bsmiles and sunny days

Dear Wireless Keyboard, I miss you sooo much. You have a direct connection you from my fingers to the current of my thoughts. You always know how to spell the words that I am writing. You never try to predict them with jibberish or espanol. I can set you on my lap and write to my heart's content and my fingers don't cramp up. I secretly hate my smartphone. It doesn't respect language the way you do. Someday, sweet keyboard, we will be together again... Lvb

We are in the car driving home from my sister-in-law's 40th birthday party. Little Bit has been crying almost the whole hour. She is the last one to get the sickies and has taken the hardest hit. I think we are past the fever, but if you think of her, pray for her to get over it completely! She needs to feel better! Lvb

Last night was sort of the culmination of my first six weeks of cleaning the big house: Wedding day. I arrived at noon expecting to leave at ten. When the crowd started to buzz about the fireworks display starting at ten, I worried. Not only had I not fed Scarlette since before noon, I was trying to get by on a few granola bars.  Because I  wasn't sure what the etiquette is for the wedding staff, I was hesitant to eat anything. Diet Coke got me through.i *Note too self: The etiquette for wedding staff is to wait until the guests have eaten and then partake. **If possible, wait until the guests have excitted for the fireworks display. I thought about taking a bunch of pictures, but I decided that it just wasn't that important to me. The only people I want to show pictures to  are my family members, and I don't want to set a standard of extravagance by sheer exposure. I did, however, think this was photo-worthy. It's a1931... I don't know what it is. But isn't it

We worked hard outside after school today. The yard was overgrown with weeds. Cleaning it up is always an ordeal because we just seem to forget about it, except for the weekly mowing. After every one was cleaned up, it felt good just to sit around and relax. It's funny that hard work does that to you. The kids crack me up when we are working in the yard. They act like it's the worst thing ever until we have been out there for a little bit and they start to discover things on nature. At one point Kennedy said, "Hey Deisha! There's a wounded butterfly over here! Come and get it!" I wonder if she was thinking it would be a quick end for the wounded soul. A little later Deisha called out to Leila, "That's a mighty fine worm ya got there!" Where does she get this stuff?! Lvb

If you have a chance to visit a Cabellas, it's on par with Bass Pro, as far as having things for kids. We are in the aquarium here checking out the fish and turtles. Even the big kids are thoroughly entertained! Lvb

In all these years of parenting small children I have learned a few things that you may find helpful. *Unless there is a high fever, the doctor won't do much for cold and flu symptoms. *Sometimes the best medicine is sleep. *It's almost always better to catch vomit then to try to risk getting small children to a toilet, hence, always have a throw up cup close by. *In my experience teaspoon of honey is just as effective as cough medicine and safer for children. *Most sicknesses are best left alone to run their course. Manage symptoms when they are disrupting sleep patterns, and keep fevers and pain under control with tylenol. *Put life on hold to nurture your family when it hits.  These are precious moments, don't waste them! Lvb

So proud of this guy. Makes me want to do turbo jam.

This little lamb had a wild and crazy birthday party this weekend! The middle photo is the mask Tre made for her birthday present. She wore it all morning! Happy birthday Sweet Girll! Lvb