Awww.....

It's a yittle itty bitty baby .

This baby praying mantis is on some of my day lilies in the front yard. We actually found 3 egg sacks this past fall and early this spring. We put them in a safe place in the garden...they must be hatching! This is the only one we have spotted so far, tho.
He really was just sitting there taking it all in.

Hair ye, Hair ye!

Over at OMSH, she is contemplating a new hair do. Let it grow, cut it, shave it...that is always the question, right? Different days you will get different answers!

She has stepped up and let us, the viewers/readers decide. We get an update every couple weeks of her hair progress via pics and commentary and then we vote on what we think she should do. So far, she has to sweat it out some more...keep it growing is what we all decided. Sound fun, yes! Am I brave enuf to post my hair in transition every couple weeks. I think not. There are mornings when I don't even want to see it myself, much less show it off to millions!(As if millions will ever read my blog)(I can dream, right?)

I did however tell her I would post a pic of what I am working towards. I am brave enuf to do that! And if you want to you can see a pic of what I have now. (Gotta scroll down a ways)

This is what I am shootin for. Minus the color. I don't do color. As much as my best girlfriend would like me to and tries to talk me into...it's not gonna happen!

What in the sam hill?

My husband's cousin was over here a couple nights ago. Wait. I'm gonna say our cousin. I mean, even tho I am only related to her because of the mere fact that I married her cousin. I love her to death and am I gonna say she is mine, too. She is mine. There, I said it. She is super sweet, comes to visit me(which is asking a lot!), loves to hang out with my kids, and has great big goals in mind for what she wants to do with herself and her life. She has a plan. Gotta love a young adult with a plan. Best of all? She is a great role model and example for my kids to look up to. She has a good head on her shoulders and knows how to use it.

So, when she was here and showed me this package she had gotten in the mail...well, to say the least, we were both appalled. Any ideas on what it is?

Here is another hint.


For all of you that answered a cigarette ad, give yourself a hand. Now this is not just any ol' ad. This is a full service ad. Complete with a user's guide and a gift certificate booklet and everything. I am surprised that there wasn't a pack of smokes right in the box, too. Here, take a look.

Yep, BOGO. Just like at Payless Shoes , but we ain't talking shoes, are we? Now, if you are like us, then by now you are just completely disgusted and shocked and angry and ....look at the nifty little booklet that comes with it.


Now, I am all for supporting the arts. I want my kids to have an appreciation for them one day, just as I do. Not this kind, tho. Not these artists. The ones that are trying to make a cigarette pack look cool and trendy in hope that they will sell more. Especially to kids? Don't think so.


The only folks hosting smoker-friendly events? Is there such a thing? Should smoker and friendly be in the same sentence together? Smoking is not friendly. It does not do friendly things to your body. It does not make you friendly, friendlier, or friendliest.
And the real kicker? I'm one of you now? What in the sam hill? You'll let me know when you are whipping up any new smokes?

Let me just say. What the H E double hockey sticks, ever. I don't want to be one of you. And I don't want you catering your advertising to young adults. My cousin is not even 21, yet. She is not even of the legal drinking age. So, what? Let's catch her now and get her on to smokes before the big gun drinking folks come in and get her first? Because, what? Both of those things are so darn good for you to do in the first place.

Camel people, you should be ashamed of yourself. Down right ashamed.

The good news. My cousin was as equally disgusted as me at the whole idea. So, take that Camel people. You didn't win this one over. One less person you have in your corner. One more for mine!

Already this morning!

It is almost 11 am as I sit(finally) to post this entry. I have done 3 loads of laundry, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, washed all my hand washable dishes, changed a couple diapers, and had my trip to Target.

The Target trip is where things got a little crazy! Loaded the little guy up after he had breakfast and made our way to Target. So far, so good. Got there, got his cart pouch all ready, got him in the cart, got my bag and our cups of water. Made it into the store...looking around in the dollar spot...realize that my cart is leaking water all over and that my son, his clothes, the cart pouch, and my bag are all now pretty well soaked. The culprit...he got a hold of my water cup(which I now wish was spill-proof, like his)and poured it all over himself! He had great fun. He was laughing and carrying on...I was assessing the damage and trying to figure out where to begin!

Lucky for me I have my brand new bag! It is equipped with all the bells and whistles(only a little damp). I take him out of the cart pouch and into the restroom to strip him down and change his diaper and his clothes. Now that he is all dry again I use his wet clothes to finish drying off his place in the cart. The cart pouch is so wet it is dripping water. I roll all the wet stuff into a bundle and stuff it on the bottom part of the cart and set off to begin anew!

Dry and still happy. Who could ask for more? Now onto my shopping and to look for cool and groovy things for my green and pink swap!

Halllaaa!

Over here! Frugalmom is in the house!

Can you give a quick shout out to a new blogger?!

The idea came up awhile ago, but we had to have the perfect name, ya know?

In case you have young kids as well, here is another kidlet one.

Enjoy!

Note to self

Using the food dehydrator when it is close to 90 degrees outside...not such a good idea. Not only does it take much longer to dry out the food...it acts as a little heater in the kitchen.

And when it is 90 degrees outside a little heater inside is not what I am going for.

It's here, It Is Here!!!!!

Hooray, hooray.

Okay, Okay. I have to tell you all about this fantastic person. Well, I don't really know her. Not in real life anyway. But I do know her in cyberspace and if I am lucky one day I WILL get to meet her in real life. She is one of my most favorite bloggers in the whole, wide world. Why, you ask? Even if you don't ask. She is real and funny and loves her kids all the way t0 the core(and her husband!) and she has great values and great advice and I just plain like her.

And no, I am not brown-nosing just because she had this fabulously, fantastic contest. I don't have to. I already won! Ha.

So, my story goes something like this: She had the contest and I entered and I won.

Don't worry, it gets better. I never win anything. I entered anyway. Just because, how could I not. I see this great prize and my adrenaline starts going and I see myself with the prize and how happy I would be to have it. It's like one of those dream sequences in the movies...where it gets all soft and fuzzy and the music is real nice and good things happen to you. Yep, just like that.

So. I get a note in my mailbox from the postal carrier saying that he attempted to deliver my package but could not. No, he did not. I was home all day. Nobody ever came to my door. Hmpph. Now I have to wait till tomorrow. And go to the post office. Okay, I don't have to go to the post office. It says I could have it redelivered, but then I would have to wait even longer. So, off to the post office we go. I actually tried to take a picture of my picking up the package at the post office, but you try to juggle the package, your wallet and keys, a plump 1 yr old and your camera. Not gonna happen. So this is what we did.

We are so excited. Even about the box itself.

And then we get to open it! Okay, so some of us are more excited with the bubble wrap.

Drum roll, please.


Isn't it the most beauteous thing you have ever seen in your whole life? I know you are jealous. And just because it is a baby tote, does not mean the only way you can carry it is if you have a baby. Nope, not at all. It is so stylish it can stand all on its own.

This is my old diaper bag. Which I have to say is also very near and dear to my heart. It was given to me by a priest who lives here in the states, but comes from Uganda. He bought it for me when he went home last time, He said I was sposed to carry it to the market, but I get so much food it wouldn't have worked well for me that way.


And because I know you are just totally wanting to know what I put in my new baby tote. I will show you.


Let's see. I have some bibs and and a burp cloth, and some cloth wipes, and my new cloth diapers(that I just switched to--another entry all together on that), and a diaper cover, and a clean outfit, and some medicine and some band-aids and some anti-bacterial hand gel...and I must say. I have tons of room left in this bag. What else do I need to take that would fill up more space? I hate empty space. I may have to just put all my purse stuff in there when I go out. That would take up some space. Oh, and I need a diaper tote for dirty diapers that I can use when I have to change him when I am out...thinking out loud helps me sometimes. Thanks. That was helpful.

Oh, and here I am holding my new bag.

Umm...wait. This was the part where I asked my 8 yr old son to take a picture of my new bag. Can you see it? That tiny little bit of pink in the corner. Yeah, he needs a little work on focus. He tried again.

I love my new bag. Thank you so much OMSH. You rock!

Traditions

Back in January I mentioned that I got the opportunity to take a trip to my grandma's house. I am so glad that I was able to do that. About 4 weeks ago, she became quite ill and just never seemed to recover fully. She was staying in a nursing home for several days to recover, but sadly that did not happen. She ended up back in the hospital and with her family by her side, passed away on April 23rd, 2007.

I was able to go up there to her funeral and be with my family as we said goodbye to grandma. I had to keep telling myself that she was in a better place now. She wasn't in anymore pain. As I repeated this to myself over and over all of the memories of her came flooding in. The times we spent together. The summers that I got to go to her house and stay with her all by myself. The times we went and picked berries and I ate more than I put in the basket. The time I had a bad dream and crept into her bed and then proceeded to throw up all over her freshly pressed sheets. I could go on and on.

Even tho passing on is a natural part of life it never seems to get any easier to wade thru all the emotions that come along with it. The drive home was much more sober than I had anticipated. It seemed hard to find things to be happy about. Hard to make my way thru all the fog to get to the part where I could begin to see the clearing. It was almost like the fog kept getting thicker and thicker instead of lifting.

I arrived back home and dove into the arms of my husband who had stayed home so he could be with the kids and take care of home life. How I had missed him and his loving arms. The safety that they provide for me is endless. I wedged myself into them and just breathed. Breathing is so much easier when you have a safety net. He took me by the hand and told me to close my eyes. He walked me thru the gate and into the back yard. Back, back, and back some more. To this.

Honeycrisp Apple Tree
You see, when I was little and would go visit grandma over the summer we would spread a blanket out on the floor and have an apple party. We would go pick apples in the orchard and bring them home and wash em up. Then we would sit on the blanket and she would begin to peel. Every time she could peel the apple in one long, curly piece. Every time. And I would sit there in awe just wondering how she did that. Running it thru my fingers. Watching it curl round and round. When I had my kids she did the same for them every time we would go see her. They reacted the same way as I did. It was so special to get to see my memory alive thru them.

A few days before she passed, she had little bursts of energy and I got got to enjoy the bittersweet moment of talking to her on the telephone. Hearing her voice was happy and sad all at the same time and it was very hard for me to figure out how I should be feeling during this special moment in my life. This rare moment of hearing her for the last time.

What she said to me I will remember always. "Keep on having the apple parties." she said. "Have a wonderful life and tell the kids I love them so much."

So, as I sit here in the living room, I can see the apple tree that my husband planted for me. In memory of my grandma. And I will keep having the apple parties.

Here's what we have been working on around here!

This is my garden that is going to be for the birds, butterflies, and bees. I actually made the bed 2 yrs ago, but then life got in the way and along came a new baby and the yard seemed to fall pretty quickly on the list of things to do.

This is where the new and improved veggie garden is going to take up residence. My husband has been working really hard to get this all done in time for the Mother's Day planting. We are hoping to grow enuf food to eat off of all season and store for the winter months.

You can't see it very well, but all along the bottom of the fence there is rabbit proof material. We will see how well it works!

What have you been working on?

Fruit leathers

Recently, my son's school teacher sold me a food dehydrator. I have had it for several weeks, but life kept getting in the way of me trying it out.


This past weekend, I made the time and busted out some fruit leathers. Apple with a hint of cinnamon was the flavor of the day. It was super easy. All you have to do is puree the fruit of your choice. I believe it was 2 cups of pureed fruit. Once you get the pureed fruit spread out on the little plastic tray then you set it into the dehydrator (that has been preheating) and let it stay in there for the amount of time directed. Mine took about 7 hours to dry out. The leathers peel right off the trays as long as you do it while it is still warm. Then all I did was cut it into strips (appx 2 in wide) using the pizza cutter and rolled them up. I placed them in an airtight container and stuck them in the pantry. The kids love them. They are just the right size for snacks and for lunch boxes. Best of all you know exactly what is in them. And it is not high fructose corn syrup. Fresh fruit...that's it.


If you don't have access to a dehydrator, don't worry. You can also do it this way. Try it out...let me know how it goes for ya.