Thursday 18th

Hubby got hired for a "temp" job. It is for at least 8 weeks, maybe longer. He was told to expect OT. The employees have been working 10 hour shifts, and if one chooses they can do weekends too.

Hubby says at least he can "get experience",as he waits for his applications to be processed.

I noticed today at work that the trees are starting to change colors.

My maple out front is beginning to turn red. My dream for that tree is to put up a tire swing. I just have to wait for it to get big enough.

Foster kiddo #2 turns 3 on Sunday. We got his birthday presents the other day. I am excited. I am going to make m&m cupcakes. He doesn't like ice cream, and really isn't into store bought cake. I know he likes cupcakes though.

Andrew and Ryan have started football. They both seem to be enjoying it. Their next game is Thursday. The bad thing is that their games are at different schools. 

 

I am glad the weather has cooled down slightly. I got down some of my fall decor.

I got these on clearance last year. I think I paid under $10 for both these guys.

I found some cute decoration ideas on Pinterest, but will probably wait until next year before doing any of them.

Saturday project

So, several weeks ago hubby built a planter around our blue spruce out front.

It ended being more work than he expected.

He and the other boys went camping last nite and I knew were going to be gone most of today. That left me with my oldest boy and the two little boys. Last night, the little ones were asleep by 8. 

They awoke around 730. I knew today was going to be really warm, so I began working on filling in this planter. I got it done. My one day lily was hard to dig up, luckily oldest came out and dug it up for me.

Here's the finished project:

I worked on some of the planters that are on our property line

It's hard to see, I planted 4 mums...

And spread red cedar mulch. It smells so good...

Hope you've had a great Saturday!

September

Things continue to be chaotic here.

All the kids start school tomorrow. They objected when hubby kicked them out of bed this morning. He told them he wanted to make sure they were prepared to be ready on time tomorrow, lol.

Hubby had an interview today, he will be contacted within two days to let him know whether or not he got the job.

I canned 70 pounds of tomatoes and 125 pounds of peaches. By Saturday, I was tired of canning. It was so warm here Tuesday and Wednesday, I was scared that i may not get it all done in time. I spread the peaches out on my dining room table, I only had a few that were bad ( they were given to the hens). 

I worked out in my garden a bit.

These are the strawberry plants that volunteered themselves. I have a friend coming over tomorrow to get some. I think I may dig up what I can and free cycle the rest.

My garden is a mess. My lettuce bolted after the heat last week. My tomatoe plants are full though.

I picked a big bowl of tomatoes yesterday.

It rained all say Saturday. We purchased a rain barrel a couple weeks ago. It was full in a few hours.

 The crazy thing is out upper roof drains to the lower roof. So we will need to figure out how many containers we will need.

That can add up to a lot of water for the plants for next summer.

These are my newest projects. I am working on making the little kids finger puppets and a quiet book to play with in the car when we are on the road.

Weather

This morning I awoke to a beautiful sunrise.

I noticed the clouds were quite tall for around here.

I watered my strawberries and part of my garden. I was in doing the dishes when it began to downpour. We had some hail too.

We helped one of my co workers move. There was thunder here, but since I was in Olympia I missed it. It was warm and humid all day.

My fuchsia has been loving it!

Happy Friday!

Hubby is home. He  has officially graduated with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering.
He is the first one of his 9 siblings to accomplish that goal. He has spent the last several days applying for jobs, and working on his "honey do list"..

Hubby already power washed both back patios. He did have to fix a part on his power washer. It was an easy fix.

We have decided to not move. We really have been going back and forth on it. We have done a lot of work here, and I really don't want to start all over. I also do not want a mortgage payment when I am 80. We will stay here, and expand out the lower level. If we have enough money, we will expand out the backside of the house. That would give us more than enough space for what we need.

Its been warm here. My garden is doing ok. My spinach died. Not too sure what happened there, as my lettuce, kale and chard are doing well. I have a volunteer tomato plant that is loaded with blossoms. The bees have been all over, I am hoping for a good crop this year. We are planning this fall to rent a rototiller and mix the soil with the compost I have been piling up on the edges.

We are hoping to replace the chicken coup this fall. He has drawn up a new design. We are going to get thick/better wood this time. It will be 4 inches taller, which will make it easier to clean.

The kids have been going through their items in their rooms, and getting rid of what they don't need. I have had them go through their clothes, Ryan has outgrown all of his jeans. My one foster kiddo has shot up in the last month. He got a bike for his birthday in March, and is already too tall for it. We picked him up another one last Saturday. He really likes riding it. Andrew is good at taking him out with him. They practice how to correctly cross the street and how to turn and brake. He still has training wheels on it, I don't think he quite has the balance yet to take them off.

We went to Wally world tonight, and there was an old car show. My kids and husband LOVE mustangs. I pointed one out to the 2 year old, and said that is a mustang. He repeats," a mustank". I got a good laugh out of it, however my husband did not find it as humerous.

Sunday the 13th

Its been unusually warm here the last several days.
I had heard on the radio it hasn't been this warm in 5 years.
My tomatoes and zucchini are loving it.
I tried to share from weather bug the temperature, but it didn't work on my phone.. ( go figure)
The forecast for today is a chance of thunderstorms. My kids and I are anxiously awaiting. We LOVE thunder and lightening. We just don't get much around here.
The picture below is from last nite. Notice the cat laying over the edge of the bed....

 

Here is the weather bug pic I tried to post yesterday. I think it was 90 degrees for the high.

Yesterday my middle boys spent most of the day fixing their brothers car. Its a 92 topaz that is dying a slow death. Some temperature sensor thing went TU. It took the boys most of the day to figure it out. The good thing is, they did have the car fixed by 930 last nite. My second oldest was upset with himself that it took so long for him to diagnosis, I told him his dad learned by trial and error; it was a learning experience. I think he felt better about it today.
My husband graduates school in 10 days. I am ssooo excited that he is almost done.
It will be good for him to be home. My kids are super excited for him to be home as well. I know he is anxious to start working again. He told me he is tired of being a student.

As for my little foster kids, we still have them. Their mom went into treatment, however she did not last a week from being released. I feel so bad for the kids, they have not seen her in almost a month. The older boy asks me almost everyday if he has a visit. I tell him that she is really sick, and that when she is better he will be able to see her.

This week is cub scout day camp. I will be there Tuesday-Thursday for an evening camp. I figure the mosquitoes will be happy. I swear, they must smell me from miles away. What on earth was the purpose of a mosquito? Spider food? Surely there was a better critter that could have been created/evolved. This will be my last year of doing camp. I have been doing it for 7 years. Its time for someone new to step up. My younger two boys will be away at scout camp. Ryan is excited, as this is his first time attending a week long camp.

I am off this Friday- Sunday. My goal is to make some felt paper dolls and a felt Mr.Potatoe head. The foster kiddos saw some online, and they asked me to make them some. I already have the materials, now to just create the time.

This week

As of the 30th of this month, hubby will be retired from the military!

He had to go to Camp Murray for a meeting, so he is home this weekend.

I will have the luxury of getting up at  O dark thirty to take him to Yakima.

He only has 7 weeks of school left, then he will be home.

I made him some chocolate granola to take back with him.

The weather has been great here, I have been picking lots of strawberries already.

I have to add more twine to my fencing, as my peas have really shot up in the last several days.

My lettuce is almost big enough to begin harvesting.

My oldest graduates in a week. We will be having an open house. Nothing too stressful.

I have been working on putting my clutter away. 

Someday, when I don't work full time, I will have the time to complete my projects.

I did get the laundry room finished. All the walls are painted. It looks good, if I do say so myself.

All we need is new flooring in the basement.

Here is my dog, playing in the sprinkler.

He is silly.