I looked in the kitchen and what did I see?

Little pieces of corn all over the floor! So, I had this great idea to buy 6 dozen cobs of corn and freeze it in its prime. I found a sign in my neighborhood and called. They picked most the corn for me about 30 minutes before I went to pick it up. (Can you say fresh???) The kids were so excited about this project..until they had husked about 3 cobs each. Emily stayed by my side for at least a dozen or so. Then I blanched and cut. Love the picture, huh? This is the size of my kitchen! The sink is about 8 inches behind me. There is about a foot of counter space between the stove and the fridge too. Alas, I have found some girls to exercise with, and I LOVE IT! We do Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5:45 and Saturdays at 7 (why I look so lovely :)). Ben went with me this morning and then we headed to the Farmer's market. (Prices are better than the store, but still SOOO depressing compared to what I would get with the produce co-op :) A few minutes after we got home, Andy left for a 10 hour study session at school, so the corn project was allllll MINE. *Note to self - do not undertake big projects alone; you will not like your children by the end of the day...*

This is it. This is all the corn that came off the cobs, minus what Annie and Emily snitched while occasionally holding bags open for me. I have 9 full quart bags and 7 snack size bags with a little over a cup in each. The corn is just delicious! It is so yummy!!! AND, I must admit that I saved back 11 ears of corn for dinner on Sunday and Monday - so this is really about 5 dozen.

Now - do I take advantage of the peaches that are about to go out of season and can those, knowing how 'well' today went? I'm kind of re-thinking that plan...

So, for my $21 at the Market here, I got the following:

14 apples (only 10 left now as the kids were begging for them the moment I walked in the door)

14 peaches

4 large tomatoes

2 heads lettuce

1 bunch cilantro

4 zucchini

1 cucumber

1 small eggplant

1 butternut squash

about 3 cups of green beans

Yep - that's it! Richardson Produce Co-op, I sure miss you! I've been spending about $30 on produce each WEEK!!! We are running out, and I've been skimping on servings!!! No Sprouts here either. :( Give and take right? And the high tomorrow is supposed to be 65 degrees... breathe deeply in and deeply out...in...out...in...out....

A Little Different

I know I need to do pictures, but it's been busy. However, these are a few things that have made life different so far.

1. Constantly hear the singing of crickets - seriously, it is constant! But so pleasant!
2. The kids spent over an hour last night hunting for frogs and making them a home once they finally caught one.
3. Watching a hawk fly through the trees behind our house while eating dinner tonight.
4. Driving to Ben's school, I noticed a written sign for home grown corn and a number. I called and ordered 6 dozen ear of corn. Well, apparently they think a dozen is 15 because I have 90 ears of corn to freeze and enjoy throughout the winter! The man apologized because a few dozen had been picked this morning but most of it had been picked within the hour. Seriously??? Wow! I got it for Sunday dinner, so hopefully it will still be considered 'fresh' then!
5. Last night while we were outside, we saw bats flying above our house searching for dinner. Yes, bats! True, we used to live in Austin which happens to contain the largest Urban Bat Colony in North America, but this is my house!
6. Andy has been home for dinner four of the last five nights. (I can just imagine your jaw dropping open right now!) It's been so much fun! Dinner conversation a few times has centered around his cases from class. We've learned about possession and contracts of a horse and had a little bit heated discussion about the treatment of Indians - as well as possession and settlements. The kids completely participated and thankfully many parts of Pocahontas (the new favorite movie) pertained to our discussion. I don't see him much (or at all) outside of dinner and the few minutes after, but that has really helped to calm our house down.
7. I feel like I live in the kitchen. I do love to be there, but wow! It's not a very big space, so I feel like I am constantly moving things around and trying to find extra room. Washing all the dishes by hand hasn't been too bad. It's a little bit relaxing, and I've mellowed enough that each night I let Emily 'help' me. She LOVES to be up there with me and tonight even scrubbed a few things!
8. Walking to the bus stop each morning and afternoon is the second most exciting time in our day! I love this quiet time with my kids that we just talk about our day - either what we will be doing or what we have done.
9. Date night - when Andy was released from the bishopric, the 1st counselor in the Stake Presidency did it. He is also a lawyer. He kind of laughed and said he wouldn't change places with Andy for anything. He said the one thing that would get him through school would be a supportive wife and the only way to keep her supportive was a date night ONCE a WEEK. He looked at me and told me I have permission to call him if Andy doesn't follow through with this! So, tonight I did Red Box for the FIRST time and bought some refrigerated cookie dough (so no more dishes :)) and we are about to start our date! We've made it through the first week of school!!!!!!

No "viola!!!"

Hairspray didn't work either. Any other ideas? I'm very open to suggestions!!! It's a very rough carpet - almost like an outdoor mat you would use to scrap your feet with all the ridges in it.

Two Sneaky Girls

I was upstairs. Two naughty girls went downstairs. They wanted to paint fingers and toes - even though we did that this morning. They are now both sitting on their beds until it is time to get Ben. Hmmm - anyone know how to get nail polish out of carpet? Four brand new bottles worth? Guess the free polish as CVS wasn't such a great deal after all.... And please check on me tomorrow to make sure Andy hasn't exiled me! And that I haven't exiled the girls!!!!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!!

EDIT: I found a 'tip' on another website to mix 1 T ammonia with 1/4 c hydrogen perioxide. You saturate the carpet, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight. Tomorrow I will rinse with water and hope we also see the "viola!" that someone else did!

Off to School!

Here is our cutie law student! He was up at 5:30 and getting ready to go! (Notice the pretty plant I got at our neighbor's garage sale on Saturday.) I don't know why he already has tired eyes and the semester is just starting! I love Annie's face being so silly!

This is the castle that Annie got for her birthday and we spent over two hours putting together yesterday! So, Ben just had his birthday and constantly wanted to play alone with his toys. I reminded him over and over that when Annie got her birthday stuff, he would want to share with her. Yesterday, we were almost done when Ben tells Annie, "We can play with this together - just you and me. That is my birthday gift to you - for us to have alone time playing with your castle." Also, this morning (after he woke up before her to play with it), "Hey Annie! Remember we are going to play with this together for our alone time. Because that is my birthday gift to you! Remember? Won't that be fun, Annie?" I wondered how he thought he was going to get to play with this so much....that kid!

Here is the front of our house and part of the gigantic yard; I'm taking the picture from the mailbox! It already needs to be mowed again!

Sweet Ben was totally ready for the day and didn't seem nervous at all! We walked to the bus stop (about 6 houses away) and waited for about 10 minutes. He climbed right on, told the lady his name, and picked a seat! Annie, Emily and I decided to go and visit some friends while we were already in the stroller, so on our way over, we saw Ben two more times as the bus picked up other kiddos. Love that boy! Can't wait to hear about his day! Both of their days! (And yes, this is the same shirt he wore for his first day of kindergarten as well. He told me today that is going to wear it every year for the first day.) :)

On another side, Andy and I both have new callings in our new ward at church. I will be teaching the 9-10 year olds and Andy is team teaching the 6-7 year olds with a dental student. We are both very excited to be in Primary! Ben thinks it's pretty much the greatest thing ever! Hopefully Annie will do okay with it, as this past week we had to bribe her with gum to go and sit with her class on the front row!