Impromptu Living

My hubby is spontaneous. To think is to do. Examples: "Hey, why don't we go camping." Two hours later we're on the road; "Let's look at trucks." We drove one off the lot; " Erin, can you clean up things at the house? I'm bring 20 employees over for a cookout." I picked up and mowed a patch around the picnic table in the back yard. By then (6 years married) I was used to this; "I think I'll rototill the garden." But the sun just set. "It won't take long." He had to work under flood lights for 5 min, but got it finished.

There have a few times that this made me nervous. "Hey, maybe I should quit my job and get a traveling one, sell our house, buy a big motorhome and tour the U.S." Still have the job.

There have been many times that this benefitted me: Nikon D-60, Laptop, iMac, countless flowers and treats.

He's spontaneous, I'm not. I get my planned way of life from my Dad. It once took him two years to buy a lawn mower.

Case in point: right now I'm facing buying a new printer/scanner because Mac OS isn't compatible with my old ones. I've researched the market and narrowed my focus. After two weeks of studying and reading reviews I've determined that the most economical choice for me, that doesn't take up as much room, still gives me the quality that I'm after and doesn't cost an arm and a leg for ink replacement is an HP laserjet black and white and a separate flatbed scanner. Two weeks!!!! Actually, I've been considering my options since we bought the computer in December. 4 months!!! In the meantime, I've been using a thumb drive to transfer documents to my laptop in order to print.

So, how should I resolve this? I'll either get up my gumption and buy the thing, which may take another two weeks, or just make Jon work at home for a day. He will have that printer bought before I can blink.

A Beautiful Day Outside

LEtting it GO

If you were six years old and you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, would you:

A) Brave all the scary monsters in the hallway, making a dash for the light in the bathroom

B) Just pee in the Lego box


I'm washing Legos today.

According to Popcorn

After taking a trip to the pet store with their Dad, Popcorn and Sinatra (but mostly Popcorn) reported in:

Popcorn: Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess what, Mom? Mom, Mom, Mom, guess what? Guess what?

Mom: What?

Popcorn: Ummm, umm, umm, we saw... Guess what we saw at the pet store?

Mom: Animals?

Popcorn: Yeah. And guess what my favorite was?

Mom: A mouse? A rabbit? A bird?

Popcorn: No, a Chiwawa.

Mom: They look like a rat. You really like those?

Popcorn: Yeah, I want one. But I don't want that fighter dog--the big fighter dog what always fights.

Mom: You mean a Boxer?

Popcorn: Yeah.

Sinatra: I want an Enchawawa, Mom.

Popcorn: They don't shed, Mom, and they don't look like a rat.

Seuss on Sale

Last night I went to a pre-sale for a consignment event at the church up the street. I had already made a pact with myself that I would not linger in the book section and would absolutely NOT buy more than a few books, if any. And NO TOYS!

I was good. I made a beeline for the baby shoes and stocked up on some adorable footwear for Sugar for the summer. Check. Now on to the boy's clothes ...

Then something caught my eye and my heart jumped. As I reached my hand for the bag, some lady with a miniature shopping cart swooped in like hawk on a mouse and stole it! At least that's what I thought might happen in the three seconds it took for me to nonchalantly pick up the bag and calmly place it in my laundry basket. Inside, the greedy bargain shopper wanted to stand on a table, hold my treasure aloft and yell, "Ha!!! I found it first!", but I told her to get down and behave. Besides, they would have stoned me. For a good 3 minutes I had to repeat to myself, "I will not act like a greedy garage saler...I will not act like a greedy garage saler...I will not, Not, NOT!" It was especially difficult not to gloat when the lady at the checkout groaned and said, "I didn't see these. Wow! You got the find of the night!"

Here it is:



There are 22 of them. Full size and hard bound. And here's the sweet spot: $18. That's 82 cents each. And it gets even sweeter. When we opened the first one it cracked. Then we opened the next one--crack. The next--crack. They had never been opened. A whole set that had never been touched. Beautiful!



I did not buy even one toy. I wasn't even tempted.

Boys and Bikes

Popcorn loves to ride bikes. He learned when he was 4 and hasn't stopped since--until now.

We bought him this new bike because his younger brother will be taking over the trainer bike that used to be pink but we spray painted blue. Also, it wasn't too late to cash in on making this one a late birthday present.

Notice the pleased, yet not-so-sure look on his face.




now genuinely happy...



fell off and whined for 10 minutes about his injuries.



He's only been back on the thing when forced. It's just going to take him a while to warm up to his big bike.

For Laughs

Because you should never go through life without seeing this:



or this:



Why am I thinking about these skits? Because we saw this at the Smithsonian:

George Washington, D.C. Visit

Before we went on the trip I told Popcorn and Sinatra that we were going to Washington D.C. Sinatra was clueless, but Popcorn kept correcting me: "It's George Washington, D.C, Mom!" He didn't believe that it was just Washington D.C. until the end of the weekend, and refused to say (or let you say) anything but his pronunciation.

These kids keep me laughing!

Jon and a co-worker/friend had business that ended in D.C, so the families tagged along and we all enjoyed a mini vacation.

Here's most of the crew in front of the Lincoln Memorial at sunset on our last day.



Shakespeare in front of the Washington monument.



Shakespeare and his friend enjoyed the hands-on section of the American History Smithsonian Museum. This was a section dedicated to lesser-known inventors.



At one point we packed 9 children into the back of the mini van. Shhh! We made the kids in the back duck.



While visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier the younger boys were as good as gold. The signs all ask for silence and respect. The only peep they made for 10 minutes was when Sinatra leaned over and whispered, "Mom, is he gonna' kill somebody?"

She Turned 11

Gem turned 11 on Wednesday. We gave her money. That's what she wanted. Amazing. I have a kid that only wants money--well, also a cell phone,a laptop(which she did NOT get). We took her out to Longhorn for a special dinner and to The Princess and the Frog, Disney movie. She had to order from the adult menu at the restaurant because the kid menu was for 10 and under. Ha! She was thrilled.

It's such a joy to have a kid like her. She is a gift--a blessing. I love her tender heart and her quick mind, her beautiful eyes and abundant smile. She's makes her parents smile. The messy room and the occasional roll of the eyes and sigh do not define this tween. She's sweet and lovely. She has a beautiful soul that is teachable and humble. What a delight!

Love you, sweet girl! Happy birthday!

Shakespeare is 9

Today was Shakespeare's birthday. He's such a gift giver. He bought presents ahead of time for his brother and sister. He was soooo looking forward to his b-day. And then Jon had a business trip to D.C. We decided to come for the tail end of the trip, but it put us traveling home on Shakespeare's birthday. We got home this afternoon with no present bought and no birthday cake baked.

We ended up takin him out to Bravo (nice Italian restaurant) for dinner. Then we stopped by Target on the way home to pick up his present--a nerf broadsword. He seemed happy enough. We're just not doing so well on birthday delivery this time around.

One thing he did enjoy was Washington D.C. I'll post pictures tomorrow evening or Wednesday.

On a different note--Jon and I have been so overwhelmed lately by the blessings that the kids are. We sigh, we stare, we laugh at antics...we enjoy them. God is so good. We are so blessed.

Happy birthday, my favorite 9 year old in the whole wide world! We love you so much.