Two Peas in a Pod

I have had the privilege of having a little company lately ...

These two peas in a pod are together quite often. In the bright pink jacket (and purple sweater) is Gracelyn, my niece. She's almost two and has the spunk that typically goes along with that number! Or does that come from her mom? Hmm. Maybe her auntie. Well, anyway. Not only does she have spunk, but she also knows the sounds that every animal I can conceivably think of makes.

You say, "Gracie, how do dogs go?" and she will quickly follow with a "Woof! Woof!" etc.

Now Jocelyn, the blondie in the light pink jacket, is Gracie's friend that her mom babysits. She's also two ... and she also has spunk! I'm not sure if she knows her animal sounds or not, but as I was quizzing Gracelyn about how pigs, cows, and ducks go, one of Gracelyn's sisters said, "Ask Gracie how Daddy's go."

So I did.

"Gracie, how does Daddy go?"

Blank stare.

"How does Daddy go?"

Two blank stares.

Then Jocelyn threw her hands palm up and said in a voice that made me feel like I needed to go back to Kindergarten, "Daddy go work!"

Silly me. Of course Daddy goes to work!

We won't reveal what Gracie normally says when you ask her how Daddy goes, because, well ... that's a family secret. But at least one record has been set straight ....

Daddy. Go. Work! 

And now that we all have that down pat ... here are a few pics of the two peas.



Gracie wasn't sure how she felt about the snow sprinkles.

After we came in to warm up ...

Eenie Meenie Minie Moe. Which one is the sassy one?

My, what big teeeth you have!

My, what big eyes you have!

Play ball!!

The end.

happy vday and a guest post

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day!!  I hope your day is filled with pink and red candy, kisses, and hugs. I'm personally spending my day at the orthodontist to get braces on (I know ... how hopelessly romantic!). 

But don't be too quick to judge. I've already been romanced with a movie and dinner, and a whole weekend of Shaun and me time. So trust me, I'm content. ;) 

For those of you celebrating today, I invite you to read my guest post over at Scribing the Journey (click on the link below). It's all about kisses ... both chocolate and real. And, if you've forgotten VDay, it'll give you a few ideas on how to get up from the computer immediately (!!!!!) and begin putting something together for your lover. 

Hugs and kisses to you all!! 

Okay ... maybe just hugs. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Guest Post: 


Dear men reading this, 

Valentine’s Day is today. You’re welcome for the reminder.

Dear women reading this, 

Valentine’s Day is today. You really should make your lover something good to eat.

Don’t have a clue what to bake? Fear not! I am here to give you a little hint. Continue Reading

must share photos

A few weeks ago, our car was in getting repaired (again!), due to an accident. They rented us a fancy smancy van for a few days, so we decided to take it for a spin. It even had a DVD player in it! :)

These are a few pics that I took along the way. The calf ones are just so sweet. So glad I happened upon them, at what must have been literally three or four minutes after the birth.

A lake we passed: 

I know. The view is just horrible!!! :)

The calf, gettin' a moppin' from his mama.

She would lick him so hard he couldn't stand up. But he was pretty determined!

She didn't appreciate my presence.

There was a pic before this, but it wouldn't load. He finally got up on all fours. And then fell flat on his face. Poor baby!!

Mama looks a little disappointed. I thought he did great for the first time. ;)

I've named the calf Rupert. A fine name for such a lad, don't you think? 

my first guest post

I'm so excited to be guest posting for Duane Scott today over at Scribing the Journey!! This is my first guest post everrrrrr, and I had a lot of fun putting it all together.

Hop on over and see for yourself - especially if you're hungry and cold!

 'Twas the week after Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse!!

I'm sitting in my living room alone, only the faint sound of music in the background. Shaun's at work, Jessie and Riley are tootling around town, Andrew's at his new job (cleaning horse stables), and Ashlee and Daniel flew back to Florida late last night. Real late last night! 

I have a party to go to tonight (as if I haven't partied enough lately!). So I'm also whipping up some cherry cheesecake, chips and dip, and crackers with a fancy cheese dip. Yummy!

I've been able to sneak in a little bit of picture editing this morning, so I thought I'd share what I have so far. I'll commentate as we go along. As usual. Because I can't seem to not talk ....

Gracelyn (my niece) has decided she likes to see the baby in the camera. So now she likes her picture taken, as long as I show her "me" on the screen afterward. :))

 

Jessie, and the new earrings I bought her for Christmas. Nice of her to wear a matching shirt for the day. Heehee.

Ashlee, doing dishes for me Christmas day. We made her venison (compliments of Andrew) and pancakes for lunch (her fave!), and then we had a large ham, pork roast, and all the fixin's to go with it for supper.

The happy newlyweds, just before they took off last night. Sniff, sniff ....

Family pic. Love that we are a family of six now! Well, seven if you include the dog.

Daniel gave me a little dancing lesson before they left last night. We like to play the part.

Just Jessie ... looking .... pretty. :)

A roughed up Gracelyn!

I love that she comes and asks to sit on my lap these days. Makes me feel all warm and squishy on the inside!

Peek-a-boo!

Sisters ...

Shaun's mom and sister.

Smokin' her candy cane!!

Shaun and Ashlee, lounging around on Christmas.

That's all for now. More will come later, but I wanted to show off a little just stop in and wish my readers a happy post Christmas week.

Are we ready for 2011??????

Didn't think so. 

crickets, christmas, and mrs. c

For all of you just dying to know what Christmas with Mrs. C (that's me) is like .....

*crickets chirping

Ok, so  nobody's dying to know such information. But Mrs. C (remember- that's me!) is dying to tell. So here's my 2010 Christmas story thus far, in pictures:

Did anyone here know that Andrew is a juggler? He has a part time job with the circus.

Just kidding.

But he IS pretty good at juggling. Even pine cones!

Here's a few goodies I've made along the way. Chocolate covered popcorn, and a cheese spread to put on some delish crackers. Actually, that popcorn is covered with chocolate and peanut butter chips. I had a lot of fun drizzling. In fact, I may have gotten just a little bit carried away when I flung some clear across the kitchen, and hollered out to Andrew "Hey, this drizzling stuff is pretty cool!"

Those little things that look like deer pellets are capers. I didn't know what capers were until I made this recipe. Wait - I still don't know what capers are.

You don't know what deer pellets are?

Well, I don't feel so bad then.

Shaun and I at a Christmas party. No, we did not match on purpose. We're just hip like that.

*more crickets chirping

 Jessie and Riley at the same Christmas party. Funnest night of the season so far, but the season is far from over!

Santa's lil' helper. Cough, cough ...

And yes, those bulbs are actually hanging from her ears. Yikes! 

We decorated Mom before we decorated the tree. Just to see which one would be cuter.

The tree won.

*crickets

Once Ashlee and Daniel get here (Five more days!!!), I'll have a ton of things to show and tell. *claps hands in excitement

Until then, I have toilets to clean, laundry to do, presents to make, presents to buy, and one sick boy to take care of. Here's to hoping the rest of us (and you!) stay healthy and robust through the Holiday.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!!!
 

christmas shopping, car wrecks, and a pop quiz

I haven't done one of these entries for quite some time. They're fun, and they let everyone out there know that I'm just a normal, everyday person, with an incredibly exciting life.

*crickets chirping

Ahem. Anyway ... if you'd like to participate also, click here and visit the lady who began The Simple Woman's Daybook. Then link up and viola!, you're in.

Here we go:

Outside my window... It's sunny today, but cold. Yesterday was cold and cloudy. I think I prefer the cloudy.

I am thinking... I should really start to make my Christmas gift list. I can't shop until next week anyway, but I really need to be prepared mentally before I step foot out of the house. We all know what happens when women go shopping without a list. We buy things we don't need (but they're soooo cute!), and things other people don't need.

I am thankful for... being able to see Ashlee and Daniel for Christmas! They'll come in on Christmas morning, and we get four or five days with them. I haven't seen them since the wedding in April. Too long!

From the learning room... Hmm. Not much new going on here. We are learning about light in Science, different religions in History, diagramming sentences in English, and fractions in Math. 

From the kitchen... All of the turkey is officially gone. However, there's still a few pieces of pie!

I am wearing... Jammie pants and warm socks. :) Well ... and a long john shirt.

I am creating... Sorry. It's a secret. Christmas gifts, you know.

I am going... to take the car to the body repair shop for an estimate. Shaun got in an accident last week (everyone's ok, and it wasn't his fault). This is the 6th car bash we've experienced in the last five years. Blows my mind.

I am reading... The book of Joshua, Romans, and The Holiness of Grace, by Bryan Chapell. Oh yes ... and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

I am hoping... for a few select things for Christmas. I may very well post my Christmas wish list later on. Just in case you're struggling with what you want for Christmas. Perhaps it'll prime your pump. ;)

I am hearing... The shower running upstairs. Nothing more. Hmm... except for my to-do list running through my head.

Around the house... A two inch think layer of dust. But not for long!

One of my favorite things... Getting a new hairstyle that I love!!! Yeah ... doesn't happen very often.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Not a whole lot. Small groups on Wednesday evening, a little grocery shopping on Friday, just normal every week stuff. Next week, let the shopping begin!

Here is picture (or two!) for thought I am sharing... Ok, students. Get out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Pop quiz time! Tell me who this is and why she is impersonating an Egyptian princess. Right now! Hop to!

happy biptiday

Three years ago, I made Andrew a birthday cake and decorated it - all by myself! Only thing is ... it said "Happy Birtday."

H's are highly overrated anyway, right?

Pathetic little cake, isn't it?

Ahem ... well ... for Jessie's birthday this year, I wasn't sure what to do. She doesn't like cake, so that wasn't an option, but I wanted to make her something. So we decided on cheesecake. Cherry cheesecake, to be exact.

You can't very well ice a cheesecake, so I decided to buy some nifty letter candles that spelled Happy Birthday.

At least I thought that's what they spelled ...

Until I opened the package and saw that two of them were broke. They're wax, so I couldn't do much about it. The only thing left to do was to have one heckuva Biptiday. 

The good news?

Jessie did have a Heckuva Biptiday. 

See?

I guess she'd rather it be PAYDAY though ...

This is our good friend, Riley. After he ate a ton of turkey and mashed potatoes, he leaned back in his chair and moaned and said, "I'm sooo uncomfortable!! I can't even swallow!"

Snort! I love to feed people.

All in all ... a successful Biptiday! 

a total ADD post

A few observances ...

Squirrel!!! 

• Vacation is fun, but returning from vacation is not.

• I think I'd like to open a photography business. And an Etsy shop. And a quilt shop. And finish writing my book. 

Can you say focus?

• Oh, and did I mention I'm thinking of taking Violin lessons beginning next year? You know. Just because I don't have enough to do. 

It's the pits being a grown up with ADD.

• Things I need to do are: Shampoo my carpets ..... 

Oh, never mind. You don't want to hear about all that.

Squirrel!! 

So if you live in my area, and would like some pictures taken of your kids, and are willing to risk dealing with an ADD photographer, email me at the address in my About Me section at the upper right hand corner. 

For now, I've got to go make dinner, fold the laundry, go to small group, run to the store ... 

Focus ...

Focus ... 

Focus ...  

Squirrel!!!! 

Want to see a few more pics from our vacation?

Andrew got his first buck (and his first snake!) while we were gone, just as every 14 year old should. :-) And yes, those antlers are legal. Barely ... but barely is good enough.

The rest of these were taken in my Grandma's backyard, where we stayed. You'll see at the end that Summer was hanging on for dear life!

 And in conclusion of this ADD, politically incorrect post ... I'd like to say ....

Good riddance, Nancy Pelosi!!! 

Ritalin, anyone?