She's NOT A Dick Tracy Character!

Even though her nickname today was "Prune Face".



At least she's enjoying it. That's what matters, right?



For more Wordless/Wordful Wednesday, check out 5 Minutes for Mom or Seven Clown Circus.

Yes, I'm Obsessed

I tried and tried to think of something else to post about today, but since I am "that loser who's obsessed with Lost", I'm going to share another Top Ten about the greatest show ever.

Top Ten Questions I Hope Get Answered Before The Show Ends

1. What is the purpose of the survivors on the island? (We're reasonably sure that those particular people crashing on the island was more than just coincidence, right? So, why are they there?)

2. Who are Jacob and his nemesis (aka Man in Black)? (How old are they? Where did they come from? How can they live without coffee?!?!)

3. Who is actually good, and who's evil? (I have to wonder this, because the writers of Lost are just twisted enough to put a bad guy in a white shirt just to mess with our minds, know what I mean?)

4. What is MIB's problem with ash? (Seriously, he's powerful enough to be a smoke monster AND a fake Locke, but he can't go across some ash? What's up with that?)

5. Where does Desmond really fit in to all of this anyway? (Besides being in love with Widmore's daughter. And fun to look at, of course.)

6. Is Claire dead or alive? (What I really wonder is how Kate fed Aaron after they left the island, but I know I'll never get an answer to that.)

7. Will Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy ever get together?

Oops. Sorry, I've been watching Pride and Prejudice in the afternoon while nursing the baby.

7. Is Aaron supposed to be some kind of savior of the world? Is Walt? Is Vincent???

8. What's the deal with Jack's father? (For a dead guy, he sure gets around!)

9. Is there any significance to Charlie's "DS" ring? (Or was that just a coy way of acknowledging Dominic Monaghan's "Lord of the Rings" background?)

And finally, the question I MOST want the answer to:

10. Will we get to see Sawyer without his shirt on again??????

ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease

The LOST Art of Humor

Today is Top Ten Tuesday. Tonight begins the final season of Lost.



Think it's just a coincidence? Maybe.

But then again, maybe not.

Was it a coincidence that Lost was available on Netflix Instant Watch so I could get forever and completely addicted to the best show in the history of television! get caught up on the first four seasons while I was up at night with a newborn last fall? Maybe.

But the fact that season five became available two days after I finished season four????

Maybe.

Or maybe the island wanted it that way.


Okay, I'll stop with the melodrama. But seriously, could I have let this day pass without offering up my own Lost tribute? I think not.

One of the innumerable things I love about Lost is the humor that intertwines its way through the scenes like a smoke monster through the jungle. Some of the comedy is obvious, some much more subtle. I could give endless examples, but here are a few bits that tickle my (occasionally bizarre) sense of humor.

1. Season 1 - Pilot, Pt.2

Sawyer: "I saw a guy lying there with an ankle holster, so I took the gun. Thought it might come in handy. Guess what? I just shot a bear!"
Kate: "So why do you think he's a marshall?"
Sawyer: "Because he had a clip-on badge. I took that, too. Thought it was cool."

2. Season 1 - Solitary

Jack: "Hurley, you built a golf course?"
Hurley: "Rich idiots fly to tropical islands all the time to whack balls around."
Michael: "All the stuff we gotta deal with, man, this is what you've been wasting your time on?"
Hurley: "Dudes, listen. Our lives suck! Everyone's nerves are stressed to the max. I mean, we're lost on an island, runnin' from boars. And monsters. Freakin' polar bears!"
Michael: "Polar bears?"
Charlie: "You didn't hear about the polar bear?"

3. Season 1 - Numbers

Hurley: "Dude, do not do that right now! Leave the bulb for another time, man."

4. Season 2 - Man of Science, Man of Faith

John: "Jack thinks I'm crazy, doesn't he?"
Kate: "Why? Because you want to drop into a hatch that's been locked from the inside by a foot-thick steel door that says 'Quarantine'?"
John: "Well, look at the bright side. The damage is done."
Kate: "Bright side."
John: "And if Jack thinks I've lost it, I can't blame him, really. Then again, five hours ago I was pulled into a hole by what appeared to be a column of black smoke."

5. Season 3 - A Tale of Two Cities

Tom: "Hey! You got yourself a fish biscuit! How'd you do that?"
Sawyer: "I figured out your complicated gizmo, that's how."
Tom: "Only took the bears two hours."

6. Season 3 - Tricia Tanaka Is Dead

Sawyer: "Son of a...What's a head doin' back here?"
Hurley: "Oh, that's just Roger."

7. Season 4 - The Other Woman

Juliet: "You knew this would happen. You sent him out here because you knew this would happen. You wanted this, you wanted him to die! Why?"
Ben: "Why? You're asking me why?!? After everything I did to get you here, after everything I've done to keep you here, how can you possible not understand.....that you're mine. (long pause) Take as much time as you need."

8. Season 4 - There's No Place Like Home

Ben: "Am I interrupting?" (Jack points a gun at him.) "Nice to see you too, Jack." (Ben walks past Jack towards John.) "Couldn't find the antheriums, could you?"
John: "I don't know what they look like!"

9. Season 5 - Because You Left

Hurley: "Want a fry?"
Sayid: "No, thank you."
Hurley: "You know, maybe if you ate more comfort food, you wouldn't have to go around shooting people."

10. Season 5 - Because You Left

Richard: "Pay attention. Next time we see each other, I'm not gonna recognize you, alright? You give me this. Alright?"
John: "What is this?"
Richard: "It's a compass."
John: "What does it do?"
Richard: "It points north, John."


Yes, I have a twisted sense of humor. But it's better than none at all, right?

We're In The Money Eggs!

Our chickens have discovered their purpose in life....laying eggs! We're averaging between one and two dozen a day. That's a lot of eggs, people! Even my omelet-loving family of seven can't eat that many.

So.......



We're selling them for $2.25/dozen, which is a perfectly reasonable price for farm-fresh, organic eggs.

I know that doesn't really sound like a lot of money, but since I've gotten back into CVSing (I'll tell you more about that next week), the money we get goes farther than you'd think.

But I can still use a few more recipes that call for lots of eggs. Know any good ones you'd care to share?

WW - The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven

Isn't that one of the sweetest faces you've ever seen???
I'm so proud of my little darling, sitting up like a big girl!

For more oohs and ahhs, check out 5 Minutes for Mom and Seven Clown Circus.

So much for the schedule...

It's official. Hubby went to work an hour early Saturday morning, and came home ninety minutes later. His boss finally axed him.

We saw this coming, and we still fully believe that God has a plan in all this. After Eric told me the news, we talked, we hugged, and then we prayed. Whatever happens, we're in God's hands. Completely. We've got total peace about it.

In the meantime, we're going to make the most of Eric's time together, which means I get to take total advantage of him take care of a few things that have been on our to-do lists for months. This week's list includes, but is not limited to:

• Cleaning the sunroom
• Making a batch of soap
• Making cheese
• Cutting firewood
• Hauling manure for the garden
• Building a gate to the chicken run
• Getting leaves on the garden
• Making an "Eggs for Sale" sign
• Straightening up the mudroom
• Hanging shelves
• Tilling both the vegetable and the herb gardens
• Sharpening my kitchen knives
• Making plans for the greenhouse
• Emptying the outbuildings of junk from the previous owner and hauling it off to the recycling center

With all this extra work (and since we homeschool year-round anyway), I'm putting school on hiatus for the rest of the week.

So much for that schedule I worked so hard on.

One Smart Cookie

Once upon a time, I was a fairly organized woman. Hard to believe, I know, but it's true. When I was in the workforce (and only had three children, who were all in public school) I was known for my organizational skills, efficiency, and serious attention to detail.

It's stunning how much can change over the years, isn't it.

When I first became a stay-at-home mom, I had (I thought) no need for making a schedule. Get up, get the girls off to school, do what needed to be done around the house, fix dinner while the girls did homework, and so forth. Simple.

And then, I started homeschooling.

Well, that wasn't too hard. I only had one of the three girls at home with me, we did our work in the morning shortly after everyone else was gone, and I still had plenty of time in the afternoon to do whatever I needed to before it was time to pick up the other two. No problem!

And then I started homeschooling her younger sister.

Okay, now I've got two kids to teach. No biggie, they're both in grade school so it's still pretty easy work. I mean, it's not like we're learning Algebra or Biology or something advanced and time-consuming like that, right?

And then, I started having more children.

Ummmm...........

Yeah, I admit it. Juggling infants and toddlers with housework and schoolwork hasn't been a cakewalk. And every time I thought I was starting to get a handle on it, something new popped up to throw me askew. Things like getting pregnant again, moving into a bigger house (more rooms for me to clean, oh yay!), getting chickens to raise (and not just a few chickens, but thirty of the silly little cluckers!), and the shocking realization that, somewhere in the midst of all this, my sweet little easy-to-teach third grader is now a high school student learning.......

(duh duh DUHHHHMMMM...)

ALGEBRA!!! (insert high-pitched scream here)


For the past eighteen months (eighteen months, people!), I've been beating my head against the wall trying to come up with a daily schedule for me and the children that's realistic and doable. This week, I finally got it!

Unfortunately, I left it on my kitchen counter. Just close enough to the edge for my two-year old daughter to reach it.



Considering how many times I've tried (and failed spectacularly) to put this family on a schedule, and considering that said schedule means early, consistent bedtimes for little ones so I can have some "me" time, I have only one conclusion.

My two-year old is one smart cookie.