Anyone Else?

Is anyone else swamped with so many end of year, summer activities that they don't have time to blog? I know it's not just me.

Follow the Money

My husband has a wonderful job that provides for our family. Recently, his employer has been pressuring him to consider moving to the home office (1000 miles away). We have been researching the area, schools, housing prices etc and we feel like it would be in the best interest of his career. At this point, we feel that if he wants to advance in the company, it is best for him to be located at the home office.

This has got me thinking. I have always been of the opinion that you go where the work is. Our hope is that one day I will be able to stay home with kids and we will be able to live on his income. Because this is the plan, I have always felt that means we would do what it takes to make his career successful - because it will be paying the bills. But I know not everyone feels this way.

I'm not sure exactly where or why I acquired this attitude. Perhaps it came by way of example - growing up we lived 2000 miles away from my Dad's family. My Mom's family was scattered through surrounding states. I assume that most of my siblings feel the same way because two of them have moved far from home for employment. The youngest is still in school.

The thought of moving far away from family is scary. I love being close by and having the option of Grandma as a babysitter. I have great neighbors, love our house and would be really sad to go. But I am also excited about the possibility of a new adventure, living outside the bubble, and advancing JM's career.

Where do you stand on this issue? Are you willing to go where the work is or do you prefer to find work where you are?

*No, this is not an announcement that we are moving. It's still in discussion. I'll let you know if/when it will happen.

A Child's Prayer

We have been working with BG, helping her learn to pray on her own. Tonight she said both the dinner prayer and bedtime prayer all by herself. It's still a work in progress because this is what she said both times.

Heavenly Father- Thank you for this day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for Daddy. Amen.

Apparently I'm little more than chopped liver. It's ok. I'll find a way to work myself into the prayer sooner or later.

Female Right of Passage

No, I'm talking about Aunt Flo. Think younger. Think princess crowns and ringlets.
I'm talking about the pink sponge rollers. I bought some quite a while ago and finally got around to put them in BG's hair. She was actually pretty good while I put them in her hair. She looks pretty cute with the rollers in her hair.

JM's first question when he saw her was "Is she going to be sleep?" I assured him she would be fine. At the same time I was recalling my own memories of sleeping in pink rollers and hating it. I refrained from mentioning that to him.

See how cute her hair turned out?!

She wasn't too happy about talking pictures the next morning. Even though I already knew it, the knowledge has been reinforced that BG's hair is stick straight. By the time I picked her up from school, instead of pretty curls, they barely qualified as loose waves. But it was fun and I'll do it again.

Fashion Tip

If you are wearing a tight, white semi-sheer shirt, please DO NOT wear a sheer lacy bra underneath.

If you insist on wearing a sheer lacy bra under a white semi-sheer shirt, please don't wear a colored bra. It's not pretty.

We have a Garden!

My hard-working husband spent many hours this weekend cutting out sod so we can have a real garden. He even cut it into pretty strips so it could be easily rolled and donated to a friend. After spending hours cutting out the sod, he then tilled the soil by hand and mixed in Nutra-mulch so our little plants will grow.

Last night we planted our plot of land and I'm so excited to watch it grow over the summer. We planted corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, carrots and squash. BG had a good time dropping the seeds into the holes. She also enjoyed playing with the seeds in general so I'm interested to see how many plants grow outside the garden. The rain last night was a good start for our seeds.

In addition to our garden, we bought planter boxes and planted herbs. I'm really excited for fresh herbs. Last year we grew cilantro and basil and it was fabulous to have those on hand for recipes. This year, we planted more varieties. Sometime between now and harvest I need to learn how to preserve all this wonderful food I'm growing.

Birthday Month

BG's birthday is June 22. She knows her birthday is "on June". This morning I told her it was June and her eyes got wide before she exclaimed "It's my birthday!" It was pretty cute. We are starting the party planning. She doesn't know what kind of birthday she wants other than she wants to eat cake. I'm thinking a family BBQ.