I'm frustrated that Chapel collections haven't allowed our Catholic womens' group to maintain our current schedule and childcare without a lot of strife. I don't really want to overcome things, but I suppose we're going to have to, and the changes are going to be ongoing for the next few months. Man, change is not easy. How cool is this deck and children's play area? In my someday house... a friend of mine has a more simple idea of this at her house already, but not so beautifully executed. We tried these sweet potato fries the other night minus the dip they suggested... due to a lack of sriracha. They turned out OK, but next time I need to use about half the cornstarch. Also, apple butter was a perfectly acceptable dip substitute, especially for my children! Deployment is nearing an end, YAY!! But my husband is going to come home looking HOT! I'm feeling slightly self conscious -- and I didn't expect that. Over on Conversion Diary, Jennifer actually wrote about reusable toilet paper, and suggested that those of us who use cloth diapers might know something about it or be more likely to consider it... WELLLLLLL... I cloth diaper, BUT I use disposable wipes. I know, I'm half a**ing it, but I'm OK with that, and the idea of washing diaper-like laundry indefintely does not appeal. AT ALL. I'll be a latecomer to that bandwagon, if I ever get on it! I cannot seem to find pants that fit my 7 year old. We've mainly tried Walmart, since it's the only option that's close and the PX has NOTHING in his size(s). It doesn't help that he's in between an 8 and a 10. Turns out that it's a big gap between those sizes! So we're off to the mall, 90 minutes away this weekend... Ahhhh, country living.
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
Friday, November 04, 2011
Friday, November 12, 2010
Seven Quick Takes...
There's an icon that goes with this, but as I am not very blog/html savvy I'll just use this title.
1) This week has had a lot of ups and downs, but I'm ending it on a very joyful up after a fantastic Bible Study get together with some local friends.
2) I am SO thankful for my genuine friends. My youth contained many false friendships, and while age and wisdom have saved me from having many of those as an adult, I love being reminded that I am Blessed to have genuine friendships. One of David's religion lessons this week was Proverbs 17:17 A friend is a friend at all times.
3) We've had a great week of Indian Summer, and while it's supposed to get cold tomorrow and is slightly drizzly today, I'm thankful to live in a place that has four seasons!
4) Finished Water for Elephants and One Thousand White Women in the last two weeks, but I'm behind in my non-fiction reading, so I'm feeling pulled toward that material this week -- yay for the Kindle and less expensive books -- great for a compulsive reader like me.
5) Yesterday was spent in Waynesville at the Veterans Day parade. Fun was had by all! Thank you to all the veterans out there and my own veteran (I love you, Shelly), for serving in our military. It's not an easy job/calling for these servicemen and women or their families.
6) Christmas cards came in the mail -- they are SO PRECIOUS!! Can't wait to send them out, but I have to wait 'til Thanksgiving (oh, and write the "year in the life of the Ferrells" blurb -- something new for me).
7) Some neighbor kids had a stomach flu, that we, have so far managed to avoid despite having spent hours together in the last week... I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to fall!
Looking forward to a relaxing weekend! (might be my fave pic from the summer session with a friend of mine -- I'm pretty sure I have the cutest kids on the whole planet)
There's an icon that goes with this, but as I am not very blog/html savvy I'll just use this title.
1) This week has had a lot of ups and downs, but I'm ending it on a very joyful up after a fantastic Bible Study get together with some local friends.
2) I am SO thankful for my genuine friends. My youth contained many false friendships, and while age and wisdom have saved me from having many of those as an adult, I love being reminded that I am Blessed to have genuine friendships. One of David's religion lessons this week was Proverbs 17:17 A friend is a friend at all times.
3) We've had a great week of Indian Summer, and while it's supposed to get cold tomorrow and is slightly drizzly today, I'm thankful to live in a place that has four seasons!
4) Finished Water for Elephants and One Thousand White Women in the last two weeks, but I'm behind in my non-fiction reading, so I'm feeling pulled toward that material this week -- yay for the Kindle and less expensive books -- great for a compulsive reader like me.
5) Yesterday was spent in Waynesville at the Veterans Day parade. Fun was had by all! Thank you to all the veterans out there and my own veteran (I love you, Shelly), for serving in our military. It's not an easy job/calling for these servicemen and women or their families.
6) Christmas cards came in the mail -- they are SO PRECIOUS!! Can't wait to send them out, but I have to wait 'til Thanksgiving (oh, and write the "year in the life of the Ferrells" blurb -- something new for me).
7) Some neighbor kids had a stomach flu, that we, have so far managed to avoid despite having spent hours together in the last week... I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to fall!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Weekend! (aka seven quick takes a day late)
1) I love weekends. The first thing I love about them is that I get to go for a long run with a few girlfriends from 6-8 am. This might sound crazy, but it has become MY TIME. Which is so important!
2) I can't wait to post pictures of the boys in their Indiana Jones costumes, and Kathleen in her pumpkin costume that I wore as a child and my brother and my boys. It's become a tradition, and my little girl gets her turn -- I'm sad that though -- she's growing too fast. But it's so fun to see them grow, such a tug-of-war in my heart!
3) Get to share parenting duties with my darling husband!
4) Kids get a little TV time, which they really enjoy now that we don't leave it on all the time.
5) Time to prep for school next week.
6) Might be having Chili for dinner tonight with friends. Maybe even s'mores over the fire afterward!
7) Mass on Sunday, MCCW, CCD and down time with the family to cap off the fun!
1) I love weekends. The first thing I love about them is that I get to go for a long run with a few girlfriends from 6-8 am. This might sound crazy, but it has become MY TIME. Which is so important!
2) I can't wait to post pictures of the boys in their Indiana Jones costumes, and Kathleen in her pumpkin costume that I wore as a child and my brother and my boys. It's become a tradition, and my little girl gets her turn -- I'm sad that though -- she's growing too fast. But it's so fun to see them grow, such a tug-of-war in my heart!
3) Get to share parenting duties with my darling husband!
4) Kids get a little TV time, which they really enjoy now that we don't leave it on all the time.
5) Time to prep for school next week.
6) Might be having Chili for dinner tonight with friends. Maybe even s'mores over the fire afterward!
7) Mass on Sunday, MCCW, CCD and down time with the family to cap off the fun!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The project that refuses to come to an end.
Look at those pictures in yesterday's post. See those baskets on the bookshelf behind the boys? If that bookcase and shelves are not finished this weekend I might implode. Which would be preferable to exploding since I wouldn't be around to clean up THAT mess!
Look at those pictures in yesterday's post. See those baskets on the bookshelf behind the boys? If that bookcase and shelves are not finished this weekend I might implode. Which would be preferable to exploding since I wouldn't be around to clean up THAT mess!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Storm in the Night
Much of the country is getting this crazy low-pressure front yesterday and today. Well. For us it has meant very strong winds both yesterday and today as well as a fierce storm last night that wreaked havoc on our sleep. There's just nothing like being woken at 2 am by screaming wind (which was saying something because it was so windy when we went to bed, it had to be quite the increase to wake us up!). Shelly and I literally jumped out of bed with Shelly racing to close the window on his side. As soon as his window was closed, rain pelted the panes through the screen. David came running into our room, as he is PETRIFIED of storms. Side story: We had three tornado warnings the first week we lived in Missouri, and he was forever ruined for enjoying storms. He didn't even want to go outside on cloudless sunny days that summer we moved here (which was fine by me in my state of advanced pregnancy), but sadly, he hasn't improved that much -- he WANTS to watch the weather channel. It's weird.
Anyway, back to last night. The weather station informed us that we would be under a tornado watch for the next FOUR HOURS. Really!?!? We felt like we had to move everyone to the basement to be truly responsible parents. Dude. We should have been negligent. We set up the pack'n'play in the guest room in the basement, got blankets for the couches for the boys and moved both boys and Kathleen down. Big mistake. Kathleen fussed off and on for a good 10 minutes while I shushed her from the guest bed, three feet away. Then the water softener, located just the other side of the guest room wall began its recharging cycle it does each night, and it's LOUD. I need to change that -- my poor guests for the last year... So, needless to say, not much sleeping occurred. Finally about quarter after three, Kathleen stood up in the pack'n'play and started babbling. Shelly and I decided it was time to move back upstairs as the wind was still fierce, but had calmed down considerably since the rain stopped.
Back upstairs, I put Kathleen back in her bed (we had left the boys on the basement couches), and Shelly and I climbed back in bed. After being up for over an hour, it took me quite some time to fall back asleep. Then at some point David showed up again. I promptly told him to get into his bed and go back to sleep, and that there weren't going to be any more storms (I had no idea if this was true, but OMG, PLEASE LEAVE ME BE!!!!!). After that, I kept having these crazy dreams that I was in labor. Yes, like, I was having a baby. About 5 am I was bolt awake wondering why I was dreaming something so weird when I wasn't even pregnant, when I realized: I have HORRIBLE, AWFUL menstrual cramps. I traipsed back to our kitchen for some 800 mg Ibuprofen leftover from the birth of one of my children. By this point I actually considered getting up and going running and abandoning all hopes of sleep, but I couldn't bear the thought of no more sleep, so I climbed back in bed for the third time. I have better nights of sleep with a newborn baby. Around 6 am, I woke up to Shelly kissing me goodbye and telling me that he never did really get back to sleep when we came upstairs after the storm. I lay there feeling a bit sorry for him since he's on call today, and will potentially be up all night tonight wrestling epidurals and emergency appendectomies, then called it quits for sleep and got up for the day at 6:20 am. The kids will be going to bed EXTRA early tonight.
Moral of the story: unless it's a tornado warning, don't wake anyone up.
Much of the country is getting this crazy low-pressure front yesterday and today. Well. For us it has meant very strong winds both yesterday and today as well as a fierce storm last night that wreaked havoc on our sleep. There's just nothing like being woken at 2 am by screaming wind (which was saying something because it was so windy when we went to bed, it had to be quite the increase to wake us up!). Shelly and I literally jumped out of bed with Shelly racing to close the window on his side. As soon as his window was closed, rain pelted the panes through the screen. David came running into our room, as he is PETRIFIED of storms. Side story: We had three tornado warnings the first week we lived in Missouri, and he was forever ruined for enjoying storms. He didn't even want to go outside on cloudless sunny days that summer we moved here (which was fine by me in my state of advanced pregnancy), but sadly, he hasn't improved that much -- he WANTS to watch the weather channel. It's weird.
Anyway, back to last night. The weather station informed us that we would be under a tornado watch for the next FOUR HOURS. Really!?!? We felt like we had to move everyone to the basement to be truly responsible parents. Dude. We should have been negligent. We set up the pack'n'play in the guest room in the basement, got blankets for the couches for the boys and moved both boys and Kathleen down. Big mistake. Kathleen fussed off and on for a good 10 minutes while I shushed her from the guest bed, three feet away. Then the water softener, located just the other side of the guest room wall began its recharging cycle it does each night, and it's LOUD. I need to change that -- my poor guests for the last year... So, needless to say, not much sleeping occurred. Finally about quarter after three, Kathleen stood up in the pack'n'play and started babbling. Shelly and I decided it was time to move back upstairs as the wind was still fierce, but had calmed down considerably since the rain stopped.
Back upstairs, I put Kathleen back in her bed (we had left the boys on the basement couches), and Shelly and I climbed back in bed. After being up for over an hour, it took me quite some time to fall back asleep. Then at some point David showed up again. I promptly told him to get into his bed and go back to sleep, and that there weren't going to be any more storms (I had no idea if this was true, but OMG, PLEASE LEAVE ME BE!!!!!). After that, I kept having these crazy dreams that I was in labor. Yes, like, I was having a baby. About 5 am I was bolt awake wondering why I was dreaming something so weird when I wasn't even pregnant, when I realized: I have HORRIBLE, AWFUL menstrual cramps. I traipsed back to our kitchen for some 800 mg Ibuprofen leftover from the birth of one of my children. By this point I actually considered getting up and going running and abandoning all hopes of sleep, but I couldn't bear the thought of no more sleep, so I climbed back in bed for the third time. I have better nights of sleep with a newborn baby. Around 6 am, I woke up to Shelly kissing me goodbye and telling me that he never did really get back to sleep when we came upstairs after the storm. I lay there feeling a bit sorry for him since he's on call today, and will potentially be up all night tonight wrestling epidurals and emergency appendectomies, then called it quits for sleep and got up for the day at 6:20 am. The kids will be going to bed EXTRA early tonight.
Moral of the story: unless it's a tornado warning, don't wake anyone up.
Monday, October 25, 2010
I'm sure all children do this finger to the mouth thing, but mine especially do -- it's pretty funny! I guess in the second one Jack looks like he's going to pick his nose, but if we caught him the second before or after, I think it would have looked just like the top photo of Kathleen.
Their little fingers and noses are so SIMILAR! I think it's striking how alike Jack and Kathleen look despite their drastic differences in coloring.
Beautiful lazy day!
The local school district is off school today, but we did school anyway on a much relaxed schedule. We went on a nature hike that was a bit boring since we had planned to look for animal tracks and owl pellets, but the leaves got in the way -- DUH to me! Our hike was awesome for weather -- slightly overcast and breezy. The three kids and I trekked down into the woods behind the house and enjoyed the crunch of leaves beneath our feet. We did see several nuts foraged by squirrels (probably). I'm always impressed that those little animals can get those tough shells off. Then we made a bird feeder out of three milk cartons. Tomorrow we'll finish it off with some paint and seed, then hang it somewhere David determines. I'll post pics. We're enjoying the Fall section of Mr. Crinkleroot's Almanac. Tomorrow we'll also be working on a leaf book.
This weekend was relaxing -- we didn't go anywhere interesting AT ALL. The hubby and a friend have been working on a built in bookcase to help manage the many toys and books that accumulate on our family room floor, hopefully we'll be painting that by next weekend -- I've been planning this project for almost a year, so I'm ready for some completion! If I'm lucky there will even be a shelf for all David's school books!
The local school district is off school today, but we did school anyway on a much relaxed schedule. We went on a nature hike that was a bit boring since we had planned to look for animal tracks and owl pellets, but the leaves got in the way -- DUH to me! Our hike was awesome for weather -- slightly overcast and breezy. The three kids and I trekked down into the woods behind the house and enjoyed the crunch of leaves beneath our feet. We did see several nuts foraged by squirrels (probably). I'm always impressed that those little animals can get those tough shells off. Then we made a bird feeder out of three milk cartons. Tomorrow we'll finish it off with some paint and seed, then hang it somewhere David determines. I'll post pics. We're enjoying the Fall section of Mr. Crinkleroot's Almanac. Tomorrow we'll also be working on a leaf book.
This weekend was relaxing -- we didn't go anywhere interesting AT ALL. The hubby and a friend have been working on a built in bookcase to help manage the many toys and books that accumulate on our family room floor, hopefully we'll be painting that by next weekend -- I've been planning this project for almost a year, so I'm ready for some completion! If I'm lucky there will even be a shelf for all David's school books!
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