Seven

 1. Wednesday was our 25th wedding anniversary, and you know what we did?  We went for a long drive in the mountains and stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch on a rooftop balcony, then wound around to a movie theater but arrived between shows and didn't want to wait...

So we stopped at DQ (I had a Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard, which I highly recommend) and then we drove home.  The girls had cleaned the house while we were gone, and everyone had made us cards, so hugs went all 'round.

Then, everyone (mainly the kids) watched an episode of the old Star Treks, washed up, brushed their teeth, and hit the sack.  That was it.  It was perfect.  Who could ask for anything more?  (No kidding, I could.  I loved our day out, but I'm totally looking forward to a longer vacation with Dan come summertime when we have "big kid babysitting" and more time to spend driving around, eating and talking.)

2.  Besides discussing all the children, then each child in his or her turn, then the state of the world, it's economy and our economy, and whether or not the old Dodge truck is powerful enough to pull our 5th wheeler -- we play a lot of word-type games when we go out driving together, Dan and I.  On this last excursion one of our random quizzes was to answer the question: What would make you most happy?  But, I didn't need to ask Dan, really, because I know the answer.

 What would make my husband most happy is if I loved him enough to make French Onion Soup -- and still live in the same house with him after he ate it.  And, after twenty-five years, I still say:

Sorry, Dan.  I love ya, but I don't French Onion Soup love ya.

(It's not you; it's the soup.)

3.  Did you know they had these on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower?  If you happened to be in Chicago, and happened to be at the Sears Tower, would you go out there?

I would. But just for a minute maybe.

And only if I happened to be wearing slacks instead of a skirt that day.

(Yes, well... Ya gotta think of these things...)

4.  Here's an easy, yummy, homemade tootsie roll recipe...
Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter, softened
1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup white corn syrup

Directions
Mix all ingredients together and knead it as you would bread dough.  Roll into rope shapes and cut into desired lengths.  Wrap in pieces of plastic wrap.  Makes roughly 2 dozen traditional-sized pieces.

Just what we all needed, huh?  But, no worries!  Make some up Saturday because:

5.  Sunday is International No Diet Day.  Really, it is.  I plan not to diet that day.  I plan to eat tootsie rolls.

6.  We get our tv exposure from Netflix, and you just never know what you're going to scroll across on the lists when you're relaxing at the end of the day...  When the kids are in bed, and we've got our glass of wine... We wiggle our toes out of our shoes, get into our jammies and get ready to unwind and watch ...  Are you ready for this?  Ice Road Truckers in the Himalayas.  And Swamp People.  Yeah.  I know.  Tells you something about us, doesn't it?  But, seriously.  Both of those shows absolutely hypnotize me.  Why, you ask?  For one thing, they really are both spine-tinglingly spine tingling -- and they make me so very happy we live where we do:  safe from maniac Indian bus drivers and bus-sized alligators. And you've just gotta love that crazy Swamp People Cajun accent. After watching a whole season of the show, I can now actually understand what they're saying without reading the crawl at the bottom.  I could be a translator! (Though I'm not fluent to speak it yet).

 And that little slip of a girl who drove the rickety old truck through the Himalayas?  All I can say is: "Wow." And, "Are you crazy, girl?"  Same comments I've heard countless times through the years -- but Lisa Kelly's job makes mothering ten kids look easy...  Granted, Miss Kelly would probably rather drive a rickety truck over the Himalayas than raise ten kids, but, if you think about it, our jobs have some striking parallels.  Seriously.  For both of us it's all about staying on the road, delivering our cargos to the proper destination, and not killing anybody.


7.  A note to my husband on the off-chance that he'll see it here and notice that it's addressed to him:  I love you, Dan.  Remember how you promised to clean the refrigerator as a favor to me...   two weeks ago?  Well, just so you know... I'm not nagging or anything, and I so totally understand all the things that have distracted you -- as I've certainly welcomed my own distractions from cleaning the fridge, too --  but I just thought you'd appreciate a heads up:  Mother's Day is May 13th.  That's a Sunday, you know.  I can arrange to be out of the house on Saturday, the 12th...  Just sayin'.




Run over to Jen's at Conversion Diary for oodles and skads of Quick Takes posts.

Seven Not-Very-Quick Takes

Gabe, 7

1.  We were watching a movie the other day in which there was considerable drama forced upon the hero by two different girls vying for his hand in marriage.  After the 2nd or 3rd round of the heroe's changing his constantly spinning mind, Gabe, in disgust remarked, "If it were me, I'd just be a priest!"

William agreed enthusiastically and added, "Or a Brother!"  And then, on a half minute's thought, said, "But I don't want to be a Brother!"  We all looked over at him, waiting for the punchline, and got, "Or a Sister! Of course not!  I'm not a girl!" 

He laughed at his own joke there, then commenced pounding his forehead with the heel of his palm. "And I don't want to  be a....  a.... a...."

Guessing where he was going, I said, "A bishop?"

"Yeah, that's it.  I don't want to be a bishop, either."


William, 5



OK, then," we asked, knowing our cue, "What do you want to be?"

"I want to be a...  Ugh!  What's that called?  What's that guy called?"

We were clueless.  "You tell us, William."

And the lightbulb dinged over his head.  "I know! I know!" he said.  "I want to be a pope!"

And there you have it.  Are you starting to get the picture of the kind of kid we have here?  Took twenty years and ten kids to get this one.  And he's a lulu!

2.  One thing that must happen around here.  And soon.  The bucket of peanut  brittle that Dan got Anna for her  birthday must be eaten.  By someone else besides me.  All of it.  Get on it, kids, for heaven's sake.



Anna, 9



3.  Anna (9) has an ardent (if not at all secret) admirer in the 2nd grade (She's in the 3rd).  The sweet little guy gives Anna little homemade cards and notes practically every day.  Last week he found out that her birthday was over the weekend, and got together something extra special to give her on Monday -- and all of us here, who have been hovering between being disconcerted (as former homeschoolers who haven't dealt with this before) and highly amused (because we love the irony of a hopeless romance almost as much as slapstick) find ourselves tipping into the smirking-behind-our-hands camp. 

 Picture this and imagine our bittersweet amusement:  Monday afternoon, Anna brings home a very pretty Christmas card from her admirer with "Christmas" crossed out and "Birthday" written in -- and in the envelope, a little cache of stickers, two pretty rocks, and a little scrap of purple paper upon which was written: " To Anna.  You are Butuflu."  Isn't that so sweet it makes you wanna cry?  Or laugh?  Or both?

How does Anna react to these amorous missives?  She's like, "Eh."  The little guy is in second grade, doncha know.  Seriously.  Everyone likes him; he's a doll.  The cutest, sweetest little guy you've ever seen.  And she wouldn't hurt his feelings for anything, but her instinct is to not encourage it, either. (Applause from the gallery!)

 But, alas....  Since the birthday card episode, poor Anna is has heard more than she might like to hear about the whole silly thing --  what with people telling her how "Butuflu" she is and all.  So I have to call a stop to the teasing. 

Even if she really is Butuflu.

* For enquiring minds...  Anna did graciously give her permission for me to tell this story.  I wouldn't post it if it were a source of embarassment to her or if I thought there was a shadow of a chance her little beau getting wind of it...  Just thought that might be important to disclose. :)


Cathy, 11

4.  For Martinmas last Friday, homeschooler, Cathy, and I sewed up some simple fleece scarves, bought some super cheap gloves (four pairs for $6) and little winter beanies ($2 and $3 a piece), then took out all the buttons and trims and "findings" we could dig up in our sewing and craft bins (which was a lot, since -- as Dan will tell you, while shaking his head and rolling his eyes -- I never throw anything away) -- and set the girls to decorating their own winter sets. Since I'm not ready to trust the little boys with an instrument as sharp as a needle, I did theirs myself --  with snowflakes and snowmen -- with a pack of alligators attacking Williams' because it seemed somehow appropriate on a scarf for William...  And, anyway, a week after the fact, here they all are:



And you can see them around the necks of the youngins above and below, too.



5.  Due to circumstance beyond my control (because, believe me, if it were in my control, I would just spend, spend, spend, spend spend.... ), it's going to be a lean Christmas this year.  But, no really...  It's fine.  I'm going to be OK.  Christmas is going to be OK.  The kids are going to survive. It's not about the presents.  It's about Jesus.   And, anyway, last year's was an out-of-the-ordinary exuberant Christmas, so it's all in the balance.  And, in the spirit of "we really don't have it bad in the big picture, and we've never been rich, anyway" perspective,  I'm really looking forward to simplifying this year. 

Advent we hope to spend looking inward and heavenward, preparing for our Total Consecration on December 8th. All of us, Anna and up, are working toward this great grace and honor. Then in the two weeks leading up to Christmas, we'll work on homemade gifts, baking, and planning family get-together fun  for the week between Christmas and New Year when the whole gang will be home.  (We're cooking up some doozy party themes that I'll fill you in on as things come together.) 
But on the gifting thing, because there will be a little of that  -- Those few things we purchase need to have special punch -- at a reasonable price.  In my wanderings for just. thee. perfect. gifts for each of the kids, I've stumbled into some super fun online stores.  Here are a couple: 



Gratuituous photo of Theresa, 12



*  For teenage boys and young men, ya gotta take a look at the Perpetual Kid site and then run over and take a look at their coupons!  Think Geek has big boy stuff, too, that will tickle their funny bones and then run over and take a look at their coupons!

 *  For kids of all ages, categorized, in fact, by ages, you have to check out Fat Brain's toy shop.  And for some cool stuff, it's fun poking around the Cool Stuff Express website.  And you know you gotta go check it out if the site is called "Cool Stuff Cheap."  But for real toys (not like we really need any more toys around here, mind you),  you can find lots of good stuff at discount school supply sources and museum catalogues.

*  For clothes that we don't get at thrift stores or garage sales, we love L.L. Bean.  Just love 'em.  And they have coupons, too!

6.  For the past month or so we've been having fun with an incentive chart based on our little "hiding" squirrel, Chippy.  It looks like this:

Here's the deal:

For the Christmas season, we'll change the theme, but I haven't figured out yet what I'll change it to.  And then we always have the Christmas crib and the straws devotion that we'll pull out.  I found a beautiful new little baby Jesus for the crib, too, that we're excited about!  I'll take a pic of him when I pull him out after Thanksgiving.
*  Here's a question for the siblings and aunts who are far away: Can you guess who's won the Chippy Count every Sunday so far?

7. I've been having to stop myself from being tidy-obsessed lately. Not that I'm OCD, mind you -- I mean, you should see the inside of my pantry and the back fridge.  No, actually, you shouldn't.  But, especially if I'm tired or stressed,  I can't relax if the room I'm in is not at least picked up.  Which, as you might guess, in a house with five kids at home (at the moment) and a husband who just doesn't much care God bless him, is maybe not a reasonable expectation?  Is it?

No, really.  Is it unreasonable?  I mean, not all the rooms have to be clean -- just the room I'm in.  So, as long as the kids stay one step ahead of me, anticipating my migration through the house, everything will be good.  And I won't have to nag. 

That's not asking too much, is it?

Ok, yeah.  I guess it is.

It's going to get crazy messy pretty fast around here though, regardless.  The troops will be arriving on Tuesday for Thanksgiving -- at least those troops that have gotten passes to come home (so to speak), which ==heavy sigh== is not very many of them.  But, you can count on it looking like we've been overrun by the whole Marine First Division, anyway.  No matter how many kids show up. 

The count so far: We'll have Kevvy and Michelle and adopted son, Omar, and my sis, Nina, is coming.  But no Paul and Nicole and baby Gavin; no Jon or Br. Pio; no Mom or Dad or any other sibs of mine. 

There will be only eleven of us here eating turkey next Thursday.  Weird.

Anybody wanna come and fill out our numbers?  I can't cook for less than twenty people on Turkey Day.

Really.

I won't even make you clean house.

Jennifer' is the place for more Quick Takes (probably quicker Quick Takes than these were...)

Seven, Somewhat Quickish

1.  Looking at the quite reasonable possibility that we'll be moving again soon.  Can you hear the springs squeak as I shift uneasily in my chair? I hate moving.  But, though we love the house we're in, the rent is too high, and we've come to the conclusion that there really is no chance we can buy it (asking too much)  -- so we're looking for something else before our landlord can sell this one out from under us. 

We've had our eye on a honey of a place that just suits us, though. A place we hope we can buy. It's not the walk to school and Mass we have now, but it's only ten minutes' drive away and is in a very nice location, tucked into the hills and corn fields, and a better distance from any big roads than we are now.  It's an 1890s home, with two stories and a partially finished attic -- on about 7 acres with a spring and irrigation.  It was in the process of going into foreclosure when we started the paperwork on a short sale a couple weeks ago.  But, not only is the short sale process complex and drawn out, but it's with Bank of America (Ugh.) -- and, as the house needs work, we're bidding low, so the bank may have to be convinced by St. Joseph to give us the go-ahead.  Saying a novena (or two) now...  Here's a pic of the house:



I know...  It doesn't look like much to the untrained eye. But you should see it through the goggles of hopes, dreams, and sweat equity that we're wearing...



  2.  Somewhat on the same subject -- you know, along the lines of us moving around a lot in recent years...  One of my siblings (bless 'em!)  called us gypsies recently.  Gypsies?  Harumph!  When I think of us, gypsies don't come to mind in the least... Most of us are too fair and freckled, for one thing.  But, more on-topic:  gypsies prefer not to have a permanent home, while having a permanent home is all I think about.  I have binders and folders full of magazine-clipped home decor and color swatches planned out for all the different houses we've owned -- or even thought about being able to own -- for the last twenty years.  I have graph paper designs of additions I'd make long before we ever make an offer on a house.  I have the gardens penciled in and the fruit trees planted. Even  if it rolled, I'd find a way to dig a root cellar and add additions.  And there'd be orchards and gardens around my gypsy wagon.  And stone walls...  And a spring house...  And...  Hang on a minute while I get my graph paper...

3.  I took exception to being called a gypsy; yes, I did.   But a sweet girl made me feel better this afternoon, giving me a much more positive subtitle. 

We have a dairy near our home where we get our milk and cheese.  (GREAT stuff, too, I might add.  If you ever come across Rocking W cheese, do get some!)  There's the cutest young lady that works there -- probably nineteen or twenty years old, and in the last year we've gotten to be somewhat acquainted.  She always gets a kick out of trying to recognize the different kids when they come in with me -- but I've never told her how many we have altogether until today.  It just hadn't come up.  But, we were in for milk and cream this afternoon (to make ice cream this weekend), and since it was just a couple of us Davises and little Alicia whom we occasionally babysit, she had a short count.  She didn't know Alicia, of course, but I reminded her that she'd met Cathy before. "She's child number six,"  I told her. 

At that, the sweet young lady's eyebrows shot up and she exclaimed, "SIX!  Wow!"  she said, "You sure hold it together well for having six kids!  My Mom has five and she's crazy." 

Now, I don't know whether she meant her mom is crazy because she decided to have five children, or whether  the five children drove her crazy and I thought about asking her, but decided instead to have some fun --  and told her how many kids we have.  Then I waited for the reaction.  She was speechless for a moment.  There was no telling how she'd reply to that little bomb.  You never know, ya know.  Even the nicest, most diplomatic, supportive, and tolerant folks out there have a hard time knowing what to say sometimes.  And I really do understand; it's out of the ordinary for most folks to hear the number "ten" in the same sentence with "children in our family"....  But, of all the responses I've ever gotten, I like our little milk maid's the best.  With a big bright smile, she said, "Ten!  YOU are a force to be reckoned with!"

Haha!  Gotta love that!

(I guess, all things considered, I really am! Or, anyway, WE are.  By sheer strength of numbers if nothing else!)

4. The Reader's Digest rocks.  After almost twenty-five years of subscribing, I still look forward to its arrival in the mail every month, regular as the change of the calendar page.  We got our first edition as an unexpected, but welcome wedding gift from my Dad, and somewhere along the way (I really don't even know when) picked up the tab, ourselves.  But The Reader's Digest has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  One of my fondest memories of childhood is my NC grandfather, sitting at the kitchen table as my grandmother cooked dinner, reading to her from its pages.  In college, I had the audacity to use a RD short story to dissect for an English class.  The professor thought it was beneath her and cautioned me to look for more esteemed publications in the future.  Puh-lease.  Can you believe that?  Who cares about high-falutin' and esteemed?  The Reader's Digest gets read!

 How 'bout these numbers:  According to Mediamark Research, it reaches more readers with household incomes of $100,000+ than Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Inc. combined.

Global editions of Reader's Digest reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries, with 50 editions in 21 languages. It has a global circulation of 17 million, making it the largest paid circulation magazine in the world. It is also published in Braille, digital, audio, and a version in large type called Reader's Digest Large Print. (Wikipedia)

There's a lot of good stuff in the pages of little Reader's Digest.  You've got articles on health and finances, collections of jokes, mind-benders and vocabulary quizzes, humorous essays, articles of topical interest of the day, fiction and non-fiction short stories...  And it's all in a magazine sized just right to fit in your purse.  What more could anyone ask?

5.  Which leads me to ths:  In the RD this month, I found a link to a fascinating, thought-provoking photographic blog called  TheBurningHouse.  The question asked is this:   If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question.

The submissions  (one is posted every day or two) answer with a photo collage of personal items. Such a neat premise for a blog.  Go check it out.  Makes you ponder.

6.  So, yeah...  Ten things for me would have to be the kids if they were all here.  Dan would be on his own.  But, hmmm...  Since I've only got five children just now in the theoretically burning down house, I guess I'd have to grab my backpack by the door that's got my wallet, my keys, my most recent "read" and my reading glasses. So that counts for a sixth item.  Then I'd grab my grandmother's doll, Helen and the big statue of the Blessed Mother that is right next to her in my bedroom.  That's eight.  And I'd have to grab the CPU off the desk here because it's got all my pictures in it.  (Gotta get an external drive for them!)  And that's nine.  Hmmmm...  Ten, though --  would probably be something stupid.  Like the battery operated jar of fireflies by the front door.  Or maybe my vintage raggedy Anne and Andy off the top of the kitchen cabinets.  Or one of a dozen special religious statues or pictures.  Or, if I were really thinking, I'd have to grab my St. Joseph's missal from off the end of the counter.  Those are hard to find, and mine has all my special holy cards in all the right places...  Yeah, it'd have to be the missal.

7.  So, homeschooling's going swimmingly with my one little fifth grader.  Strangely quiet and strangely easy teaching only one child.  But, even so.  Got flashcards to start some Latin vocabulary study with Catherine, and we just. can't. seem. to. work it into our school schedule.  It's not like it's a hard thing to tackle, or that it'd take much time, or that either of us has anything at all against Latin.  But we're almost a month into this school thing and haven't picked those danged cards up once.   ~Sigh~  Ah, well....  Verbis defectis musica incipit.  Et -- Gustatus similis pullus...

Cathy Not-As-Yet-A-Latin-Scholar
(Does she look sad to you?)



  Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur...

* For More Quick Takes from All Over, run over to Jennifer's at Conversion Diary...

Seven Quickish

We're less than a fifteen minute drive from three little towns that nestle in the Uncompahgre River valley on the western slope of Colorado.  Each of these towns is a total treat -- like corner grocery Mary Janes and blowpops to me after years of big city vending machine living.  I gotta tell ya, I am just plain silly-in-love with my little towns. They're still fairly slow and simple, still somewhat Norman Rockwellesque. I can very often go through life  pretending I'm living on the edge of the 1950s here -- until I pass the local high schools when school is getting out, or stumble upon a crowd at a festival or street fair...  See, I've found out, much to my annoyance, that the sepia-toned glasses I like to wear when I'm out and about in our picturesque valley can't really modify or hide the neon that occasionally shows up around here.

Didn't actually see this
particular girl...

 We went to the big community gathering in one of the towns  this evening, what amounts to a weekly street fair.  The good folks that run the place close off Main Street every Thursday and open it to street performers, muscians, and vendors.  If you are so inclined, you can have your face painted, or have feathers braided into your hair; if you want to stand in line forever, you can get  free hotdogs and the kids can bounce for free in a couple of those big balloon bouncy things that the children love. There's tons to do, tons to see.  I'm glad we went.  It was a great time!  But I couldn't get over all the neon hair.  Green, blue, pink.  Mostly on teenage girls --  and I have to give them credit, the hair color did usually coordinate with their outfits, but, oh, for goodness sakes...  Silly kids. Such a teenage thing to do...


Teenage. A kid thing to do.  Right?
 


Didn't actually see this one, either...

 So, what's with the ladies my age dying their hair these same bright colors?  I mean, seriously?  On a teenager it's a passing fad, something you might expect, something us old folks brush over remembering our grunge or punk or preppy days.  But, come on now....  Tie-dye pink and purple hair on a forty-something woman wearing bi-focals?  That just hits me square in the face every time. Really, ladies.  Y'all look ridiculous. 

 

 But, while I'm on subject of teenage vs. middle-age mom fads...  Why is it that my teenage daughter can throw her hair up in a half pony-tail, half bun thing, with hair sticking up haphazardly askew -- and it looks cool.  But when I inadvertently do the same thing, it looks messy?  Same reason pink neon hair would look stupid on me?

Soooo....  Now that I've let slip a peek at my latent and only somewhat hidden curmudgeonly side, I guess I can segway into how much I hate Harry Potter, right?

  Dan and I decided after reading the first H.P. book that there are libraries full of good reading material that have no chance of making confused connections in our children's brains regarding witchcraft, sorcery, and the occult -- and just didn't introduce the series to our children. 

When the subject has come up over the years, we've explained our objections, and the children have liked the logic and moved onto other books.  No biggie. I love that they read Jane Austen, James Herriot, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Owen Francis Dudley, instead. It hasn't been an issue for us, personally.  Still, it concerns me to see what an obsession the JK Rowling books have become for so many people. Frankly, I'm just really tired of all the press, all the hype, all the raves.  I'm glad this is the last movie. My hope is that the vibrations of the series will finally fade out like Where's Waldo? finally did.  The lead character of which, by the way, bears an eerie resemblence to Master Potter, I think.  Check it out:  All he needs is the hat and striped shirt...  No offence meant, lovers of H.P.  Please don't be mad at me.  Or put a hex on me or anything.  This is just my own personal opinion.










I love this song I just heard on Pandora.  Sounds a lot like Ingrid Michaelson, whose musical stylings I greatly admire....  But, I digress...   I like the lyrics to this song, as well,and I would like to dedicate it to Dan -- whose been gone all week at Boys' Camp. I kinda like that guy I married.  I miss his face!  (And Gabey's, too!  We'll all be glad to have them both home tonight!)

Indiana Jones meets James Bond.  Does it work?  Anyone seen Cowboys vs. Aliens yet?  What do you think?

Would you wear these?  They're supposed to be the next best thing to being barefoot:

They're called "Five Finger" shoes, and are made by Vibram.  They retail for around $45.  Remember the Croc craze?   Don't get me wrong: I do not mean to disparage crocs; a lot of people still love their crocs.  Unlovely as they are. (The crocs, not the people who love them...)  I wonder if  these crazy Five Fingers shoeless shoes would catch on like crocs if they weren't so pricey.  Do you suppose they'd allow these in classrooms?  Would you get funny stares everywhere you went in them? 

I'm thinking I'll stick with the original facsimile of these, myself, regardless.  Much cheaper. 



"Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves
that break upon the idle seashore of the mind."
- Henry Wadsworth Longellow

We'll only be just getting this little guy back from his first trip with the Knights of the Altar to Boys' Camp before we'll lose him next week to another week long outing.  Because it's the summer of Gabriel's seventh birthday, he gets to follow in the footsteps of all his older siblings in the much-honored and fondly-remembered tradition of going to California to be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa for a few days.  It's so important for each of the children to be singled out occasionally in ways like this -- especially when you are one of ten or eleven blessings -- and we're so grateful to Dan's parents for making these trips so special for each of the children.  Even though Gabriel just went to California with everyone else, and aready got to go to Disneyland and the beach -- it was important to his grandparents to make sure he had his seven-year old vacation.  Michelle will be accompanying Gabe as a kind of 16th birthday soiree, but also so she'll be able to guide Gabe through his first airplane ride -- which is part of the seventh summer ritual. Grandma and Grandpa are just the best!

But, get this. By the time Michelle and Gabe get home, it'll be only a week or so until Michelle heads back to school in Omaha -- and another week or so before all the rest of the children go back to school here, too.  Can you believe it's already August??  What has happened to the summer?? 

For lots more little snippets from lots more bloggers, run over to Conversion Diary!