It's Been A While

I just realized that it has been almost three weeks since I posted anything. That is a long time with everything we have going on at our house! So here is a quick recap of the past few weeks:

We have:

FISHED

DANCED

BIRTHDAY'D

CIRCUSED

OOHED

AHHHED

( DON'T YOU JUST LOVE PEONIES?)

HARVESTED

POKERED

HOSPITALED

YIKES! Poor Granny :(

MADE EGG ROLLS

TASTED SWEET VICTORY

VISITED FAMILY

GOT CUTTINGS

DODGED A TORNADO

ATE FROZEN YOGURT

HAD HOMECOMING

AND HORSED AROUND

(bad joke, I know)

We have SURE been busy :)

And that is just some of what's been going on. I will round up the rest of our happenings and get them posted :)

We also had a funeral for Lester the bullfrog. Hannah said they found him laying in the yard and he was "all skinny and the dogs had eat his eyeballs out." Well, at least I never said Hannah was the frilly dainty type.

~~G

Jacob's New Contacts

Jacob had his eye appointment yesterday. He needed a new prescription and this time he decided he wanted contacts...

Well, we had some trouble getting them in. He has some trouble getting them out. As a matter of fact, it was a LOT of trouble. Jacob tried. Papa tried. I wanted to want to try, but I can't deal with eyeballs *ick* so I just took pictures. And laughed. Jacob laughed. Papa laughed. Hannah mocked and heckled and walked around doing what Jacob is doing in the above photo. Sorry Jake. Ha.

You have to admit that is pretty funny...

Papa said we should laugh like that every day! :)

The first one finally got wrinkled up - under his eyelid - and he totally freaked out :(

The second one came out about an HOUR later.

This morning didn't go so well either. He ended up taking his contacts to school with him and Sweetheart helped him get them in during Band.

Although he can see everything, it looks as though we may be shopping for glasses now...at least until he gets the hang of the contacts. Keep practicing, Jake!

~Gena

Lotion Recipe!

I love love love lotion. I love to use lotion. I love to make lotion. I found this lotion recipe from the folks over at Design Sponge.

Here is the link to their recipe:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/04/made-with-love-rose-body-lotion.html

It is beautiful in these Weck jars. I need to remember that at Christmastime! Also, they use an emulsifying wax to make theirs; I have always used soy lecithin and beeswax. The emulsifying wax may save me a step!

Lotion is so super easy to make. Just make sure that everything is sterile.

The Design Sponge recipe rocks because it all mixes together on its own. Using the soy lecithin and beeswax I have to run it through the blender....and I have found that a hand blender is much easier than a regular blender and makes cleanup a LOT easier. However, if I can skip that with the emulsifying wax then all the better!

They make the comment at the end that there are no preservatives in their lotion, and that can be problematic when it starts going bad, so here is what I do in my own lotion to fix that (or at least postpone it a little while):

When I make mine I usually have my oils in one pot and my water in the other - I add vitamin E oil to the oils pot because it is a preservative and will keep the oils from going rancid. So is rosemary essential oil, but I am pretty sure that neither I nor Papa want me smelling like my herb garden.

To the water pot - I usually add a couple of drops of grapefruit seed essential oil - it keeps the water from stagnating and gives the lotion a clean/fresh smell.

OILS:

Grapeseed oil is so good for your skin - it has all the super antioxidants and it is light and not very greasy.

Coconut Oil.....love me some lotion made from coconut oil - it is also super good for your skin and makes a really thick creamy lotion.

Olive oil...I have only made one batch of lotion with olive oil, which I proceeded to use on my face... it didn't go over very well. I think it was too rich or oily for my face. It was lovely on my hands and legs, however.

I have made some with Walnut Oil, but I didn't like the smell. It almost reminded me of sesame oil, which is lovely in stir fry but not on your face and hands. blegh.

WATER:

I always use distilled water. However, I have made lotion before where I used water from cooked flower petals and that turned out quite nicely.

I can't wait to try this "recipe" with the emulsifying wax; if it turns out I reckon I will make lotion for everyone this Christmas :)

~~Gena

FISH POND!

Papa has been meaning to clean the fish pond out. He actually meant to do it for a couple of years now, and finally it was an absolute MUST. The breaking point was that Chopper had played fetch in the pond a few times and Papa decided that he must have knocked the fountain loose or some such thing after I pointed out that we were losing water....fast.

Chopper in action

In an effort to rescue the fish, Papa starts unloading the *couple* of aquatic plants that were planted in the pond. Well, the aquatic plants had apparently multiplied into one GIANT aquatic plant with a tremendous root system that encompasses the entirety of the fish pond.

Pobre Papa. His hour long +/- project turned into two entire days.

However, the fish are safe and happy and have a new pond to swim in with an all new fountain for us to enjoy. In the process of removing the plants and draining the pond, Papa began to get the feeling that he was not alone...... after seeing 'something' in the water for most of the day, Papa finally came face to face with his companion.....

BTW - I suppose now is as good a time as any to mention that we are Democrats - LOL. But nevertheless - LOOK AT THE DANG FEET ON THAT THING!

The bullfrog was awesome, and both of the children wanted to hold him. Jacob looks as though he is contemplating squishing him in his photo:

Jacob and "Lester" the bullfrog

Sweet Hannah with "Lester" the frog.

Once the flower renovations are complete, I will post the "after" pictures of the fish pond.

~Gena

Softballs are NOT soft!

Okay, so here we are at softball practice....I am kicked back in my mama chair reading "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer when all of a sudden I hear that blood curdling scream that makes every parent's knees buckle. You know the one - when you KNOW without looking that it is YOUR child. Dear oh dear. I looked up and saw my sweet baby girl standing at second base with her hand over one eye, screaming and looking frantically for her mama with the other one. Needless to say I thought I was going to throw up. In that split second of wanting to chop the softball to bits with a hatchet for inflicting such pain upon my baby, logic somehow kicked in and kept repeating "Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic - DON'T PANIC!!" After some tylenol from a better prepared (or maybe veteran) parent and an ice pack from the concession stand, I assured her that she was okay and calmed her down, then praised her for doing such a good job stopping the ball (part of me felt completely heartless for suggesting such a thing!) and told her it was her turn to bat (again, feeling completely heartless). I was afraid if I just scooped her up and ran home it would have put an end to her wanting to play softball and I was trying to be supportive and encouraging without being the fretful panicky mother than I KNOW I am. So, what does Hannah do? She gets up, wipes her nose where she had been crying, puts on her batting helmet (courtesy of Uncle Jimmy and Cousin Jamie via Tanzie Brown's house!) and knocks it to the outfield. That is my GIRL!! I have never been so proud of her. She is so much stronger than I am. And, I told her that we can learn something from everything that happens...in this case it is to GET THAT GLOVE UP! But gosh, even though I try to be positive about the whole thing, her eye just breaks my mama heart into a million pieces :(

Day One - Thursday - Impact :(

Day Two - Friday

Seeing her sporting that shiner while laying in her bed with all of that sweet pink gingham around her and holding onto Mr. Snuggly (whom she so dearly loves) just made me want to cry. :'(

Day Three - Saturday

All I can say is she is ONE TOUGH COOKIE.

Day Four - Easter Sunday.

She is beautiful - black eye and all!

Today is Day Five - Monday......we have practice tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

~Gena

PROM!

I do not quite think I am old enough to have a child going to the prom... However, Jacob and his Sweetheart sure did look quite dashing as they ventured off on their wonderful night (after much picking from Papa, who told Jacob that they sent a white tux instead of a black one):

Note the beautiful corsage that Sweetheart is wearing. I locked my keys in my car after I picked it up from the florist and was stressing to the MAX over that thing because it had gotten hot that day and I was quite sure I could HEAR it wilting. Fortunately Papa and Hannah saved the day and rescued me but that is another story altogether. However, the corsage survived my carelessness, so YAY!

Uh-oh. Hey Jacob! Don't step on the hem of a STRAPLESS dress.... I wonder if this was just the preliminary display of Jacob's two left feet??? (just kidding Jake)

After they left, Papa and I were discussing them dancing at the prom....mainly because Sweetheart is already several inches taller than Jacob and she was wearing heels! Papa said this reminded him of Jacob and Sweetheart:

BAHAHAHA. Sorry Jacob.

Julio prepara la cena!!

Okay, so Jacob is taking Spanish. His most recent assignment was to prepare a mexican dish for all of us to eat and write the instructions, preparation, etc. and submit critiques from three people who ate the meal. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical. The last time Jacob cooked on his own he almost set the house on fire trying to microwave dry macaroni noodles..........and just an FYI - yes, pasta WILL turn completely black in the microwave, but I digress...

The agreed upon recipe was for chicken quesadillas. It was tweaked here and there but here he is in action!

Every good recipe starts with Bacon - ha!

At this point I am holding my breath while watching him use the VERY sharp paring knife.... all went well; no trips to the ER or anything! :)

There was some SERIOUS assembling going on!

Jacob was stressing a little at this point on the foldover so we decided to exploit that for just a moment since he is such an easy target - cruel, I know...... As he is beginning the arduous task of the foldover I hold my hands out and:

Me - "Oh, wait just a minute!!!!!!!!"

Jacob (panicky deer in the headlights look) - "WHAT?!"

Me (((grins)))- "Oh, nothing."

Jacob (not amused at the shenanigans) - "UGH!! I'M GOING TO BURN IT!!"

All in all I have to say that Jacob a/k/a Julio did a bang-up job on the grub. Notice that Hannah, in her usual style, has hijacked yet another photo (bottom right corner):

What a lovely table he prepared

The critiques were another subject altogether and much laughter ensued coming up with them. Jacob was not amused at those either....

#1. Thank God it is finally over. - Hannah.

#2. Nothing a little pepto won't cure...Oh. The burning. - Papa

#3. I was convinced that one of the seven seals had been broken and our house had been plagued with a curse. Please do not give Jacob any more food assignments as ER visits are costly. - Mama

Jacob was concerned over the measly thirty points for the critiques (ha) so he made us do critiques for real. However, me, Papa and Hannah couldn't stop laughing about it. If I was the Spanish teacher, I would have given him an "A" just for creative critiques that made me laugh. Oh well, plain ole boring critiques it was.....

The food was actually really good ~~

Julio prepara la cena muy deliciouso!

Madre y Padre es muy orgullosa de él!!! :)

~G