June 27th

It’s been a crazy week here.  I meant to blog earlier in the week but over the weekend my computer started acting really wonky – very slow and not loading anything. So I called my computer guy. He came right away – from his office in the other room  (my husband! very handy I must say) – and I set him to work on my computer.  A full weekend later and it’s acting less slow but still sluggish  – not quite sure what’s going on with it. I’ve avoided it because every time I sit down at the computer I get frustrated ……

Some highlights from the past weeks – 

We had two whole weeks off of camp! We started painting Row’s room and the tiny hallway. 

We did nothing! We really apparently needed that down time. NOONE wanted to go anywhere or do anything. 

I lost every one of my pictures on my phone – and I pad mini. My hubbie and I both have I phones and they were synced in a way on his iTunes account that every time I bought an app and installed it on my phone, it would install on his phone also. This messed up HIS phone and since my husband uses his phone for work he couldn’t very well have every game on it that I had!  And my PHONE was also acting sluggish so some cleaning needed to be done there as well (I was NOT having luck with my mac products this weekend let me tell ya!) So in that cleaning up process I lost all my pictures. Apparently there on his computer  – which is not the one I use at all.  AND I lost all my contacts and everything.  

Rowan participated in an awesome dressage clinic this past Saturday – Pictures of course were on the Ipad mini – I know right?? She did a great job and the instructor was very impressed with her! Row also loved the barn! Huge arena – indoor wash rack – All you horse people will totally understand 🙂  She would love to board her next horse at this $600+ a month facility. Got to buy those lottery tickets!  I do have pictures that my sister-in-laws friend was nice enough to take. TONS of them. I have yet to see them myself though since they are on a  sim ? card .  I need to somehow now get those off said card and onto my computer. Once I have time to do that then I can post some here.

J is at her dance camp this week. I’m totally bummed that I am working horse camp because I am not getting to take her ! My mom is so nice and driving her both days. But it sounded like she had a lot of fun.

I planted climbing rose bushes in my front yard and my basil, thyme and parsley are coming up nicely. The arnica – not so much but we’ll give it a bit more time before I plant my peony in that spot.

 

We went and looked at a horse for Row last night. She really liked her but this next horse we bring into our family has got to be the “I am never leaving this horse” type of horse. We’ve already had 2 that really didn’t work out for us. NOT going there again.

Riding lesson tonight for Row.

Camp is brutal this week – temps in the 90s – don’t know what the heat index is but it is HOT. Kids are fantastic. LOTS of cuties this week.

I am still working on that lunch bag for Jaia – I think I have the pattern pretty much worked out – It is really simple – but it’s exactly what she wanted. I just need to get some iron on fleece and some red fabric for the lining. Hopefully I can get that finished this weekend.

And that brings us pretty much up to date – 

Bright Blessings!

 

 

 

Thursday, June 20th

Bugs. Bugs and I are not friends. Well they don’t really bother me at all and I will got to great lengths to save a spider crawling in my house – but bugs in my pantry? I don’t think so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Flour_Moth

Last week I found these little buggers in my pantry. I had bought a bag of pasta flour months ago which I never opened – the perfect place for these guys to grow apparently.  We are not big packaged food eaters – I cook %95 of our meals and we use mostly fresh or some frozen veggies,  so I really had no idea these little moths where festering and growing in a bag of forgotten flour! And grow they did. I literally went through my pantry and threw away EVERY grain, cereal, and  pasta that we had purchased. I took out all unopened packages and stored them on my counter for a week – I wiped down all the shelves and took out the paper shelf liner. It’s a good thing the flour I use for daily baking is in a totally different cupboard. Or maybe not – maybe if I had kept in in the pantry I would have noticed the buggers sooner!

 

This past weekend I took all unopened boxes of flour products – those that were still in sealed plastic – I took them out of their boxes, cut the directions out and I used my handy, dandy vacuum sealer to seal them up tight. No bugs in this food.

 

Rice, pasta, snacks all are now stored in  tupperware.

 

Cake mixes, brownie mixes, gluten free pizza dough mixes – all vacuum sealed.

 

The pantry is still pretty bare – I’m not buying a whole lot of flour products until I am completely %100 the moths are gone.

Still I see these moths. Every day I check for moths and let me tell ya – they are on my hit list!

Well  – I had wanted to clean out that pantry anyway –

Bright Blessings!

 

June 12, 2013

Well, I’ve cleaned out one closet and hung up all the winter coats –  finally. Yep – Finally. I found a huge box of papers to be burned, boxes to be recycled, a wooden toy box/bench that used to be mine without a seat/lid, and some very old  VCR’s. Remember those??  The closet still holds the 2 bins of baby clothes I’m holding on to, and the sleeping bags. Maybe there’s a box of Halloween decorations  – now I just need to find where I stored the christmas decorations!  I haven’t tackled the other closet yet because there is too much junk in front of it and I still haven’t rescued the basement from my first cleaning mission.  Maybe next week I’ll tackle that one. After I move the table, old doors and piece of drywall that blocking it. The piece of drywall was purchased to patch a hole in my bedroom wall that my husband cut into it LAST YEAR in order for the plumber to repair the bathroom pipes. Fast forward to now – drywall was too thick – still in my basement. And there is still a hole in my bedroom wall – which of course I covered up with a dresser. GAH!

I’ve also repaired some ghillies  – Irish dancing soft shoes –

 

I never imagined, going into motherhood, that I would be repairing irish dancing soft shoes or buying saddles, breeches and helmets.

Moving on! Last night we went to Circus Flora –

 

I think I may have blogged about this last year as well – It’s a one ring circus that St. Louis has. It’s wonderful! No seats are bad ones -there is maybe 20 rows so no matter where you sit you can see the stage with out squinting! There is high wire, acrobats, mini’s this year (mini horses), a clown, and a few other acts. It’s small and not overwhelming like larger circus.

We went with our Pony Club group and since one of our trainers has ties to the owner/trainer of the horses in the show, we get to go back stage and visit for a few minutes.

 

This is my daughter Rowan. Beautiful isn’t she? The horse is Flip, a Friesian that was in the show. He is gorgeous! This is the breed of horse my daughter wants.  I really don’t think she moved from his pen the entire 20 minutes we were back visiting the animals.

 

She was super excited that she got to go into his stall and help braid his mane! In flip flops none the less!  She really did not want to leave. Flips owner had him brought over from Europe and he’s 11 years old.  This is Rowan’s dream horse. For years I’ve heard how much she wants one.  And I wish, right now, that I had the resources and money to make that dream come alive for her.   Someday my beautiful girl. Someday.

Bright Blessings

Well we’ve finished our first two weeks of camp. They were fantastic! Weather was perfect, the campers were wonderful. Other than the occasional grumble about cleaning stalls the weeks flew by without a hitch.

The girls and I worked these two weeks of camp – they’re who grumbled!  No really! R did a fantastic job – J grumbled. It’s really not her favorite thing. She gets drug into it because R and I need to be there .   But she does get paid and is enjoying hanging out with some of her friends from the barn who are also helping.

In between the first two weeks of camp – we went to Branson, Missouri.  J had a feis (competition) to compete in and so we made a weekend of it and also  went to Silver Dollar City.

 

J is on the end.  She danced 3 dances and placed 3rd in one of them. She is a very good dancer – just has to work on her position some I think.

 

We’re on this roller coster somewhere. Row did not want to ride it so J, myself and my husband went on it. R waited on the observation deck and  took this picture 🙂 This was by far my favorite roller coster but no one else liked it.  I can’t decide  if going to Silver Dollar City was worth it or not. I guess for the experience. We like our 6-flags better I think.  It was cold so we didn’t ride any water rides so maybe that made a huge difference.  So maybe one more try next year when we go back to the Branson Feis!

 

These next two weeks are our down time. I have plans to paint my tiny hallway, reorganize my downstairs closets, finally put away winter coats! Plant some rose bushes, pull out weeds clean bedrooms, and make J a new lunchbox. She’s participating in 2 different camps and dance school. They are only 2 days each but some of those days she’ll have to take lunch.   I’m looking for a more square type lunch bag that she can fit her cooler packs in and all the food she eats!  If  I can’t find one then I guess I’ll have to try and make one. I guess we will see how much I get done!!

J also tried out for – and made it! – and 8 hand dance team called a ceili team.  They will practice once a week specifically for the  – Oirechtas.  http://www.midamericaregion.com/2012-mid-america-oireachtas/

She was and is very, very excited to have made the team!  We weren’t sure since her teacher said the spots for her  level were few  – but J and 4 other girls in her class made a team!  It is a very big thing. Of course this means that Thanksgiving weekend we will be driving to Grand Rapids Michigan to compete – oh well.

I’m off to enjoy my camp free weeks!  Bright Blessings!