oh i love that song too!! LOL i have a feeling we'll have that kinda daddy on our hands!! LOL
i also love that combine song too!!
grant just toldme last night, its a 3 fire steak house dinner. woohoo!! tabor issooooo cool!! can you believe it!! with both of us together we are an awesome team! LOL
and thanks! and trina... you just are awesome too, i guess sometimes we all need to hear that!!
repeat after me.....
i am awesome in all the things i can do!!! :')) even the small things no one pays attentions to. (someone does notice them)
its amazing how later on, someone will comnt on something you ddid that was cool, but you thought you sucked at, nd then if they had just said that way back then, LOL
i sit here and red your guy's post's and am simply amazed, fishy teaches and goes home and teaches her kids, alot of you mommies work a full or even part time job and then go home and work a family as well, and even though no one say's it, its a full time job as well! i'd have headaches like you would not believe!! LOL especially dealing with the over reacting holiday idiots out there! that's what we were doing when we got my glasses, and everyonewas all uptight, i was like its just cuz of the holidays, the one woman was like, i'll have to remember that, it made it easier for her to deal with the people the rest of the day. i'm so wierd. LOL
everyme i go out and it's decent outside, all the ladybugs fly to me and land on me, i dn't wear any cologne or perfume, once in a while i wear the lavender skin so soft oil from avon but not when they come around, and the butterfly's kinda like me too. what's up with that? it can't be the energy output, so i'm not sure. LOL
i know, i'm very talkative this morning, the hellion is asleep, (YAY) she cut her bangs, i still cannot beleve that, i cannot fix this mess!! i was helping tabor and i thought she was going poo i knew she was too quiet. i shoulda known, she said her hair was too long.
ok, them mice are just being RUDE!!! i can hear them, they like my stove, want one of those flat tops!! LOL yep, that's what i'm gonna do!! then they'll stay out, i hear they hate cedar, but i've been spraying tee tree oil/water what i use for the germs, and they don't go where i spray that. so i'm thinking hmmmmm....
and i'm thinking about getting the cedar moth balls from walmart, and seeing how they work. the schoolling is going great!

Good Morning!
April, your spa in a box is on its way, DC# 03070020000171433359. I hope you like everything!! Enjoy!
Karen/kalena67

Pixie, Please? I really want to see you in your flapper jammies!!!! I think you would be so cute!

Medo, Congrats on the tickets baby! Those butterflies and lady bugs like you cause you are so sweet! Jack did the same thing as Tall last year. Told me his hair was too long and then the next thing I knew he appeared in front of me with a section of hair completely missing. He had cut it all the way down to the scalp! UGH! He is my slick kid. Gonna do what he wants, when he wants and as much as he can get away with.

We don't have mice in the house but we do get them in the outbuildings. Ed puts out traps but they always come back. They leave behind nests and then the little critters grow up and start skulking about when they're big enough. Find little poop pellets everywhere! Never ending cycle of infestation. We got some mice at my mom's house when I was in my teens. My mom wanted those humane traps because she didn't want to see a bloody dead mouse in her house. So my dad picked up the kind that look like little boxes and then back end is narrow so it tips down when the mouse grabs the food and then the door swings down. Click, there trapped. Well, funny thing is once the scurrying stopped we all forgot about the mice. Never checked the traps. I had to get something out of the cellar one day and noticed one of the little box traps sitting on the shelf. Door is closed, so I tapped it. No movement. Hmmmm, opened the door on it and inside was a dehydrated dead mouse. Humane traps are not too humane if you never check them and let the little devils starve to death!

:) I didn't want it at all, but my hubby went out and got some of the mouse poison pellets! Ick! I'm just afraid the mouse is going to die, and I'll find it sometime in my pantry all bloated! Ick! In a house we used to live in before we bought, it was HORRIBLE! This house has since been condemned and torn down. We had cockroaches all over, and mice. Not just one - but lots. I would actually be sitting in my livingroom and see them run from one place to another - it was so sick! I could NOT WAIT to move out of there! We did everything we could - traps, roach bait, you name it, we tried it! So icky!! So, this one mouse (I assume that's all it is at least) is really not a huge deal, but it is still driving me nuts! I'll put out the poison later, but I'm kind of dragging my feet on that one.

Becki, I think I would go ahead and put the pellets out. I would only put them out at night though and pick the dish up during the day. My kids would think they were a snack with my luck. The mouse that we had die was all shrunken up and flattened. Don't think it ever bloated up. They usually slink away to a hiding spot when they start to feel sick. Ed usually finds them in their nests after they die. Never had one get stinky on us. Thank goodness!

oh man becky!! did you live in our old house?? LOL
when we were first married we lived in this one house that was so gross! i swear it had like 20 roaches crawling at any given time on any wall. it was crazy!! but we lived in a crappy place!! but i know that grandaddy longlegs eat them. spiders are their natural enemy i think. becuase we lived in a really crappy place another time, and we had lots of the granddaddy long legs and no roaches, but our neighors did. but as for my mice. oh my. i hate them things!! i know them things don't like tea tree oil, and i always put them pellets under the dressers and in the closets under the sinks. but they keep getting worse every year. i wanna find all the holes that they get in on.

Not to worry about the kiddos - the mouse has stayed in the basement pantry so far, and the kids very RARELY go down there, and Lily ONLY when I go down as well.

Yeah - I will go put the pellets down there soon. Once I think the mouse is dead, then I can go through everything and see what it got into! I have no desire to do so yet though, as I don't want to run into it! I have lots of boxes of pudding (long story) down there, that I'm afraid it probably has had a hayday in. Or the bags and bags of dried beans ('nother long story) - I don't know if they would eat them or not. But, anyway, I'll find out in a week or so, I guess!

they will eat chocolate!! i know that! once we put the candy in the box in the attick, and went thru it later, well i ate one piece, my fave, and it tasted funny, you guessed it, the dang moused peed on it, i never got sick, but i never forgot that!! i know, no spitting out the coffe now!! LOL the kids are having a hayday just coloring and just being dorks!! LOL we have dorky time, its time where we have to be as dorky as we can be. LOL i think its beneficial to our healthy attitudes, yep thats what i'm sticking with. LOL i think when it gets really cold i'm gonna have to come up with something to keep us busy and not have to go out, maybe crazy dance!! LOL and then afterwards we'll have a slow down time with cappaccino (for mommy) LOL and a movie and popcorn. that sounds good to me!! LOL :'>>
so far, they haven't eaten my beans, knock on wood!! but anything sweet they sure do!! LOL
your lucky tracy! no mice!! how do ya do that?? air tight house?? my mom doesn't have any mice in her house, but they got it wrapped, ya know. i'd love to get that done.

Uh, oh! I also have lots of boxes of white bakers chocolate down there - I KNEW I should have put them in the freezer!!

Honestly, Medo, I don't know, They must be happy with what they find in Ed's workshop outside. I know last year I had a big bag of birdseed out there and they tore into that pretty good. Then there was tons of seed that landed under the bird feeder too so that kept them fed well after I got the bag secured. As long as they are warm and undisturbed they are happy out there. Lucky me! Yay! I have zero tolerance for pests in the house! I would go bonkers knowing one was inside. I would probably act like a loon and hunt it with Ted's paintball gun, there would be bright pink paint splatters all over the joint until I got them all! LOL!
{{gwi:1310707}}

Our House is insulated, we have a block foundation and concrete crawl spaces under the editions with block walls as well. I guess the outbuildings are just easier to get into.

Hi ladies.

Klick ups is fine sweetie.

Becki we used chocolate also to bait the traps with, then we had to get the sticky traps cause Cole thought it was more humane but sheesh I think after pouring oil on them to get them off the thing they would come back to our house so I finally just started throwing the entire thing away with the mouse still on it. We also used the pellets, mice are too small to stink when they die. But do like Tracy said and put the dish out just at night and put it in a spot that the kids can't get to it. Decon is what killed Calliegirl, it was that that the neighbors threw in our backyard.

well back outside for me.

Smiles,
Pixie

UGH...Okay, Becki. Just don't use the white chocolate if it's YELLOW, promise??!! LOL
We had that same mouse problem in the duplex we lived in. We didn't think it was that bad until we were moving, and I came back to finish cleaning after everything was out...and there were HUNDREDS of mice crawling around everywhere! They weren't even scared of me!! OhMyGosh, it was NASTY!! NASTY! NASTY!! And to think I let my kids sleep on the floor there!! UGH!!!

Anyway...on to better things! I really came to post a THANK YOU!! To LETHA!!

I received a FANTASTIC WONDERFUL AWESOME box from Letha today!! This thing was loaded, and I honestly don't know how she got it closed. Packing must be her secret talent!! :O)
Here's what she sent me!

~B&BW Pumpkin Pie paradise body wash! (hubby will LOVE this..pumpkin is his FAV. IF I get attacked tonight, Letha, I'm blaming you! LOL)
~Body Massager (for after I use the pumpkin wash!!!!!)
~Toe Separators!! These are SO cute! They look like slugs, with the googly eyes & everything!!!! Awwwww...!
~Backyard living Magazine! YAY! For when I actually have a chance to read!!! :O)
~Terry make-up headband! This is great, I'm always losing these!
~Shea body butter!!! I sooooo needed this!
~Hersheys chocolate sticks!! (I needed these, too! LOL)
~Cetaphil moisturizing creams! Can't wait to try these!
~Pumice sponge! My feet will thank you!
~Foot File! -Ditto!-
~Nail files! Adora just ran off with my last one yesterday..HOW did you know??? :O)
~Bubble Yum Hershey's chocolate LIP BALM!! YUMMY!!!!!!
~Bath Sponges!! Pink & orange ones!!
~Yankee candle votives! cinnamon stick, spiced pumpkin, harvest & autumn wreath! They smell SO good!!
~B&BW Amber body lotion! My favorite scent from them!!
~Sugar scrub!! YAY!!!
~Foot Scrub packet!! YAY again!!
~5 packages of cocoa mix! Different yummy flavors!! Can't wait to curl up with the magazine, chocolate & the cocoa!!!
~Heel to toe foot softener! Oh Boy!!! Can't wait to use this!
~B&BW Vanilla ice cream body splash! This is yummy! (the girls tried to take it from me!!)
~Bath salts!
~Bath Caviar! (the girls tried to take these, too!)
~Pink bunny washcloth!! (I think this is a wash cloth, it's so cute, I didn't want to unfold it to find out!!!)
~TRUFFLES!!!!! (ssshhhh...the girls don't know about these...I hid these from them!!!)

Wow! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
Letha, this is just AWESOME!! You absolutely went beyond what I could have hoped for!! Big Smooches to you, girl friend!!! :O)

awww becki, i see your after some of the same seeds as me!! LOL i LOVE columbines and foxgloves!! LOL naw tracy, its the freakyness, LOL

does anyone know if there's a salvia that has pods? mine as 3ft tall, lavender in color, had pointed leaves no smell, the seeds are just like all the oher salvia seeds.

Hey Letha,Just checked & your package is waiting for you at the Post Office!
Bunny sounds like you got an awesome package. I'm off now to search 'Bath Caviar'.Of all the bath items out there, I've never heard of that one.
Later...April/dirt

Michele - I love the way they look, but I haven't grown any yet! Actually I have 2 or 3 different bunches of columbine that I planted this year, but obviously won't bloom until next year. And I have yet to plant any foxglove, but can't wait! I'll make sure I plant some 'Foxy' next year, as I believe they bloom the first year. I have SO MANY things I want to plant next year!!!!

I am kind of bummed. While looking though my hubby's orders for the next month or so, I realized that he will be driving fairly close to Michele and to Tracy! Bummed because I know he will be in hurry (he always is when he does deliveries), and I will probably have to stay here with the kids anyway. Michele - he'll be going right down I-335 to Douglass, KS. Tracy, he has to go to New York, so he'll be going across I-80. My guess is he'll be within an hour of each of you... Ahh - sometimes I dream of the day when the kids are grown and I can travel all over with him! (But not very often - I'm very happy to keep my kids young!!!!)

I can't believe it - my holiday show is already 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!! Holy cow! I didn't realize it was coming up so quickly until earlier today! Guess I should look at my calender more often! I bought a bunch of baking ingredients yesterday, so I can make a bunch of sample/display/for sale cookies and candies. Mostly I am hoping to take orders for holiday dessert trays, so I want to have a nice looking display. Well, hubby saw the bags of stuff, and he realized what I was planning. He wasn't real up on the baking part. He confuses me sometimes!! Anywhoo - I've got lots to do over the next two weeks! He mentioned this morning that he thought I was bringing my jewelry too, which is fine, but I honeslty haven't made anything new since last year, so it will be leftovers. I do have a bunch of turquoise chips, so I'll probably still make some more bracelets, as turquoise was extremely popular last time, but that will likely be all the jewelry I make.

Pixie - I've found the same thing with bats - if you are humane and don't kill it, but let it go outside, it just comes back, as it already knows how to get in. Very irritating!!!

Sounds like a nice box, Miss Melissa!! Can't wait to get mine sent. Maybe tomorrow, but probably Monday.

Elizabeth has a friend over for a couple more hours tonight, and they want to get on the computer, so I guess I'd better get off for a while! Later...

Becki

awww!! like my mom and them, truckdriving, always just a hop skip and a jump away!! LOL man!! i coulda met just 1 person who i admire! that woulda been so cool!! i admire each one of ya for something!! LOL
ya becki, i know how that goes, my hubby does that to me, i think maybe they wan it for us, but they see all the stuff and where the confusing part comes in is they see everything and wonder if we are gonna be up to it or ya know. at least for me, cuz i tend to get burned out quick, at least on weight loss stuff, LOL hmmmmm.... wonder why??? LOL :')
as for the mice, kill the little buggers!! they are just gonna come back! and they are filthy!! yuck!!

Aw, Becki are you ready for this... I-80 is less than 5 minutes away from my house. I go over the bridge for it at least twice a day! The exit is just a few miles away from me in Strongsville! You better start convincing him to let you come! Tell him to drop you off on the way to New York and pick you up on the way back! LOL! Won't be but 45 minutes off his time! We could have so much fun pouring over cook books! LOL!

Medo, you should hitch a ride on up with your MOM! We can go check out all these nurseries around here and catch dropped seeds in the metroparks! We have a huge Nature Preserve by us that is just amazing.

Bunny your box of pampering sounds fantastic! I am with Medo, I need to look up the caviar! All of those scrubs and gels and aromas sound so yummy! Coming to steal your truffles! My super nose will find them!

Well I just looked up the bath caviar and found this fantasticly inexpensive web site that sells all kinds of bath and body products really cheap! It is called Cottage Soap. They have tons of cute gift ideas and super prices. Has anyone ever ordered from them?

Here is a link that might be useful: Cottage Soap Web Site

that was april, but i'm with ya all! LOL
I-135 is 8 minutes away. but i don't know where douglas is. LOL could you imagine me away from my kids for more than 3 day's? that would be funny!! LOL all day (litterally) i have been getting these seeds out of tese pods, they are done, but i want to make sure they are all out.

Becki,
Being the goober I am, I didn't measure the box before shopping, and had to unbox a set and shove things in the gaps left by the other boxes. For some bazzare reason I can't find your address, now I could be losing my mind, but I thought I had it in an old email. Sis phoned today, and said the cookies arrived (I'm pretty sure our mother nagged her into it, so I didn't tell her I had a tracking number 2 weeks ago), seems art students are less starving now, at least in her dorm room.

Bunny I'll guess you've got 13 extra guests, and are wondering if ordering a pre-cooked turkey from the market is "cheating".

Hint:

I'm guessing 22 extra guest.
later....April/dirt

Fishy - I don't know if I ever sent you my address. So, don't think you are losing your mind! I will email it to you right now.

I'm sorry if your sis wasn't thrilled with the cookies! It was such a nice idea on your part!!

I'll work on my hubby, Tracy, but I won't bet on it! That would be so much fun, though! I can't believe you both will be so close to where he passes!!!

Lily got sick overnight - fun! Hopefully she'll be able to keep something down pretty soon! Apple juice and medicine sure aren't.

Okay, gotta go send miss Fishy and email!

Becki

Aw, poor Lilly! I hope her tummy feels better soon. Does she have a fever too? Poor Sweetie!

Well, I am off to my catering job, just wanted to pop in and say Good Morning to everyone! I hope you all have a great day!

Tracy

My guess is 14 guests.Bunny, I'm so glad you liked your goodies.I tried to stuff in as much as I could.I would have put in more if it would have fit.I went crazy buying stuff.It was fun! Hi April!I didn't get a chance to go by the post office yesterday.After work I had to rush to pick Avery up at the sitters at 5:30.I get off work at 5 & work 30 min. away from the sitters.I got there at 5:30 exactly.Then someone called in sick at the store and I went to help fill in.Didn't even get a chance to go home.I didn't get off work there until 11pm. After all that I went home and crashed.I'm going to go this morning. When we built our house we had someone come & blow insulation in the attic.They probably didn't know it but they blew in a mouse or rat too.It fell into the space between the walls between the pantry in the kitchen and living room.We had to listen to the scratching until it died.Then it didn't smell so good in the pantry for awhile.Gross.My guess is that it was a rat.I don't think we would have smelled a mouse through the wall.But my hubby wouldn't finish moving in until the smell was gone.

Oh, poor Letha! That's yucky! It's honestly not uncommon for us to hear scratching in our walls... I usually think it's a bat that gets in there and can't figure out how to get out. That stinks, though, trying to get to sleep with something scratching inside of your wall! And it's incredibly creepy too!!

I hope you have a great day today, Tracy! I'm sure your food is INCREDIBLE!! Wish I could see your the spread you put on!

So far, no throwing up since 5:30 this morning, but she hasn't ate anything or drank much, so we'll see. Just a slight fever. Hubby is just certain she got into something that made her sick, or that I fed her something bad. But, I don't think she would get a fever from that, plus I wouldn't have any idea what it could have been! I'm pretty sure it's just a virus, espcially as she seems to be feeling somewhat better already. I'm pretty sure she's fine.

Have a great day, everyone!

Becki

Hey, Sassy! Just wanted to let you know your box of goodies is going out today! The dc # is 0103 8555 7492 3978 5690. Thank goodness for the flat rate box!! When it comes to products like these, they can get pretty heavy! Hope you enjoy!!

scrathcing in the walls is those mice!! i know, they are here, and when i leave the stuff out, occasionally they die there, yucky!! especially if there's a updraft!! let me tell ya all a little story, LOL :'))
one time i knew one had died, i could smell it before anyone else could -( i just have a nose for it- this big ol honker is good for something) LOL well anyhow, i was sniffing around on the floor, and the baseboards, cuz everyone was gone and no one would EVER know! LOL and i finally found the spot! so i pulled the baseboard out and part of the wall without messing it up, (hubby'd kill me) and i found the decomposing mouse, 2 skeletons of the little buggers. those were kinda cute, if i wasn't so grossed out!! LOTS of bleach to kill the smell!! so there's my story! :')) i hope ya all are haveing a great day!! its supposed to be nice here but its awefully cloudy! i have to try and fix talla's hair, i tell ya, i'm tempted to just give her a buzz, then maybe she'd think a million times over befor touching the scissors again!! but then grant WOULD beat me (not really) but he'd sure want to!! LOL becki, your jams sound sooooo good!!! do you sell and ship??

Afternoon All. Just got back from taking Taylor to the Doc. Soooo glad they were open on Saturday. She was complianing of left side of her face,right below her ear hurting,said it hurt to turn her head or open her mouth.Plus I could see that it was swollen. They did step test,came back negative, so then they did bloodwork. Came back that she has Mono. No school for her till the 19th or 20th.Also no running ,jumping ,bike riding,ect... for awhile. I ran into Wal-Mart bought motrin & tylenol& all the "Fairies" books they had that she hasn't read yet. She's my book worm,so there was only two .She she should be set for a few days. Doc said to call if she complains about her stomach hurting. So we are keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't get worse. All prayers are welcomed!
Becki, hope your little one gets better.Just not a good weekend for the kiddos it seems.
Later..April/dirt

Oh, April, that's awful! How old is she? I hope she feels better soon!! Gotta ask - which fairy books are these? My 7 year old would probably like them as well, but I'm not sure which ones you are talking about. I want to check them out!

Lily seems to be much better - she's been running around a lot, and has ate a few apple slices and kept them down okay. Now she is drinking lots of powerade, so I think she's okay. Tried to give her Pedialite, but she didn't like that at all! Anyway, I think we are good here again!

That is so yucky, Michele! Ewww! So far, I haven't smelled any dead stuff from in the wall - thank goodness!

I haven't sold and shipped any jams yet, but that is definitely something I hope to do in the future. I need to get some good pictures taken and put them on my website, but I just have so much going on right now, that it hasn't made the top of my list yet! I need to do a lot on that website!! One of these days, that will definitely get done! Next time I have you in a swap, I will certainly send you some, okay?! Gotta get back to this batch of preserves!

Becki

ok!! that'll be cool!! i hope your little ones get better!! so far we have been lucky! but then again, well no schooling out there, so no outside viruses, and the kids they hang out with, don't usually get sick. that's pretty darned cool!! we just hope not to pick up any viruses at church. a couple of members had the flu. luckily we didn't get them.
fishy, do you give your kids a report card? how long do you keep your papers they do?
i don't know how im supposed to give them a percent. i sucked at that!! big time!! i went on ahead and got edhelper its kinda cool. but cuz tabor is soooo smart. i have a hard time keeping up with him!! and this stuff is boring him!!

Well they do get a report card of sorts, but it's a % complete for the year, if they can't get 80% of the daily quizes/work done, then we stop and review it right there. Usually it's that they tried to blow thru it fast to get school "done" for the day, and made silly mistakes (like not carring in addition). So it's pass or redo here. For keeping paperwork, we keep a portfolio of 1-2 examples in each subject for each quarter (example: we just finished our 1st quarter, and Evan has a page of fractions and one of 2 didget adition in his file, a collage from art, a map of Ceaser's empire he colored, and results from 2 science projects he did), beyond that the rest gets purged every few weeks, some good pages are sent to grandma (say a story he wrote & illustrated).

No becki, not that she didn't like them, she's never had to write or phone in a thank you in her life, our mother did that for her. I'm hoping it's a skill she picks up before she gets married and has to write dozens of notes. I think I'll send along some nice stationary and a pen with her Xmas gifts.

Medo,
If it's boring to him, give him stuff the next level up (many kids work in several grades, 1st grade reading but 3rd grade math for example), or else ask him to think about a long-term project he'd like to work on (could be anything, building rockets, learning to cook, science exparaments, but it has to be something he's into). When he's done with the daily assignments he can go work on his project for the remaining time till everyone's done with school. Then add that project into his grade. Here the kids get extra points for weekly garden upkeep, in science, as they are learning botiny as well, they measure the plants weekly, count the edible produce, weight it, etc.

Becki,
Hubby sent it certified mail # is 70042890000444723149.

Thanks, Fishy! Can't wait to see it! : )

Lily is able to keep food down now, but still isn't very hungry, which is understandable. She's napping now, and after the rough night we had, I think I'll take advantage of that and try to do the same!

Becki

Beki,Taylor is 7 also. The books are the Disney Fairies. They are about Tinkerbell & the other fairies that live in Pixie Hollw. She wants to collect them all & is well on her way. Now she is wanting to redo her room in Tinkerbell.
Thinking on getting her that stuff for Christmas,as most of the toys now days are being recalled! She really wanted the Aquadots,glad I hadn't bought them yet.Glad your little one is feeling better. Taylor doesn't understand why she can't have any other fun than reading or watching TV right now. Any other time we couldn't pry her off the couch.LOL!
Later...April/dirt

ok, thanks!!i'll have to try to figure things out! LOL i think i have to much fun! we gade the papers and all that, but i keep forgetting to write down the grades, he barely ever misses any, except in english. hmmmmm.. wnder where he gets that from. LOL right now i'm having him do a page that has a bunch of stuff on it, that will tell me where he is, no reall pressure, if he does good, then awesome, if he doesn'';t then, we'll work on it.
and that's what we do, go over stuff then. do you do unit study's? i'm kinda thinking i want to. we do for the sea animal(talla)/rocks etc(tabor) and then at the end of the month i want them to build some sort of display to show me how the sea life is. then the next month is rain forest. which we have been behind on it. i have been trying to jugle EVERYTHING, oh my its hard!! i think i have adult add or something. LOL
well becki, if she's napping, isn't that a good sign? i'm always glad when mine nap. then i know the cells are gonna be doing their jobs. LOL

Yes we've done theme units, and they're alotta fun. I still would stick with regular math books, as math does need to be done in sequiential order. What we use now is the k-12.com for the older kids, where preschool grades is unit studies, mostly because 1. in the state we can get the k12 for free, so the parents don't have to pay for books etc, 2 much easier to handle 10 kids in K-2nd grade that way. One thing I'll suggest is letting the kids suggest themes too, if talla loves fairies, go for one on fairy tales, that would have dragons and knights for tabor, as well as faries, princesses, and a dash of history. If the ideas come from them it's much easier to sustain thier learning than deciding "this week is apples, next week is bears". If you need ideas for specific themes, I can help round up some goodies for them.

Oh, girlfriend, I am very glad she's napping! She's been sleeping for about 3 hours now, which I will probably regret later, but I know it will help her feel better, so I am ALL for it! I couldn't get to sleep though - so probably around 11 tonight she'll be wide awake, and I'll be ready to drop! That'll be fun!

April - Elizabeth wanted aquadots SO badly too! I am SOOOO glad I didn't buy them!! Lily still has a tendency to put things in her mouth! Just checked with Elizabeth, and she's read one of those books, but didn't like it very much - she's much more into the Magic Treehouse books. Thank goodness William went through that phase as well, so we have lots of them already. Of course she's read all that we have...

Tracy - do you have any pictures of your catering??? I really would LOVE to see!

Becki

i looked at k12.com, but i couldn't find how to get them free, how am i supposed to get it free? i am such a dunce at stuff sometimes!! LOL especially if its supposed to be easy! then it comes to me hard, but if its supposed to be hard, then for me its easy! my husband says i'm back a**wards!! LOL :'))

Holy cow, girls. The weather must be getting colder because the post count jumped up! I had a hard time keeping up with all the conversations, but now I'd have to take some time to really catch up! LOL

WOW!!! My pampering box from tracyvine showed up!!! You did a good job packing, girl! You should see my box... it's ginormous and probably could have been cut down. Heh.

Soooooooo... inside this lovely box was:

- chocolate chocolate chip cookies dipped in chocolate! They're gone, btw. ;)
- 3 mini bottles of nail polish (perfect b/c I need them!)
- 3 hyacinth bulbs 'Queen of the Violets'
- bath exfoliating gloves
- Bee Kissed shea butter chap stick
- one of those nail filing cushions
- HEMP hydrating bath bag with shampoo, conditioner, hand protector, body butter, and candle
- HEMP body moisturizer
- Bodycology coconut lime bath & shower gel

MY GOODNESS! This is a perfect box! I am so thrilled with everything! And I could definitely use all of it! Since my foot surgery last week I haven't been able to shower. So this will be put right to use for my next bath. Warm bath, candlelight, new scents.

You are such a great gift giver! *hugs*

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Great box, Klick!!! :O) Sounds like Tracy really put alot of thought into everything, and she did a GREAT job! (huge pat on back for Tracy, who said she "didn't know how to pamper anyone". PHHTTBBBB, on that, Tracy!!! :O) )

I will wait until tomorrow night to give everyone a chance to get in their guess for the question. I think pretty much everyone has guessed, except one or two gals...But I will not give away if anyone has guessed the CORRECT number! :O)

Just for a temptation...the prize will be....well, very nice. LOL I will say that much!! :O)

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

you too melissa!! you are such a sweetie!! :'))

Awwww, Klick, I am soooo glad you liked your box of pampering goodies! That file sponge is the kind that is for calluses on the feet. I picked one up for me and started using it and it works wonders! I have nearly gotten rid of all my rough patches from barefootin' this summer! LOL! Should have gotten one ages ago. My feet don't ache so much now! I may have worn it out already! I knew those cookies wouldn't last long! LOL! Whew! Glad I figured out how to pamper! Happy Bathing! I know how bad you want to take a good soaker! Had surgery on my wrist a few years ago and couldn't do the full shower thing for a while! That first one was a good long one after all the sponge washing!

Phfltbtt! Back at you bunny! I seriously worried that I would blow it! I never do any of this stuff for me and haven't the faintest clue as how to go about it except for taking a break and talking to you guys!

April, I am so sorry that she has Mono. I had it when I was 15. No, not from boys! Sharing drinks in highschool is what did it to me. All girl's highschool. My throat was totally miserable. I couldn't eat or drink anything. The doctor recommended Chloraseptic spray and it numbed my throat really well. I was finally able to have smoothies and slimfast after that.

Becki, I meant to take my camera with me today! I keep forgetting to do that. I still have some desserts left so maybe I will put a little plate together tomorrow and snap a shot of it. The raspberry marble cheesecake was so yummy! The ginger cookies were a huge hit! The fruit platter looked really nice. The other stuff was pretty basic: brownies, chocolate chip cookies and plain cheesecake. We did 2 non-alcoholic punches, coffee and tea. The table looked really nice and the group was very happy with everything. All in all a good day. Got another booking yesterday for December 21st. This will be a company holiday luncheon. So things are going well. I am glad to hear that Lilly is feeling better! I think you are right about it being a virus. Fevers don't usually accompany bad food and the vomiting usually happens within 45 minutes or so of ingesting bad food. Trust me, I gave Ted bad turkey for lunch when he was 7. Within an hour of lunch he was hurling his brains out. Poor buddy!

Medo,
To get it free, you have to sign up to join a charter school in your state, listed under virtuial academies, about 20 states now have the program. If not you can sign up as an independant student. I gotta hit the hay, we're planning a trip to legoland tomorrow, and mommy needs sleep.

Sorry,Pixie didn't mean to pick same # as you! Don't want Bunny to accuse me of stealing another answer like the last one. LOL! Will change mine from 22 to...24. If I'm allowed to change it that is.
Later..April/dirt

Becki, I took some pictures this morning of the few remaining desserts from yesterday along with some of the bottled vanilla extract. These are the Raspberry Marbled Cheesecake, Plain Cheesecake and the Ginger Raisin Cookies.

Very pretty, Tracy!!! Looks yummy!! That cheesecake is so beautifully marbled!! I love your serving pieces as well! I have just a couple pieces like that - some good sided plates that I put on a 2 tiered dessert server, and matching tea cup and saucers. I'm sure it's not the same pattern as yours, but it's the same color - I love it! The grocery store had it a while back, and you could collect the pieces - one on sale each week, or something. But, I just got those pieces. Anyway, VERY NICE!! You do good work, Tracy! I was going to ask you - is a glass, corked bottle necessary for the vanilla? I had a hard time finding anything quite like that. So, mine is in a vodka bottle with a screw on lid.

Becki

Thank you! Those pieces are Staffordshire. I started collecting them last year. They are around 60 years old or older. I haven't been able to find out too much info on them except that they are Barrott's of England. The pattern around the rim suggest that they are art deco so that would put them at around the 1920' or 30's at the earliest. I have most of a service for 12. The cookie jar is a copy though. I got all of them on ebay for under 50 bucks with shipping. The seller took a really bad picture and the pattern looked brown. I asked and they told me they were really a rose color so I bid and had no competition on it. Small miracle that I got so many pieces for so little money! I love the tiered dessert servers! They look so pretty and save so much room. I have been wanting one for a long time.

No, not necessary to bottle them that way, the vanilla can go into any sealed container. Just keep it in a dark cupboard at room temp. Those bottles in the picture are what I am giving them away in as gifts for family and friends this Christmas. I found them at Old Time Pottery for $0.99 each. They are 8oz. sizes. I got one large milk jug size to brew a bigger batch for bottling later on. That is sitting in my cupboard. Next time I do another batch I am just going to put them in the vodka bottle like you have yours. That way I can keep brewing them in staggered batches to refill the smaller more manageable sized bottles that I use when I am baking. When I first started making the vanilla extract I just reused my olive oil bottles. I ran them through the dishwasher and stuffed the beans in there and poured in the vodka. Topped it off when I was running low but it took so long for it to be ready to use that I now do a big batch in the large jug. So save those small bottles with screw lids for when you are ready to sell them at the craft shows if you can't find any reasonable smaller bottles for sale. The old labels come off fairly easily and then you can print your own and stick them on.

Afternoon Everyone! Wanted to share my seedlings with ya'll. These are some that are on my front windowsills. There are several babies coming up whoohoo!

Second pic is of my red and purple petunias, very happy (and some more seedlings)

Third picture is a wire basket that has all kinds of plants in it.

Smiles,
Pixie