barbara's blog

Who knew a trip to the orthodontist could be so hard on the Moms?  Yesterday my daughter had a "palate expander" installed.  This is not a very fun device and for the next 9 months we'll slowly turn the key so the device widens her upper palate.  She's doing pretty well.....

I've always wondered about those "as seen on TV" products.  Juicers, scratch fixers...the perfect brownie...does this stuff really work?  Love this website where the products are actually tested!  http://http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/07/30/the-real-deals-or-duds-as-seen-on-tv-reviews-from-consumer-ally/

Not sure how I feel about the sanity of the person who got close enough to film this tornado.....

http://www.comcast.net/video/monster-twister-tears-up-farm-house/1562356312/Comcast/1562351858/

Mostly I love our house....but sometimes...not so much.  Like right now, the deck needs to be refinished...again....and all the trim is due for painting. ( Scraping and painting are maybe my two least favorite things on the planet....next to doing the dishes!)  So we struggle....save the money and try to do some of it ourselves ....or hire someone else to do it.  Are we having fun yet?

We just got back from western New York State where a lot of my family lives.  The high was 75!  ...no air conditioning needed. Everybody enjoyed just hanging out...OUTSIDE!   Everything was so lush and green.  My daughter got to catch up with her cousins, me with my sisters and my Mom.  We grilled out, the kids had a sleepover, we caught crayfish in the creek...ahh summer.  Even with the heat, It's too short!

Are we really eating crushed bugs?  Honestly, I had no idea!

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100727/FEATURES01/7270311/1004/FEATURES/Surprising++icky+things+found+in+your+food

The school year is fast approaching...I'm not ready!  I like the summer vibe.  Summer camps, dinner at 8P..time to chill.  Maybe we need one more family road trip somewhere.  Maybe even with the dogs.....now that will be a true adventure!  I'm getting out the map and I'll let you know where we end up!

Don't you love it when someone famous does something that you and your kids can admire? There are so many celebrities that behave badly...  when you see a story like this one it is a ray of sunshine.  Nice going Tim McGraw!

Carrie sneaks off to the Ritz to get married...Jimmy blasts BP in the new version of Margaritaville and Mel goes nuts.  No shortage of stuff to entertain us today!

http://video.ap.org/?f=1574142&pid=PhI4XLIX5u7QTDfJHeuxnJgLFp8GW79x

Last weekend was fabulous!  Family, fireworks and great food...all the stuff you want for a long holiday weekend. Everything was great until 11:30 when it was time to let Luna and Zoe, our two dogs, out before bed.  Luna tore off into the flower bed and re-emerged snorting and squinting and throwing herself in the grass.  Yes...a skunk.  This is the first time I've had to deal with bathing a dog that had been peppered.  Not fun!  Lots of baths later...we're getting there.  Next holiday please!