It's Back...

This lovely porta potty is sitting in my neighbor's yard. On and off for the past three years a porta potty has graced the front lawn of the neighbor's house. It is a source of contention for me. I DESPISE the toilet. Mainly because it is right there, by the sidewalk, in plain view as I look out my windows or while we are outside in the yard. AARRRGGHHH! Three years, people. THREE YEARS!!

On a happy note: My sweet baby girl is now 6 years old!! Let me tell you what! She was some excited to be turning six! On the morning of her birthday she came into my room and said, "Mommy! I'm six years old now!" in her little munchkin voice! It was like she didn't think I knew it was her birthday. Silly, sweet girl! Then as we were getting ready to go to school, she climbed into her car seat and proclaimed, "My head reaches the headrest now!! I'm bigger!!" So cute. She was like that all day. She could run faster, read better, etc. All because she'd turned six years old! Ed and I brought cupcakes to her class and Ed read a story and talked about his work - more star of the week stuff. The kids LOVED having Ed there. They had lots of really good questions for him. And Allison was so proud of her daddy - you could tell. It was a super fun day! The celebrating continued this weekend with a birthday party with her friends. Good times.

Happy Birthday, Little Miss!

Monday Ramblings

I'm curious about the shredded tissue phenomenon that sometimes happens in the clothes dryer. Actually, I'm more curious about why sometimes the tissues DON'T shred but instead cling to EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. OF. CLOTHING. in the dryer! Have you noticed this at your house or is it just me? Sometimes when a tissue is left in a pants pocket I open the dryer to find what looks like a tissue EXPLODED in there. Other times there are whole sheets of tissue clinging to the clothes. The sheer volume of tissue sheets would indicated that tissues actually multiply when exposed to high heat! I know you all don't really care about the laundry woes but...
The guinea pig is still sweet and cute. We all still like her. She seems to be used to us now and gets a little excited when she sees Ed especially. Ed brings her treats like cucumbers and carrots. She goes CRAZY for cucumbers! You see, Ed may not want us all to thinks he likes animals but he really does. He can't help it that he's so sweet...
Allison is the star of the week at school. That just means that we (Ed and I) can go visit her classroom and maybe do something special with them. I'm going in tomorrow to read them a story called I Met A Moose In Maine One Day. If you have children you have to get this book. The pictures are wonderful, the story is rhymey (is that a word?), and it talks about different places in Maine. Very cute. Then we will make moose puppets from a pattern I found and brown lunch bags. I think it'll be fun. Ed will visit her class on Thursday and bring cupcakes. Allison will like having her dad in her class!
Yesterday was spring. Today is winter again. I'm glad we got to enjoy some warm weather. I'm not glad that it snowed today. Soon it will be warm all the time. I can't wait.
I watched some of the movie Australia today. I didn't get to finish it yet but so far it's AWESOME. Check it out if you can.
Gotta go.

Thursday Ramblings

This is the first day I haven't gone to school with my children in quite some time. I'm cleaning my house but figured I could spare a few minutes to tend to the blog. I'm also listening to K-Love. I LOVE that radio station! If you don't get it in your area you can listen online anytime! I think Lucy is glad to have me home with her - although she seemed confused when I showed up after taking the girls to the bus stop. She's got her own little routine when we aren't home, I think.
It's funny how blessings come in many different packages. Yesterday at work I was DREADING recess duty. It was very cold! So I bundled up and hoped the time would go by quickly. After I'd been out only a few minutes a little boy came up to me and took my hand. He's in first grade and has autism. I helped in the cooking class with him last week and obviously he remembered me. I asked if he wanted to walk around with me and he did. So off we went. Then this other little boy - who I'd never seen before - came up and took my other hand. Very sweet. We walked around together for the entire recess. That made my day! By the way, Allison was out at recess but she's much too busy being SOCIAL to hang out with her mom! That's okay, I love watching her play with her friends. It makes me glad to know that she is just fine while she's away from home.
I haven't had much luck broiling steak lately. The last time I tried the steak actually CAUGHT ON FIRE! I was a little freaked out when I pulled a flaming steak from the oven! Last night I thought I'd give it another try. Needless to say I was a bit wary. I kept a watchful eye on the broiler pan but I couldn't help getting nervous when I heard lots of sizzling and saw some smoke. I pulled it out and gave up my attempt at broiling. I then proceeded to put the steak in the microwave - I know, YUCK! Fortunately it tasted just fine with A-1 sauce! Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I think I'll stick with grilling.
Allison's birthday is coming up soon. We are having a bowling party and she's invited her entire class! Twenty kids! I'm either crazy or stupid - or both!! Should be a fun, silly, rambunctious time!!
Gotta go clean the upstairs now!

Our New Family Member

This is Cookie - she's a Guinea Pig, in case you couldn't tell. We got her yesterday because my husband is a complete and total push over when it comes to his daughters. They asked him if they could have a guinea pig, he said SURE, we went to Petco and got one. My parents NEVER allowed rodent related animals in our home - there wasn't any real discussion about it - it was never an option. Do I feel slighted in some way because of it? - NO. Am I against having a rodent related animal in our home? - NO. This guinea pig is very sweet and she makes the most adorable little cooing and squeaking sounds. We love her already.