Sadie-man

Sadie found Luke's mask and did her best evil-spiderman face.. 

Don't mess with this girl

A few of my favorite things..

As in my last post, I am a bit hormonal.  Things are bugging me.  I am having one of those "steer clear of mom" days.  Within 20 minutes of waking up, I was already exhausted and wanted to lock myself in my room and jump in bed for a 10 HOUR timeout.  My mom has said to me in the past that if everything and everyone are buggin you then it is probably YOUR problem, not theirs.  I know it is my problem, but I am still bugged.  

Sadie holding 2 of the several chapsticks that no longer have lids because she likes to play with them and lose them.  I don't know where they go... maybe she swallows them?... All I know is I have multiple lip balm, chapsticks, lipsticks with no lids.  And, yes, I still save them.

Sadie standing next to the "leaning tower of the Ashby Family kitchen garbage can."  It is so fun to see how high we can stack our garbage.  I think my family thinks it is a game, kind of like a wierded-out Jenga game or something.  The way to win the game is to make sure you stack and then run, or leave the house when only Mom will be home.  I am always thrilled to open the pantry door and see my tower beckoning me, challenging me, taunting me..."you can't possibly get out of this without a bit of spot cleaning or mopping of the floor--just try to empty me without swearing--you can't do it!!"  It is truly one of the best parts of my day, the time I spend picking up garbage made by my sweet, thoughtful family.  

OK, so I save my dirty dishes.  Usually just my non-dishwasher dishes.  It is stupid.  I know I should just do them as I dirty them.  But, I can't do it.  I must save them until I have several square feet of big pots and pans, muffin tins, popcorn bowls, strainers.  The very stupidest part of my whole procrastination is that I will fill the sink with hot soapy water and start them soaking, and every time I will think "I will get to them in a few minutes.. they need to soak."  99% of the time, I don't return for several days... Then, I get to fish them out of cold water and by then I have made a few more dishes to wash and then I refill the sink to let them soak some more and then I start something else I like more.  It is a problem.  I am going to work on it, because I really am bugged by my stack of dishes.  Maybe I should just stop cooking and baking for my family.  That would help.  I would consider it, but I like to eat the stuff as much as they do.  ONCE AGAIN--YE WITHOUT SIN...

So I could've continued with taking photos of the things that bugged me today, but I decided I would just save everybody the misery and get back in bed.  Maybe I will wake up tomorrow to chapstick lids, no garbage and no dirty dishes.  Hmmm.. come to think about it.. that doesn't sound very fun and actually makes me a bit sad.  I guess I'll hang in there because even though it is chaotic and exhausting, I love my family and our gigantic carbon footprint.  

Early Fall pictures

Sadie, Mom & Luke at Brighton Lake

This is the way to travel

Maddie and Todd at the Goudie camp spot

Why did Fall only last 2 seconds?  Why am I freezing already?? How am I going to rid my lawn of leaves that are frozen solid to the grass?  Fall just gets shorter and shorter the more I love it.  So much for global warming.. the only burning we are going to get is freezer burn. Yes, I am one of "those"people who don't believe in global warming, or evolution for that matter.  I am feeling very irritable now, maybe I need some chocolate.  Make that "hot chocolate" because I am freezing. 

  

Sadie the Fashionista

I let Sadie dress herself today. I think she may be color-blind. Or maybe it is just that she is 2. She could not have been more excited about her christmas bulb turtleneck, with her purple and green flowered capri's and her new florescent socks. I actually have seen outfits just like this on America's Next Top Model.

My Punkins with their Pumpkins

Sadie and Luke with their load of pumpkins

Have a bit of cheese with your pumpkin

We didn't lose one of our pumpkins, amazingly.

There is just something about fall that just makes me feel cozy inside. Maybe it's the thought of cooler weather and bundling up, or maybe it's the excitement of visiting Starbucks for a warm apple cider (with carmel and whipped cream, of course). Maybe it's the colors of the trees that I love so much. Maybe it's that I don't have to show myself in a swimsuit anymore. I just love soup weather and crunching leaves and pumpkins (and pumpkin pies and cookies..) and the window open at night. I love munchkins dressed up, on their way to every child's fantasy--free, all-your-mom-will-let-you-eat candy. It is truly the best time of the year for me, and it always seems so short. I just love it so much.

A small little treasure

A really fun read! I highly recommend this book. Very quick. Very entertaining. Thought-provoking. A bit on the improbable side, but certainly gets you thinking about preparedness. If you have read "The Road", it is certainly not as depressing and freakishly scary... but I would definately recommend both books.

The best way to wake up in the morning

So a couple of mornings ago, I woke up to a most wonderful sound. A sound that I don't hear very much in the morning. A tinkling, merry, just-makes-you-want-to-smile sound. It was the sound of my children laughing. Laughing hysterically, I might add. I quickly robed myself and came down to see what destruction would illicit such glee. Much to my surprise, there was no food being thrown, or couches being destroyed.. only our new computer giving of itself in all of it's glory. Maddie had discovered this fun feature.

I think we will do this for family night for the next 5 months.

Luke's prayer for Grandma Tick-Tock

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Grandma Tick Tock in August 09

We have had a bit of a sad day.. sad, but happy too.  Todd's Grandma died early this morning (Grandma Tick-Tock-so named by Maddie approximately 13 years ago because Grandma has about 20 ticking clocks all around her home that chime on the half hour and hour, thoroughly charming every child who enters).  She has not had good health for a long time so it was a relief to have her move on and escape all of her illnesses and ailments.  That was the happy part of the day, happy for Grandma and the place that we are sure she is right now.  The sad part was watching Grandpa.  I think they have been married over 65 years. He looked so sad and lost sitting by her bedside.  It was so sweet, but heartbreaking too.  Our kids were very upset and of course it has been the topic of discussion.  It is very interesting to try to explain to a 2 and 4 year old about death, heaven, spirits, etc.. 

"How did Grandma get to Heaven? Did she go on a rocket? Can we see Jesus with Grandma? Did Grandma get ran over by a car-this from Sadie who has been warned several dozen times about this very thing. Can Grandma see through the ceilings now?  Will we get to see Grandpa again? Will Grandpa have Smarties for us when we go visit him?

 I think they understand the basic idea that they won't see Grandma for awhile and all of them have been expressing their sadness about that.  Our family prayer was said by Luke tonight.

"Hefeney Fadder thanks for the nite. Thanks for Grandma and Grandpa Tick Tock. We love her and she was a good grandma to us.  She was nice and gave us candy.  We'll miss her cuz she died.  Namana Jesus Christ, Amen.  

We will miss you, Grandma, very much and will never be able to eat Smarties again without thinking of you.

CANCUN TRIP 2009

Jodi climbing out of the sinkhole. We repelled 65 feet into this beautiful sinkhole filled with crystal-clear water. We floated around for about a half hour and then we could either get hoisted back up or climb this ladder. Probably one of the hardest and scariest things I have done in awhile. Right up there with giving birth...


Climbing the temple ruin at Coba. We kind of weren't supposed to, but we are rebels and had paid good money to be able to climb it. When we arrived there, there was a sign that it was closed for restoration... restoration my hind end... Up me and Jodi went to the top with a bunch of other rebels. I know we are lame. My father in law was very disappointed in our law-breaking antics. As was my husband. Wow, I was more rebellious than my husband for once.



Todd and I in front of the lake and jungle where we did a hike and zipline. We also ate traditional Mayan food and canoed on this lake. Really a fun day.





Our pool at our resort. My family is in playing volleybll.

Our golf course at our hotel..Our hotel is in the background. We just about died this day. It was over 90 degrees with about 100% humidity which equals freakin hot.

This balcony was at the resort we stayed at. Right on the beach. This beautiful weather for 7 days. Thanks so much Mom and Dad Ashby!! We needed it!

SADIE HAS FOUND HER LIFE'S WORK

I don't care what anyone says, this is THE CUTEST THING EVER!! That Ethiopian-like bloated stomach... those tights that don't fit at the ankle.. the fake ballet slippers!! I almost ate her! Sadie had her first dance class last week. She twirled and strutted around the studio and could not take her eyes off herself in the studio mirror (a bit like her dad... he he). She smiled for a half hour straight (a record for this drama queen). I am enjoying my little girly girl so much. I was never a girly girl and neither was Maddie, so it is fun to get to experience this with Sadie.