Fiddler on the stage

The Share the Fun 4H program was last night and Meri was the very first act.  She walked out on stage like she owned the place, smiling of course, so she wouldn't look like a diva...
Sat at the piano and sang her heart out.

She was really good!  AND she gets to perform at the State Fair on TWO stages now!  The Bill Riley stage AND the 4H performances!  The judge was impressed.  And Meri is pumped.

This is definitely HER year to shine!  I'm so glad.

Unfortunately I'm not able to load the video to Youtube yet.  NOR any pics...  SOON!!!!

darn technology.

lol!  Reminds me of the videos of THIS girl!  I love her random comments...  But I'm sure she'll let it go her head if it hasn't already.  But for now, she cracks me up!
Makes me wish we'd recorded all of the Leonisms...

I'm sixteen!  I'm a GRANDMOTHER!

Today, Meri and one of her best friends are touring my old alma mater and should be arriving right about now.  With any luck, she'll have time to stop in and see my dad before they leave town.

And maybe even pick up a pizza from Robb and my fave college pizza joints for the road...

Traditions live on!!!

Sugary Sweet Costuming without Puppies

Hi all,

I've been terrible coming to visit my favorite bloggers this week.  I think having Monday off from work really threw me off my schedule and made EVERY day this week a Monday.  

Hopefully I'll make the rounds today!

Yesterday's post, even though it was done before 9am, didn't get published until Robb asked me after work if I'd truly given Leon chicken nuggets for breakfast.  The kid narc'ed on me...  

I said, of course!  It was on my blog today!  And he said I hadn't posted one yet.  

oooohhh.. It was saved, but not published.   sigh. 

The story of my life.  Saved but not published.

Which isn't totally a BAD thing.

After work was a complicated car shuffle, which may result in getting another car to drive soon!  The Saturn, which we'd almost given up for dead, started last weekend, which surprised us.  So Robb filled up the radiator and took it down to our car guy last night.  Meri followed and brought him and Leon back, meeting me at the nursing home for a quick visit.

THEN Meri and I went to the park to help set up our 4H ring toss event.  BIG festivities in small town Iowa this weekend!!  Meri and I get to work the ring toss tomorrow night, right next to the beer garden...  Tonight is the kiddie parade and when I asked Leon what he wanted to be for it, he said a kitty.

You're not understanding me...

Plus we don't HAVE a kitty costume.

Our kids in the past have dressed up in costume, traditionally supposed to be something Norwegian, but my kids have gone as superheros, fru-fru girls or Dorothy.  

The elementary school kids dance too.  It'll be fun.

AND fireworks tonight!  

Then tomorrow is the bigger parade where we'll come home with 2 gallons of candy that Leon is going to pick up off the pavement.  YUM!  IF you use the traditional 5 second rule, it's not a problem.  Those kids are scavengers when the candy hits the cement. 

Plus, the horses come by last so it'll be good.  

We will NOT be bringing puppies to this years parade...  We didn't sell a single ONE that year!

and we are never doing puppies again, period.

I hope you have a great weekend full of family and sweetness too.

Don't fence me in!

It's been a 4H/fair kind of weekend.  

I don't remember what I did on Friday night...  I think I sewed.  That's kind of a blur.  I believe I sewed on the dress #1, the fitted dress.

On Saturday afternoon, I sewed my little heart out.  I HAD to get both dresses done.  I didn't, but I made some great progress. 

Long about 5, I found that I'd used the longer zipper for dress #1 and only had a shorter 12 incher to use on the outer sheer dress.  Oops... That didn't even reach the waist...  So I sprinted to JoAnns and thought I was out of luck until I thought to look behind the white 12-14 inch zippers and found one lone 20 inch zipper hidden behind. WOOHOO!  Got disappointed at the cell store, then headed to the county fair grounds.  

Our 4H leaders are retiring this year so the entire club got together for a surprised party on one of the fair lawns.  While waiting there, I got a call from Robb.  I had forgotten to close the gate after Meri mowed the back yard and the dogs were loose around town.  He rounded them up.  oops...

For the surprise party, I was appointed to give the speech.  I had nothing planned so I winged it.  Not sure if she was touched by it or just disgusted by my effort, but she cried.

Meri had to work but Robb brought her down just as the party was breaking up.  So she and I walked around to check out the projects and I bought her some fair food for supper.  Cheesy Fries?  Yes Please!  The diet can wait until tomorrow!

The purple ribbon hopeful photos of Meri's didn't make it to the state fair, but oh well.  She's planning on hanging all of them on her bedroom wall.

On the way out of town, I thought about maybe cutting through the cemetery.  NOT a shortcut!  In fact, we got a little lost trying to find our way out!  There were fences everywhere but where we were trying to get out. 

But the sun was going down and Meri said, GIVE ME THE CAMERA AND STOP THE CAR!

She took a bunch of photos in prep for NEXT years 4H fair!

She took some more when we got closer to home.  The sunset that night was super!

When we got home, I started toward the gate to make sure it was closed securely.  Those dogs have dug holes under it and it takes a special touch to make sure they don't get out every time we put them out.  Meri came with.  We were startled by something that hopped past us and into the garage door.  It was a toad.

Pardon me... just a clip from one of our favorite movies that we quote ALL the time....

Well, Meri used to have toads as pets.  Every stinking one of them was named, Hopalong Cassidy Cookie Checkers.  This one was the 4th.  She didn't really want to keep him this time, but put him in a carrying case to make DAD think she had a new pet.  He was not impressed...

Oh yeah, and we fixed the fence.

Down to the wire... When aren't we?

Well... Meri's 4H goals are done and her room is cleaned for a party tonight.  We were up late...  In fact SO late, that when I called her at 7:05am, I woke her up.  She needed to be to work by 7:30. 

She set her own personal record for getting ready on time!  

I think she might be ready for school to start!

Here are her projects that I'll be dropping off over lunch today with Leon.

1) Poetry book.

I don't actually have a photo of the front, but here is Meri making it in February...

2) Rocking Chair

It's loaded up in my van right now...

3) Romeo & Juliet Clock

I don't have a photo of this either...  oh well.  It's from the school project Meri did a few months ago.  She gave the original to her teacher after the assignment was graded and painted a new one for the fair and for her to keep in her room.

4) Bathtub.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Baby in a bathtub.  We have weird rock, paper, scissors games in my house...

It does make it difficult to see the clear winner in any situation.

She finished it up last night and tossed in some pillows after this shot for more photos.  It will actually NOT be going to fair as it weighs upwards of 500 pounds...  So she wrote enough to make a booklet explaining the project with tons of photos.

They will all be non-conferenced judged again, meaning that Meri can't be there, so here's hoping!!!

Judging is perfectly OK

Last night was Meri and my big push to get her photos ready for the county fair.  I picked them up from the photo department on Wednesday night and have been admiring them.

She wrote up her 4H goals for each and glued them to black core board.  They're ready for me to take down to the judging over my lunch today.

What do you think?

 Robot from Swetsville Zoo.

 

 

Leon 

a silk rose from her room

 Leon in his fort being Superman.  This reminded Meri of the sad song about reluctant Superman.

 I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

Superman by Five for Fighting

 

 Swetsville Zoo

 

Off the balcony at Maddy's host family.  Views of the mountains and lake.

 

And favorites that I'm pretty sure will get picked for the State Fair...  At least I HOPE so!

I'm going to be attending a parade tomorrow with Robb marching with his band.  I won't have Leon with me, so I'll probably just watch from the car.  This is the one that Sluggy attended with me last year.

Have a great weekend all!

Weekend I'm Run down

 Friday night...  What did I do??  OH yeah.  Leon wasn't here, so I moped.  Then when the rest of the people in the house couldn't take it anymore, we went to the town festival happenings!  Dropped Meri off at her dance, Maddy went to the play, Ryan went off with some friends and Robb and I got hotdogs from the firemen, rented a movie and relaxed until the fireworks display.  

Saturday...  what did I do?  Oh yeah.  Got up at 5:10am, only because I set the alarm wrong and HAPPENED to wake up at that time. WHEW!  Meri, one of her friends, and I were due at the hall at 5:45am to help get the 4H breakfast underway.  We made it.  It's the same hall where we have our family reunions so we knew it well.  Well, maybe not well enough.  They don't have air conditioning up there!  All the windows were opened, fans brought in and a lot of kids playing Darth Vader in front of them.  

 

The breakfast started at 7, but I can count on both hands how many people showed up before 8am...  At about 8:20, it was a mad rush!  Eggs had been sitting in the roaster too long, pancakes were not hot, 4Her's in the kitchen were frantically cooking the last of the eggs, pancakes and sausages, and people in line were getting anxious.  Breakfast ended at 9am so we could get the place cleaned up and get everyone to the parade on time.  If we do this again next year, I dearly hope someone took notes and we won't have ALL the food ready at 7.  Apparently no early birds in this town...

 

With no little kids with us at the parade, it was rather dull...  Robb and Maddy didn't want to sit on the curb and fight little kids for candy.  Can you BELIEVE it??! I wanted to but they wouldn't let me.  I got some good shots of Meri's band and they sounded very impressive!  

 

Robb had to leave about 20 minutes into the parade to go pick up Leon.  YAY!  for Leon, not Robb leaving...  so Maddy and I were left.  She was tired of the parade and wanted to walk.  So we walked along the parade route for a while, her avoiding high school friends that she hadn't see for like a year, and then we went back to the car to go pick up Meri and her saxophone as the rain began with the last float. 

I HAD to get our traditional Kumla!  And THAT'S when I found out that none of my kids wanted any.  I can't believe they've never liked it!  They tell me this now... I didn't think to call Robb and see if he wanted me to get any for him... Sorry!  So I got some for myself and Maddy drove us home in the rain.  YUM...

 

After changing into warmer clothes, Meri and Maddy went back to town and I stayed home to get laundry moved ahead.  YIPPEE!!!  As soon as I had that done, Robb got home with Leon. YAY!  Leon was exhausted.  I cuddled with him on the couch and we napped for a while.  Robb ran errands and after an hour or so I let Leon sleep on the couch while I worked on moving some dog kennels strategically in the house.  We need to kennel train this puppy, as I'm starting to have swearing conversations with it in my head...  

That can't be healthy...

When Leon woke up, we met the girls at my besties and I brought some homemade cookies.  The rest of the dough is in the fridge...  and may very well be my mid morning snack today.

Saturday night, I made homemade pizza.  Maddy had a bonfire to go to.  I think the rest of us went to bed early.

Sunday after church. a potluck and presentation by the building committee, Meri and I did some grocery shopping and then a 4H tour of projects that couldn't be transported to the Achievement show that night.  

 

Too bad Leon was having a long nap or he would have LOVED the goats!

 

The cows would have freaked him out a little.  Put some sunglasses on the cows and they'd look as cool as their owner did...  The cows posed for this shot.

 

Anyway, lots of animals and lots of food later, Meri and I went home to crash.  Leon and his daddy went to a cookout, so I saw him awake VERY little today.

If it makes you feel better.. I didn't touch a broom or the vacuum cleaner ALL weekend!  Well, except at the pancake breakfast, but that doesn't count as it wasn't at home!

It's the Snort Song!

Sunday...  Leon was acting up during church.  Shocking, no?  I took him out to change his diaper and then he acted up again, so Meri took him out during the sermon to get him to sleep.  She came back 20 minutes later with him wide awake and stinky.  Darn!  I had been hoping we could lay him on the pew for when the choir sang.  All three of us are in it.  So I carried him to choir with me.

The first two verses went fine.  He sat quietly on my hip while I held the hymnal in the other hand.  By the third verse, he started squirming, so I set the hymnal on the organ and looked on with the other Alto.  By the fourth verse, Leon started grabbing at the partition behind me and swinging it and then took my glasses off.  

By this time, I couldn't stop chuckling, then giggling, and yes, I was snorting...  I'm coming down with the cold that Leon has had for the past few days, so that must be why.  I don't normally snort uncontrollably.  Well, that tipped off Amy, the other Alto, and she started giggling too.  

So Leon took out the entire Alto section singlehandedly!  

After the choir finished, and I seriously don't remember when because I was almost crying from laughing, I told Robb to send Meri back with the diaper bag.  I apologized to the choir director last night at a ladies meeting.  She hadn't even noticed...  GOOD!  She was also playing the organ at the same time, so maybe that's why...

That afternoon, Meri went horse back riding with friends and I sewed.  Robb made tator tot casserole for a 4H family night potluck which we attended that evening.  

Leon acted up at the potluck.  Surprised??

Meri is now the treasurer for our 4H club!   I'm confident that she will do a great job.  She just needs to finish up the historian position from last year and get that off our backs...

And I need to finish the next ASG newsletter by the end of this next weekend.  It'll happen!  

And finish the outfit so I can wear it on Saturday morning to the ASG meeting AND our date night that night.  It'll happen!

 

I just need Leon to go to bed early every night this week and nap really well over the weekend.

It could happen!

Fairly Fashionable!

This weekend kicked off our county fair.  We took Leon on Saturday and had a great hot time.

We saw the pigs.  He thinks they're dogs.  Judging from our dogs, he wasn't too far off the mark!

The girls helped him count the eggs in all the chicken cages.  

Leon is afraid of the horses...  When one whinnied right behind him, he dug into my back shoulder blade and bra strap and wouldn't let go until we got to the rabbit barn...

They had a petting zoo area in the cattle barn!  He got to pet, not hold (he refused), some chickies.

 

 He saw little kids, not unlike himself.

Plenty of sheep!

And aren't THEY fashionable?  Cheeta print!

Zebra print!

And the "Oh My goodness!  I can't even SEE you" camouflage print!

 Then some that just copied each other.  Aren't they just sheep tho?  Everyone wearing the same thing...

After seeing the cows and being unimpressed, we took a break in the pavilion and enjoyed some refreshments.

and climbing...  He is a dare devil!

  And then, of course, eat as much cotton candy and fried Oreos as possible. 

We're headed back tonight to watch the horse show and eat s'mores with our 4H club.  And I think I have a sewing meeting immediately following...  I'll need to check on that.  It usually always hits that same night each year.

More on the weekend tomorrow.  How was your weekend?

Sew Strap On The Procrastination!

Got a little sewing done on Saturday!  Leon was napping and later climbing on my back to see what I was doing, so I got one very productive hour and about 2 minimal production hours in.

He likes to push the buttons on my sewing machine... WHILE I'm stitching...  It beeps in a fun way!

Stupid Janome...

Anyway, I made a back sack!  I found a tutorial on Pinterest and went for it. And of course, now I can't find it.  I should have pinned it when I had the chance!  But anyway...  It's not too tough except for the string channels...

I modified the tutorial slightly by making the straps differently than how they suggested and by cutting the flap to give it more detail appeal.  I sewed the straps inside out and then turned them and ironed the heck out of them.  They look like very nice black ribbon now.  MUCH easier than the tutorial made it look.

 

After screwing up and stitching shut the channels for the straps, I decided this one is not quite fair worthy.  And it's kind of small, compared to the ones I buy for the kids from school.  

But it's cute and will work for a trip to a zoo perhaps?  

I started making another one and am working on how to make the strap channels get finished better, but it may be put on hold until another time.  We're celebrating my birthday tonight, even though it's not until tomorrow and we need the dining room table back for a real family dinner...  We typically eat around the counter bar in the kitchen.  YES, all 7.5 of us!  Well, the 5-6 that actually show up for a family meal.  

For the special dinners, it requires the special table and my Noritake china!

And since I'm not making this for the county fair anymore, there's no real rush on it.  I'll probably just submit the prom dress and sweetheart ball dress...  I do need to finish up some seams on them tho too, so maybe I'll get that done early next week.  Next Wednesday is the deadline for that.

The girls are getting their photography projects done today and mentally they've already cancelled a few projects that I signed them up for.  Oh well.  NEXT year we'll plan ahead better... 

I think we said that last year too...

didn't we?

Snowman Dress Design Class

 What kind of a dress IS this??  I got to the 4H meeting with the treats late and missed the actual meeting.  The kids were already in the activity portion of the meet.  Meri was frantically trying to wrap Maddy up in toilet paper...  As were several other kids.  

As a sewist, I figured, toilet paper prom dress!!!

I wasn't sure exactly what they were doing at first, but then the scarves and buttons busted out!  AHA!  Snowmen!

Meri had to tear the toilet paper a little bit so Maddy could breathe and then it just looked creepy when the snowman smiled...

You know where the 4H guys got this idea for a fun activity?

Silly Pinterest!

Locking Me In Isn't Going To Help

Attended a 4H Lock-In with Meri on Friday night.  Had a great time until around 1am, when I really wasn't interested in playing Apples to Apples OR watching Madagascar 3 with a bunch of kids...  So I got in my sleeping bag on a cement floor and fell asleep.  Leon was at our house for the weekend and I knew I wanted to spend time with him on Saturday. 

Meri woke me up around 2 and made me move to a more secluded spot and then ran off to play Monopoly with a bunch of other kids. 

I couldn't believe how much noise kids made and how much echoing through the cement the noise travels.  *chatter chatter chatter*  Girls especially!  But I managed to fall back asleep despite it. 

Woke up at one point with hot hot air blowing in my face, making me cook in my sleeping bag and more girl chatter.  The heat had kicked in and the vent was immediately above me.  One of the 4H leaders was nearby and I told her that I thought I was in hell.  She turned the heat down.  WHEW!  But the girls chatter continued.

After that I woke up every 30 minutes to an hour.  Disappointed every time I consulted my cell phone for the time.  Dang!!!  When will this night END?!!!  I finally gave up at 5am.  Meri was up playing cards with another girl, who sporatically yelled out the single word "PIZZA!"  for some unknown reason.  I think she thought she was being funny. 

I didn't.

 Meri and I brought slippers and I'm so glad we did.  The floor could get cold!  The other kids were SO jealous!

Meri was worn out at that point and decided to go lay down.  I went and read a newspaper with the main 4H leader, browsed through my sewing mags that I'd brought and ate whatever snacks were left over from the night before to get the taste of sleeping in hell out of my mouth. 

One boy was still awake throwing things back and forth to a single girl who was still up.  The girl was out within 10 minutes and then it was just the boy leaning against the wall waiting for morning.  All the other kids were sleeping, including all the college kids who had organized the event.  Mary, the leader, was up all night.  She said her husband was going to come pick her up when it was over so she wouldn't have to drive home.

Around 6, the college kids started wafting in and got breakfast started, while I ran a sweeping mop all around the big room.  There was popcorn and crumbs everywhere...  Then I woke up Meri and she had breakfast with me and then we left.  I tried to have a nap with Leon after his breakfast and morning bottle, but I must have been uncomfortable to sleep with because he would NOT settle down so Robb sent Maddy to rescue him from me.  Or me from him... Not sure.  I got a 2 hour nap, so that was good.

This staying up all night thing is for the birds!  And I need to see a chiropractor pretty soon...