April 8, 2013

The Continuing, Never Ending, Sickness Saga (2 Comments)

Filed under: Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 9:09 pm

March was a very bad, no good month.  The school year was growing long, the dark of winter was just starting to give way to spring light and weariness was settling in.  Then it hit.

At first having a ill child was a nice break from the routine.  A reason to stay home and take life a bit slower.  Unfortunately, the kids kept  catching things.  First one would get the flu (fever, and sore throat), then a week later, another, a few days later the last.  Once in awhile they’d space it closer together but most of the time they played the cruel trick on their Mother of letting her think it was all past and it was clear sailing when doom would hit again.  Then it was The Stomach Bug.  By this time, I was being neurotic about cleaning door knobs, light switches, faucet handles and toilets.  Four days passed.  I was feeling hope.  Then it hit the next one.  The first had been bad but passed quickly.  This one was worse and it lingered.  My Little Sunshine didn’t eat hardly anything for three days and when I pushed eating something she didn’t keep it in her system.  She was dragging and eating light for far too long before she perked up.  One hadn’t caught The Nasty Stomach Bug and I watched, fearfully.  Nothing for a long time.  I thought for sure we were out of the woods.  And she didn’t catch The Nasty Stomach Bug, yet anyway.  But that one is also The One Most Likely to Relapse and she did just that.  A bit of fever,lack of appetite.  One day she was dragging, the next up and playing the next dragging and not feeling well. Slowly she had more good days.

Finally, after six weeks of one sort of illness or another I thought we were done with it.  We hadn’t gone many places, hadn’t seen many people. It had been seven days without any one having a fever or losing their lunches. Four days without someone not feeling well.  I was optimistic about being able to spend time with friends.  I was looking forward to life resuming.

This morning, The Boy said his stomach didn’t feel right.  He said it felt like it did before he had The Nasty Stomach Bug.  And again my hopes were dashed.

I have spent time today cleaning faucet handles, toilets, door knobs and toothbrushes. My hands are dry after washing them every five seconds.  I have spend time touching my Man Boy when he needed me.  This week will be a slower week then I had planned after all.

I was told that there are as many as Nine strands of virus going around that manifests itself in similar ways.

I just pray we don’t get all nine.

This too shall pass.  I think I’ll be ready when it does.

June 13, 2011

Bad Guessers (3 Comments)

Filed under: Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 1:34 pm

Pixie was playing a guessing game with us.  She would hide something in a bag and we would have to guess what was in there.  She told us this one started with a “ch” sound and was Mama’s.  Lots of things were guessed but it just wasn’t the right things.  She ended up describing them as blue and had Crocs written on them.  So we guessed my blue sandals.

“You are right!” says she.

Which got us to head scratching- why did it start with “ch”?

“They are choes!” she replied.

Oh!  Yes, choes that are chandles.

On to the next guessing game.  This one started with an “I”.  Hmmm.  It’s something we listen to.  She doesn’t like them but the rest of us do.  Whit is in them.

Oh!  Adventures in Odyssey.

But where does the “I” come in?

“You know- Inventures in Odyssey.”

I don’t know why it was taking us so long to guess these things.

December 15, 2009

The Christmas Tree (4 Comments)

Filed under: HP,KJ,Life,Personalities,Photos,TG,Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 4:36 pm

The Children helped me decorate the tree. We have a system down now where I unwrap the ornaments and they hang them on the tree. Then, in an exercise of fortitude, I leave them where they were placed by little, loving hands.

Here is the area where the silver balls ended up.

Silver Balls

Over here, not too far to the right, is where the silver bells pile onto one branch.  Don’t want them to be alone.  (The second bell is hard to see.)

Bells

Then all the gold ornaments apparently needed to be grouped together, away from the silver items (you know how they are.)

Gold Ornaments

Last, but not least, the red balls had there own place of honor on the tree.

Red Balls

Overall, the tree looks lovely.  It was decorated with love and excitement- so fun to see.

The Kids and Tree

Merry Christmas!

September 5, 2009

Busted (3 Comments)

Filed under: Blog Stuff,Uncategorized — web pig @ 6:47 am

Things are definitely in need of repair here at Char’s Blog.  I just received my email notification for last night’s posting, and discovered that the web link is broken!  I’m sure some of you have noticed that, too.

I’ll try to fix it this weekend.  Meanwhile, you should be able to browse to http://www.char-lyn.com/ and find the postings you want to read.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!

June 13, 2009

Wind Chimes (0 Comments)

Filed under: Life,Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 2:16 pm

This shows how far behind I am at blogging but I wanted to share it.

This lovely thing, not the child doing a model impersonation, is my Mother’s Day gift.

Pixie and Chimes

It is tuned to the key of A or A minus, I can’t remember.   We hung it on the front porch but decided it wasn’t catching the wind there so we moved it out to the bird feeder.

Wind Chimes

I keep my kitchen window open a bit so I can hear them through out the day.

 

 

June 10, 2009

A Place of their Own (2 Comments)

Filed under: Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 3:13 pm

The chicks were growing up. Being teenagers, if you will.

The food would get low and they would fly to the fridge to get some more.

OK, maybe not. But they would get restless and start flying out of the box onto various nearby things. Like the table and the island. I was thrilled as I am sure you would be too.

They were staying up way too late at night, “talking.” We turned out their light.

They were simply getting too big for the box and needed more space. We’d try taking them outside for awhile each day to run off energy but it didn’t seem to be working.

Company was coming…the race was on to get a pen done.

Chicken Pen work

The Col. had helpers.

Pixie helping

Some were very enthusiastic and worked away even when a friend visited.

Sunshine hard at work

There were supervisors, too.

Chcikens watching Pen

Nailing together the door.

Pen Door

In their very nice pen under their temporary shelter as they oversee the building of their coop.

Chicks in pen

Ah, I had a fowl-less kitchen again.

July 9, 2008

Sweet Sounds….of a Chainsaw? (4 Comments)

Filed under: Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 3:30 pm

I can’t recall how many Saturday mornings when I was young I awoke to the sound of a chain saw- sometimes far away, sometimes close by. It is a familiar sound to me. Almost comforting.

The Col. fired up his chainsaw to clean up the fallen tree the other day.

Co. and Chainsaw

(He has his chainsaw in hand but for some reason the thumbnail cuts it off. Click for the larger view.)

The Girls came running in to tell me that the chainsaw was loud. I realized they hadn’t heard that sound very often in their young lives.

We hauled the branches to a pile to wait until the burn ban for the summer is lifted and the Powers That Be decide that the conditions are suitable to torch it.

Dragging branches

The chainsaw started acting up after most of the smaller branches had been cut off. Poor chainsaw hadn’t had to work in ages so it was a bit cantankerous. The larger stuff still needs to be taken care of but at least we could water the thirsty grass that had been underneath all those branches.

It’s going to be quite a bonfire when we get to light the pile.

July 4, 2008

Happy Independence Day! (1 Comment)

Filed under: Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 3:21 pm

Have a safe, fun, great Independence Day!

I am certainly thankful to live in a country with so many freedoms!

Also, let’s not forget the men and women who are fighting to keep our country free.

God Bless America!

June 28, 2008

Clothes Choices (1 Comment)

Filed under: In the Kitchen,KJ,Photos,Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 10:40 am

Let’s all sing here-“One of these things doesn’t belong here, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” One of these children is not dressed appropriately; she made her own choices on what to wear.

Hint: it was 80 degrees.

This winter when there was snow on the ground Little Miss Pixie decided to wear skirts… everyday. When she went outside she would bundle up in her jacket, scarf, hat and gloves and then fight me tooth and nail to put on thin leggings or tights.

Now, when it’s warm, she is wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. She has other choices in her closet. I bought some cute skort (skirt with shorts sewn in) outfits when she was along with me. She helped me pick them out- now they are not pink but she said she’d wear them. There was not any tan to be seen. One set has not adorned her body and the other was worn once. We picked out some cute sandals for her, she tried them on, she said they were fine and now it’s a fight to get her to wear them. She would rather wear too small, dirty old ones. The sandals are even white and PINK for goodness sakes!

Do you sense a bit of frustration in my typing? Ah well, I’ve told her I am not buying anything more for her because she tells me she will wear it and then doesn’t. That will last until this winter when she’ll need jeans that aren’t expecting a flood.

And to think- she’s only 5. What will the teenage years be like?

Lord help us.

June 18, 2008

Church Squirrel (6 Comments)

Filed under: Uncategorized — The Spider Herself @ 4:04 pm

squirl squile squerl squarle squirel squiral squirrel! Yeah! Now that I know how to spell it we can continue on with this post.

You thought churches only had mice in them? Not ours.

Let me set the stage for you: I was at one end of the building embarrassing myself by introducing myself to some people who were not who I thought they were. You see, there were some people from my hometown visiting that day and I didn’t know them but wanted to introduce myself. I, unfortunately, targeted in on the wrong people! I marched up to them, shook their hands and said my name and where I grew up and who may father was etc. etc. I was confused as to the blank looks on their faces. Finally it clicked! They were the wrong people! They had no idea what I was talking about! About this time the Pastor told me that my husband was chasing a squirrel downstairs. Uh? And something about a song about it. What?

Now, The Col. and The Boy were in the parking lot talking to the right people because he actually was aquinted aquanted familiar with them. You see, The Col. knows more people from my hometown than I do. Yes, I lived there my whole life and he lived in the general area for 5 years but if we attend an event there- he will be the one that knows someone- not me. No, I am not bitter- not one bit, nope. Back to the story- as they chatted away a squirrel came right up behind The Col. and examined him. Then said squirrel turned and ran right into the open door to the church. The Col. and The Boy went into the basement and chased the squirrel out of the side rooms, closing doors as they went. They had him trapped in the big room when I arrived on the scene. Pixie and TG were placed on the second flight of stairs above the door so that the squirrel wouldn’t get upstairs and into the sanctuary while the rest of us went back down to herd squirrel. Round ’em up!

We found the fugitive behind a piano and he was coaxed out and shooed to the door. The Boy was pretty excited and kept leaping all over the place but we managed to keep him corralled behind the squirrel. Up the stairs the rascal (the squirrel, not The Boy) raced and he was gone!

The Col., who is full of fun and useful music facts, also said something about a song and when he got home he found it on You Tube. Since I’m not technically savvy and don’t know how to put the nice little screen on here- I’ll just put the link here for you to go to all on your lonesome.

And you thought Church was a boring place to be.