Ollie and Stanley

"Another fine mess."

Worked on the basement kitchen last yesterday until I was almost sick. Who knew you could cram so much junk into so little space? ICK! Today, I finish it. I'm hoping to find a place for my magazines, etc. I just HAD to clean out the pantry and a way to it. Canning season again and I'm out of space.

While I was at it, I found about 8 bottles of salad dressing, 12 cans each of cream of celery and cream of chicken soups and nearly as many of cream of mushroom, 2 packs of napkins, 2 cans of spaghetti sauce and a jar of apple butter. That's not saying that is all that is on my "store-bought" shelf. That is just all that really hit me as unusual finds.

The up side is we kept the girls last night. Emma is as rambunctious as Sarah isn't. She wears us out!

A few of my favorite moments:

--Brett nearly wet his pants watching Emma eat a cookie. She makes the greatest faces.

--Bart watched Monsters, Inc., with Sarah. She sat for a while with her head on his shoulder, then she pretty much climbed upon his lap without quite going on all the way. Bart sat there with her with his arms around her and answered every question she had as patiently as anyone could. He even let her put his glasses on her head. I realized that, as much as I usually want to kill him anymore, he's going to be the one kids feel safe around. Brett's a tease; Bart is the one who makes you feel cozy.

--Emma is at the stage where she's trying to be independent when she eats, but she doesn't always make it. I nearly had a plate in my lap at one point and I did have several bites on me and on the floor before she lost interest. Watching kids learn to eat by themselves is hilarious.

Now can someone please explain how I had 2 sets of door-to-door people last night--in unrelated events? And how many phone calls can one get when the phone is behind 2 filing cabinets, 10 boxes, and assorted junk?