Inappropriate ice cream

I am not a big fan of ice cream trucks.  They were forbidden in my childhood.  Not because of the sugar, but because of my mothers hysterical fear of kidnappers.  So I never ate ice cream off the ice cream truck.  I remember it feeling like torture, but in the long run I'm grateful I didn't eat the ice cream.   When Annie and I were living in the city the ice cream trucks sold drugs and played the, Young Jibbs, song "does your chain hang low."  Not something I wanted my daughter partaking in.  Thankfully at the time she didn't know what an ice cream truck was and they didn't usually hit the streets till after bedtime.
Then last night I'm upstairs with the baby and I hear an ice cream truck drive by.  I'm thinking to myself I'm so glad Annie doesn't hear them and ask for ice cream.  My husband though, takes off for the truck with his little shadow following close behind.  5 minutes later Annie runs upstairs and says, "Daddy let me buy inappropriate ice cream!"   All I can think of is the drug trucks, and wondering what inappropriate ice cream is, and why my husband would let her buy it. 
I'm slightly paralyzed as Annie drags me downstairs to show me her ice cream that's in the freezer till after dinner.  She pulls out her inappropriate ice cream and I start laughing.   BRATZ doll ice cream with bubble gum eyes.  Annie's telling me how their shorts are too short and they are showing their bellies, but that daddy let her buy it anyways.  It looked disgusting, but I'm just glad it wasn't something worse.
 

Public apology

 To all of my neighbors, I'm terribly sorry it took us 8 months to replace the glass on our front door.  Yes, our house is an eyesore, but we are working on it.   Next step, we're planning to paint the porch some time in the future.  Don't hold your breath.
 

Photo update

Dinner Fail

So I set fire to dinner tonight.  Sadly I couldn't find my camera.  Set the macaroni and cheese under the broiler to brown the bread crumbs a little.  Came back to flames pouring out the oven.  Not my best moment.

Turtle

 On our bike ride yesterday we found this:

And we decided to put him here:

 He ran off in the Asparagus bed, and now:

Our garden has peace.

Darn it.

Last night, after a long series of unfortunate face plants Elsie started crawling.  My heart leaped and then immediately sank very low.  How exciting my baby can crawl!  How much harder did my life just get?  In a state of complex emotions I clapped and cheered her on, while simultaneously figuring out a way to stop her.   A non-mobile baby is an easy baby.  I want an easy baby.

9:02 P.M.

Elsie started crawling. 

Dear Volvo Makers

I loved my wagon.  It was just the right size, with all the right amenities.  It was perfect, except for the braking down every time I tried to drive it.  I have worked my butt off to pay off the loan and keep up with the endless repairs, and now when I am just a couple thousand away from being loan free, you slam me with the biggest brake down ever.  Why does your car hate me?  Did I not give it enough oil changes?  Was it the lack of car washes?  Am I being punished for not putting a cushion under the car seats?

Mommy's not ready.

Thankfully she hasn't gotten it all together yet, but it's just a matter of time...

Banjo vs. The Giant Raccoon

Banjo just tackled a huge Raccoon in the backyard.  As a big as he is.  Not sure who really won.  The raccoon got away, but only because I made Banjo back down.  So the chickens get to live another night and Texas gets to buy a 22 rifle.   Banjo got a deep cut on his lip, but otherwise he's good. 

Tomorrow, we go for shots...

Home

My baby is home where she belongs.  Sleeping soundly well into the morning.  It was so hard not to cry when I saw her.  Trying to be excited about her trip was even harder.  Then having her say that she wanted to come home and doesn't want to go again, was near impossible to bare.  I'm now feeling incredibly guilty for letting her go. 

Day 5

I want my baby back. 

Torture

I got my first tear filled phone call from Annie tonight.  She's just crying over the phone wanting to come home.  Tearing my heart out.  The worst part is not saying yes, come home now.  Mommy misses you, get your little butt home where it belongs.  I restrained.  Tried to talk about the beach and how pretty it must be.  I miss my baby.  That's all I can say.

This mamma might not make it

 Annie just left for her first ever trip without me.  I am so proud of my little girl and how brave she is, but I think she is trying to brake my heart.  In a flurry of badly laid out plans that kept changing on me. We had to get a lot of things done before her trip, in very little time.  If any of you reading this have to deal ex's taking your babies on trips, are they all this bad at making a plan, and communicating it clearly?  I'm not going to go into details, but it really pissed me off. 

So Annie wanted me to make her a case for her Dry erase board and the creative tools that are needed to use it.  She spent days picking out what fabrics she wanted me to use.  So last night (due to terrible planning) I was up until 2 am getting everything done.  The sewing, the packing, the talking with Annie.  Who knew a little girl could have so many questions about taking a trip.

So here is the dry erase board:

 Marker side

 Crayon side

 top side

 special little buttons

Sea shell pieces

And where Annie tries to break my heart.  She's starts drawing a heart and then says "It's a heart.  I'm going to draw a wall in it cause we'll be apart."

My baby is packed up and out the door before she even finishes breakfast.

Have a great time Annie.  We'll all be here waiting when you get home.

making more suaerkraut

I am addicted to homemade sauerkraut.  Yes,  I'm a little nuts, but it's super healthy and fun to make.

The happy hen

Elsie's favorite food is butter.  Yep, home made from grass fed cows butter.  My husband looks at me like I'm insane, but look it up.  Kids need fat and butter is a great first food.  So now when ever Elsie sees me pull out her little hen full of butter she gets ecstatic!

Making Vanilla Extract

We go through vanilla extract like no body's business, and good quality vanilla is expensive.  So thanks to some left over booze from our wedding I'm making our own.  No Texas, this is not a way to hide a drinking problem from you, I really am making vanilla with a giant bottle of Vodka.

Annie vs. Elsie

 So as Elsie gets bigger, and I look through Annie's baby photos I'm having a hard time telling which is which.  This could just be my mommy brain in exhaustion mode.

 Can you tell which is which?

creative surge

 Not sure what got into me today.  After the kids went home, I was faced with a mess.  All morning and last night I followed them from room to room picking up after them trying to keep the chaos at bay.  And still, they managed to make a mess.   At least I know they had a great time making it.
So instead of going straight to cleaning, I got out my sewing machine.   I made a slip cover for Elsie's highchair. 

I'm feeling pretty happy with my chair cover, but I still don't feel like cleaning.  Maybe I'll save the mess for tomorrow...

Quote of the night

"In the morning, do we have to help pick the eggs on your farm?" Ruby I love you, and your amazingly adorable mind.

And no the girls did not go to sleep when I put them to bed.  Two hours later I came down to check on them and found them all in the bathroom giggling in secret.

Girls Girls Girls!!!

 The girls are all having a sleepover tonight!  Texas was less then thrilled about three little girls running around crazy, but I told him to enjoy it while it lasts.  Soon enough they'll be teenagers and WAY worse.

All in all they've been awesome.  Captivated by their movie and about to go to bed.  Here's hoping they go to sleep.

We have ICE!

 Kitchen fix up day 5:

It's been ridiculously hot outside, but I now feel better equipped to handle the heat since we now have ICE!!!!   and yes we all sat in the kitchen for a full 10 minutes waiting to hear the first ice cubes hit the tray.

Growing

 The garden is growing and growing and growing, but we aren't getting very much from it yet.  This leaves me incredibly frustrated.   The tomatoes are all over the place, but green.  The green bean vines are covering the trellis, but no beans, just lots and lots of flowers. 

Annie found the one and only green bean on the vine, but ate it before anyone else got a bite.
 In another month we'll probably have more than we can eat, I hope.