Instant stomachache

If you will notice the person in the white shirt at the top of the picture...that's Nathan...my husband. What were we thinking?! As soon as I saw Nathan climb up the extension ladder and get up on the sloped roof to paint our attic vents, I was sick to my stomach. I couldn't breathe and was completely useless in helping hold the ladder. Luckily, our neighbors came to our rescue. I don't know what we were thinking. We should have hired someone, especially since Nathan kept sliding down the sloped roof as he tried to paint. He had no where to put the paint can while he painted which meant that he had to paint with one hand and hold the can with the other. That left no hands to hang on with. Ugh!! Unfortunately, he is going to have to do it one more time because the vent on the far right was full of bee nests. That was a whole other adventure...watching Nathan spray the bee nests while bees are flying out of the vent at him while he is standing on a huge extension ladder fifteen feet off the ground. Meanwhile, I am screaming at him to stop moving as the ladder is swaying as he jerks away from the bees. I have tears in my eyes again as I think about this. What in the world would I do without Nathan...if he would have fallen?
I have never posted pictures of the house, and I have had a few people ask me to, so here you go. Can you tell which attic vent hasn't been painted yet?

The family room. We are going to put up crown molding soon and darken the mantle to match the bookcases.

The dining room off the kitchen.

The living room...sort of...it is also the home of our computer for everyone's convenience/safety.

The kitchen...finally, I have room for all my helpers!

Our huge empty backyard. Any advice on how to fill it? We have almost half an acre of land, which means a lot of grass for Nathan to mow!

The basement. Still a fun place to send all the kids!

Apple pickin'

We headed to an apple farm this past weekend after I FINALLY found a u-pick farm. I have been looking for one since we moved here. We love picking our own fruit every summer and fall. I am still a little sad that we missed strawberries and raspberries this year. I have made jam from them every year for the past three years, but not this year! Anyway, I thought I had finally found our own little Huber Farm right here in Cincinnati, but what a joke this farm was compared to Huber's. It was so tiny and pretty run-down, but at least we got some apples! My search will continue for the perfect fruit farm.


The farm had emus which fascinated Owen. The female emus make a very unique drum sound as they walk. It was so strange!

Bye-bye butterflies!

Our baby caterpillars grew into beautiful butterflies in about two weeks. We decided to let them go after about three days so they could enjoy some of their life outdoors. They only live for two weeks after becoming butterflies.


The kids chased them around the yard after their release. Ashleigh chased after them saying, "Are you okay, butterfly?" She loved them :)

My Wordle

Thanks for sharing Jamie!

My Weekend Purchases

Our subdivision had a neighborhood garage sale this past weekend. I am not a garage saler--I have never had one and never will. I would much rather donate our stuff to someone in need, but that's just me. I decided however that I would support those who decided they would participate by visiting a few neighbors' sales. Well, much to my surprise, I discovered something I needed that I didn't even know I needed ;) I got this Caterpillar dump truck Power Wheel for $25! It is in mint condition and has a new rechargeable battery. Ashleigh has been on it non-stop since I brought it home Friday. She and her friend next door ride back and forth between our driveways on it and fill the bucket up in the back so they can dump it. I got my money's worth out of it the first day! I can't wait for Owen to ride it next year. Right now he enjoys just turning all the knobs and opening the little doors on it while it's parked in the garage.

My second big purchase this weekend was a planner! I decided an old-school paper planner was sufficient instead of an expensive Palm or Blackberry like all the moms here have. I have not had a planner since college and have functioned just fine without one even with some big church responsibilites and PTA stuff at Trenton's school last year. I decided I wasn't going to be able to keep my head straight this year with my children at two different schools and my newly acquired PTA Board positions at each school. I love to feel like I am helping in some way, so I volunteered for some pretty big responsibilities at each school. The other part of it is a little selfish in that I want the principals to personally know me and my children and I want to know everything about the schools. The only way to know what is truly happening at school (because there is so much going on behind the scenes) is to be there as much as possible in my opinion. Besides, somebody's got to do it, so it might as well be me. I am a little worried I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but what's new? I love a challenge, especially now that I am not so busy with church responsibilities. I've got to stay busy somehow! Luckily, Nathan is always super supportive of my brilliant ideas/plans to stay busy :)

Camping...sort of

This past weekend our neighbors invited us to go "day camping" with them on their property just outside Cincinnati. It was so great because we got to do all the camping stuff without having to load our van up with all the camping gear. We also didn't have to spend all the time setting up the camp site since we weren't sleeping overnight. The kids all had lots of fun playing with their friends and hiking through the woods. Ashleigh and her "boyfriend," Evan.

Owen loved the creek the most.

Summer projects

Ashleigh's finished kitty treasure box. When I took this picture Ashleigh said, "Put that on the blog!" What a new generation my children are growing up in!

Ashleigh's growing caterpillars. They are making a huge mess eating like crazy, so I am guessing another day or two and they should start cocooning themselves. Even Owen loves checking on them.

Trenton's plants from science camp, which he is very proud of. The plant of the right is Owen's green beans. If we watch it carefully enough, we can actually see it move as it grows.

Our butterfly farm

One of Ashleigh's friends so thoughtfully gave her a butterfly farm for her birthday since she absolutely loves bugs (strange, I know, but I just love how all of my children have such distinct interests). I had to send in a card to order her caterpillars and they arrived yesterday. They came in this little box which we found inside our mailbox like any other piece of mail. Too cute! Ashleigh was very excited to say the least!
Inside the brown box was this cup with five baby caterpillars inside. There is some type of food at the bottom of the cup that helps them make silk to cocoon themselves in. At the end of 7-10 days, they will form cocoons on the lid which we will then take off and put inside the large butterfly hut she got for her birthday. Ashleigh adores her caterpillars saying "They're so cute!" She really wanted to sleep with them last night, but I convinced her they needed to stand upright so they could grow and eat. She checks on them every few hours. It is amazing to watch because they have already doubled in size in just one day. We'll post more pictures as they grow.

The Midnight Release

Stephenie Meyer's latest book came out Friday night at midnight, so I headed to a midnight release party with some friends to get my hands on the book as soon as possible. We headed to Barnes and Noble first where we played a few trivia games and tried to win some door prizes to no avail. We were told to wear red if we were for Jacob and black for Edward (Notice I am wearing all black! However, one of my friends quickly discovered that I had absent-mindedly forgotten about my red toenail polish. Darn! I am definitely on Team Edward regardless.) The highlight of the night was seeing about 100 teenage girls in black or red prom dresses at Barnes and Noble. It was supposed to be a black-tie event, but none of us had a modest dress to squeeze into for the occasion. One of my friends had heard that Walmart was selling the book $4 cheaper than Barnes and Noble, so we headed to Walmart just before midnight to save a few bucks. Turns out, it was the same price, but at least we have this great picture of us in Walmart at midnight.
As far as the book goes, I am sad to say I hate it!! I totally did not see this story line coming. I am still trying to figure it all out. That is all I will say about that until more of you have had a chance to start reading. I can't wait to hear what you think! I am just over halfway done with this monstrous book...750 pages this time. Woah!! Maybe there is still time for things to change for me...

Cincinnati Children's Museum

Our friends, the Clowards, came to visit us this weekend and we headed downtown to check out our Children's Museum. I don't mean to brag, but it is the best children's museum ever! My children all had a blast and could have played for days there. Even Owen played and played despite being very sick with a severe cold (I know, we shouldn't have spread his germs to so many other children, but he needed a break from the walls of our house).

The water area was a favorite as well as the market area and huge jungle gym. Owen loved an area where there were hundreds of balls to put inside tubes and buckets. He could have stayed there for days.

This picture just makes me laugh and laugh. Owen was dying to drive the bus and waited patiently for his turn. He is so serious behind the wheel.

Summer school

Only my son would be excited about going to school in the summer. We signed him up for a week-long science class which he just finished Friday. He absolutely loved it and learned so much. He made crystals, slime, ice cream, playdoh, and several plants. One of the plants he is growing is green beans and he is confident that Owen will love them (Owen's favorite food is green beans). He checks his plants every morning to see how much they have grown.