Happy Veteran's Day!

Yes, I'm still here, still struggling with I-don't-know-what!  I've been SO tired lately and so "not myself" that I'm afraid to post since I don't have any earth shattering projects going on right now.  I will say that the past 2 days have been really good, not tired after waking up and slowly returning to getting some daily chores done "on time".


I promised my mom a photo of her well-dressed guys, the result of a lovely day out thrift shopping!

Don't let their silly faces fool you, they love dressing up and Finn has been asking if he could wear his tie to school LOL.  I am proud to say also the the boys tie their own real ties and have expressed disdain lately over the unavailability of "real ties" for the younger set.  :)

The occasion was church, which was quite a shock to the kids as neither hubby or I had exposed them to much mostly due to the fact that we came from different backgrounds and hadn't ever really sat down and had any real discussions on the subject.  After some lengthy searching and researching, we have finally started to add faith into our lives and our childrens' lives.  I'm not sure why it took so long, but faith is never a bad thing to have in a family or life, no matter what faith a person has or shape it takes in their lives.  So anyway, that's been an added place I need to devote time to as well, so I'm in the midst of trying to best divide my time best between all our activities, and now I'm preaching to the mom choir, aren't I?!

I'm actually thinking of a dry erase board with a schedule on it just for ME!  Don't laugh, it actually calms me to see schedules posted all over the place - I'm weird.

I know one thing is on the schedule for sure today, I'm going to at least go through my fabric stash and pick a fabric for that apron!

Please thank the veterans in your lives today for us, and as a husband & wife veteran duo we appreciate all the thoughts we have been sent as well, have a great Veterans Day!

And fess' up... do any of you have that apron completed already?!!!

Aprons and Rants...

Count me in for the apron sew-off this month!  These are the patterns I had in the house to choose from:

I swore I wouldn't go buy and books or new patterns since we just spent so much on a computer.  Next I need to check out my fabric, good thing I have a good stash of that, too!  I'm thinking the top pattern, since I really don't like aprons that "tie" behind the neck, I like the simplicity of the old styles that just just require flopping over the head and that have big pockets.  What do you think?

Sparkless expressed that she needed a good rant from me :), and wow do I have some from the past month.  I'll be quick though since I don't really want to rehash the loss of the computer!  Okay, here goes...

You know what the worst part of the computer ordeal is?  The fact that the old computer is bigger than the new one, and that the style hasn't changed one bit!  There's something nerve wracking about spending money on something YOU ALREADY HAVE (albeit non-functioning)!!  One would expect "new" to be "different" - maybe a light show or that it now doubles as a serger machine...something!!

4 year old mac now resides on the floor next to stacks of Halloween decorations...

New, smaller (but faster and functioning) mac on the desk...

I guess it's good news in disguise, the design is so awesome that it hasn't changed LOL, the other good part is that I have more desk space!  The bummer part is that we did have to put it on a credit card, but at least we were able to score it at the Navy Exchange here which had 0% interest for a year, 10% off and no sales tax, which is a pretty big chunk of change on such an expensive purchase.  As far as choosing the computer, there was no contest for me, since macs are all I've ever owned and they are wonderful (the demise of my last one was due to a storm and my not taking proper precautions!).  The kids' old style iMac with the dome drive is still functioning and it's really old, but it's also really slow, LOL.  Hopefully this one will last, and lesson learned:  this time I sprung for the extended Apple Care warranty :)

Only one more hurdle to overcome, and that's the fact that my iPhone died the same day Steve Jobs did.  Consequently, right now I'm paying for cell service I can't use, grrrr!  It was kind of overdue though, since I'm one of the proud ones that was still using the 1st generation iPhone, it was getting to be kind of a badge of honor whipping that relatively big iPhone out and having people ask "that still works?"!  Well, no longer, and that's next on the list.  It's hard for me to upgrade the thing since I only text and hardly ever use the phone to actually talk, BUT I did like having it when I needed it...   

*  Side story here: as the 1st "smart phone", I thought it was pretty cool to have years ago when it first came out but thought "really, will I ever use it for what it is?"... After having it for only a month, we took a road trip home to MN and when we stopped at a rest stop at midnight in the Middle of Nowhere, PA I went to get Finn (then about 2 yrs old) out of his carseat in the dark, I noticed little pills scattered all over the backseat.  He had managed to lift up a bag off the floor with his foot, root around in there and come up with an irresistible shiny foil package of estrogen pills.  Oh yes, he had popped them all out and I had no idea if he had ingested any!  Now I'm screaming and freaking out, Charlie is sticking his finger down his throat trying to make him throw up, the dogs are barking in the back, it's the middle of the night and it dawned on me:  smartphone!  I was able to look up  poison control on the internet even as my "voice" calls weren't functioning, and was able to get an "online help" person.  She assured me it was not an emergency when I told her what the pills were which was a huge relief!  The real relief came when hubby retrieved all the pills from the floor, seat and Finn's clothing and found that they were all accounted for!  So there's my little story for the day, haha!  

The End

Not really the end, of course... I have questions for you!  To save some $$ and get my new cell phone, I've been thinking of dropping the land line to the house.  Have any of you done this?  I don't know why it's so hard to drop that historic "landline", but really it doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose anymore.  

Okay, next up today I need to start digging through my fabric.  Was that enough of a rant, Sparkless?  :)  And ooops, I guess I wasn't very "quick" about it, was I?!

Fall is having an identity crisis here!

It's hard to get back in the blogging routine!  I do NOT recommend taking that kind of time off personally, as for me it resulted in a slight depressive state of not doing anything, since I didn't feel "accountable" for doing anything!  I'll have to ease back into things so I don't end up in a rant about the past months' events in an incoherent manner.

I'll start by showing you some photos of what our place looks like today.  I've been enjoying so much seeing everyone's fall photos, and it's a good thing y'all are posting them for me because fall just doesn't seem to "get it" here this year.  Although the past few days have been wonderful with lows in the 40's and highs in the 50's and 60's, as recently as last week it was still in the 80's.  Consequently, we have some split personality stuff going on out there.

This is my view now from the computer through the back door, I do like this!

For a different perspective, this is the stand of grass from the other side of the back door/deck:

The past year this clump that was planted from 8" plants 2 years ago has spread and is now a welcome privacy screen, no wonder Ms. Dove loves this area for raising her babies!

The "mud clump" I received as a gift from one of the Master Gardeners in my class 2 years ago is now a full 12+ foot tall stand of Maximillian Sunflowers.  Those are dead hops on the trellis behind, ooops!

Mums surprised me this year - they bloomed all summer since I neglected to prune them back in June, but they still bloomed for fall anyways...this is one thing I will miss someday, mums being perennial!

Rosemary hedge is in full bloom

Herb containers are blooming

Summer is hanging on in some places...

While obvious signs of fall are 10 feet away!  This is a 14 year old "Dwarf" Burning Bush... LOL I wonder how big the non-dwarf is?  :)

Found this still going strong -

Didn't plant this but maybe it's a blanketflower from last year?

Still cotton out there!

I imagine we will go straight from flowers to snow here, a very strange year.  Keep posting those fall leaf photos, everyone - some of us are relying on them!

Now I'm thinking of updating my blog look as well, I'm loving all the photo headers everyone is changing... change is in the air!

Happy Halloween!

I'm back!  I have been lost without a computer for all this time, but I'm back in the blogosphere now and can't wait to "see" you all again!  Lots of catching up for me to do, but these pics will have to do until I have time for a proper post, so Happy Halloween y'all!

This week's big event was Finn losing one of his front teeth, no more perfect little boy teeth - he's officially moving into that "awkward stage" :)

We did the "Trunk or Treat" thing this year, here's the Subaru all decked out...

All you 80's moms can appreciate the kids' costumes this year LOL...

Next up, I hear I need to post a pic of an apron pattern, so I'll get to that tomorrow, don't count me out yet - I'm planning on participating in Susan's challenge!  Hope you all have a great Halloween.

Forced Hiatus

The good news is that we are all alive and well!  The bad news is that I am blogging from the library, yikes!  The computer lightning damage I had about 5 months ago was obviously not repairable for the long term, and my beautiful Mac is dead in the water.  I have an older Mac in the kids' room that I may be able to get up to speed enough to hook up to internet and do photos but it's guaranteed to be very slow.  For the foreseeable future my blogging will probably be done from the library, as a new computer is definitely not in the non-existent budget right now.  Things always seem to happen in waves with us, and this fall has been no exception.  We are having to find the money to repair odds and ends around here since the house is on the market, I have the heatpump repair guy coming over in a bit (oh, joy), and the kids' activities are sucking up every available cent there is.  Good thing hubby insists on riding his bike everywhere, since his car has been in a parked state for months needing repairs.  


Ok, are you still with me?  Every now and then I need to vent so I can see the good side of things!  We are warm, dry, family is healthy and together, so shame on me!  But I honestly don't know HOW to function without my computer, the thought of paying my bills from the library is making me anxious already.  Ugh.


I am reading all of your blogs on hubby's phone (oh, did I forget that gem?  My phone died the day Steve Jobs did, sadly), although you might be interested to know that I was still on a 1st generation iPhone, woohoo!  No money to upgrade that, either, so no cell phone for me for awhile, either and it figures the day it went out OF COURSE the school nurse was trying to get ahold of me.  When it rains, it pours.


Anyway, it's hard for me to comment on hubby's phone on your blogs, but I will try when I'm on my library computer days!


Otherwise, we are doing well, doing some fall cleaning of the closets and such, just enjoying the weather!  


Man.... another light bulb just went out!  

Running ragged!

It's the kids' fault, but how can I possibly say "no" to extracurricular activities like this?

I just haven't quite figured out how to balance all of it and still maintain family dinners together, homework time, reading time and a decent bedtime.  I don't believe in "overscheduling" kids, in reality it's just swimming and music lessons with monthly garden club stuff, but I am in awe of moms who seem to be able to do this all and maintain a job outside the home, as well.  Hats off to you gals!  I think the secret might lie in doing a better job of preparing freezer meals and crock pot type stuff, but it's hard to remember far enough in advance to get something going.  From the moment they get off the bus, it's rushing through homework and heading off for 2 hours of swimming Mondays & Wednesdays, or music lessons on Thursdays.  We don't get home until 7 pm so dinner 3 days a week now involves quick bean burritos at home or my favorite quick dinner, eggs & toast!  I refuse to drive through fast food restaurants for dinner so it's becoming difficult.  For the past 12 days or so hubby hasn't even made it home before 7 pm so poor him... he's left to fend for himself whenever he rolls in!  I need advice in how you gals handle it all!  I can't say "no" to swimming - Loch is really good at it, at 8 he's already doing a pretty good butterfly stroke and gets a lot of confidence from the sport, and that's really important for these types of kids - (read:  little genius but has 15 left feet, can't catch a ball, etc...) - at his age he is subject to teasing about being a "nerd", etc but wow most kids his age can barely swim, let alone to his level. Sooooo, if you get what I mean, as a mom it's all important that he has this "thing".  Music, hey it's a lifelong skill and pulling them out would seem a waste of money at this point since they would forget everything, and... they like it!  Now they have expressed interest in Boy Scouts, and Loch came home last week and said he wants to run for some student government thing... come on, ladies, tell me when to yell UNCLE!  

So that's what's been keeping me from my evening blogging lately, I'm hoping to develop some kind of schedule that includes myself this week :)

A glimpse of our evenings lately...

This is Loch's school garden.  He got picked with about 30 other kids to participate, and they were planting broccoli and lettuces when I picked him up the other night.  They also got to hear a talk by a local organic gardener, CSA grower and honeybee farmer (that's him in the beige shirt).  What I want to know is why I can't seem to get the neighborhood kids to all posse up in my garden like this, ready to work!

On to swimming... seriously.... it's a madhouse in there!  For those of you who wondered, this is where I try to get my knitting done but the other night the A/C wasn't working and it was about 105 in there and my yarn got all wet LOL...

The other day Finn wanted hubby and I to have lunch with him at school... here we are looking for the white milk...?

  

Don't get me started... this is why my kids take lunch from home.

Luckily they do a pretty good chef salad, and after finding a couple of white milks hiding below the sugary ones, we sat down to eat.

Here's a random moment that struck me as funny.  The other night hubby was trying to show the kids how to tie a tie, but the kids were still having trouble so he brought it up on YouTube and they all commenced to be entertained for about a half an hour like this.  I'm thinking this would make a funny scrapbook photo :)

Once again, Finn is on duty outside for the ladies.  Here he is removing the training wheels for his little friend.  She rode right up and asked if Finn was home and could he come outside and "work on her bike", LOL....

Managed one decent comfort food dinner the past week... our own potatoes, mashed with sausage and onions and some of our peppers.  It's our own version of Bangers n' Mash, and everyone seems to gobble it up with no complaints.

If you have any advice as to how you keep "family time" and "family dinners" while running kids around, I'm always appreciative!  Especially you Judy, of Full Freezer... I know you are still knee deep in it! :)

Next activity up for today:  kids' haircuts!  They are already moaning and groaning about it.  

Another first -

My 1st sweater!  It might not be perfect, but I'm really happy with it anyways.  He wanted a surfing type pullover for the beach, this is the closest I could come.  I substituted cotton yarn for the stuff called for in the pattern because this needs to be absorbent around water as well as easy wash & dry for playtime, bike riding, etc...

for anyone interested, I used the following:

100% cotton Sugar n'Cream self-striping yarn (cheap at $1.99 a skein!)

Pattern is Lion Brand "Kids to Adult Hoodie" (free download)

Notes ** I substituted the above yarn and used sizes 7 & 9 needles and the pattern written for Child-Large with my substitutions fit the 6 year old boy with room to grow.