Back to Work!

It is a quiet morning here, except for the dogs barking at some unknown thing.  Kids had a friend sleep over and they are all still asleep.  Dennis went to the men’s breakfast at church and then to help one of his brothers.  So I made myself a nice BIG breakfast: fried eggs, grits, toast, bacon, fresh pineapple and grape juice!  I should have taken a picture haha.  I read a little in my book and have a few loads of laundry going.  Then I decided to dye 10 lbs of rice for my rice table at school!  I did it by the book (internet) first and then because I have a short (preschool) attention span, I set off on my own to get it done faster.  We’ll see which batches work best.  It will all end up on the floor eventually anyway.  But my kiddos LOVE our rice table.  It is pretty cute- someone didn’t want it anymore so I snatched it up last year.  I am SURE they got tired of sweeping up rice and saying things like, “don’t pour the rice up too high”, “see this clean floor, try and keep the rice IN the table”, but they like it so I am keeping it.  I was going to just put plain white rice and beans in it but I decided to give it a try.  I have never dyed this much at one time.

Four batches inside and I have several more drying outside.  The sun has peaked out after days of rain.  Ryan and I were on the front porch the other day in our new rocking chairs and we saw this neat cloud…

If you look closely at the top left side you can see a rainbow of colors.  You may need to click on the pictures to see it better.

Dennis and I decided to get rocking chairs for our 21st Anniversary.  We went by Lowe’s and then ate at Cracker Barrel.  We checked out chairs at both of those places as well as a smaller business and ended up with the chairs from Lowe’s.  We had a nice morning, eating out and shopping for the chairs and left the kids at home.  I spent our actual anniversary chaperoning 8 kids on a beach trip.

on our anniversary ….before I left for the beach

one with the rain bucket and one without but I liked the way Sport and Rosie looked in the first one.  Hopefully soon we will get black shutters to match the black chairs and swing.

I did finish my first full week of work.  We did a few home visits, I screened a few new kiddos, tackled paperwork-already and got the room ready.  I think it looks nice.  I took pictures but with my school camera so I will have to send them home and post them next week.  I still need to take in the rice and sand for the sensory tables and that’s it.  I have 8 kids starting on Monday.  2 new ones and 6 returning ones.  Then I will add 4 more when Pre K starts the next week.  I am excited and ready for the year to begin.

Two funnies from this week:

“Morsels are not missiles”~ a poster in our lunchroom…made me laugh

Grant said “I could have a girlfriend just like that (and tried to snap)….well if I could snap I guess”

Oh well the sun that was peaking out is gone and I hear the boys stirring.  (It is about 11:30am…I guess it is time for them to get up.) My quiet morning is over.   Happy Saturday!

More Summer Projects

Just a few small ones here and there right now.  We have not started on my closet or the bonus room but I did get a jump on the large flower bed.

Focal points right now are my bottle tree ( I need to start drinking more) and the trellis with Jasmine

This entire area will be a flower bed one day.  I planted about 6 or 7 small plants: heather, Black eyed susans, a butterfly bush etc.

Dennis is off this week and he and the boys are tackling the wood/junk pile.  They have only found one snake so far ( a  rat snake).

I found a few projects on Pinterest and made one for school. 

A flower pot with silly straws for each kid to choose on their birthday.

I also added a few things to the tops of my kitchen cabinets.  I copied the EAT letters from pinterest and it just made me remember that this was a small project I wanted to do.

Ryan says that from some parts of the room it says FAT, because you cannot see the bottom of the E but if I raise it any higher you will see the wood it is on….oh well EAT, FAT: same thing

I still may rearrange but it looks fuller now.

Another project was to get the cat to go outside more.  It is going slower than anticipated but I am a softie.  She has discovered small lizards near my plants.

and will lay on the porch with the dogs…

But she prefers to lounge around in the house with her people.

I have a little over a week left of summer vacation.  I am NOT happy.

“This summer has gone by so slowly”, said NO teacher EVER!!

 

Bama Bogg

Bama Bogg was a 4 day event with ATV races through mud as well as foot races in the mud.  Bama Jam Farms recently opened with a water park, ATV trails, camping, fishing and concert stages.  We went to the water park and concerts but did not venture into the mud pit to see the races.  Kids were too busy at the water park.  Friday night we saw KC and the Sunshine Band.  It was pretty funny to see “ol” KC trying to dance with his back up singers and “featured” dancers.  But the music was good and brought back many memories. (side note:  I named my cat KC when I was 10 0r 11)  Saturday the boys and I went to the water park and then we all came back later to see The Commodores.  They put on a nice show.  Sunday, we spent more time at the water park and saw Randy Travis.  The boys said he sounded just like Randy Travis:  “I mean they way he sounds on the radio”.  They did not know many of the other groups songs but knew a few from Dennis and I Jammin in the car when they came on the OLDIES stations!  I did not get a good picture of KC and the Sunshine Band.  They did not play until 10 pm and with all the lights, the picture did not turn out.

The Commodores

Randy Travis

 

The water park is made to look like a swimming hole.  It has a zip line, rope swing and lots of slides.  The water is fresh well water and a bit chilly with a sandy bottom.  The kids loved the rope swing.  There are plans to add a lazy river, the worlds longest slide and bumper boats I believe.

one of the sets of slides

lit up at night

Lauren and friends on the walk way between the 9ft area and the 4 ft area

Grant on rope swing

Ryan on the rope swing (thought I had pictures of Preston doing back flips off rope but it was some other kid-oops)

We had a fun weekend and just had to travel 15 minutes from our home!  I hope they continue the concerts.  It was nice to sit and listen to live music while the boys were swimming.

Quick Dog Update

The dogs are doing great.  They run and play but stay closer to home.  Sport is still wearing his teeth and toe nails out with all his digging and chewing.  Ozzy saw the kids picking blueberries and decided to try it himself.  He loves them and eats them right off the bush.  Both dogs enjoy a quick dip in the pool and a small snack at their grandparents before coming back home each day.  Ozzy eats the blueberries and Sport eats poor Bryan’s food.  Ozzy just stays on the pool steps and dips his belly in the pool while Sport will go to the bottom step and immerse himself.  He has even tried to swim with the kids but we don’t encourage that!  The steps usually have a small layer of red clay on them.

I took these pictures this week and just had to share.

Family and Figs

We went to the Coleman/Howe family reunion on June 30th.  We have missed it for many years due to moving, baseball and last year’s vacation.  It was good to see people I have not seen in many years.  My dad’s cousin Rosie and her husband come early and stay with mom and dad for a few days before and after the reunion.  Rosie is a great cook and when she found out we had a fig tree she told us how to make fig preserves.

The reunion was held in the old school that some of the family attended “back in the day” and near the old home place and church of my great grandparents.  The house is no longer there but we did drive around and my dad told us stories of the fun he had when he would visit his grandparents and cousins.  We also went to the cemetery where some of the Coleman's are buried.

Granny and Granddaddy Coleman

 

My dad’s Uncle Ralph who was killed in Vietnam.

The infamous group shot.  There were several taking pictures and would swap in and out and after it was all done, I noticed the 2 empty chairs.  I say: One for Aunt Ethel and one for Uncle Bud….both could not attend due to illness.

not ready…

Most are looking

a few of the picture takers!

A few of my cousins got there just after the picture so we took a group shot of all the Howe’s there.

I will try this Left to right along the back: Dennis, Michelle, Sondra, Danny, Cindy, Carol (barely seen) one of Dewayne’s boys next to Dewayne, Uncle Please, Aunt Diane, Grant and Preston.  Seated:  Danny’s boy (Landon)with Dad, Mom and Ryan and behind mom and dad is Dewayne’s other boy and his wife, Dawn.  I cannot remember Dewaynes’ son's names but they look so much like Danny and Dewayne at that age….freaky!  It was a short visit but nice to see everyone.

Summer Project #3

I should not be this excited about a pantry, but I am.  When planning our dream house I knew I wanted a HUGE pantry.  Well things get moved, changed etc in the process and my pantry was NOT big enough to cartwheel in but still was a “walk in”.  I also knew I wanted a red screen door with a fork or spoon as a handle.  It took several months to get the door done.  My mom had some OLD silver from her side of the family and we chose an antique fork for the handle.  I LOVE IT.  But still the inside was a plastic shelf you NORMALLY would use in a garage or storage area, and all the food was scattered in different cabinets in the kitchen.

This was in the pantry until we built shelves.

So this summer, I measured and researched and decided exactly what I wanted.  We bought the wood.  Dennis cut it, I stained it and we installed it. 

It is hard to take pictures because of the angles.  I have most of the polish pottery on one side.  Some of the things we canned on the other side.  Snacks on the bottom shelf in the middle for easy access.  There is still plenty of room!  We are still going to add one more thing to the side with the pottery.  I want a section at the bottom with vertical slats to hold things like platters and trays.  At this rate that will be a project for the summer of 2015!  I also want to find a Container Store or look for cool containers to store things in so I have one of those really organized looking pantries on Pinterest-haha

I do LOVE my pantry.  Now onto projects 4 and 5.  I ordered almost 100 prints of the boys sports pictures to work on their sports scrapbooks.  I am about 6 seasons behind.  I also bought a bunch of plants to get started on my flower garden.  After killing 2 snakes, I am not as excited about that project!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

You can’t vacation forever.  So it’s back to the reality of unpacking, vacation laundry + regular laundry, chores, cooking etc.  Shortly after we returned, I was on the front porch and Sport started barking at the driveway.  I thought it might be the wild donkeys but then noticed that he had found a snake.  I screamed for help (again) and Preston came to the rescue (again).  He killed it with a hoe---chopped that sucker in half or as they say here in the south “half in two”.  It was a water moccasin!  Not very long but fat.

Dennis and Grant had gone to pick more figs.  This time I made Strawberry Fig Jam.

boiling the fig mixture, jars and lids

almost 4 half-pints!

The boys are back to football workouts 3 days a week.  Ryan and I are helping with Vacation Bible School and I am already starting to think about school, new ideas and new ways to decorate my room : Thanks to Pinterest.  I still have a few weeks of summer left.  I have to take the kitty to the vet today and make appointments for the dogs.  I have to make a few dr’s appts for me too and meet with an oral surgeon about my wisdom teeth .  I also need to get the boys ready for school since I start 3 weeks before them this year.  They need shoes, supplies, clothes and haircuts!  I need shoes, supplies, clothes and a hair cut too .  Dennis does have some time off later this month and I will be chaperoning another beach trip right before I go back to work.  I also still have a few summer projects to tackle.  Stay tuned!