Busy Week...and It's Only Wednesday

Birthday Girl
We celebrated Rachel's 6th birthday today. She was so thrilled to finally be six. In addition to this milestone, she also experienced another milestone earlier this week...she lost her first tooth. Ever since she saw other children report losing a tooth, she has been so anxious to lose a tooth also. Her tooth started to loosen this past weekend and it finally popped out while she was eating an apple earlier this week. The Tooth Fairy made her rounds to Rachel that night and she left some money and a new toothbrush for Rachel. Since this was her first tooth loss, I wanted our dentist to check it out to make sure all is well since her new tooth was coming in behind the tooth that just fell out. He assured us all was well and confirmed by x-ray that she had a few more teeth that would be coming out soon as well since new ones were already working their way in. She even has a 6-year molar cutting through in the back already. While at the dentist, she got a call from her special friend...Ellis. He was calling from the U.K. and it was around 9 pm so I asked the dental hygenist if I could briefly interrupt Rachel's teeth cleaning so she could take the call. Rachel was so thrilled that she got a call from Ellis.

Since we have a trip planned to go to Disney World soon, we didn't want to plan a big party event at home. However, I have learned a valuable lesson. I will never celebrate a birthday during a weekday again...it's just too hard. If someone's birthday falls on a weekday, we'll just celebrate the weekend prior. We didn't plan to throw a big bash but did plan to take her to dinner to a place of her choosing and then to have cake and ice cream at home. But, the problem was that I also needed to make cupcakes for her class today. And, make a cake for tonight. Needless to say, I was behind the power curve. Her cake wasn't my best creation....it was done so quickly I was happy it turned out as well as it did. It tasted great...just not my best decorating. Of course, she was absolutely happy with the cake (chocolate cake and chocolate icing...of course). She wanted princesses on it and thank goodness I happened to pick up some Disney Princess miniature dolls at a Dollar Store last year and had those handy to add to the top of the cake.

And, we didn't send out invitations nor plan anything elaborate as I mentioned before. Instead, we told some of our neighbor's children tonight that they were welcome to come over for cake and ice cream. Now, there is an easy way to get party guests. :-) Our niece, Mary Grace, was also able to join us. We had a good crowd without the formality of an official party which made it so much less stressful. They had no need to bring presents and we had no need to prepare in advance per se to entertain.

After cake and ice cream, the children (including Jeff) went outside to play wally ball. And, later they returned inside to play some video games before heading home around 8:15 since it is a school night.

Rachel had a great day at school and at home. It's hard for me to believe she is six already. Her favorite color is still pink. She still loves spaghetti. And, if you ask, she'd tell you she'd prefer to live in our RV rather than the house. She has her parents' nomadic personality.

I forgot to mention that she still has her blue blanket that she snuggles with. She is like Linus when she is at home....her blue blanket that she has had since she was an infant is her comfort item. She has now named it "the blue."

Getting Ready for the Fall

I wanted something to decorate the house for Halloween and for the Fall. Unfortunately, so much of the Halloween stuff is gory so I was having trouble finding something that would add some Halloween/Fall decor to the house without the scary aspect. I decided to buy a small fake tree and decorate it with orange lights, some pumpkin ornaments, and some fall leaf garland. We also bought some scarecrows and fake pumpkins to sit under the tree. It actually turned out to look quite nice. And, Rachel, Anna & Mary Grace made a haunted gingerbread house for the fireplace mantel. I also found a couple of other lighted items for the living room. It was a big hit with the children visiting tonight. They loved it.
And, once we pass Thanksgiving, the small tree can become a Christmas decoration....with a change of decor of course. :-)

Weird Cat

As with anything else, we seem to attract the strange and unusual....our pets certainly fall into this category. Simba likes to eat with his paws in his food dish. I don't know why her does it. But, it drives me bonkers because it scatters the food on the floor. And, he plays fetch and he also likes to play hide-and-seek. I guess the thinks he's a dog?

And, no, a smaller dish won't make any difference. He just makes a bigger mess if he has a smaller dish to put his paws into.

Parent and Child (PAC) Time

Anna's school had a PAC function today at school. We walked to a local small barn where the children learned a lot about cows. I actually learned a few things myself. Did you know that female cows don't get udders until they give birth to their first calf? And, did you know that a female cow is called a heifer until she gives birth to her first calf? After that, she is then referred to as a cow. I didn't grow up on a farm so it was educational for me too. Hey, I learn something new every day!

After the farm visit, we went back to her classroom where we made butter. Again, I learned something new. All it takes to make butter is heavy whipping cream and a small Tupperware container. I'd estimate each child had about 1/4 cup of cream in their container. You place the lid on the container and shake container with the heavy whipping cream vigorously for about 10 minutes. After that, it begins to form butter. For a while it just looked like foam, then all of a sudden it started to form butter. The teacher gave each child and each parent a piece of bread to enjoy with the butter. It was delicious! Some people added a bit of salt but I preferred it unsalted. I'll have to do this some time at home with Rachel. I think she'd enjoy it. It's definitely an interesting activity to do with young children.

Ohio

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. ~~Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's been a few years since I have traveled to Dayton. Business trips to Dayton are enjoyable for me because I get to visit with friends who live there. Mike and Rachel lived across the street from us when we lived on base at Robins. At that time, Mike and I were both young officers in the Air Force. And, neither of us had children yet. We had a great time and have the fondest memories of those years because of the friends we made during that time period in our lives. Mike and Rachel left Warner Robins and moved to Dayton and they have lived there ever since. Unfortunately, Dayton is a long way for a short weekend visit so it's been a few years since we've seen one another.

Mike and Rachel have three children: Sidney, Emma, and Nathan. And, their pets are Sarah (a Saint Benard stray that adopted them) and Pumpkin (the cat). They recently moved to Cedarville and have been working hard on an addition to the new house that they purchased. Cedarville is a quaint small town (which I've always enjoyed small towns so I loved it). I spent Wednesday and Thursday evening with Mike and his family. We had dinner at their home on Wednesday evening. The children participated in AWANA that evening and Mike, Rachel and I visited a coffee shop, Beans & Cream, in Cedarville.

On Thursday night, we ate at Colonial Pizza; another restaurant in Cedarville. And, a visit to the Dayton area would not be complete without going to Young's Dairy. So, we stopped there for some ice cream. Young's was already decked out for the fall complete with pumpkins and a corn field maze. After loading up on ice cream, we returned to their home and enjoyed a fire in their back yard fire pit and Mike shot some fireworks for the children.

Mike and his family have planned a trip to Orlando the second week of October so they plan to stop by and stay the night with us on their way traveling south. We are looking forward to their visit. It's been a few years since Jeff has seen them so we are happy they are able to stop, even if only briefly, on their way to Orlando.

It was a good business trip and a great visit with old friends. I wish they lived closer! We've promised to try and plan a trip annually half way between where they live and where we live. That seems to be the most realistic for us all due to the distance we live apart. Gatlinburg might be a good spot.

Potpourri

Birthday Portraits

Usually, I wait until our daughter's birthday to take them for a birthday portrait. But, seeing as how my life stays so hectic, I figured I'd take Rachel while I had the time to do so. Rachel turns six on September 26th. Time really does go by too fast at times.

I also got a picture of Rachel & Anna together while we were at the portrait studio to send to the grandparents for Grandparent's Day. Yes, I'm a bit late on that one but better late than never right?

Weekend Plans

This is usually our weekend that we spend in Gatlinburg, TN. But, due to limited leave and the fact that Rachel & Anna have school on Monday, we decided to forego our usual trip this year. While I do miss the mountains, I don't miss the car rally in Pigeon Forge, TN, nor the motorcycle rally in Cherokee, SC, that always occurs on the same weekend as our reservations at Mt LeConte.

We were busy this weekend just taking care of things around the house. The RV is being serviced right now so we decided to stay put for the weekend.

Our niece, Mary Grace, spent Saturday evening and Sunday with us. I had some shopping to do and we girls went on Sunday morning. While shopping Mary Grace made mention that she wanted to start scrapbooking. Being a long time scrapper myself, I was eager to help out. :-)

Her birthday is in November so I told her I'd buy her an early birthday present and I bought her a few items to get her started. She was so eager to start. We spent part of the afternoon doing that. Rachel and Anna even created a couple of pages. I was proud of their effort. However, Anna was more intrigued with playing with the double-sided tape, stickers, etc. While I try to be careful not to wish their childhood away, I do have to say that I look forward to the time where we can work on a craft project or a scrapbook together without me having to worry about them gluing something to the table or chopping off a finger. Mary Grace is 10 and she is at a great age to do such things without the hassle or worry. Usually, I'm ready for some time at a spa after doing an arts & craft project with Rachel and Anna. They are getting better but they still have to be watched carefully when paint, scissors, and glue are easily accessible.

Jeff bought some new workout equipment on Sunday so he spent the day getting that set up.

It was nice just being home for the weekend but it seems to have gone by way too fast. We don't currently have plans for the coming weekend but we may have to take a short trip some where, even if it means getting a cabin or cottage if the RV isn't back yet.

Getting old ain't for sissies.~~Betty Davis

Yes, that adorable, cherubic infant pictured above is me. My, how times have changed.....

Wow! Have the years flown by......I'm four years old today. Or, so said the card given to me by my children. What? They liked the unicorn on the card so they picked it out for me.

Now, after looking at my childhood pictures, do you think my children favor me at all?

Today was a busy day. Unfortunately, life doesn't stop just because it is your birthday. So, my work day was long. But, I came home to a nice meal. Jeff had grilled steaks and made a chocolate cake with homemade chocolate icing. Not that I'm not appreciative....but I do have to wonder about the cake flavor selection considering that I'm surrounded by chocohalics.

And, my birthday presents from Jeff and the girls were an IPOD and some roses (along with some interesting birthday card selections....I even got one from the cat). I can't wait to use the IPOD. I wanted something I could use while jogging that wasn't cumbersome and would not skip due to the impact of me jogging.

I received lots of calls, cards, and emails from family, friends, and coworkers. If I didn't get the opportunity to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness earlier today, let me do so here. Thank you! I feel so blessed to call you my family and my friends. Truly, if we have our health and love, we are truly wealthy.

And, for those wondering, I am 37 today. 37 years young that is.