Lan's Big Catch

Lan thought he met his match when we went to the  grandparents

LANIAN'S FIRST CATCH

To kiss or not to kiss.

Gravel or a smashing good filler?

So, after a cathartic fit I had some broken plates all over the back yard. Try it sometime when you are really,  really angry! It is much better then hitting a pillow or a person.  As I was cleaning up I had the brilliant idea where to put them. The trash was not an option. I have always wanted to make yard decor out of broken China but realistically if it hasn't happened yet, it is not going to happen now. So there is a little corner that causes me the most shame. It is an awful little spot where the trash cans reside. It is in need of more gravel. I thought wouldn't be great to put plate chips there instead? I love it and I am totally add more as soon. I am going to go thrift store shopping for old plates after the holidays. I love the chips under the trash cans especially because the kids don't play there and won't get hurt (fingers crossed). I think it is really unexpected and trash can always use a face lift.

Hanging out with the Old People

 Uke lessons with Grandpa Styer

 Speedy fishing with Grandpa Styer

 Lake Torch with Grandma and Grandpa Styer

 Halloween visit with Grandma Moss

 This is old pic of Jake and me circa 1982/83

 Cooking with Great Grandma Styer

 Hanging with Aunt Leah and Uncle Ray

 Boating with Grandpa Styer

Chillin with Great Grandma Styer

We have spent some time with some of are favorite family members - the old people. You may call them Grandparents. This summer we traveled to Ohio and Michigan to see Enochs and Styers. We hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Jones for Halloween. Then we went to Grandma Moss's house with Grandma Scarlato in tow. We went to Grandma Scarlato's for Thanksgiving. When hopped down to North Carolina to visit more Styers/Barnettes. And already we had a Grandma Scarlato Christmas. And we are all in eager anticipation of the traditional Jones/Moss Christmas Eve Party! We love you Grandma and Grandpas!

Cool Beds

Tink's bed got spiffed up in a big way. The Simpson's were kind enough to give away their son's tree bed. An ikea loft bed that Diana transformed into a arbor-ian paradise. Tink added a few touches and made it her own. Lanster and Little A felt bereft of a cool bed themselves so I quickly created a tent bed for them. A sheet and a good staple gun later gave the result here. How long it will last, I don't know.

Since tomorrow is my back-to-school day, this will be my last post for a while so I am signing off. I have enjoyed this summer with my kids immensely. I have loved creating fun times and cool things with them. I have loved serving them good food and junk food and watching them grow (little Chia pets, they are). I love being their mom and hopefully their friend. They are each so different in personality, likes and dislikes, and talents but they are also similar at the same time. They are all creative, artistic, smart, and interesting. I am glad they are so close to each other.

This summer has been the best ever with the least whining and the least arguing ever. We didn't get to do everything we, I, planned or wanted to do but we spent a lot of time with cousins and close friends and with each other. Pike learned to rip stick. Little A caught more bugs and frogs than I thought any little boy could. Tink kept her childhood and her imagination alive for one more summer. Lanster snuggled and cuddled to his heart's content and made forts in between. We went to the pool and everyone became a better more confident swimmer. Little A and Lanster went from scared to put their face in to improving their crawl stroke and diving to the bottom.

So, I begin my time as a 'ghost mom' where the kids have to put up with me not quite being all there at all times because I have to study, but I have helped them transition by reading almost constantly this summer. Tink would laugh ask where her mom was and M would hide my kindle. Good times.

Like List

Here is my list of things I like:

• Redecorating with the Jones/Moss/Teaman/Cottle girls
• My new clean,organized, well lit room ( I have spent all morning here)
• Tink's silver nightstand (so cool and shiny)
• Clean fluffy curtains
• Going back to school (new pencils - nod to Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail)
• Babies
• Substituting in Primary/Nursery
• M when he sleeps still looks like a little boy, he crosses his arms and tucks his hands to his chin, soo cute!
• My kids of course but specifically when they are completely unified in an endeavor whether playing Legos or decorating for an event they have planned or imaginative play, I love seeing them work together so well without fighting, and I love that they do it so often.
• M sharing my deodorant - ok yeah slightly disgusting but the fact it happened on a Raymond episode and the fact that there is a person in this universe that feels close enough to me to share something so personal makes me feel all gooey inside.
• Well loved pets
• Clutter! Clutter, clutter!
• Red shoes

....to be cont...

CSA

A little while ago a friend sent out a group email request for a reccomendation for a CSA. So many of us said what is a CSA? I had never heard of such a thing. After a very brief google research endeaver I found many in this area. I think it is such a great idea for the farmers and the community.  With little effort on my part I could get a box of veggies, fruit, and maybe flowers every week.  Amy's Garden in Charles City offers 18 weeks of produce for $550.  The Country Market offers 60 Shares for $625. One of the biggest point I learned about the CSA deal is that you are supporting your farm for better or worse. If the farm does well you get a bigger boxful if your farm does less than its best that year, your boxful is less full. I think it sounds like a great idea especially for my family because of the idea that we would have a variety of fresh vegetables that maybe we wouldn't have bought otherwise. This blog is all about finding ways to use the CSA bounty they receive every week: A Bushel of What? http://www.abushelofwhat.com/ by Nicole Kutcher. I found an interesting article on CSA: Tales from the Field: CSA, PDQ By Michael Clune http://flavormagazinevirginia.com/csa-pdq/ .


Some CSA's:
Amy's Garden
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M7649


The Country Market CSA
www.toanocountrymarket.com or
http://www.greentowns.com/initiative/community-supported-agriculture/the-country-market-csa-williamsburg-va


Chippokes Farm & Forestry Museum
www.museumsusa.org/museums/info/1162331

Ceo Maidin Feirm
8636 Merry Oaks Lane, Toano, VA 23168
(757) 566-0009
A cool blog post about the farm from a worker/ weed puller:
http://eatgrowlive.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/mostfemininething/

Dayspring Farm
492 Buena Vista Rd., Cologne, VA 23181-4010
dayspringfarmva.com
(804) 785-9401
http://www.dayspringfarm.org/

Berries!:
Agriberry
http://agriberry.com/content/9925
Founder and Coordinator for Williamsburg CSA for Agriberry:
http://www.agriberry.com/williamsburg-csa-information

On the Road Again!

Michael found this little sweety headed down 64 east. How does he find so many turtles? He is like a turtle magnet. Robert, Josh, and Michael were headed home after completing a curb job. When Michael saw it he yelled for Robert to stop, there was a tortoise on the side of the road! It was just walking down the white line like it knew what it was about. They finally stopped and backed up till they were close enough to pick him up. Michael called and said he had a surprise so the kids and I met him at the Compound to find him with an African Grazing Turtle. Some people pay 1,000 dollars for this 'little' guy. They can grow big enough to be in the ride-able range.
When they first brought him out of the truck Robert fed him tomatoes out of a bowl and he ate them like a well trained dog. We all were quite amazed and smitten by him. He like to be pet on top of his head and tickled under his chin. The only thing he did not seem to like was being picked up but the only way you could tell he didn't like it was from the small grunts he made.

So I am thanking my lucky stars that Michael did not ask to take it home to our lovely townhouse to stay for 150 years. Josh took it home to his brother in law that actually has one already. Now he has a buddy. And of course if you know me, you know that I can never say no to a pet especially if Michael looks at me with the "my heart depends on having this pet" face. I cave every time, although be sure that I have heartlessly discarded pets back to their natural environments when Michael wasn't looking. Score, for having a small house : no room for a Galapagos sized turtle! There are blessings found in all things. But wow, I cannot believe what a fine specimen we had on the Compound for a brief moment, grazing the clover, and traveling down the lane.