when helping isn't helpful and other mischief

Last night I left the boys to clear the table while I supervised girls' baths.  The boys came up and were playing in their room as the girls were finishing up.  I went down to get their towels from the dryer and I heard running water.  This was not the tub draining.  Someone had left the kitchen faucet running.  As I entered the kitchen I saw a waterfall coming out of the sink and covering the floor.  Getting a picture was not my first priority.  Apparently, Stephen had plugged both sides of the sink and was filling them up for me to wash and rinse the dishes.  And then he walked away.  Here is a clip from the basement after the kids were tucked in and before I started to ShopVac up the water upstairs.  It was done dripping by the time I made it down to the basement.  I only sucked up about 15 gallons of water from the kitchen and basement floors, but the dehumidifier will be running for a couple of days.

Earlier in the day, Michaela saw Adam's laptop was left open on the side table next to the couch.  She discovered that the keys pop off quite easily.  One little piece is still missing.  They say bad things come in threes, so I'm counting the 10lb bag of potatoes that Michaela dumped out in the pantry while I was cooking dinner as one, too.

Seven Quick Takes (Vol.2)

ONE:

The girls finally got to paint! (Dad took the boys to a local auction last Saturday morning, so I wasn't afraid of an overwhelming mess). They painted "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" Next, we mixed up some green and brown because they wanted to paint their play fort.

I have been discovering books that are based on real places. There really is a little red lighthouse and a great gray bridge in New York! We also discovered that the places in Boston that were featured in Make Way For Ducklings, are real, too. We went to a medeival German town in Once Upon a Dinkelsbuhl and flew across the English Channel with Louis Bleriot in The Glorious Flight. Teresa thinks it's great that these places are real, but she doesn't just want to look at them on the computer. She wants to go see them!) Maybe a Little House on the Prairie trip next summer. Do you have a favorite "real" book?

TWO:
If you let your kids watch The Swan Princess be prepared for them to pick up on a key phrase* from THIS SONG and sing that when it's time to do chores rather than THIS ONE or THIS ONE.

*the key phrase in "This is My Idea" is what the boy and girl sing alternately and then in chorus: "This isn't my idea...this isn't my idea...this isn't my idea of fun." NOT what I want the kids singing during clean-up time

THREE:
Adam has been reading up on and collecting (and making) beer and wine brewing supplies for the past year or so. He finally started his first batch of something: Mead. He also started his first batch of beer this weekend with a friend/co-worker. It is a wheat beer that is supposed to be similar to Blue Moon's Belgian White. I've requested that his next batch be something that tastes like the Empyrean Brewing Co.'s Oatmeal Stout. Michaela should be born by then...

FOUR:
Adam took the kids with him on Saturday so I could visit Jennie and do some shopping. I found lots of cute NB winter clothes for Michaela and I think that I should have everything I need for her, now. I also bought a few new footed pjs for Anthony and winter coats for the girls at Once Upon a Child. I'm glad I didn't have the kids because it is one of those stores you have to be careful in. One cute sleeper will be $2.50 and the next one that is the exact same style and brand will be $4.50.

Speaking of shopping carefully, I had a lovely time browsing at Adoremus Books . I could have spent a LOT of money, there, but kept it under $50...with a $10 off coupon. I also got to pick out a free prayer coin and was especially drawn to this one. Two new books that I'm excited to have are Mary Reed Newland's The Year and Our Children and Hubert van Zeller's Holiness for Housewives. Have you read this book?

The girls want to learn how to play the piano, so I stopped at a few music stores. I learned with Bastien's Piano Basics but instead of using my Primer, which I started with in 3rd grade, I bought Piano for Young Beginners Primers A and B. It was kind of fun to browse through a music store again.

While I was in town, I decided to pop into Michaels to get some things for the kids to make plaques to hold their Rosaries (I was inspired/reminded by the Wooden Rosary Holder Kit's I had seen at Adoremus Books.) For less than $4/kid, rather than $7.50, everyone will have their own. It will be a Sunday afternoon craft project and they should be ready by October, the month of the Rosary. I also found a cute Mary Engelbreit calendar for our school room and when I was done there, I walked over to Schlotzky's to enjoy a (Medium) Original Deluxe. It was 956 calories, but YUM!

FIVE:
When I was working with the girls on something last week, Anthony asked if he could go outside to get the truck he'd left out yesterday. I told him yes and Stephen said, "Me go too, okay?" with a tilt of the head and his very serious look. I let him go, but apparently he didn't. Instead, he took a Sharpie *gasp* from Daddy's drawer and did some decorating downstairs:

slip-covered couch and cushion


coffee table and daddy's chair


shoe shelf and, of course, himself.

Anyone know of a magic trick to get permanent marker out of upholstery or finished wood?

SIX:
I read this quote by Blessed Mother Teresa at the bottom of a forwarded email. "The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done." I've never heard that one before.

SEVEN: Some friends came over for dinner on Sunday night. Shannon is due about a week after me and Catherine asked, "Are you going to have a baby, too?" Shannon affirmed this and Catherine observed, "Your baby is bigger than ours." We both laughed. My babies have all been small (<7lbs) and I never look as big as I feel. Another mother whom I met up with recently, due in January, observed that she is already bigger than me, as well...as I'm sure most of the expectant moms I know are or soon will be.

A PICTURE THOUGHT I AM SHARING:
(I hope no one is offended by this...you're all moms and things like this happen all the time in your house too, right?) Stephen is spending much more time here lately. He has woken up dry and kept his training pants dry for a few days, now! I wasn't really expecting it, so I haven't been counting...but it looks like Stephen will be out of diapers by the time Michaela is born!

today

Anthony asked me on the way to my doctor's appointment: "How does that song go, again?" After the girls suggested about twenty different Mother Goose and Nursery Rhymes, I asked him what the song was about. "Dogs", he replied. Hmmm...we tried "How Much is that Doggy in the Window?", "Has Anybody Seen my Dog?" from one of our Sesame Street records and "Home Sweet Home" from Lady and the Tramp. Then the idea popped into my head that he might be talking about "Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baja Men. (The original YouTube video is not G-rated, so I won't link, but this is a PG-ish dog blooper version if you don't know the song...) I tried "singing" the refrain and he immediately replied, "Yeah - that one!" Where did he hear it? On our 7yo neighbor's iPod. He goes to USHL games with his older brother and dad - and apparently his iPod is loaded with "hockey music". Sorry hon - don't know the lyrics and probably wouldn't repeat them if I did. So, in addition to the pocketknife and the cap gun "that could kill you", please leave the iPod at home...

We had a double visit both to check mommy/baby and for Teresa's annual checkup. She's 90th percentile for height and 50th for weight. She had to get her DTaP/Polio booster, so her arm is sore, but she likes the bubble gum flavored chewable Tylenol I bought for her. Afterwards, we stopped by one of my good friends house in town to visit over lunch. Another friend from college who lives in the same neighborhood came over to join us for lunch with her boys - and she brought left-over birthday cake for dessert. It was a welcome surprise and I enjoyed hanging out with both Robyn and Stephanie. Made me think that it would be fun for all of us Nebraska Catholic mommy-bloggers to get together for an annual tea like they do in Minnesota.

One funny thing from today: When I went to change Stephen's diaper after we had our afternoon snack, he had a "Navel" orange sticker on his belly.

One not quite as funny thing: This messy little boy showed up on my doorstep while I was cooking supper.



How in the world did he get so muddy, while keeping his hands so clean?



All I can say is, thank goodness I dressed him in brown today.

for cryin' out loud

This is one of those instances in which I need to accept *this* as a small inconvenience that is God's will. There will be a little tiny bit of suffering involved, but really, it's something I can easily offer up. I still have a (strong) tendency, however to think "Murphy's Law": We've had record lows throughout July and now that it's August and back to seasonably hot (though not record-breaking heat, by any means) weather, the heat pump goes out.

Here's the thing: our downstairs is on a separate HVAC system that works so it's really just slightly uncomfortable upstairs. It's not even too hot upstairs when it's time to go to bed if we turn on the ceiling fans...but how easy (and fun) would it be to camp outside or set up sleeping bags in the piano and living rooms until Adam gets the parts to fix it? Not hard at all. A blessing for our family rather than a curse. Why do I instantly see the "tragedy" of the situation, though, rather than the opportunity?

Jesus, meek and humble of heart
Make my heart like unto Thine.

illness - update and more*

We had to put Catherine on a strong antibiotic - 3x a day. All because of some tiny seed hull - the kind you find in seasoning mixes - lodged beneath her gum behind one of her new 6-year molars. She is doing better, now, but hates the taste of the medicine + the medicated oral rinse that I have to irrigate her tooth & gum with.

Teresa still doesn't quite feel well - evident by her decreased appetite - and is slowly recovering from her lake-water induced gastrointestinal illness.

I went out to eat with a friend in Omaha on Wednesday night and got what I'm going to call food poisoning. It could be a pregnancy-induced sensitivity to something I'm not used to, like municipally treated water, but difficult to tell for sure. It is day 3 and I'm hoping that I won't have to call the doctor on Monday.

So, for the last two days, we girls have been laying around the living room - or outside on the porch swing (so the boys can play) with piles of books - and a bit more TV than usual (Curious George on PBS and Dora the Explorer on Netflix).

The house is more than a mess - it is an absolute disaster. These last two days, all I've really been able to do is a few loads of laundry, which are waiting for me in baskets to be put away. Meals have been...not quite up to par. Yesterday morning, I cooked a pot of oatmeal and let the kids serve themselves. They each had a bowl and then ate out of the pot through the rest of the morning. We did the same thing for lunch with a pot of rice, which they picked at until dinnertime, which was a choice of leftovers from earlier in the week plus a bag of frozen veggies. Dishes have been piling up since the chicken & potato crockpot meal I left the family on Wednesday. All the "little" messes that I usually pick up or make sure that the kids pick up have been ignored. The vacuum, broom, toilet brush, and mop have sat, unused, desperately waiting for me to use them.

Recently, my husband and I have been talking about just what it is that I do every day...why the house always seems to be a mess. The blessing of this experience is that it has provided us a visual assessment of just what it is that I do every day...by seeing what happens when it does NOT get done.

*Updated to add that Adam took Anthony fishing this morning - he caught the first fish and had fun fishing with daddy, but threw up in the water twice. He says that his tummy hurts and is now parked on a towel on the couch with a cup of *homemade* Gatorade and watching Maisy.

small successes

I saw this new "Faith and Family Live" weekly event linked at a friend's blog: Small Successes. I think this is a great idea! How often do I get down on myself because "I didn't get anything done today". Ann recently posted, Do the tasks...so as not to hinder, which I have been prayerfully considering. HappyMama also posted an appropriate deep thought recently: "It is so much easier to make a list of all the things I need to do than to actually start doing the things on my list." While I thinking about my "small successes" will help me in a normal week, all of these ideas together pushed me to git 'er done and, thanks to my helpful husband, I have one BIG success to share!

On Friday last week I felt like I was drowning...suffocating...being smothered by the stuff in our house. The guest bed in our computer room has been a major problem. Last year, it went from being a mess to immaculate. However, it is such a large flat surface - perfect for collecting stuff since it is hardly ever used - and it was a mess again. The stuff was like giant Alice in the White Rabbit's house. We'd tried to "pull it out the chimney" and like the Dodo, I was ready to resort to a more "energetic solution" and "burn the house down" in order to get rid of the monster. Fortunately, Adam was ready and willing to cooperate and on Saturday we started working on a better solution.

I didn't take a before picture of our spare room, but an after picture will show...no more bed. Since it only gets used once or twice a year, Adam and I moved the bed up to the attic. In order to do that, the attic had to be cleaned. Our trash tote is full and there are piles of old computers, monitors, and printers around it. We fed the burn barrel all day long. Adam's car is full of old stereo equipment, a youth bed frame, and several other boxes full of things to go to the thrift store. There is still a lot for me to go through, but the attic is well on its way to being a nice retreat.



We set up a media corner where Adam's old Nintendo and Playstation are plugged in rather than hidden away in a dusty box. I have all our books and CDs on marriage, parenting, and motherhood on a nicely decorated bookshelf. We have a card table set up so that we can get back to doing puzzles in the evenings. This is good for us, but it will also be good for our kids even though it means that the attic is no longer their playroom.



The attic playroom had seemed like a great idea, but it was a perpetual mess - out of sight, out of mind. We were not teaching the kids to clean up after themselves, take care of their toys up there, so the mess and the messy habits were spilling out of the attic and down into their bedrooms, so when it was time to go to bed...we had to find their beds. Since all the kids books and art supplies were already in the spare room / office along with all of our other "homeschooling" materials it made sense to transform the room to a space where we can read, work, and play together.



This will be much better than shutting myself in there to print, copy, gather books and supplies and drag them downstairs...and then find the time and motivation to drag it all back up to put it away. That just wasn't happening. We were either not doing the things we wanted, doing them half-heartedly, or doing them and leaving the mess on the dining room table to deal with later. Clutter attracts clutter, so you can guess what that meant for our dining room.

Hopefully we've attacked the root of the problem and as 2009 progresses, we'll continue to tame the beast as we find a place for everything (even if that place is the trash or the thrift store) and begin to enjoy living - and breathing - in our house again.

changes...

Well, I finally got our Christmas letters sent out. About half went by email and most of those that were mailed accompanied our thank-you's for the abundance of gifts we brought home from visiting family over Christmas. I am now sorting through all the pictures that we took with our new camera. I opened a Shutterfly account, not necessarily to print, but to share our photos. If you're family or a friend, and would like to know the web address, then email me and I'll send it to you.

I'll probably still post some pictures here, when I have time to post. I've been toying with the idea of calling this the end of my blog. I can't bring myself to do it - completely - but I will probably not post as often. (Yeah - I know - how many times have I said that before?) There are just so many projects around the house that I have to catch up on in addition to the "regular" cleaning, which I've resolved to be more faithful to this year, and unexpected things (like Monday's dead mouse under the refrigerator) that are more important than this blog.

More important than cleaning the house, which I do for my family, is the attention that each person in my family needs. I want to be a better wife and mother like HappyMama who wrote, "I love New Year’s. I love the idea of an entirely clean slate set before me, of the opportunity to try again to be what I really want to be: clay in the Potter’s hands." Now, I need to get downstairs...it sounds like Teresa just knocked over the Christmas tree.

*Update: The tree is down for the count. Reminds me a bit of last year's Christmas Cleanup. I should have remembered and taken the tree down earlier. Maybe we'll still be able to find one on clearance...

compromise

Life has been decidedly more...difficult...since Adam started working at a second job with his friend. When he came home from "Deer Camp 2008" on Sunday he found Anthony's broken window pane and a basket full of door handles. (I've been collecting these for a few weeks)



I've written before about how my kids like to test the durability of our stuff, but this is getting out of hand. With all theses things to fix around the house (and the obvious necessity of having daddy around), Adam has decided that he will only work on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work and on Saturdays. Both the kids and I will benefit from knowing "Daddy will be home tomorrow night" during the week and "Daddy will be home all day tomorrow" on the weekend.

broken...

Anthony threw this down the attic stairs. I don't know what it is, but it is probably broken...along with the window that it went through.

today Stephen cut his hair...

...sigh.

our halloween

Catherine was to bring her costume to school today for their classroom Halloween party. She was planning on being some kind of fairy princess and after seeing a shortened sneak preview of the high school play yesterday, she told me that she was going to be Glinda, the good witch of the north. So, I did my best with materials on hand to help her make a crown, she had the wand, and the dress is a recent hand-me-down that was supposed to be her Easter dress for next spring, not a Halloween costume, yet, here she is, making sure she had her entire costume and that she could put it on by herself:

We went trick-or-treating at just a few houses in town after Mass (All Saints Day Vigil). Besides Glinda, we had St. Joan of Arc, Superman, and a little cowboy. Of course I don't have a picture because I couldn't find the camera before we went, and when we got home the kids had abandoned their costumes by the time I located it. Instead, I was able to get this picture of Catherine, showcasing her newly missing tooth (her teacher helped her pull it out today),

and these of Anthony's recent art work (this was before any Halloween candy, although I'd like to have been able to blame it on that).


Teresa says that he did it because he knew that I could wash it off. She knows that they are washable markers as we have had some experience with this before. When I'm done, I think I'm going to make myself one of these. (Thanks for the link, Sara!)

quality control

This week, a line from Happy Gilmore has been running through my head: "I didn't *break* it. I was merely testing it's durability." Let's just say the kids have been *testing the durability* of more things around the house than usual lately. Here are the latest results:

Cassette tape: The tape is really easy to break, but that's not fun. The fun part is pulling all the tape out. Then, it is such a tangled mess that it will inevitably break when mom tries to fix it.

VHS tape: The tape in these is harder to get at and harder to snap, but it can be done.

Sterilite clear plastic storage containers: These are the cheapest things on the planet. We never get tired of breaking them. They make pretty good boats, but if you flip them upside down and jump on them, they crack really easily.

Bike horns: These are pretty hard to break while on the bike, but if you abuse them and mom takes them away for a week, and you can convince her not to put them back on the bikes, but let you keep them in your bike basket, then there is no end to the ways you can find to shatter the cheap plastic.

Enameled roasting pan: If you bang it on the floor, it's pretty durable, but if you climb up on the table and throw it on the floor, the pan will dent, achieving the desired effect of chipping the enamel.

Bathroom sink faucet handle: If you slam-slam-slam the water off hard enough, you can shear the bolt that connects the porcelain lever to the handle. Really.

Yes, I am learning detachment. Today, in particular, I was reminded in my morning prayer, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroy, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Matthew 6:19-21. along with the First Reading and Psalm from Mass today.

Keeping House

I have been so inspired and encouraged by Elizabeth's Homemaking posts that I couldn't wait for more. I checked out Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson from the library and, after reading the first chapter of Keeping House, The Litany of Everyday Life by Margaret Kim Peterson on-line, I ordered it through our inter-library loan program.

I was initially struck by Margaret's discussion, in Chapter 1, of the correlation between Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25: 31-46) and the housewives duties of feeding, clothing, and making a home for our families. I've thought of this myself in meditating on the Works of Mercy, so I thought she might have some other good ideas, as well.

These quotes from Chapter 2, a Place to Live particularly stood out to me as they pertain to the ideas I've had about my own home, which I affectionately refer to as This Blessed Mess.

"When God created the heavens and the earth, he started with chaos and ended with a finely differentiated and beautiful universe. Housework is all about bringing order out of chaos." (Keeping House, p. 38)

"God's creative activity did not issue in a creation that lives on indefinitely with no further involvement on God's part. On the contrary, the very creatureliness of the universe requires the continuing presence and activity of God in sustaining all things in being....Everyone knows that a garden, once planted, does not thrive with out the continued work of the gardener in weeding, mulching, fertilizing, pruning, harvesting, and beginning the cycle again in the new year.

A home is not much different from a garden in this sense. If you don't take care of a house, it devolves....A household has to be tended if it is to flourish and grow. Housework is never "done" in the same sense that gardening is never done or that God's providential involvement in the world is never done. Housework and gardening and God's providence itself are exercises not in futility but in faithfulness - faithfulness to the work itself, to the people whose needs that work serves, and to the God whose own faithfulness invites our faithful response." (pp. 38-39)

"When God comes to the aid of his sad and broken creation, he does so not in some abstract way, simply willing for people to be healed but keeping his distance from the messy reality of their lives. On the contrary, God comes to live among human beings as one of us, including all of our bodily messiness." (p. 39)

"God's world is not as he wished it to be...But God is present and active, even in the midst of continuing imperfection and brokenness. Christians do well to cultivate a similarly mindful, hopeful faithfulness as they engage in the basic, necessary disciplines of feeding, clothing, and housing one another." (p.40)

Six chapters to go...perhaps by the end I'll be better equipped to make this house a home. We've been working so long on making our house...a house. Actually, we're still working on that. It had been neglected for so many years before the elderly gentleman who lived here passed away. Here are some pictures from waaaaaay back, when we came to see our house for the first time. It was coming up for auction and we had to decide how much we were able and willing to bid on a house that had no heating or air conditioning, no septic system, broken windows, a leaky roof, corroded plumbing, original (minimal) wiring, no insulation, rotten porches, and was surrounded by outbuildings that were quite literally falling down. Order out of chaos, indeed.



March 2002

Round 4

Subtitled: Anthony's turn.

My poor little boy was telling me that he was cold yesterday so, anticipating the worst, I put him to bed on a towel with his pillow wrapped in a towel. I expected to be woken up in the middle of the night. I wasn't. Anthony woke up bright and early. He helped me cook a warm pot of oatmeal with raisins. He asked for an apple and he drank all his juice. When the time came to check the fire, he ran to find his shoes but, as he was bringing them to me, he stopped suddenly and deposited his entire breakfast in the middle of the floor.

He seems to be taking it well, and is happily camped out in front of the TV watching his favorite Maisy videos.

oh where, oh where...

...has our driveway gone?



That drift just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Adam cleared the driveway with his tractor last night and was off to work this morning in his car, but the wind picked up after he left and sculpted this monstrosity. I don't think he's going to get in quite so easily this afternoon. I hope he can move it with his tractor, otherwise, we may be calling on our neighbors to dig us out with their pay loader (you can be sure I'll have pictures of that).

Last year we didn't have a snow fence and there was one week in particular that Adam had to clear the driveway every morning to get out of the driveway and every afternoon to get back in. This year we put up the snow fence and it did a wonderful job of catching all that snow...the first time. Now, with additional snow and wind, you can see the problem we're having. Lesson learned. Next year, we'll be putting up the snow fence just a little bit further away...and we're also talking about planting a natural snow fence along the northern property line. I'm looking at a variety of these.

Now, although this looks like it would be great fun to go out and play in, the weather has turned COLD and will remain that way for the next week. Today the high is 14 and it will be dropping to -4 overnight; and that is not considering the wind chill. With a high of 9 (and the wind driving that down to -18!) tomorrow and more snow, these Winter Days at the beach are looking mighty nice. :)

what she said...

Danielle Bean recently wrote this article, which reminded me of what I was thinking about when I started this blog last year. I was reflecting more about this today, as this new year begins on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In the homily this morning, Father made an analogy that I love: When we offer our prayers, works, joys and sufferings through Mary she makes them more pleasing to God. Even our best efforts are a mess. It is like offering a basket of fruit where some pieces were picked before they were ripe, some have been dropped and bruised, and some have worm holes. Mary takes that offering and arranges it on a gold platter, decorating it with flowers and presenting it to God, herself, blessing our mess.

Messes are unavoidable. They are a result of our fallen human nature and "remind us of our need of a Savior". Today, they also remind me of our need of His Mother and make me grateful that she is our mother, as well.

immaculate

My friend, Karen offered a cleaning challenge a couple of weeks ago. She suggested that we all have something we've been putting off cleaning for one reason or another. What? Me? Come on - my house is spotless! Or not. She set the deadline for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I was a little ambitious...I have been piling up things that don't have a home in our guest room. Out of sight, out of mind. So, I pledged to deal with all this stuff:

BEFORE:


AFTER:


You can look at my "after" picture and assume that I fulfilled my pledge. The truth is that I still have a few things to deal with that I simply moved out of the picture. But, at least the guest bed is functional as a bed again. I am trying to simplify, purge, and clean our home during this Advent season, in preparation for Christmas. "Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight His path." Luke 3:4

my little helper

Anthony likes to help me. Last month, he showcased his talents as a chef. I am always cleaning up puddles of water from his efforts to help me wash dishes. This morning he proved, once again, that one little boy can do quite a lot in a short amount of time. He usually helps me in the laundry room, so he knows his way around quite well. Today he unloaded the unsorted laundry for me. Half of it went directly into the washer, the other half in the drier.



When I arrived on the scene, the drier was in it's cool down cycle (we use "sensor dry" and it quickly recognized that it was trying to dry a load of dry clothes) and the washer was spinning. I paused and opened it to find everything from white T-shirts to red sweatpants, jeans and Sunday dresses being washed together. With help like this, it's no wonder the house is a mess!

However, I only have to look back to last January to realize that this unhelpful help will soon turn into real help. Although his efforts to help me unload the dishwasher then were somewhat less than helpful, now he is very good at sorting the silverware, handing me the heavy dishes and glasses to put up, and putting the plastic cups, plates, and bowls away all by himself. Learning just takes time...and patience.

chef anthony

I was going to bake some rolls for dinner tonight. I put half the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and dropped the butter on top, leaving it to come to room temperature in the mixer. I left to take care of the laundry and while I was gone, Anthony decided it was important that he helped me finish. He added half a bag of yellow cornmeal, a box of baking soda, a jar of allspice, half a bottle of vanilla, the remainder of our ground cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg before finishing his culinary masterpiece with chocolate sprinkles and half a cup of basmati rice. So, there will be no dinner rolls tonight, but from now on I have a funny story to tell when we do.

surprise!

I promise that I will post pictures from my Grandpa's Surprise 85th Birthday that was 2 weekends ago...soon. However, this post is about another surprise... a major home improvement that began last weekend.

Our friend rented a Bobcat for the weekend and Adam was helping him do some dirt work up at his house. When finished, they stopped by our house to clean up the yard...move a pile of dirt here; fill in a hole there...but when I went out to see what they were doing, my jaw dropped.

When I was able to pick it up off the porch I asked, "Where is the sidewalk?" There was a sidewalk from our porch steps to the driveway. Here, you can see that it has disappeared and so has our front yard!

Yesterday and this morning, our friend helped Adam dig, form, and tamp down a truck bed full of sand and gravel to make a new sidewalk from the porch steps to the driveway AND a sidewalk from the garage to the porch.

This afternoon, the concrete truck came and poured our new sidewalks. Adam spent the afternoon making them beautiful. Give him a hand, folks!