12,000 BTU's: It's Gonna Be Like a Meat Locker in Here!

So life is full of ups and downs, right? You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have the facts of life (the facts of life). But it’s a little frustrating to have those ups and downs packed into one evening.

We got home from work yesterday evening and the air conditioner was blowing out warm air. It was cooler outside than inside. I called the A/C guy, he was there in an hour, and discovered that ants had gotten into the unit outside and had completely mucked it up; two parts needed to be replaced. (Ants, lice, baby snakes—why are God’s smallest creatures all trying to kill me?)

So I’m trying to see the good in this; after all, we don’t (yet) need to replace the entire unit, and since we have an emergency fund, I was able to pay him with a check right then. A year ago, I would have had to borrow money from someone for a repair like that. (Hi, Daddy!) Still. Bleh.

But then, the good: I made spaghetti squash for the first time and it turned out quite lovely! If you’ve never cooked it before, try it—it tastes like regular squash only with a more delicate flavor. They’re about the size of a honeydew, with a bright yellow skin. One of them fed all four of us. You cut it in half, take out the pulp and seeds, bake it cut side down for an hour at 350 or microwave it in a pan of water for 10 minutes, then scrape out the insides and mix them with some butter and/or olive oil, a little sautéed garlic and onions, salt and pepper and some parmesan—ummmm. It was quite a hit.

And after that, sadness: my favorite contestant Chris Sligh was voted off American Idol. Poor Chris—your quick, droll wit could not hide your total lack of rhythm.

And then, disappointment: Lost aired its most answer-free episode in weeks. It was like it had been replaced by an episode of Matlock. But looking on the bright side, at least they didn’t show Locke—I haaaaaate that guy.

So, after all that, I went to bed at 11:30 and then overslept this morning and had trouble getting the girls out the door. But I still made it to work by 8:15 AND no one saw me come in late.

Always look on the bright side of life . . .

Just Eat Your Dang Quesadilla!

Only two days into Spring Break, and I'm exhausted! Good thing I'm going back to work tomorrow so I can rest a little bit.

We've been very productive since last Friday: we saw a children's production of "Charlotte's Web" at a local theater, ate lunch at Taco Cabana,



bought a dining table (we have a dining room! like real grown-ups!),

bought two extra chairs to go with the dining table (note the lamp on the floor--very sophisticated),

ate dinner with GrandMom, GrandBob and Aunt M at Taste of Texas steakhouse, found a bed for S's room (pics to follow when we get it put together!), hung some pictures, cleaned the house, visited Old Town Spring (several streets of antique stores and fun shops), spent a gift card at the Build-A-Bear workshop, and the girls spent a night with GrandBob and GrandMom! On top of that I've done laundry, made a bunch of phone calls I've been putting off, gone to the grocery store, and took about twenty books back to the library. All the shopping has been fun, but I'm looking forward to my quiet office just a little bit.

The girls and R are just hanging out the rest of the week, getting ready for a big weekend: on Saturday, Pop and Baba are coming to visit from Tennessee, and they're bringing the cousins! They're staying until Wednesday, and H has made quite a list of all the things we need to see and do while they're here. We'll see our Texas cousins this weekend as well, and we're so excited to hug and kiss on them all, provided, of course, that they sit still long enough. The boys are very hard to catch!

The Greatest Show on Earth

Today was a really, really great day--work was good, I wore a new dress (Target, naturally, and got lots of compliments), the weather was amazing. GrandBob took the girls to the high school baseball game, and when I picked them up there he was giving them batting practice! He said they weren't bad at hitting it off the tee. S was so excited to see me she went under the netting instead of going around!

We stopped off at the library on the way home, where H picked up six new books and vowed to read at least one per day. Wonder where she gets it.

After bathtime, S demonstrated some of her gymnastics moves for me:

Tomorrow I'll try to remember to get a picture of H's new trick--we discovered Sunday that she's apparently double-jointed in her hip or leg or something, I don't know but it completely freaked me out when she bent her leg back and rested her heel on her hipbone. Of course I had to try it myself, and there's no amount of yoga in the world that could make me that flexible!

Such talent my girls have! Their flexibility will come in handy the next time I feel the need to stuff them in the trunk during a long drive . . .

Giddyup

The rodeo is in town! My company had a booth at the BBQ Cook-off this weekend and I was given a free pass, so I took the girls on Saturday. It was rainy and VERY windy when we got there, but cleared up and turned into a really nice day.

The girls enjoyed the brisket and beans, but it all just made me miss Corky's BBQ. In the carnival area, we rode one roller coaster that scared the wee-wee out of both of them (S's look of petrified glee was priceless) and then they rode the big swings which I couldn't even watch. I was sure S was going to fly right off . . . they said it was scary but they loved it!

While we were there, H had her first experience with a port-a-potty, and I'm now grateful for two things: (1) having that little bottle of Purell in my purse, and (2) that I remembered to holler through the door: "Don't wash your hands! That's not soap in the little sink!"

It's the Hamlet of Diseases

Just got back from H's doctor: the antibiotic he prescribed a couple of days ago is working well, and he wants to see her again in six weeks. Apparently we all have a certain type of bacteria in our gut (which he said but did not spell and I'm not going to attempt it), and it never bothers most people. But in people with ulcerative colitis, it can run amok and mimic the same symptoms as the colitis, but can be gotten rid of with antibiotics.

Plus, she'd gained a pound this month, which is good news. I've been trying to fatten her up! I only wish that I could drink all the chocolate milkshakes I wanted, too. Ummmm, Chick-Fil-A milkshakes . . .

Little Kicks

Here are pics of S cheering at today's Spirit Game at school. Sorry they're so grainy--it's hard to get a good shot in the gym!

She had a blast and got to be on top of the pyramid--granted, it was a pyramid of three, but still. That's good for a 5-year-old, I think.

H played in the Spirit Game--some sort of "Battleship" game using bowling pins and soccer balls--and parents got to join in. Sadly, I knocked over one of our own pins with my leg and she made me go stand on the sidelines with the other losers. I always did hate PE . . .

In other news, H has to go to the doctor again tomorrow to find out why her symptoms have been getting worse over the past week. Hopefully they'll be able to give us some answers--please pray for her!

Top of the Muffin TO YOU!

To all my friends and family: this blog's for you. We're so far apart geographically, but I want you to share in our daily life. I won't be posting every day, but I hope to use this blog to keep you updated and connected. I'm not using our real names for privacy purposes, but I don't think you'll have any trouble figuring out who's who!

Feel free to comment! Love to you all--
L