D - My 6 year old Teenager

This morning for breakfast Noah ate a cereal bar, a bowl of dry cereal and 3 hard-boiled eggs. I thought this kind of eating didn't happen until we hit the teenage years! I'd better get myself back to work so we can afford this.

M - Bumper sticker that made me laugh out loud

Playing off the 1980's anti-drug campaign, "Talk to your kids about drugs...before it's too late", the bumper sticker stated:


"Talk to your kids about Hillary.....before it's '08."

D - Belated Birthday Portraits

Slacker mom that I am, I finally took the kids today for their birthday pics. At least I got it done in the same year as their birthdays, right? Anyhow, they turned out great. Unfortunately, I don't actually know as many people as I purchased pictures for. Those Portrait Innovations people are running a pretty good racket over there. So, I guess if you're a blog stalker whom I have never met and would like a picture of my children, just let me know! And for all of you who DO know us, here's a preview of your Christmas presents. I spent so much today that I can't afford to buy you anything else!

M - Launched Green Tomatoes

At the end of the tomato growing season we had a TON of green tomatoes that were part of the freeze this weekend. Not wishing them to go to waste, we were compelled to find an inedible productive use for them. What might one do with over 200 green tomatoes? LAUNCH THEM!

We started with a lowly arm-powered launch. Noah could fairly consistently get them over the fence and I could occasionally get them to the pond. With an ever-present desire to upgrade driven by healthy levels of testosterone, the boys bought a sling-shot at Bass Pro yesterday.
In first round of ammo-harvesting, we only gathered small tomatoes that would fit in the ammo-pouch of the slingshot.
Noah sampled a few rounds in the process:


Here are some shots of Noah firing off his first few rounds. We decided to freeze the tomatoes so they'd be rock hard and not tend to squish in the slingshot. Be sure to click on the pictures for a larger view to fully appreciate the look on Noah's face.

Dad gets in on the action:

Still not shooting far enough? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It was clearly time to raise the stakes so we went to Academy and bought a water balloon launcher.



And a couple of movies for your tomato launch viewing pleasure:

M - Backyard Barber

I've been cutting my own hair for about 10 years now and figure I've saved about $1250 in direct costs as a result (I seldom go more than three weeks without a cut). When my haircuts went to $8 (gasp!) with a military discount at Pro-Cuts, I decided to try out the barber shop on the base at Tinker. This worked pretty will until I no longer had a valid military ID. When I saw that 'normal people' haircuts were over $10 (back then) I couldn't believe it! There was only one obvious frugal choice...do it myself, of course. Now that I can skillfully cut my own hair and that cut NEVER varies, I figured I'd save even more money by taking care of Noah's hair. This venture hasn't been quite as successful as my own but we are learning. Mostly I'm just not very fast and that doesn't really help the whole process. The little booger gets too impatient. I also haven't quite figured out how to deal my son's curvy noggin'. Nonetheless, I get a little better each time. Plus it saves mom's time to not have to take him in. Since I only know how to cut one hairstyle, and that style is not particularly girl-friendly, mom says I need to stay away from Katie's cute little blonde mop. Anybody else out there choppin' at home?

M - Leaf Play

Piling in the leaves is a usual Bosley-boy tradition which we gladly expanded this year to include our little lady friend Katie. At first she wasn't entirely sure if the dust and debris were really worth it but she eventually bought in to the whole concept and had a GREAT time. Enjoy the pics as we did the day!! You can click on each picture for a larger view.

M - Centennial Celebration at Cattlemen's

We celebrated the Oklahoma Centennial in part by heading on over to Cattlemen's Restaurant for a right tasty dinner with some of the family. It was BUSY but I really love going there. It opened in 1910, juast a few years after statehood. It's one of the few 'authentic' (whatever that means) cafes you can still find around town. The story of how the restaurant was lost and won around a deck of cards is a great piece of history. Here's an excerpt from the menu:

In 1945, Cattlemen's was owned by Hank Fry, a gambler of sorts. In a smoke-filled room at the old Biltmore Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City, Fry was running out of luck and money in dice game attended by a local rancher, Mr. Gene Wade. Fry put up Cattlemen's as the pot if Wade could roll a 'hard six,' otherwise known as two 3s. Wade put up his life savings, which was a sizable amount of money. With one roll of the dice, Gene Wade was in the restaurant business. The '33' brand on the wall of Cattlemen's Hereford Room became a well-known symbol of Wade's good fortune.


Here is a picture of Noah enjoying a tasty deep-fried sampling of lamb fries, not to be confused with Rocky Mountain Oysters. Sprinkle a little lemon on them, maybe some extra salt, and it's hard to beat as a treat! For even better lamb fries head on down to Giacomo's Restaurant in McAlester. Be prepared for high prices, though! There's a little note at the bottom that says, "Financing Available"!

M - Thanksgiving Fire (the good kind)

The trusty ol' wireless thermometer now reads 26 degrees outside our kitchen window. It's down from 28 degrees which it read at 0500hrs this morning over two hours ago. The sun will hit it in a few minutes and give a false reading for about an hour until it's in the shade again created by the cover over our patio.

It seems to me that 26 degrees easily justifies putting the fireplace into action. Noah begged me to wake him up when it was time but the little booger really needs to get a full night's rest. We always go to bed later when family is visiting.

For me, a real fireplace is the only way to go. Today's fire is particularly crackly and all the more enjoyable as a result. I've been playing with fire my whole life. It's not a camping trip unless there is fire and perhaps, if all goes well, a small degree of danger. On the hottest summer night of camping, a campfire must rise from the dirt if only out of nostalgic obligation. On the coldest night, the fire is no longer just for fun. It's an absolute necessity. Waking up in a cold tent leaves a person longing for someone else to get up first and get the fire started.

EVERY time I build a fire, whether at my house or at a campsite, I am reminded of the central role of our old Ashley Stove at the house where I spent most of my childhood. The only sources of heat were electric blankets, electric space heaters, and most importantly, the fireplace. Thus, cutting wood took on a whole new level of importance. It was a necessity. It's not possible to count the number of trips to the back of our pasture, or any number of family members' pastures, to cut wood on a Saturday morning. We'd cut and haul wood all day long until my great-grandmother determined we had 'enough'. She was generally in charge of 'kindling' and would stoop over and pick up enough to fill boxes and boxes with small little branches to ease the fire starting process. My mom and I were usually the chainsaw operators with my mom doing most of that work. Sometimes we'd be accompanied by one or two of my uncles.

We knew just which low branches gave the best 'horsey' rides and which trees had the best grape vines for swinging. I know now that those times of collective family work shaped me as much as any vacation or free time wandering the pasture. There sure were plenty of times when I DID NOT want to go. It was almost always cold and windy, it seems, and playing carried a much greater appeal.

That's enough nostalgia for one morning. The fire is working great and I'd say right now the living room is a little TOO warm. But, it smells just right and sounds just right and it kind of reminds me of the 'old days'.

Are there any other fireplace purists out there or is it 'natural gas and firelogs' only for your household?

D - Boys vs. Girls

One of the things that I enjoy the most about having one boy and one girl is watching how different they are by nature. Today (like so many others) both kids were playing monster trucks. While Noah takes the trucks and builds ramps and tries to launch the trucks over other trucks, Katie plays with them like they are dolls. Her trucks go by their names and get in trouble. They hurt each others feelings, get spankings and go to time-out. I assure you, NOBODY taught this behavior. Isn't it wonderful the way God designs us?

D - Nephew #2

Sorry for the delay in reporting, but I've been busy and tired. Mary went into labor at about 4 pm on Thursday, so I went to the hospital at 9:30 that night thinking the baby would be there any time. I was WRONG! So after about 1 hour of sleep that whole night, I finally got to see my 2nd nephew at 12:03 pm on Friday (That's not entirely true, it was more like 1:30 or so by the time I saw him, but I'm not complaining.). And by saying my 2nd nephew, I mean ALL of him....all 9 lbs, 6 oz and 21 inches of him. I've never seen such a full face on a newborn (Not even on Noah who is proud that he still has Joel beat by 1 oz)!

It has been so much fun to hold Joel and love on him. I nicknamed him "Joely Poly" a long time ago and told Mary that I really hoped he would be fat to live up to that name - boy, did she ever deliver! Having nieces and nephews is so much fun, and much easier than having more children of my own. Now I really can't wait to go to TX to hold Nephew #1!!!

D - Nephew #1

As of this morning at 8, I'm an aunt to my first nephew! Baby Nicholas is 8.04 lbs and 20 inches long, and from what I heard, has very healthy lungs and vocal chords. Jill is doing great, Lala is a proud big sister, and I actually have a picture of Brian smiling. All is good!

For those of you who thought this post would be about Mary & Neil - NOPE. It could be a while still. Apparently there are no more induction spots available at Mercy until after Thanksgiving. I'll keep you posted.

D - Let Me Explain

In case you were extremely puzzled by that last entry, let me explain.

We came home from picking up Noah at school today, and the kids decided they wanted to eat their snack in their new Little Tykes house that is on our deck (sorry, no pics to give you a visual). So, I sent them out while I stayed in the house to fix the snack.

Very soon after they go out, though, I hear screaming. I met them at the backdoor where they both started talking at once, telling me this story. Apparently when Katie opened the door to their house, a bird flew out. According to Noah it passed "5 inches, or maybe 10" over him. Needless to say, they were surprised and very excited about this.

In his enthusiasm, Noah asked me, "Don't you think we should put this on.......on.......on......on that thing where people comment?" Thus, you have Noah's first ever blog entry with his story in his own words. Knowing him, this will be the first of many.

N - The Bird

There was a bird in Katie's toy house. And then when we opened the door, the bird FLEW out as quick as can be. I told Daddy about it, and me and Katie RAN inside because it was SO scary. That's all.

D - Not worth the fight

Katie has never really been all that interested in playing dress up. Last winter, though, I bought her a long-sleeved princess nightgown. Since it's been cold lately and we've broken out the winter pj's, she's really loved wearing this one. This morning before Sonshine School she wanted to be a "beautiful princess," so I got out her crown and wand and she found some sparkly shoes. When it came time to change clothes for school, however, she was having none of that. I finally talked her into letting me put her regular clothes on underneath her beautiful princess dress, and that's the only way we made it to school!

D - Music to my ears

Because so many of you thoughtful readers commented on my post after Noah's troubled first day of school, I thought I would do him a real justice and post after his first parent/teacher conference. Less than an hour ago his teacher actually uttered the very phrase that got me out of bed and to that school - "He knows he's my favorite." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Now that's something this former teacher's pet can relate to.

Seriously, she said he's doing great. She told me she had to correct her first week impression of him as an athletic kid who would cause her problems throughout the year. He's the best boy reader in both of her classes and amongst the top 3 even when the girls are in there. I'm really proud of him. His reading really has come so far this year. I think it has something to do with his massive competitive gene - he's only happy when I sign a page in his reader saying he did it perfectly. He was soooooo happy last night because he set a personal record - 5 pages in one night! I guess being competitive can be a good quality......

D - Hey, Levelland, TX!?!

I was just looking at the latest cities from which our site has had visitors and saw Levelland, TX listed. The only people I know from there are the Hudelsons. Is that you? If so, please, please, please comment! I would love to know what is going on with your family!

D - Halloween

Remember the good old days when Halloween used to be extremely exciting because it was the one night of the year that you dressed up? Not so anymore. This year my kids resorted to multiple costumes to keep things fresh and interesting. Who can blame them when you have to dress up 5 different times in the course of a week?

This year Noah was a fisherman and a soccer player (both demonstrating his lack of imagination) and Katie was a pink poodle, a frog and a gymnast (that last one demonstrating my total lack of imagination). I didn't get pics of them all, but here are a couple from various events.

D - Break out the Asprin

I mentioned in an earlier post that Katie really enjoys helping me "fix dinner." What I didn't mention is that any future mate of hers will likely have a very serious heart condition. Check out her handiwork on the garlic bread!