sunny days

chasing the clouds away...

we are back outside and loving it!!!

for thing 4, it's a whole new world-and he loves it!

when i brought him back inside

he stood at the door fussing and banging on the glass

he wasn't happy till i took him back outside!

please oh please say spring is here to stay!

he said it looked fun...

so we let him have a turn.

why do we have a large dirt patch in our front yard?

because

our septic caved in back in november!

we came home from our thanksgiving visit to find this in our front yard!

then they tore up our front yard to replace it!

so now the dad has to start over on his lawn.

the lawn he had worked so hard on.

the lawn that he had weeded literally on his hands and knees!

that lawn is now a large patch of dirt!

my boys

tonight my boys got to arguing with each other.

"that's my seat"

"that's my plate"

"that's my cup"

ya know, the important things.

i'd had it

"if you want to fight, go to your room and fight"

so

as my boys stomped up the stairs i heard the one say to the other

"that means i get to go upstairs and beat you up"

so now they took their verbal fight upstairs and made it physical.

great!

they don't really hurt each other-yet.

just some pushing and shoving and wrestling-a little bit of hitting, but no punching yet-thank goodness.

one day i said goodbye and sent them out to the bus stop. everything was pleasant-that morning.

i got busy with some things and then glanced out the window to find

my boys

in the road-the side of the road

one, on top of the other

fighting!

oh my goodness-who are these boys!

i don't encourage fighting

i don't "allow" fighting

but

2 boys

close in age

sharing

friends,

space

and

things-

i guess it happens.

sometimes it makes me think of my mother in law

she raised 4 boys

4 rough and tumble boys

i can picture her glancing out the window to find them rolling around on the ground beating each other up.

did she?

i don't know.

but it makes me feel better to think she did.

to imagine how she may have handled it.

plus, then i get to write it off as the dad's blood pumping through them -even though i know that thing 1 is mostly all me-but don't tell the dad-it's more fun to blame him.

my boys are friends now,

but one day

they will really be friends

they'll appreciate each other

they'll be roommates

they'll go on double dates

they'll get together with their families

their kids will be friends

their wives will be best friends

one day!

i'm hungry!

i recently finished reading

COLD SASSY TREE

and my stomach is still rumbling!

i want

coconut cake

and

pound cake

and

pie

and fried chicken...

the book is set in the late 1800's early 1900's in the south.

i guess it's that southern hospitality.

everyone in the book seems to always have a cake or pie ready to share with a neighbor-

when they are trying to get close enough to catch the latest gossip,

or to serve when visitors drop by

or to comfort others when tragedy strikes.

i want a cake sitting on my counter to share (and to eat myself-of course).

a part of me wishes we still lived like this-

but

then i remember that i like

flushing toilets

and

quiet cars

and

shoes on my children's feet.

pony tails and piggy tails

i'm probably the last to think of this but...i'm new to the girl stuff.

i think this will be a neat and simple way to store hair elastics.

binder rings

they come in all different sizes

and

the elastic is easily accessible -

you don't have to pull them all off to get to the one you want.

my niece has arrived

a few days early, but her mom isn't complaining.

i've been working on this receiving blanket for her

the fabric has grown on me.

i liked it when i bought it but it wasn't what i had in mind,

so i left the store a bit disappointed.

i sent it off to be hem stitched and was pleasantly surprised when i saw it again-

i liked it.

now as i've crocheted around the edges i've really come to like the pattern and colors and am quite pleased with it.

i hope mom and baby like it too.

these two fabrics i found while shopping for the other.

i really liked these.

i thought it would fun with the bugs on one side and the stripes on the other.

i don't have any plans for it yet.

i'll save it for whoever is next.