Norah's first day of school!

Life with Kids: Relaxing and Enjoyable! (Ha!)

Ran across this funny article on Facebook, and I thought I would share! Those of you with any children (let alone 4!) will identify! : )

Click the picture to skip to think link... Much easier to read!

Elle Bell - 3 Months Old!!

I love my Buddy!!

The Irony of Blogging

I just realized how inherently ironic the concept of keeping up with a blog is. The busier you are and the more interesting, blog-worthy stuff you have going, the harder it is to find the time to blog any of the fun stuff! Oh well!

I guess I'll just jump in where I am. It's a strategy that seems to serve me well in other pursuits (housecleaning, weight loss, etc.), so why not try it out with blogging?

Today's dilemma: which biking app is best? Before my phone went awol (thank you sleazy dishonest bar patron at Varsity Grill in Fort Smith!), I was using the Cycle Tracker Pro app, but when I had to redownload everything onto my new phone (I hadn't synced since November, apparently!), I decided to try a new one. My previous one had the rather annoying habit of talking loudly to me as I rode, and it was pretty buggy when it came to resuming rides if you paused it.

So a couple of days ago, I downloaded the free version of "I Map My Ride," and so far I like it! Here is a screen shot from today's outing:





The above ride almost killed me, by the way! I was pulling the bike trailer... I usually make Jason do it, and today's ride reminded me why! Bear and I rode 10 miles with me pulling the trailer in the heat over the hills of the Lake Fayetteville trail, and when I was done, I was dizzy and vaguely nauseated, but very proud!

Anyway, do any of you out there in blog world ride a bike? If so, what app do you use? I'm curious...

ps. Go set up "Find My iPhone" RIGHT NOW, and then back that baby up! You never know when you'll need it!

Raccoons fear no Lysol.

Last night I decided to go to bed early so that I could get up and go for a bike ride before the blistering heat of the day set in, so at 1 in the morning I was midway through a long, peaceful slumber in our cozy bed. Imagine my surprise, then, when my phone rings and it says that "Autumn Daniel" is calling me!

Confused and bleary-eyed, I answered and became immediately alarmed, because I could hear her sobbing on the other end. Once I got her to calm down enough to explain herself, I figured out that she was hearing weird scary growling noises downstairs, so we went to investigate.

The only weapon I could find along the way was a can of Lysol, so I grabbed it. Barefoot and pajama-clad, we tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen only to find 3 raccoons helping themselves to the cat food! They had apparently come in the cat door and decided to spend their evening lounging in our pantry.

We both freaked out and tried to shoo them away, but they didn't care a bit. They just sat there staring at us with their menacing, raccoony eyes, so I decided it was time for the Lysol. I aimed the lavender-scented disinfectant right at their beady little peepers and sprayed away, but it did not have the effect I intended! The fat one squeezed back out the cat door with a marked lack of urgency, but the other two charged us! We ran screaming through the kitchen while they skidded and clawed across the wood floor after us. Thank goodness for the baby gate! We hightailed it upstairs while they lurked creepily in the living room until I convinced Jason to come downstairs and chase them out.

It was seriously terrifying! I am going to have nightmares about evil masked creatures chasing me for weeks now. Stupid raccoons!!

That's it. I'm moving to Colorado.