Sunday, August 31, 2008
{I'm dreaming of...}
Thanks to Mike's ingenious idea to show me some cool sites around his temporary apartment place, I am now constantly thinking of rattlesnakes.
Story number one: While coming back from lunch on Friday, Mike slowed down to show me a cave, right before the entrance to the apartments. It was a cool cave, until he told me the STORY that went along with it. He drove to the garbage bin. He said "OK, about a year or so ago, a tenant was taking her trash here, climbed up the stairs to dump her trash inside, and looked inside and saw a HUGE mountain lion eating the garbage. She freaked, of course (who wouldn't?), and the mountain lion was captured." Turns out the mountain lion had been living in this cave, which stretched under the property all the way to the end of the other side. ::shuddering::
Story number two: The city paved a new road to the side of the complex a year ago. While drilling and cutting through all the rock to make a road, they came across a den of rattlesnakes (aka, a den houses a TON of snakes). He said to this day, they frequently see rattlesnakes still around the area that it was found, which is near the car wash at this complex, the most recent a few days ago. ::shuddering::
Story number three: A year ago, a rattlesnake decided to pay a few tenants a visit, and coiled itself up on the first step of one complex, and wouldn't let anyone pass (well, who would pass a rattlesnake in the FIRST place?). ::shuddering::
So, last night, I had sweet dreams all FREAKING night long about rattlesnakes. In fact, I felt something brush my blanket, and I could've sworn my mind went directly to "oh no! There's a snake here!"
I am officially losing my mind. I'm scared to DEATH of snakes. Literally. What gets me even more afraid is the fact my husband doesn't seem to mind them, and is quite at ease with killing these reptiles as if it were no different than mowing the grass. Uh, HELLO! It can STRIKE at you! Course, he rolled his eyes at me when I suggested he pack his snake guards in his truck at ALL times.
I thought about posting a picture of a rattlesnake from google images, but I decided I would probably never come back to my blog if I constantly saw a picture of one of the things I feared greatly. That would be a travesty, right? :)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
{oh, she loves her bling!}
Friday, August 29, 2008
{Marble Reward System}
Thursday, August 28, 2008
{Monkey Bread}
A few weeks ago I was at my friend Jenni's house, and she was making Monkey Bread (or bubble bread to some people). She gave me the recipe to make it, and so last night for dinner I tried it out! It was SO incredibly easy and very yummy!
2 T sugar
All alternatively:
Let rise 20-25 minutes, then roll into a rectangle, and cut into 1 1/2 - 2 inch squares (I used a pizza cutter), dip it in 1/3 c melted butter. I put these in a bundt pan (you'll lay these sporadically all over the pan) and let rise again. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.
-----------------------------------------------------
I'm so inexperienced when it comes to letting dough rise, and I didn't use the type of yeast that doesn't need proofing, so if this turned out great, then I know this is a dummy's guide for great dinner rolls! Thankfully, the Texas heat really does a great job at letting dough rise (if I set it on the grill outside and NOT on the ground, it rises!!).
I have seen monkey bread also made where you cut them in circles, and line them up in a bundt pan standing up (circles standing up), then you can just pull them off.
Course, one friend used to dip hers in butterscotch pudding (the dry mix) then line them up circle wise. You can also dip these in butter, then dip again in cinnamon sugar, for a yummy breakfast treat!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
{1st Day of School}
{The Beach}
The last time Madison had been to the beach, she was 6 months old. Katie was 4 years old. So, Katie remembers it a little, but for Madison this was a whole new world. She was so hesitant about the water and just soaked all the glory & beauty a beach has to offer inside herself. You could see in her eyes & expressions her awe of it all. I find the beach the most beautiful, relaxing place to be (with the exception of what lies in the ocean... I can push that out of my mind as long as no one is in the ocean deep). I love to walk the beach and find shells (here we found crappy broken shells, but Dad did manage to find a huge shell complete w/ a crab inside).
Katie jumped right in the first second. She had so much fun. Papa & Grandma bought the girls some mini surf boards to play around with. Course, with the storms moving in so fast, the waves were a bit rough. Mike didn't wear his swimming trunks (aka, he lost them on purpose, I think), and I think he finally decided to go find some swimming trunks, so he left to go shop around. He came back in a swim shirt (only Mike would do this) & trunks, and proceeded to have as much fun as the girls did.
While Mike was gone, my mom got in the ocean w/ the girls. She loves the water as well. I waded up to my thighs as well, and stood by Katie as she waited for the waves. All of a sudden I saw a floating white "thing".... JELLYFISH! I made the girls get out of the water ASAP. After walking a ways, we finally found the jellyfish washed up on the beach, and the girls had fun poking at it and rolling it to Papa to show him their prize.
When Mike came out later, he went out pretty far to do some mini surfing as well, and he said there were jellyfish everywhere. Why he didn't come in is beyond me. He likes danger, I guess.
The rain finally came, and we had to hurry to the truck for protection, and so we ate our picnic lunch. After the rain had passed, we walked the beach some more, then decided to call it a day.
Monday, August 25, 2008
{It's really true!!}
I have found two HUGE gigantic cockroaches in my bathtub (came up in the drain)... each on separate nights. I've never seen a cockroach that big in my life. Thankfully, my knight in shining armor (aka Mike) came to my rescue and killed them for me. I can handle the little ones, but not the big ones. ::shuddering::
Anyways, after seeing billboard after billboard saying "everything is bigger in Texas", they really do stand by their words. :)
Girls started school this morning. Katie was nervous, as was Maddie. Maddie started crying as soon as we entered the school. Didn't stop for 15 minutes, and made me cry as well. Weird thing here... they do the Pledge of Allegiance, then they do a pledge to the TEXAS flag (that was odd), then they have a moment of silence (which I like). Finally had to leave Maddie... still crying. :(
Mom and Dad left last night, and so it's a crash back to reality for us now. We are truly alone in this big area..... The girls (and I) had bouts of crying spells all night long. This is going to take some getting used to being away from family. Hopefully this will make us a stronger family unit. :)
Will upload pics from our beach trip & first day of school as soon as I can get internet access going from INSIDE the house. Right now I'm sitting outside and being bit to death by mosquitoes and flies. Ick!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
{Hey Y'all}
OK .... things I've learned during this entire life change:
1) Expect to argue with your husband when he loads all HIS tools (aka crap) and then proceeds to tell me that MY stuff has to be tossed.... that is not a pretty picture. Thankfully, most of my stuff made it on the truck or somewhere in the vehicles.
2) Driving with a quiet 6 year old isn't as bad as I thought it would be!
3) Maddie loves classical music. She took over the radio controls, found a classical music station, and proceeded to make me fall asleep several times during our drive.
4) I memorized Penske's number... it's 1-800-G0-Penske. (I followed Mike the entire way). I think I can even give you his license plate number!
5) Dad & Katie really know how to party hardy in their vehicle. Dad had enough of Martina McBride after 30,000 times of listening to her music.
6) Chocolate is not good for a long drive. It makes a horrible mess.
7) Cheap MP3 players is just that... cheap. They only last an hour when fully charged. UGH! (that's why we had to listen to the radio, and how we ended up w/ classical music).
8) It's humid here in Texas. Not sure if it's b/c it's been raining, or if it's just humid. Either way, it still sucks b/c it feels worse here than in Missouri/Kansas.
9) I really miss my family & friends. :(
10) Gas is cheaper in Oklahoma. Like $3.23 cheaper!! Dang!
11) Okies in Muskogee's has the BEST chicken fried steak, and unfortunately, that's also where I was bitten to death by mosquitos. I can count 20 bites on my legs alone.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
{More Homestead Pictures}
This is a letter Maddie wrote to her friend Ainslea... Papa Rod finally told her to sound out her words with letters, and she wrote the rest of the letter on her own! (the only help she got was Dear B & A). Can you read it?! Amazingly we could the first time!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
{The Homestead}
Katie is feeding the baby goats by bottle
Maddie is starting to feed a baby goat... there is HOPE!
Still feeding the goat, but look at her face... not very happy
Get me out of here! Sob sob (and she's hysterical at this point) One would think I am a concerned mother and rush to comfort my daughter, but no, I stop and take a picture for all posterity to know that Maddie, at age 6 is deathly afraid of baby goats & is crying her heart out. Do you think I qualify for a Mom of the Year Award? But just know that as soon as I snapped that picture, I did rush out of the pen to save the day and comfort Maddie. :)
Ahh.... relaxing on a tractor trike, and it's PINK! The goats are safely gone from her mind at this point.
Sadly, I didn't upload the pictures of the girls mining, so as soon as I download more pics, I'll be sure to add that picture.
Monday, August 11, 2008
{It's So Hard To Say Goodbye}
Katie + Bryn = Best Friends Forever (BFF)
(or so they tell me) & yes, they're sweaty b/c this is after dance
and one more hug for the road...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
{Oh Mamma Mia!}
Let me tell you... IT WAS THE BEST MOVIE!! We were dancing in our seats and singing out loud! We were laughing at Pierce Brosnan's horrible singing and imagining him saying "Bond, James Bond"... well, James Bond singing, and it wasn't a pretty picture. And oh, my favorite Colin Firth.... the poor thing! He was done injustice with HIS storyline! But, his voice wasn't bad at all...
But, if you haven't seen this, go.. no, don't go, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! to the movie theatre! Go with your best friend! The one you can laugh at anything with! You'll be dancing in your seat and laughing so hard you'll pee your pants.
We walked out of the movie theatre, and Jen was thanking me for telling her we have to see it. I told her "The entire time we were watching it, I was thinking... this is High School Musical for adults!". ::giggling:: Sadly, I can't get the Lycra scene out of my head... that was wrong on so many levels, but oh so funny!! Again, poor Colin Firth.... but, if anyone wants to see it, I'm GAME!