Nothing but cuteness...

The Cuteness Continues...

(to the point of amost being unbearable)


(he had just finished bathing her head)


(she woke up and had to reposition)


(ah, that's much better)


(is it sweet enough for you?)

my baby thinks she's a pig...

(Panda, Rainbow, Sundae, Shimmer, Stella, and Meadow)


(She had no clue she could jump over this fence)


(They have no fear of her at all)

In Other News...

Mark had something to do this afternoon so the kids and I are lazing around. We might head up to the Yamboree after he comes home. I'd like to take a load of stuff to Goodwill but we may wait til in the morning to do that.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!! It is just beautiful here, blue skies and low-70s! I LOVE this kind of weather, it makes getting out and doing so much easier.

As Promised, New Hair!

This is 40 hours after washing it, a windy park day, and a loooong walk with the dog this morning. It can look better, trust me! I didn't straighten or blow-dry it, this is just what it does. I'll put better pics up tomorrow probably.







Gypsy with Tallulah on the coffee table last weekend.





In other news....

We are going to finish working on the garage this afternoon, I think. I would love to park some of the unused furniture on the side of the road and see how fast it gets hauled off. I'm also rearranging our bedroom to make it less easy to pile up laundry baskets full of clean stuff. And cooking spaghetti(we had nachos last night instead), an apple dessert of some kind... Lots of busy work going on here today.

OU/Texas is on tomorrow. I'm a Sooner and Mark's a Longhorn. He has the kids brainwashed as well. Sigh.

It is SO nice to be wanted...

I can finally post about our mysterious "good news" that I mentioned a few days ago. Mark didn't want it out quite yet. I'm still not going into real specific details yet. Anyway...

The job is something similar to what he did before but for a national company with slightly different responsibilities. It would be better than where he is and a good job for him but probably not a perfect match. He is waiting for word from them after two interviews and he's done the drug/tb tests.

In other news...

I got my hair cut yesterday afternoon! It is stacked in the back and long around my face with bangs. I LOVE it and promise to post pics as soon as the batteries are charged.

Today is homeschool park day and Sarah wants to take Buddy. Should be fun. It was 48 degrees when I got up this morning so we'll be a bit chilly.

We're having some kind of sausage and kale dinner tonight. I'll have to find the recipe I posted a few weeks ago.

Cats, Crafts, Clutter, and More...

First, it is really hard to get anything done with this kind of cuteness going on. We are now wondering if Tallulah will end up being a normal Manx cat after all. Her diet of special easily digested kitten food with pumpkin seems to have done the trick as far as her "poops" are concerned. She has not had a problem in two weeks! And, AND!, she can move her tail now!!! We first thought that her nerves had not developed that far down along her spine because she seemed to have no feeling in her stump of a tail and was unable to move it. Yesterday she was raising it in response to being petting down the length of her back. Those of you with cats know the movement that I mean. We are hopeful that she's free of the genetic problems known as Manx Syndrome but it will probably be early next year before we know for sure.

Now. We are finally ready to get down to the business of painting the kitchen soffits and dining room walls. YEEEHAW!! So, in case you haven't followed my blog through my bedroom painting experience, I take forfreakinever to choose a paint color. And then I sometimes get it way wrong. This time though, this time I am not making a hasty decision. I want it to pop and sing but I don't want it to be garish. Which ones do yall like?



My favorite from this shot is the yellow between the rusty red and teal, on the left. It is also the same color that's in the third and forth photo. What is too funny is that each of my kids, at different times and all on their own, suggested that we do the walls in splotches of color just like these. It would look FANTASTIC if you want my opinion, but I don't think certain people would be terribly supportive.



My favorite from this next picture is the harvest gold that is next to the robin's egg blue and again to the extreme right. Unfortunately it looks terrible next to the countertops.





All three of these are great but my favorite is still the mustard yellow. We are probably going to do the kitchen soffits in the rust(a more burnt orange than this one).



I am continuing the decluttering from yesterday. We lazed a bit and I didn't get this finished last night. Actually we didn't cook our fajitas til 8pm and then Mark got a call to deliver something to a nursing home so he had to eat and run. And I just plain old DID NOT FEEL LIKE IT. There. So, it waits for me today. I'll empty all the baskets, boxes and suitcases and bag up what I don't want. Looking on top of the entertainment center, I just noticed almost a dozen more baskets to sort through. Yeah.







I did finish my wet felted balls but I'm not satisfied with these results at all. It didn't work very well the way I did it, they are way too lumpy and holey and lopsided. The first one, from a few weeks ago, was a ball that has been completely needle felted first and I got a perfectly round ball after wet felting. This time I basically draped the felting around and around and rolled it in my hands to form a loose ball. Then I needle felted enough to hold it together. I filled a bucket with hot water and dipped each ball into it, squirted it with dish soap and rolled the ball in my hands like playdoh. I'll stick with the original way I did it.

Ending this post on a high note... IT IS RAINING!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!

Homeschooling Life....

Today was park day for us. Then skating. I'm pretty sure I couldn't take more than one skate day per month, its mega-loud in that place. I always come out shaky and today my right ear was stopped up from the music. Park day was nice, as usual, with conversation and the great outdoors. Today was especially nice with cooler temperatures and lots of sunshine. The kids had a blast at both activities but Amy still didn't skate much.

Tomorrow we're headed to a nearby town for THIS delightful field trip with over 100 other homeschooling families. I can't wait!! We are taking our cooler and picnic basket, the weather will be perfect.

When we finally got home late this afternoon, we were greeted by a very tiny, but playful, Tallulah.(those are peanut m&ms and Sarah's size 13 sock feet, the bowl is 4 inches in diameter)





I made pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn for dinner. My gall bladder is not real happy with me. Ugh. Hopefully it will be a passing thing and not a full blown attack. I should know better!

Is this not the cutest?

Jasper was sleeping on Amy's bed this afternoon so Sarah put Tallulah next to him. He started grooming her! Isn't it sweet!





*~*~*~I got the other pics from the girls' computer! Here's Jasper with Tallulah on him and Gypsy beside and one of Gypsy with Tallulah from last night.

Smitten with Kitten...

Isn't she cute??



She even has a tiny stuffed animal to sleep with, a teeny beanie leopard. This is her favorite place to sleep. An upside down pet bed with super soft covers on top of the girl guinea pig cage, so she can keep an eye on them.

We are 99% sure that she has Manx Syndrome. Last night she had two accidents while on the bed(there is another super soft cover down so she's not on our sheets) so it looks like she can't feel when she needs to go every time(sometimes she does know and will use the litter box). We're going to start with canned pumpkin for fiber and a low residue food that's easier to digest. It may or may not help, it will depend on how much sensation the extra fiber can give her.

Meanwhile, we're loving on her as much as possible and enjoying her adorableness.

Tallulah!

Guess who is in LOVE!!


(Tally and Mark)

Actually, we all are! Amy was asking about who might "adopt" her and Mark said someone already had. He has claimed her as HIS cat!

She slept between my shoulder blades ALL night the first night. Last night she slept in the crook of my arm and under my chin, ALL night long. She plays herself to exhaustion and then just crashes! This morning she played in the curtains with Gypsy and Jasper. They don't really know what she is but they'll chase her and she'll jump on their tails, it is SO cute! She still looks like a chupacabra but her personality more than makes up for it, she is a MESS! The guinea pigs fascinate her, they're just her size, but slightly fatter(ok, a whole lot fatter). Even Rosie plays with her. Ruby and Muffin are the hold-outs but they're more indifferent than anything.


We still don't know if she suffers from Manx Syndrome or not. She is so very young that her symptoms might be related to not having a mom to clean her hiney. After lunch yesterday she has had no problems with leaky booty. She did poop on the bed twice though. It might be that she can't feel the urge sometimes but we've seen her go in the litterbox several times. I'm hoping its just her body adjusting to different foods, different place, the vaccinations and worm meds she got, etc. but only time will tell. You can read about the breed, including the syndrome, HERE.

In other news...

We are working in the garage today since we got hurricaned last weekend. Our plan is to get rid of 75% of the furniture and junk out there(and put out rat poison). Hopefully I'll find some materials to make a headboard from.
****update to say we are NOT working in the garage today. Mark's neck and upper back are hurting him today, probably from all the driving to hither and yon that he's been doing. So, now I don't know what we'll do other than go get my medicine from Walmart pharmacy. Wow we are so exciting!!

I've got two roasts in the crockpot for dinner tonight. I'll fix mashed potatoes, field peas and a big cucumber salad to go with. Can't wait!