Love this too--thanks Ashlee

Everything is under control.

nienie

Desert in Bloom--What I Saw Wednesday

It's right there under that Palo Verde tree in our yard.

See, there's a little color--what a surprise

Looke the Jumping Cactus is in bloom

Here is a closer look.

Wow! Isn't nature somethin'?

Screaming Kids--Tuesday Tip

When your children are out of control, maybe hitting, biting and/or screaming is going on, try just smiling at them and hugging them tight. It is amazing how much that dispells the mood.

When one child hurts another. Put the child on your lap who did the hurting and hug the hurt child up close to your side and tell them you know they didn't mean to hurt each other and please try to be nice. Kiss the hurt one and let him/her tell you what happened, hug the one who did the hurting and remind them that they need to be nice to each other.

If you spend more time kissing and hugging your children than correcting them, they will learn they are loved at home.

I remember once I was correcting one of my children after a FHE. We had a big STOP sign put up to remind us to stop bad behavior. One of the children was acting up and I jerked the 3 year old child up to the sign and angrily said, "remember what that sign is for, you need to stop this angry behavior." As I said it, I softened my tone realizing I was reinforcing that behavior in the child by my angry response to unaccepable behavior.

Since that time, I have worked daily to temper my responses to various situations and, while I don't aways succeed, I find many times my smile makes everyone feel better.

Saturday Fun--Monday Memory

This is a recent memory, this Saturday was very interesting. Be sure to go to the bottom, that is where the really fun stuff is.

We visited the rental and saw the progress

Then we played with the Robinsons. It was very interesting that after Tarzan played hats with Beckham, and then walked out of the room, Beckham started to cry. I reach out to pick him up and his two little hands purposely pushed me away. Tarzan carried him around until he got distracted again. The fire was a big hit, however, since we were not roasting marshmallows Cooper sat for about 15 minutes and then said, "Actually, I'm through with the fire." He took a flashlight and explored the dark.

Unbelievable--I am Thankful for Insurance

If you came home and found water running out of the sliding glass door and there was green algae growing in it, wouldn't you call the Landlord?








If you came home and found the ceiling had fallen in in one of the bedrooms, wouldn't you call the Landlord?







If you came home and found mold growing on the walls, wouldn't you call the Landlord to complain?

If you came home and found the ceiling was on the floor, wouldn't you call the Landlord and complain?

If you came home and found water running in the wall of the bedroom, would you call the Landlord and complain or would you just shut the door and live in another bedroom?

If you could hear water running all the time, wouldn't you call and complain? Can you imagine what their water bill has been?

Example--Thursday Thought

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

Rosa parks

Doggie Heaven-What I Saw Wednesday

This is doggie heaven at 5:00 a.m. Look at the left paw.

Oooo, get my ear, just a little to the right there.

Tape ends---Tuesday Tip

You know how that tape gets all out of control and sticks back on the roll and then you can't find the end and then you get all flusters and break a fingernail? You know how you get a knife and try cutting the tape and then you waste about 3 layers of tape before you maybe, just maybe get the end of the tape?

Here is a tip you can't live without. Get a toothpick and roll the end of the tape around the toothpick. It is so kewl.

Home Made Bread--Monday Memory

Granner made 6 loaves of bread and dozens of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies every week. She had a schedule. If you visited Granner on the days she was baking, you got to help.

On cookie day you got to eat A LOT of raw cookie dough and then you got to eat warm cookies.

On bread day, you got to have your own glob of dough to play with, roll in sugar or melted butter or whatever you wanted and then when the bread had risen once, you got to "punch" it down.

When the beautiful golden brown loaves came out of the oven, one was immediately cut in half and the children were allowed to dig out the warm middle part of the bread, leaving the crust hollowed out. Granner would say she didn't mind eating the crust.

I can still smell the fresh, hot bread baking and taste the luscious center of the bread dipped in butter. That was heaven.

It wasn't until I was an adult and allowed my own children the same privilege and I was left with the hot crust of the bread that I realized Granner was not sacrificing, she was saving the best for herself. If you have not had hot bread crust right from the oven, smothered in butter, you haven't lived.

Remember, always cook a little extra so the children can have a good portion when they lick the bowl.  Never scrap the bowl clean until you find out if someone wants to lick the bowl.  It's a time honored family tradition.

Change--A Thought for Thursday

One thing I have learned in life, if I want things to change, I have to change the way I have been doing things.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.  We are the ones we've been waiting for.  We are the change that we seek."

Barack Obama

What I Saw Wednesday--Happiness

After going to the Happiest Place On Earth (Disneyland) we went to visit the family with the Uncles in tow. Disneyland made us happy, but nothing can compare to the happiness the family brings.

What happiness filled our hearts to see them all. This picture is the first of its kind. The Uncles have never seen the Grandchildren and have not seen the children since they were the age of these grandchildren.

It is a little fuzzy because I had to lighten it to get all the skin tones in. If anyone has a hint on taking photos of mixed races all together, I could sure use them.

On the front row you will see Jordyn, Kylee, Uncle Walter and Lee William

Standing up you will see Landau, Uncle Jerry, Dau, Tarzan, Leisa, and Keith.

Behind the camera is Sandi

Glass Shower Doors--Tuesday Tip

You can make your glass shower door shine by rubbing a teaspon of lemon oil on it twice a month.  This will cause the water to bead up and roll off.

A second choice is to use Rain-X Original Glass Treatment.  This is a car-care product designed to keep rainwater off your windshield.  You would only use it twice a year.  

RoseAnn Young-Monday Memory

My dear friend RoseAnn Young died last week. I have felt her presence for two days. Here are a few brief memories of RoseAnn.

• She had a beautiful singing voice
• She loved and was devoted to her family 
• She had the greatest gift for writing and never made a blog 
• We took a poetry class together (that was the time we were stopped by a policeman who thought we had been drinking because we were weaving all over the road, but really we were just laughing and talking so much we didn't notice)
• She taught her grandchildren piano lessons 
• She and I laughed until we cried, many times
• She and I cried until we laughed, many times
• I could tell her anything
• She could tell me anything
• And we did
• We were young married women at the same time living in Farmington, NM and later in Joseph City, AZ 
• She had 4 boys and wanted a girls so they used the temperature method and got 2 girls
• She has a daughter named after me
• Our children played together
• She worked for me once and hated the work
• So, she decided to do taxes from her home and she did my taxes and saved me several hundred dollars
• She was there for me when I needed someone, I hope I was there for her
• We made a quilt together, I still have it

My mind is racing with individual images and memories, I love you RoseAnn and will miss you.

My Brothers-In-Law are here

Here they come

They look good

All the way from Tennessee

Here come the hugs

This is Walter

Here is Jerry

These are Nellie B's Boys and they arrived on her birthday.

The motley crew, we are going to Disneyland.

Happy Anniversary

10 years.  Thank you for making me laugh.  I love you babe.

Someone said that if you can't have perfect, you could settle for cute.  

On a cute meter from 1-10 Tarzan is a 12.

Communicate--Thursday Thought

If your spouse does something and it could mean two different things, and one of them will offend you, assume they meant the other thing. This is a cute story, but let's give our men a break, this man should have been praised for his effort, not vilified for being a man.

♥♥♥

The husband asked his wife what she'd like for her birthday. "I'd love to be six again," she replied.

On the morning of her birthday, he woke up early, got up, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms and then took her off to Disneyland.

What a day! They went on every ride in the park. The Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down. They drove to a
McDonald's where her loving husband ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake.

Then it was off to a movie to see the latest blockbuster, a hot-dog, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's. What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed, exhausted.

He leaned over his precious wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, "Well, dear, what was it like being six again?"

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed. "Is that what this crazy day was all about? You idiot, I meant my dress size!"

Moral 1: Even when a man is listening, he's still gonna get it wrong.

What I Saw Wednesday--Delight

I saw Delight...

You know how you have those days when you just feel lousy? There is nothing really wrong, maybe a little headache, but you just can't seem to get out of the funk. You really don't want anyone to see you and you don't feel like going anywhere. I was having one of those days.

Tarzan asked me to go to the store with him. I'm sure it was a ploy to get me out of my funk, but it didn't work. I reluctantly said I would go, but I wasn't getting out of the car.

When we arrived at the store, I stayed in the car and listened to the radio while he went in to shop. As I sat there...

A grandmother and little girl about 4 years old arrived. As they walked past the plastic, mechanical, horses, the little girl asked if she could ride. I couldn't hear them, but I could tell the grandmother said no.

Shortly thereafter, they came out of the store. The little girl was skipping and went right past the horses on her way to the car. The grandmother stopped and called her back. The little girl squealed with delight and got on the pink horse. The grandmother put the 75 cents in and then to my delight, climbed on the blue horse and inserted another 75 cents.

That child will never remember what they bought in the store, but she will forever remember the delight of riding horses with her grandmother...

and I got out of my funk. Sometimes, you need a delightful surprise.

Hangers--A Tip for Tuesday

This is a Green Tip...

Return your hangers to the dry cleaner's so they can reuse them. If your dry cleaner says they do not accept returned hangers, find a new dry cleaner.

3.5 billion wire hangers end up in landfills every year according to The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference by Jodi Helmer

Digger--A Monday Memory

I was thinking about my grandfather. Let me give you a little background about him:

We called him Digger in my family. Other grandchildren called him Gramp, but he was always Digger to me. Digger got his nickname because when he was a young man, he drove a digging machine in construction jobs. Besides, he hated his real name, he used to turn up his upper lip and sneer as he said it "Linsey Clair."

Digger was one tough hombrea. He never hugged you. If you were hurt and started to cry, and the two of you were alone in a room, he would say, "come here and I'll see if you're hurt." The most affection I remember getting from Digger was a thump on the head with his big, index finger. He would get sick of having the children in the house and he would say (as he thumped you on the head) "Down in the hole, kid." That meant go down in the basement apartment he had built as a rental for college students but it always had a family member living in it.

He gave the appearance of being gruff and tough, but he was really a softy inside. We all witnessed it from time to time as he came to our individual defense over one thing or another when he viewed one of us as having been wronged by someone or something. He was adorable. I loved him dearly.

Several years after Granner died, he moved in with my Aunt Pat. I lived close by. He would call me on the phone and say, "Come and get me" and hang up the phone. I would, of course, drive right over and pick him up. We would go to the bank so he could deposit his Social Security check (he said he didn't want Aunt Pat to know how much money he had--that always made me smile knowing she didn't care one way or the other). We would go to the drive up window, I would deposit his check for him and then he would take me to McDonald's and buy my lunch.

But the real story is here.

I was taking some college classes and the parking was aweful, so I would drive to Aunt Pat's house and park my car, get my bike and ride right up to class. When I returned, I always stopped at the house to say hello.

One day, upon returning from school, I knocked on the door and, as usual, called out the phrase all the women in my family use--"Yoohoo, Honey, I'm Home." Digger was asleep in a chair just around the corner from the front door. He woke up and stepped around the corner. I was standing in the doorway with the sun full force behind me. He saw me and said, "Where have you been, I have been searching all over for you." He then put both arms around me and gave me a full body hug.

I said, "Well, Digger, I've just been at school." He immediately pushed me away, cleared his through and tried to dismiss the situation.

I told my Mom about it and she agreed, he thought I was Granner. It is one of the tender moments I keep in the box, all women have in their brains, that holds precious memories.

Do you have a box? What do you have in your box?

What I Saw --Wednesday

I saw a sad reality...

I was driving down the road on a Saturday morning about 7:00 a.m. and saw a long line of young girls in front of a house that had been turned into an office. It was in one of those areas that used to be houses in the 1940s and now they were being torn down one by one or converted into offices.

Over half of these young girls had strollers and toddlers in hand. They were standing in the line visiting, laughing and waiting. The girls all looked to be in their late teens.

I could not figure out what would bring these young girls out with their babies at that early hour on a Saturday moning when I noticed the sign on the property.

"Free Pregnancy Testing."