Sleeping In

Feel my pain... I stayed up waaaay too late last night, squeaking in some all-too infrequent time with the oldest two boys. We watched crime mysteries together till midnight. I had a great time.

Yeah. That came back to bite me in the hiney.  I only did it cuz there is no school today. The clouds this morning were dark and thick. The whole house was silent. Until...

A little voice piping through the monitor at 6:55 a.m. "Sum buddy.... I haffa go potteeeee."

I stumble in the dark to her room.

Little voice pipes up in the darkness, "Mommy? Why sum buddy leaf my shade metted up like dat?"

Her shade was askew. A teeeny tiiiiny shard of light, clouded and foggy light at that, was peeking through. Ugh. Really?

"Come on, Li'l E. Let's get to the potty. Then you can snuggle in bed with Mommy for a while."

(Until it actually becomes, you know, morning. With light and all?)

Seating her precious little hiney on the potty, she starts chattering. Really. CHATT.ER.ING. I don't even know what she said. I just know there was a lot of it. A.LOT.

I stumbled my way through assisting her, with little to nothing coming to my lips by way of conversation. Kind of the "if I don't respond, maybe she'll stop?" mentality. It never works. But I keep trying.

I hustle her precious little hiney into the big bed, and get her settled with her puppy and The Boss's pillow. She's quiet. I settle myself in, close my eyes.

And then? She's not quiet any more.

Nor is she still. As in, not one moment of her waking hours is that little body ever motionless. EH.VER.

For the next 45 minutes, she beats a rhythm on the mattress, in time with the nonsense song she's singing in her head. Only she's not. Singing in her head that is. She's whispering it. Over and over.

This is where her unilateral hearing loss really cramps my style.

Heh. She has NO idea that her whisper at 6:59 a.m. 

is like a roaring train whistle through my brain.

I nudge her and say, "Shhhhh."

She says, oh so sweetly, "Okay Mommy. I will."

The cycle repeats every few minutes. The only variation is that once in a while, the puppy whispers the song. Or the puppy's ears beat the rhythm. Or so she informs me seriously, when I nudge her and say, "Shhhhhh."


Thank goodness, LadyBug is an early riser. No matter how late she goes to bed, she's up by 7 or 7:30 a.m.

At 7:50 a.m., LadyBug rescued me. She and Li'l E headed off for a breakfast date. I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head.

At 7:59, I got up. This darned episode was turning itself into a blog post in my head.

I hate it when that happens.

Wordless Wednesday

Pretty much the saddest sight of the year.

Every year.

No one at The Gang's House

likes this particular sign of the changing seasons.

Even though we all LOVE fall.

Sigh.

For more Wordless Wednesday links,

that are likely a whole lot happier than this,

click here and link up.

Leave a comment and I'll drop by

to say hi and commiserate over

summer's passing!

Gotta Get My Groove Back

I wasn't even sure what to title this. Or where to start to get myself back into the swing of regular blogging....

I mean, I could go with the "bad blogger" theme, beating myself up for the woeful neglect of my little blogging community of peeps.  But I beat myself up enough about far more weighty things, like bad hair cuts (Heh. Keep reading...) and impulsive emotional eating. And all that self-flagellation in the public blogosphere would make me want to eat more chocolate. Which, I think we all agree, is pleasant but not a permanent solution to well, blogging irregularities.

Or I could go the stream-lining route and lead you all to believe that the lack of blogging is directly related to the re-prioritizing of my time and my energies toward making my home more efficient and more productive. But that would show itself false by one quick glance at the piles of paperwork and the un-fiinished editing project(s) still parked on my counter.

I could, with a little stretching, head down the pious path. Tell you all that the Lord has been nailing some of my personal issues to the Cross, re-working my heart and my mind toward His plans for my days and my hours bent on further glorifying Him. That I've been too busy praying and leading my three little day-time charges into endless hours of praise and worship at the feet of Jesus. But that would just be, well, pious. And a gross exaggeration of what my days lately have actually looked like. And gross exaggerations are, well, Not pious. So there's a big contradiction goin' on there that doesn't sit well. (Instead, picture referee uniforms, whistles, and all! kinds! of distraction techniques being winged about everywhere!) 

Truth is, I'm struggling. I'm working to find my new groove. To develop a new routine with lots of new factors played in and accounted for in the process. And every.single.time. I think that this new routine is starting to hum along, a hiccup occurs. Normally, I can deal with hiccups in the schedule fairly well. NOT, mind you, that I like them. Or even adapt to them easily. But I get over the initial angst and move on. It's what moms do. There is little choice in the matter, when considering the six other folks that these hiccups include... 8 if you add Little Gal and Little Guy into the mix.  Which I have to do, considering that they are here for the majority of the week.

I'll say it again, it's a good, good thing that those two cuties are so flexible and easy-going. They've had to deal with the hiccups in the house right along with the rest of the Gang. And I must say, they handled this week's big hiccup fantabulously. The big hiccup of which I speak was Dr. D's hand injury from Monday afternoon's football game. That meant a morning off and on the phone and emails galore: with the school nurse, the coach, the trainer, The Boss, the sister, and the pediatrician. All just to coordinate a quick (hahahahaha) trip to the pediatrician. That resulted in a not-so-quick trip to the orthopedist. Seems that the loss of feeling in two of Dr. D's fingers during said injury was enough of a concern that the docs involved needed x-rays and consultation with the specialist. Thankfully, on so many levels, there is no break. Just a deep muscle/tendon/nerve bruise that made for some ugly swelling and limited movement for the week. Play for this week's big game is doubtful but he's not out for the season.

Another minor hiccup (that did NOT feel minor at the time!) was a last minute run to the salon to have my bangs trimmed and blended.  I loved the long sweeping bangs across my forehead but they got too thinned out in my last cut and the humidity of late has been creating little frizzy curls across the forehead. So before I left for a weekend at Women of Faith with my sister, I ran out to have them trimmed and blended. Those were the words I used, repeatedly to the stylist.  That is NOT what I got when I left.  Let's just say, when the stylist stops and stares at what she just did in dismay (Oh, yes, that was dismay and confusion I saw on her face. It was.), you pretty much know that it's NOT gonna be a good hair cut.

My history with bad hair cuts is well-documented here. And here, part II... Cuz yes, a bad hair cut is never just a bad hair cut for me. Seriously. I don't know what my problem is. And saying that is not me asking for your input. Thankyouverymuch :)

So this time, the hair cut debacle wasn't really about forgiveness. Although, I probably do need to letitgo and forgive the poor gal for her mistake. Turns out, after some contemplation and introspection (Ugh, I hate it when I do that.) it was really about, well, about life. Real, gritty, dirty, life. Mistakes happen. Ideas and plans get thwarted, even miscommunicated. Stylists have no style. (Ooops, that was snarky. Sorry!) But it's life.

And that, my friends, is the real reason I'm so erratic and neglectful of my blogging. Life. I am starting to think that the new normal around here will show itself in its own good time. And along the way, hiccups to the plan will have to be dealt with accordingly.

I guess I am just going to have a lot more time to deal with those hiccups, big or small. You know, since my uber-short hair takes all of five minutes to wash, dry, and style.

Heh. Heh. Sob. sigh...

Sunday Snapshot

Oh, what a week it has been....More on that tomorrow.  In the midst of it all, I missed putting up a post to celebrate Baby BlueEyes' big entrance to the double digits. Yes, Baby BlueEyes turned TEN. Yes, he did. I know, seriously. Cuz I look at him, and sometimes I still see THIS:

I know. He's NOT that little anymore. But gosh, wasn't that just last month?! I mean, I do know. But I still don't KNOW how this happened. How he got to TEN!

Sigh. I know. I know. Life goes on. At the speed of light. Without stopping for momma's heart to catch up or catch a breath.  Anyhoo...

Without further ado, here is what TEN looks like 'round here...

Heading out the door, with the newly minted "ten-ness"

sitting well on his shoulders.

Birthday cake number one.

A spiced pumpkin cake with home-made spiced butter cream

frosting. Our family's sign that fall has arrived!

Celebration number two, house full of family, and cousins galore.

All eyes were riveted for several minutes on the

intense game of napkin basketball volleying across the table.

My sister sunk the first shot.

Cake number two. Not really a cake at all.

Rather, dark chocolate brownies smothered with

home-made vanilla butter cream frosting.

And topped off with four different flavors of ice cream.

Yeah. Can we say sugar coma?

THE.BIG.HIT. of the evening.

A Nerf Stampede.

All the boys, even the grown up ones,

were a little in awe.

Food. Family. Fun.

That's what TEN looks like 'round here!!!!!

Sunday Snapshot {better late than never}

In my bleary-eyed Sunday morning stumbles through the house,

while trying to rouse everyone to get ready for church on time,

I came across these two monkeys.

Having a very serious conversation,

full of imaginary plans for the day, silly stories,

and sweet sibling nothings being whispered
across the table to each other.

So wonderful to see the fruits of our labors

coming forth in their tender little friendship!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Three Years Ago

I can hardly believe it's been three years. Three years since we met this fiery little dynamo who has so completely changed our world.

I know blogging around here has been scarce lately. It's that learning curve I'm riding.  But I'd be remiss if I let this day go by without looking back on what God has done for us. I wrote about it HERE and HERE, in honor of the first two anniversaries of meeting our girl.

And HERE is one of several posts we wrote that day, in Xi'an, meeting our girl and digesting all the God was doing in us and for us. My personal favorite is THIS one - Daddy's first love letter to his girl.  He made me fall in love with him all over again with that one!

But here's my favorite thing about marking days like today:  seeing the way she has grown and blossomed, marking the day with a picture and looking at all the little and big changes in her face, in her eyes, in her smiles.  Enjoy the journey with me....

The very first picture we captured.

She was shaking so hard and crying from such a deep place,
that I wondered for a brief moment how we would do this together.

Finally, after about 1/2 hour of switching from me
to her new Baba and back, she calmed down enough
for us to look at her breathtaking beauty.

One year later, her beautiful personality was shining through.
My favorite part of our first year together was watching us
all fall in love with her and with each other again and again.
She blossomed so much that first year!

There was no doubt in her mind by the two year mark

that she is the apple of every one's eye in The Gang's house.

I remember feeling such a sense of settled-ness in her,

even amidst all the changes she was experiencing last year.

Today, in her beloved piggie pj's.
Spunky, exuberant, demanding, and oh! so! eloquent!
She's such an amazing kid.

Happy Family Day, dear Li'l Empress!

You have been a joy and a blessing to our whole family.

Today is one of my favorite days in our whole life together.

Wordless Wednesday

The final first day of the week arrived,

in muddy, wet, pouring down splendor. Snark.

But Li'l Empress's spirits were not dampened at all.

At least not until the new pre-school pick-up helper came to the van door.

Sigh.

At least this year's tears were less, ummm,

fraught with desperation and fear and up-from-her-core terror.

Can you believe how much she's grown?!

Join the fun, better late than never,

over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

First Day of School {2011 edition}

For the first time in two years, all four of my older kids are out the door and off to school by 8:20 a.m.  And will be, every morning till June. After two years of cyber-school, my handsome and wonderful sons are leaving home to join the ranks of traditional public-schoolers. Sigh. I miss them already. It's especially poignant, as today is Shaggy's last first day of his school years.

There they go, Dr. D and Shaggy. My sophomore and my senior.... dressed and mostly awake at 6:40 a.m. They didn't even get to see Li'l Empress - it was so dark and cloudy that she actually slept in till I woke her at 7:20.

Next out the door was LadyBug. All giddy and excited about her first day of 7th grade. First day in the middle school. First time EVER walking off to the bus stop alone. Without any of her siblings.  She was much more excited about it than The Boss and I. She didn't even care that it was raining. Or that it was only 7:35 a.m.

 

I'm pretty sure Li'l Empress hasn't fully connected to what all these pictures and good-bye hugs mean for her. For her whole day.  It's gonna be a big adjustment for her, not to have her kids around.

Finally, at 8:15, Baby BlueEyes "suited up" and got himself all hugged and kissed and prayed over.  This is also his first year to ride a bus and be at school without any other Gang members around. He has decidedly mixed feelings about that. He much prefers to be with his family, so I'm really glad that his best childhood buddy, Miss V, is in his homeroom this year. God knows, doesn't He?! Even the little details like that. God knows.

Giving him hugs and telling him "I lub you" felt a little more familiar to Li'l Empress, as she also got to walk out to the driveway with The Boss to watch the bus arrive and pull away.  Just like we did last year. I think by this time of the morning, she was starting to "get it."  It's been awful quiet here since the bus pulled away.

And me? I'm okay. For now. Focusing on Little Guy and Little Gal's arrival in minutes. Listening to the news and the weather report. Distracting myself a little at a time. Tomorrow? Well, that might be a different story. Li'l Empress will leave right on BBE's heels for her first day of school. And I'll be here without any of my Gang. For the first time in two years.

I sure hope Little Guy and Little Gal are prepared for that.

Sunday Snapshot

In this season of life, where our older kids are starting to find their passions and we're able to help them pursue those passions, we are finding great joy.  In particular, The Boss is LOVING being a "football dad."  He loves the adrenaline rush, the free-flowing testosterone that rushes and oozes all over the fields, the utter man-growl that comes out of him when our boy gets his hands on the ball.

And now, The Boss is getting to be a "football dad" times 2. Yup, Baby BlueEyes has joined the local Upw@rds program for flag football.

So last Monday night, BBE had his first practice. The Boss, Dr. D, and BBE shoveled dinner down their gullets and rushed out the door, all pumped and excited for drill night. Cuppa' joe in hand, The Boss wandered up and down the sidelines, watching the little guys pass and catch. Chatting it up with the other dads, doin' the dad-versation about who looks good and who's got the arm this year.

Till one of our friends' son pointed out what The Boss was holding in his hand.

Here's a close up, in case you missed it.

Heh. Heh.

You can't see it, but that mug is full of testosterone.

I swear!

"Rusty" About Covers It

I'm wrapping up my first week as a working-from-home, stay-at-home mom.  And while I am marveling at the amount of laundry I've completed in one morning and the paperwork that I've powered through in one week (ya know, cuz I am actually home and not taxi'ing LadyBug, Shaggy and Dr. D all around the valley for their various pursuits a la July and August!), I am also quite astounded at how rusty I've gotten.

It seems in the couple years since Li'l Empress was a scootching, slithering, cruising one-year old, certain of my skills have scattered to the far ends of the house, nay, the universe.

It seems in the (ahem, many!) years since I had Shaggy, Dr. D, and LadyBug crowding around my ankles and clamoring for attention (think three ages 5 and under), my abilities to multi-task and problem-solve have sunk with the receding waters of Irene into the netherlands of the sump well.

I think that my formerly laudable administrative skills fled the building at the sight of managing the schedules, wants, needs, and developmental abilities of 7 children in one home.

And the calendar? Fuhgeddabout it - that ran out the door screaming for mercy when I started moving things around to keep my Mondays through Thursdays open and free for staying home and re-conquering all of the above skill sets..

OH. And managing snacks, bottles, lunches, nap time, quiet time, and more snacks? OMIGOSH - it's a good thing I've had LadyBug and Baby BlueEyes around to help me stretch time a liiiiiiiiitle bit more to avert melt-downs (mine) and crying jags (also mine).

Thank goodness that Little Gal (three) and Little Guy (11 months) are, as Shaggy says, "chill." Their easy-going, resilient natures are going to come in mighty handy while Miss Momma gets this coordination and timing thing down to a routine.

I can't even talk yet about how out-of-practice I am with negotiating with two bickering pre-schoolers. Let's just say that Li'l Empress is feeling slightly de-throned (not entirely a bad thing!) and Little Gal certainly knows how to articulate how she feels about THAT, thankyouverymuch! (also not a bad thing). If I wasn't so intent on making sure my sanity made it till the end of the day, I'd likely be laughing about the logic these two girls are trying to pull on me. Maybe next week, I'll be able to laugh at them. I mean, with them. I mean about their convoluted toddler logic. Yeah. That's it.  Heh.

Yup, this first week has shown me in no uncertain terms that I am indeed very rusty. It's a good thing these kinds of things all tend to work themselves out with practice and time. Cuz Lord knows, once school starts on Tuesday and I'm the only one "on deck" we will have LOTS of both on hand.

Wordless Wednesday{silver lining}

38 clothing storage bins just like these....

Brought up out of the 8" of water from Hurricane Irene's fury.

Purged and reduced by 13 bins....

And four over-stuffed garbage bags

It's been a busy, busy week for This Gang.
HUGE kudos to Baby BlueEyes, LadyBug,
Dr. D, and Shaggy for all their hard work
on this and other cleaning and restoration projects
from the storm.

I couldn't have gotten it all done without you!

For more Wordless Wednesday fun,

head over to 5 Minutes for Moms.

And tell me your storm clean- up story....

I'm looking forward to hearing how you all fared.

Sunday Snapshot

We have survived Hurricane Irene. We're really wet. Well, I mean, our basement is really wet. And The Boss, Shaggy, and Dr. D spent most of last night really wet. But we made it through. If I am pressed to find the silver lining, I can say that by the time every thing dries out and all the damage is cleaned up and done, we will have a really clean basement about a month ahead of schedule.  Today's Sunday Snapshot is of the heroes of Hurricane Irene, here at The Gang's house.

Pre-storm, or when the rain was the only evidence that an epic weather event was on its way, we enjoyed a long, quiet afternoon full of movies, home-made cookies, big batches of popcorn flowing freely, more movies, and jammy time just hanging out together. But all that changed at about 11:30 p.m. When our main sump pump failed and the battery-back-up wore itself out right on its heels. Thank the Lord that we had our pool cover pump and that Shaggy found our neighbor's sump pump in their basement when he went poking around their shed and garage looking for their pool cover pump. (They are out of town. The Boss and the boys are charged with caring for their property whenever they travel. Flashlight in hand, he went traipsing over in the wind and rain at 12:30 a.m. or so to try and come up with something to stem the tide of rushing waters!)

Dr. D, checking news reports and chatting 

with friends on F@cebook during the rain-only

portion of the storm.

Shaggy, catching up with a friend between movies

on Saturday.

But during the storm?

These guys proved their mettle beyond our belief.

Bucket Brigade for more than an hour.

Jerry-rigging a supplemental sump pump with The Boss.

Carting furniture and more than 25 big storage

bins full of clothes for The Gang up to the family room.

Running in and out of the side yard to move drainage pipes.

Keeping an eye on the neighbors' property through it all.

Both of them up till at least 4 a.m.

working alongside The Boss without much of a break.

We are blessed.

 And this guy?

This really tired, really run-down and worn-out warrior?

He ran the whole project for more than three straight hours

of rushing water - rushing INTO the basement

faster than he could get it out, that is.

Wet clothes, head cold, sleep deprivation, frustration,

disgust, stress, and more. He didn't quit until it was obvious

the pump was winning over the cold, dark, nasty water.

I am blessed.

Wrapping It All Up!

Oh, it's been a week! Lists have been whittled down. Hair has been cut. Closets have been cleaned. Rooms have been re-arranged. Toy boxes have been purged. More lists have been written. Freezers have been stocked. Menus have been planned.

Baby BlueEyes' room BEFORE.

Well, sorta "before." More like, MID!

Baby BlueEyes' room AFTER.

Big toy shelf emptied and removed.

Toys out of sight and out of reach for little hands!

Yesterday, Dr. D finished his first official senior high football training camp. Right now, he's sleeping off the high. I've never seen him so excited. Or so tired! They ended the intensive two weeks with a big picnic, catered by O*tb@ck Steak House.... Not a bad way to end the week, eh?

I'm wrapping my brain around what my new schedule will look like in the coming days. Taking care of someone else's kids, almost full-time, is a huge responsibility and I'm sure that Li'l Empress will think it's a big party at first. But I'm aware that it will be a BIIIIIG adjustment for her, particularly when the older kids are back to school and it's just her hanging out with the new little friends during the day. So I'm praying for her, for my new little buddies, and for Li'l Empress's teachers. I've put off the start of her school year till the big kids go back to school - hoping that one change per week instead of two or three will be easier on us all.

And now? Now, we turn to storm prepared-ness as Hurricane Irene is bearing down quickly and fiercely on the East Coast. The Boss is heading out as I type to bring Shaggy to one of his many yard-work jobs and to pick up propane, water, and an extra battery for the sump pump.  Baby BlueEyes is not a huge fan of weather events, as they tend to stir up a lot of fear in his little heart. So we're putting him on Storm Preparedness duty with Daddy - hoping that he learns that many of our fears can be allayed when we wisely prepare and "do our part" and then faithfully trust the Lord to cover and protect the rest.

Not a bad way to handle all of this stuff, eh?

Wordless Wednesday {haircuts}

One more thing off the TO DO list, which seems like it's growing instead of shrinking, by the way!

Took LadyBug yesterday to get some long layers

and side-swept bangs for her big middle school debut.

The Boss clippered him up tight and close

to avoid the "Did you do your hair?" hassle!

I just trimmed up the bangs

to even them out. Not brave enough

to attempt any more myself...

For more Wordless Wednesday fun,

(which, by the way obviously does NOT 

have to be wordless!), link up over at

5 Minutes for Moms.

Leave me a comment and I'll try 

to swing by and say hi!

Gearing Up for Change

It's the last Monday of summer break for this Gang.  There are a host of big changes coming our way, and this Momma has been awake since about 4:30 a.m. trying to wrap my brain around all of it. You know, all the things that have to happen between now and the first day of school (Sept. 6, after Labor Day) in order to facilitate those changes.

My To-Do list is ramming around inside my head, almost impossible to pin down and wrangle into a manageable, linear list of bullet points. My head is pounding, and it's NOT from lack of caffeine! It feels like tangled Slinkys in there. Rusty, tightly wound, tangled Slinkys.  It's really not pretty. Especially at 4:30 a.m.

So you must all bear with me while I process...

Yes, I'm processing it here. My blog, my rules :)

Here we go!

I've accepted the opportunity to care for two children of some friends of ours, as an attempt to supplement and  expedite the savings process for our adoption. (I start next Monday, hence the "last Monday of summer break for this Gang" line...)  For the downstairs of the house, that means this week has to be all about sorting toys, child-proofing, consolidating the play area to one part of the house, and cleaning out a space for kiddie arts and crafts.

Heh. Written down in a paragraph like that,

it doesn't really seem like all that much work.

But it's almost crippling me right now,

and I feel so completely overwhelmed by where to start. Ugh.

I've been struggling to find time to sit for a while and plow through my friend's novel that I'm editing, because of all the taxi-duty that I've been pulling for Shaggy, Dr. D, and Ladybug's various activities. This week, I'm down-sizing all the taxi-runs and trying to dig into this work of art and give it the attention it deserves. And guys? This novel is beautiful. Rich, layered, and captivating. The characters have really drawn me in - I miss it when I can't get to it for a few days. When she gets it published, I will be sure to let you all know to look for it!

I also have to figure out what to do with all these beautiful pieces of collectibles that folks have given toward our adoption cause. I have some things out for bids already, but Cr@igslist-ing them majority of them will net very little, I'm learning. I'm unfortunately hearing the same thing about Repl@cements.com and now I don't really know where to turn. I have no eB@y "seller cred" and don't really want to get "taken" there either. But they are filling the dining room and I have to get them out of here soon. I can't take the clutter much longer.

I have a bunch of other things already on Cr@igslist that aren't moving and I'm getting impatient about those. They are of some value so I just can't bring myself to donate them if they can add to our little Adoption Jar instead. Especially given that there are likely a bunch of other things in the attic that I can choose to list if and when The Boss and I get in there and start cleaning.

I have no idea of what is in the freezer, so I am guessing that my freezer inventory is way out of date. I also have no stash of supplies for snacks, school lunches, or quick meals. I haven't "stock up" shopped in a while, and I'm thinking that might be where I have to start. Well, there and defrosting the freezer so that I can see everything I purchase. It's so bad in there, it might take a couple days to thaw and clean it all out... Then, I'll have to really dig in and plan meals for the month of September to help me through the learning curve of "working" four days a week.

I must also wrap my brain around the idea of our new schedule. Li'l Empress will be doing three mornings a week at her little pre-school, with an arrival time between 8:25 and 8:45 a.m. Baby BlueEyes is heading off to our wonderful little elementary school at 8:05 every morning. LadyBug will be starting a brand new adventure in the middle school, leaving here around 7:20 each day. And Shaggy and Dr. D head off to the local public high school, we think at 6:50 or 7 a.m. daily.

Speaking school, have you seen the prices of school supplies this summer?! OMIGOSH, I was in T@rget the other day (I despise that store, on almost every.single.level. Really, I do.) and the mothers were scary. Grabbing. Snatching, Shoving carts. Snarling at their kids. I had to leave. With my incomplete list of two of the kids' needs. But I just couldn't stand the tension and the chaos. I mean, really. A three-inch binder is a three-inch binder. Is it really worth the horrible example to your kids to get the TEAL one instead of the royal blue one?! Really, the stuff I heard and saw scarred me for the entire day.

Finally, (well, really, not finally, cuz there is so much more going on here that is weighing heavily but is not blog-able) I am contemplating the arrival of my two new little friends at 8:30 for four mornings a week. Things like figuring out when I'll need to get up and get showered. When I'm going to exercise. Or blog. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I was planning to join The Boss's gym and working out the mornings that Li'l Empress was in school, which would allow me to head out, bed head and all, and then come home to shower at my own leisure before picking her back up from school. But the need to earn some money and accommodate this alternative schedule trumps that plan. And now, just writing it all out here, I feel even more stressed than I did at 4:30 a.m.......

{Mumbling and shuffling away as I pull on my hair}

Oy..... Coffee. I need coffee. Just get me some coffee!

Sunday Snapshot

My three boys got a chance this weekend

to immerse themselves in the things that they love.

Dr. D's first official season of high school football

 has begun. He's #26 this year.

This is from his first scrimmage.

Just 10 plays each - offense and defense.

But he got his hands on the ball a few times.

And picked up some really nice yardage for the team.

This Momma was cheerin' loud and proud.

I'm already lovin' the chance to yell my brains out

on the sidelines. He can't hear me through all that padding.

Later, The Boss took Shaggy to one of his favorite

music stores for an end of season inventory sale.

Shaggy got to play some seriously top o' the line drum sets.

His passion for the drums has expanded.

This summer, he's been dabbling in music theory

and teaching (re-teaching) himself some technique skills.

And Baby BlueEyes?  Well, at almost 10 years old,

his passion is to be with and be like his brothers

and his Daddy. Whenever and However.

He went along for both rides and was a happy camper

All. Day. Long.

The fact that he made his Daddy and I laugh out loud

with this face was just icing on the cake for our little guy!

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and I'll come by to visit you, there.

Another Repost, Of Another Variety

I'm in a bit of a re-posting mood lately. Not because I'm so impressed with the things I have had to say before. But because when I was surfing around looking for the original "Bittersweet" post, I happened upon a favorite recipe of mine... Later that same day, I also happened to be blessed with a great big, plump home-grown zucchini. So I'm sharing this favorite summer recipe again with you all.

 And you non-zucchini lovers out there, try to be open-minded

about the yummi-ness I'm sending your way.

Or, as your momma used to say, "take a thank you bite

and go on your way."

You know who you are :)

Stuffed Zucchini

Take one of the longest, plumpest zucchinis that you can find. (Big zukes work well for this as their skins are firm enough to hold their shape when baking.) Clean it well and cut off the stem end. Cut it in half the long way, as evenly as you can manage.

Seed each half and be sure to leave an even amount of squash inside the halves. It should look like each half has a trench running down the middle. If the halves are very rounded, take a bare thin slice off the rounded edge so that it will lay flat in the pan with the cut side up. Generously spray a 9x13 pan and lay the zuke in, trenched side up.

Brown about a pound of ground turkey breast, breaking it up into taco-meat texture. Add fresh pressed garlic and chopped onions to the browning meat according to your tastes. I also generously pepper the mixture while it's browning. Drain any liquids from the meat.

When meat mixture is done, add some of your favorite sauce. This time around, I used a tomato Alfredo sauce (which was very thick and creamy) and I think it was better than any other version I've ever made. On top of the sauce, add an even ratio of shredded Parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Again, the amount of cheese will be to your preferences. *Please note that when you are done adding the sauce and cheeses, the mixture should be a similar weight and texture to an average cookie dough. Not heavy like meatloaf but not loose and liquid-y.

Spoon the meat and sauce and cheese mixture into the zucchini trenches, generously. It's okay if it piles high. The juices of the zucchini will level everything out.

Sliding it into the oven, it already smelled amazing!

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. In the final 10 minutes, top with another mixture of Parmesan and mozzarella. Let that topping bubble up and start to turn a little golden.

All baked and bubbling away.

It smelled divine around here!!!!

Serve with whole wheat pasta or rice on the side, along with extra sauce. We also love it with ground beef, but the turkey breast is a much healthier option. And I've often used reduced-fat cheeses with excellent results. This time, I mixed the zucchini with yellow summer squash and each were super tasty.  Enjoy!