hold on to your hats, people....

...this is going to be a doozy!
Let's start here...remember that lady? Well, she has calmed down a bit, but is still baffled. The monstrous big pile of brush has long since been removed from my yard and the street in front of my house, but check it out now!

This was Thursday morning...yes, right before a long holiday weekend.

This was Saturday morning...more stuff in the pile.

What can you do? This time it was all placed on the road not in my yard, so technically I have no right to complain because I don't own the road. But come on! Why not pile it in front of your own house...that would be the right thing, the good neighborly thing, the normal, the nice thing to do. As I write, the pile remains...and it's raining.it's been raining.all.night.long. I just have to laugh about it now, because getting fumed about it doesn't make the pile disappear, neither does crossing my arms and blinking at it like her!

On to happier things...our garden is growing like crazy! We harvested our first eggplants. Only two to start with, and they are Ichiban (Japanese) Eggplants, not those really big ones. But they were yummy. I found a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that was gluten-free! It was really good. I'll be making it again when the other eggplants ripen. If you want to try the super-yummy, super-easy recipe, just click here. We also have some cherry tomatoes turning red! Ooohhhhh I can hardly wait!

Oh, remember these little sunflowers that we planted? Well, one of them has bloomed! We had a pretty big storm a week or so ago and the next morning when I went outside the very tall sunflowers were leaning over. OhNo! I tied them to the fence to hold them up and tamped on the dirt to push the exposed roots down. I think it helped, but one did bloom early, so it's not as mammoth as I had anticipated. It is very beautiful though. The other sunflower is still growing and hasn't bloomed yet. Here are a few pictures.

One more thing, yesterday was my birthday. Now I'm 35 years old. I've never really cared about getting older. I don't feel older. The only thing I notice is that my girls are getting bigger. They are growing so fast. For the most part my birthday was really nice. I am fighting some sort of cough so my voice is deep and raspy...not so pretty. Then Miss E wakes up in the night screaming because she has scooted down under her covers too far and can't get out...then as soon as I lay back down it begins to lightning and thunder...keeping me and her awake. Finally I drift off only to hear Miss O calling for me. *you may want to skip the next part* She puked in her bed. Ugh! She sleeps on the top bunk. Daddy to the rescue...he took the sheets and everything off the bed while I pumped up her readybed. I am so thankful we have readybeds for the girls. She was fine five minutes later. I think she had too much birthday fun and she was all sweaty from being way under her covers too. What's up with that?! Anyway, since the girls share a room we were all awake for 30 or 40 minutes in the middle of the night. Finally we were all back in bed. We needed to sleep. I didn't hear a peep from the girls for the rest of the night, I, however, had several coughing fits...I feel a little better today and the girls seem to have gotten enough sleep. There hasn't been any major whining. Oh I just remembered, last year on my birthday I had to take Miss E to the ER because she was having a bad allergic reaction to peanuts. Scary, yes, but a reminder of how diligent I must be. I hope this doesn't turn into a birthday trend for me.

Anyway, now I'm off to wash all the yucky stuff and all of the regular laundry. The sun just came out so I should be able to use my clothesline not the dryer.

beach stories

The weather today and yesterday has been so nice that I've been working in the yard...not blogging. I usually use a part of nap time to write new posts, but the sun was drawing me outside. Well, right now the girls are napping after a fun and productive morning so it's the perfect time to share some stories from our trip to the beach.
First - I am glad to say that neither one of my children had a fear of the waves this time. Okay, they had enough fear (I like to call it common sense) to not run directly out into the waves. But they were brave enough to immediately play on the edge. No big deal, right? Well, in previous trips they forgot that it's not scary to play and let the water get on you, so there was lots of coaxing(from me) and lots of whining (from them). Usually by the second day they were fine, but this time there was no whining! (not about getting in the ocean anyway)
Second - The first day we went down to the beach I put the girls in their oh-so-cute bathing suits then slathered them up with sunscreen everywhere else. I got the child's sunscreen, ya know, pediatrician recommended..blah, blah, blah. All went well - we play for hours- then went in for lunch, bath, and nap time. When I woke the girls up Little Miss E's face was swelled up a little. I had washed off the sunscreen in the bath, but must have missed some because her swelling was in bizarre spots (the ones I missed I suppose). There was no swelling or redness anywhere else, just on her face. Poor thing, one more allergy :-{ Thankfully she has a hat to keep the sun off her face and I got some zinc oxide for her face, just in case I needed it.
Third - I did take a few crafty things for the girls to create while we were at the beach. You never know if there will be rainy days and I like to be prepared. Anyway, I found some cute little flip-flop bead necklace kits at Joann Fabrics. What fun...and super cute!

Okay, that's enough beach talk for now. I'll have more later.

some girls *want* big lips

As you all know, Miss E is allergic to peanuts. No, she hasn't actually been tested at the doctor's office, but one trip to the ER is enough for me to know. Since last summer's scary allergic reaction there hasn't been one peanut-y substance within a hundred feet of my house. All has been going well. No more hives, no more swelled, red lips, no more scares. I am so thankful for her continued good health. It is not always pleasant to be the "crazy lady" reading every single ingredient on the label of almost every single item placed in the grocery basket, but it is a small price to pay for the health and safety of my girls.
All of that to say, I had a great coupon for a new marinade that is Mexican chili & lime (which is one of my favorite flavors on tortilla chips thanks to Archer Farms at Target). Oh, so yummy. Anyway, I got the super yummy marinade to make a new chicken dish. Everyone liked it, yes, even Miss O. Half way through the meal though Miss E's lips started to get red and swell. Just the sight of her big lips makes my stomach hurt. I immediately read and reread the label. Nothing questionable; I gave her some Benadryl anyway, just in case. She's fine. No more big lips. Benadryl-don't be home or leave home without it. I am guessing that the chili powder in the marinade may have caused it since she is a lip-licker while she's eating.
Just a day in our life!

"footprints at the beach" and "flowery meadow"