Artichokes at last, just in case I don't make it

The artichokes were slow in coming, because the laptop that houses all my pictures has a virus and is out of commission. It dawned on me that I have a bad habit of keeping loads of pictures on my camera, so I checked and alas- they were still there. So, the long awaited (or not) artichokes.

Look for this fireplace to sport a glossy white coat in the coming weeks...

One day I will learn to take pictures without blazing lamps

And this is why I may not be alive (or sane) at the end of the week:

Signing time, 100 readings of Find the Duck, and several loads of laundry later, we survived Day 1 of potty training.

He's got this part down

I think I would rather give birth again than potty train, an attitude I am working to change. It's just not my "thing," like pies aren't my thing. I still make pies and I still potty train my kids, but the process never seems to get easier. My husband was reminding my discouraged, weary self last night that they never "get it" until Thursday. So, I'm off to teach life skills with the hope that I will see a glimmer of improvement today. The upside is the hours of mostly one-on-one time I get to spend with the youngest. There's always a silver lining!

Cowboy small

There once was a boy who wanted to be a cowboy. He was past the fireman stage (at least temporarily) and after being assured that being a cowboy was not a sin (? I guess he was thinking cowboy= bandit) he determined to be one.

I think the desire to pursue said occupation comes with being 5 years old, but you could say it's in his genes (not really, his father just likes a good hat).

So after a few months of dreaming, this arrived on his birthday:

Making him a real boy cowboy. And he's worn his chaps for 48 hours straight

A Cowboy Birthday party followed

You could call them the three musketeers, except only two of them are acting like a team

Actually, one of them is very much his own man. We're working on that. A lot.

Happy 5th birthday to my firstborn!

Friday Night Floats

My husband is a genius.

Being the lover of people and crowds that he is, WH came up with a great idea to have people over, even in the absence of a dining room. (And in the presence of a wife who thought she was super social but learned the truth after she got married to a real party planner. Three babies also cut down on her energy level.)

photo credit

Enter: Friday Night Floats

Every Friday night in August from 7-9pm we have invited our church, work friends, neighbors, (our friend's neighbors...it's an open invitation) to enjoy ice cream floats at our house. Everyone stays outside- which in our corner of the world is actually pleasant after the sun starts to set- the ingredients are easy to keep on hand, we use paper cups,  so prep and clean-up is a breeze, and a good time is had by all.  I would be so boring without my husband.

What are you doing this weekend?