Monthly Archives: August 2008

A Farewell to the Ocean

Here are pictures of what was probably our last swim in the ocean for the year.

Group Writing Project: Favorite Smells

After writing a previous post about My favorite smells, I began to wonder what your favorite smells are. In an effort to find out, I decided to start a monthly group writing project.

I got this idea from Robert Hruzek’s “What I Learned From” series of blog posts at Middle Zone Musings, who assigns a group writing project each month. He gets a lot of interesting responses.

I hope you will participate in my new “copy cat” venture by letting me know, on your own blog, what your favorite smells are and email me or leave a comment with a link. If you do not have a blog, you are welcome to put the list in my comments section.

I will pull together, and link to, everyone who responds to this group writing project by September 7. I can’t wait to hear (read?) from you! Stay tuned next month to see what the next “My Favorite Things” post will be!

Craziest Hour of the Day

Here is my crazy hour for the day. I’m glad there was only one!!

Candice was quite fussy this morning, so I ended up putting her in her bed to cry safely while I mixed some infant oatmeal for her. As I was beginning on the oatmeal mix, an orange soda that had been calmly sitting on top of the refrigerator decided to take a leap onto the floor beneath it.

Now, you have to understand the reputation of our floor. It is hard glossy tile that seems to win against everything that dares to fall on it (including me, but that is another story).

So, the orange soda decided to take a leap to see what happened. What happened was the can ended up squashed on one side and started crying orange soda everywhere (and I do mean everywhere). So, I grabbed it and comforted it in the sink until it stopped crying. Unfortunately, the baby had not stopped.

I left the orange on the floor and finished mixing the cereal for Candice. It was then that I realized thatΒ  the orange soda tears were all over the floor around the highchair, so I had to clean them up before giving Candice her cereal.

Finally the mess was cleaned up, and I was ready to feed Candice….right after I put the mop away. But before I got that far, Peter said, “Ew…..Mom, what is that stuff all over Bethany?!” Sure enough, she had dumped Candice’s bowl of cereal all over herself. So, then I proceeded to clean up mess #2. Then I proceeded to make bowl of cereal #2. Then FINALLY I fed Candice! Then the kids and I sat back and enjoyed some orange soda! My new motto:Β  “When life throws a soda at you, turn it up and take a drink.”

22 Smells I Like

Recently, I have posted about liking the smell of new books and the smell of sheets dried outdoors. After thinking about it a bit, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a smelly person. πŸ™‚ Here is an incomplete list of smells I enjoy.

  1. New books
  2. Luke’s shaving cream
  3. Coffee
  4. New money
  5. Hazelnut
  6. Luke’s deodorant
  7. Common Scents
  8. Bread baking
  9. Newly built house
  10. New car
  11. Honeysuckle
  12. Luke’s aftershave
  13. Cookies baking
  14. Fresh cut wood
  15. Cinnamon
  16. Freshly cut grass
  17. Blueberry
  18. New clothes
  19. Apple Pie
  20. Chocolate
  21. Freshly bathed baby
  22. Spring

So, what scents do you enjoy? If you are willing to share, please leave a comment or use this as an opportunity for an easy blog post of your own.

Go ahead & share. It just makes scents! πŸ˜€

To Dry or Not to Dry

I did it! I did it! I fixed a dryer that was taking 3 hours to dry each load of clothes!! We had been struggling with it for months, and I had resorted to hanging my clothes out on the porch to get them dry! It actually took less time that way! Amazingly, sheets, because they are only one layer, only take 20 minutes in the bright sunshine to dry! And oh the smell! I love sheets that have been hanging outside!! Oh wait, I’m supposed to be bragging on myself. πŸ™‚

We live in the upstairs part of a 2 family apartment, so we share a washer and dryer (in the basement) with our neighbors. Our neighbor cleaned out the dryer vent hose, but it did nothing toward making our dryer hotter. So, more time went by with me enjoying the fresh outdoor scent of our clothes.

One day several weeks ago, I had a load of clothes that I really needed to wash before the next day. Unfortunately, the dryer was busy. I waited for 5 or 6 hours on our slow dryer to dry 2 loads of our neighbor’s clothes, and the third load was in and still very wet. Even though I enjoy the aroma of fresh air on our clothes, I needed a dry load of clothes before the next day!

So, my fingers did the walking across my keyboard, and I did a bit of research. I had done the research before, but for some reason I had over looked one little word in my previous research. Wanna know what that word was? You sure? Maybe I shouldn’t tell you.

Okay. That word was “outside.” So, now it is all cleared up, and I can end this blog post. Oh wait! You say you don’t get it? What are you, slow? Okay, I guess I’ll have to spell it out for you! I-A-M-B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!!!

Oh yeah…..bragging on myself……wait….isn’t that what I was just doing?

Our neighbor checked the vent hose leading to outside, but did he check the actual vent outside the house? So, out of desperation to get that load of laundry done as quickly as possible, I walked outside, got down on my knees, and felt for a vent. Sure enough, there was a little vent that pops right off that was caked with wet lint. After pulling it all off, the dryer dried a load in one drying cycle!!! All that lint was blocking moisture from escaping from the dryer! Yep, I’m brilliant. Go ahead. Say it. I know you’re dying to! πŸ˜‰

Oh, wait! What’s that you say? Anybody could have figured that out? It was obviously done by someone before? You don’t say? Oh well, at least my dryer works!

Untasteful Refrigeration

While visiting a friend several weeks ago, I discovered that she stores her nail polish in the refrigerator. When I asked her about it, she said that her mom had always done it, so she does it, too. I thought no more of it until tonight!

It literally took me half an hour to scrub the nail polish off Anna’s finger/toe nails! She had painted her nails at my friend’s house. Now, I’m curious. Is it possible that refrigerating the nail polish made it so difficult to get off? Maybe my remover was old? If you have a guess at what the issue was or if you have a suggestion on how to get it off in the future, I would love to know!

I did a little research on my own tonight and discovered that people have some really interesting ideas on what should be refrigerated. I also discovered that some people recommend that you store nail polish in the fridge to make it last longer.

From my experience, some nail polish just clumps no matter what, but maybe I should have tried refrigerating it! But maybe I also knew in the back of my mind that storing nail polish in the fridge could be dangerous because there is a small chance that the jar will get broken in the fridge, and if that happened, there is a small chance that the motor in the fridge will cause a spark, leading to the small chance that it might cause an explosion. πŸ˜€

So there’s my excuse!

Let the Whole World Know!

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about Peter’s dislike of getting his ear’s wet and the fact that he had never voluntarily put his head under water. Well, on Sunday, August 10, he and Anna voluntarily put their heads under water for Jesus to let the whole world know what took place in each of their hearts when they were 5 years old! They got baptized! PRAISE THE LORD!

Toddler Miracle Diet

A friend from church sent me this “diet” for toddlers. I’m not sure I would describe most 2 year olds as trim; mine’s a bit on the chubby side, but, of course, that is cute (and expected) on a 2 year old.

I am also not quite sure about that sucker that was eaten on for 3-4 days…although I am sure the equivalent of this has happened at my house…it’s just odd for someone to voluntarily admit it. Maybe that’s an honesty quirk I need to work on? Or maybe that is why the author is unknown. πŸ˜€

But I’m getting off the point, aren’t I? So, hurry up and read on before I decide to lose my train of thought again…or worse yet, decide to have buttered toast for bedtime snack. πŸ™‚

Over the years you may have noticed that most 2 year olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of grapefruit juice and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason.

After consultation with pediatricians, x-ray technicians and distraught mothers, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive and offers great variety and sufficient quantity. ENJOY!!

Day 1:

Breakfast – One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat 2 bites of egg using your fingers, dump the rest on the floor. Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.

Lunch – Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk – 3 sips, then spill the rest.

Dinner – A dry stick, 2 pennies, 4 sips of flat diet pop.

Bedtime snack – Toast piece of bread, butter it and toss it face down on the floor.

Day 2:

Breakfast – pick up stale toast from the floor and eat it. Drink 1/2 bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch – Half tube of “Pulsating Pink” lipstick and one ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon snack – Lick an all day sucker until sticky, take it outside and drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until clean again, then bring inside and drop on living room carpet.

Dinner – A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes, eat with spoon.

Day 3:

Breakfast – 2 pancakes with plenty of syrup – eat with fingers, rub fingers in hair to clean. Glass of milk – drink half. Stuff excess pancakes in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday’s sucker from carpet, lick off fuzz until sticky again, then leave on cushion of your best chair.

Lunch – Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several well-chewed bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk onto table, then slurp up.

Dinner – Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, 1 sip of cold coffee.

Final Day:

Breakfast – 1/4 tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, one olive. Pour glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add 3 cups of sugar. Wait until cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog with your spoon.

Lunch – Eat crumbs off the kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that red sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner – A plate of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate. Handful of cheese snacks – eat 2 and place the rest in bowling ball holes or any other convenient hiding place.

-Author Unknown