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Good Food, Good Company

…not necessarily in that order…

Yesterday, our good friend Jon came over for some BBQ. He and Mike were going to try to get the swing concreted in (MAN does it seem like it’s going to tip over when the kids swing ‘energetically’!), but with the rain in the forecast, they decided to bag that and just BBQ instead. (They chose wisely – the minute Mike stepped in with the food, it started to pour – so not only did they save the concrete, but they started BBQ’ing earlier so Mike didn’t get stuck cooking in the rain again.)

What did we have, you ask? Even with only *ONE* guest, Mike goes all out: Steak, kielbasa, ribs, green beans, onions, and potatoes. See?

View of the goodies from the right

View of the goodies from the right

View of the goodies from the left

View of the goodies from the left

I’m going to give away one of Mike secrets. Penzey’s spices. MAN oh MAN – once you use these, you will NEVER go back to regular ol’ store bought spices.

Oh, and I’m happy to report that even though Jon was here, my towel tags are still attached.

Logan on his birthday

Logan on his birthday

Logan on his birthday

Logan on his birthday

Commenting on Comments: *phew* threeundertwo is okay with me blatantly stealing her idea…and you make great points about building the blogging community.

I Was Carded!: Glad we saved you a stop, Jon. πŸ™‚

Yucky Nose: Boogie art. Lovely πŸ˜› threeundertwo, Are you the one who posted about that a little while ago? And you were nice enough to NOT include a picture πŸ˜‰ But Heather, it WAS my shirt! Uhg…dragging his nose down the *wall*?? Bia, let’s hope that doesn’t happen here! LOL Yup, grannyfrani, I’m *sure* this all comes from Mike’s side of the family…we would *never* do anything disgusting on OUR side πŸ˜‰

Yucky Nose

Burke was sitting on my lap in his room this morning. This is the conversation Mike and I had with him:

Burke: Yucky nose!
(meaning his nose is running.)

Mike: Do you want Daddy to get you a Kleenex?

Burke: No. Shirt!
(As he reaches for my shirt to wipe his nose!)

Needless to say, Mike lost it – which made Burke laugh too…as Mom is sitting there wondering where the heck he GETS this stuff. Mike is sure it’s ingrained since he’s a boy. *sigh*

I Was Carded!

Yep. *ME* I actually didn’t know what to do…it’s been a *long* time since that has happened. I’ll be 34 next month. Damn. I remember when that sounded ancient. *sigh* (Although, I used to get carded when inquiring about cell phone service…and you only had to be *18* to get that…)

ANYWAY…We were at Costco tonight and I went into the liquor department to grab some swill beer (because Jon is coming over tomorrow and that’s his favorite). When I got to the checkout, she asked for my ID! Uhm…when I hopped out of the car, I just grabbed my membership card and my debit card and shoved them in my back pocket before grabbing three kids to do the usual run. I must have looked pretty surprised. Flagged Mike down (he had the kids and two carts with him at this point) and said “She won’t sell it to me…” Apparently, they’re not supposed to sell even if someone else comes along with an ID either, but she asked if I was with him and I said “yes, and those are my THREE kids!” Good thing they look like me because she believed me. (She even said, “well. they DO look like you…”) Didn’t think we’d be getting Jon’s beer… I was scolded for not having my ID, and told to make sure I had it next time. Okay.

So…here’s my question: do people REALLY bring random kids to the liquor store to try to look older?? (And don’t these people know that when you actually HAVE three kids, you’re always trying to look younger?)

Fx4: Laura, slow me…I had to read “The Wizard” three times before it bounced off the wall and hit me in the back of the head. I then laughed. funny πŸ˜‰ Giovanna, oh man – what a great story! Too bad you weren’t able to go up, but it sounds like a wise decision! Lori, Trespassing charges! Why didn’t we think of that?! LOL! I think we were just in awe and not really talking much. Heather, I hope Bee likes the post (Hi Bee!) susiehomemade, LOL yep – 200 acres of “back yard” – great place to grow up πŸ™‚

Commenting on Comments: What a Card and Heather – I certainly hope Threeundertwo doesn’t mind…you know the old saying…imitation is the best kind of flattery. πŸ™‚ Angela, thank you very much! I’m glad you enjoyed it – come back any time! πŸ™‚

Commenting on Comments

Threeundertwo is doing the most wonderful thing – that I’m just going to have to “borrow” – over at Lit and Laundry. At the very bottom of her post, she addresses comments from the previous post. BUT, since I’ve been extremely lax about keeping up with comments, I’m going to answer them here and then starting next time, I’ll just include it at the bottom of the post. Of course…that implies that I’m assuming I’ll be getting comments. (guilt free blogging…guilt free blogging…guilt free blogging. Alright, I’m okay now.)

Wow – this goes way back…I’m such a bad hostess! Anyway, here we go!

When I was doing 5 Things Friday posts, Marie T asked what tatting was. According to Wikipedia:

Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch (or half-hitch) knots, called double stitches (ds), over a core thread. Gaps can be left between the stitches to form picots, which are used for practical construction as well as decorative effect.

Tatting dates to the early 19th century. The term for tatting in most European languages is derived from French frivolitΓ©, which refers to the purely decorative nature of the textiles produced by this technique. The technique was developed to imitate point lace.

I want to thank everyone for their support and empathy while reading my first Is it Just Me post (psychotic urges to feel bad for inanimate objects), my second Is it Just Me post (psychotic towel tendencies. And no, Jon – you CANNOT remove the tags! πŸ˜› ), and my Confession about not being able to spell. It’s so great to know that it’s not just me!

The Ode to a Migraine post snagged poetry lover, Laura – glad I could make your day πŸ™‚Β  And it introduced me to a health website where I can get a lot of information about Migraines (among other things). Score!

Between my Bread post and my Fire Alarm Testing post, I’ve got people watching my every move, I’m sure. Sorry if I pushed anyone’s panic buttons – and no…I would never consider doing any of these.

Debi and Terri want to come to the next adventure involving Eleven Kids under 1. Absolutely!! If it wasn’t obvious, we’re pretty much of the “the more the merrier” mindset. (As long as we know they’re all leaving eventually… πŸ˜‰ )

It came out that Cheryl’s mom makes kick-butt chocolate covered pretzels in the 6 UN-Spectacular Things About Me. I’m there.

MyFaceSpaceBook got me another friend (hi Mommy, Esq.!) over on that teeny-bopper site. Another Score!

Heather, your comment on …With a Chance of Showers, made me gag a little…I so agree! I’ll take pee over poo everywhere ANY day of the week. Silver, I hope the training is going a little bit better for you now!! And Tanya, I so hear you about those bribes. Lolly-pops have gone a long way over here at the Zoo.

Apparently, Laura has my sense of humor because the No Pizza Today (and Baby Bunny Road Pizza) posts tickled her fancy. Again, glad to help you out πŸ˜‰ Also, Threeundertwo mentioned that carrots are a cliche and we should feed Baby Bunny some nice greens. Amen to that. . . I had TOTALLY forgotten that when I owned a black lop-eared bunny (Black Jack), he’d get “the runs” every time I fed him baby carrots. Ya. Lovely. And ya. Our yard had a few bombs…I can’t get the kids to put greens down, but Baby bunny seems to really enjoy Cheerios though (as did Black Jack!).

Cymbals or a xylophone for some Instrumental Payback. Why didn’t I think of that?! Thanks Tabbatha Rose πŸ™‚

Giovanna – I nearly peed my pants when you commented that you could tell me about a Secret Blog, but then you’d have to kill me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

My 4 Stinkin’ Days post got a bunch of attention as well. I still crack up a bit about What a Card’s MIL doctoring her son’s a birth certificate. Too funny!! And I really appreciated Helen’s point of view…coming from a teacher AND someone who started “early” (And yes, Logan just turned 1 *blush* )

The Host produced a huge compliment – Thanks Laura…coming from a teacher who probably sees MANY names, thinking Burke’s is one of the coolest is so great to hear!! And Rhonda, I still need to get those darn pictures off my phone!! The only way I know how to do it right now is to email them one-by-one to myself… you can see why I haven’t done it yet. *sigh*

The Fx4 post with Gabe in between the twins in their bouncy chairs had Mommy, Esq. inquiring whether Gabe is as nervous around the kids as her black cat is…OH ya. He can’t even be in the same room with any of the kids…runs like a shot when he hears them coming. Probably doesn’t help that Maggie thinks it’s hilarious to try to scare him.

In My Favorite Teacher, Lisa asked if it was actually the someone’s faith in me that changed me…to which I say YES! Which is why we have high standards for our kids…and we believe they will live up to them too πŸ™‚

What a Card comes through again with her insight for why there’s no hay on hay rides any more (Weekend in VT – part 2). Totally makes sense too! heh It was always all scratchy and itchy with the hay anyway…now it’s just splinters to worry about πŸ˜‰

And a big thanks to Heather and Cheryl for commenting on my looks in the last two way back when-sday posts (that had post-birthing pics of me). I do believe that C-Sections and drugs make for much better post-birthing pictures! LOL

MAN! Are you tired of reading yet?? I’m tired of writing. πŸ˜›Β  (thanks for stickin’ it out THIS long) I promise to not let it go that long again…hopefully Threeundertwo’s ingenious solution will help matters.

Friday’s Foto Finish Fiesta

Candid Carrie sponsors this one – head over to her blog and find LOTS of links for bloggers who’ve joined in! (You can join in too!)

These balloons landed in my Dad’s “back yard” in 2006.

Rainbow Balloon

Rainbow Balloon

Landed in the fields

Landing in the Field

Cow Balloon

Cow Balloon

We, of course, went down to chat with them.

They didn’t offer us a ride though…

Weekend in Vermont – Part 3

While in Vermont, we celebrated Logan’s birthday.

Whats Going On

What's Going On?

YUM

YUM!

Can I Have Some More

What Do You Mean I Can't Have Any More?

Who says sugar doesn’t do anything to kids??

(1 minute longsee Burke zip through around 30 seconds in)

Maggie’s always singing, but she’s never this…hyper about it. And in this next clip, she’s recruited Auntie backup singers! LOL

(30 seconds long)

The next day, to battle the sugar hangover, Grandpa gave everyone a tractor ride.

Get Ready

Get Ready!

Go

Go!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, LOGAN!

One year ago today, you were born via C-Section at 12:33PM.

You weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and you were 17.5 inches long.

I can’t believe how much you’ve grown in one year!

You are now:

  • Crawling up the slide – the BIG slide.
  • Crawling up the stairs.
  • Crawling up onto diaper boxes I’ve left out.
  • Walking around with your walker, around furniture, or while holding on to my fingers.
  • Trying to walk up the stairs (while holding on to my fingers).
  • Panting like a puppy dog.
  • Saying “moo”
  • Saying “yes” and “dog” (and Brenda – the nanny – swears you’re saying her name.)
  • Eating everything in sight. Favorites are mac & cheese, bananas, waffles, spaghetti, and anything meat (to name just a few).
  • Playing with Burke and by yourself.
  • Waving “bye-bye”
  • Clapping – both to imitate us, and on your own when we say “Yeah, Logan!”
  • Pointing to things – mainly mommy and daddy – and waiting there until one of us comes up, touches your finger and says “Bing!”

Can’t wait to see what you’ll be doing next year. πŸ™‚

Weekend in Vermont – Part 2

I teased you a little bit in my last Vermont post with that one picture of Shelburn Farms…sorry!

Warning: This post is picture heavy!

First, you get a hay ride out to the barn (see the AWESOME barn in my last post). Notice how none of my kids are sitting in my lap! (or Mike’s either.)

Note to self: Why the heck did they call it a hay ride? There was no hay!

Hay Ride

Hay Ride

Poor Maggie couldn’t keep her hair out of her face…

Hay Ride

Hay Ride

Then, you have LOADS of things to choose from! I didn’t get pictures of everything, but the farm had cows, horses, chickens (LOTS of chickens!), donkeys, pigs, turkeys, a llama, goats, sheep, and bunnies.

They let you milk a cow!

They let you milk a cow

Maggie and Nana Milking

Mike and Burke Milking

Mike and Burke Milking

Meghan milking

Aunt Meghan milking

There were crazy chickens everywhere. My Dad kept inching Logan closer and closer…

Logan Chicken

Nobody here but us chickens

They also had a play area with lots of things to do, a bakery, a cheese factory (with samples!), and a lunch cart.

Nana - Not just a music teacher

Nana - Not just a music teacher

Burke in Heaven

Burke in Heaven

Snackin

Snackin'

My go-with-the-flow, happy kid didn’t mind missing a nap for the fun.

Happy Logan

Happy Logan

I think my Dad misses farming.

Dad sweet talking the cow

Grandpa sweet talking the cow

It was also really good to see that the place has a sense of humor.

I didn

I didn't even try...

Way Back When-esday

Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one.

1 year ago tomorrow, Logan was born!

Logan is 1

Logan is 1/2 Hour Old

Weekend in Vermont – Part 1

We had an awesome time in Vermont over the weekend! We drove up on Saturday and hung out with the fam. I had thought the mosquitoes were bad in Massachusetts…but DAMN, the ones in VT almost carried the kids off! We dropped in on my little sister working at one of the local clothing stores. Too funny (and a bit strange!!) And then we went to see my younger sister’s new house. They’re building on land they bought from my Dad…and I’m. so. jealous. But, like – in that good jealous way πŸ™‚ Here’s the view from their loft-to-be.

View from Sharon

View from Sharon's Loft

And here’s a picture of their front steps and the retaining wall.

Front Steps

Front Steps

On Sunday, we went to Shelburn Farms. What an AWESOME place!! If you’re ever in the Burlington, VT area, I’d highly recommend looking it up.

Yes, this is the BARN

Yes, this is the BARN

My Camera just died, so I can’t upload any more pictures. More tomorrow!