100% Chance of Marshmallows

Whose the messiest kid in the house these days?

It couldn't be MY little girl. But, now that she is walking, she's into everything! She and Katelynn found an entire bag of mini marshmallows. Jenna decided it would be fun to throw them all over their bedroom floor along with the socks, underwear and whatever else she could pull off of shelves and out of drawers this morning. Katelynn thought this was a fun game, so she decided to help with the fun, then started cleaning up.

I'm happy to say that Katelynn has picked up over half of the marshmallows.

There's no sign of them anywhere.

It's Madison and Jasmine, reincarnate.

I Miss Her

Her room is perfectly clean.
There's less spills on the kitchen floor.
No Hannah Montana playing endlessly on the t.v.
We've ate at the kitchen table for every meal.
The little ones sleep and the house is completely silent.

A storm blows through and there's no one to comfort.
I haven't heard "Yankee Doodle" on the piano for over 4 days.

And yet, it's just not the same without her here.
Camp will be over in 2 short days.
Then, my life will once again be turned upside down.

I can't wait.

No Kids Allowed!

My Hubby gets brownie points - again!

This time?

He cleaned the van inside and out this afternoon.

He took out the seats and cleaned under them.

He vacuumed.

He washed.

He scrubbed.

He even made me wash the car seat covers.

No longer does the dash look like a petri dish.

No longer is there nuggets and fries sandwiched under the seat cushion waiting for a hungry child to find them and start knawing.

How long will it last?

Pickles and Ice Cream

Today, I asked Frank if he was still in it for "better for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health..."

It seems like in the last week or so, we've had our ups and downs in each of those categories. (I'm happy to say I feel much better now than I did over the weekend, by the way.)

I asked him this because today we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Cool. Our 13th on the 13th. We didn't do anything too special today. As a matter of fact, I ended up helping Mom and Dad can bread and butter pickles. 18 pints, to be exact. We had planned on canning on Tuesday, but Mom is going back to the doctor tomorrow to have them check her new pacemaker. Every time she lays on her right side, the muscles around the pacemaker thump. Please pray that it's something they can adjust without her having to have another surgery.

So, since we got the pickles completed pretty early, I asked Frank if he'd like to go out on a little date.
But, unlike 13 years ago, we had 4 kids in tow as we drove away. And, rather than traveling down the highway toward Front Royal and that beautiful little cabin by the creek, we headed to the Cone Zone.

Four ice cream creations later, we sat with our kids, enjoyed the cool evening breeze, fed Matthew his first ice cream, and couldn't have been happier.

Oh. Franks answer?
Pretty much the same thing inscripted inside my wedding ring:
"With all my heart."


Happy Anniversary, Honey. I love you!

Them There Varmints!

Camping Trip #2 lasted for five beautiful days at Raystown Lake in Pennyslvania. Of course, it rained as we were leaving and as we set up camp on Thursday afternoon. The middle of the night, I watched as a raccoon came to visit. Every evening thereafter, it wasn't the coons eyes we saw glowing in the woods behind our camper, it was the skunks. We are pretty sure their den was located about 10 feet from our fire pit. Lucky us.
Frank was just a little "skeered" of these varmints and was not afraid to admit it. I, on the other hand, don't have the bladder control that others have and had to face our enemy head on. Fortunately, they were just as scared of us as we were of them...atleast that's what we kept telling the girls.
I'm happy to report that even though we saw many, we smelled none.
The other varmints that we came into contact with were of the two legged variety. Apparently, we camped in the same campground as a couple teenagers who decided to go a-hunting. They caught many things including the radio out of our truck. I wouldn't have made a big deal about it, but Frank is planning on trading the truck in for a Suburban and now we have to deal with replacing the radio before we can deal with trading vehicles.

On the up side of this trip, Lacy and Katelynn made some new friends and got to hang out with them everyday. Lacy really impressed me on her scooter. Our campsite was on a hill and she had no problem riding it down the hill, around the curve, across rough patches in the road and never fell even once.

We took the opportunity to go to Del Grosso Amusement Park in Tipton, PA on Friday since we were only about a half hour away. We highly recommend it if you have younger kids. With our $3 coupons I cut off of our spaghetti sauce, paying for 4 tickets, all our food and even extra snacks, we left there having spent less than $80 for the entire day. We had no waiting time for rides and the girls rode every ride they could to their hearts content!

One more thing. I have to gush about my hubby for just a moment.
He's amazing.
Thanks to his handyman skills, our little popup now has hot water. Talk about an upgrade! Ah, the comforts of home!
I couldn't help but look at others campsites and compare what we have to them. Some of these campers have lavish, amazing RV's with fireplaces, walk in showers, big shiny trucks, and their big boy toys like jet skis and boats.
We, on the other hand, have our little camper and truck. All in all, what we've put into our camping gear is chump change compared to many.
But, in the end, everyone ends up sittin' by the fire at the end of the day, watching the flames and enjoying the great outdoors...
Until them there varmints come to visit...

Worms

On Monday, the girls and I took Frank fishing for a father's day treat. We headed up to The Cove in Gore, VA so that we could also swim in the lake as well. Other than about 12 other people, we were the only ones there.

The girls had a weird fascination with the nightcrawlers. Katelynn just had to take them out of the container and hold them all in her hand. They draped down on either side like gigantic live spagetti noodles. I'd fuss with her, and she'd put them back in the container, wipe her hands on her shirt and dive into the dorito bag for a snack.

Before I'd know it, she had take another worm back out again.

I'd get after her, but she was determined to explain:

"But, Mom! I just want to pet him. I love him. I want to kiss him."

Yew.

Oddly, I understand the kissin' part, for I used to do it all the time as a kid -- but with toads.

"Okay, Katelynn, that's enough. Put it back in the container."

The next time I turn around, it's not Katelynn in the worms, it's Lacy.

She was practicing tying knots. Using nightcrawlers.

Again, Yew.

(Actually, I was a little impressed. Now who's weird??)

So, in a nutshell,
No one else ate Doritos thanks to Katelynn.

We all got lots of sun and had fun in the lake.

I caught a nice bass.

Jenna slept in the shade for 2 hours.

Lacy decided she wants to join the Boy Scouts. You get a badge for tying knots, don't you?

Frank got to spend some rare relaxation time.

We all got to visit with Talon and his parents.

(Talon was our little boy we had for a few months at the beginning of 2007.)

We introduced the girls to Twinkies.

We wore the girls out.

I got my prince.

Pop Up Adventure #1

We took our first camping trip of the year this past weekend.
Granite Hill in Gettysburg, PA.
What a beautiful, laid-back place!

It took us most of Friday to actually get everything and everyone in the truck and camper and pull out from our drive way! My dad actually called as we were driving away to congratulate us on leaving before dark.
I'm happy to say that we were set up and ate dinner before 10 p.m. (We finished by 9:45!)

Best quote of the weekend: "This is WAY so much more fun and better than sitting around watching t.v. all day! - Lacy

Katelynn moments included:
1. Throwing the 30 amp breaker off.
2. Using her goggles to collect worms so that Daddy could use them for bait.
3. Messing her bathing suit not once, but twice...(thank God for swimmers)
4. Locking the keys in the truck.
5. Taking a branch out of the fire pit that was still glowing red and taunting Lacy with it.

I'm sure there were a few more shenanigans, but without them, it wouldn't be memorable, right?

The best thing about this first trip was that we all enjoyed each other, played, laughed, talked and planned what we want to do on our next trip!

Oh, we even met The King while we were there!
Who knew that Elvis would be camping there the same weekend!!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

As of 5 minutes ago, Lacy finished her final test in English (missed only 2) and with that, she is completely done with 3rd grade!

Summer has officially begun!

Can I hear a HALLELUJAH!!!!!

Showing Her Stuff

Tonight, the whole family went to Jefferson for the Harlem Wizards basketball game. What fun!
Katelynn did okay as a spectator for a while, but she got a little miffed that she couldn't go out on the court to play "baseball" with the rest of the team.

We'll, amazingly, at halftime, they had a little game called "You've been Tricked". Harlem Wizards player, "Swoosh", handpicked about 15 kids to come out to center court to play the game. If they dropped the ball, they were out.

Can you guess who the littlest player was??
You Got It!!!! My GIRL!!!
She did great!
No --she did AWESOME!~!
She was one of the last 4 standing!!!
She received a big poster of the team (which everyone signed)
and a light-up bracelet (which she already broke!)

Her only complaint?
She wanted them to give her a basketball.

She's turning 3 next week --
maybe her wish will come true then!

12 Feet

What has 2 blue eyes, 10 brown eyes, 6 noses, 12 arms, 12 feet and 60 toes?
Our family!

It's Saturday at noon and all is quiet and peaceful.
Katelynn is singing in the bathtub, her favorite pasttime.
Jenna is snoozing.
Lacy is spending quality time with Papa and Grandma.
Frank snuck away to run some errands.
And here I sit, looking at our newest addition.
Finally!
His name is Matthew. I'd love to tell you more, but due to his situation, I'll just leave it at that. If you want to see him, you'll just have to stop by.

I can always use another set of arms...and hands and feet and toes...!!

Baby Blues

Yesterday morning I received a call from NYAP asking to place a 2 month old baby boy with us. The DHHR case worker had requested an experienced foster family who has dealt with drug babies. That would be us. So, it was planned at 4 pm yesterday to pick up that little baby boy and bring him safely home.
Problem.
The computers were down at DHHR and they couldn't file the petition. So, plan B went into effect. We were to meet them there this morning at 11 am.
Problem.
Computers are now working, but they weren't able to get the judge to sign off on the petition so we were asked to wait until 2 pm to come pick up this bundle. Enter plan C.
Problem.
At 1:55 pm, just as Katelynn is throwing up in the backseat of the van, my YAP worker called to say that they weren't able to get the baby today because the Prosectuing Attorney wasn't able to sign off on the petition, and would not be back in for the rest of the day. Due to the law, they couldn't go get the baby until they have all the paperwork signed. On to Plan D.
We were back home by 2:10. I cleaned up Katelynn, the car seat and the van. Put Jenna and Katelynn to bed. Put the turkey in the oven. Decided to bake bread. It's currently rising.
So now, here I am:
Trying to console Lacy and remind her to be patient.
Nursing Katelynn through her sickness.
Worrying about this little baby.
Praying he's safe.
(I once said you can't worry and pray at the same time -- now I take that back.)
Wishing that DHHR and all parties responsible would get their act together for the sake of this child. They say to wait and everything will fall into place tomorrow. But, as my case worker said, He's not going to hold his breath, because he knows he'd be turning blue.
I already am.
Therein lies the problem.

In the words of the Pointer Sisters...

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it...

I got weird looks last night at the Homeschool Meeting because I admitted to having dreams about CVS.
Okay. So, you're right. It was weird.
(I still think that Julie has had them too, she just won't fess up to it.)

I've started taking this thing seriously. I even have all my coupons listed by category in a Word document that I update weekly so I don't have to go through each one to see what I need.

Again, weird.

But.
This CVS thing is beginning to pan out!
Take for instance this morning.
I was out anyway, so I stopped by to get 5 things.
Here's how it went:
Irish Spring 15 ounce body wash for $4.99 AND get $4.99 BACK in EB's! So, FREE.
Colgate 4.6 oz max white toothpaste for $2.99 (on sale) AND get back $2.99 in EB's! So, FREE - AGAIN!
Had a coupon for 15 pc. Big Red Gum regularly $1.19. Yes, FREE!!
Giant Gluestics were 1/2 off, so I got them for $1.25 each and I splurged and got Lacy and Katelynn the Rainbow Sparkle Egg Coloring Kit for $2.99.
In the end, I used $13.00 in EB's from my last shopping trip, got back $7.98 in EB's for my next trip and only spent $0.54!!!

So, again I will sing...

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!
Yes, I know that I am weird,
but I think I like it!!

In the Words of a Two Year Old...

Katelynn, our two year old, is never out of words to say.
She says alot. (If you haven't yet read the blog before this one, make sure you do...)

This morning (Sunday) as we were getting ready for our day,
Katelynn was in the room with me
(She had already dressed in her bathing suit. We'll deal with that one later.)
I was ready to dress for church myself when she saw my bra.
"What's that?", she asked.
I replied, "It's a bra."
"Oh.
Mom? Those are SOME boobies!"

(There's no need to comment to that one!!)

Intellectually Stimulating, Really.

While driving, my 2-year old decides it's high time to have a

lengthy conversation with me.

It went like this:

Mom?

What?

Looka here.

I can't look there, I'm driving.

Mom?

What?

Looka here.

I can't look there, honey. I'm DRIVING.

Mom?

What?

Where we goin?

We're going home.

Mom?

What?

I don't wanna go home.

Mom?

WHAT?

You need to be quiet. Jenna sleepin'.

Mom?

WHAT????

I SAID Jena sleepin'.

Well, honey, stop saying MOM!

MOM?

WHAT?

You're MEAN!

I am NOT mean!!!

(I couldn't help but laugh outloud at that comment...)

Mom?

What?

(now she's giggling, too...)

You're Mean!!!

Mom?

Whaaat?????????

Where we going?

Honey, we're going home.

Mom?

What?

I tired.

End of conversation.

Our eyes see flies. Our eyes see ants. Sometimes they see pink under pants.

The title of todays posting comes from one of my favorite authors. He would have been 105 today. Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Did you know that he wrote "The Cat in the Hat" on a dare?
No one believed that you could write a book with any kind of setting, interesting characters or a plot using simple, basic sight words for a beginner reader.
Well done, Mr. Geisel!
What was your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Quality Time

We spent the weekend in Fairmont for another Cheerleading Competition. Fortunately, the hotel we stayed in had a great indoor pool that was actually warm enough to enjoy. So, both evenings kinda went like this:
7:00 to 8:00 p.m - pool time with a bunch of cheerleaders and little screaming kids. The room had a great echo. That meant that every sound was magnified 10 times over. Talk about relaxing.
8:00 - 8:30 p.m. - shower and dressed for bed.
8:30 p.m. - Jenna goes to sleep. Bless her heart.
So.
Here we are. Frank, Lacy and me. In a room just large enough to fit 2 double beds and a little pack n' play.
The perfect scenario set for us to spend some time together. Just the three of us.
So we did! We watched a movie.
Well. Actually we watched movies.
Lacy had her little DVD player, head phones included. She watched "The Sandlot" and "The Princess Diaries".
Frank had brough along his lap top, head phones included. He watched "Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
I got the hotels' t.v. all to myself. No head phones needed. I watched "Sixth Sense" and "America".

This is called family bonding.
Isn't it?

Move Over, Billy Ray!

It is well known in the homeschool commandments that thou shalt have interesting, enlightening, and engaging conversations at the dinner table.

For the last few days, ours have somehow wound their way around to Hannah Montana. Good gravy, you'd think we'd be better parents...

It's inevitable that having girls, one must be "up" on Miley/Hannah shows, songs and quirky sayings that come along with it.

There's one particular episode (yes, sadly, I think we've seen them all...) in which Billy Ray makes up this little diddy that goes something like this:

"I'm super cool, I'm super hot, I'm the girl you like a lot,
I'm super, super girl! I'm super, super girl!"

Frank (now lovingly known as "Daddy Ray") has helped Lacy come up with a few more stanzas...

"I'm super cool, I'm super hot, but my nose is full of snot,
I'm super, super girl! I'm super, super girl!"

"I'm super cool, I'm super smart, and when I laugh I have to fart,
I'm super, super girl! I'm super, super girl!"

Lucky for me, I get to spend the entire day with her as she practices them over and over and over and over...

I love girls

Little things can make girls so happy.



Lacy is in the midst of a play date with her newest friend, Brooke.

Can I hear a "Hallelujah!"!!

I say that only because they both are cut from the same shyness cloth.

So this is a BIG deal. Very big.

I'm happy to say I do believe that

it's their first of many dates to come.


They're doing make-up and nails...

Need I say more??

(I have a really cute picture of the two of them, but it won't download...

Dwayne! Help!!!)

Student - 1, Teacher - 0

Yesterday for handwriting, I had Lacy write down a little paragraph about Abraham Lincoln. It went something like this:

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln.
February 9, 2009 is the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.
"bi" means "two"
"centennial" means "hundred"
That means Abraham Lincoln is two hundred years old today!
Let's have a party!

But before I could finish writing, Lacy informed me -- in a way only an eight year old can --
You know, where every syllable sounds more like two...

"Mom, Abraham Lincoln's birthday is NOT today. It's on the 12th. That's not until Thursday. If you don't believe me, go look it up on the computer."

So I did.

One point for the little squirt.

I guess this means that the cake I secretly baked in the shape of his hat will need to be hidden in the back of the freezer. Thank goodness I hadn't frosted it yet.

So...anybody wanna come for a party on Thursday?

One more thing.
I betcha read Lacy's comment using the double-syllable version, didn't you??
thought so.

Chili Eating Competitions

Okay, so not exactly.
Apparently my pronounciation of "Cheerleading" is off a bit. No, we did not go to a "Chili-eating" competition today. It was CHEER leading competition. Very different. Very, well...
hormonal.

Have you ever been to one?
I guess I can say that I've been to over 50. Not that I'm all into cheerleading, mind you. It's just that my dad started a video business about 20 years ago and since it's a family-run business and I'm family, well... you understand.

This one happened to take place at Musselman High School. A small competition in comparison to others I've witnessed, but not without the usual drama.
Spirits run very high. Coaches are stressed. Girls working on their hair to make sure it doesn't fall out during their routine. (Yes, I really mean that. They wear hair pieces. I've watched many a hair piece fly through the air during a routine!! Hilarious!)

And parents are watching their money disappear.
You figure $5 to get in, $25 for a shirt, $20 for the DVD, $10 for the little teddy bear, $3 for flowers, $10 for food...

But the absolute most fun part of the whole thing?
Watching the squad immediately after their performance.
We have it worked out that the girls come over to our table immediately following their routine to watch themselves on our tv. It's the epitome of instant gratification.
Girls scream. Girls cry. Girls hug. Girls throw up.
I love it.

Today's competition was tight. I usually can tell you who won just by their reaction when they come to the table. Today, I got 2 out of 3.
Musselman came in second. (Go Applemen!)
Wildwood took the top slot.
We'll be heading to Jefferson in 2 weeks for the "Mustang Classic"...
Can't wait!

Note:
No girls were witnessed with their head in a trash can at today's competition.
Oh well.
There's always next time.

Working out the Bugs

I've been going around and around in my head trying to decide if I should try to start my own blog. I don't know if I'll have anything to say that will be of any interest to anyone, but that's okay.
As I sit here thinking about what to say in this first post, Katelynn is fussing about whatever 2 year olds fuss about, Lacy is fussing because she's working on her "me" collage for school in our bedroom and Daddy just walked in and got in her space. Jenna is in her crib fussing because...well...she doesn't really even need a reason.
Belle is barking and scratching at the door trying to get our attention so she can come in and I swear, a spider just tried to crawl into my ear.
Maybe I should rethink this blog thing...