Toby started his new second job this week. Even though he hates welding, he has been sucking it up and taking it like a man. He does say that the company he is working for is at least a good company, which I am sure aids in his tolerence of welding.
As for me, I am thankful that this job is alot closer to the house therefore, more convenient for me to take him to work and have access to the car. After all someone has to run all the errands. This week has been the first time Summer and I have been off and alone together in 5 months. It was like we had died and gone to heaven.
We don't mind being with Toby most of the time but there are times when we like to do girl shopping and don't want to have to be interrupted by a man who has to "go home and poop" which I am sure is triggered by the hatred of shopping. :-)
He is still keeping his job at the tat shop because he loves to tattoo. Who am I to interfere with a man's true passion????? We do see him alot less and I'm sure that it will take it's toll eventually but for now we are surviving.
Being stranded at the house is tolerable for me because I LOVE my house and my neighborhood. Summer has a blast with the kids in the neighborhood and I am glad she finally has neighborhood playmates that we can all tolerate!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Today's Quote
Contrary to what we usually believe ... the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times.... The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
"The Birds"
When we first had a nest of birds on the front porch it was a cool and exciting thing. We watched the mama and daddy bird feed the babies and sit on the nest. We studied their behavior and looked forward to the babies arrival.
Unfortunately once the babies hatched "all hell broke loose". The mama bird has been very protective and makes sure that noone is near the nest....that includes family members/neighbors...anyone that may be on the front porch or front yard. This includes "calling" all her bird family members in to dive bomb us if we even poke our head out the front door.
Not to mention the poop I have had to clean off the porch while avoiding mutiple bird attacks. They make a terrible mess and their domination of their "territory" makes it hard to enjoy the front yard.
I am anxiously awaiting the babies to fly the nest. I noticed this morning they are excercising their wings and fluttering in the nest. I am looking forward to their departure as much as I was anticipating their birth.
On another note, we ended up getting a small swimming pool to cool off in throughout the summer. Unfortunatley, we discovered a small pinhole in the side of the pool after we had it filled. Toby suggested that we dump out the water and patch the hole but I did not want to waste the water....instead I duct taped the hole.
I don't know if the hole was there when we bought it or if it got there while we were trying to assemble the pool. There was alot of wind and we kept having to force it down to the ground while filling it up with water.
It seems fine with the duct tape and has survived several neighbor kids jumping around in it. I think it will survive.
Unfortunately once the babies hatched "all hell broke loose". The mama bird has been very protective and makes sure that noone is near the nest....that includes family members/neighbors...anyone that may be on the front porch or front yard. This includes "calling" all her bird family members in to dive bomb us if we even poke our head out the front door.
Not to mention the poop I have had to clean off the porch while avoiding mutiple bird attacks. They make a terrible mess and their domination of their "territory" makes it hard to enjoy the front yard.
I am anxiously awaiting the babies to fly the nest. I noticed this morning they are excercising their wings and fluttering in the nest. I am looking forward to their departure as much as I was anticipating their birth.
On another note, we ended up getting a small swimming pool to cool off in throughout the summer. Unfortunatley, we discovered a small pinhole in the side of the pool after we had it filled. Toby suggested that we dump out the water and patch the hole but I did not want to waste the water....instead I duct taped the hole.
I don't know if the hole was there when we bought it or if it got there while we were trying to assemble the pool. There was alot of wind and we kept having to force it down to the ground while filling it up with water.
It seems fine with the duct tape and has survived several neighbor kids jumping around in it. I think it will survive.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Texas Heat
The clock just now turned 8:45 pm. It is finally dark. I guess I never really paid a whole lot of attention to sunset times in Alabama but for some reason it seems like the sun sets much later here. Which in turn means that Summer stays outside playing much later....now that she has neighborhood playmates to stay out and play with.
I guess my parenting skills falter along the lines of "playtime". I can remember being Summer's age and having to go to bed at dusk. My bedtime would be eight o'clock. I can remember lying in bed still hearing the kids out in the street playing while I was suppose to be going to sleep. I always felt like I was missing out on something, although now I know I probably wasn't.
It has been really hot during the day here climbing close to 100 degrees. We don't have many tall trees here so there is nothing but blaring sun and not much shade. The upside to this is there is not too much humidity so you mostly feel the hotness and not the smothering suffocating humidity. In the early morning and evening it is quite comfortable and always with a breeze. Hopefully this is just not a tease and it will remain this way througut the summer.
The past week Summer has spent most of her days underneath the waterhose, sprinkler and on the slip and slide.......oh, and the next door neighbors plastic pools that she bought to keep the kids cool.
We have no trees in our yard and there is not much shade......much different from our home in Alabama where the whole yard was covered by shade and you never saw the sun. Needless to say, Summer and I are beginning to blend in fine with the culture here thanks to our nice tan we have going on. :-)
There are plenty of places to keep cool around here but I have been thinking serious and hard about buying another pool like we had in Mobile. We all really enjoyed the pool. It was also fairly easy to maintain and not too, too expensive to keep up.
Sometimes you just don't want to swim with every Tom, Dick and Harry and their kids.
I guess my parenting skills falter along the lines of "playtime". I can remember being Summer's age and having to go to bed at dusk. My bedtime would be eight o'clock. I can remember lying in bed still hearing the kids out in the street playing while I was suppose to be going to sleep. I always felt like I was missing out on something, although now I know I probably wasn't.
It has been really hot during the day here climbing close to 100 degrees. We don't have many tall trees here so there is nothing but blaring sun and not much shade. The upside to this is there is not too much humidity so you mostly feel the hotness and not the smothering suffocating humidity. In the early morning and evening it is quite comfortable and always with a breeze. Hopefully this is just not a tease and it will remain this way througut the summer.
The past week Summer has spent most of her days underneath the waterhose, sprinkler and on the slip and slide.......oh, and the next door neighbors plastic pools that she bought to keep the kids cool.
We have no trees in our yard and there is not much shade......much different from our home in Alabama where the whole yard was covered by shade and you never saw the sun. Needless to say, Summer and I are beginning to blend in fine with the culture here thanks to our nice tan we have going on. :-)
There are plenty of places to keep cool around here but I have been thinking serious and hard about buying another pool like we had in Mobile. We all really enjoyed the pool. It was also fairly easy to maintain and not too, too expensive to keep up.
Sometimes you just don't want to swim with every Tom, Dick and Harry and their kids.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Canoeing on the Colorado
Honestly, I have never really liked canoes, but since they are easy to access and cost me no gas money they are my means to the waterfront. I have always had a fear of water...or should I say, a fear of what might be in the water. Being in a canoe does not give me a sense of security at all.
If you knew me and my fear of water, you would wonder why I even try to venture on a boat of anykind. All I can say is my love of the tranquility of outdoor life on the water outweighs my fear enough for me to take the chance of being swallowed up by some unknown underwater creature.
So today was our first canoe trip. I was actually surprised at how close the Colorado River is to our home. Only a few miles and we were at the canoe rental place. It's in the next podunk town called "Webberville" and the old man running the place smelled like a brewery. Good thing he didn't seem to drunk....yet anyway.
He gave us our map and we were on our way. I was really uncomfortable at first. The river is alot wider than what I am used to canoeing on....and of course alot deeper than what I wanted it to be. Or so I thought. There were alot of shallow pockets which Summer and I were very glad to see. Still I was a little paranoid about some big boats speeding by and knocking us over with the waves.
The river reminded me alot of the creeks and rivers in Alabama. There was even SAND on one of the little spots we stopped off. The day on the creek was very relaxing and very HOT. There isn't much shade on the Colorado.
There wasn't anyplace you could actually swim on the river, that is, unless you wanted to try to get out of the canoe without flipping it or swimming along the bank with snakes and other creatures. When we got home my neighbor and I were taking turns cooling the kids off with the water hose. She had here hose on them at her house and I had a sprinkler on here for them.
After a little while I went inside upstairs. Shortly after I got sat down at the computer I heard Toby hollering that Summer had lost her tooth! Her tooth has been loose for a while but not loose enough to be coming out yet. Seems the kids had got to rough-housing around and Summer's tooth got in the way. Anyway, she is a couple dollars richer today.
Here she is snaggle-toothed holding her tooth:
If you knew me and my fear of water, you would wonder why I even try to venture on a boat of anykind. All I can say is my love of the tranquility of outdoor life on the water outweighs my fear enough for me to take the chance of being swallowed up by some unknown underwater creature.
So today was our first canoe trip. I was actually surprised at how close the Colorado River is to our home. Only a few miles and we were at the canoe rental place. It's in the next podunk town called "Webberville" and the old man running the place smelled like a brewery. Good thing he didn't seem to drunk....yet anyway.
He gave us our map and we were on our way. I was really uncomfortable at first. The river is alot wider than what I am used to canoeing on....and of course alot deeper than what I wanted it to be. Or so I thought. There were alot of shallow pockets which Summer and I were very glad to see. Still I was a little paranoid about some big boats speeding by and knocking us over with the waves.
The river reminded me alot of the creeks and rivers in Alabama. There was even SAND on one of the little spots we stopped off. The day on the creek was very relaxing and very HOT. There isn't much shade on the Colorado.
There wasn't anyplace you could actually swim on the river, that is, unless you wanted to try to get out of the canoe without flipping it or swimming along the bank with snakes and other creatures. When we got home my neighbor and I were taking turns cooling the kids off with the water hose. She had here hose on them at her house and I had a sprinkler on here for them.
After a little while I went inside upstairs. Shortly after I got sat down at the computer I heard Toby hollering that Summer had lost her tooth! Her tooth has been loose for a while but not loose enough to be coming out yet. Seems the kids had got to rough-housing around and Summer's tooth got in the way. Anyway, she is a couple dollars richer today.
Here she is snaggle-toothed holding her tooth:
A Day at Austin's "Beach"
One of the main things Toby and I were worried about when we were moving to Austin was that it was not on the coast therefore there were no beaches. With both of us growing up near the water we were accustomed to water activities and we wanted to keep it that way.
After some good research and help from a friend of Toby's who used to live in Austin, we found out that Austin is full of water. The Colorado River runs right through the city. There has actually turned out to be more water access here than I even imagined. You can swim in most of the lakes and creeks here. Mobile has alot of water surrounding it, but who in the world wants to swim in the Mobile Bay or Dog River??
There was another discovery Summer and I made while swimming in the springs today. There is no sand to stick to you, there is no salty stickiness after swimming..hence, making the sand stick to you, there are no creatures in the water waiting to attack i.e. jellyfish, crabs, sharks, etc.
Although it was a very hot day, the natural spring fed pool at Barton was still freezing. Summer was chattering non-stop but she didn't let the cold water stop her.
Here are some pics of the pool. Make note that this is not a regular pool. It is a natural pool so it has algae, plant life, salamanders, and fish swimming around in it.
I tried to get a shot of the whole pool but it's too big. I can only get a section at a time.
Here is Toby about to take a dive off the diving board.
After some good research and help from a friend of Toby's who used to live in Austin, we found out that Austin is full of water. The Colorado River runs right through the city. There has actually turned out to be more water access here than I even imagined. You can swim in most of the lakes and creeks here. Mobile has alot of water surrounding it, but who in the world wants to swim in the Mobile Bay or Dog River??
There was another discovery Summer and I made while swimming in the springs today. There is no sand to stick to you, there is no salty stickiness after swimming..hence, making the sand stick to you, there are no creatures in the water waiting to attack i.e. jellyfish, crabs, sharks, etc.
Although it was a very hot day, the natural spring fed pool at Barton was still freezing. Summer was chattering non-stop but she didn't let the cold water stop her.
Here are some pics of the pool. Make note that this is not a regular pool. It is a natural pool so it has algae, plant life, salamanders, and fish swimming around in it.
I tried to get a shot of the whole pool but it's too big. I can only get a section at a time.
Here is Toby about to take a dive off the diving board.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A Homeschool Field Trip to the Crow's Nest
A couple of month's ago we signed up for a field to The Crow's Nest Farm which is only about a mile down the road from us. Unfortunately, when I signed up I didn't realize it would be the week Charlie was here.
Because of the male Ackerman tendency to use unacceptable language I had forbid the boys to go. It seems this language only intensifies when you get 2 or more Ackerman's together and I really didn't want Summer and my reputation ruined. After all, we know when and where the language is acceptable......Ackerman's haven't learned this little secret yet.
Toby was pouting a little about not being able to go. I really did want him to go so I relinqueshed and told him he could go but Charlie had to stay....from experience I know it is easier to control one than two. Thankfully, Charlie didn't pout about not being able to go so problem solved.
It was the day after the hail storm so it was really chilly outside, hence the reason you see Summer with a jacket on in the middle of May. There was a hay ride, a short film about the farm, plenty of farm animals, an inside display of reptiles, insects, etc., AND the kids got to milk a cow!
I really didn't think Charlie would have been interested in the farm, but after our visit I had wished I had let him go. It was interesting enough I think even he would have been intriqued.
Here are some pics of our day at the farm:
I was trying to get a pic of the peacock with his feathers flared...as you can see Summer was not wanting to be photographed with him.
This was a pet cemetary they had set up for all the animals that had ever been on the farm and had died. I wish I had got a pic of the whole cemetary. They had memorial statues for each and every animal from the snakes to the farm dogs.
You will probably have to click on the pic to see this. It was a prairie dog pen. The prarie dogs were so cute to watch. They kept popping up and down out of their holes and wrestling with each other. So cute.
Because of the male Ackerman tendency to use unacceptable language I had forbid the boys to go. It seems this language only intensifies when you get 2 or more Ackerman's together and I really didn't want Summer and my reputation ruined. After all, we know when and where the language is acceptable......Ackerman's haven't learned this little secret yet.
Toby was pouting a little about not being able to go. I really did want him to go so I relinqueshed and told him he could go but Charlie had to stay....from experience I know it is easier to control one than two. Thankfully, Charlie didn't pout about not being able to go so problem solved.
It was the day after the hail storm so it was really chilly outside, hence the reason you see Summer with a jacket on in the middle of May. There was a hay ride, a short film about the farm, plenty of farm animals, an inside display of reptiles, insects, etc., AND the kids got to milk a cow!
I really didn't think Charlie would have been interested in the farm, but after our visit I had wished I had let him go. It was interesting enough I think even he would have been intriqued.
Here are some pics of our day at the farm:
I was trying to get a pic of the peacock with his feathers flared...as you can see Summer was not wanting to be photographed with him.
This was a pet cemetary they had set up for all the animals that had ever been on the farm and had died. I wish I had got a pic of the whole cemetary. They had memorial statues for each and every animal from the snakes to the farm dogs.
You will probably have to click on the pic to see this. It was a prairie dog pen. The prarie dogs were so cute to watch. They kept popping up and down out of their holes and wrestling with each other. So cute.
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