Monday Mumbles

I've been wanting to get back to this.  My life has been full of surprises lately.  Here's a few things that are on my mind (or have been on my mind recently) this morning.  I am joining Tooje @ Circling the Square Table, if you're interested in joining in with us. :D

1. What is with kids and complaining???  Can I get through ONE activity without somebody falling apart???  I mean, really?!  SMH.  I guess this is just something that goes along with being a child.

2. It has gone back to being HOT here.  We had about a week and a half of VERY COLD weather.  Although I was surprised at how fast it came (like a day or two after Autumn began) I was getting excited about wearing my boots, jackets, scarves, hats.  But alas, we're not there for good.  At least not yet anyway.  I'll have to wait a bit more.

3. I realized that other day that I haven't been in a mall in FOREVER!!  Ok, besides that time I walked through one to get to a restaurant where I was meeting some friends.  I was talking to my mom the other day and we were just remembering how years ago, that was the 'thing to do.'  I'm sure there are plenty of folk who still find it a wonderful past time.  I have to say I don't miss it!

4. Been reading up on homesteading lately.  Like almost every book I've checked out from the library (for myself) has been along those lines.  It's funny how things come full circle.  My mother was sharing with me how her mother did the same things I'm interested in doing.  How my grandparents bought a farm in upstate New York and read books to figure out how to raise chickens, cows, goats, etc.  It's like everything we (western society) started out with, ran from, even despised (for all sorts of reasons) are now becoming the things we're looking into to live more sustainably.  The irony of this is amazing!

5. We spent the weekend with our dogs.  They've been with my husband and as we await housing to open up we haven't been together.  I didn't realize just how much I've missed them until he pulled up in the driveway and they all got out of the car.  The kids were overjoyed!!  It was nice just to sit on the deck with them laying down next to us.  The simply joys in life are really that--simply.  It was sad to see them leave.

6. In my quest to reorder/reorganize my time, I took a break from the internet/computer/blogging a month ago.  Now that I'm back, it's been difficult to find my rhythm again.  There is so much I've been doing with the kids that trying to find what time works best has been a bit of a challenge.  This morning after breakfast I decided to just TAKE the time. lol

7.  I've missed reading all the blogs I follow, many of them (you) are regular bloggers so I'm way behind on things.  I've decided that I won't be able to play catch up.  That I'll just have to start wherever you are now and more forward from there.  When I look at my blog roll (on the Blogger Dashboard) and see all the great things everyone is doing I'm glad to know that everyone, too, has been busy!

8. My children are in the stage of telling jokes.  Pretty girl, who will be 8 next month, can actually tell a joke that 1) makes sense, 2) is funny and 3) she gets why it's funny.  The other two do their best with what they've got.  They are all funny in their own ways.  I find it hilarious that they try so hard with their little jokes.  They'll take a 'real' joke (like a "Knock, Knock Joke" or a 'Why Did the Chicken...'joke) and put their own spin on it.  To add to all of this, my brother, who lives in the area, is a comedian.  No, really.  He's hilarious!!  So the kids do their best to tell him jokes. A little backround on this version of a joke my son told.  My kids are vegeterians and know that other people, including their father, eat meat.  We were eating dinner with my brother, who had just eating some chicken. 

The Boy, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" 
My brother, "I don't know, to get to the other side?"
The Boy, "No, To get to your plate so you could eat it!"

HAHAHA!!!  You gotta love kids' jokes!

9. I am really diggin' the library that we've been frequenting here.  At first I found it a bit eery that we are usually the ONLY ones in the children's section in the middle of the day.  No, like it's just the four of us plus the librarian for that section.  Now we look forward to it.  We got about twice a week.  One day a week I allow the kids to play a few computer games.  We sit and read.  I'll have to bring my camera and snap a few pictures.  The picture books are in bins not shelves so it makes it easy for kids to get them and put them back.  They are sorted alphabetically so there's an "a" section, "b" section, etc. but it would make it a challenge if you were looking for a particular author as you'd have to search through several bins.  Besides that, I think it's a great idea.  They also have an easy reader section--which makes it a breeze to find books for Pretty Girl.  There are also fiction and non-fiction sections which are on standard shelves.  I love libraries in general.  Glad to have access to this one while we're here.

10. I celebrated a birthday this weekend.  It was a simple event.  My kids gave me some of the best gifts to date.  I was amazed at just how well they know me and what I like.  Each of them gave me VERY thoughtful gifts.  The Boy gave me a windchime, some incense and a basket (to hold my treasures, as he said).  Sweetie Pie gave me some sunflowers (my favorite flower) in a little vase.  Pretty girl gave me an eye pillow and some scented lavendar beads.  They also handmade all their cards.  Each item came with a reason why they gave it.  My mother, who took them shopping for these things, told me how she had tried to talk them out of a couple of the items for various reasons but how they insisted that I would like it.  That made my heart full--to know that in everything I'm doing with them, they've taken time to know me too!  Granted I probably wouldn't have picked any of these items myself.  But knowing the thought and the love that was used in picking each thing makes each of them even more beautiful to me.

Well, there you have it?  Got something to mumble about?  Join us!  Link up here.

Have a great Monday!