Haircuts all around, please!

Well, it's the end of summer, and we're all in the need of a haircut! So I lined 'em up and let Miss Melissa cut away! She even cut Annie's pigtails out and sent 'em home with her for us to keep! Annie wanted to be sure to have a piece to send to her penpal! Everyone but Macy and me got their hair cut, and I'm thinking of taking my hand to Macy's beautiful locks, and I think I'll let her do the same to me! My hair has gotten so long, I think I have enough to let her have a go at it! And she gets such a huge thrill out of my allowing her to paint my toes, just wait and see the look on her face when I tell her in the morning that she can have a wack at my hair!

Yummy fingernail polish!

Last Sunday we had some new friends over for lunch...Chet and Erin H. along with their new baby Harkins (or baby Hutch, as I seem to always call him!) as well as Ed and Erma C. with their son Daniel (who is a hoot!) and Ed's father, Señor Ephraim, who is "Annie's new best friend."

We had roast, cous cous, green beans w/ almonds, baby carrots, and E's delicious yeast rolls. Then for dessert, I served a new recipe that i made up for Bourbon Bread Pudding with a wonderful whiskey sauce. It seemed to be a big hit with everyone, and some even went for seconds...including the girls, to whom I had gladly given just the bread pudding; however, they were intrigued by the sauce that was being passed back and forth, and I explained to them that it was something that they most likely wouldn't care to have. And little Annie (who thinks that Sprite is too "spicy") insisted...so I gave her a teaspoon of the sauce onto her bread pudding, and she whispered to me, "Bleck...it tastes like fingernail polish!"

That precious girl!

Having four of us gals, we inevitably have seen most restrooms in restaurants, shopping malls, etc.

So the other day when we had to run into a store after a day of running lots of errands, I knew that it would be a good idea for us to run into the restroom "before" we began our shopping. And being in a hurry, I rushed us in and was hoping to rush us back out!

Well, Annie (the girl who is NOT in a hurry and just takes life in stride and enjoys every minute of it!) was slowly taking her time to wash her hands in the touch-free faucet and was in a stare in the mirror.

After a few minutes of us all standing there waiting for her to finish rinsing off her hands, I was "this close" to fussing at her when she broke her stare and said, "Momma, I've just been staring at how beautiful you are!"

What a precious thing that girl is!

"No talking with food in your mouth!"

"No talking with food in your mouth!" is the reminder that the girls hear from momma and daddy and of course each other over and over!

The girls and I were eating lunch together today (sandwiches that Macy had made for us), and I said, "Macy, that was delicious! Thank you!" Annie said, "What, momma?" I then said it again...the same way, for I'm in such a hurried rush today, "I told Macy 'that was delicious! Thank you!'" Then I realized why they couldn't understand me! Aghh...the horror! So I then corrected myself and told the girls, "Aghh! I was talking with food in my mouth! So sorry, girls!"

So Tressie sweetly said, "That's okay, Momma, I don't think that the neighbors saw you!"

Lost Dog - Reward!

The day that we prayed would never come has arrived! Beloved Brownie is missing!

He was last seen sporting red snowman pajamas and lovingly being held by his mother once she returned from church.

Oh where, oh where, is our beloved Brownie?!?

Book Club

I am so grateful that it is so much easier to homeschool in today's age! We are blessed by the support of much of society, our friends, our family, and our churches! And in addition to the many opportunities homeschoolers have, we have a wonderful homeschool group that has many additional opportunities for us! One of the opportunities is our homeschoolers’ book club! Each child brings a book of their choice which they have read along with a short report or narration, and it's a great opportunity for the kids to “speak” in front of a small group, and when the club meeting is over, the kids can collectively decide if they would like to all read the same book or to each choose his or her own selection! And then my favorite part...afterward, we usually get together for lunch! These are such sweet days, and I can already see them flying past!

Macy's Narration:
The Secret of the Old Clock

Annie's Narration:

The Velveteen Rabbit

Tressie's Narration:
Guess How Much I Love You

Wo-man's best friend

Annie's riddle for PawPaw!

Backatcha, PawPaw! (I've removed the video!) In response to your riddle for Annie, here's one for you, PawPaw!

PawPaw's riddle for Annie: Why was the math book so sad?
Answer: Because it had so many problems.

Annie's riddle for PawPaw: Why is eating at a restaurant on the moon so boring?
Answer: Because there's no atmosphere!

"Annie's Watermelon Patch"

"Annie's Watermelon Patch" is now officially open for business! She grew her watermelon plants from seed, has watered them all summer, and is now going to reap the bounties of her harvest...well, maybe she and the ants are reaping the bounty. But she and her sisters were thrilled to have been able to pick their first watermelon of the season!

Nature Study - Charlotte Mason Style!

Here are a few tips that I have learned and wish to better incorporate into our nature study, as Charlotte Mason would have approved!

1. Scheduling more regular time outdoors and encouraging a spirit of investigation.
2. Encouraging the girls to try to figure out answers to their questions rather than expecting me to do all the reasoning for them.
3. When answering their questions, make the answer living—not just facts from a textbook.
4. Not to overwhelm them with too much scientific terminology too soon.
5. By giving direction, sympathy, encouragement, and helping with experiments.
6. By teaching science through a combination of nature study, laboratory work (uh... albeit, that's daddy's department!), and living books, using both random and structured studies.
7. Remembering that dabbling in random scientific information is not the same as learning careful observation and understanding.
8. By not showing my fear and/or distaste of something that interests my children.
9. By sharing their wonder and admiration for their nature discoveries.
10. By my constant learning about science and nature so I will have information to give them as they desire it.

For Sale!

It's that time of year when I clean out the kids' closets, and look what I found! I warned my fellas* to keep their stuff put up! If interested, leave me a comment and make an offer!

*permission and blessing were given by dear husband to sell!

Here's what I found:

A really nice set of Men's Tommy Amour 845 Oversize irons. In excellent condition with graphite shafts and original grips. Played only 5 rounds. Includes stand bag with double shoulder strap. $200 or best offer made by Saturday, September 15th!

A Brand New Craftsman Professional 9.0 amp reciprocating saw! Comes in hardshell case with bonus kit (blades, gloves, extension cord, safety glasses). New... never used and includes manual.
$60 or best offer made by Saturday, September 15th!

A "nearly new" Sony TRV250 camcorder! This records to Digital8 media (2 hours per tape) and also has USB streaming or i.Link connectivity. Features include, Steadyshot, 700x zoom, nightshot, and snapshot. It has only been used for about 10 hours and has been well taken care of. I will also include the battery, charging cable, AV/out cable, USB streaming cable, infrared remote control, owners manual, software CD's, and unused media!
$150.00 or best offer made by Saturday, September 15th!

Brody's first vacation...Labor Day weekend!

Well, I've finally been allowed to ride in the car...I was a little nervous at first while riding around without a strap around me like my family was riding, so they finally pulled over and helped me into my crate, and I slept all the way to our destination...I had to rest up for my first vacation...ever! Once we arrived, I excitedly jumped out to greet my favorite cousin, Buddy, whom we lovingly call Prince Snarles!

Let's go over the rules one more time, for that's a long way down!

After a long day of following this bucket'o'fun, several romps under the bridge and getting to lap water out of the creek with my cousin Prince Snarles, I had to enjoy my first over-night vacation! After all, it's a hard time keepin' up with all of my gals, and I was ready for an evening of relaxation! But did I hear someone say, "Who wants a treat?"

What would stayin' at Aunt Jan and Uncle Eddie's be without a midnight snack?!?

Such a neat idea!

After discussing paying bills, responsibility, and other "hot topics" with a girlfriend of mine (LeighAnn was it you?), she told me something that I thought was so interesting! Some friends of theirs were working on encouraging and training their son to become a wise, responsible, young man, and they allowed him to open up his own checking account so that he could take over the responsibility of managing their family's electric bill. The son was to be held responsible for paying the monthly electric bill...he would have to accept the electric bill, write out a deposit slip and check for the appropriate amounts, have it all approved by his father and pay the electric bill in a timely manner or know that his family would have to suffer the consequences. I think this is so neat!

Of course, we have daughters who we are training to (Lord-willingly) be godly, young ladies, so I don't feel that this would be appropriate for our family...and certainly not at their ages at this time! Yet the girls and I do pray regularly for their future husbands AND their families.

One day last week, the conversation of their future husbands came up between Macy and me, and I asked her if she hoped that her future husband's parents disciplined her husband, and without a hesitation, she said that she did hope for that. I asked why she felt that way, and she said that she hoped he was being taught to do what was right. I was so proud of her for thinking about this!

Busy days!

I just absolutely love being able to be a "stay at home mom"! To me, it's the most rewarding job in the world! I'm absolutely in love with my kids, husband, and making our house our home. Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings that you have given to us!

And my favorite days are the days that daddy spends with us...even if it is just for an afternoon. So I was thrilled to have an afternoon that E took off of work early to run around town with our little fam as we went and ordered a couple of "workbooks" (who doesn't crave the smell of a fresh workbook...it's all I can do to keep myself from doing the girls' workbooks myself!), visiting our friends' new baby Katherine Jane S. (although I told everyone that it was Katherine James!) who is absolutely adorable! And then a successful, family trip to Sam's!

Now, I'm not saying that I wouldn't rather be spending a relaxing day with my toes in the warm, sugary-white sands at Rosemary Beach on the gulf of Mexico while E and I sipped refreshing margaritas and watched our sun-burnt free children playing in the sand; however, this was a pretty great day!

How much does this cost?

Yesterday, we quickly did most of our school work in the morning (leaving some more readings to be done in the afternoon) so that we were able to go and pick up Miss Craig and take her with us to have lunch with Laura S...and Anna and Sam!

After lunch, we ran inside a new bookstore in the mall, and the girls were thrilled! But so was I, for everything in the store was automatically half-off...I love stores like that; however, it just makes me cringe a touch when I go into the next store and my brain automatically takes 1/2 off there as well! But back to the girls...it is so nice to have children that get thrilled to go into a bookstore; however, there were too many books that they were begging for me to purchase for them.

Knowing that they each have their own little purses, and some of them actually haven't spent all of their "spending money," I saw an opportunity for them to decide whether or not they wanted to make their own purchases. Tressie quickly set her eyes on a book on tea parties...no surprise there!

She asked the lady, "Um. Excuse me, ma'am. Um. How much does this book cost?"

The lady answered, "$5.00."

Tressie said, "Well, I only have one dollar and a few pennies."

The lady was quickly cast under Tressie's spell and answered, "Well, if your mommy says that you may, then I will sell it to you for $1.00."

Tressie was beaming with pride, and she successfully made her transaction ALL by herself. I did show her how to set her purchase up on the cashier's table, then she counted her money out and slid them across the counter to the lady! Then she asked the lady for her receipt to put in her purse and then said, "It was a pleasure doing business with you!" And the lady ran to the back of the store to get her manager to have Tressie tell him what she had said.

Now, all the while Miss Craig had picked out the same book, and I could tell that she was thinking, "I'd like to get this for my grandkids, but I'd like that same deal!"

Then once the coast was clear, Annie set her eyes on her prize and begin to "bargain" for the David and Goliath book that she HAD to have! She went to the manager (since the other lady was still palling around with Tress!), and she asked him, "How much does this book cost?" And I'm standing back watching and thinking, "Once again...here we go!"

He answered, "$5.00."

Annie said, "Well, I only have one nickel!"

Now the fella was cast under Annie's spell, and he answered, "Well, let's think. What can you do?"

She said, "Well, do you have any jobs here that I can do?"

He said, "Well, let me think!" "There's a customer over there that looks like she might need some help. If you'll make sure that she can find everything okay, then I'll give you that book!"

As a mother-hen I watched her closely, and I could see that we weren't getting out of there any time soon! Annie was then proudly accepting her task as a "worker" and making sure that customers were "finding everything okay"! She did a great job, and the look on her face was priceless when she was awarded her earnings...she's still holding onto that book tightly! And she had to call her daddy at work and Mimi and Aunt Jenni and Aunt Losi,...to tell them what a great day she had! "My first real job!" she continued to exclaim!

After a couple of more stops to help Miss Craig get some of her shopping done, we dropped her back off at her house, helped her unload her shopping bags, then drove back home and collapsed...on the sofa to finish our readings, of course!

Back to school!

Well, we've already begun our school year...we generally begin the day after Labor Day! But this year, we wanted to begin earlier...and we've had a WONDERFUL week! I can't believe that it's already over! We're actually looking forward to next week, for then we'll be a little bit more "in the swing of things"!

To begin with a "fresh slate" this year, we re-organized our family room (which is where we get our seatwork done) and have created lots of checklists, which our girls LOVE like their mommy LOVES...and even daddy has grown to love!

Who doesn't have a successful feeling wash over them when they get to cross something off of their checklist?!?

And although Monday morning's schedule isn't quite yet "flawless," we did at least get a day of "orientation" done! I came into the family room, and the girls were lined up fully dressed and proudly wearing backpacks (under the thoughtful guidance of big sister!) and harmoniously saying, "Good morning, Mrs. Chandler!" And their daddy had written on a board, "Welcome back, students!" It was too cute!

On Tuesday morning we really got down to business and were finished by 1:30, so we still had time to spend a lazy, summer day at the pool with friends!

Now, it's Wednesday, and we're actually getting ahead of our schedule! What a wonderful, great feeling!

Firetrucks and Beach Balls! In that order!

Friday afternoon, the girls and I ran our errands...perhaps too many, for it was a hot day, and half of the cold things that we bought were sure to melt on the way home! After just running into Wally World "for a second," we ran into a friend of ours in the parking lot...I tell you that parking lot was so hot! It was so hot that I just couldn't stand there and visit...couldn't leave the car running with the girls in it...couldn't leave the girls in the car without the A/C running...what's a gal to do! The heat coming up off of the black pavement was torture enough!

So with very poor manners, I shouted to LeighAnn..."Gotta run...popsicles are melting...run by our house, have a popsicle, and we'll talk there!" Yes, very poor manners...but sometimes the best visits are impromptu visits! So LeighAnn and her girls ran by since their daddy and brother were out of town. And wow...I really recommend to anyone to have friends drop by when you're trying to get the groceries out of a hot car and into your cool house! What a treat!

Having too much fun just hanging out talking, we talked them into staying for supper, and Eric set up the DVD projector for the girls to watch a movie while we just sat there eating popcorn and still chatting! As the evening grew longer and the movie ended, they packed up and started to head home. As we were outside saying our goodbyes, we could hear nothing but sirens going up the street. Jokingly, I said, "Let me know if it's something Gladys Kravitz needs to know about!" Before I knew it, she was back in my driveway, saying, "Quickly, get in the car!" She drove me up the street to see our little local grocery store on fire! Yes, it's a small town, and this was huge! I called Eric, who then came with the girls in our car! After just a few minutes, the crowds began to grow just as quickly as the fire grew...situated right next to our gas station. Everyone was standing in awe...mind you that it's almost midnight...and people were standing there taking videos and photos with their cell phones held high in the air as if we were standing there at a concert.

Photo by Jonathan Payne

As the intensity of the heat grew, I stood there shielding my face, looking at the blazing fire with all of the other onlookers. It was becoming more and more obvious that this was a gas-leak that had exploded. And as I stood there, I had to think of those watching the Twin Towers on 9/11. If they had known that they had a couple of extra minutes, would they have been standing there with their children...uh, no! So I took LeighAnn's kids and mine back home. And after she left with her crew, Macy and I sat on the front porch talking to my mom, sister and brother-in-law, neighbors, etc. while Eric went back up there. Yes, it was 'something to write [call] home about'! Again, remember it was now getting close to 1AM...and people were walking up and down the road as if it was their usual 4:00 neighborhood stroll! So after Eric came home, Macy and I drove back up there...but first we drove by and picked up Kendall...it wasn't the first time she and I have run around the mountain in our jammies, and I'm sure it won't be the last! We went back up there to hang with the crowd that was starting to die down as the firemen were beginning to get the blazes under control. We parked our car and sat there watching, giving our own commentary...there's never a dull moment with Kendall's comedic commentary and my laughter. We made a memory...I'm sure that Macy won't forget that evening...ever...sitting on a grassy knoll at two in the morning with Mama and Miss Kendall, watching history being made. Our town is small, and nothing ever changes...which is what I love the most! But this evening, the entire mountain changed before our eyes.

The next morning we awoke and quickly donned our bathing attire (some more or less than others!), for it was Carter-Man's first birthday! And a yummy cookout and pool party were definitely in order!


Happy Birthday, Carter!

Giggles and grins

A freshly bathed girl, a tummy full of supper, a pleasant, a gentle rain falling outside, and a comforting daddy's voice reading our family devotions proved to be just too much!

Lots of popsicles, plenty 'o sunshine, fun day at the pool, two wonderful girlfriends that took our girls today so that momma and daddy could go to a drs. appointment...

Can we tell who made the most of the opportunity?!?

Stephy's Restaurant Review - Shenanigan's in Sewanee, TN

Shenanigan's in Sewanee, TN
"Atmosphere is laid-back...waaay laid back, as in the front porch or door isn't even standing straight!
Table and room decorations are at a minimum, as in you must have a minimum of sticky spots on your dining surface, a minimum of "lovelies" in the window sill...even THEY had apparently died from their experience there!
Food is surprisingly really palatable and even quite tasty.
Service is just barely (e'hem) "below" average, with little to no interest for the customer (or the sake of their health) who is peer-pressured with morbid curiosity of how to "bus their own table."
The only way that I would return as a happy customer is if they met me as I was getting out of my car with a nice, tall pitcher of whatever they have on tap (those selections did look good!) with a large, sippy straw. And I'd have to have enough "spirits" in me to not be able to notice the crooked, splintered entrance.
My recommendation for one that's considering visiting Shenanigan's is to be sure to BYOP (Bring Your Own Plate), stock up at Sam's or Costco with an abundant supply of Purell wipes for your hands, Clorox wipes for the tables, and stop by a local doctor for an updated tetanus shot!

With all of this said, I do highly recommend Jump Off Fall's Pizzeria, locally owned and operated by our one and only J and E! "Atmosphere, food, and service is impeccable! And I have to strongly suggest that one tries the Puttanesca and wide selection of organic juice boxes! When one's there, they feel as if they're family! Pets welcome."

Happy Birthday, Ricci!

It's Ricci's birthday! (And Dan's and AJ's!) Happy Birthday, fellas!

After seeing a great ad (see MY review in next post!) for an ecclectic restaurant and art gallery, Shenanigan's, which is located in Sewanee, TN, we took the scenic drive up to Monteagle for a relaxing afternoon and birthday lunch with J & E!

Aside from a terrible but hilarious lunch experience (I'd like to see their restaurant report card!), we had a wonderful time just being together. And we also had a great time touring the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, which was actually founded atop Lookout Mountain in 1857! It is so unbelievably beautiful that it reminds me of stepping back in time in a european setting! And it didn't help my euphoric feeling any, when we saw an adorable fawn bounding across the open lawn right in front of us!

Then we headed back to their house, and spent the rest of the day and evening just having fun and spending time together! Even Brody and Buddy had a good time playing Frisbee! After our traditional home-made pizza throwing contest, movie, and dessert, we jammied the girls and kissed J & E goodbye and made our trek back home!

We love our daddy and husband, and I hope that he knows we all wish that he had a wonderful birthday!