Cheeky Cocoa Beans

Charlotte

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

We took a quick trip over to Charlotte, North Carolina...in November 2011. Judging from my last few blog posts, I'm trying to catch up with the last several months. Either that, or now I'm going with a Charlotte theme...the doll and the city. :)

These are a few of the photos I took in downtown Charlotte on the way to Discovery Place, the children's museum.

Hopefully I'll post pictures of Discovery Place, too, and not just randomly refer to it here.

And, yes, we saw "Occupy Charlotte" on the way out of town.

The torch has been passed

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:26:00 +0000

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've already heard this, but it's been a few months...

So bear with me.

In October, we took the kids to a local church's Fall Festival, and Grace dressed as Laura Ingalls, wearing the dress and bonnet my mom sewed for me for my birthday when I was that size. Grace brought along her baby Emily, and said Emily was Charlotte (Laura's rag doll she got for Christmas during the Little House in the Big Woods time).

In a moment of madness, perhaps, we took the kids to another Fall Festival the next evening. Because, really, do these kids look like they need more candy?

Josiah (9) dressed as "Dr. Sam," a made-up persona who has a truly hideous bedside manner, and Grace (5) dressed as Laura Ingalls in the dress and bonnet my mother made for me long ago.

Grace was again dressed as Laura. She had her baby doll Emily again, too, only this time she said Emily was dressed as Rose. I questioned Grace, for Jason's benefit, and asked, "Who is Rose?" Grace answered, "Laura's daughter." I smiled at Jason, sighed, and said, "The torch has been passed." (I used to know way more than I know now about Laura Ingalls Wilder...used to, so, really, no need to question me.)

Robert was listening and, in his typical 14-year-old fashion, began his oh-so-common series of rhetorical questions. "What torch? There's a torch? Why didn't I know about the torch?"

I love my 14 year old. (If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've heard this already, too...several times.)

Robert (14) dressed as...well, a Georgia voter, according to him. He said that next year he'll dress as the Tax Man and go around taking half of every kid's candy.

Well, even if there were a literal torch to be passed, I think Grace might insist that it be a princess' tiara instead.

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:19:00 +0000

These photos are from our trip to the Yellow River Game Ranch that we took in November 2011.

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom (Wordless Wednesday).

Overheard: Puppy Love

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:42:00 +0000

Josiah (age 9)

It's no secret that there is an intense campaign going on around here for a puppy. The kids want a puppy. (OK, Josiah and Grace want a puppy. Robert (age 14) excludes himself whenever he is lumped together with the younger kids in this discussion, but I still think he'd be perfectly happy if one appeared.) Jason wants a puppy. There are lots of conversations on a daily basis that involve the topic of puppies in one way or another, and most of them start off with "It would be great if we had a dog because..." Here is a glimpse of some of these conversations.

Grace [age 5]: Mom! It would be good to have a dog! It could be our new Swiffer! ...But it couldn't eat dust.

Can you guess what one of Grace's chores is?

~~~~~

Josiah: We could name the dog "Thunder."

Me: Or "Swiffer."

Jason: Or "Invisible."

Josiah didn't especially appreciate Jason's name suggestion.

~~~~~

A favorite book of Josiah's is one that covers most dog breeds. He was trying to discuss the merits of a particular breed with Grace.

Josiah: Look at this one! It's a French bulldog.

Grace: No, Daddy would want an English bulldog. That way, he would know what we're saying.

~~~~~

So, why do we not have a dog? Why the need for the intense campaign for a puppy? I'm allergic to dogs. And since I'm 99% sure the kids would want this to be an inside dog, unlike our last dog,, I'm resistant to the idea. Therefore, the intense pleading recently shifted to an intense search for a hypoallergenic breed that, hopefully, I would not be (as) allergic to. One of the breeds mentioned was the Portuguese water dog (It turns out that President Obama's daughter has an allergy to dogs, too). Josiah immediately latched onto this thought and rearranged his glow-in-the-dark stars on his bedroom wall to read

PWDR

...as in "Portuguese Water Dogs Rule."

I would have taken a picture to share this with you, but it's not quite enough stars to make it make sense without an enthusiastic 9 year old there to explain it to you.

If you have any suggestions of which hypoallergenic dog breeds might be a good match for our family, just pass them along to Josiah. He'll be glad to talk with you for hours on the subject.

Hours. Trust me.

November Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:44:00 +0000


November 2011--Photo is SOOC

November. Seems like ages ago, doesn't it? I miss the dramatic sunsets of that month. I've looked at my photos, and there were several colorful shots in November. Now we're in January, and if we get a colorful sunset...well, it seems we don't get colorful sunsets in January.

But--

We still get some pretty cute monkeys in our trees, especially on the warmer days.

Josiah, age 9

Grace, age 5

Look who's reading!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Grace, age five ("and a half," as she always adds), reading from a storybook Bible:

Grace has been our earliest successful reader--she's already about 3/4 of the way through the Alpha-Phonics book and is highly motivated to read. She has been reading on her own a lot lately without any prompting, and found she could read the vast majority of the words in this storybook Bible.

She has now decided to read "the whole entire Bible" to me. (If you've ever heard Grace say "entire," it has most certainly had "whole" immediately before it...which is quite possibly like my usage of "vast majority.")

As you can see, she is very comfortable in front of the camera. ;) She would have kept reading the next story if I hadn't stopped her.

Our Melted Snowman

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:09:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I suddenly took a blogging break for no other reason, really, than I was crocheting a dozen scarves and otherwise preparing for Christmas. (I'm still crocheting scarves and the occasional hat, but the Christmas tree is packed away and the house is nearly back to normal...such as that is.)

Anyway, about that same time, I saw this cute idea that my friend Kari had seen on Pinterest where you make a snowman on your refrigerator or other large white object. I loved the idea, and then loved the idea of putting Josiah (9) in charge of it actually doing it. He did a great job of cutting out and taping up the pieces to make a "snowman" on a hallway door...

and then it melted. And I didn't even get a "before" photo. So...here is our sad, melted snowman:

The "one raised/one lowered" eyebrows were Josiah's doing. Our snowman would have been quite the character if it weren't for the cheap masking tape we have. ;)

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom (Wordless Wednesday).

Night Light

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:17:00 +0000

Grace (5 years old)

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom (Wordless Wednesday), Energizer Bunnies' Mommy Reports (Wordless Wednesday) and I Should be Folding Laundry (You Capture).

Overheard

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Grace (age 5) is doing very well with phonics and is about halfway through the Alpha-Phonics book I've used with each of the children. She tries to read everything, whether it is on the refrigerator

or on Facebook.

I don't have to wonder about her reading comprehension because she has a running commentary with everything she reads. Here are some of the sentences she read today in Alpha-Phonics (in red) along with her comments and questions:

Dave had a date with Kate. Is that a boy and a girl? Are they married? Maybe it was a friend date...or a playdate!

Jane paid ten cents [That's a dime!] at the gate. Why did she have to pay to get in? Did everyone have to pay ten cents?

If the train is late, Gail will take a bus. Does the bus go to the same place? Maybe she could walk the rest of the way.

~~~~~

And then the student becomes the teacher...

Grace decided to teach Josiah and me today. One of her topics was Christmas. She began by saying there were two parts to Christmas, and she would start with the second part and end with the first part because the first part was the most important.

So, she began talking about Christmas trees...

And then she talked about the most important part...

Jesus.

The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10-12 HCSB)

Country Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:50:00 +0000

I have a LOT of fun taking pictures in the fall. (OK, so it's more like year round...) My kids have even stopped asking me, "Why are we stopping? What are you doing? Why are you taking a picture of that?" They just sit and wait for me to finish taking pictures, and not a word is said.

Well, not a word is said to me. The younger two (9 and 5 years old) hardly ever stop talking.

These are two of my photos from this week. We had finished running errands and I went the long way home. This road is just a couple of miles from our home, and looks peaceful and relaxing to me.

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom (Wordless Wednesday) and I Should be Folding Laundry (You Capture).

Sunsets

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:37:00 +0000

Peace is seeing a sunrise or a sunset and knowing Whom to thank.

Anonymous

All photos are SOOC.

Fall Colors: Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:44:00 +0000

More photos--this time, they're all from my backyard.

The moon rising in the late afternoon sky...

Berries on a tree just over our fence...

Beautiful fall colors all around...

And a fiery sun setting through the trees.

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday photos.

Fall Colors

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:59:00 +0000

These are some photos I took last week on the way to our homeschool play date

and before leaving the play date.

But this--this is my favorite shot.

Do you take lots of pictures of the leaves changing colors in the fall?

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom and My Little Drummer Boys for more Wordless Wednesday photos.

Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:10:00 +0000

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

where morning dawns, where evening fades,

you call forth songs of joy.

Psalm 65:8 (NIV)

Grace (5) calls sunsets like these rainbow sunsets.

The Versatile Blogger Award

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 02:56:00 +0000

My friend Elizabeth recently (OK, last month) awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you, Elizabeth!

Hmmmm...Versatile Blogger. I'll take that to mean that I blog about several different topics. Which topics? Good question! I checked out my top categories, and this is what I found (with the photography-related categories combined):

Photography (292 posts) is the clear winner around this blog, with humor-through-children coming in next with the Kooky Talk (69 posts) and Overheard (59 posts) categories. Giveaways (36 posts) are certainly fun and something I would like to do more of. I never knew I blogged about Christmas (27 posts) so much. My Works For Me Wednesday posts (19 posts) tend to be frugal ideas...

And that makes a wide variety of topics.

Part of accepting this award is to tell seven things about myself. So, here goes...

7 Random Things About Me:

I eat dark chocolate every day. Seems I've said this before, like here and here. I think it's a good place to start any list.
I have finally kicked my two decade long Diet Coke habit and now only drink unsweetened tea.
Blogging is cheap therapy. Yes, I've said this before, too. If I haven't blogged for a while, I'm not very focused on much of anything. Sad, but true. So, if you haven't seen a blog post from me in several days, you would be doing me a kindness to say, "Post something. ANYTHING." Really--because I am not thinking clearly and can't figure it out on my own. ;)
I have learned fairly recently that I like digging holes. Wait--it's not as bizarre as it sounds. OK...so maybe it is. But I'm preparing a garden spot for next year and I have found digging to be another form of therapy for me. And that's a very good thing, seeing as we have really hard clay that must be dug thoroughly (read: deeply) for anything to grow. So far, I've dug two spots that are about 3x7 feet, with a depth of somewhere between the length of my shovel head (the first hole) and the length of my leg from the knee down (the second hole is deeper now that I have muscles).
I've also started composting, seeing as all that clay won't grow anything no matter how well it's dug, and composting is free. Where am I putting the compost? In the holes I've dug, of course--trench composting. :)
I may or may not be contemplating a very redneck expansion of my clothes line. The "expansion" would involve turning the swing set so it is parallel to the back porch and running a new line from the (other) porch post to the (other) side of the swing set so both sides of the swing set would be used instead of just one like it is now. Classy, I know. And if I do this "expansion," I'll certainly take pictures of it, which will only add to the classiness.
I am perplexed as to why my younger two children (ages 9 and 5) are all of a sudden telling me rather nonsensical jokes and stories and then asking me if I "get it." Ummm...no, I don't.

Now, I am supposed to pass this award on to ~~15 (you've got to be kidding!)~~ a few other blogs. Check out these other versatile bloggers!

Kari Apted (absolutely the most versatile blogger I know!)

Dawn at My Home Sweet Home

Julie at From Inmates to Playdates

Katie at A Southern Lady's Ramblings (a new homeschool friend I just met)

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday: Visiting

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:10:00 +0000

We visited my aunt and uncle earlier this week and, since they live in the same neighborhood I grew up in, there is always a bit of nostalgia for me,

with an odd mixture of the old and the new.

For the kids, there is lots of dog-petting. Forced dog-petting.

Oh, I'm kidding! But that's what it looks like, doesn't it? In reality, it was a lot more like this:

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday photos.

Rainy days

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Ah...rainy days. Where raindrops hang from the clothes line instead of the usual laundry

and you might see a rainbow in the sky

...or even two.

Double rainbow

Works for Me Wednesday: Magnets

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:24:00 +0000

Yes, magnets.

One day this week, while sitting with my 9 year old so that he would remain sitting at the table working diligently on his math assignment (ahem), I decided to make my refrigerator look a little better.

I started with making a new homemade "dry erase" surface to record leftovers, kitchen projects that need to be completed, etc. (Here is my old one mentioned in a previous blog post.) I found prettier paper than I had been using and covered it with some laminating paper my aunt had given us years ago. This time, I wrote not only the days of the week along the side, but also a space to record the time I started the crock pot before I laminated the paper; the rest is erasable. I also now have prettier magnets because...

My next project was to cover some of those advertising magnets you receive from businesses. I started with covering one magnet that I've been setting my magnetic kitchen timer on. The refrigerator surface was getting scuffed from the constant movement of the timer (Does anyone else have kids with a fascination with timing everything?) and I had placed one of those ad magnets behind it...but it wasn't pretty. Now, with some paper and a little glue, it is.

Then I got a little carried away with other advertising magnets and smaller magnets...

Grace (5) was so impressed with my work that she said it looked like a company had made them. ;)

~~~~~

This is something we don't use anymore, but it saved a lot of headaches and arguments for us a few years ago when we first began allowing Robert to "roam the neighborhood" on his own to visit his friends. After he had permission to go to a friend's house and we had told him what time to return, he would write the information on a piece of paper that was held by this magnet (under "GOING TO:" and "BACK AT:" at the base of the magnet). This was a simple solution to keep him accountable--and there was no discussion of "But I thought you said..." because he wrote it himself, and he typically wrote the time on his hand right then since he already had a pen handy. (This was another advertising magnet that I had covered years ago.)

What works for you?

Wordless Wednesday: Baby faces

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Grace (5) and her baby doll Bella sleeping

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday photos.

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:20:00 +0000

The prettiest little monkey I've ever seen...

Grace, age 5

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday photos.

How I Lost My Imaginary Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:24:00 +0000

"Imaginary friend" is the term Jason uses to describe people I know online through blogging.

Two weeks ago, Josiah, Grace, and I drove to meet Kathleen and her family for the first time when she was visiting family in a nearby city. I was very excited and a little nervous to meet Kathleen; Josiah spent time speculating whether or not we would actually recognize each other. (We did.) We met at Chick-fil-A since rain was in the forecast, and as I spotted Kathleen parking and everyone getting out of their van, it was a little surreal...I told her it was as though photos from her blog were coming to life in the parking lot. We all enjoyed our lunch together and, since it wasn't raining after all, we decided to head over to a local zoo as we had originally planned.

The kids paused briefly for photographs

Josiah, Jacob, Audrey, and Grace

before they began racing through the zoo together. At one point, Grace came running back to tell me, so excitedly, "Feline is here! Feline is here!"

Who is Feline? Feline is the deer Grace becomes when she is playing the Baby Deer Game. While she rarely crawls under a pillow to become the baby deer who has lost her mother, she still occasionally does the Baby Deer Dance.

So, yes, I had to explain to Kathleen why Grace was so very excited to see a deer in a zoo.

We saw a bald eagle

and he saw me when Kathleen made some noise to get him to look her way! Yikes. What a look.

We saw a few bears

At the bear exhibit

and some really cute owls.

Audrey and Josiah

We left the zoo area and headed over to the playground. I find it hilarious that Kathleen and I both got similar shots here

and here

as we walked towards the pond. (I had stopped off at our van to get Josiah's water bottle and as well as some leftover fries to feed the geese and ducks. Everyone else went on down the trail, so Kathleen and I walked these parts separately.)

We spent a little time feeding the geese and ducks the leftover fries

and then some grease from the fries got on my camera lens and made the rest of my photos a little blurry. :(

The kids had fun playing together. The girls played "house" and the boys played games of friendly but sometimes, well, painful competition. Kathleen and I chatted in the way that moms with six children around them chat. (It would have been seven except Robert stayed with Jason that day.)

The kids rather reluctantly posed for a group shot before we said our goodbyes.

And you know what happened? Somewhere along the way--really, early on during our visit--I lost my imaginary friend

Kathleen and me

...and found a real friend.

I love how it wasn't awkward when we first met. We began talking like we'd known each other for a while--which, of course, we had, just online. I love how our kids got along so well. I love how Grace wants to mail Audrey some of her books as soon as she got home--just because--and how Josiah has asked when he can see Michael and Jacob again.

I'm hoping it's pretty soon, because I'm looking forward to seeing Kathleen again, too. I have a few hundred questions to ask her now that I'm not a bit nervous. ;)

Wordless Wednesday: Praying Mantis

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:15:00 +0000

Photos are SOOC.

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom, Shibley Smiles, and Baba's Farm Life for more Wordless Wednesday photos.

Our new addition

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:00:00 +0000

No, not that kind of "new addition."

Or that kind.

But I think it's still a great addition! (Even if my husband is less than enthusiastic about my posting these photos. I have apparently crossed a line.)

With all the rain we had earlier this week, I had plenty of time to come up with a fabulous idea of how to extend my existing clothes line with the several feet of line I had left over by tying one end of the line to the porch post...

The existing two lines around the porch posts are on the left of the photo, and the new line is on the right

and tying the other end to our swing set.

Now I can hang an entire load of whites on the clothes lines at the same time!

Plus, this little extension will hopefully also extend the time I will use the clothes line during the year, since this portion is in the sun for more hours of the day.

Why, yes, I am easily amused. And, no, I don't have a belt with my name on it...although I did when I was about 8 years old. ;)

Our "Garden"

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:25:00 +0000

About the only thing I've been able to grow this year has been flowers and herbs. Grace has really enjoyed the morning glories that recently started blooming!

She named one spot where morning glories grow in our yard "Morning Glory Garden," and she makes a trip outside to pick as many flowers as I'll let her each morning (or as many as she can get away with).

And, yes, she is usually still in her pajamas.

These morning glories originally came from seeds I bought when Robert was the one picking me flowers--at least 8 years ago. When it's time to cut down the vines, I make sure some seeds fall where I want the vines to grow the following year and that takes care of it without needing to plant any seeds by hand.

And there are some places I don't let them grow anymore...

Robert (age 6) with monstrous morning glories that took over our front porch
September 2003

What about you? Have you grown anything this summer?

Overheard: The Anniversary Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:45:00 +0000

Grace: Happy anniversary, Mommy!

Grace (5) in particular kept telling me "Happy anniversary" throughout the day and promising me different gifts, like some of her money. It became the running joke of the day because she always said "Mommy's anniversary" and didn't mention Jason, even though she understands that we celebrated our anniversary because it was like the birthday of our wedding date. Even Josiah (9) kept referring to it as "Mom's anniversary."

~~~~~

Since we were in Athens, we had to get some Krispy Kreme donuts as we were heading home. Robert (14) pretended he didn't want any, and then we pulled into the parking lot...

Grace [bubbling with excitement]: Too bad, Robert! You're getting Rice Krispies!!

Robert [laughing]: They're Krispy Kremes, not Rice Krispies.

Grace [still bubbling with excitement, and now talking in a sing-song voice]: We're getting Krispy Kremes for Mommy's anniversary! And also...

She paused for effect, and I really thought she was going to add "Daddy's anniversary." But...um, no.
Grace: I'll give you 20 cents when we get home!

The 20 cents was Grace's anniversary gift to me. She was disappointed that she forgot to bring her money in the car.