Christmas Party

No place like the ward Christmas party to torture children. We were waiting for the big moment and the appearance of Santa. Ryan was pretty excited and did not mind looking at him from far away, but up close she was not too keen on the idea. Jake and Gavin were scared as well, so we kept chanting "candy! candy! candy!" because Santa was gonna give us candy if we sat on his lap. Ryan and Jake eventually warmed up to it, but it took some coaxing. Kate on the other hand hated the whole thing and may be traumatized for the rest of her life. Can't wait to get a chance to watch your kids again Laura! (sorry)

(I just noticed that Santa is getting a little fresh in one of the pictures. I'll let you try to figure out which one.)

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Callaway Gardens

Before Thanksgiving we decided to head down to Callaway Gardens after church one Sunday, for a picnic. They had the Christmas lights up and we did not have to pay extra if we went in before it got dark. The ever cheap (I mean frugal) parents that we are, Kelly and I drove the girls around the lake in the dimming sunlight. We stopped along the way and had a picnic behind the van. We are not super lazy, it was just very convenient not to go hiking around to find a spot to eat. We all had a blast, and the girls and I watched Christmas movies in the backseat as Kelly drove us home.

Delivering Cookies

We were off. The seven plates of cookies were loaded up in the golf cart, and we set out to make the once a year visit to most of our neighbors. It was eight o'clock so we went to the houses with kids first. Not wanting to wake anyone up I made the girls knock. With Jannica staring in the glass on the front door and knocking, the people's dog started barking like crazy. The neighbor did not answer the door, so we left the cookies on the porch. (We found out later that she didn't answer because she was trying to get her baby to sleep. Thank you Kartchners!) At the next house we let Ryan carry the plate of cookies, which she dropped. I employed the 10 second rule and placed them as prettily back on the plate as I could. If you read the last entry you will know why. The third house we had Jac carry the cookies to the door and then let Ryan hold them until the people answered. Well, in her effort to stand still, Ryan couldn't help but trip over the doormat and drop the stinking cookies. Again, I quickly scooped up the cookies, hoped I got them all, and was ready with the plate when the people answered the door. The next stop had a skeleton covered in lights and a Santa cap on sitting on their porch, and the next house had a giant dog that was bigger than Ryan and freaked her out.
At the last house, Ryan was the first one up the steps. The people have a beautiful glass door and you can see right into their house. Ryan looked like she was going to ring the doorbell, but then veered toward the center of the door. Kelly and I thought she was going to knock but apparently, she was going to walk right in. The kid never slowed down and ran right into the glass door. She bounced back fell on the floor and spent the rest of the time trying to figure out what happened, whispering to herself "that door not open," and "we can't go in". We, of course, complimented the neighbor on his exceptionally clean glass.
All in all another year of taking cookies proves to be worth all of the trouble. Kelly put the kids to bed and I am going to bed a happy girl.

Frustrated venting

Read with caution, or just skip this part and move to the next entry.
Jannica has been sick with her annual asthma/nasty cold. I would make any mother proud the way I dutifully commanded "go blow your nose, you wouldn't cough so much if you blew your nose." And..."I notice that your cough is bad now that you have to go to bed, but earlier when you were running around like a banshee you were not having any problems" and lastly "This medicine will make you feel lots better, now go to bed." All the while I was listening to her lungs and waiting for the wheezing to start. The wheezing did start, and we have had a long couple of nights doing breathing treatments, humidifier tents and triaminic (not effective and I always think that, but then I still use it. Pipe dream I guess.) Anyway, I decided to take her to the doctor today where we waited an hour, did another breathing treatment, and Jac got some Orapred that I should have just insisted we wait to get a prescription and take at home because of the outrageous cost of getting medicine at the doctor's office. Then we had to get lunch, drop off the prescriptions (3), get a book for the party at school, go to school and get homework and come home and get started finding out why there is a horrid smell coming from the laundry room. (the cause was found and will not be shared as I am too disgusted/embarrassed to share.) Then we had to go back to the store and get the stupid prescriptions that I forgot to pick up. (grrrr). By the time we got home I sent the kids outside to play while I stared at the computer screen for a while. I don't even remember what I looked at. After all of this I went over to the Ponzio's/Curlee's and chatted (yes, I had a million things to do, but I really just felt like crying so I went to be cheered up.)
I came home momentarily boosted and let the girls help me make cookies for the neighbors,
Jac's teachers and Jac's school party (like 15 thousand and the first 3 batches didn't work). Kelly came home about then and distracted the kids so I had like 10 minutes of peace, followed by, "hon, what is for dinner, when can we take the cookies, can I take them now while you finish baking the rest, I am going to check the TV schedule, can I take the cookies now, I am going to the bathroom, can I take the cookies now?" all of this was from Kelly and after about an hour I nearly killed the man! I was screaming at him, he couldn't figure out why I was so upset and the girls had looks on their faces like "Dad, this is the time to just shut up and wait" The little angels are brilliant, and totally know how to read me. (experience I guess)
Merry Christmas right?
Read the next blog for the happy ending to this story.

Merry Christmas!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Makeup

Ryan loves makeup. She is addicted to the stuff. If I am ever getting ready for work or something, she insists on joining me and doing her "makeup". She will usually put on eyeshadow and blush, but the other day I saw some lipstick for 19 cents and so I bought it, thinking, "cute". Not so cute now. The kid loves to put it on - all of the time! I left her in my bathroom sitting on the pot reading stories, because that is what she wanted to do, "like daddy." I left to work on the computer, lost track of time and looked up to find this standing in front of me. Super cute, I know.

Doesn't she look so repentant, don't be fooled. She looked for the slightest hint of a smile on my face and then that was it, she was giggling and thinking she was so clever!

I have a picture of Jac that is quite similar, I wonder if it is an age thing or a genetic thing? Hmmm?

My Wife: I was jealous and I wanted to do this too

What's your wife's name? Jaimee

How long have you been married? Seems like 30 years

How long did you date? 15 months

Who said I love you first? I did

Who asked who out first? I did

Who kissed who first? She did and she kept coming back for more

How old is she? 22

Who eats the sweets? That would be her, but I eat them when she's not looking (Don't tell her)

Who sings the best? Me (no other comments will be given at this time about her singing)

Who's smartest? She is (Don't let her know that I said that because it would go to her head)

Who cooks dinner and does laundry? I cooked dinner the other day.  (Mac n Cheese is more complicated than I thought)

Who mows the lawn? I do (I enjoy the excuse to leave the house for a little me time)

Who pays the bills? I do

Who drives? Let me put it this way, The dents in the back of the van from three different mailboxes were not made while I was driving

Who wears the pants? I have to agree with Jaimee and say Ryan

Our favorite couple thing to do? Fly in first class without the kids, even though we may not say a single word to each other

Her favorite pastimes? Travel, organizing, and bargaining

What I love most about her? She cares about other people.  She enjoys finding opportunities to help those around her.  

TAG: My Hubby

What's your husband's name? Kelly Ryan

How long have you been married? six years and a little

How long did you date? One year, three months, twelve days, 7 hours and 52 seconds........A LONG FREAKIN' TIME!
Who said I love you first? He did. I almost did, but was able to hold back until after he told me.
Who asked who out first? Kelly asked me. I was wary, and my best friend said she wouldn't date him if he asked her. I said yes anyway. 
Who kissed who first? I kissed him, I was looking for a scam!
How old is he? 31
Who eats the sweets? It is all me. Kelly is a nut and bread person. 
Who sings best? Kelly by far, and all the time, and really loud.
Who's smarter? Me, duh. (but really it's him, he did better on my nursing practice tests than I did) 
Who cooks dinner and does laundry? I cook all but 3 things, he does laundry if I fall behind. 
Who mows the lawn? He does, but that is because he gets to go on the riding lawnmower and he is like a little boy when it comes to those things. 
Who pays the bills? Kelly and he does really well. 
Who drives? He does. He yells at me when I drive him around. Just wait until he is old and incapacitated, then he'll be thankful for my driving skills, no matter how flawed they are.  
Who wears the pants? Ryan.  
Our favorite couple thing to do. Travel and watch TV. 
His favorite pastimes. Travel, Playing B-ball, Watching TV (ours gets horrible reception, so when he finds a good one, he is gone)
What I love most about him. He rarely gets mad at me, he puts up with my crazy ideas,  he is a happy man, he is able to talk to anyone, he is an awesome daddy, he no longer gags when he sees his child's poop, he sees heavenly messages in signs at Wendy's, he laughs, he is a tease, he is willing to change, my parents like him more than me, he is the best husband for me and I would be lost without him. 

Thanks for the Tag Laura. I tag anyone and everyone who reads my blog, I read yours and want to know this stuff.

Christmas!

I know that I should be putting off Christmas decorating until after thanksgiving, and I am sure that some of you will poo-poo this, but I put up decorations tonight. I did not put them all where they go. I still have some rearranging to do. I also left the Thanksgiving decor up as well. I can do both if I feel like it, it's my house.

We came home, got the kids ready for bed, popped in White Christmas (ahhh, Bing Crosby, be still my heart) and started pulling things from boxes. Ryan had the most fun with her lamb that baa-s "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" and the snowman that sings "Jingle Bells" She had them singing to each other. Those two decorations might get hidden before this season, nay, this week, is over.

Jac was in charge of setting up the Christmas village. The houses are a little bit on top of one another, but she did a good job. The rearranging fairy might visit sometime this week and give the neighborhood a tune up, we just have to wait and see how lazy said fairy is.

Kelly and I made sure that Ryan did not break anything.

The tree is not up yet and will probably not be up for a couple of weeks, but I just couldn't wait for everything else. Once I brought it up the girls were on board and threatened tears and tantrums if we did not get something out tonight.

After the pumpkin pies and the decorations, my house smells like my grandma's house smelled when she made rice pudding. I just feel all warm and cuddly tonight. What a great way to start off the season! Happy Holidays!

My First Pumpkin Pie

We had an extra pumpkin left over from Halloween, so I decided to make a pie. I googled around and found a neat little website- http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/pumpkinpie.php

It even has a link to make a pie crust out of whole wheat flour. This was a website after my own heart! I think the pies turned out really well, I have a ton of leftover batter and no more pie pans, so I will probably make make a whole bunch of pumpkin waffles and freeze them. I just hope the kids like pumpkin.

I also saved the seeds. I am going to plant them, I think I have a thousand (after the five pumpkins we gutted this year), so we oughtta get at least one pumpkin for next year. Here's hoping!

Kelly and I just had some and it is not too bad. I could eat a few pieces, and I think I'm gonna have to since I have so much. Please, if anyone would like some, come and get it, I will be showing up at your houses if I don't hear from someone soon.

.

Dekalb Farmer's Market

My friend Laura told me about this farmer's market that had a huge variety of everything. We have been wanting to go, but with kids it did not seem super fun. Plus, she is preggo, and mornings (my good times) are not her good times. Then there was the conflicting nap schedules and all the other stuff that stay at home moms do all day. I digress.

I had decided that I would have to go with Kelly and the girls on a Saturday. Kelly was a great sport and willing to come, but he had several other things he would rather do. We were over at Stan and Laura's last night and the guys were discussing Saturday's football schedule. I told Kelly that he couldn't watch football because we were going to the market. Kelly or Stan suggested that the husbands keep the kids, and Laura and I go. Wahoo! What a great idea.

So off we went. This place is a huge warehouse filled with different ethnic cooking supplies, spices that are waaaaaay cheap, a huge variety of fruits and veggies (4 types of eggplant), yummy breads, stinky fish that you can pick out while they are swimming in their tanks, a variety of meats and cheeses and a great bakery. I had fun just wandering around, it felt like I was on vacation again. We love to go to markets when we are on vacation and this completely fit the bill. I bought plenty of fun things and then we were off to the Spaghetti Factory. The ride there was kinda interesting, but you can ask Laura about that. I had forgotten how much I love the salad dressing and the Mizithra cheese at the Spaghetti Factory. I was in heaven!

It was a great day. The one problem I have is this........
What the crap am I supposed to do with all of this stuff? Namely, the sugarcane, the anice, the bulgur, the oat groats, the flax seed and the coconut oil that you can cook with. Anyone got any ideas?

Fried Green Beans

In an effort to be a creative cook, I tried to copy T.G.I. Friday's fried green beans and wasabi ranch dressing. I think I did a great job. I called several people to tell them, but no one cared because they had never had them before. My sister and sister-in-law are the only ones who I have ever had these with. They do not read this blog and so may never know that I was successful. Oh well. They were great. Jac liked them, but would only eat one (I think she was lying, but at least she was nice) Ryan ate about 10 and Kelly and I ate enough to gain a pound or two. I don't think I will make them again any time soon, since they were time consuming, but maybe for a party or something.

Bonfire!

Kelly and I decided last minute to have a bonfire last week. We called a few people to come and join us. Not Delores though, she is freaky!(hee hee)

Our friends Steven and Gavin came. Ryan was elated, she loves them both, but Steven the most I think. Kelly and Steven worked hard to get the fire going. The only problem, they maintain, is that it had rained the night before and the wood was wet. Luckily a neighbor came over who is a girl scout leader and was able to get the fire going, lickety-split. Not really, Kelly and Steven did all the work, I just think her presence helped though.

Jannica was able to have two friends over, so they spent most of the evening on the trampoline. Jannica finally came over and roasted a hot dog and then was gone again.

Ryan and Gavin had an awesome time eating tons of marshmallows and throwing sticks into the "fireworks." I love having camp fires, and I am so glad that we can do it in our own backyard. Tyrone rocks, and so does our house!

The night ended with tears and promises that we would do it again soon. Kelly took one of Jannica's friends home on the golf cart, so the girls were happy that they got to go for a night-time ride with Dad.

This first picture is Kelly and Steven exerting their masculinity and proving that they are men!

This is Kelly "helping." He puts a fire out so well, the only problem was that we were trying to build one. Oops.

Ryan is showing me that she has just swallowed 2 marshmallows and needs more.

Kelly trying to keep Jac from letting another hot dog fall into the fire. We only had a few, ya just can't mess around when it comes to hot dogs!

We like to park the golf cart by the fire so that we have a place to sit, entertainment for the kids, and a way to carry everything in one trip to and from the house. I really like golf carts.

Random late night thoughts

It used to be the coffee commercials around the holidays that got me every time, you know, the brother makes it home in time for Christmas morning and the little sister wakes up to find him there and then they all wake everyone up with the smell of coffee. I am almost crying while typing about this, I am glad that Kelly is not in the room.
Now that I live in the south, it is the Publix commercials! I am not pregnant, I don't think I am hormonal, I don't know what the deal is! They get me every time. It was bad around Valentine's day too. Kelly is just as bad so I don't feel too stupid, but still just a little.
I found myself tonight almost bawling my eyes out over a commercial about families and being thankful for each other. Whoever writes for these guys should have a job with the church! We would have investigators out the wa-zoo!
Does anyone else sit and cry during these commercials?
Lastly, I just heard the upstairs toilet flush, I know it is not Jannica because she never flushes. Ryan has a diaper on and should be in bed, it is almost 11 pm, my guess is that she has thought of a new reason to sneak out of bed.
Now I hear fake crying, "come and find me so I don't have to go to bed, waa, waa" crying. It quickly becomes real tears, so Kelly heads upstairs to try to calm things down. When Kelly asks what is wrong, the response is "there was no toilet paper!" Now she is still crying, Kelly is trying to deal with it, but I have a strong suspicion that she will be falling asleep to a movie tonight. Kelly is now trying to sing to her and she is getting even more upset. I don't know why I am giving this play by play, I guess just to show all of the many strange events that happen in a 25 minute time frame at the Kartchner house.

Kelly's Thoughts on the Istanbul Trip

Istanbul is an amazing city.  The Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia are amazing buildings and are seen together in this first picture.  But Jaimee talked about them already.  First of all, the people from Istanbul are some of the nicest people I've ever met in the world.  When we were in the Spice Bazaar, we sat down eating our Kabobs.  An older gentlman at the table that did not speak English offered us some of his Turkish Delight.  We had a fun little conversation with him.  More gestures than words.  The was another guy nearby that helped out.  It was just fun.  This second picture is of the Spice Bazaar where still many of the locals do the shopping for spices and nuts and stuff.  Pretty cool atmosphere.  It also has a sweet smell from all of the spices.  

We took a little trip by ferry to the 

Asian side if Istanbul and we went to a real street Bazaar where they

 were selling fish and goat heads.  It was so different to be walking down a little street and seeing the fish on the sides in the shops.  It reminded me of that moment in Aladin when the guy yelled out "Fish" and put the fish right in Jasmine's face.  Also the skinned goat heads were 

pretty cool.  Now if any of you have been in a third world country, you know that a big problem is stray dogs everywhere.

  Well Istanbul is not part of a third world country and does not have a stray dog problem.  Istanbul has a small stray cat problem.  Cute little cats running around.  I find it much more desirable than dogs running around.  Apparently the prophet Muhammad had cats and now cats are widely respected.

5 times a day, each mosque has an Imam that calls people to pray over the loadspeakers.  It sounds like a musical recitation of a poem.  Not quite a song, but almost.  It can be heard throughout the city and last about 10 minutes.  It alerts everyone that it is time to get ready for prayer.  It is a fascinating cultural experience.  Many people go to the nearest mosque to take part in the prayers at the mosque.  We had a chance to witness the ceremony inside one of the mosques during the prayer service.  It last about 20-30 minutes.  Men and women are separate.  The Imam recites somthing while the people who pray do different signs of worship.

There is a wide variety of clothing that the women wear in Istanbul.  There are people that wear the exact same clothes that you would expect to see in any American city.  Maybe not quite as trashy as some cities, but basically the same.  The you also have other women that wear head scarves whenever they are in public.  In fact to enter the Mosque, Jaimee was required to cover her head with a scarf.  Then there were some women that complety covered the faces except for their eyes.  It is a very interesting contrast in dress. 

Halloween

Updated with pics 



I am way late and I have no pictures. Halloween was way awesome. Jannica was a dead cheerleader. Ryan was going to be one as well, but then peed in her costume. Next came a Barney costume, but after trick or treating at some local businesses she had candy slobber all down the front of her costume. She finally ended up being a duck "Quack, quack, I a duck. I live in the water, a big lake." Every time she puts that costume on she says that line. 

Jannica and Kelly rode on our golf cart with Jannica's friend Mackenzie and two hormonal teenagers. I had no patience for that. They would drive ahead and scope out which houses were giving out candy. 

That made trick or treating very efficient, plus Stan drove the golf cart all the way u

p the peopl

e's driveways so the little kids did not have to walk (or be carried) very far. I love golf cart trick o

r treating. Jac and Mackenzie had a ton of fun and so did 

Kelly.

 I was happy 

to be the second wife on the Johnson's golf cart. I sat in the back with Ryan and Jake and kept hitting my head on the roof. You would think I would learn, no such luck. Ryan was not happy to have me with her at all. I think that

 when we went to Turkey, she realized that she doesn't need me all the time. (boo hoo) After about an hour Ryan was content to sit in the golf cart with Stan and eat her candy while Laura and I took her kids to the door. 

We all came back to our house afterwards and had hot cocoa. I really love Halloween, but man, I am glad that it 

is over with. Does this mean I am getting old,

 or just cynical?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Istanbul

Kelly and I went on a little vacation last week. Kelly's mom came to stay with the girls (hallelujah!) and we went. We left Sunday afternoon right after the primary program. I love the primary program. I always cry, I just can't help it. Those kids just glow when they are singing. Back to our vacation. We flew all night in business elite which means tons of room, fancy schmancy food and Kelly's favorite, ice cream sundays at 35,000 feet. There are also on demand movies which are awesome. The only reason that we like to travel without the kids is that we can ride in business elite, you can't do that with kids younger than 8. Jannica can come with us, but she has that whole school thing. It is a nice little date where we can watch different movies, get a free meal and then roll over and go to sleep. I think I talked to Kelly 5 times in the whole 10 hour flight each way. Aren't we soooooo romantic? Ahh, the hazards of an overly practical husband. I love it though. It is refreshing.   

A few highlights:

The Hagia Sofia is this cool church that was built in 500 AD. It started out

 as a Christian church, but then when the Muslims took over, it became a mosque. This building is huge and it only took

 5 years to build. Almost all of the pictures of Christ were removed, except for a few. It is now a museum and the old frescoes are being uncovered. It was kinda weird being in a Muslim country and seeing all of these pictures of Christ. 

The Blue Mosque is a beautiful huge mosque. It

 has 6 turrets (most mosques only have        

     one or two), that the religious leaders would climb and then call people to prayer. Now they have speakers. It is cool to hear some guy calling everyone to prayer in his sin

g-songy voice. Not so nice at 1 am, but hey I won't complain. 

We went to the Bazaar where people are trying to rip you off

 any chance they get. I got to use my haggling skills, I think I did pretty well, but the guy probably thinks we are stupid Americans. 

The Spice Market  was a beautiful array of colors and sounds. I wanted to buy all of the spices, but I would not known how to use them. Oh, well.

This is a picture of an asian toilet. That's right, squat, point, and shoot. Not real fun, but when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. 

This next pic is of the inside of one of the mosques. They were all so beautiful and well taken care of. These people seem like they are very dedicated to the sanctity of their religion. 

This is all that I am going to write for tonight, maybe I can get Kelly to fill you in on the rest.  This was one of the best trips that we have been on. I love that I get to travel. I would have never dreamed that this is what I would be doing with my life. Man, I married well!

Pumpkin Run

Jannica's school has a running club, so I encouraged her to join so that we could run together. I thought it might be kinda fun. I have to say that I really enjoy running with Jannica. On Saturday, October 25 a local school had a pumpkin run. Race morning was very early, dark and cold, Jannica was all for not going. We were early, and went to get our T shirts and then went back to the car to wait for the race to start. Jannica wanted to leave because she already had her t shirt. I was able to talk her into staying, seeing as though I had the keys. When the sun started to rise we went and got all lined up for the race. Jannica may have been one of the oldest kids in the race, but that meant there were more people for her to beat. I told her that we would try to finish in 15 minutes. We started the race at a nice slow pace and then kept it up the whole time. Jannica did great until about half way through when she wanted to walk and then started to cry. I just kept talking her through it, telling her how great she was doing and that we were almost there and that crying took more air that just breathing. She got angry as we got closer and that was the key. She saw the clock and saw that we could beat 15 minutes so she broke out in a sprint and finished great. Our time was 14:49. I was so proud of her that I almost cried. She was very glad to be done and was ready to go home. We are now training for a 5K in December. Our friend Laura is running it and Jac loves her, so that is our motivation at this point. Jac just wants to beat Laura. I just want to finish in one piece. 

Jannica's Scary Story

Once there was this cheerleader and she wanted to be like her mother.........................But, um, then she cut her head off. (she cut her mom's head off?) She cut her own head off. Then she was the dead cheer leader. Then every time she woke up she picked her nose (said with a giggle). The end.
Jannica and her friend are very bored. They are thinking of scary stories and think that they are very funny.

Boo at the Zoo

Over priced, crowded and lame. And yet, every year we seem to go. I don't know what is wrong with us. The girls LOVE it though. That must be what is wrong with us.

We had to dress up and I had been collecting costumes all year (a fetish). We were all settled for what the girls were going to be until Ryan started wanting to be everything Jac was, and Jaccould not make up her mind. This is all 10 minutes before we left. So I threw 4-5 costumes in the back of the van, went to look for one more and found a little cheerleader outfit I had gotten for Ryan last Christmas. Jac also has a cheerleader outfit and loves to wear it (the whole being verygirly thing). So the problem was solved as I ran to the van after everyone was loaded up and Kelly was pulling out of the garage trying to leave without me. He wouldn't though, that might make his life inconvenient. The girls had a blast posing like cheerleaders and getting candy. Ryan has totally got the knack of begging, I'm proud. 

 We ended the night on an awesome sugar high, I was off to work and Kelly put the girls to bed. Ahh, life is great!

Carving Pumpkins

After much price comparing Wal Mart turned out to be the cheapest place to get pumpkins. So off we went to the "pumpkin patch" (AKA cardboard bins in the garden center at WM). My kids were so cute! They wandered through the field looking for the best pumpkin. Afterwards we went on a little hayride through the hardware/paint department. The crisp autumn air was so refreshing. As we wandered up and down the shoe aisles admiring all the beauty of nature we could not help but feel blessed. 

       

Okay, so maybe I am feeling a little jealous of everyone and their trips to farms and pumpkin patches. But still, picking out pumpkins at Wal Mart was fun and then we got to carve them after church the next day. Ryan kept saying "disgusting" and refused to touch the guts. When she finally did, I think she touched it with one finger and then was done. She was more interested in the carving part. That kid nearly cut my thumb off when she suddenly grabbed at the knife I was holding. She made sure that I was cutting the pumpkin correctly and then I lost her to Shrek.

Seeing Ryan brought back a fun Jannica memory. The first time we carved pumpkins with her and Natalie. They were Ryan's age and totally disgusted. Jannica would not touch the guts at all. I love having Ryan meeting milestones that I was there to watch Jannica meet. I am able to share with Jannica how cute she was, how much easier she was or how much worse she was. Jannica spent so much time trying to draw the perfect Frankenstein face on her pumpkin and was getting so frustrated that she did not have a smooth surface to work with. She almost ended up in tears. Hormones. Kelly and I kept saying "this is a fun thing" "we are having fun, remember?" She was happy in the end, cleaned out her pumpkin like a trooper and then let Kelly carve. We now have four pumpkins on our weed covered front sidewalk. It has looked abandoned, neglected and spooky all year, so now it fits the season. I meant for that to happen.

Waste not want not, so in true Martha style I saved some pumpkin seeds to plant next year and roasted the rest. Kelly and I haven't decided if they are good or not. They are not bad, but kinda hard to chew up. 

We love Halloween!

What a Day

Our water line had ANOTHER leak in it. Last April or so we had a fountain in the front yard under a tree. The water line had broken, so we paid a guy to come fix it, no big deal. Then, two Saturdays ago Kelly, Brother Curlee, Steven Turlington and Nick Ponzio spent the day fixing yet another leak in the water pipe. It was broken in three places, all wrapped up in roots and such. So we thought we were done, and then last Wednesday I awoke to a knock on the door. It was the county water guy telling me that they were investigating our water usage and that our meter was turning. No water was on, so that meant another leak. I spent the day trying to find the leak, but had no luck. So a plumber was called the next day and 1400 dollars and a ripped up yard later, the pipe is fixed and the water is back on.

That Thursday was very stressful because I had not had the water on for over 24 hours and I had to find a plumber that wouldn't cheat me. Ryan spent her day wandering aimlessly, watching TV and getting into things. We cleaned out her closet while waiting for the people who look for all of the buried wires. While cleaning the closet, we found her "bowrina" outfit and so, of course, she had to wear it. She later went pee in the potty so I let her have some Skittles, she thought a dried apricot sounded just as good, and wanted both (so she got both, I'm a pushover, I know!).


This is the picture of the man digging up the yard with his ditch witch. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth the whole time, sorry I couldn't get it in the picture. In the process they had to pull out some bushes I hate. They did not pull all of them out, just the ones in the middle. Now I not only have a hillbilly smile, but I also have a hillbilly hedge! This rocks!




Laura came up to give me shoulder to whine on. I did and then we went and got some ice cream. I made Ryan wait until we got home to eat it. We all went into the living room to eat and Ryan was missing so I went to look for her. I found her in the kitchen by the door with her ice cream. She did not make it very far, but she was happy.


The pipe was laid, and I was sitting on the couch, thinking of the money we just spent, lamenting. Ryan came in from the mud room looking like this plus a ski cap, that she would not keep on for pictures. We still hadn't turned on the water yet, so her face was filthy. If you look close you can also see the cooking apron she had on under her coat. I would also like to mention that it was like 85 degrees outside and I was very hot in a t shirt and jeans but she would not take the coat off.


Ryan then climbed up on the couch, and pulled her change purse out. She opened it up, gasped, looked at me and said "I don't got no money!" I just laughed and she yelled "I'm serious! I don't got no money! You get some for me?" I just stared at her and she just kept telling me that she was serious. I took a picture, and she could tell it was a lost cause.


In the end I was so happy to have the water back on, I washed my kids, cooked, did a load of laundry and dishes. The high wore off though. Laura came today and did a load of my dishes, then I kicked her out before she saw the piles of laundry.

Some of the pictures are a little blurry because out camera is a piece. Sorry.

When you comment on this blog do not tell me that you, or anyone you know is a plumber, could have fixed it cheap or anything of that nature. It is too late, you should have told me when I first met you. If you have any other secret talents or abilities that may be of use to me in the future you are obligated to share them now.