In This Crazy Life...

I'm not sure how it happens, but the cat always finds a way to get freaking animals in the house! A snake, a lizard, a baby mouse, a frog, various insects. I know she has something because I find her in a corner playing or the animal is dead on the floor. UGH!! This time it was a baby flying squirrel. She was playing in the corner and all of a sudden I see something scurry across the floor. Of course I jump and scream for Kev. The dogs go over to check it out. I'm yelling for all the animals to come here. Kev doesn't know what he is looking for. The cat insists on trying to climb our fake tree. Kev looks in the top and grabs out a baby squirrel. Somehow it manages to get escape his grip and runs for the bedroom. Kev stops it right before he goes under the bed. We put it outside and notice that one of his legs is hurt. We decide to keep him overnight to make sure he is strong enough for outside life. I get the cat carrier out of the attic, place it in the guest bathroom

I added a few snowmen outside by the tree. I still want to get burlap for a tree skirt, but haven't made it to Hobby Lobby.   Just a few of the things I put outside. I added the soldiers. I have the third one by the front door.   I even made an arrangement for our bathroom. The arrangement for the dining room table and some other things. Closeup of the table arrangement.   All I have left to do is the mantle, but I will need to get more cedar branches when I go home for Thanksgiving.

Every year the Arkansas Reading Association hosts the Arkansas Children's book awards for the Charlie May Simon and Arkansas Diamond Book Award Winners. This year some of my favorite authors were there. Janet Stevens won the Diamond Book Honor Award for her book Little Red Pen and Andrew Clemetns won the Charlie May Simon Honor Award for Trouble Maker. I bought both of them and had them signed. Debbie Diller is my most loved professional text author. She has written wonderful books on small group instruction as well as how to set up literacy work stations. I didn't have a book for her to sign because I already own all of them, but I still told her how wonderful she was and asked for a picture. Friday afternoon was dreary and rainy. Some pictures of the  Arkansas River I took while waiting for a session.

I've been itching to put up my Christmas Trees for over a week. Kev thinks I should always wait until after Thanksgiving  and I usually do. However, now that I have three trees to put up and decorate and a much larger to space, I need more than a weekend to get everything done. Also, Thanksgiving is the last weekend of the month and that would only leave me four weeks to enjoy them.  When we were cleaning out my grandmother's attic, I took lots of her ornaments. There was also an extra tree that no one wanted. Since it already had pine cones on it, I used in on the back porch. I spent Sunday collecting pine and pine cones from the yard and making these ornaments.   I bought burlap ribbon and used raffia I already had. Many years ago a teacher friend of mine brought me three huge pine cones from the California Giant Aspen trees. I used those for the topper. I still need a larger piece of burlap for the tree skirt. I love the fact that I can see it through the window while

'Ol Man Winter has stole my favorite season!! It's not even Thanksgiving and there have already been two morning where I have woken up to a dusting of snow. Last weekend it snowed several inches just north of us. All last week and the beginning of this week temperature lows have been in the twenties and highs in the thirties. RIDICULOUS!!! Snow on the playground. We have had lots of indoor recess. That means lots of pinned up energy from kids. Last Sunday's radar.   This does not make me happy! I do like winter, but January and February are enough for me. I've already had to pull out the warm scarves and coats.I'm sure we will have tons of snow days if we are already seeing snow in November. I'm not looking forward to making all of them up in June. Winter GO AWAY!!

It was freezing cold this weekend. It seems like winter weather comes earlier and earlier every year. My babies helping me  with the fire or should I say getting in my way. It took a ear but Lilly has found a way out of the fence. The latch on the gate was temporary and she learned that if you hit it enough the screws will come loose and the gate will pop open. Kev's dad brought he welder over Sunday mooring and fixed it. She can still pop it open, so we have to put a hook through the latch. She has also dug a small hole. She can't quiet get her head under, but she sure does try. We may have to angle the bottom of the gate in the future. Kev's dad brought their puppy over to play. Roco is a Shepard/ Rottweiler mix and so freaking cute! That wraps our weekend up.