A Day At The Spa

Well, not technically the spa. Technically it's my bedroom. We locked the door and opened the Oreo's and the peanut M&M's and enjoyed a minute away. A couple of times the 5 year olds knocked on the door looking for their Moms.
I just told them their Mom would be back from the spa soon and to go get the help they needed from their Dads. It worked pretty well.....except for Jo. She knows how to unlock my bedroom door so we made her be our photographer.
We used fancy callus remover and Kim's fancy buffing file to do the prep work. Then, since Kim has the best technique we had her do the polishing. Hot pink was the color of choice. We look fabulous and the mini break was nice.
Everyone needs sisters. And if you weren't blessed with sisters...I do hope you are blessed with fabulous girlfriends. And if you are as blessed as I am...you have both.

Super Cooper

Our little Super Baby. He is such a sweet boy. He is 6 weeks old today. He has reflux so his tummy hurts a lot. It is hard to watch him hurt so bad. He has his medicine that helps but it doesn't take it all the way away.
He is pretty good natured. And oh so cute.
His eyebrows are so light that the only thing you actually see are the muscles on his forehead.
He talks and smiles and coos so sweetly. He is an angel sent straight from heaven.
We just love this little man. I am addicted.

A Lot To Blog About

Yesterday was a big day. We went to the Mall of America in Minneapolis. We and a rousing game of football and it was my bloggaversary. So exciting. The Mall was HUGE!! I was in retail heaven. We spent 5 hours walking and browsing and watching and spending. It was great. We shopped 'til we dropped and the car ride home was very quiet. Kim has some great pics of Lace and Jo crashed in the backseat. Michelle has pics of the girls at the mall.....I have pics of football. I guess it all works out.
The football game was great.
Grandpa, Aunt Michelle, Kevin, Tyler, Jo, her friend Stephanie, Lacey, Bridger, Brook and a random neighbor girl all walked across the street to the vacant lot.
They played for about an hour in the tick infested grass. ick Then they did a communal pat down and came back to sit on the porch in the fading sunlight.
This was supposed to post yesterday on my bloggaversary...but I was too tired. Go figure. I am really having the best time. I wish this week could last forever.....oh wait....it can. Lucky me.

Miss Cylie

I just wanted you all to meet Miss Cylie. She is almost 10 months old and she is fabulous. She hasn't hit that stranger danger phase so we all get to enjoy her. She is simlie Cylie for sure.
When her older sister Lacey was this age I got to be her babysitter. I loved all the time I got to spend with her. Lacey and Jo loved to eat pickles. Cy hadn't had the experience yet so we gave it a try. She was very enthusiastic. She didn't pull any sour pickle faces like we thought she would.
She chewed on it until she got bored with it and then she just played in the highchair for a while longer. She is so good natured and fun to hang out with. Nothing phases this girl. So there is a quick glimpse at one of my loves. I will show you some cute pics of Cooper next time.

But be prepared. You will want to sniff his head.

Picture This

Picture this space filled with a large gathering of people. They are smiling and laughing. There is something similar in the way they laugh. There is a sameness in their smiles. They are happy just being together. There's no need for big screen TV's or high speed internet to entertain them. They do that quite nicely on their own. They laugh at their own jokes until they cry. These people think they're the funniest things on the planet.
They have their serious moments too. They discuss the world in their view like no body's business. They mourn together at a shared loss...or comfort each other so the burden is not borne alone. They love one anothers kids as their own and would trade their own happiness to bring comfort to any one of the children....big or small.
This gathering is my family. In case I forgot to tell you....they are coming to see me in 2 days. I am excited for them to see the space I made for us to gather. We can solve the world's problems if we have a comfy place to sit. I do have more chairs...they are bringing their spouses as well as my Dad. Eleven people will be showing up at my house Saturday afternoon. I am ready. I am more than ready.

For My Friends In Rigby

At first, when I started snapping pics this morning, I was just going to do simple before and after shots.....except that I didn't know that they were coming so I didn't get any before shots. So I got some during and after shots. It's not like I wasn't up early. I was wide awake at 3. I had been to the Y and was contemplating pulling out some paint for the hallway when I heard them outside.

We have been dealing with mud puddles since we moved in here and I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. There I'm glad to get that off my chest. I got Jim to back off the "what would you rather have than money" crap and fork out the dough for this little project. I do love the way it turned out.

Just for my friends in Rigby....look....NO ROCKS!!!! WOOHOO!!! Heaven on earth, I tell ya. Check back tomorrow...I am almost finished with the back deck. It's going to be so much fun to use when the girls get here.

Unemployed

It's only temporary....but I am unemployed for the summer. Blissfully and totally without a care in the world. Well....except for my sisters visiting in a week and my friend Jackie will be here a week after my sisters leave. And that brings us to July and the dreaded 15th. No stress there. After July comes and goes in a flurry of tears we get August with more visitors....Jim's folks...who are always wonderful house guests and the Eastins might stop by for a while. I love having company from Idaho visit me here. I NEVER in a million years thought my sisters could come here for a visit. They both work and have such busy lives. Of course after I told them I was shipping their favorite nephew off to Texas for 2 years....well...they do know how to prioritize. It's just another great attribute they picked up from our Mom. My sisters are a lot like her. Not that they would admit to even half of their wonderful qualities. That too they learned from her.
But back to being unemployed. My last day of work was very bitter sweet. I got to work for my friend, Priscilla, the lunch lady. Not the hair net wearing hot hash slinging type of lunch lady, mind you. No, she is the sit behind the computer and enter the magic lunch number type of lunch lady. She does a lot more than that though. She is also the "go to girl" for 3 of the 5 teachers. She does all of their copying and craft preparation and stapling and filing....and man this is a busy lady. I liked filling in for Priscilla....but I didn't get to interact with with the kids as much. Some days that was a good thing...but some days I really hated to sit and watch as Shelby went by. I know that her para is a good lady and she has done some great things for Shelby. But that little stinker Shelby, well...she plays Cindy like a drum. I love how smart Shelby is. She ultimately gets what she wants when Cindy is around....except for a dirty face. Cindy sure does keep her clean. And that ultimately helps Shelby fit in...in an odd sort of way. As I was sitting at Priscilla's desk Friday afternoon the gruff music teacher came in. We have had an odd relationship this year. I have gone the entire year thinking that I must have done something to offend her. (The world does revolve around me so why not...right.) She walked right up to me and she told me that she admired the way I work with Shelby and that it would be a shame if the school didn't hire me full time. huh....You could have knocked me over with a feather. I felt like ole what's-her-name receiving her first Academy Award..."You like me!! You really like me!!" No lie...it was great to hear. I have felt so much joy and on the flip side SO much frustration with my job this year. Sharing the job with Cindy has been hard. We are just too different in our teaching styles to be working with the same kid. Shelby can be taught....you just have to raise the bar a little. That being said Mrs. Music Teacher told me that if I needed a letter of recommendation that I should give her a call because this was my calling in life. huh....So didn't see that coming. It did give me a lot to think about though. Later that day Ms. Mary (one of the teachers) and I were stuffing envelopes together and she asked me if I was going to be working full time next year. I explained that I hadn't received a job offer but if one came up....I might consider it. She said that she had spoken to the man in charge...(God? The principal? Gerry Ness?) and told them that they needed to find a place for me. huh....Who knew....I guess I haven't vented to them on the days I just wanted to pull my hair out. They probably didn't see me shooting daggers (with my eyes, of course) at Shelby for being naughty. And they definitely sit by me at lunch....(I still have issues with the lunch time crowd). So for now I am unemployed....toying with the idea of being a working Mom. Can I make a difference in a child's life (other than my own)? Should I accept the challenge of trying to teach....when there is still so much I need to learn? I guess I'll have to play it like I did when I was first considering being a sub. I put it in the Lord's hands. It turned out to be one of the best experiences I've ever had. I guess He really does know what's best....huh...