Food critic

Salad.  I eat it. I know.  Doesn’t seem like anything to announce.  It is.  Trust me.  Let me give you a little peek into my eating history. 

I used to swallow peas, chopped up green beans, corn, and diced carrots like pills.  Yes, I plugged my nose at the same time. 

In my earlier years, while I was still an amateur, I would wrap things in my napkin, and push things around my plate to make it appear as if I had eaten something. 

I once took my mashed potatoes and stuffed them under the cushion I was sitting on at the table.  Only to find out when my gramma cleaned the floor, that it went straight through the wicker under said cushion and formed little potato worms. 

My chair at the table backed up against the stairs.  It was an open space under there where we stored odds and ends.   I used to take a piece of whatever we were eating that wasn’t to my liking, and quickly chuck it behind me into the abyss of miscellaneous things under the stairs. 

I gagged if anything green came near my mouth.  For years. 

So, I eat salad.  Seems like a bigger deal now right?  Look closer, I swear there’s some lettuce under all that chicken. 

Marker wars

I’m not sure how it started that first day.  I imagine one of us, (probably Shannon) walked by with a marker and without thinking did a little mark on the innocent one (me).  Or perhaps it started as an accident (on my part) and the other (Shannon) retaliated and so the war began.  Either way, these marker wars are some of my favorite memories.  We (I) would come away in the end, covered in marks from a black sharpie marker and Shannon, would have a small mark somewhere behind her ear or on the back of her arm.  And it was usually yellow or orange (as I remember it).  It became a game.  She or I would hand the other a marker, (I usually got a light colored one to defend myself with) and we would sort of lunge (swordfight) at one another in a fit of giggles and wrestling.  I never won.  Ever.  She was smaller than me and quick.  Even when we played “throw the other on the couch’” (which is played just as it’s called), I never won.  I outweighed her and I was taller.  And yet, I was always the one covered in black ink, on the couch.  I loved it.  Because I loved her.  Everything was (is) always more fun when she was involved. 

So when I found these two well, like this, I wondered how Jared ended up so lucky as to be covered in blue marker and Lainy just had a few marks…  I’m sure it’s because he loves her.  And she him.

 

100% chance of showers

*** This post was written about a month ago

Oh This stormy day is august suits my mood.  It’s a weather hiccup.  Doesn’t belong in the organizations of the heat and summer.  I like organization.  I like things in a controlled environment.  Planned. Prepared. Expected.  Jason lost his job this week.  Unplanned.  He doesn’t see to be panicking at all.  He says I need to be patient.  Calm.  Wait for something to come.  WAIT?!  What until it falls into my lap?  Nice try.  I wait for nearly nothing.  Run after it. Work for it. Plan! Prepare! Expect!

Current blogging day:

Ok. Now I look at this entry and wonder where my brain was.  More importantly where was my faith?  We have been praying for years, about whether or not to sell the house.  Whether or not to go to school full time instead of this crazy working and schooling.  Where home is for us?  Should be expand our family, or is it complete?  And just couldn’t get past that where we were, was where we should be. 

Now, I like change.  Always have.  I like organizing, planning, and preparing.  I wanted something new.  Well, I certainly got it.  After scrolling down the list in my brain of ‘possible answers that I could deal with from my Heavenly Father’ this one was not on the list.  So, it took me a bit to recognize that oh yeah, I asked for some answers. 

It was amazing to see that people,books, lessons, and comforts I needed to understand that what is happening IS the answer.  Sometimes the answers seem to suck.  Like losing a job and house in one foul swoop.  But in 10 years, will I look back and think, it was brilliant.  I could have never gotten to where I needed to be without it.  Of course.  So today I am grateful for this stormy day in the summer.  The rain. Even the mud. 

Why wasn’t I this cool when I was 8?

Jayce is the coolest kid.  He and I have always gotten along.  I just like him.  Of course, I like all of my kids.  But even if he wasn't my kid, I would just think he was so cool.  Here’s some proof…

This was his rocket booster he asked me to tape on. 

Jayce came with us to buy a car and was hilarious.  We kung foo-ed our way through the waiting. 

 

There is almost always some sort of weapon strapped to this kid.  Plus, his own ‘guns’ of course. 

Jayce is amazing with paper.  On this occasion he needed tanks for his men.  Those paper things are origami tanks.  No, I didn’t help him.  He makes weapons out of paper too of course.

This is a snake eating a poor lizard that Jayce had himself been trying to catch.  He would have caught him too, had it not been for the snake. 

This is the scene I came upon one afternoon while Jayce was taking stock of his weapons. 

The kid loves to hike.  We hiked one day and were ready to head back and Jayce complained it wasn’t a real hike.  Wasn’t hard enough.  So we took him off trail and up the side of the mountain.  He loved it!

Jayce and Jared flying jet planes with go cart helmets and paper steering wheels. 

He could make pancakes on his own by the time he was 5.  Once he got up early and made them for me. When I woke up I wondered where they were.  In the trash he said,  they looked really weird.  He had used flour instead of pancake mix. 

He wanted so badly to be Avatar for Halloween last year and even let me shave his head.  Awesome.

Watch your language

Dinner gets a bit…  out of hand at times at our house.  Growing up, we talked about our day around the table, discussed life and the happenings.  It wasn’t quiet.   Jason’s family wasn’t quite that vocal during table time.  Jason also uses words that are unique.  For example, dadgumit, howdy, and y’all. This evening was one such evening and Jason had had enough once something was spilled.  He let out a doggoneitjayce!  I have learned to stifle the snicker, but apparently Jared had never heard such language.  He let out a whooping laugh followed by “dog. gone?”   He thought that was the best line of the night.  As did I.