Wordless Wednesday

What's that old saying about not being able to pick your friends?? Oh my...Dan and Devin get silly. Love Pat peeking in the corner of the pic : )

Funny Pics post

Recently, the boys have been just being hilarious and I've been snapping pics like crazy...so here are some of the highlights : )

Apple slice grins make my day. David was laughing so hard....so cute!

Pat ALWAYS make me laugh with his silly faces!
Oh my, what cute cheeks!

AAAAArrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh, matey! LOL...Derek was quite a fetching pirate in my old silk headscarf

Random silliness...that covers just about everything that goes on around here : )
"Come here, doggy...I'm gonna getcha!" (Love the demon eyes..LOL)

Sophie feels completely at ease and relaxed...nap, anyone?

Homeschool Happenings

Math Facts and Laundry, it's a good combo. Pat learns best when his hands are busy : )

Literature guide for David. He LOVES the book "Holes"

Wordless Wednesday

Seriously, Kittens IN THE WALL???? Can I repeat...only at my house : )

My Man Crew of Kitty lovers : )

Dan with Sophie, David with Cassie, Pat with Fluffy, Derek with Tabby, and Josh with Fatty McPatty

Edit: Here's the back story. I was rummaging about in the back room looking for a box when I heard a faint mewing sound. I stopped, looked around, and called the kitties, but could not find them, even outside...leading me to believe they were IN the wall. When Dan and 'Shua arrived home from work I announced my strange news and they started giving each other the look that says, "Well, it's official, she's completely lost her mind" and chuckling at me. So I led them to the place where the wall was meowing and eventually they came to the conclusion that there were, in fact, kittens in the wall. (I love it when I'm right!) So Dan tapped around on the wall to find the exact spot where they were, cut a small rectangle out of the drywall and when he laid down the section, out tumbled 4 tiny kittens with their eyes barely open. They still needed their mama, so we put them in the box near the back door, and over the next 2 nights, she came and rescued them back from us. All's well that ends well, right?

Wordless Wednesday

Oh. My. Goodness...... hee hee!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today... May 17th 2010
Outside my window... birds sing, the sun shines warming us to a toasty 89 degrees and the air is heavy with the scent of fresh lilacs. Mmmmmm.....
I am thinking... that too many thought are tumbling around in my head and I need to get them on paper before they disappear altogether.
I am thankful for... boys big enough to be helpers. They are tackling Mt Washmore right now! Hurray : )
I am wearing... same ugly housecleaning outfit as every week. Gonna shower and change before hubby comes home....poor thing has to look at me all evening!
From the kitchen... the counters are full of my hard work this AM. 3 loaves of fresh bread, a loaf of pumpkin for breakfast tomorrow, and a batch of choc chip cookies waiting for snack time.
As for meal plans....I'm only planning 6 meals this week since I always get interrupted at least once...LOL!

• Lasagna with fresh garlic bread and salad
  
• Pork chops with mashed potatoes and green beans
  
• Tuna casserole with salad
  
• Chicken breasts with brown rice and veggie sticks
  
• Tacos with chips and salsa
  
• Pizza

From the learning rooms... this week in MFW, we are travelling to the Middle East and studying about Saudi Arabia. Also learning about being eco-conscious and how we can help the Earth. In Abeka, lots of reading, working on parts of speech, division and fractions, and working on literature guide.
I am creating... sadly, nothing yet this week, but probably some scrapbook pages and some new note cards.
I am reading...Here by my Candle by Liz Higgs Curtis
Pondering these words...
I am remembering...that I should be doing something besides sitting at the computer...LOL! Dishes, here I come!
I am hoping...that I can finally start sticking to my workout routine and drop some weight.
I am hearing..."Beverly Hills Chihuahua" in the background...I think I'll make them turn it off. So sassy! NO LIKEY
I am going...to run errands tomorrow, like the bank, library and the park. I only have to work 2 nights this week, so I will be more awake that usual, and that's always a good thing : )
Around the house...it's pretty tidy (hurray) and the boys are folding laundry while I get the dishes done.
A few plans for the rest of the week...none yet. I haven't made my plans for this week yet. That's ok, isn't it??
One of my favorite things...being home with my boys, even though some days they drive me batty...ha ha ha! That's the glory of being home, I get to experience EVERYTHING with them!
A picture thought I am sharing... another pic from my "only at MY house' file...LOL! 2 Grown men having a tickle fight! Seriously!!

If you like this post and would like to read more like it, feel free to visit Miss Peggy's site over at www.thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com Thanks for reading : )

Bye Bye Bubba~

We have one less dog than we did 2 days ago...*sigh* We've had Bubba (who is named after his original owner, Bubba Rogers) since he was a tiny pup of 6 months or so. He is a black lab/Jack russell terrier mix. Looks like a small lab but has the energy level and jumping skills of a jack russell. Long story short, he'd already had 3 owners by the time we got him and we've always described him as emotionally scarred. If I believed in doggy therapy, he'd have gotten some...LOL! We got him from Jodi whose neighbor was complaining about him and so we took him on as a companion for Shadow....5 years ago. So, it was time for him to go back to her now that they have their own place. Since we are most likely moving soon, one less pet in the menagerie will be good for finding a rental place, but I certainly do miss his exuberant welcome every time I come in the door. He is having a great time with Jodi's puppy Jude and they are good buddies, so it helps to know that he is among friends and being well cared for by Jodi. So anyway, "Bye bye, Bubba...we love you!"

Mouse Wars...Chapter 5

I think we are winning the battle!! Yippee!! We have caught to date 22 mice (I know, repulsive) but at least there is that many less. Please keep in mind that I live out in the boonies with no other people/houses/etc to keep them away : ) At any rate, I need a few more traps to make sure we've caught them all, but we are not hearing the scratching and squeaking like we were and I haven't seen anything that has been nibbled on in DAYS, so that's good news! Thanks for joining us in our adventures with the mice, but hopefully, those days are over. I'll keep you posted.

Bubba does a great job of guaring the mice...LOL!

~K~

All Good Things Must Come to an End, so they say...

...And that's true at our house as well. Game night has undergone a change....there is no longer any pizza to be had at my house on a Friday night. I feel sad about the change, I feel almost guilty about the change and while most of the gang was understanding, some were actually upset over the change. Here's the why behind the change. When game night originally started, our routine was family game night on Thursday, Pizza/Movie night on Friday and Game night with the gang on Saturday. The 'gang' consisted of us 5 MeYeR's, my sister and nephew which we were living with and the infamous Charlie and Devin. We'd all crowd around our ridiculously tiny dinner table meant for 4 and play games and laugh hysterically. Then one week, we got thrown off schedule due to my new job at Kohls...and game night got mixed in with pizza/movie night. And it stuck : ) We loved it and kept it, and also started inviting more people as the house grew and we got another table, and another. So, 25 people later, preparing for game night had become an all-day process. Not one that I minded, but one that was affecting my time to teach the boys, and one that seriously impacted my energy level. After 2-3 hours of grocery shopping with 3 boys in tow, then the slicing and dicing started, then an hour of MAKING dough, then almost 3 hours of actually making the pizzas and baking them. SO, I finally discussed it with Dan because we all LOVE game night and didn't want to just end it, so we came to a compromise...we still host game night, but everyone either has to eat before they arrive or bring a frozen entree with them to pop in the oven. And so it is. On Friday, I felt a bit melancholy, but I will admit to enjoying the extra free time since I didn't have so much prep to do. I enjoyed playing games with everyone instead of fussing about in the kitchen. : ) Once in a while, I'll do pizza for old times sake. This also allow for a return to the previous routine for our weekends. One of the boys in particular is partial to routine, traditions and the like. So a good change for him especially. All in all, a good change.
Sorry about my ramblings...I'm sure that wasn't that interesting to most, but I needed to process it a bit more than in my head. Thanks for *listening*
~K~

David is Flippin' Awesome!

Just a quick video...David had his first gymnastics recital/performance today and despite being incredibly nervous, he did quite well! ENJOY~
By the way, he's the one that does the cool trick...you'll know it when you see it : )

Wordless Wednesday

Only at MY house does any of this seem remotely 'normal' and yes, I use the term loosely, VERY loosely.


Can I come out now please?
A lizard that likes to be cuddled and held like a baby?!? What.On.Earth.....

Is that thing smiling? It certainly looks content. Hope you are enjoying yourself, Norbert.

PS. Kim, I know there are words, but these things HAD to be commented on, don't you think?? *winks*

Mouse Wars...Chapter 4

Where ARE they coming from?? Ewww.....

So let's see...as of chapter 3 we had caught 9 in the hamster cage, that was IN the rubbermaid box, right?? So, here we go. Monday during the day, there was no real change...the mice hopped around in the hamster cage, I fed them popcorn and grapes (they're not dying on MY watch, right??) and waited for Charlie to come fetch them. Lauren was fascinated/horrified by them and Bubba was actually trying to bite the hamster cage to get at them...May I repeat...only at MY house is the DOG trying to catch the mice, while the Cat just wants to watch...ha ha ha!

So, all was well until Charlie called and said that he wasn't feeling well and could he please come tomorrow. Of course I said yes, but I DID say that if any more started reproducing,we weren't going to be friends anymore...LOL! So he should be here before lunch to pick them up, hurray! Anyway, there wasn't much activity last night and I was REALLY FINE with that, thinking that we had hopefully caught the majority of them. We only caught one last night, right before bed. So that makes 10 in the box. UGH. This morning, we could tell that they had been active...whether the remaining few were throwing a final hurray, or looking for a way out or what, but when we got up this morning...there were 6 MORE! DOUBLE UGH....and bleck! So, Dan dumped out the hamster cage into the Rubbermaid box since there was no way they could all fit in the one little cage and he didn't want the others climbing onto the top of the hamster cage and jumping out of the box. SO now, sitting behind me is a Rubbermaid box with holes in the top with 16 mice in it. The incessant scratching and squeaking is starting to drive me a little batty. Ya know when you watch a scary movie where the people end up covered in bugs and it makes your skin itch?? It's like that...times 16~ Hurry up, Charlie!!

Mice:0

MeYeR's 16...can anyone else say EWWWWWW?

PS...I AM going to win the Mouse War, I'm not going to rest until they are all gone, and without resorting to buying a snake... although that option is looking better as the days go by : )

LInks to the other Mouse Wars sagas...ch 1, ch 2, ch 3

Mouse Wars...Chapter 3

*sigh* I'm getting REALLY tired of mice. Kristy no likey Mice in her house. *double sigh* Here we go...as of Sunday night the score was Mice:1 MeYeR's:6 and Dan and I were heading to bed. Next scene...the BAD NEWS. Mice are really resourceful, despite having a teeny tiny brain. I got up with Dan at 4:30 and headed into the kitchen to make Dan's lunch. I peeked into the hamster cage and only saw 1 mouse...I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeking clearly and yes, to my horror, realized that they had chewed a hole through the roof of the hamster cage and all but 1 had escaped. Make that Mice:6 MeYeR's:1 Not a happy start to my day. I started the coffee pot and pondered what the next step should be. Yea, no idea! Boo! Anywho, I proceeded to start Dan's lunch and hear a tell tale squeak...I peeked behind the fridge and to my delight, 3 mice stuck to one trap...hurray! So, I excitedly called for Dan to hurry up so they didn't get away somehow. About this time 'Shua showed up to pick up Dan for work. He checked behind the fish tank, and we had re-caught that one too! Yeah...now we are moving in the right direction! Dan checked the other traps and when all is said and done on this early Monday morning, we now have 9, yes NINE in the hamster cage that has been reinforced and I also got a large Rubbermaid tote and put the whole thing inside of that box, just in case...LOL! Charlie better come today and get these things!!

Look for chapter 4..coming soon I'm sure : )

Mice:0

MeYeR's: 9 total caught/produced (counting the babies born later that day) 18

PS...on the upside of this whole scene: I've found a new way to entertain the cat...it's like TV for cats! There's only one channel, but she doesn't seem to mind!

Mouse Wars...Chapter 2

Ah, Mouse Wars...gotta love it! And here we go with the ongoing mouse tales, no pun intended : ) As we left it, it was Sunday morning and we had caught a total of 4 mice, 1 ending up producing 7 more. 2 (Plus the 7) had already been taken to meet their fate at the mouths of hungry reptiles. So, that leaves us with 2 in a hamster cage and a few traps about. Sunday evening, we called Charlie to come and get them. As he was heading over, we caught 2 more. BLECK! As Dan was gently pulling them off the sticky goo, one got away and we spent an hour chasing the thing around the house...what a episode! I'm surprised the poor thing didn't have a heart attack and expire on the spot. Charlie had brought over his Savannah Monitor Lizard and it was chasing the mouse, too! Have I ever mentioned that it's not dull around here?? *winks* Anywho, they finally trapped that one behind the fish tank and set a trap for it and moved on. Charlie's lizard, Norbert, turned out to not be very hungry right then, so Charlie headed home and promised to return Monday with a box to take them home. That left us with 3 in the cage, 1 behind the fish tank and hopefully no more. After Dan and I got the boys settled into bed, we sat down to relax with a bit of TV before heading to bed. I got up for a drink and heard a squeak. Sure enough, we had caught another one...YIKES! So Dan dutifully checked all the traps and we had caught 3 more!! Ewwwww! So into the cage they go, the traps are reset and we go to bed.

Look for chapter 3...coming soon
That's DAN'S hand, people...not mine! EGADS! That thing was roaming around my house!!

Mice:1

MeYeR's: 6

Mother's Day

Ah, Mother's Day! A day to relax, not cook, put your feet up and be pampered all day by your adoring children and grateful hubby....right?? Don't forget the breakfast in bed and gifts of flowers and chocolate. Well, maybe on the Lifetime Movie Network, but not here...LOL! Not that those things aren't great, but Mother's Day at the MeYeR house is much like any other. There is laundry to be done, dishes to wash, mouths to feed, boys to wrangle and a new week to prepare for. Dan's family never really celebrated Mother's Day and so when I became a mother, I had to adjust my expectations about it. So, we call our moms, we send a card or flowers, but we don't make a huge fuss over, we just do what we normally do. This year, however...Dan took us out for an impromptu brunch, 'Shua brought me flowers, the boys were great laundry helpers, and Dan fixed the vacuum. And we logged another chapter in the Mouse Wars battle, too! Not a bad day, all in all. I found this blog post that sums up a good portion of how I feel about motherhood, so check it out! Happy belated Mother's day to all my dear Mama friends!! And for my mom...read THIS old post : )

Mouse Wars...Chapter 1

Ugh....I *dislike* mice. Not in a "I wish they didn't exist!" sense, but more of a "I wish they didn't like to live in my house." sense. This week, we declared war on the mouse or two that had taken up residence in our home, or more importantly, the pantry. I was getting pretty annoyed with finding droppings here or there, and especially annoyed with finding tiny holes in my pantry stock. Grrrr! So, Friday the Man bought some of those sticky pads and put them here and there where he thought they might be sneaking around. Then, we waited. Saturday morning brought our first victory...2 mice caught in the sticky goo! Hurray, the Man and the Boy put them in a box and took them to Charlie who has reptiles that eat mice. Yeah...out of my house and into their bellies...I can so live with that. That's recycling, right?? *winks* So we congratulated ourselves and repositioned the traps, JUST IN CASE there was one left. Charlie's son Devin called me later that day to announce that 'the fat one just had 7 babies' PHEW...so glad we avoided THAT mess! We had a good laugh about that part. Next, we caught the kitten, because she's COOL like that : ) After Sophie was pried off the trap, we put them back and waited. Sunday morning, we found two more...gross! So after we carefully peeled them off the goo, we figured SURELY we must have caught them all. We repositioned the traps on the OFF chance that there might be one left, but didn't expect anything.

Look for chapter 2...coming soon

It's the Little Things

I've discovered as I make this journey through life that it's not the HUGE things that make or break your day, week, month or LIFE....it's the little things. In celebration of those little things, list a few things that made your day, week, month or LIFE sweeter or brighter.

• Dolli was here for 2 full weeks with her daughter Ryan. Both are rays of sunshine that light up any room just by being there, so 2 weeks of them was quite a treat!


• I think we are all well again. We've been passing around a cold for quite a while now and it's a relief to be on the mend, and feel capable of putting a full meal on the table, teaching a quality day of school and cleaning the pigsty that my home has become while I was sick and/or tending to the sick.


• My father has officially handed in his letter of resignation to the church where he has been custodian for 21 years. It's a mixed feeling knowing that he really isn't capable of doing the work anymore and that he NEEDS to retire and yet feeling like he can't be THAT old, right?? On the upside, they will have LOTS more time to come and stay with us now and we are really looking forward to that!


• I continue to be tickled pink by Skype. Karen and I had coffee 'with' mom this week, the cousins have had a ball visiting back and forth and we've even had a chat with Dan's mom.


• Mother's Day is coming up, and it's nice to take a moment to think about our mothers and how blessed we all are! In my case...my mom rocks! I've had moments when I was so humbled that she didn't kill me as a child, that I've called and apologized for the child I once was. Yikes! But in her gentle way, she just shrugged it off and said it wasn't that hard. Yeah, right...but I'll take a compliment where I can get one!


• Game night continues to be a hit. In fact, it's such a hit with Derek that I cannot get him to say Friday. It's 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Game Night, Saturday, Sunday.' HA! Almost every day, he wakes up and asks me if it's game night yet. : ) The crowd continues to grow...we are blessed to have so many to call friend.

I like the idea of this kind of post. If you do too, add a few of YOUR little things. I'm making it a goal to be more positive this year, join me!

~K~

10 Minute Catch UP

Well, hang on to your hats, I'm trying to get you caught up in 10 minutes or less! Oops, hang on~Derek just lost a fight with Rusty...be right back.

I'm back...he's fine; a band-aid and a Jolly Rancher and all is right with the world again : )

Moving on...life is never dull around here, have I mentioned that??

• Dolli has been here for almost two week and hanging out with her is always fun. She is so vivacious and special. No wonder she's the light of Karen's eyes, not to mention that sweet grand baby! I was even allowed to babysit for an afternoon and like any good great auntie, I filled her up with sugar and covered her in kisses : )



• School is rolling along well and if we keep at it, we might just have a summer break after all, hurray! My Father's World continues to be a hit and we are wrapping up our time in Germany and heading to Africa soon to study a few countries there. I think next year we will lay aside our beloved ABeka for the older boys and find something a bit more engaging. Derek will be using their Kinder program...Whoa, that was hard to type!


• Dan and Josh have been working and working and working. They are on day 8 of consecutive work days. Their side job is almost done, just a few more weekends and then they can relax on weekends~ and I'm sure they are looking forward to that.
  


• David's gymnastics recital is next week. He is really excited about that! I can't wait to see him do his 'thang' Working at the gym for me is fun and Patrick has started to really enjoy coming along and serving customers and his change making skills are really improving. Derek loves free gym. His favorite is the foam pit where he can jump in to his heart's delight with no danger of hurting himself. : )
  


• Let's see...what else? The house is a mess after we all just worked like crazy this weekend. 'Shua, Dan, Lauren and I have all shared a cold/virus something over the past week and it's just a awful. I've never wanted to take my next dose of cold meds early before...it's that bad! But, we are all on the mend now and that's good news!
  


• Anywho, I suppose that all the news that IS news around here right now. Take a moment if you will and pray over these things.

1. Dolli's safe return to Cali tomorrow
2. Karen's emotions after Dolli's departure...she always gets so sad when Dolli leaves.
3. Dan and Josh's continued safety on the job and on the drive there and back each day.
4. Continued success with schooling...Pat has come so far this year!"
5. Us finding a new church where we ALL feel right about it.
6. My Dad is retiring next month (Praise the Lord) and I'm HOPING that they will soon be visiting more often and for longer *wink wink, nudge nudge*

A few pictures and I'm out....20 minutes late, but that's life around here!

Blessings,

Kristy and the Man Crew