Say that five times fast.

We had a truck load of the stuff dumped below our garden the other day.

My flower gardens are up by the house.

I think I’ll just stay inside and blog a little while longer.

In preparation for the weekend, an extra long one at that, I am giving you a drink to go with your DVDs and popcorn and good novels and visiting relatives—everyone, both grown-ups and kids, will enjoy it.

Orange Julius
Adapted from my sister-in-law Kate’s church cookbook

1 cup orange juice
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ice cubes

Dump all the ingredients into the blender, give it a good whirl, pour into large tumblers, stick a straw in each, and serve. One recipe makes three large servings.

Nearly every morning I wake before The Baby Nickel, slowly inch my body away from his, and creep out of the room. I close the doors to the other kids’ rooms, and tiptoe downstairs, trying to miss the creaky floorboards. Once downstairs, I breathe easier, turn on some lights, start my coffee, head to the bathroom, and then SLAM—The Baby Nickel politely shuts the door to the bedroom before padding blearily down the hall. I dash madly back up the stairs, finger to my lips to hush any fussing, and lug him downstairs with me, defeated once again.

Fortunately I still have my other morning slam, one that is better suited to early hours and a quiet house.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my baby, quite dearly, in fact, but I do wish he would sleep just a tad bit longer in the morning.