Back to School, BBQ, and Baseball..and a 600.

Pictures from vacation, notebooks for the kids' nurse and school, all on the back burner..  It's been a-c-t-u-a-l, make lunches, count carbs, sign papers, study for tests, back-to-school around here!

We were off to a rocky start the first two days of school..Mary Claire forget her meter, Ethan forgot his lunch box, and we had a few lows.  I guess they are a little more active at nine in the morning than they usually are at home, ha!

We think we've got it all sorted out.  Last week, we were rocking some amazing blood sugars at school!  The big kids are now at the same school, same lunch, so the nurse can send me their blood sugars together in one text message, SO HANDY! : )

 
But..then the weekend hit.  They've been exhausted, and hanging with friends..and eating.  Today was a big day with a Girl Scout kickoff BBQ and then we went to an Arkansas Naturals (minor league, farm team for the KC Royals) baseball game.  And thus began the highs.  Hot dogs, soda, chips, dippin' dots, funnel cakes, etc.  She was SIX HUNDRED before bed!!

Oh.my.goodness doesn't even begin to describe the frustration.  Clay was 232, and after her crazy high, that seemed almost magically wonderful.  Diabetes doesn't have any rules nor does it play fair.  Food of any sort throws it into orbit.  And I stayed on her all day to bolus for everything she was putting into her mouth.  It's just not an easy day when we aren't home or having packaged/carb counted food.  Whew. 

At least it was a great day with sweet friends all over northwest Arkansas. : )  I'm falling asleep, so I'd better go.  Another day awaits tomorrow!  Prayers for your kids, their friends, and calm days.  Hugs!  

American Girl Birthday and Parade of Homes!

It's been an up and down kind of week.  We finished up with the builder last week..for over $13,000.  Gak, I think I just threw up a little in my throat.  Yes, it feels nauseating.  The fact that we still had bills coming in four months later..it was all mysterious.  We had another $5070 bill for brick..and the brick was d-o-n-e last September.  Like..how did that bill not come in before we met, finalized, and closed in December?  ..Ok, I need to move along for my sanity.  Depressing stuff is no bueno.

Mary Claire's birthday was last Thursday, she's TWELVE!!  How did that happen?!  She was just my little girl one minute, and now she's looking into my eyes, and BiG!  And sometimes kinda sassy, and sometimes hilarious, and sometimes shy, sometimes sweeter than pie.  Boy, she's been fun! : )  

Great Wall of Chocolate at PF Chang's..mmm...looks like the momma couldn't wait for some either!

She added candles..and wanted more than 12! : )  More power to her..there will be a day she might subtract candles!

Even though she's big as me, she still loves dolls.  Especially American Girl dolls.  She now considers herself a closet doll lover.  (who makes my kid feel this way?  I'm gonna get you!)  She says none of her friends still play with them.  *sad face*  ..Anyway, she didn't want a party (remember last year's ice skating party or 2012's fun American Girl party?  Ahh..), she just wanted a trip to the STORE and to get Isabelle, the GOTY (her word for Girl Of The Year), since she'll be gone this winter.

They unwrapped Isabelle and handed her to Mary Claire, and we just sat and played for a while!

She says she takes the best selfies, and she's right!  How did she learn this?

So, we went to Kansas City (the nearest store) for a girl's trip!  We stopped by Joplin, and picked up our friends Angie and Andalynn to head north.  We had lunch at Sandstone Gardens (my fave!!), and then only 2.5 hours at the AG Store.  I think we mommas like it as much as the girls!  We got a few extras for their Christmas and upcoming holidays (can you say no shipping?) while they watched the magic at the hair salon.  Late dinner and hotel hunting (after I discovered our room was *smoking*! and I didn't realize there was still such a thing!  My fault, blech.)  Then brunch at Cheesecake Factory, a tiny bit of shopping and back on the road home.

She's so grown up!

but I still love her the same!!

again with her fancy selfie shots!  Thank goodness for those late-in-life braces! haha!

I had bunco at my house last night, and ohh..so much fun!  I do love these ladies, they are all sooo sweet! : )  I apparently made them wild rice and chicken salad before..since Candace said she remembers me making it!  haha, it's been that long we've been playing, that I actually double-made something!  Oops.  Does it help that I tried a slightly newer version?  It had red pepper, purple and green onion, toasted pecans, and a soy dressing..mmm, so much better!  We only played one round, we were so busy talking.  

after their game (against each other!)..and then we went for shaved ice at Shave the Planet!

So..about last week.  The day after we finished with the builder, he called and asked if we'd allow our house to be in the Parade of Homes.  It's not until June, but they had to get it on the roster if so.  I was really nervous for the obvious reasons: lots and lots of people wandering through my home, the actual foot traffic on my floors (even with booties!) and spills or stains, things getting taken and/or moved..and then the real anxiety: my house!  I'd have to have it all perfect, in less than a month!  I have all these things I want to do and redo (but I did get my new breakfast room chandelier up on Monday!), and my landscaping isn't finished, my dining room drapes aren't hemmed, I really need new bedding, what do I do with all these unpacked boxes, should I continue?

soo..will my house look this sweet?  I hope someone equally cute opens the door that weekend! : )

Ok, and the kicker.  My savings money just went to the builder.  So..what am I supposed to decorate with now?  Huh?  Be creative you say.  Ok, I'm really creative, and I'm working on it..but some stuff just costs money.  So here we sit at the crossroad.  Can I just say if you drive to my house and wear the booties and walk around..just please don't judge my house?  Just find something nice to say, and go to the next house.  Thank you.  We actually live and eat and sleep and change clothes here!  (evidenced by the clothes on the floor!) (and crumbs under the table!)

Wrapping my head around this.  I sooo much more enjoy having the bunco girls over, they are super sweet, and wouldn't think of noticing my crumbs, footprints, and laundry!  Love those girls!!

Magic Kitchen

Hey there!  How was your day? : )  We had the usual...Sissy came home early due to a fever-100 degrees, but I had stuff to do!  I don't know if it's her ear infection (from Friday) or something new.  She was totally fine and happy, so I don't know.

Her with her new orange and black rubber bands

I had to go get her sans shower (my least favorite!), but I got ready, and we went Out!  I had to first find tickets somewhere for the Hoedown-and my friend Danielle found some at Party City, but they were kinda expensive.  I went to Wal-Mart, and they were almost half price, so we got a deal!

Then we shopped for Play-Doh (emergency-hahaha!).  I did learn that they only have good colors when school starts, but not now!  I needed some for Ethan, but they had pink and purple (not his favorite!)..I'll stock up next fall!

Then we came home and started on her project to go along with her book club: There's a Boy In the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar.  She had a few choices, but hers was to make a diorama of Bradley's room!  Boy, could we get into that! : )  We had a box of clothes at our door when we got home (yay!), so we cut off the top of the box, made a door and windows, then worked on decorating.  She picked out some fabric for his room, and got some doll house furniture-so cute!  We cut out pictures from PB Teen for his wall art (and fake shelves, trash can, etc.) then made him curtains and a poster thing with his monogram.  He had no middle name in the book, but she made one up!  She said she thought it should be Seth.  Good, Mary Claire, very creative! : )

So, then we got Ethan, she worked on her school work, and I started dinner: chicken chili. and we made a PiE! : )  Ok, not a totally homemade pie, but still!
We started with a premade pie shell, baked at 400 for about 13 minutes, isn't it pretty?:

While it cooled, we made the filling.  We aren't fancy and insist on homemade, so we used boxes!  We used little boxes of pudding-both coconut cream and cheesecake.  We followed the pie filling directions, and reduced the milk.  Mary Claire mixed them:

(and it started getting all over, so we had to move it to the sink!)

(Yes, he's wearing his batting helmet all the time now.)

Next, we made meringue!  This was a new experience for me..but we called mom, and got some advice! : )
We used five egg whites, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.  We mixed it for four minutes on HIGH and it was sooo thick!

I always thought it'd be more like Cool Whip, all whoopy, but no-THICK!  I had to smear and spread it, then make it kinda level so I could get the coconut to stay on.

Then into the oven at 350 for 14 minutes (long enough to brown the coconut!).  We enjoyed the extra filling, the beaters... and some spatulas...

And, voila-a beautiful pie came out!

We couldn't wait to eat it!  This picture isn't the best, but it was yummy! : ) We did wait till after dinner with our new friends:

Yes, grasshoppers.  Clay and his friends collected them after school today, working on a boy scout project.  He's journaling about his time with them. (haha!)  They soon went out to the deck-it was freaky-they were all three down by the holes in the lid begging for freedom.  The holes were awful big; I just knew they were going to crawl out!  He eventually let them out, yay!  He can't wait till tomorrow to catch more to write about.


Then the boys headed out to play ball.  Clay is wanting to try catching, so Ches had me get a *cup* today-I had no idea what he meant!  I figured it out, and I guess he'll try it.  He's getting better at catching and pitching-they are working on it every day.  Now, Ethan joins them-he's got Clay's old baseball cleats, and Ches got him a batting helmet last week.  He's worn it nonstop!  He has a bucket of balls, and he uses the tee to bat the balls around.

I've gotten him new jeans, but they are too big!  He really wanted to wear them, so what do you do?

What a day!  I'm so thankful for my sweet kids and husband to spend it with!  We didn't have anything to go to this evening-yay!-so we got to stay home and have pie.  Precious time with them.  We read books (Ethan is choosing Calvin and Hobbes and Street Rodder magazine every night..should I be worried?), said prayers, and gave hugs and kisses.  A practically perfect day!

Play Ball!

I consider today a Free Day-a day I didn’t count on, a freebie (since I was supposed to be taking Mary Claire to the doctor in Little Rock).  Fun!  I was slow to get around, then met Mom at the movie theater to see Sex in the City.  It was good, but some bad acting at the beginning.  It has been a while since they acted together.  Once they got going, it was better.

*Only read if you aren’t going to freak out if you know a little about the movie:  Stanford got married-and it was a beautiful white wedding-with swans!  Carrie learned to appreciate Big, Samantha enjoyed a rendezvous with an older (same age as her!) man, Charlotte admitted how hard it was to be a mother and learned to trust her sweet, sweet Harry, and Miranda took a leap of faith, and trusted herself-they are growing up!  It made me miss them a little more to see them: all the beautiful clothes, funny moments, friendship, and romance.

So, then I ran by Wal-Mart and hurried in the door-we had to make an early dinner again tonight.  I bought more fresh ears of corn-so we had those again.  Then Clay had to be at another game.  Ches took Ethan, and I took Mary Claire.  She got to play with her little buddy, Abby, and Ethan climbed the bleachers, hanging out with another team's players, the Angels.

Then, Clay was up to bat, and got another hit! Yay, Clay!  We were so proud of him.  This is him getting ready to hit..

And here's him hitting the low ball!

I took Mary Claire and Ethan home a little before it was over.  And..Clay even called me after the game to tell me he got to bat two more times-and both times made it home (not a home run!), and the second time batted his teammates in!  He was so excited!  I'm happy for him, since it hasn't been the best season ever.  It's just getting better!  They won 12-6, Yay, Clay!

Here's what we did at home-play outside!

Clay's home now, so all's well.  The other two are in bed, so we are halfway there-and it's already 9pm!  We have to do better.

Ok, I have made progress on the chalkboard!  I started to letter it today, and Ethan wanted to "help" me, so I let him paint a canvas black too.  His wasn't dry till this evening, so he'll have the pleasure of chalking it tomorrow.  Maybe with colored chalk?  I scalloped the edges (tracing a cd), then wrote one of the quotes I love!  Here's my latest project:

I can tell that it's hard to tell it's black with white chalk, but I promise it is!  I took this as it was turning dark, so I had to use the flash.  My plan is to put it all casual-like over my fireplace with some other natural stuff.  I'm going for more neutral-colored, and more casual/summery.  That's not really a theme, but you know.

Just for fun, here are a couple things I learned about food poisoning today:

If you get sick (fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea) in 6 hours or under, it's usually from Staphylococcus, from pasta salad or food that's been out too long.

If you get sick (vomiting, diarrhea with/without blood) within 6-12 hours, it's usually from E. Coli in meat or even on lettuce/veggies.

If you get sick (nausea, headache, d-word), it's usually from Salmonella (chicken).  There was an ER doctor on Dr. Oz today helping to explain how they diagnose food-borne illnesses-very good!  If you don't take care of yourself, you can get bacteria in your blood-sepsis.  Ok, that's enough.  Maybe this will come in handy for Memorial Day if you plan to eat outside? : )  You're welcome! heehee