S'up, Y'all?

Soooo . . . do you hate me for not posting in nearly two weeks? Yeah. I don't blame you. I know what few readers I have are faithful and I truly appreciate that. There's just been so much going on around here. I am beginning to think that cloning ain't such a terrible idea. But . . . I don't want no other woman sharing a bed with my husband. Even if it is me. Wait. Did that make sense? Probably not, but that's just the way my brain's been working lately. Anyhooo . . . here is a peak at my life for the last two weeks:

• Thursday afternoon, April 17th: Ortho visit for my youngest. She had to have her braces put back on a few weeks ago because her retainer wasn't doing it's job. We fired the retainer . . . er, we got rid of the retainer and opted for braces on the bottom again. So, it was just a routine check-up. Afterwards I took Little Mama, my middle daughter, to her job at art at 4:00. By 4:15 I was at the fair grounds picking up the Chick Magnets from their stint at Mantracker, which you can read all about here. They were actually asked numerous times what agency they were with. Of course, they thought that was something else. Anyway, when I picked them up, we were off to shotgun practice.

Can I just say that we are single-handedly keeping the oil companies in business?

• By 5:00'ish, we were back at the fair grounds to watch an explosives demo. Whoa. Don't mess with the bomb squad! Holy cow! Check out the picture below of the car they blew up. Pretty awesome!
  


• After that, I met my mom downtown for a Main Street event called "Taste Of . . . ", where different restaurants and catering businesses in the area set up booths so that you can sample their menu items. It was hot and crowded so we did not stay long. But The Circus was there! No, no! Not the circus, but the circus! Here, I snapped a few pics of them for you. No funny stuff today. Just a good time with some sweet babies:

• Next, it was on to pick up the boys at the fair grounds. Little did I know the fun they had in store for me, er, Bertha Mae. Check it out:
  

• My, my, my! Here she is on her very first ride on a four-wheeler. And not only is she riding it, she is being instructed by one of the boys on how to drive it! So actually, her first ride is a first drive. Mercy me! How the redneck in her came out that night! Bertha Mae feels real blessed 'cause she learned to use a shotgun AND drive a four-wheeler all in the same month! Here's a picture of one of the boys driving grandma around:


• After leaving the fair grounds, we all went to Dairy Queen for a treat. Except, my tummy hurt, so I didn't eat anything.
• Friday, April 18th: Today I had an appointment with my physician for some general blood work and stuff. My cholesterol and triglycerides are up a little, but I am to continue with my diet and exercise routine. Thankfully the doc didn't immediately put me on any medication to bring that down. He knows I'm trying to lose some more weight so we'll check that again in a six months. My thyroid and sugar levels are fine as well, and my blood pressure is down even from my last visit. Aerobic exercise is really, really good for you. After my appointment, we went to the home of a missionary who attends our church to help his wife and daughters with yard work. Yeah, wanna know how you get rewarded for doing a good deed? A snake wraps itself around your leg! Ick! Thankfully it was one of the boys that happened to and not me or the girls. We won't discuss the fate of that poor snake. Let's just say that with a house full of women, he was not a welcome visitor.
• Saturday, April 19th: Happy birthday to the boys! Except. They had a shotgun match that day about an hour away and had to leave at 6:00 a.m. But that's okay 'cause the girls and I attended a ladies' cookout for our church at the home of one of our members. Whoa. Awesome. The best part was puttering around the property in golf carts. There was even some mud slingin' going on . . . though I don't have any pictures of that. And I later learned, after leisurely surveying their property from the golf cart by myself, that there are wild hogs living on the premises. Scary. Several of the women and girls went fishing, though I didn't catch anything. Here's Baby Girl. She ain't skeered! She'll bait her own hook any day!

• Afterward the shotgun match, my husband took the boys shopping for tuxes for the prom. He asked if I wanted to come shopping with them, but I declined. I thought that this would be good father/son bonding time. Yeah. They bonded alright. Until 8:30 that night! We ended up eating supper at Taco Mac after they got home.
• Sunday, April 20th: Today was Super Sunday at church. Several missionaries visited us that day, including my sweet, sweet friend Susan. She has a blog over here. I have a picture, but it's on Mister's computer. Drat. It had been about four years since we had last seen them, so it was good to catch up. She and I are in the same boat, what with children leaving for college and such. We said we'd cry on one another's shoulders that day, but we didn't. It's nice to know that others are going throught he same experiences as you.
• Monday, April 21st: Well, today I had hoped to stay home. Right. I ended up having to run out on a few errands, though I didn't accomplish everything I had wanted to. However, I was able to find a couple of skirts at Belk that were on sale . . . and I had a coupon for an additional 20% off. What's so cool is that I had been wanting a few skirts for summer that fall somewhere between my knee and my ankle. I'm not entirely comfortable wearing knee-length skirts, and ankle-length skirts are so hot in summer. I had stopped at Wal-Mart for a refund and then decided to walk next door to Belk, just in case maybe they had something new in. God is so good to me! I was able to purchase both a khaki and a faded denim skirt for less than what one of them normally costs.
• Later that afternoon, I took the boys to their Explorer meeting, met my mom to do a little shopping at Belk (she wanted new skirts as well and bought the ankle-length denim and khaki), and then it was back to the Explorer meeting to have cake for the boys' birthday.


• Tuesday, April 22nd: Today was our regular home school co-op day. It's usually a very long day, and today was no exception, especially considering that we came home and did lots of yard work. But it looks lots better around here. It's good to clean away the last traces of a long, cold winter. There is nothing like the reward of hard work!
• Wednesday, April 23rd: Things were pretty low-key today. After having lunch with the in-laws, we headed for a 4-H meeting for the annual awards banquet. Since we had a little time left, we went to grandma's so that I could fix Little Miss Independent's prom dress. The alumni was invited to attend this year and she's excited to be going.
• Thursday, April 24th: Hmmmm . . . not much today. The boys had their journalism class, then I took Little Mama to art, the boys went to shotgun practice, and I went to hang with my mom and sister for a bit. Afterwards, much to my dear husband's delight, I actually cooked supper instead of asking to eat out or for him to bring pizza home. And we dined on the patio by the soft glow of candle light. It was one of those weird times when it was just Mister, Baby Girl, and me.
• Friday, April 24th: Prom! So, I spent $12.00 on nail polish, cuticle cream, sheer pantyhose, and orange sticks for my cuticles, but I got a steal on my prom dress! It had been $180.00 at Dillard's, but I paid only $45.00 for it! Huh? What? Oh! Yes! I had a prom dress because, in our house, prom is a family affair! This is the third year that we've been a part of the local home school co-op's prom. The first year we signed up too late to be chaperons, though I was able to chauffeur my daughter and her friends to and from the prom. The last two years my husband and I were able to chaperon and it's been great fun. This year we chauffeured six kids around. It was great! The evening included a formal, sit-down meal at the Country Club, awesome party favors such as commemorative etched glasses, a toast to the graduating seniors, and lots of fun with friends. Here are a few pictures of everybody in their finery:

• Saturday, April 26th: Today was crazy. I got up late, with a headache to boot, and ended up not being able to attend the mother/daughter breakfast for my sister's church. I did make it to the graduation party for my husband's niece at our church. While we were there, my guys came out to hook up the new sound system in our new sound booth at church. After the party, I helped fix up the secretary's office at church. However, it was many hours of hard work getting the sound booth ready. I left, a little angry, at 11:30 p.m., having been at the church since 11:15 a.m. Ugh! What a day! What a week!

And so has been my life for the last two weeks. This week I have been able to stick close to home for the most part. Sunday was spent at church, lunching with the in-laws, and shopping for a new purse. Monday I did stay home . . . and actually cooked a nice supper. It was great. Yesterday was spent at co-op, trying to work out the details of keeping our daughter on our health insurance until she leaves for university this fall, and finishing up some yard work. Oh, and I cooked again and shopped for mulch and annuals for the back garden. Today was lunch with the in-laws and updating my blog. It has taken me three hours to write about what I've done for the last two weeks and post the pictures. I'm tired! I'm worn out just writing about what I've already done! LOL . . .

This weekend we are going to a youth revival meeting. It's going to be a whirlwind trip. I hope that it is worth it. I am really praying for God to do a work in the hearts of our teens and young people, especially my own children.

Well, just thought I'd let you all in on why I've not been around much. I really miss writing and hope to get back to the normal . . . uh, abnormal (?) . . . blog stuff.

Thanks for reading.

J.L.