The Boys' Weekend (and more)

Hubby took Mr. Intensity (now 8.5 years old) on a boys' camping weekend.  They first spent a day just the two of them hiking and camping in the Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky.  Hubby wanted to talk seriously about the next phase of life, the traps John Isaac would encounter and how to handle them.  My man put some serious planning time into this weekend.  Maybe I can coerce him to write a blog post about it later, but one snippet I will share.

Hubby warned him about traps like drugs, alcohol and pornography.  (As his parents we were almost certain that somewhere, someone, had shown him a picture.  Maybe it was just my fearful side fretting.)  John Isaac's response to a general description of porn?  "WHAT?!  That's disgusting!!"  Whew.

Meanwhile, the littles and I were keeping things calm at home.  Checking in on our friends.  On one of (her nine!) cell phones.

 We made homemade chocolate pudding.

Is it just me, or do other moms clean out kids' rooms when they leave?  I found this note on the floor and almost died laughing (or I would just cry at his bossy-ness).  The sleeves to which he is referring to below are for Pokemon cards.  The kid LOVES to dicker.  It wears. Me. Out.  I think this note was meant for his dad since they go to Barnes and Noble and read books on Sunday afternoon.  Hubby picks which books John Isaac has to read first before he can read the "brain candy" books he's drawn to.

 Sister applied her own lipstick and said, "It's soooo pwetty!"

 I found this picture from 8 years ago.

It's about the same age as Schaeffer, now.  I cannot believe how much they look alike.  Below Schaeffer is wearing an outfit that the other two have worn.  He is smiling because HE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!   Yes, it only took him FOUR MONTHS but the kid is sleeping more than 4 hour stretches at night.

 At one point in the weekend, I walked into Schaeffer's room to find this doll sleeping in his crib.  On her tummy, like Schaeffer, with the sound machine on.  LOUD.  Cracked me up.

 With all my extra sleep I actually had the energy to finish my curtain project.  Hallelujah. 

 The temperatures dipped almost to freezing (where are you spring?!) so the tomatoes had to be covered.

 The weather in Kentucky was perfect.  Can you find Mr. Intensity, below?  He's wearing camo, of course.

 Kentucky has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, especially in the spring.

 After the father/son hike, they met Hubby's college buddy and sons at my parents' farm.  My dad really went out of his way to prepare for their stay.  He mowed a spot in the pasture, brought them a rick of firewood, set up the cinder block fire ring, made a little bucket/board bench and set out a huge trash can.

I probably don't have to tell you the boys (young and old) had a blast. 

Until it threatened rain with certainty.  :(  So Scott and his three boys went home a day early and my guys slept in my parents' house the last night.

They're home now.  And it's Hubby's turn to read this book.  It is currently Sister's all time favorite and I think I have it memorized..."How the wind blew!"

Brother re-discovered a book at my parents' house, brought it back to ours and read it to Sister.  Very sweet times. (Until they start bickering tomorrow.)

So that was our week/weekend.  How was yours?

The Weekend

We attempted an updated family picture.  The cute little thing on the far right used many creative expressions.  The above picture is my favorite in the bunch.

Friday night, a neighbor gave us tickets to Disney on Ice.  We also scored FREE curb parking across from the arena.

Sister wore (one of) her princess outfit(s).  She was so excited and wanted her turn to dance on the ice. She chatted to me the entire performance.

Saturday we cleaned out the guest room and Hubby put together the crib for Baby Schaeffer.  He has been sleeping in our closet.  The sweet thing is still waking at 3 &6am.

Sunday Tom Sawyer had a friend help him wash our neighbor's van.  The neighbor offered (in a text) $20 for him to wash and detail the inside.  I told her that for this 8 year old, who isn't keen on details, $5 would be sufficient.  I asked him if he would like to wash her van.

Ever the entrepreneur, his first question was, "How much will she pay me?"  And he was thrilled for $5.

Another neighbor strolls past while he is washing the van and asks, "How much is the going rate for car washes these days?"

Promptly he pipes up, "Nine to fifteen dollars."  The boy likes to dicker.

Sunday night I pulled out the bin of 3T clothes I've been collecting for Sister.  My mom has been buying pieces and a neighbor gave me a BUNCH of clothes.  It seems like white is the color of choice, as she has at least 9 white shirts for the summer.  (I think I need to buy stock in OxyClean.)  I am so thankful for these clothes!

Speaking of white, she wore a white dress to the closing ceremony of Comm. Central (Brother's homeschool co-op) today, Monday.   Please notice the pink sparkly Hello Kitty shoes, they are now MIA - I think left on the playground.  My kids hate shoes.  Oh well, at least we left the house with shoes on the feet.

 The baby face is quickly leaving.

We came home and played in the yard.  Brother is loving playing in the creek behind our house these days.

And for nostalgia here's a picture from our wedding, almost 14 years ago.  The other two guys were some of Hubby's closest friends in college.  They still keep in touch.  This coming weekend all three guys and their sons are going camping, as they've done annually for years. (Here's a post from when they went in 2009).

Last but not least - if you're looking for a new recipe, here is one of our new favorites.  Last fall, I roasted several chickens and froze the meat in two cup portions.  You could use a rotisserie chicken from the deli, too.

The Weekend

(I love my neighborhood.)

This weekend Hubby put together Sister's "Big Girl Bed."  He said when he told her, she responded like she'd won a trip to Disneyland.  Super excited.  The bed was a gift from our across the street neighbor.

Friends one street over gave us the bedding.  That's four sets of sheets, a comforter, bedskirt and drapes (the last 3 aren't pictured).  She loves her new bed and has done well in it - as in, stays in bed during naps.

Saturday night we hosted a laid back yard party.  What's a laid back yard party you ask?  Well, everyone brought their own meat for the grill and a side dish to share.  It's laid back because I didn't have to fret if there would be enough food nor did I have to clean my house.  And people didn't have to stress about RSVPing because I told them not to.  I provided drinks and tableware.

Some of the first guests to arrive came on their 4-wheeler.  How fun is that?!  No hoity-toity golf carts in this 'hood, y'all.

The turn out was fabulous.  And a super fun laid back yard party if I do say so myself. 

Someone brought a set of croquet and some bocce balls.

 Alphonse won the fun award by bringing marshmallows for the kids to roast.

Today we worked a bit in our community garden.  Lots of new boxes have been added in the last two weeks.  The garden looks great. (Although this week's cold snap did a number on my tomatoes.  Boo.)

There are some houses for sale on my street if you're looking for a fabulous neighborhood.

Handmade Birthday Gift = LOVE

My talented and thoughtful BFF, Holly, who lives 3 doors down, painted a picture of my favorite birds in the world: the cedar waxwing.  They are truly beautiful birds that migrate through Arkansas this time of year in flocks robbing the holly bushes of their berries.  They even wear a cute little mask like bandits!

Because I'm unsure of copyright laws, I won't post a picture of a real one here.  But click here to see them on Google images.  I think they look so perfect some of them look like plastic.

The Weekend

1.  My parents sent a gift card to Target for the kids.  Caroline got a multi-pack of Princess shoes = totally adorable.  She calls the heels "wheels."  John Isaac got a flashlight and Pokemon cards.

2.  Governor Beebe signed the "raw milk bill." The sale of raw milk is now legal in the state of Arkansas.  This is totally awesome. 

3. Worked on our community garden.  I served a GIANT pot of beans and rice for lunch.   Kids had a blast in the dirt.

 4. Roasted marshmallows in the driveway with friends.  Super fun.

5. The best article I read all weekend: Sugar, not fat, exposed as deadly villain in obesity epidemic.

6. (saving the best for last) SCHAEFFER HAS STOPPED CRYING!!!!  ThankyouJesus!!!!  True to the definition of colic, he stopped crying around his 3 month birthday.  He was 3 months old on Thursday.

My Birthday

I have been celebrating 37.  As in, actively celebrating for a few days now.  It started Thursday night when my BFF cooked me up a coconut cream pie.  Delicious.

The next morning was my real birthday.  Hubby took the kids to pick out flowers and a balloon.  Caroline picked out a very big princess birthday balloon.  Please also note Dove chocolates on the table.

After a quick breakfast, we picked up a friend and scrambled to the Capitol.  House Bill 1536, otherwise known as the "Raw Milk Bill" was trying to get out of committee.  They were slated to meet at 9am but the time was delayed two hours.

 

I promised bribed the kids.  If they had good behavior during the committee meeting, I would reward them at Community Bakery.  Since we didn't make it to the committee meeting (are you kidding me - staying at the Capitol for 2 hours?!) we were eating sweets at 9:15.  Happy Birthday.

My dear husband let me go back at 11am by myself.  And I found a packed committee meeting.  Lots of raw milk supporters in central Arkansas.  Supporters of food freedom.  The bill passed out of committee (Friday) and was voted upon in the House today.  Yes, it is Saturday and our Representatives were voting.  It's the end of the session and they are trying to push things through.

Representative Alexander, the bill's sponsor, felt that if it passed in the House today that it should pass easily in the Senate.  We will see.  It passed in the House today.  Happy Birthday to me.

In the meantime, the weather is finally gorgeous.  We had an applesauce snack in the yard.  Some of us were topless.

The best I've saved for last... the bath.  I've lived in Arkansas over 12 years now and this was my first bath.  Well, first bath on bathhouse row in Hot Springs.  HB and I went to Buckstaff this morning and it was glorious.  Highly recommend it.  I will do it again.

I could write more but my little people need me.  It's been a great b-day.

Historic Central High School & Other Inspiration

In history we have been studying civil rights so it was only appropriate to visit a historic site right here in our town - Central High School.  This was the spot where state and national powers went toe to toe.  In 1957 then Govenor Faubus said that black students could not attend.  Weeks later President Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the "Little Rock Nine." These were the nine brave black students that wanted to go to Central High.  Today it continues to function as a high school, one of the best public schools in the state.  There are girls who live on our street that go to this school.

 Across the street from the school is now a visitor center that educates the masses.

 And just for review, we stopped by the capitol grounds to view the statues of the Little Rock Nine.

In other exciting educational news, we have been enamored by Perplexus.  It's a maze-like game with a small steel ball inside.  The one below belongs to a friend.

 

Caroline had her nails done last weekend at a birthday party.  She's wearing fake ones below.  Hilarious.  Such a diva.

And Schaeffer still cries but occasionally we see a smile.  Then I grab the camera.

Inspired me this week:

These are the lines of a story.  If you struggle with your body image because of having children - must read now.  All my life I've been slender but really struggled since having Schaeffer (yes, I know it's only been 9 weeks...but I have stretch marks that I never had before...and weight that is not coming off like it did with the other two children.)

To the parents of small children: Let me be the one who says it out loud.  My favorite line is his reply to well meaning parents of older children who say "enjoy every minute..." he writes: I usually smile and give some sort of guffaw, but inside, I secretly want to hold them under water. Just for a minute or so. Just until they panic a little. 

Up this week - spring break, sort of.  Since John Isaac is in third grade, the state requires (homeschool) testing.  Hubby and I decided to have him tested more extensively than the state offers.  So our third grader will test for 3 morning this week.

And, I am beginning to swim laps at a nearby community center with hopes of shedding a few pounds and getting back in shape.

New easy recipe from my friend Erin:

Creamy Salsa Chicken

cooked chicken, shredded or cubed

can of black beans

corn (I'm lucky enough to have some from my mom's garden)

salsa

block of cream cheese

Mix together and serve over rice.  Delish.  I cooked a whole chicken last night in the crock pot, deboned it today and added 2 cans beans, 2 cream chesse, 1 giant jar salsa, and quart package of frozen corn.   Heat, mix, and salt to taste. Yumma.  Enough for an army - I mixed this up in my already dirty crock pot that I'd cooked the chicken in.