Operator Error....

Yeah, seems like I switched my blog from the "old" editor program to the "new" editor program. And thus began my troubles. Actually, I won't take all the blame because I was lead astray by another blogger. She put a link in her blog about how to check your stats (how many people look at your blog, etc.). By simply using that link, I changed the settings for my blog - without even being logged-in. I still don't know how that could happen, but it did. (Doesn't make me feel very secure...) But, I'm very proud of the fact that I figured it out and fixed it!! Yeah!! Then I saw that I had a Photobucket "graphic" that kept swimming around in the background of my blog. WHERE did that come from??? Don't know about that either, but I fixed it, too! Whoo-hoo! I exercised my brain!!!! Yeah!

So, back to our regularly scheduled blog.

Here's Brooke in her car. (I'm finding while driving in the real car with her - she LIKES to drive fast and has NO patience for things like red lights or stopped traffic. Uh-oh...) She was so cute the other day. She kept pulling on the door of her car, without opening it, saying she was locked OUT of her car! (She really has a great imagination!) So Mark made her a car key. It has a blue "fob" and an old key from the brewery. She uses it to get into her car and then puts it in the ignition. She's always "looking for her keys", just like an adult. (I don't know where she got that from because I usually know where my keys are.)

In keeping with Olivia's developing love of sports, we put up a badmitton net in the backyard. We had a REALLY good time until we realized we were being eaten alive by the mosquitos. It looks like we'll have to cover ourselves in chemicals or just wait until it gets cooler. (I vote for cooler...)

Here's Oprah, the Queen Mother cat. She has taken up residence in the girls' Barbie house for the summer. They just leave her room, the family room, alone when they play. Suddenly, Oprah is getting old. She's definitely a "senior" now. I hate to say that she is starting to seem fragile. She's still in good health, but she's become a lightweight. A new thing she does is to howl, LOUDLY. Mostly in the wee hours of the night. She's had me up more than once at 3am, thinking one of the girls was yelling from a nightmare. We just ignore her now, since every time we've checked her, she's perfectly fine. She just likes to yell, I guess. She'll HOWL, we'll run to her, and she'll stop, looking at us like, "Yeah? What?" Cats...

We didn't sign the girls up for anything this summer. We've just kept busy around the house, just taking it easy and getting some projects done. The interesting thing about this is that they have turned to each other for companionship and entertainment. They were bonded before, but not like this. They look for each other first thing in the morning and last thing at night. And they can't be apart for long, they have to know where the other one is. What a pleasant, surprise benefit!

Oh, and they turn to the dogs for companionship and entertainment, too. Much to the dogs' chagrin. Poor Smoochy puts up with the humiliation. He's just waiting for his chance to take revenge...

Mark loves to watch MTV and VH1 for their OLD rock videos. He loves the old big-hair bands. But he likes new music, too, and has now exposed the girls to Lady Gaga (aarrgghh!). Brooke LOVES Lady Gaga. Here's her impersonation...

Usually I never question Mark's judgement, but there have been some days recently...

We've had fun bowling this summer! We've fallen into a routine: bowling, then lunch at McDonald's (Brooke's request). We can use all the practice we can get! Here's a recent outting:

I have to admit I wince when Olivia heaves the ball thru the air and down the alley. How do the floors withstand such abuse?

Brooke & Olivia on the playground at McDonalds...

Energy! Energy! Energy!

And here's Daddy at McDonalds. When you work midnight shift and then go bowling, you eventually hit the wall.

We get to start our landscaping projects soon!!!! Yeah!!!!!! We got to cut down the privet bushes on the side of the house because the retaining wall is going to be replaced. We're having steps added so we can actully walk all the way around the house! Yeah! We'd left the ratty privet bushes up because (1) we never went down on that side of the house since we only own about a 10 foot strip of land there and (2) the neighbor planted them and loved them, since it screened his driveway and garage from (our) prying eyes.

But now they are gone!! Ha! Ha! Ha! (evil laugh) Thank you Mark!!

It's going to look SOOOOOOO much better. After the steps and wall are done, the fence people will come out and fence the backyard. We're excited!!!!!! The girls and dogs can play without me having to watch them every minute, and the neighbor boys won't be using our yard as a shortcut. Yeah!

Meet Supergirl Brooke in her self-designed costume.

Future Georgia Tech engineering grads!!!!!!

Olivia made a flower bouquet for me using pipe cleaners and foam flowers. They will never need to be watered and will never die! My kinda flower!!! (Yes, Olivia is topless in many pictures. I'm lucky if I can keep her in underwear.) (This had better pass by puberty or we're in for some real trouble..._

We've started paying Olivia to do chores around the house (washing dishes below). We were wondering what to do about an allowance, then I saw Suze Ormond on Oprah. She suggested paying kids for chores instead of just giving them an allowance. That way, they learn from the start that they have to work for their money, not just wait for it to be handed to them. I think it's working! She's also figuring out that the more chores she does, the more money she'll make. Plus, using the different coins, she's learning math concepts. Brooke is getting in on the action, too. Yeah - she's naked. At least Olivia has on her underpants.

That's it for now!! Thank heavens my "blogging emergency" is a thing of the past.