Another Tasty Treat!

Another tasty treat,

Made by Odell and Joel.

Chocolate covered frozen banana pops.

They were SO good!

P.S.

I am still at the adult table.

~sigh~

All is good, right?

Yep.

It is how it should be.

It is all how it needs to be.

And that is why it is how it should be.

Have your kids make some chocolate covered frozen banana pops this week and eat them at your adult table spot. If you close your eyes while eating them, your 'adult' troubles will almost melt like lemon drops. How? Because you will be brought back into the here and now by enjoying the moment, appreciating the treat, and most of all, delighting in how pleased your kids are for their kitchen creation. Their pleasure can also be your pleasure, their joy can be your joy if you are paying close attention. Try not to miss it. I do not want to miss it,either.

THAT is truly how it should be.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

Have you heard this old Polish proverb?

Not my circus, not my monkeys!

~SIGH~

Umm...

What if it is my circus?

What if it is all happening under my big top?

What if they are all my goofball monkeys?

My circus peanuts?

Well, under this big top, clowns are one of the most popular characters.

That is the part of the apple that fell close to Jeff's side of the tree...

Did I just say that?

I find they are VERY skilled in a variety of circus acts.

Driving me bananas is their most practiced and encored act.

I wish I could say I was the ring master by I find out I am more the juggler, lion tamer, tightrope walker, and flame thrower all rolled into one.

Haha.

I think Jeff would like to be the unicyclist but then again he would like the ring master's top hat.

But instead, fortunate for him, he mostly just arrives when the daytime circus show is wrapping up.

He misses the good stuff.

Jeff did take this old circus-ed out juggler, lion tamer, tightrope walker, and flame thrower to the fabric store when he got home from work.

It has been a little more than three weeks since I left Waseca.

Thank you, Jeff!

I needed the break.

I bought a lot of this Snow White's Seven Dwarfs fabric. I have many plans for this!! I might just unpack my sewing machines today.

I also bought a blender at Kohls.

I was feeling the need to blend stuff.

I tested it out when we got home.

Jeff, Elena, and Alan watched as I blended an old banana I found in the freezer, milk, chocolate syrup, ice and a little oatmeal together. It was not bad. They were my taste testers. I read somewhere that oatmeal adds protein and a little thickness. Next time I will leave the oatmeal out, though. It did not blend very well.

These are pictures I took yesterday. I LOVE my milk weed plants!!

I am wondering if this butterfly escaped from the Butterfly exhibit at the fair this past weekend.

Daisies are also one of my favorite flowers.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Two Day Post: Part Two

Today, my oldest niece got married!!!

I was not able to attend but I heard the wedding was beautiful!!!

My oldest sister, Heide , texted me these pictures.

Thank you, Heide.

I figured out how to email them to myself.

I am smart like that.

Tech-savvy-Tina.

Just call me that:

TST for short.

CONGRATULATIONS JAKE AND JESSICA!!!!!

Here is the BEAUTIFUL bride Jessica!!!!

I gave her pop to drink when she was about 5 or 6 months old and afterwards I thought it might actually kill her... But it didn't. I am glad. Another time, I left her out on the sidewalk at the U of M all by herself in her stroller while I went into my house to answer the phone. I was gone for a long couple minutes. She could have gotten kidnapped, but thank goodness she didn't. I did not tell her mom Tammy for years. I was a clueless auntie.

You are SO beautiful, Jessica!!!!

My sister, Tammy,aka: Jessica's mom, aka: my very pretty older sister.

Tammy, my sister-in-law Angela (married to my sister Missy), and my baby sister Missy. She will ALWAYS be my baby sister!!

My nephew Matthew (Jessica's younger brother), my brother-in-law- Paul (married to Tammy), and Tammy

Not pictured:

The groom, Jake!!

My mom!! Where was she hiding!!??

Heide, the picture taker.

My sister Heather who was not able to make it to the wedding, either. This post is mostly for her. Heather, I thought you would enjoy seeing the pictures.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

I Was Just Thinking

I was just thinking about stuff tonight.

I was thinking about history.

I went into the old cabin in the Historical Society building at the fair this evening. I love that cabin. This year they have the second floor loft open. Cool!!

So I was thinking history.

Then my thoughts turned specifically to my history.

I was thinking about connections, and identity.

My thoughts could have been triggered by a dream I had the other day. In my dream I was talking to my grandpa. I was following him around. I do not know what we were talking about but I woke up with a longing, it was almost a sad emptiness. My grandpa passed away in 1995. I was not super close to him like some kids are with their grandparents. I just liked to be around him.

I think my unsettling feelings when I woke up from the dream were not as much about missing him as missing what was familiar.

My upbringing was not the very worst upbringing around but it was not the most secure, to put it lightly. It was surrounded with addictions, divorce, anger, abuse, mental illness, physical sickness, death, and all the stuff that comes with that. The Lord was not a part of my life until later.

Sometimes, when my life feels unstable, I tend to long for the very life I almost ended mine over because it was so unlivable and lacked hope. Isn't that funny? In a not funny way? Twisted, would be a better description. Sometimes, I feel like I identify more with my broken past than my daily new life with Christ.

I am proud to be a Weiss.

Sometimes I have a harder time knowing how to be a new creation in Christ.

I know how to do the Weiss way of living. The broken way. It comes easy, pretty natural.

I do not always know how to do things this new way.

Anyway, my thoughts are fragmented.

My apologies for that.

A lot of times my thoughts start in the middle and do not end up having an end.

There will be some who get what I am thinking. It is ok if you don't. They are not really earth shattering thoughts. Just thoughts.

Here is a little fun Weiss history.

My Great Grandpa Frank Weiss is the little boy sitting on the pillow bottom left. My Great, Great Grandpa Weiss is the man in the middle with the dark mustache and my great, great grandma is on the right. They had come from Austria/Hungary a few years before this picture was taken.

Here is Great Grandpa Frank Weiss and my Great Grandma on their wedding day. I do not remember my great grandpa but I have lots of fun memories with my great grandma. Picture me at 18 (way back in '86) learning how to drive in my dad's massive 1965 impala convertible with my tiny, tiny 90 year old great grandma next to me. Just me and her. I get stuck in an alleyway in Lake Elmo and could not get out. My grandma's wig kept moving around every time I would jerk the car back and forth. Ha ha. Crazy. She later confided to my dad that I was kind of a wild driver.

Here is my grandpa Weiss in 1950. The grandpa I dreamed about the other day. My dad's dad. He is on the far left. He would bring donuts to my dad's house every Tuesday morning and they would sit, drink coffee, and eat doughnuts.

And my mom and dad in highschool about 1962?

My healthy handsome dad in 1965 before his life spiraled down hill with huge bad choices. He is holding my oldest sister, Heidi.

My dad the day I graduated in 1986. One of the few pictures I have of him. I am on the right and my sister Tammy on the left. He was 42 here.

Me in college around 1988-9?

My wedding day 1993 with my flower girl, Jessica.

Jeff and myself a few years ago.

Fun pictures.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

It's Really Fantastic

Saw your blog post.

It's really fantastic.

That was sarcastic,

Cause you write like a spastic.



I have not laughed like this for a long time!

But still I have no shame!

Blog on, Dude!

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Courtesy of Elena

All of our five baby kitties found homes last month.

I love baby kitties but I have to be honest, I do not miss them much.

I will keep my baby kitty memories alive via picture courtesy of Elena!

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Relay For Life of Waseca County

This past Saturday was the Waseca County Relay For Life

Jeff and a group of kids were at Bash on the Farm in Forest City, Iowa so Joel, Lily, Grace and I went to this year's Relay For Life on our own. I was not in the picture mood while we were there. I kick myself now, though.

I did take a couple afters of Lily.

Lily got her hair painted

and won her very own cake in a cake walk game.

Yum!!!

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

FCA Night at the Ballpark

This past Friday evening was FCA Night at the Ballpark.

The Waseca Braves played the Rochester Roadrunners at The Tink Larson Baseball Field across from our house.

In between inning there were fun activities for the kids.

Coach John giving Lily and Grace instructions.

This picture is from The Waseca County News

Cute Grace and Lily running hard to first base

Joel, Barry Dufault, and a Dufault cutie waiting at 2nd base. Sorry that I do not know who the boy is in the plaid shorts.

Odell helping at 3rd base

A few shots of the Rochester Roadrunners.

A far away view of the Waseca Braves

I see Josh, Jeff, and Ekie among others down at the snack area

The Princess

And the Prince

A random shot of our house as I was walking home from the game.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

A Few Odd Things

My bathroom soap dish.

Sausage and gravy on toast.

An afternoon trip to town stopping at Charlie's hardware for a new bathroom door knob and paint for a project, a stop at the Daily Grind and then the new flower shop by the bank.

A Barbie's new outfit.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Another Pleasant Sunday

A fire pit.

Some hot dogs and onions.

A small tailgate party.

A small hotdog burglar.

Ok.

Truth.

The tailgate picture was a total set up.

It was a cleverly inspired photo by me.

I had two who were good sports about it.

Most of the kids ate around the fire pit.

The neighbors must think we are very odd.

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy

Lazy Friday

I like lazy Fridays, don't you?

Joel's elaborate car road

Josh and I set out to build a new guinea pig cage for as little cost as possible and here is what we came up with.

It looks more like a guinea pig crib but they seem to enjoy it and we made do mostly with what we had around the house.

We are proud of our efforts.

Grizzly in the tree (again)

Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy