Going Green

The M household has become very (okay, slightly more) environmentally friendly as of late.

It's not that I'm worried about global warming....I think that's a bunch of bunk. But I'm all for preserving the environment (and not paying Allegheny Power out the whazoo).

So we've started replacing all our light bulbs with those super trendy, low energy, twisty twirly ones. I'm really into not changing a light bulb for 8 years. (Don't lecture me on the whole mercury thing. I've done my research and weighted the options).

Then, I decided to use re-usable shopping bags when I shop. Actually, I just needed a reason to buy these at IKEA. Aren't they the coolest bags ever?!? So no more of those plastic bags for us!

Then today, the kids decided to take the comforters and everything off the beds (instead of just the sheets, but hey, they did take the sheets off too!). Since it was supposed to be blazing hot...we decided to wash it all! Just wash it all and hang everything outside to dry...so by mid-morning everything that doesn't move on the porch and backyard was draped in sheets, comforters, and towels. We were very country. Very down home. Very environmentally friendly.

I feel almost like a hippy now! I mean, I haven't really shaved my legs since these hives won't go away. I even took my bra off (well, okay....I usually don't wear one around the house....and since that stinking doctor didn't call my back with a new appointment to get these hives looked at ...again....so I figured, what's the point of wearing one). Now we're hanging laundry in the yard!

So anyway....we spent the morning out in the yard. The kids ran around, hiding in sheets and towels. They played in the baby pool, ran in the sprinkler. Jordan and I sat in the shade and read books. It was great.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Everyone who has ever been to my house knows that I love IKEA. And I've discovered that as far as IKEA goes, it's a love or hate relationship. There's no middle road.....

Well, last year for my birthday the Hubby and I borrowed a big ole truck and drove up to IKEA to purchase our first ever brand spankin' new couch. Since I had just painted my living room a beautiful (but impossible to match) shade of sage....I got a white couch and chairs.

I loved them. Everyone thought I was nuts for white furniture and kids...but such is the beauty of IKEA. You zip the covers off then throw them in the washing machine. They've been smeared with chocolate, colored on with pen, and had varies types of milk leak on to them.

I went through a very trendy monochromatic "everything but the sage walls must be black and white" thing.....and loved it.

But I'm kind of over it. Plus, I got new paint for the kitchen which is a slightly more grey shade of green. I've read that green shades are good for kitchens and you won't eat as much (must work only in the kitchen, because I've had no problem eating in the green living room)! Plus, the paint was only $5 a can.....and I'm getting frustrated trying to find accessories that match with sage.


Oh , and mom my was visiting...and we love to shop. Especially at IKEA. She mentioned last time she was up that she was driving this time so that she could be a few more things. So I started planning, and saving.

Because that's the other great thing about IKEA. For not very much money, I can buy all new couch and chair covers and it looks like I have brand new furniture. So that's exactly what I did.


Here's my new couch:


And the chairs:



And some fancy pillow covers to go with it:
Instant new look. Now if I can just get around to painting the living room that yellowy-gold that umm....it used to be before I painted it green, I'll be all set.

Oh, and my other big plan is to photoshop some pictures of the kids to look like comic book prints, blow them up, and put them on the wall. Very pop-art. I'm into pop-art now, having left monochromaticism behind.

You're Out of Touch

I am at least.

Since Jordan has started swim team this summer, and I need to entertain my toddler there for an hour every day, Celia and I have done some exploring at Fairmont State.

Fairmont State is my alma mater. I enjoyed the school, I'm happy with the degree I got there. But I'm not calling it a University. It's just too pretentious. I can't do it. So I simply call it just Fairmont State.

I knew we were in trouble the very first day....the road that I used to take to the Feaster Center (where swim team is held), well, it just doesn't go there anymore. In fact, NO roads will take you through the middle of campus.

They will take you right to the new parking garage. However, you must not park there. (Unless you're a student, with an ID). You can get in....but you can't get out. I discovered this little gem about two years ago when I needed to take a grad course for continuing education (a teacher requirement). I found a very nice online class to take, but needed a professor's signature once. So I loaded up my newborn in her infant seat and off we went. I was very happy to put my car in that brand new garage and not have to fight for parking spaces anywhere. It was great.

Since I only had to go quickly in once building, I didn't take a stroller or anything, just that infant carrier. Anyone who's had one knows they are heavy...so you don't lug them around far. In typical Fairmont State style I had to lug her in that carrier to 3 different buildings! Then back to the garage. Where I found I couldn't get my car out until I walked all the way back across campus to the security office and purchased tokens to get out.

Why not put a money thingy on the gate to get out so you could just feem money in there? It makes too much sense.



So back to the here and now...Celia and I have been exploring the new and improved campus.

First stop was the new student activities center. She saw a shiny new building and begged to go in, so in we went. The song playing on the building -wide muzak system wall "You're Out of Touch". Was I ever!

Huge expanses of basketball courts, as fas as the eye can see. A student version of Barnes and Noble, trendy couches and chairs. A new Nickel....that looked just wrong. I wonder what they've done with the old one? A state of the art fitness center. A brand new pool (not for competition swimming). I felt very out of touch....and out of place. Especially since all this was just built on to the back of Colebank Hall.

For some reason, they really like doing that. The new building they are working on it being buit right on top of the tech wing of Wallman Hall. On top? And we always joked that the whole building was sliding down the hill. But I guess they know what they are doing.

Regardless, a few new buildings does not a University make. So if it's alright with you, I'll just continue calling it Fairmont State and leave the University off (since it's no longer acceptable to call it a college).

This is how we have a party!

First, get yourself some cheap slave labor to create some party decorations...



These kids (and their friends) work quite well!



Put the decorations on the porch.



Make yourself some party food. This is the cake I make every year. Cliche? Yes. But I like it. I also made Rachel Ray's BBQ Sammies.....but I put way to much salt in....they were salty. I still ate one. But not many other people did. Look, I'm still a nice person, even if I can't cook!


Here's the point in the party when the rain came. Everyone retreated in the house to play (the grownups played Wii, the kids just played). I stole someone's baby and took it to my favorite place and rocked until said baby was asleep. Ahhhh, sleeping baby bliss.....

About dark the rain went away and my husband had to try and set the house on fire, like he does every hear (try, not succeed!). I was actually kind of hoping he would burn the playset down. I've been wanting a new one but just can't seem to justify getting one. A fire would fix that. Darn rain.



Then daddy had to apologise to his little girl. She's no fan of fireworks and dad scared the crap out of her. She was more than a little unhappy about dad playing with fire.



Finally I broke out my large collection of glowing jewelry for the kid to run around the yard with while waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the city fireworks (we've got a primo view). Yes, there are children in this photo.....somewhere....


Finally, after all the guests had their cars loaded up, the fireworks started. Very sporadically.

Little hint for next year to the boys at the City of Fairmont....keep the fireworks dry. They light better that way.

Rollin' on the River

Some friends invited us to join them for the day on their boat (on the Tygart Valley River)...well, who can say no to that!?!

We were a little worried at first when Celia strongly protested getting in the boat, but once we started moving, she really enjoyed herself.

So did Jordan. He and his little buddy spent a bunch of time in the tube (please excuse my sad job at making other people's kids look anonymous). There was many an attempt made to knock them out of the tube (they were a little too full of themselves for their own good) but those little buggers managed to hold on through even the twistiest turns and bumpiest bumps.



Once we found a little beachy area to park (dock, whatever) Celia got out of the boat to have fun. First, she has a swim with dad. She's Mrs. Independent, "I can do it myself"!



Then she had to take a little break and sit in the tube to eat a cookie. That's right, she's eating a cookie in the river.


After awhile she talked mommy into coming out to swim and sit in the tube with her. I discovered that chilly river water works wonders for itchy hives. In fact, it made me feel so much better I told Chris I'd hike back down to the river later if I got desperate. Then I figured out that a cold bathtub would do the same thing....without the river smell!


Some other boat people stopped by, with their dogs. Both dogs had their own little doggy life jackets. Celia was in toddler heaven watching those dogs swim around and chase sticks. how long do you think it takes to dry all this fur out?


Celia also discovered how much she loves cherries....once dad showed her how to eat them.


Jordan spent much of his time playing with the campfire. He toasted cheese puffs and pepperoni rolls. It was gross. Then they doused the fire with 72 buckets of water (Smokey the Bear says "Only YOU can help prevent forest fires!") so that no one will be able to light a fire in that pit again for at least two weeks.


We had a ton of fun and now Chris really wants a boat. Play the lottery, hon!

If you thought I was schexy before...

....well, let me just say that my little retainer is NOTHING compared to the sight I currently am!

Standing in the kitchen in a hot pink t shirt that reads "Mrs. M's Pink Panthers" (ah, middle school intermurals) with most of my legs covering in a very goopy baking soda paste. You can't sit down with this stuff, because it crackles and falls off, making a big mess. Which is why I'm standing in the kitchen in the first place.

And it's not even working. My legs STILL itch like you wouldn't believe. Benedryl cream doesn't help. Fingernail polish and scotch tape don't help. The RX hydro cortisone cream I found in the medicine cabinet doesn't help.

It appears I've been attacked by a very hungry spider. At least that what one of my nurse friends thinks....I had to drag her into the ladies room and church and make her check out my increasingly nasty legs. She was happy to inform me that it was spider bites. I was just happy I didn't have to stick around Vacation Bible School and scratch my legs while wearing a foam cowboy hat (like she was...only she wasn't scratching).

I finally gave up, threw on some pajama pants and vigorously rubbed my legs while begging my husband to bring me more ice for them (the only things that provides just a little relief).

Isn't he a lucky guy? Gets to go to bed with an itchy, retainer wearing wife who reeks of many different experimental itch relievers that don't work.....

Oh yeah....and while proofreading this post he found a typo that made me laugh so hard that my tea came out my nose and all over half the living room. It was bad.

Plus I made him help me free the furry captive from the garbage can this afternoon.


Here he is again...not happy that I woke him up from his comfy nap on the PullUp. He's getting ready to run.... (~gag~ do you see that tail? blech!)


Here I am....armed with the broom. Also ready to run.



So I knocked the can over and that nasty bugger wouldn't come out. Look at him in there cowering beside that toothpaste box.......



So I made Chris get in there and coax him out of there with the broom. He eventually got him out....and he ran right toward me (cowering on the porch). The he ran on my elderly neighbor's porch. We chased him off there and haven't seen him since. (The possum, not my husband. He then went golfing and came home watch Big Love.)




Don't you remember that part of the wedding vows, honey? Through possums, spider bites, tea out the nose, and nightly mouth guards.........

Alright Nature, Enough Already!!!

I live in town because I don't want to deal with these things...so can you lay off?

Seriously. I woke up Saturday with a very itchy leg. I thought it was pretty gross that something had been crawling around my pajamas and bit me...but that kind of thing sometimes happens. After the itchyness persisted on Sunday I discovered....well...it's gross. Really. And I promised not to gross you out for at least a month, but I'm going to have to break that promise.

My whole leg is covered in some sort of bites. It is the nastiest thing EVER. I kind of hoped it was a rash of some kind....but we're pretty sure it's bug bites. I don't want to even think about the type of insect, so you don't need to suggest what it was.

So now it's Tuesday. I've used all the Benedryl cream (which didn't do crap!) and have tried painting them with fingernail polish (also nothing). Next I'm trying putting deoderant on them, and if that doesn't work I'm trying vinegar. (These are all tried and true things I've read on the internet. If you can read it on the internet, it must be true).


Then this morning I go out to drag the trash cans to the curb (what's that you say? taking out the trash is a man job? why yes, yes it is.....) and found this:


I started to drag the can before I saw him in there...so needless to say, he's not so happy. I'm waiting until the Hubby gets home before tipping the can and running. I have a large fear of him eating my face off and my kids left to fend for themselves all day.

Since Hubby took the camera to work today, capturing this shot was achieved by tiptoeing out there with my MacBook, gently extending the thing over the can, and clicking the mouse.

No wonder me neighbors don't speak to me.

Baby Bliss

Well, my friend had her baby and I went to visit today. Oh she's cute!

Yes, I have a serious case of baby fever. I would SO love to have more babies......but there's this one little catch....I don't ever want to be pregnant again. That last time was awful! It's not the labor, I can do that (I have labors that are quick and easy....please don't hate me for it!) it's the 9 months of misery leading up to it that I want no part of.

Oh, and there the little fact that Hubby says, in no uncertain terms, that he's done. So we've agreed, each for our own reasons, that the two kids we have are plenty for us. Or course, we've taken to permanent steps to make sure that doesn't happen....but we aren't planning on it.

Most of the time I'm fine with it...until I see someone and their brand new baby. I need a pair of baby blinders to wear out in public or something. Something that guards me from their cuteness! Celia is no help either, with all this talk of her "baby sister".

Of course, there's also the fact that I won't ever have to do the sleepless nights, the diaper blow-outs, the colicky evenings again...that's helpful. And it won't be too much longer until I gain from freedom from my kids and get something of a life back.

See, I'm happy with the age difference in my kids. They don't fight a whole lot, there's no sibling rivalry.....but the negative of this is that I remember what it's like to have an older kid. How much easier it gets.

Because when you have a baby, your life changes so much that you really can't remember what life was like before kids. I can't....none of the moms I know really can. I mean, you can remember some of the things you DID, but exactly what in the world did you DO with all that TIME? No one knows.

Here's the thing though....when you kid turns about 4 or 5....you get some of that time back. First, they really get pretty good at cleaning up after themselves at that ages (and at not just being an eternal mess all of the time). They start getting into toys that amuse them for longer periods of time. Then they go to school. I remember that. The change from going to one kid to two kids is not as big as from none to one. We had 3 years where Jordan was in that "easy to care for big kid" stage before we had another baby again.

I remember that stage of life....when you only have to vacuum once a week. Or things stay clean for longer than 5 minutes. Or you aren't so frazzled that you can't remember what you had for breakfast, but you do know you haven't had time to pee for at least 8 hours. That's a nice place to be. And I'm almost there again.

So while I'm a little sad that I'll never have another bundle of love to call my own...I can be comforted in the joy of my own two (really awesome) kids and be a little secretly happy that with each passing moment, I get a little bit of myself back.

Poopin' Machine

Man, I'm beat. And I did nothing today.

But I didn't go to sleep until almost 2 last night (why oh why must HBO put Big Love on at 9? 10 would work so much better for me. we had to stay up until 12 to watch it replay!) and then had to get up every so often with my sweaty, fevered toddler.

So today we went to the pediatrician....she does not have strep (thank goodness) just some little viral thing like a cold. Except instead of runny nose and cough, she has a headache. And I think her throat hurt today.

Since all she wanted to eat today was fruit, all she did this evening was crap.

She was feeling much better though and was her normal goofy self. Which means my entire evening was punctuated by "Mom, I gotta poop, RUN!" And run I would. Even though we had put a PullUp on (just in case) and even though I have a pinch in my back from sleeping with here. I would scoop her up and run and she would giggle "Run mom, run! I'm a poopin' machine!" That she was. Thankfully, I was fast enough (and she was...well, in control enough) and we made it. Every time.

Soo, now that you've read all about my kid's crap, do you want to see some vegetables? Good, I though you might....... 'cause here they are!

First off, a pumpkin. I actually have many of these. Now sure, I could kill off all but one or two and try for a monster pumpkin...but I actually prefer to have lots of little ones. Plus, well, I'm not really one to put all my eggs in one basket like that.



And a tomato. I went with plum tomatoes this year. No particular reason.



Lastly, the teeniest tiniest watermelon ever! Isn't it cute! it's got a lot of expectations piled on it's little round head though....because out of my 4 watermelon plants, this is the only melon we've got. Grow baby grow!

A Case of the Mondays

Looks like Celia has a case of the Mondays....poor girl. She has a good excuse though. She's sick. She's contracted some mystery illness that has yet to be determined. She got up this morning with a mid-grade fever and a headache. She doesn't feel good and her whole agenda for the day consisted of laying around and picking on mommy.

First she pulled all the clips from my hair (she hates hair clips. Last week she pulled one out and it ripped my hair out. Now I have a patch of exceedingly short hair...right up front. Nice). Then we had to have a 20 minute conversation about boobies. Then about my squishy belly. Then she ripped off my shoes and picked the polish off my toenails.

In between bouts of picking at mommy she chugged Motrin and played with stickers. The saving grace of the whole day is that our good friend got a puppy (which are, in my opinion, the best kind of puppies...the kind that go home with someone else) and promised to bring it by. it is indeed just the cutest little puppy ever ad Celia is very excited because it lives at her best friend's house. So she knows she'll be seeing quite a bit of it.

Tomorrow morning we'll have to re-evaluate. If she still has a fever we pay a visit to our favorite pediatrician, Dr. Steele. He is an excellent doctor...plus he makes the most realistic bird sounds I've ever heard. Both my kids like him a lot. Except while there we'll have the gaggingly pleasant strep test....because apparently there is a version of Strep that the only symptoms are fever and headache.

If she doesn't have a fever then we have two options to consider. It could be another popular virus that's been going around (again, only symptoms are fever and headache) and we're done. Or it could be stage one of some very fun disease that ends with a rash. You know, chicken pox, 5th disease, or any other number of fun scratchy things. In any case, I'm keeping her away from other kid for the rest of the week until I see if anything else is going to pop up.

In other news, I had a breakthrough in time management today. Not only did I get my 2.5 hours of BzzAgent work done, I also did a bunch of laundry and some other really important housecleaning things. And some random sit ups. And ate a bunch of ice cream. And got bit by a bunch of mosquitoes. I think that's all.

Trying New Things.

We've tried a few new foods in the past week, all have been pretty tasty.

Last weekend we had turkey burgers for the first time. This came about (like all other new foods we usually try) because I found a really good deal on ground turkey. Anyway, I did extensive internet research and came up with a good recipe:

1 lb ground turkey
Some shredded cheddar cheese (sorry, I'm bad with measurements, I just dumped some in)
Steak Sauce (again, umm, just dump some in there)

Since turkey is very lean, it tends to stick to the grill (and fall apart everywhere else). To guard against that, I coated the grill in nonstick spray (before you light it please!) and brushed the burgers themselves with olive oil. To make sure that they don't fall apart, put them on the grill and leave them there. Don't move them all around. You set them down, cook on one side for 4-5 minutes, then carefully flip and leave them another 4 minutes or so. None of this constant flip flopping stuff.


We also tried turkey sausage, which was also good (but hey, it's sausage....with all those seasonings, it's kind of hard for it to go wrong!)


Then this morning I was dying to try some elephant ears (or fried dough, or beaver tails, if you're from Canada). Now you can get all fancy and make your own dough, but I don't have time for those kind of shenanigans on a sunday morning. A can or premade biscuits would work just fine. We didn't have that, so I used Bisquick.

It's real easy, roll (or stretch) whatever dough you have out until it's more thin than you would think it should be. Then fry in oil until golden brown (it doesn't take long). Let cool (I like to do this on a paper bag, it gets some of the oil out) slightly and then dredge in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. I found it easer to put the sugar in a paper lunch bag, drop the dough in and shake.

Big surprise, something fried in oil and covered in sugar is REALLY good. I know that's a shocker. Just don't eat them more than once a month or your arteries will completely clog one day while you're walking around.


Lastly, and this one is s surprise, BocaBurgers. That's right. Meatless hamburgers. Soy Burgers. I will try anything if it's free (and they almost were) so we tried them. Shockingly edible. I thought they'd be really gross, but they taste just about like any fast food burger. I wouldn't fix them for company or anything, but my family liked them okay.

There you go, all my culinary adventures for the week!

Accident Prone

Hi there....sorry to have been MIA. I hope not to have a week as busy as last week EVER again. I know I will, but geez. It was fun though, we spent and evening with friends, had a party on the deck, swim team every day, and lots of backyard time!

Finding time in the day to work a few hours is really kicking my butt. Between taking Jordan to swim team each day, the usual keeping the house clean, the extra projects that always pop up, I can't fit two hours of work in each day. So either I don't work, or I don't clean, and neither are good options really.

Wednesday Jordan has his accident prone day. He lost of one his braces! We have no clue where it might be! We called out friends since he was swimming in their pool and mentioned that they might want to check next time they are out there...but we're really thinking he swallowed it (he has no wires yet, just 4 braces on his 4 top permanent teeth).

Then Jordan and I decided to move the big tent in the backyard. It went pretty well, we got the legs off, moved the thing, put the legs back on.....then the clouds moved in and the wind kicked up! Poor Jordan had to hang on to a tent leg for dear life while I pounded in stakes like a madwoman. Then it started thundering so I sent him to the porch with Celia....they made a "hideout" in the porch furniture....and amazingly the tent did not blow away while I finished attaching it to the ground!

Thurday was poor Celia's day to be accident prone. We spent the evening with friends and had a great time! They have a little girl who just turned two and is the sweetest little thing (though she's already potty trained better than Celia...be gone bad mommy envy). The dads went golfing and the kids and I stayed at their house for the evening. I had such a great time....our friend is about ready to pop any day and I'm just giddy with baby excitement! It's easy for me to be giddy, I don't have to be uncomfortable and pregnant or have labor looming over me.

Anyway, it was lots of fun except for Celia first popping a huge wheelie on their push and ride toy and turning the whole thing over on top of her! Then not 20 minutes later she was trying to do a sit up on a big exercise ball, lost her balance, and did a header into the wall! Then friday after the soccer party she got a big splinter in her foot (but was very brave for the extraction!).

My big news for the day is that Target finally put their Celebrate Summer stuff on 50% off so I got some great outside toys that I've been stalking for a month! Hope to take some pictures of us using them in the yard tonight!

Lady Madonna

We were listening to a Beatles cd on Monday and I laughed when Lady Madonna came on. I'd spent the whole day running around with the kids (and dreading the crazy week ahead) and trying to figure out how we were going to pay for Jordan's braces...so the song cracked me up. I guess you could say I had a real "Lady Madonna Moment."

"Lady Madonna, children at your feet, wonder how you manage to make ends meet"

Not that we're making a lot of real sacrifices or anything so that I can be a stay at home mom....I mean, we each have our own car, Jordan gets lessons in guitar and whatever his sport of the season is, we eat good food, have premium cable. But every once in awhile things do get tight and I have to do the dance of figuring out how to get it all paid....oh, say, like when the kid needs braces and Chris's recording project is running a little longer than he expected. But things got worked out and Jordan got his braces, right on schedule.

He did awesome, by the way. I'll have some pics up of his shortly. I was amazed how fast they put them on!

I was also feeling a little overwhelmed by my WAY over-scheduled week so I cancelled some small things....and I keep telling myself that these little things that keep piling up around the house are no big deal, they will be here tomorrow, and next week, and next year....to not stress about them. (But there's a little demon in my head hissing about the messing dining room, the scrapbook pages that need doing, fixing the playhouse, fixing Chris's bike, and the laundry, oh the never-ending always detestable laundry!) We are hosting a party this weekend for Jordan's soccer team.....so I feel this pressure to have the house looking perfect. Which is so silly. The party is going to be outside. And it's short. So most people won't even see the inside of my house, my less the laundry pile in the basement or the clutter in the dining room. I figure as long as the trail to the bathroom is clean, I should be good...right?

Some other exciting things in addition to Jordan's braces.....one of my new friends is about to have her baby. Which is just so exciting for me! I love getting together with her and some other mommies with toddlers each week because not only does Celia have friends to play with....I get my baby fix. Two of the mommies just had babies (one is about 4 months, another maybe one month!) and two of them are expecting. Since we aren't going to have anymore, I have to get my baby fix through them. They probably think I'm crazy because I love finding diapers at a great price and giving them to them (we hardly even use them here anymore) and really, it just makes me feel so good to be around all the new (or about to be new) mommies and their babies!

Oh yeah...I also found a new Smiley Add-On for Firefox. Boy, I'm obsessed with smileys. And now, I possess a smiley for every occasion! And some that well, I'm not sure when I will ever use.

Like here's one of my favorites, I use it all the time!

And another..really amusing to me.

That's right. It's a Jesus smiley. And what's that on his head? Oh, it's a halo (?!?!). Either that or the smoothest crown of thorns I've ever seen.

Chicken on the Grill, Pumpkins, and Ducks

Whew, how's that for an all in one title? Sorry folks, I have a lot to say!

First, how to cook a whole chicken on the grill.

This is one of our favorite summer meals. Take a whole chicken. Prepare and rinse well. Get a can of something. Beer is recommended, but I think Coke or any Cola works as well (you know, in case you live in a house where you don't keep can's of beer around and you don't remember to get one until Sunday, when you can't buy beer).

Drink about 1/2 - 2/3 of your canned beverage.

Jam the can (with the rest of the liquid) up the chicken's bottom.

Stand the chicken up, using the can and it's two legs to make a kind of tripod.

Smear it with something. We went with a Caribbean Jerk Marinade this time (tasty) but plan oil, salt, and pepper works fine too.

You want to use indirect heat to cook this sucker. Go if you have a gas grill, only light the outer burners and leave the ones under the chicken off. If you use charcoal, the when they are ready, use a shovel or stick or something to scrape them off to the sides.


Cook for about 1 - 1 1.5 hours over medium heat. (Use your meat thermometer to check for doneness).


Okay, so now that you have a recipe for chickeny goodness, check out our baby pumpkin! He's the first one! How exciting.

We also have some peas. The kids had to try one.

After dinner we went to feed the ducks and geese at Prickett's Fort. We do this pretty often (you know, every time someone leaves the bread open and it gets all stale!) and the kids love it. These are probably the fattest, best fed fowl in all of creation. Everyone in Fairmont brings them bread to eat!






While we were driving to the Fort, I asked Chris, "Do you want to feed the ducks or do you want to take pictures?" He decided he would be taking pictures because he's good at it (he is).


But the lure of feeding the animals was too great for him and I had to take the camera away. What is this thing he's feeding anyway? A duck or a goose? We couldn't decide, but they were very docile and nice.


Unlike this guy. He was not nice. Honking and hissing, nipping the other geese, and generally just flapping his wings at everyone.



After we've fed them all our bread, we want to make sure they get enough physical activity, so Jordan gently encourages them to fly.


I mean, hey, they've got to work off all that bread somehow. Right?

Pimpin' da blog...

Yup, it's that time again. Time for me to spent countless hours finding cool stuff to do with this thing. (Mostly, just figuring out how to work the cool stuff!)

So now..I'm broadcasting a feed. You can subscribe to me. You know...you and my 37 other daily readers. I don't know exactly what you're supposed to do with it, but you can do it.

I basically had to do this so I can get a cool scrolling thing in my signature (ha, you think I blog a lot...you don't know the half of it!) for Babycenter. Some other cool mommy had one...and I just felt compelled to follow suit. I would never copycat anything in the real world, but in the blog world, watch out! I'm totally ripping off all your cool stuff. I totally give you credit for it though.

Some other minutia from our week of vacation...

- Dove Ice Cream bars are the nectar of satan. Seriously, those things are evil. I can eat a box a day. I you shop like I do (using coupons to stock up when things are on sale for free or very cheap) do not fool yourself into thinking you can make 20 boxes last the summer. I don't care if they do only cost .45 a box. YOU JUST CAN"T DO IT. They are too good.

- I got a job. Just a little one. It's pretty cool though. I've been doing this thing called BzzAgent for about a year. Basically, they send you cool new products to use and tell your friends about. It's work of mouth advertising. They want you to be totally honest....if you don't like a product, say so. If you do, say so. That's all. They usually give you little samples or coupons to pass out if friends are interested. Anyway, if that's not cool enough, when you tell them who you've talked to (or Bzzed) then you get points. Which you can trade in for some neat things...DVDs and stuff. Well, someone has to read and respond to every report that is submitted....and that's what my new job is. Well, not every report. There are lots of other people with my job, I'm one of many who review reports. I love it. Except now I get to read about all these other cool products that aren't offered to me (some are regional test markets) and I WANT them. In a bad way.

- Pool trip yesterday bit the big one. First, the line was too the parking lot when we got there. Not a good sign. For some reason neither one of the kids were all that into it (they usually love the pool). Then a very bad thing happened with someone else's baby and they had to clear the pool and call 911. We don't know what happened, but it creeped us out and we left. I could rant all day on the reaction from the other swimmers.

We took some pictures....but every picture of my family has someone else's butt crack hanging out of their suit in it somewhere. Like a public pool version of "Where's Waldo". There's just too much butt crack hanging out at the public pool....well, most places anymore really.

I did take some photos of the kids playing in our tiny backyard pool....which they enjoyed much more than the real thing. Before we get to the picture....have I mentioned yet this week how awesome my son is? I realize that most 10 year olds would be bored out of their minds stuck in the backyard with their mom a baby sister. But this kid is always just so happy with the world that he has a ball, anywhere he happens to be!

So here they are, swimming laps in the pool.


You've got to be careful swimming laps in such close quarters. Kicks in the face are not fun.



Okay, so we're all warmed up. On to activity 2....Jordan's lesson on "How to place your face in the water and blow bubbles". Celia is skeptical, but gives it a try.



Oooo, she doesn't like it. Moving on.



Activity 3 is dumping water over Jordan's head. I would say this is awful and mean, but he asked her to do it. She's just following orders.


Lastly, an order from mom. Bail, kids, bail. Empty that pool! They try and hit me with water...but I'm safely far enough away from them.


See, here's where I stay. Safe in my chair in the corner of the yard....in the shade of our tent. Notice the little wet butt prints my girl left on the chair. She's still freaked out and comes running if a motorcycle goes down the road.

- Last big from my week....a vacation at home is only a moderately good idea. It's been nice and all, but we haven't really gotten that much done, and the house is trashed because "I'm not cleaning that up, I'm on vacation!"

This is why I keep him around...

....because sometimes, he's just so darn funny. Frustrating, but funny.

So yesterday I talked Chris into working on the grout removal in the bathroom. It didn't take him long to agree with me that the HCL didn't do a darn thing (except stink up the place!). But then he had a great idea....and got out the Dremmel. A rarely used device in my house, so sometimes we forget we have it. Anyway, after much trial on an extra tile, he found just the right tip to take the grout off but not damage the tile. I went in to check things out and after showing me how easy (but tedious) the job was....he attempted to poke me in the butt with the Dremmel.

I jumped away and glared at him that he would "rip a hole in my favorite pajamas!" (Hey, it's vacation here, remember?) He obviously didn't believe me and to prove his point stuck the Dremmel on the side of his shirt. It immediately ate the shirt up, wrapping the whole thing around it until it just couldn't pull anymore. He just looked at me with a look of shock and amazement and exclaimed "I didn't think it could DO that!" Sure enough, once he got his shirt unwrapped from the monster Dremmel, there was a big hole in it.

Anyway, since I stuck him with the suck job and it was a beautiful day, Celia and I went outside to work. And by beautiful day, let me just say I could not have made a better day myself! Somewhat cool and breezy so I didn't even have to get sweaty when doing my yard work, but sunny enough to be pleasant.

I got all the weed eating done (on a side note, my arms do not hurt when I use that thing, but for about an hour afterwards, I seem to lose all fine motor skills in my hands and arms....does this happen to anyone else or is it just me being weird?)
Then I got to spread more mulch on the last area of my side garden that needs it. I don't know if I've shared the mulch saga with you.....but we have a mountain of free mulch right outside out fence that needs spread. See, there's a guy down the street that cuts down trees for a living. He mulches them up, but has to pay a dump fee somewhere unless he can give it away to a neighbor or someone.

That's where we come in. Anyway, a few weeks ago he brought a really nice batch of hardwood mulch and dumped it off behind the fence. It makes me feel all green and environmentally conscience to use it....since it's all natural and untreated and stuff. Plus, I feel all radical, bucking corporate America and spitting in the face of Walmart and their overpriced bags of mulch. But only in the backyard. I love my black much in the front of the house so out there I'm an ozone sucking capitalist pig.....but in the backyard we're all green and earthy.

Now, this fresh, natural mulch looks great, but it has a few drawbacks. First, it's still decomposing. Which means it's got this....smell about it. Not as bad as manure or anything, but still, not all that pleasant. But only around the big rotting pile. Once you spread it out, it seems to dissipate the stink.

The other thing, it's hot. It seriously puts off some heat. Our good friends down the street put clear plastic over theirs. Between the trapped heat of the sun and the heat put off by the chemical breakdown process, you could seriously burn your hand on that thing. No joke. It steams and everything!



I'm afraid of spontaneous combustion, so I leave ours uncovered. Plus it helps keep those pesky neighbor kids out of the yard!

My mom tells me that it's really not good to put that fresh, still decomposing mulch on growing plants because it uses nitrogen that my plants need. I tell her to shush up with that science talk before my plants hear it. See, they don't seem to know the difference and are doing fine with my free mulch. All I need now is for someone to clue them in on the fact that they could whither and wilt and demand the store treated stuff (or that I patiently weed around them for a whole year and spread the mulch next year).

Here are some more pictures of my plants, doing well!

My monstrous pumpkin plants. Look at this guy! He's huge! Reaching out into the driveway even!



And in the mornings, they are covered with the huge, gorgeous yellow-orange flowers.



These are my peas that were so teeny tin y when I put them out....they've taken up every inch on the tee-pea I made them. I'm definitely going for a bigger one next year.



And here is an actual pea pod. Actual food, that could be eaten by people, growing in my garden. Amazing.



This is the final section that I finished laying down week block fabric and mulching yesterday. You can see a slight color difference between the new and what has been out for a few weeks, but after a few days of sun and rain it will all look the same. There's a baby Clematis at the foot of that trellis. It saw in a box in my kitchen for well over a month, but still looked a little green to I tossed it out there on a whim. We'll see how that works!



Here are some bright new arrivals in the front of my yard. Some lily thing...



And some summer crocus-y thing. I don't remember exactly what they are, because I didn't write it down. But I think they are pretty! And even better, they will be back next year. And multiply!



Alright. So here are the as promised photos of the front. Isn't it awful? I've got all this disorganized stuff in the back (those spikes are Gladiolas....I think they'll be fabulous when they bloom ) and nothing but bare mulch in the front. Some neighbors down the street have a beautiful patch of poppies that I'm in envy of....but those are quite tall and really don't belong in the front.....


Thoughts? Ideas?