The Blond Ambition Tour

and other Monday sob stories.

Every wonder why you got out of bed in the morning?  I wondered that this morning as I heard, “Mom, I have itchy bites all over my head.”  Itchy bites?  This is the second child in two days to tell me this.  Yesterday I inspected the “itchy” bites and didn’t see anything.  Today I thought it was too much of a coincidence so I mustered the troops and did a head check and to my horror and that of my husband, found two head crawling with bugs.  UGH!  My first thought was, “Great, I don’t have to make lunches.”  That was right before I headed to the grocery store at 7 am to buy RID. 

Now, it’s 3 pm.  and I have bagged a boat load of stuffed animals, couch pillows, helmets (one rode the motorcycle this weekend), purses and hats.  I have put a coat in the freezer, have dried countless pillows, comforters, have washed loads of bedding and still have loads to go and just started on the actual laundry from the week which includes clean laundry from last week because it didn’t get put away and was mingling with the bedding. 

The bedrooms have been cleaned and vacuumed and the beds too.  We will be venturing up there very soon to replace all the sheets, pillows and blankets. 

All that and as I was folding a load of towels I couldn’t help but be grateful for a properly working, hot dryer and a washing machine to cycle through all this laundry.  I am also grateful for the ability to buy the very expensive shampoo and still be able to feed my family this week.  I am grateful that this is temporary and that my children are otherwise healthy. 

Monday, can we have a redo?

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And so has my green thumb.  I have been planting and planting and planting and my yard is starting to look so good.  I can hardly wait til about the middle of June when things start to become fuller and blooming.  I would add some photos today but it’s cloudy outside and I had to move some stuff around last night because they wind was whipping my poor plants around. 

We are getting a fence around the back yard too.  I am already making plans for beds and flowers and plants once it’s installed and My Hero thinks I am crazy.  That’s ok, he already knew that.  I am hoping that a fence will stop the gale force winds that whip through my back yard too.  Maybe not. 

I am off to the hens today – We are meeting at a new house today – we celebrated a birthday yesterday.  I love birthdays. 

Blessing s-

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A good end to a great weekend. And a visit with a friend of My Hero who goes back to our Georgia days.

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My family spent the morning on a trail ride around the Biltmore Estate.

And now we are eating at the classiest McDonalds ever. There is a baby grand player piano, a fireplace, water feature And wallpaper.

We are on our way to meet a friend in Greensboro before heading back to the ranch

Blessed Resurrection Sunday to you all. HE. IS. RISEN.

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She wasn’t sure she wanted to spend her money but the thought of her sisters doing something without her drove her to it.

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The girls have their own money. This is what they decided to spend it on.

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While exploring Asheville yesterday we were looking for some kind of adventure for today. There were two options both of which would have excluded Flossy because of her age/height/weight. So we decided on Biltmore.

We were not disappointed! We started at 9 am and left at 3:30 after a day of hiking, exploring, learning and adventuring. We weren’t sure what the girls would think of touring the house but they loved it. The gardens were outstanding, the tulips were just losing their blooms but still held a lot of color and the azaleas, dogwoods and other blooming trees added color and fragrance that was heady.

Now we are rested and the girls have been swimming so we are heading out again to the mall! Yah for mama! Shopping and dinner and then tomorrow …

Back to Biltmore for a trail ride on horses. We wanted to go today but there were no reservations available. The tickets we purchased for the house today were good for two days so we schedule the riding for tomorrow. The girls are really excited and Flossy likes the idea that she will be in charge of her own horse with no one leading her. I hope she isn’t disappointed.

That’s all for now.

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My Hero and I grew up in Meridian and Nampa Idaho, towns that grew up along the Snake and Boise rivers because the waters supported agriculture. The towns and rivers were nestled in between the Owhyee mountains to the west and the Boise foothills to the east.

My kids, with the exception of two years on the mountainy Oregon coast, have lived their lives in the southeast. The relatively flat, nonmountainous southeast. Where we live now the highest elevation is the highway overpass that connects the highways. In fact, when it snows the overpass hill is what people use for sledding.

So today, as we drove north west into the mountains of North Carolina their gasps, oohs and aahs gave voice to their awe over the grandness of the Appalachain Blue Ridge mountains. At every corner they found something amazing from the shadows the sun made to the colors of all the foliage. There were valleys at which they gazed and vistas that made them all turn their heads. They were snapping picture after picture from the car windows.

They have seen mountains before, real mountains. They have been to the Black Hills of South Dakota, the mountains of Oregon and of Idaho but I guess with their ages they are seeing new things on this trip. It makes me smile to hear them talk about the size of the mountains. It makes me smile to think of what they will say when they see Pike’s Peak in Colorado later this summer. I wonder what kind of awe will fill them then.

For now, we are settled into our hotel room in Asheville, the girls are swimming, wearing off some of their energy from the six plus hour drive. My Hero and I are lounging poolside planning our course of action for the evening and day tomorrow. We may not leave here this evening!

More as we explore.

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a foggy, cold, damp Monday morning.  One child asleep, one watching tv, one in bliss, outside playing iwth her two sweet little friends.  Never mind the cold, the fog and the dampness.  They are riding bikes and enjoying their little space above My Hero’s garage.  The space that is decked out with ancient Christmas decorations and the patio furniture that has been stored away for the winter.  They are in make believe heaven. 

Me?  I am giving the house it’s weekly blessing – or I was, until I sat down and logged onto my blog!  I have a good start on it – the toilets are clean, kitchen is tidied (just in time to start lunch prep) and the mess around the bird cage has been vacuumed.  Next is to finish the floors and then on to something more fun.  Like making brownies.  And laundry. 

If you think about it, say a prayer today for our Alabama friends who are cleaning up after another round of tornadoes.  As far as I know no one that we know has been personally affected, however, it’s early in the assessment process and things change quickly.  I am grateful to be out of tornado alley.  I didn’t like storms that threatened tornadoes.  I don’t know a person who does.

Also, pray for Jeff’s Aunt Melody.  She had surgery last week on a leg in which she has been fighting infection for a year.  She has another surgery tomorrow.  The doctor will shave the infected bone from her foot in an effort to save her leg I suppose.  She has been in a lot of pain.  And I am sure that she is discouraged. 

The kids are out of school today – they have had a 4 day weekend.  I thought about going somewhere but then decided against it.  The kids were happy.  I have three home bodies.  Come to think of it, I am a home body too.

I am off to finish my chores.  Prayers for many.  Blessings too. -

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Winter last year was loooooong.  And cold.  And snowy.  And I complained.  A lot.  This year fall has been looooong.  Winter has been sparse.  There hasn’t been any snow.  Very little cold.  And I have rejoiced.  A lot.  Maybe winter is to come soon.  Or maybe we will go from fall right into spring.  And that would be ok with me too. 

The kids have a very short week this week.  They had no school on Monday and none on Friday or next Monday.  I was going to try to get away for the weekend but like always, the week snuck up on me and here it is Wednesday and I have no plans.  Well, we do have plans, and ones that will keep us home for the weekend.  Boo.  Hiss.  I am thankful for short weeks.  Sleeping past the alarm.  Taking a break from making lunches.  Having help to do my chores. 

Chores – I have gone back to Flylady for encouragement and help in keeping my home cleaner and tidier.  I usually do pretty well keeping it picked up but clean is another thing.  Flylady gives weekly chores to keep the house functioning and the clutter at bay.  Then she separates the house into zones for more thourough cleaning.  In theory every zone of the house should get a good cleaning once every five weeks with maintainence efforts made during the rest of the time.  I have to say, this has worked for me in the past and it’s a relief of sorts to go back to it.  I have missed my scheduled cleaning - I find if it isn’t written down, I don’t do it.  And there is nothing better than marking something off my to-do list!  So far, since I have started, the baseboards in the living room and the kitchen have all been wiped clean, there are no spills dripping down the fronts of my kitchen cabinets and the back door gets cleared of face and hand smudges weekly now instead of just before we have company.  Ahhhhhh.  Things run smoothly when I am on a schedule.

The girls start their third nine weeks of school next week, hence the 4 day weekend this week.  They have all done very well and I suppose that we will be making a trip to Krispy Kreme once their report cards come home.  Last 9 weeks we introduced our friends to the free donuts for good grades program!  What a treat.  They have all met their reading goals and if they are not all a’s I know there are only high b’s.  Flossy and Spice are about to start practicing for their piano recital in May.  They will get their pieces soon and before I know it they will both have them memorized.  Flossy says she isnt’ taking piano again, which makes me sad – I hope she will change her mind.  Spice on the other hand, continues to stick with it – learning more and more.  I love to hear her play while she is practicing. 

I have known for a while – a loooooong while - that I need to be in The Word more often.  And I have failed – repeatedly at doing so.  I have revised my prayer journal and started to get back on track – a little more each day.  I have come across Ann Voskamp and have discovered that I love the way she writes.  She has a blessings/thankful journal and I have been trying to be deliberate about writing down blessings.  You see, I am a Debbie Downer sort of person.  I see the cup half empty where My Hero usually sees it half full.  Though he is more skeptical of people where I tend to be more trusting.  I guess that’s why we go together so well.  But as for my glass half empty attitude I have to remember to look for blessings – look for the good in the world, find the blessings that God has put before me.  I plan to put a sheet in the kitchen so the girls can add their own blessings as well.  it will be interesting to and an eye-opener I am sure, to see what we find in our journey.

For today – I am thankful for . . .

rain.

the extra five minutes the girls and I had to chat before school this morning.

7th graders.

Blessings -

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