Getting High
(Higher the ladder, further the fall.)
The trim is going Bear Rug (that's why around the window is not finished) and with any luck, the walls adjacent to Devin and Maddy's room (loft area) will shimmer in Twilight Gold (Ben Moore). The rest will have to wait, paint splotches and all.
(And you all thought I was doing something very naughty!)
Bathroom Blues
Continuing my hair-brained, last minute spruce ups, the downstairs half-bath underwent some cosmetic reconstruction from Herbal Tea (Dutch Boy) green to Sonata (Behr) blue. The trim got a few hundred coats of the chocolate brown color, Bear Rug (Behr) and the plain oval mirror was replaced by one in a frame.
After fulfilling all parental requirements regarding the Degrees of Asking (nicely, sternly, threateningly) the Farmers to pick up the towel from off the floor, I came up with this 'so easy a moron could think of it' solution - tie it on! Some ribbon, a few knots and a renewed death threat later, my towel - as of yet - fluffy white and usable, my sanity or what remains of it in tact and the Farmers are still running amok with all their limbs firmly attached.
Chaos Unorganized Pt. III. B: Wash Your Drawers!
(Much Better!)
One of my favorite Disney animated movies is The Little Mermaid and one character in particular steals the show - Ursula the Sea Witch and her slithering, black eel minions, Flotsam and Jetsam. In her rendition of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", this full-figured diva lays it out with all the attitude of evilness I wish I had. What does this have to do with my laundry room redo? Well, a lot.
With my new sleek babies, laundry is a breeze and all those who are left doing things the old way are "poor unfortunate souls", withered and rotten by the time they've finished their first load. Meanwhile, I'm on to bigger and better things... like the fabulously glamorous task of scrubbing the toilet.
I cut out the hanger and the LAUNDRY myself from a scrap piece of vinyl. The cabinets I bought off of Craigslist for $100.00, including the trim. (They match my kitchen cabinets and though they don't fill the space very efficiently, beggars can't be choosers.) Props to Blaine for making us look like the morons we are and installing them lickity-split. I had my laundry prayer special ordered. Its says, 'May your whites be bright and all your socks have mates.' Throw up some immortal plants, a clock and voila! I feel like I have so much room in here now, especially with the roll-away, dirty laundry basket tucked inside the storage space beneath the stairs.
Poor, unfortunate souls indeed!
(Room to Roam)
Happy Birthday Devin!
On The Road Again
Seeing an opportunity for another mini vacation - yeah, we're going to outer darkness next for skipping Stake Conference - we slapped some PB&J's together and headed for Owyhee Reservoir. It was so much fun!Google maps had us heading up a dirt road called Coyote Gluch where there was a very large road sign reading 'Dead End'. I don't do dirty, dusty, looks-safe-at-the-moment, lightly gravelled roads to nowhere with a very blunt warning, especially after last summers fiasco, so we followed my keen, womanly sense of direction and ended up where we wanted - Owyhee Reservoir!
The ride in was fantastic. My Farmers spotted a cave, some circling buzzards, tumbl'n tumbleweed, and open-range longhorns. I was half expecting to see Gene Autry riding up over the horizon, strum'n on his guitar and wishing us "Happy trails".
On the way back we stopped at the very primative, Snively Hotsprings. The springs come up out of the ground about fifty feet from the river. (Grass Trail) At the bottom of the bank, some rocks had been moved in a semi-circle, creating a pool of just the right temperature of water between the hotsprings and the river.
In the end, Owyhee has been penciled in for a weekend camping/boating trip this summer! We absolutely loved it!
The Boy Who Cried WOLF!
(Putting up with Mother.)
Four years! That's how long D.J. has been waiting to go to scouts and finally the day has come. With his first meeting over, D.J. shook his head as we walked to the car and said with excitement rather than dread, "I can't believe I have homework in scouts!"
Thanks Tammy!
Celebration Park
(Twisted!)
As the hymn was being sung, closing the Sunday morning session of conference, Dave and I were rustling up the farmers to put on sock and shoes and to wear a decent coat so we could stretch our legs a bit. David wanted to show me Celebration Park; the locale of his last scout camp out and what Devin had describe as a "really cool place where we hiked to the top of a high mountain and rolled rocks off the cliff". There is a reason moms don't go on scout trips!
(The rock-rolling plateau in the background.)
There was a storm coming in from the west and it was beautiful to watch as it crossed the valley and hugged the Owyhee's; the river with its stretches of green and black-rock plateaus in the foreground bright with sunlight. Within no time we were there, jumped out of the car and ran from place to place. The boat ramp, tumbleweed hut, upper and lower decks and of course, climbing on a few of the many thousands of rocks. We even spied a cottontail or two in the brush, hopping lazily away as our Elmer Fudd's clumsily closed in.
(The bridge)
A few raindrops later and it was time to pile back in the car and head home but first we had to see the bridge. The storm had caught up with us by now and the biting wind and rain kept us from crossing the entire span. It was still amazing nonetheless and I had to take a picture. With an hour left before the afternoon session began, I asked to take the long road home. It was a perfect Sunday drive.
Game, Set, Match!
(Devin just before a hit. You can see the ball by his teammates elbow. Click on pic to see it larger. 2nd Match)Late this afternoon, around four o'clock, I received a call from Devin, "Mom, I have a tennis game today. It'll go till six or so." Oh, nice to know in advance, Dev. I threw a bunch of Capri Suns and a handful of cookies in a sack, grabbed the D.S.'s to keep the younger Farmers happy and scooted out the door; no make-up, wild hair and all. We got a good parking spot right in front of the courts. There are no bleachers for spectators so I was happy to stay warm and enjoy what comfort Ford provides in their basic Focus models between matches.
He wasn't sporting his red shorts or white t-shirt like the rest of his team (with the exception of two others) but Devin was allowed to play nonetheless. Him and his partner, Tyler won their first match and by a slim margin lost the second despite some great volleys.
Only the first of the season...
D.J.'s Birthday
One their special day, the Farmers get to pick what they would like for dinner and the rule of thumb is Mom has to make it. DJ's breakfast -oh, I mean dinner - of choice this year was French Toast sticks, scrambled eggs and extra-crunchy, no jigglies bacon. I'm so glad I didn't have to cook anything too fancy. After ten sticks, two slices, a spoonful of egg and nearly a half-gallon of Mrs. Butterworth's, it was time for the hunt.
Instead of wrapping presents for their birthdays, I make up a scavenger hunt. D.J. is given clues of where to find his gifts. For example, one of the clues were "Say cheese or just eat some." Any guesses? A camera in the fridge behind a package of string cheese. Its fun to watch the kids run from place to place, inside and outside the house and seems to be more exciting than ripping off the paper or pulling it out of a bag. (I'm just happy not to wrap!)
(Superhero Moonboot Man)
We ended the evening with Triple Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting, too much chocloate even by my standards! He got to light his own candles and slice the cake since he's a big boy now. I tucked him in and kissed him goodnight, ever so grateful for my April Fools!
K-E-Double L- Oh- GOOD!
(49 boxes of cereal on the wall... 49 boxes of cereal)Albertsons does it again. Forty-nine boxes for $43.88 plus a $10.00 cash coupon for my next grocery purchase. It works out to be $0.70 a box. Regular price is a gut-wrenching $4.65 a piece; sale price still gives me heartburn at $2.00 each. Cereal I would never, ever buy at that price. My receipt says I saved a whopping $183.83! Talk about evil inflation and price gouging... Holy Corn Pops, Batman!
Over the last two weeks, Albertsons had a sale on cereal for $.25 a box, there were lines and of course, it turned into a crazy free-for-all a la the infamous Cabbage Patch or Tickle Me Elmo mobs of the 80's and early 90's. Saving my sanity, not to mention whatever's left of my somewhat working body, I opted out. My only thought (or concern) is why all the cereal discounts when there is a world-wide wheat/grain shortage? I'm not the brightest or the biggest star in the heavens but it seems a little hazy to me. Any guesses?
Milk jug tip goes to Charity for the heads-up!
Our BIGGEST April Fools!
("I Bounc-ding!" Newberg, OR 2002)
He's a barn stormer that D.J., even from the get-go. One of his favorite things to do was hop up and down the hall, around the kitchen wall and back again non-stop. Needless to say, he was over-joyed later that month when we bought the boys a trampoline for their birthdays.
(Garibaldi Bay, OR 2004)
D.J. has never been afraid of gooey-gross things (he's a boy... I shouldn't be surprised) and has always had an inquisitive mind. We took home so many shells that trip and by the time we returned home I was beginning to doubt the stench would ever clear out of my car no matter how many Little Trees were hanging from the rear-view mirror.
(Forest Grove, OR 2006)
D.J. is as D.J. does, one of my favorite pictures of him. We just finished posing for a bunch of 'serious' family pictures taken by our friend and photographer, Quillan when D.J. popped up out out of the creek just as she was packing up her car to leave. Of all of the 200+ pictures she snapped that day, this captures who D.J. really is. How could you not adore him?
Happy Birthday D.J. !!! We LOVE you!!!
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