almost 32

At 12:01 tonight I'll be 32. That's right friends, I'm heading into my mid-thirties. (Or is that technically 33?)

Anyhoo...the best gift you can give me, if you want to give me one, is COMMENTS, COMMENTS, COMMENTS.

Comments are like chocolate, right? Not really, but they sure do make a girl feel good. All those ladies who read, Betty, Breeze, Angela, someone in Kansas, Canada. Let me know who you are. You can even comment anonymously. Just write something small just to let the birthday girl know you stopped by. It will make my day that much brighter.

Here's how I celebrated in my lame mid-thirties, but really exciting to me, kind of way. I decorated for fall with my free pumpkins. I'm so glad my birthday is in Autumn.

grandma

This weekend we headed home to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. It was a big party with lots of friends and family.

My grandmother is amazing. She has survived 4 cancer's (throat, colon, breast and lung) and is currently experience congestive heart failure. My grandfather died 8 years ago next month and if she survived living with him for 50+ years, she can survive anything. LOL

As an only child, she has produced 4 children, leading to 9 grandchildren and therefore, 13 great-grandchildren. (she started young)

Whenever she comes to my house, it's always her mission to shine my sink to perfection and make sure the kitchen is clean after every meal.

Pie crust made from scratch is the only way to go and she has the corner market on the perfect crust. Mixing just the right amount of shortening and ice cold water.

She never sits still. After lung surgery to remove the cancer, she was attempting to work in the garden and slipped and broke her shoulder. There is no mystery as to where I get my tendency to go and go until sheer exhaustion. However, I have learned to modify that behavior.

As a good Catholic woman, she has served well. Offering communion throughout the week to those who are housebound, serving at the local donation center that her church offers and helping to teach ESL to the Hispanic community. She knows Jesus is her saving grace and looks forward to meeting him someday. Hopefully not too soon.

Happy birthday Grandma

the best picture we muster up. how come i'm the only one looking?

listen up boys

The girls and I were on our way to a friend's house for dinner. While sitting at a stop light I glanced over at a teenage couple standing at the crosswalk.

They were both around 15, dressed normally and I didn't think much of them until a slight hand movement caught my further attention.

At first, he moved closer to her. He casually rubbed her back to give the indication that they were dating. Cute, respectful. Looks very tender...at this point.

Then, his hand slowly moved down to grace the booty. That's right, he was feeling out her booty! What in the world was this boy doing? The mama in me and the woman in me wanted to yell out the window, "get your slimy hand off her ass!"

When did 15 year olds start acting like...? I would say a married couple here, but I don't remember the last time Dave touched my booty in public (um, never). Or for that matter...ANYONE!

As a mother of only girls, I can tell you that I want the utmost respect for my girls when it comes to dating relationships. And that is one of my greatest prayers is that the young women I raise would be confident, honorable, loyal, committed, and most of all, self-respecting. I want them to be what I could not muster up the strength to be. Someone who says...'wait, my future is worth more'.

Fifteen is so young to me. And it reminds me that this was a time in my life that I made significant decisions that led me down a path that was not corrected until I was in my 20's. I'm well aware that people need to make their own decisions and mistakes, but matters of sexuality and intimacy are deeply wounding and I will do anything to spare my girls from that. I pray the Lord gives me the patience, grace, instruction, and tools to help teach them and guide them through these decisions.

To all those 15 year old boys (b/c I know they are all reading my blog), "keep your hands to yourself!"

Spice racks and spice cookies

I've jumped into Fall with both feet by baking Pumpkin Spice Cookies with friends. My good friend Teresa came over with her daughter Kambrie. We attempted to joint cook with our kids. I actually think it's better than cooking alone with my kids. At least I have someone to keep my anxiety level down. Eloise likes to taste everything...including flour.

That's Eloise in her leotard, her new favorite attire.

While cooking these wonderful cookies I came face to face with another problem: my spice organization. I buy spices in bulk, go through them quickly and that makes for a giant mess. I need help. I want something that is space saving, easy to dump my spices into, and inexpensive. Any suggestions?

And just b/c Lily is so cute helping me carry in tomatoes.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

And I'm not talking about Christmas. I'm talking about Autumn.

Fall has begun and I am breathing a sigh of relief. The summer is over. Don't get me wrong, I love to play outside, I just don't like to do it in weather that is over 75. I'll take a partly cloudy, 68 degree, fall day anytime. Makes me want to light my pumpkin candle and start making cookies.

So what are my favorite things of fall?

*The changing colors of the leaves. Honestly, could it be any more beautiful?

*My birthday - it's in October. I'm not a big b-day person, it's another great reason to celebrate the season with friends.

*The pumpkin patch. It's really just a great photo-op for a picture that NEVER turns out right. You spend most of the time chasing those little ones around trying not to break your ankle on a pumpkin.

* Pumpkin butter from Trader Joes. Pair it with their pumpkin muffins...yumm...I can't wait to get there.

*Christmas pictures in the leaves, or at least an attempt to.

*Candles and oil burners with that great scent from the body shop..pumpkin/tangerine? I forgot, but I'll never forget the smell.

* Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. I'm giving this one a place on the list for all my friends. My defective stomach can't handle all the milk, but a sip sure is delicious. Maybe they should make pumpkin spice americano's. Hey, maybe I'll try that one.

*Packing away summer clothes and bringing out all the long sleeved shirts. No more shorts and tank tops.

*Soup. My favorite is cream of curried peanut at the Bagelry in Bellingham. I haven't had it in years and I wish I could find the recipe. It was amazing.

*Pumpkin anything. Cheesecake (made by Jodi), muffins, cookies with chocolate chips (I need to find that recipe - katie, your mom's is the best), breads, pies, etc...you name it. I do have a quick one for all those WW girls.

Pumpkin Mousse
2 pkgs instant vanilla pudding (the small box)
1 big can pumpkin
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 container of cool whip

mix everything except cool whip together until blended, then fold in cool whip. Chill for 2 hours. 1 cup = 2 pts. Enjoy!

What are you favorites of fall?

weezy fell what?

how many times can that girl say, "weezy fell down"? This was cracking us up for hours.

the pipes are flowing again

Praise God!

After a VERY long day, lots of dirty mess, stinky pipes, and a tired husband, we reached peak flow again. hooray!

I was secretly hoping that my salad had not caused all of this mess, however, the moment I heard Dave say, "come here and look at this", I knew. There it was, the nasty cabbage all over my garage floor. Nasty!

We did have many highlights of our day. We spent the morning jumping a trampoline. Which is enough to make any day great in Eloise's opinion.

Then my sweet friend Jodi offered to have the kids so I could get a few things done around the house. That was such a blessing. Then Jodi called to tell me Lily had a fever. I rushed over and we got her all fixed up with some Tylenol and the fever was gone in an hour. We had dinner over there and I came home with two tired girls.

Let's hope for no more pipe debacles.