Liam loves McDonalds. What kid doesn't I suppose. So because he loves McDonalds so much, we are asked to take him there....a lot! I am sure I have told you how he used to play with his matchbox cars. He would use something as the drive thru window and pull his little car up to it and ask for an order of fries. Fries are his favorite food, bar none! And he is pretty fond of 'hanaburgers' as well. On a recent episode of 19 Kids and Counting, Michelle Duggar said that she craved pickles with every pregnancy. And she wonders if that is why her kids are such pickle lovers. Well, Liam's birth mother craved french fries throughout hers. She would get a large order once a week. She had restraint. Liam does not have that restraint! So the above picture was taken at the McDonalds closest to us in Albany. It has an outdoor playground as you can see. Its covered but still gets really cold in the winter. But can you convince him of that? Noooooo.
Our two eating tables happen to be so easily stained from water rings it is somewhat ridiculous. Someday I might have tables that are not so hard to protect. But the table in todays story was purchased just for our eating area when we bought this house. It is very pretty and one of those counter height tables. I loved it 8 years ago and I love it today. So, other than panic and have a melt down and feel like the world has come to an end, what do you do when you make a mistake like this!!??.........
You are seeing that right. Without thinking things through I set a baking dish full of just made leftover casserole on this table. The kitchen counter is a foot away but I chose this particular spot. Brilliant!! My stomach felt sick when I picked up the dish and found this little surprise waiting for me. And I do not mean 'little' literally! Craig spent the next nearly an hour searching for the miracle product that we had used before. Then he ran to Walmart to get another. Thank goodness they still carry it! And after about 10 minutes of rubbing.................
Vwah Lah!! This says it is a white stain remover and as you can clearly see....it is a white stain REMOVER! We discovered a stain from a coffee cup under a placemat a couple years ago. I never did tell the person who left it there. Didn't make a fuss about it. But did determine that I had to be the placemat or coaster police! That was before this nifty doodle product was discovered! I am still very careful to always have coasters at the ready and all the regular guests are well drilled. But I no longer panic.
Last week on Craig's day off we went to Corvallis to check out some thrift stores we had never been to. Craig said they had an ARC there and I got really excited. Just to discover that this particular ARC is very very expensive. I did get one thing. A Victor Borge VHS tape for $1. I love Victor Borge. What a funny man! Good clean fun!
We found two others there but neither were anything to write home about. But on the way home we happened to pass the no kill shelters brand new store! I had seen that they moved but never knew they had a thrift store. I found a really nice pair of black dress shoes for myself. Finally I can throw away the pair that is so beyond its last days! I found Craig a really nice Nike shirt. And Liam found some matchbox cars for .25 a piece. But the find of the day was this.......
Last week on Craig's day off we went to Corvallis to check out some thrift stores we had never been to. Craig said they had an ARC there and I got really excited. Just to discover that this particular ARC is very very expensive. I did get one thing. A Victor Borge VHS tape for $1. I love Victor Borge. What a funny man! Good clean fun!
We found two others there but neither were anything to write home about. But on the way home we happened to pass the no kill shelters brand new store! I had seen that they moved but never knew they had a thrift store. I found a really nice pair of black dress shoes for myself. Finally I can throw away the pair that is so beyond its last days! I found Craig a really nice Nike shirt. And Liam found some matchbox cars for .25 a piece. But the find of the day was this.......
It's quite a large heavy picture and they wanted $10 for it. The very special meaning in it is that I clung to the whole story of Hannah. I clung to most of the first chapter of 1 Samuel during my many years of infertility. I walked away from it. Where would I put it? We have $4000 we owe on the truck. Where would I put it? But it had such meaning for me. And who cares where I would put it! I still don't know where I am going to put it. But it touches my heart every time I see it and I don't regret getting it at all. Now I just have to find a place for it!
Two weeks ago we had a cool day. Yes...we have had a couple this spring. So I took a left over ham hock and made a really yummy bean soup using the beans I grew in the garden! I love bean soup! I am the only member of this family who does so I generally end up finishing it off. But I am not complaining!
Liam got a matchbox car that changes colors when it gets warm. I think it is designed to be a bath toy but am not sure. If you had asked me when he was a tiny baby if I would every let him play in the sink I would have given a firm NO. What a mess! But I do let him play in the sinks. Partly because it is nice to have him occupied with something other than me sometimes and he just doesn't make a mess. Win win!
There's a cute little train cartoon called Chuggingtons. It was Liam's favorite for a very long time. So I bought him the game and put it up until he was old enough to play it. Then, he lost interest in Chuggingtons. But he managed to discover the game recently. Nothing gets missed by this kid! So here he is having coerced his daddy into playing it with him. I thought it was a cute picture of the two of them.
I had planned on a May Day post. But May first got away from me. I had determined to hang clothes on the line instead of using the dryer. Then discovered that I had only enough laundry soap for one load. So after I got that taken care of Liam and I ran to Walmart to get what I needed to make laundry soap. They don't have the Washing Soda or the Fels Naptha in the laundry section....that would make way too much sense. They have it on a bottom shelf, behind a post in the furniture polish and room freshener section! That makes so much more sense. And it took me forever to find it! In the meantime I had picked up a cheap laundry soap to get me by. Well...I ended up using that laundry soap and getting the clothes on the line and then we got the call that the truck was done. Wait....did I say that out loud?! The truck was done!!?? Did I hear that right? Should I play that message again!? A month and a half, new motor, two new transmissions......parts here, parts there? And they are saying it was done!!?? So off we hurried to meet Craig at work to get him so we could go pick up the truck and run home to leave a vehicle and run back into his work to pick up the motorcycle. In the meantime I had gotten a call from a friend wanting to set up a game night. So rushed back home, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and quick picked up and dusted and vacuumed....I really was quick about it. Made hotdogs for dinner and the ladies started arriving. We had a lot of fun and played until midnight. So that is my excuse why I did not have a May Day blog. Yesterday we sent to the Festival of Flowers our little town has every year. I got some good pics of that for the next post. And hit a couple garage sales that turned out to be duds. Then came home and worked in the back yard. Thankfully, due to some weed spraying at perfect timing I did not have much at all in the walk way to pull. But there were some monster weeds in a couple beds that were not covered last fall and in my 'wild' area. But things are looking really good! With a little help from my favorite short man I got the potatoes planted. And then with a little help from my favorite tall man I got 5 blueberry bushes dug up. They were just not doing well. They had not grown at all since being planted 7 years ago and they barely had leaves let alone berries on them. I will put a half barrel where a couple were and then leave the rest of the area open for the fire pit. I might try to convince Craig to dig me a couple holes in front for some more. We do like blueberries around here. So, there is my excuse for no May Day post. I think this one has made up for it!
I will now leave you with a Liamism: Two mornings ago Liam woke me up. He crawled up on the bed (which is what woke me up) and just sat there (staring at me) until I opened one eye...very reluctantly. That is when he started talking. "Mommy" 'what?' " I have a soft spot right here." Great...do I have to open my eyes....again! 'where honey' "Right here" as he points to the inside of his upper arm. 'It's supposed to be soft there Liam' "but it is very very soft mommy". And that is how my day began.
I had planned on a May Day post. But May first got away from me. I had determined to hang clothes on the line instead of using the dryer. Then discovered that I had only enough laundry soap for one load. So after I got that taken care of Liam and I ran to Walmart to get what I needed to make laundry soap. They don't have the Washing Soda or the Fels Naptha in the laundry section....that would make way too much sense. They have it on a bottom shelf, behind a post in the furniture polish and room freshener section! That makes so much more sense. And it took me forever to find it! In the meantime I had picked up a cheap laundry soap to get me by. Well...I ended up using that laundry soap and getting the clothes on the line and then we got the call that the truck was done. Wait....did I say that out loud?! The truck was done!!?? Did I hear that right? Should I play that message again!? A month and a half, new motor, two new transmissions......parts here, parts there? And they are saying it was done!!?? So off we hurried to meet Craig at work to get him so we could go pick up the truck and run home to leave a vehicle and run back into his work to pick up the motorcycle. In the meantime I had gotten a call from a friend wanting to set up a game night. So rushed back home, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and quick picked up and dusted and vacuumed....I really was quick about it. Made hotdogs for dinner and the ladies started arriving. We had a lot of fun and played until midnight. So that is my excuse why I did not have a May Day blog. Yesterday we sent to the Festival of Flowers our little town has every year. I got some good pics of that for the next post. And hit a couple garage sales that turned out to be duds. Then came home and worked in the back yard. Thankfully, due to some weed spraying at perfect timing I did not have much at all in the walk way to pull. But there were some monster weeds in a couple beds that were not covered last fall and in my 'wild' area. But things are looking really good! With a little help from my favorite short man I got the potatoes planted. And then with a little help from my favorite tall man I got 5 blueberry bushes dug up. They were just not doing well. They had not grown at all since being planted 7 years ago and they barely had leaves let alone berries on them. I will put a half barrel where a couple were and then leave the rest of the area open for the fire pit. I might try to convince Craig to dig me a couple holes in front for some more. We do like blueberries around here. So, there is my excuse for no May Day post. I think this one has made up for it!
I will now leave you with a Liamism: Two mornings ago Liam woke me up. He crawled up on the bed (which is what woke me up) and just sat there (staring at me) until I opened one eye...very reluctantly. That is when he started talking. "Mommy" 'what?' " I have a soft spot right here." Great...do I have to open my eyes....again! 'where honey' "Right here" as he points to the inside of his upper arm. 'It's supposed to be soft there Liam' "but it is very very soft mommy". And that is how my day began.