Sick!

Yes, I'm still here, and thanks to those of you who inquired! I have the real-deal FLU! Figures, my appt for a flu shot was in 2 weeks. Luckily the headache is gone and I am just left with the aches and pains. I am up moving around today but will probably be another week before I'm back up to my old self again.

Hot baths, blanket, couch and books, that's all that has been going on here. The garden is a mess, we had 8 inches of rain yesterday, breaking a record, and to that is added another 5-6 inches in the 3-4 days prior so I guess I picked a good week to be sick if it had to happen.

The kids briefly ran a fever on Tues & Wed but seemed to slough off whatever it was and are fine, thankfully. I HATE being sick and being the only adult to care for the kids, I just want to rest and I wish hubby was home to pack lunches, make dinner, take them to lessons, do homework, etc! Not just wishful thinking, either - he'd do it!

Marley the wonder dog is still sick from whatever she ate during the BBQ last weekend. No obstructions were noted on x-ray but it has been 5 long days of problems for her so I am having to feed her a bland diet and shuffle outside in the rain every 20 minutes with her to analyze her bowel movements, or lack thereof! All night long! Needless to say I haven't been getting enough rest. If she doesn't improve in the next 24 hours we will have to go back in for another check and tests.

Funny story for you (not so much for me!) - Last night all I could think about was having a nice Minnesota-Finnish Sauna to sweat this out but I had to settle for a hot bath. The kids' room is where the deep tub is so I ran a nice hot bath, put some menthol oil in there, soothing music, and prepared to relax - it was not to be. CRASH! I was hit in the head with a suction cup basket that fell on me and suddenly I was relaxing with every McDonald's Happy Meal toy issued in the past 4 years!

Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the BUG!

I wish I had a laptop then I could read all the blogs I am behind on! I am a "desktop" girl, but during times of illness I can see the benefits of a laptop!

got pickles?

I've reached pickle critical mass in my refrigerator!

Just a random photo - there's all kinds of pickled "stuff" in my fridge!

Today is the 3rd day of complete downpours. Forecasters are saying 8-10 inches of rain depending on where one is in the "viewing area" - that's A LOT of rain!

Still dog-tired, didn't even manage to reply to everyone's nice comments yesterday. Although now I'm thinking it's a little more that just being tired since I woke to swollen lymph nodes under my arms, I've never had those swell up before - but I figured since it's doubtful that I pulled muscles knitting that's what it was LOL! Besides that just REALLY tired, with no other symptoms so I figure my body is valiantly trying to fight something off so I have given in and have not done anything productive in a couple of days. Today I went to the library and got a big stack of books to see me through the rain that is supposed to last several more days...

I survived!

The party, that is! Remember that scene from the movie 'Sixteen Candles' where Anthony Michael Hall wakes up after the party trapped under a glass coffee table? LOL, it was a little kid's version of that!

I was able to get the whole backyard and kitchen cleaned up by a respectable 10:30 p.m., however, I wasn't to notice the full gravity of the situation until the next morning. I fell asleep reading a book on the couch that night, but when I woke up in the morning, the dog got up from her sleeping spot under the coffee table and left behind a nice police outline of herself in dog hair... dog hair? This is when I had the flashback of a scene from one of my favorite movies. Upon closer inspection, the floor was covered in a nice lacquer consisting most likely of a mixture of soda, Hawaiian Punch, and juice boxes. Thankfully, my entire house is hard floors without a speck of carpet!

As I walked through the house I could see it was everywhere, the entire floor from the back of the house to the front was like this LOL! With the dogs outside and the kids donning flip flops, I was able to get the whole floor cleaned by about 9 a.m. If I haven't sung the praises of my steam mop before, now is a good time - my Bissell steam mop rocks!

None of this really mattered since I was prepared for a good cleanup evolution, and I think the kids had a great time! I think most of us moms don't allow our kids to have soda or even juice that isn't watered down most of the time, so when faced with unattended tables full of desserts and soda, what's a kid to do?!

Random sightings during the cleanup:

1. Dog eating a cookie under the hammock
2. Another dog eating a dropped hot dog
3. Nerf guns and assorted weaponry in the broccoli bed
4. A lone flip flop in the bird bath
5. A decorative bowl of rocks on my coffee table filled with what appeared to be Coke
6. Plate of mac & cheese casserole formed into a mountain with a Hot Wheels monster truck on top

Who knew the 12 & under crowd could party like rock stars?

My mom is probably laughing thinking "here's where the payback starts..."!

The fall temps I was looking forward to for the party were not to be, it was in the 90's that day!

Trying to get all the kids together for a photo!

My fountain before it was filled with Hawaiian Punch!

Kids' art project to send out to the ship so the guys can hang it up

My BFF has the "magic touch" with the grill - we don't need men for this LOL!

VFA-32 Wives! Look at all the new and expected babies this deployment!

Great group of gals!

Finnegan

It really was nice to be able to get together with all these gals, everyone at the party is dealing with the same stuff and we all just "get it"! We're all "in (on) the same boat" hahahaha.

After cleanup on Sunday morning, I took the kids down to the oceanfront for the Neptune Festival Art Show. They hated it, I'll be honest, but I love looking at all the crafts. This is the last big "hurrah" for the oceanfront season and we will get our beaches back afterwards and be able to bring our dogs down to the beach, park cheaply and close and just be able to enjoy being locals again.

The white tents on the boardwalk go on and on and on - these are the art show vendors.

Pausing for an ice cream

then to make up for dragging them to the art show...

"like a kid in a candy store"!

Below is what happens when you don't harvest yard long beans for 3 days! Yikes!

huge bean harvest Monday morning before the rain started

I spent all day yesterday blanching and freezing beans and catching up on laundry and starting a new knitting project. It has been raining for 2 full days now, and it's the kind of rain where you can't really get anything done, but we need it!

And today? Absolutely nothing! It's still pouring outside and I feel so self indulgent and lazy - after getting the kids off to school this morning I've been alternating between reading a book and napping on the couch. It's finally settling in how tired I must have been. Now that I have finally gotten up off my butt and blogged I need to get my act together before the kids get home, don't want them to know they have a lazy mama. Unfortunately first, I need to give Marley a bath... I'm not sure what all she ate at the party, but she is recovering from being pretty sick the past 12 hours and she's not such a pretty girl right now so I better go give her a "spa day". Poor girl has the same diet every day of her life and then is allowed to run "Golden Corral" style through a picnic for 40+ people...

Almost ready!

I'm almost done prepping for the big party tomorrow afternoon! I am hosting the squadron's Family Support Group "Halfway Party" to celebrate this big milestone in the deployment. At last count I'm expecting 48 guests! Don't get me wrong, I love entertaining, but I am ready to check this big project off the list and be able to relax and enjoy fall. Things like reading a good book, knitting, etc never get full attention when a big event is in the back of my mind. So here's a look at today's prep, as you may guess the squadron's colors are blue and yellow.

Last night as I was putting together the gift bags the thought occurred to me that as stressful as kids can be during a deployment, we're rewarding them? LOL, just kidding of course, but it was amusing to me :)

crepe paper fun everywhere, the kids enjoyed helping out

12 down, 36 more to go tonight!

I wonder how many balloons one must blow up before passing out? Just kidding, I have a pump! (which the dogs HATE, I might add!)

Off to finish up, then par-tay tomorrow! I'll most likely be M.I.A. until sometime after the cleanup Sunday - have a great weekend all!

too good to miss!

I know many of us already follow Thyme2Garden's blog, but she had a post today that no one should miss! It's news!

So check it out in Thyme2Gardens post today: Zucchini for Self Defense

I say a big "hell, yes" to this woman, she's awesome!

some PEANUTS for my peanut gallery- kinderGARDENS Finale!

Can you believe we've been doing this since April? Wow - almost 6 months of kinderGARDEN updates, and it's been so fun! I have always included the kids in the garden, mostly out of necessity since it's not like I can leave them alone in the house, they'd burn it down - but this contest really enabled their personalities to shine in their creativity and ideas and is definitely something we will always enjoy doing together.

On to the week's big event: The Peanut Box!

After filming this I researched it and my instincts are right, we will leave them until the plants turn yellow and start to die off before harvesting. This enables the shell/pod to mature and cure properly. If you want to learn more about harvesting peanuts, check this link. There are GOBS of peanuts in this little space and the plants are already taking on a yellowish hue, so I think we will definitely have enough to try the kids idea of homemade peanut butter soon, probably mid-October.

In the interest of at least showing a sneak preview of what we are in for, below is a shot of what came off of one of the plants we tested:

Although with our record-breaking hot summer the "green roof" didn't work out, the kids did a great job of supplementing that with a few other projects besides that and the peanut box.

Summary in photos of the past 6 months of kinderGARDENS highlights!

When Loch announced that his teacher always wanted a garden but she lives in an apartment, the kids packed a box of goodies to take in to her on the last day of school!

The kids got to experience the building side of things in the garden when they helped make the peanut box out of scrap with Daddy before he left for deployment.

Planting seeds

I do a program with the Master Gardeners for 1st Graders called "Ready, Set, Grow!" and the kids inspired a new idea this year all about kids in the garden, and helped me create this display which was an absolute hit in the classrooms!

Kim, who hosts the kinderGARDENS contest sent Loch a fantastic book, highly recommend it - it is entertaining and educational for both kids & adults.

Everyone knows what a fan I am of violations of the child labor laws... they picked many a berry on 100 degree days and squeezed many lemons...

but the rewards were worth it!

We learned all about our garden friends up close...

they were sent out "on assignment" to photograph and caption anything they want...

Finn's caption for the above was... "I like Dill and I wanna smell it every day"

me too!

they learned about saving seed

they were surprised and excited when Miss Gina mailed them some flower seeds in support of their kinderGARDENS activities, and then a trip out to her flower farm where she taught them how to snip the flowers they wanted to bring home and got to meet the chickens that laid the eggs we brought home.

They have impressed me with their creativity - below is what happened when I was busy mowing the lawn and left my shed open...a scarecrow built from whatever they could find!

and of course there was plenty of time to just have a little fun!

I am sure most of you know that my husband/their father has been deployed to the Middle East for the past 4+ months, so I just want to say "thank you!" to Kim at The Inadvertent Farmer for putting this contest together and all the participants for giving me a project that has made the time go by quickly! Every time my alarm on my computer calendar goes off saying "kinderGARDENS update" gives me motivation to get out there with my kids and DO something. Missing hubby and their daddy certainly gives me some "blech" days, which might be fine to indulge in during the winter, but with 2 kids out of school in the summertime I definitely can't get away with "blech" days! We got some great ideas for next year from other participants and have learned so much from everyone!

Check in to The Inadvertent Farmer to see all the participants' final posts of the contest, it's been fun!

LUCK...

Lucky Fish Story:

Got home from kids' swimming this evening, rushing around getting them ready for bed, hear yelling outside: "lochandfinnsmom, lochandfinnsmom!" (it's always all one word)

I debated not answering the door since the neighborhood kids don't appear to have any type of bedtime and are wild all evening, but you know the one time I didn't respond there would be stranger danger or some very real threat out there -

Answer the door and they are yelling for me to rescue some fish...

FISH???

(re-enter the drama of next door neighbor hoarder moving out...)

I follow the kids to the house next door and what do we see at the top of the steps of the vacant house?

yep, that's some swampy water, yep there's fish in them waters, and yep, it's in the 90's here again! I bet that 4-5 inches of water heated up like a canning pot today! So I went to get my net and bucket and found 3 goldfish and 1 baby goldfish, of course I'm afraid I missed one but I can't see at all in there and I hope I got them all. They've been in there OVER A WEEK! And what's unbelievable is that they were probably living in that inside as well!

Well, damn, I guess I'll set another 4 plates at the dinner table, come on over to the homestead and let's get you some fresh clothes...

I think they are in shock in the bucket being able to see each other!

Lugged them back to my house and put them in the deck barrel-pond with my other 2 goldfish. I am sure mine aren't too happy about this, they are at least 4 years old and have lived year round out there and are supposed to be in their golden years and now have to contend with the "hoarder fish".

6 fish in a barrel pond is too many, but what could I do? Guess I'll be cleaning the pond more often, I'm such a sucker for this stuff :)

but wait, there's more....!

Lucky Mom

After all the fish drama, I was getting the kids in bed and went to plug in my cell phone and it wasn't in the side pocket of my purse...

total freak out!

I have NEVER lost, misplaced or broken a cell phone, ever, and my heart just sank. I know exactly where I left it, I started talking to one of the moms at swimming at the Y and I remember my purse being sideways on the chair and I knew it must have slipped out, I couldn't call it since it was dead - I called the YMCA and the guy at the desk says "I have it right here next to me, someone turned it in right after you left." We rushed back there with the kids in their jammies and I made it in time to thank the person who turned it in too! I have the oldest iphone and have had it for about 4 or more years and couldn't possibly afford to replace it so I almost cried to hear it was there. Just when I think humanity pretty much sucks most of the time I am inspired yet again - and what a great lesson it was for my kids to see my reaction to someone doing the right thing.

Wishing everyone luck tonight!