Serenity Now

Today was kite day at school and the boys took their kites to school. Their experiences varied. A couple of my boys said they had a great time but Giggles when asked if he had fun said "NOOOOOO!" His kite flew for a little while but it was so windy today that his kite soon broke. Giggles was NOT giggling.

When the boys came home from school the only kite still intact was Sheriff's because it is made of nylon instead of plastic. He and Wannabe went out to the backyard to fly it.
They met with minor success because the wind was swirling rather than blowing in one direction. They still had fun and Wannabe felt like the shark was attacking him.


It was fun to watch them get so excited over flying the kites. I'll have to replace the broken ones so we can have another kite day while we are off-track.

It's back to working on my family history project and on Sunday I exposed my family to another recipe that was a favorite of mine when I was younger. This was one that my dad would make for us. He rarely cooked but when he did he would make us fried potato slices which we would douse in vinegar and salt. YUMMY!!!

Not very healthy but SOOOOOOOOO good!!!!

Very simple to make. I use two large frying pans at a time in order to make a bunch and heat them up to a medium high heat. Add vegetable or canola oil deep enough to cover the potato slices. I skin the potatoes and slices them about an 1/8 th of an inch thick. When they start to brown on one side you turn them over and brown them on the other side.
You don't want them too brown because you want them a little soft in the middle - not crunchy. The trick is to have them crunchy at the edge and soft in the middle. When they are done put them on a plate or dish with a couple of pieces of paper towel to take off some of the excess oil. You can then dish out onto individual plates and sprinkle on salt and vinegar.

Oh what do you do in the wintertime,
When all the world is white,
Do you sleep in a boat?
Wear an extra winter coat?
Because it's so cold outside??????
Is that what you do?????
Not I!!!!!!!

But my crazy boys do!!!!

Last weekend they thought it would be a great idea to camp out in the boat, watch movies, eat popcorn and sleep in it:


In the early hours of the morning I heard them come in the house amidst whispering and Brett shushing them. When I didn't hear the cereal bowls clinking I wondered what they were doing. I came out to find out what was going on and discovered them in these positions....


warming themselves up on the heaters!!! hahaha!!! I wasn't so crazy after all for staying inside in my warm and cozy bed.

We are down to our final days with Boots with one week left and not a full one at that because she has a weekend visit with her birthfather. That is why I have a few brief moments for a post. It has been an emotional rollercoaster since finding out she would be returning home. There are days, moments, minutes, when I am calm and okay and there are days, moments, minutes when I am not. I am so grateful to my family and friends for all of the love and support that our family is receiving. Thanks everyone so much! Boots seems to be adjusting well on her visits home and this has us very happy and we wish her all the best as she leaves us.

In the meantime we are trying to make every moment count. I'm so grateful to Alicia and her awesome helper who came out to take pictures of our family this past week. I wish I could post them but I can't do facial pictures of Boots due to confidentiality. Let me just say the pictures are AMAZING!!! Thanks Alicia! I'm so grateful for these beautiful pictures that we have of our family. They are a priceless gift.

Yesterday Smiley, Boots and I went to a certain village to see the ducks.. well, Smiley went to throw snow at the ducks and after watching for a while Boots starting throwing snow at them too. Her snowballs weren't very good and didn't go very far but I thought it funny that she picked up on Smiley's behavior so fast.

This week I will make her foot and handprints in ink, have the boys draw pictures for her to send with her and work on a photoalbum of memories for her to take with her when she leaves.

Most importantly will be the time spent playing with her, watching her favorite show with her (Yo Gabba Gabba), hugging her, singing songs to her, chasing her around the kitchen and living room, finding her secret stash of spoons and measuring cups she has hidden in the living room corner, and sitting back on the couch holding her hand while she drinks her bottle before naps and bed (my favorite quiet moment).