friday at home

today we are home for the second day.  we still have clothes in our suitcases and stuff to organize, but i decided that this is the day i make my first loaf of bread.  So far it seems like a lot of work, but frank and i are enjoying it.  we stood and watched the dough hook on the mixer throw the sticky dough around the bowl for 10 minutes as i kept adding more and more flour hoping that it would eventually turn, "smooth and elastic."  soon, i will go and "punch it down" and then proceed to put it in a pan and do some more waiting while it rises again.  all i know is that if you were a real pioneer woman, you had to plan your meals ahead of time.  apparently one cannot be in a hurry while baking bread. 

as i was cutting a hot dog in half to split between the boys, i was reminded of King Solomon and his wisdom and about the two ladies who each claimed that the baby was theirs, and how Solomon told them to cut the baby in half...anyway, you know the story...i told this to frank while i was cutting the hot dog up...but apparently i did not clearly explain how the baby DID NOT get cut in half, because the look on his face was in horror when i said, "isn't that a great story?"  i guess i won't be sharing that one with a four year old again.

frank said that the brown on my head is "wearing off."
ford has cut his lip once, and bumped his head twice today.
michael is home for the weekend,
and it is really humid outside - all is right with the world today. 

preview

something i have always wanted to do

excuses, excuses

there are approximately one gillion pictures on my camera to share with my 14 readers (if they haven't given up on me yet).  but every time i want to upload the photos to my computer, either the batteries are dead, or the cord is in the room with a sleeping child, or i am just so tired from going up and the down stairs all day in these midwestern homes that i can't bear to drag out the laptop from underneath the couch.  all i want to do is just sit and watch some Turner Classic Movies when i am at my mom's house. 

and speaking of Turner Classic Movies, i woke up the other morning- and because my bed was full of little boys when i was not yet ready to entertain a bed full of little boys... i took advantage of having a television in my bedroom and of course it was still on TCM from the night before.  Rather than flipping the channels for a cartoon, i saw that there was a silent movie at 6:00am.  I thought, "perfect." It is quiet and dark and all i have to do is read a few words for them every 5 minutes or so.  But then i realized that I was enthralled at just how funny it was.  It was a movie called, "Speedy" with an actor named, Harold Lloyd.

you can watch a little clip, here, if you are interested. 

It was amazing.  The clothes, the time period, it is like being in a  little time machine.  The humor is all visual, so a four year old boy can get the jokes and yet it was still clean and i didn't have to worry about the content - besides, the boys can't read anyway.  It was a mother's delight.  Now, i just have to convince frank that silent movies are cooler than cartoons...

and speaking of cartoons.  there is some seriously stupid *^&% out there in the cartoon/nickelodeon world.  i had no idea.  Our family has been sheltered by our "only one option and that is PBS" type cable.  i felt this week a little like my dad when he said that Pretty Ponies were disgusting and that he would never purchase one for me.  But when i saw a preview for some weird Dora/Diego-type of new show with creepy twin babies with super powers - i had to draw the line.  I informed frank that he would never be watching that show because it was, and yes i said it, STUPID.

here is to the silent movie - i look forward to getting to know you better in the future.

Potty talk - forgive me

Do you ever look at your stomach in the mirror and think, "how did i get so big in just a few days?" and then you finally have a big ol' poop and remember that you haven't pooped in about 5 days because you have been out of town?  And then all of a sudden you feel lighter and your pants fit better - and you can even breathe better - just like magic. 
Does that ever happen to you?

thank you, Fiber One Bar.  you made my day.

Resurrection Day!

when asked, "what color do you want to dye your eggs this year?" 

Frank said, "blue, and black and gray, and brown."

Here are the two of them going after some bold colors despite my having purchased the lamest kit of Paas on the market - only red, yellow and blue to work with.

Each year it is unclear to me which of them enjoys the egg dyeing the most.

at the end of the evening, they mixed all the colors together in one cup and put an egg in and left it over night.  Frank woke up Easter morning and ran to the kitchen.  His basket full of candies and little gifts was sitting on the kitchen table, but instead of excitement, I heard crying...when he came to our room he was so sad, and said, "you threw away the cup with the egg in it!  It wasn't on the table!"  He never noticed the basket at all.  This black egg was all that he wanted on Easter morning.  If only i had known, i would have saved some money at Target.

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after church, michael suggested we try for a family photo on the couch using the timer on the camera.  Here are the attempts.

 note: we did not ask angus to be in the pictures.  We even tried to push him out - but he is part of the family and refuses to let us forget it.

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3rd annual super casual Easter picnic

 i am using some of anke's pictures because they are better than mine.

fordy was having a full on allergy attack, but that didn't stop him from being awesome.

(forgive my lack of editing.  i can never narrow the number of pictures down to a reasonable number.)

the sacrifice of so many chickens

I am at a loss at this time each year.  What do i do with all these eggs? 

This Easter, at the time when I want to be reflecting on Christ's life and resurrection and the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven - instead, this year i was hung up on irritability and eggs.

The irritability was based on upon my own selfish nature and frustration with our current living arrangements.  But the eggs - that was just plain craziness.

My sister and I believe that our grandmother, Boo, makes the best deviled eggs in the world.  They are delicious and we always eat them all within a day.  So when we were planning our super casual easter picnic this year, i thought: "i'll make Boo's eggs, it will be a cinch." 

Oh how naive i am.

Here is her recipe: 
8 hard boiled eggs,
Kraft (not hellman's) mayo to taste,
1 can of Underwood Deviled Ham. 

Doesn't that sound simple?  It does, but of course I decided to use hellman's because i am stubborn like that, and then i accidentally forgot about the eggs cooking when i went to put frank down for a nap and they cooked for 3 times the length of time that they are supposed to, Oh and of course - Underwood deviled ham spread tastes like feet.  So when i put it all together in the food processor - it was just nasty.  Perhaps Boo has some sort of magic with the deviled ham.  she is quite an amazing cook after all.  But just as with Ma Maw's chocolate pie - i believe there must be something missing to this recipe.  I will watch her make them next time.

In the meantime, i ended up with a dozen hard boiled eggs without filling, a dozen hard boiled eggs for dying and a dozen hard boiled eggs for the second batch of deviled eggs - which i thought were actually really good.  Here is the recipe for those: Buttery Dijon Deviled Eggs.  I chose a recipe with butter because i figured they would taste good with butter.  everything tastes better with butter - and apparently deviled eggs are no exception.

so now here is a question that i have always wanted to know: what do you do with all your dyed eggs?  for real, do you eat them after dyeing them and then hiding them and stuff?  Even after all that time that they get all warm and the dye sneaks into the whites of the egg?  and do you feel as guilty as i do throwing them away? 

picture time

we begin with the photos from Arkansas...it took me a while but here they are

 we began our road trip as all road trips should begin and end - with a trip to Buck-ees.  Texas' finest gas station and convenience store.  Seriously, if you have to poop on the road, this is the place you want to go.

showing off the buick

a shot of the illusive michael smile - rarely caught on film

going for my birthday breakfast in fayetteville

the michaels

the best gifts were that our families came to be with me and the boys during the week

that's michael in the hardhat and yellow vest - looking down, frank was so proud to see his daddy in his "construction costume"

a chilly walk to see michael's work.  i love this.

 

what up.

a trip to the park that randomly resulted in an invitation to check out a fire truck

Paigey and Sloane arrived and we began their visit with a trip to the Wildlife Zoo Safari!

as usual, ford had no fears of the animals. here he was chasing a kangaroo

after a goat ate half of frank's bag of bread, he was able to recover and feed some more animals with his favorite 3 year old cousin

burning some energy off with some blessed bubbles from Wal-Mart.  So much joy for so little money.

I can't believe i didn't take any photos of my precious babygirl Sloane.  I was just to enthralled by her to actually stop and get my camera out.  She is gorgeous and amazing.  I promise I will get some good ones of her soon.  

while i've been away

with a tearful goodbye, the parents have left us once again.  now it is just us chickens, and a few minutes to type.

Speaking of chickens, if you live in Houston, please go to the Wabash Feed and Antique store.  you can get a chicken there for about 30 dollars.  Or a baby bunny.  Or a swan.  Or some blueberry bushes.  Or a strange animal sculpture made from salvaged metal.  What a wonderful place.  When Michael asked the plant man, "what do you know about stinkhorns?"  He started chuckling and said, "you want to get rid of them, right?"  What a place! 

Fortunately though, I believe the organic fungicide he recommended will not be necessary as Poppe has removed all infected mulch, and placed it in 30 of the new houston "bio bags" which will hopefully be carted off on thursday for us.  And not only has he done that, but the men in my life spent the entire weekend fixing up the yard for me.  They transplanted 7 boxwoods, 7 holly bushes, and 4 or more red-tipped fontinas.  They put in my new azaleas (purchased at Costco believe it or not) and my dad cleaned up a trashy corner by the garage and put in a new Yew pine tree (from Costco) that will hopefully fill out and we can shape it like a giant oval or tall rectangle one day.  The weekend included 3 trips to Costco, 2 trips to Houston Lawn and Garden, a trip to Lowes, a trip to Home Depot, and a trip to the Heights to visit Wabash and Joshua's Native Plants (that store is expensive but really awesome.)  I am so excited to be free of stinkhorns and for the house to look like we actually kind of like living here again.  Next we will tackle the backyard and the hardest part of all....the maintenance....in the summer.  Why oh why can't it be spring forever?

And now i am going to put a shout out there to the folks.  i have felt really loved and spoiled by my sweet family.  my mom's unending cleaning of the kitchen and cooking, and entertaining ford while the yard work was happening was completely awesome.  i am extremely blessed by their generosity of time, talent and treasure during this strange season.  (did you catch that Rufus-ism? if not, you can catch that on your way home.)

how blessed i am to have kind parents AND a quotable pastor.

  Dearest Stinkhorns, thanks for being fodder for my winter's thoughts and blog.  May you take refuge at the dump and find a home where you can prosper in peace. 

 my homage to the "Go Wildcats" as frank calls them.  i am so proud our team and am working on a letter of appreciation to Frank Martin.  

 this was where the plumbing problem once lived.  I am excited to see this area fill in and get all hedgey.

while this looks terrible,  it won't for long.  it is a bit of an experiment in salvaging plants we had.  Hopefully you can see some results in the next few months.

one of the few photos from the week.  a typical scene.  Poppe sharing his water bottle with whatever grandkid that wants to drink from it. 

i like this one.

and one to keep you guessing