Saturday, October 27, 2007

saturday stuff & zoo & cookies...



It's been a nice Saturday! Perfect weather here. Low 70's with blue skies and a gentle breeze... perfect!

Our water situation is officially resolved, nothing a new pressure tank couldn't fix. YAY! I have learned how to make it on minimal water several days this week. Not a lot of fun. The upside to well water is the flavor or lack of. Our water is the best water in the world. Really. When we were in Florida we couldn't drink the water. It was terrible. It even had a bad smell. I am not sure if water tastes like that in all of Florida or if was just in Orlando?

We spent the morning cleaning. Oh, I almost completely forgot!!! I got a present in the mail today! Matt's cousin Jana ordered a stained glass for my birthday and it just came today. She didn't realize when she ordered it about a week before my birthday that they have to make it after it is ordered. I told her it would just be a nice surprise whenever it showed up and it sure was. It is beautiful and I am sitting here looking at it hanging in the window I see from my blogging perch. I would take a picture and post it now, but it's dark outside so it wouldn't show how pretty it is. I'll take a picture soon and post it. It is so pretty. Well, this new item sent me into window cleaning mode.

Here's Amanda right before she left last night... Amanda helped clean all day. She got pulled over for speeding late last night on the way home from a date (with a new boy!)... This guy is from church and he is really a neat guy. She was running a little late for her curfew and so she will be working off her ticket cost (which we won't know until Monday but she was going 53 in a 45)!!! I was so aggravated I just had to go to bed. Matt left the discipline of this in my hands. He is normally the disciplinarian. I thought about it while going to sleep and then again all morning until she woke up. Matt thinks the best discipline is to take away cell phone because it hurts the most and gets her attention. She is such a good girl. She makes all A's, studies all the time and is usually very sweet. I got pulled over so many times when I was her age, I never got a ticket... but I did get pulled over. The main difference was I had a job beginning at age 16. She doesn't have a job because school takes all of her time, and I think it is more important than a part time job... so she'll be working for me until she has paid the ticket. That's her punishment. After watching her work all day long I think it is going to be a fair punishment. Hmmm... it's hard having a teenager. You want to teach them, but also want to be fair... you know?

I took Emelia & Izzy to the zoo this afternoon. I took a few pictures...
Emelia and Izzy played in the playground.
Mom with Isabelle...
Emelia posing...
A baby hippo, they were all coming in for dinner right when we walked into the building. I normally don't enjoy going inside because it smells so zoo-y... but it was great timing!



After the zoo I grabbed dinner from mazzios and then ran in the store to buy a roast to cook for dinner tomorrow. Amanda's new friend is coming over to have dinner with us and then they are going to carve pumpkins. Me and Emelia made some sugar cookies and decorated them after dinner. We had fun!
sugar cookie dough...

red and yellow normally = orange...
not in the is case, more of a salmon, but we went with it.

Here's some of our crazy cookies!
Emelia really enjoyed decorating them!
But enjoyed eating the icing even more!
That's all for our Saturday! I'm going to hit "publish post" and then walk straight to my bed! Goodnight bloggy buddies! ♥ ♥

31 comments:

A Captured Reflection said...

Wow, what a day. I think you are a wonderful Mum and you dont' get all stressed and hopping mad - I have much to learn from you. How great that your daughter Amanda is doing so well at School. She's a gorgeous girl. Loved your Zoo visit too. Sleep well Annie!

HomeSchool Mommy said...

If she received her ticket in Choctaw, it will be $72. That's the cost for excessive speed (10 or under). Then, for every mile over 10, you add $5. I'm the expert speeder...I know, it's bad.

I REALLY need to clean...REALLY. I need to start now so it won't be so hectic during the holidays, but I'll probably wait until the last minute and then stay up night after night doing all the major cleaning.

Looks like you guys have had fun...and been very busy!

Justabeachkat said...

Great photos, especially the one of Amanda. What a beauty...looks so much like you. It is hard raising a teenager. You want to teach them lessons, but you remember your teenage years and you kinda understand their side. It's a fine line to walk for sure. Those cookies sure looked good.

Hugs!
Kat

Joyful Days said...

What fun eats! What fun at the zoo and OOOOOOOOOOohhhhhhhhhh my about Amanda. I am so not ready for even a wonderful teen. But I think you handled it well.

I know you already received it, but I gave you the Wonder Woman award because--well, because you are!! I am always so inspired.

Blessings,

Julie

Klin said...

Me wishing I had spent today with you. Hope you sleep good. Those cookies look yu-u-um-my!

Luke's Mom said...

Sounds like you had a great day! I can relate to finding discipline for teenagers, my kids are usually pretty good, just like your's therefore finding disciplines can be challenging at times. It sounds like you did a good job with your choice.

The cookies look delicious.

Love in Christ,
Sue

Nancy Face said...

I walked in after a tiring day at the hair salon...and found Good Mail from you! Sugar Daddy, tee hee! THANK YOU SO MUCH! :o)

I'm so glad you have water again! Amanda is so beautiful...like her mom! The zoo looks like lots of fun! The cookies look very happy and scrumptious! Don't you love your cookie scoop? (We have the same one!)

Ty and Lauren both got tickets early in their driving experiences. We made them attend a defensive driving traffic course, which would erase the ticket from their record, and avoid raising our car insurance costs. We made them pay for traffic school, which was very close to the cost of their original fines. They HATED going to traffic school, so it was the perfect punishment, and neither of them has ever gotten a ticket again, hahaha! :D

Barb said...

Making her wash the windows is a lot worse punishment than taking away her cell phone. LOL It seems a little pathetic to me that she actually got a ticket for only going over the speed limit by that small amount. Good grief.

The one thing we don't have in Grand Junction that I really miss is a zoo. The Denver Zoo is one of my favorite places in the world, especially in the spring when all the new babies are born. I can't even count how many times we took our kids to the zoo.

Your cookies are cute as can be!

Dust-bunny said...

Your children are so beautiful. I love baking with mine, although now that they're getting up there in "teen" years, it's not all that often anymore. I find raising teens to be very challenging, more challenging than I thought it would be. You seem like you're doing a wonderful job!

ann said...

Elizabeth is right when she says she's the expert! She and Toni both got so many speeding tickets! Honestly, I don't even know how many! I'm a great believer in consequences for actions and their consequences were that they each had to take care of the tickets themselves! After all, they each earned the tickets themselves! They had to go to court and answer to the judge and they had to pay their own tickets. We never paid a ticket for either of them! Teenagers are tough and I'm glad I'm on the last one at my house!
In His Love and Blessings,
annb

Karen said...

I think you're smart in how you handled Amanda's ticket. You taught her a great lesson in responsibility. Thankfully, she can learn it now while it was just a small mistake.

The cookies look yummy! Em won a pan of cupcakes at the cakewalk at her school last night. So I don't know if I'll be baking Halloween treats. We're all kinda sugared out on those cupcakes!

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh at your icing. I made some for my son's class party, and it was the same salmon color. The kids ate it up just the same!

Michelle said...

it does sound like it was a nice day for the zoo and then making cookies! I think having Amanda work off her ticket by doing things around the house for you sounds like a good punishment!

Sandra said...

What a day you had, I think your punishment is fair, it's so hard to be strict with our kids isn't it??? I must be the softest mom on earth I give out punishment but it breaks my heart.

Love the cookies and the pictures :)

Tricia said...

The cookies look good. I will have to post our cupcakes we make Tuesday night.

Jenny said...

I think your punishment fits the bill. Hopefully, she'll slow down and leave earlier! :) Is this new boy from the new church or the old church?
I'm loving this weather! Sunshine, high in the upper 60s. Perfect. And a perfect day to be at the zoo.
Hope your Sunday was uneventful and you got to take an afternoon nap :)

KC said...

Looks like you all had fun at the zoo.. the cookies look yummy and fun also.
OH NO Poor Amanda.. I always drive at about 5 miles over the speed limit so, her speed doesn't seem all that bad to me. I think having her work off her ticket is the perfect way to go about things. It not so much a punishment as it is, teaching that if you get ticketed that the money has to come from some place and this is her way of making money to pay it off. I honestly thing being pulled over and getting a ticket at 16 years old and then having to come home and tell mom and dad is punishment in and of itself and I'm sure she will remember that the next time she is behind the window, KWIM??
UGH.. I can wait a few years before I have to deal with this stuff 8)

Randi said...

Those cookies look amazing. What a fun, festive thing to do! Maybe we'll give it a go for family night tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

I always enjoy all your pics! Looks like a fun day at the zoo...and YUM...sugar cookies!
You're a great mom...I think you handled the ticket super well. I just had my. first. speeding. ticket. ever. While there have been many times I deserved a ticket, this was one of those where I didn't really...but over a $100 bucks and eight hours of on-line driving school later, the point is off...so doing a few windows isn't bad at all :)
BTW...I was wrong earlier...my brother said that from Tulsa to my mom's is only about 5-6 hours...not 12 like I thought. Maybe the next time I'm in TX we could meet half-way? Hopefully the next trip won't quite be such a whirl-wind trip.

Rick said...

You look like fun family. We're heading to Oklahoma in a couple of weeks. My daughter elected to the homcoming court at her college. (Proud parents).

My lastest post on my blog has to do with some Sooner Fans.

http://www.organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/

Irene said...

I can see we both had water issues lately...
Thank you for your support, for everything, really.
It's so good seeing you take some time out. Baking is good for the soul , too. A lovely book I have been reading (the Domesticity one that I posted about) talks so beautifully about the pleasures of everyday life.
I also read today an article which said that not speeding through life is a major achievement towards wellbeing.
Here is to slowing down, then!
Love you all.

Marcia Francois said...

You are a saint to put up with the water (or lack of it) for so long. We were without from Friday to Sunday once and I thought I was going CRAZY! (You know how I am about washing hands and clean counter tops)

Those cookies look so delicious! I was SO good this weekend - did no baking because I'm back on weigh-less, eating healthy food 100% of the time (or trying, anyway).

I think your discipline was spot on. And it's teaching her to do good work and think about why she is being disciplined :)

Have a great week - 3 days to CT!

OKGardners said...

Amanda has such a sweet & innocent-looking face, I don't know how you could EVER punish her. At least she was ATTEMPTING to get home before curfew. So many kids don't care what their parents say. You have 4 good kids. You are blessed! Glad you had fun at the zoo AND while making cookies.

Betty

Corrie said...

Hey Annie,
Looks like you guys had a fun and busy weekend! We are having beautiful weather as well. It is nice for a change!
Have a great day!

Busy Bee Lauren said...

I just read my mom's comment. I had totally forgotten that I had gotten a ticket! haha...I have the worst memory ever. Poor Amanda. Your punishment is perfect. Not having a cell phone is hard, but you learn a good lesson...I should know...I have had it taken a few times.

I love the zoo pictures! So SO SO cute!

I love making cookies...so fun!

Be Inspired Always said...

Cookies look wonderful.

Looks like a busy weekend.


Jillian

Mandalyn said...

Love the cookies! Looks like so much fun! I am just like her---love to eat icing!!:)

Glad ya'll are having such nice weather. It's like that here, too.

ohAmanda said...

Girl! Why am I behind on your blog?! Ugh.

Anyway, what a fun day! I love all the pics. And oh, poor Amanda. That's the worst feeling.

gail@more than a song said...

Amanda looks beautiful in that picture!
Having teenagers is hard, having them pay for the ticket is something we would do too. Having consequences for actions is good, b/c that's the way it is with everything else too.
The cookies look so good!

Tori :) said...

Those cookies look so yummy and are totally cute!!

I can feel for Amanda. I was the ticket queen for about 10 years straight. :(

mamashine said...

Wow- I go eight over on a regular basis. My first ticket was for going 79 in a 55. Oops.