Category: Uncategorized (Page 23 of 118)

Thank you to all of you who entered Ryan’s Chicken contest. It was fun to have so many visitors, and so many comments! Thanks!

But honestly, you are all OVER. Seriously? 57? Have you been to my house? It would have to be totally overrun with chickens. Not that I would mind, really, but you guys think I am totally chicken crazy or something. We’re not counting this kind of “chicken” in our count, by the way.

Mostly I just have a few accent chickens around, like on the entertainment center in this silly picture below.

The bulk of the chicken count is actually from my curtain hangers. (Sorry, no picture). But there are 8 chicken shaped hooks that my curtains hang from. And the grand total?

21. I guess if you added parakeets and cockatiels you could get the total up to 30, but we were going with chickens (as per Ryan’s rules).

Yes. Only 21. Joni was actually the closest guess with 23. So, congratulations, Joni! Come on over for dinner. But in the spirit of fun and frivolity, we’d like to invite ALL of you over for dinner! (I feel very much like Oprah as I typed that last part. “You’re all getting cars! Cars for Everyone!” Right?)

The kids are constantly bugging us and asking when we’ll be inviting people over for dinner, so NOW we will. We’ll be contacting you in the next few weeks to see if we can get a date arranged to get together for dinner! How fun is that? And if you chose to bring me a new chicken for my collection, I wouldn’t complain. We may not get to everyone until barbeque season, but we would love to invite you all!

Thanks again for playing along. Come back anytime and see what we’re up to! And don’t forget to leave a comment, because I LOVE comments.

I overheard my son and his friend “working on homework” in the living room. The friend said, “I would love to play the piano but it’s not worth all the time it takes to practice and all that.” Then Cole said, “the piano is so worth it.”

(What?) That’s me gasping in the next room.

And then Cole proceeded to show off with his most complicated Jon Schmidt piano song that he’s been working on for about a year.

So, all those years of lessons really ARE worth it. At least for this child.

Howdy, Ryan Here (Paige’s worse half!). I don’t post here too often, probably for good reason, but since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d guest-post. Hi, Paige! XOXOXO!

Paige loves contests, so all of you should also love contests, too, right? I hope so, because I’m offering a contest to all of Paige’s many blog visitors.

Here are the rules: If you didn’t know, Paige is somewhat of a chicken collector. She’s been bugging me to get some real chickens for at least a couple of years. We haven’t done that, but Paige *has* brought together a modest collection of chicken-themed items. These are all currently hanging or sitting in our Kitchen and/or Living Room.

The person who guesses closest to the correct number of chickens and chicken-themed items will win the prize.

Included: Any chickens or chicken-themed items, hanging, sitting, framed, etc. on the first floor (main floor) of our home.

Excluded: Any chickens on any DVDs or VHS tapes or movies in the family room. I seriously don’t want to have to check all the VHS covers… “Chicken Run”, no thanks! Food items in the pantry also do not count.

The Prize is a Sunday dinner invite with all the trimmings for your whole (immediate) family. If you live out of state, I’m sure Paige can come up with something suitably impressive. 😉

Post your guesses in the comments, and I’ll post the correct answer later in the week, probably on Friday. Needless to say, you can only guess ONCE, and the first person to guess a particular number ‘gets’ that number.

Anyone visiting the house this week (book club, etc.) is disqualified unless they enter their guess *before* said event.

Good Luck and Happy Valentine’s Day!

(Paige here. Let’s all work on Ryan to allow me to get some REAL chickens, shall we?)

Or we could get one of these for the yard, right?

I don’t want to make TOO big of a deal about this, but it seems that my oldest son is actually out on a DATE right now.

I feel old. I feel glad that he’s finally asked a girl out, and glad that he has a group of friends that he can go out and do something with.

I hope he has a great time!

Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate Groundhog Day

10. It’s on nearly every calendar.

9. Helps relieve cabin fever.

8. Forecast is no less reliable than the National Weather Service.

7. At least one of them critters is bound to see things your way.

6. Valentine’s Day is too depressing for nerds.

5. Unlike the Easter bunny, he keeps his dirty paws outside.

4. As they used to say on radio: “The Shadow knows”.

3. It’s fun to say “Punxsutawney”.

2. If a rodent can bring us an early spring, more power to him.

And the number one reason to celebrate groundhog day..

When else can you make jokes about rodent that is basically a large rat?

Recently I received the book ‘God Gave Us So Much’
by Lisa Bergren and Laura Bryant.

This book is a compilation of three books: God Gave Us the World,
God Gave Us Love, and God Gave Us Heaven.

It’s a sweet book told through the eyes of a curious little polar bear. As she explores his homeland, she has questions about life, love and about God. Mama, Papa, and Grampa Bear, share with her the incredible miracles of God’s creation and the depths of His love for her.

I had fun reading this book to my children, and I LOVE the beautiful illustrations. It is nice to read a book that not only includes God, but assures children repeatedly of God’s love for them.

Of the three books in the set, I liked ‘God Gave us the World’ the best. Little cub learns about the world and that it is bigger than just the North Pole where she lives. There are even other kinds of bears that live in other areas of the world. I did find it a bit odd to have bears watching other bears at the zoo. Little cub learns “The whole world is like a mirror of God’s work…Out of all the places he could’ve put us, he chose this world, Earth, to be our home. He made it just for us. God gave us this special world and every creature in it.”

While I do think this is a little preachy for me, and this book won’t raise to the level of a favorite in our house, it is a nice book to read at bedtime. I think it could open up some conversations between parent and child about love, life, heaven, and God.

**I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review**

Today for lunch I had a lean cuisine, and diet coke and some fudge.

Because it’s all about “balance”, right?

John was calling to me from upstairs this morning. Ryan was closer, so he asked what John needed. John yelled down that he didn’t need Dad, he needed Mom. So, I went upstairs and called, “What do you need, John?” He was hiding around the corner in his underwear. He couldn’t find his church pants.

“I can’t find my church pants, Mom.”
“Why couldn’t Dad help you find your pants?” I asked.
“Mom, I can’t have a MAN see me in my underwear.”

Well, ok, then.

Ryan sent me this run down of his conversation with our daughter the other day.

M (Megan): “Are you going to junk up your new car like the truck?”

D (Dad): “The truck wasn’t that dirty, just some stuff that needs to get
put back away behind the seat.”

**Editorial comment here. The truck wasn’t THAT dirty? Ahem? I beg to differ. There’s always a pile of tools and crap on the floor, the dash is completely cracked up, and it’s falling apart. In fact, it’s perfect for a teen aged driver. Ok, I’m done.***

M: “I meant putting trash in the door pocket.”

D: “That is the trash can for the truck. When I get a cup or something I
fill it up with the trash and empty it.”

M: “When I get a car, I’ll keep it perfectly clean. I will have a trash
can in it, and I will empty it every day.”

M: “Come see me in 20 years, you’ll see.”

Me again. I believe her. I think she will keep her car clean, when she has a car. That kid has big dreams. She’s already saving up her money so that she can buy a mini cooper or a smart car. If only she felt the same way about her room.

I love a good jacket almost as much as I love a good sale, and when both combine, oh heaven help me! I found a great black trench style jacket at a yard sale in the summer, and I’ve pretty much worn it every day since. But now it’s gotten too cold for that, so I was wearing my black wool coat again. The trouble with the wool coat is….well, it’s old. And it’s hard to clean. I’ve had it dry cleaned once or twice, but honestly, I don’t feel like it ever seems clean anymore. And it’s just getting old. So, when I was at Target last week, imagine my joy when I found this coat.

Only it was in a pretty brick red (sorry, no picture of that color), and it was marked down $44.99 to $11. Happy, happy. And it was in my size. Into the cart it went, and I’m quite happy with it. No, it’s not the total warmest coat, but it’s roomy enough to wear over a light sweater, so it will do for short from the car to the school, etc. Not that I’d want to be outside very long in the TWO DEGREES that it was this morning as I drove my daughter to band. TWO!!!!! TWO is not the number I want to see on the temperature gauge in my car. Ugh.

But back to my cute coat. It’s a little Happy Birthday/ Happy New Year present for me.