone in earshot, "I like watermelon."

So, that's it for tonight. I hope you had a great day and will have a wonderful one tomorrow!

My summer has begun.

There was nothing for me to do at work today. I'd cleaned my room and helped to clean another, and I was just sitting. With the Big Man STILL sick at home, I asked if it was okay if I could just go home. They said okay, so I am unemployed again. But I am really needed at home.

The Big Man went back to the eye doctor today. What we thought was pinkeye is in both eyes and appears to be a virus that is affecting his throat and ears as well. It's nasty, and I'm very hopeful that it's coming to an end. The kids have been troopers, but we're all looking for some normalcy.

We made reservations to head to Delaware in July. We found a really good price, and July is a nice time to be there. The Big Man won't be able to go with us, but we'll find plenty to do.

So that's it. Have a great night!

Game over

Pens 2 - Red Wings 1 - and now, the agony of game 7.










The Big Man is still sick! He's never been sick like this and for so long, at least not since we've been married. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a big change for him.

I have 3 days left. I'm a little excited.

Good night.

Four more days

Today I cleaned out my room at school...not alone...carpet cleaners were coming, so several teachers pitched in, and we had it cleaned out quickly. Here is a picture of my empty room after the carpet was cleaned. They did a great job.


















And that's it. Tonight I went to a band parent meeting. It's very different from middle school, but I'm really looking forward to it. MK starts Color Guard camp on Monday...9-4 every day for two weeks, then the schedule varies for the rest of the summer. Welcome to high school!

In John Deere Green

So...in our family, there aren't "his" jobs and "her" jobs. We are all capable of cooking, cleaning, yardwork...there is just a certain division of jobs that naturally takes place. "He" usually mows, and "She" usually does cooking, laundry, etc. However, the Big Man is sick right now, and he isn't feeling up to doing too much. I haven't seen him this sick in a very long time. But our lawn continues to grow, and it was getting to the point that I was afraid of losing small children in it, namely my small child, so I volunteered to mow.

We have a riding mower, so it's not a daunting task; I'm just not used to it. But it went fine, and I'm sure I'll get more chances to do it.

Stay away.

The Big Man is sick, and it doesn't seem to be getting better yet. I was not called into the nursing field, but I'm doing my best. However, he has the weekend off (doctor's orders,) so he's getting some much needed rest.

I picked beans from my garden today and canned a few jars. So, here are some pictures of that...pretty much the big event of my day.

One more week

One more week and I'll be off. The day went really well. I cleaned my room and started packing it. I still have quite a bit to do, but I have until Friday to do it, so it will happen.

Tonight was Teacher's Appreciation night at my school. They had a dinner for us, and it was a really good time. They asked each department to do a skit. Our department read a fun poem that one of the teachers had written about things that happened during the year. We each took turns reading a stanza. The writer read the last stanza, and she had written it as a way to announce her first pregnancy. Her husband is the youth pastor at the church connected to the school, and it was a moment that I was really glad to be a part of. Everyone was so excited and clapping and screaming. It was so neat. I've met some really great people at the school, and leaving it is bittersweet, but when I come home to my own kids, I know I've made the right decision.

I will close with a picture that MK took of herself on her last day of middle school...yes, it's true...I am the mother of a high schooler!

Girls' Night!

Tonight I went out with my friend, Doreen, and a few of her friends. It was a blast! I haven't had that much fun in a very long time. They made me feel so comfortable, and we laughed till we cried. My phone died during the evening, so I didn't get any pictures. However, I do have one of Doreen from last year when we worked together. I hope your evening was just as fun!

Doreen, Me and Sue...we all worked together last year, but we couldn't get Sue to come out tonight.

When words aren't enough...

Good morning

So, I've been up since 3. The alarm company called the Big Man because of something at the restaurant. He went back to sleep, but I'm still awake. I've caught up on the DVR watching, checked Facebook, stalked the other blogs that I read...now it's 5:12, and my alarm will go off at 5:40. There's no point in sleeping now.

We had Field Day yesterday. It wasn't the traditional kind. We went to a park and played games and had a picnic. It was more like an end of the year party. The Big Man brought T. Willy for a little while. My students hadn't met them before, so they were excited to see them.

Here is a picture of T. Willy. He was playing his iPod Touch and, next thing we knew, he was passed out.

It's a sunshine day

We live in the Sunshine State, so we are no strangers to sunglasses. Yesterday MK had her friend, C, over and they were playing dress up. Then T. Willy decided to go outside because it felt like a beach day, and he needed glasses. Then I tried on MK's friend's glasses to see if I liked the look. So here are some pictures of that.









































The Big Man was at a meeting, but here's one of him taken a couple of months ago.

































And now a recap of yesterday:
*We picked and ate green beans from the garden.

*T Willy lost another tooth. The Tooth Fairy forgot...again!

*T Willy went back to school, but he was worn out. He fell asleep at 6:00 last night and woke up at 6:30 this morning.

That's about it. It's Field Day for me today, so I'd better get going!

Have a sunny day!

Good morning, Sunshine

I went out this morning to water plants, and this is what I found. This is from the sunflower experiment of 2009. They aren't as hearty and full as some sunflowers, but for growing them in a container, I'm pretty pleased. This is the first one that has opened.


















Just a variety of annuals.


















The butterfly bush has finally bloomed.