randomness on a friday

1. The sunshine we have been having lately makes me VERY happy! It makes me feel good, we have longed some hours outside playing, we have been able to work in the yard, and most importantly my dad and randy have been able to get some work done in the fields! That is always great news!

2. What felt like a very loonnnng Friday at Middle School had a pretty crappy (literally!) ending. We step into our office after school excited to break out for the weekend into the sunshine and what do Becca and I find? Yep! Sewage! The sewer had backed up into our office! A very crappy way to end a Friday!

3. I was doing my usual blog-surfing and saw this recipe. Caramel Fudge S'more Nachos! This is something we just have to try! Like tomorrow!

4. Tim has been in Dallas since Wednesday, he should be home soon (like within the hour!), and we are ready for him to be back! We get along well when he is away (we have practice!), but we much prefer he be home! The girls and I do have a pretty good routine when Daddy is gone. Things do change a little while he is away....we eat simpler meals like smoothies, cereal, cheese quesadillas.. We really try to work as a team. And the biggest change, the girls get to sleep with me. I think this works well for everyone. They think it is way cool to watch cartoons in bed at bedtime. And I like having them close by because well I am a bit of a scaredy cat.

5. A few weeks ago my friend Missy blogged about saying yes more often to her children. I liked the idea. The next Sunday in our small group at Church, which is doing a parenting study, the lesson talked about putting on a yes face. It was one of those "ok God I really hear you on this one!" moments. I was definitely feeling the nudge to say yes more. The idea is that we need to say yes more to our children because the world will tell them no plenty. Really they actually just need to hear no less...this doesn't mean every time they ask for something it needs to be an automatic yes....but maybe instead of no to something like asking if they can where a swimsuit outside in 40 degree weather you respond with a "do you think that is a good idea?" Or "I like your thinking, but isn't it kinda cold for that?" Even a 3 year old knows that answer (though they may not admit it!). Over the last few weeks both Tim and I have put a conscious effort into less "nos" and more "yeses". I have came to these conclusions....as a parent it just feels good to say yes AND I don't feel like they are taking over and just doing whatever they want. I still have control, they just have a voice. Everyone wants to have their voice be heard...even little ones. As a result there have been fewer fits--maybe its the yeses and maybe its just coincidence:) I like simple changes that make a big difference. So, we are definitely going to keep our yes faces on!

6. Since we moved into our home almost two years ago (can you believe it two years!) we have been debating where to plant trees. We have very odd shaped lot. Well we finally have a plan and know what we want! We are so excited to get our yard all put together. In the next few weeks we will be planting a few new bushes and trees and putting in a garden. I am so excited. I am going to follow along with the KinderGARDEN 2011 series over at Inadvertent Farmer. Should be a fun Summer!!

7. My almost 7 year old is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO into High School Musical right now. It is just something about the singing and the dancing. She loves it. She has even started to choreograph her own musical numbers! So sorry to the rest of the residents of our community who might want to check out High School Musical 2 and 3 from the library...we have had them for 3 weeks. She just keeps renewing them and is very worried about having to take them back next week!