RAISINS

So I'm hooked...really hooked...on HEB's bulk Organic Strawberry Granola.

(I don't even want to know how many calories are in it, if you know, please don't tell me.)

But here's the problem: Raisins...yuck! I hate, hate, hate them.

Why are they in my Strawberry Granola???

The almonds are okay, and even the dehydrated strawberries with the sponge-like consistency are okay. But the raisins???

why?why?why?

Yogurt covered, chocolate covered...doesn't matter, the moment I realize they've infected my trail mix, or my cinnamon roll, or my oatmeal cookie...well...you don't even want to know!

But here's the real question:

If I dislike raisins so much...how come I love the grape?

MY LITTLE STRIPPER

I don't know what's funnier...

The fact that I've put Remi's shirt back on her 4 times today...

Or the fact that she keeps doing this with her shorts:

(she'll make a great old man one day!)

RAIN DAY

Chris called at 4:30...am...to tell me he was doing water rescues and needed to bring the boys by.

At 6:00...am...the school called to verify what I already knew...no school!

At 6:15 the boys arrived, bouncing with joy at the notion of a rain day exempting them from a boring day of school (and TAKS testing). Sleepy eyed girls, awoken by all the excitement came stumbling down the stairs.

Scott got home from work around 7:30 this morning and we all went to Denny's...took us 2 hours to eat because they only had 1 chef and 2 waitresses.

We weathered the storm and trudged through the flood waters to get to the shop and enjoyed lovely weather throughout the day consisting of storms, sunshine and sprinkles.

Emma did this all day:

Charlee was productive and did her Reading project:

Dalton and Landon did this:

And Remi...sweet Remi...did this:

Then Landon did this (which Remi never did):

All in all it was a great rain day...despite the wake up call!

BEDS

Remington has been sleeping safe and sound between Scott and I for about 2 1/2 years now...plus or minus a couple of nights. While we love having her there, she does, in fact, have a room of her own. It's a beautiful room. It's cozy. It has a piggy nightlight that casts a soft pink glow about the whole room at night.

Despite the comfort of her room, Remi has, thus far, refused to inhabit it. So to make it more inviting, we decided to move a tv into her room. But first we needed a dresser to put it on.

Last weekend we went antique-ing on a quest to find a dresser. This is what we fell in love with: We brought it home and cleaned it...and gave it a face lift with new knobs. We placed the tv on it. We loaded it with her clothes to personalize it. We left a bottom drawer for toys so Remi and her new furniture could bond. We were happy: The time came for Remi to cuddle up in her bed and doze off in her sanctuary. We talked about it. We laid on the floor in the middle of her room and admired all her beautiful things.

"So are you going to sleep in here tonight?" I asked her.

"No." she quickly responded.

"Why not, I love it here," I told her "it's so pretty."

"Then you sleep here," she insisted " my bed is down-stairs!"

Still, I put her in her bed (I know who' s in charge)...and smiled...we watched her lovely crane mobile...and talked about whether or not she should listen to her lullaby CD or watch tv: It was not much later that I took her back downstairs to our bed.

Why? Here's why:

In retrospect, I don't think it's her room she dislikes. I think there's a problem with the bed. She's become accustomed to a specific type of mattress.

So I'm wondering now if a king sized Select Comfort will fit in her room...

WHAT I'VE LEARNED AS A MOTHER...

Is that sometimes, a spankin' hurts the

hand more than the

butt.

CANDY POSTER

So it began a couple of weeks ago

with a World Cultures project

assigned to the Horizon's class.

The project: Make a Power Point project about Child Labor issues (with a bunch of 'things to be included' per check-list plus bibliography...that's what it's called right? the references?)

ANY-WHO...my little Overachiever (not sure where she gets it) went all out. She's been loading us down with Child Labor facts you and I never knew...never wished to know...and now wish we still didn't know. The project was b-e-a-utiful. It was really good, definitely an 'A'.

EXCEPT...it wasn't 'perfect'. What would make it perfect?...music...the 'perfect' music.

So she had to use Movie Maker to add the song. Only the song she wanted...(the perfect song)...previously acquired via itunes...wouldn't work on Movie Maker. After many looong hours of trying to make it work, I paid Walmart $1.01 for the MP3 version...and voila!!!...it was...well...perfect!

For those of you who don't strive for perfection on almost everything...you may not understand where I'm going. But frequently...in the pursuit of perfection...things can go terribly wrong. Yes...that's where I'm going with this.

The night before this brilliant Power Point is due, right before bed, Emma gets her handy-dandy flash drive and loads it up on the computer. Why? Well, to add the perfecting details, of course! It popped up...but not for long...before disappearing.

You caught the part about 'spent a couple of weeks on the project'? I'm talking class time...home time...a couple of weeks! My poor Emma was in tears in front of the computer. I searched, and searched...and searched some more. But it was no use...it was in fact...gone!

Then I did what any mother of a boo-hoo-ing child would do: I wrote to the teacher explaining the mishap and begged an extension.

"There's NO way!...(sniffle, sniffle)...She's NOT going to let me...(sniffle, sniffle)...turn it in late." With crossed fingers and hopeful hearts we waited for the morning.

As Jesus answering our prayers (as Lulu would say)...top of the morning I get a note back from her teacher. She, too, has been there to wipe the tears of a daughter whom inadvertently lost a really important computer file. She understood, she said, and would in fact grant Emma an extension. And also, she said, that she liked Crunchy Cheetos.

Emma made a new Power Point...a brilliant Power Point...a Power Point that will turn you off Nike...and off Gap (sniffle, sniffle...what am I gonna wear?). It was perfect! But not really. There was no music.

But that's okay.

I hope if she learned anything from this project, it was that perfection is over-rated. After all, she's gonna make an 'A' with or without the music. She would have in the first place.

In gratitude for her kindness and understanding,

Emma made the following for her teacher:

In typical Child Labor fashion...she did not get paid for it.

And, by the way, it was perfect!

YOU'RE ALL MY FAVORITES

This afternoon I left the shop to get Emma from school.

I, alone at the shop, locked the gate and headed off to the junior high. The skies were gray and promising a storm very soon.

Returning to the shop, I ask Emma, "Do you want to unlock the gate and open it when we get there?"

Emma: "Uh....ya..."

Me: "Are you sure? You don't have to, I can do it."

Emma: "No, I mean I do want to do it. I like doing it"

-INSERT MAJOR LIGHTENING STRIKE HERE-

Emma says "But wouldn't it be awfully sad if your favorite daughter got struck by lightening."

"That won't happen," I tell her "my favorite daughter is still at school."

Sometimes you're just asking for it

;)

EVERY BABY NEEDS A FRIEND

So...I'm on the phone with my mom when I realize my 2 year old is MIA and extremely quiet. As any mother knows, neither of these is good.

This is where I found her:

In the cabinet.

Why? Because that is where her friend was:

This particular 2 year old can recite her alphabet, spell her name and count to 15 with no help. Smart as she is and despite a recent dog bite, she wishes to cuddle up with the pup. Which makes me wonder...why?

-Is it that we all need an intellectually-equal friend to hang with?

-Is it that children are that forgiving?

-Is it that her good judgement has not fully developed?

I'm going to assume it's because Dora the Explorer and I are just too darn boring...otherwise I might start worrying she inhereted some questionable genes.

Even now, as I'm writing this post,

this is what I'm ignoring:

Yes, that is a spoon, and that is the dog bowl.

EASTER...

2009 Easter began with gloomy clouds and a steady drip-drop of rain. Since it was too wet outside, eggs had been scattered all over the house. We enjoyed finding all that The Bunny left for us. We found Disney movies, Chocolate bunnies and fun little (old-fashioned) gadgets like Slinkys.

After finding all the eggs (all but one... which I found this morning...and told no one...it'll be a fun surprise later) we packed up and headed to the lake house. The weather cleared out and granted us the most beautiful blue-skyed Easter we could have asked for. We filled our bellies (thanks to Meme) and headed down to the pier for some fishin, some sunnin and some snake-spyin (yes...that means we spied snakes...the Water Moccasin kind!) We returned to the house to find The Bunny had been hopping around.

After scouring the forest in search of every last egg, we all settled in and watched Twilight together. Then it was time to shower up and head home. 10:30 PM found us arriving home tuckered and grateful...for another Easter together...except...for Grandma and PawPaw...who cuddled together at home. But Grandma'll get that knee fixed up...and next year she'll be hopping around, dropping eggs here and there. Although I can't wait...I'm kinda glad it's a year away. I can only handle it once a year.

Hope Everyone had a day equally as nice as ours!!!

If you want to see my photo journal, click here

Spell your name...

Just cause it's too darn cute not to share:

ReMiNgToN!!!

Hmmm...April 8th...?!

Oh...My...Goodness!

Today... ...is Elizabeth's birthday!!!...

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Eliza-beth

Happy Birthday to you!

cha-cha-cha

We wish you the best birthday ever

Elizabeth Ashley Liebendorfer

...happy 20!

Hugs and kisses, we love you!!!

COUSINS...

...share everything here at the shop...

...including time-outs...

Here's the story:

-LANDON HIT DALTON

-REMI WATCHED

-REMI HIT LANDON

End result:

...live and learn...

MONDAY MORNING

Get up.

check

Make breakfast for one kiddo.

check

Get out the front door without forgetting anyone.

Emma. check

Charlee. check

Remi. check

Ava. check

Coffee. check

Drop kiddo off at school.

check

Get breakfast for another kiddo.

check

Do a little grocery shopping.

check

Drop other kiddo off at school.

check

Head to work without a hitch.

It's gonna be a lovely Monday, I can tell already!

Can you tell I took this pic in the car this morning?

I thought it turned out awesome. Frame-able!

GRADUATION

Diploma-bound

Grampy, Emma and Charlee have dedicated their past 8 Wednesday nights to the training of our fabulous pups.

Last night that training was put to the test.

Grampy arrived with 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies for the trainer.

Which is called bribery.

Which is not legal.

Pre-grads:

AvA & LuCy

The testing was intense...it involved rolling an oversized dice (trying to avoid the 6) and then having your dog perform that many "tricks".

Emma and Ava went first.

Emma rolled a "6".

Ava performed all 8 tricks she learned in puppy class.

Grampy and Lucy went next.

Grampy rolled a "3".

Lucy performed all 8 tricks she learned in puppy class.

They were the Valedictorians.

Us owners enjoyed celebratory ice cream afterwards, thank you Grampy!

We then went home, where Ava...full of excitement...jumped with joy

...all over the nicely folded clothes.

And that's why I'm trying to remember what the trainer was saying about when the Intermediate class begins.

TAKE ONE...

First time blogging. Ever. Really! While I am an avid fan of certain bloggers...I've never dipped my toe in... So here it goes. Bare with me. Hopefully...absolute genius to follow ;) (in the meantime check out the pictures of my cuties to the right)