i have a sick computer...

just so you know, i've not been just not blogging on purpose. a slight issue with our computer has made it difficult for me to blog. the issue is...well, it just won't come on. and by not on, i mean not at all. it won't go any further than the black screen with "Dell" in blue. it scrolls and thinks... and thinks and scrolls. and it drives me bananas. and what makes me even more bananas is that i've got stuff to blog about. fun stuff. with great pictures, too. so, kyle has taken it to a friend to fix it. now i'm blogging from my phone. which is fine and all, but god speed, pete. i miss my computer...

conversations with cale

i love conversations with cale. they are definitely one of the highlights of my day... most every day. we talk about all kinds of things, and you never know what he'll come up with. and he talks all the time. even in his sleep. he talks... and talks... and talks. right now he's singing "this is the way we make a gown, make a gown, make a gown, this is the way we make a gown... with princess dreams and magic" (no, daddy and poppy, i didn't teach him that... it's from a cinderella sing-a-long book we have). most importantly, when he talks i usually learn something new. for instance...

yesterday morning we were on the way to kk's house and cale had a little gas. he, of course, immediately starts laughing and loudly proclaims "i tooted"! then he says "wait, that wasn't a toot, it was a squeeze"... um, what's a squeeze? so i asked... "bubby, what's a squeeze?" to which he replies "it's a squeeze-toot". now, i've not been a boy-mom for very long and i don't pretend to know all things boy. so, if any of you boy-moms (or boys, for that matter) can explain this phenomenon to me, i'd really appreciate it!

so then, last night, he's in my bathroom to go potty. so he said. he's standing there naked, messing with his junk (you can thank my hubby for that wonderful word choice. he thinks it's hysterical... and now it's caught on... and we all say it. don't you know nana would flip out if she heard us say something like that.) anyway, i say to him "bub, quit messing with your junk and just go potty". "but mom, if i let go it goes everywhere". yet another thing i did not know. thank you for the insight. so now i'm wondering where was he when he figured out that if you "let go" it "goes everywhere". suddenly, i'm feeling the need to clean and disinfect both bathrooms.

canning and soapbox sermons...

guess what??? ok, you're never gonna guess... especially those of you that know me very well. so, i'm just gonna tell you what... tonight, i canned tomatoes. yes, you read that right. i canned two quarts of tomatoes. i'd like to say that they were all tomatoes from my garden. but, then you'd know i was fibbin'.


i went to a quaint little gardening class where we sipped "lemon-berry-ade" and munched on dehydrated apples and pears and other wonderful "garden-y" yummies. jenny had a kitchen full of the most wonderful jars. and they were filled with all kinds of goodies. some she bought and many she'd made herself. i loved how she encouraged us to do as much or as little as we wanted (with our gardens and the canning, of course, but i took it as so much more). and, to not feel guilty about it either way. i need more of that. why can't we just be real? flaws and all. why is it that we need to put on a show for other people. there, i said it. why can't it just be that sometimes things are wonderful and other times life sucks... yes, mother, i said sucks... again. my goodness. where the heck did all of that come from? i just went from canning tomatoes to a soapbox sermon... in a few short sentences flat. i feel better. you? yes... no... anybody... bueller?

anyway, back to my tomatoes... not sure what i'm gonna make with them yet, but i'll bet it's gonna be yummy! i want to try making jams, canning fruit, and maybe some other veggies. it's a whole new world to explore. never-ending possibilities. hmmm... what to can next?

so, now i'm really ready to get going on the fall garden. i'm gonna try some more tomatoes, maybe some lettuce, a few carrots, a little broccoli, butternut squash... and whatever else i find to put in there. oh yeah, basil... don't forget the basil.

gracie's first day of kindergarten

well, i am officially the mama of a kindergartener. and (somehow) we all survived the first day. if you read yesterday's post, you know i started crying at "meet the teacher"... what you don't know is that i cried all morning getting her ready... and on the way to school... and on the way into the school... and when i was trying to take her picture next to the "welcome to kindergarten" sign (that she wouldn't stand next to, so i didn't get a picture)... and when we got in her classroom... and when she put her stuff away... and when i took her picture with her teacher... and when she went to sit at her desk... and about how she didn't even look back as i walked out of the room... and on the way to drop off cale and lily... until cale said "hey mama, want me to burp my abc's?"... really? that pretty much dried my tears.

so, i've prepared a short photo montage of our morning...

this was the best photo of several attempts to get everyone together... looking at me... smiling... maybe when they're older, right?

awww... there's the famous little kindergartner, now...

and when she was walking into the school...


and was she was putting her stuff away...

and with her new teacher (whom i just love)...

and when she sat at her desk... and, by the way, cale wanted to know where his seat was...

and with her basketcase mama.

today, i felt like time just dragged on. i was giddy when it was time to pick her up. when it was our turn in the pick-up line, she came running down the sidewalk to the car. i asked her how her day was, and she exclaimed "i can tie my shoes now"!!!

it's so good to be in kindergarten.

so much to blog about, so little time...

several times in the last couple of days, it's been brought to my attention that i've not blogged lately... so, here i am. i'm gonna be really honest... i've chosen sleep over blogging many recent nights. i'm really not doing much sleeping, so maybe i should be choosing blogging instead... hmmm...

anyway, lots going on at the ranch these days, and i mean lots. lets start with...

the garden: it's not good, not good at all. it's so not good, i pulled it all up tonight. i'd have taken a picture, but i'd rather you remember it's better days. you know, like in an obituary, when a 89 year old crosses over to the "great by and by," but the associated picture was from when they were 34. i'd rather you remember the garden when it was 34. the good news withthe garden is that i'm going to chance some fall planting. so, we'll see how that goes... and, i know, that whole "great by and by" was just wrong... but, when has that stopped me? moving on...

the p.m.'s: they're gone! yea for me! saturday is demolition day, and they don't even know it... he, he, he...

the new puppy: that's right... we've got a new puppy. her name is mollie. millie and mollie... isn't it cute? more on her later...

the circus: the most exciting news is that gracie starts kindergarten tomorrow. i know she's been in a preschool for 2 years now, but there's just something about it being actual kindergarten. it seems so... big. i'm not ready for big... for me or for gracie. so, when we went to "meet the teacher" this afternoon, the teacher came and hugged me... i started crying. jackie says that's for 2 reasons...

1. she's pms-ing, so i must be too, and

2. it's part of being a mommy. it's what happens when they really start school. for real. no more play-school. this is big girl stuff... with real report cards... and field-trips... and smart boards... and attendance policies...

that are enforced.

so, now we're all ready for our big day tomorrow. backpack is packed and ready, all her paperwork has been filled out, lunch is made, clothes are laid out, and the twinkle toes are just waiting to walk her into her new school...

gotta go... there's a meltdown a-comin'...

they're back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guess who's back in town???

yep, the little p.m. parents and their little p.m. babies. for those of you who missed my earlier posts about the p.m.'s, they are the purple martins who have taken up residence on my front porch. i was pretty nice about it for a while... not anymore. they're like freakin' rabbits. i had no idea. i mean, really, they're on their second flock... or nest... or round... or whatever the heck you call it. and that's just this summer. i'm definitely getting a p.m. house. maybe they'll move off of my front porch. oh yeah, by the way, saturday i was trying to unload my car from tiffany's baby shower... they were divebombing me... again! it's my house!!! are you kidding me??? this time, when the last baby is gone, so is the nest. call me mean or cold-hearted... i don't care. i want a poop-less porch and a divebombing-free front yard... gracie wanted to know if daddy would knock down the nest so she could have a one of the babies. um, no. oh, and i'm sure the hummingbirds would appreciate having exclusive use of their feeder, again.

this p.m. baby was perched on the feeder for quite some time and the poor little hummingbirds were freaking out. it really was kind of funny watching the whole scene... my gosh, i'm getting old... no comments from the peanut gallery...

nite, nite.