Fri, 27 Nov 2009
ThanksgivingOut Thanksgiving was low-key this year. It was just the five of us. We did a simple turkey dinner with rolls and pies. I think that since everyone has been pretty busy lately, they mostly were thankful for a day to relax. Although we all have many things to be grateful for this year. I almost forgot to take a picture of the turkey, but remembered before it was all sliced up. That's Marc with the turkey, and I'm not trying to call him a turkey by including him in the picture. 
Melody got in the picture-taking mood and took pictures of her food. I was thinking that this is a new diet idea. If you had to take a picture of everything you ate and look at it later (or show it to others), maybe you would eat less. I think I'll write a book and call it the Kodak Diet…Notice I'm showing you Melody's plate and not mine.
After dinner, we worked off the calories by doing dishes and putting up Christmas decorations. The kids did the tree while Marc and I did dishes.
Then we ate pies and watched some old videos of the kids when they were little. We haven't done that in years and it was fun to see them little again. They were so cute.
Bryan starts a JOB today. He will be working at Subway (at the mall) through the holidays. I hope he enjoys it. I'm sure he will enjoy having a little extra money to spend.
Thu, 19 Nov 2009
LegoI found a Lego brick in the dryer today. It reminded me that I haven't found one in the dryer for a long time. Or a rock. I guess my kids are growing up.
There is some sadness to this, but it is awfully nice to be able to have Bryan drive places on his own. He had a dentist appointment the other day and as I drove him there he said, "You know, you didn't have to come with me for this. I could have driven myself". Wow, old habits die hard.Of course, for a dentist appointment I have to pay the bill and schedule a new visit so I'm not entirely unneeded yet, but it is a whole new area to explore. Just as when he turned twelve and I could suddenly leave the kids without a babysitter. That was a great feeling of freedom. I'm sure I'll do a lot of extra worrying with Bryan driving, but it's another big step and one that I'm sure I will get used to and enjoy.
I haven't written in almost two weeks, but not much has happened around here. I have a few pictures of leaf raking, and that is an ongoing excitement.We're going to save time on Halloween costumes next year and let Thomas go as a leaf bag.
I've been distracted by books that Marc got at the library book sale (see how I've blamed it on him?)
Thomas stayed home sick the other day and spent a good part of the day drawing on the white board (in-between resting). I liked this picture that he drew.
So, next week we'll have a picture of a turkey or something like that. Hope you all enjoy a happy Thanksgiving.
Fri, 06 Nov 2009
Battling natureIt has been a beautiful week. The rain of October is gone and has been replaced by sunshine. And ladybugs! The warmth brings them out to sit on the back side of the house. A few weeks ago we had them for a couple of warm days, but the rain and cold drove them away. This year seems to be one when all the conditions are right for them because they are back. (A couple of years ago we had the same problem with box elder bugs…
Anyway, they occasionally find their way in through the crack in the back door, so I've been collecting them and throwing them back outside. There were so many a few days ago that I decided to try a new technique. I just vacuumed them all up! Icky, huh? We're learning to catch them in mid-air with the hose too.
The other nature we're battling this week is the tree in the front yard. It grows so fast and makes it hard for the kids to mow the front lawn. Last year I pruned it way back and it was still overgrown by summer. So this year I got the kids to help me and we pruned it even more. It was a big job and if it isn't enough I'll have to get a professional next year.
The kids could help me because they had two days off school this week for state teacher's meetings. It's been a nice break even if we did have to prune the tree. There are also more leaves to rake in the backyard…
Jan Dill Hall St. Peters, Missouri
Page created: 09 November 2008
Page modified: 31 December 2009
