My New Reality; win a bag of delicious Chex Mix!

So I had this weird dream ... actually, funny dreams - that's one of my gifts...



So here it is: a look into my sub-conscious. Fear and tremble. I stood in front of a mirror to make myself presentable before I went out somewhere. I noticed the part in my hair was unusually bare. I brushed more hair aside to find that it was not really a part, it was the seam in my comb-over! Hideous!

I brushed the offending comb-over away to see how bad I had balded. In fact, I only had a little hair over the ears [No cool tat like this bloke, either]. I knew that the offending comb-over would have to be cut off entirely. First I had to get home. But in my mind, I realized that this was to be my new reality. And in fact, I should post a blog entry revealing that I was now bald. It would be titled, "My New Reality." As the saying goes, God made many beautiful heads; the rest of them He gave hair. I have so many dents and mis-shapes in my head, all will pity me when the hair is gone. This is a very traumatic thing for me.

I must have thought about this for some time. I walked down the street and got to a phone where I could call Suzanne to tell her the unfortunate news. There were two gun shots, and I think someone on the other side of the street had been shot. Two people scrambled into one of the buildings across the street. I would now be a witness to a murder. But, I could tell that new sprouts of hair were coming, and baldness would be temporary only, and that was really relieving. I think I woke up laughing.

If you can discern the meaning of the dream, you will win a delicious bag of Chex Mix. You must submit your witty submissions to qualify. Good luck!

Oh! What one can do with Leaves!

Well, all the neighbors thanked us, really. We didn't have enough leaves in our yard, so Callie and Hannah graciously went next door to rake up theirs, as well. And since they don't rake their leaves (which then blow to the southern neighbors), they were not going to miss these. We had a pretty good pile. And Callie and Hannah found something useful to do, and service oriented, as well.

The result? A very nice big pile that sat on our front lawn a bit too long. Now that it's been removed, there's a bit of a brown spot - but that will grow back. Nate - you'll be pleased to know that these are being composted, and helping to prep the soil in our new garden space.

We moved this pile to the garden spot, along with some more leaves from yet another neighbor. Now we have a very serious pile by just about any standards. The kids get thrown into it once it gets nice and fluffed (standing at better than five feet high). They hit the pile from an airborne toss and vanish inside like a rock in a pond. Then - it's Man against Wild. Don't worry, they always find their way out. And then want to be thrown again.

Happy kids, happy soil, happy next door neighbors, happy southern neighbors, happy times.

It's Official!

"Wild and crazy" seems to run in the genetics at our house. We have not really determined the source on this. However, the mother lode of those batty traits has undoubtedly fallen to Drew.



It's official! The Parents have determined that this is our CRAZIEST KID YET!

Yes, that's a toilet brush in his hands. (He is developing some fantastic resistance to germs. Though, as our luck has it [perpetually], his first week when he should be going to nursery - he's got a bit of a cough.)



When he's not playing with the toilet brush, Drew likes to hit and tackle his siblings, bite, climb on cabinets and tables (really - anything climbable - oh, like the exterior side of the stair banister), chase the dog (Daisy is learning not to bite back), yell for no apparent reason, knock over stools, stand in his high-chair (unless he is double-belted down), and anything else he can do to drive his mother crazy.

An excerpt from her recent email: "I'm not sure how many times I pulled Drew off of the counter top. I also pulled him off of the stovetop (where there was a very hot burner cooking our dinner), and out of a drawer that is 3 feet off of the ground. He climbed into that after emptying out our silverware drawer all over the floor."



Thankfully, he has some of the better traits, too.



And, he is learning to co-exist with others. Though he's still fully unhinged, he does his best to make up for it with his sweet songs and loving disposition. And it's a dang good thing.