JPC - June 20-25

Bad, bad blogger!  Shame on me!

Actually, no.  I knew before signing up for this Photo Challenge that it would be…. well, a challenge.  We have a busy summer planned.

Last week, the 2 dogs I pet-sit arrived.  One is on meds for an allergy this time.  They are staying nearly a whole month while their owner is traveling to her Air Force assignment.

Then we had company.  Jay's dad visited our home for the first time and we did some running around the city because he had never been to San Antonio before.  We saw the Alamo, took to boat tour on the Riverwalk (I could do this daily, I love it so much), we took him to Jay's office, we looked at possible rental properties should he decide to leave Chicago winters behind.  We were busy!

To add to the fun and the chaos, we then took in a stray puppy.  [Editor's note:  I never claimed to be sane!]  A neighbor knocked on my door asking if the pup was ours and told me she had been door knocking all morning looking for it's owner.  She said she was late for work and she couldn't take the pup into her home because a stray cat had a litter of 8 or 9 kittens in her yard and she took them in until they are big enough to be adopted.  Strays are a BIG PROBLEM in our city!  So, I had a kennel to spare and offered to spread Lost Dog ads across the internet and I took in the pup in hopes to find her owner. If you're keeping count, that's 5 dogs in my home - 2 of my own, 2 of my boarders and 1 stray puppy.

Still to come is Jay's Summer Regional for work and Jay's Div Trip to Jackson Hole, WY.  So, good luck to me in keeping up this photo challenge from here on out.  In other words, don't hold your breath.

Here are the pictures you've been waiting for:

June 20 - Bedtime

Ever since Jay's dad left, Quiet Tiger has been yawning all day long.
She knows that the boys camp out in our room on weekends and she wants to join us.
But she can't handle it.
We'll put her up there at bedtime and she'll stay awake in our bed
until we get up there at 10:30 or 11:00pm.
We tried to make the deal that if she actually went to sleep,
she'd get to stay, or else she'd be returned to her room if
we found her awake when we came up to bed.
That seemed to work.  Until……
I woke up in the middle of the night and I found her wide awake
at 1:00am sitting straight up in our bed.
She just doesn't know how to handle sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed.
And that makes us sad because we'd love to snuggle with her.
This photo was taken during a much needed afternoon nap!
And no, lately we've had to take away the blanket and the pillow
as they become playthings to her and she never sleeps.
We're having some sleep issues lately, I think.
Boo.  :(

June 21 - Sister

Here's the little sister.
We experimented with the low, side pony tail and took pictures to post.

What do you think?

June 22 - Groceries

A friend of ours loves cleaning and organizing.
She begged me for something to clean and organize when she comes to visit.
Maybe she can tackle my spice cabinet.
I clean it once or twice a year and it always ends up looking like this again.

June 23 - Numbers

Our electric company offers this Home Manager Program
where we can control our heat and a/c and water heater online.
It was newly installed this week and I'm still learning it's quirks.
It has only been installed a matter of hours and unfortunately,
I'm ready to rip it off the wall and put my old thermostat back up there.

June 24 - Foot

All those funny "foot selfies" on Facebook?
You'll never get me to do one.
EVER!
My feet are wide, my toes are short and fat.  I've had portions of my big toenails on each foot
permanently removed thanks to recurring ingrown nails.
U-G-L-Y
If it weren't for the extreme heat of summer, I'd never wear sandals.  I'd live in my TOMS.
So today you get a picture of Super C's foot.
He asked me why I was taking a picture of his foot.
Because it's part of the photo challenge, that's why.
Enough said.

June 25 - Flower

I have an extreme case of black thumb.  I kill everything I try to grow.
Seriously.
It's BAD, people! 
Ask any of my neighbors, past or present.
This year I'm diligently trying to keep these pretty flowers alive.
So far, so good!
They really do make me happy when I see them everyday.

That catches us up, but….

You've been warned. 

From here on out, the remainder of the Photo Challenge may just have be in group form, 

like today's post.  

JPC - June 19

June 19 - Smile

So now you'll get the whole story of why I swapped June 7 and June 19.

Today, I have a new smile!  I was seriously like a kid in a candy store, walking into my dentist today.  And when do you ever hear that?

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

But you have to wait until the end to see it.  As a bonus, you'll get a before and after.  Actually, you'll even get a before-before.  You'll see what I mean.  Stay with me.

When my adult front teeth came in as a kid, one tooth came in with a big calcification.  It's like a stripe down the middle of my tooth.  They thought it was result of damage received to the baby tooth when I was a toddler.  I'm not so convinced, but that's another story.

This was my smile at age 9.  You can see the ugly stripe the arrow is highlighting.  Three years of braces later hid my ugly tooth, but once I got out of braces in my teens, my dentist suggested bonding to cover up that ugly "racing stripe," as I call it.  Bonding is just like a coat or two of paint on the tooth.  It can be fragile, but I've never had major trouble with it.  I was told it would never discolor.  Um, I don't think so.

For the last few years I have noticed the bonding on my front tooth discoloring.  I'm to the point where I'm really self conscious about it.  I don't like to smile for pictures.  Kids notice the yellow tooth and adults notice it and I get questions about it.  It's been long overdue for a fresh coat of paint and I've put it off in order to put adoption and other expenses first.  Plus, even if we had dental insurance (which we don't), it's not like a cosmetic procedure like this would be covered under insurance anyway.

This picture above is what my smile looked like with the discolored bonding.  This photo is actually from right before I went to China, but it shows the discoloration very well.  You can see why I've been self conscious!

Today I got it done and I'm thrilled!  I'm no longer self conscious about it.  I'm happy to show off my smile again.  My dentist assures me that today's bonding products are much better than those of 20 years ago and this one will make me very happy!

Surprisingly, it wasn't as easy an appointment as I remembered.  I actually had to be numbed because the high speed "sander" they used to buff off the old bonding was giving me zingers completely down to my fingertips and toes.  WOW!  My gums are still a little red and puffy in this picture too because they take this sandpaper and thread it between your teeth to make sure no composite material is left rough in between.    I was in and out in a hour and I'm thrilled with the results.

Say, "Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!"

Ah, so much better!
But sorry I didn't have any lipstick on.

So happy to have my smile back!

JPC - June 14

Catching Up - June 14-18

I've been a bad blogger.  We had a busy weekend and now my father-in-law is visiting this week.  I'll try to be better, but with a house guest, I'm not making any promises.  Later this month we have Jay's Summer Regional event for work too, so it might be hard to update next week too.  I'll try!

This is my feeble attempt at getting caught up in 1 quick blog post.

June 14 - Family

I know I'm not in this one.  Tough.
Someone has to take the photo and no, I don't have a tripod!
This is my family on Father's Day.
What a good lookin' bunch!

June 15 - Father

On Father's Day
My husband sure can get the kids crazy.
He enjoys playing right along.

June 16 - Game

The kids went to a birthday party over the weekend.
It was a "messy party," complete with a food fight.
Talk about fun!
Here is my Quiet Tiger eating a plate of whipped cream, trying to find the 3 gummy worms hidden underneath.
No hands allowed! 

June 17 - Upside Down

Truth be told, this is an old photo from December or January.
I often find that my camera has been hijacked by my boys.
This is one of those photos that mysteriously showed up on my camera one day.
Supposedly it was meant to be upside down, so I never changed the orientation.

June 18 - Birthday

More from the birthday party over the weekend.
Here the kids are all lining up for a game.
In this game, the kids passed cold spaghetti noodles with their bare hands,
from person to person, and had to fill a bowl at the end.
This game went much easier and quicker than expected!
Very fun!

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JPC - June 13

June 13 - Front Porch

I don't have much of a front porch, but there is something there.  I've never had furniture out there at all.  I've always wanted something, but I've just never purchased anything.  It just hasn't been a necessity.  After all, thanks to allergies and the extreme Texas heat, I don't spend that much time outside at all.  Swimming after dinner is about all you get out of me, sadly.  

My neighbors have the same stone on the front of their home and they have the cutest red chairs on their front porch.  They add a splash of color.  Last year, our HEB (that's our local grocery store) had small red chairs that I loved.  I've looked for them this year and they don't have them this year in that same color.  I should try a place like Big Lots.  It would be nice to sit out there in the morning shade while the kids ride scooters and have water gun fights.

I do love this porch at Halloween when I wrap the rails in fall foliage and hang my ghosts from hooks.  Christmas is equally fun with my lighted garland.

I need to make better use of it in spring and summer.

JPC - June 12

June 12 - Pattern

So, I pondered what the heck to write about involving "pattern."

I'm going to be taking a sewing class sometime soon with my friend Michelle, but until then, I don't have any patterns laying around.  I really should consider pulling out some patterns and doing some knitting for Christmas (Super E and Quiet Tiger both want afghans like their big brother's) but knitting doesn't sound like fun in near-100 degree heat.

So, here's something I made for my girl's room to organize her bows and clips.  I did not follow a pattern, but I did see something similar to this on Pinterest and I just copied it.  No pattern needed.  Just one of my hangers, some ribbon (I let L choose the colors) and my glue gun.  Oh, and a Command Hook on the back of the bedroom door for hanging.  I had everything I needed for this, so it was a fun, no-expense craft.

Clips and bows organized.

No pattern necessary.

JPC - June 11

June 11 - Transportation

I had hoped to get a picture of the military aircraft that fly over my home, but other than 1 large DC-9 (I think, what the heck do I know?), yesterday morning that I missed, the skies have been pretty quiet.  The fighter jets are way too fast to catch on film, but oh, how I love when they fly over!

So, you get a picture of my van.  It's a 2005 Nissan Quest.  Oh, the stories this van has.

It dates back to our adoption days, when I was living in Nebraska and Jay had taken a job as an associate pastor out at a small church near Sacramento, California.  We were in the midst of an adoption and things were already beginning to fall apart.

We had lost our Nepal adoption and $9,000 that went with it.

Jay had lost his job in Nebraska.

Jay had moved to California to start a new job while I stayed behind to sell our house.

I had emergency surgery while Jay was on the West Coast.

I was recuperating from said surgery when Jay called from California saying he had been in a car accident.  Our old, paid for, perfectly running Toyota Corolla had been totaled.  Jay was okay, but the car was beyond repair.  It went to the junkyard.

When I got out to California that fall, we shopped for cars.  We looked at minivans because we knew we'd need a bigger car for our growing family and wanted something with better gas mileage than a large SUV.  A friend of ours from the church owned a Honda dealership and had this used van on his lot.  We took it for a test drive.  We prayed about it.  A week or so later, it was ours, with a not so nice car payment to boot.

During an adoption, the financial bottom tends to fall out underneath you.

I became a minivan mom.  

It's only for a season.

This car has been my nemesis.  I hate it.  We call it the Ghetto Van.  It has a fan belt squeal that no one has been able to fix.  Three people have looked at it, worked on it, to no avail.  I drove for a year with a cracked windshield thanks to a rock that flew at me en route from California to Texas.  It needed new tires long before the dealership told us it would.  I've had to replace the catalytic converter, thankfully at the expense of the warranty (mostly).  The odometer and digital readouts on the dash went out too (a problem with Quest) and that was also fixed under warranty.  It recently ate a CD (another problem with Quests) and you'd have to take the whole entire dashboard apart to get at the stereo to remove it, so I leave it be and listen to the radio.

If only someone could figure out that fan belt squeal before my warranty runs out in another 10,000 miles!  If someone could fix that and the warranty would cover it, it would probably lose its nickname, "The Ghetto Van."  I wouldn't mind my CD back either.

I hate that this van has been such a pain in the rear and I hate even more that I'm still making payments on it.  STINK!  But….

It serves it's purpose.  

It seats our family of 5 with room for dogs and a guest or two.  

It gets us from place to place.  

I'll drive it until it's dead….. knock on wood!

JPC - June 10

June 10 - Road

This may sound silly, but I still pick up pennies or other coins when I find them in the road.  I don't do it for luck.  I don't believe in luck, per se, although I will use the term especially since I have a Chinese daughter whose culture believes greatly in luck.

I do pick them up for the four words that are printed on our money.

In God we trust.

A found coin in the street, the parking lot, the driveway are reminders to me that no matter what is bugging me on a given day (like going on 3 weeks of back PAIN for my husband), I have to put my trust in God, the One from whom all blessings flow.

He knows my name.
He watches over me.
He cares for me.
He hears me when I call.
He is near me when I'm brokenhearted.
He is my Father.

My list could go on and on just like His never-ending love.

When you walk down the road and find a coin, maybe next time you will pick it up, hold it tightly in your hand, smile and be reminded...

In God we trust.

JPC - June 9 and a BIG BONUS

June 9 - Lawn

You can't tell very well by this picture, but as I type this, we are getting another glorious rain here in San Antonio!  This is my front lawn soaking it all in.  Lightning is crashing and thunder is booming.  Oh, how I love a thunderstorm!  Send a few tornado warnings and I'm even more excited (a little secret about me -- I'd love to chase tornadoes!).

Texas always needs the rain.  We've been in a drought for years.  Lakes are dried up.  Lawns get burned out and brown (we have many brown spots).  Water bills rise as we get charged more and more for water.

It doesn't come often, but when it rains, it pours here in Texas and we'll take it!

Glorious rain!

PS…  This is totally off track from the June Photo Challenge, but my best friend is over in China RIGHT NOW and has her daughter in her arms!  She has fought so hard for this little one who was relinquished by birth parents and then rejected by a first set of "prospective adoptive parents."  After that disruption, that rejection, this child was labeled "unadoptable" and nearly lost the chance at the love of a family.  

But Hilary fought the system for this girl so that she would not be lost forever!

This sweet little girl is now safe in her forever mama's arms!

PRAISE GOD!

Thanks to all of you who helped raise funds to bring her home.  

Great is your reward for caring for the fatherless!

Now, PLEASE PRAY for this child as she grieves the loss of her old world.  The grief is awful, exhausting, tearful, fearful, excruciating.  But it is necessary as she leaves her past and clings to her future, even though to this sweet 3 year old, the future is scary!

Please, please, please pray!

My BEAUTIFUL friend Hilary and her GORGEOUS new daughter H.
I LOVE YOU, HIL!!!!
Congratulations on your new daughter!

JPC - June 8

June 8 -- Hair

I really wanted to get my haircut today just so I could blog about my hair and post a picture. After all, I get my hair cut only once or twice a year, so something new is always good.

Jay has his Summer Regional event coming up in a couple of weeks for work and a fresh haircut would feel and look good. Having just trimmed my bangs on my own last week before I started the Photo Challenge, I'm not ready for a haircut.  I'd rather go in with scraggly, long bangs so they trim everything perfectly.  I'll get it cut before we head to Austin, and in the meantime I'm looking at styles for long, stick straight, fine hair on Pinterest.  Feel free to send me suggestions!

Super C snapped this picture this morning.  My girl is always asking to brush my hair.  She's all girl.  I could sit for hours and have my hair brushed and combed.  It's so relaxing to me!  I'm typically more than happy to oblige my daughter's inner stylist.

I'm just sorry you have to see us in our pajamas and bed-head!

JPC - June 7

June 7 - Home

I cheated.  Today was supposed to be "Smile" but  I'm cheating on the photo challenge and swapping June 7th and June 19th.  You'll see why -- on the 19th!  I promise it will be worth it.

You've seen pictures of my home in previous posts when we first moved here.  No need to post new pictures.  After all, we haven't made any improvements to the home whatsoever.  We've kept our budget perfectly small as my husband builds his business.  We are now to the point that we'd better start thinking of some home improvements, especially if we start thinking about selling this house and moving up north, closer to Jay's office.

This is our House Wish List

I have no idea what it will take to do all these projects.  Certainly, we cannot complete them all at once, but we'll start pricing them all out and see when we can start knocking some of these off.

I think the least expensive will be painting our kitchen cabinets.  I want to get rid of the dark oak and paint them white.  My kitchen will look totally different and more open, I think!  My laminate countertops might be an eyesore after painting, but we'll see about that when we get to that point.  Painting inside might be a good activity for avoiding the summer heat outside!

Getting rid of our living room/dining room carpet also needs to be on the list.  We could consider extending that into the main floor guest bedroom too.  Laminate flooring would be cheaper, but wood might bring more resale value.  Whatever we choose needs to hold up relatively well from water when people come in from the pool out back, not that we come in dripping wet, but sometimes you can't trust kids.

One side of our fence could use replacing.  We live on a corner lot and I think that side really takes a beating when it's windy and stormy.  Our neighbor across the street replaced his before they moved.  I'm guessing ours is due next.  Every week we're nailing in a loose board or two and posts are shifting.  When we fix or replace, I'll need to re-stain and I might go with a dark grey/black stain and get rid of the red stain that we currently have from the previous owners.  I do miss my vinyl fence back in Nebraska, but I imagine that wouldn't hold up too well here.

We have a few loose deck boards too.  That should be cheap enough and we can probably do that on our own.  If I can figure out either stripping or sanding our deck, I'd like to change the color there too.  I'd like lighter deck flooring and dark rails to match a darker fence.  I've seen the look on Pinterest and I like it!  I'll wait for cooler, fall temps to work outside on the deck.  Our deck is 2 levels and is really large because it extends around half of our pool, so that would be quite the time consuming job!

One of the things we'd really like to have is a covered portion of our deck.  A neighbor one street over, with the same model home as ours, has his deck covered, complete with lighting and ceiling fan.  We'd really like that.  We'd be more apt to spend time out back if we had something covered with a ceiling fan to keep the air moving.  Those are probably pretty costly, but I'm going to get some estimates.

I could keep our list going and going.  

The list is daunting and probably expensive!  

But it would be fun.

The house would look new and fresh.

One thing at a time.

I'll post picture when/if we tackle any of these home projects.

JPC - June 6

June 6 - Work

I have recently started pet sitting for a friend of ours.  She's military and travels at least once a month and needs help with her 2 dogs Pono and Mocha Kai.  She used to board them at PetSmart but it became too costly, so I gave it a try at our home last month.  Our house became canine central with 2 dogs of my own and 2 boarders.  We had such a fun week in May with these dogs that I knew I'd offer to do it again.

Pono and Mocha were supposed to arrive tomorrow, staying the rest of the entire month, but our friend's trip got pushed back one week, so now they arrive on Father's Day and will stay until the 30th.   I'll also have them for a week in July too.

In the meantime, you can still enjoy a photo of my best buddy, Pono from his last time here.

Is it a Photo Challenge fail to post an old picture?

Maybe.  Probably.

Do I care?

Not so much.

Pono is a Catahoula Hound, also called a Mountain Cur.  It is the State dog of Louisiana.  He has the unique tiger stripes which make him the most handsome thing ever.  Our friend found him wandering her neighborhood when she moved in and took him into her home.  Strays are a big problem in San Antonio.  He is a pup at only about a year and a half old and he has puppy energy!  He is a strong, big lug too!    At first it was hard for Jay and I to control him because his owner had him in a harness which gave the dog all the power on leash.  I immediately put him into a slip lead like the Dog Whisperer uses and Pono submitted to my leadership immediately!  Talk about empowering for short, out of shape, little old me, to walk through the neighborhood with such a strong breed heeling nicely at my side!

Pono and my Mack get along so well!  They are constantly wrestling!  All day long!  Non stop!  At night, they both sleep like rocks, tired out from the day's activity.  With adults and kids alike, Pono is one big, giant, heavy, lapdog.  He is an absolute love!  He has tried to get onto my couches, which we don't allow but he has jumped into my bed which I am not so apt to stop.  More snuggle time for me and he eats it up!

I'll get a picture of Mocha Kai when she arrives.  She's a different breed.  I forget what mix.  She is an older dog and she's every bit a "female dog," if you know what I mean.  Don't worry, our friend was the one to warn me using those same words.  Mocha has a bad attitude and it's always directed at her brother Pono, never my dogs or my kids.  She also needs to be fed alone as she is very territorial with her food and the other dogs.  She is a good girl one-on-one though and she loves to be massaged as she takes supplements for aching joints.

My kids and I are having fun with our pet sitting job.  My boys do good work!  It is hard on my boys when the dogs leave though.  My boys attach to animals so naturally.  Our home is open to more friends' pets too, so if you know of anyone looking for a petsitter, let us know.  At some point, I'd love to have an acreage where I could have my own boarding facilities on our property and have a home-based business, if neighborhood covenants allow.

That would be a dream that my kids and I would love!

Anxious for Pono and Mocha to arrive next weekend!

JPC - June 5

June 5 - ???

According to my friend Sheri who started this Photo Challenge, today is supposed to be a picture of VBS.  Our church doesn't do VBS.  We do Backyard Bible Clubs and those aren't happening until later and I'm not sure if my kids will even attend.  We can't host one because our pool eats up most of our backyard, so there is no room for lots of kids to run around safely out back.

So, what to take a picture of today?

Hmmmmm...

I'm totally not feeling creative today, so I turned to our trusted pal, Google.  Enter:  "June Photo Challenge" and lots of results come up, surprisingly (seriously, why did that surprise me?).  All I had to do was choose one.  So I scrolled, I browsed and I chose.......

Sky

This is taken from my back door and that's my giant Live Oak tree and my backyard neighbor's house.  I woke up to dark clouds this morning!  A little cloud cover from the hot Texas sun is more than welcome!  And rain?  We'd love it to rain, yet it's not in the forecast today.  Winds are light today, from the south at about 10mph.  Humidity is high right now at 83%.  Temp will be a high of 94 according to The Weather Channel.

What's the weather like where you are today?

JPC - June 4

June 4 - Reading

Here is a snapshot of what we picked up on our last trip to the library.  It's the start of our summer reading but we haven't had much time for reading because we've been constantly running.

The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz

This book is in high demand at our library!  I can never renew it because it's always on hold by someone else.  It's all about Sensory Processing Disorder, which we know our Quiet Tiger deals with daily.  I'm hoping this book will give me some insights as to why she does what she does and how we can cope.

Club Penguin Books

I happened upon these when I went in to get my reserved book above.  My boys are all about Disney Club Penguin these days.  It's an online game that you can play for free or pay to join for more fun.  I don't pay for games or apps or anything, so we just do the free version.  In fact, if any of your kids would like to "friend" my kids, let me know and we can exchange info.  I knew these paperbacks would excite my 10 year old!

Super E's Summer Reading

I need to keep Super E reading this summer.  He was a late reader and reading is not his favorite subject, so it will be easy for him to fall behind this summer if I don't keep him engaged.  I picked these books out for him:

Fly Guy and the Frankenfly by Tedd Arnold
A Monster is Coming by David L. Harrison
Great Groundhogs by Karen Gray Ruelle
Marly and the Runaway Pumpkin by Susan Hill

Teaching Quiet Tiger

Our girl is starting to learn her ABC's and 123's, so she got a couple of board books from the library too.  Thanks to her SPD, she likes to tear paper and I cannot quite trust her with paper books yet, so baby board books it will be for a while.

This should keep us busy for a couple weeks until the books are due at the library.

Happy summer reading, everyone!

JPC - June 3

June 3 - Table

I like a clean home.  I do!  My mom always kept our home spotless when I was growing up.  There were 3 of us kids, a dog, a cat, and white carpet it was always spotless.  OK, we didn't always have the white carpet, but the house was still always immaculate.

When I had just 1 child, my house was easy to clean.  It was almost always presentable for impromptu guests.

When child #2 came along, the house wouldn't always be as presentable.  I could whip through pretty quickly though, in a few moments, if someone announced a unscheduled visit.

With 3 children, there's no time to clean.  I should put an "Enter at your own risk!" sign on my front door.  I like to say now that having friends over for scheduled visits forces me to clean.

This is our dining room table today.  We bought this table at Ikea when we were in the adoption process and needed a larger table for our growing family.  I love the 2 leaves in this table!  We eat here when we entertain.  I love entertaining.  I homeschool at this table.  I love homeschooling!

I very much prefer it to be just the table runner and my glass vase with silk flowers and Lake Michigan rocks.  Simple and clean.  No clutter, no mess.  Contemporary.  Less is more.  Today, and most days sadly, it looks like this.  Chairs askew, stacks of mail and papers to be filed, multiple pens, library and/or school books scattered, snack dishes that never made it to the kitchen sink, a toddler's smeared banana, toys, iPad, water bottle and comb, my cell phone, keys, Jay's wallet, and this week only, Jay's MRI films.

This is life in my home.  It's messier than I want it to be, but it's the season in which we find ourselves.

Enter at your own risk!

JPC - June 2

June 2 - Healthy Snack

My food obsessed 3 year old got into BIG TROUBLE last week.  I had made smoothies to go along with our dinner.  Mangoes were relatively cheap so I made my own version of my favorite smoothie, the Mango A-Go-Go at Jamba.  Miss L loved the smoothie and downed hers with her meal.

Smoothies are filling, so the boys and I chose to save ours for dessert after dinner.  I cleaned up the dishes and went outside to tackle my pool (see previous post for the disaster I've been having with my pool this year).  When I came back inside, ALL THREE smoothies, Super C's, Super E's and mine were gone, sucked dry by one sneaky, naughty, food obsessed, Chinese daughter.  She had taken advantage that the boys and I were out of the room and daddy was laid up on the couch with his bad back and she snuck into the kitchen and helped herself to food that didn't belong to her.  She knows this is a no-no.  I can't even tell you how much she ate!  She should have been sick!  Needless to say, I have now ordered an extra long baby gate with a swinging door to keep Miss Food Obsession out of the kitchen.  It will serve both her and dogs.

Today I made good on my promise to make more smoothies.  Mangoes, pineapple sherbet, mango nectar and ice.  Does this qualify as a healthy snack?  There sure are worse snacks out there.

Mango Smoothies.

Love 'em!

JPC - June 1

June 1 -- Outside

Believe it or not, at the end of April we hit 100 degrees here in San Antonio.  That made me think.  It was such a "cold" winter here and I wondered if we were in for one heck of a HOT summer.  With that thinking, I opened my pool early.

BIG MISTAKE!

This being our 3rd spring here in Texas and our 2nd one in our home with an above-ground pool, I totally forgot about pollen season and our big Live Oak tree in the backyard.  What was once a blue pool turned green and then brown with pollen.  It took me days to vacuum and scoop it all out!  What a MESS!

Lesson learned:  

NEVER, and I mean NEVER

 open the pool until the Live Oak is done dropping it's catkins everywhere 

and the yard and deck have been cleaned from the mess!

Once I got the Oak's catkins out, the water never returned to clear, it was always cloudy.  I was constantly at the pool store spending money on chemicals.  Pool store #1 gave me some bad advice which I regret following and that makes the story even longer, and I won't go into that saga.

Then I battled algae.  Oh my gosh!  For about a week I was sucking the slimy, green stuff out with our vacuum, running to the pool store for water tests and dumping chemicals in to clear up the pool, spraying out the filter with a hose at least twice a day.

I got the algae cleaned out and it was just back to cloudy again, but rain came.  Four inches of rain fell over the course of a couple of days at the end of May.  Ever since then, the pool is either cloudy or green and cloudy.  This weekend, pool store #2 thought the green was algae (again) so I bought an algaecide that was supposed to make one really cool chemical reaction when I mixed it with shock according to the directions.  Nothing.  No reaction.  No change in the water.  Still green.  Still cloudy.  Diagnosis: It's not algae, it's pollen!

Today I gave my pool store one more chance.  They tested my water again and suggested a partial drain on the pool.  So this picture finds me using the sump pump we bought in Nebraska for our flooded basement, draining 12 inches of green, pollen-y water out of my pool.  It's definitely not algae or else the walls of the pool would be slimy.  They are perfectly clean as I drain.  I will refill with water straight from the hose, shock it with chemicals and then take another water sample to the pool store tomorrow.  More chemicals will be in store to get the pollen out, but for now it's all about balancing the water so that the chemicals will work!

The store clerk promised my boys they would be swimming in their clear pool this week.

Fingers crossed!  I'm not beyond asking for prayers for our pool at this point.

June Photo Challenge

My friend Sheri is one of the most creative people I know.  She recently blogged about missing her blogging due to her new job.  So, she came up with the idea of a June Photo Challenge and challenged her readers to join in too.  Game on!  I miss writing and I love taking pictures, so I'm all in on this challenge.

Sheri created her own list and I may have to tweak mine here and there, but here's her list.  If you want to join, be sure to comment below and let us know where we can follow you (blog, Facebook, etc.)

June Photo Challenge List

1..... Outside
2..... Healthy snack
3..... Table
4..... Reading
5..... VBS (I may switch this up because our church doesn't do a VBS)
6..... Work
7..... Smile
8..... Hair
9..... Lawn
10... Road
11... Transportation
12... Pattern
13... Front porch
14... Family
15... Father (I may do this on a different day, and you'll see why)
16... Game
17... Upside down
18... Birthday
19... Home
20... Bedtime
21... Sister
22... Groceries
23... Numbers
24... Foot
25... Flower
26... Hose
27... Patio
28... Asia
29... Hot
30... Garden