$2.97 Mums

In the spring we always plant flowers in the flower bed by our front door. We've been doing different flowers there each year because we can't seem to find something that we really like. A few years back we planted mums there, but I got tired of them and did different flowers the last few years. 

This past spring when it came time to plan flowers we found some chrysanthemums at Walmart that we liked, so bought four. All four were just one little flower that each came in about a 3"x3" plastic flower container and each container was only $2.97. They had all bloomed out and two containers were yellow and two were purple. It didn't dawn on me until I was putting them in the ground that the flowers were actually just what I call "mums." When we bought them I read the long name "chrysanthemum" and didn't think about that being the "real" name for mums. I was a bit bummed about this because I know that mums flower in the fall and since these that we bought had already flowered, I figured they would just be green all year long. 

Well, little did I know, I was completely wrong! These very small mums turned into some very LARGE mums and I even had to transplant the two yellow mums into pots to make more room for the purple mums still in the ground. I had no clue that these mums would grow as much as they did and look as pretty as they do! I have loved having them this fall and hope they come back just the same next spring! We definitely got our money's worth from the $11.88 we spent for all four mums!  

Garage Surprises.............

We were gone all day Saturday and came home to find this in our garage......

In case you can't tell (hahah) it's a covered bridge sitting on two shopping carts. My parents thought they were being so funny in surprising us with this piece of history. :) I made (or maybe my Dad actually made...hahaha) the covered bridge for a junior high history project. I remember working on it and all the time we spent on it. In fact, I think the fence posts and the floor of the bridge were cut from wood we got from an old barn down by the pond at my parents' house. I also remember bringing it into school the day it was due and was a slightly embarassed as it wasn't something I could take myself. My dad had to help me carry it in because it is SO big! I do believe I got an A on this project, and I'm sure you can see why by just looking at it. It has been in my parents' basement since 1990something and I guess they decided it was time for it to come back to me. I don't know why, though, because it was clearly my dad's project, not mine! ;)  I mean, I was a good student and all, but what 8th grader would really come up with that all by themselves! 

The bridge is sitting on two shopping carts my dad found while cleaning out the clinic building in Ash Grove that he is getting ready to sell. For the last several years that building has been used as storage for him and he decided to go ahead and sell it, so needed to clean everything out. And naturally, since I have two little kids, they thought the (life size) shopping carts would be perfect for my house. Boy did we ever hit the jackpost last Saturday night....

I don't know if Ross would agree about hitting the jackpot, but Molly sure does! She's already played with one of the shopping carts and has put the covered bridge to good use for her Barbies. :) 

Smart Kid

I took the girls to get a flu shot today and man, if I was a drinking person I would have definitely had a drink after it was over! Both girls were nervous about it and even started crying when they found out they would get the needle shot instead of being able to just sniff the vaccine. Then they both started crying and were very nervous and scared when the nurse came in to actually do it. Molly went first and cried and cried and cried, and all the while Lucy was crying and crying and crying and it wasn't even her turn yet! When Molly got her shot she screamed a little but was able to calm down when it was over. Lucy was very upset about it and it was hard to get her to calm down. It it just quite the experience...one that I absolutely dread!

Both girls said they couldn't move their arms anymore and I even had to buckle Molly in her carseat...because she couldn't move her arm. When we got home Molly still complained off and on of her arm hurting and not being able to move it, so she made herself a sling. And gosh, I wish I would have had the sling with me at the doctor's office because that sling seemed to completely heal her arm! :) :) :) :) 

School Pictures!

 I received a digital copy of the girls' school pictures! Aren't they good?!

Tree Planting!

In the summer Ross cut down the tree that was in our front yard. We noticed it didn't seem to be flowering as much in the spring and after talking with a few arborist friends, determined the tree was rotting from the inside. Ross cut down the tree to avoid it being weak and falling on our house during a windstorm. You can read more about it here. 

Our plan was to plant another tree in its place and we finally got that done last weekend! My nephew, Trevor, came up to help us plant it and was a great help! I think he had fun with it and we had a fun time hanging out with him for a few hours. You can watch Trevor hard at work here. 

We bought an autumn blaze maple tree that will change to red in the fall. I'm so happy to have a tree back in our yard and look forward to watching it grow! 

Positive Principal ReferralS!

Two Fridays ago I was at HyVee and my phone rang. The caller ID popped up as "Horace Mann Elementary School." My very first thought was "Oh no, a kid is sick and we are going to have to quarantine," because, you know, 2020. However, I was relieved and thankful to hear that was not the case for the call from school! Instead it was because BOTH of my girls received a Positive Principal Referral and the principal was calling to tell me about it. I think I could have cried...and I don't know if those tears would have been because I was so proud and happy or because I was so relieved it wasn't a sick call! 

The girls each received the Positive Principal Referral from their computer teacher. The note she wrote about them was that they had been doing a good job completing their computer assignments on their at home days. On our three days of school at home the girls have their regular school work (math, reading, writing) to complete and they also have work from the special classes (PE, music, art, computers) to complete. It's been unclear as to whether or not the specials are actually required or just more of a suggestion to do, but we have diligently been doing all of the assignments. So, I'm looking at this Positive Principal Referral more of a reward for me than them because I'm the one managing their at at home school (especially for Molly) and making sure they're doing everything on their check lists. I also love that our school does this and that the principal calls to tell you about this instead of just sending a note home. I am so happy with our school and thankful we are where we are! 

I recorded a video of them with their prizes and explaining why they got the prizes that you can watch it here.