Friday Funny (Well, at least I thought it was funny.)

When Sarah was in 2nd grade or so, a tiny little mole popped up on her chin. It's so tiny you would hardly notice it but it sticks out a little bit and every since it popped up, it's driven her crazy.

It's the kind of thing that you wouldn't notice on another person's face but on yours you think it's the biggest ugliest thing in the world.  (And especially if you are an almost 13-year-old.)

Last year, at her well-check appointment we had the PA look at it to see if anything could be done for it.  The PA said it could be removed but it would probably leave a scar bigger than the mole so it's probably best just to leave it alone. 

Well, that sent Sarah over the edge.  She has complained about this PA ever since.  Really, I need to take her to a dermatologist about it if she's that upset by it it but I've never made the call.  I'm so bad about calling doctors....

Anyway, Sarah in all of her DIY video watching and You Tube make-at-home beauty treatments, found a home remedy for removing tiny moles.  Basically you cover it with a little piece of garlic until it falls off.  She also found a remedy where you put apple cider vinegar on it until it falls off as well.  (Dan tried this with a wart and it worked wonderfully.)

To me though, the garlic seemed less strong that the ACV (y'all, that stuff is potent!) so I suggested she tried that.  Since it's spring break, she decided it was now or never.

After just two applications (at just an hour or two each time), the mole was starting to expand and actually looked a little like a big zit instead of a tiny mole. 

This was freaking her out so I told her it would get worse before it got better and that once it came off there would be open skin and it would scab over and have to heal.

Y'all!  I thought she was going to lose it!

"A scab???!!! I can't have  a SCAB on my face!!!

"Well honey, what did you expect?  It's not just going to slide off and leave a perfect patch of new skin underneath."

She started moaning and groaning and wailing and there was even some gnashing of teeth.  This went on for quite a while and honestly I was tired of listening to it.  I had spent the previous hour listening to Peter moan and groan about having to write an essay over spring break and I was done listening.

So I picked up my phone and started to play a round of Words With Friends while Sarah continued to bitch and moan in the background.

Then the bitching and moaning stopped and was replaced with,  "Are you on your phone???  Your child is sitting here telling you about a major problem and you are ON YOUR PHONE???"

I started laughing and told her that I was tired of listening to her complain about a scab.

We both laughed and then she said, "Seriously Mom.  What should I do?"

I told her that short of a literal miracle, there was no way the mole was going to fall off and leave perfectly beautiful skin without leaving a scab so she should just continue with the garlic.

This wasn't good enough for her.

So, in Catholic desperation, I told her she should Google "Patron Saint of Moles" and see what comes up. 

She laughed, picked up my phone and searched.  And low and behold she said, "I found one!  It's Saint Ulric!:

"What???  There's really a patron saint for moles????"

So she started reading out loud the following information about St. Ulric:

St. Ulric's feast day is July 4th and he is the patron against birth complications;  against faintness;  against fever;against mice and moles; Diocese of Augsburg, Germany; happy death; weavers.

And then I started laughing and couldn't stop.  MICE AND MOLES!!!!!

I found it hilarious although Sarah didn't see the humor in it. I told her she should ask for his intercession anyway.  I imagine that anyone who is the patron saint against mice and moles probably has a good sense of humor and would be willing to pray that her facial mole falls off easily and doesn't leave a scab.

St. Ulric, pray for us!!

Quick trip to Charleston.

I hope everyone had a great Easter.  We started with a quick trip to Charleston, S.C.

We left on Wednesday morning and spent the next three days and two nights touring the city with the kids.  Dan and I have been there many times before but this was the first time we took the kids.

After we arrived, we checked in to our hotel and then took the kids to lunch at Poogan's Porch.  This is where Dan proposed to me in 1999!

So we took a picture in front of the restaurant.

Here's a picture Dan snapped of it in the evening.

After lunch we did what we always do when we first arrive in Charleston and that's to take a carriage ride.  Our ride took us down to the battery.  I always love a good carriage ride. 

After the carriage ride, we took a quick walk through the market and then headed back through the town to the battery. We also stopped in at the graveyard of the Circular Church.  We always stop in at old graveyards!

We had a late dinner at Tommy Condon's and then took an evening walk through the city and headed to bed.

We were up early on Thursday morning and headed to The Charleston Tea Plantation.  But first, we stopped off at the Angel Tree.  It's a 400 year old Live Oak tree.  And it is magnificent.  These pictures do not do it justice.

 Then it was off to the Charleston Tea Plantation.  This was a wonderful tour.  We got to see a working tea plantation (the only one in mainland North America) and learn all about how tea was made. And there were lots of samples of tea!  

 This machine in the background is the only one like it in the world.  It is used to harvest the tea leaves and was created piecing together different parts of different pieces of equipment. 

 After the tea plantation, we headed to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  The gardens at this plantation were beautiful and there was so much wildlife around! We saw lots of heron and ibis and alligators!

We then headed back to town for dinner and when it got dark, we took a ghost tour.  We love ghost tours but this one was very disappointing.  Typically on these ghost tours, you hear lots of stories about former residents, how they died and the fact that they've come back to haunt their old homes.  And it's all very kitschy and fun and silly.  This tour guide though, actually believed in ghosts and spent a lot of time encouraging us to take pictures thorughout the town at night and look for orbs of light and energy rods in the pictures.  And unfortunately did not spend much time telling us the goofy ghost stories. 

After breakfast on Friday morning, Dan and Peter headed to Ft. Moultrie and Sarah and I did some shopping in the market - she wanted a new ring.  We also enjoyed some lattes.

And then we headed home!

And the nice part about it all?  Is that now it's Monday morning and the kids still have this whole week off from school!  Unfortunately, Dan is back and work.  It was a nice little vacation and I'm glad the kids got to experience Charleston!

A day in the life...

In all the many years I've been blogging, I've never done a day in the life post.

But guess what?  Today's the day. Well, yesterday actually. 

For your reading and viewing pleasure, here's what I did on April 4, 2017.

I set my alarm every morning at 5:40 during the week but thanks to my internal alarm and my anxious cat, I'm always up before it goes off.

I groggily headed downstairs, fed the cat, and then made a cup of coffee.

As I drank my coffee, I prayed the rosary.  I've been praying the rosary every morning during Lent and I've really been enjoying it.

 After I prayed the rosary, I read the daily readings, the Blessed Is She devotional and the daily devotional from Jesus Always by Sarah Young. Then I prayed through my list of prayer intentions.

After that, it was 6:30 and time to get the kids up.  While they were eating breakfast, I made lunches for everyone.

After lunches were packed, I cleaned up the kitchen.  This included the breakfast dishes, the items I used to make lunches and any leftover dishes or messthat didn't get cleaned up the night before.

Then I hugged and kissed everyone goodbye and waved as they drove away.

After everyone left, I showered and then enjoyed my breakfast.

If you haven't tried the Pressed by Kind bars you should.  They each contain two servings of fruit and/or vegetables and nothing else.  They are actually pretty good and I've found that one in the morning with my coffee holds me over until lunch.  And they are low in calories and fat free.  The one above is good but very pineapple forward.  I prefer the Pineapple, Coconut, Chia.  I'm going to branch out and try some of the other flavors as well.

While my coffee was brewing, I enjoyed this view out the back door.  The warm winter combined with the recent rains have made all the grass so green.  In fact, mowing season has already started.  Poor Dan...

Next up, I threw some laundry in the washing machine and sat down to write a blog post.

After that, I tackled the two upstairs hall closets.  One is where we store towels and sheets and the other is where we store extra toiletries.  They were both a mess.

A better blogger would have taken before and after photos but I was so busy purging old towels, ripped blankets, expired Pepto Bismol etc, that I didn't even think about it.

After I got done, I took the three bags of junk I removed from these closets to the dump and then headed to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things we were running low on.

Then I headed home and paid bills and wanted to do a little work on the computer.  I was trying to print a few things off and was having major issues.  I spent about 45 minutes trying to fix the computer until I realized that the problem was the two recycled ink cartridges I had purchased off Amazon for a very low price were causing the issue.  As soon as I removed those and replaced them with the old cartridges the printer started working fine. 

This printer has caused me lots of annoyance and wasted time and yesterday was no exception.  After I realized the issue, I logged onto Amazon and requested my money back. Which meant printing off a UPS label but luckily I had enough ink in the old cartridges to do that.

After that wasted 45 minutes, it was lunch time. I enjoyed a yummy salad with walnuts, Craisins, feta and balsamic vinaigrette.

After lunch, I did a few more things on the computer and then it was time to get the kids.  I left a little earlier than normal because I had to run into the school and do a couple of PTO related things before dismissal. (In full disclosure, I forgot to snap a picture yesterday.  This is one from February 27th.)

After we got home from school, the kids started their homework and I started ironing.  UGH.. I hate ironing but since Dan had been gone for two weeks, I was behind on his laundry.  So, I got to iron a large pile of shirts and pants yesterday.  But no worries, I did it while watching an episode of Fixer Upper that I haven't seen before. 

After I got the ironing finished, I headed downstairs to check on the kids.  They were still doing homework. 

My brother stopped over for his daily visit. I helped him order something from the internet and then I started prepping dinner.  It was another Hello Fresh meal.

Dan actually got home at a reasonable time last night and we were done with dinner and dishes by 7:00!  And then he and I headed upstairs to finish painting the bonus room. We only had one more big wall left.

Look!  The giant bucket of paint is almost empty but I've got enough left to do the kids bathroom and then no more painting for at least 10 years.  :)

We were done with the painting by 9:00 and then headed downstairs.  Dan turned on a documentary on PBS about Jesus and I tried to keep my eyes open but couldn't.  I half listened, half snoozed until 10:00 when we went upstairs to go to bed.

And that was my day!

Through the years....

Right before the graduation dance at school, the 7thg and 8th graders (and 8th grade parents) assemble in the gym and watch a video.  This video contains pictures of all the 8th graders through the years from preschool to 8th grade.

Each 8th grader is asked to submit 1-3 pictures from each year.  I wanted to share the pictures we submitted.

Putting these pictures together was like a little walk down memory lane.  And, of course, it made me sad.  But at the same time, he's growing up, which is exactly what he's supposed to do.

I can look at all these pictures and see a boy that's got varied interests and talents. He's smart, funny, loving and tenderhearted. He's growing and changing and I can see a glimpse of the man he is going to be.  And that helps me smile through these tears.  

Pre-:

Kindergarten:

 

1st:

 

2nd:

 

3rd:

4th:

5th:

6th:

 

7th:

8th: