Just Stuff
Look who tried to get into church Monday night...
Nope... we didn't let him in...
With a belly THAT full, we knew he was no
hardship case!
And we decided
he had
NO BUSINESS there!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, I'm starting to feel human again! The mushy brain syndrome is gone and I'm able to think once more. I almost wish I weren't! I've been trying to get all this stuff put AWAY when it never had a place it belonged to begin with... I hate that! And I'm fighting the squirrels like crazy now! They used to be cute! Well... they still are cute... but they won't SHARE! They chase the birds away from the bird food! I'm more than HAPPY to feed the squirrels too... but I want them to play nice!!! They don't "get" the whole play nice thing. And then there's the whole part about ME trying to outsmart them... only instead they keep outsmarting ME! I'm not crazy about being outsmarted by a squirrel. I'm pretty sure their brains are smaller than mine and I should win! (I'm not 100% certain on that... but it's what I believe...) Anyway... I've decided to pray about the squirrels - and already God is laughing out LOUD at me! HE thinks it's totally ludicrous that I feel the urge to put food out there for the squirrels OR the birds considering HE has the whole nature thing all worked out! HE thinks I'm trying to produce overweight wildlife... He's probably right... but still... I don't have flowers... and so I have to do SOMETHING to draw them to my yard. Food seems to work... if they will just SHARE!
It looks like my Luzi Goose is going to be having her BIG number 5 birthday party at NANA's house! Honestly I have to tell you this was not MY plan! As a matter of fact... it never in a million years occurred to me that MY house would EVER see a child's birthday party again! Nope. This was 100% her mother's planning! ( i didn't raise any idiots... 6 kids, cake crumbs, ketchup and pool water - let's do this at Mom's House!!!) So Amanda emails me and says the party is on Sunday, August 16th -- 2:30 p.m. -- I planned it for later in the day so it won't interfere with your church Mom! (that was kind!) I'll be over on Saturday night to bring the decorations and the cake and the food and the slip and slide! (oh... okay!) Well... Amanda keeps trying to get Luz to LIKE a slip and slide! She bought one last year and we set it up on the back hill -- let's call it suicide hill for short, okay? We turned the water on, and Luz in all the intelligence that a 4 year old can muster, took one look at the pink Dora slide and said "No. I'm NOT stepping on that!" The child has way more sense than ANY of the adults in her world! We'll SEE what happens with this years attempt! I understand that the Texas Triplets MAY be more daring than our Luz.... sometimes one child can influence another's behavior... not usually in Luz's case... but we'll see! I'm fillin' up the pool in the front yard -- in that almost semi flat spot - just in case.
Truth be told, Amanda ASKED me before she made all the plans ... well okay - she ASKED me BEFORE she sent out the invitations! And originally she had it planned for Saturday - but I asked her to check and make sure Krysti would be able to make it -- and the date was moved to accomodate Krysti! Krys gets very sad when all these family happenings go on and she can't get off work or out of school to attend them. So, if there is ANY way to work it so that she can be here, I like to do that. She will already be missing a lot of what goes on with the Texas kids... This is the HARD part about having kids grow up and start lives of their own. They WANT their own lives - and we WANT them to have them... but they still want IN on each other's lives too! I'm tellin' ya ... I need to buy a cul-de-sac!
Now... I wonder which meme or game or photo thing I'm forgetting THIS time...
Idiom Wednesday... playin' Ketchup!
Sponsored by Jiente over at
Heaven IS In Belgium!There is only ONE MORE WEEK, so if you want to play
you better be
quick!So last week I completely forgot about our little IDIOM challenge.... I don't know why... it wasn't like I had ANYthing else in the world on my mind or anything... I am totally ashamed of myself and beg mercy from all involved in the game who were waiting with bated breath for MY ever so clever submissions to the game... please DO forgive me. I have *ahem* ...
glances casually away... actually made up for last week today, in addition to today's requirement...
looks anywhere but at your eyes ... And SO for letter's U & V from last week, I bring you...
Letter U
"Under the table"
If one is paid "under the table" it is an illegal
payment -- either a bribe, or money paid for doing work
but not reported for tax purposes.
Naughty! Naughty!
And Letter V
Virgin Territory
(okay ... how would YOU show it?)
(THOM... don't answer that!)
Virgin Territory is an area that has not been explored yet.
(and I know that Siberia HAS been explored ... but it was
the most remote place I could think of!)
Then for THIS week...
Letter W
WAKE UP and smell the coffee!
When someone is naively oblivious to what is REALLY
going on around them, we often tell them to "wake up and
smell the coffee".
And Letter X...
I'm a big fat loser cuz I couldn't think of ANYTHING
to go with letter X! But I'm really looking forward to
seeing what YOU genius's came up with! If y'all came
up with GOOD stuff, I'm going to claim I'm still suffering
from Mushy Brain Syndrome... even though I'm not.
Ruby Tuesday... & Leave It To Meme (as stolen from Thom)
No WONDER it's so hard to find a bird in my bird bath! LOL!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One more in a long line of meme's stolen from
Thom!*scratches head*Remember when
I was the one they were all stolen from???
1. Who was your FIRST date? Oh Boy! Let me seeeeeee if I can remember his name... I think it was Glen (or was it Gary) Kopanski....
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Ummmm NO! *and my first date and my first LOVE are two entirely separate entities - just for the record!*
3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? I bet a screwdriver...
4. What was your FIRST job? Soda Jerk at People's Drug Store.
5. What was your FIRST car? 1968 Pontiac LeMans - Red with a black roof.
6. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? St. Paul, MN
7. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Little Lynn... no.
8. Whose wedding did you attend the FIRST time? My sister Carroll. I was her flower girl when I was 3.
9. Tell us about your FIRST roommate. She was a stitch! Always had a new joke! Every day! If I still lived in Minnesota we would still be friends! She was a single mom, her little boy was Bryan and a doll baby to be sure! She was playing the dating game and at the time that we lived together she was MADLY in LOVE with Rob, a gay guy who was very UP FRONT about just needing her for appearances at company shindigs! He did indeed love her back - but in a very brother/sisterly way! It was honestly like living in a sit-com! And the year was 1976!
10. If you had one wish, what would it be (other than more wishes)? I don't know. Wishing is such a dangerous business... read Dr. John's Elf Tales -- you'll see!
11. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? Don't we all HAVE the chance? So what you're really saying here is what is something you would like to learn if you would only set it as your priority? Right now I have someone BEGGING me to teach me how to sing -- she swears she can do it! All I have to do is give HER a chance... and maybe I will. But it will cost ME a LOT of hard work!
12. Did you marry the FIRST person you were in love with? Not even... Thank God!
13. What were the first lessons you ever took and why? Lessons? Took? Catechism... because my mother made me! Or Flute. Again, because my mother MADE me.
14. What is the first thing you do when you get home? (loved Thom's answer of "turn off my car") Once that's done, and I'm actually IN the house, usually I go potty!
Macro Monday... and Finish This...
The funny thing about this shot is...
that even when I'm looking at this plant with my naked eye
I do not SEE the individual hairs with such clarity
as the camera captures them!
Maybe it's just my vision... I dunno...
This is how the camera took the shot...
This is 4x zoomed out... and I was perfectly happy
with THIS macro -- until I zoomed in and saw
the one above! But really... I love them both!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stole this meme from
Barbara H. and it was right on time because I just don't feel like THINKING right now! My brain is mush... my house is mush... my yard is mush... And life is fixin' to HAPPEN again! Aiy aiy aiy!
1. Maybe I should be…cleaning something or putting something away!
2. I love ... my life. Thank you God!
3. People would say that I … am crazy. They have. They do. All the time.
4. I don’t understand… why.
5. When I wake up in the morning… I thank God, I go potty, and then I stumble to the coffee pot!
6. I lost… my marbles... a long time ago.
7. Life is full of… living.
8. My past taught me… to take one day at a time.
9. I get annoyed when… I forget the lessons of my past.
10. At a party I… usually don't attend. If I do, I'm kinda withdrawn.
11. I wish… I wasn't.
12. Dogs… bark. And dig holes. And lick their butts. But we love them anyway.
13. Cats… ignore you. Paw windows. Want in. Want out. Poop too much. But we love them anyway.
14. Tomorrow… is another day! Maybe my brain won't be mush by then.
15. I have a low tolerance for… mushy brain syndrome.
16. If I had a million dollars… I wouldn't HAVE a million dollars. It would disappear pretty quickly.
17. I’m totally terrified of… alzheimer's. But I trust God to do what's best...
Catchin' Up...
Luz has GLASSES!!!
So, I'm sure you can guess that life did NOT just stop dead while I was busy round the clock with VBS... no, no, no! Life went ON! I just sort of had to ignore it and stick with the program! So during the 3 weeks of Xtreme Busyness, it came to pass that darling grandbaby needed glasses! You can see that she is absolutely DELIGHTED with this turn of events! I don't think I've seen her smile THAT big ... ever. It's amazing to ME that something as simple as a pair of glasses could possibly make a person, especially a LITTLE person, THAT happy! But they did! They did not, however, make her Mommy that happy. Mommy will get over it though! Luz's vision is far more important than the beauty of her eyes, and in MY opinion her eyes are still quite beautiful BEHIND those adorable little glasses!
Jen & Derek
I'm not sure if I've properly introduced Jen to you all... I know I mention her from time to time - she and Derek have been dating ... I think since before Christmas .... I hesitate to put up the kids significant others too soon because they tend to disappear shortly after I do! I hope that does NOT happen this time. I am reminded that I need to "re-do" my blog because Mathew is no longer with Carol, and yet my topper has her there.... it's so sad... they were together for about 2 years... But anyway... Derek & Jen are very happy together - for the moment. SHE is an amazing girl - because Derek is not an "easy" person... but she loves him like crazy & he loves her too! I love them both!
The Texas Triplets!
They are not really triplets -- but at the moment they ARE all 7 years old! That will only last for a few more days... Rhianna turns 8 on Wednesday, I believe. (the boyz just turned 7 about a week ago!) These are my grand niece and nephews -- my niece, Jessica's babies! They live in San Antonio. The 3 children are coming up to Maryland to spend 3 weeks with Amanda & Hector & Luz & Mathew -- they will be arriving on Thursday! There is not MUCH difference between being a Nana and being a Grand-Aunt! So for the next 3 weeks, I will have the pleasure of spoiling and playing with 4 of them! This is really only the 2nd time I've ever gotten to SEE them! The last time I saw them they were 3 & 4.... just barely. Luz & Amanda got to spend a few weeks at their house earlier in the spring - and now Luz is very excited to have them coming to stay here! If you are the praying sort, you might like to add Jessica to your list (if she's not already on it) ... God knows her needs. You just need to lift her up. Thanks!
I picked the cukes! And one of the tomatoes tried
to get away... but I caught it. Had to pick a couple of
others too -- one of the branches broke on my
biggest tomato plant. :( The peppers are getting
HUGE - but not turning red ... yet.
FIVE Days until Women of Faith!!!
Whoooo hoooo!
Turn Out The Lights... The Party's Over...
It's always a bittersweet moment at the end of the last day of VBS. On the one hand I'm totally EXHAUSTED... dead on my feet... just ready to collapse! But on the other hand, I've had SO much fun with these kids all week! And they are such a great group of kids! Honestly ... I only had ONE trouble maker in the whooooooole bunch of them -- and even HE was sO darned cute you could hardly stay mad at him for long! He was a pistol though! Broke my unbreakable toys and ripped up my tablecoth first thing in the morning! LOL! One of THEM! But still he was cute... and waaaaaay better behaved than last year! So there is HOPE!
I was right about today being a BIG let-down to the kids after the robots yesterday. I honestly do try to avoid "coloring" crafts -- mainly because kids get sO many coloring opportunities in day-to-day life (in restaurants and drs. offices - not to mention school - where it is actually "work") that many of them are BORED by it! And some kids just don't like to do it. Period. But like I say - I was determined not to have glue or paint today -- so coloring it was! We managed to have fun in spite of it -- but some of them were FAR less than impressed! ;) Here are a few who did enjoy it!
I just LOVE this one - besides the huge dimple, that little tongue stickin' out just makes me smile!!!He's a real cutie!
And THIS one - don'tch just wanna scoop him up and
smooch those cheeks!?
This is a very shy model!
Just a weeeee little smile...
but she wanted me to SEE her beautiful pinwheel!
A beautiful pinwheel, by a beautiful girl!
God BLESS them all!
I pray the Holy Spirit touched each of their
hearts this week!
And this was the last middle school project... I was told they were "incapable" of doing it. I'm sad to say we got a little "snippy" with each other. But if those kids were in MY room I know I could have taught them ALL the crafts this week! My heart aches for the middle schoolers this year... I really REALLY pray the Holy Spirit touched THEM!
I talked to Shawn after everyone had left today and told her my concerns for the middle schoolers. We talked about some different options that might make things go a little smoother for them in the future - regardless of who their primary instructors are for VBS. I think next year we might have a 2nd craft person. Someone who will either JUST work with the ms kids - that way she will come up with their craft and teach it as well! The other option was to have the ms TEACHER come up with her own crafts for the week -- but that might stress out someone who is an excellent teacher - but not a great crafts person and keep them from volunteering to teach -- so more than likely we will go with getting a 2nd craft person! I know hind sight is 20/20 -- but I really wish we'd known in time to do it this year!
Soooooo... that's IT for VBS! Tomorrow THIS blog returns to it's regular programming! :)
Nothing But Awesomeness!!!
LOTSA BOTS!
Fun and Frustration!
Middle School NOT Clocks...
Let's START with frustration today! Sheeeeesh... the middle school people are wearing me out this year! This was their craft today. Decorate a CD with markers, and make it into a clock. I even provided the batteries! Tonight at church I asked the middle school instructor how the clocks went today... and they didn't. The instructor NOR her aid could figure out how to put the clocks together! Each clock came in it's own separate packaging WITH written and diagramed instructions from the clock maker! Very simple instructions. But they couldn't figure out how to do it.... I think I have decided that in future years, the middle school instructor needs to come up with her OWN crafts for her kids! Am I wrong? Have these been outlandishly difficult crafts??? *done whining*
My younger kids had a BALL today!!! I had NO idea how well this project was going to go over! And I was tickled pink over the whole thing! I honestly thought the 4 year olds would be a disaster with it... but they were not! Not AT ALL! They worked soooooo hard and so intently... and they listened and followed allllllllll the directions! We had this little "glue, sprinkle, shake" dance going today! They were sO cute -- and the only sad part was that I forgot to take my camera this morning! I was sooooooooo sad! But the GOOD NEWS? The good news is that God CARES! And that even something SO irrelevant as me forgetting my camera was important ENOUGH for Him to take care of it! Angie came in to take HER roving reporter type shots, and I asked her if she would take a few "extra" shots of the finished products because I forgot my camera. She had a 2nd camera with her today, and offered it to me to use for the day!!! I was blown away! Not by Angie's generosity -- Angie is always a very generous person! I was blown away by God! (see? THIS is where non-believers say coincidence... but believers say... God!) So, thanks to Him - and Angie - I have pics to share today! Here ya go!
Shake shake shake!
Shake shake shake!
They had a GREAT time!
So did I!
Oh! Today's "treat" was tool shaped gummy fruits.
One little girl in the last class (kindergarten) came
up to me and said "Mrs. Lantz... I LOVE it that you let
us pick something from the box each day! That's my
FAVORITE PART!!!
Tooooo cute!
Tomorrow we build
ROBOTS!Ohhhhh I can't wait!!!
LOOK What HAPPENED!
Musta been while I wasn't lookin'!
I ccouldn't believe it!
TOMORROW I'm pickin' it!
Mmmm mmm~
Today we built Robot Masks at VBS!
Some of us took this job verrrrrrry seriously!
Others? Not so much!
But everyone enjoyed the finished product!
This was a much more successful project
than silly mobiles, let me tell ya!
Some put a LOT of stuff...
... and for some, just a little is plenty!
But they ALL had a good time making them!
OH!
... and don't forget your treat!
(like they would...!)
They LOVE to pick something out of
Mrs. Lantz's toolbox!
I LOVE these kids!
Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday Fave Five in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. If you would like to play along just post your 5, link back to Susanne and visit her to see who else is playin'!
7. We also enjoyed a fabulous day at the Brookside Gardens flower and butterfly exhibits. I did a whole post about this place last year... it's wonderful! 
So... if you've posted something POSITIVE today ... or you might want to run back and post something positive... then run back over to Dust Bunny Hostage and sign her linky (which I can't do because I'm not here!). But I AM positive I'm not here! Anyway... this was the idea of her little daughter and it really is a great idea. I mean, I TRY to keep my blog positive every day... but it never hurts to have a dedication day to being positive.... does it? And because she positively wants us to talk about things that we are grateful for, or the positives in our life...
