Up Up and Away

Today was kite day at school and the boys took their kites to school. Their experiences varied. A couple of my boys said they had a great time but Giggles when asked if he had fun said "NOOOOOO!" His kite flew for a little while but it was so windy today that his kite soon broke. Giggles was NOT giggling.

When the boys came home from school the only kite still intact was Sheriff's because it is made of nylon instead of plastic. He and Wannabe went out to the backyard to fly it.
They met with minor success because the wind was swirling rather than blowing in one direction. They still had fun and Wannabe felt like the shark was attacking him.


It was fun to watch them get so excited over flying the kites. I'll have to replace the broken ones so we can have another kite day while we are off-track.

Fried Potatoes

It's back to working on my family history project and on Sunday I exposed my family to another recipe that was a favorite of mine when I was younger. This was one that my dad would make for us. He rarely cooked but when he did he would make us fried potato slices which we would douse in vinegar and salt. YUMMY!!!

Not very healthy but SOOOOOOOOO good!!!!

Very simple to make. I use two large frying pans at a time in order to make a bunch and heat them up to a medium high heat. Add vegetable or canola oil deep enough to cover the potato slices. I skin the potatoes and slices them about an 1/8 th of an inch thick. When they start to brown on one side you turn them over and brown them on the other side.
You don't want them too brown because you want them a little soft in the middle - not crunchy. The trick is to have them crunchy at the edge and soft in the middle. When they are done put them on a plate or dish with a couple of pieces of paper towel to take off some of the excess oil. You can then dish out onto individual plates and sprinkle on salt and vinegar.

What do you do in the Wintertime

Oh what do you do in the wintertime,
When all the world is white,
Do you sleep in a boat?
Wear an extra winter coat?
Because it's so cold outside??????
Is that what you do?????
Not I!!!!!!!

But my crazy boys do!!!!

Last weekend they thought it would be a great idea to camp out in the boat, watch movies, eat popcorn and sleep in it:


In the early hours of the morning I heard them come in the house amidst whispering and Brett shushing them. When I didn't hear the cereal bowls clinking I wondered what they were doing. I came out to find out what was going on and discovered them in these positions....


warming themselves up on the heaters!!! hahaha!!! I wasn't so crazy after all for staying inside in my warm and cozy bed.

Final Days

We are down to our final days with Boots with one week left and not a full one at that because she has a weekend visit with her birthfather. That is why I have a few brief moments for a post. It has been an emotional rollercoaster since finding out she would be returning home. There are days, moments, minutes, when I am calm and okay and there are days, moments, minutes when I am not. I am so grateful to my family and friends for all of the love and support that our family is receiving. Thanks everyone so much! Boots seems to be adjusting well on her visits home and this has us very happy and we wish her all the best as she leaves us.

In the meantime we are trying to make every moment count. I'm so grateful to Alicia and her awesome helper who came out to take pictures of our family this past week. I wish I could post them but I can't do facial pictures of Boots due to confidentiality. Let me just say the pictures are AMAZING!!! Thanks Alicia! I'm so grateful for these beautiful pictures that we have of our family. They are a priceless gift.

Yesterday Smiley, Boots and I went to a certain village to see the ducks.. well, Smiley went to throw snow at the ducks and after watching for a while Boots starting throwing snow at them too. Her snowballs weren't very good and didn't go very far but I thought it funny that she picked up on Smiley's behavior so fast.

This week I will make her foot and handprints in ink, have the boys draw pictures for her to send with her and work on a photoalbum of memories for her to take with her when she leaves.

Most importantly will be the time spent playing with her, watching her favorite show with her (Yo Gabba Gabba), hugging her, singing songs to her, chasing her around the kitchen and living room, finding her secret stash of spoons and measuring cups she has hidden in the living room corner, and sitting back on the couch holding her hand while she drinks her bottle before naps and bed (my favorite quiet moment).

Another Year Older

Despite all the electrical mishaps (I won't even go into what happened with my computer this weekend) and what we are going through with Boots, the earth keeps turning and the regular things march on whether we will them or not. Homework must be completed, laundry must be done and I have to acknowledge that.... my kids are getting older - hence so am I!!!

Sheriff celebrated another birthday this past Sunday.
He had a difficult time waiting until the appointed day and just about drove us crazy with the "what day is it" "how many days until my birthday?" routine. The day finally arrived, however, and he was able to have the traditional pancake breakfast (made by his dad) and open his birthday presents.

I think his brothers showed a bigger reaction to his birthday presents than he did although he still loved them. His brothers just loved them MORE.


This is Smiley's look of awe over Sheriff receiving a basketball.

I can't even describe the sound that came out of his mouth - sort of a half whimper, half "whoa". Sheriff might want to put that in a safe place.


Of course there came a moment during the day when Sheriff looked a little sad and I asked him why he was sad. He said to me "you and dad are being the bossiest you have EVER BEEN and it's my birthday!!!" I managed to keep a straight face as I told him that it would only feel worse as he gets older so he might as well find a way to deal with it.

He's not even a teenager yet!

Her Footsteps

This afternoon was a tougher one for me. I thought I was doing better since getting the news that Boots would be going home soon. I cried pretty much non-stop the first week and then it tapered off. I realized that the tapering off just meant I was in denial but I was hoping that part of me was dealing with it better. Not so. It really was denial. This afternoon my mind was doing too much thinking and so my Kleenex box became my friend again.

I am working on a photo album for Boots that she can take with her when she finally transitions home (still don't have a final date on that) and as I looked at one of the photos it made me reflect on some of the things that I have learned from her and why we are told to become as little children. I won't go into all the things I have learned except to say that I love the joy that she takes in life - in just the simple things. The happiness she finds in the everyday interactions with family. These are beautiful lessons for me. Ways for me to try and follow in her footsteps... to learn from the example of a 16 month-old who brings so much joy to others around her with her loving nature, her easy smiles, her frequent hugs and her ready laugh.

The Inhumanity!!!

As if black fingers and being scared to death with the bang of the prong being blasted off wasn't enough, insult was added to injury (well I wasn't really injured) when I discovered that as a result of of the outlet mishap my dishwasher wouldn't work!!! Oh the inhumanity!!!! I may not have not have been a casualty of the electrical surge but my precious dishwasher was.
To add further insult, however, I discovered that the next morning after doing all of the above dishes.... my dishwasher was up and running just fine. What the what???

But my home was not finished betraying me.... oh no. I went to curl my hair on Friday only to discover that the outlets in the master bathroom were not working. The bathroom lights worked just fine. The lights in the mainbathroom did not work but the outlets DID work. What in the world was going on???

I could go without curled hair though - and have done on many a day. What I could NOT go without was heat. This was my thermostat in the mornings this weekend...
It did not get above 67 as hard as I tried and prayed and wished it to. I normally set it to 73 and am still cold and wearing multiple layers. At 64 and 67 I was suffering from frostbite.

I thought it was a result from my electrical mishap but it turned out with a $75.00 service call later that it was just a dirty furnace filter. Now I'm no longer wearing my coat in my house. Yeah!!!!