rachel's continued ramblings

sunday: the MOMS club collected halloween candy to send off to deployed troops. we had to separate chocolate from non-chocolate candy and layla and micah were happy to help, especially since they got to skim a little off the top. monday: missing something? I opened the microwave and the vent cover came along with the door. tuesday:just a little wrestling before bed. wednesday: the atm gave me these totally weird $100 bills! thursday: book dominos. friday: ginger found a sun puddle in micah’s room. saturday: at ella’s birthday party. a couple of extras:  

sunday: a weeklong project complete! I washed, sorted, and bagged up all of the leftover clothes from the fall MOMS club garage sale, plus cast offs from my mom and us. all ready to take a trip south to give to kat and cole for their clothing bank! 18 trash bags full! monday: no school for veteran’s day, so layla had 2 girlfriends sleep over on sunday night. I sent dave to the store to buy cereal and he came home with froot loops with marshmallows! gag. they thought it was awesome though. tuesday: every time I go to safeway, I pass these cinnamon sented pinecones by the door. and then I spend the entire time I’m shopping craving cinnamon bears… wednesday: family dance party. micah is hilarious. also wednesday: chex mix!!! thursday: layla had a story due the next day and I helped her edit her rough draft. she insisted I use red pen. saturday: taking apart the carpet shampooer to see if he can make it work. also saturday: success!

I know I always did meal plan monday before, and usually, I make them on different days of the week, but here I am. I haven’t wanted to do these lately because I feel a little sheepish about it. why? because they probably aren’t the healthiest meals. I have reverted to my old favorite recipes that I have always made. why? because we like them, we can afford them, and I know how to make them. but here in hipsterland, admitting something like this is equivalent to admitting that you abuse puppies. no joke. I may get unfriended and/or ‘evangelized’ by some well-intentioned friends… our recipes aren’t terrible, but they’re not gluten-free or dairy-free, and certainly not paleo. sometimes there are pre-made and/or processed ingredients. oh well. when we eat like this, I maintain my sanity. end of story. if I try to deviate, I get one of a couple different reactions: I stress out completely (usually over my grocery budget which does not support an all organic, all whole foods menu), o...

this (and some minor variations of this) has been my ‘about me’ headliner since I started this blog almost 6 (gasp!) years ago: i'm a wannabe 1950's housewife continually searching for my sanity. nose-wiper, owie-kisser, connoisseur of pbs cartoons... the Lord has blessed me with a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children, loving parents, and a new, GORGEOUS house. i love knitting, reading, gardening, scrapbooking, THRIFTING!, blogging and otherwise avoiding the housework i should be doing (but i'm trying to do better and keep this beautiful house looking beautiful). oh, and i NEVER capitalize unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I need to change it, but I wanted to preserve it, because it has described me for a good long period of my life. a lot of it is still true. I am still amazingly blessed in my life and my calling to be the wife of a wonderful man and the mother of these awesome children. I’m no better about housework than I ever have been, and my avoidance hobbies are s...

sunday: power was still out in the morning, but this was a good sign. finally came back on around 11am. about 26 hours without. also sunday: helping with homework. monday: micah’s soccer party was at round table pizza. he was super excited to have his very own trophy now! tuesday: back to ballet for layla! thursday: shane made this pot and planted this impatien plant in vbs the summer of… 2007? somehow or other, it has stayed alive all this time. one other random time, it even flowered. I may have killed it this time… also thursday: layla is studying her science book and writing notes on post-its. friday: I got to chaperone a field trip for layla’s class to MOHAI. it was so fun. these 6 girls were a great group. saturday: dave and shane were off to home depot at 9am and came back with fence building supplies.

halloween week! sunday: we were definitely in need of some pumpkins! after dropping a small fortune last year at the pumpkin patch, we vowed to buy our pumpkins at the store, and just go to the farm for the corn maze and the food. we never made it to the farm this year, but at least we got pumpkins. also sunday: why I never need to buy clothes for layla. our trusty hand-me-down source came through and it was like christmas! also sunday: tragedy struck! captain america’s shield got stepped on and cracked. daddy + superglue to the rescue. tuesday: where’s beatrice???  I made up a bed at my parents’ house and their cat refused to get out of the way… so I just made her into the bed. also tuesday: micah’s latest tinkertoy creation = crutches. wednesday: gorgeous sunrise from my front porch. thursday: halloween playgroup after school for micah. lots of superhero representation. we felt very safe. also thursday: my 3 goofballs. captain america, ballerina, and mexican banana. sat...