Stranded.

Anybody seen my car keys?

I would've called Mark to come bring me his key, but I sent my cell phone for a swim in my washing machine.

So.....yeah.

August

I'm not a huge fan of August. Particularly in Arkansas.

Hot and humid.

Makes a girl feel sweaty and nasty.

It's a direct cause of our ridiculously high electric bill. We must have our A/C.

But there are a few redeeming things that salvage the month:

The raspberries are on:

And they are luscious....fat, juicy and luscious. Scrumptious even.

Laney agrees and grazes daily

I can't help but donate my own picking. She appreciates a sun ripened berry.

The fall veggies are starting to sprout. Have I mentioned that I love to garden? I do. I love to garden. Loooove to garden. Love Love Love to garden. The tomatoes are still producing, but are admittedly growing from the wonkiest tomato plant I've ever seen. The kale is recovering nicely, despite the cold blooded murder attempt perpetrated upon it in the Walmart garden dept. Just a little hint associates? You need to water stuff. Or it dies.

This kale is destined to fulfill itself in a pot of yummy Zuppa Toscana. Oh, baby. Sweet sausagy bliss.


And my new project for the summer, the compost pile is a perfect pile of stinky rotting kitchen scraps and grass clippings. It's going to be AWESOME! Can't wait to use it next year.


Maybe August isn't so bad.

They don't care how hard it was to make

Why kill yourself to make a knock-your-socks-off Family Home Evening treat that even coincides with the theme from your lesson?

You know what I'm talking about....Eternal Salvation Sundaes? Repentance Rice Krispies? Faithful Fudge?

You know what they really want is ice cream they can push up with a stick.

Just give yourself a break and buy the suckers. They don't even care if it's Great Value brand.

It's a great day to be a baby

It all started innocently enough. Mark and I have kids with lots of hair. When they're little babies they need haircuts or "hairdoos" or they look like rugrats. I remember once when Megan was a baby and I hadn't figured out girl hair yet, I was talking to a sister at an Enrichment Activity and she said "I used to let my little girls hair be all crazy like that, too"
Huh? Hey!
Then I realized that girl hair is a big deal. There's no smoothing it down with spit or using the water from your melted soda ice to "spike it up".

You have to do it. Every day.

So when Laney's locks grew long enough to put into pigtails, we got right on it.

(Okay, seriously. Couldn't you just eat her for lunch? She is a fat little nugget.)Unfortunately, along with baby pigtails, you get this:

That's exactly what you think it is. The baby mullet. Sure, it starts out all smooth and silky and short. But before you know it, a year has passed and mom is still pulling the top half of your hair into pigtails and leaving the bottom half to fend for itself.

Doesn't she look disgusted?

And if I'm not mistaken, I think she may be trying to use those bars symbolically. "Dear Mother! Won't you please release me from the bondage of the baby mullet!? Release me! Have mercy!"

Lucky for her, during a playdate this week, it was like my eyes were opened to the reality of my daughter's hair situation. By dang, I think that bottom hair is ready to join the pigtail parade.

And here you have it: Pigtails a girl can be proud of.


Somebody bust out the Ho Ho's




Farewell, Baby Mullet.

(Hello, end-0f-the-day-been-rubbing-my-head-on-the-carseat Mini Mullet)


**Hey, Laney of the future? Assuming I actually do print this blog out for you guys, and you're reading this...you know I love you no matter what your hair does or does not look like, right?

Right. Of course. Just makin sure.

Sin or Sweet Liberation?

Is it a sin to kill a fly with my Ensign?

Liken

The other night we had one of those nights.

As we were sitting down to dinner, the boys started to fight over who would sit next to me...I tried to explain that I wasn't hungry and wouldn't be sitting down to eat, but they were too busy arguing to listen. I sent them to their rooms to "work it out". The next thing I know they are yelling back and forth at each other, flinging playground profanities: "You're a booger butt!" "You're a booty head!"

I go in to lay down the law: "I hear one more name or we have one more fight, you two will be done for the day. No dinner. No stories. Nothing. Got it?"

No sooner had I walked out of the room and they were whipping each other with their blankets and heading straight for a brawl.

I hate it when my kids force me to make good on my threats. I am not in love with the idea of my children going to bed hungry.

Nevertheless.

There were many tears.
"I'm starving!"
"Those are the consequences"
"What can we do to make it up to you?"
"I warned you what would happen, and you chose to continue the fight."

That night we sat on the floor and read from the Book of Mormon Stories (you know the one that looks like a very serious comic strip?)

Here was the story we just happened to be on:

"The Lord told Nephi to warn the Niphites that if they did not repent, they would be destroyed. Nephi went immediately to warn the people. The Nephites did not believe Nephi. They tried to throw him into prison, but the power of God protected him. Nephi declared the word of God to all the Nephites. But the people became even more wicked and began fighting each other. Nephi prayed for a famine, hoping that a lack of food would humble the Nephites and help them repent. The famine came. There was no rain, so the ground dried up and crops would not grow. The people stopped fighting. The Nephites were hungry, and many of them died. Those who lived began to remember the Lord and what Nephi had taught them. The people repented of their sins."

I am not making this up.

I never thought of going to bed without dinner on the same level as a famine throughout the land, but it was just as effective. Those who did not die, promised to do better and really enjoyed their breakfast the next morning.

And behold, there was peace throughout the land.

Perhaps we can pretend...

that we started school along with everyone else and that I'm totally on top of posting photos of our first day of school.

Yes. Let's do that.

We started the morning off with my new favorite pancakes: Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes...

I would provide the recipe for you, but I'm not in the mood. And besides..I had to google it so if you won't put in the effort to google them yourself, you simply don't deserve them. I will tell you, however, that 1 1/2 tsps of salt is just too much. There..that's all I can do for you.

These are pictures of the boys on their first day of school! (it was not three weeks ago)

A huge 3rd grader.
A seasoned 1st grader. (Kindergarten was SO last year.)So now they're in school from 8 to 3 and the ratio of tea parties per 24 hour period has gone WAY UP.