11th Hour Pardon

E. was very pretty for her dance. She wore her blue long dress and "Cinderella" shoes. I put her hair up and we put some little sparkly hair thingies (like mini combs) in her hair-do. I put makeup on her. The first time she has had that experience!! N. told her 2 times in an hour how pretty he thought she looked. He liked seeing his sister look like a girly girl instead of her often nature girl or tomboy attire!!! She wore pretty jewelry and she wore a touch of perfume too. I blew off 15 pictures and was very impressed with how I thought they would turn out. Everything went well.

Only one small accidental flub, E. dripped food all down the front of her dress at the restaurant before going to the dance. Her date for the dance was very polite and said it didn't matter.

The next day I came out in the kitchen where I had the camera sitting out and N. (age 6) had the back of the camera open and the whole roll of film (15 pictures of E. and with her first dance date) had rewound and were all exposed!!
I do believe the entire neighborhood heard my gasp and cry of NNNOOOOOO!!!

My little boy N was almost in a very very long time out after the shock of the FILM INCIDENT last Sunday.  I decided to take the camera in to see if the film could be saved. Well, they took the film out and said they would do what they could. Of course, with no guarantee of a happy outcome. 

SOME of the pictures developed!! 
*relieved sigh*
 They have some damage but can be cropped and saved. A picture is worth a thousand words??!! These pictures sure have a long story attached. 

Part Time Work

My N. has solved the mystery of the Easter Bunny, once and for all. Get real close to hear the secret. Ready?
N.= " The Easter Bunny is really Santa. He just wears a bunny suit!"
Ok. So now we all know.

Red Review

I adore the color red. I don't apologize to anyone for this character flaw. It makes me happy when I see it any day of any year...

* The cookie jar on the high shelf above the danger of a 6 year old boy. It has been around as long as I can remember... with its tole painted flowers and all-over red speckled background. I always hated the way it made the cookies taste old and stale, however.

* A brilliantly colored male cardinal bird when he decides to rest in our tall pines. I am doubly tickled when he brings his best girl along.

* The wonderful smell of apples piled up in a wooden bowl. My Grandma Bubbles always had bushels of apples in her basement and barn. I love when a smell connects a memory!

* My house. Well?... isn't it fitting I should live inside a snug red house?!

* The frame of an Etch-A-Sketch. A very creative yet frustrating toy. I had great fun with mine until it scattered that yukky gray powdery junk all over the kitchen floor in front of the stove while Mom was trying to get dinner on the table!! This is one thing I CAN'T blame my brother for! Guilty party=me. If only we lived in 0 gravity, I would still have that toy. Of course, my kids have one too. I live in never ending fear that it will crash to the floor. Note to kids: don't play with it while I am trying to get dinner on the table.

* Bright, happy tulips stretching tall toward the sun. I was told the story of how I was about 3 or 4 when the neighbor's dog came and knocked me down and bit me as I played among the red tulips along our driveway. I don't remember. I do have the scar... ever so close to my right eye. I also think that part of the story was that my Grandma said she worried about Mom "living way out in the middle of nowhere with no car". Somehow it all worked out alright. Only a few of those same red tulips strain to errupt each year, all these years later. I hold no grudge against those tulips or that dog [ whom, by the way, I'm sure has enjoyed himself long since going to doggy heaven dispite his bad behavior!].

* Weather-worn barns against a backdrop of fall leaves painted by nature...or, even more awe inspiring, [to me, at least] against a backdrop of fresh fallen snow. The kind of snow when it looks like the pines have frosting on their needled branches.

* Crisp red embroidery on soft white linen. {Redwork} I love to draw pictures and then stitch them. I'm sure I must have too many pillows like this. I have a tiny pillow about 5"x7" that my Grandpa embroidered in red. The white fabric is thin and delicate. The best part of this story is that he did it when he was recovering from black smallpox!

* Raggedy Ann dolls may be dressed in different frocks but every Ann always wears red yarn hair. This gal never has a bad hair day!

* Puddle Duck boots. I am a firm believer in allowing kids to go out and jump in puddles! Why not? Growing up quickly and without this opportunity should be a crime! If thunder and lightning is absent- go out with an umbrella and play. I do this even as a grown-up! Arrest me.

* I can't resist a kid on a red tricycle. I don't know why.

* A red Corvette. In my next lifetime, maybe.

* Those ugly little felt elf ornaments with a plastic face [made in Japan in the 1950s] called "knee huggers". I love those in a kitschy kind of way. Also, the fact that my Grandma had some. I have some now that I have picked up along the way while thrifting. They are a high priced collectable going for upwards of 10-25 cents!

Next Stop...Dreamland

Another busy day behind us here. Everyone is tucked in for the night. Tomorrow morning brings the promise of Sand Man filled sleepy eyes, backpacks and kisses good-bye before my 3 and one extra are off to school. I may try to steal a moment for myself with a "spot of tea" before commencing the day's duties. The laundry plays dirty tricks on me as I slumber each night- it multiplies! I wonder why kids can have so many clothes and nothing to wear 15 minutes before the bus is due?!
Good-night. As my kids say each night, "Nightloveyousweetdreams!" [all in one breath].
Note: Be sure to scroll down and read to the very bottom to review all my posts thus far.

Blog Beautiful Blog

Here I begin to enter the scary world of blogging. I am not very modern when it comes to technology. We have only had a DVD player for about a year. We still have an 8-track player/stereo in the garage [that we still use]! I resisted a cell phone until my loving husband insisted I needed one for safety on the road. I just hate when mothers have one [a cell phone] glued to the side of their head while they have 4 kids in-tow at the grocery store. I am all for multi-tasking...but that is just UGLY! As challenging as kids are to bring along, I have never missed an opportunity to use the whole grocery store venue as a classroom. Counting, spelling, money, advertising gimmicks, time management, etc. I mean, do you really need to talk to someone THAT badly that the phone conversation can't wait? Oops, there I go - - off along some fork in the road of my thoughts.
I have already discovered that I am showing my amateurism in the blog arena. My first post "10 things about me" was much less than perfect. But then again, I am a WIP [work in progress]! I hope to conquer my blogaphobia and put forth something worthy of return visits!!

10 Things About Me

1. I have an ocean of creativity sloshing around in my brain.

2. If I had known that being a "stay-at-home mom" was going to be harder and more stressful than running a business and managing 10 employees, I never would have submitted my resume! Heehee! You can't just tell your kids "you're fired!".

3. I would enjoy traveling to lots of places in the world, but I most enjoy the fact that my feather pillow is still in the same place it has remained for all but 2 years of my entire life.

4. Some people marry for money, I sure didn't.

5. One of the best ways to spend a summer morning is to dig in the garden and get thoroughly dirty from crown to toe and then shower clean and put on perfume. " Spend an afternoon. You can't take it with you."

6. " Quiet please" is what I was raised to say, never "Shut up"!

7. Books are a treasure. The older the better. I have been known to purchase a book just because it is old and has a red cover! Only if it fits into my book buying budget, though (50 cents or less).

8. What could be better than a pot of homemade soup simmering upon the stove for hours? Not much.

9. I have oodles of fabric and all good intentions of assembling it into marvelous things! Some day when there are 25 hours!

10. I am just CRAZY about the Romanov's [the last czar of Russia and his family]. I voraciously devour anything I can read about them. I have my own N. and A. in my ancestors' family tree. To carry on the names to yet more genealogy branches, I have recycled the names to two of my children.