Combine Rides and A New Baby

We finished beans yesterday-now we are picking corn. One hurdle down, one to go. The kids got to ride with Daddy for a little while. It's so nice to have a combine that they can all fit in at once! (The last combine wasn't near big enough for 1 passenger, let alone 3!

Today, there wasn't time to ride w/Daddy since it was the last soccer practice. This was an excellent thing, as our coach is definately not stellar this year and I just am looking forward to being done on Saturday after the last game!

My cousin, who was originally pregnant with twins, and then lost one of them early in her pregnancy, delivered a healthy girl yesterday. Her name is Zaylie Faith (Faith was the name they picked for the deceased twin). Definately a name I've not heard before, but it's all good. Glad things turned out all right.

A Plan

I have a plan . . . . .

No, not for the birthday party (although suggestions are welcome!). Yesterday, I printed MANY pictures off of the computer so that as I have a minute here and there I can set up a layout or 2. I am VERY determined to get back on my goal of having at LEAST one layout or more a week.

Now, if I can just find my desk . . . . .

A Tooth Fairy Visit and Birthday Party Plans

WE are SO lucky today-the tooth fairy came to visit while IC was at school! IC lost another tooth yesterday AT school, and said he nearly swallowed it, but managed not to. Well, he forgot to check under his pillow this am, which is a good thing, because the tooth fairy didn't remember the tooth until 1:30 this afternoon!

IC's 7th birthday is in a little over a month. His request has been for a party with friends. Ugh. I managed to squeak out of doing it last year, but this year, I decided I needed to do it for him. He has 4 boys and 1 girl picked and I said he'd probably better make sure he has 2 girls, so that the one won't feel outnumbered. So, now he thinks he has 7 to invite to his party (he decided on 2 more girls) and I told him 7 was the limit. I am not sure what we are going to do-I'd really like to not have the party here at the house, as it will probably be the day before his family party and I'd never get the house cleaned up after his party without stressing. Plus, I'm not sure what to do with them-I've never done a kids party before. Really. I'm THAT bad. Yikes! What will I do with 5 boys? IC wants a Star Wars party, so I ordered the supplies today, which commits me to actually having a kids and a family party. I'm also afraid I won't get the house decluttered by then. JJ said the kids won't care, but that was before he knew IC wants to invite girls, too. Since it will be November, there's a definate risk it will be too cold or yucky to have it outside. So, I am working my brain trying to come up with a solution as to where/what to do at this thing.

Miss A thinks she needs to have a birthday party with kids too, but I told her not until she turns 7! Mommy might lose her mind if she had to deal with 2 parties, one each a month around Christmas! Yes, it's true. Miss A's birthday is in January, soon after Christmas. Definately 1 birthday party is all I want to handle right now!

Any great solution suggestions would be welcome at this point. I have not a clue what I am going to do!

Snow Boy

Isn't he cute? It's hard to believe that that cutie has the mouth and attitude that he does now. I got this LO done a couple of weeks ago of IC in the snow when he was 3.

Today is another balmy day of 78 degrees-much different than this layout, but I got to thinking how it won't be long before we'll probably be in this-snow,cold, brrrr!!! I am shivering just thinking about it.

Another Nap

I need to seriously redo my profile picture. Ugh-winter will be back here before you know it.

Just not today. It was a Brrrr-cold! start to the morning at 48 degrees, but it warmed to a balmy 77 by the afternoon.

The girls and I worked on the S.S. bulletin board this morning for awhile. All I have left are the letters.

After a quick run to the grocery store, it was home to make dinner. Of course, JJ decides at 11 am to eat dinner, which I'd have had dinner ready by then if he'd actually given me advance notice.

So, he heated left over pizza and ate with Miss A, and then of course, E wanted to eat, so we all kinda ate leftovers for dinner, but it worked.

This afternoon, during E's nap I had GREAT intentions of getting things done. I did some computer stuff and then E came down in her half asleep fuss and promptly fell back asleep on the couch. I sat down for a minute with her and found myself waking from a nap 1 hour later! That's the 2nd day in a row-I'd better start eating better so that maybe I'm not hitting a sugar/caffiene crash mid afternoon.

So, I really didn't get much done for what seems like the 5th day in a row. Bummer.

After the kids got home, I worked with IC a short while to sort legos (we are sorting by color) before heading out to take lunches (which I premade before the kids got home). I finally found everyone and then it was time to eat before dance.

I asked mom to come and pick Miss A and watch E while I took IC to his first den meeting. We added another boy from IC's class tonight, so now there are 7 tiger cubs.

On the way home, we hit 3 places for popcorn. IC's very excited about selling, I don't know if it for that marshmellow crossbow he has to sell $600 worth of popcorn for or what. Mom wishes we could get it done in an afternoon, but oh well. She's hanging in there as best as she can! (I am not a good salesperson and don't enjoy going door-to-door. But, it's ok.

We did have a good talk on the way home, though, and found out that IC's current closest friend moved to York today, which upset him. He also talked about wanting to have a birthday party with boys. I've not done it before so now I'm racking my brain as to how to do it simple. It has to be simple.

Tomorrow after school, IC wants to go and do some more selling, so we probably will, but I'd better not take a nap beforehand or I might not have sandwiches made in time!

Not Exactly the Most Restful Day

Well, I am sitting here w/E bunny on my lap, and it's near-impossible to type. It's been quite busy for a Sunday, though I still managed to get a nap in today.

I had a meeting before S.S. for making the children's activity packs in the church. It's a small job, but the kids use them a lot during the service, so it's a needed thing and it will only take a few minutes a week to refill them.

Then, after church, I had a choir director's meeting. I am not a choir director, but since this was about the Christmas program, which I will be doing the costumes again, AND also a member of the music committee, I had to attend.

I had a sinus headache all through church, so after dinner, I took E up for her nap and ending up taking a nap, too. This is very unusual for me, I usually catch up on other things Sunday afternoon on the computer and so on.

After that, we headed to town to a birthday party for a gentlemen who turned 100 years old. Then, we did a little popcorn selling on the way home.

Since JJ saw several neighbors in the field this afternoon, he was soon itching to get in there, too. Since this morning was foggy and damp, he didn't realize that with the sun shining this afternoon, that it had actually dried off enough to cut beans.

So, at 5pm, he headed to combine in the Pork 80 field (at our south road's corner, so only 1/4 mile away). He took the girls with him, so they got a ride (IC didn't want to). IC and I brought the pickup later so he could take a dump truck over to the field to fill. Then, IC and I went back to the field a 1/2 hour later to pick up the girls, taking the 4 wheeler for a fun ride. So, the girls ended up with a combine, dump truck and 4 wheeler ride today-pretty good for one day.

Seemed like we did a lot of work today for a day of rest, but it could have been worse!

Popcorn Sales and Chalk Drawings

This is what small children do with chalk besides painting the sidewalk.

The kids decided to create this masterpiece today-it covered the WHOLE patio and sidewalk.

It orginally started out as roads/highways. I am not sure what it ended up actually being.

IC came up with this idea and he lasted the longest in working on it.

This is what happens when the 2 yo decides she's tired of using chalk to color with.

The other artists'

Miss A's quiet moment with Sasha after all the drawing.

Today was another busy day. We started with an 8:30 am soccer game. It had rained early this am, so the field was a little muddy, but not bad. It was pretty nice this am, but cooled down this afternoon.

So, after the game, we headed home. It was to be a double header today, with the 2nd game at 11:30, but there was no way we could do both the game and make it to the scout thing this afternoon at 1, so we skipped the 2nd game.

To be honest, I don't think anyone missed it-neither of the kids even mentioned it.

At 1 pm, the scout troup met to do some door-to-door popcorn selling. Since it wasn't mandatory, only about 1/3 of the troup was there, but we still did well. IC was able to sell to 5 poeple (not a lot of people around today, being a football day and so on). The hard part will be trying to catch our neighbors to sell to them, as with harvest people are in the field.

We did learn a hard lesson today. The little slides on the neckerchief's slide off easily, and we lost his today. I will have to get another the next time I go to York.

After we got back, mom left (she watched the girls for me) and I worked on some things for Sunday School before going out to watch the hoolums.

Since it was too wet to be in the field, I did get JJ to fix the failing back door handle, as it kept spontaneously popping open.

The final activity before going in was the chalk (see pictures above). Let's just say, I have to soak the girls' clothes and had to scrub E's face a little to get the blue off.

Definately an interesting day.

Popcorn Time!

Thursday's troup meeting was the big-popcorn kick off night. The troup only does 1 fundraiser a year, so we learned all about it.

The kids then played some popcorn-related games, whacked a pinata, and got their name drawn for prizes. IC won a little coleman lantern for camping, and had a pretty good time.

Another Trip

Today was another of those days. Since I didn't get called back to work, I decided to drive back to Lincoln to go to the co-signment sale to get the kids a few things for this winter. Well, I actually debated if I should go, but in the end, I did anyway.

Unfortunately, I had to drag the girls along.

And unfortunately, they were rather difficult today. They constantly wanted to go their own way instead of staying with me in any place we went, and they were usually into something they weren't supposed to be after I'd specifically told them not to touch/play with stuff.

Ugh.

I did get some things for all the kids at the sale, and then it was off to Menards. That used to be the place where JJ and I ALWAYS went EVERY time we went to Lincoln. We haven't actually been there in quite some time, (with the exception of me getting a couple of wrenches on Wednesday), but I was able to go directly to the 2 spots I needed (I still know that store like the back of my hand!).

Then, it was off to McDonalds. Yippee-it's just not that great, but the girls still like it. IC has finally graduated to wanting to go to other places, although he usually still gets chicken nuggets, but ah well.

So, then it was a quick stop at the Card Factory Outlet. I have looked in several places trying to find the decorations for IC's birthday party (we looked at some online and he picked a certain Star Wars theme). Of course, no stores carry them, so now I'll probably have to order them online. Imagine that.

Anyway, then it was a quick trip to Walmart (you really didn't think I could NOT go, did you?), before heading home.

We beat IC home by 1/2 hr and after I put things away, I went out with the girls. It was a nice day today actually- mid 70s with a little breeze and SUNSHINE ( we haven't seen that for a few days).

Now, I am planning to get the older 2 into bed, and maybe try to clean a little before showering and bed, even though I'd rather just go to bed NOW. I probably should have stayed home today to clean, but instead I will struggle through the next few days to get it done (it's bad enough I'm starting to go crazy). Unfortunately, tomorrow is another of those busy days. There's supposed to be 2 soccer games tomorrow -8:30 & 11:30, but in order for IC to get to scouts at 1 pm, we'll have to skip the 2nd game. The scouts will be selling popcorn around town tomorrow. Then, I'll have to get home to make lunches. I lucked out and didn't have to do them today since they didn't get into the field until later today, but I won't be that lucky tomorrow.

And you wouldn't believe it, but I have 2 meetings on Sunday morning and an open house in the afternoon. So much for a restful day to recuperate! Ugh. And Monday's kinda busy to.

And I keep getting told it only gets worse the older your kids get.

Lovely.

First Day of Work

Well, today was different than planned. I got a phone call at 7:10 am, asking if I could come be a sub for a para at the high school.

So, I finally started working! It was a little scary, especially since I'd be starting my first time in the SUCCESS class. (The SUCCESS students are the handicapped students.) Most go to regular classes, but a para is in with some kids in certain classes to help them understand the work, etc. There's one child who is not able to attend any regular classes, so he stays all the time in the SUCCESS classroom, plus the other students are in there at various times. The whole schedule is a little crazy, but I suppose it will make more sense as I'm there more often. The students were all friendly to me and it went fairly well. Since it was my first time there, I was able to shadow the other paras some to see what they do.

The girls were thrilled to go to daycare today (who knew?) and then Miss A went to TYKE in the afternoon, where she crashed with another child right before I picked her up so she was rather upset when I got there. Then, since I forgot to send a note to IC's teacher about picking IC up from school, I had to go track him down in the bus waiting room.

At least, it rained for part of the day today, so I didn't have to worry about making lunches as soon as I got home.

THEN, to make it better, it came up and rained right before soccer practice so that got cancelled, too.

The only thing left tonight is IC's Troup (Cub Scout) meeting. Since it rained, JJ is supposed to be in to watch the girls while I take IC into town.

Not bad for my first day.

A Day Trip and A Combine Ride

This morning I dropped IC off at school before heading to York for a back adjustment. I'm thinking I will be feeling the effects of that for the rest of the week.

Next, it was off to Lincoln to take the cosignment clothes to the sale. It went pretty smoothly and I might go back on Friday for a few things for the kids.

Then, it was off to Hobby Lobby, but I ended up stopping at an awesome scrapbooking store I'd been to 1 time before. It's so awesome, I wish it was closer to me! I also wouldn't mind working there!

Anyway, after that drool-fest, I made it to Hobby Lobby for a few paint supplies for an upcoming paint workshop in our art club, checked out some ideas to tell the in-laws for upcoming birthday and Christmas gifts, and even found the kids each an ornament for Christmas!

Then, after a quick run through the drive thru at Arby's, I headed to Menards to pick up a couple of wrenchs for JJ and a door-knob replacement piece for the back door, as ours quit working right this week so that the door doesn't latch shut and pops open WAY too easily.

After I got home, it was rush to get lunches done. Luckily my FIL was in the yard and offered to take them to the rest of the guys.

After unloading a few things from the car, and giving the kids a snack (btw, mom watched the girls today while I was galavanting in Lincoln), I took the kids to ride with Daddy in the combine while he was picking beans. We rode for several rounds before the kids started to get bored/antsy.

Since the kids were born, I haven't been able to ride with JJ much in the combine. Before kids, I would come after work and bring lunches and then ride with him in the combine for an hour or two, and sometime more if he was in the truck. Of course, we had the smaller combine then, with no 2nd seat like we have this year. Good thing I wasn't as heavy then, as he'd fold down the arm of the seat and I'd sit on that.

The kids have been riding before, but usually there wasn't much room for me once there were 3 kids and we'd just ride for a round or 2 before being done.

I've forgotten how much I missed it until today.

Monday's Work

Ok, it's windy today.

And when I mean windy, we're talking, like 40 + miles out here-wind advisory for today-type windy. We don't do things small in the midwest!

Yesterday, I GOT ALL THE COSIGNMENT STUFF DONE. Yes, it was that big that I needed to capitalize it. There might be a couple of things to price yet that are at mom's house, and I SHOULD go through the winter boxes, since they are still out from Saturday, but all in all, the worst is done.

We are talking, a HUGE WHOOHOO here.

And yes, the plan is always to start the whole pricing, hanging, etc thing LONG before 2 weeks before the sale, but you know how far good intentions sometimes take you.

So, now it's time to catch up with the rest of the house-I have 6 baskets of laundry to fold, a rather dirty house to clean, numerous papers to deal with, etc. It will take me all week to probably get the basics done, but ah well.

JJ headed out to the field today-he's been itching all weekend to go. It's supposed to be warm for the next few days, and boy, did it get warm today. Especially compared to Saturday's freezing temps-80 degrees is a sauna today!

I'll have to check, but I'm pretty sure I will be making lunches today-have I mentioned that I don't really enjoy making lunches daily? And this year, I have double duty. I have to make IC's lunches for about 1/2 of the month, but he's picky and I can't just send a sandwich with him-he's much more complicated. At least, the guys don't care too much about a simple sandwich and a couple of cookies.

Now, it's off to make lunches and try to figure out which thing on my list needs to be done first before the kids get home from school, supper, and dance practice.

IC's Bike Ride Layout

I actually did it this past week - I got a NEW layout done! This was 3 years ago already. The training wheels have been off over a year, the bike's outgrown, and put away in the little shed out back.

How fast time goes by.

Chilly Saturday

IC actually had to DEFEND his sister during the soccer game. Whether or not he'll ever admit it-they make a pretty good team together.

So neat to see the monarchs so close and so many in one place. They literally covered the tree.

You could literally see them shiver in the cold.

Yuck. Definately going to have to dig through and make sure everyone's got winter stuff to fit.

Did I mention yuck?

The kids trying to fly a kite in the windy cold. They ended up breaking part of the kite after I took this picture.

At the movie. . . . . . .

WITHOUT JJ's help.

So, today was FREEZING.

Okay, so it didn't actually freeze, but it felt like it. After the hot 85 degrees yesterday, it was 58 today! No wonder a nasty respiratory and stomach flu is passing through the schools already. Good grief-we wore winter coats today.

Anyway, we had a soccer game at 8:30 am-ugh-it was early for a Saturday. E bunny and I stayed in the van, but we were plenty close enough to see the game without any problem.

AFter that, we went to my BIL's, as the monarch butterflies stop there on the way south during migration. Since it was so cold, they didn't fly, move or flutter much, but the kids got to see them up close.

We didn't get outside until 3, after I'd had to dig the winter stuff out of the store room.

We discovered that Cupcake the cat's been holding out on us-she had 2 kittens survive from her last litter-we caught sight of a black kitty and a striped kitty-the kids are thrilled.

We had supper early in order to go to the movie in town tonight. Ramona and Beezus was a really good movie. The girls got a little bored, but IC really liked it. I took all 3 kids without JJ's help. He didn't get done with work in time to go along. The theater wasn't crowded, so it was all good.

Now, it's time for bed-tomorrow will be here all too soon.

Busy Friday

The "quick" trip to York involved donuts-guess who had chocolate?

Apparently, asking for everything in sight and taking EVERYTHING possible off the shelf proved to be exhausting for the girls.

I was VERY proud and excited to see IC on the scout's float.

The girls got a TON of candy-more I think than at the 4th of July parade!

Another view of the boys.

It's been another busy day, so here are the highlights:

* Took IC to school and acquired Homecoming paraphanalia in the form of necklaces.

* Went to York for a rather unexpected trip to Wally World for more safety pins (necessity for the co-signment sale), where it took longer than expected, got more than I thought I would and the girls either asked for everything in sight or proceeded to constantly take stuff off the shelves.

* Home to crunch through dinner. E decided to nap on the way home, so she didn't take an afternoon nap.

* Piddled around for a couple of hours after dinner and nearly forgot I was supposed to meet mom and IC in town for the parade. (The kids had grandparents day today).

* Rushed IC to parade float for scouts and then rushed back downtown to meet mom-after yesterday's nippy 68 degrees yesterday, 85 degrees today was HOT! IC did great his first time on a float-he was pretty excited to get to do it, and Mommy was proud for him to get to participate.

* Helped the girls get LOTS of candy from the parade, then drug the kids home to play outside.

* Bouncing B showed in the yard late in the afternoon and I let the kids play as late as possible, thereby, making supper late and soon after, it was time for bed.

* E has crashed on the floor BEFORE 9:30, thereby, nearly guaranteeing she will be up at an unmentionable time in the morning and we have an early soccer game at the unmentionable time (for Saturdays) of 8:30.

* Ready to crash into bed at 9:30, but the big kids are still up and the cosignment clothes are waiting to be made ready for next Wednesday.

* Hoping tomorrow will be mainly uneventful-need some recovery time!

A Giggle For Miss A

This is another of those layouts I did before the fair that I did NOT take. It just didn't turn out like the picture in my head, I guess, but it's still a good layout. And I hope I can put it in Miss A's FULL album someday!

IT has Begun!

Ahh-IT has officially begun.

IT being harvest.

JJ's been itchy all week and he finally got to try out the combine on corn this evening.

Now, they may not be going full-bore tomorrow . . .

Or yet again, they might.

I'll get the full scoop tonight as to whether the corn is dry enough, etc.

Ick. This means I'd better get the cold meat out of the freezer-looks like I'll be making lunches sooner, rather than later.

Monday's Dance Class

This was the scene Monday, before the thunderstorm decided to descent on our area. Miss A started her class and it's a little later this year-6:20 pm instead of 5:45. She was very excited to be back on the dance floor again.

Husker Harvest Day Fun & the Day After

Yesterday was a pretty good day at Husker Harvest Days. It was E bunny's first time there and she had Mommy and Daddy to herself. The morning was a little rough coming out of the gate, as we hadn't even gotten to York and she threw up all over herself. I don't know why-she's had allergies kinda bad for almost a week, or else she choked a little on her water-either way, we stopped at the side of the road to clean her up. I was hoping she wasn't going to be sick again, as I only had 1 extra outfit.

She didn't, by the way, and once she figured out she could climb on the equipment, she had a grand time climbing tractors and a couple of combines. She kept wanting to see the horsies, but there wasn't too many of them or cows for her to see.

She, of course, put on the charm for some of the vendors, and got more than one pen or prize. She did conk out around 2 pm and when we left at 3, she did finally wake up.

After that, we headed to Hastings to get IC his scout uniform shirt, neckerchief and slide for cub scouts. Then, it was home. To chaos. Or at least, it felt like it.

Today, I have been trying REALLY hard to get some of the co-signment clothes done, but E did not cooperate in her nap for very long today and this evening is choir practice, so soon it will be cleanup, supper and homework.

Right now, I am getting bit alive by those nasty tiny black bugs while I type. Our anticipated storm last night was a couple of thunders and a little rain. There's been rain forecasted for most of this week and some of next-typical for our state when it's time for harvest to start!

BIG day

Well, it stormed last night, though we didn't get much rain and more of that mess is expected tonight.

Today, we went to Husker Harvest Days and after that, a quick stop in Hastings for IC's cub scout shirt, hankerchief and slide.

My legs are SO hurting from walking.

Pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.

E bunny, the Chalk Artist

I have to admit, I've had THIS particular layout done for awhile. So, no, I didn't get my layout-a-week goal done YET. It was one I thought I'd take to the county fair, but I changed my mind last minute. It's actually one of E from this past summer.

It's fun to do some recent photos sometimes to change up the monotony of being stuck where I am now-trying to do her 3 mos. old ones and remember what was going on at the time! I actually have a journal to help me remember, but I didn't write down everything, so I'm having to work hard sometimes to remember back 2 years ago.

The Writing on the Floor, the Wall, the Stepstool . . .

E bunny is on a SERIOUS kick to write on EVERYTHING. She has made her mark on books, bills, the wall, the stepstool, the tote with the sippy cups, the van window and now, the kitchen floor.

Besides being rather tired of her writing on everything, cleaning it up is no fun, either. I have tried magic eraser and while it cured the step stool and MOST of the wall writings, the floor remains scarred.

I was surprised the magic eraser didn't work, but now I don't know what to try. Any bits of wisdom would be GREATLY appreciated.

Sunday-the start of another wild week

How come there always has to be a crisis of gigantic proportions at bedtime?

Things were going great while we were watching "The Dukes of Hazard." Yep, we got sucked into the marathon weekend on CMT. Quality television, don't ya think?

IC watched it some when he was little, like 2 or 3, but then he started getting too wild when it was on, so we didn't watch it anymore. He used to love it, though. He doesn't remember watching it, but thinks it's great now.

It's probably tamer than some of the other stuff he's seen.

Anyway, bedtime was announced and soon after going upstairs, the girls decided to attack each other (over a toy, of course). Miss A is VERY possessive. There was also an incident of E biting Miss A. Lovely.

Today was a big day in general as it was the first day of S.S. and choir. It went pretty well, but we didn't actually have time for a lesson, so next week will probably be a little more true to how things are going to go.

After church and the meal, we went home. While IC was playing Wii w/Daddy, I put E to bed and an hour later, the kids woke her up FIGHTING over a game that Daddy was going to play with Miss A.

Later, John's Aunt Caroline and Uncle Bob came to get some peaches from the tree before Daddy took the kids fishing, which is what E wanted to do.

I took a short bike ride w/IC, which was great, before we ordered pizza today (and watched the dukes). How's that for another one of those fun-for-your-family-but-probably-boring-reading stories?

Daddy did great with doing something w/all 3 kids today. I really liked that.

The (lack of) Excitement

My life's not that interesting right now.

Really.

I could describe how I washed the van yesterday at home by hand with a little help from IC, and swept out the garage, or how I washed out the garbage cans today because they were nasty and at 8:40 pm, I am still washing laundry. Or how we had a soccer game this morning where the 2 teams were evenly matched and I brought drinks for the kids after the game. Or how Bouncing B showed in the yard two days in a row and how I FINALLY got all the stuff ready for S.S. and it starts tomorrow! Or how I didn't get the house cleaned except for the kids doing THEIR chores and that I HAVE to get the co-signment clothes ready by this time next week.

OR how difficult IC's been lately with an attitude that hasn't improved, to the point I want to ban him from going to Husker Harvest Days next week.

Seriously, this is the "excitement" for the past few days. Ugh. I know it's just life, but boy, you'd think I'd have something more interesting to talk about!

A Layout for E bunny

Okay, one of my goals is to do a layout a week. Well, I haven't been able to do that yet this week, ALTHOUGH, I have one 1/2 done sitting on my desk.

Never mind that it's been there for awhile.

So, to start things off, I have this layout. It was done during the summer and it's sat on my desk for awhile, but it IS done. So, I'm showing it off. This is when E was barely 1 1/2 months. I've nearly forgotten that she was that little at one time.

This is the latest layout for E's baby book. My goal is to get her baby book done by next summer to enter in the fair. Yes, I'm thinking big. :)

Soccer and Cub Scouts

Well, I made it through the big evening.

I think.

Although, E bunny and I are a tad bit cranky.

This am, I went to the church to finish getting the S.S. room ready and got asked to refill the children's packs for church starting in October.

Yea, I said yes. There actually isn't too much involved. Refill with a coloring page and children's bulletin weekly and make sure there's a few crayons in each pack and I think there's like, 10 or 12, so it's not a big deal.

I met with my co-teacher for the class while I was working on the room and we got things situated and ready for Sunday.

After that, it was head home to feed me and the girls since JJ was gone all day to a crop school. Bet that was exciting (at least, I'd be bored to tears, I am sure).

After Miss A got off to school, E took a nap and I took a break for awhile before putting a second coat of varathane on the board that JJ's going to use to replace the broken one that's on E's bed. It cracked quite some time ago, he temporarily fixed it, but the board is continuing to break, so it's got to be replaced.

Mind you, I quick did this in the garage, as the pig smell and 6 drops of rain were annoying. Then I quick did chores before getting stuff ready for the evening.

AFter the kids came home, they snacked and luckily, IC did not have homework (yea!), before it was time to change to soccer gear and head to practice.

AFter practice, we headed to my parents in law to eat supper (yes, I packed the cooler, I didn't want to put my MIL out!) before IC and I headed to the cub scout meeting at school. There's 6 or 7 boys in the 1st grade Tiger Cub Den and IC's one of them. He's pretty excited to be building stuff. The only tiring thing is the kids will be selling popcorn in a week for their only fundraiser. We just got done with the school selling, now, we'll have to hit up people again.

The older 2 are in bed about 45 minutes late (which really isn't THAT big of a deal, since they tend to stay up after we put them to bed anyway) and I am SO ready to head there. Hopefully, E won't stay up until 11:30 like she did last night. Let's just say morning came WAY too early this morning.

The Class Pet

IC informed me yesterday when he got home from school that the class pet, Daisy (a guinea pig), had died over the long weekend. He's disappointed and it doesn't look as if Mrs. F will be getting another one, either.

IC was so excited because he was going to get to have her over Christmas vacation and was really looking forward to it.

Kind of a bummer.

Have You Seen My Mind? I Miss It. Badly.

I think I lost my mind-or at least, parts are scattered around here and there.

This morning the girls and I ran some errands, took a walk and visited daycare. E loved playing with everyone and Miss A has 3 friends from school, so it will work out for them to come once in a while when I work.

I realized while we were taking a walk, that this Sunday is the first day of Sunday School and I don't have the room decorations all up yet. So, I quick finished things while E was napping and plan to stop at the church tomorrow after dropping IC off at school in order to get things put up.

THEN, the other teacher happened to call this afternoon, wanting to know if I had the Lord's Prayer project done yet. Um, that would be no, since I FORGOT about it. Seriously, this is sad. So, you guessed it, I will be working on that stuff tomorrow afternoon before our busy evening.

I'm pretty sure my brain is scrambled and I just don't know why. I am hoping it will get better or else, I'm going to have to figure out a way to work around being so scattered and learn to live with it.

To add to things, hubby just came home from a church meeting and someone's brilliant idea is to have a "celebration" on a Sunday in November to celebrate the many ministries the church has. This means, I have to make a poster about the cradle roll-ugh, you have got to be kidding me. I DO NOT want to do it. There just isn't that much to say. Yuck.

Scattered

I am going to sleep . . . .just shortly, I hope.

It's been a rather exhausting day. It started when I got a call for work-unfortunately, I ABSOLUTELY HAD to go to GI today to pick up our State Fair stuff, so I had to say no.

I left the girls at home (with mom) and dropped IC off at school before heading west. It took quite some time to get all the stuff at the fair, they weren't as organized as they could have been.

Then, of course, it was stop at Walmart before heading to York to eat and get a few groceries. Somehow, this short excursion turned into a full-day deal. I was a little scattered brained today. I did maybe get a birthday present for IC, a deal on hangers (to use for the cosignment clothes, an appointment for the girls to check out daycare in case I actually have to take them there while I work, and the mowing done.

So, all was not lost, just maybe squewed a little :)

A Yard Mess

Look what the men did to my yard! All to get this thing out of the shed:

Yep, it's close to harvest time. So, it's time for the panic, worry, constant working on the combine for days, and checking to see who's first in the field. UGH!

Luckily for the men, they put all the stuff back in the shed except the combine, but it's in the lot and not in the yard, either.

Baking Day

The kids HAD to have sprinkles on their brownies, and the only ones that I could find to work were some Scooby Doo vans and bones sprinkles.

Today the kids got up before I did, so it was a little harder getting them motivated to get ready this morning.

IC decided he wanted Orange Julius for breakfast, as he liked it a lot at school on Friday, so that's what all of us (except JJ) had. This started our morning of baking.

After breakfast, it was push to get the kids dressed and pick out the week's school clothes, but with that accomplished it was time to go to work.

We baked brownies, made lemonade (from scratch) and made apple cinnamon muffins. IC wanted to do pancakes, but it was close to dinner time and I didn't have a griddle. I called my mom, who has an extra one and the girls and I went and got it after dinner while IC went with Daddy.

Miss A and I played My Little Pony while E slept and then it was snack time. Soon afterward, Bouncing B showed up in the yard and the kids all played together until 6 pm. I was able to finish the laundry, stain a board for the girls' bed, hose out the laundry hampers, and get rid of the baby swings today. Both had been handed down to us and both are pretty much shot, but of course, my FIL wanted to save the rope from the swings. Don't ask-I know where it's going to end up-the shop, which collects all that junk. I swear, these people can't get rid of anything!

I did get a few pancakes pre-made while the kids had supper. Now, hopefully, IC will eat them for breakfast.

The State Fair

We got a treat seeing the Budweiser horses not in their pens.

Don't tell Grandpa the girls were riding Case pedal tractors (and this one's a combine!)

IC doing a welding simulation at the 4-H/FFA building. Pretty neat!

We are home. We left at 8 am and got home at 5 pm. Let's just say, it was a big day at the State Fair.

Being it was at a new place and town, it took a little bit to find some things, some things are definately different from the past years, and some things are better. Big huge barns for the animals, but all the 4-H and FFAers and Open Class are all together. This makes it harder to search out people (we didn't really try, with 3 kids and a double stroller, there's a limit to what you can do).

All in all, it was a pretty good fair, despite the bad attitude of a certain boy during most of the morning and after we got home. Sigh.

After we were settled at home, Daddy played Legos w/IC while I cleaned things up. We later ended up outside, where Daddy rode bike w/IC, the tractor w/E bunny and the 4 wheeler w/Miss A. IC did a major wipe out w/his bike and landed on his face, scraping his chin, and around his mouth. Ow.

This Week In Pictures Aug 29-Sept 4

Sunday: I challenged myself to take at least a picture a day for the week, so here we are! JJ took the kids fishing at our pond for a little while in the afternoon. . .

BUT, I think he did the fishing and the kids played in the truck! Yes, I have a lovely reflection of myself in the window-ah well.

Monday: While playing outside, the kids decided to get the golf clubs out and play.

IC decided to increase the degree of difficulty-I don't believe that particular shot worked for him.

Tuesday: In the morning, the birds were having a truely wonderful time in the bird bath! It was quite the place to be.

Wednesday: I procured the ultimate bribery for my kids for the upcoming Sunday's early morning departure to the State Fair.

Thursday: Pictures of the girls, what more is there to say?

You'd not want to venture how long it took to get this picture!

IC never did give me a good pic, he was moving around too much and talking the whole time!

Ta-Dah! The girls kept running across IC's scooter ramp and letting me know how great they did. (In between times E was blowing the whistle.)

Friday: This is one of the holes the dog has re-started digging in my flowers. I have this tall, ugly fence around my daylilies and she still got in.

This is one hole I leave for her to dig in, but now she doesn't. Of course, if I filled it in, she would go back to digging in it again.

This is maggot-breath, I mean, Sasha, the dog who's going to end up in doggy jail if she doesn't stop digging in my yard and killing my cats.

The girls had a good time playing frisbee-Miss A is getting better at it.

E bunny's even getting good at it-except she ends up throwing the frisbee BEHIND her instead of in front-but it sails really nice!

Saturday: I realize that things are turning yellow-the corn's drying down pretty fast around here and even the trees' leaves are losing their lush greeness. Fall is close!

I am still finding a few blooms-my transplanted daylilies from the spring still have a few flowers on them.

The peach tree is being supported by JJ's cross-beams. The peaches are nearly ready!

My zinnias are still blooming-this picture turned out really nice.

There you have it-this week in pictures!