Steel Sieve, People, Steel Sieve

Last night, Raph had karate and Q was at cub camp.  After I dropped Raph off, I went shopping for a few necessities: cheese, chicken and bread.  (I tried to think of a "ch" word for bread, but no dice.  Unfortunately, it wasn't chia bread. *sigh* My literary aspirations are constantly thwarted by reality. . . . but I digress.)

After the store, I picked up Raph, dropped some stuff at a friend's house and waited for Q to get back from camp.  We finally got home at about 9:30pm.

This morning, at 5:45am, as I stood in my happy bubble of a shower, I suddenly realized, "THE CHICKEN!"

My 10# bag of frozen chicken breasts had been sitting in the back of my van.

10. pounds.

So at 6am, making lunches and breakfast for my chitlins, I'm boiling water to quickly cook the chicken so I can freeze it.

Seriously?!

I used to have a brain. . . . I wonder where it's gone?

Mysteries Solved

After living here for almost a year, the mystery regarding the piles of dirt, cement blocks with holes and large logs has been revealed; apparently we host a mining/logging celebration.

May I say, it was fab.u.lous?

Our town usually hosts a large 4th of July celebration.  This celebration is one of the only opportunities the residents here are able to enjoy the sweet delights of cotton candy, the vast entertainment of pony rides and fishing ponds.  Needless to say, the lines are loong.  We may not have very many residents, but ALL of them show up and ALL of them want the good stuff.

Fortunately, not so many of them want to participate in a mining/logging celebration.  Which means: SHORT LINES.

Seriously.  Lulu's pony ride?  There was no waiting involved.  We paid our money, didn't even need a ticket because there was hardly anyone there, put on a helmet and by the time she looked up, the horse she wanted was ready to ride.

Cotton candy?  You just walk up, plunk down the cash and walk away with sweet, sticky fluff. Mmmmm....


The only long wait involved the opportunity to operate a front-end loader (you know - Scoop).  Quinn was the only one who signed up.  $5 bought an awesome hat and the opportunity to use Scoop to knock down colored balls, with the matching colored tine on the scoop, and pick up a ring and move it to the other side of the area. 1 hour wait, but so. much. fun.

Also, for the mercenary side of parenting, part of the deal in the celebration is that the companies themselves trying to establish goodwill in the communities (read that as plenty of free options).  Gold panning: FREE!  Children's Carnival (fishing pond, ring toss, helium balloons, bean bag toss, all with prizes): FREE!  Mining hat key rings with a built-in light: FREE!  Candy at every booth: FREE!

My kids had a blast.  They even deigned to watch a competitor or too but watching grown men shovel dirt, no matter how quickly it's done, really isn't that entertaining.

The logging events are tomorrow and I'm debating about dropping by, just on a casual Sabbath day stroll, so I can see some poor schmuck end up in the drink during the log rolling competition. 

My Failure as a Mother

My favorite 11yo in the entire world (also known as my oldest son Raph) lost his very last baby tooth.

A month ago.

No tooth fairy in sight.

Poor Raph.

He knows the truth so I know he just keeps blowing it off.  "Mom forgot. Again."

Really, I am just waiting for him to walk up to me some afternoon and say, "Look, the tooth's MIA - probably lost under the bed somewhere.  Can I just have my $1?"

POSITIVE

So much to tell.

However, I am trying something new.

I have been, if you haven't been able to tell already, completely overwhelmed by life.

I still am. 

It seems every time I begin to adjust and feel ready to handle the new challenges, something else pops up.  I feel like Gideon, watching as my army is whittled down by God from a mighty 70,000 (I think - don't quote me on it) to a whimpy one of 300.

But, afraid that the courts may just show up and mandate that my name be legally changed to Debbie Downer, I am determined to come up with something positive.

I am POSITIVE that there is more rain falling from our skies today than anywhere else in the world.

I am POSITIVE that, barring any angels or miraculous visions, after this Friday there will be no further additions to my family and that my baby is an ever aging 6 year old.  (And yes, I'm POSITIVE my husband will be THRILLED by the fact that I'm announcing this to all the world.)

I am POSITIVE, though I welcome being proved wrong, that we will be living with my father for another year as we wait for our home remodel to be finished.  ("Wait...what?!" you say, "What are you building? A home?!"  More details will follow, I'm POSITIVE, but they must wait as this computer is slower than honey being poured in Antarctica.)

I am POSITIVE that I will continue to remain married despite all of Robert's and my efforts in the contrary.

Hmmmm.....I am POSITIVE that my oldest son will make it to 12 but all bets are off after that.

Whew.

I'm exhausted.

So. much. positivity.

I think I need to lie down now.