Sorry!

I got an email yesterday from a cousin "follower" of my blog. She might be the only person out there that claims to check my blog every time she turns on her computer and she informed me that it has been OVER A MONTH since I posted! I apologize! Something good came from it, however, because I got a wonderful letter from her. I should be so lucky to hear from ALL of my followers with updates on their lives. (Maybe I DID!!!)

Well....the big news, of COURSE, is the fact that the Saints won the Superbowl. Who would have thought! Those of you that know me well KNOW that I don't follow sports that much. But I will admit that I watched the game and actually cheered. Jake and Christie came to watch the game with us, as well as Jake's lifelong friend, Chris. I fixed pastalaya for supper and had "snacks" for during the game. It was fun.

Heather had some minor surgery last Friday and I kept the girls all weekend. I had them Thursday night and got them off to school. On Friday night we had Emmaleigh come and stay over with us too! Slumber parties are always fun. Ron was home for this one, so we started out with Ashlyn on the couch, Samantha, Emmaleigh and I on the queen airbed in the guest room/currently "play room", and Ron in our bed. I moved in with him at some point during the night and Emmie joined us in the wee early hours.

Actually, I ALSO had all 3 girls the weekend before. Ron was gone that weekend and I actually have photos of THAT slumber party. On that occasion, Emmie and Sammie were on the airbed and Ashlyn was in bed with me. At about 4:45, Emmie crawled in on the other side of me. When I woke up around 6:30, Sam was sleeping at our feet. I grabbed my camera and we all "cuddled up" for a photo. Have you ever tried to get 3 giggling girls to ACT like they were asleep?? I think this photo is funny.

We got up and made MONKEY BREAD. Have you ever made monkey bread? Take canned biscuits and cut each unbaked biscuit into quarters.

Roll each part into a ball,


roll it in melted butter and cinnamon/sugar mix


and place it in a greased bundt pan. We added chopped pecans to the layers.


Fill up the pan (we used 2 cans of Grands biscuits) and bake.

"Boy, does this smell GOOD!"

Flip the pan onto a plate for a pretty presentation. Don't forget to take a picture because it isn't going to last long. Yum.


The girls enjoy playing together. Emmaleigh ESPECIALLY enjoys playing with Ashlyn and Samantha and I must say that the bigger girls are really good sports.....playing with a "little girl". Right now the "guest room" is empty. We removed the twin beds last September and I haven't put a bed back in there yet. I intend to, but want to replace carpet/flooring first. Since I plan to do that at the same time that I do the flooring in the kitchen/dining room, and I haven't reached that point yet, the room has remained empty of all but the kids toys. Emmie has decided that it is the "play room" and I must admit that it is certainly handy to send them there and be able to contain the mess. We will ALL miss this space when it is gone!

When they are all here, this is where they spend a lot of their time!!!

Another time recently I had only Ashlyn and Samantha here. We were watching TV on my bed while Ron was watching some game in the living room. Did I mention that we got a flat screen TV right after Christmas? Now with the new HD programming, Ron spends more time than ever with the remote in his hands. Anyway...that day I got very sleepy and told the girls to play nicely and asked Ron to keep an eye on them while I took a little nap. About 30 minutes later I woke to find.....

Ron alone in the living room watching TV.

"Where are the girls?" I asked.

"Oh, they wanted to paint that table Sam made."

"Ron....they were in good jeans and shirts. Did you have them change? What paint are they using? Where ARE they???"

Outside my back door....RIGHT outside my back door in the carport, I found them painting. Noone was supervising and they had NOT changed their clothes. I didn't have the heart to make them quit, but I interrupted with a "little" hysteria and got them into paint shirts and moved out into the driveway.

Then I sat on the rocker and watched so they did not drip all over.....at least any MORE. These spots are right outside the door.

Don't you love how watching kids is just so much easier for men???

In fairness to my hubby, the little bit of progress in the kitchen we have made lately is mostly to his credit. I had described how I wanted the deep cabinet over the refrigerator to have vertical dividers so I could store trays there. We put our heads together and came up with a plan. He had to install a grooved board on the top and bottom of the interior of this cabinet. It wasn't easy, but he got right into it!

I have a bit more paint touch-up to do on this project, but in a short time Ron had run to Home Depot for a piece of masonite and cut up my dividers.

I am tickled with the result.

As far as remodel work is concerned, we have had a LOT of rain, and a lot of COLD weather. The degree of cold weather is unusual for us. If you look at this thermometer, you can see that although the temp was 30 degrees, the low temp for the past 24 hours (lower left hand corner of the thermometer) had been 20 degrees. We had about 4 or 5 days in a row of temps like this...and this is difficult here. Pipes are not insulated as well, among other things.

We don't really have clothes for this kind of weather. To be honest with you....when it is cold AND wet, all I want to do is go to bed and wait it out with a book or a movie. Also...Jake's home in the country is not quite as easily heated and they lose power easily. During the cold spell, they spent a few nights here.

So....for the past few weeks, cold temps, lots of rain, more than one night with all 3 girls here, another trip to Pensacola in January to sit with Aunt Ada, a Sunday afternoon bowling tournament, church, weekly bowling, book club, and daily life, as well as "end of one year/beginning of another year" type bookkeeping chores (like cleaning out file drawers, gathering tax papers, etc.) that always launch me into OTHER housekeeping chores (like cleaning (AGAIN) out closets and drawers)....THOSE are the things that have kept me occupied.

Sorry I haven't posted. I'll try to get back on track.