Batten down the hatches

We spent the day getting ready for Hurricane Irene's arrival. The boys disassembled the pool - all by themselves! (They also killed 11 black widows in the process. YIKES!)Mae and Bootsie removed all the screens from the windows and put them in the shed.


Sugar Baby led the way in the laundry department, and I (among other things) baked bread...
Generator is ready, extra water is set aside, and poptarts are in the pantry. I think we are ready!

Thankfulness

I know big families aren't for everybody, but I must say that I am so grateful that God has allowed me to be one of the moms who gets assigned to one. Sure, we have our not-so-fun days like everybody else and the cooking, sweeping, wiping, washing, drying, folding, cleaning, settling disputes, and even nagging can seem endless, but so do the special memories, laughs, smiles, love, fun and joy.

Today was a sweet reminder of all those wonderful things. Sugar Baby, knowing that Queenie was tired and possibly not feeling well this afternoon, made her a little bed/nest on the floor and read to her. Queenie fell asleep, and while she slept, her big sisters set up a tea party for her.

Queenie awoke to find a party fit for a princess! How sweet is that?
Don't you just love to hear your children laugh? Sometimes my boys nearly drive me nuts with all their silliness, but when I stop to think that what I'm hearing is happiness, it helps me be much more appreciative (and sane). I love their giggles!

Psalm 127:3 says that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him" and I believe it. :)

Ladies and gentlemen.... May I present to you:

The First Lizard of the Season
(according to Monkey Man & Mr. C.)

And so begins a season of chasing, trapping and terrifying every reptile and amphibian inhabiting this here land. My boys love catching lizards & were so excited to find this one earlier today. Thankfully, they let him go after only a few minutes of captivity. [Run, lizard, RUN!]

A little patience...

Woohoo! It snowed!! The kids & I took the day off from school yesterday to play in it. We went sledding, threw snowballs & built an igloo.

Bootsie, the animal lover, got some chicken feed and sat patiently in the snow for a while, waiting for the birds. They inched closer and closer, and then to our amazement, they even hopped onto her hand and ate from it!

It was such a fun day!

More Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous. That's pretty much how my brain operates. Hundreds of unrelated thoughts, ideas, plans, etc... swirling around in my head...

Mr. C turned 7 recently! He had a "Appy Birthday". He zoned out while decorating his cake & unknowingly ate the "H". (Do these boys look like they need all the sugar in that cake?)

Beautiful Eggs! Aren't these eggs so pretty? They remind me of spring.

We had a Fabulous Fifties Valentines Banquet at church last Saturday. I donned a poodle skirt & Daddy Duck slicked his hair back & rolled up his jeans. It was a lot of fun. I tried to tease my hair to make it bouff up in the back, but it was a lot harder than I anticipated. (Mainly because I was afraid of having to comb it all back out!)

Eggs, Flour & Kitchen Decor

Last week, Monkey Man found this egg in the nest. The shell was soft and squishy. We've had this happen 2 or 3 times in our past 4 years of having chickens. I'm not sure what caused it, but it is kind of neat. I was afraid to eat it, though, so I let Monkey Man play with it. He threw it up in the air a couple of times & it bounced! (Later, he managed to throw it hard enough to splat.)

Have you ever spilled 20 pounds of flour on your kitchen floor? If so, you will be familiar with the following picture. Actually, most of it had already been scooped up before I remembered to get my camera. Daddy Duck took care of the rest with the handy dandy shop vac. (That is Queenie's freshly bathed & slicked down head in the foreground.)

Some people decorate their kitchen counters with lovely, stylish canisters. Others have dishes or spice racks. Me? I decorate with really cute 2 year olds. Queenie loves to sit there and "help" me cook.