Here Comes The Weekend

May yours be relaxing.

Why Squirrels Can't Be Trusted

Why my baby trees had to live below the window in the garage, exhibit A:

Those were the last three trees. They also pillage the bird feeder on the back porch. Savages, I tell you.

The Baby Trees

Last fall, or maybe over the winter, I mentioned that I had collected acorns from our yard in order to replace some trees we've lost in the last several years. I think I may have even complained later that I had planted a lot of them and only a couple were sprouting...and then they all began sprouting like gangbusters.

In late May I pulled out the boxes in which I'd planted the acorns with the idea of putting three or four seedlings in a flower pot. I soon realized that the seedling roots had already hit the bottom of the boxes and had continued to grow sideways. At best, I would be planting two seedlings per pot...and I don't have near that many pots.

Suddenly I found myself with WAY more baby trees than we needed. I gave the two biggest boxes to my Father-in-law and told him to plant them where ever he saw fit - I think he said they ended up by the pond.

The seedlings I'd already moved to pots remained below the window in the garage (lest the squirrels dig them right out of their pots for a snack). We did plant two in the front yard...and then added a third to another part of the yard. When I began naming friends and family I thought might be interested in a baby tree Rob became highly amused at my treatment of the seedlings like a litter of puppy and my attempts to find a good home for all of them.

N: What? You would just plant what we needed and put the rest in the yard waste bin?

R:Yes.

E's: GASP! DAD!

One friend said she didn't know where they'd plant it. Umm, you have a yard. And she didn't want to have acorns all over the yard... Even though I assured her that I had to work quick to get the acorns I did pick up because the squirrels usually eat them all she still wasn't interested.

Rob's uncle has taken some and a cousin is getting some this weekend (and not a moment too soon - I think they're outgrowing their pots). The rest I guess will get planted up by the pond like their brothers.

Mama Oak

They don't know what they're missing.

I Miss Them

I will pick up my punks from the campground tomorrow morning and we will head directly to gymnastics, immediately immersing ourselves in our regularly scheduled craziness. It's been nice having the time alone, but I miss them. The house is far too quiet.

We go through a lot less toilet paper though.

And I haven't cooked dinner since I don't know when.

And Rob and I saw Harry Potter last night...and we're having dinner at the winery tonight.

I got a lot done - some closets cleaned, peanut allergy stuff discussed with school...but I'm looking forward to having all my punks under one roof again.

E3 making power tools look cute.

Good Morning, Campers!

It's that time of year again - time for us all to question my Mom's sanity as she embarks on a camping trip with 8 of her 9 grandkids. E1 is the oldest at age 11, nephew D is the youngest at age 4. I enjoy sharing this information with people just to see their astonished reactions.

In their absence, I've got one closet cleaned and another to go...but can't work up the motivation because I'm in the midst of a migraine. There has got to be a connection between my scheduled free time and my migraines...they can't all just arrive ill-timed by happenstance, right? It needs to go away by tonight because we've got plans to see Harry Potter and it will be ever so much more enjoyable without a stabbing pain in my head. Hear that, migraine? ctrl+x already.

School supplies have been purchased, registration is next week; E3 begins Kindergarten this fall. No, I still don't have a good answer for the frillion million dollar question, "What are you going to DO with all of them in school?" I still, naively perhaps, hope to do some major de-cluttering and housecleaning. A little June Cleaver? Maybe, but I can only imagine that it will be immensely easier to unload some junk and forgotten things without a chorus of, "BUT I WANT TO KEEP THAT! I LOVE IT!" I want to be able to go on the many field trips that our Kg classes seem to have - everything from the post office to the St. Louis Arch - and to volunteer in the Kg classroom like I did with the other two girls...and I may add in the role of lunch room helper for E3's Kg class, at least until I feel like they've got a handle on things with her peanut allergy, and then there's the school library and all the help it desperately needs...I only got the majority of the junior fiction labeled with call letters (on the book and in the computer system) last year and there are a lot more books to go...and of course there's always that last wish for all the children of the world to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace...maybe I'm going to become Steve Martin now that all my kids are in school.

I've been working with our Superintendent to determine what the school's peanut policy will be. We've discovered Sunbutter, and there's a good chance they'll be offering it in the cafeteria instead of peanut butter. The Super has seemed eager to go 'peanut-free', but E3's allergist is not in favor of that - sets up a false reality, etc. BUT- one of the Mom's at E3's gym class is working on a research paper about peanut allergies and school policies (the coincidence!) and said one of the schools she interviewed said they have a 'peanut controlled' lunch room. They don't offer peanut products and if kids choose to bring in something with peanuts the have to sit at the peanut table...the theory being that it's easier to control the peanuts if they know where they are and who is eating them. I like it. We'll see what the school board thinks, I guess. So maybe my last wish will be for all the children of the world to join hands AFTER THEY'VE WASHED THE PEANUT BUTTER FROM THEIR HANDS and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace.

I Need To Add A Category

I'll title it: "MAH PRESHUS BAYBEE IS GROWIN UP!!!"

She lost her first tooth yesterday.

Please ignore the grubby fingernails...

Opening Night, The End Is In Sight

Last night was Opening Night for Alice in Wonderland Jr. at the community theatre. E2 declared it was just like dress rehearsal, only with more people watching.

By next week, our nights should be a little free-er (is that a word?).

Desperately Seeking Artist

Our Captiva vacation home was filled with a lot of whimsical artwork, and on our last day there I walked around snapping photos of some of my favorites just to share with you, my lovelies.

This one, to my untrained eye, looks like oil on canvas and it's embellished with shells. It made me think of my crafty friend Glenda.

This hand-painted shelf was near the front door and would be a handy place to keep a small brush and any other thing you'd need for last-minute touch-ups before heading out into the world...or in this case, a good place for sunglasses, spf lip balm, and a spare tube of sunscreen.

These two oil paintings were on the wall in the kitchen right where the hallway started.

Is it just me, or does this painting groove? It has movement...groovy movement.

This hand-painted bulletin board was in the kitchen. It has sea shell-shaped push pins, and the wording around the blue area includes phrases like 'Carpe Diem!', and 'Make a list!'

Another hand-painted item...this time a metal clock, perfect for chomping up all of your vacation time.

Chomp Chomp!




And then there are these things.....

There were multiple pieces by this artist - all carved wood, painted in festive colors, giving a whimsical flair to every room. But for the life of me, I could not decipher the artist's signature.

Casey? Causey? Carsen? Buehler?

I've Googled every possibility I've thought it could be.

See? Whimsy.

E3 likes this one.

I suspect these were made by a local artist, but I'm not sure. I hope someone will recognize the work and clue me in - I'd love to know more about this style, and the artist.

Perfect Weather

The weather here in the Midwest is so much better! No longer steamy, it's like we're being treated to the Spring weather we should have had back in June. During the day it's warm but there's a nice breeze, and at night it's been getting down into the 60's...last night at E2's play practice I wore a sweatshirt!

Unfortunately, (really, I'm not trying to be one of those 'never happy' people) this means there probably won't be any water fun at our party this weekend. Once again it's time for the party celebrating our move to this home and we've got a big ole water slide ready and waiting...but the kids used it last Sunday and this past Wednesday and complained about being cold the whole time. Tomorrow's high is projected to be 78 degrees so...I don't think it's worth the blue lips and goose bumps to set everything up in the front yard.

Bummer.

We could have been great, waterfall!