O Happy Day!

...to free myself of the tangle of little boys that have found their way to my bed in the middle of the night, and stumble out into bright daylight at 7am to release the chickens from their coop, and turn around blurry-eyed to see my husband standing in the yard, smiling, with two steaming cups of Starbucks coffee! I'm not sure life could have been much more blissful in that moment.

How I love a good early-morning surprise.

We are all so thankful to have Justin back home, where he belongs. I'm still feeling perplexed that the things I manage just fine during the week are the same things that I am completely incompetent with on the weekends. Dishes, meal planning, picking up, washing clothes...the list goes on. But we made it and we're here--fatigued, yes, but happy and healthy, and finally all together again.

Retail Therapy

Well, Justin just left for Portland to visit his dad for a long weekend. They spend a weekend together once every summer, and take turns being the one to make the drive. This year was our year to commute. Thanks to Trey and Dana for loaning us their Volvo so that the boys and I are not totally housebound!


In preparation for his leaving, I took off last night for several hours of Retail Therapy. Reuben cried and begged to come with me. I thought to myself that he and I would probably have plenty of each other this weekend, thankyouverymuch, and I better go off on my own for a while.


Off to the thrift store, then, where I spent a blissful 2 1/2 hours. Yup, two and a half hours. I closed the place down. And no, I didn't look at everything I wanted to.


Want a sneak peek of some of my treasures?

Here's a tiny cast-iron skillet I bought for Cole to cook his eggs in every morning. We've been working with him on making his own breakfast--which is a bit of a task, since we don't do the typical bagel/muffin/cereal kind of thing in the morning. I love that this skillet is just his size.

(Karissa: here's a cast-iron I bought for YOU! ...if you still want it. I will clean it up and get it seasoned and ready for you!)

This is a stack of five matching stoneware bread-and-butter plates for the boys to use when they set their table for breakfast, snack, or lunch. I think they are BEAUTIFUL.....but they cost me $.49 a piece, so I won't be too heartbroken if one gets dropped and shatters.

And last, but not least, is a simple little navy blue ceramic pitcher so the boys can serve themselves their own tea or water. I'm still trying to decide what to do about cups. We've been using regular drinking glasses, but I like the idea of the boys having their own special cups in their dish cupboard. I'm thinking about giving them some Japanese tea cups I have stored away....

Oh, it's so much fun. All this plus an armload of new clothes for Mama, all for the bargain price of thirty dollars!

We Love Indiana: Dead Or Alive

Quote of the Day:

"I put my special legos in this box. My guy, the grandpa and the whip are in there so that I can play Indiana Jones. The skeleton is in there so that I can play Indiana Bones." --Reese, age 4

Heard Around The House

Cole: "Reese, did you know that you are an animal?"

Reese: "A what? An animal?"

Cole: "Yup. And do you know what kind of animal you are?"

Reese (thinking): "Umm....an octopus?"

Cole: "No. A person."

Heard Around The House

Cole: "I just love to close my eyes. Then I can daydream all I want about Indiana Jones."



Reese: "Reuben, are you a Nazi?"

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole celebrated his 7th birthday on Friday. Eeek! I have a seven year old.

So, you ask, what does one buy for a seven year old on his birthday?

What does every seven year old that shares a bedroom with two of his younger brothers need?

Why, a locking treasure box, of course!

And a treasure box cake, complete with gold chocolate coins and candy jewels....

And his very own copy of Nacho Libre!

(he's nacho average hero)

Can life possibly get any better than this?

Deterioration Of A Day

....as seen through a two-year-old's obedient responses:



Morning: "Yes, momma!"



Lunchtime: "No-yes, momma."



Afternoon: "Yes, poopies."



Evening (whispering): "yes, poopies."