The Break (April 28)

We played some pool tonight at the Days Inn in Kirksville, MO. Setting up for the first game, I wanted a picture to capture all our fun. I got it! None of us can play that well, but we don't care. We sit around and drink beer and let our proverbial hair down and just have a good time. We share some sort of crazy gene - us chamber folk. We've got to stick together so we can survive.

Happy Clouds (April 27)

The sun came out today and with it, some happy clouds. I love the big, white, fluffy ones. Makes me smile.

Piles of Crap

The clutter zone. Everyone's got one (or sometimes more than one). A place in your house where you put stuff that you don't really know what to do with or don't have time to deal with or you don't want anymore. Unfortunately, this place in my house has been the dining room table for quite some time. We have this great furniture that we stupidly bought as soon as we knew we were moving into a house with a formal dining room. We had a 6-month-old infant at the time. Since then, 9 years later, I think we've actually eaten in the room maybe 2 or 3 times. Before we had finished the basement, we took the leaf out of the table and moved it against the windows to make space for more of a play area for the kids and a make-shift desk for us. When the basement was done, we moved all the toys down there and I reclaimed the dining area. It stayed neat and tidy for a few months - even though we weren't using it for meals. Then I started to put a few things in there - with all intentions of putting them away or dealing with them later. Now look at it. Piles and piles of crap. It's not all my crap either. There are tools, toys, a computer printer, a curtain rod and many more various and sundry items on this table. I took this picture tonight as I was tidying the rest of the house for the cleaning crew that's coming tomorrow. Isn't that ironic? They can vacuum the floor in there at least. Time to have a garage sale or I'm going to end up on one of those shows on TLC!!

Home Made (April 25)

I love, love, love the crafty things the kiddos bring home from school. This is a flower that Max made for me awhile back. I have it on my desk at home and every time I look at it I smile. Mostly because Max really was excited to give it to me. He doesn't care about the crafty stuff as much as us girls, so when he takes the time to make something and has fun with it, I am so glad. It makes it even more special.

Plumber (April 24)

I am so proud of the Hubs. Today, he took on a home improvement project completely on his own and succeeded with little or no cussing and really no injuries to speak of. Marty's the first one to tell you that he's not very handy. We'd been having a leaky kitchen faucet for quite some time and even purchased a replacement faucet several months ago that sat on the dining room table. We had every intention of calling someone to do this for us, but it seemed we were too busy to do that, too. Marty got a wild hair and within an hour's time, he had replaced the faucet with the new one and no more leaks. The best part was, there was no plumber's crack visible!

Carnival Tats (April 23)

Max got tattooed! At our Derby Ridge Carnival Daze last night, Max decided to finally get inked. He picked out this great sea shell design and the tattoo artist went to work. Since all she had to do was wet it and stick it to his face, Max said it wasn't as painful as he thought it was going to be. What will his siblings and school mates think of this new look for Max? "Cool!" they all said. "Where'd you get that tat?" As most people who have tattoos will attest, they are addictive and Max agrees. He went back for two more tattoos before the night was over.

Project Baby Blanket (April 22)

Babies are just sprouting up everywhere this spring! Natalie's 3rd grade teacher is expecting and Natalie wanted to make a special gift for the baby. What that means is that I'M making a special gift for the baby. Since we don't know if Mrs. Patchett is having a boy or a girl (it's a surprise!), Natalie picked out a varigated yarn that happens to have the Derby Ridge Dragon school colors of purple and green. We figured this kiddo will have school spirit whether it's a boy or a girl. I'm crocheting away as quick as I can, but I still have about two-thirds of the blanket to go. How did I let myself get talked into this? :)

Shutterbug Jr. (April 21)

Max loves to take pictures with the camera in my cell phone. On this dreary, rainy day, while we waited for Natalie's softball practice to be over, Max and I entertained ourselves by taking goofy pictures with the camera. This was his idea, his composition and his shot. I think it turned out pretty good! I especially enjoy the tongue sticking out as he concentrated on getting the shot just right. I think he's taking after his mama.

Okie Dokie Artichokie (April 20)

Mom always made us try new foods as we were growing up. One of these was the humble artichoke. We loved this fun vegetable that you got to eat with your hands and even better was the yummy homemade hollandaise sauce or melted butter that we got to dip the tender leaves into. I wanted to share my love of this guy with my family, too. We steamed some up and served it with my favorite quick blender hollandaise sauce and it was a big hit! Max doesn't really care for them, but he's a slow adapter to the new food ideas. He'll come around one of these days. Ella wasn't so sure about it, but I think the eating with her hands concept was pretty much what sold it for her. I don't know if Marty loves them as much as I do, but he eats them anyway. And Natalie, who's my foodie in the making, absolutely loved it and ate a whold artichoke by herself! That's my girl!

DISNEY! (April 19)

We are going to do it. We're planning the end-all be-all Cadillac of family vacations - a trip to Disney World! Marty has been doing the majority of the research and found this great book at the library. He's learned all the ins and outs and discounts and strategies for making the most of this big family trip. We are headed out in mid-September and everyone is pumped. We've watched videos on the Disney website about various rides and the kids are already listing out what they will be riding and which souveniers they will be purchasing. Even though this is going to be an expensive journey, I can already tell it's going to be soooo worth it!

Good Eats (April 18)

This was actually taken on the 17th at The 63 Diner. My shots from Sunday were sucko. You can see some of the cool decor in the background. And this is the ice cream in the coffee cup mentioned in the other post. Another great visit to The Diner for some good eats.

The Diner (April 17)

One of my favorite places to eat in Columbia - The 63 Diner. They have the best hamburgers and the atmosphere is just plain fun. The kids love it because they serve "the best fish sticks and mac & cheese" in all of Boone County AND the waitresses always make them a special ice cream treat in a coffee mug as their dessert. The best part (but also the worst for my healthy eating habits) is that it's just down the road from our house. We are frequent diners at The Diner!

Cute Cut (April 16)

Even though Natalie got her hair cut on the 15th and I linked to her photo on facebook, I still wanted to post the "after" shot as a photo of the day. My Friday photo was not as good as I would have liked, so I'll use this one instead. What a cute cut on a cute girl!

Half-Way There

I'm so proud of Natalie. Today she donated 4 - 10" pony tails of hair to the Locks of Love organization. This is the second time in her nine years that she has done this. It makes me proud that she is so giving and caring. This is half-way through the process. There's a picture of her "after" shot on my facebook page. What an awesome kid!!

Stupid Easter Candy

Hmmmmm. Looking for something sweet to eat. Apple? Healthy choice. Good and good for you. Crunchy, sweet goodness. Easter candy...not healthy choice. Good, but not really good for you. Crunchy, sweet goodness. I know which one I SHOULD pick. But the one I WANT to pick is taunting me with its shiny wrapper with pastel Easter eggs on it and it's a tiny, tiny candy bite. The apple is 3 maybe 4 times bigger. Would take a lot longer to eat. Would fill me up and be much more satisfying than one bite of candy. Stupid candy. Stupid apple. I give up and I'm going to bed.

Red Bud Branch

The red bud trees are absolutely gorgeous this year. It seems like the blossoms are lasting longer than ever. We have several red bud trees bordering our parking lot on the bank of the Flat Branch Creek behind our office building. For the last few days, I have been admiring them every morning. Today, even though I was already running late, I decided I'd better capture these before the wind blew them all away. Last summer, Natalie and Marty planted a red bud tree in our front yard and it started to bloom this spring. I hope someday it is as lovely as these trees, too.

Daffodil Delight (April 12)

More shots from the garden! This is one of Marty's favorite flowers and he's planted several of these "double" daffodils around the mail box and some of our trees in the front yard. They are quite beautiful - I especially love the green and white foliage around the blossom which provides a nice contrast to the yellow ruffles. Geesh! I sound like a seed catalog. At any rate, I love that Marty loves the gardening stuff and I just get to enjoy the results without having to get a bunch of dirt under my nails.

Martini Time (April 11)

I've noticed a pattern in my posts ... there a lots of pictures of drinkie-drinks. I wonder if I should be worried about that? Anywho, this is one of my favorite cocktails - Bombay Sapphire on the rocks with extra olives. In this photo, there is one for me and one for the hubs. We enjoyed a nice martini after a weekend of chasing kids around and moving kids into their own rooms and washing a bunch of kids' clothes. Sometimes a girl just needs a break from the kids! Bombay, take me away!

Pierced! (April 10)

Today was a very big day for a certain 9-year-old. Natalie got her ears pierced! She only recently discussed wanting to get her ears pierced and a few weeks back she and I were at the mall and we priced the options. Then she didn't talk about it again for a while. When she got some birthday money from Uncle Luke, she decided that she was ready to go. She was a real trooper and didn't even flinch when she got them done. She says they don't hurt a bit and is already dreaming of the fancy new earrings she'll be picking out with her 20% off coupon she got at the mall. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Happiness in a Styro Cup (April 9)

HAPPY HOUR! My awesome co-workers and I spent a couple of hours on the patio at Tropical Liqueurs on Friday afternoon as a special treat for surviving a very busy week. "Trops," as it is commonly referred to by the Columbians, is one of my favorite local establishments. One, because they are doing something no one else is - serving alcoholic slurpies in a wide variety of flavors and two, because they have a bitchin' patio. Great place to hang out and people watch while maintaining a brain freeze of epic proportions. In fact, my favorite flavor of Trops is called "the brain freeze!" It just doesn't get much better than this. Happiness in a styrofoam cup!

Stinky But Pretty (April 8)

They might be stinky, but Bradford Pear trees are so pretty when they are in bloom. This was taken in our front yard. Our pear is slowly dying - a few years ago we had a hard frost in March and it darn near killed the tree. It is still clinging to life, but only about half-way, and Marty wants to cut it down. The kids love the pear tree because it has nice low limbs and they can climb up into it and act like monkeys. I know we'll have to eventually replace the tree, but for now, I do enjoy it when it's bloomin'. Even if it isn't the sweetest smelling blossom.

Springy-ness

I have been having a picture-taking field day with all the things blooming in the last week. Our flowers are going nuts, I love all the flowering trees (although they make me sneeze) and the air smells sweet. These little beauties are growing by the mailbox and are just so lovely. What an amazing time of year. It all seems to explode overnight and we go from dead, drab, dullness to these bursts of beautiful colors. Definitely one of my very favorite times of year.

Playtime (April 6)

Big crazy day today. Started the work day at 6:30 a.m. with a breakfast for almost 600 of my closest chamber friends and then spent most of the day indoors at our annual business trade show. Gave blood. Met Craig from craigslist. Walked around a lot. Talked a lot. Networked...a lot. At 5 p.m. dashed across town to pick up the kiddies and race to the polls because it was also Election Day! The kids were marvelous during the voting process, so they were rewarded with not only some candy from the nice lady at the County Clerks office, but also with some general mayhem in the courtyard by the County Government building. I let them run in the fountain (not turned on yet) and race up and down the amphitheater and finally crawl all over the sculpture Jamboree - one of our personal favorites. This was taken with the phone on my camera, so the quality is not the best, but it represents the carefree feeling that I needed at the end of a long, but satisfying work day.

Burst (April 5)

Okay, I'm using a picture that I took over the weekend because I didn't take a good picture today. Marty found this groovy looking weed-plant-flower thing in a pile of metal scraps behind the shed at the farm. I was chasing the kids around, taking pictures of them chasing Goat and Donkey around, and he hollered at me to bring the camera over. I climbed on top of some precariously balanced rusted metal things to get this shot. Totally worth it. I think it turned out great. Just glad I didn't have to get a tetanus shot afterwards.

The Hunt (April 4)

Is there anything cuter than a little girl in her Easter dress going on an egg hunt? I don't think so.