Back To Back... I'm Baaaaaaack

The girls are playing nicely together outside... which makes me worry that Iraq is coming down with something... something that I hope lasts, like, forever...

At any rate, they are giving me a little time to pump a couple blog posts out. I haven't had a chance lately as The Skink has been home all week with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease - which is actually a virus and not a disease per-sea. But whatever. She had spots. They were on her mouth and on her tootie. Didn't have any on her hands or her feet, so I guess it means she had mouth and butt disease?

When my girls are playing quietly for long periods of time, it makes me inexplicably nervous and I must go out and check on them. When I did, I found they were happily painting.

Rocks. Rocks from the driveway. And painting themselves too for good measure.

 A few more sunny weekends and we'll have the most colorful driveway in all of Virginia!

Of course when I came outside with the camera, they all but forgot the paint and wanted to do a "photo shoot." Hey - nothing like doing a photo shoot of two girls with paint all over them!

And some more of my favorite shots of the week:

Apparently The Skink didn't care for Gunnar's critique of her work. A few seconds after I took this, she goosed him firmly on the toot, sending him skittering off across the yard clucking in surprise. In her defense, The Skink was just in a fowl mood after not being allowed to go to school that day. :)

The spots are fading now, and my lucky little Skink will be back at school tomorrow.

Have a great week, y'all!

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Well Dam!

You heard me. Dam!

We have one near us and last weekend we took the girls up to see it.

 

After admiring the dam for a while and talking about the creation of hydroelectricity, we were treated to a show, compliments of The Skink!

While at the visitors' center at the dam, we happened to see a topographical map of the area which led us to wonder how to access a road that winds along the peak of a string of mountains by the dam.

Luckily I inherited a bizarre gift for direction from my mother, and in no time at all we were driving up the side of a mountain. We expected to see Sasquatch... but had to settle with the back-side of some rednecks.

Just for fun we turned on the GPS system which insisted that we drive off the nearest cliff in order to get back onto a real road! It was good for a giggle.

We could tell there was a great view for those with X-Ray vision. For those of us without this talent, all there was to see at the end of the road was trees. I was determined to see that view, though... so I climbed on top of our Suburban...

And saw this:

It would have been nice to see this on a clear day, but I'm well known for taking what I can get and being happy with it :)

Of course then Iraq wanted to follow my example and stand on top of the car on top of the mountain, and being the crazy mother that I am, I let her.

(You know, when they say "Don't try this at home," it just means that you should go someplace else - like the top of a mountain - to do it!)

And that is the story of our Dam fine day!

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Just Your Average Perfection

'Tis the season to post pictures of pumpkin patch abundance...

But unfortunately I can't afford the admission fees to any of the pumpkin patches within driving distance (nor can I really afford the gas required by my 17-year-old Suburban to get to any pumpkin patches as the closest is apparently about 50 miles away).

But who am I to allow silly little details like those get in my way? On Sunday morning I called my awesome neighbor and asked if she had any cute neutrals to dress her little one in. I showered and dressed my own girls (yeah - for some reason my 17-year-old son wasn't interested in having his yearly pumpkin patch picture done) and we piled into my car to seek out the "perfect," pumpkin-filled backdrop.

And by "perfect," I mean something without too much garbage... or a landfill... 'cause I'm picky like that!

You know - like trading in "The Great Pumpkin" for "The Totally Average Pumpkin That Happens to Be FREE."

But you know what? You don't have to keep up with the Jones' (or anyone else for that matter) to have a lot of fun and get some really cute seasonal photos! I so often hear or read of someone going over the details of finding the perfect pumpkin patch and dressing the children in the perfect clothes and all the perfection that was their day.

Well - that's great. I'm happy for them and all their perfect glory, but you know what? My life isn't perfect, and I'm perfectly fine with that! So we sought out free places and made the most of them.

So these were some of the shots from the day's impromptu shoot: 

(The above were taken at our local Southern States Feed Store where I regularly buy chicken feed. They were closed but had kindly left some pumpkins and flowers out for our use. Yup - Southern States... it's like Macy's... for rednecks.)

(And these pictures... they were taken at an itty-bitty little park between some train tracks and a warehouse at the edge of the old part of town - Just down from the Southern States!)

And lookee here! We found us a real pumpkin patch...

 

 

At WalMart!

Yup - smack dab in the very front of the store. 

Sure, we got some looks from a few people. Most of them were probably thinking what a great idea we had   :D

And then do you know where we went??

Yes - this is the most perfect place of all! It's right on the property where our rental house (and my neighbor's rental cabin) is. We took our WalMart pumpkins and set them up in front of the barn. 

We had a wonderful time, even though The Skink had a melt down and Iraq almost had a melt down. Even though my neighbor's kid tried to escape underneath that old train in the little old park and my neighbor had to crawl under the train to get her... and I was smart-a$$ enough to take pictures the whole time.

We spent a few dollars on cheap pumpkins and that was it.

It's not about having a perfect life and going the perfect place. It's about making the best of what you already have...

But that's just one woman's opinion!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Let The Wild Rumpas Start! We've Moved To A Far Off Land

Yeah - I know! It's been a while. Amid the packing, the upheaval and the realities of trying to orchestrate a move (without movers to help us) to a house an hour away the week AFTER school started, I didn't get much of a chance to write.

Things are nowhere near settled just yet, but we are in the house and the kids are in school.

Quick FAQ:

Q: From where to where did you move?
A: We moved from a beautiful, small VA city to the most beautiful part of "the middle of nowhere," VA. (AKA: an hour closer to my hubby's work!)

Q: Why were you living an hour and a half from your husband's work?
A: Hubby was working in a nearby town, but in the infinite wisdom of some brilliant VA politicians, the facility (yes - one of the only fully self-sufficient prisons in the state) was shut down and my hubby was transferred to a facility an hour and a half away.

Q: You're married to a con?
A: No... just a 6'3" guy who describes his job and a Corrections Officer as "Babysitting for a few hundred adult men who act like 5-year-olds but want to be treated like adult men."

Q: Why didn't you move when he got transferred?
A: We absolutely loved the school Iraq and The Skink were attending and wanted to keep them there as long as possible. Unfortunately, "as long as possible" expired last June :(

Q: No movers? Did you do it all with just your husband and son?
A: Nope! We are so lucky to have some amazing friends who took time out of their own lives to pitch in and help us! If it hadn't been for them, we'd probably still be "moving" and not "moved."

Q: Do you mind living in "the middle of nowhere," VA?
A: Mind? I LOVE country living! And the neighbors can't hear Iraq's meltdowns!

Q: Is Iraq having transition issues?
A: Does a bear poop in the woods?

Q: Funniest moving story?
A: The Skink, in hopes of being helpful, found the decorative little box in which are hidden mommy and daddy's "adult toys. She marched through the house with the open box, presented it to me and excitedly squealed, "Happy Birthday!!" Still not sure if the present was the box itself, or the fact that she took it upon herself to empty a bottle of Astroglide over the contents, pre-lubing everything for us. How thoughtful...

Q: How many critters moved with you?
A: One dog, two cats, four guinea fowl and six chickens.

Q: Uh... was there any hope of getting any of your security deposit back after housing a farms' worth of critters in a really nice city house?
A: This momma scrubbed that house so good (yes - I know that's poor grammar - I'm just talkin' country for a minute) that to our shock and consternation we not only received the entire security deposit, but also the "non-refundable" pet deposit for the dog and cats. (Needless to say, we never mentioned "domestic fowl" to the real estate management company.)

Q: What do you think of the new schools? What do the kids think of the schools?
A: To my great glee and Broadway's chagrin, all the kids ride the SAME bus - LOL! I guess when you're picking up kids from all over the "middle of nowhere," you gotta do what you can to conserve gas. We had the option to have the "short bus" pick up The Skink, but we held off to see how she would do on the regular bus. She does great!

The girls' school is fairly new and a very nice building. So far we are very happy with it. Broadway's school is a bit of a culture shock for him after attending a high school with no less than 2,000 students for the last three years. For his senior year, he is going to a school with only about 600 students. I think he may know them all by now :)

Q: How is the unpacking coming?
A: Uggg

Q: You going to unpack more today?
A: Sure... right after I finish working on the new chicken coop that we're fashioning out of an old dog house and some scrap wood left over from the original chicken coop that was on this property until a big storm took out the large tree that stood over the coop and crushed it to smithereens. Once the coop is finished, I can move the 5 chicks that are still living in the house, outside! (And yes - our new landlords are aware of the "domestic fowl :)

Q: You take pictures of everything. Do you have any pictures to share?
A: Nope.

Just kidding!

There is a giant flowering bush just outside the kitchen window. It attracts any number of hummingbirds, butterflies and honey bees.

The new front porch is the perfect place to wait for the big yellow bus to bring the noisy little humans back.

Gunnar is getting prettier by the day. Didn't want another rooster, but he may be too pretty to let go (and he's got a great personality too!).

Mimi and the girls in front of the horse barn.

Mimi and the girls (and a cow) in front of a big oak tree.

Mimi, Mills (Iraq's pet rooster) and Broadway.

Q: Does Mimi live with you?
A: Oh heavens no! Living with our little family could off an unsuspecting grandparent in a matter of days. We want to keep Mimi around for a while, so she and Pop live a safe distance from my Wild Things... but they come visit regularly (at their own risk, of course)  :o)

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