Thumbs up to Logan...

This is a post for a local boy fighting brain cancer. You can find more info here about Logan Maney and his struggle and support!

Baby Sea Monkeys!

Apparently our sea-monkeys are mating!

We have 3 babies, and the males and females are "stuck" together!

Snow Day, Again.

Well, the road crews weren't able to get things cleaned up today in time for schools, so we have yet another snow day.

Rory was willing to go out with me this morning in the bitter cold for a few photos. I love this kid.

Surprise Snow Day!

We got up this morning with a surprise of snow! It wasn't in our forecast, and wasn't much. The schools weren't called until after the parents and buses had already arrived at school. It was quite an icy mess to be honest... The kids enjoyed it, even though it was just enough to play in.

The end of a LONG day...

I am finally at the end of a VERY long day.

I learned a few things this week that may help all of you readers...

#1. If you haven't had a ticket in 10+ years, when you are pulled over, ask the cop to reduce it.
#2. If you are in NC, you CANNOT go to the local DMV to get a copy of your driving record. You must either have 3 weeks to wait, or drive the 4.5 hours to Raleigh to pick it up from the headquarters.

Last summer I went to visit my grandmother in WV. While going through Abingdon, VA, I was pulled over. I was speeding, not awfully, but was speeding. I had no idea it was ok to ask the officer for a warning! I thought it had to be offered, but apparently not. So, a few months ago, with four children in tow, I went to court to plead my case, and the judge agreed that upon completion of an 8-hour driving class before tomorrow, and the presentation (by tomorrow) of a certified copy of my DMV record after the class was taken (to prove that I had no citations in between), to release the ticket and not make it "stick" or go on my record, he even waived the fine.

The class wasn't as easy to get into as I had thought, and wasn't offered in my county. With the holidays, there were a few less classes offered... so needless to say, it was a last minute thing. I was able to take my driving class on Saturday (which my ticket was less that HALF of the violation of the other students), and found out I couldn't get my driving record locally. I spent 9 hours driving today, starting at 5am.

I made it back to Asheville by 3 to pick my kids and carpool up from school.

Supper has been cooked and consumed; now I can finally relax. I think I may head to bed after a nice cool drink. I'm completely wiped out.

I'll admit it...

I am not a southern belle...

I have never cooked a pineapple upside-down cake. Even worse... I don't like them. At all.

But, my mommy was here, and she made one for my boys (cute hubbie included), and it was a hit... at least I think it was... don't you?

She's Here!

Grandma (Mama Ann) came to visit today!!! Whoo hoo. We went to a nice dinner, and the kids got some pencils and Evie got a new shirt! Arden made his first pineapple upside-down cake! We even made it with vegan cake, so Rory will get some too!

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire...

Ok, not the roof, or really much of anything except the Christmas Tree...

Tonight was the annual Christmas Tree Burn at the Gittings house. Rory started the fire, in typical scout fashion... but it was too cold outside to enjoy for long.

The Kitchen Window...

What does your kitchen windowsill contain? Mine is what I would consider eclectic... It hosts a wooden rhinoceros (which in turn holds my wedding rings), a wooden carving of a pregnant woman embracing her mate, a random rock, a bird's nest, kaleidoscope,  an incense burner from New Mexico, and Rory's "New Mexico Jar"(the jar holds soil, rocks, cactus skeleton, and some random nature stuff from his trip to NM).

This window in particular, is never clean. Rain hits it on the outside, and of course the sink splashes on it regularly.

This is the one window, that overlooks my kids' play area. I love that I can stand and cook while watching them play in our back yard.

Not too much going on today...

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are typically my non-stop days. I run from here to there, carpool, sports, etc.

Today, my craziness also included Rory's performance at school. He was a Blacksmith during the colonial times. Here is a photo of my little man, in the costume he put together himself, along with the set he and his friends built at school. I'm quite proud of him!

Firsts, and Lasts...

So, with each child, they make their milestones, their firsts... first breath, first step, first day of school, first bike ride, etc...

Well, after 4 children, I am on my last set of firsts. While I am thrilled we are done having children, and love the size of our family, I am filled with biter-sweetness as I witness each of these last firsts passing.

Today was Evie's first day of pre-school. She turns three during the session, so she enrolled and started today... I may actually be in denial that she is growing up this fast... wasn't she born yesterday? Well, last week?

Nightly Routines

Everyone has routines. One of ours is that each night, I have to braid my son's hair. If we don't, his hair is a mess each morning. So here we are, after his shower...

While Daddy is away...

The oldest gets to be my date in the evenings.

Tonight, as a reward for helping me fold laundry, we watched a scary-ish movie and enjoyed peanuts together, without all the siblings bothering us (since they were in bed).

The Night Sky...

Well, rather, Rory's perspective of the night sky from his loft...

Rory and I spent an hour tonight putting up stars in his loft... he now has some real constellations, and some of his own adorning the ceilings of his loft... if it weren't for the lack of a closet, bathroom, and having to climb up there all the time, I would steal his room for my own!

Game Day!

It is game night! With dad out of town, we have mixed noodle spaghetti (think rotini and spaghetti noodles together), and play board games!

Tonight we started with Apples to Apples, but realized we do need dad for that one, and moved on to Pirate-opoly!