Knee High Corn

Pictures from my drive to the grocery yesterday.

******

Midwest US corn farmers have an expression

'knee high by the fourth of July'.

A crop which is expected to turn out well will be

at least knee high in early July,

which means the initial growing conditions have been good!

As you can see, the corn is much higher than that!

We've had hot sun and lots of rain here in Ohio!

The sweet corn is gonna be delicious this summer!

New Wheels

Some of my regular blog friends may recall the horror

stories of my dear mini van over the last year.

The bald tires that would hydroplane me during rainy

days, the power steering belt that popped off twice

while I was driving over 55 mph, the broken compressor

on the A/C, the dead horn, the dead cruise control, rust,

broken gas cap cover, broken hub cap and last but not least

those possessed wipers that would not run in the rain but

would come on full speed when the van was off and the

keys in my hand! Oh my, did I need new wheels!

When the necessary safety repairs (not any

cosmetic ones) totalled $2000, we

knew it was time to let it go. They gave us $500

for it at trade in, and The Mister said they were being

extremely generous. ha-ha!

So, here is my new (to us) Jeep Commander.

Everything works! It's a pleasure drive.

I'm loving the V8!

I'm so very thankful!

Favorite Frozen Food

Chunks O' Fruiti frozen fruit bars. Kinda like an adult popsicle. 90 calories and oh so yummy. This one was strawberry, but my fave is pina colada. :) from Sam's Club.

Beauty Amidst the Chaos

The bedroom renovations are still underway.

But the view out the window is beautiful!

Sleeping Positions III

When I checked in on the boys before going to bed last night

this is what I found. Of course, I had to go get my camera

and add to my series of posts on silly sleeping positions!

It reminded me of this one taken in 2009. In typical

fashion, Spencer seems to always be squishing Harry.

Yet Harry doesn't seem to mind!

My favorite is still this one from 2008.

Yes, that is Harry completely buried in

limbs not belonging to himself! ha!

I guess if you have been together since

the womb, it's hard to break the habit!

When they outgrew one crib and we moved

them each to their own...they would hold

hands between the bars! Awww.

Then they got old enough to all crawl into one.

I think the lines of autism and the connection of

triplets blur here...they aren't concerned with

what would be normal or wanting their own

room or even own bed. And they won't lay down

at night until everyone is in place!

Theme Thursday = Triangle

• Tiny
• Rhythm
• Instrument.
• A
• Noteworthy
• Gem I
• Loved to
• Experience.

In kindergarten, the triangle was always my favorite when we

got to choose from the rhythm band instrument box!

Visit all of my Theme Thursday friends HERE!

Sleeping in Chaos

Some of you may remember that I stripped wallpaper in

our bedroom last month. The walls underneath were a

disaster, to say the least. Uneven surfaces and bits of

paint remained even after lots of sanding and some

thick primer. We thought it was time to call in a

professional. He had the wonderful idea of installing

ultra thin, 1/4" drywall over the whole mess.

Wow...how wonderful...brand new walls! He started

yesterday, so we have our bed in the center of the room

and everything else cleared out. It was a little weird

sleeping like that! The full moon was bright without

a blind on the window and the plastic that covered

the floor made it impossible to tiptoe to the bathroom

in the middle of the night without making noise! LOL!

I woke up this morning feeling like I

was on a boat or an island! An early morning

rain shower made it hard to get up.

The Mister made sure he had his essentials, using

the window sill as a bedside table.

Yes, that's his Kindle there, with the phone and clock. :)

Me? I just wanted my coffee! And I didn't even need a

coaster with the dresser so close, covered in plastic!

Today is the mudding of the seams.

Can't wait to show you the finished room!

Spoonerisms

Mrs. Kravitz ~a nosy little cook!

Spoonerisms are phrases or in language with swapped sounds. Usually this happens by accident, particularly if you're speaking fast. Come and wook out of the lindow, for example.

The funniest ones are the ones in which the Spoonerism makes sense as well as the original phrase, such as A well-boiled icicle = a well-oiled bicycle.

.

The name Spoonerism comes from the Reverend William Archibald Spooner who is reputed to have been particularly prone to making this type of verbal slip. Here are some fun examples...

.

nosey little cook ~ cosy little nook

a blushing crow ~ a crushing blow

tons of soil ~ sons of toil

our queer old Dean ~ our dear old Queen

our shoving leopard ~ our loving shepherd

know your blows ~ blow your nose

shake a tower ~ take a shower

tease my ears ~ ease my tears

nicking your pose ~ picking your nose

lack of pies ~ pack of lies

go help me sod ~ so help me God

pit nicking ~ nit picking

wave the sails ~ save the whales

mad bunny ~ bad money

shout of the hour ~ out of the shower

lead of spite ~ speed of light

flutter by ~ butterfly

mend the sail ~ send the mail

my zips are lipped ~ my lips are zipped

bat flattery ~ flat battery

belly jeans ~ jelly beans

eye ball ~ bye all

fight in your race ~ right in your face

no tails ~ toe nails

hiss and lear ~ listen here

.

My favorite one of the day is roaring with pain = pouring with rain, since I experienced both of these today! I burnt my front teeth on a very hot cup of coffee...yes, the nerves in my teeth...they've throbbed all day! Crazy, I know. And, Harry and I went to Wal-mart and drove there in gorgeous sunny weather. I left the sun-roof open on my new set of wheels only to have a horendous thunderstorm pour while we were in the store. Ugh. I know, I know..."good, bad and ugly post" is in the works! haha.

.

If you want to have more fun with Spoonerisms,

click HERE! And if you want to read past fun

word posts on my blog, click HERE!

Chocolate Overload

Sinfully rich dark chocolate cake accompanied by

Haagen Das Midnight Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.

Father's Day

He loves vintage watches,

Mont Blanc pens and fine suits.

Craves chocolate like no other man I know.

He's a work-a-holic to a fault but

extremely successful in what he does.

He fears God and holds the memory of

his own father dearly. I asked him twice for a

baby and he gave me four! :)

He loves my cooking.

He helps with chores.

And he comes home every night.

♥♥♥

Thank you.

Happy Father's Day!

The First Picking

The first handful of raspberries were ripe in the

garden. Not enough for a cobbler, but they

sure tasted good on my morning yogurt!

Like a Hot Knife Through Butter

I sharpened my knives today!

This chef's knife now cuts through a watermelon

like it was warm butter. Oh my!

Now I'm a little scared of it!

In all seriousness, it was a long overdue chore

and so nice to have done. And I still

have all of my fingers! :)

Theme Thursday = Camera

• Capturing
• All
• Meaningful
• Events to
• Review
• Again

Visit my Theme Thursday friends HERE!

Alex's Adventure

It was Alex's turn to go to the grocery with me this week.

I will admit that I wasn't looking forward to it after

that trip with Spencer! LOL! And since I had to go

to both Kroger and Sam's Club, I was fearful that

it would be too much for him...and me! And I almost

just went by myself. You know that 'hanging by a

thread' feeling? I had it...and just wasn't feeling

strong enough for an outing with him. But I

knew that I would be disappointed in myself for

not getting him out of the house this week.

They need as much socialization as possible, even

if it's more work for me.

On the way, I noticed that Alex had his fingers crossed.

He only does this when he's anxious about something.

Awww...poor buddy. He had a little smirk on his face

at the same time, though, so maybe it was more just

anticipation instead of anxiety. I told him it was going

to be fun...food, after all, is his favorite thing! ha.

Here's that smirk I'm talking about. It's almost as if he's trying not to smile! ha. He's so much better at pushing the cart than Spencer...I only held on to the front to steer instead of holding back the speed. :)

And because he was slower, I actually got pictures,

unlike Spencer's trip where I was on speed control

the whole time...saving lives of other shoppers! See my tomato plants? Already in big pots and a nice trellis. I can't seem to talk anybody at home into running the tiller in the garden for me. I've decided we won't do the garden. Instead of nagging, I'll just hand over the receipt for 2 potted plants. ha. Reminds me of that Ruth Graham quote, "There comes a time for a wife to stop submitting and start outwitting!" I so love that!

"Mom...please...this is getting embarrassing!

Nobody else has their camera in here!"

We went through the drive thru at Burger King. I told Alex if he did the 'sign' for 'please' that he could have super-sized french fries. I even caught it on camera...although a bit blurry! :) The sign is an open hand like he is doing, and you rub in a circle on your chest.

And he enjoyed his fries as we drive home!

I was so glad he came along!

Harry is next week! :)

Miss Manners

The other night at dinner, Taylor let out an especially obnoxious burp. Being his mother, I naturally objected...

Me ~ "Taylor, good grief! You haven't done that in years! Please don't revert back to that silly adolescent humor! Yuck!"

Taylor ~ laughing, "Mom, have you EVER burped?"

Me ~ "What? You're kidding, right?"

Taylor ~ "No! Mom, I don't think I've EVER heard you burp in my whole life!"

*******

OK, isn't THAT funny!?

Shhh....don't tell him!

If an 18 year old still thinks his mom

just might be perfect,

I'm certainly not going to try and

change his mind in any way! LOL!

The English Muffin

Here is my drawing for Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesday.

The theme this time is 'nook'. I immediately thought of

all those nooks and crannies in English Muffins...you know,

all those little holes and crevices to hold the melted butter

and jam!? I first sketched in pencil, made final lines

in black ink and then finished with colored pencils.

I tried making a distorted reflection in the toaster.

Not really sure that turned out, but once I

started, there was no turning back! :)

You should consider joining in the fun!

It is not a weekly commitment...only twice monthly!

If you like to draw or doodle, or if you want to

see the other entries which will be posted this

Tuesday, just click right HERE.

Spencer Goes Shopping

I took Spencer to Wal-Mart with me Wednesday.

It was nice to have a little one-on-one time with him.

Each boy is different during these trips and it

is quite an experience! Some thoughts...

*****

1. Spencer likes to push the cart FAST! I had to hold

on and give some resistance as he would certainly have

had a collision! He seemed unaware that people

could get run over and he didn't slow down

to turn corners, either! LOL!

****

2. Spencer likes the DVD section the best.

He bounced around all the isles and gathered

three choices. I reminded him that we had

to PAY for these ...this wasn't the library! ha.

His choices? A Scooby Doo movie, The newest

Thomas the Tank Engine movie, and get this...

National Geographic's Border Wars Season I.

What? I tried to talk him out of the last one

but he was quite insistant. I had no idea he was

interested in illegal immigration! LOL!

****

3. He also chose a new ink cartridge for our printer

(he loves to print train pictures from the internet),

a bag of Lays, a bag of Blow Pops, and a bag of Tootsie Pops.

Yes, it cost me a LOT more money to have a child along...

sound familiar to any other parents? LOL!

***

There were only 2 lanes open that weren't Express

...so crazy! One was run by who I call

"The Cashier From Hell". She's absolutely

worthless...talks too much and can't run items

through the scanner while she talks! She's slow

and nosey (as in, she looks around at people

walking by instead of ringing up your stuff!)

I had her one other time and swore I would never

do it again. But her lane was empty and the other

lane had about 10 in line. (I think that is

because they all KNEW her! LOL!)

So, I made a BAD choice in choosing her!

It took her 30 minutes to check us out!

Spencer didn't fuss, but he flapped his fingers

in front of his eyes and kept pulling up his shirt,

exposing his big hairy Buddha belly. LOL!

I think he distracted the cashier, making her slower!

And did I mention it was raining? Oh yes...the sky's

opened up and soaked us to the core as we ran inside.

It was just sprinkling on the way home, but by then

it really didn't matter! Well, I hope you're laughing

with me...I coudn't laugh until the next day! LOL!

Alex is next week. I think I'll rest up. :)

Who's Bleeding??? And Excuse the Gruesome Pics

I woke up this morning to this bloody washcloth!

Still groggy and stumbling through the house in my

nightgown, without my contacts in, I kept saying,

"Who is bleeding?" Of course, three non-verbal

boys didn't answer! LOL!

So, I went through the rooms looking for a body or

a mess....and then I found Spencer at my computer desk.

"What happened to you? Did your nose bleed?", I asked with wide eyes!

"Mose", (nose) Spencer nods. You just gotta laugh around here or you'll go crazy! LOL!

Theme Thursday = Candy

I have a huge sweet tooth. And if I have to get

a sweet fix from a vending machine, my first

choice would be an Almond Joy or Mounds bar.

Did you know that they have been around since

the 1940's? I love the vintage ads! And can

you believe they were only 10 cents?

They were probably bigger back then, too!

Isn't that they way it usually goes? ha.

Kinda like a Burger King Whopper...remember

when those were so huge you could barely

pick them up? But I digress...

Remember the catchy slogan,

"Sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you don't"?

And look at this cute couple! I'm glad to see they didn't get their costumes confused! ;) I'll tell you right now, The Mister wouldn't be caught dead in something like this! ha.

*****

I'd have to say that Butterfinger, and Twix would have to come in as a close 2nd and 3rd on my favorites list.

*****

So...what's your favorite candy bar?

*****

Visit my other Theme Thursday friends here!

Sweet Smelling Rain

This evening we had one of those wonderful slow

rains. You know the kind...the soft shower that

comes with the sweet smell. Some times I think

rains smells like worms! ha. But this was one of

the fresh, clean ones. It reminded me of this

video clip. I posted it last year, but it's certainly

worth another listen...turn up your volume and

close your eyes....think spring showers! :)

So....Who Is She???

She's Flo, the quirky cashier in the

Progressive Insurance commercials! Flo is played by actress and comedienne Stephanie Courtney, and has been cited in news articles as having a sizable fan base on social networks like Facebook. Her character has appeared in commercials since the concept's 2008 debut. Flo is recognized by her extremely enthusiastic persona! And who can forget her heavy Rockabilly-style makeup, and retro hairstyle? In October 2009, the Boston Herald referred to Flo as "the commercial break’s new sweetheart," and said that Courtney was "attaining TV ad icon status." Flo has also become a new favorite Halloween costume. A Facebook page called "Flo the Progressive Girl" has garnered well over 500,000 fans! There are multiple websites dedicated to her, and she is popular on Twitter and various Internet forums. And, in case you've never seen a Progressive Insurance commercial here is one for your viewing pleasure!

Congratulations to several of you who picked Flo for your

answer! And a special congrats to Steviewren for being the

first to guess the correct answer! Now, go visit her

charming blog by clicking HERE! :)

Who Is This?

Do you recognize this famous person?

Answer will be given Monday evening. :)

Kale

Who knew rabbit food could be so beautiful?!

♥♥♥♥♥

Kitchen hint~ I trim the ends of the kale and sit it in

a bowl with a few inches of water in it...just like you

would do with fresh flowers. Any wilty bits spring

back to life and become crispy again. I do this

with asparagus, or any lettuces...and fresh

herbs. If I have room, I put the whole bowl

into the refrigerator.

Thoughts on Summer and Teacher Gifts

My Kroger had beautiful cyclamen this week.

I needed four pretty but practical teacher gifts for the

boys' teacher and aides. Pink, fushia, purple and blush...

perfect when a thoughtful note is attached. My own cylcamen hasn't stopped blooming for years!

It's been the best and easiest houseplant ever!

******

So, now starts summer vacation with 3 autistic

teenage boys! I used to face this day with tears...

literally...as it truly is like running a 'home'

for the disabled with a 24/7 shift that lasts 3 months

straight. But it has become easier! At least we aren't

in the bottle and diaper stage anymore! At least

they can swim in the pool without constant supervision.

At least they know how to entertain themselves!

******

I've decided to look on the bright side!

A couple that I hardly know approached me at church

recently and said they would love to take the boys on a

walk once a week over the summer. How wonderful is

that? I'm looking forward to a little one-on-one time

with each of them as I have them accompany me to

the grocery. I'm looking forward to sleeping

in (me, not them!) for just a little bit, with one ear

listening for catastrophes, haha. No school lunches to

make each night. And we're going to work on saying

some words and using some more sign language.

Carnosine seems to be the new dietary supplement

that has helped many people with autism. I bought

two bottles to give it a try. It's always good to

do this kind of thing when they are not at school

and I can watch for changes...good and bad!

******

So wish me luck! I have my positive attitude on!

It's like Abe Lincoln said so many years ago,

"People are just about as happy as they make

up their minds to be!" And that is so true! :)

*****

But I still reserve the right to shed a few happy

tears on that first day of school in August! LOL!

Theme Thursday = White

"All of us have moments in our lives

that test our courage.

Taking children into a house with a

white carpet is one of them.”

Erma Bombeck

1927-1996

Visit all of my Theme Thursday friends HERE!