This won’t be a very exciting post. Fair warning 
Over the summer our kids spent plenty of time away from home and it brought something to my attention about (pre)teenagers and their cleaning habits.
Teach them to pick up after themselves and to offer to help out around wherever they are being sent. Sure they might not do it at home very well, or even happily, but it has been my experience that most kids don’t mind helping out and do a much better job of it when they aren’t home.
Remind them to offer their help (doing dishes, picking up rooms, babysitting, whatever) just before they leave for their trip.
Even if they are the best kids ever, they are still (pre)teenagers, not completely dependable and slightly self-absorbed. Remind their host that is is perfectly acceptable to ASK their guest to do things. If they are like my children, they will gladly help with whatever the task, it just won’t occur to them to offer.
A couple of weeks ago, I went outside to close up the chicken coop and noticed eggs in the nesting boxes! I asked Greg if he put eggs from the refrigerator into the boxes and he promised that he hadn’t. I excitedly ran in to grab Alli and the camera. We ran through the house yelling, “Eggs! Eggs in the chicken coop!”, and, “Wooohoooo!!!!!”! Only after I started to take a picture did I realize that they were ping pong balls. Some dirty pranksters name Greg and Nathan had put them in while Alli and I were taking a nap.
Finding eggs wasn’t too inconceivable. At least two of the hens are close to the right age to start laying. It was a hilarious trick. So, I was a little skeptical when Greg mentioned the past two days that the wood shavings in a couple of the nesting boxes looked like they had been stirred up and shifted. Skeptical until we found this today!
An EGG! A real, fresh, non-store bought egg! Hopefully the first of many.
Originally written March 22,2010. I know some time has passed. This post was mostly written, I’m not sure why I just didn’t post it then. Maybe I was waiting until I got back. Anyway, I’ll write more about this another time.
On Thursday we went to Houston for the rodeo and a concert. Not just a concert, but The Blackeyed Peas.
Alli completely rocked out.
I was sure we were annoying the people behind us because we stood, danced, and sang along with most of the songs. At the end though, they told us that it was great to see the girls having fun.
Super early Friday morning I flew out from Houston to California.
My grandmother passed away a little over a week ago and I didn’t want my dad to have to make the drive back alone. A huge perk is that I got to visit with Christi and her boys. They are absolutely adorable. I doubt they will remember who I am, but I am really glad I got to see them.
My grandmother has a live-in boyfriend, Ray. He’s a 90 year old, super active guy. So far he seems to be doing well, but every once in a while he has a hard time. Once he told me that he misses my grandmother even more than he misses his wife. Sweet and sad at the same time.
The rest of the days have been filled with cleaning; the deep freezes (there was stuff in there 20 years old) and my grandmother’s closet. I found some really old, very cool pictures of both my grandmother and great-grandmother. It is strange to see pictures of people who resemble me and not really know much about them. It looks like my great grandmother was a hoot.
After a long haitus (almost a year with sporadic posting), it is time to clean out the cobwebs and shake out the dust. It wasn’t just a lack of posting. With the exception of a few, I pretty much stopped reading other people’s blogs. Facebook is instantly gratifying. A place to put concise little lines about what is happening in our daily lives. That’s nice and all, but later, I won’t be able to go back to it and have something tangible to remember all of the great things we do. This spring and summer were full of new places and things. For now, here is a sample list. Eventually, if I make myself, I’ll try to put more details in separate posts. If I don’t get around to it, at least we’ll have this list.
Chickens!
– How they’ve grown
– Their habitat
– Replacing the kidnapped
– Surprises with gender (Cock A Doodle Doo!)
– Egg Watch 2010
– Sneaky sneaksters and the pranks they play
Running (if you can call it that)
– Getting into it
– Cowtown Marathon
– Slacking off
– Getting back into it
Mardi Gras Parade 2010. It’s even better with friends and family!
The ever growing children
– Tennis
– Softball
– Band Nerds Unite!
– General woes and silliness
Greg’s Really Bad Idea. Turned out to be one of the best!
Family visits (either here or there)
– California with Dad
– Christi’s visit with her boys
– Oklahoma City to meet a newest nephew (and Zoey’s trip home with them)
Camping, camping, and more camping.
