6th Grade

One of my classmates just posted our 6th grade photo on Facebook.  I look so happy!  It must have been a Friday…pizza for lunch, followed by the square blob of peanut butter with chocolate on top.  What the heck were those things called?  Pizza and a blob of peanut butter and chocolate still make me happy, but not quite THAT happy.

Exhausted Cow

I have never in my life seen a cow laying like this.  I guess I’ve never seen a cow that’s all tired out from trashing a house.  FYI…Apparently, damage done by cows in your house is not covered by your homeowners’ policy, so keep your barbed wire in good shape.


Here’s the article, from the Dallas Morning News:

Cows make lousy house guests, Arkansas woman learns
02:45 PM CST on Friday, February 26, 2010
By ABIGAIL THATCHER ALLEN / The Dallas Morning News

Four days after cows broke into her home, a woman in Murfreesboro Ark., says she’s still in shock.

Latisha Francis came home Monday afternoon to find three cows in her farmhouse.

Needless to say, the homebound bovines cause “total chaos,” upending furniture, scattering belongings, and generally making a mess of things.

“It’s not something that people would see everyday,” Francis said. “At least I hope I never see it again.”

The largest of the animals weighed 1,600 pounds.

Pike County sheriff’s deputies, assisted by two high school teachers from nearby, helped remove the cows.

“It was a little different,” Sheriff Preston Glenn said.

“Life’s never dull in our line of work, but that was kind of different.”

Francis speculates that her dogs may have spooked the cows into the house.

As she drove up, she said, one of the cows was looking out the front door. That one walked out on its own.

The other two took a bit of coaxing. And her laminate wood floors made it hard for them to walk, Francis said.

One of the animals was resting on a bedroom rug.

A group of men pushed and pulled the cow, and, thanks to the rug, “she just glided right through there,” Francis said.

She called her husband at work. She told him not to worry, no one was hurt, “but I’ve got cows in my house.” Her husband came home to assist in the cow removal.

She said she also called the local 4-H coordinator. She wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Her insurance adjuster told her that the mayhem caused by the cows wouldn’t be covered. Seems her homeowner’s policy doesn’t account for intruding cows.

Meanwhile, she said, the cows are staying where they belong.

Outside.

News Flash

Adlani fell asleep on the couch tonight, so I woke him up enough to stagger upstairs.  By the time we got up there he seemed to be awake(ish), so I sent him into the bathroom.  Aliya was brushing her teeth and I heard her scream, “Adlani’s peeing on the seat!”

So what else is new?  Adlani’s aim still needs a lot of work, and then there was the time that he peed in his own face (this post is a classic).  I couldn’t imagine why Aliya would be screaming.

Until I entered the bathroom and realized that he never opened the lid at all.  He just stood there and peed right on top of the closed lid.  And the wall, the floor, and his pants.  In his defense, he was asleep at the bowl.  But still.  Seriously, that’s gross.   

It’s a good thing there’s plenty of leftover sangria.
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Partylite

I had a great night with the ladies last night, while we all shopped for candles and enjoyed the sangria and the company.  The Partylite lady (Kathy) didn’t finish taking orders until 10:30!  If you missed the party and would like to place an order, here’s a link to Kathy’s website.  If you’re just wishing for some sangria, here’s the recipe:

1 bottle of red wine
3 cups orange juice
1/3 cup Triple Sec
1/3 cup Peach Brandy
1/3 cup sugar
fruit
Mix & Drink!


I’ll be hosting another Partylite show on November 4th so we can shop for the holidays from the new winter catalog.  Save the date!

Wake Up Call

About a month ago, Ben’s dentist told him that he was concerned about some bone loss in his jaw which required 3 teeth to be pulled.  He recommended that Ben visit his doctor to look into the possibility that he has diabetes.  He wasn’t exhibiting any other signs but his mom has diabetes, so he made an appointment with the doctor and borrowed a blood sugar monitor from his mom.  We were shocked to find that his blood sugar was all over the place – one time as high as 599 (that’s bad).  The doctor confirmed that he does have it, and prescribed medication.  He said Ben was a heart attack waiting to happen.  Yikes!

So we’re suddenly feeling our mortality…it had to happen eventually.  But Ben’s dedication to managing his blood sugar has been admirable.  He’s been doing a lot of reading, has completely changed his diet, and is walking daily.  He monitors his blood sugar and keeps track of it on a spreadsheet.  The good news is that the doctor ran all kinds of tests and it looks like he has normal function in all of his organs that could have been damaged by long-term uncontrolled diabetes.  

The other good news is that Ben’s new healthy habits will have an effect on the whole family and could change the way the kids eat and exercise.  And Annie may finally learn to walk on a leash.
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