Just a Little Family Silliness

Just didn't want you to think we are serious all the time.  Ha!

Name Confusion

 The Four Sisters Farm family recently gathered for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday...I plan to blog about that event later but I had to share this with you...

Our family members get tickled about the misuse of words...seriously tickled...

This misuse has to do with a character that my mom had included on her latest quilt for a great-granddaughter. I wish I had a picture of her quilt because it is stunning and incredibly special.  It has a "Sunbonnet Sue" angel that is just adorable...and Farm Chick at Heart made the comment that the character looked like...

I can hardly stand it...

Are you ready?


Well...I am going to make you wait for just a moment.

She was thinking about the sweet little "Holly Hobby" character she remembered from her childhood.  There were dolls, toys, games, bedroom decor for girls, etc.  Holly Hobby was everywhere!

Are you ready now?  Okay...here we go...

She said that the Sunbonnet Sue reminded her of "Holly Hobbit."  I looked at her as the glee overtook me and said, "You mean like Holly Hobby but with big, hairy feet?"  Bawahhaahaha!!

Oh my!  That's good stuff!

I told her that misuse was blogworthy and she totally agreed.  Enjoy!

No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk...or Coffee

I try hard to take good care of Pop all the time; but with his shoulder surgery, I've tried extra hard to be helpful and get what he needs.  Simple things like brushing your teeth are not to be taken for granted!  I've cut up sandwiches into bite sizes and prepared foods at temperatures that wouldn't burn his mouth.

I recently set him up with some coffee - of course in a thermos-type mug with a screw on lid.  He picked it up and took a sip and I watched wide-eyed as liquid dripped onto his shirt and noticed that the lid was askew.  I grabbed it and quickly fixed it as Pop began to laugh...hard.  Me too.  I felt really silly and it felt good to laugh.

I hope we maintain a sense of humor about things that will most certainly come as we get older.  Good thing the coffee wasn't crazy hot.  No use crying over spilled coffee.  I love Pop.

New Grill

So Farm Chick and the cowboys recently got me a grill for Father's Day! I was so excited because the last grill I had (which if you're not a guy is a necessary tool in your tool belt), rusted out. I got that one when Farm Chick and I got married about 9 years ago!

It's been soooooo hot here for the past 2 months that once I got this great grill so I didn't really want to even put it together for fear of heat stroke and then once I got it together it was another several weeks before I got the gumption to use it, again the heat stroke worry.

So the problem with this is that now for me the expectations just kept getting higher and higher to have a "perfect" first grilling experience. So I bought some hamburgers (the expensive kind that weren't on sale and we didn't have a coupon for...again a no no with Farm Chick's new passion). I got home and started grilling and took my time so as to avoid some of the issues of burning the articles on the grill. After a long time of making sure that I got them perfect...cheese perfectly melted on all six patties!

I took them off the grill and put them on the plate to go inside and partake in my wonderful first meal from my grill. I turned and started to open the door when in slow motion the burgers (ALL OF THEM) slid off my plate and drifted to the concrete patio...the dogs immediately ran up and ate like kings! I sat there and looked at Farm Chick (who was in the kitchen) and was totally ticked, I wasn't mad at her, or the dogs, but MYSELF! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!! I totally blew my first dinner from the grill!!!!!

This was the PITS!

***These are pics from the successful second grilling endeavour***

"Mom, are they in time out?"

We use our manners around here!

All three boys were in the bathroom brushing their teeth this morning.  I walked out of the bathroom for a moment.  When I headed back into the bathroom the following interaction occurred...

Wubba sternly said to me, "Get out of here!"

I said, "Excuse me, MISTER, you DO NOT talk to Mommy that way."

Wubba (in the sweetest voice ever): "Mommy, may you get out of here please?"

Not at all what I had in mind but I suppose it was an improvement.

Say What?

EJ and I were having a conversation about a friend who was ill.  One of us said something about the friend having an infection.

Bubba heard us talking and asked, "What is wrong with your friend?"

EJ, "She is very sick.  She has an infection in her body."

Bubba, "So someone peed on her?!?!"

Say what?  How did that possibly connect?

Ninja Turtles and other "good things"

Bubba: "Mom, I had a bad dream last night."

Me: "You did.  I'm sorry buddy.  When I have bad dreams I pray and ask God to help me think of good things.  Did you know there is a verse in the bible about thinking on good things?

It goes like this...

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  (Philippians 4:8)
 
Me: "Does that make sense?  Think about good things?"
 
Bubba: "Yes.  Like Ninja Turtles!!!"
 
Hmmm...
 
Not exactly what I was thinking but it made him feel better.

Father's Day Funny

The cowboys and I got EJ a really cool tie for Father's Day (with our favorite college team on it).  We actually bought it over a month ago. 

This morning the boys and I made EJ breakfast and put his tie in a really cool gift bag.

When breakfast was ready, I had the boys go wake their Daddy up.

When we all gathered at the table it was time for EJ to open his gift.

Before he could open it, Bubba said, "Hey Dad, do you want a tie?"

So much for surprises. 

Silly boys!

Happy Father's Day to all!

Dirt Shirts

My Mother-in-law returned from a work trip to Arizona last week.  She brought with her some souvenirs for the boys.

Red Dirt Shirts.

EJ and I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs about the making of these shirts.  It was really neat to watch.

There are special directions for these shirts.

Wash them first by themselves in cold water.

Did that.

Then I dried them.

The dryer buzzer went off.

I opened the door and discovered...

my BRAND NEW DRYER was a lovely ORANGE color!

Seriously.

Come on!

It didn't say anything about not drying them.

Geez.

Several magic erasers later...

The dryer is mostly white again.

Mostly.

In honor of big transitions in life

Moving away from Four Sisters Farm felt a lot like when I left for college.  I was so excited but also sad to be away from my family. 

Rock Star wrote me a poem before I left that fall.  I laughed my head off when I found it while unpacking last week.

It was written in 1998.  She was 15 and I was 18. 

If You Stay Here With Me...

I'll let you listen to your Judds tape and even let you sing along,

and once in a blue moon I'll admit when I've been wrong.

I promise I'll try my hardest just to make you smile,

and maybe make you laugh but only every once in a while.

I'll tell you you're a goddess and remind you how beautiful you are,

and I promise not to ask anymore if I can drive your car.

I'll wake you up every morning with breakfast in bed,

and if you want I'll paint your toenails with the very brightest of red.

I'll run you some warm bath water just so that you can relax,

and while you're working hard at that I'll make you some yummy snacks.

I'll listen to your stories and pretend that they are true,

even if everyone knows you made up at least a few.

I think it's fair to warn you what will happen if you leave me,

I'll shut you in my closet and never let you free!

You probably think I'm joking and this poem is pretty cute,

but I'd really hate to see you end up blind, deaf or mute.

So to make things easier just stay right where you are,

because I love you and I'd miss you if you traveled very far.

I'm just sayin...

Little Q's sippy cup.         Mommy's sippy cup.

I wasn't kidding

Prayers of an obscenely honest man...Part 2

"Dear Lord, please help us to all sleep in our own beds all night long so we can be rested and ready to play tomorrow."

This is a common prayer before bed at our house. Subtlety I hope that the cowboys realize that God wants their daddy to get sleep so that he can fulfill his duties as dad, and when they get me up that I can't do that....at least not very well!

Prayers of an obscenely honest man... part one

"God, please let my kids like radishes..."

So it's NOT why you think.

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE CORN. In fact, if I were a bachelor, I would probably fill my body with so much corn that does so little for my well being.

I always wait until everyone has gotten the corn that they want on their plate before I will get mine; and usually what I do is just take the whole corn bowl and eat from it, because I will finish it up.

So yesterday my lovely wife made corn for dinner and the boys are starting to become like their dad, however I hadn't started in on mine and they had already finished their first round of corn. The problem is that they wanted MORE! As I was judging how much that would/could leave me I started to think how much nicer it would be if they just like radishes. Then I would be able to just eat almost as much as I wanted of the delightful yellow veggie.

Diaper Pancakes

Grammy is cool.  No one would argue with that.  She has proven it over and over.  Her pancakes are the boys preferred pancakes.  Who can blame them when she makes them into superheroes?

This morning I was making them pancakes.  They know that Mommy doesn't do shapes.  Just plain old pancakes. 

One of them was a little misshapen.

Bubba: "Look Wubba!  Mom made DIAPER pancakes!!!"

Bubba and Wubba: "HA HA HA HA HA"

Little stinkers!  They ate them anyway. 

Ahhh - Chocolate

After spending time in Gettysburg, Pop and I drove an hour to Hershey (also in Pennsylvania) to visit The Hershey Story which is a museum all about Milton Hershey and his work that has made so many of us so happy! I LOVE chocolate and the museum did not disappoint - neither did the chocolate. I would have brought some home for everyone but it wouldn't have been safe with me on the trip.

We learned that Mr. Hershey and his wife never had children and invested their time and resources into their factory, their town, and the people who lived and worked there. They were good to their employees and made the work place a good one. The town of Hershey, PA was Mr. Hershey's concept and it boggled my mind thinking about all he did to make it work.

The museum showed off technology used in making chocolate through the years and Pop and I attended a "lab" to learn more - well - and to get some chocolate.

Hershey was ahead of his time in many ways - he was "green" before it was the thing to be. The Hershey Company wastes next to nothing in the chocolate making process and even uses the hull of the cocoa seed as mulch. :-)

I asked one of the museum employees what was wrong with Mrs. Hershey (Kitty) - we had read that she had an illness and she died early...this employee was an adorable, young gal - sweet as she could be. She told us that they didn't know for certain but some thought that Kitty had "MD" (ummm...maybe MS?) and that the cause of death was listed as "ammonia" (ummm...maybe pneumonia?) on her "birth certificate" (ummm...maybe death certificate?).

Anyway, it was fun and the chocolate was tasty. There is a lot to do in Hershey, PA and we highly recommend the chocolate!

Stink Bugs?????

Pop and I recently took a trip to Gettysburg, PA which I'll blog on later; but for now I wanted to share a sign with you that was in the elevator of one of the hotels where we stayed. The sign from the General Manager warned people not to kill (smash) stink bugs because that is when a terrible odor is released. Thankfully we didn't see any but we got tickled about it....here's what the sign says...

"The Stink Bug is a common problem in this area (and many others).

THEY ARE HARMLESS, THEY DO NOT BITE OR STING. They are just UGLY!

Although we do our very best to keep these bugs out of the hotel, some do get inside. They come in when doors are opened, on luggage, and on people. They like WARM AREAS (windows) & will come inside if they can.

If you encounter a Stink Bug, either pick it up with a tissue & flush it or call the Front Desk & someone will get it for you.

DO NOT KILL IT! IT WILL STINK (I.E. STINK BUG).

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause now or in the future."

a lots

Wubba likes to eat just the insides of the cookie.  I looked over and realized just how many insides he had eaten.  Wow.  In his own words...

"I eat a lots!"

"Four many..."

"Five many..."

"a lots!"

I love that kid!

Just a little moment of happiness for you...