Sunday afternoons have become my time to post.  Not because there isn't plenty of work to be doing, but it is the one time of the week I'm willing to let myself play before I work!  So for now I will ignore the "getting ready for church wreckage" and enjoy a little down time.

I love being a stay at home mom, but sometimes I just need a day to away from the world of children.  A day away from the world of diapers, cleaning up spills, repeating myself, refereeing, making meals with boys under my feet and a baby in my arms...

Fortunately I have a husband who understands this, so while he spent a day with the boys; my mom, Eliza and I headed to Sutter Creek for a day to ourselves. 



It couldn't have been a more lovely day.  Fall colors, cool crisp weather, Christmas music playing as we strolled down the street, and best of all... tea for lunch!





It was her first tea party.  The girls who worked at the tea house had a lot of fun bringing out different accessories and trying them on her.  Eliza didn't mind the attention.






We borrowed some hats for an after tea picture. 











She will be 8-months-old this week...

... and she is just mobile enough to get herself into some real sticky spots.

She was playing in her room and I was folding clothes in the living room.  I heard her fussing and yelling so I can down the hall and found her all the way under her dresser.  She got even more upset when I rushed to get my camera instead of rushing to rescue her


Her infant bath tub had become pathetically small, so I  started bathing her with the boys.  She likes that! 

Saturday while we were in Sutter Creek, everyone kept calling her a princess (partly because of the pink, frilly skirt) but she's really just a big goof ball.  She wrestles with the boys, makes goofy noises and silly faces just to get her brothers' to laugh, and is happiest when she's right in the thick of things.

Last Friday night we had a campfire out back with all the Rodgers.  Schedules have been so busy but we managed to all be in the same place at the same time!


Eliza was excited about wearing her new hat!






We huddled near the fire and roasted marshmallows and sang silly songs about bear hunts, and man-eating pets.  Sailor Janie gave us a small performance.  She sang the books of the Bible and recited the 7 days of creation.  I'm 32 and I don't think I can recite the 7 days of creation!  The next morning I had to laugh when I found a half dozen, half eaten marshmallows put back in the bag.

One last random picture...

... no job is too big when I have my helpers!

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving week.  More time with my husband and lots of good food I didn't have to make!

~ The couch cushions were in the boys' bedroom.

~ The dumps trucks were parked where the couch cushions should be.

~ A full glass of water sat in the middle of the kitchen floor (this I found with my foot).

~ My bed was somewhere under a weeks worth of clean, unfolded laundry.

~ The hamster was in the porta-crib.

That pretty much sums up my entire Monday.

Everything was displaced and scattered, including my own thoughts. . . things to accomplish, dates to schedule, wish lists, holidays, my own parenting skills (or the lack thereof), questions I wanted answered, realities I didn't want to face, etc, etc.


 
A sick, snotty, slobbery little girl


A flesh-eating, tantrum-throwing toddler


And a very, VERY, inquisitive 4-year-old...

...proved to be more that this mere mortal could endure. 

The day ended on a happy note.



This is Charlie.  Charlie is a girl. We didn't know that when we named her Charlie but the name has already stuck.  Aunt Karen called and asked us if we would like a puppy.  One had wandered onto her property and needed a home.  We went out to meet her and it was love at first sight for the boys.



This morning they piled out of bed and headed straight for the porch.  It was cold and they were still in there p.j.s and they hadn't even had breakfast.


Riley wasn't sure what to think of Charlie at first, but I have a strong feeling they're going to be good friends.

 
She does not want to be bothered with this whole "crawling" thing.  She turns, pivots, stretches, and pulls up, but she will not crawl!

It is late.  Tomorrow is a very busy day.  Good night.

The disaster didn't really have anything to do with casseroles... it was just what we were doing when the disaster occurred.  But I'm getting ahead of my self~

It was last Tuesday, the day of the big storm.  Jessica and the kids came over and we were going to spend the morning making dinners, cookie dough, and rolls to freeze.  We had finished up lunch and were making good progress checking off the items on our list, when I looked out the window and saw my gazebo drifting westward.  I went out to try to put it back in it's place but quickly realized it was much to big for me to move myself.  Grandpa W. was on his way over to say hi to the kiddos so I decided to wait until he arrived and have him help me move the gazebo back into place.  I came in through the front door and was greeted by three terrified boys and Jessica standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at me with wide eyes.

It took me a few seconds to grasp what had taken place but I noticed the smashed window and the rain pouring in onto the floor.

 

The gazebo had come loose and crashed into the window sending thousands of shards of glass all over our playroom.




This is the exact spot were Gideon and Gavin were playing when the window broke.  The Lord was looking out for those two boys that day, they both walked away with very minor cuts.  It could have been much worse.


We got the boys settled down with a movie.


The girls slept through most of it and when they finally woke up they played happily in Eliza's crib.

My husband was away on a business trip but both my Father-in-law and Dad rushed to my aid.  Jessica finished up the rest of the casseroles and cleaned my kitchen.  The glass got cleaned up and the window got patched thanks to my dad and brother.


The most difficult part about the whole disaster was the clean up.  There were thousands of class shards coating every toy we own.  Every toy, bucket, and bin had to be washed and rinsed.  I was standing outside in the down pour, hosing out large toy buckets.  I'm sure the neighbors thought I was crazy. 

The week without Daddy was long and tiring.  We had a little "welcome home Daddy" celebration on Friday night.  I set the table with the nice dishes, lit candles and had a special meal planned.


We ate apple crisp and ice cream by candle light. 


Much to their delight, Daddy was still home when they woke up the next morning.

After some snuggle time in bed we all got up and got ready to go to Apple Hill.




We took the tram to visit the various apple farms.








The fall colors were just starting to show but it was a little too warm that day.  I think we were all looking forward to wearing our sweatshirts and long-sleeved shirts but the 80 degree weather wouldn't cooperate.










We ended the day with fresh apple cider, caramel apples and a train ride around the goose pond.



It's bedtime now.  Time to put on p.j.s, read stories, brush teeth and say prayers.  Hope you all enjoy this beautiful October evening!

Sunday dinners~ back when we were still dating, I always loved when he would call on Saturday night and say "Mom says to come over for dinner after church."

 I loved going to Mary's house for dinner on Sunday.  I must confess, I often spent more time trying to guess what she had made for dinner than I did listening to the sermon.  It really didn't matter what it was because it was always good.  The smell would hit your nose the second you walked in the door.  Meat and gravy slow cooking in the oven, sweet tea brewing on the stove, and the table already set with an extra chair for me.  There was always plenty for seconds.  I would leave the table feeling warm and full, and then spend the rest of the afternoon lounging in the living room, taking turns reading the Sunday paper.

It occurred to me that my own children probably had very different Sunday memories~ like leaving church and deciding what fast food we were going to get.  Or coming home and clearing the cereal bowls off the table so we could eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I decided it was time to start changing that.

I got up early and made an enchilada casserole.  I put it in the oven and asked my husband to set the time bake so it would be done at 12:15.  We got in the car after church and the boys immediately wanted to know where we were going for lunch.  "Home!" I said.  Jude said he wanted peanut butter and jelly for lunch and Gideon started to cry when I told him we were having enchiladas.  So far things where not going the way I had envisioned.  I was starting to think I should have spared myself the trouble of making dinner and slept in.

When we walked in the door the only smell that hit my nose was the smell of burning food.  I tossed the arm-load of church bags on the couch and ran toward to oven.  I opened the door fearing the worst... but the enchiladas where beautifully browned and bubbly.  My extra work was rewarded with pleases and thank-yous and requests for seconds and even third helpings!  Maybe we'll try to make a habit out of Sunday dinners




They were very excited to meet little Regan Rose!

My calendar and thermometer don't seem to be agreeing with each other.  The calendar says it's the end of September but the thermometer seems to think it's the middle of July.  I'm ready for crisp, cool weather and fall colors.




Uncle Rex let each of the boys pick out their own giant pumpkin to take home.  For the better part of a day I drove around town with over 150 lbs. worth of pumpkin in my van.  They look bright and cheerful on my front porch and they are a nice reminder that summer is indeed coming to and end.


This is the view from my kitchen sink~ what I look at while I wash dishes.  A sweet reminder of how much I am loved.

It amazes me and humbles me when I consider all of the times I have fallen short, let them down, lost my patience and yet they still want to pick me flowers.  I'm leaning a lot from my children.


 

It's not really gardening.

When I think about gardening I envision mowing a patch of green grass, trimming some hedges, and pulling small weeds out of the flower beds.

Yard work at my house is more like; "extreme gardening".  The weeds are as tall as I am and the lawn is a half an acre of weeds, mole hills, and pot holes.



I went to check the mail but I couldn't find the mailbox for all of the tumble weeds and over-grown sunflowers.  I decided I should probably do something about that, so I went out this morning to tame and conquer!

We've only been country folk for a little while so farm equipment is a bit thin on the ground around here.

But we make do...



This is my version of a tractor/trailer set up.  It's a tarp that I pile with weeds and drag to the back side of the property.



This is kind of silly.

Something I should have out-grown by now...

...but as I'm working I imagine that I'm like the frontier women of the old west.  Battling the elements and wilderness to carve out a home from 40 acres of untamed land.  Okay so it's really just 3 acres on the outskirts of town, and I'm usually in my ball cap, with my cell phone in my back pocket and a camera slung on my hip... but it helps pass the time.  Am I the only one who does that?


She's a good little companion.  Content to sit in the wagon with her sunhat and sunscreen on; watching me work and trying to grab Riley's tail as he walks by.


They don't realize it but their days of sitting on the porch while I work are numbered.


After I mowed the 2 foot tall weeds that is our front yard; I was looking forward to drinking the water bottle I had put in the frig earlier that morning.  That's when I saw my oldest son standing on the porch calling my name and trying to show me something he had in his hands.  As I got closer I discovered that he had picked me some flowers (weeds).  He went into the kitchen and got my water bottle out and used it as a vase for the flowers (weeds) he had picked for me.  It's at moments like that you realize the importance of being gracious.  He obviously wanted to do something nice for me... but I really wanted that bottle of water.  I patted him on the head and thanked him; then went inside and drank a nice big glass of lukewarm tap water.

 
(my camera was on the wrong setting so I didn't get a good picture of him)





 Filthy hardly describes what we look like after a day of yard work, and pictures really don't capture the extent of our filthiness.


 



A bath was in order.



Now for a nice long shower and a comfy chair to sit in!