How was our weekend - part two

After getting the septic system partially fixed, we did not get our Turkey Day going until late afternoon.... We put the bird in... which was super tasty (though someone in the picture below shows their deep displeasure with the whole bird thing!).



Miss O was an awesome helper in the kitchen! She was in charge of cleaning the sweet potatoes and setting the table... she liked the potatoes the best because she actually helped me pick them out at the store! Little J made the green bean casserole, and the pumpkin pie.... and I supervised someone writing sentences!

How did our weekend go? - part one

I know the picture is hard to read... but basically, in a nutshell, it states that our septic system is NOT a toy, and someone has caused the family lots of grief!

Thursday morning, BRIGHT AND COLD AND EARLY, all three toilets in the house backed up... we had just put the pumpkin pie in the oven to cook.... Turkey Day was on the agenda! Until... the final flush!
So, being as cold as it was (5 degrees) the hubby geared up and went outside to take a look. Thankfully, I was not there to see the initial disaster! Our septic system access tube was removed and laying in a frozen pile in the back corner of our yard. Our system was CLOGGED and FROZEN. Grrrrrr.... thinking that our destroy everything Black Lab - Phebe was the problem, the hubby went to work trying to thaw and pump up some of the mess so we could get it fixed.
Welll.... he was having Big Al help him out... Big Al was apparently MISTIFIED about the problem and acting like it was a real concern.
Shortly after the pumping started, and the hubbys blood pressure and patience level was to the top, he informed me of the problem. I asked both Miss O and Little J if they had played with it, both denied... and then Little J informed me that he had seen Big Al twisting the lid open and dropping ROCKS and other things into the line.... just wonderful! That little tidbit would have been nice to know a few days ago!
So... we went without toilets, and water and washing our hands for a few hours... the hubby managed to get most the clog out... but still not a complete fix....
Big Al, on the other hand... landed himself in a pile of deeepppppp Sh*t! That is putting it mildly! He was sentenced with some sentences... 150 of them... and he is most likely on restriction until....... well... whenever I decide - probably close to Christmas! Ugh! Not a good day... A.T. A.L.L.

Weekend Fun

Since a large majority of the weekend has been spent working on and trying to clean up the septic system... we missed out on all the "Holiday" kickoff activities that our town puts on... since the kids were not really aware of them - it made things alot easier! (one benefit of two kids with short term memory issues!)
Below is PJ, our beloved family dog, who in his advanced years, has taken to doing anything he can to stay in the house... including laying right in front of the fireplace... Little J joined him to warm up before bed!


Our "pet" cow, Bambi was concerned with what the kids were doing in his field... Eventually, all the cows showed up to watch Little J and Miss O, hit the slopes!



A great day for sledding!! Since Big Al was still in the doghouse, no sledding this weekend for him! It was really cold, so these two snowbunnies only stayed out for about 30 minutes... The whole time, I was worried that one of the cows were going to try and chase them down the hill! While most all the cows are gentle and loving... they DO get wound up when Miss O is screeching and giggling!

My favorite Birthday Gift of all time!

Four years ago today, we met a little girl that stole our hearts and changed our lives! We spent my birthday on the over night train from Kyiv to Zaporizhzya, Ukraine. We were tremendously nervous and stressed about meeting this little girl! Meeting her was one of the most joyous days of my life! She has changed us all for the better and continues to fill our heart each and every day!

My Birthday

Being a kind of crazy weekend... I did not bother to make myself a birthday cake! Instead, Little J and Miss O made up some chocolate banana bread! Later in the day, we celebrated with hot choco and banana bread! Worked for me... as I am not big on celebrating my own birthday anymore!
I did get a nice new baking stone for my bread and a tin of my favorite Harney and Sons tea... so it was all good!

Thanksgiving Memories - Ukraine

Thanksgiving Day - 2006, The hubby, Big Al and I spent in Ukraine. What was also memorable, was that it was also the date of our Appointment at the State Department of Adoptions (SDA) in Ukraine!
Though much of our appointment is a blur... we left with a piece of paper giving us permission to travel to a southern region of Ukraine to visit a little girl. Each DAY we are thankful for her! Over the years, her nickname of "Punkin-pie" has held a special place in our hearts - as she was our Thanksgiving Day Gift!

Way back Wednesday

Four years ago today... we were trying to enjoy killing more time in Kyiv Ukraine by doing a little site-seeing! Since we had Big Al with us, we had to keep on the go to keep him occupied!

Four years ago....

For years ago... we were sitting in Kyiv, Ukraine.... it was foggy, cold and just plain DREARY!
We were trying to patiently wait for our SDA appointment on Thanksgiving Thursday! Ahhhhh... the memories!

Wordless Wednesday

I am so thankful that I have a kiddo who loves books as much as I do! Little J just loves to read! It looks like little Fester loves to be read to as well!

Winter.... Already?????

Hard to believe that old man Winter is here!

Wordless Wednesday

What? Not every barnyard has a nice framed mirror in it?? After years of listening to them pound our sliding glass door, we finally got a freebie mirror in the barnyard to stare at themselves... yep - those guineas love it!

My sweet helper

I didn't ask the Princess to get her pretty self all messed up! She Looooooves to play in the dirt! Today, after I was done pulling out some dead plants, she proceeded to plant a "new garden"! Not exactly sure what kind of "seeds" she found (probably some heinous noxious weed - or worse, CATNIP!) but she was super proud of herself!

End of the year gardening

Well... 2010 was not a great year for gardening! I have been working on pulling out all the USELESS tomatoes (over 10 plants - got 5 ripe tomatoes), the old zucchini plant that seemed to be on steriods, and the catnip - that won't stop taking over!

Above is what I have left - a few fall crops of lettuce and swiss chard! Thankfully, I am not having to survive off this stuff!! haha!

Halloween!!

This Halloween we had a skeleton (Big Al), The Hulk (Little J) and Ariel (Miss O). They all looked super in their costumes! Since Halloween fell on a Saturday, we were able to do trick-or-treating in town on Saturday, and then on to BOO Central at the CWU campus for fun activities on Sunday! Fortunately, they got a lot less candy then last year!!

Wordless Wednesday

Our sweet kitten, Fester, has been enjoying the one thing that has grown like crazy in our garden this year! CATNIP!

A rare family photo

It is not often that I am able to get a somewhat decent family photo of all of us! But this one is pretty good!

It's nice to be home!

After being gone for a week... it sure is nice to finally be back HOME! The kids went back to school today and I got to enjoy a few hours of kidless time! phew! While we had alot of time together over the week - it was enjoyable... but still... LOVIN the silence!!

Final Ohio post

Today we attended the big "shindig" in honor of my Dad. It seemed everyone had a nice time and enjoyed talking about my Dad. I guess I will leave it at that. My feelings about the whole thing are still not exactly "good"... but we will move on!




Unfortunately - I only got to see a few of my favorite relatives for less than 2 hours. Not thinking to take pictures... I managed to get Little J to snap one of me and my favorite uncle! Yep - it's rare that there is a picture of ME out here! haha!

Little J had the camera and was "supposed" to take pictures of everyone... ha! He is 10... so 99% of the pictures are feet, arms, and really bad expressions! Oh well!

As far as rating this trip on a scale of 1- 10... one being NEVER again, and 10 being - SUPERIOR... I gave it a 3. The kids and the hubby had a pretty good time, got to see a few new things... but there were a couple of events that occured during the trip that left a really sour taste in my mouth... one in particular that still has my kids a bit un-nerved as well as the hubby and I. Oh well... I guess that is why we have the dynamics we do!

Ohio post #2 - Malabar Farm

I have to say that the most enjoyable part of our trip was our three visits to Malabar Farms. This Farm was once owned by Humphrey Bogart, and is absolutely wonderful! We were only 8 miles away, and spent alot of time there hiking in the woods and letting the kids blow off steam (much needed!). It was so beautiful and we were pretty much the only ones there! We did some awesome hikes in the woods, and the kids got to see alot of chipmunks, squirrels and deer. It was really a great place for us to unwind and relax... definetly left a great impression for all of us!

Ohio trip post #1

We arrived in Columbus late on Wednesday night... the flight went pretty well... just looonnnngg! The kids had a tough time staying occupied and started to get on each others (and my) nerves!

Our only problem on the way there was that we lost Big Al's game boy :(.... sad, but life goes on! Oh, and my curling iron got smashed! haha! Thank heavens for the Walmart next to our hotel! The kids spent alot of time in the hotel pool today... whoo hoo for hotels with pools!