What Are Sisters For?

When you are a little brother, you get to do things like play Barbies & babies, wear Cinderella dresses, & if you are real lucky (& still!), your sister will put make-up on you.

Daddy isn't crazy about this, but hey, he's at work & I'm thinking if the kids are entertained & not fighting, it's all good (at least I don't paint his toenails anymore, right?). Oh, & I plan on accumulating lots of blackmail for the boy's teen years to pay him back for the heck of a time he's giving me now! HA!!!

Goodbye Summer

Well, summer is officially over for us today...Macy starts school tomorrow & we're back to the routines & schedule of being somewhere by 7:45 every morning. In some ways, I'm really glad to be back-I think the darlings need a break from each other & I need a break from the constant bickering (can I get an AMEN from the mommas???), but we have had a really fun summer together... I hope everyone has a great school year!

Pictures from Nana & Bop's

Critters

Nana & Bop have lots of critters to entertain the kids.

The #1 favorite of Macy has always been Tom Kitty-she loves this silly cat so much! The poor cat has had quite a life & I'd feel sorry for him for what she puts him through, but if he hated the attention TOO much, he could hide from her.

Now, you have to meet Bud...this is a legend around the homestead. As the story goes, this is the same toad that has lived at their house since my brother & I were in high school. It is the fattest, biggest toad any of us has ever seen & it loves to uproot my mom's pretty flowers. The kids were very interested in him (or her? How would we know? Never mind, I don't really want to know) but not enough to actually touch him.

This is a buddy of Bud-somewhat smaller & faster than the granddaddy toad.

Lastly, there's Maggie the dog. She does a good job of playing with the kids, especially if they will give her treats or scraps or throw her toy for her. She gets a little jealous if Bop gives the kids too much attention & will let him know. Macy figured out this trip that she could get Maggie to do tricks-I guess in Maggie's eyes Macy is finally big enough to boss her around.

Goggles & Garage Sales

Keeping a serious face when talking to THIS face is impossible!

Macy LOVES to go to garage sales & she is an awesome little bargainer...she can get stuff for free or cheap, like this monkey someone felt compelled to give her. We come home with the biggest pile of junk that I have to slowly dispose of over the next couple of weeks!

Best Friends through the Years

This past weekend, the kids & I went to the Melban's birthday party. Two of her three sweet kiddos have a birthday in August, so it's a two-for-one special & was it ever a special day! My dear friend always throws the best kid birthdays-she comes up with such creative games for the kids & keeps it at home so there's room for kids & adults alike.

Macy & Gracelyn were born 2 weeks apart & have been friends since the beginning...here's some pictures through the years.

"Next Why Won't You Sing With Me"

Sometimes I feel we have neglected Jack's "education" being the 2nd kiddo-honestly, the kid still doesn't know all his animal sounds & gets red & green mixed up so often that I sometimes wonder if he's color blind. So, I don't know if his sister was secretly working with him on this or he picked it up from Backyardigans, but he shocked me in Wal-Mart the other day when he busted out with a perfect rendition of the ABCs. Further proof that kids aren't totally a product of their environment! HA!!!

The Verdict!

Well...I give the green bags mixed reviews. I do think that across the board, they helped the produce last longer (bananas being the exception) BUT not as long as they claim on TV! The big winners were strawberries, leaf lettuce, cilantro & tomatoes. The peppers didn't make much difference, or the carrots & I think that my limes grew mold pretty quick-some of this being the fault of the dang heat maybe more than the bags. So, I will probably buy the bags again when I run out (they are reusable 8-10 times) but I won't plan on anything lasting more than a week & a half.

My disclaimer, this was not a scientific experiment-just my perceptions!