April Showers.

Bring May flowers of course!

It's raining here.

It has been for most of the day.

The sound of the steady rain hitting the window

is comforting. 

It makes me want to take a nap. 

But I can't.

Because I've got to fix dinner.

Here's a look at some of the

blossoms in bloom around our home.



Apple Blossoms




Leaf buds



Peach Blossoms

Lone tulip because the neighbor's potbelly pig ate the rest.  Seriously.  Not even I can make these things up.

Hens and Chicks

These are the prettiest pink tulips.  Hubs got them for me for Valentine's Day last year.  I can't wait for them to bloom.

From the looks of things it won't be long until I need to be pulling weeds.

The Goat Chronicles and the Circle of Life.

Lucy and Ruby Goat are pleased to introduce you to their son and brother, Andy Goat.

He was a Christmas baby.

    I wanted to name him Noel or Rudolph or Nick. 
But I lost.  Again.



He likes to try and climb through the fence.
He's a little confused.  He thinks he's a dog.







He spent the first week of his life living in our kitchen.
Now he prefers to dine on a more organic menu.

I'm sensing some sibling rivalry here.

Everyone tell Ruby how pretty she is.

It's important for her self esteem during these
delicate adolescent years.


With the promise of Spring comes new life.

I think somebody around here is gonna have some babies.
And it isn't me.

 

Happy Spring!

Weekend Entertainment.

Today, I hardly did anything.

I'm not lying.

Except for running a couple of errands in town this morning,

cooking breakfast, and lunch,

O, and doing a few loads of laundry,

I've pretty much done nothing.

And enjoyed every. single. minute.

We've basically laid around

and been a mass of tangled legs

and bodies on the couch.

Until I finally decided that I needed a

break from the family bonding

and headed downstairs to remake my bed. 

Is there anything better than fresh laundry sheets

on your bed? 

So, I sit here now, writing about my day

surrounded by the heavenly scent of Bounty.

Ahhhh.....

Do you know that there are six pillows on my bed?

Yep.  And I have a confession to make.

I strategically place pillowcases on the pillows

that I like best.  Hubs gets the others,

but he doesn't need to know.

  



Wearing O' the Green.



 

Today is St. Patrick's Day.

And I didn't wear green.

I didn't get pinched either.

I'm not a very holidayee person.
Must be getting old.  Old and grumpy.  For sure.

Once, when I was little

I remember going down into

our basement to get my pants out of the dryer.

They were made of polyester and had

a blue and red patchwork pattern on them.  LoOved them.

But, Mom wouldn't let me wear them

 because it was St. Patrick's Day and there

wasn't any green on them.

When you're 4 and your brother's 8

it's not safe to be taking such risks. 

Darin would've been forced to pinch me. 

He would've had no other choice.  Cause that's the kind of brother he is.

And traditions are not to be taken lightly.

Oh.  And as a side note.  He can pinch with his
toes too.  And pick things up with them. 
He's multi-talented.

Good thing I didn't see him today.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Heartache in Japan.



view from our side deck last fall



  Today, like you, I awoke to the news of the

tragedy that took place in Japan over night.  In just a few minutes

lives were changed forever. 

I could only imagine their heartache, as feelings of empathy

washed over me.  Yet the gratitude that I felt, because

my family, was safe in their beds, did not escape me.

I wanted to hold them close, and tell them that

I loved them, and then tuck them safely under

my wing.  But they were still asleep.

So, I gave softly placed kisses instead.

As I write this, it's morning there now.

Life is already moving on.

Sadly, in time, for those far removed, it will be old news.

I hope to never know the sorrow, and pain they feel.

I hope you don't either.

What Not To Wear.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

This picture is no different.   I'm guessing we're about 3.

I remember it for two reasons

1.  I did not like the outfit.

2.  I didn't like the man taking the picture because

he was trying to make me smile.

I remember Mom dressing us in front

 of the sandstone fireplace

 all the while trying to convince me to

   wear the outfit because it was cute.

 I wasn't buying it.

     And there was absolutely no way I was gonna smile dressed like that.

To make matters worse, Mandy could have cared less. 

                                                               

 The scandal of it all.

    Occasionally, I have had clothing wars with my children.

    For the most part now, I've learned that if I like a piece

   of clothing, they will hate it.
And some day, I'm sure I'll hear about
the outfit that I made them wear.
I can hardly wait.

Here's to priceless Olan Mills pictures!

        Oh, and just so you know this sweet little face is the 

                                same sweet face involved in the sugar bowl scandal of 1979. 

                               

 

How to Raise a Boy.

This is Doodle.  Minutes before he finished my soda at the ball field.

In the heat of The Summer with record heat waves.  And one concession stand.  Two fields away.

Such a thoughtful boy.

He has the softest hair ever.  Really.  And it always smells good .

Even when the rest of him smells like boy stink.

I know because I sniff it when I give him hugs.

Its a high. 

I know.  Weird.

He is one of two reasons why Red Dye # 40 is banned in our home,

and sugar before bed,

and why earplugs are on my list for Wal Mart.

Oh, and he's the main offender of the basketball ban.

He's growing like a weed.  Which makes me daydream

about the day when he will be taller than me, and I can't sniff his

hair anymore, and then I think about him

going on a mission, and getting married...

 then I hyperventilate.

And I cry.

Then I hear the basketball bouncing off the hallway walls

C'est la vie!

Now go sniff your boys hair before he's too tall.

Or your daughter. 

Either will do.