Call the Authorites!!

And we did.

Well wouldn't you if their four barking dogs woke your children up every night?

And if their backyard looked like this?They are growing over the fence!!

No wonder we have an ant and weed problem in our yard.

We really did try to be civil. We left her a note, we talked to her twice and we contacted the HOA all to no avail. So then we called the cops.

I guess we shouldn't have been surprised when the officer showed up and told us he had knocked on her door three or four times in the last few months. We are not her only neighbors. Lets hope they follow through and give her a big fine so we can have some peace!

First Grader

J..h was so ready to start school today. When I asked her if she was worried or nervous she replied "Nope. I am not worried about a thing." That's my girl!

J..h picked a purple shirt to wear on her first day. They have a school dress code. Stripe or solid polo shirt and solid color pants or knee length shorts. The dress code is going to minimize her morning routine which is good since her bus comes super early. She gets up at 6:20 to catch a 6:35 bus. I talked to the bus driver today and she is going to stop right in front of our house. Yeah! They have free breakfast at school every morning at 7 am. She loved it and I am sure she ate better then she would have at home. School officially starts at 7:30. Her teacher is Mrs. Dufault and J..h told me "She yells at the kids who are being naughty but I am good so I still like her." The highlights of her day were music class and watching "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" on the wall! Her school is only three years old and has state of the art projectors and computers in the classroom. Her favorite activity of the day was when they did their "papers" which I am guessing are worksheets. For lunch she had "the best corn dog ever".

School ended at 2:30 and she walked off the bus at 2:45. S..a was so excited to see her sister. We miss her already. J..h quickly completed her first homework assignment of the year and read her fifteen minutes before bed time; 7pm Sharp!! I am glad that J..h loves first grade and had such a perfect start to her school year.

Perfect Morning

The house is clean; the bathrooms scrubbed and stairs vacuumed kind of clean.
The kiddie pool is washed out and ready for water.
J..h and S..a are having thier first play date at the house.
Biddy went wet in the potty three times this morning. One time she even said "Mama Potty!"
The best part... it all happened before 10AM.
Yahoooo. I get to do some sewing today:)

Look Who’s Two

 

Here is what I love about my Biddy!

She copies everything her big sisters say,  loves to wear dresses, grins with her two front teeth peeking out and has the grooviest dance moves.  She still giggles and snuggles with her blankets for night night,  loves kitties and doggies, gives kisses to her dollies, and wears everyone else's shoes.  I love her chubby thighs, how she knows not to take food in the living room,  cleans up her blocks when she is done playing, loves Ariel and Scooby Doo equally and talks to me in her cute biddy voice. 

The girls helped me frost a cupcake cake for her and We celebrated at the girls favorite “special occasion” spot Chuckee Cheese. Biddy loved all her presents and cards. Thank you! 

We love our Biddy.  Happy Birthday!

Musical Wards

When we were house hunting in May I talked to several different Bishops and gave them all my address so I could figure out what ward we would be in. Several wards in our region changed their boundaries recently and a new ward was created. We were going to be in the new Converse ward. I was very excited and even talked to some of the Moms in that ward.

We attended our ward for the whole month of July singing in the choir, substituting in primary, helping people move in, volunteering to clean the church, hosting playgroup and picking next months book club novel. I was thrilled with how quickly we integrated into the ward and was excited about getting a calling until I found out that we did it all in the wrong ward!!!

It was the missionaries who figured it out when they came over for dinner . They showed me a map of our ward and sure enough we were one street north of the boundary. It took me a good hour of phone calls to the Stake Secretary- who wasn't sure, the Stake Clerk- who was sure it was UVC ward, the Bishop of the the UVC ward- who was sure it was Randolph Ward, and finally the Bishop of the Randolph Ward- who was positive we were in his ward.

We have to start all over again but I know we are were we are supposed to be and where the Lord needs us. This ward is also good for J..h since there will be other kids in primary that attend her school. Besides who can begrudge a second chance to make just the right first impression.

Guess What We Had for Dinner?

Ribs!

They were finger licking good and at $1.99 lb we could afford to indulge.
Gotta love the HEB

Texas Sized Adventure

Destination: Round Rock
Main Objective: Eat Texas Sized Donuts


Secondary Objective: Shop at my favorite store
Conclusion: The hour and a half drive was worth it.

Yes you can...

Bill Pay your tithing to LDS Church Headquarters!

Here is the link to instructions (make sure to download the August version of the form the May version is blank)

http://nickolaspickolas.blogspot.com/2010/03/pay-lds-tithing-online.html

Hope this makes your life a littler simpler.

Cat Fish

Burke and J..h finally got lucky and caught our first catfish from the local pond. 

They were good sized so we had some very nice fillets to eat.

I used a classic deep fried catfish and hush puppy recipe and then served it with some slaw.  Yum!

Well not quite.  I took my first bite and had to force it down.  Burke, with his sensitive pallet, was gagging across the table and then the girls piped up  “ Mom I don’t like cat fish” and “This is gross”.   It wasn’t that it was too fishy it just tasted like dirty, stagnant pond water.  I was disappointed that I would not have an unlimited supply of free delicious catfish to make all sorts of yummy dishes with.  The catfish you get in a restaurant is farm raised not pond raised and trust me there is a BIG difference!

The Paint Game

J..h is always coming up with new games for us to play.  Most of them are just plain silly but today’s game was actually fun and picture worthy.

Each player selects a paint color and paintbrush then paints the canvas blindfolded.  When your paint runs out you can take of the blindfold to see what you made. 

The next player adds to the painting and you keep taking turns until you have used all the colors.   

At the end of the game you have a one of a kind masterpiece.  

It was lots of fun and I am sure we will be playing  again.