This is why we have a dog.

This dog is finally coming in handy.
;-)

Late yesterday afternoon, as Jmk was on his way home from work, I was trying to get supper started while the kids were wanting to play outside. This quickly turned into wanting to throw the ball to Custard, so I just left the back door open, watched them through the windows, and kept on chopping potatoes and veggies. (After taking a moment to grab a picture or four out the back door).

He kept them happily amused for a good 15 minutes! It was fabulous!!!



This was a shot of Cus in mid catch. Poodle was cracking up in the chair, and Toot was in the process of getting the other ball to keep the dog hoppin'. It was fantastic. I was seeing future visions of being able to tell the kids "go outside and play" while I stayed inside to turn on "mommy music" and listen to peace and quiet! Woohooo!

Now, wait a minute.

So, we're walking after supper tonight, and we get in a conversation with Poodle about why the sun goes down earlier this time of year. That leads into asking her about the seasons, and Jmk starts helping her with the order of said seasons.

In case you weren't aware of the proper order of the seasons of the year, they are as follows:

Spring.
Summer.
Fall.
Deer.

And, there you go.

Yahhhh!!!!!

It's Friday!!!!!!!!!

Daddy's Birthday

Daddies always need lots of hugs and kisses on their birthday. It's an absolute necessity. This came shortly after we sang the Happy Birthday song to, as Poodle puts it, "my fahtha"

And even MORE smooches and hugs from Tooter Pooter!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JMK!!!

I am so glad that they built the DeSoto County Civic Center.

::smile::

I love you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful day today! We'll see you soon!!!

Pachelbel Bedtime

For Mommies and Daddies everywhere... hat tip to Rebecca Thomas for this fabulous youtube moment!

Another use for Coke

Unfortunately, it's another one of those things that makes you wonder why we put that stuff in our bodies. Why does it have to taste soooooo good?

Anyway, this household tip is along the lines of coke-helps-you-keep-your-car-battery-terminals-clean,. You've been warned.

It also helps take chlorine out of your hair!

We get back from Poodle's swim lessons right at lunch time - and it's always a rush for me to get them fed fast enough and to nap fast enough without losing Tooter in the process. Sometimes I'm able to get her hair rinsed out properly, and sometimes, well...... you know what chlorine does to blond hair.

So, I read this tip online - pouring a can of coke over hair will help to strip the chlorine out of it!
::gulp::
And it does. Yay for that!!! I used both a can of diet coke which took about half of it out, and then used a can of "real" coke that night to get the rest of it. Both worked about as well as the other. I think there's maybe still a little bit of the greenies left - but I don't know that you'd notice it unless you had the perfect lighting and were trying to find shades of green.

But, for me, it's just one more thing to think about when I pop the top on my occasional treat of coke. This stuff is capable of cleaning my car battery terminals and stripping chlorine out of blond hair.
Ugh.
Maybe this will make it even easier to save the 110 calories.

I'll just substitute with chocolate. Ha!!!

The first sign that....

a person needs to relax.....

I just caught myself trying to remove a stain from one of Tooter's t-shirts. The slogan on the t-shirt says "Dirt is my favorite color".

Mmmhmmmm. Me thinks I need to chill out a wee bit!

Journey of the cake and "ganache" recipe

So, a couple of months ago, I asked Poodle what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. At that time, she told me she wanted a "tower cake with Snow White Princess on top". Mmmhmmm. Jmk was figuring out how to configure this architectural marvel.

Then, the tower cake became a pink cake with pink icing. And Snow White Princess on top.

She then decided she wanted a pink cake with purple icing. (And maybe some pink flowers).

Then she wanted an ice cream cake.

Then, it was back to pink cake and purple icing, BUT, with ice cream on top.

Then, all of a sudden, she wanted chocolate cake with chocolate icing with blue flowers. And she didn't change her mind except for saying a couple of times that she didn't want any blue flowers. But then decided that some blue roses were "very pretty".

Well. As you may know, I enjoy making her cakes. I'm not all that great at it - never taken a class or anything. But I enjoy doing it. However, due to my unschooled skills, figuring out what I'm going to do takes some thinking. And with Miss Priss changing her mind so many times, the culinary section of my brain was in a tizzy!

But when she made the momentous decision to go all chocolate, I knew that I wanted the icing to be a smooth and shiny concoction.

Hmmmm.... ganache! Hours of watching FoodTV paid off!

Ganache is a simple mixture of heavy cream and chopped chocolate. BUT, I don't usually have heavy cream at the house. HowEVER, I do have COOL WHIP! Plus, the extra corn syrup junk in the cool whip helps to keep the "ganache" shiny. Another plus, ganache is a pourable type of icing that is really very yummy.

So, the only right thing to do in this situation, of course, is to share the chocolate joy!

It's a hard recipe, just so you know. ::cough cough::

Ingredients:
Equal parts cool whip and chocolate chips. (A bag of chocolate chips is around 2 cups - just fyi).

Put the cool whip into a microwable container and bring just to a boil.
Pour chocolate chips into hot, liquid cool whip.
Stir really well until everything is combined, dark, and shiny.

Pour over cake.

Told you it was hard. :-)

The more cool whip you add, the thinner the "ganache" becomes. Somewhere around 4 parts cool whip to 2 parts chocolate chips makes for a fantastic sauce for ice cream!

AND, the extra keep nicely in the refrigerator. Just scoop out what you want to use, heat it up in the microwave to loosen it up, and you're done.

Go have some chocolate fun today!!!

Bowling Babies

The day before Poodle's birthday, the CHEC group (the homeschool group) went bowling! This was her first time to bowl, and she had a blast. They also celebrated the kids who had birthdays in either Aug & Sept or Sept & Oct, so that was extra special for Poodle, too!

I was a bit crazy trying to keep up with Tooter, since he didn't exactly bowl, but we all had fun! Until the very end when Poodle's lack of a nap kicked in - but, she was too excited about the idea of doing something new and knowing she had a party coming up the next day, and she just couldn't sleep. Whadayagonnado?

This is a great group of kids - fun time for all!

The problem with......

...the environmental crowd. At least for me. You know, I can't argue for or against "environmental causes", to use a blanket term. Global warming seems about as vague of a premise. Seems like for each study showing that it's real, there's another one showing it's not.

And, honestly, I just don't have the time I think necessary to really study all the issues.

I do know that we should all, as responsible people, take care of what we are borrowing and we should try to waste as little as possible. Treat the land and water well so that we can all be healthier.

But the problem with the environmental crowd got summed up for me in a recent Guideposts article. It is in the September 2007 issue, and one of the senior editors interviewed a Mr. Bill McKibben who was apparently one of the first "leaders" of the global warming movement. In this article that seemed to put this man on a pedestal, there was as usual a lot of talk about the "problem" and a lot of vague ideas about how to fix the problem.

But, anyway, here is my problem with that crowd. Although this particular man was being written about because he does express a faith in God and is a member of his church, he made a couple of comments that belied a true faith in the POWER of God. In speaking of the Adirondacks, which seemed to be "under attack" by the forces of car exhaust and smokestack emissions, Mr. McKibben was quoted as saying this:

"A place I love was under threat," he said. And more than a place. Sophie [his daughter], he realized, and children such as those he taught on Sundays, were being forced to grow up in a world where nature was being wrested from God's control [emphasis mine] and set on a potentially dangerous course.

Now, Wait. Really? You really think that man - insignificant man - has the power to wrest ANYthing from God's control? I'm not saying that we aren't capable of screwing things up. We are! Oh, but we are. Just look at these developments that go up seemingly overnight, because the first thing that happens is that the land is completely clear cut, taking away all the TREES that clean the air for us.

We can screw things up. But do you really think there is some momentous struggle between man and God where man finally wins the tug-o-war, and sends God stumbling into the mud pile?

Perish the thought. I feel icky just for writing that.

God may just leave us to our own devices, but we don't wrest ANYTHING from His control.

Then, later in the article when Mr. McKibben is speaking of the necessity for society in general to quit being SO accumulation driven, and be more family and community driven, he makes this comment:
But here was Bill McKibben, standing in a garden, explaining that the values of faith communities - neighborliness, time with family, serving others instead of buying more stuff - are how to heal the planet. "What does Jesus keep harping on?" he said. "Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. You can't get a clearer statement in favor of community. No one dies and says, 'I wish I had gone to the mall more often' ".

Okay. Now.... okay. Most all of that - gets a big head nod from me. But - you really think Jesus was "harping" on that subject? That's the best way you could devise to express yourself, huh? Saying that Jesus Christ was harping on the subject. Sort of like the way I might nag my poor husband about how the towels are folded? (I don't actually nag him about that - I'm sure I unknowingly nag him about something, but it's not towels.)

Anyway, you see what I mean? There is an inherent view of God as weak, or not really in control, or even worse - incapable - in so much of the active environmental community. And that's just those who actually express a belief in and a faith in God. I'm not even dealing with those who have no belief in a Creator.

I think that we could do some serious "fixing" of a lot of our habits in order to keep our land and our waters healthy. That is something with which I agree. But words matter, and even more - point of view matters. If one doesn't really consider God as holy, all-powerful, and in control, then one isn't in a humble enough frame of mind. That humbleness would do a lot more to convince people that they need to take care of Someone Else's property then trying to give the impression that we have all the control.

Happy Birthday to our Poodle

My darling girl, I hope you enjoyed your party today, but mostly, I hope that you have some inkling about how much your Daddy and I love you. You, and your brother, are our world, and the reason we do most everything. I can not believe you are 4, but I'm so grateful that the Lord has given us YOU.

WE love you honey!!!

A Beautiful Thought

Hat tip to Adrienne for this thought for today. It really made me tear up, because there are some statements that really convicted me in it. This is for all parents - with a special hug for those that stay/stayed at home with children during the day. The SAHM's and the SAHD's! Here's the email she sent:

*******
I'm invisible.


It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way
one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be
taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping
the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see
me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a
clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What
number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30,
please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes
that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now
they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going - she's going - she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a
friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and
she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,
looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to
compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress;
it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was
pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut
butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with
a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why
she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with
admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover
what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could
pattern my work:

* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of
their names.

* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see
finished.

* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of
their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw
everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the
cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny
bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are
you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered
by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because
God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost
as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the
sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of
kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is
too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great
cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease
that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own
self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep
the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the
people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on
something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so
far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because
there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend
he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in
the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for
three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd
built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come
home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add,
"You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if
we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will
marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been
added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

The underlined statement makes sense. When things are done wrong, everyone
sees it.

Send this to someone and let them know that you see their invisible
sacrifices and appreciate that they are "doing it right."

"Therefore encourage one another, and let each one help to strengthen his
friend, as in fact you do." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Random Pics

I'm quite likely to be a bit scatterbrained this week, as we are getting ready for Poodle's 4 year old birthday. Can you believe it? 4???

Anyway, in the meantime, I thought I'd post some random pics just to force myself to get them off the camera.

This is from last Sunday. I wasn't sure whether to call it GaGa and his shadow, or Tooter and HIS shadow. Either way, these two are inseparable!

Okay. Over Labor Day weekend, Uncle David pulled out and watched the Disney version of Robin Hood, and since then Poodle has been hooked on it. We've watched it a couple of thousand times since then.

It was only a matter of time before she asked for a bow and arrow of her own! And sweet Daddy pulled out some dowels, rope, electrical tape, and duct tape and PRESTO! She's set!

The arrows even have little duct tape heads and feather things. (Hunters - quit cringing. I'll learn the right names for all those pieces parts one of these days).

This picture has a good shot of the little arrows. It is so cute!!! She even uses her little golf bag as a quiver. It's adorable!

She's ready for the woods! Okay. Maybe the hands aren't exACTly in the right positions. Whaddayagonnado?

Conversations from the van.

Poodle: "Look! I know that place!"
Me: "mm hmmm - that's Chick-fil-A."
Poodle: "Yes. That's Chick-fil-A. But I call it Chick-fil-A-And-Play."
Me: "That's right - you do."
Poodle: "But now I call it Chick-fil-A."
Me: ::dramatic whining:: "Awwww.... no!!! You have got to quit growing up so fast! You call it Chick-fil-A-And-Play!"
Poodle: "But that's what I called it when I was a baby."
Me: "But you are always going to be my baby."
Poodle: "But Tooter's a baby."
Me: "Yes - Tooter will always be my baby too."
Poodle: "But Tooter's bigger than a baby. Audrey is a baby."
Me: "That is true."
Poodle: "But I'm a big girl, so I'll call it Chick-fil-A."
Me: "Noooooooo - ::more dramatic whining:: - how are my babies getting so big so fast?"
Poodle: ::VERY exasperated and dramatic sigh:: "Oh-KAY - I'll call it Chick-fil-A-And-Play".

Thankfully, I had pulled into my parking place at that point. I think I startled both the kids with my burst of laughter.

Woohoooooooo!

State just beat Auburn!!!

(My apologies to Auburn fans).

But, woohoooo!!!

We're Sharers. We Share.

I had a whole witty and well-written little blog in my mind (it was witty, you can trust me) about how we all have been down with a gross stomach virus, but my brain is too fuzzy to remember all of it.
:-)

No, seriously, Tooter came down first, it ran thru me and Jmk, and Poodle was the lucky caboose of this yucky train. We all shared this nasty little virus. A lot of "dual core processing", if you know what I mean. BUT, it looks like we're all clear of the worst of the symptoms, and only have the left over weariness and inability to eat much.

Maybe I'll drop a couple of pounds. There's always a silver lining.