Wordless Wednesday: Child's Play

Halloween Happenings

* On the way to the Kids Karnival at First Evan:
Bear: "Roll, roll, roll your dope."
It's a very good thing she didn't realize what she was singing. With a little coaching, her pronunciation improved and she sang the correct lyrics.

* The main area was a little overwhelming for her. The big bounce house was too noisy for her taste. She liked the bean-bag toss, and digging through fake leaves. She also liked putting swim rings around cones. But her favorite part was Toddler Town, a room where the
A/C actually worked and the kids were her size or smaller. The bounce house in the Toddler Town was smaller and quieter, too. She had fun sliding down the Little Tikes slide, and slideing blow-up animals down the slide. Tech Mom, hubby and I were glad there were chairs set up for the parents. I had to remove her costume in order to change her diaper, and by the time we got home, Bear did not want to put it back on, so no trick-or-treating for us. She did get candy at the Kids Karnival. And she had fun giving the kids that came to Tech Mom's door their treats... except when one particular boy with a fake-bloody mask leaned over so she could put the candy in. Maybe next year....

5 minutes for Mom is going retro for this giveaway!
Head over to their blog and post a link on yours to have a chance to win this pedal car or something else (like an old-fashioned record-player) from their Pedal Cars and Retro Store


Their store has a lot of things I can only dream about getting for my daughter,
so winning something would be awesome!

Good luck!

i love cable tv

****************
Hubby has some work assignments in the vicinity of where his parents live this week, so Bear and I packed up our vehicle and drove over on Monday. I'm not sure which one of us will miss cable more when we get home. Bear is loving the DVR access to Little Einsteins and Dora. I'm enjoying the break from our usual PBS shows.

One of our friends came over for dinner last night. I made a veggie beef soup recipe from a Southern Living Slow-Cooker recipe book. Except Tech Mom's crock pot is little, so I ended up simmering it on the stove all afternoon. It turned out really, really yummy. And there are plenty of leftovers. I supposed it would be pretty easy to halve the recipe to make a smaller batch.

I finished reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter around 1 a.m. this morning. It was a good read. Of course, I am now pretty groggy since my daughter wakes up before I do. She has ben sleeping in until around7:30.

I should be contacting some other old friends and trying to see them while we're in town. But part of me is just really enjoying relaxing. Maybe I'll feel more social after I shower and brush my teeth....

Aahh...

Baby Bear is asleep, following a fun-filled and very festive weekend. We had a big family birthday party for her on Saturday, and I've posted lots of pics on her blog, aka my online scrapbook. I really need to work on her real scrapbook.

You know your 2 year old is tired when:
a) she says "night-night" at the dinner table
b) she practically falls asleep on her daddy while finishing her sippy cup of milk
c) after proclaiming "'all done!" she throws her empty cup on the ground and proceeds to start snoring while in her daddy's arms

...at 5:20 p.m.

She loved having her cousins and some of her aunts and uncles and both sets of grandparents come visit. We missed those who were not able to make it, but hope to see them soon! She received sooo many wonderful gifts. One of the best gifts was the cake which my talented and crafty sister designed and made. She's just begun teaching herself to decorate cakes, but she does it like a pro already. After everyone left, hubby and I took turns taking naps. He slept on the couch while Bear and I went upstairs to play, then he and Bear played while I napped. He even cleaned up some for me! I woke up to a not-crumby kitchen floor, the card table and chairs were put away, and the rocking chair had been returned to the nursery.

Miracles happen...

this is my first time online all day. We ran errands, cleaned the house, and our family has begun to arrive. Tech Mom is reading Bear's library books. Hannah is delirious because it's past her bedtime, but her older cousins will be here shortly, so we're letting her wait up for them, unless she crashes first. She is singing her rendition of "The Wheels On the Bus" complete with hand motions. I have pics to upload from my camera.

Tomorrow's the last day to enter to win a PINK camera!

My Baby Bear is 2 years old today. Where has the time gone?

We're going to have a party this weekend. All 3 of her cousins will come, so it's gonna be wild. Do not be deceived, girls are not necessarily lower-energy than boys. Anyone who believes otherwise has never met Em and Mad. My sis is making her a panda bear cake. We decided on that a while back because of my daughter's nickname. Well, I was looking for panda-bear stuff at the factory card outlet, and Baby Bear decided she had to have a firefighter hat. So the kids will have firefighter party hats. So much for a single theme.

"A Letter from Jesus Christ to the Soul that Really Loves Him"
by John of Landsberg, 1555

One thing I have to warn you of especially is your constant tendency to grow fainthearted under the weight of your faults and oversights and an inclination almost to despair when a sudden lack of confidence reduces your firm decisions to nothing. I know those moods when you sit there utterly alone, eaten up with unhappiness, in a pure state of grief. You don't move towards me but desperately imagine that everything you have ever done has been utterly lost and forgotten. This near-despair and self-pity are actually a form of pride. What you think was a state of absolute security from which you've fallen was really trusting too much in your own strength and ability. Profound depression and perplexity of mind often follow a loss of hope, when what really ails you is that things simply haven't happened as you expected and wanted. In fact, I don't want you to rely on your own strength and abilities and plans, but to distrust them and to distrust yourself, and to trust me and no one and nothing else. As long as you rely on yourself you are bound to come to grief. You still have a most important to learn: your own strength will no more help you to stand upright than dropping yourself on a broken reed. You must not despair of me. You must hope and trust in me absolutely. My mercy is infinite..."

*******

This may have been written centuries ago, but it could have been written today. I found it in a lesson on self-centeredness as a form of idolatry. It hit home. I won't go into all the reasons why it affected me so personally, though those of you who know me well or have even read my blog a while might have some insight into that. It will suffice to say that it seems my heart is finally returning to a point of surrender, of drawing near to Him who knows the answers to all my questions. To Him who is bigger than any fears, and more fulfilling than any dreams.

It's like the fall rain brought refreshment for my soul.

Casting Crowns "East to West"

24 hours straight

That's how long it's been raining here. I'm not complaining, just observing. Bear has asked to go outside soo many times. Today it's just drizzling, so maybe I'll give her an umbrella and put her in her Land's End snow boots.

The grass is already greener, and not just on the other side of the fence. It's pretty cool to see how quickly just a couple of inches of rain can help turn things around. My mums are happier, too. I'm happier. Dragging the hose around the yard gets tiresome in 90-degree Indian Summer weather. It finally feels like Fall!!!!

Bear found some of my books on the end table and is "reading" and patting them. At least they are getting some use!

Looking for a fun creepy-crawly themed craft idea?

Check out Erin's latest post.

A movie that looks worth seeing....

Bella

cantaloupe update....

mr. beaver or woodchuck, whatever he may be, has left my cantaloupe plants alone for the past severral weeks. there are now 5 or 6 tiny cantaloupe (the size of the tip of my pinky or smaller) in the pot. i have picked off several flowers in hopes of sending the energy from the plant to the fruits that are already forming. i seriously doubt they'll be big enough to ripen and eat before the first frost, but it is the south, so stranger things have happened.

maybe i'll bring fresh cantaloupe planted by em and mad to their house for thanksgiving dinner?!?

Thankful Thursday- Here are some things I am grateful for today:

Last night's rain soaked our yard
Bear slept in until 8, and I eventually fell back asleep.
I remembered to put the trash out. It was quite full this week, so the garage would have been really stinky if I had forgotten. (That's usually hubby's job.)
Hubby can stay with family when working out of town this week... and keep Tech Mom company!
We live pretty close to the airport.
my sweet daughter
my loving hubby
God's grace

Bear fell asleep in the car on the way home from dinner... around 6 p.m. last night.

She has been asleep ever since.

Even through the rain.

I am thankful for the rain, by the way. My grass seed needs it. Upon doing further research, however, I hope I didn't plant my tulips too early. Too late if I did.

I woke up with a headache, and the ibuprofen finally kicked in.

As soon as I lay back down, I bet she'll wake up.

I would do some housework, but noises echo and that would certainly wake her up.

Argh.

Good morning, everyone!

Hope your day is off to a better start than mine!

I'm going to go see if my quest for more sleep is futile...

Farm Wife posted a poem for me. I feel so special!!!

Tackle It Tuesday

It's been a few weeks since I participated in this meme. Today's tackle is a work in progress (as are many). It began last week when I bought and planted some tulip bulbs. Since then I have been itching to add some extra soil and mulch to protect them.

Some tulip bulbs are planted along the sidewalk and around the sedum, which will die off after frost hits, providing the bulbs with the full sun they need. Here you can see the faded mulch under the birch (I plan to add fresh mulch there, too) with the new mulch in the background:

Here's the side where I plan to extend the bed to the fireplace. I need to soak and dig up the existing dirt, add some compost, and then split the 2 daylily plants which haven't been split yet and plant the 2 "new" plants in the new extension. Then I will mulch that area. In the Spring, I hope to transplant some ornamental grasses from my dad's yard to hide the meter a bit. I wasn't sure if I had enough mulch for the extension, so I began by working on the existing flower beds.

More tulip bulbs are clustered in front of these 2 shrubs and behind the mum.

I finished this before 9 a.m., then I called Jackie and realized I should have checked my e-mail. Her kids are sick with bronchial crud, and our plans to meet today have been thwarted. I may finish my tackle during Bear's nap. Right now my little bundle of energy is taking Snook the sloth's suggestion and asking to play hide and seek.

2:20 p.m. update:

Tackle Complete!!!!

The undivided day lilies were soo overcrowded along the garage. They were begging for breathing room. I had divided the front 2 plants to give some to my sis, but 2 were still overcrowded. Plus, the "new" plants will provide life for the extension until I decide what else to put there. And I think the extension gets rid of an awkward space between the old edge of the garden and the fireplace.

If you've never dug out a flower bed before... it's hard work. First, I took my spade and stabbed the ground until it loosened. Then I got the hose and drenched the area. Throughly. The initial loosening helped the water go down into the hard clay-ish dirt. That enabled me to turn over the dirt in the whole area before dumping compost mix on it and mixing the old and new soil. Then I dug the two holes where I wanted my day lilies. Next, I took my spade over to the side of the garage and stabbed the day lilies in the middle. I lifted up to get approximately half the roots, and was able to pull the divided plants out with minimal mess. I made the holes a little bigger, added more compost, dropped the clumps of lilies in, and pressed the soil around them. Then I watered them some more. To pull the area together, I dumped a bag of mulch over the area. taking care not to crush the flowers too much. The edging isn't perfect, because we only have a narrow rounded edge spade, but it'll do. The area should be ready for future plantings. After dumping mulch around the base of the birch, I watered my mums, lilies, hostas and tiny struggling mini rose plant with all-purpose plant food.

Now if the seed that hubby put down will just miraculously grow in an instant...

What are you tackling today?

here we go again....

our yard was aerated today. the problem is, it has been so dry that the ground is really hard. so it doesn't look as much like cows have trampled through our yard as it did last fall. we gave up watering the grass when the summer heat continued to be too stifling, so the lawn is in need of some TLC. the lawn guy came and did the work for us for less than it would have cost to rent a push-aerator from home depot. that's a no-brainer. hubby's going to seed and fertilize. i spent 20 minutes picking up rocks after laying bear down for her nap. she has decided the retaining wall makes a fun balance beam to walk on, and i opted not to tempt her today. i picked up 5 gallons of rocks of all sizes which were dug up by the spikes on the aerating tractor. then i dumped them where the sidewalk ends.

it's a breezy day, but still far too warm for this time of year. i prefer crisp fall air. this feels more like a midwestern summer.

you can call me the airport shuttle... i've been there twice so far in the past two days, and will be heading back tonight to pick up someone and thursday to pick up someone else. bear loves looking for the airplanes and going under the runway bridges (aka "tunnels").

ok, after playing outside with bear this morning, then picking up rocks, i think i should shower before hubby gets home.

p.s. i forgot to mention that i get to see jackie and meet her kiddos tomorrow! we're meeting halfway betwen her parents' and our house. yay!!! we graduated from high school together way back when. she is one of my blogging buddies and friends irl. :)

Can you read this? I can.

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, t he olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a ta otl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.

I lifted it off of Barbara Curtis' blog.

Who am I?

It's funny that personality profiling came up in a conversation I had last week. It made perfect sense in the context of the conversation. Well, when my friend FarmWife shared her test results, I decided it was time for a review assessment.

newsflash

I sponge mopped and towel-dried the kitchen floor this afternoon. Hubby kept bear from getting her paws all over my nice, clean hardwood. So no tiny footprints have been left behind.

Miracles do happen.

Got coffee?

So, on our way home from Bec's b-day celebration with the fabulously adorable pumpkin cake with yummy homemade buttercream frosting and a green ice-cream-cone-stem, I had hubby swing into starbucks to see if they had any used coffee grounds. For the first time in the months I've been doing this, they had some all packaged in a pretty silver bag with a sticker explaining the potential benefits. Usually I just get a sack full straight out of the "discard" can.

When I came out to the car, bear was chantimg "coffee!" Hubby said she exclaimed ,"Mama's coffee cup!" the whole time I was in there (20 seconds, perhaps).

If my child develops a coffee addiction, I hold both sets of grandparents responsible. One set for actually making it, the other for the grounds-for-gardening idea.

I'm going to drink a glass of milk and try to get back to sleep. I will resist the temptation to put grounds out in my flowered at 3 a.m. Mostly because our streetlights don't work and the stillness of the night freaks me out a bit. Well, it does tonight. I will not be watching any scary Halloween movies...

Have you ever done this before?

I've been thinking about easier to learn crafts, and Pretty Punch came to mind. It's something me and my sis did as kids, and it's in a box somewhere at my parents'. Dad mentioned it not-so-long- ago and I've been wondering if it could be used to make cute burp cloths and baby accessories. Because an embroidery sewing machine is so darn expensive.

my sister made her own birthday cake

and we get to help eat it tomorrow. (her birthday was the 8th. she's a quarter of a century young.)

it looks almost too cute to eat... almost...

Who am I kidding?

Extending a flowerbed takes a lot of work. I am not sure I am that motivated this fall. Plus, it's far too nice outside today to spend it indoors, cleaning. Upon laying Bear down for her nap, I went outside to plant the tulip bulbs which I purchased at Costco yesterday. Here's a pic of the package label:

I saved a few for my sister, and I'm hoping that we both get a good mix of the colors. I couldn't tell which bulb will produce which color bloom.

While I was at it, I pulled up ("lifted" is the gardening term) 6 of the gladiola corms. See, most of my research says glads are tender and should be lifted. But I found a couple of articles indicating that some people have had pretty decent luck with their glads coming back in this region of the country. My Dad said he doesn't lift his... some return and some die. So I'm experimenting. I lifted some and left some in the ground. I even rinsed the dirt off them and dried them according to recommendations.. hopefully our garage is cool enough for proper storage. Here they are:


See the baby corms on one of the mamas? Isn't it amazing that something so ugly can produce such a brilliant bloom? Oh, and the darker part of each of the bigger corms is the shriveled remains of the corm that produced the blooms this summer. I did have to laugh as I cleaned them, though. I remembered how last Spring, when I told Hubby's Gramma I had planted glads, she had said something along the lines of them being too much work for her and "good luck". Of course, where she lives, they will not survive the winter underground. But I never thought I would see the day where I would be more motivated to do something than Gramma! Plus, these glads were soo pretty that I don't want to risk losing all of them. And if the corms I lifted to survive the winter, as well as the other glad corms, I can plant them to come up later than the others, prolonging the color. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

****
I found these instructions on how to plant bulbs, and the author's writing style amused me. Plus, he kept it simple...

Refreshed

That's how I feel today. Now I haven't started my chores, so that may change shortly. Bear and I spent some time outside after breakfast. A neighbor's friendly kitty was roaming around our patio, and of course Bear wanted to go outside to pet her. We played with her balls that cannot hold enough air to actually bounce. We watched Mr. Yard guy turn on his sprinklers. We waved byebye to her friends as they left for school, and we went for a short trike ride. We also picked up rocks from our yard and filled half a 5 gallon bucket with them. All while she was still in her footed jammies. We came inside and washed our hands, changed her into some comfy leggings and a cute top from her stash of hand-me-downs from em and mad. I noticed her legs are slimming down some. Now we're watching the "Talking Hands" sign language video. She loves it. She is copying the signs and the words.

Oh, and it was apparently 47 degrees this morning and may not reach 70today. Yay!!! Fall is here! The lawn guy is supposed to aerate the yard today, and after he does that, I plan to extend the flower bed. (Well, I plsn to fo th flower bed within the next couple of weeks.) Still debating on whether or not to create a bed around the mailbox. I bought a bag of "ebony and ivory" tulips at costco yesterday... dark purples, whites, and white-edged purple flowers. 60 bulbs for $13. So now I have to make room for them!! I might hold a few aside for part of my sister's birthday present. I think our girls will have fun helping us plant them. They are in that stage where they want to help with everything, and a little dirt never really hurt a kid. Or a lot of dirt, for that matter.

traditions

I hope that the trip to the Pumpkin Patch will become an annual tradition for us. Do you and your family have any Fall traditions?

autumn may not be in the air yet....

but the decor is....

89 degrees

That's the current temp here in middle TN. That means it was at least a couple of degrees warmer during our little outing to the pumpkin patch. We now have a festive fall display of corn stalks, 2 pumpkins, and 3 gourds next to our front door. I predict at least one of the pumpkins will get smashed by our little bear at some point. The stems are already broken off. It seems wrong to have worn a tank top blouse to the pumpkin patch, but it was so warm.... Anyway, Tech Mom and I scoped out the location to see if they were open today. We had passed the sign yesterday on our way down to the Country Ham Festival, where my parents had Dad's artwork on display. Bear got to see all her Grandparents, her youngest Aunt, and her younger cousin all in the same day.

Anyway, all day yesterday Tech Mom had told Bear that she would buy her a pumpkin. And today we found the farm and she kept her promise before heading home.

All these pre-Autumn festivities bring back memories of the first small town where we lived in the Midwest when I was a child. This is the town where my elementary school was in walking distance, and there was an Appaloosa horse farm just a short walk down the street in the other direction. This time of year, we would go on hayrides at the apple orchard in the next town over and watch them press the apples for cider in the mill. They also made fresh cake donuts there. Donuts that put Krispy Creme to shame for imitating such a rich treat. Not that I don't like K.C. I do. But the real homemade cake donuts stick with you better instead of giving you that sugar rush that ends as a sugar crash. Anyway, it was fun to see my daughter's excitement as she tried to pick a pumpkin that probably weighed as much as she does, and when we returned home she played with her gourds and picked up our pumpkins.

After we got back from the pumpkin patch, Hubby cleaned out our car, vacuuming everything and febreezing the car seat. It had been at least 6 months since the vehicle had that kind of TLC.

p.s. I "chatted" with a former classmate from childhood, and she said the orchard is still going strong. Am I crazy for wanting to drive up there for some fresh cider and donuts to dunk?

I should have known I couldn't stay off. Yep my addiction is bad. But at least I am not alone ;->

I got a lot done this morning... a good start. Bear actually played well mostly on her own. Her room is a mess, with blankets all over. And stuffed animals. And blocks. We did take a "break" and go outside for a few minutes. She helped me water the flowers. She actually gets the water on the flowers a lot more frequently. And our little maple tree that is in the part of our yard that is not really our property, but future development. It sprouted from seed this spring and is a tad shorter than her. It's so cute, and it reminds me of Michigan. Oh, I could go for fresh milled apple cider and cake donuts and a hayride in crisp autumn air! Oh, and fresh, real, no corn-syrup added maple syrup. But I digress...

Anyway... it's far from perfect, but so far I've:
washed dishes
swept the kitchen
picked up the living room
put fresh pillowcases on guest bed (the sheets were changed last week and haven't been slept on)
dusted living room and guest room.. you could actually see the dust layer on the tall dresser. ugh.
put 2 loads in the laundry
read a couple of books with baby bear
made sandwiches and introduced my child to hummus with artichokes in it- she liked playing with it more than eating it. she thought it was hysterical when she mashed it between her fingers and dabbed it on her cheeks. at least olive oil is good for the skin.
folded towels and put them away


still to do:
clean guest bath
vacuum carpet
wash kitchen floor
de-clutter counter top (my archnemesis)
fold clean laundry
straighten bonus room (yeah, right... like i'll get to that!)
clean science projects out of fridge

Oh... get this. I just got a phone call from the tutoring center I worked for asking me to administer a test. First call I've had in nearly 2 years. Interesting. Too bad it's for tomorrow morning and I have family in town. (I really hope one of the other people she hasn't called yet can do it.)

Aack...

My house is a wreck. My own fault for procrastinating.
Hubby comes home today.
Tech Mom and Dad arrive tonight. At least their bed is almost ready. (It will be nice to have them.)
I realized I forgot a couple of things from the store... we're down to 4 diapers, plus any in the diaper bag. Coffee. I remembered the biscotti, but forgot to buy coffee. Actually the biscotti was an impulse buy on sale. No shock there.

I'm going to be tired tonight.


I swear, I may just have to have hubby password protect the computer. My addiction is that bad.

If you see me online before this evening, ask me what on earth I am doing here, ok?

the craft bug bit me again

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the dollar store had fake flowers, ribbon, and cornucopias for autumn. I am not into decorating for Halloween. Though I don't object to trick-or-treating or jack-o-lanterns per se, I don't get into the witches and black cats. Plus, Halloween and Thanksgiving are so close together, it seems silly to decorate for both. I use the term "decorate" loosely. Anyone who knows me or has read this blog for any decent length of time knows that my home decor is fairly minimal. Not many pictures or paintings, knick-knacks restricted to out of reach places, and until today, I used the same wreath on my door for the past 4 years. Season in, season out. I may have put another one up at some point, but if I did, I have no idea where I stored it.

Anyway, I opted to wait to purchase my cornucopia and stuffing supplies until checking out the pre-made things at other places. Just in case I came across any good deals. I didn't. So today I decided to see what I could do with that cornucopia. It is too thick to fit between the storm door and main door, so I hope it doesn't blow away.




Oh, the first thing Bear did when she saw it was say "party hat" and put it on her head. :)

analysis paralysis, anyone?

just checking....

the cat's got my tongue

imaginary cat, that is. or perhaps lola, the cat from down the street who thinks everyone else's garage is her home. there's just not much to blog on here about. the weather? it's starting to feel more like fall. tackles? ummm... does pinning my daughter down to change her diaper count? perhaps i'll find something to post for wordless wednesday. my garden? been there, done that... over and over. but if you really care to know, my mums are finally starting to bloom.

last night we had a bloggy reunion of sorts with Samantha from Mommy University and her hubby and precious daughter Lilly (and some other people). Baby Bear tried to steak Lilly's toys. she got some pics on her camera... my batteries had died.

anyway, hubby's going to bed, and i think i'll join him.


yawn.