where do chickens come from?

sometimes on our drive home, we discuss what's for dinner. tonight was one of those nights. gracie's vote, seconded by cale, was chicken nuggets. great. easy for me. i start throwing a meal together in my head. some chicken nuggets, green beans, and maybe some applesauce. then gracie says "mom, what are chicken nuggets made of?"... i say "chicken". that wasn't good enough for her. oh, no. on we go... "but what kind of chicken?"... "the kind that run around and say cluck, cluck, cluck"... "well, where do those chickens come from?"... "eggs"... "where do eggs come from?"... so i launch into the whole thing about hens and laying eggs. finally, the answer was good enough. but, not for me. i thought it would be fun to have daddy join in the conversation, since they usually ask me these kinds of things... no, not such a good idea. i really should stop over thinking things, because...

when daddy got home, i said "hey gracie, ask daddy about the chicken and eggs". she did. he gave me quite a look, then tells her the same story i did... until the part about where eggs come from. instead of the clean version i gave her about hen's laying eggs, he tells her they poop them (at this point, he gets the look from me). really? must we give her that kind of information at 5? really? they poop them? come on. gracie, on the other hand, thinks it's funny. of course, she does. anything about poop when you're 5 is funny. anyway, they then continue the discussion about the yolk, baby chicks forming inside the egg, and getting the eggs from the hens before they start forming chicks. at this point, i kind of tuned them out. bad idea. i rejoin the conversation just as gracie says, "ok, now that's just gross!"... and then she left the table. i probably don't even want to know what he told her.

earlier, i thought it would be funny to get daddy in on the conversation. remind me not to think so much.

a saturday morning makeover

yesterday morning i awoke to a sweet voice requesting my presence in the living room for a makeover. i peeked one eye open to see how many little people would be making me over, and i saw just one. then i realized... it's too quiet. so, out of bed and to the living room we go.

this is the face that goes with the sweet voice who wanted to "makeover" my hair...

and this is her pirate assistant who popped out of the shadows... with the spray bottle. everything in the living room wound up wet. everything.

after much brushing, pulling, and whining... this was the finished product. i wore my hair just like that all morning, until it was time to shower. stop laughing... seriously. stop. now.


and this, well, this was the sunset at the ranch last night. gorgeous, huh? what's so amazing to me is knowing that God made those beautiful sunsets just for us! enjoy!

ahhh, friday.

i love fridays. i mean, i really love fridays. i've been so looking forward to today, all week. i thought it was gonna rain and i was planning on snuggling on the couch with a cup of tea and my new book. sounds heavenly, right? bad news... it didn't rain. it was too warm for a cup of tea. and, my bookmark is still in the same place it was yesterday. so with 5 whole hours to myself, what did i do? i ate breakfast without sharing one bite with anyone. i cleaned the kitchen and enjoyed the fact that all the dishes were clean at the same time. i listened to the last message from pastor craig of lifechurch.tv twice... in a row. it was so good. great, actually. i washed and folded several loads of laundry... which, by the way, is never ending at my house. i mean never. i do laundry all the time, or at least that's how i feel. maybe it's like that for everyone... not sure. get my husband to help? um, no thank you. kyle's been fired from laundry duty. colorblindness + kid stains = really not good. no, not good at all. and i can't get mad at him, cause he really can't see the stains. so, i'm patiently waiting until my kids can do their own laundry. sorry, back to my day... i picked up toys and stuff, then stuff and toys. and then when the work was over, the fun began...

i pickled and canned okra. after that, my mommy time was over.

and then we took the kids to the homecoming parade. they loved it! i stood there watching the parade, watching my kids, and thinking about how much i love "small" town life.

cale, well he loved the fire trucks... and all the candy.

i so enjoyed just watching them be in awe of the happenings.

they're already ready for the next parade!

busy day... and the finale was dessert at cherryberry. yum, yum, and yum.

now, everyone is in bed, except me.

even the dogs are passed out... and snoring... together. think i'll join them... nite.

the sore loser...

i sat down a little earlier to blog about the pet photo contest (that we didn't win), but all i can think about is porkchop... that's cale for those of you not familiar with just how much he weighs. as i type, he's on his 5th time out of bed... in 20 minutes. why? why me? we go through this every night. he gets out of bed, we put him back in... he gets out of bed, we put him back in... he gets out of bed... you get the picture. wait, i don't hear anything. hold on... still nothing. could it be that he's finally given up? i think so. sweet silence. wait... never mind. the silence has just been broken by the camel (who looks a lot like mollie) drinking 5 gallons before bed. ok, not really 5, but it sure sounds like it.

focus... back to the pet photo contest. so, i know i'm a little biased, but our picture was really cute. see?
i'll even say that it might have not been the cutest picture submitted, but it sure was cuter than the lady with the donkey. yeah, that's right. a lady with a donkey. here's the kicker... the lady with the donkey didn't win. wanna know what did? a black and white cat... in a chair... upside down. who gives a crap about an upside down cat in a chair? i, for one, do not. but apparently a whole bunch of people did. i'll give you the puppy in the tulips, which was cute. and darlene's dog, mojo, with the goggles. it was funny. but a cat in a chair? what the? i'm still slightly emotional about it... i'm sure you cannot tell. and apparently, still sore about it. now you know why i've not discussed it before now. it would have been really ugly... with lots of *&#! and ^@%$!!! what is this world coming to? an upside down cat and a lady with a donkey. whatever.

yes, it's another commute conversation...

while we were driving home from my parents tonight, gracie and cale were taking turns singing songs. cale sang "jesus loves me". then gracie sang "the peanut butter song". then cale sang "jesus loves me". then gracie sang "the tootie-tot song"... don't ask. then cale sang "jesus loves me"... again.

at this point, gracie decides to change things up a bit and busts out all of "1-2 buckle my shoe". cale then adds his own twist to the timeless nursery rhyme. it went a little something like this... "1-2, buckle my shoe. 3-4, pick up sticks. 9-10, a big fat gorilla." gracie, who has little patience for nonsense like this (unless it's her own), tells him she'll help him get it right. "say what i say," she tells him. so, here they go... gracie says "it's 1-2 buckle my shoe". cale follows with "1-2 buckle gracie's shoe".

apparently his listenening ears were on!

the circus goes on safari

a couple of weekends ago, jackie calls on saturday morning and says

"hey, let's take the kids to safari sanctury".
my first thought... it's 100+ freakin' degrees outside... um, no. let's think... it will be hot and humid, with cranky kids, and stinky animals... and did i mention it was hot? and then i stopped myself, and thought "mama, don't be so selfish. they'd love it."

so we did. and they loved it.

there were lions...

and tigers...

and more tigers...

but, no bears... oh, my! sorry to report, there are no pictures of any bears. they didn't want to come out for the paparazzi. too hot, i suppose. can i blame them? no.

and then there was this cat. not sure what kind of a cat, other than a very cranky one. every time jackie would rattle the treat bag, he made this mean face. and along with the mean face, there was a very mean hiss. the "cat keeper" said it was just his way of communicating. communicating what? that he was pissed? sure looks that way. (this is where my mother would interject that ladies and gentlement, who don't say suck, also don't say pissed... and that she taught me better than that. she did. however, sometimes i like to buck the system.)

everyone got to feed the birds...

and pet the wolf...

but, only cale would hold the snake.

gracie (finally) gathered all her brave bones and fed the camel.

the lemurs... they just hung out.

the kids had a blast!

and for the mamas, it was worth every extra heat index degree over 90!

wanted: a new mommy for cale

friday night, cale and i were having a midnight discussion that went a little something like this...

cale: "you're my best mommy!"

mama: "thanks, buddy."

cale: "my best mommy in this whole town!"

mama: "um, cale... you got another mommy in another town?"

cale: "no."

mama: "do you think you need another mommy?"

cale: "yes."

me: "ok... what kind of mommy do you think you need?"

cale: "a black mommy."

lesson: connor has a monster truck... cale wants a monster truck.
connor has a new backpack... cale wants a new backpack.
connor has a black mommy... cale needs a black mommy.

karan... you're up. just let me know when you want to come get him. i'm just kidding... i wouldn't give him away... even if he thinks he needs a new mommy.

meet mollie...

for those of you who've not had the pleasure of being nudged in the behind by her... meet mollie.


(this was mollie after she first came to live with us. she was 5 1/2 months old.)

mollie is our newest addition out at the ranch. like i needed a new addition. but need is such a relative term. anyway, she's here to stay. sometimes we like her. she's really sweet. and then sometimes she's a p.i.t.a. (as my friend andrea would say). like when she chews up my flip flops... or my favorite pair of peep toes... or one of the kids toys... or whatever i've missed picking up off the floor. it is getting better, but she's still doing it a bit. i just keep thinking that someday... some far away day... she'll make a fantastic dog. just like millie. i'm just hoping she's taking notes. and then when i'm really frustrated, she looks at me...

how could you not love that face?

mollie loves lily. i'm not sure if it's because lily pets her or if it is just because lily is the only little person at my house that doesn't run screaming when mollie gets near. gracie and cale pretty much ignore her. they're too busy to be bothered with her puppiness.

i think they're missing out.

cale's birthday

aren't birthdays fun? i prefer to string them out. why have just one day, when you can have so many? it used to be that way. we'd start counting down the days until my birthday right after christmas. everyone knew. and then... we'd have several parties. that was all until... i had kids. when, suddenly, life is no longer about me. it's about them. and by them, i mean the little people that follow me everywhere. but really, i'm ok with it. i am. (after much soul searching and many therapy sessions. i'm just kiddin'... kiddin' about being ok with it, 'cause i'm really not... i just pretend to be). anyway, since it's all about them now, we get to string out their birthdays. what's more fun than that?

take cale, for instance... he turned 3 last week and got to have 2 parties. we had a small family party on his birthday, and a big family party yesterday. and somehow, even though most of us have been uninvited by the birthday boy at some point when he was mad... as in "i don't like you... you're not coming to my monster truck party!"... we gathered anyway. it was wonderful and full of boy things...

like monster trucks and spiderman...

and good buddies...

and balloons...

that flew to heaven...

and, of course, cake.

(i know, here's where you'd like to see pictures of cale with cake everywhere. but, alas, there are none! he was too busy with the trucks, and spiderman, and his new backpack, and the balloons to care about cake. me, however... yum.)

it all brings me back to the importance of enjoying each smile, each laugh, and each moment of my children. (and no, i didn't quote that... it was me and a moment of brilliant clarity...)

its so nice to blog again!

hello. i've missed blogging and you, of course... a lot. and i mean a-l-o-t. i didn't realize how "into" it i've gotten until i couldn't anymore. well, i could... from my phone. it's not easy doing that. it's like sending a really long text and i don't like it... at least not from my phone. anyhow... computer is back from dr. pete. thanks, pete. no... really... thank you.

so, now, i'm in the process of reinstalling camera software. it's taking a while. a really long while. so, no pics tonight. just lots of gushing about how much i've got to share. things like... our trip to safari sanctuary... and cale's birthday party... and how cale told us he wanted a "bud light-year party"... and canning salsa... and cale's other birthday party... and about the local picture contest we didn't win (i'm still not happy about that)... and, well i'm sure there are lots of other things that just aren't coming to mind right now.

oohhh... wait. i've got one, and it doesn't require any pictures. so, after school started, we were in the car heading to dinner with jackie and ryan. i had cale, lily, and halle. i was giving halle the 3rd degree about school... did she like it? did she like her teacher? are her friends in her class? how was her day that particular day? halle goes on and on telling me what a great day she had. when she finished the daily rundown, cale pipes up... "i had a great day, cause i didn't pee-pee in my pull-up". it's the little things.

anywho... there's a little blinking box at the bottom of my screen demanding my attention. so, i'll take care of it. tomorrow, there will be pictures.

~ nite