Labor Day Weekend

I will roll this post into one so it may get kinda long...

Where is a good place to go camping around here? I love to camp and would love to take the kids on a weekend by the lake....before the weather gets too cold. I found a place online near Bemidji...it looks promising so maybe on a weekend when I do not wait until Sat morning to make inquiries...because they came back and said they had a cabin available...but since we spent the day out running around town didn't get the message. Oh well, maybe next time...

The morning started out cool (sweatshirt weather) I took care of winterizing my pots and planting tools while Scott worked on putting vinyl trim on the bottom of the house where there had been wood..and it was getting pretty rotten (yet another issue we have with this house)

I hitched up the Princess cart to my bike and took the J babes for a ride to the store. There was a really strong wind out of the south so we had it pretty easy on the way there but the last portion of the trip heading home was like peddling against a wall. Our street was like a wind tunnel with a steady 40mph wind.

After that we went browsing around Scheels. The kids played a little putt putt golf in the golf club section and then we hit Best Buy (they love us) after which we head off to the Pita Pit for gyros. The Jbabes don't do gyros so luckily there was a McDs next door...oh not again you say? Well this one blew the east side mcd's away hands down! I new from the minute I walked in the door...and didn't stick to the floor, to the fast friendly service and the CLEAN smell in the air that if we ever want to try the play center again this will be where we go.

It was getting late so we headed home and just chilled and watched movies for the remainder of the evening. Rush Hour 3 was really good. The other movie was a teen flick that is not worth mentioning or maybe I should so that no one would make the mistake of watching it...it was shockingly horrible and I can't believe that movie theaters actually allowed it to be shown in a public theater...it was really really bad. Its been a while since I've seen a movie in a theater, and I usually watch comedy or romance...this was an attempt to get inside the mind of my teenage son...ewwww - if that is any clue then every teen boys mind needs to be scrubbed with soap.

Friday pics

This shot is for Barb, some of my pottery is stashed in the cabinet so I snapped a shot of it to give a general idea of what patterns there are. Lots of blue..which doesn't quite mingle with the earthy tones but there are lots of golden yellows and reds too. I also have the Tuscany set of dishware from Walmart. Please excuse the messy cabinet...I know I need to organize it better.

Cody getting ready to leave for his last day at work and me sporting my new perm

JBabe at germs r us


Tonight was Cody's last day of work. He hopes to find a "busier" job somewhere because he had it so easy working at Home of Economy...for a first job it was a bit on the easy scale and yes he needs to learn about actually earning his dollar but he was there almost a year and has saved up enough to put a very large down payment on a vehicle...so we have been truck shopping. We had it narrowed down to two older Fords but hubs and I couldn't agree so we are giving it a break for a while until we find something that we both agree on.

After our truck search Jaiden asked in such a sweet voice, and in a complete sentence "Daddy may we go to McDonald's please?" How could we say no to that? So we hung out at Micky D's for a while and I have to say it is the nastiest place I've been to in a LONG LONG time. For one the floors when we walked in were sticky from the door to the counter and all the way into the kids zone. As I stood in line and then tried to move I felt like I was glued to the floor...GROSS! The service was slow as molasses in mid February...it took me half an hour to get a tea. The food is not all that special...especially after eating at Culvers for lunch today (the best burgers in America) The kids had a lot of fun playing in the germ magnet station which probably hasn't ever been cleaned since it was built...we washed and washed and washed again when we got home. Jaiden already has a nasty cold...guess all of the kids in town will have it now. Sorry! They need to disenfect that place hourly...it was totally nasty. There is not a great selection of places to take the kids in this town and that one has got to be one of the worst. So next time even if she asks in her sweetest of sweet voices, we have to be strong and stay away from that dump...ugh!

Meet the teacher night

Last night (Wednesday) was meet and greet with the teacher night at Jared's school. I'll call her Mrs. T...her name is Scandanavian and I know I would butcher it if I try to spell it...or pronounce it. She is very sweet, boy the teachers seem to be getting younger every year though...makes me feel REALLY old....I remember my 2nd grade teacher and I thought she was OLD but thinking back she was probably younger than I am now...YIKES I just hope that Mrs T. has lots and lots of patience because Jared is certainly going to need it. He is very active and has a difficult time focusing on one thing for long.

One of Jared's classmates happens to be a little boy that lives right across the street from us but they haven't had much opportunity to get to know each other well so I am hoping that they can strike up a friendship this year. It would be great if Jared had a friend close by to play with. They will ride the bus home together too, last year for some reason they were on different buses even though we live on the same street. They were on separate soccer teams too, and practiced on separate sides of town...so now finally they are going to be in the same dimension together. They could have been great friends all along (they both LOVE baseball) who knows why things are they way they are...

I remember when we moved to Missouri and Cody started 3rd grade he used to talk about the little boy that sat beside him in class, they struck up a great friendship and it turned out that the little boy lived just a quarter mile down the road from us! OMG now I really feel like time has spun completely out of whack...Cody started 3rd grade the year we moved...and got blessed with Jared...and now he's starting 2nd grade. In just a couple more weeks we celebrate our second year of having Jaiden in our lives... Wow, how time flies!

Thanks for every inspirational idea for the kitchen! I love everyones comments and while I don't have many collections of anything anymore...just some Breyer horses with broken legs and tails that are packed away...I have a hodge podge of Polish pottery that I may could use...I'll have to give it some thought and try various tactics...I'll keep you posted.

What would you do?

Hi

Welcome to my kitchen! At this counter is where I sit and blog :) It looks a little different today, there is dishes in the sink and clutter on the countertops or I would take a more recent pic to show you...I'll get around to that maybe tonight. This is the photo I snapped when we did our initial walkthru of the house back in Feb 2007...and the reason we bought the house. No other house in Grand Forks had a decent kitchen. I LOVE the maple cabinets. I also loved the "wood" flooring but since found out that its just a very inexpensive laminate that was used and it is not holding up well. We would like to replace it with real wood planks....still trying to decide on a color. The walls are now a dark chocolate and there is a new swanstone sink but other than that it is pretty much the same. What would you do to decorate this space? I am looking for some inexpensive ideas. I have about 12 inches of space above the cabinets and the ceiling to put something but I can't figure out what since there is a bit of a dip there...there is molding around the cabinets too. It needs "something" but I can't figure out just what....oh the lights are quite a hodgepodge too don't you think? 3 different types of lighting in one small area can't be good....my doityourself husband would love to take on a new project ;) All ideas are welcome!

The decor right now is a bit of a traditional hodgepodge...I love old world feeling furniture, antiques, worn and comfortable...easy to relax in but interesting to look at. The colors are dark chocolate (of course) red, golden yellow (butterscotch) and taupe (coffee w/cream) I prefer a look of comfortable welcome over modern elegance.

1st Solo Flight

My baby bird is on his first solo flight...May angels be with you

Cody got his license on Thursday and we let him take the car to work today ALL BY HIMSELF

True he will be 17 in another month but its so hard to see him growing up so fast.

He'll always be my baby boy. I still cry on the first day of school when I drop him off. School starts on Sept 2nd here and I know I will be in tears then too.

*Cody just texted me that he made it...and it was fun

oh my here we go!!!

Cars next door

This morning when I left for work there were two cars in the driveway next door. The house that has been for sale for a year has finally sold!

The weirdest part is that there was a moving van from....Albany, MN! Since that is Scott's home town and the town is VERY small this is especially interesting.

So we are very excited to meet our new neighbors. I joked to Scott this morning that since he wasn't going to reconnect to friends from his hometown that God decided to move them next door...so now there won't be any excuse!

I hope that they have children Jared and Jaidens ages, and Cody too....although making new friends at 17 is a lot harder than it is at 7 and 2.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Make a Smilebox greeting

My Mom's Birthday is tommorrow - Aug 21st

She is such an inspiration that I have to share her with the world and tell everyone just how special she is to me.

*She is a 5 year survivor of breast cancer
*She hasn't met a stranger in her 74 years of life
*She is the verb form of "Southern Hospitality"
*She has a big heart
*She loves to cook
*She loves to sew
*She loves to cook and sew and shares those gifts often
*She loves children
*She loves gardening
*Her favorite flower is an Iris
*She loves God with all her heart
*She listens well
*She gives great advice
*She has a wonderful memory and loves to share stories of her childhood as well as her childrens childhood. She can remember every vivid detail. Things we said, songs we sang...
*She is very special to me

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful Mom! If you would like to send her a birthday greeting I know she would be "tickled pink" her email address is dkmcagle7@aol.com