Nothing beats...

...a yummy mid-afternoon snack from the garden!

Quitting & Growing Up

I quit my little job. Yeah, I made it 3 whole days. It wasn't the calling that was bad. I could handle ringing phones, hang-ups, and people who weren't happy that I was calling (even though it's info they requested...). What I couldn't handle was having to ignore my girls because I was working. And the time commmitment. Who knew that giving up 20 hours a week was so much?! I've grown so accustomed to my laid-back lifestyle that it was too much for me to feel the stress of making sure I was "working" 4 hours each day. Am I a wimp?

What I'd really like to do is accounting work. It's something I can truly do on my own time and can do it whenever I want, for the most part. (Unlike calling where I have to worry about not calling too early, too late, and time zones.) I'm typically very efficient when I do a job, so not having to fill a time quota is what works best for me. So, I think I'm going to stick with continuing to slowly build up clientele. I think that will work best for me (& my family).

***

This morning, I was actually doing some cleaning! I know, I know! I was wiping down Jenna's high chair so I could put it away in the crawl space. As I was doing so, she found some kleenex and came over and started wiping it down with me. She then went over to the entertainment center & started wiping it down, too. Oh, it just melts my heart to see her start doing grown up things like that!

Catching up with Sydney

Sydney celebrated her 4th birthday this past week. She also had her 4-year checkup on her birthday. She weighs 30.8 lbs, and is 37.5 inches tall (both 25%). She is such an artist & puts a lot of detail into her drawings. She also colors very well. Because I'm her mom & mom's are allowed to brag, Sydney is often complimented by adults on how bright she is. I think sometimes it backfires on us, though... She is getting more and more helpful around the house, which is wonderful.

She sometimes struggles with being nice, but on her birthday, she was more than happy to let Kamrie help open some of her presents. (And please don't mind the crazy hair. She had a long full, day of playing & I'm not sure what happened...her hair doesn't normally get that messy!)

She loves to play with her friends & thinks she should be with them constantly.

Catching up with Jenna

Jenna had her 16 month checkup this past week. She is 18 lbs, 11 oz. (1%) and is 30 inches tall (20%). She now says about 6 words: mama, dada, nana (banana), uh oh, no no, hello. I think she also said ball a few days ago, but I want to hear her say it more before I count it. She has finally shown us that she can wave, too.

She still is as girly as ever & puts anything and everything on as necklaces and bracelets, including a whole drawer-full of headbands.

She still has a thing for hair--both hers & that of other people.

She loves to be outside and heads straight for the mud and dirt in our garden.

A week in the life...

This week has been far from normal. I'm typically not busy & am at home most of the time...and I usually cook dinner. Well, this week I've:

*made dinner zero times--leftovers, frozen pizza, $5 pizza, and fresh veggies from the garden have been a recurring theme--all because I've been busy (or napping...).

*been interviewed, hired, trained, and began a new work-from-home job. I'm making phone calls, which is not the greatest fun, but I've already had some limited success in the few minutes I spent doing it tonight, so we'll see. Extra cash is always a bonus.

*taken Randy to the airport for a very last minute trip to Mexico. It happened on Sydney's birthday. It was a good thing we had cake & presents the night before!

*spent time with Randy's family, my sister Dixie and her boys, and Kelsey (twice).

*not done any real cleaning in my house. Sure, the dishes are done, laundry is put away & the toys are picked up, but really... Bathrooms aren't cleaned, lawn isn't mowed, floors aren't swept & vacuumed, houseplants are parched, and the list could go on and on.

*gotten to do my new calling. I'm the Compassionate Service Leader and we've had 2 babies born in our ward just this week. By the way, Randy's new calling Assistant Ward Clerk (Finance).

Whew, if tomorrow & the next week are anything like this week (and I'm betting they will be), I'd better get some serious shut-eye!

Fun in the Garden

I had planned to do a gardening update a few weeks ago. I even had the text written, but was waiting for some pictures. I never got around to it. Such is my life right now. So, if you care, here is my current update.

*Squash & zucchini--I had nasty, mating squash bugs all over when we returned from St. George over the 4th weekend. I believe I have successfully killed most of them off. Nothing a little Sevin, chopping off leaves (with eggs) and smashing those nasty things won't do. We've been harvesting lots & even have some to share.

*Tomatoes--My plants are huge. We've harvested several yellow pear tomatoes and they have tasted amazing. My Jetsetter & Celebrity varieties have tons of green tomatoes. However, my Brandywine didn't have any tomatoes last time I checked.

*Cucumber & cantaloupe--We've been harvesting plenty of cucumbers. They taste so good! I counted a week or two ago and we had 15 cucumbers growing. I'm sure there are more now. I think we'll be able to keep up with eating the supply, since our family can eat a whole one with dinner. The cantaloupe have tons of blossoms & cute, fuzzy, green cantaloupes have started growing. Can't wait for them to mature!

*Peppers--We've got plenty of bell pepper & Anaheim's growing. I picked 2 bell peppers that had started rotting on the plant. I need to study up and find what caused this. Randy will be so excited when he's got fresh Anahaim again.

*Sweet potatoes, red potatoes & pole beans--All growing like crazy. I realized last week that I was supposed to thin my pole beans when they were little. Oops! We'll see if that affects the harvest. So far no blossoms on the beans yet.

*Peas, carrots, beets, broccoli & cauliflower--I just planted the seeds last Friday...only about 3 weeks late. My fall garden really does feel like and experiment. I hope the seeds grow!

*Strawberries--Still harvesting them from time to time. My plants are looking good. I'm picking off all runners except those growing to where other plants died. Picking off the runners makes the plants put their energy toward making strawbabies & not new plants.

*Onions--I've saved the best for last! Onion harvest began 2 weeks ago & continues. Each day, more and more plants are falling over, which indicates they are ready to be harvested. Some are big, some are little, but boy, am I getting a supply in my crawlspace! Yea!

Party Time

We had a triple birthday party at our house on Saturday evening for Broc, Kamrie & Sydney. We pretty much just had everyone over to eat cake & ice cream, let the kids play in the water & let us adults visit. It was pretty low key--kinda like me. :)

FYI

Old Navy & Children's Place are having huge sales! Go and stock up for next summer!

What's on my mind...

Get ready for a post of randomness!

*We had a great Independence Day weekend. Randy went to a ReAL soccer game on the 3rd with a bunch of guys from our neighborhood. The next morning, we headed to St. George. We pretty much just lounged around Chad & Tiff's beautiful new pool. The girls loved it. I took my camera, but of course, didn't take any pictures.

*Most fun memory of the weekend? It has to be when Mike, Chad, Randy, and Tiffany were acting silly and diving through kiddy tubes...and getting stuck. Believe me, it was funny!

*I was able to chit-chat with all 3 of my Farnsworth sisters-in-law this past weekend. I loved it!

*We saw precious, tiny Charity (& her family) in St. George, too.

*I helped out the new RS president in our ward, as well as the newly called RS Secretary in our former ward. I love feeling needed! Of, course, I also feel relieved that I've now passed the torch (or so I think).

*And lastly, you may wonder where I've really been & what I've been up to. Need you ask? I've been stuck in front of my computer doing family history. I'm determined to have my Gililland family names ready for the temple within the next week or two...and there are a ton!