This is for Donna.

 

A is for Age - 35
B is for Booze - Pina Colada
C is for Career - wife, mother, home educator
D is for Dad’s name - Ron
E is for Essential items to bring to a party - Something that I know I like to eat
F is for Favorite song at the moment - Mother Eagle by Sue Young
H is for Hometown - Wichita Falls, TX
I is for Instrument you play - all the percussion, oboe, little piano
J is for Jam or Jelly you like - grape
K is for Kids - KJ
L is for Living arrangement - married or 3 bedroom, 1 bath
M is for Mom’s name - Margaret
N is for Names of best friends - Kathy Porter
O is for overnight hospital stays - my birth(1969), KJ's birth(1993), a REALLY nasty puking virus where I got dehydrated(1995), stayed nights with KJ when he had pnemonia(1994)
P is for Phobias - scorpions, getting more claustrophobic as I get older
Q is for Quote you like - "Freedom of religion means freedom for all religions." - saw it on a bumper sticker
R is for Relationship that lasted longest - hopefully the one I now have with David will be the longest, but I was married to KJ's dad for 10 years
S is for Siblings - Staci(sister), Tracey(brother), Sherri(half-sister)
U is for Unique trait - collect turtles?
V if for Vegetable you love - black-eyed peas, turnip greens
W is for Worst trait - tend to carry my feelings on my shirt sleeve
X - is for XRays you’ve had - teeth
Y is for Yummy food you make - pork roast stuffed with prunes and apples
Z is for Zodiac sign - Virgo

Here are some of our pictures from our brief trip.  I'll get the rest up soon.

 

 

KJ and I are back from my parents and I will have lots of pictures up soon.

In the meantime, however, something happened "pre-vacation" that I meant to blog about.

 

The evening before we left Waco, I was busy cleaning out the chicken coops and putting down fresh hay.  I let the chickens out to run around in the yard while I cleaned.  Upon lifting up Peg's box (she is the hen with nerve damage), I found a mouse nest.  There were three adorable mice inside.  Now I'm not a mouse person, but these were cute, tiny mice, grey fur and about an inch and a half long each.  As I leaned down to get a closer look, the mice ran out of the coop.  I should explain here that by the term "coop," I mean the fenced-in area that the chickens hang out in, not just the nesting boxes.  Just on the other side of the fence, a few of the Reds were roaming around.  They took one look at the mice, grabbed them up in their beaks, turned their heads to the side (one eye looking up and one looking down), and then their heads up and down to bang the mice on the ground.  The mice were beat to death pretty quickly and the chickens started to eat them.  This all happened in a matter of seconds while I stood transfixed by the horror.  I ran in the house to tell David what had happened to which he replied, "That's nature."  I know that is true, but I just didn't expect to see nature quite so up close and personal.

Well, KJ and I are at "grandaddy's and granmama's,"  also known as my parents.  David is feeling better and is at home working on the lawnmower.  We are hoping to be able and mow before the grass gets waist high.  That is not a reflection of David's skill, but of how fast our grass grows.

 

Earlier, KJ mowed the yard for my dad and is currently off running around town with him learning about local history.  Then they are going to church followed by meeting my mother and I at my aunt's house.  My mother and I are just enjoying the peace and quiet.  :-)

 

 

Good news - I went to the Scholastic Book Sale where I bought lots of books for next year's school and KJ found some new, interesting, and educational software.  I ended up saving $104 off the regular prices.

Bad news - I spent $86 at the book sale.

 

Good news - Spending so much money finally inspired me to get off my rear and post some items for sale on the Well-Trained Mind Sale board.

Bad news - I am suposed to be out-of-town from Saturday through Thursday so if someone does decide to buy from me, I won't be able to ship it until I return.  I should have thought of that BEFORE I posted to the board.

 

Good news - Thanks to the new software, KJ has a renewed interest in practicing his typing.

Bad news - I have to hear the ever encouraging voice of Sponge Bob (yech) as KJ types.

 

Good news - After much testing and numerous doctor visits, we finally have an idea of what is causing David's health problems.

Bad news - The solution may be a little while in coming, and meanwhile David is in pain.

 

Good news - We were able to get a very old used lawnmower so we don't have to buy a new one.

Bad news - The new to us/old mower doesn't work quite yet.  David has to do a couple of things to it first.  David is in too much pain to work on it.

 

Good news - Our local hay provider finally had his first harvest of the season so we can go get hay.  The chickens greatly prefer hay over the pine chips that we've been using.

Bad news - Only David can drive the truck to go haul the hay.  Did I mention that David is a lot of pain?

 

FYI - I finally updated my blog list. 

 

 

We went to a friend's May Day party on Sunday and had a fantastic time.  You can see the children doing the Maypole here.

 

I forgot to show you KJ and David's toothpick bridge. Two Fridays ago, KJ's Sciencewise class had a toothpick bridge breaking contest.  Three weeks before that, each student had been given one box of toothpicks and a bottle of Elmer's Glue.  It was supposed to be a family project, but I did nothing. (baaad mom)  David on the other hand consulted a stress engineer with whom he works and made a computer model of the bridge.  Can you guess which of us will be teaching Physics next year?  Anyway, here is KJ and his bridge.  By the way, it held 30 pounds.