A New Low

I did something last week that goes against every fiber of my being!

I made this!  Gag!!!!

Oh, the humanity!

A great piece of work, but poor subject matter.  It was all I could do not to write "Go Sox!" on this cake.  I even threatened to charge extra for it.

My only consolation was knowing that it was going to be totally destroyed by a bunch of teenage boys.

I'm Still Here....

I know it's been a while since my last post, but things have been pretty busy around here lately.  We've had Bible School and swimming lessons this week, our restaurant is opening in less than two weeks, I've had birthday cakes to make, and the little monkey has an ear infection.  So blogging has been pushed to the back burner for a few days.

Here are a couple of pictures from Saddle Ridge Ranch.  (That was the VBS theme this year.)  Our attendance was down some this year, but the kids still had a great time learning about Jesus.  As for me, I am beat.  I sort of got "stuck" running the show this year, and I really had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.  (Maybe that's the reason attendance was down...)  Anyway, I have had this year's ABC song stuck in my head for days now...Tu-u-u-umbleweed.

This picture is actually from last week when the Tool Man was learning the motions to the Tumbleweed song.  This was without a doubt the children's favorite song of the week.  When you sing it with all of the motions, it's quite a workout.

Ty looks like he's done this before.

Lulu's first Bible School.  She mostly hung around with me all day, but she did learn to make friends with Mrs. Roxanne this week.  Maybe that means she'll be ready to stay in the nursery during church now.

Bible stories around the campfire.......

Mr. Wayne brought Big Red and Star for the children to pet this week.  The kids really enjoyed getting up close and personal with the horses.

Pop Quizzes and Cartoons

Pop Quiz:

Define the word tessellate.

Time's up!

Stumped?  I was too!  In fact, I'd never even heard the word before.

That is until Ty told me about it.  Yeah, my 6-year-old, homeschooled monkey.  Defined it for me and everything!

You see, we were practicing his fractions.  We'd made playdough food and were cutting it up into equal parts.  He took some of these pieces and started arranging the shapes into patterns.  He told me he was tesssellating.  

Well, I was impressed to say the least, and made him take me to where he learned it...PBSKids online.  Tessellate means arranging the same geometric shape into a pattern without any gaps or overlaps.  You know, like a mosaic.

Now for the cartoon:

I saw this comic the day after Ty's birthday party.  I think it sums up my feelings perfectly.

Visiting Cousins

Our family took a short trip down south this week.  First we went to Leesville to see Angel B. to get some experience working in her pizza den.  Well, Tim was the one tossing pizza.  I had the job of babysitting the two monkeys, which just so happens to be the very best job!!!!!

Later, we rode on down to Lake Charles to visit my most "favorite-est" cousins.  Ty and Lucy had so much fun with Mary, Janie, Mark, and Ellen.  They had a blast splashing around in the pool.  This was Lucy's first official swim, and she loved it.  She'd stretch out in the water and kick and splash.  Even with the 10 lb. water-logged diaper she had a great time.

Lucy usually doesn't like for anyone but Mama or Daddy to hold her, but she didn't mind being passed around by all of her cousins.  She knows special people when she sees them :)  I think she even cuddled up in Uncle Mark's lap for a little while.

Here's Ty and Daddy helping Lucy kick.

This is Mark showing me his "tattoo."  I think he said that it means luck.

Ty was really into shooting these water guns.  Can you believe he never once shot his Mama.  What little boy wouldn't love to hose down his mom?  He'll be going to swimming lessons next week.  Maybe after that he can ditch the life ring.  He pretty much knows how to swim already, he just doesn't like to do it.  I hope he will be more confident after a week of lessons.

Aunt Vesta got Lucy her very own raft.  She had such a good time floating around in it.

Mario Party

Well, the Mario Party has come and gone, and all I can say is, "Whew!"  Maybe I'm just lazy, but I don't seem to have the energy for party planning like I used to.

The birthday monkey really enjoyed the day.  He woke up at 7 AM and started asking, "How much longer until my party?"  And he's also been dressed as Mario for the past 3 days.

I must say that Mario behaved himself really well at his party.  I guess the birthday-party-etiquette talk we had earlier really helped.  He was polite and appreciative when opening his gifts, and he shared his new toys without fussing.  I was really proud of him!

We didn't have the Yoshi Egg Hunt after all.  A rainshower popped up right as the party started.  The kids seemed to be having a good time just playing around in Ty's room and on the back porch with some bubbles, so I just let them be.

I cooked up an Italian spread for the guests to munch on...pizza, mozzarella sticks, alfredo meatballs, garlic bread, and spinach dip.  Then we had Mario cake and icecream.

And what about our mustache mugshots?  Well, I think everyone really had a good time with that.  It was funny seeing everyone sporting big, black, hairy, topper lips.  Only Lucy would NOT wear hers.  Oh, and there were a couple of party goers, who shall remain nameless, who stuck their mustaches in some, er, um, interesting places.......

Here we are!

Smashing, don't you think?

Time for presents!

Mom and the Bithday Monkey

Chicken Farming

Thought ya'll might like an update on our chickies.

They've reached that awkward teenage stage.  You know, they're not cute little fuzzy chicks anymore, but they haven't grown into their feathers yet either.

Now I'm not an expert on chickens by any means, so correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a rooster comb starting to grow on this chick??  So far only two chicks have these.

We moved them outdoors a couple of weeks ago, and their coop is over near our garden.  The Tool Man usually lets them out every evening so they can explore the yard.

Speaking of the Tool Man, he has become quite the chicken farmer!  Yes, I spent months pestering him to get me some chickens.  Now that they are here, he actually enjoys taking care of them.  He's out there with them every morning and evening.

Here he is with the coop.  And surprise, surprise........he's on that blasted phone. (I do hate that phone!)

The Tool Man got this baby backpack for his birthday a couple of months ago.  Lucy loves hanging out in it while her daddy is tending the garden.

Reese B. was in town this week, and he came over to check out the chicks.  I think he's trying to catch one here.  Have you ever seen chickens run?  Quite entertaining.  Those little girls are fast! 

Well, he got one, and now he's releasing it back into the "wild."

Some garden goodness.........

The Birthday Monkey

Aren't birthdays great?  I don't care how old you are you just can't help but feel special.  Cards, phone calls, cakes, and gifts.......

I think Ty had a pretty good birthday Friday.  Although, he didn't really understand why he wasn't having his big birthday party on his birthday.  I almost felt guilty about that, but how many people are really able to have their party on their actual birthday?

We did take him out to eat pizza, and what 6 year old doesn't love that?  He got to open some presents too.  The Tool Man and I gave him a bike.  He was soooooo excited.  We've got the perfect place for him to ride up at the restaurant in the parking lot.  (You did know we were opening up a pizza joint didn't you? More about that another day.)

And I made Ty a cake too.  Yeah, I had 3 hours of uninterrupted free time, and I wasted spent it making this.  I know there was some laundry somewhere that I should have been ironing.  The sacrifices we make for our children.

Each year, since the second Ty was born, I have taken Ty's picture on his birthday at the exact minute of his birth, 2:11 PM.  (Thankfully he was not born at 2:11 AM!)

Here's what he was doing this year at that time.

Hopefully one day in the not too distant future I'll post each of his "birthday minute" pictures for ya'll to see.