No more yard sales for me!

Of course, I only mean having them!! Today was part two of the last yard sale. I made a big $75, which is more than I started with.(Right around $40 last week) Like Julia said after hers, it is pretty good for stuff you don't want anymore! My friend Jennifer came and took all the leftovers away for her church's outreach program. I think that gives me a weight loss of about 100 pounds!!(I wish!!) If I did that right, I just linked Julia and I will be so proud and I will feel so geeky smart!!

Kayla's skate party was last night and it was great jolly fun. I love that all I have to do is show up with candles and a check. Really cool the night before a yard sale since the house was super trashed! She had a really good time and one of her friends spent the night afterward. This friend is number 3 of 4 kids and seems like just another one of ours when she is here! If only all sleepovers were so easy.

In other news!!!
*Thunder is on the prowl. We hope he is not back in the slammer.

*Our gray gray has six of the cutest kittens I've ever seen and we will get her fixed before she procreates again!!

*Grandma is back in the hospital and seems to be recovering well. They discovered that she did indeed break something-her back. Not a good thing.

*My bathroom is still not trimmed, I was all intent on finishing the last time I posted about it. When I pulled off the tape after painting trim, the other paint came off because I painted paneling-so I put wallpaper there instead....the project goes on and on-this is my life. The sink will have to be pulled to wallpaper behind which brings hubby into the picture so it is on hold for a while longer.

*I ordered the last bit of curriculum for our school today. I am getting a little more excited. I will probably start somewhere around the first of August.

*Erik has noticed that I am nicer. He has been nicer too. Thank you Dr. Laura. Read the book-REALLY!! "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" just in case you forgot. Favorite quote in the book from a male listener: "If I am not horny, make me a sandwich." She was pointing out that men are very simple and wonderful to live with if the two most basic needs are always met + RESPECT. I concur! I asked Erik if he agreed and he says yes!

Nice begats nice. It is pretty neat how making your mind up to be nice to someone(think hubby) just gets easier and easier because they are nice back. As soon as I can, I will try it with my children. It is like God and Jesus knew what they were talking about when they said "loving" each other was the key to being a follower. This is a stretch for me. My nature is to snarl and sulk(only at home, of course). I feel like a new woman.

The Today show is male bashing today, imagine that. Comparing men to training an animal. I hate women's lib/propaganda crap. The idea that woman are somehow superior is such a load of baloney!!

Hubby is home this week and we are totally off schedule/routine. It is fun though- a break from the norm!

Read Psalms 18. It is awesome. It talks about how the words you speak have the power of life and death. Be sure to speak life over your family!! Don't speak bad words over your family!!

I am having a change of heart!!

Towards my husband, that is. I have a lifetime of comparing my life to other people's. This is so flawed and impossible because I know I only see what they show and I base way too much on what I see. I have really been praying to God to show me my defects of character. WOW! Only ask for that if you are ready to receive it. While yard saling, I ran across the book by Dr Laura Schlessinger(sp?) "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands". My friend Crystal had already recommended that book to me so I snarfed it up thinking for the hundredth time of all the lovely ways our home would improve if only my husband would change.

(EYES WIDE OPEN) I am such an ungrateful NAG!!! My husband works hard out in the heat(or cold) carrying a fifty pound mailbag-walking the WHOLE day so that I may stay home and raise our children. When he comes home tired, I complain that he is tired. Sometimes I do not even speak to him because I am busy. Then I am angry because he is hungry and I haven't gotten around to planning supper??!! LOSER!! I am going to write myself notes and put them all around the house to remind me how lucky I am that I have this wonderful man who has put up with me for 12 years even though I am so mean. Of course there are issues that we have to deal with that are legitimate, but I think I may try being nice for a few days and seeing if that works better than the cold shoulder. I bet it will. Ladies, buy this book and put it somewhere so you can read it everyday!! Then be sure to take a closer look at all of those marriages you admire. I bet it is not the man who is so much better than yours, but the wife who loves and appreciates her man that makes it work!!

I just had to share that with you!! Other points of interest in my weekend:

*Thunder still home, yeah!!

*Yard sale went great-not making money but getting rid of things!! Sold an entertainment center for $5-I so did not want to pack that thing back in anywhere!! I am doing it again this Saturday. Look out clutter!!

*Kayla turned nine on Sunday and we had a day of fun for her!! We went to Maggie's Jungle golf-not for the golf but the zoo part, Gattiland, and rode go-karts. We finished off the night with swimming and then going to the drive-in to see "Over the Hedge". It was a full day. She loved it. We do this instead of a present. It costs more but it is alot more fun than a new toy!!

*Trying to decide when to start school again. Not excited-well maybe a little!

*Trying to keep all my "plants" watered is exhausting!! Maybe I sould get fewer "plants"!!

All Tucked In...

That is where all my girls are and it feels good!! If only hubby wasn't gigging we could all be tucked away in our little house. He will be home soon and then we will!!

It is storming like crazy here!!

We bailed my dog, Thunder, out of doggie jail today. This is round two for him. He is such a great dog but he is a wanderer and snobs in the subsurbs don't like the doggies on their perfectly manicured lawns so they call him in. Since he was collarless, they hauled him to the bighouse. We had to show our credentials and pay a fine. Now he stinks like the pound and is very resentful of the vinegar I keep spraying him with!(~d-I found another use!!)

Still planning the sale tomorrow-I hope the weather cooperates!!

Have an awesome weekend!

Getting ready to post like crazy on ebay and have a yard sale on Saturday. Can anyone say cleanning out??

Big girls come home from camp tomorrow. I am glad-I miss them like crazy. Postcards indicate they have had a blast except for the heat. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Grandma still not doing well. Took her some soup tonight-she requested it. I hope she eats and drinks well tonight. She has gone downhill since Monday. I know she is 92 but I think the world of her and no one is ready for her not to bounce back! Her name is Dorothy, keep her in your prayers!!

Off I go to the land of DO-ing!!

It is finished!

Of course the battle of good and evil decided long ago, but also the trailor!! I finished it today and I am so happy. Lilly is too! She did not have a good time.

Grandma is home now. We saw her this morning. She is her usual self, and not at all happy about her broken hearing aid. It must be frustrating not to be able to hear!!

I hope I can get alot of my to-do list done this week!! It is about a mile long. I feel like a hamster in a wheel-except the trailor is done. Hip hip hooray!!

Is One Child Harder Than Three?

In some ways , yes. Especially if that child thinks her older sisters hung the moon and talks about them all day long. I don't think it occurred to me how hard their absence would be on Lilly (or me!). We are out of our routine. I am trying to savor all that I can get done and enjoy no fighting for a few days, but I really miss them too. No more belly-aching-I know they are having a great time at camp!

We tried to go boating yesterday only to discover-at the boat launch-that our battery was dead. Great fun. Erik was so mad at himself-usually he fires it up in the driveway before we go just to make sure. WE were all excited and eager to go so we missed a step. We got home and swam in the pool instead. It is so hot here you need to be in some sort of water to be outside!

Erik's grandma fell yesterday. By some sort of miracle, nothing is broken. Everyone is shocked and thankful. Lilly and I will be going to the hospital for a visit today. I am also finishing Billy's trailor today. I am ready to mark that off my to do list. I wanted to do it yesterday, but I just could not make myself. We savored our (partial)family day instead. Have an awesome week!

Why is my blog "plant" so green and healthy?

I will be limiting my computer time from now on, so expect fewer comments and shorter posts. I can never quit entirely, to good of a vent for me but I am a little excessive. It will be my new treat for DO-ing not just BE-ing.

Today we got up at the crack of dawn for yard-sailing and then swam when we got home.

Lilly is singing "What a Mighty God We Serve!" Ain't it the truth!! Have a great weekend!