Thursday, March 31, 2011

April Fools! (a little early)

I might be sleeping on the couch tonight. All year long, Tim does (and doesn't) do things that really, really annoy me. So, my one and only chance to pay him back is April Fools Day. After last year's April Fools, (Remember the frozen mashed potatoe ice cream cone?) I knew Tim would be on guard tomorrow. So, I tricked him today. A day early. What did I do? Well, let me tell you. I had a pregnant friend pee on a pregnancy test strip! (Oh, yes I did!) I had been dropping little hints all week. Like, "I am so tired." "I am a little late this month." "I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel so hormonal." Then I quickly walked away before he could say anything, because I was afraid I would laugh and blow it! So this afternoon, I texted Tim and asked him to bring me a newspaper home. He did. I then said that because I was feeling so "off" I had one of my dc mom's who works at the hospital drop off a "test" for me this morning. (I didn't say the word pregnancy) Then I handed it to him and said, "We have a problem." He looked at the test in his hand like it was a foreign object. When it finally registered, he opened his mouth and nothing came out. He was speechless! Before he could say anything though, I immediately said "April Fools a little early!!!" and snapped his picture. He then said some words that I won't repeat. Oh, did I laugh and laugh....So, I might be sleeping on the couch tonight. But, it's o.k. I know I deserve it.
And it was so worth it!


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A Happy Ending!

My friend Monica, saw the "new" kitty on my blog.
She then told our friend Jane, who had been missing her kitty,
(I did not know this!)
that she thought my "new" kitty was Jane's kitty!
It was!
Jane and her kitty are now reunited
and all is well again in all of our worlds!
I love a happy ending.

P.S. Sorry that the picture is so far away.
I didn't think to get the picture before Jane was already half way home!
 I screamed her name to stop her,
 and ran in the house to get my camera.
I zoomed in, but it's still pretty far away.
So just click on the picture to enlarge it,
(You can click on the enlarged picture to enlarge it once more.) 
and then use your back arrow key to return to this page.

My Furry Childhood

She's still here. For the past week, this sweet, friendly calico kitty has been hanging out/living on our back deck. Because she was also hanging out at another house a block away, I know she wasn't "dropped off."
I have a terrible feeling that I know where she used to live. Her family packed up and moved away and I believe she was left behind. It breaks my heart. I no way/no how/can not/will not keep her. We already have four fixed, declawed indoor cats and after our Opie episode, I no way/no how/can not/will not go through that again! If she is still here at the end of the week, we will find a home for her. Somewhere. Not here. I do have a soft spot for animals. I can't help it. It was the way I was raised. One of my earliest childhood memories is of my mom telling me that all animals have feelings, just like me. She also told me all my stuffed animals and dolls did too! Messed me up a bit there, it did. Gave me quite the guilty complex everytime I dropped one or sat on one! But, I guess all moms are guilty of messing up their kids at sometime or other. Guess I was lucky. She could have told me they wake up and walk around at night or something! When I was a small child, I lived on a little hobby farm in Breckenridge with my parents and my brother, Mike. Some of my best childhood memories are of that hobby farm and all our animals.
They were like my family.They were my family. I loved them all.

This is my pony Cindy. (My scanner doesn't work, so I had to take a picture of the picture! Not too good here.) I named her Cindy because that was the name of my favorite babysitter. I didn't ride her often because she couldn't run very fast. She could do a little trot and that just wasn't doing it for me. I loved my dad's BIG horse, Goofball! I would ride him bare back with just the reins as fast as he would go!! (Doubt I would be that brave these days, though.) So, when our family went riding, my brother would ride his pony, Pony. (Yes, Pony is what he named him!)
My mom would ride Cindy, my dad would ride my mom's horse Honey,
and I would ride Goofball! Guess I was a little spoiled.

This is my lamb, Pretty Boy. He was one of a dozen. My parents, brother and I had to wake up in the middle of the night and feed them all with big ol' green, glass 7-up bottles. (Remember those?) I loved my lamb. He was just like a puppy to me. We also had a few cows. They weren't for milk or beef. They were just ours to love. We also had chickens and roosters and a goat named Lollypop. The goat was wonderful!! My dad had taken a huge tractor innertube and blew it up for my brother and I to play/bounce on. Lollypop thought she was one of us and jumped and jumped on that tube too. She also jumped on cars. Whenever someone would come to visit, we had to lock her in the barn. She did not like that one bit and would cry and cry until we couldn't take it anymore and let her out. She also was an escape artist and no matter how many times we tried to tie her up so she could enjoy a little grass, she escaped. She could always be found on top of our car. Sadly, Lollypop had to go and live at the zoo in Wahpeton. I remember her riding in the back of our car (Yes! The back seat!) and my brother, Mike and I crying and holding on to her all the way to the zoo. But the zoo was the perfect place for her. She was so happy to be with the other goats. She even had a few kids and she always came up to us when we went to visit her. She was a good goat. So, if I am a softy when it comes to animals, it isn't because I am just a crazy cat lady. It's my parents fault. And I love them for it. I thank them for teaching me to have compassion for all creatures, human and hairy.
I love you Mom and Dad!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Company!


Someone's here!

Well, hello there!


Sorry.
 My mom said that I can't go out,
 and you can't come in!

Psst...
Come back later and I'll try and sneek out
the next time the door opens!
Meow!

Looking Back

Tim is 6'3. I am 5'4. Normally the 11" difference isn't a big deal. Until we try to get into our van after one of us has been driving. If Tim has been driving, the seat is so far back, I can barely reach the steering wheel. The rearview mirror gives me a view of the ceiling and the side mirrors let me see the birds flying by.
He also likes to lean the seat so far back, that I feel like I am laying in the dentist's chair. When Tim gets in the van after I've been driving, his knees are scrunched up by his shoulders, and the seat is straight up and down, giving him about 1" of breathing room. I would guess his view in the mirrors are of the floor and the van tires. It takes a few minutes of adjusting before we are able to go anywhere. Yesterday, we made a quick trip to Alex to hit Menards and Walmart. Tim was driving, so the view out my side mirror was of the sky as usual. However, yesterday the view was so pretty it was almost breathtaking! The blue of the skies was just piercing and the clouds were the whitest of white. The sun was shining and peaking through the clouds. It was just an awesome moment. I felt so relaxed,
I leaned my seat back and enjoyed God's nature show all the way to Alex.

The picture really doesn't do it justice!

Friday, March 25, 2011

See You At The Play!

See you at the play!
Love,
Adrianna

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Snow Is For Kids!



Funny how when you are a kid,
snow is such a magical, thrilling, wonderful experience.
And when you are an adult...
It's not.

Breakfast Time!


Good to the last drop!

Boot Camp

What?
Your Day Care doesn't have a shooting range?
Actually, mine doesn't either.
Landon decided to share his foam dart guns with the kids.
They are shooting at a paper target.
They loved it!
I still am not fond of guns, but these I can deal with!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Purse Party!


I'm not sure which is cuter.
Amber or the purses?
It's a tie!!
(Actually, it's Amber.)

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...
Check out these cuties!
Olivia and Zach!

Just a few purses...
Thanks for the great party Amber!!

Winging Beauty's

Nancy and I at BWW!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Their wings!!!
Don't you love our hats?
Life is short.
Ya gotta have a little fun now and then, ya know?

Oh yes, we did.

The Finish Line

Our basement isn't a pretty thing. It's not a finished basement. The ceilings are really low and we would have to jack up the house to be able to do anything nice with it. The house is old and would probably fall apart if we did that, so we just use it for storage, the laundry, and Tim's desk. Landon likes to play down there and because it's winter he has been riding his scooter down there. He goes around and around the furnace, like a race track. It's not a very big area, but it works. This morning when I went down there to do the laundry I found this!!!
(It's always something....)

Apparently, Landon decided to PAINT a race track on the floor!
(I wasn't home yesterday, and Tim isn't sure how this happened. Really?) 
To be honest, I really don't care about the floor.
What I did care about was I "thought" he had used the
gold paint from my living room that I was saving for touch ups!
Yeah, I freaked out a little.
Once I found out it was just sealer paint Tim had purchased
to actually paint the basement floor with, I was o.k.
However, Tim's not. Now that I know we have basement floor paint,
he's gonna have to get to work!


The finish line.
Is this the end of it all?
I highly doubt it.
(For the record. YES! Landon did get a HUGE lecture about paint!)

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! Yes! It's A Plane!!


It's amazing what Landon can accomplish
with a few pieces of wood, a couple of nails,
some duc tape and a little paint!
I just know he is going to do something
incredibly spectacular with his life!
I just hope I can survive all the years
it's going to take to get there...

Friday, March 18, 2011

A Little Taste Of Italy

The Church Play is next week!
I play Adriana, the daughter of an Italian gangster.
Hope the black hair looks better on me
than it does my fat cat!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Home Spa Hot Tub

I love a good, warm bubble bath. There's nothing better than sinking down in a tub full of bubbles to relax after a long day. We have a "spa" bathmat that is wonderful. It lays on the bottom of the tub and when you turn it on, it creates a spa like whirlpool in your bathtub. (Sort of like the hot tubs at the hotels.) You aren't suppose to use soap with it as it creates a good 6" of bubbles all on it's own. I'm not the only one who likes to use it, Tim and Landon do too. We really should invest in another one, as we are constantly dragging it up and down the stairs. Landon and I take our baths in the smaller tub upstairs. Because the big tub downstairs is 6' long, Landon and I can't lay down or we will drown! (It's still great for our showers though!) Anyway, getting off track here, I just wanted to say, if you love baths, you really need to get one of these babies! They are heavenly.

Did I mention you aren't suppose to use soap!?!?!?!

Spaghetti Tacos

One of my little dc girls has been begging me to make spaghetti tacos for a long time now. (I knooow! It doesn't even sound good, does it?) I have been trying to avoid it, in the hopes that she would forget all about it. But, she hasn't. So today was the day! I told her we would try it. I was hoping the other kids would like it too, and I wouldn't end up throwing all the taco shells in the garabage. She swore up and down they were super yummy and everyone would love them! "Really! Honest! They are the best!" she said. So with an uneasy feeling, I went ahead and made them. She was right. They must have been super yummy, as each and everyone of them cleaned their plates today! (No, I didn't try it. I just couldn't do it.) As I was clearing the tables, I asked the little girl who made the request if they were as good as her mom makes, to which she replied....
"Oh, my mom doesn't make them. I just saw them on iCarly."

Monday, March 14, 2011

Another Adventure At Walmart

Our New Day Care Water Bottles!
These are the best water bottles!
They are just the right size for little hands,
and they are BPA free!
(Google it)


Every spring Walmart puts out new mini water bottles. You can only get them in the spring. (They sell the big ones year round though. Why is that?) So, every year, the dc kids and I wait paitently for them to come out, so we can replace the old ones with new ones. It's something we look forward to. Recently, every Monday, the kids ask me if I found the new water bottles yet, and sadly I have to answer, "No. They aren't here yet." (They know I have to "go out of town" on the weekend to find them.) Well, Saturday I was at Walmart and I spotted the new "big" water bottles on half empty shelves! They normally are tinted a light blue with blue, pink, or green caps. This year they were tinted an olive green, (I didn't think the kids would be crazy about that color.) red and blue. (They would like those!) There was a pallet of four huge cardboard boxes sitting in front of the half empty shelves and I was praying the "mini" water bottles would be inside one of those big boxes. It was all I could do not to rip right into them! Instead, I minded my manners and hunted down a helper. I located one stocking shelves in the pet food section. I told her my dilemma and asked her if she would look in the boxes for me. She wasn't too excited. A young thing who seemed to only have one speed. SLOW. She had tons of " lame excuses" which never flies with me. I will go with a "good reason;" but a "lame excuse" just makes me nuts. She said, "Uhhhh....well.....I'm suppose to be putting the dog food up....it's not really my department....I don't know.....can you come back later...." So, I told her that I would help her go through them, if she would just follow me. So walking at a snails pace (I felt like I was leading a reluctant puppy to the Vet!) she said, "Uhhhh....well......O.k.....I guess.....HUGE SIGH...." When we got to the boxes, she slowly opened one up. Then she slowly picked up one of the little boxes inside, and slowly read OUTLOUD what was written on the box, then slowly set it back inside the box. Oh yeah, I was SCREAMING inside my head!! I couldn't stand it. Sometimes the Type A Lady in me takes over. I have no control over her, but she always seems to know what needs to be done. She jumped right in and took right over. She told the young helper (nicely) to hang on to the edge of the box for her, (She wanted her to feel included.) and within a minute or two she went through each and everyone of those big boxes. (I think the helper had a brain freeze, she was in such awe!) I was so bummed that the mini bottles were not in any of the big boxes. So, I said to her, "Do you think you could check in the back room for me?" I said "please" and told her again how all my little dc kids have been waiting and waiting and how happy they would be if she could find the bottles for them. I told her how I lived far away and couldn't "just come back later." That it would be another week. More excuses. "Ummmm....I'm not sure where they are.....it's not really my department.....ummmm....I don't know....HUGE SIGH...."
Honest to Pete! She gave me no choice, but to pull out my trump card. I said to her,
"Well, maybe we could find the manager and he could show you where they are."
Oh yeah, that put a little gas in her bass! She said she would go check.
The minutes went by and by....I was almost to the point of going in the back and finding them myself. But thank heavens, just then another helper came along and started pulling the little boxes out of the big boxes. I explained the situation to her. She said she knew exactly where the bottles were, and that she would go in the back and help the other helper find them. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Just do it. No excuses! They came back within a couple of minutes carrying a small box! I was silently praying, "Please don't let them be the green ones. Please don't let them be the green ones." They were the green ones. But, I was out of patience and I decided to go with my own dc motto,
"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!"
So, instead of throwing a fit about the color, I threw them in my cart, thanked the ladies for their help and headed to the Easter candy aisle, where I devoured 1,610 peanut butter Easter eggs within 49 seconds.
Sometimes the Type B Lady in me knows what needs to be done too. 

Sunday Drive

Took a Sunday Drive to Sissiton....
Landon was really excited to spot these deer
through the trees.
(Click on the picture to enlarge it)

Until he spotted these!
Can you say....
Smorgasbord???



Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Sweet Tooth

I have a sweet tooth. A major one. To be able to get through my day, at least one, but not more than five sweet "fixes" are required. Because Landon also has a sweet tooth, I have to hide my stash. I used to hide it in the oven. This worked for a long time, up until last week when Landon decided for no reason at all, out of the blue moon, to open the oven door! He has never done this in his life! Oh, you can imagine the happy face he had on when he discovered my loot! One of my DC mom's gave me a bag of chocolate hearts for Valentine's day. I have been savoring them and making them last. (Not an easy thing to do!) Since the oven was no longer a safe option, I moved my stash to the kitchen towel drawer. I buried it deep on the bottom, under the towels. So today, when I went to get my "fix," you can imagine the unhappy face I had on when I discovered.... this!!!
The little sugar bandit had struck again.


As if the empty wrappers weren't bad enough,
the half eaten, dried up piece of chocolate
laying in the corner is just unthinkable!!!

Monday, March 7, 2011

To My Teenager Facebook Friends

I love Facebook. It's a wonderful way to keep in touch with 2,307 friends without ever leaving the house, picking up a phone or emailing anyone. I have a few "teen" friends on there, and lately I have noticed through their posts, how they all seem to be suffering from broken hearts and broken dreams. Ahhh, the teen years. They post things like, "I thought you loved me! How could you do this to me? I thought I was the only one!" They also might be upset because they got fired from a job, or their bff is now bff's with someone elses bff. (Still with me?)  Of course, they are just venting and do not have any desire to hear what an old lady like me thinks.
But, if I thought for one second they did, I would tell them...
"Just because something didn't last forever, 
it doesn't mean it wasn't worth the ride!"
"At your age, whether you are 12, 14, 16, or 18 the rides will always be open and ready to go. Hop on them all! Check out the roller coaster, the tilt-a-whirl and even the scary haunted fun house. Try all the concessions stands. Even the ones that don't really grab your fancy. You just might be surprised. When the ride ends, whatever or whoever it may be, collect all the good memories and put them in your memory bank. Toss all the bad memories right in the trash, where they belong. Many years from now, when you are a wrinkled, little old lady, (Oh yes, my dear, it will happen. Trust me. It happens to the best of us!) you will be able to look back on your life and see that you have accumulated a whole flippin' amusment park! When you need comforting, you can simply dip into your memory bank of rides, and spin and twirl your way through all the goods times you had. Your life is just beginning.
It is an amusment park in progress. You have many, many rides yet to come.
So, sit back, relax and enjoy each ride for all it's worth.
And don't forget to have a little cotton candy now and then."
Yes, that's what I would say. If they asked me.

Little White Lies

My Day Care kids "think" they don't care for turkey. So, when we have turkey sandwiches, I tell a little white lie and call the turkey... ham. Today when the kids asked me what we were having for snack time, I forgot to say "ham" sandwiches, and when I said "turkey" sandwiches, they all responded with a huge chorus of, "Nooooo.....eeewwwww.....not turkey!" So, then I quickly said, "O.k. we will have ham instead, to which they all immediately started jumping up and down and screaming, "Yay! Ham! We're having ham!!!" When I had set the sandwiches down in front of them today, they devoured them, all the while making "Ummmm....yummmmm..." noises. I have to admit, I do it more often than not. One little boy will not eat BBQ's, but if I say they are Sloppy Joe's, he's on board! I have to call the carrots, "candy" carrots and I  tell the girls that if they eat them, they will make them pretty like princesses! The brown beans are also in the "chocolate jelly bean" family and I tell the boys they will help make them strong, like super heros. Now of course I don't like fibbing to them, but tell me how can something so simple, that brings so much happiness, (and good, healthy eating!) be a bad thing? It just can't be. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and eat my "candy" like a good girl, so my eyes will be pretty and my arms will grow so big and stong, I will be able to throw a football across the entire football field!
What the heck. Ya gotta believe in something.

The boys enjoying their ham sandwiches...
"WINK!"

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Lord, Grant Me The Serenity...

Sometime in the middle of the night, Landon decided to get up, go to the refrigerator and get an egg. He then took said egg outside, and threw it at the side window of Tim's work van. When he woke up this morning, I asked him why he threw an egg on his dad's van. His first response was "What egg?" Nice try. Didn't work.
I repeated the question and then he said, "I wanted to see if it would freeze." Now this child is bright. Very bright. He knows it would freeze. He didn't want to see IF it would freeze. He wanted to see IT freeze. Now if Landon was any other child in the world, I would have given him a step ladder, a hot soapy bucket of water and a sponge and told him to clean it up. But, Landon is a worker. He would find that job so much fun, and what would be the lesson learned in that? So instead, I told him that he would be taking ten dollars of his birthday money to pay for the car wash. Oh, how that got his attention! Landon squeeks. He loves his money. He loves to look at it, he loves to count it, he even loves to smell it. But spending it is a whole 'nother ballgame. I am sure you all are thinking I am being a little harsh here, but there is one more thing you need to know. Also, sometime in the middle of the night, Landon did something else. What did he do? Well, let me tell you. I had Laurie Karskey make Landon's birthday cake. I LOVE her cake. We don't get it often, so I deliberatlely bought a bigger one. I wanted to have a little "extra" for later. I ended up with four extra pieces of happiness. I put them in a container and put them in the freezer. I hid them under the french fries. Since I am the only one who cooks around here, I wasn't too worried about them being found. My plan was to have one whenever I was feeling stressed and really needed a pick me up. This morning was that morning. I went to the freezer to get one of my treasured pieces of cake only to find that SOMEONE had eaten all the frosting off of every single piece! That is when Tim called me to the window to ask me what was on his van. I knew immediately. I so know my child. And that is why Landon is out ten bucks. Don't mess with Momma's happiness. There will be consequences.
Oh, yes there will.


Breakfast, anyone?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

I'm Already There...

Click on comic to enlarge.