Boy, is my Dad in trouble! We just got a brand new addition to our house - a new mantle! Ralph traded his old BBQ for the mantle - hand made by one of our friends. Since Mom has been wanting one forever, Dad is in trouble!

It's the weekend! Of course, I am not doing anything special this weekend, but, it is still the weekend! AJ has a scouting project today - selling hot dogs in front of Wal-Mart. He is supposed to work between 9:30 and 1:30, and I need to be there at 8:30 to drop off the cash box and cash for the people setting up. No big deal, I go in shopping around that time anyway, so he can just go with me to drop the cash box off, and then go shopping, and then back to Wal-Mart. AJ wants to start shaving his mustache, so we will go look for a razor for him today, since we will have the time. (Of course, he also needs more shorts and shirts for summer, too. His growth spurt has his old t-shirts just reaching the tops of his pants - way too short!)

The scouts are selling hot dogs to raise money for their summer trip - they are touring the Southwestern states for two weeks at the end of June. AJ has enough in his "scout account" (money raised on other fund raisers), but we can also use the funds to purchase uniforms, and he needs a couple more pants/shorts, and socks for a two week trip. (They can do laundry every night, if they wish, but will AJ???)

Here are my Easter projects this year - a carrot bookmark and a chicken egg cover. The egg cover goes over a plastic egg, and works up very quickly. The bookmark takes a little longer, but I have 5 done now, and need at least 10, so I have plenty of time (I hope!)

I (almost) finished another doily. It is as finished as I am going to make it anyway! The pattern calls for 18 pansies around the outside edge. The doily is already about 20 inches across, and adding a row of pansies will make it 25-26 inches - and I hate making the pansies! I worked on the one I did make for two evenings, and while the next will go quicker, I still don't want to make 17 more! Since this is one of the Special Project Doilies, it may the last on the series I get, because you have to finish each one before you get the next pattern. I have thrown myself on the mercy of the List Owner, so we will see if I get full credit for this one or not!

We got a call from Alli's baseball coach last week. She has a practise this Thursday, so the season should be starting very soon. I don't remember when Little League actually opens, so I will find out Thursday I guess! I hope this season goes as well as last season. Alli did not particularly enjoy playing, but she didn't argue too much (most of the time anyway). I think Ralph and I enjoyed it more than she did. I also got her paperwork started for her to do horse therapy again. I have my part filled out, now I need to get the doctor to fill his part out. I am sure he just loves paperwork, like everyone else. Last year it took a couple of weeks for me to gt the paperwork back from him. It looks like Allis will be busy for a while!

I've got one kid up and about with the new time! Alli was hard to wake up, but once she was, she was in a good mood. I told AJ I would wake him up at 7:00 this morning, since Patti is driving the carpool. (If I drive, we have to leave by 7:20, so he has to get up earlier) He should be okay, but this first week is the hardest. I completely forgot to start dinner last night in time to eat at 7:00! I looked at the clock about 6:45, and knew I would never make it. I split the difference with the new time/old time, and fixed dinner for 7:30. It worked, but I felt rushed, and I hate feeling rushed on the weekend!

This is the doily that my sister wanted - so it has already found a good home. It is done in light blue - hard to tell from the picture! I don't like the one I am working on right now - the middle part is very boring! Once I get past the "filler" it will be fine - I just hate a lot of rows of the the same stitch.

I remembered to change my clocks! Since I did, I got to sleep in to 7:00! It sure didn't feel like sleeping in - but I got some extra sleep anyway. Tomorrow morning is going to be rough - getting everyone up an hour earlier. It is tough enough getting AJ up at his normal time!

AJ had a friend come over yesterday and spend the night. They are working on a science project and a math project together. The project includes building a complex machine (involving two different simple machines) so they were turned over to Dad for this one. They are using pulleys, a ramp, and a lever to lift a wagon that is holding a can of soup. I don't remember 8th grade science being this complicated when I was in 8th grade! Of course, AJ will probably have a better understanding of mechanical engineering than I do too! The math project is simpler, and I can help them with that if they need it, but they seem to be okay with this one.

Here is a series of pictures of Alli on Glass Beach. We've always said she would rather sit than stand, and rather lay down than sit! This took place gradually, over the space of about 5 minutes.

Here are some pictures from this weekend - which we spent in Ft. Bragg. The kids seemed to have a good time - the weather was great!

It figures! Alli got up this morning at 5:00, so I was up early and, since I had extra time, was going to read my e-mails on Yahoo! - and they aren't playing this morning! Since my Yahoo! groups get 200-300 e-mails a day, missing one day will put me way behind! I guess I will have to play here instead. I don't know while Alli decided to get up so early - she must have thought it was Saturday. Usually, I have to wake her up on school days, but she gets up all by herself very early on the weekends - when I want to sleep in!


Well, it looks like AJ is going to recover - if he is careful! Between his knee problem a couple of weeks ago - I can't remember if I posted anything about that - and then Monday's concussion - he needs to be quiet and rest for a while! Monday at school, he tangled feet with another kid during recess - playing kick the can. He took the brunt of the fall on his head and knees. He has one pair of ruined jeans and a slight concussion. He missed one day of school because he had a major headache, but went back yesterday. His knee injury is keeping him out of baseball this year, so we should have a quiet spring - just Scout activities.