Praying for Norman

If you are inclined to pray, please pray for Stormin' Norman - our 20 year old truck. Preparing to leave tonight, Hubby realized the air-conditioning is leaking INTO the floor board.

Not good.

I don't want to drive 22 hours back to Colorado with wet feet - or - without A/C.

He's been working on the problem for at least 2 hours. Pray for him to find the problem and be able to fix it.

Our plan was to leave early tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Pray that we're able to do so.

Pictures of Home

Yesterday we drove to eastern Kentucky, where my parents live, and I think it's one of the prettiest places on earth.

Thought I'd "culture" you a bit.

My neck of the woods has its own special soft drink. It's like a ginger ale. Locals call it ALE8. Some fast food places even carry it "on tap" (as in a fountain drink, because this is a dry county and liquor sales are illegal here.)

Actually, if you want to be technical, the name is Ale8-One. If you say it fast, it might sound like "a late one" adopted as a pun, being a description of the lastest thing in soft drinks in 1926.

The bottles are golden. Well, almost. If you return them, the store will give you $0.30 EACH for the bottles. Crazy to think there's such a recycling program in this neck of the country.
On my way back from the store today, I pulled to the side of the road for a funeral procession. I don't think I ever did that in Phoenix. I love small towns. Except when I have to go to the grocery.

The grocery stores aren't the greatest. According to Time, one reason southerners are so fat is because the grocery stores are fewer. Interesting article, but I don't wholly agree with all the conclusions.

Less I digress, my mom has an incredible garden!

I was in heaven today. Wish I could stay and pick and eat and eat and pick all summer. Then I would be fat.

With the cabbage, I made sauerkraut. Yum.
As a perfect ending to a perfect day, our family went out to eat at Halls on the River. All nine of us ate outside on the patio, right next to the river. The kids threw bread over the balcony to HUGELY fat carps. My dinner? Beer cheese nachos, fried cheese, fried banana peppers, fried hush puppies. Could this be why southerners are fat?

Maybe, it's the super-pimped-up ice cream trucks. Seriously, the ice cream truck in my sister's neighborhood is the NICEST truck I've ever seen. Even funnier, the music was, "This Little Light of Mine."

Only in eastern Kentucky, y'all.

Tooth Fairy

Trying to console a screaming child, the dentist said, "You need to lay still so that the Tooth Fairy will visit you once this tooth is out."

It didn't convince Mr. Intensity to calm down. It was traumatic, y'all. I'm here to testify.

Walking down the hall, after he was free from torture, he whispered to me, "Mom, there isn't a Tooth Fairy," as if keeping a secret from the dentist.

Well, the Tooth Fairy still brought him a present.

It isn't the typical Tooth Fairy gift. And Mr. Intensity isn't the typical child. Ahem. Bottle caps anyone?

It's 225 glorious feet of nylon string. And I'm proud to report at least 200 feet of it has been unraveled in very important projects, tasks, and imaginative play.
Thanks for the wonderful gift, Magaw and Grandpa Majors. You'll find various lengths of said string in your car that we've borrowed.

Bowling

Bowling is now on the top of his "fun things to do" list. He would have stayed all day...especially after the management raised the bumpers (no more gutter balls!)
It was inexpensive, too. The games were only $1 each. That's at least twenty attempts at heaving an eight pound ball down the alley. And I mean heave, as in shot put.

I think the management was glad to see us go.

Snaggle Tooth

The inevitable happened. Mr. Itensity fell and broke one of his front teeth (at the root). We're out of town. Wouldn't really matter much because he's not yet been to a dentist. I hate that his introduction to the dentist was so traumatic. Poor kid will be scarred for life.

I was in the bedroom and heard the thud in the kitchen, then the cry. You know, the kind of cry that says, "I'm really hurt." Then he said in partial disbelief, "My tooth!!"

I didn't want to look.

He slipped on a rug, on hardwood floors. My sister said the same happened to her daughter at 2 years old, resulting in stitches in the forehead.

Hubby called one of his college friends, who is now an orthodontist. After seeing the picture, Dr. Eberle recommended x-rays at a dentist's office.
The dentist pulled his tooth.
It was agony. I think I cried more than him (Mr. Itensity...the dentist didn't cry.)

Now he's at the zoo with grandparents. He's eaten a Frosty and now cotton candy. I think he'll be fine.
I'm just thankful it wasn't worse. One bloggy momma recently spent a horrible night in the ER with her almost 4-year old son, who had a concussion.

Natural Deodorant

Last summer I made deodorant using this recipe. It worked for me, I didn't stink. However, there are a few things I don't like about that recipe.

First, is the application. It's not as fast as a stick or roll on...and it is a bit cumbersome to apply. The shea butter and coconut oil are hard at room temperature, the deodorant has to be rolled around in your hand before it's soft enough to apply.

Secondly my clothes were stained. When washed, it mostly came out fine. Just looked gross.

This spring, I began wearing over the counter deodorant without antiperspirant. Most sticks or roll ons contain antiperspirant (which is what contains aluminum - the link to Alzeheimers.) It was in the men's section, as all women's deodorant also has antiperspirant.

One day my husband came home asking about a deodorant rock. A guy in the gym recommended it to him, said it worked wonderful.

I remembered a sample I had received from a health food store in Phoenix so I pulled it out.

We've been using it ever since. They can be purchased at Whole Foods, too.

To apply, wet the stone with water then rub it on. I still sweat, but I don't stink. And it's natural!! Anyone else been using the deodorant rock?

Another natural application:: Insect Repellent with essential oils.

Photos from the Truck

I think these pictures were taken somewhere in Kansas. Definitely on I-70. Definitely in the front of an '89 Chevy.

This first one makes me laugh (well, they both make me laugh - that's why I'm sharing.)

Some children are comforted by blankies or soft toys. My child finds comfort from a bungee cord.

He's listening to The Indian and the Cupboard, downloaded from audiblekids.com. It's the best $15 I've spent all summer. It was a sanity saver on our 22 hour drive from Colorado to Kentucky.

The next picture actually shocked me. I *thought* my foot was large at a size 9. It won't be long before his foot is as big as mine!

For those of you with 5ish year old boys - is this foot comparison the same for you? He wears a size 1, I think.

Happy Birthday America!!

Mr. Intensity participated in a parade this morning, with a hoarde of other Campus Crusade kids.

We decorated his bike with red, white and blue bottle caps (surprise!) as well as a bit of crepe paper.

The parade route was basically around the apartment complex. At one point he asked, "Where are all the people who are supposed to be watching us?"

Tonight there will be a picnic in the apartment's green space and we'll watch fireworks from here. City park is shooting fireworks just a few blocks away.

Tomorrow morning we're driving (18 hrs) to Kentucky and will work on raising support.

Mr. Popular

Who would have thought that a trash can full of bottle caps would make him so popular?

Hubby came inside and said, "Have you see the posse outside? Grab your camera before you go."

The girls had turned up their dresses so they could carry more bottle caps. In the picture above, you can see the boy on the left doing the same with his shirt. The kids were all so thrilled to have some of the bounty.

I snapped the picture then walked inside. Minutes later I heard chanting. Quietly at first then enthustically louder, "Bot-tle caps ** BOT-TLE CAPS!!** BOT-TLE CAPS!!!"

He had them in the palm of his hands, just where he wanted them.

Mr. Intensity ran onto the embankment "OK, now, I'm going to throw these bottle caps like I'm in a parade and these are candy."

The children scrambled furiously for the pieces of trash, as if they were indeed candy.

He was relishing the fact they were listening and obeying his commands.

"OK, now, we're going to play hide and seek with these," as he tossed one on the ground. Again, the children scrurried to pick up the treasures.

I'm not sure what he enjoys most: giving away the bottle caps or having the children follow his orders.

Long Live Bottle Caps