Do you have a library card?

Everyone in our house except Zoe has one. We'll get her one when she's toddling around, pulling books off the shelves. I love going to the library. We always have library books in the house. And honestly, we return books late often. I say that is how I contribute financially to the library. :-) Anyway, I learned this week that some friends that moved here a year ago don't have library cards. I was shocked. I didn't let it show, but I just assumed that everyone made the library one of their first stops after a move. As a kid, I remember going to the library with regularity. Especially during the summer. We even went to the library when visiting our grandparents over spring break and during the summer. If I think hard enough, I can remember the smell of the library in Albuquerque (the one that we went to, there are several). And, if I think hard enough, I can ALMOST remember the smell of my grandparents' library. We are doing the summer reading program this year, and it's got a mystery theme. Storytime Bear, who lives in the library and joins us at every story hour, has been bear-napped. We've got a list of suspects, and every week that we turn in our reading log to be checked, we receive a clue. The clue will lead us to a location within walking distance of the library where we will find another clue. CUTE! So we are headed to the museum this coming week, as our first clue pointed us in that direction. Fun, fun!

Andy

Way back on January 1st I attempted to get back into blogging. And I mostly failed. My plan was to blog about some of my blessings, and I never got to Andy. But I probably ought to talk about Andy just a little bit, you think? So, in celebration of our anniversary, here goes: We met my freshman year of college. He had graduated the spring before, and was still involved with his fraternity. The summer after freshman year I moved out of the sorority house (house rules - everyone moved out every summer) and across the street into his frat house. Sounds kinda wild, huh? Not so much. His house was the first to 'go dry,' and they were strict about that. It was a cheap room that I shared with Ann. I ate brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts for breakfast, and spicy ramen for lunch. Juggled two jobs - at the law firm and in the office at a mobile home park. Anyway, this dude, Andy, had a cat named Oscar. I joke that Oscar is why I fell in love. He's not, but it certainly didn't hurt the situation! We never really dated in the traditional 'out to dinner and a movie' sort of way. We just started hanging out together, doing things together. We lived in the same building (along with 20= other guys, and maybe 12 girls), so it was just so easy to flop on his couch and watch South Park, or be in the kitchen making spaghetti, or go to the store together. I think almost instantly we were talking about the future, and it never seemed weird. We were pretty much inseparable from the start. Two months in, and he told me he loved me. Through tears. Very sweet, and very mutual. Obviously. :-) Four months after that we got an apartment together. Three months after that we were engaged (he proposed in a hotel bathroom in Vegas - it was a little spontaneous!). Two months after that he moved to Virginia for a job, and I followed three months after that. We got married June 23, 2001 - two years after we started 'dating.' I could attempt to list ways in which Andy has blessed me, but I wouldn't know where to begin, or how to stop. Just know that I am very aware of how lucky and blessed I am. Happy Anniversary, babe. I love you.

what the???

Okay, for some reason I cannot publish paragraphs? I had everything in my previous post all nice and cute - two short paragraphs, followed by a picture, followed by a paragraph, followed by a picture, etc. And I hit publish, and everything runs together, with pictures thrown in. Hmm. Mildly frustrating.

Ahh, lazy days

Really, it's more like lazy moments in the middle of busy days. Lauren planted a little fairy garden. Kinda lost interest once the plants were in the dirt - we'll see if she wants to do more later. Sasha LOVES the trampoline. Especially when she is the only one on it. She used to run circles around, but now she jumps around, and wants an audience. This little girl is already SEVEN months old. I cannot believe it. Such a happy, social baby. And she is learning that she can be loud. Loud like Lauren and Sasha. Poor Aubrey, she was really wanting Zoe to be a quiet child. And no picture of Aubrey today. She was inside enjoying a quiet house for a few minutes. We are counting down until her birthday. Her 10th birthday. Yikes, I am not sure how I feel about that.

Veggie Tian

Some people love to shop for shoes. I love to shop for veggies. I love my CSA. I love the Farmer's Market. I love gardening friends that share their bounty. I love Bountiful Baskets. Awhile back I pinned a recipe (that I think my friend Angela had posted on fb?), and when I saw all the yummy squash and tomatoes this week, I knew we'd be making it. Veggie Tian This is the recipe I used, but I substituted dried dill and dried marjoram for the dried thyme. Oh, this was so tasty. Aubrey and I loved it - ate more than half at dinner. (The other veggie eaters in my house have texture issues, and squash in any form never flies. Makes me sad, but then Aubrey and I fight over the last bite, and I'm not so sad anymore.)

A sign

Last week I was thinking I wanted to get back into blogging. And within hours I received an e-mail from a woman from eFoodsDirect, asking me to consider reviewing their products here. I'm not one to ignore the signs (well, I try not to ignore the signs, anyway!), so I am waiting to receive a package of emergency food. I am really hopeful that the food will have decent ingredients, and be tasty. Either way, you'll be the first to know. ;-) And, unrelated to emergency food stashes, Andy's car is hitting the crapper. It's been paid off for awhile, but we're about to spend $800 to replace the clutch. Perfect timing, except that we wanted to play with $800, not be responsible adults!

so this homeschooling thing

I think we are sticking with it. I think we are homeschooling Lauren in the fall, too. Man, there are some tough days, but man, there are some awesome days, too. And I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing. My plan this summer is to focus less on 'core subjects' and more on whatever we want to learn about. Kinda the unschooling idea. Not sure what the fall will look like yet, with the expected exception of being in a co-op (meets once a week for 'class' time in group sessions), but for the summer we are learning as we go. :-) One of our To Do's is a virtual road trip. We started in Connecticut. Got a book from the library. I think Lauren's practically memorized all the facts in that little book. We'll be checking out more facts on line. And, the most exciting part - a friend in Connecticut is sending the girls a postcard. We've got a little folder labelled "Connecticut" and we will put all the cool info we learn, along with the postcard, and anything else we want, in the folder. I think Florida is next. L picked CT, A picked FL. Good thing this trip is virtual. ;-)

Lovin' Summer!

On our first morning of Summer Break we made our To Do list and hung ii on the wall. Some of our goals are maybe a bit unrealistic, but most are do-able. I think. One week in, and we are also doing things not on our list. Which is awesome, as our list was mostly for inspiration, and when we happen upon a bored day we can look at our list and try to make something happen. So now we have a second list, a Done list. I think it'll be fun to compare the two at the end of summer. To do: make clouds swing in a hammock picnic at Whistle Stop Park learn to crawl fly a kite start an art club grow a little garden visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center make art make my (Lauren's) hula hoop into a swing swim in the lake at sunset play in the kitchen - make marzipan and mints have a tea party in the backyard (iced tea!) climb a tree jump on the trampoline with MOM plant an apple tree skype with friends learn some new constellations virtual roadtrip skype with friends Done: (so far!) gingerbread train (I always buy these kits after Christmas on clearance and save for 'rainy' days make cake pops/donut holes skype with friends virtual road trip - Connecticut! eat chicken noodle soup for breakfast (because we've got colds!) help mom recover from surgery (incredibly minor - removed a wart from the bottom of my foot. wtf, who gets a wart on the bottom of her foot??? anyway, it's just a pain, recovering, as it's ON THE BOTTOM OF MY FOOT) art class Woohoo, we're having fun! Andy might disagree, as he's been on deck caring for all of us today. Surgery recovery AND colds at the same time kinda sucks.