G is for Giddy

What makes children giddy? Well, okay...there are thousands of things that can make children giddy. Spring was the answer I was looking for. Spring makes children giddy (and adults, too).

In my neighborhood, Spring is unofficially official when they flush the fire hydrants. Ruth's children came down to take part in the Spring ritual. Only those boys didn't know what was happening.

What's this lady doing?

Ewwww...

Hummm....

Not bad, I tell ya...not bad at all!

Hey...he's right...this is pretty cool!

Ya-HOOOO!!! I'm a kid and I can't feel the cold!

They opened the first hydrant at 7:30 AM. They didn't open this one until 2:00. My daughter changed her clothes FOUR times on Saturday.


And in case anyone is wondering, we pulled a bucket for each child and made them scoop the water onto the lawn.



Don't look at me like that...my husband and I helped.

F is for Fruit of my labor!

My labor and my daughter's. I mentioned in my Monday post that my daughter and I got books from the library on painting rocks and making friendship bracelets. We made the bracelets Saturday night. My daughter is 6 and impatient, so it was looking like the bracelet thing wasn't going to work. Then we found the instructions for the twister bracelets. You cut 24-inch lengths, knot one end, then twist like crazy. Once you've twisted the entire length, you fold the length in half and let it twist itself in half. She LOVED it. It was so easy and the results look fancy. After the first one, she decided she wanted to make one for everyone in her class...and all her cousins...and everyone in the neighborhood...and maybe she could sell them at a garage sale.

We spent some time on Sunday painting rocks. We have a landscape supply company in town that sells rocks by the pound. They weigh your car/truck on the way in, you fill it up, then weigh again. They have these great river rocks that are just perfect and they cost like $0.10 a pound or something. We usually get a couple dozen rocks for between $3 and $5. Anyway, I have painted rocks all around my yard. Most are just painted one solid color and we have a few rainbows, smiley faces, and polka-dots. This book we found at the library (Painting on Rocks for Kids) has step-by-step instructions on painting cars, bugs, dinosaurs, lizards, fish, etc. It was great!

Pretty cool, huh?

E is for an Exultant Evening

Last night was school night at Red Robin Burgers and we were told that 10% of the proceeds would be donated to my daughter’s school. My family doesn’t eat out very often, and when we do, it’s lunch on Saturday. We almost never eat out during the week…but we did last night and we had SO much fun! The restaurant was packed with students and faculty (we got there at 6:30 and had a 45 minute wait).Every time we turned around, we saw someone we knew. We were all laughing and waving and “Hey there! I’m so happy to see you…isn’t this a great turnout!” People stopped by our table to say hello or to tell a joke or comment on the status of their bracket. The staff did an outstanding job keeping every one watered and feed. I made a special point to tell the manager on my way out how impressed I was that his staff pulled it off. It was SO COOL!

I love where I live. I am privileged to be part of such an outstanding community. Get this…about a year ago I my daughter and I had stopped on our way from somewhere to visit a friend who lives about 1/4 of a mile from my home. When it was time to leave, my daughter wanted to run home, but I couldn’t run with her because I had my car. So I drove real slow while she jogged on the side walk. A couple driving by thought it was a strange sight, so they TURNED around and asked me if everything was okay. I smiled and said yes, so they asked my daughter, “Are you okay? Is she bothering you?” They thought I was a bad guy trying to pick up her up and that she was running away from me. And they made it their business to confirm that all was okay.

We have the best neighbors and spend many an evening visiting with one or more. We watch each other’s children and borrow milk and eggs and recipes and dishwasher detergent. We shovel each other’s driveways and sidewalks and borrow air compressors and chain saws. When someone’s wash machine breaks mid cycle, we haul the laundry next door.

…and when the school does a fund raiser, I am reminded of just how great my community is.

D is for Dork

Boy do I feel like a Dork. I gave blood today. It was great! I threw up AND passed out. I reckon I've given whole blood two dozen times in my life and I lived two years off the money I earned from giving plasma. I NEVER passed out OR threw up...until today. I don't know what happened. Maybe one of the 8 to 10 people in the room could tell you.

Speaking of sick...My daughter and I were out running around on Saturday. We stopped at the library to exchange some books and picked up a few craft books for children. One was about painting rocks and the other how to make friendship bracelets. The craft store is right across the street, so we stopped there next to buy some paint and embroidery floss.

We're in the check out line for 10 minutes when she decides she has to go to the bathroom NOW! And the bathroom is, of course, at the back of the store. The child locks herself in the stall, then starts wailing and crying, "PLEASE HELP ME!" I said, "Unlock the door." She says, "I CAN'T! HELP ME!!" After a desperate 10 second search of the bathroom, I'm convinced there is nothing there to save me from the inevitable. I turn the the mom next to me (who was wise enough to hold the door closed for her daughter) and say, "The things we do for our children." I then proceed to get down and belly crawl--across a public restroom floor--under the door. Now I have to burn the clothes I was wearing.

C is for Crocus

I know I already did C, but I noticed this morning that my crocus aren't just coming up, by jolly, those rascals have BLOOMED! Good googly-moogly, Spring has Sprung! And just in time for Easter (which I should save for Sunday's post). It's dark and hard to see, but it was really early in the morning when I took this picture.

You're checking at my toadstools, aren't you. I saw that idea in a Family Fun Magazine (LOVE Family Fun) and had to have them! My neighbor cut down her dead aspen trees, I ran right over and asked if I could have them. I have some in my back yard, too.

Enough about the toadstools...we're here to talk about C. C is also for "Community". I organized my neighborhood's egg hunt last weekend. We had a great time. It took about 6 woman hours and close to two dozen shots to fill two THOUSAND eggs. Then it took another 8 children and 4 adults 30 minutes to distribute the eggs. We held those children back as long as we could. The whole thing was over within in 20 minutes of the word, "GO!"

"Short and sweet and plenty to go around." was the best comment I heard. It was a blast and I can't wait until next year.

C is also for "Camera" and I've learned how to use mine--Yippee!!

C is for Chair

My husband is part facilities manager (part HR) at a very large, very lucrative engineering firm. That firm recently replaced ALL the chairs in the office with new, ergonomic, matching chairs. The old ones were up for grabs. Employees were invited to take them, then everything left over would be given to charity (this company gives so much stuff to charity--it is AWESOME).

So...hubby asks me if I think my daughter's school might be interested in some chairs. "I imagine they would...I'll ask!" And I did. I even sent a picture of the chairs to the principal and, "You want any of these?" A few days later he replies that he would very much like to have 4 of the chairs. Great...Honey...bring me 4 chairs!

Honey: Woops...um...er...chairs are gone.
Me: Excuse me?
Honey: I forgot that I told SuzieQ to get rid of the chairs and she found a charity that wanted them.

Son of a bitch. Now I have to go back to the principal and tell him no dice. It takes me 3 days to buck up enough courage to tell this guy the chairs are gone. I felt like a total boob, but I did it. I emailed yesterday and said there was a misunderstanding and I am sorry, but the chairs are gone.

My honey just called to say he has 4 chairs, does the school still want them.

B is for Basketball

Ugh...if it ain't one kinda ball, then it's another. I got home from work last night and my husband was watching a basketball game. I said, "Are you kidding me? Is it March ALREADY?!?!" There goes any chance I had of watching anything besides basketball until this stupid tournament stuff is over. I was going to say that the only thing worse than college football bowl games is the March Madness tournament...but then I changed my mind. There is NO-thing worse than March Madness.

Once, I won $5 because every team I chose to win the first bracket, lost.

Seriously, I have been going crazy trying to come up with something "B" to blog about today. I almost blew it off, but I really want that LYS gift certificate Ruth is giving away!

A is for Anne of Green Gables

I just started reading Anne of Green Gables. I was in the kiddie section of the library with my daughter on Sunday and the book was displayed on top of a shelf with a piece of paper sticking out of it that said something like, “Emily thinks this book rocks!”

I have not read the book, but I watched the series on PBS with my mom when I was in high school. I don’t remember anything about the story. What I do remember is that my mom and I had about 6 hours invested into this series that my dad recorded for us. It was the last episode and my mom and I stayed up late to watch the end. We were both on the edge of our seats, sobbing like babies when the tape ended. Ants…snow…static…call it what you will, all I know is that I never saw the end of the movie. Mom and I just sat there, stunned. We looked at each other with this shocked, what-the-hell-just-happened, stare. We looked back at the TV…then at each other…TV…each other. That’s the only time I ever proposed to my mother that we attack my father.

I love to read. When I was a child, we lived about 1/2 mile from the public library. In the summer, we’d go to the library (because it was so well air conditioned) and read for hours. I would bring home stacks of paperbacks and would often stay up until 2 or 3 AM to finish a book. I could read 5 to 6 books a week. I can’t do that anymore. Most obviously because I don’t have the time, but also because I need time to digest what I just read. I need to explore what those words meant to me and how I’m going to allow them to fit into my life.

I most recently finished two books by Gregory Maguire: Confessions of an Ugly Step-sister and Wicked. Both books blew—my—mind. So much so, that I can’t even get into it now. I don’t even know where to start.

You read any good books lately?

All hail DST!

I LOVE me some DST (daylight saving time). We switched our clocks on Sunday, so now, it’s light outside until after 7. My daughter and I agreed to celebrate with an after school/work bike ride/jog. She would ride her bike and I would jog. She gets exercise AND I get exercise. This is gonna be GREAT!

So, Monday night, I get home from work at 5:50. I race upstairs and change my clothes, then into the kitchen to get dinner started. I get my chicken in the oven and my potatoes on the stove. When I get back from my jog, dinner will be ready. I’m flippin’ brilliant!

I tell my husband, “The chicken is in the oven and the potatoes are on the stove. I set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn on stove (to cook the potatoes) and reset the timer for 30 minutes. If I’m not home when the timer goes off the second time, take the chicken OUT of the oven and turn OFF the potatoes. I should be home in 30 minutes.”

My husband is actually an intelligent man and these are easy instructions. He’s happy that he gets to stay home and is eager to do whatever he needs to do so that I’ll leave him in peace. I’m bloody BRILLIANT! Fail-proof plan…right?

I get home 2 minutes before the timer goes off the second time. Chicken smells fantastic! Potatoes are stone cold. Dumb ass turned on the WRONG BURNER!

Reckon I oughtta come up with a Plan B.

Stretch and Grow!

I have quite a few house plants. They are mostly Heart-Leaf Philodendrons and spider plants (aka airplanes). Every couple years I roll up my sleeves and repot. Here's a picture of my Dracaena Massangeana Cane in the new pot, next to the old pot. Can you believe I made that poor plant suffer in that tiny pot? I'm lucky the thing is still alive!

And what about these spiders? It was so root bound that had to cut the dang thing out of the pot!

Maybe I should consider this repotting business more often!

My day of repotting plants has made me especially eager to get my garden started. I live in Colorado, so I get to put my peas and my spinach in next week (peas on St. Patty's Day). My Family Fun magazine had a great suggestion of using empty soda bottles (2 liter) as little greenhouses. I think I'll try my hand at starting my tomatoes that way.

Our growing season is so short, that I usually end up buying tomato plants. The problem with this is that you never really know what you're getting. Sure the tag says it's yellow, but those sweet angelic children have been re-arranging all the tags, so chances are, it's cherry...or beefsteak.

This year, I'm going to stick with it for as long as it takes to ensure that my garden is the best ever (last year my garden was NOT). No vacations planned until late in the season, so I should be in good shape. Keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll keep you posted on my progress.