orientation, eery feeling and J

{blurry iPhone pic}

Orientation was last night and tonight.  I met 6 of my new friends.  All went well and I'm looking forward to this evening.  I am enjoying my last few days of summer. 

I have to say it's been eery but also nice to be on my own without a child by my side these past few weeks. Errands are a dream now and fast (LOL) ;).  I think I had forgotten what it felt like.  It has been 8 years :).  I joked with friends that I could finally listen to my Christian music in the car without interruption and actually sing along with it without comments.

Today I had a special delivery from Jonica and spent my morning talking with her about anything and everything.  I am blessed with these talks.  She had to go shopping :(.  I could have stayed there the whole day :) but alas life kicks in and laundry called my name.  Thanks J for everything and if you are someone other than Jonica reading this, please pray for her tomorrow.  She goes back for #4 chemo.  Only 2 left after this one!  We are going to have a major party when this is over!  The wheels are turning!!

we're spring cleaning today

Yes I know it's summer but the things we've been putting off are finally getting done.  Art wanted an easy weekend coming off his surgery and we have succeeded BUT you can't keep him down for long and to him relaxing is making a "to do list" and marking them off one by one.  We totally don't agree on how to relax but after 20 years I've learned to go along with it, knowing we will get to the relaxing part eventually.

On the list to clean:

All light fixtures (this includes ladders which I hate)

Whole house dusting (achooo!)

Stainless steel appliances (Grace's chore)

Windows inside (Sarah's chore, with a little help from me)

On our list to relax (because he promised):

Chicken legs on the grill for dinner (grillmaster Art cooking)

Dinner out on the deck (table by Grace and Sarah)

Games and reading with the girls (fun for all)

Quiet and relaxing, just what I like.

library pride

At ILS they let the Kindergartners out 10 minutes earlier than the rest of the school, giving Sarah and I time to chat about her day.  On Thursday she was extra bubbly.  She had been to the school library and checked out her first book.  Of course it was about cats and dogs :).  She was so excited to share it with Grace and I.  She's super proud she is old enough to pick out her own book and bring it home.  So am I.  It made her first week even sweeter.

 

turned a page

Art turned a page on his health, more specifically his sight this week.  He had LASIK performed on both eyes.  I was anxious, he was cool as a cucumber.  The results are good, very good.  He is free of glasses and looks like the man I married 20 years ago.  The girls think he doesn't look like Daddy without them.  They will get used to it in time, so will he.  I keep catching him reaching for them on his head :).  Some habits are hard to break.  

sweet thank you

I put these together to send with the girls tomorrow.  A sweet, Hershey's bar thank you for a great first week. 

Reach out and touch your childs teacher. They work so hard, especially that first week :).

you're looking at a....

Kindergartner!

She was brave, so was I (sob...sob...).

2nd grader!

She was all about school today.

guess where we went this weekend...

I'll give you a hint...

Figure it out yet?

My haven.

My first home.

I used to hang from this bar, along with a certain cousin of mine.  We were monkey's like these two.

Drove to Bennett Springs, to the hatchery and fed the fish with Mom and Dad.  The girls loved it. 

Saw alot of fish.

We couldn't have asked for better weather.  Enjoyed spending time with Mom and Dad. 

So glad we went.

Thanks for the tomatoes Mom and Dad {delish}!
Thank you for the burgers.
Thank you for the down time.
Thank you for the conversations.

one... two... no wait! three!

Last night was orientation for the girls and now excitement is in the air!  I was asked this morning how many more days, we're down to three and it's hard to believe.

Sarah has had her ups and downs with the idea of Kindergarten.  Overall I think she is excited and will do just great.  The other day she cried to me, not wanting to try a new school.  You see the last two years she's had the same teacher and alot of the same kids in her class.  Plus I've always been next door.  This is a big step for her.  Independence is a good thing in this situation.  My prayer for her is to find a friend the first day and never look back.

Grace is excited about second grade.  This year she has her own desk, not a shared table.  We met her teacher who she knew somewhat from last year.  She has 4 girlfriends from her class last year which is helpful.  My prayer for her is that she will adore 2nd grade, she knows it will be harder and I think there is a little anxiety about that.  This is her first year to receive letter grades.  Art and I have reassured her that it is going to be just fine. 

Sarah starts gymnastics in September which she can't wait for.  For two years now she's sat by watching her big sis tumble, twirl and have fun and now it is FINALLY her turn.  I know she will do it with gusto and give it her all.  That's my Sarah.

Grace starts up gymnastics again.  Our rule has been only allowing one extra-curricular activity for each of our girls.  Family time is important and we make sure we make time during the week for each other.  This year we are slightly breaking the rule.  She will be starting taking violin lessons from a church friend.  I think she will be excellent at this.  So we have two activities, oh wait, make that three!  Our church is starting up a children's choir.  Grace loves to sing and in my opinion she's pretty darn good :) at it.  So that makes three.

I may regret signing us up for all of this but my prayer is that God will bless us as a family in all we do.

last days of summer break

We finally visited our subdivision lake this week.  The weather was great and it was quiet since the schools in our area have already started back.  The girls enjoyed the water and sand.  I was able to find some shade, enjoy the breeze and beautiful sky. 

I exfoliated my feet :).  This is the best way to soften your heels.

I wore my favorite "protect me from the sun" hat. 

Peaceful.

rainbow

We were driving home Sunday night from church and witnessed this.  Not only was it a double rainbow but the stronger of the two was a complete arch.  The girls were sure that one side ended at our house.  It was so vibrant we had to capture it.  Simply beautiful.

lists

I am a list maker.  I get it from my mom.  I write down everything and compile when needed.  So to help me stay motivated and actually mark things off the list I've added two new ones to my blog, to the left.  I'm hoping that seeing them there will make me more accountable.   We'll see.

treasures found

Today we are home, catching up on some things around here with playtime in between.  The girls like the down days, especially after spending alot of time at church last week. 

We cleaned out the game closet and found some treasures we had forgotten about.  I even found some things for my classroom that my kids have outgrown, SCORE!  It's good to clean, never know what you are going to find.

fashionista!

Our fashionista - Sarah.  On this day she took three of her skirts, various bow barrettes and created this lovely ensemble.  This girl has talent :).

Her assistant, as always was there by her side.

sunset

The sunset from a couple of nights ago.  I stepped out while the girls were in the bathtub and enjoyed the view.  I love living out in the country where the only thing obstructing this view is the trees and an occasional telephone pole. :)

slow cooking

This is my slow cooker and yes it is old.  It was a wedding present (that's 20 years old ya'll) and I just can't part with it.  I'm under the belief that if it still works why purchase new (which is why we still own our 16 year old washer and dryer)?  Not that I'm not envious when I see the new ones out there on the market with their timers, fancy gadgets and sleek designs.  My slow cooker and I have a sweet relationship and until it dies, it's staying put.

In preparing for Fall I decided to update my recipe files and find something new to try.  I found this website.  Wow!  365 days a year of slowcooking.  My girls have been asking for more breakfast for dinner meals so I made this today.  It turned out really well and Art liked it alot.  I did modify it a little though.

Hash Brown Breakfast 
30 oz. pkg. of plain frozen hash brown potatoes
1 lbs. turkey sausage, cooked (she called for ham)
1/2 onion, diced
1 green pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (I used less)
12 eggs
1 cup skim milk or fat free
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

You will need to use a 6 qt. or larger slow cooker for this recipe.  Spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Dump in the whole package of hash browns.  Spread them out with your fingers and break up any clumps.

In a mixing bowl, mix the dozen eggs with the milk, salt and pepper, cheese, sausage and diced veggies.  Pour everything over the top of the hash browns.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.  This is done when the eggs are fully cooked the edges start to brown a bit. 

This was a huge amount of food which she warned about on her website.  So I put leftovers in the freezer while still was able to keep some out for tomorrow mornings breakfast. 

Sanderson Stars - **** (4 out of 5)

Enjoy!

random {iphone version)

Ready for random (from my iphone)...

In an attempt to help cool down our pool, Art and I began to drain some of the water out.  Our temps here have been in the 90's for the past few weeks so our cool pool has felt more like a hot tub. The idea was to empty it just a bit and then refill with cooler water.  We kind of forgot to stop the draining, went to bed and woke up to a flat pool the next morning, OOPS!  The option of putting the pool away before August began was not okay with Grace and Sarah.  So we filled it back up.  Yes our water bill will be up next month!

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This past week we've been busy getting the classroom ready.  It begain with paint, lots of blue - finished off with clouds.  I got my new shelf, love it.  One shelf took the place of four and it has casters, folds together & locks.  The girls came along willingly since other friends were there all day to play with.

Speaking of friends.  Introducing the bucket babes!  These babes were asked to water the plants out front and as you can see, they got carried away with the hose.  My friend Trudi and I were watching from a window, the girls had no idea we were there.  It was so much fun to see.  This picture makes me giggle.

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For awhile now I've been having health problems.  Enough to prompt me to slow down life and to go see a GI Specialist this week.  It has limited us on our "summer to do list."  It was good to talk it out with the new doctor.  He took blood this week and I have two other tests, (I'm dreading a bit) scheduled at the end of August.  But I'm moving towards answers which is a blessing.  God is good to put the right doctor in my life.

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Art recorded "How to Train a Dragon" movie.  We watched it last night.  It was intense the last 30 minutes of the movie.  So intense Sarah was on my lap, complaining her tummy hurt.  They both ended up sleeping in our bedroom on the blow up mattress.  When we realized it was bothering Sarah I gave Art that look.  You know the one where it speaks volumes.  I try to read up on the movies from a christian review website but I trusted what Art said.   He apologized :), poor guy.  Yet another parenting lesson learned the hard way. 

countdown

12 more days.