Mandatory smiles

I've been pushing Bluebonnett pictures to the bottom of my to do list for almost 2 weeks now. I've told the kids almost every day to "please remind me tomorrow that we HAVE to do Bluebonnett pictures." And each day something gets in the way. Alex has been anxiously awaiting our stop on the side of the road and has even requested that we stop "a whole bunch of times". So, yesterday on the way to Nana and Big Daddy's we stop. Daddy is sick, and stays in the car with the dogs while I attepmt a speedy photo session. My expectations were high considering all the preparations I've made in talking it up to the kids. That was my first mistake.

We get out there and here is what I get:

Awww, isn't she just perfect.



Aaannnd then there's Alex











Mistake #2...trying to force a hard headed 5 year old to smile. Doesn't work. I threw in the towel with the boy and put my "other" daughter Kelly in for a quick photo shoot fix. Ahhhh....much better.







After watching how happy the girls made me, Alex decided to give it one last try and I actually got 2 decent photos out of him.

Real Moms Meme

I was tagged by Mollie gosh darnit. I guess I can't complain, I always enjoy flexing the brain a bit. To finish the statement "Real moms__". I have to think. If I replace the word "mom" with "dad", this meme would be much easier.
I suppose a real mom is more than just the woman who gave birth to you. She's the one who makes your heart feel warm whenever your heart needs warming, and sometimes even when you don't. She's the one who thinks you're the cutest, most beautiful human being she's ever laid eyes on, even with your hair caked with pear juice and face covered in dirt. In fact, she thinks you're just as precious like that as you are wrapped in a fresh towel after a bath. A real mom always has your best interest in mind, even if that means you will dislike her for a little while. A real mom knows that she will always have a special place in your heart. A place that no one could ever replace, because without her, that little space would be cold and empty.

A real mom knows how to make you laugh and strives to hear that laughter daily. She teaches how you can laugh at just about anything if you choose to. A real mom shows her son how his wife should be, and her daughter how to be that wife. A real mom shows her children how to love by hugging them AND their father (and sometimes a tree or two). She shows them how to hold their head up high, even when their wrong...and that being wrong is ok. Admitting their wrongs is even better than ok.

A real mom is anyone who does the best with what they have, and is always trying do better no matter what their circumstance. She learns from her children just as they learn from her.

She always wishes for her children to have more happiness, love and patience than they could ever imagine.

I know so many REAL MOMS, and I feel so lucky for that!

Oh, almost forgot, I'm suppose to include a picture with this post. Since I don't have one that I think is appropriate, I think I'll share this one.

Sandfest!

What do you get when you tell a 5 year old boy to pack his bag for a 3 day vacation on the beach? Two swimsuits, a pair of undies, a Leapster and enough matchbox cars for every little boy within a mile strip of the beach to play with...and then some.




We made our second anual Sandfest trip this past weekend and despite the gloomy weather, we had a fabulous time. This year my best friend Mollie and her family came as well, along with 4 of our other friends and their families. We stayed at the Coral Cay, which was just a short walk from the beach and really have no complaints about the accomodations. The condo was fully stocked with every kitchen utensil imaginable...maybe next time we go we'll actually USE some of them. The room was very clean (aside from the carpet that really did need replacing) and the layout was perfect. I like how the rooms are down the hall and away from the living area. This worked out great since Nana and Big Daddy tend to wake up before the birds and usually have to tip toe around in effort not to wake us. Our pool side view was upgraded to a dune view which was perfect. It put us closer to the beach and really made us feel like we were the only condo for miles. The walls were brick, so there was no issue with noise transferenence. All in all it was a very comfortable stay and I would definitely recommend the Coral Cay.

Now on to the fun stuff! Even with the rain we were able to find breaks in the weather that allowed us to enjoy the beach a bit. And of course I was right there ready to capture those few moments.

Our traditional ferry boat picture and our first seagull sighting as the ferry docked at Port A:




Mom and Ash being goofy at dinner. Imagine that, us goofy??!















Alex squared after their first trip to the beach upon arrival....no, that's not ocean water they're covered in, that would be rain. From the smiles on their faces I don't think it mattered one way or another.




Lil J-Money trying to warm up after running in the rain.



And now the dry and oh-so-studly lil guy in Alex's shirt.



This is the main castle that most of the sculptors contributed to.

Now THIS I can handle

After reading the article about the church that kicked off the "Complain free for 21 days" program, I got to thinking. Could I do this? And then I really got to thinking. Do I complain a lot? Just how much DO I complain? Now I'm beginning to realize how complaining could very well be a habit shared by more people than any other known habit.

I woke up this morning, and the very first thought that came to mind, was a complaint. "Arrrggghhh, stupid alarm! I don't want to get up, I'm stiiiillll tired!" Then I walk downstairs, check on Ashley, and on a typical day, another complaint rolls through my mind, "Why can't she close her door when she gets ready! She's going to wake Alex up!" Hmmm, instead I suppose I should replace that thought with, "She's such a good girl, she's already up and dressed without me having to say a word." Goodness, the first two thoughts of my day are negative, I NEVER stopped and thought about it. I'm going to adopt this program for our family. I NEED to adopt this program for our family. (Mark, I know you're smiling right now, just imagining the road trip this weekend) Maybe this could stem off in to an ongoing program with sticker charts and rewards.

Today I will document my complaints. Just as an informative sort of here's what not to do journal. As I sit here thinking about how easy this will be, I begin to wonder if I just don't realize how much I complain. Here we go!

Barrel o' water

Well, we finally did it! This weekend Mark installed our first Rain Barrel! I have been researching this project for over a year now, so to finally have it complete is just so exciting for us. I could not have done this without my sweet husband. And the icing on the cake was watching the enjoyment he got out of building it. He had so much fun, and THAT, made it even more rewarding than ever.
After all the scattered information I found on the internet, I decided that I would document the process in hopes that someone else might try to create their own water storage system. If just one person read this and created their own and then passed on their knowledge to the next and so on, just imagine all the water we could save together. And imagine how happy our plants and our water bills will be! Pass it on!

The first thing you need to do is find a barrel. Now, there are several options for a collection container. They're all over the internet, and if you have the right connections, you might even be able to bum one off a manufacturing facility of some sort for free. If you want one with a spigot already installed your price will definitely go up, but if you're like me, and just don't want to deal with it, you'll spend the extra $25-$30 for the pre-made barrel. I did some reasearch and found some onCraigslist and Ebay. I chose to buy mine from Ecowise. I appreciate that their barrels are rescued from their journey to the dump and recycled, instead of being manufactured for the sole purpose of profit. Their price was one of the cheapest I found too. About $55.00. If you live in Austin (or even some MUD's) you can get a discounted Rainbarrel, or a partial refund. For more info. see the City of Austin website.

So now that you have your rain barrel, you need to find a location that will work for you. For me, I needed to a spot that somewhat inconspicuous since we do have a neighborhood association, and as silly as it seems, I would probably get a complaint for my "unsightly" barrel. We found the perfect spot right next to the down spout for the rain gutters that's hidden from the street by a red tip bush. This also happens to be a high spot on our lot, which will help gravity do it's thing.

Next, Mark leveled out the ground for a good sturdy foundation. He used rocks and square pavers to do this. He decided to have a slight slope to further aid in the draining of the barrel.

After he had the perfect spot created, Mark got to work building the stand. The higher you go, the better flow you'll get. I'm not even going to attempt dimensions right now, but I think each project will be different depending on the size of the barrel and the space you have to work with. If you want specific dimensions, feel free to email me and I'll get the measuring tape out there. Our barrel is 55 gallons, so we needed to create a structure that could hold up to 500 pounds. You will need to make sure your structure is sturdy enough for YOUR barrel. A gallon of water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds. Oh and FYI before your shopping trip, Mark ended up using about a pound of screws.



After the stand is complete, you can start working on the diverter. There are a few pre-fab diverters that I've seen online, like this one at composters.com
Or, you can go to a home improvement store and create your own, as Mark did.




















The top of the rain barrel is solid, so you'll need to measure and cut a hole for your tubing. Another important step you can't forget is to install either a screen or a trap that keeps debris from getting in to your barrel. HD sells a trap that fits in to the tubing perfectly, or you can install a screen before the entrance to the barrel.





This project took about 4 hours to complete, but a majority of that time was spent just figuring it all out with trial and error. If he had to do it over again, he could probably do it in half the time with the above information.

Now how crazy is this, within an hour or so of completion we got our first down pour. And 24 hours later, our barrel was FULL. Someday, I'd like to have the ability to store 500+ gallons of water. :)

Here are some more resources for Rainwater Harvesting:

Rain Barrel Suppliers

Garden Water Saver

Eagle Peak Containers

Global Issues

Texas Rain Water Harvesting Manual

Our next project is a compost barrel! Fun, fun!

Pass the Torch Tuesday

Busy, busy...I'm taking this one from the other day. See the next post below, titled "Grades".

Grades

Ash brought home her report card today. Once again straight A's!! And she even got a 100 in Language Arts. This girl is just something else, she's in all GT classes and still, she keeps those grades up. I am just so proud of her!

It looks like she's decided on which classes to take in Middle School next year. She won't commit just yet though, she's planning on turning in her schedule request on the due date to allow herself time to change her mind. Smart thinkin! So far she's pretty stuck on taking an extra semester of PE and one semester of Languages. She really did want to do either Band or orchestra, but was to afraid to commit to the full year, which is required. I think her choices are great and I just know whatever she chooses she will do well.

Pass The Torch Tuesday - Chores

I'm proud of both Ashley and Alex for being such big helpers around the house. They have their weekly and daily chores and most of the time they do them without much fuss. This weekend we were out of town, so chore time was crammed in to Sunday afternoon when they would have much rather been playing outside, especially after the long drive home. I told them if they got their chores done quickly they could play outside the rest of the evening. In order to accomplish this quicker, Ashley come up with the idea that they could help each other and get done faster. They spent the afternoon working together without fighting, and ended up accomplishing their goal without me having to nag.

What a weekend!

We made our first trip out to dads in months this weekend, a trip was way overdue! With basketball and baseball, we've been busy every weekend and just haven't found the time to make the trip. They've already begun construction on Ruthie's new bathroom and bunkhouse!! (I suppose that's what we'll call it) So exciting! They've poured the foundation and framed most of it, but with all the rain last week they're a tad behind schedule.
It was a nice trip and Ruthie force fed us entirely too much food. I say "force" in hope that I can admonish some of my guilt for consuming mass quantities this weekend. How can ANYONE pass up ribs and cracker crumb fried shrimp? It's just not American to use portion control when presented with such tasty homecooked meals.

Saturday morning Ruthie and I made the trek back to Austin for Barb's memorial service. It was a beautiful service and I'm so glad that I was able to sit next to Ruthie and take in all of the beautiful stories that were said about Barb. It was so touching to see friend after friend go up and tell about how their lives were impacted by something Barb did or said. It was truly eye opening for me to see how something as simple as listening can change someones life and touch them in ways that we will never really know. A lot of people talked about her energy, since Barbara was in to Reiki, and I really do think I'm understanding more and more about this "energy". I realized how that energy that we create just keeps moving on and on, whether we're in our bodies or not. Her energy passed not only to those that she touched, but even to those just listening to their stories. We are all continuously learning and growing and on Saturday Barb was a big part of that growth for so many of us.

After the memorial Rutie's "girls" and I went to lunch at Brick Oven, where I learned even MORE from these ladies. It's just so beautiful to me that they have continued to have a friendship after all these years. It's neat to hear how similar their relationships are to mine and my friends. There really isn't much difference, the topics change over the years, and they have grown much wiser together, but the friendships really are the same. Age has no impact on what a friend means, although I do think we become more and more accepting and forgiving as we age together. It was nice to see what a difference their little circle of friends has made in their lives.

Ironically enough, after lunch we went to Seton Northwest to visit a new Grandbaby of one of the "girls". Talk about coming full circle! Renae had a precious baby girl, named Emily just after 1am on that same day. She is just beautiful, and Carol was just as proud as she could be and Renae just glowed!




















We came home Sunday afternoon to find our yard and driveway buried in oak leaves. This is our first year with trees that actually produce enough shade to be called "shade trees". We love them, but are now learning what it's like to deal with their foliage. We got to work right away raking and blowing and sucking up leaves...and three-ish hours later, here's what we have (my sweetied worked his bum off and did most of the work):

Photo Hunt #9 "Drink"

Wordless Wednesday

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