The Geometry of Butter

My oldest daughter is an enigma.  Sometimes she's all "like, you know" and "OMG" (the G being gosh in our house).  Then there are times when you would think she's a Mensa candidate in a little kid body.  She sometimes talks like she can't imagine what it would be like to only be a 9 year old girl. 

So, for some reason unbeknownst to me, my kids claimed they didn't know what a stick of butter was.  Granted, for table butter, we usually go with the tub and I reserve the sticks for cooking, but still.  So I was trying to describe to them what a stick was vs. the tub, when my oldest exclaims in sudden understanding, "oh, you mean it's a rectangular prism!" 

Yes.  That's what I meant. 

Free time, what free time?? and other ramblings

So, who said I was going to have lots of free time once all my kids started school???  School's been in for almost 2 months now and I'm still waiting for that free time.  Honestly, I think I'm more busy now, with less down time, than I was last year when I still had my youngest home 2 days a week and had shorter child free days. 
What's up with that??

It's been good though.  I do think my youngest likes being at the school with her big sisters.  But it'll all be over before I know it.  Then she'll be in 1st grade and then second before I know it, and then my oldest will be in...*gulp* middle school.  Oh, I don't even want to think about it!

And now fall is here/coming.  We are in that awkward stage of season change here in N. GA.  Some days are coolish, some days are warm, some days start out fairly chilly and then warm up to fairly not chilly.  Do you bring a sweater?  Wear pants?  Dare I bring out the boots? 
My general rule of thumb (and yes, I have a rule of thumb concerning the weather) for what to wear this time of year is, if the high is in the 70's, jeans with short sleeves.  If the high is in the 60's, long sleeves and jean and boots if the outfit calls for it. 

There are a few signs of color.  It's coming.  At the very least, it's definitely not summer anymore.  It's flummer. 

These pictures are from last fall.  The one above was taken on one of the days my youngest was home with me (she was in preschool 3 days a week).  I often take my kids on photo shoots just for fun.  Fun for me.

The picture below is my oldest playing in the leaves.  I can't wait for the leaves to change all the way so I can take new pics.  Fall is my favorite time of year! 

The Funnies

My husband was cleaning out a bedside drawer and came across an old cassette tape.  My 9 year old, who was near by, grabbed the tape and said, "Oooo, I wanna watch it!"
*sigh*

We were quizzing the kids on the books of the Bible by asking, what's the the 2nd book, the 5th book and so on.  When my husband asked what the 4th book was, my 7 year old was a little stumped.  So, he told her.  Numbers.  To which she replied, "26?"  And he said, "No, Numbers."  "18?" 


*(in case you are unfamiliar with the Bible, the 4th book is called Numbers.  It is not A number as my 7 year old was suggesting)  We thought it was funny.

Little Drummer Girl

My youngest jamming out with daddy and Mr. Dave.

She actually kept the beat pretty well. 

Something To Do

So, remember the dresser I said I bought at IKEA last Monday?  Well, that's what I did with my time last week.  If you are at all familiar with IKEA, you know what that means...

There were just a few pieces.  That's fine though.  I had a project to work on.  And UNINTERRUPTED time to do it! 

So, it took me 3 hours of uninterrupted time to get the above picture to look like this...

I told my 4th grade daughter when she got home that it took me all day to put this together.  She said, "all day?"  And I said, "well, 3 hours."  And she said, "that's not all day." 

*sigh*  It was all day to me. 

The next 2 days, I painted and then repainted the dresser.  Then I painted the knobs. 

This was a big, multi day project!  And I was not interrupted!  (If I had been interrupted, imagine how long it would have taken me.)

And now, it looks like this.  Ta Da!

(FYI, that rug next to the dresser is actually a really pretty green color, not the bugger brown it appears in the pic.  Camera phone/instagram)

Scroll back up.  Look at what it started as.  Now, look again at the finished product.  Yes, I'm proud of myself.  And I feel like I accomplished something. 

So, in summary, my first week of all my kids being at school was pretty busy (I did do more than just the dresser).  It was a good week.  I was not bored or even sad.  It was actually pretty busy. Next week all my exercise classes start up, the volunteer opps at the school pick up and Bible study starts sometime soon.  And then there's the cooking and the cleaning and the errands.  I'm pretty sure I'll have no problem staying busy.  

Here We Go Again

I'm back! 
Cause now all my kids are in school and I should have loads of time.  Maybe.  Sometimes.  For today, I have a few minutes.  Our hot water heater is on the fritz so I have to wait for the repair man to show up.  Sooo...that means I get to spend some time with you all. 

So, like I said, ALL my kids are in school now.  My youngest started kindergarten yesterday.  It was a bitter sweet day for me.  Fortunately, she went right in her classroom, all smiles, like she owned the place.  She has been around for a while, despite this being her first official year.  She's been countless times to eat lunch with her sisters, to help me volunteer at a party or something else in the classroom (even though you aren't supposed to bring siblings when you volunteer), been to carnivals, field days, and many other various school related events over the last 4 years that she's had a sister there.  But, the house is a little quiet.  It's just me.  and the cats.  and the turtle. 

Everyone keeps asking me what am I going to do with my time now that all my kids are in school.  The truth is, I don't know.  I don't have a big, grand plan.  That being said, I'm pretty sure I'll find things to keep me busy.  I'm hoping to be able to spend more time volunteering at the school (without a stow away).  I'm planning on getting my exercising done in the AM instead of putting it off until later in the day and actually doing it.  Maybe my house will be cleaner?  Maybe I'll become more organized?  I'll blog more? 

Yesterday, my first day, I went to IKEA.  I went with the intention of getting a chest of drawers for my oldest daughter's room.  It had been out of stock the last 2 visits,  so this time, I checked online before leaving and it said there were 10 in stock.  However, when I got there at 10:30 AM, there was only 1 left!  So, I snatched it up, paid for it and took it out to my car.  Then, I stopped and thought, "what else do I have to do?  why not go back in and do IKEA, WITHOUT kids??"  So, I did.  And that was most of my day.  I got home, ate lunch, straightened up a little (not too much.  I didn't want to set the cleaning bar too high on the first day), baked some cookies for the kids and then they were home.  It was a good day. 

This is my 3 darlings before school on the first day.  My oldest started 4th grade, the middle one (who is not in the middle in the picture.  She's on the left) started 2nd grade and my youngest, kindergarten.   Everyone was very excited. 

And what says back to school better than a picture of new shoes.  (although my middle child wore her nasty old tennis shoes from last year today.  I don't know why.)  2 of my kids opted for Toms this year.  My oldest went with classic chucks.  However, she has put in a request for some Toms of her own.

Getting off the bus, everyone was still smiling.  Always a good sign.

My oldest tried to escape my camera.  Does she think I'm new at this? 

And lastly, the pool bags have been replaced by backpacks on the back of the laundry room door. 
A little sad, but I'm ready for fall.  I know my hus can practically smell college football season. 

Another Blog

Check out my new photography blog;

http://mystorybookpictures.blogspot.com/2012/07/out-of-towners.html