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Showing posts from January, 2010

Saturday Snow Day

Well, the predicted snow fall came. Not the 8-10" some had hoped for, but significant snow fall all the same. . .view from my front porch this morning: The kids were overjoyed to see the snow! They didn't race outside like they have in the past when we have a dusting but were anxious to go after breakfast. I treated the family to thick-sliced bacon. . . eggs. . . and pancakes. . . but not just any pancakes. . . This is a real treat in our house!! The kiddies were happy to see these :) I love sitting down to breakfast as a family in the mornings. . . Especially when we don't have to rush to get anywhere :) Frederick even called Grandpa Fred this morning to let him know we were making a "homemade" breakfast -- ha! Grandpa Fred LOVES our sit-down breakfasts and so I asked Frederick if he wanted to call and see if he'd like to come over this morning. Frederick (6) very seriously answered me "Mom, he couldn't get here that fast." True. . .300

Weather

I hate to be cold. HATE IT. Yes, I can get hot, but try *never* to complain about that! My husband moved us 300 miles south to make me happy. Wasn't far enough, but about all he can take so it's good. But here's the problem. . .we still get snow and ice. And I don't mind it but school closes for EVERYTHING. The wind blowing too hard? School's out. Does the forecast say we are getting snow in two days? Better let school out a day early. I'm not kidding. Here is this week so far (and no, we haven't had anything but a few flurries in the air. . .I don't even know if it's gotten below freezing???) And keep in mind that we have not had a full week of school since before Christmas. . .with no delays, early dismissals, etc. . . Monday: I got a sub job in another county for the second half of the day. The kids were in shorts on Saturday running around outside (it wasn't hot, they just play hard). I have to report to the school at 11:30.

Some color choices

Here are Tom and Bonnie's choices. Thank you for the sweet comments from my previous post about my living room. I hope it didn't sound like I don't like it or don't appreciate it. . .I do love the space, I just don't know what to do with it!! Anyway, they decided that we can change colors in the corner by the door leading up the stairs so we can have another (lighter/more neutral) color up there. There is not much natural light upstairs so even our soft yellow now looks really dark, and it's even the lighter sample on the card!!! So. . .the living room is going to be LaFonda Wild West Green (Lowe's) and Cliveden Sandstone on the stairs & in the common room (Lowe's also). More to come. . .I hope. . .:) P.S. The other two colors are what are currently in the kitchen and dining room. . .at one point Tom was even willing to re-paint the kitchen -- what a good guy!!! But glad we're not going THAT far. . .it's a job, as anyone who has ever p

Design-and-Color Challenged

I love to decorate. Love it. Just take a look at my sidebar and see how many decorating blogs I regularly (daily) check out. But I'm not good at it. Really. It's one of those things that I keep hoping "practice will make perfect" but I know, in all honesty, that although I might get a little better with lots and lots of practice, it's not something I'm a natural at and therefore it will always be difficult for me. I don't "see" things like Layla does. I envy Kim 's artistic talent. And where would I be without Kimba's blog for inspiration? And I love Rhoda's style. The person that I wish I knew in person, hands down, is Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick . Well, I do hope that I get to know her a little bit next month as I have asked for a design consultation with her. But for now, I have these two: Tom and my stepmom Bonnie spent a couple of hours today talking about what it's like to live with someone who loves beautif

Company Girl 1.22

Good morning Ladies! I don't have any homemade refreshments for you today because I'm in school :) I love teaching and when I get the chance to sub -- and not just any class but in my son's middle school -- the day is bright! So hopefully you have a cuppa-something with you while we catch up. . . This is a picture of us on the first day of school this year. . .I had a fantastic long-term sub job in the middle school at the beginning of the year and I think every one of us was eager to get there that day. But in all truthfulness, I think we are all fairly happy to go to school any day -- especially the days that we get to go together. I am so incredibly blessed to get to spend these days with my children. . .taking them to school and getting to see their teachers more often, even if it's just a quick "hello" in the hallway. Don't get me wrong. . .I also LOVE the days that I can drop them off and do my own thing too. . .I'm in that season of my life

WFMW -- Kid of the Day

I am participating in We are THAT Family's Works for Me Wednesday today! Around here we have Kid of the Day. With four kids sometimes decisions are hard to make -- McDonald's or Wendy's? Which bag of chips do you want to open? Whose turn is it to sit in the front seat? You know, the list goes on and on so we have developed "Kid of the Day". We've used it for years. On a markerboard in the kitchen we have all the kids' names listed. (Next to their names are their bedtimes. . .that can periodically change and we also use these these names for our disciplinary system in the house too as well as important phone numbers.) The kids whose name is circled at the bottom is kid of the day . Here are some tricks to the game: Kid of the Day does get to make all tie-breaking decisions (which movie to watch -- T&M want this one, M&F want this one), they get to bring the mail in, they get first seating choice at the dinner table, etc. But also, they &qu

A busy day off

Wow! Today was one long day!!! I really want to post pictures too but it's late and tomorrow will come quickly. . .so. . .better just record these silly things before they get away from me :) Of course we were out of school for Martin Luther King Day today. . .we have had ONE FULL day of school since Christmas break. Crazy, huh? Well, after a rainy weekend we really made up for it today. The five of us left the house at 7:30 this morning and did not return until 5:30 this evening! Can you believe it?!? This no longer surprises Tom. . .he's used to me go, go, going. I played tennis (indoors) at 8 a.m. for 1.5 hours. The kids were questionably good. . .in the end good enough for donuts. That is usually my "bribe" when they have to come and sit during that time with me on Mondays. . .I am really proud of them that they respect me and my desire to play enough that they quietly (well, as quiet as an 11, 9, 7, & 6-yr-old can be) play games or watch their porta

Company Girl 1.15

Good Afternoon Company Girls ! Today I have a diet Coke next to me and am only going to give myself 15 minutes to sit down and "talk". . .hopefully later this weekend I'll be around to catch up with all of you too :) Thank you, Anna , for helping me get the Company Girl Coffee button up on my post! Now I feel a little better. . .I like to learn something new every day if I can. The kids FINALLY went back to school today. . .one hour late. I think we were the only county in our state that was still off yesterday. . .it's frustrating for me but more from an educational standpoint. I am lucky enough to have a life right now that is flexible enough to roll with multiple early dismissals/delays and days off. . .I can't imagine being a working mom, trying to fill in all these details each time school is called off unexpectedly or when a child becomes ill. I am truly blessed. I haven't been able to keep up with the daily challenges this week :( I have read the

Works for Me Wednesday

I am linking up with Kristen over at We are THAT Family to post a little something that works for us. . .our giant chalkboard! We have had this for ages. . .the kids' got it as a Christmas gift 5-6 years ago. My in-laws purchased it at one of those stores that sells overflow from offices, schools, etc. It was green but we have since painted it with black chalkboard paint to go more with the decor in our kitchen. It holds MANY purposes. As you can see right now, we have all the books of the Bible listed on it. . .the circled books are the ones that Frederick as committed to memory. He's SIX. I'm so proud of him. It's a Sunday School challenge and he hopes to have it all memorized by this Sunday. . .I think he can do it. When these aren't up we have Bible verses we are memorizing, daily schedules, weekly menus. . .it changes depending on the needs of our family. On the right side of the board are "specials". . .there are certain treats that the kid

"Snow Day" #5

To be fair, this is what our driveway still looks like. It will melt today. . .between the sunshine and the predicted high of 41 degrees. Our county is rural and with the shaded mountain roads, this is still what many of the roads look like. And there isn't any equipment to clear them and for the most part they aren't treated in any way. But it's tough, all this unexpected time off. We are a go-go-go family and although the occasional "at home" day is terrific, we're all ready to get back to routine. Monday I did get to play tennis with my group. There are a couple of indoor courts that 10 of us regularly play on (8 ladies each week) and the kids just come with me and hang out. They are really good about it. . .mainly because they're bribed with donuts or McDonald's. . .but I'd also like to hope that part of their behavior is out of respect for me and how much I enjoy this time each week. We play early (8 a.m.) so we had to push to get out

Sunday Dinner

This is the easy crockpot pork tenderloin dinner that I mentioned the other day . Obviously I'm not making it again today, but it IS a great Sunday dinner -- definitely good enough for company too. Here is your cast of characters: Pork tenderloin, 1 can of each: Cream of Mushroom, Golden Mushroom, and French Onion. I am not a fan of processed foods, but this is an exception. I also don't really like mushrooms but they are easy to pick out of this dish if you like (I give all of mine to Margaret). That's it, that's all you need! Oh, and a crockpot and 8-10 hours :) Here is what a pork tenderloin looks like if you've never bought one. When you open it up you get this: Lots of people will further trim that fat. . .I don't because it will cook off. I do rinse and pat it dry at this point. Also, when my mother makes this she salt and peppers the meat -- I do not. My kids HATE pepper and I generally don't add salt to my cooking. Add all three soups to t

Company Girl Coffee 1.8

This is my first time joining in with Company Girl Coffee ! I still do not know how to copy a button so if anyone can help me out on that, I'd appreciate it :) I DO NOT like being home-bound and here I am, second day in. The above picture was taken from my front porch this morning, in my socks. It was FREEZING outside so I just held my arm out as far as it would go and snapped a picture :) I wouldn't say we were "hit" with anything but around here a dusting shuts EVERYTHING down. Last night the libraries, YMCA, etc. had all closed. Our local university isn't in session yet. . .wonder if they would have closed to? To be fair, when my husband got home he said the roads were very icy. Since we live in the middle of TN, and are in a rural area to boot, the roads are not treated so it is a little more difficult to get around. This morning I was supposed to get blood work done at 8:30 but after speaking with Tom decided not to go because the 2.5 mile road leadi