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Passing On Traditions

My little guy adding the finishing touches to a batch of cinnamon rolls. He informs me that Oma teaches him how to make a new food everytime he stays all night. I hope she's teaching him a lot since she cooks so much better than I do.

See.............we don't always eat at the ballpark.

Feeding the Family

Monday's are notoriously bad at my house. Payroll Monday when the time clock has been down more than it's been up is just icing on the cake. Needless to say I don't feel like cooking on Monday night. Unfortunately, Monday is my husband's day off and he likes to eat. For some reason, my children think that one of the constitutional ammendments is the right to eat. Since we don't see each other much, and I spend a lot of time in meetings, my husband and I text each other .... alot.

Today's "What's for dinner?" text came while my assistant and I were taking a break..(actually we were sitting in my car beating our heads against the dashboard and counting the minutes until Monday was over). I grumbled something about a man who had lived on his own at some point in the past surely being able to throw "something" together so he and the children don't starve. When Melissa said, "We're eating at the concession stand at the ballpark." I live less than 2 blocks from said ballpark, but neither of my children play ball. This caused me to perk up. "And how often are there ball games this summer?" Said assistant is also a summer ball board member. You can only imagine my near giddiness when she replied, "Every night but Wednesday for the next 3 months."

Text Conversation:

Husband: What's for dinner?
Me: Eating at the concession stand at the ball park.
Husband: What????????????????????
Me: 4 real dude, every night but Wednesday for the next 3 months.

Dinner was excellent. 4 hamburgers, 3 hotdogs, 1 order of Nachos, a baked pretzel and snow cones all for < $15.00. Plus I got in a little walk with my family and the dog, and I'm doing my civic duty by supporting the local baseball teams. I was putting the condiments on my hotdog when Melissa tapped me on the shoulder.....she didn't think I was actually serious about "Ballpark Supper"thing. Serious HA, this is the best idea I've ever had.

Pics from the Ozark National Forest

Ozark National Forest

Pics of our trip to the Ozark National Forest to do some geocaching. It threatened to rain all day, but never did.

We had lunch on the side of the road and gathered wild onions for a traditional Cherokee meal of wild onions with eggs, hominy, fry bread and grape dumplings.

Have a Little Respect.......

My daughter sang tonite with her HS choir. I have some very good pictures of her with the choir. She is LIVID. Apparently the HS choir was talking during the JHS choir's performance and she is sure that this is so disrespectful, it's right up there with unforgivable sins. I was puffing up like a proud mama.....had one brief moment of thinking I had raised her right......when she jammed the earbuds of her I-Pod in her ears and turned it on full blast while I was still in the middle of a sentence. At least she is respectful of other people's feelings............apparently her family does not fall into her definition of "people".

Lazy evenings............

Everyone's home this evening from school and work. I looked around at 5:00 and everyone is down for a nap. This is just like the old days when I had time to myself when the kids were little. Even my husband is taking a nap. The coffee's done, the house is clean and I have a few uninterrupted minutes to knit and update the blog.

Work is going good. We are in the process of adding a geriatric psych unit to the hospital but it's coming together. I've got most of my positions filled and it looks like is starting to settle down. It's hard to believe that we've come this far in one year.

Off to work on my stricken pattern. Still waiting for the rural mail to deliver the new needle so I can finish the Gardner sock. Is anyone else having a problem with holes forming when you do the right and left leaning make one's on this pattern?

Fanny Packs and Port a Pockets

My port-a-pocket arrived today from Knitpicks. Normally when the UPS delivers fiber related goodness or five pound bags of Dunkin' Donuts coffee beans it's me doing the happy dance in the middle of the living room floor.

I was nearly shocked to the point of speechlessness when my daughter appeared to be as delighted as I was with the purchase. She even *gasp* touched it and said how cute it was. I was feeling the surge of motherly pride and fulfilled dreams that she might actually be starting to appreciate my knitting when she turned to my husband and said, "Thank God, she won't wear that stupid fanny pack to my choir concert."

Knitting Fairy and Middle Finger Waves.............

Note yesterday's post where I managed not to kill my darlin' lil boy when the one of only 2 size 1 circular needles was snapped during a quest for a hug (2 hours after said lil darlin' was supposed to be in bed. This was in large part due to the fact that my husband saved his life. He may have, in fact, physically sat on me while imploring the lil scamp to "run for your life".

Furthermore, I regret to inform you; that although I placed the broken needle under my pillow with a note and said "I believe in knitting fairies" 10 times out loud; I awoke this morning to have my hopes dashed. My needle was still broken and there was not even a reply to my note. I did hear my daughter tell the culprit responsible, "Now you've done it, you've finally made mom lose her last marble." To which he replied, "At least we won't have to bow to the stupid sock."

Needless to say, the morning wasn't starting off well. Work was, well..... work. I followed this up with parent-teacher conferences. I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't get lecture number 4 on the fact that my baby is not living up to his 7-year old academic potential. My hopes were starting to rise when I was informed that while he won't sit still and do his work, he is apparently skilled enough to sneak to the back of the bus and wave his middle fingers at the cars following the bus without getting caught by the bus driver. He was, however, ratted out by the second grade teacher who happened to be following the bus to school. The apology had been made and he appeared to be appropriately chastised. Then we went to the local cafe to get dinner..........................who should wait on us but.....you guessed it..... the second grade teacher who was the recipient of the middle finger wave.

I'm home, I'm going to make coffee and knit. I will not answer the phone or turn on the TV. I will prepare myself for the ridicule in the morning. I live in a town of just over 1500 people. Everyone I work with will be doing the one finger wave in the morning............................

That's what I love about living in a small town.

Knitting Fairy

It's cold and rainy here. I'm so ready for spring. My family cleaned the house before I got home from work so I had time to sit and knit. I finished the first Gardener sock to the background bangs and crashes of COH on the computer. I gave up trying to hear the TV and moved the knitting party to my bedroom. I had just finished the toe on Gardener Sock #2 when my darling little ball of fire jumped into the middle of the bed for a hug and snapped my Knitwicks size 1 needle off at the hub. I managed to stay calm and not kill the child (murder being a crime and all). No more sock until I purchase a new needle. Of course, that's the only size 1 in the house.

I wonder if I put the broken one under my pillow if a new one will be there in the morning. Who needs a tooth fairy, I want a knitting fairy.

Easter Story Cookies

Easter Story Cookies are in the oven waiting for Easter morning. We had a good time making them, although little guy kept telling me "I've already heard this story." It's so hard to keep them interested at bedtime. Now, I just hope we don't forget they're in the oven in the morning..... It has been known to happen.
Finally, I get to sit down with a cup of coffee and work on my Gardner Socks.

Thank God It's Saturday

The horrible work week is over. The eggs are boiled and dyed. All that remains is the mess. The weather is so nice today.....just a little tease before the storms roll in tonite and dump rain and hail for Easter. Geocaching is cancelled. Looks like the Easter Egg Hunt will take place in doors. I'm off to clean the house so I don't have to get up early in the morning. Thank God, my husband took pity on me and requested hamburgers for Easter Dinner........